Chimpanzee accumulative stone throwing

The study of the archaeological remains of fossil hominins must rely on reconstructions to elucidate the behaviour that may have resulted in particular stone tools and their accumulation. Comparatively, stone tool use among living primates has illuminated behaviours that are also amenable to archaeological examination, permitting direct observations of the behaviour leading to artefacts and their assemblages to be incorporated. Here, we describe newly discovered stone tool-use behaviour and stone accumulation sites in wild chimpanzees reminiscent of human cairns. In addition to data from 17 mid- to long-term chimpanzee research sites, we sampled a further 34 Pan troglodytes communities. We found four populations in West Africa where chimpanzees habitually bang and throw rocks against trees, or toss them into tree cavities, resulting in conspicuous stone accumulations at these sites. This represents the first record of repeated observations of individual chimpanzees exhibiting stone tool use for a purpose other than extractive foraging at what appear to be targeted trees. The ritualized behavioural display and collection of artefacts at particular locations observed in chimpanzee accumulative stone throwing may have implications for the inferences that can be drawn from archaeological stone assemblages and the origins of ritual sites

Contribution of nitrogen from sugarcane harvest residues and urea for crop nutrition

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) harvested without burning provides a substantial amount of remains (trash) on soil profiles which can be decomposed and release nutrients contributing to reduce fertilizer needs. The contribution of nitrogen (N) from sugarcane plant residues and fertilizer in sugarcane nutrition was assessed. Plant cane treatments were micro plots of 15N-labeled urea, sugarcane trash and root system; the last two to simulate the previous crop residues incorporated into the soil after crop renewal. For ratoons, N-ammonium nitrate (N-AN) micro plots, 150 kg ha-1 of N-AN and control (0 kg ha-1) were set up to evaluate the contribution of trash in N supply and quantify the effects of N-fertilizer on N-trash mineralization. The N balances derived from each 15N source were calculated after four crops and resulted in: 15N-urea applied at planting, 31 % was recovered by plant cane, 12 % by the following ratoons, 20 % remained in the soil and 37 % was not found in the soil-system (NOC). For crop residues 15N-trash + roots 26 % was recovered by sugarcane, 51 % remained in soil, and 23 % was NOC. N-fertilizer applied to ratoons nearly doubled the amount of N from green harvest residues recovered by sugarcane; 17 vs. 31 %. Water balances and crop evapotranspiration were correlated with 15N-sources recoveries and cumulative N recovery presented a positive correlation with evapotranspiration (2005 to 2009). The 15N balances indicated that crop residues are supplementary sources of N for sugarcane and may contribute to reduce N fertilizer needs since trash is annually added to the soil

Pacingstrategien während des Sprint Prologs der U23 Weltmeisterschaften 2018 im Langlauf: Analyse basierend auf Geschlecht und Nationalität

Hintergrund: Der Prolog des Langlauf-Skisprints umfasst ein 2-4 minütiges Zeitfahren in abwechslungsreichem Gelände. Der Qualifikationserfolg hängt unter anderem von der Tempostrategie ab. Die relativen Anstrengungen im Aufstieg, der Ebene und der Abfahrt sind dabei ausschlaggebend und geschlechterspezifisch. Mögliche regional-kulturelle Differenzen bezüglich terrain-spezifischer Laufleistungen sind bisher noch nicht systematisch erfasst worden und basieren primär auf anekdotischer Evidenz. Methoden: An den U23 Langlaufweltmeisterschaften 2018 im Freestyle Sprintprolog wurden die Laufgeschwindigkeiten im aufsteigenden, abfallenden und ebenen Gelände anhand von zeitsynchronisierten Videoaufzeichnungen und den offiziellen Rennzeitdaten erhoben. Athletinnen und Athleten mit weniger als 10 % Zeitverlust auf die Siegerzeit, wurden in die Analyse miteinbezogen (Damen = 43; Herren = 64). Die Athletinnen und Athleten wurden in die Regionen europäischer Alpenraum (ALP), Skandinavien (SCA), Asien (ASI) und Amerika (AME) eingeteilt. Absolute und relative Leistungsindizien wurden in allen drei Terrains ermittelt. Regionale und geschlechterbasierte Gruppenunterschiede wurden mittels Varianzanalysen (ANOVA) analysiert. Ergebnisse: Zentrale Befunde sind: 1) die absolute und relative Laufleistung im Aufstieg zeigt den stärksten Zusammenhang mit der Prologleistung im Vergleich mit Flach- und Abfahrtsterrain; 2) während klare Geschlechterunterschiede bezüglich absoluten Laufgeschwindigkeiten in allen drei Topographien erkennbar sind, verbleibt bei Betrachtung der relativen Laufleistungen einzig im Aufstieg ein signifikanter Unterschied; 3) regionale Gruppenunterschiede der relativen Laufleistungen konnten geschlechterübergreifend nicht gefunden werden. Schlussfolgerungen: Die Aufstiegsleistung wird als bedeutendster Prädikator für den Erfolg gewertet. Die Geschlechterdifferenzen im Aufstiegsgelände bleiben bei der normalisierten Laufleistung bestehen, nicht jedoch im Flach- und Abfahrtsgelände. Geschlechterübergreifend kann daher ein priorisiertes Training der Aufstiege empfohlen werden. Die aktuellen Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die allgemeinen Leistungsmerkmale bezüglich den Tempostrategien zwischen den Nationen ähnlich sind

An Anticancer Rhenium Tricarbonyl Targets Fe-S Cluster Biogenesis in Ovarian Cancer Cells.

Target identification remains a critical challenge in inorganic drug discovery to deconvolute potential polypharmacology. Herein, we describe an improved approach to prioritize candidate protein targets based on a combination of dose-dependent chemoproteomics and treatment effects in living cancer cells for the rhenium tricarbonyl compound TRIP. Chemoproteomics revealed 89 distinct dose-dependent targets with concentrations of competitive saturation between 0.1 and 32 μM despite the broad proteotoxic effects of TRIP. Target-response networks revealed two highly probable targets of which the Fe-S cluster biogenesis factor NUBP2 was competitively saturated by free TRIP at nanomolar concentrations. Importantly, TRIP treatment led to a down-regulation of Fe-S cluster containing proteins and upregulated ferritin. Fe-S cluster depletion was further verified by assessing mitochondrial bioenergetics. Consequently, TRIP emerges as a first-in-class modulator of the scaffold protein NUBP2, which disturbs Fe-S cluster biogenesis at sub-cytotoxic concentrations in ovarian cancer cells

Modified Poly(ε-caprolactone)s: An Efficient and Renewable Access via Thia-Michael Addition and Baeyer–Villiger Oxidation

The preparation of a novel class of ε-caprolactone (CL) monomers, modified at the β-position of the ester function, is described. The efficient thia-Michael addition to cyclohex-2-en-1-one and subsequent Baeyer–Villiger oxidation provided the regioselectively modified CL monomers. To enable a sustainable Baeyer–Villiger oxidation, several reaction procedures were investigated. In order to test a controlled ring-opening polymerization of the prepared monomers, the kinetics were studied and the monomer to initiator ratios were varied in order to prepare poly­(ε-caprolactone)­s with different molecular weights and different side groups