Self-medication by orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus) using bioactive properties of Dracaena cantleyi

This is the final version of the article. Available from Springer Nature via the DOI in this record.Animals self-medicate using a variety of plant and arthropod secondary metabolites by either ingesting them or anointing them to their fur or skin apparently to repel ectoparasites and treat skin diseases. In this respect, much attention has been focused on primates. Direct evidence for self-medication among the great apes has been limited to Africa. Here we document self-medication in the only Asian great ape, orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus), and for the first time, to our knowledge, the external application of an anti-inflammatory agent in animals. The use of leaf extracts from Dracaena cantleyi by orang-utan has been observed on several occasions; rubbing a foamy mixture of saliva and leaf onto specific parts of the body. Interestingly, the local indigenous human population also use a poultice of these leaves for the relief of body pains. We present pharmacological analyses of the leaf extracts from this species, showing that they inhibit TNFα-induced inflammatory cytokine production (E-selectin, ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and IL-6). This validates the topical anti-inflammatory properties of this plant and provides a possible function for its use by orang-utans. This is the first evidence for the deliberate external application of substances with demonstrated bioactive potential for self-medication in great apes.We thank our financial supporters: the Wildlife Conservation Society, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Great Apes Conservation Fund, Primate Conservation Inc., Foundation UMI – Saving of Pongidae, the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation, NERC (Natural Environmental Research Council) and the University of Exeter. L.R. and K.D. were supported by the Ministry of Education Youth and Sports, Czech Republic (grant LO1204 from the National Program of Sustainability and Agricultural Research). We are also very grateful to grant No. P505/11/1163 from The Grant Agency of The Czech Republic and to Prof. Jitka Ulrichová for the kind gift of HUVEC cells

Detection of fast neutrons with the pixel detector Timepix3

We examined the response of the pixel detector Timepix3 with silicon sensor to well-defined fast neutron fields. Part of the pixel detector silicon sensor was additionally equipped with a neutron mask of distinct converter regions. The mask consists of separate thermal and fast neutron regions using 6LiF and hydrogen (plastic) converters, respectively. Measurements were performed with mono-energetic fast neutrons produced at D-D and D-T sources from a Van de Graaff accelerator and a neutron generator, respectively. Data were collected with low background including measurements with moderator material to provide a thermalized neutron component. All the signals produced in the detector were analyzed and decomposed in terms of the spectral -tracking response of the pixel detector. The effect of the fast and thermal components of the neutron converter were determined and compared with direct interactions in the silicon sensor which are significant and can be dominant for fast neutrons. We identify and classify the neutron-induced tracks in terms of the broad-type particle-event track classes. A partial overlap is unavoidable with tracks from direct detection of other radiations in particular protons and low-energy light ions as well as X rays. This will limit the neutron-event discrimination in mixed-radiation fields. The detection response according sensor-mask region was examined and calibrated for the investigated neutron fields. The neutron detection efficiency is selectively derived for the detector particle-event classes. This approach enables to enhance the neutron-discrimination and suppress background and unwanted events. This work enables to extend the response matrix of the detector for broad-type radiations to include neutrons both fast and thermal. The results serve to enhance the sensitivity and determine the neutron component in unknown and mixed-radiation fields such as outer space and particle radiotherapy environments.Web of Science181art. no. P0100