Grooming coercion and the post-conflict trading of social services in wild Barbary macaques

In animal and human societies, social services such as protection from predators are often exchanged between group members. The tactics that individuals display to obtain a service depend on its value and on differences between individuals in their capacity to aggressively obtain it. Here we analysed the exchange of valuable social services (i.e. grooming and relationship repair) in the aftermath of a conflict, in wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus). The relationship repair function of post-conflict affiliation (i.e. reconciliation) was apparent in the victim but not in the aggressor. Conversely, we found evidence for grooming coercion by the aggressor; when the victim failed to give grooming soon after a conflict they received renewed aggression from the aggressor. We argue that post-conflict affiliation between former opponents can be better described as a trading of social services rather than coercion alone, as both animals obtain some benefits (i.e. grooming for the aggressor and relationship repair for the victim). Our study is the first to test the importance of social coercion in the aftermath of a conflict. Differences in competitive abilities can affect the exchange of services and the occurrence of social coercion in animal societies. This may also help explain the variance between populations and species in their social behaviour and conflict management strategies

Estimation of Plasmodium falciparum Transmission Intensity in Lilongwe, Malawi, by Microscopy, Rapid Diagnostic Testing, and Nucleic Acid Detection.

: Estimates of malaria transmission intensity (MTI) typically rely upon microscopy or rapid diagnostic testing (RDT). However, these methods are less sensitive than nucleic acid amplification techniques and may underestimate parasite prevalence. We compared microscopy, RDT, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia as part of an MTI study of 800 children and adults conducted in Lilongwe, Malawi. PCR detected more cases of parasitemia than microscopy or RDT. Age less than 5 years predicted parasitemia detected by PCR alone (adjusted odds ratio = 1.61, 95% confidence interval = 1.09-2.38, Wald P = 0.02). In addition, we identified one P. falciparum parasite with a false-negative RDT result due to a suspected deletion of the histidine-rich protein 2 (hrp2) gene and used a novel, ultrasensitive PCR assay to detect low-level parasitemia missed by traditional PCR. Molecular methods should be considered for use in future transmission studies as a supplement to RDT or microscopy.<br/

Learning in the Palaver Hut: The ‘Africa Study Visit’ as teaching tool.

noThe aim of this article is to assess the experiential learning environment of the African Study Visit (ASV). It presents a theoretically grounded analysis of the ASV. Although field visits are not a new phenomenon within Higher Education, they seem, but with few exceptions, to be considered as an add-on teaching method. By drawing from the experiential learning literature, we demonstrate that there are sound pedagogical reasons for incorporating field visits like the ASV into the curriculum as stand-alone components. Thus, the original contribution of this article is to place the ASV within the experiential learning literature such that the theoretical, practical and conceptual benefits for students are understood. Its significance is that this article offers a set of practices from an experiential learning perspective that can be used for deepening the levels of comprehension of political issues in Africa for international studies students

Comment on “The extent of forest in dryland biomes”

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from American Association for the Advancement of Science via the DOI in this record.Bastin et al. (Reports, 12 May 2017, p. 635) infer forest as more globally extensive than previously estimated using tree cover data. However, their forest definition does not reflect ecosystem function or biotic composition. These structural and climatic definitions inflate forest estimates across the tropics and undermine conservation goals, leading to inappropriate management policies and practices in tropical grassy ecosystems

Preference for novel faces in male infant monkeys predicts cerebrospinal fluid oxytocin concentrations later in life

The ability to recognize individuals is a critical skill acquired early in life for group living species. In primates, individual recognition occurs predominantly through face discrimination. Despite the essential adaptive value of this ability, robust individual differences in conspecific face recognition exist, yet its associated biology remains unknown. Although pharmacological administration of oxytocin has implicated this neuropeptide in face perception and social memory, no prior research has tested the relationship between individual differences in face recognition and endogenous oxytocin concentrations. Here we show in a male rhesus monkey cohort (N = 60) that infant performance in a task used to determine face recognition ability (specifically, the ability of animals to show a preference for a novel face) robustly predicts cerebrospinal fluid, but not blood, oxytocin concentrations up to five years after behavioural assessment. These results argue that central oxytocin biology may be related to individual face perceptual abilities necessary for group living, and that these differences are stable traits

Grooming Up the Hierarchy: The Exchange of Grooming and Rank-Related Benefits in a New World Primate

Seyfarth's model assumes that female primates derive rank-related benefits from higher-ranking females in exchange for grooming. As a consequence, the model predicts females prefer high-ranking females as grooming partners and compete for the opportunity to groom them. Therefore, allogrooming is expected to be directed up the dominance hierarchy and to occur more often between females with adjacent ranks. Although data from Old World primates generally support the model, studies on the relation between grooming and dominance rank in the New World genus Cebus have found conflicting results, showing considerable variability across groups and species. In this study, we investigated the pattern of grooming in wild tufted capuchin females (Cebus apella nigritus) in Iguazú National Park, Argentina by testing both the assumption (i.e., that females gain rank-related return benefits from grooming) and predictions (i.e., that females direct grooming up the dominance hierarchy and the majority of grooming occurs between females with adjacent ranks) of Seyfarth's model. Study subjects were 9 adult females belonging to a single group. Results showed that grooming was given in return for tolerance during naturally occurring feeding, a benefit that higher-ranking females can more easily grant. Female grooming was directed up the hierarchy and was given more often to partners with similar rank. These findings provide supporting evidence for both the assumption and predictions of Seyfarth's model and represent, more generally, the first evidence of reciprocal behavioural interchanges driven by rank-related benefits in New World female primates

Cryptosporidium Priming Is More Effective than Vaccine for Protection against Cryptosporidiosis in a Murine Protein Malnutrition Model

Cryptosporidium is a major cause of severe diarrhea, especially in malnourished children. Using a murine model of C. parvum oocyst challenge that recapitulates clinical features of severe cryptosporidiosis during malnutrition, we interrogated the effect of protein malnutrition (PM) on primary and secondary responses to C. parvum challenge, and tested the differential ability of mucosal priming strategies to overcome the PM-induced susceptibility. We determined that while PM fundamentally alters systemic and mucosal primary immune responses to Cryptosporidium, priming with C. parvum (106 oocysts) provides robust protective immunity against re-challenge despite ongoing PM. C. parvum priming restores mucosal Th1-type effectors (CD3+CD8+CD103+ T-cells) and cytokines (IFNγ, and IL12p40) that otherwise decrease with ongoing PM. Vaccination strategies with Cryptosporidium antigens expressed in the S. Typhi vector 908htr, however, do not enhance Th1-type responses to C. parvum challenge during PM, even though vaccination strongly boosts immunity in challenged fully nourished hosts. Remote non-specific exposures to the attenuated S. Typhi vector alone or the TLR9 agonist CpG ODN-1668 can partially attenuate C. parvum severity during PM, but neither as effectively as viable C. parvum priming. We conclude that although PM interferes with basal and vaccine-boosted immune responses to C. parvum, sustained reductions in disease severity are possible through mucosal activators of host defenses, and specifically C. parvum priming can elicit impressively robust Th1-type protective immunity despite ongoing protein malnutrition. These findings add insight into potential correlates of Cryptosporidium immunity and future vaccine strategies in malnourished children

GPR80/99, proposed to be the P2Y15 receptor activated by adenosine and AMP, is not a P2Y receptor

The orphan receptor GPR80 (also called GPR99) was recently reported to be the P2Y15 receptor activated by AMP and adenosine and coupled to increases in cyclic AMP accumulation and intracellular Ca2+ mobilization (Inbe et al. J Biol Chem 2004; 279: 19790–9[12]). However, the cell line (HEK293) used to carry out those studies endogenously expresses A2A and A2B adenosine receptors as well as multiple P2Y receptors, which complicates the analysis of a potential P2Y receptor. To determine unambiguously whether GPR80 is a P2Y receptor subtype, HA-tagged GPR80 was either stably expressed in CHO cells or transiently expressed in COS-7 and HEK293 cells, and cell surface expression was verified by radioimmunoassay (RIA). COS-7 cells overexpressing GPR80 showed a consistent twofold increase in basal inositol phosphate accumulation. However, neither adenosine nor AMP was capable of promoting accumulation of either cyclic AMP or inositol phosphates in any of the three GPR80-expressing cells. A recent paper (He et al. Nature 2004; 429: 188–93 [15]) reported that GPR80 is a Gq-coupled receptor activated by the citric acid cycle intermediate, α-ketoglutarate. Consistent with this report, α-ketoglutarate promoted inositol phosphate accumulation in CHO and HEK293 cells expressing GPR80, and pretreatment of GPR80-expressing COS-7 cells with glutamate dehydrogenase, which converts α-ketoglutarate to glutamate, decreased basal levels of inositol phosphates. Taken together, these data demonstrate that GPR80 is not activated by adenosine, AMP or other nucleotides, but instead is activated by α-ketoglutarate. Therefore, GPR80 is not a new member of the P2Y receptor family

Upregulation of P2Y2 receptors by retinoids in normal human epidermal keratinocytes

Retinoids, vitamin A derivatives, are important regulators of the growth and differentiation of skin cells. Although retinoids are therapeutically used for several skin ailments, little is known about their effects on P2 receptors, known to be involved in various functions in the skin. DNA array analysis showed that treatment of normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEKs) with all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), an agonist to RAR (retinoic acid receptor), enhanced the expression of mRNA for the P2Y2 receptor, a metabotropic P2 receptor that is known to be involved in the proliferation of the epidermis. The expression of other P2 receptors in NHEKs was not affected by ATRA. ATRA increased the mRNA for the P2Y2 receptor in a concentration-dependent fashion (1 nM to 1 μM). Am80, a synthesized agonist to RAR, showed a similar enhancement, whereas 9-cis-retinoic acid (9-cisRA), an agonist to RXR (retinoid X receptor), enhanced P2Y2 gene expression to a lesser extent. Ca2+ imaging analysis showed that ATRA also increased the function of P2Y2 receptors in NHEKs. Retinoids are known to enhance the turnover of the epidermis by increasing both proliferation and terminal differentiation. The DNA microarray analysis also revealed that ATRA upregulates various genes involved in the differentiation of NHEKs. Our present results suggest that retinoids, at least in part, exert their proliferative effects by upregulating P2Y2 receptors in NHEKs. This effect of retinoids may be closely related to their therapeutic effect against various ailments or aging events in skins such as over-keratinization, pigmentation and re-modeling