564 research outputs found

    Complex Tasks Force Hand Laterality and Technological Behaviour in Naturalistically Housed Chimpanzees: Inferences in Hominin Evolution

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    Clear hand laterality patterns in humans are widely accepted. However, humans only elicit a significant hand laterality pattern when performing complementary role differentiation (CRD) tasks. Meanwhile, hand laterality in chimpanzees is weaker and controversial. Here we have reevaluated our results on hand laterality in chimpanzees housed in naturalistic environments at Fundació Mona (Spain) and Chimfunshi Wild Orphanage (Zambia). Our results show that the difference between hand laterality in humans and chimpanzees is not as great as once thought. Furthermore, we found a link between hand laterality and task complexity and also an even more interesting connection: CRD tasks elicited not only the hand laterality but also the use of tools. This paper aims to turn attention to the importance of this threefold connection in human evolution: the link between CRD tasks, hand laterality, and tool use, which has important evolutionary implications that may explain the development of complex behaviour in early hominins

    Direct and indirect genetic effects of a social supergene.

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    Indirect genetic effects describe phenotypic variation that results from differences in the genotypic composition of social partners. Such effects represent heritable sources of environmental variation in eusocial organisms because individuals are typically reared by their siblings. In the fire ant Solenopsis invicta, a social supergene exhibits striking indirect genetic effects on worker regulation of colony queen number, such that the genotypic composition of workers at the supergene determines whether colonies contain a single or multiple queens. We assessed the direct and indirect genetic effects of this supergene on gene expression in brains and abdominal tissues from laboratory-reared workers and compared these with previously published data from field-collected prereproductive queens. We found that direct genetic effects caused larger gene expression changes and were more consistent across tissue types and castes than indirect genetic effects. Indirect genetic effects influenced the expression of many loci but were generally restricted to the abdominal tissues. Further, indirect genetic effects were only detected when the genotypic composition of social partners differed throughout the development and adult life of focal workers, and were often only significant with relatively lenient statistical cutoffs. Our study provides insight into direct and indirect genetic effects of a social supergene on gene regulatory dynamics across tissues and castes in a complex society

    Indigenous artifacts of Adi tribe in Arunachal Pradesh: Are they waning amidst thewaves of globalization?

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    The tribals lead the life with natural simplicity relying on primal truths reinforced by eternal values. The strength of the tribes is that they are able to successfully cling to the primal skills and natural simplicity. Their creations speak of evolutions over time, and the arts and crafts created by them have timeless appeal. The primal instinct in all of us is evoked whenever we come across the crudest tribal handicrafts. The present case study was conducted during August and September 2019 and the study included combination of methods such as research viz., household survey of 44 Adi families, followed by a focused group discussion was adopted and also documented the artifacts of Adi tribe in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Further, the study also aimed at unearthing the kinds of possible threats that arise due to globalization which may affect traditional craftsmanship. Multitudinal sets of traditional artifacts created out of indigenous wisdom have beendocumented which affirm that the life of the Adi is intertwined with the forest products especially bamboo, canes and their products. However, the prevailing trend of globalization, with characteristics of immense, unexpected emphasis on capital, labour and information, is having growing influence on material culture and in this scenario, especially new generationprefers more of plastic products in their day to day lifestyle. On the contrary, traditional artifacts of Adi could offer innovative and sustainable solutions which can act as alternatives to plastic products

    Indigenous artifacts of Adi tribe in Arunachal Pradesh: Are they waning amidst the waves of globalization?

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    277-283The tribals lead the life with natural simplicity relying on primal truths reinforced by eternal values. The strength of the tribes is that they are able to successfully cling to the primal skills and natural simplicity. Their creations speak of evolutions over time, and the arts and crafts created by them have timeless appeal. The primal instinct in all of us is evoked whenever we come across the crudest tribal handicrafts. The present case study was conducted during August and September 2019 and the study included combination of methods such as research viz., household survey of 44 Adi families, followed by a focused group discussion was adopted and also documented the artifacts of Adi tribe in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, India. Further, the study also aimed at unearthing the kinds of possible threats that arise due to globalization which may affect traditional craftsmanship. Multitudinal sets of traditional artifacts created out of indigenous wisdom have been documented which affirm that the life of the Adi is intertwined with the forest products especially bamboo, canes and their products. However, the prevailing trend of globalization, with characteristics of immense, unexpected emphasis on capital, labour and information, is having growing influence on material culture and in this scenario, especially new generation prefers more of plastic products in their day to day lifestyle. On the contrary, traditional artifacts of Adi could offer innovative and sustainable solutions which can act as alternatives to plastic products

    Dirac cohomology, elliptic representations and endoscopy

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    The first part (Sections 1-6) of this paper is a survey of some of the recent developments in the theory of Dirac cohomology, especially the relationship of Dirac cohomology with (g,K)-cohomology and nilpotent Lie algebra cohomology; the second part (Sections 7-12) is devoted to understanding the unitary elliptic representations and endoscopic transfer by using the techniques in Dirac cohomology. A few problems and conjectures are proposed for further investigations.Comment: This paper will appear in `Representations of Reductive Groups, in Honor of 60th Birthday of David Vogan', edited by M. Nervins and P. Trapa, published by Springe

    The cientificWorldJOURNAL Review Article Complex Tasks Force Hand Laterality and Technological Behaviour in Naturalistically Housed Chimpanzees: Inferences in Hominin Evolution

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    Clear hand laterality patterns in humans are widely accepted. However, humans only elicit a significant hand laterality pattern when performing complementary role differentiation (CRD) tasks. Meanwhile, hand laterality in chimpanzees is weaker and controversial. Here we have reevaluated our results on hand laterality in chimpanzees housed in naturalistic environments at Fundació Mona (Spain) and Chimfunshi Wild Orphanage (Zambia). Our results show that the difference between hand laterality in humans and chimpanzees is not as great as once thought. Furthermore, we found a link between hand laterality and task complexity and also an even more interesting connection: CRD tasks elicited not only the hand laterality but also the use of tools. This paper aims to turn attention to the importance of this threefold connection in human evolution: the link between CRD tasks, hand laterality, and tool use, which has important evolutionary implications that may explain the development of complex behaviour in early hominins

    Enfermos crónicos domiciliarios: valoración integral físico-cognitiva y caídas durante 3 años de seguimiento

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    ObjectiveTo assess the physical and cognitive capacity of chronically ill homebound patients, and the falls they suffered during three years of monitoring.DesignDescriptive, longitudinal study.Setting«Raval Nord» Health District, Barcelona.Patients and other participantsAll the 243 homebound chronic patients registered in the home care programme in May 1996 (67% women, average age 84).Measurements and main resultsAfter three years 16% had gone into an old people's home, 9% had moved house and 38% had died. The probability of not continuing in the programme after three years monitoring was related to less autonomy, presence of comorbidity, and worse cognitive capacity (p < 0.05). Of the 90 patients (37%) who remained active in May 1999, 41% showed disorders on the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ), with a significant relationship to greater age, less autonomy and the presence of comorbidity. Numerous alterations in analysis (21.6%) and linked illnesses (18.9%) were found in the patients with cognitive deterioration. 42% of the patients active in May'99 had fallen during the monitoring period. 10% of the falls involved fractures. The number of falls was higher when there was visual-auditory loss, consumption of psychiatric drugs or absence of use of orthopaedic aids. There was also a greater probability of falls in patients who only had a part-time carer (p < 0.05).ConclusionsIt is important to assess the autonomy, cognitive capacity and comorbidity of homebound chronic patients when monitoring them. Likewise, cognitive disorders and falls must be properly weighed, as they are common in this class of patient
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