The evolution of primate short-term memory

Short-term memory is implicated in a range of cognitive abilities and is critical for understanding primate cognitive evolution. To investigate the effects of phylogeny, ecology and sociality on short-term memory, we tested the largest and most diverse primate sample to date (421 non-human primates across 41 species) in an experimental delayed-response task. Our results confirm previous findings that longer delays decrease memory performance across species and taxa. Our analyses demonstrate a considerable contribution of phylogeny over ecological and social factors on the distribution of short-term memory performance in primates; closely related species had more similar short-term memory abilities. Overall, individuals in the branch of Hominoidea performed better compared to Cercopithecoidea, who in turn performed above Platyrrhini and Strepsirrhini. Interdependencies between phylogeny and socioecology of a given species presented an obstacle to disentangling the effects of each of these factors on the evolution of shortterm memory capacity. However, this study offers an important step forward in understanding the interspecies and individual variation in short-term memory ability by providing the first phylogenetic reconstruction of this trait’s evolutionary history. The dataset constitutes a unique resource for studying the evolution of primate cognition and the role of short-term memory in other cognitive abilities

Behavior of GCMS tar components in a water gas shift unit operated with tar-rich product gas from an industrial scale dual fluidized bed biomass steam gasification plant

The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-016-0205-y.In this paper, the behavior of gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GCMS) tar components in a three-stage water gas shift (WGS) unit is discussed. The GCMS tar measurements were carried out during the long-term operation (2250 h) of a WGS unit with tar-rich product gas from the commercial biomass steam gasification plant in Oberwart, Austria. In order to investigate the behavior of the GCMS tar components, four tar measurements were performed during the long-term operation of the WGS unit which employed a commercial Fe/Cr-based catalyst. The tar-rich product gas was extracted before reaching the scrubbing unit of the biomass steam gasification plant, therefore, the extracted gas contained a high amount of tar. In order to investigate the behavior of the GCMS tar in the WGS unit, the GCMS tar concentrations were determined at the inlet and the outlet of the WGS unit. The samples were taken during full load operation and during partial load operation of the WGS unit, respectively, the biomass steam gasification plant. In addition to the increase of the volumetric hydrogen content from about 40 % (d.b.) to 50 % (d.b.), the amount of GCMS tar was reduced (up to 38 %) as the gas passed through the WGS unit. No catalyst deactivation was observed. Furthermore, the efficiency of the hydrogen increase or the GCMS tar reduction did not depend on whether the operation of the WGS unit, respectively, the gasification plant was at partial load or full load.Austrian Research Promoting Agency (FFG) COMET Bioenergy2020

Influence of coated olivine on the conversion of intermediate products from decomposition of biomass tars during gasification

The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-016-0204-z.Steam gasification of solid biomass in dual fluidized bed systems is a suitable technology for the production of chemicals, fuels for transportation, electricity, and district heating. Interaction between biomass ash and bed material leads to the development of Ca-rich bed particle layers. Furthermore, incomplete decomposition of biomass leads to the formation of tar components; among these are stable intermediate products such as 1H-indene and stable gaseous hydrocarbons such as methane. In this work, the influence of bed particle layers on the conversion of intermediate products such as 1H-indene and methane via steam reforming was investigated by conducting experiments in a lab-scale test rig. Satisfying conversion of 1H-indene into gaseous molecules (e.g., CO, CO2, H2) was achieved with used, layered olivine, whereas fresh olivine showed significantly poorer performance. Since steam reforming was connected to the water-gas-shift reaction for the tested hydrocarbons, investigations regarding carbon monoxide conversion in the presence of steam were conducted as well. Furthermore, a comparison of the influence of fresh and used bed material concerning the conversion of methane is presented, showing that methane is not affected by the bed material, independent of the presence of particle layers.Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) COMET Bioenergy2020

The evolution of primate short-term memory

Short-term memory is implicated in a range of cognitive abilities and is critical for understanding primate cognitive evolution. To investigate the effects of phylogeny, ecology and sociality on short-term memory, we tested the largest and most diverse primate sample to date (421 non-human primates across 41 species) in an experimental delayed-response task. Our results confirm previous findings that longer delays decrease memory performance across species and taxa. Our analyses demonstrate a considerable contribution of phylogeny over ecological and social factors on the distribution of short-term memory performance in primates; closely related species had more similar short-term memory abilities. Overall, individuals in the branch of Hominoidea performed better compared to Cercopithecoidea, who in turn performed above Platyrrhini and Strepsirrhini. Interdependencies between phylogeny and socioecology of a given species presented an obstacle to disentangling the effects of each of these factors on the evolution of shortterm memory capacity. However, this study offers an important step forward in understanding the interspecies and individual variation in short-term memory ability by providing the first phylogenetic reconstruction of this trait’s evolutionary history. The dataset constitutes a unique resource for studying the evolution of primate cognition and the role of short-term memory in other cognitive abilities