Chimpanzee faces under the magnifying glass: emerging methods reveal cross-species similarities and individuality

Independently, we created descriptive systems to characterize chimpanzee facial behavior, responding to a common need to have an objective, standardized coding system to ask questions about primate facial behaviors. Even with slightly different systems, we arrive at similar outcomes, with convergent conclusions about chimpanzee facial mobility. This convergence is a validation of the importance of the approach, and provides support for the future use of a facial action coding system for chimpanzees,ChimpFACS. Chimpanzees share many facial behaviors with those of humans. Therefore, processes and mechanisms that explain individual differences in facial activity can be compared with the use of a standardized systems such asChimpFACSandFACS. In this chapter we describe our independent methodological approaches, comparing how we arrived at our facial coding categories. We present some Action Descriptors (ADs) from Gaspar’s initial studies, especially focusing on an ethogram of chimpanzee and bonobo facial behavior, based on studies conducted between 1997 and 2004 at three chimpanzee colonies (The Detroit Zoo; Cleveland Metroparks Zoo; and Burger’s Zoo) and two bonobo colonies (The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium; The Milwaukee County Zoo). We discuss the potential significance of arising issues, the minor qualitative species differences that were found, and the larger quantitative differences in particular facial behaviors observed between species, e.g., bonobos expressed more movements containing particular action units (Brow Lowerer, Lip Raiser, Lip Corner Puller) compared with chimpanzees. The substantial interindividual variation in facial behavior within each species was most striking. Considering individual differences and the impact of development, we highlight the flexibility in facial activity of chimpanzees. We discuss the meaning of facial behaviors in nonhuman primates, addressing specifically individual attributes of Social Attraction, facial expressivity, and the connection of facial behavior to emotion. We do not rule out the communicative function of facial behavior, in which case an individual’s properties of facial behavior are seen as influencing his or her social life, but provide strong arguments in support of the role of facial behavior in the expression of internal states

Buried Bedrock Topography of the Cannon River System Around Northfield, Minnesota

A geophysical survey in the area of Northfield, Minnesota, involving electrical earth resistivity profiling and seismic refraction soundings, showed sizeable buried river channels in the bedrock in the Cannon River Valley which greatly increase in size downstream of Northfield. The channels upstream from the Northfield appear to be continuous and connect with the large buried channel between Northfield and Cannon Falls. The major buried valley deviates from the modern course of the Cannon River within the City of Northfield, but appears to follow elsewhere

Observation of Magnetic Supercooling of the Transition to the Vortex State

We demonstrate that the transition from the high-field state to the vortex state in a nanomagnetic disk shows the magnetic equivalent of supercooling. This is evidence that this magnetic transition can be described in terms of a modified Landau first-order phase transition. To accomplish this we have measured the bulk magnetization of single magnetic disks using nanomechanical torsional resonator torque magnetometry. This allows observation of single vortex creation events without averaging over an array of disks or over multiple runs.Comment: 11 pages preprint, 4 figures, accepted to New Journal of Physic

UGA’s Green Infrastructure Plan: Student Envisioned Plans to Improve Ecosystem Services on Campus

Proceedings of the 2011 Georgia Water Resources Conference, April 11, 12, and 13, 2011, Athens, Georgia.Graduate students from the “Nature and Sustainability” studio course at UGA’s College of Environment and Design created Green Infrastructure Plans for UGA’s Campus. Objectives of this service learning project included gathering inventory information, analyzing existing conditions, garnering stakeholder input and crafting plans at two scales. Students individually prepared campus wide plans, and then created site plans for a specific area. These proposed interventions were based on creating or enhancing a network of linkages and hubs (corridors and patches), otherwise known as Green Infrastructure, which supports ecosystem services such as water and nutrient cycling. Unfortunately, legacy land use and substantial impermeable area on campus hinders ecosystem function. In order to reverse these trends to approach a more sustainable trajectory, students sought to preserve, enhance and/or restore critical ecosystem services. This planning process may inform future planning efforts undertaken by the Office of University Architects to improve the green infrastructure of campus and further sustainability goals.Sponsored by: Georgia Environmental Protection Division U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Water Science Center U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Water Resources Institute The University of Georgia, Water Resources FacultyThis book was published by Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2152. The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Research Institutes Authorization Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-307) or the other conference sponsors

Absence of Staphylococcus aureus in wild populations of fish supports a spillover hypothesis

Staphylococcus aureus is a human commensal and opportunistic pathogen that also infects other animals. In humans and livestock, where S. aureus is most studied, strains are specialized for different host species. Recent studies have also found S. aureus in diverse wild animals. However, it remains unclear whether these isolates are also specialized for their hosts or whether their presence is due to repeated spillovers from source populations. This study focuses on S. aureus in fish, testing the spillover hypothesis in two ways. First, we examined 12 S. aureus isolates obtained from the internal and external organs of a farmed fish. While all isolates were from clonal complex 45, genomic diversity indicates repeated acquisition. The presence of a φSa3 prophage containing human immune evasion genes suggests that the source was originally human. Second, we tested for S. aureus in wild fish that were isolated from likely sources. In particular, we sampled 123 brown trout and their environment at 16 sites in the remote Scottish Highlands with variable levels of exposure to humans, birds, and livestock. This screen found no S. aureus infection in any of the wild populations or their environment. Together, these results support that the presence of S. aureus in fish and aquaculture is due to spillover from humans rather than specialization. Given the trends of increasing fish consumption, a better understanding of the dynamics of S. aureus spillover in aquaculture will mitigate future risks to fish and human health

Phase transitions and configuration space topology

Equilibrium phase transitions may be defined as nonanalytic points of thermodynamic functions, e.g., of the canonical free energy. Given a certain physical system, it is of interest to understand which properties of the system account for the presence of a phase transition, and an understanding of these properties may lead to a deeper understanding of the physical phenomenon. One possible approach of this issue, reviewed and discussed in the present paper, is the study of topology changes in configuration space which, remarkably, are found to be related to equilibrium phase transitions in classical statistical mechanical systems. For the study of configuration space topology, one considers the subsets M_v, consisting of all points from configuration space with a potential energy per particle equal to or less than a given v. For finite systems, topology changes of M_v are intimately related to nonanalytic points of the microcanonical entropy (which, as a surprise to many, do exist). In the thermodynamic limit, a more complex relation between nonanalytic points of thermodynamic functions (i.e., phase transitions) and topology changes is observed. For some class of short-range systems, a topology change of the M_v at v=v_t was proved to be necessary for a phase transition to take place at a potential energy v_t. In contrast, phase transitions in systems with long-range interactions or in systems with non-confining potentials need not be accompanied by such a topology change. Instead, for such systems the nonanalytic point in a thermodynamic function is found to have some maximization procedure at its origin. These results may foster insight into the mechanisms which lead to the occurrence of a phase transition, and thus may help to explore the origin of this physical phenomenon.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure

A phase II study of temozolomide vs. procarbazine in patients with glioblastoma multiforme at first relapse.

A randomized, multicentre, open-label, phase II study compared temozolomide (TMZ), an oral second-generation alkylating agent, and procarbazine (PCB) in 225 patients with glioblastoma multiforme at first relapse. Primary objectives were to determine progression-free survival (PFS) at 6 months and safety for TMZ and PCB in adult patients who failed conventional treatment. Secondary objectives were to assess overall survival and health-related quality of life (HRQL). TMZ was given orally at 200 mg/m(2)/day or 150 mg/m(2)/day (prior chemotherapy) for 5 days, repeated every 28 days. PCB was given orally at 150 mg/m(2)/day or 125 mg/m(2)/day (prior chemotherapy) for 28 days, repeated every 56 days. HRQL was assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30 [+3]) and the Brain Cancer Module 20 (BCM20). The 6-month PFS rate for patients who received TMZ was 21%, which met the protocol objective. The 6-month PFS rate for those who received PCB was 8% (P = 0.008, for the comparison). Overall PFS significantly improved with TMZ, with a median PFS of 12.4 weeks in the TMZ group and 8.32 weeks in the PCB group (P = 0.0063). The 6-month overall survival rate for TMZ patients was 60% vs. 44% for PCB patients (P = 0.019). Freedom from disease progression was associated with maintenance of HRQL, regardless of treatment received. TMZ had an acceptable safety profile; most adverse events were mild or moderate in severity