The psychology of primate cooperation and competition : a call for realigning research agendas

Cooperation and competition are two key components of social life. Current research agendas investigating the psychological underpinnings of competition and cooperation in non-human primates are misaligned. The majority of work on competition has been done in the context of theory of mind and deception, while work on cooperation has mostly focused on collaboration and helping. The current impression that theory of mind is not necessarily implicated in cooperative activities and that helping could not be an integral part of competition might therefore be rather misleading. Furthermore, theory of mind research has mainly focused on cognitive aspects like the type of stimuli controlling responses, the nature of representation and how those representations are acquired, while collaboration and helping have focused primarily on motivational aspects like prosociality, common goals and a sense of justice and other-regarding concerns. We present the current state of these two bodies of research paying special attention to how they have developed and diverged over the years. We propose potential directions to realign the research agendas to investigate the psychological underpinnings of cooperation and competition in primates and other animals.PostprintPeer reviewe

Facial Erythema of Rosacea - Aetiology, Different Pathophysiologies and Treatment Options

Rosacea is a common chronic skin condition that displays a broad diversity of clinical manifestations. Although the pathophysiological mechanisms of the 4 subtypes are not completely elucidated, the key elements often present are augmented immune responses of the innate and adaptive immune system, and neurovascular dysregulation. The most common primary feature of all cutaneous sub-types of rosacea is transient or persistent facial erythema. Perilesional erythema of papules or pustules is based on the sustained vasodilation and plasma extravasation induced by the inflammatory infiltrates. In contrast, transient erythema has rapid kinetics induced by trigger factors independent of papules or pustules. Amongst the current treatments for facial erythema of rosacea, only the selective alpha(2)-adrenergic receptor agonist brimonidine 0.33% topical gel (Mirvaso (R)) is approved. This review aims to discuss the potential causes, different pathophysiologies and current treatment options to address the unmet medical needs of patients with facial erythema of rosacea

Facial Erythema of Rosacea - Aetiology, Different Pathophysiologies and Treatment Options

Rosacea is a common chronic skin condition that displays a broad diversity of clinical manifestations. Although the pathophysiological mechanisms of the 4 subtypes are not completely elucidated, the key elements often present are augmented immune responses of the innate and adaptive immune system, and neurovascular dysregulation. The most common primary feature of all cutaneous sub-types of rosacea is transient or persistent facial erythema. Perilesional erythema of papules or pustules is based on the sustained vasodilation and plasma extravasation induced by the inflammatory infiltrates. In contrast, transient erythema has rapid kinetics induced by trigger factors independent of papules or pustules. Amongst the current treatments for facial erythema of rosacea, only the selective alpha(2)-adrenergic receptor agonist brimonidine 0.33% topical gel (Mirvaso (R)) is approved. This review aims to discuss the potential causes, different pathophysiologies and current treatment options to address the unmet medical needs of patients with facial erythema of rosacea

Cooperative problem solving in giant otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) and Asian small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinerea)

Open access funding provided by Max Planck Society.Cooperative problem solving has gained a lot of attention over the past two decades but the range of species studied is still small. This limits the possibility of understanding the evolution of the socio-cognitive underpinnings of cooperation. Lutrinae show significant variations in socio-ecology but their cognitive abilities are not well studied. In the first experimental study of otter social cognition, we presented two species - giant otters and Asian small-clawed otters - with a cooperative problem-solving task. The loose string task requires two individuals to simultaneously pull on either end of a rope in order to access food. This task has been used with a larger number of species (for the most part primates and birds) and thus allows for wider cross species comparison. We found no differences in performance between species. Both giant otters and Asian small-clawed otters were able to solve the task successfully when the coordination requirements were minimal. However, when the temporal coordination demands were increased, performance decreased either due to a lack of understanding of the role of a partner or due to difficulty inhibiting action. In conclusion, two species of otters show some ability to cooperate, quite similar to most other species presented with the same task. However, to draw further conclusions and more nuanced comparisons between the two otter species further studies with varied methodologies will be necessary.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Human In-Vivo Bioassay for the Tissue-Specific Measurement of Nociceptive and Inflammatory Mediators

This in-vivo human bioassay can be used to study human volunteers and patients. Samples are collected from pertinent tissue sites such as the skin via aseptically inserted microdialysis catheters (Dermal Dialysis, Erlangen, Germany). Illustrated in this example is the collection of interstitial fluid from experimentally inflamed skin in human volunteers. Sample collection can be combined with other experimental tests. For example, the simultaneous assessment of locally released biochemicals and subjective sensitivity to painful stimuli in experimentally inflamed skin provides the critical biochemical-behavioral link to identify biomarkers of pain and inflammation. Presented assay in the living human organism allows for mechanistic insight into tissue-specific processes underlying pain and/or inflammation. The method is also well suited to examine the effectiveness of existing or novel interventions - such as new drug candidates - targeting the treatment of painful and/or inflammatory conditions. This article will provide a detailed description on the use of microdialysis techniques for collecting interstitial fluid from experimentally inflamed skin lesion of human study subjects. Interstitial fluid samples are typically processed with aid of multiplex bead array immunoassays allowing assaying up to 100 analytes in samples as small in volume as 50 microliters

Галльский пласт в современном немецком литературном языке: структурно-системный и функционально-динамический аспекты

Диссертационное исследование Меремкуловой Татьяны Игоревны выполнено в русле контактной лингвистики, стремительно развивающейся ветви исторического языкознания, и посвящено определению структурно-системных и функционально-динамических характеристик заимствованных лексических единиц галльского пласта в системе современного немецкого литературного языка и в синхронной немецкой литературной речи.The dissertation research of Meremkulova Tatyana Igorevna is carried out in the mainstream of the contact linguistics, the rapidly developing branch of historical linguistics, and is devoted to the determination of structural-systemic and functional-dynamic characteristics of the borrowed lexical units of the Gallic layer in the system of modern German literary language and in synchronous German literary speech

A proposed order-level classification in Oligochaeta (Annelida, Clitellata)

The purpose of our contribution is to propose a robust and practical order-level classification of the families of Oligochaeta, that is, non-leech Clitellata. The order level is mandatory in Linnaean rank-based classification and is also required in many internet-based biodiversity databases. However, it has received little attention in oligochaete systematics, and the few available order-level classifications of Oligochaeta no longer represent phylogenetic relationships adequately. Our proposal is based on corroborated molecular phylogenetic evidence and takes as benchmarks class level for Clitellata, subclass level for Oligochaeta and Hirudinea, and order level for Crassiclitellata, the monophylum that includes most of the earthworm taxa. As a result, eleven orders are proposed: A lluroididA Timm & Martin, 2015; CApilloventridA Timm, n. ordo; CrAssiClitellAtA Jamieson, 1988; enChytrAeidA Kasprzak, 1984; hAplotAxidA Brinkhurst & Jamieson, 1971; lumbriCulidA Brinkhurst & Jamieson, 1971; moniligAstridA Brinkhurst & Jamieson, 1971; nArApidA Timm, n. ordo; pArvidrilidA Timm, n. ordo; rAndiellidA Jamieson, 1988; tubifiCidA Jamieson, 1978. This order-level classification is robust and easily adaptable to future insights into phylogenetic relationships

Local Gene Expression Changes after UV-Irradiation of Human Skin

UV-irradiation is a well-known translational pain model inducing local inflammation and primary hyperalgesia. The mediators and receptor proteins specifically contributing to mechanical or heat hyperalgesia are still unclear. Therefore, we irradiated buttock skin of humans (n = 16) with 5-fold MED of UV-C and assessed the time course of hyperalgesia and axon reflex erythema. In parallel, we took skin biopsies at 3, 6 and 24 h after UVC irradiation and assessed gene expression levels (RT-PCR ) of neurotrophins (e.g. NGF, BDNF, GDNF), ion channels (e.g. NaV1.7, TRPV1), inflammatory mediators (e.g. CCL-2, CCL-3) and enzymes (e.g. PGES, COX2). Hyperalgesia to mechanical impact (12 m/s) and heat (48°C) stimuli was significant at 6 h (p<0.05 and p<0.01) and 24 h (p<0.005 and p<0.01) after irradiation. Axon reflex erythema upon mechanical and thermal stimuli was significantly increased 3 h after irradiation and particularly strong at 6 h. A significant modulation of 9 genes was found post UV-C irradiation, including NGF (3, 6, 24 h), TrkA (6, 24 h), artemin, bradykinin-1 receptor, COX-2, CCL-2 and CCL-3 (3 and 6 h each). A significant down-regulation was observed for TRPV1 and iNOS (6, 24 h). Individual one-to-one correlation analysis of hyperalgesia and gene expression revealed that changes of Nav1.7 (SCN9A) mRNA levels at 6 and 24 h correlated to the intensity of mechanical hyperalgesia recorded at 24 h post UV-irradiation (Pearson r: 0.57, p<0.04 and r: 0.82, p<0.001). Expression of COX-2 and mPGES at 6 h correlated to the intensity of heat-induced erythema 24 h post UV (r: 0.57, p<0.05 for COX-2 and r: 0.83, p<0.001 for PGES). The individual correlation analyses of functional readouts (erythema and pain response) with local expression changes provided evidence for a potential role of Nav1.7 in mechanical hyperalgesia