Transfer of tools and food between groups of tufted capuchins (Cebus apella)

This research examined tool and food transfer between two groups of tufted capcuhin monkeys (Cebus apella). Subjects in one group transferred stones to subjects in a second group who in turn used the stones as cutting tools and then transferred food to subjects in the first group. Aspects of the capuchins' behavior are similar to those described for food-sharing in Cebus, cooperative tool use in Papio, and tool and food exchange in Pan. We propose that tool use and food-sharing facilitate tool and food transfer between captive groups of Cebus apella. Am. J. Primatol. 43:33–41, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Development of tool use in a macaque and a gorilla

The development of the capacity to use a stick as a tool was tested in a macaque (Macaca fuscata) and a gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) infants that had previously shown to be able to use strings and supports as dragging tools. Subjects were tested between 15 and 38 months of age. Different levels of competence between the subjects emerged over testing. The macaque developed a stereotyped strategy to cope with the problem, only getting random successes, whilst the gorilla developed a flexible strategy and revealed to be able to mentally represent the solution of the problem. In fact, when not successful using the stick, the gorilla thought out an alternative strategy, choosing and adapting a new object to use it as a tool.     

The social learning of tool use by orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus)

Very little is known about the social learning of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus), especially in the context of problem-solving situations such as tool use. Sixteen orangutans were presented with a rake-like tool and desirable but out-of-reach food. Eight subjects observed a human demonstrator use the tool in one way, while another eight observed the demonstrator use the tool in another way. Subjects behaved identically in the two experimental conditions, showing no effect of the type of demonstration observed. Analysis of individual learning curves suggested that a large component of individual trial-and-error learning was at work, even for two subjects who received additional trials with an orangutan demonstrator. This pattern of results suggests that subjects were paying attention to the general functional relations in the task and to the results obtained by the demonstrator, but not to the actual methods of tool use demonstrated. It is concluded that subjects in both conditions were employing emulation learning, not imitative learning.     

Acute exposure to power-frequency magnetic fields has no effect on the acquisition of a spatial learning task by adult male mice

A series of four experiments was performed to determine whether acute exposure to a range of 50 Hz magnetic fields had any effect on a learning task in adult male CD1 mice. A radial-arm maze placed within the bore of an electromagnet was used to assess spatial discrimination learning for food reward. Subjects were reduced to 85% of their free-feeding weight and were placed in the maze for up to 15 minutes each day for 10 days. Performance of the task was measured by using maximum likelihood techniques to calculate the probability that an animal would not reenter any given arm of the maze. Experimental subjects were exposed to a vertical, 50 Hz sinusoidal magnetic field at 5 μT, 50 μT, 0.5 mT, or 5.0 mT (rms). Control subjects were exposed only to a background time-varying field of less than 50 nT and the ambient static field of about 40 μT. The variation in the applied magnetic field was less than 5% except at the ends of the arms, where it approached 10%. It was found that all eight groups of subjects (n = 10 in all cases) showed similar increases in performance with testing, and the acquisition curve for each group of experimental subjects was not significantly different from that of their control group (P > 0.05 in all cases). It was concluded that exposure had no effect on learning at any flux density. This result is contrary to the findings of a number of preliminary studies, although other studies have reported that magnetic fields do not affect spatial learning in adult male rodents. It is possible that differences between experimental conditions might explain some of this apparent discrepancy. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Does malnutrition in utero determine diabetes and coronary heart disease in adulthood? Results from the Leningrad siege study,a cross sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between decreased maternal food intake and risk factors for coronary heart disease in adult life. DESIGN: Cross sectional study. SUBJECTS: 169 subjects exposed to malnutrition in utero (intrauterine group) during the siege of Leningrad (now St Petersburg) in 1941-4; 192 subjects born in Leningrad just before rationing began, before the siege (infant group); and 188 subjects born concurrently with the first two groups but outside the area of the siege (unexposed group). SETTING: Ott Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St Petersburg. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Development of risk factors for coronary heart disease and diabetes mellitus-obesity, blood pressure, glucose tolerance, insulin concentrations, lipids, albumin excretion rate, and clotting factors. RESULTS: There was no difference between the subjects exposed to starvation in utero and those starved during infant life in: (a) glucose tolerance (mean fasting glucose: intrauterine group 5.2 (95% confidence interval 5.1 to 5.3), infant group 5.3 (5.1 to 5.5), P = 0.94; mean 2 hour glucose: intrauterine group 6.1 (5.8 to 6.4), infant group 6.0 (5.7 to 6.3), P = 0.99); (b) insulin concentration; (c) blood pressure; (d) lipid concentration; or (e) coagulation factors. Concentrations of von Willebrand factor were raised in the intrauterine group (156.5 (79.1 to 309.5)) compared with the infant group (127.6 (63.9 to 254.8); P < 0.001), and female subjects in the intrauterine group had a stronger interaction between obesity and both systolic (P = 0.01) and diastolic (P = 0.04) blood pressure than in the infant group. Short adult stature was associated with raised concentrations of glucose and insulin 2 hours after a glucose load-independently of siege exposure. Subjects in the unexposed group had non-systematic differences in subscapular to triceps skinfold ratio, diastolic blood pressure, and clotting factors compared with the exposed groups. CONCLUSIONS: Intrauterine malnutrition was not associated with glucose intolerance, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, or cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Subjects exposed to malnutrition showed evidence of endothelial dysfunction and a stronger influence of obesity on blood pressure.     

Effects of early rearing conditions on problem‐solving skill in captive male chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Early rearing conditions of captive chimpanzees characterize behavioral differences in tool use, response to novelty, and sexual and maternal competence later in life. Restricted rearing conditions during early life hinder the acquisition and execution of such behaviors, which characterize the daily life of animals. This study examined whether rearing conditions affect adult male chimpanzees' behavior skills used for solving a problem with acquired locomotion behavior. Subjects were 13 male residents of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Uto: 5 wild‐born and 8 captive‐born. A pretest assessed bed building and tool use abilities to verify behavioral differences between wild‐ and captive‐born subjects, as earlier reports have described. Second, a banana‐access test was conducted to investigate the problem‐solving ability of climbing a bamboo pillar for accessing a banana, which might be the most efficient food access strategy for this setting. The test was repeated in a social setting. Results show that wild‐born subjects were better able than captive‐born subjects to use the provided materials for bed building and tool use. Results of the banana‐access test show that wild‐born subjects more frequently used a bamboo pillar for obtaining a banana with an efficient strategy than captive‐born subjects did. Of the eight captive‐born subjects, six avoided the bamboo pillars to get a banana and instead used, sometimes in a roundabout way, an iron pillar or fence. Results consistently underscored the adaptive and sophisticated skills of wild‐born male chimpanzees in problem‐solving tasks. The rearing conditions affected both the behavior acquisition and the execution of behaviors that had already been acquired. Am. J. Primatol. 72:626–633, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The Use of a Respiratory Rate Biofeedback Device to Reduce Dental Anxiety: An Exploratory Investigation

Anxiety experienced by individuals visiting the dental office to receive treatment is common. Evidence has shown biofeedback to be a useful modality of treatment for numerous maladies associated with anxiety. The purpose of the current pilot study was to investigate the use of a novel biofeedback device (RESPeRATE™) to reduce patients’ pre-operative general anxiety levels and consequently reduce the pain associated with dental injections. Eighty-one subjects participated in this study, forty in the experimental group and forty-one in the control group. Subjects in the experimental group used the biofeedback technique, while those in the control group were not exposed to any biofeedback. All subjects filled out a pre-injection anxiety survey, then received an inferior alveolar injection of local anesthetic. Post-injection, both groups were given an anxiety survey and asked to respond to four questions regarding the injection experience using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). With the use of the respiratory rate biofeedback device, there was a significant reduction of negative feelings regarding the overall injection experience, as measured by a VAS. Our findings demonstrate that this novel biofeedback technique may be helpful in the amelioration of dental anxiety, and may help produce a more pleasant overall experience for the patient.     

Patient Behaviors Associated with Optimum Glycemic Outcomes with Sensor-Augmented Pump Therapy: Insights from The Star 3 Study

ObjectiveThe purpose of this analysis was to identify patient behaviors that led to optimum glycemic outcomes in subjects with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) who transitioned from multiple daily injections (MDI) therapy to sensor-augmented pump (SAP) therapy.MethodsSensor-augmented pump Therapy for A1C Reduction (STAR 3), a randomized controlled trial, assigned 485 suboptimally controlled T1DM subjects to either MDI therapy (n = 241) or SAP therapy (n = 244). We categorized subjects in the latter group according to age at enrollment and glycated hemoglobin (A1C) value after using the SAP system for 12 months. Pairwise comparisons of how the pump features were used between SAP subjects with the highest and lowest end-of-study A1C values were made via t tests.ResultsLarger decreases in A1C values were significantly correlated with increasing sensor use in both the adult and pediatric age groups. Subjects in the low-A1C cohorts of both pediatric and adult age groups gave themselves smaller and more frequent boluses and used the Bolus Wizard bolus estimation calculator more frequently than subjects in age-matched high-A1C cohorts. Children in the low-A1C cohort used less insulin than children in the high-A1C cohort. There was no additional hypoglyce-mia in either the adult or pediatric low-A1C cohorts versus their high-A1C counterparts.ConclusionsBoth adult and pediatric patients with T1DM on SAP who use CGM sensors more often will have a greater decrease in their A1C values than those who do not demonstrate these behaviors. Routine use of CGM may lead to smaller and more frequent bolus dosing, enabling this population to safely reach their A1C goals. (Endocr Pract. 2015;21:41-45)     

What a tangled web we weave: discriminating between malingering and anosmia

Two groups of normosmic subjects were instructed to feign a total olfactory loss when tested with the Olfactory Confusion Matrix (OCM). One of the groups was given specific instructions as to the number of odorants and trials in the test, as well as the number of items that might be expected to be correctly identified by chance. The responses of both groups of malingerers were compared with responses gathered from a group of anosmic patients. The groups did not differ in terms of performance level (percent correct). In spite of the similarity in terms of accuracy level, an analysis of the pattern of OCM responses to an irritant allowed the anosmic patients to be distinguished from subjects attempting to feign a loss. Subjects were given explicit details about the test performed at the same level as those simply told to feign a loss. These results suggest that the OCM is an effective tool in separating malingering from anosmia.     

Experience-induced changes in taste identification of monosodium glutamate (MSG) are reversible

A few studies have reported experience-inducible changes in human taste and olfactory sensitivities. However, no study thus far has systematically characterized the stability of the enhanced sensitivities. In our previous study, we found increases in taste identification ability for monosodium glutamate (MSG) in subjects who had been briefly exposed to MSG in food for 10 days. Here, we tested the temporal stability of the enhanced taste identification ability. First, we exposed a group of 20 subjects to MSG in food and then compared their sensitivities to MSG with those of a control group. When tested on day 11 or 12, the mean MSG taste identification ability of the MSG-exposed group was significantly higher than the control group. Next, 11 of the subjects who were exposed to MSG in food initially, and then stopped being exposed performed significantly poorer in identifying MSG after 10 days of the nonexposure than they did 10 days before. In contrast, nine subjects who were exposed to MSG initially and continued being exposed maintained their high identification levels. These results support earlier finding of the plasticity in the taste identification of MSG and show that the enhanced identification ability can be reversed rapidly when MSG exposure is not sustained.     

Individual differences in motor skills ability affect the self-regulation of heart rate

Twenty males who scored relatively high on the rotor-pursuit motor skills task (High performance group) were given seven 2-minute trials to increase heart rate and seven 2-minute trials to decrease heart rate, as were 20 males who scored relatively low on the rotor-pursuit task (Low performance group). Visual analogue feedback was not provided during the first and last acceleration and deceleration trials but was presented during all other trials. Both groups of subjects were able to decrease heart rate significantly with and without feedback. Subjects in the High performance group were able to increase heart rate significantly with feedback and could generalize this increase to a no-feedback trial following feedback trials. Subjects in the Low performance group could not increase heart rate with or without feedback. Changes in respiration rate paralleled those noted for heart rate, but changes in chin electromyographic activity generally did not parallel the heart rate results. The heart rate data are discussed in terms of motor skills theories of self-regulation of heart rate.     

Fetal programming and the Leningrad Siege study.

The Leningrad Siege Study investigated the relationship between decreased maternal food intake and risk factors for coronary heart disease in adult life. The study screened 169 subjects exposed to intrauterine starvation during the Siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) 1941-4, 192 subjects born in Leningrad before the siege and 188 subjects born concurrently with these two groups but outside the area of the siege. No difference was found between the subjects exposed to starvation in utero and during infancy in glucose tolerance [in utero: 5.2 mmol/l (95% confidence interval 5.1 to 5.3; infancy: 5.3 (5.1 to 5.5), p = 0.94], insulin concentration, blood pressure, lipid concentration or coagulation factors. The intrauterine exposed group had evidence of endothelial dysfunction by higher concentrations of von Willebrand factor and a stronger interaction between adult obesity and blood pressure. Non-systematic differences in subscapular to triceps skinfold ratio, diastolic blood pressure and clotting factors were demonstrated compared to the non-exposed groups. In conclusion, this study did not find an association between intrauterine starvation and glucose intolerance, dyslipidaemia, hypertension or cardiovascular disease in adult life. These findings differ from studies of subjects exposed to maternal starvation during the Dutch Hunger Winter. However, the dissimilar effects of exposure to the two famines may contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms of the thrifty phenotype and support the importance of catch-up growth during early childhood, a situation that occurred in the Netherlands by not in Leningrad.     

Aimed Throwing as a Means of Food Transfer Between Tufted Capuchins (Cebus apella)

We examined aimed throwing as a means of food transfer in tufted capuchins (Cebus apella). We conducted this research in three phases. In Phase 1 we provided food to monkeys in one of two groups housed 1 m apart. We did not provide food to subjects in the second group. An observer recorded each instance in which a subject in the first group threw food toward one in the second group. In Phase 2 we provided a group of capuchins with food and noted each instance in which a subject threw food toward an empty cage. In Phase 3 we provided food simultaneously to two groups of capuchins and noted each instance of food-throwing between them. In Phase 1 subjects in one group threw food toward subjects in a second group, which, when provided the opportunity, did not throw food toward capuchins in the first group. Thrown food was either caught, retrieved, or lost on the test room floor. The rate of throwing decreased significantly when subjects were presented with an empty cage and when both groups of subjects were given food. We propose that psychological processes which underlie aimed throwing and food sharing came into existence through convergent evolution in large-brained, extractive foraging primates. We further speculate that although a well-developed system of exchange, based on contingent reciprocity, may occur among primates only inHomo,simpler transfer systems involving voluntary unidirectional passing of food from one individual to another appear to be more widespread among primates than previously thought and can be expressed in rather unusual circumstances such as those in this experiment.     

IMPACT OF TRAINING ON BEER FLAVOR PERCEPTION AND DESCRIPTION: ARE TRAINED AND UNTRAINED SUBJECTS REALLY DIFFERENT?

This study examines the effect of beer assessment training on verbal and nonverbal performance. Two groups of subjects are asked to sort, match, and describe a set of 12 beers (6 supplemented and 6 commercial beers). Subjects from the first group are enrolled in a beer-training program. Subjects in the second group are untrained beer consumers. Results show that although both groups perform the matching task equally well, trained subjects performed better on supplemented beers and untrained subjects on commercial beers. Examination of the generated vocabulary shows that 44% of the terms are common to trained and untrained subjects. However, an analysis of the terms' efficiency shows that whereas for trained subjects, precise terms are more efficient than intensity or hedonic terms; the opposite is observed for untrained subjects. This suggests that it is not the term itself that is important but the common reference associated to it.     

Acute changes in social composition and agonistic behavior in male vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus)

Among nonhuman primates the composition of social groups influences the interactions of group members. We assessed the effects of acute changes in social composition on behavior among 15 adult male vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus). Subjects were observed in their basal social groups which comprised 3 adult males, 2–4 adult females, and offspring; and in two subgroups consisting of either two or three adult males. Agonism and vigilance increased in smaller groups relative to basal conditions, while subjects in two-male groups displayed more aggression than those in three-male groups. These findings suggest that, among male vervet monkeys, acute disruption of stable social groups increases aggressive behavior, and that the amount of agonism is influenced by the composition of the consequent subgroups. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Effects of diet on biomarkers of exposure and effects, and on oxidative damage

Modification of DNA is believed to be a key step in carcinogenesis, and therefore DNA adducts have been proposed as predictive biomarkers of human cancer. Smoked and grilled foods are important contributors of PAH-DNA adduct levels, while the consumption of flavonoids and other antioxidants seems to decrease the level of DNA adducts. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of each group of foods and of different dietary profiles on the DNA adducts levels and on oxidative damage to DNA. Occupationally exposed men were recruited in Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Bulgaria. Non-occupationally exposed subjects were matched on age and gender to PAH-exposed workers. Three hundred and fifty-six subjects who completed the questionnaire for dietary information and had a measurement of DNA adduct levels and oxidative damage to DNA were included in this study. No food item seemed to be individually associated with markers of exposure or DNA damage. Total DNA adducts levels were significantly higher for subjects who had eaten, in the previous 24 h, smoked or fried food. A Principal Components Analysis was performed to identify groups of subjects with similar dietary profiles: no significant differences in biomarker levels were observed among the groups defined according to dietary profiles. In conclusion, this study did not show any significant association between diet and biomarkers of DNA damage, oxidative damage to DNA and chromosomal aberrations, neither when each food was considered separately, nor when the effect of different dietary profiles was tested. The recent consumption of smoked or fried food was associated with an increase in total DNA adducts levels.     

Evidence of social learning in black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata)

Although many studies have examined social learning capabilities in apes and monkeys, experiments involving prosimians remain largely absent. We investigated the potential for social learning in black-and-white ruffed lemurs using a two-action foraging task. Eight individuals were divided into two experimental groups and exposed to conspecifics using one of two techniques to access food. Subjects were then given access to the apparatus and their retrieval techniques were recorded and compared. All subjects made their first retrieval using the technique they observed being demonstrated, and there were significant differences between the two groups in their overall response patterns. These results suggest that prosimians are capable of social learning and that additional long-term field studies may reveal the presence of behavioural traditions similar to those found in other primates.     

Objective evaluation of a behavioral enrichment device for captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

A quantitative evaluation was made of a food puzzle designed to be a behavioral enrichment device for captive chimpanzees. Subjects were two social groups of chimpanzees housed in semifree-ranging conditions at the University of Texas Science Park in Bastrop. Subjects used the device for a mean of 91.6 minutes after it was filled with peanuts. Group levels of agonistic interactions, displays, coprophagy, regurgitation, excessive grooming, and consumption of wood were not significantly altered by the use of the peanut box. However, the data indicate that some of these categories of behavior were significantly increased or decreased in individual animals. Although the food puzzle box appears to be a promising behavioral enrichment tool, the necessity of recognizing individual differences in response to environmental manipulations must be emphasized.     

The P300-Based, Complex Trial Protocol for Concealed Information Detection Resists Any Number of Sequential Countermeasures Against Up to Five Irrelevant Stimuli

We previously tested the P300-based Complex Trial protocol for deception detection against 2 and 4 countered of 4 irrelevant stimuli. The protocol detected 90-100% of these subjects with <10% false positives. We have also shown that Reaction Time (RT) to the first trial stimulus is increased (group effect) with countermeasure use. We also reported a new P900 component associated with countermeasure use when 2 of 4 irrelevants are countered. In the present study we report data from 4 new groups and re-present for comparison previously collected data to have 7 groups: an innocent control, a guilty group not using countermeasures, and 5 guilty/countermeasure groups who counter from 1 to all 5 stimuli presented (4 irrelevants plus a probe). Subjects were detected at rates varying from 92 to 100% in the 6 guilty groups (n = 12 or 13 per group). There was 1 false positive in 13 innocent subjects. Additionally, 41 of 60 CM users were identified with RT as using countermeasures. P900 appeared in the 2 groups using 2 and 3 countermeasures.