Social uncertainty promotes signal complexity during approaches in wild chimpanzees () and mangabeys ().

The social complexity hypothesis for the evolution of communication posits that complex social environments require greater communication complexity for individuals to effectively manage their relationships. We examined how different socially uncertain contexts, reflecting an increased level of social complexity, relate to variation in signalling within and between two species, which display varying levels of fission-fusion dynamics (sympatric-living chimpanzees and sooty mangabeys, Taï National Park, Ivory Coast). Combined signalling may improve message efficacy, notably when involving different perception channels, thus may increase in moments of high social uncertainty.

Comprehension of own and other species' alarm calls in sooty mangabey vocal development.

Abstract: Primates understand the meaning of their own and other species' alarm calls, but little is known about how they acquire such knowledge. Here, we combined direct behavioural observations with playback experiments to investigate two key processes underlying vocal development: comprehension and usage. Especifically, we studied the development of con- and heterospecific alarm call recognition in free-ranging sooty mangabeys, , across three age groups: young juveniles (1-2y), old juveniles (3-4y) and adults (> 5y).

Leukocytoclastic vasculitis in a patient with syphilis and HIV coinfection.

Leukocytoclastic vasculitis (LCV) is a small vessel vasculitis characterized by an inflammatory infiltrate composed of neutrophils with fibrinoid necrosis and "leukocytoclasia", a term that refers to nuclei disintegration into fragments. LCV is related to multiple conditions including ANCA-associated vasculitis, cryoglobulinemia, IgA vasculitis, infectious and systemic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic erythematous lupus (SLE) as well as infections and malignancy. We describe the clinical case of severe systemic vasculitis in a young male patient with secondary syphilis and HIV coinfection manifested by cutaneous and neurological involvement, as well as peripheral necrosis that requires bilateral lower limb amputation.

Acquisition of predator knowledge from alarm calls via one-trial social learning in monkeys.

How do animals learn to classify the world and what is the role of social learning during this process? Here, we show that young sooty mangabeys, , of Taï Forest, Côte d'Ivoire, learn to rapidly classify an unfamiliar predator by attending to others' alarm calls and that such knowledge is retained over long periods. We experimentally exposed subjects to chimeric predator models with both snake- and leopard-like features, combined with playbacks of conspecific snake (N = 12) or leopard alarms (N = 13). Adults classified the chimeras as non-threatening but for juveniles, we found that one single alarm call exposure was sufficient to allocate the chimera to the snake or leopard category, suggesting plausibility judgments in experienced adults.

A hydrological-economic model for sustainable groundwater use in sparse-data drylands: Application to the Amtoudi Oasis in southern Morocco, northern Sahara.

A hydrological-economic model is introduced to describe the dynamics of groundwater-dependent economics (agriculture and tourism) for sustainable use in sparse-data drylands. The Amtoudi Oasis, a remote area in southern Morocco, in the northern Sahara attractive for tourism and with evidence of groundwater degradation, was chosen to show the model operation. Governing system variables were identified and put into action through System Dynamics (SD) modeling causal diagrams to program basic formulations into a model having two modules coupled by the nexus 'pumping': (1) the hydrological module represents the net groundwater balance (G) dynamics; and (2) the economic module reproduces the variation in the consumers of water, both the population and tourists.

Predicting and understanding the stability of G-quadruplexes.

Motivation: G-quadruplexes are stable four-stranded guanine-rich structures that can form in DNA and RNA. They are an important component of human telomeres and play a role in the regulation of transcription and translation. The biological significance of a G-quadruplex is crucially linked with its thermodynamic stability.