Daytime spatial relationships in a family group of black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis at the Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park, Japan.

Although black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis are mostly solitary in the wild, the Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park (Asa Zoo) has kept a family group together during the daytime, with good reproductive performance over five decades. Management procedures at the zoo include temporary single housing of the mother before and after giving birth, which facilitates maintenance of a compatible family group. We recorded intra-group spatial relationships for 4 years and 4 months, during which time an adult female reared two consecutive calves.

Diet-related factors strongly shaped the gut microbiota of Japanese macaques.

Although knowledge of the functions of the gut microbiome has increased greatly over the past few decades, our understanding of the mechanisms governing its ecology and evolution remains obscure. While host genetic distance is a strong predictor of the gut microbiome in large-scale studies and captive settings, its influence has not always been evident at finer taxonomic scales, especially when considering among the recently diverged animals in natural settings. Comparing the gut microbiome of 19 populations of Japanese macaques Macaca fuscata across the Japanese archipelago, we assessed the relative roles of host genetic distance, geographic distance and dietary factors in influencing the macaque gut microbiome.

Short-term direct reciprocity of prosocial behaviors in Japanese preschool children.

Direct reciprocity plays an essential role in forming cooperative relationships. Direct reciprocity requires individuals to keep track of past interactions and condition their behavior on the previous behavior of their partners. In controlled experimental situations, it is known that children establish direct reciprocity according to the partner's behavior, but this has not been verified in real life.

Identification of Novel Mutations Contributing to Azole Tolerance of Aspergillus fumigatus through Exposure to Tebuconazole.

Azole resistance of Aspergillus fumigatus is a global problem. The major resistance mechanism is through cytochrome P 14-α sterol demethylase Cyp51A alterations such as a mutation(s) in the gene and the acquisition of a tandem repeat in the promoter. Although other azole tolerance and resistance mechanisms, such as the (a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A reductase gene) mutation, are known, few reports have described studies elucidating non-Cyp51A resistance mechanisms.

Efficacy of Long-Term Adjuvant Therapy With Imatinib Mesylate After Extensive Surgical Treatment for Ruptured Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors of the Small Intestine With Peritoneal Metastases: A Case Report.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. Although most patients with advanced GISTs benefit from imatinib mesylate (IM) as standard targeted therapy, the optimal duration of adjuvant IM for GIST patients with high risk of recurrence who underwent surgical resection remains unknown. In this article, we present a case of a ruptured GIST of the small intestine accompanied by peritoneal metastases, which was effectively treated by surgical procedure followed by long-term adjuvant therapy with IM.

Azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus Containing a 34-bp Tandem Repeat in cyp51A Promoter is Isolated from the Environment in Japan.

Azole-resistant strains of Aspergillus fumigatus containing a tandem repeat in the cyp51A promoter and amino acid substitution(s) have been isolated in the environment worldwide; however, this type of resistant strain had never been isolated from the environment in Japan. Our previous study indicated that an azole-resistant A. fumigatus strain OKH50 containing a 34-bp tandem repeat in cyp51A promoter with L98H substitution in Cyp51A was isolated from a patient in Obihiro of Hokkaido, Japan.

Twelve-year proximity relationships in a captive group of western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, California, USA.

Proximity data were collected in a captive breeding group of gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at the San Diego Wild Animal Park (currently called the San Diego Zoo Safari Park) twice a year (spring and fall periods) for over 12 years, by using a convenient method in which individuals less than 5 m from each animal in the group were recorded by scan sampling, approximately once per hour. Immature females from infancy to young adulthood maintained relatively frequent proximity to both their mothers and the silverback male and spent little time alone (no animals within 10 m), with relatively large individual differences. On the other hand, immature males decreased the time spent near their mothers and the silverback male and increased the time spent alone with increasing age.

Preschool children's behavioral tendency toward social indirect reciprocity.

Social indirect reciprocity seems to be crucial in enabling large-scale cooperative networks among genetically unrelated individuals in humans. However, there are relatively few studies on social indirect reciprocity in children compared to adults. Investigating whether young children have a behavioral tendency toward social indirect reciprocity will help us understand how and when the fundamental ability to form cooperative relationships among adults is acquired.

Grooming-related feeding motivates macaques to groom and affects grooming reciprocity and episode duration in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata).

Allogrooming is considered as an altruistic behavior wherein primates exchange grooming as a tradable commodity for reciprocal grooming or other commodities such as support during aggression and tolerance during co-feeding. First, we report a case of the grooming relationships of the lowest-ranking adult female in a group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). The female (Lp) had lost a portion of the fur and was groomed by higher-ranking individuals without providing reciprocal grooming or other commodities.

Old grandmothers provide essential care to their young granddaughters in a free-ranging group of Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata).

This study reports 2 cases in which old grandmothers without dependent offspring provided essential care to their young granddaughters in a free-ranging group of Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata). In the first case, a 24-year-old grandmother provided essential care for the survival of her 2-month-old granddaughter for at least 6 days during which the mother had temporarily disappeared from the group for reasons unknown. In the second case, a 14-month-old granddaughter began sucking from her 23-year-old grandmother within 6 weeks after her mother gave birth to a younger sibling.

Cis double allylation of cyclopropenes using cyclopropylindium reagents.

The successive double allylation of cyclopropenes with allylindium sesquiiodide and allyl iodide proceeded with a cis-addition mode in the presence of other organometallics (e.g. Grignard reagent, cuprate, Et(2)Zn and Et(3)Al), giving the corresponding cis-diallylcyclopropanes in high yields.

Aortic arch replacement with proximal first technique.

Background: Deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) without retrograde cerebral perfusion (RCP) has a strict time limit. We modified a surgical technique for anastomosis to shorten the period of DHCA and unilateral cerebral perfusion (UCP).

Methods: Between March 1993 and August 2001, retrospective analysis was done on 23 consecutive patients, who underwent aortic arch replacement with branches.

Changes in left anterior descending coronary artery flow profiles after coronary artery bypass grafting examined by means of transthoracic Doppler echocardiography.

Objective: We sought to investigate the changes of velocity profiles in the left anterior descending coronary artery after coronary artery bypass grafting using transthoracic Doppler echocardiography.

Methods: Forty-five patients who received a bypass graft to the left anterior descending coronary artery were studied. Before coronary artery bypass grafting, Doppler velocity profiles of the distal left anterior descending coronary artery were recorded with transthoracic Doppler echocardiography.