Genome-scale evolution in local populations of wild chimpanzees.

Analysis of genome-scale evolution has been difficult in large, endangered animals because opportunities to collect high-quality genetic samples are limited. There is a need for novel field-friendly, cost-effective genetic techniques. This study conducted an exome-wide analysis of a total of 42 chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) across six African regions, providing insights into population discrimination techniques.

Effects of Foot Somatosensory Training on Plantar Somatosensory Function.

Background Declines in foot somatosensory function can negatively impact balance and daily activities, particularly in older adults and individuals with neurological conditions. Despite this, effective physical therapeutic interventions to improve foot sensory function are limited. This study assessed the effects of targeted foot somatosensory training on plantar sensory function in healthy young adults.

Stone selection by wild chimpanzees shares patterns with Oldowan hominins.

The use of broad tool repertoires to increase dietary flexibility through extractive foraging behaviors is shared by humans and their closest living relatives (chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes). However, comparisons between tool use in ancient human ancestors (hominins) and chimpanzees are limited by differences in their toolkits. One feature shared by primate and hominin toolkits is rock selection based on physical properties of the stones and the targets of foraging behaviors.

Reliable long-term individual variation in wild chimpanzee technological efficiency.

Variation in the efficiency of extracting calorie-rich and nutrient-dense resources directly impacts energy expenditure and potentially has important repercussions for cultural transmission where social learning strategies are used. Assessing variation in efficiency is key to understanding the evolution of complex behavioural traits in primates. Here we examine evidence for individual-level differences beyond age- and sex-class in non-human primate extractive foraging efficiency.

Nonadjacent dependencies and sequential structure of chimpanzee action during a natural tool-use task.

Many of the complex behaviours of humans involve the production of nonadjacent dependencies between sequence elements, which in part can be generated through the hierarchical organization of sequences. To understand how these structural properties of human behaviours evolved, we can gain valuable insight from studying the sequential behaviours of nonhuman animals. Among the behaviours of nonhuman apes, tool use has been hypothesised to be a domain of behaviour which likely involves hierarchical organization, and may therefore possess nonadjacent dependencies between sequential actions.

Deep learning detects subtle facial expressions in a multilevel society primate.

Facial expressions in nonhuman primates are complex processes involving psychological, emotional, and physiological factors, and may use subtle signals to communicate significant information. However, uncertainty surrounds the functional significance of subtle facial expressions in animals. Using artificial intelligence (AI), this study found that nonhuman primates exhibit subtle facial expressions that are undetectable by human observers.

Classification of Patients Based on Dyspnea and Desaturation During Exercise in Interstitial Lung Disease.

Background: Dyspnea and desaturation during exercise are essential assessment items for pulmonary rehabilitation. Characterizing patients using these 2 factors may be important for providing more effective pulmonary rehabilitation. This study aimed to categorize subjects with interstitial lung disease (ILD) using dyspnea and desaturation at the end of the 6-min walk test (6MWT).

Exploring interests: A pathway to ikigai and eudaimonic well-being among people with serious mental illness.

Objective: Ikigai is a Japanese concept of a life worth living and related to eudaimonic well-being. Supporting the pursuit of is of central importance to recovery-oriented psychiatric rehabilitation for people with serious mental illnesses (SMI). While research suggests that work, leisure, and social relationships are potential sources of , people with SMI have restricted access to these as they encounter systemic barriers to participating in such activities.

Difference between voluntary control and conscious balance processing during quiet standing.

The mechanism by which postural threat induced by standing at a high height causes a decrease in the amplitude and an increase in the frequency of postural sway might involve voluntary control (VC) to avoid swaying, rather than conscious balance processing, in which postural threat directs conscious balance processing. This study aimed to clarify the differences between VC and conscious balance processing during quiet standing. Twenty-seven healthy young adults were instructed to stand with their feet placed together and keep their eyes open.

Longitudinal relationship between screen-based sedentary behavior and nutrient intake in Japanese children: an observational epidemiological cohort study.

Background: Concerns regarding the impact of screen-based sedentary behavior on health have been increasing. Therefore, the present study investigated the longitudinal relationship between multiple screen time and nutrient intake in children and adolescents.

Methods: The present study was conducted utilizing 3 years longitudinal data.

Flexible grouping patterns in a western and eastern chimpanzee community.

Primate social organizations, or grouping patterns, vary significantly across species. Behavioral strategies that allow for flexibility in grouping patterns offer a means to reduce the costs of group living. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have a fission-fusion social system in which temporary subgroups ("parties") change in composition because of local socio-ecological conditions.

News and Perspectives: Words matter in primatology.

Postings on social media on Twitter (now X), BioAnthropology News (Facebook), and other venues, as well as recent publications in prominent journals, show that primatologists, ecologists, and other researchers are questioning the terms "Old World" and "New World" due to their colonial implications and history. The terms are offensive if they result in erasing Indigenous voices and history, ignoring the fact that Indigenous peoples were in the Americas long before European colonization. Language use is not without context, but alternative terminology is not always obvious and available.

DeepWild: Application of the pose estimation tool DeepLabCut for behaviour tracking in wild chimpanzees and bonobos.

Studying animal behaviour allows us to understand how different species and individuals navigate their physical and social worlds. Video coding of behaviour is considered a gold standard: allowing researchers to extract rich nuanced behavioural datasets, validate their reliability, and for research to be replicated. However, in practice, videos are only useful if data can be efficiently extracted.

Sequence Order in the Range 1 to 19 by Chimpanzees on a Touchscreen Task: Processing Two-Digit Arabic Numerals.

The sequence of Arabic numerals from 1 to 19 was taught to six chimpanzees, three pairs of mother and child. Each chimpanzee participant sat facing a touchscreen on which the numerals appeared in random positions within an imaginary 5-by-8 matrix. They had to touch the numerals in ascending order.

Garrano Horses Perceive Letters of the Alphabet on a Touchscreen System: A Pilot Study.

This study aimed to use a computer-controlled touchscreen system to examine visual discrimination in Garrano horses (), an endangered breed of pony belonging to the Iberian horse family. This pilot study focused on the perceptual similarity among letters of the alphabet. We tested five horses in a one-male unit (OMU) living permanently in a semi-free enclosure near their natural habitat in Serra d'Arga, northern Portugal.

Hierarchical object combination and tool use in the great apes and human children.

Object manipulation can be used as a comparative scale of cognitive development among primates, including humans. Combinatory object manipulation is a precursor of tool-using behavior that indicates material intelligence in primates. However, developmental data on it regarding the great apes other than chimpanzees is insufficient.

Apex and ApeTouch: Development of a Portable Touchscreen System and Software for Primates at Zoos.

We report on the development and testing of a portable touchscreen apparatus and accompanying software program for primate enrichment, cognitive research, and husbandry applications. For zoos considering using technology to bolster scientific efforts or enhance the welfare of primates in their care, touchscreen activities offer a solution that has a long and proven record of primate use in laboratory settings as well as a history of usage in the zoo world. We review the options that are available for zoos to build their own touchscreen systems and we offer as an alternative our pre-built apparatus, Apex, and primate software suite, ApeTouch, both of which are tailored for use in a zoo setting.

To drum or not to drum: Selectivity in tree buttress drumming by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) in the Nimba Mountains, Guinea.

Chimpanzees live in fission-fusion social organizations, which means that party size, composition, and spatial distribution are constantly in flux. Moreover, chimpanzees use a remarkably extensive repertoire of vocal and nonvocal forms of communication, thought to help convey information in such a socially and spatially dynamic setting. One proposed form of nonvocal communication in chimpanzees is buttress drumming, in which an individual hits a tree buttress with its hands and/or feet, thereby producing a low-frequency acoustic signal.

Field experiments find no evidence that chimpanzee nut cracking can be independently innovated.

Cumulative culture has been claimed a hallmark of human evolution. Yet, the uniqueness of human culture is heavily debated. The zone of latent solutions hypothesis states that only humans have cultural forms that require form-copying social learning and are culture-dependent.

Exploring greetings and leave-takings: communication during arrivals and departures by chimpanzees of the Bossou community, Guinea.

In human fission-fusion societies, ritualized non-linguistic signal exchanges that include gestures, vocalizations, and facial expressions are regularly observed at both arrivals (greetings) and departures (leave-takings). These communicative events play an important role in the formation and maintenance of social relationships. Wild chimpanzees also form large communities that split into smaller fluid parties during daily activities, with individuals moving freely between them.

Age-Dependent Decrease in Hepatic Geranylgeranoic Acid Content in C3H/HeN Mice and Its Oral Supplementation Prevents Spontaneous Hepatoma.

Geranylgeranoic acid (GGA) has been developed as a preventive agent against second primary hepatoma. Recently, GGA was reported to induce cell death in human hepatoma cells via TLR4-mediated pyroptosis. We have reported that GGA is enzymatically biosynthesized from mevalonic acid in human hepatoma-derived cells and that endogenous GGA is found in most organs of rats.

Comparative survival analyses among captive chimpanzees () in America and Japan.

Detailed, long-term datasets on the life histories of long-lived species such as great apes are necessary to understand their survival patterns but are relatively rare. Such information requires prolonged and consistent record-keeping over many generations, so for chimpanzees (), this equates to many decades of input. As life history variables can be altered by differences in environmental influences (whether natural or artificial), there is substantial value to being able to compare across populations.