High resolution proton NMR spectroscopy of human amniotic fluid

Human amniotic fluid (HAF) is a dynamic system whose characteristics depend on continuous interchanges between fetal and maternal circulations. HAF reflects not only the environment of the fetus but may also provide information about fetal development or pathology. The concentration of HAF constituents varies with gestational age and pathological states. The number of the compounds currently implicated in fetal developmental pathology are relatively few. Currently used assay methods are not adequate to totally explain or predict the complex biochemistry of the fetus. The purpose of this work was to investigate HAF with NMR spectroscopy. In the present study HAF was obtained from 47 women undergoing routine amniocentesis. Cells were separated for karyological analysis and the supernatant was acid-extracted, lyophilized and re-suspended in D₂0 resulting in a concentration increase over native fluid. ¹H NMR spectra were obtained at 360 MHz and 60 MHz. Eighteen compounds including several amino acids, were identified using parallel reference and standard addition protocols. NMR spectroscopy detected compounds of known clinical importance including glucose, leucine, isoleucine, lactate and creatinine. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that a number of physiologically relevant compounds are readily observable in HAF using ¹H NMR spectroscopy. This technique can currently provide valuable information regarding HAF composition and has the potential of being used in vivo in the future.     

A model for leveling coalitions among primate males: toward a theory of egalitarianism

We present a simple model of within-group leveling coalitions among male primates. The model assumes that the value of the coalition is the sum of the payoffs of its members, that the individuals payoff is monotonically decreasing with its rank and that coalitions do not cause rank changes. It predicts that mainly mid- to low rankers engage in leveling coalitions, and that most coalition partners are of adjacent ranks. These predictions agree reasonably well with observations in nature. The model also makes the novel predictions that leveling coalitions are found where male mating competition has only a moderate contest component, and that male dominance ranks will become poorly differentiated where leveling coalitions are frequent. Both these predictions are consistent with observations on groups of macaques and baboons. The model also may account for leveling coalitions among egalitarian human foragers, without making additional assumptions about special human capabilities.

Toward design principles for joint knowledge production projects: lessons from the deepest polder of The Netherlands

In various countries, actors try to reconcile climate science and policy through joint knowledge production (JNP). While many conceptual analyses of JNP exist, empirical studies that actually try to assess JNP processes are rare. This paper aims to fill this gap through an empirical analysis of the ‘Hotspot Zuidplaspolder’ project in which scientists, policymakers and other actors collaboratively looked for ways to ‘climate proof’ existing plans for urban development in one of the deepest polders of the Netherlands. The analysis is done by identifying and explaining the credibility and salience of the knowledge produced as well as the perceived legitimacy of the JNP process. Seven success factors derived from existing literature were used in the analysis. Stakeholders appeared to evaluate this project as positive, but the analysis shows that criteria and thresholds regarding success differ between the actors involved. We found three underlying design principles that should be followed to enhance the success of future JNP projects. First, it is necessary to organize several instances for reflection on the project processes. Second, new reward structures are needed to stimulate actors to take new initiatives and come up with creative ideas. Third, projects and programs should provide room to make mistakes and learn from them. This first set of empirical design principles for JNP is useful but should be further refined and nuanced in order to better deal with the social complexity of climate change and other wicked problems.     

The evolution of food sharing in primates

The aim of this study is to explain the occurrence of food sharing across primates. Defined as the unresisted transfer of food, evolutionary hypotheses have to explain why possessors should relinquish food rather than keep it. While sharing with offspring can be explained by kin selection, explanations for sharing among unrelated adults are more controversial. Here we test the hypothesis that sharing occurs with social partners that have leverage over food possessors due to the opportunity for partner choice in other contexts. Thus, we predict that possessors should relinquish food to potential mates or allies, who could provide or withhold matings or coalitionary support in the future. We used phylogenetic analyses based on both maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches in a sample of 68 primate species to test these predictions. The analyses strongly indicate that (1) sharing with offspring is predicted by the relative processing difficulty of the diet, as measured by the degree of extractive foraging, but not overall diet quality, (2) food sharing among adults only evolved in species already sharing with offspring, regardless of diet, and (3) male–female sharing co-evolved with the opportunity for female mate choice and sharing within the sexes with coalition formation. These results provide comparative support for the hypothesis that sharing is “traded” for matings and coalitionary support in the sense that these services are statistically associated and can thus be selected for. Based on this, we predict that sharing should occur in any species with opportunities for partner choice.     

Predator guild does not influence orangutan alarm call rates and combinations

Monkey alarm calls have shown that in the primate clade, combinatorial rules in acoustic communication are not exclusive to humans. A recent hypothesis suggests that the number of different call combinations in monkeys increases with increased number of predator species. However, the existence of combinatorial rules in great ape alarm calls remains largely unstudied, despite its obvious relevance to ideas about the evolution of human speech. In this paper, we examine the potential use of combinatorial rules in the alarm calls of the only Asian great ape: the orangutan. Alarm calls in orangutans are composed of syllables (with either one or two distinct elements), which in turn are organized into sequences. Tigers and clouded leopards are predators for Sumatran orangutans, but in Borneo, tigers are extinct. Thus, orangutans make a suitable great ape model to assess alarm call composition in relation to the size of the predator guild. We exposed orangutans on both islands to a tiger and control model. Response compositionality was analyzed at two levels (i.e., syllable and syllable sequences) between models and populations. Results were corroborated using information theory algorithms. We made specific, directed predictions for the variation expected if orangutans used combinatorial rules. None of these predictions were met, indicating that monkey alarm call combinatorial rules do not have direct homologues in orangutans. If these results are replicated in other great apes, this indicates that predation did not drive selection towards ever more combinatorial rules in the human lineage.     

Investigating the complex relationship between in situ Southern Ocean pCO_{2} and its ocean physics and biogeochemical drivers using a nonparametric regression approach

The objective in this paper is to investigate the use of a non-parametric approach to model the relationship between oceanic carbon dioxide \((pCO_2)\) and a range of ocean physics and biogeochemical in situ variables in the Southern Ocean, which influence its in situ variability. The need for this stems from the need to obtain reliable estimates of carbon dioxide concentrations in the Southern Ocean which plays an important role in the global carbon flux cycle. The main challenge involved in this objective is the spatial limitation and seasonal bias of the in situ data. Moreover, studies have also reported that the relationship between \(pCO_2\) and its drivers is complex. As such, in this paper, we use the non-parametric kernel regression approach since it is able to accurately capture the complex relationships between the response and predictor variables. In this analysis we use the in situ data obtained from the SANAE49 return leg journey between Antarctic to Cape Town. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time this data set has been subjected to such analysis. The model variants were developed on a training data subset, and the ‘goodness’ of the models were assessed on an “unseen” test data subset. Results indicate that the nonparametric approach consistently captures the relationship more accurately in terms of mean square error, root mean square error and mean absolute error, over a standard parametric approach (multiple linear regression). These results provide a platform for using the developed nonparametric regression model based on in situ measurements to predict \(pCO_2\) for a larger spatial region in the Southern Ocean based on satellite biogeochemical measurements of predictor variables, given that satellites do not measure \(pCO_2\) .     

Intersexual food transfer among orangutans: do females test males for coercive tendency?

Tolerated transfer of food among adults is rare among primates, except in humans. Here, we present data on a consistent pattern of tolerated intersexual transfer of food (held in hand, foot, or mouth by the owner) among adult orangutans, in two different natural populations (Pongo abelii and Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii), based on ca. 9,000 h of focal observation per site. Although rare, intersexual food transfers were disproportionately from males to sexually active females and involved food that was equally available to both sexes. There was no evidence for direct trading of food for social favors (mating, grooming, or agonistic support) or for sharing under pressure of harassment. However, females frequently protested with loud screams when males, especially unflanged ones, attempted to take food they possessed, and also when males responded aggressively to their taking attempt. Since associations ended sooner when the female emitted noisy calls, a male who did not allow a female to take food from him risked losing the association. These findings support the hypothesis that by taking food, a sexually active female may test the male's tendency toward violence. Thus, intersexual food taking in orangutans is based on female leverage, resulting in a species-wide female entitlement to male “generosity”. The inhibition of food defense required for this kind of transaction may also form the basis for sharing patterns among species in which nutritional benefits have become important, such as chimpanzees and perhaps human foragers.     

Detection of Jarcho–Levin syndrome at 12 weeks' gestation by nuchal translucency screening and three-dimensional ultrasound

Jarcho–Levin syndrome (JLS) or spondylothoracic dysotosis causes early newborn death from respiratory insufficiency. Prenatal diagnosis is possible using fetal ultrasound, but requires a high level of suspicion and definitive diagnosis may be delayed well into the second trimester. We present a case in which a combination of three-dimensional ultrasound and measurement of nuchal translucency thickness allowed successful detection of recurrent JLS at 12 weeks' gestation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Social Meaning of Carbon Dioxide Emission Trading Institutional Capacity Building for a Green Market in Costa Rica

Forests offer good possibilities for the sequestration of carbon dioxide. This service can be commodified by the introduction of carbon (dioxide) credits, which can be traded on a carbon market. The premise of this paper is that the traditional economic view on the construction of these carbon markets is a too simplistic one, particularly, because it neglects the social meaning of a carbon market for developing countries. From their viewpoint as suppliers of carbon credits such a market has a broader meaning. It must be seen as a social mechanism for improving both the living conditions of local people and a more encompassing improvement of the environment than climate as such. What initially might be labelled as a carbon market might better be understood as a more encompassing 'green market'. The agreement between Costa Rica and Norway, officially known as the Reforestation Conservation Activities Implemented Jointly Project (RFCAIJP) represents a clear example of a green market. In this paper, we study the development, characteristics and benefits of that market, asking the question what lessons can be learned from this first practical experiences. More specifically we focus on the conditions that have made this type of agreement successful.