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Although chimpanzees and other primates are frequently used as models to reconstruct the behavior of extinct human ancestors, this is rarely done in a consistent or methodologically rigorous fashion. This volume brings together leading scholars to explore how knowledge about chimpanzees can be used to understand both what is unique about our own species, and how these traits evolved. The first part of the book makes the case that the last common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans was chimpanzee-like. This inference is based not on an assumption that chimpanzees are a model species, but on morphological, developmental, and genetic data, together with evidence from the hominin fossil record. The second part of the book provides the first detailed record of the similarities and differences between humans and chimpanzees, including those in social system, mating system, diet, social behavior, hunting, tool use, culture, cognition, and communication.-- Provided by publisher

Because the funds to protect biodiversity are very limited, biodiversity protection policies are prioritized using the Noah’s Ark perspective. I discuss how gender affects Noah’s assessment of key elements of his ranking: Discounting, changes in total economic value, marginal costs, changes in ecological value, and the probability of policy success. This incremental approach makes visible the breadth of the mechanisms by which gender differentiated social constructs interact to affect Noah in a richly complex manner.

The height and amount of tropical deep convection are examined for a correlation with the stratospheric quasibiennial oscillation (QBO). A new 23-yr record of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) and a corrected 17-yr record of the highly reflective cloud (HRC) index are used as measures of convection. When binned by phase of the QBO, zonal means and maps of OLR and HRC carry a QBO signal. The spatial patterns of the maps highlight the QBO signal of OLR and HRC in typically convective regions. Spectral analysis of zonal mean OLR and HRC near the equator reveals significant peaks at QBO frequencies. Rotated empirical orthogonal function (REOF) analysis is used to determine if ENSO variations of convection are aliased into the observed QBO signals. Some analyses are repeated using the OLR record after ENSO REOF modes have been removed, yielding very similar results compared to the original analyses. It appears that the QBO signal is distinct from the ENSO signal, although the relative brevity of the OLR and HRC records with respect to the ENSO cycle makes assessing the impact of ENSO difficult. Three mechanisms that can link the QBO with deep convection are investigated: 1) the QBO modulation of tropopause height may allow convection to penetrate deeper in some years compared to other years; 2) the QBO modulation of lower-stratospheric to upper-tropospheric zonal wind shear may result in cloud tops being “sheared off” more in some years than in other years; 3) the QBO modulation of upper-tropospheric relative vorticity may relax dynamic constraints on cloud-top outflow and thus allow more cloud growth in some years compared to other years. Measures of these mechanisms—tropopause pressure and temperature, 50–200-hPa zonal wind shear (cross-tropopause shear), and 150-hPa vorticity, all from the NCEP reanalyses—are compared to OLR and HRC. QBO fluctuations of convection are generally well correlated with QBO fluctuations of tropopause height. In regions where these height fluctuations are relatively small, convective fluctuations are well correlated with QBO variations of cross-tropopause shear, especially during boreal summer and winter when convection is concentrated away from the equator and the largest tropopause height fluctuations. In fact, during summer the shear mechanism appears to dominate such that QBO-related convective behavior is different than during the other seasons. QBO convective behavior is uncorrelated with vorticity fluctuations near the tropopause. A secondary component of this study is the description of a new, long-term OLR dataset. Using measurements fromNimbus-6, Nimbus-7, and theEarth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), the 23-yr OLR record analyzed in this study was constructed. This record has fewer interannual biases due to satellite differences than the well-known NOAA OLR record and, therefore, is more useful for studies of interannual meteorological variations.

We report here that the alternatively spliced nuclear factors associated with double-stranded RNA, NFAR-1 (90 kDa) and -2 (110 kDa), are involved in retaining cellular transcripts in intranuclear foci and can regulate the export of mRNA to the cytoplasm. Furthermore, the NFAR proteins were found to remain associated with exported ribonucleoprotein complexes. Loss of NFAR function, which was embryonic-lethal, caused an increase in protein synthesis rates, an effect augmented by the presence of the mRNA export factors TAP, p15, or Rae1. Significantly, NFAR depletion in normal murine fibroblasts rendered these cells dramatically susceptible to vesicular stomatitis virus replication. Collectively, our data demonstrate that the NFARs exert influence on mRNA trafficking and the modulation of translation rates and may constitute an innate immune translational surveillance mechanism important in host defense countermeasures against virus infection.

An improved understanding of the relationships among vegetation, groundwater level, and microtopography is crucial for making well-informed management decisions in areas with shallow groundwater resources. We measured plant species abundance/composition and richness in relation to depth to groundwater (DTW) and microtopography in Owens Valley, California, particularly in areas where DTW ranged from 0 to 4 m. Sampling occurred along 67 vegetation transects across three community types. Relationships between DTW and community composition were evaluated using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS), while non-parametric multiplicative regression was used to relate DTW and microtopography to species abundance. The dominant gradient in species composition (NMS Axis 1) explained ~51% of variation in our distance matrix and was most strongly associated (r = 0.55) with DTW. The graminoids Juncus arcticus, Leymus triticoides, and Distichlis spicata had strong affinities toward areas with the shallowest DTW (<1.5 m). One salt-adapted species Sporobolus airoides and one shrub Ericameria nauseosa dominated areas with intermediate DTW (1.5–2.0 m), whereas the shrubs Atriplex torreyi, Sarcobatus vermiculatus, and Artemisia tridentata were dominant in areas with deeper DTW (>2.0 m). Variation in microtopography affected species abundance and increased species richness for vegetation communities at either extreme of the water table gradient, shallow, and deep DTW but not the intermediate DTW. Findings indicate that desert plant communities from shallow aquifers have adapted to different DTW and microtopography conditions and that considering those adaptations may be important to manage groundwater and vegetation resources in these areas.

We evaluated whether a diagnostic stewardship initiative consisting of ASP preauthorization paired with education could reduce false-positive hospital-onset (HO) Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). Single center, quasi-experimental study. Tertiary academic medical center in Chicago, Illinois. Adult inpatients were included in the intervention if they were admitted between October 1, 2016, and April 30, 2018, and were eligible for C. difficile preauthorization review. Patients admitted to the stem cell transplant (SCT) unit were not included in the intervention and were therefore considered a contemporaneous noninterventional control group. The intervention consisted of requiring prescriber attestation that diarrhea has met CDI clinical criteria, ASP preauthorization, and verbal clinician feedback. Data were compared 33 months before and 19 months after implementation. Facility-wide HO-CDI incidence rates (IR) per 10,000 patient days (PD) and standardized infection ratios (SIR) were extracted from hospital infection prevention reports. During the entire 52 month period, the mean facility-wide HO-CDI-IR was 7.8 per 10,000 PD and the SIR was 0.9 overall. The mean ± SD HO-CDI-IR (8.5 ± 2.0 vs 6.5 ± 2.3; P < .001) and SIR (0.97 ± 0.23 vs 0.78 ± 0.26; P = .015) decreased from baseline during the intervention. Segmented regression models identified significant decreases in HO-CDI-IR (Pstep = .06; Ptrend = .008) and SIR (Pstep = .1; Ptrend = .017) trends concurrent with decreases in oral vancomycin (Pstep < .001; Ptrend < .001). HO-CDI-IR within a noninterventional control unit did not change (Pstep = .125; Ptrend = .115). A multidisciplinary, multifaceted intervention leveraging clinician education and feedback reduced the HO-CDI-IR and the SIR in select populations. Institutions may consider interventions like ours to reduce false-positive C. difficile NAAT tests.

Although changes in depth to groundwater occur naturally, anthropogenic alterations may exacerbate these fluctuations and, thus, affect vegetation reliant on groundwater. These effects include changes in physiology, structure, and community dynamics, particularly in arid regions where groundwater can be an important water source for many plants. To properly manage ecosystems subject to changes in depth to groundwater, plant responses to both rising and falling groundwater tables must be understood. However, most research has focused exclusively on riparian ecosystems, ignoring regions where groundwater is available to a wider range of species. Here, we review responses of riparian and other species to changes in groundwater levels in arid environments. Although decreasing water tables often result in plant water stress and reduced live biomass, the converse is not necessarily true for rising water tables. Initially, rising water tables kill flooded roots because most species cannot tolerate the associated low oxygen levels. Thus, flooded plants can also experience water stress. Ultimately, individual species responses to either scenario depend on drought and flooding tolerance and the change in root system size and water uptake capacity. However, additional environmental and biological factors can play important roles in the severity of vegetation response to altered groundwater tables. Using the reviewed information, we created two conceptual models to highlight vegetation dynamics in areas with groundwater fluctuations. These models use flow charts to identify key vegetation and ecosystem properties and their responses to changes in groundwater tables to predict community responses. We then incorporated key concepts from these models into EDYS, a comprehensive ecosystem model, to highlight the potential complexity of predicting community change under different fluctuating groundwater scenarios. Such models provide a valuable tool for managing vegetation and groundwater use in areas where groundwater is important to both plants and humans, particularly in the context of climate change.

We have developed a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) platform that functions as a modular system to address limitations of traditional CAR therapies. An inert form of the human NKG2D extracellular domain (iNKG2D) was engineered as the ectodomain of the CAR to generate convertible CAR TM -T cells. These cells were specifically directed to kill antigen-expressing target cells only in the presence of an activating bispecific adapter comprised of an iNKG2D-exclusive ULBP2-based ligand fused to an antigen-targeting antibody (MicAbody TM ). Efficacy against Raji tumors in NSG mice was dependent upon doses of both a rituximab-based MicAbody and convertible CAR-T cells. We have also demonstrated that the exclusive ligand-receptor partnering enabled the targeted delivery of a mutant form of IL-2 to selectively promote the expansion of convertible CAR-T cells in vitro and in vivo. By altering the Fv domains of the MicAbody or the payload fused to the orthogonal ligand, convertible CAR-T cells can be readily targeted or regulated. Landgraf et al. developed a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) platform that functions as a modular system. convertible TM -T cells are designed to kill antigen-expressing target cells only in the presence of ligands fused to antigen-targeting antibodies (MicAbody TM ). This method provides a wide dosing window while minimizing toxicity.