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1. Building a Knowledge Model of Cayo Santiago Rhesus Macaques: Engaging Undergraduate Students in Developing Graphical User Interfaces for NSF Funded Research Project

   Zhao, Martin Q. ; Widener, Ethan R. ; Francis, George ; and Wang, Qian ( June 2023 , Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Innovations in Computing Research (ICR’23). Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 721. Springer, Cham.)

   Daimi, K. ; and Sadoon, A. Al (Ed.)

   In this paper, we introduce an NSF funded project that aims to develop a database that integrates genetic, environmental and age-related information to study their effects on health conditions of a rhesus monkey colony at Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico, which has been founded since 1938. In this project, we will combine the osteology data with the rich genealogy and demographic information into a searchable and computer-interoperable knowledge model accessible through user-friendly interfaces. Backed by the integrated database, this system will provide researchers and the public information from the Cayo Santiago rhesus colony and the derived skeletal collection, a powerful non-human model for datamining to study human disease. Undergraduate and graduate students from diverse communities have been incorporated into research and development activities. Related materials are used as case studies in relevant classes at Mercer University to help train these undergraduate students into problem solvers. 

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2. Conceptual Design and Prototyping for a Primate Health History Model

   Zhao, Martin Q ; Maldonado, Elizabeth ; Kensler, Terry B ; Kohn, Luci AP ; Guatelli-Steinberg, Debbie ; Wang, Q. ( January 2021 , Transactions on computational science and computational intelligence)

   Arabnia, Hamid R. ; Deligiannidis, Leonidas ; Tinetti, Fernando G. ; Tran, Quoc-Nam (Ed.)

   Primate models are important for understanding human conditions, especially in studies of ageing, pathology, adaptation, and evolution. However, how to integrate data from multiple disciplines and render them compatible with each other for datamining and in-depth study is always challenging. In a long-term project, we have started a collaborative research endeavor to examine the health history of a free-ranging rhesus macaque colony at Cayo Santiago, and build a knowledge model for anthropological and biomedical/translational studies of the effects of environment and genetics on bone development, aging, and pathologies. This paper discusses the conceptual design as well as the prototyping of this model and related graphical user interfaces, and how these will help future scientific queries and studies. 

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3. Conceptual Design and Prototyping for a Primate Health History Model

   https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71051-4_40  

   Zhao, Martin Q ; Maldonado, Elizabeth ; Kensler, Terry B ; Kohn, Luci AP ; Guatelli-Steinberg, Debbie ; Wang, Q. ( January 2021 , Transactions on computational science and computational intelligence)

   Arabnia, Hamid R. ; Deligiannidis, Leonidas ; Tinetti, Fernando G. ; Tran, Quoc-Nam (Ed.)

   Primate models are important for understanding human conditions, especially in studies of ageing, pathology, adaptation, and evolution. However, how to integrate data from multiple disciplines and render them compatible with each other for datamining and in-depth study is always challenging. In a long-term project, we have started a collaborative research endeavor to examine the health history of a free-ranging rhesus macaque colony at Cayo Santiago, and build a knowledge model for anthropological and biomedical/translational studies of the effects of environment and genetics on bone development, aging, and pathologies. This paper discusses the conceptual design as well as the prototyping of this model and related graphical user interfaces, and how these will help future scientific queries and studies. 

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4. Relationships between sex, body mass and tooth wear in Cayo Santiago rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

   Guatelli-Steinberg, Debbie ; Maldonado, Elizabeth ; Kensler, Terry B ; Kohn, Luci AP ; Zhao, Martin Q ; Wang, Q. ( January 2021 , American journal of physical anthropology)

   null (Ed.)

   Understanding factors affecting tooth wear in primates is of interest because as teeth wear, their chewing efficiency can change—in some species positively and in others negatively. It is well known that teeth wear with age, but relationships between sex and tooth wear and between body size and tooth wear are less well understood. Here we analyze molar wear scores from a cross-sectional sample of 212 Cayo Santiago rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) adults examined in 1985. Because males are generally larger than females --potentially processing more food over their lifetimes--we hypothesized that with age included in an ordinal logistic regression model, males would exhibit significantly greater wear than females. We further hypothesized that males of larger body mass would exhibit greater wear than males of smaller body mass. Finally, because many of the females were pregnant or lactating at the time of dental examination, we hypothesized that there would be no relationship between body mass and wear in females. We found that with age included in ordinal logistic regression models, males had significantly more worn molars than females, larger males had more worn molars than smaller males, and that for females, molar wear was not significantly related to body mass. These results suggest that over the life course, animals with larger body sizes (males vs. females and larger vs. smaller males) may accumulate more wear than those with smaller body sizes. Future analyses to be conducted on the Cayo Santiago monkeys’ skeletal remains will further evaluate this possibility. Funding Sources: The Cayo Santiago colony is supported by NIH 5P40OD012217. This project is supported by NSF grants to DG-S., LK., MZ, and QW (NSF #1926528, 1926481, 1926402, and 1926601). 

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5. Relationships between sex, body mass and tooth wear in Cayo Santiago rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

   Guatelli-Steinberg, Debbie ; Maldonado, Elizabeth ; Kensler, Terry B ; Kohn, Luci AP ; Zhao, Martin Q ; Wang, Q. ( January 2021 , American journal of physical anthropology)

   null (Ed.)

   Understanding factors affecting tooth wear in primates is of interest because as teeth wear, their chewing efficiency can change—in some species positively and in others negatively. It is well known that teeth wear with age, but relationships between sex and tooth wear and between body size and tooth wear are less well understood. Here we analyze molar wear scores from a cross-sectional sample of 212 Cayo Santiago rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) adults examined in 1985. Because males are generally larger than females --potentially processing more food over their lifetimes--we hypothesized that with age included in an ordinal logistic regression model, males would exhibit significantly greater wear than females. We further hypothesized that males of larger body mass would exhibit greater wear than males of smaller body mass. Finally, because many of the females were pregnant or lactating at the time of dental examination, we hypothesized that there would be no relationship between body mass and wear in females. We found that with age included in ordinal logistic regression models, males had significantly more worn molars than females, larger males had more worn molars than smaller males, and that for females, molar wear was not significantly related to body mass. These results suggest that over the life course, animals with larger body sizes (males vs. females and larger vs. smaller males) may accumulate more wear than those with smaller body sizes. Future analyses to be conducted on the Cayo Santiago monkeys’ skeletal remains will further evaluate this possibility. Funding Sources: The Cayo Santiago colony is supported by NIH 5P40OD012217. This project is supported by NSF grants to DG-S., LK., MZ, and QW (NSF #1926528, 1926481, 1926402, and 1926601). 

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