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Author |
Horner, V.; Whiten, A.; Flynn, E.; de Waal, F.B.M. |
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Title |
Faithful replication of foraging techniques along cultural transmission chains by chimpanzees and children |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2006 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |
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Volume |
103 |
Issue |
37 |
Pages |
13878-13883 |
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Keywords |
Animals; Child, Preschool; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; Pan troglodytes/*psychology |
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Abstract |
Observational studies of wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have revealed population-specific differences in behavior, thought to represent cultural variation. Field studies have also reported behaviors indicative of cultural learning, such as close observation of adult skills by infants, and the use of similar foraging techniques within a population over many generations. Although experimental studies have shown that chimpanzees are able to learn complex behaviors by observation, it is unclear how closely these studies simulate the learning environment found in the wild. In the present study we have used a diffusion chain paradigm, whereby a behavior is passed from one individual to the next in a linear sequence in an attempt to simulate intergenerational transmission of a foraging skill. Using a powerful three-group, two-action methodology, we found that alternative methods used to obtain food from a foraging device (“lift door” versus “slide door”) were accurately transmitted along two chains of six and five chimpanzees, respectively, such that the last chimpanzee in the chain used the same method as the original trained model. The fidelity of transmission within each chain is remarkable given that several individuals in the no-model control group were able to discover either method by individual exploration. A comparative study with human children revealed similar results. This study is the first to experimentally demonstrate the linear transmission of alternative foraging techniques by non-human primates. Our results show that chimpanzees have a capacity to sustain local traditions across multiple simulated generations. |
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Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9JP, United Kingdom |
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0027-8424 |
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PMID:16938863 |
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no |
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Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
159 |
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Author |
Whiten, A.; Horner, V.; de Waal, F.B.M. |
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Title |
Conformity to cultural norms of tool use in chimpanzees |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
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Volume |
437 |
Issue |
7059 |
Pages |
737-740 |
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Keywords |
Aging/physiology; Animals; Culture; Feeding Behavior/physiology; Female; Pan troglodytes/*physiology/*psychology; *Social Conformity; Technology; Time Factors |
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Abstract |
Rich circumstantial evidence suggests that the extensive behavioural diversity recorded in wild great apes reflects a complexity of cultural variation unmatched by species other than our own. However, the capacity for cultural transmission assumed by this interpretation has remained difficult to test rigorously in the field, where the scope for controlled experimentation is limited. Here we show that experimentally introduced technologies will spread within different ape communities. Unobserved by group mates, we first trained a high-ranking female from each of two groups of captive chimpanzees to adopt one of two different tool-use techniques for obtaining food from the same 'Pan-pipe' apparatus, then re-introduced each female to her respective group. All but two of 32 chimpanzees mastered the new technique under the influence of their local expert, whereas none did so in a third population lacking an expert. Most chimpanzees adopted the method seeded in their group, and these traditions continued to diverge over time. A subset of chimpanzees that discovered the alternative method nevertheless went on to match the predominant approach of their companions, showing a conformity bias that is regarded as a hallmark of human culture. |
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Address |
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, UK. a.whiten@st-and.ac.uk |
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1476-4687 |
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PMID:16113685 |
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no |
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Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
163 |
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Author |
Whiten, A.; van Schaik, C.P. |
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Title |
The evolution of animal 'cultures' and social intelligence |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2007 |
Publication |
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences |
Abbreviated Journal |
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci |
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Volume |
362 |
Issue |
1480 |
Pages |
603-620 |
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Abstract |
Decades-long field research has flowered into integrative studies that, together with experimental evidence for the requisite social learning capacities, have indicated a reliance on multiple traditions ('cultures') in a small number of species. It is increasingly evident that there is great variation in manifestations of social learning, tradition and culture among species, offering much scope for evolutionary analysis. Social learning has been identified in a range of vertebrate and invertebrate species, yet sustained traditions appear rarer, and the multiple traditions we call cultures are rarer still. Here, we examine relationships between this variation and both social intelligence-sophisticated information processing adapted to the social domain-and encephalization. First, we consider whether culture offers one particular confirmation of the social ('Machiavellian') intelligence hypothesis that certain kinds of social life (here, culture) select for intelligence: 'you need to be smart to sustain culture'. Phylogenetic comparisons, particularly focusing on our own study animals, the great apes, support this, but we also highlight some paradoxes in a broader taxonomic survey. Second, we use intraspecific variation to address the converse hypothesis that 'culture makes you smart', concluding that recent evidence for both chimpanzees and orang-utans support this proposition. |
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Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9JP, UK |
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ISSN |
0962-8436 |
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Notes |
PMID:17255007 |
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no |
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Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
729 |
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Author |
Whiten, A. |
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Title |
The second inheritance system of chimpanzees and humans |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
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Volume |
437 |
Issue |
7055 |
Pages |
52-55 |
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Keywords |
Animals; Animals, Wild/physiology/psychology; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; *Culture; Female; Humans; Imitative Behavior; Learning/*physiology; Pan troglodytes/*physiology/psychology; *Social Behavior; Technology |
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Abstract |
Half a century of dedicated field research has brought us from ignorance of our closest relatives to the discovery that chimpanzee communities resemble human cultures in possessing suites of local traditions that uniquely identify them. The collaborative effort required to establish this picture parallels the one set up to sequence the chimpanzee genome, and has revealed a complex social inheritance system that complements the genetic picture we are now developing. |
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Address |
Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, and Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9JP, UK. a.whiten@st-and.ac.uk |
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English |
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ISSN |
1476-4687 |
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Notes |
PMID:16136127 |
Approved |
no |
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Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
730 |
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Author |
Horner, V.; Whiten, A. |
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Title |
Causal knowledge and imitation/emulation switching in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and children (Homo sapiens) |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Animal cognition |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Cogn. |
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Volume |
8 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
164-181 |
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Keywords |
Animals; Child Behavior; Child, Preschool; *Concept Formation; Female; Humans; *Imitative Behavior; *Learning; Male; Pan troglodytes; *Problem Solving; Psychomotor Performance; *Social Environment; Species Specificity |
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Abstract |
This study explored whether the tendency of chimpanzees and children to use emulation or imitation to solve a tool-using task was a response to the availability of causal information. Young wild-born chimpanzees from an African sanctuary and 3- to 4-year-old children observed a human demonstrator use a tool to retrieve a reward from a puzzle-box. The demonstration involved both causally relevant and irrelevant actions, and the box was presented in each of two conditions: opaque and clear. In the opaque condition, causal information about the effect of the tool inside the box was not available, and hence it was impossible to differentiate between the relevant and irrelevant parts of the demonstration. However, in the clear condition causal information was available, and subjects could potentially determine which actions were necessary. When chimpanzees were presented with the opaque box, they reproduced both the relevant and irrelevant actions, thus imitating the overall structure of the task. When the box was presented in the clear condition they instead ignored the irrelevant actions in favour of a more efficient, emulative technique. These results suggest that emulation is the favoured strategy of chimpanzees when sufficient causal information is available. However, if such information is not available, chimpanzees are prone to employ a more comprehensive copy of an observed action. In contrast to the chimpanzees, children employed imitation to solve the task in both conditions, at the expense of efficiency. We suggest that the difference in performance of chimpanzees and children may be due to a greater susceptibility of children to cultural conventions, perhaps combined with a differential focus on the results, actions and goals of the demonstrator. |
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Centre for Social Learning and Cognitive Evolution, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JU, UK. vkh1@st-andrews.ac.uk |
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1435-9448 |
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Notes |
PMID:15549502 |
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no |
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Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
732 |
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Author |
Assersohn, C.; Whiten, A.; Kiwede, Z.T.; Tinka, J.; Karamagi, J. |
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Title |
Use of leaves to inspect ectoparasites in wild chimpanzees: a third cultural variant? |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2004 |
Publication |
Primates |
Abbreviated Journal |
Primates |
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Volume |
45 |
Issue |
4 |
Pages |
255-258 |
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Keywords |
Animals; Animals, Wild/physiology; Ape Diseases/*parasitology; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Ectoparasitic Infestations/parasitology/*veterinary; Female; Grooming/*physiology; Male; Pan troglodytes/*physiology; *Plant Leaves; Protozoa/*isolation & purification; Uganda |
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Abstract |
We report 26 cases of using leaves as tools with which wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in the Sonso community, Budongo Forest, Uganda, appeared to inspect objects removed during grooming. Careful removal of potential ectoparasites and delicate lip or manual placement on leaves followed by intense visual examination characterised this behaviour. It appears to be done to judge whether either ingestion or discarding is most appropriate, the former occurring in most cases. This behaviour may represent a third variant of ectoparasite handling, different from those described at Tai and Gombe, yet sharing features with the latter. These two East African techniques may thus have evolved from leaf grooming. |
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Scottish Primate Research Group, School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9JU, Fife, UK |
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0032-8332 |
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PMID:15179558 |
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no |
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Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
733 |
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Author |
Stoinski, T.S.; Whiten, A. |
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Title |
Social learning by orangutans (Pongo abelii and Pongo pygmaeus) in a simulated food-processing task |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
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Volume |
117 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
272-282 |
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Keywords |
*Animal Communication; Animals; *Feeding Behavior; Female; *Imitative Behavior; Male; Pongo pygmaeus/*psychology; Problem Solving; Psychomotor Performance; Social Environment; Species Specificity; *Transfer (Psychology) |
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Abstract |
Increasing evidence for behavioral differences between populations of primates has created a resurgence of interest in examining mechanisms of information transfer between individuals. The authors examined the social transmission of information in 15 captive orangutans (Pongo abelii and Pongo pygmaeus) using a simulated food-processing task. Experimental subjects were shown 1 of 2 methods for removing a suite of defenses on an “artificial fruit.” Control subjects were given no prior exposure before interacting with the fruit. Observing a model provided a functional advantage in the task, as significantly more experimental than control subjects opened the fruit. Within the experimental groups, the authors found a trend toward differences in the actual behaviors used to remove 1 of the defenses. Results support observations from the wild implying horizontal transfer of information in orangutans and show that a number of social learning processes are likely to be involved in the transfer of knowledge in this species. |
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Address |
Department of Primate Research, Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30315, USA. tstoinski@zooatlanta.org |
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0735-7036 |
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Notes |
PMID:14498803 |
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no |
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Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
737 |
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Author |
Stoinski, T.S.; Wrate, J.L.; Ure, N.; Whiten, A. |
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Title |
Imitative learning by captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in a simulated food-processing task |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983) |
Abbreviated Journal |
J Comp Psychol |
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Volume |
115 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
272-281 |
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Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/physiology; *Discrimination Learning; Feeding Behavior/*physiology; Gorilla gorilla; *Imitative Behavior; Social Behavior |
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Abstract |
Although field studies have suggested the existence of cultural transmission of foraging techniques in primates, identification of transmission mechanisms has remained elusive. To test experimentally for evidence of imitation in the current study, we exposed gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) to an artificial fruit foraging task designed by A. Whiten and D. M. Custance (1996). Gorillas (n=6) watched a human model remove a series of 3 defenses around a fruit. Each of the defenses was removed using 1 of 2 alternative techniques. Subsequent video analysis of gorillas' behavior showed a significant tendency to copy the observed technique on 1 of the individual defenses and the direction of removal on another defense. This is the first statistically reliable evidence of imitation in gorillas. Sequence of defense removal was not replicated. The gorillas' responses were most similar to those of chimpanzees. |
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TECHlab, Zoo Atlanta, Georgia 30315, USA. stoinskit@mindspring.com |
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0735-7036 |
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PMID:11594496 |
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no |
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Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
Serial |
738 |
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Author |
Whiten, A.; McGrew, W.C. |
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Title |
Is this the first portrayal of tool use by a chimp? |
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Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Nature |
Abbreviated Journal |
Nature |
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Volume |
409 |
Issue |
6816 |
Pages |
12 |
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Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Pan troglodytes/*physiology; Philately |
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0028-0836 |
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PMID:11343083 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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739 |
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Author |
Whiten, A.; Boesch, C. |
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Title |
The cultures of chimpanzees |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2001 |
Publication |
Scientific American |
Abbreviated Journal |
Sci Am |
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Volume |
284 |
Issue |
1 |
Pages |
60-67 |
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Keywords |
Animals; *Behavior, Animal; Culture; Feeding Behavior; Grooming; Hominidae; Humans; Pan troglodytes/*physiology |
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University of St. Andrews |
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0036-8733 |
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PMID:11132425 |
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Call Number |
refbase @ user @ |
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740 |
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