Signs of generalized anxiety and compulsive disorders in chimpanzees

Fear and anxiety have been studied extensively in humans and other animals. However, far less attention has been focused on the clinical and ethical implications of nonhuman animals’ susceptibility to psychological disorders. Behavioral signs of psychopathology in nonhuman animals, including our closest phylogenetic relatives, are rarely described as clinical syndromes. In this study, we drew on approaches described in child psychiatry, veterinary medicine, and primatology, to identify behavioral clusters in chimpanzees comparable with human anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive–compulsive disorder.In phase 1 of this study, we accessed published case reports of 20 chimpanzees subjected to maternal separation, social isolation, experimentation, or similar experiences. We tested the inter-rater reliability of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fourth edition; DSM-IV) criteria for generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive–compulsive disorder when applied to chimpanzees in these case studies. Additionally, based on the DSM-IV, veterinary approaches, and ethograms, we defined behaviorally anchored alternative criteria, which proved more reliable than the DSM-IV criteria in phase 1. In phase 2, the new behaviorally anchored criteria were applied to chimpanzees living in wild sites in Africa (n = 196) and those with previous histories of experimentation, orphanage, illegal seizure, or violent human conflict (n = 168) living in sanctuaries. In phase 2, 18% of chimpanzees living in sanctuaries met the set of behaviorally anchored criteria for generalized anxiety disorder, compared with 0.5% of those in the wild (P = 0.036), and 19% of chimpanzees in sanctuaries met the set of behaviorally anchored criteria for obsessive–compulsive disorder, compared with 0% of those in the wild (P = 0.071).Chimpanzees display behavioral clusters similar to anxiety disorders described in humans, underscoring the importance of ethical considerations regarding their use in experimentation and other captive settings.     

Synthesis,mechanism of action,and QSAR of herbicidal 3-substituted-2-aryl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydroindazoles

A factorially designed set of 3-substituted 2-aryl-4,5,6,7-tetrahydroindazoles was synthesized and their herbicidal properties were evaluated using regression analysis. For optimal activity, the substituent at position 3 should be neither strongly hydrophobic nor hydrophilic and should have a small minimum radius. A study of the mechanism of action indicated that the tetrahydroindazoles are inhibitors of the enzyme protoporphyrinogen oxidase.     

Red blood cell transfusions in cats: 126 cases (1999)

OBJECTIVE: To determine the number of and reasons for RBC transfusions, incidence of acute transfusion reactions, prevalence of blood types, volume of blood administered, change in PCV, and clinical outcome in cats. DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: 126 cats that received RBC transfusions. PROCEDURE: Medical records of cats that received whole blood or packed RBC transfusions were reviewed for signalment, blood type, pre- and post-transfusion PCV, volume of blood product administered, clinical diagnosis and cause of anemia, clinical signs of acute transfusion reactions, and clinical outcome. RESULTS: Mean volume of whole blood administered i.v. was 172 mL/kg (7.8 mL/lb) versus 9.3 mL/kg (4.2 mL/lb) for packed RBCs. Ninety-four percent of cats had blood type A. Mean increase in PCV among all cats was 6%. Fifty-two percent of cats had anemia attributed to blood loss, 10% had anemia attributed to hemolysis, and 38% had anemia attributed to erythropoietic failure. Acute transfusion reactions occurred in 11 cats. Sixty percent of cats survived until discharge. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: RBC transfusions resulted in an increase in PCV in cats with all causes of anemia in this study. The rate of death was greater than in cats that did not receive transfusions, but seriousness of the underlying disease in the 2 groups may not be comparable. Death rate of cats that received transfusions was not attributable to a high rate of transfusion reactions. Results confirm that pretransfusion blood typing or crossmatching is required to minimize the risk of adverse reactions.     

Radiotherapy of a recurrent ossifying fibroma in the paranasal sinuses of a horse

A 7-year-old female Thoroughbred was admitted with a history of labored breathing, stridor, and exercise intolerance. Examination revealed a mass in the left paranasal sinuses that was determined to be an ossifying fibroma. Initial treatment consisted of surgical removal of the mass alone; however, the mass recurred 9 months after surgery. The mass was again removed, and adjunctive radiotherapy consisting of 3,000 cGy of cobalt radiation was administered. This time, the tumor did not recur for > 6 years. A third surgery was performed to remove the mass, and adjunctive radiotherapy consisting of 4,000 cGy of photon beam radiation from a linear accelerator was administered. The mass did not recur during the subsequent 3 years. Ossifying fibromas are uncommon tumors that frequently recur if incompletely excised. Results in this horse suggest that adjunctive radiotherapy may delay or prevent tumor recurrence in affected horses.     

An index for selective toxicity of miticides to phytophagous mites and their predators based on orchard trials

Data from nine trials conducted from 1990 to 1998 in apple orchards in Nova Scotia and Quebec, Canada, were used to estimate the predator-prey selectivity of miticides and their potential compatibility with biological control of mites. The European red mite Panonychus ulmi (Koch) was the dominant and more harmful phytophagous species, followed by the apple rust mite, Aculus schlechtendali (Nalepa). Two predacious mites, the phytoseiid, Typhlodromus pyri Sheuten, and the stigmaeid, Zetzellia mali (Ewing), were often found in the orchards. We used one minus the ratio of mite-days in treated plots to those in the control plots as an index of population suppression and toxicity of the miticides. Miticides were then categorized into classes similar to those employed by the International Organization for Biological Control to rate pesticide toxicity to natural enemies of insect and mite pests. Selectivity of miticides was mostly based on toxicity to P ulmi, the major pest, versus toxicity to T pyri, the major predator, with some consideration of the two lesser species, A schlechtendali and Z mali. In most cases, our findings were in accord with other studies. Abamectin and clofentezine had favourable selectivity (more toxic to the two phytophagous mites than to T pyri). The higher recommended rate of pyridaben (450 g ha(-1)) and two rates of spirodiclofen (180 and 240 g ha(-1)) were neutral (equally toxic to pests and predators). The lower rate of pyridaben (216 g ha(-1)), dicofol, formetanate hydrochloride and propargite were unfavourably selective (more toxic to T pyri). A higher than recommended rate of pyridaben (2160 g ha(-1)) applied before bloom was disruptive--P ulmi-days after treatment were actually greater than with the untreated control. P ulmi resistance to dicofol and propargite were probable complicating factors in some of the orchard trials.     

Fiber digestibility by the orangutan (Pongo abelii): in vitro and in vivo.

Limited nutritional information exists on diets of free-ranging orangutans, Pongo abelii and P. pygmaeus. Although they are classified as frugivores, the chemical composition of their diet and their gastrointestinal anatomy suggest that they rely on fiber fermentation for a substantial portion of energy. However, the extent to which they can ferment fiber is not known. Continuous culture systems, inoculated with orangutan fecal bacteria, were established to determine the fiber-digesting capacity of orangutan hindgut microflora. The cultures received one of four treatments: soybean hulls, ground corncobs, corn starch, or no food. Neither dry matter nor neutral detergent fiber digestibilities differed significantly among treatments. However, neutral detergent fiber digestibilities were high for both the soybean hull (88.4%) and ground corncob (86.1%) treatments, indicating that the microflora had a strong fibrolytic capability. To determine whether the same fiber-degrading capacity occurred in vivo, two adult orangutans and one juvenile were fed four gel-matrix diets containing soybean hulls, ground corncobs, or ground primate biscuits. Neutral detergent fiber concentrations (dry matter basis) of the gel matrices were 52.9% with soybean hulls, 46.8% and 63.7% with ground corncobs, and 31.3% with ground primate biscuits. A fifth diet consisted of primate biscuits with 27.3% neutral detergent fiber (dry matter basis) and was considered the baseline diet. Neutral detergent fiber digestibility (74.5%) was greatest (P < 0.05) for the soybean hull gel diet and least (57.5% and 45.0%, respectively; P < 0.05) for the 63.7% neutral detergent fiber (dry matter basis) corncob gel diet and the baseline primate biscuit diet. Total volatile fatty acid concentrations in orangutan feces were not significantly different among diets; however, molar proportions of acetic, propionic, and butyric acid differed (P < 0.05) among diets. The results from both studies indicated that orangutans are capable of extensive fiber fermentation.