Extraction and Analysis of Cortisol from Human and Monkey Hair

The stress hormone cortisol (CORT) is slowly incorporated into the growing hair shaft of humans, nonhuman primates, and other mammals. We developed and validated a method for CORT extraction and analysis from rhesus monkey hair and subsequently adapted this method for use with human scalp hair. In contrast to CORT "point samples" obtained from plasma or saliva, hair CORT provides an integrated measure of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system activity, and thus physiological stress, during the period of hormone incorporation. Because human scalp hair grows at an average rate of 1 cm/month, CORT levels obtained from hair segments several cm in length can potentially serve as a biomarker of stress experienced over a number of months.In our method, each hair sample is first washed twice in isopropanol to remove any CORT from the outside of the hair shaft that has been deposited from sweat or sebum. After drying, the sample is ground to a fine powder to break up the hair''s protein matrix and increase the surface area for extraction. CORT from the interior of the hair shaft is extracted into methanol, the methanol is evaporated, and the extract is reconstituted in assay buffer. Extracted CORT, along with standards and quality controls, is then analyzed by means of a sensitive and specific commercially available enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kit. Readout from the EIA is converted to pg CORT per mg powdered hair weight. This method has been used in our laboratory to analyze hair CORT in humans, several species of macaque monkeys, marmosets, dogs, and polar bears. Many studies both from our lab and from other research groups have demonstrated the broad applicability of hair CORT for assessing chronic stress exposure in natural as well as laboratory settings.     

Food Preferences and Nutrient Composition in Captive Spider Monkeys,Ateles geoffroyi

We assessed the occurrence of food preferences in captive spider monkeys and analyzed whether their preferences correlate with nutrient composition. Using a two-alternative choice test, we repeatedly presented 7 Ateles geoffroyi with all possible binary combinations of 12 types of food that are part of their diet in captivity. They exhibited the following rank order of preference: avocado > sapodilla > pineapple > mango > papaya > melon > banana > apple > tomato > orange > carrot > cucumber. Correlational analyses revealed that this preference ranking is significantly positively correlated with total energy content, irrespective of the source of energy as neither total carbohydrate content nor protein or lipid content is significantly correlated with food preference. Further, food preferences are significantly negatively correlated with water content and positively correlated with the content of magnesium, copper and manganese. These results suggest that despite their high degree of frugivory and high taste sensitivity for soluble carbohydrates, spider monkeys are opportunistic feeders with regard to maximizing net gain of energy.     

Manual Function in Cebus apella. Digital Mobility,Preshaping, and Endurance in Repetitive Grasping

Manual dexterity varies across species of primates in accord with hand morphology and degree of fine motor control of the digits. Platyrrhine monkeys achieve less direct opposition between thumb and index finger than that of catarrhine primates, and many of them typically whole-hand grip. However, tufted capuchins (Cebus apella), exhibit a degree of independent control of the digits and effective thumb–forefinger opposition. We report how capuchins prehended small objects, with particular attention to the form of sequential fine movements of the fingers, choice of hand, and differences between the two hands in the temporal properties of reaching and grasping. We compare these actions across tasks with differing demands for fine motor control. For tasks that required all the digits to flex in synchrony, capuchins displayed smooth, fast, and efficient reach-to-grasp movements and a higher endurance than for tasks requiring more complex digital coordination. These latter tasks induced a slightly differentiated preshaping of the hand when approaching the objects, indicating preparation for grasping in advance of contact with the object. A right-hand preponderance for complex digital coordination was evident. The monkeys coordinated their fingers rather poorly at the substrate, and they took longer to achieve control of the objects when complex coordination was required than when simultaneous flexion was sufficient. We conclude that precise finger coordination is more effortful and less well coordinated, and the coordination is less lateralized, in capuchins than in catarrhine primates.     

MRI metrics at the epicenter of spinal cord injury are correlated with the stepping process in rhesus monkeys

Clinical evaluations of long-term outcomes in the early-stage spinal cord injury (SCI) focus on macroscopic motor performance and are limited in their prognostic precision. This study was designed to investigate the sensitivity of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indexes to the data-driven gait process after SCI. Ten adult female rhesus monkeys were subjected to thoracic SCI. Kinematics-based gait examinations were performed at 1 (early stage) and 12 (chronic stage) months post-SCI. The proportion of stepping (PS) and gait stability (GS) were calculated as the outcome measures. MRI metrics, which were derived from structural imaging (spinal cord cross-sectional area, SCA) and diffusion tensor imaging (fractional anisotropy, FA; axial diffusivity, λ_//), were acquired in the early stage and compared with functional outcomes by using correlation analysis and stepwise multivariable linear regression. Residual tissue SCA at the injury epicenter and residual tissue FA/remote normal-like tissue FA were correlated with the early-stage PS and GS. The extent of lesion site λ_///residual tissue λ_// in the early stage after SCI was correlated with the chronic-stage GS. The ratios of lesion site λ_// to residual tissue λ_// and early-stage GS were predictive of the improvement in the PS at follow-up. Similarly, the ratios of lesion site λ_// to residual tissue λ_// and early-stage PS best predicted chronic GS recovery. Our findings demonstrate the predictive power of MRI combined with the early data-driven gait indexes for long-term outcomes. Such an approach may help clinicians to predict functional recovery accurately.     

实验恒河猴糖尿病动物模型建立及视网膜并发症的研究

[目的]糖尿病是由于多种因素和遗传因素导致体内胰岛素相对或绝对分泌不足,而引起的代谢性内分泌疾病,它以血糖、尿糖升高为特点,起病隐蔽,通过并发症使人致残致死,是继心血管、癌症之后的第三大致死性疾病,很可能成为21世纪人类的“第一杀手”(1,2)。本文采用人工诱导的方法,建立恒河猴糖尿病动物模型,研究糖尿病疾病的发展和及其并发症的发生、发展规律和防治措施,同时对于治疗糖尿病新药的安全性评价和药物疗效的观察具有广阔的运用前景。[方法]选用成熟的、健康的、雄性恒河猴9只,随机分成三个组,其中高剂量组(60mg/kg)1只,中剂量组(45m…     

安徽恒河猴的微生物学和寄生虫学检测

对安徽省实验猕猴中心的安徽恒河猴进行了微生物（包括病毒和病原菌）和寄生虫检测。对恒河猴的病毒检测结果发现,猕猴疱疹病毒1型（BV）和猴痘病毒（SPV）抗体的阳性率分别为20．7％（6／29）和10．0％（2／20）,20只恒河猴中没有发现猴反转录D型病毒（SRV）、猴免疫缺陷病毒（SIV）和猴T细胞趋向性病毒Ⅰ型（STLV—1）的抗体。5只受检的人工繁育的安徽恒河猴没有感染沙门菌、皮肤病原真菌、志贺菌和结核分枝杆菌的这四种病原菌。肉眼检测恒河猴体表,未发现体外寄生虫。39份人工繁殖的恒河猴粪便样品的总寄生虫感染率为38．5％,检测到溶组织内阿米巴和5种蠕虫（粪类圆线虫、猴结节线虫、绦虫、钩虫、蛔虫）,感染率最高的是粪类圆线虫和猴结节线虫。本次调查表明,安徽恒河猴无特殊疾病,健康状况基本良好,可以建立普通级的实验恒河猴,实现安徽恒河猴的实验动物化。     

基于MaxEnt模型的人类干扰对滇金丝猴潜在分布的影响

滇金丝猴 (Rhinopithecus bieti) 是我国特有的濒危灵长类动物,预测其栖息地变化,评估人类活动影响,进而识别保护空缺,对该物种的保护具有重要意义。本文使用出行大数据估计人类出行密度,并将这一指标引入栖息地模型的构建;运用MaxEnt模型和空间分析技术分别构建自然环境和人类干扰两种情景下滇金丝猴的适宜栖息地模型,并分析自然环境与人类干扰两类共计11个变量对栖息地的影响。结果显示：(1) MaxEnt模型的预测精度较高,基于出行大数据的人类出行密度这一指标能很好表征人类干扰对栖息地的影响。(2) 模型预测得到滇金丝猴高适宜栖息地面积3 487.28 km²,认为影响滇金丝猴潜在分布的主要环境变量是海拔、年降水量、人类出行密度和距道路距离。(3) 人类干扰对滇金丝猴栖息地有明显的负影响 (使适宜栖息地面积相较于自然环境下减少9.32%),其中人类出行活动对滇金丝猴的栖息地干扰最为明显;同时还发现研究区78.8%的区域均受到一个或多个人类变量的较强干扰。(4) 在现有15个滇金丝猴群的活动斑块中,3个同时具有较高栖息地适宜性和较多人类干扰的斑块,可作为重点保护区域;同时发现栖息地质量在距道路和居民点约2 500 m处均出现明显拐点,可作为开展保护工作的缓冲区参考距离。降低这些区域的人类干扰强度,对滇金丝猴的生存具有更重要的现实保护意义。     

Evolutionary renovation of L/M opsin polymorphism confers a fruit discrimination advantage to ateline New World monkeys

New World monkeys exhibit prominent colour vision variation due to allelic polymorphism of the long‐to‐middle wavelength (L/M) opsin gene. The known spectral variation of L/M opsins in primates is broadly determined by amino acid composition at three sites: 180, 277 and 285 (the ‘three‐sites’ rule). However, two L/M opsin alleles found in the black‐handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) are known exceptions, presumably due to novel mutations. The spectral separation of the two L/M photopigments is 1.5 times greater than expected based on the ‘three‐sites’ rule. Yet the consequence of this for the visual ecology of the species is unknown, as is the evolutionary mechanism by which spectral shift was achieved. In this study, we first examine L/M opsins of two other Atelinae species, the long‐haired spider monkeys (A. belzebuth) and the common woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha). By a series of site‐directed mutagenesis, we show that a mutation Y213D (tyrosine to aspartic acid at site 213) in the ancestral opsin of the two alleles enabled N294K, which occurred in one allele of the ateline ancestor and increased the spectral separation between the two alleles. Second, by modelling the chromaticity of dietary fruits and background leaves in a natural habitat of spider monkeys, we demonstrate that chromatic discrimination of fruit from leaves is significantly enhanced by these mutations. This evolutionary renovation of L/M opsin polymorphism in atelines illustrates a previously unappreciated dynamism of opsin genes in shaping primate colour vision.     

秦岭川金丝猴冬季和春季在自然栖息地的空间利用

2000年9月到2003年3月共计197天的时间里,我们采用目标动物取样法(Focalanimalsampling)和行为的全事件记录法(Alloccurrencesampling)对一群生活在秦岭北坡周至保护区内的秦岭金丝猴(Rhinopithecusroxellana)在自然栖息地内空间利用的进行了研究。当猴群在离开人工投食区进行自由活动时我们开始收集数据。结果表明:秦岭川金丝猴在不同年龄性别组的个体对植被的空间利用明显不同,它们花费每天活动的14%的时间在地面上活动,53%时间在树叉处活动,33%的时间在树冠中间活动。与其它年龄性别个体相比,成年雄性有27%的观察时间在地上活动,并且20%的取食时间或29%的休息时间是在地上的,明显地高于其它年龄性别组的个体。群体迁移时,成年雄性有53%的时间在地上移动,而只有13%的时间是在树冠层移动的。在通过不同树冠的时候,成年雄性经常会同时抓住两边再把身体摆过去。它们也经常下到地上迁移而回避在树间跳跃。相比之下,亚成年雌性和青少年猴更加经常地在低植被层和树冠层中找食和休息。它们明显地比成年猴更加频繁地在树冠中移动,却很少下地。它们还经常使用跳跃的方式通过树冠间的空隙。从观察到摔下树的事例分析,青少年猴从树上摔下来的风险比成年猴大。本文进而讨论了影响秦岭金丝猴空间分布和移动的因素,比如说身体的重量等.     

Neonatal temperament and neuromotor differences are predictive of adolescent alcohol intake in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

Identifying predictors of teenage alcohol use disorder (AUDs) is a major health initiative, with studies suggesting that there are distinct personality-related traits that underlie patterns of alcohol intake. As temperament is biologically based, identifiable early in life, and stable across time, it is considered the foundation of personality. As such, we hypothesized that neonatal temperament traits would predict anxiety-mediated adolescent alcohol consumption. To test this, N = 145 rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) infants (14 days of age), reared in a neonatal nursery (n = 82) or in a control condition with their mothers (n = 63) were assessed with a widely used standardized nonhuman primate testing battery, the Infant Behavioral Assessment Scale (IBAS), modeled after the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale, evaluating visual orienting, temperament, motor maturity and, more recently, sensory sensitivity. As adolescents (3–4 years of age), these same subjects were allowed unfettered access to a sweetened-alcohol solution for 1 hr/day, 4 days/week, over 5–7 weeks. Subjects were allowed to self-administer alcohol while housed alone (n = 70) or socially in their home cage (n = 55). Linear regressions showed that alcohol intake was predicted by neonatal orienting ability (β = −.35; p = .01), state control (β = −.19; p = .04), and motor maturity (β = −.24; p = .01). Poor neonatal orienting, state control (ease of consolability), and motor maturity were associated with higher adolescent alcohol intake in rhesus monkeys. These findings suggest that neonatal temperament is predictive of patterns of adolescent alcohol intake. To the extent that these results generalize to humans, they provide evidence that early-life temperament and neurodevelopment may be important risk factors for adolescent AUDs and that the IBAS may be used as an assessment tool for identifying such risk.