Elevated IgA antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus in children with chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection.

Anti-Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibodies were tested in 11 children with chronic active EBV infection. Anti-virus capsid antigen (VCA)-IgG antibody titers ranged from 1:640 to 1:10,240. Anti-VCA-IgM antibody was consistently positive in 5 of the 11 patients; anti-VCA-IgA antibody was consistently positive in 6 of the 10 patients; anti-early antigen (EA)-IgG antibody was consistently positive in 10 of the 11 patients and anti-EA-IgA antibody was consistently positive in 4 out of the 7 patients. Anti-EBV nuclear antigen (EBNA) antibody was not detected in two patients. Consistently positive anti-VCA-IgA- and anti-EA-IgA- antibody may be a characteristic feature of abnormal antibody responses in severe chronic active EBV-infection in childhood.</p

Cell-mediated cytotoxicity-supporting activity of various human gammaglobulin preparations.

Antibody activity, especially that involved in the reaction of antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), of five commercially available human gammaglobulin preparations (standard, pepsin-treated, plasmin-treated, polyethylene glycol-fractionated and S-sulfonated gammaglobulin) was measured. All these gammaglobulin preparations had high titers of hemagglutination inhibition and neutralizing antibody against measles virus. In ADCC reaction, the pepsin-treated gammaglobulin preparation showed no antibody activity. The standard gammaglobulin preparation showed weak activity only when highly diluted. The remaining three preparations showed high activity. Though the S-sulfonated gammaglobulin preparation showed no activity in ADCC reaction, it showed high activity after reconversion by means of oxidation and reduction in vitro. The plasmin-treated gammaglobulin preparation showed greater activity than the polyethylene glycol-fractionated preparation of the optimal concentration. In ADCC tests using the plasmin-treated gammaglobulin preparation, K cell activity was strongly inhibited by Hg (thimerosal), while, in those using the standard gammaglobulin preparation, the activity was hardly influenced by Hg, suggesting that the low ADCC activity of the standard gammaglobulin preparation of high concentrations was due to the inhibitory effect of aggregated immunoglobulin G molecules.</p

First Record of a Twin Birth in Chimpanzees of the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania

Newborn chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) twins were observed in the Mahale Mountains National park. This is the first observation at Mahale of a multiple birth from 135 births recorded during 29 years of research at this site. On 22 January 1994, a ca.16-year-old female was first seen with her female twins. Each infant was estimated to be only two-thirds the normal size, but their combined weight and the double amount of attention that had to be given to their care made the mother's burden very heavy. She had to pay close attention to the infants even when she rested. The mother often stopped to rest every 10-20 m while traveling, and often walked bipedally for 2-3 m at a time, gripping the twins by the nape of their necks. She was never seen to lift the infants to her nipples although they often showed oral rooting for nipple behavior and vocalized in distress. When the mother was next seen on 29 January, her twins were gone

Preliminary Study of Feeding Competition Between Baboons and Chimpanzees in the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania

Of eight primates sympatric to chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania, yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus cynocephalus) are the second largest in size after chimpanzees. Baboons in Mahale have invaded the chimpanzee range over the year. Group size, range use, feeding behavior, and diet of baboons and chimpanzees were recorded during the same season to investigate the interspecific relationship. The data indicate feeding competition between the two species. Chimpanzees may be negatively affected by the competition due to there dependence on specific ripe fruits, as their dietary items significantly overlap with those of the baboons

Bathing behaviour in spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in Laikipia, Kenya: Two observational cases

Homeothermic animals have regulatory mechanisms to maintain a constant body temperature in response to harsh climatic conditions. In low latitude areas near the equator, animals have adapted a coat to avoid strong UV rays, but a thick coat interferes with heat dissipation due to high daytime temperatures. Therefore, animals spend hot hours in cool shade or dens as the most common method to avoid overheating Alternatively, some animals cool themselves by bathing with sand, mud or water. Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are medium-sized carnivorous animals weighing about 45–70 kg, and aredouble coated. Bathing is a well-known behaviour in spotted hyenas, but it is not clear from natural historical descriptions whether their bathing is a heat-resistant behaviour. Here we report on two bathing observation cases of hyena and describe them with reference to the heat resistance function of bathing based on the time and temperature at which observations occurred. A wild hyena of a four-headed clan inhabiting Laikipia, Kenya bathed in a pool at around 18:00 h and 9:00 h in the dry season. The temperature at 18:00 h showed largest difference from the highest annual mean temperature. The bathing at 9:00 h in the morning was the time when the temperature began to rise. These observations suggest that hyena bathing may be a heat-avoiding behaviour. Bathing also has other functions such as parasite extermination, play and ambush hunting, hence more observations are needed in the future

Wound healing in wild male baboons: Estimating healing time from wound size.

Wound healing in animals is important to minimize the fitness costs of infection. Logically, a longer healing time is associated with higher risk of infection and higher energy loss. In wild mammals, wounds caused by aggressive intraspecific interactions can potentially have lethal repercussions. Clarifying wounding rate and healing time is therefore important for measuring the severity of the attacks. In addition, impact of secondary damage of wounds (e.g., accidental peeling off of scabs) on heeling time is unknown despite the risk of infection in wild mammals. In baboons, most male injuries have been reported to result from male to male fights. Here, we investigated the relationship between wound size and healing time in wild anubis baboons to clarify the healing cost of physical attacks including secondary damage of wounds. Observations were conducted daily between August 2016 and July 2017 in Kenya for seven adult male anubis baboons. The individual wound rate was one per month on average. In 16 cases, we were able to assess the number of days required for wound healing, and the median healing time was 13 d. Wound healing time was longer for larger wounds. When the scab was peeled off accidentally because of external factors, healing time became longer. One of the causes of scabs' peeling off was baboons' scab-picking behavior, and the behaviour was considered self-injurious behavior. However, its predicted healing cost might not be high. We concluded that wounds less than 800 mm2 (the largest observed in this study) in baboon males have little effect on survival. Our results suggest that lethal wounds by physical attacks rarely occur in male baboons, and that healing time and delay caused by secondary damages can be estimated by measuring wound area