53 research outputs found
Ape Conservation Physiology: Fecal Glucocorticoid Responses in Wild Pongo pygmaeus morio following Human Visitation
Nature-based tourism can generate important revenue to support conservation of biodiversity. However, constant exposure to tourists and subsequent chronic activation of stress responses can produce pathological effects, including impaired cognition, growth, reproduction, and immunity in the same animals we are interested in protecting. Utilizing fecal samples (Nâ=â53) from 2 wild habituated orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus morio) (in addition to 26 fecal samples from 4 wild unhabituated orangutans) in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, we predicted that i) fecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations would be elevated on the day after tourist visitation (indicative of normal stress response to exposure to tourists on the previous day) compared to samples taken before or during tourist visitation in wild, habituated orangutans, and ii) that samples collected from habituated animals would have lower fecal glucocorticoid metabolites than unhabituated animals not used for tourism. Among the habituated animals used for tourism, fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels were significantly elevated in samples collected the day after tourist visitation (indicative of elevated cortisol production on the previous day during tourist visitation). Fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels were also lower in the habituated animals compared to their age-matched unhabituated counterparts. We conclude that the habituated animals used for this singular ecotourism project are not chronically stressed, unlike other species/populations with documented permanent alterations in stress responses. Animal temperament, species, the presence of coping/escape mechanisms, social confounders, and variation in amount of tourism may explain differences among previous experiments. Acute alterations in glucocorticoid measures in wildlife exposed to tourism must be interpreted conservatively. While permanently altered stress responses can be detrimental, preliminary results in these wild habituated orangutans suggest that low levels of predictable disturbance can likely result in low physiological impact on these animals
Individual, social, and environmental factors affecting salivary and fecal cortisol levels in captive pied tamarins (Saguinus bicolor)
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Price, E., Coleman, R., Ahsmann, J., Glendewar, G., Hunt, J., Smith, T. & Wormell, D. (2019). Individual, social, and environmental factors affecting salivary and fecal cortisol levels in captive pied tamarins (Saguinus bicolor). American Journal of Primatology, 81(8), which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23033. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingPied tamarins (Saguinus bicolor) are endangered New World primates, and in captivity
appear to be very susceptible to stress. We measured cortisol in 214 saliva samples
from 36 tamarins and in 227 fecal samples from 27 tamarins, and investigated
the effects of age, sex, pregnancy, rearing history, social status, weight, group
composition, and enclosure type using generalized linear mixed models. There was no
effect of age on either fecal or salivary cortisol levels. Female pied tamarins in late
pregnancy had higher fecal cortisol levels than those in early pregnancy, or
nonpregnant females, but there was no effect of pregnancy on salivary cortisol.
Females had higher salivary cortisol levels than males, but there was no effect of
rearing history. However, for fecal cortisol, there was an interaction between sex and
rearing history. Handâreared tamarins overall had higher fecal cortisol levels, but
while male parentâreared tamarins had higher levels than females who were parentâ
reared, the reverse was true for handâreared individuals. There was a trend towards
lower fecal cortisol levels in subordinate individuals, but no effect of status on
salivary cortisol. Fecal but not salivary cortisol levels declined with increasing weight.
We found little effect of group composition on cortisol levels in either saliva or feces,
suggesting that as long as tamarins are housed socially, the nature of the group is of
less importance. However, animals in offâshow enclosures had higher salivary and
fecal cortisol levels than individuals housed onâshow. We suggest that large onâshow
enclosures with permanent access to offâexhibit areas may compensate for the
effects of visitor disturbance, and a larger number of tamarins of the same species
housed close together may explain the higher cortisol levels found in tamarins living
in offâshow accommodation, but further research is needed
Primate responses to changing environments in the anthropocene
Most primates have slow life-histories and long generation times. Because environmental change is occurring at an unprecedented rate, gene-based adaptations are unlikely to evolve fast enough to offer successful responses to these changes. The paper reviews the most common types of habitat/landscape alterations, the extent of human-primate interactions, and the impact of climate change. It demonstrates how understanding behavioural flexibility as a response to environmental change will be crucial to optimize conservation efforts by constructing informed management plans. Comparisons across species, space, and time can be used to draw generalizations about primate responses to environmental change while considering their behavioural flexibility
Axial Dispersion in the Three-Dimensional Mixing of Particles in a Rotating Drum Reactor
Meta-analysis of gene expression in human pancreatic islets after in vitro expansion
Pancreatic islet transplantation as a potential cure for type 1 diabetes (T1D) cannot be scaled up due to a scarcity of human pancreas donors. In vitro expansion of beta-cells from mature human pancreatic islets provides an alternative source of insulin-producing cells. The exact nature of the expanded cells produced by diverse expansion protocols and their potential for differentiation into functional beta-cells remain elusive. We performed a large-scale meta-analysis of gene expression in human pancreatic islet cells, which were processed using three different previously described protocols for expansion and for which redifferentiation was attempted. All three expansion protocols induced dramatic changes in the expression profiles of pancreatic islets; many of these changes are shared among the three protocols. Attempts at redifferentiation of expanded cells induce a limited number of gene expression changes. Nevertheless, these fail to restore a pancreatic islet-like gene expression pattern. Comparison with a collection of public microarray datasets confirmed that expanded cells are highly comparable to mesenchymal stem cells. Genes induced in expanded cells are also enriched for targets of transcription factors important for pluripotency induction. The present data increase our understanding of the active pathways in expanded and redifferentiated islets. Knowledge of the mesenchymal stem cell potential may help development of drug therapeutics to restore beta-cell mass in T1D patients
Secretome of mesenchymal stem cells as a new tool for central nervous system regenerative medicine
Introduction: The low regeneration potential of the central nervous
system (CNS) represents a challenge for the development of new therapeutic
strategies. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been proposed
as a possible therapeutic tool for CNS disorders. Their secretome possesses
a broad range of neuroregulatory factors that could promote an
increase in neurogenesis, inhibition of apoptosis/glial scar, immunomodulation,
angiogenesis, neuronal and glial cell survival, as well as
relevant neuroprotective actions into different pathophysiological contexts.
In the present work the role of the secretome of MSCs, from different
sources, in vitro and in vivo neuronal/glial survival was
addressed. Additionally the possible applications of secretome based
therapies (with no cell transplantation) for Parkinsonâs Disease (PD)
regenerative medicine was also screened. Finally new trends on how to
modulate the secretome MSCs were also explored
A multitarget basal ganglia dopaminergic and GABAergic transplantation strategy enhances behavioural recovery in parkinsonian rats.
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