Object Play as a Positive Emotional State Indicator for Farmed Spotted Paca (Cuniculus paca)

We aimed to assess whether object play can be used as a positive emotional state indicator for farmed spotted pacas (Cuniculus paca) by examining its association with other positive welfare markers including affiliative behavior and low-amplitude vocalizations. We submitted six groups of spotted pacas (one male/two females per group) (N = 18) to an ABA experimental design (A1/A2: without ball; B: with three boomer balls). Object play behavior occurred only during phase B (mean = 35.5 s, SE = 6.4). The spotted pacas spent more time in affiliative and exploratory behaviors and less time engaging in agonistic interactions during phase B than in both control phases (A1 and A2) (p < 0.05). Moreover, the spotted pacas emitted more low-amplitude bark vocalizations during phase B than during either control phase (p < 0.05), and such vocalizations have previously been shown to indicate a positive affective state and low arousal level. Because the expression of object play was associated with a decrease in aggression, an increase in affiliative behavior, and an increase in low-amplitude barking, we suggest that object play can be used as a non-invasive indicator of positive emotional state in this species

Individual Behavioral differences and health of golden-headed lion tamarins, Leontopithecus chrysomelas

Individual behavioral differences may influence how animals cope with altered environments. Depending on their behavioral traits, individuals may thus vary in how their health is affected by environmental conditions. We investigated the relationship between individual behavior of free-living golden-headed lion tamarins (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) responding to a novel object (to assess exploration-avoidance), and their habitat use and health status (endoparasitism; clinical measures: biometric data, heart rate, respiratory frequency, and temperature; fecal glucocorticoid metabolites). As parasite transmission can be affected by individual variation in social contact and social grooming, we also evaluated whether more sociable individuals show higher endoparasite loads compared with less sociable animals. Four groups living in landscapes with different levels of human disturbance were investigated: two in degraded forest fragments in an agricultural matrix (DFAM-higher disturbance), and two in a cocoa agroforestry system (cabruca-lower disturbance) in the Atlantic forest of South Bahia, Brazil. Using a subjective ratings approach, highly correlated adjective descriptors were combined to produce z-score ratings of one derived variable ("confidence"), which was selected to characterize the tamarins' exploration/avoidance responses during a novel object test. The higher the confidence score, the longer female tamarins spent foraging for prey independent of landscape, and the greater their body mass independent of sex and landscape. Only DFAM individuals showed intestinal parasite infection. Endoparasite loads were positively correlated with the number of grooming partners, suggesting an association between social grooming and transmission (more groomers = more endoparasites). Individual behavior, including in a test situation, may thus have some predictive value for behavior in a free-living context, and for its health consequences

Rationale, study design, and analysis plan of the Alveolar Recruitment for ARDS Trial (ART): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is associated with high in-hospital mortality. Alveolar recruitment followed by ventilation at optimal titrated PEEP may reduce ventilator-induced lung injury and improve oxygenation in patients with ARDS, but the effects on mortality and other clinical outcomes remain unknown. This article reports the rationale, study design, and analysis plan of the Alveolar Recruitment for ARDS Trial (ART). Methods/Design: ART is a pragmatic, multicenter, randomized (concealed), controlled trial, which aims to determine if maximum stepwise alveolar recruitment associated with PEEP titration is able to increase 28-day survival in patients with ARDS compared to conventional treatment (ARDSNet strategy). We will enroll adult patients with ARDS of less than 72 h duration. The intervention group will receive an alveolar recruitment maneuver, with stepwise increases of PEEP achieving 45 cmH(2)O and peak pressure of 60 cmH2O, followed by ventilation with optimal PEEP titrated according to the static compliance of the respiratory system. In the control group, mechanical ventilation will follow a conventional protocol (ARDSNet). In both groups, we will use controlled volume mode with low tidal volumes (4 to 6 mL/kg of predicted body weight) and targeting plateau pressure <= 30 cmH2O. The primary outcome is 28-day survival, and the secondary outcomes are: length of ICU stay; length of hospital stay; pneumothorax requiring chest tube during first 7 days; barotrauma during first 7 days; mechanical ventilation-free days from days 1 to 28; ICU, in-hospital, and 6-month survival. ART is an event-guided trial planned to last until 520 events (deaths within 28 days) are observed. These events allow detection of a hazard ratio of 0.75, with 90% power and two-tailed type I error of 5%. All analysis will follow the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: If the ART strategy with maximum recruitment and PEEP titration improves 28-day survival, this will represent a notable advance to the care of ARDS patients. Conversely, if the ART strategy is similar or inferior to the current evidence-based strategy (ARDSNet), this should also change current practice as many institutions routinely employ recruitment maneuvers and set PEEP levels according to some titration method.Hospital do Coracao (HCor) as part of the Program 'Hospitais de Excelencia a Servico do SUS (PROADI-SUS)'Brazilian Ministry of Healt

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ