Investigating the Behavior and Personality Structure of the Aldabra Tortoise during Human Interactions and Training Events

Human–animal interaction (HAI) can be valuable for captive animals, and many zoo-housed species benefit from interactions with their keepers. There is also an increasing body of evidence that some animal species possess personalities that are temporally consistent. However, the majority of zoo research, particularly on personality and HAI, traditionally has focused on mammals, and there are comparatively fewer studies on reptiles. Research was undertaken at the Faunistic Park Le Cornelle, Italy, to investigate the effects of approach tests and food interaction events on 5 male and 5 female Aldabra tortoise (Aldrabrachelys gigantea) behavior. During human–tortoise interactions, continuous focal sampling of behavior took place. The behavioral differences between individual tortoises, interaction type (approach or training) and person involved in the interaction (keeper, vet, or observer) were analysed using general linear mixed-effects models. The personality components of the tortoises were also quantified using principal component analysis. Overall, the study revealed that individuals acted significantly differently to one another, and that while females initially appeared to display a greater number of shy behaviors, this was not consistent across the group. PCA revealed two personality dimensions in the tortoises: boldness and avoidance. Overall, the study revealed that the tortoises possessed personalities that were independent of sex or scenario. The study also revealed that many tortoises chose to interact with their keepers during training and approach tests: this suggests that human–tortoise interactions may have some enrichment value. Future research could quantify tortoise personality in other scenarios such as in social interactions with other tortoises.</jats:p

Gemcitabine plus vinorelbine in advanced non-small cell lung cancer: a phase II study of three different doses

Our aim was to study the activity and toxicity of the gemcitabine plus vinorelbine (Gem Vin) combination and to identify the optimal dose. Previously untreated patients aged < 70 years, with stage IV or IIIb (not candidates for radiotherapy) non-small cell lung cancer were eligible. Studied dose-levels of Gem Vin, administered on days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks, were (mg m–2): level I = 1000/25; level II = 1200/25; level III = 1000/30; level IV = 1200/30. A feasibility study was performed at each dose-level, followed by a single-stage phase II study. Dose-level IV was unfeasible because of grade 4 neutropenia. Overall, out of 126 patients enrolled in phase II studies, there were one complete and 32 partial responses (response rate 26%: 95% CI 18–34%). Response rates were 27.9%, 21.4% and 29.3% at levels I, II and III, respectively. The treatment was well tolerated. Toxicity was less frequent and severe at level I. Overall median survival was 33 weeks (95% CI 28–40). Descriptive quality of life analysis showed that patients with a worse baseline global health status score tended to drop out of the study earlier than those with a better score. Gem Vin is feasible at different doses. It is sufficiently active and well tolerated. A phase III study to compare the effect on quality of life of Gem Vin (level I) vs cisplatin-based chemotherapy is ongoing. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Prevalence and management of pain in Italian patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

Pain is a highly distressing symptom for patients with advanced cancer. WHO analgesic ladder is widely accepted as a guideline for its treatment. Our aim was to describe pain prevalence among patients diagnosed with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), impact of pain on quality of life (QoL) and adequacy of pain management. Data of 1021 Italian patients enrolled in three randomised trials of chemotherapy for NSCLC were pooled. QoL was assessed by EORTC QLQ-C30 and LC-13. Analgesic consumption during the 3 weeks following QoL assessment was recorded. Adequacy of pain management was evaluated by the Pain Management Index (PMI). Some pain was reported by 74% of patients (42% mild, 24% moderate and 7% severe); 50% stated pain was affecting daily activities (30% a little, 16% quite a bit, 3% very much). Bone metastases strongly affected presence of pain. Mean global QoL linearly decreased from 64.9 to 36.4 from patients without pain to those with severe pain (P<0.001). According to PMI, 616 out of 752 patients reporting pain (82%) received inadequate analgesic treatment. Bone metastases were associated with improved adequacy and worst pain with reduced adequacy at multivariate analysis. In conclusion, pain is common in patients with advanced NSCLC, significantly affects QoL, and is frequently undertreated. We recommend that: (i). pain self-assessment should be part of oncological clinical practice; (ii). pain control should be a primary goal in clinical practice and in clinical trials; (iii). physicians should receive more training in pain management; (iv). analgesic treatment deserves greater attention in protocols of anticancer treatment

Preclinical models of overwhelming sepsis implicate the neural system that encodes contextual fear memory

© 2016, Uninversity of Michigan. All rights reserved. Long-term sepsis survivors sustain cryptic brain injury that leads to cognitive impairment, emotional imbalance and increased disability burden. Suitable animal models of sepsis, such as cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), have permitted the analysis of abnormal brain circuits that underlie post-septic behavioral phenotypes. For instance, we have previously shown that CLP-exposed mice exhibit impaired spatial memory together with depleted dendritic arbors and decreased spines in the apical dendrites of pyramidal neurons in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. Here we show that contextual fear conditioning, a form of associative memory for fear, is chronically disrupted in CLP mice when compared with sham-operated animals. We also find that excitatory neurons in the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) and granule cells in the dentate gyrus (DG) display significantly fewer dendritic spines in the CLP group relative to the sham mice, although the dendritic arbors and gross morphology of the BLA and DG are comparable between the two groups. Moreover, the basal dendrites of CA1 pyramidal neurons are unaffected in CLP mice. Taken together, our data indicate that structural damage in the amygdalar-hippocampal network represents the neural substrate for impaired contextual fear memory in long-term sepsis survivors. Further, our data suggest that brain injury caused by overwhelming sepsis alters the stability of the synaptic connections involved in associative fear. These results likely have implications for the emotional imbalance observed in human sepsis survivors

The evolutionary history of Senna ser. Aphyllae (Leguminosae–Caesalpinioideae), an endemic clade of southern South America

In the legume genus Senna, series Aphyllae includes seven species of leafless shrubs and subshrubs from arid, semiarid and xerophilous areas of three different biogeographic subregions in southern South America. In this study, we investigated the evolutionary history of Aphyllae in a molecular phylogenetic framework. We reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among Aphyllae species based on DNA sequence data of four plastid (rpS16, rpL16, matK, trnL-F) and one nuclear (ITS) region from 23 accessions, analyzed with parsimony, Bayesian and maximum likelihood methods. We inferred the evolutionary and biogeographic history estimating divergence times and reconstructing ancestral character states and ancestral areas of distribution. Series Aphyllae was found to be monophyletic, and the taxa formed two main clades: Clade A gathering S. aphylla var. aphylla, S. crassiramea, S. rigidicaulis and S. spiniflora; and Clade B grouping S. acanthoclada, S. aphylla var. divaricata, S. aphylla var. pendula and S. pachyrrhiza. The morphologically complex S. aphylla appears thus polyphyletic. Molecular dating and ancestral area reconstructions suggest that the Aphyllae clade started to diversify in the South American Transition Zone in the Late Pliocene. Based on these results, we hypothesize that this diversification occurred during the last period of Andean uplift with the aridification in South America. The ancestral character state reconstructions suggest that, in addition to the loss of leaves in adult plants, series Aphyllae evolved various morphological features, such as fastigiate, thickened or decumbent–subdecumbent branches during the colonization and establishment in different arid and semiarid lands in South America.EEA SaltaFil: Robbiati, Federico Omar. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Anton, Ana Maria Ramona. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Marazzi, Brigitte. Natural History Museum of Cantone Ticino; SuizaFil: Vásquez-Cruz, Marilyn. Instituto de Ecología. Biología Evolutiva; MéxicoFil: Fortunato, Renee Hersilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; Argentina. Universidad de Morón. Facultad de Agronomía y Ciencias Agroalimentarias; Argentin