Individual differences in behaviour and gut bacteria are associated in collared peccary (Mammalia, Tayassuidae).

AIMS: We tested the hypothesis that the behaviour of an individual is associated with the diversity of its gut bacteria, using the collared peccary (Pecari tajacu) as a model. METHODS AND RESULTS: In all, 24 adult male collared peccaries received either low- (n = 12) or high-fibre diet (n = 12) to induce contrasting gut fermentation profiles. They were submitted to three short-term challenges, allowing us to rate the animals in a coping-style dimension named 'calmness'. At the end of the experimental period, we collected samples of peccaries' forestomach contents to characterize bacterial diversity. We found a significant positive association between individual 'calmness' z-scores and the bacterial evenness index in gut bacteria (and a similar trend with the Simpson's diversity index), suggesting a more homogeneous bacterial community of calmer individuals. We also found a positive association between fibres digestibility and gut bacterial diversity in the peccaries' forestomach, but no effect of the dietary fibre level. CONCLUSIONS: Gut bacteria evenness increases with 'calmness' z-scores, suggesting a more homogeneous bacterial community of calmer individuals, compared with the more heterogeneous of the most distressed ones. Our results also suggest associations between the digestibility of ADF with the gut bacterial diversity indices and with the relative abundance of the Actinobacteria phylum. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Our data showed that the hosts' individual behavioural differences are potentially aligned with gut bacterial diversity. The behaviour-microbiota link is correlated with host feed efficiency and, ultimately, may have implications for animal health and welfare of farm animals.

Animal health and welfare: equivalent or complementary?

The concepts of 'health' and 'welfare', whether applied to humans or animals, are increasingly becoming linked. But are they really indissociable, or even synonymous? Although human health is generally defined as a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being, animal health is still considered as simply the absence of disease. However, recent advances in scientific knowledge are forcing us to revise our ideas about the mental complexity of animals and to recognise their ability to feel emotions and to have needs and a degree of consciousness. The precise objective of animal welfare science is to study their mental states and their ability to adapt to domestication. Pending a global application of this concept of health, including mental health, to animals as well as to humans, the idea of welfare remains an important element in addition to traditional health concerns. More generally, this linkage fuels the ethical debate about the ways in which people use animals, prompting society to change its stance on some aspects of the issue.

Individual differences in behavior affect total tract fiber digestibility: the example of collared peccary.

Differences in how individuals cope with stressful conditions (e.g. novel/unfamiliar environment, social isolation and increases in human contact) can explain the variability in data collection from nutrient digestibility trials. We used the collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), which is under process of domestication and shows high individual behavioral distinctiveness in reactions toward humans, to test the hypothesis that behavioral differences play a role in nutrient digestibility. We assessed the individual behavioral traits of 24 adult male collared peccaries using both the 'behavioral coding' and the 'subjective ratings' approaches. For the behavioral coding assessment, we recorded the hourly frequency of behaviors potentially indicative of stress during the 30-day habituation period to the experimental housing conditions. The subjective ratings were performed based on the individuals' reactions to three short-term challenge tests (novel environment, novel object and threat from a capture net) over a period of 56 days. During the last 26 days, the collared peccaries were fed diets either high (n = 12) or low (n = 12) in dietary fiber levels, and we determined the total tract apparent digestibility of nutrients. The individual subjective ratings showed consistency in the correlated measures of 'relaxedness', 'quietness' and 'satisfaction' across the three challenge tests, which were combined to produce z score ratings of one derived variable ('calmness'). Individual frequency of BPIS/h and calmness scores were negatively correlated and both predicted the total tract digestibility of acid detergent fiber (ADF), which ranged from 0.41 to 0.79. The greater the calmness z scores (i.e. calmer individuals), the greater the total tract digestibility of ADF. In contrast, the higher the frequency of BPIS/h, the lower the total tract digestibility of ADF. Therefore, our results provide evidence that by selecting calmer collared peccaries, there will be an increase in their capacity to digest dietary fiber.

Almotriptan and its combination with aceclofenac for migraine attacks: a study of efficacy and the influence of auto-evaluated brush allodynia.

Early treatment and combining a triptan with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) are thought to improve outcome during migraine attacks, possibly by counteracting the negative influence of cutaneous allodynia. The aim of this multicentre, double-blind pilot study was to evaluate the prevalence of brush allodynia and its relative influence on the efficacy of a triptan-NSAID combination compared with headache intensity at the time of treatment. In a randomized, cross-over design, 112 migraineurs treated two moderate or severe attacks with almotriptan 12.5 mg combined with either aceclofenac 100 mg or placebo. Patients used a 2-cm brush to assess cutaneous allodynia. Allodynia was reported in 34.4% of attacks. The almotriptan-aceclofenac combination was numerically superior to triptan-placebo on 2-24-h sustained pain-free (P = 0.07), 2-h pain-free (P = 0.07) and headache recurrence (P = 0.05) rates, but not on 1-h headache relief. Allodynia numerically reduced treatment success overall, but this effect was not significant for the primary outcome measures. Headache intensity had a significant negative influence on 1-h relief in both attacks (P = 0.0001 and 0.0008, chi(2)) and on 2-24-h sustained pain-free rates in triptan-placebo-treated attacks (P = 0.013). Multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed that headache intensity at treatment intake, rather than allodynia, significantly influenced most outcome measures, predominantly so in attacks treated with almotriptan and aceclofenac. In the latter, severe compared with moderate headache intensity reduced the likelihood of achieving the primary efficacy end-points [odds ratios (OR) 0.12 and 0.33], whereas allodynia was not a significant explanatory variable (OR 0.76 and 0.65). The results apply to the protocol used here and need to be confirmed in larger studies using quantitative sensory testing.

Hypothalamic stimulation in chronic cluster headache: a pilot study of efficacy and mode of action.

We enrolled six patients suffering from refractory chronic cluster headache in a pilot trial of neurostimulation of the ipsilateral ventroposterior hypothalamus using the stereotactic coordinates published previously. After the varying durations needed to determine optimal stimulation parameters and a mean follow-up of 14.5 months, the clinical outcome is excellent in three patients (two are pain-free; one has fewer than three attacks per month), but unsatisfactory in one patient, who only has had transient remissions. Mean voltage is 3.28 V, diplopia being the major factor limiting its increase. When the stimulator was switched off in one pain-free patient, attacks resumed after 3 months until it was turned on again. In one patient the implantation procedure had to be interrupted because of a panic attack with autonomic disturbances. Another patient died from an intracerebral haemorrhage that developed along the lead tract several hours after surgery; there were no other vascular changes on post-mortem examination. After 1 month, the hypothalamic stimulation induced resistance against the attack-triggering agent nitroglycerin and tended to increase pain thresholds at extracephalic, but not at cephalic, sites. It had no detectable effect on neurohypophyseal hormones or melatonin excretion. We conclude that hypothalamic stimulation has remarkable efficacy in most, but not all, patients with treatment-resistant chronic cluster headache. Its efficacy is not due to a simple analgesic effect or to hormonal changes. Intracerebral haemorrhage cannot be neglected in the risk evaluation of the procedure. Whether it might be more prevalent than in deep-brain stimulation for movement disorders remains to be determined.

Axillary temperature measurement: a less stressful alternative for hospitalised cats?

Rectal temperature measurement (RTM) can promote stress and defensive behaviour in hospitalised cats. The aim of this study was to assess if axillary temperature measurement (ATM) could be a reliable and less stressful alternative for these animals. In this prospective study, paired rectal and axillary temperatures were measured in 42 cats, either by a veterinarian or a student. To assess the impact of these procedures on the cat's stress state, their heart rate was checked and a cat stress score (CSS) was defined and graded from 1 (relaxed) to 5 (terrified). A moderate correlation was found between RTM and ATM (r=0.52; P<0.0001). RTM was on average 0.9 °C (1.6 °F) higher than ATM (P<0.0001), although a wide variation was found in the difference between these two measurements (-2.1 °C to 3.6 °C (-3.8 °F to 6.5 °F)). ATM failed to identify hypothermia in 25 per cent of the cases and hyperthermia in 19 per cent of the cases but may be considered less stressful than RTM. Indeed, RTM induced a mildly greater increase in heart rate (+6 bpm; P=0.01) and in CSS (+0.2; P=0.001) than ATM. The results were not affected by operator type. In conclusion, RTM should remain the standard method to obtain accurate temperatures in cats.

Fear reactions of domestic sheep confronted with either a human or a human-like model.

Fear reactions of ewes towards a human, a human-like model or a control (plastic cylinder 1.95 m high) were studied using a test previously designed and validated, in which 16 behavioural parameters have been interpreted as indicators of fear (e.g. a relatively long time spent away from the stimulus) or absence of fear (e.g. a relatively long time spent eating near the stimulus). In a first experiment, 18 animals were individually confronted with each of the 3 stimuli for 4 min (in a counter-balanced order). The results indicated that both the human and the human-like model elicited greater fear reactions than did the control, and that the former two stimuli did not differ in their fear-eliciting properties. In a second experiment designed to determine if the animals become aware of a difference between the human and the model over time, 32 animals were confronted successively with each of the two stimuli for 8 min. Although there was some habituation towards both stimuli, there was no difference between them even at the end of the test period. These results suggest that a model could be appropriate in experiments involving human presence (at least for a short duration) and would allow for better standardization. It can also be hypothetized that exposing animals to a model would lead to familiarization which might in turn help reduce fear of human beings and thus improve ease of handling and welfare.

Fear reactions of ewes to photographic images.

The aim of this study was to analyse fear reactions of 18 adult Romanov ewes individually confronted with 3 visual stimuli, namely pictures of a human, of a sheep or of a traffic cone (control). These pictures were projected in real size on a wall of the test pen by means of a slide projector. Twenty-six behavioural items related to fear were recorded. Furthermore, fearfulness scores were calculated to compare the overall fear levels of the subjects when confronted with the photographic images. We hypothesized that if animals recognized a man or a sheep in the presented slides, fear reactions would be enhanced in the presence of the picture of a human and reduced in the presence of a sheep picture as compared with the control situation. Our results suggest that ewes may be able to recognize the sheep picture as a conspecific. For example, sniffings were primarily directed towards the anogenital region and the head. The reduced fear reactions of isolated ewes in the presence of a sheep picture is similar to that observed previously in the presence of real conspecifics. In contrast, they did not differ when sheep were confronted with a human or a control image, indicating that additional stimuli may be needed for the human image to be fear-eliciting.

Motor and phosphene thresholds to transcranial magnetic stimuli: a reproducibility study.

OBJECTIVES: As repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is often applied on different days, it is of interest to know whether motor (MT) and phosphene (PT) thresholds are reproducible across time and whether the intensity determined on the first day can be used in subsequent sessions. METHODS: We studied MT and PT over 5 separate recordings in 10 healthy volunteers using a focal coil and a Magstim(Rapid stimulator. After the initial recording (session 1), the others (2 to 5) were performed respectively after 1 day, 7 days, 1 month and 4 months. RESULTS: Mean MT at rest were 65.30 +/- 5.54%, 65.7 +/- 7.18%, 60.4 +/- 4.27%, 61.8 +/- 4.34%, and 63 +/- 9.1% at sessions 1 to 5. Mean PT were 71.43 +/- 6.68%, 66.29 +/- 10.67%, 60.71 +/- 8.64%, 60.57 +/- 8.08%, and 68.71 +/- 15.48% at sessions 1 to 5. MT and PT were reproducible (ANOVA analysis), however, as shown by coefficients of variation, variability between the first 3 sessions exceeded 10% for MT in 3 subjects and in 4 subjects for PT. CONCLUSIONS: It seems preferable to determine thresholds and adapt output intensity of the stimulator at each rTMS session.

Mother-young relationships in Belgian Blue cattle after a Caesarean section: characterisation and effects of parity.

The systematic use of Caesarean section in "double muscled" Belgian Blue cattle can induce ethical concerns. The aims of the following study was to characterise mother-young relationships in such a situation and to assess the effect of parity. Fifteen heifers and 15 cows of the Belgian Blue breed were observed using video recording when isolated with their calf during the 3 days following Caesarean, a rapid surgery with rare occurrence of aggressive behaviour and no sign of cows' discomfort or weakness. All calves were bottle-fed mother's colostrum once before first suckling occurred. Heifers' calves received a supplementary number of three such artificial meals, while cows' calves needed only one. The overall median time to first licking of the calf by the mother was 3.3min without any effect of parity. The mean licking frequency was 29.2+/-15.8 per 24h: heifers licked their calf less frequently than cows, respectively 23.4+/-15.3 per 24h versus 35.1+/-14.5 per 24h (P<0.05). The mean total licking duration was 42.2+/-25.9min per 24h: there was no significant difference between heifers and cows. The overall median time to first suckling was 6.1h, without any effect of parity. The mean suckling frequency was 8.4+/-4.8 per 24h: for half of these suckling bouts, the calf was situated on the left side of the mother, i.e. the side of the scar. The suckling frequency was negatively correlated with the number of artificial meals (r(s)=-0.45,P<0.05). Heifers suckled their calf less often than cows, respectively 6.1+/-3.1 per 24h versus 10.7+/-5.2 per 24h (P<0.01), but the left side proportion was not significantly different. The mean suckling total duration was 35.3+/-21.0min per 24h. The calf was on the left side of the mother during half of this time. Heifers suckled their calf during a shorter time than cows, respectively 26.9+/-20.0min per 24h versus 43.8+/-19.1min per 24h (P<0.05), and the left side proportion was not significantly different. Licking frequency and suckling duration were positively correlated (r=0.43,P<0.05). Only 10% of the mothers (one heifer and two cows) butted their calf and kicking was never observed. Despite the difficult comparison with results of the literature according to various methodologies, mother-young relationships were considered as similar to those reported after natural calving. In our study, cows can be considered as better mothers than heifers.

[Explosive "thunderclap" headaches: should they be taken seriously?]. / Céphalées explosives, "en coup de tonnerre": faut-il s'inquiéter?

"Thunderclap" headaches are explosive, extremely intense and sometimes associated with neurological signs or symptoms. As illustrated by the 3 case histories presented here, they are a heterogenous group as far as etiology and prognosis are concerned. They may be symptomatic of an intracranial disorder (subarachnoïd hemorrhage, cerebral venous thrombosis, pituitary apoplexia) or idiopathic without any known cause and with a benign, though occasionally recurring, course. They can be spontaneous or triggered by Valsalva maneuvers (cough, exertion, coïtus, ...). In certain cases of so-called "idiopathic" thunderclap headache, diffuse, multifocal segmental and reversible vasospasm of cerebral arteries has been found on neuroimaging. As headache characteristics are similar in symptomatic and benign cases, angio-MRI is recommended when CT-scan and CSF examination are normal.

[Clinical case of the month. Multiple pulmonary nodules. Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma]. / Le cas clinique du mois. Nodules pulmonaries multiples. L'hémangio-endothéliome épithélioïde.

The epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the lung is generally detected incidentally by a routine chest radiograph, usually in young asymptomatic woman. This tumor pursues a clinical course intermediate between that of hemangioma and angiosarcoma. Survival over 20 years have already been described in the literature. We report the case of a pulmonary epithelioid hemangioendothelioma diagnosed 16 years ago, with hepatic metastases and a radiologic follow-up that highlights the slow evolution of the pulmonary and hepatic lesions.

Comparison between blood serum and salivary cortisol concentrations in horses using an adrenocorticotropic hormone challenge.

REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY: In horses, serum cortisol concentration is considered to provide an indirect measurement of stress. However, it includes both free and bound fractions. The sampling method is also invasive and often stressful. This is not the case for salivary cortisol, which is collected using a more welfare-friendly method and represents a part of the free cortisol fraction, which is the biologically active form. OBJECTIVES: To compare salivary and serum cortisol assays in horses, in a wide range of concentrations, using an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation test, in order to validate salivary cortisol for stress assessment in horse. METHODS: In 5 horses, blood samples were drawn using an i.v. catheter. Saliva samples were taken using swabs. Cortisol was assayed by radioimmunoassay. All data were treated with a regression method, which pools and analyses data from multiple subjects for linear analysis. RESULTS: Mean ± s.d. cortisol concentrations measured at rest were 188.81 ± 51.46 nmol/l in serum and 1.19 ± 0.54 nmol/l in saliva. They started increasing immediately after ACTH injection and peaks were reached after 96 ± 16.7 min in serum (356.98 ± 55.29 nmol/l) and after 124 ± 8.9 min in saliva (21.79 ± 7.74 nmol/l, P<0.05). Discharge percentages were also different (225% in serum and 2150% in saliva, P<0.05). Correlation between serum and salivary cortisol concentrations showed an adjusted r(2) = 0.80 (P<0.001). The strong link between serum and salivary cortisol concentrations was also estimated by a regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The reliability of both RIAs and regression found between serum and salivary cortisol concentrations permits the validation of saliva-sampling as a noninvasive technique for cortisol level assessment in horses.

Gaseous emissions during the fattening of pigs kept either on fully slatted floors or on straw flow.

The aim of this study was to compare the environmental impact of the straw-flow system for fattening pigs with the slatted-floor system by measuring pollutant gas emissions such as ammonia (NH3), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), manure nitrogen (N) content and emissions of water vapour (H2O). Three successive batches of 32 pigs were fattened. For each batch, pigs were allotted to two groups raised in separated rooms fitted either with a concrete totally slatted-floor system (0.75 m2 per pig) or with a straw-flow system (0.79 m2 per pig). With this last system, pigs were kept on a sloped floor, straw being provided daily at the top of the pen. Throughout the fattening period, about 34.4 kg of straw were supplied per pig. The straw, mixed with dung, travelled down the slope by pig motion and went out of the pen to a scraped passage. The solid fraction was scraped every day, stored in a heap in the room and removed every month, 1 week before each period of gaseous emission measurement. The liquid fraction was automatically pumped from the scraped passage into a hermetic tank, which was emptied at the end of each fattening period. Rooms were ventilated mechanically in order to maintain a constant ambient temperature. Once a month, the emissions of NH3, N2O, CH4, CO2 and H2O were measured hourly for 6 consecutive days via infrared photoacoustic detection. Mean daily emissions per pig fattened on the slatted floor or on the sloped floor were, respectively, 4.98 and 13.31 g NH3, 0.67 and 0.68 g N2O, 15.2 and 8.88 g CH4, 548 g and 406 g CO2 equivalents, 1.61 and 1.77 kg CO2 and 2.33 and 2.95 kg H2O. Except for N2O emissions, all the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). From the slatted-floor system, the amount of slurry removed per fattening period was on average 256 kg per pig. From the straw-flow system, solid manure amounted on average to 209 kg per pig and liquid manure to 53 kg per pig. The total N-content of the manure was 2.23 kg N per pig with the straw-flow system (solid and liquid manure) v. 3.26 kg N per pig for slurry from the slatted-floor system. This reduction of 30% observed with the sloped floor was mainly explained by the higher level of NH3-N emissions.

Induction of long-lasting changes of visual cortex excitability by five daily sessions of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in healthy volunteers and migraine patients.

We have shown that in healthy volunteers (HV) one session of 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the visual cortex induces dishabituation of visual evoked potentials (VEPs) on average for 30 min, while in migraineurs one session of 10 Hz rTMS replaces the abnormal VEP potentiation by a normal habituation for 9 min. In the present study, we investigated whether repeated rTMS sessions (1 Hz in eight HV; 10 Hz in eight migraineurs) on 5 consecutive days can modify VEPs for longer periods. In all eight HV, the 1 Hz rTMS-induced dishabituation increased in duration over consecutive sessions and persisted between several hours (n=4) and several weeks (n=4) after the fifth session. In six out eight migraineurs, the normalization of VEP habituation by 10 Hz rTMS lasted longer after each daily stimulation but did not exceed several hours after the last session, except in two patients, where it persisted for 2 days and 1 week. Daily rTMS can thus induce long-lasting changes in cortical excitability and VEP habituation pattern. Whether this effect may be useful in preventative migraine therapy remains to be determined.

Central mechanisms in tension-type headaches.

Although tension-type headache is the most frequent primary headache, little is known about its pathophysiology. It is a matter of debate if the pain in tension-type headache originates from myofascial tissues or from central mechanisms in the brain. This article presents a summary of available data on the pathophysiology of tension-type headache and proposes a pathogenic model. From experimental research and clinical studies, it appears that myofascial nociception is important in episodic tension-type headache; however, central mechanisms (ie, central sensitization) are preponderant in the pathophysiology of the chronic form. Understanding the mechanisms of this central sensitization could allow for more efficient prophylactic treatments to emerge.

Effect of androgen treatment on fear reactions in ewes.

The effects of prolonged androgen treatment (testosterone propionate, 10 mg/day for 56 days) on fear reactions in ewes were studied using a battery of tests previously designed and validated. These tests involved situations classically reported to induce fear in sheep: isolation from conspecifics, surprise, and presence of a human. Testosterone-treated ewes differed from controls in a number of behavioral characteristics which indicate that they are less fearful in the various test situations. Their overall scores were respectively 9.5 vs 11.5 (P < 0.05) in the isolation test, 7.9 vs 13.1 (P < 0.001) in the surprise test, and 7.8 vs 13.2 (P < 0.001) in the human test. Testosterone treatment thus clearly reduces fear reactions in ewes subjected to nonsocial situations that are typically fear-eliciting.

Long-term effects of androgen treatment on fear reactions in ewes.

We have previously demonstrated that testosterone treatment reduces fear reactions of ewes subjected to daily injections of testosterone propionate (10 mg/day) for 56 days. The long-term effects of this treatment were studied in the same ewes and using the same battery of fear-eliciting tests (isolation from conspecifics, surprise, and presence of a human) 4 and 8 months after the injections were terminated. Twenty-six behavioral items related to fear were recorded. A number of differences in the behavior of treated vs control animals indicate that the former are still less fearful, especially in the surprise and human tests. Overall fearfulness scores of treated and control ewes (the higher the score, the more fearful the animals) were 7.3 +/- 1.7 vs 9.7 +/- 1.9, (P < 0.05) for the surprise test, and 7.0 +/- 1.4 vs 10.0 +/- 2.0 (P < 0.01) for the human test at 4 months, and 6.8 +/- 1.4 vs 8.2 +/- 1.1 (P < 0.05) for the human test at 8 months. Thus, not only does testosterone treatment reduce fear reactions in ewes but it also has a long lasting effect on such reactions.

Effects of an enriched environment of subsequent fear reactions of lambs and ewes.

The effects of an enriched environment (EE, permanent presence of a humanlike model plus colored mobile objects) during the rearing period (from birth to weaning at 3 months) were assessed on subsequent fear reactions of lambs and their mothers. Behavioral tests involved isolation, surprise effect, and the presence of a human. Fear reactions of dam-reared (DR) lambs from the EE did not differ from controls. By contrast, their mothers showed a long-lasting reduction in fear reaction as compared with controls. Artificially reared lambs (AR, in the absence of the mother) placed in the same EE were proved to be less fearful than controls. Finally, no effect of the same EE was found in cyclic ewes. In conclusion, differences between results obtained in AR and DR lambs may be due to the strong mother-young bond which would minimize the impact of the environment. In ewes, there might exist some kind of "sensitive period" between parturition and weaning during which the female may be more sensitive to her physical environment.

Excitability of visual V1-V2 and motor cortices to single transcranial magnetic stimuli in migraine: a reappraisal using a figure-of-eight coil.

We used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with a figure-of-eight coil to excite motor and visual V1-V2 cortices in patients suffering from migraine without (MO) (n = 24) or with aura (MA) (n = 13) and in healthy volunteers (HV) (n = 33). Patients who had a migraine attack within 3 days before or after the recordings were excluded. All females were recorded at mid-cycle. Single TMS pulses over the occipital cortex elicited phosphenes in 64% of HV, 63% of MO and 69% of MA patients. Compared with HV, the phosphene threshold was significantly increased in MO (P = 0.001) and in MA (P = 0.007), but there was no difference between the two groups of migraineurs. The motor threshold tended to be higher in both migraine groups than in HV, but the differences were not significant. In conclusion, this study shows that two-thirds (64.86%) of patients affected by either migraine type present an increased phosphene threshold in the interictal period, which suggests that their visual cortex is hypoexcitable.