Prior facility affects alopecia in adulthood for rhesus macaques.

Alopecia has proven to be a persistent problem for captive macaques; many cases continue to elude explanations and effective treatments. Although almost all captive populations exhibit alopecia rates higher than those seen in the wild, there also appear to be wide ranges in rates reported across primate facilities. In this study we looked at alopecia ratings for rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) obtained from five primary suppliers and currently housed at the Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC). There were significant differences in alopecia ratings based on prior facility, despite the fact that animals had left their prior facilities at least 10 months previously and 60% had left more than 2 years previously. Possible explanations for the facility effect may include longer than anticipated time lines for alopecia amelioration, early experience effects, and genetic contributions. Our results should provide a cautionary note for those evaluating alopecia, treatments for alopecia, and the current environments of alopecic animals. It is possible that not all alopecia is caused, or can be ameliorated, by changes in the immediate environment. Am. J. Primatol. 79:e22551, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Socialization in pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina).

In response to new emphasis by regulatory agencies regarding socialization, behavioral management programs are allocating greater resources to maximize socialization opportunities for laboratory primates. Information regarding predictors of compatibility and risk of injury for all laboratory-housed species of macaques are needed to make social introductions and pairings as efficient and safe as possible. This study presents data on 674 pairs of pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) at the Washington National Primate Research Center over a 7-year period. During pair introduction, behavior was monitored while the degree of tactile contact was gradually increased. Based on observed behavior, pairs were assigned a behavioral introduction score (BIS), rating the quality of their interactions for each day of introduction. Animals deemed compatible, based on the BIS and technologist judgment, were allowed to progress to continuous contact with no staff present. A small proportion of animals deemed compatible at introduction was later separated for subsequent incompatibility or aggression; these proportions were higher in full contact compared to protected contact pairings. Of 674 pairs, 75% were deemed compatible at introduction in protected contact; 86 of these pairs were later transitioned to full contact with 98% compatibility. Predictors of decreased compatibility assessed during protected contact introductions included age (adult pairs were less compatible), the BIS on the last day of introduction, and aggression or injury during the introductory period. Predictors of injuries during the protected contact introduction process included: aggression on the first day of introduction, a negative BIS on the first or last day of introduction, and, surprisingly, the presence of grooming on the first day of introduction. Injuries during both introduction and subsequent pairing in protected contact were rare; however, injury rates increased significantly during full-contact pairing. These findings underscore the necessity of species-specific data to guide decision-making during the social introduction process. Am. J. Primatol. 79:e22556, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A longitudinal study of hair cortisol concentrations in Macaca nemestrina mothers and infants.

Cortisol is a well-known glucocorticoid that can be used as a biomarker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activity. To explore basal cortisol physiology during pregnancy and infancy in Macaca nemestrina monkeys, hair was collected from a convenience sample of 22 healthy mother-infant dyads. Adult females were housed in pairs as part of a small breeding colony at the Washington National Primate Research Center and infants were reared in a specialized nursery. Maternal samples were collected from females during a pregnancy-detection ultrasound and immediately following labor and delivery. Infant samples were collected at birth, 20 days, 4, 6, 8, and 10 months of age. Hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs) were determined using an enzyme immunoassay in washed and ground hair samples. Like human mothers, macaque HCCs rose during pregnancy (paired t = 5.8, df = 16, P < 0.001). Maternal HCCs at pregnancy-detection (114.2 ± 12.07 picogram/milligram [pg/mg]) were highly predictive of maternal HCCs at delivery (144.8 ± 13.60 pg/mg), suggesting a trait-like quality (r = 0.90, P < 0.001). When maternal HCCs were viewed on a continuum, the absolute rise in cortisol over the course of pregnancy was significantly related to newborn HCCs (r = 0.55, P = 0.02). Infant birth HCCs (1,027.43 ± 97.95 pg/mg) were seven times higher than maternal HCCs at delivery (paired t = 19.1, df = 16, P < 0.001). Higher birth HCCs were strongly associated with larger decreases in infant hair cortisol until 6 months of postnatal age when infant HCCs converged on values indistinguishable from adults. Overall, study results demonstrate a marked degree of fetal cortisol exposure during the latter part of gestation and suggest that the rise in maternal cortisol over pregnancy may play an influential role on HCCs in the newborn.

Factors influencing alopecia and hair cortisol in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

BACKGROUND: Alopecia can occur in captive non-human primates, but its etiology is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to assess alopecia and hair cortisol in rhesus monkeys and to identify the potential risk factors. METHODS: Subjects were 117 rhesus monkeys at two National Primate Research Centers. Photographs and hair samples were obtained during routine physicals. Photographs were analyzed using Image J software to calculate hair loss, and hair samples were assayed for cortisol. RESULTS: Age, days singly housed, and their interactions contributed to the alopecia model for both facilities. Sex and location changes contributed to the hair cortisol model for Facility 1; sedations contributed for Facility 2. Alopecia and hair cortisol were associated at Facility 1. CONCLUSIONS: Captive management practices can affect alopecia and hair cortisol. However, there are facility differences in the relationship between alopecia and hair cortisol and in the effect of intrinsic variables and management procedures.

A simple alopecia scoring system for use in colony management of laboratory-housed primates.

BACKGROUND: Alopecia in captive primates continues to receive attention from animal care personnel and regulatory agencies. However, a method that enables personnel to reliably score alopecia over time and under various conditions has proven difficult to achieve. METHODS: The scoring system developed by the behavioral and veterinary staffs at the Washington National Primate Research Center (WaNPRC) uses the rule of 9s to estimate the percentage of the body affected with alopecia (severity) and how the alopecia presents itself (pattern). Training and scoring can conveniently be managed using photographic images, cage-side observations, and/or physical examinations. RESULTS: Personnel with varying degrees of experience were quickly trained with reliability scores ranging from 0.82 to 0.96 for severity and 0.82 to 0.89 for pattern using Cohen's κ. CONCLUSIONS: This system allows for reliable and consistent scoring across species, sex, age, housing condition, seasons, clinical or behavioral treatments, and level of personnel experience.

Effects of Pregnancy, Outdoor Access, and Antifungal Medication on Hair Loss in Breeding-age Female Pigtailed Macaques (Macaca nemestrina).

Over 18 mo, adult female pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) housed at a breeding facility in Arizona were monitored every 6 mo for alopecia. The study period coincided with the movement of a majority of animals from primarily outdoor housing to continuous indoor housing and a corresponding decrease in available space. These changes were made due to the newly recognized prevalence of coccidioidomycosis at this site. The effects of pregnancy status, changes in outdoor access or space, and administration of fluconazole for the treatment of coccidioidomycosis on alopecia were explored. In this group of pigtailed macaques pregnancy did not appear to affect alopecia, in contrast to findings from a closely related species, rhesus macaques. Fluconazole administration increased alopecia in older animals but not in the youngest age group. Conversely, the effects of limited outdoor access or decreased space on increasing alopecia were greatest in the youngest group of animals.

A computerized task for investigating the relation between attentional and emotional processes in children.

The authors' goals in this article are to (a) describe a new task for the assessment of shifting attention between different affective stimuli, The Children's Attentional Shifting Task (CAST); (b) present the theoretical background for the development of the CAST; and (c) report initial information on the developmental appropriateness and validity of the CAST. The task was tested using a sample of kindergarten and 1st-grade children, 50% of whom had social and conduct problems. Preliminary analyses showed that the CAST was not subject to problems arising from fatigue or loss of interest. Moreover, children's ability to shift attention away from angry facial expressions was positively related to teachers' ratings of their ability to shift attention and parents' reports of children's emotion regulation. Shifting away from negative affect also predicted children's academic performance as reported by teachers.

Characteristics of early rhythmic behaviors in children at risk for developmental disorders.

OBJECTIVE: Abnormal stereotyped behaviors are a significant problem for many individuals with mental retardation or mental illness. To increase understanding of the development of abnormal stereotyped behaviors, the authors investigated the early rhythmic behaviors of children at increased risk for developmental delays. METHOD: Rhythmic behaviors in 13-month-old children born prematurely and in children born at term were coded from laboratory videotapes of structured interaction segments. RESULTS: While few differences in early rhythmic behaviors were found between children born prematurely and control children, some relationships with cognitive outcomes at 2 years were identified after controlling for family socioeconomic status. However, the direction of the association was dependent on the specific coded situation. No differences in the durations of rhythmic behavior bouts were found between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that even topographically similar behaviors have different functional significance in different settings. In at least some settings, rhythmic behaviors in infancy and early childhood seem to facilitate development. The fact that specific forms of rhythmic behaviors did not differ on the basis of prematurity status suggests that abnormal stereotyped behaviors have an onset later than 13 months.

Quantifying temporal distributions of self-injurious behavior: defining bouts versus discrete events.

An objective method is presented to group discrete self-injurious behavior (SIB) events into bouts. Survival analysis was used to determine how long after an SIB the probability of observing a subsequent SIB remained elevated. This estimated bout length criterion time point was determined individually for 19 subjects with developmental disorders and severe SIB. Bout length criterion estimates ranged from.6 to 15.5 seconds. When participants' SIBs were grouped into bouts using the bout length criterion estimate, the rate of bouts and the average number of SIBs in each bout were found to be more stable than the rate of individual SIBs. This approach may facilitate research on factors that initiate and maintain SIB.

Statistical methods for describing developmental milestones with censored data: effects of birth weight status and sex in neonatal pigtailed macaques.

Neurobehavioral tests are used to assess early neonatal behavioral functioning and detect effects of prenatal and perinatal events. However, common measurement and data collection methods create specific data features requiring thoughtful statistical analysis. Assessment response measurements are often ordinal scaled, not interval scaled; the magnitude of the physical response may not directly correlate with the underlying state of developmental maturity; and a subject's assessment record may be censored. Censoring occurs when the milestone is exhibited at the first test (left censoring), when the milestone is not exhibited before the end of the study (right censoring), or when the exact age of attaining the milestone is uncertain due to irregularly spaced test sessions or missing data (interval censoring). Such milestone data is best analyzed using survival analysis methods. Two methods are contrasted: the non-parametric Kaplan-Meier estimator and the fully parametric interval censored regression. The methods represent the spectrum of survival analyses in terms of parametric assumptions, ability to handle simultaneous testing of multiple predictors, and accommodation of different types of censoring. Both methods were used to assess birth weight status and sex effects on 14 separate test items from assessments on 255 healthy pigtailed macaques. The methods gave almost identical results. Compared to the normal birth weight group, the low birth weight group had significantly delayed development on all but one test item. Within the low birth weight group, males had significantly delayed development for some responses relative to females.