Evaluation of tuberculin testing and measles prophylaxis procedures used in rhesus macaque quarantine/conditioning protocols.

Twenty-three of 103 adult rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) entering NIH holding facilities with no history of measles vaccination or infection, no titer to rubeola virus, a minimum of four negative results of intrapalpebral tuberculosis tests, and negative for Herpesvirus simiae and type D retroviruses were selected to evaluate the adequacy of commonly used quarantine/conditioning protocol procedures. One month after sensitization by subcutaneous inoculation with 100 mg of killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis in oil, an intrapalpebral tuberculosis test was administered in the right eyelid. All animals had reactions that ranged from grade II to grade V. The animals were then randomly allotted to three groups. Ten animals were inoculated with a rubeola-containing veterinary vaccine (VET), 10 were inoculated with a human measles vaccine routinely used in macaque quarantine procedures (HUM), and 3 were used as unvaccinated controls. Intradermal tuberculosis tests were administered in the left eyelid and the skin of the abdomen at vaccination (day 0), and subsequent abdominal skin tests were performed on days 5, 14, and 28. In addition, intrapalpebral tests were conducted on day 28. A higher response in the rubeola antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) optical density (OD) results was observed in the VET-inoculated group at 14 days after inoculation. More significantly, two members of the HUM-vaccinated group had negative ELISA results after a single dose of vaccine. Three other members of the HUM-inoculated group had ELISA results that were near the OD cutoff value (0.15) and were retested by the measles indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effects of concurrent exposure to 60 Hz electric and magnetic fields on the social behavior of baboons.

Our previous research has demonstrated that 30 or 60 kV/m electric fields (EF) reliably produce temporary increases in the performance of three categories of baboon social behavior: Passive Affinity, Tension, and Stereotypy. The experimental design included 6 week preexposure, exposure, and postexposure periods with experimental and control groups, each with eight subjects. Here, we report two experiments that evaluated the effects of combined EF and magnetic fields (MF) on baboon social behavior. One experiment demonstrated that exposure to 6 kV/m EF and 50 microT (0.5 G) MF produced Period x Group interactions for Stereotypy and Attack, but the previously observed increases in Passive Affinity, Tension, and Stereotypy did not occur. A second experiment demonstrated that exposure to 30 kV/m EF and 100 microT 1.0 G MF did not produce the same magnitude of increases in Passive Affinity, Tension, and Stereotypy observed previously with 30 kV/m EF alone. The exposed group exhibited decreased performance rates for several behavior categories during exposure with further declines during postexposure. The control group showed fewer downward trends across periods.

Training adaptations of baboons to light and moderate treadmill exercise.

We evaluated training adaptations by 18 baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis) to low and moderate quadrupedal walking exercise on a motorized treadmill. Moderate training produced 47% increases in lactate threshold, 63% increases in muscle citrate synthetase activity, increases in percentage of Type IIc muscle fibers, and reduced plasma insulin concentrations. Low training produced only reduced plasma insulin concentrations. Only results indicate that the baboon response to exercise training was similar to that of Homo sapiens, and dependent on exercise intensity.

Effects of a 30 kV/m, 60 Hz electric field on the social behavior of baboons: a crossover experiment.

Using a crossover experimental design, we evaluated our earlier findings that exposure to a 30 kV/m, 60 Hz electric field for 12 hours per day, 7 days per week for 6 weeks produced significant changes in the performance rates of social behaviors among young adult male baboons. In the crossover experiment, the former control group was exposed to a 30 kV/m, 60 Hz electric field for 3 weeks. Only an extremely small, incidental magnetic field was generated by the exposure apparatus. We found that electric-field exposure again produced increases in the performance rates that index Passive Affinity, Tension, and Stereotypy. These findings, combined with results from our other electric-field experiments, indicate that exposure to strong electric fields, in the absence of associated magnetic fields, consistently produces effects that are expressed as increases in rates of performance of social behaviors in young adult male baboons.

Is lipsmacking an indicator of social status in baboons?

Lipsmacking is performed by many Old World monkey species, and some studies of baboons and macaques suggest that lipsmacking may be associated with social status. We studied 60 adult anubis baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis) for 18 months, measured social status and the rate of lipsmacking, and used these data to test the hypothesis that lipsmacking is related to social status. Our results indicate that social status and lipsmacking were not significantly correlated for either males or females. Analysis of lipsmacking in relation to social class (high vs. low) showed no significant difference between status classes for either sex. Lipsmacking was, however, found to be positively associated with affinitive behaviors. These results suggest that baboon lipsmacking provides positive social communication independently of social status.

Effects of exposure to 30 kV/m, 60-Hz electric fields on the social behavior of baboons.

We tested the hypothesis that exposure to a 30-kV/m, 60-Hz electric field produces significant change (stress) in the social behavior of adult male baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis). One group of eight baboons was exposed to an electric field (12 hours per day, 7 days per week for 6 weeks) while a second group of eight baboons was maintained in a sham-exposure (control) condition. Exposed subjects and control subjects were compared over three, six-week experimental periods (pre-exposure, exposure, and post-exposure). Performance rates of six categories of social behaviors (passive affinity, active affinity, approach, tension, threat, and attack) and four categories of nonsocial behaviors (forage, manipulate, posture, and stereotypy) were used to compare the two groups. The results of our study indicate that 1) there were no significant differences between the two groups during the pre-exposure or post-exposure periods; 2) during the exposure period, experimental and control groups exhibited statistically significant differences in the mean performance rates of three behavior categories; 3) within-group comparisons across periods indicate that the experimentally exposed group exhibited statistically significant changes in passive affinity, tension, and stereotypy; and 4) changes in behavior performance among the exposed subjects reflect a stress response to the electric field.

Effects of exposure to a 60-kV/m, 60-Hz electric field on the social behavior of baboons.

We found in a previously reported study that exposure to a 30-kV/m, 60-Hz electric field had significant effects on the social behavior of baboons. However, it was not established whether or not the effects were related specifically to the 30-kV/m intensity of the field. A new experiment was conducted to determine whether or not exposure to a 60-Hz electric field at 60 kV/m would produce like changes in the baboons' social behavior. We exposed one group of eight male baboons to an electric field 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 6 weeks. A second group of eight animals was maintained under sham-exposure (control) conditions. Rates of performing on each of six categories of social behavior and on four categories of nonsocial behavior were used as criteria for comparing exposed with unexposed subjects and for within-group comparisons during three six-week experimental periods: Pre-Exposure, Exposure, and Post-Exposure. The results indicate that (1) during the exposure period, exposed animals exhibited statistically significant differences from controls in means of performance rates based on several behavioral categories; (2) across all three periods, within-group comparisons revealed that behaviors of exposed baboons were significantly affected by exposure to the electric field; (3) changes in performance levels probably reflect a stress response to the electric field; and (4) the means of response rates of animals exposed at 60 kV/m were higher, but not double, those of animals exposed at 30 kV/m. As in the 30-kV/m experiment, animals exposed at 60 kV/m exhibited significant differences in performances of Passive Affinity, Tension, and Stereotypy. Mean rates of performing these categories were 122% (Passive Affinity), 48% (Tension), and 40% (Stereotypy) higher in the exposed group than in the control group during exposure to the 60-kV/m field.

Allogrooming, partner choice, and dominance in male anubis baboons.

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that among unrelated male baboons (Papio cynocephalus anubis) in single-gender social groups there is no significant association between dominance status and allogrooming performance. The hypothesis was tested using behavioral measures obtained by focal animal sampling techniques. The results indicate that unrelated male baboons established well-defined linear dominance hierarchies, formed allogrooming relationships with one another, and exhibited a nonrandom distribution of allogrooming; however, there were no significant relationships between dominance rank and the frequency of allogrooming. We further tested our results by grouping individuals into three dominance status classes (high, middle, and low) and comparing the classes. Analysis of variance demonstrated no significant differences in rates of allogrooming by dominance class. These results suggest that dominance did not account for the variation in observed allogrooming behavior: Dominance status did not appear to determine the frequency with which animals groomed others, the number of grooming partners, or frequency of grooming that any individual received in comparison to that performed. High-ranking animals did not have significantly more grooming partners than low-ranking animals, and there appeared to be little competition within the groups for subordinates to groom high-ranking animals. When age, kinship, and group tenure are controlled, performance and reception of allogrooming are not strongly associated with dominance in single-gender social groups of male anubis baboons.