The cynomolgus monkey is widely used in reproductive research. However, the effects on their reproductive parameters of infant and maternal factors such as birth order, sex of infants, twin births, ...maternal age and lactation status have not been fully examined. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine how such infant and maternal factors impact on infant birth weight, birth viability, neonatal loss and retained placenta in cynomolgus monkeys. The study was based on birth data from a cohort of 789 females over an eight-year period. Consistent with reports made in other macaque species, female offspring had lower birth weight compared with males. Birth weights of firstborn infants were lower compared with birth weights of higher birth order infants. Results from the logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of non-viable births was increased by advancing maternal age and retained placenta. As in other non-human primates, maternal age had predictive value for non-viable births in cynomolgus monkeys. The risk of neonatal loss decreased with advancing maternal age but was not affected by birth order. Firstborn offspring did not have an increased risk for neonatal loss, possibly from the practice of retaining mothers in their natal groups, which improved maternal skills in primiparous females. However, infant low birth weight and non-lactating females increased the risk of neonatal loss, and the delivery of low birth weight infants was associated with retained placenta. The results from this study can be useful for scientists conducting reproductive studies and for colony managers in maximizing fertility and infant survival of cynomolgus monkeys.
Background
The Mauritian cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis) is widely used in biomedical research. Determining reference intervals for biochemical and haematological analytes provides an ...important tool for clinical diagnosis and pre‐clinical research.
Methods
Blood samples from 736 Mauritian long‐tailed macaques were analysed to determine reference intervals of 13 biochemical and 10 haematological analytes. The need for partitioning the reference interval between males and females was determined. To examine the variation associated with age, body weight and sex on the analytes, our correlating, multivariate data set was first reduced using principal component analysis, and then the effect of these characteristics on factor scores was examined using GLM analysis.
Results
Partitioning of reference intervals, based on sex, was recommended for albumin, alkaline phosphatase and mean corpuscular haemoglobin. Sex significantly influenced the concentration of lymphocytes, granulocytes and white blood cells.
Conclusion
These findings provide useful reference data for research involving Mauritian long‐tailed macaques.
Christchurch hospital is a tertiary hospital in New Zealand supported by five general neurologists with after-hours services provided mainly by onsite non-neurology medical residents. We assessed the ...transferrability and impact of the Helsinki Stroke model on stroke thrombolysis door-to-needle time (DNT) in Christchurch hospital.
Key components of the Helsinki Stroke model were implemented first in 2015 with introduction of patient pre-notification and thrombolysis by the computed tomography (CT) suite, followed by implementation of direct transfer to CT on ambulance stretcher in May 2017. Data from the prospective thrombolysis registry which began in 2012 were analyzed for the impact of these interventions on median DNT.
Between May and December 2017, 46 patients were treated with alteplase, 25 (54%) patients were treated in-hours (08:00-17:00 non-public holiday weekdays) and 21 (46%) patients were treated after-hours. The in-hours, after-hours, and overall median (interquartile range) DNTs were 34 (28-43), 47 (38-60), and 40 (30-51) minutes. The corresponding times in 2012-2014 prior to interventions were 87 (68-106), 86 (72-116), and 87 (71-112) minutes, representing median DNT reduction of 53, 39, and 47 minutes, respectively (
-values <0.01). The interventions also resulted in significant reductions in the overall median door-to-CT time (from 49 to 19 min), CT-to-needle time (32 to 20 min) and onset-to-needle time (168 to 120 min).
The Helsinki stroke model is transferrable with real-world resources and reduced stroke DNT in Christchurch by over 50%.
This book focuses on the surprising generative possibilities which digital and smart technologies offer media consumers, citizens, institutions and governments in making publics and places, across ...topics as diverse as Twitter audiences, rural news, the elasticity of the public sphere, Weibo, cultural heritage and responsive spaces in smart cities. Multidisciplinary perspectives engage with critical questions in new media scholarship. General readers, curious about how technologies are enabling social, public and civic participation, will enjoy the book’s mix of fresh approaches and insights.
Laboratory macaques: When to wean? Prescott, Mark J.; Nixon, Mellissa E.; Farningham, David A.H. ...
Applied animal behaviour science,
03/2012, Volume:
137, Issue:
3-4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Worldwide there is large variation in the age at which young macaques destined for use in research are permanently separated from their mothers, and in the subsequent social environment in which they ...are reared. This stems from variation in minimum weaning ages and rearing practices in guidelines on laboratory animal care and use, as well as from scientific, business and other considerations. This article summarises the literature on the effects of weaning policy on the behavioural and physical development of macaques, supplemented with production data from breeding colonies of rhesus and long-tailed macaques. The aim is to help guide decision-making to improve animal welfare and quality of science. On the basis of the evidence reviewed here, unless there is strong justification for artificial weaning on scientific or animal health grounds, it is preferable for young macaques to remain with their mothers until they have become behaviourally independent. Minimum weaning age should therefore not normally be less than 10–14 months old, but weight, health and behavioural criteria should be used to determine the most appropriate weaning age for the welfare of each individual monkey.
Prior to 2008, alternative news sources were already established and exerted influence on the political process. They broadened the variety of topics reported, increased informed participation in ...political culture and presented political alternatives. However, after Malaysia’s 12th general election in 2008, the Internet emerged as a major new player in the socio-political landscape. The impact of the Internet, in particular the influence of the Independent News Portal (INP), malaysiakini.com, was seen as being partly responsible for changes in Malaysia’s political landscape. Thereafter, the Internet’s role as ‘an agent of political change’ became the subject of much debate and controversy in Malaysia. The question of the Internet’s influence is especially relevant given that alternative media sources were predicted to exert an even greater impact on the 2013 general election (GE2013). This article explores the influence of alternative news sources and examines the concept of the ‘Internet election’ with reference to two international examples. It contextualises public debate about the issues and controversies of the 2008 election coverage, and its aftermath, through the perspective of local media practitioners and election observers. The findings are revealing of the distinctive impact of Malaysia’s independent online news sources. The article argues that the democratisation of information has the potential to encourage new forms of democratic participation and to have a significant impact on political culture.
Civic hackathons have become a popular, experimental process through which to promote public access to open government data and enable innovative civic uses for the information. The International ...Space Apps Challenge, led by NASA, is a high-profile event, promoting the use of space-derived data with the aim of contributing solutions to 'grand challenges' such as environmental sustainability. Central to the civic hackathons are the concepts of 'stewardship,' and 'usefulness'. The study explores the promises and realities of civic hacking through analysis of the aims of the organisers, perspectives of participants and the event's outcomes, concluding that hackathon peer processes promote networks for knowledge transfer.
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