Equine and Animal Cognition Reference Database -- Query Results

	Equine and Animal Cognition Reference Database Home \| Show All \| Simple Search \| Advanced Search	Login Quick Search: Field: contains: ...
	1-10 of 83 records found matching your query:

Search & Display Options

Select All Deselect All

<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >>

List View

Citations

Details

	Records
	Author	Palme, R.; Touma, C.; Arias, N., Dominchin, M.N.; Lepschy, M.
	Title	Steroid extraction: Get the best out of faecal samples			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2013	Publication	Wiener Tierärztliche Wochenschriften	Abbreviated Journal	Wien Tierärztl Monat – Vet Med Austria
	Volume	100	Issue		Pages	238-246.
	Keywords	Review, faeces, extraction, non-invasive hormone monitoring, stress, reproduction.
	Abstract	Faecal steroid hormone metabolites are becoming increasingly popular as parameters for reproductive functions and stress. The extraction of the steroids from the faecal matrix represents the initial step before quantification can be performed. The steroid metabolites present in the faecal matrix are of varying polarity and composition, so selection of a proper extraction procedure is essential. There have been some studies to address this complex but often neglected point. Radiolabelled steroids (e.g. cortisol or progesterone) have frequently been added to faecal samples to estimate the efficiency of the extraction procedures used. However, native, unmetabolized steroids are normally not present in the faeces and therefore the results are artifi- cial and do not accurately reflect the actual recoveries of the substances of interest. In this respect, recovery experiments based on faecal samples from radiometabolism studies are more informative. In these samples, the metabolite content accurately reflects the mixture of metabolites present in the given species. As a result, it is possible to evaluate different extraction methods for use with faecal samples. We present studies on sheep, horses, pigs, hares and dogs that utilized samples containing naturally metabolized, 14C-labelled steroids. We recommend extracting faecal steroids by simply suspending the faeces in a high percentage of a primary alcohol (for glucocorticoid metabolites 80% aqueous methanol proved best suited for virtually all mammalian species tested so far). Not only does the procedure significantly increase the total amount of recovered radioactivity, it also increases the percentage of unconjugated metabolites, which are more likely to be recognized by the antibodies used in various immunoassays. The advantages of this extraction procedure are clear: it is very easy to use (no evaporation step is needed), it yields high recoveries and variation based on the extraction procedure is reduced to a minimum.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Summary Language		Original Title
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN		ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	6520
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Waldern, N.M.; Wiestner, T.; Ramseier, L.C.; Amport, C.; Weishaupt, M.A.
	Title	Effects of shoeing on limb movement and ground reaction forces in Icelandic horses at walk, tölt and trot			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2013	Publication	The Veterinary Journal	Abbreviated Journal	Vet. J.
	Volume	198, Supplement 1	Issue		Pages	e103-e108
	Keywords	Icelandic horse; Gait analysis; Ground reaction force; Kinematics; Shoeing; Tölt
	Abstract	Abstract Tölt is a symmetric four-beat gait with a speed range extending into that of trot and canter. Specific shoeing methods, such as unnaturally high and long hooves, are used to enforce individual gait predisposition. The aim of this study was to assess the consequences of this shoeing style on loading and movement of the limbs at walk, tölt and trot, and at different velocities. Simultaneous kinetic and kinematic gait analysis was carried out at walk (1.4 m/s) and at two tölting and trotting speeds (3.3 m/s and 3.9 m/s) on an instrumented treadmill. Thirteen sound Icelandic horses were first measured with high, long front hooves (SH) and, 1 week later, after trimming the hooves according to standard shoeing principles (SN). Comparing SH with SN, front hooves had 21 ± 5 mm longer dorsal hoof walls, and the shoeing material per hoof was 273 ± 50 g heavier. In all three gaits, gait quality, as it is currently judged, was improved with SH due to a lower stride rate, a longer stride length and a higher, but not wider, forelimb protraction arc, which were also positively associated with speed. Forelimb–hind limb balance remained unchanged, but limb impulses were higher. Apart from an increase of â©½2.2% in the forelimbs at the faster speed of both tölt and trot, SH had little influence on vertical peak forces.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Summary Language		Original Title
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1090-0233	ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	5912
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Brinkmann, L.; Gerken, M.; Riek, A.
	Title	Effect of long-term feed restriction on the health status and welfare of a robust horse breed, the Shetland pony (Equus ferus caballus)			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2013	Publication	Research in Veterinary Science	Abbreviated Journal	Res. Vet. Sci.
	Volume	94	Issue	3	Pages	826-831
	Keywords	Animal welfare; Blood parameter; Extensive housing; Feed restriction; Horse; Winter conditions
	Abstract	Outdoor group housing is increasingly recognized as an appropriate housing system for domesticated horses. The objective of this study was therefore to investigate the effect of potential feed shortage in semi-natural horse keeping systems in winter on animal health and welfare. In 10 female Shetland ponies blood concentrations (NEFA, total protein (TP), total bilirubin (TB), beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and thyroxine (T4)), body mass and the body condition score (BCS) were monitored for 7months including a 4months period of feed restriction in five of the 10 ponies. Restrictively fed animals lost 18.4±2.99% of their body mass and the BCS decreased by 2.2±0.8 points (BCS scale: 0=emaciated, 5=obese). Feed restriction led to a continuous increase in TB (P<0.001) and NEFA (P<0.01) concentrations compared to control ponies. The TP and BHB values only differed at the end of the trial with lower concentrations in restricted fed mares (P<0.05). Feed restriction had no effect on thyroxine concentrations. TB concentrations in the feed restricted group were out of the reference range during the entire feeding trial. The increased NEFA concentrations in feed restricted compared to control ponies suggest that fat was mobilized. The BCS, as well as plasma NEFA and TB concentrations were good indicators for a rapid detection of possible health problems caused by undernourishment in horses when kept under semi-natural conditions. In contrast, blood parameters of the control animals were within the reference ranges, suggesting that a year round outdoor housing with additional feed supply is an adequate housing system for a robust horse breed like the Shetland pony.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Summary Language		Original Title
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0034-5288	ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	6601
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Calcagnoli, F.; Boer, S.F.; Althaus, M.; Boer, J.A.; Koolhaas, J.M.
	Title	Antiaggressive activity of central oxytocin in male rats			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2013	Publication		Abbreviated Journal	Psychopharmacology
	Volume	229	Issue	4	Pages	639-651
	Keywords	Oxytocin; Offensive aggression; Social exploration; Individual variability
	Abstract	Rationale A substantial body of research suggests that the neuropeptide oxytocin promotes social affiliative behaviors in a wide range of animals including humans. However, its antiaggressive action has not been unequivocally demonstrated in male laboratory rodents. Objective Our primary goal was to examine the putative serenic effect of oxytocin in a feral strain (wild type Groningen, WTG) of rats that generally show a much broader variation and higher levels of intermale aggression than commonly used laboratory strains of rats. Methods Resident animals were intracerebroventricularly (icv) administered with different doses of synthetic oxytocin and oxytocin receptor antagonist, alone and in combination, in order to manipulate brain oxytocin functioning and to assess their behavioral response to an intruder. Results Our data clearly demonstrate that acute icv administered oxytocin produces dose-dependent and receptorselective changes in social behavior, reducing aggression and potentiating social exploration. These antiaggressive effects are stronger in the more offensive rats. On the other hand, administration of an oxytocin receptor antagonist tends to increase (nonsignificantly) aggression only in low–medium aggressive animals. Conclusions These results suggest that transiently enhancing brain oxytocin function has potent antiaggressive effects, whereas its attenuation tends to enhance aggressiveness. In addition, a possible inverse relationship between trait aggression and endogenous oxytocinergic signaling is revealed. Overall, this study emphasizes the importance of brain oxytocinergic signaling for regulating intermale offensive aggression. This study supports the suggestion that oxytocin receptor agonists could clinically be useful for curbing heightened aggression seen in a range of neuropsychiatric disorders like antisocial personality disorder, autism, and addiction.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher	Springer Berlin Heidelberg	Place of Publication		Editor
	Language	English	Summary Language		Original Title
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0033-3158	ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	5723
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Gil, M.; Bhatt, R.; Picotte, K.B.; Hull, E.M.
	Title	Sexual experience increases oxytocin receptor gene expression and protein in the medial preoptic area of the male rat			Type	Abstract
	Year	2013	Publication	Psychoneuroendocrinology	Abbreviated Journal	Psychoneuroendocrinology
	Volume	38	Issue	9	Pages	1688-1697
	Keywords	Oxytocin; Oxytocin receptor; Sexual behavior; Sexual experience; Medial preoptic area; Hypothalamus; Rats
	Abstract	Oxytocin (OT) promotes social and reproductive behaviors in mammals, and OT deficits may be linked to disordered social behaviors like autism and severe anxiety. Male rat sexual behavior is an excellent model for OT regulation of behavior, as its pattern and neural substrates are well characterized. We previously reported that OT microinjected into the medial preoptic area (MPOA), a major integrative site for male sexual behavior, facilitates copulation in sexually experienced male rats, whereas intra-MPOA injection of an OT antagonist (OTA) inhibits copulation. In the present studies, copulation on the day of sacrifice stimulated OTR mRNA expression in the MPOA, irrespective of previous sexual experience, with the highest levels observed in first-time copulators. In addition, sexually experienced males had higher levels of OTR protein in the MPOA than sexually naïve males and first-time copulators. Finally, intra-MPOA injection of OT facilitated mating in sexually naive males. Others have reported a positive correlation between OT mRNA levels and male sexual behavior. Our studies show that OT in the MPOA facilitates mating in both sexually naive and experienced males, some of the behavioral effects of OT are mediated by the OTR, and sexual experience is associated with increased OTR expression in the MPOA. Taken together, these data suggest a reciprocal interaction between central OT and behavior, in which OT facilitates copulation and copulation stimulates the OT/OTR system in the brain.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher	Pergamon Press.	Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Summary Language		Original Title
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0306-4530	ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @ S0306-4530(13)00040-1			Serial	5724
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Beran, M.J.; Smith, J.D.; Perdue, B.M.
	Title	Language-Trained Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Name What They Have Seen but Look First at What They Have Not Seen			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2013	Publication	Psychological Science	Abbreviated Journal	Psychol Sci
	Volume		Issue		Pages
	Keywords
	Abstract	Metacognition can be defined as knowing what one knows, and the question of whether nonhuman animals are metacognitive has driven an intense debate. We tested 3 language-trained chimpanzees in an information-seeking task in which the identity of a food item was the critical piece of information needed to obtain the food. The chimpanzees could either report the identity of the food immediately or first check a container in which the food had been hidden. In two experiments, the chimpanzees were significantly more likely to visit the container first on trials in which they could not know its contents but were more likely to just name the food item without looking into the container on trials in which they had seen its contents. Thus, chimpanzees showed efficient information-seeking behavior that suggested they knew what they had or had not already seen when it was time to name a hidden item.
	Address	1Language Research Center, Georgia State University
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language	English	Summary Language		Original Title
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	0956-7976	ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes	PMID:23508741			Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	5659
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Pedersen, E.J.; Kurzban, R.; McCullough, M.E.
	Title	Do humans really punish altruistically? A closer look			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2013	Publication	Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences	Abbreviated Journal	Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B
	Volume	280	Issue	1758	Pages
	Keywords
	Abstract	Some researchers have proposed that natural selection has given rise in humans to one or more adaptations for altruistically punishing on behalf of other individuals who have been treated unfairly, even when the punisher has no chance of benefiting via reciprocity or benefits to kin. However, empirical support for the altruistic punishment hypothesis depends on results from experiments that are vulnerable to potentially important experimental artefacts. Here, we searched for evidence of altruistic punishment in an experiment that precluded these artefacts. In so doing, we found that victims of unfairness punished transgressors, whereas witnesses of unfairness did not. Furthermore, witnesses’ emotional reactions to unfairness were characterized by envy of the unfair individual's selfish gains rather than by moralistic anger towards the unfair behaviour. In a second experiment run independently in two separate samples, we found that previous evidence for altruistic punishment plausibly resulted from affective forecasting error—that is, limitations on humans’ abilities to accurately simulate how they would feel in hypothetical situations. Together, these findings suggest that the case for altruistic punishment in humans—a view that has gained increasing attention in the biological and social sciences—has been overstated.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Summary Language		Original Title
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN		ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	5804
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Sebilo, M.; Mayer, B.; Nicolardot, B.; Pinay, G.; Mariotti, A.
	Title	Long-term fate of nitrate fertilizer in agricultural soils			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2013	Publication	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences	Abbreviated Journal	PNAS
	Volume		Issue		Pages
	Keywords
	Abstract	Increasing diffuse nitrate loading of surface waters and groundwater has emerged as a major problem in many agricultural areas of the world, resulting in contamination of drinking water resources in aquifers as well as eutrophication of freshwaters and coastal marine ecosystems. Although empirical correlations between application rates of N fertilizers to agricultural soils and nitrate contamination of adjacent hydrological systems have been demonstrated, the transit times of fertilizer N in the pedosphere–hydrosphere system are poorly understood. We investigated the fate of isotopically labeled nitrogen fertilizers in a three–decade-long in situ tracer experiment that quantified not only fertilizer N uptake by plants and retention in soils, but also determined to which extent and over which time periods fertilizer N stored in soil organic matter is rereleased for either uptake in crops or export into the hydrosphere. We found that 61–65% of the applied fertilizers N were taken up by plants, whereas 12–15% of the labeled fertilizer N were still residing in the soil organic matter more than a quarter century after tracer application. Between 8–12% of the applied fertilizer had leaked toward the hydrosphere during the 30-y observation period. We predict that additional exports of 15N-labeled nitrate from the tracer application in 1982 toward the hydrosphere will continue for at least another five decades. Therefore, attempts to reduce agricultural nitrate contamination of aquatic systems must consider the long-term legacy of past applications of synthetic fertilizers in agricultural systems and the nitrogen retention capacity of agricultural soils.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Summary Language		Original Title
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN		ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	5730
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Briefer Freymond, S.; Briefer, E.F.; Niederhäusern, R.V.; Bachmann, I.
	Title	Pattern of Social Interactions after Group Integration: A Possibility to Keep Stallions in Group			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2013	Publication	PLoS ONE	Abbreviated Journal	PLoS ONE
	Volume	8	Issue	1	Pages	e54688 EP -
	Keywords
	Abstract	<p>Horses are often kept in individual stables, rather than in outdoor groups, despite such housing system fulfilling many of their welfare needs, such as the access to social partners. Keeping domestic stallions in outdoor groups would mimic bachelor bands that are found in the wild. Unfortunately, the high level of aggression that unfamiliar stallions display when they first <italic>encounter each other</italic> discourages owners from keeping them in groups. However, this level of aggression is likely to be particularly important only during group integration, when the dominance hierarchy is being established, whereas relatively low aggression rates have been observed among stable feral bachelor bands. We investigated the possibility of housing breeding stallions owned by the Swiss National Stud in groups on a large pasture (5 stallions in 2009 and 8 stallions in 2010). We studied the pattern of agonistic, ritual and affiliative interactions after group integration (17–23 days), and the factors influencing these interactions (time after group integration, dominance rank, age or experience of group housing). We found that stallions displayed generally more ritual than agonistic and than affiliative interactions. The frequency of agonistic and ritual interactions decreased quickly within the first three to four days. The frequency of affiliative interactions increased slowly with time before decreasing after 9–14 days. A stable hierarchy could be measured after 2–3 months. The highest-ranking males had less ritual interactions than the lowest-ranking. Males had also less agonistic, ritual and affiliative interactions if they had already been housed in a group the previous year. Therefore, we found that breeding stallions could be housed together on a large pasture, because the frequency of agonistic interactions decreased quickly and remained at a minimal level from the fourth day following group integration. This housing system could potentially increase horse welfare and reduce labour associated with horse management.</p>
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher	Public Library of Science	Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Summary Language		Original Title
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN		ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	5656
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Proops, L.; Rayner, J.; Taylor, A.M.; McComb, K.
	Title	The Responses of Young Domestic Horses to Human-Given Cues			Type	Journal Article
	Year	2013	Publication	PLoS ONE	Abbreviated Journal	PLoS ONE
	Volume	8	Issue	6	Pages	e67000 EP -
	Keywords
	Abstract	<p>It has been suggested that the process of domestication, at least in some species, has led to an innate predisposition to be skilled at reading human communicative and attentional cues. Adult domestic horses (<italic>Equus caballus</italic>) are highly sensitive to subtle bodily cues when determining if a person is attending to them but they are less adept at using human communicative cues in object choice tasks. Here we provide the first study into the ontogeny of such skills in order to gain insights into the mechanisms underlying these abilities. Compared with adult horses, youngsters under the age of three could use body orientation but not more subtle cues such as head movement and open/closed eyes to correctly choose an attentive person to approach for food. Across two object choice experiments, the performance of young horses was comparable to that of adult horses – subjects were able to correctly choose a rewarded bucket using marker placement, pointing and touching cues but could not use body orientation, gaze, elbow pointing or tapping cues. Taken together these results do not support the theory that horses possess an innate predisposition to be particularly skilled at using human cues. Horses' ability to determine whether humans are attending to them using subtle body cues appears to require significant experience to fully develop and their perhaps less remarkable use of limited cues in object choice tasks, although present at a much earlier age, is likely to reflect a more general learning ability related to stimulus enhancement rather than a specific ‘human-reading’ skill.</p>
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher	Public Library of Science	Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Summary Language		Original Title
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN		ISBN		Medium
	Area		Expedition		Conference
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	Equine Behaviour @ team @			Serial	5676
Permanent link to this record

Select All Deselect All

<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 >>

Details

CQL Search | Library Search | Show Record | Extract Citations

Help