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Burgon, H. L. (2011). ‘Queen of the world’: experiences of ‘at-risk’ young people participating in equine-assisted learning/therapy. Journal of Social Work Practice, 25(02), 165–183.
Abstract: There is a significant body of research into the benefits of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) but less into the fields known as equine-assisted learning and therapy (EAL/EAT) where horses are incorporated in therapeutic and learning interventions. This paper explores the experiences of seven ?at-risk? young people who participated in a therapeutic horsemanship (TH) programme. The study followed a practice-near approach seeking to capture the young people's experiences within a participative ethnography. Themes related to the risk and resilience literature such as self-confidence, self-esteem, self-efficacy and a sense of mastery, empathy and the opening of positive opportunities are explored in this paper.
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Phillips, C. J. C., Oevermans, H., Syrett, K. L., Jespersen, A. Y., & Pearce, G. P. (2015). Lateralization of behavior in dairy cows in response to conspecifics and novel persons. Journal of Dairy Science, 98(4), 2389–2400.
Abstract: Abstract The right brain hemisphere, connected to the left eye, coordinates fight and flight behaviors in a wide variety of vertebrate species. We investigated whether left eye vision predominates in dairy cows’ interactions with other cows and humans, and whether dominance status affects the extent of visual lateralization. Although we found no overall lateralization of eye use to view other cows during interactions, cows that were submissive in an interaction were more likely to use their left eye to view a dominant animal. Both subordinate and older cows were more likely to use their left eye to view other cattle during interactions. Cows that predominantly used their left eye during aggressive interactions were more likely to use their left eye to view a person in unfamiliar clothing in the middle of a track by passing them on the right side. However, a person in familiar clothing was viewed predominantly with the right eye when they passed mainly on the left side. Cows predominantly using their left eyes in cow-to-cow interactions showed more overt responses to restraint in a crush compared with cows who predominantly used their right eyes during interactions (crush scores: left eye users 7.9, right eye users 6.4, standard error of the difference = 0.72). Thus, interactions between 2 cows and between cows and people were visually lateralized, with losing and subordinate cows being more likely to use their left eyes to view winning and dominant cattle and unfamiliar humans.
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Mejdell, C. M., Buvik, T., Jørgensen, G. H. M., & Bøe, K. E. (2016). Horses can learn to use symbols to communicate their preferences. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci., 184, 66–73.
Abstract: Abstract This paper describes a method in which horses learn to communicate by touching different neutral visual symbols, in order to tell the handler whether they want to have a blanket on or not. Horses were trained for 10–15 min per day, following a training program comprising ten steps in a strategic order. Reward based operant conditioning was used to teach horses to approach and touch a board, and to understand the meaning of three different symbols. Heat and cold challenges were performed to help learning and to check level of understanding. At certain stages, a learning criterion of correct responses for 8–14 successive trials had to be achieved before proceeding. After introducing the free choice situation, on average at training day 11, the horse could choose between a “no change” symbol and the symbol for either “blanket on” or “blanket off” depending on whether the horse already wore a blanket or not. A cut off point for performance or non-performance was set to day 14, and 23/23 horses successfully learned the task within this limit. Horses of warm-blood type needed fewer training days to reach criterion than cold-bloods (P < 0.05). Horses were then tested under differing weather conditions. Results show that choices made, i.e. the symbol touched, was not random but dependent on weather. Horses chose to stay without a blanket in nice weather, and they chose to have a blanket on when the weather was wet, windy and cold (χ2 = 36.67, P < 0.005). This indicates that horses both had an understanding of the consequence of their choice on own thermal comfort, and that they successfully had learned to communicate their preference by using the symbols. The method represents a novel tool for studying preferences in horses.
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Keeling, L. J., Bøe, K. E., Christensen, J. W., Hyyppä, S., Jansson, H., Jørgensen, G. H. M., et al. Injury incidence, reactivity and ease of handling of horses kept in groups: a matched case control study in four Nordic countries. Appl Anim Behav Sci, .
Abstract: Abstract There is increasing interest in keeping horses in groups, but progress is hampered by a lack of knowledge about which horses can and should be kept together. Therefore, our objective was to investigate the effect of group composition on the occurrence of injuries among horses, the ease of removing horses from groups and horses’ reactivity to a fearful stimulus. Using a matched case control design, 61 groups of horses were studied in Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden. They were allocated into groups of similar or different age and sex or where membership changed regularly or remained stable. Injuries were recorded before mixing the horses into treatment groups, the day after mixing and four weeks later. Reactivity of horses to a moving novel object and the behaviour of a horse being removed from its group and the reactions of other group members towards this horse and the handler were evaluated. It was hypothesized that a more socially variable group composition has beneficial effects on behaviour, ease of handling and reducing reactivity whereas frequent changes in group composition has negative consequences, resulting in more injuries. We found that differences in treatment effects were mainly related to breed, rather than group composition. Icelandic horses reacted less to the movement of the novel object (P = 0.007) and approached it more afterwards (P = 0.04). They also had fewer new injuries than warmbloods following mixing (P < 0.001) and fewer than all other groups 4 weeks later (P < 0.01). Most new injuries after mixing were minor and recorded on the horse’s head, chest, hind legs and rump. In conclusion, variations in sex and age composition of the group had little effect on injury level, reactivity and ease of handling compared to the general effect of breed. Concerns about the risk of severe injuries associated with keeping horses in groups are probably overestimated. Thus, we propose that horses can be successfully kept in groups of different sex and age composition.
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Sambraus, H. H. (1969). Zur sozialen Rangordnung von Rindern1. Z. Tierzucht, 86(1-4), 240–257.
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Hieshima, K., Kawasaki, Y., Hanamoto, H., Nakayama, T., Nagakubo, D., Kanamaru, A., et al. (2004). CC Chemokine Ligands 25 and 28 Play Essential Roles in Intestinal Extravasation of IgA Antibody-Secreting Cells. The Journal of Immunology, 173(6), 3668–3675.
Abstract: CCL25 (also known as thymus-expressed chemokine) and CCL28 (also known as mucosae-associated epithelial chemokine) play important roles in mucosal immunity by recruiting IgA Ab-secreting cells (ASCs) into mucosal lamina propria. However, their exact roles in vivo still remain to be defined. In this study, we first demonstrated in mice that IgA ASCs in small intestine expressed CCR9, CCR10, and CXCR4 on the cell surface and migrated to their respective ligands CCL25, CCL28, and CXCL12 (also known as stromal cell-derived factor 1), whereas IgA ASCs in colon mainly expressed CCR10 and CXCR4 and migrated to CCL28 and CXCL12. Reciprocally, the epithelial cells of small intestine were immunologically positive for CCL25 and CCL28, whereas those of colon were positive for CCL28 and CXCL12. Furthermore, the venular endothelial cells in small intestine were positive for CCL25 and CCL28, whereas those in colon were positive for CCL28, suggesting their direct roles in extravasation of IgA ASCs. Consistently, in mice orally immunized with cholera toxin (CT), anti-CCL25 suppressed homing of CT-specific IgA ASCs into small intestine, whereas anti-CCL28 suppressed homing of CT-specific IgA ASCs into both small intestine and colon. Reciprocally, CT-specific ASCs and IgA titers in the blood were increased in mice treated with anti-CCL25 or anti-CCL28. Anti-CXCL12 had no such effects. Finally, both CCL25 and CCL28 were capable of enhancing α4 integrin-dependent adhesion of IgA ASCs to mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1 and VCAM-1. Collectively, CCL25 and CCL28 play essential roles in intestinal homing of IgA ASCs primarily by mediating their extravasation into intestinal lamina propria.
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Moon, C., Baldridge, M. T., Wallace, M. A., Burnham, C. - A. D., Virgin, H. W., & Stappenbeck, T. S. (2015). Vertically transmitted faecal IgA levels determine extra-chromosomal phenotypic variation. Nature, 521(7550), 90–93.
Abstract: The proliferation of genetically modified mouse models has exposed phenotypic variation between investigators and institutions that has been challenging to control1-5. In many cases, the microbiota is the presumed culprit of the variation. Current solutions to account for phenotypic variability include littermate and maternal controls or defined microbial consortia in gnotobiotic mice6,7. In conventionally raised mice, the microbiome is transmitted from the dam2,8,9. Here we show that microbially–driven dichotomous fecal IgA levels in WT mice within the same facility mimic the effects of chromosomal mutations. We observed in multiple facilities that vertically-transmissible bacteria in IgA-Low mice dominantly lowered fecal IgA levels in IgA-High mice after cohousing or fecal transplantation. In response to injury, IgA-Low mice showed increased damage that was transferable by fecal transplantation and driven by fecal IgA differences. We found that bacteria from IgA-Low mice degraded the secretory component (SC) of SIgA as well as IgA itself. These data indicate that phenotypic comparisons between mice must take into account the non-chromosomal hereditary variation between different breeders. We propose fecal IgA as one marker of microbial variability and conclude that cohousing and/or fecal transplantation enables analysis of progeny from different dams.
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Chase, M. W., & Hills, H. H. (1991). Silica Gel: An Ideal Material for Field Preservation of Leaf Samples for DNA Studies. Taxon, 40(2), 215–220.
Abstract: Silica gels an inexpensive and reliable substance to preserve field-collected leaves for molecular studies of variation in DNA. A method for its utilization is explained, and results are presented, comparing total cellular DNA samples extracted from a set of fresh and silica-gel dried samples of the same species, as well as examining the efficiency of endonuclease restriction and intactness of DNA from of a set of field-collected leaves preserved with silica gel.
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Reyna-Garfias, H., Miliar, A., Jarillo-Luna, A., Rivera-Aguilar, V., Pacheco-Yepez, J., Baeza, I., et al. (2010). Repeated restraint stress increases IgA concentration in rat small intestine. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 24(1), 110–118.
Abstract: The most abundant intestinal immunoglobulin and first line of specific immunological defense against environmental antigens is secretory immunoglobulin A. To better understand the effect of repeated stress on the secretion of intestinal IgA, the effects of restraint stress on IgA concentration and mRNA expression of the gene for the alpha-chain of IgA was assessed in both the duodenum and ileum of the rats. Restraint stress induced an increase in intestinal IgA, which was blocked by an adrenalectomy, suggesting a role of catecholamines and glucocorticoids. Whereas the blocking of glucocorticoid receptors by RU-486 did not affect the increased IgA concentration, it did reduce IgA alpha-chain mRNA expression in both segments, indicating a possible mediation on the part of glucocorticoids in IgA secretion by individual cells. Treatment with corticosterone significantly increased both the IgA concentration and IgA alpha-chain mRNA expression in ileum but not in duodenum, suggesting that glucocorticoids may act directly on IgA-antibody forming cells to increase IgA secretion in the former segment. A probable role by catecholamines was evidenced by the reduction in IgA concentration and IgA alpha-chain mRNA expression in both segments after a chemical sympathectomy with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Additionally, norepinephrine significantly reduced IgA alpha-chain mRNA levels but increased pIgR mRNA expression and IgA concentration in both intestinal segments. We propose that the increased intestinal IgA levels caused by repeated restraint stress is likely due to the effects of catecholamines on the transport of plgA across the epithelium.
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Vetvik, H., Grewal, H. M. S., Haugen, I. L., Åhrén, C., & Haneberg, B. (1998). Mucosal antibodies can be measured in air-dried samples of saliva and feces. Journal of Immunological Methods, 215(1–2), 163–172.
Abstract: IgA antibodies reflecting airways or intestinal mucosal immune responses can be found in saliva and feces, respectively, and IgG antibodies reflecting serum antibodies can be found in saliva. In this study, antibodies were detected in samples of saliva and feces which had been air-dried at room temperature (+20°C) or +37°C, and stored at these temperatures for up to 6 months. In saliva the antibody levels increased, while the antibodies in feces decreased upon storage. The individual IgA antibody concentrations which were adjusted by using the ratios of specific IgA/total IgA were relatively stable in both saliva and feces, and correlated with corresponding antibody levels in samples which had been stored at -20°C. The results indicate that air-dried saliva and feces can be used for semiquantitative measurements of mucosal antibodies, even after prolonged storage at high temperatures and lack of refrigeration.
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