The inclusion of these regions in future blood safety surveys and in the development of national blood transfusion programs is essential and will undoubtedly require the assistance of international organizations.

It has been shown that differences in resource density and nutrient supply affect variation in ranging patterns, habitat use, and sociality. Among nonhuman primates, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (P. paniscus) have often been used as models for the link between social system and habitat ecology. Field reports suggest that resource density is higher in habitats occupied by bonobos (compared to chimpanzee habitats), and in the West (compared to the East) of the range of chimpanzees. In this study we compared diet quality at the level of species and populations using information from nutritional analyses of fruit and leaves consumed by chimpanzees (three) and bonobos (one population). Quality of plant foods was assessed on the basis of a) the concentration of macronutrients, fiber, and anti-feedants, and b) associations of different nutrient components. Overall plant samples collected at each site differed in terms of macronutrient content. However, nutritious quality and gross energy content of food samples were similar suggesting that dietary quality reflects selectivity rather than habitat ecology. The quality of plant foods consumed by bonobos was within the range of chimpanzees and the quality of plant foods consumed by western chimpanzees was not higher than that of eastern chimpanzees. While the results showed significant variation across forests inhabited by Pan, they did not match with geographical patterns between and within Pan species as proposed in previous studies. This suggests that the nutritional quality of the habitat is not always a reliable predictor of the quality of the diet.

Energy balance and protein gain contribute significantly to an animal's survival. Although data are available for certain species in captive settings, there is little information on these factors for primates living in their natural environments. In this preliminary study, we combined detailed behavioral, phonological, and chemical data for a well habituated chimpanzee community from the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire, with estimates of energy gain and expenditure from captive chimpanzees and humans to investigate how energy balance and protein gain across age-sex categories are affected by seasonal variations in food availability and how chimpanzees correspondingly alter their feeding and daily journey length (DJL). Comparisons between fruiting seasons characterized by varying quantities and qualities of available food revealed that food quality had the largest effect on individual energy balance and protein gain. Within given fruit seasons, energy balance and protein gain did not vary among age-sex categories. However, there was, variation across seasons among adult males and young of both sexes, but not among adult females. Our study revealed important effects of periods of food scarcity to which chimpanzees reacted by reducing their DJL and increasing their feeding time.

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Climate and weather conditions, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation, precipitation and temperature influence the birth sex ratio (BSR) of various higher latitude species, including deer, elephant seals or northern human populations. Although, tropical regions show only little variation in temperature, climate and weather conditions can fluctuate with consequences for phenology and food resource availability. Here, we evaluate, whether the BSR of chimpanzees, inhabiting African tropical forests, is affected by climate fluctuations as well. Additionally, we evaluate, if variation in consumption of a key food resource with high nutritional value, Coula edulis nuts, is linked to both climate fluctuations and variation in BSR. We use long-term data from two study groups located in Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire to assess the influence of local weather conditions and the global climate driver El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on offspring sex. Côte d'Ivoire has experienced considerable climate variation over the last decades, with increasing temperature and declining precipitation. For both groups we find very similar time windows around the month of conception, in which offspring sex is well predicted by ENSO, with more males following low ENSO values, corresponding to periods of high rainfall. Furthermore, we find that the time spent cracking and feeding on Coula nuts is strongly influenced by climate conditions. Although, some of our analysis suggest that a higher proportion of males is born after periods with higher nut consumption frequency, we cannot conclude decisively at this point that nut consumption may influence shifts in BSR. All results combined suggest that also chimpanzees may experience climate related shifts in offspring sex ratios as response to climate fluctuation.

Socioecological theories predict that, in mammals, feeding and mating competitions affect male and female energetic conditions differently but energetic studies investigating both sexes simultaneously are rare. We investigated the effect of socioecological factors on the energetic conditions of male and female western chimpanzees, a long-lived species with high degrees of male-male competition. We used behavioural data collected on one chimpanzee community in the Taï National Park over 12 months, phenological data and urinary c-peptide (UCP) measures, a marker of energy balance. We found a positive effect of food availability on UCP levels in both sexes. Dominance rank also affected chimpanzee UCP levels. High-ranking females had higher UCP levels than low-ranking ones but only in periods when no oestrus females were present in the community. In contrast, high-ranking males had higher UCP levels than low-ranking males in the presence of oestrus females but lower UCP levels in their absence. Our results suggest that oestrus female presence lessened the competitive advantages of high-ranking females in feeding competition and that low-ranking males bore higher energetic costs related to mating competition than high-ranking ones. Yet caution should apply in interpreting these results since the statistical model was only close to significance. High-ranking male and female chimpanzees spent significantly less energy. Furthermore, all chimpanzees significantly spent less time feeding and spent more energy when food availability was high. Finally, our behavioural measure of energy intake and expenditure did not correlate with UCP levels highlighting the value of non-invasive hormonal markers for field studies. Significance statement General socioecological theories hypothesize that the social grouping dynamic and energetics of females are highly influenced by food competition, whereas in males, competition for sexual partners is more influential for these factors. Recent studies in the non-invasive physiological assessment of energy balance in primates have begun to test the implied relationship between chimpanzee socioecology and individual energetic condition, with inconsistent results. However, only a few studies have investigated this relationship concurrently for both sexes. Here, using non-invasive measures of energy balance in wild western chimpanzees, we found that the energetics of both males and females are related to ecological factors, such as food availability. However, female energy balance appears also to be related to increased male mating competition, as this can result in increased aggression directed from males to females, with apparent energetic costs for females.

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We have optimized a formulation of a prodrug of dexamethasone (DXM), dexamethasone palmitate (DXP) for pulmonary delivery as a dry powder. Formulations were prepared by spray drying DXP with 1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-Glycero-3-Phosphocholine (DPPC) and Hyaluronic Acid (HA) as excipients. Large porous particles around 13 μm were produced with a tap density of 0.05g/cm and a Fine particle fraction around 40%. The palmitate moiety favors DXP insertion into DPPC bilayers therefore limiting its in vitro release as shown by differential scanning calorimetry. After administering DXP powder intratracheally to rats by insufflation, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and blood samples were collected up to 24h and DXP and DXM concentrations were determined by HPLC analysis after extraction. PK parameters were evaluated according to a non-compartmental model. We observe that DXP remains for up to 6h in the epithelial lining fluid (ELF) of the lungs at very high concentration. In addition, DXP concentration decreases according to two characteristic times. Consequently, DXM can be detected at rather important concentration in ELF up to 24h. The passage of DXP from the lungs to the bloodstream is very poor whereas DXM seems to be absorbed in the blood more easily. These results suggest that once administered DXP undergoes two different processes: hydrolysis into DXM due to the presence of esterases in the lungs and distribution in the lung tissue. This formulation appears promising to reduce systemic exposure and prolong the effect of the drug locally.