The primate cerebral cortex is characterized by regional variation in the structure of pyramidal neurons, with more complex dendritic arbors and greater spine density observed in prefrontal compared with sensory and motor cortices. Although there are several investigations in humans and other primates, virtually nothing is known about regional variation in the morphology of pyramidal neurons in the cerebral cortex of great apes, humans' closest living relatives. The current study uses the rapid Golgi stain to quantify the dendritic structure of layer III pyramidal neurons in 4 areas of the chimpanzee cerebral cortex: Primary somatosensory (area 3b), primary motor (area 4), prestriate visual (area 18), and prefrontal (area 10) cortex. Consistent with previous studies in humans and macaque monkeys, pyramidal neurons in the prefrontal cortex of chimpanzees exhibit greater dendritic complexity than those in other cortical regions, suggesting that prefrontal cortical evolution in primates is characterized by increased potential for integrative connectivity. Compared with chimpanzees, the pyramidal neurons of humans had significantly longer and more branched dendritic arbors in all cortical regions.

Human beings are thought to be unique amongst the primates in their capacity to produce rapid changes in the shape of their vocal tracts during speech production. Acoustically, vocal tracts act as resonance chambers, whose geometry determines the position and bandwidth of the formants. Formants provide the acoustic basis for vowels, which enable speakers to refer to external events and to produce other kinds of meaningful communication. Formantbased referential communication is also present in non-human primates, most prominently in Diana monkey alarm calls. Previous work has suggested that the acoustic structure of these calls is the product of a non-uniform vocal tract capable of some degree of articulation. In this study we test this hypothesis by providing morphological measurements of the vocal tract of three adult Diana monkeys, using both radiography and dissection. We use these data to generate a vocal tract computational model capable of simulating the formant structures produced by wild individuals. The model performed best when it combined a non-uniform vocal tract consisting of three different tubes with a number of articulatory manoeuvres. We discuss the implications of these findings for evolutionary theories of human and nonhuman vocal production.

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The threat of disease transmission from domestic animals to wildlife has become recognized as an increasing concern within the wildlife community in recent years. Domestic dogs pose a significant risk as reservoirs for infectious diseases, especially for wild canids. As part of a multifaceted ecologic study of maned wolves and other canids in the large, remote Noël Kempff Mercado National Park (NKMNP) in northeastern Bolivia, 40 domestic dogs in two villages and at two smaller settlements bordering the national park were sampled for exposure to canine diseases. High levels of exposure were found to canine distemper virus and canine parvovirus, both of which are known to cause mortality in maned wolves and other carnivores. Moderate to high levels of exposure were found to rabies virus, Ehrlichia canis, and Toxoplasma gondii, as well as significant levels of infection with Dirofilaria immitis. This study reports evidence of exposure to several diseases in the domestic dogs bordering the park. Contact between wild carnivores and dogs has been documented in the sampled villages, therefore dogs likely pose a substantial risk to the carnivores within and near NKMNP. Further measures should be undertaken to decrease the risk of spillover infection from domestic animals into the wild species of this region.

Frog virus 3 (FV3) and FV3-like viruses are members of the genus Ranavirus (family Iridoviridae) and are becoming recognized as significant pathogens of eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) in North America. In July 2011, 5 turtles from a group of 27 in Maryland, USA, presented dead or lethargic with what was later diagnosed as fibrinonecrotic stomatitis and cloacitis. The presence of FV3-like virus and herpesvirus was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the tested index cases. The remaining 22 animals were isolated, segregated by severity of clinical signs, and treated with nutritional support, fluid therapy, ambient temperature management, antibiotics, and antiviral therapy. Oral swabs were tested serially for FV3-like virus by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and tested at day 0 for herpesvirus and Mycoplasma sp. by conventional PCR. With oral swabs, 77% of the 22 turtles were FV3-like virus positive; however, qPCR on tissues taken during necropsy revealed the true prevalence was 86%. FV3-like virus prevalence and the median number of viral copies being shed significantly declined during the outbreak. The prevalence of herpesvirus and Mycoplasma sp. by PCR of oral swabs at day 0 was 55% and 68%, respectively. The 58% survival rate was higher than previously reported in captive eastern box turtles for a ranavirus epizootic. All surviving turtles brumated normally and emerged the following year with no clinical signs during subsequent monitoring. The immediate initiation of treatment and intensive supportive care were considered the most important contributing factors to the successful outcome in this outbreak.

More than 80 cases of lethal hemorrhagic disease associated with elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses (EEHVs) have been identified in young Asian elephants worldwide. Diagnostic PCR tests detected six types of EEHV in blood of elephants with acute disease, although EEHV1A is the predominant pathogenic type. Previously, the presence of herpesvirus virions within benign lung and skin nodules from healthy African elephants led to suggestions that African elephants may be the source of EEHV disease in Asian elephants. Here, we used direct PCR-based DNA sequencing to detect EEHV genomes in necropsy tissue from five healthy adult African elephants. Two large lung nodules collected from culled wild South African elephants contained high levels of either EEHV3 alone or both EEHV2 and EEHV3. Similarly, a euthanized U.S. elephant proved to harbor multiple EEHV types distributed nonuniformly across four small lung nodules, including high levels of EEHV6, lower levels of EEHV3 and EEHV2, and a new GC-rich branch type, EEHV7. Several of the same EEHV types were also detected in random lung and spleen samples from two other elephants. Sanger PCR DNA sequence data comprising 100 kb were obtained from a total of 15 different strains identified, with (except for a few hypervariable genes) the EEHV2, EEHV3, and EEHV6 strains all being closely related to known genotypes from cases of acute disease, whereas the seven loci (4.0 kb) obtained from EEHV7 averaged 18% divergence from their nearest relative, EEHV3. Overall, we conclude that these four EEHV species, but probably not EEHV1, occur commonly as quiescent infections in African elephants. IMPORTANCEAcute hemorrhagic disease characterized by high-level viremia due to infection by members of the Proboscivirus genus threatens the future breeding success of endangered Asian elephants worldwide. Although the genomes of six EEHV types from acute cases have been partially or fully characterized, lethal disease predominantly involves a variety of strains of EEHV1, whose natural host has been unclear. Here, we carried out genotype analyses by partial PCR sequencing of necropsy tissue from five asymptomatic African elephants and identified multiple simultaneous infections by several different EEHV types, including high concentrations in lymphoid lung nodules. Overall, the results provide strong evidence that EEHV2, EEHV3, EEHV6, and EEHV7 represent natural ubiquitous infections in African elephants, whereas Asian elephants harbor EEHV1A, EEHV1B, EEHV4, and EEHV5. Although a single case of fatal cross-species infection by EEHV3 is known, the results do not support the previous concept that highly pathogenic EEHV1A crossed from African to Asian elephants in zoos. E lephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 1 (EEHV1) is the prototype species of the novel Proboscivirus genus that has evidently evolved separately from all other mammalian herpesviruses over the past 100 million years within the ancestors of modern elephants (1-5). Small 250-bp terminase U60(TERex3) and DNA polymerase U38...

New alternative laboratory means are needed to improve the options for antemortem diagnosis of avian aspergillosis. In this study, 3-hydroxybutyrate was measured in plasma samples collected from a cohort of African penguins ( Spheniscus demersus) maintained under human care. Results were interpreted in combination with those of protein electrophoresis and compared with anti- Aspergillus antibody and galactomannan antigen detection. Overall, 3-hydroxybutyrate levels were found significantly increased in Aspergillus-diseased cases versus the control penguin group ( P = 0.002). Mean absolute concentration of β-globulins was increased >20% in samples from infected birds, and α2-globublins were also found to be significantly increased versus clinically normal controls ( P < 0.001 and P = 0.001 respectively). Of note, the α2-globulins were also significantly increased versus penguins with inflammatory (non-aspergillosis) diseases ( P = 0.001). The specificity of 3-hydroxybutyrate, β-globulins, and α2-globulins for aspergillosis was 78.6%, 79.6%, and 92.2%, respectively. Using these measures in tandem resulted in high specificity (>90%) and negative predictive value (≥80%). In contrast, anti- Aspergillus antibody and galactomannan antigen did not distinguish between infected cases and controls ( P > 0.05). This study demonstrates that basic testing in tandem with the new biomarker 3-hydroxybutyrate may provide reliable evidence for the diagnosis of aspergillosis in penguins.

This epidemiologic study follows a 5-yr-old male African elephant ( Loxodonta africana ) during an episode of hemorrhagic disease (HD) due to elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 3B (EEHV3B) utilizing data from complete blood counts, electrophoresis and acute phase protein analysis, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of multiple body fluids during and after the clinical episode. The elephant presented with sudden onset of marked lethargy and inappetence followed by hypersalivation, hyperemia of the conjunctivae and focally on the tongue, and swellings on the head and ventrum. A moderate leukocytopenia with band neutrophilia, lymphopenia, monocytopenia, and thrombocytophilia was followed by a rise in all three cell types by day 10. Moderate increases in serum amyloid A and C-reactive protein were noted in the first weeks of illness. Conventional PCR of whole blood yielded a strong positive result for EEHV3B. Quantitative PCR revealed moderate viremia, which slowly returned to undetectable levels by day 35 of treatment. EEHV3B was shed in trunk wash samples starting at day 22 for 10 days at moderate levels, and then at low levels for up to 8.5 mo. All three female herd mates shed low levels of EEHV3B in trunk washes intermittently starting from day 28 of the calf's illness until over 7 mo afterward. The majority of saliva samples from the calf over the 8.5-mo period were also positive for EEHV3B. A subfraction of saliva samples from a female herdmate was positive from days 127-190 following disease onset in the calf. Four elephant gammaherpesviruses were detected sporadically from the calf and female herdmates during this same time period. Treatment was started at the onset of clinical signs and consisted of rectal and oral fluids and oral famciclovir. This is the first case of EEHV3B HD in an elephant species and the first thorough epidemiologic evaluation of EEHV HD in an African elephant.