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At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Behavioral sleep in the Asian elephant in captivity.

Sleeping behavior was investigated during 294 nights for female Asian elephants (circus: n = 7; zoo: n = 5; including an infant). The animals were recorded continuously on time-lapse video tapes for 7-16 days consecutively. Seasonal changes in sleep behavior were studied by comparing summer (16-day) and winter (13-15-day) recordings; and sleep development was assessed by recording a mother and her infant for three consecutive nights per month for 15 months (age 5-19 months). Sleep occurred in a recumbent (RS) and in a standing position (standing sleep: SS). Although signs of paradoxical sleep (PS) were often evident, the exact onset and end of a PS episode could not be determined. Sleep onset occurred after 2100 hours, and sleep increased progressively reaching a maximum between 0100 and 0400 hours. Total sleep time (TST) in the adults comprised 4.0-6.5 hours per night (including 13.8-130.9 minutes of SS) and did not differ between the two groups. Seasonal differences were present in TST and in the distribution of sleep within the night; more sleep occurred in the winter. The duration of RS episodes in the adults was 72.0 minutes, a value far below the sleep-cycle length of 124 minutes that others have reported for elephants. TST in the infant decreased during the course of the 15-month recording period from 8.1 hours to 5.1 hours. SS occurred for the first time at the age of 9 months.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1977

Encephalomyocarditis virus infection of captive elephants.

Four African elephants at each of 2 widely separated zoologic gardens in Florida died following a fulminating illness. Tissue suspensions obtained from an elephant from each of the zoologic gardens were inoculated into newborn mice, 3- to 4-week-old mice, and buffalo green monkey and baby hamster kidney cell cultures. Encephalitis and myocarditis developed in the mice. The cell cultures were destroyed within 24 to 72 hours, and intracytoplasmic viral inclusions were observed in infected cells by electron microscopy. The viral agent was neutralized by known antiserum to encephalomyocarditis virus.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Effects of oxygen supplementation on blood gas values in chemically restrained juvenile African elephants.

Arterial oxygen and carbon dioxide tensions were determined in sedated immature African elephants and in elephants immobilized with etorphine hydrochloride or with an etorphine-ketamine combination. For manipulative and surgical procedures, the Hudson demand valve was used for oxygen supplementation during 6 procedures, and insufflation was used during 2 procedures. The Hudson demand valve was more effective than insufflation in sustaining adequate arterial oxygenation.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Ligament of the head of the femur in the orangutan and Indian elephant.

A literature search revealed that for over 100 years there has been a consensus that the ligament of the head of the femur (LHF) is absent in the orangutan and elephant. A dissection of the hip joints of an adult orangutan and an adult Indian elephant exposed, in each joint, a robust LHF that is functionally important. These LHFs are easily overlooked during a cursory examination of the hip joints because of the way they differ from the human LHF.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Extraction of an infected tusk in an adult African elephant.

An 18-year-old African elephant was determined to have a nonrepairable crack in its left tusk. Treatment included extraction of the tusk, using rotational and extractional forces, and administration of antibiotics, followed by 1 year of flushing the opened tusk cavity with warm tap water. Two years after surgery, the elephant was healthy, and the tusk cavity was 80% filled with normal tissue.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Cyclic release of luteinizing hormone and the effects of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone injection in Asiatic elephants.

Cyclic changes in serum concentration of luteinizing hormone (LH) were observed throughout the estrous cycle of Asiatic elephants (Elephas maximus). The increase in serum LH was correlated with a slight increase in serum estradiol concentration and the onset of behavioral heat (willingness to mate). In a second series of studies, injection of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone after 3 days of estrone administration induced an increase in serum LH. These studies indicate that the Asiatic elephant exhibits a cyclic LH release that can be experimentally induced by estrone and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone administration.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Blood composition in culled elephants and buffaloes.

Blood composition of succinyldicholine culled elephants and buffaloes was compared with that of undisturbed animals shot in the brain. The results show statistically significant differences in a number of variables including plasma ACTH and cortisol concentrations. The observed changes are attributed to stress induced by a combination of herding and darting with succinyldicholine and asphyxia. Extrapolation from blood oxygen tensions suggests that this stress may be perceived for an undetermined period which is probably longer in elephants than buffaloes.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗
PubMed1983

Death of an African elephant from probable toxemia attributed to chronic pulpitis.

A 31-year-old captive male African elephant (Loxodonta africana) of 5,000-kg body weight died suddenly in ventral recumbency. Lesions seen at necropsy were bilateral purulent pulpitis and periodontitis of both tusks, serous atrophy of coronary groove fat, Grammocephalus cholangitis, myocardial and skeletal lipofuscinosis, and scattered segmental necrosis in the pectoral muscles. Nonhemolytic streptococci, Corynebacterium sp, Peptostreptococcus anaerobius, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Bacteroides sp, were recovered from the exudate around one or both tusks. We postulated that the elephant died of hypoxia from prolonged ventral recumbency because of weakness and inability to rise secondary to toxemia from bilateral pulpitis and periodontitis.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Monitoring the estrous cycle of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), using urinary estrogens.

The estrous cycle of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) was monitored by analysis of urinary estrogens. Daily morning urine samples were analyzed for estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), and total immunoreactive estrogen (ET). The ET values were shown to correlate poorly with E1 and E2 values and failed to reveal any patterns of reproductive cycling. Daily E1 and E2 values, indexed by creatinine concentrations, demonstrated cyclic profiles in those samples of sufficient concentration. The technique offered a simple, noninvasive method of documenting ovarian function in the elephant.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Alterations in blood platelet morphology during aggregate formation in the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus).

The ultrastructure of Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) platelets before and after activation with the agonist platelet activating factor (PAF) was studied. The unactivated platelet has a distinct ultrastructural appearance: the cytoplasm contains large randomly distributed granules but lacks the internal cristae that typify the open canalicular system in many types of mammalian platelets. Following PAF stimulation, large platelet aggregates form, but many platelets remain discrete, with little evidence of pseudopod formation or fusion of membranes. Two types of platelets are visible within the aggregates: those that are morphologically intact and those with gaplike features on the outer membrane and that have become degranulated, appearing as empty swollen sacs. The lack of platelet membrane fusion within the aggregates may permit the reversal of aggregation that is a characteristic response of elephant platelets to PAF.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Further diagnostic thoughts about the Elephant Man.

Further evidence for a diagnosis of the Elephant Man's condition is reviewed. It is known that the Elephant Man had "mocassin" lesions, hyperostoses of the skull, and absence of café-au-lait spots, all of which are characteristic of Proteus syndrome. Recently, questions have been raised about his skeletal findings and their relevance to neurofibromatosis. However, other skeletal diagnoses have been entertained, including Maffucci syndrome, Paget's disease of bone, pyarthrosis, and fibrous dysplasia. These diagnostic possibilities are discussed and evaluated critically. It is concluded that the skeletal findings are most consistent with Proteus syndrome and coincidental hip disease secondary to childhood trauma.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed2005

Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of cloacal exstrophy associated with myelocystocele complex by the 'elephant trunk-like' image and review of the literature.

A case of cloacal exstrophy (CE) was detected by ultrasound as early as 22 weeks of gestation in association with myelocystocele complex, an unusual form of occult spinal dysraphism often associated with such a disease. The ultrasonographic diagnosis was made through the detection of a wavy cord-like segment of soft tissue protruding from the anterior abdominal wall, just below the umbilical cord insertion, strongly resembling the trunk of an elephant. Our article enforces the suggestion that the ultrasound elephant trunk-like image should be added to the existing major criteria for making prenatal diagnosis of CE.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1999

Signals and assessment in African elephants: evidence from playback experiments.

A series of playback experiments using two elephant vocalizations, the 'musth rumble' and the 'oestrous call', was carried out in Amboseli National Park to examine signalling and assessment in African elephants, Loxodonta africana. In response to the musth rumble of a high-ranking male other musth males approached the speaker aggressively, whereas nonmusth males walked away from the stimulus. The call of an oestrous female, too, attracted musth males who approached the speaker rapidly, while nonmusth males listened and then walked away. Females listened and often showed considerable interest in the musth rumbles of males, approaching the speaker and sometimes responding by vocalizing and or secreting from the temporal glands. The experiments bear out earlier observational data and game theory predictions which suggest that by being in or out of musth a male may be conveying information about the relative value he places on contesting his dominance rank and his access to oestrous females. When not visibly in musth, a male may be indicating his intention not to contest access to oestrous females. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Circulatory water concentration in suckling and fasting northern elephant seal pups.

This study examined circulatory water concentrations in the neonatal northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) in order to determine how suckling and fasting would alter the percentage of water in the whole blood, plasma, and red blood cells (RBC). Plasma water concentration dropped by about 3% during suckling and recovered about 1% during the fast (92.38 +/- 0.48% less than 1 week old, 90.15 +/- 0.36% weaning, 91.02 +/- 0.68% end of fast). RBC water values during this time were more variable than plasma values: RBC water increased about 1% during the first 2 weeks of suckling (from 67.80 +/- 0.28% to 68.68 +/- 0.51%) but dropped to slightly below original neonatal values by weaning (67.15 +/- 0.63%). The first several weeks of fasting were marked by wide variability in RBC water, but by the end of the fast RBC water was comparable to that at weaning. These results indicate: 1) Northern elephant seal pups do not exhibit circulatory dehydration during 10 weeks of fasting; 2) Measurements of plasma or RBC metabolites (such as plasma glucose or RBC hemoglobin) may show variations or trends due not to metabolic regulation but rather to changes in circulatory water concentration.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1993

Generation of VNTRs and heteroplasmy by sequence turnover in the mitochondrial control region of two elephant seal species.

We describe an unusual repetitive DNA region located in the 3' end of the light (L)-strand in the mitochondrial control region of two elephant seal species. The array of tandem repeats shows both VNTR (variable-number tandem repeat) and sequence variation and is absent from 12 compared mammalian species, except for the occurrence in the same location of a distinct repetitive region in rabbit mtDNA and a similar repeat in the harbor seal. The sequence composition and arrangement of the repeats differ considerably between the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) and the southern species (M. leonina) despite an estimated divergence time of 1 MY (based on an mtDNA-RNA gene and the nonrepetitive control region). Analysis of repeat sequence relationships within and between species indicate that divergence in sequence and structure of repeats has involved both slippage-like and unequal crossingover processes of turnover, generating very high levels of divergence and heteroplasmy.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Impending rupture of the descending aorta by enlargement of the false lumen after graft replacement with the elephant trunk technique: report of a case.

We report herein a case of an impending rupture of the descending aorta caused by an enlargement of the false lumen after a graft replacement using the elephant trunk technique. The patient was a 51-year-old woman who had received a graft replacement of the ascending aorta for an acute Stanford type A aortic dissection 6 years previously. An enhanced computed tomographic scan and digital subtraction angiography revealed pseudoaneurysms at the proximal and distal anastomotic site, and a residual dissection of the aortic arch. A graft replacement of the ascending aorta to the aortic arch was performed with the distal site using the elephant trunk technique. Five days after the operation, massive bleeding from the drainage tube occurred. A chest enhanced computed tomographic scan suggested an impending rupture of the descending aorta caused by an enlargement of the false lumen. A graft replacement of the descending aorta was carried out. Postoperatively she had no complications, and digital subtraction angiography showed an excellent reconstruction of the thoracic aorta. One month after the second operation, she was discharged from hospital.

Aortic Dissection↗
PubMed1998

[A case of the ascending aorta and aortic arch replacement with thrombo-occlusion of distal arch and descending aorta surround the modified elephant trunk graft].

We report a 65-year-old female who had a extensive thoracic aneurysm from ascending aorta to descending thoracic aorta. The patient underwent a graft replacement of ascending aorta and aortic arch using modified elephant trunk method. The surgery was carried out through median sternotomy with profound hypothermia and selective cerebral perfusion. Postoperatively, the patient was recovered without any complications except bronchial asthma. Postoperative chest computed tomography showed that the surrounding space of the elephant trunk vascular graft inserted into distal arch and descending aneurysm was mostly occupied with thrombus. Therefore, we considered that the second operation on the descending aorta is not necessary at this point and careful attention to the size and shape of the descending aneurysm should be paid.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, and butyltin compounds in blubber and livers of stranded California sea lions, elephant seals, and harbor seals from coastal California, USA.

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDTs (p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDT), chlordanes (CHLs; cis-chlordane, cis-nonachlor, trans-nonachlor, and oxychlordane), hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), tris(4-chlorophenyl)methane (TCPMe), tris(4-chlorophenyl)methanol (TCPMOH), and mono- (MBT), di-(DBT), and tri-butyltin (TBT) were determined in blubber and livers of 15 California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), 6 northern elephant seals (Mirounga augustirostris), and 10 harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) found stranded along the coasts of California, USA, during 1991-1997. Among the organochlorines analyzed, DDTs were predominant, followed in decreasing order by PCBs, CHLs, TCPMe, TCPMOH, HCHs, and HCB. The greatest concentrations of organochlorines were found in California sea lions. The highest DDT and PCB concentrations found in the blubber of California sea lions were 2,900 and 1,300 microg/g, lipid weight, respectively. Concentrations of TCPMe and TCPMOH in California sea lions were correlated significantly with DDT concentrations. Concentration ratios of various organochlorines in harbor seal livers were different from those in California sea lions and elephant seals, which suggested that the sources of exposure of harbor seals to organochlorines were different from those in the other two species. Concentrations of butyltin compounds in livers of pinniped species ranged from 2 to 99 ng/g, wet weight, which were less than those observed in cetaceans and in California sea otters.

Adipose Tissue↗