Assessing the hunting practices of Namibia's commercial seal hunt

Following mounting public concerns regarding the treatment of animals in recent years, there has been increasing interest in the development of science-based guidelines for animal welfare in industries such as agriculture and hunting.1,2,3 In the latter case, for example, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was requested by the European Commission, in 2007, to issue a scientific opinion regarding welfare aspects of seal hunting and to assess the most appropriate killing methods, to reduce unnecessary suffering. As part of its assessment, EFSA's Scientific opinion4 compared seal hunting to the killing of livestock in abattoirs. It noted that while slaughter conditions vary considerably, the goal should be the same: to kill animals with the minimum amount of pain, distress and fear and without causing any avoidable suffering. The report concluded that there was strong evidence that effective killing is not always practiced during seal hunts and that unnecessary and avoidable pain and suffering occurs. Subsequently, Russia ended its commercial hunt for harp seals Pagophilus groenlandicus in the White Sea in February 20095 and banned the killing of all seals under the age of one year in March of 2009.6Two months later, the European Parliament voted 550-49 in favour of a resolution banning the importation of seal hunt products, which comes into effect in 2010.7 Canada and Norway have subsequently lodged challenges against the EU ban with the World Trade Organization

Histopathologic parameters as predictors of response to endoscopic sinus surgery in nonallergic patients with chronic rhinosinusitis

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the predictable value of histopathologic parameters in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) for response to endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). - - - - - STUDY DESIGN: Symptomatology was rated in 100 patients prior to as well as 12 and 24 months after surgery. Specimens taken during the procedure were examined and scored for goblet cells, subepithelial thickening, mast cells, and eosinophils. Multiple regression analysis was performed to predict the total score of subjective symptoms before treatment by histopathologic parameters. The correlation between histopathologic parameters and postoperative symptoms was then evaluated. - - - - - RESULTS: Goblet cells were the best predictor correlating with 5 symptoms. Subepithelial thickening correlated with 4 symptoms. Mast cell infiltration correlated with 3 symptoms. Eosinophilic infiltration correlated with only one symptom (P<0.05). - - - - - CONCLUSION: Certain histopathologic parameters in CRS are predictive of favorable response to ESS. - - - - - SIGNIFICANCE: Pathologic evaluation may help the ENT surgeon to predict the persistence of certain CRS symptoms after ESS, even in patients at low risk for surgical failure. - - - - - EBM rating: C-4

Quantifying bamboo coral growth rate nonlinearity with the radiocarbon bomb spike : a new model for paleoceanographic chronology development

© The Author(s), 2017. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here under a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up, worldwide license granted to WHOI. It is made available for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 125 (2017): 26-39, doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2017.04.006.Bamboo corals, long-lived cold water gorgonin octocorals, offer unique paleoceanographic archives of the intermediate ocean. These Isididae corals are characterized by alternating gorgonin nodes and high Mg-calcite internodes, which synchronously extend radially. Bamboo coral calcite internodes have been utilized to obtain geochemical proxy data, however, growth rate uncertainty has made it difficult to construct precise chronologies for these corals. Previous studies have relied upon a tie point from records of the anthropogenic Δ14C bomb spike preserved in the gorgonin nodes of live-collected corals to calculate a mean radial extension rate for the outer ~50 years of skeletal growth. Bamboo coral chronologies are typically constructed by applying this mean extension rate to the entire coral record, assuming constant radial extension with coral age. In this study, we aim to test this underlying assumption by analyzing the organic nodes of six California margin bamboo corals at high enough resolution (<0.5 mm) to identify the Δ14C bomb spike, including two tie points at 1957 and 1970, plus coral collection date (2007.5) for four samples. Radial extension rates between tie points ranged from 10 to 204 μm/year, with a decrease in growth rate evident between the 1957-1970 and 1970- 2007.5 periods for all four corals. A negative correlation between growth rate and coral radius (r = -0.7; p = 0.03) was determined for multiple bamboo coral taxa and individuals from the California margin, demonstrating a decline in radial extension rate with specimen age and size. To provide a mechanistic basis for these observations, a simple mathematical model was developed based on the assumption of a constant increase in circular cross sectional area with time to quantify this decline in radial extension rate with coral size between chronological tie points. Applying the area-based model to our Δ14C bomb spike time series from individual corals improves chronology accuracy for all live-collected corals with complete Δ14C bomb spikes. Hence, this study provides paleoceanographers utilizing bamboo corals with a method for reducing age model uncertainty within the anthropogenic bomb spike era (~1957-present). Chronological uncertainty is larger for the earliest portion of coral growth, particularly for skeleton precipitated prior to bomb spike tie points, meaning age estimations for samples living before 1957 remain uncertain. Combining this technique with additional chronological markers could improve age models for an entire bamboo coral. Finally, the relative consistency in growth rate in similarly-aged corals of the same depth and location supports the hypothesis that skeletal growth may be limited by local environmental conditions.This research was made possible by National Science Foundation Award #1420984 to M. LaVigne and a Clare Boothe Luce Fellowship to M. Frenkel

PMF the front end electronic for the ALFA detector

International audienceThe PMF (Photo Multiplier Front end) is the front end electronics designed for the ATLAS luminometer ALFA (Absolute Luminosity For ATLAS) made of 20 staggered U-V scintillating fiber layers inserted in Roman Pots (eight in total). Each of these plans is made of 64 fibers. The PMF consists of a 64 channels photomultiplier (MAPMT) and a very compact stack of three different PCBs (3x3 cm2), mounted directly on the back and in the shadow of the MAPMT: a board which brings the high voltage to the MAPMT, an intermediate board used to send the signals to connectors located on the edge and, finally, a board with the readout chip MAROC (Multi Anode Read Out Chip), directly bonded on the PCB, on one side and a FPGA on the other. The 64 inputs MAROC ASIC allows correcting for the gain spread of MAPMT channels thanks to a 6 bits variable gain preamplifier. For each channel the signal is shaped (fast shaper, 15ns) and discriminated to produce a trigger output. A multiplexed charge output is also produced both in analog and digital thanks to a Wilkinson ADC. The main requirements are the following: 100 % trigger efficiency for a signal greater than 1/3 of a photoelectron, a charge measurement up to 30 photoelectrons with a linearity of 2 % or better and a cross talk of 1 % or less. The performances of the second version of MAROC were checked successfully during the year 2007 at LAL-Orsay. A nice dispersion of the trigger output (± 5 fC) was, in particular, observed. A sample of PMFs was produced during autumn 2007 as a prototype. Laboratory tests were performed both at LAL and CERN respectively on the third PCB (the one with MAROC) and on a full PMF equipped with a MAPMT illuminated by a LED. They were carried out using dedicated test board and acquisition software and have allowed the approval of the design and the green light for the final production and integration with the detector. Beam tests of a complete Roman Pot, equipped with 23 PMFs, will take place during summer 2008 for two periods and will conclude the test phase and mark the beginning of the final production

Signal acquisition and analysis of ambulatory electromyographic recordings for the assessment of sleep bruxism: A scoping review

Background: Ambulatory electromyographic (EMG) devices are increasingly being used in sleep bruxism studies. EMG signal acquisition, analysis and scoring methods vary between studies. This may impact comparability of studies and the assessment of sleep bruxism in patients. Objectives: (a) To provide an overview of EMG signal acquisition and analysis methods of recordings from limited-channel ambulatory EMG devices for the assessment of sleep bruxism; and (b) to provide an overview of outcome measures used in sleep bruxism literature utilising such devices. Method: A scoping review of the literature was performed. Online databases PubMed and Semantics Scholar were searched for studies published in English until 7 October 2020. Data on five categories were extracted: recording hardware, recording logistics, signal acquisition, signal analysis and sleep bruxism outcomes. Results: Seventy-eight studies were included, published between 1977 and 2020. Recording hardware was generally well described. Reports of participant instructions in device handling and of dealing with failed recordings were often lacking. Basic elements of signal acquisition, for example amplifications factors, impedance and bandpass settings, and signal analysis, for example rectification, signal processing and additional filtering, were underreported. Extensive variability was found for thresholds used to characterise sleep bruxism events. Sleep bruxism outcomes varied, but typically represented frequency, duration and/or intensity of masticatory muscle activity (MMA). Conclusion: Adequate and standardised reporting of recording procedures is highly recommended. In future studies utilising ambulatory EMG devices, the focus may need to shift from the concept of scoring sleep bruxism events to that of scoring the whole spectrum of MMA

Hadron beam test of a scintillating fibre tracker system for elastic scattering and luminosity measurement in ATLAS

A scintillating fibre tracker is proposed to measure elastic proton scattering at very small angles in the ATLAS experiment at CERN. The tracker will be located in so-called Roman Pot units at a distance of 240 m on each side of the ATLAS interaction point. An initial validation of the design choices was achieved in a beam test at DESY in a relatively low energy electron beam and using slow off-the-shelf electronics. Here we report on the results from a second beam test experiment carried out at CERN, where new detector prototypes were tested in a high energy hadron beam, using the first version of the custom designed front-end electronics. The results show an adequate tracking performance under conditions which are similar to the situation at the LHC. In addition, the alignment method using so-called overlap detectors was studied and shown to have the expected precision.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to Journal of Instrumentation (JINST

Reproducibility of Ba/Ca variations recorded by northeast Pacific bamboo corals

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2017. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Paleoceanography 32 (2017): 966–979, doi:10.1002/2017PA003178.Trace elemental ratios preserved in the calcitic skeleton of bamboo corals have been shown to serve as archives of past ocean conditions. The concentration of dissolved barium (BaSW), a bioactive nutrientlike element, is linked to biogeochemical processes such as the cycling and export of nutrients. Recent work has calibrated bamboo coral Ba/Ca, a new BaSW proxy, using corals spanning the oxygen minimum zone beneath the California Current System. However, it was previously unclear whether Ba/Cacoral records were internally reproducible. Here we investigate the accuracy of using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for Ba/Cacoral analyses and test the internal reproducibility of Ba/Ca among replicate radial transects in the calcite of nine bamboo corals collected from the Gulf of Alaska (643–720 m) and the California margin (870–2054 m). Data from replicate Ba/Ca transects were aligned using visible growth bands to account for nonconcentric growth; smoothed data were reproducible within ~4% for eight corals (n = 3 radii/coral). This intracoral reproducibility further validates using bamboo coral Ba/Ca for BaSW reconstructions. Sections of the Ba/Ca records that were potentially influenced by noncarbonate bound Ba phases occurred in regions where elevated Mg/Ca or Pb/Ca and coincided with anomalous regions on photomicrographs. After removing these regions of the records, increased Ba/Cacoral variability was evident in corals between ~800 and 1500 m. These findings support additional proxy validation to understand BaSW variability on interannual timescales, which could lead to new insights into deep sea biogeochemistry over the past several centuries.NSF Grant Number: OCE-1420984; NOAA/OE Grant Number: NA16RP2637; MIT-WHOI Joint Program; American Geophysical Union Travel Grant; UC Davis President's Undergraduate Fellowship; Bowdoin College Gibbons Summer Research Fellowship2018-03-1

Novel N4-like bacteriophages of pectobacterium atrosepticum

Pectobacterium atrosepticum is an economically important phytopathogen that is responsible for potato blackleg and soft rot, and for which current control strategies are limited. In this study, stem samples of potato crops exhibiting blackleg were taken from three farms in Co. Cork, Ireland, and they were found to be infected with P. atrosepticum. Three closely related bacteriophages (phages) that are specific to this phytopathogen were isolated and characterized, namely vB_PatP_CB1, vB_PatP_CB3, and vB_PatP_CB4 (abbreviated as CB1, CB3, and CB4). Both CB1 and CB3 were determined to infect 12 strains and CB4 10 strains of the 19 strains of P. atrosepticum tested. Morphology, latent periods, burst sizes, and their stability at various temperatures and pHs were also examined. Genome sequencing of the three phages revealed that they shared a minimum nucleotide identity of 93% with each other. Their genomes exhibited an Enquartavirinae genome organization, possessing several conserved proteins that were associated with phages of this group, like the type species Escherichia virus N4. Tandem electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) allowed for the identification of ten structural proteins that form the virion of CB1, six that are conserved in phage N4. Biocontrol experiments demonstrated that the phages suppress soft rot formation upon co-inoculation with P. atrosepticum on whole tubers. The results of this study indicate that CB1 related phages could be good candidates for phage-based control