Välfärden hos flasknosdelfin och späckhuggare i fångenskap

The aim of this paper was to investigate whether or not it is possible to keep bottlenose dolphins and killer whales in captivity while maintaining good animal welfare. Today, many zoos and aquariums claim that their primary function is to conserve species and educate people about conservation and threatened species. The keeping of wild animals is justified by conservation programs and by the information spread to the zoo visitors. This does however not seem to be the case for marine mammals such as bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) and killer whales (Oricnus orca) since these species are not threatened in the wild and neither of them are listed as threatened in IUCN's Red List. Bottlenose dolphins and killer whales are entirely aquatic carnivores and are distributed in all coastal and pelagic waters from the Arctic ice in the north to the Antarctic ice in the south. They are highly social animals that living in complex social structures forming tight bonds to other individuals. Social stressors such as changes within the group, aggression, competition for resources and unstable dominance hierarchies etc, can be very stressful to cetaceans and have a negative impact on their health. It is impossible for animals kept in the same pools to affect their social grouping, being limited to the group that park management has chosen for them, and individuals that would not associate in the wild are forced to do so. Both species have shown self-awareness through mirror self-recognition tests. Animals that are self-aware can learn that different outcomes can be produced or influenced by their behavior and that they have some control over certain parts of their environment. Their self-awareness and examples of tool-use in the wild should mean that a variety of environmental enrichments could be used successfully with these animals to improve their welfare. In 2005 there were at least 199 facilities that kept cetaceans for research or public display. Their enclosures are usually larger than the minimum size requirements but are often made of slick concrete without much variation. Even though more and more parks rely on captive breeding there are still animals being captured from the wild and sold to the display industry. In the whaling season of 2003/ 2004, 78 cetaceans were captured and sold to marine parks by hunters from Taiji, Japan. The live-captures of cetaceans impacts not only the animals being caught, but also the groups they are taken from that have to deal with the loss of a group member. There is little scientific literature on the welfare of bottlenose dolphins and killer whales in captivity and more research should be done on the subject. It is my conclusion that it is very difficult to keep these species and maintain animal welfare at a satisfactory level

Emissions of PBDD/Fs, PCDD/Fs and PBDEs from a TV Back Cover under Thermal Stress

Paper submitted to the 32th International Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants, Cairns, Australia, 26-31 Aug. 2012.There is growing concern about the potential for human exposure to brominated flame retardants (BFRs), which are present in commonly used articles such as electronic equipment, household furnishings, building materials, and car interiors. Some BFRs, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), are additives that are not chemically bound to the plastic and therefore may be released more readily into the environment.Valencian Community Government (Spain) (research project PROMETEO/2009/043/FEDER)

Emissions of PBDD/Fs, PCDD/Fs and PBDEs from flame-retarded high-impact polystyrene under thermal stress

The emissions of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs) and their chlorinated analogues (PCDD/Fs) during the thermal treatment of a high impact polystyrene (HIPS) TV casing were investigated. The halogenated compounds were analyzed in the original material and in the gases emitted during its treatment at temperatures between 50 °C and 250 °C. DecaBDE was the primary PBDE in the TV casing, which also contained high levels of PBDFs (ppm range). At the lower treatment temperatures, non-modified PBDEs evaporated from the samples. Conversely, at 200 °C or above, debromination reactions led to the formation of additional tri- through nonaBDE. The formation of new PBDD/Fs was also detected in the gas phase when the plastic was heated to 200 °C or 250 °C, with higher yields of furans than dioxins. This appreciably increased the toxic equivalent (TEQ) levels of the gas phase relative to those seen in the untreated sample. In all cases, the levels and TEQ contributions from PCDD/Fs were negligible compared to those for brominated analogues.Support for this work was provided by the Generalitat Valenciana (research project Prometeo/2009/043/FEDER) and a mobility grant by the University of Alicante (Spain) that enabled Nuria Ortuño to visit Umeå University

Brominated dioxins in plastics – Emissions during fires

Resumen de la comunicación presentada en PIC2015 – the 14th International Congress on Combustion By-Products and Their Health Effects, Umeå, Sweden, 14-17 June 2015.In this presentation we show examples of levels and patterns of PBDD/Fs and BFRs that may be found in plastics related to electronic equipment. We also show examples of the quantities and types of PBDD/Fs and BFRs that are emitted as the plastics are heated at different temperatures and conditions. Emission data are shown for all from controlled lab-scale experiments, semi-controlled pilot-scale experiments to an uncontrolled accidental fire. For the latter, the levels and patterns found in the environment after the fire are also presented

Potential for ecological nonlinearities and thresholds to inform Pacific salmon management

AbstractEcology is often governed by nonlinear dynamics. Nonlinear ecological relationships can include thresholds—incremental changes in drivers that provoke disproportionately large ecological responses. Among the species that experience nonlinear and threshold dynamics are Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.). These culturally, ecologically, and economically significant fishes are in many places declining and management focal points. Often, managers can influence or react to ecological conditions that salmon experience, suggesting that nonlinearities, especially thresholds, may provide opportunities to inform decisions. However, nonlinear dynamics are not always invoked in management decisions involving salmon. Here, we review reported nonlinearities and thresholds in salmon ecology, describe potential applications that scientists and managers could develop to leverage nonlinear dynamics, and offer a path toward decisions that account for ecological nonlinearities and thresholds to improve salmon outcomes. It appears that nonlinear dynamics are not uncommon in salmon ecology and that many management arenas may potentially leverage them to enable more effective or efficient decisions. Indeed, decisions guided by nonlinearities and thresholds may be particularly desirable considering salmon management arenas are often characterized by limited resources and mounting ecological stressors, practical constraints, and conservation challenges. More broadly, many salmon systems are data‐rich and there are an extensive range of ecological contexts in which salmon are sensitive to anthropogenic decisions. Approaches developed to leverage nonlinearities in salmon ecology may serve as examples that may inform analogous approaches in other systems and taxa

Transient DUX4 expression in human embryonic stem cells induces blastomere-like expression program that is marked by SLC34A2

Embryonic genome activation (EGA) is critical for embryonic development. However, our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of human EGA is still incomplete. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are an established model for studying developmental processes, but they resemble epiblast and are sub-optimal for modeling EGA. DUX4 regulates human EGA by inducing cleavage-stage-specific genes, while it also induces cell death. We report here that a short-pulsed expression of DUX4 in primed hESCs activates an EGA-like gene expression program in up to 17% of the cells, retaining cell viability. These DUX4-induced cells resembled eight-cell stage blastomeres and were named induced blastomere-like (iBM) cells. The iBM cells showed marked reduction of POU5F1 protein, as previously observed in mouse two-cell-like cells. Finally, the iBM cells were successfully enriched using an antibody against NaPi2b (SLC34A2), which is expressed in human blastomeres. The iBM cells provide an improved model system to study human EGA transcriptome.Peer reviewe

DUX4 is a multifunctional factor priming human embryonic genome activation

Double homeobox 4 (DUX4) is expressed at the early pre-implantation stage in human embryos. Here we show that induced human DUX4 expression substantially alters the chromatin accessibility of non-coding DNA and activates thousands of newly identified transcribed enhance-like regions, preferentially located within ERVL-MaLR repeat elements. CRISPR activation of transcribed enhancers by C-terminal DUX4 motifs results in the increased expression of target embryonic genome activation (EGA) genes ZSCAN4 and KHDC1P1. We show that DUX4 is markedly enriched in human zygotes, followed by intense nuclear DUX4 localization preceding and coinciding Kith minor EGA. DUX4 knockdown in human zygotes led to changes in the EGA transcriptome but did not terminate the embryos. We also show that the DUX4 protein interacts with the Mediator complex via the C-terminal KIX binding motif. Our findings contribute to the understanding of DUX4 as a regulator of the non-coding genome.Peer reviewe

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure