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PubMed1990

Red cell aggregation and viscoelasticity of blood from seals, swine and man.

RBC aggregation and viscoelasticity parameters were determined for 40% suspensions of washed cells in autologous plasma from elephant seals (ES), Mirounga angustirostris, ringed seals (RS), Phoca hispida, and swine, (SS), Sus scrofa. Interspecific comparisons including human (HS) blood data revealed unusual rheological properties of seal blood relative to that from pigs or man: 1) RBC aggregation extent, rate and sedimentation were lower for seals (AI = 0, ZSR = .40, ESR = 0 for RS blood) relative to humans; 2) Viscous (n') and elastic (n") components of complex viscosity (OCRD) were lower for both seal species relative to SS blood, but only at shear rates less than or equal to 10 sec-1 (P less than 0.05), while n"/n' ratios for RS blood were lower than HS blood at all shear rates (P less than 0.01); 3) Blood viscosity measurements for RS and SS blood from rotational viscometry (Contraves) were consistent with OCRD data; 4) Seal plasma fibrinogen levels were low compared to pigs or humans (RS fibrinogen = -43% v. HS and -57% v. SS; ES fibrinogen = -58% v. HS and -69% v. SS). Electrophoretic mobility of RS red cells was +25% relative to those of humans. These results demonstrate differences in hemorheological indices among mammalian species and suggest the value of comparative rheologic studies.

Animals↗

PubMed1987

Prolonged and multiple immobilizations of the southern elephant seal using ketamine hydrochloride-xylazine hydrochloride or ketamine hydrochloride-diazepam combinations.

Thirty seven southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) were singularly or repeatedly immobilized with combinations of ketamine hydrochloride (HCl) and xylazine HCl or ketamine HCl and diazepam. Atropine sulphate was included in the drug combinations. To permit experimental procedures the seals were immobilized for periods of 30-330 min. The mean induction dose of ketamine HCl was 8.71 +/- 0.25 mg/kg (mean +/- SE). The mean induction time was 16.02 +/- 2.62 min. For the elephant seals immobilized for periods in excess of 180 min, the mean dose of ketamine HCl used per hr was 3.31 +/- 0.13 mg/kg/hr and the mean dose of ketamine HCl used per hr postinduction was 1.31 +/- 0.15 mg/kg/hr. The mean dose of diazepam used was 0.09 +/- 0.01 mg/kg and the mean dose of xylazine HCl was 0.41 +/- 0.01 mg/kg. Elephant seals were weighed on 20 occasions (weight range: 897-1,932 kg) and the relationship between standard length and weight was found to be: Weight = 9.98 length - 2,317.63 (r2 = 0.724). Adverse reactions to seals immobilized only once or twice were not observed. Two seals immobilized on three occasions developed abscesses at the site of injection.

Anesthesia, General↗

PubMed1989

Prevalence and pathology of nematode infections in the lungs of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) of the western arctic of Canada.

Two genera of lung nematodes were found in a sample of 382 wild ringed seals (Phoca hispida). Otostrongylus circumlitus were found mainly in young of the year where they occupied the main stem bronchi causing extensive mucus production, mucosal hyperplasia and peribronchitis. Immature stages of the nematode were found in pulmonary vessels causing end-arteritis. There was only a slight reduction in respiratory parenchyma in infected seals and no correlation between infection and size or body condition. However, the sharp decline of O. circumlitus infection from 32% in young of the year to 0.5% after the first winter suggests that this parasite may play a role in the population dynamics of ringed seals. Filaroides (Parafilaroides) hispidus was found in alveoli of seals throughout all age classes causing no significant lesions. The infection rate increased from 44 to 71% in the 7 to 13-yr-old animals and declined to 38% in older seals. Concurrent infections occurred in 28% of young of the year seals.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2001

Negative correlation between plasma thyroid hormone levels and chlorinated hydrocarbon levels accumulated in seals from the coast of Hokkaido, Japan.

Chlorinated hydrocarbon (CHC) levels in the blubber of larga seals (Phoca largha) and ribbon seals (Phoca fasciata) collected from the coastal waters of Hokkaido, Japan, were determined in order to assess the hormonal effects of CHC exposure in free-ranging pinnipeds. Plasma thyroid hormone levels, including total thyroxine (T4), free thyroxine (free T4), total triiodothyronine (T3), and free triiodothyronine (free T3), were also measured. Higher concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites, and chlordane compounds were found in the range of 380 to 2,600 ng/g, 350 to 2,600 ng/g, and 120 to 760 ng/g on a wet-weight basis, respectively. Spearman rank correlation analyses showed that in larga seals, plasma total T3 and free T3 levels negatively correlated with levels of all the CHCs analyzed, although there was no such correlation between total or free T4 levels and CHC concentrations. In ribbon seals, total T3 levels significantly decreased with an increase of di-ortho PCB (PCB170 and 180) residues. These findings indicated that the plasma T3 deficiency could be associated with some CHC exposure in larga and ribbon seals and that the responses of plasma thyroid hormones may be useful biomarkers for CHC exposure in ribbon seals.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Subjective improvement in patients with psoriatic arthritis after short-term oral treatment with seal oil. A pilot study with double blind comparison to soy oil.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate effects of short-term oral treatment with seal oil in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). METHODS: Forty-three patients with polyarticular PsA were randomized to receive oral treatment for 2 weeks with either seal oil or soy oil in a double blind controlled trial. Clinical and biochemical variables were assessed at baseline, after treatment, and 4 weeks post-treatment. Patients were allowed to continue nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) and disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) during the study. RESULTS: Forty patients completed the study, 20 in each treatment group. Patients in the seal oil group reported a significant improvement in global assessment of the disease 4 weeks post- treatment (p < 0.01), and both groups showed a trend toward improvement in tender joint count, but the differences between the groups were not significant. There was a fall in the ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids and in arachidonic acid (AA) to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in serum after treatment with seal oil (p < 0.01). Twenty-one percent of all patients had elevated values of calprotectin in feces suggestive of asymptomatic colitis. CONCLUSION: Treatment with seal oil was followed by a modest improvement in patient's global assessment of the disease and a trend towards a decrease in number of tender joints. There was a shift in fatty acid composition in serum toward a putative antiinflammatory profile. Oral treatment with seal oil may have NSAID-like effects in PsA.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[An experimental infection of the seal Phoca sibirica with the morbilli virus].

A Baikal seal (Phoca sibirica) was experimentally infected with Baikal seal morbillivirus (BSMV) isolated from Baikal seals during an epizootic in 1987-1988. The seal was infected with BSMV with an infectious titer of 10(7.0) TCD50/ml, and daily observations of the animal clinical condition were made. The virus-specific antibodies in the seal serum were determined by ELISA and virus neutralization test. The clinical picture showed a mild infection. The ELISA-active antibodies were detected 10 days postinfection and reached the maximum in 20 days. Virus-neutralizing antibodies were detected in 16 days after infection, reached the maximum titer of 1:640 in 20 days and remained at this level for 39 days (the observation period). These data indicate that BSMV can induce a disease in the natural host with production of virus-neutralizing antibodies. The results of this work and the earlier reports show that the epizootic in Baikal seals was induced by BSMV.

Animal Diseases↗

PubMed1989

Mechanism of tolerance to renal ischemia in harbor seal: role of membranes.

Many diving animals are capable of engaging in long breath-hold dives. Investigations were undertaken to compare the active tubular transport of organic ions between kidney slices from harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) and rats (control) under anoxia or low pH or both. Para-aminohippurate (PAH) and tetraethylammonium (TEA) were used as a representative organic anion and cation, respectively. The slice-to-medium concentration ratios (S:M) of PAH (congruent to 2.5) in the harbor seal was not altered (unlike in the rat) after 60 min of incubation in a nitrogen atmosphere but was reduced to congruent to 1.0 in the presence of 10(-4) M 2,4-dinitrophenol. Subsequent studies also demonstrated that PAH uptake in the harbor seal was not influenced by pH of the incubation medium over a range of 6.0 to 7.4. In contrast, PAH uptake was very sensitive to the medium pH in the rat, decreasing significantly with reduction in pH. Although the TEA uptake decreased in anoxia in both species, it decreased considerably less in the harbor seal than in the rat (40 vs. 70%). However, TEA uptake decreased significantly at low pH in both species. The magnitudes of increase in intracellular Na and of decrease in intracellular K in anoxia were consistently less in the harbor seal than in the rat, especially at low pH. On the basis of these and other findings reported in the literature, cellular mechanisms for the remarkable ischemic tolerance of the seal kidney are discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Arterial gas tensions and hemoglobin concentrations of the freely diving Weddell seal.

Heart rate, body temperature, arterial blood gas tensions, pHa and hemoglobin concentrations were measured during and after free diving of the Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddelli), beneath the fast ice of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. To examine arterial nitrogen tensions (PaN2), 47 samples of arterial blood were obtained from 4 seals diving up to 23 min to depths of 230 m. Peak arterial nitrogen tensions between 2000 and 2500 mmHg were recorded at depths of 40-80 m during descent, indicating that the seal's lung collapses by 25-50 m. Then arterial blood nitrogen tensions slowly decreased to about 1500 mmHg near surfacing. Thus during diving alveolar collapse and redistribution of blood nitrogen allow the seal to avoid nitrogen narcosis and decompression sickness. The arterial PO2 (PaO2) at rest (78 +/- 13 mmHg, mean +/- SD) increased with diving compression to a maximum measured value of 232 mmHg and then rapidly decreased to 25-35 mmHg. The lowest diving PaO2 was 18 mmHg just before the seal surfaced from a 27-min dive. A consistent increase of arterial hemoglobin concentrations occurred during each dive. We suggest that an extension of the sympathetic outflow of the diving reflex caused profound contraction of the Weddell seal's spleen.

Animals↗

PubMed1982

[Diminished fertility in seals in the Netherlands, possibly resulting from exposure to large amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls (author's transl)].

The number of seals in the coastal waters of the Netherlands has been considerably reduced since 1950: in the Wadden Sea, it decreased from 3,000 to 500, in the Delta area, from 1,500 to merely a few animals. Studies on population dynamics during the period from 1974 to 1978 showed that reproduction among the seal population in the Netherlands Wadden Sea is too small compared with the stable population of Schleswig-Holstein. Investigations on the role of environmental factors in diminished reproduction centered on the factor water pollution. Analysis of the various contaminants in the tissues of seals of the Netherlands. Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark, which were found dead, showed tha particularly the concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls in seals of the Netherlands were significantly higher than they were in German and Danish animals. The epidemiological and experimental findings on the characteristics of these contaminants, in conjunction with the high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls and the decrease in reproduction of seals in the Netherlands, led to the hypothesis that polychlorinated biphenyls are the cause of diminished fertility of seals in the Netherlands.

Animals↗

PubMed1982

[Post-mortem findings in seals which died in nature (author's transl)].

The findings in seals submitted to the Research Institute for Nature Management, Arnhem, for post-mortem examination during the period from 1960 to 1981 are reviewed with reference to three tables. A striking feature was the large proportion (55 per cent) of young seals, well over 38 percent of which died in the first two months of life. There also was a large proportion of young seals and yearlings with parasitic infections, which would appear to suggest that it is difficult for the young animals to build up a good condition. This could be due to a disturbance during the nursing period and inadequate food of satisfactory quality. Of the grey seals fond on the coast of the Netherlands, 35.5 per cent were young and starved to death. Drowning in nets and hoopnets occurred in the young as well as in the older seals and both in common and grey seals, although the majority of the victims were yearlings.

Age Factors↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Use of the Pro-Seal LMA facilitates percutaneous dilatational tracheostomy.

PURPOSE: To study the feasibility of using the Pro-Seal laryngeal mask airway (LMA) for airway maintenance during bronchoscopic guided percutaneous tracheostomy. METHODS: Observational study of 23 patients in an 11-bed general intensive care unit. The patient's tracheal tube was exchanged for a Pro-Seal LMA before undertaking percutaneous tracheostomy. RESULTS: Inspiratory pressure and tidal volumes achieved during the procedure were recorded. The median peak inspiratory pressure was 25 (standard deviation 4.2) cm H(2)O. There was no loss of tidal volume in 11 patients, a loss of less than 100 mL x breath(-1) in 11, and loss of more than 100 mL in one. A Pro-Seal LMA successfully maintained the airway and allowed adequate ventilation during percutaneous tracheostomy in all 23 patients. In all patients bronchoscopy through the Pro-Seal LMA provided a clear view of the cords and trachea and there was no laryngeal or tracheal soiling at any stage of the procedure. CONCLUSION: The Pro-Seal LMA provides a reliable airway and allows effective ventilation during percutaneous tracheostomy. The passage of a fibrescope through the Pro-Seal LMA and glottis is easy and provides a clear view of the upper trachea.

Bronchoscopy↗

PubMed2006

How seals divide up the world: environment, life history, and conservation.

Pinnipeds display a remarkable variation in life history adaptations while successfully inhabiting almost every marine environment. We explore how they have done this by grouping the world's pinniped species according to their environmental conditions, mating systems, lactation strategies, and timing of life histories. Next, we tested whether any of these clusters provide information about risk of extinction (using the International Union for Nature and the Conservation of Natural Resources status ranks). Seals at risk were not characterized by differences in lactation pattern (22% short vs. 46% long), mating system (24% multi-male vs. 35% harems), or timing of life history events (23% fast vs. 42% slow) but did differ based on four environmental groupings. Grouping traits (rather than seals) described two clusters: one that included the environmental trait, primary productivity, and a second one that included all other environmental variables (seasonality, latitude, and temperature). Based on this result and theoretical considerations, we plotted seals according to energy (primary productivity) and variation (seasonality) and found a pattern analogous to that of the same four groups determined by cluster analysis of all environmental variables. Of the two pinniped groups representing low variation (equatorial and high productivity), ten of 21 seal species have been designated at risk, in contrast to none of the 13 seal species adapted to high variation. We conclude that seals appear to be best adapted to seasonal environments and thus, conservation efforts may benefit by concentrating on species inhabiting less variable environments.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

High-burst-strength, feedback-controlled bipolar vessel sealing.

BACKGROUND: The inherent tedium of intracorporeal knot tying has stimulated greater interest in energy-based and mechanical alternatives for hemostasis. METHODS: Three hundred thirty-one arteries and veins were sealed by application of precisely controlled electrothermal energy and physical pressure, allowing for brief cooling in compression, in experimental animals and fresh abattoir vessels. These seals were compared for bursting strength with occlusions by ultrasonic and bipolar coagulation, surgical clips, and ligatures. RESULTS: Ultrasonic and bipolar occlusions were significantly less likely to have burst strengths greater than 400 mmHg as compared with seals, clips, and ligatures (p < 0.001). Seal competence could be visually assessed by its translucence. CONCLUSIONS: Precise energy control with physical compression, including a brief cooldown, produces a distinctive, translucent seal of partially denatured protein that can typically be transected after a single application. These seals have bursting strengths comparable to those of clips and ligatures and resist dislodgement because they are intrinsic to the vessel wall structure.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Sealing of polyester prostheses with autologous fibrin glue and bone marrow.

The purpose of this study was to develop a sealing technique for polyester prosthetic grafts able to promote healing and reduce intimal hyperplasia. The porcine experimental model was aortoiliac bypass with a 6-mm diameter knitted polyester prosthetic graft implanted for 14 and 90 days. Animals were divided into three groups according to sealing technique as follows: pre-clotting with blood (group I, n = 12), sealing with autologous fibrin glue (group II, n = 14), and sealing with autologous fibrin glue and bone marrow cells (group III, n = 16). Feasibility and quality of sealing were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy prior to implantation and by assessment of blood loss. After removal, prostheses were cut into three segments comprising the proximal anastomosis, midsection, and distal anastomosis. Pieces were fixed, embedded in paraffin, and serially sectioned for histologic study. Histological study focused on the degree of stenosis and hyperplasia of the neointima of each prosthesis. The results of this short-term study indicate that sealing of polyester vascular prosthetic grafts with autologous fibrin glue and bone marrow cells is effective in reducing intimal hyperplasia. However further study will be needed to assess long-term healing.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

The effect of human blood on the sealing ability of root canal sealers: an in vitro study.

The effect of human blood and moisture contamination on the sealing ability of six commonly used root canal sealers was studied. The materials tested--Tubliseal, Diaket, AH26, Nogenol, Roth, and Endomethasone sealers--were placed in root canals with laterally condensed gutta-percha. The specimens were immediately immersed in blood or saline solution or kept dry for 2 hours. All the teeth were then subjected to methylene blue dye for 1 hour. A comparison of the seal was made by observation of dye penetration around the filling materials. Under all conditions, Tubliseal exhibited the least amount of marginal penetration, followed by AH 26. There was no significant difference in the depth of dye penetration between Diaket and Tubliseal in dry and wet conditions. Although AH 26, Nogenol, Roth, and Endomethasone sealers showed comparable sealing ability under dry conditions, the sealing ability of AH 26 and Diaket was superior to that of Nogenol, Roth, and Endomethasone sealers in moisture contamination. A significant drop in the seals afforded by AH26, Diaket, Roth, and Endomethasone sealers was recorded when these materials were immersed in blood. On the other hand, immersion in blood caused no significant change in the sealing ability of Nogenol.

Administration, Topical↗

PubMed2006

Can LigaSure seal and divide the small bowel?

BACKGROUND: The LigaSure system (Valleylab, Boulder, CO) seals vessels by reforming collagen and elastin in vessel walls. We studied the feasibility and effectiveness of LigaSure in dividing porcine small bowel. METHODS: Twelve porcine small bowel portions were randomized to division with either endoscopic linear stapler or LigaSure system and the burst pressure of the sealed ends were measured. RESULTS: Segments sealed with staples (6), LigaSure Atlas (Valleylab) (7), LigaSure Xtd (Valleylab) (4), and double-sealed with LigaSure Atlas (Valleylab) (4) were compared. Burst pressure for stapled segments was 131 (standard deviation [SD] 19) mm Hg; failure occurred in the bowel wall. Burst pressures for the 3 groups of Ligasure segments were 27 (SD 5), 20 (SD 6), and 11 (SD 13) mm Hg, respectively, with no statistically significant difference among them; failure occurred at the sealed end. Burst pressure for stapled segments was significantly higher than that of Ligasure segments (P < .001). CONCLUSION: LigaSure does not safely seal small bowel.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗

PubMed2006

Dietary macronutrients influence 13C and 15N signatures of pinnipeds: captive feeding studies with harbor seals (Phoca vitulina).

Metabolic effects of dietary macronutrients on diet-tissue isotopic discrimination factors were investigated in harbor seals. Three seals were fed either high fat/low protein herring (H), or low fat/high protein pollock (P), and switched to the alternative every 4 months. This allowed each seal to be subjected to two dietary treatments in each of three metabolically defined seasons (breeding from May to September, molting from September to January, and late winter/early spring period from January to May) over a 2 year cycle, and function as its internal control regardless of physiological changes over season. One seal was fed a constant equal mix of H and P over the entire trial. Up to 1 per thousand differences in serum delta15N values of one seal fed alternatively on H and P were observed. Progressively more enriched serum delta15N values as diet switching from H to P might link to changes in seal digestive physiology and protein metabolism in response to very high protein intake on P diet. These findings demonstrate that dietary macronutrients of prey species and protein intake level of consumers also play important roles in shaping isotopic patterns of a consumer's tissues, and thus influence accurate data interpretation of stable isotope techniques in ecological applications.

Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena↗

PubMed2005

The influence of underwater data transmission sounds on the displacement behaviour of captive harbour seals (Phoca vitulina).

To prevent grounding of ships and collisions between ships in shallow coastal waters, an underwater data collection and communication network (ACME) using underwater sounds to encode and transmit data is currently under development. Marine mammals might be affected by ACME sounds since they may use sound of a similar frequency (around 12 kHz) for communication, orientation, and prey location. If marine mammals tend to avoid the vicinity of the acoustic transmitters, they may be kept away from ecologically important areas by ACME sounds. One marine mammal species that may be affected in the North Sea is the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina). No information is available on the effects of ACME-like sounds on harbour seals, so this study was carried out as part of an environmental impact assessment program. Nine captive harbour seals were subjected to four sound types, three of which may be used in the underwater acoustic data communication network. The effect of each sound was judged by comparing the animals' location in a pool during test periods to that during baseline periods, during which no sound was produced. Each of the four sounds could be made into a deterrent by increasing its amplitude. The seals reacted by swimming away from the sound source. The sound pressure level (SPL) at the acoustic discomfort threshold was established for each of the four sounds. The acoustic discomfort threshold is defined as the boundary between the areas that the animals generally occupied during the transmission of the sounds and the areas that they generally did not enter during transmission. The SPLs at the acoustic discomfort thresholds were similar for each of the sounds (107 dB re 1 microPa). Based on this discomfort threshold SPL, discomfort zones at sea for several source levels (130-180 dB re 1 microPa) of the sounds were calculated, using a guideline sound propagation model for shallow water. The discomfort zone is defined as the area around a sound source that harbour seals are expected to avoid. The definition of the discomfort zone is based on behavioural discomfort, and does not necessarily coincide with the physical discomfort zone. Based on these results, source levels can be selected that have an acceptable effect on harbour seals in particular areas. The discomfort zone of a communication sound depends on the sound, the source level, and the propagation characteristics of the area in which the sound system is operational. The source level of the communication system should be adapted to each area (taking into account the width of a sea arm, the local sound propagation, and the importance of an area to the affected species). The discomfort zone should not coincide with ecologically important areas (for instance resting, breeding, suckling, and feeding areas), or routes between these areas.

Acoustics↗