Adult female elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) combine long-term fasting with lactation and molting. Glycerol gluconeogenesis has been hypothesized as potentially meeting all of the glucose requirements of the seals during these fasts. To test this hypothesis, a primed constant infusion of [2-(14)C]glycerol was administered to 10 ten adult female elephant seals at 5 and 21-22 days postpa...

For proper management and conservation of the Kuril harbor seal (Phoca vitulina stejnegeri) through disease control, serological analysis was performed for influenza A virus infection in free-ranging seals in Hokkaido, Japan. Serum samples were collected from seals at Nosappu (231 seals), Akkeshi (16) and Erimo (75), between 1998 and 2005, and were analyzed by ELISA. Antibodies to the influenza...

While the growth of business-to-consumer electronic commerce seems phenomenal in recent years, several studies suggest that a large number of individuals using the Internet have serious privacy concerns, and that winning public trust is the primary hurdle to continued growth in e-commerce. This research investigated the relative importance, when purchasing goods and services over the Web, of fo...

We measured concentrations of aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), total mercury (THg), methylmercury (MeHg), selenium (Se), silver (Ag), and zinc (Zn) in liver from Harbor Seals (n 5 31) stranded dead in the inland waters of Washington State between 2004 and 2007. Results were compared by age class and region, and to results from past studies. Signifi...

Mechanical seals continue to be the predominant technology for shaft sealing in centrifugal pumps and other rotating equipment. While most mechanical seals are designed to operate on a liquid film, there are options for designing seal faces which function reliably while operating on a hydrodynamic gas film. In a dual pressurized seal (Arrangement 3), gas seals can provide unique benefits in ter...

The foraging strategy of many animals is thought to be determined by their past experiences. However, few empirical studies have investigated whether this is true in diving animals. We recorded three-dimensional movements and mouth-opening events from three Antarctic fur seals during their foraging trips to examine how they adapt their behaviour based on past experience--continuing to search fo...

This paper presents the alignment results of Lily on SEALS platform for the ontology alignment contest OAEI 2011. Lily is an ontology matching system. In OAEI 2011, Lily submited the results for three matching tasks on the SEALS platform: benchmark, anatomy, conference. The specific techniques used by Lily are introduced. The matching results of Lily are also discussed.

This study explores how third-party assurance seals, a privacy service provided by vendors to mitigate customers’ fears, has an impact on on-line customer satisfaction and repeat-purchase intention. It asks the following research questions: Do assurance seals influence on-line service experience? If so, how do they affect consumers’ satisfaction and repeat-purchase intention? The study shows, f...

The reasons for the decline in some Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) stocks in Newfoundland and southern Labrador are not fully understood, but many resource users consider predation by seals in rivers and nearshore waters to be a contributing factor. To address these concerns, local ecological knowledge (LEK) interviews with resource users (n = 57) were conducted at 29 rivers throughout the Provi...