Tamper-indicating devices, also called security seals, are widely used to detect tampering or unauthorized entry. We studied 94 different security seals, both passive and electronic, developed either commercially or by the United States Government. Most of these seals are in wide-spread use, including for critical applications. We learned how to defeat all 94 seals using rapid, inexpensive, low...

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...

In this paper, we discuss the presence of symmetries in images engraved on ancient seals, in particular on stamp seals. Mainly used to secure the containers from tampering and for owner's identification, these objects appeared during the 5th millennium BC in Mesopotamia. Usually the seals were engraved with simple images, suitable to communicate an immediate information. Rotational symmetries a...

This article describes the design of a new test rig for measuring the friction force in pneumatic components and seals. The test rig was designed in order to measure both the overall friction force in a pneumatic cylinder or a valve as a whole, and the single contribution to friction force caused by the sliding seals. To this end, special fixtures and devices were designed and manufactured in o...

Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) have been widely studied in the Pacific Northwest for over 60 y (Scheffer and Slipp 1944; Calambokidis and others 1979; Olesiuk and others 1990; Jeffries and others 2003). In the inland waters of Washington State, Harbor Seals are the most abundant and extensively distributed pinniped, numbering approximately 15,000 individuals and thought to be nearing carrying ca...

Sealing log books from 75 out of 79 commercial harvest cruises carried out between 1972 and 1994 in the Sea of Okhotsk, Russia, were analyzed to describe spatial and temporal allocation of ice-associated seal harvest effort, species composition of catches, total harvest rates, and related parameters for species including ringed (Pusa hispida), ribbon (Histriophoca fasciata), bearded (Erignathus...

The Pinnipedia includes marine carnivores that share a single common evolutionary origin within arctoid carnivores 25–27 Ma in the North Pacific (Berta & Adam, 2001). Three major groups of pinnipeds are recognized: the Phocidae (true seals), the Otariidae (fur seals and sea lions) and the Odobenidae (walruses). Phocid seals, the focus of this study, are typically divided into two subfamilies th...

Seals have adapted to the high heat transfer coefficient in the aquatic environment by effective thermal insulation of the body core. While swimming and diving, excess metabolic heat is supposed to be dissipated mainly over the sparsely insulated body appendages, whereas the location of main heat sinks in hauled-out seals remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate thermal windows on the trunk of har...

Concentrations of alternative flame retardants and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analyzed in ringed seal (Phoca hispida) blubber collected across the Canadian Arctic during subsistence hunts between 1998 and 2013. More than 80% of sampled animals were females and juvenile males. The highest mean ΣPBDE concentrations (sum of 13 congeners) were found in seals from Nain (Nunatsiavut)...

For over 15 years now, the efficiency and reliability of centrifugal compressors have been enhanced by the application of thermoplastic materials to the eye, shaft, and balance piston labyrinth seals. Traditionally these seals have been manufactured from metallic materials and have required relatively large clearances for reliability reasons. By upgrading to carefully selected engineered thermo...