Von Economo neurons (VENs) are a type of large, layer V spindle-shaped neurons that were previously described in humans, great apes, elephants, and some large-brained cetaceans. Here we report the presence of Von Economo neurons in the anterior cingulate (ACC), anterior insular (AI), and frontopolar (FP) cortices of small odontocetes, including the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), the R...

Natural killer (NK) activity, an important non-specific defense mechanism against viral infections and tumors, was demonstrated in beluga whales using two different methods: “‘Cr release and flow cytometry. Using the “Cr release assay, NK activity in belugas was shown to be higher against K-562 than against YAC-1 cell lines. Moreover, it was enhanced by the addition of human recombinant interle...

labeling system for all exports. While CITES deliberates, Russian reports suggest that the Caspian nations will lobby for an increased quota, following their meeting in Moscow earlier this month. The Caspian nations’ reprieve comes as the community awaits word of a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list beluga as endangered. Such a ruling, now 2 months overdue, would ban all imp...

This paper presents the results of study on age, growth, mortality rates and yield-per-recruit of Beluga (Huso huso) living in Caspian Sea. The mean length of successive years, mortality rates and yield-per-recruit studies indicated that at present the resource is under heavy fishing pressure. For the female Beluga growth was regarded as comprising of three stages, and the von Bertalanffy param...

The logical framework LF provides an elegant foundation for specifying formal systems and proofs and it is used successfully in a wide range of applications such as certifying code and mechanizing metatheory of programming languages. However, incorporating LF technology into functional programming to allow programmers to specify and reason about formal guarantees of their programs from within t...

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary citric acid (CA) (0, 1, 2 and 3%) on the Calcium(Ca) and Phosphorus(P) content of muscle, scute and serum of Beluga (Huso huso) juveniles (25.1±1.9 g). After 8 weeks feeding on the experimental diets, Calcium(Ca) and Phosphorus(P) content of muscle, scute and serum were measured. The results revealed that addition with 2% and 3% CA sig...

We report an outbreak of botulism that occurred in July 2002 in a group of 12 Alaskan Yu'pik Eskimos who ate blubber and skin from a beached beluga whale. Botulism death rates among Alaska Natives have declined in the last 20 years, yet incidence has increased.

We recorded EEG from both hemispheres and documented the state of the two eyes in two species of Cetaceans (one beluga and one bottlenose dolphin) and one species of Pinnipeds (two northern fur seals). In the dolphin and beluga we found that episodes of unihemispheric slow wave sleep (USWS) were associated with asymmetry in eye state. During USWS and asymmetrical SWS the eye contralateral to th...

Increased pressure, associated with diving, can alter cell function through several mechanisms and has been shown to impact immune functions performed by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in humans. While marine mammals possess specific adaptations which protect them from dive related injury, it is unknown how their immune system is adapted to the challenges associated with diving. The ...