Insights into the distribution and ingestion of prey-like plastic fishing lures in Mediterranean rough-toothed dolphins.

Rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) form an isolated subpopulation in the Mediterranean Sea that resides only in the eastern basin. Due to the paucity of records, the conservation threats these dolphins face and their ecology and distribution are poorly understood. While most observations indicate that individuals are found in two isolated clusters in the eastern basin, we hereby present five observations -three visual, one acoustic and one stranding- that possibly extend the range of this subpopulation to the entire offshore waters of the eastern basin. The stomach content remains of the stranded individual revealed a diet based on epipelagic squids and octopods. The stranded dolphin had also consumed seven plastic bags and nine squid-like plastic fishing lures, which had caused a complete gastric blockage and probably led to the stranding. High pollution loads from macroplastics in the Mediterranean Sea may evolve into a new potential threat for this subpopulation.

IL36 is a critical upstream amplifier of neutrophilic lung inflammation in mice.

IL-36, which belongs to the IL-1 superfamily, is increasingly linked to neutrophilic inflammation. Here, we combined in vivo and in vitro approaches using primary mouse and human cells, as well as, acute and chronic mouse models of lung inflammation to provide mechanistic insight into the intercellular signaling pathways and mechanisms through which IL-36 promotes lung inflammation. IL-36 receptor deficient mice exposed to cigarette smoke or cigarette smoke and H1N1 influenza virus had attenuated lung inflammation compared with wild-type controls. We identified neutrophils as a source of IL-36 and show that IL-36 is a key upstream amplifier of lung inflammation by promoting activation of neutrophils, macrophages and fibroblasts through cooperation with GM-CSF and the viral mimic poly(I:C). Our data implicate IL-36, independent of other IL-1 family members, as a key upstream amplifier of neutrophilic lung inflammation, providing a rationale for targeting IL-36 to improve treatment of a variety of neutrophilic lung diseases.

Blue blocker glasses as a countermeasure for alerting effects of evening light-emitting diode screen exposure in male teenagers.

PURPOSE: Adolescents prefer sleep and wake times that are considerably delayed compared with younger children or adults. Concomitantly, multimedia use in the evening is prevalent among teenagers and involves light exposure, particularly in the blue-wavelength range to which the biological clock and its associated arousal promotion system is the most sensitive. We investigated whether the use of blue light-blocking glasses (BB) during the evening, while sitting in front of a light-emitting diode (LED) computer screen, favors sleep initiating mechanisms at the subjective, cognitive, and physiological level. METHODS: The ambulatory part of the study comprised 2 weeks during which the sleep-wake cycle, evening light exposure, and multimedia screen use were monitored in thirteen 15- to 17-year-old healthy male volunteers. BB or clear lenses as control glasses were worn in a counterbalanced crossover design for 1 week each, during the evening hours while using LED screens. Afterward, participants entered the laboratory and underwent an evening blue light-enriched LED screen exposure during which they wore the same glasses as during the preceding week. Salivary melatonin, subjective sleepiness, and vigilant attention were regularly assayed, and subsequent sleep was recorded by polysomnography. RESULTS: Compared with clear lenses, BB significantly attenuated LED-induced melatonin suppression in the evening and decreased vigilant attention and subjective alertness before bedtime. Visually scored sleep stages and behavioral measures collected the morning after were not modified. CONCLUSIONS: BB glasses may be useful in adolescents as a countermeasure for alerting effects induced by light exposure through LED screens and therefore potentially impede the negative effects modern lighting imposes on circadian physiology in the evening.

Laypeople's and experts' perception of nanotechnology hazards.

Public perception of nanotechnology may influence the realization of technological advances. Laypeople's (N=375) and experts' (N=46) perception of 20 different nanotechnology applications and three nonnanotechnology applications were examined. The psychometric paradigm was utilized and applications were described in short scenarios. Results showed that laypeople and experts assessed asbestos as much more risky than nanotechnology applications. Analyses of aggregated data suggested that perceived dreadfulness of applications and trust in governmental agencies are important factors in determining perceived risks. Similar results were observed for experts and laypeople, but the latter perceived greater risks than the former. Analyses of individual data showed that trust, perceived benefits, and general attitudes toward technology influenced the perceived risk of laypeople. In the expert sample, confidence in governmental agencies was an important predictor of risks associated with nanotechnology applications. Results suggest that public concerns about nanotechnology would diminish if measures were taken to enhance laypeople's trust in governmental agencies.