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An intense public debate has fuelled governmental bans on marine mammals held in zoological institutions. The debate rests on the assumption that survival in zoological institutions has been and remains lower than in the wild, albeit the scientific evidence in support of this notion is equivocal. Here, we used statistical methods previously applied to assess historical improvements in human lifespan and data on 8864 individuals of four marine mammal species (harbour seal, Phoca vitulina ; California sea lion, Zalophus californianus ; polar bear, Ursus maritimus ; common bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus ) held in zoos from 1829 to 2020. We found that life expectancy increased up to 3.40 times, and first-year mortality declined up to 31%, during the last century in zoos. Moreover, the life expectancy of animals in zoos is currently 1.65-3.55 times longer than their wild counterparts. Like humans, these improvements have occurred concurrently with advances in management practices, crucial for population welfare. Science-based decisions will help effective legislative changes and ensure better implementation of animal care.

Nonhuman primates are excellent subjects for the enhancement of care and welfare through training. The application of positive reinforcement techniques to specific aspects of the management of captive nonhuman primates spans a wide range of species, social contexts, and housing situations (eg, laboratories, zoos, and sanctuaries). There is an increased interest from regulatory and accrediting agencies to insure improved conditions for captive nonhuman primates, apparent by the various standard guidelines, accreditation standards, and protocols available for the 3 primary types of nonhuman primate holding facilities., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Nonhuman primates are excellent subjects for the enhancement of care and welfare through training. The broad range of species offers tremendous behavioral diversity, and individual primates show varying abilities to cope with the stressors of captivity, which differ depending on the venue. Biomedical facilities include small single cages, pair housing, and breeding corrals with large social groups. Zoos have social groupings of differing sizes, emphasizing public display and breeding. Sanctuaries have nonbreeding groups of varying sizes and often of mixed species. In every venue, the primary objective is to provide good quality care, with minimal stress. Positive reinforcement training improves care and reduces stress by enlisting a primate's voluntary cooperation with targeted activities, including both husbandry and medical procedures. It can also improve socialization, reduce abnormal behaviors, and increase species-typical behaviors. This article reviews the results already achieved with positive reinforcement training and suggests further possibilities for enhancing primate care and welfare.

High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to monitor the purity of the substrates and to establish the patterns of hydrolysis of ortho- and para-nitrophenylmaltooligosaccharides (2-7 glucose residues) catalysed by human pancreatic and salivary alpha-amylase. Separation of the reaction products from the remaining substrate was performed on a TSK-G-2000 PW or a RP18 column. By measuring the quantitative distribution of products, and assuming a 5-subsite model for the active site of alpha-amylase, differential activities for the hydrolysis of the different glycosidic bonds in the 2 series of substrates were deduced. A highly sensitive coupled continuous assay system is based on the formation of phenyloligosaccharides with 1-4 glucose residues by the action of the amylase under test, coupled to hydrolysis of these products by yeast alpha-glucosidase. The most suitable test substrates were shown to be para-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-maltotetraoside and -pentaoside. Direct production of nitrophenol from ortho-nitrophenyl-alpha-D-maltotrioside is recommended for the measurement of the alpha-amylase activity of pancreatic and salivary gland secretions and extracts.

Using the powerful lachrymator (2-chlorobenzylidene)malononitrile as electron acceptor, two types of NAD(P)H dehydrogenases have been isolated from human blood. Crystallisation of the homogenous enzymes was performed in 50% polyethylene glycol solution. The enzymes (average molecular weight 18 000) are composed of only one polypeptide chain and have a very similar amino acid composition. B-side stereospecificity was determined with respect to the cofactor by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the reductase. Besides (2-chlorobenzylidene)malononitrile, 2,6-dichloroindophenol, methylene blue, 4-benzoquinone, FMN and FAD are also reduced using NADH or NADPH as hydrogen donor with the rates decreasing in the given order. Reduction of methemoglobin is observed only upon addition of methylene blue, FMN or FAD as carriers. (2-Chlorobenzylidene)malononitrile reduction is inhibited by most of the compounds known to be decouplers of oxidative phosphorylation.