Reproductive biology of winter-spring spawners of Illex argentinus (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae) off Southern Brazil

The reproduction and fecundity of winter-spring spawners of the shortfin squid Illex argentinus off southern Brazil (27°S-34°S) were studied in samples from bottom trawl surveys on the outer shelf and upper slope from 1986 to 1992. The mantle length-total weight relationships were for males: TW = 0.00002456 ML2.974 for females: TW = 0.00004265 ML 2.842 and pooled: TW = 0.00005376 ML 2.809. Males were heavier than females at the same ML. Fully mature squids were found from July to October. Mantle length and total weight of fully mature males ranged from 188 to 296 mm (mean 252.2 mm) and 195.5 to 611 g (mean 382.7 g) and for females from 225 to 356 mm (mean 307.4 mm) and 234 to 772 g (mean 558.4 g). Total weight was maximum at full maturity and decreased in the subsequent stages of both sexes. Mean weight and mean major axis length of ripe oocytes in the oviducts were 0.48 mg (sd= 0.10 mg) and 1.27 mm (sd= 0.08 mm), respectively. Total and oviduct mean fecundities, in thousands of oocytes larger than 0.4 mm, in ten fully mature females (294-336 mm ML) were 177.2 (93.0 to 294.3) and 118.4 (51.5 to 233.9), respectively. Spawning season in this region seems to be more protracted than in higher latitudes. Our results suggest that a northward migration could take place prior to spawning and that in winter and spring, southern Brazil may be a major spawning ground of Illex argentinus that contributes to the local and to the Uruguay and northeastern Argentina recruitment

Pogonias courbina

This demersal species inhabits and forms seasonal spawning aggregations in shallow coastal waters and estuaries from southeastern Brazil to Argentina. It is a relatively long-lived, large-bodied species that canattain over 140 cm in length and 40 kg in weight and reach over 50 years in age. The estimated generation length is 28 years. It is targeted by commercial, artisanal and recreational fisheries throughout its range. Fisheries targeted spawning migrations in the Patos Lagoon estuary in southern Brazil at a high level from the 1940s to early 1980s, and landings have declined by 88% since 1982, orover the past 37 years. After these four decades of exploitation, only juveniles and small-sized adults are currently captured in the fishery. In Uruguay and Argentina, fishing effort primarily targets spawning aggregations in the La Plata River estuary. Landings in this fishery increased by 260% since 2000, or overthe past 19 years, as compared to landings in the period from 1975-1999. The current absence of large individuals in the La Plata River commercial catch and anecdotal observations of declines by Argentines portfishers, strongly implies that a truncation in age structure and a significant decline in abundance occurred.This species has intrinsic characteristics, including large body size, long longevity and high vulnerability to capture during predictable spawning/feeding migrations or aggregations, that cause it to be susceptible to large population declines under exploitation. However, its high fecundity and early age at© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Pogonias courbina , published in 2020.https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T159145751A159145756.en1maturity (5-10% of the longevity) favours its resilience to exploitation under adequate fisheries management. The large decline in the southern Brazil fishery that targets this species was caused by years of intense fishing pressure, and that stock has not recovered. This is a clear warning that the fishery operating in La Plata estuary will follow the same path of decline unless urgent and drastic management measures are not implemented in the near future. Based on fisheries data and catch observations over time, it is inferred this species has undergone global-level declines of at least 30-40%over the past one and half generation lengths (about 42 years), and due to insufficient conservation measures, this decline is expected to continue over the next one and half generation lengths. Therefore,it is listed as Vulnerable A2bd+4bd with a strong recommendation to improve fisheries monitoring and management.Fil: Haimovici, M. Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande.; BrasilFil: Chao, L.. National Museum Of Marine Biology And Aquarium In Taiwa; República de ChinaFil: Vieira, J.P.. Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande.; BrasilFil: Buratti, C.. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones y Desarrollo Pesquero; ArgentinaFil: Díaz de Astarloa, Juan Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Irigoyen, A.. No especifíca;Fil: Riestra, C.. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones y Desarrollo Pesquero; ArgentinaFil: Landaeta, M.. Universidad de Valparaíso; ChileFil: Hüne, M.. Universidad Austral de Chile; Chil

Molecular Phylogeny of the Genus Lolliguncula Steenstrup, 1881 Based on Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA Sequences Indicates Genetic Isolation of Populations from North and South Atlantic, and the Possible Presence of Further Cryptic Species

Squid of the genus Lolliguncula Steenstrup, 1881 are small bodied, coastal species capable of tolerating low salinity. Lolliguncula sp. are found exclusively in the New World, although only one of the four recognized species (Lolliguncula brevis) occurs in the Atlantic Ocean. Preliminary morphological analyses suggest that Lolliguncula brevis populations in the North and South Atlantic may represent distinct species. The principal objective of the present study was to verify the phylogenetic relationships within the genus and test for the presence of possible cryptic species. Both gene and species tree topologies indicated that Lolliguncula brevis specimens from the North and South Atlantic represent distinct phylogenetic clades. In contrast with previous studies, L. panamensis was identified as the basal species of the genus. Our results provide important insights into the phylogenetic relationships among the Lolliguncula specimens analyzed, and confirm the genetic separation of Lolliguncula brevis populations of the North and South Atlantic at the level of sister species

Acute traumatic abdominal wall hernia

Although blunt abdominal trauma is frequent, traumatic abdominal wall hernias (TAWH) are rare. We describe a large TAWH with associated intra-abdominal lesions that were caused by high-energy trauma. The diagnosis was missed by clinical examination but was subsequently revealed by a computed tomography (CT) scan. Repair consisted of an open anatomical reconstruction of the abdominal wall layers with reinforcement by an intraperitoneal composite mesh. The patient recovered well and the results of a post-operative CT scan are presented

Otolith atlas for marine fishes of the southwestern Atlantic occurring along southern Brazil (28° S-34° S)

Otoliths are acellular apposition structures composed of approximately 90% of calcium carbonate and other inorganic salts, which develop over a protein matrix located in the inner ear of bony fishes playing an essential role in the senses of balance and hearing. These structures grow throughout a fish’s lifetime. Owing to their species-specific shape, otoliths are an important tool for the identification of fish species in the diet of predators when collected from stomachs and, due to their low water content, are helpful for archaeological, paleontological and anthropological studies for its presence in fossilized remains. This atlas is aimed at the identification of abundant or frequent bony fishes otoliths in the diet of predators and in fossilized remains from the continental shelf and upper continental slope of southern Brazil between Santa Marta Grande cape (28° S) and Chuí (34° S) on the border with Uruguay. It includes the otolith description of 136 bony fishes species, including most of the abundant and frequent species in the region. Easy to use graphics are provided to infer fish size based on otolith measurements. Vouchers of different sizes of otolith of all species included in this atlas are deposited and available for consultation at the Demersal Fisheries Resources and Cephalopods Laboratory (IO-FURG)

Renal cell carcinoma metastasis to the ciliary body responds to proton beam radiotherapy: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>We report an unexpected presentation of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) to the ciliary body and an interesting response to proton beam radiotherapy.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We encountered a case of angle-closure glaucoma as the initial presentation of ocular metastasis to the ciliary body in a 65-year-old Caucasian man who had undergone right radical nephrectomy for RCC 15 years earlier. He underwent YAG (yttrium aluminium garnet) laser peripheral iridotomy while further metastatic workup took place. His condition was eventually diagnosed as stage IV metastatic RCC of the clear cell type and involved multiple sites, including the ciliary body, brain, lungs, liver, and pancreas. The progression of RCC metastasis to the ciliary body was studied for 16 months. The ciliary body mass continued to grow despite systemic treatment with temsirolimus and interleukin-2 and intravitreal injections of bevacizumab. The tumor size peaked at 6.11 × 6.06 mm before the start of proton therapy, which reduced the tumor size to 5.07 × 4.39 mm.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>RCC can produce metastases involving unusual sites many years after resection of the primary tumor. Proton therapy was found to be effective in treating RCC metastasis to the ciliary body in settings in which other treatment modalities failed.</p

Handlebar hernia: a case report and literature review on traumatic abdominal wall hernia in children

A rare case of abdominal trauma, a handlebar hernia, is described, as well as a review of the pertinent literature. A 7-year-old boy presented to our emergency room after sustaining blunt force to the abdomen; he fell on the handlebar of his bicycle. Immediately after the accident, a bulge was noticeable at the point of impact. Handlebar hernia is a diagnosis that is easily missed, which can lead to strangulation and incarceration of the bowel. With this case report, we hope to augment the knowledge on traumatic abdominal wall hernia, hopefully leading to early diagnosis and treatment

Critical synchronization dynamics of the Kuramoto model on connectome and small world graphs

The hypothesis, that cortical dynamics operates near criticality also suggests, that it exhibits universal critical exponents which marks the Kuramoto equation, a fundamental model for synchronization, as a prime candidate for an underlying universal model. Here, we determined the synchronization behavior of this model by solving it numerically on a large, weighted human connectome network, containing 804092 nodes, in an assumed homeostatic state. Since this graph has a topological dimension $d < 4$, a real synchronization phase transition is not possible in the thermodynamic limit, still we could locate a transition between partially synchronized and desynchronized states. At this crossover point we observe power-law--tailed synchronization durations, with $\tau_t \simeq 1.2(1)$, away from experimental values for the brain. For comparison, on a large two-dimensional lattice, having additional random, long-range links, we obtain a mean-field value: $\tau_t \simeq 1.6(1)$. However, below the transition of the connectome we found global coupling control-parameter dependent exponents $1 < \tau_t \le 2$, overlapping with the range of human brain experiments. We also studied the effects of random flipping of a small portion of link weights, mimicking a network with inhibitory interactions, and found similar results. The control-parameter dependent exponent suggests extended dynamical criticality below the transition point.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures + Supplemenraty material pdf 2 pages 4 figs, 1 table, accepted version in Scientific Report