Phylogeography of the pharaoh cuttle Sepia pharaonis based on partial mitochondrial 16S sequence data

The pharaoh cuttle Sepia pharaonis Ehrenberg, 1831 (Mollusca: Cephalopoda: Sepiida) is a broadly distributed species of substantial fisheries importance found from east Africa to southern Japan. Little is known about S. pharaonis phylogeography, but evidence from morphology and reproductive biology suggests that Sepia pharaonis is actually a complex of at least three species. To evaluate this possibility, we collected tissue samples from Sepia pharaonis from throughout its range. Phylogenetic analyses of partial mitochondrial 16S sequences from these samples reveal five distinct clades: a Gulf of Aden/Red Sea clade, a northern Australia clade, a Persian Gulf/Arabian Sea clade, a western Pacific clade (Gulf of Thailand and Taiwan) and an India/Andaman Sea clade. Phylogenetic analyses including several Sepia species show that S. pharaonis sensu lato may not be monophyletic. We suggest that "S. pharaonis" may consist of up to five species, but additional data will be required to fully clarify relationships within the S. pharaonis complex

Trap fisheries for squid and their impact on spawning

The squid trap is an artisanal type of fishing gear widely used in the Gulf of Thailand and along the Andaman coast. In 1994 the total catch of cephalopods by Thailand was 144 436 tons, of which 5% was fromsquid traps. The trap is covered by coconut fronds and set from 4 to >40 m deep, hanging above the sea bottom with the entrance facing upwards. Egg clusters are placed in the trap to entice squid to enter. Species caughtinclude Sepioteuthis lessoniana (about 80%), Sepia pharaonis and Sepia aculeata, all mature animals coming to spawn

A new pygmy cuttlefish from the Gulf of Thailand Idiosepius thailandicus n. sp. (Cephalopoda: Idiosepiidae)

Idiosepius thailandicus n. sp. is characterized in having' two rows of tentacle suckers and only 3-4 suckers on the hectocotylized arm (Arms IV of the male). It is a common neritic cephalopod along the coast of the Gulf of Thailand

Evaluation of aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index and fibrosis 4 scores for hepatic fibrosis assessment compared with transient elastography in chronic hepatitis C patients

Background and Aim: Fibrotic stage (FS) assessment is essential in chronic hepatitis C treatment cascade. Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) using transient elastography (TE) is reliable and correlated with liver biopsy. However, TE may not be widely available. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performances of aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis 4 (FIB‐4) scores compared with TE. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, cross‐sectional study, including all chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) monoinfection patients with successful and reliable LSM, at 10 centers in Thailand from 2012 to 2017. Characteristics and laboratory data within 3 months of TE were retrospectively reviewed. Using TE as a reference standard, the diagnostic performances of APRI and FIB‐4 were evaluated. TE cut‐off levels of 7.1 and 12.5 kPa represented significant fibrosis (SF) and cirrhosis, respectively. Results: The distribution of FS by TE in 2000 eligible patients was as follows: no SF 28.3%, SF 31.4%, and cirrhosis 40.3%. APRI ≥ 1 provided 70.1% sensitivity and 80.6% specificity, with an area under the receiver operator characteristics curve (AUROC) of 0.834 for cirrhosis. The specificity increased to 96.3% when using a cut‐off level of APRI ≥ 2. FIB‐4 ≥ 1.45 provided a sensitivity, specificity, and AUROC of 52.4%, 91.0%, and 0.829 for cirrhosis, respectively. For SF, APRI performed better than FIB‐4, with an AUROC of 0.84 versus 0.80 (P   1.45 yielded sensitivities of 82.3% and 74.4% and specificities of 65.4% and 69.8%, respectively. Conclusions: APRI and FIB‐4 scores had good diagnostic performances for FS assessment compared with TE, especially for cirrhosis. APRI may be used as the noninvasive assessment in resource‐limited settings for HCV patients’ management.</br