Infection levels and species diversity of ascaridoid nematodes in Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, are correlated with geographic area and fish size

Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is among the most important commercial fish species on the world market. Its infection by ascaridoid nematodes has long been known, Pseudoterranova even being named cod worm. In the present study, 755 individuals were sampled in the Barents, Baltic and North Seas during 2012–2014. Prevalences for Anisakis in whole fish and in fillets in the different fishing areas varied from 16 to 100% and from 12 to 90% respectively. Abundance was also greatly influenced by the sampling area. Generalized additive model results indicate higher numbers of Anisakis in the North Sea, even after the larger body size was accounted for. Numbers and prevalence of Anisakis were positively related to fish length or weight. The prevalence of parasites in whole fish and in fillets was also influenced by the season, with the spring displaying a peak for the prevalence in whole fish and, at the same time, a drop for the prevalence in fillets. Whereas 46% of cod had Anisakis larvae in their fillets, the majority (39%) had parasites mainly in the ventral part of the fillet and only 12% had parasites in their dorsal part. This observation is of importance for the processing of the fish. Indeed, the trimming of the ventral part of the cod fillet would allow the almost total elimination of ascaridoids except for cod from the Baltic Sea where there was no difference between the dorsal and the ventral part. The presence of other ascaridoid genera was also noticeable in some areas. For Pseudoterranova, the highest prevalence (45%) in whole fish was observed in the Northern North Sea, whereas the other areas had prevalences between 3 and 16%. Contracaecum was present in every commercial size cod sampled in the Baltic Sea with an intensity of up to 96 worms but no Contracaecum was isolated from the Central North Sea. Non-zoonotic Hysterothylacium was absent from the Baltic Sea but with a prevalence of 83% in the Barents and the Northern North Sea. A subsample of worms was identified with genetic-molecular tools and assigned to the species A. simplex (s.s.), A. pegreffii, P. decipiens (s.s.), P. krabbei, C. osculatum and H. aduncum. In addition to high prevalence and abundance values, the cod sampled in this study presented a diversity of ascaridoid nematodes with a majority of fish displaying a co-infection. Out of 295 whole infected fish, 269 were co-infected by at least 2 genera

The cultural capitalists: notes on the ongoing reconfiguration of trafficking culture in Asia

Most analysis of the international flows of the illicit art market has described a global situation in which a postcolonial legacy of acquisition and collection exploits cultural heritage by pulling it westwards towards major international trade nodes in the USA and Europe. As the locus of consumptive global economic power shifts, however, these traditional flows are pulled in other directions: notably for the present commentary, towards and within Asia

Stationary Josephson effect in a weak-link between nonunitary triplet superconductors

A stationary Josephson effect in a weak-link between misorientated nonunitary triplet superconductors is investigated theoretically. The non-self-consistent quasiclassical Eilenberger equation for this system has been solved analytically. As an application of this analytical calculation, the current-phase diagrams are plotted for the junction between two nonunitary bipolar $f-$wave superconducting banks. A spontaneous current parallel to the interface between superconductors has been observed. Also, the effect of misorientation between crystals on the Josephson and spontaneous currents is studied. Such experimental investigations of the current-phase diagrams can be used to test the pairing symmetry in the above-mentioned superconductors.Comment: 6 pages and 6 figure

Antiferromagnetic Order in Disorder-Induced Insulating Phase of SrRu_{1-x}Mn_xO_3 (0.4<x<0.6)

We have performed the powder neutron diffraction measurements on the solid solutions of SrRu_{1-x}Mn_xO_3, and found that the itinerant ferromagnetic order observed in pure SrRuO_3 changes into the C-type antiferromagnetic (AF) order with nearly localized d electrons in the intermediate Mn concentration between x=0.4 and 0.6. With increasing x, the AF moment is strongly enhanced from 1.1 mB (x=0.4) to 2.6 mB (x=0.6), which is accompanied by the elongation of the tetragonal c/a ratio. These results suggest that the substitution of Mn for Ru suppresses the itinerant character of the d electrons, and induces the superexchange interaction through the compression in the c plane. We have also found that the magnetic and transport properties observed in our tetragonal samples are quite similar to those of recently reported orthorhombic ones.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Does J/ψ→π+π−J/\psi \rightarrow \pi^{+} \pi^{-} fix the Electromagnetic Form Factor Fπ(t)F_{\pi}(t) at t=MJ/ψ2t=M_{J/\psi}^2?

We show that the $J/\psi \rightarrow \pi^{+} \pi^{-}$ decay is a reliable source of information for the electromagnetic form factor of the pion at $t=M_{J/\psi}^2=9.6 {\rm GeV}^2$ by using general arguments to estimate, or rather, put upper bounds on, the background processes that could spoil this extraction. We briefly comment on the significance of the resulting $F_{\pi}(M_{J/\psi}^2)$.Comment: 10 pages revtex manuscript, one figure--not included, U. of MD PP #94-00

Outcome following mini-open lower limb fasciotomy for chronic exertional compartment syndrome

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to report outcomes following mini-open lower limb fasciotomy (MLLF) in active adults with chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS). METHODS: From 2013–2018, 38 consecutive patients (mean age 31 years [16–60], 71% [n = 27/38] male) underwent MLLF. There were 21 unilateral procedures, 10 simultaneous bilateral and 7 staged bilateral. There were 22 anterior fasciotomies, five posterior and 11 four-compartment. Early complications were determined from medical records of 37/38 patients (97%) at a mean of four months (1–19). Patient-reported outcomes (including EuroQol scores [EQ-5D/EQ-VAS], return to sport and satisfaction) were obtained via postal survey from 27/38 respondents (71%) at a mean of 3.7 years (0.3–6.4). RESULTS: Complications occurred in 16% (n = 6/37): superficial infection (11%, n = 4/37), deep infection (3%, n = 1/37) and wound dehiscence (3%, n = 1/37). Eight per cent (n = 3/37) required revision fasciotomy for recurrent leg pain. At longer-term follow-up, 30% (n = 8/27) were asymptomatic and another 56% (n = 15/27) reported improved symptoms. The mean pain score improved from 6.1 to 2.5 during normal activity and 9.1 to 4.7 during sport (both p < 0.001). The mean EQ-5D was 0.781 (0.130–1) and EQ-VAS 77 (33–95). Of 25 patients playing sport preoperatively, 64% (n = 16/25) returned, 75% (n = 12/16) reporting improved exercise tolerance. Seventy-four per cent (n = 20/27) were satisfied and 81% (n = 22/27) would recommend the procedure. CONCLUSION: MLLF is safe and effective for active adults with CECS. The revision rate is low, and although recurrent symptoms are common most achieve symptomatic improvement, with reduced activity-related leg pain and good health-related quality of life. The majority return to sport and are satisfied with their outcome

Optimal shapes of compact strings

Optimal geometrical arrangements, such as the stacking of atoms, are of relevance in diverse disciplines. A classic problem is the determination of the optimal arrangement of spheres in three dimensions in order to achieve the highest packing fraction; only recently has it been proved that the answer for infinite systems is a face-centred-cubic lattice. This simply stated problem has had a profound impact in many areas, ranging from the crystallization and melting of atomic systems, to optimal packing of objects and subdivision of space. Here we study an analogous problem--that of determining the optimal shapes of closely packed compact strings. This problem is a mathematical idealization of situations commonly encountered in biology, chemistry and physics, involving the optimal structure of folded polymeric chains. We find that, in cases where boundary effects are not dominant, helices with a particular pitch-radius ratio are selected. Interestingly, the same geometry is observed in helices in naturally-occurring proteins.Comment: 8 pages, 3 composite ps figure

Absence of MERS-CoV antibodies in feral camels in Australia: Implications for the pathogen's origin and spread

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections continue to be a serious emerging disease problem internationally with well over 1000 cases and a major outbreak outside of the Middle East region. While the hypothesis that dromedary camels are the likely major source of MERS-CoV infection in humans is gaining acceptance, conjecture continues over the original natural reservoir host(s) and specifically the role of bats in the emergence of the virus. Dromedary camels were imported to Australia, principally between 1880 and 1907 and have since become a large feral population inhabiting extensive parts of the continent. Here we report that during a focussed surveillance study, no serological evidence was found for the presence of MERS-CoV in the camels in the Australian population. This finding presents various hypotheses about the timing of the emergence and spread of MERS-CoV throughout populations of camels in Africa and Asia, which can be partially resolved by testing sera from camels from the original source region, which we have inferred was mainly northwestern Pakistan. In addition, we identify bat species which overlap (or neighbour) the range of the Australian camel population with a higher likelihood of carrying CoVs of the same lineage as MERS-CoV. Both of these proposed follow-on studies are examples of "proactive surveillance", a concept that has particular relevance to a One Health approach to emerging zoonotic diseases with a complex epidemiology and aetiology

Quantum Kinks: Solitons at Strong Coupling

We examine solitons in theories with heavy fermions. These ``quantum'' solitons differ dramatically from semi-classical (perturbative) solitons because fermion loop effects are important when the Yukawa coupling is strong. We focus on kinks in a $(1+1)$--dimensional $\phi^4$ theory coupled to fermions; a large-$N$ expansion is employed to treat the Yukawa coupling $g$ nonperturbatively. A local expression for the fermion vacuum energy is derived using the WKB approximation for the Dirac eigenvalues. We find that fermion loop corrections increase the energy of the kink and (for large $g$) decrease its size. For large $g$, the energy of the quantum kink is proportional to $g$, and its size scales as $1/g$, unlike the classical kink; we argue that these features are generic to quantum solitons in theories with strong Yukawa couplings. We also discuss the possible instability of fermions to solitons.Comment: 21 pp. + 2 figs., phyzzx, JHU-TIPAC-92001