Hagfish Conservation Needed in Taiwan

Hagfish is the most primitive craniate and is a sister group to vertebrates. The hagfish attracts the interest of fishery biologists and ichthyologists due to its commercial utilization (e.g., for leather products and food) and its diverse specializations. There are about 60 hagfish worldwide species including the shallow-water Eptatretineae and deep-sea Myxininae. Taiwan is a region with a high biodiversity of hagfish species. Eleven species in the genera Myxine, Eptatretus and Paramyxine have been recorded in this region, and they have been the subject of numerous scientific studies, focusing on topics including phylogeny, photo-response behavior, reproductive biology, heavy metal accumulation and muscle proteomics and metabolomics. Based on morphological and molecular evidence, we found that Paramyxine cheni and Eptatretus rubicundus are the most primitive species in the subfamily Eptatretineae, and their conservation deserves special attention. In addition, the overfishing of Taiwanese hagfish has also been noted and is becoming a challenging question with hagfish research in Taiwan

Spatiotemporal Variability and Sound Characterization in Silver Croaker Plagioscion squamosissimus (Sciaenidae) in the Central Amazon

Background The fish family Sciaenidae has numerous species that produce sounds with superfast muscles that vibrate the swimbladder. These muscles form post embryonically and undergo seasonal hypertrophy-atrophy cycles. The family has been the focus of numerous passive acoustic studies to localize spatial and temporal occurrence of spawning aggregations. Fishes produce disturbance calls when hand-held, and males form aggregations in late afternoon and produce advertisement calls to attract females for mating. Previous studies on five continents have been confined to temperate species. Here we examine the calls of the silver croakerPlagioscion squamosissimus, a freshwater equatorial species, which experiences constant photoperiod, minimal temperature variation but seasonal changes in water depth and color, pH and conductivity. Methods and Principal Findings Dissections indicate that sonic muscles are present exclusively in males and that muscles are thicker and redder during the mating season. Disturbance calls were recorded in hand-held fish during the low-water mating season and high-water period outside of the mating season. Advertisement calls were recorded from wild fish that formed aggregations in both periods but only during the mating season from fish in large cages. Disturbance calls consist of a series of short individual pulses in mature males. Advertisement calls start with single and paired pulses followed by greater amplitude multi-pulse bursts with higher peak frequencies than in disturbance calls. Advertisement-like calls also occur in aggregations during the off season, but bursts are shorter with fewer pulses. Conclusions and Significance Silver croaker produce complex advertisement calls that vary in amplitude, number of cycles per burst and burst duration of their calls. Unlike temperate sciaenids, which only call during the spawning season, silver croaker produce advertisement calls in both seasons. Sonic muscles are thinner, and bursts are shorter than at the spawning peak, but males still produce complex calls outside of the mating season

Mozart K.448 listening decreased seizure recurrence and epileptiform discharges in children with first unprovoked seizures: a randomized controlled study

BACKGROUND: Increasing numbers of reports show the beneficial effects of listening to Mozart music in decreasing epileptiform discharges as well as seizure frequency in epileptic children. There has been no effective method to reduce seizure recurrence after the first unprovoked seizure until now. In this study, we investigated the effect of listening to Mozart K.448 in reducing the seizure recurrence rate in children with first unprovoked seizures. METHODS: Forty-eight children who experienced their first unprovoked seizure with epileptiform discharges were included in the study. They were randomly placed into treatment (n = 24) and control (n = 24) groups. Children in the treatment group listened to Mozart K.448 daily before bedtime for at least six months. Two patients in the treatment group were excluded from analysis due to discontinuation intervention. Finally, forty-six patients were analyzed. Most of these patients (89.1%) were idiopathic in etiology. Seizure recurrence rates and reduction of epileptiform discharges were compared. RESULTS: The average follow-up durations in the treatment and control groups were 18.6 ± 6.6 and 20.1 ± 5.1 months, respectively. The seizure recurrence rate was estimated to be significantly lower in the treatment group than the control group over 24 months (37.2% vs. 76.8%, p = 0.0109). Significant decreases in epileptiform discharges were also observed after 1, 2, and 6 months of listening to Mozart K.448 when compared with EEGs before listening to music. There were no significant differences in gender, mentality, seizure type, and etiology between the recurrence and non-recurrence groups. CONCLUSIONS: Although the case number was limited and control music was not performed in this study, the study revealed that listening to Mozart K.448 reduced the seizure recurrence rate and epileptiform discharges in children with first unprovoked seizures, especially of idiopathic etiology. We believe that Mozart K.448 could be a promising alternative treatment in patients with first unprovoked seizures and abnormal EEGs. Further large-scaled study should be conducted to confirm the effect. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01892605, date: June-19-201

An Intermediate in the evolution of superfast sonic muscles

Background Intermediate forms in the evolution of new adaptations such as transitions from water to land and the evolution of flight are often poorly understood. Similarly, the evolution of superfast sonic muscles in fishes, often considered the fastest muscles in vertebrates, has been a mystery because slow bladder movement does not generate sound. Slow muscles that stretch the swimbladder and then produce sound during recoil have recently been discovered in ophidiiform fishes. Here we describe the disturbance call (produced when fish are held) and sonic mechanism in an unrelated perciform pearl perch (Glaucosomatidae) that represents an intermediate condition in the evolution of super-fast sonic muscles. Results The pearl perch disturbance call is a two-part sound produced by a fast sonic muscle that rapidly stretches the bladder and an antagonistic tendon-smooth muscle combination (part 1) causing the tendon and bladder to snap back (part 2) generating a higher-frequency and greater-amplitude pulse. The smooth muscle is confirmed by electron microscopy and protein analysis. To our knowledge smooth muscle attachment to a tendon is unknown in animals. Conclusion The pearl perch, an advanced perciform teleost unrelated to ophidiiform fishes, uses a slow type mechanism to produce the major portion of the sound pulse during recoil, but the swimbladder is stretched by a fast muscle. Similarities between the two unrelated lineages, suggest independent and convergent evolution of sonic muscles and indicate intermediate forms in the evolution of superfast muscles

Mozart K.545 Mimics Mozart K.448 in Reducing Epileptiform Discharges in Epileptic Children

Mozart K.448 has been shown to improve cognitive function, leading to what is known as the Mozart Effect. Our previous work reveals positive effects of Mozart K.448 in reducing epileptiform discharges in epileptic children. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Mozart K.545 and compared the effects with those of Mozart K.448 on epileptiform discharges in children with epilepsy. Thirty-nine epileptic children with epileptiform discharges were included in the study. They received electroencephalogram examinations before, during, and after listening to Mozart K.448 and K.545, one week apart, respectively. The frequencies of epileptiform discharges were compared. There was a significant decrease in the frequency of epileptiform discharges during and right after listening to Mozart K.448 and K.545 (reduced by 35.7±32.7% during Mozart K.448 and 30.3±44.4% after Mozart K.448; and 34.0±39.5% during Mozart K.545 and 31.8±39.2% after Mozart K.545). Spectrogrammatic analysis of the two pieces of music demonstrated that both share similar spectrogrammatic characteristics. Listening to Mozart K.448 and K.545 decreased the epileptiform discharges in epileptic children. This suggests that Mozart K.448 is not the only piece of music to have beneficial effects on children with epilepsy. Other music with lower harmonics may also decrease epileptiform discharges in epileptic children

Meadia Roseni, a New Synaphobranchid Eel From the Coast of Taiwan (Anguilloidea: Synaphobranchidae)

[[abstract]]A new species of synaphobranchid eel, Meadia roseni, was caught off the southern coast of Taiwan (22°21′05″N, 120°12′46″E) in depth of 1,020 m. It is characterized by a long lateral line (87.5% of standard length), well-developed rostral papillae and ridges, numerous vertebrae (200), forward location of anus (3/5 head length posterior to gill slits), long gill slits (13.3% of head length), and short snout (25.7% of head length). It differs greatly from M. abyssalis, the only species previously assigned to this genus

Re-description of Thysanozoon nigropapillosum (Polycladida: Pseudocerotidae) from the South China Sea, with observations on a novel pre-copulatory structure, sexual behaviour and diet

Jie, Wei-Ban, Kuo, Shih-Chieh, Mok, Hin-Kiu (2014): Re-description of Thysanozoon nigropapillosum (Polycladida: Pseudocerotidae) from the South China Sea, with observations on a novel pre-copulatory structure, sexual behaviour and diet. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 62: 764-770, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.535610