Book Reviews

Book Review 1Book Title: The Springbok Antidorcas marsupialis (Zimmerman, 1780)Book Authors: J.D. Skinner & G.N. LouwTransvaal Museum Monograph No.1 0, 1996. 49 pp. ISBN 0 907990 169.Book Review 2Book Title: Ecomorphology of fishesBook Authors: Luczkovich, J.J., Motta, P.J., Norton, S.F. & Liem, K.F. (Editors)Dordrecht: Kluwer, 1995. 312 pp.. ISBN 0 7923 3744 1Book Review 3Book Title: Africa: a natural historyBook Authors: Chris & Tilde StuartSouthern Book Publishers, 1995. Price: R130.00

A critical appraisal of appendage disparity and homology in fishes

Fishes are both extremely diverse and morphologically disparate. Part of this disparity can be observed in the numerous possible fin configurations that may differ in terms of the number of fins as well as fin shapes, sizes and relative positions on the body. Here, we thoroughly review the major patterns of disparity in fin configurations for each major group of fishes and discuss how median and paired fin homologies have been interpreted over time. When taking into account the entire span of fish diversity, including both extant and fossil taxa, the disparity in fin morphologies greatly complicates inferring homologies for individual fins. Given the phylogenetic scope of this review, structural and topological criteria appear to be the most useful indicators of fin identity. We further suggest that it may be advantageous to consider some of these fin homologies as nested within the larger framework of homologous fin‐forming morphogenetic fields. We also discuss scenarios of appendage evolution and suggest that modularity may have played a key role in appendage disparification. Fin modules re‐expressed within the boundaries of fin‐forming fields could explain how some fins may have evolved numerous times independently in separate lineages (e.g., adipose fin), or how new fins may have evolved over time (e.g., anterior and posterior dorsal fins, pectoral and pelvic fins). We favour an evolutionary scenario whereby median appendages appeared from a unique field of competence first positioned throughout the dorsal and ventral midlines, which was then redeployed laterally leading to paired appendages.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151971/1/faf12402_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151971/2/faf12402.pd

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707

2012 ACCF/AHA/ACP/AATS/PCNA/SCAI/STS guideline for the diagnosis and management of patients with stable ischemic heart disease

The recommendations listed in this document are, whenever possible, evidence based. An extensive evidence review was conducted as the document was compiled through December 2008. Repeated literature searches were performed by the guideline development staff and writing committee members as new issues were considered. New clinical trials published in peer-reviewed journals and articles through December 2011 were also reviewed and incorporated when relevant. Furthermore, because of the extended development time period for this guideline, peer review comments indicated that the sections focused on imaging technologies required additional updating, which occurred during 2011. Therefore, the evidence review for the imaging sections includes published literature through December 2011

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Length-weight relationships of mesopelagic fishes from the equatorial and tropical Atlantic waters: influence of environment and body shape

11 pages, 2 figures, 4 tables, supporting information https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14307Length–weight relationships (LWRs) were estimated for 36 mesopelagic fish species collected from the equatorial and tropical Atlantic encompassing several oceanographic regions: oligotrophic, equatorial, Cape Blanc, Cape Verde and the Canary Islands. The sample was composed of myctophids (25 species), gonostomatids (5), sternoptychids (3), stomiids (2) and phosichthyids (1). The species were clustered according to body shape: “short‐deep” (sternoptychids), “elongate” (gonostomatids, stomiids and some phosichthyids) and “fusiform” (myctophids and some phosichthyids). Three types of weight and LWRs were considered: wet weight (WW ), eviscerated wet weight (eWW ) and eviscerated dry weight (eDW ). The study demonstrated that most species present a positive allometric growth, independent of the weight used. However, the allometric value varied in 40–50% of species depending on the type of weight considered. Significant variations linked to fish morphology were found in the relationship between the slope and intercept of the LWR equation. Significant differences were also noted in the water content linked to fish body shape. Based on the distributions of several species we compare their fitness between oceanographic regions using the relative condition factor (K rel). Except for Diaphus brachycephalus (oligotrophic vs. equatorial waters) and Lampanyctus alatus (equatorial, Cape Blanc, Cape Verde and the Canary Islands), no regional significant differences were observed in the species analysedThis research was sponsored by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad through the project CTM2012-39587-C04-03With the funding support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), of the Spanish Research Agency (AEI)Peer reviewe

Feeding patterns of transforming and juvenile myctophids that migrate into neustonic layer

Contribution to the Theme Section Latest advances in research on fish early life stages.-- 14 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables, supplementary material https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13234Adult and juvenile myctophids feed at night in the epipelagic zone (<200 m) and are more dispersed in the mesopelagic zone (200-1000 m) during the daylight hours. In contrast, larvae inhabit the upper 200 m throughout a 24 h period and have daylight feeding patterns. Transforming stages occur both at the surface and in the mesopelagic zone and show less-defined feeding patterns. In this study, we analysed the trophic ecology of transforming and juvenile stages of 4 myctophids that occupy the neustonic layers (first 0-20 cm of the water column) during their nightly vertical migrations: Dasyscopelus asper, Gonichthys cocco, Myctophum affine, and M. nitidulum. Day and night neuston samples were collected across the equatorial and tropical Atlantic in April 2015. Transforming and juvenile stages occurred at night in the neuston, where they fed, but were absent from this layer during the day. The highest prey ingestion was observed between 01:00 and 04:00 h (UTC). Feeding incidence and the number of prey ingested increased from transformation stages to juvenile stages. Although the maximum prey size increased with fish body length, there was no significant increasing trend in mean prey sizes, but a great variability in the sizes of consumed prey. Diets of the 4 species mainly comprised a variety of copepod genera, usually dominated by Oncaea species. There was no evidence of resource partitioning among the 4 myctophid species. Estimates of daily feeding rations, based on the relationship between carbon content per gut and carbon content of fish body, throughout the night feeding period, showed that these species in these early stages ingested between 0.43 and 5.78% of their body carbon weight daily. We suggest that the occurrence and feeding of these early stages in the neuston may contribute to reducing trophic competition between migrating myctophids by space segregationThe research was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación through project CTM2012-39587-C04-03With the funding support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), of the Spanish Research Agency (AEI)Peer reviewe

Feeding ecology of early life stages of mesopelagic fishes in the equatorial and tropical Atlantic

17 pages, 9 figures, 5 tablesWe analysed the trophic ecology of the early ontogenetic stages of six mesopelagic fish species (Bathylagoides argyrogaster, Argyropelecus sladeni, Sternoptyx diaphana, Diaphus vanhoeffeni, Hygophum macrochir, and Myctophum affine), which have different morphologies, vertical distributions, and taxonomic affiliations. The larvae and transforming stages of the sternoptychids fed both during the day and at night. However, larvae of the other species fed during the day, as they apparently rely on light for prey capture. The transforming stages of myctophids showed a similar daylight feeding pattern to their larvae, but in D. vanhoeffeni both day and night feeding was evident, thereby indicating the progressive change toward the adult nocturnal feeding pattern. The number of prey and their maximum sizes were linked to predator gut morphology and gape size. Although the maximum prey size increased with predator development, postflexion larvae and transforming stages also preyed on small items, so that the trophic niche breath did not show evidence of specialization. In all the species, copepods dominated the larval diet, but the transforming stages were characterized by increasing diet diversity. Despite the poor development of these early stages, Chesson’s selectivity index calculated for larvae and transforming stages showed positive selection for particular preyT. Contreras acknowledges the predoctoral fellowship support from Conicyt-Becas Chile. This research was funded by project CTM2012-39587-C04-03Peer Reviewe

Identification guide to the mesopelagic fishes of the central and south east Atlantic Ocean

publishedVersio

Trophic position of lanternfishes (Pisces: Myctophidae) of the tropical and equatorial Atlantic estimated using stable isotopes

13 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, supplementary data https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsx243Lanternfishes (Myctophidae) constitute the most important component of the daily vertically migrating mesopelagic fish community. This research addresses the estimation of the trophic position and diet of myctophids using stable isotope analyses. Fishes were collected across the central Atlantic, from a very productive zone influenced by the Mauritanian upwelling to the western oligotrophic equatorial waters. The survey also encompassed a zone of low oxygen concentration in the mesopelagic layers. Determinations of δ13C and δ15N values were made on the 20 most frequent and abundant myctophids, from small-sized species (e.g. Notolychnus valdivae) to larger ones (e.g. Myctophum punctatum). Isotope analyses on the seston and several plankton groups were also performed to assess the influence of zonal differences in trophic position (TP) calculations, and to use as food sources in diet estimations. Myctophids displayed a narrow range of trophic positions, being greater than 2 and less than 4, except for N. valdiviae (TP = 1.7). Comparisons of diets estimated through an isotopic mixing model differentiated the smallest species, with a strong seston signature (Diogenichthys atlanticus and N. valdiviae), from the Diaphus species of medium sizes, (D. brachycephalus, D. holti, and D. rafinesquii), which feed on prey of higher TP valuesThis research has been funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad through projects CTM2012-39587-C04 and CTM2016-78853-RPeer Reviewe