Short communication: Serranus cabrilla (Linnaeus, 1758) (Perciformes, Serranidae) a new host record for Nerocila orbigyni (Guérin-Mèneville, 1832) (Isopoda, Cymothoidae)

Cymothoids are among the largest parasites of fishes in the world. These isopods associate with many commercially important fish species and attach themselves to the body or fins of the fishes. The isopods cause significant economic losses to fisheries by killing, stunting, or damaging these fishes. ... The serranid fish, Serranus cabrilla (Linnaeus, 1758) (the comber) is a commercial species and has a wide distribution (north Atlantic Sea [sic], North Sea and Mediterranean Sea). The comber is a demersal species found on rocks, and on sandy and muddy bottoms at depths of 1-500 [meters]. This is the main species captured by trawlers fishing in the Aegean Sea of the Turkish coast. N. orbignyi has been determined for the first time on S. cabrilla from the Turkish coasts within the frame of the present study

Soft-bottom decapod and stomatopod crustaceans of Northern Cyprus coast

The first study on decapod and stomatopod crustacean fauna of Cyprus was carried out by Heller (1863). According to research studies, until recently 156 species of decapods are recorded (47 Natantia, 12 Macrura Reptantia, 24 Anomura, 73 Brachyura) (Kocataş et al., 2001; Doğan et al., 2008; Christodoulou et al., 2009). Cyprus is the only island in Levantine Basin and is surrounded by waters of Levantine Basin, eastern Mediterranean, which are characterized by higher temperature and salinity, in comparison to the rest of Mediterranean (Kocataş et al., 2001). Recently, one study was done on the nearshore soft bottom macrofauna around Cyprus (Hadjichristophorou et al., 1997). They analysed macrobenthic fauna of soft-bottoms in Cyprus coasts, and reported 429 species with 73 Crustacea (71 Decapods and 2 Stomatopods)

ADEA Claimant Can Retain Severance Payments and Sue Former Employer

Former employees can maintain claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) without first repaying the consideration received for an invalid release of claims. The Supreme Court\u27s pronouncement, Oubre v. Entergy Operations, Inc., 1988 U.S. Lexis 646 (Jan. 26, 1998), may change the way many employers negotiate and execute severance packages and settlements with terminated employees

Variants of OTOF and PJVK Genes in Chinese Patients with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder

BACKGROUND: Mutations in OTOF and PJVK genes cause DFNB9 and DFNB59 types of hearing loss, respectively. The patients carrying pathogenic mutations in either of these genes may show the typical phenotype of auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD). The aim of the present study was to identify OTOF and PJVK mutations in sporadic ANSD patients. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A total of 76 unrelated Chinese non-syndromic ANSD patients were sequenced on the gene OTOF and PJVK exon by exon. Variants were valued in 105 controls with normal hearing to verify the carrying rate. We identified one pathogenic mutation (c.1194T>A) and three novel, possibly pathogenic, variants (c.3570+2T>C, c.4023+1 G>A, and c.1102G>A) in the OTOF gene, and one novel, possibly pathogenic, variant (c.548G>A) in PJVK. Moreover, we found three novel missense mutations within the exons of OTOF. CONCLUSIONS: As we identified 4 and 1 possible pathogenic variants of the OTOF gene and the PJVK gene, respectively, we believe that screening in these genes are important in sporadic ANSD patients. The pathogenicity of these novel mutations needs further study because of their single heterozygous nature. Knowledge on the mutation spectra of these genes in Chinese would be beneficial in understanding the genetic character of this worldwide disease

Metabolic responses to high pCO2 conditions at a CO2 vent site in juveniles of a marine isopod species assemblage

We are starting to understand the relationship between metabolic rate responses and species' ability to respond to exposure to high pCO2. However, most of our knowledge has come from investigations of single species. The examination of metabolic responses of closely related species with differing distributions around natural elevated CO2 areas may be useful to inform our understanding of their adaptive significance. Furthermore, little is known about the physiological responses of marine invertebrate juveniles to high pCO2, despite the fact they are known to be sensitive to other stressors, often acting as bottlenecks for future species success. We conducted an in situ transplant experiment using juveniles of isopods found living inside and around a high pCO2 vent (Ischia, Italy): the CO2 'tolerant' Dynamene bifida and 'sensitive' Cymodoce truncata and Dynamene torelliae. This allowed us to test for any generality of the hypothesis that pCO2 sensitive marine invertebrates may be those that experience trade-offs between energy metabolism and cellular homoeostasis under high pCO2 conditions. Both sensitive species were able to maintain their energy metabolism under high pCO2 conditions, but in C. truncata this may occur at the expense of [carbonic anhydrase], confirming our hypothesis. By comparison, the tolerant D. bifida appeared metabolically well adapted to high pCO2, being able to upregulate ATP production without recourse to anaerobiosis. These isopods are important keystone species; however, given they differ in their metabolic responses to future pCO2, shifts in the structure of the marine ecosystems they inhabit may be expected under future ocean acidification conditions