The morphology and sculpture of ossicles in the Cyclopteridae and Liparidae (Teleostei) of the Baltic Sea

Small to very small bones (ossicles) in one species each of the families Cyclopteridae and Liparidae (Cottiformes) of the Baltic Sea are described and for the first time illustrated with SEM images. These ossicles, mostly of dermal origin, include dermal platelets, scutes, tubercles, prickles and sensory line segments. This work was undertaken to reveal characteristics of the morphology, sculpture and ultrasculpture of these small ossicles that could be useful as additional features in taxonomy and systematics, in a manner similar to their use in fossil material. The scutes and tubercles of the cyclopterid Cyclopterus lumpus Linnaeus are built of small denticles, each having its own cavity viscerally. The thumbtack prickles of the liparid Liparis liparis (Linnaeus) have a tiny spinule on a porous basal plate; the small size of the prickles seems to be related to their occurrence in the exceptionally thin skin, to an adaptation for minimizing weight and/or metabolic cost and possibly to their evolution from isolated ctenii no longer attached to the scale plates of ctenoid scales. Nodular ultrasculpture was found on the tubercle denticles of C.lumpus, resembling some kinds of ultrasculpture seen in Palaeozoic vertebrates. Samples from the posterior part of the head of C. lumpus and the anterior part of the trunk of L. liparis each contained an ossified sensory line segment with distinct characteristics, as also reported in other cottoids

The morphology and sculpture of ossicles in the Cottidae (Teleostei) of the Baltic Sea

Small to very small ossified structures (ossicles) such as cephalic horns, dermal tubercles, fin-ray rods, lateral-line canal segments, branchial tooth plates and gill-raker tubercles of three species of the teleostean fish family Cottidae inhabiting the Baltic Sea are described and for the first time illustrated with SEM images, with emphasis on their microscopic external features. The morphology and sculpture of these small ossicles notably differ in the three genera, but differences can also occur between males and females, as documented here in Myoxocephalus scorpius (Linnaeus). The detailed features of such ossicles are potentially useful for taxonomic identification in sea-floor sediments or gut contents, in a manner similar to their use in many modern and fossil fishes, and may also prove useful as phylogenetically important characters at generic and familial levels

The economic performance of the EU fishing fleet during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent public health interventions have depressed demand and disrupted supply chains for many fishing businesses. This paper provides an analysis of the COVID-19 impacts on the profitability of the EU fishing fleets. Nowcasting techniques were used to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic performance for the EU fishing fleet in 2020 and 2021. Our results show that the economic impact of COVID-19 on this sector was smaller than initially expected and overall profits remained positive. This was in part due to low fuel prices that reduced operating costs of fishing, and the early response from governments to support the sector. The results vary by fishing fleet, revealing that small-scale fleets and the fleets in the Mediterranean and Black seas have been more impacted than large-scale fleets and the fleets in the Northeast Atlantic

The economic performance of the EU fishing fleet during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent public health interventions have depressed demand and disrupted supply chains for many fishing businesses. This paper provides an analysis of the COVID-19 impacts on the profitability of the EU fishing fleets. Nowcasting techniques were used to estimate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic performance for the EU fishing fleet in 2020 and 2021. Our results show that the economic impact of COVID-19 on this sector was smaller than initially expected and overall profits remained positive. This was in part due to low fuel prices that reduced operating costs of fishing, and the early response from governments to support the sector. The results vary by fishing fleet, revealing that small-scale fleets and the fleets in the Mediterranean and Black seas have been more impacted than large-scale fleets and the fleets in the Northeast Atlantic

Somatic mosaicism and common genetic variation contribute to the risk of very-early-onset inflammatory bowel disease

Very-early-onset inflammatory bowel disease (VEO-IBD) is a heterogeneous phenotype associated with a spectrum of rare Mendelian disorders. Here, we perform whole-exome-sequencing and genome-wide genotyping in 145 patients (median age-at-diagnosis of 3.5 years), in whom no Mendelian disorders were clinically suspected. In five patients we detect a primary immunodeficiency or enteropathy, with clinical consequences (XIAP, CYBA, SH2D1A, PCSK1). We also present a case study of a VEO-IBD patient with a mosaic de novo, pathogenic allele in CYBB. The mutation is present in ~70% of phagocytes and sufficient to result in defective bacterial handling but not life-threatening infections. Finally, we show that VEO-IBD patients have, on average, higher IBD polygenic risk scores than population controls (99 patients and 18,780 controls; P < 4 × 10-10), and replicate this finding in an independent cohort of VEO-IBD cases and controls (117 patients and 2,603 controls; P < 5 × 10-10). This discovery indicates that a polygenic component operates in VEO-IBD pathogenesis