Endohelminths of a Snake Mackerel, Gempylus serpens (Trichiuroidea: Gempylidae), from the Gulf of Mexico

Endohelminths are reported from a female snake mackerel, Gempylus serpens (Trichiuroidea: Gempylidae), captured from a depth of 61 m in the Gulf of Mexico 140 km south of the mouth of Mobile Bay, AL, in August 1998. A diverse endohelminth parasite fauna was found: 29 plerocercoid type I tetraphyllideans from the lower intestine; 4 didymozoid metacercariae allocated to the collective group Monilicaecum and one didymozoid metacercaria of the collective group Torticaecum from the pyloric cecum; one juvenile Gonocerca phycidis from the stomach; and 5 larvae (L3 stage) comprising 3 species of Anisakis from the pyloric cecum. These nematodes were identified as species of Anisakis due to the presence of an oblong ventriculus lacking an appendix, no intestinal cecum or interlabia, 3 lips with dentigerous ridges, and an excretory pore located between the lateroventral lips. Differences in overall size and in the lengths of the ventriculus and esophagus in relation to total body length were used to distinguish the 3 species of Anisakis collected. Seven specimens of a possibly unnamed species of parasitic copepod representing Bomolochus infected the gill chamber. Stomach contents included 6 early-juvenile flatfish (Pleuronectiformes). All of the helminths are measured and illustrated, and for some of the parasites recovered, we are unaware of any reports from this host species

Evidence of Spawning Capable Tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) Off the Louisiana Coast

Despite the fact that the tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) is a popular sport fish in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM; Ault et al. 2008), little is known of its spawning behavior. Spawning M. atlanticus have never been documented and fertilized eggs have not been observed in situ (Ault et al. 2008). While it has been suggested that adult M. atlanticus move to deep water off the southwest coast of Florida and into the Yucatan Channel to spawn, the actual locations of spawning grounds remain unknown (Smith 1980, Crabtree et al. 1995, Crabtree et al. 1997). Distribution patterns of larvae (leptocephali) have served as the basis for most of what has been inferred about the spawning areas (Smith 1980, Crabtree et al. 1997). For example, leptocephali were collected from the southwestern GOM, the Yucatan Channel, and along the west coast of Florida, and based on the their size, it was assumed that M. atlanticus spawned in nearby areas (Smith 1980). Histological examination of gonads has also been used to estimate the location of M. atlanticus spawning habitat. Females collected from the Florida Keys and Boca Grande Pass off the west coast of Florida and contained ovaries with post ovulatory follicles (POF) and advanced vitellogenic oocytes, suggesting M. atlanticus spawn in this region from April through July (Crabtree et al. 1997). Examination of gonads from M. atlanticus caught off the coast of equatorial Ceara State, Brazil suggested that spawning occurs there from October through January (de Menezes and Paiva 1966). We report here the first evidence of spawning capable M. atlanticus off the coast of Louisiana in the northern GOM based on histological examination of gonads

Moderate hypothermia within 6 h of birth plus inhaled xenon versus moderate hypothermia alone after birth asphyxia (TOBY-Xe): a proof-of-concept, open-label, randomised controlled trial

Background Moderate cooling after birth asphyxia is associated with substantial reductions in death and disability, but additional therapies might provide further benefit. We assessed whether the addition of xenon gas, a promising novel therapy, after the initiation of hypothermia for birth asphyxia would result in further improvement. Methods Total Body hypothermia plus Xenon (TOBY-Xe) was a proof-of-concept, randomised, open-label, parallel-group trial done at four intensive-care neonatal units in the UK. Eligible infants were 36–43 weeks of gestational age, had signs of moderate to severe encephalopathy and moderately or severely abnormal background activity for at least 30 min or seizures as shown by amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG), and had one of the following: Apgar score of 5 or less 10 min after birth, continued need for resuscitation 10 min after birth, or acidosis within 1 h of birth. Participants were allocated in a 1:1 ratio by use of a secure web-based computer-generated randomisation sequence within 12 h of birth to cooling to a rectal temperature of 33·5°C for 72 h (standard treatment) or to cooling in combination with 30% inhaled xenon for 24 h started immediately after randomisation. The primary outcomes were reduction in lactate to N-acetyl aspartate ratio in the thalamus and in preserved fractional anisotropy in the posterior limb of the internal capsule, measured with magnetic resonance spectroscopy and MRI, respectively, within 15 days of birth. The investigator assessing these outcomes was masked to allocation. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00934700, and with ISRCTN, as ISRCTN08886155. Findings The study was done from Jan 31, 2012, to Sept 30, 2014. We enrolled 92 infants, 46 of whom were randomly assigned to cooling only and 46 to xenon plus cooling. 37 infants in the cooling only group and 41 in the cooling plus xenon group underwent magnetic resonance assessments and were included in the analysis of the primary outcomes. We noted no significant differences in lactate to N-acetyl aspartate ratio in the thalamus (geometric mean ratio 1·09, 95% CI 0·90 to 1·32) or fractional anisotropy (mean difference −0·01, 95% CI −0·03 to 0·02) in the posterior limb of the internal capsule between the two groups. Nine infants died in the cooling group and 11 in the xenon group. Two adverse events were reported in the xenon group: subcutaneous fat necrosis and transient desaturation during the MRI. No serious adverse events were recorded. Interpretation Administration of xenon within the delayed timeframe used in this trial is feasible and apparently safe, but is unlikely to enhance the neuroprotective effect of cooling after birth asphyxia

Partnership, ownership and control: the impact of corporate governance on employment relations

Prevailing patterns of dispersed share ownership and rules of corporate governance for UK listed companies appear to constrain the ability of managers to make credible, long-term commitments to employees of the kind needed to foster effective labour-management partnerships. We present case study evidence which suggests that such partnerships can nevertheless emerge where product market conditions and the regulatory environment favour a stakeholder orientation. Proactive and mature partnerships may also be sustained where the board takes a strategic approach to mediating between the claims of different stakeholder groups, institutional investors are prepared to take a long-term view of their holdings, and strong and independent trade unions are in a position to facilitate organisational change

Quality and productivity in aircraft sales: why the welfare costs of fire sales are overstated

The paper measures the inefficiencies associated with fire sales in the airlines industry. We find evidence that fire sale discounts have been significantly overstated owing to under-maintenance and quality impairment of aircraft sold by distressed airlines. Using productivity data, the paper provides evidence that the bankruptcy process allows reallocation of distressed aircraft from low productivity to high productivity operators, suggesting a bankruptcy process that has a cleansing effect on the industry, rather than one of misallocation. The inclusion of the quality adjustment significantly reduces fire sale discounts on the sale of distressed aircraft, and the differences between Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 sales largely disappear. The results suggest that the welfare costs associated with fire sales might be significantly lower than those documented in prior studies

The Limits of Coase: A Study of Financial Distress in the Shipping Industry

A generally accepted view is that sophisticated bankruptcy procedures are required to mitigate coordination failures and fire sale discounts arising from financial distress. In this paper, we provide empirical evidence addressing this issue using the shipping industry, where the resolution of distress is largely distanced from sovereign bankruptcy procedures. We find that signifinant institutional and contractual innovations have strengthened the rights of creditors thereby reducing the direct cost of financial distress, for example by lowering coordination failures and reducing fire sale discounts. However, those innovations may have come at a cost to other stakeholders, including crew, port authorities, and the environment, leading to oil spills and the abandonment of under-maintained low valued ships

Specialization Does Not Predict Individual Efficiency in an Ant

The ecological success of social insects is often attributed to an increase in efficiency achieved through division of labor between workers in a colony. Much research has therefore focused on the mechanism by which a division of labor is implemented, i.e., on how tasks are allocated to workers. However, the important assumption that specialists are indeed more efficient at their work than generalist individuals—the “Jack-of-all-trades is master of none” hypothesis—has rarely been tested. Here, I quantify worker efficiency, measured as work completed per time, in four different tasks in the ant Temnothorax albipennis: honey and protein foraging, collection of nest-building material, and brood transports in a colony emigration. I show that individual efficiency is not predicted by how specialized workers were on the respective task. Worker efficiency is also not consistently predicted by that worker's overall activity or delay to begin the task. Even when only the worker's rank relative to nestmates in the same colony was used, specialization did not predict efficiency in three out of the four tasks, and more specialized workers actually performed worse than others in the fourth task (collection of sand grains). I also show that the above relationships, as well as median individual efficiency, do not change with colony size. My results demonstrate that in an ant species without morphologically differentiated worker castes, workers may nevertheless differ in their ability to perform different tasks. Surprisingly, this variation is not utilized by the colony—worker allocation to tasks is unrelated to their ability to perform them. What, then, are the adaptive benefits of behavioral specialization, and why do workers choose tasks without regard for whether they can perform them well? We are still far from an understanding of the adaptive benefits of division of labor in social insects