What’s on the (publication fee) menu, who pays the bill and what should be the venue?

We address the cost of access to knowledge and its ethical implications in ‘true’, ‘pseudo’ and ‘hybrid’ OA journals

Age at maturity of Mediterranean marine fishes

In this review we collected data on the age at maturity (tm) and maximum reported age (tmax) for 235 stocks of Mediterranean marine fishes, belonging to 82 species, 37 families, 12 orders and 2 classes (Actinopterygii and Elasmobranchii). Among Actinopterygii (mean tm ± SD = 2.20 ± 1.43 y, n = 215), tm ranged from 0.3 y, for the common goby Pomatoschistus microps, to 12 y, for dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus, while among Elasmobranchii (mean tm ± SD = 5.94 ± 2.47 y, n = 20), tm ranged between 2.7 y, for brown ray Raja miraletus, and 12 y for picked dogfish Squalus acanthias. Overall, the tmax ranged between 1 y, for transparent goby Aphia minuta, and 70 y, for wreckfish Polyprion americanus. The mean tmax of Actinopterygii (tmax ± SD = 10.14 ± 9.42 y) was lower than that of Elasmobranchii (tmax ± SD = 14.05 ± 8.47 y). The tm exhibited a strong positive linear relation with tmax for both Actinopterygii (logtm = 0.58 ´ logtmax – 0.25, r2 = 0.51, P < 0.001) and Elasmobranchii (logtm = 0.67 ´ logtmax – 0.006, r2 = 0.51, P = 0.007). The mean tm/tmax did not differ significantly with sex within Actinopterygii (ANOVA: F = 0.27, P = 0.60, n = 90; females: mean ± SD = 0.276 ± 0.143; males: mean ± SD = 0.265 ± 0.138) and Elasmobranchii (ANOVA: F = 1.44, P = 0.25, n = 10; females: mean ± SD = 0.499 ± 0.166; males: mean ± SD = 0.418 ± 0.133). Finally, the dimensionless ratio tm/tmax was significantly lower (ANOVA: F = 31.04, P < 0.001) for Actinopterygii (mean ± SD = 0.270 ± 0.135, n = 180) than for Elasmobranchii, (mean ± SD = 0.458 ± 0.152, n = 20), when stocks with combined sexes were excluded from the analysis

Editorial note on weight–length relations of fishes

Weight-length relations of fishes are useful for estimation of biomass from length observations, e.g., in fisheries or conservation research. Here we provide some guidance to authors of such papers, in order to facilitate the publication and review process

Editorial note on reproductive biology of fishes

Fish reproductive biology (onset and duration of spawning, sex ratio, maturity stages, length and age at maturity, and fecundity) is important in fisheries research, stock assessment, and management. In this editorial note, we provide some criteria and recommendations on issues of fish reproductive biology, which may be useful in research planning, data analysis and presentation, as well as in manuscript preparation

Traffic Sign Recognition based on Synthesised Training Data

To deal with the richness in visual appearance variation found in real-world data, we propose to synthesise training data capturing these differences for traffic sign recognition. The use of synthetic training data, created from road traffic sign templates, allows overcoming the problems of existing traffic sing recognition databases, which are only subject to specific sets of road signs found explicitly in countries or regions. This approach is used for generating a database of synthesised images depicting traffic signs under different view-light conditions and rotations, in order to simulate the complexity of real-world scenarios. With our synthesised data and a robust end-to-end Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), we propose a data-driven, traffic sign recognition system that can achieve not only high recognition accuracy, but also high computational efficiency in both training and recognition processes

A Bayesian population model to estimate changes in the stock size in data poor cases using Mediterranean bogue (Boops boops) and picarel (Spicara smaris) as an example

The paper presents an effort to build a biologically realistic, age structured Bayesian model for the stock assessment of data poor fisheries where only aggregated catch data is available. The model is built using prior information from other areas and ecologically or taxonomically similar species. The modeling approach is tested with data poor fisheries on the Cyclades islands in Greek archipelago. The two most important species in the area are selected: bogue (Boops boops) and picarel (Spicara smaris). Both are hermaphroditic. The only data available is the total catch from 1950 to 2010. Information was gathered about natural mortality, recruitment, growth, body size, fecundity, and sex ratio. There were significant problems in finding reliable prior information and a uniform prior was used for fishing mortality. The models at their present stage are not used to give management advice. The biological characteristics of the species in that area should be further studied. However, the posteriors of biological parameters reflect the best available knowledge on these species and they could be used in future studies or in simpler biomass dynamics models as priors

Trammel net catch species composition, catch rates and metiers in southern European waters: A multivariate approach

We identified and quantified the effect of season, depth, and inner and outer panel mesh size on the trammel net catch species composition and catch rates in four southern European areas (Northeast Atlantic: Basque Country, Spain; Algarve, Portugal; Gulf of Cadiz, Spain; Mediterranean: Cyclades, Greece), all of which are characterised by important trammel net fisheries. In each area, we conducted, in 1999-2000, seasonal, experimental fishing trials at various depths with trammel nets of six different inner/outer panel mesh combinations (i.e., two large outer panel meshes and three small inner panel meshes). Overall, our study covered some of the most commonly used inner panel mesh sizes, ranging from 40 to 140 mm (stretched). We analysed the species composition and catch rates of the different inner/outer panel combinations with regression, multivariate analysis (cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling) and other 'community' techniques (number of species, dominance curves). All our analyses indicated that the outer panel mesh sizes used in the present study did not significantly affect the catch characteristics in terms of number of species, catch rates and species composition. Multivariate analyses and seasonal dominance plots indicated that in Basque, Algarve and Cyclades waters, where sampling covered wide depth ranges, both season and depth strongly affected catch species compositions. For the Gulf of Cadiz, where sampling was restricted to depths 10-30 m, season was the only factor affecting catch species composition and thus group formation. In contrast, the inner panel mesh size did not generally affect multidimensional group formation in all areas but affected the dominance of the species caught in the Algarve and the Gulf of Cadiz. Multivariate analyses also revealed 11 different metiers (i.e., season-depth-species-inner panel mesh size combinations) in the four areas. This clearly indicated the existence of trammel net 'hot spots', which represent essential habitats (e.g., spawning, nursery or wintering grounds) of the life history of the targeted and associated species. The number of specimens caught declined significantly with inner panel mesh size in all areas. We attributed this to the exponential decline in abundance with size, both within- and between-species. In contrast, the number of species caught in each area was not related to the inner mesh size. This was unexpected and might be a consequence of the wide size-selective range of trammel nets. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved

Stochastic Resonance Reduces Sway and Gait Variability in Individuals With Unilateral Transtibial Amputation: A Pilot Study

Sub-threshold (imperceptible) vibration, applied to parts of the body, impacts how people move and perceive our world. Could this idea help someone who has lost part of their limb? Sub-threshold vibration was applied to the thigh of the affected limb of 20 people with unilateral transtibial amputation. Vibration conditions tested included two noise structures: pink and white. Center of pressure (COP) excursion (range and root-mean-square displacements) during quiet standing, and speed and spatial stride measures (mean and standard deviations of step length and width) during walking were assessed. Pink noise vibration decreased COP displacements in standing, and white noise vibration decreased sound limb step length standard deviation in walking. Sub-threshold vibration positively impacted aspects of both posture and gait; however, different noise structures had different effects. The current study represents foundational work in understanding the potential benefits of incorporating stochastic resonance as an intervention for individuals with amputation

Linear and Nonlinear Measures of Postural Control in a Toddler With Cerebral Palsy: Brief Report

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe changes in linear and nonlinear measures of postural control along with motor outcomes in a young child with cerebral palsy. Summary of Key Points: Posturography in sitting and standing, the Gross Motor Function Measure-66 (GMFM-66), and the Early Clinical Assessment of Balance (ECAB) were performed prior to, during, and after physical therapy. The child demonstrated independent sitting throughout the study and developed independent standing during the study. He made improvements in the GMFM-66 and ECAB throughout the study. Higher average values were found in all linear and nonlinear measures in standing when compared to sitting, which may indicate less predictable movement due to less experience with standing. Recommendations for Clinical Practice: Greater variability and lower predictability in postural control likely reflect early stages of skill acquisition. Research is needed to understand the optimal levels of movement variability and predictability