New Mediterranean marine biodiversity records (December, 2013)

Based on recent biodiversity studies carried out in different parts of the Mediterranean, the following 19 species are included as new records on the floral or faunal lists of the relevant ecosystems: the green algae Penicillus capitatus (Maltese waters); the nemertean Am- phiporus allucens (Iberian Peninsula, Spain); the salp Salpa maxima (Syria); the opistobranchs Felimida britoi and Berghia coerulescens (Aegean Sea, Greece); the dusky shark Carcharhinus obscurus (central-west Mediterranean and Ionian Sea, Italy); Randall’s threadfin bream Nemipterus randalli, the broadbanded cardinalfish Apogon fasciatus and the goby Gobius kolombatovici (Aegean Sea, Turkey); the reticulated leatherjack Stephanolepis diaspros and the halacarid Agaue chevreuxi (Sea of Marmara, Turkey); the slimy liagora Ganon- ema farinosum, the yellowstripe barracuda Sphyraena chrysotaenia, the rayed pearl oyster Pinctada imbricata radiata and the Persian conch Conomurex persicus (south-eastern Kriti, Greece); the blenny Microlipophrys dalmatinus and the bastard grunt Pomadasys incisus (Ionian Sea, Italy); the brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus (north-eastern Levant, Turkey); the blue-crab Callinectes sapidus (Corfu, Ionian Sea, Greece). In addition, the findings of the following rare species improve currently available biogeographical knowledge: the oceanic pufferfish Lagocephalus lagocephalus (Malta); the yellow sea chub Kyphosus incisor (Almuñécar coast of Spain); the basking shark Cetorhinus maximus and the shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus (north-eastern Levant, Turkey).peer-reviewe

Dorsal Dartos Flap Prepared Before Urethroplasty, Less Bleeding of Operation: A New Perspective on Hypospadias

Objective: The benefits of preparing the dorsal dams flap before urethroplasty were investigated. Materials and methods: Patients with coronal, subcoronal, and distal penile hypopadias without severe cordee who underwent surgical repair between October 2016 and September 2020 were included in the study. Tubularized incised plate urethroplasty technique was applied to all patients. The patients were divided into two groups: In Group 1, the dorsal dartos flap was prepared after urethroplasty, which is the commonly used technique today, and sutured on the neourethra. In Group 2, the dorsal dartos flap was prepared before the post-degloving urethroplasty. The amount of bleeding, the duration of the surgery, and the complications between the two groups were recorded and compared. Results: Twenty-two patients who could be followed up for at least 3 months were examined. There were 10 patients in Group 1 and 12 patients in Group 2. A statistically significant difference was found between the amount of bleeding of the operation in the two groups. Duration of operation, hematoma, infection, skin necrosis, or glanular dehiscence were not observed in any patient. Conclusion: Preparing the dorsal dartos flap, before urethroplasty significantly reduces the amount of bleeding. This may be a new modification alternative in hypospadias surgery

AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF CURVATURE EFFECT ON THE LAMINATED COMPOSITES AT LOW VELOCITY IMPACT

The aim of this study is to investigate experimentally effects of curvature, fibre orientation, and ageing process on the low velocity impact behaviour of E-glass/epoxy composites. To investigate ageing effect, the half of the specimens have been left to dry at room condition and the other half was aged by the salt spray test. An apparatus was designed and produced to conduce impact tests of curved specimens. 20 J impact energy was used for experiments

Which is the best fixation method for lateral cortex disruption in the medial open wedge high tibial osteotomy? A biomechanical study

When perforining a medial opening wedge upper tibial osteotomy, a fracture into the lateral cortex can lead to loss of stability of the construct. The aim of this study was to assess different intra-operative techniques to overcome this problem, and test the stability under axial compression. Twenty eight calf tibias had a medial opening wedge osteotorny and lateral cortical fracture created and then were tested in four groups depending on how this fracture was fixed; none, a plate and screws, two staples, and a circular external fixator. Loss of medial height of the osteotomy line and lateral cortex micromotion was evaluated under maximal axial loading of 2500 N. No fixation had significantly inferior results compared with the other three types. The plate and screws and staples showed better results than circular external fixation in terms of preserving the medial height, whereas the plate and screws and circular extema[ fixator showed better results compared with staples in terins of lateral cortex stability. This study suggests that plate and screw fixation for lateral cortex disruption during the medial opening wedge upper tibial osteotomy has better stability under axial compression than staples or a circular external fixator. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

On Black Sea Anchovy and Its Fishery

Members of the Engraulidae (anchovies) fuel large fisheries around the globe, helping to fulfil demands for food. On the other hand, unpredictable catches that are a very common occurrence with respect to this family can have drastic consequences on economies of different countries. Like many other fisheries, the Black Sea anchovy fishery is a very good example of a fishery greatly affected by abrupt peaks and troughs in landings. In this work, the existing knowledge on the species' overwintering behavior and exploitation patterns along the south coast of the Black Sea is re-evaluated with respect to recent observations. The strong seasonality and very short fishing season are noted as the main characteristics regulating development of the fishery over time. Climatic variability may sometimes generate favorable overwintering conditions outside areas where anchovy aggregations are usually expected, resulting in a temporal shift in overwintering grounds. As most fishing activity takes place on these grounds, low catches in some years are more likely to have been due to fishing the wrong areas, rather than stock decline. This is particularly the case when geopolitical developments have reshaped the fishery, such as the collapse of the Soviet Union, whose fishing fleet once dominated the anchovy fishery. Such irregularities pose considerable management challenges, in particular stock management. Some significant harvest control strategies applied to various anchovy stocks are reviewed and discussed with respect to peculiarities of the Black Sea anchovy