Resurrection of the genus Licornia for Scrupocellaria jolloisii (Bryozoa) and related species, with documentation of L. jolloisii as a non-indigenous species in the western Atlantic

Recent studies of the large cheilostome bryozoan genus Scrupocellaria have shown a greater degree of taxonomically informative morphological variation in zooids, opesia, and polymorphic structures than previously recognized. Only one subgenus has been named within the genus, Retiscrupocellaria d'Hondt, 1988, erected for Scrupocellaria jolloisii. In this work we further analyse S. jolloisii and its related species, resurrecting an earlier genus name, Licornia van Beneden, 1850 for Licornia jolloisii, and nine relatives, L. annectens, L. cervicornis, L. cyclostoma, L. diadema, L. ferox, L. gaspari, L. longispinosa, L. macropora, and L. prolata. Licornia jolloisii was originally described from the Red Sea, and most species of the genus occur in the Indo-Pacific region. The species, however, has now been found in the Western Atlantic, in the Florida Keys, US, and in Bahia de Todos Santos, Brazil.

Raccontare, resistere. La denuncia tra novela negra e testimonio. Affinita' e differenze in tre scrittori ispanoamericani: Serna, Walsh e Bolaño.

La tesi è incentrata sui recenti sviluppi della narrativa testimoniale dell’America Latina. Verranno presi in considerazione gli ultimi contributi critici dedicati al rapporto tra finzione e realtà in letteratura, e sarà dato spazio alla costruzione narrativa della realtà e alla nascita del testimonio, come genere a sé, che raccoglie alcune delle principali opere latinoamericane degli ultimi quaranta anni. Nello specifico, l’indagine riguarderà la rappresentazione letteraria della violenza nella narrativa di denuncia di tre autori ispoanoamericani: la novela negra di Enrique Serna, il poliziesco testimoniale di Rodolfo Walsh e la scrittura estrema di Roberto Bolaño. Obiettivo della ricerca è capire in che modo i tre scrittori hanno raccontato le loro verità alternative, provando a salvaguardare la memoria, e quali effetti hanno ottenuto. Verranno analizzate non solo le tematiche affrontate, facendo riferimento quindi al contesto storico, politico e sociale al quale si rifanno, ma saranno illustrate anche le differenti tecniche di costruzione del romanzo, dell’intreccio e della trama, e verrà isolato il ruolo del testimone (diretto o indiretto) e delle fonti, per cogliere le differenze ma anche le similitudini stilistiche e narrative di ognuna delle opere. Più in generale, dimostreremo come e quanto i testi di questi autori costituiscano in realtà una forte critica al sistema imperante e diano voce alle categorie sociali altrimenti emarginate.

A two year study of verified spider bites in Switzerland and a review of the European spider bite literature

During a two-year study, all spider bites recorded by Swiss primary care physicians were reported to the Swiss Toxicological Information Centre and all collected spiders were identified. A total of 14 verified spider bites were recorded, involving five species from four families: Zoropsis spinimana (five cases), Cheiracanthium punctorium (four cases), Tegenaria atrica (three cases) and one case of Malthonica ferruginea (¼ Tegenaria ferruginea) (both Agelenidae), and one case of Amaurobius ferox (Amaurobiidae). The bites of all spider species produced relatively mild symptoms. Local symptoms such as moderate to severe pain, circumscribed swelling and redness were the only effects in most cases. Systemic symptoms were rare. There was complete recovery in all cases and all lesions healed completely without further damage or secondary disorders. Following a review of the European spider bite literature, the number of spider species capable of biting humans in Europe is considered to be much larger than could be concluded from this study. Most spider bites are restricted to species living synanthropically, thus promoted by climate and habitat change. The annual frequency of spider bites in Switzerland is estimated at 10 – 100 bites per million inhabitants, but this is predicted to increase due to the continuous arrival of new alien species, many of which have a high potential to establish in urban areas

Swiss prospective study on spider bites

Knowledge of spider bites in Central Europe derives mainly from anecdotal case presentations; therefore we aimed to collect cases systematically. From June 2011 to November 2012 we prospectively collected 17 cases of alleged spider bites, and together with two spontaneous notifications later on, our database totaled 19 cases. Among them, eight cases could be verified. The causative species were: Cheiracanthium punctorium (3), Zoropsis spinimana (2), Amaurobius ferox, Tegenaria atrica and Malthonica ferruginea (1 each). Clinical presentation was generally mild, with the exception of Cheiracanthium punctorium, and patients recovered fully without sequelae. In Switzerland, spider bites generally have a benign clinical course, which is characterised by minor effects, with rapid and complete recovery. Since only verified spider bites can be regarded as spider bites, in the case of clinically important arachnidism, the spider should be sent to an expert for identification. Our study may help to diminish spider fear and reassure people who have experienced a bite. The study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01355744).

Novel Nonbiologic Therapies for Ulcerative Colitis

An extensive array of compounds has been studied for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). The most frequently used nonbiologic drugs for the oral and intravenous treatment of ulcerative colitis include 5-aminosalicylate (5-ASA) drugs (mesalamine and derivatives), sulfasalazine, and other azo-bonded molecules of 5-ASA, steroids, calcineurin inhibitors (cyclosporine, tacrolimus, and sirolimus), thiopurines (azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine), and methotrexate, which are already presented in other sections of this book and are thus not considered in this chapter. The therapies presented in this section should be considered as potential alternatives, mostly for mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis (UC). They are substances mostly used without FDA indications, such as heparin, nicotine, rosiglitazone, and N-acetylcysteine as well as “natural” compounds suggested to have anti-inflammatory or reparative properties, such as aloe vera, curcumin, short-chain fatty acids, and Bowman-Birk inhibitor

Megabenthic communities in the waters around Svalbard during POLARSTERN cruise ARK-VIII/2 (EPOS II)

Composition and distribution of megabenthic communities around Svalbard were investigated in June/July 1991 with 20 Agassiz trawl and 5 bottom trawl hauls in depths between 100 and 2100 m. About 370 species, ranging from sponges to fish, were identified in the catches. Species numbers per station ranged from 21 to 86. Brittle stars, such as Ophiacantha bidentata, Ophiura sarsi and Ophiocten sericeum, were most important in terms of constancy and relative abundance in the catches. Other prominent faunal elements were eunephthyid alcyonarians, bivalves, shrimps, sea stars and fish (Gadidae, Zoarcidae, Cottidae). Multivariate analyses of the species and environmental data sets showed that the spatial distribution of the megabenthos was characterized by a pronounced depth zonation: abyssal, bathyal, off-shore shelf and fjordic communities were discriminated. However, a gradient in sediment properties, especially the organic carbon content, seemed to superimpose on the bathymetric pattern. Both main factors are interpreted as proxies of the average food availability, which is, hence, suggested to have the strongest influence in structuring megabenthic communities off Svalbard.

Compound specific stable isotopes, BIT, pollen and spores of Miocene to Pliocene sediments of ODP Hole 175-1085A

Pollen and stable carbon (d13C) and hydrogen (dD) isotope ratios of terrestrial plant wax from the South Atlantic sediment core, ODP Site 1085, is used to reconstruct Miocene to Pliocene changes of vegetation and rainfall regime of western southern Africa. Our results reveal changes in the relative amount of precipitation and indicate a shift of the main moisture source from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean during the onset of a major aridification 8 Ma ago. We emphasise the importance of declining precipitation during the expansion of C4 and CAM (mainly succulent) vegetation in South Africa. We suggest that the C4 plant expansion resulted from an increased equator-pole temperature gradient caused by the initiation of strong Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation following the shoaling of the Central American Seaway during the Late Miocene.

AMS radiocarbon dates and pollen analysis of ODP Hole 175-1078C

ODP Site 1078 situated under the coast of Angola provides the first record of the vegetation history for Angola. The upper 11 m of the core covers the past 30 thousand years, which has been analysed palynologically in decadal to centennial resolution. Alkenone sea surface temperature estimates were analysed in centennial resolution. We studied sea surface temperatures and vegetation development during full glacial, deglacial, and interglacial conditions. During the glacial the vegetation in Angola was very open consisting of grass and heath lands, deserts and semi-deserts, which suggests a cool and dry climate. A change to warmer and more humid conditions is indicated by forest expansion starting in step with the earliest temperature rise in Antarctica, 22 thousand years ago. We infer that around the period of Heinrich Event 1, a northward excursion of the Angola Benguela Front and the Congo Air Boundary resulted in cool sea surface temperatures but rain forest remained present in the northern lowlands of Angola. Rain forest and dry forest area increase 15 thousand years ago. During the Holocene, dry forests and Miombo woodlands expanded. Also in Angola globally recognised climate changes at 8 thousand and 4 thousand years ago had an impact on the vegetation. During the past 2 thousand years, savannah vegetation became dominant.

Food composition of beryx-alfonsino over submarine rises near Azores

Qualitative and quantitative food composition, as well as intensity of feeding of beryx-alfonsino Beryx splendens was examined on banks near the Azores. Data are presented with respect to size groups and taking into account type of feeding of males and females. Crustaceans and fishes were constituents of their feeding ration. A tendency toward increase in the number of consumed fishes in the course of ontogenetic development of beryx-alfonsino was noted. Beryx-alfonsino was shown to occupy the trophic level of consumers of the third order performing function of a deep-water predator.

Distribution of pollen and spores in sediments of ODP Hole 175-1078C

The distribution of pollen in marine sediments is used to record vegetation change on the continent. Generally, a good latitudinal correspondence exists between the distribution patterns of pollen in the marine surface sediments and the occurrence of the source plants on the adjacent continent. To investigate land-sea interactions during deglaciation, we compare proxies for continental (pollen assemblages) and marine conditions (alkenone-derived sea surface temperatures) of two high-resolution, radiocarbon-dated sedimentary records from the tropical southeast Atlantic. The southern site is located West of the Cunene River mouth; the northern site is located West of the Angolan Huambe Mountains. It is inferred that the vegetation in Angola developed from Afroalpine and open savannah during the last Glacial maximum (LGM) via Afromontane Podocarpus forest during Heinrich Event 1 (H1), to an early increase of lowland forest after 14.5 ka. The vegetation record indicates dry and cold conditions during the LGM, cool and wet conditions during H1 and a gradual rise in temperature starting well before the Younger Dryas (YD) period. Terrestrial and oceanic climate developments seem largely running parallel, in contrast to the situation ca. 5° further South, where marine and terrestrial developments diverge during the YD. The cool and wet conditions in tropical West Africa, South of the equator, during H1 suggest that low-latitude insolation variation is more important than the slowdown of the thermohaline circulation for the climate in tropical Africa.

(Table 2) Taxonomic composition of diatoms from bottom deposits of the Kronotsky Bay

Eocene diatom and silicoflagellate complexes from deposits of the Kronotsky Bay are presented. Pro tempore they are the most ancient finds of fossil phytoplankton with silica skeletons in the Northwest Pacific. More than 130 diatom species belonging to 59 genera and 24 silicoflagellate species belonging to 5 genera have been determined. Three Middle Eocene complexes (of the Lisitzinia kanayai, Lisitzinia inconspicua var. trilobata, and Praecymatosira monomembranaceae zones) and one presumably Middle-Late Eocene complex (of the zone with Rylandsia conniventa) of diatoms have been identified. For the first time a large silicoflagellate complex attributable to the Dictyocha hexacantha zone is presented. It is assumed that the complexes formed mainly in bathyal conditions at relatively high (close to sub-tropical) temperatures of surface waters.

(Table 2) Taxonomic composition of diatoms in dredged samples from the island-side slope of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench

Studies of diatoms from dredge samples collected on the island slope of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench have allowed to recognize well-preserved marine diatom assemblages corresponding to assemblages of the followed Oligocene zones: Rhizosolenia oligocaenica (subzone ''a'', 33.6-31 Ma), Cavitatus rectus (29.6-28.2 Ma), and Rocella gelida (28.2-24.0 Ma) as identified in the North Pacific zonal scale. Description of these assemblages and their complete taxonomic composition are presented. Diversity of species together with abundance and degree of preservation of diatoms and accompanying siliceous microorganisms suggests their autochtonous origin and favorable conditions of their development. Assemblages of the Early Oligocene zones Rhizosolenia oligocaenica and Cavitatus rectus recognized in sediments of the outer zone of the Lesser Kuril Ridge (submarine slope of the Shikotan Island) and on the Vityaz' submarine ridge were most probably formed under conditions of a vast shelf, while assemblage of the Late Oligocene zone Rocella gelida encountered only in the region of the Lesser Kuril Ridge formed under more deep-water conditions, presumably, over an island slope. Deepening of the basin in the region of the outer zone of the Lesser Kuril Ridge in Late Oligocene probably reflects one of stages of evolution of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench.