The sea louse Lepeophtheirus acutus (Caligidae, Siphonostomatoida, Copepoda) as a pathogen of aquarium-held elasmobranchs.

Lepeophtheirus acutus Heegaard, 1943 (Caligidae, Siphonostomatoida, Copepoda), was collected from or observed on four of six elasmobranch species held at Burgers' Zoo (Arnhem, The Netherlands). Circumstantial evidence suggested that a zebra shark, Stegostoma fasciatum (Hermann), from the wild carried the infection into the facility, where copepods reproduced and colonized additional hosts. Copepods typically attached on and about the eyes, in the mouth and occasionally about the cloaca and on the claspers. Severe ocular lesions were associated with infections on zebra sharks, a grey reef shark, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos (Bleeker), whitetip reef sharks, Triaenodon obesus (Rüppell), and giant shovelnose ray, Rhinobatos typus Bennett, while blacktip reef sharks, Carcharhinus melanopterus (Quoy & Gaimard), and blacktip sharks, Carcharhinus limbatus (Valenciennes), living in infested aquaria showed no sign of infection. Water treatments using trichlorfon were considered primarily responsible for the eradication of copepods from hosts and infested aquaria. This case is the first report of a copepod infection being closely associated with disease and death of an aquarium-held elasmobranch. Given its ability to infect a wide variety of elasmobranchs and promote life-threatening lesions on some hosts, L. acutus should be considered a dangerous pathogen of captive elasmobranchs.

Stable-isotope comparisons between embryos and mothers of a placentatrophic shark species.

Stable nitrogen (delta(15)N) and carbon (delta(13)C) isotopes of Atlantic sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon terraenovae embryos and mothers were analysed. Embryos were generally enriched in (15)N in all studied tissue relative to their mothers' tissue, with mean differences between mother and embryo delta(15)N (i.e. Deltadelta(15)N) being 1.4 per thousand for muscle, 1.7 per thousand for liver and 1.1 per thousand for cartilage. Embryo muscle and liver were enriched in (13)C (both Deltadelta(13)C means = 1.5 per thousand) and embryo cartilage was depleted (Deltadelta(13)C mean = -1.01 per thousand) relative to corresponding maternal tissues. While differences in delta(15)N and delta(13)C between mothers and their embryos were significant, muscle delta(15)N values indicated embryos to be within the range of values expected if they occupied a similar trophic position as their respective mothers. Positive linear relationships existed between embryo total length (L(T)) and Deltadelta(15)N for muscle and liver and embryo L(T) and Deltadelta(13)C for muscle, with those associations possibly resulting from physiological differences between smaller and larger embryos or differences associated with the known embryonic nutrition shift (yolk feeding to placental feeding) that occurs during the gestation of this placentatrophic species. Together these results suggest that at birth, the delta(15)N and delta(13)C values of R. terraenovae are likely higher than somewhat older neonates whose postpartum feeding habits have restructured their isotope profiles to reflect their postembryonic diet.

Experimental studies of lateral stress to transverse fractured femora treated with external fixation.

As part of a postmortem research project 9 beagle femora were dynamically tested by means of three-point bending. The test device was a spring driven impactor with an impact velocity of 3 m/s. Maximum bending force, deflection and force-deflection history were documented. After the impact transverse fractures were observed in 6 specimens, while another 3 specimens showed short oblique fractures. The fractured femora were treated realistically with external fixation (triax monotube) and again loaded on the impactor. After this treatment of the specimens and dynamic loading comminuted fractures occurred. In 7 cases all 4 pins were distorted. While there was only a small difference between the mean bending force of 751.01 N before and 729.54 N after treatment, a significant difference in terms of deflection and bending stiffness showed with p = 0.0039 for both parameters. This experimental result means that in cases of transverse fractures caused by ventral force only 9.6 % of the initial bending stiffness is obtained after stabilization with external fixation. Considering the fact that the use of external fixation protracts the time to bone consolidation of transverse fractures, this method cannot be designed as the therapy of choice.

[Multiprobe FISH for enhanced prediction of recurrent bladder cancer]. / FISH für eine verbesserte Abschätzung des rezidivrisikos nach transurethraler Resektion von Urothelkarzinomen.

The early detection of recurrent urothelial cancer is a great challenge for both urologists and pathologists. Cytology is a sensitive and highly specific tool for the diagnosis of high-grade bladder cancer and carcinoma in situ, but is not reliable in low-grade tumors. Therefore, cystoscopy has remained the gold standard for surveillance after resection of bladder cancer. Recent data suggest that multi-target fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) can markedly improve the sensitivity of urinary cytology. The goal of this study was to investigate the utility of the recently developed FISH assay Uro-Vysion for the prediction of recurrence during surveillance. 134 bladder washes obtained during a negative follow-up cystoscopy from 127 patients were analyzed. Positive cytology was strongly associated with subsequent recurrence, emphasizing the importance of conventional cytology for bladder cancer surveillance. A positive UroVysion FISH test significantly predicted recurrence when cases with rare tetraploic cells were considered as negative. Taken together, both cytology and FISH help to better determine the risk of bladder cancer recurrence in order to establish more individualized follow-up schemes.

Gill lesions associated with Erpocotyle tiburonis (Monogenea: Hexabothriidae) on wild and aquarium-held bonnethead sharks (Sphyrna tiburo).

Gill lesions associated with infections of Erpocotyle tiburonis (Brooks, 1934) (Monogenea: Hexabothriidae) on wild bonnethead sharks (Sphyrna tiburo (L., 1758) (Carcharhiniformes: Sphyrinidae)) were compared with those on aquarium-held ones using light and scanning electron microscopy. Uninfected gill filaments had slender, triangular, smooth-surfaced lamellae and interlamellar water channels that were approximately equal in size. Four wild sharks were each infected by 3-11 widely separated adult E. tiburonis, and 1 of these sharks hosted a juvenile specimen. Lamellae flanking or touching adult E. tiburonis were pushed aside or bent, but were otherwise identical to those of uninfected filaments. Two aquarium-held sharks were each infected by hundreds of juvenile and adult E. tiburonis. In these sharks, lamellae near juveniles were pushed apart or bent, but were otherwise normal, whereas a thick, ragged-surfaced layer of hyperplastic epithelium both filled interlamellar water channels and partially or completely covered lamellae near adults. Results of this study suggest that the intense infections of E. tiburonis were facilitated by captivity and caused severe hyperplastic lesions that ultimately led to the death of the sharks by reducing or blocking the respiratory water flow over lamellae and thus reducing the exchange of gases and ions across the lamellar epithelium. In contrast, the wild sharks were infected by fewer worms and exhibited relatively minor lesions.

Kroeyerina deetsorum n. sp. (Copepoda: Kroyeriidae) from the olfactory sacs of Atlantic sharpnose sharks (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae) captured in the Gulf of Mexico and northwestern Atlantic and first report of copepodids representing Kroyeriidae.

Kroeyerina deetsorum n. sp. (Copepoda: Kroyeriidae) is described from female and male specimens collected from the olfactory sacs of Atlantic sharpnose sharks, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae (Richardson, 1836), captured in the Gulf of Mexico and northwestern Atlantic. Kroeyerina deetsorum is easily distinguished from known congeners by the extremely small size of its adults (i.e., females about 1.2 mm total length and males about 1.0 mm total length). Kroeyerina deetsorum is also distinguished from its congeners by possessing a subquadrate rostrum without lobes or upturned horns. It is suspected that K. deetsorum belongs to a clade within Kroeyerina whose members only infect sharks. This report also provides first descriptions of a nauplius representing Kroeyerina and copepodids representing Kroyeriidae. The early-stage copepodid of K. deetsorum lacks a frontal organ and frontal filament and uses its chelate antennae to attach to its host.

Skin lesions caused by Dermophthirius penneri (Monogenea: Microbothriidae) on wild-caught blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus).

Skin lesions caused by the ectoparasite Dermophthirius penneri Benz, 1987 (Monogenea: Microbothriidae) on 2 wild-caught blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) from the northern Gulf of Mexico were studied using light and scanning electron microscopy. Grossly, lesions appeared as multifocal, well-demarcated, ovoid or irregularly shaped, light gray patches of skin. Scanning electron microscopy of lesions revealed gaps between placoid scales apparently created by detachment and loss of placoid scales, rotated and tilted placoid scales with blunt distal tips and shallow ridges, and a frayed epithelium that covered some placoid scales and filled some spaces between placoid scales. Light microscopy of lesions revealed epithelial hyperplasia accompanied by dermal infiltrates of moderate numbers of loosely arranged lymphocytes interposed between collagen bundles in the superficial layers of the stratum compactum. This report provides the first details of microbothriid skin lesions on wild sharks. Our results indicate that D. penneri caused chronic skin lesions not associated with bacterial infection or severe, debilitating, skin disease in the studied sharks.

Margolisius abditus n. gen., n. sP. (Copepoda: Lernaeopodidae) from gill lamellae of a remora (Remora remora) collected in the Gulf of California.

Margolisius abditus n. gen., n. sp. (Copepoda: Lernaeopodidae) is described from female specimens collected from gill lamellae of a remora, Remora remora (L.), captured in the Gulf of California near Punta Arena, Baja California. Comparison of this species with 13 lernaeopodid genera with which it shares (a) absence of posterior trunk processes; (b) presence of a relatively long cylindrical cephalothorax, usually reflected along the dorsal surface of the trunk; and (c) a marine habitat showed that it cannot be placed in any of them, thus necessitating establishment of a new genus. Margolisius abditus n. sp. is the smallest known lernaeopodid species, its ovigerous females measuring about 0.5 mm in total length.

Dionchus postoncomiracidia (Monogenea: Dionchidae) from the skin of blacktip sharks, Carcharhinus limbatus (Carcharhinidae).

Postoncomiracidia of Dionchus sp. are described from specimens collected from the skin of 2 blacktip sharks Carcharhinus limbatus, captured in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The parasites resemble nonciliated oncomiracidia hatched from eggs laid by Dionchus sp. on gills of a cobia Rachycentron canadum and adults of Dionchus remorae that were collected from gills of a common sharksucker Echeneis naucrates, captured in association with a third blacktip shark. The hamuli of the postoncomiracidia were morphologically similar to those of adult D. remorae. This is the first report of dionchids from an elasmobranch and from a location other than the gills. These findings support the idea that some dionchid oncomiracidia colonize the skin of sharks or other aquatic vertebrates that sponsor remoras, prior to transferring to other remoras and maturing.

New host and ocean records and remarks on the morphology and behavior of Jusheyus shogunus (Copepoda: Siphonostomatoida: Eudactylinidae.

Jusheyus shogunus Deets and Benz, 1987 (Copepoda: Eudactylinidae) is reported from wreckfish, Polyprion americanus (Schneider, 1801) collected from widely separated locations in the north Atlantic. This represents a new host record and new ocean report for this parasite. Examination of male and female copepods allowed some confusion regarding the morphology of J. shogunus to be eliminated. Jusheyus shogunus possesses a cephalothorax rather than a cephalosome and its dorsal styliform processes are connected by an internal bridging sclerite and an external dorsal plate that is hinged to its cephalothorax. Each process also articulates with its own internal ventral sclerite. A series of muscles services these structures, and comparisons of the dorsal styliform processes of J. shogunus with the dorsal stylets of Kroyeria spp. revealed some morphological similarities. Adult female J. shogunus in the study collection varied in size from 2.16 to 4.97 mm total length, and smaller and larger specimens presented somewhat different body forms. Most egg sacs contained multiseriately arranged eggs; however, several specimens possessed a sac whose distal portion contained uniseriately arranged eggs and whose proximal portion contained 2 rows of eggs. Jusheyus shogunus attaches to the gill filament lamellae of its hosts using its second antennae and maxillipeds. The dorsal styliform processes can be erected by either directly raising them or by flexing the cephalothorax at its junction with the first free thoracic segment. In either case the tips of the processes can engage 1 to several lamellae on the adjacent gill filament to help secure the parasite.

Morphology of the deep-sea copepod Bobkabata kabatabobbus (Lernaeosoleidae: Poecilostomatoida) and amended diagnosis of Lernaeosoleidae.

New morphological information on the deep-sea parasitic copepod Bobkabata kabatabobbus Hogans and Benz, 1990 (Lernaeosoleidae: Poecilostomatoida) is provided based on 2 newly discovered, complete specimens collected from a pallid sculpin, Cottunculus thomsoni (Gunther, 1882), captured in water 1,463 m deep in Welker Canyon off Rhode Island (western North Atlantic). The first antennae of both specimens were tiny, indistinctly segmented, and armed with spiniform setae. Terminal segments of the second antennae were robust hooks and were impossible to disengage from the host without severing them from their basal sockets. A simple orifice without any associated appendages may have represented the mouth. Both specimens were transformed adult females and each was embedded in the flesh of their scaleless host up to where the pregenital trunk began to broaden into its characteristic horseshoe shape. Whereas each copepod's bulbous cephalothorax appeared to be the primary attachment device, the powerfully hooked second antennae seemed positioned to facilitate the application of the presumed mouth to the host. A revised family diagnosis for Lernaeosoleidae Hogans and Benz, 1990 is provided that primarily differentiates Lernaeosoleidae from the closely allied Chondracanthidae H. Milne-Edwards, 1840 and other poecilostomatoids based on the absence of mandibles, first and second maxillae, maxillipeds, and thoracic legs 1-4 in lernaeosoleids.

Trebius shiinoi n. sp. (Trebiidae: Siphonostomatoida: Copepoda) from uteri and embryos of the Japanese angelshark (Squatina japonica) and the clouded angelshark (Squatina nebulosa), and redescription of Trebius longicaudatus.

Trebius shiinoi n. sp. is described from females and males collected from the uterine linings and on embryos within the uteri of 2 near-term Japanese angelsharks (Squatina japonica Bleeker, 1858) captured in Suruga Bay, off central Japan, and from female specimens reported by Shiino in 1963 that were found on embryos of the clouded angelshark (Squatina nebulosa Regan, 1906) captured off Shirahama, central Japan. Shiino identified his specimens as Trebius longicaudatus Shiino, 1954. However, our comparisons between Shiino's specimens and those newly collected revealed both to represent the same species, and comparisons of these specimens to 5 syntypes of T. longicaudatus and to published information detailing other Trebius species revealed them to be a new species that differs most notably from its congeners by the enormous length of its transformed adult female's abdomen and by the presence of a distinctive nublike seta on her caudal ramus. Trebius shiinoi n. sp. is an unusual copepod because it is an endoparasite of adult female angelsharks as well as an ectoparasite of embryo angelsharks, and it is proposed that flushing of the uterine-cloacal chambers of clouded angelsharks and Japanese angelsharks may facilitate T. shiinoi infections. A redescription of T. longicaudatus is also provided.

New host and ocean records for the copepod Ommatokoita elongata (Siphonostomatoida: Lernaeopodidae), a parasite of the eyes of sleeper sharks.

Seven of 8 Pacific sleeper sharks (Somniosus pacificus Bigelow and Schroeder, 1944) captured in Prince William Sound, Alaska, were actively infected, and all 8 had been at one time infected with the parasitic copepod Ommatokoita elongata (Grant, 1827) (Siphonostomatoida: Lernaeopodidae). Active infections consisted of adult females and chalimus larvae that had attached to the corneas of the sharks' eyes. This report documents a new host record and possibly the only reliable record of this parasite from a host other than the Greenland shark, Somniosus microcephalus (Bloch and Schneider, 1801). It also documents the first time O. elongata has been identified outside of the Atlantic Ocean or its locally adjacent straits and seas.

[Improved continence after Pena operations in anorectal abnormalities]. / Die verbesserte Kontinenzleistung nach Pena-Operationen bei anorektalen Missbildungen.

Studies investigating the functional outcome after operative treatment of high and intermediate forms of anal and rectum atresia have shown better results for the Pena procedure than for other forms of pull-through procedures. Follow-up with three-dimensional vector volume manometry of patients operated on according to Pena and matched controls demonstrated a significant improvement in the radial asymmetry index over the years and must be interpreted as a maturation process of the continence organ on a critical level.

MANIFESTATIONS OF THE ROSS RIVER AND BARMAH FOREST ARBOVIRUSES: A Clinical Challenge for Chiropractors.

Chiropractors and other healthcare practitioners primarily concerned with the treatment and diagnosis of disorders of the musculoskeletal system are often presented with patients complaining of extremity joint pain. The signs and symptoms of Ross River and Barmah Forrest arbovirus infections can often be confused with a number of other conditions including local joint infection, rheumatoid diseases and other systemic diseases causing arthralgic or myalgic symptoms. This paper presents a review of the often debilitating conditions caused by the Ross River and Barmah Forest arboviruses. These increasingly common viruses can produce symptoms of arthralgia, fever, myalgia, rash and headache. A systematic review of the structure of these viruses, their epidemiology, clinical manifestations, treatment and prevention are presented.

[Is primary would closure in septic pediatric surgery contraindicated?]. / Ist der primäre Wundverschluss in der septischen Kinderchirurgie kontraindiziert?

Since 1994, 25 children have been treated for abscesses of the soft issue. After the incision, a complete debridement was done, followed by implantation of a collagen sponge containing gentamicin and primary wound closure. Only two relapse were seen, which had to be re-opened.

Proteus syndrome associated with a sacrococcygeal teratoma; a rare combination.

We report on an 5-year-old boy with a Proteus syndrome known since his second year of life. Hidden in a lipomatous tumor we excised a sacrococcygeal teratoma which must have been present since birth. This is the first case, out of about 50 published Proteus cases, of a patient with Proteus syndrome and sacrococcygeal teratoma.

Redescription of Argulus melanostictus (Branchiura: Argulidae), a parasite of California grunion (Leuresthes tenuis: Atherinidae), with notes regarding chemical control of A. melanostictus in a captive host population.

Adult male and female Argulus melanostictus Wilson, 1935 are redescribed based on detailed examinations of a syntype and recently obtained specimens of both sexes collected from California grunion, Leuresthes tenuis, captured in nearshore Pacific waters at Monterey, California. A 14-16-hr seawater bath containing 0.5 microliter/L trichlorfon administered once weekly for 3 wk killed A. melanostictus while not noticeably harming grunion.

Bioresorbable pins and screws in paediatric traumatology.

Bioresorbable implants are suited to the treatment of joint and shaft fractures in children. These conclusions were drawn from clinical and experimental investigations at the University of Heidelberg. Since 1990 13 fractures, including 5 medial malleolus fractures, 2 retropatella flake fractures, 1 metacarpal fracture, 2 lateral condyle, 2 epicondyle fractures and a secondary dislocated forearm fracture were treated with BIOFIX pins. 11 of these cases were without complications. There was one case of infection, and due to material failure the stability was insufficient in one case. In a post-mortem study torsional fractures were produced in femora of children between 5 and 15 months. The fractures were then fixed with one resorbable screw and put under torsional loading until the bone refractured. The post-fixation force (torsional) amounted to 77% of the original fracture force, and the degree of rotation at fracture was post-fixation 84% of the original. The stability of bioresorbable screws in the treatment of femoral spiral fractures in children can therefore be confirmed.