A new bathyal species of Pardaliscoides (Amphipoda, Amphilochidea, Pardaliscidae) from off the southwestern Gulf of Mexico.

A new species of pardaliscid amphipod is described and illustrated from a single male specimen collected from bathyal sediments (2125 m depth) in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The new species is morphologically closest to Pardaliscoides fictotelson Barnard, 1966, previously documented from Southern California, at 218 m depth. The new pardaliscid differs from other species in the genus in having antenna 1 with a 10-articulate accessory flagellum; maxilliped palp very long; pereopods 5-7 elongate, slender; basis pereopod 7 expanded; telson with a short U-shaped cleft and pointed lobes; uropods 1-2 outer ramus curved, peduncle flat, longer than rami; uropod 3 rami flat, fleshy-lined, with marginal distal short robust setae. An identification key for all known species in the Pardaliscoides genus is also provided. The new species increase the number of Pardaliscoides species documented to six worldwide.

Benthic infauna variability in relation to environmental factors and organic pollutants in tropical coastal lagoons from the northern Yucatan Peninsula.

We examine the abundance and species composition variability of benthic infauna from tropical coastal lagoons in relation to environmental factors and organic pollutants. Sediment samples were collected at 40 sites in four lagoons in the northern Yucatan Peninsula. A total of 7985 individuals belonging to 173 species were sampled. While the eastern lagoons were dominated by polychaetes, the western ones were dominated by crustaceans. Overall, polychaetes had the highest abundance (48%), followed by crustaceans (42%). According to canonical correspondence analysis, species attributes were correlated with water salinity, pH and temperature, but also with sediment pentachlorobenzene, trichlorobenzene, and low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Some pollutants exceeded sediment quality guidelines, representing a potential environmental risk to benthic infauna. Together, environmental factors and pollutants explained 52% of the variance in abundance and species composition among sites.

Nanoindentation characterization of the micro-lamellar arrangement of black coral skeleton.

Black corals (antipatharians) are colonial cnidarians whose branched tree-like skeleton is mostly constituted of chitin fibrils inside a lipoproteic matrix. The skeleton exhibits growth rings formed by chitin layers (micro-lamellae). In order to know the effect of the arrangement microlamellae of chitin of black corals and to improve the understanding of the role of chitin structure in the antipatharian skeleton, the mechanical properties of the skeleton of two black corals, Antipathes caribbeana and Antipathes pennacea, were examined using nanoindentation tests. Measurements of reduced elastic modulus, nanohardness and the viscoelastic behavior were measured with a spheroconical indenter. The results indicate variations in the values of the mechanical properties clearly associated with different structures present in the skeletons, the core being the one that invariably shows the maximum values. The solid multilamellar arrangement of black coral chitin, its viscoelastic behavior, and the anisotropic mechanical response, are relevant factors contributing to the successful adaptation of black coral colonies to shallow as well as to very deep waters.

Systemic bevacizumab for retinal angiomatous proliferation associated with retinal pigment epithelial detachment.

PURPOSE: To report the off-label use of systemic bevacizumab in a patient with stage 3 retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP) associated with a vascularized pigmented epithelium detachment (PED). METHODS: Interventional case report. RESULTS: The patient was treated with systemic bevacizumab after obtaining fully informed consent. At 3 months post-treatment, the authors observed an improvement of one line (seven letters) in visual acuity and total regression of the PED on ocular coherence tomography. No adverse effects were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Systemic bevacizumab therapy appears to be safe and effective in the treatment of RAP associated with PED during this short follow-up period of 3 months. The authors recommend a large trial with long-term follow-up to confirm the promising results and evaluate the occurrence of adverse effects associated with systemic bevacizumab.