Predictive Factors of the Fatality of Motor Vehicle Passengers Involved in Far-Side Lateral Collisions: A National Crash Database Study.

Although the risks faced by passengers in near-side lateral collisions are understood, and despite the presence of side airbags for injury prevention, passengers involved in far-side lateral collisions also suffer serious and fatal injuries. The objective of this study was to determine the independent predictive factors of fatality of motor vehicle passengers involved in far-side lateral collisions. Using 2010 records from the National Automotive Sampling System/Crashworthiness Data System (NASS/CDS), we selected 86 fatal and 325 non-fatal passengers with an Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score of 2 or more. The background and injury severity of the passengers and collision characteristics were compared between the two groups. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, variables independently associated with fatalities were female sex (Ref, male) (odds ratio [OR], 0.396), age (OR, 1.029), body mass index (OR, 1.057), total delta-V (OR, 1.031), head AIS score (OR, 1.679), chest AIS score (OR, 1.330), and abdomen AIS score (OR, 1.294). This is the first report to determine factors affecting fatality in passengers involved in far-side lateral collisions. Improving the safety of the vehicle interior, such as by including additional seatbelt systems or a side airbag that deploys between seats, might help to avoid fatalities, and reduce injury severity.

Description of two new species of sandlances, genus Bleekeria (Perciformes, Ammodytidae) from the Andaman Sea (northeastern Indian Ocean).

Two new species of Bleekeria Günther, 1862 are described from specimens collected in the Andaman Sea off the coast of Myanmar during bottom surveys conducted by the R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen in 2015 and 2018. They are distinguished from each other and from congeners by a combination of morphological and meristic characters as well as fin coloration and genetic variance. Bleekeria albicauda sp. nov. has pelvic fins, 40-41 dorsal-fin rays, 54-55 total vertebrae, no teeth in jaws, 4 scale rows between dorsal-fin origin and lateral line, a single row of about 10 scales on mid-upper part of opercle, scales on central part of body clearly shorter than their height, caudal fin with white upper and lower lobes when fresh (unique within the genus). Bleekeria nigrilinea sp. nov. has no pelvic fins, 37-39 dorsal-fin rays, 49-50 total vertebrae, 2½ scale rows between dorsal-fin origin and lateral line (the smallest count within the genus with B. estuaria of Mozambique brackish water), 5-6 scales on mid-upper part of opercle arranged in a single row, scales on central part of body clearly longer than their height, upper and lower margins of caudal fin black when fresh (unique within the genus). The COI gene sequences of the two new species showed clear genetic divergence (pairwise K2P, >10 %) from Bleekeria estuaria Randall Ida, 2014 and Bleekeria mitsukurii (Jordan Evermann, 1902). A key to the species of Bleekeria is provided.

Discovery of a colossal slickhead (Alepocephaliformes: Alepocephalidae): an active-swimming top predator in the deep waters of Suruga Bay, Japan.

A novel species of the family Alepocephalidae (slickheads), Narcetes shonanmaruae, is described based on four specimens collected at depths greater than 2171 m in Suruga Bay, Japan. Compared to other alepocephalids, this species is colossal (reaching ca. 140 cm in total length and 25 kg in body weight) and possesses a unique combination of morphological characters comprising anal fin entirely behind the dorsal fin, multiserial teeth on jaws, more scale rows than congeners, precaudal vertebrae less than 30, seven branchiostegal rays, two epurals, and head smaller than those of relatives. Mitogenomic analyses also support the novelty of this large deep-sea slickhead. Although most slickheads are benthopelagic or mesopelagic feeders of gelatinous zooplankton, behavioural observations and dietary analyses indicate that the new species is piscivorous. In addition, a stable nitrogen isotope analysis of specific amino acids showed that N. shonanmaruae occupies one of the highest trophic positions reported from marine environments to date. Video footage recorded using a baited camera deployed at a depth of 2572 m in Suruga Bay revealed the active swimming behaviour of this slickhead. The scavenging ability and broad gape of N. shonanmaruae might be correlated with its colossal body size and relatively high trophic position.

Temporal and Spatial Site Sharing during Spawning in Snappers Symphorichthys spilurus and Lutjanus bohar (Pisces: Perciformes: Lutjanidae) in Waters around Peleliu Island, Palau.

Jiro Sakaue, Hiroshi Akino, Manabu Endo, Hitoshi Ida, and Takashi Asahida (2016) Two species of Lutjanidae, Symphorichthys spilurus and Lutjanus bohar, form spawning aggregation, a large school specifically formed for reproduction. Although they share the same spawning site at the southernmost reef in Peleliu Island, Palau, timing of spawning and their behaviors in the spawning and resting sites differ. Although the spawning behaviors have reported previously, long term and integrated observations documenting the size of the aggregation, exact spawning duration and timing, detailed behavioral profiles, as well as oceanic conditions upon spawning have never been reported. Here, we conducted a comparative study for these species and found behavioral and environmental cues that might be key to differentiate their ecological characteristics. S. spilurus begun to aggregate at full moon. Aggregations of L. bohar on the other hand, started from four days before full moon. Size of the aggregation was > 50,000 in S. spilurus, but about 7,000 in L. bohar. Both species migrated from the resting area to the spawning site in a diel rhythm. S. spilurus started spawning every half- moon, between the full moon and the new moon, while L. bohar spawns on every full moon. The first spawning took place at around dawn but the time shifted. S. spilurus spawned only when the current directs toward the southeast (offshore flow), while L. bohar spawns only when the current directs toward the southwest (tidal flow). Characteristic swimming behavior was observed for S. spilurus, in that, one or few males that could successfully chase the quick-swimming female fish could fertilize the eggs. In contrast, the behavior of L. bohar, was in a manner typical of several other lutjanid fish. The comparative and long-term field observation conducted over 10 years identified clear differences in the spawning behaviors of S. spilurus and L. bohar. Key behavioral and environmental factors found here might be key determinants for the ecology of these species.

A 'living fossil' eel (Anguilliformes: Protanguillidae, fam. nov.) from an undersea cave in Palau.

We report the discovery of an enigmatic, small eel-like fish from a 35 m-deep fringing-reef cave in the western Pacific Ocean Republic of Palau that exhibits an unusual suite of morphological characters. Many of these uniquely characterize the Recent members of the 19 families comprising the elopomorph order Anguilliformes, the true eels. Others are found among anguilliforms only in the Cretaceous fossils, and still others are primitive with respect to both Recent and fossil eels. Thus, morphological evidence explicitly places it as the most basal lineage (i.e. the sister group of extant anguilliforms). Phylogenetic analysis and divergence time estimation based on whole mitogenome sequences from various actinopterygians, including representatives of all eel families, demonstrate that this fish represents one of the most basal, independent lineages of the true eels, with a long evolutionary history comparable to that of the entire Anguilliformes (approx. 200 Myr). Such a long, independent evolutionary history dating back to the early Mesozoic and a retention of primitive morphological features (e.g. the presence of a premaxilla, metapterygoid, free symplectic, gill rakers, pseudobranch and distinct caudal fin rays) warrant recognition of this species as a 'living fossil' of the true eels, herein described as Protanguilla palau genus et species nov. in the new family Protanguillidae.

Nonsynonymous site heteroplasmy in fish mitochondrial DNA.

Heteroplasmic nucleotide polymorphisms are rarely observed in wild animal mitochondrial DNA. The occurrence of such site heteroplasmy is expected to be extremely rare at nonsynonymous sites where the number of nucleotide substitutions per site is low due to functional constraints. This report deals with nonsynonymous mitochondrial heteroplasmy from two wild fish species, chum salmon and Japanese flounder. We detected an A/C nonsynonymous heteroplasmic site corresponding to putative amino acids, Ile or Met, in NADH dehydrogenase subunit-5 (ND5) region of chum salmon. The heteroplasmic site was at the 3rd position of 58th codon. As for Japanese flounder we detected a C/T nonsynonymous heteroplasmic site corresponding to putative amino acids, Leu or Pro, in ND4 region. The heteroplasmic site was at the 2nd position of 450th codon. We also verified heteroplasmy at these sites by sequencing cloned fragments.

Molecular cloning of proopiomelanocortin cDNA in the ratfish, a holocephalan.

Proopiomelanocortin (POMC) is a precursor for several pituitary hormones including adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) and endorphin (END). Fish POMCs in four taxonomic classes, Cephalaspidomorphi (lampreys), Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish), Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish), and Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish) have been identified. However, two essential species, ratfish in Chondrichthyes and hagfish in Agnatha, are still missing in the evolutionary image of this molecule. The present study reports analysis of POMC cDNA in the ratfish, Chimaera phantasma, which belongs to another subclass in the Chondrichthyes. Partial cDNA clones were amplified by PCR from single-strand cDNA prepared on total RNA from a complex of pituitary and hypothalamus, and subsequently overlapped to obtain a full-length sequence. Ratfish POMC cDNA consists of 1294bp excluding the poly(A) tail. It encodes a signal peptide of 25 amino acids and POMC of 300 amino acids. gamma-MSH, ACTH, alpha-MSH, delta-MSH, beta-MSH, and beta-END are located at prePOMC (76-87), (120-158), (120-132), (212-227), (275-290), and (293-325), respectively. delta-MSH, originally found in elasmobranch POMCs, was also present in ratfish POMC, suggesting this structure might have appeared after the divergence of chondrichthians from the ancestral lineage. Thus, we demonstrated the common occurrence of four MSHs in chondrichthian POMC and established a clear understanding of the molecular evolution of POMC in gnathostomes.