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The present study investigated the effect of elevated pCO2 on the development of early stages of the pelagic spawning marine fish Solea senegalensis, Diplodus sargus and Argyrosomus regius. Eggs and larvae were reared under control (pH 8.0, ~570 μatm) and two elevated pCO2 conditions (pH 7.8, ~1100 μatm; pH 7.6, ~1900 μatm) until mouth opening (3 days post-hatching). Egg size did not change with exposure to elevated pCO2, but hatching rate was significantly reduced under high pCO2 for all three species. Survival rate was not affected by exposure to increased pCO2, but growth rate was differently affected across species, with A. regius growing faster in the mid-level pCO2 treatment compared with control conditions. S. senegalensis and A. regius hatched with smaller yolk sacs under increased pCO2 but endogenous reserves of D. sargus were not affected. Otoliths were consistently larger under elevated pCO2 conditions for all the three species. Differences among egg batches and a significant interaction between batch and pCO2 suggest that other factors, such as egg quality, can influence the response to increased pCO2. Overall, the results support the occurrence of a species-specific response to pCO2, but highlight the need for cautious analysis of potential sensitivity of species from unreplicated observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerebral venous thrombosis in infants and children has been increasingly recognized during the past several decades. Although associated with a variety of local or systemic conditions, no specific clinical signs suggest cerebral venous thrombosis. Moreover, no specific risk factor can be found in approximately one fourth of the cases. Thus, a correct diagnosis mostly relies on the skillful clinician. This report describes an 11-year-old female who presented with a 12-hour history of vomiting, headache, and abdominal pain which began 3 days after tonsillitis. Twenty-four hours after admission, she manifested altered behavior and clouding of consciousness. Brain computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans, and magnetic resonance angiography disclosed a deep venous thrombosis of the straight sinus, the vein of Galen, and the internal cerebral vein associated with venous right thalamic stroke. No neurologic or physical abnormalities were evident. However, screening for clotting profile identified a heterozygous G20210A mutation in the prothrombin gene. Forty-four hours after admission, she was placed on heparin and then warfarin, which resulted in normal neurologic outcome and radiologic resolution of the thrombosis and infarct. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Considered a major environmental concern, ocean acidification has induced a recent research boost into effects on marine biodiversity and possible ecological, physiological, and behavioural impacts. Although the majority of literature indicate negative effects of future acidification scenarios, most studies are conducted for just a few days or weeks, which may be insufficient to detect the capacity of an organism to adjust to environmental changes through phenotypic plasticity. Here, the effects and the capacity of sand smelt larvae Atherina presbyter to cope and recover (through a treatment combination strategy) from short (15 days) and long-term exposure (45 days) to increasing pCO 2 levels (control: ~515 μatm, pH = 8.07; medium: ~940 μatm, pH = 7.84; high: ~1500 μatm, pH = 7.66) were measured, addressing larval development traits, behavioural lateralization, and biochemical biomarkers related with oxidative stress and damage, and energy metabolism and reserves. Although behavioural lateralization was not affected by high pCO 2 exposure, morphometric changes, energetic costs, and oxidative stress damage were impacted differently through different exposures periods. Generally, short-time exposures led to different responses to either medium or high pCO 2 levels (e.g. development, cellular metabolism, or damage), while on the long-term the response patterns tend to become similar between them, with both acidification scenarios inducing DNA damage and tending to lower growth rates. Additionally, when organisms were transferred to lower acidified condition, they were not able to recover from the mentioned DNA damage impacts. Overall, results suggest that exposure to future ocean acidification scenarios can induce sublethal effects on early life-stages of fish, but effects are dependent on duration of exposure, and are likely not reversible. Furthermore, to improve our understanding on species sensitivity and adaptation strategies, results reinforce the need to use multiple biological endpoints when assessing the effects of ocean acidification on marine organisms., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Attention and executive functions correspond to important areas of cognitive functioning associated with the frontal cortex. The study of attention and executive functions in children with epilepsy has focused on characterizing the group with frontal lobe epilepsy. Still, recent studies have identified deficits in these areas also in children with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE)., Aim: To investigate attention and executive functions in a group of children with TLE, also considering the influence of clinical variables (age at onset of epilepsy and evolution of seizures)., Subjects and Methods: Attention and executive functions were studied in a group of 24 children with TLE, aged 7-15 years and compared with 24 control children of the same age and socio-cultural level. Subjects were assigned the following tasks: Cancellation Task, Trail Making Test, Tower of London and Phonemic Verbal Fluency., Results: The group with TLE performed significantly lower on selective, sustained and divided attention and on phonemic verbal fluency. In markers concerning commissions and omissions there were no differences between groups in any of the performed tests. A significant slowing of processing speed was reported. In addition, patients with earlier age at onset of epilepsy had more difficulties in sustained attention and planning abilities., Conclusion: These results sustain the need for evaluating and monitoring the area of attention, executive functions and processing speed in children and adolescents with temporal lobe epilepsy, above all those with earlier age at onset of epilepsy.