Nocturnal studies of fish assemblages are relatively rare, particularly at depths greater than 100 m, despite the relevance of diel shifts in habitat usage to fisheries management. This study assesses fish diversity and abundance from remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video recordings that were collected by industry during the day and at night in the course of a subsea pipeline survey, at 130 m depth. A total of 34,862 fish from 41 species and 25 families were recorded along the 23 km of pipeline. The pipeline was characterised by a high abundance of commercially important snapper (Lutjanidae) and grouper (Epinephelidae) species. The fish assemblage sampled along the pipeline during the day differed markedly to that sampled at night time. Several ubiquitous predatory species, e.g. Epinephelus areolatus, Lutjanus quinquelineatus, Lutjanus russellii, where present during the day but not at night, likely moving off the pipeline to feed in nearby habitats. Structurally complex mesophotic epibenthic habitat forming invertebrates were observed on the pipeline including; mesophotic corals, crinoids (featherstars), gorgonocephalids (basket stars), hydroids, true anemones and sponges, but elsewhere in the region, historical trawling effort is thought to have removed such organisms and extensively modified the original habitat. These complex epibenthic habitats were considered to be important to commercial target species and the modification or loss of these habitats is thought to have negatively impacted the valuable commercial fisheries in the region. This study suggests pipelines can offer a significant epibenthic habitat and refuge for fish, potentially comparable to the historical habitats lost to trawling. Fish diversity and abundance was observed to be consistently greater where a gap/crevice existed beneath the pipeline and many species were frequently observed in conjunction with the complex invertebrate matrix above the pipeline, under spanning sections beneath the pipeline and at the pipeline-sediment interface, regardless of time of day. Further dietary analysis, spatially explicit fisheries modelling and off-pipeline surveys on the natural seafloor are required to further investigate the ecological value of pipelines and its influence in fish behaviour. The study builds knowledge of mesophotic coastal fish ecology and will help to inform discussions regarding the ecological and fisheries implications of decommissioning and the removal of subsea infrastructure.

Soaring birds crossing the Bosphorus near Istanbul, Turkey, were monitored by the Istanbul Bird Watching Society (IBWS) in the 2007 spring season. During our research, we established an area that is significant for large numbers of migrating soaring birds crossing from Asia to Europe. In total the most abundant spp were White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) 44,566, Eurasian Buzzard (Buteo buteo) 23,954, Lesser Spotted Eagles (Clanga pomarina) 7,036 and European Honey Buzzards (Pernis apivorus) 3,653. We also compared our count to the count done in 1993, 2005 and 2006. This study in 2007 showed this site as crossing point for endangered Steppe Eagles (Aquila nipalensis) and Egyptian Vultures (Neophron percnopterus). This study included education outreach to visitors about the importance of Turkey for ornithology.

This paper describes the potential global scientific value of video and other data collected by Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs). ROVs are used worldwide, primarily by the offshore oil and gas industry, to monitor the integrity of subsea infrastructure and, in doing so, collect terabytes of video and in situ physical data from inaccessible regions and poorly understood marine environments. The paper begins by describing how recent ROV surveys for projects in Australia have gained a new dimension by involving marine scientists in their interpretation. A previously unrecognised influence of marine life on oil and gas pipelines was uncovered, triggering new collaborations between industry and marine science. This new collaboration prompted a team of international engineers and marine scientists to gather together with West Australian based members of the oil and gas sector and ROV operators, to examine the global scientific value of ROV-collected data. If made available for research, these data have immense value for science to quantify the marine ecology and assist good stewardship of this environment by industry. It was found that most ROV operations are conducted by industry in a way that fulfils immediate industry requirements but which can confound scientific interpretation of the data. For example, there is variation in video resolution, ROV speed, distance above substrate and time (e.g. both seasonal and time of day), and these variations can limit the quantitative conclusions that can be drawn about marine ecology. We examined potential cost-effective, simple enhancements to standard ROV hardware and operational procedures that will increase the value of future industrial ROV operational data, without disrupting the primary focus of these operations. The ecological value of existing ROV data represents an immense and under-utilized resource with worldwide coverage. We describe how ROVs can unravel the mysteries of our oceans, yield scientific discoveries, and provide examples of how these data can allow quantification of the ecological value of subsea infrastructure. By using these data, we can greatly improve our knowledge of marine biodiversity on and around offshore infrastructure and their environmental impact on marine ecosystems, both of which are particularly important in the consideration and selection of decommissioning strategies. Predicting the environmental consequences of removing or retaining subsea structures after decommissioning relies on an understanding of the ecological communities that have developed in association with these structures during their operational lives. Making industrial ROV data available for scientific research, and collating it in the future using modified protocols, would provide a very positive contribution to both science and industry, allowing the environmental impacts of subsea infrastructure to be quantified. It will also allow industry to contribute to a broader scientific understanding of our oceans, given the location of ROVs in areas that can rarely be accessed by independent researchers. This would provide novel and valuable information about under-researched and little known regions of the world's oceans.

In understanding the importance of interpretation in guiding sustainable turtle tourism, this article reports on the effect of an interpretation program, the Jurabi Turtle Experience (JTE), on the behavior of turtle-watching tourists at the Jurabi Coastal Park, on the Northwest Cape of Western Australia. Ninety-seven turtle-watching tourists in the Jurabi Coastal Park, including people who attended the JTE and others who did not, were sampled during the peak turtle nesting season (December–January) using participant observation and a questionnaire. People participating in the JTE showed increased compliance with a behavioral code of conduct for turtle watching and higher satisfaction with the experience compared with people who did not participate. These increases strengthen the case for continuing the JTE and possibly requiring all Jurabi Coastal Park visitors to participate in a JTE-like experience.

Objective To evaluate the rate of pediatric hepatitis C virus (HCV) case ascertainment relative to the estimated number of actual cases.Study design Data from Florida and United States health departments were used to assess pediatric HCV case ascertainment rates in Florida and nationwide. The percentage of children infected with HCV from Miami-Dade County receiving medical care by a pediatric gastroenterologist was estimated based on data obtained from physician questionnaires.Results From 2000 through 2009, 2007 children were identified as having positive HCV antibody tests in Florida, only 12% of the expected number (n = 12 155). An estimated 1.6% of the expected children with HCV who tested Ab-positive (37 of 1935) were actively followed by a pediatric gastroenterologist in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Across the United States, only 4.9% of the expected cases have been identified.Conclusions The identification of children infected with HCV in the nation as a whole is grossly inadequate. Only a small fraction of cases are identified. In Florida, less than 2% of children identified receive treatment. Lack of identification and lack of treatment of children infected with HCV constitute critical public health problems. Strategies to increase awareness of HCV infection and to screen at-risk individuals could substantially improve morbidity and mortality while reducing health care costs. (J Pediatr 2012;161:915-21).

Despite continuous improvement of immunosuppression, small bowel transplantation (SBT) is plagued by a high incidence of acute cellular rejection (ACR) that is frequently intractable. Therefore, there is a need to uncover novel insights that will lead to strategies to achieve better control of ACR. We hypothesized that particular miRNAs provide critical regulation of the intragraft immune response. The aim of our study was to identify miRNAs involved in intestinal ACR. We examined 26 small intestinal mucosal biopsies (AR/NR group; 15/11) obtained from recipients after SBT or multivisceral transplantation. We investigated the expression of 384 mature human miRNAs and 280 mRNAs associated with immune, inflammation and apoptosis processes. We identified differentially expressed 28 miRNAs and 58 mRNAs that characterized intestinal ACR. We found a strong positive correlation between the intragraft expression levels of three miRNAs (miR-142-3p, miR-886-3p and miR-132) and 17 mRNAs including CTLA4 and GZMB. We visualized these miRNAs within cells expressing CD3 and CD14 proteins in explanted intestinal allografts with severe ACR. Our data suggested that miRNAs have a critical role in the activation of infiltrating cells during intestinal ACR. These differences in miRNA expression patterns can be used to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for immunosuppressive agents.

Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has become an important and commonly used drug for maintenance immunosuppression therapy in recipients of all types of organ transplants. The drug is an antimetabolite that blocks the de novo pathway of purine synthesis. Although it selectively inhibits B- and T-lymphocyte proliferation, enterocytes are partially susceptible to MMF. One of the main limitations of this drug is gastrointestinal toxicity, with diarrhea the most frequently reported adverse effect. Most studies of MMF-associated gastrointestinal toxicity have been performed in patients with solid-organ transplants, although no data on changes related to MMF toxicity in bowel allografts have been published in the English literature. We evaluated mucosal intestinal biopsy tissue from patients with multivisceral transplants receiving MMF therapy. Our objective was to find morphologic changes that might be attributed to MMF toxicity, as well as changes that could differentiate MMF toxicity from acute rejection. Examination of the surface epithelium, lamina propria, and crypts in this small group of patients showed no specific changes that could be associated with MMF toxicity. Changes such as graft-vs-host disease or inflammatory bowel disease described in previous studies of solid-organ transplantation were not observed. Larger studies and the use of special stains and new markers might be necessary to characterize possible patterns of MMF toxicity and their differences from acute rejection.

A standardized grading scheme for the assessment of acute cellular rejection (ACR) in small-intestine transplantation was proposed in 2003 at the Eighth International Small Intestinal Transplantation Symposium. We have implemented the current grading scheme for ACR in small-bowel transplantation since October 2003. The pathologic diagnoses of those small-intestine biopsy samples, including ACR grade and other supplementary findings were evaluated. A total of 3484 small intestine biopsy samples from 155 patients were available for evaluation in this study. Frequency of grades 0, indeterminate, 1, 2, and 3 acute cellular rejection was 33.9%, 49.1%, 12.6%, 3.7%, and 0.8%, respectively. Duration of ACR episode strongly correlated with grade of ACR episode (P < .001). Other supplementary findings included acute vascular rejection component, 2.2%; increase in lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate in lamina propria, 15.7%; mucosal fibrosis, 0.4%; and regenerative changes, 0.3%. Our data substantiate that this grading system is reliable and useful for clinical decision making in bowel transplantation. We suggest that an assessment and quantification of supplementary findings be considered a component of the International Pathology Grading Scheme.

Multivisceral and Intestinal transplantation have become excellent primary treatments for many refractory intestinal disorders. However, transplantation is often associated with significant morbidity due to the need for life long immunosuppression Herein we describe our experience with pediatric patients referred for multivisceral or intestinal transplantation and treated with other surgical modalities. From 1999 to 2009 there were 20 pediatric patients referred for transplantation who instead underwent some form of surgical intestinal rehabilitation. Patient diagnoses included Gastroschisis. Volvulus. Intestinal Atresia. NEC and abdominal tumors. All patients were cared for by a multidisciplinary team that included transplant surgeons, pediatric gastroenterologists pediatric surgeons nutritionists and pharmacists, Rescue modalities included surgical intervention followed by bowel rehabilitation (11 STEP procedures and 6 stoma closures), and resection with auto transplantation (3 patients). Overall results were excellent with the majority of patients (80%) demonstrating improvement in their enteral intake and continued weight gain. Ten patients (50 %) subsequently weaned from parenteral nutrition altogether. However. there were 2 (10%) deaths due to septic complications in patients being rehabilitated with short gut syndrome. In selected cases, multidisciplinary care of complex intestinal patients has resulted in rescue of intestinal function. and the avoidance of morbidities associated with transplantation and life long immunosuppression.

Intestinal and multivisceral transplantation has become accepted therapy for end stage liver and intestinal failure. However intestinal graft rejection remains a significant source of morbidity and mortality for these patients. Herein we retrospectively review our single center experience with severe rejection in our intestinal and multivisceral transplant population. Continuous variables were analyzed using students T-test, and categorical variables were analyzed using a Chi Squared analysis. Survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared with the log rank analysis. From 1994 to 2009 there were 280 intestine and multivisceral transplants performed. During this time 65 (20 adult and 45 pediatric) patients has biopsy proven severe rejection. The overall one, three, and five year survival in patients who suffered severe rejection was 71%, 55% and 41% respectively, and the one. three and five year survival after the rejection diagnosis was 54%, 35%, and 35%. The average time from transplant to severe rejection was 506 days (range 5-2754 days). Patients who suffered severe rejection in the first year after transplant had worse overall and post rejection survival (p<0.05). Patients treated with multimodality therapy (3 or more anti rejection agents) demonstrated trends towards improved overall and post rejection survival (p>0.05). Severe bowel rejection continues to present a significant challenge to intestinal and multivisceral transplantation. Severe rejection with in the first year of transplant carries a poor prognosis: however multimodality therapy may hold some promise for severe rejection treatment.

BACKGROUND:Protocol endoscopy with biopsy is currently the gold standard of small bowel transplantation (SBTx) monitoring, however it is invasive, costly, needs skilled operator, may require anesthesia and may cause complications. We investigated fecal calprotectin level (FCL) as a candidate noninvasive marker for monitoring patients after SBTx. METHODS:A pilot study was performed to test the use of FCL measurement in following up SBTx patients. Ileostomy effluents were collected at various postoperative days before endoscopy and biopsy. FCLs were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and a cut-off level of 100 ng/mg was considered positive. The results were retrospectively evaluated in combination with clinical, endoscopic, and histopathological findings. FCLs are presented as median nanogram per milligram. RESULTS:FCLs were measured in 122 samples that were obtained from 29 patients after SBTx. Only 1 of 69 positive FCL did not accompany abnormal findings. Retrospective evaluation showed that 11 samples from six patients (FCL: 217) coincided with rejection episodes, six samples from three patients (FCL: 125) coincided with viral enteritis, 51 samples from 21 patients (FCL: 207) coincided with nonspecific inflammation, 11 samples from two patients (FCL: 998) coincided with chronic intestinal ulceration, and finally 50 samples from 19 patients (FCL: 43) coincided with normal findings. No significant FCL difference was found between rejection, infection, and inflammation. FCL evolution in individuals showed that FCL can predict rejection days before histopathological diagnosis. CONCLUSION:FCL is a sensitive test for ongoing organic intestinal allograft pathologies. It might be useful as prescreening marker to avoid unnecessary endoscopies.

BACKGROUND:Evaluation of the clinical impact of including donor colon and ileocecal valve in patients receiving primary intestinal transplantation has not been performed in a sufficiently large series of cases. METHODS:Cox stepwise regression of overall and cause-specific graft survival was performed to evaluate the clinical impact of including donor colon in our single center cohort of 245 consecutive primary intestinal transplant recipients, among which 93 received a donor colon. RESULTS:Inclusion of donor colon had no significant impact on overall graft survival in either univariable (P=0.13) or multivariable (P=0.45) analysis, nor on the hazard rates of death caused by infection and graft loss because of other causes (NS). Although inclusion of colon was associated in univariable analysis (P=0.02) with a significantly lower hazard rate of graft loss because of rejection, this effect was no longer significant once its association with the stronger predictor "receipt of multivisceral transplant" was controlled (P=0.23). However, in a subset analysis of multivisceral transplanted patients since 2003, a favorable impact of including the donor colon on graft survival was observed (P=0.04). Lastly, children who received donor colon recipients had a significantly higher percentage of formed stools after stoma closure (P=0.001). CONCLUSIONS:Our results with a relatively large number of patients receiving a donor colon suggest that this procedure carries no obvious additional morbidity or mortality risk, particularly with respect to graft survival. Inclusion of donor colon should actively be considered for intestinal transplant recipients.