Modeling of floating marine litter originated from the Eastern Ionian Sea: Transport, residence time and connectivity.

A Lagrangian particle tracking model coupled to a circulation was used to explore the transport, residence time and connectivity of floating litter that originated from the Εastern Ionian Sea during 2011-2014. At the end of simulations, on average 26% of litter was retained within the coastal waters of the Eastern Ionian Sea, whereas 58% was washed into offshore waters without formulating permanent accumulation areas, as the basin-wide surface circulation was characterized by considerable interannual variability. The inflow of litter into the Adriatic and Eastern Mediterranean Seas was moderate, ranging between 9% and 20%, and the beached litter was on average 9.2%, mostly located in the northern subregions. The average residence time of litter particles ranged between 20 and 80 days, implying their temporary retention before drifting offshore. Connectivity patterns depicted an exchange of litter mainly between adjacent subareas and with a northward direction.

First evidence of ingested plastics by a high commercial shrimp species (Plesionika narval) in the eastern Mediterranean.

This study provides the first evidence of nylon filament occurrence in the stomach of an economically important target shrimp species in the Mediterranean Sea, Plesionika narval (Fabricius, 1787). Samples were collected monthly from November 2014 to October 2015 from shallow (10-30 m) and deeper waters (150-170 m). The occurrence of plastics in the stomachs of the Narwal shrimp was 5.93% and identified as Nylon by FT-IR analysis. Higher percentages of ingested plastics were found in females from shallower depths and in males from deeper waters. The maximum number of plastics was recorded in January and March, possibly related to the higher feeding intensity of females prior to their reproduction period. A total of 10.3% of females and 4.8% of males with ingested plastics had almost empty stomachs. The presence of plastics in the stomach of P. narval is an evidence of passive ingestion which in this study related to fishing activities.

Contemporary genetic structure and postglacial demographic history of the black scorpionfish, Scorpaena porcus, in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas.

Understanding the distribution of genetic diversity in the light of past demographic events linked with climatic shifts will help to forecast evolutionary trajectories of ecosystems within the current context of climate change. In this study, mitochondrial sequences and microsatellite loci were analysed using traditional population genetic approaches together with Bayesian dating and the more recent approximate Bayesian computation scenario testing. The genetic structure and demographic history of a commercial fish, the black scorpionfish, Scorpaena porcus, was investigated throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The results suggest that the species recently underwent population expansions, in both seas, likely concomitant with the warming period following the Last Glacial Maximum, 20 000 years ago. A weak contemporaneous genetic differentiation was identified between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. However, the genetic diversity was similar for populations of the two seas, suggesting a high number of colonizers entered the Black Sea during the interglacial period and/or the presence of a refugial population in the Black Sea during the glacial period. Finally, within seas, an east/west genetic differentiation in the Adriatic seems to prevail, whereas the Black Sea does not show any structured spatial genetic pattern of its population. Overall, these results suggest that the Black Sea is not that isolated from the Mediterranean, and both seas revealed similar evolutionary patterns related to climate change and changes in sea level.

Spatial distribution and life-history aspects of blackspot seabream Pagellus bogaraveo (Osteichthyes: Sparidae).

Spatial distribution and life history aspects of Pagellus bogaraveo in the eastern Ionian Sea were investigated using the data from 13 different studies carried out in the area from 1983 to 2010. The spatial patterns of the abundance, biomass and mean size showed that the species inhabits the shallow waters of the shelf (<170 m depth) as juveniles up to a certain size (<180 mm total length, LT ), moving to deeper waters of the slope (mainly 400-500 m depth) as adults. The spatial pattern of abundance indicated a continuous distribution of the species in deep waters, with hot-spot areas of high values, whereas in shallow waters distribution was more discontinuous, with higher concentrations of juveniles in estuaries and brackish waters. The study of biological aspects of the species revealed (1) a difference in the increase in mass between males and females, (2) protandrous hermaphroditism, accompanied by the presence of primary females and males that do not change sex, (3) a sex ratio in favour of females >250 mm LT , (4) the presence of hermaphrodites between 200 and 370 mm, (5) a long reproduction period from June to March, (6) a size at first maturity around 300 mm and (7) a diet composition of adults based mainly on fishes, and also on opportunistic behaviour in the food scarce environment of deep waters. The results suggest that the species' distribution and feeding strategies are the most appropriate for the oligotrophic eastern Ionian waters and that these conditions result in smaller sizes of the species in the east Mediterranean Sea compared to the west basin and the east Atlantic Ocean, with implications for the growth and reproductive biology of the species.

Diet and feeding strategy of blackmouth catshark Galeus melastomus.

Diet and feeding strategy of the blackmouth catshark Galeus melastomus in the deep waters of the eastern Ionian Sea were investigated. Sampling was carried out using experimental bottom longline fishing at depths ranging from 300 to 855 m in summer and autumn 2010. Diet variability with fish size, season, area, sex and depth zone was tested and only season was found to significantly affect the diet of the species. Of the 870 stomachs examined, only 1·4% were empty. Cumulative prey curves showed that the sample sizes were adequate to describe the main prey items of the diet for both seasons. Prey identified belonged primarily to three major groups: fishes, cephalopods and dendrobranchiatan and caridean shrimps. In autumn, the above three major groups were found as principal prey, whereas in summer cephalopods followed by fishes were the principal prey and shrimps were found as secondary prey. SIMPER analysis indicated high dissimilarity between seasons and highlighted that Sepiolidae, Myctophidae, fishes, cephalopods, shrimps and other crustaceans contributed to seasonal differences in the diet of G. melastomus. The prey diversity index was higher in autumn than in summer. A high dietary overlap was observed between the two seasons. Galeus melastomus behaved as an opportunistic predator with a variety of unimportant prey in its diet. Feeding strategy indicated that G. melastomus holds a generalist niche with a considerable specialization at the individual level. This strategy seems to be an adaptation to a food-scarce environment, as typified in deep-water habitats.

Phase II study of mitomycin-C and cisplatin in disseminated, squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. A European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Gynecological Cancer Group study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the tumour response rate and toxicity of a combination chemotherapy consisting of mitomycin-C and cisplatin in patients with disseminated squamous-cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. Chemotherapy consisted of mitomycin, 6 mg/m(2) intravenously (i.v.), and cisplatin, 50 mg/m(2) given i.v., both administered on day 1 of each cycle. The regimen was repeated at 4-weekly intervals. Mitomycin-C/cisplatin were used to treat 33 evaluable patients aged 29-67 years (median: 50 years). All patients except 1 had previously been treated with either surgery, radiation or both. At the initiation of chemotherapy, 8 patients had loco-regional and disseminated disease and 25 women had only distant metastases. The overall response rate was 42% (95% confidence interval (CI): 26-61%). Five complete and nine partial responses were observed with a median duration of response of 7.9 months (95% CI: 3.7-23.5 months). 9 patients had stable disease and 10 developed progressive disease during mitomycin-C/cisplatin-treatment. World Health Organization (WHO) grade III/IV side-effects were documented in 15 women, of whom 10 had gastro-intestinal toxicity, 3 had haematological toxicity, 1 had alopecia and 1 developed an allergic reaction to cisplatin. There were neither drug-related deaths nor severe or irreversible renal or hepatic dysfunction or peripheral neuropathy. The median progression-free survival was 5.0 months (95% CI: 3.6-6.2 months) for all patients and 10.5 months (95% CI: 6.2-15.2 months) for the responders. The median overall survival was 11.2 months (95% CI: 6.5-18.4 months).The mitomycin-C/cisplatin combination showed antitumour activity in the treatment of advanced or recurrent squamous-cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. The regimen was well tolerated and could be administered on an outpatient basis.

Among diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, T-cell-rich/histiocyte-rich BCL and CD30+ anaplastic B-cell subtypes exhibit distinct clinical features.

BACKGROUND: The EORTC clinical trial 20901, activated in 1990, was designed to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) of intermediate/high-grade malignancy according to the Working Formulation. Established in 1994, the R.E.A.L. Classification on NHL has now replaced all former classifications. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reanalysed all cases (n = 273) documented by material available for review according to the R.E.A.L. Classification. In addition, we subdivided cases recognised as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) into three morphologically distinct categories, namely, large cleaved DLBCL (LC-DLBCL), T-cell-rich/histiocyte-rich B-cell lymphoma (T-cell-rich/histiocyte-rich BCL) and CD30+ DLBCL with anaplastic cell features (CD30+ DLBCL). Finally, T/NULL anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL) cases were subdivided into ALK+ and ALK- lymphomas. Review was performed independently by two pathologists from two different centres. RESULTS: DLBCL (61%), T/NULL ALCL (15%) and mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL, 50%) were the main NHL categories represented in the study. Fifty-seven of one hundred sixty DLBCL cases were further subclassified as LC-DLBCL (33 cases), T-cell-rich/histiocyte-rich BCL (13 cases) or CD30+ DLBCL (11 cases). The remaining cases were indicated as unspecified DLBCL. A clinico-pathological correlation confirmed the findings of previous studies suggesting that MCL, DLBCL and ALCL represent distinct entities with MCL being characterised by a short survival, in contrast with the longer survival and less frequent progression typical of ALK+ compared to ALK- ALCL. Within DLBCL, T-cell-rich/histiocyte-rich BCL showed distinctive features at presentation whereas CD30+ DLBCL showed a trend towards a more favourable prognosis, that might be comparable to that of ALK+ ALCL. CONCLUSIONS: Our data further support the usefulness of the R.E.A.L. Classification and illustrate the feasibility of DLBCL subtyping. Moreover, our results demonstrate the distinct clinical characteristics of T-cell-rich/histiocyte-rich BCL and CD30+ DLBCL with anaplastic cell features suggesting that they may represent clinico-pathologic entities.

Tumor diameter and volume assessed by magnetic resonance imaging in the prediction of outcome for invasive cervical cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of pretherapeutic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based measurements of tumor diameter and volume with regard to recurrent disease. METHODS: MRI on 0.5- or 1.5-T scanners was performed in 126 consecutive women with invasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix. Initial tumor diameter and volume were determined on T(2)-weighted images; volume was calculated by the standard technique of multiplying the sum of the areas by the slice thickness. Patients were treated by radical surgery, radiotherapy, or a combined approach based on clinical International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage and individual patient criteria. Clinical data (patient age and FIGO stage), MRI-derived tumor dimensions (diameter and volume), and histological findings (tumor invasion depth and lymph-node involvement) were associated and linked to patient outcome. RESULTS: MRI-based tumor diameter correlated strongly with histological tumor invasion depth and lymph-node status (P < 0.01 and P = 0.01) while tumor volume on MRI was significantly associated only with tumor invasion depth into adjacent tissues (P < 0.01). Univariate analysis demonstrated graphically that MRI-derived tumor diameter and volume and clinical FIGO stage are associated with progression-free survival. Correlation analysis showed a strong association between MRI-derived tumor diameter and volume on MRI (r = 68%, P < 0.01) and also demonstrated a correlation between tumor diameter on MRI and FIGO stage Ib (Ib1 versus Ib2) cervical tumors (r = 46.7%, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Tumor diameter and volume, determined by pretreatment MRI examinations, predict progression-free survival for patients with invasive cervical carcinoma. This study demonstrates the value of MRI as an adjunct to clinical evaluation of invasive cervical cancer, providing more complete assessment of morphological risk factors important in patient prognosis and treatment planning.

Standard chemotherapy with or without high-dose chemotherapy for aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: randomized phase III EORTC study.

BACKGROUND: The long-term outcome for patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is poor. Consequently, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Lymphoma Group designed a prospective randomized trial to investigate whether high-dose chemotherapy plus autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) after standard combination chemotherapy improves long-term survival. METHODS: Patients aged 15-65 years with aggressive NHL received three cycles of CHVmP/BV polychemotherapy (i.e., a combination of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, teniposide, and prednisone, with bleomycin and vincristine added at mid-cycle). After these three cycles, patients with a complete or partial remission and at that time no lymphoma involvement in the bone marrow were randomly assigned to the ABMT arm (a further three cycles of CHVmP/BV followed by BEAC [i.e., a combination of carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and cyclophosphamide] chemotherapy and ABMT) or to the control arm (five more cycles of CHVmP/BV). All statistical tests are two-sided. RESULTS: From December 1990 through October 1998, 311 patients (median age = 44 years) were registered and received the first three cycles of CHVmP/BV, and 194 patients were randomly assigned to the treatment arms. Approximately 70% (140 patients) of these patients were of low or low-intermediate International Prognostic Index (IPI) risk. After a median follow-up of 53 months, an intention-to-treat analysis showed a time to disease progression and overall survival at 5 years of 61% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 51% to 72%) and 68% (95% CI = 57% to 79%), respectively, for the ABMT arm and 56% (95% CI = 45% to 67%) and 77% (95% CI = 67% to 86%), respectively, for the control arm. Differences between arms were not statistically significant. A subset analysis on IPI risk groups, although too small for reliable statistical analysis, yielded similar results. CONCLUSIONS: Standard combination therapies remain the best choice for most patients with aggressive NHL. We recommend that patients with IPI low or low-intermediate risk not be subjected to high-dose chemotherapy and ABMT as a first-line therapy.