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In Algeria, wetlands are considered as remarkable habitats for their faunal and floristic diversity. Very few studies have been devoted for the identification of terrestrial isopods. In order to contribute to the knowledge of this isopod fauna, a field campaign was carried out at two stations in the Algerian East (Annaba and El Tarf). The preliminary study of the general composition of Oniscoid populations showed that a total of 269 specimens were collected during 6 months of sampling (January 2021 to June 2021). The observation of the morpho-anatomical characters of the oniscids collected in the two sampling stations during the study period, allowed to identify, according to the identification key of Noël and Séchet (2014), 5 species of isopods attached to 04 genera including Armadillidium, Armadillo, Porcellio and Porcellionides and five (05) species Armadillidium vulgare, Armadilloofficinalis, Porcelliolaevis, Porcelliovariabilis and Porcellionidespruinosus. We observe a stability of the richness at the level of the two stations during the winter and spring season, on the other hand, it tends to decrease during the summer when it reaches level 1. The highest value of the Shannon-Wiener diversity index was observed at Annaba station. However, the equitability index tends towards 1 for both sites. These data reflects a balance between the numbers of species in each station. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted at Attaka harbor in the Gulf of Suez (Red Sea) during the 2018-2020 fishing seasons to assess the technical specifications of trawl nets, morphometric characteristics of haffara sea bream (Rhabdosargus haffara), and their selectivity parameters. Results indicated that these trawl nets have different design characteristics; it depends on the technical characters of the trawler (i.e. horsepower, length of trawler). The hanging ratio of the bottom trawl ranged from 0.44 to 0.76 while the horizontal opening of the net ranged from 17.91 to 30.94 m. The length-weight relationship (LWR) of Rhabdosargus haffara had a significant correlation and the exponent b was observed to be 3.03. On the other hand, length-girth and length depth were analyzed and the correlation coefficients were determined to be 0.85 and 0.80, respectively. Lengths at first capture (L50) for male, female, and combined sexes were 12.67, 14.45 and 13.17 cm, respectively; which were higher than the minimum landing size. This information may be used by fishery managers to get an approximate estimate of the bottom trawl effect and to design appropriate marine spatial planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the suitability of both visible and shortwave infrared of ASTER reflectance bands and various vegetation indices for estimating forest structural attributes of Eucalyptus species. The study was conducted in even-aged monoculture plantations of E. grandis and E. nitens in the southern KwaZulu-Natal Midlands of South Africa. Empirical relationships between forest structural attributes, i.e. stems per hectare (SPHA), diameter at breast height (DBH), mean tree height (MTH), basal area and volume, and ASTER data were derived using correlation and canonical correlation analysis (CCA). The results indicated weak relationships between the studied forest structural attributes and ASTER data. In the younger plantation stands (4-6 years) the adjusted R² values from CCA regression for SPHA, DBH, MTH, basal area and volume were 54.2, 63.5, 33.8, 25.4 and 30.3, respectively. The adjusted R² values in the mature stands (7-9 years) were distinctly weaker with values of 50.7, 55.8, 25.1, 20.2 and 27.3 for SPHA, DBH, MTH, basal area and volume, respectively. The results imply that ASTER satellite data are not applicable to forest structural attribute estimation in commercially managed forest stands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we compared the performance of the single use flexible laryngeal mask airway (LMA Flexible™) with the original reusable LMA Flexible™ in paediatric dento-alveolar day-case surgery. The aim of the study was to determine whether these two supraglottic airway devices were clinically equivalent when used for simple dental extractions in children under general anaesthesia. This randomised comparative trial in 100 healthy children used first attempt airway insertion success as its primary outcome measure. Secondary outcomes included the adequacy of ventilation, incidence of airway obstruction and the requirement for device manipulation and the incidence of adverse airway outcomes during recovery from anaesthesia. No difference was found between the devices in first attempt insertion success rate (94% with reusable LMA Flexible and 90% with single use LMA Flexible, p = 0.358), and ease of insertion was also similar (p = 0.5). Both devices performed equally well during surgery, with no significant differences in episodes of intra-operative airway compromise (p = 0.387), and both the single use and reusable LMA Flexible displayed excellent recovery characteristics, with no occurrences of emergence airway obstruction. No blood was discovered within the inner LMA tube shaft in either device, implying that both protected against tracheobronchial soiling. We conclude therefore that the single use LMA Flexible is an acceptable alternative to the reusable LMA Flexible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an inherited disorder characterized by recurrent self-limiting attacks of joint, chest and abdominal pain associated with fever. The most serious complication in FMF is the development of amyloidosis, which usually leads to death from renal failure within a year. The use of colchicine has dramatically reduced this complication. We describe a 56-yr-old female patient with FMF in whom the arthropathy became the dominant clinical feature, resulting in the development of an erosive large and small joint arthritis during the course of the disease. The patient was treated with colchicine, but despite this, later developed amyloidosis confirmed on rectal biopsy, and chlorambucil was added to her treatment. For 10 yr, she also suffered intermittent abdominal pain and had terminal ileal changes suggestive of Crohn's disease. However, she was found to have ischaemic colitis at post mortem secondary to amyloidosis. Ischaemic bowel disease is an extremely unusual event in FMF. Other factors which may have contributed to the terminal ischaemia in this patient include anaemia secondary to blood loss and a drug-induced myelodysplasia, as well as hypotension during the final septicaemic illness. Clinicians should consider an ischaemic colitis as a possible differential diagnosis of abdominal pain in patients with FMF even in the absence of other clinical evidence of systemic amyloidosis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Kriging is used to provide detailed quantitative information for a range of soil characteristics across the floodplain of the River Gambia. Application of spatial statistics to a large area with a coarse grid of data points produces spurious patterns unless the area is firstpartitioned into soil--geomorphic mapping units, each of which has aunique pattern of spatial variation. Even combining classical soil survey method with spatial statistics, the large short-range variability of acid sulphate soils means that single factor maps conceal a large element of uncertainty. A more robust procedure is to map the probability of occurrence of critical values of key characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]