Notes: Specimens of Haptenchelys texts (9), Ilyophis arx (3), I. brunneus (36) (Synaphobranchidae), Nessorhamphus ingolfianus (5) (Derichthyidae), Nettastoma melanurum (9) and Venefica proboscidea (3) (Nettastomatidae) have been studied from collections in the eastern North Atlantic. An additional two V. proboscidea were also included from eastern South Atlantic material. The samples were used to augment the incomplete descriptions of these scantily known species, in order to allow further clarification of their taxonomic status. Data from the three synaphobranchid species have been used to clarify the sub-familial relationships and provide a preliminary family diagnosis. They have also been incorporated in an annotated key to the identification of the species found in the area. In an addition, all the specimens have provided supplementary information on the ecology of the various species, in aspects of distribution, both horizontal and vertical, diet and reproduction.

Notes: A new species of synaphobranchid eel, Ilyophis blachei, is described from the eastern North Atlantic. It is distinguished by 179–188 vertebrae, dorsal fin inserted half (or more) of the snout length posterior to extended tip of pectoral fin, gill slits obliquely inclined anteroventrally from pectoral base, rounded posterior nostril bordered anteriorly by conspicuous triangular flap, long lateral line (87–95% S.L.), supraorbital canal pores 5–6, infraorbital 7–8 and preoperculomandibular 10–11, supraorbital and supratemporal commissures with 1 and 3 pores, respectively. The diagnosis of the genus Ilyophis is extended to embrace these characters. The transitional position of the genus between the subfamilies Synaphobranchinae and Dysomminae is discussed in the light of this new evidence. Ilyophis blachei occurs on the lower continental slope (1247–2070 m soundings) within the temperature range c. 7.0−3.3°C. The first record of I. arx in the Atlantic Ocean is also reported.

Notes: Abstract Composition and distribution of megabenthic communities around Svalbard were investigated in June/July 1991 with 20 Agassiz trawl and 5 bottom trawl hauls in depths between 100 and 2100 m. About 370 species, ranging from sponges to fish, were identified in the catches. Species numbers per station ranged from 21 to 86. Brittle stars, such asOphiacantha bidentata, Ophiura sarsi andOphiocten sericeum, were most important in terms of constancy and relative abundance in the catches. Other prominent faunal elements were eunephthyid alcyonarians, bivalves, shrimps, sea stars and fish (Gadidae, Zoarcidae, Cottidae). Multivariate analyses of the species and environmental data sets showed that the spatial distribution of the megabenthos was characterized by a pronounced depth zonation: abyssal, bathyal, off-shore shelf and fjordic communities were discriminated. However, a gradient in sediment properties, especially the organic carbon content, seemed to superimpose on the bathymetric pattern. Both main factors are interpreted as proxies of the average food availability, which is, hence, suggested to have the strongest influence in structuring megabenthic communities off Svalbard.

Notes: Abstract  Composition and distribution of megabenthic communities around Svalbard were investigated in June/July 1991 with 20 Agassiz trawl and 5 bottom trawl hauls in depths between 100 and 2100 m. About 370 species, ranging from sponges to fish, were identified in the catches. Species numbers per station ranged from 21 to 86. Brittle stars, such as Ophiacantha bidentata, Ophiura sarsi and Ophiocten sericeum, were most important in terms of constancy and relative abundance in the catches. Other prominent faunal elements were eunephthyid alcyonarians, bivalves, shrimps, sea stars and fish (Gadidae, Zoarcidae, Cottidae). Multivariate analyses of the species and environmental data sets showed that the spatial distribution of the megabenthos was characterized by a pronounced depth zonation: abyssal, bathyal, off-shore shelf and fjordic communities were discriminated. However, a gradient in sediment properties, especially the organic carbon content, seemed to superimpose on the bathymetric pattern. Both main factors are interpreted as proxies of the average food availability, which is, hence, suggested to have the strongest influence in structuring megabenthic communities off Svalbard.

Notes: Abstract Acute rejection is associated with a poor long-term prognosis for renal allografts. Sequential fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has been used to monitor rejection. However, FNAC diagnoses rejection only when the infiltrating cells are already damaging the graft and, in some borderline cases with a low increment of inflammatory cells in the graft, FNAC lacks the specificity to diagnose rejection. In these cases, the number of inflammatory cells within the graft can decline, stabilize or increase with time. In this study, we sought to determine whether the analysis of the expression of ICAM-I, HLA-DR and IL-2R along with borderline FNAC results increases the specificity to diagnose rejection. Of 117 FNAC samples taken from 24 patients after renal transplantation, 85 (72 %) were considered suitable for cytological analysis. Of these patients, 9 (37 %) did not suffer an acute cellular rejection (ACR) episode and 15 (63 %) had at least one ACR episode. ICAM-1 and IL-2R were studied using an immune-peroxidase technique. The ICAM-1 results are expressed as the percentage of tubular cells in the aspirate stained with this marker and the IL-2R results are expressed as the absolute number of positively stained lymphocytes in the whole cytopreparation. With a total corrected increment (TCI) of 〉 3 there was a sharp increase in the specificity index for rejection that reached almost 100 % at a TCI of ≥ 4. Sensitivity for rejection at this level was only 20 %. Between a TCI of 2.5 and 2.9 the sensitivity increased to 75 %, with specificity for rejection around 75 %. There was an upregulation of ICAM-1 and IL-2R when FNAC diagnosed rejection but with a large overlap of the results when compared either to normal graft or acute tubular neurosis. The mean TCI during the week preceding the rejection episode was 2.5 and the TCI reached a mean value of ≥ 3 only during rejection. The peak ICAM-1 and IL-2R expression occurred during the week preceding the clinically evident rejection episode. The expression of ICAM-1 by ≥ 70 % of the tubular cells increased the specificity for rejection of a TCI of ≥ 2.5 to 100 %. In the same way, the specificity for rejection increased up to 90 % when eight to ten IL-2R-positive lymphocytes were seen along with a TCI of ≥ 2.5. There was no further increase in specificity after that. A specificity index of 100 % for rejection could be obtained for moderate levels of both ICAM-1 (70 % or more tubular cells) and IL-2R (eight or more lymphocytes). ICAM-1 expression in 70 % or more tubular cells and/or IL-2R expression in eight or more lymphocytes was found in 58 % of the FNAC aspirates with a TCI between 2.5 and 2.9. In conclusion, the expression of IL-2R in lymphoid cells and ICAM-1 in tubular cells was upregulated during rejection episodes and the upregulation preceded both the clinical and the routine FNAC diagnosis of rejection by 1 week. The ddition of these markers to the FNAC increased substantially the specificity of the FNAC to diagnose rejection.

Notes: Abstract We analyzed one special type of acute vascular rejection (AVR), defined as fibrous thickening of the arterial intimal layer that leads to early renal failure. Twenty-one patients who presented this histological pattern were studied among 339 transplanted over 4 years. Patients were separated into two groups. Thirteen patients have restained their kidneys (Group A, 61.9 %) and 8 have lost their grafts (Group B, 38 %). Diagnosis was made on average 430. POD in GA and at 49 ° POD in GB on the 43rd postoperative day in group A and on the 49th postoperative day in group B (NS). In group A, mean serum creatinine is 2.2 mg/dl and follow-up time is 29 months. Oliguria was much more frequent in group B (75 % versus 15.3 %, P = 0.01). These patients were submitted to 91 renal biopsies always because of non-function. Typical vascular lesions began at arcuate arteries and progressed, as seen in sequential biopsies, to interlobular arteries and arterioles. When only arcuate arteries were affected, 22.5 % of renal losses were seen, but when arcuate plus interlobular arteries were compromised, 72.2 % of patients lost their kidneys (P = 0.006). We did not identify any difference in immunofluorescent staining from biopsies with or without vascular rejection, or between groups A and B. We concluded that about 2.3 % of our patients lost their kidneys because of this kind of AVR, diagnosed near the 43rd postoperative day. The only clinical predictive sign of poor reversibility was oliguria. The attack on arcuate plus interlobular arteries meant a poor prognosis. Immunofluorescent staining did not have a prognostic value.