Population structure and adaptive differentiation in the sea cucumber Apostichopus californicus and implications for spatial resource management.

A growing body of evidence suggests that spatial population structure can develop in marine species despite large population sizes and high gene flow. Characterizing population structure is important for the effective management of exploited species, as it can be used to identify appropriate scales of management in fishery and aquaculture contexts. The California sea cucumber, Apostichopus californicus, is one such exploited species whose management could benefit from further characterization of population structure.

Immune responses in fatalities involving opioids.

In some cases of fatalities involving opioid use, the concentrations of detected opioids are not in the toxic range. Immune reactions can be triggered by opioid use, suggesting that immune response may be a factor in these cases. Autopsy cases from 2002-2012 were reviewed.

Size, growth, and density data for shallow-water sea urchins from Mexico to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 1956-2016.

Size, growth, and density have been studied for North American Pacific coast sea urchins Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, S. droebachiensis, S. polyacanthus, Mesocentrotus (Strongylocentrotus) franciscanus, Lytechinus pictus, Centrostephanus coronatus, and Arbacia stellata by various workers at diverse sites and for varying lengths of time from 1956 to present.

Anatomical changes correlated with chronic pain in forensic medicine.

This study was performed to determine the relationships between chronic pain and anatomic changes that may occur in the body. Autopsies were performed on fatalities that required death investigation in Linn County, IA, or adjacent and nearby areas. Persons with chronic pain were older than the control population at the time of death.

Plastic Pollution in the World's Oceans: More than 5 Trillion Plastic Pieces Weighing over 250,000 Tons Afloat at Sea.

Plastic pollution is ubiquitous throughout the marine environment, yet estimates of the global abundance and weight of floating plastics have lacked data, particularly from the Southern Hemisphere and remote regions. Here we report an estimate of the total number of plastic particles and their weight floating in the world's oceans from 24 expeditions (2007-2013) across all five sub-tropical gyres, costal Australia, Bay of Bengal and the Mediterranean Sea conducting surface net tows (N = 680) and visual survey transects of large plastic debris (N = 891). Using an oceanographic model of floating debris dispersal calibrated by our data, and correcting for wind-driven vertical mixing, we estimate a minimum of 5.

The medium, not the message. How tattoos correlate with early mortality.

Objectives: At autopsy, tattoos are recorded as part of the external examination. An investigation was undertaken to determine whether negative messages that are tattooed on a decedent may indicate a predisposition to certain fatal outcomes.

Methods: Tattooed and nontattooed persons were classified by demography and forensics.

The plastic-associated microorganisms of the North Pacific Gyre.

Microorganisms likely mediate processes affecting the fate and impacts of marine plastic pollution, including degradation, chemical adsorption, and colonization or ingestion by macroorganisms. We investigated the relationship between plastic-associated microorganism communities and factors such as location, temperature, salinity, plankton abundance, plastic concentration, item size, surface roughness, and polymer type. Small plastic items from the surface of the North Pacific Gyre in 2011 were examined using scanning electron microscopy.

The incidence of plastic ingestion by fishes: from the prey's perspective.

One of the primary threats to ocean ecosystems from plastic pollution is ingestion by marine organisms. Well-documented in seabirds, turtles, and marine mammals, ingestion by fish and sharks has received less attention until recently. We suggest that fishes of a variety of sizes attack drifting plastic with high frequency, as evidenced by the apparent bite marks commonly left behind.

Tracking the sources and sinks of local marine debris in Hawai'i.

Plastic pollution has biological, chemical, and physical effects on marine environments and economic effects on coastal communities. These effects are acute on southeastern Hawai'i Island, where volunteers remove 16 metric tons of debris annually from a 15 km coastline. Although the majority is foreign-origin, a portion is locally-generated.

What controls connectivity? An empirical, multi-species approach.

The exchange of individuals among habitat patches (connectivity) has broad relevance for the conservation and management of marine metapopulations. Elemental fingerprinting-based research conducted over the past 12 years along the open coastline and bays of San Diego County in southern California evaluated connectivity patterns for seven species: one native and two invasive mussels, an oyster, a brachyuran crab, and two fishes. The studies spanned different years and seasons but overlapped considerably in space, allowing comparisons of dispersal patterns across species, and assessment of the relative importance of location, circulation, and intra-annual and inter-annual variability.

Evaluating the importance of demographic connectivity in a marine metapopulation.

Recently researchers have gone to great lengths to measure marine metapopulation connectivity via tagging, genetic, and trace-elemental fingerprinting studies. These empirical estimates of larval dispersal are key to assessing the significance of metapopulation connectivity within a demographic context, but the life-history data required to do this are rarely available. To evaluate the demographic consequences of connectivity we constructed seasonal, size-structured metapopulation matrix models for two species of mytilid mussel in San Diego County, California, USA.

Small plastic debris changes water movement and heat transfer through beach sediments.

We investigated the physical properties of beaches contaminated with plastic fragments. We compared sediment cores from Hawai'i Island's Kamilo Beach, notable for plastic accumulation, to cores from a nearby beach. Compared to the nearby beach, Kamilo sediments contained more plastics (up to 30.

Reproductive timing alters population connectivity in marine metapopulations.

Populations of most marine organisms are connected by the dispersal of larval stages, with profound implications for marine conservation. Because of the extreme effort needed to empirically measure larval exchange, multispecies conservation efforts must estimate connectivity by extrapolation using taxonomy, adult distribution, life history, behavior, or phenology. Using a 6-year record of connectivity realized through trace-elemental fingerprinting of larval shells, we document the seasonal and interannual variability of larval exchange for two congeneric mussel species with overlapping but distinct distribution, life history, and reproduction timing.

Patterns of ecchymoses caused by manner of death and collateral injuries sustained in bruising incidents: decedent injuries, profiles, comparisons, and clinicopathologic significance.

We investigated how ecchymoses could be used to predict other injuries, or help establish the cause of death. Ecchymoses, fractures, lacerations, abrasions, and other data were recorded. Eleven percent of decedents had ecchymoses.

Optic nerve trauma with unilateral edema as a result of head injury.

We encountered a patient who suffered a head injury that translated to the optic nerves, leading to dramatic unilateral right optic nerve edema. The decedent was a 20-year-old unsecured passenger in a convertible. The car collided with a pickup truck.

A fatality involving an unusual route of fentanyl delivery: Chewing and aspirating the transdermal patch.

We recently encountered a subject who died from an uncommon misuse of a fentanyl transdermal patch, chewing, followed by complications of aspiration of the patch. We report this case to alert medical examiners to the troubling trend of increased fentanyl patch abuse and its expanding range of misuses and associated morbidities. The decedent was a 28-year-old white male with a past medical history of prescription drug abuse who was pronounced dead in the emergency department shortly after arrival.

Unexpected death following single blow to the orbit.

Severe brain injury is rare after assault to the head with a fist. Our patient was a 39-year-old white male who was punched in a parking lot. The subject fell on his right head.

Identification at autopsy of pulverized pills in lungs of a first-time methadone user.

We recently encountered a 25-year-old white man who died of substance abuse including methadone. The route of administration of the drug(s) appears to have been insufflation. He was found dead at home.

Mast cell tryptase in a case of anaphylaxis due to repeat antibiotic exposure.

Mast cell tryptase can be an indicator of type I hypersensitivity reaction and thus may serve as a surrogate marker of anaphylaxis. A 34-year-old white male patient presented with a history of systemic lupus erythematosus. Shortly after administration of cefazolin for dialysis, he developed pruritus and shortness of breath.

Brain trauma in head injuries presenting with and without concurrent skull fractures.

Head injuries and skull fractures may be problematic in cause and manner of death. Over a 10-year period, 54 cases showing head injuries were studied. Of these, 34 had skull fractures and 20 had no skull fractures.