Intrauterine brain teratoma: a case report of imaging (US,MRI) with neuropathologic correlations

Fetal brain tumors are rare and teratoma is considered as the most common. Fetal MR Imaging is currently used to evaluate cases of ventricular dilatation. We report a case of cerebral immature teratoma detected by ultrasonography because of ventricular dilatation at 24 gestational weeks. MRI was the more accurate imaging method in depicting the tumor and its consequences on brain development as well as in taking a decision with regard to the management of pregnancy. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial structure and habitat associations of demersal assemblages in the Gulf of Lions: a multicompartmental approach

Experimental trawl surveys were performed in the Gulf of Lions. A multicompartmental approach was used to study the spatial distribution of demersal assemblages and to estimate their associations with two other components of the ecosystem: the benthic macrofauna and substratum type. At the Gulf scale, we found that these components explained 38 and 19% of the total variability of the spatial organization of groundfishes, respectively. Our results showed that groundfish and benthic macrofauna species were primarily distributed along a coast–open sea gradient and secondarily along a longitudinal axis. The longitudinal variability of the spatial organisation of species was maximal in the shelf area, whereas the upper-slope and coastal areas were characterized by strong homogeneity. Although no partitioning could be made based on their spatial distribution, the coastal groundfish assemblages were split into two groups. In the first group, groundfishes were strongly associated with both benthic macrofauna and type of substratum; in the second group, they were strongly independent of these two components. Furthermore, in the Gulf of Lions, the presence of productive zones associated with the Rhône river plume or with shelf-break upwelling seemed to attract some groundfishes. This study illustrates how useful such a multicompartmental approach can be for both fisheries management and community ecology.