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The life history and reproductive biology of the gammaridean amphipod Melita palmata was studied in the Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (Argentina). The animals were collected fortnightly or monthly from Ficopomatus enigmaticus reefs from December 2000 to March 2002. The population density reached a maximum of 1556.67±1560 ind/m3 (mean±SD) in March 2001, decreased dramatically after intense rainfalls in winter 2001, and had a minimum value of 141.67±27.54 ind/m3 (mean±SD) in March 2002. Size differed significantly between sexes. The maximum size of males was 11.5 mm and this was 1.4 times longer than the length of females. The average sex ratio (0.44) did not differ significantly from an expected 1:1 value. Ovigerous females were present from December to March, when the temperature was above 18°C. The body size of ovigerous females ranged from 2.9 to 6.81 mm. There was a positive correlation between the brood size and body length of ovigerous females, and the maximum number of eggs per female was ten. Recruitment took place during the whole breeding season; juveniles recruited at the beginning of the season matured at the end of the same season, those recruited late would probably reach maturity in the following season.

Globalisation, combined with structural adjustment (economic deregulation, market liberalisation, privatisation of public enterprises, etc.), have together created a new macroeconomic context in the past decade in Argentina. In this new context, the food market has undergone profound changes, requiring producers, processors, and distributors to carry out co-ordination and integration of the supply chain. To meet the new rules of the game, firms have had to adapt their production, processing, logistical, and marketing structures to the specifications of consumer demand (Kinsey and Senauer, 1996). This has brought change in marketing systems, in particular the rapid rise of supermarkets and hypermarkets at the expense of traditional retailers and small, full-service shops. AC Nielsen Argentina (1999) shows that in 1984, over the whole country, supermarkets had 27%, modern self-service ('convenience') stores 17%, and traditional shops 56% of food retailing. By 1990, the shares were 34%, 21%, and 44%, respectively; and by 1999 supermarkets had 58%, while traditional stores had only 19%

Introduction. Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) radical tonsillectomy is an emerging minimally invasive surgical procedure for the treatment of cancer of the tonsil. The detailed surgical technique and claims for its reproducibility have been previously published. Case Presentation. We present a patient with a T2N2bM0 epidermoid carcinoma of the tonsil to illustrate step by step the surgical procedure for TORS radical tonsillectomy. Neck dissection and TORS were staged. No surgical reconstruction of the defect was required. No tracheostomy was necessary. The patient could eat without any feeding tube and was on full oral diet on the fifth postoperative day. Discussion. The transoral approach offers the benefits of minimally invasive surgery to patients with cancer of the tonsil. The excellent exposure and high precision provided by robotic instrumentation allow the surgeon to closely follow and accomplish the surgical steps, which is the best warranty for safety and effectiveness.