Microplastic pollution in the gastrointestinal tract of giant river catfish Sperata seenghala (Sykes, 1839) from the Meghna River, Bangladesh.

Freshwater rivers are considered the major route for microplastics (MPs), yet limited studies have been reported on MPs in freshwater river fish, especially in Bangladesh. This research reveals the intake of MPs by the giant river catfish Sperata seenghala, collected from the Meghna River, which is the only outlet of the Ganges-Brahmaputra River. Three locations, namely, Chandpur Sadar, Bhola Sadar, and Char Fasson, along the Meghna River, were selected in order to investigate the gastrointestinal tracts (GIT) of the fish.

A beaker method for determination of microplastic concentration by micro-Raman spectroscopy.

Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy method for measuring small microplastic (SMP) concentration in marine environment is time-consuming and labor-intensive due to sample pre-treatment. In contrast, Raman spectroscopy is less influenced by water and can directly measure SMP samples in water, making it a more efficient method to measure SMP concentration. Therefore, a method that can directly estimate the concentration of SMPs in water was developed, and the relationship between SMP concentration and experimental Raman spectra were established by testing with standard polyethylene (PE) samples.

Comparison of Muscle Color and Total Selenium Concentrations Between Spotted Mackerel Scomber australasicus and Pacific Mackerel S. japonicus.

Selenoneine is a selenium-containing imidazole compound in the blood and tissues of tuna and other marine fish that has strong free-radical scavenging activity. This compound may have antioxidant functions, i.e.

A novel liver-specific immunoglobulin heavy chain-like gene in a cartilaginous fish.

We identified a novel immunoglobulin (Ig) heavy chain-like gene (tsIgH) expressed in the liver of the banded houndshark by preliminary transcriptomic analysis. The tsIgH gene showed less than 30% of amino acid identities to Ig genes of the shark. The gene encodes one variable domain (VH) and three conserved domains (CH1-CH3) with a predicted signal peptide.

Major contribution of sulfide-derived sulfur to the benthic food web in a large freshwater lake.

In freshwater systems, contributions of chemosynthetic products by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in sediments as nutritional resources in benthic food webs remain unclear, even though chemosynthetic products might be an important nutritional resource for benthic food webs in deep-sea hydrothermal vents and shallow marine systems. To study geochemical aspects of this trophic pathway, we sampled sediment cores and benthic animals at two sites (90 and 50 m water depths) in the largest freshwater (mesotrophic) lake in Japan: Lake Biwa. Stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotopes of the sediments and animals were measured to elucidate the sulfur nutritional resources for the benthic food web precisely by calculating the contributions of the incorporation of sulfide-derived sulfur to the biomass and of the biogeochemical sulfur cycle supporting the sulfur nutritional resource.

Spontaneous gelation behaviors and mechanism of Ficus awkeotsang Makino pectin.

Ficus awkeotsang Makino (jelly fig) can produce edible gels by rubbing its seeds in water at room temperature in which pectin is considered as the main gelling component. However, the spontaneous gelation mechanism of Ficus awkeotsang Makino (jelly fig) pectin (JFSP) is still unclear. This study aimed to reveal the structure, physicochemical properties, and spontaneous gelation behaviors and mechanism of JFSP.

D-Pinitol Ameliorated Osteoporosis via Elevating D-chiro-Inositol Level in Ovariectomized Mice.

A natural sugar alcohol, D-pinitol, has been reported to be a potential compound for osteoporosis treatment via inhibiting osteoclastgenesis. However, research on the effects of pinitol on osteoporosis in vivo is still limited. The present study investigated the protective effects of pinitol on ovariectomized mice and attempted to elucidate this mechanism in vivo.

Pharmacokinetic Analysis of Zonarol, a Marine Algal Hydroquinone, in Mice Using HPLC with Fluorescence Detection.

Zonarol, which was discovered in the brown algae has antibiotic, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective hydroquinone properties. Additionally, a daily treatment of zonarol taken orally has been proven to prevent ulcerative colitis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in experimentally induced mice models. In this study, to elucidate the physiological behavior of zonarol in vivo, the establishment of quantitative methods for the determination of zonarol in biological samples and basic pharmacokinetics parameters after oral or intravenous administration with purified zonarol to mice were investigated.

Development of automated microplastic identification workflow for Raman micro-imaging and evaluation of the uncertainties during micro-imaging.

In this study, an automated identification workflow for Raman micro-imaging (RMI) was developed, and the performance was evaluated by artificial samples of microplastic (MP) microsphere with different sizes and types. Theoretical detection rate and estimated particle size were derived and compared with experimental data. Results show that the proposed workflow can identify plastic types and estimate the size of the MP microspheres under different conditions for most cases.

Coumarin 6 staining method to detect microplastics.

Microplastics have contaminated the ocean in large quantities and are widely distributed throughout the world. Thus, our understanding of the concentration of microplastics in various environments should be increased. However, current methods to detect microplastics require considerable effort and expensive equipment.

Analysis of the economic performance of salmon farming in submerged and surface cages in the Black Sea.

The production period for salmon farming in the Black Sea comprises the winter period and is limited to seven months, due to high water temperatures during the summer time. As an alternative strategy, temporary cage submersion during the summer season might be a solution for salmon grow-out throughout the year. Therefore, this study was conducted for comparative evaluation of economic performance of submerged and surface cages, by analyzing structural costs and returns for Turkish salmon farming in the Black Sea.

Unique evolution of foraminiferal calcification to survive global changes.

Foraminifera, the most ancient known calcium carbonate-producing eukaryotes, are crucial players in global biogeochemical cycles and well-used environmental indicators in biogeosciences. However, little is known about their calcification mechanisms. This impedes understanding the organismal responses to ocean acidification, which alters marine calcium carbonate production, potentially leading to biogeochemical cycle changes.

What makes Sanriku waters the southernmost habitat of northern fur seals? Winter-spring habitat use in relation to oceanographic environments.

The waters off Sanriku (located on the northeastern coast of Honshu Island, Japan) provide the southernmost habitats of northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) during winter and spring in the western North Pacific. The southward flowing cold Oyashio current and northward-flowing warm Kuroshio extension mix there, making the area highly productive. Northern fur seals migrate into these waters from the breeding rookeries for feeding, and the locations of the southern margins of their habitats vary yearly.

scRNA-seq Analysis of Hemocytes of Penaeid Shrimp Under Virus Infection.

The classification of cells in non-model organisms has lagged behind the classification of cells in model organisms that have established cluster of differentiation marker sets. To reduce fish diseases, research is needed to better understand immune-related cells, or hemocytes, in non-model organisms like shrimp and other marine invertebrates. In this study, we used Drop-seq to examine how virus infection affected the populations of hemocytes in kuruma shrimp, Penaeus japonicus, which had been artificially infected with a virus.

MicroRNA Regulation in Infectious Diseases and Its Potential as a Biosensor in Future Aquaculture Industry: A Review.

An infectious disease is the most apprehensive problem in aquaculture as it can lead to high mortality in aquatic organisms and massive economic loss. Even though significant progress has been accomplished in therapeutic, prevention, and diagnostic using several potential technologies, more robust inventions and breakthroughs should be achieved to control the spread of infectious diseases. MicroRNA (miRNA) is an endogenous small non-coding RNA that post-transcriptionally regulates the protein-coding genes.

Lack of behavioral effect of surgical mask leachate on the Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus: Implications for invasion success in polluted coastal waters.

The COVID-19 pandemic generated a new source of plastic mass pollution, i.e. surgical masks, that preferentially accumulate in intertidal environments.

Improvement of the ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis) draft genome using Hi-C sequencing.

Objective: The ayu or sweetfish Plecoglossus altivelis is ray-finned fish that is widely distributed in East Asia. The genome size of ayu was estimated at approximately 420 Mb. Previously, we reported on ayu draft genome assembly by whole-genome shotgun using Illumina short reads and PacBio long reads; however, the assembly was not to chromosome level.

Growth, Toxin Content and Production of Dinophysis Norvegica in Cultured Strains Isolated from Funka Bay (Japan).

The successful cultivation of Claparède & Lachmann, 1859, isolated from Japanese coastal waters, is presented in this study, which also includes an examination of its toxin content and production for the first time. Maintaining the strains at a high abundance (>2000 cells per mL) for more than 20 months was achieved by feeding them with the ciliate Lohmann, 1908, along with the addition of the cryptophyte (W.Conrad) D.

Heavy metals contamination in shrimp and crab from southwest regions in Bangladesh: Possible health risk assessment.

Shrimp and Crab, important sources of protein, are currently being adversely affected by the rising industrialization, which has led to higher levels of heavy metals. The goal of this study was to evaluate the health risks of contamination associated with nine heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Cr, Zn, Ni, As, Al, and Fe) in two species of shrimp ( and ) and one species of crab () that were collected from the Khulna, Satkhira, and Bagerhat areas of Bangladesh. Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used for the study.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) modulates lipid metabolism in white shrimp.

In addition to the Warburg effect, which increases the availability of energy and biosynthetic building blocks in WSSV-infected shrimp, WSSV also induces both lipolysis at the viral genome replication stage (12 hpi) to provide material and energy for the virus replication, and lipogenesis at the viral late stage (24 hpi) to complete virus morphogenesis by supplying particular species of long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs). Here, we further show that WSSV causes a reduction in lipid droplets (LDs) in hemocytes at the viral genome replication stage, and an increase in LDs in the nuclei of WSSV-infected hemocytes at the viral late stage. In the hepatopancreas, lipolysis is triggered by WSSV infection, and this leads to fatty acids being released into the hemolymph.

sp. nov., an anaerobic bacterium isolated from marine sediment.

A novel bacterium, strain SH18-1, was isolated from marine sediment collected near Sado Island in the Sea of Japan. This strain was strictly anaerobic, Gram-stain-negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped, motile, and mesophilic. It grew at 15-40 °C (optimum, 30-35 °C), at a NaCl concentration of 0.

D-Pinitol Improved Glucose Metabolism and Inhibited Bone Loss in Mice with Diabetic Osteoporosis.

Diabetic osteoporosis (DO) has been increasingly recognized as an important complication of diabetes. D-pinitol, a natural compound found in various legumes, is known for its anti-diabetic function, but its effect on DO has not been investigated. Two doses of pinitol (50 and 100 mg/kg Bw/d) were administered orally to experimentally induce the DO mouse model for 5 weeks.