Anthropogenic marine debris accumulation and its ecological impact on the highly urbanized mangroves of Hong Kong.

Mangroves are recognized as a sink for plastic and other anthropogenic marine debris (AMD). The accumulation rates of AMD within these ecosystems, however, have not yet been assessed anywhere in the world. Here, we investigated the standing stock and accumulation rate of AMD at four of the most polluted mangroves in Hong Kong over one year, focussing on its ecological impact on the diversity and abundance of vegetation and benthic macrofauna.

Anthropogenic debris pollution in peri-urban mangroves of South China: Spatial, seasonal, and environmental drivers in Hong Kong.

Excessive mismanaged debris along tropical coasts pose a threat to vulnerable mangrove ecosystems. Here, we examined the spatial, seasonal and environmental drivers of anthropogenic debris abundance and its potential ecological impact in peri-urban mangroves across Hong Kong. Seasonal surveys were conducted in both landward and seaward zones, with identification, along belt transects, of macrodebris (>5 mm) based on material type and use.

Fate of plastic in the environment: From macro to nano by macrofauna.

Plastic ingestion has been widely investigated to understand its adverse harms on fauna, but the role of fauna itself in plastic fragmentation has been rarely addressed. Here, we review and discuss the available experimental results on the role of terrestrial and aquatic macrofauna in plastic biofragmentation and degradation. Recent studies have shown how biting, chewing, and stomach contractions of organisms shatter ingested plastic along their digestive tracts.

Analysis of time-dependent adaptations in whole-body energy balance in obesity induced by high-fat diet in rats.

Background: High-fat (HF) diet has been extensively used as a model to study metabolic disorders of human obesity in rodents. However, the adaptive whole-body metabolic responses that drive the development of obesity with chronically feeding a HF diet are not fully understood. Therefore, this study investigated the physiological mechanisms by which whole-body energy balance and substrate partitioning are adjusted in the course of HF diet-induced obesity.

Prolonged AICAR-induced AMP-kinase activation promotes energy dissipation in white adipocytes: novel mechanisms integrating HSL and ATGL.

This study was designed to investigate the effects of prolonged activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) on lipid partitioning and the potential molecular mechanisms involved in these processes in white adipose tissue (WAT). Rat epididymal adipocytes were incubated with 5'-aminoimidasole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-d-ribofuranoside (AICAR;0.5 mM) for 15 h.

Kinetic capillary electrophoresis-based affinity screening of aptamer clones.

DNA aptamers are single stranded DNA (ssDNA) molecules artificially selected from random-sequence DNA libraries for their specific binding to a certain target. DNA aptamers have a number of advantages over antibodies and promise to replace them in both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The development of DNA aptamers involves three major stages: library enrichment, obtaining individual DNA clones, and the affinity screening of the clones.