Selenium induces mercury isotope fractionation and detoxification in marine fish.

Prey fish are vital in transferring nutrients and contaminants from lower to higher trophic levels. Although the role of selenium (Se) on mercury (Hg) detoxification has been identified in marine mammals and seabirds, the metabolic pathways of Hg-Se interaction in fish remain unknown. We used Hg stable isotopes (δ202Hg, Δ199Hg) to characterize the internal dynamics of methylmercury (MeHg) and inorganic Hg (IHg) in the presence and absence of Se in juvenile olive flounders (Paralichthys olivaceus).

Near surface oxidation of elemental mercury leads to mercury exposure in the Arctic Ocean biota.

Atmospheric mercury (Hg(0), Hg(II)) and riverine exported Hg (Hg(II)) are proposed as important Hg sources to the Arctic Ocean. As plankton cannot passively uptake Hg(0), gaseous Hg(0) has to be oxidized to be bioavailable. Here, we measured Hg isotope ratios in zooplankton, Arctic cod, total gaseous Hg, sediment, seawater, and snowpack from the Bering Strait, the Chukchi Sea, and the Beaufort Sea.

Internal dynamics of inorganic and methylmercury in a marine fish: Insights from mercury stable isotopes.

Mercury isotope ratios in fish tissues have been used to infer sources and biogeochemical processes of mercury in aquatic ecosystems. More experimental studies are however needed to understand the internal dynamics of mercury isotopes and to further assess the feasibility of using fish mercury isotope ratios as a monitoring tool. We exposed Olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) to food pellets spiked with varying concentrations (400, 1600 ng/g) of methylmercury (MeHg) and inorganic mercury (IHg) for 10 weeks.

A Multilayer Secure Biomedical Data Management System for Remotely Managing a Very Large Number of Diverse Personal Healthcare Devices.

In this paper, a multilayer secure biomedical data management system for managing a very large number of diverse personal health devices is proposed. The system has the following characteristics: the system supports international standard communication protocols to achieve interoperability. The system is integrated in the sense that both a PHD communication system and a remote PHD management system work together as a single system.

Vitamin C Deficiency Causes Severe Defects in the Development of the Neonatal Cerebellum and in the Motor Behaviors of Gulo(-/-) Mice.

Aims: The developing brain of a neonate is particularly susceptible to damage by vitamin C deficiency because of its rapid growth and immature antioxidant system. Cognitive impairment and sensory motor deficits are found in the adult brain upon vitamin C deficiency. Therefore, the aim of this study was to clarify the role of vitamin C in its own right and its related mechanisms in Gulo(-/-) mice incapable of synthesizing vitamin C.

Plant homeodomain finger protein 2 promotes bone formation by demethylating and activating Runx2 for osteoblast differentiation.

Plant homeodomain finger protein 2 (PHF2), which contains a plant homeodomain and a Jumonji-C domain, is an epigenetic regulator that demethylates lysine 9 in histone 3 (H3K9me2). On the other hand, runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) plays essential roles in bone development and regeneration. Given previous reports that the PHF2 mutation can cause dwarfism in mice and that PHF2 expression is correlated with that of Runx2 in differentiating thymocytes, we investigated whether PHF2 regulates Runx2-mediated bone formation.