The present work has studied the incidence and type of micro (1-5 mm), meso (5-25 mm) and macroplastics (>25 mm) that have reached Arenas Blancas beach, located in the north coast of El Hierro island, in the Canary Islands (Spain), from October 2019 to May 2020 (13 sampling dates with 3 sampling points each). Taking into consideration the three studied plastic debris fractions (macro, meso and microplastics), a total of 9206 items were found, which had a total weight of 1169.7 g and a concentration of 891.3 ± 91.5 items/m (118.3 ± 17.8 g/m and 2.3 ± 0.4 g/L). Regarding their colour, most of them were transparent/white/clear, especially in the microplastic fraction in which they accounted for a 68% of the total. Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy of meso and microplastic fractions indicated that most of the particles were either polypropylene and polyethylene followed by polystyrene in a much lower amount. In general, the total amount of plastic debris that arrives to the beach by the persistent oceanic current pattern linked to the easternmost branch of the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre is comparable to those of the most contaminated beaches of the Canary Islands archipelago, suggesting that a new hotspot of plastic debris arrival has been found.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112548 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
January 2025
Department of Zoology, University of Sialkot, Sialkot, 51040, Punjab, Pakistan.
Microplastics (MPs) form when plastic debris is released into the aquatic environment, where they decompose and have deleterious effects on aquatic life. This study aimed to examine the harmful impacts of polystyrene MPs (PS-MPs) on the growth, carcass composition, hematology, digestibility, histopathology, and mineral analysis of Catla catla (11.09 ± 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSleep
January 2025
Chronobiology and Sleep Institute, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Glia are increasingly appreciated as serving an important function in the control of sleep and circadian rhythms. Glial cells in Drosophila and mammals regulate daily rhythms of locomotor activity and sleep as well as homeostatic rebound following sleep deprivation. In addition, they contribute to proposed functions of sleep, with different functions mapping to varied glial subtypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeliyon
January 2025
Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", 81100, Caserta, Italy.
Nanoplastics (NPs) are plastic particles, typically less than 100 nm in size, that result from daily life products as well as the degradation of larger plastic debris. Due to their small size and chemical composition, they can interact with biological systems in ways that larger plastic particles cannot. Humans are continuously exposed to NPs and several studies showed the potentially toxic effects of these latter on health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hazard Mater
January 2025
School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China; Anhui Ecological Civilization Research Institute, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China.
Numerous studies have focused on the effect and mechanism of plastic degradation; due to their high persistence, petroleum-based plastics are difficult for microbes to mineralize. Although such plastics have been demonstrated to be mineralized by white rot fungus, the reactions at the molecular level remain unknown. Here, we show the whole mineralization model of polyethylene film, that can be summarized as follows: 1) white rot fungus colonizes on polyethylene film, using additives as dissimilated carbon sources; 2) the fungus secretes extracellular enzymes protein, combining with stearic acid as electron donor, causes oxidation and cracking of polyethylene film; and 3) partial dissociated sub-microplastic debris access to cells, further oxidizes in sequential actions of intracellular enzymes, and ultimately mineralize via β-oxidation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Craniofac Surg
January 2025
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Saitama Medical University International Medical Center.
This study aimed to develop a novel reconstruction method for segmental mandibulectomy. In the authors' opinion, reconstruction of the anterior border of the mandibular ramus using a double-arm vascularized fibular flap is important to prevent deformity due to buccal depression and the accumulation of food debris, thereby eliminating masticatory dead space that cannot be filled with prostheses such as implants or dentures. Using conventional reconstruction plates, the reconstructed bone positioned at the anterior border of the mandibular ramus required either fixing with only 1 screw or using 2 plates for stable fixation, making it difficult to position the plates stably.
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