Immunity is mostly studied in a few model organisms, leaving the majority of immune systems on the planet unexplored. To characterize the immune systems of non-model organisms alternative approaches are required. Viruses manipulate host cell biology through the expression of proteins that modulate the immune response. We hypothesized that metagenomic sequencing of viral communities would be use...

Corallimorpharia is a small Order of skeleton-less animals that is closely related to the reef-building corals (Scleractinia) and of fundamental interest in the context of understanding the potential impacts of climate change in the future on coral reefs. The relationship between the nominal Orders Corallimorpharia and Scleractinia is controversial-the former is either the closest outgroup to t...

To simply reduce HAuCl(4) using 2-thiophenemethanol in an aqueous solution at room temperature, a novel metallic Au nanostructure with a high SERS activity was obtained. Flat sheet-like Au nanoleaves possessing many nanogap hotspots bound with a large percentage of high-index facets were obtained.

Biomaterial surfaces and their nanostructures can significantly influence cell growth and viability. Thus, manipulating surface characteristics of scaffolds can be a potential strategy to control cell functions for stem cell tissue engineering. In this study, in order to construct a hydroxyapatite (HAp) coated genipin-chitosan conjugation scaffold (HGCCS) with a well-defined HAp nanostructured ...

In this paper, synthesis of the flower-like zinc oxide was performed using microwave assisted dicationic ionic liquid [mmp(im)2 ]Br2 . The polycrystalline flower-like zinc oxide nanostructure was obtained when a suitable mole ratio (ionic liquid /zinc acetate) and short duration microwave was used. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectra w...

The reef coral Mussismilia braziliensis Verril, 1968 is endemic to the eastern Brazilian coast, representing a major reef-building species in the region. This coral is threatened by extinction due to the recent proliferation of a white-plague like (WPL) disease. Despite its severe impacts, the environmental factors leading to outbreaks of WPL disease are still poorly understood. This study desc...

Coral reefs are valuable and fragile ecosystems which are under threat from human activities like coral mining. Many countries have built marine protected areas (MPAs) and protect their ecosystems through boat patrol. However, it remains a significant challenge to efficiently patrol the MPAs given the limited patrol resources of the protection agency and potential destructors’ strategic actions...

One-third of the world's reef-building corals are facing heightened extinction risk from climate change and other anthropogenic impacts. Previous studies have shown that such threats are not distributed randomly across the coral tree of life, and future extinctions have the potential to disproportionately reduce the phylogenetic diversity of this group on a global scale. However, the impact of ...

Tropical coral reefs feature extraordinary biodiversity and high productivity rates in oligotrophic waters. Due to increasing frequencies of perturbations--anthropogenic and natural--many reefs are under threat. Such perturbations often have devastating effects on these unique ecosystems and especially if they occur simultaneously and amplify each other's impact, they might trigger a phase shif...

Cadmium oxide rhombus-shaped nanostructure was synthesized using hydrothermal process followed by heating treatment. Clearly, X-ray diffraction pattern demonstrated the formation of CdO crystalline phase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the obtained rhombus-like structure is composed of nanoparticles with the average size of 29 nm. In addition, we evaluated adsorption of org...