The South China Sea is a special reservoir of sponges of which prokaryotic communities are less studied. Here, a new record of the sponge Dactylospongia elegans is reported near the coast of Jinqing Island in the South China Sea, and its prokaryotic community is comprehensively investigated. Sponge specimens displayed lower microbial diversity compared with surrounding seawater. At the phylum l...

Three methods were examined to cultivate bacteria associated with the marine sponge Haliclona (gellius) sp.: agar plate cultures, liquid cultures, and floating filter cultures. A variety of oligotrophic media were employed, including media with aqueous and organic sponge extracts, bacterial signal molecules, and siderophores. More than 3,900 isolates were analyzed, and 205 operational taxonomic...

Spongy graphene is a newly developed adsorbent of high performance for water treatment. Proper functionalization is an efficient approach to improve the adsorption capacity of graphene adsorbents. In this study, we prepared graphene oxide (GO), functionalized it with carboxyl groups to produce carboxylated GO (GO-COOH) dispersion, and lyophilized the GO-COOH dispersion to obtain the GO-COOH spo...

MicroRNA (miRNA) sponges are RNA transcripts containing multiple high-affinity binding sites that associate with and sequester specific miRNAs to prevent them from interacting with their target messenger (m)RNAs. Due to the high specificity of miRNA sponges and strong inhibition of target miRNAs, these molecules have become increasingly applied in miRNA loss-of-function studies. However, improp...

Chitin and sepia ink hybrid hemostatic sponge (CTSH sponge), a new biomedical material, was extensively studied for its beneficial biological properties of hemostasis and stimulation of healing. However, studies examining the safety of CTSH sponge in the blood system are lacking. This experiment aimed to examine whether CTSH sponge has negative effect on blood systems of mice, which were treated...

80% except for acetaminophen, due to its lower solubility in water and higher solubility in corn oil. The release profile of the drug was pH dependent. In acidic medium, the release rate was much slower, however, the drug was released quickly at pH 7.4. Tacrine showed unexpected release profiles, probably due to ionic interaction with polymer matrix and the shell structure and the highest relea...

The marine-derived fungus Stachylidium sp. was isolated from the sponge Callyspongia sp. cf. C. flammea. Culture on a biomalt medium supplemented with sea salt led to the isolation of three new phthalide derivatives, i.e., marilones A-C (1-3), and the known compound silvaticol (4). The skeleton of marilones A and B is most unusual, and its biosynthesis is suggested to require unique biochemical...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires beef abattoir operators to periodically analyze beef carcass sponge samples for levels of Escherichia coli. Additional beef carcass sponge sampling is commonly used by processors to evaluate the efficacy of beef abattoir antimicrobial intervention systems. The USDA sample preparation procedure requires that beef carcass sponge samples be mechan...

Trace elements are vital for the growth and development of all organisms. Little is known about the elemental content and trace metal biology of Red Sea demosponges. This study establishes an initial database of sponge elemental content. It provides the necessary foundation for further research of the mechanisms used by sponges to regulate the uptake, accumulation, and storage of metals. The me...

Penile lesions from six patients with balanitis circinata were examined with the light and electron microscopes. The epithelium showed slight parakeratosis, acanthosis, and elongation of rete ridges. Neutrophil pustules occupied the upper epidermis. Prickle cells formed a spongiform net around the pustules. The most prominent features detected by the electron microscope were the small-to-medium...