Vertical variations and environmental heterogeneity drove the symphony of periphytic protozoan fauna in marine ecosystems.

Periphytic protozoa are esteemed icons of microbial fauna, renowned for their sensitivity and role as robust bioindicators, pivotal for assessing ecosystem stress and anthropogenic impacts on water quality. Despite their significance, research exploring the community dynamics of protozoan fauna across diverse water columns and depths in shallow waters has been notably lacking. This is the first study that examines the symphony of protozoan fauna in different water columns at varying depths (1, 2, 3.5 and 5 m), in South China Sea. Our findings reveal that vertical changes and environmental heterogeneity plays pivotal role in shaping the protozoan community structure, with distinct preferences observed in spirotrichea and phyllopharyngea classes at specific depths. Briefly, diversity metrics (i.e., both alpha and beta) showed significantly steady patterns at 2 m and 3.5 m depths as well as high homogeneity in most of the indices was observed. Co-associations between environmental parameters and protozoan communities demonstrated temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and pH, are significant drivers discriminating species richness and evenness across all water columns. Noteworthy variations of the other environmental parameters such as SiO3-Si, PO4--P, and NO2--N at 1 m and NO3--N, and NH4+-N, at greater depths, signal the crucial role of nutrient dynamics in shaping the protozoan communities. Moreover, highly sensitive species like Anteholosticha pulchara, Apokeronopsis crassa, and Aspidisca steini in varying environmental conditions among vertical columns may serve as eco- indicators of water quality. Collectively, this study contributes a thorough comprehension of the fine-scale structure and dynamics of protozoan fauna within marine ecosystems, providing insightful perspectives for ecological and water quality assessment in ever-changing marine environments.

Microplastics in agroecosystems: Soil-plant dynamics and effective remediation approaches.

Increasing microplastic (MP) pollution, primarily from anthropogenic sources such as plastic film mulching, waste degradation, and agricultural practices, has emerged as a pressing global environmental concern. This review examines the direct and indirect effects of MPs on crops, both in isolation and in conjunction with other contaminants, to elucidate their combined toxicological impacts. Organic fertilizers predominantly contain 78.6% blue, 9.5% black, and 8.3% red MPs, while irrigation water in agroecosystems contains 66.2% white, 15.4% blue, and 8.1% black MPs, ranging from 0-1 mm to 4-5 mm in size. We elucidate five pivotal insights: Firstly, soil MPs exhibit affinity towards crop roots, seeds, and vascular systems, impeding water and nutrient uptake. Secondly, MPs induce oxidative stress in crops, disrupting vital metabolic processes. Thirdly, leachates from MPs elicit cytotoxic and genotoxic responses in crops. Fourthly, MPs disrupt soil biotic and abiotic dynamics, influencing water and nutrient availability for crops. Lastly, the cumulative effects of MPs and co-existing contaminants in agricultural soils detrimentally affect crop yield. Thus, we advocate agronomic interventions as practical remedies. These include biochar input, application of growth regulators, substitution of plastic mulch with crop residues, promotion of biological degradation, and encouragement of crop diversification. However, the efficacy of these measures varies based on MP type and dosage. As MP volumes increase, exploring alternative mitigation strategies such as bio-based plastics and environmentally friendly biotechnological solutions is imperative. Recognizing the persistence of plastics, policymakers should enact legislation favoring the mitigation and substitution of non-degradable materials with bio-derived or compostable alternatives. This review demonstrates the urgent need for collective efforts to alleviate MP pollution and emphasizes sustainable interventions for agricultural ecosystems.

Navigating the environmental dynamics, toxicity to aquatic organisms and human associated risks of an emerging tire wear contaminant 6PPD quinone.

N-1,3-Dimethylbutyl-N'-phenyl-p-quinone diamine (6PPDQ) is a derivative of 6PPD, a synthetic antioxidant used in tire manufacturing to control the degradation caused by oxidation and heat aging. Its discovery in 2020 has raised important environmental concern, particularly regarding its association with acute mortality in coho salmon, prompting surge in research on its occurrence, fate, and transport in aquatic ecosystems. Despite this attention, there remain notable gaps in grasping the knowledge, demanding an in depth overview. Thus, this review consolidates recent studies to offer a thorough investigation of 6PPDQ's environmental dynamics, pathways into aquatic ecosystems, toxicity to aquatic organisms, and human health implications. Various aquatic species exhibit differential susceptibility to 6PPDQ toxicity, manifesting in acute mortalities, disruption of metabolic pathways, oxidative stress, behavioral responses, and developmental abnormalities. Whereas, understanding the species-specific responses, molecular mechanisms, and broader ecological implications requires further investigation across disciplines such as ecotoxicology, molecular biology, and environmental chemistry. Integration of findings emphasizes the complexity of 6PPDQ toxicity and its potential risks to human health. However, urgent priorities should be given to the measures like long-term monitoring studies to evaluate the chronic effects on aquatic ecosystems and the establishment of standardized toxicity testing protocols to ensure the result comparability and reproducibility. This review serves as a vital resource for researchers, policymakers, and environmental professionals seeking appraisals into the impacts of 6PPDQ contamination on aquatic ecosystems and human health.

Decoding the molecular concerto: Toxicotranscriptomic evaluation of microplastic and nanoplastic impacts on aquatic organisms.

The pervasive and steadily increasing presence of microplastics/nanoplastics (MPs/NPs) in aquatic environments has raised significant concerns regarding their potential adverse effects on aquatic organisms and their integration into trophic dynamics. This emerging issue has garnered the attention of (eco)toxicologists, promoting the utilization of toxicotranscriptomics to unravel the responses of aquatic organisms not only to MPs/NPs but also to a wide spectrum of environmental pollutants. This review aims to systematically explore the broad repertoire of predicted molecular responses by aquatic organisms, providing valuable intuitions into complex interactions between plastic pollutants and aquatic biota. By synthesizing the latest literature, present analysis sheds light on transcriptomic signatures like gene expression, interconnected pathways and overall molecular mechanisms influenced by various plasticizers. Harmful effects of these contaminants on key genes/protein transcripts associated with crucial pathways lead to abnormal immune response, metabolic response, neural response, apoptosis and DNA damage, growth, development, reproductive abnormalities, detoxification, and oxidative stress in aquatic organisms. However, unique challenge lies in enhancing the fingerprint of MPs/NPs, presenting complicated enigma that requires decoding their specific impact at molecular levels. The exploration endeavors, not only to consolidate existing knowledge, but also to identify critical gaps in understanding, push forward the frontiers of knowledge about transcriptomic signatures of plastic contaminants. Moreover, this appraisal emphasizes the imperative to monitor and mitigate the contamination of commercially important aquatic species by MPs/NPs, highlighting the pivotal role that regulatory frameworks must play in protecting all aquatic ecosystems. This commitment aligns with the broader goal of ensuring the sustainability of aquatic resources and the resilience of ecosystems facing the growing threat of plastic pollutants.

Harnessing probiotics and prebiotics as eco-friendly solution for cleaner shrimp aquaculture production: A state of the art scientific consensus.

In recent years, the advancement and greater magnitude of products, which led to the intensification in shrimp aquaculture is the result of utilization of modern tools and synchronization with other fields of science like microbiology and biotechnology. This intensification led to the elevation of disorders such as the development of several diseases and complications associated with biofouling. The use of antibiotics in aquaculture is discouraged due to their certain hazardous paraphernalia. Consequently, there has been a growing interest in exploring alternative strategies, with probiotics and prebiotics emerging as environmentally friendly substitutes for antibiotic treatments in shrimp aquaculture. This review highlighted the results of probiotics and prebiotics administration in the improvement of water quality, enhancement of growth and survival rates, stress resistance, health status and disease resistance, modulation of enteric microbiota and immunomodulation of different shrimp species. Additionally, the study sheds light on the comprehensive role of prebiotics and probiotics in elucidating the mechanistic framework, contributing to a deeper understanding of shrimp physiology and immunology. Besides their role in growth and development of shrimp aquaculture, the eco-friendly behavior of prebiotics and probiotics have made them ideal to control pollution in aquaculture systems. This comprehensive exploration of prebiotics and probiotics aims to address gaps in our understanding, including the economic aspects of shrimp aquaculture in terms of benefit-cost ratio, and areas worthy of further investigation by drawing insights from previous studies on different shrimp species. Ultimately, this commentary seeks to contribute to the evolving body of knowledge surrounding prebiotics and probiotics, offering valuable perspectives that extend beyond the ecological dimensions of shrimp aquaculture.

Can functional units of periphytic protozoan communities be used to evaluate the effects of harmful algal blooms on ecological quality in marine ecosystems?

Based on biological traits, the ecological quality status under the pressure of two harmful algal bloom (HAB) species was evaluated using functional units (FUs) of periphytic protozoan communities. Five treatments with different concentrations of Alexandrium tamarense and Gymnodinium catenatum, i.e., 100, 102, 103, 104, and 105 cells ml-1, were used. A total of 20 FUs were identified from 25 test protozoan species. Among these FUs, vagile algivores with large sizes showed a decreasing trend (i.e., in diversity and abundance) with increasing concentrations of algae, while vagile bacterivores and non-selectives with small sizes dominated at concentrations of 104 cells ml-1 of both algal species. Ellipse tests on pair-wise functional distinctness indices revealed a significant departure of test protozoan communities from an expected functional distinctness breadth when algal concentrations exceeded 104 cells ml-1. Based on these findings, it was concluded that FUs of periphytic protozoa may be a useful tool for evaluating the effects of HABs on ecological quality status in marine ecosystems.

Antibiotic nitrofurazone drives the functional dynamics of periphytic protozoan fauna in marine environments.

The use of functional traits of a community as a method to measure its functional dynamics in response to environmental change has gained attention because trait-based approaches offer systematic opportunities to understand the interactions between species diversity and ecosystem function. However, the relationship between functional traits of periphytic protozoa and contamination of aquatic habitats with antibiotics is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the influence of the antibiotic nitrofurazone on functional traits of marine periphytic protozoan fauna. For this purpose, the protozoan assemblages were collected from coastal waters of the Yellow Sea at Qingdao, northern China, during four seasons of a one-year cycle using glass microscope slides as artificial substrates. The test protozoan communities were then exposed to various treatments of nitrofurazone in laboratory bioassay experiments. Our results demonstrated that the modalities of the functional traits of protozoan communities were generally driven by nitrofurazone toxicity. Briefly, R-mode linked to Q-mode (RLQ) and fourth-corner analyses revealed strong positive correlations between functional traits and nitrofurazone treatments. Trait syndromes in terms of body length, width, weight, height, and size to volume ratios were significantly influenced by nitrofurazone exposure. In particular, small and medium body size species of different feeding types, i.e., algivores, bacterivores, raptors or non-selectives, were more sensitive than other protozoan species to higher concentrations of nitrofurazone. Our findings demonstrate that antibiotic toxicity is likely to affect periphytic protozoan community function, shape the functional processes, and induce toxic responses in the community. The findings of this study suggest that periphytic protozoan communities and their functional traits are suitable bioindicators for evaluating the ecotoxicity of nitrofurazone in marine environments.

Evaluation of in vitro toxicity information for zebrafish as a promising alternative for chemical hazard and risk assessment.

In vitro assays are widely proposed as a test alternative to traditional in vivo standard acute and chronic toxicity tests. However, whether toxicity information derived from in vitro assays instead of in vivo tests could provide sufficient protection (e.g., 95 % of protection) for chemical risks remain evaluated. To investigate the feasibility of zebrafish (Danio rerio) cell-based in vitro test method as a test alternative, we comprehensively compared sensitivity differences among endpoints, among test methods (in vitro, FET and in vivo), and between zebrafish and rat (Rattus norvegicus), respectively using chemical toxicity distribution (CTD) approach. For each test method involved, sublethal endpoints were more sensitive than lethal endpoints for both zebrafish and rat, respectively. Biochemistry (zebrafish in vitro), development (zebrafish in vivo and FET), physiology (rat in vitro) and development (rat in vivo) were the most sensitive endpoints for each test method. Nonetheless, zebrafish FET test was the least sensitive one compared to its in vivo and in vitro tests for either lethal or sublethal responses. Comparatively, rat in vitro tests considering cell viability and physiology endpoints were more sensitive than rat in vivo test. Zebrafish was found to be more sensitive than rat regardless of in vivo or in vitro tests for each pairwise endpoint of concern. Those findings indicate that zebrafish in vitro test is a feasible test alternative to zebrafish in vivo and FET test and traditional mammalian test. It is suggesting that zebrafish in vitro test can be optimized by choosing more sensitive endpoints, such as biochemistry to provide sufficient protection for zebrafish in vivo test and to establish applications of zebrafish in vitro test in future risk assessment. Our findings are vital for evaluating and further application of in vitro toxicity toxicity information as an alternative for chemical hazard and risk assessment.

Influence of the antibiotic nitrofurazone on community dynamics of marine periphytic ciliates: Evidence from community-based bioassays.

Marine periphytic ciliates play a pivotal role in shaping coastal ecosystems dynamics, thereby acting as robust biological indicators of aquatic ecosystem health and functionality. However, the understanding of the effects of veterinary antibiotics on composition and structure of periphytic ciliate communities remains limited. Therefore, this research investigates the influence of the veterinary antibiotic nitrofurazone on the community dynamics of marine periphytic ciliates through bioassay experiments conducted over a one-year cycle. Various concentrations of nitrofurazone were administered to the tested ciliate assemblages, and subsequent changes in community composition, abundance, and diversity were quantitatively analyzed. The research revealed significant alterations in periphytic ciliate communities following exposure to nitrofurazone. Concentration-dependent (0-8 mg L-1) decrease in ciliates abundance, accompanied by shifts in species composition, community structure, and community patterns were observed. Comprehensive assessment of diversity metrics indicated significant changes in species richness and evenness in the presence of nitrofurazone, potentially disrupting the stability of ciliate communities. Furthermore, nitrofurazone significantly influenced the community structure of ciliates in all seasons (winter: R2 = 0.489; spring: R2 = 0.666; summer: R2 = 0.700, autumn: R2 = 0.450), with high toxic potential in treatments 4 and 8 mg L-1. Differential abundances of ciliates varied across seasons and nitrofurazone treatments, some orders like Pleurostomatida were consistently affected, while others (i.e., Strombidida and Philasterida) showed irregular distributions or were evenly affected (e.g., Urostylida and Synhymeniida). Retrieved contrasting patterns between nitrofurazone and community responses underscore the broad response repertoire exhibited by ciliates to antibiotic exposure, suggesting potential cascading effects on associated ecological processes in the periphyton community. These findings significantly enhance the understanding of the ecological impacts of nitrofurazone on marine periphytic ciliate communities, emphasizing the imperative for vigilant monitoring and regulation of veterinary antibiotics to protect marine ecosystem health and biodiversity. Further research is required to explore the long-term effects of nitrofurazone exposure and evaluate potential strategies to reduce the ecological repercussions of antibiotics in aquatic environments, with a particular focus on nitrofurazone.

Vertical changes in water depth and environmental variables drove the antibiotics and antibiotic resistomes distribution, and microbial food web structures in the estuary and marine ecosystems.

The influence of vertical changes in water depth on emerging pollutants distribution and microbial food web remains elusive. We investigated the influence of vertical transition in water depth on the environmental variables, antibiotics and antibiotic resistomes, and microbial community structures in estuary and marine ecosystems (0-50 m). Stepwise multiple linear regression model showed that among investigated environmental variables, change in water salinity was the most influential factor dictating the fluoroquinolone and macrolides concentrations, while dissolved oxygen and turbidity were the key influencers of sulfonamides and beta-lactam concentrations, respectively. Bacterial and eukaryotic diversity and niche breadth significantly increased with the increasing water depth. Ecosystem food web structure at the bottom depths was more stable than at the middle and surface depths. At the surface depth, the top 5 keystone genera were Cryothecomonas, Syndiniales, Achromobacter, Pseudopirsonia, and Karlodinium. Whereas Eugregarinorida, Neptuniibacter, Mychonastes, Novel_Apicomplexa_Class_1, Aplanochytrium and Dietzia, Halodaphnea, Luminiphilus, Aplanochytrium, Maullinia dominated the top 5 genera at the middle and the bottom depth, respectively. Absolute abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) was drastically increased at the surface depth compared with the middle and bottom depths. Abundance of the top 10 ARGs and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) detected including tnpA-05, aadA2-03, mexF, aadA1, intI-1(clinic), qacEdelta1-02, aadA-02, qacEdelta1-01, cmlA1-01, and aadA-01 were amplified at the surface depth. This study demonstrated that ARGs abundance was disproportionate to bacterial diversity, and anthropogenic disturbances, confinement, MGEs, and ecosystem stability play primary roles in the fate of ARGs. The findings of this study also implicate that vertical changes in the water depth on environmental conditions can influence antibiotic concentrations and microbial community dramatically.

An approach to determining the nitrofurazone-induced toxic dynamics for ecotoxicity assessment using protozoan periphytons in marine ecosystems.

With several observable responses and sensitivity of protozoans to nitrofurazone (NFZ), the toxic effects of NFZ on protozoans can be an early warning signal of NFZ contamination in the aquatic environment. To evaluate the toxic dynamics induced by NFZ, protozoan samples were collected using microscopy glass slides and exposed to the five concentrations of NFZ: 0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 mg ml-1. Substantial differences in the species composition and toxic-dynamics patterns were observed among all concentrations. Briefly, periphytic euplotids and pleurostomatids were the most prevalent at each concentration level, while dysteriids were less dominant among all treatments. Multivariate analysis revealed significant (P < 0.05) differences in the taxonomic patterns of the test organisms among the five treatments. Furthermore, significant deviation of protozoan communities from the expected taxonomic breadth was observed to occur in a dose-dependent manner. Based on these findings, it is suggested that protozoan periphytons could be used as bioindicators to assess the ecotoxicity of NFZ in the marine environment.

A community-based approach to analyzing the ecotoxicity of nitrofurazone using periphytic protozoa.

The ecotoxicity of nitrofurazone was analyzed based on a community-based approach using periphytic protozoa. Median lethal concentrations (LC50) within an exposure time of 30 min were determined by an acute toxicity test at 0, 1.5, 3, 6 and 12 mg ml-1 nitrofurazone. Toxicity curve tests demonstrated a decreasing trend with increasing exposure time and was well fitted to the toxicity equation LC50 = 32.85e-0.8143t (t = exposure time; R2 = 0.91; P < 0.05). Median inhibition concentrations (IC50) for periphytic protozoan growth rates were obtained by chronic tests at 0, 1, 2, 4 and 8 mg ml-1 nitrofurazone within 10 days exposure and were well fitted to the equation r% = 0.3686e-0.35Cnit (Cnit is the concentration of nitrofurazone; R2 = 0.92 and P < 0.05). These findings suggest that the LC50 and IC50 values of nitrofurazone can be predicted for any exposure time using periphytic protozoan communities as a bioassay model.

Insights into the ecotoxicity of nitrofurazone in marine ecosystems based on body-size spectra of periphytic ciliates.

In ecotoxicological studies, some biological responses known as biomarkers can be used as powerful tools to evaluate the ecotoxicity. In this study, we investigated the disparity of responses shown by body-size spectra of periphytic ciliate communities when used as biomarkers to detect the toxicity of the broad-spectrum veternary antibiotic nitrofurazone. Briefly, in chronic exposure experiments ciliate communities were exposed to different concentrations (0, 1, 2, 4 and 8 mg ml-1) of nitrofurazone. Relative Abundance of ciliates in all body-size categories decreased significantly, whereas their frequency of occurrence and probability densities showed hormetic-like responses in a dose dependent manner. Additionally, body-size distinctness indices were influenced by toxic stress and significantly departed from an expectation at higher nitrofurazone concentrations. Taken together, our results demonstrated that body-size spectra and body-size distinctness offered clear evidence of nitrofurazone toxicity in periphytic ciliates. Body-size spectra can therefore be used as a pivotal biomarker to determine the ecotoxicity of nitrofurazone in aquatic environments.

Effects of nitrofurazone on ecosystem function in marine environments: A case study on microbial fauna.

To evaluate the effects of nitrofurazone on functional processes in marine ecosystems, periphytic protozoan communities were exposed to different concentrations of the antibiotic for a 10-day duration. Species trait distributions in the tested communities were observed during exposure to five concentrations of nitrofurazone. A fuzzy coding system with seven traits and seventeen categories was used to summarize the changes in functional patterns of the test organisms. Nitrofurazone had a significant influence on the function process of the periphytic ciliate communities. Bacterivores with flattened bodies were sensitive to the toxicant whereas sessile and cylindrical raptors showed a high tolerance to nitrofurazone, invariably dominating communities exposed to high concentrations. Bootstrapped-average analysis demonstrated a significant change in functional patterns at highest nitrofurazone concentrations (8 mg l-1). Based on these findings, it is suggested that nitrofurazone may negatively influence ecosystem function in marine environments.

Use of functional units of periphytic protozoa for monitoring water quality in marine ecosystems: bioindicator redundancy.

Although periphytic protozoan communities have long been used for the bioassessment of water quality, their utility is hampered by functional redundancy, leading to high "signal-to-noise" ratios. In this study, a 1-year baseline survey of periphytic protozoan communities was carried out in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China, in order to determine redundancy levels in conditions of differing water quality. Samples were collected at four sampling sites along a pollution gradient. Environmental variables such as salinity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO), soluble reactive phosphates (SRP), ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N), and nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) were measured to compare with biotic factors. A total of 53 functional units (FUs) were identified from 144 observed protozoan species based on four biological traits, i.e., feeding type, body size, movement type, and source of food supply. For reducing the "signal-to-noise" ratios of species-abundance/biomass data, the peeling procedure was used to identify the bioindicator redundancy levels based on these FUs. Three consecutive subsets of response units (RU1-RU3) with correlation coefficients > 0.75 of the full FU dataset were identified, comprising 12 FUs, 21 FUs, and 9 FUs, respectively. Algivores and bacterivores were dominant in RU1 and RU2 among the polluted sites, whereas raptors were dominant in RU3 at the unpolluted site. In terms of relative abundance, RU1 was the primary contributor to the protozoan communities during the 1-year cycle and its relative abundance increased with the increasing pollution, whereas RU2 and RU3, with complementary temporal distributions, generally decreased with increasing pollution. Ordinations based on bootstrapped average analyses revealed a significant variation in the functional pattern of all three RUs among the four sampling sites. Biological-environmental match analysis demonstrated that the variability was driven by the increasing concentrations of nutrients (e.g., NH4-N, NO3-N, and PO4-P) and decreasing concentrations of DO (P < 0.05). There were high levels of functional redundancy among periphytic protozoan communities which could be used as bioindicators of marine water quality.

Perceived Intensification in Harmful Algal Blooms Is a Wave of Cumulative Threat to the Aquatic Ecosystems.

Aquatic pollution is considered a major threat to sustainable development across the world, and deterioration of aquatic ecosystems is caused usually by harmful algal blooms (HABs). In recent times, HABs have gained attention from scientists to better understand these phenomena given that these blooms are increasing in intensity and distribution with considerable impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Many exogenous factors such as variations in climatic patterns, eutrophication, wind blowing, dust storms, and upwelling of water currents form these blooms. Globally, the HAB formation is increasing the toxicity in the natural water sources, ultimately leading the deleterious and hazardous effects on the aquatic fauna and flora. This review summarizes the types of HABs with their potential effects, toxicity, grazing defense, human health impacts, management, and control of these harmful entities. This review offers a systematic approach towards the understanding of HABs, eliciting to rethink the increasing threat caused by HABs in aquatic ecosystems across the world. Therefore, to mitigate this increasing threat to aquatic environments, advanced scientific research in ecology and environmental sciences should be prioritized.

Insights for monitoring surveys into influence of tidal events on protozoan periphyton fauna along the tidelines of Yellow Sea, Northern China.

To explore the influence of tidal events on protozoan periphyton fauna along tidelines, a 1-month baseline survey for bioassessment was conducted in an intertidal zone of the Yellow Sea, Northern China. A total of 27 protozoans species were identified among five sampling sites along five tidelines (sites A-E). The periphytic protozoans showed a significant variation in species distribution and community pattern along five tidelines. Species richness decreased from the high tideline (site A) and reached the minimum value at the middle tideline (site C), followed by an increase up to the low tideline (site E). Individual abundances peaked at site C and leveled off at the other four tidelines. Species richness, evenness, and diversity showed low value at site C compared with those at the other four sites. These findings suggest that periphytic protozoan fauna was shaped by tidal events along the tidelines of marine ecosystems.

Potential utility of nano-based treatment approaches to address the risk of Helicobacter pylori.

INTRODUCTION: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has occupied a significant place among infectious pathogens and it has been documented as a leading challenge due to its higher resistance to the commonly used drugs, higher adaptability, and lower targeting specificity of the available drugs. AREAS COVERED: New treatment strategies are urgently needed in order to improve the current advancement in modern medicine. Nanocarriers have gained an advantage of drug encapsulation and high retention time in the stomach with a prolonged drug release rate at the targeted site. This article aims to highlight the recent advances in nanotechnology with special emphasis on metallic, polymeric, lipid, membrane coated, and target-specific nanoparticles (NPs), as well as, natural products for treating H. pylori infection. We discussed a comprehensive approach to understand H. pylori infection and elicits to rethink about the increasing threat posed by H. pylori and its treatment strategies. EXPERT OPINION: To address these issues, nanotechnology has got huge potential to combat H. pylori infection and has made great progress in the field of biomedicine. Moreover, combinatory studies of natural products and probiotics in conjugation with NPs have proven efficiency against H. pylori infection, with an advantage of lower cytotoxicity, minimal side effects, and stronger antibacterial potential.[Figure: see text].

An approach to evaluating the acute toxicity of nitrofurazone on community functioning using protozoan periphytons.

The acute toxicity of nitrofurazone on community functioning was studied using an acute toxicity test. Consequently, 14-day protozoan periphyton assemblages were used as test organism communities, under a range of nitrofurazone concentrations including 0 (control), 0.5, 3, 6, and 12 mg ml-1 within 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 h time duration. Fuzzy coding system of functional traits classified the test protozoan periphyton community into six major traits and 15 categories. Briefly, community-weighted means (CWM) were used to identify the community functioning of test protozoan assemblage. Inferences demonstrate a drastic/significant variation in the functional patterns of the test organisms at a high concentration (12 mg ml-1) after an exposure time of 12 h, but the functional diversity indices leveled off at the exposure time of 10 h and then dropped sharply. These results suggested that nitrofurazone may significantly influence the community functioning in marine ecosystems.

Insights into seasonal shift in the homogeneity of periphytic protozoan fauna in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China.

The seasonal shift in the homogeneity of the periphytic protozoan fauna was studied based on a four-season baseline survey in the coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China. Samples were collected using glass microscope slides as an artificial substratum at a depth of 2 m after the immersion time of 14 days during each of the four seasons (winter, spring, summer, and autumn, 2017). The protozoan fauna showed a clear seasonal shift in species composition and a significant variation in homogeneity in terms of both compositional and community structure during four seasons. The dispersion measures and ß-diversity index represented an increase in the trend from spring to winter. These findings suggest that the homogeneity of the periphytic protozoan fauna was subject to a significant variability shaped mainly by species composition during a four-season cycle in marine ecosystems.