Ocean acidification increases inorganic carbon over organic carbon in shrimp's exoskeleton.

Ocean acidification (OA) may either increase or have a neutral effect on the calcification in shrimp's exoskeleton. However, investigations on changes in the carbon composition of shrimp's exoskeletons under OA are lacking. We exposed juvenile Pacific white shrimps to target pHs of 8.0, 7.9, and 7.6 for 100 days to evaluate changes in carapace thickness, total carbon (TC), particulate organic carbon (POC), particulate inorganic carbon (PIC), calcium, and magnesium concentrations in their exoskeletons. The PIC: POC ratio of shrimp in pH 7.6 treatment was significantly higher by 175 % as compared to pH 8.0 treatment. Thickness and Ca% in pH 7.6 treatment were significantly higher as compared to pH 8.0 treatment (90 % and 65 %, respectively). This is the first direct evidence of an increased PIC: POC ratio in shrimp exoskeletons under OA. In the future, such changes in carbon composition may affect the shrimp population, ecosystem functions, and regional carbon cycle.

Radiocesium in the Taiwan Strait and the Kuroshio east of Taiwan from 2018 to 2019.

The release of anthropogenic radiocesium to the North Pacific Ocean (NPO) has occurred in the past 60 years. Factors controlling 137Cs (half-life, 30.2 year) and 134Cs (half-life, 2.06 year) activity concentrations in the Kuroshio east of Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait (latitude 20° N-27° N, longitude 116° E-123° E) remain unclear. This study collected seawater samples throughout this region and analyzed 134Cs and 137Cs activity concentrations between 2018 and 2019. A principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to analyze the controlling factors of radiocesium. Results of all 134Cs activity concentrations were below the detection limit (0.5 Bq m-3). Analyses of water column 137Cs profiles revealed a primary concentration peak (2.1-2.2 Bq m-3) at a depth range of 200-400 m (potential density σθ: 25.3 to 26.1 kg m-3). The PCA result suggests that this primary peak was related to density layers in the water column. A secondary 137Cs peak (1.90 Bq m-3) was observed in the near-surface waters (σθ = 18.8 to 21.4 kg m-3) and was possibly related to upwelling and river-to-sea mixing on the shelf. In the Taiwan Strait, 137Cs activity concentrations in the near-surface waters were higher in the summer than in the winter. We suggest that upwelling facilitates the vertical transport of 137Cs at the shelf break of the western NPO.

A 51-month follow-up of fresh autologous hemi-ovary transplantation at the pfannenstiel incision site after hysterectomy and accidental bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy in a premenopausal woman.

OBJECTIVE: This case report evaluates a 51-month follow-up of the hormonal profiles and the menopausal status after fresh autologous hemi-ovary transplantation to the Pfannenstiel incision site in a woman aged 32 years after a total hysterectomy and accidental bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. CASE REPORT: A 32-year-old, unmarried woman without sexual experience had undergone a total hysterectomy and accidental bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for huge uterine fibroids and dense pelvic adhesion. A fresh autologous right normal hemi-ovary was transplanted into the adipose tissue on the right side of the Pfannenstiel incision site. During the 51-month follow-up after transplantation, a series of hormonal profiles for serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2) and progesterone were carried out, together with ultrasound detection of the presence of subcutaneous follicles and an analysis of menopausal symptoms. Postoperative hormone levels at months 14, 18, 22, 30 and 51 were as follows: (1) FSH, 17.06, 11.33, 51.44, 28.6 and 61.41 mIU/mL, respectively; (2) LH, 15.1, 6.7, 20.1, 15.7 and 28.9 mIU/mL, respectively; (3) E2, 79.7, 128, 55.9, 18.6 and < 10 pg/mL, respectively; and (4) progesterone, 4.52, 9.51, 0.67, 0.45 and 0.25 ng/mL, respectively. The hormonal levels after month 22 indicated a menopausal status. Ultrasound evidence of follicles was present until 30 months after transplantation. CONCLUSION: This case study showed a subcutaneous fresh autologous hemi-ovary transplant survived for at least 18 months after transplantation.