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The effects of vitamin A palmitate (VAP; 2.7, 27 and 165 mg/100 g diet), β-carotene (βC; 1, 9 and 50 mg/100 g diet) and retinoic acid (RA; 2.8, 28 and 166 mg/100 g diet) on the incidence of deformities in red sea bream (Chrysophrys major) larvae were examined using zein-based micro-bound diets during 15 days. Growth (final body weight, weight gain and total length) and survival rate were affected by the increasing supplementation of these compounds. The abnormalities observed in the larvae included the compression or apparent fusion of the segments in the notochord and mouth deformities. Compression/apparent fusion of the segments was detected mainly in vertebrae of the hemal zone, affecting the total length of larvae. Incidence of these deformities increased with increasing levels of VAP, βC and RA in the diets, but a significantly higher percentage of affected vertebrae was observed in the larvae fed the diets containing RA. The effect of βC was unclear in the present experiment, since only the highest concentration caused significant incidence. The results of this study show that dietary vitamin A may be related to the vertebral deformities in red sea bream larvae.

A feeding trail was performed to investigate the effect of dietary phosphorus (P) level on defense system in juvenile Japanese flounder. Calcium mono phosphate was used as dietary inorganic-P source. Three semi-purified diets with 3 levels of P (6, 10 and 18 g/kg diet, respectively) were prepared and fed to juveniles (average initial body weight, means ± S.E., 7.3 ± 0.3 g) for 30 days. After termination of the feeding trail, growth parameters were calculated, and mucus lysozyme activity, mucus bactericidal activity and the levels of heat shock protein 70 family (HSP70s) in liver were measured. Results indicated that final weight, weight gain and feed efficiency significantly improved with increasing dietary P level, and the highest growth parameters were obtained from the fish fed diet containing 18 g/kg P. Mucus lysozyme activity and mucus bactericidal activity were significantly improved with the increasing dietary P level. The highest level of HSP70s in liver (35.97 ng/mg protein) was observed on fish fed the diet containing 18g/kg P, and it was 2 and 2.6 folds higher (PE. coliwas observed in fish fed diets incorporated with 1.8% P, that also maintained best growth performance in Japanese flounder.

The effects of feeding frequency on growth, body composition and nutrient digestibility were studied for the juveniles of Japanese flounders (Paralichthys olivaceus) under four different dietary protein levels. Four isocaloric fishmeal-casein based diets containing different dietary protein levels from 46 to 65% were formulated and fed to juvenile flounder (initial mean weight 0.4 g) daily near satiation corresponding to three different feeding frequencies (1, 2 and 3 times/day) for 40 days. Results of feeding trial indicated that both dietary protein level and feeding frequency significantly affected the growth parameters. Regardless of the dietary protein level, the optimum growth performance was obtained from the fish fed 2 times/day. Under two times feeding a day,no significant difference was found between the fish fed diet containing 54 and 59% protein, andno further significant improvement on growth was observedwhen the dietary protein level increased from 59 to 65%. Protein digestibility was not affected by the feeding frequency or dietary protein level. Findings of this study suggest that feeding frequency twice per day was found to be the optimal, and the optimum dietary protein level could be 54-59% for the superior growth performances of juvenile Japanese flounder from 0.4 to 18 g.

A 40-year-old man with relapsed ulcerative colitis（UC）underwent colonoscopy. Colonoscopy revealed a dense cluster of elongated polyps with surrounding ulcerative lesions in the ascending colon and intestinal stricture at the same site. Total colectomy was performed, and postoperative pathological findings showed localized giant inflammatory polyposis（LGIP）associated with UC.While obstructive giant inflammatory polyposis associated with UC is considered uncommon, inflammatory polyposis is a recognized local complication.

The beneficial effects of Bacillus subtilis C-3102 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae type 1 were tested in red sea bream (Pagrus major) feeds. A basal diet (control) and two other diets were prepared by supplementation with B. subtilis C-3102 (PB) or S. cerevisiae type 1 (PY). After 60 days, both probiotic-supplemented groups exhibited significant enhancement in growth performance, the protein efficiency ratio (PER), and digestive enzyme secretion (protease and amylase) compared to the control group (PPPP<0.05). Catalase activity was also significantly decreased in both probiotic groups, with relatively lower activity observed in the PY group (P<0.05). Both probiotic groups showed considerably increased tolerance to freshwater exposure (P<0.05). In conclusion, B. subtilis C-3102 and S. cerevisiae type 1 can be used as functional probiotics to enhance the growth performance, digestion capacity, gut morphology, immune response, and stress resistance of the red sea bream with relatively higher efficiency by B. subtilis C-3102.

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is widely recognized for its non-invasiveness and for its usefulness in chronic pancreatitis (CP) diagnosis, including early CP. Although it is desirable to obtain a definitive diagnosis of CP by tissue sampling with EUS-guided fine needle aspiration, histopathological changes in CP are heterogeneous in terms of the extent and the distribution of lesions. Therefore, histopathological diagnosis of appropriate tissue sampling by EUS-fine needle aspiration is expected to be difficult. Furthermore, it is virtually impossible to match EUS images with pathological sections, making direct contrast between EUS findings and pathology difficult. This narrative review presents a discussion of the diagnosis of CP/early CP by EUS, particularly assessing the association between ultrasound and pathological findings. Recently, the histological corroboration and correlation of EUS findings related to CP have been clarified by surgical specimens, including those obtained from animal studies. Furthermore, remarkable advances have occurred in the objective and quantitative diagnosis of pancreatic fibrosis by EUS-elastography. Future technological advances in EUS are expected to improve the accuracy of diagnosis of pancreatic fibrosis at earlier stages.

We evaluated the efficacy of mozuku fucoidan supplementation to alternative dietary proteins used in fish meal (FM) replacement to enhance growth, immunity, and stress resistance of Pagrus major. Seven isonitrogenous (45% protein) experimental diets were formulated where diet 1 (D1) was FM-based control diet. Diets 2 to 7 were formulated by replacing 25, 50, and 75% of FM protein with soy protein isolate (SPI) protein, and each replacement level was supplemented without or with fucoidan at 0.4% for diet groups D2 (FM25), D3 (FM25Fu), D4 (FM50), D5 (FM50Fu), D6 (FM75), and D7(FM75Fu), respectively. Each diet was randomly allocated to triplicate groups of fish (4.1 g) for 56 days. Significantly higher weight gain and specific growth rate were observed in fish fed FM50Fu diet group, and it was not differed (P > 0.05) with fish fed FM25Fu diet group. FM-based control diet showed intermediate value, and it was not differed (P > 0.05) with or without fucoidan-supplemented ≤ 50% FM replacement groups and FM75Fu diet group. Significantly lower growth performances were observed in FM75 diet group. At each replacement level, fucoidan-supplemented groups showed nonsignificant improvement of feed utilization performances. Fish fed fucoidan-supplemented diets showed best condition of oxidative and freshwater stress resistance. Lysozyme activity, NBT, and peroxidase activity showed higher (P > 0.05) values in fucoidan-supplemented groups compared with the non-supplemented groups. Catalase activity was significantly lower in FM75Fu diet group. Catalase activity is significantly influenced by the interaction effects of fucoidan and FM replacement level. In conclusion, fucoidan supplementation could increase the efficiency of utilizing SPI (≥ 75%) without any adverse effects on red sea bream performance.

In larviculture of marine finfish, Tisochrysis lutea cultured cells have a potential to be a sustainable enrichment diet for rotifers due to its de novo synthesis of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). To improve its effectiveness in rotifer enrichment for later larviculture, we determined which growth phase of T. lutea can enhance DHA in polar lipids (PLs) in Brachionus plicatilis sp. complex rotifers without reducing their vigor. Tisochrysis lutea was harvested at logarithmic growth phase, deceleration growth phase, and stationary phase. The ambient concentrations of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N), and fatty acid composition of microalgae were measured. P was limited between logarithmic and deceleration growth phases, followed by N starvation in stationary phase. Total lipid DHA was lowest in logarithmic growth phase, whereas DHA levels increased in deceleration growth phase and maintained at high levels even in stationary phase. PL-DHA also increased during deceleration growth phase, although its abundance dropped during stationary phase. In a rotifer enrichment trial, T. lutea harvested in each phase were fed to B. plicatilis sp. complex rotifers for 12 h. The highest PL-DHA value for cells in deceleration growth phase reflected the concentrations of the rotifers. No significant differences were found in rotifer growth rate and egg ratio. Rotifers fed cells in deceleration growth phase exhibited higher swimming speeds than those fed the other cells, potentially linking to increased larval capture success. Therefore, we recommend the deceleration growth phase as an optimal timing for T. lutea harvest for the effective enrichment of B. plicatilis sp. complex rotifers.

Euryhaline rotifer belonging to the genera Brachionus are often used as live feed for first feeding marine finfish larviculture. Two common rotifer enrichments, a single usage of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-enriched Chlorella vulgaris and a combination of DHA-enriched C. vulgaris and salmon roe emulsion oil were used to assess: (i) nutritional status of rotifers and, (ii) performance when rotifers were fed to Pagrus major and Paralichthys olivaceus larvae from 2 to 15 days after hatching (DAH). Both rotifer enrichment treatments were found to be nutritionally effective with high unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) content, especially in the combined treatment with significantly higher eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Despite deficient levels of EPA, DHA-enriched C. vulgaris was found to be a suitable enrichment for rotifer and also had positive response in survival, growth and trypsin activity in both P. major and P. olivaceus. DHA-enriched C. vulgaris only treatment had higher rotifer population growth (13% higher), egg bearing capacity (7% higher), almost double the soluble protein content and generally higher free amino acid content. Oxidation of lipids in the combined diet due to its high-saturated fatty acid content could be a possible cause to the inferior performance of the combined treatment. Both P. major (20.1 ± 10.1%) and P. olivaceus (12.3 ± 3.87%) suffered low survival and lower gut content in the combined treatment especially during periods of significant growth in both species (7–11 DAH). Despite high HUFA content in the combined treatment, this study revealed that consideration of free amino acids and soluble protein content as parameters of nutritional indicators for first feeding P. major and P. olivaceus should not be discounted.

A 56‐day feeding trial was carried out to evaluate the interactive effects of chemically synthesized astaxanthin (Ax) and cholesterol (CHO) on the performances of kuruma shrimp juveniles. Six experimental diets containing 2 levels of Ax (0 and 0.6 g/kg diet) and 3 levels of CHO (0, 6 and 20 g/kg diet) were formulated in 2 × 3 factorial design. The results indicated that the interactions between dietary CHO and Ax were not significant on survival, growth performances, body proximate analysis, immune response and freshwater stress test. Significantly, better pigmentation performances and Ax contents of different parts of juveniles (whole body, muscle, carapace and head) were observed in higher Ax (Ax₀.₆)‐supplemented groups. Meanwhile, interactions of dietary Ax and CHO were also found on colour reading parameters and whole‐body Ax contents. In addition, juveniles fed with the diet containing Ax at 0.6 g/kg diet in addition to CHO at 0, 6 and 20 g/kg diet showed better performances on digestive enzyme activities (protease, lipase and amylase) of hepatopancreas than 0 g Ax/kg diet supplemented with CHO at 0, 6 and 20 g/kg diet. It was concluded that dietary Ax and CHO functioned interactively.

This study investigated the effects of bovine lactoferrin (bLf) on the body surface defense factors, stress response to fresh water exposure, and anti-parasitic effects against Neobenedenia girellae in amberjack (Seriola dumerili) juveniles. In the first trial, amberjack juveniles were fed test diets supplemented with four different levels of bLf (0, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg kg−1) for 4 weeks to determine the appropriate bLf supplement level and feeding duration, and stress responses to short-term fresh water exposure followed by recovery at ambient salinity were also measured. This showed that a diet supplemented with ≥1000 mg bLf kg−1 for 2 weeks improved skin mucus production, non-specific defense factors, and mitigated stress. In the second trial, amberjack juveniles were fed diets supplemented with 0 and 1000 mg bLf kg−1 for 2 weeks and challenged by N. girellae oncomiracidia. It was found that fish that had been fed a diet supplemented with 1000 mg bLf kg−1 had significantly fewer parasites than fish that had been fed the unsupplemented control diet. Together, these results suggest that dietary bLf enhances defense ability the body surface, mitigates low-salinity stress, and enhances anti-parasitic effects against N. girellae oncomiracidia in amberjack juveniles.

A feeding trial was conducted to assess the effects of dietary Nannochloropsis sp. as powder or lipid on survival, growth performance and fatty acids content in Kuruma shrimp juvenile. Seven isonitrogenous, isolipidic and isocaloric diets were formulated to contain in first group graded levels of Nannochloropsis powder: 0% (CON, control diet), 4% (A), 7% (B) and 10% (C) dry matter then in second group algae oil proportionally extracted (AE, BE and CE, respectively). The feeding trial was conducted for 50 days. The results showed that the substitution of fish oil (FO) with algae powder diets A, B and C significantly (P

A 56‐day feeding trial was done to investigate the interactive effects of astaxanthin (Ax) and vitamin E (α‐Toc) on the performance of kuruma shrimp (Marsupenaeus japonicus). A 2 × 3 factorial experiment was conducted with six experimental diets containing two levels of Ax (0 and 0.6 g/kg diet [Ax₀ and Ax₀.₆]) and three levels of α‐Toc (0, 0.2 and 1 g/kg diet [α‐Toc₀, α‐Toc₀.₂ and α‐Toc₁]). The results indicated that growth performance was significantly (p 0.05) effects were found between dietary α‐Toc and Ax on total haemocyte count and tolerance against freshwater, dietary Ax and α‐Toc supplementation showed better performance on these two parameters. It was concluded that dietary Ax and α‐Toc functioned synergistically, and the shrimp fed with the diet containing 0.6 g Ax/kg diet Ax and 0.2 g α‐Toc/kg diet showed improved growth and pigmentation performance compared with the other groups in the current study.

A 56-day feeding trial to evaluate the responses of red seabream (initial weight: 1.8 ± 0.02 g) to the substitution of fish oil (FO) with camelina oil (CO) at different ratios was conducted. The control diet formulated at 46% CP (6F0C) contained only FO without CO, from the second to the fifth diet, the FO was substituted with CO at rates of 5:1 (5F1C), 4:2 (4F2C), 3:3 (3F3C), 2:4 (2F4C), and 0:6 (0F6C). The results of the present study showed that up to full substitution of FO with CO showed no significant effect on growth variables BW = 26.2 g–28.3 g), body weight gain (BWG = 1275.5–1365.3%), specific growth rate (SGR = 4.6–4.7), feed intake (FI = 25.6–27.8), feed conversion ratio (FCR = 1.0–1.1), biometric indices condition factor (CF = 2.2–2.4), hepatosomatic index (HSI = 0.9–1.1), viscerasomatic index (VSI = 7.5–9.5), and survival rates (SR = 82.2–100) with different FO substitution levels with CO. Similarly, there were no significant differences (p &lt, 0.05) found in the whole-body composition except for the crude lipid content, and the highest value was observed in the control group (291 g/kg) compared to the other groups FO5CO1 (232 k/kg), FO4CO2 (212 g/kg), FO2CO4 (232 g/kg) and FO0CO6 (244 g/kg). Blood chemistry levels were not influenced in response to test diets: hematocrit (36–33%), glucose (Glu = 78.3–71.3 mg/dL), total protein (T-pro = 3.1–3.8 g/dL), total cholesterol (T-Chol = 196.0–241 mg/dL), blood urea nitrogen (BUN = 9.0–14.6 mg/dL), total bilirubin (T-Bil = 0.4–0.5 mg/dL), triglyceride (TG = 393.3–497.6 mg/dL), alanine aminotransferase test (ALT = 50–65.5 UL/L), aspartate aminotransferase test (AST = 38–69.3 UL/L). A remarkable modulation was observed in catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in the liver, as CAT and SOD values were lower with the complete FO substitution with CO (0F6C), and the highest values were observed in the control and (4F2C). This study indicates that red seabream may have the ability to maintain LC-PUFAs between tissues and diets, and CO substitution of FO could improve both lipid metabolism and oxidation resistance as well as maintain digestibility. In conclusion, dietary FO can be replaced up to 100% or 95% by CO in the diets of red seabream as long as n-3 HUFA, EPA, and DHA are incorporated at the recommended level.

Single-molecule magnets (SMMs) show superparamagnetic behaviour below blocking temperature at the molecular scale, so they exhibit large magnetic density compared to the conventional magnets. Combining SMMs and molecular conductors in one compound will bring about new physical phenomena, however, the synergetic effects between them still remain unexplored. Here we present a layered molecule-based compound, β′′-(BEDO-TTF)4 [Co(pdms)2]·3H2O (BO4), (BEDO-TTF (BO) and H2pdms are bis(ethylenedioxy)tetrathiafulvalene and 1,2-bis(methanesulfonamido)benzene, respectively), which was synthesized by using an electrochemical approach and studied by using crystal X-ray diffraction. This compound simultaneously exhibited metallic conductivity and SMM behaviour up to 11 K for the first time. The highest electrical conductivity was 400–650 S cm−1 at 6.5 K, which is the highest among those reported so far for conducting SMM materials. Furthermore, antiferromagnetic ordering occurred below 6.5 K, along with a decrease in conductivity, and the angle-independent negative magnetoresistance suggested an effective electron correlation between the conducting BO and Co(pdms)2 SMM layers (d–π interactions). The strong magnetic anisotropy and two-dimensional conducting plane play key roles in the low-temperature antiferromagnetic semiconducting state. BO4 is the first compound exhibiting antiferromagnetic ordering among SMMs mediated by π-electrons, demonstrating the synergetic effects between SMMs and molecular conductors., A metallic single-molecule magnet was synthesised demonstrating simultaneous metallic conduction and excellent SMM properties at the same temperature range for the first time, with potential applications in molecule-based quantum spintronics.

Single-molecule magnets exhibit magnetic bistabililties at the molecular level, making them promising for molecule-based spintronics due to high magnetic densities. The incorporation of SMM behavior and electrical conductivity in one compound is rare because these two physical properties often do not operate in the same temperature range, which further hinders their use in practical applications. Here we present an organic-inorganic molecular hybrid, β″-(BEDO-TTF)3[Co(pdms)2]·(MeCN)(H2O)2 (BO3) (BEDO-TTF = bis(ethylenedioxy)tetrathiafulvalene and H2pdms = 1,2-bis(methanesulfonamido)benzene), which manifests both metallic conduction (electrical conductivity up to 1000 S cm-1 at 12 K under 2.0 gigapascal pressure) and SMM behavior in the temperature range 12-26 K for the first time.

The current study evaluated the effects of fish oil replacement with eicosapentaenoic acid-enriched single-cell microalgae in the diets of larval and postlarval kuruma shrimp. Experimental diets containing different level of Nannochloropsis sp. powder (10, 40, 70 g/kg) and lipids (2, 8, 10, 14, 35, 58 g/kg) were evaluated. The substitution of fish oil with algal powder significantly improved shrimp growth compared to that in the control group, with the highest final body weight recorded at 70 g/kg in larvae and 40 g/kg in postlarvae. Larvae fed algal lipids with a dry weight percentage in the diet of greater than 10 g/kg showed significantly lower performance than those in the control group. The neutral lipids in the tissue of the postlarvae that had been fed algal lipids had an improved fatty acid profile, as the content of highly unsaturated fatty acids increased compared to that in the other groups. The content of docosahexaenoic acid increased in the tissue, indicating the possible occurrence of the metabolism and accumulation of Nannochloropsis sp. essential fatty acids. Algal powder could replace FO up to 140 g/kg in shrimp diets without compromising growth and FA profiles.

We determined the supplementation effects of dietary fucoidan on growth, immune responses, blood characteristics, and oxidative stress resistance of juvenile red sea bream. A fishmeal (FM)-based basal diet supplemented with 0% (D1, control), 0.05% (D2), 0.1% (D3), 0.2% (D4), 0.4% (D5), and 0.8% (D6) mozuku fucoidan to formulate six experimental diets. Each diet was randomly allocated to triplicate groups of fish (3.8 g) for 60 days. Results showed that fish-fed diet D5 showed significantly higher (P

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a superoptimal temperature on growth, body composition, body size heterogeneity, and relationships among these factors in juvenile yellowtail. Fish (mean body weight = 24 g) were tagged individually and reared for 70 days under two different water temperature regimes [optimal (25 °C) and superoptimal (30 °C)]. After rearing, fish reared at 30 °C showed lower survival, less food, feed and protein utilization, significantly lower growth performance, and a lower hepatosomatic index than fish raised at 25 °C. Variations in body indices among individuals were larger for fish reared at 30 °C than for fish reared at 25 °C. Mean whole body protein content was significantly lower in fish reared at 30 °C than fish reared at 25 °C. In addition, several glucogenic and/or aromatic amino acids were lower in fish reared at 30 °C than in fish reared at 25 °C. Whole body lipid levels tended to be lower in fish with lower body weight reared at 30 °C. These results suggest that fish raised at 30 °C will have lower growth performance, and lower concentrations of specific amino acids. Moreover, heterogeneity in body size and body lipid content is expanded by a superoptimal temperature.

This study evaluated the effects of dietary substitution of fishmeal by graded levels of a blend composed of Aspergillus oryzae fermented rapeseed meal [0% (RM0), 25% (RM25), 50% (RM50), 75% (RM75) and 100% (RM100)] on growth performance, haemato-immunological responses and antioxidative status of Pagrus major (average weight 5.5 ± 0.02 g). After 56 days, growth performances were significantly improved in fish fed RM25 diet compared to control (P

This study evaluated the effects of chemically synthesized astaxanthin (Ax) on growth performance, survival, stress resistance, immune responses, fatty acid contents, and pigmentation of juvenile kuruma shrimp (Marsupenaeus japonicus). Six dietary levels of Ax (0, 200, 400, 800, 1200, and 1600 mg kg−1 diet) were added to a baseline diet. The feeding trial was conducted for 56 days. The results showed that juveniles fed diets supplemented with Ax exhibited better growth performance, final body weight (FBW), body weight gain (BWG), and specific growth rate (SGR) than the control group, with the best performance exhibited by in the 400 mg kg−1 diet Ax supplemented group (P

We determined the dietary inosine effects in gradually replaced fishmeal (FM) with soybean meal (SBM) protein-based diets on growth, digestibility, immunity, stress resistance and gut morphology of juvenile amberjack. Seven experimental diets were formulated to be nearly isonitrogenous (48% crude protein) where diet 1 (D1) was FM based control diet. Diet 2 to 7 were formulated by replacing 25, 50 and 75% of FM protein with SBM and each replacement level was supplemented with or without inosine at 0.6% for diet groups D2(FM25INO), D3(FM25), D4 (FM50INO), D5(FM50), D6(FM75INO) and D7(FM75), respectively. Triplicate groups of fish (24.9 g) were randomly stocked in 200 L polycarbonate tanks at a rate of 24 fish per tank and fed to satiation twice daily for 56 days. After the feeding trial, final weight, specific growth rate, and weight gain were not significantly different among the treatments with that of the 50% replacement containing inosine. Without inosine-supplemented 50% replaced group and with or without inosine-supplemented 75% replaced group showed reduced growth and feed utilization performances. The apparent digestibility coefficients of dry matter, protein and lipid were significantly higher in control and other replacement groups with inosine supplementation. In the case of oxidative stress parameters, fish fed inosine-supplemented diets showed the best condition. Stress resistance against low salinity exposure (LT50), significantly increased with inosine supplementation and was highest in inosine-supplemented 50% replacement diet group. Total serum protein (TSP), alternative complement pathways (ACH50), lysozyme activity (LA), bactericidal activity (BA) and peroxidase activity (PA) tended to be higher in inosine-supplemented groups compared to the non-supplemented groups. Simultaneously, enterocyte height, fold height, and microvillus height of the anterior and posterior enteric sections increased significantly with the inosine supplementation. Results of the study indicated that at least half of the fishmeal could be replaced with soybean meal and supplementation of inosine in the diets of juvenile amberjack. Moreover, inosine administration in 50 to 75% FM replacement groups could be helpful to improve the digestibility, immune responses, stress resistance, and intestinal health condition of fish.

We report the first highly conducting single-molecule magnet, (BEDO)4[ReF6]·6H2O [1; BEDO = bis(ethylenedioxo)tetrathiafulvalene], whose conductivity and single-molecule magnetism coexist in the same temperature range. The compound was synthesized by BEDO electrocrystallization in the presence of (Ph4P)2[ReF6]·2H2O and characterized by crystallography and measurements of the conductivity and alternating-current magnetic susceptibility.

Single crystals of 4,5-ethylenedioxy-4′-iodotetrathiafulvalene (EDO-TTF-I) with iodine bonding ability were obtained by recrystallization from acetonitrile and crystallized in the orthorhombic system with the space group Pbca. Bent EDO-TTF-I molecules formed the dimer structure, and a short I⋯O contact was observed between dimers. Electrocrystallization of EDO-TTF-I in absolute ethanol containing tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate, (TBA)PF6, afforded single crystals of (EDO-TTF-I)2PF6. An X-ray structural analysis revealed that EDO-TTF-I molecules form dimerized stacking columns in a head-to-tail manner, which is referred to as a β′-type arrangement. Iodine bonds between EDO-TTF-I and PF6 anions and short I⋯S contacts between EDO-TTF-I molecules were observed. Tight-binding band calculations indicated that the strong molecular dimerization splits the energy band into upper and lower bands with a small energy gap, where the upper band is effectively half-filled. It was found that (EDO-TTF-I)2PF6 is semiconducting (σRT = 5.3 S cm−1 and Ea = 0.17 eV) and exhibits magnetic properties reminiscent of a low-dimensional localized spin system. The magnetic data were analyzed by the Bonner–Fisher model incorporating interchain interactions: |J|/kB = 67.1 K and zJ′/kB = −61.1 K. No splitting of the CC stretching modes was observed in the range of 5–300 K by Raman spectroscopy, indicating a homogeneous charge distribution of EDO-TTF-I0.5+. Therefore, (EDO-TTF-I)2PF6 is considered as a dimerized Mott insulator.

Three feeding studies were conducted to investigate whether dietary soybean lecithin (SBL) enhanced feed intake of non-fish meal, SPC-based diet, in yellowtail, and also to clarify which fraction of phospholipid (PL) was effective to enhance feed intake. In experiments 1 and 2, fish were fed SBL level at 0%–5%, and it was revealed that the daily feeding rate (DFR) of fish was significantly higher for SBL 2% than for SBL 0%, while a further increase of SBL in the diet did not additionally increase the DFR. Moreover, the DFR of fish fed a diet without feeding stimulants (FS) was the lowest among the dietary treatments, indicating that the SBL does not have an effect of enhancing feed intake in yellowtail. In experiment 3, fish were fed a diet with several products containing PL at 2%. Phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylinositol concentrations in these products positively correlated to the DFR of fish. This result revealed that these two fractions in the SBL are effective for enhancing feed intake of yellowtail when FS is present in the diet.

Eugenol, which has been used as an anesthetic for fish, was administered to Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus (127 ± 50.8 g), by bath treatment at concentrations of 0.025, 0.125, and 0.25 mL/L seawater for 10 min and intramuscular injection at 40 μL/fish to investigate the pharmacokinetic characteristics of eugenol in the plasma of Japanese flounder. In the bath treatment test, plasma eugenol concentration increased with increasing eugenol concentration up to 0.125 mL/L and reached steady state within 5 min. After a 10-min bath treatment in 0.25 mL/L eugenol, plasma eugenol concentration was about 58.4 µg/mL. After transfer into running seawater, plasma eugenol concentration decreased biphasically with half-lives of 0.0296 h (α-phase) and 0.289 h (β-phase). The AUC0000→0800 was about 16.5 µg h/mL. In administration by intramuscular injection, plasma eugenol concentration increased rapidly after administration and decreased biphasically with half-lives of 0.0329 h (α-phase) and 8.08 h (β-phase). The AUC0000→0800 was about 52.5 µg h/mL. In both methods of administration, Japanese flounder with average weight of 127 g were effectively anesthetized when plasma eugenol concentrations were between 2.19 and 4.88 µg/mL.

In the present study we investigate the dietary administration effects of uridine monophosphate (UMP) to enhance the growth, hematological profile, innate and adaptive immune functions and stress resistance of juvenile red sea bream, Pagrus major . A casein fishmeal based semi-purified basal diet supplemented with 0% (control), 0.1% (UMP-0.1), 0.2% (UMP-0.2), 0.4% (UMP-0.4) and 0.8% (UMP-0.8) purified UMP to formulate five experimental diets. Each diet was randomly allocated to triplicate groups of fish (mean initial weight 2.9 g) for 56 days. In general dietary UMP supplementation tended to improve growth performances (final body weight, % weight gain and specific growth rate), in which significantly higher performances were found in diet group UMP-0.4 followed by diet groups UMP-0.8, UMP-0.1 and UMP-0.2. UMP supplementation resulted increased feed conversion efficiency and protein efficiency ratio and significantly higher value (P 0.05) with dietary UMP supplementation. Fish in control group without UMP supplementation showed significantly lower growth and feed utilization performances. The capabilities of enhancing immune responses of fish fed UMP supplemented diets were detected by nonspecific and acquired immune parameters measured in this study. Peroxidase activity (PA) was significantly higher in fish fed diet group UMP-0.8 and higher (P Vibrio anguillarum . In the 15th day after vaccination, significantly higher agglutination antibody titer was found in diet group UMP-0.4 and simultaneously other supplemented diet groups showed intermediate values. In terms of oxidative stress, diet group UMP-0.4 showed best condition with low oxidative stress and high antioxidant levels. Moreover, the fish fed UMP supplemented diets had better improvement (P