Search

In recent years, technological advancements have been replicated in various industries, including sports medicine. Recent developments, such as big data analytics and data mining, which have revolutionized medical services in sports, are apparent in this transformation. This technological shift is motivated by the need to enhance athletic performance, prevent injuries, and offer individualized health advice. Modern lifestyles have simultaneously increased people's attention to their health, creating a demand for better medical services. However, China's ability to provide superior medical care needs to be improved due to a lack of medical resources and an ever-increasing patient population. To address these challenges, this research paper presents an integrated framework that leverages Spark-based big data analytics and the XGBoost algorithm. The framework aims to provide a robust sports medical service encompassing real-time health monitoring and data-driven insights. Powered by the formidable distributed computing platform Spark, it adeptly manages extensive sports data generated during training and events, facilitating instant health evaluations. Incorporating the XGBoost algorithm for data mining amplifies health prediction and recommendation capabilities. Renowned for its predictive prowess, XGBoost excels in discerning intricate sports data patterns and trends. Its proficiency in tackling intricates feature selection and modeling tasks ensures precision and actionable insights. Empirical findings underscore substantial enhancements in sports medical services. When applied to chronic disease datasets, the XGBoost algorithm garnered an impressive 93% trust rate. In contrast to conventional methods like K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Random Forest (RF), Decision Trees (DT), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Naïve Bayes (NB), and Logistic Regression (LR), the proposed framework consistently outperforms these established techniques. This remarkable performance underscores the transformative potential of the integrated framework in revolutionizing sports medical services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molluscs are among the most valuable resources of the Philippines, an archipelagic country of 7,107 islands bounded by 36,000 km of coastline and 26.6 million ha of coastal waters. In 2020, production from mussels and oysters alone valued at PhP1.552 billion. As primary sources of food and livelihood for marginalized fisherfolk, they are considered important in food security, nutrition, and poverty alleviation. Nevertheless, for almost a century, mollusc culture remained small-scale, with most fish farmers investing in non-fed species, like mussels and oysters. Moreover, mollusc culture in the country is still dependent on wild sources of seed stocks, making production unsustainable and unreliable. This dependence on the wild seed stocks will continue until the issue of the lack of commercial-scale hatcheries or the limited capacity of existing hatcheries to produce seeds, both for top and emerging mollusc aquaculture species, is resolved. Although technologies from broodstock management to post-harvest are available in some species, the lack of capital and the limited government support limit these artisanal fishers from doing large commercial-scale culture. This paper summarizes what has been done and published on the leading mollusc species cultured in the Philippines. Future research activities may be designed based on the research gaps to refine available technologies and develop new ones to improve culture production. The lack of or limited relevant information on the viable economics of the different culture techniques at different culture phases, the limited availability of post-harvest technologies, and the sparse or lack of genetic information for these leading mollusc species are among the gaps that need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the effect of feeding the abalone Haliotis asinina with seaweed (SW), formulated (FD), and mixed (SW+FD) diets. The feeding experiment, in six replicates, was conducted in a tank facility and lasted for 10 months. At the end of the experiment, abalone fed mixed diets had significantly the highest mean shell length and body weight (45.90±0.19 mm, 22.82±0.31 g), followed by those fed seaweeds (43.47±0.17 mm, 18.25±0.26 g), and lastly, by those fed formulated diets (41.78±0.18 mm, 15.76±0.22 g). Mean growth rates were significantly higher in abalone fed mixed diets at 1.48±0.03 mm and 1.69±0.04 g mo−1 than those fed seaweeds (1.26±0.03 mm, 1.27±0.06 g mo−1) or formulated diet (1.06±0.09 mm, 1.00±0.11 g mo−1). Survival was consistent 1 month from the start of culture until harvest—highest in abalone fed mixed diets (78.81±2.48%), followed by those fed seaweeds (70.12±4.07%), and lastly formulated diet (64.53±4.61%). Moreover, feed conversion ratios (FCR) were significantly lower in abalone fed mixed diets (15.48±0.69) and formulated diet (18.07±3.50) compared with those fed seaweeds (41.31±2.36). The body weight to shell length ratios (BW:SL), which were the same in all treatments at the start of the experiment (0.19 g mm−1), increased to 0.51, 0.44, and 0.38 in abalone fed mixed diets, seaweeds, and formulated diet, respectively. Based on the results of this experiment, giving abalone a mix of formulated and natural diets is the best feeding regime. The importance of a balanced and more nutritional diet on the well-being of the abalone was observed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The settlement of sea cucumbers is a crucial phase of larval development because the highest mortality occurs at this stage. Substrates and cues are commonly used to induce larval settlement. Commercial algae and live benthic diatoms are the most common settlement cues being used. The present study evaluated Chaetoceros calcitrans concentrate as a potential settlement cue for H. scabra. Three settlement cues, replicated three times, were compared: commercial 'Spirulina', live benthic diatom Navicula sp., and C. calcitrans concentrate. Settlement substrates without cue served as control. 'Spirulina' paste and C. calcitrans concentrate were painted onto the settlement substrates, while settlement substrates were introduced into a Navicula sp. culture tank to enable attachment of the benthic diatom. Faster and higher settlement was observed in the treatment with 'Spirulina' paste as cue at 89% five days post introduction of substrates, compared with live Navicula sp. and C. calcitrans concentrate at 74% and 63% seven days post introduction, respectively. For the control, only 25% of the larvae have settled eight days after introduction to the substrates. 'Spirulina' paste and live Navicula sp. showed better settlement rates, but these were not significantly different compared with C. calcitrans concentrate. Therefore, C. calcitrans concentrate can be a potential settlement cue for H. scabra larvae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different microalgae as larval food for Holothuria scabra, a high-value sea cucumber species with hatchery technology continually being refined to improve production, were studied. Two experiments were conducted to determine the performance of the larvae—first, the use of single-algal diet of either Chaetoceros calcitrans, Rhodomonas sp., or Tetraselmis tetrathele as feed; and second, the use of a combination of two algal species, C. calcitrans + Rhodomonas sp., C. calcitrans + T. tetrathele, or Rhodomonas sp. + T. tetrathele as feed. For both experiments, hatched larvae at 2 days post-fertilization (DPF) were used for initial stocking at a density of 200 larvae L−1. Growth, development, and survival were monitored until more than 50% of the larval population were considered as competent larvae (late auricularia). In the first experiment, during the early stage of development (early aricularia), larvae fed Rhodomonas sp. were larger compared to other treatments. However, when the larvae reached middle and late auricularia, they performed better when fed with C. calcitrans. Those larvae fed with C. calcitrans were significantly larger and showed faster development to competent larvae. In the second experiment, larvae fed mixed C. calcitrans + Rhodomonas sp. showed better performance in growth, development, and survival. The present study showed that C. calcitrans, when used solely as feed or in combination with Rhodomonas sp., promoted better growth, development, and survival of H. scabra larvae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abalone are among the most important fishery resources with high commercial values worldwide, with Haliotis asinina being the most in demand and widely studied species in the Philippines. Abalone culture in the country mainly depends on the red alga, Gracilariopsis heteroclada, as food for cultured stocks. This however, is not sustainable as this alga is also being farmed both for agar production and human consumption. Hence, other sources of natural food need to be explored for large-scale culture of abalone. This study investigated the viability of Ulva reticulata as food for abalone. This green alga is common in the intertidal zones of the Philippines but of no commercial value. H. asinina early juveniles (N = 60, shell length 2.12–3.07 cm, body weight 1.7–5.9 g) obtained from the Abalone Hatchery of SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department were randomly distributed (n = 10) in three replicate containers and fed with G. heteroclada and U. reticulata for 15 days. After 15 days, abalone fed with G. heteroclada were significantly larger and heavier (2.82 ± 0.04 cm and 4.64 ± 0.19 g) than those fed with U. reticulata (2.62 ± 0.03 cm and 3.45 ± 0.14 g). Abalone fed with U. reticulata also exhibited weakness, hardfoot, and easily detached from the walls of the culture containers. Based on these results, despite its availability in large quantities, U. reticulata could not be solely used as an alternative natural food to G. heteroclada for abalone culture. However, its potential as a partial substitute to G. heteroclada may be further examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapid extraction method for screening aflatoxin producing potential of Aspergillus flavus group isolates is described. The method is performed using a moist wheat medium with ca. five infected grains extracted with 2 mL of chloroform, and using thin layer chromatography. This method was proved with 95 A. flavus isolates from animal feeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human gut microbiome is a complex microbial community that is strongly linked to both host health and disease. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of these microorganisms on host biology remain largely uncharacterized. The development of non-lethal, small-molecule inhibitors that target specific gut microbial activities enables a powerful but underutilized approach to studying the gut microbiome and a promising therapeutic strategy. In this Review, we will discuss the challenges of studying this microbial community, the historic use of small-molecule inhibitors in microbial ecology, and recent applications of this strategy. We also discuss the evidence suggesting that host-targeted drugs can affect the growth and metabolism of gut microbes. Finally, we address the issues of developing and implementing microbiome-targeted small-molecule inhibitors and define important future directions for this research., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)