A Freestanding Chitin-Derived Hierarchical Nanocomposite for Developing Electrodes in Future Supercapacitor Industry

Crustacean cuticles are receiving extensive attention for its potential in developing environmentally friendly and high energy density electrodes for supercapacitor applications. In the current work, the demineralized tergite cuticle of mantis shrimp was employed as a precursor for the fabrication porous biochar. The structural benefits of the cuticle, including the hierarchical nanofiber networks, and the interpenetrating pore systems were maximumly retained, providing a high carbon content and specific surface area scaffold. Graphene oxide sheets were deposited across the biochar through the pore canal systems to further increase the conductivity of the biochar, forming a novel freestanding carbon composite. Throughout the modification process, the material products were examined by a range of methods, which showed desired structural, chemical and functional properties. Our work demonstrates that high performance carbon materials can be manufactured using a simple and green process to realize the great potential in energy storage applications.

First DNA Barcoding Based Record of Lysiosquillina Maculata (Fabricius, 1793) (Crustacea: Stomatopoda) From Chennai Coast, Tamil Nadu, India

Taxonomic identification of mantis shrimp Lysiosquillina maculata through DNA barcoding analysis collected from Kasimedu fisheries harbour, Chennai coast, Tamil Nadu, India. The mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase sub unit I gene (mtcoI) with 650 bp region was sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. The present record, mitochondrial gene sequences were used to identify the mantis shrimp Lysiosquillina maculata. This is the first confirmed record of Indian waters and the mt COI sequence was deposited in GenBank. The neighbor joining method was used for phylogenetic analysis. The pair wise genetic distance calculated with 08 closely related species varied form 0.03-0.404%. Phylogenetic tree based on 13 protein coding genes shows that Lysiosquillina maculata has a closer phylogenetic relationship to Harpiosquilla harpax.

High-voltage aqueous symmetric supercapacitor based on 3D bicontinuous, highly-wrinkled, N-doped porous graphene-like ultrathin carbon sheets

In this study, a facile pyrolysis is utilized to convert mantis shrimp shell into 3D bicontinuous porous, highly wrinkled, nitrogen doped, graphene-like ultrathin carbon sheet (3D BWGC). 3D BWGC achieves...

Target hazard quotient evaluation of selected trace elements in highly consumed crustacean species in Lagos, Nigeria

Crustaceans are known for their trace element bioaccumulation abilities. Muscle tissues of lagoon crab, marine crab, pink shrimp and mantis shrimp marketed for consumption in Nigeria were analyzed for Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Hg and Cr levels using standard methods. Muscle levels in mg kg-1 of Mn (0.03±0.00 in lagoon crab), Fe (0.072±0.01 in mantis shrimp), Cu (0.344±0.01 in lagoon crab) and Zn (0.073±0.00 in mantis shrimp) were significantly different (p<0.05) from their corresponding values in other examined crustaceans. The mean values of Cr and Hg were not significantly different across samples. The estimated daily intake of trace element (mg person-1day-1) revealed that Hg (0.000001) in marine crab contributed the lowest daily intake while Zn (0.000226) in lagoon crab contributed the highest daily intake. Total hazard quotient (THQ) values for the trace elements followed descending order of Hg > Cu > Zn > Fe > Mn > Cr. Lagoon crab showed the highest total hazard index among the organisms with 44.80 %, while the least was observed in mantis shrimp with 13.30 %. It is concluded that, as far as human health is concerned, the mean elemental levels in the muscle tissues of the organisms examined pose no danger (THQ < 1).