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Nearly all cases of melioidosis in the continental United States are related to international travel to areas to which Burkholderia pseudomallei, the bacterium that causes melioidosis, is endemic. We report the diagnosis and clinical course of melioidosis in a patient from the United States who had no international travel history and the public health investigation to determine the source of exposure. We tested environmental samples collected from the patient’s home for B. pseudomallei by PCR and culture. Whole-genome sequencing was conducted on PCR-positive environmental samples, and results were compared with sequences from the patient’s clinical specimen. Three PCR-positive environmental samples, all collected from a freshwater home aquarium that had contained imported tropical fish, were a genetic match to the clinical isolate from the patient. This finding suggests a novel route of exposure and a potential for importation of B. pseudomallei, a select agent, into the United States from disease-endemic areas.

In 2019, a melioidosis case in Maryland, USA, was shown to have been acquired from an ornamental fish tank contaminated with Burkholderia pseudomallei bacteria, likely derived from Southeast Asia. We investigated the presence of B. pseudomallei in ornamental fish tanks in the endemic area of Vientiane, Laos.

Numerous studies have been conducted to prove the calming and stress-reducing effects on humans of visiting aquatic environments. As a result, many institutions have utilized fish to provide entertainment and treat patients. The most common issue in this approach is controlling the movement of fish to facilitate human interaction. This study proposed an interactive robot, a robotic fish, to alter fish swarm behaviors by performing an effective, unobstructed, yet necessary, defined set of actions to enhance human interaction. The approach incorporated a minimalistic but futuristic physical design of the robotic fish with cameras and infrared (IR) sensors, and developed a fish-detecting and swarm pattern-recognizing algorithm. The fish-detecting algorithm was implemented using background subtraction and moving average algorithms with an accuracy of 78%, while the swarm pattern detection implemented with a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) resulted in a 77.32% accuracy rate. By effectively controlling the behavior and swimming patterns of fish through the smooth movements of the robotic fish, we evaluated the success through repeated trials. Feedback from a randomly selected unbiased group of subjects revealed that the robotic fish improved human interaction with fish by using the proposed set of maneuvers and behavior.

Interaction with fish is known to reduce stress and anxiety in humans. This trial evaluated the effect of an aquarium present in a geriatric dental clinic waiting-area (WA) on blood pressure (BP), heart-rate (HR), anxiety, and mood of waiting patients. 392 patients (mean age: 65.07±16.9y) completed this trial. There was an effect of time on the BP [systolic: F(1, 120) = 44.82, p<0.001; diastolic: F(1, 120) = 25.10, p<0.001] and HR [F(1, 120) = 40.94, p<0.001]. No effect of groups on BP [systolic: F(1, 120) = 1.01, p = 0.32; diastolic: F(1, 120) = 0.01, p = 0.92] was revealed, but a decrease of HR [F(1, 120) = 21.59, p<0.001]. No effect of time*group on BP [systolic: F(1, 120) = 0.89, p = 0.35; diastolic: F(1, 120) = 0.31, p = 0.58], or HR [F(1, 120) = 1.04, p-0.31]. WA groups had no effects on the participants' anxiety [H(2) = 2.76, p = 0.25], or mood [FS: H(2) = 2.28, p = 0.32; FAS: H(2) = 1.54, p = 0.46]. Patients rated FSA higher than others [H(2) = 20.98, p<0.001). There was no influence of the presence of an aquarium on the patients' blood pressure, heart rate, anxiety, or mood.

Structural enrichment is considered a useful tool to improve the welfare conditions of captive fish by deliberately increasing the physical heterogeneity and complexity of captivity environments. However, the potential effects of structural enrichment on the stress response at the group level and on social interactions have not been well studied yet. In this study, we demonstrate that suspended vertical structures (U-shaped ropes) can reduce behavioural variability among fish groups (tank level) of European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) juveniles. Differences in behavioural responses during group risk-taking tests (e.g., number of passes per fish) between treatments were detected, and these responses in seabass in enriched captive conditions were more homogeneous among tanks compared to fish from non-enriched tanks. These results suggest a positive effect of the structural enrichment on social stabilisation and response to stressful events at the tank level in seabass. However, further research is still needed to improve the knowledge of the potential effects of structural enrichment on fish welfare and aquaculture management, considering different enrichment designs, intensities, and strategies according to farming conditions, biological needs, and preferences of the fish species and life-stage reared in captivity.

In order to improve the hardware configuration and interaction mode of the fish tank system and realize the diversification of client functions, the purpose of real-time remote monitoring and management is achieved. A set of IoT intelligent fish tank system composed of sensor unit, signal processing unit and wireless transmission unit was designed. The system improves the algorithm of the data collected by the sensor, and proposes an improved first-order lag average filtering algorithm. The system uses composite collection information, intelligent processing, chart data analysis and other methods to transmit the processed data to the cloud server through the WIFI communication module. An APP is designed on the remote monitoring and control end, and a visual data interface of the smart fish tank is made, and the user can modify the environmental parameters conducive to the biological survival inside the fish tank through the APP, it brings great convenience to the family fish tank, and the test shows that the system network is stable and fast in response, and the overall purpose of the intelligent fish tank system is achieved.

This paper presents an automatic water exchange system designed for a freshwater aquarium. The automatic water exchange system (AWES) was developed to improve the aquarist’s work. Replacement of water in an aquarium is one of the basic maintenance activities and should be performed regularly. In case the process of pouring in and out of the water itself requires a lot of time and strength from the aquarist, the automation of this operation is proposed. The automatic water exchange system consists of a water discharge system, a water filling system, and a security system. Additionally, to simplify user operation, a dedicated mobile application for the Android system has been created. The developed AWES system allows for regular changing of water in aquariums as well as enables effective and simple control of water flow and temperature.

We investigated the effectiveness of TiO2 cenospheres in reducing the concentrations of three common harmful compounds, ammonium, nitrate, and nitrite, in fish aquariums. These cenospheres can contribute to more sustainable and eco-friendly aquarium filtration systems while also improving the health of fish. We designed a 30-day experiment with three treatment groups based on the filter type: (1) a control group with a conventional aquarium filter, (2) a group with a TiO2 cenosphere filter, and (3) a group with a dark TiO2 cenosphere filter. The water quality was the same baseline in all groups, and each tank was monitored daily for changes in temperature, pH, ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite concentrations. We found that the TiO2 cenosphere filter was effective in reducing the concentrations of all three pollutants. By the end of the experimental period, the average concentration of nitrite in the control group was 10.7 µM, while the average concentration in the TiO2 cenosphere filter group dropped 55% to 4.7 µM from the baseline. The average concentration of nitrate was reduced by 17% and ammonia by 28% in the cenosphere-treated group. Hence, the cenospheres were effective in reducing the concentrations of all three pollutants, with the greatest reduction seen for nitrite. These findings support further investigation for incorporating TiO2 cenospheres into aquarium filtration to help reduce the environmental burden of the aquarium industry.

Roman fish tanks are found in various coastal regions of the Mediterranean, although the vast majority is found on the Tyrrhenian coast of Italy. In this work, a database was developed with information on 62 fish tanks along the Mediterranean coasts to document and compare their features and characteristics. The analysis of the developed database from the Mediterranean fish tanks has shown that, among the 62 fish tanks, ~56% were cut into the rock, indicating that this type of construction was the most popular at that time and probably had advantages over the others. Fish tanks as sea level indicators can provide accurate data on the sea level 2000 years ago. Well-preserved installations with prominent architectural features have a crucial role in determining the paleo sea level. The architectural elements that are mostly used in fish tanks for paleo sea level reconstructions are the crepido, cataractae and channels. Besides the scientific importance of the fish tanks as sea level markers, they also have great cultural and historical significance. Fish tanks can be promoted as heritage monuments and scholarly models to strengthen awareness about climate change, sea level rise and its consequences.

Aquaculture play a vital role in enhancing human nutrition by producing commercially valuable fish, with gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) being a key species in the Mediterranean region. In seabream larviculture, disinfection is commonly used to control pathogens and prevent microbial imbalances. However, this process may also remove beneficial microbiota that contribute to ecosystem stability. This study aims to investigate the impact of tank disinfection operations on the bacterial communities associated with seabream larvae and their rearing water in a commercial hatchery using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. For further comparison, the bacterial communities present in eggs and feed were also analyzed for comparison. Results showed that the use of different disinfectants significantly altered the bacterial composition of the larvae, while the duration of the dry period had no measurable effect. Across all larval samples, the phylum Pseudomonadota dominated, with members of the genus Psychrobacter consistently detected regardless of disinfection treatment. This suggests that Psychrobacter may be transmitted from eggs or acquired through the feed, mainly rotifers and Artemia nauplii. In contrast, the bacterial communities in the rearing water were more diverse and showed only minor differences in relative abundance across disinfection methods.