Synthesis method of inorganic compounds from seawater or raw materials originating from seawater and its characterization were reviewed. The inorganic compounds to be introduced are Layerd double hydrate （LDH）, Northpite （Na₃Mg(CO₃)₂Cl）, Calcium carbonate （CaCO₃） and protodolomite and Dolomite （CaMg(CO₃)₂). The effects of the synthetic conditions on the products and the functionality of these materials are described. Therefore, the useful material production form seawater is important to continue preventing poor resource for Japan. Here's a brief description of the details.

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Neonicotinoid insecticides （NEOs） are widely used in many agricultural products. However, it has been pointed out that it may flow into rivers, lakes, and coastal areas and affect organisms inhabiting those environments. In this study, the effects of exposure to NEOs at concentrations and exposure periods observed in rivers, waterways and agricultural drainage channels around rice paddies, where Japanese killifish (Oryzias latipes) inhabit, on their anxiety behavior were assessed by light/dark preference tests. We also examined whether or not the anxiety behavior recovered when reared in clean water after exposure to NEOs. Japanese killifish were divided into seven groups of seven males and females each as follows and reared for one week: pesticide-free （Control）, thiamethoxam （THM） exposure; 10 and 200 μg/L, dinotefuran （DIN） exposure; 6 and 120 μg/L, fipronil （FIP） exposure; 1 and 20 μg/L. Light/dark preference tests were conducted immediately before exposure, one day and one week after exposure to measure the percentage of time spent on a black background （Choice index） and the number of times the fish moved between the black and white demarcation line. After the oneweek exposure test, the Japanese killifish were again subjected to the light/dark preference test after two weeks in clean water to determine any behavioral changes. Before pesticide exposure, Japanese killifish spent most of the time in the dark, but one and seven days after exposure to low and high concentrations of THM and DIN, their dark selectivity was significantly lower than that of the control group. Similar changes were also observed in individuals exposed to FIPs. Furthermore, when the killifish were returned to clean water seven days after exposure and kept for at least two weeks, dark selectivity increased (recovered) again in the FIP-exposed group, whereas dark selectivity did not recover in both sexes in the groups exposed to THMs and DINs. In other words, the effects of NEOs exposure are irreversible or long-lasting, and once exposed, even if the animals return to clean water afterwards, the effects will continue for a long period of time for aquatic organisms, and there is concern about the effects on the ecosystem.

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Adsorption of PGMs, Rh, Ir, and Ru, on sulfur-impregnated charcoal, which is prepared from domestic biomass resource, bamboo, via pyrolysis after sulfur-immersion, was examined to apply for PGMs recovery from wastewater. Sulfur-impregnated bamboo charcoal can adsorb Ir and Ru, indicating higher adsorption capacity for Ir (12.2 mg/g) and Ru (15.9 mg/g) than commercial activated carbon, while Rh can't be adsorbed.

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　Bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BPMED) can simultaneously generate acid and alkali solutions. One of the issues for BPMED is low current efficiency for acid/alkali production due to proton leakage from anion exchange membranes (AEMs). In this study, BPMED was performed using different AEMs and salt solutions to investigate the effect of AEM structure and salt solution on current efficiency. When using NaCl as the salt solution, a higher current efficiency was obtained in BPMED using a proton-blocking AEM compared with the standard AEM, although little difference was observed between the two AEMs when using Na₂SO₄.

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Chemical cross-linking combined with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) is a simple way to analyze oligomerization and complex formation of proteins. However, cross-linked proteins with a large molecular mass, for example with molecular weight greater than ∼400 kDa, show slow mobility and tend to stack in loading area with poor resolution. Agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) may be more suitable, due to a large pore size of the agarose, to analyze proteins as well as DNA fragments, especially for large macromolecules and their complexes. Here, we expressed and purified recombinant ClpB chaperone protein (homologue of eukaryotic HSP104) derived from moderate halophile and analyzed the purified protein by SDS-PAGE and SDS-AGE. Chemical cross-linking and SDS-AGE analysis clearly demonstrated hexameric assembly of ClpB subunit protein. Heat-denaturation profile of the ClpB with native-AGE analysis done without SDS suggested that ClpB protein was denatured at around 50 °C.

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　Isobutanol is attracting attention as a biofuel because of its higher energy density and lower hygroscopicity compared with ethanol. The utilization of seawater in fermentation can potentially reduce the need for freshwater and trace minerals during isobutanol production. Here, we describe isobutanol production using seawater. When an isobutanol-producing Escherichia coli strain was cultured using 40 % seawater as the source of trace minerals, 4.93 g/L isobutanol was produced, with a theoretical yield of 66 %, consistent with the yield obtained using synthetic medium with trace minerals. This result suggests that seawater is a potentially useful medium component for isobutanol production.

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