Interactions between environmental pollutants and gut microbiota: a review connecting the conventional heavy metals and the emerging microplastics.

Growing epidemiological evidence suggests that the diverse and functional gut microbiota plays a vital role in regulating the health and disease of organisms including human. However, organisms are inevitably exposed to widespread environmental pollutants, and the interactions between their gut microbiota and pollutants are relatively underreported. The present paper considers heavy metals (HMs) and microplastics (MPs) as representatives of traditional and emerging pollutants and systematically summarizes their effects on gut microbiota and the effects of gut microbiota on pollutants.

Unveiling the mechanism of micro-and-nano plastic phytotoxicity on terrestrial plants: A comprehensive review of omics approaches.

Micro-and-nano plastics (MNPs) are pervasive in terrestrial ecosystems and represent an increasing threat to plant health; however, the mechanisms underlying their phytotoxicity remain inadequately understood. MNPs can infiltrate plants through roots or leaves, causing a range of toxic effects, including inhibiting water and nutrient uptake, reducing seed germination rates, and impeding photosynthesis, resulting in oxidative damage within the plant system. The effects of MNPs are complex and influenced by various factors including size, shape, functional groups, and concentration.

Quercetin suppresses cell viability in triple-negative breast cancer by targeting ORM2.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is known for its aggressive nature, and Quercetin (QUE) has shown potential anti-cancer effects. In this study, we determined the IC50 of QUE for inhibiting cell viability in multiple TNBC, non-TNBC, and normal breast cell lines. We compared the expression of ORM2 in TNBC clinical samples and normal tissues.

Polyethylene microplastics distinctly affect soil microbial community and carbon and nitrogen cycling during plant litter decomposition.

Plant litter is an important input source of carbon and nitrogen in soil. While microplastics (MPs) and plant litter are ubiquitously present in soil, their combined impact on soil biogeochemical processes remains poorly understood. To address this gap, we examined the soil changes resulting from the coexistence of plant litter (Alfalfa) and polyethylene microplastics (PE).

Abnormal regional brain activity in patients with first-episode medication-naïve depressive disorder: A longitudinal fNIRS study.

The potential relationship between abnormal brain activity and clinical symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) is important for auxiliary diagnosis and prediction of the curative effect of treatments for MDD. Before antidepressant treatment (T1), 4 weeks after treatment (T2), and 8 weeks after treatment (T3), 33 patients with first-episode medication-naïve MDD and 30 healthy controls (HCs) were examined using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to evaluate the cerebral hemodynamic response in the frontal and temporal cortex during the Verbal Fluency Task (VFT). Compared with HCs, VFT scores and activation levels of the frontal pole, inferior frontal gyrus, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex were significantly decreased in the first-episode medication-naïve depressive disorder patients (FMD).

Changes in microbial communities across the whole A/O wastewater treatment process and their drivers-Reduced community diversity but increased proportion of certain pathogens.

Microorganisms play a crucial role in pollutant removal and water quality stabilizing. However, limited research exists on the microbial variability and the factors driving it at different stages of wastewater treatment. In this study, the physicochemical properties of water and the composition of bacterial communities were thoroughly investigated across the entire A/O wastewater treatment process, encompassing 3 stages (12 steps).

Global microplastics pollution: a bibliometric analysis and review on research trends and hotspots in agroecosystems.

The prevalence of microplastics (MPs) in agricultural ecosystems poses a notable threat to dynamics of soil ecosystems, crop productivity, and global food security. MPs enter agricultural ecosystems from various sources and have considerable impacts on the physiochemical properties soil, soil organisms and microbial communities, and plants. However, the intensity of these impacts can vary with the size, shape, types, and the concentrations of MPs in the soil.

Distinct impacts of microplastics on the carbon sequestration capacity of coastal blue carbon ecosystems: A case of seagrass beds.

Seagrass beds, as an important coastal blue carbon ecosystem, are excellent at storing organic carbon and mitigating the impacts of global climate change. However, seagrass beds are under threat due to increased human activities and ubiquitous presence of microplastics (MPs) in marine environments. Bibliometric analysis shows that the distribution and accumulation of microplastics in seagrass beds has been widely documented worldwide, but their impacts on seagrass beds, particularly on carbon sequestration capacity, have not been given sufficient attention.

Microplastic detection and remediation through efficient interfacial solar evaporation for immaculate water production.

Freshwater scarcity and microplastics (MPs) pollution are two concerning and intertwined global challenges. In this work, we propose a "one stone kills two birds" strategy by employing an interfacial solar evaporation platform (ISEP) combined with a MPs adsorbent. This strategy aims to produce clean water and simultaneously enhance MPs removal.

Construction of self-cleaning g-CN/BiMoO/PVDF membrane and coupling with photo-Fenton-like reaction for sustainable removal of antibiotics in wastewater.

Constructing a photocatalytic membrane and photo-Fenton reaction coupling system is a novel strategy to enhance the photocatalytic activity of the membrane and eliminate the problem of membrane contamination. Herein, a g-CN/BiMoO/PVDF photocatalytic membrane was prepared using a tannic acid-assisted in-situ deposition method. The membrane was characterized by three advantages of photocatalytic, self-cleaning, and antibacterial properties.

Artificial Intelligence-Based Microfluidic Platform for Detecting Contaminants in Water: A Review.

Water pollution greatly impacts humans and ecosystems, so a series of policies have been enacted to control it. The first step in performing pollution control is to detect contaminants in the water. Various methods have been proposed for water quality testing, such as spectroscopy, chromatography, and electrochemical techniques.

Polystyrene nanoplastics distinctly impact cadmium uptake and toxicity in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The ubiquitous presence of micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) in soil has raised concerns regarding their potential effects on terrestrial plants. The coexistence and interactions between MNPs and heavy metals altering their phytotoxicity deserves further investigation. In this study, we explored the impacts of various concentrations of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) and cadmium (Cd) alone or in combination on the growth and development of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Multi-omics profiling reveal cells with novel oncogenic cluster, TRAP1/CAMSAP3, emerge more aggressive behavior and poor-prognosis in early-stage endometrial cancer.

The clinical heterogeneity of early-stage endometrial cancer (EC) is worthy of further study to identify high-quality prognostic markers and their potential role in aggressive tumor behavior. Mutation of TP53 was considered as an important primary triage in modified molecular typing for EC, it still cannot precisely predict the prognosis of EC. After proteomic analysis of cancer and para-cancerous tissues from 24 early-stage endometrioid EC patients with different survival outcomes, 13 differentially expressed proteins were screen out while 2 proteins enriched in p53 signaling pathway were further identified by single-cell transcriptome (scRNA-seq).

Microalgae Film-Derived Water Evaporation-Induced Electricity Generator with Negative Carbon Emission.

Water evaporation-induced electricity generators (WEGs) are regarded as one of the most promising solutions for addressing the increasingly severe environmental pollution and energy crisis. Owing to the potential carbon emission in the preparation process of WEGs, whether WEG represents a clean electricity generation technology is open to question. Here, a brand-new strategy is proposed for manufacturing negative carbon emission WEG (CWEG).

Microfluidic sensors for the detection of emerging contaminants in water: A review.

In recent years, numerous emerging contaminants have been identified in surface water, groundwater, and drinking water. Developing novel sensing methods for detecting diverse emerging pollutants in water is urgently needed, as even at low concentrations, these pollutants can pose a serious threat to human health and environmental safety. Traditional testing methods are based on laboratory equipment, which is highly sensitive but complex to operate, costly, and not suitable for on-site monitoring.

Immobilisation remediation of arsenic-contaminated soils with promising CaAl-layered double hydroxide and bioavailability, bioaccessibility, and speciation-based health risk assessment.

Arsenic (As)-contaminated soil poses great health risk to human mostly through inadvertent oral exposure. We investigated CaAl-layered double hydroxide (CaAl-LDH), a promising immobilising agent, for the remediation of As-contaminated Chinese soils. The effects on specific soil properties and As fractionation were analyzed, and changes in the health risk of soil As were accurately assessed by means of advanced in vivo mice model and in vitro PBET-SHIME model.

Influences of coexisting aged polystyrene microplastics on the ecological and health risks of cadmium in soils: A leachability and oral bioaccessibility based study.

Whether coexisting microplastics (MPs) affect the ecological and health risks of cadmium (Cd) in soils is a cutting-edge scientific issue. In this study, four typical Chinese soils were prepared as artificially Cd-contaminated soils with/without aged polystyrene (PS). TCLP and in vitro PBET model were used to determine the leachability (ecological risk) and oral bioaccessibility (human health risk) of soil Cd.

Evaporation Driven Hydrovoltaic Generator Based on Nano-Alumina-Coated Polyethylene Terephthalate Film.

Collecting energy from the ambient environment through green and sustainable methods is highly expected to alleviate pollution and energy problems worldwide. Here, we report a facile and flexible hydrovoltaic generator capable of utilizing natural water evaporation for sustainable electricity production. The generator was fabricated by coating nano-AlO on a twistable polyethylene terephthalate film.