Plastic substrate and residual time of microplastics in the urban river shape the composition and structure of bacterial communities in plastisphere.

The widespread secondary microplastics (MPs) in urban freshwater, originating from plastic wastes, have created a new habitat called plastisphere for microorganisms. The factors influencing the structure and ecological risks of the microbial community within the plastisphere are not yet fully understood. We conducted an in-site incubation experiment in an urban river, using MPs from garbage bags (GB), shopping bags (SB), and plastic bottles (PB).

The plastisphere of biodegradable and conventional microplastics from residues exhibit distinct microbial structure, network and function in plastic-mulching farmland.

The inhomogeneity of plastisphere and soil may result in different microbial communities, thus potentially affecting soil functions. Biodegradable plastics offer an alternative to conventional plastics, nevertheless, the inadequate end-of-life treatment of biodegradable plastics may release more microplastics. Herein, we collected PE and PBAT/PLA microplastics in plastic-mulching farmland in Hebei, China.

Co-occurrence of light microplastics and phthalate esters in soils of China.

The terrestrial environment is both a critical source and sink for microplastics (MPs). However, further efforts into the risk assessment, management, and mitigation activities of MPs in the terrestrial environment were limited by the scant data on their occurrence. In this study, we investigated the co-occurrence and correlations of light MPs and phthalate esters (PAEs) in the soils of China's hotspots and non-hotspot regions.

Automated identification and quantification of invisible microplastics in agricultural soils.

Microplastics in agricultural soils have become the research hotspot in recent years, however, the quantitative methods based on the traditional visual inspection may have a high false detection rate. Here we combined the laser direct infrared (LDIR) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) methods to investigate the microplastics in farmland with long-term agricultural activities. The results showed that the total abundance of microplastics reached 1.

Contribution of stochastic processes to the microbial community assembly on field-collected microplastics.

A growing body of evidence suggests that microplastics may be colonized with a unique microbiome, termed 'plastisphere', in aquatic environments. However, the deep mechanisms (deterministic and/or stochastic processes) underlying the community assembly on microplastics are still poorly understood. Here, we took the estuary of Hangzhou Bay (Zhejiang, China) as an example and examined the assembly mechanisms of bacterial communities in water and microplastic samples.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) quality drives biogeographic patterns of soil bacterial communities and their association networks in semi-arid regions.

It is of great interest to elucidate the biogeographic patterns of soil microorganisms and their driving forces, which is fundamental to predicting alterations in microbial-mediated functions arising from environment changes. Although dissolved organic matter (DOM) represents an important resource for soil microorganisms, knowledge of how its quality affects microbial biogeography is limited. Here, we characterized soil bacterial communities and DOM quality in 45 soil samples collected from a 1500-km sampling transect through semi-arid regions in northern China which are currently suffering great pressure from climate change, using Illumina Miseq sequencing and fluorescence spectroscopy, respectively.

Deciphering the archaeal communities in tree rhizosphere of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.

Background: The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau represents one of the most important component of the terrestrial ecosystem and a particularly vulnerable region, which harbouring complex and diverse microbiota. The knowledge about their underground microorganisms have largely been studied, but the characteristics of rhizosphere microbiota, particularly archaeal communities remains unclear.

Results: High-throughput Illumina sequencing was used to investigate the rhizosphere archaeal communities of two native alpine trees (Picea crassifolia and Populus szechuanica) living on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Evidence of selective enrichment of bacterial assemblages and antibiotic resistant genes by microplastics in urban rivers.

The ubiquitous presence of microplastics in aquatic environments has recently drawn considerable attention due to their potential threat to the entire ecosystem. The colonization of bacterial communities on microplastics is an important ecological linkage for microplastics in aquatic ecosystems, which is yet poorly understood. In this study, microplastic particles were sampled in two urbanized rivers in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China, and the differences between bacterial assemblages colonizing microplastics and planktonic bacteria were estimated.

Effects of Rose Bengal- and Methylene Blue-Mediated Potassium Iodide-Potentiated Photodynamic Therapy on Enterococcus faecalis: A Comparative Study.

Background And Objectives: This study was performed to compare the use of methylene blue (MB) and rose bengal (RB) in antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (PDT) targeting Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) bacteria in planktonic and biofilm forms with potassium iodide (KI) potentiation.

Study Design/materials And Methods: E.

Spatial Patterns of Soil Fungal Communities Are Driven by Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) Quality in Semi-Arid Regions.

Soil fungi are ecologically important as decomposers, pathogens, and symbionts in nature. Understanding their biogeographic patterns and driving forces is pivotal to predict alterations arising from environmental changes in ecosystem. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an essential resource for soil fungi; however, the role of its quality in structuring fungal community patterns remains elusive.

Agricultural plastic mulching as a source of microplastics in the terrestrial environment.

Plastic mulching is suspected to be a significant source of microplastics in terrestrial environments owing to its intensive application and improper disposal. However, there has been a comparative lack of studies examining this hypothesis. In this study, the occurrence of macroplastics in agricultural soils was investigated by analysing 384 soil samples collected from 19 provinces across China.

LDPE microplastic films alter microbial community composition and enzymatic activities in soil.

Concerns regarding microplastic contamination have spread from aquatic environments to terrestrial systems with a growing number of studies have been reported. Notwithstanding, the potential effects on soil ecosystems remain largely unexplored. In this study, the effects of polyethylene microplastics on soil enzymatic activities and the bacterial community were evaluated, and the microbiota colonizing on microplastics were also investigated.

Microplastics from mulching film is a distinct habitat for bacteria in farmland soil.

Microplastics, as an emerging pollutant of global importance, have been well documented in aquatic ecosystems. However, little is known about the effects of microplastics on agroecosystems, particularly for soil microbial communities. Herein, microplastics collected from cotton fields in Xinjiang, China, were analysed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and high-throughput sequencing to investigate the attached bacterial communities.

Simvastatin Promotes Dental Pulp Stem Cell-induced Coronal Pulp Regeneration in Pulpotomized Teeth.

Introduction: Pulpotomy is a specific treatment used to save root pulp, in which only the inflamed coronal pulp is removed and capping materials are placed. Our study aims to study the effect of simvastatin (1) on the proliferation and differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and (2) on DPSC-induced pulp regeneration after pulpotomy.

Methods: DPSCs were treated with different concentrations of simvastatin.

Preliminary study on dental pulp stem cell-mediated pulp regeneration in canine immature permanent teeth.

Introduction: The health of human teeth depends on the integrity of the hard tissue and the activity of the pulp and periodontal tissues, which are responsible for nutritional supply. Without the nourishing of the pulp tissue, the possibility of tooth fracture can increase. In immature permanent teeth, root development may be influenced as well.

[Isolation, culture and biological characterization of Beagle stem cells from apical papilla].

Objective: To isolate and characterize the Beagle stem cells from apical papilla.

Methods: Apical papilla was severed from the end of freshly extracted Beagle's young permanent upper anterior teeth, and digested by collagenase type I and dispase for cell culture. The isolated cells were investigated for stem cell properties by analyzing their colony-forming efficiency, growth characteristics and the expression of mesenchymal stem cell markers; and evaluating their multidifferentiation potentials including osteogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic potentials.

Effect of skimmed pasteurized milk and Hank's balanced salt solution on viability and osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cells.

Background/aim: The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of skimmed pasteurized milk and Hank's balanced salt solution on the viability and osteogenic differentiation potential of the human periodontal ligament stem cells at room temperature in vitro.

Material And Methods: Human periodontal ligament stem cells were obtained from extracted healthy third molars and conserved in skimmed pasteurized milk and Hank's balanced salt solution for 1, 2, and 4 h at room temperature to detect the viability of the cells and their osteogenic differentiation potential.

Results: The efficacy of skimmed pasteurized milk on cell viability at 4 h was significantly higher than that of HBSS (P < 0.