Polyethylene microplastics increase extracellular polymeric substances production in aerobic granular sludge.

Wastewater treatment plants act as microplastic (MPs) sinks and secondary MP pollution sources. Little is known about the effect of MPs on biomass and the efficiency of biological wastewater treatment. This study assessed the impact of polyethylene (PE) MPs concentrations (1, 10, 50 mg/L) in wastewater on biological conversions and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production (including alginate) in aerobic granular sludge (AGS). PE MPs did not worsen the efficiency of biological treatment but stimulated the production of EPS and alginate in AGS. The alginate content increased from 238.7 ± 4.4 mg/g MLSS in control to 441.6 ± 13.8 mg/g MLSS at the highest PE load in wastewater. The presence of MP changed AGS morphology and worsened the settling properties of biomass, causing biomass washout from the reactors. At the highest PE load in wastewater, the biomass concentration in the reactor effluent was over 2.8 times higher than in the control.

In Situ Profiling of the Three Dominant Phyla Within the Human Gut Using TaqMan PCR for Pre-Hospital Diagnosis of Gut Dysbiosis.

A microbial imbalance called dysbiosis leads to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which can include ulcerative colitis (UC). Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), a novel therapy, has recently been successful in treating gut dysbiosis in UC patients. For the FMT technique to be successful, the gut microbiota of both the healthy donors and UC patients must be characterized. For decades, next-generation sequencing (NGS) has been used to analyze gut microbiota. Despite the popularity of NGS, the cost and time constraints make it difficult to use in emergency services and activities related to the periodic monitoring of microbiota profile alterations. Hence, in this study, we developed a multiplex TaqMan qPCR assay (MTq-PCR) with novel probes to simultaneously determine the relative proportions of the three dominant microbial phyla in the human gut: Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria. The relative proportions of the three phyla in fecal samples of either healthy volunteers or UC patients were similar when assessed NGS and the MTq-PCR. Thus, our MTq-PCR assay could be a practical microbiota profiling alternative for diagnosing and monitoring gut dysbiosis in UC patients during emergency situations, and it could have a role in screening stool from potential FMT donors.

Initial adhesion of bone marrow stromal cells to various bone graft substitutes.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to determine whether certain biomaterials have the potential to support cell attachment. After seeding bone marrow stromal cells onto the biomaterials, we investigated their responses to each material in vitro. METHODS: Rat bone marrow derived stromal cells were used. The biomaterials were deproteinized bovine bone mineral (DBBM), DBBM coated with fibronectin (FN), synthetic hydroxyapatite (HA), HA coated with FN, HA coated with ß-tricalcium phosphate (TCP), and pure ß-TCP. With confocal laser scanning microscopy, actin filaments and vinculin were observed after 6, 12, and 24 hours of cell seeding. The morphological features of cells on each biomaterial were observed using scanning electron microscopy at day 1 and 7. RESULTS: The cells on HA/FN and HA spread widely and showed better defined actin cytoskeletons than those on the other biomaterials. At the initial phase, FN seemed to have a favorable effect on cell adhesion. In DBBM, very few cells adhered to the surface. CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitations of this study, we can conclude that in contrast with DBBM not supporting cell attachment, HA provided a more favorable environment with respect to cell attachment.