Microplastics in terrestrial ecosystem: Exploring the menace to the soil-plant-microbe interactions

Microplastics (MPs), miniscule plastic particles measuring less than 5 mm in size, have become a concern in terrestrial ecosystems, with primarily agricultural and wetland soils being the soils with highest plastic loadings. The adverse effect of MPs might lead to changes in physicochemical and biological characteristics of soil including...

Microbial community assembly and metabolic function in top layers of slow sand filters for drinking water production

Slow sand filters (SSFs) are widely applied to treat potable water; the removal of contaminants (e.g., particles, organic matter, and microorganism) occurs primarily in the top layer. However, the development of the microbial community and its metabolic function is still poorly understood. In the present study, we analyzed the microbial...

Compositional alterations in soil bacterial communities exposed to TiO₂ nanoparticles are not reflected in functional impacts

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂NP) are increasingly released in soil ecosystems, while there is limited understanding of the impacts of TiO₂NP on soil bacterial communities. Here we investigated the effects of TiO₂NP on the taxonomic composition and functional profile of a soil bacterial community over a...

An interactive model among potential human risk factors: 331 cases of coal mine roof accidents in China

In order to explore optimal strategies for managing potential human risk factors, this paper developed an interactive model among potential human risk factors based on the development processes of accidents. This model was divided into four stages, i.e., risk latency stage, risk accumulation stage, risk explosion stage and risk residue stage....