Microbial population shift caused by sulfamethoxazole in engineered-Soil Aquifer Treatment (e-SAT) system

Water percolation through infiltration ponds is creating significant synergies for the broad adoption of water reuse as an additional non-conventional water supply. Despite the apparent simplicity of the soil aquifer treatment (SAT) approaches, the complexity of site-specific hydrogeological conditions and the processes occurring at various scales require an exhaustive understanding of the system’s response. The non-saturated zone and underlying aquifers cannot be considered as a black box, nor accept its characterization from few boreholes not well distributed over the area to be investigated. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is a non-invasive technology, highly responsive to geological heterogeneities that has demonstrated useful to provide the detailed subsurface information required for groundwater modeling. The relationships between the electrical resistivity of the alluvial sediments and the bedrock and the difference in salinity of groundwater highlight the potential of geophysical methods over other more costly subsurface exploration techniques. The results of our research show that ERT coupled with implicit modeling tools provides information that can significantly help to identify aquifer geometry and characterize the saltwater intrusion of shallow alluvial aquifers. The proposed approaches could improve the reliability of groundwater models and the commitment of stakeholders to the benefits of SAT procedures.

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Ultrafine particles altered gut microbial population and metabolic profiles in a sex-specific manner in an obese mouse model

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-85784-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kundi Yang ◽

Mengyang Xu ◽

Jingyi Cao ◽

Qi Zhu ◽

Monica Rahman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ultrafine Particles ◽

Microbial Population ◽

Phosphate Buffer Solution ◽

Biodiesel Fuel ◽

Control Group ◽

Obese Mouse ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Obese Mice ◽

Microbial Composition ◽

Increased Risk

AbstractEmerging evidence has highlighted the connection between exposure to air pollution and the increased risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and comorbidities. Given the recent interest in studying the effects of ultrafine particle (UFP) on the health of obese individuals, this study examined the effects of gastrointestinal UFP exposure on gut microbial composition and metabolic function using an in vivo murine model of obesity in both sexes. UFPs generated from light-duty diesel engine combustion of petrodiesel (B0) and a petrodiesel/biodiesel fuel blend (80:20 v/v, B20) were administered orally. Multi-omics approaches, including liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) based targeted metabolomics and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, semi-quantitatively compared the effects of 10-day UFP exposures on obese C57B6 mouse gut microbial population, changes in diversity and community function compared to a phosphate buffer solution (PBS) control group. Our results show that sex-specific differences in the gut microbial population in response to UFP exposure can be observed, as UFPs appear to have a differential impact on several bacterial families in males and females. Meanwhile, the alteration of seventy-five metabolites from the gut microbial metabolome varied significantly (ANOVA p < 0.05) across the PBS control, B0, and B20 groups. Multivariate analyses revealed that the fuel-type specific disruption to the microbial metabolome was observed in both sexes, with stronger disruptive effects found in females in comparison to male obese mice. Metabolic signatures of bacterial cellular oxidative stress, such as the decreased concentration of nucleotides and lipids and increased concentrations of carbohydrate, energy, and vitamin metabolites were detected. Furthermore, blood metabolites from the obese mice were differentially affected by the fuel types used to generate the UFPs (B0 vs. B20).

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