Towards ultra-sensitive and rapid near-source wastewater-based epidemiology.

Wastewater-based epidemiology is emerging as a powerful early-warning public health surveillance tool. However, gold-standard PCR necessitates transporting samples to laboratories, with significant reporting delays (24-72 h), prompting growing interest in rapid, near-source tests for resource-limited settings. Research has focused on gold nanoparticle dipsticks, but these typically lack sensitivity in wastewater.

-Mapping Wastewaters from Pathogen A to Z.

The is a novel and centralised digital platform designed to support and advance wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) by cataloguing pathogens detectable in wastewater and their relevance to public health surveillance. The platform is hosted on the EU Wastewater Observatory for Public Health (EU4S) website, where it is populated with peer-reviewed research through a structured workflow under harmonised criteria which address the presence of pathogens in human excreta, detectability in wastewater, and integration into public health systems. This tri-criteria approach ensures that the database is both scientifically robust and operationally actionable.

Knowledge discovery by analysis of community wastewater reveals factors driving public health risks.

This study tested a wide range of biological and chemical biomarker groups (BCIs) in wastewater from 10 cities in England to gain a better understanding of community exposure to chemicals and health outcomes and to unravel potential associations between disease prevalence, lifestyle choices and key risk factors. For example, viral BCIs showed relatively few correlations, except for norovirus gene abundance which correlated with antibiotic concentrations. Positive correlations between nicotine/cotinine and pharma BCIs indicated smoking as widely reported risk factor in diabetes, asthma/allergies and cardiovascular diseases.

Fungal Necromass Carbon Dominates Global Soil Organic Carbon Storage.

Soil organic carbon (C) is derived primarily from plant and microbial necromass; however, the global distribution and contribution of different necromass inputs to soil C storage remain unclear. We conducted a global meta-analysis encompassing 2410 observations from 249 microbial necromass studies and 786 observations from 72 plant residue studies. The results showed that the content of microbial-derived C (10.

Soil application of PE and PLA microplastics alter earthworm (Eisenia nordenskioldi) gut bacterial community and soil microbiome-metabolome dynamics.

Non-biodegradable polyethylene (PE) and biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA)pose potential risks to soil ecosystems. However, there is a lack of in-depth studies to fully understand the ecological toxicity of these two types of microplastics (MPs) on soil microbiomes and their underlying mechanisms. Therefore, this study investigated the ecological risks of PE and PLA at environmentally relevant concentrations over a 120-day microcosm experiment, utilizing 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and untargeted soil metabolomics analysis.

Differential effects of field-aged versus new LDPE and PLA/PBAT plastic film fragments on soil quality and crop productivity.

Whilst complex interactions of plastic type, size, shape, and concentration have been established, most research to date has focused on new, uniform microplastics that fail to represent the heterogeneous mixture of weathered fragments resulting from natural aging of PMF in agricultural fields. To address this, we investigated the concentration-dependent effects (0.05 %, 0.

Flow-driven biomarker movement in gravitational sewers for wastewater-based epidemiology and public health monitoring.

The movement of biological (genetic viral, fungal or bacterial) and chemical indicators (BCIs) within sewer networks is critical to wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) enabling accurate calculation of chemical and pathogen loads within a community. These quantified BCIs, which include genetic material from pathogens as well as pharmaceuticals, from a range of classes, serve as proxies for community-wide health and behaviour patterns. However, a critical knowledge gap exists in understanding how different BCIs move within complex sewer systems, which could lead to misinterpretation of community-level data.

National Inventory of Plastic Mulch Residues in Chinese Croplands From 1993 to 2050.

Agricultural plastic mulch films are a major source of plastic pollution of croplands. In China, which uses about 68% of the plastic mulch film produced globally (ca. 1.

Assessing the risk of antimicrobial resistance and potential environmental harm through national-scale surveillance of antimicrobials in hospital and community wastewater.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health concern. Antimicrobial residues enter wastewater where their continued presence can lead to an increased risk of AMR while also causing environmental harm when untreated wastewater is discharged into the environment. This research presents the antimicrobial residue surveillance results of a national-scale wastewater sampling campaign across Wales.

Molecular Composition of Exogenous Dissolved Organic Matter Regulates Dissimilatory Iron Reduction and Carbon Emissions in Paddy Soil.

Soil carbon (C) cycling under anoxic conditions is mechanistically linked to dissimilatory iron (Fe) reduction, potentially influenced by exogenous dissolved organic matter (DOM). However, the impact of complex exogenous DOM on soil microbial activity and C-Fe coupling in paddy soils remains underexplored. With a 100-day microcosm experiment, we found that biochar-DOM significantly promoted Fe reduction and accelerated CH and CO emissions, and manure-DOM increased soil CO emissions.

Global Synthesis of Fertilisation-Induced Changes in the Microbial Entombing Effect.

The microbial entombing effect refers to the accumulation and stabilisation of microbially derived carbon (C) in soils following the sustained production of microbial biomass and necromass. Fertilisation practices modify soil microbial activity and C cycling and consequently influence the microbial entombing effect, which has implications for global C sequestration. We conducted a global meta-analysis to evaluate the impact of fertilisation practices on the microbial entombing effect, focusing on microbial necromass C (MNC), microbial biomass C (MBC) and the microbial necromass accumulation coefficient (NAC = MNC/MBC) across 319, 1665 and 199 paired datasets, respectively.

Metagenomic profiling of hospital wastewater: A comprehensive national scale analysis of antimicrobial resistance genes and opportunistic pathogens.

Background: Healthcare settings are recognised as potential hotspots for the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Method: Metagenomic sequencing was conducted on a national scale using wastewater from hospitals across Wales to screen for antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and opportunistic pathogens.

Results: The total abundance and diversity of ARGs varied significantly across the hospitals.

National-scale insights into AMR transmission along the wastewater-environment continuum.

The circulation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) bacteria between human populations and the environment is a key driver of the global AMR burden, with wastewater acting as a major route of transmission. In this nationwide study, influent and effluent samples were collected from 47 municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across Wales, covering areas of varying sociodemographics and representing approximately 66 % of the population connected to the main sewer network. Additionally, 76 river and estuarine sediment samples were collected upstream and downstream of the WWTPs, as well as from nearby recreational beaches.

Green Manure Coupled With Straw Returning Increases Soil Organic Carbon via Decreased Priming Effect and Enhanced Microbial Carbon Pump.

Green manuring and crop straw returning are widely used to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration, while the pathways and drivers in native SOC mineralization and new SOC formation after implementing these practices remain unclear. Here, through a 10-locations' network field experiment in southern China, the effects of green manuring (Mv), rice straw returning (Rs), and their combination (MR) on soil C sequestration efficiency (CSE) were evaluated. A microcosmic experiment was performed to trace the components and participants of SOC mineralization and formation under the three practices.

The agricultural plastic paradox: Feeding more, harming more?

Agricultural plastic film mulch (PFM) covers ca. 50 million hectares of the Earth's surface and has revolutionized agriculture, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, by improving crop yields, water use efficiency, farmer incomes and feeding an extra 85 million people in China alone. However, concerns are growing about the impact of PFM-derived microplastics (MP) on soil quality, the food chain, and the environment.

Separation and Identification of Conventional Microplastics from Farmland Soils.

Microplastics (MPs) pollution in the terrestrial environment has received increasing attention over the last decade, with increasing studies describing the numbers and types of MPs in different soil systems and their impacts on soil and crop health. However, different MPs extraction and analytical methods are used, limiting opportunities to compare results and generate reliable evidence for industry advice and policymakers. Here, we present a protocol that describes the methodology for sampling, separation, and chemical identification of conventional MPs from soil.

High-throughput qPCR profiling of antimicrobial resistance genes and bacterial loads in wastewater and receiving environments.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are hot spots for the acquisition and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This regional-based study quantified antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and bacteria in hospital and community-derived wastewater and receiving environments, using high-throughput qPCR (HT-qPCR). This is the first study to apply Resistomap's Antibiotic Resistance Gene Index (ARGI) as a standardised metric to find the overall AMR level across different WWTPs.

Comparative impact of sunlight and salinity on human pathogenic virus survival in river, estuarine, and marine water microcosms.

Urban wastewater contains a diverse array of human pathogenic viruses, often in high concentrations, presenting a significant challenge for water quality management. Sewage spills into natural water systems therefore pose a significant public health risk due to the potential to cause viral infections, yet the behaviour of viruses under dynamic environmental conditions remains poorly understood. This study investigates the decay of sewage-associated viruses (Adenovirus, Enterovirus, Hepatitis A Virus, Influenza A Virus, Norovirus GII, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus) in river, estuary, and marine water, with and without simulated sunlight.

Low-dose acidification of cattle slurry with sulfuric acid enhances oilseed-rape yield but risks elevated sulfide formation during prolonged storage.

Slurry acidification using sulfuric acid (HSO) is an effective strategy for reducing ammonia and methane emissions during storage while providing a valuable source of sulfur (S) for crops. However, the optimal HSO dose for balancing emission mitigation, S availability, and cost-effectiveness remains unclear, particularly concerning the formation of undesirable sulfides during storage. This study investigated the effects of HSO dose on S transformations during storage of cattle slurry (CS), anaerobically digested slurry (DS), the liquid fraction of separated digested slurry (LFDS), and the subsequent S fertilizer replacement value (SFRV) for oilseed rape (OSR).

Greenhouse gas removal in agricultural peatland via raised water levels and soil amendment.

Unlabelled: Peatlands are an important natural store of carbon (C). Drainage of lowland peatlands for agriculture and the subsequent loss of anaerobic conditions had turned these C stores into major emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Practical management strategies are needed to reduce these emissions, and ideally to reverse them to achieve net GHG removal (GGR).

Assessment of Four Artificial Methods for Aging Plastic Mulch Films According to Efficiency, Rate, and Similarity to Natural Field-Aged Plastics.

Unlabelled: Artificial degradation is often used to recreate and accelerate the natural aging of plastic for small-scaled simulation experiments assessing their environmental impact. However, current artificial aging methods are rarely compared against reference materials or validated using field-aged samples, creating uncertainties when extrapolating results to naturally aged plastics, making it difficult to place findings in an environmentally applicable context. Therefore, here we compared four accessible, cost-effective, and easily replicable methods (heat, UVA, and UVC irradiance at two intensities) to produce artificially degraded materials.

Nanoplastic and phthalate induced stress responses in rhizosphere soil: Microbial communities and metabolic networks.

The widespread use of plastic products in agriculture has introduced micro-nano plastics (MNPs) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) into soil ecosystems, disrupting microbial communities and altering metabolite profiles. However, their effects on the rhizosphere soil characteristics of medicinal plants like dandelion remain understudied. This study systematically examined the impact of PS NPs and DBP on rhizosphere microbial communities and metabolites by integrating high-throughput sequencing with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Higher potential leaching of inorganic and organic additives from biodegradable compared to conventional agricultural plastic mulch film.

Plastic mulch films support global food security, however, their composition and the potential release rates of organic, metal and metalloid co-contaminants remains relatively unknown. This study evaluates the low molecular weight organic additives, metal and metalloid content and leaching from low density polyethylene (LDPE) and biodegradable plastic mulch films. We identified 59 organic additives, and non-intentionally added substances in the new LDPE films (39.

Wastewater-based analysis of antimicrobial resistance at UK airports: Evaluating the potential opportunities and challenges.

With 40 million annual passenger flights, airports are key hubs for microbial communities from diverse geographic origins to converge, mix, and distribute. Wastewater derived from airports and aircraft represent both a potential route for the global dispersion of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) organisms and an under-utilised resource for strengthening global AMR surveillance. This study investigates the abundance and diversity of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in wastewater samples collected from airport terminals (n = 132), aircraft (n = 25), and a connected wastewater treatment plant (n = 11) at three international airports in the UK (London Heathrow, Edinburgh and Bristol).

Metagenomics unveils the role of hospitals and wastewater treatment plants on the environmental burden of antibiotic resistance genes and opportunistic pathogens.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health challenge, with hospitals and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) serving as significant pathways for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). This study investigates the potential of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) as an early warning system for assessing the burden of AMR at the population level. In this comprehensive year-long study, effluent was collected weekly from three large hospitals, and treated and untreated wastewater were collected monthly from three associated community WWTPs.