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Neuroinflammation may play an important role in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Previous studies have reported that lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced neuroinflammation causes memory impairments and behavioral disorders. We investigated the potential preventive effects of punicalin (PUN), a polyphenolic component of pomegranate, on LPS‐induced memory deficiency and anxiety‐ and depression‐like behaviors, along with the underlying mechanisms. LPS‐treated cultured microglial BV2 cells and BV2 cell/Neuro‐2a (N2a) cell coculture system were investigated for anti‐neuroinflammatory effects of PUN in vitro. The in vivo experiments involved mice administered a 4‐week course of oral gavage with 1500 mg/kg/d PUN before intraperitoneal LPS (250 mg/kg daily 7 times) injections. The in vitro results demonstrated that PUN inhibited the LPS‐induced inflammatory cytokine (IL‐18, IL‐1β, TNF‐ɑ, and IL‐6) production in BV2 cells and protected N2a cells from synaptic damage mediated by BV2 microglia‐induced neuroinflammation. In in vivo studies, it was observed that PUN improved memory impairment and anxiety‐ and depression‐like behaviors caused by LPS and reduced the expression of inflammatory proteins such as iNOS, COX‐2, IL‐1β, IL‐2, IL‐6, and TNF‐α. Furthermore, PUN inhibited the LPS‐induced production of MDA; increased the activities of CAT, SOD, and GSH‐Px, and inhibited LPS‐induced Aβ1−42 generation through down‐regulation of APP and BACE1 expression. Moreover, PUN also suppressed the expression of TLR4, IRAK4, TRAF6, IKK‐β, NF‐κB, p65, and HMGB1 in LPS‐treated mouse brain and cultured microglial BV‐2 cells. These results suggest that PUN inhibits LPS‐induced memory impairment via anti‐inflammatory and anti‐amylogenic mechanisms through inhibition of TLR4‐NF‐kB activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization has destroyed urban water systems and led to blackened and odorous rivers. The heavily polluted rivers are always facing eutrophication and heavy metal pollution, while the combined effects of these environmental factors on the microbial diversity and distribution of the river microbial communities have not been adequately reported, especially the archaeal communities. In this study, we investigated the community structure and microbial distribution of sediment archaeal communities from an urban blackened and odorous river basin of the Zhang river, in Nanling, China. Results showed that the archaeal community from the eight sediment sites have average values of Shannon and Chao1 at 3.4921 and 232.7202, respectively. The community diversity and richness were different among samples. Halobacterota and Euryarchaeota were the most abundant phylum and Crenarchaeota also took up a considerable amount of the archaeal community. To reveal the main environmental drivers of the distribution of archaeal communities in sediment, the environmental physicochemical factors (total nitrogen, total phosphorus, oxidation/reduction potential, nitrate nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, pH and total organic carbon) and heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Pb and Hg) in sediment were determined. A redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that Eh was the most prominent influencing factor, and As was the most influential heavy metal on the microbial distribution of archaeal communities. Furthermore, a variance partitioning analysis (VPA) was used to identify the impacts of physicochemical factors and heavy metals on the archaeal community distribution. Results showed that heavy metals have higher effects on archaeal community distribution than physicochemical factors. The present study suggested that the heavy metal pollution should be paid more attention in the microbial distribution in heavily polluted urban rivers, and also should be taken into consideration for improving the efficacies of ecological evaluation and remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic and microplastic pollution in the environment has become a significant global concern. Biodegradable plastics (BPs), as environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional plastics, have also emerged as a crucial topic of global discussion. The successful application of BPs appears to offer a solution to the potential ecological risks posed by conventional plastics. However, BPs have negative impacts on the ecological environment and human health. BPs can gradually degrade into biodegradable microplastics (BMPs) in the environment. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have become an undeniable source and sink of microplastics. With the production and application of BPs, BMPs will inevitably enter WWTPs. This paper reviews the pollution status, degradation behavior of BMPs, and their potential impact on wastewater treatment performance. The focus is on the environmental behavior of BMPs in wastewater treatment systems. The influences of BMPs on microbial communities, sludge treatment, and disposal are thoroughly discussed. The results indicate that BMPs are more easily decomposed into micro/nanoplastics and release additives compared to conventional microplastics. The effects of BMPs on microbial communities and wastewater treatment depend on their characteristics. The numerous oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of BMPs enable them to serve a dual purpose as transport media and potential sources of environmental pollutants. Finally, in light of existing knowledge gaps, suggestions and prospects for future research on BMPs are proposed., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)