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This study explored the distribution of macronutrients (Ca, Mg, Na, K) and lithogenic (Ba, Cr, Ni, Mn, Fe) and mining-related (As, Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn) toxic metalloids and metals (TMMs) in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), and its effects on plant development, productivity, genotoxicity, and human health, using a soil affected by mine tailings (A f S) and an unaffected control soil (CS). The chemistry of soils reflected their mineralogy, and Fe-Ti oxides, sulfides and sulfosalts were found to be the most significant reservoirs of TMMs. A f S had concentrations of mining-related TMMs 15 to 945 times greater than background (continental crust) levels, and 1.98 to 17.8 times above those of CS. Whitin tomato plants, TMMs were mostly concentrated in the roots but only As and Cd had BCF >1.0 in A f S. Translocation was also limited to As and Cd in plants from A f S, whereas Ba, Ni, Mn, As, Cd, Cu, and Zn were translocated in CS. Tomato plants from A f S exhibited important alterations in morphological and physiological parameters, with a significant reduction in yield (up to 52%) and nutrimental (up to 81%) contribution relative to plants from CS. A f S plants showed higher DNA damage than CS plants, expressed by an increase in the genotoxic parameters of tail length, tail intensity, and tail moment in the alkaline comet assay. In fruit from both soils, As and Cd exceeded the maximum allowable concentrations proposed by FAO/WHO up to 25 and 54 times, respectively. Moreover, the combined ingestion of TMMs likely poses a high risk of both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic diseases to consumers-particularly to children., 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 © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) immobilizes toxic metals and reduces their bioavailability in aqueous systems. However, its application in the treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD) is poorly understood. In this study, the genomes of Sporosarcina sp. UB5 and UB10 were sequenced. Urease, carbonic anhydrases, and metal resistance genes were identified and enzymatic assays were performed for their validation. The geochemical mechanism of precipitation in AMD was elucidated through geo-mineralogical analysis. Sporosarcina sp. UB5 was shown to be a new genomospecies, with an average nucleotide identity < 95 % (ANI) and DNA-DNA hybridization < 70 % (DDH) whereas UB10 is close to S. pasteurii. UB5 contained two urease operons, whereas only one was identified in UB10. The ureolytic activities of UB5 and UB10 were 122.67 ± 15.74 and 131.70 ± 14.35 mM NH 4 + min -1 , respectively. Both strains feature several carbonic anhydrases of the α, β, or γ families, which catalyzed the precipitation of CaCO 3 . Only Sporosarcina sp. UB5 was able to immobilize metals and neutralize AMD. Geo-mineralogical analyses revealed that UB5 directly immobilized Fe (1-23 %), Mn (0.65-1.33 %) and Zn (0.8-3 %) in AMD via MICP and indirectly through adsorption to calcite and binding to bacterial cell walls. The MICP-treated AMD exhibited high removal rates (>67 %) for Ag, Al, As, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn, and a removal rate of 15 % for Mg. This study provides new insights into the MICP process and its applications to AMD treatment using autochthonous strains., 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. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Population growth increases the challenge of meeting basic human needs, such as water, a limited resource. Consumption habits and water pollution have compromised natural resources to unsustainable levels. Sustainable effluent treatment practices, such as decentralized systems focused on energy, nutrients, and water recovery, have attracted the attention of the scientific community. Human urine (HU) is a physiological liquid waste whose main component is water (~95%). HU has a significant amount of nutrients, such as N, P, K, and organic matter, which are usually lacking in fecal coliforms. Therefore, the possibility exists of recovering nutrients and energy from HU using sustainable and non-sustainable technologies. Treating HU in bioelectrochemical systems (BES) is a novel alternative to obtaining byproducts from this effluent more sustainably than in electrochemical systems. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an interesting example, contributing to HU revalorization from unwanted waste into a valuable resource of nutrients, energy, and water. Even when urine-operated MFCs have not generated attractive potential outputs or produced considerable amounts of bioelectricity, this review emphasizes HU advantages as nutrients or water sources. The aim of this review was to analyze the current development of BES for HU treatment based on the water circular economy, discussing challenges and perspectives researchers might encounter.

A genotoxic study was conducted with 101 elementary school children (56 girls and 45 boys) in the 6-7, 8-9, and 10-12 age ranges from El Fraile rural community, which is located beside the El Fraile mine tailings in Taxco of Alarcon City, in northern Guerrero State, Mexico. For this, we used the alkaline comet assay in exfoliated buccal mucosa cells, scoring three genotoxic parameters: tail intensity, tail moment, and tail length. Additionally, we detected oxidative DNA damage through urinary 8-OHdG levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We also evaluated a control group consisting of 101 children in the same age ranges from Chilpancingo City, Guerrero, who had never lived near mining zones. Genotoxic results showed that there was a significant increase in three genotoxic parameters and urinary 8-OHdG levels in the exposed children group compared with the control group. Analysis of MANOVA revealed that boys aged 8 and 9 years had higher DNA damage than girls from the same exposure group, and Spearman's analysis identified a positive correlation between DNA damage and sex and age. This study provides the first valuable genotoxic data in children living in areas with environmental pollution.