The use of nanoscale materials has expanded rapidly in recent decades, with titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles among the most widely produced. Their increasing environmental release raises concerns about ecosystem-level effects. A key mechanism of toxicity is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), although these effects strongly depend on particle properties, including crystalline form, size, morphology, surface characteristics, and exposure conditions. Here, we assessed and compared the ecological impacts of anatase and rutile TiO2 nanoparticles across prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems, including aquatic microbial communities, microbial cultures, plant bioassays (Sinapis alba, Triticum aestivum), the SOS Chromotest, and zebrafish (Danio rerio) assays. Nano-TiO2 exposure markedly restructured freshwater microbial communities by suppressing sensitive taxa (e.g., Actinomycetota, Flavobacterium, and Limnohabitans) while enriching more tolerant genera such as Pseudomonas, Sediminibacterium, Haliscomenobacter, and Hydrogenophaga. These shifts likely reflect differences in cell-envelope structure, biofilm formation, and antioxidant capacity. The two investigated TiO2 nanoparticle types showed distinct biological effects: rutile was associated with more pronounced microbial community shifts and bacterial cell damage, whereas anatase caused stronger responses in plant assays, particularly by impairing hypocotyl growth and plant water balance. Besides the limited acute genotoxicity revealed by the SOS Chromotest, TiO2 nanoparticles did not significantly affect survival or final larval body length in the zebrafish embryo assay under the tested conditions; however, the hatching delay observed at the highest concentration indicated a sublethal developmental effect. Overall, our results show that TiO2 nanoparticle toxicity cannot be generalized across biological systems and suggest that biological responses depend on the combined influence of particle characteristics and organism-specific structural and physiological traits.

A Gram-stain-negative strain, designated as Zidic-5 T , was isolated from diclofenac-degrading enrichment culture and characterized using a polyphasic approach to determine its taxonomic position. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain Zidic-5 T belongs to the genus Labrys , with the highest 16S rRNA gene similarity to Labrys neptuniae LMG 23578 T (99.13%), followed by Labrys portucalensis F11 T (99.06%), Labrys methylaminiphilus JLW10 T (98.58%) and Labrys okinawensis DSM 18385 T (98.32%). The draft genome sequence of strain Zidic-5 T is 7.64 Mb long, and the G+C content of the genome is 63.5 mol%. The orthologous average nucleotide identity and digital DNA–DNA hybridization relatedness values between strain Zidic-5 T and its closest relatives were below the threshold values for species demarcation, confirming that strain Zidic-5 T is distinctly separated from its closest relatives. Additionally, comparative whole-genome analysis of type strains of L. neptuniae and L. portucalensis indicated that they belong to the same genomic species, suggesting that L. portucalensis is a later heterotypic synonym of L. neptuniae . Cells of strain Zidic-5 T were strictly aerobic, coccoid-shaped and non-motile. The predominant fatty acids (>10% of the total) of strain Zidic-5 T were C 18 : 1 ω7c, C 16 : 0 and C 19 : 0 cyclo ω7c. The major ubiquinone of strain Zidic-5 T was Q-10, while the major polar lipids were phosphatidylcholine, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and aminophospholipid. Based on the polyphasic study, it is concluded that strain Zidic-5 T represents a novel species of the genus Labrys ; thus, the name of Labrys sedimenti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the species is strain Zidic-5 T (=LMG 33565 T =NCAIM B.02686 T ).

Stromatolites can be traced back to ∼3.5 billion years. They were widespread in the shorelines of ancient oceans and seas. However, they are uncommon nowadays, and basic information is lacking about how these unique carbonate structures developed. Here we study the unusually thick (3–5 cm) biofilms of the 79.2 °C outflow from Köröm thermal well (Hungary) and demonstrate that its microbial mat – carbonate architecture is similar to fossilized microdigitate stromatolites. Our observations reveal vertically oriented fibrous mineral fabrics, typical of stromatolites, in the red biofilm and clotted mesostructures, typical of thrombolites, in the green biofilm. These layers contain carbonate peloids and show network structures, formed by filamentous microbes. The 16S rRNA gene-based amplicon sequencing implies that numerous undescribed taxa may contribute to the carbonate mineralisation. The biofilms abundantly contain the phyla Bacteroidota, Pseudomonadota and Cyanobacteria. Geitlerinema PCC-8501 and Raineya are characteristic for the green biofilm, whereas uncultured Oxyphotobacteria, unc. Saprospiraceae and unc. Cytophagales are abundant in the red biofilm. A hydrogen-oxidizing Hydrogenobacter within the phylum Aquificota and unclassified Bacteria together with the phylum Deinococcota dominate the water and carbonate samples. The morphological structure and taxonomic composition of Köröm biofilm is a unique representation of the development processes of microbialite formations.

The bacterial strain PA1-206B T is a Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, non-motile and non-spore-forming bacterium with an irregular rod shape. It was isolated from a tree wound exudate of the Populus fremontii trunk in the Sonoran Desert (USA), and its taxonomic position was investigated by a polyphasic approach. Strain PA1-206B T grew optimally at 28–30 °C and from pH 6 to 10 without NaCl. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, this isolate showed only 96.0% sequence similarity to the type strain of Pseudogemmobacter hezensis and similarity of 94.4–95.7% to other species of the genus. Phylogenetic analysis based on whole-proteome comparisons placed strain PA1-206B T within the genus Pseudogemmobacter but, on a distinct branch, clearly separated from its closest relatives. The major isoprenoid quinone of the strain was ubiquinone Q-10. The predominant fatty acids (>5%) were C 18:1 ω 7c , C 16:0 and 11-methyl-C 18:1 ω 7c . Diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified aminolipid and two unidentified phospholipids were present. The assembled draft genome of strain PA1-206B T had 115 contigs with a total length of 4.5 Mb and a G+C content of 67.4 mol%. The overall genome-related indices (average nucleotide identity <80.4%, average amino acid identity <70.6%, digital DNA–DNA hybridization <21.6%) with respect to close relatives were below the corresponding threshold to demarcate bacterial species. Strain PA1-206B T (=DSM 115559 T =NCAIM B.02680 T ) is suggested as the type strain of a novel Pseudogemmobacter species, for which the name Pseudogemmobacter sonorensis sp. nov. is proposed.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are critical environmental solutions for sanitation management in many cities and municipalities. The construction of these facilities uses cementitious materials (e.g., concretes) due to their low cost, high strength and excellent watertightness properties. However, the long-term performance of these materials in WWTPs is affected by deterioration influenced by the formation of new (secondary) cement minerals. These secondary minerals are formed as a result of biogeochemical interactions between cementitious materials and wastewater microbial communities. The literature shows a lack of consensus on the mechanisms involved in the biogeochemical mechanism of sewage and cementitious materials in WWTP facilities. As a result, many civil and water engineers are unaware of its adverse effects on the sustainability of WWTP facilities, and as a consequence, the operation of many WWTP facilities costs billions of dollars in repair and maintenance due to concrete failure. This study studies the possible processes of biogeochemical interactions between sewage and cementitious materials in WWTPs and their subsequent mineral alteration and formation. An in-situ experiment exposed 48 cement specimens of ordinary Portland cement and calcium sulfoaluminate cement to the sewage pumping station and sand-trap structures. The research involves: (1) geochemical analysis (SEM and XRD) to study the change of cement materials, (2) engineering analysis to study their mechanical change and (3) microbiological investigations to explore the microbial communities involved in the biogeochemical interaction. The preliminary results of the study: (a) change of color from light grey to a mixture of yellow and brown for cement pastes exposed in the sewage pumping station, whereas the samples from the sand-trap maintained their original grey color. (b) the appearance of secondary minerals such as gypsum (CaSO4.2H2O), ettringite (Ca6Al2(OH)12(SO4)3·26H2O), and thaumasite (Ca3Si(OH)6 (CO3) (SO4)12.H2O) which are characterized as expansive process causing several cracks in the concrete structures. (c) the main mechanism for the formation of these sulfur-related minerals (i.e., gypsum, ettringite, and thaumasite) involves sulfide adsorption and its subsequent oxidation to form biogenic H2SO4 which eventually attack the cement alkaline mineral phases such as portlandite (Ca(OH)2 and calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H). Another biogeochemical mechanism for sewage-cement interaction observed in this work was the carbonation process, which resulted in the formation of calcite mineral in hydrated cement.

The relationship between microbial communities and mineralogical/mechanical changes was studied regarding the biodeterioration of Portland cement (PC) and calcium sulfoaluminate cement (CSAC) in a wastewater treatment plant. An in situ experiment was conducted by submerging 12 independent PC and CSAC specimens in a sand-trap structure for 10, 30, 75, 150, and 240 days. The microbiological analyses of the 16S rRNA genes of bacteria and Archaea from the biofilms and the geochemical analysis were performed on the studied specimens. The results showed that while there were characteristic changes in PC specimens over time, CSAC specimens showed few biodeterioration effects. The dominant bacteria identified from the biofilms of specimens belonged to the classes of Gammaproteobacteria (8.4–32.4%), Bacilli (1.6–21.6%), Clostridia (4–15.4%), Bacteroidia (2–18.8%), Desulfovibronia (0.5–19%), Campylobacteria (0.4–26.8%), and Actinobacteria (1.8–12.8%). The overall relative abundance of the bacteria linked to biodeterioration processes increased to more than 50% of the total bacterial communities after 75 days of sewage exposure and was found to be strongly correlated with several PC deterioration parameters (e.g., mass loss, calcite and ettringite minerals), whereas no significant correlation was revealed between these genera and CSAC characteristics.

A novel carbon monoxide (CO)-oxidizing bacterial strain designated as SB112T was enriched and isolated from Ilex aquifolium leaves from Tocil Wood Nature Reserve in Coventry, UK. The strain was Gram reaction-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, motile with a polar flagellum and non-spore-forming. Growth of strain SB112T was observed at 10-45 °C, pH 6.0-12.0 and NaCl concentrations of 1-3%. The genomic DNA G+C content was 58.3 mol%, and the major fatty acids (>10%) of strain SB112T were C18 : 1 ω7c, C18 : 1 ω7c 11-methyl and C19 : 0 cyclo ω7c. Major polar lipids were phosphatidylcholine, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and a phospholipid. Strain SB112ᵀ contains ubiquinone-10 as the major respiratory quinone. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain SB112T formed a separate lineage within the family Phyllobacteriaceae, showing sequence identities of 97.7%, 97.6% and 97.5%, with its closest relatives Aminobacter niigataensis, Aminobacter aminovorans and Mesorhizobium plurifarium, respectively. Phylogenomic analyses using whole-genome sequences consistently placed this strain within the family Phyllobacteriaceae. However, its phylogenetic position did not correspond to any known genus within this family. The genome of strain SB112T was found to possess the form II coxL gene, which encodes the large subunit of the CO dehydrogenase and potentially enables CO oxidation. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization with members of closely related genera yielded values below the thresholds for prokaryotic species delineation (95-96 and 70%, respectively). Based on the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, phylogenetic, genomic and physiological properties, strain SB112T is considered to represent a novel species of a new genus Foliimonas within the family Phyllobacteriaceae for which the name Foliimonas ilicis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type of strain is SB112T (=LMG 33802T, =NCAIM B.02691T).

A novel Gram-stain-positive, rod-shaped, endospore-forming bacterium with peritrichous flagella, designated as P96T was isolated from the surface of maize roots. Strain P96T grew optimally at 28 °C, pH 7.0. The strain contained A1γ meso-Dpm-direct in the cell-wall peptidoglycan. The dominant polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. The genome size of strain P96T was 4.8 Mb, and the G+C content was 50.01%. Phylogenomic analyses based on the whole-genome sequences classified the strain into the genus Paenibacillus. The digital DNA–DNA hybridization and average nucleotide identity relatedness analysis resulted in values below the threshold for prokaryotic species delineation, with the highest values observed for Paenibacillus enshidis KCTC 33519T (29.4 and 85.2%, respectively). Genotypic data together with phenotypic properties supported the classification of strain P96T as representative of a novel species of the genus Paenibacillus, for which the name Paenibacillus zeirhizosphaerae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is P96T (=LMG 32802T = NCAIM B 02678T).

A Gram-stain-negative strain, designated as D2M1 T was isolated from xylene-degrading enrichment culture and characterized using a polyphasic approach to determine its taxonomic position. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain D2M1 T belongs to the genus Acidovorax , with the highest 16S rRNA gene similarity to Acidovorax delafieldii DSM 64 T (99.93 %), followed by Acidovorax radicis DSM 23535 T (98.77 %) and Acidovorax kalamii MTCC 12652 T (98.76 %). The draft genome sequence of strain D2M1 T is 5.49 Mb long, and the G+C content of the genome is 64.2 mol%. Orthologous average nucleotide identity and digital DNA–DNA hybridization relatedness values between strain D2M1 T and its closest relatives were below the threshold values for species demarcation confirming that strain D2M1 T is distinctly separated from its closest relatives. The whole genome analysis of the strain revealed a phenol degradation gene cluster, encoding a multicomponent phenol hydroxylase (mPH) together with a complete meta -cleavage pathway including an I.2.C-type catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (C23O) gene. The strain was able to degrade benzene and ethylbenzene as sole sources of carbon and energy under aerobic and microaerobic conditions. Cells were facultatively aerobic rods and motile with a single polar flagellum. The predominant fatty acids (>10 % of the total) of strain D2M1 T were summed feature 3 (C 16 : 1 ω 7 c /C 16 : 1 ω 6 c ), C 16 : 0 and summed feature 8 (C 18 : 1 ω 7 c /C 18 : 1 ω 6 c ). The major ubiquinone of strain D2M1 T was Q8, while the major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine. Based on polyphasic data, it is concluded that strain D2M1 T represents a novel species of the genus Acidovorax , for which the name of Acidovorax benzenivorans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the species is strain D2M1 T (=DSM 115238 T =NCAIM B.02679 T ).

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are critical infrastructures for wastewater management, and their durability is crucial. Due to their excellent water tightness and strength, cementitious materials are used to build WWTPs. However, the performance of these materials is affected by aggressive environments. There are few in situ experiments in the literature regarding the deterioration of cementitious materials in WWTPs. This paper investigates their deterioration mechanisms in a sewage pumping station and a sand-trap structure of a WWTP. In situ experiment was conducted by exposing cement specimens in both locations for 1, 2, 3 and 7 months. The physical and morphological changes of the specimens were examined using stereo microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, whereas the mineralogical/solid phase changes were examined using X-ray diffraction. The results showed that the specimens from the pumping station formed colored surface products, which were confirmed to be secondary minerals (i.e., gypsum and ettringite), whereas there were no colored surface products in the sand-trap structure. The results demonstrated that cementitious materials subjected to wastewater vapors (in a pumping station) had higher deterioration effects than those subjected to wastewater liquid (in a sand-trap structure), suggesting that the wastewater vapors are more aggressive toward cementitious materials than wastewater liquids.

Endocrine disruptors are potential environmental contaminants that can cause toxicity in aquatic ecosystems, so the Water Framework Directive has established limits for these compounds. During our research, 41 bacterial strains were isolated and identified from sewage effluent and tested for their degradation capacities for bisphenol A, 17β-estradiol, and nonylphenol. All the isolated bacteria belonged to the Gammaproteobacteria class of Pseudomonadota phylum (members of Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Kluyvera, Leclercia, Raoultella, Shigella. Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, and Pseudomonas genera). During the experiments, only strains HF17, HF18 (Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and HF31 (Citrobacter freundii) were unable to grow on these compounds, all other bacterial strains could grow in the presence of the investigated endocrine disruptors. Based on the genomic analysis of the type strains, a set of genes involving aromatic compound degradation was detected, among the peripheral metabolic pathways, the quinate and benzoate degradation pathways proved to be widespread, among the central aromatic intermediates metabolism, the catechol branch of the beta-ketoadipate pathway was the most dominant. Pseudomonas fulva HF16 strain could utilize the investigated endocrine disruptors: bisphenol A by 34%, 17β-estradiol by 52%, and nonylphenol by 54%.

The global spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the environment is a growing health threat. Large rivers are of particular concern as they are highly impacted by wastewater discharge while being vital lifelines serving various human needs. A comprehensive understanding of occurrence, spread and key drivers of AMR along whole river courses is largely lacking. We provide a holistic approach by studying spatiotemporal patterns and hotspots of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) along 2311 km of the navigable Danube River, combining a longitudinal and temporal monitoring campaign. The integration of advanced faecal pollution diagnostics and environmental and chemical key parameters allowed linking ARG concentrations to the major pollution sources and explaining the observed patterns. Nine AMR markers, including genes conferring resistance to five different antibiotic classes of clinical and environmental relevance, and one integrase gene were determined by probe-based qPCR. All AMR targets could be quantified in Danube River water, with intI1 and sul1 being ubiquitously abundant, qnrS, tetM, blaTEM with intermediate abundance and blaOXA-48like, blaCTX-M-1 group, blaCTX-M-9 group and blaKPC genes with rare occurrence. Human faecal pollution from municipal wastewater discharges was the dominant factor shaping ARG patterns along the Danube River. Other significant correlations of specific ARGs were observed with discharge, certain metals and pesticides. In contrast, intI1 was not associated with wastewater but was already established in the water microbiome. Animal contamination was detected only sporadically and was correlated with ARGs only in the temporal sampling set. During temporal monitoring, an extraordinary hotspot was identified emphasizing the variability within natural waters. This study provides the first comprehensive baseline concentrations of ARGs in the Danube River and lays the foundation for monitoring future trends and evaluating potential reduction measures. The applided holistic approach proved to be a valuable methodological contribution towards a better understanding of the environmental occurrence of AMR.

Epilithic biofilms are ubiquitous in large river environments and are crucial for biogeochemical processes, but their community structures and functions remain poorly understood. In this paper, the seasonal succession in the morphological structure and the taxonomic composition of an epilithic bacterial biofilm community at a polluted site of the Danube River were followed using electron microscopy, high-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and multiplex/taxon-specific PCRs. The biofilm samples were collected from the same submerged stone and carried out bimonthly in the littoral zone of the Danube River, downstream of a large urban area. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the biofilm was composed of diatoms and a variety of bacteria with different morphologies. Based on amplicon sequencing, the bacterial communities were dominated by the phyla Pseudomonadota and Bacteroidota, while the most abundant archaea belonged to the phyla Nitrososphaerota and Nanoarchaeota. The changing environmental factors had an effect on the composition of the epilithic microbial community. Critical levels of faecal pollution in the water were associated with increased relative abundance of Sphaerotilus, a typical indicator of “sewage fungus”, but the composition and diversity of the epilithic biofilms were also influenced by several other environmental factors such as temperature, water discharge and total suspended solids (TSS). The specific PCRs showed opportunistic pathogenic bacteria (e.g. Pseudomonas spp., Legionella spp., P. aeruginosa, L. pneumophila, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia) in some biofilm samples, but extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genes and macrolide resistance genes could not be detected.

The genus Belliella belongs to the family Cyclobacteriaceae (order Cytophagales, phylum Bacteroidota) and harbours aerobic chemoheterotrophic bacteria. Members of this genus were isolated from various aquatic habitats, and our analysis based on global amplicon sequencing data revealed that their relative abundance can reach up to 5-10 % of the bacterioplankton in soda lakes and pans. Although a remarkable fraction of the most frequent genotypes that we identified from continental aquatic habitats is still uncultured, five new alkaliphilic Belliella strains were characterized in detail in this study, which were isolated from three different soda lakes and pans of the Carpathian Basin (Hungary). Cells of all strains were Gram-stain-negative, obligate aerobic, rod-shaped, non-motile and non-spore-forming. The isolates were oxidase- and catalase-positive, red-coloured, but did not contain flexirubin-type pigments; they formed bright red colonies that were circular, smooth and convex. Their major isoprenoid quinone was MK-7 and the predominant fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH and summed feature 3 containing C16 : 1  ω6c and/or C16 : 1  ω7c. The polar lipid profiles contained phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified aminophospholipid, an unidentified glycolipid, and several unidentified lipids and aminolipids. Based on whole-genome sequences, the DNA G+C content was 37.0, 37.1 and 37.8 mol % for strains R4-6T, DMA-N-10aT and U6F3T, respectively. The distinction of three new species was confirmed by in silico genomic comparison. Orthologous average nucleotide identity (<85.4 %) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values (<38.9 %) supported phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and 16S rRNA gene sequence data and, therefore, the following three novel species are proposed: Belliella alkalica sp. nov. (represented by strains R4-6T=DSM 111903T=JCM 34281T=UCCCB122T and S4-10), Belliella calami sp. nov. (DMA-N-10aT=DSM 107340T=JCM 34280T=UCCCB121T) and Belliella filtrata sp. nov. (U6F3T=DSM 111904T=JCM 34282T=UCCCB123T and U6F1). Emended descriptions of species Belliella aquatica, Belliella baltica, Belliella buryatensis, Belliella kenyensis and Belliella pelovolcani are also presented.

Increasing metal(loid) contamination in urban soils and its impact on soil microbial community have attracted considerable attention. In the present study, the physicochemical parameters and the effects of twelve metal (loid) pollution on soil microbial diversity, their ecotoxic effects, and human health risk assessment in urban soils with different industrial background were studied in comparison with an unpolluted forest soil sample. Results showed that urban soils were highly contaminated, and metal(loid) contamination significantly influenced structure of the soil microbial communities. In all samples the bacterial community was dominated by Proteobacteria, and on the level of phyla characteristic differences were not possible to observe between polluted and control sampling sites. However, clear differences emerged at class and genus level, where several rare taxa disappeared from contaminated urban soils. Simper test results showed that there is 71.6 % bacterial OTU and 9.5 % bacterial diversity dissimilarity between polluted and control samples. Ratio of Patescibacteria, Armatimonadetes, Chlamydiae, Fibrobacteres, and Gemmatimonadetes indicated a significant (p < 0.05) positive correlation with soil Zn, Cr, Pb, Sn, Cu, Mn content, suggest that metal(loid)s strongly influence the structure of microbial community. In contrast, the presence of metal(loid) contamination in urban soils has been found to significantly reduce the population of Archaeal communities. This can be attributed to the depletion of organic matter caused by contamination that reached a minimum of 0.5 m/m% for nitrate and 0.9 m/m% for total organic carbon. The values of urban soil pH were close to neutral, ranging from 5.9 to 8.3. The findings of ecotoxicology test are alarming, as all the studied urban soil sites were cytotoxic to soil microorganisms, and in one site metal(loid) contamination reached genotoxic level. Moreover, all the metal(loid) contaminated sites pose severe and persistent health risk to children, highlighting the urgent need for effective measures to mitigate metal(loid) pollution in urban areas.

The purpose of the analysis was to identify the risk and protective factors for health behaviour in European adolescents from population health status and expenditure, mental health status, sexual life, social life and education indices and the existence of national strategies, programmes. National and international databases providing information on the presumed health behaviour predictors were used in the analysis. The existence of national health strategies, the level of health expenditure, the socioeconomic conditions, the level of education and literacy had significant influence on the health-risk behaviour of adolescents in the European societies. Six clusters of European countries were extracted by considering the health behaviour risks and health protection strategies. National health strategies combined with governmental support for health prevention and action plans have the most effective impact on the health-risk behaviour of adolescents.

Regular monitoring of children's nutritional status is essential to prevent micronutrient deficiencies, nutritional status abnormalities as stunting, wasting, overweight and obesity. Nutritional status assessment is usually performed by paediatricians by using anthropometry (body mass index, weight to height indices) and/or by body fat-mass measurement (bioimpedance analysis, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, computer tomography, etc.). Parents are also interested in but usually fail to evaluate their child's nutritional status. To help the sufficient collaboration between the physician and parents a new nutritional status monitoring method is developed for families. The new monitoring system was developed under a paediatrician's supervision by considering national and international recommendations, references as well as the anthropometric measurement possibilities at home. The model requires age, sex, body mass, height, waist circumference and hand circumference as predictor (input) variables of nutritional status, while (1) the centile values of the measured body dimensions, (2) body fat percentage and the centile of body fat percentage, (3) the nutritional status category (undernutrition, normal nutritional status, overfat/obese) can be predicted (outcome variables) by the new method. The predictive accuracy of the model for nutritional status category was 94.88% in boys and 98.66% in girls. The new model was developed for nutritional status assessment in school-aged children and will be incorporated in the healthy lifestyle module of 'Teenage Survival Guide' educational package to be developed by the Health Promotion and Education Research Team, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary. The new monitoring system could help the families to identify the early signs of malnutrition in children. Nutritional status assessment in children at home is suggested twice a year, and in case of suspicious nutritional status abnormality it is recommended to visit the general practitioner.

Increasing metal(loid) contamination in urban soils and its impact on soil microbial community have attracted considerable attention. In the present study, the physicochemical parameters and the effects of metal(loid) pollution (twelve metalloids) on soil microbial diversity, their ecotoxic effects, as well as human health risk assessment in urban soils with different industrial background were studied in comparison with an unpolluted forest sample. Results showed that urban soils were highly contaminated, and metal(loid) contamination significantly influenced the structure of the soil microbial communities. It is found that in all samples the bacterial community was dominated by Proteobacteria, and on the level of phyla characteristic differences were not possible to observe between polluted and unpolluted sampling sites. However, clear differences were visible at class and genus level, where a number of rare taxa disappeared from contaminated urban soils. Simper test results showed that there is 71.6 % bacterial OTU and 9.5 % bacterial diversity dissimilarity between polluted and control samples. Ratio of Patescibacteria, Armatimonadetes, Chlamydiae, Fibrobacteres, and Gemmatimonadetes indicated a significant (p<0.05) positive correlation with soil Zn, Cr, Pb, Sn, Cu, Mn content, which suggest that these metal(loid)s strongly influence the structure of the microbial community. On the other hand, the presence of metal(loid) contamination in urban soils has been found to significantly reduce the population of Archaeal communities. This can be attributed to the depletion of organic matter caused by the contamination. The findings of the ecotoxicology test are alarming as they showed that all the studied urban soil sites were cytotoxic to soil microorganisms, and in one site metal(loid) contamination reached the genotoxic level. Moreover, all the metal(loid) contaminated sites pose a severe and persistent health risk to children, highlighting the urgent need for effective measures to mitigate metal(loid) pollution in urban areas.

In this study, a Gram-stain-positive, non-motile, oxidase- and catalase-negative, rod-shaped, bacterial strain (SG_E_30_P1(T)) that formed light yellow colonies was isolated from a groundwater sample of Sztaravoda spring, Hungary. Based on 16S rRNA phylogenetic and phylogenomic analyses, the strain was found to form a distinct linage within the family Microbacteriaceae. Its closest relatives in terms of near full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences are Salinibacterium hongtaonis MH299814 (97.72 % sequence similarity) and Leifsonia psychrotolerans GQ406810 (97.57 %). The novel strain grows optimally at 20-28 degrees C, at neutral pH and in the presence of NaCl (1-2 w/v%). Strain SG_E_30_P1(T) contains MK-7 and B-type peptidoglycan with diaminobutyrate as the diagnostic amino acid. The major cellular fatty acids are anteiso-C-15 : 0, iso-C-16 : 0 and iso-C-14 : 0, and the polar lipid profile is composed of diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol, as well as an unidentified aminoglycolipid, aminophospholipid and some unidentified phospholipids. The assembled draft genome is a contig with a total length of 2 897 968 bp and a DNA G+C content of 65.5 mol%. Amino acid identity values with it closest relatives with sequenced genomes of <62.54 %, as well as other genome distance results, indicate that this bacterium represents a novel genus within the family Microbacteriaceae. We suggest that SG_E_30_P1(T) (=DSM 111415(T)=NCAIM B.02656(T)) represents the type strain of a novel genus and species for which the name Antiquaquibacter oligotrophicus gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed.