14 research outputs found
Biochar: An emerging recipe for designing sustainable horticulture under climate change scenarios
No full textThe interest in sustainable horticulture has recently increased, given anthropogenic climate change. The increasing global population will exacerbate the climate change situation induced by human activities. This will elevate global food demands and the vulnerability of horticultural systems, with severe concerns related to natural resource availability and usage. Sustainable horticulture involves adopting eco-friendly strategies to boost yields while maintaining environmental conservation. Biochar (BC), a carbon-rich material, is widely used in farming to improve soil physical and chemical properties and as an organic substitute for peat in growing media. BC amendments to soil or growing media improve seedling growth, increase photosynthetic pigments, and enhances photosynthesis, thus improving crop productivity. Soil BC incorporation improves abiotic and biotic stress tolerance, which are significant constraints in horticulture. BC application also improves disease control to an acceptable level or enhance plant resistance to pathogens. Moreover, BC amendments in contaminated soil decrease the uptake of potentially hazardous metals, thus minimizing their harmful effects on humans. This review summarizes the most recent knowledge related to BC use in sustainable horticulture. This includes the effect of BC on enhancing horticultural crop production and inducing resistance to major abiotic and biotic stresses. It also discuss major gaps and future directions for exploiting BC technology
Ionic and nano calcium to reduce cadmium and arsenic toxicity in plants: Review of mechanisms and potentials
No full texthttp://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001809 National Natural Science Foundation of Chin
An integrated experimental and theoretical approach to probe Cr (VI) uptake using decorated halloysite nanotubes for efficient water treatment
No full textHalloysite nanotubes (HNTs) were surface functionalized using four distinct chemical moieties (amidoxime, hydrazone, ethylenediamine (EDA), and diethylenetriamine (DETA)), producing modified HNTs (H1–H4) capable of binding with Cr(VI) ions. Advanced techniques like FTIR, XRD, SEM, and EDX provided evidence of the successful functionalization of these HNTs. Notably, the functionalization occurred on the surface of HNTs, rather than within the interlayer or lumen. These decorated HNTs were effective in capturing Cr(VI) ions at optimized sorption parameters, with adsorption rates ranging between 58–94%, as confirmed by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The mechanism of adsorption was further scrutinized through the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. Langmuir isotherms revealed the nearest fit to the data suggesting the monolayer adsorption of Cr(VI) ions onto the nanotubes, indicating a favorable adsorption process. It was hypothesized that Cr(VI) ions are primarily attracted to the amine groups on the modified nanotubes. Quantum chemical calculations further revealed that HNTs functionalized with hydrazone structures (H2) demonstrated a higher affinity (interaction energy −26.33 kcal mol−1) for the Cr(VI) ions. This can be explained by the formation of stronger hydrogen bonds with the NH moieties of the hydrazone moiety, than those established by the OH of oxime (H1) and longer amine chains (H3 and H4), respectively. Overall, the findings suggest that these decorated HNTs could serve as an effective and cost-efficient solution for treating water pollution.This article is published as Shah, Syed Nadeem Ahmad, Sonia Zulfiqar, Fernando Ruipérez, Muhammad Rafique, Mudassir Iqbal, Michael J. Forrester, Muhammad Ilyas Sarwar, and Eric W. Cochran. "An integrated experimental and theoretical approach to probe Cr (VI) uptake using decorated halloysite nanotubes for efficient water treatment." RSC advances 14, no. 5 (2024): 2947-2960. doi: https://doi.org/10.1039/D3RA07675J. © 2024 The Author(s). This Open Access Article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 3.0
Salicylic acid-doped iron nano-biostimulants potentiate defense responses and suppress Fusarium wilt in watermelon
No full textIntroduction: Chemo- and bio-genic metallic nanoparticles (NPs), as a novel nano-enabled strategy, have demonstrated a great potential in crop health management. Objective: The current study aimed to explore the efficacy of advanced nanocomposites (NCs), integrating biogenic (bio) metallic NPs and plant immunity-regulating hormones, in crop disease control. Methods: Iron (Fe) NPs were biosynthesized using cell-free supernatant of a Fe-resistant strains, Bacillus marisflavi ZJ-4. Further, salicylic acid-coated bio-FeNPs (SI) NCs were prepared via co-precipitation method under alkaline conditions. Both bio-FeNPs and SINCs were characterized using basic analytical techniques, including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and scanning/transmission electron microscopy. Results: Bio-FeNPs and SINCs had variable shapes with average sizes of 72.35 nm and 65.87 nm, respectively. Under greenhouse conditions, bio-FeNPs and SINCs improved the agronomic traits of the watermelon plants, and SINCs outperformed bio-FeNPs, providing the maximum growth promotion of 32.5%. Soil-drenching with bio-FeNPs and SINCs suppressed Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum-caused Fusarium wilt in watermelon, and SINCs provided better protection than bio-FeNPs, through inhibiting the fungal invasive growth within host plants. SINCs improved the antioxidative capacity and primed a systemic acquired resistance (SAR) response via activating the salicylic acid signaling pathway genes. These findings indicate that SINCs can reduce the severity of Fusarium wilt in watermelon by modulating antioxidative capacity and potentiating SAR to restrict in planta fungal invasive growth. Conclusion: This study provides new insights into the potential of bio-FeNPs and SINCs as biostimulants and bioprotectants for growth promotion and Fusarium wilt suppression, ensuring sustainable watermelon production
Toxic Metals/Metalloids Accumulation, Tolerance, and Homeostasis in Brassica Oilseed Species
No full textSynthesis of diglycolic acid functionalized core-shell silica coated Fe\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3eO\u3csub\u3e4\u3c/sub\u3e nanomaterials for magnetic extraction of Pb(II) and Cr(VI) ions
No full text© 2020, The Author(s). Amine-terminated core-shell silica coated magnetite nanoparticles were functionalized with diglycolic acid for the first time to create acid moiety on the surface of the nanoparticles. The formation of magnetite nanoparticles was scrutinised through XRD, SEM, EDS, TEM, VSM and FTIR spectroscopy. The BET surface area of nano-sorbent was found to be 4.04 m2/g with pore size 23.68 nm. These nanomaterials were then utilized to remove the Pb(II) and Cr(VI) ions from their aqueous media and uptake of metal ions was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). A batch adsorption technique was applied to remove both ions at optimised pH and contact time with maximum adsorption efficiency for Pb(II) ions at pH 7 while for Cr(VI) ions at pH 3. Adsorption mechanism was studied using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms and equilibrium data fitted well for both the isotherms, showing complex nature of adsorption comprising both chemisorption as well as physio-sorption phenomena. The nanosorbents exhibited facile separation by applying external magnetic field due to the ferrimagnetic behaviour with 31.65 emu/g saturation magnetization. These nanosorbents were also found to be used multiple times after regeneration
Fabrication of robust poly l-lactic acid/cyclic olefinic copolymer (PLLA/COC) blends: study of physical properties, structure, and cytocompatibility for bone tissue engineering
No full textPoly (l-lacticacid) (PLLA) is an FDA approved material for bone tissue engineering but its inherent brittleness and low melting ability are major challenges for its large-scale commercial applications. This challenge can be overcome by making its blends. This study reports blends of PLLA with a relatively new class of polymer i.e. cyclic olefinic copolymer and their miscibility, thermal behavior, morphology, crystallinity, degradability, and excellent biocompatibility is evaluated. Blends were prepared by taking 5–30 weight percent COC with PLLA matrix using solvent casting method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed that PLLA/COC form miscible blends up to 5–20 wt% of COC. FTIR, XRD, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data showed that addition of COC to PLLA resulted in decrease in crystallinity along with formation of new α′-crystalline phase which coexists with inherent α-phase of PLLA in the blends. The transformation of α′-form is due to the presence of Van der Waals forces of interactions of the polymer chain moieties between PLLA and COC. Interestingly, PLLA/COC blends exhibited superior mechanical properties in relation to the pure PLLA. Compressive modulus values for PLLA/COC 10wt% increased 117% as compared to pure PLLA. PLLA/COC blends at 10 wt% have maximum ultimate tensile strength, modulus, and toughness ~ 123%, 67.8% and, 18.87% respectively. PLLA/COC blends showed increased swelling and degradation results as compared to PLLA. PLLA/COC blends exhibited excellent cytocompatibility over PLLA with preosteoblast (MC3T3-E1) and bone marrow stem cells (BMSc) cell lines suggesting possible candidate for Bone Tissue Engineering
Calcium Plays a Double-Edged Role in Modulating Cadmium Uptake and Translocation in Rice
No full textCadmium (Cd) contamination in soils poses great risks to both agricultural production and human health. Calcium (Ca) is an essential element playing a significant role in protecting plants against Cd toxicity. However, how Ca affects Cd uptake and translocation in rice is still not fully elucidated. In this study, the regulatory role of Ca in Cd uptake and upward translocation was investigated in rice at different growth stages. Our results showed that the supplement of 5 mM Ca significantly reduced Cd uptake by rice roots, because of their competition for Ca-permeable channels as an absorption site and Ca-induced downregulation of OsNRAMP1 and OsNRAMP5. However, Ca application facilitated the upward translocation of Cd by both upregulating OsHMA2 to induce xylem loading of Cd and downregulating OsHMA3 to reduce vacuolar sequestration of Cd. Such contrary results suggested a double-edged role of Ca in regulating root Cd uptake and root-to-shoot Cd translocation in rice. Although it increased Cd content in the aboveground vegetative tissues during the whole growth period, the addition of 5 mM Ca eventually decreased Cd content in rice grains at the ripening stage. All these results suggest that Ca-based amendments possess great potential for the production of low-Cd rice grains
Correlation of Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) with Computed Tomography (CT) in Patients of Intra-Cranial Injuries
No full textObjective: To determine the correlation of Glasgow coma scale with Computed Tomography (CT) in patients of intra-cranial injuries. Material and methods: This study is a cross-sectional analytical study with a sample size of 138 patients. Sampling techniques were non-probability convenient sampling. The study was performed in the Department of Radiology in Lahore General Hospital. The study was finished in 3 months after approval of synopsis. Ultrasound was performed with a convex transducer of 3.5 - 5MHz frequency. Outcome variables are Prostate volume and post-micturition residual (PMR). The data collection sheet was used to record observed data, and individual patient personal data will not be published. Sections were taken parallel to the canthomeatal. CT machine: Toshiba Scanner Aquilion 16 SLICE, model no: TSX-101A, model no: CGGT-018A, slice thickness: 5-7mm, gap b/w slices: 5mm, window width: 1600, window length: +350, kV: 120, mA: 200, pitch: 5. Result: Total 138 patients were enrolled in the study, in which 54 (39.1%) were females, and 84(69.9%) were males with a mean age of 37 years with a range of 4-85 ± 16.28 years. The present study was conducted for a period of two years in the Department of radiology with association from Department of Emergency medicine and included 138 patients with a history of intra-cranial injuries. The cases were referred from the Emergency unit after clinical and neurological systemic examination and calculating the GCS score. The score was blinded for the radiologist examining the case for avoiding bias in reporting. Conclusion: To conclude from our study, patients with low GCS score were considered as a severity risk factor in association with more intra-cranial injuries CT findings. Patients with low GCS score are affected by severe morbidity and devastating effects as observed from other studies
Correlation of Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) with Computed Tomography (CT) in Patients of Intra-Cranial Injuries
No full textObjective: To determine the correlation of Glasgow coma scale with Computed Tomography (CT) in patients of intra-cranial injuries. Material and methods: This study is a cross-sectional analytical study with a sample size of 138 patients. Sampling techniques were non-probability convenient sampling. The study was performed in the Department of Radiology in Lahore General Hospital. The study was finished in 3 months after approval of synopsis. Ultrasound was performed with a convex transducer of 3.5 - 5MHz frequency. Outcome variables are Prostate volume and post-micturition residual (PMR). The data collection sheet was used to record observed data, and individual patient personal data will not be published. Sections were taken parallel to the canthomeatal. CT machine: Toshiba Scanner Aquilion 16 SLICE, model no: TSX-101A, model no: CGGT-018A, slice thickness: 5-7mm, gap b/w slices: 5mm, window width: 1600, window length: +350, kV: 120, mA: 200, pitch: 5. Result: Total 138 patients were enrolled in the study, in which 54 (39.1%) were females, and 84(69.9%) were males with a mean age of 37 years with a range of 4-85 ± 16.28 years. The present study was conducted for a period of two years in the Department of radiology with association from Department of Emergency medicine and included 138 patients with a history of intra-cranial injuries. The cases were referred from the Emergency unit after clinical and neurological systemic examination and calculating the GCS score. The score was blinded for the radiologist examining the case for avoiding bias in reporting. Conclusion: To conclude from our study, patients with low GCS score were considered as a severity risk factor in association with more intra-cranial injuries CT findings. Patients with low GCS score are affected by severe morbidity and devastating effects as observed from other studies.</div
