Seed pretreatment with brassinosteroids stimulates sunflower immunity against parasitic weed (Orobanche cumana) infection.

Broomrape (Orobanche cumana) negatively affects sunflower, causing severe yield losses, and thus, there is a need to control O. cumana infestation. Brassinosteroids (BRs) play key roles in plant growth and provide resilience to weed infection. This study aims to evaluate the mechanisms by which BRs ameliorate O. cumana infection in sunflower (Helianthus annuus). Seeds were pretreated with BRs (1, 10, and 100 nM) and O. cumana inoculation for 4 weeks under soil conditions. O. cumana infection significantly reduced plant growth traits, photosynthesis, endogenous BRs and regulated the plant defence (POX, GST), BRs signalling (BAK1, BSK1 to BSK4) and synthesis (BRI1, BR6OX2) genes. O. cumana also elevated the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), hydroxyl radical (OH-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide (O2 •-) in leaves/roots by 77/112, 63/103, 56/97 and 54/89%, as well as caused ultrastructural cellular damages in both leaves and roots. In response, plants activated a few enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and reduced glutathione but were unable to stimulate the activity of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT) enzymes. The addition of BRs (especially at 10 nM) notably recovered the ultrastructural cellular damages, lowered the production of oxidative stress, activated the key enzymatic antioxidants and induced the phenolic and lignin contents. The downregulation in the particular genes by BRs is attributed to the increased resilience of sunflower via a susceptible reaction. In a nutshell, BRs notably enhanced the sunflower resistance to O. cumana infection by escalating the plant immunity responses, inducing systemic acquired resistance, reducing oxidative or cellular damages, and modulating the expression of BR synthesis or signalling genes.

Dimensionally Intact Construction of Ultrathin S-Scheme CuFe2O4/ZnIn2S4 Heterojunctional Photocatalysts for CO2 Photoreduction.

The conversion of CO2 into carbon-neutral fuels such as methane (CH4) through selective photoreduction is highly sought after yet remains challenging due to the slow multistep proton-electron transfer processes and the formation of various C1 intermediates. This research highlights the cooperative interaction between Fe3+ and Cu2+ ions transitioning to Fe2+ and Cu+ ions, enhancing the photocatalytic conversion of CO2 to methane. We introduce an S-scheme heterojunction photocatalyst, CuFe2O4/ZnIn2S4, which demonstrates significant efficiency in CO2 methanation under light irradiation. The CuFe2O4/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction forms an internal electric field that aids in the mobility and separation of exciton carriers under a wide solar spectrum for exceptional photocatalytic performance. Remarkably, the optimal CuFe2O4/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction system achieved an approximately 68-time increase in CO2 conversion compared with ZnIn2S4 and CuFe2O4 nanoparticles using only pure water, with nearly complete CO selectivity and yields of CH4 and CO reaching 172.5 and 202.4 µmol g-1 h-1, respectively, via a 2-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) process. The optimally designed CuFe2O4/ZnIn2S4 heterojunctional system achieved approximately 96% conversion of BA and 98.5% selectivity toward benzaldehyde (BAD). Additionally, this photocatalytic system demonstrated excellent cyclic stability and practical applicability. The photogenerated electrons in the CuFe2O4 conduction band enhance the reduction of Fe3+/Cu2+ to Fe2+/Cu+, creating a microenvironment conducive to CO2 reduction to CO and CH4. Simultaneously, the appearance of holes in the ZnIn2S4 valence band facilitates water oxidation to O2. The synergistic function within the CuFe2O4/ZnIn2S4 heterojunction plays a pivotal role in facilitating charge transfer, accelerating water oxidation, and thereby enhancing CO2 reduction kinetics. This study offers valuable insights and a strategic framework for designing efficient S-scheme heterojunctions aimed at achieving carbon neutrality through solar fuel production.

Leveraging Temporal Information to Improve Machine Learning-Based Calibration Techniques for Low-Cost Air Quality Sensors.

Low-cost ambient sensors have been identified as a promising technology for monitoring air pollution at a high spatio-temporal resolution. However, the pollutant data captured by these cost-effective sensors are less accurate than their conventional counterparts and require careful calibration to improve their accuracy and reliability. In this paper, we propose to leverage temporal information, such as the duration of time a sensor has been deployed and the time of day the reading was taken, in order to improve the calibration of low-cost sensors. This information is readily available and has so far not been utilized in the reported literature for the calibration of cost-effective ambient gas pollutant sensors. We make use of three data sets collected by research groups around the world, who gathered the data from field-deployed low-cost CO and NO2 sensors co-located with accurate reference sensors. Our investigation shows that using the temporal information as a co-variate can significantly improve the accuracy of common machine learning-based calibration techniques, such as Random Forest and Long Short-Term Memory.

Synergistic Functionality of Dopants and Defects in Co-Phthalocyanine/B-CN Z-Scheme Photocatalysts for Promoting Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction Reactions.

The realization of solar-light-driven CO2  reduction reactions (CO2 RR) is essential for the commercial development of renewable energy modules and the reduction of global CO2 emissions. Combining experimental measurements and theoretical calculations, to introduce boron dopants and nitrogen defects in graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3 N4 ), sodium borohydride is simply calcined with the mixture of g-C3 N4 (CN), followed by the introduction of ultrathin Co phthalocyanine through phosphate groups. By strengthening H-bonding interactions, the resultant CoPc/P-BNDCN nanocomposite showed excellent photocatalytic CO2 reduction activity, releasing 197.76 and 130.32 µmol h-1  g-1 CO and CH4 , respectively, and conveying an unprecedented 10-26-time improvement under visible-light irradiation. The substantial tuning is performed towards the conduction and valance band locations by B-dopants and N-defects to modulate the band structure for significantly accelerated CO2 RR. Through the use of ultrathin metal phthalocyanine assemblies that have a lot of single-atom sites, this work demonstrates a sustainable approach for achieving effective photocatalytic CO2 activation. More importantly, the excellent photoactivity is attributed to the fast charge separation via Z-scheme transfer mechanism formed by the universally facile strategy of dimension-matched ultrathin (≈4 nm) metal phthalocyanine-assisted nanocomposites.

Engineering of oxygen vacancy defect in CeO2 through Mn doping for toluene catalytic oxidation at low temperature.

Catalytic oxidation is considered a highly effective method for the elimination of volatile organic compounds. Oxygen vacancy defect engineering in a catalyst is considered an effective approach for high-performance catalysts. Herein, a series of doped MnxCe1-xO2 catalysts (x = 0.05-0.2) with oxygen vacancy defects were synthesized by doping low-valent Mn in a CeO2 lattice. Different characterization techniques were utilized to inspect the effect of doping on oxygen vacancy defect generation. The characterization results revealed that the Mn0.15Ce0.85O2 catalyst has the maximum oxygen vacancy concentration, leading to increased active oxygen species and enhanced oxygen mobility. Thus, Mn0.15Ce0.85O2 catalyst showed an excellent toluene oxidation activity with 90% toluene conversion temperature (T90) of 197 °C at a weight hourly space velocity of 40,000 mL g-1 h-1 as compared to undoped CeO2 (T90 = 225 °C) and Ce based oxides in previous reports. In addition, the Mn0.15Ce0.85O2 catalyst displayed strong recyclability, water resistant ability and long-time stability. The in situ DRIFT results showed that the Mn0.15Ce0.85O2 catalyst has a robust oxidation capability as toluene is quickly adsorbed and actuated as compared to CeO2. Thus, the present work lays the foundation for designing a highly active catalyst for toluene elimination from the environment.

Low-Cost CO Sensor Calibration Using One Dimensional Convolutional Neural Network.

The advent of cost-effective sensors and the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) presents the opportunity to monitor urban pollution at a high spatio-temporal resolution. However, these sensors suffer from poor accuracy that can be improved through calibration. In this paper, we propose to use One Dimensional Convolutional Neural Network (1DCNN) based calibration for low-cost carbon monoxide sensors and benchmark its performance against several Machine Learning (ML) based calibration techniques. We make use of three large data sets collected by research groups around the world from field-deployed low-cost sensors co-located with accurate reference sensors. Our investigation shows that 1DCNN performs consistently across all datasets. Gradient boosting regression, another ML technique that has not been widely explored for gas sensor calibration, also performs reasonably well. For all datasets, the introduction of temperature and relative humidity data improves the calibration accuracy. Cross-sensitivity to other pollutants can be exploited to improve the accuracy further. This suggests that low-cost sensors should be deployed as a suite or an array to measure covariate factors.

Sea Conch Peptides Hydrolysate Alleviates DSS-Induced Colitis in Mice through Immune Modulation and Gut Microbiota Restoration.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a persistent, lifelong inflammation of the digestive system. Dextran sulfate sodium is commonly used to induce colitis in experimental animal models, which causes epithelial damage, intestinal inflammation, mucin depletion, and dysbiosis of the gut microbiota. Various prebiotics, polysaccharides, and polypeptides are used for IBD treatment. In this study, we used a murine model utilizing BALB/c mice, with 10 mice per group, to investigate the treatment effect of sea conch peptide hydrolysate (CPH) on DSS-induced colitis mice. Colitis was induced through the administration of 2.5% DSS in drinking water over a seven-days period. Furthermore, on the eighth day of the experiment, sea conch peptide hydrolysate (CPH) at low (100 mg/kg), medium (200 mg/kg), and high (400 mg/kg) doses, which were continued for 14 days, were assessed for medicinal purposes in DSS-induced colitis mice. Our results showed that CPH treatment significantly alleviated the severity and symptoms of colitis. The epithelial integrity and histological damage were improved. Intestinal inflammation and inflammatory cell infiltration were improved. Furthermore, the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines was reduced, and intestinal barrier integrity was restored by elevating the tight junction proteins. Moreover, 16s RNA sequencing revealed dysbiosis of the gut microbiota was observed upon DSS treatment, which was reinstated after CPH treatment. An increased level of Firmicutes and Lactobacillus was observed in the treatment groups. Finally, our results suggest that CPH would be recommended as a functional food source and also have the potential to be used as a medicinal product for different gastrointestinal disorders.

Proteome wide vaccine targets prioritization and designing of antigenic vaccine candidate to trigger the host immune response against the Mycoplasma genitalium infection.

Mycoplasma genitalium is a small size, sexually transmitted bacterial pathogen that causes urethritis in males and cervicitis in females. Being resistant to antibiotics, difficulty in diagnosis, treatment, and control of this cosmopolitan infection, vaccination is the alternating method for its effective management. Herein, this study was conducted to computationally design a multi-epitope vaccine to boost host immune responses against M. genitalium. To achieve the study aim, immunoinformatics approaches were applied to the said pathogen's proteomics sequence data. B and T cell epitopes were projected from the three shortlisted vaccine proteins; MG014, MG015, Hmw3MG317. The final vaccine ensemble comprises cytotoxic and helper T cell epitopes fused through appropriate linkers. The epitopes peptide is then liked to an adjuvant for efficient recognition and processing by the host immune system. The various physicochemical parameters such as allergenicity, antigenicity, theoretical pI, GRAVY, and molecular weight of the vaccine were checked and found safe and effective to be used in post-experimental studies. The stability and binding affinity of the vaccine with the TLR1/2 heterodimer were ensured by performing molecular docking. The best-docked complex was considered, ranked top having the lowest binding energy and strong intermolecular binding and stability. Finally, the vaccine constructs better expression was obtained by in silico cloning into the pET28a (+) vector in Escherichia coli K-12 strain, and immune simulation validated the immune response. In a nutshell, all these approaches lead to developing a multi-epitope vaccine that possessed the ability to induce cellular and antibody-mediated immune responses against the pathogen used.

Energy trilemma based prioritization of waste-to-energy technologies: Implications for post-COVID-19 green economic recovery in Pakistan.

As lockdown eases, economic activities resume in Pakistan. If the country continues to follow business-as-usual (BAU) then it is anticipated that carbon output could surge past pre-COVID-19 levels - that means more disasters in future. Thus, it is an unprecedented opportunity to shift from BAU and achieve carbon-neutral and nature-positive economic recovery - green economic recovery (GER). To fuel the GER, access to modern, equitable, affordable and sustainable energy is paramount. This study explores waste-to-energy (WtE) as an alternative green fuel for GER. Seven WtE technologies are prioritized based on the concept of energy trilemma - energy security, energy equity, and environmental sustainability. For the evaluation, an energy trilemma based decision support framework is developed using most prominent multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. The fuzzy set theory is integrated with MCDM methods to minimize uncertainty in results. Sixteen experts are engaged to score each WtE technology with respect to every energy trilemma dimension and sub-dimension. Gasification technology is found to be the most feasible option for WtE generation in Pakistan whereas Torrefaction technology is least favorable. It is concluded that the need to shift towards sustainable energy is more than ever to limit the carbon emission and prevent future crisis.

Anion polarizabilities in oxynitride glasses. Establishing a common optical basicity scale.

Inspired by the work of John Duffy on optical basicity of oxyfluoride glasses, we apply here the concept of optical basicity to oxynitride systems. While in the original work of Duffy and Ingram the basicity of a medium could be probed by s2 ions like Pb2+, the low energy intrinsic absorption edge of nitride-containing systems does not allow the use of such probe ions. This study uses therefore experimental data on refractive index and density of alkaline earth and rare earth containing silicate oxynitride glasses, prepared by the authors or taken from the literature. In addition, literature reports on experimental or calculated refractive index, density and polarizability data are used to compare pure nitride systems, e.g. bulk or thin film materials that are either crystalline or glassy. We compare simple and complex nitride systems with their oxygen counterparts, by calculating their optical basicity using the chemical composition as well as the established relationship between optical basicity, Λ, and electronic polarizability in oxide systems. Our results on oxynitride systems are in good agreement with Duffy's previous work on oxyfluoride glasses and indicate that the optical basicity varies for the isoelectronic anions in nitrides, oxides and fluorides (N3-:O2-:F-) of a cation Mm+ as follows: Λ(MFm) = 1/2Λ(M2Om) = 1/3Λ(M3Nm). Using this relation for CaO, for which the optical basicity was set as unity by Duffy and Ingram, one has Λ(CaF2) = 0.50, Λ(CaO) = 1.00 and Λ(Ca3N2) = 1.50. The optical basicity of complex nitrides can therefore be calculated by the same method established for oxides using the equivalent fractions and the basicity of the constituent nitrides. The relationship between nitride polarizability αN and basicity Λ(nitride) was found to be linear, with Λ(nitride) = 0.39αN- 0.14 where αN is given in Å3.

Dimension-Matched Zinc Phthalocyanine/BiVO4 Ultrathin Nanocomposites for CO2 Reduction as Efficient Wide-Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalysts via a Cascade Charge Transfer.

Cascade charge transfer was realized by a H-bond linked zinc phthalocyanine/BiVO4 nanosheet (ZnPc/BVNS) composite, which subsequently works as an efficient wide-visible-light-driven photocatalyst for converting CO2 into CO and CH4 , as shown by product analysis and 13 C isotopic measurement. The optimized ZnPc/BVNS nanocomposite exhibits a ca. 16-fold enhancement in the quantum efficiency compared with the reported BiVO4 nanoparticles at the excitation of 520 nm with an assistance of 660 nm photons. Experimental and theoretical results show the exceptional activities are attributed to the rapid charge separation by a cascade Z-scheme charge transfer mechanism formed by the dimension-matched ultrathin (ca. 8 nm) heterojunction nanostructure. The central Zn2+ in ZnPc could accept the excited electrons from the ligand and then provide a catalytic function for CO2 reduction. This Z-scheme is also feasible for other MPc, such as FePc and CoPc, together with BVNS.

Health risk assessment of heavy metals and bacterial contamination in drinking water sources: a case study of Malakand Agency, Pakistan.

Human beings are frequently exposed to pathogens and heavy metals through ingestion of contaminated drinking water throughout the world particularly in developing countries. The present study aimed to assess the quality of water used for drinking purposes in Malakand Agency, Pakistan. Water samples were collected from different sources (dug wells, bore wells, tube wells, springs, and hand pumps) and analyzed for different physico-chemical parameters and bacterial pathogens (fecal coliform bacteria) using standard methods, while heavy metals were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS-PEA-700). In the study area, 70 % of water sources were contaminated with F. coliform representing high bacterial contamination. The heavy metals, such as Cd (29 and 8 %), Ni (16 and 78 %), and Cr (7 %), exceeded their respective safe limits of WHO (2006) and Pak-EPA (2008), respectively, in water sources, while Pb (9 %) only exceeded from WHO safe limit. The risk assessment tools such as daily intake of metals (DIMs) and health risk indexes (HRIs) were used for health risk estimation and were observed in the order of Ni > Cr > Mn > Pb > Cd and Cd > Ni > Pb > Mn > Cr, respectively. The HRI values of heavy metals for both children and adults were <1, showing lack of potential health risk to the local inhabitants of the study area.

Diarylsulfonamides and their bioisosteres as dual inhibitors of alkaline phosphatase and carbonic anhydrase: Structure activity relationship and molecular modelling studies.

The effect of bioisosteric replacement of carboxamide linking group with sulfonamide linking group, on alkaline phosphatase (AP) and carbonic anhydrase (CA) inhibition activity of aromatic benzenesulfonamides was investigated. A series of carboxamide linked aromatic benzenesulfonamides 1a-1c, 2a-2d and their sulfonamide linked bioisosteres 3a-3d, 4a-4d was synthesized and evaluated for inhibitory activity against bovine tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP), intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) and bCA II. A significant increase in CA inhibition activity was observed upon bioisosteric replacement of carboxamide linking group with a sulfonamide group. Some of these compounds were identified as highly potent and selective AP inhibitors. Compounds 1b, 2b, 3d, 4d 5b and 5c were found to be selective bTNAP inhibitors, whereas compounds 1a, 1c, 2a, 2c, 2d, 3a, 3c, 4a, 4b, 4c, 5a were found to be selective bIAP inhibitors. For most active AP inhibitor 3b, detailed kinetic studies indicated a competitive mode of inhibition against tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP) and non-competitive mode of inhibition against intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP). Molecular docking studies were carried out to rationalize important binding site interactions.

Resolving conflict and promoting coordination for an integrated old-age healthcare service system in China: GMCR-AHP based decision analysis approach.

China faces a healthcare challenge due to its aging population, necessitating an integrated old-age healthcare system considering multiple stakeholders' interests. Conflict and inequality may arise from varying stakeholder interests. This study develops a conflict resolution strategy for the coordination of stakeholders involved in the old-age healthcare service system, promoting harmonization and minimizing conflict to establish an equitable system meeting elderly needs. It contributes to a robust healthcare system for comprehensive, quality care. The focus of the study is to identify relevant stakeholders and decision-makers involved in developing an integrated old-age healthcare service system and explore a feasible solution through stakeholder analysis using the Mitchell score-based technique and stakeholder theory. Decision-makers' preferences are estimated using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Solution strategies are developed through multiple stability concepts within the graph model for conflict resolution (GMCR). The conflict resolution analysis based on the integrated AHP-GMCR approach reveals that the development of an integrated old-age healthcare system is feasible by addressing potential conflicts among the stakeholders. Considering the current predicament of comprehensive medical services in China, governments should distribute authority, simplify procedures, and improve the insurance system. Furthermore, medical institutions should explore funding options, expand services, and enhance accessibility. Elderly individuals should prioritize healthy aging and seek suitable healthcare providers. Stakeholder participation is crucial for effective implementation. These recommendations enable China to advance integrated elderly care successfully, addressing challenges posed by the aging population.

Tryptophan Seed Treatment Improves Morphological, Biochemical, and Photosynthetic Attributes of the Sunflower under Cadmium Stress.

Tryptophan, as a signal molecule, mediates many biotic and environmental stress-induced physiological responses in plants. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of tryptophan seed treatment in response to cadmium stress (0, 0.15, and 0.25 mM) in sunflower plants. Different growth and biochemical parameters were determined to compare the efficiency of the treatment agent. The results showed that cadmium stress reduced the growth attributes, including root and shoot length, dry and fresh weight, rate of seed germination, and the number of leaves. Cadmium stress also significantly reduced the contents of chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll, carotenoid contents, phenolics, flavonoids, anthocyanin, and ascorbic acid. Whereas cadmium stress (0.15 and 0.25 mM) enhanced the concentrations of malondialdehyde (45.24% and 53.06%), hydrogen peroxide (-11.07% and 5.86%), and soluble sugars (28.05% and 50.34%) compared to the control. Tryptophan treatment decreased the effect of Cd stress by minimizing lipid peroxidation. Seed treatment with tryptophan under cadmium stress improved the root (19.40%) and shoot length (38.14%), root (41.90%) and shoot fresh weight (13.58%), seed germination ability (13.79%), average leaf area (24.07%), chlorophyll b (51.35%), total chlorophyll (20.04%), carotenoids (43.37%), total phenolic (1.47%), flavonoids (19.02%), anthocyanin (26.57%), ascorbic acid (4%), and total soluble proteins (12.32%) compared with control conditions. Overall, the tryptophan seed treatment showed positive effects on sunflower plants' growth and stress tolerance, highlighting its potential as a sustainable approach to improve crop performance.

Pt-N catalytic centres concisely enhance interfacial charge transfer in amines functionalized Pt@MOFs for selective conversion of CO2 to CH4.

Improving ligand-to-active metal charge transfer (LAMCT) by finely tuning the organic ligand is a decisive strategy to enhance charge transfer in metal organic frameworks (MOFs)-based catalysts. However, in most MOFs loaded with active metal catalysts, electron transmission encounters massive obstacle at the interface between the two constituents owing to poor LAMCT. Herein, amines (-NH2) functionalized MOFs (NH2-MIL-101(Cr)) encapsulated active metal Pt nanoclusters (NCs) catalysts are synthesized by the polyol reduction method and utilized for the photoreduction of CO2. Surprisingly, the introduction of -NH2 (electron donating) groups within the matrix of MIL-101(Cr) improved the electron migration through the LAMCT process, fostering a synergistic interaction with Pt. The combined experimental analysis exposed the high number of metallic Pt (Pt0) in Pt@NH2-MIL-101(Cr) catalyst through seamless electron shuttling from N of -NH2 group to excited Pt generating versatile hybrid Pt-N catalytic centres. Consequently, these versatile hybrid catalytic centres act as electro-nucleophilic centres, which enable the efficient and selective conversion of CO bond in CO2 to harvest CH4 (131.0 µmol.g-1) and maintain excellent stability and selectivity for consecutive five rounds, superior to Pt@MIL-101(Cr) and most reported catalysts. Our study verified that the precise tuning of organic ligands in MOFs immensely improves the surface-active centres, electron migration, and catalytic selectivity of the excited Pt NCs catalysts encaged inside MOFs through an improved LAMCT pathway.

Development of pH-Responsive, Thermosensitive, Antibacterial, and Anticancer CS/PVA/Graphene Blended Hydrogels for Controlled Drug Delivery.

Drug delivery techniques based on polymers have been investigated for their potential to improve drug solubility, reduce systemic side effects, and controlled and targeted administration at infection site. In this study, we developed a co-polymeric hydrogel composed of graphene sheets (GNS), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and chitosan (CS) that is loaded with methotrexate (MTX) for in vitro liver cancer treatment. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) was employed to check the structural properties and surface morphology. Moreover, tests were conducted on the cytotoxicity, hemolytic activity, release kinetics, swelling behaviour and degradation of hydrogels. A controlled release of drug from hydrogel in PBS at pH 7.4 was examined using release kinetics. Maximal drug release in six hours was 97.34%. The prepared hydrogels did not encourage the HepG2 growth and were non-hemolytic. The current study highlights the potential of GNS-based hydrogel loaded with MTX as an encouraging therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma. HepG2 cell viability of MTX-loaded CS-PVA-GNS hydrogel was (IC50 5.87 µg/200 mL) in comparison to free MTX (IC50 5.03 µg/200 mL). These outcomes recommend that hydrogels with GNS ensure improved drug delivery in cancer microenvironment while lessening adverse consequences on healthy cells.

Differential responses of Brassica napus cultivars to dual effects of magnesium oxide nanoparticles.

Magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NPs) have great potential to enhance the crop productivity and sustainability of agriculture. Still, a thorough understanding is lacking about its essentiality or toxicity and precise dose for the safe cultivation of oilseed crops. Thus, we assessed the dual effects of MgO NPs (control, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 200 mg/L) on the seed germination, growth performance, photosynthesis, total soluble protein, total carbohydrates, oxidative stress markers (hydrogen peroxide as H2O2 and superoxide anion as O2•‒), lipid peroxidation as MDA, and antioxidant defence machinery (SOD, CAT, APX, and GR activities, and GSH levels) of seven different oilseeds (Brassica napus L.) cultivars (ZY 758, ZD 649, ZD 635, ZD 619, GY 605, ZD 622, and ZD 630). Our findings revealed that low doses of MgO NPs (mainly at 10 mg/L) markedly boosted the seed germination, plant growth (shoot and root lengths) (15‒22%), and biomass (fresh and dry) (11‒19%) by improving the levels of photosynthetic pigments (14‒27%), net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm), total soluble protein and total carbohydrates (16‒36%), antioxidant defence, and reducing the oxidative stress in B. napus tissues. Among all B. napus cultivars, these beneficial effects of MgO NPs were pronounced in ZD 635. ile, elevated levels of MgO NPs (particularly at 200 mg/L) induced oxidative stress, impaired antioxidant scavenging potential, photosynthetic inhibition, protein oxidation, and carbohydrate degradation and lead to inhibit the plant growth attributes. These inhibitory effects were more pronounced in ZD 622. Collectively, low-dose MgO NPs reinforced the Mg contents, protected the plant growth, photosynthesis, total soluble carbohydrates, enzyme activities, and minimized the oxidative stress. While, the excessive MgO NP levels impaired the above-reported traits. Overall, ZD 622 was highly susceptible to MgO NP toxicity and ZD 635 was found most tolerant to MgO NP toxicity.

Constructing copper Phthalocyanine/Molybdenum disulfide (CuPc/MoS2) S-scheme heterojunction with S-rich vacancies for enhanced Visible-Light photocatalytic CO2 reduction.

Constructing a heterojunction by combining two semiconductors with similar band structures is a successful approach to obtaining photocatalysts with high efficiency. Herein, a CuPc/DR-MoS2 heterojunction involving copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) and molybdenum disulfide with S-rich vacancies (13.66%) is successfully prepared by the facile hydrothermal method. Experimental results and theoretical calculations firmly demonstrated that photoelectrons exhibit an S-scheme charge transfer mechanism in the CuPc/DR-MoS2 heterojunction. The S-scheme heterojunction system has proven significant advantages in promoting the charge separation and transfer of photogenerated carriers, enhancing visible-light responsiveness, and achieving robust photoredox capability. As a result, the optimized 3CuPc/DR-MoS2 S-scheme heterojunction exhibits photocatalytic yields of CO and CH4 at 200 and 111.6 µmol g-1h-1, respectively. These values are four times and 4.5 times greater than the photocatalytic yields of pure DR-MoS2. This study offers novel perspectives on the advancement of innovative and highly effective heterojunction photocatalysts.