Phosphorus-based nanomaterials as a potential phosphate fertilizer for sustainable agricultural development.

Phosphorus-based nanomaterials (PNMs) have been reported to have substantial promise for promoting plant growth, improving plant tolerance mechanisms, and increasing resistance to pathogenic organisms. Recent scientific investigation has demonstrated that utilizing PNMs can enhance plant physiological growth, photosynthetic pigments, antioxidant system, metabolism, nutrient absorption, rhizosphere secretion, and soil nutrients activation. Previous research on PNMs mostly concentrated on calcium phosphate, zeolite, and chitosan, with little systematic summarization, demanding a thorough evaluation of PNMs' broader uses. In our current review article, we address the knowledge gap by classifying PNMs according to green synthesis methods and the valence state of phosphorus while elucidating the underlying mechanisms through which these PNMs facilitate plant growth. In addition, we also targeted some strategies to improve the bioavailability of PNMs, offering valuable insights for the future design and safe implementation of PNMs in agricultural practices.

Green synthesis of metal-based nanoparticles for sustainable agriculture.

The large-scale use of conventional pesticides and fertilizers has put tremendous pressure on agriculture and the environment. In recent years, nanoparticles (NPs) have become the focus of many fields due to their cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness and high performance, especially in sustainable agriculture. Traditional NPs manufacturing methods are energy-intensive and harmful to environment. In contrast, synthesizing metal-based NPs using plants is similar to chemical synthesis, except the biological extracts replace the chemical reducing agent. This not only greatly reduces the used of traditional chemicals, but also produces NPs that are more economical, efficient, less toxic, and less polluting. Therefore, green synthesized metal nanoparticles (GS-MNPs) are widely used in agriculture to improve yields and quality. This review provides a comprehensive and detailed discussion of GS-MNPs for agriculture, highlights the importance of green synthesis, compares the performance of conventional NPs with GS-MNPs, and highlights the advantages of GS-MNPs in agriculture. The wide applications of these GS-MNPs in agriculture, including plant growth promotion, plant disease control, and heavy metal stress mitigation under various exposure pathways, are summarized. Finally, the shortcomings and prospects of GS-MNPs in agricultural applications are highlighted to provide guidance to nanotechnology for sustainable agriculture.

Physiological impacts of zero valent iron, Fe3O4 and Fe2O3 nanoparticles in rice plants and their potential as Fe fertilizers.

Fe-based nanoparticles (Fe-based NPs) have great potential as a substitute for traditional Fe-fertilizer; however, their environmental risk and impact on plant growth are not fully understood. In this study, we compared the physiological impacts of three different Fe-based NP formulations: zero-valent iron (ZVI), Fe3O4 and Fe2O3 NPs, on hydroponic rice after root exposure for 2 weeks. Fe-normal (Fe(+)) and Fe-deficiency (Fe(-)) conditions were compared. Results showed that low dose (50 mg L-1) of ZVI and Fe3O4 NPs improved the rice growth under Fe(-) condition, while Fe2O3 NPs did not improve plant growth and caused phytotoxicity at high concentration (500 mg L-1). Under Fe(+) conditions, none of the Fe-based NPs exhibited positive effects on the rice plants with plant growth actually being inhibited at 500 mg L-1 evidenced by reduced root volume and leaf biomass and enhanced oxidative stress in plant. Under Fe(-) condition, low dose (50 mg L-1) of ZVI NPs and Fe3O4 NPs increased the chlorophyll content by 30.7% and 26.9%, respectively. They also alleviated plant stress demonstrated by the reduced oxidative stress and decreased concentrations of stress related phytohormones such as gibberellin and indole-3-acetic acid. Low dose of ZVI and Fe3O4 NPs treatments resulted in higher Fe accumulation in plants compared to Fe2O3 NPs treatment, by down-regulating the expression of IRT1 and YSL15. This study provides significant insights into the physiological impacts of Fe-based NPs in rice plants and their potential application in agriculture. ZVI and Fe3O4 NPs can be used as Fe-fertilizers to improve rice growth under Fe-deficient condition, which exist in many rice-growing regions of the world. However, dose should be carefully chosen as high dose (500 mg L-1 in this study) of the Fe-based NPs can impair rice growth.

Pharmacological Properties of the Medical Maggot: A Novel Therapy Overview.

In the last decade, maggot has been hailed as the miraculous "medicinal maggot" for its diverse properties, including antimicrobial, antibiofilm, anti-inflammatory, and wound healing activities. The fact that maggots show so many beneficial properties has increased the interest in these tiny larvae dramatically. Whilst there is relatively abundant clinical evidence to demonstrate the success of maggots as debridement agents, not so much emphasis has been placed on the basic science evidence, which was a combination of physical and biochemical actions. This review differs from those earlier works in that it is undertaken to provide an update of the latest scientific basis published on maggot, particularly active ingredients within maggot excretions/secretions (ES). Further investigations should focus on the isolation, identification, recombination, transgenosis, and mass production of the beneficial molecules within maggots.

Validation of an enantioselective analysis for (l)-pidolic acid by chiral gas chromatography with derivatization.

A sensitive and rapid analytical method has been validated for the enantiomeric purity determination of l-pidolic acid, a biological lactam and metabolite of glutamic acid commonly found in urine, skin, bones, brain and is available commercially as a food supplement. An efficient, two-step achiral derivatization was implemented which consisted of an alkylation step (using HCl-IPA) followed by an acylation step (using TFAA) of the carboxy and amide functional groups. This allowed detection with high sensitivity using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. The described procedure employs a CP-Chiralsil-L Val column (25m×0.25mm) at a constant flow rate of 1.5mLmin(-1), a gradient temperature program from 80°C to 160°C and an injector and detector temperature of 250°C. The proposed method was validated according to ICH Q2 standards and included such parameters as specificity, system precision, analyst repeatability, intermediate precision, accuracy, linearity, LOD/LOQ and solution stability.