A composite hydrogel loaded with the processed pyritum promotes bone repair via stimulate the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs.

Tissue engineering shows promise in repairing extensive bone defects. The promotion of proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) by biological scaffolds has a significant impact on bone regeneration outcomes. In this study we used an injectable hydrogel, known as aminated mesoporous silica gel composite hydrogel (MSNs-NH2@GelMA), loaded with a natural drug, processed pyritum (PP), to promote healing of bone defects. The mechanical properties of the composite hydrogel were significantly superior to those of the blank hydrogel. In vitro experiments revealed that the composite hydrogel stimulated the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, and significantly increased the expression of type I collagen (Col 1), runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx 2), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OCN). In vivo experiments showed that the composite hydrogel promoted the generation of new bones. These findings provide evidence that the composite hydrogel pyritum-loaded holds promise as a biomaterial for bone repair.

Study on the removal effect and mechanism of calcined pyrite powder on Cr(VI).

Pyrite exhibits considerable potential as an adsorbent in wastewater treatment. However, few pyrite adsorbents are directly obtained from natural pyrite, as most are composite materials that require a complex preparation process. To develop a pyrite-based adsorbent with a simple preparation process, pyrite was processed by calcination at 400, 600, and 800 °C for 4 h and ball-milled into a fine powder. The adsorption properties of the pyrite powder were systematically explored. The calcined pyrite powder was characterized by SEM-EDS and XRD. The results revealed that the pyrite calcined at 600 °C exhibited excellent adsorption properties and was primarily composed of Fe7S8. The optimum conditions for Cr(VI) removal were a temperature of 45 °C, an adsorbent dosage of 1 g, an equilibration time of 60 min, and an initial pH of 3. Moreover, the calcined pyrite powder exhibited excellent reusability, and the Cr(VI) removal rate exceeded 65% after three cycles. The Cr(VI) adsorption on pyrite can be well described by the Freundlich model and pseudo-second-order kinetic equation. The calcination temperature is the main factor affecting the adsorption performance of pyrite. Therefore, the calcined pyrite powder is expected to be an excellent adsorbent for Cr(VI) in the wastewater treatment industry.

Pyrite has shown promising development prospects in the field of wastewater purification. However, the preparation of most pyrite-based adsorbents is complicated. Upon high-temperature calcination, pyrite is used in traditional Chinese medicine clinics to promote the healing of fractures. The efficiency and underlying mechanism of Cr(VI) adsorption from water using calcined pyrite was investigated. The adsorbent was prepared using a simple method and exhibited excellent adsorption performance, thus allowing its application in preparing ore-based adsorbents for water pollution treatment.

Reducing carbon footprints and increasing net ecosystem economic benefits through dense planting with less nitrogen in double-cropping rice systems.

Excessive application of nitrogen fertilization in farmland systems can cause nitrogen wastage, environmental pollution, and increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Dense planting is one of the efficient strategies for nitrogen fertilizer reduction within rice production. However, there are paying weak attention to the integrative effect of dense planting with less nitrogen (DPLN) on carbon footprint (CF), net ecosystem economic benefit (NEEB) and its components in double-cropping rice systems. Herein, this work aims to elucidate the effect via field experiments in double-cropping rice cultivation region with the treatments set to conventional cultivation (CK), three treatments of DPLN (DR1, 14 % nitrogen reduction and 40,000 hills per ha density increase from CK; DR2, 28 % nitrogen reduction and 80,000 hills density increase; DR3, 42 % nitrogen reduction and 120,000 hills density increase), and one treatment of no nitrogen (N0). Results showed that DPLN significantly reduced average CH4 emissions by 7.56 %-36 %, while increasing annual rice yield by 2.16 %-12.37 % compared to CK. Furthermore, the paddy ecosystem under DPLN served as a carbon sink. Compared with CK, DR3 increased gross primary productivity (GPP) by 16.04 % while decreasing direct GHG emissions by 13.1 %. The highest NEEB was observed in DR3, which was 25.38 % greater than CK and 1.04-fold higher than N0. Therefore, direct GHG emissions and carbon fixation of GPP were key contributors to CF in double-cropping rice systems. Our results verified that optimizing DPLN strategies can effectively increase economic benefits and reduce net GHG emissions. DR3 achieved an optimal synergy between reducing CF and enhancing NEEB in double-cropping rice systems.

The effects of exogenous putrescine on sex-specific responses of Populus cathayana to copper stress.

We used the dioecious tree, Populus cathayana, as a model species to study plants' physiological and biochemical responses to copper (Cu) stress, exogenous putrescine (Put) treatment and their interaction. Although males accumulated higher Cu concentrations in leaves than did females under Cu stress, they did not suffer more damage than females, as reflected by changes in gas exchange, pigment contents, membrane lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS) and protein oxidation (carbonyl). Higher Cu tolerance of males was correlated with a higher H2O2 scavenging ability and proline responses, and a better maintenance of non-protein thiols (NP-SHs) and spermine (Spm) contents. We also discovered that mitigation effects of exogenous Put on Cu stress occurred, as visible as a recovery of the total chlorophyll content, and lower TBARS and carbonyl under interaction treatment when compared to Cu stress alone. Exogenous Put decreased the Cu concentration in leaves of both sexes, but to different degrees. Such effects of exogenous Put suggested that Put may play important roles in the stabilization of membrane integrity and protein structures, and it may modulate the uptake and transportation of Cu. Our results indicated that (1) males are more tolerant to Cu stress than females; (2) Put could mitigate Cu toxicity in P. cathayana, but to a different degree in males and females; (3) males are better candidates than females for Cu extraction and phytoremediation.

Populus cathayana males are less affected than females by excess manganese: comparative proteomic and physiological analyses.

The comprehension of sexually different responses in dioecious plants to excess manganese (Mn) stress requires molecular explanation. Physiological and proteomic changes in leaves of Populus cathayana males and females were analyzed after 4 wk of exposure to Mn stress. Under excess Mn conditions, shoot height and photosynthesis decreased more in females than in males. Females also showed severe browning and subcellular damage, higher Mn2+ absorption, and different antioxidant enzyme activities compared with males. There were ten differently regulated protein spots induced by excess Mn stress. They were mainly related to photosynthesis, ROS cleaning, and cell signaling associated to ROS, plant cell death, heat shock, cell defense and rescue, and gene expression and regulation. Variation in protein expression between the sexes clearly showed that males have evolved more efficient photosynthesis capacity, more stable gene expression and regulation, and better cell defense and rescue to prevent further injury under excess Mn stress.

Comparative proteomics analysis of salt response reveals sex-related photosynthetic inhibition by salinity in Populus cathayana cuttings.

Male and female poplar ( Populus cathayana Rehd.) cuttings respond differently to salinity stress. To understand these differences better, comparative morphological, physiological, and proteomics analyses were performed. Treatments with different concentrations of NaCl applied to male and female poplar cuttings for 4 weeks showed that females reacted more negatively at the morphological and physiological levels than did males, visible as shriveled leaves, decreased growth, lowered photosynthetic capacities, and greater Na(+) accumulation. The proteome analysis identified 73 proteins from 82 sexually related salt-responsive spots. They were involved in photosynthesis, protein folding and assembly, synthesis and degradation, carbon, energy and steroid metabolism, plant stress and defense, redox homeostasis, signal transduction, and so forth. The sex-related changes of these proteins were consistent with the different morphological and physiological responses in males and females. In conclusion, the higher salt resistance of male P. cathayana cuttings is related to higher expression and lower degradation of proteins in the photosynthetic apparatus, more effective metabolic mechanism and protective system, and greater capacity of hydrogen peroxide scavenging. This research allows us to further understand the possible different management strategies of cellular activities in male and female Populus when confronted by salt stress.

Sex-specific responses and tolerances of Populus cathayana to salinity.

Responses of males and females to salinity were studied in order to reveal sex-specific adaptation and evolution in Populus cathayana Rehd cuttings. This dioecious tree species plays an important role in maintaining ecological stability and providing commercial raw material in southwest China. Female and male cuttings of P. cathayana were treated for about 1 month with 0, 75 and 150 mM NaCl. Plant growth traits, gas exchange parameters, chlorophyll pigments, intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi), membrane system injuries, ion transport and ultrastructural morphology were assessed and compared between sexes. Salt stress caused less negative effects on the dry matter accumulation, growth rate of height, growth rate of stem base diameter, total number of leaves and photosynthetic abilities in males than in females. Relative electrolyte leakage increased more in females than in males under salinity stress. Soil salinity reduced the amounts of leaf chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll, and the chlorophyll a/b ratio more in females than in males. WUEi decreased in both sexes under salinity. Regarding the ultrastructural morphology, thylakoid swelling in chloroplasts and degrading structures in mitochondria were more frequent in females than in males. Moreover, females exhibited significantly higher Na(+) and Cl(-) concentrations in leaves and stems, but lower concentrations in roots than did males under salinity. In all, female cuttings of P. cathayana are more sensitive to salinity stress than males, which could be partially due to males having a better ability to restrain Na(+) transport from roots to shoots than do females.

Comparative physiological, ultrastructural and proteomic analyses reveal sexual differences in the responses of Populus cathayana under drought stress.

Drought is a major abiotic stress, limiting the survival and growth of young plants. However, little is known about sex-dependent responses to drought at the proteome level. In this study, we carried out investigations on comparative proteomics, combined with physiological and organelle structure analyses, in males and females of Populus cathayana Rehd. Three-month-old poplar cuttings were treated at 30% of field capacity and at 100% field capacity as a control in a greenhouse for 40 days. Drought greatly inhibited plant growth, damaged the photosynthetic system and destructed the structures of chloroplasts, mitochondria and cellular membranes. However, males suffered less from the adverse effects of drought than did females. Using 2-DE, 563 spots were detected, of which 64 spots displayed significant drought effect and 44 spots displayed a significant sex by drought interaction effect. The results suggest that the different responses to drought stress detected between the sexes have a close relationship to the changes in the expression of sex-dependent proteins, including, e.g. photosynthesis-related proteins, homeostasis-related proteins and stress response proteins. These proteins could contribute to a physiological advantage under drought, giving potential clues for understanding sexual differences in the performance of plants in different environments.