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Journal of Environmental Management Oct 2023Organic and inorganic soil amendments are used to increase crop yields and fertilizer efficiency, as well as to improve the physical and biological properties of soil,...
Organic and inorganic soil amendments are used to increase crop yields and fertilizer efficiency, as well as to improve the physical and biological properties of soil, increase carbon sequestration, and restore contaminated and saline soils. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of various zeolite composites mixed with either lignite or leonardite on the biomass production of spring wheat and rapeseed and their root morphology. A pot experiment involved the application of the following treatments: zeolite-carbon, zeolite-vermiculite composites, both mixed with lignite or leonardite, and a control treatment with no amendments. Inorganic composites were applied in a dose of 3% and 6%. The study also included an analysis of the root morphometric parameters and aboveground biomass of spring wheat and rapeseed. The lowest productivity was observed when both crops were not enriched with fertilizers or other amendments, 24.92 g per pot and 29.83 g per pot for spring wheat and rapeseed, respectively. The application of mineral fertilizers in combination with zeolite-carbon composite gave the highest aboveground biomass of spring wheat, 110.11 g per pot. Both zeolite-carbon and zeolite-vermiculite composites modified the morphological parameters of roots, with the control treatment showing the lowest root length and dry matter. Although mineral fertilization was found to have a positive impact root development in relation to untreated control, the treatment amended with zeolite-carbon composite and leonardite exhibited the highest root length and biomass of spring wheat. No other soil amendments improved the properties of rapeseed roots.
Topics: Soil; Triticum; Brassica napus; Biomass; Fertilizers; Zeolites; Carbon
PubMed: 37536237
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118628 -
Physics in Medicine and Biology Apr 2024To evaluate the reduction in energy dependence and aging effect of the lithium salt of pentacosa-10,-12-diynoic acid (LiPCDA) films with additives including aluminum...
To evaluate the reduction in energy dependence and aging effect of the lithium salt of pentacosa-10,-12-diynoic acid (LiPCDA) films with additives including aluminum oxide (AlO), propyl gallate (PG), and disodium ethylenediaminetetracetate (EDTA).. LiPCDA films exhibited energy dependence on kilovoltage (kV) and megavoltage (MV) photon energies and experienced deterioration over time. Evaluations were conducted with added AlOand antioxidants to mitigate these issues, and films were produced with and without AlOto assess energy dependence. The films were irradiated at doses of 0, 3, 6, and 12 cGy at photon energies of 75 kV, 105 kV, 6 MV, 10 MV, and 15 MV. For the energy range of 75 kV to 15 MV, the mean and standard deviation (std) were calculated and compared for the values normalized to the net optical density (netOD) at 6 MV, corresponding to identical dose levels. To evaluate the aging effect, PG and disodium EDTA were incorporated into the films: sample C with 1% PG, sample D with 2% PG, sample E with 0.62% disodium EDTA added to sample D, and sample F with 1.23% disodium EDTA added to sample D.. Films containing AlOdemonstrated a maximum 15.8% increase in mean normalized values and a 15.1% reduction in std, reflecting a greater netOD reduction at kV than MV energies, which indicates less energy dependence in these films. When the OD of sample 1-4 depending on the addition of PG and disodium EDTA, was observed for 20 weeks, the transmission mode decreased by 8.7%, 8.3%, 29.3%, and 27.3%, respectively, while the reflection mode was 5.4%, 3.0%, 37.0%, and 34.5%, respectively.. AlOeffectively reduced the voltage and MV energy dependence. PG was more effective than disodium EDTA in preventing the deterioration of film performance owing to the aging effect.
Topics: Film Dosimetry; Aluminum Oxide; Edetic Acid; Propyl Gallate; Photons
PubMed: 38565123
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/ad39c1 -
International Journal of Molecular... Jul 2023The dental prophylactic cleaning of a damaged resin-based composite (RBC) restoration with sodium bicarbonate can change the surface characteristics and influence the...
The dental prophylactic cleaning of a damaged resin-based composite (RBC) restoration with sodium bicarbonate can change the surface characteristics and influence the repair bond strength. The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of sodium bicarbonate (SB) and aluminum oxide (AO) surface treatments on the microtensile bond strength (µTBS) of repaired, aged RBC. Bar specimens were prepared from microhybrid RBC and aged in deionized water for 8 weeks. Different surface treatments (AO air-abrasion; SB air-polishing), as well as cleaning (phosphoric acid, PA; ethylene-diamine-tetraacetic-acid, EDTA) and adhesive applications (single bottle etch-and-rinse, ER; universal adhesive, UA), were used prior to the application of the repair RBC. Not aged and aged but not surface treated RBCs were used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The repaired blocks were cut into sticks using a precision grinding machine. The specimens were tested for tensile fracture and the µTBS values were calculated. Surface characteristics were assessed using scanning electron microscopy. AO-PA-UA (62.6 MPa) showed a 20% increase in µTBS compared to the NC (50.2 MPa), which proved to be the most significant. This was followed by SB-EDTA-UA (58.9 MPa) with an increase of 15%. In addition to AO-PA-UA, SB-EDTA-UA could also be a viable alternative in the RBC repair protocol.
Topics: Composite Resins; Aluminum Oxide; Sodium Bicarbonate; Edetic Acid; Surface Properties; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Dental Materials; Dental Bonding; Tensile Strength; Materials Testing; Resin Cements
PubMed: 37511327
DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411568 -
Biotechnology Journal Nov 2023The use of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as delivery systems for biologically functional macromolecules has been explored widely in recent years due to their ability...
The use of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as delivery systems for biologically functional macromolecules has been explored widely in recent years due to their ability to protect their payload from a wide range of harsh conditions. Given the wide usage and diversity of potential applications, optimising the encapsulation efficiency by MOFs for different biological is of particular importance. Here, several protein quantitation methods and report were compared on the accuracy, practicality, limitations, and sensitivity of these methods to assess the encapsulation efficiency of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF)-8 MOFs for two common biologicals commonly used in nanomedicine, bovine serum albumin (BSA), and the enzyme catalase (CAT). Using these methods, ZIF-8 encapsulation of BSA and CAT was confirmed to enrich for high molecular weight and glycosylated protein forms. However, contrary to most reports, a high degree of variance was observed across all methods assessed, with fluorometric quantitation providing the most consistent results with the lowest background and greatest dynamic range. While bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assay has showed greater detection range than the Bradford (Coomassie) assay, BCA and Bradford assays were found to be susceptible to background from the organic "MOF" linker 2-methylimidazole, reducing their overall sensitivity. Finally, while very sensitive and useful for assessing protein quality SDS-PAGE is also susceptible to confounding artifacts and background. Given the increasing use of enzyme delivery using MOFs, and the diversity of potential uses in biomedicine, identifying a rapid and efficient method of assessing biomolecule encapsulation is key to their wider acceptance.
Topics: Metal-Organic Frameworks; Zeolites; Imidazoles; Enzymes, Immobilized; Serum Albumin, Bovine
PubMed: 37436154
DOI: 10.1002/biot.202300015 -
Food Chemistry Aug 2023Three zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) materials including ZIF-8 (HO), ZIF-8 (methanol) and ZIF-L were synthesized and applied to the adsorption and detoxification...
Three zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) materials including ZIF-8 (HO), ZIF-8 (methanol) and ZIF-L were synthesized and applied to the adsorption and detoxification of gossypol in cottonseed oil. The characterization results showed three ZIFs materials had good crystal structure, thermal stability and high specific surface area. The ZIFs materials had also good adsorption performance for gossypol and their adsorption processes can be described by the pseudo-second-order adsorption kinetic models. Adsorption isotherm analysis indicated that Langmuir model expressed a better conformity than Freundlich model, suggesting that the adsorption was the single-layer adsorption on a uniform site. Furthermore, the spiked experiment showed that the detoxification rate of ZIFs materials in vegetable oil was 72-86 %. A satisfied detoxification rate of 50-70 % was found in the detoxification experiment of real cottonseed oil samples. Therefore, these results demonstrate the great potential of using ZIFs materials as detoxification in cottonseed oil.
Topics: Imidazoles; Cottonseed Oil; Gossypol; Zeolites; Adsorption; Nanoparticles
PubMed: 36966720
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2023.135905 -
Journal of Environmental Management Jul 2023Amelioration and management of large volumes of tailings resulting from alumina refining is a major challenge owing to the high alkalinity and salinity of residues....
Amelioration and management of large volumes of tailings resulting from alumina refining is a major challenge owing to the high alkalinity and salinity of residues. Blended byproduct caps are a potential new and more cost-effective approach to tailings management, where tailings are blended with other local byproducts in order to reduce pH, salinity and toxic elements. Here, alkaline bauxite residue was blended with four byproducts (waste acid, sewage water, fly ash and eucalypt mulch) to create a range of potential capping materials. We leached and weathered materials in the glasshouse with deionized water over nine weeks to investigate if byproducts on their own or in combination improved cap conditions. Combining all four byproducts (10 wt % waste acid, 5 wt % sewage water, 20 wt % fly ash and 10 wt % eucalypt mulch) achieved lower pH (9.60) compared to any byproduct applied individually, or un-remediated bauxite residue (pH 10.7). Leaching decreased EC by dissolving and exporting salts and minerals from the bauxite residue. Fly ash addition increased organic carbon (likely from non-combusted organic material) and nitrogen, while eucalypt mulch increased inorganic phosphorus. Addition of byproducts also decreased the concentration of potentially toxic elements (e.g., Al, Na, Mo and V) and enhanced pH neutralisation. Initial pH with single byproduct treatments was 10.4-10.5, which decreased to between 9.9-10.0. Further lowering of pH and salinity as well as increased nutrient concentrations may be possible through higher addition rates of byproducts, incorporation of other materials such as gypsum, and increasing leaching/weathering time of tailings in situ.
Topics: Aluminum Oxide; Sewage; Coal Ash; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Water
PubMed: 37023607
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117852 -
Journal of Environmental Management Jul 2023The current paper refers to the study of a new approach to optimizing the adsorptive properties of geopolymers by varying the aluminosilicate precursors from kaolin (K),...
The current paper refers to the study of a new approach to optimizing the adsorptive properties of geopolymers by varying the aluminosilicate precursors from kaolin (K), metakaolin (MK), and coal fly ash (CFA) as internal synthesis factors. The simplex-augmented-centroid mixture design was applied to identify the optimal formulation from the three aluminosilicate precursors to develop a geopolymer (GP) with a distinctive structure that positively affects its dye adsorption efficiency. The variously formulated GP samples were tested for the removal of both methylene blue (MB-dye) and crystal violet dye (CV-dye) from an aqueous solution. The mathematical-statistical analysis of the experimental readings suggested that the generated special cubic models were significant, and thus the chosen approach was adequate for determining the optimum blending proportion. The optimization tools indicated that the optimal mixture from the three aluminosilicate precursors for developing a GP with high adsorption efficiency was 58% MK, 42% K, and 0% CFA. The optimized geopolymer (GP) was synthesized and then analyzed using a variety of physicochemical techniques, which revealed the presence of an amorphous N-A-S-H gel-rich porous structure as an influencing property on the geopolymer's organic dye adsorption efficiency. The dependence of the adsorption mechanism of both MB-dye and CV-dye by GP on the adsorbent dosage, contact time, initial dye concentration, temperature, and solution pH was evaluated. The isothermic and kinetic experimental readings for MB and CV-dyes adsorption by GP were well fitted to the pseudo-second-order and Freundlich models, with an exothermic, favorable, and spontaneous adsorption reaction thermodynamically. The experimental studies in the lab scale on GP produce comparable results. From these results, it has been concluded that the accuracy and feasibility of the mixture design simulation succeeded in optimizing and developing a geopolymeric sorbent material with great potential as an excellent economical agent for removing cationic dyes from aqueous media. This point represents an added value compared to traditional non-optimized geopolymer absorbents. Besides, this geopolymer material represents a significant application possibility for water treatment and remediation of hazardous dye pollutants.
Topics: Water Pollutants, Chemical; Coal Ash; Aluminum Silicates; Coloring Agents; Adsorption; Kinetics; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
PubMed: 37015145
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117853 -
Journal of the Science of Food and... Nov 2023Water stress during the growing season of the almond tree is the factor that most limits its yield. Different strategies have been studied in recent years to reduce its...
BACKGROUND
Water stress during the growing season of the almond tree is the factor that most limits its yield. Different strategies have been studied in recent years to reduce its negative effects, such as deficit irrigation and the application of reflective spray compounds. A 3-year experiment (2019-2021) was set in a factorial design in which the effect of regulated deficit irrigation and foliar kaolin spray was evaluated on morphological characteristics (weight, length, width, and thickness of the nut and kernel, shell thickness, kernel yield, double kernels, and damaged kernels), color properties, nutritional value (carbohydrates, fat, proteins and ash) and chemical parameters (free sugars and fatty acids profiles).
RESULTS
In general, the significant differences between the treatments did not have a similar trend in the 3 years of the study. Regulated deficit irrigation and kaolin had no detrimental impact on almond morphological and color characteristics. The almond free sugars concentration was relatively stable under deficit irrigation and kaolin application. On the other hand, kaolin application positively affected the synthesis of linoleic acid.
CONCLUSION
Reducing the amount of irrigation water applied to almonds contributes to the sustainability of production without negatively affecting quality and even improving some quality parameters. In general, the foliar application of kaolin did not show significant differences in the evaluated morphological parameters. However, in terms of chemical composition, kaolin led to an increase in the concentration of linoleic acid and sucrose. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
Topics: Prunus dulcis; Kaolin; Seasons; Sugars; Linoleic Acids
PubMed: 37354200
DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.12807 -
Biomacromolecules Nov 2023Biomineralization of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) provides a powerful approach for intracellular protein delivery, enabling the study of biological function and...
Biomineralization of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) provides a powerful approach for intracellular protein delivery, enabling the study of biological function and therapeutic potential of proteins. However, the potency of this approach is largely challenged by the low efficiency of current strategies for interfacing proteins with MOFs for biomineralization and intracellular delivery. Here, we report a versatile and convenient biomineralization strategy for the rapid encapsulation and enhanced delivery of proteins using MOFs, accelerated by histidine-rich proteins. We demonstrate that the histidine-rich green fluorescent protein (HGFP) can accelerate the biomineralization of MOFs by promoting the coordination between proteins and metal ions, leading to enhanced protein delivery efficiency up to 15-fold. Moreover, we show that the delivery of HGFP-fused cytotoxic ribonuclease and bacterial-derived RAS protease can effectively inhibit tumor cell growth. The strategy of promoting the biomineralization of MOFs via histidine-rich proteins for enhanced intracellular delivery could be expanded to other biomacromolecules, advancing their therapeutic potential and the biomedical scope of MOFs.
Topics: Humans; Histidine; Zeolites; Biomineralization; Metal-Organic Frameworks; Neoplasms; Green Fluorescent Proteins
PubMed: 37859395
DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.3c00706 -
Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology Aug 2023The past few decades have witnessed biodegradation of pesticides as a significant method in remediation of the environment for its specificity, efficiency and...
The past few decades have witnessed biodegradation of pesticides as a significant method in remediation of the environment for its specificity, efficiency and biocompatibility. However, the tolerability and recyclability of the enzymes in pesticide degradation and the development of enzymes that biodegrad pesticides are still urgent problems to be solved so far. Herein, a novel hyper-thermostable and chlorpyrifos-hydrolyzing carboxylesterase EstC was immobilized by biomineralization using zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF), one of the metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with highly diverse structure and porosity. Compared with free enzyme, EstC@ZIF with a cruciate flower-like morphology presented scarcely variation in catalytic efficiency and generally improved the tolerance to organic solvents or detergents. Furthermore, there was scarcely decrease in the catalytic efficiency of EstC@ZIF and it also showed good reusability with about 50% residual activity after 12 continuous uses. Notably, EstC@ZIF could be used in actual water environment with an excellent value of degradation rate of 90.27% in 120 min, and the degradation efficiency remained about 50% after 9 repetitions. The present strategy of immobilizing carboxylesterase to treat pesticide-contaminated water broadens the method of immobilized enzymes on MOFs, and envisions its recyclable applicability in globe environmental remediation.
Topics: Carboxylesterase; Chlorpyrifos; Zeolites; Water; Metal-Organic Frameworks; Pesticides
PubMed: 37532333
DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2023.105519