Plant nutrition challenges for a sustainable agriculture of the future.

This article offers a comprehensive review of sustainable plant nutrition concepts, examining a multitude of cutting-edge techniques that are revolutionizing the modern area. The review copes with the crucial role of biostimulants as products that stimulate plant nutrition processes, including their potential for biofertilization, followed by an exploration of the significance of micronutrients in plant health and growth. We then delve into strategies for enhancing plants' tolerance to mineral nutrient contaminants and the promising realm of biofortification to increase the essential nutrients necessary for human health.

Cell response to extracellular matrix viscous energy dissipation outweighs high-rigidity sensing.

The mechanics of the extracellular matrix (ECM) determine cell activity and fate through mechanoresponsive proteins including Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP). Rigidity and viscous relaxation have emerged as the main mechanical properties of the ECM steering cell behavior. However, how cells integrate coexisting ECM rigidity and viscosity cues remains poorly understood, particularly in the high-stiffness regime.

Nanoporous Submicron Gold Particles Enable Nanoparticle-Based Localization Optoacoustic Tomography (nanoLOT).

Localization optoacoustic tomography (LOT) has recently emerged as a transformative super-resolution technique breaking through the acoustic diffraction limit in deep-tissue optoacoustic (OA) imaging via individual localization and tracking of particles in the bloodstream. However, strong light absorption in red blood cells has previously restricted per-particle OA detection to relatively large microparticles, ≈5 µm in diameter. Herein, it is demonstrated that submicron-sized porous gold nanoparticles, ≈600 nm in diameter, can be individually detected for noninvasive super-resolution imaging with LOT.

Enzymes Involved in Antioxidant and Detoxification Processes Present Changes in the Expression Levels of Their Coding Genes under the Stress Caused by the Presence of Antimony in Tomato.

Currently, there is an increasing presence of heavy metals and metalloids in soils and water due to anthropogenic activities. However, the biggest problem caused by this increase is the difficulty in recycling these elements and their high permanence in soils. There are plants with great capacity to assimilate these elements or make them less accessible to other organisms.

Hybrid hydrogels support neural cell culture development under magnetic actuation at high frequency.

The combination of hydrogels and magnetic nanoparticles, scarcely explored to date, offers a wide range of possibilities for innovative therapies. Herein, we have designed hybrid 3D matrices integrating natural polymers, such as collagen, chitosan (CHI) and hyaluronic acid (HA), to provide soft and flexible 3D networks mimicking the extracellular matrix of natural tissues, and iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) that deliver localized heat when exposed to an alternating magnetic field (AMF). First, colloidally stable nanoparticles with a hydrodynamic radius of ∼20 nm were synthesized and coated with either CHI (NPCHI) or HA (NPHA).

Effect of Thallium(I) on Growth, Nutrient Absorption, Photosynthetic Pigments, and Antioxidant Response of Plants.

plants were exposed to thallium (Tl) stress (10, 50, and 100 µM) for 7 days. The Tl toxicity altered the absorption and accumulation of other nutrients. In both the roots and the leaves, there was a decline in K, Mg, and Fe content, but an increase in Ca, Mn, and Zn.

Physiological and Molecular Responses of cv. Tempranillo Affected by Esca Disease.

Esca is a multi-fungal disease affecting grapevines. The objective of the study was to evaluate the physiological and molecular response of the grapevine cv. Tempranillo to esca disease, carried out in a vineyard under Mediterranean climatic conditions in western Spain.

Effect of Water Supplementation on Oxidant/Antioxidant Activities and Total Phenol Content in Growing Olives of the Morisca and Manzanilla Varieties.

The objective of this work was to analyse, using a time series analysis, the effect of water regime for two cultivars at three stages of ripeness, during three consecutive years. Fruit and oil yield; O production and NADH oxidation activities; polyphenol oxidase (PPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POX) activities; total phenols, flavonoid and phenylpropanoid glycoside content; and total antioxidant capacity (FRAP) were determined. All these parameters were found to depend on variety, irrigation and year.

Molecular Recognition by Silicon Nanowire Field-Effect Transistor and Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy.

Silicon nanowire (SiNW) field-effect transistors (FETs) have been developed as very sensitive and label-free biomolecular sensors. The detection principle operating in a SiNW biosensor is indirect. The biomolecules are detected by measuring the changes in the current through the transistor.

Response to Antimony Toxicity in Plants: ROS, NO, HS, and the Antioxidant System.

plants were grown hydroponically with different concentrations of Sb. There was preferential accumulation of Sb in roots. Fe and Cu decreased, while Mn decreased in roots but not in leaves.

The viscoelasticity of adherent cells follows a single power-law with distinct local variations within a single cell and across cell lines.

AFM-based force-distance curves are commonly used to characterize the nanomechanical properties of live cells. The transformation of these curves into nanomechanical properties requires the development of contact mechanics models. Spatially-resolved force-distance curves involving 1 to 2 μm deformations were obtained on HeLa and NIH 3T3 (fibroblast) cells.

Improved Accuracy of High-Throughput Phenotyping From Unmanned Aerial Systems by Extracting Traits Directly From Orthorectified Images.

The development of high-throughput genotyping and phenotyping has provided access to many tools to accelerate plant breeding programs. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)-based remote sensing is being broadly implemented for field-based high-throughput phenotyping due to its low cost and the capacity to rapidly cover large breeding populations. The Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry processes aerial images taken from multiple perspectives over a field to an orthomosaic photo of a complete field experiment, allowing spectral or morphological trait extraction from the canopy surface for each individual field plot.

Effects of Antimony on Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species (ROS and RNS) and Antioxidant Mechanisms in Tomato Plants.

This research studies the effects that Sb toxicity (0.0, 0.5, and 1.

Dynamic Walking of a Legged Robot in Underwater Environments.

In this research, the dynamic walking of a legged robot in underwater environments is proposed. For this goal, the underwater zero moment point (Uzmp) is proposed in order to generate the trajectory of the centre of the mass of the robot. Also, the underwater zero moment point auxiliary (Uzmp aux.

Influence of cultivar, irrigation, ripening stage, and annual variability on the oxidant/antioxidant systems of olives as determined by MDS-PTA.

The phenolic composition and content of olive fruit are some of the attributes that determine oil quality. This composition depends on the olive variety, the cultivation system, and the fruit's ripeness. This study considered two olive varieties (Manzanilla and Morisca), under two water regimes (irrigated and rainfed), harvested at three stages of maturation (S1, S2, and S3), over three consecutive campaigns (2011, 2012, and 2013).

Four-dimensional optoacoustic monitoring of tissue heating with medium intensity focused ultrasound.

Medium-intensity focused ultrasound (MIFU) concerns therapeutic ultrasound interventions aimed at stimulating physiological mechanisms to reinforce healing responses without reaching temperatures that can cause permanent tissue damage. The therapeutic outcome is strongly affected by the temperature distribution in the treated region and its accurate monitoring represents an unmet clinical need. In this work, we investigate on the capacities of four-dimensional optoacoustic tomography to monitor tissue heating with MIFU.

Identifying the nature of surface chemical modification for directed self-assembly of block copolymers.

In recent years, block copolymer lithography has emerged as a viable alternative technology for advanced lithography. In chemical-epitaxy-directed self-assembly, the interfacial energy between the substrate and each block copolymer domain plays a key role on the final ordering. Here, we focus on the experimental characterization of the chemical interactions that occur at the interface built between different chemical guiding patterns and the domains of the block copolymers.

Angstrom-Resolved Metal-Organic Framework-Liquid Interfaces.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of crystalline materials with a variety of applications in gas storage, catalysis, drug delivery or light harvesting. The optimization of those applications requires the characterization of MOF structure in the relevant environment. Dynamic force microscopy has been applied to follow dynamic processes of metal-organic-framework material.

Effects of antimony on redox activities and antioxidant defence systems in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) plants.

The alterations induced by the toxicity of antimony (Sb) in the roots and leaves of sunflower plants were determined. The plants were grown hydroponically with different concentrations of Sb, a heavy metal which reduces biomass production and growth. There was preferential accumulation of Sb in the tissues of the roots, with the concentrations in the leaves being much lower.

Fatty Acid and Phenolic Compound Concentrations in Eight Different Monovarietal Virgin Olive Oils from Extremadura and the Relationship with Oxidative Stability.

Olive oils have been shown to be more resistant to oxidation than other vegetable fats, mainly due to their fatty acid (FA) profile which is rich in oleic acid and to their high content of antioxidants, principally phenols and tocopherols. This has situated virgin olive oils (VOOs) among the fats of high nutritional quality. However, it is important to stress that the oil's commercial category (olive oil, virgin olive oil, extra-virgin olive oil), the variety of the source plant, and the extraction-conservation systems all decisively influence the concentration of these antioxidants and the oil's shelf-life.

The Evolution of Total Phenolic Compounds and Antioxidant Activities during Ripening of Grapes (Vitis vinifera L., cv. Tempranillo) Grown in Semiarid Region: Effects of Cluster Thinning and Water Deficit.

A study was made of how water status (rainfed vs. irrigated) and crop load (no cluster thinning vs. cluster thinning) can together affect the grapes of cv.

Comparison of RAPD, ISSR, and AFLP Molecular Markers to Reveal and Classify Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) Germplasm Variations.

Three different DNA-based techniques, Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers, were used for fingerprinting Dactylis glomerata genotypes and for detecting genetic variation between the three different subspecies. In this study, RAPD assays produced 97 bands, of which 40 were polymorphic (41.2%).

Reflexions on some aspects of the interactions among ROS, RNS, and Ca(2+) in response to a mycorrhizal or a pathogenic fungus.

In vivo redox activities in the apoplast of axenically cultured intact seedling roots (superoxide anion generation, and superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities) in contact with the compatible arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) were clearly attenuated in comparison with those in contact with the pathogenic fungus (PF) or treated with MeJA, even at the early stages of treatment. Contact of roots with the AMF did not enhance the biosynthesis of phenolic compounds (total phenolics, flavonoids, and phenylpropanoid glycosides), while contact with the PF significantly enhanced the biosynthesis of all phenolic fractions. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species both seemed to be involved in these responses from the first moments of contact, but the fluorescence imaging of roots showed that ROS were mainly accumulated in the apoplast while NO was mainly stored in the cytosol.