Can miscanthus C4 photosynthesis compete with festulolium C3 photosynthesis in a temperate climate?

Miscanthus, a perennial grass with C4 photosynthesis, is regarded as a promising energy crop due to its high biomass productivity. Compared with other C4 species, most miscanthus genotypes have high cold tolerances at 14ºC. However, in temperate climates, temperatures below 14ºC are common and our aim was to elucidate cold tolerances of different miscanthus genotypes and compare with a C3 perennial grass - festulolium. Eleven genotypes of M. sacchariflorus, M. sinensis, M. tinctorius, M. x giganteus as well as festulolium were grown under warm (24/20ºC, day/night) and three under cold (14/10ºC, 10/8ºC and 6/4ºC) conditions in a controlled environment. Measurements of photosynthetic light response curves, operating quantum yield of photosystem II (ΦPSII), net photosynthetic rate at a PAR of 1000 lmol m-2 s-1 (A1000) and dark-adapted chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) were made at each temperature. In addition, temperature response curves were measured after the plants had been grown at 6/4ºC. The results showed that two tetraploid M. sacchariflorus and the standard triploid M. x giganteus cv. Hornum retained a significantly higher photosynthetic capacity than other miscanthus genotypes at each temperature level and still maintained photosynthesis after growing for a longer period at 6/4ºC. Only two of five measured miscanthus genotypes increased photosynthesis immediately after the temperature was raised again. The photosynthetic capacity of festulolium was significantly higher at 10/8ºC and 6/4ºC than of miscanthus genotypes. This indicates that festulolium may be more productive than the currently investigated miscanthus genotypes in cool, maritime climates. Within miscanthus, only one M. sacchariflorus genotype exhibited the same photosynthetic capacity as Hornum at both cold conditions and when the temperature was raised again. Therefore, this genotype could be useful for breeding new varieties with an improved cold tolerance vis-a-vis Hornum, and be valuable in broadening the genetic diversity of miscanthus for more widespread cultivation in temperate climates

Comparison of osteogenic capability of 3D-printed bioceramic scaffolds and granules with different porosities for clinical translation

Pore parameters, structural stability, and filler morphology of artificial implants are key factors influencing the process of bone tissue repair. However, the extent to which each of these factors contributes to bone formation in the preparation of porous bioceramics is currently unclear, with the two often being coupled. Herein, we prepared magnesium-doped wollastonite (Mg-CSi) scaffolds with 57% and 70% porosity (57-S and 70-S) via a 3D printing technique. Meanwhile, the bioceramic granules (57-G and 70-G) with curved pore topography (IWP) were prepared by physically disrupting the 57-S and 70-S scaffolds, respectively, and compared for in vivo osteogenesis at 4, 10, and 16 weeks. The pore parameters and the mechanical and biodegradable properties of different porous bioceramics were characterized systematically. The four groups of porous scaffolds and granules were then implanted into a rabbit femoral defect model to evaluate the osteogenic behavior in vivo. 2D/3D reconstruction and histological analysis showed that significant bone tissue production was visible in the central zone of porous granule groups at the early stage but bone tissue ingrowth was slower in the porous scaffold groups. The bone tissue regeneration and reconstruction capacity were stronger after 10 weeks, and the porous architecture of the 57-S scaffold was maintained stably at 16 weeks. These experimental results demonstrated that the structure-collapsed porous bioceramic is favorable for early-stage osteoconduction and that the 3D topological scaffolds may provide more structural stability for bone tissue growth for a long-term stage. These findings provide new ideas for the selection of different types of porous bioceramics for clinical bone repair

Two-Level Programming Model Based on Cooperative Operation Study of Stakeholders in Hazardous Chemical Storage

Due to the uncertainty of risk occurrence and the severity of accident consequences in the process of hazardous chemical storage, there are many stakeholders involved in the management and supervision of hazardous chemical storage, and their interest appeals are different. On the basis of ensuring storage safety, in order to balance the interests of stakeholders and achieve cooperative operation, a two-level programming model considering the maximization of social welfare and the interests of warehousing enterprises was proposed. First, the upper model mainly refers to the regulatory department represented by the government, including the daily supervision cost, risk loss cost, risk compensation cost, and penalty coefficient formulated by combining various indicators. In the lower model, the comprehensive risk level of the warehouse is determined by the warehouse enterprise. Based on this, the supervision coefficient is determined. Combined with the punishment coefficient, the warehousing operation cost, warehousing supervision cost, and the punishment cost when the accident occurs under different risk levels are determined. The relevant case analysis shows that, compared with the evolutionary game model, the social supervision cost of the upper level and the enterprise cost of the lower level can be reduced by 0.49% and 30.43% respectively. Compared with the traditional improved particle swarm optimization algorithm, the proposed algorithm can reduce the supervision cost of the upper society and the lower enterprise by 0.11% and 7.05%, respectively, thus achieving a better supervision effect at a relatively low cost

Nitrogen Application Improved Photosynthetic Productivity, Chlorophyll Fluorescence, Yield and Yield Components of Two Oat Genotypes under Saline Conditions

: Understanding the interaction between salinity and nitrogen (N) nutrition is of great economic importance to improve plant growth and grain yield for oat plants. The objective of this study was to investigate whether N application could alleviate the negative effect of salinity (NaCl) stress on oat physiological parameters and yield performance. Two oat genotypes with contrasting salt tolerance response (6-SA120097, a salt-tolerant genotype SA and 153-ND121147, salt-sensitive ND) were grown under four N rates (0, 100, 200, and 400 mg N pot−1) in non-saline and saline (100 mM NaCl) conditions. The results showed that salinity, N fertilization and their interaction significantly affected the photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (aNUE), physiological nitrogen efficiency (pNUE) and apparent nitrogen recovery (ANR), seed number, and grain yield. Saline stress reduced gas exchange rate, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), grain yield, and yield components. N fertilization increased photosynthetic productivity and chlorophyll fluorescence, resulting in improved grain yields and yield components for both genotypes. On average, the photosynthetic rate was increased by 38.7%, 74.1%, and 98.8% for SA and by 49.8%, 77.6%, and 110% for ND, respectively, under the N rates of 100, 200, and 400 mg N pot−1, as compared with non-fertilized treatment. In addition, grain yield was increased by 80.6% for genotype SA and 88.7% for genotype ND under higher N application rate (200 mg N pot−1) in comparison with the non-nitrogen treatment. Our experimental results showed that an increase of N supply can alleviate the negative effects induced by salinity stress and improved plant growth and yield by maintaining the integrity of the photosynthesis and chlorophyll fluorescence processes of oat plants, which provides a valuable agronomic strategy for improving oat production in salt-affected soils

Responses of Foreign GA₃ Application on Seedling Growth of Castor Bean (<i>Ricinus communis</i> L.) under Salinity Stress Conditions

Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.), a promising bioenergy crop, is readily planted in marginal lands like saline soils. A controlled experiment was conducted to explore the possibility of using gibberellic acid (GA3) as a promoter for caster bean grown under NaCl conditions and to try to determine the most appropriate concentration of GA3 for seedling growth. The seeds of salt-tolerant cultivar Zibi 5 were firstly soaked with 0, 200, 250, and 300 &#181;M GA3 for 12 h and then cultured with 1/2 Hoagland solution containing 0, 50, and 100 mM NaCl in pots filled with sand. Plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, dry mater of each organ, activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), soluble protein, and proline content in the leaves were examined. Plant height and stem diameter, SOD, and POD activity was significantly highest in the treatment of 250 &#181;M GA3 under salt concentration of 50 mM NaCl among all the testing days; protein content was highest when GA3 concentration was 250 &#181;M under 100 mM NaCl treatment. This indicated that caster bean seed soaking with 250 &#181;M GA3 could be the most suitable concentration for promoting seedling growth of caster bean, improving their stress resistance

Table1_Comparison of osteogenic capability of 3D-printed bioceramic scaffolds and granules with different porosities for clinical translation.DOCX

Pore parameters, structural stability, and filler morphology of artificial implants are key factors influencing the process of bone tissue repair. However, the extent to which each of these factors contributes to bone formation in the preparation of porous bioceramics is currently unclear, with the two often being coupled. Herein, we prepared magnesium-doped wollastonite (Mg-CSi) scaffolds with 57% and 70% porosity (57-S and 70-S) via a 3D printing technique. Meanwhile, the bioceramic granules (57-G and 70-G) with curved pore topography (IWP) were prepared by physically disrupting the 57-S and 70-S scaffolds, respectively, and compared for in vivo osteogenesis at 4, 10, and 16 weeks. The pore parameters and the mechanical and biodegradable properties of different porous bioceramics were characterized systematically. The four groups of porous scaffolds and granules were then implanted into a rabbit femoral defect model to evaluate the osteogenic behavior in vivo. 2D/3D reconstruction and histological analysis showed that significant bone tissue production was visible in the central zone of porous granule groups at the early stage but bone tissue ingrowth was slower in the porous scaffold groups. The bone tissue regeneration and reconstruction capacity were stronger after 10 weeks, and the porous architecture of the 57-S scaffold was maintained stably at 16 weeks. These experimental results demonstrated that the structure-collapsed porous bioceramic is favorable for early-stage osteoconduction and that the 3D topological scaffolds may provide more structural stability for bone tissue growth for a long-term stage. These findings provide new ideas for the selection of different types of porous bioceramics for clinical bone repair.</p