Nanomaterial-aided seed regeneration in the global warming scenario: multiwalled carbon nanotubes, gold nanoparticles and heat-aged maize seeds

O-Carboxymethyl chitosan nanoparticles: A novel approach to enhance water stress tolerance in maize seedlings

Water stress, a significant abiotic stressor, significantly hampers crop growth and yield, posing threat to food security. Despite the promising potential of nanoparticles (NPs) in enhancing plant stress tolerance, the precise mechanisms underlying the alleviation of water stress using O-Carboxymethyl chitosan nanoparticles (O-CMC-NPs) in maize remain elusive. In this study, we synthesized O-CMC-NPs and delved into their capacity to mitigate water stress (waterlogging and drought) in maize seedlings. Structural characterization revealed spherical O-CMC-NPs with a size of approximately 200 nm. These NPs accumulated near the seed embryo and root tip, resulting in a substantial increase in fresh and dry weights. The application of O-CMC-NPs to water-stressed maize seedlings remarkedly elevated the chlorophyll content and activity of various antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), and polyphenol oxidase (PPO). The malondialdehyde (MDA) content was significantly reduced compared to the untreated control. Additionally, the expression of stress-responsive genes, such as ZmSOD, ZmCAT, ZmPOD, ZmTIFY, ZmACO, ZmPYL2, ZmNF-YC12, and ZmEREB180, were significantly upregulated in the O-CMC-NPs treated seedlings. These findings unveil the novel role of O-CMC-NPs in enhancing plant stress tolerance, suggesting their potential application in safeguarding maize seedlings under water stress conditions and facilitating the recovery from oxidative damage.

A Public Health-Oriented New Energy Industry Competitiveness Evaluation

This paper develops a regional new energy industry (NEI) competitiveness evaluation index system based on the theoretical framework of the "diamond model" and the unique characteristics of the new energy industry and made an empirical analysis of Jilin province with analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. The analysis results show that the new energy industry in Jilin Province has a good foundation, and the government's role, talent support, technological innovation, and market factors are acceptable. However, due to location factors and resource endowments, regional GDP and per capita consumption expenditure are low. The lack of intrinsic motivation of industrial competitive advantage has resulted in the poor overall competitiveness of the new energy industry in Jilin Province. Then, it is advised to take targeted measures to work closely with national NEI development strategy, optimize the industrial technology innovation ability and the talent support, actively guide social capital flows and new energy consumption, optimize regional energy consumption structure and industrial structure by creating a complete NEI chain, and revitalize the whole economy.