ZIRAK, M.; AKBARI, A.; Chem. Rev. (Washington, DC, U. S.) 113 (2013) 5, 2958-3043, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/cr300176g ; Dep. Chem., Fac. Sci., Univ. Maragheh, Golshahr, Maragheh, Iran; Eng.) -Lindner 27-219

considering titanium dioxide nanoparticles (tio 2 nps) role in plant growth and especially in plant tolerance against abiotic stress, a greenhouse experiment was carried out to evaluate TiO 2 NPs effects (0, 50, 100 and 200 mg L −1) on agronomic traits of Moldavian balm (Dracocephalum moldavica L.) plants grown under different salinity levels (0, 50 and 100 mM NaCl). Results demonstrated that all agronomic traits were negatively affected under all salinity levels but application of 100 mg L −1 tio 2 nps mitigated these negative effects. TiO 2 NPs application on Moldavian balm grown under salt stress conditions improved all agronomic traits and increased antioxidant enzyme activity compared with plants grown under salinity without tio 2 NP treatment. The application of TiO 2 NPs significantly lowered H 2 o 2 concentration. In addition, highest essential oil content (1.19%) was obtained in 100 mg L −1 tio 2 nptreated plants under control conditions. Comprehensive GC/MS analysis of essential oils showed that geranial, z-citral, geranyl acetate and geraniol were the dominant essential oil components. The highest amounts for geranial, geraniol and z-citral were obtained in 100 mg L −1 tio 2 np-treated plants under control conditions. In conclusion, application of 100 mg L −1 tio 2 NPs could significantly ameliorate the salinity effects in Moldavian balm. Moldavian balm (Dracocephalum moldavica L.), a perennial herb of the Lamiaceae family and native to central Asia, naturalized in central and eastern Europe and is cultivated around the world as a medicinal plant. Essential oils and extracts of Moldavian balm have been traditionally used as a painkiller for kidney complaints, toothache and colds. In addition, it has antimicrobial activities 1 , antirheumatic, antitumor, antimutagenic, antioxidant and antiseptic properties 2. Aerial parts of Moldavian balm are important sources of monoterpene glycosides, trypanocidal terpenoids, rosmarinic acid and flavonoids 3. Salinity stress is considered as one of the main environmental factors limiting plant distribution in their natural habitats 4. Soil salinity affects about 800 million hectares of arable land worldwide. Salinity stress causes major problems regarding plant growth, development and productivity, especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world 5 manifested as changes in morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics of plants, ion toxicity (Na + and Cl −), nutritional disorders and osmotic stress. These negative impacts significantly decrease plant

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Several types of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) are being considered for direct application to soils to reduce the application and degradation of pesticides, provide micronutrients, control pathogens, and increase crop yields. This study examined the effects of different metal ENPs and their dissolved ions on the microbial community composition and enzyme activity of agricultural soil amended with biosolids. The activity of five extracellular nutrient-cycling enzymes was measured in biosolid-amended soils treated with different concentrations (1, 10, or 100 mg ENP/kg soil) of silver (nAg), zinc oxide (nZnO), copper oxide (nCuO), or titanium dioxide (nTiO) nanoparticles and their ions over a 30-day period. At 30 days, nZnO and nCuO either had no significant effect on soil enzyme activity or enhanced enzyme activity. In contrast, Ag inhibited selected enzymes when dosed in particulate or dissolved form (at 100 mg/kg). nTiO either had no significant effect or slightly decreased enzyme activity. Illumina MiSeq sequencing of microbial communities indicated a shift in soil microbial community composition upon exposure to high doses of metal ions or nAg and negligible shift in the presence of nTiO. Some taxa responded differently to nAg and Ag. This work shows how metal ENPs can impact soil enzyme activity and microbial community composition upon introduction into soils amended with biosolids, depending on their type, concentration, and dissolution behavior, hence providing much needed information for the sustainable application of nanotechnology in agriculture.

Background: Eukaryotic cells demonstrate two tightly linked vesicular transport systems, comprising intracellular vesicle transport and extracellular vesicle transport system. Intracellular transport vesicles can translocate biomolecules between compartments inside the cell, for example, proteins from the rough endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus. Whereas, the secreted vesicles so-called extracellular vesicles facilitate the transport of biomolecules, for example, nucleic acids, proteins and lipids between cells. Vesicles can be formed during the process of endocytosis or/and autophagy and not only act as mediators of intra-and inter-cellular communication but also represent pathological conditions of cells or tissues. Methods: In this review, we searched articles in PubMed, published between 2000 and 2020, with following terms: autophagy, autophagocytosis, transport vesicles, lysosomes, endosomes, exocytosis, exosomes, alone or in different combinations. The biological functions that were selected based on relevancy to our topic include cellular homeostasis and tumorigenesis. Results: The searched literature shows that there is a high degree of synergies between exosome biogenesis and autophagy, which encompass endocytosis and endosomes, lysosomes, exocytosis and exosomes, autophagocytosis, autophagosomes and amphisomes. These transport systems not only maintain cellular homeostasis but also operate synergically against fluctuations in the external and internal environment such as during tumorigenesis and metastasis. Additionally, exosomal and autophagic proteins may serve as cancer diagnosis approaches. Conclusion: Exosomal and autophagy pathways play pivotal roles in homeostasis and metastasis of tumor cells. Understanding the crosstalk between endomembrane organelles and vesicular trafficking may expand our insight into cooperative functions of exosomal and autophagy pathways during disease progression and may help to develop effective therapies against lysosomal diseases including cancers and beyond.

In this work, we analyze the Born, Bogoliubov, Green, Kirkwood, and Yvon (BBGKY) hierarchy of equations for describing the full time evolution of a many-body fermionic system in terms of its reduced density matrices (at all orders). We provide an exhaustive study of the challenges and open problems linked to the truncation of such a hierarchy of equations to make them practically applicable. We restrict our analysis to the coupled evolution of the one-and two-body reduced density matrices, where higher-order correlation effects are embodied into the approximation used to close the equations. We prove that within this approach, the number of electrons and total energy are conserved, regardless of the employed approximation. Further, we demonstrate that although most of the truncation schemes available in the literature give acceptable ground-state energy, when applied to describe driven electron dynamics, they exhibit undesirable and unphysical behavior, e.g., violation and even divergence in local electronic density, both in weakly and strongly correlated regimes. We illustrate and analyze these problems within the few-site Hubbard model. The model can be solved exactly and provides a unique reference for our detailed study of electron dynamics for different values of interaction, different initial conditions, and the large set of approximations considered here. Moreover, we study the role of compatibility between two hierarchical equations and positive semidefiniteness of reduced density matrices in the instability of electron dynamics. We show that even if the used approximation holds the compatibility, electron dynamics can still diverge when positive definitiveness is violated. We propose some partial solutions of such problems and point out the main paths for future work in order to make this approach applicable for the description of the correlated electron dynamics in complex systems.

Background The outbreak of a new virus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has now become the main health concern all over the world. Since effective antiviral treatments have not been developed until now, SARS-CoV-2 is severely affecting countries and territories around the world. Methods At the present review, articles in PubMed were searched with the following terms: mesenchymal stem cells, exosomes, coronavirus, and SARS-CoV-2, either alone or in a combination form. The most relevant selected functions were mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes and SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. Results SARS-CoV-2 could damage pulmonary cells and induce secretion of different types of inflammatory cytokines. In the following, these cytokines trigger inflammation that damages the lungs and results in lethal acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The main characteristic of ARDS is the onset of inflammation in pulmonary, hyaline formation, pulmonary fibrosis, and edema. Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (MSC-Exo) are believed to have anti-inflammatory effects and immune-modulating capacity as well as the ability to induce tissue regeneration, suggesting a significant therapeutic opportunity that could be used to SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia treatment. Besides, exosomes may serve as a biomarker, drug delivery system, and vaccine for the management of the patient with SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion MSC-Exo may serve as a promising tool in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia. However, further work needs to be carried out to confirm the efficacy of exosomes in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia.