Qiudi Shen

Treating bone defects coupled with pathogen infections poses a formidable challenge to clinical medicine. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop orthopedic implants that provide excellent antibacterial and osteogenic properties. Of the various types, copper-based biomaterials capable of both regenerating bone and fighting infections are an effective therapeutic strategy for bone tissue engineering and therefore have attracted significant research interest. This review examines the advantages of copper-based biomaterials for biological functions and introduces these materials' antibacterial mechanisms. We summarize current knowledge about the application of copper-based biomaterials with antimicrobial and osteogenic properties in the prevention and treatment of bone infection and discuss their potential uses in the field of orthopedics. By examining both broad and in-depth research, this review functions as a practical guide to developing copper-based biomaterials and offers directions for possible future work.

As a new antioxidant, nanoceria is of significant importance in applications of medical and biological fields. In comparison with conventional organic antioxidants, nanoceria has multienzyme mimetic activity by <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">C</mml:mi><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">e</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn mathvariant="normal">4</mml:mn><mml:mo>+</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup><mml:mo>/</mml:mo><mml:msup><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">C</mml:mi><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">e</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mrow><mml:mn mathvariant="normal">3</mml:mn><mml:mo>+</mml:mo></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:math> redox cycle. This unique regenerative/autocatalytic property has been widely used in the aspects of free-radical scavenger, radiation protection, oxidative-stress-related disease, drug delivery, biosensor, tissue engineering, cancer biomarker, and anti-inflammatory. This paper reviews the latest breakthrough of nanoceria as an antioxidant in applications of medical and biological fields on the base of the authors’ research works on resistance to oxidation and cytotoxicity. The challenges of nanoceria encountered in applications in medical and biological fields are commented as well.

The initiation and induction of root primordia are of great importance for adventitious root (AR) formation in cutting propagation of horticultural and forestry crops. However, the underlying mechanisms orchestrating these early phases of AR formation remain largely unexplored. Here, we investigated the physiological and transcriptomic changes during the early AR phases in mulberry stem hardwood cuttings. The results showed that the concentrations of soluble proteins increased, whereas concentrations of soluble sugars and starch were decreased. Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and zeatin had a rapid transit peak at 6 h after planting (hAP) and declined thereafter. The activities of peroxidase and catalase persistently increased and indole-3-acetic acid oxidase was maintained at a higher stable level from 0 hAP, while the activities of polyphenol oxidase fluctuated with soluble phenolics and IAA levels. The comparative transcriptome identified 4276 common genes that were differentially regulated at -6, 0 and 54 hAP. They were separated into five clusters with distinct biological functions such as defense response and photosynthesis. Considerable common genes were assigned to pathways of sugar metabolism, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and circadian rhythm. The gene co-expression network analysis revealed three major co-expressed modules involved in stress responses, hormone signaling, energy metabolism, starch metabolism, and circadian rhythm. These findings demonstrate the positive effect of auxin on AR induction, and uncovered the crucial roles of stress responses, hormone signaling and circadian rhythm in coordinating the physiological changes during the early phases of AR formation in mulberry stem hardwood cuttings.

Graphdiyne (GDY), a new kind of two-dimensional carbon nanomaterial, has abundant chemical bonds, a highly π-conjugated structure, uniformly distributed pores, a large surface area, and good biocompatibility and has been applied in drug delivery, biosensing, antibacterial processes, and cancer therapy. Herein, this review is intended to provide an introduction of current advances in bioapplications of GDY, which covers the synthetic methods, structure and properties of GDY, and its application in antimicrobial processes, cancer therapy, biosensing, and bioimaging. Finally, we provide a perspective on future development in research relevant to GDY. We believe that this review can provide meaningful assistance for breakthroughs and innovations in the field of GDY.

Physiological and morphological traits have a considerable impact on the biomass production of fast-growing trees. To compare cultivar difference in shoot biomass and investigate its relationships with leaf functional traits in mulberry, agronomic traits and 20 physiological and morphological attributes of 3-year-old mulberry trees from eight cultivars growing in a common garden were analyzed. The cultivars Xiang7920, Yu711, and Yunsang2 had higher shoot fresh biomass (SFB), which was closely associated with their rapid leaf expansion rate, large leaf area, and high stable carbon isotope composition (δ13C). Conversely, the cultivars 7307, Husang32, Wupu, Yunguo1, and Liaolu11 were less productive, and this was primarily the result of slower leaf expansion and smaller leaf size. Growth performance was negatively correlated with leaf δ13C and positively correlated with the total nitrogen concentration, indicating that a compromise exists in mulberry between water use efficiency (WUE) (low δ13C) and high nitrogen consumption for rapid growth. Several morphological traits, including the maximum leaf area (LAmax), leaf width and length, petiole width and length, leaf number per shoot, and final shoot height were correlated with SFB. The physiological traits that were also influential factors of shoot biomass were the leaf δ13C, the total nitrogen concentration, and the water content. Among the studied leaf traits, LAmax, leaf δ13C, and concentrations of chlorophyll a and b were identified as the most representative predictor variables for SFB, accounting for 73% of the variability in SFB. In conclusion, a combination of LAmax, leaf δ13C, and chlorophyll should be considered in selection programs for high-yield mulberry cultivars.