Application of ferrous sulfate alleviates negative impact of cadmium in rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.)

Soil contamination with toxic heavy metals [such as cadmium (Cd)] is becoming a serious global problem due to rapid development of social economy. Iron (Fe), being an important element, has been found effective in enhancing plant tolerance against biotic and abiotic stresses. The present study investigated the extent to which different levels of Ferrous sulphate (FeSO₄) modulated the Cd tolerance of rice (Oryza sativa L.), when maintained in artificially Cd spiked regimes. A pot experiment was conducted under controlled conditions for 146 days, by using natural soil, mixed with different levels of CdCl₂ [0 (no Cd), 0.5 and 1 mg/kg] together with the exogenous application of FeSO₄ at [0 (no Fe), 1.5 and 3 mg/kg] levels to monitor different growth, gaseous exchange characteristics, oxidative stress, antioxidative responses, minerals accumulation, organic acid exudation patterns of O. sativa. Our results depicted that addition of Cd to the soil significantly (P < 0.05) decreased plant growth and biomass, gaseous exchange parameters, mineral uptake by the plants, sugars (soluble, reducing, and non-reducing sugar) and altered the ultrastructure of chloroplasts, plastoglobuli, mitochondria, and many other cellular organelles in Cd-stressed O. sativa compared to those plants which were grown without the addition of Cd in the soil. However, Cd toxicity boosted the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by increasing the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), which is the indication of oxidative stress in O. sativa and was also manifested by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) contents and electrolyte leakage to the membrane bounded organelles. Although, activities of various antioxidative enzymes like superoxidase dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and non-enzymatic antioxidants like phenolics, flavonoid, ascorbic acid, anthocyanin and proline contents increased up to a Cd level of 0.5 mg/kg in the soil but were significantly diminished at the highest Cd level of 1 mg/kg in the soil compared to those plants which were grown without the addition of Cd in the soil. The negative impacts of Cd injury were reduced by the application of FeSO₄ which increased plant growth and biomass, improved photosynthetic apparatus, antioxidant enzymes, minerals uptake together with diminished exudation of organic acids as well as oxidative stress indicators in roots and shoots of O. sativa by decreasing Cd retention in different plant parts. These results shed light on the effectiveness of FeSO₄ in improving the growth and upregulation of antioxidant enzyme activities of O. sativa in response to Cd stress. However, further studies at field levels are required to explore the mechanisms of FeSO₄-mediated reduction of the toxicity of not only Cd, but possibly also other heavy metals in plants.     

AlF3-modified LiCoPO4 for an advanced cathode towards high energy lithium-ion battery

Surface-interface reaction between the electrode and electrolyte plays a key role in lithium-ion storage properties, especially for high voltage cathode such as LiCoPO₄ and Ni-riched cathode. Generally, surface modification is an effective method to improve the electrochemical performance of electrode materials. Herein, in order to revise the LiCoPO₄ cathode with desirable properties, uniform AlF₃-modified LiCoPO₄ (LiCoPO₄@AlF₃) cathode materials in nano-sized distribution are synthesized. XRD result indicates that there is no structural transformation observed after AlF₃ coating. TEM characterization and XPS analysis reveal that the surface of LiCoPO₄ particle is coated by a nano-sized uniform AlF₃ layer. Further, the electrochemical results indicate that AlF₃ layer significantly improves the cycling and rate performances of LiCoPO₄ cathode within the voltage range of 3.0–5.0 V. After a series of optimization, 4 mol% AlF₃-coated LiCoPO₄ material exhibits the best properties including an initial discharge capacity of 159 mA h g^?1 at 0.1 C with 91% capacity retention after 50 cycles, especially a discharge capacity of 90 mA h g^?1 can be obtained at 1 C rate. CV curves indicate that the polarization of cathode is reduced by AlF₃ layer and EIS curves reveal that AlF₃ layer relieves the increase of resistance to facilitate Li-ion transfer at the interface between electrode and electrolyte during the cycling process. The enhanced electrochemical performances are attributed to that the AlF₃ layer can stabilize the interface between the cathode and electrolyte, form steady SEI film and suppress the electrolyte continuous decomposition at 5 V high voltages. This feasible strategy and novel characteristics of LiCoPO₄@AlF₃ could promise the prospective applications in the stat-art of special lithium-ion battery with high energy and/or power density.     

A comparison of primary stakeholders’ views on the deployment of biometric technologies in border management: Case study of SMart mobILity at the European land borders

Advances in technology have a substantial impact on every aspect of our lives, ranging from the way we communicate to the way we travel. The Smart mobility at the European land borders (SMILE) project is geared towards the deployment of biometric technologies to optimize and monitor the flow of people at land borders. However, despite the anticipated benefits of deploying biometric technologies in border control, there are still divergent views on the use of such technologies by two primary stakeholders–travelers and border authorities. In this paper, we provide a comparison of travelers' and border authorities' views on the deployment of biometric technologies in border management. The overall goal of this study is to enable us to understand the concerns of travelers and border guards in order to facilitate the acceptance of biometric technologies for a secure and more convenient border crossing. Our method of inquiry consisted of in-person interviews with border guards (SMILE project's end users), observation and field visits (to the Hungarian-Romanian and Bulgarian-Romanian borders) and questionnaires for both travelers and border guards. As a result of our investigation, two conflicting trends emerged. On one hand, border guards argued that biometric technologies had the potential to be a very effective tool that would enhance security levels and make traveler identification and authentication procedures easy, fast and convenient. On the other hand, travelers were more concerned about the technologies representing a threat to fundamental rights, personal privacy and data protection.     

锚索的锈蚀、防护及永久锚索的合理结构

随着锚索在岩土工程加固中的普及，近期人们普遍关注的焦点是锚索的永久性问题。锚索的永久性与锚索的结构和锚索材料有关，也与锚索所处环境及人为因素有关。本试图就锚索可能遭到的破坏因素及防护，提出永久锚索的合理结构，供同行参考。     

板柱边节点的有限元分析

采用有限元分析方法对钢筋混凝土板柱边节点的3种不同形式在使用荷载作用下的挠度及应力作了对比分析,认为板柱边节点有与中节点类似的破坏模式,可参照中节点的设计方法;边板带外挑同时设置边梁的边节点形式有较好的力学性能,可优先选用。     

关于瓦斯、煤尘爆炸监控预防综合一体化可行性研究

为了避免瓦斯爆炸及瓦斯爆炸引发煤尘二次爆炸,最大限度降低爆炸强度,设想对井下电子监测监控系统进行综合升级改造研究,形成瓦斯、风量、煤尘系统、关联、综合监测,并根据监测数据,主动做出相关防范动作,从而实现井下瓦斯、煤尘爆炸监测监控、预防、治理的系统化、一体化、自动化,通过分析研究,该设想具有科学性和可操作性,对预防瓦斯爆炸、遏制瓦斯爆炸引发二次爆炸具有积极作用。     

网络系统资源数据的脆弱性漏洞防御控制仿真

当前漏洞防御控制方法存在着无法准确区分数据类型或脆弱性,需要较高的能量消耗和难以抵御某些未知攻击等不足。针对这些不足,提出网络系统资源数据脆弱性漏洞防御控制方法。根据属性划分网络系统运行数据和历史资源,属性划分后根据漏洞特征相关参数构建强关联规则,结合脆弱性漏洞辨识矩阵和数据关联规则构建漏洞检测模型;计算脆弱性漏洞利用难度,将防御任务优选问题描述为防御成本不高于给定值的条件下,获取造成最小损失的防御措施集的过程。把防御任务优选多目标优化问题转换成单目标优化问题,采用改进的蚁群算法求解优化问题,生成最优防御控制方案。实验结果表明,所提方法可以有效防御已知数据攻击和大部分未知数据攻击,且所需能耗较低。     

Carbon tariffs and cooperative outcomes

In the absence of an international environmental agreement (IEA) on climate change, a country may be reluctant to unilaterally implement environmental actions, as this may lead to the relocation of firms to other, lax-on-pollution countries. To avoid this problem, while still taking care of the environment, a country may impose a carbon tariff that adjusts for the differences between its own carbon tax and the other country's tax. We consider two countries with a representative firm in each one, and characterize and contrast the equilibrium strategies and outcomes in three scenarios. In the first (benchmark) scenario, in a first stage the regulators in the two countries determine the carbon taxes noncooperatively, and in a second stage, the firms compete à la Cournot. In the second scenario, the regulators cooperate in determining the carbon taxes, while the firms still play a noncooperative Cournot game. In the third scenario, we add another player, e.g., the World Trade Organization, which announced a border tax in a prior stage; the game is then played as in the first scenario. Our two major results are (i) a border-tax adjustment (BTA) mimics quite well the cooperative solution in setting the carbon taxes as in scenario two. This means that a BTA may be a way around the lack of enthusiasm for an IEA. (ii) All of our simulations show that a partial correction of the difference in taxes is sufficient to maximize total welfare. In short, the conclusion is that a BTA may be used as a credible threat to achieve an outcome that is very close to the cooperative outcome.     

空间信息系统在弹道导弹防御中的效能评估框架

针对空间信息系统在弹道导弹防御(BMD)中的效能评估问题,从系统整体性和复杂性角度提出了空间信息系统在BMD中的效能评估框架.该框架主要包括整体性分析、综合集成以及结果分析3个部分.在整体性分析中,通过系统学模型确定导弹防御的边界、要素集和关系集.在综合集成中,应用基于Agent的建模与仿真方法对系统要素进行建模,并对...     

陕甘宁边区的科普及其影响

科技普及是中国共产党建设陕甘宁边区的重要措施。边区科普坚持了科学为战争服务的原则,提出"科学的方法应该与科学的任务一致",理论与实践一致的理论。实践中重视干部和技术人员培养,重视群众教育,重视用科学解决群众迫切需要的问题,制定许多政策法规。建立科学机构,积极宣传报道科技,举办展览会。发动干部深入基层,用科技解决问题,取得了良好效果,巩固了边区,使群众和党紧密团结,为后来的胜利奠定了基础。陕甘宁边区的科普理论与实践对新中国的科普产生了重大历史影响。