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.     

Propositional attitude framework requirements

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to focus attention on various important aspects and problems of propositional attitude representation in the hope of engendering fruitful discussion on these topics, and in particular in the hope that such discussion might lead to a determination of useful criteria for evaluating the merits and drawbacks of individual systems. As such, the paper does not purport to offer ‘the solutions’ to the mentioned problems, nor are the problems discussed here intended to be an exhaustive catalogue of the problems that must be solved by successful systems. The problems are, however, advanced as a useful set of criteria for evaluating systems by considering which problems are tackled, and how they are tackled.     

Spectroscopic Study of a Radio-Frequency Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge with Anodic Alumina as the Dielectric

This paper presents the fabrication and a spectroscopic study of a stable radiofrequency dielectric barrier discharge(RF DBD) in Ar with a novel dielectric,anodic alumina,at atmospheric pressure.Dielectric electrodes are fabricated from commercially available low cost impure aluminum strips by a two-step anodization process in 0.3 M solution of oxalic acid.The discharge is found to be stable with excellent spatial uniformity for the RF input power range of 30~80 W.Excitation and rotational temperatures measured in the experiment range of 1472~3255 K and 434~484 K,respectively,as the input power changes from 30 W to 80 W.These temperature ranges are suitable for surface modification applications.     

An accurate analytical I-V model for sub-90-nm MOSFETs and its application to read static noise margin modeling

We propose an accurate model to describe the I-V characteristics of a sub-90-nm metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor(MOSFET) in the linear and saturation regions for fast analytical calculation of the current.The model is based on the BSIM3v3 model.Instead of using constant threshold voltage and early voltage,as is assumed in the BSIM3v3 model,we define these voltages as functions of the gate-source voltage.The accuracy of the model is verified by comparison with HSPICE for the 90-,65-,45-,and 32-nm CMOS technologies.The model shows better accuracy than the nth-power and BSIM3v3 models.Then,we use the proposed I-V model to calculate the read static noise margin(SNM) of nano-scale conventional 6T static random-access memory(SRAM) cells with high accuracy.We calculate the read SNM by approximating the inverter transfer voltage characteristic of the cell in the regions where vertices of the maximum square of the butterfly curves are placed.The results for the SNM are also in excellent agreement with those of the HSPICE simulation for 90-,65-,45-,and 32-nm technologies.Verification in the presence of process variations and negative bias temperature instability(NBTI) shows that the model can accurately predict the minimum supply voltage required for a target yield.     

An accurate analytical Ⅰ-Ⅴ model for sub-90-nm MOSFETs and its application to read static noise margin modeling

We propose an accurate model to describe the Ⅰ-Ⅴ characteristics of a sub-90-nm metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) in the linear and saturation regions for fast analytical calcu...     

Deposition and characterization of copper indium gallium diselenide films by laser ablation and flash evaporation for use in solar cells

Copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin films have shown considerable promise for use as an absorber layer in high-efficiency solar cells. The initial results obtained from the preparation of CIGS films via laser ablation and flash evaporation are presented along with a comparison of the two deposition processes. The as-deposited CIGS films have been characterized by a variety of techniques, namely Rutherford back scattering and energy dispersive analysis using X-rays for composition measurements X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy for structure elucidation, SEM for surface examination, and the four-point probe for resistivity measurements. In essence, good-quality coatings of CIGS were produced from both deposition processes in terms of their stoichiometry, electrical and structural properties. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.