Heavy metals in plants and phytoremediation - A state-of-the-art report with special reference to literature published in Chinese journals

Goal, Scope and Background. In some cases, soil, water and food are heavily polluted by heavy metals in China. To use plants to remediate heavy metal pollution would be an effective technique in pollution control. The accumulation of heavy metals in plants and the role of plants in removing pollutants should be understood in order to implement phytoremediation, which makes use of plants to extract, transfer and stabilize heavy metals from soil and water. Methods. The information has been compiled from Chinese publications stemming mostly from the last decade, to show the research results on heavy metals in plants and the role of plants in controlling heavy metal pollution, and to provide a general outlook of phytoremediation in China. Related references from scientific journals and university journals are searched and summarized in sections concerning the accumulation of heavy metals in plants, plants for heavy metal purification and phytoremediation techniques. Results and Discussion. Plants can take up heavy metals by their roots, or even via their stems and leaves, and accumulate them in their organs. Plants take up elements selectively. Accumulation and distribution of heavy metals in the plant depends on the plant species, element species, chemical and bioavailiability, redox, pH, cation exchange capacity, dissolved oxygen, temperature and secretion of roots. Plants are employed in the decontamination of heavy metals from polluted water and have demonstrated high performances in treating mineral tailing water and industrial effluents. The purification capacity of heavy metals by plants are affected by several factors, such as the concentration of the heavy metals, species of elements, plant species, exposure duration, temperature and pH. Conclusions. Phytoremediation, which makes use of vegetation to remove, detoxify, or stabilize persistent pollutants, is a green and environmentally-friendly tool for cleaning polluted soil and water. The advantage of high biomass productive and easy disposal makes plants most useful to remediate heavy metals on site. Recommendations and Outlook. Based on knowledge of the heavy metal accumulation in plants, it is possible to select those species of crops and pasturage herbs, which accumulate fewer heavy metals, for food cultivation and fodder for animals; and to select those hyperaccumulation species for extracting heavy metals from soil and water. Studies on the mechanisms and application of hyperaccumulation are necessary in China for developing phytoremediation.

Revised diagnosis of the genus Bangana Hamilton, 1822 (Pisces : Cyprinidae), with taxonomic and nomenclatural notes on the Chinese species

Most morphological characters diagnostic of the 13 Chinese species of the cyprinid genus Sinilabeo Rendahl, 1932, are identical to those of the genus Bangana Hamilton, 1822. Consequently, these 13 species are transferred to Bangana. A revised diagnosis is provided for the now-expanded genus Bangana, and a dichotomous key and taxonomic and nomenclatural notes are included for the following valid Chinese species: B. decora, B. dero, B. devdevi, B. discognathoides, B. lemassoni, B. lippa, B. rendahli, B. tonkinensis, B. tungting, B. wui, B. xanthogenys, B. yunnanensis, and B. zhui. Literature reports, by Chinese authors, of Sinilabeo dero from the upper Irrawady River basin, in Yunnan, are based on misidentifcations of B. devdevi. Sinilabeo cirrhinoides Wu and Lin in Wu, Lin, Chen, Chen and He, 1977, and S. laticeps Wu and Lin in Wu, Lin, Chen, Chen and He, 1977, are junior subjective synonyms of B. devdevi and B. lippa, respectively. Sinilabeo yunnanensis Wu, Lin, Chen, Chen and He, 1977, is an available name, and a lectotype is designated for the species. Bangana zhui ( Zheng and Chen, 1983) is a valid species distinct from B. yunnanensis.

Ancient Chinese algorithm: The Ying Buzu Shu (method of surplus and deficiency) vs Newton iteration method

Air exploratory discussion of an ancient Chinese algorithm, the Ying Buzu Shu, in about 2nd century BC, known as the rule of double false position in the West is given. In addition to pointing out that the rule of double false position is actually a translation version of the ancient Chinese algorithm, a comparison with well-known Newton iteration method is also made. If derivative is introduced, the ancient Chinese algorithm reduces to the Newton method. A modification of the ancient Chinese algorithm is also proposed, and some of applications to nonlinear oscillators are illustrated.

中国力学学会史 = A history of Chinese society of theoretical and applied mechanics

《中国力学学会史》是《中国学会史丛书》之一。是一部全面系统记述中国力学学会建立与发展历程的专著。 《中国力学学会史》全书30万字，书中不但重点对学会的初创情况、发展过程、组织建设、学术交流、分支机构等进行了专门介绍，还特别收录了记述学会重大活动情况的大事记、名人与学会发展的丰富资料和一些极有史料价值的历史照片，旨在反映学会在不同时期的活动概况及其在中国力学界中发挥的桥梁与纽带作用。 中国力学学会是中国科协的组成部分，也是我国著名的学术团体之一，仅以此书的编著出版，纪念中国科协成立50周年和中国力学学会成立50多周年。本书可供力学界和科技界有关部门及工作者、各学会相关人员、大专院校师生参阅，也可作为组织和开展国内外学术交流研究的参考资料。

Compression of Chinese document images based on morphologic analysis and pattern matching

We propose a highly efficient content-lossless compression scheme for Chinese document images. The scheme combines morphologic analysis with pattern matching to cluster patterns. In order to achieve the error maps with minimal error numbers, the morphologic analysis is applied to decomposing and recomposing the Chinese character patterns. In the pattern matching, the criteria are adapted to the characteristics of Chinese characters. Since small-size components sometimes can be inserted into the blank spaces of large-size components, we can achieve small-size pattern library images. Arithmetic coding is applied to the final compression. Our method achieves much better compression performance than most alternative methods, and assures content-lossless reconstruction. (c) 2006 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Compression of Chinese document images based on morphologic analysis and pattern matching

We propose a highly efficient content-lossless compression scheme for Chinese document images. The scheme combines morphologic analysis with pattern matching to cluster patterns. In order to achieve the error maps with minimal error numbers, the morphologic analysis is applied to decomposing and recomposing the Chinese character patterns. In the pattern matching, the criteria are adapted to the characteristics of Chinese characters. Since small-size components sometimes can be inserted into the blank spaces of large-size components, we can achieve small-size pattern library images. Arithmetic coding is applied to the final compression. Our method achieves much better compression performance than most alternative methods, and assures content-lossless reconstruction. (c) 2006 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Origin of Chinese ancient glasses;study on the earliest Chinese ancient glasses

The earliest Chinese ancient glasses before the West Han Dynasty (200 BC) from different regions are studied. The glass samples were unearthed from Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Xinjiang of China. The chemical composition of these glasses samples is analyzed by proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE) technique, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) method and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). It is shown that the glass chemical compositions belong to barium-lead silicate BaO-PbO-SiO2, potash soda lime silicate K2O (Na2O)-CaO-SiO2 (K2O/Na2O > 1), soda potash lime silicate Na2O (K2O)-CaO-SiO2 (K2O/Na2O < 1) and potash silicate K2O-SiO2 glass systems, respectively. The origins of the earliest Chinese ancient glasses are discussed from the archaeological and historical points of view. These four types of Chinese ancient glasses were all made in Chinese territory using local raw materials. The glass preparation technology was related to the Chinese ancient bronze metallurgy and proto-porcelain glaze technology. The glass technology relationship between the East and the West is analyzed at the same time.