The effects of indole-acyl esters (ID), NH 4 NO 3 (N), and KH 2 PO 4 (P), on the mitigation of the toxic effects of Cd and Pb and their concentration in Jatropha curcas L. from contaminated soils was investigated. The concentrations of ID, N, and P were optimized (0.1 mL·L -1 , 7 mM, and 2.5 mM, respectively) and they were applied in various combinations to the contaminated soils of potted plants of J. curcas. The results showed that ID together with the N and P fertilizers, increased plant biomass and improved the mitigating effects of the N-P treatments on Cd and Pb toxicity. Plants growing under ID-N-IP treatments had high whole plant biomasses, high concentrations of P, N, Pb and Cd in whole plants, as well as enhanced activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD). These results point to the phytoremediation ability of J. curcas. We propose a new methodology that can be utilized to study the effects and interactions of multiple factors on plant growth.

Coping with the characteristic of flow shop scheduling problem with uncertain due date, fuzzy arithmetic on fuzzy numbers is applied to describe the problem, and then a new hybrid algorithm model which integrate particle swarm optimization into the evolutionary mechanism of the knowledge evolution algorithm is presented to solve the problem. By the evolutionary mechanism of knowledge evolution algorithm, we can exploit the global search ability. By the operating characteristic of PSO, we can enhance the local search ability. The algorithm is tested with MATLAB simulation. The result, compared with Genetic algorithm and modified particle swarm optimization, shows the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

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Fungal infection of grape berries (Vitis vinifera) by Botrytis cinerea frequently coincides with harvest, impacting both the yield and quality of grape and wine products. A rapid and non-destructive method for identifying B. cinerea infection in grapes at an early stage prior to harvest is critical to manage loss. In this study, zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) crystal was applied as an absorbent material for volatile extraction from B. cinerea-infected and healthy grapes in a vineyard followed by thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The performance of ZIF-8 to absorb and trap targeted volatiles was evaluated with a standard solution of compounds and with a whole bunch of grapes enclosed in a glass container to maintain standard sampling conditions. Results from sampling methods were then correlated to B. cinerea infection in grapes as measured and determined by Genus specific antigen quantification. Trace levels of targeted compounds reported as markers of grape B. cinerea infection were successfully detected with in-field sampling. Peak area counts for volatiles 3-octanone, 1-octen-3-one, 3-octanol, and 1-octen-3-ol extracted using ZIF-8 were significantly higher than values achieved using Tenax®-TA from field testing and demonstrated good correlation with B. cinerea infection severities determined by B. cinerea antigen detection.

Fungal infection of grape berries (Vitis vinifera) by Botrytis cinerea frequently coincides with harvest, impacting both the yield and quality of grape and wine products. A rapid and non-destructive method for identifying B. cinerea infection in grapes at an early stage prior to harvest is critical to manage loss. In this study, zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) crystal was applied as an absorbent material for volatile extraction from B. cinerea infected and healthy grapes in a vineyard, followed by thermal desorption gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The performance of ZIF-8 in regard to absorbing and trapping the targeted volatiles was evaluated with a standard solution of compounds and with a whole bunch of grapes enclosed in a glass container to maintain standard sampling conditions. The results from the sampling methods were then correlated to B. cinerea infection in grapes, as measured and determined by genus-specific antigen quantification. Trace levels of targeted compounds reported as markers of grape B. cinerea infection were successfully detected with in-field sampling. The peak area counts for volatiles 3-octanone, 1-octen-3-one, 3-octanol, and 1-octen-3-ol extracted using ZIF-8 were significantly higher than values achieved using Tenax®-TA from field testing and demonstrated good correlation with B. cinerea infection severities determined by B. cinerea antigen detection.