Bioactive Modified Non-Wovens as a Novel Approach of Plants Protection against Invasive Slugs

Invasive slugs generate significant problems in the area of horticultural and agricultural production. Despite the multitude of methods to reduce the pest population, including preventive, mechanical, agrotechnical, cultivation, biological, and chemical treatments, no effective plant protection strategy has been developed so far. In this paper, a solution based on modified non-woven fabric with bioactive molluscicidal properties using the extract of tansy flower, metaldehyde, and abamectin (Vertigo® 018 EC) was proposed. All modified mats show significant anti-slug properties in comparison to control, and molluscicidal properties depend on the type of active substance. Non-woven modified with commonly used metaldehyde demonstrated fast action against slugs and presents the highest efficiency. The effectiveness of non-woven mats with Vertigo® 018 EC is lower than for the mats with metaldehyde but higher than for the mats modified with tansy flower extract. The proposed solution will enable removing and neutralization of molluscicide from the fields, after the efficient pest control, according to circular economy principles. Moreover, it may allow for better control of the molluscicide release to the environment in comparison to widely used pellets, and contribute to the virtual protection of plants against invasive slugs.

Research on the historical and cultural value of and protection strategy for rammed earth watchtower houses in Chongqing, China

Chinese watchtower houses are part of the unique human cultural heritage of the world’s vernacular architectures. Many earthen manor watchtower houses in Chongqing, China, have absorbed the characteristics of other tower houses across the country and have brought together various types of watchtower construction techniques. They are important connection points for the integrity of the Chinese watchtower house as a comprehensive architectural cultural heritage system. They can be a typical sample of Chinese Han classical towers. These buildings are indispensable parts of the Chinese residential watchtower system and have important cultural protection value. However, due to the general lack of excavation and attention to their historical and cultural value, these buildings are on the verge of disappearing. Although they have lost their original architectural functions, they have important value in terms of their building materials, technical composition and artistic modelling. They can stimulate special emotional resonance and become an important bridge that maintains the cultural connection between ancient and modern humans. Therefore, discussing the historical and cultural value of Chongqing rammed earth watchtower houses, the strategy for heritage protection and utilisation is of far-reaching significance for Chinese watchtower dwellings.

Transient DC Over-Voltage Protection for ITER PF AC/DC Converter

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) poloidal field (PF) AC/DC converters are composed by thyristor-based phase controlled converter modules. As the core component of ITER PF AC/DC converter, the thyristor is very sensitive to over-voltage and damaged in microseconds, therefore, the transient over-voltage protection strategy is desperately essential to ensure the converter safety operation. In this paper, a nanosecond respond and high reliability protection strategy which combined by Metal Oxide Varistor (MOV) and external bypass is proposed to protect the ITER PF AC/DC converter from transient DC over-voltage. The MOV is designed to certify the fast respond in nanosecond. Moreover, a bidirectional BreakOver Diode (BOD) circuit board is designed to activate external bypass to ensure the reliability of the transient DC over-voltage protection strategy. The performance-testing platform is built to study its performance. The experiments on ITER PF AC/DC converter test facility are carried out. According to the experiment results, the external bypass is triggered by BOD board effectively and the load current is transferred to the external bypass in 2 us when BOD suffers from an over-voltage. The effectiveness of the proposed transient DC over-voltage protection strategy is verified.

A Comprehensive Game Theoretical Defense Strategy in Demand Side Management Against Price Tampering Attacks

Price tamping attacks may cause market turbulence, attack detection and defense strategy are needed to study. Firstly, demand response characteristics are analyzed in a User Energy System. A quantitative model is established to describe the load changes caused by price tampering attacks. Secondly, a space-based cumulative intrusion detection method is proposed to pick up the discrepancy under tampering attacks. To verify the practicability of the proposed method, intrusion detection experiments are tested in the Principal Information and Safety Laboratory. Then, comprehensively considering the purchase of electricity from the power grid, self-generation, and load shedding, a quantitative model of attack consequences is established based on the allocation coefficient. Thus, the intrusion detection algorithm is used as a defense resource, and a demand-side defense protection strategy is formed to find an optimal deployment method based on non-cooperative game theory. The defensive protection strategy takes the quantitative model of attack consequences as the solution target, and solves the Nash equilibrium solution under different attack modes. Finally, in the IEEE-33 node system simulations, the defense resource is deployed using intrusion detection strategy, and the defense decision is executed to show the effectiveness of the comprehensive protection strategies.