The rare earth mining area in South China is the main production base of ionic rare earth in the world, which has brought inestimable economic value to the local area and even the whole nation. However, due to the lack of mining technology and excessive pursuit for economic profits, a series of environmental problems have arisen, which is a great threat to the ecosystem of the mining area. Taking Lingbei rare earth mining area in Ganzhou as an example, this paper discriminated and analyzed such aspects as the ecological source, ecological corridor and ecological nodes of the mining area based on the landscape ecological security pattern theory and the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR) method, and constructed a landscape ecological security pattern of the mining area during the 2009, 2013 and 2018. The results show that: i) The patch area of the ecological source of rare earth mining area is small, mainly concentrated in the east and west sides of the mining area. ii) During the selected year, the ecological source area, ecological corridors, radiation channels and the number of ecological nodes in the rare earth mining area are increasing, indicating that the landscape ecological security of the rare earth mining area has been improved to some extent, but it remains necessary for relevant departments to make a optimized planning to further reconstruct the ecological security pattern of the rare earth mining area.

Learning from experience to improve future infrastructure public-private partnerships is a focal issue for policy makers, financiers, implementers, and private sector stakeholders. An extensive body of case studies and “lessons learned” aims to improve the likelihood of success and attempts to avoid future contract failures across sectors and geographies. This paper examines whether countries do, indeed, learn from experience to improve the probability of success of public-private partnerships at the national level. The purview of the paper is not to diagnose learning across all aspects of public-private partnerships globally, but rather to focus on whether experience has an effect on the most extreme cases of public-private partnership contract failure, premature contract cancellation. The analysis utilizes mixed-effects probit regression combined with spline models to test empirically whether general public-private partnership experience has an impact on reducing the chances of contract cancellation for future projects. The results confirm what the market intuitively knows, that is, that public-private partnership experience reduces the likelihood of contract cancellation. But the results also provide a perhaps less intuitive finding: the benefits of learning are typically concentrated in the first few public-private partnership deals. Moreover, the results show that the probability of cancellation varies across sectors and suggests the relative complexity of water public-private partnerships compared with energy and transport projects. An estimated $1.5 billion per year could have been saved with interventions and support to reduce cancellations in less experienced countries (those with fewer than 23 prior public-private partnerships).

Theoretically, within the diatomic model, the relative stability of most abundant boron clusters B₁₁, B₁₂, and B₁₃ with planar structures in neutral, positive and negative charged-states is studied. According to the specific (per atom) binding energy criterion, B₁₂⁺ (6.49 eV) is found to be the most stable boron cluster, while B₁₁^– + B₁₃⁺ (5.83 eV) neutral pair is expected to present the preferable ablation channel for boron-rich solids. Obtained results would be applicable in production of boron-clusters-based nanostructured coating materials with super-properties such as lightness, hardness, conductivity, chemical inertness, neutron-absorption, etc., making them especially effective for protection against cracking, wear, corrosion, neutron- and electromagnetic-radiations, etc.

Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), such as solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, wind turbines, and energy storage systems, offer many benefits, including increased energy efficiency, sustainability, and grid reliability. However, their integration into the smart grid also introduces new vulnerabilities to cyber threats. The smart grid is becoming more digitalized, with advanced technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) devices, communication networks, and automation systems that enable the integration of DER systems. While this enhances grid efficiency and control, it creates more entry points for attackers and thus expands the attack surface for potential cyber threats. Protecting DERs from cyberattacks is crucial to maintaining the overall reliability, security, and privacy of the smart grid. The adopted cybersecurity strategies should not only address current threats but also anticipate future dangers. This requires ongoing risk assessments, staying updated on emerging threats, and being prepared to adapt cybersecurity measures accordingly. This paper highlights some critical points regarding the importance of cybersecurity for Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and the evolving landscape of the smart grid. This research study shows that there is need for a proactive and adaptable cybersecurity approach that encompasses prevention, detection, response, and recovery to safeguard these critical energy systems against cyber threats, both today and in the future. This work serves as a valuable tool in enhancing the cybersecurity posture of utilities and grid-connected DER owners and operators. It allows them to make informed decisions, protect critical infrastructure, and ensure the reliability and security of grid-connected DER systems in an evolving energy landscape.

Researchers from all over the world have been working tirelessly to combat the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) COVID-19 pandemic since the World Health Organization (WHO) proclaimed it to be a pandemic in 2019. Expanding testing capacities, creating efficient medications, and creating safe and efficient COVID-19 (SARS CoV-2) vaccinations that provide the human body with long-lasting protection are a few tactics that need to be investigated. In clinical studies, drug delivery techniques, including nanoparticles, have been used since the early 1990s. Since then, as technology has advanced and the need for improved medication delivery has increased, the field of nanomedicine has recently seen significant development. PNPs, or polymeric nanoparticles, are solid particles or particulate dispersions that range in size from 10 to 1000 nm, and their ability to efficiently deliver therapeutics to specific targets makes them ideal drug carriers. This review article discusses the many polymeric nanoparticle (PNP) platforms developed to counteract the recent COVID-19 pandemic-related severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The primary subjects of this article are the size, shape, cytotoxicity, and release mechanism of each nanoparticle. The two kinds of preparation methods in the synthesis of polymeric nanoparticles have been discussed: the first group uses premade polymers, while the other group depends on the direct polymerization of monomers. A few of the PNPs that have been utilized to combat previous viral outbreaks against SARS-CoV-2 are also covered.

This article analyzes the use and limitations of nonmonetary contract incentives in managing third-party accountability in human services. In-depth case studies of residential care homes for the elderly and integrated family service centers, two contrasting contracting contexts, were conducted in Hong Kong. These two programs vary in service programmability and service interdependency. In-depth interviews with 17 managers of 48 Residential Care Homes for the Elderly (RCHEs) and 20 managers of 10 Integrated Family Service Centers (IFSCs) were conducted. Interviews with the managers show that when service programmability was high and service interdependency was low, nonmonetary contract incentives such as opportunities for self-actualization professionally or reputation were effective in improving service quality from nonprofit and for-profit contractors. When service programmability was low and service interdependency was high, despite that only nonprofit organizations were contracted, many frontline service managers reported that professional accountability was undermined by ambiguous service scope, performance emphasis on case turnover, risk shift from public service units and a lack of formal accountability relationships between service units in the service network. The findings shed light on the limitations of nonmonetary contract incentives.