SimpleFT: A Simple Byzantine Fault Tolerant Consensus

Although having been popular for a long time, Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus under the partially-synchronous network is denounced to be inefficient or even infeasible in recent years, which calls for a more robust asynchronous consensus. On the other hand, almost all the existing asynchronous consensus are too complicated to understand and even suffer from the termination problem. Motivated by the above problems, we propose SimpleFT in this paper, which is a simple asynchronous consensus and is mainly inspired by the simplicity of the Bitcoin protocol. With a re-understanding of the Bitcoin protocol, we disassemble the life cycle of a block into three phases, namely proposal, dissemination, and confirmation. Corresponding to these phases, we devise or introduce the sortition algorithm, reliable broadcast algorithm, and quorum certificate mechanism in SimpleFT, respectively. To make full use of the network resources and improve the system throughput, we further introduce the layered architecture to SimpleFT, which enables multiple blocks to be confirmed at the same height. Comprehensive analysis is made to validate the correctness of SimpleFT and various experiments are conducted to demonstrate its efficient performance

A sensitive electrochemical sensor based on polypyrrole/electrochemically reduced graphene oxide for the determination of imidacloprid

The glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was modified by electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ERGO) and polypyrrole (PPy) prepared by simple cyclic voltammetry (CV) electropoly­merization. The PPy/ERGO modified electrode (PPy/ERGO/GCE) was used as a platform of electrochemical sensor to detect imidacloprid (IMI) insecticide. CV and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) were chosen as the methods to investigate of the electrochemical behavior of IMI on PPy/ERGO/GCE surface. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectra were utilized to describe the morphology and structure of the modified electrode. Experimental parameters were optimized, such as the number of polymerization cycles, scan rate and the pH value of electrolyte. Under the optimized conditions, when the concentration of IMI was in the range of 1-10 μM and 10-60 μM, the increase of reduction peak current was linear with the concentration of IMI, and the low detection limit was found to be 0.18 μM (S/N = 3). Results showed that PPy/ERGO/GCE demonstrated satisfactory reproducibility and stability, and has great potential in actual sample testing

Mechano-stimulated modifications in the chloroplast antioxidant system and proteome changes are associated with cold response in wheat

BACKGROUND: Mechanical wounding can cause morphological and developmental changes in plants, which may affect the responses to abiotic stresses. However, the mechano-stimulation triggered regulation network remains elusive. Here, the mechano-stimulation was applied at two different times during the growth period of wheat before exposing the plants to cold stress (5.6 °C lower temperature than the ambient temperature, viz., 5.0 °C) at the jointing stage. RESULTS: Results showed that mechano-stimulation at the Zadoks growth stage 26 activated the antioxidant system, and substantially, maintained the homeostasis of reactive oxygen species. In turn, the stimulation improved the electron transport and photosynthetic rate of wheat plants exposed to cold stress at the jointing stage. Proteomic and transcriptional analyses revealed that the oxidative stress defense, ATP synthesis, and photosynthesis-related proteins and genes were similarly modulated by mechano-stimulation and the cold stress. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that mechano-stimulated modifications of the chloroplast antioxidant system and proteome changes are related to cold tolerance in wheat. The findings might provide deeper insights into roles of reactive oxygen species in mechano-stimulated cold tolerance of photosynthetic apparatus, and be helpful to explore novel approaches to mitigate the impacts of low temperature occurring at critical developmental stages. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-015-0610-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Analysis of Greenhouse Gases Emissions and Feasibility of Mitigations Options for Dairy Farms in China

Climate change has gained increased attention all over the world. Dairy farming is a significant contributor to the emission of greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. This has prompted international dairy sectors to develop plans to reduce the greenhouse gas emission from dairy farming. The Chinese dairy sector is also exploring how to contribute to that reduction, while responding to the growing domestic demand for dairy products. In this study, we collected and analyzed technical data including greenhouse gas emissions of a pilot group of 15 farms where a greenhouse gas reduction method will be tested in the future. Next to that, we held a survey among farmers and stakeholders about the feasibility of mitigation options to reduce greenhouse gases. This was to explore how farmers will respond to recommended mitigation options. The results show that farmers with different herd sizes and different types of stakeholders have different opinions about the feasibility and attractiveness of mitigation options. The results are useful insights to further prepare the application of the tailored made approach to come to dairy farms that combine efficiency with low green house gas emisions

Pengaruh Kompetensi, Pengembangan Karir, Pendidikan Dan Pelatihan (Diklat) Terhadap Knerja Pegawai Direktorat Jenderal Perimbangan Keuangan

. The success of the organization in achieving its goals supported by factors internaland external to the organization, where the internal side of the organization should be get firstattention to achieve maximum performance. This study aims to determine the effect ofcompetency, career development and training on employee performance of the DirectorateGeneral of Fiscal Balance, Ministry of Finance. The method used is descriptive quantitative.The data used are primary data collected by questionnaire and also secondary data. Thepopulation in this study were all employees as many as 387 people. The samples are taken byrandom sampling technique, using the Slovin‟s formula to take 80 people for samples. Thevariables in this study consisted of independent variables that are competency, careerdevelopment and training, while the dependent variable is the performance of employees. Thevariable measured with Likert Scale and hypothesis testing using multiple linear regression byusing t test and F test.Results of this study concluded that: 1) in partially competency hadpositive and significant impact on employee performance; 2) in partially career developmentprovide uneffect on employee performance; 3) in partially training had positive andsignificant impact on employee performance; and 4) in simultaneously competency, careerdevelopment and training have positive and significant impact on employee performance.Competency is the most influence variable on employee performance