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The article presents a mathematical examination into the Babylonian mathematical formula used to determine the volume of the frustrum of a square pyramid. Comparisons are made between the mathematical formula used in the modern period with that of the ancient Babylonian model. Discussion is given analyzing the reasoning behind the complexity of the ancient form, citing the theories of mathematicians Ivor Grattan-Guinness and Liu Hui. A reconstructed proof is provided resolving the framework as a regular prism with special upright slices. Comments are also included relating to generic Babylonian geometric thought.

The article discusses the significance of real new moon concept in Chinese ancient calendars in China. According to the article, the real new moon's calculation would have influence on the exactness of the solar and lunar eclipses. It is stated that the computation process of the real new moon is reconstructed and a computer program of the computation is gathered by the algorithm theoretical model of the real new moon in the ancient time of the country.

With the development of modern industry, heavy metal pollution of soil becomes more and more serious. Heavy metals can cause serious health problems to humans and animals even at very low concentrations. Thus, it is urgent to remediate the contaminated soils by effective methods. Different remediation strategies have been reported to remove heavy metals from contaminated soil, among which phytoremediation is the most important one. Understanding the mechanisms underlying heavy metal accumulation and detoxification in plants is one of the key points for phytoremediation. In this review, we try to summarize the progresses and trends on phytoremediation and related molecular mechanisms, and discuss the prospects for the future research.