SWOT Analysis of Agricultural Producers in the Supply Chain of Chinese Agro-products

On the basis of defining the producers in the supply chain of agricultural products,the SWOT analysis is adopted to analyze the advantages,disadvantages,opportunities and threats of producers in the supply chain of Chinese agricultural products.The paper analyzes the advantages of producers in the supply chain of agricultural products from three aspects including land resources,technology level of producers and input costs.The disadvantages of producers in the supply chain of agricultural products are analyzed from three aspects including scale level,mechanization and technology level and profit level.The opportunities of producers in the supply chain of agricultural products are analyzed from the aspects of laws,policies,capitals and technologies.The threats confronted by the producers in the supply chain of agricultural products are analyzed from foreign producers,negotiation control of supply chain of agricultural chain,environment protection and quality safety standard.On the basis of the analysis,the relevant suggestions on facilitating the interests of producers in the supply chain of Chinese agricultural products are put forward,including fully displaying the advantages of land resources;improving the knowledge and technology level of supply chain of agricultural production;establishing the alliances of producers of agricultural products to expand production scale;improving the quality of agricultural products to satisfy the relevant safety quality standard and environmental protection standard.

The Estimation Methods for Agricultural Surplus Labor Based on Stochastic Frontier Production Function

The existing calculation methods for the number of agricultural surplus labor have a common flaw,that is,they can not reflect the impact of technical efficiency changes in agricultural production on the surplus labor. Based on the basic principle of stochastic frontier production function,this paper calculates the agricultural production technical efficiency of various provinces,and selects the province with the highest technical efficiency to assume that its agricultural labor is fully utilized,and there is no agricultural surplus labor. With the ratio of agricultural labor number to agricultural output value in this province as a reference,this paper calculates the number of agricultural surplus labor in other provinces. This calculation method makes up for the shortcomings of the existing calculation methods; it reflects the relationship between the number of agricultural surplus labor and production technical efficiency.

Fishery stock assessment of Kiddi shrimp (Parapenaeopsis stylifera) in the Northern Arabian Sea Coast of Pakistan by using surplus production models

Pakistani marine waters are under an open access regime. Due to poor management and policy implications, blind fishing is continued which may result in ecological as well as economic losses. Thus, it is of utmost importance to estimate fishery resources before harvesting. In this study, catch and effort data, 1996-2009, of Kiddi shrimp Parapenaeopsis stylifera fishery from Pakistani marine waters was analyzed by using specialized fishery software in order to know fishery stock status of this commercially important shrimp. Maximum, minimum and average capture production ofP. stylifera was observed as 15 912 metric tons （mr） （1997）, 9 438 mt （2009） and 11 667 mt/a. Two stock assessment tools viz. CEDA （catch and effort data analysis） and ASPIC （a stock production model incorporating covariates） were used to compute MSY （maximum sustainable yield） of this organism. In CEDA, three surplus production models, Fox, Schaefer and Pella-Tomlinson, along with three error assumptions, log, log normal and gamma, were used. For initial proportion （IP） 0.8, the Fox model computed MSY as 6 858 nat （CV=0.204, R^2=0.709） and 7 384 mt （CV=0.149, R^2=0.72） for log and log normal error assumption respectively. Here, gamma error produced minimization failure. Estimated MSY by using Schaefer and Pella-Tomlinson models remained the same for log, log normal and gamma error assumptions i.e. 7 083 mt, 8 209 mt and 7 242 mt correspondingly. The Schafer results showed highest goodness of fit R2 （0.712） values. ASPIC computed MSY, CV, R2, FMsv and BMsv parameters for the Fox model as 7 219 nat, 0.142, 0.872, 0.111 and 65 280, while for the Logistic model the computed values remained 7 720 mt, 0.148, 0.868, 0.107 and 72 110 correspondingly. Results obtained have shown that P. stylifera has been overexploited. Immediate steps are needed to conserve this fishery resource for the future and research on other species of commercial importance is urgently needed.

Assessing the Fishery Resource Status of China’s Coastal Waters Using Surplus Production Models

Surplus production models(SPMs)are among the simplest and most widely used fishery stock assessment models.The catch-effort data analysis(CEDA)and a surplus production model incorporating covariates(ASPIC)are softwares for analyzing fishery catch and fishing effort data using nonequilibrium SPMs.In China Fishery Statistical Yearbook,annual fishery production and fishing effort data of the Yellow Sea,Bohai Sea,East China Sea,and South China Sea have been published from 1979 till present.Using its catch and fishing effort data from 1980 to 2018,we apply the CEDA and ASPIC to evaluate fishery resources in Chinese coastal waters.The results show that the total maximum sustainable yield(MSY)estimate of the four China seas is 10.05-10.83 million tons,approximately equal to the marine fishery catch(10.44 million tons)reported in 2018.It can be concluded that China’s coastal fishery resources are currently fully exploited and must be protected with a precautionary approach.Both softwares produced similar results;however,the CEDA had a much higher R2 value(above 0.9)than ASPIC(about 0.2),indicating that CEDA can better fit the data and therefore is more suitable for analyzing the fishery resources in the coastal waters of China.

A stock assessment for Illex argentinus in Southwest Atlantic using an environmentally dependent surplus production model

The southern Patagonian stock（SPS） of Argentinian shortfin squid, Illex argentinus, is an economically important squid fishery in the Southwest Atlantic. Environmental conditions in the region play an important role in regulating the population dynamics of the I. argentinus population. This study develops an environmentally dependent surplus production（EDSP） model to evaluate the stock abundance of I. argentines during the period of 2000 to 2010. The environmental factors（favorable spawning habitat areas with sea surface temperature of 16–18°C） were assumed to be closely associated with carrying capacity（K） in the EDSP model. Deviance Information Criterion（DIC） values suggest that the estimated EDSP model with environmental factors fits the data better than a Schaefer surplus model without environmental factors under uniform and normal scenarios.The EDSP model estimated a maximum sustainable yield（MSY） from 351 600 t to 685 100 t and a biomass from 1 322 400 t to1 803 000 t. The fishing mortality coefficient of I. argentinus from 2000 to 2010 was smaller than the values of F（0.1） and F（MSY）. Furthermore, the time series biomass plot of I. argentinus from 2000 to 2010 shows that the biomass of I.argentinus and this fishery were in a good state and not presently experiencing overfishing. This study suggests that the environmental conditions of the habitat should be considered within squid stock assessment and management.

Research on the Grain Producers around the Year of Chinese Population Peak

The issue of "who will grow grain in the future in China" attracts more and more attention. We estimate the structure of China's grain producers at present,and summarize the phenomena and reasons why peasants would not like to grow grain. We analyze the agricultural population at the time of China's total population peak around 2033,and we predict there will be a multi-producer structure of grain growing.The household contracts will be as the basis of grain operations then,and the quantity of small-scale households will decrease but still be huge.The degree of organization of rural households will increase and the role of cooperatives will be strengthened remarkably. We propose the " quality" requirements to ensure the grain production,and note different special groups will be the new forces on farming and grain growing.

Problems of Training Konni Producers in the Context of Reforming the Management of Hydroagricultural Developments: Challenges, Issues and Perspectives

Following the reform of the governance of irrigation schemes in Niger, producer cooperatives are encountering real difficulties in ensuring effective and efficient management of irrigation water, infrastructure maintenance and renewal of hydromechanical equipment. The objective of this research is to analyze the issues and challenges of capacity building for Konni producers in the context of AHA management reform in Niger. The methodological approach adopted is based on documentary research and field surveys with all the actors directly concerned with the management of the Konni irrigated perimeter. A total of 448 people were interviewed in all the localities selected. Direct observation and interview are the two field data collection techniques adopted. The data collected was processed and on the basis of the established diagnosis, the training needs were identified. The results show that there are several experiences in terms of training and capacity building of actors in charge of the management of irrigation systems at the Konni AHA level. However, the sustainability of the perimeter is threatened by various crises. The main themes that founded the first training were related to the mobilization, transport and distribution of irrigation water, operation and maintenance, and setting and collection of the fee. In view of the expectations of operators, future issues and challenges, the training modules are increasingly oriented towards social management, the integration of gender in management and environmental impacts. Even if technical progress is possible, the real lever is organizational and requires the professionalization of irrigators. This process requires a new pedagogical approach aimed at irrigators.

Application of the Moving Averaging Technique in Surplus Production Models

Surplus production models are the simplest analytical methods effective for fish stock assessment and fisheries management. In this paper, eight surplus production estimators(three estimation procedures) were tested on Schaefer and Fox type simulated data in three simulated fisheries(declining, well-managed, and restoring fisheries) at two white noise levels. Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to verify the utility of moving averaging(MA), which was an important technique for reducing the effect of noise in data in these models. The relative estimation error(REE) of maximum sustainable yield(MSY) was used as an indicator for the analysis, and one-way ANOVA was applied to test the significance of the REE calculated at four levels of MA. Simulation results suggested that increasing the value of MA could significantly improve the performance of the surplus production model(low REE) in all cases when the white noise level was low(coefficient of variation(CV) = 0.02). However, when the white noise level increased(CV= 0.25), adding the value of MA could still significantly enhance the performance of most models. Our results indicated that the best model performance occurred frequently when MA was equal to 3; however, some exceptions were observed when MA was higher.

Effect of the Technological Status of Small Cow-Calf Farm Producers on the Induction to Resumption of Ovarian Activity of Dual-Purpose Cattle Raised under Topical Conditions

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the technological level in small-scale dual-purpose cow-calf Bos indicus female operations on the resumption of the ovarian activity post-partum. A total of 13 small scale dual-purpose Bos indicus × Bos taurus operations were included in this experiment and they were classified according to their technological status as: high technological status (HT), medium technological status (MT) and low technological status (LT). Ninety-three mature cows were treated with either a CIDR (controlled internal drug release device) with estradiol benzoate (CIDR+EB) or alone (CIDR). At day 9 all animals received intravaginally a CIDR for nine days. At day 0, the CIDR was withdrawn and 24 hours later one dose of estradiol benzoate was administered to 51 cows (17 in HT, 17 in MT and 17 in LT), the remaining animals (n = 42) did not receive the estradiol benzoate administration (14 in HT, 13 in MT and 15 in LT). Comparisons were performed on serum progesterone concentrations after CIDR treatment. By day 7 after implant withdrawal, the proportion of cows that resume ovarian activity detected by progesterone concentration increased in all technological level farms, no statistical main effect was observed within technological level. By day 17 there was a significant main effect of technological level (P = 0.05) on the proportion of animal that resumed the estrous cycles, but neither a main effect of treatment (P = 0.97) nor an interaction between technological level and treatment (P = 0.98). Furthermore, technological level of the farm showed a tendency (P = 0.07) to affect that resume the estrous activity, and a significant effect of treatment was observed (P = 0.005) but no interaction between technological level and treatment. The proportion of cows that showed estrus was different across technological level (P = 0.02), the highest proportion of cows showing estrus regardless of treatment was in the HT: 90% (40% CIDR and 50% CIDR+EB), MT: 50% (13.3% CIDR and 36.7% CIDR+EB) and in the LT: 50% (18.8% CIDR and 31.3% CIDR+EB). In conclusion, the combination of a progestogen and estradiol benzoate resulted in a high proportion of cows that were induced to resume the ovarian activity and this treatment was particularly beneficial in the medium and low technological status of the farms.

Capacity Optimization Configuration of Hydrogen Production System for Offshore Surplus Wind Power

To solve the problem of residual wind power in offshore wind farms,a hydrogen production system with a reasonable capacity was configured to enhance the local load of wind farms and promote the local consumption of residual wind power.By studying the mathematical model of wind power output and calculating surplus wind power,as well as considering the hydrogen production/storage characteristics of the electrolyzer and hydrogen storage tank,an innovative capacity optimization allocation model was established.The objective of the model was to achieve the lowest total net present value over the entire life cycle.The model took into account the cost-benefit breakdown of equipment end-of-life cost,replacement cost,residual value gain,wind abandonment penalty,hydrogen transportation,and environmental value.The MATLAB-based platform invoked the CPLEX commercial solver to solve the model.Combined with the analysis of the annual average wind speed data from an offshore wind farm in Guangdong Province,the optimal capacity configuration results and the actual operation of the hydrogen production system were obtained.Under the calculation scenario,this hydrogen production system could consume 3,800 MWh of residual electricity from offshore wind power each year.It could achieve complete consumption of residual electricity from wind power without incurring the penalty cost of wind power.Additionally,it could produce 66,500 kg of green hydrogen from wind power,resulting in hydrogen sales revenue of 3.63 million RMB.It would also reduce pollutant emissions from coal-based hydrogen production by 1.5 tons and realize an environmental value of 4.83 million RMB.The annual net operating income exceeded 6 million RMB and the whole life cycle NPV income exceeded 50 million RMB.These results verified the feasibility and rationality of the established capacity optimization allocation model.The model could help advance power system planning and operation research and assist offshore wind farm operators in improving economic and environmental benefits.

The fate of surplus embryos in the setting of assisted reproductive technology:A scoping review

Objective:To identify the attitudes of infertile couples toward their surplus frozen embryos.Methods:This study was according to PRISMA-ScR as the guideline for scoping review.Studies that assessed the attitudes of patients or infertile couples who had surplus embryos were included.We conducted systematic searches in English studies from April 2011-April 2021 using 7 databases:PubMed,Science Direct,EBSCO,Scopus,the Cochrane Library,Sage Journals,and Google Scholar.Data were charted based on author,year of publication,country,purpose,data collection,key findings,and research focus/domain.Results:A total of 37 research articles were included in the analysis.Their attitudes encompassed:supporting the donation of the surplus embryos for both research and reproductive purposes,continuing to store the frozen embryos,and disposing of the surplus embryos.Conclusions:Most of the infertile patients support donating their surplus embryos for research and reproductive purposes.

China Ranking Among the World's Largest Piano Producers

Music from a piano embodies widetechniques of expression, so thepiano is reputed as the king of musicalinstruments. China’s piano production datesback four decades. At present, there are 20piano production enterprises in the county,including such backbone enterprises as theGuangzhou Pearl River Piano IndustrialCorporation, the Beijing Xinghai MusicalInstruments Corporation Ltd., the ShanghaiPiano Corporation, the Yingkou NortheastPiano(Group) Corporation and the

Purification of Produced Water from a Sour Oilfield in South Kuwait. 1. Oil-Water Separation and Industrial Salt Production

Produced water from an oil extraction site in South Kuwait was sampled after primary oil – water separation had been carried out. The produced water was filtered through a mixture of activated charcoal and esterified cellulosic material gained from spent coffee grounds as a tertiary adsorption treatment. The earth-alkaline metal ions and heavy metals were separated from the de-oiled produced water by addition of either sodium or potassium hydroxide in the presence of carbon dioxide or by direct addition of solid sodium carbonate. The resulting filtrate gave salt of industrial purity upon selective crystallization on evaporation.

Purification of Produced Water from a Sour Oilfield in South Kuwait. 2. Oil-Water Separation and Crystallization of Calcium Carbonate

Oil-water separation for produced water (PW) originating from an oil extraction site in South Kuwait was carried out using bleached, esterified cellulosic material from used coffee grounds. Thereafter, earth-alkaline metal ions, specifically calcium ions, of the de-oiled PW were removed by precipitation with sodium carbonate to give access to pure sodium chloride as industrial salt from the remaining PW. While the purity of the precipitated calcium carbonate (CaCO3) depends on the precipitation conditions, CaCO3 of up to 95.48% purity can be obtained, which makes it a salable product. The precipitation of CaCO3 decreases the amount of calcium ions in PW from 11,300 ppm to 84 ppm.

Music Piracy-Music Producers’Views

Stricter laws needed> Gao Xiaosong-music producer Piracy is better described as a global problem, and is not unique to China. You never expect to rid the country of music piracy completely [in a short period].China’s music copyright infringement problems remain more severe than that of

Inflammation-related markers and prognosis of alpha-fetoprotein producing gastric cancer

BACKGROUND Inflammation-related markers including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR),platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio(PLR),monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio(MLR),systemic immune-inflammation index(SII),systemic inflammation response index(SIRI)and prognostic nutritional index(PNI)could reflect tumor immune microenvironment and predict prognosis of cancers.However,it had not been explored in alpha-fetoprotein(AFP)producing gastric cancer(GC).AIM To determine the predictive value of inflammation-related peripheral blood markers including as NLR,PLR,MLR,SII,SIRI and PNI in the prognosis of AFPproducing GC(AFPGC).Besides,this study would also compare the differences in tumor immune microenvironment,clinical characteristics and prognosis between AFPGC and AFP-GC patients to improve the understanding of this disease.METHODS 573 patients enrolled were retrospectively studied.They were divided into AFP+group(AFP≥20 ng/mL)and AFP-group(AFP<20 ng/mL),comparing the levels of NLR/PLR/MLR/SII/SIRI/PNI and prognosis.In AFP+group,the impact of NLR/PLR/MLR/SII/SIRI/PNI and their dynamic changes on prognosis were further explored.RESULTS Compared with AFP-patients,AFP+patients had higher NLR/PLR/MLR/SII/-SIRI and lower PNI levels and poorer overall survival(OS).In the AFP+group,mortality was significantly lower in the lower NLR/PLR/MLR/SII/SIRI group and higher PNI group.Moreover,the dynamic increase(NLR/PLR/MLR/SII/-SIRI)or decrease(PNI)was associated with the rise of mortality within 1 year of follow-up.CONCLUSION Compared with AFP-patients,the level of inflammation-related peripheral blood markers significantly increased in AFP+patients,which was correlated with OS of AFP+patients.Also,the gradual increase of SII and SIRI was associated with the risk of death within one year in AFP+patients.AFPGC should be considered as a separate type and distinguished from AFP-GC because of the difference in tumor immune microenvironment.It requires basic experiments and large clinical samples in the future.

Spatial Heterogeneity of Embedded Water Consumption from the Perspective of Virtual Water Surplus and Deficit in the Yellow River Basin,China

Virtual water trade(VWT)provides a new perspective for alleviating water crisis and has thus attracted widespread attention.However,the heterogeneity of virtual water trade inside and outside the river basin and its influencing factors remains further study.In this study,for better investigating the pattern and heterogeneity of virtual water trade inside and outside provincial regions along the Yellow River Basin in 2015 using the input-output model(MRIO),we proposed two new concepts,i.e.,virtual water surplus and virtual water deficit,and then used the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index(LMDI)model to identify the inherent mechanism of the imbalance of virtual water trade between provincial regions along the Yellow River Basin and the other four regions in China.The results show that:1)in provincial regions along the Yellow River Basin,the less developed the economy was,the larger the contribution of the agricultural sector in virtual water trade,while the smaller the contribution of the industrial sector.2)Due to the large output of agricultural products,the upstream and midstream provincial regions of the Yellow River Basin had a virtual water surplus,with a net outflow of virtual water of 2.7×10^(8) m^(3) and 0.9×10^(8) m^(3),respectively.3)provincial regions along the Yellow River Basin were in a virtual water deficit with the rest of China,and the decisive factor was the active degree of trade with the outside.This study would be beneficial to illuminate the trade-related water use issues in provincial regions along the Yellow River Basin,which has farreaching practical signific-ance for alleviating water scarcity.

Production Chain Length and PPI-CPI Divergence:Analysis Based on the Global Input-output Price Model

Productivity and international energy price shocks are reflected in PPI and CPI via industrial chains.China’s in-depth participation into the global value chains has increasingly lengthened its industrial production chains.The question is how the changing length of production chains will affect CPI and PPI,as well as CPI-PPI correlation?By constructing a global input-output price model,this paper offers a theoretical discussion on the impact of production chain length on the CPI-PPI divergence.Our findings suggest that the price shock of international bulk commodities has a greater impact on China’s PPI than that on CPI.The effects on both China’s PPI and CPI estimated by using the single-country input-output model are higher than the results estimated with the global input-output model.However,the difference between CPI and PPI variations estimated with the global input-output model is greater than the result estimated with the single-country input-output model,which supports the view that the lengthening of production chains,especially international production chains,leads to a divergence between CPI and PPI.Empirical results based on cross-national panel data also suggest that the lengthening of production chains has reduced the CPI-PPI correlation for countries,i.e.the lengthening of production chains has increased the PPI-CPI divergence.That is to say,policymakers should target not just CPI in maintaining price stability,but instead focus on the stability of both PPI and CPI.Efforts can be made to proactively adjust the price index system,and formulate the industrial chain price index.

Variability in Quantity and Salinity of Produced Water from an Oil Production in South Kuwait

Produced water (PW) is the largest waste stream in the oil and gas industry. Water remains trapped for millions of years in the reservoir with oil and gas. When a hydrocarbon reservoir is infiltrated by a production well, the produced fluids commonly contain water. The understanding of this water’s constituents and volumes is vital for the sustainable continuity of production operations, as PW has a number of negative impacts on the infrastructure integrity of the operation. On the other hand, PW can be an alternative source of irrigation water as well as of industrial salt. Interestingly, both the quantity as well as the quality of PW do not remain constant but can vary, both progressively and erratically, even over short periods of time. This paper discusses such a situation of variable PW in an oil and gas operation in the State of Kuwait.