Mobile genetic elements facilitate the transmission of antibiotic resistance genes in multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae from duck farms

Multidrug-resistant(MDR)Enterobacteriaceae critically threaten duck farming and public health.The phenotypes,genotypes,and associated mobile genetic elements(MGEs)of MDR Enterobacteriaceae isolated from 6 duck farms in Zhejiang Province,China,were investigated.A total of 215 isolates were identified as Escherichia coli(64.65%),Klebsiella pneumoniae(12.09%),Proteus mirabilis(10.23%),Salmonella(8.84%),and Enterobacter cloacae(4.19%).Meanwhile,all isolates were resistant to at least two antibiotics.Most isolates carried tet(A)(85.12%),blaTEM(78.60%)and sul1(67.44%)resistance genes.Gene co-occurrence analysis showed that the resistance genes were associated with IS26 and integrons.A conjugative IncFII plasmid pSDM004 containing all the above MGEs was detected in Proteus mirabilis isolate SDM004.This isolate was resistant to 18 antibiotics and carried the blaNDM-5 gene.MGEs,especially plasmids,are the primary antibiotic resistance gene transmission route in duck farms.These findings provide a theoretical basis for the rational use of antibiotics in farms which are substantial for evaluating public health and food safety.

Technical efficiency of cocoa farms at varying elevation levels in Davao City, Philippines: implications to sustainable upland farming systems

Elevation is one of many components that influence agriculture, and this in turn affects the level of both inputs and outputs of farmers. This article focuses on the productivity and technical efficiency of 100 cocoa farms using cross-sectional data from areas ranging from 190 to 1021 m above sea level which were classified as low, medium, and high elevation in Davao City, considered as the chocolate capital of the Philippines. Using stochastic frontier analysis, the results showed that the cost of inputs per ha and the number of cocoa trees per ha significantly increase yield. Farms at high elevations were less technically efficient, as this entails lower temperatures and increased rainfall, and cocoa farming in those areas and conditions can be more challenging, especially with changes in farming practices, terrain, and distance to markets. Other significant variables were age of cocoa farms, married farmers, and age of the farmers. Older farms may be more developed, farmers who are married benefit from their spouses being able to readily contribute as farm labor, and lastly, older farmers' inefficiency may likely stem from nonadaptation of newer farming practices. With an average technical efficiency of 0.61, 0.63, and 0.26 in low, medium, and high elevation areas, respectively, farmers therefore have an incentive to improve farm practices and consider topographical variations found in high elevation areas. Recommendations for the improvement of technical efficiency of cocoa farms are better connectivity to markets, enhancing farm practices, and continuation and improvement of government programs on cocoa with an added emphasis on research. For farmers in high elevation areas, mitigating solutions such as sustainable agriculture practices and ecolabelling are key to improving efficiency and minimizing the potential negative impact on upland farming systems. Moreover, such adaptation measures may also contribute to sustainability of cocoa farming in high elevation areas.

Identification of Microorganisms in Poultry Farms in N’djamena and the Border Areas of Hadjer-Lamis and Chari-Baguirmi Chad

Introduction: On the outskirts of Ndjamena, semi-industrial poultry farming and traditional poultry farming are practised informally on almost all poultry farms in Chad. This type of poultry farming is faced with real health problems attributable to a lack of monitoring of the vaccination schedule, inadequate compliance with biosecurity measures and poor application of the Ichikawa rule based on the 5 M’s. Objective: The aim of this article is to identify the microorganisms responsible for contamination of poultry farms in the study area. Method: The study was carried out from 28/04/2022 to 31/01/2023 on the basis of 300 samples taken from feed, drinking water, droppings and scrapings from poultry housing surfaces in the 30 farms that served as a framework for our research. Sampling was of the simple random type, and farms were selected on the basis of the farmers’ consent. The data were recorded on pre-established survey forms. Our study was cross-sectional, descriptive and prospective. Bacteria were isolated using the reference method NF EN ISO 6579 for Salmonella spp. and cultured on the specific medium eosin methylene blue (EMB) for Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas and Citrobacter freundii. Results: The following results emerged from this study: Escherichia coli (5.33%), Pseudomonas (1.33%), Citrobacter freundii (12%) and Salmonella paratyphi (21.68%). Conclusion: Of the 300 samples analysed, 121 (40.33%) were contaminated with pathogens. This high level of contamination is a health problem. The study shows that biosecurity is less satisfactory on the farms visited. Nevertheless, farms with a very satisfactory level of biosafety ensure food safety and variety for the population.

Performance of the CMA-GD Model in Predicting Wind Speed at Wind Farms in Hubei, China

This study assesses the predictive capabilities of the CMA-GD model for wind speed prediction in two wind farms located in Hubei Province,China.The observed wind speeds at the height of 70m in wind turbines of two wind farms in Suizhou serve as the actual observation data for comparison and testing.At the same time,the wind speed predicted by the EC model is also included for comparative analysis.The results indicate that the CMA-GD model performs better than the EC model in Wind Farm A.The CMA-GD model exhibits a monthly average correlation coefficient of 0.56,root mean square error of 2.72 m s^(-1),and average absolute error of 2.11 m s^(-1).In contrast,the EC model shows a monthly average correlation coefficient of 0.51,root mean square error of 2.83 m s^(-1),and average absolute error of 2.21 m s^(-1).Conversely,in Wind Farm B,the EC model outperforms the CMA-GD model.The CMA-GD model achieves a monthly average correlation coefficient of 0.55,root mean square error of 2.61 m s^(-1),and average absolute error of 2.13 m s^(-1).By contrast,the EC model displays a monthly average correlation coefficient of 0.63,root mean square error of 2.04 m s^(-1),and average absolute error of 1.67 m s^(-1).

Pollution characteristics and risk assessment of organophosphate esters in aquaculture farms and natural water bodies adjacent to the Huanghe River delta

To date,little attention has been paid to the effects of organophosphate esters(OPEs)pollution on aquacultural environment and aquatic product safety.Huanghe(Yellow)River delta area is one of the largest aquaculture centers in China,where ecological security protection is crucial in the national strategy of China.To explore the pollution characteristics,bioaccumulation,and health risks of OPEs in aquaculture farms in the Huanghe River delta and natural water bodies in the adjacent seas,five species of organisms from different farm types nearby the Huanghe River delta,and the corresponding culture water and sediments were sampled in this study.The total concentrations of Σ_(13)OPEs in water,sediments,and organisms were 51.53-272.18 ng/L,52.63-63.17 ng/g dry weight(dw),and 46.82-108.90 ng/g dw,respectively.Among the five types of culture ponds,the water samples from the swimming crab and hairy crab culture ponds exhibited higher OPEs,the concentration of OPEs in the sediments from the few ponds was relatively balanced,and the OPEs in the organism from the holothurian ponds was higher.Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-isopropyl pho sphate)(TDCP)was the main contaminant in water samples and tripropyl phosphate(TPrP)in sediments and organisms.However,trisphenyl phosphate(TPhP)showed the strongest bioaccumulation ability,followed by 2-ethylhexyl diphenyl phosphate(EHDPP)and TPrP.The bioaccumulation capacities of the five species were as follows:prawn>holothurian>hairy crab>swimming crab>carp.These five types of organisms,as main seafood in human consumption,were at low risk of negative impacts of pollution.However,the risk from the mixture of organophosphate flame retardants(OPFRs)still requires more attention due to the increasing consumption and production in the world.

Research on Reactive Power Optimization of Offshore Wind Farms Based on Improved Particle Swarm Optimization

The lack of reactive power in offshore wind farms will affect the voltage stability and power transmission quality of wind farms.To improve the voltage stability and reactive power economy of wind farms,the improved particle swarmoptimization is used to optimize the reactive power planning in wind farms.First,the power flow of offshore wind farms is modeled,analyzed and calculated.To improve the global search ability and local optimization ability of particle swarm optimization,the improved particle swarm optimization adopts the adaptive inertia weight and asynchronous learning factor.Taking the minimum active power loss of the offshore wind farms as the objective function,the installation location of the reactive power compensation device is compared according to the node voltage amplitude and the actual engineering needs.Finally,a reactive power optimizationmodel based on Static Var Compensator is established inMATLAB to consider the optimal compensation capacity,network loss,convergence speed and voltage amplitude enhancement effect of SVC.Comparing the compensation methods in several different locations,the compensation scheme with the best reactive power optimization effect is determined.Meanwhile,the optimization results of the standard particle swarm optimization and the improved particle swarm optimization are compared to verify the superiority of the proposed improved algorithm.

Operations Improvement Function and Organisational Adaptability of Petroleum Tank Farms in South-South, Nigeria

The study examined the nexus between operations improvement function (dimensioned by contingency planning, benchmarking and continuous improvement processes) and organisational adaptability of Petroleum tank farms in South-South, Nigeria. The contingency theory and the theory of routine dynamics underpinned the study, and positivism was the underlying philosophy. The study adopted the cross-sectional survey through the use of questionnaire. 820 middle and top-level managers constituted the elements of the population, and the Krejcie & Morgan’s formula was used to determine the sample size of 262 respondents. Structural Equation Modeling was deployed to test the hypotheses at a 0.05 significance level. The results showed that contingency planning;benchmarking and continuous improvement processes all have a significant positive relationship with organisational adaptability of Petroleum tank farms in South-South, Nigeria. The study concludes that Petroleum tank farms’ operations should focus on the adoption of contingency planning, benchmarking and continuous improvement processes to enhance organisational adaptability. Therefore, it is recommended that the management of Petroleum tank farms should put in place mechanisms to advance continuous improvement processes by allocating the necessary amount of resources, such as energy, time and money, in order to promote the continuous development of the continuous improvement systems. Furthermore, managers of Petroleum tank farms should make better the adoption of contingency planning, ensuring that there is as much necessary training and information for employees on how to act during a crises situation, in order to evaluate safety and prepare in advance for recovery from disasters.

The Impacts and Causes of Land Fragmentation on Farm Productivity: Case Review of East African Countries

This report provides an overall assessment of land fragmentation problems in East Africa. Many parts of East Africa have become highly fragmented, putting development systems and activities in these areas at risk of complete collapse. Land fragmentation occurs when land gets converted for agriculture, industrialization, or urbanization, invaded by non-local plants, or enclosed for individual use and by subdividing farmlands into subsequent smaller units called parcels with varying average farm sizes. Fragmentation results from inappropriate agricultural development processes and ineffective land use planning that fails to recognize how farmland is used, and the importance of its interconnected areas. Insecurity of tenure and resource rights are key factors in making this possible. Land fragmentation is one of the key reasons why the ability of most resources in East Africa becomes scarcer, and those remaining become “privatized” by more powerful community members—keen to maintain their access to them. Such individualistic attitudes are new and disadvantage the poorest even further by affecting the traditional customary safety nets and agricultural outputs. Neither the government nor customary governance systems effectively protect resource access for the poorest. This review summary report identifies the key causes, measures, and implications, government interventions, and the common remedies to land fragmentation problems in the East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania including neighboring Ethiopia, and the Sudan. The findings indicated from 2005 to 2015, the population kept increasing for all the named countries in East Africa with Rwanda and Uganda having a substantial increase in population density. The study review further explores the trend in the performance of agriculture by average farm sizes within the intervals of five years by highlighting their strong linkages and found that the average farm size has declined drastically, especially for Kenya. This can only mean that small farms kept becoming smaller and smaller and that there were more small-scale farmers. The results further depicted that the major and commonly cultivated food crops among the East African countries include maize, sorghum, rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas, Irish potatoes, beans, peas, etc., with maize yields (Mt/ha) in 2003 for Uganda being the highest (1.79 Mt/ha) and the lowest in Rwanda (0.77 Mt/ha) respectively. Therefore, from the review results, recommendations are being made as to how the negative impacts of land fragmentation on agricultural productivity can be reduced or mitigated. One way is by community sensitization and awareness about the importance of land consolidation and its proposition on farm productivity.

Smart Farming for Sustainable Rice Production:An Insight into Application,Challenge,and Future Prospect

Rice has a huge impact on socio-economic growth,and ensuring its sustainability and optimal utilization is vital.This review provides an insight into the role of smart farming in enhancing rice productivity.The applications of smart farming in rice production including yield estimation,smart irrigation systems,monitoring disease and growth,and predicting rice quality and classifications are highlighted.The challenges of smart farming in sustainable rice production to enhance the understanding of researchers,policymakers,and stakeholders are discussed.Numerous efforts have been exerted to combat the issues in rice production in order to promote rice sector development.The effective implementation of smart farming in rice production has been facilitated by various technical advancements,particularly the integration of the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.The future prospects of smart farming in transforming existing rice production practices are also elucidated.Through the utilization of smart farming,the rice industry can attain sustainable and resilient production systems that could mitigate environmental impact and safeguard food security.Thus,the rice industry holds a bright future in transforming current rice production practices into a new outlook in rice smart farming development.

Farm buildings and agri-food transitions in Southern France:Mapping dynamics using a stakeholder-based diagnosis

This study's goal is to present a dynamic portrait of the farm-buildings environment in Occitania,in Southern France,in order to better identify the transitions underway in agri-food chains.To this end,we undertook a ter-ritorial diagnosis based on actor statements,using 28 semi-structured interviews across Occitania.This diagnosis was enriched by graphic modelling,which enabled the spatialization of the dynamics described.We show that the process of standardisation of farm buildings prevails in the majority of the territories studied.This phenomenon has intensified in recent years with the development of vast photovoltaic-roofed sheds,accentuating the farm-land conversion and soil sealing.At the same time,in areas with strong environmental,landscape and heritage contexts,a'new adventure in farm buildings'(2022 survey)is taking shape.It is primarily driven by local short food chains,which rely on self-construction,repurposing and refurbishment,the sharing of tools and equipment,and which favour the use and reuse of local resources.This study shows that farm-buildings dynamics crystallise many challenges confronting the reterritorialisation of agriculture and food production.

Transient Stability Preventive Control of Wind Farm Connected Power System Considering the Uncertainty

To address uncertainty as well as transient stability constraints simultaneously in the preventive control of windfarm systems, a novel three-stage optimization strategy is established in this paper. In the first stage, the probabilisticmulti-objective particle swarm optimization based on the point estimate method is employed to cope with thestochastic factors. The transient security region of the system is accurately ensured by the interior point methodin the second stage. Finally, the verification of the final optimal objectives and satisfied constraints are enforcedin the last stage. Furthermore, the proposed strategy is a general framework that can combine other optimizationalgorithms. The proposed methodology is tested on the modified WSCC 9-bus system and the New England 39-bussystem. The results verify the feasibility of the method.

高科技工具帮助Bullseye Farms提高灌溉效率

Bullseye Farms是一个多元化的经营农场,种植了17000英亩的蔬菜,谷物和坚果,其中包括4000英亩的杏仁树。它们坐落于加利福尼亚州北部的中央山谷,在整个干燥的夏季都需要灌溉作物。像其他加州种植者一样,他们不断与干旱有关的问题作斗争。

GNN Representation Learning and Multi-Objective Variable Neighborhood Search Algorithm for Wind Farm Layout Optimization

With the increasing demand for electrical services,wind farm layout optimization has been one of the biggest challenges that we have to deal with.Despite the promising performance of the heuristic algorithm on the route network design problem,the expressive capability and search performance of the algorithm on multi-objective problems remain unexplored.In this paper,the wind farm layout optimization problem is defined.Then,a multi-objective algorithm based on Graph Neural Network(GNN)and Variable Neighborhood Search(VNS)algorithm is proposed.GNN provides the basis representations for the following search algorithm so that the expressiveness and search accuracy of the algorithm can be improved.The multi-objective VNS algorithm is put forward by combining it with the multi-objective optimization algorithm to solve the problem with multiple objectives.The proposed algorithm is applied to the 18-node simulation example to evaluate the feasibility and practicality of the developed optimization strategy.The experiment on the simulation example shows that the proposed algorithm yields a reduction of 6.1% in Point of Common Coupling(PCC)over the current state-of-the-art algorithm,which means that the proposed algorithm designs a layout that improves the quality of the power supply by 6.1%at the same cost.The ablation experiments show that the proposed algorithm improves the power quality by more than 8.6% and 7.8% compared to both the original VNS algorithm and the multi-objective VNS algorithm.

Construction of Risk Assessment Application Model of Epidemic Disease in Large-scale Pig Farms

The application model of epidemic disease assessment technology for Web-based large-scale pig farm was expounded from the identification of epidemic disease risk factors, construction of risk assessment model and development of risk assessment system. The assessed pig farm uploaded the epidemic disease risk data information through on-line answering evaluating questionnaire to get the immediate evaluation report. The model could enhance the risk communication between pig farm veterinarian, manager and veterinary experts to help farm system understand and find disease risk factors, assess and report the potential high risk items of the pig farm in the three systems of engineering epidemic disease prevention technology, biological safety and immune monitoring, and promote the improvement and perfection of epidemic disease prevention and control measures.

Current Situation and Prospect Analysis of Biogas Project in Scale Farms in Chengdu

In order to implement National Sustainable Development of Agriculture 2015-2030 and supply-side reform of agriculture, and seek the way to replace chemical fertilizer by livestock and poultry manure, the animal breeding scale and the demand space for biogas project were analyzed according to the changes in farm scale and farm quantity, the present situation of livestock breeding, the biogas technical pattern and present project quantity in Chengdu. Furthermore, based on the cultivated land area in Chengdu, a principle that ＂land decides production, pro- duction decides fertilizer, and fertilizer decides livestock＂ was proposed, and a pro- gram for the livestock quantity and biogas projects in Chengdu in ＂The 13th Five- Year＂ was suggested. Suggestions were also made for government to modify the allowance standards for biogas project construction.

Comprehensive Performance Evaluation of Family Farms from the Perspective of Land Transfer——Taking Rudong County as an Example

With the reform of agriculture, family farms have become hot spots in the reform of agricultural management system. Taking Rudong County of Jiangsu Province for an example, the land transfer performance of family farms was evalu- ated using the first hand data from field investigation by building an index system for comprehensive performance evaluation of family farm land transfer covering three dimensions of economy, society and ecology. The results show that land transfer in family farm mode has realized the scale management of land, enhanced the agri- cultural level of science and technology, effectively promoted the structural adjust- ment of agriculture and income increase of farmers, advanced the development of eco-agriculture, and achieved good economic and social performances. However, in the development process of family farms, inputs of agro-chemicals, fertilizers and other agro-products have brought about the eco-environmental problems, which are still worth noting.

语篇分析视角下的美国Bolthouse Farms公司的饮料广告

美国Bolthouse Farms公司的饮料在美国广受欢迎,可以说,饮料是Bolthouse Farms公司的一个成功。本文从语篇分析的角度对Bolthouse Farms公司的饮料广告进行分析,指出该公司饮料产品的成功离不开其广告的独特的语篇特征。

Analysis of Plant Furnishing Problems in Sightseeing Farms

The connotation, characteristics and types of sightseeing farm were analyzed in this study, problems in the present plant furnishing within sightseeing farms were elaborated, and corresponding countermeasures were put forward.

Analysis on Technical Efficiency of Rice Farms and Its Influencing Factors in South-western of Niger

The present study focused on analyzing the technical efficiency office farms in southwest of Niger. The data from January to March 2015 survey of 148 ms in three districts of south-western of Niger were analyzed by using DEA-Tobit two-step method. In the f＇ust step, data envelopment analysis （DEA） was applied to estimate technical, pure technical and scale efficiency. In the second step, Tobit regression was used to identify factors affecting technical efficiency. The results showed that rice producers in southwest of Niger could reduce their inputs by 52% and still produce the same level of rice output. The Tobit regression showed that factors, such as farm size, experience in rice farming, membership of cooperative, main occupation and land ownership had a direct impact on technical efficiency.

Impact of Wind Farms of DFIG Type on Power System Transient Stability

The impact of large-scale grid-connected wind farms of Doubly-fed Induction Generator (DFIG) type on power system transient stability is elaborately discussed in this paper. In accordance with an equivalent generator/converter model, the comprehensive numerical simulations with multiple wind farms of DFIG type involved are carried out to reveal the impact of wind farm on dynamic behavior of existing interconnected power system. Different load models involving nonlinear load model and induction motor model are considered during simulations. Finally, some preliminary conclusions are summarized and discussed.