Establishment of Regional Green Innovation Value Chains:A Case Study on Tackling the Impeded Diffusion of Green Products

The green innovation value chain is a key step in transforming green,innovative scientific,and technological achievements into productive forces.The establishment of green innovation value chains based on value distribution rather than technical conditions can effectively overcome the common bottleneck faced by different nations during their green innovation endeavors,namely,the substitution of conventional products with green alternatives.This study investigates the impeded diffusion of green products and their underlying causes,analyzes the internal structure and mechanism of the green innovation value chain,and explores the establishment of regional green innovation value chains and the models available for value chain upgrading.

How Sense of Ritual in Tourism Impacts Tourists’Co-Creation of Tourism Experience Values:A Study Based on the Theory of Value Co-Creation

Establishing a sense of ritual within tourism consumption scenarios offers tourists the opportunity for interactive engagement.Drawing upon the value co-creation theory,this study constructed an influence mechanism model to examine tourists'active engagement in the process of co-creating tourism experience values.It employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling(PLS-SEM)to empirically test the proposed hypotheses.The findings demonstrate that the model constructed in the present study exhibits robust reliability,validity,and explanatory power.The perception of the sense of ritual in tourism exerts a significant positive influence on tourists’co-creation of tourism experience values,thereby significantly enhancing both the communitas and flow experienced by tourists during their travels.Moreover,such communitas and flow can mediate the influence of the sense of ritual in tourism on tourists’co-creation of tourism experience values.This study contributes to advancing the current research on tourists’co-creation of tourism experience values and the sense of ritual in tourism,thereby providing theoretical foundations for cultivating a sense of ritual within tourism consumption scenarios.

Thinking about Value Realization of Ecological Products under the Background of Urban-rural Integration in Chengdu“Western Control”Area

Chengdu's development strategy of“western control”has laid a solid ecological background for 8 western districts,cities and counties and cultivated good ecological resources.The integrated urban-rural development in the new era will realize the balanced development of urban and rural areas and give full play to the value of rural ecological resources through the“powerful combination”of urban and rural areas.To realize the urban-rural integration and high-quality rural development in Chengdu“western control”area,it is necessary to enhance the awareness of ecological resources and ecological products,and carry out unified planning of ecological infrastructure,ecological material products and ecological service products in the whole“western control”area.Meantime,ecological restoration must be carried out scientifically,and scene design for value transformation of ecological products should be implemented innovatively.

Construction of Value Models of Consumer Creation for Agricultural Products Based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)

With the increased competition of modern economy and globalization,consumer creation which based on the analysis of consumer behavior was more and more attentioned and respected by business.Based on the meaning and characteristics of agricultural product consumer creation,index system of value model of agricultural product consumer creation was put forward through analytical hierarchy process（AHP）.The weights of the indicators and related indicators of impact on the value were analyzed,and value models of agricultural product consumer creation were constructed to provide ideas for development of agricultural product consumer market and research of consumer value.Consumer creation was constructed to provide ideas for development of agricultural product consumer market and research of consumer value.

Yield and Nutritive Values of Semi- and Non-Fall Dormant Alfalfa Cultivars under Late-Cutting Schedule in California’s Central Valley

California is one of the major alfalfa (Medicago sativa L) forage-producing states in the U.S, but its production area has decreased significantly in the last couple of decades. Selection of cultivars with high yield and nutritive value under late-cutting schedule strategy may help identify cultivars that growers can use to maximize yield while maintaining area for sustainable alfalfa production, but there is little information on this strategy. A field study was conducted to determine cumulative dry matter (DM) and nutritive values of 20 semi- and non-fall dormant (FD) ratings (FD 7 and FD 8 - 10, respectively) cultivars under 35-day cut in California’s Central Valley in 2020-2022. Seasonal cumulative DM yields ranged from 6.8 in 2020 to 37.0 Mg·ha−1 in 2021. Four FD 8 - 9 cultivars were the highest yielding with 3-yrs avg. DM greater than the lowest yielding lines by 46%. FD 7 cultivar “715RR” produced the highest crude protein (CP: 240 g·Kg−1) while FD 8 cultivar “HVX840RR” resulted in the highest neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD: 484 g·Kg−1, 7% greater than the top yielding cultivars) but with DM yield intermediate. Yields and NDFD correlated positively but weakly indicating some semi- and non-FD cultivars performing similarly. These results suggest that selecting high yielding cultivars under 35-day cutting schedule strategy can be used as a tool to help growers to maximize yield while achieving good quality forages for sustainable alfalfa production in California’s Central Valley.

Composition of the Value of Tourism Creative Products under the Influence of Regional Culture

With the analysis of the influence of regional culture on the value of tourism creative products,the characteristics of the value of tourism creative products were studied,and the impact of regional culture on the composition and realization of the value was summarized. Thus, the general law of the influence of external factors on the product value could be drawn. Characteristics of the value of tourism creative products is contrasted to analyze the requirement motivation of consumers and to seek the ways of realization for products value with the influence of regional culture.The mathematical evaluation model was employed for evidence.Based on the model,the influencing factors of the value of different types of creative products were explored, which would provide theories and enlightenment for the co-creation and appreciation of creative products in the future.

Market and Value Chain Analyses of Marketable Natural Products from Agroforestry Systems in Eastern Sudan

The objectives of the present study were: 1) to identify the prioritized marketable natural products (NPs) from agroforestry systems (AFS), and 2) to conduct market value chain analyses of the most important and prioritized NPs to identify markets and marketing channels;actors, functions and characteristics;constraints and opportunities to entry and growth;opportunities for value addition, and conduct analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis). The study was conducted in the Refugees’ camps and their hosting communities in Eastern Sudan. Using the participatory value chain analysis (PVCA) approach, it was found that communities in the project sites obtained a multiplicity of NPs for sustenance and for increasing their incomes. Eight products were identified and ranked as the most important NPs with greatest opportunities for enterprise development at the community level. These are: gum Arabic, honey, fodder, non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and tree seeds. Gum Arabic has been shown to score higher ranks in terms of a) marketability b) ecological suitability (availability), c) social suitability, and d) potential for value addition. The results show that marketing of gum Arabic in the study site is characterized by a large number of producers and relatively few traders and companies work through seven marketing channels. The results demonstrate that in the customary marketing channel there is an upward skewed benefit distribution among the value chain actors. The total relative commercialization margin was 80% indicating that “traders” accrued higher proportion, while “producers”, receive less income (20%) of the end market price. Poor land security, one-sided prices, taxes and levies, lack of finance and appropriate skills are major impediments to gum commodity growth and development. One of the most important opportunities for growth and entry of Gum Arabic are: it is natural organic product and thus well-fit for fair trade, environmentally sustainable and organic market development. Numerous opportunities exist in the site for value addition and distribution synergies and gender-specific development, including that gum Arabic has high synergy with natural resource management and other sectors for enhancing regional and national growth. The study concludes that Gum Arabic production and marketing is financially profitable for producers, traders and companies and has the potential to open new markets and bring new opportunities to smallholder farmers. However, technical, financial, and institutional support could result in an increase in local actors’ income and contribute to sustainability of the supply of the product.

Overview of the Consumer Behavior Study in the Markets of Food Products(1998-2018),Based on the Author’s Interpretation of the Consumer's Requirements in the System of Values that Influence on the Consumer Market Behavior

The purpose of this study was to review the results of a 20-year study in the author’s interpretation of the needs for food products and the value system that determines the market behavior of consumers in the food markets.The scientific novelty of the research is the following results:a)The author’s interpretation of the needs for food products,as consisting of three components:(1)The actual need for food(physiological need);(2)the need for emotions obtained from eating(psychological need);and(3)the need for market products that can meet the physiological needs of emotional expectations and social needs(socio-psychological and economic need);b)Interdisciplinary approach to the study of consumer behavior that led to the author’s interpretation of the value of the research methods outlined in the works of J.N.Sheth et al.,extended and supplemented in the study of Galina V.Astratova(1998);c)Identification of the fact that the importance of components in the system of values,according to the results of research,is different for different food products.This allows simulating more clearly the behavior of the consumer in the development of a marketing-mix and developing a marketing strategy based on targeting.

NEW BREAKTHROUGH OF HEAVY OIL UPGRADING TECHNOLOGY——INTEGRATION PROCESSES OF VRFCC/RMC FOR PRODUCTION OF HIGH VALUE PRODUCTS AND STEAM CRACKING FEED

An integration process of vacuum residue FCC(VRFCC)and moderate pressure hydro cracking(RMC),developed by RIPP and BDI,opens a new route for maximizing production of both high value products and the feed for steam cracking(SC).VRFCC technology has been put on stream at Yanshan Petrochemical Co (YPC)since November 1998.A 79 2%(mass percent)high value product(LPG+GSL+LCO)was surprisingly made on the test run from a resid feedstock of 85 0%(mass percent)Daqing crude VR content.No facility coking was found during the operation.RMC is a renovating moderate pressure hydrocracking technology,the end point of the heavy VGO feed is as high as 534 ℃,and the RMC catalyst performance shows high hydrodenitrogenation activity and high ring opening selectivity.The process highlights the flexibility of product slates——maximum premium mid distillates yield(38 0%(mass percent))and/or maximum hydro unconverted bottoms(Hydro BTMs)yield(50%～70%(mass percent)).Over 30%(mass percent)ethylene was produced from SC process based on Hydro BTMs feed. The application of VRFCC/RMC integration at YPC not only covers the shortages of SC feed for 660 kt/a ethylene production capacity,but also increases the total yield of premium fuel products.

Innovations in Value-Addition of Agricultural By-Products in Uganda

The purpose of this review was to profile the existing innovations in the value addition of agricultural by-products and suggest innovations that could yield more value-added products from the available agricultural by-products in Uganda. These by-products were from crops, livestock, fish and forestry sub-sectors. The review indicated 7.8 million tons from the crops’ subsector, 6.69 million skins and hides, 2280 million tons of cow dung and 390,550 tons of chicken dung from the livestock subsector, 36,000 tons from the fish subsector and 440,000 m3 of sawdust and offcuts from the forestry sub-sector. Current innovations in value-addition of agricultural by-products included the making of briquettes, organic fertilizers, biogas, biochar, pellets and organic pesticides from the crop subsector. Cow dung from the livestock is used for plastering walls of houses, used as fertilizer and used for the production of biogas. Chicken droppings are as well used as fertilizer and for production of biogas. Fish frames and skins are mainly consumed in smoked form whereas trimmings are usually rolled into fish balls and then fried for people to eat while the fats are used for frying the fish balls. Sawdust has been mixed with cement to make wood-cement composite bricks that reduce the overall weight of the building. It is also being used as feed in the Indigenous Micro-Organisms (IMO) technology in the production of pigs. Proposed innovations include the use of bones to produce soft tissue, buttons, knife handles and bone meal. Blood can be used in making adhesives and fertilizers while fish oil is a major dietary source of long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and so can be utilized to enrich different food products.

Chemical Composition and Nutritive Value of Agro-Industrial By-Products in Ruminant Nutrition

This study was carried out to determine the chemical composition and in situ degradability of agro-industrial by-products found in Eritrea. Three categories of by-products were evaluated and were the milling industry (wheat bran;WB, short;WS, and middling;WM), brewery (brewers’ dry grain;BDG, hops;BDH, and yeast;BDY) and sesame cakes (sesame cake machine extracted;SCM and manually extracted;SCT). The dry matter (DM) varied between 88.46% in BDY to 92.39% in SCT. The lowest (P < 0.05) crude protein (CP) content was recorded in WM at 10.11% while the highest was from the BDY at 48.20%. The metabolisable energy (ME) value of the agro-industrial by-products ranged from 8.72 to 11.18 MJ per kg DM with the BDH recording the lowest value (P The sesame cakes (SCM and SCT) recorded higher values of 11.17 and 11.18 MJ per kg DM respectively. The SCT recorded the highest ash content at 10.93% followed by BDY at 10.16% with the least being obtained from WM at 2.48%. The ether extract and acid detergent lignin contents were generally low in all cases for all the by-products. Generally, the results indicated that there was no clear pattern in terms of nutrients content amongst the by-products. The in situ DM, organic matter (OM) and CP degradability differed amongst and within the sesame cakes, milling and brewery by-products. The wide variation in chemical composition, DM, OM, CP degradability, and ME obtained from this study offer farmers huge flexibility in formulating rations according to the productive performance of target animals.

Value co-creation model based on IS application capabilities

To illustrate how firms and customers co-create value in business to business （B2B） e-commerce, an integrated value co-creation model is proposed based on information systems （IS） application capabilities from the relational view. IS application capabilities, relational assets, customer agility and relational value are constructed and tested by empirical analysis. The empirical research tests and verifies the mediating effect of customer agility, and the interactions of IS application capabilities and relational assets, as well as their effect on relational value. This model expands the research framework of value co-creation in service dominant logic, and reveals the mechanism of how f＇n＇ms and customers co-create value in B2B e-commerce based on IS application capabilities, which provides the basis for further theory development and a practice guide.

Effects of SPAD Decline Value of Mid-season Hybrid Rice Leaves after Full-heading Stage on Productivity of Rice Fertilized with Nitrogen

[Objective] The aim was to research relationship between SPAD decline index after full-heading stage （SDIFHS） and productivity of rice. fertilized with nitro- gen in order to provide theoretical and practical references for selection and breed- ing of rice varieties. [Method] From 2008 to 2010, 18 mid-season hybrid rice vari- eties were researched every year to explore relationship＇ between SDIFHS and pro- ductivity of rice fertilized with nitrogen. [Result] The productivity of rice fertilized with nitrogen was of extremely significant positive corretation with SDIFHS, because the higher SPAD decline index is, the higher LAI decline index and the transformation ratio of dry matter to spikes in overground plant would be. [Conclusion] The re- search established a new method to predict productivity of rice fertilized with nitro- gen based on SPAD decline index.

“Products-Knowledge” Two-Dimensional Increment Model of Fashion Industry Value Chain Based on Industry Analysis

Fashion industry has a complex characteristic for it spans the first, second, and third industries. In addition, the characteristic of creative industry has high value-added for its knowledge outputting, which makes the traditional value-added analysis based on supply chain not easy and good enough to interpret its industry value-added features. From the perspective of "products-knowledge" two-dimensional analysis,a fashion industry value chain increment model is built,by simulating the process of "product flow" and "information flow" value-added. The fashion industry value chain increment model provides an effective way for the enterprise strategy formulation and production strategy adjustment.

Natural products and extracts from plants as natural UV filters for sunscreens:A review

Although solar exposure is necessary for human health,phototoxicology induced by excessive UVB and UVA radiation,which involves sunburns,skin aging and even tu-morigenesis,has been widely researched.Sunscreen is one of the most important ways to protect skin from UV phototoxic damage.As well as inorganic and organic UV filters,some natural products or plant extracts with aromatic rings in their structures,such as flavonoids or polyphenols,can absorb UV to reduce sunburn,acting as a natu-ral UV filter;they also show antioxidant or/and anti-inflammatory activity.This could explain why,although there are no officially approval natural commercial sun-filters,more and more commercial sunscreen products containing plant extracts are avail-able on the market.Here we summarize articles focusing on natural UV filters from plant published in the last 6 years,selecting the most significant data in order to better understand the photoprotective activity of natural products and extracts from plants,including their major constituents and main biological effects,methods for evaluating UV radiation resistance,anti-UV radiation experimental models and anti-UV radiation mechanisms.

Lean Product Development Process with Design Verification Stages in the Value Stream of Automotive Industry

In the automotive industry, lean projects and innovation creation come to life by being updated under the control of systematic interdisciplinary process flows. The lean product development process that changes the shell, defined under the light of the variables created by the competitive conditions, is today measured by the value flow efficiency and the global market spread of the final product. Consequently, the lean product development approach, which aims to identify and purify all the wastes that do none value or create value to the system or cause burdens in the new product development process, is shaped by step-by-step approvals in the flow. In the main automotive industry company practices within the scope of the research (3 national, 3 international), the beginning of the concept of lean in design is to define and optimize the steps in the product development process under the value stream map. Therefore, the product function for which the customer has paid for, the function of the new product or the physical structure used to meet the needs in question, the comfort, life, experience, innovations of the scope that constitute the new product concept are planned and verified and implemented in the simplified automotive design stages at the beginning of the lean product development process. In this research, initial automotive design objectives and stages are at the focal point of the innovation and added value creation brought by the concept of “lean” approach. The research is modelled on the determination of steps that do not create added value together with the points where the flow circuits’ or stems, the process is devalued, the interdisciplinary holistic studies intensify, the information and delay begin and end in the sequential and simultaneous design validation step transition stages, which are examined under the lean approach. As a visual and virtual tool that enables the elaboration of nominal values such as the total duration of the design verification stages and the influence of interdisciplinary stakeholders or the test level of the product design with the new product added, it reveals the value flow or losses. Hence research;from innovation creation and new product design steps, which constitute the initial stages of the lean product development process, to design verification analysis, the efficiency of the automotive company processes within the scope of the research has been measured by comparing using lean automotive design techniques, methods and concepts.

Correlation of morphological anisotropy and Lankford value of deep drawing sheets hot-rolled by compact strip production

Cold-rolled steel sheets in automotive applications require an excellent deep draw ability, which is characterized by the Lankford value （r-value）. In this study, a correlation was identified between r-value and pancake-shaped grain flatness which is indicated as the ratio of grain diameter in the rolling direction （RD） and normal direction （ND） of sheets （dr/dn）. A mathematical model （ r = e^0.345（dn^1/2-dr^1/2） ） was developed to calculate r-value by the microstructure of steel sheets hot-rolled by compact strip production （CSP）. It is shown that the r-value is higher, if the microstructure of steel sheet is of pancake-shaped grains elongated in the rolling direction. The calculated r-value is confirmed to fit exactly to the measured one from the large-scale production.

Cartesian product over interval valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets

The intuitionistic fuzzy set(IFS) based on fuzzy theory,which is of high efficiency to solve the fuzzy problem, has been introduced by Atanassov. Subsequently, he pushed the research one step further from the IFS to the interval valued intuitionistic fuzzy set(IVIFS). On the basis of fuzzy set(FS), the IFS is a generalization concept. And the IFS is generalized to the IVIFS.In this paper, the definition of the sixth Cartesian product over IVIFSs is first introduced and its some properties are explored.We prove some equalities based on the operation and the relation over IVIFSs. Finally, we present one geometric interpretation and a numerical example of the sixth Cartesian product over IVIFSs.

Mining Elite Alleles of Growth Duration and Productive Panicle Number per Plant by Association Mapping with Conditional Phenotypic Value in Japonica Rice

To provide genetic information and materials for breeding hybrid japonica rice with wide adaptability and strong competitive advantage of yield, elite alleles and their carrier varieties of growth duration （GD） and productive panicle number per plant （PN） were detected. A natural population composed of 94 japonica varieties was phenotyped for the GD, PN and plant height （PH） in two environments. The conditional phenotypic data were transferred by the linear model method in software QGAStation 1.0, and association mapping based on the unconditional and conditional phenotype values of GD and PN was analyzed by using general linear model in software TASSEL. A total of 34 simple sequence repeat （SSR） marker loci associated with GD and PN were detected in the two environments. Among them, 15 were associated with GD, and 19 were associated with PN. Four elite alleles of RM8095-120bp, RM7102-176bp, RM72-170bp and RM72-178bp were associated with GD, and their carrier varieties were Hongmangshajing, Nipponbare, Hongmangshajing and Nannongjing 62401, respectively. These elite alleles from the carrier varieties can shorten GD by 2.03-9.93 d when they were introduced into improved materials. RM72-182bp associated with PN was an elite allele, and its carrier variety was Xiaoqingzhong. It can increase PN by three when introduced into improved materials. Moreover, these elite alleles can be used to improve target traits without influencing another two traits.

Value chain financing and plantain production in Nigeria:an ex-ante approach

Value chain finance(VCF)represents the aligning and structuring of finance within a value chain or as a result of its existence.Given the growing need to explore innovative approaches to rural and agricultural finance in Nigeria,such financing solutions have become imperative.However,few studies on the ex-ante impact of financing innovations exist.Therefore,to ascertain the benefits derivable from VCF,this paper analyzes the potential impact of VCF on plantain production in Nigeria.The expected benefits are estimated based on the economic surplus model,using the Dynamic Research Evaluation for Management(DREAM)software.Results from a 25-year simulation period at a 15%discount rate and an innovation cost of USD 1,300,000,show that,in the least optimistic scenario,the economy is expected to have an overall net gain(economic surplus)of USD 3256,800,with a net present value of USD 3406,880,benefit-cost ratio of 3.83,and an internal rate of return or break-even discount rate of 36.80%.These results indicate the positive impact of VCF,measured in terms of net present value and net benefit,expressed as producer and consumer surplus.This suggests VCF is a viable and beneficial financing innovation for food production in Nigeria.Finally,it is recommended that a value chain financing agency be established to make finance available to farmers to boost food production in Nigeria.