Benefits of Pasture Construction for Comprehensive Agricultural Development in Duolun Agro-pasturage Ecotone of Inner Mongolia

The agro-pasturage ecotone in northern China is not only an important green ecosystem barrier but also an important economic belt. However, the extensive operation manner and harsh natural surroundings lead to the grassland degradation, low agricultural productivity and people living in poverty. In our study, the result has shown that the aboveground biomass and economic benefits of improved grassland, artificial perennial grassland and silage farmland have been increased greatly. Therefore, the development and construction of high-yield silage farmland and artificial perennial grassland in agro-pasturage ecotone not only increase the economic benefits but also protect the ecological environment.

Investigation of factors affecting rural drinking water consumption using intelligent hybrid models

Identifying the factors affecting drinking water consumption is essential to the rational management of water resources and effective environment protection. In this study, the effects of the factors on rural drinking water demand were studied using the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and hybrid models, such as the ANFIS-genetic algorithm (GA), ANFIS-particle swarm optimization (PSO), and support vector machine (SVM)-simulated annealing (SA). The rural areas of Hamadan Province in Iran were selected for the case study. Five drinking water consumption factors were selected for the assessment according to the literature, data availability, and the characteristics of the study area (such as precipitation, relative humidity, temperature, the number of subscribers, and water price). The results showed that the standard errors of ANFIS, ANFIS-GA, ANFIS-PSO, and SVM-SA were 0.669, 0.619, 0.705, and 0.578, respectively. Therefore, the hybrid model SVM-SA outperformed other models. The sensitivity analysis showed that of the parameters affecting drinking water consumption, the number of subscribers significantly affected the water consumption rate, while the average temperature was the least significant factor. Water price was a factor that could be easily controlled, but it was always one of the least effective parameters due to the low water fee.

Exploring the association of paid sick leave with healthcare utilization and health outcomes in the United States:a rapid evidence review

Objective:Paid sick leave(PSL)laws mandate employers give workers paid time off when they are sick or injured.This current study aims to examine whether access to PSL is associated with healthcare utilization and health outcomes and to summarize the types of utilization and outcomes which have been reported to be associated with PSL.Methods:We conducted a rapid evidence review.Our search of seven databases,including Medline,Embase,PsycINFO,Cochrane Library,CINAHL,Scopus,and JSTOR,on September 21,2020,identified 757 studies,30 of which were retained.Results:Previous evidence is mostly provided by cross-sectional studies with survey data.In this study,evidence suggests that PSL is significantly associated with some types of healthcare utilization and health outcomes.In terms of healthcare utilization,findings indicate PSL is associated with an increase in the use of some preventive sendees and a decrease in the use of emergency care;while findings are mixed regarding associations of PSL with health provider visits and the use of mammograms and pap smears.As for health outcomes,findings suggest PSL is associated with improved mental and self-rated health,decreased incidence of influenza-like illness,and lower occupational injuries and mortality rates.Conclusion:PSL may be an effective tool in improving some healthcare utilization and health outcomes.Future research could help identify mechanisms through which PSL access works and identify what policy components lead to better outcomes.

梨外植体组培褐变的影响因子及预防措施

以鸭梨、黄金梨、阿巴特梨和杜梨为试材,对梨组培过程中影响外植体褐化的因素及防褐措施进行了研究。结果表明,品种、采样时期以及外植体内酚类物质含量等因素都显著地影响材料褐化率。抗褐剂试验表明,培养基中添加0.2g/L的聚乙烯吡咯烷酮(PVP)或100mg/L抗坏血酸(Vc),或将外植体在200mg/L抗坏血酸水溶液中浸泡30min后接入添加2g/L活性炭的培养基,均能显著抑制鸭梨褐化的发生。低温试验表明,鸭梨外植体经4℃低温处理6h后接种,或接入初期在4℃低温中培养12～24h,褐化程度明显减轻。

不同森林群落类型溪流水化学特征的季节动态

以小兴安岭凉水自然保护区内的阔叶红松林、云冷杉林和落叶松人工林为研究对象,于2006年3—10月,分析了其溪流水化学特征的动态变化.结果表明:不同月份3种森林群落溪流水的主要阳离子含量均表现为Ca2+>Na+>K+>Mg2+,主要阴离子含量均为HCO3->SO42->NO3->C l-;不同群落类型的主要离子含量影响显著,3种森林群落溪流水中Na+、Ca2+、Mg2+、Fe2+和Fe3+平均含量为云冷杉林>落叶松人工林>阔叶红松林,而K+为落叶松人工林>云冷杉林>阔叶红松林;主要阴离子平均含量均以落叶松人工林溪流水中为最高.

Shade stress decreases stem strength of soybean through restraining lignin biosynthesis

Lodging is the most important constraint for soybean growth at seedling stage in maize-soybean relay strip intercropping system.In the field experiments,three soybean cultivars Nandou 032-4(shade susceptible cultivar; B1),Jiuyuehuang(moderately shade tolerant cultivar; B2),and Nandou 12(shade tolerant cultivar; B3) were used to evaluate the relationship between stem stress and lignin metabolism in the stem of soybean.Results showed that the intercropped soybean was in variable light condition throughout the day time and co-growth stage with maize.The xylem area and cross section ratio played a main role to form the stem stress.The B3 both in intercropping and monocropping expressed a high stem stress with higher xylem area,lignin content,and activity of enzymes(phenylalanine ammonia-lyase(PAL),4-coumarate: CoA ligase(4CL),cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase(CAD),and peroxidase(POD)) than those of B1 and B2.Among the soybean cultivars and planting pattern,lignin content was positively correlated with stem stress.However,a negative correlation was found between lignin content and actual rate of lodging.In conclusion,the shade tolerant soybean cultivar had larger xylem area,higher lignin content and activities of CAD,4CL,PAL,and POD than other soybean cultivars in intercropping.The lodging in maize-soybean intercropping can be minimized by planting shade tolerant and lodging resistant cultivar of soybean.The lignin content in stem could be a useful indicator for the evaluation of lodging resistance of soybean in intercropping and activities of enzymes were the key factors that influence the lignin biosynthesis.

Land Management Effects on Biogeochemical Functioning of Salt-Affected Paddy Soils

Most lowlands in Northeast Thailand(Isaan region)are cultivated with rice and large areas are affected by salinity, which drastically limits rice production.A field experiment was conducted during the 2003 rainy season to explore the interactions between salinity and land management in two fields representative of two farming practices:an intensively managed plot with organic inputs and efficient water management,and one without organic matter addition.Field measurements,including pH,Eh,electrical conductivity(EC),and soil solution chemistry,were performed at three depths, with a particular focus on Fe dynamics,inside and outside saline patches. High reducing conditions appeared after flooding particularly in plots receiving organic matter and reduction processes leading to oxide reduction and to the release of Fe and,to a lesser extend,Mn to the soil solution.Oxide reduction led to the consumption of H^+ and the more the Fe reduction was,the higher the pH was,up to 6.5.Formation of hydroxy-green rust were likely to be at the origin of the pH stabilization.In the absence of organic amendments,high salinity prevented the establishment of the reduction processes and pH value remained around 4.Even under high reduction conditions,the Fe concentrations in the soil solution were below commonly observed toxic values and the amended plot had better rice production yield.

Effects of soil drought stress on photosynthetic gas exchange traits and chlorophyll fluorescence in Forsythia suspensa

To clarify the changes in plant photosynthesis and mechanisms underlying those responses to gradually increasing soil drought stress and reveal quantitative relationships between photosynthesis and soil moisture,soil water conditions were controlled in greenhouse pot experiments using 2-year-old seedlings of Forsythia suspensa（Thunb.） Vahl. Photosynthetic gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence variables were measured and analyzed under 13 gradients of soil water content. Net photosynthetic rate（PN）, stomatal conductance（gs）, and water-use efficiency（WUE） in the seedlings exhibited a clear threshold response to the relative soil water content（RSWC）. The highest PNand WUEoccurred at RSWCof51.84 and 64.10%, respectively. Both PNand WUEwere higher than the average levels at 39.79% B RSWCB 73.04%. When RSWCdecreased from 51.84 to 37.52%,PN, gs, and the intercellular CO2 concentration（Ci）markedly decreased with increasing drought stress; the corresponding stomatal limitation（Ls） substantially increased, and nonphotochemical quenching（NPQ） also tended to increase, indicating that within this range of soil water content, excessive excitation energy was dispersed from photosystem II（PSII） in the form of heat, and the reduction in PNwas primarily due to stomatal limitation.While RSWCdecreased below 37.52%, there were significant decreases in the maximal quantum yield of PSII photochemistry（Fv/Fm） and the effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry（UPSII）, photochemical quenching（qP）, and NPQ; in contrast, minimal fluorescence yield of the dark-adapted state（F0） increased markedly. Thus,the major limiting factor for the PNreduction changed to a nonstomatal limitation due to PSII damage. Therefore, an RSWCof 37.52% is the maximum allowable water deficit for the normal growth of seedlings of F. suspensa, and a water content lower than this level should be avoided in field soil water management. Water contents should be maintained in the range of 39.79% B RSWCB 73.04% to ensure normal function of the photosynthetic apparatus and high levels of photosynthesis and efficiency in F.suspensa.

Requirements for implementation of artificial intelligence in the practice of gastrointestinal pathology

Tremendous advances in artificial intelligence(AI)in medical image analysis have been achieved in recent years.The integration of AI is expected to cause a revolution in various areas of medicine,including gastrointestinal(GI)pathology.Currently,deep learning algorithms have shown promising benefits in areas of diagnostic histopathology,such as tumor identification,classification,prognosis prediction,and biomarker/genetic alteration prediction.While AI cannot substitute pathologists,carefully constructed AI applications may increase workforce productivity and diagnostic accuracy in pathology practice.Regardless of these promising advances,unlike the areas of radiology or cardiology imaging,no histopathology-based AI application has been approved by a regulatory authority or for public reimbursement.Thus,implying that there are still some obstacles to be overcome before AI applications can be safely and effectively implemented in real-life pathology practice.The challenges have been identified at different stages of the development process,such as needs identification,data curation,model development,validation,regulation,modification of daily workflow,and cost-effectiveness balance.The aim of this review is to present challenges in the process of AI development,validation,and regulation that should be overcome for its implementation in real-life GI pathology practice.

Genetic Diversity and Allelic Frequency of Selected Thai and Exotic Rice Germplasm Using SSR Markers

A collection of 167 Thai and exotic rice accessions was subjected for evaluation of genetic diversity and assessment of relationship by simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Among a total of 49 SSR markers, 13 markers distributing over 12 rice chromosomes showed clear polymorphic band patterns, and they were selected for genetic assessment. A total of 110 alleles were detected with an average of 8.46 alleles per locus. The averages of gene diversity, heterozygosity and polymorphic information content were 0.59, 0.02 and 0.56, respectively. The unweighted-pair group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA) clustering analysis was performed for genetic distance, and phylogenetic tree was constructed. The result showed that this rice collection was divided into two major groups, classified as japonica and indica subspecies. Within the japonica group, temperate japonica and tropical japonica subgroups can be clearly separated. Three-dimensional principal component analysis projection and model-based population structure analysis showed consistent clustering results with two major groups of UPGMA analysis, supporting the classification of japonica and indica subspecies. The indica allelic frequency was also investigated to provide an indicative guide for breeders to overcome the practical problems on sterility of inter-subspecies hybrid offspring. This rice collection and information obtained in this study will be useful for rice breeding programs.

Advances in Studies about Rural Financial Poverty Alleviation from the Perspective of Targeted Poverty Alleviation

With the objective of building a well-off society in an all-round way reaching the decisive stage,poverty alleviation enters the final stage,and rural financial poverty alleviation is increasingly becoming a hot topic of various circles of society. In order to accelerate the poverty alleviation and provide references and recommendations for further development of theory and practice of financial poverty alleviation,this paper made an overview of the organization system,operation mechanism and service products of rural financial poverty alleviation,elaborated the development path of financial poverty alleviation,and came up with recommendations for financial poverty alleviation.

如何为婴幼儿滴眼药水和涂抹药膏

在为婴幼儿滴眼药水和涂抹眼药膏时,格外的小心是十分必要的,同时,教会父母及看护者在婴幼儿患者离开诊所或医院后如何继续护理也是非常重要的。我们应该让父母尝试着练习,给予其一定的指导及帮助,直到他们感到自己能够独立完成这件事为止。

Thermo economic evaluation of oxy fuel combustion cycle in Kazeroon power plant considering enhanced oil recovery revenues

Oxy fuel combustion and conventional cycle(currently working cycle) in Kazeroon plant are modeled using commercial thermodynamic modeling software. Economic evaluation of the two models regarding the resources of transport and injection of carbon dioxide into oil fields at Gachsaran for enhanced oil recovery in the various oil price indices is conducted and indices net present value(NPV) and internal rate of return on investment(IRR) are calculated. The results of the two models reveal that gross efficiency of the oxy fuel cycle is more than reference cycle(62% compared to 49.03%), but the net efficiency is less(41.85% compared to 47.92%) because of the high-energy consumption of the components, particularly air separation unit(ASU) in the oxy fuel cycle. In this model, pure carbon dioxide with pressure of 20×105 Pa and purity of 96.84% was captured. NOX emissions also decrease by 4289.7 tons per year due to separation of nitrogen in ASU. In this model, none of the components of oxy fuel cycle is a major engineering challenge. With increasing oil price, economic justification of oxy fuel combustion model increases. With the price of oil at $ 80 per barrel in mind and $ 31 per ton fines for emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, IRR is the same for both models.

Biosorption of Heavy Metal by Algae Biomass in Surface Water

Discharging wastewater containing heavy metals of Cu, Pb, Zn and Cd into water bodies can cause toxicity in plants and aquatic animals and some of them will be unable to survive except algae. Wastewater treatment method to remove heavy metal contaminants includes chemical precipitation, ion exchange, membrane, filtration, adsorption using activated carbon. However, these methods are either expensive or have other disadvantages such as high energy consumption and inefficiencies when existing heavy metals are at trace concentration. Biosorption using algae biomass can be an alternative method to eliminate heavy metals. The objective of the project is to investigate the capability of Marine Algae (MA) and Freshwater Algae (FA) bi-omass in adsorbing heavy metals of Cu, Pb, Zn and Cd from water medium using synthetic water and industrial water. MA and FA were obtained from the eastern coast of Pulau Ubin and local fish farm respectively. After being fully washed with deionised water, dried in a furnace for 105°C, they are grinded to pass 1 mm2 of siever. MA and FA were characterised using FTIR to determine their functional groups. An industrial water was collected from industrial discharge from metal fac-tories in northern side of Singapore. Effect of adsorption time, adsorbent concentra-tion, and pH were studied. The result showed that FA and MA had a higher capability in adsorbing a total metal of about 40 ppm level from an industrial water, or 4 times than synthetic water concentration, at the same adsorbent dosage of 50 mg. In con-clusion, the presence of various functional groups, hydroxyl, carboxylic and amine groups, in all MA and FA samples had enabled the algae biomass to adsorb heavy metals of Cu, Pb, Cd and Zn from synthetic and industrial water. Due to their bio-sorptive properties and fast adsorption capability, algae could be a potential method for cleaning up surface water or post-treatment of wastewater and minimise the cost of eutrophication.

The study on the bottom friction and the breaking coefficient for typhoon waves in radial sand ridges—the Lanshayang Channel as an example

Owing to the interactions among the complex terrain, bottom materials, and the complicate hydrodynam-ics, typhoon waves show special characteristics as big waves appeared at the high water level （HWL） and small waves emerged at low and middle water levels （LWL and MWL） in radial sand ridges （RSR）. It is as-sumed that the mud damping, sandy bed friction and wave breaking effects have a great influence on the typhoon wave propagation in this area. Under the low wave energy, a mud layer will form and transport into the shallow area, thus the mud damping effects dominate at the LWL and the MWL. And high Collins coef-ficient （c around 1） can be applied to computing the damping effects at the LWL and the MWL. But under the high wave energy, the bottom sediment will be stirred and suspended, and then the damping effects disappear at the HWL. Thus the varying Collins coefficient with the water level method （VCWL） is imple-mented into the SWAN to model the typhoon wave process in the Lanshayang Channel （LSYC） of the RSR, the observed wave data under “Winnie” （“9711”） typhoon was used as validation. The results show that the typhoon wave in the RSR area is able to be simulated by the VCWL method concisely, and a constant wave breaking coefficient （γ） equaling 0.78 is better for the RSR where wide tidal flats and gentle bed slopes exist.

Application of innovative technologies in the strip rolling mill field

Many new types of rolling mills have been studied and developed corresponding to the needs of improvement in productivity and quality.This presentation reflects back at some of the innovative technologies,which were developed by Mitsubishi-Hitachi Metals Machinery,Inc.(hereinafter referred to as M-H),including the evolution of the pair cross mill,mill stabilizing device,on-line roll profiler,shape meter for hot-rolling,endless hot-rolling, recent application of UCM,and M-H split housing type 20-high mill.

Ethanol production and mitochondrial-related gene expression of maize(Zea mays) seed during storage

Mitochondrial degradation plays a vital role in seed deterioration.Novel markers were investigated based on a new method for quantifying maize seed deterioration during 12 months’storage under ambient(lab bench,~27℃ and 50-80%relative humidity(RH))or controlled((15±1)℃ and(50±5)%RH in bags with low oxygen permeability)conditions involving two techniques:1)fast ethanol assay and 2)quantitative RT-PCR(qPCR)with four mitochondrial-related genes in maize seed:alcohol dehydrogenase(ADH1),alternative oxidase(AOX1),cytochrome c oxidase(COXc),and ATPase.Ethanol production during imbibition and the expression of genes using the new method were compared to the results of two conventional methods:a germination test and an accelerated ageing test.The results showed that germination following ambient seed storage reduced significantly compared to the controlled conditions,especially at 9 months of storage.Ethanol production of maize seed measured by fast ethanol assay increased during storage.After 6 months,the mean(n=4)ethanol production from seed under ambient conditions was 400μg L^-1 which was higher than under the controlled conditions(240μg L^-1).Stored mRNA level of COXc and ATPase significantly decreased over time in ambient storage but were quite stable under the controlled conditions.Maize seed was also treated for artificial ageing at 42℃ in 100%RH for 12,24,and 48 h.At 24 h after treatment(HAT),maize seed produced significantly more headspace ethanol than at 12 HAT and more than the control(non-treated seed).The transcription level of ADH1 and ethanol production increased.The transcription level of COXc was directly related to the severity of the ageing treatment.In conclusion,a combination of fast ethanol assay and qPCR enhanced understanding of maize seed deterioration and provided new possibilities for the evaluation of seed storability based on transcriptional levels.

Indoor Inoculation and Identification Technology of Sweet (Hot) Pepper Virus

[Objective] The paper was to establish an affordable indoor virus inoculation and identification technology. [Method] Taking Tobacco Mosaic Virus （TMV） and Cucumber Mosaic Vires （CMV） of sweet （hot） pepper as the sources of virus, an affordable indoor virus inoculation and identification technology was developed in the paper. [ Result] The suitable inoculation concentration of CMV was five to ten times, and the best seedling age for inoculation was five to six leav- es. Suitable inoculation concentration of TMV was 20 to 30 times, and the best seedling age for inoculation was three to six leaves. Single inoculation technology was mainly used for indoor virus inoculation and identification of sweet （hot） pepper, and complex inoculation technology could also be adopted with first, st inoculation of CMV and late inoculation of TMV. For mixed inoculation technology, CMV： TMV should be 1： 1. Complex inoculation and mix inoculation should base on the tech- nology of single inoculation. Disease resistant materials, AID1-W22-dg176, ABgl-W22-48123, AB91-DL-6428, HY031-2-8-1-6, BYT-4-1-3-6-8, JFG-2-1-2-6, JF8S-1-1-5-4-8 and I＇502-1-1-3-5, were identified by this method. [ Conclusion] This research provided scientific basis for standardization of indoor inoculation of sweet （hot） pepper virus.

Validating the Classification of Smallholder Dairy Farming Systems Based on Herd Genetic Structure and Access to Breeding Services

Smallholder dairy farming in Africa is classified into rural, peri-urban and urban systems. The major classification criterion is demographic. Dairy systems are extensively characterized, but not based on rigorous statistical analyses. We validated this classification based on herd genetic structure and identify determinants of within-system variations, taking Ethiopia as a case study. Discriminant function analysis correctly classified 38% - 50.6% of the 360 sampled farms into the three systems. Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that rural and peri-urban farmers were 1.26 (P < 0.1) to 1.45 (P < 0.001) times more likely to keep local and low grade crossbreds and fewer high grade crosses (P < 0.05;odds ratio = 2.35) than the urban farmers. In the rural system, proportion of high grade crosses declined and low grades increased over generations, whereas in urban system the reverse was observed. Access to breeding services and land resources significantly determined the adoption of crossbred dairy herd within systems. In conclusion, considering farms within systems as a uniform unit to target development interventions may not be appropriate and thus farm topologies and system specific determinants of farmers’ breeding strategies need to be considered to design and introduce appropriate breeding interventions.

Chlorophyll Content and Photosynthetic Characteristics of Pepper Inbred Lines

This study aimed to investigate chlorophyll content and photosynthetic characteristics of 17 pepper inbred lines which were selected independently. The results showed that chlorophyll contents significantly varied among different inbred lines. To be specific, chlorophyll content of No. 68 inbred line was significantly higher than that of other 14 inbred lines ; chlorophyll content of No. 55 inbred line was signifieandy lower than that of other 15 inbred lines. The chlorophyll content of various inbred lines showed a decreasing order of No. 68 〉 No. 47 〉 No. 66 〉 No. 62 〉 No. 63 〉 No. 60 〉 No. 61 〉 No. 64 〉 No. 56 〉 No. 67 〉 No. 65 〉 No. 48 〉 No. 59 〉 No. 58 〉 No. 57 〉 No. 69 〉 No. 55 ; the photosynthetic rate of various inbred lines showed a decreasing order of No. 68 〉 No. 57 〉 No. 60 〉 No. 48 〉 No. 58 〉 No. 47 〉 No. 62 〉 No. 63 〉 No. 64 〉 No. 65 ; the maximum photesynthetie rate of No. 65 inbred line was significantly lower than other seven inbred lines, while no signifi- cant difference was observed among other nine inbred lines.