Beijing is facing a huge challenge to manage the growth of its built-up area whilst also retaining both productive arable land and land for conservation purposes in order to simultaneously realize the three aims of ec...Beijing is facing a huge challenge to manage the growth of its built-up area whilst also retaining both productive arable land and land for conservation purposes in order to simultaneously realize the three aims of economic development,protecting arable land and generating environmental improvements. Meanwhile,London,as a world city with more than 200 years of industrialization and urbanization,has accumulated rich theoretical and practical experiences for land use planning in a major urban area,such as the creation of Garden Cities,a designated Green Belt and New Towns. This paper firstly analyzes the main characteristics of the spatial distribution of the built-up area,arable land and conservation land in Beijing. Then,some of the key aspects of urban fringe planning in the London region are examined. Lastly,several implications from the experience of London are provided with respect to land-use planning for Beijing,concentrating on a re-appraisal of land-use functions around Beijing,measures to improve the green belt,the development of small towns to house rural-urban migrants and urban overspill,and effective implementation of land-use planning.展开更多
This study examines the development and trends of China’s alfalfa market and imports, identifies key factors for the rapid increase in China’s alfalfa imports, and discusses potential impacts of the U.S.-China trade...This study examines the development and trends of China’s alfalfa market and imports, identifies key factors for the rapid increase in China’s alfalfa imports, and discusses potential impacts of the U.S.-China trade dispute and retaliations on the alfalfa markets and trade in both nations. China’s rapid transition toward larger-scale commercial dairy production, with enhanced feed and cost management as well as quality and safety control, and its limited resources for high-quality alfalfa production are key factors for the dramatic increase in its alfalfa imports, from 19 601 metric tons in 2008 to 1.38 million metric tons(mmt) in 2018. While the United States dominated China’s alfalfa imports with an average share of 97.01% from 2007 to 2017, the share dropped to 83.76% in 2018 and 63.28% in January 2019 due to the trade dispute and retaliations started in 2018. China will likely remain a large importer of alfalfa because of both its growing demand and the comparative advantages of imported alfalfa in quality and price, but the imports from the United States will be highly affected by the ongoing trade dispute and negotiations. China is also expected to make more efforts to reduce its dependence on U.S. alfalfa through increased investment in domestic alfalfa production and identification of alternative sources of alfalfa and other hay imports.展开更多
In a prior practice and policy article published in Healthcare Science,we introduced the deployed application of an artificial intelligence(AI)model to predict longer‐term inpatient readmissions to guide community ca...In a prior practice and policy article published in Healthcare Science,we introduced the deployed application of an artificial intelligence(AI)model to predict longer‐term inpatient readmissions to guide community care interventions for patients with complex conditions in the context of Singapore's Hospital to Home(H2H)program that has been operating since 2017.In this follow on practice and policy article,we further elaborate on Singapore's H2H program and care model,and its supporting AI model for multiple readmission prediction,in the following ways:(1)by providing updates on the AI and supporting information systems,(2)by reporting on customer engagement and related service delivery outcomes including staff‐related time savings and patient benefits in terms of bed days saved,(3)by sharing lessons learned with respect to(i)analytics challenges encountered due to the high degree of heterogeneity and resulting variability of the data set associated with the population of program participants,(ii)balancing competing needs for simpler and stable predictive models versus continuing to further enhance models and add yet more predictive variables,and(iii)the complications of continuing to make model changes when the AI part of the system is highly interlinked with supporting clinical information systems,(4)by highlighting how this H2H effort supported broader Covid‐19 response efforts across Singapore's public healthcare system,and finally(5)by commenting on how the experiences and related capabilities acquired from running this H2H program and related community care model and supporting AI prediction model are expected to contribute to the next wave of Singapore's public healthcare efforts from 2023 onwards.For the convenience of the reader,some content that introduces the H2H program and the multiple readmissions AI prediction model that previously appeared in the prior Healthcare Science publication is repeated at the beginning of this article.展开更多
Drought is the most common of all natural disasters in Kenya, in terms of the large areas covered, populations adversely affected and socio-economic impacts. The Upper Ewaso Ng’iro Basin of Kenya is a drought-prone z...Drought is the most common of all natural disasters in Kenya, in terms of the large areas covered, populations adversely affected and socio-economic impacts. The Upper Ewaso Ng’iro Basin of Kenya is a drought-prone zone, lying on the lee slopes of both Mt. Kenya and Aberdares range. This study sought to determine opinions of communities on drought and its impacts on their livelihoods. Baseline data were collected from published reports and literature reviews augmented with information gathered through interviews with communities and key informants. Field data were collected mainly in the three counties of Laikipia, Isiolo and Meru, utilizing semi-structured questionnaire surveys. A total of 187 respondents were interviewed of which 150 were community members and 37 were policy makers. The typologies of community respondents interviewed included small-scale farmers, large commercial farmers, pastoralists, conservancies, water user associations and conservation groups. It was found that drought is a serious disaster in the Upper Ewaso Ng’iro basin, which has been escalating. Communities experienced negative impacts of drought, with the biggest problem being water scarcity, closely followed by food and fodder shortages and poor incomes from farming. Other problems include spikes in livestock theft, loss of livestock from diseases and shortage of pasture. Conflicts over water and pasture escalate during droughts and crime increases due to lack of on-farm employment opportunities. Since drought events are natural phenomena expected to happen any time, there is need to identify how to improve local capacities in drought preparedness, adaptation and resilience.展开更多
Maize value-added products play a crucial role in reducing post-harvest losses, enhancing food security, and generating income. While extensive research has focused on maize production in Cameroon, the exploration of ...Maize value-added products play a crucial role in reducing post-harvest losses, enhancing food security, and generating income. While extensive research has focused on maize production in Cameroon, the exploration of its value-added products and their profitability in the North-West Region remains underexplored. This study examined the profitability of maize value-added products in Mezam Division, with the objectives to: 1) identify various maize-based products, 2) assess the diversity of these products, 3) conduct a cost-benefit analysis of selected products, 4) examine the relationship between profitability and product diversity, and 5) identify key constraints impacting profitability. To achieve these objectives, structured questionnaires were administered to 500 small-scale maize entrepreneurs randomly selected from five subdivisions. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze objective 1 and 5, while the Shannon Diversity Index was employed to assess product diversity. Additionally, a cost-benefit analysis was conducted on four selected products namely pap, parched corn, peeled parboiled corn, and corn beer, and a correlation analysis was used to examine objective 4. In total, 13 maize value-added products were identified, with a diversity index of 4.4. The total cost of processing the four selected products per entrepreneur using 18 kg of maize per product was FCFA 83631.5 (US $132.75), while the total revenue was FCFA 121864.5 (US $193.43), resulting in an economic profit of FCFA 38,233 (US $60.69). Pap emerged as the most profitable product, with an economic profit of FCFA 27,875 (US $44.24), while corn beer was the least profitable, with an economic profit of FCFA 2133.46 (US $3.39). The correlation analysis revealed a strong negative relationship between product diversity and profitability (r = −0.91), indicating that entrepreneurs can maximize profitability by focusing on a few high-demand products like pap and parched corn. Key constraints to profitability included fluctuating market prices, high production costs, limited access to finance, and inadequate storage facilities. Despite these challenges, our findings indicate that maize value addition is profitable in Mezam Division. Entrepreneurs can leverage this data for informed decision-making and future investments. It is recommended that the government promote maize value addition and provide financial support for modern processing equipment to boost profitability and income generation.展开更多
The purposes of this study are to assess the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the dairy industries in China and the United States and to derive policy recommendations for enhancing the diary industries’resilience to p...The purposes of this study are to assess the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the dairy industries in China and the United States and to derive policy recommendations for enhancing the diary industries’resilience to pandemics and other market shocks.Specifically,data from the two nations are used to analyze and compare the mechanisms through which the pandemic has affected their dairy industries and to discuss potential lessons from their experiences.The findings suggest that this pandemic has heavily affected the dairy industries in both China and the United States through similar mechanisms,such as decreased farmgate milk prices,disruption and difficulties of moving milk within the supply chains,worker shortages,increased production costs,and lack of operating capital.There were also significant differences in the affecting mechanisms between the two nations,including transportation difficulties from widespread road closures and significant reduction in holiday sales of dairy products in China,and the shutdown of many dairy processors in the United States due to the closing of schools,restaurants,and hotels.While government financial reliefs are highly needed to help many dairy farms and processors survive this pandemic in the short term,the dairy industries and governments need to work together to develop long-term strategies and policies to balance the industries’efficiency and flexibility,product specialization and diversification,supply chain integration and local food systems,and market mechanisms and policy regulations and interventions.展开更多
Flower blight on anthurium(Anthurium andraeanum)was observed during August 2018 on an anthurium cultivation farm in the Songkhla Province of southern Thailand.The fungal isolate was identified as Neopestalotiopsis cla...Flower blight on anthurium(Anthurium andraeanum)was observed during August 2018 on an anthurium cultivation farm in the Songkhla Province of southern Thailand.The fungal isolate was identified as Neopestalotiopsis clavispora based on the morphology and DNA sequence of the internal transcribed spacer(ITS),translation elongation factor 1-α(tef1-α),andβ-tubulin(tub)genes.The phylogenetic tree,based on the combined sequences of ITS,tef1-α,and tub,confirmed this pathogen as N.clavispora.Pathogenicity of the species was confirmed according to Koch’s postulate:N.clavispora could infect anthurium.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first report of N.clavispora as a pathogen of anthurium.展开更多
This study aims to estimate the quantity of healthcare waste categorically generated in four different healthcare in Dar es Salaam city namely, Muhimbili National Hospital, Mwananyamala Regional Referral Hospital, Tem...This study aims to estimate the quantity of healthcare waste categorically generated in four different healthcare in Dar es Salaam city namely, Muhimbili National Hospital, Mwananyamala Regional Referral Hospital, Temeke Regional Referral Hospital and Ilala Regional Referral Hospital to evaluate the quantities of medical waste generated based on their level and capacity. Waste was collected in different categories of non-infectious, sharps, infectious, infectious plastics, and pathological waste which were measured daily for fourteen (14) consecutive days in all hospitals by using a weighting scale and observational checklist to document related waste management information and the assessment of the healthcare waste generation in each hospital. The average general healthcare waste generation rate per healthcare ranges from 298.9 kg/day to 1554.4 kg/day. The high fluctuation in general medical waste was established to be attributed to specialization difference between one hospital to the other, and the large number of in-patients and out patients between hospitals. The overall average sharps waste generation rate was established to range from 8.5 ± 2.7 - 13.9 ± 1.8 kg/day. Higher values of sharps waste generated observed at Muhimbili hospital are due to emergency cases referred to from other hospitals located within the city and from the surrounding districts and other regions of the country. The results from this study, raise alarm to hospital administrators, and other health stakeholders working in related fields to give special attention and priority in setting a related share in their budgets for proper management of medical waste in their health facilities.展开更多
The aim of the experimental trial was to evaluate the performance of the designed placenta and other pathological waste digester system on the effectiveness of digesting the placenta and its energy recovery (bio-gas) ...The aim of the experimental trial was to evaluate the performance of the designed placenta and other pathological waste digester system on the effectiveness of digesting the placenta and its energy recovery (bio-gas) process in Mwananyamala Referral Hospital in Dar es Salaam. A 32 m<sup>3</sup> digester is constructed in Mwananyamala Referral Hospital, one inlet of which is to attach to the toilet of maternity ward, where the placentas are flushed directly into the digester, while food waste is fed through another inlet. The slurry of the digester is sent to a sewer/septic tank to avoid further handling. Most fraction of the waste fed into the digester is food waste. In general with the amount of 25.6 ± 4.5 kg/day of placenta and 83.1 ± 14.7 kg/day of food waste, 2.5 m<sup>3</sup>/d gas was produced. The pH throughout the study period (that is of 18 weeks) was found to be consistent within the range of 6.3 to 8.0, while the pressure ranged from 5 kPa - 33 kPa. Average temperature within the digester was found to be 30.3<span style="white-space:nowrap;">°</span>C. With all the favorable condition, gas production was consistent and hence the system has been successful in management of the pathological waste along with the production of gas as an alternative source of energy for the hospital.展开更多
基金Foundation： National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.40971112 No.40971062
文摘Beijing is facing a huge challenge to manage the growth of its built-up area whilst also retaining both productive arable land and land for conservation purposes in order to simultaneously realize the three aims of economic development,protecting arable land and generating environmental improvements. Meanwhile,London,as a world city with more than 200 years of industrialization and urbanization,has accumulated rich theoretical and practical experiences for land use planning in a major urban area,such as the creation of Garden Cities,a designated Green Belt and New Towns. This paper firstly analyzes the main characteristics of the spatial distribution of the built-up area,arable land and conservation land in Beijing. Then,some of the key aspects of urban fringe planning in the London region are examined. Lastly,several implications from the experience of London are provided with respect to land-use planning for Beijing,concentrating on a re-appraisal of land-use functions around Beijing,measures to improve the green belt,the development of small towns to house rural-urban migrants and urban overspill,and effective implementation of land-use planning.
基金the Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station at the University Vermont,USA,and the National Social Science Fund of China(17ZDA067)for financial support of this project。
文摘This study examines the development and trends of China’s alfalfa market and imports, identifies key factors for the rapid increase in China’s alfalfa imports, and discusses potential impacts of the U.S.-China trade dispute and retaliations on the alfalfa markets and trade in both nations. China’s rapid transition toward larger-scale commercial dairy production, with enhanced feed and cost management as well as quality and safety control, and its limited resources for high-quality alfalfa production are key factors for the dramatic increase in its alfalfa imports, from 19 601 metric tons in 2008 to 1.38 million metric tons(mmt) in 2018. While the United States dominated China’s alfalfa imports with an average share of 97.01% from 2007 to 2017, the share dropped to 83.76% in 2018 and 63.28% in January 2019 due to the trade dispute and retaliations started in 2018. China will likely remain a large importer of alfalfa because of both its growing demand and the comparative advantages of imported alfalfa in quality and price, but the imports from the United States will be highly affected by the ongoing trade dispute and negotiations. China is also expected to make more efforts to reduce its dependence on U.S. alfalfa through increased investment in domestic alfalfa production and identification of alternative sources of alfalfa and other hay imports.
文摘In a prior practice and policy article published in Healthcare Science,we introduced the deployed application of an artificial intelligence(AI)model to predict longer‐term inpatient readmissions to guide community care interventions for patients with complex conditions in the context of Singapore's Hospital to Home(H2H)program that has been operating since 2017.In this follow on practice and policy article,we further elaborate on Singapore's H2H program and care model,and its supporting AI model for multiple readmission prediction,in the following ways:(1)by providing updates on the AI and supporting information systems,(2)by reporting on customer engagement and related service delivery outcomes including staff‐related time savings and patient benefits in terms of bed days saved,(3)by sharing lessons learned with respect to(i)analytics challenges encountered due to the high degree of heterogeneity and resulting variability of the data set associated with the population of program participants,(ii)balancing competing needs for simpler and stable predictive models versus continuing to further enhance models and add yet more predictive variables,and(iii)the complications of continuing to make model changes when the AI part of the system is highly interlinked with supporting clinical information systems,(4)by highlighting how this H2H effort supported broader Covid‐19 response efforts across Singapore's public healthcare system,and finally(5)by commenting on how the experiences and related capabilities acquired from running this H2H program and related community care model and supporting AI prediction model are expected to contribute to the next wave of Singapore's public healthcare efforts from 2023 onwards.For the convenience of the reader,some content that introduces the H2H program and the multiple readmissions AI prediction model that previously appeared in the prior Healthcare Science publication is repeated at the beginning of this article.
文摘Drought is the most common of all natural disasters in Kenya, in terms of the large areas covered, populations adversely affected and socio-economic impacts. The Upper Ewaso Ng’iro Basin of Kenya is a drought-prone zone, lying on the lee slopes of both Mt. Kenya and Aberdares range. This study sought to determine opinions of communities on drought and its impacts on their livelihoods. Baseline data were collected from published reports and literature reviews augmented with information gathered through interviews with communities and key informants. Field data were collected mainly in the three counties of Laikipia, Isiolo and Meru, utilizing semi-structured questionnaire surveys. A total of 187 respondents were interviewed of which 150 were community members and 37 were policy makers. The typologies of community respondents interviewed included small-scale farmers, large commercial farmers, pastoralists, conservancies, water user associations and conservation groups. It was found that drought is a serious disaster in the Upper Ewaso Ng’iro basin, which has been escalating. Communities experienced negative impacts of drought, with the biggest problem being water scarcity, closely followed by food and fodder shortages and poor incomes from farming. Other problems include spikes in livestock theft, loss of livestock from diseases and shortage of pasture. Conflicts over water and pasture escalate during droughts and crime increases due to lack of on-farm employment opportunities. Since drought events are natural phenomena expected to happen any time, there is need to identify how to improve local capacities in drought preparedness, adaptation and resilience.
文摘Maize value-added products play a crucial role in reducing post-harvest losses, enhancing food security, and generating income. While extensive research has focused on maize production in Cameroon, the exploration of its value-added products and their profitability in the North-West Region remains underexplored. This study examined the profitability of maize value-added products in Mezam Division, with the objectives to: 1) identify various maize-based products, 2) assess the diversity of these products, 3) conduct a cost-benefit analysis of selected products, 4) examine the relationship between profitability and product diversity, and 5) identify key constraints impacting profitability. To achieve these objectives, structured questionnaires were administered to 500 small-scale maize entrepreneurs randomly selected from five subdivisions. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze objective 1 and 5, while the Shannon Diversity Index was employed to assess product diversity. Additionally, a cost-benefit analysis was conducted on four selected products namely pap, parched corn, peeled parboiled corn, and corn beer, and a correlation analysis was used to examine objective 4. In total, 13 maize value-added products were identified, with a diversity index of 4.4. The total cost of processing the four selected products per entrepreneur using 18 kg of maize per product was FCFA 83631.5 (US $132.75), while the total revenue was FCFA 121864.5 (US $193.43), resulting in an economic profit of FCFA 38,233 (US $60.69). Pap emerged as the most profitable product, with an economic profit of FCFA 27,875 (US $44.24), while corn beer was the least profitable, with an economic profit of FCFA 2133.46 (US $3.39). The correlation analysis revealed a strong negative relationship between product diversity and profitability (r = −0.91), indicating that entrepreneurs can maximize profitability by focusing on a few high-demand products like pap and parched corn. Key constraints to profitability included fluctuating market prices, high production costs, limited access to finance, and inadequate storage facilities. Despite these challenges, our findings indicate that maize value addition is profitable in Mezam Division. Entrepreneurs can leverage this data for informed decision-making and future investments. It is recommended that the government promote maize value addition and provide financial support for modern processing equipment to boost profitability and income generation.
基金The authors would like to thank the Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Vermont,USA,and earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System(CARS-36)for financial support of this study.
文摘The purposes of this study are to assess the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the dairy industries in China and the United States and to derive policy recommendations for enhancing the diary industries’resilience to pandemics and other market shocks.Specifically,data from the two nations are used to analyze and compare the mechanisms through which the pandemic has affected their dairy industries and to discuss potential lessons from their experiences.The findings suggest that this pandemic has heavily affected the dairy industries in both China and the United States through similar mechanisms,such as decreased farmgate milk prices,disruption and difficulties of moving milk within the supply chains,worker shortages,increased production costs,and lack of operating capital.There were also significant differences in the affecting mechanisms between the two nations,including transportation difficulties from widespread road closures and significant reduction in holiday sales of dairy products in China,and the shutdown of many dairy processors in the United States due to the closing of schools,restaurants,and hotels.While government financial reliefs are highly needed to help many dairy farms and processors survive this pandemic in the short term,the dairy industries and governments need to work together to develop long-term strategies and policies to balance the industries’efficiency and flexibility,product specialization and diversification,supply chain integration and local food systems,and market mechanisms and policy regulations and interventions.
基金supported by Prince of Songkla Universitythe Center of Excellence in Agricultural and Natural Resources Biotechnology(Grant No.CoE-ANRB)phase 3。
文摘Flower blight on anthurium(Anthurium andraeanum)was observed during August 2018 on an anthurium cultivation farm in the Songkhla Province of southern Thailand.The fungal isolate was identified as Neopestalotiopsis clavispora based on the morphology and DNA sequence of the internal transcribed spacer(ITS),translation elongation factor 1-α(tef1-α),andβ-tubulin(tub)genes.The phylogenetic tree,based on the combined sequences of ITS,tef1-α,and tub,confirmed this pathogen as N.clavispora.Pathogenicity of the species was confirmed according to Koch’s postulate:N.clavispora could infect anthurium.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first report of N.clavispora as a pathogen of anthurium.
文摘This study aims to estimate the quantity of healthcare waste categorically generated in four different healthcare in Dar es Salaam city namely, Muhimbili National Hospital, Mwananyamala Regional Referral Hospital, Temeke Regional Referral Hospital and Ilala Regional Referral Hospital to evaluate the quantities of medical waste generated based on their level and capacity. Waste was collected in different categories of non-infectious, sharps, infectious, infectious plastics, and pathological waste which were measured daily for fourteen (14) consecutive days in all hospitals by using a weighting scale and observational checklist to document related waste management information and the assessment of the healthcare waste generation in each hospital. The average general healthcare waste generation rate per healthcare ranges from 298.9 kg/day to 1554.4 kg/day. The high fluctuation in general medical waste was established to be attributed to specialization difference between one hospital to the other, and the large number of in-patients and out patients between hospitals. The overall average sharps waste generation rate was established to range from 8.5 ± 2.7 - 13.9 ± 1.8 kg/day. Higher values of sharps waste generated observed at Muhimbili hospital are due to emergency cases referred to from other hospitals located within the city and from the surrounding districts and other regions of the country. The results from this study, raise alarm to hospital administrators, and other health stakeholders working in related fields to give special attention and priority in setting a related share in their budgets for proper management of medical waste in their health facilities.
文摘The aim of the experimental trial was to evaluate the performance of the designed placenta and other pathological waste digester system on the effectiveness of digesting the placenta and its energy recovery (bio-gas) process in Mwananyamala Referral Hospital in Dar es Salaam. A 32 m<sup>3</sup> digester is constructed in Mwananyamala Referral Hospital, one inlet of which is to attach to the toilet of maternity ward, where the placentas are flushed directly into the digester, while food waste is fed through another inlet. The slurry of the digester is sent to a sewer/septic tank to avoid further handling. Most fraction of the waste fed into the digester is food waste. In general with the amount of 25.6 ± 4.5 kg/day of placenta and 83.1 ± 14.7 kg/day of food waste, 2.5 m<sup>3</sup>/d gas was produced. The pH throughout the study period (that is of 18 weeks) was found to be consistent within the range of 6.3 to 8.0, while the pressure ranged from 5 kPa - 33 kPa. Average temperature within the digester was found to be 30.3<span style="white-space:nowrap;">°</span>C. With all the favorable condition, gas production was consistent and hence the system has been successful in management of the pathological waste along with the production of gas as an alternative source of energy for the hospital.
