Productivity Improvement Research Articles

No-tillage mulch with leguminous green manure retention reduces soil evaporation and increases yield and water productivity of maize

In the Hexi oasis irrigation area, green manure improves the use efficiency of soil, light, heat and precipitation resources during a long fallow period (from the wheat harvest to the later maize sowing). The work aims to determine the optimal utilization patterns of green manure for reducing maize evapotranspiration (ETc) reduction and improvement of grain yield (GY) and crop water productivity (WPc). A two-year field experiment was conducted at a research station in the Shiyang River Basin (Gansu, China) using a completely randomized design with three replications. Five treatments were involved in this study: (i) conventional tillage fallow and leisure without green manures as a control (CT), (ii) tillage with total of green manures incorporated in the soil (TG), (iii) no-tillage with total green manures mulched on soil surface (NTG), (iv) tillage with root incorporated in the soil and aboveground removal of green manures removed (T), (v) no-tillage with aboveground manures removed (NT). The results showed that the soil bulk density was reduced by 1.4–8.9%, and field capacity was increased by 1.0–4.5% under green manure returning. The soil water storage (SWS) at 0–100 cm soil layer was improved during the maize growing season. Compared with CT, maize evapotranspiration (ETc) was significantly reduced by 7.4% due to the significant decline in soil evaporation (E) by 12.8% under the NTG treatment. On average, the maximum root biomass (RBmax) (26.8 g plant–1), aboveground biomass (ABmax) (421.1 g plant–1), GY (15085.5 kg ha−1) and WPc (3.2 kg m−3) of NTG were significantly increased by 79.7%, 25.3%, 34.3% and 39.2%, respectively. Rising RB and falling ineffective ETc contribute to the increase in GY and WPc. For the spring wheat-maize rotation system, NTG is an ideal green manure returning method for achieving high yield and WPc in the arid oasis irrigation area.

Teachers’ Written Corrective Feedback Strategies Through the Lens of the Students

This descriptive-qualitative study was conducted to venture the written corrective feedback strategies employed by the College of Teacher Education teachers in a private university in Davao City, Philippines. The study utilized thematic analysis to analyze the data gathered from the in-depth interviews of eight selected participants through a purposive sampling technique. The data revealed teachers' seven written corrective feedback strategies: lexical written feedback, grammatical written feedback, organization in writing, motivating written feedback, metalinguistic feedback, and verification feedback. Additionally, this study uncovered the impact of written corrective feedback strategies, namely improvement of lexical skills, improvement of sentence structure, improvement of grammatical skills, development of the organization in writing, enhancement of self-regulation, a decrease of the affective filter, and improvement of learning productivity. The results of this study presented various written corrective feedback strategies for the teachers. It also unveiled the implications of the strategies employed. Hence, it is gainful for the administrators and teachers because they will be encouraged to use the strategies found in the study and practice them in the academe. It will also contribute to the students in a way that they will value the feedback.

Productivity analysis and improvement of the production department at PT. Pojur - Madura using the objective matrix (OMAX) method

The growth of the industrial sector in 2023 will increase, this condition is reflected in the trend of the level of expansion in the value of the Industrial Confidence Index (IKI) which has increased. PT. Pojur is a company located in the Sumenep area engaged in the gas cylinder industry. For a business to survive and continue to grow, a business must be able to compete by maintaining product quality. One of the company's strategies that can be used is by measuring the company's productivity. This is used to determine the extent to which the effectiveness of the products produced and the efficiency of the use of resources owned by PT. Pojur. Several variables that affect productivity include raw materials, energy and labor used. The purpose of this study is to find out what the productivity index is at PT. Pojur with the Objective matrix (OMAX) method. The results of measuring productivity during the period January to December 2022 show a productivity of 19%, while the highest productivity occurs in November and December with a total of 26% and the lowest productivity is in January with a total of 0% and the cause of decreased productivity in the production section is lack of maintenance on machines and the lack of operator expertise in carrying out production.

TOURISM NETWORK AND INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE SOUTH OF MOROCCO: A CASE STUDY

With the arrival of internet, business rivalry has become increasingly violent. The use of information technologies has become a strategic alternative for small business companies. Adopting websites and social media is considered as the perfect step for the survival of small companies working in tourism. In addition to this, technology has an impact on the management system of the organisation, guaranteeing the improvement of productivity, performance and competitiveness of small companies. The literature review demonstrates that the appropriation of technologies based on intentions and perceptions makes companies more competent. Our paper aims to verify the level of use and appropriation of the technology by the rural tourist companies owners affiliated to the Rural Tourism Development Network (RDTR) located in the south of Morocco. We look at how the owners of these small rural tourist companies, based in this area, perceive the technology, to understand the sense of ownership of Information and Communication Technologies within these companies and to analyse the integration of the web strategy in their organisation. We have selected a mixed analysis method on a sample of 30 companies members of RDTR, south of Morocco.

Productivity Improvement with Generative AI Framework for Data Enrichment in Agriculture

The improvement in agricultural sector is essential for ensuring food security. Sector faces a multitude of challenges like climate change, resource limitations, and heightened food demand. To meet these challenges, there is an increasing demand for innovative solutions to enhance agricultural productivity, sustainability, and efficiency. This study presents an innovative framework that harnesses Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) to revolutionize agriculture. The objective is to conceptualize framework that integrates state-of-the-art AI techniques, encompassing deep learning and generative models, to provide farmers and stakeholders with data-driven insights and decision support tools. By leveraging GAI capabilities, study aims to address key agricultural issues, providing prototype implementation. Study concludes with various possible solution including crop yield prediction, disease identification, soil analysis, and resource optimization and future direction.

Augmentation of plant biomass productivity using epigeic earthworm Perionyx excavatus and Eisenia fetida as soil nutrient facilitators

With the increasing demand for organic food production, the earthworm is used as a soil nutrient facilitator. The present study was conducted to assess the effect of epigeic earthworms Perionyx excavatus and Eisenia. fetida on soil nutrients and the consequent improvement of biomass productivity and yield of Capsicum chinense Jacq and Zea mays L. The experiment was conducted in 5 L and 15 L capacity plastic pots for C. chinense and Z. mays with 150 g and 300 g of half-decomposed cow dung, respectively. It was observed that the weekly harvest rate of ripened chili was 17.59 g, 13.91 g, and 9.24 g in P. excavatus, control, and E. fetida pot showing 26.49% higher in P. excavatus. Also, the total kernel count per corn was significantly different (F(2, 9) = 37.78, p < 0.05), with the highest kernel present in P. excavatus(333.5 ± 13.5), followed by E. fetida(261.5 ± 16.5) and control (235 ± 22). The impact of P. excavatus was more perceptible in C. chinense, indicated by higher leaf biomass (69.16%), root length (30.14%), and fruit harvest (71.03%). However, the effect of E. fetida was noticed more in Z. mays (stem length, 19.24%, stem biomass, 14.39%, root biomass, 20.9%, kernel count, 41.91%, and kernel weight, 95.07%). Enhanced plant productivity was also supported by an increasing soil nutrient turnover in organic carbon (OC) (25.76% and 23.4%), Phosphorus (P) (31.03% and 25.67%), and Potassium (K) (41.67% and 12.26) in P. excavatus and E. fetida worked soil respectively. The findings indicate that earthworms have a notable impact on plant biomass productivity by promoting the mineralization of soil nutrients and imply on possibility of organic cultivation of seasonal vegetables without using synthetic fertilizers.

Crop Security Model for Improvement in Agricultural Productivity Using Iot: Smart Farming

Most of the time in agriculture field, crops ravaged by local animals that leads to huge losses for the farmers. It’s very difficult for farmers to barricade entire fields and monitors continuously. Here the crop protection system model is developed for the farmers to prevent the crops from the animals. The model adopts the Arduino Uno based system and uses wired security that gives the shock to animals if they are approaching the field. The fire sensor is also used in the model to detect fire issues. In such situations, the microcontroller will turn ON the motor if there is a fire that interns intimate the farmers through mobile application. The temperature sensor and humidity sensors are also used in the model to provide the details of temperature and soil moisture of the field. The experimental values obtained by the model ensure complete safety of crops from animals and from fire thus protecting the farmer’s loss. In addition, mobile applications are also developed to provide the details of parameters such as temperature, moisture, water levels to farmers.

Will “Dual Control of the Amount and Intensity of Energy Consumption (DCEC)” Policy Increase Urban Green Competitiveness?

Urban green transformation is an important part of global low-carbon development. Coercive government policies are critical to achieving success, but, as of now, there is no unified concept of “green competitiveness”. To address climate change, it is necessary to clearly define core concepts and apply measures. For this study, “urban green competitiveness” refers to the continuous improvement of total factor productivity by cities while fully emphasizing resource limitations and environmental issues to achieve economic growth. This article focuses on a Chinese policy of “dual control of the amount and intensity of energy consumption” (DCEC), which has not been fully studied. The DCEC policy incorporates a quasi-natural experiment to assess whether urban green competitiveness has been affected. This paper builds on the multi-period DID model and explores the effect based on city-level data from 2003 to 2019. The conclusion shows that DCEC policy can address climate change by restricting energy consumption and intensity. Success is achieved through the promotion of local green patent innovation and by intensifying environmental regulation. The policy should start from a long-term perspective by promoting structural and technological changes in the economy, rather than short-term quick success and instant benefits.

Sow and piglet productivity improvement in the farrowing department using milk substitutes

Modern pork production technology requires more piglets from sows to ensure the industry's profitability. The physiological reserve of sows' milk production at multiplicity above 14-18 piglets is often insufficient, which requires a constant search for ways to solve the problem of “hyperfertile sows”. The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using milk replacers from different manufacturers in sow nests under conditions of multiple farrowings on the productivity and behaviour of suckling piglets and sow conditions. The experiment was conducted in 2023, with 36 sow nests in the farrowing shop and 513 suckling piglets. Nests with a litter of 13 or more were selected and three groups were formed. In the control group, piglets were raised without additional feeding with milk replacers. The group II piglets were fed with Alternative Milk Junior as a source of additional nutrition from 10 days of age until weaning. Piglets of group III received a Commercial Analogue of milk replacer. Group II was characterised by a higher survival rate – of 93.03% and, a higher live weight – of 7.84 kg, which led to higher values of average daily weight gain – 222.47 g. The nests of the II and III experimental groups (consuming milk replacer) were more aligned, which significantly outperformed the analogues of the control groups by 31.2% and 14.7%. Piglets of group II were in a calmer state and therefore spent the most time on rest – 60%, in contrast to animals of the control group – 50% and group II – 58%. Additional nutrition of piglets in the nests of “hyperfertile sows” reduces the load on sows during lactation allows to obtain animals in factory condition and reduces the number of unprofitable days. The practical significance of the experiment is to determine an effective milk replacer as a source of supplementary nutrition for suckling piglets in the nests of “hyperfertile” sows

169 Minimizing Sow Feeding Cost While Enhancing Production

Abstract Strategies to minimize sow feeding cost while enhancing production are important to the overall success of an operation. Feed to the sow breeding herd accounts for approximately 15% of the total feed use and cost within a production system. Thus, a 10% improvement in sow feed efficiency can represent 0.05 points in feed efficiency for the whole herd. While advancements in knowledge around sow nutrition have been gradual, improvements in sow reproductive performance, productivity, and body composition have been substantial, yielding a remarkably efficient contemporary sow. In fact, efficiency may be key to the success of implementation of strategies that minimize feed cost and at the same time enhance production in the sow herd. In terms of minimizing sow feed usage, an important strategy is to implement feeding levels according to a body condition score in gestation to prevent over-feeding and an over-conditioned herd. It is also crucial to assess feeding levels to open sows, either in wean-to-estrus interval or in the open pool, to avoid feed wastage with ad libitum feeding. Regular feed boxes calibration in gestation and feeder adjustments in lactation are critical to allow an adequate feeding level to sows, while preventing feed wastage. In terms of minimizing feed cost, it is important to review the energy, lysine, and phosphorus requirements of sows on a daily intake basis and account for average herd weight. That provides the opportunity to estimate the ideal balance between nutrient density and feeding level to minimize overall feed cost. In addition, it is critical to understand the impact of energy density and bulk density on overall feed cost. As reduced energy and bulk density ingredients are incorporated into the feed, feeding levels should be increased and could potentially offset feed costs savings. In a dynamic economic landscape, the strategies summarized here may aid in the goal of finding opportunities to minimize sow feeding cost but at the same time provide nutritional support that enables sows to fully express their production potential.

Bioactive Metabolites of Serratia sp.NhPB1 Isolated from Pitcher of Nepenthes and its Application to Control Pythium aphanidermatum.

Plant-associated bacteria have already been considered as the store house of bioactive compounds that confer the plant growth promotion and disease protection. Hence, the unique plant parts have already been expected to harbor diverse microbial communities with multi-beneficial properties. Based on this, the current study has been designed to identify the potential of Serratia sp.NhPB1 isolated from the pitcher of Nepenthes plant for its activity against the infamous pathogen Pythium aphanidermatum. The in vitro antifungal, plant growth promoting and enzymatic activities of the isolate indicated its promises for agricultural application. The isolate NhPB1 was also demonstrated to have positive effect on Solanum lycopersicum and Capsicum annuum, due to its plant beneficial metabolites. From the results of LC-MS/MS analysis, the isolate has also been revealed to have the ability to synthesize bioactive compounds including salicylic acid, cyclodipeptides, acyl homoserine lactone, indole-3-acetic acid, and serrawettin W1. These identified compounds and their known biological properties make the isolate characterized in the study to have significant promises as an eco-friendly solution for the improvement of agricultural productivity.

Adaptive laboratory evolution and transcriptomics-guided engineering of Escherichia coli for increased isobutanol tolerance.

As a renewable energy from biomass, isobutanol is considered as a promising alternative to fossil fuels. To biotechnologically produce isobutanol, strain development using industrial microbial hosts, such as Escherichia coli, has been conducted by introducing a heterologous isobutanol synthetic pathway. However, the toxicity of produced isobutanol inhibits cell growth, thereby restricting improvements in isobutanol titer, yield, and productivity. Therefore, the development of robust microbial strains tolerant to isobutanol is required. In this study, isobutanol-tolerant mutants were isolated from two E. coli parental strains, E. coli BL21(DE3) and MG1655(DE3), through adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) under high isobutanol concentrations. Subsequently, 16 putative genes responsible for isobutanol tolerance were identified by transcriptomic analysis. When overexpressed in E. coli, four genes (fadB, dppC, acs, and csiD) conferred isobutanol tolerance. A fermentation study with a reverse engineered isobutanol-producing E. coli JK209 strain showed that fadB or dppC overexpression improved isobutanol titers by 1.5 times, compared to the control strain. Through coupling adaptive evolution with transcriptomic analysis, new genetic targets utilizable were identified as the basis for the development of an isobutanol-tolerant strain. Thus, these new findings will be helpful not only for a fundamental understanding of microbial isobutanol tolerance but also for facilitating industrially feasible isobutanol production.

Punching Parkinson’s: The Experience of No-Contact Boxing among Older Adults Living with Parkinson’s Disease

Introduction No-contact boxing is becoming a popular exercise-based program to improve symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease (PD), with growing scientific evidence. While many studies have demonstrated its physical, cognitive, and social benefits, fewer studies have focused on how participants perceive its benefits on everyday activities. Aims This exploratory study aimed to investigate participants’ experiences with no-contact boxing and self-perceived improvement in the completion of everyday tasks. Methods A descriptive qualitative design was used. Two focus groups were conducted. Results Nine participants completed the study. Six themes emerged: (1) Camaraderie in the group creates a sense of social connection, (2) Self-perceived improvement in self-care and productivity (3) Positive experience due to the program approach, (4) Self-perceived physical and mental benefits, (5) Punching the bag as a symbolic of fighting PD, and (6) Increased motivation to pursue other exercise programs. Conclusions No-contact boxing brings many self-perceived benefits to older adults living with PD.

Differentiated environmental taxes and high-quality economic development in China: theory and evidence.

Environmental tax policy plays an important role in promoting economic efficiency, but it is unclear whether the taxation is well-designed and effective. The differentiated environmental tax and fee policy in China has come a long way in the past 20years, along with the aim of high-quality economic development that focuses on the harmony of environment and productivity, so it is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the differentiated environmental tax and fee policy. This paper constructs a pollution and environmental tax model based on the new economic geography framework to simulate the effect of environmental tax and technological innovation in the eastern and western region on pollution, output, and productivity. Using China's provincial panel data from 2005 to 2020 with difference-in-difference method, empirical evidence shows that differentiated environmental tax and fee adjustments generally boost industrial high-quality development by the industrial sulfur dioxide emission deduction and green total factor productivity improvement. When the adjustment is more differentiated between treatment and control, the effect is greater and more significant. Additionally, high environmental tax standard in high SO2 emission provinces significantly contributes to high-quality development. Progressive adjustments in 2007, 2014, and 2018 lead to heterogeneous policy effect. Technological innovation plays a mediating effect between differentiated environmental tax and high-quality economic development. The results above provide theoretical analysis and empirical study of China's differentiated environmental taxes and high-quality economic development for policy making.

Fostering sustainability: unveiling the impact of Internet development on carbon emissions in China.

The rapid development of the Internet has significantly impacted various socio-economic activities. Using Chinese Industrial Enterprise database and Industrial Enterprise Pollution database, this research examines the impact and mechanisms of Internet development on CO2 emissions. The key findings are as follows: (1) Internet development has substantially reduced the CO2 intensity of enterprises, and this conclusion remains robust even after performing a series of robustness analyses. (2) The major mechanisms responsible for the reduction in CO2 emissions are productivity improvement, technological innovation, and energy structure adjustment. (3) The analysis of heterogeneity reveals that the effect of Internet development on CO2 reduction is more pronounced in coastal areas, areas with a high share of secondary industry, low-carbon industries, clean industries, small-scale enterprises, and export enterprises. This study provides empirical evidence supporting China's "Internet+" strategy and its progress towards achieving the "Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality Goals."

Genetic Improvement Methods with an Agroecological Approach for Plant Breeding

Conventional genetic improvement programs play a fundamental role in Brazilian agriculture, transforming this activity into an important contributor to the national economy. However, most of the time it does not serve family farmers, as this cultivation system has different characteristics from conventional agriculture, where it is often composed of agroecological and diversified crops, in a smaller territorial extension, without conditions for carrying out controls using technologies and inputs acquired externally. Thus, participatory breeding aims to align the improvement of cultivar productivity with the provision of biodiversity for family farming. This technique consists of the farmer's ability to select the cultivars best adapted to their environment based on the selection of their seeds, adopting agroecological principles and agrobiodiversity management.

The impact of participation in agricultural industry organizational models on crop yields: evidence from Chinese wheat growers

Increasing income for grain farmers is crucial to mobilise farmers’ incentive for grain cultivation. This article, based on the survey data of 2032 wheat growers in Anhui Province, China, employs the Logit model, multinomial Logit model, and entropy balance-OLS regression method to empirically analyze the factors influencing wheat growers’ participation in agricultural industrial organization models and the impact of their participation decisions on planting returns. The research found that: (1) Wheat growers with richer resource endowments are more likely to participate in agricultural industrial organization models. Factors such as household head’s education level, training experience, quality of arable land, scale of operation, and labor endowment are crucial determinants of wheat growers’ decisions to participate in industrial organization models. (2) Participation in agricultural industrial organizations significantly enhances the net income of wheat growers. Comparatively, the income-boosting effect is more pronounced for those participating in the “household + farmer cooperatives/agricultural enterprises” model. (3) The mechanisms through which wheat growers’ participation in different agricultural industrial organization models affects their crop yields vary. The income-enhancing effects of wheat growers' participation in the “household + farmer cooperatives/agricultural enterprises” model of industrial organization primarily stem from the improvement in land productivity and market bargaining power. On the other hand, the income-enhancing effects of participation in the “household + village collective + farmer cooperatives/agricultural enterprises” model are mainly attributed to the improvement in market bargaining power. The policy implication is that priority should be given to cultivating and developing industrial organisations based on the model of “household + farmers’ co-operatives/agribusinesses” in regions where farmers are richly endowed with resources, and at the same time, the development of industrial organisations based on the model of “household + village collectives + farmers’ co-operatives/agribusinesses” should be supplemented in accordance with local conditions. At the same time, the development of “household + village collectives + farmers’ cooperatives/agribusinesses” mode is supplemented according to local conditions.

Development of a continuous fermentation process for the production of recombinant uricase enzyme by Pichia pastoris.

Recent studies in the biopharmaceutical industry have shown an increase in the productivity and production efficiency of recombinant proteins by continuous culture. In this research, a new upstream fermentation process was developed for the production of recombinant uricase in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. Expression of recombinant protein in this system is under the control of the AOX1 promoter and therefore requires methanol as an inducing agent and carbon/energy source. Considering the biphasic growth characteristics of conventional fed-batch fermentation, physical separation of the growth and induction stages for better control of the continuous fermentation process resulted in higher dry-cell weight (DCW) and enhanced recombinant urate oxidase activity. The DCW and recombinant uricase activity enzyme for fed-batch fermentation were 79g/L and 6.8u/mL. During the continuous process, in the growth fermenter at a constant dilution rate of 0.025h-1 , DCW increased to 88.39g/L. In the induction fermenter, at methanol feeding rates of 30, 60, and 80mL/h, a recombinant uricase activity was 4.13, 7.2, and 0u/mL, respectively. The optimum methanol feeding regime in continuous fermentation resulted in a 4.5-fold improvement in productivity compared with fed-batch fermentation from 0.04u/mL/h (0.0017mg/mL/h) to 0.18u/mL/h (0.0078mg/mL/h).

A comparative analysis of integrating thermochemical oxygen pumping in water-splitting redox cycles for hydrogen production

Solar thermochemical hydrogen (STCH) is a promising route for renewable fuel production, but efficiency and cost concerns must be addressed before it can contribute meaningfully to decarbonization efforts. The oxygen removal (reduction) step of two-step STCH redox cycles needs high temperature (1300–1500 °C) and low oxygen partial pressure (10-5-10-3 bar). This consumes significant energy by way of redox reheating, re-radiation losses and pumping work. Thermochemical oxygen pumping (TcOP) has been shown to be more efficient than mechanical pumps in the medium vacuum range, enabling higher heat-to-fuel efficiency and potentially lower reduction temperatures. We have previously proposed a novel Reactor Train System for STCH and reported significant efficiency and productivity improvements by replacing mechanical pumps with TcOP. The current work is a comparative analysis of different implementations of TcOP and its hybridization with conventional oxygen removal schemes like mechanical vacuum pumps and inert gas sweep. The integration of these hybrid TcOP systems with different STCH reactor systems using redox monoliths or particles is analyzed in terms of energy use along with mass and heat transfer considerations. Our results show that direct oxygen transfer between STCH and TcOP reactors results in the best performance for reduction oxygen partial pressures below 10 Pa. Furthermore, we show that achieving reduction pressures of 1 Pa and lower is challenging with existing reactor systems due to a combination of low gas density and relatively high molar flowrates. This challenge also applies to other oxygen removal systems like vacuum pumps and inert sweep.

A Study on Radiant Heat Application to the Curing Process for Improvement of Free-form Concrete Panel Productivity

As free-form panel production takes a long time, it extends the construction period and increases construction expenses. This study suggests a method to apply radiant heat to concrete for the purpose of shortening the curing and removal process in free-form panel production. The optimal temperature and time for removal are determined based on the results of constant temperature/humidity curing experiments and quartz tube heater curing experiments. Through an experiment in various time settings, the general time of FCP (Free-form Concrete Panel) production is measured to examine whether the productivity is enhanced. It is expected that findings of this study contribute to shortening the construction period and reducing construction expenses as well as future studies on the FCP manufacturing equipment.