Non-agricultural Sources Research Articles

Benchmarking the sustainability of sludge handling systems in small wastewater treatment plants

A benchmarking strategy was developed to assess all aspects of sludge handling in small wastewater treatment plants and tested on a cross-section of Ontario facilities. Using operational data and on-site measurements, sustainability metrics that addressed energy consumption, chemical use, biosolids quality and disposition, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were estimated. Electricity consumption for sludge handling ranged from 0.9 to 3.9 kW-hours per dry kilogram of raw sludge (kWh/dry kg) with thermo-alkali hydrolysis and auto-thermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) processes consuming the least and most electricity for stabilization, respectively. Mechanical dewatering processes consumed between 2 and 5% of total sludge handling electricity, however, associated polymer dosages were higher than literature values in some cases. Disposition fuel requirements for plants with dewatering were up to 85% lower than facilities without dewatering. Biosolids contaminant (pathogen/metals) contents were observed to be substantially below Non-Agricultural Source Material (NASM) requirements. The copper content of the hauled biosolids exhibited the highest concentration relative to the NASM limit among all plants studied, ranging from 14 to 37% among facilities practicing land application of biosolids. Four biosolid products met Class A requirements for E. coli content, including one product generated via long-term storage. Carbon emissions ranged from −119 to 299 kg CO2 equivalents per dry tonne of raw sludge (g CO2 eq./kg). Six facilities that practiced land application exhibited net-negative GHG emissions; the carbon credits gained from fertilizer production avoidance outweighed emissions associated with sludge processing and transportation. The results provide evidence that this practice is sustainable from a GHG emissions standpoint. The benchmarking approach developed and information gathered is beneficial to plant owners and operators seeking to better understand how their utility is performing relative to peers, identify areas of need and further investigation, and improve the sustainability of their operations.

Persistent Nonagricultural and Periodic Agricultural Emissions Dominate Sources of Ammonia in Urban Beijing: Evidence from 15N Stable Isotope in Vertical Profiles.

Ammonia (NH3) emission reduction is key to limiting the deadly PM2.5 pollution globally. However, studies of long-term source apportionment of vertical NH3 are relatively limited. On the basis of the one-year measurements of weekly vertical profiles of δ15N-NH3 at 5 heights (2, 15, 102, 180, and 320 m) on a 325-m meteorological tower in urban Beijing, we found that vertical profiles of NH3 concentrations generally remained stable with height. δ15N-NH3 increased obviously as a function of height in cold seasons (with heating) and decreased in warm seasons (with fertilization), indicating a stronger human-induced seasonal variation via regional transport at higher altitudes. Relatively stable δ15N-NH3 near the ground surface suggested the strong local emission. The results of isotopic mixing model (SIAR) indicate that source apportionment using measured δ15N-NH3 only would overestimate the contribution of agricultural emissions to NH3. By using an estimation of initial δ15N-NH3, we found that nonagricultural sources contributed ∼72% of NH3 on average. Our study suggests that (i) both persistent nonagricultural and periodic agricultural emissions drive atmospheric NH3 concentration and its vertical distribution in urban Beijing; and (ii) source apportionment based on measured δ15N-NH3 only likely underestimates fossil fuel source contribution, if the combined NHx isotope effects are not considered.

Investigating ammonia emissions in a coastal urban airshed using stable isotope techniques

Increases in reactive nitrogen (N) production and consumption have caused ammonia (NH3) emissions to the atmosphere to increase up to five times since the industrial revolution, resulting in negative impacts on the environment and human health. Understanding regional NH3 emissions and atmospheric dynamics is essential for creating realistic mitigation strategies. This study utilized stable isotope techniques to quantify and characterize NH3 emissions in a coastal urban air shed (i.e., Corpus Christi, TX, U.S.A.). NH3 was then passively collected at eight sites from September 2016 through August 2017 and analyzed for isotopic composition. The average atmospheric NH3 concentration for the region was 1.24 ± 0.98 μg/m3 with mean and concentration-weighted mean δ15N-NH3 values of −19.1 ± 12.7‰ and −17.1‰ respectively. The mixing model IsoError was used for source attribution, indicating that ambient NH3 was equally influenced by non-agricultural (55 ± 6%) and agricultural (45 ± 6%) emission sources with some seasonal variation. Sites adjacent to large water bodies exhibited low [NH3] coupled with a significant influence from non-agriculture emissions indicating a possible influence from marine-sourced NH3 which was further investigated using a three endmember SIAR bayesian mixing model. This work also examined the effects that varying degrees of kinetic and equilibrium fractionation via PM2.5 formation may have had on the δ15N-NH3(g) values observed in this study. A practical scenario assuming competing equilibrium and kinetic effects was used to calculate the δ15N-NH3(g) value of the original NH3 gas before fractionation occurred and calculated mean and concentration-weighted mean δ15N-NH3 for the region were −21.5 ± 12.4‰ and –22.3‰ respectively with no significant changes in source attribution. This work has shown that agricultural and non-agricultural sources of NH3 can equally contribute to ambient NH3 in urban environments and that marine NH3 must be taken into consideration when performing emission inventories in coastal regions.

Assessing Contributions of Agricultural and Nonagricultural Emissions to Atmospheric Ammonia in a Chinese Megacity.

Ammonia (NH3) is the predominant alkaline gas in the atmosphere contributing to formation of fine particles-a leading environmental cause of increased morbidity and mortality worldwide. Prior findings suggest that NH3 in the urban atmosphere derives from a complex mixture of agricultural (mainly livestock production and fertilizer application) and nonagricultural (e.g., urban waste, fossil fuel-related emissions) sources; however, a citywide holistic assessment is hitherto lacking. Here we show that NH3 from nonagricultural sources rivals agricultural NH3 source contributions in the Shanghai urban atmosphere. We base our conclusion on four independent approaches: (i) a full-year operation of a passive NH3 monitoring network at 14 locations covering urban, suburban, and rural landscapes; (ii) model-measurement comparison of hourly NH3 concentrations at a pair of urban and rural supersites; (iii) source-specific NH3 measurements from emission sources; and (iv) localized isotopic signatures of NH3 sources integrated in a Bayesian isotope mixing model to make isotope-based source apportionment estimates of ambient NH3. Results indicate that nonagricultural sources and agricultural sources are both important contributors to NH3 in the urban atmosphere. These findings highlight opportunities to limit NH3 emissions from nonagricultural sources to help curb PM2.5 pollution in urban China.

Sustainability of organic versus conventional hazelnut production in Turkey

The aim of this research is to compare the sustainability of organic versus conventional hazelnut production in the Terme district of Samsun province, Turkey. Structured interviews were used to collect data from 64 randomly selected conventional and all 39 organic hazelnut producers living in the study area. The sustainability of organic production activities was analyzed in terms of economic, social and environmental aspects. A sustainability index was calculated based on 23 sustainability indicators. Research results showed that organic hazelnut production activities were relatively more sustainable than conventional organic production. With respect to economic sustainability, organic hazelnut producers had more income from both agricultural and non-agricultural sources, used more credit from the banks and were less risk averse than the conventional producers. Concerning environmental sustainability, the organic producers, as expected, had more diversified products, used more organic inputs, adopted more organic farming methods but needed more labor input than their conventional counterparts. As far as the social sustainability was concerned, the organic producers had more formal education and used more often and diverse sources of information than conventional producers. Both environmental and economic sustainability had more critical issues than social sustainability for both groups of producers. Supporting commercial organic fertilizer rather than organic compost and manure use endangered the sustainability. Thus, the growers were motivated to use inputs from their own farms and to decrease their dependence on commercial inputs from outside. In addition, the dependency to foreign markets and contract companies due to limited domestic market opportunities also threatens the sustainability. Agricultural products should be diversified rather than hazelnut monoculture, and the entire organic cropping system should be supported to integrate organic cropping system. Conventional growers should be trained to use more sustainable agricultural methods rather than excessive and incorrect use of chemically inputs. Organic producers should be encouraged to benefit from research, extension and financial support services.

Wintertime nitrate formation during haze days in the Guanzhong basin, China: A case study

In this study, the formation of nitrate aerosol from 16 to 24 December 2015 in the Guanzhong basin, China is simulated using the WRF-Chem model. The predicted near-surface O3, NO2, and fine particulate matters (PM2.5) in the basin and inorganic aerosols and nitrous acid (HONO) in Xi'an are generally in good agreement with the observations. Sensitivity studies show that the heterogeneous HONO sources play an appreciable role in the nitrate formation in the basin, contributing 9.2% of nitrate mass concentrations during heavy haze days. Nitrate formation is also affected by sulfate due to their competition for ammonia, particularly in urban areas. A 50% decrease in SO2 emissions enhances the nitrate concentration by 6.2% during heavy haze days on average in the basin, and a 50% increase in SO2 emission reduces the nitrate concentration by 9.7%. The roles of HONO and sulfate competition in nitrate formation are strongly modulated by ammonia. Agricultural emissions predominate the nitrate level in the basin (93.5%), but the non-agricultural sources cannot substantially influence nitrate formation (3.7%–14.6%). Reducing agricultural emission is an effective control strategy to mitigate nitrate pollution in the basin.

High-resolution ammonia emission inventories with comprehensive analysis and evaluation in Henan, China, 2006–2016

Henan province is one of the most critical emitters of ammonia (NH3) and is one of the most seriously air polluted regions in China. In this study, we developed a first comprehensive and novel 2015-based NH3 emission inventory for Henan province based on investigational activity data with corrected and updated emission factors of anthropogenic and natural sources. The 3 km × 3 km gridded emissions and monthly variations were allocated by using appropriate spatial and localized temporal surrogates. The total NH3 emission was 1031.6 Gg in 2015, of which livestock, N fertilizer application, and humans were the top three contributors, accounting for 57.3%, 28.2%, and 3.1%, respectively. The cities of Nanyang, Zhoukou, and Zhumadian with more rural and agricultural activities were demonstrated to have relatively high emissions, accounting for 12.5%, 10.1%, and 9.7% of total emissions, respectively. The regional averaged emission density was 6.3 t km−2, with higher values in eastern and northern Henan province. Obvious seasonal variability was observed, with the highest emission in July and the lowest in January associated with temperature and local farming activities. In addition, according to the emissions investigation carried out from 2006 to 2016, the largest changes occurred in non-agricultural sources. Furthermore, we quantitatively analyzed the estimated emissions with the uncertainty range of -33%-35% using the AuvToolPro tool. This emission inventory was also evaluated by comparing the magnitudes with other studies, analyzing the correlation of the observed ambient NH3 concentration with emission density and temperature, and investigating the trend of molar ratio of (2SO2+NO2)/NH3. The emission inventory developed in this study can provide information to understand local emission characteristics, and to determine how to prioritize effective control strategies properly for policy makers.

Isotopic evidence for enhanced fossil fuel sources of aerosol ammonium in the urban atmosphere

The sources of aerosol ammonium (NH4+) are of interest because of the potential of NH4+ to impact the Earth's radiative balance, as well as human health and biological diversity. Isotopic source apportionment of aerosol NH4+ is challenging in the urban atmosphere, which has excess ammonia (NH3) and where nitrogen isotopic fractionation commonly occurs. Based on year-round isotopic measurements in urban Beijing, we show the source dependence of the isotopic abundance of aerosol NH4+, with isotopically light (−33.8‰) and heavy (0 to +12.0‰) NH4+ associated with strong northerly winds and sustained southerly winds, respectively. On an annual basis, 37–52% of the initial NH3 concentrations in urban Beijing arises from fossil fuel emissions, which are episodically enhanced by air mass stagnation preceding the passage of cold fronts. These results provide strong evidence for the contribution of non-agricultural sources to NH3 in urban regions and suggest that priority should be given to controlling these emissions for haze regulation. This study presents a carefully executed application of existing stable nitrogen isotope measurement and mass-balance techniques to a very important problem: understanding source contributions to atmospheric NH3 in Beijing. This question is crucial to informing environmental policy on reducing particulate matter concentrations, which are some of the highest in the world. However, the isotopic source attribution results presented here still involve a number of uncertain assumptions and they are limited by the incomplete set of chemical and isotopic measurements of gas NH3 and aerosol NH4+. Further field work and lab experiments are required to adequately characterize endmember isotopic signatures and the subsequent isotopic fractionation process under different air pollution and meteorological conditions.

Nitrous Oxide Emissions Estimated With the CarbonTracker‐Lagrange North American Regional Inversion Framework

AbstractNorth American nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions of 1.6 ± 0.3 Tg N/yr over 2008–2014 are estimated using the CarbonTracker‐Lagrange regional inversion framework. The estimated N2O emissions are largely consistent with the EDGAR (Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research) global inventory and with the results of global atmospheric inversions but offer more spatial and temporal detail over North America. Emissions are strongest from the Midwestern Corn/Soybean Belt, which accounts for nearly one third of the total North American N2O source. The emissions are maximum in spring/early summer, consistent with a nitrogen fertilizer‐driven source, and also show a late winter spike suggestive of freeze‐thaw effects. Interannual variability in emissions across the primary months of fertilizer application is positively correlated to mean precipitation. The estimated N2O flux from the Midwestern Corn/Soybean Belt and the more northerly United States/Canadian wheat belt corresponds to 4.2–4.6% and 2.2–3.0%, respectively, of total synthetic + organic N fertilizer applied to those regions. Consideration of nonagricultural sources and additional N inputs from soybean N2 fixation could reduce the N2O yield from the Midwestern Corn/Soybean Belt to ~2.2–2.4% of total N inputs.

Impact of natural disasters on income inequality in Sri Lanka

We explore the relationship between natural disasters and income inequality in Sri Lanka as the first study of this nature for the country. The analysis uses a unique panel data set constructed for the purpose of this paper. It contains district inequality measures based on household income reported in six waves of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey of Sri Lanka during the period between 1990 and 2013, data on disaster affected population and other economic and social indicators. Employing a panel fixed effects estimator, we find that contemporaneous natural disasters and their immediate lags significantly and substantially decrease inequality in per adult equivalent household income as measured by the Theil index. Findings are robust across various inequality metrics, sub-samples and alternative estimators such as Ordinary Least Squares and System GMM. However, natural disasters do not affect household expenditure inequality. Either households behave as if they have a permanent income or all households reduce their expenditure proportionately irrespective of their income level in responding to natural disasters. Natural disasters decrease non-seasonal agricultural and non-agricultural income inequality but increase seasonal agricultural income inequality. Income of richer households is mainly derived from non-agricultural sources such as manufacturing and business activities and non-seasonal agricultural activities. Poorer households have a higher share of agricultural income.

Pozarolnicze źródła utrzymania rodzin na wsi a szara strefa

For many years, the budget of the rural family, also these including the agricultural farm, has been diversifying sources of income. The percentage of farms receiving income from non-agricultural sources, especially from agritourism, is increasing. At the same time, a high increase of the employment in informal economy (gray economy) is recorded in rural areas, mainly in tourism and gastronomic services, as well as housework (cleaning). The majority of those working in the gray economy treat this work as an additional one, but for many people it is the only source of income. In the opinion of the Central Statistical Office, there were 711 thousand persons in 2014 in the gray economy (the share of employees in the gray economy in the total number of employed persons was 14.5%). The Central Statistical Office’s research indicated: insufficient income and no possibility of finding a legal job as the main reason for taking up work in gray economy. Basic changes in the number and percentage of employees in the gray economy took place after 2004, which could have been related to Poland’s accession to the European Union, and from 2008 to the Schengen area.

A study to assess the socio-economic status of tea workers in selected tea estates of Sylhet district

The study was carried out to examine the socio-economic characteristics of tea plantation workers. A total of 50 farmers from Sylhet district were selected randomly for data collection. The study showed that on an average the size of family of the tea workers was 4.69 which is lower than agricultural labourer inBangladesh. The dependency ratio was found to be 1.80.The literacy of the teaworkers was 56 percent out of which 43 percent were primary level and 13 percent were secondary level. The average annual income per surveyed household was Tk. 75,615 out of which 83% of the total income came from service as a tea labourer while rest 17% derived from agriculture and non-agricultural sources. On an average, the annual expenditure per family was Tk 64,053.The study observed that 88 % percent of the surveyed family received loan from different NGO,s and while only 12 percent obtained from the bank. The analysis credit utilization showed that 41% of the total loan was utilized in meeting repairing houses followed by purchasing of cows (25%) and business (13%) respectively. The study showed that hundred percent roofs of tea workers houses were made of tin. But 58% of the wall was made of brick while 42% was made of mud. On an average 47% of the families reared poultry while 63 percent had livestock. Fifty four percent of households grew vegetables in the study area. The major types of vegetables cultivate by tea workers in the study area were bean, lalsak, chalkumra, gourd etc. Majority household had fruit trees in their homestead. The study showed that most of the household consumed their home products. But only twenty one percent of the households sold their fruits in the local market for cash flow.

Household Structure and Sources of Income in a Rice-Growing Village in Northeast Thailand

IntroductionAs part of the ongoing agrarian transformation in Northeast Thailand (commonly called Isan), major changes of rural households have been occurring. For instance, the average size of households has decreased, and nuclear households, formerly the predominant type, have declined in number, and new household types have been emerging. Associated with changes in household structure are changes in sources of income, which are becoming increasingly diversified, with a decline in the contribution made by agriculture and a growing share of income coming from non-agricultural sources. So marked is this shift that contemporary Isan agricultural households have been called part-time (Takeuchi 2004; Rigg 2005; Grandstaff et al. 2008).Although many of these broad changes in rural households and their sources of income have been discussed by other researchers at a rather general level (Smith 1978; Grandstaff et al. 2008; Rigg and Salamanca 2009; 2011; Keyes 2010; Rigg et al. 2012; Chawanote and Barrett 2013), no detailed descriptions of the nature of changes occurring at the village level have been published. Moreover, many members of the general public, as well as academics, journalists, and policy makers, continue to cling to the old stereotype of rural Isan villagers as poor rainfed rice farmers and have not yet perceived the extent to which rural society and economy in the region have changed. Understanding the reality of rural people's livelihoods in Isan is essential in order to formulate more realistic development policies that will truly serve the interests of local people in the region. Therefore, we undertook this study in a village in Khon Kaen Province in Northeast Thailand in order to describe the current structure of rural households and identify their sources of income. In this paper, we seek to: (1) describe the composition of rural households and classify them into structural types; (2) examine changes that have occurred in the size and types of households over the past 50 years; (3) examine the relationship of household structures and age distribution, types of livelihoods, and agricultural activities; (4) identify the income sources of different types of households; and (5) examine the relationship of household structures with levels of income and debt.Overview of Nong Ben VillageThis research was carried out in Nong Ben village (16°37T2N, 102°49'59E) in Khon Kaen Province. The village is located approximately 20 kilometers northeast of Khon Kaen Municipality along National Highway No. 2 (Fig. 1). Nong Ben village is one of 10 villages in Non Thon Subdistrict (tambol). Nong Ben was a single village (Muban) until 2006, when it was divided into two administrative villages, each with its own headman.The village area of Nong Ben is about 6,291 rai (1,007 ha) (Sunantha 2002). The total agricultural area was about 5,039 rai (806 ha) in 2005 but had declined to around 4,111 rai (658 ha) in 2011. Water for irrigation is supplied by a canal from the Ubolratana dam in Nam Phong District, which is around 30 kilometers from the village. After irrigation first came to the village in 1968, the household economy of the villagers changed dramatically because it became possible to plant a second rice crop in the dry season and to cultivate other valuable crops such as flowers and vegetables.There are three different agricultural land-use in the village: (1) rainfed upland cash crop fields (cassava, sugarcane, and rubber); (2) irrigated fields used to grow rice and other crops (e.g., flowers and vegetables); and (3) rainfed paddy fields. The total area of paddy fields in 2002 was about 3,019 rai (483 ha), which had declined to 2,501 rai (400 ha) in 2011. In 2006, about 53% of village households had only irrigated paddy fields, 11% had only rainfed paddy fields, and 36% had both types of paddy fields (Shirai et al. 2007). The villagers plant glutinous rice (RD6 variety), mostly for self-consumption, and jasmine rice (KDML105 variety) for sale. …

The Legislative Background of the Application of Fermentation Residues to Agricultural Lands in Hungary

The broad presence of biogas plants – facilities using organic wastes and by-products to generate energy – now seems to warrant urgent attention to the land application of by-products (fermentation residues) from biogas plants. In Hungary, this activity can be carried out under statutory conditions, subject to official licensing. The protection provided by law is necessary because an adaptable and sustainable agriculture based on effects and interactions also requires such attention, since the most important natural resource of agriculture is soil, which, by nature, is a conditionally renewable natural resource [1] [2]. Protection of soil means primarily protection of quality: sustainable and adaptable agriculture contributes to retain the ecological functions of soil and its role in the ecosystem [3]. This publication analyses the possibilities and challenges of natural resource management by studying the agricultural use of fermentation residues from biogas plants. In order to be used in agriculture, fermentation residue should be classified according to its character and nutritional value, namely as harmless waste from non-agricultural sources. This substance may have the properties of slurry, and in certain cases it may be classified as a substance with characteristics of waste water/sewage sludge or sewage sludge compost.
 Main elements of the preparation of the soil protection plan: detailed laboratory tests of the fermentation residue according to standards and regulations; classification of the fermentation residue on the basis of the measured parameters and the field tests corresponding to the character of fermentation residue according to the relevant legislation. Soil protection plan is prepared by expert based on on-site investigation and laboratory reports. This is the basis of the licensing process.
 Land application of fermentation residues therefore requires expert analysis to ensure that the ecological functions of soil are not damaged. This, however, requires that the regulations governing the framework for the conditions of such application are carefully studied and interpreted.

Rural livelihoods, large-scale mining and agrarian change in Mapela, Limpopo, South Africa

This paper forms part of the growing body of scholarly research that seeks to understand the impacts of extractive activities on local and indigenous communities. The paper examines the socio-economic impacts of large-scale mining activity on rural livelihoods in four villages (Armoede, Ga-Chaba Ga-Molekana and Skeming) in the Mapela traditional authority area where Anglo Platinum’s Mogalakwena mine is operating. Of these four villages, only Armoede residents were relocated while the other three villages remain within the proximity of the mine. As a result of co-habitation and proximity to production, the three villages also highlight another important dimension of mining-induced displacement and resettlement whereby mining activities encroach on the livelihoods of surrounding villages. Rural households in the Mapela area have traditionally relied on both agricultural and non-agricultural sources of income, often straddling urban and rural locales, in highly diversified livelihood systems for both survival and accumulation purposes. The establishment of large-scale mining investments in peripheral localities may be seen as constituting part of the mediating processes between the households and the wider socio-economic context which may enhance or diminish their livelihood assets or endowments. Findings from this research reveal that mining-related land dispossessions have had adverse impacts on land-based and agrarian livelihood activities namely, homestead garden cultivation, ploughing in large fields and livestock rearing. This happens within the context of limited non-farm livelihood opportunities, especially wage employment, both locally and in the wider economy. In this sense, large-scale mining investment disrupts the local livelihood system, intensifying the crisis of social reproduction amongst local rural households and limiting their ability to accumulate, especially from agriculture. This raises critical questions about the role and place of agricultural forms of livelihood in the contemporary capitalist world where the historical role of industrial growth as a means of eradicating poverty has also become highly uncertain.

Emission factor for atmospheric ammonia from a typical municipal wastewater treatment plant in South China

Atmospheric ammonia (NH3), a common alkaline gas found in air, plays a significant role in atmospheric chemistry, such as in the formation of secondary particles. However, large uncertainties remain in the estimation of ammonia emissions from nonagricultural sources, such as wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In this study, the ammonia emission factors from a large WWTP utilizing three typical biological treatment techniques to process wastewater in South China were calculated using the US EPA's WATER9 model with three years of raw sewage measurements and information about the facility. The individual emission factors calculated were 0.15 ± 0.03, 0.24 ± 0.05, 0.29 ± 0.06, and 0.25 ± 0.05 g NH3 m−3 sewage for the adsorption-biodegradation activated sludge treatment process, the UNITANK process (an upgrade of the sequencing batch reactor activated sludge treatment process), and two slightly different anaerobic-anoxic-oxic treatment processes, respectively. The overall emission factor of the WWTP was 0.24 ± 0.06 g NH3m−3 sewage. The pH of the wastewater influent is likely an important factor affecting ammonia emissions, because higher emission factors existed at higher pH values. Based on the ammonia emission factor generated in this study, sewage treatment accounted for approximately 4% of the ammonia emissions for the urban area of South China's Pearl River Delta (PRD) in 2006, which is much less than the value of 34% estimated in previous studies. To reduce the large uncertainty in the estimation of ammonia emissions in China, more field measurements are required.

Differential Distribution of Type II CRISPR-Cas Systems in Agricultural and Nonagricultural Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter jejuni Isolates Correlates with Lack of Shared Environments.

CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats)-Cas (CRISPR-associated) systems are sequence-specific adaptive defenses against phages and plasmids which are widespread in prokaryotes. Here we have studied whether phylogenetic relatedness or sharing of environmental niches affects the distribution and dissemination of Type II CRISPR-Cas systems, first in 132 bacterial genomes from 15 phylogenetic classes, ranging from Proteobacteria to Actinobacteria. There was clustering of distinct Type II CRISPR-Cas systems in phylogenetically distinct genera with varying G+C%, which share environmental niches. The distribution of CRISPR-Cas within a genus was studied using a large collection of genome sequences of the closely related Campylobacter species Campylobacter jejuni (N = 3,746) and Campylobacter coli (N = 486). The Cas gene cas9 and CRISPR-repeat are almost universally present in C. jejuni genomes (98.0% positive) but relatively rare in C. coli genomes (9.6% positive). Campylobacter jejuni and agricultural C. coli isolates share the C. jejuni CRISPR-Cas system, which is closely related to, but distinct from the C. coli CRISPR-Cas system found in C. coli isolates from nonagricultural sources. Analysis of the genomic position of CRISPR-Cas insertion suggests that the C. jejuni-type CRISPR-Cas has been transferred to agricultural C. coli. Conversely, the absence of the C. coli-type CRISPR-Cas in agricultural C. coli isolates may be due to these isolates not sharing the same environmental niche, and may be affected by farm hygiene and biosecurity practices in the agricultural sector. Finally, many CRISPR spacer alleles were linked with specific multilocus sequence types, suggesting that these can assist molecular epidemiology applications for C. jejuni and C. coli.

The Legal Dilemma of the Financialization of Agricultural Land and a Way Forward

The strict limits on the financialization of agricultural land in the current legal system impede the development of rural finance. Objective needs have driven local governments’ exploration of different modes of financialization, providing samples we can analyze in connection with the next steps in institutional development. The financialization of agricultural land arises naturally from its nature as an asset. Whether one acknowledges the land’s social security function does not affect its financialization. In institutional rebuilding, the particular character of mortgages on agricultural land should be considered. The mortgage-holder must be a financial organization, not a natural person or an ordinary firm. The person mortgaging the right to operate the land under the contract responsibility system need not have a stable non-agricultural occupation or stable source of income, or the consent of the party issuing the contract. Registration constitutes public notification of the setting up of a mortgage and is also the condition whereby it comes into effect. The mortgage cannot be realized by means of discounting, but compulsory management can be used to subcontract or let the relevant agricultural land. The debt can then be liquidated from this income and the land returned to the mortgagor.

Socio-economic Impact of IBBL Microfinance on Rural Women in a Selected District of Bangladesh

Aims: Rural Development Scheme (RDS) under Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) is an innovative typology of microfinance, envisaged to answer the need of rural poor. This study was planned to reveal the socioeconomic impact of RDS microfinance on the women beneficiaries in a selected district of Bangladesh. Place and Duration of the Study: This study was conducted in the district of Barisal. Data were collected from July to August, 2014. Methodology: This study was mainly based on primary information, however the secondary information was also collected to compare the before and after situation of loan withdrawal. To achieve study objectives data was collected from 206 randomly selected, RDS beneficiary women who engaged with the program for at least one year. Descriptive statistics such as mean, median, mode, standard deviation, etc., were used to describe the selected characteristics of the Original Research Article Jahan and Rashid; AJAEES, 6(3): 136-148, 2015; Article no.AJAEES.2015.071 137 respondents. Z-statistics was employed to compare the before and after situation of loan withdrawal. This study also used OLS regression to see the contribution of selected factor on the improvement of women beneficiaries. Results: The values Z statistics confirmed that highest change was taken place in social capital development followed by yearly income from non-agricultural sources, ownership of sanitary toilet, and ownership of tube-well. In case of social capital highest improvement was found in participation in family-decision making followed by self confidence, and consciousness about self-economic development. OLS regression confirmed that among the eight selected variables three variables, namely the number of earning members per family, the total amount of loan received, and yearly expenditure together can explain 46.5% variation in income growth. Conclusion: This study analyzed both monetary and social impacts of RDS microfinance and arrived at a general conclusion that this program grossly has a remarkable impact on selected socioeconomic aspects of the women clients.

Social changes in rural areas: Incomes and expenditures of rural households

In the study we analyse changes in the level and structure of income and expenditure of households in rural and urban areas during the period of Polish integration with the European Union. This allows to answer the question of whether and how the social distance divides the residents of the rural and urban areas. The results showed improvement in economic and social situation in the rural areas. The living gap between rural residents and urban residents decreased. In the structure of incomes of rural households, the share of income from non-agricultural sources increased and at the same time the share of expenditure on food in total expenditure was smaller. However, the differences are still signifcant. The challenge for rural development policy is to reduce the gap between rural and urban areas, especially in terms of quality of life. This requires further development of non-agricultural jobs in rural areas.