Strategy For Productivity Research Articles

Responses of grapevine rootstocks to drought through altered root system architecture and root transcriptomic regulations

Roots are the major interface between the plant and various stress factors in the soil environment. Alteration of root system architecture (RSA) (root length, spread, number and length of lateral roots) in response to environmental changes is known to be an important strategy for plant adaptation and productivity. In light of ongoing climate changes and global warming predictions, the breeding of drought-tolerant grapevine cultivars is becoming a crucial factor for developing a sustainable viticulture. Root-trait modeling of grapevine rootstock for drought stress scenarios, together with high-throughput phenotyping and genotyping techniques, may provide a valuable background for breeding studies in viticulture. Here, tree grafted grapevine rootstocks (110R, 5BB and 41B) having differential RSA regulations and drought tolerance were investigated to define their drought dependent root characteristics. Root area, root length, ramification and number of root tips reduced less in 110R grafted grapevines compared to 5BB and 41B grafted ones during drought treatment. Root relative water content as well as total carbohydrate and nitrogen content were found to be much higher in the roots of 110R than it was in the roots of other rootstocks under drought. Microarray-based root transcriptome profiling was also conducted on the roots of these rootstocks to identify their gene regulation network behind drought-dependent RSA alterations. Transcriptome analysis revealed totally 2795, 1196 and 1612 differentially expressed transcripts at the severe drought for the roots of 110R, 5BB and 41B, respectively. According to this transcriptomic data, effective root elongation and enlargement performance of 110R were suggested to depend on three transcriptomic regulations. First one is the drought-dependent induction in sugar and protein transporters genes (SWEET and NRT1/PTR) in the roots of 110R to facilitate carbohydrate and nitrogen accumulation. In the roots of the same rootstock, expression increase in osmolyte producer genes revealed another transcriptomic regulation enabling effective root osmotic adjustment under drought stress. The third mechanism was linked to root suberization with upregulation of transcripts functional in wax producing enzymes (Caffeic acid 3-O-methyltransferase, Eceriferum3, 3-ketoacyl-CoAsynthase). These three transcriptomic regulations were suggested to provide essential energy and water preservation to the roots of 110R for its effective RSA regulation under drought. This phenotypic and genotypic knowledge could be used to develop root-dependent drought tolerant grapevines in breeding programs and could facilitate elucidation of genetic regulations behind RSA alteration in other plants.

A global comparison of the nutritive values of forage plants grown in contrasting environments

Forage plants are valuable because they maintain wild and domesticated herbivores, and sustain the delivery of meat, milk and other commodities. Forage plants contain different quantities of fibre, lignin, minerals and protein, and vary in the proportion of their tissue that can be digested by herbivores. These nutritive components are important determinants of consumer growth rates, reproductive success and behaviour. A dataset was compiled to quantify variation in forage plant nutritive values within- and between-plant species, and to assess variation between plant functional groups and bioclimatic zones. 1255 geo-located records containing 3774 measurements of nutritive values for 136 forage plant species grown in 30 countries were obtained from published articles. Spatial variability in forage nutritive values indicated that climate modified plant nutritive values. Forage plants grown in arid and equatorial regions generally contained less digestible material than those grown in temperate and tundra regions; containing more fibre and lignin, and less protein. These patterns may reveal why herbivore body sizes, digestion and migration strategies are different in warmer and drier regions. This dataset also revealed the capacity for variation in the nutrition provided by forage plants, which may drive consumer species coexistence. The proportion of the plant tissue that was digestible ranged between species from 2 to 91%. The amount of fibre contained within plant material ranged by 23–90%, protein by 2–36%, lignin by 1–21% and minerals by 2–22%. On average, grasses and tree foliage contained the most fibre, whilst herbaceous legumes contained the most protein and tree foliage contained the most lignin. However, there were individual species within each functional group that were highly nutritious. This dataset may be used to identify forage plant species or mixtures of species from different functional groups with useful nutritional traits which can be cultivated to enhance livestock productivity and inform wild herbivore conservation strategies.

Recent advances in microbial production of mannitol: utilization of low-cost substrates, strain development and regulation strategies.

Mannitol has been widely used in fine chemicals, pharmaceutical industries, as well as functional foods due to its excellent characteristics, such as antioxidant protecting, regulation of osmotic pressure and non-metabolizable feature. Mannitol can be naturally produced by microorganisms. Compared with chemical manufacturing, microbial production of mannitol provides high yield and convenience in products separation; however the fermentative process has not been widely adopted yet. A major obstacle to microbial production of mannitol under industrial-scale lies in the low economical efficiency, owing to the high cost of fermentation medium, leakage of fructose, low mannitol productivity. In this review, recent advances in improving the economical efficiency of microbial production of mannitol were reviewed, including utilization of low-cost substrates, strain development for high mannitol yield and process regulation strategies for high productivity.

Smallholder farmer perceived effects of climate change on agricultural productivity and adaptation strategies

The agriculture sector is sensitive to climate change and the capacity of smallholder farmers in developing countries to adapt is limited. Similar to adoption of any development-oriented strategies, perception is pre-requisite to successful adaptation of agricultural strategies against climate change effects. This study was conducted in the semi-arid Lower Gweru Communal area of Central Zimbabwe to sensitize smallholder farmers on climate change and to establish their perceptions of the projected climate of Zimbabwe by 2050. Data were collected during 2011 from a total of 60 farmers drawn from six villages in Mdubiwa and Nyama Wards. Farmers were selected using systematic random sampling from a households list and grouped into three wealth groups: resource rich; resource poor and intermediate. Focus Group Discussions were conducted with each group to investigate their perceptions of the projected climate by 2050 and their proposed adaptive strategies. Farmers perceived the projected climate to have negative effects on their livelihoods and there were no outstanding differences in the nature of responses across the three categories of farmers. Farmers’ responses showed that they were concerned about crop and livestock productivity as well as availability of water resources, food and nutrition security and about their general well-being. The intermediate wealth group, which had more than half of its members above 70 years of age provided the least number of ideas for adaptations. Farmers also suggested how they could possibly counteract some of the predicted negative effects or maximize on positive effects. Strategies that were suggested by the farmers were largely concerned with cropping and tended to address water shortages. It was concluded that almost all strategies suggested by farmers were self-directed, rather than directed at authorities like government or donors to do something for them thus showing that farmers had the will power to deal with climate change themselves.

Model Predictive Control of a Fed-batch Bioreactor Based on Dynamic Metabolic-Genetic Network Models

In this work, a model predictive control of a fed-batch bioreactor is presented, described by the dynamic enzyme-cost FBA model (deFBA). The deFBA model is employed within a bilevel optimization to obtain fed-batch operating policies including the substrate feeding and process-level regulation of metabolism for optimizing the productivity of a target product. The advantages of implementing the closed-loop control in order to compensate for modelling errors are evaluated by comparing with the performance of an open-loop control. A case study involving the fed-batch fermentation of Escherichia coli for ethanol production is considered to find optimal operating strategies for maximal productivity.

Enabling circular strategies with different types of product/service-systems

To be successfully implemented, circular economy requires the design of innovative business models that can enable multiple value creation mechanisms. One way to achieve this is by means of product/service-systems. Nevertheless, there is still limited consideration in the literature regarding the effect of applying different circular strategies – or resource productivity or resource efficiency strategies - in the development of alternative business models for different product/service-system types. By means of retrospective case studies, this article discusses how different types of product/service-systems and their business models are related to or enable different circular strategies. Insights and future research opportunities are outlined.

Factors Affecting Construction Labor Productivity In Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) Pakistan

Labor productivity is at forefront of concerns facing professionals in construction industry worldwide. Construction industries play a leading role in economic growth for countries all around the world. This study highlights the factors affecting labor productivity in the construction industry of Peshawar (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) Pakistan. Improvement in productivity results in saving of cost and time. This study explores various factors for improving labor productivity in construction industry of Peshawar. Questionnaire survey and practical productivity assessment was adopted to take out the effect each individual productivity factors. The relative importance index (RII) of all twenty three (23) factors affecting productivity was identified. This study also developed a comparison sheet with previous case study data conducted by authors Anu V.Thomas and J.Sudhakumar (India) which could be used by the project managers to easily sort out various factors related to productivity improvement in different regions. The major factors which sort out and outcomes of this study will help project managers to anticipate weak zones of productivity in their present projects and provide accurate strategies for improving labor productivity.

Strategic steps for Nigerian hospitality human capital development

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore human capital (HC) productivity strategies used by the tourism, hospitality, and leisure (THL) industry business leaders in Nigeria which improved the employee productivity.Design/methodology/approachThe participants in this research study comprised randomly selected Southern Nigerian business leaders with specialist expertise in the THL industry. Individual interviews were undertaken with participants to gain both an insight and understanding regarding which strategies are best suited to improve employee productivity. A further analysis of workplace policies and procedures provided additional insights related to the application of such workplace practices toward productivity improvements.FindingsThe findings of this study identified that recruiting persons with essential social capital, inducting them into high ethical standards, providing in-house training, motivating employees with reward and recognition, and the adoption of affordable technologies are key industry strategies to build a productive employee workforce.Practical implicationsImplementing the findings from this study may help develop a new type of THL professionals, especially in the hotel and restaurant sub-sectors that will enhance the attractiveness of the THL industry and encourage patronage. The opportunity to interact with new people in THL businesses and locations may promote social interaction and integration that are invaluable to an ethnically and religiously diverse country such as Nigeria. These benefits are valuable and are essential positive social changes.Originality/valueA structured HCD program might deliver a net benefit to the industry. To the employees, there may be improved remuneration, increased self-esteem, and job security. To the industry, there may be a reduction in employee turnover, improvement in productivity, improved attraction of graduates, and reduced engagement of illegal workers. The government could also experience increased gross domestic product.

Feeding strategies for tuning poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) monomeric composition and productivity using Burkholderia sacchari

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB-4HB)) co-polymers were produced at bench-scale in fed-batch cultivations by Burkholderia sacchari from glucose (main carbon-source) and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) as co-substrate. As P(3HB-4HB) properties highly depend on the 4-hydroxybutyrate (4HB) molar fraction, it is advantageous to have a thorough knowledge of the process in order to promote the production of the targeted final product. In this work, polymers with a 4HB molar percentage ranging from 1.5 to 8.4% (mol/mol) were obtained as consequence of a fine tuning of the fed-batch operation conditions, namely regarding the co-substrate feeding rate and its addition time, as GBL is toxic to B. sacchari cells. The best results regarding both the 4HB incorporation (molar%) and the co-polymer productivity (7.1% and 1.1g/(L.h) respectively) were reached when a pulse of GBL (<10g/L) was added early in the accumulation phase followed by a constant GBL addition at a rate similar to that of consumption so that a steady co-substrate concentration in the medium was maintained.

Impact of Intrinsic Motivational Factors on Employee Retention among Gen Y:A Qualitative Perspective

Employee commitment, high productivity and retention strategies are the most serious human resource management challenges of the upcoming future. In this scenario employee turnover has a significant impact on decline of productivity and failure of corporate plans. The significance of motivation in retaining key employees cannot be overlooked. Extrinsic motivation is driven by reinforcement contingencies which is not sufficient, so it should be guided by intrinsic motivation which involves interesting job and making it pleasurable. Today's organizations are facing immense challenge because of fulfilling the requirements of four generational cohorts. Present workforce is dominated by generation y employees who have different values system and requirements in comparison to previous generations. Therefore it is vital for the organization to chalk down their needs and design an effective motivational system which will increase their productivity. This paper aims to focus on qualitative analysis to explore different intrinsic motivational factors influencing generation y employees and their preference for motivation. Conclusion and implications for further research have been drawn from the analysis.

Effect of Supplemental Sericea Lespedeza Pellets on Internal Parasite Infection and Nutritional Status of Grazing Goats

Feeding pelleted sericea lespedeza (SL; Lespedeza cuneata) on pasture can reduce gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) and coccidia (Eimeria spp.) infection in sheep and goats, but effects on nutritional status are unclear. Therefore, a study was completed comparing yearling goats grazing grass pasture supplemented with SL or non-condensed tannins (CT) commercial pellets (control group), respectively, at 1.5% of body weight for 14 weeks, and then after 14 weeks, they were only fed with non-CT pellets at 2.5% of body weight for additional six weeks. Animal body weight was measured at the start of the trial, the 7th week, 14th week and end of the trial. Fecal samples were taken weekly to determine GIN egg output (fecal egg count; FEC) and coccidial oocyst production (fecal oocyst count; FOC). Blood samples (to determine packed cell volume; PCV) were taken weekly to monitor anemia status of the goats, and on days 0, 98 and 137 to determine aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and creatine kinase (CK). The study revealed that supplemental SL leaf meal pellets had no effect on FEC, but reduced FOC (P < 0.05) and improved FAMACHA© scores (P < 0.001) in the goats, and the SL supplemented goats tended to gain more weight (P = 0.07) than control animals during the first 49 d, following initiation of pellet feeding. There were no treatment effects on enzymes related to liver function or muscle turnover (AST, ALT and CK), suggesting that there was no muscle damage due to long-term feeding of SL pellets. In conclusion, feeding supplemental SL pellets at 1.5% of body weight on pasture may be a viable strategy for improving health and productivity of yearling goats.

Environmental-economic benefits and trade-offs on sustainably certified coffee farms

Coffee with diverse shade trees is recognized as conserving greater biodiversity than more intensive production methods. Sustainable certification has been proposed as an incentive to conserve shade grown coffee. With 40% of global coffee production certified as sustainable, evidence is needed to demonstrate whether certification supports the environmental benefits of shade coffee. Environmental and economic data were taken from 278 coffee farms in Nicaragua divided between non-certified and five different sustainable certifications. Farms were propensity-score matched by altitude, area of coffee and farmer education to ensure comparability between non-certified and certified farms. Farms under all certifications had better environmental characteristics than non-certified for some indicators, but none were better for all indicators. Certified farms generally received better prices than non-certified farms. Farms with different certifications had different investment strategies; C.A.F.E. Practice farms had high investment and high return strategies, while Utz and Organic farms had low investment, low productivity strategies. Tree diversity was inversely related to productivity, price and net revenue in general, but not for certified farms that received higher prices. Certification differentiates farms with better environmental characteristics and management, provides some economic benefits to most farmers, and may contribute to mitigating environment/economic trade-offs.

Modeling daily soil salinity dynamics in response to agricultural and environmental changes in coastal Bangladesh

AbstractUnderstanding the dynamics of salt movement in the soil is a prerequisite for devising appropriate management strategies for land productivity of coastal regions, especially low‐lying delta regions, which support many millions of farmers around the world. At present, there are no numerical models able to resolve soil salinity at regional scale and at daily time steps. In this research, we develop a novel holistic approach to simulate soil salinization comprising an emulator‐based soil salt and water balance calculated at daily time steps. The method is demonstrated for the agriculture areas of coastal Bangladesh (∼20,000 km2). This shows that we can reproduce the dynamics of soil salinity under multiple land uses, including rice crops, combined shrimp and rice farming, as well as non‐rice crops. The model also reproduced well the observed spatial soil salinity for the year 2009. Using this approach, we have projected the soil salinity for three different climate ensembles, including relative sea‐level rise for the year 2050. Projected soil salinity changes are significantly smaller than other reported projections. The results suggest that inter‐season weather variability is a key driver of salinization of agriculture soils at coastal Bangladesh.

The role of green productivity strategy in achieving sustainability of environmental and social performance: دور إستراتيجية الإنتاجية الخضراء في تحقيق الاستدامة للأداء البيئي والاجتماعي

Companies seek among the main strategies that achieve sustainability, environmental and social performance, and this can only be achieved through the realization of green productivity, so the study aims to highlight the green productivity strategy standards and how they can play a significant role in environmental sustainability, as it is the last of topical subjects as the interest in it will lead to the shed and the concentration of industrial and consumer organizations to protect the environment through the output of green product cultural awareness of the workers and the community, which means that green productivity will lead organizations to achieve competitive advantage in the competitive environment. So was applied checklist through field homeliness and personal interviews, a number of department managers (environment, quality and safety, as well as the drilling sites). The study found that although the in spite of the arrival of the Iraqi Drilling Company to apply some standards and to varying degrees, but it sustainability did not achieve environmental and social performance. This leads us to not accept the main assumption. There is a role and impact for the green productivity strategy in sustainability for environmental and social performance.

Use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) for enhanced lipid production in micro-algae based biofuels

Microalgae are an alternative source for renewable energy to overcome the energy crises caused by exhaustion of fuel reserves. Algal biofuel technology demands a cost effective strategy for net profitable productivity. Inconsistent illumination intensities hinder microalgal growth. The light-utilizing efficiency of the cells is critical. Light scarcity leads to low production and high intensities cause photo-inhibition. We report effective usage of LEDs of different band wavelengths on the growth of microalgae in a closed, controlled environment to generate biomass and lipid yields. Among the different intensity and wavelengths tested. The light intensities of 500lx of blue-red combination gave maximum biomass in terms of cell density. LED of red light 220lx wavelength doubled the lipid dry weight from 30% (w/w) in white light to 60% (w/w). Thin layer lipid chromatogram demonstrated a dense and prominent spot of triacylglycerols in the red light, 220lx grown cultures. The FTIR profile indicates that different wavelength exposure did not alter the functional groups or change the chemical composition of the extracted lipids ensuring the quality of the product. We reiterate the fact that combination of red and blue LEDs is favoured over white light illumination for generation of biomass. In addition, we report an exciting finding of exposure to LEDs of red wavelength post-biomass generation lead to enhanced lipid production. This simple process doubled the lipid content harvested in 20days culture period.

Understanding Faculty Collaboration and Productivity: A Case Study

Research productivity has been always an important part of every academic’s job, since it has a profound effect on faculty promotion and tenure decisions. In addition, some scholars believe that co-authorship between faculty members has a great impact on their academic life and faculty advancement. Since 2005, the Ministry of Education of Taiwan (MOE) has developed two university programs and evaluation policies for improving the competitiveness and internationalization of Taiwan universities, and has clearly stated that there is a strong relationship between faculty promotion and research performance. However, none of them has used social network analysis (SNA) to examine research productivity and co-authorship under two university programs and evaluation policies from MOE in Taiwan. Therefore, in this study, we first uses SNA to analyze the research productivity, collaboration patterns, and publication strategies of faculty members in a Management Information Systems (MIS) department at a national university in Taiwan. Then, we used D3, a well-known drawing tool to create data visualization using JavaScript libraries, to visualize and discuss how these two university programs and evaluation policies from the MOE affected these patterns and strategies. We hope that our study not only provides beneficial information to the MIS department, but can be treated as an important source for MOE committees in their future adjustment of university programs and policies.

State of the art of different industrial approaches for face grinding applications

Face grinding is a critical process in manufacturing applied in several kinds of workpieces from automotive, aerospace or energy generation sectors. Motor and transmission shafts of hardened steel, Ni and Ti alloys or carbide coatings are some representative workpieces where this operation is applied. In order to carry out face grinding applications many different techniques and strategies can be applied. Apart from the significate lack of detailed kinematic analysis of this particular application there exist uncertainty about the definition of the associated most convenient technique. The objective of this work is to realize a classification and description of all the different strategies applied in face grinding applications, analysing their basic kinematics, showing the required technological approaches and the flexibility that each strategy offers. This is a starting point for a deeper research work that will be carried out in order to advance in the definition of optimal strategy and technological approach for maximum productivity in each case.

Enhanced lipid production by Rhodosporidium toruloides using different fed-batch feeding strategies with lignocellulosic hydrolysate as the sole carbon source

BackgroundIndustrial biotechnology that is able to provide environmentally friendly bio-based products has attracted more attention in replacing petroleum-based industries. Currently, most of the carbon sources used for fermentation-based bioprocesses are obtained from agricultural commodities that are used as foodstuff for human beings. Lignocellulose-derived sugars as the non-food, green, and sustainable alternative carbon sources have great potential to avoid this dilemma for producing the renewable, bio-based hydrocarbon fuel precursors, such as microbial lipid. Efficient bioconversion of lignocellulose-based sugars into lipids is one of the critical parameters for industrial application. Therefore, the fed-batch cultivation, which is a common method used in industrial applications, was investigated to achieve a high cell density culture along with high lipid yield and productivity.ResultsIn this study, several fed-batch strategies were explored to improve lipid production using lignocellulosic hydrolysates derived from corn stover. Compared to the batch culture giving a lipid yield of 0.19 g/g, the dissolved-oxygen-stat feeding mode increased the lipid yield to 0.23 g/g and the lipid productivity to 0.33 g/L/h. The pulse feeding mode further improved lipid productivity to 0.35 g/L/h and the yield to 0.24 g/g. However, the highest lipid yield (0.29 g/g) and productivity (0.4 g/L/h) were achieved using an automated online sugar control feeding mode, which gave a dry cell weight of 54 g/L and lipid content of 59 % (w/w). The major fatty acids of the lipid derived from lignocellulosic hydrolysates were predominately palmitic acid and oleic acid, which are similar to those of conventional oilseed plants.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the fed-batch feeding strategy can strongly influence the lipid production. The online sugar control feeding mode was the most appealing strategy for high cell density, lipid yield, and lipid productivity using lignocellulosic hydrolysates as the sole carbon source.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-016-0542-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Influence of Productivity Strategy on the Growth of Private Secondary Schools in Gilgil Sub-County, Kenya

The purpose of this study is to establish the influence of productivity strategies on growth of private secondary schools. Private schools in Kenya need to focus on target marketing their efforts to the niche markets of specific identifiable customers. There are many important elements to consider in defining the marketplace, but the bottom line is customer needs. There are no absolutes in marketing for private schools. A marketing mix that works for one school may fail miserably for another. Efforts to sell educational products and services generally do not work well with mass marketing efforts aimed at everyone. Marketing efforts should start with a sound recognition of customer needs and then work backwards to devise products and services to satisfy those needs. In this manner, private schools can presently satisfy customers in a more efficient manner as well as anticipate future services and opportunities. Today, as competition and costs increase, and as productivity and quality decrease, more marketing sophistication is needed. Private schools face three major marketing tasks: they want to increase their competitive differentiation, service quality and productivity. The efforts to sell educational products specifically do not work well with mass marketing efforts aimed at everyone. Marketing efforts should start with a sound recognition of customer needs and then work backwards to devise products and services to satisfy those needs. This way, private schools can presently satisfy customers in a more efficient manner as well as anticipate future services and opportunities. Schools that draw from the marketing experiences of others may be able to avoid unsuccessful strategies, emulate profitable ventures at reduced costs, and embrace marketing opportunities with fewer uncertainties. Performance metrics that are directly tied to growth include enrollment, infrastructure, teacher population, increased subject choice, number of classrooms among others. The study targeted all 125 teachers of the 11 private secondary schools in Gilgil Sub-County, Kenya. The study found that productivity strategies influenced the growth of the private secondary schools and recommends for more creative productive strategies for all schools.

Variability studies for needle and wood traits of different half sib progenies of Pinus roxburghii Sargent.

Genetic variability studies for needle and wood traits were carried out for the different half sib progenies of Chir pine, raised in 1985 at the main campus of University. There existed a significant variation for these traits among the different half sib progenies, viz., needle length (18.1-24.6cm), needle thickness (0.53-0.71mm), number of stomata per mm of a row (7.3-12.0), specific gravity of wood (0.36-0.46), tracheid length (1.51-1.85) and moisture content of wood (47.76-58.81). This variability was found under genetic control, as all these progenies are growing under same environment, and are of same age. Traits having high heritability and genetic gain like, needle thickness, wood specific gravity, tracheid length and others, indicate high genetic control. This variability can be exploited in tree improvement programs through selection and breeding approaches for development of advanced generations. Correlation studies for different traits at genotypic and phenotypic levels provided the basic knowledge of association to chalk out efficient breeding strategy for higher productivity through indirect selection.