Impact of posture and upper-limb muscle activity on grip strength

Purpose. The current research was carried out to determine grip strength (GS) with change in posture and upper-limb muscle activity of manual workers and investigate the impacts of these changes. Methods. For the current research, 120 male and 80 female participants were selected and GS was assessed using a digital hand grip dynamometer in various conditions. Results. The outcomes showed that male participants had higher GS as compared to female participants. Maximum GS was found in a standing posture with the fixed forward shoulder at 45°, elbow at 90° and a neutral position of the wrist and forearm for all participants. Conclusions. Higher values of GS were attained in standing postures which may result in attainment of higher performance levels by the workers. The outcomes justify the importance of correct postures during manual work in industries employing traditional methods.     

Traditional agriculture in transition: examining the impacts of agricultural modernization on smallholder farming in Ghana under the new Green Revolution

Following the renewed effort at achieving a new green revolution for Africa, emphasis has been placed on modernizing smallholder agriculture through the deployment of improved inputs especially mechanized technologies. In Ghana, the government has in the last decade emphasized the provision of subsidized mechanized ploughing services to farmers alongside a rapidly growing private sector tractor service market. While mechanized technology adoption rates have increased rapidly, the deployment of these technologies has been without critical analysis of the impacts on production patterns and local agrarian systems. This paper examines the distributional impacts of agriculture mechanization on cropping patterns and farm sizes of smallholder farmers in northern Ghana using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques, and semi-structured interviews with smallholder farmers (n=60). Specifically, comparative analysis of the field sizes and cropping patterns of participant farmers prior to and after the adoption of mechanized technologies was conducted. In-depth interviews were used to contextualize the experiences of smallholder farmers toward understanding how mechanization may be impacting traditional agriculture. Our findings reveal a mechanization paradox in which farm sizes are expanding, while cropping patterns are shifting away from traditional staple crops (pearl millet and sorghum bicolor) to market-oriented crops (maize, rice and groundnuts). This transition we argue, has adverse implications on the cultural dimension of food security, the organization of social life, and climate change adaptation. We recommend a retooling of the current agricultural policy focus to ensure context sensitivity for a more robust battle against food insecurity.     

The Impact of Agriculture On Dissolved Nitrogen and Phosphorus Cycling in Temperate Ecosystems

Although most research has focussed on inorganic nutrient forms of nitrate (NO^-₃) and phosphorus (PO³₄) in runoff and receiving waters, nitrogen loss from agricultural land can also occur in organic and ammonium-nitrogen form; phosphorus losses, although often dominated by particulate transport, may occur in soluble organic and inorganic form. Furthermore, fluxes between different species may take place during transport from the land to the stream and as a result of in-stream, in-river or in-lake transformations. Knowledge of the spatial and temporal variation in all nitrogen species and phosphorus fractions in a drainage basin is therefore essential if the wider environmental significance of elevated nutrient concentrations in natural waters are to be assessed. This paper reviews recent work on N and P losses from agricultural land and presents some results from two intensive agricultural catchments: Slapton, Devon and the river Windrush catchment in the Cotswolds.     

Structural Adjustment of Oasis Agriculture in Xinjiang

As a special basic economic region in China, Xinjiang is situated in the arid area in the Northwest China. Oasis agriculture is the basis of the national economy. The development of oasis agriculture helps to accelerate the development of economy, social and environment. After 50 years of practice, from 1949 to 2002, oasis agriculture in Xinjiang enhanced rapidly the scale of agricultural industry and had great changes in its structure. The amount of cultivated area rose from 120.97*102 ha t…     

约束条件下中国循环经济发展中的生态效率——基于优化的超效率SBM-Malmquist-Tobit模型

以中国30个省份、直辖市、自治区的年度面板数据为研究对象,重点将生态资源存量和环境污染造成的经济浪费两项指标纳入新的生态效率评价体系,运用优化的引入非期望产出的超效率SBM模型测算生态效率,再运用Malmquist指数考察全要素生产率（TFP）与生态效率的动态变动关系,最后运用Tobit回归分析探索生态效率主要影响因素的方向、强度和变化趋势,以此度量和展现循环经济发展的整体情况.结果显示：生态效率呈现由东到西、由沿海到内陆逐渐收敛的格局,东部沿海地区和中部、西部内陆地区间,循环经济发展水平存在显著的阶梯式区域失衡;生态效率的集群效应明显,辐射效应不足,不同地区或同一地区的不同省份间,循环经济发展水平同样参差不齐;经济发展引发的生态赤字问题逐步缓解,但在短时间内经济和生态的矛盾依旧存在,西北地区尤为突显;第三产业比重、技术进步、市场开放对生态效率的提升具有积极作用且趋于强化;政府规制、人口密度对生态效率的提升也具有积极作用但趋于减弱;第二产业比重、能源结构对生态效率的改善存在负面影响亦趋于强化.     

Climate impact on social systems: the risk assessment approach

A novel approach to the problem of estimating climate impact on social systems is suggested. This approach is based on a risk concept, where the notion of critical events is introduced and the probability of such events is estimated. The estimation considers both the inherent stochasticity of climatic processes and the artificial stochasticity of climate predictions due to scientific uncertainties. The method is worked out in some detail for the regional problem of crop production and the risks associated with global climate change, and illustrated by a case study (Kursk region of the FSU). In order to get local climatic characteristics (weather), a so-called statistical weather generator is used. One interesting finding is that the 3% risk level remains constant up to 1.0–1.1°C rise of mean seasonal temperature, if the variance does not change. On the other hand, the risk grows rapidly with increasing variance (even if the mean temperature rises very slowly). The risk approach is able to separate two problems: (i) assessment of global change impact, and (ii) decision making. The main task for the scientific community is to provide the politicians with different options; the choice of admissible (from the social point of view) critical events and the corresponding risk levels is the business of decision makers.     

若干生态农业的模式及其应用

本文根据浙江省生态农业的实践,总结出数种生态农业模式,叙述了各种模式的结构、功能、效益、特点及应用现状,提出了模式的适用对象和应用时需重点注意的问题。     

Occurrence and congeners specific of poiychlorinated biphenyls in agricultural soils from Southern Jiangsu, China

A total of 198 agricultural soil samples were collected from Zhangjiagang and Changshu in Southern Jiangsu for analysis of 13 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in order to assess the levels of pollution, sources, area distribution, and potential risk for the environment. All methods were rigorously tested and an adequate quality control was ensured. Only one site had no PCBs residues, and the highest total PCBs concentration in the surface soils was 32.83 ng/g. The average concentration in all the soil samples was 4.13 ng/g, signaling low-level pollution. Tetra-, penta-, and hexa-chlorinated biphenyls were dominant species in soil samples, accounting for more than 75% ofΣPCBs in the soil samples. PCB118 was the most abundant congener in all the samples. The PCB118 was about 20% ofΣPCBs. The soil organic matter content showed only a weak correlation with the levels of all PCB congeners, in which a better correlation was noted for the more volatile lighter PCB congeners than for the heavier homologues. To a certain extent, the sources and land use seemed to influence the levels of PCBs.     

内蒙古发展循环经济的方向与政策初探

本文从内蒙古资源、经济与环境问题现状出发，分析了发展循环经济的必要性、紧迫性和可行性，提出了我区建立循环经济的发展战略应考虑的基本原则，发展方向和法律、政策方面的建议。     

河西走廊灌溉农业发展的水资源承载能力分析

论文采用模糊综合评判方法,对河西走廊灌溉农业发展的水资源承载能力进行了分析,建立了评价的数学模型。研究表明,该区水资源开发利用已近于其饱和容量,发展节水灌溉,充分提高水的利用效率,是保障和发展干旱区农业的根本出路。