Using aquatic animals as partners to increase yield and maintain soil nitrogen in the paddy ecosystems

Whether species coculture can overcome the shortcomings of crop monoculture requires additional study. Here, we show how aquatic animals (i.e. carp, crabs, and softshell turtles) benefit paddy ecosystems when cocultured with rice. Three separate field experiments and three separate mesocosm experiments were conducted. Each experiment included a rice monoculture (RM) treatment and a rice-aquatic animal (RA) coculture treatment; RA included feed addition for aquatic animals. In the field experiments, rice yield was higher with RA than with RM, and RA also produced aquatic animal yields that averaged 0.52–2.57 t ha-1. Compared to their corresponding RMs, the three RAs had significantly higher apparent nitrogen (N)-use efficiency and lower weed infestation, while soil N contents were stable over time. Dietary reconstruction analysis based on 13C and 15N showed that 16.0–50.2% of aquatic animal foods were from naturally occurring organisms in the rice fields. Stable-isotope-labeling (13C) in the field experiments indicated that the organic matter decomposition rate was greater with RA than with RM. Isotope 15N labeling in the mesocosm experiments indicated that rice used 13.0–35.1% of the aquatic animal feed-N. All these results suggest that rice-aquatic animal coculture increases food production, increases N-use efficiency, and maintains soil N content by reducing weeds and promoting decomposition and complementary N use. Our study supports the view that adding species to monocultures may enhance agroecosystem functions

Molecular diagnosis and vegetative compatibility group analysis of Fusarium Wilt of banana in Nepal

Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), is the most important constraint of the banana industry globally. In Nepal, epidemics resembling FWB have been increasingly observed on the Malbhog cultivar in the past several years. However, the disease has not been officially reported yet, and consequently, little is known about the pathogen present across the country. In this study, we characterized 13 fungal strains isolated from banana plants of the Malbhog cultivar (Silk, AAB) showing symptoms similar to FWB in banana plantations in Nepal. All of the strains were typed as belonging to the F. oxysporum and caused FWB symptoms when inoculated in the Malbhog and Cachaco (Bluggoe, ABB) cultivars. No symptoms were observed in the Williams cultivar (Cavendish, AAA). Vegetative compatibility group (VCG) analysis classified the strains as VCG 0124 or VCG 0125. PCR analyses conducted with primers specific for Foc race 1 (Foc R1) or Foc tropical race 4 (TR4) revealed that all the strains reacted positively for Foc R1 and none for TR4. Altogether, our results demonstrated that the pathogen populations causing FWB of the Malbhog cultivar in Nepal were Foc R1. This work reported, for the first time, the occurrence of FWB in Nepal. Further studies with larger Foc populations are needed to better understand disease epidemiology to design sustainable disease management strategies

Enterprise Performance Optimization Management Decision-Making and Coordination Mechanism Based on Multiobjective Optimization

Today’s society is a society of the knowledge economy, and the competition of enterprises is the competition of talents. The rapid development of science and technology and the fierce development of market competition have made the importance of performance management increasingly prominent in corporate management. The purpose of performance management is to explore and deal with some of the effects of various factors on employee performance and to tap the potential of employees, improve employee performance, and also bring a qualitative leap to the performance of the organization. The improvement of the employee performance management level has laid a solid foundation for the improvement of the organizational performance management level. However, there are still some difficulties in the implementation of performance management in my country at this stage, and the management effect is not obvious. Therefore, building a scientific, reasonable, and complete multiobjective optimization-based corporate performance optimization management decision-making and coordination mechanism is the primary task of today’s enterprises. This article will give a brief theoretical overview of the combination of system management theory and behavior management theory, MBO target management, and KPI indicators, build a multiobjective optimization model on an effective theoretical basis, and use genetic algorithms to obtain a weak Pareto effective solution that can optimize the enterprise with consideration of performance appraisal indicators. It also builds an agency model and an analysis of employee incentive plans, which clearly shows the relationship between the company and the management and employees, conducts a cross analysis of the needs of the company’s management and employees, and puts forward the best corporate performance considering the needs of employees; among them, the multiobjective optimization of corporate performance increased by 14% under the optimal management decision

Grey Regulatory Focus Theory Weighting Method for the Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Problem in Evaluating University Reputation

Evaluating the reputation of higher institutions is important as a benchmark for the continuous development of universities. In multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM), the estimation of the criteria weight is significant in improving the accuracy of the evaluation results. However, criteria weights assigned by decision makers (DMs) can be inaccurate when not measured from the orientations from which the DMs pursue their decision goals. This paper combines the grey system theory (GST) and regulatory focus theory (RFT) in estimating the weights of criteria by measuring the promotional and prevention focus orientations of the DMs and representing it as grey numbers. In this paper, we showed not all weight measurements from the DMs are symmetrical. In essence, to improve the accuracy of the MCDM weights, the grey regulatory focus theory (GRFT) weighting method is proposed to estimate the weights of an MCDM problem as well as aggregating the weights of the group DMs, thereby overcoming the limitation of a single orientation measurement. Furthermore, the GRFT weighting method is applied in ranking four universities in Xi’an city of China from a sample data from 1200 students. The most reputable university is consistent with the other ranking indexes in the literature

Adaptability of Inter-Organizational Information Systems Based on Organizational Identity: Some Factors of Partnership for the Goals

Given the current trade friction between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China, the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) may slow down in some areas in both countries, and there is a need for organizations to understand more of the factors that affect the adaptability of inter-organization information systems (AIOISs) in order to support the 17th Sustainable Development Goal. This research proposes a new model for the adaptability of IOISs based on organizational identity. The hypotheses for this research were deduced from the literature in order to identify and extract the factors for adaptability and partnership. Subsequently, a conceptual model has been developed and empirically tested using the data from 259 samples. The exploratory and confirmatory analysis showed that organizational learning mechanisms (OLM) and knowledge sharing (KS) have a significant positive effect on the identity of multi-organization alliances (IMOAs), and on the adaptability of IOISs, as well as indirectly affecting the adaptability of IOISs through the mediating role of the identity of the multi-organization alliance. In addition, organizational collaboration (OC), commitment, and trust have a significant positive effect on the identity of a multi-organization alliance, whereas there is no direct relationship between organizational collaboration, commitment, trust, and the adaptability of the IOIS. Lastly, the mediating roles of IMOA on AIOIS are supported

Ishikawa Diagram, Gray Numbers and Pareto Principle for the Analysis of the Causes of WEEE Production in Cameroon: Case of SMEs Implementing ISO 14001:2015

The issue of Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in Africa lacks a concrete answer at present. This study aimed to provide an integrated approach using qualitative and quantitative research methods based on the 80/20 principle and the grey system theory, in order to address the uncertainty in the existing literature. First, through a qualitative approach, the authors analysed the environment for the management of WEEE by eight companies in Cameroon, through a literature review and observations made in the field under the framework of the ISO 14001:2015 standard. Then, the weights of the selected cause of the WEEE using grey system theory were proposed and applied, combining the findings from both the qualitative and quantitative methods. Based on the data obtained through the analysis, the research results indicate that the assessed Cameroonian companies dealing with WEEE management can implement measures to reduce WEEE

A Bayesian approach to set the tolerance limits for a statistical project control method

status: accepte

Companies’ E-waste Estimation Based on General Equilibrium Theory Context and Random Forest Regression Algorithm in Cameroon: Case Study of SMEs Implementing ISO 14001:2015

Given the challenge of estimating or calculating quantities of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in developing countries, this article focuses on predicting the WEEE generated by Cameroonian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are engaged in ISO 14001:2015 initiatives and consume electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) to enhance their performance and profitability. The methodology employed an exploratory approach involving the application of general equilibrium theory (GET) to contextualize the study and generate relevant parameters for deploying the random forest regression learning algorithm for predictions. Machine learning was applied to 80% of the samples for training, while simulation was conducted on the remaining 20% of samples based on quantities of EEE utilized over a specific period, utilization rates, repair rates, and average lifespans. The results demonstrate that the model’s predicted values are significantly close to the actual quantities of generated WEEE, and the model’s performance was evaluated using the mean squared error (MSE) and yielding satisfactory results. Based on this model, both companies and stakeholders can set realistic objectives for managing companies’ WEEE, fostering sustainable socio-environmental practices

Influencing Factors for the Promotion of International Vocational Qualification and Certification: Evidences from International Project Manager Professionals in China

Globalization has driven the promotion of international vocational qualification and certification (IVQC) to unify certification systems and standards. We explore IVQC promotion paths through the introduction and development of China’s International Project Manager Professional (IPMP) certification and identify and analyse IVQC processes’ influencing factors. Four factors (economic level, education level, employment level, sex ratio) are proposed; their impacts are hypothesized. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) is employed to identify factor impact relationships and validate assumptions. The results show that the four factors are positive for the promotion of IVQC. Economic level, employment level, and sex ratio contribute to the promotion of IVQC; employment level contributes most. Education level has relatively small impact. Therefore, IVQC is more likely to enter areas with developed economies, high employment rates, and more males. The promotion of IVQC can be facilitated by continuous social progress and international development. However, areas where salient factor levels are too low still present challenges