No abstract

Background Gastrointestinal microbiota play an important role in animal host immunity, nutrient metabolism, and energy acquisition, and have therefore drawn increasing attentions. This study compared the diversity of the gut microbiota of both wild and captive bharals, which is an ungulate herbivore of caprid from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Results The sequencing of the V4-V5 region of the 16S rRNA gene via high-throughput sequencing technology showed that the dominant bacterial phyla are Firmicutes and Bacteroides both in wild and captive bharals. However, their abundance differed significantly between groups. Firmicutes were significantly higher in wild bharals, while Bacteroides were significantly higher in captive bharals. Different diets are likely a key influencing factor in the diversity and abundance of gut microbiota in bharals. Conclusions Changes in diets affect the diversity of gut microbiota and the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria, increasing the risk of diseases outbreak in captive bharals. The results of this study suggest that the structure and function of the gut microbiota should be regulated via dietary intervention, accurate provision of an individualized diet, and optimization of the functional network of gut microbiota and its interaction with the host. This will improve the ex situ protection of wild animals.

No abstract

No abstract

Nowadays, in the North China Plain (NCP), most counties and suburban rural regions are promoting the "coal to gas" program under the situation of strong government support of large and medium-sized centralized biogas production (CBP) projects. This paper is aimed at the CBP projects, focuses on rural residents’ “willingness to use (WTU)”, “willingness to buy (WTB)” and the influencing factors for WTU/WTB. Through the analysis of rural residents from Hebei and Shandong provinces that belong to NCP in this survey, we find that 85% of respondents support the CBP program and the WTB is 63.15 CNY/year per capita, which is much lower than the cost of rural CBP in existing survey regions. The participation of rural residents is not only a manifestation of personal and family characteristics; understanding of environmental knowledge, attitudes, and household energy practices are more important. These non-economic factors seriously affect WTU/WTB. Hence, it is necessary to appropriately increase the government revenue to such projects, strengthen government guidance and publicity, improve the environmental knowledge and attitude of rural residents and guide residents’ practice. Based on a fully understanding of residents’ consumption decision mechanism, we establish a financial support mechanism due to the demand response, adopt a correct calculation for financial support, such as a reasonable subsidy rate, and seek the greatest commonality of cost, financial support, and demand.

A nonlinear programming (NLP) model has been established to describe the process of low rank coal pyrolysis, and the model was validated through comparison with pilot or semi-industry technologies. Results showed good agreement with actual production values, suggesting that the model can be regarded as a general one for simulating low rank coal pyrolysis. On the basis of this model, the products' distributions and energy penalties can be obtained from the coal pyrolysis process. In this study, the NLP model was used to simulate typical five pyrolysis processes such as the Toscoal process, Lurgi−Ruhrgas process,

No abstract

This study aims to examine the revenue effects of rice contract farming for small high-value rice farmers and explore the constraints on the adoption of contract farming in China using a face-to-face survey questionnaire as the main instrument of data collection. A probit model and ordinary leastsquares (OLS) regression analysis were used to estimate the likelihood of participation in contract farming and the impact of contract farming on rice farmers' income, respectively. A total of 78 household questionnaires collected in Wuchang was considered valid for analysis. This study proves that participating in contract farming is an effective way of increasing rice farmers' income, after control for observable and unobservable household characteristics. Specifically, contract farming contributes toward enhancing the rice farm-gate price and cost-profit ratio. The results also reveal that rice farmers with organic or green planting experience are more likely to participate in contract farming.