Search results

Decision-making problems in emergency plan selection for epidemic prevention and control (EPAC) are generally characterized by risky and uncertainty due to multiple possible emergency states and vagueness of decision information. In the process of emergency plan selection for EPAC, it is necessary to consider several obvious features, i.e. different states of epidemics, dynamic evolvement process of epidemics and decision-makers' (DMs') psychological factors such as risk preference and loss aversion.

In this paper, a novel decision-making method based on cumulative prospect theory (CPT) is proposed to solve emergency plan selection of an epidemic problem, which is generally regarded as hybrid-information multi-attribute decision-making (HI-MADM) problems in major epidemics. Initially, considering the psychological factors of DMs, the expectations of DMs are chosen as reference points to normalize the expectation vectors and decision information with three different formats. Subsequently, the matrix of gains and losses is established according to the reference points. Furthermore, the prospect value of each alternative is obtained and the comprehensive prospect values of alternatives under different states are calculated. Accordingly, the ranking of alternatives can be obtained.

The validity and robustness of the proposed method are demonstrated by a case calculation of emergency plan selection. Meanwhile, sensitivity analysis and comparison analysis with fuzzy similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS) method and TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese for interactive and MADM) method illustrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method.

An emergency plan selection method is proposed for EPAC based on CPT, taking into account the psychological factors of DMs.

Highlights

1. This paper proposes a new CPT-based EDM method for EPAC under a major epidemic considering the psychological factorsof DMs, such as risk preference, loss aversion and so on.

2. The authors' work gives approaches of normalization, comparison and distance measurement for dealing with the integration of three hybrid formats of attributes.

3. This article gives some guidance, which contributes to solve the problems of risk-based hybrid multi-attribute EDM.

4. The authors illustrate the advantages of the proposed method by a sensitivity analysis and comparison analysis with existing FTOPSIS method and TODIM method.

This paper proposes a new CPT-based EDM method for EPAC under a major epidemic considering the psychological factorsof DMs, such as risk preference, loss aversion and so on.

The authors' work gives approaches of normalization, comparison and distance measurement for dealing with the integration of three hybrid formats of attributes.

This article gives some guidance, which contributes to solve the problems of risk-based hybrid multi-attribute EDM.

The authors illustrate the advantages of the proposed method by a sensitivity analysis and comparison analysis with existing FTOPSIS method and TODIM method.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of future climate change and the corresponding adaptation activities on grain production and its regional distribution in China.

This paper applied the Chinese Agricultural Policy Analysis model, in combination with the findings from agronomic literature with highly detailed agricultural census data, to conduct equilibrium analysis under alternative impact (seasonal drought and climate warming) scenarios and adaptation scenarios (promoting water-saving irrigation, introducing new varieties, and the integrated) associated with climate change.

Simulation results indicate that climate change-induced seasonal drought and the resulting yield reduction will incur substantial losses to China’s grain production (by ~8 percent at a national scale). The application of water saving techniques can be an effective solution to seasonal drought. Introducing new varieties will increase the combination of promoting water-saving irrigation and new variety adoption will increase combination of promoting water-saving irrigation and new variety adoption constitute an effective approach to offsetting the negative effects of climate change on grain production.

Simulation results indicate that climate change-induced seasonal drought and the resulting sown area reduction will incur substantial losses to China’s grain production by approximately 8 percent, despite farmers’ adaptation activities of switching from water use-intensive crops to drought-tolerant crops to mitigate this negative effect. The application of water saving techniques is an effective solution to seasonal drought; it can lead to a nationwide increase in the sown area by 3.48 percent and in the grain production by 4.15 percent. Introducing new varieties will increase grain outputs and change the spatial distribution of crop production across the country. The combination of promoting water-saving irrigation and new variety adoption will increase the national grain production by 19.6 percent, and thus constitute an effective approach to offsetting the negative effects of climate change on grain production.

Results from this study provide practical implications formulate strategies in response to climate change. Central government should reinforce the policies such as new varieties promotion and improve the subsidy method to guide the introduction of new varieties.

Non-point source pollution risk assessment for surface drinking water catchments is an important basis and premise for the scientific management over water environment, while remote sensing technology may timely find the spatial distribution pattern and variation of risk. Coupling the Non-point source model and remote sensing data is a potential method for the water environment risk assessment. The dual Non-point source model independently developed by China is chosen to study its practical applicability in the experimental catchment area of Hebei Yuecheng Reservoir in combination with the remote sensing and GIS data, and to study the spatial distribution pattern of the Non-point source Phosphorus (P) pollution generated by the spatial landuse. The result shows that:(1) the coupled model is well adapted to the catchment area of Hebei Yuecheng Reservoir, and the simulated Non-point source P load is strongly related to the observation data of the hydrologic stations such as Liujiazhuang, Guantai and etc.; (2) The disorderly development of social economy is the main cause of Non-point source pollution, and the farmlands, urban and rural residential areas in the catchment area are the major risk sources of Non-point source pollution; (3) the two assessment units, catchment unit and administration unit, are employed in this study. They are complementary to each other, which is convenient for management because they can reflect not only the P risk distribution but also the specific location of the administration areas within the risk area.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships of technical training and the peer effects of technical training with farmers' pesticide use behaviors.

This study uses survey data from 300 peanut growers in Zoucheng County, Shandong, China, in 2016 and employs spatial econometric models to examine the relationships of technical training and the peer effects of technical training with farmers' pesticide use behaviors.

This paper reveals that important peer effects can be channeled through technical training and that these peer effects are sufficiently significant to encourage neighboring farmers to reduce the amount of pesticide use, to transform the structure of pesticide use, and to increase the usage amount of low-toxicity, low-residue pesticide use per hectare. The estimated parameters for the peer effects from technical training are significantly larger than those from technical training alone, which suggests that the technical training of neighboring farmers plays a greater role than technical training for farmers individually.

The research finds that technical training within smaller, localized, groups can induce previously unobservable spillover effects, and this provides a scientific, theoretical and empirical justification for agricultural technology extension that can lead to a rapid, effective transformation of applying new agricultural technologies in an environmentally sensitive and economically sustainable manner.

This paper aims to investigate the effects on coatings performance in the epoxy silicone resin system owing to the existence of the different chain length of open-chain epoxy monomer. In this paper, [4-Methylphenyl-(4–(2-methylpropyl) phenyl)]iodonium as photoinitiator was added into epoxy silicone resin by ultraviolet (UV)-cured polymerization to investigate the effects on coatings performance owing to the existence of the different chain length of open-chain epoxy monomer.

A simple hydrosilylation reaction was used to synthesize epoxy-based silicone prepolymers by using hydrogen-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, 1,2-epoxy-5-hexene, 1,2-epoxy-7-octene and 1,2-epoxy-9-decene as precursors.

The results revealed that the glass transition temperatures (Tg) and hydrophobicity increased with the chain length of open-chain epoxy monomer in the UV curable epoxy-based silicone coatings, and these films had excellent heat resistance, hydrophobicity, antigraffiti and ink removal properties.

The cationic photocuring systems are not susceptible to the effect of oxygen inhibition. However, the limitation of cationic light curing process is that it requires a long curing time.

The coatings prepared via the UV curing approach can provide superior antismudge effects, and thus they are promising candidates for use in various industries, especially in fields such as antismudge coatings and antigraffiti coatings.

This paper aims to investigate the effects on material performance in the epoxy acrylate resin system owing to the existence of the different ring of the cyclic methacrylate. In this paper, cyclic methacrylate as diluents was added into epoxy acrylate (EA) resin by ultraviolet (UV)-cured polymerization to investigate the effects on material performance owing to the existence of the different rings.

EA and 1-adamantyl methacrylate were synthesized by traditional methods according to previous papers, respectively. After adding different cyclic methacrylate as diluents to the EA oligomers, the system was exposed to the UV-light for polymerization.

The hydrophobic properties of the cured materials were increased slightly because of the alkyl groups from the methacrylate. The thermal stabilities and mechanical properties of the resins were enhanced by the cyclic diluents with the hard segments. Meanwhile, the crosslink density of the polymer decreased with the bulky group like adamantly owing to its huge structure.

The cyclic methacrylates were introduced into EA oligomers for decreasing the viscosity and increasing the materials performances, which could be recognized as new diluents applied in UV-cued polymerization.

The results of this study will be conducive to fabricate EA resins possessed with high thermal stabilities and mechanical properties by convenient UV-cured polymerization.

The purpose of this paper is to identify Brazilian and Chinese cultural, managerial and negotiation factors that can influence the beef trade between the two countries.

First, a matrix based on reliable secondary sources was established created upon indicators of economic, financial, policy, administrative, cultural, demographic, knowledge, global connectedness and geographic distance between the two countries. This was combined with primary data from interviews conducted with two key stakeholders of the supply chain, namely, the Brazilian agricultural attaché to China, and the director of Apex-Brasil. The results were analysed in a qualitative descriptive manner.

Cultural and political distances between Brazil and China are the most profound origins of challenges in negotiations on both the private and public level.

The interviews were limited in number and to the Brazilian portion of agents involved in the beef trade (diplomats and APEX representative). The low number of interviews might be a limiting factor of the investigation. However, the interviewees’ key position in the supply chain and data triangulation with secondary sources equilibrates the results’ trustworthiness.

China and Brazil are becoming important players in the international market. Brazil has become a leader in the production and export of agricultural commodities. Brazil is the first producer or the second exporter of coffee, soybean, ethanol, poultry, sugar and beef. In 2009, China became Brazil’s top partner in trade (Xi, 2016). In 2015, Brazil exported $35.6bn to and imported $30.7bn from China. In the foreseeable future China will continue to be the most dynamic economy worldwide. This trade dynamic can be a source of opportunities for Chinese and Brazilian enterprises.

Information collected and conclusions drawn from the research are unique in scientific and management literature related to this specific topic, and can be of great value for stakeholders, traders and diplomats in the Sino-Brazilian trade.

The remote sensing data have become the irreplaceable source of data for the regions with little or without rainfall data, but these data also require scientific analysis, correction and application. This paper uses FY-2 rainfall data and the case studies of the droughts occurred in the Weihe River Basin from 2006 to 2009 to monitor the spatial and temporal evolution of climatic droughts. The monitoring results indicate that: (1) Except for 2008 which was a dry year, the other years in the Weihe River Basin had normal dry/wet conditions; (2) From October 2008 to January 2009, the rainfall was significantly reduced across the Weihe River Basin, and the continual rainfall was even less than 1 mm for December and January with a precipitation anomaly percentage lower than -80%, a sign of severe climatic drought. But the rainfall has improved since February 2009, when the precipitation reached 17.8 mm and Pa exceeded 100%, which helped to relieve the stress from drought resistance. A heavy precipitation continued for four months from June to September 2008, with the Pa exceeding 50%; (3) Due to the better temporal and spatial continuity than the ground-based meteorological observation, FY-2 precipitation data have good application prospects in the meteorological drought monitoring at a national or regional macro-scale.

The purpose of this paper is to explore in depth the impact and transmission mechanism of different international capital flows on domestic employment and wages in China within a systematic framework; also to reveal whether the empirical results can confirm the basic model inferences.

Using dynamic economic model and empirical experiment, this study designs and conducts the analysis within a systematic framework. The authors acquire the needed and credible empirical data.

The international capital inflows will increase the average wage level, and the international capital outflows will significantly reduce the level of domestic wages. The unofficially recorded capital flows would appear negatively related to the domestic wages. Due to the complexities of relevant elements, the impact of different international capital flows on domestic employment is of insignificance. It is noteworthy that the impact of international capital flows on the average wage changes of different provinces will tend to converge to a certain extent.

The results have reflected that the capital flows between the different provinces have no obvious frictions and barriers.

The paper explores in depth the impact and transmission mechanism of different international capital flows on domestic employment and wages within a systematic framework. The empirical analysis related to the China different provinces is an exploratory experiment.

This paper aims to improve the permeability and antifouling of polysulfone (PSF) ultrafiltration membranes, the PSF matrix was modified by incorporating sulfonated polysulfone (SPSF).

Systematic investigations were conducted on the synergistic effects of a pore-forming agent, coagulation bath temperature and SPSF doping in the casting solution on blended ultrafiltration membranes. The chemical composition of the membranes was analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The morphology and surface roughness of the membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The hydrophilicity of the membrane surface was analyzed using a contact angle meter. The permeability and antifouling properties of the blended membranes were also investigated through filtration experiments.

The results indicated that the blended ultrafiltration membranes demonstrated an optimal overall performance when PVP-K30 content was 5.0 Wt.%, coagulation bath temperature was 30°C and SPSF content was 2.4 Wt.%. In comparison to a pure PSF ultrafiltration membrane, there was a significant increase in pure water flux (390.7 L·m⁻²·h⁻¹) by 2.2 times, while bovine serum albumin retention slightly decreased to 93.8%. In addition, the flux recovery rate improved by 2.1 times (71.4%) compared to that of the original PSF ultrafiltration membrane.

The method provided a simple and practical solution for improving the antifouling and permeability of PSF ultrafiltration membranes.

SPSF was anticipated to serve as an excellent modification additive for the preparation of ultrafiltration membranes with superior properties.