This study aims to investigate the impact of rice-husk power generation on agricultural uses of rice husk and its ash. We
conducted case studies at a rice-husk power plant and organic farming groups in northeast Thailand. The case study on a rice-husk
power plant showed that rice husk was useful in generating electricity without consuming fossil fuel, while husk ash, the
by-product, could be utilized as silicate supplement for farmland soils. The case study on organic farming groups indicated
that rice husk was one of the indispensable materials in conducting organic farming with locally available resources. On the
basis of these findings, an analytical study on possible husk uses in Thailand was conducted, in which three potential major
uses of rice husk were considered: i.e. (1) fuel use inside rice mills followed by husk-ash reuse, (2) fuel use at power plants
followed by husk-ash reuse, and (3) direct reuse of husk for compost production. The result indicated that there would be
conflicting demands for rice husk among those uses in the future. Therefore, there needs to be a strategy for balancing husk
uses among them. 相似文献
Bioethanol production from rice-straw is carbon neutral and less competitive with food supplies, so it provides great possibilities for resolving global issues. This study aims to conduct economic and environmental evaluations on rice-straw bioethanol production in Vietnam, where huge amounts of unused rice-straw are available, by a top–down life-cycle assessment by means of an input–output table. The economic impacts are evaluated by total costs, total production, and total added value; the environmental impacts are assessed by greenhouse gas emissions with consideration of life-cycle, i.e., the plant construction phase, production phase, and plant scrapping phase. Three technology scenarios are assumed: (1) present technology, (2) advanced technology with higher conversion rates, and (3) innovative technology with a new production method and economies of scale. The results demonstrate that, first, rice-straw bioethanol production can reduce annual gasoline consumption by more than 20 %, and plant construction costs account for 8–22 % of the total investment in Vietnam. Second, under the present technology, both economic and environmental net benefits are negative. However, the innovative technology makes both benefits positive. Third, under the advanced technology, the environmental net benefit is positive, while the economic net benefit is negative. This implies that satisfying economic viability is more difficult than attaining environmental viability in rice-straw bioethanol production. Therefore, technological development and transfer are necessary to make rice-straw bioethanol production feasible. 相似文献
For efficient use of water as a limited resource, evaluation on the water value is critical, but there is little information
in Asian paddy irrigation. This paper proposes the method for measuring implicit price of paddy irrigation water by using
the choice experiment (CE) data with contingent scenarios. Empirical results demonstrated that (a) the estimated implicit
price of water showed reasonable value as compared to the production indexes, (b) the random parameter multinomial logit model
was more suitable than the conventional multinomial logit model to treat the CE data, and (c) the implicit price is much lower
than the full cost price, indicating that full cost pricing probably damages and ruins rice production too seriously in Japan.
As seen above, the method proposed here is useful for decision making on water pricing policies and easy to apply to different
irrigation systems under limited data of water value.
The cover image, by D. Azakami et al., is based on the Original Article The canine prostate cancer cell line CHP‐1 shows over‐expression of the co‐chaperone small glutamine‐rich tetratricopeptide repeat‐containing protein α, DOI: 10.1111/vco.12199 .
Under global warming, influences of heat stress and flooding on rice production are becoming critical in Japan, but it is still under discussion whether future climate change is beneficial or harmful for Japanese rice production. This study aims to evaluate the impacts of long-term climate change on rice total factor productivity (TFP) by a panel data analysis. We estimate a regression model to link rice TFP to climate factors via yield, quality, and flood influence by using crop models, and then project future TFP levels from the results of the high-resolution model for interdisciplinary research on climate (MIROC). The results demonstrate that climate change has a positive effect in the northern regions, such as Hokkaido and Tohoku, but it decreases rice TFP in other regions, especially in the western regions, after the 2050s. Furthermore, climate change increases fluctuations in rice TFP of the western regions. To overcome negative impacts, a forward shift in the rice transplanting time is effective. Second, the potential impacts of climate factors, shown by the elasticity values of rice TFP, are 0.18 (via yield), 0.09 (via quality), and ?0.03 (via flood influence), but these climate impacts are weaker than socio-economic factors, such as economies of scale and research and development capital stocks. Third, regional gaps in rice TFP are enlarged over time because of different impacts of climate factors as well as socio-economic factors. Such fact-findings can be used to reconsider agricultural policy. 相似文献
Rice productivity will be affected by climate conditions not only in own region but also in neighboring regions through technological spillover. Measuring such direct and indirect influence of future climate change is important for policy making. This study analyzes socio-economic and climate factors in rice total factor productivity (TFP) and evaluates technological spillover effects by using the spatial econometric model. To consider geographical situation, we use hydrological model in addition to crop-yield and crop-quality models. Results show that spatial autoregressive tendencies were observed in rice TFP, even though the influences of climate factors were removed. Such spatial dependence brings about synergistic effects among neighboring prefectures in northern Japan and depression effects, like a spatial trap, from neighbors in southern Japan. Substantial impacts of climate change were as high as socio-economic factors but different in degrees by regions. Also, future climate change estimated by the global climate model enlarged fluctuation degree in rice TFP because accumulative or cancel out effects of temperature and precipitation occurred year by year. Therefore, technological development in rice production and provision of precise climate prediction to farmers are important in order to ease and mitigate these influences. 相似文献
Although androgen therapy resistance and poor clinical outcomes are seen in most canine prostate cancer cases, there are only a few tools for analysing canine prostate cancer by using a cell biological approach. Therefore, to evaluate androgen‐independent neoplastic cell growth, a new canine prostate cancer cell line (CHP‐1) was established in this study. CHP‐1 over‐expressed the co‐chaperone small glutamine‐rich tetratricopeptide repeat‐containing protein α (SGTA), which is over‐expressed in human androgen‐independent prostate cancer. The CHP‐1 xenograft also showed SGTA over‐expression. Although CHP‐1 shows poor androgen receptor (AR) signalling upon dihydrotestosterone stimulation, forced expression of AR enabled evaluation of AR signalling. Taken together, these results suggest that CHP‐1 will be a useful model for investigating the pathogenesis of androgen‐dependent and androgen‐independent canine prostate cancer. 相似文献
Rice production is affected by climate change, while climate change is simultaneously accelerated by methane gas (CH4) emissions from paddy fields. The rice sector must take suitable mitigation measures, such as prolonging mid-summer drainage (MSD) before the rice flowering period. To propose a mitigation policy, this study aims to demonstrate the environmental and economic effects of MSD in Japanese paddy fields by using a dynamic, spatial computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and crop model; the study also considers environmental subsidies with a carbon tax scheme to promote MSD measures. The results demonstrate that climate change under the 8.5 representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenario will reduce rice prices and rice farmers’ nominal income due to bumper harvests until the 2050s. Promoting MSD in paddy fields can prevent a decrease in farmers’ nominal income and effectively reduce CH4 emissions if all farmers adopt this measure. However, some farmers can potentially increase their own yield by avoiding MSD under high rice prices, which would be maintained through other farmers’ participation. A strong motivation exists for some farmers to gain a “free ride,” and an environmental subsidy with a carbon tax can help motivate farmers to adopt MSD. Therefore, the policy mix of prolonging MSD and environmental subsidies can increase all farmers’ incomes by preventing “free rides” and decrease greenhouse gas emissions with a slight decrease in Japan’s GDP.
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