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Rice–crayfish coculture systems (RCSs) have been widely promoted in China as an efficient circular agriculture model that can simultaneously improve rice quality, raise the efficiency of utilization of resources, and increase farmers' incomes. However, the herd behavior of farmers in the adoption of the rice–crayfish coculture system warrants more attention, as the rational adoption of this system by farmers is a prerequisite for achieving the above objectives. This paper analyses the formation mechanism of farmers' herd behavior based on information cascade theory. Using micro-survey data from 603 farmers in China and a bivariate probit model, we examine the existence of herding effects in the adoption of RCSs by farmers and the inhibitory effect of information acquisition capability on herd behavior. To address possible endogeneity issues, we also conducted a robustness test using the IV-probit model. Furthermore, we tested for between-group differences in agricultural income between farmers with herding adoption and non-herding adoption. The study reveals that the larger the number of prior adopters, the higher the probability of blind adoption behavior by farmers, indicating the existence of a herd effect. Information acquisition ability could significantly inhibit the herd behavior of farmers in the adoption of RCSs. We also found that farmers' herd behavior in the adoption of these systems was not economically rational. Based on the research findings, we proposed several constructive suggestions for policy perfection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating pig production stability and pollution control is a matter of social livelihood and green development. This paper estimates the policy effectiveness of environmental regulation based on the big data of Chinese government websites and combines the pig production data of various provinces in China from 2008 to 2018 to construct a mediating effect model, empirically analyzing the relationship between environmental regulations, herd structure, and pig production. Research shows: (1) Improving environmental regulations in the short term will increase the slaughter of pigs, but in the long run it will decrease first and then increase; (2) At this stage, environmental regulations can increase the slaughter of pigs by changing the herd structure; (3) Reasonable adjustment of the herd structure can effectively increase the slaughter of pigs; (4) The herd structure can be used as a supplementary monitoring indicator to stabilize the supply of pigs. Combine it with the change rate of sow stock to provide early warning of fluctuations in pig production, and the early warning herd structure values are 0.0980 and 0.1135. There are two key initiatives to achieve supply and price stability in the pig industry that taking into account environmental protection: first, an industrial regulation instrument based on the herd structure needs to be established; second, an early warning system for pig production fluctuations should be established with reference to the early warning system for pork price fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the influence of fund managers' social networks on the herding behavior of securities investment funds (SIFs) in China. Using the data of Chinese SIFs in recent years as a sample, it adopts the CSAD model to measure SIFs' herding behavior. Combining indicators such as social network centrality, constraint, and size, it constructs a regression model of the influence of fund managers' social networks on the herding behavior of SIFs and conducts an empirical study. The heterogeneity of this influence is investigated in four dimensions, degree of herding behavior, gender, diploma, and region. The results show that: (i) The larger the social network size of fund managers, the lower the degree of herding behavior of fund managers, but the effect of the network constraint on the degree of herding behavior is not significant. (ii) When the degree of herding behavior of SIFs is high, the effect of network size on herding behavior is heterogeneous. (iii) The relationship between the social network of male fund managers and the degree of herding behavior is more significant than that of female fund managers, as network size is significant for male fund managers, while the regression results of social network centrality, network constraint, network size, and the degree of herding behavior of female fund managers are all not significant. (iv) The social network of the fund manager with a master's degree has a significant impact on the herding behavior of SIFs, which is not significant in fund managers with Ph.D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The High Energy Cosmic Radiation Detection (HERD) facility will be installed on the China space station, and the critical sub-detector is the homogeneous, isotropic, and finely segmented 3D calorimeter (CALO), composed of 7500 LYSO cubes. In this paper, GEANT4 was used to simulate the optical photon propagation inside a single LYSO crystal including the Wavelength Shifting Fiber (WLSF) and photodiode (PD) and compared with experimental results. The results show that only a tiny fraction of the photons produced in the LYSO can be collected through the WLSF and PD, and the light output can be enhanced by increasing the number of rough surfaces. Additionally, the variability in WLSF and PD light output when particles entered the LYSO crystal from varying positions, known as non-uniformity, was examined through simulation. The simulated non-uniformity using thin X-ray beams is compatible within the experimental errors and can be improved at higher light output. Finally, the non-uniformity is highly sensitive to the polishing condition of the crystal surface, and better polishing conditions are preferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing use of the payment for ecosystem services (PES) represents a prominent institutional shock triggered by external interventions on livelihoods of natural resource managers. To reconcile the needs for both conservation and development, a deep understanding on the influence mechanisms of PES on farmer livelihood resilience is paramount, particularly in dynamic and uncertain contexts. Taking the Rangeland Ecological Protection Subsidy and Reward scheme that has been implemented in pastoral China since 2011 as a case study, the paper empirically investigates the impacts of PES on livelihood resilience of livestock farmers in Qinghai Province. Based on a comprehensive evaluation of herder livelihood resilience from three dimensions—buffering, self-organizing and learning capacities, multiple linear regression was applied to examine the PES impacts. Resilience enhancement was mainly found in buffering capacity for herders with a medium to large herd size. Results of univariate parallel mediation models further reveal that household income growth and diversification and livestock upsizing were three key intermediary processes that mediated the enhancement and together contributed 28.83% of the total effect. The findings help narrow a knowledge gap in understanding whether, how and for whom PES contributes to improve farmer livelihood resilience. To achieve "win-win" outcomes, we stress that greater attention should be given to tailoring design and implementation of PES programs to align with the specificity of local contexts. • Impacts of one rangeland PES program on herder livelihood resilience are examined. • Ecological compensation has significantly enhanced the livelihood resilience of herders. • Buffering capacity is enhanced more than self-organizing and learning capacity. • Income growth and diversification as well as herd upsizing are three crucial mediators. • Larger-scale herders are improved stronger than smaller-scale ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, PRRSV-1 causes a large number of clinical infections in Chinese swine herds, and the prevalence of new strains has presented great challenges. In this study, the novel PRRSV-1 strain SL-01 was isolated, with a genome length of 14,978 bp, and genetic evolution analysis revealed that it belonged to a new subtype branch. Sequence homology analysis showed that the strain was only 82.2%–86.7% identical to the current classical PRRSV-1 strains. In particular, the novel strain exhibited a unique deletion pattern in Nsp2. In addition, GP3 and GP4 of the SL-01 strain showed four consecutive amino acid deletions in the highly variable regions at amino acids 243–248 and 63–68, respectively. Further challenges in piglet and pregnant sow demonstrated that the SL-01 strain could cause the piglet fever and death but less pathogenic to pregnant sow. Overall, the characterization and pathogenicity of a novel PRRSV-1 strain were first explored and provide a prevention for pig farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nitrate leaching to groundwater and surface water and ammonia volatilization from dairy farms have negative impacts on the environment. Meanwhile, the increasing demand for dairy products will result in more pollution if N losses are not controlled. Therefore, a more efficient, and environmentally friendly production system is needed, in which nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of dairy cows plays a key role. To genetically improve NUE, extensively recorded and cost-effective proxies are essential, which can be obtained by including mid-infrared (MIR) spectra of milk in prediction models for NUE. This study aimed to develop and validate the best prediction model of NUE, nitrogen loss (NL) and dry matter intake (DMI) for individual dairy cows in China. Results: A total of 86 lactating Chinese Holstein cows were used in this study. After data editing, 704 records were obtained for calibration and validation. Six prediction models with three different machine learning algorithms and three kinds of pre-processed MIR spectra were developed for each trait. Results showed that the coefficient of determination (R2) of the best model in within-herd validation was 0.66 for NUE, 0.58 for NL and 0.63 for DMI. For external validation, reasonable prediction results were only observed for NUE, with R2 ranging from 0.58 to 0.63, while the R2 of the other two traits was below 0.50. The infrared waves from 973.54 to 988.46 cm−1 and daily milk yield were the most important variables for prediction. Conclusion: The results showed that individual NUE can be predicted with a moderate accuracy in both within-herd and external validations. The model of NUE could be used for the datasets that are similar to the calibration dataset. The prediction models for NL and 3-day moving average of DMI (DMI_a) generated lower accuracies in within-herd validation. Results also indicated that information of MIR spectra variables increased the predictive ability of models. Additionally, pre-processed MIR spectra do not result in higher accuracy than original MIR spectra in the external validation. These models will be applied to large-scale data to further investigate the genetic architecture of N efficiency and further reduce the adverse impacts on the environment after more data is collected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the cultural context of "guanxi" in China, it is particularly challenging to develop a framework capable to capture the complexity and adaptability of farmers facing conflicts between wetland conservation and livelihood development. In this paper, we integrate agent-based model (ABM) and field experimental methods to develop a hybrid simulation experiment model for wetland conservation behavior, in order to reveal the driving forces of land change and understand the dynamic change process of farmers' behavior. Through a field experiment and a questionnaire survey of farmers around the Shankou Mangrove Ecological Nature Reserve (SMENR) in Guangxi, China, the intention of different types of farmers to adopt wetland conservation behavior was assessed from different angles, constructing a rational choice theory (RCT) framework and ABM proxy behavior rules. The results showed that after 5 years, the adoption rate of farmers' wetland conservation behavior reached 100% under the assumption of bounded self-interest, but only about 80% under bounded rationality. This confirms that herd is more conducive to promoting farmers' wetland conservation behavior. Decision makers should consider the importance of bounded rationality and bounded self-interest interaction, foster farmers' sense of belonging and responsibility toward wetlands, and guide farmers to participate in the ecological protection and sustainable use of wetlands. [Display omitted] • Herd is more conducive to promoting farmers to protect wetlands. • The fastest take-off can be achieved at a threshold of about 20%. • Livelihood patterns lead to differences in willingness to protect wetlands. • Sense of belonging and responsibility is important for wetland conservation. • Combining experimental economics and ABM can improve the accuracy of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the financial market, because of information asymmetry, investors often ignore private information. Herding behavior in financial markets has become an important research branch of behavioral finance. China stock market has implemented the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect (SHKSC) policy and introduced mature funds, however, has it alleviated the herd effect? This article empirically verifies the existence of China's stock market before and after the implementation of the SHKSC policy. The research in this article found that the implementation of the SHKSC policy has not changed herding behavior. On the contrary, the herding effect has become more serious. It is further found that investors have no obvious investment preference for the industry to which the stock belongs. Investor investment is in line with the phenomenon of "slow rise and sharp fall." When stock prices fall, the herd effect of the Chinese stock market is also more obvious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]