Cost-effective conservation when eco-entrepreneurs have market power

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 651-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAUL J. FERRARO ◽  
R. DAVID SIMPSON

International conservation investments are often made in the form of subsidies to purportedly eco-friendly enterprises rather than as payments conditional on habitat protection. Previous research demonstrated that direct payments for habitat protection are more cost effective than indirect subsidies for the acquisition of com-plementary inputs used in eco-friendly enterprises. In contrast to this earlier research, we assume in this paper that an ‘eco-entrepreneur’ may have market power. Market power is shown to compound the advantage of direct payments. Through a simple numerical example, we show that subsidies intended to achieve habitat conservation by encouraging the acquisition of complementary inputs can be spectacularly inefficient. In some cases it would be cheaper simply to buy the land outright. In other plausible cases, the indirect subsidy approach would simply be unable to achieve habitat conservation objectives no matter how much funding were available.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarun Jairaj Narwani ◽  
Narayanaswamy Srinivasan ◽  
Sohini Chakraborti

AbstractComputational methods accelerate the drug repurposing pipelines that are a quicker and cost-effective alternative to discovering new molecules. However, there is a paucity of web servers to conduct fast, focussed, and customized investigations for identifying new uses of old drugs. We present the NOD web server, which has the mentioned characteristics. NOD uses a sensitive sequence-guided approach to identify close and distant homologs of a protein of interest. NOD then exploits this evolutionary information to suggest potential compounds from the DrugBank database that can be repurposed against the input protein. NOD also allows expansion of the chemical space of the potential candidates through similarity searches. We have validated the performance of NOD against available experimental and/or clinical reports. In 65.6% of the investigated cases in a control study, NOD is able to identify drugs more effectively than the searches made in DrugBank. NOD is freely-available at http://pauling.mbu.iisc.ac.in/NOD/NOD/.


NeoReviews ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. e819-e836
Author(s):  
Amy G. Feldman ◽  
Ronald J. Sokol

Cholestatic jaundice is a common presenting feature of hepatobiliary and/or metabolic dysfunction in the newborn and young infant. Timely detection of cholestasis, followed by rapid step-wise evaluation to determine the etiology, is crucial to identify those causes that are amenable to medical or surgical intervention and to optimize outcomes for all infants. In the past 2 decades, genetic etiologies have been elucidated for many cholestatic diseases, and next-generation sequencing, whole-exome sequencing, and whole-genome sequencing now allow for relatively rapid and cost-effective diagnosis of conditions not previously identifiable via standard blood tests and/or liver biopsy. Advances have also been made in our understanding of risk factors for parenteral nutrition–associated cholestasis/liver disease. New lipid emulsion formulations, coupled with preventive measures to decrease central line–associated bloodstream infections, have resulted in lower rates of cholestasis and liver disease in infants and children receiving long-term parental nutrition. Unfortunately, little progress has been made in determining the exact cause of biliary atresia. The median age at the time of the hepatoportoenterostomy procedure is still greater than 60 days; consequently, biliary atresia remains the primary indication for pediatric liver transplantation. Several emerging therapies may reduce the bile acid load to the liver and improve outcomes in some neonatal cholestatic disorders. The goal of this article is to review the etiologies, diagnostic algorithms, and current and future management strategies for infants with cholestasis.


1986 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-90
Author(s):  
Lindsay Bower

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 164-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph P. Fleskes ◽  
Daniel A. Skalos ◽  
Melissa A. Farinha

Abstract We surveyed birds on grain and nongrain fields in the Tulare Basin of California treated postharvest with two types of flooding that varied in duration and depth of water applied (flooded-type [FLD] fields: <1 cm–1.5 m for >1 wk; irrigated-type [IRG] fields: <1–15 cm water for <1 wk at a time). Our goal was to compare use of these field types by birds to guide habitat conservation in the region. During 19 August–6 December 2005, we counted a total of 80,316 birds during 23 surveys of 5 FLD fields (four wheat, one alfalfa) and 8,225 birds during 38 surveys of 33 IRG fields (23 cotton, 4 tomato, 3 wheat, 1 alfalfa, 1 oat, 1 fallow). We recorded 14 waterfowl (13 duck, 1 goose), 29 other waterbird (coots, shorebirds, grebes, pelicans, herons, egrets, gulls, terns), and 14 nonwaterbird (passerines, raptors, and vultures) species on FLD fields compared to 5 duck, 14 other waterbird, and 9 nonwaterbird species on IRG fields. Species composition differed by field type; waterfowl comprised a greater percentage (FLD vs. IRG, 16.2% vs. 1.3%), other waterbirds a similar percentage (80.4% vs. 71.6%), and nonwaterbirds a lower percentage (3.5% vs. 27.1%) of birds on FLD than on IRG fields. The modeled density estimate of waterfowl was 108 times greater on FLD than IRG fields and 7.4 times greater on grain than nongrain fields. The density estimate of other waterbirds was 11.8 times greater on FLD than IRG fields and 4.4 times greater on grain than nongrain fields. The density estimate of nonwaterbirds was 14.3 times greater on grain than nongrain fields but did not differ by flood type. Long duration (i.e., >1 wk) flooding increased waterbird use of grain fields in the Tulare Basin more than in the northern Central Valley. Thus, even though water costs are high in the Tulare Basin, if net benefit to waterbirds is considered, management programs that increase availability of FLD fields (especially grain) in the Tulare Basin may be a cost-effective option to help meet waterbird habitat conservation goals in the Central Valley of California.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 (1) ◽  
pp. 000370-000374
Author(s):  
A.B. Shorey ◽  
Y.J. Lu ◽  
G.A. Smith

Glass provides many opportunities for advanced packaging. The most obvious advantage is given by the material properties. As an insulator, glass has low electrical loss, particularly at high frequencies. The relatively high stiffness and ability to adjust the coefficient of thermal expansion gives advantages to manage warp in glass core substrates and bonded stacks for both through glass vias (TGV) and carrier applications. Glass also gives advantages for developing cost effective solutions. Glass forming processes allow the potential to form both in panel format as well as at thicknesses as low as 100 um, giving opportunities to optimize or eliminate current manufacturing methods. As the industry adopts glass solutions, significant advancements have been made in downstream processes such as glass handling and via/surface metallization. Of particular interest is the ability to leverage tool sets and processes for panel fabrication to enable cost structures desired by the industry. By utilizing the stiffness and adjustable CTE of glass substrates, as well as continuously reducing via size that can be made in a panel format, opportunities to manufacture glass TGV substrates in a panel format increase. We will provide an update on advancements in these areas as well as handling techniques to achieve desired process flows. We will also provide the latest demonstrations of electrical, thermal and mechanical reliability.


Biomolecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neha Srivastava ◽  
Rishabh Rathour ◽  
Sonam Jha ◽  
Karan Pandey ◽  
Manish Srivastava ◽  
...  

The biomass to biofuels production process is green, sustainable, and an advanced technique to resolve the current environmental issues generated from fossil fuels. The production of biofuels from biomass is an enzyme mediated process, wherein β-glucosidase (BGL) enzymes play a key role in biomass hydrolysis by producing monomeric sugars from cellulose-based oligosaccharides. However, the production and availability of these enzymes realize their major role to increase the overall production cost of biomass to biofuels production technology. Therefore, the present review is focused on evaluating the production and efficiency of β-glucosidase enzymes in the bioconversion of cellulosic biomass for biofuel production at an industrial scale, providing its mechanism and classification. The application of BGL enzymes in the biomass conversion process has been discussed along with the recent developments and existing issues. Moreover, the production and development of microbial BGL enzymes have been explained in detail, along with the recent advancements made in the field. Finally, current hurdles and future suggestions have been provided for the future developments. This review is likely to set a benchmark in the area of cost effective BGL enzyme production, specifically in the biorefinery area.


2009 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 4143-4147 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Somanathan ◽  
R. Prabhakar ◽  
B. S. Mehta

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document