scholarly journals Ecosystem services provision by gully control. A review

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 333 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Romero-Díaz ◽  
E. Díaz-Pereira ◽  
J. De Vente

Gully erosion causes severe damage to crops and infrastructures and affects the provision of ecosystem services worldwide. To assess the potential of gully control measures to protect ecosystem services and assess the conditions required for their large-scale implementation, this paper critically evaluates a range of gully control measures documented in the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT). Environmental and socio-economic impacts of technologies are assessed, as well as the implications for ecosystem services, costs and benefits of implementation, and stakeholder’s perception. It is demonstrated how gully control measures provide notable on-site and off-site benefits for socio-economic, cultural, ecological, and production goals, and to protect crucial ecosystem services. Control measures particularly contribute to soil and water conservation and to regulating ecosystem services by controlling soil erosion, water cycling, and natural hazards. Most effective control measures consist of combined vegetative and structural measures and of catchment wide interventions. While implementation of gully control can initially be expensive, on the long term, the cost-benefit ratio is usually positive. Moreover, the results emphasize the importance of evaluating control measures considering monetary aspects and all ecosystem services they provide. Nevertheless, individual farmers can often not afford the implementation and maintenance costs due to barriers for implementation and therefore require sustained institutional support. 


2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 503-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Jumar ◽  
R. Tschepetzki

The operators of modern wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are faced with increasing demands. Beyond the requirement to consistently meet discharge limits for pollutant loads, the cost efficiency of plant operation is becoming more and more important. This results in new challenges for automatic control and human control action. On-line simulation opens up interesting perspectives to provide comprehensive process information, serving as a base for optimised operation of WWTPs. This paper describes the development and application of a computer analysis and support tool for the large-scale municipal WWTP of the city of Magdeburg, Germany. It will show that by linking a simulation server to the Distributed Control System (DCS) relevant additional features for plant control arise. A good cost-benefit ratio of the system is achieved by using web techniques for implementing the software.



1999 ◽  
Vol 40 (10) ◽  
pp. 153-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. H. Newsome ◽  
C. D. Stephen

Many countries are investing in measures to improve surface water quality, but the investment programmes for so doing are increasingly becoming subject to cost-benefit analysis. Whilst the cost of control measures can usually be determined for individual improvement schemes, there are currently no established procedures for valuing the benefits attributable to improved surface water quality. The paper describes a methodology that has been derived that now makes this possible.



2021 ◽  
Vol 193 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingqi Li ◽  
Shiliang Liu ◽  
Yixuan Liu ◽  
Yongxiu Sun ◽  
Fangfang Wang ◽  
...  


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 744
Author(s):  
Sophie I. Mavrogeni ◽  
Flora Bacopoulou ◽  
George Markousis-Mavrogenis ◽  
George Chrousos ◽  
Evangelia Charmandari

Obesity represents one of the most challenging public health problems of our century. It accounts for approximately 5% of deaths worldwide, mostly owing to cardiovascular disease and its associated complications. Cardiovascular noninvasive imaging may provide early accurate information about hypertrophy and ischemia/fibrosis in obese subjects. Echocardiography and nuclear cardiology have serious limitations in obese subjects owing to poor acoustic window and attenuation artifacts, respectively. Coronary computed tomography angiography can provide information about obstructive coronary disease; however, the use of radiation is a serious disadvantage. Finally, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) holds the promise of an “all in one” examination by combining evaluation of function, wall motion/thickness, stress rest/perfusion, replacement and diffuse fibrosis without radiation. Future studies are required to document the cost/benefit ratio of the CMR in the evaluation of cardiovascular risk in overweight/obese children and adolescents.



PEDIATRICS ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-169
Author(s):  
NORMAN J. SISSMAN

To the Editor.— Two recent reviews in Pediatrics1,2 provide much interesting information on the effect of home visits on the health of women and children. However, I was disappointed not to find in either article more than token reference to the cost of the programs reviewed. In this day of increasingly scarce health care resources, we no longer have the luxury of evaluating programs such as these without detailed consideration of their cost-benefit ratio.



1989 ◽  
Vol 52 (8) ◽  
pp. 595-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
EWEN C. D. TODD

Although the full economic impact of foodborne diseases has yet to be measured, preliminary studies show that the cost of illness, death, and business lost is high indeed. This impact is probably greatest in developing countries, but few facts are known. For the United States, preliminary estimates are 12.6 million cases costing $8.4 billion. These may seem excessive but other authors have postulated even higher case and dollar figures. Microbiological diseases (bacterial and viral) represent 84% of the United States' costs, with salmonellosis and staphylococcal intoxication being the most economically important diseases (annually $4.0 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively). Other costly types of illnesses are toxoplasmosis ($445 million), listeriosis ($313 million), campylobacteriosis ($156 million), trichinosis ($144 million), Clostridium perfringens enteritis ($123 million), and E. coli infections including hemorrhagic colitis ($223 million). Botulism has a high cost per case ($322,200), but its total impact is only $87 million because relatively few cases occur (270). This is because the food industry has been able to introduce effective control measures. Salmonellosis, however, is much more widespread (2.9 million cases) and affects all sectors of the food industry.



2015 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 319-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
André Hadyme Miyague ◽  
Fernando Marum Mauad ◽  
Wellington de Paula Martins ◽  
Augusto César Garcia Benedetti ◽  
Ana Elizabeth Gomes de Melo Tavares Ferreira ◽  
...  

AbstractThe authors review the main concepts regarding the importance of cleaning/disinfection of ultrasonography probes, aiming a better comprehension by practitioners and thus enabling strategies to establish a safe practice without compromising the quality of the examination and the operator productivity. In the context of biosafety, it is imperative to assume that contact with blood or body fluids represents a potential source of infection. Thus, in order to implement cleaning/disinfection practice, it is necessary to understand the principles of infection control, to consider the cost/benefit ratio of the measures to be implemented, and most importantly, to comprehend that such measures will not only benefit the health professional and the patient, but the society as a whole.



2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-172
Author(s):  
Praveen Kumar Verma ◽  
SK Nag ◽  
SK Patil

The paper has studied the economic viability of improved technology (Introduced under NAIP component-3) for extraction of cashew kernel from cashew nut in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, India. Cost concept has been used to calculate economics of cashew kernel. The technology (Boiling, steaming, cutting, drying, and peeling) has been found viable over conventional practices (Traditional manual separation by stone or hammer) on account of higher recovery of 40 percent and cost reduction by 29.71 percent. Overall net profit per unit (One unit includes one boiler, one steamer, two cutter, one dryer, six peelers and cost of land, depreciation and interest on working capital) in the case of improved technology has been estimated to be Rs 7.32 lakh. Cost of production in machine extraction practices was 202.80 Rupees per kilogram of cashew in spite of traditionally practiced 288.56 Rupees per kilogram. The cost benefit ratio was found higher in machine extraction (1.57) as compare to traditionally practiced (0.169). The mechanical decortications and separation could not only save time and money, also reduced women drudgery (due to manual breaking by stone or hammer to separate kernel). The technology has been found suitable for promotion of entrepreneurship on the processing of cashew kernel from cashew nut in the production catchments which otherwise is not properly utilized. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjar.v39i1.20166 Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 39(1): 165-172, March 2014



2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 292-296
Author(s):  
Luiz Carlos Buarque Gusmão ◽  
Sérgio Henrique Chagas Valoes ◽  
José da Silva Leitão Neto

The objective is to reinforce the importance of blood reinfusion as a cheap, safe and simple method, which can be used in small hospitals, especially those in which there is no blood bank. Moreover, even with the use of devices that perform the collection and filtration of blood, more recent studies show that the cost-benefit ratio is much better when autologous transfusion is compared with blood transfusions, even when there is injury to hollow viscera and blood contamination. It is known that the allogeneic blood transfusion carries a number of risks to patients, among them are the coagulation disorders mediated by excess enzymes in the conserved blood, and deficiency in clotting factors, mainly the Factor V, the proacelerin. Another factor would be the risk of contamination with still unknown pathogens or that are not investigated during screening for selection of donors, such as the West Nile Fever and Creutzfeldt-Jacob, better known as "Mad Cow" disease. Comparing both methods, we conclude that blood autotransfusion has numerous advantages over heterologous transfusion, even in large hospitals. We are not against blood transfusions, just do not agree that the patient's own blood is discarded without making sure there will be enough blood in stock to get him out of the hemorrhagic shock.



2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-120
Author(s):  
Segun Adebayo ◽  
Ozichi Emuoyibofarhe ◽  
Tolulope Awofolaju

Farmers are faced with challenges of producing enough food and the use of traditional methods seems not to keep pace with the ever-growing demand of the populace thus creating increased concern in food scarcity. Although it has been identified that smart tools will enhance the production pace needed in the Agricultural sector, unfortunately, most of these tools are designed for farmers without their inputs, thus creating tools that are not meeting demands. This study focused on a farmer-centered design, development, and deployment approach to improving farm productivity. The design thinking approach was used to identify the specific need of the farmers in selected areas, ideas were created using brainstorming sessions involving experts in the field, and prototypes were developed and deployed to evaluate the impact performance. The result shows that the proposed system improved the cost-benefit ratio of crop farming from 2.14 to 2.26. This is a 12% productivity increase.



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