Search results for " costs"
showing 10 items of 259 documents
Comparisonof the effects of six-week time-restricted eating on weight loss, body composition, and visceral fat in overweight older men and women
2023
The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a six-week time-restricted eating (TRE) intervention in reducing body weight, fat loss, and visceral fat in overweight, older adult men and women (age range = 65-74 years). Another objective was to determine the feasibility of widespread use of TRE in older women and men. The study randomly assigned 116 healthy, non-smoking participants to one of two conditions: TRE or educational control participants. Participants in the TRE group were instructed to not consume calorie containing beverages or food for 16 h per day, from 8:00 pm to 12:00 pm. Participants in the control group were instructed to follow a meal plan based on their prev…
La agricultura a tiempo parcial y la externalización de servicios agrarios como vehículo del cambio estructural
2010
El «ajuste clásico» ha sido interpretado frecuentemente como la senda racional y óptima de modernización del sector agrario. Esto ha llevado a considerar a la agricultura a tiempo parcial como un subproducto (ineficiente) del modelo clásico. Frente a este planteamiento, el artículo defiende la potencial contribución de la agricultura a tiempo parcial (y la externalización de servicios asociada a la misma) al proceso de innovación y de modernización de las estructuras agrarias. Se revisa críticamente la literatura adoptando una perspectiva microeconómica y territorial y esbozando un marco analítico que combina los enfoques de los costes de transacción y evolucionista. Utilizando información …
STRATEGY TO INCREASE THE FARM COMPETITIVENESS
2014
Italy’s wine-growing production structure is highly pulverized. So, for many wine-growing farms loweri ng the production cost represents the only way of gain ing a competitive advantage. Production at average unit costs lower than competitors allows to improve prof itability. Among farming operations, winter pruning and tying of productive vine-branches require a high hu man labor. For this reason the paper presents the r esults of research conducted on a sample of Sicilian wine- producing farms in order to study the cost-effectiv eness to make the pruning and the subsequent ligation of productive branches with tools that facilitate the work. The economic analysis, after the determination o…
Novel performance-based technique for predicting maintenance strategy of bitumen stabilised ballast
2018
Abstract Despite being the most used worldwide, railway ballasted tracks presents high maintenance cost related to ballast settlement and particle degradation. With the aim of reducing life cycle costs, bitumen stabilised ballast (BSB) has been recently proposed as a relatively cheap alternative maintenance solution to be applied to existing tracks. This study aims at assessing the potential advantages of this technology, defining a novel maintenance strategy of traditional ballasted track-beds. A protocol for the application of the BSB technology and its associated maintenance strategy is defined. To estimate minor and major maintenance operations of BSB scenario in comparison to tradition…
Reed canary grass transportation costs – Reducing costs and increasing feasible transportation distances
2009
Abstract Reed canary grass is used in several heat and power plants in Finland and it is estimated that about 70–80 plants could utilise reed canary grass as a co-firing fuel. Long-distance transport of reed canary grass forms a significant share of the production and delivery costs. Reed canary grass can be transported in bales or as loose matter. The density of the matter and shape of the bales influence the load-size and the cost. At present it is impossible to obtain the full load-bearing capacity of a lorry even with bales, and with light bulk matter the obtainable load is less than one-third of the load-bearing capacity of a lorry. By using Orkel local-baler it has been possible to ob…
Cancer screening and health system resilience: Keys to protecting and bolstering preventive services during a financial crisis
2012
The aim of this paper is to elucidate the rationale for sustaining and expanding cost-effective, population-based screening services for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers in the context of the current financial crisis. Our objective is not only to promote optimal delivery of high-quality secondary cancer prevention services, but also to underline the importance of strengthening comprehensive cancer control, and with it, health system response to the complex care challenges posed by all chronic diseases. We focus primarily on issues surrounding planning, organisation, implementation and resources, arguing that given the growing cancer burden, policymakers have ample justification for e…
Incidence, Medical Resource Utilisation and Costs of Hyperuricemia and Tumour Lysis Syndrome in Patients with Acute Leukaemia and Non-Hodgkin's Lymph…
2003
Hyperuricemia (HU) and tumour lysis syndrome (TLS) are complications of acute leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) leading to increased morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to define incidence and calculate health care cost associated with HU and TLS. 788 acute leukaemia and NHL patients from Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain and UK were screened retrospectively for HU and TLS. Resource use related to HU and TLS was recorded and costs were calculated applying local unit costs. Results showed that HU occurred in 18.9% of patients, and 27.8% of them fulfilled TLS criteria. The cost of HU without TLS was 672 euros (SE 181), the cost of TLS 7,342 euros (SE 1,412). TLS requ…
Evaluation of Small Vase and Y-trellis Orchard Systems for Peach and Nectarine Production in Mediterranean Regions
2015
Two peach planting systems, Small Vase (SV) and Y-trellis (Y), were evaluated and compared in the Mediterranean settings of Southern Italy. The two orchards were located next to each other on relatively uniform soil and terrain, and the observations included two peach (âRich Mayâ and âSummer Richâ) and two nectarine (âBig Bangâ and âNectarossâ) cultivars. In the SV system, trees were spaced at 4.5 A 2.5 m (888 trees/ha), whereas in the Y system, trees were spaced at 5.5 A 2 m (909 trees/ha) and no canopy gap was left between rows. Yield per tree; fruit size grade; unit price of sold peaches for each size grade; materials, labor and associated costs for cultural management;…
A novel thermoeconomic analysis under dynamic operating conditions for space heating and cooling systems
2019
Abstract Thermoeconomic analysis allows for a deep understanding of the cost formation process within an energy system, providing insights into the possible routes for improvement. Several thermoeconomic approaches are well-established for application in systems with steady operating conditions, such as power plants, while a limited number of applications to air-conditioning systems in buildings have been proposed, due to the difficulties in dealing with very irregular load profiles and unsteady plant operating conditions. This study investigates the potential of Thermoeconomics as a support for decision making in building energy systems, proving its capability to identify trade-offs betwee…
Prioritization of high-cost new drugs for HCV: making sustainability ethical
2016
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major health problem worldwide. Chronic HCV infection may in the long run cause cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation and hepatocellular carcinoma, with an ultimate disease burden of at least 350,000 deaths per year worldwide. The new generation of highly effective direct acting antivirals (DAA) to treat HCV infection brings major promises to infected patients in terms of exceedingly high rates of sustained virological response (SVR) but also of tolerability, allowing even the sickest patients to be treated. Even in the face of the excellent safety and efficacy and wide theoretical applicability of these regimens, their introduction is currently facing cos…