Search results for "Benefit"
showing 10 items of 471 documents
Using the centre-periphery framework to explore human-carnivore relations
2023
Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M Living alongside carnivores can incur both costs and benefits on people's lifeways. While positive outcomes of carnivore presence can foster coexistence, negative relations with carnivores can trigger carnivores' killing and undermine their conservation. In response to this, conservation efforts increasingly focus on promoting positive human-carnivore relations, most often through improvements in the flow of economic benefits from carnivores to local communities. However, there is a question mark over the effectiveness and potential consequences of market-based instruments for carnivore conservation. To understand the opportunities and p…
A simple methodology for comparing cost-benefit of traditional, green and cool roofs
2019
Energy policy makers, architects and researchers, when designing new buildings or rehabilitating the existing ones, are engaged in the attempt of limiting the energy needs for climatization (NZEB buildings) and the environmental pressure exerted by buildings (EU Climate Action). The pursuit of this demanding assignment calls for innovative solutions in conceiving the building envelope and its energy systems. Recently, among the most effective tools for improving the energy and environmental performances of buildings, the technical interventions regarding the roofs are gaining a rising attention. Indeed, covers of buildings are responsible of a relevant part of their energy losses and, on th…
A Cost–Benefit Based, Parametric Procedure to Screen Existing Irrigation and Municipal Supply Reservoirs for Wind Energy Storage
2018
Pumped hydro storage (PHS) is one of the more suitable energy storage technologies to provide bulk storage of intermittent renewable energy sources (RES) such as wind. Since the main limiting factors to the expansion of this mature technology are environmental and financial concerns, the use of an existing reservoir can help mitigate both types of impacts. In addition, the high number of reservoirs for municipal and irrigation supply in many areas of the world makes the idea of using PHS as a relatively diffuse, open-market, technology for RES management attractive. These arguments in favor of PHS must, however, be convincing for investors and regulators from an economic standpoint. To this…
Environmental Benefits and Economical Sustainability of Urban Wastewater Reuse for Irrigation—A Cost-Benefit Analysis of an Existing Reuse Project in…
2020
Besides benefits associated to increased water availability for irrigation, reuse projects of urban water can also provide positive environmental impacts, as they contribute to improve water quality of the receiving bodies by diverting wastewater from their outlet. This represents a typical win-win situation where significant synergies can be achieved between urban and agricultural sector, and the environment. These favorable conditions, however, do not necessarily imply that water reuse is either feasible from an economic perspective nor that the underlying supply chain is going to be triggered, if certain conditions are not met. Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is considered a sound, theoretic…
Developing and testing a discrete event simulation model to evaluate budget impacts of diabetes prevention programs
2020
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is one of the most rapidly increasing non-communicable diseases worldwide. Lifestyle interventions are effective in preventing T2D but also resource intensive. This study evaluated with discrete event simulation (DES) the relative budget impacts of three hypothetical diabetes prevention programs (DPP), including group-based contact intervention, digital program with human coaching and fully automated program. The data for simulation were derived from research literature and national health and population statistics. The model was constructed using the iGrafx Process for Six Sigma software and simulations were carried out for 10 years. All simulated interventions produc…
The Mediterranean diet: A historical perspective on food for health.
2020
The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) represents the crystallisation of the centuries-old cooking legacies of different civilisations. The association of the MedDiet with longevity and low cardiovascular risk prompted the Seven Countries Study, which provided epidemiological evidence on the health effects of diet. This led to further studies, both epidemiological and interventional. Scales to measure adherence as well as studies of food components have consolidated a body of knowledge that is of great interest to institutions and governmental agencies. The recognition of its benefits for health has made the widespread introduction of the MedDiet an urgent challenge. Parallel efforts are being ma…
Should Contact Bans Have Been Lifted More in Germany?
2020
Abstract Many countries consider the lifting of restrictions of social contacts (RSC). We quantify the effects of RSC for Germany. We initially employ a purely statistical approach to predicting prevalence of Covid-19 if RSC had been upheld after 20 April. We employ these findings and feed them into our theoretical model. We find that the peak of the number of sick individuals would have been reached already end of April. The number of sick individuals would have fallen below 1000 at the beginning of July. If restrictions had been lifted completely on April 20, the number of sick should have risen quickly again from around 27 April. A balance between economic and individual costs of RSC and…
Current Insights on Early Life Nutrition and Prevention of Allergy
2020
The incidence of allergic diseases in childhood appears to have significantly increased over the last decades. Since environmental factors, including diet, have been thought to play a significant role in the development of these diseases, there is great interest in identifying prevention strategies related to early nutritional interventions. Breastfeeding is critical for the immune development of newborns and infants through immune-modulating properties and it impacts the establishment of a healthy gut microbiota. However, the evidence for a protective role of breastfeeding against the development of food allergy in childhood is controversial, and there is little evidence to support the ben…
Management of the paediatric airway: new developments
2006
During the last 2 years, some interesting new devices have been made available to improve airway management in children and infants, and several studies have advanced our understanding concerning risks and benefits of the current practice in the field. Certain risk factors for airway related problems during anaesthesia in children having a cold have been identified, and new aspects of the controversy concerning the use of cuffed endotracheal tubes in children presented. Novel video-assisted systems have been introduced for the management of the difficult airway in paediatric patients, and new applications for well known devices have been suggested, such as the laryngeal mask airway serving …
Comparison of physical activity and sedentary behaviours between young haemophilia A patients and healthy adolescents
2011
In recent studies, adolescent haemophilia A patients and healthy adolescents have been encouraged to participate in physical activity (PA) based on its many established health benefits. However, none of the studies to date has used objective measures of PA and sedentary behaviour. The aims of the current study included: (i) to determine the amount and intensity of habitual PA among haemophilia A and healthy adolescents, and in haemophilia A patients with and without bleeding episodes in the previous year, and (ii) to identify the type and determine the time spent in sedentary activities in which both groups participate to obtain a broadened view of their daily activities. A total of 41 adol…