Food heritage and promoting herbal medicine-based niche tourism in Isfahan,Iran

The dynamic and competitive nature of tourism means that surviving commercially may require the emergence of niche tourism. This paper presents a niche tourism sector that emphasizes medicinal plants: herbal medicine-based tourism. This research has two major purposes: to investigate innovation and strategies for promoting herbal-medicine-based tourism and to demonstrate strategies for integrating tourism and medicinal plants for the purpose of education and knowledge transfer. This study was conducted in Isfahan, Iran. The results show that strategies (such as outdoor activities and tourist workshops in herbal medicine parks/farms or in the plants’ natural habitats; training tour guides who are familiar with botany and medicinal plants; and the integration of traditional medicine and tourism to emphasize the therapeutic properties of medical plants) can play a central role in tourism based upon learning about and consuming traditional medicinal herbs. The innovative strategies for promoting this specialized form of tourism are classified into five main categories.     

Do native and invasive labels affect consumer willingness to pay for plants? Evidence from experimental auctions

Ornamental plant sales have been identified as an important vector for the introduction of invasive plants. Increased concerns about the economic and ecological costs of invasive plants have spawned interest in identifying strategies to curtail introductions. One possible strategy is labeling plants based on whether they are invasive or native. The primary purpose of this paper was to explore how labeling plants based on invasive and native attributes might affect consumer demand. To accomplish this objective, a second price auction was used to elicit the willingness to pay (WTP) for plants with and without labels. On average, we found a $0.35 premium for plants labeled as noninvasive and native and a $1.01 to $1.66 discount for plants labeled as invasive. The size of these premiums and discounts differed in relation to various demographic, attitudinal, and preference‐related factors. Overall, our results suggest that labeling plants as invasive or native could be a viable strategy for reducing the introduction of invasive plants.     

Posaconazole vs fluconazole/itraconazole in the prophylaxis of invasive fungal infections in immunocompromised patients: A cost-effectiveness analysis in Greece

Abstract

Background:

Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) present a major issue in clinical practice, due to their high morbidity and mortality rates. In a pivotal multi-centre, randomized clinical trial, posaconazole prophylaxis prevented IFIs more effectively than did either fluconazole or itraconazole, and improved overall survival.

Objective:

The aim of this study was to perform an economic evaluation of the aforementioned therapeutic strategies for IFI prophylaxis in neutropenic patients, in the Greek healthcare setting.

Method:

A decision analytic model was developed, which described the course of neutropenic patients under posaconazole or standard azole (fluconazole or itraconazole) treatment. Effectiveness data for each treatment regimen were derived from published results of a pivotal, multi-centre, randomized clinical trial. Cost and healthcare resources utilization data depict Greek clinical practice and are derived from official Greek sources, from a third party payer perspective.

Results:

Prophylaxis with posaconazole resulted in fewer IFIs (0.05 vs 0.11 per patient) compared to treatment with fluconazole or itraconazole, during the first 100 days from initiation of prophylaxis treatment. The cost per avoided IFI with posaconazole was €6455, while the incremental cost per life year gained (LYG) was estimated at €24,196. Extensive sensitivity analyses corroborated the base-case results. Possible limitations of the study are the exclusion of indirect and outpatient costs from the analysis and the inherent uncertainty with regards to the transferability of the clinical efficacy results of the clinical trial to the Greek healthcare setting.

Conclusions:

The utilization of posaconazole for prophylaxis of IFIs neutropenic patients is a therapeutic strategy that provides superior clinical efficacy, while being cost-effective compared to alternative therapies.     

火电厂热力管道支吊架施工质量问题与对策研究

随着社会经济的不断发展和人们生活水平的提高,社会对电力供应质量和电力供应速率的要求也越来越高。火力发电作为我国北方目前最为常用的发电模式,其发电效率直接关系到我国经济的发展。火电厂热力管道支吊架施工是火电厂热力系统建设的关键环节,也是容易出现问题和故障的环节。论文主要针对火电厂热力管道支吊架施工质量问题以及相关解决措施进行探究,希望能为火电厂的持续稳定发展提供一定的参考。     

浅析电力企业人力资源培训的现状与对策

企业的竞争归根结底是人才的竞争。电力企业人力资源培训是提高员工综合素质和基本技能的重要手段。本文在深入分析电力企业人力资源培训的重要性和特点的基础上,总结归纳了目前电力企业培训现状,有针对性地提出了树立全新的培训理念,建立完善的培训规划,打造一流的培训团队,科学优化培训的内容,强化培训效果的评估,建立完善的生涯规划等对策建议。     

观赏植物多媒体解说系统开发及其旅游科普应用

观赏植物对旅游目的地和旅游景区的形象提升起着重要的作用，同时也为大众的植物科普提供了契机。通过制作一套观赏植物多媒体解说数据库系统开发及其科普应用体系构建探索，以期为更多的人了解和应用观赏植物搭建立体化的信息传播平台。     

秦岭主峰太白山药用植物资源调查与研究

通过野外调查、标本采集、照片采集、标本鉴定和查阅文献等方法,对秦岭主峰太白山药用植物资源种类、分布进行调查与研究,共鉴定出药用植物(57)科(140)种,其中蕨类(6)科(8)种,种子植物(51)科(132)种,并对太白山药用植物的生境及其垂直分布特点、入药部位及功效进行了调查研究和归纳总结,最后针对太白山药用植物资源的合理开发利用及保护、太白山生态系统的可持续发展等提出了建议。     

Cost-benefit analysis of alien vegetation clearing for water yield and tourism in a mountain catchment in the Western Cape of South Africa

Economic analysis is used to assess the costs and benefits of restoration following clearing of invasive alien trees in the floristically rich Fynbos mountainous area near Franschhoek, Western Cape of South Africa. The Groot Drakenstein, Franschhoek and Jonkershoek mountains receives more rainfall than the surrounding areas and is an important source of water for the city of Cape Town. The costs of alien invasive plant removal, gully-erosion repair and reseeding with indigenous plants are considered in a case-study cost-benefit analysis of restoration, in terms of the water and tourism benefits derived. Three different options of restoration (comprehensive, moderate, basic) were analysed under three different economic scenarios (optimistic, realistic, pessimistic) and the costs of which have been weighted up against the income derived from the supply of water and tourism. The results have shown that despite the high costs of restoration, the basic restoration option costs were out-weighed by the water and tourism benefits derived. This was also true of the moderate restoration option, when evaluated under the optimistic scenario and using an 8% discount rate, or a 3% discount rate under any scenario. However, this was not the case in the moderate restoration option when using an 8% discount rate in conjunction with the realistic and pessimistic scenarios. Neither was it the case when using a 12% discount rate, irrespective of the scenario. Under no scenario was the cost of a comprehensive restoration option outweighed by the benefits quantified, irrespective of the discount rate used. It was concluded that further restoration, in addition to the mere clearing of alien invasive plants, would be economically viable under certain assumptions and conditions.     

Dynamic modelling of water demand, water availability and adaptation strategies for power plants to global change

According to the latest IPCC reports, the frequency of hot and dry periods will increase in many regions of the world in the future. For power plant operators, the increasing possibility of water shortages is an important challenge that they have to face. Shortages of electricity due to water shortages could have an influence on industries as well as on private households. Climate change impact analyses must analyse the climate effects on power plants and possible adaptation strategies for the power generation sector. Power plants have lifetimes of several decades. Their water demand changes with climate parameters in the short- and medium-term. In the long-term, the water demand will change as old units are phased out and new generating units appear in their place.In this paper, we describe the integration of functions for the calculation of the water demand of power plants into a water resources management model. Also included are both short-term reactive and long-term planned adaptation. This integration allows us to simulate the interconnection between the water demand of power plants and water resources management, i.e. water availability. Economic evaluation functions for water shortages are also integrated into the water resources management model. This coupled model enables us to analyse scenarios of socio-economic and climate change, as well as the effects of water management actions.     

密山县野生维管植物资源的研究

报道了密山县植物资源的初步调查结果．计有维管植物９９科、 ２３０属、 ５７２种;对各类经济植物进行了分析和阐述、提出了一些具有开发利用价值的种类。