Economic valuation of development projects : a case study of a non-motorized transport project in India

One of the major difficulties in doing cost-benefit analysis of a development project is to estimate the total economic value of project benefits, which are usually multi-dimensional andinclude goods and services that are not traded in the market. Challenges also arise in aggregating the values of different benefits, which may not be mutually exclusive. This paper uses a contingent valuation approach to estimate the economic value of a non-motorized transport project in Pune, India, across beneficiaries. The heads of households which are potentially affected by the project are presented with a detailed description of the project, and then are asked to vote on whether such a project should be undertaken given different specifications of costs to the households. The total value of the project is then derived from the survey answers. Econometric analysis indicates that the survey responses provide generally reasonable valuation estimates.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Environmental Economics&Policies,Roads&Highways,Housing&Human Habitats,Economic Theory&Research

Valuing water quality improvement in China : a case study of lake Puzhehei in Yunnan province

While polluted surface water is encountered across most of China, few economic valuation studies have been conducted on water quality changes. Limited information about the economic values associated with those potential water quality improvements or deteriorations is a disadvantage for making proper choices in water pollution control and clean-up activities. This paper reports an economic valuation study conducted in Yunnan, China, which aims to estimate the total value of a real investment project to improve the water quality of Lake Puzhehei by one grade level. Located in Qiubei County, which is far from large cities, the lake has been experiencing fast water quality deterioration in the past years. A conservative estimation strategy shows that on average a household located in Qiubei County is willing to pay about 30 yuan per month continuously for 5 years for water quality improvement, equivalent roughly to 3 percent of household income. The elasticity of willingness-to-pay with respect to income is estimated to be 0.21. The economic rate of return of the proposed project is estimated to be 18 percent, indicating a strong demand and high efficiency of investment in water quality improvement in China. This study also demonstrates that previous knowledge about water quality changes and the project may have a significant positive impact on people's valuation, and that the interviewer effect on valuation can be negative.Water and Industry,Environmental Economics&Policies,Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions,Town Water Supply and Sanitation,Water Supply and Systems

Graduation Hat Microphone for Waterproof Top Port Microphones

Small form factor consumer electronic (CE) devices such Echo Buds and Echo Loop with microphone functions are often required to be waterproof. Integrating waterproof feature at the microphone component level enables consistent audio performance and simplified product design. However, integrating the membrane on the small footprint of the microphone while maintaining the desired audio and water resistance performance has been a big challenge. This paper describes a “Graduation Hat” microphone lid technology to integrate a reactive waterproof acoustic membrane with less than 4dB additional acoustic attenuation compared to the same microphone without the membrane while providing 5atm waterproofing. Thereby enabling a more sleek design, consistent audio performance and simplified device level microphone integration

Electroplating lithium transition metal oxides.

Materials synthesis often provides opportunities for innovation. We demonstrate a general low-temperature (260°C) molten salt electrodeposition approach to directly electroplate the important lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cathode materials LiCoO2, LiMn2O4, and Al-doped LiCoO2. The crystallinities and electrochemical capacities of the electroplated oxides are comparable to those of the powders synthesized at much higher temperatures (700° to 1000°C). This new growth method significantly broadens the scope of battery form factors and functionalities, enabling a variety of highly desirable battery properties, including high energy, high power, and unprecedented electrode flexibility

A novel transcription factor-based signature to predict prognosis and therapeutic response of hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common aggressive malignancies with increasing incidence worldwide. The oncogenic roles of transcription factors (TFs) were increasingly recognized in various cancers. This study aimed to develop a predicting signature based on TFs for the prognosis and treatment of HCC.Methods: Differentially expressed TFs were screened from data in the TCGA-LIHC and ICGC-LIRI-JP cohorts. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were applied to establish a TF-based prognostic signature. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the predictive efficacy of the signature. Subsequently, correlations of the risk model with clinical features and treatment response in HCC were also analyzed. The TF target genes underwent Gene Ontology (GO) function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses, followed by protein-protein-interaction (PPI) analysis.Results: A total of 25 differentially expressed TFs were screened, 16 of which were related to the prognosis of HCC in the TCGA-LIHC cohort. A 2-TF risk signature, comprising high mobility group AT-hook protein 1 (HMGA1) and MAF BZIP transcription factor G (MAFG), was constructed and validated to negatively related to the overall survival (OS) of HCC. The ROC curve showed good predictive efficiencies of the risk score regarding 1-year, 2-year and 3-year OS (mostly AUC >0.60). Additionally, the risk score independently predicted OS for HCC patients both in the training cohort of TCGA-LIHC dataset (HR = 2.498, p = 0.007) and in the testing cohort of ICGC-LIRI-JP dataset (HR = 5.411, p < 0.001). The risk score was also positively correlated to progressive characteristics regarding tumor grade, TNM stage and tumor invasion. Patients with a high-risk score were more resistant to transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) treatment and agents of lapatinib and erlotinib, but sensitive to chemotherapeutics. Further enrichment and PPI analyses demonstrated that the 2-TF signature distinguished tumors into 2 clusters with proliferative and metabolic features, with the hub genes belonging to the former cluster.Conclusion: Our study identified a 2-TF prognostic signature that indicated tumor heterogeneity with different clinical features and treatment preference, which help optimal therapeutic strategy and improved survival for HCC patients

Benefit-Cost Analysis with Local Residents' Stated Preference Information: A Study of Non-Motorized Transport Investments in Pune, India

One of the major difficulties in doing benefit-cost analyses of a development project is to estimate a total economic value of the project benefits, which are usually multi-dimensional and include goods and services that are not traded in the market, and challenges also arise in aggregating the values of different benefits, which may not be mutually exclusive. This paper presents an analysis of a non-motorized transport project in Pune, India, which uses the contingent valuation method to estimate the total value of the project benefits across beneficiaries. A sample of the project beneficiaries are presented with a detailed description of the project and then are asked to vote on whether such a project should be undertaken given different specifications of costs to their households. A function of willingness-to-pay for the project is then derived from the survey answers and the key determinants are found to include household income, distance to the project streets, current use of the transportation modes, future use of the project streets, predicted impacts of the project, and level of trust in the government. The total willingness-to-pay of the local residents is found to be smaller than the total cost of an initial design of the project. Heteroskedasticity is also found to present in the willingness-to-pay models.

Advertising Decisions of Platform Supply Chains Considering Network Externalities and Fairness Concerns

With the popularization of platform economics, many manufacturers are shifting their operations from offline to online, forming platform supply chains (PSCs), which combine e-commerce with supply chain management. To study the influences of network externalities and fairness concerns on advertising strategies of the platform supply chain (PSC), we construct decentralized decision-making models, with and without fairness concerns. Then, we solve the optimal decisions regarding PSC and use numerical examples to verify the conclusions of the decision models. We further analyze the internal influences of advertising strategies on network externalities in the extended model. We find that the network externalities are beneficial to the PSC system, but the manufacturer’s fairness concerns are not beneficial to the PSC. The advertising strategies of the network platform are not affected by network externalities and fairness concerns. In the extended model, the manufacturer can obtain more profits, but the network platform yields less profit than the decentralized model without fairness concerns. Moreover, the more sensitive the network externalities are to the change in advertising strategies, the greater the profits for the PSC members

Efficacy and safety of Qinghua Zhixie Decoction against diarrhea-predominate irritable bowel syndrome: A protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background: Diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS) is the main subtypes of IBS. In recent years, more than half of IBS patients have received complementary and alternative medicine. Traditional Chinese herbal formula (CHF) is widely used in Asia, and clinical studies have also found that CHF could significantly improve abdominal pain and diarrhea. We plan to carry out a randomized, controlled, double blind, clinical studies to observe the clinical efficacy of Qinghua Zhixie decoction (QZD) in the treatment of D-IBS. Methods: 464 participants will be randomly assigned to the treatment group and control group. Patients in both groups would take medications and stimulations simultaneously. The outcomes of irritable bowel syndrome symptom severity score, quality of life, psychological states, and recurrence rate will be recorded. Statistics will be analyzed with the SPSS 22.0. Conclusions: The findings of the study will identify the safety and efficacy of QZD in the treatment of D-IBS

Superhydrophobic Shape Memory Polymer Arrays with Switchable Isotropic/Anisotropic Wetting

Smart surfaces with tunable wettability have aroused much attention in the past few years. However, to obtain a surface that can reversibly transit between the lotus-leaf-like superhydrophobic isotropic and rice-leaf-like superhydrophobic anisotropic wettings is still a challenge. This paper, by mimicking microstructures on both lotus and rice leaves, reports such a surface that is prepared by creating micro/nanostructured arrays on the shape memory polymer. On the surface, the microstructure shapes can be reversibly changed between the lotus-leaf-like random state and the rice-leaf-like 1D ordered state. Accordingly, repeated switch between the superhydrophobic isotropic and anisotropic wettings can be displayed. Research results indicate that the smart controllability is ascribed to the excellent shape memory effect of the polymer, which endows the surface with special ability in memorizing different microstructure shapes and wetting properties. Meanwhile, based on the smart wetting performances, the surface is further used as a rewritable functional platform, on which various droplet transportation programmes are designed and demonstrated. This work reports a superhydrophobic surface with switchable isotropic/anisotropic wettings, which not only provides a novel functional material but also opens a new avenue for application in controlled droplet transportation

Trigger-Responsive Poly(β-amino ester) Hydrogels

Water-soluble, acrylate-terminated poly­(β-amino esters) with built-in trigger-responsive domains were synthesized through Michael addition of trigger-responsive diacrylates and primary amines. They were used as macromolecular precursors for photoinitiated cross-linking reactions to prepare trigger-responsive hydrogels for protein encapsulation. The encapsulated proteins could be rapidly released upon external triggering