Valuation of the ecosystem services provided by coastal ecosystems in Shandong, China: developing a non-market valuation system

Based on unique geographical, economic and ecological characteristics, the coastal regions have been serving as the most important supports for human benefits. From food provision, ecosystem regulation, wildlife habitat to various recreational and aesthetic activities, humans have been obtaining direct and indirect well-being from the coastal ecosystems. If properly managed and sustainably protected, these benefits should be translated to human welfare for current and future generations (Brenner, et al., 2010) . The lack of complete understanding of total values obtained from coastal ecosystems, especially the underestimating of ecosystem benefits has led to management failures. As a result, most coastal resources are suffering from depletion and even extinction, which pose serious threat to human existence and development. One of the most important challenges faced for effective coastal management is how to capture the total economic value of ecosystem services. Since most benefits from natural resources lie outside of the market, there are no prices to reveal these values. The majority of social choices, however, are made based on monetary values. When confronting competing uses of ecosystems, the most important thing is to ascertain which choice would be worth more than others (Wilson et.al, 2005) . For example, a wetland can be either converted into agriculture or maintained for wildlife habitat; the shoreline can be either developed for industrial purposes or recreational activities. Whatever choice we make, it probably means that one option is more valuable than the others. Thus, the valuation issue can’t be avoided as long as there are competing options for the use of natural resources. Non-market valuation assesses the contributions of ecosystem services to human well-being by determining the preference of users. That is how much money users are willing to pay for ecosystem improvements or how much they are willing to accept for ecosystem losses. Through exploring these preferences, the natural capital can be accounted for economically and quantitatively. It can not only lead to better understanding of ecosystem benefits, but also make it possible to compare ecosystem services with other conventional goods and services (e.g. real estate) in monetary terms. Shandong is a coastal province of China, which is located on the eastern edge of the North China Plain and extends out to sea in the form of the Shandong Peninsula (see fig. 1). The coastline is more than 3,000 km in length with some 296 islands. The coast comprises a variety of environments represented by rocky coasts, beaches, estuaries and river deltas, of which the Yellow River delta has the largest, the most extensive and integrated wetland ecosystems in China. The diverse coastal resources support the prosperous development of marine-based industries, in 2010, which accounted for 16.5% of Shandong’s GDP . In 2011, the Chinese government launched the first ocean economic zone in Shandong, which signaled that Shandong coastal regions had become the focus of marine policy decisions. Since every decision should be based on accurate and inclusive values, the following questions arise: What benefits are related to coastal resources? What are these benefits worth to different stakeholders? How should we evaluate these benefits? Is there a difference among different valuation techniques? Answering these questions can help to incorporate ecosystem values into decision making and lead to well-informed coastal management policy. However, there has been little, if any, research on economic valuation of ecosystem services in Shandong. The absence of quantification of the benefits related to the coast has meant that most existing polices and decisions lack reasonable and convincible foundation. Moreover the coastal ecosystems are already under serious threat due to ignoring and neglecting their benefits during development and exploitation. The objective of this study is to identify the ecosystem services provided by coastal ecosystems in Shandong, China. By developing a non-market valuation system, the aim is to apply the range of methodologies to specific benefits derived from various kinds of coastal resources to estimate their values. The paper proceeds as follows. Section 2 demonstrates the demand for valuation of ecosystems services provided by coastal ecosystems in Shandong. A review of existing techniques for capturing the non-market values of coastal ecosystems and an analysis of which technique best suits which context and situation follow in Section3. Section 4 identifies the services and benefits derived from coastal ecosystems and develops a non-market valuation system

Inpatient care burden due to cancers in Anhui, China: a cross-sectional household survey

Raw dataset of inpatient cancer care costs and related variables studied. (XLSX 32 kb

Digital Business Strategy as an Initiator of E-business Capability Generation

Nowadays, many firms formulate and execute digital business strategy to leverage the opportunities of e-business value-creation. In this study, we present a business-level strategic perspective of e-business value-creation and suggest that e-business capability is enabled from strategically deploying IT resources in the inter-organizational context. We propose a research model to capture multiple relationships among digital business strategy, IT resources, and e-business capabilities. The research model was tested using a national survey data from 131 Chinese manufacturing firms. Empirical findings showed that steered by digital business strategy, firms focused on leveraging digital linking, IT human resources, and channel partner relationship in e-business, whereas the exploitation of these resources generated inter-organizational e-business capabilities. This study extends our understanding of the initiation mechanism and the evolving process of e-business values captured through digital business strategy

Feasibility Study of Secondary Polymer Flooding in Henan Oilfield, China

After polymer flooding, it is necessary to find relay technology to retain oil yield. In this paper, laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate feasibility of secondary polymer flooding, in which injecting more polymer with higher concentration and relative molecular mass. It is necessary to determine enhanced recovery range and optimum concentration. With microscopic visible glass physical models, further start up of oil drops with secondary polymer can be observed distinctly. In the mean time, macroscopic heterogeneous core tests were carried out with permeability range of 2, 5 and 8. Polymer concentration effective and economical for flooding is optimized. Ii is shown that 3%~8% of further enhanced recovery and 20% decreased water cut can be obtained, and water profile can be improved to some extend after secondary polymer flooding. Thence, it is proved that secondary polymer injection after primary polymer can indeed further improve recovery and the technology of secondary flooding is feasible. Moreover, laboratory optimum concentration of 2200mg/L is determined. On the basis of laboratory results, from 2007 to 2008, filed trial with above optimum parameters were implemented. Up to 2008.12, water cut decreased from 92% to 83%, and cumulative increased crude oil of 5.71×104t.The success of secondary polymer flooding technology provides reference for the development of oil fields after primary polymer flooding in China and other regions in the whole world.Key words: secondary polymer flooding; feasibility study; microscopic mechanism; polymer concentration optimization; after polymer floodin

Identification of metabolites of gardenin A in rat liver microsomes using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with linear ion-trap Orbitrap mass spectrometry

Purpose: To identify the metabolites of gardenin A (GA) in rat liver microsomes (RLMs) using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with linear ion-trap Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLCLTQ- Orbitrap).Methods: The sample was prepared by incubating GA (100 μg/mL) with RLMs (0.5 mg/mL) for 8 h. Then 5 μL of the sample was injected into UHPLC-LTQ- orbitrap mass spectrometer. The metabolites of GA were tentatively identified based on accurate mass measurements, fragmentation patterns, chromatographic retention times, and bibliography data.Results: A total of 12 metabolites were detected and identified. Based on their  structures, the main reactions in the metabolism of GA are de-methoxylation and de-methylation.Conclusion: This is the first report on in vitro metabolites of GA. These results are considered very helpful for better comprehension of the metabolism of GA and its pharmacological effects.Keywords: Gardenin A, Metabolites, UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap, Rat Liver microsome

Application of Multilabel Learning Using the Relevant Feature for Each Label in Chronic Gastritis Syndrome Diagnosis

Background. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), most of the algorithms are used to solve problems of syndrome diagnosis that only focus on one syndrome, that is, single label learning. However, in clinical practice, patients may simultaneously have more than one syndrome, which has its own symptoms (signs). Methods. We employed a multilabel learning using the relevant feature for each label (REAL) algorithm to construct a syndrome diagnostic model for chronic gastritis (CG) in TCM. REAL combines feature selection methods to select the significant symptoms (signs) of CG. The method was tested on 919 patients using the standard scale. Results. The highest prediction accuracy was achieved when 20 features were selected. The features selected with the information gain were more consistent with the TCM theory. The lowest average accuracy was 54% using multi-label neural networks (BP-MLL), whereas the highest was 82% using REAL for constructing the diagnostic model. For coverage, hamming loss, and ranking loss, the values obtained using the REAL algorithm were the lowest at 0.160, 0.142, and 0.177, respectively. Conclusion. REAL extracts the relevant symptoms (signs) for each syndrome and improves its recognition accuracy. Moreover, the studies will provide a reference for constructing syndrome diagnostic models and guide clinical practice

Characterization and identification of in vitro metabolites of (-)-epicatechin using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Purpose: To characterize and identify metabolites of (-)-epicatechin in microsomal fraction of rat hepatocytes (MFRHs). Methods: A single incubation of (-)-epicatechin (1 mL, 50 µg/mL) in MFRH (0.5 mg/mL) was used for the generation of metabolites. Thereafter, the sample was subjected to protein precipitation prior to analysis with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to linear ion-trap orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitap MS). Results: Nine metabolites of (-)-epicatechin were characterized on the basis of high resolution mass measurement, MS spectra and literature data. Based on their structures, the major metabolic routes of (-)-epicatechin in MFRHs were identified as hydroxylation, dihydroxylation and glycosylation. Conclusion: This is the first report on metabolites of (-)-epicatechin in MFRHs, and it is helpful in gaining deeper insight into the metabolism of (-)-epicatechin in vivo. The results will also provide guidance in research on the pharmacokinetics of new drugs. Keywords: (-)-Epicatechin, Metabolites, Hydroxylation, Dihydroxylation, Glycosylation, Rat liver microsomes, Pharmacokinetic studie