16 research outputs found

    Willingness to Pay for the Public Electric Bus in Nepal: A Contingent Valuation Method Approach

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    The rapid increase in conventional diesel and gasoline vehicles in developing countries draws attention to clean energy vehicles, including electric buses. From socioeconomic and environmental perspectives, the benefits of electric buses are well described; however, there is a lack of studies to analyze the willingness to pay (WTP). This study aims to estimate 500 residents’ WTP in Pokhara Metropolitan City in Nepal, based on a contingent valuation method (CVM). The survey results show that 78% of respondents are willing to pay a special monthly tax for introducing electric buses in the city primarily due to the fact that electric buses are likely to be helpful to the environment (82.3%). Using the logistic regression analysis, it is estimated that the mean WTP is 758.6 NPR per person, with the most influencing factors of ‘willingness to ride electric buses for free’ and ‘the average usage of the main transportation per week’. The variables that show a positive relationship with the WTP are ‘the average usage of the main transportation per week’, ‘willingness to ride electric buses for free’, and ‘age’. The variable that negatively correlates with the WTP is ‘age’. The study’s findings provide references for developing funding options and budgeting plans for local policymakers

    Willingness to Pay for the Public Electric Bus in Nepal: A Contingent Valuation Method Approach

    No full text
    The rapid increase in conventional diesel and gasoline vehicles in developing countries draws attention to clean energy vehicles, including electric buses. From socioeconomic and environmental perspectives, the benefits of electric buses are well described; however, there is a lack of studies to analyze the willingness to pay (WTP). This study aims to estimate 500 residents’ WTP in Pokhara Metropolitan City in Nepal, based on a contingent valuation method (CVM). The survey results show that 78% of respondents are willing to pay a special monthly tax for introducing electric buses in the city primarily due to the fact that electric buses are likely to be helpful to the environment (82.3%). Using the logistic regression analysis, it is estimated that the mean WTP is 758.6 NPR per person, with the most influencing factors of ‘willingness to ride electric buses for free’ and ‘the average usage of the main transportation per week’. The variables that show a positive relationship with the WTP are ‘the average usage of the main transportation per week’, ‘willingness to ride electric buses for free’, and ‘age’. The variable that negatively correlates with the WTP is ‘age’. The study’s findings provide references for developing funding options and budgeting plans for local policymakers

    Analysis of Developmental Chronology of South Korean Compressed Growth as a Reference from Sustainable Development Perspectives

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    Global challenges including overpopulation, climate change, and income inequality have increased, and a demand for sustainability has emerged. Decision-making for sustainable development is multifaceted and interlinked, owing to the diverse interests of different stakeholders and political conflicts. Analysing a situation from all social, political, environmental, and economic perspectives is necessary to achieve balanced growth and facilitate sustainable development. South Korea was among the poorest countries following the Korean War; however, it has developed rapidly since 1955. This growth was not limited to economic development alone, and the chronology of South Korean development may serve as a reference for development in other countries. Here, we explore the compressed growth of South Korea using a narrative approach and time-series, comparative, and spatial analyses. Developmental indicators, along with the modern history of South Korea, are introduced to explain the reasons for compressed growth. The development of the mid-latitude region comprising 46 countries in this study, where nearly half of Earth’s population resides, was compared with that of South Korea; results show that the developmental chronology of South Korea can serve as a reference for national development in this region

    Classification of Global Land Development Phases by Forest and GDP Changes for Appropriate Land Management in the Mid-Latitude

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    To implement appropriate land management strategies, it is essential to identify past and current land cover and land use conditions. In addition, an assessment of land development phases (LDPs) in a human-dominated landscape coupled with an analysis of the water-food-ecosystem (WFE) nexus can deepen our understanding of sustainable land management. In this study, we proposed the concept of land development phases (LDPs) by forest and GDP changes using previously-applied theoretical and empirical approaches. The positive relationship between GDP growth and forest stock changes was used to analyze the timing of forest stock changes as five-year averages, which were aggregated over 20 years to classify LDPs. In addition, forest area changes compared with GDP and GDP per capita changes were analyzed to identify LDPs. Based on two conceptual approaches, we suggested global land into three LDPs: degradation, restoration and sustainability. Using this approach, most of Europe, North America and northeast Asia were classified as sustainability phases, while Africa and Central Asia in the Mid-Latitude region appeared to have degradation or restoration phases. The LDPs described could be improved with further incorporation of solid data analysis and clear standards, but even at this stage, these LDP classifications suggest points for implementing appropriate land management. In addition, indices from comparative analysis of the LDPs with the WFE nexus can be connected with socio-economic global indices, such as the Global Hunger Index, the Food Production Index and the Climate Change Performance Index. The LDPs have the potential to facilitate appropriate land management strategies through integrating WFE nexus and ecosystem services; we propose future research that uses this integration for the Mid-Latitude region and worldwide

    Anti-Obesity Effect of Polygalin C Isolated from Polygala japonica Houtt. via Suppression of the Adipogenic and Lipogenic Factors in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

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    Obesity is a risk factor for metabolic diseases including type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), heart diseases, and cancer. This study aimed to investigate the anti-obesity effect of Polygalin C (PC) isolated from Polygala japonica Houtt. in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Based on Oil Red O assay results, PC significantly decreased lipid accumulation compared to the control. We found that PC suppressed adipogenesis transcription factors including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR γ) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) α, and lipogenic factors such as sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP 1c) and fatty acid synthase (FAS), in 3T3-L1 adipocytes using Western blotting and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Moreover, PC inhibited the differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells by regulating the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and mitogen-activated protein kinase/protein kinase B (MAPK/Akt) signaling pathways. Additionally, we confirmed that PC inhibited early adipogenesis factors C/EBP β and C/EBP δ. Therefore, PC inhibited adipogenesis and lipogenesis in vitro. Thus, PC appears to exert potential therapeutic effects on obesity by suppressing lipid metabolism

    DataSheet1_Ophiopogonin D increase apoptosis by activating p53 via ribosomal protein L5 and L11 and inhibiting the expression of c-Myc via CNOT2.PDF

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    Ophiopogonin D (OP-D), which is extracted from the root tuber of Ophiopogon japonicus, is well known for its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-cancer effects. It is also therapeutic for various diseases such as diabetic myocardial injuries, obesity, atopic dermatitis, and osteoporosis. However, there are insufficient reports on the anti-cancer effects and molecular mechanisms of OP-D in colorectal cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the anti-cancer-modulating effect of OP-D on colorectal cancer. The study proved that OP-D (20–40 uM) has significant cell viability inhibition and anti-proliferative effects in Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and colony formation assay. In addition, our immunofluorescence analysis data showed that OP-D (40 uM) inhibited the expression of Ki67, a cell proliferation marker, and confirmed that OP-D could induce nucleolar stress by depletion of IPO7 and XPO1. Furthermore, our western blot data showed that OP-D induced p53 expression via ribosomal protein (RP) L5 or L11 and inhibited c-Myc expression through CNOT2 in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, OP-D regulated cyclin D1 and CDK4, which are well known as cell cycle regulatory proteins. OP-D consistently inhibited the phosphorylation of AKT expression in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, OP-D shortened c-Myc’s half-life in a time-dependent manner. Furthermore, CNOT2 knockdown enhanced the inhibitory effect of OP-D on c-Myc in colon cancer cells. Besides that, we confirmed that OP-D has a combinational anti-cancer effect of 5-FU or doxorubicin to reduce cell viability and induce apoptosis through p53 and c-Myc regulation. Altogether, our results suggest that OP-D regulates colon cancer cell proliferation and induces apoptosis by inhibiting c-Myc expression via activation of p53 and CNOT2 regulation. The study demonstrated that OP-D may be a promising natural anti-cancer agent for the treatment of colorectal cancer.</p

    Development of a MyData Platform Based on the Personal Health Record Data Sharing System in Korea

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    Objectives: recently, there has been a government-level movement to guarantee the rights of individual entities regarding the use of their personal data worldwide. This movement has been specifically named as ‘MyData’ in South Korea and has variants such as ‘Self data’, ‘Midata’, ‘MesInfos’, ‘Personal Information Management Services’, ‘Personal Data Economy’ and ‘Internet of Me’ in other countries. This research project aimed to establish and demonstrate a system called ‘HiMD’, which allows individuals to select data sharing institutions and control a range of data utilization parameters under the MyData ecosystem. Method: we developed the MyData Platform, a personal health record data sharing system. The HiMD included several user-empowerment functions such as self-determination for data sharing. Actual platform users were recruited from three university-level hospitals for system assessment. Result: females comprised the majority of users with 991 participants (78.1%). Additionally, data consensus results revealed a decrease in given user permissions (from 94.9% to 79.4%) as the range and depth of permissions increased. Most users agreed to open their medical data for commercial uses (n = 1007, 79.4%) and most of those users were interested in DNA analysis (n = 888, 81.2%). Finally, all results for the five questions presented positive answers. All average values on the five questions scored above three on the Likert scale. In other words, over 50% participants gave point 4 and point 5. Conclusion: the contribution of this study is that it developed and demonstrated a MyData system that reflects the right to data portability. It means that the users can proactively make decisions regarding sharing and transferring their own data. These results are expected to contribute to developing future personal health record (PHR) systems of user-oriented and utilization of personal health data

    Table1_Ophiopogonin D increase apoptosis by activating p53 via ribosomal protein L5 and L11 and inhibiting the expression of c-Myc via CNOT2.XLSX

    No full text
    Ophiopogonin D (OP-D), which is extracted from the root tuber of Ophiopogon japonicus, is well known for its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-cancer effects. It is also therapeutic for various diseases such as diabetic myocardial injuries, obesity, atopic dermatitis, and osteoporosis. However, there are insufficient reports on the anti-cancer effects and molecular mechanisms of OP-D in colorectal cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the anti-cancer-modulating effect of OP-D on colorectal cancer. The study proved that OP-D (20–40 uM) has significant cell viability inhibition and anti-proliferative effects in Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and colony formation assay. In addition, our immunofluorescence analysis data showed that OP-D (40 uM) inhibited the expression of Ki67, a cell proliferation marker, and confirmed that OP-D could induce nucleolar stress by depletion of IPO7 and XPO1. Furthermore, our western blot data showed that OP-D induced p53 expression via ribosomal protein (RP) L5 or L11 and inhibited c-Myc expression through CNOT2 in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, OP-D regulated cyclin D1 and CDK4, which are well known as cell cycle regulatory proteins. OP-D consistently inhibited the phosphorylation of AKT expression in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, OP-D shortened c-Myc’s half-life in a time-dependent manner. Furthermore, CNOT2 knockdown enhanced the inhibitory effect of OP-D on c-Myc in colon cancer cells. Besides that, we confirmed that OP-D has a combinational anti-cancer effect of 5-FU or doxorubicin to reduce cell viability and induce apoptosis through p53 and c-Myc regulation. Altogether, our results suggest that OP-D regulates colon cancer cell proliferation and induces apoptosis by inhibiting c-Myc expression via activation of p53 and CNOT2 regulation. The study demonstrated that OP-D may be a promising natural anti-cancer agent for the treatment of colorectal cancer.</p
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