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Abstract Objective To provide an assessment of the cost burden of obesity across a spectrum of obesity-related comorbidities (ORCs) for four countries in South-Eastern Europe (SEE). Methods A micro-costing analysis from the public payer perspective was conducted to estimate direct healthcare costs associated with ten obesity-related comorbidities (ORCs) in Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, and Romania. A survey was administered to obtain healthcare resource use and unit cost data. Cost estimates were validated by local steering committees which comprised at least one public sector clinician and a panel of independent industry experts. Results Chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular diseases were the costliest ORCs across all 4 countries, where annual cost burden per ORC exceeded 1,500 USD per patient per year. In general, costs were driven by the tertiary care resources allocated to address treatment-related adverse events, disease complications, and associated inpatient procedures. Conclusions Our findings confirm that the high prevalence of obesity and its comorbidities result in substantial financial burden to all 4 SEE public payers. By quantifying the burden of obesity from a public healthcare perspective, our study aims to support policy efforts that promote health education and promotion in combating obesity in the region.

Objective: To provide an assessment of the cost burden of obesity across a spectrum of obesity-related comorbidities (ORCs) for four countries in South-Eastern Europe (SEE). Methods: A micro-costing analysis from the public payer perspective was conducted to estimate direct healthcare costs associated with ten obesity-related comorbidities (ORCs) in Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, and Romania. A survey was administered to obtain healthcare resource use and unit cost data. Cost estimates were validated by local steering committees which comprised at least one public sector clinician and a panel of independent industry experts. Results: Chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular diseases were the costliest ORCs across all 4 countries, where annual cost burden per ORC exceeded 1,500 USD per patient per year. In general, costs were driven by the tertiary care resources allocated to address treatment-related adverse events, disease complications, and associated inpatient procedures. Conclusions: Our findings confirm that the high prevalence of obesity and its comorbidities result in substantial financial burden to all 4 SEE public payers. By quantifying the burden of obesity from a public healthcare perspective, our study aims to support policy efforts that promote health education and promotion in combating obesity in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ergonomics is becoming increasingly relevant in industrial enterprises, as confirmed by the majority of Industry 5.0 experts who place emphasis on the development of social environments and employee care. This is gradually being integrated into legislation stipulating the obligation to provide employees with adequate working conditions. In the context of introducing necessary ergonomic measures in the workplace, we identify the dependence of these measures on the physical load of workers and the impact on the employer's financial burden. To determine the impact, a Cost-Benefit Analysis is used to evaluate not only the financial costs but also to assess social benefits and increased utility for the target groups. The verification of ergonomic optimisation of the workplace in terms of costs and impact on workers' health is conducted in a case study in a specific industrial enterprise. Finally, the positive impact of ergonomic optimisation on the physical load of workers is specified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ergonomics is becoming increasingly relevant in industrial enterprises, as confirmed by the majority of Industry 5.0 experts who place emphasis on the development of social environments and employee care. This is gradually being integrated into legislation stipulating the obligation to provide employees with adequate working conditions. In the context of introducing necessary ergonomic measures in the workplace, we identify the dependence of these measures on the physical load of workers and the impact on the employer's financial burden. To determine the impact, a Cost-Benefit Analysis is used to evaluate not only the financial costs but also to assess social benefits and increased utility for the target groups. The verification of ergonomic optimisation of the workplace in terms of costs and impact on workers' health is conducted in a case study in a specific industrial enterprise. Finally, the positive impact of ergonomic optimisation on the physical load of workers is specified.

Many whites explicitly believe that their race has had no impact on their accomplishments in life. The current study used the contingent valuation method to implicitly measure the value of being white—or alternatively, the cost of being black—among a sample of white college students. Participants were presented with a hypothetical scenario in which their racial appearance was altered due to a medical mishap, and then asked to identify the negative consequences they would experience as a result of this change. Participants also assigned a dollar value to their race by reporting the smallest financial settlement they would accept as compensation for the mishap. Results revealed that white students who imagined being black anticipated financial consequences significantly more often than black students who imaged being white, but they anticipated psychosocial consequences significantly less often. The median financial settlement for whiteness was relatively low, while the mean value was quite large and highlighted the importance of whiteness among certain respondents. These findings are discussed, with suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high costs of cancer treatment and the lack of investment in health care are significant barriers to public health on the African continent. The objective of this study was to investigate the financial cost of children cancer treating in sub-Saharan Africa. We systematically searched PubMed, Cochrane, and Google Scholar to identify relevant studies between March 2000 and December 2022. We selected articles that specifically addressed the US dollar financial costs of childhood cancer in African countries. Medians and interquartile ranges (IQR) were calculated. We also calculated the economic burden of childhood cancer at the individual level, by dividing the direct costs of cancer per patient by the GDP per capita, PPP of the country studied. The quality of economic studies was assessed using the CHEERS (2022) 28-point checklist. A total of 17 studies met our eligibility criteria. The median (IQR) of total childhood cancer costs by region was $909.5 ($455.3–$1,765) and ranged from $88803.10 for neuroblastoma to $163.80 for lymphoma. No significant differences (p

The surmounting necessity of integrating Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures with financial ones in annual reports of business entities, raised by the task force of International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS Foundation), has forced preparers to reevaluate disclosure practices. The extended sustainability disclosures along with those for derivative investment instruments and financial performance have an important bearing on companies' investment strategies and priorities back tailing those of financial stakeholders, capital investors and other market players. The research is conducted to gauge attitudes, perceptions and future intentions of companies' management and institutional participants concerning disclosures of financial and non-financial performance, for ascertaining possibilities of earnings management and greenwashing. The responses findings of above information were tallied with incentives to mismanage and misreport to evade financial costs. Financial auditors from Big four, representatives of regulators, banking analysts, chief risk and financial officers from financial sector, were engaged in indepth interviews for the purpose of qualitative research. The views offered perspective of heavy financial and capital costs (Independent variable) impacting sustainability reporting quality (dependent variable) and opening avenues for earnings management (dependent variable) while diminishing earnings quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family caregivers of patients with cancer provide substantial physical, emotional, and functional care throughout the cancer trajectory. While caregiving can create employment and financial challenges, there is insufficient evidence to inform the development of caregiver-reported outcomes (CROs) that assess these experiences. The study purpose was to describe the occupational and financial consequences that were important to family caregivers of a patient with colorectal cancer (CRC) in the context of public health care, which represent potential considerations for CROs. In this qualitative Interpretive Description study, we analyzed interview data from 78 participants (25 caregivers, 37 patients, and 16 healthcare providers). Our findings point to temporary and long-term occupational and financial setbacks in the context of CRC. Caregiving for a person with CRC involved managing occupational implications, including (1) revamping employment arrangements, and (2) juggling work, family, and household demands. Caregiver financial struggles included (1) responding to financial demands at various stages of life, and (2) facing the spectre of lifelong expenses. Study findings offer novel insight into the cancer-related occupational and financial challenges facing caregivers, despite government-funded universal health care. Further research is warranted to develop CRO measures that assess the multifaceted nature of these challenges.

Songbirds are currently the most prevalent animals in illegal trafficking in Brazil and other countries, so they are often confiscated, and this poses legal, ethical, and conservation challenges. Returning them to nature requires complex and expensive management, a topic that is sparingly addressed in the literature. Here, we described the processes and costs associated with an attempt to rehabilitate and release confiscated songbirds into the wild. A total of 1,721 songbirds of several species were quarantined, rehabilitated, and released, primarily on two farms located within their typical geographical distribution. Health assessments were performed on samples from 370 birds. Serology revealed no antibodies against Newcastle disease, and Salmonella spp. cultures were negative. Real-time polymerase chain reactions detected M. gallisepticum in samples from seven birds. Atoxoplasma spp. and Acuaria spp. infections, sepsis, and trauma were the top causes of bird death. About 6% of the released birds were recaptured, within an average period of 249 days after release, and at a mean distance of 2,397 meters from the release sites. The majority of these birds were found with free-living mates within or close to fragments of transitional ecoregions with native or cultivated grasslands, and native groves/forests, and shrublands. However, eucalyptus plantations with rich understory regeneration provided a suitable environment for the released forest species to settle, since they were recaptured during the defense of these sites. Over half of the recaptured birds presented behavioral profiles with both dominant and tame traits. Birds with dominant traits are more likely to settle in habitats and face the live decoys during fieldwork, whereas birds with tame characteristics tend to accept close contact with humans. Ultramarine grosbeak (Cyanoloxia brissonii), the least common species among those released, at the release sites showed an almost 2-fold recapture rate in the shortest mean distances from the release sites. This suggests less territory competition, perhaps a major factor of bird re-establishment here. The total per-bird cost was USD 57. Our findings suggested suitable survival and re-establishment of confiscated songbirds in the wild, when managed as we describe.

Copyright of Journal of Sharia & Law is the property of United Arab Emirates University, College of Law, Sharia & Law Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Bohemistyka is the property of Instytut Filologii Slowianskiej Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The need for conservation action to be cost‐effective is widely accepted, resulting in increased interest and effort to assess effectiveness. Assessing the financial and economic costs of conservation is equally important for assessing cost‐effectiveness, yet their measurement and assessment are repeatedly identified as lacking. The healthcare sector, in contrast, has made substantial progress in identifying and including costs in decision‐making. Here, we consider what conservation can learn from this experience. We present a three‐step framework for identifying and recording the relevant economic costs and benefits of conservation interventions where the user (1) describes the costing context, (2) determines which types of cost and benefit to include, and (3) obtains values for these costs and benefits alongside metadata necessary for others to interpret the data. This framework is designed to help estimate economic costs but can also be used flexibly to record the direct costs of interventions (i.e., financial costs) and calculate financial and economic benefits. Although recording data on economic costs and benefits is deceptively complex, this framework facilitates improved recording, and indicates how collating this data could enhance the assessment of cost‐effectiveness across conservation contexts using a range of decision‐making tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family caregivers of patients with cancer provide substantial physical, emotional, and functional care throughout the cancer trajectory. While caregiving can create employment and financial challenges, there is insufficient evidence to inform the development of caregiver-reported outcomes (CROs) that assess these experiences. The study purpose was to describe the occupational and financial consequences that were important to family caregivers of a patient with colorectal cancer (CRC) in the context of public health care, which represent potential considerations for CROs. In this qualitative Interpretive Description study, we analyzed interview data from 78 participants (25 caregivers, 37 patients, and 16 healthcare providers). Our findings point to temporary and long-term occupational and financial setbacks in the context of CRC. Caregiving for a person with CRC involved managing occupational implications, including (1) revamping employment arrangements, and (2) juggling work, family, and household demands. Caregiver financial struggles included (1) responding to financial demands at various stages of life, and (2) facing the spectre of lifelong expenses. Study findings offer novel insight into the cancer-related occupational and financial challenges facing caregivers, despite government-funded universal health care. Further research is warranted to develop CRO measures that assess the multifaceted nature of these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the impact of the armed conflict in Ukraine on the development of the agricultural sector and changes in average prices of agricultural products, and also identifies a possible relationship between changes in prices for agricultural products and financial expenditures for defence needs. The paper also investigates the possible relationship between changes in military spending, gross harvest of cereals and legumes, harvested and threshed area, their yield levels. The study considers how the presence and duration of armed conflict in the country affects: macroeconomic indicators, intensity of hostilities and their localisation in areas of economic activity, gross domestic product (GDP), government expenditures, export-import indicators; household expenditures and domestic investment, consumer and household expenditures. All this, indirectly, has an impact on fluctuations in average prices of products of different sectors of agriculture sold by enterprises. The study takes into account the importance of the agricultural sector of Ukraine, which is a significant part of the country GDP. The dependence of military spending on the size of GDP is the reason for analysing the relationship between the impact of the existing armed conflict on changes in the state of agriculture in Ukraine. One of the results of such actions was also the spending of more money on the purchase of agricultural products to support the defence needs of the state, etc. Therefore, to understand the magnitude of the impact of gross harvest factors, crop yields, and agricultural land volumes on the pricing of agricultural output using the method of statistical equation dependencies, the findings of the relevant analysis can be used as a basis for developing approaches, methods, and techniques to improve crop yields, or – initiate economic development of the country by increasing agricultural crop yields

Abstract The need for conservation action to be cost‐effective is widely accepted, resulting in increased interest and effort to assess effectiveness. Assessing the financial and economic costs of conservation is equally important for assessing cost‐effectiveness, yet their measurement and assessment are repeatedly identified as lacking. The healthcare sector, in contrast, has made substantial progress in identifying and including costs in decision‐making. Here, we consider what conservation can learn from this experience. We present a three‐step framework for identifying and recording the relevant economic costs and benefits of conservation interventions where the user (1) describes the costing context, (2) determines which types of cost and benefit to include, and (3) obtains values for these costs and benefits alongside metadata necessary for others to interpret the data. This framework is designed to help estimate economic costs but can also be used flexibly to record the direct costs of interventions (i.e., financial costs) and calculate financial and economic benefits. Although recording data on economic costs and benefits is deceptively complex, this framework facilitates improved recording, and indicates how collating this data could enhance the assessment of cost‐effectiveness across conservation contexts using a range of decision‐making tools.

Introduction: Typhoid fever is a public-health problem in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, with seasonal outbreaks occurring annually since 2010. In 2019, the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MOHCC) organized the first typhoid conjugate vaccination campaign in Africa in response to a recurring typhoid outbreak in a large urban setting. Method: As part of a larger public health response to a typhoid fever outbreak in Harare, Gavi approved in September 2018 a MOHCC request for 340,000 doses of recently prequalified Typbar-TCV to implement a mass vaccination campaign. To select areas for the campaign, typhoid fever surveillance data from January 2016 until June 2018 was reviewed. We collected and analyzed information from the MOHCC and its partners to describe the vaccination campaign planning, implementation, feasibility, administrative coverage and financial costs. Results: The campaign was conducted in nine high-density suburbs of Harare over eight days in February–March 2019 and targeted all children aged 6 months–15 years; however, the target age range was extended up to 45 years in one suburb due to the past high attack rate among adults. A total of 318,698 people were vaccinated, resulting in overall administrative coverage of 85.4 percent. More than 750 community volunteers and personnel from the MOHCC and the Ministry of Education were trained and involved in social mobilization and vaccination activities. The MOHCC used a combination of vaccination strategies (i.e., fixed and mobile immunization sites, a creche and school-based strategy, and door-to-door activities). Financial costs were estimated at US$ 2.39 per dose, including the vaccine and vaccination supplies (US$ 0.79 operational costs per dose excluding vaccine and vaccination supplies). Conclusion: A mass targeted campaign in densely populated urban areas in Harare, using the recently prequalified typhoid conjugate vaccine, was feasible and achieved a high overall coverage in a short period of time.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Exposure to air pollutants is associated with hospital admissions due to cardiovascular diseases and premature deaths. OBJECTIVE: To estimate years of life lost (YLL) due to premature deaths and their financial costs. DESIGN AND SETTING: Ecological time-series study carried out in São José dos Campos, Brazil, in 2016. METHODS: Data on deaths among residents of this city in 2016 were assessed to estimate the financial cost of premature deaths associated with air pollution. The diagnoses studied were ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure and cerebrovascular disease, according to YLL. The fractions attributable to deaths associated with air pollutant exposure and to each potential year of life lost were calculated using negative binomial regression with lags of 0-7 days between exposure and outcome. Nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM10) and ozone concentrations were included in the model and adjusted for temperature, humidity and seasonality. RESULTS: Exposure to particulate matter was significant at lag 3 days. There were 2177 hospitalizations over the study period, with 201 deaths (9.2%). Premature deaths led to 2035.69 years of life lost. A 10 μg/m3 increase in PM10 concentrations was correlated with 8.0% of the hospitalizations, which corresponded to 152.67 YLL (81.67 for males and 71.00 for females). The cost generated was approximately US$ 9.1 million in 2016. CONCLUSION: In this first study conducted in a medium-sized Brazilian city, using the YLL methodology, we identified an excess expense attributable to air pollution.

Summary: The authors utilised the Irish Hip Fracture Database (IHFD) to quantify the impact of hip fracture on the health service in terms of incidence, bed days and financial costs. The absolute number of hip fracture cases recorded by the IHFD has increased, as has the associated costs of hospitalisation. Introduction: Hip fracture places a considerable clinical and financial burden on the healthcare system, with acute hospitalisation accounting for a substantial proportion of the costs incurred. This paper aimed to quantify the cost of hospitalisation for hip fracture in Ireland in terms of bed days and direct hospital costs. Methods: The authors analysed 23,494 cases in the Irish Hip Fracture Database (IHFD) from 2014 to 2020. Case numbers and length of stay were analysed annually. Hospital costs for hip fracture were described using the 2020 Activity-Based Funding Price List, which outlines the fees paid to public hospitals for inpatient activity. Results: For the time period 2014–2020, the total cost of hospitalisation for hip fracture was approximately €296 million, equating to approximately €11,700 per episode of care. The annual cost of hospitalisation increased from approximately €34 million in 2014 to €44 million in 2020. In 2020, the mean length of stay for hip fracture was 17 days accounting for > 62,600 acute hospital bed days. Conclusion: The absolute number of hip fracture cases recorded by the IHFD has increased, as has the cost of hospitalisation. Given the current capacity issues and economic constraints, there is a growing need to prioritise time spent in the most expensive acute hospital setting to the immediate perioperative period and maximise the use of community services and early supportive discharge for the rehabilitation phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, an electronic document management system has been widely implemented in the practice of tax authorities, which allows you to reduce time and labor costs for processing and preparing documents; to provide operational services to the population; to ensure the availability and openness of information to the public about the activities of tax authorities, as well as services provided by tax authorities; to reduce the cost of interaction between the population and tax authorities. However, despite the automation of office work, a number of unresolved problems remains in the field of document management of tax authorities.The relevance of this study is that the main problems of the tax authorities are a large number of routine manual operations performed by employees, as well as a large volume of incoming documents that are received by the tax authorities. The creation of documents, as well as their storage, transmission and search for such documents require significant labor, time and financial costs. That is why recently tax inspections have been working on a comprehensive automation of the inspection’s activities by introducing a system for processing and accounting documents, which will allow you after a while to abandon documents and information presented on paper.The study analyses the electronic document management systems used in the practice of public administration, describes the advantages and disadvantages of each system. The paper also analyses the features of the document management process in the tax authorities. Based on the conducted research, the authors propose the introduction of a modern domestic system built on the “Logic of SED”-platform. This system is aimed at improving the efficiency of work in various areas of joint activity of employees of the organization in terms of automation of project document flow and the possibility of collective work.

Marine plastic pollution has emerged as one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Although there has been a surge in global investment for implementing interventions to mitigate plastic pollution, there has been little attention given to the cost of these interventions. We developed a decision support framework to identify the economic, social, and ecological costs and benefits of plastic pollution interventions for different sectors and stakeholders. We calculated net cost as a function of six cost and benefit categories with the following equation: cost of implementing an intervention (direct, indirect, and nonmonetary costs) minus recovered costs and benefits (monetary and nonmonetary) produced by the interventions. We applied our framework to two quantitative case studies (a solid waste management plan and a trash interceptor) and four comparative case studies, evaluating the costs of beach cleanups and waste‐to‐energy plants in various contexts, to identify factors that influence the costs of plastic pollution interventions. The socioeconomic context of implementation, the spatial scale of implementation, and the time scale of evaluation all influence costs and the distribution of costs across stakeholders. Our framework provides an approach to estimate and compare the costs of a range of interventions across sociopolitical and economic contexts. Article impact statement: Identifying economic, social, and ecological costs and benefits of plastic pollution interventions supports conservation decision‐making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited research is available about the financial costs incurred by families of children with ASD in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). This article describes socio-demographic characteristics of and financial costs encountered by families whose children attend autism-specific government-funded schools in South Africa. Survey questionnaires were completed by 234 caregivers (representing 28.4% of the caregivers involved in the autism-specific schools around the country). The distribution of population group, nationality, household size, marital status, and average combined monthly household income closely reflect the national majority of families in SA. Families are living on a relatively low monthly household income and spending a significant amount on school fees, transportation, medical insurance payments, and extracurricular therapeutic services. Monthly social assistance government grants were accessed by 46.6% of families only and 57% do not own their own dwelling. Certain factors were associated with higher monthly income: higher qualification of the father and mother, school fees, medical insurance scheme payments and extracurricular therapy services. Key differences between our data and data from other LMICs are that our sample showed higher monthly household income, lower parental education, and more single mothers. Families receive limited social assistance grants from governments. Country-specific research on families of children with ASD is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islamic banks in Indonesia are continuously experiencing a rapid growth; thus, it results in a competitive financial sector. Consequently, maintaining an excellent performance is a prerequisite to gain customers’ trust and loyalty, one of the ways is enhancing productivity and efficiency performance. Drawing on this issue, the present study aims to examine the efficiency of Islamic banks listed in the Financial Services Authority (OJK) in the period of 2015 to 2019. Employing Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) as a parametric approach, this study measured the efficiency level of cost and profit efficiency of the Indonesian Islamic commercial banks. The data were a cross-section and panel data obtained from financial reports established by seven Indonesian Islamic commercial banks. The result of frontier analysis on the efficiency costs showed that the value of sharia banks’ average efficiency in Indonesia was approximately 93.41%, while the efficiency of profit resulted in 55.35%. These results suggest that Islamic banks tend to be efficient in controlling costs from the year of 2015 to 2019. It is a worth saying that this study’s results contribute to providing fruitful insights for Islamic banks to increase their efficiency by controlling their cost of production such as the cost of funds and cost of operation.

Copyright of Cracow Review of Economics & Management / Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego w Krakowie is the property of Cracow University of Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As you know, there is a certain relationship between the speed characteristics of traffic, performance and fuel consumption of the car. At the same time, during each transport operation, it is necessary to prioritize its implementation, that is, what is most important for the transport service provider – the timing of the transport operation or the minimum value total unit costs, that the efficiency of road transport also depends on energy profitability, or EROEI (Energy return on energy invested). The research was based on a methodology developed by the All-Russian Research Institute for Mechanization (VIM), allowing analysis of the interacting criteria that generate profitability and are used in calculating the efficiency of road transport on the transport of agricultural goods. The article presents the results of theoretical and experimental studies to determine the factors of the impact of energy profitability «Energy return on energy invested» (EROEI) on the performance of cars with the transport of the agro-industrial complex. The novelty of the research is the application of universal energy equivalents in economic calculations, that will allow early planning of transport operations and logistics schemes to form a forward-looking calculation of their effectiveness. It has been established that the amount of energy profitability is influenced by the speed of movement and the length of the vehicle’ mileage. Experimental studies conducted in real-world conditions of operation confirmed the empirical conclusions and theoretical results obtained. The presented results and recommendations will simplify and update the economic calculations of transport operations and will undoubtedly be in demand in both the agro-industrial and transport complex of the country.

In the years 2011-2014, winter wheat grain yield, qualitative and economic parameters were evaluated according to different fertiliser treatments: (1) control: unfertilised treatment; (2) farmyard manure (FYM) and (3) FYM + NPK (farmyard manure applied together with mineral NPK). The highest yields (8.10 t/ha) were recorded in the FYM + NPK treatment, while significantly lower yields (6.20 t/ha and 5.73 t/ha) were recorded in FYM and control treatments, respectively. Similarly, statistically significantly higher values of the quality parameters were found in the FYM + NPK treatment (13.55% of crude protein content and 43.56 mL of Zeleny's sedimentation test), compared to control (10% and 22.44 mL, respectively). The modelling expert system (AGROTEKIS-Crop Technology and Economy) was used for the evaluation of economy. This software is based on technological methods of cultivation and norms of material input costs and costs of individual mechanised works. The economic benefits and profitability were evaluated for three different levels of grain market price. The highest gross profit per ha was recorded in the FYM + NPK treatment. According to the gross profit, the control treatment provided better results than the FYM treatment.

Since the early 1990s, more and more restrictive car emission standards have been successively introduced, and since 2015, targets of CO2 emission have also been in force. Even though these measures are effective in decreasing the emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) and also CO2 in recent years in the European Union (EU), the European Commission more and more emphatically stresses the necessity of evolution of the conventional road transport towards electromobility.

Copyright of Media4u Magazine is the property of Ing. Jan Chromy, Ph.D. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This bibliography contains journal articles, book chapters, books, edited volumes, theses, grey literature, bibliographies and other resources on economic aspects of terrorism (such as eco-terrorism, economic grievances and unemployment as root causes of terrorism, the economic impact of terrorist attacks, or financial costs of CTmeasures). Literature on terrorist financing has been excluded as it will be covered separately. The bibliography focuses on recent publications (up to May 2021) and should not be considered as exhaustive. The literature has been retrieved by manually browsing more than 200 core and periphery sources in the field of Terrorism Studies. Additionally, full-text and reference retrieval systems have been employed to broaden the search. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. The basis of economic and financial security of the enterprise is effective financial and economic activity, stable financial condition, rational use of financial resources, the ability to counter threats to the internal and external environment. One of the factors of effective financial and economic activity and economic security of enterprises is the formation of effective logistics chains that provide its participants with opportunities to counter threats to the internal and external environment. Formation of effective logistics chains on the basis of taking into account the economic interests of its participants causes changes in the results of their financial and economic activities and creates the basis for their financial independence, socio-economic efficiency and stability. The purpose of the article is to form approaches to assessing the efficiency of the logistics chain on the basis of economic and financial security of enterprises. The article investigates scientific approaches to evaluating the efficiency of the logistics chain of enterprises, identifies their strengths and weaknesses, analyzes their methodology. An approach to evaluating the efficiency of the logistics chain of industrial enterprises, the use of which will reconcile the economic interests of the participants in the logistics chain, reduce their financial costs, ensure effective economic activity, form the basis for their financial and economic security. The scientific novelty of the article is the formation of a modern approach to evaluating the efficiency of the logistics chain, which, in contrast to existing ones, involves the use of an indicator of the efficiency of logistics activities of enterprises, the proposed indicator is the stationarity of ratio of operating results to logistics costs relative to the mean or deterministic trend over time, and identification of potential models of logistics efficiency of enterprises, which would ensure economic and financial security of enterprises. It is proved that efficiency of the logistics chain is achieved under the condition that the financial result from the operating activities of the enterprises united by the logistics chain in relation to their costs for logistics activities will not change for a long time or will naturally change with a reliable forecast and possibility economic forecasting of further cooperation. The expediency of using this approach was confirmed on the basis of the analysis of the efficiency of logistics chains of selected enterprises. The initial data for the construction of this model were the logistics costs as a component of the company’s operating expenses and the financial result from operating activities. The deficiencies in the use of existing accounting standards and regulations that govern the integrated assessment of the enterprise’s logistics costs have been established. It is proposed to use the Davis databases, which are formed on the basis of a web-survey of enterprises regarding the value of their logistic costs. It is noted that the actual stability of the logistics chains for each enterprise and the optimal ratio of their results to costs are determined by the current market conditions. An idea of the efficiency of connections in the logistics chain is formulated. It was concluded that the existence of a long-term stable equilibrium in the form of vector co-integration for all subjects of the logistics chain can be considered optimal. Prospects for further research are the development of a scientific approach to the formation of a logistics cluster as a basis for financial and economic security of enterprises. Keywords: economic security, financial security, financial costs, financial results, efficiency, the logistics chain, logistics activities. JEL Classіfіcatіon С22, D22, D61, O30 Formulas: 5; fig.: 2; tabl.: 2; bibl.: 15.

The urban centers are still very dependent on the transport sector and the combustion engines, which accompany modern life, make use of different types of fuels. Each of them has its own characteristics and peculiarities, such as: yield, environmental damages caused and costs. Thus, the objective of this paper is to analyze the environmental impacts and financial costs of using three different types of fuels - gasoline, diesel and ethanol - as a source of energy for an automobile. For this, the methodology of modeling and computational simulation was used: from the elaboration of a model, scenarios of gasoline, diesel and ethanol use were constructed that were evaluated in a horizon of ten years, verifying, in each situation, environmental impacts and financial costs. The results show that each of the three fuels analyzed has favorable and unfavorable points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into sharps injuries has focused on the volume of incidents and, to a smaller degree, the psychological impact of those incidents. This narrative literature review instead explored the financial cost of sharps injuries as reported by both UK and international studies. This involved a search of 13 electronic databases and grey literature, with no set date limits, in June 2019. Both direct and indirect costs of sharps injuries were identified, indicating the high financial costs of such incidents to healthcare systems across many different countries each year. Further research is urgently needed to address the continued prevalence of sharps injuries and to reduce the associated costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing power consumption and the number of active units, such as distributed generators (DGs), energy storage systems (ESSs), and transportable ESSs (TESSs), in the distribution system, the requirements for the operability of the power system restoration service increase as well. In this study, the authors propose a new bi‐level optimisation strategy for service restoration (SR) to minimise the final cost of the restoration process and to re‐energise the maximum number of customers. The proposed method considers different power resupply methodologies, such as topology reconfiguration‐based restoration, islanding operation of DG, and the application of TESS for SR, along with their optimal combination, to minimise the financial costs. The primary level comprises a reconfiguration approach and a genetic algorithm to optimise the islanding partition of an active distribution system; the second level consists of the fuzzy logic procedure to set up the combination of energy resources. In addition, this study considers the objective problem formulation as a combination of different subtasks, which represent the financial costs of various components during the restoration process. Case studies are conducted on a modified IEEE 39‐bus distribution network, where the validity and effectiveness of the proposed strategy are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of the paper is to consider the complex and interdisciplinary issue of sexual harassment as a phenomenon in the labour market, in economic terms, with regard to its effects on work and wages. The spatial scope covers Poland, with reference to China, the United Kingdom, Sweden and the US. The time range refers to the years 2007--2018. The hypothesis put forward in the article is as follows: sexual harassment in the workplace contributes to measurable financial costs, the reduction of which could make a real contribution to achieving a higher level of gross domestic product. First, the concept and forms of sexual harassment are outlined, as well as the impact this phenomenon has on the possibility of other types of economic discrimination occurring. The next section presents an analysis of the available results of public opinion surveys on the scope and economic impact of the researched phenomenon in Poland, China and the US. Finally, the deductive and inductive methods for measuring sexual harassment with regard to the UK, Sweden and the US are scrutinised, and attempts are made to estimate the cost of sexual harassment for Poland in 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the years 2011-2014, winter wheat grain yield, qualitative and economic parameters were evaluated according to different fertiliser treatments: (1) control: unfertilised treatment; (2) farmyard manure (FYM) and (3) FYM + NPK (farmyard manure applied together with mineral NPK). The highest yields (8.10 t/ha) were recorded in the FYM + NPK treatment, while significantly lower yields (6.20 t/ha and 5.73 t/ha) were recorded in FYM and control treatments, respectively. Similarly, statistically significantly higher values of the quality parameters were found in the FYM + NPK treatment (13.55% of crude protein content and 43.56 mL of Zeleny's sedimentation test), compared to control (10% and 22.44 mL, respectively). The modelling expert system (AGROTEKIS-Crop Technology and Economy) was used for the evaluation of economy. This software is based on technological methods of cultivation and norms of material input costs and costs of individual mechanised works. The economic benefits and profitability were evaluated for three different levels of grain market price. The highest gross profit per ha was recorded in the FYM + NPK treatment. According to the gross profit, the control treatment provided better results than the FYM treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Urban Africa, water and sanitation utility companies are facing a huge backlog of sanitation provision in the informal settlement areas. In order to clear this backlog, new investment is required. However, to select appropriate sanitation technologies, lifecycle costs need to be assessed. The aim of this research was to establish lifecycle costs for appropriate sanitation technologies in informal settlement areas. Three sanitation options were compared: simplified sewerage, urine diversion dry toilet (UDDT) and Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) latrine. Three scenarios for simplified sewerage were considered; gravity flow into existing conventional sewers with treatment; new-build with pumping and treatment; and new-build gravity flow with treatment. The study revealed that simplified sewerage is the cheapest option for Soweto informal settlement, even when the costs of pumping and treatment are included. Gravity simplified sewerage with treatment is cheaper than the UDDT system and VIP latrine at all population densities above 158 and 172 persons/ha, respectively. The total annual cost per household of simplified sewerage and treatment was US$142 compared to US$156 and US$144 for UDDT and VIP latrine respectively. The costs of simplified sewerage could be recovered through a monthly household surcharge and cross-subsidy summing US$5.3 The study concluded that simplified sewerage system was the first choice for Soweto informal settlement areas, given the current population density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early 1990s, more and more restrictive car emission standards have been successively introduced, and since 2015, targets of CO2 emission have also been in force. Even though these measures are effective in decreasing the emission of nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) and also CO2 in recent years in the European Union (EU), the European Commission more and more emphatically stresses the necessity of evolution of the conventional road transport towards electromobility. The paper presents the financial and environmental aspects related to the use of selected passenger cars in Poland. External effects were calculated taking into account emission from the wear and tear of tyres and braking systems (conventional and electric cars), fuel combustion (conventional cars) and emission related to the production of the energy needed for propelling vehicles in the Polish energy sector (electric cars). The external costs were calculated in terms of emission for all the vehicles in the analysis. On this basis, conclusions were drawn with regard to the economic justification for the purchase and use of vehicles in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Considering the increasing evidence on the feasibility of laparoscopic major hepatectomies (LMH), their clinical outcomes and associated costs were herein evaluated compared to open (OMH).Methods: Major contributors of perioperative expenses were considered. With respect to the occurrence of conversion, a primary intention-to-treat analysis including conversions in the LMH group (ITT-A) was performed. An additional per-protocol analysis excluding conversions (PP-A) was undertaken, with calculation of additional costs of conversion analysis.Results: One hundred forty-five LMH and 61 OMH were included (14.5% conversion rate). At the ITT-A, LMH showed lower blood loss (p < 0.001) and morbidity (global p 0.037, moderate p 0.037), shorter hospital stay (p 0.035), and a lower need for intra- and postoperative red blood cells transfusions (p < 0.001), investigations (p 0.004), and antibiotics (p 0.002). The higher intraoperative expenses (+ 32.1%, p < 0.001) were offset by postoperative savings (- 27.2%, p 0.030), resulting in a global cost-neutrality of LMH (- 7.2%, p 0.807). At the PP-A, completed LMH showed also lower severe complications (p 0.042), interventional procedures (p 0.027), and readmission rates (p 0.031), and postoperative savings increased to - 71.3% (p 0.003) resulting in a 29.9% cost advantage of completed LMH (p 0.020). However, the mean additional cost of conversion was significant.Conclusions: Completed LMH exhibit a high potential treatment effect compared to OMH and are associated to significant cost savings. Despite some of these benefits may be jeopardized by conversion, a program of LMH can still provide considerable clinical benefits without cost disadvantage and appears worth to be implemented in high-volume centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is a commonly diagnosed cancer in children. Despite technological advancements to improve treatment and survival rates, there has been a steady increase in the incidence of ALL and treatment failures. This paper discusses the pathogenic interaction between genetic and environmental factors leading to childhood ALL. It evaluates the current treatment guidelines and notable obstacles leading to resistance, relapse, and treatment toxicities. The review evaluates a 10-year trend in the management guidelines of pediatric ALL through a systematic literature review of records from 2012 to 2023. Findings show that improvement in the five-year survival rates, notwithstanding rates of relapse and incurable diseases, is still high. Furthermore, several risk factors, including an interplay between genetic and environmental factors, are largely contributory to the outcome of ALL treatments and its overall incidence. Moreover, huge financial costs have remained a significant challenge in outcomes. There remains a need to provide individualized treatment plans, shared decision-making, and goals of care as parts of the management guidelines for the best possible outcomes. We expect that future advancements will increase overall survival rates and disease-free years., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2023, Ekpa et al.)

This paper studies the effects of bank credit availability, trade credit and the capital cost on inventory decisions. There are two competing theories on the effect of bank credit lines on investments. While one (Lins et al. 2010) suggests that the primary role played by undrawn credit is to finance new opportunities, the other (Acharya et al. 2014) suggests that undrawn credit serves primarily as a bank monitored liquidity insurance. We attempt to resolve these two conflict views in the context of inventory investments. Using empirical data, we show that the primary role of undrawn credit depends on the individual firm's financial status. When a firm is financially constrained, its inventory decisions are linked to the additional bank credit available to the firm—echoing the insurance nature of bank credits. On the other hand, when a firm is financially healthy, two other inventory financing factors play more significant roles than undrawn credits. For financially healthy firms, inventory investments are significantly negatively related to the financial cost of inventory and positively related to the credit offered by suppliers. Additionally, we study the financial crisis of 2007–2008 as a systematic shock in the credit market to identify the effects of a firm's financial credits. We show that during the financial crisis, the inventory turnover and working capital levels of US retailers were related to the availability of bank credit. However, immediately after the crisis, the evidence demonstrates the positive relationship between firms' inventory level and the trade credit they are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: South Africa has the largest HIV/AIDS epidemic globally and the largest anti-retroviral treatment (ART) programme in the world, yet HIV incidence is still chronically high in South Africa, especially in KwaZulu-Natal province (KZN). In light of this, a study was conducted to investigate the extent of challenges making the management of HIV/AIDS difficult in people living with HIV (PLWH) in KZN, South Africa. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 297 study participants living with HIV and receiving ART from three selected clinics in the Ethekwini Metro of KZN. A self-administered questionnaire assessed the challenges experienced by PLWH, their knowledge of their condition and their management thereof. One-way frequency tables were used to descriptively assess participant responses. Associations between certain demographic characteristics and responses to HIV treatment management challenges were assessed using chi-square tests, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Results: One-fifth of the participants (n = 60; 20.1%) were within the 18–23 age group, with over 53% (n = 158) having secondary level education. Some of the challenges cited included: difficulty in obtaining medication, mainly due to cost; side effects resulting in non-adherence; shame for taking medication in public (younger patients were more likely to feel ashamed for taking their medication in public [χ2 = 20.3, p = 0.009]); and non-disclosure of HIV-positive status to partners. We found a significant association between education and financial status and management of their condition [χ2 = 11.2, p = 0.011]. Conclusion: These findings that challenges still exist have implications for more robust programmes on education and counselling to address such challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research takes a holistic approach to considering the consequences of marine plastic pollution. A semi-systematic literature review of 1191 data points provides the basis to determine the global ecological, social and economic impacts. An ecosystem impact analysis demonstrates that there is global evidence of impact with medium to high frequency on all subjects, with a medium to high degree of irreversibility. A novel translation of these ecological impacts into ecosystem service impacts provides evidence that all ecosystem services are impacted to some extent by the presence of marine plastic, with a reduction in provision predicted for all except one. This reduction in ecosystem service provision is evidenced to have implications for human health and wellbeing, linked particularly to fisheries, heritage and charismatic species, and recreation. • Marine plastic has a global impact on all ecological subjects reviewed. • There are negative impacts on the provision of almost all marine ecosystem services. • Negative human wellbeing impacts, particularly fisheries, heritage, recreation. • Economic costs conjectured: $3300–$33,000 per tonne of marine plastic per year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]