Health technology assessment in traditional and complementary medicine: a scoping review of international activity and examples of acupuncture.

BACKGROUND: Traditional therapies are crucial in maintaining and improving human well-being. China's healthcare policymakers are attempting to use health technology assessment (HTA) as a decision-making supportive tool. The value assessment framework for Chinese patent medicine (CPM) has been developed and is being adopted and validated widely by research institutions. Subsequently, the healthcare decision-makers particularly hanker for the value framework of traditional non-pharmacological therapies. METHODS: To construct a practical value framework for traditional non-pharmacological therapies, a scoping review methodology was adopted to identify the evaluation domains and obstacles. A search, screening, and analysis process was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Evidence was retrieved from scientific databases and HTA agencies' websites. RESULTS: The search strategy identified 5 guidelines records and 17 acupuncture HTA reports. By synthesizing the valuable reports of CPM and acupuncture evaluation in representative countries, this study found that Mainland China was promoting the comprehensive value assessment of CPM, whereas the United Kingdom, Singapore, Canada, the United States, and Malaysia had carried out the HTA evaluation of acupuncture for various conditions among which chronic pain was the most common. UK and Singapore applied the HTA results to support acupuncture reimbursement decisions. Three domains, including safety, effectiveness, and economy, were commonly adopted. The identified biggest challenge of evaluating traditional non-pharmacological therapies is the scarce high-quality clinical evidence. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified value domains and issues of traditional therapies, and pointed out future research implications, to promote the development value framework of traditional therapies.

Biochemical and protein nutritional potential of mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaf: partial substitution improves the nutrition of conventional protein.

BACKGROUND: With the requirements of environmental, cost and economic sustainability, new sources of alternative proteins in the livestock industry are receiving increasing attention. Mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaves are a unique feed resource because of their high protein content and large availability. Therefore, mining sustainable protein suitable for the animal husbandry industry in sericulture resources could achieve a win-win situation. RESULTS: The protein content in mulberry leaves is 232.10-386.16 g kg-1 , and the mean value of crude fat content is 43.76 ± 8.48 g kg-1 , which has the advantages of protein content and energy. In addition, the average content of phytic acid in mulberry leaves is only 1.88 ± 0.56 g kg-1 , which means that it is not inhibited in terms of nutrient absorption. Meanwhile, the digestibility of protein was Bean pulp > Sample 8 ≈ Alfalfa ≈ Sample 13 ≈ Cottonseed meal > Fish meal, and the ß-turn and particle size of mulberry leaf protein are more conducive to digestion in vitro. Furthermore, the protein of Sample 13 had the richest essential amino acids (252.00 g kg-1 ) and the highest essential amino acid index (EAAI), which was superior to conventional feed protein. In addition, the partial substitution of mulberry leaf protein (15%) significantly increased the EAAI value of conventional feed protein. However, to balance nutrition, it is necessary to combine mulberry leaf protein with other proteins to further broaden its application field. CONCLUSION: Mulberry leaves are a new source of feed protein, which helps to alleviate the two major problems of mulberry resource surplus and feed protein resource shortage. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

[Thoughts on foreign universal drug value evaluation tools for construction of Chinese patent medicine value evaluation tools].

At present, the value evaluation of Chinese patent medicines is in the exploratory stage, and a clinical value evaluation system that can reflect the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine has not been established. This article investigates four universal drug value tools from abroad, namely, evidence rating matrix, cancer value label, patient-perspective value framework and multiple criteria decision analysis advance value framework. The evidence rating matrix is used to measure the benefits and risks of different treatment measures, and the net health benefit is used as the best estimate point to evaluate the value of treatment; the cancer value label is mainly used to weigh the economic value and innovative value of drug treatment programs of different anti-tumor drugs by matrix composed the ratio between the expected result and the cost; the patient-perspective value framework emphasizes the evaluation of the value of different healthcare intervention methods from the patient's perspective; multiple criteria decision analysis advance value framework measures the value of drugs or measures from multiple dimensions. Combined with the characteristics of the above universal drug value evaluation tools and the correlation research of domestic drug value evaluation, the paper proposes to analyze the characteristics of Chinese patent medicine value evaluation from the six dimensions of effectiveness, safety, innovation, economy, suitability and accessibility of Chinese patent medicine, and expounds the strategy of constructing Chinese patent medicine value evaluation tool, so as to provide reference for the drug value evaluation and decision-making application of Chinese patent medicine.

[Clinical comprehensive evaluation of Diemailing~® Kudiezi Injection in treatment of cerebral infarction].

Clinical comprehensive evaluation was conducted in "6+1" dimensions(safety, effectiveness, economy, innovation, suitability, accessibility, and characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine) to reflect the advantages and characteristics of Diemai-ling~® Kudiezi Injection in the treatment of cerebral infarction. This study adopted a combination of qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods. Based on the methodologies of evidence-based medicine, epidemiology, clinical medicine, evidence-based pharmacy, pharmacoeconomics, mathematical statistics, and health technology assessment(HTA), experts gave weight to the criterion layer and index layer, and multi-criteria decision analysis(MCDA) model and CSC v2.0 were used for calculations to evaluate the clinical value of Diemailing~® Kudiezi Injection. The existing evidence showed that active monitoring and a number of randomized controlled trials(RCTs) have been carried out after the listing of Diemailing~® Kudiezi Injection. Since the total incidence of adverse reactions is 0.099% and the incidence of adverse drug reactions(ADR) is rare, the safety evaluation is grade A. The evidence value of effectiveness demonstrated that Diemailing~® Kudiezi Injection combined with conventional western medicine improves the total effective rate of neurological deficit score and quality of daily life in the acute stage of cerebral infarction, which is superior to that in the conventional western medicine treatment group, and the level of evidence is high. Therefore, its efficacy is assessed as grade A. According to the results of economic research, when Diemailing~® Kudiezi Injection combined with conventional western medicine treatment is compared with conventional western medicine treatment, the Diemailing~® Kudiezi Injection group has a greater incremental effect, but the cost is affordable. Given the overall quality evaluation results of economic report is clear, it is evaluated as grade B. The innovation is grade A. The drug is favorable for clinical operation by medical staff and can be accepted by patients due to easy usage without special technical and management requirements. Since the drug exhibits good suitability for clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, and patients, it is evaluated as grade B. Considering its moderate price among similar drugs and good affordability and availability, it is evaluated as grade B. Diemailing~® Kudiezi Injection can evidently improve the clinical symptoms and neurological deficits of fire toxin syndrome of acute cerebral infarction, and this medicine belongs to ethnic medicine. Large-sample active monitoring research has been conducted with rich experience in human use. Therefore, the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine are evaluated as grade A. The comprehensive clinical evaluation of Diemailing~® Kudiezi Injection is class A. We suggest that it can be directly transformed into relevant policy results of basic clinical medication management by procedure.

A Neural Mechanism of Cue-Outcome Expectancy Generated by the Interaction Between Orbitofrontal Cortex and Amygdala.

Taste perception is important for animals to take adequate nutrients and avoid toxins for their survival. Appetitive and aversive behaviors are produced by value evaluation of taste and taste expectation caused by other sensations. The value evaluation, coupled with a cue presentation, produces outcome expectation and guides flexible behaviors when the environment is changed. Experimental studies demonstrated distinct functional roles of basolateral amygdala (ABL) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in value evaluation and adaptive behavior. ABL is involved in generating a cue-outcome association, whereas OFC makes a contribution of generating a cue-triggered expectation to guide adaptive behavior. However, it remains unclear how ABL and OFC form their functional roles, with the learning of adaptive behavior. To address this issue, we focus on an odor discrimination task of rats and develop a computational model that consists of OFC and ABL, interacting with reward and decision systems. We present the neural mechanisms underlying the rapid formation of cue-outcome association in ABL and late behavioral adaptation mediated by OFC. Moreover, we offer 2 functions of cue-selective neurons in OFC: one is that the activation of cue-selective neurons transmits value information to decision area to guide behavior and another is that persistent activity of cue-selective neurons evokes a weak activity of taste-sensitive OFC neurons, leading to cue-outcome expectation. Our model further accounts for ABL and OFC responses caused by lesions of these areas. The results provide a computational framework of how ABL and OFC are functionally linked through their interactions with the reward and decision systems.

Aqueous ethyl acetate as a novel solvent for the degreasing of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.) larvae: degreasing rate, nutritional value evaluation of the degreased meal, and thermal properties.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to select appropriate low-toxicity degreasing solvents to degrease black soldier fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens L.) larvae to prepare high-quality protein. Aqueous ethyl acetate was chosen as the solvent to extract BSF protein, and traditional solvents, such as petroleum ether, n-hexane, and isopropanol, were chosen as controls. RESULTS: The meal degreased by aqueous ethyl acetate (the volume ratio of ethyl acetate to water is 90 to 10, EA + W10) shows a high degreasing rate (29.04%), crude protein content (562.3 g kg-1 ), essential amino acid index (EAAI, 95.57), and digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS, 85). The digestibility of the degreased meal samples in the simulated in vitro intestine can reach 76.52%. Thermodynamic analysis and the apparent morphology of the protein fragments showed that the meal degreased by EA + W10 exhibited thermodynamic stability, which suggests that using aqueous ethyl acetate as the degreasing solvent did not affect the nutritional value of the degreased meal. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that aqueous ethyl acetate (EA + W10) can be used as a novel solvent in the degreasing of BSF larvae meal to prepare high-quality protein with high EAAI and DIAAS and good digestibility. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Public preferences for the allocation of societal resources over different healthcare purposes.

OBJECTIVE: Increasing healthcare expenditures require governments to make difficult prioritization decisions. Considering public preferences can help raise citizens' support. Previous research has predominantly elicited preferences for the allocation of public resources towards specific treatments or patient groups and principles for resource allocation. This study contributes by examining public preferences for budget allocation over various healthcare purposes in the Netherlands. METHODS: We conducted a Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) choice experiment in which 1408 respondents were asked to allocate a hypothetical budget over eight healthcare purposes: general practice and other easily accessible healthcare, hospital care, elderly care, disability care, mental healthcare, preventive care by encouragement, preventive care by discouragement, and new and better medicines. A default expenditure was set for each healthcare purpose, based on current expenditures. Respondents could adjust these default expenditures using sliders and were presented with the implications of their adjustments on health and well-being outcomes, the economy, and the healthcare premium. As a constraint, the maximum increase in the mandatory healthcare premium for adult citizens was €600 per year. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and a Latent Class Cluster Analysis (LCCA). RESULTS: On average, respondents preferred to increase total expenditures on all healthcare purposes, but especially on elderly care, new and better medicines, and mental healthcare. Three preference clusters were identified. The largest cluster preferred modest increases in expenditures, the second a much higher increase of expenditures, and the smallest favouring a substantial reduction of the healthcare premium by decreasing the expenditure on all healthcare purposes. The analyses also demonstrated substantial preference heterogeneity between clusters for budget allocation over different healthcare purposes. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this choice experiment show that most citizens in the Netherlands support increasing healthcare expenditures. However, substantial heterogeneity was identified in preferences for healthcare purposes to prioritize. Considering these preferences may increase public support for prioritization decisions.

A Comprehensive Framework for Evaluating the Value Created by Real-World Evidence for Diverse Stakeholders: The Case for Coordinated Registry Networks.

OBJECTIVES: This manuscript presents a comprehensive framework for the assessment of the value of real-world evidence (RWE) in healthcare decision-making. While RWE has been proposed to overcome some limitations of traditional, one-off studies, no systematic framework exists to measure if RWE actually lowers the burden. This framework aims to fill that gap by providing conceptual approaches for evaluating the time and cost efficiencies of RWE, thus guiding strategic investments in RWE infrastructure. METHODS: The framework consists of four components: (114th Congress. 21st Century Cures Act.; 2015. https://www.congress.gov/114/plaws/publ255/PLAW-114publ255.pdf .) identification of stakeholders using and producing RWE, (National Health Council. Glossary of Patient Engagement Terms. Published 2019. Accessed May 18. 2021. https://nationalhealthcouncil.org/glossary-of-patient-engagement-terms/ .) understanding value propositions on how RWE can benefit stakeholders, (Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. CDER Patient-Focused Drug Development. U.S. Food & Drug Administration.) defining key performance indicators (KPIs), and (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Food and Drug Administration: Center for Devices and Radiological Health and Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Use of Real-World Evidence to Support Regulatory Decision-Making for Medical Devices - Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff. 2017. http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Guida .) establishing metrics and case studies to assess value. KPIs are categorized as 'better, faster, or cheaper" as an indicator of value: better focusing on high-quality actionable evidence; 'faster,' denoting time-saving in evidence generation, and 'cheaper,' emphasizing cost-efficiency decision compared to methodologies that do not involve data routinely collected in clinical practice. Metrics and relevant case studies are tailored based on stakeholder value propositions and selected KPIs that can be used to assess what value has been created by using RWE compared to traditional evidence-generation approaches and comparing different RWE sources. RESULTS: Operationalized through metrics and case studies drawn from the literature, the value of RWE is documented as improving treatment effect heterogeneity evaluation, expanding medical product labels, and expediting post-market compliance. RWE is also shown to reduce the cost and time required to produce evidence compared to traditional one-off approaches. An original example of a metric that measures the time saved by RWE methods to detect a signal of a product failure was presented based on analysis of the National Cardiovascular Disease Registry. CONCLUSIONS: The framework presented in this manuscript offers a comprehensive approach for evaluating the value of RWE, applicable to all stakeholders engaged in leveraging RWE for healthcare decision-making. Through the proposed metrics and illustrated case studies, valuable insights are provided into the heightened efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and improved decision-making within clinical and regulatory domains facilitated by RWE. While this framework is primarily focused on medical devices, it could potentially inform the determination of RWE value in other medical products. By discerning the variations in cost, time, and data utility among various evidence-generation methods, stakeholders are empowered to invest strategically in RWE infrastructure and shape future research endeavors.

Patients, payers and developers of Orphan Medicinal Products: lessons learned from 10 years' multi-stakeholder dialogue on improving access in Europe via MoCA.

BACKGROUND: The Mechanism of Coordinated Access to Orphan Medicinal Products (MoCA) was established in 2013 with the intention of developing a coordinated mechanism between volunteering EU stakeholders and developers of Orphan Medicinal Products (OMPs) to support the exchange of information aimed at enabling informed decisions on pricing and reimbursement at Member State level and to evaluate the value of an OMP based on a Transparent Value Framework. The objective of the collaborative approach was to support more equitable access to authorised therapies for people living with rare diseases, rational prices for payers and more predictable market conditions for OMP developers. Over the past 10 years, the MoCA has conducted a series of pilot projects, examining a variety of different products and technologies at different stages of development; and with contributions from a variety of patient representatives, participation from EU payers from a range of Member States and, recently, with EUnetHTA members and the European Medicines Agency participating in the meetings as observers. RESULTS: 10 years on from the establishment of the MoCA, the European landscape has significantly evolved, not only in the field of drug development with increasingly transformative therapies based on novel technologies, but also in terms of larger numbers of approved treatments, increased budget impact and the resulting associated uncertainties; as well as in terms of stakeholder collaboration and interactions. The value of early dialogue with OMP developers, including the EU payer community via their national decision-making authorities, is a key element within this early interaction and contributes to identifying, managing and reducing uncertainties allowing a prospectively planned approach earlier in development and, consequently, to support more timely, sustainable and equitable access to new OMPs, particularly where there is a high unmet medical need. CONCLUSIONS: The voluntary, informal nature of the MoCA interactions creates a flexible framework for non-binding dialogue. A forum for such interactions is needed to achieve the aims of the MoCA and both to support healthcare systems in planning as well as to underpin timely, equitable and sustainable access to new therapies for patients with rare diseases within the EU.

Evaluation of Ecological Service Function of Liquidambar formosana Plantations.

A Liquidambar formosana plantation is a kind of fast-grown forest in the subtropical region, providing a variety of ecosystem services such as superior wood, carbon fixation and oxygen release, and biodiversity maintenance. However, the ecological service function value of Liquidambar formosana plantations is not clear. To gain insights into the characteristics and importance of its ecological and economic benefits, the Liquidambar formosana plantation in the Tianjiling Forest Farm of Changsha City was taken as the specific research object in this paper. The ecological service function evaluation index system for Liquidambar formosana plantations was established based on the relevant research worldwide and the actual situation. The market value method, shadow engineering method, carbon tax method, and other environmental economics methods were used to estimate the value of seven ecological service functions (including organic matter production, carbon fixation and oxygen release, water conservation, soil conservation, soil improvement, air purification, and biodiversity maintenance) of the forest of Liquidambar formosana. The results indicated that the total economic value of ecological service function provided by the Liquidambar formosana plantation of Changsha was 103,277.82 RMB/(hm2·a), and the indirect economic value was 8.47 times that of the direct economic value. Among the seven ecological service functions, the value of carbon fixation and oxygen release was the highest (36,703.33 RMB·hm-2·a-1), thus suggesting that the Liquidambar formosana plantation had strong photosynthesis and significant carbon fixation. This study directly reflects the value of forest ecological service function in the form of currency, which is beneficial to provide more insights into forest ecological service function so as to provide basic data and a scientific basis for the protection, construction, and promotion of the sustainable utilization and development of urban forest resources.

Value evaluation of cultural tourism tourists' psychological expectation based on machine learning data mining.

The era of smart tourism has arrived. In the context of big data information, based on the thinking of the entire tourism activity, it is worth thinking about the role of tourism information in tourism activities. This paper proposes a method for evaluating the psychological expectations of tourist destinations by applying the quality function configuration. According to the needs of tourists, the relevant product characteristics of the tourist destination are selected, an evaluation quality house is established, and various relationships within the quality house are weighed, and established a mathematical model for the evaluation of tourists' psychological expectations in tourist destinations. Bringing the methods of machine learning (ML) and data mining (DM) into the research of tourists' psychological expectation value evaluation, ML is one of the main methods to solve the problem of DM. ML is the process of using the system itself to improve itself, therefore, ML is widely used in data mining. The research combines psychology and tourism research, through empirical research, to establish a structural equation model. It analyzes the influence of tourism information on tourists' behavioral decisions, increases the media's variable expectations of tourism, and uses tourist satisfaction and behavior as dependent variables. The results showed that the effect of tourism information on tourists is significantly greater than the expected effect (p = 0.510, P is significant at 0.001 level) than the effect of tourist satisfaction (p = 0.290, P is significant at 0.05 level). Therefore, in order to create good expectations for tourists, the general image of a tourist destination must match the actual local conditions. Using the support vector machine algorithm with the introduction of optimization mechanism to train the feature set of the user data, and then predict the links in Sina Weibo, and obtain higher prediction accuracy and prediction speed. The psychological expectation evaluation model of tourists in tourist destinations can effectively calculate the perceived value of psychological expectation evaluation of tourists in tourist destinations, and help tourists choose reasonable and satisfactory travel plans.

Forest Carbon Reserve Calculation and Comprehensive Economic Value Evaluation: A Forest Management Model Based on Both Biomass Expansion Factor Method and Total Forest Value.

With the continuous intensification of global climate warming, the carbon cycle has become the focus of global climate change, and the calculation and value evaluation of forest carbon reserves is a key link in promoting the global carbon cycle system. Considering the climatic factors, the biomass expansion factor method (BEF) is used to calculate the forest carbon reserves, selecting the best Gompertz model, adding the time change to the forecast model to predict the growth of forest stock, and the four key indexes of total forest value (TEV) are selected for comprehensive evaluation of forest value. The results show that the carbon fixation efficiency and prediction of forest farms depend largely on the trees, and products can provide more value. Accordingly, it is suggested that broad-leaved trees and younger trees should be planted, and broad-leaved trees should be planted to increase forest stock, increase the vertical distribution of forests to increase carbon reserves, and make trees into wood products with longer retention time to achieve higher total forest value.

Application of Educational Psychology Based on Improved SPBO Optimization Algorithm in English Learning.

It is an inevitable process of current social development to apply the motivational theory of educational psychology in the field of English teaching. The current method is to start with the introduction of new language teaching projects by teachers, and then use excellent training to make students master the knowledge they have learned. The flaw is that such teaching is simplistic in the present. In order to solve these problems, this paper proposes an improved SPOB optimization algorithm, aiming to study the application of motivation theory in educational psychology to current English teaching. By using the formula definition for the excellent and poor students in the improved SPBO optimization algorithm and the criterion function in the cluster analysis, the application process of motivational design model in oral English teaching is explored through the application of SPBO algorithm. And through the investigation and analysis of the experimental process of the application of incentive design model in oral English teaching, the results showed that 77.2% of teachers chose interest incentives, 34.8% of teachers chose cooperation-competition incentives, and 32.6% of teachers chose emotional incentives.

Stepping into the shoes of the policy maker: Results of a Participatory Value Evaluation for the Dutch long term COVID-19 strategy.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 outbreak early 2020 was followed by an unprecedented package of measures. The relative calmness of the pandemic early 2022 provides a momentum to prepare for various scenarios. OBJECTIVES: As acceptance of COVID-19 measures is key for public support we investigated citizens' preferences towards imposing measures in four scenarios: 1) spring/summer scenario with few hospitalizations; 2) autumn/winter scenario with many hospitalizations; 3) a new contagious variant, the impact on hospitalizations is unclear; 4) a new contagious variant, hospitalizations will substantially increase. METHODS: Study 1 comprised a Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) in which 2011 respondents advised their government on which measures to impose in the four scenarios. Respondents received information regarding the impact of each measure on the risk that the health system would be overloaded. To triangulate the results, 2958 respondents in Study 2 evaluated the acceptability of the measures in each scenario. RESULTS: Measures were ranked similarly by respondents in Study 1 and 2: 1) the majority of respondents thought that hygiene measures should be upheld, even in the spring/summer; 2) the majority supported booster vaccination, working from home, encouraging self-testing, and mandatory face masks from scenario 2 onwards; 3) even in scenario 4, lockdown measures were not supported by the majority. Young respondents were willing to accept more risks for the health system than older respondents. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that policies that focus on prevention (through advising low-impact hygiene measures) and early response to moderate threats (by scaling up to moderately restrictive measures and boostering) can count on substantial support. There is low support for lockdown measures even under high-risk conditions, which further emphasizes the importance of prevention and a timely response to new threats. Our results imply that young citizens' concerns, in particular, should be addressed when restrictive COVID-19 measures are to be implemented.

Effects of Design Aesthetics on the Perceived Value of a Product.

Design aesthetics play a crucial role in product design. Stakeholders expect to develop highly valuable premium products by improving the design aesthetics of products. Nevertheless, the question of how to evaluate the value of design aesthetics has not been fully addressed. In this study, the effects of design aesthetics on the evaluation of the value of a product were investigated through a strictly controlled experiment in which the neural responses of the participants were measured. Forty participants completed the design aesthetics experiment in a laboratory setting. Images of products were divided into two categories: those representing high- and low-design-aesthetic stimuli. Both types of images were labeled with the same price. Overall, the images representing high design aesthetics elicited smaller N100 and lower P200 amplitudes than did the images representing low design aesthetics. This finding indicates that low design aesthetics attracted more attention than high design aesthetics did and that high design aesthetics triggered positive emotions. Low-design-aesthetic products elicited a larger N400 amplitude. This finding reveals the inconsistency between labeled and expected prices. The present study indicates that the N400 component can be used as an indicator for measuring the perceived value of a product in a future product design study. Our study provides event-related potential indicators that can be easily applied in decision making for measuring the perceived value of a product's design.

The Value of Subjective Visual Vertical in Diagnosis of Vestibular Migraine.

OBJECTIVE: To study the value of the subjective visual vertical (SVV) in the diagnosis of vestibular migraine (VM). METHODS: This study recruited 128 VM patients and 64 age-matched normal subjects. We detected the SVV during the interval between attacks in both groups, in sitting upright, and the head tilted at 45° to the left or right. We then examined the correlation between the SVV results with the vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) and canal paresis (CP). RESULTS: It was found there was a significant difference in SVV at the upright position between VM patients and normal controls (P=0.006) and no significant difference was found at the tilts of 45° to the left or right between the two groups. The SVV results at the upright position were significantly correlated with cervical VEMP (P=0.042) whereas not significantly correlated with CP and VEMP. There existed no significant difference in the conformity to the Müller effect (M effect) between the two groups. ROC analysis exhibited that the sensitivity, specificity of SVVs at the upright were 67.200% and 62.500% respectively. The diagnostic value of SVV at the upright position was significantly higher than that at tilts of 45° to the left and right (P=0.006). Nonetheless the diagnostic accuracy was relatively low. CONCLUSION: Abnormality in SVV possibly stems from the lasting functional disorder of cerebellar or high-level cortical centers in VM patients or is linked to the vestibular compensation. The SVV is of low diagnostic value for VM and the value of SVV in VM warrants further study.

Citizen preferences regarding the public funding of projects promoting a healthy body weight among people with a low income.

Overweight and obesity are a growing problem, especially among people with a low income. Policymakers aspire to alleviate this problem by implementing publicly funded projects. This study has three aims: 1) to explore citizen preferences regarding the public funding of projects promoting a healthy body weight among people with a low income, 2) to identify whether such preferences differ between citizens with a low income and those with a higher income, and 3) to identify the reasons underlying these preferences. We conducted a Participatory Value Evaluation (PVE) among 1053 Dutch citizens to achieve these aims. In an online choice experiment, respondents were asked to advise on the implementation of eight different projects that encourage a healthy body weight among citizens with a low income, with a total resource constraint of 100,000 euros. The projects were 1) lifestyle coaching including sports, 2) lifestyle coaching without sports, 3) local sports coach, 4) fruit and vegetable boxes, 5) bariatric surgery, 6) improving the living environment, 7) courses on healthy lifestyles, and 8) sports vouchers. We used the "Multiple Discrete-Continuous Extreme Value" model to estimate the preferences of respondents towards these eight projects. Fruit and vegetable boxes and sports vouchers were the most popular projects, while bariatric surgery was least popular. Respondents with a low income tended to spend less of the budget than respondents with a higher income. Respondent arguments for the choices they made were qualitatively analysed using inductive content analysis. They often mentioned the value judgements 'importance', 'healthiness' and 'usefulness', as well as project costs and efficacy, as reasons for their decisions. Policymakers could use the results to ensure their decisions on the allocation of public funding to projects that encourage a healthy weight among people with a low income are aligned with citizen preferences.

[Value evaluation and ecological compensation of endangered species from the perspective of stakeholders: A cases study with Elaeagnus mollise]. / åˆ©ç›Šç›¸å ³è€ è§†è§’ä¸‹çš„æ¿’å±ç‰©ç§ä»·å€¼è¯„ä¼°ä¸Žç”Ÿæ€è¡¥å¿­­ä»¥ç¿ æžœæ²¹æ ‘ä¸ºä¾‹.

The value evaluation of endangered species can provide important supports for policy-making in biodiversity conservation. We evaluated the stakeholders' preference and willingness to pay (WTP) from the perspective of stakeholders by the choice experiment method (CEM) and discussed the ecological compensation mechanism, with Elaeagnus mollis, a national secondary key protected plant as an example. Based on the interest demands analysis of three stakeholders, the management departments, enterprises and farmers, we measured five species attributes of E. mollis, including planting area, product classification, seedling varieties, protection investment, and far-mers' income. Furthermore, the preference of stakeholders and WTP for different attribute variables were analyzed using random parameter model (RPL). The results showed that the preference of respondents for the variable of "increase investment in protection" was the strongest and WTP was the highest (331.00 yuan·a-1·household-1). The stakeholders had stronger preference for the variables of "simultaneous development of high and low-end products" and "development of high-end products", with WTP being 242.71 and 227.57 yuan·a-1·household-1, respectively. For the variables of "farmers' income", "unchanged investment in protection", "seedling varieties" and "planting area", stakeholders showed certain preference and WTP from strong to weak. The prefe-rence for "no investment in protection" and "development of low-end products" was weaker and the WTP was negative. Through direct and indirect approaches of compensation, ecological compensation could be implemented for the objects of ecological compensation (E. mollis and associated habitat). The value of compensating surplus (CS) calculated was 285.62 yuan·a-1·household-1.

Evaluation of ecosystem service value of the grape industry at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, Ningxia, China.

Using statistical data from Statistics Bureau of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Grape Industry Development Bureau of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and National Bureau of Statistics, ecosystem service value of grape industry at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain in Ningxia was evaluated from eight facets, i.e., food production, carbon fixation and oxygen release, air purification, soil conservation, water-holding, water conservation and efficiency, eco-tourism, and ecological poverty alleviation. The results showed that: 1) ecosystem service value of the grape industry was 3.6 billion (RMB), with direct benefit of 2.2 billion and the ecological benefit of 1.4 billion. Ecological benefit accounted for 38.85% of the total ecosystem service value. 2) The service value of the grape industry was in the order of ecological poverty alleviation> eco-tourism> carbon fixation and oxygen release> water conservation and efficiency > air purification > soil conservation> water-holding. 3) Among the ecological benefits, the value of ecological poverty alleviation was the highe-st, accounting for 64.39%; the value of ecotourism was the second, accounting for 24.47%. The results indicated the necessity of assessing ecosystem service value of the grape industry, which could enable people to realize the direct economic benefits as well as the ecological benefits. This study had important reference value for comprehensively guiding the healthy and sustainable deve-lopment of the grape industry.

[Evaluation of ecosystem cultural services of urban protected areas based on public participation GIS (PPGIS): A case study of Gongqing Forest Park in Shanghai, China]. / 基于参与式制图的城市保护地生态系统文化服务价值评价­­ä»¥ä¸Šæµ·å ±é’æ£®æž—å ¬å›­ä¸ºä¾‹.

Quantitative evaluation of ecosystem service value and its spatial mapping is an effective way to determine priority conservation areas of cultural ecosystem services (CES). We used a combination of questionnaires and structured interviews with public participatory GIS (PPGIS) in Gongqing Forest Park in Shanghai to connect non-monetary CES values with spatially explicit information. This method applied spatial indicators of abundance, diversity and rarity to quantitatively assess the value of CES and their spatial distribution, and identified priority CES areas. The results showed the value of CES varied among landscape types. Relatively open grassland, riverside, and shrub areas were associated with high aesthetic value. Riverside areas were associated with the CES category concerned with inspiration and supporting social relationships. High diversity values mainly distributed in riverside areas, while forest and grassland areas were associated with high rarity values. The areas with the highest values for the abundance, diversity, and rarity indices were overlaid with eight gradient thresholds, which indicated that defining the 25% of ecological areas with the highest overall rating as CES priority areas was an effective threshold for CES identification and management. The methodology in this study leveraged PPGIS to spatially refe-rence, quantify, and user perception to establish relationships between landscape attributes, space, and experience. These results could provide an important basis for identifying, planning for, and managing priority conservation areas in urban protected areas.