No presente estudo foi avaliado os custos dos tratamentos anti-rábicos pósexposição e das atividades do controle da raiva canina realizada no Mogi Guaçu, no período de 2000 a 2004. Para as análises foram utilizadas as informações disponíveis no banco de dados do Sistema Nacional de Agravos de Notificação (SINAN) e dos dados pertinentes ao Programa de Controle da Raiva, fornecidos pelo Centro de Controle de Zoonoses. Com o auxilio das planilhas do programa Excel, os dados foram tabulados e os valores em reais, obtidos ano a ano (valores nominais), foram atualizados para valores do ano de 2006, tendo como deflator o Índice de Preço do Consumidor Ampliado (IPCA). No período estudado, ocorreram 4.279 notificações de pacientes agredidos por diferentes espécies de mamíferos. O tipo de lesão mais freqüente foi a mordedura, com 90,9% do total, tendo sido o cão a principal espécie agressora, com 84,1% do total dos agravos. Os pacientes do sexo masculino apresentaram o maior risco exposição (48,2%), o mesmo ocorrendo com os pacientes de faixa etária entre zero e 14 anos (35,2%). O esquema de tratamento pós-exposição, com três doses de vacina e a observação do cão agressor, foi preconizado para 18,3% das pessoas agredidas o que representou um gasto estimado de R$ 43.829,97. O esquema de vacinação (cinco doses) e soro-vacinação foi indicado para 6,2% dos pacientes, com um custo final estimado em R$ 34.731,83. Na composição do custo das ações de controle da raiva canina, o insumo de maior peso foi o combustível. Os custos médios por animal, relativos às ações direcionadas ao controle da raiva animal, foram 9,2 a 20,2 vezes inferiores aos valores estimados para o tratamento anti-rábico humano pós-exposição. As informações oficiais, disponíveis nos bancos de dados, foram suficientes para os cálculos dos custos x benefício propostos. A avaliação do custo x benefício das atividades de prevenção e /ou controle da raiva urbana é importante para a implantação de uma política de conscientização de proprietários e deve estar associada a programas educativos. / In this work, costs with post exposure anti-rabies treatments and activities for canine rabies control in Mogi-Guaçu were evaluated from 2000 to 2004. For the analyses, information available in the National System of Injury Notification database (SINAN) were used, as well as data from Rabies Control Program, supplied by the Center for Zoonoses Control. Data were compiled using Excel software spreadsheets and values in Reais (Brazilian currency), obtained annually (nominal values), were updated for values in 2006. The deflation index used was the Expanded Consumer Price Index (IPCA). In the period studied there were 4, 279 notifications of patients attacked by different kinds of mammals. Bites were the most frequent injury, with 90.9% of the total, having dogs as the main aggressor specie with 84.1% of total cases. Male patients presented the highest exposure risk (48.2%), as well as patients in the age range 0 ? 14 years old (35.2%). Post exposure rabies prophylaxis, including 3 vaccine doses and the observation of the aggressor dog, was adopted for 18.3% of attacked people, representing an estimated expense of R$43.829,97 (approximately US$ 20,198.14). Five-dose vaccination scheme and vaccine and equine rabies immunoglobulin were prescribed for 6.2% of patients, with an estimated final cost of R$34.731,83 (approximately US$16,005.45). In the cost composition for canine rabies control actions, fuel was the most representative item. Average cost per animal considering actions focused on animal rabies control, was 9.2 to 20.2 times lower than estimated values for post exposure human anti-rabies treatment. Official information available in database were enough to calculate the costs and benefits proposed. Cost benefit analysis of the activities for urban rabies prevention and/or control is important for the implementation of an awareness policy for dog owners and must be associated.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness, costs and benefits of screening for diabetic retinopathy with retinal photography and with ophthalmoscopic examination in health care centres by primary care physicians, and also to study the quality of life and mortality of visually impaired diabetics. There are about 150 000 diabetics in Finland. There were 881 visually impaired persons due to diabetic retinopathy in the Finnish Register of Visually Impaired Patients in 1994 (1122 in 1997). Laser photocoagulation has proved to be an effective treatment in diabetic retinopathy preventing visual loss. The screening methods are ophthalmoscopic examination and retinal photography. The incidence of retinopathy was calculated from the photogaphy screening in the Oulu Health Care Centre in 1987 (N = 1015), in 1991–92 (N = 1844) and in 1993–94 (N = 1484). The ophthalmoscopy screening was studied from patients' records (N = 242) in the Raahe Health Care Centre. Out of 120 visually impaired persons with diabetic retinopathy in the province of Pohjois-Pohjanmaa, 50 were interviewed by the health care secretary. The study included cost-benefit analysis for the costs of screening and treatment of diabetic retinopathy compared with the costs of visual impairment. Furthermore the quality of life of patients with visual impairment due to diabetic retinopathy was studied using the Nottingham Health Profile questionaire (NHP) and compared with diabetic patients without visual impairment. The mortality rate of visually impaired patients was compared to that of diabetic retinopathy patients who had been treated with laser photocoagulation. The incidence of all diabetic retinopathy was 9.4 per cent per year and 2.8 per cent per year for moderate to severe retinopathy, and in patients with no insulin in their treatment the incidence of all retinopathy was 3.0 and 1.2 per cent per year respectively. The screening costs per diabetic person screened were 148 Finnish marks (FIM) in the photographic method and 68 FIM in the ophthalmoscopic method. It was calculated that 156 visual impairment cases could be prevented per year in Finland with the photographic method. The screening and treating costs in finding one preventable case of visual impairment were 185 000 FIM. The costs of visual impairment were 594 000 FIM per patient. So retinal photography screening and treatment of diabetic retinopathy could lead to savings of 63.9 million FIM per yearly screening in Finland. The quality of life of visually impaired persons was worse than that of other diabetics in two dimensions of the NHP, Energy and Mobility. In the second part of the NHP, the quality of life of visually impaired persons was worse than that of other diabetics in all questions except working. The mortality rate of visually impaired persons, 14.5 per cent per year was twice as high as that of diabetic patients treated with laser photocoagulation. The incidence of diabetic retinopathy in Finland was about the same as in other industrialized countries. Retinal photography seemed to be a cost-effective screening method for preventing visual impairment and the cost benefit ratio of screening and treating diabetic retinopathy was 3.2. The quality of life of visually impaired patients was worse and mortality risk higher than that of other diabetics. / Tiivistelmä Tarkoituksena oli tutkia perusterveydenhuollossa silmänpohjakuvauksella tai oftalmoskopialla tehdyn diabeettisen retinopatian seulonnan vaikuttavuutta, kustannuksia ja hyötyjä näkövammaisuuden ehkäisyssä sekä diabeettisen retinopatian ilmaantuvuutta, ja sen vuoksi näkövammaisten elämänlaatua ja kuolleisuutta. Suomessa on noin 150 000 diabeetikkoa. Diabeettisen retinopatian aiheuttama näkövamma oli Näkövammarekisterin mukaan vuoden 1994 alussa 881:lla suomalaisella (vuoden 1997 lopussa 1122:lla suomalaisella). Diabeettisen retinopatian aiheuttamaa näkövammaisuutta voidaan ehkäistä ajoissa toteutetulla silmänpohjan laser-fotokoagulaatiohoidolla. Uusien tautitapausten löytämiseksi käytetään oftalmoskopiaa ja silmänpohjakuvausta. Diabeettisen retinopatian ilmaantuvuus laskettiin Oulussa vuosina 1987 (N = 1015), 1991–92 (N = 1844) ja 1993–95 (N = 1484) toteutettujen silmänpohjakuvausten perusteella. Diabeettisen retinopatian oftalmoskooppista toteamista tutkittiin Raahen seudun terveyskeskuksen diabetesvastaanoton potilaiden sairauskertomuksista (N = 242). Seulontamenetelmien tehokkuutta arvioitiin kustannusvaikuttavuusanalyysillä ja diabeettisen retinopatian seulonnan ja hoidon hyötyä näkövammaisuuden ehkäisyssä kustannus-hyötyanalyysillä. Pohjois-Pohjanmaalta diabeettisen retinopatian johdosta näkövammarekisteriin ilmoitetuista (N = 120) haastateltiin tavoitetut 50 henkilöä. Haastatelluilla näkövammaisille sekä Oulussa vuosina 1991–92 silmänpohjakuvaukseen osallistuneille tehtiin elämänlaatukysely NHP-mittarilla. Elämänlaatua ja kuolleisuutta tutkittiin tapaus-verrokki asetelmalla. Tutkimuksen mukaan Diabeettisen retinopatian koko ilmaantuvuus oli 9,4 % vuodessa ja diabeetikoilla, joiden hoidossa ei käytetty insuliinia, ilmaantuvuus oli 3,0 % vuodessa. Vaikean tausta- ja proliferatiivisen retinopatian ilmaantuvuus oli vastaavasti 2,8 % ja 1,2 % vuodessa. Silmänpohjakuvaukseen perustuvan seulonnan ja laserhoidon kustannukset olivat 192 mk seulottua kohti. Silmänpohjakuvausseulonnalla olisi tämän tutkimuksen mukaan mahdollista estää Suomessa vuosittain 156 näkövammaa kustannusten ollessa noin 185 000 mk estettyä näkövammaa kohti. Yhden näkövamman kustannukset olivat yhteensä 594 000 mk. Silmänpohjakuvaukseen perustuvalla seulonnalla olisi mahdollista säästää noin 63,9 milj. mk vuodessa edellyttäen, että tulokset ovat yleistettävissä koko maahan. Diabeettisen retinopatian johdosta näkövammaisten elämänlaatu oli selvästi muita diabeetikkoja huonompi NHP-mittarin ulottuvuuksilla tarmokkuus ja liikkuminen sekä useilla keskeisillä elämänalueilla. Näkövammaisten diabeetikkojen kuolemanriski oli yli kaksinkertainen laserhoidettuhin näkönsä säilyttäneiisiin diabeettista retinopatiaa sairastaviin verrattuna. Tutkimuksen mukaan diabeettisen retinopatian ilmaantuvuus oli Suomessa samalla tasolla kuin muissa teollistuneissa maissa. Silmänpohjakuvaussseulonta osoittautui taloudellisesti kannattavaksinäkövammojen ehkäisyssä. Näkövammaisuus heikensi diabeetikkojen elämänlaatua ja lisäsi kuolemanriskiä.

In this study we investigate the level of usability and usability issues and the gaps concerning usability activities and the potential users, in a part of charging system products in Ericsson.Also we try identifying the cost-benefit factors, usability brings to this project, in order to attempt 'justifying the cost of usability for this particular product'.

Knowledge of the thermal ecology of a species can improve model predictions for temperature-induced population collapse, which in light of climate change is increasingly important for species with limited distributions. Here, we use a multi-faceted approach to quantify and integrate the thermal ecology, properties of the thermal habitat, and past and present distribution of the diurnal, xeric-adapted, and active-foraging Namibian lizard Pedioplanis husabensis (Sauria: Lacertidae) to model its local extinction risk under future climate change scenarios. We asked whether climatic conditions in various regions of its range are already so extreme that local extirpations of P. husabensis have already occurred, or whether this micro-endemic species is adapted to these extreme conditions and uses behavior to mitigate the environmental challenges. To address this, we collected thermoregulation and climate data at a micro-scale level and combined it with micro-and macroclimate data across the species' range to model extinction risk. We found that P. husabensis inhabits a thermally harsh environment, but also has high thermal preference. In cooler parts of its range, individuals are capable of leaving thermally favorable conditions-based on the species' thermal preference-unused during the day, probably to maintain low metabolic rates. Furthermore, during the summer, we observed that individuals regulate at body temperatures below the species' high thermal preference to avoid body temperatures approaching the critical thermal maximum. We find that populations of this species are currently persisting even at the hottest localities within the species' geographic distribution. We found no evidence of range shifts since the 1960s despite a documented increase in air temperatures. Nevertheless, P. husabensis only has a small safety margin between the upper limit of its thermal preference and the critical thermal maximum and might undergo range reductions in the near future under even the most moderate climate change scenarios.

Context Traditional storage systems are proving to be inefficient to handle the growing storage need of a modern IT organization. The need for a cost effective and scalable storage framework has led to the development of a Software Defined Storage (SDS) solution. SDS can be defined as an enterprise class distributed storage solution that uses standard hardware, with all the important storage and management functions performed by an intelligent software. Configuring and maintenance of these storage clusters require converting an SDS from any unknown state to a predefined, known state. This configuration of the SDS is best done with minimal human intervention, to ensure minimal errors and save the man hours spent in the configuration process. Objectives A tool for automatic configuration of a SDS storage cluster has been designed and implemented. The tool has later been used to study the man hours saved in the configuration of the SDS cluster. The study also involves a cost-benefit analysis to estimate the break-even point for such a tool to motivate the automation of a SDS cluster configuration process. Methodology In this study, experts from the field of Software Defined Storage have been interviewed to identify interesting and most common states of a SDS cluster. Later a tool was build such that it communicates with the underlying SDS storage cluster to configure it into one of the identified final states. This tool built was later used to conduct experiments wherein the amount of man hours saved by automating the process of cluster configuration was calculated.    Results The tool built was validated through results obtained from the experiments which show that the work time involved in the process of cluster configuration is reduced by 90% - 96% (based on the complexity of the cluster configuration). Also, the lead times of the configuration process are similar when configuring simple states but is greatly reduced by automation when performing complex configurations. Conclusions Similar to any other software automation, the process of automating the configuration of a distributed storage cluster has proven to be beneficial. Automating the process of cluster configuration saves time, reduces human errors induced in the configuration process and improves repeatability of the configuration process. Through the cost-benefit analysis of the complete process, the use of the tool beyond 20 days is deemed profitable for the organization.

Biogas production from energy crops grown on arable land often competes with food and feed production. Wetland plants offer an alternative source of biomass as well as offering a number of environmental benefits such as nutrient removal from wastewaters, carbon sequestration and reducing the use of mineral fertilizer. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of harvest time on biogas production of Phragmites australis and Glyceria maxima and to perform a cost-benefit analysis of using these wetland plants as a substrate for biogas production. The results of the batch experiment show that the overall biogas production and specific methane yields of biomass harvested in June was higher than biomass harvested in September due the increased lignocellulosic nature of the more mature September plant. The cost-benefit showed that in Sweden it is not currently profitable to solely use wetland plants for biogas production. For both species the highest costs were seen in the June harvested biomass, this was due to the much higher fresh weight and increased transportation costs. For both species the highest revenues generated were the June harvested biomass, this was due to the higher specific methane yields. It was found that the harvest time that was closest to profitability from both species was the June harvest for Phragmites australis. Although the costs were higher for harvesting in June, this was outweighed by the higher amount of electricity produced for this scenario. If transportation distance was to be increased it could result in September being the favourable harvest time. Therefore, individual circumstances of the farmers could decide which is the optimal harvest time. Although solely using wetland plants for biogas production is not currently profitable, co-digestion and pre-treatment are options to investigate that could change this. Also if a greater financial value is put on the socioeconomic benefits such as increased biodiversity, aesthetic value and global warming mitigation it may be financially viable in the future.

L'échec des politiques structurelles de gestion des inondations à réduire les dommages a orienté les décideurs publics vers la restauration de zones de rétention et la réduction de la vulnérabilité. L'évaluation économique de ces politiques requiert une évaluation fine des dommages agricoles car ils contribuent fortement à déterminer leur efficacité. Or, les méthodes existantes n'intègrent que les pertes de récolte. Considérant que la vulnérabilité des exploitations agricoles dépend de la sensibilité et de la capacité à se remettre en route, entraînant respectivement des dommages directs et induits sur l'activité, nous proposons un modèle conceptuel de vulnérabilité permettant l'évaluation de l'ensemble de ces dommages. Trois profils d'exploitants sont définis selon la possibilité de mobiliser des ressources externes (main d'œuvre et matériel) pour la remise en route. Le profil Interne ne dispose d'aucune ressource externe contrairement aux profils Prestation et Solidarité. Après implémentation, le modèle a permis d'évaluer les dommages de trois exploitations types sur le Rhône aval avec une valorisation financière puis économique. Les dommages supportés par les exploitants de profil Interne sont plus élevés que ceux des deux autres profils. Les dommages évités par la mise en place de mesures de réduction de la vulnérabilité sur ces trois exploitations sont ensuite évalués. Nous montrons que les mesures sont plus efficaces et peuvent être mises en œuvre avec un ratio bénéfice-coût supérieur à un, pour les exploitations fréquemment inondées. Elles sont également plus efficaces pour les profils Interne, la mise en œuvre de la solidarité se dégageant comme une mesure intéressante pour toutes les exploitations. / The failure of structural flood control to mitigate economic losses has lead to a shift towards new policies: floodplain restoration and vulnerability reduction. The economic appraisal of these policies requires an in-depth evaluation of agricultural damage as they are key indicators to determine the efficiency of these policies. However, existing methods only consider harvest loss. We consider that farm vulnerability depends on sensitivity and ability to recover leading respectively to direct damage and induced damage on activity. Based on this, we propose a vulnerability model which allows evaluating the whole of these damages. Three farmer's profiles are defined depending on their ability to access to external resources (workforce and equipment) to recover after flooding. The “Internal” profile has no external resource as opposed to the “Service” and “Solidarity” profiles which can respectively rely on service providing and solidarity. The model is applied to evaluate damages on three farm types of the Rhône River downstream area with a financial and economic valuation. This reveals that damages endured by the profile “Internal” are much higher than those of the two other profiles. Then, avoided damages resulting from the implementation of mitigation measures to reduce vulnerability are evaluated. We prove that these measures are more efficient and can be implemented with Benefit-Cost ratio higher than one, only for the frequently flooded farms. Mitigation measures are also more efficient for the profile “Internal”. To organize solidarity between farms emerges as one of the most interesting measure for all farm types.

Cette thèse aborde la question de la fiabilité du temps de transport. L’étude de la fiabilité du temps de transport trouve ses sources dans le fait que, dans bien des situations, le temps de transport n’est pas certain, mais aléatoire. De nombreux évènements peuvent en effet modifier le temps de transport prévu par les opérateurs ou espéré par les usagers. Par ailleurs, lors de l’évaluation socioéconomique de projets d’investissement en infrastructure de transport, il peut exister un arbitrage entre gain de temps et gain de fiabilité. Or, comme la fiabilité est encore à l’heure actuelle, difficilement intégrable dans ce type d’évaluation, ces projets d’investissement voient leur rentabilité collective sous-estimée conduisant à leurs reports. Il émerge ainsi trois problématiques majeures relatives à l’étude de la fiabilité du temps de transport : sa mesure, sa valorisation monétaire (i.e. la disposition à payer des individus pour améliorer la fiabilité du temps de transport) et enfin, sa prise en compte dans les analyses coûts-avantages. Un premier chapitre permet d’adapter les mesures usuelles de la fiabilité du temps de transport appliquées dans le cadre du transport routier, aux modes de transport collectif (fer et aérien plus particulièrement). Nous proposons également une nouvelle mesure de la fiabilité, le Delay-at-Risk (DaR) inspiré de la littérature financière. Le DaR est une transposition de la mesure de la Value-at-Risk (V aR) à l’économie des transports. Cette mesure est plus utile du point de vue des usagers pour la planification des trajets avec correspondance que les autres mesures. Le deuxième chapitre a pour principal objectif de déterminer la disposition à payer des individus pour améliorer la fiabilité du temps de transport. Nous proposons un cadre théorique inspiré de la théorie de la décision en univers risqué à partir duquel nous définissons la préférence des individus à l’égard de la fiabilité (i.e. reliabilityproneness) ainsi que la prudence. Nous développons des nouvelles mesures de la fiabilité du temps de transport, exprimées comme des primes de risque : la reliability-premium et la V OR. La reliability-premium détermine le temps de transport maximum supplémentaire qu’un individu est prêt à accepter pour supprimer l’intégralité du risque sur le temps de transport. La V OR, quant à elle, se définit comme la disposition maximale à payer d’un individu pour supprimer l’intégralité du risque sur le temps de transport. Par ailleurs, nous établissons également les conséquences sur la valeur du temps (V TTS) et de la fiabilité (V OR), de la prise en considération de l’attitude à l’égard du risque sur le temps de transport des usagers (aversion et prudence). Le dernier chapitre de cette thèse a pour objet d’intégrer la fiabilité dans les évaluations socioéconomiques de projet d’investissement et plus particulièrement dans la détermination du surplus des usagers. Nous mettonsen exergue un effet de diffusion des gains de fiabilité par rapport aux gains de temps. Ainsi, nous proposons des recommandations quant à l’arbitrage entre les projets générateurs de gain de temps et de gain de fiabilité en fonction des valeurs monétaires du temps (V TTS) et de la fiabilité (V OR). / This thesis deals with the issue of travel time reliability. The study of travel time reliability emerges from the fact that in many situations, travel time is random. Many events can change the travel time forecasted by operators or expected by users. Moreover, a tradeoff may exist between time and reliability benefits when evaluating socio economic appraisal of transport infrastructure. However, since reliability is still difficult to integrate in this type of evaluation, investment projects’ collective profitability is underestimated and often postponed. Thus, three main issues of travel time reliability analysis emerge: measurement, monetary valuation and implication for cost benefit analysis. This thesis is organized in three chapters. The first chapter adapts the measure of travel time reliability typically used in the road transport context to the collective modes (rail and air, in particular). We also develop a new reliability measure: the Delay-at-Risk (DaR). DaR is an implementation of the Value-at-Risk (V aR) measure into the transport economic framework. The DaR seem to be relevant and understandable information for the users, especially to plan their travel and avoid missing their connections. The main objective of the second chapter is to define the users’ willingness to pay to improve travel time reliability. We present a theoretical framework based on decision theory under risk. We introduce the concept of reliability-proneness (i.e. travel time risk aversion) and prudence. We develop new measures of travel time reliability expressed as risk premium: the reliability-premium and V OR. The reliability-premium is the maximum amount of additional travel time that an individual is willing to accept to escape all the risk of travel time. The V OR is defined as the maximum monetary amount that an individual is willing to pay to escape all the risk of travel time. Furthermore, we also establish the link with attitudes towards risks of travel time (aversion and prudence) and the impact of the value of travel time (V TTS) and the value of reliability (V OR). The final chapter of this thesis integrates reliability in investments project’s socioeconomic appraisal. More particularly, it allows to determine users’ surplus valuation. We highlight a diffusion effect of reliability benefits with regard to travel time benefits. Thus, we propose recommendations regarding the tradeoff between projects that generate time benefits compared with reliability benefits, according to the monetary values of travel time(V TTS) and reliability (V OR).

This thesis evaluates the practice of subsidizing entertainment projects as economic development strategy through a case study of the American Airlines Arena (AAA). Subsidy proponents argued that it would generate new tax revenue and jobs, and enhance the city’s image and pride. This rationale neglects factors that mitigate the economic impact of arenas and fails to consider the social costs. The AAA subsidy is evaluated using a cost-benefit method that has been underutilized in academic research. The economic impact is analyzed by estimating the fiscal return on the public’s investment and the number and quality of new jobs created. The social costs are considered in light of Miami’s economic development history and the policy implications are discussed. The AAA subsidy results in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses over the term of the public-private partnership and created a negligible number of low quality jobs. Furthermore, the AAA subsidy may have exacerbated relations between residents and leaders by prioritizing the leisure spending of visitors over the needs of inner city residents.

Reducing ED wait times is a top health care priority for the Ontario government and hospitals in Ontario are incentivised to meet provincial ED wait time targets. In this study, we considered the costs and benefits associated with increasing the number of acute-care beds to reduce the time an admitted patient spends boarding in the ED. A shorter hospital LOS has often been cited as a potential benefit associated with shorter ED wait times. We derived a multivariable Cox regression model to examine this association. We found no significant association between ED boarding times and the time to discharge. Using a Markov model, we estimated an increased annual operating cost of $2.1m to meet the prescribed wait time targets. We concluded that increasing acute-care beds to reduce ED wait times would require significant funding from hospitals and would have no effect on total length of stay of hospitalized patients.