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Wetland valuation methods often apply monetary driven approaches that may undermine intrinsic ecosystem values. Utilizing a stated preference method, the study identified and mapped local stakeholder ecosystem service values between subsistence wetland and shrimp farmer groups in Can Gio, Vietnam. Through focus group choice experiments, ecosystem services correlating to unique price increments and cost/benefit tradeoffs between hypothetical intensive aquaculture developments and mangrove conservation scenarios were investigated. Selection outcomes exhibited strong values for ecosystem services maintained at the hypothetical natural state (core area pre-intervention 45%, post-intervention 55%; buffer zone pre-intervention 65%, post-intervention 73%). Few respondents selected the hypothetical intensive aquaculture development scenario (core area pre-intervention 18%, post-intervention 9%; buffer zone pre-intervention 12%, post-intervention 5%), and instead, most respondents avoided the costs and benefits of intensive aquaculture development in preference for maintaining natural ecosystem services. Group deliberations drew out a higher sense of altruism and responsiveness to intrinsic wetland values that superseded the potential economic gains of aquaculture developments, whereby certain ecosystem services were deemed economically unassociable and irreplaceable for both study groups. The qualitative results expose the difficulties in monetarily measuring ecosystem services, highlighting the need to incorporate approaches that integrate the intrinsic values attached to ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In burn victims, different factors such as age, gender and days of hospitalization among others, are influential in the development of inner-hospital infections (IHI). Due to a higher incidence of IHI in burn victims, it is pretended to identify which factors influence the presence and prediction of inner-hospital infections in the burned area (IHIBA). This study is a retrospective cohort that recruited 298 registries of medical reports from patients admitted into the National Burn Victims Unit at San Juan de Dios Hospital (NBVU-HSJD), Costa Rica, and following a previous report in this journal. The odds ratio (OR) were calculated for each risk factor in a univariated analysis, and defined as principal exposition variables were the total burn surface (TBS) and the depth of the burn (DB). It was deduced from this calculation that the type of accident did not show any association with IHIBA. Subsequently, a multivariate logistic not conditioned study was carried out, in which, the following risk factors were introduced: TBS, DB, age, number of burnt body segments (NBBS), days of hospital stay previous to the IHIBA (DHSP-IHIBA) and the burn's causing agent. Confusing and modifying variables of effect were also considered, respectively, for the NBBS and the DHSP-IHIBA. It was concluded that the main predicting variables for the IHIBA were TBS (OR=3.02; 1.20-7.84), DB (OR=11.44; 4.90-26.71), NBBS (OR= 2.80; 1.13-6.95), and DHS- IHIBA (9 to 14 days: OR=2.43; 0.52-11.29, > 19 days: OR=31.89; 2.17-467.68). Even though it didn't show statistical relevance, the age was introduced in the model, due to the fact that the risk factor increased with time (>64 years old: OR= 3.15; 0.61-16 29). It was concluded that burn victims present endogenous and exogenous characteristics for the development of the IHIBA and by getting to know those characteristics, we can help to lessen the incidence of IHIBA, promoting measures for its control and prevention in the treatment of the patients at the NBVU-HSJD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]