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We develop a model where persistent trade shocks create demand for a basket- backed stablecoin, such as Mark Carney's "synthetic hegemonic currency" or Facebook's recent proposal for Libra. In numerical simulations, we find four main results. First, because of general equilibrium effects of the basket currency on the volatility of currency values, overall demand for that currency is small. Second, despite scant holdings of the basket, its global reach may contribute to substantial increases in welfare if the basket is widely accepted, allowing it to complement holdings of sovereign currencies. Third, we calculate the welfare maximizing composition of the basket, finding that optimal weights depend on the pattern of international acceptance, but that basket composition does not significantly affect welfare. Fourth, despite potential welfare improvements, low demand for the basket currency from buyers limits sellers' incentives to invest in accepting it, suggesting that fears of a so-called global stablecoin replacing domestic sovereign currencies may be overstated.

We consider a stochastic EOQ-type model, with demand operating in a two-state random environment. This environment alternates between exponentially distributed periods of high demand and generally distributed periods of low demand. The inventory level starts at some level q, and decreases according to different compound Poisson processes during the periods of high demand and of low demand. Refilling of the inventory level to level q is required when level 0 is hit or when an expiration date is reached, whichever comes first. If such an event occurs during a high demand period, an order is instantaneously placed; otherwise, ordering is postponed until the beginning of the next high demand period. We determine various performance measures of interest, like the distribution of the inventory level at time t and of the inventory demand up to time t, the distribution of the time until refilling is required, the expected time between two refillings, the expected amount of discarded material and the expected total amount of material held in between two refillings, and the expected values of various kinds of shortages. For a given cost/revenue structure, we can thus determine the long-run average profit.

Motivated by recent advances in Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology for household appliances, we analyze a Smart Replenishment system that leverages point-of-consumption (POC) information at end consumers to decide on deliveries of consumables. As such, we extend the classic Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI) concept to end consumers. We model the system for a single manufacturer who directly serves N end consumers with uncertain demand. End consumers partially adopt the new Smart Replenishment mode, which results in a mix of VMI and non-VMI customers. We assume that unfulfilled demand is lost and that the manufacturer’s dispatch capacity is constrained. Customers compete for the same capacity while featuring different out-of-stock risks and service-level expectations, both of which are costly to the manufacturer. Considering various adoption levels, we decide on the design of such a system and focus on (i) inventory control, (ii) customer prioritization, and (iii) degree of smart, integrated decision-making. Using discrete-event simulation and a full-factorial experiment, we show that replenishment decisions can be significantly enhanced with POC information. It leads to substantial improvements in service levels and capacity utilization without loading customers with inventories. This improvement potential is highest for a low demand coverage of the replenishment quantity, a high gap in the ordering behavior of manufacturer and end consumers, and a long lead time. To realize this improvement potential, we propose a flexible reorder corridor to manage inventories at VMI customers that balances the trade-off between out-of-stock risk and service-level expectation inherent in the system.

Firms typically introduce online promotional channels based on the cooperative format of agency selling or reselling to promote end-of-season products. The selection of the agency selling or reselling format is greatly affected by a firm’s pricing timing between traditional and online promotional channels, particularly in an uncertain market. Within this context, we examine how the pricing timings in an online promotional channel relative to a traditional channel impact a firm’s selection between agency selling and reselling formats in an uncertain market. We find that the promotional pricing timings have no effect on the firm’s price decisions under the agency selling format, whereas they might lead to downward prices under the reselling format—even lower than those under the agency selling format. We show that considering promotional pricing timing in an uncertain market fundamentally changes the general intuition that the firm prefers the agency selling to reselling format due to the double-marginalization effect. Specifically, the reselling format might be more profitable for the firm when it sets traditional-channel promotional price prior to introducing the online promotional channel in an optimistic market (i.e., a market more likely to have high demand) or adopts the opposite promotional pricing timing of channels in a pessimistic market (i.e., a market more likely to have low demand). Our findings complement the emerging online retail literature by underscoring the interacting forces of promotional pricing timing and uncertain demand on a firm’s reselling versus agency selling format choice in promoting end-of-season product online.

This work has dealt with a market to market coordination (M2M) with higher PV penetrations in a market. Recent developments of renewable penetrations in the electricity grid have caused excess power generation during the peak hours of availability and low demand i.e. during mid-day. Financial analysis i.e. generation costs, locational marginal prices (LMPs), and financial transmission rights (FTRs); along with carbon trading in M2M using different interconnection topologies have been analyzed. Carbon trading agreements allow for the trade of credits to emit CO2 or tax the CO2 emissions comprising international agreements intended to cut down the total greenhouse gases. The obtained test results show that the direct interconnections of identified PV units to Identified Load buses have provided a better economy and have saved higher carbon emissions for the M2M interconnections.

Objective To extend previous investigations of postural control in patients with persistent-postural perceptual dizziness (PPPD). Study design Case-controlled, cross-sectional, observational investigation. Setting Tertiary care center. Patients Fifteen patients with PPPD, 15 control volunteers. Interventions Measurement of anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) sway at the waist using wearable accelerometers during posturography; assessment of reach and gait. Main outcome measures Peak-to-peak AP and ML sway displacement on the six conditions of the Sensory Organization Test (SOT); Scores on the SOT, Functional Reach Test (FRT), and Dynamic Gait Index (DGI). Results Compared to control volunteers, patients with PPPD had significantly greater sway displacement at the waist in the AP direction in SOT conditions 3, 5, and 6 and in the ML direction in SOT conditions 2 and 4, resulting in significantly lower median equilibrium scores on the composite index and all six SOT conditions. Patients with PPPD had significantly lower scores on the FRT and DGI that were not correlated with SOT performance. AP sway in conditions 3 and 6 differentiated patients with PPPD from controls with high sensitivity (≥0.87) and specificity (≥0.87). Conclusions This study replicated previous work showing poor SOT performance by patients with PPPD who had greater AP sway associated with visual dependence and greater ML sway in low demand conditions than controls. Patients with PPPD also performed poorer on the FRT and DGI, but lack of correlation with SOT scores suggested different mechanisms of impairment in postural control, reach, and ambulation. AP sway demonstrated potential as a diagnostic marker.

Path following refers to traveling along the desired path with automatic steering control, which is a crucial technology for automatic driving vehicles. Roads in private areas are highly irregular, resulting in a large curvature variation, which reduces the control accuracy of the path following. A curvature adaptive control (CAC) based path-following method was proposed to solve the problem mentioned above. Specifically, CAC takes advantage of the complementary characteristics in response to the path curvature fluctuation of pure pursuit and front-wheel feedback and by combining the two methods further enhances the immunity of the control accuracy in response to a curvature fluctuation. With CAC, the quantitative indices of the path curvature fluctuation and control accuracy were constructed. The model between the path curvature fluctuation and a dynamic parameter was identified using the quantitative index of the control accuracy as the optimization target. The experimental results of a real vehicle indicate that the control accuracy of path following is further enhanced by its immunity in response to curvature fluctuation improved by the CAC. In addition, CAC is easy to deploy and requires low demand for hardware resources.

Background Oral health care use remains low among adult Medicaid recipients, despite the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's expansion increasing access to care in many states. It remains unclear the extent to which low use reflects either low demand for care or barriers to accessing care. The authors aimed to examine factors associated with low oral health care use among adults enrolled in Medicaid. Methods The authors conducted a survey from May through September 2018 among able-bodied (n = 9,363) Medicaid recipients who were aged 19 through 65 years and nondisabled childless adults in Kentucky. The survey included questions on perceived oral health care use. Semistructured interviews were also conducted from May through November 2018 among a subset of participants (n = 127). Results More than one-third (37.8%) of respondents reported fair or poor oral health, compared with 26.2% who reported fair or poor physical health. Although 47.6% of respondents indicated needing oral health care in the past 6 months, only one-half of this group reported receiving all of the care they needed. Self-reported barriers included lack of coverage for needed services and lack of access to care (for example, low provider availability and transportation difficulties). Conclusions Low rates of oral health care use can be attributed to a subset of the study population having low demand and another subset facing barriers to accessing care. Although Medicaid-covered services might be adequate for beneficiaries with good oral health, those with advanced dental diseases and a history of irregular care might benefit from coverage for more extensive restorative services. Practical Implications These results can inform dentists and policy makers about how to design effective interventions and policies to improve oral health care use and oral health outcomes.

Patients frequently verbalize memory complaints that require evaluation. A brief objective screening test of short-term aka episodic memory would be useful. Assessment of verbal episodic memory is a central factor in neurocognitive status, frequently evaluated with list learning and memory tests. Currently, normed list learning tests of verbal episodic memory are mostly high demand, long, and composed of unrelated items and thus can be onerous and disinteresting for certain populations, such as those who are cognitively limited, elderly, or poorly motivated. Presented here are initial performance data for a brief, low demand, readily accepted nine-item grocery list test, derived from the Dementia Assessment Battery, including three learning trials and one delayed recall trial. With this data set, the test can thus be useful in a wide range of assessment circumstances including screening, brief evaluations, mental status evaluations, and bedside deployment.

El Ecuador es uno de los países que encabeza la lista de las exportaciones de flores, puesto que es un país netamente agrícola, consolidándose este sector como uno de los rubros más significativos para el ingreso de divisas al país. Ecuador es el tercer país exportador de flores a nivel mundial satisfaciendo el 9,7% de la demanda global de flores. Es por ello que el presente trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar los efectos del COVID-19, mediante un estudio comparativo de las exportaciones florícolas para conocer el impacto financiero en el periodo Enero-octubre de 2019 a enero-octubre de 2020. La presente investigación emplea una metodología cualitativa debido a que utilizamos referencias bibliográficas de varios autores para fundamentar la investigación, además se recopilo datos de las exportaciones florícolas para comprobar los efectos del Covid-19 en este sector. De los datos obtenidos tuvimos como resultado que el sector florícola tuvo una disminución de las exportaciones de flores de 7,39% en 2020 en comparación con el año anterior, esto se debe a la crisis económica ocasionada por la pandemia mundial por la escasa demanda, además de la paralización de las jornadas laborales y los cierres de mercados.

Flexible transit systems are a way to address challenges associated with conventional fixed route and fully demand responsive systems. Existing studies indicate that such systems are often planned and designed without established guidelines, and optimization techniques are rarely implemented on actual flexible systems. This study presents a hybrid transit system where the degree of flexibility can vary from a fixed route service (with no flexibility) to a fully flexible transit system. Such a system is expected to be beneficial in areas where the best transit solution lies between the fixed route and fully flexible systems. Continuous approximation techniques are implemented to model and optimize the stop spacing on a fixed route corridor, as well as the boundaries of the flexible region in a corridor. Both user and agency costs are considered in the optimization process. A numerical analysis compares various service areas and demand densities using input variables with magnitudes similar to those of real-world case studies. Sensitivity analysis is performed for service headway, percent of demand served curb-to-curb, and user and agency cost weights in the optimization process. The analytical models are evaluated through simulations. The hybrid system proposed here achieves estimated user benefits of up to 35% when compared with fixed route systems, under different case scenarios. Flexible systems are particularly beneficial for serving corridors with low or uncertain demand. This provides value for corridors with low demand density as well as communities in which transit ridership has dropped significantly because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This article demonstrates that rating-based capital requirements, through their impact on insurers’ investment demand, affect corporate bond prices. Consistent with insurers’ low demand for investment-grade bonds with a rating close to noninvestment-grade, these bonds outperform. Consistent with insurers’ high (low) demand for investment-grade bonds with high (low) systematic risk exposure, these bonds underperform (outperform). Insurer demand, measured by insurer holdings, explains most of these pricing effects. We identify rating-based capital requirements as the driver of insurer demand, and thus the pricing effects, by showing that the effects do not exist before these requirements’ implementation in 1993.

Актуальность. Изучение возможности комплексной переработки углей Беринговского каменноугольного бассейна на предмет извлечения различных элементов-примесей вызвано необходимостью повышения уровня экономического развития и безопасности Чукотского автономного округа. Это особенно важно в контексте его географического расположения в районе Крайнего Севера и труднодоступности. В настоящее время из-за довольно высокой себестоимости добычи и повышенной зольности (до 30 %) угли нижних пачек месторождения "Фандюшкинское поле" пользуются небольшим спросом на рынке, хотя составляют значительную часть запасов. Потенциальная возможность оценки данных углей еще и с точки зрения наличия попутных полезных компонентов могла бы увеличить ценность добываемого сырья. Цель: определить перспективность территории на предмет повышенных содержаний элементов-примесей и выявить направления дальнейших исследований. Объекты: Беринговский каменноугольный бассейн, угленосные отложения позднемелового возраста Алькатваамского угленосного района, месторождение "Фандюшкинское поле" и его фланги. Методы: отбор проб, построение литологических колонок и разрезов, инструментальный нейтронно-активационный анализ. Результаты. Дана геохимическая характеристика углей месторождения "Фандюшкинское поле" (Алькатваамский угленосный район, Чукотский автономный округ) на основе данных, полученных с помощью инструментального нейтронноактивационного анализа. Установлено, что в углях месторождения «Фандюшкинсоке поле» Беринговского каменноугольного бассейна и его флангов концентрации цинка, стронция, гафния, скандия и редкоземельных элементов находятся на уровне минимально-промышленных содержаний в известных типах руд. Данные о содержании некоторых элементов-примесей в углях изученного месторождения публикуются впервые. Relevance. The study of possibility of complex processing of coals of Bering coal basin for extracting rare metals and various trace elements is caused by the necessity of economic development and improvement of security of the Chukotka Autonomous Region. This is especially important in the context of its geographical location in the Far North and its poor accessibility. Nowadays, due to their relatively high cost of production and increased ash-content (up to 30 %), the coals of the lower members of the Fandyushkinskoe Pole coal deposit are in low demand in the market, although they make up a significant part of the reserves. The potential opportunity to evaluate these coals also for presence of useful additional elements could increase the value of the extracted raw materials. The aim of the research is to determine the prospects of the territory from the point of view of increased content of trace elements and to identify the areas for the further research. Objects: the Bering coal basin, Late Cretaceous coal deposits of the Alkatvaam coal-bearing region, the Fandyushkinskoe Pole coal deposit and its flanks. Methods: samples collection, construction of lithological columns and sections, instrumental neutron activation analysis. Results. The authors have given the geochemical characteristics of the coals of the Fandyushkinskoe Pole coal deposit (the Alkatvaam coal-bearing region, the Chukotka Autonomous Region) based on the data obtained by instrumental neutron activation analysis. It was discovered that in the coals of the Fandyushkinskoe Pole field deposit of the Bering coal basin and its flanks, concentrations of zinc, strontium, hafnium, scandium and rare earth elements can be at the level of minimum industrial grade in identified types of ores. The data on content of some trace elements in coals of the studied deposit are published for the first time.

In a probabilistic inference task (three probabilistic cues predict outcomes for two options), we examined decisions from 233 children (5–6 vs. 9–10 years). Contiguity (low vs. high; i.e., position of probabilistic information far vs. close to options) and demand for selectivity (low vs. high; i.e., showing predictions of desired vs. desired and undesired outcomes) were varied as configural aspects of the presentation format. Probability utilization was measured by the frequency of following the predictions of the highest validity cue in choice. High contiguity and low demand for selectivity strongly and moderately increased probability utilization, respectively. Children are influenced by presentation format when using probabilities as decision weights. They benefit from perception-like presentations that present probabilities and options as compounds. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.3758/s13421-020-01127-0.

INTRODUÇÃO: A Síndrome de Burnout (SB) é uma condição de estresse crônico associada ao trabalho composto por três dimensões: exaustão emocional, despersonalização e redução da realização profissional. Profissionais atuantes nos Núcleos Ampliados de Apoio à Saúde da Família (NASF-AB) e Atenção Básica são expostos as vulnerabilidades do SUS, inseguranças e conflitos que podem levá-lo ao esgotamento profissional. OBJETIVO: Investigar a prevalência da SB em profissionais de saúde que atuam no NASF-AB de Teresina/PI, nos anos de 2018 e 2019. MÉTODOS: Trata-se de um estudo transversal, quantitativo com aplicação de questionários, conduzido com 13 profissionais atuantes no NASF-AB. Para coleta de dados e investigação foram aplicados três questionários: o primeiro referente a variáveis sociodemográficas; o segundo foi a versão reduzida do questionário Job Stress Scale (JSS); e por fim, o questionário Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) RESULTADOS: A maioria dos profissionais era do sexo feminino (92,3%) e possuíam idade ? 35 anos. Na aplicação do JSS, 7 (53,8%) apresentaram alta demanda e 6 (46,2%) baixa demanda; 8 (61,5%) alto controle e 5 (38,5%) baixo controle; 9 (69,2%) alto apoio social e 4 (30,8%) baixo apoio social. No MBI, 10 profissionais (76,9%) apresentaram elevado nível de exaustão emocional, apesar disso 11 profissionais (84,6%) mostraram-se realizados profissionalmente e todos os entrevistados (100%) obtiveram baixa despersonalização. CONCLUSÃO: No estudo não foi possível verificar com precisão a prevalência da SB nos profissionais. No entanto, pode-se concluir que tais profissionais apresentam um grande risco de desenvolverem a SB, por apresentaram níveis elevados de Demanda e Exaustão Emocional, nos questionários JSS e MBI respectivamente.

The pricing mechanism in the gasoline market has often been the subject of public debate in Greece during the crisis years. Inefficient pricing could imply oligopolistic practices and losses to consumers’ welfare. A way to test for inefficient pricing, is by testing for asymmetries in the adjustment of domestic gasoline prices to world oil price changes. The present paper tests for asymmetric adjustment of gasoline prices to oil price variations in the Greek market and examines whether the structural reforms that took place in the post-2010 period had any impact on the functioning of the market. The analysis applies a consistent threshold cointegration technique and makes use of the most recent observations at the lowest frequency available. The results provide evidence in favour of symmetric behaviour, just for the recent period. This may reflect competitive behaviour by suppliers who had to interact in a new institutional framework following the reforms.

Summary Meniscal injury is one of the comments injuries around the knee; it can occur in different age groups, but rarely in children. Commonly it is caused by a twisting knee injury, which could be presented later by swelling, pain, and mechanical symptoms. Management options for such injuries usually depend on the patient's activity needs and, on the pattern, or type of the meniscal tear. There is a general agreement that conservative management should be kept for low demand patients and stable tear patterns. However, surgical management should be offered for high demand patients, and if the tear has a complex pattern or causing significant mechanical symptoms that affect patients’ daily activities. Physiotherapy and rehabilitation programs are mandatory regardless of the treatment plan chosen for the patients for the sake of regaining knee motion, muscle strength, and helping the patient to return to the preinjury activity level as fast as possible.

Previous research has shown that co-location of operators dependent on each other for task-relevant information can relieve the previously identified bottleneck of information between the Sonar Control (SOC) and Operations Officer (OPSO) in submarine sound and control rooms. This research aimed to examine the impact of a novel inwards facing circular configuration on communications and tasks within a co-located control room. Ten teams participated in high and low demand Return to Periscope Depth scenarios in a simulated submarine control room. All communications between operators were recorded and compared with a baseline study of contemporary operation. The findings show that the novel circular configuration led to a reduction in communications, but an increase in information shared. Indicating that the teams had become more efficient at passing relevant information. Furthermore, teams were able to complete a greater number of tasks.

Fasika Berhanu Tola,1 Gizachew Tilahun Anbessa,2 Berhan Begashaw Yikna3 1Curative and Rehabilitative Core Process Section, Dire Dawa City Administrative Health Bureau, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia; 2School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Science, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia; 3Department of Pharmacy, College of Health Science, Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Berhan Begashaw Yikna Tel +251-919-365-179Email berhan.uog1912@gmail.comBackground: Health facilities (HFs) need extensive ranges of anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs and related TB laboratory commodities (LCs) for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of TB and multi-drug-resistance (MDR)-TB. This study was aimed to assess anti-TB commodities management performance at public HFs of Dire Dawa city administration, Ethiopia.Methods: A cross-sectional study design in 16 HFs providing TB and MDR-TB related service using quantitative and qualitative method was conducted. Semi-structured questionnaires and observation checklists with logistic indicators assessment tools were used to collect data. We used an in-depth interview and analyzed using a thematic approach. Quantitative data were entered into Epi-Data version 3.1 and transported to SPSS version 20 to analyze the results. Chi-square was used to test the association and a P-value< 0.05 was statistically significant.Results: The majority(13; 81.3%) of HFs used a health commodity management information system. Forty-two (40%) bin cards (BCs) for first line anti-TB drugs were not updated, while 62.5% of BCs were updated for second line drugs. On average, 43% of HFs accurately reported a report and requisition format (RRF) had significant association with the presence of a logistic management information system (LMIS) and standard operating procedure (P=0.019). Of the HFs, 50% had good storage conditions and guidelines (P=0.041). Regimen change (56.3%; P=0.035), receive near expiry (56.3%; P=0.035), and defective practice to first expired-first-out (50%; P=0.007) were reasons for wastages. About 50% and 66.6% of HFs were stocked out for isoniazid 300 mg, rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide (RHZ fixed dose), and ethambutol 400 mg with a mean stock out duration of 10.8, 18.9, and 70.5 days, respectively. Regimen change (68.8%; P=0.026), low demand (56.3%; P=0.041), and delay to resupply (37.5%; P=0.041) were reasons for stock out of anti-TB commodities.Conclusion: Anti-TB drugs and LCs management performance of the HFs were found to be defective, which was confirmed by unsatisfactory data records, inconstant reports, deprived stock record accuracy, long lead time, high stock out rate, wastages, defective storage conditions, lack of training, and management support. Hence, respective organizations should improve their responsible activities to secure an uninterrupted supply of anti-TB drugs and LCs.Keywords: anti-TB drugs, MDR-TB, laboratory commodities, health facilities, Ethiopia

Este estudo teve como objetivos analisar a percepção dos enfermeiros sobre os motivos da (não) procura dos homens aos serviços de Atenção Primária à Saúde e descrever as dificuldades, facilidades e perspectivas encontradas pelos enfermeiros para promover o acesso dos homens a esses serviços. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de abordagem qualitativa realizada em unidades da Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF), situadas na sede de um município do interior da Bahia, Brasil. Os participantes foram dez enfermeiros. Utilizou-se como técnicas de coleta de dados a entrevista semiestruturada e documentos, e para análise dos dados a Técnica de Análise de Conteúdo Temática. Diante dos resultados, percebeu-se que a escassa busca dos homens pelos serviços de saúde está relacionada à resistência em cuidar da saúde como forma preventiva e entre as dificuldades foram citados fatores institucionais e culturais. Como fatores facilitadores, os enfermeiros elencarama realização de atividades educativas e oferta de serviços específicos. Conclui-se que o trabalho desenvolvido pelo enfermeiro e demais membros da equipe de saúde de cada unidade da ESF constitui-se de grande importância nosentido de sensibilizar os homens sobre a importância do cuidado à saúde. NURSES PERCEPTION ON THE (NOT) DEMAND FOR PRIMARY HEALTH CARE BY MENThis study aimed to analyze nurses’ perceptions of the reasons for men’s (non) demand for Primary Health Care services and describe the difficulties, facilities and perspectives found by nurses to promote men’s access to these services. This is a qualitative, descriptive research carried out in Family Health Strategies (FHS) Units, located at the headquarters of a municipality in the countryside of Bahia, Brazil. The participants were ten nurses. The data collection techniques used were semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Thematic Content Analysis Technique was used for data analysis. In view of the results, it is clear that the low demand of men for health services is related to resistance to takingcare of health as a preventive form, and institutional and cultural factors were mentioned among the difficulties. As facilitating factors, nurses listed the provision of lectures/educational activities and the provision of specific services. It is concluded that the work developed by the nurse and other members of the health team of each FHS is of great importance in the sense of sensitizing men about the importance of health care.

This paper investigates the marketing and channels of sale of rabbit production in Tizi-Ouzou area (Algeria). Data collected by questionnaire were subjected to descriptive and principal component analysis. 240 to 12 800 rabbits were sold alive/breed/year, either an average of 1342 rabbits sold/breed/year. Half of rabbit farmers sell their rabbits to slaughter houses or to wholesalers. 19% sell them to hotels and restaurants while 18% to butchers and 13.5% directly to the consumer. The sale price of alive rabbits (2.45 ± 0.13 Kg) depending of marketing circuit, he is of 360 and 400 AD/Kg (2.70 € and 3.00 €/Kg) for wholesale; and between 500 and 550 AD/Kg (3.75€ and 4.12 €/Kg) for retail. This difference in selling prices led rabbit breeders to choose the direct sales channel rather than selling to an intermediary. The marketing circuit of this product is disorganized, result of several problems such as the too low selling prices, high transport costs, late payments and low demand for the product.

Modern Russian Pedology is a young science and emerged a little more than 100 years ago. The article is devoted to the analysis of modern scientific schools in the field of soil science, which are developing in Russia. The investigations are based on the analysis of candidate's dissertations (PhD theses equivalent in Russia) defended on a specialty “soil science” in Russia for the last ten years, as well as on information about the scientific advisors supervised these dissertations and their belonging to this or that scientific school. It has been found that the most actively developing schools are the ones of immediate disciples of V.V. Dokuchaev, A.V. Sovetov or A.N. Sabanin. The schools of S.S. Neustruev and I.V. Tyurin are singled out as separate “branches” in the development of Russian soil science. At present, the main training resource centres in pedology are the Faculty of Soil Science of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Agricultural Academy named after K.A. Timiryazev, V.V. Dokuchaev Soil Science Institute, Bashkir Agricultural Institute, Voronezh and Kuban universities. Number of soil scientists with advanced degrees over the past 10 years has tended to decrease, which is associated with the low demand for the profession in modern conditions of the country.

The paper analyzes the importance of power engineering for solving a wide range of practical problems. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the results of the research of scientists and specialists in 2013–2019 in power engineering, electrical engineering, electronics and radio engineering on the basis of RSCI databases (Russian Science Citation Index). The analysis was carried out taking into account a number of scientometric indicators: the publication activity of researchers – the annual number of their publications, as well as the citation of these publications and the demand for the results of their work. Features of dynamics of formation of indicators of publication activity are revealed: its high values are typical for electronics and radio engineering and minimum values (more than three times smaller) – for electrical engineering. For all three industries analyzed the number of publications increased in 2013–2018. It is noted that the citation indicators for the three industries have been continuously decreasing since 2014. At the same time, in the field of electronics and radio engineering in 2013–2017, citation rates are three or more times higher than similar indicators for energy and electrical engineering. The results of research in the field of electronics and radio engineering are the most popular, while the results of research in the energy sector are the least popular. At the same time, the annual demand for research results in electronics and radio engineering exceeds similar indicators for energy by about 1.4 times. The low demand indicators for all areas of research in 2019 are obviously due to the same reason as for small citation indicators this year: the slow “response” of the scientific community to this year's publications.

This study examines the relationship between prior IPO demands and post-IPO financial and operating performance of firms listed in the Pakistan Stock Exchange. A sample of 51 listed firms, covering a period of ten years, is examined. Predominantly, the investors' demand has been analyzed from two perspectives including oversubscription (a high demand from investors as compared to shares offered by firms) and under subscription (a low demand from investors as compared to shares offered by the firm). Multiple regression analysis has been applied, where the findings revealed that investors demand IPO bring no significant change in the financial and operating performance of IPO firms. Moreover, the analysis reveals that firm size, issue size, and leverage bring no notable change in the operating performance of IPO firms. The findings are important for the investors, portfolio managers, and underwriters.

Recently developed HANK models, which combine Heterogeneous Agents and New Keynesian frictions, have had a considerable impact on macroeconomics. However, due to the complexity of such models, the literature has focused on numerically solved models and therefore little is known about their general properties. This paper presents a tractable HANK model that integrates Search and Matching (SAM) frictions in the labor market. The model features an endogenous idiosyncratic earnings risk, which may be procyclical or countercyclical. When this risk is countercyclical, which we argue is the empirically plausible case, there is a downward pressure on real interest rates in recessions due to a precautionary savings motive. We show that in this setting (a) the economy may get stuck in a high-unemployment steady state, (b) the Taylor principle is insufficient to eliminate the local indeterminacy of the intended steady state, and (c) nominal rigidities and inincomplete markets are complementary in terms of amplifying the impact of shocks on the macroeconomy.

This study was conducted to determine the factors influencing the disadoption of Moringa oleifera among farming households in Oyo State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected through the use of structured questionnaires for this study. Descriptive and quantitative techniques were used for the analysis of survey data. Result revealed that the level of disadoption of Moringa in the study area was high whereas those that are still cultivating moringa still realizes income it. Also, the respondents indicated that low return on investment on moringa oleifera, low demand of moringa oleifera products such as leaf and seeds, low sale of moringa products, inadequate processing equipment, and inadequate marketing channels and over hyped health benefit of moringa products were factors contributing to the disadoption of moringa oleifera cultivation.The study revealed that age,membership of farmers’ association, non-farm income, and access to extension and involvement of the farmers in other agroforestry practices were significant factors influencing the disadoption of moringa in the study area. However, membership of farmers’ association and access to extension services significantly influence the probability of disadoption of moringa cultivation negatively. This study therefore recommends that there shouldbe further awareness on the benefits of moringa in order to increase demand for moringa and its product and that farmers should be encouraged to join Moringa farmers group in order to network with other farmers and to access information. Keywords: Dis-Adoption, Moringa oleifera, Probit and Oyo State.

Improvement of consumer’s palatability of Heterotis niloticus was investigated by value addition with natural spices and salt to improve its palatability and shelf-life. The major problem of H. niloticus is its poor taste, hence low demand and poor consumer’s acceptability which affects the market value. The objective of this study was to improve the palatability and shelf-life of H. niloticus using selected natural spices. Heterotis niloticus, procured and treated with natural spices and salt were allowed to drain for one hour, subjected to charcoal fired smoking kiln for 12 hours, cooled and stored for 8 weeks at ambient temperature before microbial analysis. The result showed that treatment 1 had the best quality (37.7%), followed by control sample (34.7%), and treatment 2 (28.9%), while the least was treatment 3 (21.6%). Microbial analysis shows that no Salmonella, Coliforms and E. coli were detected from the samples after smoking. Staphylococcus aureus count ranged from 2 × 102 to 9 × 102 but it was not detected in treatment 1. Improvement of the consumers’ palatability of H. niloticus and improved storage stability by spicing methods improved the poor taste of H. niloticus which has been discriminated despites excellent muscle quality. Key words: Heterotis niloticus, organoleptic, spicing, microbial analysis

El objetivo de este estudio es minimizar el gasto de pedido innecesario que realiza la pañalera “La mejor pañalera”, debido a la poca demanda que tienen ciertos productos. Esta problemática surge debido a que los dueños tienen una incorrecta percepción sobre la demanda de los productos, realizando pedidos de forma empírica provocando que exista excedentes de estos en el establecimiento y por consiguiente se producen perdidas monetarias. Para llevar a cabo el objetivo de este estudio, se implementará una metodología que implica la aplicación del algoritmo Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure (GRASP) y Simulación de Montecarlo, la cual permitirá estimar cómo se comportará la demanda de los productos en el año 2020 tomando los datos históricos del negocio del año 2017, 2018, 2019, generando el segundo semestre del año 2019 con la simulación de Montecarlo. Obteniendo como resultado que la simulación y los métodos metaheurísticos dan valores cercanos a la realidad, resultado se obtuvo un 19.33% de reducción en gastos para 1 producto.

Trans-ocean liner shipping companies adopt slow steaming during periods when the market is characterised by low demand, high fuel prices, low freight rates and overcapacity. The most recent instance in which this occurred was the period following the 2008/2009 global financial crises, and the speeds have not yet rebounded to the pre-crisis levels. Most of the existing research regarding slow steaming takes environmental, economic and maritime engineering perspectives, meaning that the phenomenon is studied from the viewpoint of ship owners. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of slow steaming from the shipper's perspective.

As new shared mobility services emerge there is an increasing need for better understanding of the role and potential markets of these services which would result in viable business models. The cur...

Self-tests offer one approach for reducing frictions underlying low demand for preventive health inputs, yet there is little evidence on demand for self-tests. We used the Becker-DeGroot-Marschak mechanism-an incentive-compatible approach-to elicit exact willingness to pay (WTP) for HIV self-tests in a field experiment with 822 participants at 66 health clinics/pharmacies in Kenya. Our analysis reveals substantial demand at low prices and highly elastic demand at a wide range of prices above this range. We find few participants with nonpositive WTP. We examine correlates of WTP and discuss policy and research implications of our findings.

In the modern economy, innovations appear as the main competitive strength. At the same time, there are some problems with the transformation of the raw-materials export model of development into an innovative one. In this context, the task of the transition of the RF organizations to innovation-based development is number one at present, the solution of which will ensure the sustainable economic growth and competitive ability of the national economy. The paper aims at the study of possibilities to promote innovative activity in the context of the digital economy through the creation of partner networks. The research proves the prospects of the application of digital platforms enabling the cooperation of organizations. The system analysis allowed identifying the following problems of development of the innovation sphere of Russia: the low innovation potential of organizations, the deficiency of own sources of financing, the lack of skilled personnel, and the low demand for the results of innovative activity. The paper considers the current situation with the development of partner networks in Russia. The analysis showed that, in general, the networking cooperation of the enterprises is on a low level. At the same time, the innovatively active organizations rather energetically participate in the partner networks when implementing co-projects. Russian enterprises as the partners are mainly oriented at their countrymen. Besides, they cooperate with European organizations and USA partners. Recently, Russian enterprises develop networking cooperation with the organizations of India and China.

We consider a monopoly which practices nonlinear pricing, where buyers may have inequity-averse preferences. Each buyer has a valuation for the good, drawn from a distribution. The monopoly knows the distribution but not the realizations. We introduce the possibility that any buyer can be inequity-averse (fair types) or not (neutral types), in addition to different demand types. Fair types get a disutility from inequity captured through a utility function in the spirit of the one introduced by Fehr and Schmidt (1999). We characterize the optimal nonlinear pricing and show that the degree of suboptimality increases, and the monopoly profit decreases, as the degree of the inequity aversion increases. We also show that some or all of the neutral types with low demand are strictly better off, when there are inequity-averse types in the environment.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been increasing reports of invasive fungal disease (IFD) in critical care, where rapid access to (1-3)-β-d-glucan (BDG) testing may have enhanced diagnosis. The potential benefit of rapidly accessible BDG results is limited by local availability of BDG testing, with low demand resulting in testing being performed in specialist centers. The recent release of the Associates of Cape Cod STAT assay provides a simple, low-throughput BDG platform, potentially increasing accessibility. During the pandemic, BDG testing using the Fungitell assay (FA) was a critical component of screening for IFD in our critical care. The performance of the STAT was retrospectively determined through a case-control study of 107 serum samples from critical-care COVID-19 patients with IFD defined according to international guidelines. The STAT demonstrated excellent qualitative (observed agreement, 97.2%; kappa, 0.94) and quantitative (Spearman’s coefficient, 0.8962) agreement with the FA. Sample positivity was greater (P 2.86, specificity was 100%. The STAT provides a simple, comparable alternative to the FA for detecting BDG. Sensitivity is moderate, and specificity is excellent for the diagnosis of IFD in the critical-care COVID-19 patient. The potential for enhancing access to BDG testing through the uptake of STAT at centers where FA is not available is beneficial, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Flexible-route bus systems serving passengers at their doorsteps may be preferable to fixed-route bus systems in areas with low demand densities or whose roads cannot accommodate relatively large fixed-route buses. Flexible-route systems may also be preferable for elderly or handicapped riders for whom accessing the pre-determined stops on fixed routes is difficult. Since bus systems with flexible demand-responsive routes retain the economic and environmental advantages of public transportation, it is important to analyze them and optimize their characteristics to match their operating environments. This study shows how the total cost can be minimized for a flexible-route bus system with a many-to-one demand pattern by jointly optimizing its headway and service zone size. Numerical results demonstrate the model's applicability and indicate how such flexible-route systems should be adapted to demand characteristics and planning constraints.

Analytical formulae are widely applied in transformer design due to their easy implementation and low demand of computational resources. One of the great challenges in the field of transformer design is the acquisition of closed-form formulae for calculating temperature distributions in transformer tanks, taking account of different types of surrounding media. The presence of these media results in a variety of boundary conditions when solving the heat equation. In this research, a new rigorous analytical formula for calculating temperature profiles in bushing regions of transformer tank walls is obtained by solving the heat equation, with boundary conditions that properly model the heat interchange between different surrounding media. The heat source is modeled using a formula taken from a previously published investigation performed by the authors. Several study cases are performed, where analytical results are compared with finite element simulations for different boundary conditions. Analytical and numerical results show a good match, demonstrating high precision of our developed analytical method. Thus, this method provides a powerful tool for calculating temperature distributions in transformer tanks, which can be employed for optimization purposes during transformer design stages.

This paper describes an investigation that used data from a census of Chinese graduates to understand the decisions made by graduates migrating from their home region to their first jobs after graduation. Employing a two-stage estimation method, we found that the economic conditions and social amenities are crucial determinants in attracting non-native graduates, and the improvement of innovation level can also help attract more graduates. In addition, low demand for graduates, low innovation level, and poor transportation conditions of cities are the main causes of out-migration of native graduates.

Purpose Although it has been proved theoretically that annuities can provide optimal consumption during one’s retirement period, retirees’ reluctance to purchase annuities is a long-standing puzzle. The purpose of this paper is to use behavioral model to analyze the low demand for immediate annuities. Design/methodology/approach The authors employ cumulative prospect theory (CPT), which contains both loss aversion and probability transformations, to analyze the annuity puzzle. Findings The authors show that CPT can explain the unattractiveness of immediate annuities. It also shows that retirees would be willing to buy a long-term deferred annuity at retirement. By considering each component from CPT in turn, the loss aversion is found to be the major reason that stops people from buying an annuity while the survival rate transformation is an important factor affecting the decision of when to receive annuity incomes. Originality/value This paper identifies CPT as one of the reasons for the low demand of immediate annuities. It further suggests that long-term deferred annuities could overcome behavioral obstacles and become popular among retirees.