Dynamic optimal allocation of energy storage systems integrated within photovoltaic based on a dual timescale dynamics model

Energy storage systems(ESSs)operate as independent market participants and collaborate with photovoltaic(PV)generation units to enhance the flexible power supply capabilities of PV units.However,the dynamic variations in the profitability of ESSs in the electricity market are yet to be fully understood.This study introduces a dual-timescale dynamics model that integrates a spot market clearing(SMC)model into a system dynamics(SD)model to investigate the profit-aware capacity growth of ESSs and compares the profitability of independent energy storage systems(IESSs)with that of an ESS integrated within a PV(PV-ESS).Furthermore,this study aims to ascertain the optimal allocation of the PV-ESS.First,SD and SMC models were set up.Second,the SMC model simulated on an hourly timescale was incorporated into the SD model as a subsystem,a dual-timescale model was constructed.Finally,a development simulation and profitability analysis was conducted from 2022 to 2040 to reveal the dynamic optimal range of PV-ESS allocation.Additionally,negative electricity prices were considered during clearing processes.The simulation results revealed differences in profitability and capacity growth between IESS and PV-ESS,helping grid investors and policymakers to determine the boundaries of ESSs and dynamic optimal allocation of PV-ESSs.

Extension of Chemoprevention of Seasonal Malaria to Five Cycles and to Children from the Age of 6 to 9 Years in Africa: Analysis of Its Acceptability, Feasibility, Cost and Impact A Systematic Review

Introduction: Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) aims at preventing malaria in children during the high transmission season. It has been recommended by the WHO since 2013 for children from the age of 3-59 months. However, despite the impact of this intervention, a peak in the prevalence and incidence of malaria is observed in children from the age of 5-9 years. The aim of this study is to determine from the current literature the feasibility, impact and cost-effectiveness of extending SMC to five cycles and to older children. Methods: A litterature search of PubMed/Medline, NCBI and Google scholar identified 1333 articles. After reading the titles and abstracts by two authors, 24 articles were selected and submitted for full reading. Random control studies on the extension of SMC, malaria, feasibility of SMC, impact of SMC and cost-effectiveness of SMC were selected. A total of 16 articles were included for the qualitative synthesis after excluding 8 studies. Results: Following the summary of the evidence, we conclude that the extension is feasible but will be confronted with the unavailability of older children. The intervention period coincides with field work. SMC is effective in reducing the prevalence and incidence of malaria and the parasite density in children. The financial cost of administering SMC is lower than that of treating a child suffering from malaria. Conclusion: After analysing the information, it was found that the majority of the African population supports the extension of the SMC to the number of cycles and the age group in order to alleviate the high mortality and morbidity rates among children due to malaria.

Contribution of Garcinia kola to the Productivity and Economic Profitability of the Community Agricultural Area of Kedougou: Financial and Comparative Analysis of Production Factors

Inland fishing predominates in the Kedougou region, which has no coastline. This type of fishing does not yet meet the local population’s demand for fish products. In response to this concern, a Community Agricultural Estate housing an integrated fish farm was set up in the commune of Bandafassi, in the village of Itato. Since its creation, this production unit has been faced with the problem of sourcing high-quality, low-cost, monosex male Oreochromis niloticus fry. In order to overcome this constraint, the present research focuses on the contribution of Garcinia kola to the productivity and economic profitability of the Itato farm. The aim of the research is to assess fish production in the experimental set-up and the production costs of tilapia in a controlled environment. The comparative study of the various production factors shows disparities only in the input factor, where scenarios 2 and 3 use additional products. These are 17-α-methytestosterone for scenario 2 and Garcinia kola for scenario 3. These products significantly interfere with fish production, with a fairly high mortality rate for scenario 2 (25% for two production cycles/ cohort2 (B5, B6, B7 and B8) treated with 17-α-methytestosterone). As for scenarios 1 and 3, mortalities are 5% with or without recourse to additional products (G. kola). In addition, average fish production for the three (03) scenarios is estimated at 28687.5 kg/2 cycles. It varies from one scenario to another, i.e. 30937.5 kg/2 cycles for scenarios 1 and 3 and 24187.5 kg/2 cycles for scenario 2. It is therefore higher in scenarios 1 and 3 than in scenario 2. This difference is due to the fairly large losses of individuals in scenario 2. Furthermore, the analysis of the profit and loss accounts for tilapia production varies from one scenario to another depending on the type of farm: 476 Franc CFA for scenario 1, 610 Franc CFA for scenario 2 and 472 Franc CFA for scenario 3 (F CFA = franc of the French Colonies of Africa). The Average operating income for all the fish farming units is 34,726,142 Franc CFA. The highest (41,638,075 Franc CFA) and lowest (29,281,075 Franc CFA) ERs were observed in scenarios 3 and 2 respectively. It was 33,259,275 Franc CFA for scenario 1. The difference between the NERs of the three scenarios is more or less significant in terms of results. The operating result (OR) is positive in all 3 scenarios in our study. However, the scenario 3 system generates a higher rate of return (the ratio between an income and the capital employed to obtain that income) (74%) than that generated by the scenario 1 system (69%). As for the scenario 2 system, it generates a lower financial return than the two previous systems (67%). Above all, this work made it possible to construct an approach that would make it possible to answer such a question by relying successively on various methods: a typology, according to the production factors involved in the operation of the Community Agricultural Estate fish farm.

Comparative Analysis of Profit Model of Typical Pharmaceutical O2O Enterprises in China

Objective To study the profit model of Chinese pharmaceutical O2O enterprises.Methods A case study of three typical pharmaceutical O2O enterprises was conducted,and their profit models were compared.Results and Conclusion The pharmaceutical O2O enterprises in China are divided into three categories according to the profit models.It is found that the current pharmaceutical O2O enterprises have problems such as simple profit model and low corporate profits.Based on these problems,it is recommended that relevant enterprises develop various business models to increase profit channels.Besides,they should establish and improve internal cost control systems.

Assessment of Profitability of Land Use Systems in Tanjung Jabung Barat District, Jambi Province, Indonesia

The purpose of the research was to compare the profitability of existing land uses in Tanjung Jabung Barat, Jambi province, Indonesia, for formulating a strategy to reduce emissions from deforestation and de-gradation (REDD). Net Present Value was used for comparing profits of different types of investment (e.g. different type of land use). Rapid Rural Appraisal was used to gather information on farm budget data for each land use, including prices, production, labor and other input. The results of the profitability analysis showed that all land uses, both on mineral soil and peat land, were profitable. Oil palm, both in large plantations and smallholder gardens, was the most profitable land-use system. However, the profitability of smallholder oil palm on peatland was lower than on mineral soils yet oil palm was still more competitive than rubber on mineral soils. The competitiveness of mixed gardens with oil palm was higher on peatland and the threat of converting other land uses to oil palm was higher on mineral soil than on peat. For crop systems, irrigated paddy had the highest profitability.

Availability and Profit Optimization of Series-Parallel System with Linear Consecutive Cold Standby Units

In this paper, we study availability and profit optimization of a series-parallel system consisting of three subsystems A, B and C in which A and B are cold standby. Subsystem A consists of linear consecutive k-out-of-n units while subsystems B and C consist of a single unit each. The system works if any of A or B and C work. The objective of this study is to maximize the steady-state availability and profit. To solve the optimization problem, different numbers of units for n = 2, 3, 4, 5 in subsystem A are considered. Explicit expressions for busy period of repairmen, steady-state availability and profit function are derived using linear first order differential equations. Several cases are analyzed graphically for n = 2, 3, 4, 5 to investigate the effects of various system parameters on availability and profit. The paper also presents graphical comparison for specific values of system parameters and finds that the optimal system configuration is when n = 5.

Profitability analysis of a femtosecond laser system for cataract surgery using a fuzzy logic approach

AIM：To define the financial and management conditions required to introduce a femtosecond laser system for cataract surgery in a clinic using a fuzzy logic approach.METHODS：In the simulation performed in the current study,the costs associated to the acquisition and use of a commercially available femtosecond laser platform for cataract surgery（VICTUS,TECHNOLAS Perfect Vision GmbH,Bausch ＆ Lomb,Munich,Germany） during a period of 5y were considered.A sensitivity analysis was performed considering such costs and the countable amortization of the system during this 5y period.Furthermore,a fuzzy logic analysis was used to obtain an estimation of the money income associated to each femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery（G）. RESULTS：According to the sensitivity analysis,the femtosecond laser system under evaluation can be profitable if 1400 cataract surgeries are performed per year and if each surgery can be invoiced more than $500.In contrast,the fuzzy logic analysis confirmed that the patient had to pay more per surgery,between $661.8 and $667.4 per surgery,without considering the cost of the intraocular lens（IOL）.CONCLUSION：A profitability of femtosecond laser systems for cataract surgery can be obtained after a detailed financial analysis,especially in those centers with large volumes of patients.The cost of the surgery for patients should be adapted to the real flow of patients with the ability of paying a reasonable range of cost.

Default or profit scoring credit systems?Evidence from European and US peer-to-peer lending markets

For the emerging peer-to-peer(P2P)lending markets to survive,they need to employ credit-risk management practices such that an investor base is profitable in the long run.Traditionally,credit-risk management relies on credit scoring that predicts loans’probability of default.In this paper,we use a profit scoring approach that is based on modeling the annualized adjusted internal rate of returns of loans.To validate our profit scoring models with traditional credit scoring models,we use data from a European P2P lending market,Bondora,and also a random sample of loans from the Lending Club P2P lending market.We compare the out-of-sample accuracy and profitability of the credit and profit scoring models within several classes of statistical and machine learning models including the following:logistic and linear regression,lasso,ridge,elastic net,random forest,and neural networks.We found that our approach outperforms standard credit scoring models for Lending Club and Bondora loans.More specifically,as opposed to credit scoring models,returns across all loans are 24.0%(Bondora)and 15.5%(Lending Club)higher,whereas accuracy is 6.7%(Bondora)and 3.1%(Lending Club)higher for the proposed profit scoring models.Moreover,our results are not driven by manual selection as profit scoring models suggest investing in more loans.Finally,even if we consider data sampling bias,we found that the set of superior models consists almost exclusively of profit scoring models.Thus,our results contribute to the literature by suggesting a paradigm shift in modeling credit-risk in the P2P market to prefer profit as opposed to credit-risk scoring models.

The Model of Participating, Payable, Profitable, Potent Insured Education System-4Ps IESM

In the field of education, there is a need for a financing system which is affordable, yet effective, as well as profitable, and is based on user participation. This need was the main reason the author has designed the model named ＂Insured Education System Model---IESM＂. The IESM is based on the principle that expenditures incurred at each stage of educational attainment should not be burdened upon the person himself/herself. There should be insurance companies willing to cover the educational expenditures of the buyers. The suggested IESM model also creates an auto-control mechanism within the financing system through which insurance companies, educational institutions （buyers）, and households will gain benefits. Furthermore, the IESM will increase the quality of service within the overall educational system, and create employment, as well as eliminating the number of school drop outs. The system will bring a significant decrease in the cost of the service. This study presents the results of the analyses on the data collected by the author on the perception of the proposed Insured Education System Models through surveys conducted in selected schools in Istanbul. The survey is unique in a sense that for the first time in literature such a model is suggested and the perception of relevant stake holders are tested through a questionnaire of 42 questions. The results show that there is an approval rate of more than 50% regarding to the IESM. And the frequency analysis suggests that the IESM is an applicable model.

Futuristic Applications for Profitable Beef Production Systems

The growing demands for red meats of people also present opportunities for fattening as well as improved markets for the animals. Beef production is a highly profitable venture with return of premium to the farmer. The large scale beef farming must be meet economic criteria for sustainable production. It consists of buying healthy stock, feeding and fattening them to optimum carcass weight, and selling them at any time of the year. They are handled in such a way that maximum growth is achieved at the lowest possible cost. The lifespan of operation is shorter and the return of investment is relatively higher. In beef farms which has very high genetic value of breeding animals cannot be get the expected performance without the use of technology and automation systems. Beef herd management programs if can be used as effectively, farming will have many advantages for consumer, farmer and also animals. However, to obtain these advantages from this system, required to have knowledge of the functions and effective use of the functions. The large amount of data in the obtained on many issues related to animals, herd management and an individual unless used in decisions about animals, ensuring the heavy data flow, record keeping or assessment will not give the expected results. In this study, it has been aiming that the examined the technologic applications at beef farms for sustainable and profitable meat production.

The Participatory, Payable, Profitable, and Potent （4p＇s） Insured Education System Model （IESM）＂ Analyses of Frequency and Variance by Categories （One-Way ANOVA）

The biggest problem in the world as well as in Turkey is to increase efficiency of human capital, which can only be achieved by educating all people in accordance with their capacities and demands. And, the biggest problem in education is finance. In order for everybody to have education, there is a need to develop a finance system which will help overcome the financial problems faced by households or individuals. For this purpose, the participatory, payable, profitable, and potent （4p＇s） insured education system model （IESM） is developed. This paper focuses on principles of the IESM and the analyses of frequency and variance by categories （one-way ANOVA）.

Assessment of Profit of a Two-Stage Deteriorating Linear Consecutive 2-out-of-3 Repairable System

Most of the researches on profit and cost evaluation of redundant system focus on the effect of failure and repair on revenue generated. However, as these systems continue to work, their strength gradually deteriorates. Where such deterioration occurs, minor and major maintenance is employed to remedy the deterioration. Little or no attention is paid on the effect of deterioration on the impact of deterioration and their maintenance on the revenue generated. In this paper, we study the profit generated of two-stage deteriorating linear consecutive 2-out-of-3 system. Failure, repair and deterioration time are assumed exponential. The explicit expressions of availability, busy period of a repairman and profit function are derived using Kolmogorov’s forward equations method. Various cases are analyzed graphically to investigate the effect of deterioration parameters such as slow deterioration, fast deterioration, and their maintenance such as minor and major minimal maintenance on profit generated.

A system dynamics model for the assessment of the effects of advertising and sales promotion on profitability

Advertising and sales promotion have significant impact on raising customer awareness. They are tools by which customers become acquainted with new and innovative products and services of the companies. Despite the importance of these tools in increasing sales, it is not easy to evaluate their effect on sales. One of the problems confronted by the marketing managers is the determination of a clear relationship between the effectiveness of advertising and sales promotion on profitability. In this article, considering the relationship between these tools and brand equity, we have attempted to determine the relationship between effectiveness of these two factors and profitability. Next, a system dynamics model for representing the effects of marketing communication tools on company profitability is offered. Finally, using the data from a corporation and the numeric values related to each of the elements in the model, an attempt has been made to determine a number representing the magnitude of the effect of advertising and sales promotion on the corporation＇s revenue and profitability and to draw the respective curves related to the effects of these two factors.

A Set of Coherent Indicators for the Assessment of the Energy Profitability of Energy Systems

The concern on climate change and on the limitations of fossil fuels is leading to the promotion of renewable-based energy options. However, the assessment of the energy profitability of a technology is still a controversial topic, especially when renewable-based systems are compared with non-renewable ones and when the depletion of the stocks of available resources is not accounted properly. As a matter of fact, some popular energy indicators do not seem to cover all the aspects of the problem, with the risk of drawing ambiguous conclusions. A set of life cycle-based indicators is proposed in order to establish a more reliable approach to the assessment of energy products which decouples the different contributions given by renewable and non-renewable resources. The proposed set of indicators has been quantified for different groups of energy products and compared with an energy indicator frequently used (i.e. EROI). A coherent assessment of the depletion of energy resources and of the energy profitability of the products is presented. The indicators could even contribute to understand the feasibility of energy projects and plans by evaluating their impact on the stock of energy resources.

Planning and Profit Sharing in Overlay WiFi and LTE Systems toward 5G Networks

With the increasing demand for data traffic and with the massive foreseen deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT), higher data rates and capacity are required in mobile networks. While Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets) are under study toward 5G technology, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) Access Points (APs) are considered a potential layer within those multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs). For this purpose, we have proposed in this paper a novel WiFi dimensioning method, to offload data traffic from Long Term Evolution (LTE) to WiFi, by transferring the LTE energy consuming heavy users, to the WiFi network. First, we have calculated the remaining available capacity of the WiFi network based on the estimated load of each WiFi physical channel using the overlapping characteristic of the channels. Then, we were able through this dimensioning method, to calculate the minimum needed number of WiFi APs that ensure the same or better throughput for the LTE transferred users. By this method, we have ensured additional capacity in the LTE network with minimum investment cost in the WiFi network. Finally, we have estimated the profit sharing between LTE and WiFi by considering data bundles subscription revenues and the infrastructure capital and operational costs. We have calculated for each network the profit share using a coalition game theory Shapley value that pinpoints the benefit of the cooperation using the proposed dimensioning method.

Condition-based Maintenance Optimization for Gamma Deteriorating Systems under Performance-based Contracting

With the further development of service-oriented,performance-based contracting(PBC)has been widely adopted in industry and manufacturing.However,maintenance optimization problems under PBC have not received enough attention.To further extend the scope of PBC’s application in the field of maintenance optimization,we investigate the condition-based maintenance(CBM)optimization for gamma deteriorating systems under PBC.Considering the repairable single-component system subject to the gamma degradation process,this paper proposes a CBM optimization model to maximize the profit and improve system performance at a relatively low cost under PBC.In the proposed CBM model,the first inspection interval has been considered in order to reduce the inspection frequency and the cost rate.Then,a particle swarm algorithm(PSO)and related solution procedure are presented to solve the multiple decision variables in our proposed model.In the end,a numerical example is provided so as to demonstrate the superiority of the presented model.By comparing the proposed policy with the conventional ones,the superiority of our proposed policy is proved,which can bring more profits to providers and improve performance.Sensitivity analysis is conducted in order to research the effect of corrective maintenance cost and time required for corrective maintenance on optimization policy.A comparative study is given to illustrate the necessity of distinguishing the first inspection interval or not.

The Economic Profitability of Cereal Production Systems in the Context of Adaptation to Climate Change:the Case of Millet

This article studies the economic profitability of the millet production in a context of adaptation to climatic changes by considering the techniques of adaptation to soil protection,namely,low wall girdles tree and halfmoon in order to determine their impact on the economic profitability of the production of this cereal.

Size matters:analyzing bank profitability and efficiency under the Basel III framework

The latest regulatory framework,which has been introduced globally in the form of Basel III,and its implementation in the legislation of the member states of the Euro-pean Union has generated much interest in the impact of regulation on the efficiency and profitability of banks.This study aims to examine the impact of the introduction of two major regulatory changes(Basel II and Basel III)on bank performance,in terms of bank size and bank-specific and macroeconomic variables.A two-stage empirical anal-ysis was conducted on a sample of 433 European commercial banks over the 2006–2015 period.In the first stage,relative efficiency was calculated using non-parametric data envelopment analysis.In the second stage,the generalized method of moments was used to examine the impact of bank-specific and macroeconomic variables as well as regulation on bank performance,that is,profitability and efficiency.Consider-ing bank size,the results show a diverse impact of regulation on bank performance.Regarding large-and medium-sized banks,regulation positively affects both efficiency and profitability,whereas,for small banks,it negatively affects performance.The results suggest that larger banks have skillfully adapted to the new regulatory environment.In contrast,small banks have problems with profitability and efficiency because the new regulatory framework has imposed additional administrative and regulatory burdens.This could result in future failure or mergers with larger banks,resulting in a higher concentration in the banking sector and increased systemic risk.Our results strongly suggest that regulation should not be implemented equally for all banks;that is,on a one size fits all terms.A distinction between small and large banks when introducing new regulatory frameworks should be made if a reasonable level of competition is to be preserved.

Does Profit Belong in the Compulsory Education System?

For-profit private schools will be banned from China＇s compulsory education system from September 1,2017,according to the revised Non-State Education Promotion Law adopted at the 24th Session of the 12th National People＇s Congress Standing Committee in November.In China,the government-funded compulsory education system provides nine years of education free of charge to students from primary school to junior middle school. In addition to the public system, there are currently over 160,000 private schools nationwide which supplement public education, according to China＇s Ministry of Education.