From Finnish Assortment Pricing to Market Economy Using Prices for Sawn Wood and Chips in Reference Bucking

Dominant Finnish assortment pricing gives prices for sawlog and pulp wood volumes. Buyers buck stems to sawlogs using secret price matrices. Agreed dimensions allow wide range of sawlog volumes. Forest owners cannot objectively compare biddings: timber trade is a lottery game. Bucking is analyzed in terms of sawlog, pulp wood, log cylinder, sawn wood, value-weighted sawn wood, and chips. Sawn wood and its value are computed from top diameter of the sawlog. Profit maximization requires buyers to buck logs producing smaller than maximal value, causing dead weight loss. Nominal assortment prices have unpredictable relation to effective stumpage price. Assortment pricing does not meet requirements of market economy. If sawmills linked to pulp mills buck smaller sawlog percentages than independent sawmills, as generally believed, they use higher price for chips in their own harvests than they pay for independent sawmills, indicating imperfect competition for chips. Sawn wood potential pricing is suggested which gives prices for sawn wood and chips coming both from sawlogs and pulp wood in reference bucking which maximizes sawn wood for given minimum and maximum log length and minimum top diameter. Simple algorithm generates feasible bucking schedules from which optimum can be selected using any objective. Pricing produces unit price for all commercial wood utilizing ratio of theoretical sawn wood and commercial volume in stand. Unit price can be compared to stem pricing and could be compared to assortment pricing if assortment pricing would produce predictable sawlog percentages. Sawn wood potential pricing is concrete, transparent, easy to compute, considers stem size and tapering, reduces trading cost and is less risky to buyers than stem pricing. It meets requirements of market economy. Readers can repeat computations using open-source software Jlp22.

Influences of Financial Development and Energy Price on Renewable Energy:An Italian Case

Global climate change has created substantial difficulties in the areas of sustainability,development,and environmental conservation due to the widespread dependence on fossil fuels for energy production.Nevertheless,the promotion of renewable energy programs has the potential to significantly expedite endeavors aimed at tackling climate change.Thus,it is essential to conduct a thorough analysis that considers the financial aspects to fully understand the main hurdles that are preventing the advancement of renewable energy initiatives.Italy is a leading country in the worldwide deployment of renewable energy.The objective of this research is to assess the impact of financial growth,economic progress,and energy expenses on Italy’s adoption of renewable energy sources.By employing the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag(ARDL)technique,we analyzed annual data spanning from1990 to 2022.Findings revealed that a 1%increase in financial and economic development would boost renewable energy consumption in the long run by 0.29%and 0.48%,respectively.Instead,a 1%increase in energy prices might reduce consumption of renewable energy by 0.05%in the long run.This study’s primary significance lies in furnishing actionable strategies for Italy to augment green finance for renewable energy,fostering sustained social and economic progress.Moreover,the analytical insights gleaned from this research offer valuable insights for energy-importing nations worldwide.

A time-sharing multi-channel pulse amplitude analyzer

A conventional multi-channel pulse amplitude analyzer acquires single energy spectrum,but provides no information on its tendency with time.To address the limitation,we propose a scheme of time-sharing multichannel pulse amplitude analyzer(TSMCA).A dual-port random access memory is divided into two storage spaces,one for current energy spectrum data acquisition and another for previous energy spectrum data storage.The two tasks can be performed simultaneously,and the time-related variation tendency of energy spectrum can be obtained.A prototype system of TSMCA is designed.It performs nicely,with maximum channel number of 4096 in capacity of 2^(32)/Ch,minimal time-sharing slice of 25 ms,the differential nonlinearity of <1.5%,and the integral nonlinearity of <0.3%.

Driving Mechanism of Cotton Comber's Detaching Roller Based on Time-Sharing Unidirectional Drive

The high-speed reciprocating motion of a detaching roller limits the velocity of a cotton comber and affects the quality of comber slivers. The article has proposed a controllable time-sharing unidirectional hybrid drive mechanism after analyzing detaching roller's current numerical control drive method. The analysis focuses on the detaching roller motion required according to cotton comber's velocity and process. The double-servo motors of the mechanism consists of differential gear trains. The mechanism addresses the problem of increased servo motor power,and failure of promptly responded to the positive inversion process of mechanism driven by servo motors. A velocity calculation model of the detaching roller controllable drive mechanism will be generated by using superposition method and design of differential gear trains. The accuracy of the model will be verified using the test platform. This study has presented a reliable and practical high-speed drive mechanism and can be a reference to future studies on high-speed reciprocating motion drive.

三色膏联合PRICE疗法治疗急性踝关节Ⅰ和Ⅱ度扭伤的临床效果

目的探讨三色膏联合PRICE疗法治疗急性踝关节Ⅰ、Ⅱ度扭伤的临床效果。方法选取2022年2月至2023年5月上海市嘉定区中医医院骨伤科收治的52例Ⅰ、Ⅱ度急性踝关节扭伤患者作为研究对象,其中急诊患者35例,门诊患者17例,采用随机数字表法将其分为对照组和观察组,每组均失访1例,两组各25例纳入统计。对照组采用PRICE疗法治疗,观察组采用三色膏联合PRICE疗法,两组患者均治疗1周,治疗结束后,比较两组患者治疗前和治疗后第1、3周的视觉模拟评分法(VAS)评分及Mazur功能评分。结果52例患者中50例得到随访,随访时间不短于4周。治疗1、3周后,两组患者的VAS评分低于本组治疗前,Mazur功能评分高于本组治疗前,观察组的VAS评分低于对照组,Mazur功能评分高于对照组,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论三色膏联合PRICE疗法治疗急性踝关节Ⅰ、Ⅱ度扭伤可以获得更好的疗效,具有重要的临床价值和推广意义。

Holistic care model of time-sharing management for severe and critical COVID-19 patients

The rapid global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)and the surge of infected patients have led to the verge of exhaustion of critical care medicine resources worldwide,especially with regard to critical care staff.A holistic care model on time-sharing management for severe and critical COVID-19 patients is proposed,which includes formulation of individualized care objectives and plans,identification of care tasks in each shift and making detailed checklist,and management of quality of care.This study was conducted in the COVID-19 treatment center of Harbin,Heilongjiang Province.The data collected from the treatment center were recorded and analyzed.From the results we can deduce that it is especially suitable for non-intensive care unit(non-ICU)nurses to adapt care management mode of ICU as soon as possible and ensure the quality and efficiency of care during the epidemic.The holistic care model on time-sharing management for severe and critical cases with COVID-19 proposed based on our daily work experiences can assist in improving the quality and efficiency of care,thus reducing the mortality rate of patients in ICU.

Understanding the Relationship Between Shrinking Cities and Land Prices:Spatial Pattern,Effectiveness,and Policy Implications

Urban shrinkage has emerged as a widespread phenomenon globally and has a significant impact on land,particularly in terms of land use and price.This study focuses on 2851 county-level cities in China in 2005–2018(excluding Hong Kong,Macao,Taiwan,and‘no data’areas in Qinhai-Tibet Plateau)as the fundamental units of analysis.By employing nighttime light(NTL)data to identify shrinking cities,the propensity score matching(PSM)model was used to quantitatively examine the impact of shrinking cities on land prices,and evaluate the magnitude of this influence.The findings demonstrate the following:1)there were 613 shrinking cities in China,with moderate shrinkage being the most prevalent and severe shrinkage being the least.2)Regional disparities are evident in the spatial distribution of shrinking cities,especially in areas with diverse terrain.3)The spatial pattern of land price exhibits a significant correlated to the economic and administrative levels.4)Shrinking cities significantly negatively impact on the overall land price(ATT=–0.1241,P<0.05).However,the extent of the effect varies significantly among different spatial regions.This study contributes novel insights into the investigation of land prices and shrinking cities,ultimately serving as a foundation for government efforts to promote the sustainable development of urban areas.

Grid Side Distributed Energy Storage Cloud Group End Region Hierarchical Time-Sharing Configuration Algorithm Based onMulti-Scale and Multi Feature Convolution Neural Network

There is instability in the distributed energy storage cloud group end region on the power grid side.In order to avoid large-scale fluctuating charging and discharging in the power grid environment and make the capacitor components showa continuous and stable charging and discharging state,a hierarchical time-sharing configuration algorithm of distributed energy storage cloud group end region on the power grid side based on multi-scale and multi feature convolution neural network is proposed.Firstly,a voltage stability analysis model based onmulti-scale and multi feature convolution neural network is constructed,and the multi-scale and multi feature convolution neural network is optimized based on Self-OrganizingMaps(SOM)algorithm to analyze the voltage stability of the cloud group end region of distributed energy storage on the grid side under the framework of credibility.According to the optimal scheduling objectives and network size,the distributed robust optimal configuration control model is solved under the framework of coordinated optimal scheduling at multiple time scales;Finally,the time series characteristics of regional power grid load and distributed generation are analyzed.According to the regional hierarchical time-sharing configuration model of“cloud”,“group”and“end”layer,the grid side distributed energy storage cloud group end regional hierarchical time-sharing configuration algorithm is realized.The experimental results show that after applying this algorithm,the best grid side distributed energy storage configuration scheme can be determined,and the stability of grid side distributed energy storage cloud group end region layered timesharing configuration can be improved.

Brent vs.West Texas Intermediate in the US petro derivatives price formation

In this paper,we apply the spatial panel model to explore the relationship between the dynamic of two types of crude oil prices(WTI and Brent crude oil)and their refined products over time.Considering the turbulent months of 2011,when Cushing Oklahoma had reached capacity and the crude oil export ban removal in 2015 as breakpoints,we apply this method both in the full sample and the three resultant regimes.First,results suggest our results show that both WTI and Brent display very similar behaviour with the refined products.Second,when attending to each regime,results derived from the first and third regimes are quite similar to the full sample results.Therefore,during the second regime,Brent crude oil became the benchmark in the petrol market,and it influenced the distillate products.Furthermore,our model can let us determine the price-setters and price-followers in the price formation mechanism through refined products.These results possess important considerations to policymakers and the market participants and the price formation.

A Study on Renewable Power Pricing Mechanism and Price Incentive Policies in China

The basic framework of price policies for promoting renewable power de- velopment in China is introduced. The background, concept and implementation of price policies, focused on wind power, biomass power and solar power, are summarized in the article. The experiences and lessons of implementation of these price policies are analyzed. It is concluded that reasonable price policy is quite effective for promoting re- newable power development. According to the requirement of China's renewable power development, the suggestions for improving renewable power pricing mechanism and price incentive policies are proposed.

The Caching and Pricing Strategy for Information-Centric Networking with Advertisers’Participation

As users’access to the network has evolved into the acquisition of mass contents instead of IP addresses,the IP network architecture based on end-to-end communication cannot meet users’needs.Therefore,the Information-Centric Networking(ICN)came into being.From a technical point of view,ICN is a promising future network architecture.Researching and customizing a reasonable pricing mechanism plays a positive role in promoting the deployment of ICN.The current research on ICN pricing mechanism is focused on paid content.Therefore,we study an ICN pricing model for free content,which uses game theory based on Nash equilibrium to analysis.In this work,advertisers are considered,and an advertiser model is established to describe the economic interaction between advertisers and ICN entities.This solution can formulate the best pricing strategy for all ICN entities and maximize the benefits of each entity.Our extensive analysis and numerical results show that the proposed pricing framework is significantly better than existing solutions when it comes to free content.

Pricing Catastrophe Options with Credit Risk in a Regime-Switching Model

In this paper,we consider the price of catastrophe options with credit risk in a regime-switching model.We assume that the macroeconomic states are described by a continuous-time Markov chain with a finite state space.By using the measure change technique,we derive the price expressions of catastrophe put options.Moreover,we conduct some numerical analysis to demonstrate how the parameters of the model affect the price of the catastrophe put option.

Economic Resilience in Bangladesh: Analyzing Household Well-Being amidst Price Hikes through ANOVA and Paired Sample t-Test Insights

This study delves into the multifaceted impact of price hikes on the standard of living in Bangladesh, with a specific focus on distinct socioeconomic segments. Amidst Bangladesh’s economic growth, the challenges of rising inflation and increased living costs have become pressing concerns. Employing a mixed-methods approach combines quantitative data from a structured survey with qualitative insights from in-depth interviews and focused group discussions to analyze the repercussions of price hikes. Stratified random sampling ensures representation across affluent, middle-class, and economically disadvantaged groups. Utilizing data [1] from 2020 to November 2023 on the yearly change in retail prices of essential commodities, analysis reveals significant demographic shifts, occupational changes, and altered asset ownership patterns among households. The vulnerable population, including daily wage laborers and low-income individuals, is disproportionately affected by adjustments in consumption, income generation, and living arrangements. Statistical analyses, including One-Way ANOVA and Paired Sample t-tests, illuminate significant mean differences in strategies employed during price hikes. Despite challenges, the prioritization of education remains evident, emphasizing its resilience in the face of economic hardships. The result shows that price hikes, especially in essential items, lead to substantial adjustments in living costs, with items like onions, garlic, and ginger experiencing significant increases of 275%, 108%, and 483%, respectively.

Flexible Load Participation in Peaking Shaving and Valley Filling Based on Dynamic Price Incentives

Considering the widening of the peak-valley difference in the power grid and the difficulty of the existing fixed time-of-use electricity price mechanism in meeting the energy demand of heterogeneous users at various moments or motivating users,the design of a reasonable dynamic pricing mechanism to actively engage users in demand response becomes imperative for power grid companies.For this purpose,a power grid-flexible load bilevel model is constructed based on dynamic pricing,where the leader is the dispatching center and the lower-level flexible load acts as the follower.Initially,an upper-level day-ahead dispatching model for the power grid is established,considering the lowest power grid dispatching cost as the objective function and incorporating the power grid-side constraints.Then,the lower level comprehensively considers the load characteristics of industrial load,energy storage,and data centers,and then establishes a lower-level flexible load operation model with the lowest user power-consuming cost as the objective function.Finally,the proposed method is validated using the IEEE-118 system,and the findings indicate that the dynamic pricing mechanism for peaking shaving and valley filling can effectively guide users to respond actively,thereby reducing the peak-valley difference and decreasing users’purchasing costs.

Production Chain Length and PPI-CPI Divergence:Analysis Based on the Global Input-output Price Model

Productivity and international energy price shocks are reflected in PPI and CPI via industrial chains.China’s in-depth participation into the global value chains has increasingly lengthened its industrial production chains.The question is how the changing length of production chains will affect CPI and PPI,as well as CPI-PPI correlation?By constructing a global input-output price model,this paper offers a theoretical discussion on the impact of production chain length on the CPI-PPI divergence.Our findings suggest that the price shock of international bulk commodities has a greater impact on China’s PPI than that on CPI.The effects on both China’s PPI and CPI estimated by using the single-country input-output model are higher than the results estimated with the global input-output model.However,the difference between CPI and PPI variations estimated with the global input-output model is greater than the result estimated with the single-country input-output model,which supports the view that the lengthening of production chains,especially international production chains,leads to a divergence between CPI and PPI.Empirical results based on cross-national panel data also suggest that the lengthening of production chains has reduced the CPI-PPI correlation for countries,i.e.the lengthening of production chains has increased the PPI-CPI divergence.That is to say,policymakers should target not just CPI in maintaining price stability,but instead focus on the stability of both PPI and CPI.Efforts can be made to proactively adjust the price index system,and formulate the industrial chain price index.

Artificial Intelligence-Based Automated Actuarial Pricing and Underwriting Model for the General Insurance Sector

The Automated Actuarial Pricing and Underwriting Model has been enhanced and expanded through the implementation of Artificial Intelligence to automate three distinct actuarial functions: loss reserving, pricing, and underwriting. This model utilizes data analytics based on Artificial Intelligence to merge microfinance and car insurance services. Introducing and applying a no-claims bonus rate system, comprising base rates, variable rates, and final rates, to three key policyholder categories significantly reduces the occurrence and impact of claims while encouraging increased premium payments. We have enhanced frequency-severity models with eight machine learning algorithms and adjusted the Automated Actuarial Pricing and Underwriting Model for inflation, resulting in outstanding performance. Among the machine learning models utilized, the Random Forest (RANGER) achieved the highest Total Aggregate Comprehensive Automated Actuarial Loss Reserve Risk Pricing Balance (ACAALRRPB), establishing itself as the preferred model for developing Automated Actuarial Underwriting models tailored to specific policyholder categories.

Vaccine pricing and production capacity in Africa: can Africa move beyond pooled procurement in the face of a future pandemic?

We examine Africa's vaccine manufacturing potential,spurred by the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pan-demic,while critically analyzing vaccine price inequities and procurement strategies during the pandemic,with anticipation of future outbreaks.Although Africa consumes approximately 25%of the global vaccine supply,over 99%of these vaccines are produced outside the continent,primarily due to insufficient local investment.Vaccine procurement strategies have relied heavily on pooled procurement mechanisms and tiered-pricing mod-els,predominantly controlled by external organizations.Significant disparities in vaccine pricing have resulted in vaccine price inequities,with evidence suggesting price discrimination,where different prices are charged for the same vaccine across countries and regions.While vaccine prices are only one component of vaccination cam-paign costs,the inequitable pricing of vaccines poses serious challenges to fair access,especially in low-income countries.Given the inevitability of future pandemics and other outbreaks,the central question remains:Does Africa possess the capacity to strengthen its vaccine production infrastructure and reduce dependency on ex-ternal suppliers?Our review reveals that,with robust political commitment,enhanced investment in Research and Development,and leveraging the heterogeneous nature of the regional bloc,Africa has made strides toward establishing vaccine manufacturing hubs with the potential for substantial capacity expansion.Furthermore,we argue for a regional campaign based on the principles of the fair priority model as an ethical framework for vaccine procurement,which prioritizes need and ensures equitable distribution,thereby complementing existing pooled procurement arrangements in times of future pandemics.This paper concludes with two key recommen-dations based on lessons learned from the COvID-19 crisis and future preparedness.First,Africa must push for a transparent and equitable tiered-pricing structure to ensure affordability for all Second,intentional and sustained investment in R&D is critical to addressing systemic inequities in vaccine supply,not only for cOVID-19 but for future outbreaks and routine immunization programs.

Price prediction of power transformer materials based on CEEMD and GRU

The rapid growth of the Chinese economy has fueled the expansion of power grids.Power transformers are key equipment in power grid projects,and their price changes have a significant impact on cost control.However,the prices of power transformer materials manifest as nonsmooth and nonlinear sequences.Hence,estimating the acquisition costs of power grid projects is difficult,hindering the normal operation of power engineering construction.To more accurately predict the price of power transformer materials,this study proposes a method based on complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition(CEEMD)and gated recurrent unit(GRU)network.First,the CEEMD decomposed the price series into multiple intrinsic mode functions(IMFs).Multiple IMFs were clustered to obtain several aggregated sequences based on the sample entropy of each IMF.Then,an empirical wavelet transform(EWT)was applied to the aggregation sequence with a large sample entropy,and the multiple subsequences obtained from the decomposition were predicted by the GRU model.The GRU model was used to directly predict the aggregation sequences with a small sample entropy.In this study,we used authentic historical pricing data for power transformer materials to validate the proposed approach.The empirical findings demonstrated the efficacy of our method across both datasets,with mean absolute percentage errors(MAPEs)of less than 1%and 3%.This approach holds a significant reference value for future research in the field of power transformer material price prediction.

Dynamic Pricing Strategies Using Artificial Intelligence Algorithm

Pricing strategies can have a huge impact on a company’s success. This paper focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of using artificial intelligence in dynamic pricing strategies. A good understanding of the possible benefits and challenges will help companies to understand the impact of their chosen pricing strategies. AI-driven Dynamic pricing has great opportunities to increase a firm’s profits. Firms can benefit from personalized pricing based on personal behavior and characteristics, as well as cost reduction by increasing efficiency and reducing the need to use manual work and automation. However, AI-driven dynamic rewarding can have a negative impact on customers’ perception of trust, fairness and transparency. Since price discrimination is used, ethical issues such as privacy and equity may arise. Understanding the businesses and customers that determine pricing strategy is so important that one cannot exist without the other. It will provide a comprehensive overview of the main advantages and disadvantages of AI-assisted dynamic pricing strategy. The main objective of this research is to uncover the most notable advantages and disadvantages of implementing AI-enabled dynamic pricing strategies. Future research can extend the understanding of algorithmic pricing through case studies. In this way, new, practical implications can be developed in the future. It is important to investigate how issues related to customers’ trust and feelings of unfairness can be mitigated, for example by price framing.

The Influence of Price Discrimination from Airports on the Route Development Behavior of Airlines

Given the prominence and magnitude of airport incentive schemes,it is surprising that literature hitherto remains silent as to their effectiveness.In this paper,the relationship between airport incentive schemes and the route development behavior of airlines is analyzed.Because of rare and often controversial findings in the extant literature regarding relevant influencing variables for attracting airlines at an airport,expert interviews are used as a complement to formulate testable hypotheses in this regard.A fixed effects regression model is used to test the hypotheses with a dataset that covers all seat capacity offered at the 22 largest German commercial airports in the week 46 from 2004 to 2011.It is found that incentives from primary choice,as well as secondary choice airports,have a significant influence on Low Cost Carriers.Furthermore,Low Cost Carriers,in general,do not leave any of both types of airports when the incentives cease.In the case of Network Carriers,no case is found where one joins a primary choice airport and receives an incentive.Insufficient data between Network Carriers and secondary choice airports in the time when incentives have ceased means that no statement can be given.