Hasil untuk "Costs"

Jérôme Dedecker, Florence Merlevède, Emmanuel Rio

We provide non-asymptotic bounds and asymptotic limits for convex transport costs between the distribution of partial sums of independent and identically distributed square integrable and centered random variables and the normal distribution with mean zero and the same variance. The proof relies on controlling the transport cost by an appropriate ideal distance, combined with an adaptation of Lindeberg's method. The numerical constants and the asymptotic constants are explicit.

Yu. D. Ishkin, N. S. Zakharov, A. V. Rassokhin et al.

In structure of road transport operating costs, expenses for purchasing and storing spare parts can account for up to 45 %. Inventory management systems are most often based on analyzing past demand. A number of factors influence the range and quantity of spare parts needed: vehicle reliability, intensity and conditions of operation, demand, inventory availability at retail networks, and other considerations. At the enterprise level, the most significant criterion for inventory management is the total cost, which includes procurement, delivery and maintenance costs. This study revealed that there is no unified method for determining the optimal stock level of vehicle spare parts. The authors found that spare parts consumption is affected by operational intensity and vehicle reliability, as well as seasonal variations. Analysis of statistical data confirmed the seasonal dependence of spare parts stock levels. This dependence can be described by a harmonic model. It was found that there are some shifts in extreme values depending on the spare part group within a single season. More accurate accounting for these shifts can reduce inventory holding costs. The proposed approach to adjusting spare parts stock level norms in the warehouse will reduce the storage period of spare parts and, consequently, increase the efficiency of inventory management. Based on the studied statistical data, this efficiency is justified by a reduction in inventory valued at 470000 rubles per year. This method of adjusting spare parts stock level norms is applicable to both service and operational enterprises.

ZHANG Xuhao, TONG Runfang, WANG Mengqian et al.

Bearing faults are a typical failure mode in motors. Traditional diagnostic methods based on vibration signals face high costs and strong noise interference, while current signal-based methods struggle to extract fault features due to dominant fundamental components. To address these issues, this paper proposes an intelligent diagnostic method. This method suppresses interference from fundamental current components and main harmonics through a time-shift cancellation technique, converts preprocessed one-dimensional signals into two-dimensional time-frequency feature maps using the smoothed pseudo Wigner-Ville distribution (SPWVD), performs cropping and stitching on these maps according to bearing fault characteristic frequencies, and finally the object detection model is built based on YOLO11 for automatic fault positioning and classification. Experimental results demonstrate that this method achieves up to 99.54% diagnostic accuracy under steady-state operating conditions, and can effectively extracts features from low-sampling-frequency current signals, significantly reducing hardware costs. Compared with traditional vibration signal methods, it exhibits stronger noise resistance and lower hardware dependence. Additionally, the three-stage diagnosis framework, consisting of signal preprocessing, time-frequency feature extraction, and intelligent classification, offers a low-cost and high-reliability solution for effective fault diagnosis of motor bearings.

Alessandro Franco, Carlo Carcasci, Andrea Ademollo et al.

This study evaluates the performance and feasibility of hybrid photovoltaic–hydrogen systems integrated with 4.2 MW PV installations, focusing on the interplay between electrolyzer capacity, energy storage, and hydrogen production. Key findings reveal that downsizing electrolyzers, such as using a 1 MW unit instead of a 2 MW model, increases operational efficiency by extending nominal power usage, though it reduces total hydrogen output by approximately 50%. Meanwhile, expanding energy storage systems show diminishing returns, with added capacity offering minimal gains in hydrogen production and raising economic concerns. The system’s performance is highly weather-dependent, with daily hydrogen production ranging from 26 kg on cloudy winter days to 375 kg during sunny summer conditions. Surplus energy export to the grid peaks at 3300 kWh during periods of high solar generation but is minimal otherwise. For economic and operational viability, the system design must prioritize directing a majority of PV energy to hydrogen production while minimizing grid export, requiring a minimum of 50% PV energy allocation to the hydrogen value chain. Cost analysis estimates a Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) as low as €6/kg with an optimized configuration of a 2 MW electrolyzer and 2 MWh battery. Although high production costs challenge economic sustainability, careful component optimization and supportive policies can enable competitive hydrogen pricing and a positive net present value (NPV) over the system’s lifetime.

T. A. Ganiev, T. B. Minniakhmetov, S. L. Sabanov et al.

The oil and oil refining industries commonly uses vertical steel tanks for the safe storage of crude oil and petroleum products. However, the operation of these tanks comes with risks such as: corrosion, mechanical damage, and non-uniform deformation can result in significant failures with serious environmental and economic consequences. For this reason, regular monitoring of tank technical state is especially important. Early detection of deviations from design parameters, which is possible thanks to monitoring, can help prevent accidents. This paper examines the use of surface laser scanning technology is a method for inspecting tank walls. This method involves creating a 3D digital model of the tank, analyzing its stress-strain state, and identifying deviations from its original geometry. The use of a 3D scanner ensures high measurement accuracy and automates the data collection process. The study's results indicate that surface laser scanning is an effective tool for detecting deformations in tank walls and for monitoring their progression over time. Compared to traditional visual and dimensional inspection methods, this technology provides a more comprehensive assessment of the technical condition of the tanks. This approach reduces diagnostic costs and improves the safety and reliability of tank operations. The practical value of this study lies in the potential integration of surface laser scanning technology into the routine monitoring system of tank farms. This integration can enhance safety and extend the service life of oil storage facilities.

XIA Jinlei, TANG Yijie, WANG Lingling, JIANG Chuanwen, GU Jiu

In the context of “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality”, the large-scale integration and consumption of wind and solar resources is an inevitable trend in future energy development. However, as the capacity of wind and solar power integration increases, the power system also requires more flexible resources to ensure secure operation. To investigate the flexible regulation of hydropower in the system, this study focuses on the downstream stations of the hydro-wind-solar-pumped storage clean energy base in the Yalong River Basin. Considering its flexible regulation capabilities, the study conducts day-ahead optimized operational strategy research for the complementary system. First, to address the challenges of site selection and high costs associated with independent pumped storage, steady-state models for hybrid pumped storage stations in a cascade hydro-wind-solar-pumped storage system are established. To overcome the limitations of traditional models such as low predictive accuracy and the subjective selection of long short-term memory (LSTM) hyperparameters, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is used to optimize the parameters of LSTM and the optimized LSTM model is then used to forecast the output of wind and solar power. Next, in order to fully harness the flexible regulation potential of the complementary system, a multi-objective optimal dispatching model is developed considering the economic benefits and flexible regulation margin of the complementary system in the day-ahead time. The normal boundary intersection (NBI) method is employed to solve the multi-objective problem, which can obtain the Pareto optimal solutions with an even distribution. Finally, case studies are conducted based on the actual conditions of the Yalong River Basin. By analyzing different scenarios, the effectiveness of the proposed model and the supportive role of pumped storage in enhancing system flexibility are validated. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach not only balances system profits but also fully exploits the flexible regulation potential of the system, ensuring stable operation of the system.

Babak Hassibi, Joudi Hajar, Reza Ghane

In the past couple of decades, the use of ``non-quadratic" convex cost functions has revolutionized signal processing, machine learning, and statistics, allowing one to customize solutions to have desired structures and properties. However, the situation is not the same in control where the use of quadratic costs still dominates, ostensibly because determining the ``value function", i.e., the optimal expected cost-to-go, which is critical to the construction of the optimal controller, becomes computationally intractable as soon as one considers general convex costs. As a result, practitioners often resort to heuristics and approximations, such as model predictive control that only looks a few steps into the future. In the quadratic case, the value function is easily determined by solving Riccati equations. In this work, we consider a special class of convex cost functions constructed from Bregman divergence and show how, with appropriate choices, they can be used to fully extend the framework developed for the quadratic case. The resulting optimal controllers are infinite horizon, come with stability guarantees, and have state-feedback, or estimated state-feedback, laws. They exhibit a much wider range of behavior than their quadratic counterparts since the feedback laws are nonlinear. The approach can be applied to several cases of interest, including safety control, sparse control, and bang-bang control.

Hanbing Li, Ruixue Zhang, Haijing Li et al.

Intensive farming can reduce production costs and maximize animal production efficiency; however, it also causes many adverse effects on the welfare of dairy cows. A mechanical brush is an automated grooming device that promotes the grooming behavior of dairy cattle, thereby helping to alleviate stress. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of using mechanical brushes on the production performance of dairy cows by comprehensively analyzing their milk production, health status, and reproductive performance. The cows were assigned to 6 groups: 109 lactating dairy cows (brush treatment) and 105 controls (without brush treatment), 64 dry milk dairy cows (brush treatment) and 49 controls (without brush treatment), and 198 perinatal cows (brush treatment) and 65 controls (without brush treatment). We found an increasing trend in the daily utility time and usage frequency of mechanical brushes for each cow during the lactating period (7.73 ± 4.02 min/d and 2.90 ± 1.22 times/d, respectively), dry period (15.97 ± 14.16 min/d and 4.21 ± 2.91 times/d, respectively), and perinatal period (25.15 ± 19.05 min/d and 5.45 ± 3.83 times/d, respectively) (<i>p</i> < 0.01 and <i>p</i> < 0.05, respectively). The installation location of the mechanical brush significantly affected the frequency of its usage during the different periods. The head was the preferred body part for using the mechanical brush during the lactation and dry periods (59.32% and 44.54%, respectively), while the hip was the main preferred grooming part during the perinatal period (40.17%). Overall, the time, frequency, and preferred body part of dairy cows that used mechanical brushes varied across different physiological stages. Additionally, mechanical brush use in lactating and dry dairy cows significantly improved cleanliness of the body’s surface (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and enhanced milk production of lactating cows (<i>p</i> < 0.01), particularly for cows with four and five parities. Thus, the use of mechanical brushes could improve the production performance of dairy cows and enhance sustainability of large-scale farms.

Dariush Biazar

Rotor blades are the main part for generating electrical energy and the primary source of stresses in a wind turbine (WT). The stresses caused by the blades increase the load on the hub, tower, and foundation of the WTs. In this research, the asymmetry of the blade angle with each other has been investigated as one of the factors affecting the stress distribution using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. The focus of this study is on the stresses caused by the asymmetry of the blades angle when there is the fault in the sensors. A deep understanding of the blade stress distribution due to sensor faults can improve control designs, increase WT operating time, and reduce energy generation costs when these faults occur.

Duo Wu, Jinghe Wang, Yuan Meng et al.

Utilizing large language models (LLMs) for tool planning has emerged as a promising avenue for developing general AI systems, where LLMs automatically schedule external tools (e.g., vision models) to tackle complex tasks based on task descriptions. To push this paradigm toward practical applications, it is crucial for LLMs to consider tool execution costs (e.g., execution time) for tool planning. Unfortunately, prior studies overlook the tool execution costs, leading to the generation of expensive plans whose costs outweigh their benefits in terms of task performance. To fill this gap, we propose the Cost-Aware Tool Planning with LLMs (CATP-LLM) framework, which for the first time provides a coherent design to empower LLMs for cost-aware tool planning. Specifically, To facilitate efficient concurrent tool execution and cost reduction, we design a tool planning language to enhance the LLM for creating multi-branch non-sequential plans. Moreover, we propose a cost-aware offline reinforcement learning algorithm to fine-tune the LLM to optimize the performance-cost trade-off in tool planning. In the lack of public cost-related datasets, we further present OpenCATP, the first dataset for cost-aware planning, which comprises 11,100 evaluation samples from diverse tasks. Extensive experiments show that CATP-LLM outperforms GPT-4 even when using Llama2-7B as its backbone, with the average improvement of 1.5%-93.9% in terms of plan quality. Codes and dataset are available at: https://github.com/duowuyms/OpenCATP-LLM.

Scheilla Aprilia Murnidayanti, Titi Muswati Putranti

MSMEs are a growing and vital sector for the country's economy. However, until now, MSMEs taxpayer compliance is still low. DGT then digitized tax administration with the aim of reducing taxpayer compliance costs for MSMEs taxpayers. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of digitizing tax administration in reducing MSMEs taxpayer compliance costs and DGT's steps to reduce MSMEs taxpayer compliance costs. The method used in this study is qualitative with a literature study approach. Secondary data was obtained from various library sources, including books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, journals, documents, magazines, etc. The study results show that the digitization of tax administration in Indonesia has not reduced the cost of taxpayer compliance for MSMEs taxpayers. In addition, other factors that can influence MSMEs taxpayer compliance include knowledge, mediation, perceptions of fairness, and so on. DGT has simplified the tax system and digitized tax administration to reduce tax compliance costs. The originality of this research is in analyzing the relationship between the digitization of tax administration and tax compliance costs for MSMEs.

Requena G, Czira A, Banks V et al.

Gema Requena,1 Alexandrosz Czira,1 Victoria Banks,2 Robert Wood,2 Theo Tritton,2 Catherine Castillo,2 Jie Yeap,2 Rosie Wild,2 Chris Compton,1 Kieran J Rothnie,1 Felix JF Herth,3 Jennifer K Quint,4 Afisi S Ismaila5,6 1GSK, R&D Global Medical, Brentford, Middlesex, UK; 2Real-World Evidence, Adelphi Real World, Bollington, Cheshire, UK; 3Department of Pneumology and Critical Care Medicine, Thoraxklinik, University of Heidelberg and Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany; 4National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK; 5Value Evidence and Outcomes, GSK, Collegeville, PA, USA; 6Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, CanadaCorrespondence: Gema Requena, Epidemiology, Value Evidence and Outcomes, R&D Global Medical, GSK, Brentford, Middlesex, UK, Tel +44 20 80476893, Email gema.x.requena@gsk.comPurpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations are associated with significant morbidity and mortality and increased economic healthcare burden for patients with COPD. Long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA)/long-acting β2-agonist (LABA) dual therapy is recommended for patients receiving mono-bronchodilator therapy who experience exacerbations or ongoing breathlessness. This study compared two single-inhaler LAMA/LABA dual therapies, umeclidinium/vilanterol (UMEC/VI) and indacaterol/glycopyrronium (IND/GLY), on moderate-to-severe exacerbation rates in patients with COPD in England.Patients and Methods: This retrospective cohort study used linked primary care electronic health record data (Clinical Practice Research Datalink-Aurum) and secondary care data (Hospital Episode Statistics) to assess outcomes for patients with COPD who had a first prescription for single-inhaler UMEC/VI or IND/GLY (index date) between 1 January 2015 and 30 September 2019 (indexing period). Analyses compared UMEC/VI and IND/GLY on moderate-to-severe, moderate, and severe exacerbations, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and direct costs at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months, and time-to-first on-treatment exacerbation up to 24 months post-index date. Following inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW), non-inferiority and superiority of UMEC/VI versus IND/GLY were assessed.Results: In total, 12,031 patients were included, of whom 8753 (72.8%) were prescribed UMEC/VI and 3278 (27.2%) IND/GLY. After IPTW, for moderate-to-severe exacerbations, weighted rate ratios were < 1 at 6, 12, and 18 months and equal to 1 at 24 months for UMEC/VI; around the null value for moderate exacerbations and < 1 at all timepoints for severe exacerbations. UMEC/VI showed lower HCRU incidence rates than IND/GLY for all-cause Accident and Emergency visits and COPD-related inpatient stays and associated all-cause costs at 6 months post-indexing. Time-to-triple therapy was similar for both treatments.Conclusion: UMEC/VI demonstrated non-inferiority to IND/GLY in moderate-to-severe exacerbation reduction at 6, 12 and 18 months. These results support previous findings demonstrating similarity between UMEC/VI and IND/GLY on reduction of moderate-to-severe exacerbations.Plain Language Summary: Sudden exacerbations, or flare-ups, of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are linked with worsening health and increased risk of death, as well as increased healthcare costs for people with COPD. Long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA)/long-acting β2-agonist (LABA) dual therapy is recommended for patients with COPD who take LAMA or LABA monotherapy but continue to experience flare-ups or ongoing breathlessness. This study compared two single-inhaler LAMA/LABA dual therapies, umeclidinium/vilanterol (UMEC/VI) and indacaterol/glycopyrronium (IND/GLY), in terms of flare-ups in patients with COPD in England.We used two linked databases of de-identified medical records from general practitioners and hospitals for patients with COPD who had a first prescription for UMEC/VI or IND/GLY between 1 January 2015 and 30 September 2019. We compared the two treatments on COPD flare-ups, healthcare resource utilization and related costs, and changes in medication over the 2 years following starting treatment.We found that the treatments were comparable for moderate-to-severe flare-ups. Patients taking UMEC/VI had less Accident and Emergency (A&E) visits in total and less inpatient stays related to their COPD, and had a lower overall cost of healthcare for A&E visits and inpatient stays than patients taking IND/GLY. Changes to treatment and time before their first flare-up were similar for all patients, regardless of their prescribed treatment.This study showed that UMEC/VI is as effective as IND/GLY at preventing moderate-to-severe flare-ups. These results support previous findings demonstrating similarity between UMEC/VI and IND/GLY in reducing the rate of moderate-to-severe exacerbations after starting treatment.Keywords: COPD dual therapy, LABA/LAMA new users, healthcare resource utilization, exacerbations, comparative effectiveness, single-inhaler dual therapy

Elan Rosenfeld, Nir Rosenfeld

The goal of strategic classification is to learn decision rules which are robust to strategic input manipulation. Earlier works assume that these responses are known; while some recent works handle unknown responses, they exclusively study online settings with repeated model deployments. But there are many domains$\unicode{x2014}$particularly in public policy, a common motivating use case$\unicode{x2014}$where multiple deployments are infeasible, or where even one bad round is unacceptable. To address this gap, we initiate the formal study of one-shot strategic classification under unknown responses, which requires committing to a single classifier once. Focusing on uncertainty in the users' cost function, we begin by proving that for a broad class of costs, even a small mis-estimation of the true cost can entail trivial accuracy in the worst case. In light of this, we frame the task as a minimax problem, aiming to minimize worst-case risk over an uncertainty set of costs. We design efficient algorithms for both the full-batch and stochastic settings, which we prove converge (offline) to the minimax solution at the rate of $\tilde{\mathcal{O}}(T^{-\frac{1}{2}})$. Our analysis reveals important structure stemming from strategic responses, particularly the value of dual norm regularization with respect to the cost function.

Sandra Benítez-Peña, Rafael Blanquero, Emilio Carrizosa et al.

Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a powerful tool in binary classification, known to attain excellent misclassification rates. On the other hand, many realworld classification problems, such as those found in medical diagnosis, churn or fraud prediction, involve misclassification costs which may be different in the different classes. However, it may be hard for the user to provide precise values for such misclassification costs, whereas it may be much easier to identify acceptable misclassification rates values. In this paper we propose a novel SVM model in which misclassification costs are considered by incorporating performance constraints in the problem formulation. Specifically, our aim is to seek the hyperplane with maximal margin yielding misclassification rates below given threshold values. Such maximal margin hyperplane is obtained by solving a quadratic convex problem with linear constraints and integer variables. The reported numerical experience shows that our model gives the user control on the misclassification rates in one class (possibly at the expense of an increase in misclassification rates for the other class) and is feasible in terms of running times.

Thiago Morello, Aldo Santos Lima, Rubicleis Gomes da Silva

Abstract Background The scarce knowledge about the drivers of demand for respiratory health care in the Brazilian Amazon, where the gap of human and physical health care resources is wide, is expanded with two surveys conducted in the west of the region, in Acre state. Potential drivers, informed by a review of twelve recent papers, were classified into seven categories capturing the individual, household, community and macroeconomic dimensions. Methods Quantitative field surveys were conducted in 2017 and 2019 based on coupled conglomerate-quota randomization sampling. Adults responded about their own health or their children’s health. The probability of seeking physician care for the latest episode of respiratory illness or dry cough was analysed with multiple nonlinear regressions, having as covariates the potential predictors informed by the literature. Results The propensity to seek health care and to purchase medication was larger for children. Influenza-like illness (Despite the exact diagnostic stated by respondents being “influenza”, a virus detection test (such as the PCR test) is not commonly applied, as informed by the Acre state public health service. In consistency, the term “influenza-like illness” is used.) was the most frequently diagnosed disease, followed by pneumonia, suggesting that a health care-seeking rate below 40% may perpetuate health impairment and local contagion. Illnesses’ severity, including the pain experienced, was the main predictor, revealing that subjective perception was more influential than objective individual and household characteristics. Conclusions The results suggest that subjective underestimation of respiratory illnesses’ consequences for oneself and for local society could prevent health care from being sought. This is in line with some previous studies but departs from those emphasizing the role of objective factors. Social consequences, of, for instance, a macroeconomic nature, need to be highlighted based on studies detecting long-run relationships among health care demand, health and economic performance at the national level. Depending on the intensity of the trade-off between the costs imposed on the health system by increased demand and on the economy by the reduced productivity of the ill, policy could be adopted to change subjective perceptions of illnesses with nudges and educational and informational interventions.

Yake Lou, Ying Yu, Ying Yu et al.

BackgroundSacubitril-valsartan was recommended for heart failure (HF) and proven cost-effective in HF. Recently, sacubitril-valsartan has been recommended to treat hypertension by the Chinese expert consensus. The cost utility of sacubitril-valsartan for hypertension remains uninvestigated.MethodsA meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was performed to investigate the real efficacy of sacubitril-valsartan on blood pressure, compared with angiotensin receptor blockers or placebo. A lifetime Markov model was developed to compare the cost utility of sacubitril-valsartan vs. valsartan. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR), representing the ratio of incremental costs to the incremental utility. The willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold was three times of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in China in 2021. Sacubitril-valsartan was considered cost-effective if the ICUR obtained was lower than the WTP threshold, otherwise, sacubitril-valsartanis was not cost-effective.ResultsA total of 10 RCTs of 5,781 patients were included in the meta-analysis. For comparison of sacubitril-valsartan 400 mg/day vs. valsartan 320 mg/day, a reduction in blood pressure (BP) of −5.97 (−6.38, −5.56) (p &lt; 0.01) was observed. Cost-utility analysis showed that for a 60-year-old patient with hypertension, if sacubitril-valsartan was prescribed as the antihypertensive agent, he had a life expectancy of 11.91 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) with costs of 65,066 CNY, and if valsartan was prescribed as the antihypertensive agent, the life expectancy would be 11.82 QALY with costs of 54,769 CNY; thus, an ICUR of 108,622 CNY/QALY was obtained, lower than the WTP threshold.ConclusionCompared with valsartan, sacubitril-valsartan is more effective in reducing blood pressure and may result in more quality-adjusted life-year, although with higher costs. Sacubitril-valsartan is cost-effective for hypertension in the current China setting under the willingness-to-pay threshold of 3 times of per capita GDP.

Jan H. L. Ypinga, Angelika D. Van Halteren, Emily J. Henderson et al.

Abstract Background Culminating evidence shows that current care does not optimally meet the needs of persons with parkinsonism, their carers and healthcare professionals. Recently, a new model of care was developed to address the limitations of usual care: Proactive and Integrated Management and Empowerment in Parkinson’s Disease (PRIME Parkinson). From 2021 onwards, PRIME Parkinson care will replace usual care in a well-defined region in The Netherlands. The utility of PRIME Parkinson care will be evaluated on a single primary endpoint (parkinsonism-related complications), which reflects the health of people with parkinsonism. Furthermore, several secondary endpoints will be measured for four dimensions: health, patient and carer experience, healthcare professional experience, and cost of healthcare. The reference will be usual care, which will be continued in other regions in The Netherlands. Methods This is a prospective observational study which will run from January 1, 2020 until December 31, 2023. Before the new model of care will replace the usual care in the PRIME Parkinson care region all baseline assessments will take place. Outcomes will be informed by two data sources. We will use healthcare claims-based data to evaluate the primary endpoint, and costs of healthcare, in all persons with parkinsonism receiving PRIME Parkinson care (estimated number: 2,000) and all persons with parkinsonism receiving usual care in the other parts of The Netherlands (estimated number: 48,000). We will also evaluate secondary endpoints by performing annual questionnaire-based assessments. These assessments will be administered to a subsample across both regions (estimated numbers: 1,200 persons with parkinsonism, 600 carers and 250 healthcare professionals). Discussion This prospective cohort study will evaluate the utility of a novel integrated model of care for persons with parkinsonism in The Netherlands. We anticipate that the results of this study will also provide insight for the delivery of care to persons with parkinsonism in other regions and may inform the design of a similar model for other chronic health conditions.

Gureev Ivan

The aim of the research was to improve the technology for the production of winter wheat in Central Chernozem Region (CChR) by increasing the efficiency of the application of modern micronutrient fertilizers in conjunction with seed disinfectants and foliar dressing. To achieve this goal, the representative of FSBSI Kursk Federal Agricultural Research Center with the participation of specialists of Central Chernozem Machine Testing Station developed a technology and conducted field experiments on slightly leached medium loamy chernozem with pHKCl = 5.1 and humus content of 5.0%. For the first time on a scientific basis, a significant reserve for saving fertilizer resources has been realized through the use of synergy of interaction between nutrients. For this, the nomenclature and the ratio of the components of the nutritional mixture for foliar applications were established by an innovative method of functional foliar diagnostics using the Aquadonis device. Micronutrient fertilizer Aquamix ST (100 g/t) was applied to the seeds together with various seed disinfectants. As a control, we used a Lamador seed disinfectant (0.2 l /t), as well as new seed disinfectant: Scenic Combi (1.5 l/t), Baritone (1.5 l/t) + Nuprid (0.6 l/t) , Redigo (0.55 l/t) + Nuprid (0.6 l/t). Positive annual total cost savings of 119 rubles per 1 ton of produced grain was shown by the variant of seed treatment with a combination of Aquamix ST + Lamador. Other variants with the same agronomical efficiency, but with more expensive new seed disinfectants, turned out to be unprofitable. When evaluating the methods of foliar dressing, the highest yield of winter wheat at 3.98 t/ha was obtained using the innovative method of functional foliar diagnostics. The best indicators of the economic efficiency of the improved technology for the production of winter wheat were established in the variant of seed treatment Aquamix ST + Lamador with the application of foliar dressing using an innovative method. At the same time, the annual savings in total costs amounted to 476 rubles/t, which is 1.34 times higher than the variant with standard fertilizing with complex fertilizer Aquarin 5.

Shaojie Tang

In this paper, we study the constrained stochastic submodular maximization problem with state-dependent costs. The input of our problem is a set of items whose states (i.e., the marginal contribution and the cost of an item) are drawn from a known probability distribution. The only way to know the realized state of an item is to select that item. We consider two constraints, i.e., \emph{inner} and \emph{outer} constraints. Recall that each item has a state-dependent cost, and the inner constraint states that the total \emph{realized} cost of all selected items must not exceed a give budget. Thus, inner constraint is state-dependent. The outer constraint, one the other hand, is state-independent. It can be represented as a downward-closed family of sets of selected items regardless of their states. Our objective is to maximize the objective function subject to both inner and outer constraints. Under the assumption that larger cost indicates larger "utility", we present a constant approximate solution to this problem.

Ehsan Saeed, Saeedeh Senemari, Bijan Maleki et al.

The present study investigates the geochemical properties of potential source rocks in the eastern Caspian Basin from Alborz structural zone. For this purpose, sections of Suchelma and Purva in south of Neka and an outcrop in south of Sari were selected. The studied samples of sedimentary source rocks of the Paleocene age were analyzed based on Rock-Eval analysis method. The results of Rock- Eval pyrolysis and organic petrography results of probable source rock sediments in one of the exploration wells of Gorgan plain were also studied. According to the results, most of the outcrops samples are immature and were deposited in a regressive continental environment. The samples of exploration borehole studied, are good in terms of organic matter richness but in terms of the amount of kerogen maturation are immature. According to the results of this study, these samples have weak hydrocarbon generating power and total organic carbon content of about 1% as well as kerogen type III. It was also specified in the determination of organic facies that most of the mentioned samples show deep environmental conditions adjacent to orogenic and continental sites and are deposited in a regressive environment. Keywords: Source rock, Rock- Eval experiment, Maturity, Southern Caspian Basin, Hydrocarbon generation potential.   Introduction The Caspian Sea region is well known for its abundant oil reserves and oil and gas production has played an important commercial role in the region for more than 150 years especially in Azerbaijan and to a lesser extent in Turkmenistan (Smith- Rouch 2006). Identification of hydrocarbon systems in the Caspian sedimentary basin is of great importance for exploratory studies and to achieve the production of hydrocarbon resources. One of the main pillars of any oil system is the source rock. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the source rock and determine its location in any system to avoid imposing exorbitant costs and unsuccessful excavations. The relatively low geothermal gradients (around 1.5°C 100m-1) from rapid burial provide favorable thermal conditions for the preservation of hydrocarbons at relatively great depths (up to10+ km) (Nadirov 1990). A petroleum source rock is defined as any rock that has the capability to generate and expel enough hydrocarbons to form an accumulation of oil or gas. Definitions that do not include migration and accumulation are too general, because in a sense practically all rocks contain organic matter (OM) form some hydrocarbons. A potential source rock is one that is too immature to generate petroleum in its natural setting but will form significant quantities of petroleum when heated in the laboratory or during deep burial (Hunt 1996). The main source- rocks in the south Caspian basin are considered to be Paleogene- Miocene deposits (Maykop/ Diatom) (Guliyev et al. 2001). Paleocene deposits in Iran are important for hydrocarbon reserves due to their organic matter as a source rock. Therefore, this study investigates the hydrocarbon generation potential of Paleocene sediments in the east of southern Caspian Basin. Materias and Methods Three outcrops in Mazandaran province were selected for this study. From each of Suchelma and Purva outcrops, six and seven samples, respectively, and from south of Sari two samples of potential source rock sediments of the Paleocene age were analyzed for Rock- Eval pyrolysis. The Rock- Eval pyrolysis and Organic Petrography results of eight samples of the Paleocene deposits in one of the exploration wells of Gorgan plain were also studied. The Rock- Eval pyrolysis method has been extensively used for oil and gas exploration in sedimentary basins over the world (Behar et al. 2001). Vitrinite reflectance is the most reliable maturity parameter for measuring thermal maturity of sedimentary organic matter (Tokatli et al. 2006).   Discussion of Results and Conclusions According to the results, most of the outcrops samples harvested were poor in terms of total organic carbon content and in terms of kerogen maturity were before the oil window. Therefore, they are weak in terms of hydrocarbon generation potential. These samples contain kerogen type IV. Also in determining the organic facies, it was found that most of the sediments were deposited in a continental regressive environment. The well samples are good in terms of organic matter richness, immature in terms of the amount of kerogen maturation and weak in terms of hydrocarbon generation potential. The measurement results of vitrinite reflectance also confirmed that the borehole samples were immature. These samples contain kerogen type III. It was also specified in the determination of organic facies that most of the well samples show deep environmental conditions adjacent to orogenic sites and are deposited in a regressive environment