Low Price Research Articles

Needs and perceptions regarding healthy eating among people at risk of food insecurity in the Netherlands

Abstract Background Healthy eating behaviour is an essential determinant of overall health. This behaviour is generally poor among people at risk of experiencing food insecurity, which may be caused by many factors including perceived higher costs of healthy foods, financial stress, inadequate nutritional knowledge, and inadequate skills required for healthy food preparation. Few studies have examined how these factors influence eating behaviour among people at risk of experiencing food insecurity. We therefore aimed to gain a better understanding of the needs and perceptions regarding healthy eating in this target group. Methods We conducted a qualitative exploration with 10 participants at risk of experiencing food insecurity in the Netherlands. Results and conclusions The analysis using an inductive approach identified four core factors influencing eating behaviour: Health related topics; Social and cultural influences; Influences by the physical environment; and Financial influences. Overall, participants showed adequate nutrition knowledge. However, eating behaviour was strongly influenced by social factors and physical environmental factors. Perceived barriers for healthy eating behaviour included poor mental health, financial stress, and high food prices. Participants had a generally conscious attitude towards their financial situation, reflected in their strategies to cope with a limited budget. Participants were familiar with several existing resources to reduce food-related financial strain and generally had a positive attitude towards these resources. An exception was the Food Bank, of which the food parcel content was not well appreciated. Proposed interventions to reduce food-related financial strain included facilitating social contacts, increasing healthy food supply in the neighbourhood, and lowering prices of healthy foods. The insights from this study increase understanding of factors influencing eating behaviour of people at risk of food insecurity.

Supplemental Oxygen Use, Outcomes, and Spending in Patients With COPD in the Medicare Competitive Bidding Program.

The Medicare Competitive Bidding Program (CBP), a policy that reduced durable medical equipment prices, was implemented starting in 2011. Legislation introduced in 2024 aims to remove supplemental oxygen from the CBP because of concerns that recent decreases in oxygen prescribing are due to lower prices set by the CBP, which may have decreased supply and, in turn, limited oxygen access for patients with chronic lung diseases. However, low-value prescribing of oxygen is also prevalent in practice, and decreased oxygen prescription rates may not have necessarily caused harm. Little is known about the association of the CBP with patient use, outcomes, or spending. To examine the association between the 2011 and 2013 implementation of the CBP and supplemental oxygen use, clinical outcomes, and supplemental oxygen spending among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This cohort study used a difference-in-differences (DID) method to evaluate the association between implementation of the CBP and the outcomes of interest. Patients aged 65 to 100 years with COPD living in CBP areas were compared with those living in areas where the CBP was not yet or never implemented. The study included 100% fee-for-service Medicare data of beneficiaries enrolled between July 1, 2009, and December 31, 2015. The data analysis was performed between June 6, 2023, and August 16, 2024. The 2011 and 2013 implementation cycles of the Medicare CBP. The primary outcomes were new prescriptions of oxygen during a 6-month period among beneficiaries with COPD and discontinuation of oxygen during a 6-month period among beneficiaries with COPD previously prescribed oxygen. Secondary outcomes included switches between oxygen types (gas, liquid, or concentrator), all-cause mortality, all-cause unplanned hospitalizations, COPD hospitalizations, and mean monthly allowed charges (total spending) over a 6-month period. The analysis was performed using the Callaway-Sant'Anna method, a dynamic DID model for policies with staggered implementation. Among 5 753 308 Medicare beneficiaries with COPD (mean [SD] age, 79.2 [8.4] years; 55.1% female), 25.9% received supplemental oxygen for at least one 6-month period during the study. The CBP was not associated with differential changes in new oxygen prescribing (DID estimate, -0.19 percentage points; 95% CI, -2.45 to 2.08 percentage points) or oxygen discontinuations (DID estimate, -0.77 percentage points; 95% CI, -8.15 to 6.60 percentage points). Similarly, differential changes were not observed in the secondary outcomes of oxygen switches (DID estimate, -0.04 percentage points; 95% CI, -0.44 to 0.37 percentage points), all-cause mortality (DID estimate, 0.16 percentage points; 95% CI, -7.52 to 7.84 percentage points), all-cause unplanned hospitalizations (DID estimate, -0.20 percentage points; 95% CI, -10.94 to 10.53 percentage points), or COPD hospitalizations (DID estimate, -0.04 percentage points; 95% CI, -2.57 to 2.48 percentage points). Differential changes were observed for mean monthly allowed charges (DID estimate, -$326.22; 95% CI, -$434.76 to -$217.68). In this study, among beneficiaries with COPD, the Medicare CBP was associated with differentially lower spending but not differential changes in oxygen use or clinical outcomes. This study did not find evidence supporting ongoing policy efforts to remove supplemental oxygen from the CBP.

Assessing the Future of Oil and Gas Production and Local Government Revenue in Five Western US Basins

Oil and gas production is a major source of public revenue in many US regions, but uncertainty exists over the future of demand for hydrocarbons. We model how oil and gas production and related government revenue change in five western US basins depending on future oil and natural gas prices under three scenarios of climate policy ambition. We find that the Green River and San Juan basins experience production declines across all scenarios, while production in the Bakken, Permian, and Powder River basins are more dependent on prices. Government revenue generally follows the direction of production, but these relationships are not directly proportional. Under the lower price scenarios, revenue declines more steeply than production because it reflects both production and prices, which both decline. Long-term permanent funds, which are in place across all the states we examine, provide an important fiscal cushion for school districts, their primary beneficiary. JEL Classification: H71, H72, H73, O13, Q41, Q48

Recent Progress on Cobalt‐Based Heterogeneous Catalysts for Hydrogen Production from Ammonia Borane

AbstractAmmonia borane (NH3BH3, AB) is a quintessential exemplar of chemical hydrogen storage materials and has been widely used in hydrogen evolution. Although expensive metal catalysts (such as Rh, Ru, Pt, Ag, etc.) exhibit high activity in the hydrolysis of ammonia borane, inexpensive metals are more economical. Cobalt (Co), in particular, is not only relatively inexpensive and readily available, but also possesses high activity and selectivity. Compared to other catalysts, cobalt‐based catalysts have better durability and can maintain catalytic activity for a longer period of time, making them favored by researchers. These catalysts demonstrate excellent stability, hydrogen evolution rate, and turn over frequency. This article summarized previous progress in low price metal cobalt‐based catalysts for hydrogen precipitation from ammonia borane, focusing on cobalt‐based catalysts supported on various supports, especially those supported on carbon materials, metal oxides, MOFs, and nickel foams. The characteristics of high‐performance catalytic systems are analyzed in detail. The development prospects of Co catalysts for hydrogen production from ammonia borane were also discussed. In summary, this review compiles various supported and other types of cobalt based catalysts in recent years, and also identifies the existing problems with these catalysts, providing a reference for developers to study these catalysts. It is believed that through careful regulation of the electronic and spatial structures of Co based catalysts, well‐designed Co based non precious metal catalysts will play a significant role in the decomposition of ammonia borane.

Dynamics analysis of green supply chain under the conditions of demand uncertainty and blockchain technology

This research investigates the implications of incorporating blockchain technology into the process of making decisions for green supply chains, particularly under conditions of demand uncertainty. A model was formulated to encompass both environmentally friendly products enabled by blockchain technology and those without such enabling technology. The study further explores the optimal method of introducing green input in a duopoly market using game theory. It also examines how consumer uncertainty about green products and acceptance of the technical parameters of blockchain influence this strategy. The findings suggest that increased consumer uncertainty can, in some instances, motivate manufacturers to enhance the eco-friendliness of their products and improve supply chain performance. However, the universal adoption of blockchain does not necessarily ensure better results; on the contrary, it may compromise product sustainability while enhancing supply chain profitability. Moreover, research has indicated that products enabled by blockchain typically have lower prices, thereby offering potential benefits to consumers when acceptance of sustainable energy solutions is high or uncertain. Additionally, this paper analyzes the impact of changes in green supply chain decision-making on system reliability. This involves exploring the relationship between decision parameters and consumer reluctance towards sustainable products and the adoption of blockchain technology. To ensure stable market competition in dynamic complex systems, research shows that feedback control technology can effectively regulate unpredictable behavior.

Comparison of Nature Tourism in Two Hungarian Forest-Dominated Areas—Results of Visitor Surveys

Recreation and nature-based tourism targeting forests are important cultural services provided by forests, and are also considered non-productive social functions of forests. Many factors influence the demand for forest recreation and tourism that are worth exploring for each forest area. The main aim of our study was to compare the results of visitor surveys related to two mountainous forested areas (Börzsöny and Cserhát) that are both located near to the capital city of Budapest but have different characteristics regarding the forests, accessibility, and the level of tourism infrastructure and services. The questionnaires focused on the characteristics of the visits, perceptions of visitors regarding the values of the areas, and the development needs besides the characteristics of the respondents. In addition to basic statistics, Chi2 and Fisher’s exact tests were used to detect the differences between the two sites. Despite the different characteristics of the study areas, the main results were quite similar at both sites. Most respondents came from Budapest or within a 60 km distance of the sites by car with family and friends, mainly for hiking and nature walks, and spent less than a day in the areas. The state of forests was perceived as good in both areas. Landscape and fresh air were the most attracting factors for visiting both sites. There was a demand for more guided tours, and regarding tourism infrastructure development needs, benches and toilets ranked high at both sites. However, there were also some slight differences between the sites. For example, Börzsöny was visited more frequently, and railway and bicycle were more often used to access this site. Pleasant climate, easy access and fresh air were more important reasons to visit Börzsöny, and it was more associated with wilderness. In Cserhát, low prices and cultural values seemed more important reasons to visit; Hollókő as a world heritage site was highlighted, and more nature-related and other tourism development needs were mentioned regarding this site. These differences were probably due to the different characteristics of the forests (more mosaic forests in Cserhát), the level of the public transportation network, tourist infrastructure and services (higher in Börzsöny), and cultural heritage (more important in Cserhát). Based on our results, Cserhát needs more development in tourism infrastructure and services, while in Börzsöny, the development of a visitor management plan would be useful to harmonize the different uses of the forest.

Agency mode selection and software competition in supply chains

AbstractAt present, many software developers work with downstream service providers to sell software and services. For political or economic reasons, foreign developers may be not allowed to sell software and services directly in the country of providers, but they can authorize their software to the providers for sale. In this study, we examine two types of IT supply chain (ITSC), namely, “Agenting Domestic Software” (Mode 1) and “Agenting Foreign Software” (Mode 2), each with a domestic developer/a foreign developer, a service provider, and client enterprises. In both modes, clients can either pay a high price to purchase software with accessorial pre‐sale service from the provider, or firsthand acquire it from the domestic developer at a low price but without pre‐sale service. We observe that in Mode 1, the domestic developer's market scale and the competition intensity of software have no effect on the domestic developer's decisions and profit; however, they have influences on the provider's decisions and profit. In Mode 2, the profits of ITSC members may increase with the intensity of software competition. When the domestic developer's market scale is small (large), and the domestic developer has (loses) the advantage of low extended‐warranty‐service (EWS) cost, Mode 1 (2) is more beneficial to the domestic developer than Mode 2 (1); however, the provider is more willing to choose Mode 2 (Mode 1). In other cases, either Mode 1 or Mode 2 may result in a win‐win situation for the domestic developer and provider.

Coal Phase-Out and Carbon Tax Analysis with Long-Term Planning Models: A Case Study for the Chilean Electric Power System

Large CO2 emissions constitute a significant problem today due to their effect on climate change, and the need to design appropriate energy policies to mitigate their consequences and reduce emissions requires a detailed analysis of one of the main sources of such emissions: the electricity system. Thus, this paper presents a study on the effects of energy policies on decarbonization by comparing the detailed phase-out of coal-fired power plants across a range of cases with the implementation of a carbon tax to meet Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The case study focuses on the Chilean electricity system, using a long-term generation and transmission expansion planning model (GTEP) that incorporates a wide range of generation technologies. The study examines the long-term effects of these policies, including costs, investments, and CO2 emissions, as well as their impact on consumer prices reflected in the marginal costs of the system. The transmission system modeling covers various regions of Chile and significant projections for renewable energy sources. It evaluates three economic scenarios based on generation technology costs, fuel prices, and electricity demand under four different closure schemes and fourteen different carbon tax levels. The results indicate that implementing a carbon tax can be more cost-effective for the system than the implementation of a phase-out schedule for coal plants, taking the form of reduced CO2 emission and overall system costs, with an optimal carbon tax value of 37 USD/tCO2. Additionally, the study reveals significant effects on consumer prices, showing that a carbon tax as an energy policy leads to lower prices compared to a phase-out scheme.

The Impact of Trade Openness on the Industry Reality in Iraq for the Period (2004-2022)

Iraq is one of the prominent countries that used to have important industries and enjoyed consumer acceptance, competitiveness, and presence in regional and global markets. However, after 2003 and due to trade liberalization, there needed to be more in the structure of the Iraqi economy. This directly affected the reality of the Iraqi industrial sector, leading to the entry of goods and products from all over the world. With the increase in population and government expenditures, which relied on commodity imports to meet local needs, all aspects of industry in the country were eliminated. The importance of research lies in shedding light on the role of international trade (import and export) in global economies, highlighting the shortcomings in trade policy management, demonstrating the impact of trade openness on the industrial sector's contribution to economic development, and the need for realistic measures to rescue this vital sector from deterioration in Iraq. Moreover, the research problem is based on the direct negative impact of trade liberalization policy on the reality of the industrial sector in the country. Increased reliance on foreign sources to meet local economic needs is attributed to the production apparatus's deficiencies, backwardness, and stagnation, rendering it unable to meet total domestic demand. The research aims to shed light on the role of foreign trade in global economies and to clarify the shortcomings in trade policy management, as well as the extent of the impact of trade liberalization on the reality of the industrial sector in achieving economic development. The research found that the industrial sector in Iraq was negatively affected throughout the period (2004-2022) due to the compulsory trade liberalization policy, which led to the shutdown of factories and plants because of the low prices of imported goods. Paper type Research paper.

Livestock Changes in Brazil and Sustainable Intensification Challenges

The increasing global demand for animal products has impacted Brazilian cattle farming. This study aims to offer references for developing more sustainable livestock farming in Brazil. It analyzes the numbers of pasture areas, cattle herds, and stocking rates from 1970 to 2017, based on agricultural census data. Additionally, it compares pasture conditions using agricultural census data and satellite imagery for the years 2006 and 2017. The key findings include the following: (1) a 119.7% increase in cattle herds, with migration from the South and Southeast to the North and Central–West regions, which have lower land prices; (2) a 2.6% decrease in the pasture area for cattle (except in the North region); (3) a 3.8% decrease in areas in poor condition; and (4) a 125.5% increase in the stocking rate. Despite technological advancements improving productivity, most pastures (59.6%) are still underperforming, indicating potential for reducing the pressure on native vegetation. This study concludes that production areas are shifting between regions in Brazil, with livestock farming intensifying, marked by a decrease in pasture areas and degraded pastures, alongside an increase in cattle numbers and stocking rates. However, these changes are heterogeneous across the country. This analysis provides an overview of beef cattle nationwide, which is relevant for addressing production sustainability challenges.

Probabilistic Analysis of Low-Emission Hydrogen Production from a Photovoltaic Carport

This article presents a 3D model of a yellow hydrogen generation system that uses the electricity produced by a photovoltaic carport. The 3D models of all key system components were collected, and their characteristics were described. Based on the design of the 3D model of the photovoltaic carport, the amount of energy produced monthly was determined. These quantities were then applied to determine the production of low-emission hydrogen. In order to increase the amount of low-emission hydrogen produced, the usage of a stationary energy storage facility was proposed. The Metalog family of probability distributions was adopted to develop a strategic model for low-emission hydrogen production. The hydrogen economy of a company that uses small amounts of hydrogen can be based on such a model. The 3D modeling and calculations show that it is possible to design a compact low-emission hydrogen generation system using rapid prototyping tools, including the photovoltaic carport with an electrolyzer placed in the container and an energy storage facility. This is an effective solution for the climate and energy transition of companies with low hydrogen demand. In the analytical part, the Metalog probability distribution family was employed to determine the amount of monthly energy produced by 6.3 kWp photovoltaic systems located in two European countries: Poland and Italy. Calculating the probability of producing specific amounts of hydrogen in two European countries is an answer to a frequently asked question: In which European countries will the production of low-emission hydrogen from photovoltaic systems be the most profitable? As a result of the calculations, for the analyzed year 2023 in Poland and Italy, specific answers were obtained regarding the probability of monthly energy generation and monthly hydrogen production. Many companies from Poland and Italy are taking part in the European competition to create hydrogen banks. Only those that offer low-emission hydrogen at the lowest prices will receive EU funding.

The Impact of Trade Openness on the Reality Industry in Iraq for the Period (2004-2022)

Iraq is one of the prominent countries that used to have important industries and enjoyed consumer acceptance, as well as competitiveness and presence in regional and global markets. However, after 2003 and due to trade liberalization, there was a general weakness in the structure of the Iraqi economy. This directly affected the reality of the Iraqi industrial sector, leading to the entry of goods and products from all over the world. With the increase in population and government expenditures, which relied on commodity imports to meet local needs, all aspects of industry in the country were eliminated. The importance of research lies in shedding light on the role of international trade (import and export) in global economies, highlighting the shortcomings in trade policy management, demonstrating the impact of trade openness on the industrial sector's contribution to economic development, and the need for realistic measures to rescue this vital sector from deterioration in Iraq. And the problem of the research is based on the direct negative impact of trade liberalization policy on the reality of the industrial sector in the country. Increased reliance on foreign sources to meet local economic needs is attributed to the deficiencies, backwardness, and stagnation of the production apparatus, rendering it unable to meet total domestic demand. The aim of the research is to shed light on the role of foreign trade in global economies and to clarify the shortcomings in trade policy management, as well as the extent of the impact of trade liberalization on the reality of the industrial sector in achieving economic development. The research found that the industrial sector in Iraq was negatively affected throughout the period (2004-2022) due to the compulsory trade liberalization policy, which led to the shutdown of factories and plants as a result of the low prices of imported goods. Paper type Research paper.

Availability and Pricing of Drugs Prescribed by Otolaryngologists Through a Direct-to-Consumer Pharmacy: Medicare Savings Implications.

High prescription drug prices can financially strain patients and insurers, with substantial clinical repercussions. In recent years, direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmacies have emerged as potentially lower-cost alternatives for patients to fill prescriptions. We evaluated whether drugs commonly prescribed by otolaryngologists were available at a national DTC pharmacy (Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company [MCCPDC]) and estimated potential Medicare savings from DTC pricing. We identified drugs and prices paid by Medicare Part D plans using the 2021 Drug Spending Dashboard. Our analysis included 16 generic drugs within the MCCPDC formulary, which offered lower prices for 14 (87.5%) drugs. If plans had secured MCCPDC pricing for all 16 drugs, Medicare patients and plans would have saved $2.9 billion (relative reduction: 62.3%) in 2021. Estimated total savings were greatest for budesonide-formoterol ($1.9 billion), dexlansoprazole ($464.6 million), and levothyroxine ($327.4 million). Otolaryngologists and insurers may consider utilizing DTC pharmacies with lower drug prices, though patients may face challenges projecting out-of-pocket costs across pharmacies, medications, benefit phases, and formulary tiers.

Clean Energy Challenges and Innovation Opportunities in Kazakhstan

Abstract Kazakhstan has pledged to transition to a low-carbon economy by implementing national policies and strategies that promote clean energy innovation. However, Kazakhstan is still falling short of its expected targets for energy transition, and there is a lack of knowledge regarding the country's challenges and opportunities for clean energy development. Towards this end, the current study identifies and assesses the enablers and barriers related to clean energy innovation in Kazakhstan. Using the combination of SWOT analysis, survey data from 41 experts and the DEMATEL decision support tool, we evaluated the key factors affecting Kazakhstan's clean energy innovation and their implications for energy transition. Assessment results show that the immature business environment, underpinned by technological, institutional, and socioeconomic factors, is perceived as a high-impact constraint for clean energy innovation and green finance deployment in Kazakhstan. Skilled labour shortages, high reliance on hydrocarbons and low retail energy prices are significant challenges to Kazakhstan's clean energy innovation. The low-profit margin and high investment risk in clean energy projects are identified as transition barriers in the power and energy-intensive industries. In contrast, Kazakhstan's endowments of resources critical for developing clean energy technologies (rare earth metals, uranium, gas) and the potential of low-carbon investments (e.g. carbon storage) are perceived as prominent enablers of clean energy innovation. Results are consistent across expert subgroups (academia, industry, NGOs, etc). Findings call for policy support to modern and attractive business environments, capacity, and human capital development. The findings can provide helpful insights for countries in Central Asia and beyond with similar socioeconomic structures that aim for a timely energy transition.

Sizing Up the Farm Bill Safety Net

Lower commodity prices and higher production costs over the past couple of years have crop producers concerned about tighter margins and cash flow for their operations. The federal farm income safety net provides substantial support to producers through commodity programs, crop insurance programs, and disaster assistance. Crop insurance has been the primary safety net tool for producers in recent years as commodity prices generally fluctuated at levels above commodity program support levels. Even declining markets in the past couple years left prices that remained above Price Loss Coverage (PLC) support levels and revenue calculations above Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) guarantees unless there were significant yield losses at the county level for ARC-CO or the individual farm level for ARC-IC. The outlook is changing however as declining prices run into support levels that are increasing based on the past few years of higher prices. The ARC program provides a revenue guarantee tied to 86% of a benchmark revenue calculated from a five-year moving average price and a five-year moving average trend-adjusted yield. The PLC program provides support if prices fall below the higher of a legislated reference price or 85% of a five-year moving average price. With the higher prices experienced during the past few years, the five-year moving average price has increased and both ARC and PLC support levels have gotten stronger. A look at ARC and PLC protection and payment levels provides a picture of what current support and cash flow may look like and what future support could be under current or future farm legislation.

Import licenses, intermediaries, and price pass-through: Evidence from the Chinese steel market

This study examines the impact of abolishing the exclusive license of importing iron ore on price pass-through in the Chinese steel market. We model the intermediate traders' role in alleviating market uncertainties, which have a critical impact on price pass-through. In addition, we leverage the monthly iron ore import prices and steel market prices in Chinese cities, and employ a difference-in-difference framework to empirically analyze the impact of the import license reform on price pass-through. We show that the reform on average reduces the price pass-through by 15 percentage points, which is around 3 points further in treated cities. Our findings imply the price pass-through hinges on market uncertainties, and the reform, although eliminating double marginalization, makes downstream steel producers have to face market uncertainties directly, and results in a lower price pass-through.

Oxyanion Engineering on RuO2 for Efficient Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis.

In acidic proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE), the anode oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts rely heavily on the expensive and scarce iridium-based materials. Ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) with lower price and higher OER activity, has been explored for the similar task, but has been restricted by the poor stability. Herein, we developed an anion modification strategy to improve the OER performance of RuO2 in acidic media. The designed multicomponent catalyst based on sulfate anchored on RuO2/MoO3 displays a low overpotential of 190 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and stably operates for 500 hours with a very low degradation rate of 20 μV h-1 in acidic electrolyte. When assembled in a PEMWE cell, this catalyst as an anode shows an excellent stability at 500 mA cm-2 for 150 h. Experimental and theoretical results revealed that MoO3 could stabilize sulfate anion on RuO2 surface to suppress its leaching during OER. Such MoO3-anchored sulfate not only reduces the formation energy of *OOH intermediate on RuO2, but also impedes both the surface Ru and lattice oxygen loss, thereby achieving the high OER activity and exceptional durability.

Optimization of reversible solid oxide cell system capacity combined with an offshore wind farm for hydrogen production and energy storage using the PyPSA power system modelling tool

AbstractEight scenarios where high efficiency reversible solid oxide cells (rSOC) are combined with an offshore wind farm are identified. Thanks to the PyPSA power system modelling tool combined with a sensitivity study, optimized rSOC system capacities, hydrogen storage capacities, and subsea cable connection capacities are investigated under various combinations of rSOC system capital cost, prices paid for hydrogen, and electricity prices, which give indications on the most profitable scenario for offshore hydrogen production from a 600 MW wind farm situated 60 km from shore. Low electricity prices (yearly average 45 £/MWh) combined with mild fluctuations (standard deviation 6 or 13 £/MWh) call for dedicated hydrogen production when the hydrogen price exceeds 4 £/kg. High electricity prices (yearly average 118 or 204 £/MWh), combined with extreme fluctuations (standard deviation between 73 and 110 £/MWh), make a reversible system economically profitable. The amount of hydrogen which is recommended to be reconverted into electricity depends on the price paid for hydrogen. Comparison of the optimized cases to the default case of a wind farm without hydrogen production improved profit by at least 3% and up to 908%. Comparison to the default case of dedicated hydrogen production, showed that in the case of low hydrogen prices, an unprofitable scenario can be made profitable, and improvement of profit in the case of a profitable default case starts at 4% and reaches numbers as high as 324%.

Development of a water resources utilization model and optimization of the patterns of rice genotypes with system dynamics approach

The system dynamics approach was conducted to optimize genotype patterns in various climatic and water availability scenarios, to address the water productivity improvement of the Sefidrood irrigation network. The studied cropping pattern scenarios were SD1 (the continuation of current trends), SD2 (the reduction in the cultivated area), SD3 (replacing modified crops on an annual basis), and SD4 (increasing the annual cultivated area of Hashemi type rice). Moreover, the impacts of irrigation efficiency improvements and water resources management strategies on the physical and economic water productivity indices were studied. The results indicated that the SD3 scenario has the most positive impact on water productivity with 0.45 kg/m3 increases. However, a questionnaire survey revealed that this scenario that belongs to the increase in the modified genotype area cannot be recommended due to cooking quality and low prices. The Hashemi genotype was the favorite rice among farmers and experts. Also, analyzing the irrigation efficiency improvement scenario showed that this strategy has a limited impact on the physical and economic water productivity. Increasing the capacity of local rainwater storage pools, Ab-bandans, and increasing the drainage water reuse had the highest water productivity in the condition of river water reduction and uncertain water availability.

A Low-cost and Green Zinc-Iron Battery Achieved by Ethaline Deep Eutectic Solvent.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were considered as a potential electrolyte because of their low price, harmless to environment and wider electrochemical window potential compared to water. In this work, Fe(Ⅲ)/Fe(Ⅱ) and Zn(Ⅱ)/Zn redox couples were used as the positive and negative active materials, respectively, in a DES system using choline chloride and ethylene glycol in a molar ratio of 1:2 (ethaline). The possible working mechanism of the battery was studied by cyclic voltammetry, spectroscopic and simulation methods. The effects of different temperatures, concentrations of zinc ions in the anolyte and current densities on battery performance were evaluated. The results showed that the designed zinc-iron battery should preferably be operated at a current density of 0.5 mA cm-2 and the temperature of 313~323 K, which will improve the energy efficiency and maintain a high coulombic efficiency. The variation of cycle performance test presents a different pattern from the usual batteries, which is due to the effect of RO- group. At 313 K and 0.5 mA cm-2, the coulombic efficiency increases from 14.1% to 100.2% after 46 cycles, and then remains at about 100% during the rest 54 cycles, which demonstrates a good cycle stability of DES-based zinc-iron battery.