Investigating the residential electricity consumption-income nexus in Morocco: a stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology analysis

In a comprehensive LMDI-STIRPAT-ARDL framework, this research investigates the residential electricity consumption (REC)-income nexus in Morocco for the period 1990 to 2018. The logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) results show that economic activity and electricity intensity are the leading drivers of Morocco’s REC, followed by population and residential structure. And then, the LMDI analysis was combined with stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT) analysis and the bounds testing approach to search for a long-run equilibrium relationship. The empirical results show that REC, economic growth, urbanization, and electricity intensity are cointegrated. The results further show that there exists a U-shaped relationship between per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and REC: an increase in per capita GDP reduces REC initially; but, after reaching a turning point (the GDPPC level of 17,145.22 Dh), further increases in per capita GDP increase REC. Regarding urbanization, the results reveal that it has no significant impact on Morocco’s REC. The stability parameters of the short and long-term coefficients of residential electricity demand function are tested. The results of these tests showed a stable pattern. Finally, based on the findings mentioned above, policy implications for guiding the country's development and electricity planning under energy and environmental constraints are given.

Permanent-Transitory decomposition of cointegrated time series via Dynamic Factor Models, with an application to commodity prices

We propose a cointegration-based Permanent-Transitory decomposition for non-stationary Dynamic Factor Models. Our methodology exploits the cointegration relations among the observable variables and assumes they are driven by a common and an idiosyncratic component. The common component is further split into a long-term non-stationary and a short-term stationary part. A Monte Carlo experiment shows that incorporating the cointegration structure into the DFM leads to a better reconstruction of the space spanned by the factors, compared to the most standard technique of applying a factor model in differenced systems. We apply our procedure to a set of commodity prices to analyse the comovement among different markets and find that commodity prices move together mostly due to long-term common forces; while the trend for the prices of most primary goods is declining, metals and energy exhibit an upward or at least stable pattern since the 2000s.

DGG: A Novel Framework for Crowd Gathering Detection

Crowd gathering detection plays an important role in security supervision of public areas. Existing image-processing-based methods are not robust for complex scenes, and deep-learning-based methods for gathering detection mainly focus on the design of the network, which ignores the inner feature of the crowd gathering action. To alleviate such problems, this work proposes a novel framework Detection of Group Gathering (DGG) based on the crowd counting method using deep learning approaches and statistics to detect crowd gathering. The DGG mainly contains three parts, i.e., Detecting Candidate Frame of Gathering (DCFG), Gathering Area Detection (GAD), and Gathering Judgement (GJ). The DCFG is proposed to find the frame index in a video that has the maximum people number based on the crowd counting method. This frame means that the crowd has gathered and the specific gathering area will be detected next. The GAD detects the local area that has the maximum crowd density in a frame with a slide search box. The local area contains the inner feature of the gathering action and represents that the crowd gathering in this local area, which is denoted by grid coordinates in a video frame. Based on the detected results of the DCFG and the GAD, the GJ is proposed to analyze the statistical relationship between the local area and the global area to find the stable pattern for the crowd gathering action. Experiments based on benchmarks show that the proposed DGG has a robust representation of the gathering feature and a high detection accuracy. There is the potential that the DGG can be used in social security and smart city domains.

STUDY OF DYNAMIC MODES OF THE SPEED-OPTIMIZED ELECTRIC DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEM UNDER CONDITIONS OF ALTER THE DESIGN VOLTAGE AMPLITUDE

The relevance of the work is due to the need to adapt the methods of the theory of optimal control to modern technical capabilities. The complexity of optimization of control systems by variational methods led to the creation of the N–i switching method. It is characterized by the simplicity of the mathematical apparatus, however, certain methodological aspects encourage research aimed at improving this method with a focus on software implementation. The purpose of this study is to develop the mathematical apparatus of the N–i switching method by developing a technique for correcting the settings of cascade structure relay systems for speed control of electric drives, based on the use of empirically obtained data. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were solved in the work: the parameters of the mathematical model of the electric drive were calculated, on which a series of numerical experiments were performed under the conditions of varying the calculated amplitude of the voltage of the power converter, which made it possible to reveal a stable pattern of changes in the speed of the system depending on the coefficient of the calculated voltage; built a calibration diagram, which is designed to determine the correction factor in the entire range of speed control. The revealed regularity is based on the indirect influence of the varied parameters on the conditions of controllers switching, the moments of occurrence and the nature of their sliding modes. The result of the work is a method for correcting the parameters of relay controllers, which brings the duration of the speed control of the electric drive closer to the empirically set optimal value. Its implementation does not require the involvement of large additional resources and provides an improvement in the quality of transient processes. The empirical component of the proposed optimization method consists not in the direct selection of one of the key parameters of the system, but in the preliminary refinement of the initial data, which is effective within the used synthesis method. The prospect of this study is an analytical solution to the problem of determining the correction coefficient, which will contribute to the practical application of the proposed optimization algorithm.

PQN-59 antagonizes microRNA-mediated repression during post-embryonic temporal patterning and modulates translation and stress granule formation in C. elegans

microRNAs (miRNAs) are potent regulators of gene expression that function in a variety of developmental and physiological processes by dampening the expression of their target genes at a post-transcriptional level. In many gene regulatory networks (GRNs), miRNAs function in a switch-like manner whereby their expression and activity elicit a transition from one stable pattern of gene expression to a distinct, equally stable pattern required to define a nascent cell fate. While the importance of miRNAs that function in this capacity are clear, we have less of an understanding of the cellular factors and mechanisms that ensure the robustness of this form of regulatory bistability. In a screen to identify suppressors of temporal patterning phenotypes that result from ineffective miRNA-mediated target repression, we identified pqn-59, an ortholog of human UBAP2L, as a novel factor that antagonizes the activities of multiple heterochronic miRNAs. Specifically, we find that depletion of pqn-59 can restore normal development in animals with reduced lin-4 and let-7-family miRNA activity. Importantly, inactivation of pqn-59 is not sufficient to bypass the requirement of these regulatory RNAs within the heterochronic GRN. The pqn-59 gene encodes an abundant, cytoplasmically-localized, unstructured protein that harbors three essential “prion-like” domains. These domains exhibit LLPS properties in vitro and normally function to limit PQN-59 diffusion in the cytoplasm in vivo. Like human UBAP2L, PQN-59’s localization becomes highly dynamic during stress conditions where it re-distributes to cytoplasmic stress granules and is important for their formation. Proteomic analysis of PQN-59 complexes from embryonic extracts indicates that PQN-59 and human UBAP2L interact with orthologous cellular components involved in RNA metabolism and promoting protein translation and that PQN-59 additionally interacts with proteins involved in transcription and intracellular transport. Finally, we demonstrate that pqn-59 depletion reduces protein translation and also results in the stabilization of several mature miRNAs (including those involved in temporal patterning). These data suggest that PQN-59 may ensure the bistability of some GRNs that require miRNA functions by promoting miRNA turnover and, like UBAP2L, enhancing protein translation.

It Takes Two to Tango: Estimation of the Zero-Risk Premium Strike of a Call Option via Joint Physical and Pricing Density Modeling

It is generally said that out-of-the-money call options are expensive and one can ask the question from which moneyness level this is the case. Expensive actually means that the price one pays for the option is more than the discounted average payoff one receives. If so, the option bears a negative risk premium. The objective of this paper is to investigate the zero-risk premium moneyness level of a European call option, i.e., the strike where expectations on the option’s payoff in both the P- and Q-world are equal. To fully exploit the insights of the option market we deploy the Tilted Bilateral Gamma pricing model to jointly estimate the physical and pricing measure from option prices. We illustrate the proposed pricing strategy on the option surface of stock indices, assessing the stability and position of the zero-risk premium strike of a European call option. With small fluctuations around a slightly in-the-money level, on average, the zero-risk premium strike appears to follow a rather stable pattern over time.

Thirty-Year Spatiotemporal Change Record of Sundarban Mangrove Forest in Bangladesh

Accurate and realistic forest cover change assessment is essential for the conservation and management of the Sundarban mangrove forest of Bangladesh. With these views, an integrated way of the vegetation cover assessment was conducted using time-series Landsat satellite imageries of 1991, 2001, 2011, and 2021. During the last 30-year (1991-2021), variations in four land cover classes viz. healthy vegetation, unhealthy vegetation, water body, and sandbar were recorded. It showed a decreasing trend of forest vegetation and a subsequent increase of water bodies during the study period. The healthy vegetation and unhealthy vegetation decreased at 1.33 and 1.66%, respectively, whereas water bodies increased 2.55% at the same time. The healthy vegetation consistently decreased over the decades, but unhealthy vegetation decreased during the 2001-2011 period. Conversion from healthy vegetation to unhealthy vegetation and unhealthy vegetation to healthy vegetation during 1991-2001 was similar. Such transform was much higher from unhealthy to healthy vegetation during 2001-2011. Transformation of healthy vegetation to unhealthy vegetation was remarkably higher during the 2011-2021 period. Further continuous change detection and classification algorithm (CCDC) showed a stable pattern over the study period without significant breakpoints. This study reveals the need for regular mangrove forest monitoring. The findings of this study can be used as a reference in the formulation and implementation of sustainable mangrove forest conservation and management. Ann. Bangladesh Agric. (2020) 24(2): 15-32

Design of frequency reconfigurable planar antenna using artificial neural network

In this paper, the design of frequency reconfigurable planar antenna by incorporation of metasurface superstrate (FRPA-MSS) is presented using an artificial neural network. The dual-layer radiating structure is created on a 1.524 mm thick Rogers RO4350B substrate board (εr = 3.48, tan δ = 0.0037). The candidate antenna is designed and analyzed using a high-frequency structure simulator (HFSS) tool. The transfer matrix method is employed for the successful retrieval of electromagnetic properties of the metamaterial. Frequency reconfiguration is achieved by placing the metasurface superstrate onto the rectangular patch antenna. A simplified ANN approach has been employed for the design of metasurface incorporated proposed antenna. Presented prototypes are characterized through experimental measurements. It is found from the practical observations that the proposed antenna effectively reconfigures the tuning range from 5.03 to 6.13 GHz. Moreover, the presented antenna operates efficiently with agreeable gain, good impedance matching, and stable pattern characteristics across the entire operational bandwidth. The experimental results obtained validate the simulated performance.

The Development of the Mesoprefrontal Dopaminergic System in Health and Disease

Midbrain dopaminergic neurons located in the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area are the main source of dopamine in the brain. They send out projections to a variety of forebrain structures, including dorsal striatum, nucleus accumbens, and prefrontal cortex (PFC), establishing the nigrostriatal, mesolimbic, and mesoprefrontal pathways, respectively. The dopaminergic input to the PFC is essential for the performance of higher cognitive functions such as working memory, attention, planning, and decision making. The gradual maturation of these cognitive skills during postnatal development correlates with the maturation of PFC local circuits, which undergo a lengthy functional remodeling process during the neonatal and adolescence stage. During this period, the mesoprefrontal dopaminergic innervation also matures: the fibers are rather sparse at prenatal stages and slowly increase in density during postnatal development to finally reach a stable pattern in early adulthood. Despite the prominent role of dopamine in the regulation of PFC function, relatively little is known about how the dopaminergic innervation is established in the PFC, whether and how it influences the maturation of local circuits and how exactly it facilitates cognitive functions in the PFC. In this review, we provide an overview of the development of the mesoprefrontal dopaminergic system in rodents and primates and discuss the role of altered dopaminergic signaling in neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Features of administrative and legal coercion in the migration sphere

The article examines the features of administrative and legal coercion in the field of migration. It provides an analysis of regulatory legal acts in which the function of migration control is assigned to the internal affairs bodies and measures to prevent and reduce uncontrolled migration are determined. A special place is occupied by the directions of improving public administration in the field of migration policy.Analysis of constant changes in the legal status of "migration" units, when they then raised their status to a federal service, first subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, then to an independent federal service subordinate to the Government of the Russian Federation, then they returned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, but now to the level the usual structural divisions of the ministry showed that these decisions were erroneous. The abolition of the Federal Migration Service in 2016 and the transfer of its functions to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia entailed fundamental institutional changes, which reflects a stable pattern in the prevalence of administrative and legal coercion measures in public administration, does not contribute to an increase in the efficiency of public administration in the field of migration, complicates problems of implementing the functions of social adaptation and integration of migrants, which the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia is unable to effectively implement.