Development of bidding strategies in electricity markets using possibility theory

In the electricity market environment, bidding strategies employed by generation companies may have significant impacts on their own benefits, and on the operating behaviors of an electricity market as well. Hence, how to develop optimal bidding strategies for generation companies or how to analyze strategic behaviors of them and hence to figure out the potential market power abuse is now a very active research area. A possibility theory based approach is proposed in this work for building optimal bidding strategies for generation companies. Based on historical bidding data, the available (production cost) data before the power industry restructuring and experts' heuristic knowledge, the well-known fuzzy set theory is employed to represent the estimated bidding behaviors of rival generation companies, and a fuzzy programming model is developed and a solution method follows. The approach is especially suitable for those electricity markets recently launched, since sufficient historical bidding data is not available and hence probability methods cannot be employed. Finally, a sample example with six generation companies participating in an electricity market is served for demonstrating the essential features of the presented approach.published_or_final_versio

A Possibility Theory Based Approach for Building Optimal Bidding Strategies in Electricity Markets

In the electricity market environment, bidding strategies employed by generation companies may have significant impacts on their own benefits, and on the operating behaviors of an electricity market as well. Hence, how to develop optimal bidding strategies for generation companies or how to analyze strategic behaviors of them and hence to figure out the potential market power abuse is now a very active research area. A possibility theory based approach is proposed in this work for building optimal bidding strategies for generation companies. Based on historical bidding data, the available (production cost) data before the power industry restructuring and experts’ heuristic knowledge, the well known fuzzy set theory is employed to represent the estimated bidding behaviors of rival generation companies, and a fuzzy programming model is next developed and a solving method followed. The approach is especially suitable for those electricity markets recently launched, since sufficient historical bidding data is not available and hence probability methods cannot be employed. Finally, a sample example with 6 generation companies participating in an electricity market is served for demonstrating the essential features of the presented approach. 在電力市場環境下 ,發電公司采用的報價策略對其自身的獲利、甚至市場總體的運行行為都可能有相當大的影響。因而 ,研究發電公司應該如何構造最優的報價策略或分析電力市場中發電公司的策略性行為 ,進而考察潛在的市場勢力的嚴重程度 ,是目前相當活躍的一個研究領域。提出了一種基于可能性理論構造發電公司最優報價策略的方法。以發電公司的歷史報價數據、市場化改革以前的公開數據和專家的經驗性知識等為基礎 ,采用模糊集理論來描述競爭對手的報價行為 ,在此基礎上構造了發電公司最優報價策略的模糊優化模型 ,給出了求解算法。這種方法特別適用于在電力市場運行初期或電力市場運行規則剛被修改后的時期 ,由于可用的歷史數據尚不充分、不能采用概率方法描述競爭對手的報價行為的場合。最后用一個有 6個發電公司參與的電力市場為例 ,說明了所提出的方法的基本特征

A New Euler's Formula for DNA Polyhedra

DNA polyhedra are cage-like architectures based on interlocked and interlinked DNA strands. We propose a formula which unites the basic features of these entangled structures. It is based on the transformation of the DNA polyhedral links into Seifert surfaces, which removes all knots. The numbers of components , of crossings , and of Seifert circles are related by a simple and elegant formula: . This formula connects the topological aspects of the DNA cage to the Euler characteristic of the underlying polyhedron. It implies that Seifert circles can be used as effective topological indices to describe polyhedral links. Our study demonstrates that, the new Euler's formula provides a theoretical framework for the stereo-chemistry of DNA polyhedra, which can characterize enzymatic transformations of DNA and be used to characterize and design novel cages with higher genus

The sudden change phenomenon of quantum discord

Even if the parameters determining a system's state are varied smoothly, the behavior of quantum correlations alike to quantum discord, and of its classical counterparts, can be very peculiar, with the appearance of non-analyticities in its rate of change. Here we review this sudden change phenomenon (SCP) discussing some important points related to it: Its uncovering, interpretations, and experimental verifications, its use in the context of the emergence of the pointer basis in a quantum measurement process, its appearance and universality under Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics, its theoretical and experimental investigation in some other physical scenarios, and the related phenomenon of double sudden change of trace distance discord. Several open questions are identified, and we envisage that in answering them we will gain significant further insight about the relation between the SCP and the symmetry-geometric aspects of the quantum state space.Comment: Lectures on General Quantum Correlations and their Applications, F. F. Fanchini, D. O. Soares Pinto, and G. Adesso (Eds.), Springer (2017), pp 309-33

High Proportion of 22q13 Deletions and SHANK3 Mutations in Chinese Patients with Intellectual Disability

Intellectual disability (ID) is a heterogeneous disorder caused by chromosomal abnormalities, monogenic factors and environmental factors. 22q13 deletion syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by severe ID. Although the frequency of 22q13 deletions in ID is unclear, it is believed to be largely underestimated. To address this issue, we used Affymetrix Human SNP 6.0 array to detect the 22q13 deletions in 234 Chinese unexplained ID patients and 103 controls. After the Quality Control (QC) test of raw data, 22q13 deletions were found in four out of 230 cases (1.7%), while absent in parents of the cases and 101 controls. A review of genome-wide microarray studies in ID was performed and the frequency of 22q13 deletions from the literatures was 0.24%, much lower than our report. The overlapping region shared by all 4 cases encompasses the gene SHANK3. A heterozygous de novo nonsense mutation Y1015X of SHANK3 was identified in one ID patient. Cortical neurons were prepared from embryonic mice and were transfected with a control plasmid, shank3 wild-type (WT) or mutant plasmids. Overexpression of the Y1015 mutant in neurons significantly affected neurite outgrowth compared with shank3 WT. These findings suggest that 22q13 deletions may be a more frequent cause for Chinese ID patients than previously thought, and the SHANK3 gene is involved in the neurite development

Prokineticin 2 Regulates the Electrical Activity of Rat Suprachiasmatic Nuclei Neurons

Neuropeptide signaling plays roles in coordinating cellular activities and maintaining robust oscillations within the mammalian suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Prokineticin2 (PK2) is a signaling molecule from the SCN and involves in the generation of circadian locomotor activity. Prokineticin receptor 2 (PKR2), a receptor for PK2, has been shown to be expressed in the SCN. However, very little is known about the cellular action of PK2 within the SCN. In the present study, we investigated the effect of PK2 on spontaneous firing and miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mIPSCs) using whole cell patch-clamp recording in the SCN slices. PK2 dose-dependently increased spontaneous firing rates in most neurons from the dorsal SCN. PK2 acted postsynaptically to reduce γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic function within the SCN, and PK2 reduced the amplitude but not frequency of mIPSCs. Furthermore, PK2 also suppressed exogenous GABA-induced currents. And the inhibitory effect of PK2 required PKC activation in the postsynaptic cells. Our data suggest that PK2 could alter cellular activities within the SCN and may influence behavioral and physiological rhythms

Development of microspheres for biomedical applications: a review

An overview of microspheres manufactured for use in biomedical applications based on recent literature is presented in this review. Different types of glasses (i.e. silicate, borate, and phosphates), ceramics and polymer-based microspheres (both natural and synthetic) in the form of porous , non-porous and hollow structures that are either already in use or are currently being investigated within the biomedical area are discussed. The advantages of using microspheres in applications such as drug delivery, bone tissue engineering and regeneration, absorption and desorption of substances, kinetic release of the loaded drug components are also presented. This review also reports on the preparation and characterisation methodologies used for the manufacture of these microspheres. Finally, a brief summary of the existing challenges associated with processing these microspheres which requires further research and development are presented