A Linear LMP Model for Active and Reactive Power with Power Loss

Pricing the reactive power is more necessary than ever before because of the increasing challenge of renewable energy integration on reactive power balance and voltage control. However, reactive power price is hard to be efficiently calculated because of the non-linear nature of optimal AC power flow equation. This paper proposes a linear model to calculate active and reactive power LMP simultaneously considering power loss. Firstly, a linearized AC power flow equation is proposed based on an augmented Generation Shift Distribution Factors (GSDF) matrix. Secondly, a linearized LMP model is derived using GSDF and loss factors. The formulation of LMP is further decomposed into four components: energy, congestion, voltage limitation and power loss. Finally, an iterate algorithm is proposed for calculating LMP with the proposed model. The performance of the proposed model is validated by the IEEE-118 bus system.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, accepted by IEEE Sustainable Power & Energy Conference (iSPEC2019

Pedestrian–bus route and pickup location planning for emergency evacuation

Planning for a bus-based regional evacuation is essential for emergency preparedness, especially for hurricane or flood prone urban environments with large numbers of transit-dependent or transit-captive populations. This paper develops an optimization-based decision-support model for pedestrian–bus evacuation planning under bus fleet, pedestrian and bus routes, and network constraints. Aiming to minimize the evacuation duration time, an optimization model is proposed to determine the optimal pickup nodes for evacuees to assemble using existing pedestrian routes, and to allocate available bus fleet via bus routes and urban road network to transport the assembled evacuees between the pickup nodes and designated public shelters. The numerical examples with two scenarios based on the Sioux Falls street network from North Dakota (United States) demonstrates that this model can be used to optimize the evacuation duration time, the location of pickup nodes and bus assignment simultaneously. First published online 13 October 202

Enhanced external counterpulsation modulates the heartbeat evoked potential

Introduction: Accumulating evidence suggests that enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) influences cardiac functions, hemodynamic characteristics and cerebral blood flow. However, little is known about whether or how the EECP affects the brain-heart coupling to produce these physiological and functional changes. We aimed to determine if the brain-heart coupling is altered during or after EECP intervention by assessing the heartbeat evoked potential (HEP) in healthy adults.Methods: Based on a random sham-controlled design, simultaneous electroencephalography and electrocardiography signals as well as blood pressure and flow status data were recorded before, during and after two consecutive 30-min EECP in 40 healthy adults (female/male: 17/23; age: 23.1 ± 2.3 years). HEP amplitude, frequency domain heart rate variability, electroencephalographic power and hemodynamic measurements of 21 subjects (female/male: 10/11; age: 22.7 ± 2.1 years) receiving active EECP were calculated and compared with those of 19 sham control subjects (female/male: 7/12; age: 23.6 ± 2.5 years).Results: EECP intervention caused immediate obvious fluctuations of HEP from 100 to 400 ms after T-peak and increased HEP amplitudes in the (155–169) ms, (354–389) ms and (367–387) ms time windows after T-peak in the region of the frontal pole lobe. The modifications in HEP amplitude were not associated with changes in the analyzed significant physiological measurements and hemodynamic variables.Discussion: Our study provides evidence that the HEP is modulated by immediate EECP stimuli. We speculate that the increased HEP induced by EECP may be a marker of enhanced brain-heart coupling. HEP may serve as a candidate biomarker for the effects and responsiveness to EECP

A study on the immediate effects of enhanced external counterpulsation on physiological coupling

IntroductionEnhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is a non-invasive assisted circulation technique for its clinical application in the rehabilitation and management of ischemic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, which has complex physiological and hemodynamic effects. However, the effects of EECP on the coupling of physiological systems are still unclear. We aimed to investigate the immediate effects of EECP on the coupling between integrated physiological systems such as cardiorespiratory and cardiovascular systems.MethodsBased on a random sham-controlled design, simultaneous electrocardiography, photoplethysmography, bio-electrical impedance, and continuous hemodynamic data were recorded before, during and after two consecutive 30 min EECP in 41 healthy adults. Physiological coupling strength quantified by phase synchronization indexes (PSI), hemodynamic measurements and heart rate variability indices of 22 subjects (female/male: 10/12; age: 22.6 ± 2.1 years) receiving active EECP were calculated and compared with those of 19 sham control subjects (female/male: 7/12; age: 23.6 ± 2.5 years).ResultsImmediately after the two consecutive EECP interventions, the physiological coupling between respiratory and cardiovascular systems PSIRES–PTT (0.34 ± 0.14 vs. 0.49 ± 0.17, P = 0.002), the physiological coupling between cardiac and cardiovascular systems PSIIBI–PTT (0.41 ± 0.14 vs. 0.52 ± 0.16, P = 0.006) and the total physiological coupling PSItotal (1.21 ± 0.35 vs. 1.57 ± 0.49, P = 0.005) in the EECP group were significantly lower than those before the EECP intervention, while the physiological coupling indexes in the control group did not change significantly (P > 0.05).ConclusionOur study provides evidence that the PSI is altered by immediate EECP intervention. We speculate that the reduced PSI induced by EECP may be a marker of disturbed physiological coupling. This study provides a new method for exploring the mechanism of EECP action and may help to further optimize the EECP technique

Fasting Hyperglycemia Increases In-Hospital Mortality Risk in Nondiabetic Female Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction: A Retrospective Study

Previous studies had shown that elevated admission plasma glucose (APG) could increase mortality rate and serious complications of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but whether fasting plasma glucose (FPG) had the same role remains controversial. In this retrospective study, 253 cases of AMI patients were divided into diabetic (n=87) and nondiabetic group (n=166). Our results showed that: compared with the nondiabetic patients, diabetic patients had higher APG, FPG, higher plasma triglyceride, higher rates of painless AMI (P<0.01), non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), and reinfraction (P<0.05). They also had lower high density lipoprotein cholesterol and rate of malignant arrhythmia, but in-hospital mortality rate did not differ significantly (P>0.05). While nondiabetic patients were subgrouped in terms of APG and FPG (cut points were 11.1 mmol/L and 7.0 mmol/L, resp.), the mortality rate had significant difference (P<0.01), whereas glucose level lost significance in diabetic group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that FPG (OR: 2.014; 95% confidence interval: 1.296–3.131; p<0.01) but not APG was independent predictor of in-hospital mortality for nondiabetic patients. These results indicate that FPG can be an independent predictor for mortality in nondiabetic female patients with AMI

Intensive Glucose Control Reduces the Risk Effect of TRIB3, SMARCD3, and ATF6 Genetic Variation on Diabetic Vascular Complications

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a complex disease. Our previous study revealed that TRIB3 genetic variations were strongly associated with diabetic vascular complications, although TRIB3 regulation pathways remain poorly understood. We used two extreme treatment groups from a 2 × 2 factorial randomized controlled trial to identify a positive association, which was further validated in patients receiving cross treatment to test the effect of genetic polymorphisms among the different treatment groups. A gene-centric score (GS)-weighted model including the three associated genetic variations TRIB3 rs2295490, ATF6 rs12086247, and SMARCD3 rs58125572 was used. The results of the GS model indicated a 46% reduction in the risk of primary vascular complications in patients bearing more than two risk alleles [hazard ratio (HR) 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.38–0.76, p &lt; 0.001], following intensive glucose control treatment when compared with patients who received standard glucose control treatment. Furthermore, these patients benefited from active blood pressure-lowering treatment (HR 0.39, 95% CI 0.24–0.64, p &lt; 0.001). However, no significant difference was observed between the two interventions in patients with fewer than two risk alleles (HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.86–1.39, p = 0.47). These results indicate that genetic variants in these three genes may be useful biomarkers for individualized drug therapy in diabetic patients

Scutellaria Baicalensis Enhances 5-Fluorouracil-Based Chemotherapy via Inhibition of Proliferative Signaling Pathways

Fluoropyridine-based chemotherapy remains the most widely used treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, we investigated the mechanism by which the natural product Scutellaria baicalensis (Huang Qin; HQ) and one of its main components baicalin enhanced 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) antitumor activity against CRC. Cell proliferation assays, cell cycle analysis, reverse-phase protein array (RPPA) analysis, immunoblot analysis, and qRT-PCR were performed to investigate the mechanism(s) of action of HQ and its active components on growth of CRC cells. HQ exhibited in vitro antiproliferative activity against drug resistant human CRC cells, against human and mouse CRC cells with different genetic backgrounds and normal human colon epithelial cells. In vivo animal models were used to document the antitumor activity of HQ and baicalin. The mechanism of growth inhibitory activity of HQ is due to inhibition of proliferative signaling pathways including the CDK-RB pathway. In addition, HQ enhanced the antitumor effects of 5-FU and capecitabine in vivo. Furthermore, we identified baicalin as an active component of HQ. The combination of baicalin and 5-FU demonstrated synergistic activity against 5-FU-resistant RKO-R10 cells. The combination significantly inhibited in vivo tumor growth greater than each treatment alone. RPPA results showed that the signaling pathway alterations in CRC cells were similar following HQ and baicalin treatment. Together, these results indicate that HQ and its component baicalin enhance the effect of 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy via inhibition of CDK-RB pathway. These findings may provide the rational basis for developing agents that can overcome the development of cellular drug resistance

QTL Mapping of Seed Vigor of Backcross Inbred Lines Derived From Oryza longistaminata Under Artificial Aging

Seed vigor is an important character of seed quality that promotes rice to germinate rapidly from soil and developing to a strong seedling, especially in the current rice direct-sowing production system. However, previous studies for seed vigor mainly concentrate in cultivars, and less reports involving in wild rice. In this study, 152 backcross inbred lines (BILs) derived from wild rice Oryza longistaminata were genotyped with re-sequencing technology, and QTLs for seed vigor related traits under normal and artificial aging treatment were analyzed. Totally, 36 QTLs were detected, of which, eight for germination potential (GP), 10 for germination rate (GR), 9 for seedling length (SL), and 9 for root length (RL). Among these, 14 novel QTLs were identified from O. longistaminata. Of which, six QTLs were related to germination, and eight related to seedling growth under aging stress. What’s more, the major QTLs q9SL1.1, q6SL1.1, and q3SL1.1 for seedling length were fallen in the same locus and fine-mapped an interval about 90 Kb. The major QTLs q9GR8.1 and q9GP8.1 related with germination were fine-mapped to an interval about 90 Kb. This work will provide us basis for breeding of high seed vigor rice in rice breeding programs and further cloning of these genes