Single-incision laparoscopic surgery: an update of current evidence

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Some scheduling problems with deteriorating jobs and learning effects

Author name used in this publication: T. C. E. Cheng2007-2008 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

Editorial: Technology for higher education, adult learning and human performance

This special issue is dedicated to technology-enabled approaches for improving higher education, adult learning, and human performance. Improvement of learning and human development for sustainable development has been recognized as a key strategy for individuals, institutions, and organizations to strengthen their competitive advantages. It is crucial to help adult learners and knowledge workers to improve their self-directed and life-long learning capabilities. Meanwhile, advances in technology have been increasingly enabling and facilitating learning and knowledge-related initiatives. They have largely extended learning opportunities through the provision of resource-rich and learner-centered environment, computer-based learning support, and expanded social interactions and networks. Papers in this special issue are representative of ongoing research on integration of technology with learning for innovative and sustainable development in higher education institutions and organizational and community environments.published_or_final_versio

Loss analysis of vehicle-to-grid operation

The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capability is becoming increasingly popular and can be expected to deploy in a large scale. According to the estimation of PHEV penetration degree and the charging characteristics, the modeling of distribution grid with extra load of PHEV charging is formulated first. The PHEVs plugged into the grid, when aggregated in a considerable number, constitute a new load. The impacts of this extra load on the grid are analyzed by power flow simulation in terms of power losses and voltage variation. Uncontrolled charging and optimal charging scenarios are compared in the 33-bus test system. The results indicate the possible problem caused by charging PHEVs and the necessity of building a new control scheme to schedule the generation and the charging profile in the grid. Thus the optimization algorithm is designed to minimize the power losses, and enhance the power quality of the grid as well. The improved model with further constraints for practical application of V2G is discussed. In this model, the ability to schedule both charging and discharging of PHEVs with V2G technology is presented. © Copyright 2011 IEEE - All Rights Reserved.published_or_final_versionThe 2010 IEEE Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference (VPPC), Lille, France, 1-3 September 2010. In Proceedings of VPPC, 2010, p. 1-

Modeling and coordinated control for integrating electric vehicles into the power grid

This paper introduces a framework for the integration of renewable energy generation units and electric vehicle into smart grid, which takes into account the setting up of the PHEV recharging infrastructure and modern power system. The impact of recharging a large amount of PHEVs on the existing power system is estimated considering the PHEV characteristics and the driving pattern of the vehicle owners. Three scenarios for uncontrolled and controlled charging are derived to investigate the impact in terms of power quality. The simulation results show the necessity to coordinate the PHEV recharging with the power network condition. Therefore an optimal algorithm is also designed to minimize the power losses based on the hierarchical structure of the proposed framework. The aggregation of PHEVs is expected to act as a controllable load or resource. Both of the battery charging and discharging are comprised in the optimal algorithm to achieve better performance in the V2G operation. © 2011 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 2011 International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS 2011), Beijing, China, 20-23 August 2011. In Proceedings of ICEMS, 2011, p. 1-

Integrated energy management of plug-in electric vehicles in power grid with renewables

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Functional antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibitory properties of extracts of Taiwanese pummelo (Citrus grandis Osbeck)

In recent years, the overproduction of citrus fruits has resulted in an unnecessary increase in agricultural wastes in Taiwan. In an attempt to find an application for these potentially valuable wastes, we evaluated the antioxidant and whitening properties of six Taiwanese pummelo varieties (Miyu Shihtouyu Taipeiyu Touyu Wentan and Hsishihyu). The methanolic extract of Citrus grandis Osbeck Miyu (Miyu) had the highest phenolic content (9.99 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g). C. grandis Osbeck Shihtouyu (Shihtouyu) displayed the highest 2, 2-azino-bis-(3- ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) content (9.3 mg trolox equivalent antioxidant content/g), indicating its good free radical-scavenging activity. C. grandis Osbeck Taipeiyu (Taipeiyu) showed the highest 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl content and this compound too possesses good radical-scavenging activity. The ferrous-ion chelating effect of C. grandis Osbeck Touyu (Touyu) and C. grandis Osbeck Wentan (Wentan) was found to be 0.78 and 0.92 mg/ml, respectively. Taipeiyu showed the highest limonin content (1251.86 μg/ml). Touyu inhibited tyrosinase up to 90.8% (10 mg/ml), which was almost similar to the 95% inhibition shown by kojic acid (10 mg/ml). Thus, the components of pummelo have high potential for use as ingredients in products that prevent skin pigmentation. These results indicate that the methanolic extracts and the phytochemicals derived from pummelo are potential natural antioxidant agents.Key words: Antioxidant, free radical chelating, limonin, pummelo, tyrosinase

Identification and characterization of long-range SOX9 enhancers in limb development

The transcription factor Sox9 is a master regulator of skeletogenesis. Heterozygous mutations of human SOX9 result in Campomelic Dysplasia (CD), in which affected individuals display distinct abnormalities in limbs and other skeletal assemblies. Recently, chromosomal translocations and deletions at >1Mb from SOX9 have been detected in some CD patients, suggesting the requirement of long‐range regulatory elements in mediating both spatiotemporal and dosage of Sox9 during limb development. To this end, we exploited several published ChIP‐Seq data, and identified nine, evolutionarily conserved, putative limb enhancers of SOX9, namely E1Sox9 to E9Sox9. Transgenic mouse embryos carrying E1Sox9‐driven LacZ reporter showed discrete transgene expression at the pre‐scapular domain where endogenous Sox9 is also expressed. Bioinformatic analyses on our candidate enhancers result in the identification of several signaling effector binding motifs, and indeed, we revealed that BMP‐Smad and Shh‐Gli pathways are possible upstream regulatory networks that govern the spatiotemporal and dosage of limb Sox9 expression via our predicted enhancers, respectively. Our results unveil the underlying molecular control in governing the complex patterning of Sox9 expression in the developing limb, and provide new molecular insight to the etiology of CD syndrome.postprin

Diagnostic Value of Methylated Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase in Human Cancers: A Meta-Analysis

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