ALBERT

Description: With the continuous development of electric vehicles, a large number of electric vehicles have connected to the grid. This impacts the security and economic operation of power systems deeply. When large-scale electric vehicles are charging, it will bring the problem of electricity load growth and cause the peak-valley difference of power grid. The paper analyzes the impact of electric vehicles quick charge on power quality. According to Monte Carlo method, the daily load curve of quick charging mode in Beijing in 2030 is set up. Newton Raphson method and forward-backward substitution method are used to analyze the voltage deviation and power loss of each node in the typical power system.

Description: With the rapid increase in the number of electric vehicles, which will lead the power load on grid increased and have an adversely affect. This paper gives a detailed analysis of the following factors, such as scale of the electric cars, charging mode, initial charging time, initial state of charge, charging power and other factors. Monte Carlo simulation method is used to compare the two charging modes, which are conventional charging and fast charging, and MATLAB is used to model and simulate the electric vehicle charging load. The results show that compared with the conventional charging mode, fast charging mode can meet the requirements of fast charging, but also bring great load to the distribution network which will affect the reliability of power grid.

Description: Rhodiola crenulata (R) and Cordyceps sinensis (C) are commonly used herbs that promote health in traditional Chinese medicine. These two herbs have also been shown to exhibit anti-inflammation and antioxidant functions. Regular endurance training reveals potent endurance capacity, body composition improvement, and metabolic-related biomarker benefits. However, it is not known whether the combination of Rhodiola crenulata and Cordyceps sinensis (RC) supplementation during endurance training provides additive health benefits. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 8-week endurance training plus RC supplementation on body composition, oxidative stress, and metabolic biomarkers in young sedentary adults. Methods: Fourteen young sedentary adults (8M/6F) participated in this double-blind randomized controlled study. Participants were assigned to exercise training with placebo groups (PLA, n = 7, 4M/3F; age: 21.4 ± 0.4 years) and exercise training with the RC group (RC, 20 mg/kg/day; n = 7, 4M/3F; age: 21.7 ± 0.4 years). Both groups received identical exercise training for eight weeks. The body composition, circulating oxidative stress, and blood metabolic biomarkers were measured before and after the 8-week intervention. Results: Improvement in body composition profiles were significantly greater in the RC group (body weight: p = 0.044, BMI: p = 0.003, upper extremity fat mass: p = 0.032, lower extremity muscle mass: p = 0.029, trunk fat mass: p = 0.011) compared to the PLA group after training. The blood lipid profile and systemic oxidative stress makers (thiobarbituric reactive substanceand total antioxidant capacity) did not differ between groups. Although endurance training markedly improved endurance capacity and glycemic control ability (i.e., fast blood glucose, insulin, and HOMA index), there were no differences in these variables between treatments. Conclusions: In this preliminary investigation, we demonstrated that an 8-week RC supplementation (20 mg/kg/day) faintly enhanced endurance training-induced positive adaptations in body composition in young sedentary individuals, whereas the blood lipid profile and systemic oxidative stress states were not altered after such intervention.

Description: Multimedia teaching materials are widely applied in various disciplines. More resources are provided by authorities to encourage elementary school teachers to use them. The resources provide an opportunity for teachers to share teaching resources for students. In this study, the technology acceptance model (TAM) was used as the basic model to explore the effects of the information technology (IT) environment on the perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and attitude towards using multimedia, and the relevance and influence of these attitudes on behavioral intention. There are 2317 teachers in Chiayi county, and 460 participants were selected by stratified random sampling. The results showed that the ease of use of the multimedia material would enhance the intention to use. The attitude toward use also influences the intention to use.

Description: Due to the popularity of indoor positioning technology, indoor navigation applications have been deployed in large buildings, such as hospitals, airports, and train stations, to guide visitors to their destinations. A commonly-used user interface, shown on smartphones, is a 2D floor map with a route to the destination. The navigation instructions, such as turn left, turn right, and go straight, pop up on the screen when users come to an intersection. However, owing to the restrictions of a 2D navigation map, users may face mental pressure and get confused while they are making a connection between the real environment and the 2D navigation map before moving forward. For this reason, we developed ARBIN, an augmented reality-based navigation system, which posts navigation instructions on the screen of real-world environments for ease of use. Thus, there is no need for users to make a connection between the navigation instructions and the real-world environment. In order to evaluate the applicability of ARBIN, a series of experiments were conducted in the outpatient area of the National Taiwan University Hospital YunLin Branch, which is nearly 1800 m2, with 35 destinations and points of interests, such as a cardiovascular clinic, x-ray examination room, pharmacy, and so on. Four different types of smartphone were adopted for evaluation. Our results show that ARBIN can achieve 3 to 5 m accuracy, and provide users with correct instructions on their way to the destinations. ARBIN proved to be a practical solution for indoor navigation, especially for large buildings.

Description: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and AMH type II receptor (AMHRII) genes on in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes. In this prospective cohort study, we genotyped the AMH 146 T 〉 G, AMHRII −482 A 〉 G and AMHRII IVS1 +149 T 〉 A variants in 635 women undergoing their first cycle of controlled ovarian stimulation for IVF. DNA was extracted from the peripheral blood of all participants, and the SNPs were genotyped by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The distributions, frequencies of genes, and correlation with clinical pregnancy of IVF were analyzed. The AMH 146 T 〉 G G/G genotype in women was associated with a lower clinical pregnancy rate (T/T: 55.0%, T/G: 51.8%, G/G: 40.0%; p 〈 0.05). Women with the AMH 146 T 〉 G GG genotype were half as likely to have a clinical pregnancy compared with women with TT genotypes (OR = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.34–0.88, p = 0.014). With multivariate analysis, the AMH 146 T 〉 G GG genotype remains as a significant independent factor to predict clinical pregnancy (p = 0.014). No significant difference was found between AMHRII polymorphisms and clinical pregnancy outcomes of IVF. In conclusion, our results show that AMH 146 T 〉 G seems to be a susceptibility biomarker capable of predicting IVF pregnancy outcomes. Further studies should focus on the mechanism of these associations and the inclusion of other ethnic populations to confirm the findings of this study.

Description: The aim of this study was to examine the association between interleukin (IL) genes polymorphisms and in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome. A prospective cohort analysis was performed at a Women’s Hospital IVF centre of 1015 female patients undergoing fresh non-donor IVF cycles. The effects of the following six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in five IL genes on IVF outcomes were explored: IL-1α (rs1800587 C/T), IL-3 (rs40401 C/T), IL-6 (rs1800795 C/G), IL-15 (rs3806798 A/T), IL-18 (rs187238 C/G) and IL-18 (rs1946518 G/T). The main outcome measures included clinical pregnancy, embryo implantation, abortion and live birth rates. There were no statistically significant differences in clinical pregnancy, embryo implantation and live birth rates in the analysis of 1015 patients attempting their first cycle of IVF. Infertile women with IL-3 homozygous major genotype had a higher abortion rate than those with heterozygous and homozygous minor genotype (16.5% vs. 7.9%, P = 0.025). In conclusion, our results indicated that the IL-3 rs40401 polymorphism is associated with increased risk of abortion of IVF patients. Future studies with inclusion of other ethnic populations must be conducted to confirm the findings of this study.

Description: Background: Workplace violence in the health care sector has become a growing global problem. Research has shown that although caregivers comprise a high-risk group exposed to workplace violence, most of them lacked the skills and countermeasures against workplace violence. Therefore, through a quasi-experimental design, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of situational simulation training on the nursing staffs’ concept and self-confidence in coping with workplace violence. Methods: Workplace violence simulation trainings were applied based on the systematic literature review and the conclusions from focus group interviews with nursing staff. Data were obtained from structured questionnaires including: (1) baseline characteristics; (2) perception of aggression scale (POAS); and (3) confidence in coping with patient aggression. Results: The results revealed that training course intervention significantly improved the nursing staffs’ self-perception and confidence against workplace violence (p 〈 0.001). Conclusions: The “simulation education on workplace violence training” as the intervention significantly improved the workplace violence perception and confidence among nursing staffs in coping with aggression events.

Description: Potato peels (PPs) are generally considered as agriculture waste. The United States alone generates over one million tons of PPs a year. However, PPs contain valuable phenolic compounds with antioxidant activities. In this study, we evaluated the efficiency of ultrasound-assisted extraction techniques in recovering antioxidants from PPs. These techniques included a direct ultrasound-assisted extraction (DUAE), an indirect ultrasound-assisted extraction (IUAE), and a conventional shaking extraction (CSE). Results of this study showed that DUAE was more effective in extracting phenolic compounds than IUAE and CSE. We also evaluated the factors affecting the yield of total phenolic compounds (TPC) in DUAE, including the temperature, time, acoustic power, ratio of solvent to solids, and size of PPs particles. TPC yield of DUAE was higher, and the extraction rate was faster than IUAE and CSE. Furthermore, TPC yield was strongly correlated to the temperature of the mixture of PPs suspension. SEM images revealed that the irradiation of ultrasound energy from DUAE caused micro-fractures and the opening of PPs cells. The extract obtained from DUAE was found to have antioxidant activity comparable to commercial synthetic antioxidants. Results of this preliminary study suggest that DUAE has the potential to transform PPs from agricultural waste to a valuable ingredient. A future systematic research study is proposed to advance the knowledge of the impact of processing parameters in the kinetics of phenolic compounds extraction from potato peels using various extraction methods.