Common Vehicle Research Articles

A Novel Shape-Adjustable Surface and Its Applications in Car Design

In this paper, a new parameterized surface, termed SQ-Coons surface, is proposed according to the build mode of Coons patch. The surface is always interpolated to the boundary curves, and its shape details could be controlled by the shape parameters in CE-Bézier basis functions, which makes it suitable for styling design in computer aided design (CAD). In order to exert its geometric advantages in car design, a simplified body CAD template based on characteristic lines is built according to common vehicle features. The template is built entirely from SQ-Coons surfaces, so that the overall style and detail shapes could all be modified by the control points and shape parameters of each surface. By analyzing the curvature of fifty commercial car types generated through the template and various parameters, a set of methods for constraining the range of shape parameters is proposed. On this basis, as an example, the four shape parameters of the hood surface in one model are used as variables to optimize the body shape to achieve the lowest possible aerodynamic drag coefficient in computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The results show that the design method, combining the new surface and the model template, could reflect the modeling characteristics of different cars, and improve the design and scheme adjustment efficiency in the conceptual design stage.

Clinico-Epidemiological characteristics of snakebite patients admitted in rural tertiary care unit of Maharashtra

Clinico-Epidemiological characteristics of snakebite patients admitted in rural tertiary care unit of Maharashtra - IJPCA- Print ISSN No: - 2394-2789 Online ISSN No:- 2394-2797 Article DOI No:- 10.18231/j.ijpca.2019.002, International Journal of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Analysis-Int J Pharm Chem Anal

Persistence of rye (Secale cereale L.) chromosome arm 1RS in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding programs of the Great Plains of North America

Rye (Secale cereale L.) chromosome arm 1RS has been used world-wide by wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) breeding programs as a source of pest- and pathogen-resistance genes, and to improve grain yield and stress tolerance. The most common vehicles used to access 1RS are various 1AL.1RS and 1BL.1RS wheat-rye chromosomal translocations. Over the past 25 years, advanced North American wheat breeding lines were evaluated, first by assay of secalin storage proteins, and later by use of DNA marker TSM0120, for the presence of these two translocations. Both methods provide accurate and efficient means of identifying and differentiating 1BL.1RS and 1A.1RS. Both 1Al.1RS and 1BL.1RS wheats were found in all tested years. 1AL.1RS lines were more common in southern Great Plains breeding programs. 1AL.1RS lines were released as cultivars at a frequency identical to that of wild-type breeding lines. In contrast, 1BL.1RS breeding lines were developed by breeding programs throughout the Great Plains, but fewer were released as cultivars. Both 1RS translocation types persist in Great Plains breeding programs. The lower rate of release of 1BL.1RS cultivars no doubt is a consequence of the more drastic effects on breadmaking quality relative to those observed with 1AL.1RS.

The anti-bacterial iron-restriction defence mechanisms of egg white; the potential role of three lipocalin-like proteins in resistance against Salmonella

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE) is the most frequently-detected Salmonella in foodborne outbreaks in the European Union. Among such outbreaks, egg and egg products were identified as the most common vehicles of infection. Possibly, the major antibacterial property of egg white is iron restriction, which results from the presence of the iron-binding protein, ovotransferrin. To circumvent iron restriction, SE synthesise catecholate siderophores (i.e. enterobactin and salmochelin) that can chelate iron from host iron-binding proteins. Here, we highlight the role of lipocalin-like proteins found in egg white that could enhance egg-white iron restriction through sequestration of certain siderophores, including enterobactin. Indeed, it is now apparent that the egg-white lipocalin, Ex-FABP, can inhibit bacterial growth via its siderophore-binding capacity in vitro. However, it remains unclear whether Ex-FABP performs such a function in egg white or during bird infection. Regarding the two other lipocalins of egg white (Cal-γ and α-1-glycoprotein), there is currently no evidence to indicate that they sequester siderophores.

Hand hygiene: An educational intervention targeting grass root level

BackgroundHands are the most common vehicle for the transmission of pathogens within the healthcare environment. Hand hygiene is the leading measure for reducing healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) and preventing the spread of antimicrobial resistance. ObjectiveAn interventional study was carried out to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices of hand hygiene among third semester medical students. Materials and methodsA total of 152 medical students were evaluated using a pretest self-structured questionnaire to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding hand hygiene. The students were trained by faculty of microbiology vigorously with the help of a lecture and demonstration on hand hygiene followed by hands-on training. The same group of students were then distributed the post-training questionnaire. The pre-training and post training data was analyzed and compared. ResultThere was a significant improvement in knowledge, attitude and practice towards hand hygiene among students after intervention, as seen on comparison of results of post-test questionnaire from its pre-test counter-part because the doubts in the mind of the students got cleared in the education sessions. ConclusionTargeting medical students and teaching them the good standard practices was fruitful as they were young, easy to mold and enthusiastic and above all they are the future doctors. Such educational intervention regarding hand hygiene will be carried out for each batch of medical students in future.

Development and Characterization of a Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System Comprised of Rice Bran Oil for Poorly Soluble Drugs.

Poor aqueous solubility and low bioavailability are limiting factors in the oral delivery of lipophilic drugs. In a formulation approach to overcome these limitations, rice bran (RB) oil was evaluated as drug carrier in the development of self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS). The performance of RB in formulations incorporating Kolliphor RH40 or Kolliphor EL as surfactants and Transcutol HP as cosolvent was compared to a common oil vehicle, corn oil (CO). Serial dilutions of the preconcentrates were performed in various media [distilled water and simulated intestinal fluids mimicking fasted state (FaSSIF) and fed state (FeSSIF)] and at different dilution ratios to simulate the in vivo droplets' behavior. The developed SNEDDS were assessed by means of phase separation, droplet size, polydispersity index, and ζ-potential. Complex ternary diagrams were constructed to identify compositions exhibiting monophasic behavior, droplet size < 100nm, and polydispersity index (PDI) < 0.25. Multifactor analysis and response surface areas intended to determine the factors significantly affecting droplet size. The oil capacity to accommodate lipophilic drugs was assessed via fluorescence spectroscopy based on the solvatochromic behavior of Nile Red. Solubility studies were performed to prepare fenofibrate- and itraconazole-loaded SNEDDS and assess their droplet size, whereas dissolution experiments were conducted in simulated intestinal fluids. Caco-2 cell viability studies confirmed the safety of the SNEDDS formulations at 1:100 and 1:1000 dilutions after cell exposure in culture for 4h. The obtained results showed similar performance between RB and CO supporting the potential of RB as oil vehicle for the effective oral delivery of lipophilic compounds.

Mechanical Characterisation of Epoxy Polymer Composite Reinforced with Ramie and Synthetic Fiber

Composites materials are used in almost all features of the industrial and marketable fields in aircraft, ships, common vehicles, etc. The major attractive properties are the high strength-to­-weight ratio and high stiffness-to-weight ratio. Evolution of the Polymer Composites with synthetic fibre and natural fillers as a maintainable alternative for some engineering applications, predominantly in aerospace applications and automobile application. An experimental study of mechanical characterization of Ramie fiber/glass fiber/Kevlar fiber Reinforced epoxy composite is our main objective of this research. The study included following tasks Fabrication of Ramie fiber/glass fiber/Kevlar fiber epoxy composite using hand lay-up technique, an Mechanical characterization such as tensile strength, flexural strength, impact strength and hardness no.

Improved Tentacle-Based Guidance for Reentry Gliding Hypersonic Vehicle With No-Fly Zone Constraint

An improved tentacle-based bank-angle transient method that requires less computation and provides effective feedback is proposed to offer a new choice for reentry gliding hypersonic vehicle maneuvering guidance. The longitudinal guidance strategy of hypersonic vehicles is applied to track standard trajectories, and the improved tentacle-based bank angle transient lateral strategy avoids static or dynamic no-fly zones. The proposed lateral strategy generates three tentacles for detection, addresses numerical heading angle limitations or no-fly zone constraints, and provides control commands through a time-counting filter. Dispersed cases are verified for static no-fly zones, and a warning area is proposed to avoid dynamic no-fly zones. For dynamic no-fly zones, the velocity and initial position of the no-fly zone are discussed in terms of the impact on the guidance. Finally, the guidance strategy is tested on a high-performance Common Aero Vehicle model in many flights, and all results for the constraints and computation time indicate that the improved tentacle-based guidance method is effective for avoiding no-fly zones where some information is unknown.

Embedded system for road damage detection by deep convolutional neural network.

Road pavement could be damaged due to various reasons, causing damages such as cracks and pits. These damages cause potential dangers in traffic safety. It is necessary for road maintenance departments to find damages in time before maintenance. At present, maintenance departments of some high-level roads are equipped with specialized detection vehicles such as laser scanning vehicles to detect road damages. These kinds of devices can get good detection performance, but the economic cost is very high. In this paper, we use a road damage image dataset to train an object detection model based on deep convolutional neural network and deploy it on a low-cost embedded platform to form an embedded system. The system uses a common camera mounted on windshield of a common vehicle as sensor to detect road damages. The embedded system consumes about 352 ms to process one frame of image and can achieve a recall rate of about 76% which is higher than some previous related works. The recall rate of this scheme using common cameras is less than that of high-level specialized detectors, but the economic cost is much lower than them. After subsequent development, the road maintenance department with limited funds can consider about schemes like this.

Discriminatory language in the workplace: unmasking prejudices and stereotypes / El lenguaje discriminatorio en contextos laborales: desenmascarando prejuicios y estereotipos

The link between language, communication and open discrimination has been the focus of numerous studies. For many years, language has been a vehicle of prejudice and negative stereotypes. However, in the last few years, overt verbal aggressions have diminished thanks to the implementation of equality policies and awareness-raising initiatives. Despite that, negative attitudes against protected groups might not have disappeared and may instead be transmitted subtly, such as through uncivil language. The goal of this research is to study the relation between language and subtle discrimination against lesbian and gay (LG) workers. With this goal in mind, 39 in-depth interviews were conducted. The analysis showed that LG people are victims of subtle discrimination and that language is one of the most common vehicles of prejudice and negative stereotypes. Jokes, inappropriate comments and questions are the expression of negative attitudes, which are probably present at an implicit level. Due to the ambiguity of these expressions and the settings where they have been studied — the workplace — these acts could be defined as uncivil behaviours. Practical implications, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Development of a brake by wire system design for car stability controls

The paper presents the development of a vehicle stability control system that is able to operate in real time, ensuring to enhance vehicle dynamics and safety in all vehicle motion conditions, even at limit of handling. The commercial cars have an Electronic Stability System, ESC, that acts actuating the brakes autonomously to correct the vehicle dynamics at limit of adhesion conditions. In this study it will be shown how the stability control system proposed can operate autonomously and constantly during vehicle motion, thanks to a controller based on a simplified vehicle model and a brake unit that operates in continuous.The control system consists of a high-level control and four Brake-By-Wire actuators. The high-level control is an Linear Quadratic Regulator, LQR, that ensures to stabilize the yaw rate and the side slip angle minimizing the errors between the actual car values and the values given by a steady state dynamic reference model. To reach this aim the LQR gives the values of longitudinal forces that each wheel has to achieve. These values of force are sent by a CAN signal to the Cornering Brake Actuators, CBA, that with their own logic and proximity to the wheels ensure a vary fast actuation, stabilizing the vehicle and providing safety.To validate the control system a series of manoeuvres have been carried out on a case-study test bench, that has been installed on a static driving simulator equipped with a concurrent real-time machine, the complete vehicle network and the full steering system. The control system has been design to be used as a stability system on commercial cars, requiring of common vehicle sensors, ensuring better performances and stability even in driving at limit of adhesion conditions, but also to be installed in an autonomous vehicle being able to act independently from the driver.

Molecular Epidemiological Analysis of Hepatitis A Viruses Circulating in Tokyo, 2016-2017

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is a common infectious agent that causes acute hepatitis worldwide. Since the incubation period of HAV infection is about one month, it is difficult to identify the source of infection based only on medical interviews. Molecular epidemiological analysis of HAV isolated from patients can help to reveal the infection route and to identify diffuse outbreaks caused by common food vehicles. In the present study, samples were collected from 108 cases notified to the active epidemiological investigation system in Tokyo between 2016 and 2017. Samples found to be HAV-positive by semi-nested RT-PCR were subjected to sequencing and phylogenetic analysis; the results were analyzed together with the epidemiological data. HAV was detected in 99 out of 108 cases. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the 99 HAV strains were divided into 91 of genotype IA, two of IB, and six of IIIA. The 91 HAV strains typed as IA were further divided into four main line-ages, IA-1, IA-2, IA-3, and IA-4, each with a unique epidemiological background. Our nucleotide sequence database of HAV and epidemiological background data will be helpful to investigate sources of infection and the epidemiology of hepatitis A cases in the future.

Reused second life batteries for aggregated demand response services

Abstract: The electric vehicle is presented as an environmental friendly alternative to common vehicles and as the future of transportation. However, car manufacturers consider that electric vehicle batteries are not useful for traction purposes when they reach a state of health of 80%. Thus, as a matter of fact, these batteries are sold knowing that they have a premature obsolescence, as they still have 80% of useful capacity that could be used elsewhere. This study analyzes economically and in terms of ageing performance the possibility to provide a second life to these batteries in buildings. The study presents several scenarios depending on the battery use, considering independent buildings or getting closer to the concept of smart grid with demand response services where buildings could participate in secondary electricity markets by means of an energy aggregator. Moreover, the study analyzes the existing European markets that allow aggregated demand response services. Results show that, effectively, the reuse of batteries for residential purposes might not be the best economical option even though their lifespan is enlarged four years more. Nonetheless, if they are able to participate in secondary electricity markets in addition to their normal use in buildings, the business becomes juicy enough having a relatively low impact on ageing. The promotion of electric vehicle battery reuse is necessary, as there is a large amount of batteries with a huge useful potential in stationary applications coming in the nearby future from the electric vehicles that have been sold during the last five years. If possible, car manufacturers should consider eco-design in order to facilitate this battery repurposing and lifespan enlargement.

Mutagenic Activity of N-Nitrosodiethylamine in Cell Lines Expressing Human CYP2E1-Adequacy of Dimethylsulfoxide as Solvent.

Human CYP2E1 metabolizes many xenobiotics of low-molecular weight, thereby activating various promutagens/procarcinogens. In toxicological studies in vitro, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) is a common vehicle for organic compounds. However, it was observed to potently inhibit CYP2E1 activity. We were interested in whether it affects CYP2E1-dependent mutagenic responses. In this study, N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), which is soluble in both water and DMSO, was used as a model promutagen. It induced Hprt gene mutations and micronuclei in a Chinese hamster V79-derived cell line expressing both human CYP2E1 and sulfotransferase (SULT) 1A1 (V79-hCYP2E1-hSULT1A1) even at low-micromolar concentrations, but was inactive in parental V79 cells. Mutagenicity of NDEA was also observed in a recombinant V79-hCYP2E1 cell line that expresses human CYP2E1 at a lower level. NDEA induced micronuclei in human L-02 hepatocytes which expressed CYP2E1 even more weakly. DMSO did not modify NDEA-induced gene mutations or micronuclei, up to 0.2% (v:v, the highest noncytotoxic concentration) in V79-hCYP2E1-hSULT1A1 cells. In parental V79-Mz cells, NDEA induced micronuclei with Aroclor 1254-induced rat liver S9 mix, and this effect was unaffected by DMSO up to 0.2%. However, it inhibited the effect of NDEA in L-02 (by 44%) and V79-hCYP2E1 cells (by 70%) at 0.2%, with the effects of NDEA remaining statistically significant. No effect of DMSO was observed on CYP2E1 protein expression in V79-hCYP2E1-hSULT1A1 or its mRNA transcripts in each cell line. We conclude that DMSO may not significantly affect CYP2E1-dependent mutagenic effects, at concentrations up to 0.2% in cells with relatively high CYP2E1 expression. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 60:214-226, 2019. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The potential use of probiotic and beneficial bacteria in the Brazilian dairy industry.

Scientific studies demonstrate the importance of intestinal microbiota to human health and how probiotic microorganisms can positively affect health when administered regularly and in adequate amounts. Probiotic bacteria can be part of fermented products and their functional importance is associated mainly with their metabolism. They are thought to benefit individuals to maintain their health and also to strengthen resistance against various types of diseases. The acceptance of probiotic cultures and products by consumers increased when these bacteria were marketed as natural cultures that help in digestion and health. Considering this, the food industry has an increasing demand for new candidates as probiotic cultures, and the dairy industry has a particular interest for fermented milks and other dairy products, since these are the most common food vehicles for probiotic cultures. Therefore, the dairy industries are increasingly seeking to improve their products with these beneficial bacteria. However, the legal peculiarities and excess of control agencies in Brazil makes the registration of these products and the collection of data very complex. Prospective analysis suggests that probiotic foods have the potential to effect a considerable expansion of the dairy industry, allowing the dairy sector to grow and for these products to be increasingly sought by consumers globally. For this, not only actions on research and innovation are necessary, but also official clarifications on the claims for considerations of microbiological security and functionality of these products. This review aims to elucidate important probiotic research regarding the isolation and characterization of beneficial cultures in Brazil, and to demonstrate the relevance of the dairy chain as a potential source of novel cultures for the development of new probiotic products to expand the Brazilian dairy industry.

Bayesian modeling and test planning for multiphase reliability assessment

AbstractWe propose a Bayesian hierarchical model to assess the reliability of a family of vehicles, based on the development of the joint light tactical vehicle (JLTV). The proposed model effectively combines information across three phases of testing and across common vehicle components. The analysis yields estimates of failure rates for specific failure modes and vehicles as well as an overall estimate of the failure rate for the family of vehicles. We are also able to obtain estimates of how well vehicle modifications between test phases improve failure rates. In addition to using all data to improve on current assessments of reliability and reliability growth, we illustrate how to leverage the information learned from the three phases to determine appropriate specifications for subsequent testing that will demonstrate if the reliability meets a given reliability threshold.

Outbreak of Salmonella Chailey Infections Linked To Precut Coconut Pieces - United States and Canada, 2017.

Foodborne salmonellosis causes an estimated 1 million illnesses and 400 deaths annually in the United States (1). In recent years, salmonellosis outbreaks have been caused by foods not typically associated with Salmonella. On May 2, 2017, PulseNet, CDC's national molecular subtyping network for foodborne disease surveillance, identified a cluster of 14 Salmonella Chailey isolates with a rare pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) pattern. On May 29, Canadian health officials informed CDC that they were also investigating a cluster of five Salmonella Chailey infections in British Columbia with the same PFGE pattern. Nineteen cases were identified and investigated by CDC, U.S. state health departments, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control. Isolates from all cases were highly related by whole genome sequencing (WGS). Illness onset dates ranged from March 10 to May 7, 2017. Initial interviews revealed that infected persons consumed various fresh foods and shopped at grocery chain A; focused questionnaires identified precut coconut pieces from grocery chain A as a common vehicle. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted a traceback investigation that implicated a single lot of frozen, precut coconut as the outbreak source. Grocery chain A voluntarily removed precut coconut pieces from their stores. This action likely limited the size and scope of this outbreak.

Knowledge of hand hygiene among healthcare providers in a tertiary care hospital, Bengaluru

Background: Healthcare providers (HCPs) have been identified as the most common vehicle for transmission of hospital acquired infections (HAIs) from patient to patient and within the healthcare environment. Hand hygiene has been identified as the single most important, simplest and least expensive means of preventing HAIs. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge of hand hygiene among healthcare providers in a tertiary care hospital in Bengaluru.Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among all the health care providers who have been working in the hospital for more than one year. Total 122 health care providers were included in the study. A semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was developed and used to obtain information on respondent’s socio-demographic characteristics, and knowledge of hand hygiene. For collecting data in this study, the World Health Organization (WHO) "Hand Hygiene Knowledge Questionnaire "revised 2009 edition was used. Descriptive statistics was used as necessary.Results: A total of 122 health care providers participated in the study. Among them 78 (63.9%) have received formal training in hand washing. The mean age of the study participants was 29.11±8.6 years. Majority opined that hand rubbing is required before palpation of the abdomen (86.9%) knowledge about hand hygiene was found to be moderate in majority of the study subjects (144 out of 200, 74%).Conclusions: In the present study the knowledge on hand hygiene among health care providers is moderate it highlights the importance of improving the current training programs targeting hand hygiene practices among health care providers.

Effect of powder properties on the aerosolization performance of nanoporous mannitol particles as dry powder inhalation carriers

ABSTRACT Carrier based dry powder inhalers (DPIs) are common vehicles for pulmonary delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), thus powder properties of carrier would generate a pronounced impact on the two dominant delivery stages of the DPIs. In our previous study, a novel modified carrier, the nanoporous mannitol carriers (NPMCs) was prepared to achieve satisfactory aerosolization performance. While the aerosolization performance enhancement mechanism of NPMCs based DPI was still uncovered. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the powder property of NPMCs and the aerosolization performance of their corresponding DPI formulations. Particle size analysis of NPMCs was assessed by Sympatec® dynamic laser diffraction. Powder property of NPMCs was performed by FT4 powder rheometer. Aerosolization performance was evaluated by the next generation impactor to simulate the deposition profile of NPMCs based DPI formulations in respiratory tract. Similar particle size distribution was observed among the NPMCs formulations (p > 0.05), which were appropriate for DPIs. And NPMCs exhibited superior flowability, aeration and permeability behaviors in FT4 tests, meanwhile higher fine particle fraction (FPF) values in NGI test comparing to the nonporous mannitol. Further, two positive correlations between the basic flow energy (BFE) and ρb (R2 = 0.901), specific energy and ρb values (R2 = 0.912) were obtained in NPMC systems, respectively. The relationship between BFE and FPF was explored quantitatively as well, and it revealed an inverse correlation (R2 = 0.934). Therefore, the aerosolization performance enhancement of NPMCs based DPI could be reasonably explained by powder property of carriers quantified by the FT4 powder rheometer, which was a promising tool for the design of DPI carrier.

Re-entry trajectory optimization using pigeon inspired optimization based control profiles

In this paper, the entry trajectory optimization problem of lifting type re-entry vehicle with path constraints is solved using Pigeon Inspired Optimization (PIO). Entry trajectory optimization problem involves finding the control profiles, bank angle, and angle of attack to guide the vehicle safely to the destination. The proposed approach parametrizes the bank angle to be a linear function of energy while the angle of attack is considered to be a monotonic function of Mach number. Thus, the problem of finding control profiles is transformed into three parameter search problem. The PIO algorithm is used to find the values of these parameters that minimizes the objective function. The terminal heading angle offset is minimized using traditional bank reversal logic. A new approach is proposed in which the bank angle is modulated to eliminate the oscillations observed in the altitude profile of an entry vehicle with a high lift to drag ratio (L/D). A methodology to satisfy the given load factor constraint is also proposed, as an alternative to traditional penalty factor approach used for incorporating path constraints in PIO algorithm. The proposed approach is further validated by considering sub-cases with different load factor limits and bank angle as the only control variable. The angle of attack profile obtained from the previous case is considered as the nominal profile. The proposed trajectory optimization strategy using PIO algorithm is simulated for Common Aero Vehicle with high L/D ratio (CAV-H) with different load factor constraint limits. The results show that the obtained angle of attack profile minimizes the peak heat rate experienced by the vehicle and bank angle modulation eliminates the oscillations in the altitude profile as well as makes the entry trajectory satisfy the load factor constraint.