Battery management system and control strategy for hybrid and electric vehicle

Author name used in this publication: K. W. E. ChengAuthor name used in this publication: K. DingAuthor name used in this publication: W. TingVersion of RecordPublishe

Insulin trafficking in a glucose responsive engineered human liver cell line is regulated by the interaction of ATP-sensitive potassium channels and voltage- gated calcium channels

Type I diabetes is caused by the autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta (â) cells [1]. Current treatment requires multiple daily injections of insulin to control blood glucose levels. Tight glucose control lowers, but does not eliminate, the onset of diabetic complications, which greatly reduce the quality and longevity of life for patients. Transplantation of pancreatic tissue as a treatment is restricted by the scarcity of donors and the requirement for lifelong immunosuppression to preserve the graft, which carries adverse side-effects. This is of particular concern as Type 1 diabetes predominantly affects children. Lack of glucose control could be overcome by genetically engineering "an artificial â-cell" that is capable of synthesising, storing and secreting insulin in response to metabolic signals. The donor cell type must be readily accessible and capable of being engineered to synthesise, process, store and secrete insulin under physiological conditions

Defending the genome from the enemy within:mechanisms of retrotransposon suppression in the mouse germline

The viability of any species requires that the genome is kept stable as it is transmitted from generation to generation by the germ cells. One of the challenges to transgenerational genome stability is the potential mutagenic activity of transposable genetic elements, particularly retrotransposons. There are many different types of retrotransposon in mammalian genomes, and these target different points in germline development to amplify and integrate into new genomic locations. Germ cells, and their pluripotent developmental precursors, have evolved a variety of genome defence mechanisms that suppress retrotransposon activity and maintain genome stability across the generations. Here, we review recent advances in understanding how retrotransposon activity is suppressed in the mammalian germline, how genes involved in germline genome defence mechanisms are regulated, and the consequences of mutating these genome defence genes for the developing germline

Search for Charged Higgs Bosons in e+e- Collisions at \sqrt{s} = 189 GeV

A search for pair-produced charged Higgs bosons is performed with the L3 detector at LEP using data collected at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 176.4 pb^-1. Higgs decays into a charm and a strange quark or into a tau lepton and its associated neutrino are considered. The observed events are consistent with the expectations from Standard Model background processes. A lower limit of 65.5 GeV on the charged Higgs mass is derived at 95 % confidence level, independent of the decay branching ratio Br(H^{+/-} -> tau nu)

Hubungan di antara dimensi personaliti, Konsep Kendiri dan pengaruh keluarga ke atas pencapaian pelajar di Rancangan Skim Felda, Johor

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between the dimensions of personality, self-concept and family influence on students’ performance. The sample consists of 214 students from two secondary schools in the FELDA settlement in Johor. Random cluster sampling was employed to select participants for the study. A pilot test was conducted to assess the internal consistency of the questionnaire used in the study which was the Malay version of the Junior Eysenck Personality Inventory (JEPI) (α = .57), the Malay version of the Tennessee Self-concept Scale (α = .86) and the family influence questionnaire (α = .79). These instruments were used to examine the effects of family influence in the aspects of family cohesiveness, religious and moral aspect and freedom aspect. Pearson's Correlation was used to analyze the relationship between the dimensions of personality, self-concept and family influence. The results show a relationship between the dimensions of personality and self-concept, and between the dimensions of personality and family cohesiveness. However, there was no relationship between the dimensions of personality and the religious and moral and freedom aspect. The results also show that there was a strong relationship between self-concept and family cohesiveness and a moderate relationship between self-concept and the religious and moral aspect. However, there was no relationship between self-concept and freedom. The implications of the study were also discussed

Two chemically similar stellar overdensities on opposite sides of the plane of the Galaxy

Our Galaxy is thought to have undergone an active evolutionary history dominated by star formation, the accretion of cold gas, and, in particular, mergers up to 10 gigayear ago. The stellar halo reveals rich fossil evidence of these interactions in the form of stellar streams, substructures, and chemically distinct stellar components. The impact of dwarf galaxy mergers on the content and morphology of the Galactic disk is still being explored. Recent studies have identified kinematically distinct stellar substructures and moving groups, which may have extragalactic origin. However, there is mounting evidence that stellar overdensities at the outer disk/halo interface could have been caused by the interaction of a dwarf galaxy with the disk. Here we report detailed spectroscopic analysis of 14 stars drawn from two stellar overdensities, each lying about 5 kiloparsecs above and below the Galactic plane - locations suggestive of association with the stellar halo. However, we find that the chemical compositions of these stars are almost identical, both within and between these groups, and closely match the abundance patterns of the Milky Way disk stars. This study hence provides compelling evidence that these stars originate from the disk and the overdensities they are part of were created by tidal interactions of the disk with passing or merging dwarf galaxies.Comment: accepted for publication in Natur

High Content Image Analysis Identifies Novel Regulators of Synaptogenesis in a High-Throughput RNAi Screen of Primary Neurons

The formation of synapses, the specialized points of chemical communication between neurons, is a highly regulated developmental process fundamental to establishing normal brain circuitry. Perturbations of synapse formation and function causally contribute to human developmental and degenerative neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, intellectual disability, and autism spectrum disorders. Many genes controlling synaptogenesis have been identified, but lack of facile experimental systems has made systematic discovery of regulators of synaptogenesis challenging. Thus, we created a high-throughput platform to study excitatory and inhibitory synapse development in primary neuronal cultures and used a lentiviral RNA interference library to identify novel regulators of synapse formation. This methodology is broadly applicable for high-throughput screening of genes and drugs that may rescue or improve synaptic dysfunction associated with cognitive function and neurological disorders.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (MH095096)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (R01 GM089652

Measurement of Triple-Gauge-Boson Couplings of the W Boson at LEP

We report on measurements of the triple-gauge-boson couplings of the W boson in $\mathrm{e^+e^-}$ collisions with the L3 detector at LEP. W-pair, single-W and single-photon events are analysed in a data sample corresponding to a total luminosity of 76.7~pb$^{-1}$ collected at centre-of-mass energies between 161~GeV and 183~GeV. CP-conserving as well as both C- and P-conserving triple-gauge-boson couplings are determined. The results, in good agreement with the Standard-Model expectations, confirm the existence of the self coupling among the electroweak gauge bosons and constrain its structure

Does true Gleason pattern 3 merit its cancer descriptor?

Nearly five decades following its conception, the Gleason grading system remains a cornerstone in the prognostication and management of patients with prostate cancer. In the past few years, a debate has been growing whether Gleason score 3 + 3 = 6 prostate cancer is a clinically significant disease. Clinical, molecular and genetic research is addressing the question whether well characterized Gleason score 3 + 3 = 6 disease has the ability to affect the morbidity and quality of life of an individual in whom it is diagnosed. The consequences of treatment of Gleason score 3 + 3 = 6 disease are considerable; few men get through their treatments without sustaining some harm. Further modification of the classification of prostate cancer and dropping the label cancer for Gleason score 3 + 3 = 6 disease might be warranted