An Electric Assisted Turbo with Centrifugal Clutch and Axial Flux Motor

A traditional electric turbocharger (E-turbo) uses a radial flux motor coupled to the turbocharger to provide additional power to the drive the compressor at low speeds. This configuration is not compact and lacks satisfying transient response when motor is powered off because of high inertia of the wheel rotor system. This article proposes a novel E-turbo configuration that uses an axial flux motor and a centrifugal clutch so that the E-turbo is more compact with more flexible connection between motor and wheel rotor system

The chloride channel cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) controls cellular quiescence by hyperpolarizing the cell membrane during diapause in the crustacean Artemia

Cellular quiescence, a reversible state in which growth, proliferation, and other cellular activities are arrested, is important for self-renewal, differentiation, development, regeneration, and stress resistance. However, the physiological mechanisms underlying cellular quiescence remain largely unknown. In the present study, we used embryos of the crustacean Artemia in the diapause stage, in which these embryos remain quiescent for prolonged periods, as a model to explore the relationship between cell-membrane potential (V-mem) and quiescence. We found that V-mem is hyperpolarized and that the intracellular chloride concentration is high in diapause embryos, whereas V-mem is depolarized and intracellular chloride concentration is reduced in postdiapause embryos and during further embryonic development. We identified and characterized the chloride ion channel protein cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) of Artemia (Ar-CFTR) and found that its expression is silenced in quiescent cells of Artemia diapause embryos but remains constant in all other embryonic stages. Ar-CFTR knockdown and GlyH-101-mediated chemical inhibition of Ar-CFTR produced diapause embryos having a high V-mem and intracellular chloride concentration, whereas control Artemia embryos released free-swimming nauplius larvae. Transcriptome analysis of embryos at different developmental stages revealed that proliferation, differentiation, and metabolism are suppressed in diapause embryos and restored in postdiapause embryos. Combined with RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of GlyH-101-treated MCF-7 breast cancer cells, these analyses revealed that CFTR inhibition down-regulates the Wnt and Aurora Kinase A (AURKA) signaling pathways and up-regulates the p53 signaling pathway. Our findings provide insight into CFTR-mediated regulation of cellular quiescence and V-mem in the Artemia model

ALS Mutations of FUS Suppress Protein Translation and Disrupt the Regulation of Nonsense-Mediated Decay

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an incurable neurodegenerative disease characterized by preferential motor neuron death. Approximately 15% of ALS cases are familial, and mutations in the fused in sarcoma (FUS) gene contribute to a subset of familial ALS cases. FUS is a multifunctional protein participating in many RNA metabolism pathways. ALS-linked mutations cause a liquid–liquid phase separation of FUS protein in vitro, inducing the formation of cytoplasmic granules and inclusions. However, it remains elusive what other proteins are sequestered into the inclusions and how such a process leads to neuronal dysfunction and degeneration. In this study, we developed a protocol to isolate the dynamic mutant FUS-positive cytoplasmic granules. Proteomic identification of the protein composition and subsequent pathway analysis led us to hypothesize that mutant FUS can interfere with protein translation. We demonstrated that the ALS mutations in FUS indeed suppressed protein translation in N2a cells expressing mutant FUS and fibroblast cells derived from FUS ALS cases. In addition, the nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) pathway, which is closely related to protein translation, was altered by mutant FUS. Specifically, NMD-promoting factors UPF1 and UPF3b increased, whereas a negative NMD regulator, UPF3a, decreased, leading to the disruption of NMD autoregulation and the hyperactivation of NMD. Alterations in NMD factors and elevated activity were also observed in the fibroblast cells of FUS ALS cases. We conclude that mutant FUS suppresses protein biosynthesis and disrupts NMD regulation, both of which likely contribute to motor neuron death

Probing the R-parity violating supersymmetric effects in the exclusive c→d/sℓνℓc\to d/s\ell\nu_\ell decays

A lot of branching ratios of the exclusive $c \to d/s\ell\nu_\ell$ ($\ell=e,\mu$) decays have been quite accurately measured by CLEO-c, BELLE, BABAR, BES(I,II,III), ALEPH and MARKIII collaborations. We probe the R-parity violating supersymmetric effects in the exclusive $c \to d/s\ell\nu_\ell$ decays. From the latest experimental measurements, we obtain new upper limits on the relevant R-parity violating coupling parameters within the decays, and many upper limits are obtained for the first time. Using the constrained new parameter spaces, we predict the R-parity violating effects on the observables, which have not been measured or have not been well measured yet. We find that the R-parity violating effects due to slepton exchange could be large on the branching ratios of $D_{d/s}\to e\nu_e$ decays and the normalized forward-backward asymmetries of $D_{u/d}\to \pi/K \ell\nu_\ell$ as well as $D_s\to K \ell\nu_\ell$ decays, and all branching ratios of the relevant semileptonic $D$ decays are sensitive to squark exchange couplings. Our results in this work could be used to probe new physics effects in the leptonic decays as well as the semileptonic decays, and will correlate with searches for direct supersymmetric signals at LHC and BESIII.Comment: 26 pages, 13 figure

Effects of Ultra-high Pressure Treatment on Quality and Its Shelf Life of Freshly Squeezed Compound Juice

In order to make the active ingredients and flavor substances of fruit juice after sterilization treatment closer to the original freshly squeezed fruit juice, the compound juice was prepared with kiwifruit, pineapple and mango as raw materials in this paper. The effects of ultra-high pressure and heat treatment (85 ℃, 5 min) on the quality and shelf life of freshly squeezed compound juice were compared. The results showed that, as the volume ratio of the mixed juice was Vpineapple pulp:Vkiwi pulp:Vmango pulp=4:2:4, the pH, b* value and soluble solid content of the juice treated at 450 MPa, 25 ℃ and 15 min of ultra-high pressure had no significant difference (P>0.05) with the traditional heat treatment, but the loss of vitamin C content and polyphenol content decreased by 12.1% and 17.5%, respectively. By analyzing the main volatile components of the compound juice, it was found that the loss of flavor substances such as enes, esters, alcohols, ketones, and aldehydes in the UHP treatment juice was significantly less than that in the heat treatment juice (P<0.05). The content of furfural was 0, the relative contents of acetone and 1-octene-3-one were reduced by 68.4% and 41.4%, respectively. The total number of colonies, the bactericidal effect of mold and yeast were all in line with the current hygienic standards of beverages. Through the Q10 model to forecast the shelf life, the shelf life of the juice could be up to 103 days stored at 4 ℃. In conclusion, the ultra-high pressure treatment of freshly squeezed compound juice could effectively kill microorganisms and maintain the natural quality of compound juice, and endow juice a longer shelf life