Performance indices for motorsport drivers analysis

The present paper aims to propose performance indices able to characterize the driving abilities of a car driver in the motorsport ambit. These indices could be used both to improve drivers performances and to conduct comparative analyses between professional and non-professional drivers. The data used for the analysis come from a Formula 4 vehicle and have been acquired by means of a specific data logger. Some indices, suggested by the specific literature in the motorsport vehicles, have been analyzed and employed on the data acquired on track during races. The results were not so satisfactory especially to evaluate the performance of a non-professional driver. The proposed indicators defined as the product of the accelerations along one determined direction (longitudinal or lateral) for the corresponding velocities seem to be suitable to be used as performance indices for the pilot in all the three main phases of a curve. The analysis of the data shows that these indices are quite reliable even if, in some particular cases, they show little discrepancies. This happens because the indices must be interpreted differently in dependence of the various types of curve, which are diversely approached (e.g. a chicane or a hairpin). Further development will improve the indicators according to the type of curve, trying to give an overall performance indicator for each curve

Using EGFP fusions to monitor the functional expression of GPCRs in the Drosophila Schneider 2 cells

In combining fluorescence measurements with ligand binding assays, the versatility of the EGFP C-terminally fused to the human mu opioid receptor (EGFP-hMOR) has been exploited to notably improve the expression level of functional G protein-coupled receptors in Drosophila S2 cells. A selected array of efficient optimization approaches is presented herein, ranging from a cell-sorting method, allowing for a substantial enrichment in EGFP-hMOR expressing cells, to the addition of chemical and pharmacological chaperones, significantly enhancing the yield and the activity of the expressed receptors. Consistent with previous studies, significant discrepancies were observed between the total amounts of fluorescent receptors over a limited subpopulation capable of ligand binding, even after expression optimization. Subsequently, membrane isopycnic centrifugation experiments allowed to separate the ligand binding active from the non-active membrane fraction, the latter most probably containing misfolded receptors. Taken together, these results illustrate a coherent set of advantageous productive and preparative methods for the production of GPCRs in the highly valuable Drosophila S2 expression system