Efficient Design of Integrated Underbody and Battery Pack for Battery Electric Vehicles

Climate change and the consequent more restrictive regulations are pushing the industry towards higher efficiency and lower emissions means of transport. The road transport sector is deeply affected, leading the main Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to start the transition to alternative powertrains, among which Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) are the faster-growing. The large, heavy, and safety-critical battery pack asks for a specific optimized solution for a lightweight and high-performance vehicle platform. In this research, a first benchmarking analysis is presented to study the current state-of-the-art for BEV underbody and battery pack designs. Following this investigation, a classification scheme was designed to allow easier comparison between different solutions, pointing out the most relevant characteristics and best design choices. Starting from the results of the benchmarking analysis, the study followed with a series of Finite Element Analyses (FEAs), on different simplified platform models, organized through a fractional factorial Design of Experiment (DOE). The responses of the experiments were the torsional stiffness and bending stiffness and first resonance mode, evaluated together with the mass of the system. These investigations revealed that the most influential factors for the analyzed performance outputs were the torque box and rocker rail internal structures, together with the material of the battery pack. Other parameters were less influential, but the study was still able to highlight the more favourable configurations. Through two additional analyses the battery pack was found to heavily affect the structure static stiffness, but both the battery pack and floor panels needed appropriate stiffening to avoid low-frequency resonance. The conducted analysis allowed the development of a linear regression model and the execution of a design optimization which delivered two different optimized solutions, showing good performance and high weight efficiency. After the discussion of the gathered results, validated design guidelines were created to provide a starting point for the development of future dedicated and integrated BEV underbodies and battery packs

Role of Circadian Clock on the Pathogenesis and Lifestyle Management in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Several features of the modern lifestyle, such as weekly schedules or irregular daily eating patterns, have become major drivers of global health problems, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Sleep is an essential component of human well-being, and it has been observed that when circadian rhythms are disrupted, or when sleep quality decreases, an individual’s overall health may worsen. In addition, the discrepancy between the circadian and social clock, due to weekly work/study schedules, is called social jetlag and has also been associated with adverse metabolic profiles. Current management of NAFLD is based on dietary intake and physical activity, with circadian preferences and other environmental factors also needing to be taken into account. In this regard, dietary approaches based on chrononutrition, such as intermittent fasting or time-restricted feeding, have proven to be useful in realigning lifestyle behaviors with circadian biological rhythms. However, more studies are needed to apply these dietary strategies in the treatment of these patients. In this review, we focus on the impact of circadian rhythms and the role of sleep patterns on the pathogenesis and development of NAFLD, as well as the consideration of chrononutrition for the precision nutrition management of patients with NAFLD

Unacylated Ghrelin Promotes Skeletal Muscle Regeneration Following Hindlimb Ischemia via SOD-2-Mediated miR-221/222 Expression

BACKGROUND: Surgical treatment of peripheral artery disease, even if successful, does not prevent reoccurrence. Under these conditions, increased oxidative stress is a crucial determinant of tissue damage. Given its reported antioxidant effects, we investigated the potential of unacylated‐ghrelin (UnAG) to reduce ischemia‐induced tissue damage in a mouse model of peripheral artery disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: We show that UnAG but not acylated ghrelin (AG) induces skeletal muscle regeneration in response to ischemia via canonical p38/mitogen‐actived protein kinase signaling UnAG protected against reactive oxygen species–induced cell injuries by inducing the expression of superoxide dismutase‐2 (SOD‐2) in satellite cells. This led to a reduced number of infiltrating CD68(+) cells and was followed by induction of the myogenic process and a reduction in functional impairment. Moreover, we found that miR‐221/222, previously linked to muscle regeneration processes, was up‐regulated and negatively correlated with p57(Kip2) expression in UnAG‐treated mice. UnAG, unlike AG, promoted cell‐cycle entry in satellite cells of mice lacking the genes for ghrelin and its receptor (GHSR1a). UnAG‐induced p38/mitogen‐actived protein kinase phosphorylation, leading to activation of the myogenic process, was prevented in SOD‐2–depleted SCs. By siRNA technology, we also demonstrated that SOD‐2 is the antioxidant enzyme involved in the control of miR‐221/222–driven posttranscriptional p57(Kip2) regulation. Loss‐of‐function experiments targeting miR‐221/222 and local pre–miR‐221/222 injection in vivo confirmed a role for miR‐221/222 in driving skeletal muscle regeneration after ischemia. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that UnAG‐induced skeletal muscle regeneration after ischemia depends on SOD‐2–induced miR‐221/222 expression and highlight its clinical potential for the treatment of reactive oxygen species–mediated skeletal muscle damage