Differential metabolism of Mycoplasma species as revealed by their genomes

The annotation and comparative analyses of the genomes of Mycoplasma synoviae and Mycoplasma hyopneumonie, as well as of other Mollicutes (a group of bacteria devoid of a rigid cell wall), has set the grounds for a global understanding of their metabolism and infection mechanisms. According to the annotation data, M. synoviae and M. hyopneumoniae are able to perform glycolytic metabolism, but do not possess the enzymatic machinery for citrate and glyoxylate cycles, gluconeogenesis and the pentose phosphate pathway. Both can synthesize ATP by lactic fermentation, but only M. synoviae can convert acetaldehyde to acetate. Also, our genome analysis revealed that M. synoviae and M. hyopneumoniae are not expected to synthesize polysaccharides, but they can take up a variety of carbohydrates via the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PEP-PTS). Our data showed that these two organisms are unable to synthesize purine and pyrimidine de novo, since they only possess the sequences which encode salvage pathway enzymes. Comparative analyses of M. synoviae and M. hyopneumoniae with other Mollicutes have revealed differential genes in the former two genomes coding for enzymes that participate in carbohydrate, amino acid and nucleotide metabolism and host-pathogen interaction. The identification of these metabolic pathways will provide a better understanding of the biology and pathogenicity of these organisms

On the Experimental Analysis of Integral Sliding Modes for Yaw Rate and Sideslip Control of an Electric Vehicle with Multiple Motors

With the advent of electric vehicles with multiple motors, the steady-state and transient cornering responses can be designed and implemented through the continuous torque control of the individual wheels, i.e., torque-vectoring or direct yaw moment control. The literature includes several papers on sliding mode control theory for torque-vectoring, but the experimental investigation is so far limited. More importantly, to the knowledge of the authors, the experimental comparison of direct yaw moment control based on sliding modes and typical controllers used for stability control in production vehicles is missing. This paper aims to reduce this gap by presenting and analyzing an integral sliding mode controller for concurrent yaw rate and sideslip control. A new driving mode, the Enhanced Sport mode, is proposed, inducing sustained high values of sideslip angle, which can be limited to a specified threshold. The system is experimentally assessed on a four-wheel-drive electric vehicle. The performance of the integral sliding mode controller is compared with that of a linear quadratic regulator during step steer tests. The results show that the integral sliding mode controller significantly enhances the tracking performance and yaw damping compared to the more conventional linear quadratic regulator based on an augmented singletrack vehicle model formulation. © 2018, The Korean Society of Automotive Engineers and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Natur

A Human Model of the Effects of an Instant Sheer Weight Loss on Cardiopulmonary Parameters during a Treadmill Run

Exercise tolerance is limited in obesity and improves after weight reduction; therefore, we mutually compared the relative changes in exercise capacity variables during cardiopulmonary exercise tests (CPET) in a 12 kg sheer weight reduction model. Twenty healthy male runners underwent two CPETs: CPET1 with the actual body weight, which determined the anaerobic threshold (AT) and respiratory compensation point (RCP); and CPET2 during which the participants wore a +12 kg vest and ran at the AT speed set during the CPET1. Running after body weight reduction shifted the CPET parameters from the high-mixed aerobic-anaerobic (RCP) to the aerobic zone (AT), but these relative changes were not mutually similar. The most beneficial changes were found for breathing mechanics parameters (range 12–28%), followed by cardiovascular function (6–7%), gas exchange (5–6%), and the smallest for the respiratory exchange ratio (5%) representing the energy metabolism during exercise. There was no correlation between the extent of the relative body weight change (median value ~15%) and the changes in CPET parameters. Weight reduction improves exercise capacity and tolerance. However, the observed relative changes are not related to the magnitude of the body change nor comparable between various parameters characterizing the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems and energy metabolism