Formula SAE Final Project Report

The Formula SAE team at Trinity University has been working on a race car project since 2015 and has made significant progress in constructing a nearly complete car. This year, the team focused on continuing that progress by working towards implementing a new design, an airfoil, and redesigning suspension components, while also ensuring compliance with various regulations and standards. This year’s team has faced several constraints along the way, including time and budget limitations, complying with safety, technical, and environmental regulations, and following specific design constraints for the airfoil. To achieve set goals and eventually participate in FSAE competitions, the team must also follow applicable codes and standards, including the General Regulations and Rules of Conduct in the 2023 Formula SAE rules and specific standards related to the subsystems of the car, such as bodywork and aerodynamic devices. The team identified incomplete subsystems that needed to be addressed, one of which was the engine\u27s ability to idle. The team tested the spark and injector timing relative to the crank position using a 120 frame per second high-speed camera. Then using TunerStudio, a software for tuning an aftermarket MegaSquirt ECU, the team came up with four separate tunes that had varying spark and injector timings to get the car to start and idle. Despite getting combustion to occur and for the car to run for a few power strokes, the team was unsuccessful in achieving a consistent and steady idle. The team had ambitious goals for the project, but unforeseen difficulties prevented many of the design requirements from being met. Requirements such as maximum speed, user control, safety belts and seat, steering system, and airfoil mounting system were not fully tested or implemented. The team identified components that need to be fabricated by future teams, including a brake failure emergency shut off switch and a brake light. The team developed a CFD wind tunnel model to test the proposed airfoil design and conducted a validation test for the CFD model using literature results as the subsonic wind tunnel facility on campus was not available. The FSAE team planned to compare the downforce generated by a 3D printed model of an airfoil to the Ansys CFD model by testing the 3D printed model in a subsonic wind tunnel, but access to the wind tunnel was not available. Instead, the team compared the Ansys coefficients to those obtained from an experiment, and the results show promising accuracy of the Ansys model. However, the team suggests focusing on the performance and accuracy at higher angles of attack to improve the model. Furthermore, the team created a hypothetical racetrack to analyze the performance benefit of the airfoil and made several assumptions to simplify the process. The team calculated the lap times by dividing the distance traveled by the velocity of the car at different points of the racetrack, accounting for the aerodynamic effects of the airfoil, and the effect of downforce on the car. Overall, the 2022-23 Formula SAE team at Trinity University has faced numerous challenges in their race car project, including adhering to regulations, addressing incomplete subsystems, and conducting validation tests without proper facilities. However, the team made significant progress and will continue to work towards implementing a new design and analyzing the performance benefits of an airfoil

Development of a Raltegravir-based Photoaffinity-Labeled Probe for Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Integrase Capture

Photoaffinity labeling (PAL) is one of the upcoming and powerful tools in the field of molecular recognition. It includes the determination of dynamic parameters, such as the identification and localization of the target protein and the site of drug binding. In this study, a photoaffinity-labeled probe for full-length human immunodeficiency virus-1 integrase (HIV-1 IN) capture was designed and synthesized, following the structure of the FDA-approved drug Raltegravir. This photoprobe was found to retain the HIV IN inhibitory potential in comparison with its parent molecule and demonstrates the ability to label the HIV-1 IN protein. Putative photoprobe/inhibitor binding sites near the catalytic site were then identified after protein digestion coupled to mass and molecular modeling analyses

Inhibitory effect of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-[4-(Aryl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl]benzenesulfonamide derivatives on HIV reverse transcriptase associated rnase H activities

The HIV-1 ribonuclease H (RNase H) function of the reverse transcriptase (RT) enzyme catalyzes the selective hydrolysis of the RNA strand of the RNA:DNA heteroduplex replication intermediate, and represents a suitable target for drug development. A particularly attractive approach is constituted by the interference with the RNase H metal-dependent catalytic activity, which resides in the active site located at the C-terminus p66 subunit of RT. Herein, we report results of an in-house screening campaign that allowed us to identify 4-[4-(aryl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl]benzenesulfonamides, prepared by the “click chemistry” approach, as novel potential HIV-1 RNase H inhibitors. Three compounds (9d, 10c, and 10d) demonstrated a selective inhibitory activity against the HIV-1 RNase H enzyme at micromolar concentrations. Drug-likeness, predicted by the calculation of a panel of physicochemical and ADME properties, putative binding modes for the active compounds, assessed by computational molecular docking, as well as a mechanistic hypothesis for this novel chemotype are reported

Benign epilepsy of childhood with centro-temporal spikes (BECTS) versus migraine. a neuropsychological assessment

Purpose Epilepsy and migraine frequently show a clinical overlap. An increase in number of electroencephalographic abnormalities, such as centro-temporal spikes (CTS), may be observed in patients suffering from migraine, epileptic abnormalities that are typically in benign epilepsy of childhood with CTS (BECTS). The aim of this study is to better define the role of CTS in children with migraine compared to children with BECTS, in relation with their neuropsychological profile. Methods Thirty-two children were enrolled and divided into three groups on the basis of their diagnosis: 16 children (eight males and eight females, aged 12.3 +/- 2.58 years) affected by BECTS, 8 patients (four males and four females, aged 11.8 +/- 3.47 years) affected by BECTS and migraine, and 8 children (four males and four females, aged 13.5 +/- 1.79 years) affected by migraine showing CTS abnormalities. A cognitive and neuropsychological assessment was performed, using Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-third edition and NEPSY II, in all patients. Results and conclusions A similar neuropsychological impairment was found in patients affected by BECTS and in those affected by BECTS and migraine; a significant deficit in short- and long-term verbal memory was evident in patients affected by migraine and CTS. CTS in patients with migraine can influence the neuropsychological tests, with a possible negative impact on language and learning development

Analysis of the causes of the seizure and destruction of carcasses and organs in a slaughterhouse in central Italy in the 2010-2016 period

Meat safety and hygiene are fundamental issues for producers and endusers. To achieve these goals, the inspection of carcasses and organs at slaughter is critical. The results of post-mortem inspection are the basis for planning preventive measures against consumer risks and for limiting economic losses. In this retrospective study, the causes of the seizure and destruction of carcasses and organs were analysed at a slaughterhouse in central Italy from 2010 to 2016. 436,646 slaughtered animals were taken into consideration, for a total of 61,799 seizures (73.29% pigs, 23.87% cattle, 2.77% sheep and 0.07% horses). The organs or groups of organs that most frequently showed lesions in pigs were liver (72.38%), heart (10.77%) and pluck (10.20%); in cattle, lungs (64.86%), liver (31.20%) and stomachs (11.63%); in sheep, liver (77.15%), pluck (18.70%) and lung (3.80%); in horses, liver (75.56%), kidney (68.89%) and lung (31.11%). Among the diagnoses, parasitic diseases of the liver (ascariasis and distomatosis) were especially frequent in all species, followed by pericarditis and polyserositis in pigs and diseases affecting the respiratory system in cattle. The data obtained show that post-mortem inspection is of fundamental importance for limiting risks for the consumer and ensuring meat safety. It is also evident, even more than ten years after the coming into force of the so-called hygiene package regulations, that the slaughterhouse can still act as an epidemiological observatory to provide the data needed for the development of plans for the control and eradication of the most frequent diseases in the area

Development of a Raltegravir-based Photoaffinity-Labeled Probe for Human Immunodeficiency Virus1 Integrase Capture

[Image: see text] Photoaffinity labeling (PAL) is one of the upcoming and powerful tools in the field of molecular recognition. It includes the determination of dynamic parameters, such as the identification and localization of the target protein and the site of drug binding. In this study, a photoaffinity-labeled probe for full-length human immunodeficiency virus-1 integrase (HIV-1 IN) capture was designed and synthesized, following the structure of the FDA-approved drug Raltegravir. This photoprobe was found to retain the HIV IN inhibitory potential in comparison with its parent molecule and demonstrates the ability to label the HIV-1 IN protein. Putative photoprobe/inhibitor binding sites near the catalytic site were then identified after protein digestion coupled to mass and molecular modeling analyses

Development of a Raltegravir-based Photoaffinity-Labeled Probe for Human Immunodeficiency Virus‑1 Integrase Capture

Photoaffinity labeling (PAL) is one of the upcoming and powerful tools in the field of molecular recognition. It includes the determination of dynamic parameters, such as the identification and localization of the target protein and the site of drug binding. In this study, a photoaffinity-labeled probe for full-length human immunodeficiency virus-1 integrase (HIV-1 IN) capture was designed and synthesized, following the structure of the FDA-approved drug Raltegravir. This photoprobe was found to retain the HIV IN inhibitory potential in comparison with its parent molecule and demonstrates the ability to label the HIV-1 IN protein. Putative photoprobe/inhibitor binding sites near the catalytic site were then identified after protein digestion coupled to mass and molecular modeling analyses