Torsional Dynamic Performance of a Transmission Test Bench: An Investigation on the Effect of Motors Controllers Parameters

Besides in-vehicle testing, automotive powertrains and their subsystems are extensively studied and verified, in the different development phases, through dedicated test benches having various mechanical layouts according to the specific target. The torsional load is typically applied to the transmission by electric motors connected at both ends of the driveline. The electric motors drives allow speed and torque closed-loop control so that the desired combination of speed and torque can be imposed over time during the experiment. The parameters of such controllers therefore play a crucial role in the torsional dynamic behavior of the bench and therefore must be carefully selected and tuned to achieve optimal reference tracking and disturbance rejection performance. This paper aims at proposing a model-based sensitivity analysis of the PID controllers parameters starting from an experimentally validated torsional model of a Dual Clutch Transmission test rig. The methodology here proposed also contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 11 promoted by ONU

Light Commercial Vehicle ADAS-Oriented Modelling: An Optimization-Based Conversion Tool from Multibody to Real-Time Vehicle Dynamics Model

In the last few years, the number of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) on road vehicles has been increased with the aim of dramatically reducing road accidents. Therefore, the OEMs need to integrate and test these systems, to comply with the safety regulations. To lower the development cost, instead of experimental testing, many virtual simulation scenarios need to be tested for ADAS validation. The classic multibody vehicle approach, normally used to design and optimize vehicle dynamics performance, is not always suitable to cope with these new tasks; therefore, real-time lumped-parameter vehicle models implementation becomes more and more necessary. This paper aims at providing a methodology to convert experimentally validated light commercial vehicles (LCV) multibody models (MBM) into real-time lumped-parameter models (RTM). The proposed methodology involves the definition of the vehicle subsystems and the level of complexity required to achieve a good match between the simulation results obtained from the two models. Thus, an automatic vehicle model converter will be presented together with the assessment of its accuracy. An optimization phase is included into the conversion tool, to fine-tune uncertain vehicle parameters and to compensate for inherent modelling differences. The objective function of the optimization is based on typical performance indices used for vehicle longitudinal and lateral dynamics assessment. Finally, the simulation results from the original and converted models are compared during steady-state and transient tests, to prove the conversion fidelity

Reactivation of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV-1) Detected on Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (BALF) Samples in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Undergoing Invasive Mechanical Ventilation: Preliminary Results from Two Italian Centers

Reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) has been described in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. In the present two-center retrospective experience, we primarily aimed to assess the cumulative risk of HSV-1 reactivation detected on bronchoalveolar fluid (BALF) samples in invasively ventilated COVID-19 patients with worsening respiratory function. The secondary objectives were the identification of predictors for HSV-1 reactivation and the assessment of its possible prognostic impact. Overall, 41 patients met the study inclusion criteria, and 12/41 patients developed HSV-1 reactivation (29%). No independent predictors of HSV-1 reactivation were identified in the present study. No association was found between HSV-1 reactivation and mortality. Eleven out of 12 patients with HSV-1 reactivation received antiviral therapy with intravenous acyclovir. In conclusion, HSV-1 reactivation is frequently detected in intubated patients with COVID-19. An antiviral treatment in COVID-19 patients with HSV-1 reactivation and worsening respiratory function might be considered

Arranjo de semeadura para cultivares decumbentes precoces de amendoim.

O amendoim é uma cultura importante para a diversificação dos sistemas de produção agrícola no Brasil. O estado de São Paulo é o maior produtor, onde o amendoim é cultivado principalmente em áreas de renovação de canaviais. Cultivares ?Runner? precoces foram desenvolvidas recentemente, demandando estudos sobre espaçamentos e arranjos de semeadura mais adequados para estes genótipos de crescimento mais determinado que as cultivares ?Runner? tradicionais. A linhagem 2013-413 OL apresenta crescimento mais determinado e foi utilizada em um ensaio para avaliar arranjos de semeadura. O ensaio foi instalado na área experimental da Embrapa Arroz e Feijão em Santo Antônio de Goiás-GO, em blocos casualizados com quatro repetições e três tratamentos: T1: 90 cm; T2: 73 cm x 17 cm e T3: de 75 cm. Cada parcela foi composta por quatro linhas, somente as duas linhas centrais foram avaliadas. Os resultados mostraram que no espaçamento 90 cm a produtividade foi obtida foi de 3564,81 kg ha-1, no espaçamento de 73 cm x 17 cm obteve-se 3958,33 kg ha-1 e no espaçamento de 75 cm obteve-se 4511,11 kg ha-1

Quantification of lentiviral vector copy numbers in individual hematopoietic colony-forming cells shows vector dose-dependent effects on the frequency and level of transduction

Lentiviral vectors are effective tools for gene transfer and integrate variable numbers of proviral DNA copies in variable proportions of cells. The levels of transduction of a cellular population may therefore depend upon experimental parameters affecting the frequency and/or the distribution of vector integration events in this population. Such analysis would require measuring vector copy numbers (VCN) in individual cells. To evaluate the transduction of hematopoietic progenitor cells at the single-cell level, we measured VCN in individual colony-forming cell (CFC) units, using an adapted quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) method. The feasibility, reproducibility and sensitivity of this approach were tested with characterized cell lines carrying known numbers of vector integration. The method was validated by correlating data in CFC with gene expression or with calculated values, and was found to slightly underestimate VCN. In spite of this, such Q-PCR on CFC was useful to compare transduction levels with different infection protocols and different vectors. Increasing the vector concentration and re-iterating the infection were two different strategies that improved transduction by increasing the frequency of transduced progenitor cells. Repeated infection also augmented the number of integrated copies and the magnitude of this effect seemed to depend on the vector preparation. Thus, the distribution of VCN in hematopoietic colonies may depend upon experimental conditions including features of vectors. This should be carefully evaluated in the context of ex vivo hematopoietic gene therapy studies

Forage mass estimation in silvopastoral and full sun systems: evaluation through proximal remote sensing applied to the SAFER model.

Abstract: The operational slowness in the execution of direct methods for estimating forage mass, an important variable for defining the animal stocking rate, gave rise to the need for methods with faster responses and greater territorial coverage. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate a method to estimate the mass of Urochloa brizantha cv. BRS Piatã in shaded and full sun systems, through proximal sensing applied to the Simple Algorithm for Evapotranspiration Retrieving (SAFER) model, applied with the Monteith Radiation Use Efficiency (RUE) model. The study was carried out in the experimental area of Fazenda Canchim, a research center of Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste, São Carlos, SP, Brazil (21°57′S, 47°50′W, 860 m), with collections of forage mass and reflectance in the silvopastoral systems animal production and full sun. Reflectance data, as well as meteorological data obtained by a weather station installed in the study area, were used as input for the SAFER model and, later, for the radiation use efficiency model to calculate the fresh mass of forage. The forage collected in the field was sent to the laboratory, separated, weighed and dried, generating the variables of pasture total dry mass), total leaf dry mass, leaf and stalk dry mass and leaf area index. With the variables of pasture, in situ, and fresh mass, obtained from SAFER, the training regression model, in which 80% were used for training and 20% for testing the models. The SAFER was able to promisingly express the behavior of forage variables, with a significant correlation with all of them. The variables that obtained the best estimation performance model were the dry mass of leaves and stems and the dry mass of leaves in silvopastoral and full sun systems, respectively. It was concluded that the association of the SAFER model with the proximal sensor allowed us to obtain a fast, precise and accurate forage estimation method