Driving force coordinated control of an 8x8 in-wheel motor drive vehicle with tire-road friction coefficient identification

Because of the complexities of tire-road interaction,the wheels of a multi-wheel distributed electricdrive vehicle can easily slip under certain working conditions.As wheel slip affects the dynamic per-formance and stability of the vehicle,it is crucial to control it and coordinate the driving force.With this aim,this paper presents a driving force coordination control strategy with road identification for eight-wheeled electric vehicles equipped with an in-wheel motor for each wheel.In the proposed control strategy,the road identification module estimates tire-road forces using an unscented Kalman filter al-gorithm and recognizes the road adhesion coefficient by employing the recursive least-square method According to road identification,the optimal sip ratio under the current driving condition is obtainedand a controller based on sliding mode control with a conditional integrator uses this value for accel-eration slip regulation.The anti-slip controller obtains the adjusting torque,which is integrated with the driver-command-based feedforward control torque to implement driving force coordination control.The results of hardware-in-loop simulation show that this control strategy can accurately estimate tire-roadrces as well as the friction coefficient,and thus,can effectively fulfill the purpose of driving force coordinated control under different driving conditions.

A novel Norrie disease pseudoglioma gene mutation,c.-1_2delAAT,responsible for Norrie disease in a Chinese family

AIM:To Investigate the genetic findings and phenotypic characteristics of a Chinese family with Norrie disease（ND）.METHODS:Molecular genetic analysis and clinical examinations were performed on a Chinese family with ND.Mutations in the Norrie disease pseudoglioma（NDP）gene were detected by direct sequencing.Haplotypes were constructed and compared with the phenotypes in the family.Evolutionary comparisons and mutant open reading frame（ORF）prediction were also undertaken.RESULTS:Two family members with ocular manifestations were diagnosed with ND.No signs of sensorineural hearing loss were observed in either patient,while one of them showed signs of mild mental retardation.A novel heterozygous mutation in the NDP gene,c.-12delAAT,was detected in both patients.The mutation and the mutation bearing hapiotype cosegregated with the ND phenotype in males and was transmitted from their mothers and/or grandmothers（Ⅱ:2）.The male without ND did not harbor the mutation.The mutation occurred at the highly conserved nucleotides.DRF finder predicted that the mutation would lead to the production of a truncated protein that lacks the first 11N-terminal amino acids.CONCLUSION:A novel mutation,c.-12delAAT in the NDP gene,was identified in a Chinese family with ND.This mutation caused ND without obvious sensorineural hearing loss.Mental disorder was found in one but not the other patients.The clinical heterogeneity in the family indicated that other genetic variants and epigenetic factors may also play a role in the disease presentation.

Expression profile analysis to identify potential gene changes induced by dexamethasone in the trabecular meshwork

AIM:To investigate potential gene changes in trabecular meshwork(TM)induced by dexamethasone(DEX)in steroidinduced glaucoma(SIG).METHODS:The expression data of 24 cases from a public functional genomics data were sorted to identify the mechanisms of action of DEX on the TM.The relationships of the differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were enriched using Gene Ontology(GO)and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)analysis.In addition,the hub genes were screened by the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes Database(STRING)and Cytoscape tools.Finally,human TM cells(HTMCs)were treated with DEX to preliminarily explore the function of hub genes.RESULTS:Totally 47 DEGs,including 21 downregulated and 26 upregulated genes were identified.The primary enriched results of the DEGs consisted of inflammatory response,extracellular matrix(ECM),negative regulation of cell proliferation,TNF signalling pathway and the regulation of tr yptophan channels by inflammator y mediators.Subsequently,pro-melanin-enriched hormone(PMCH)and Bradykinin B1 receptor(BDKRB1)were screened as hub genes.It is verified in GSE37474 data set.Western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(q PCR)results showed that protein and RNA expression levels of BDKRB1 were significantly decreased after DEX treatment,while PMCH was not significantly changed.CONCLUSION:BDKRB1 may be a key gene involved in SIG onset,providing a suitable therapeutic target for improving the prognosis of SIG patients.

Recovery of a patient with severe COVID-19 by acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine adjuvant to standard care

There is currently no drug or therapy that can cure the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19), which is highly contagious and can be life-threatening in severe cases. Therefore, seeking potential effective therapies is an urgent task. An older female at the Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan, China, with a severe case of COVID-19 with significant shortness of breath and decrease in peripheral oxygen saturation(SpO_(2)),was treated using manual acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine granule formula Fuzheng Rescue Lung with Xuebijing Injection in addition to standard care. The patient’s breath rate, SpO_(2), heart rate,ratio of neutrophil/lymphocyte(NLR), ratio of monocyte/lymphocyte(MLR), C-reactive protein(CRP),and chest computed tomography were monitored. Acupuncture significantly improved the patient’s breathing function, increased SpO_(2), and decreased her heart rate. Chinese herbal medicine might make the effect of acupuncture more stable;the use of herbal medicine also seemed to accelerate the absorption of lung infection lesions when its dosage was increased. The combination of acupuncture and herbs decreased NLR from 14.14 to 5.83, MLR from 1.15 to 0.33 and CRP from 15.25 to 6.01 mg/L. These results indicate that acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, as adjuvants to standard care, might achieve better results in treating severe cases of COVID-19.