Automotive observers based on multibody models and the extended Kalman filter

This work is part of a project aimed to develop automotive real-time observers based on detailed nonlinear multibody models and the extended Kalman filter (EKF). In previous works, a four-bar mechanism was studied to get insight into the problem. Regarding the formulation of the equations of motion, it was concluded that the state-space reduction method known as matrix-R is the most suitable one for this application. Regarding the sensors, it was shown that better stability, accuracy and efficiency are obtained as the sensored magnitude is a lower derivative and when it is a generalized coordinate of the problem. In the present work, the automotive problem has been addressed, through the selection of a Volkswagen Passat as a case-study. A model of the car containing fifteen degrees of freedom has been developed. The observer algorithm that combines the equations of motion and the integrator has been reformulated so that duplication of the problem size is avoided, in order to improve efficiency. A maneuver of acceleration from rest and double lane change has been defined, and tests have been run for the “prototype,” the “model” and the “observer,” all the three computational, with the model having 100 kg more than the prototype. Results have shown that good convergence is obtained for position level sensors, but the computational cost is high, still far from real-time performance.     

Nachweis von Maillard-Produkten in Malzen, Bieren und Braucouleuren

Zusammenfassung Bei der Maillard-Reaktion reagieren primär reduzierende Zucker mit den freien Aminogruppen der Aminosäuren. Dabei entstehen aus Aldosen als erste stabile Zwischenprodukte die 1-Aminosäure-1-desoxy-ketosen (Amadori-Verbindungen). In Malzen konnten zehn Amadori-Verbindungen quantitativ bestimmt werden. Sie entstehen während des Darrens des Malzes. Aufgrund unterschiedlicher Darrbedingungen unterscheiden sich die Malztypen im Gehalt und im Muster dieser Substanzen. Während der Erhitzungsvorgänge beim Brauprozeß (Maischen, Würzekochung) werden die Amadori-Verbindungen etwa zur Hälfte abgebaut, dagegen sind bei der an schließenden Gärung keine Veränderungen zu beobachten. Aus dem Gehalt und dem Muster der Amadori-Verbindungen im Bier können somit Rückschlüsse auf das verwendete Malz gezogen werden. Bei der Herstellung von Braucouleuren werden Ammoniak bzw. Ammoniumverbindungen als Aminokomponenten eingesetzt. Die Couleure enthalten deshalb keine 1-Aminosäure-l-desoxy-ketosen, dafür aber Desoxyfructosazine, die bei der Reaktion von Zuckern mit Ammoniak entstehen. Diese Pyrazinderivate wurden in Braucouleuren in hohen Mengen (2–6 g/100 g) gefunden. Es wird eine Methode vorgestellt, mit der ein Zusatz von Braucouleuren zum Bier über die Bestimmung der Desoxyfructosazine eindeutig nachgewiesen werden kann.

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Detection of Maillard products in malts, beers, and brewing couleurs

During the Maillard reaction, the reducing sugars first react with the free amino groups of the amino acids. With aldoses, 1-amino-l-deoxyketoses (ketose-amino acids, Amadori compounds) are the first stable intermediates to be formed. In malts ten different Amadori compounds could be determined that formed during the kiln-drying of malt. Dependent on the kiln-drying conditions, the different types of malt contain different amounts and proportions of these compounds. During the brewing process (mashing, mash wort cooking) about half of the Amadori compounds are decomposed, whereas during fermentation no changes can be observed. Therefore the amount and composition of Amadori compounds detected in beer may indicate the type of malt used. During the production of brewing couleurs, ammonia or ammonium compounds react with sugars and deoxyfructosazines are formed. In brewing coleurs, relatively high amount of these pyrazine derivatives (2–6 g/100 g) could be found. An analytical method is described for the quantitative determination of deoxyfructosazines, indicating an addition of brewing couleur to beer.

     

Gaschromatographisch-massenspektrometrische Untersuchung der im Modellsystem Cystein/Methionin/Furfural unter R?stbedingungen gebildeten Aromastoffe

Zusammenfassung Das Modellsystem Cystein/Methionin/Furfural lieferte unter Röstbedingungen ein komplexes Reaktionsgemisch, das sich mittels Adsorptionschromatographie auf Kieselgel und Capillar-GC in ca. 130 Komponenten auftrennen ließ, von denen 85 capillargaschromatographisch-massenspektrometrisch charakterisiert wurden. Furfural und die aus Cystein und Methionin resultierenden reaktiven Abbauprodukte H₂S, Cysteamin und Methylmercaptan sind wichtige Precursor für heterocyclische Flavorkomponenten. Neben Furanen, (Furan)-aldiminen und schwefelsubstituierten Furanderivaten werden auchN-Furfurylpyrrole, Pyridine, Thiazole, Thiazoline, Thiazolidine, Thiophene sowie aliphatische Schwefelverbindungen und cyclische Methylenpolysulfide gebildet. Beim Kaffeerösten entsteht Furfural als eine der Furanhauptkomponenten und spielt bei der Genese wesentlicher Kaffeearomastoffe eine zentrale Rolle.

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Gaschromatographic-mass spectrometric investigation of aroma compounds from the reaction of cysteine and methionine with furfural under roasting conditions

Summary The model-system cysteine/methionine/furfural produced under roasting conditions a complex mixture of compounds which was separated by adsorption chromatography on silica gel, according to the increasing polarity of the components, into six fractions. The fractions were investigated by capillary gas chromatography with and without mass spectrometry. Of the approx. 130 compounds detected, 85 were identified and quantified. Furfural and the reactive degradation products H₂S, cysteamine and methylmercaptan, resulting from cysteine and methionine, are important precursors for heterocyclic flavor components. Besides furans, (furan)aldimines, and sulphur-substituted furan derivates, the following compounds are also formed:N-furfurylpyrroles, pyridines, thiazoles, thiazolines, thiazolidines, thiophenes, as well as aliphatic sulphur compounds and cyclic methylene polysulfides. During coffee roasting, furfural is produced as one of the major components of the furans and is essential for the formation of important coffee aroma constituents.

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Poster-Präsentation beim Deutschen Lebensmittelchemikertag in Bremen (14.–16. Sept. 1988)     

Bestimmung des Herbicids Glyphosat und dessen Hauptmetabolit Aminomethylphosphons?ure (AMPA) in Trinkwasser mit Hilfe der HPLC

Zusammenfassung Es wird eine Methode zur Bestimmung von Glyphosat und dessen Hauptmetabolit Aminomethylphosphonsäure (AMPA) in Trinkwasser beschrieben, die es erlaubt, den in der Schweiz geforderten Toleranzwert von 0,1 g/1 zu erreichen (Nachweisgrenze 0,02 g/l). Die Wasserprobe wird dabei direkt mit 9-Fluorenylmethyl-chloroformaat (FMOCCI) versetzt, um extrahierbare und gleichzeitig fluorescierende Derivate zu erhalten. Diese werden nach Ausschütteln mit einem organischen Lösungsmittelgemisch durch HPLC mit Fluorescenzdetektor bestimmt. In bisher 151 untersuchten Trinkwasserproben des Kantons Bern konnten weder Glyphosat noch AMPA nachgewiesen werden.

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Determination of glyphosate herbicide and its main metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in drinking water by HPLC

Summary A method for the determination of glyphosate and its major metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) is described. With a detection limit of 0.02 g/l, the method suitably fulfills the requirements of the Swiss legislation (tolerance value of 0.1 g/l water). The compounds are derivatized directly in the original water sample with 9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate (FMOCCI) in order to obtain extractable and fluorescent derivatives. These are extracted with organic solvents and determined by HPLC using a fluorescence detector. Neither of the compounds could be detected in 151 tap water samples from the Canton of Berne.

     

hp-version finite elements for the space-time domain

A bilinear formulation of elasto-dynamics is offered which includes, as a special case, Hamilton's law of varying action. However, the more general bilinear formulation has several advantages over Hamilton's law. First, it admits a larger class of initial-value and boundary-value problems. Second, in its variational form, it offers physical insight into the so-called trailing terms of Hamilton's law. Third, numerical applications (i.e., finite elements in time) can be proven to be convergent under correct application of the bilinear formulation, whereas they can be demonstrated to diverge for specific problems under Hamilton's law. Fourth, the bilinear formulation offers automatic convergence of the natural velocity end conditions; while these must be constrained in present applications of Hamilton's law. Fifth, the bilinear formulation can be implemented in terms of a Larange multiplier that gives an order of magnitude improvement in the convergence of velocity. This implies that, in this form, the method is a hybrid finite-element approach.List of symbols b arbitrary constant - A _i, A _i vector of integrals, i = 0, j - A() linear operator on - () Hamilton's form of A - B (u, ) bilinear operator u, - B (u, ) Hamilton's form of B - B _i,j , B _ij , B _ij matrix of integrals - C constant, N/m - c number of floating-point operations per coef. evaluation - f, f(x) force per unit length, N/m - F, F ₀, F _L forces, N - J number of functions in series for û - k spring rate per unit length, N/m² - K spring rate, N/m - K _max maximum value of K - L _a Lagrangian, non-dimensional - L length of beam, m - m mass per unit length, kg/m - M mass, kg - M _max maximum value of M - n number of functions in series for - N number of elements in domain - p momentum density, kg/sec - P, P ₀, P _T momentum, kg-m/sec - q _i generalized coordinates - r _j coefficients of _j - t time, sec - t ₀, t ₁ limits of action integral, Hamilton's law - T end of time period, sec - u solution for displacement, m - û approximation to u, m - u ₀ initial value for u, m - test function, m - limited class of , m - x spatial coordinate, m - flapping angle, rad - Lock number - time increment, sec - Lagrange multiplier - longitudinal stiffness EA, N (Eqs. 1–18) - advance ratio of rotor (Eqs. 33–34 and figures) - _i , _r polynomial functions - non-dimensional time, azimuth angle - () variation of ( ) - W virtual work - ( ) d ( )/dx - ( .) d ( )/dt - (*) d/d - [ ] matrix - { } column vector - row vector     

Two phonon pair breaking in superfluid3He-B

We report on pulsed zero sound experiments in the B-phase of ³ He down to 0.6 mK. The investigated pressure and frequency range was 5 to 16 bar and 10 to 70 MHz, respectively. The dissipated energy during the sound pulses was between 0.4 to 90 nJ. The resolution in damping was about 0.1 cm ^–1 . Within the range of our experimental parameters we never observed two phonon absorption resulting from non-linear coupling of zero sound to the J =2⁺ mode. However, with pulses of single frequency a new peak structure was found at temperatures corresponding to (T) = . This behavior is attributed to pair breaking by two phonons of the same energy. The attenuation increased with increasing pulse power, but also depended on pulse duration. In addition to that, we found at all pressures and frequencies an unreproducible attenuation structure close to the position of the J=2⁺ mode.     

Fiber optic sensing for ultrasonic NDE

An innovative approach to nondestructive evaluation (NDE) using noncontacting optical sensors has demonstrated. In this effort a single mode optical fiber interferometer (OFI) was used to sense the presence and form of Rayleigh waves traveling along the surface of a steel test bar at a velocity of nearly 3mm/µs. Acousto-optic time-domain data was successfully used to detect the presence and locate the position of a test flaw (a machined slot) in the bar, and spectrum analysis was used to estimate its geometry and size. This approach has many potential applications in the ultrasonic evaluation of real flaws in structures with complex geometries. Coupled with the authors' earlier work demonstrating the feasibility of generating acoustic waves in metals using laser light pulses transmitted through the fiber optic probes, this latest achievement points to the development of a fully noncontacting, fiber optic based thermal-acousto-photonic (TAP) NDE system, with potential applications to the reliability testing of many important structures where composition, scale, geometry, or restricted access preclude the use of conventional NDE techniques.     

Post-Translational Modifications of Retroviral HIV-1 Gag Precursors: An Overview of Their Biological Role

Protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) play key roles in eukaryotes since they finely regulate numerous mechanisms used to diversify the protein functions and to modulate their signaling networks. Besides, these chemical modifications also take part in the viral hijacking of the host, and also contribute to the cellular response to viral infections. All domains of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Gag precursor of 55-kDa (Pr55^Gag), which is the central actor for viral RNA specific recruitment and genome packaging, are post-translationally modified. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about HIV-1 Pr55^Gag PTMs such as myristoylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination, sumoylation, methylation, and ISGylation in order to figure out how these modifications affect the precursor functions and viral replication. Indeed, in HIV-1, PTMs regulate the precursor trafficking between cell compartments and its anchoring at the plasma membrane, where viral assembly occurs. Interestingly, PTMs also allow Pr55^Gag to hijack the cell machinery to achieve viral budding as they drive recognition between viral proteins or cellular components such as the ESCRT machinery. Finally, we will describe and compare PTMs of several other retroviral Gag proteins to give a global overview of their role in the retroviral life cycle.     

Insights into the Action Mechanism of the Antimicrobial Peptide Lasioglossin III

Lasioglossin III (LL-III) is a cationic antimicrobial peptide derived from the venom of the eusocial bee Lasioglossum laticeps. LL-III is extremely toxic to both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and it exhibits antifungal as well as antitumor activity. Moreover, it shows low hemolytic activity, and it has almost no toxic effects on eukaryotic cells. However, the molecular basis of the LL-III mechanism of action is still unclear. In this study, we characterized by means of calorimetric (DSC) and spectroscopic (CD, fluorescence) techniques its interaction with liposomes composed of a mixture of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) and 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-rac-phosphoglycerol (POPG) lipids as a model of the negatively charged membrane of pathogens. For comparison, the interaction of LL-III with the uncharged POPC liposomes was also studied. Our data showed that LL-III preferentially interacted with anionic lipids in the POPC/POPG liposomes and induces the formation of lipid domains. Furthermore, the leakage experiments showed that the peptide could permeabilize the membrane. Interestingly, our DSC results showed that the peptide-membrane interaction occurs in a non-disruptive manner, indicating an intracellular targeting mode of action for this peptide. Consistent with this hypothesis, our gel-retardation assay experiments showed that LL-III could interact with plasmid DNA, suggesting a possible intracellular target.     

Mushroom-Derived Medicine? Preclinical Studies Suggest Potential Benefits of Ergothioneine for Cardiometabolic Health

Medicinal use of mushrooms has been documented since ancient times, and in the modern world, mushrooms have a longstanding history of use in Eastern medicine. Recent interest in plant-based diets in Westernized countries has brought increasing attention to the use of mushrooms and mushroom-derived compounds in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Edible mushrooms are the most abundant food sources of the modified amino acid, ergothioneine. This compound has been shown to accumulate in almost all cells and tissues, but preferentially in those exposed to oxidative stress and injury. The demonstrated cytoprotectant effect of ergothioneine has led many to suggest a potential therapeutic role for this compound in chronic conditions that involve ongoing oxidative stress and inflammation, including cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. However, the in vivo effects of ergothioneine and its underlying therapeutic mechanisms in the whole organism are not as clear. Moreover, there are no well-defined, clinical prevention and intervention trials of ergothioneine in chronic disease. This review highlights the cellular and molecular mechanisms of action of ergothioneine and its potential as a Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine for the promotion of cardiometabolic health and the management of the most common manifestations of cardiometabolic disease.