Analysis of diverse simulation models for combustion engine journal bearings and the influence of oil condition

The paper deals with the comparison of different models, from simple to complex, for the simulation of non-stationary response of the journal bearings used in combustion engines. The variety of simulation models covers classical methods from Holland, Butenschoen and numerical methods based on the Hydrodynamic (HD), Elasto-hydrodynamic (EHD) and Thermo-elasto-hydrodynamic (TEHD) lubrication theory. Several crankshaft main bearings and connecting rod big end bearings are investigated. The comparison includes the following bearing parameters: Peak Oil Film Pressure (POFP), Minimum Oil Film Thickness (MOFT) and oil flow. Calculation time is compared, too. Estimation of oil viscosity is discussed over a typical temperature and pressure range found in combustion engines, including the influence of the fuel dilution as an example of the oil aging phenomena.     

A novel synthesis of polymers with anthracene and dihydroanthracene subunits in the main chain

A new polycondensation method to connect redox-active and chromophoric subunits by forming a C-C bond and leading to a polyhydrocarbon is described. 1,ω-bis(9,10-Dihydro-9-anthry)alkanes with various alkylene spacers can be deprotonated by butyllithium to afford a monoanion in each dihydroanthracene moiety. Alkylation with dielectrophiles such as dibromoalkanes yields soluble polymers with dihydroanthracene units in the main chain. The reaction proceeds regioselectively in the 9,10-position. Aromatization generates a polymer with anthracene units. The molecular weights are determined by GPC up to M?_n = 10 000. To prove the structure and to calibrate the GPC, suitable model compounds were synthesized.     

The intricacy of biomarker complexity–the identification of a genuine proteomic biomarker is more complicated than believed

Several reasons have been put forward to explain the irreproducibility of proteomic biomarker search. However, these reasons pertain to almost every part of biomarker search across the entire analytical workflow but are entirely experimental or methodological. However, in this article we point out that there is a further cause of such irreproducibility. This is not an additional methodological or experimental cause but arises directly from the biology of protein expression. It arises from the fact that disease changes the diversity within protein families. This cause of irreproducibility has been very little studied in relation to proteomic biomarker search. Gene expression is highly variable even in healthy people. Therefore, multiple proteoforms are also to be expected when gene expression is disrupted by disease, proteoforms that may be differently altered by pathology. In consequence, it is illogical to expect that the whole protein family produces a reliably usable biomarker. It is more reasonable to expect that a specific proteoform fulfills this role. Appropriate sample pre‐fractionation methods and data analyses could help to identify this version, carrying the modification or the epitope required.     

Proteome analysis of body fluids for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis biomarker discovery

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of motor neurons leading to death of the patients, mostly within 2–5 years after disease onset. The pathomechanism of motor neuron degeneration is only partially understood and therapeutic strategies based on mechanistic insights are largely ineffective. The discovery of reliable biomarkers of disease diagnosis and progression is the sine qua non of both the revelation of insights into the ALS pathomechanism and the assessment of treatment efficacies. Proteomic approaches are an important pillar in ALS biomarker discovery. Cerebrospinal fluid is the most promising body fluid for differential proteome analyses, followed by blood (serum, plasma), and even urine and saliva. The present study provides an overview about reported peptide/protein biomarker candidates that showed significantly altered levels in certain body fluids of ALS patients. These findings have to be discussed according to proposed pathomechanisms to identify modifiers of disease progression and to pave the way for the development of potential therapeutic strategies. Furthermore, limitations and advantages of proteomic approaches for ALS biomarker discovery in different body fluids and reliable validation of biomarker candidates have been addressed.     

Visibility Driven Rasterization

We present a new visibility driven rasterization scheme that significantly increases the rendering performance of modern graphic subsystems. Instead of rasterizing, texturing, lighting, and depth-testing each individual pixel, we introduce a two-level visibility mask within the rasterization stage which facilitates the removal of groups of pixels and triangles from rasterization and subsequent pipeline stages.
Local visibility information is stored within the visibility mask that is updated several times during the generation of a frame. The update can easily be accomplished by extending already available (in hardware) occlusion culling mechanisms (i.e. those of HP and SGI), where it is possible to integrate the additional functionality without any additional delay cycles. In addition to these existing hardware based occlusion culling approaches—which cull only geometry contained in bounding volumes determined as occluded —we are able to significantly accelerate the rendering of the geometry determined as visible . However, our approach does not specifically rely on such occlusion culling hardware.The proposed new rasterization scheme is well suited for hardware implementation, can easily be integrated into low-cost rasterizers, and its scalability can vary upon available chip real estate. Only incremental modifications of modern graphics subsystems are required to achieve a significant improvement in rendering performance.     

Relationship between calculated film thickness and wear in elastohydrodynamic contacts of gears

Gear oils are important design elements and it is necessary to establish data relating their performance to operating conditions and gear design. Due to a combination of elastic distortion and increased viscosity due to high pressure, a hydrodynamic film is generated in gear tooth contacts. In this paper the authors consider the use of the Dawson and Higginson equation to relate film thickness to the performance of gears with respect to wear rate and present experimental data obtained using the FZG gear test procedure. Initial results of an experimental programme to determine actual pressure viscosity characteristics within highly loaded contacts are also presented, since the authors consider that it is errors in the pressure viscosity relationship that cause the lack of correlation between theoretical film thickness and experimental data on scuffing.