MODELLING, ANALYSIS AND SIMULATION OF A NOVEL AUTOMATED MANUAL TRANSMISSION WITH GEARSHIFT ASSISTANT MECHANISM

Zhiqiang Sun,Bingzhao Gao,Jiaqi Jin,Kazushi Sanada 한국자동차공학회 2019 International journal of automotive technology Vol.20 No.5

To eliminate or reduce torque interruption and driveline jerk for traditional automated manual transmission (AMT), AMT with a gearshift assistant mechanism (GAM) is originally proposed in this paper. The GAM consists of a torque complementary motor and an epicyclic mechanism with a synchronizing clutch. During gear upshift, the electrical motor provides complementary torque to primary (output) shaft after synchronizer discharges, then the synchronizing clutch will work to synchronize primary shaft with anticipated gear. The lockup of the synchronizing clutch will ensure the synchronization of primary shaft and anticipated gear. After finishing synchronizing, synchronizer will lock up the anticipated gear and engine recovers torque supply to finish gearshift. Based on the mathematical model of the proposed transmission, its detailed structure, kinematic character and dynamic behavior are discussed. Controllers are designed to achieve presumed gearshift performance, and simulation results show its effectiveness. Problems may be encountered in engineering application and possible application on electrical vehicle (EV) of the proposed transmission are also discussed. Finally, this paper summarized the merits and further research targets of the proposed transmission, which is a promising structure to achieve swift and smooth gearshift.

Research on the Chinese Opera-Themed Woodcut New Year Pictures in Yangjiabu from the Perspective of Cultural Studies

Sun Zhiqiang 국제문화기술진흥원 2022 International Journal of Advanced Culture Technolo Vol.10 No.4

Chinese Opera-themed woodcut New Year pictures in Yangjiabu are representative of Chinese New Year pictures. This research takes cultural research as a breakthrough point, analyzes and combs its Context, Representation, Coding & Decoding, and finds that: After the imitation and restatement of traditional Chinese opera, the opera-themed woodcut New Year pictures have formed a dynamic intertextual relationship with Chinese culture and traditional Chinese opera. The understanding of this intertextual relationship is not only an important way to study Chinese folk art but also one of the ideas to show the aesthetic spirit of it.

POWER LOSS EVALUATION OF AUTOMATED MANUAL TRANSMISSION WITH GEARSHIFT ASSISTANT MECHANISM

Zhiqiang Sun,Bingzhao Gao,Jiaqi Jin,Kazushi Sanada 한국자동차공학회 2021 International journal of automotive technology Vol.22 No.2

This paper deals with the power loss evaluation in gearshift assistant mechanism applied in automated manual transmission. The originalities include building the numerical models of gearshift assistant mechanism efficiency analysis for cost penalty evaluation and designing gear ratio matching algorithm to match the gear ratios of epicyclic mechanism with desired ones, which is expected to minimize the clutch friction losses by reducing the angular velocity differences between two clutch pads. In the numerical models, gear meshing losses and friction losses are considered the main power sink. By the kinematic relationships and power flow analysis, a set of generalized efficiency calculating formulas of simple epicyclic mechanism in six working modes with respect to teeth numbers are summarized, which are useful computer-aided tools in calculating multiple simple epicyclic mechanisms’ efficiency. The matched gear ratios and the efficiency models are tested on a powertrain simulation model and several simulation results are reported. Finally, this paper summarized the merits and further research targets of the proposed transmission, which is a promising structure to achieve swift and smooth gearshift with low power losses.

Research progress and treatment of radiation enteritis and gut microbiota

Huiwen Ren(Huiwen Ren),Qi Wu(Qi Wu),Zhiqiang Sun(Zhiqiang Sun),Mingming Fang(Mingming Fang),Jun Liu(Jun Liu),Judong Luo(Judong Luo) 대한방사선종양학회 2023 Radiation Oncology Journal Vol.41 No.2

Radiation enteritis is a kind of intestinal radiation injury in patients with pelvic and retroperitoneal malignancies after radiotherapy, and its occurrence and development process are very complicated. At present, studies have confirmed that intestinal microecological imbalance is an important factor in the formation of this disease. Abdominal radiation causes changes in the composition of the flora and a decrease in its diversity, which is mainly manifested by a decrease in beneficial bacterial species such as Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria. Intestinal dysbacteriosis aggravates radiation enteritis, weakens the function of the intestinal epithelial barrier, and promotes the expression of inflammatory factors, thereby aggravating the occurrence of enteritis. Given the role of the microbiome in radiation enteritis, we suggest that the gut microbiota may be a potential biomarker for the disease. Treatment methods such as probiotics, antibiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation are ways to correct the microbiota and may be an effective way to prevent and treat radiation enteritis. Based on a review of the relevant literature, this paper reviews the mechanism and treatment of intestinal microbes in radiation enteritis.

Radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy could improve the immune infiltration of melanoma in mice and enhance the abscopal effect

Yufeng Zheng(Yufeng Zheng),Xue Liu(Xue Liu),Na Li(Na Li),Aimei Zhao(Aimei Zhao),Zhiqiang Sun(Zhiqiang Sun),Meihua Wang(Meihua Wang),Judong Luo(Judong Luo) 대한방사선종양학회 2023 Radiation Oncology Journal Vol.41 No.2

Purpose: To analyze the gene mutation, immune infiltration and tumor growth of primary tumor and distant tumor under different treatment modes. Materials and Methods: Twenty B16 murine melanoma cells were injected subcutaneously into the of both sides of the thigh, simulating a primary tumor and a secondary tumor impacted by the abscopal effect, respectively. They were divided into blank control group, immunotherapy group, radiotherapy group, and radiotherapy combined immunotherapy group. During this period, tumor volume was measured, and RNA sequencing was performed on tumor samples after the test. R software was used to analyze differentially expressed genes, functional enrichment, and immune infiltration. Results: We found that any treatment mode could cause changes in differentially expressed genes, especially the combination treatment. The different therapeutic effects might be caused by gene expression. In addition, the proportions of infiltrating immune cells in the irradiated and abscopal tumors were different. In the combination treatment group, T-cell infiltration in the irradiated site was the most obvious. In the immunotherapy group, CD8+ T-cell infiltration in the abscopal tumor site was obvious, but immunotherapy alone might have a poor prognosis. Whether the irradiated or abscopal tumor was evaluated, radiotherapy combined with anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) therapy produced the most obvious tumor control and might have a positive impact on prognosis. Conclusion: Combination therapy not only improves the immune microenvironment but may also have a positive impact on prognosis.

Comparison of the Safety and Effectiveness of Percutaneous Endoscopic Lumbar Discectomy for Treating Lumbar Disc Herniation Under Epidural Anesthesia and General Anesthesia

Zhiqiang Ren,Shenghua He,Jiao Li,Yeguang Wang,Juyi Lai,Zhitao Sun,Hualong Feng,Jian Wang 대한척추신경외과학회 2020 Neurospine Vol.17 No.1

Objective: To assess the safety and effectiveness of percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy (PELD) under epidural anesthesia (EA) and general anesthesia (GA) for treating lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Methods: A retrospective study involving 86 patients with LDH managed by PELD under EA and GA was conducted from July 2018 to March 2019. These patients were divided into 2 groups according to the type of anesthesia. Patient’s demographics data as well as the operation time, complications, fluoroscopy shots, visual analog scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA), and MacNab scores of the 2 groups were recorded. All of the patients were followed-up at 6 months after operation. Results: There were no significant differences were detected in the preoperative demographics between the groups (p>0.05). Two cases (4.8%) under GA developed transient motor weakness, 3 cases (7.4%) presented numbness of lower limb, and 1 case (2.4%) had cauda equina syndrome after operation. In EA group, 1 case (2.2%) had motor weakness and 3 cases (6.7%) had lower limb numbness, which resolved completely at the last follow-up. There was significant difference between preoperative VAS, JOA, and ODI scores and postoperative scores (p<0.01). Moreover, there were no differences in the operation time, fluoroscopy shots, and MacNab scores between the 2 groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: EA and GA in PELD are effective and safe, and no significant difference in complications was observed. Based on our experience, we recommended junior surgeons to perform PELD under EA for getting feedback from the patient to avoid nerve injury and reduce the radiation dose. The concentration of ropivacaine in EA should be considered carefully.

The influence of moisture on atmospheric pressure plasma etching of PA6 films

Zhiqiang Gao,Shujing Peng,Jie Sun,Lan Yao,Yiping Qiu 한국물리학회 2010 Current Applied Physics Vol.10 No.1

The moisture in the substrate material may have a potential influence on atmospheric pressure plasma treatment. In order to investigate how the existence of moisture affects atmospheric pressure plasma treatment, polyamide 6 (PA6) films were treated by helium, helium/oxygen (O2) plasmas using atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) at different moisture regain. The film surfaces were investigated using contact-angle measurements, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to characterize the surfaces. The exposure of PA6 film surfaces to the plasmas led to the etching process on the surfaces and changes in the topography of the surfaces. It was shown that the etching rate and the surface roughness were higher for the 9.33% moisture regain (relative humidity 100%) group than that of the 1.61% moisture regain (relative humidity 10%) group with the same plasma gas and power.

Putative multiple reaction monitoring strategy for the comparative pharmacokinetics of postoral administration Renshen-Yuanzhi compatibility through liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Sun, Yufei,Feng, Guifang,Zheng, Yan,Liu, Shu,Zhang, Yan,Pi, Zifeng,Song, Fengrui,Liu, Zhiqiang The Korean Society of Ginseng 2020 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.44 No.1

Background: Exploring the pharmacokinetic (PK) changes of various active components of single herbs and their combinations is necessary to elucidate the compatibility mechanism. However, the lack of chemical standards and low concentrations of multiple active ingredients in the biological matrix restrict PK studies. Methods: A putative multiple reaction monitoring strategy based on liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was developed to extend the PK scopes of quantification without resorting to the use of chemical standards. First, the compounds studied, including components with available reference standard (ARS) and components lacking reference standard (LRS), were preclassified to several groups according to their chemical structures. Herb decoctions were then subjected to ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis with appropriate collision energy (CE) in MS² mode. Finally, multiple reaction monitoring transitions transformed from MS² of ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry were used for ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry to obtain the mass responses of LRS components. LRS components quantification was further performed by developing an assistive group-dependent semiquantitative method. Results: The developed method was exemplified by the comparative PK process of single herbs Radix Ginseng (RG), Radix Polygala (RP), and their combinations (RG-RP). Significant changes in PK parameters were observed before and after combination. Conclusion: Results indicated that Traditional Chinese Medicine combinations can produce synergistic effects and diminish possible toxic effects, thereby reflecting the advantages of compatibility. The proposed strategy can solve the quantitative problem of LRS and extend the scopes of PK studies.

Fermentation of purple Jerusalem artichoke extract to improve the α-glucosidase inhibitory effect in vitro and ameliorate blood glucose in db/db mice

Zhiqiang Wang,Seung Hwan Hwang,Sun Youb Lee,Soon Sung Lim 대한지역사회영양학회 2016 Nutrition Research and Practice Vol.10 No.3

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Jerusalem artichoke has inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase and decreases fasting serum glucose levels, which may be related to its fructan content. The biological activity of fructan can be influenced by the degree of polymerization. Thus, in this study, the inhibitory effects of original and fermented purple Jerusalem artichoke (PJA) on α-glucosidase were compared in vitro. Additionally, the anti-diabetes effect of Lactobacillus plantarum-fermented PJA (LJA) was studied in a non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus animal model (C57BIKsJ db/db). MATERIALS/METHODS: The water extract of PJA was fermented by L. plantarum, and two strains of Bacillus subtilis to compare their anti-α-glucosidase activities in vitro by α-glucosidase assays. The anti-diabetes effect of LJA was studied in a non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus animal model (C57BIKsJ db/db) for seven weeks. During the experiment, food intake, body weight, and fasting blood glucose were measured every week. At the end of the treatment period, several diabetic parameters and the intestinal α-glucosidase activity were measured. RESULTS: The LJA showed the highest α-glucosidase inhibitory activity in vitro. In the in vivo study, it resulted in a significantly lower blood glucose concentration than the control. Serum insulin and HDL cholesterol levels were significantly higher and the concentrations of triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids, and total cholesterol were significant lower in mice treated with LJA after seven weeks. In addition, the intestinal α-glucosidase activity was partially inhibited. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that LJA regulates blood glucose and has potential use as a dietary supplement.

Bioactivity-guided isolation and identification of anti-adipogenic compounds from <i>Sanguisorba officinalis</i>

Im, Sun Hyuk,Wang, Zhiqiang,Lim, Soon Sung,Lee, Ok-Hwan,Kang, Il-Jun TaylorFrancis 2017 PHARMACEUTICAL BIOLOGY Vol.55 No.1

<P><B>Abstract</B></P><P><B>Context:</B><I>Sanguisorba officinalis</I> Linne (Rosaceae) is a medicinal plant used traditionally for the treatment of inflammatory and metabolic diseases in Korea, China, and Japan. In our previous study, a 50% ethanol extract inhibited fat accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.</P><P><B>Objective:</B> This study investigates bioassay-guided fractionation, isolation, and identification of anti-adipogenic bioactive compounds in <I>S. officinalis</I>.</P><P><B>Materials and methods:</B> The bioassay-guided fractionation was conducted using effective differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells into adipocytes (with 50 μg/mL test material for 8 days) to isolate the inhibitory compounds from ethyl acetate fraction of <I>S. officinalis</I> 50% ethanol extract. The cytotoxicity of each fraction and isolated compound was tested using MTT assay (with 25–300 μg/mL test material). Structures of the isolated active compounds were elucidated using <SUP>1</SUP>H NMR, <SUP>13 </SUP>C NMR, HSQC, HMBC, FT-IR, and MS.</P><P><B>Results:</B> An active ethyl acetate fraction obtained with solvent partition of the extract inhibited lipid accumulation (44.84%) on 3T3-L1 cells without cytotoxicity (102.3%) at the concentration of 50 μg/mL. The ethyl acetate fraction was determined to be mainly composed by isorhamnetin-3-<I>O</I>-<SMALL>D</SMALL>-glucuronide (1) and ellagic acid (2). Pure isorhamnetin-3-<I>O</I>-<SMALL>D</SMALL>-glucuronide (IC<SUB>30</SUB> is 18.43 μM) and ellagic acid (IC<SUB>30</SUB> is 19.32 μM) showed lipid accumulation inhibition on 3T3-L1 cells without cytotoxicity (117.5% and 104.3%) at the concentration of 20 μM, respectively.</P><P><B>Discussion and conclusions:</B> These results suggested that <I>S. officinalis</I> is a potential natural ingredient for the prevention of obesity, which may due to bioactive compounds such as isorhamnetin-3-<I>O</I>-<SMALL>D</SMALL>-glucuronide and ellagic acid.</P>