Will Communication of Job Creation Facilitate Diffusion of Innovations in the Automobile Industry?

The electrification and automation of vehicles are two upcoming trends in the automobile industry. However, these two new technologies also raise public concerns related to road safety, range, and, most crucially, job creation in the automotive and transportation industries. This study investigates if job creation facilitates the diffusion of innovation. Analysis of 32,006 tweets from 33 global automobile manufacturers and their international job creation records revealed that communication of job creation can improve stakeholders’ adverse social media engagement on vehicle electrification and automation, the latest innovations in transportation and logistics. Car manufacturers should continually communicate their job creation achievements to gain public acceptance when introducing innovations, which may improve the diffusion of innovations.

Dietary Selenium Regulates microRNAs in Metabolic Disease: Recent Progress

Selenium (Se) is an essential element for the maintenance of a healthy physiological state. However, due to environmental and dietary factors and the narrow safety range of Se, diseases caused by Se deficiency or excess have gained considerable traction in recent years. In particular, links have been identified between low Se status, cognitive decline, immune disorders, and increased mortality, whereas excess Se increases metabolic risk. Considerable evidence has suggested microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate interactions between the environment (including the diet) and genes, and play important roles in several diseases, including cancer. MiRNAs target messenger RNAs to induce changes in proteins including selenoprotein expression, ultimately generating disease. While a plethora of data exists on the epigenetic regulation of other dietary factors, nutrient Se epigenetics and especially miRNA regulated mechanisms remain unclear. Thus, this review mainly focuses on Se metabolism, pathogenic mechanisms, and miRNAs as key regulatory factors in Se-related diseases. Finally, we attempt to clarify the regulatory mechanisms underpinning Se, miRNAs, selenoproteins, and Se-related diseases.

Dynamic Incremental Model (MDI) to forecast the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic stabilization period

Since the beginning of the year 2020, the world has been experiencing a COVID-19 pandemic, which challenges the public sector to make quick and efficient decisions, as the result is counted in lives. Thus, it is necessary to search for predictive models that support the decision and assist in the understanding of the behavior of the transmissions. In this context, the work aims to present a dynamic model for the daily increase in the number of deaths in order to determine a safety range capable of predicting a stabilization period for these deaths. For this, the model uses exponential and potential curves as limits for analyzing the behavior of the increment curve. The model proved to be efficient when compared to the actual data obtained so far.

Acute toxicity of Potentilla anserina L. extract in mice

Potentilla anserina L. is not only a medicinal plant, but also a traditional cuisine. Hence, an acute toxicity study was performed to confirm its safety profile. Forty Kunming mice were randomly divided into two groups: control group and P. anserina L. extract group. Using the maximum dosage method, the P. anserina L. extract group was given the maximum dose within 12 h, equivalent to 345.6 g/kg crude drug. The control group was given distilled water. After administration, toxicity symptoms of mice were observed, body weight and food intake were recorded. After 14 days, blood was collected to measure biochemical parameters, autopsy was carried out to observe the changes of organs, and the vital organs were separated, weighed, and preserved for histopathological examination. The results showed that P. anserina L. extract group had no toxic symptoms. The activity, weight, and diet of mice were normal, and no abnormality was found in organ index, renal function, liver function, anatomical observation, and histopathological examination. Therefore, the maximum oral dosage (345.6 g/kg) of P. anserina L. was good safety. This study indicated that P. anserina L. had a large safety range and the clinical application was safe.

Phosphorus Contents in the Profile of an Oxisol With Continuous Application of Liquid Swine Manure

This study aimed to evaluate the dynamics of phosphorus in the soil by the determination of phosphorus contents in an Oxisol cultivated with soybean during the 2016/2017 crop season, after 17 years of successive applications of liquid swine manure (LSM). The experiment was conducted in the experimental area of the University of Rio Verde. The treatments were: T1-control; T2-25 m3 ha-1 of LSM; T3-50 m3 ha-1 of LSM; T4-75 m3 ha-1 of LSM; T5-100 m3 ha-1 of LSM and T6-fertilization with mineral fertilizer. The subplots refer to soil depths: 0-10; 10-20 and 20-40 cm. The LSM was applied to the soil surface by spraying, before soybean sowing and the mineral fertilizer was applied to the furrow at the time of planting. After soybean harvesting, soil samples were collected at the studied depths for the determination of the contents of P in the soil. The contents of P in percolated water are within the concentration range considered adequate for human consumption. As for the contents of P in the soil, LSM applications on the soil surface increased the available soil P up to the depth of 20 cm. The highest dose of LSM applied to the soil promoted an increment of P contents that are within the safety range of the critical environmental limit of phosphorus (LCA-P), corresponding to 37% of this limit.

Finned Electric Motor with Prescribed Heat Flux and Influence of the Internal and External Heat Convection Coefficients on the Temperature of the Core

One of a major objective is to analyze the effect of internal and external convection coefficients in the heat transfer generated by electric motors and characterize intervals of feasible values, in practical terms, for these coefficients. Another objective is to determine the motor core temperature, considering the environmental and operational conditions of the motor installation and the heat flux Q0 (fixed) in the fins. To achieve the objectives were developed analytical solutions for determining the temperature variations in the fins, performance and electric motor efficiency, considering heat flow constant at the base of the fins and the possible variations in temperature of surround media. The heat flux at the base of the fins, in this case, is the minimum necessary for satisfactory electric motor performance and the core temperature is within the safety range stipulated by the manufacturer. The obtained results characterize a range of possible values for the inner and outer heat transfer coefficients.

Suppression of Current Fluctuations and the Brake Torque for PMSM Shutoff in Electric Vehicles

When a safety-related fault in the motor controller is detected, the torque output of the motor cannot be effectively shut off in time and an overcurrent occurs at the moment of switching. The advantages and disadvantages of the open circuit and active short-circuit methods are analyzed. Combining the advantages of these two operations, this paper proposes a new mixed voltage modulation method. It introduces a voltage modulation ratio that represents the duty cycle of the open circuit operation during a PWM period. This ratio is first set to a fixed value and gradually reduced to zero. The inverter is switched at a mixed operation and finally remains in the active short-circuit mode. The current can be quickly converged by a freewheeling diode of open circuit. After switching to active circuit, the brake torque is safety. The effectiveness of this shutoff method was verified by simulations and experiments. It shows that current fluctuations are suppressed and the torque output is also within a safety range. In addition, this shutoff method does not require any additional sensor information and is simple to implement.