Resonating tactile stimulators based on piezoelectric polymer films

We have designed, fabricated and tested piezoelectric polymer (Polyvinylidene fluoride, PVDF) film-based resonating actuators for tactile stimulation. The proposed resonating tactile stimulators are composed of 3×4 stimulating dot arrays with polyimide membranes. The air chambers placed on the PVDF films aid in indirect piezoelectric actuation and produce lower spring stiffnesses than are associated with conventional direct piezoelectric actuation. They can achieve large displacements with low input voltages. The performance of the proposed resonating tactile stimulators was characterized. The stimulators achieve an output displacement of 257.0 ± 1.5 nm, output pressure of 339.1 N/m2, and response time of 0.7 ms when an input voltage of 80 Vpk (52.5 kHz) is switched at 2 ms intervals (250 Hz). It has been experimentally demonstrated that the proposed flexible resonating actuators are capable of stimulating human skin to support tactile or braille displays integrated into tactile interface systems.     

Effect of Oxide Scale Formation on the Behaviour of Cu in Steel during High Temperature Oxidation in O2‐N2 and H2O‐N2 atmospheres

Cu enrichment at the steel‐scale interface and its migration from there was investigated during the heating of steel cast at 1200°C under various oxidizing conditions. The behaviour of Cu enrichment was found to be largely dependent on the morphology of oxide scale formed during oxidation. At the early stage of oxidation, Cu‐rich phase formed and accumulated at the steel‐scale interface in both O₂‐N₂ and H₂O‐N₂ atmosphere. However, as the oxidation proceeded, the enrichment was vastly different for each oxidizing atmosphere. In the case of O₂‐N₂ oxidation, an oxide layer was formed initially at the steel surface, but a gap was developed soon after at the steel‐scale interface and grew in size, which practically separated the scale from the steel substrate. The scale layer formed under this condition was porous. The Cu‐rich phase initially formed at the interface seemed to migrate to the scale layer, leaving no Cu‐rich phase at the interface. In the case of H₂O‐N₂ oxidation, however, the scale layer formed was dense and tightly attached to the steel surface, and the Cu rich‐phase continued to accumulate at the interface. Regarding the behaviour of the Cu‐rich phase formed at the interface, it is proposed with experimental evidences that, when a gap forms at the steel‐scale interface, it is the vaporization of Cu in the Cu‐rich phase through the gap that brings Cu to the scale.     

Generation of a Dystrophin Mutant in Dog by Nuclear Transfer Using CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Somatic Cells: A Preliminary Study

Dystrophinopathy is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene, which lead to progressive muscle degeneration, necrosis, and finally, death. Recently, golden retrievers have been suggested as a useful animal model for studying human dystrophinopathy, but the model has limitations due to difficulty in maintaining the genetic background using conventional breeding. In this study, we successfully generated a dystrophin mutant dog using the CRISPR/Cas9 system and somatic cell nuclear transfer. The dystrophin mutant dog displayed phenotypes such as elevated serum creatine kinase, dystrophin deficiency, skeletal muscle defects, an abnormal electrocardiogram, and avoidance of ambulation. These results indicate that donor cells with CRISPR/Cas9 for a specific gene combined with the somatic cell nuclear transfer technique can efficiently produce a dystrophin mutant dog, which will help in the successful development of gene therapy drugs for dogs and humans.     

Static creep behaviour of Al-Zn-Mg and Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys

The creep behaviour of Al-Zn-Mg (7039) and Al-Zn-Mg-Cu (7075) alloys is evaluated at elevated temperatures (443T533 K and 483T563 K) under constant stresses between 49 and 123 MPa, respectively, in a custom-built creep testing facility. The measured activation energies of these alloys are 172–185 kJ mo^–1 and 248–272 kJ mol^–1. As the stress increases, the activation energy in both cases decreases due to the high density of dislocations. The average exponent values of these alloys are 7 and 9. The microstructure observation reveals that the dominant fracture mode of 7039 alloy is intergranular and that of 7075 alloy is transgranular.     

Polyimide nanohybrid films with electrochemically functionalized graphene

Graphite was functionalized electrochemically in a potassium fluoride solution and used to prepare polyimide (PI)/graphene nanohybrid films. The as‐made electrochemically fluorinated graphene (EFG) was used to prepare nanohybrid films with colorless PI, which was synthesized from 4,4′‐(hexafluoroisopropylidene) diphthalic anhydride and bis(trifluoromethyl) benzidine by in situ polymerization. The surface functionalization of graphite was characterized by powder XRD, TEM with energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy elemental mapping, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and TGA. The microstructure of the films was characterized by Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, XRD and SEM. The film properties were measured using a universal testing machine, TGA, dynamic mechanical analysis, four‐point probe, UV–visible spectroscopy and water contact angle analysis. EFG improved the tensile strength and modulus of the nanohybrid films by 20% and 50%, respectively. The glass transition temperature and electrical conductivity of the nanohybrid films were 12 °C and nine orders of magnitude higher than those of the neat PI film, respectively. The nanohybrid film maintained 80% optical transmittance even after the addition of 0.1 wt% EFG. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry