Vibration Analysis of Vehicle Floor Panel Using Hybrid Method of FEM and SEA

In order to improve the mass efficiency of an automotive soundproof package, it is important to predict the middle to high frequency range of noise and vibration during vehicle operation. A hybrid method of experimental and analytical SEA （statistical energy analysis） has been applied for the prediction of air-borne noise. However, for predicting structure-borne noise, there are no definitive simulation methods that can address the soundproof specifications in an actual vehicle. Thus, in this paper, a FEM （finite element method）＇SEA hybrid method is used. The FEM＇SEA hybrid method predicts structure-borne noise in the middle to high frequency range. First, we explain the basic concept of the FEM＇SEA hybrid method; Second, we describe our experiment to verify the analytical results of the FEM＇SEA hybrid method; Third, we provide the details of the FEM model versus the FEM＇SEA hybrid model; Finally, we verify the validity and availability of the FEM＇SEA hybrid method through comparisons of the FEM analysis results, FEM-SEA analysis results and measured results.     

Emission under hypoxia: one-electron reduction and fluorescence characteristics of an indolequinone-coumarin conjugate

A characteristic feature of the reactivity of indolequinone derivatives, substituents of which can be removed by one-electron reduction under hypoxic conditions, was applied to the development of a new class of fluorescent probes for disease-relevant hypoxia. A reducing indolequinone parent molecule conjugated with fluorescent coumarin chromophores could suppress efficiently the fluorescence emission of the coumarin moieties by an intramolecular electron-transfer quenching mechanism and a conventional internal-filter effect. Under hypoxic conditions, however, the conjugate, denoted IQ-Cou, underwent a one-electron reduction triggered by X irradiation or the action of a reduction enzyme to release a fluorescent coumarin chromophore, whereupon an intense fluorescence emission with a maximum intensity at 420 nm was observed. The one-electron reduction of IQ-Cou was suppressed by molecular oxygen under aerobic conditions. IQ-Cou also showed intense fluorescence in a hypoxia-selective manner upon incubation with a cell lysate of the human fibrosarcoma cell line HT-1080. The IQ-Cou conjugate has several unique properties that are favorable for a fluorescent probe of hypoxia-specific imaging.     

Hydroxyapatite Coating on Titanium Substrate by the Sol-Gel Process

Hydroxyapatite coatings on titanium were attempted by a sol-gel process combined with conventional heat treatment and with UV irradiation at ambient temperature after dipping/ withdrawing a substrate into/from the sol. X-ray diffraction data showed that a coating film prepared by heat treatment was amorphous and crystallized in Ca₅(PO₄)₃(OH) at a temperature of 773–973 K. The infrared spectra for coating films that have been prepared by heat treatment at a temperature of 573–873 K were in fair agreement with those for a coating film prepared by UV irradiation. After ethylene oxide sterilization, the cytotoxicity of coating film decreased with increasing irradiation time in UV irradiation, whereas it decreased with increasing temperature in conventional heat treatment. In comparisons between ethylene oxide sterilization and autoclave sterilization, the coating film sterilized by autoclave had much lower cytotoxicity than that sterilized by ethylene oxide. Furthermore, an animal test in the transfemoral drill hole on a rat for 4 weeks was examined using an implant prepared by heat treatment and autoclave sterilization. The sol-gel-coated titanium had slightly higher bone apposition than uncoated titanium as a control material.     

Large [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl (PCBM) hexagonal crystals grown by solvent-vapor annealing

We propose that solvent-vapor annealing is an efficient method for fabricating large [6,6]-phenyl C₆₁ butyric acid methyl (PCBM) single crystals. The morphology and size of PCBM crystals are influenced by different substrates and annealing solvents. Hexagonal PCBM crystals >150 μm in size were obtained when crystallization was performed on bare SiO₂ substrate under the saturated vapor of chloroform for annealing. The proposed method was also applied to a bi-component system, which led to the spontaneous formation of PCBM and dioctylbenzothienobenzothiophene single crystals.     

Enhancement of visible light-induced hydrophilicity on nitrogen and sulfur-codoped TiO2 thin films

We fabricated N, S-codoped, N-doped, S-doped TiO₂ anatase thin films by a radio-frequency (RF) sputtering method and evaluated the photoelectrochemical and photoinduced hydrophilic activities. The N, S-codoped TiO₂ thin film showed obviously higher activities than either the N-doped or S-doped TiO₂ under visible light irradiation. The photoinduced hydrophilic activity of the N, S-codoped TiO₂ was also greater than that of the undoped TiO₂ even under fluorescent light bulb, which contained both visible and UV lights. The high activities of the N, S-codoped TiO₂ could be attributed to the hybridization of the introduced N 2p and S 3p, which was supported by the results of ab initio calculations.     

Tailoring organic heterojunction interfaces in bilayer polymer photovoltaic devices

In an ideal model, a p-n junction is formed by two stacked slabs of semiconductors. Although the construction of actual devices is generally more complex, we show that such a simple method can in fact be applied to the formation of organic heterojunctions. Two films of the organic semiconductors poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C(61)-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) can be connected by a simple film-transfer method without disturbing their flat surfaces. Each film can further be modified with a surface-segregated monolayer to tune the strength and direction of the surface dipole moment. Using this method, we fabricated bilayer organic photovoltaic devices with interfacial dipole moments that were selected to align the energy levels at the heterojunction. The open-circuit voltages of the P3HT/PCBM devices could be tuned over a wide range between 0.3 and 0.95 V, indicating that, even if the same combination of bulk materials is used, the interfacial properties drastically alter the performance of organic photovoltaic devices.     

Experimental investigation of charge carrier transport in organic thin-film transistors with "buried surface layers"

We studied how the layers with different transport properties buried inside a semiconductor material affect the characteristics of organic thin film transistors (OTFT) using a well-defined multilayered structure fabricated by a contact film transfer method that we recently developed (ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 1, 2660 (2009)). A simple model with the charge distribution in the organic semiconductor film, the mobility dependence on the charge density, and the buried surface layers with a high mobility successfully reproduced the experimental mobility dependence on the thickness of the spin-coated films and the gate voltage. These results demonstrated that charge transport layers located far from the dielectric interface could contribute significantly to the total current in OTFTs.     

Stable coexpression of two human sialylation enzymes in plant suspension-cultured tobacco cells

Human CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc) synthase (hCSS) and α2,6-sialyltransferase (hST) participate in the sialylation of N-linked glycans in mammalian cells. hCSS synthesizes CMP-NeuAc, which hST uses as a donor substrate to transfer NeuAc to the terminal position of N-linked glycans. In plant cells, the presence of NeuAc has not yet been substantiated and the identification of the genes involved in the sialylation of N-glycan has not been carried out. In this study, we introduced hCSS and hST genes into suspension-cultured tobacco BY2 cells to provide the machinery for the sialylation pathway in plants. hCSS and hST stably expressed in the plant cells showed activity. In addition, CMP-NeuAc produced by hCSS in the transformed plant cells functioned as a donor substrate to hST. An in vitro coupled hCSS and hST reaction resulted in the production of mammalian-type sialoglycoproteins bearing terminal NeuAc residues. Furthermore, the results of the purification of the coupled-reaction products by Sambucus sieboldian lectin column chromatography and digestion with linkage-specific neuraminidase revealed that the modified terminal residue was α2,6-linked NeuAc. Here, we demonstrate that the in vitro sialylation of N-linked glycans on mammalian proteins can be achieved using plant cell extracts stably expressing hCSS and hST, providing proof-of-principle that a sialylated human therapeutic protein can be produced in plants.