A torsional transducer through in-plane shearing of paired planar piezoelectric elements

A torsional microtransducer for high-power applications was developed using standard bulk lead zirconium titantate (PZT) placed upon a small rectangular prism made from phosphor bronze, with a tapered conical end serving as a horn and a machined interior to improve the actuator's response. Torsion was obtained from a prototype at the design frequency of 192 kHz as well as over a wide range of frequencies from 136 kHz to 1.02 MHz. Torsional vibration velocities of 335 mm/s at 192 kHz were measured at 27.3 V(RMS) on the 1.5-mm diameter output tip, amounting to 25,600 degree/s vibration velocity along the outer circumference of the tip. At 1.02 MHz, a torsional vibration velocity of 1750 mm/s (134,000 degree/s) at 17.8 V(RMS) was obtained through use of the thickness mode of the PZT elements. Using the design described in this study, high-power torsional transducers with diameters of 5 mm and below are now possible.     

A single-element tuning fork piezoelectric linear actuator

This paper describes the design of a piezoelectric tuning-fork, dual-mode motor. The motor uses a single multilayer piezoelectric element in combination with tuning fork and shearing motion to form an actuator using a single drive signal. Finite-element analysis was used in the design of the motor, and the process is described along with the selection of the device's materials and its performance. Swaging was used to mount the multilayer piezoelectric element within the stator. Prototypes of the 25-mm long bidirectional actuator achieved a maximum linear no-load speed of 16.5 cm/s, a maximum linear force of 1.86 N, and maximum efficiency of 18.9%.     

The thermal conductivity surface for mixtures of methane and ethane

A correlation is presented for the extensive series of thermal conductivity measurements of binary methane-ethane mixtures. The composition dependences of the thermal conductivity in the dilute-gas region, dense-gas and liquid region, and critical region are discussed. The average absolute percentage deviation of the thermal conductivity surface as a function of temperature, density, and composition, from the experimental data, is 1.60%.     

The membrane protein alkaline phosphatase is delivered to the vacuole by a route that is distinct from the VPS-dependent pathway

Membrane trafficking intermediates involved in the transport of proteins between the TGN and the lysosome-like vacuole in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be accumulated in various vps mutants. Loss of function of Vps45p, an Sec1p-like protein required for the fusion of Golgi-derived transport vesicles with the prevacuolar/endosomal compartment (PVC), results in an accumulation of post-Golgi transport vesicles. Similarly, loss of VPS27 function results in an accumulation of the PVC since this gene is required for traffic out of this compartment. The vacuolar ATPase subunit Vph1p transits to the vacuole in the Golgi-derived transport vesicles, as defined by mutations in VPS45, and through the PVC, as defined by mutations in VPS27. In this study we demonstrate that, whereas VPS45 and VPS27 are required for the vacuolar delivery of several membrane proteins, the vacuolar membrane protein alkaline phosphatase (ALP) reaches its final destination without the function of these two genes. Using a series of ALP derivatives, we find that the information to specify the entry of ALP into this alternative pathway to the vacuole is contained within its cytosolic tail, in the 13 residues adjacent to the transmembrane domain, and loss of this sorting determinant results in a protein that follows the VPS-dependent pathway to the vacuole. Using a combination of immunofluorescence localization and pulse/chase immunoprecipitation analysis, we demonstrate that, in addition to ALP, the vacuolar syntaxin Vam3p also follows this VPS45/27-independent pathway to the vacuole. In addition, the function of Vam3p is required for membrane traffic along the VPS-independent pathway.     

The depolarization near-field scanning optical microscope: comparison of experiment and theory

The depolarization near-field scanning optical microscope allows for sub-wavelength optical resolution with uncoated optical fibre tips. We show by a simple thought experiment, by numerical solution of the Maxwell equations for a realistic geometry, and by direct experiments, that this novel apparatus images gradients of the dielectric function of a sample in the direction of the incident electric field vector. The near-field images obtained from experiment and theory agree well.     

A molecular mechanism for electrical tuning of cochlear hair cells

Cochlear frequency selectivity in lower vertebrates arises in part from electrical tuning intrinsic to the sensory hair cells. The resonant frequency is determined largely by the gating kinetics of calcium-activated potassium (BK) channels encoded by the slo gene. Alternative splicing of slo from chick cochlea generated kinetically distinct BK channels. Combination with accessory beta subunits slowed the gating kinetics of alpha splice variants but preserved relative differences between them. In situ hybridization showed that the beta subunit is preferentially expressed by low-frequency (apical) hair cells in the avian cochlea. Interaction of beta with alpha splice variants could provide the kinetic range needed for electrical tuning of cochlear hair cells.