The constraints satisfaction problem approach in the design of an architectural functional layout

A design support system with a new strategy for finding the optimal functional configurations of rooms for architectural layouts is presented. A set of configurations satisfying given constraints is generated and ranked according to multiple objectives. The method can be applied to problems in architectural practice, urban or graphic design—wherever allocation of related geometrical elements of known shape is optimized. Although the methodology is shown using simplified examples—a single story residential building with two apartments each having two rooms—the results resemble realistic functional layouts. One example of a practical size problem of a layout of three apartments with a total of 20 rooms is demonstrated, where the generated solution can be used as a base for a realistic architectural blueprint. The discretization of design space is discussed, followed by application of a backtrack search algorithm used for generating a set of potentially ‘good’ room configurations. Next the solutions are classified by a machine learning method (FFN) as ‘proper’ or ‘improper’ according to the internal communication criteria. Examples of interactive ranking of the ‘proper’ configurations according to multiple criteria and choosing ‘the best’ ones are presented. The proposed framework is general and universal—the criteria, parameters and weights can be individually defined by a user and the search algorithm can be adjusted to a specific problem.     

Structure and performance of cationic assembly dispersed in amphoteric surfactants solution as a shampoo for hair damaged by coloring

In recent years, hair coloring gains popularity as a trend of consumer's hair care. This coloring frequently damages hair. In response to this, a new shampoo-base was developed for repairing hair damaged by coloring. The new shampoo-base was prepared by dispersing cationic assembly in a solution of amphoteric surfactants. The mixture of behenyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (C22TAC) and behenyl alcohol (C22OH) was applied as the cationic assembly, which are dispersed in amido propyl betaine laurate (LPB) solution. LPB, which behaves as an amphoteric surfactant, was used as the wash-base. It was verified from the results on the measurements of DSC, calorimeter polarization, cryo-SEM and X-ray diffraction that the cationic assembly has a crystalline structure in the LPB solution. The new shampoo-base was highly efficient to change the color-damaged hair from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The friction level of the hair washed with the new shampoo-base recovered to the same state as that of healthy hair. The exfoliation of cuticle was reduced after washing with the new shampoo-base.     

Electrical reliability of different alloying content on copper alloy fillers in electrically conductive adhesives

The thermal stability and electrical reliability of electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) filled with Cu fillers alloying with different amount of Ag and Mg (0.2–1.5 at.%), respectively, were studied by comparing their electrical resistivity under high temperature exposure at 125 and 85 °C/85% RH for 1,000 h. Results showed that the Cu-Ag filled ECAs were superior to Cu-Mg filled ECAs in terms of thermal stability during aging under high temperature exposure and high humidity condition. A final resistivity on the order of 10⁻⁴ Ω.cm could be maintained for Cu-Ag filled ECAs after aging at 125 °C for 1,000 h. Cu-Mg filled ECAs showed relatively high electrical resistivity compared to Cu-Ag filled ECAs. Resistivity of Cu-Mg filled ECAs increased rapidly over time during high temperature exposure at 125 °C except for Cu-0.5 at.% Mg filled ECA which was thermally stable after 400 h of aging. The ECAs in this study could withstand high temperature exposure at 125 °C better than aging under a combination of elevated temperature and high humidity at 85 °C/85% RH.     

Introduction of the archaebacterial geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase gene into Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplast

Geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP) synthase gene (gds) derived from a thermophilic Archae Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, was introduced into a unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplast. Heat treatment abolished the prenyltransferase activity of the wild strain, but the activity of the transforment remained. The transformant accumulated gds gene mRNA and translation product.     

Cytocompatibility of calcium phosphate coatings deposited by an ArF pulsed laser

In the current studies, we deposited ultra-thin hydroxyapatite films on a pure titanium substrate by pulsed laser deposition, and we examined the effects of these surfaces on rat bone marrow (RBM) cells. This method allowed deposition of 500-, 2,000-, and 5,000-A-thick hydroxyapatite films. X-ray diffraction showed that the amorphous films recrystallized to a hydroxyapatite crystal structure after annealing. The proliferation of RBM cells was unaffected by the hydroxyapatite films, but osteocalsin and alkaline phosphatase mRNA and protein levels were elevated in cells grown on 2,000- and 5,000-A-thick films. These results indicate that ultra-thin hydroxyapatite films generated by pulsed laser deposition are better at promoting osteogenesis than pure titanium surfaces.     

Achromatic interfero-coronagraph with two common-path interferometers in tandem

To attain deeper nulling for an extended incoherent star disk a scheme for an achromatic interfero-coronagraph, incorporating two common-path interferometers in tandem, is proposed. Analytical and numerical predictions of the performance, which are in reasonably good agreement, are presented. The predicted performance improvement, by using two interferometers in tandem, is demonstrated by a preliminary experiment. A star coronagraph based on the proposed technique has the possibility to reach a 10(-10) achromatic nulling contrast for an almost 10(-2) lambda/D effective source size.     

Determination of interface properties from experiments on the fragmentation process in single-fiber composites

This paper attempts to quantify the fracture properties (strength and toughness) of the fiber–matrix interface in composites, using the fragmentation process and debonding growth for HI-Nicalon™ SiC single-fiber and T300 carbon single-fiber epoxy (Bisphenol-A type epoxy resin with triethylenetetramine (TETA) as curing agent) composite systems. This method is based on the numerical modeling for the microscopic damage and fragmentation process in single-fiber composite (SFC) tests, with a cohesive zone model (CZM). For the HI-Nicalon™ SiC single-fiber epoxy composite in which the major damage near a fiber break is interfacial debonding, interface properties were reasonably determined as (T_II,max, G_IIc) = (75 MPa, 200 J/m²). In contrast, for T300 carbon single-fiber epoxy composite, we could not determine unique interfacial properties, since the variation of the cohesive parameters hardly affects the microscopic damage process due to the transition to the damage pattern dominated by matrix cracking.     

Streptomyces phospholipase D mutants with altered substrate specificity capable of phosphatidylinositol synthesis

The substrate specificity of a phospholipase D (PLD) from Streptomyces antibioticus was altered by site-directed saturation mutagenesis, so that it was able to synthesize phosphatidylinositol (PI). Mutations were introduced in the pld gene at the positions corresponding to three amino acid residues that might be involved in substrate recognition, and the mutated genes were expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). High-throughput screening of approximately 10,000 colonies for PI-synthesizing activity identified 25 PI-synthesizing mutant PLDs. One of these mutant enzymes was chosen for further analysis. The structure of the PI synthesized with the mutant enzyme was analyzed by HPLC-MS and NMR. It was found that the mutant enzyme generated a mixture of structural isomers of PIs with the phosphatidyl groups connected at different positions of the inositol ring. The phosphatidylcholine-hydrolyzing activity of the mutant PLD was much lower than that of the wild-type enzyme. The mutant enzyme was able to transphosphatidylate various cyclohexanols with a preference for bulkier compounds. This is the first example of alteration of the substrate specificity of PLD and of PI synthesis by Streptomyces PLD.     

Development and evaluation of a long‐range 300‐m leaky coaxial cable in the 2.4‐GHz band for IEEE 802.11 b/g wireless network access

In installing wireless access systems for indoor use using IEEE 802.11b/g‐complied 2.4‐GHz band wireless local area network (LAN) units, problems that arise include blind zones and interferences caused by radio waves transmitted by neighboring access point units. To solve these problems, the use of leaky coaxial cables (LCXs) is a promising method. However, commercially available flexible LCXs with small diameters for 2.4‐GHz wireless LAN were not long enough for use in tunnels, underground facilities, and so on, and the communication characteristics of LCXs long enough for these places using wireless LAN units have not been reported. We have developed a flexible 300‐m long LCX for the 2.4‐GHz band and IEEE 802.11b/g‐complied wireless LAN units with high sensitivity. We evaluated its performance with four cable configurations and confirmed that this LCX provides wireless connections over 300 m along the cable and over 20 m lateral to the cable in an open‐air environment. We also found the coverage could be extended by a method of cable‐to‐cable links. IEEJ Trans 2010 DOI: 10.1002/tee.20604