Measurement of acoustic impedance and prediction of transmission loss of the porous woven hose in engine intake systems

For the prediction of the acoustic performance of an engine intake system with a porous woven hose, the acoustic wall impedance of the hose should be known. In this paper, a measurement technique is proposed that is valid over the low frequency range in the absence of mean flow. The impedance measurement is performed in two stages. The first stage of impedance measurement is performed in a cylindrical apparatus, within which a short specimen of given ‘porous frequency’ is laid. Because the predicted transmission loss (TL) does not agree with the measured one, due to error in the measured resistance, the second stage of impedance measurement is attempted to estimate the resistance from the measured reactance in the first stage and the measured TL data. Using such new impedance data measured in the second stage for the prediction of TL for samples of different lengths, the agreement between measured and predicted TL is generally improved, as compared to the initial comparison in the first stage. When the curve-fitted impedance for an arbitrary porous frequency is used, it is shown that the measured TL for samples with both arbitrary length and porous frequency generally agree reasonably well with the predicted ones. Exceptions are samples which require the impedance to be extrapolated from measured results, or samples with highly inhomogeneous weaving and coating conditions, and in particular samples with low porous frequency.     

Inverse estimation of the acoustic impedance of a porous woven hose from measured transmission coefficients

A porous tube, comprised of a resin-coated woven fabric has recently been used as an effective component for use in intake systems of internal combustion engines to reduce the intake noise. For the prediction of the acoustic performance of an engine intake system with a porous woven hose, the acoustic wall impedance of the hose must be known. However, the accurate measurement of the wall impedance of a porous woven hose is not easy because of its peculiar acoustical and structural characteristics. A new measurement technique is proposed herein, that is valid over the low to mid frequency ranges. The acoustics impedance is inversely estimated from an overdetermined set of measured pressure transmission coefficients for specimens of different lengths and the reflection coefficient of end termination. The method involves only one measurement setup, and, as a result, it is very simple. A variation of the proposed method, an inverse estimation method using one of the four-pole parameters is also proposed. An error sensitivity analysis was performed to investigate the effect of measurement error on the accuracy of the final result. The measured TL for samples with arbitrary lengths and arbitrary porous frequency are in reasonably good agreement with values predicted from curve-fitted impedance data.     

Secondary Metabolites from the Stem Bark of Litsea akoensis and Their Cytotoxic Activity

Six new butanolides, litseadioxanins A and B ( 1 and 2 , resp.) bearing a 1,2‐dioxane moiety, litseatrinolides A and B ( 3 and 4 , resp.), and litseakolides D₁ and D₂ ( 5 and 6 , resp.), were isolated from the stem bark of Litsea akoensis, together with six known compounds. The structures of the new compounds were characterized by in‐depth NMR‐spectroscopic and mass‐spectrometric analyses. Butanolides 1 – 4 , and a mixture of 6 and litsenolide E₂, and litsenolide B₁ were tested against human tumor cells, including MCF‐7 (human breast adenocarcinoma), NCI‐H460 (non‐small‐cell lung cancer), and SF‐268 (glioblastoma) cell lines. Among the tested compounds, litsenolide B₁ exhibited marginal cytotoxic activity against MCF‐7, NCI‐H460, and SF‐268 cell lines in vitro.     

Identification of Five New Minor Constituents from the Whole Plant of Amischotolype hispida

Bioassay‐guided fractionation of the active AcOEt‐soluble layer from the whole plant of Amischotolype hispida resulted in the isolation of four new compounds, i.e., amisbenzoic acid ( 1 ), one butenolide derivative, amisnolide ( 2 ), one chlorin analog, amisphytin ( 3 ), one lignan, amislignol ( 4 ), and one metabolite isolated for the first time from nature, (?)‐glaberide I ( 5 ), along with 20 known compounds, 6 – 25 . Their structures were elucidated on the basis of UV, IR, 1D‐ and 2D‐NMR (¹H,¹H‐COSY, DEPT, HSQC, HMBC), as well as HR‐ESI‐MS, analyses. Among these isolates, palmitic acid ( 13 ) showed an antimycobacterial activity with an MIC value of 20.0 μg/ml against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv.     

Chemical Constituents of the Endophytic Fungus Hypoxylon sp. 12F0687 Isolated from Taiwanese Ilex formosana

Bioassay‐guided fractionation of an AcOEt‐soluble fraction of the liquid fermentation of an endophytic fungus Hypoxylon sp. BCRC 12F0687 associated with the root of Taiwanese Ilex formosana (Aquifoliaceae) resulted in the isolation of two new compounds, i.e., one benzenoid, hypoxyphenone ( 1 ), and one azaphilone derivative, hypoillexidiol ( 2 ), two metabolites isolated for the first time from natural source, (?)‐(3S)‐3‐hydroxy‐3‐methyloxindole ( 3 ) and (+)‐vermelone ( 4 ), along with twelve previously identified compounds, 5 – 16 . Their structures were determined through in‐depth spectroscopic and mass‐spectrometric analyses. The effects of some isolates on the inhibition of NO and IL‐6 production in lipopolysaccharide‐activated RAW 264.7 murine macrophages were evaluated. Of the isolates, 2 and 3 exhibited potent anti‐NO production activity, with IC₅₀ values of 17.5±1.8 and 24.7±1.6 μM , respectively, compared to that of quercetin, an iNOS inhibitor with an IC₅₀ value of 35.9±1.7 μM . Compounds 2, 4, 5 , and 12 also showed moderate inhibition of IL‐6 production, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 27.2±1.8 to 35.3±5.8 μM . This is the first report on an oxindole metabolite from the genus Hypoxylon.     

Chemical and Cytotoxic Constituents from the Stem of Machilus zuihoensis

Five new compounds, including a novel lactone, machilactone (=rel‐(2R,3aR,6E,6aS)‐2‐heptadecyl‐3a‐methyl‐6‐octadecylidene‐6,6a‐dihydrofuro[2,3‐d][1,3]dioxol‐5(3aH)‐one; 1 ), a new sesquiterpene, 3,4‐dihydroxy‐β‐bisabolol (=rel‐(1R,2S,4R)‐1‐[(1R)‐1,5‐dimethylhex‐4‐enyl]‐1‐methylcyclohexane‐1,2,4‐triol; 2 ), a new secobutyrolactone, methyl (2E)‐2‐(1‐hydroxy‐2‐oxopropyl)eicos‐2‐enoate ( 3 ), two new butyrolactones, machicolide A ( 4 ) and machicolide B ( 5 ) (=3E,4R,5R)‐ and (3Z,4R,5R)‐4,5‐dihydro‐4‐hydroxy‐5‐methoxy‐5‐methyl‐3‐octadecylidenefuran‐2(3H)‐one, resp.) as a mixture, together with known caryophyllene oxide (=4,12,12‐trimethyl‐9‐methylene‐5‐oxatricyclo[8.2.0.0^4,6]dodecane), hexacosane, tetracosanoic acid, isomahubanolide‐23 (=(3E,4R)‐4,5‐dihydro‐4‐hydroxy‐5‐methylidene‐3‐octadecylidenefuran‐2(3H)‐one), and β‐bisabolol (=(1S)‐1‐[(1S)‐1,5‐dimethylhex‐4‐enyl]‐4‐methylcyclohex‐3‐en‐1‐ol) were isolated from the stem wood of Machilus zuihoensis. The structures of these compounds were established by spectroscopic studies. The eicos‐2‐enoate ( 3 ) and β‐bisabolol exhibited marginal cytotoxicity against NUGC and HONE‐1 cancer cell lines in vitro.     

Synthesis and Cytotoxic Evaluation of Some 4‐Anilinofuro[2,3‐b]quinoline Derivatives

Some 4‐anilinofuro[2,3‐b]quinoline derivatives were synthesized from dictamnine, a natural alkaloid, and evaluated for their cytotoxicity in the NCI's full panel of 60 human cancer cell lines derived from nine cancer cell types, including leukemia, non‐small‐cell lung cancer, colon cancer, CNS cancer, melanoma, ovarian cancer, renal cancer, prostate cancer, and breast cancer. 1‐[4‐(Furo[2,3‐b]quinolin‐4‐ylamino)phenyl]ethanone ( 5 ) (mean GI₅₀=0.025 μM ), bearing an 4‐acetylanilino substituent at C(4) of furo[2,3‐b]quinoline, was more active than its 3‐acetylanilino counterpart 7 (mean GI₅₀=5.27 μM ), and both clinically used anticancer drugs, N‐[4‐(acridin‐9‐ylamino)‐3‐methoxyphenyl]methanesulfonamide (m‐AMSA; mean GI₅₀=0.44 μM ) and daunomycin (mean GI₅₀=0.044 μM ). Compound 5 was capable of inhibiting all types of cancer cells tested with a mean GI₅₀ of less than 0.04 μM in each case except for the non‐small‐cell lung cancer (average GI₅₀=1.75 μM ). Although non‐small‐cell lung cancer is resistant to compound 5 , the sensitivity within this type of cancer cells varies: HOP‐62 (GI₅₀<0.01 μM ), NCI‐H460 (GI₅₀=0.01 μM ), and NCI‐H522 (GI₅₀<0.01 μM ) are very sensitive, while HOP‐92 (GI₅₀ = 12.4 μM ) is resistant. Among these non‐small‐cell lung cancers, NCI‐H522 was found to be very sensitive to 5, 8a , and 8b with a GI₅₀ values of <0.01, 0.074, and <0.01 μM , respectively.     

Secondary Metabolites from the Fungus Monascus purpureus and Evaluation of Their Cytotoxic Activity

Investigation of the 95% EtOH extract of red yeast rice fermented with the fungus Monascus purpureus BCRC 31615 has led to the isolation and structure elucidation of four new compounds, including one new azaphilone analog, monascuspurpurone ( 1 ), a new isocoumarin, monaschromone ( 2 ), a new furan‐3‐one derivative, 2‐dodecyl‐5‐(2‐methoxyethyl)‐2‐methylfuran‐3(2H)‐one ( 3 ), and a new alkaloid, methyl 4‐[(E)‐2‐acetyl‐4‐oxoundec‐1‐enyl]‐6‐propylnicotinate ( 4 ), together with seven known compounds. The structures of all isolates were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analyses and comparison with literature data. Compounds 1 – 4 were tested for their cytotoxicity against the MCF‐7, NCI‐H460, and SF‐268 cell lines using the MTT (=3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyl‐2H‐tetrazolium bromide) assay. Among them, compounds 1 and 4 were found to have moderate cytotoxic effects against these three cell lines in vitro.     

Stabilization of time domain acoustic boundary element method for the interior problem with impedance boundary conditions

The time domain boundary element method (BEM) is associated with numerical instability that typically stems from the time marching scheme. In this work, a formulation of time domain BEM is derived to deal with all types of boundary conditions adopting a multi-input, multi-output, infinite impulse response structure. The fitted frequency domain impedance data are converted into a time domain expression as a form of an infinite impulse response filter, which can also invoke a modeling error. In the calculation, the response at each time step is projected onto the wave vector space of natural radiation modes, which can be obtained from the eigensolutions of the single iterative matrix. To stabilize the computation, unstable oscillatory modes are nullified, and the same decay rate is used for two nonoscillatory modes. As a test example, a transient sound field within a partially lined, parallelepiped box is used, within which a point source is excited by an octave band impulse. In comparison with the results of the inverse Fourier transform of a frequency domain BEM, the average of relative difference norm in the stabilized time response is found to be 4.4%.     

Chemical Constituents from the Root Wood of Zanthoxylum Integrifoliolum

Two new phenylpropanoids, integrifoliolin ( 1 ) and integrifoliodiol ( 2 ), together with 23 known compounds, have been isolated from the root wood of Zanthoxylum integrifoliolum. The structures of these compounds were determined by means of spectral analyses. The reported anti‐HIV constituents of decarine and γ‐fagarine were also isolated from the root wood of this plant.