Psychological evaluation of sound environment in a compartment of a high-speed train

Sound environment in a compartment of high-speed trains (Shinkansen) was examined in relation to speech communication and annoyance. Three experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, the annoyance caused by the compartment noise was judged. In Experiment 2, both the compartment noise and the conversation were presented together and the annoyance of the combined sounds was judged. In Experiment 3, both sounds were presented and only the disturbance of conversation was judged. The results showed that: The annoyance of compartment noise showed good correlation with L_Aeq. The annoyance of the combination of the compartment noise (N) and the conversation (C) increased as C/N decreased. There was, however, a tendency that annoyance increased as C/N increased in some conditions. This suggests that there exists an optimum level of compartment noise at 50-60 dBA taking the level of conversation into consideration. The disturbance of the conversation increased as C/N increased. However, when the level of conversation became high, it was judged as being disturbing regardless of the level of compartment noise.     

High performance a-Si solar cells and new fabrication methods for a-Si solar cells

The super chamber, a separated UHV reaction-chamber system has been developed. A conversion efficiency of 11.7% was obtained for an a-Si solar cell using a high-quality i-layer deposited by the super chamber, and a p-layer fabricated by a photo-CVD method.As a new material, amorphous superlattice-structure films were fabricated by the photo-CVD method for the first time. Superlattice structure p-layer a-Si solar cells were fabricated, and a conversion efficiency of 10.5% was obtained.For the fabrication of integrated type a-Si solar cell modules, a laser pattering method was investigated. A thermal analysis of the multilayer structure was done. It was confirmed that selective scribing for a-Si, TCO and metal film is possible by controlling the laser power density. Recently developed a-Si solar power generation systems and a-Si solar cell roofing tiles are also described.     

Synthesis of New Lithium Ionic Conductor Thio-LISICON—Lithium Silicon Sulfides System

The new lithium ionic conductors, thio-LISICON (LIthium SuperIonic CONductor), were found in the ternary Li₂S-SiS₂-Al₂S₃ and Li₂S-SiS₂-P₂S₅ systems. Their structures of new materials, Li_4+xSi_1−xAl_xS₄ and Li_4−xSi_1−xP_xS₄ were determined by X-ray Rietveld analysis, and the electric and electrochemical properties were studied by electronic conductivity, ac conductivity and cyclic voltammogram measurements. The structure of the host material, Li₄SiS₄ is related to the γ-Li₃PO₄-type structure, and when the Li⁺ interstitials or Li⁺ vacancies were created by the partial substitutions of Al³⁺ or P⁵⁺ for Si⁴⁺, large increases in conductivity occur. The solid solution member x=0.6 in Li_4−xSi_1−xP_xS₄ showed high conductivity of 6.4×10^-4 S cm⁻¹ at 27°C with negligible electronic conductivity. The new solid solution, Li_4−xSi_1−xP_xS₄, also has high electrochemical stability up to ∼5 V vs Li at room temperature. All-solid-state lithium cells were investigated using the Li_3.4Si_0.4P_0.6S₄ electrolyte, LiCoO₂ cathode and In anode.     

Massenspektren der von Aminosäuren bzw. Peptiden abgeleiteten Triazin-Derivate

A mass spectrometric study of about 30 triazine derivatives from amino acids and peptides is reported. These derivatives incorporated the C-terminal of amino acids and peptides in the ring. In contrast to the mass spectra of amino acids and peptide esters reported previously, they always showed characteristic fragments, denoting the presence of the terminal triazine ring. By using this peak as a marker, it is easy to estimate the C-terminal of peptides. In dipeptides, the N-terminal and C-terminal are determined simultaneously.     

Hyperfine interactions in icosahedral quasicrystals: a Mössbauer study

Icosahedral Al₆₅Cu₂₀Fe₁₅ and Al₄₀Cu_9.9Ge₂₅Mn₂₅ ⁵⁷Fe_0.1 quasicrystals are studied using⁵⁷Fe transmission Mössbauer experiments. The spectra are analyzed by distributions of electric-quadrupole interaction accounting for line asymmetries. Temperature dependences of the hyperfine parameters derived comprising average values ofP() distributions, corresponding standard deviations and center shifts are presented in a whole range from 8 to 300 K.     

Local order of icosahedral quasicrystals studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy

Thermodynamically stable Al-Cu-Fe and Fe-doped ferromagnetic Al-Cu-Ge-Mn icosahedral quasicrystals are studied by⁵⁷Fe transmission Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction experiments. Al₆₅Cu₂₀Fe₁₅ quasicrystalline alloy was subjected to a mechanical grinding (MG) for up to 800 hours in a ball mill. Presence of the amorphous phase which co-exists with the quasicrystalline one is revealed in the early stage of MG. Mössbauer measurements were performed on icosahedral Al₄₀Cu_10–x Ge₂₅Mn₂₅Fe _x quasicrystal (x0.1; 3) in a temperature range from 10 K to 548 K. It was found that a magnetic transition occurs at about 30 K which is far belowT _c reported in the literature. It is concluded that AlGeMn ferromagnet which is present in the samples does not affect the magnetic transition observed and the transition is an intrinsic property of the Al-Cu-Ge-Mn host alloy.Samples of icosahedral quasicrystals were kindly provided by Profs. A. Inoue, T. Masumoto and P. H. Shingu. Ball milling was performed in Kyoto University by a courtesy of Prof. P. H. Shingu. This work was supported by the project for priority areas on properties of quasicrystals (No. 01630003) from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.     

Plaunol A and B,new anti-ulcer diterpenelactones from Crotonsublyratus

Two new diterpenelactones named plaunol A ($\text{2}$) and B ($\text{3}$) exhibiting anti-Shay ulcer activity were isolated from Thai medicinal plant, $\text{Croton}$$\text{sublyratus}$. Structure of $\text{2}$ was determined by X-ray analysis of its $\text{p}$-bromobenzoate and structure of $\text{3}$ was deduced from the results of chemical correlation and the spectral data.     

Stereocontrolled intramolecular nitrile oxide cycloaddition reaction using a gauche-gauche interaction

A gauche-gauche interaction is proposed as a powerful controlling factor for the stereochemistry in the intramolecular nitrile oxide cycloaddition reaction derived from N-protected 3-(N-allylamino)propionaldehyde and 2-(N-homoallylamino)acetaldehyde oximes. High levels of stereoselectivity (76% de to perfect) were obtained from the reaction involving nitrile oxides with substituents at the adjacent carbon atom to the tether nitrogen.     

Quantitative structure-activity studies of octopaminergic agonists and antagonists against Locusta migratoria using similarity indexes

The quantitative structure-activity relationship of 39 octopamine (OA) agonists and 12 antagonists against the thoracic nerve cord of the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria L. was analyzed using atom based rigid fit method or flexible fitting offered by PowerFit 1.0 from MicroSimulation. For OA agonists, the more similar to reference compound NC (24) the structure of test compound, the higher the activity, whereas for OA antagonists it was not the case. Antagonists may not interact with the same part of the membrane with which the agonists interact. Taken the part of the membrane with which the agonist interacts as the true receptor, the antagonist may well interact with an area surrounding the receptor including the ionophore.