Showing papers by "Toyota published in 2009"

Loss of function of a proline-containing protein confers durable disease resistance in rice.

Abstract: Blast disease is a devastating fungal disease of rice, one of the world's staple foods. Race-specific resistance to blast disease has usually not been durable. Here, we report the cloning of a previously unknown type of gene that confers non-race-specific resistance and its successful use in breeding. Pi21 encodes a proline-rich protein that includes a putative heavy metal-binding domain and putative protein-protein interaction motifs. Wild-type Pi21 appears to slow the plant's defense responses, which may support optimization of defense mechanisms. Deletions in its proline-rich motif inhibit this slowing. Pi21 is separable from a closely linked gene conferring poor flavor. The resistant pi21 allele, which is found in some strains of japonica rice, could improve blast resistance of rice worldwide.

The role of non-covalent interactions in electrocatalytic fuel-cell reactions on platinum.

Abstract: The classic models of metal electrode-electrolyte interfaces generally focus on either covalent interactions between adsorbates and solid surfaces or on long-range electrolyte-metal electrostatic interactions. Here we demonstrate that these traditional models are insufficient. To understand electrocatalytic trends in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and the oxidation of methanol on platinum surfaces in alkaline electrolytes, non-covalent interactions must be considered. We find that non-covalent interactions between hydrated alkali metal cations M(+)(H(2)O)(x) and adsorbed OH (OH(ad)) species increase in the same order as the hydration energies of the corresponding cations (Li(+) >> Na(+) > K(+) > Cs(+)) and also correspond to an increase in the concentration of OH(ad)-M(+)(H(2)O)(x) clusters at the interface. These trends are inversely proportional to the activities of the ORR, the HOR and the oxidation of methanol on platinum (Cs(+) > K(+) > Na(+) >> Li(+)), which suggests that the clusters block the platinum active sites for electrocatalytic reactions.

Cyclic voltammetry of biofilms of wild type and mutant Geobacter sulfurreducens on fuel cell anodes indicates possible roles of OmcB, OmcZ, type IV pili, and protons in extracellular electron transfer

Abstract: Geobacteracea are distinct for their ability to reduce insoluble oxidants including minerals and electrodes without apparent reliance on soluble extracellular electron transfer (ET) mediators. This property makes them important anode catalysts in new generation microbial fuel cells (MFCs) because it obviates the need to replenish ET mediators otherwise necessary to sustain power. Here we report cyclic voltammetry (CV) of biofilms of wild type (WT) and mutant G. sulfurreducens strains grown on graphite cloth anodes acting as electron acceptors with acetate as the electron donor. Our analysis indicates that WT biofilms contain a conductive network of bound ET mediators in which OmcZ (outer membranec-type cytochrome Z) participates in homogeneous ET (through the biofilm bulk) while OmcB mediates heterogeneous ET (across the biofilm/electrode interface); that type IV pili are important in both reactions; that OmcS plays a secondary role in homogenous ET; that OmcE, important in Fe(III) oxide reduction, is not involved in either reaction; that catalytic current is limited overall by the rate of microbial uptake of acetate; that protons generated from acetate oxidation act as charge compensating ions in homogenous ET; and that homogenous ET, when accelerated by fast voltammetric scan rates, is limited by diffusion of protons within the biofilm. These results provide the first direct electrochemical evidence substantiating utilization of bound ET mediators by Geobacter biofilms and the distinct roles of OmcB and OmcZ in the extracellular ET properties of anode-reducing G. sulfurreducens.

Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 as a potential photovoltaic material: A hybrid Hartree-Fock density functional theory study

Abstract: First-principles calculations for the potential photovoltaic material ${\text{Cu}}_{2}{\text{ZnSnS}}_{4}$ (CZTS) are presented using density functional theory and the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof exchange-correlation functional as well as using the Heyd-Scuseria-Ernzerhof (HSE) hybrid functional. The HSE results compare very favorably to experimental data for the lattice constants and the band gap, as demonstrated for CZTS and selected ternary chalcopyrites such as ${\text{CuInS}}_{2}$, ${\text{CuInSe}}_{2}$, ${\text{CuGaS}}_{2}$, and ${\text{CuGaSe}}_{2}$. Furthermore the HSE band structure is validated using ${G}_{0}{W}_{0}$ quasiparticle calculations. The valence band is found to be made up by an antibonding linear combination of $\text{Cu-}3d$ states and $\text{S-}3p$ states, whereas an isolated band made up by $\text{Sn-}5s$ and $\text{S-}3p$ states dominates the conduction band. In the visible wavelength, the optical properties are determined by transitions from the $\text{Cu-}3d/\text{S-}3p$ states into this conduction band. Comparison of the optical spectra calculated in the independent-particle approximation and using time-dependent hybrid functional theory indicates very small excitonic effects. For the structural properties, the kesterite-type structure of $I\overline{4}$ symmetry is predicted to be the most stable one, possibly along with cation disorder within the Cu-Zn layer. The energy differences between structural modifications are well approximated by a simple ionic model.

Editorial: wireless access in vehicular environments

Abstract: This report is to present the research of Wireless Access for Vehicular Environments (WAVE). It introduces the basic technologies used in this standard, also proposes some limitations and applications of this criteria. Based on this, this report focuses on two limitations: real-time communication constraints and unfairness dedication of channel with using distributed coordination function on Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. Some ideas for improving these limitations are raised with the results of simulations. For the real-time problem, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) MAC layer is studied and evaluated. For the unfairness dedication of channel problem, a priority is given to each node of different speed to achieve a dynamic contention window size. The result of simulation shows this method efficiently improves this limitation. Keywords— IEEE 802.11p, IEEE P1609, WAVE, MAC, RSU,

An AP2-type transcription factor, WRINKLED1, of Arabidopsis thaliana binds to the AW-box sequence conserved among proximal upstream regions of genes involved in fatty acid synthesis.

Abstract: Summary Although an APETALA2 (AP2)-type transcription factor, WRINKLED1 (WRI1), has been shown to be required for accumulation of triacylglycerols (TAGs) in Arabidopsis seeds, its direct target genes have not been established. Overexpression of WRI1 up-regulated a set of genes involved in fatty acid (FA) synthesis in plastids, including genes for a subunit of pyruvate kinase (Pl-PKβ1), acetyl-CoA carboxylase (BCCP2), acyl carrier protein (ACP1), and ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase (KAS1), while expression of these genes is reduced in mutants with reduced WRI1 expression. Transient expression of LUC reporter genes with the proximal sequences upstream from the ATG codon of Pl-PKβ1, BCCP2, and KAS1 in protoplasts was activated by co-expression of WRI1, and recombinant WRI1 bound to these upstream sequences in vitro. The seven WRI1 binding sites shared a sequence [CnTnG](n)7[CG], where n is any nucleotide designated as the AW-box, and mutations in AW-boxes near the transcription start site and in the 5′-untranslated region of Pl-PKβ1 abolished activation by WRI1 in protoplasts and expression during seed maturation. Although expression of genes for the synthesis of TAGs and packaging into oil bodies in the endoplasmic reticulum in developing seeds required WRI1, their expression was not up-regulated by WRI1 overexpression. Thus, WRI1 promotes the flow of carbon to oil during seed maturation by directly activating genes involved in FA synthesis and controlling genes for assembly and storage of TAG.

Novel strategy for three-dimensional real-time imaging of microbial fuel cell communities: monitoring the inhibitory effects of proton accumulation within the anode biofilm

Abstract: Harvesting electricity from the environment, organic wastes, or renewable biomass with microbial fuel cells (MFCs) is an appealing strategy, but the destructive sampling required to investigate the anode-associated biofilms has hampered research designed to better understand and optimize microbe–anode interactions. Therefore, a MFC that permits real-time imaging of the anode biofilm with confocal scanning laser microscopy was developed. In this new MFC Geobacter sulfurreducens, an organism closely related to those often found on MFC anodes and capable of high current densities, produced current comparable to that previously reported with other MFC designs. G. sulfurreducens engineered to produce the fluorescent protein mcherry to facilitate real-time imaging produced current comparable to wild-type cells. Introducing C-SNARF-4, a pH-sensitive fluoroprobe, into the anode chamber revealed strong pH gradients within the anode biofilms. The pH decreased with increased proximity to the anode surface and from the exterior to the interior of biofilm pillars. Near the anode surface pH levels were as low as 6.1 compared to ca. 7 in the external medium. Various controls demonstrated that the proton accumulation was associated with current production. Dropping the pH of culture medium from 7 to 6 severely limited the growth of G. sulfurreducens. These results demonstrate that it is feasible to non-destructively monitor the activity of anode biofilms in real time and suggest that the accumulation of protons that are released from organic matter oxidation within anode biofilms can limit current production.

Light harvesting by a periodic mesoporous organosilica chromophore.

Abstract: Light aqueduct: Periodic mesoporous organosilica exhibits strong light absorption due to densely packed organic chromophores within the pore walls. Light energy absorbed by 125 biphenyl groups in the pore walls is funneled into a single coumarin 1 molecule in the mesochannels with almost 100 % quantum efficiency, and results in significant enhancement of emission from the coumarin 1 dye.

Capacity-Fading Mechanisms of LiNiO2-Based Lithium-Ion Batteries II. Diagnostic Analysis by Electron Microscopy and Spectroscopy

Abstract: We used a suite of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and associated electron spectroscopy methods to examine the local structure and changes in the electronic structure of LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 positive electrode material. We found a scattered rock-salt phase near grain surfaces and grain boundaries, where Ni 3+ turned to Ni 2+ , deduced from relative intensity ratios and fine structures of the L 2,3 white-line peaks of the transition metals. The spatial distribution of the degraded phase throughout the secondary particle was found using a scanning TEM-electron energy loss spectroscopy spectral imaging technique and multivariate analysis. The degradation process and its relationship to the surface reactions with electrolytes is discussed based on the spatial-distribution map of the degraded phases.

EARLY PHASE OBSERVATIONS OF EXTREMELY LUMINOUS TYPE Ia SUPERNOVA 2009dc

Abstract: We present early phase observations in optical and near-infrared wavelengths for the extremely luminous Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) 2009dc. The decline rate of the light curve is ?m 15(B) = 0.65 ? 0.03, which is one of the slowest among SNe Ia. The peak V-band absolute magnitude is estimated to be MV = ?19.90 ? 0.15?mag if no host extinction is assumed. It reaches MV = ?20.19 ? 0.19?mag if we assume the host extinction of AV = 0.29?mag. SN 2009dc belongs to the most luminous class of SNe Ia, like SNe 2003fg and 2006gz. Our JHKs -band photometry shows that this SN is also one of the most luminous SNe Ia in near-infrared wavelengths. We estimate the ejected 56Ni mass of 1.2 ? 0.3 M ? for the no host extinction case (and of 1.6 ? 0.4 M ? for the host extinction of AV = 0.29?mag). The C II ?6580 absorption line remains visible until a week after the maximum brightness, in contrast to its early disappearance in SN 2006gz. The line velocity of Si II ?6355 is about 8000?km?s?1 around the maximum, being considerably slower than that of SN 2006gz. The velocity of the C II line is similar to or slightly less than that of the Si II line around the maximum. The presence of the carbon line suggests that the thick unburned C+O layer remains after the explosion. Spectropolarimetric observations by Tanaka et?al. indicate that the explosion is nearly spherical. These observational facts suggest that SN 2009dc is a super-Chandrasekhar mass SN Ia.

Fast running experiments involving a humanoid robot

Abstract: The present paper describes an implementation of fast running motions involving a humanoid robot. Two important technologies are described: a motion generation and a balance control. The motion generation is a unified way to design both walking and running and can generate the trajectory with the vertical conditions of the Center Of Mass (COM) in short calculation time. The balance control enables a robot to maintain balance by changing the positions of the contact foot dynamically when the robot is disturbed. This control consists of 1) compliance control without force sensors, in which the joints are made compliant by feed-forward torques and adjustment of gains of position control, and 2) feedback control, which uses the measured orientation of the robot's torso used in the motion generation as an initial condition to decide the foot positions. Finally, a human-sized humanoid robot that can run forward at 7.0 [km/h] is presented.

Effect of Polylactide Stereocomplex on the Crystallization Behavior of Poly(l-lactic acid)

Abstract: Effects of the addition of PDLA on the crystallization behavior of PLLA was investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, melt rheology, and polarized optical microscopy. Nonisothermal and isothermal crystallization behavior of PLLA including low (l-PDLA) and high molecular weight PDLA (h-PDLA) were studied. PLLA/PDLA asymmetric blends form stereocomplex (SC) crystal and stay unmelted at 200 °C in the PLLA melt. Nonisothermal crystallization measurement from 200 °C showed monotonous rise in the crystallization temperature for PLLA/h-PDLA blend, while peculiar concentration dependence was observed for PLLA/l-PDLA blends. The acceleration effect was more pronounced in PLLA/h-PDLA, although the crystallinity of SC was lower than PLLA/l-PDLA blends, which implies the importance of higher order structure of SC for the crystallization of PLLA. From isothermal crystallization kinetics measurements, the acceleration effect in PLLA/h- and l-PDLA blends was found to enhan...

Noncontact electric power receiving device, noncontact electric power transmitting device, noncontact electric power feeding system, and electrically powered vehicle

Abstract: A first shielding box is disposed so that its first surface can be opposite to an electric power feeding unit. The first surface has an opening and remaining five surfaces thereof reflect, during reception of electric power from the electric power feeding unit, a resonant electromagnetic field (near field) generated in the surroundings of the electric power receiving unit. The electric power receiving unit is provided in the first shielding box to receive the electric power from the electric power feeding unit via the opening (first surface) of the first shielding box. A second shielding box has a similar configuration, i.e., has a second surface with an opening and remaining five surfaces thereof reflect the resonant electromagnetic field (near field) generated in the surroundings of the electric power feeding unit.

Drive device for vehicle

Abstract: A vehicle driving apparatus is provided which can execute cranking of an internal combustion engine by transmitting a mechanical power from a rotor of a motor to an engine output shaft without executing an engaging/disengaging operation of a clutch. A driving apparatus 10 of a hybrid vehicle 1 includes a first speed change mechanism 30 capable of receiving the mechanical power from an engine output shaft 8 by a first input shaft 27 and transmitting the mechanical power to drive wheels 88, a second speed change mechanism 40 capable of receiving the mechanical power from the engine output shaft 8 and a rotor 52 by a second input shaft 28 engaged with the rotor 52 and transmitting the mechanical power to the drive wheels 88, a first clutch 21 capable of engaging the engine output shaft 8 with the first input shaft 27, and a second clutch 22 capable of engaging the engine output shaft 8 with the second input shaft 28, wherein the second clutch 22 is placed in an engaged state when operation force for executing an engaging/disengaging operation is not applied to the second clutch 22.

Power supply system and method of controlling power supply system

Abstract: A power supply system that includes: a power supply coil and a power supply-side resonance coil that are provided at a facility; a power receiving coil and a power receiving-side resonance coil that are provided for a mobile unit; a power supply-side detection unit that detects a position of the power supply-side resonance coil; a power receiving-side detection unit that detects a position of the power receiving-side resonance coil; and an adjustment unit that adjusts a relative position of the power supply coil with respect to the power supply-side resonance coil and a relative position of the power receiving coil with respect to the power receiving-side resonance coil on the basis of the position of the power supply-side resonance coil and the position of the power receiving-side resonance coil.

Tellurite microstructure fibers with small hexagonal core for supercontinuum generation.

Abstract: Tellurite glass microstructure fibers with a 1 µm hexagonal core were fabricated successfully by accurately controlling the temperature field in the fiber-drawing process The diameter ratio of holey region to core (DRHC) for the fiber can be adjusted freely in the range of 1–20 by pumping a positive pressure into the holes when drawing fiber, which provides much freedom in engineering the chromatic dispersion With the increase of DRHC from 35 to 20, the zero dispersion wavelengths were shifted several hundred nanometers, the cutoff wavelength due to confinement loss was increased from 1600 nm to 3800 nm, and the nonlinear coefficient γ was increased from 39 to 57 W-1/m Efficient visible emissions due to third harmonic generation were found for fibers with a DRHC of 10 and 20 under the 1557 nm pump of a femtosecond fiber laser One octave flattened supercontinuum spectrum was generated from fibers with a DRHC of 35, 10 and 20 by the 1064 nm pump of a picosecond fiber laser To the best of our knowledge, we have for the first time fabricated a hexagonal core fiber by soft glass with such a small core size, and have demonstrated a large influence of the holey region on the dispersion, nonlinear coefficient and supercontinuum generation for such fiber

Vehicle power supply apparatus and vehicle window member

Abstract: The vehicle power supply apparatus 100 has a power transmitting unit 110 including a power transmission side coil 111 for generating an alternating magnetic field, a positioning member 112 for positioning the power transmission side coil 111 in a vehicle 20 , and a power transmission side circuit 114 supplying an electric current to the power transmission side coil 111 ; and a power receiving unit 120 including a power receipt side coil 121 disposed in a rear window member 30 which is a non-magnetic portion of the vehicle 20 and generating an induced current based on an alternating magnetic field generated by the power transmission side coil 111 and a power receipt side circuit 122 supplying, to a power-supplied object, electric power based on the induced current generated by the power receipt side coil 121.

Autonomous driving in a multi-level parking structure

Abstract: Recently, the problem of autonomous navigation of automobiles has gained substantial interest in the robotics community. Especially during the two recent DARPA grand challenges, autonomous cars have been shown to robustly navigate over extended periods of time through complex desert courses or through dynamic urban traffic environments. In these tasks, the robots typically relied on GPS traces to follow pre-defined trajectories so that only local planners were required. In this paper, we present an approach for autonomous navigation of cars in indoor structures such as parking garages. Our approach utilizes multi-level surface maps of the corresponding environments to calculate the path of the vehicle and to localize it based on laser data in the absence of sufficiently accurate GPS information. It furthermore utilizes a local path planner for controlling the vehicle. In a practical experiment carried out with an autonomous car in a real parking garage we demonstrate that our approach allows the car to autonomously park itself in a large-scale multi-level structure.

Design and analysis of a lightweight certificate revocation mechanism for VANET

Abstract: In this paper, we propose a lightweight mechanism for revoking security certificates appropriate for the limited bandwidth and hardware cost constraints of a VANET. A Certificate Authority (CA) issues certificates to trusted nodes, i.e., vehicles. If the CA looses trust in a node (e.g., due to evidence of malfunction or malicious behavior), the CA must promptly revoke the certificates of the distrusted node. To distribute revocation information quickly even during incremental deployment, we propose CAs use Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs). The CRL should be composed in a secure manner, and it should be exchanged in a way such that the CRL is both quickly and widely distributed. Laberteaux et al. proposed a mechanism for the quick distribution of CRL updates that also covers a wide area by using car-to-car (C2C) communication. However, this revocation process, which involves both the CA and VANET nodes, must conform to the aforementioned bandwidth and hardware restrictions. In this paper, we present mechanisms that achieve the goals of reduced CRL size, a computationally efficient mechanism for determining if a certificate is on the CRL, and a lightweight mechanism for exchanging CRL updates. Additionally, we present a formal proof of the security of our mechanism for reducing the size of CRLs.

On Allocating Goods to Maximize Fairness

Abstract: We consider the Max-Min Allocation problem: given a set of m agents and a set of n items, where agent A has utility u(A, i) for item i, our goal is to allocate items to agents so as to maximize fairness. Specifically, the utility of an agent is the sum of its utilities for the items it receives, and we seek to maximize the minimum utility of any agent. While this problem has received much attention recently, its approximability has not been well-understood thus far. The best known approximation algorithm achieves a roughly O(\sqrt m}-approximation, and in contrast, the best known hardness of approximation stands at 2. Our main result is an algorithm that achieves a \tilde{O}(n^{\eps})-approximation in time n^{O(1/\eps)} for any \eps=\Omega(log log n/log n). In particular, we obtain a poly-logarithmic approximation in quasi-polynomial time, and for every constant \eps ≫ 0, we obtain an n^{\eps}-approximation in polynomial time. Our algorithm also yields a quasi-polynomial time m^{\eps}-approximation algorithm for any constant \eps ≫ 0. An interesting technical aspect of our algorithm is that we use as a building block a linear program whose integrality gap is \Omega(\sqrt m). We bypass this obstacle by iteratively using the solutions produced by the LP to construct new instances with significantly smaller integrality gaps, eventually obtaining the desired approximation. We also investigate a special case of the problem, where every item has a non-zero utility for at most two agents. This problem is hard to approximate to within any factor better than 2. We give a factor 2-approximation algorithm.

Multiphysics Topology Optimization of Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Systems

Abstract: This paper is focused on topology optimization of heat transfer and fluid flow systems for multiphysics objectives. Specifically, COMSOL Multiphysics software is coupled with a method of moving asymptotes optimizer in a custom COMSOL / MATLAB script. Various physical process including conduction, convectiondiffusion, and Navier-Stokes flow are considered. To illustrate the method, a standard pure heat conduction problem is first presented in two dimensions followed by an extension of the problem to three dimensions. More complex physics are then examined in the optimization process for a three-terminal heat transfer and fluid flow device. General applications and limitations of the methodology are discussed.

Non-contact power transmission apparatus and method for designing non-contact power transmission apparatus

Abstract: A non-contact power transmission apparatus having a resonance system is disclosed. The resonance system includes a primary coil to which an alternating-current voltage from an alternating-current source is applied, a primary-side resonance coil, a secondary-side resonance coil, and a secondary coil to which a load is connected. The impedance of the primary coil is set such that the output impedance of the alternating-current source and the input impedance of the resonance system are matched to each other.