Mosquito vectors of West Nile virus during an epizootic outbreak in Puerto Rico.

PubMed

Barrera, R; MacKay, A; Amador, M; Vasquez, J; Smith, J; Díaz, A; Acevedo, V; Cabán, B; Hunsperger, E A; Muñoz-Jordán, J L

2010-11-01

The purpose of this investigation was to identify the mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) vectors of West Nile virus (WNV; family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus) during an epizootic WNV outbreak in eastern Puerto Rico in 2007. In June 2006, 12 sentinel chicken pens with five chickens per pen were deployed in six types of habitats: herbaceous wetlands, mangrove forests, deciduous forests, evergreen forests, rural areas, and urban areas. Once WNV seroconversion in chickens was detected in June 2007, we began trapping mosquitoes using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) miniature (light/CO2-baited) traps, CMT-20 collapsible mosquito (CO2- and ISCA SkinLure-baited) traps, and CDC gravid (hay infusion-baited) traps. We placed the CDC miniature traps both 2-4 m and >30 m from the chicken pens, the collapsible traps 2-4 m from the pens, and the gravid traps in backyards of houses with sentinel chicken pens and in a wetland adjacent to an urban area. We found numerous blood-engorged mosquitoes in the traps nearest to the sentinel chickens and reasoned that any such mosquitoes with a disseminated WNV infection likely served as vectors for the transmission of WNV to the sentinels. We used reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and isolation (C636) on pools of heads, thoraxes/ abdomens, and legs of collected blood-engorged mosquitoes to determine whether the mosquitoes carried WNV. We detected WNV-disseminated infections in and obtained WNV isolates from Culex nigripalpus Theo (minimum infection rate [MIR] 1.1-9.7/1,000), Culex bahamensis Dyar and Knab (MIR 1.8-6.0/1,000), and Aedes taeniorhynchus (Wied.) (MIR 0.34-0.36/1,000). WNV was also identified in and isolated from the pool of thoraxes and abdomens of Culex quinquefasciatus Say (4.17/1,000) and identified in one pool of thoraxes and abdomens of Culex habilitator Dyar and Knab (13.39/1,000). Accumulated evidence since 2002 suggests that WNV has not become endemic in Puerto Rico.

Two-species mixing in a nested Penning trap for antihydrogen trapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ordonez, C. A.; Weathers, D. L.

2008-08-01

There exists an international quest to trap neutral antimatter in the form of antihydrogen for scientific study. One method that is being developed for trapping antihydrogen employs a nested Penning trap. Such a trap serves to mix positrons and antiprotons so as to produce low energy antihydrogen atoms. Mixing is achieved when the confinement volumes of the two species overlap one another. In the work presented here, a theoretical understanding of the mixing process is developed by analyzing a mixing scheme that was recently reported [G. Gabrielse et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 113001 (2008)]. The results indicate that positron space charge or collisions among antiprotons may substantially reduce the fraction of antiprotons that have an energy suitable for antihydrogen trapping.

Technical developments for an upgrade of the LEBIT Penning trap mass spectrometry facility for rare isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redshaw, M.; Barquest, B. R.; Bollen, G.; Bustabad, S. E.; Campbell, C. M.; Ferrer, R.; Gehring, A.; Kwiatkowski, A. A.; Lincoln, D. L.; Morrissey, D. J.; Pang, G. K.; Ringle, R.; Schwarz, S.

2011-07-01

The LEBIT (Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap) facility is the only Penning trap mass spectrometry (PTMS) facility to utilize rare isotopes produced via fast-beam fragmentation. This technique allows access to practically all elements lighter than uranium, and in particular enables the production of isotopes that are not available or that are difficult to obtain at isotope separation on-line facilities. The preparation of the high-energy rare-isotope beam produced by projectile fragmentation for low-energy PTMS experiments is achieved by gas stopping to slow down and thermalize the fast-beam ions, along with an rf quadrupole cooler and buncher and rf quadrupole ion guides to deliver the beam to the Penning trap. During its first phase of operation LEBIT has been very successful, and new developments are now underway to access rare isotopes even farther from stability, which requires dealing with extremely short lifetimes and low production rates. These developments aim at increasing delivery efficiency, minimizing delivery and measurement time, and maximizing use of available beam time. They include an upgrade to the gas-stopping station, active magnetic field monitoring and stabilization by employing a miniature Penning trap as a magnetometer, the use of stored waveform inverse Fourier transform (SWIFT) to most effectively remove unwanted ions, and charge breeding.

A Non-Neutral Plasma Device: Electron Beam Penning Trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Ge; Liu, Wan-dong; Zheng, Jian; Fu, Cheng-jiang; Bai, Bo; Chi, Ji; Zhao, Kai; Xie, Jin-lin; Liang, Xiao-ping; Yu, Chang-xuan

1999-12-01

An electron beam Penning trap (EBPT) non- neutral plasma system, built to investigate the formation of a dense electron core with the density beyond Brillouin limit and possible application to fusion research, has been described. The density in the center of the EBPT has been verified to be up to 10 times of Brillouin density limit.

Shaping of nested potentials for electron cooling of highly-charged ions in a cooler Penning trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, Stefan; Kootte, Brian; Lascar, Daniel; Gwinner, Gerald; Dilling, Jens; Titan Collaboration

2016-09-01

TRIUMF's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science (TITAN) is dedicated to mass spectrometry and decay spectroscopy of short-lived radioactive nuclides in a series of ion traps including a precision Penning trap. In order to boost the achievable precision of mass measurements TITAN deploys an Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT) providing Highly-Charged Ions (HCI). However, the charge breeding process in the EBIT leads to an increase in the ion bunch's energy spread which is detrimental to the overall precision gain. To reduce this effect a new cylindrical Cooler PEnning Trap (CPET) is being commissioned to sympathetically cool the HCI via a simultaneously trapped electron plasma. Simultaneous trapping of ions and electrons requires a high level of control over the nested potential landscape and sophisticated switching schemes for the voltages on CPET's multiple ring electrodes. For this purpose, we are currently setting up a new experimental control system for multi-channel voltage switching. The control system employs a Raspberry Pi communicating with a digital-to-analog board via a serial peripheral interface. We report on the implementation of the voltage control system and its performance with respect to electron and ion manipulation in CPET. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Zero-point angular momentum of supersymmetric Penning trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jian-zu; Xu, Qiang

2000-10-01

The quantum behavior of supersymmetric Penning trap, specially the superpartner of its angular momentum, is investigated in the formulation of multi-dimensional semiunitary transformation of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. In the limit case of vanishing kinetic energy it is found that its lowest angular momentum is 3ℏ/2, which provides a possibility of directly checking the idea of supersymmetric quantum mechanics and thus suggests a possible experimental verification about this prediction.

First β-ν correlation measurement from the recoil-energy spectrum of Penning trapped Ar35 ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Gorp, S.; Breitenfeldt, M.; Tandecki, M.; Beck, M.; Finlay, P.; Friedag, P.; Glück, F.; Herlert, A.; Kozlov, V.; Porobic, T.; Soti, G.; Traykov, E.; Wauters, F.; Weinheimer, Ch.; Zákoucký, D.; Severijns, N.

2014-08-01

We demonstrate a novel method to search for physics beyond the standard model by determining the β-ν angular correlation from the recoil-ion energy distribution after β decay of ions stored in a Penning trap. This recoil-ion energy distribution is measured with a retardation spectrometer. The unique combination of the spectrometer with a Penning trap provides a number of advantages, e.g., a high recoil-ion count rate and low sensitivity to the initial position and velocity distribution of the ions and completely different sources of systematic errors compared to other state-of-the-art experiments. Results of a first measurement with the isotope Ar35 are presented. Although currently at limited precision, we show that a statistical precision of about 0.5% is achievable with this unique method, thereby opening up the possibility of contributing to state-of-the-art searches for exotic currents in weak interactions.

Radio-Frequency Plasma Cleaning of a Penning Malmberg Trap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sims, William Herbert, III; Martin, James; Pearson, J. Boise; Lewis, Raymond

2005-01-01

Radio-frequency-generated plasma has been demonstrated to be a promising means of cleaning the interior surfaces of a Penning-Malmberg trap that is used in experiments on the confinement of antimatter. {Such a trap was reported in Modified Penning-Malmberg Trap for Storing Antiprotons (MFS-31780), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 29, No. 3 (March 2005), page 66.} Cleaning of the interior surfaces is necessary to minimize numbers of contaminant atoms and molecules, which reduce confinement times by engaging in matter/antimatter-annihilation reactions with confined antimatter particles. A modified Penning-Malmberg trap like the one described in the cited prior article includes several collinear ring electrodes (some of which are segmented) inside a tubular vacuum chamber, as illustrated in Figure 1. During operation of the trap, a small cloud of charged antiparticles (e.g., antiprotons or positrons) is confined to a spheroidal central region by means of a magnetic field in combination with DC and radiofrequency (RF) electric fields applied via the electrodes. In the present developmental method of cleaning by use of RF-generated plasma, one evacuates the vacuum chamber, backfills the chamber with hydrogen at a suitable low pressure, and uses an RF-signal generator and baluns to apply RF voltages to the ring electrodes. Each ring is excited in the polarity opposite that of the adjacent ring. The electric field generated by the RF signal creates a discharge in the low-pressure gas. The RF power and gas pressure are adjusted so that the plasma generated in the discharge (see Figure 2) physically and chemically attacks any solid, liquid, and gaseous contaminant layers on the electrode surfaces. The products of the physical and chemical cleaning reactions are gaseous and are removed by the vacuum pumps.

Cyclotron Resonance of Electrons Trapped in a Microwave Cavity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elmore, W. C.

1975-01-01

Describes an experiment in which the free-electron cyclotron resonance of electrons trapped in a microwave cavity by a Penning trap is observed. The experiment constitutes an attractive alternative to one of the Gardner-Purcell variety. (Author/GS)

Ion traps for precision experiments at rare-isotope-beam facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwiatkowski, Anna

2016-09-01

Ion traps first entered experimental nuclear physics when the ISOLTRAP team demonstrated Penning trap mass spectrometry of radionuclides. From then on, the demand for ion traps has grown at radioactive-ion-beam (RIB) facilities since beams can be tailored for the desired experiment. Ion traps have been deployed for beam preparation, from bunching (thereby allowing time coincidences) to beam purification. Isomerically pure beams needed for nuclear-structure investigations can be prepared for trap-assisted or in-trap decay spectroscopy. The latter permits studies of highly charged ions for stellar evolution, which would be impossible with traditional experimental nuclear-physics methods. Moreover, the textbook-like conditions and advanced ion manipulation - even of a single ion - permit high-precision experiments. Consequently, the most accurate and precise mass measurements are now performed in Penning traps. After a brief introduction to ion trapping, I will focus on examples which showcase the versatility and utility of the technique at RIB facilities. I will demonstrate how this atomic-physics technique has been integrated into nuclear science, accelerator physics, and chemistry. DOE.

A 2D Array of 100's of Ions for Quantum Simulation and Many-Body Physics in a Penning Trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bohnet, Justin; Sawyer, Brian; Britton, Joseph; Bollinger, John

2015-05-01

Quantum simulations promise to reveal new materials and phenomena for experimental study, but few systems have demonstrated the capability to control ensembles in which quantum effects cannot be directly computed. One possible platform for intractable quantum simulations may be a system of 100's of 9Be+ ions in a Penning trap, where the valence electron spins are coupled with an effective Ising interaction in a 2D geometry. Here we report on results from a new Penning trap designed for 2D quantum simulations. We characterize the ion crystal stability and describe progress towards bench-marking quantum effects of the spin-spin coupling using a spin-squeezing witness. We also report on the successful photodissociation of BeH+ contaminant molecular ions that impede the use of such crystals for quantum simulation. This work lays the foundation for future experiments such as the observation of spin dynamics under the quantum Ising Hamiltonian with a transverse field. Supported by a NIST-NRC Research Associateship.

Penning trap mass measurement of 72Br

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valverde, A. A.; Bollen, G.; Cooper, K.; Eibach, M.; Gulyuz, K.; Izzo, C.; Morrissey, D. J.; Ringle, R.; Sandler, R.; Schwarz, S.; Sumithrarachchi, C. S.; Villari, A. C. C.

2015-03-01

The Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) Penning trap mass spectrometer was used to perform an improved-precision mass measurement of 72Br and the low-lying isomeric state, Brm72, giving mass excesses of -59 062.2 (1.0 )keV and -58 960.9 (1.2 )keV , respectively. These values are consistent with the values from the 2012 atomic mass evaluation [Chin. Phys. C 36, 1603 (2012), 10.1088/1674-1137/36/12/003] and the Nubase2012 evaluation of nuclear properties [Chin. Phys. C 36, 1157 (2012), 10.1088/1674-1137/36/12/001]. The uncertainties on the mass of the ground state and isomeric state have been reduced by a factor of seven.

Engineered long-range interactions on a 2D array of trapped ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Britton, Joseph W.; Sawyer, Brian C.; Bollinger, John J.; Freericks, James K.

2014-03-01

Ising interactions are one paradigm used to model quantum magnetism in condensed matter systems. At NIST Boulder we confine and Doppler laser cool hundreds of 9Be+ ions in a Penning trap. The valence electron of each ion behaves as an ideal spin-1/2 particle and, in the limit of weak radial confinement relative to axial confinement, the ions naturally form a two-dimensional triangular lattice. A variable-range anti-ferromagnetic Ising interaction is engineered with a spin-dependent optical dipole force (ODF) through spin-dependent excitation of collective modes of ion motion. We have also exploited this spin-dependent force to perform spectroscopy and thermometry of the normal modes of the trapped ion crystal. The high spin-count and long-range spin-spin couplings achievable in the NIST Penning trap brings within reach simulation of computationally intractable problems in quantum magnetism. Examples include modeling quantum magnetic phase transitions and propagation of spin correlations resulting from a quantum quench. The Penning system may also be amenable to observation of spin-liquid behavior thought to arise in systems where the underlying lattice structure can frustrate long-range ordering. Supported by DARPA OLE and NIST.

Infection and mortality in captive wild-trapped canvasback ducks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kocan, R.M.; Perry, M.C.

1976-01-01

Fungal, bacterial and malarial infections, as well as malnutrition caused heavy mortality in a group of wild-trapped canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria) held in 10 x 3 x 2 m open-water pens. Deaths occurred between 21 and 158 days after confinement and were associated with infections of Aspergillus fumigatus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus sp., Streptococcus sp., KlebsielIa sp., Enterobacter sp., and Plasmodium sp. Infection and mortality was believed to result from reduced resistance associated with confinement. Fourteen canvasbacks released onto large ponds survived throughout the period during which the penned birds died.

Demonstration of Thermodynamics and Kinetics Using FriXion Erasable Pens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Dean J.; Bosma, Wayne B.; Bannon, Stephen J.; Gunter, Molly M.; Hammar, Margaret K.

2012-01-01

FriXion erasable pens contain thermochromic inks that have colored low-temperature forms and colorless high-temperature forms. Liquid nitrogen can be used to kinetically trap the high-temperature forms of the ink at temperatures at which ordinarily the low-temperature forms are more thermodynamically stable. (Contains 2 figures.)

Precision Penning Trap Mass Spectrometry of S, Kr and Xe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redshaw, Matthew

2005-04-01

Using a phase coherent technique to measure the cyclotron frequency of single ions in a Penning trap [1], we have performed mass measurements on ^32S and the two most abundant krypton and xenon isotopes ^84Kr, ^86Kr, ^ 129Xe and ^132Xe, to relative precisions of 0.1 ppb. This is a factor of ˜10-100 improvement in precision over current values [2]. [1] M.P. Bradley, J.V. Porto, S. Rainville, J.K. Thompson, and D.E. Pritchard, PRL 83, 4510 (1999). [2] G. Audi, A.H. Wapstra, and C. Thibault, Nucl Phys A729, 337 (2003).

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ribezzi-Crivellari, M.; Huguet, J. M.; Ritort, F.

We present a dual-trap optical tweezers setup which directly measures forces using linear momentum conservation. The setup uses a counter-propagating geometry, which allows momentum measurement on each beam separately. The experimental advantages of this setup include low drift due to all-optical manipulation, and a robust calibration (independent of the features of the trapped object or buffer medium) due to the force measurement method. Although this design does not attain the high-resolution of some co-propagating setups, we show that it can be used to perform different single molecule measurements: fluctuation-based molecular stiffness characterization at different forces and hopping experiments on molecularmore » hairpins. Remarkably, in our setup it is possible to manipulate very short tethers (such as molecular hairpins with short handles) down to the limit where beads are almost in contact. The setup is used to illustrate a novel method for measuring the stiffness of optical traps and tethers on the basis of equilibrium force fluctuations, i.e., without the need of measuring the force vs molecular extension curve. This method is of general interest for dual trap optical tweezers setups and can be extended to setups which do not directly measure forces.« less

Status of the NIST Penning-Trap Neutron Lifetime Measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snow, W. M.; Fei, X.; Chowdhuri, Z.; Dewey, M. S.; Gilliam, D.; Nico, J. S.; Greene, G. L.

1998-10-01

The decay rate of the free neutron is important input for Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis calculations of the primordial ^4He abundance in the universe(T. P. Walker et al, Astrophys. J. 376, 51 (1991).) and for tests of the electroweak model in the charged-current sector(I. S. Towner, Nucl. Phys. A540, 478 (1992).). We will describe an experiment in progress at NIST to measure the neutron decay rate. The technique uses a Penning trap to trap and count protons from in-beam neutron decay(J. Byrne et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 65, 289 (1990).) and an absolutely calibrated beam monitor to measure the neutron density in the beam(R. D. Scott et al., Nucl. Inst. Meth. A362, 151 (1995).). We will present data taken in the spring and summer of 1998.

Direct high-precision measurement of the magnetic moment of the proton.

PubMed

Mooser, A; Ulmer, S; Blaum, K; Franke, K; Kracke, H; Leiteritz, C; Quint, W; Rodegheri, C C; Smorra, C; Walz, J

2014-05-29

One of the fundamental properties of the proton is its magnetic moment, µp. So far µp has been measured only indirectly, by analysing the spectrum of an atomic hydrogen maser in a magnetic field. Here we report the direct high-precision measurement of the magnetic moment of a single proton using the double Penning-trap technique. We drive proton-spin quantum jumps by a magnetic radio-frequency field in a Penning trap with a homogeneous magnetic field. The induced spin transitions are detected in a second trap with a strong superimposed magnetic inhomogeneity. This enables the measurement of the spin-flip probability as a function of the drive frequency. In each measurement the proton's cyclotron frequency is used to determine the magnetic field of the trap. From the normalized resonance curve, we extract the particle's magnetic moment in terms of the nuclear magneton: μp = 2.792847350(9)μN. This measurement outperforms previous Penning-trap measurements in terms of precision by a factor of about 760. It improves the precision of the forty-year-old indirect measurement, in which significant theoretical bound state corrections were required to obtain µp, by a factor of 3. By application of this method to the antiproton magnetic moment, the fractional precision of the recently reported value can be improved by a factor of at least 1,000. Combined with the present result, this will provide a stringent test of matter/antimatter symmetry with baryons.

Precision Penning Trap Mass Spectrometry of ^32S, ^84,86Kr and ^129,132Xe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redshaw, Matthew

2005-05-01

Using a phase coherent technique to measure the cyclotron frequency of single ions in a Penning trap [1], we have performed mass measurements on ^32S and the two most abundant krypton and xenon isotopes ^84Kr, ^86Kr, ^ 129Xe and ^132Xe, to relative precisions of 0.1 ppb. This is a factor of ˜10-100 improvement in precision over current values [2]. [1] M.P. Bradley, J.V. Porto, S. Rainville, J.K. Thompson, and D.E. Pritchard, PRL 83, 4510 (1999). [2] G. Audi, A.H. Wapstra, and C. Thibault, Nucl Phys A729, 337 (2003).

Quantum simulation of the integer factorization problem: Bell states in a Penning trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosales, Jose Luis; Martin, Vicente

2018-03-01

The arithmetic problem of factoring an integer N can be translated into the physics of a quantum device, a result that supports Pólya's and Hilbert's conjecture to demonstrate Riemann's hypothesis. The energies of this system, being univocally related to the factors of N , are the eigenvalues of a bounded Hamiltonian. Here we solve the quantum conditions and show that the histogram of the discrete energies, provided by the spectrum of the system, should be interpreted in number theory as the relative probability for a prime to be a factor candidate of N . This is equivalent to a quantum sieve that is shown to require only o (ln√{N}) 3 energy measurements to solve the problem, recovering Shor's complexity result. Hence the outcome can be seen as a probability map that a pair of primes solve the given factorization problem. Furthermore, we show that a possible embodiment of this quantum simulator corresponds to two entangled particles in a Penning trap. The possibility to build the simulator experimentally is studied in detail. The results show that factoring numbers, many orders of magnitude larger than those computed with experimentally available quantum computers, is achievable using typical parameters in Penning traps.

Search for a Scalar Component in the Weak Interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakoucky, Dalibor; Baczyk, Pavel; Ban, Gilles; Beck, Marcus; Breitenfeldt, Martin; Couratin, Claire; Fabian, Xavier; Finlay, Paul; Flechard, Xavier; Friedag, Peter; Glück, Ferenc; Herlert, Alexander; Knecht, Andreas; Kozlov, Valentin; Lienard, Etienne; Porobic, Tomica; Soti, Gergelj; Tandecki, Michael; Vangorp, Simon; Weinheimer, Christian; Wursten, Elise; Severijns, Nathal

Weak interactions are described by the Standard Model which uses the basic assumption of a pure "V(ector)-A(xial vector)" character for the interaction. However, after more than half a century of model development and experimental testing of its fundamental ingredients, experimental limits for possible admixtures of scalar and/or tensor interactions are still as high as 7%. The WITCH project (Weak Interaction Trap for CHarged particles) at the isotope separator ISOLDE at CERN is trying to probe the structure of the weak interaction in specific low energy β-decays in order to look for possible scalar or tensor components or at least significantly improve the current experimental limits. This worldwide unique experimental setup consisting of a combination of two Penning ion traps and a retardation spectrometer allows to catch, trap and cool the radioactive nuclei provided by the ISOLDE separator, form a cooled and scattering-free radioactive source of β-decaying nuclei and let these nuclei decay at rest. The precise measurement of the shape of the energy spectrum of the recoiling nuclei, the shape of which is very sensitive to the character of the weak interaction, enables searching for a possible admixture of a scalar/tensor component in the dominant vector/axial vector mode. First online measurements with the isotope 35Ar were performed in 2011 and 2012. The current status of the experiment, the data analysis and results as well as extensive simulations will be presented and discussed.

Formation of Low-Energy Antihydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holzscheiter, Michael H.

1999-02-01

Antihydrogen atoms, produced near rest, trapped in a magnetic well, and cooled to the lowest possible temperature (kinetic energy) could provide an extremely powerful tool for the search of violations of CPT and Lorentz invarianz. We describe our plans to trap antiprotons and positrons in a combined Penning trap and to form a significant number of cold antihydrogen atoms for comparative precision spectroscopy of hydrogen and antihydrogen.

Vibrational modes of thin oblate clouds of charge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, Thomas G.; Spencer, Ross L.

2002-07-01

A numerical method is presented for finding the eigenfunctions (normal modes) and mode frequencies of azimuthally symmetric non-neutral plasmas confined in a Penning trap whose axial thickness is much smaller than their radial size. The plasma may be approximated as a charged disk in this limit; the normal modes and frequencies can be found if the surface charge density profile σ(r) of the disk and the trap bounce frequency profile ωz(r) are known. The dependence of the eigenfunctions and equilibrium plasma shapes on nonideal components of the confining Penning trap fields is discussed. The results of the calculation are compared with the experimental data of Weimer et al. [Phys. Rev. A 49, 3842 (1994)] and it is shown that the plasma in this experiment was probably hollow and had mode displacement functions that were concentrated near the center of the plasma.

An ultra-stable voltage source for precision Penning-trap experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Böhm, Ch.; Sturm, S.; Rischka, A.; Dörr, A.; Eliseev, S.; Goncharov, M.; Höcker, M.; Ketter, J.; Köhler, F.; Marschall, D.; Martin, J.; Obieglo, D.; Repp, J.; Roux, C.; Schüssler, R. X.; Steigleder, M.; Streubel, S.; Wagner, Th.; Westermann, J.; Wieder, V.; Zirpel, R.; Melcher, J.; Blaum, K.

2016-08-01

An ultra-stable and low-noise 25-channel voltage source providing 0 to -100 V has been developed. It will supply stable bias potentials for Penning-trap electrodes used in high-precision experiments. The voltage source generates all its supply voltages via a specially designed transformer. Each channel can be operated either in a precision mode or can be dynamically ramped. A reference module provides reference voltages for all the channels, each of which includes a low-noise amplifier to gain a factor of 10 in the output stage. A relative voltage stability of δV / V ≈ 2 ×10-8 has been demonstrated at -89 V within about 10 min.

Penning trap mass measurement of 56Cu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valverde, A. A.; Brodeur, M.; Bollen, G.; Eibach, M.; Gulyuz, K.; Hamacker, A.; Izzo, C.; Ong, W.-J.; Puentes, D.; Redshaw, M.; Ringle, R.; Sandler, R.; Schwarz, S.; Sumithrarachchi, C. S.; Surbrook, J.; Villari, A. C. C.; Yandow, I. T.

2017-09-01

The doubly-magic nucleus 56Ni is one of the most important waiting point nuclei in the rp-process. While we now know that it is not the endpoint of the rp-process, which continues to the Sn-Sb-Te cycle, the flow around this nucleus is still not well understood. A pathway bypassing 56Ni through the 55Ni(p, γ)56Cu reaction exists, but the rate depends on the Q value of this reaction, which has not been experimentally determined. Mass measurements were undertaken using the LEBIT 9.4T Penning trap mass spectrometer at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory to rectify this situation. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation.

Penning Trap Experiments with the Most Exotic Nuclei on Earth: Precision Mass Measurements of Halo Nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brodeur, M.; Brunner, T.; Ettenauer, S.; Lapierre, A.; Ringle, R.; Delheij, P.; Dilling, J.

2009-05-01

Exotic nuclei are characterized with an extremely unbalanced protons-neutrons ratio (p/n) where for instance, the halo isotopes of He and Li have up to 3X more n than p (compared to p/n = 1 in ^12C). The properties of these exotic halo nuclei have long been recognized as the most stringent tests of our understanding of the strong force. ^11Li belongs to a special category of halos called Borromean, bound as a three-body family, while the two-body siblings, ^10Li and 2 n, are unbound as separate entities. Last year, a first mass measurement of the radioisotope ^11Li using a Penning trap spectrometer was carried out at the TITAN (Triumf's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science) facility at TRIUMF-ISAC. Penning traps are proven to be the most precise device to make mass measurements, yet until now they were unable to reach these nuclei. At TRIUMF we managed to measure the mass of ^11Li to an unprecedented precision of dm/m = 60 ppb, which is remarkable since it has a half-life of only 8.8 ms which it the shortest-lived nuclide to be measured with this technique. Furthermore, new and improved masses for the 2 and 4 n halo ^6,8He, as well has the 1 n halo ^11Be have been performed. An overview of the TITAN mass measurement program and its impact in understanding the most exotic nuclei will be given.

Small mammal populations in a restored stream corridor

Treesearch

Lynn D. Wike; F. Douglas Martin; Hugh G. Hanlin; Linda S. Paddock

2000-01-01

An opportunity to study the response of a small mammal community to restoration of a riparian wetland was provided by the Pen branch project at the Savannah river site (SRS). Live trapping of small mammals was conducted on six transects at Pen branch in 1996 and 1998 and at three transects at Meyers branch, an unimpacted stream at SRS, in 1997 and 1998. Distributions...

The range of attraction for light traps catching Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Culicoides are vectors of e.g. bluetongue virus and Schmallenberg virus in northern Europe. Light trapping is an important tool for detecting the presence and quantifying the abundance of vectors in the field. Until now, few studies have investigated the range of attraction of light traps. Methods Here we test a previously described mathematical model (Model I) and two novel models for the attraction of vectors to light traps (Model II and III). In Model I, Culicoides fly to the nearest trap from within a fixed range of attraction. In Model II Culicoides fly towards areas with greater light intensity, and in Model III Culicoides evaluate light sources in the field of view and fly towards the strongest. Model II and III incorporated the directionally dependent light field created around light traps with fluorescent light tubes. All three models were fitted to light trap collections obtained from two novel experimental setups in the field where traps were placed in different configurations. Results Results showed that overlapping ranges of attraction of neighboring traps extended the shared range of attraction. Model I did not fit data from any of the experimental setups. Model II could only fit data from one of the setups, while Model III fitted data from both experimental setups. Conclusions The model with the best fit, Model III, indicates that Culicoides continuously evaluate the light source direction and intensity. The maximum range of attraction of a single 4W CDC light trap was estimated to be approximately 15.25 meters. The attraction towards light traps is different from the attraction to host animals and thus light trap catches may not represent the vector species and numbers attracted to hosts. PMID:23497628

The range of attraction for light traps catching Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).

PubMed

Kirkeby, Carsten; Græsbøll, Kaare; Stockmarr, Anders; Christiansen, Lasse E; Bødker, René

2013-03-15

Culicoides are vectors of e.g. bluetongue virus and Schmallenberg virus in northern Europe. Light trapping is an important tool for detecting the presence and quantifying the abundance of vectors in the field. Until now, few studies have investigated the range of attraction of light traps. Here we test a previously described mathematical model (Model I) and two novel models for the attraction of vectors to light traps (Model II and III). In Model I, Culicoides fly to the nearest trap from within a fixed range of attraction. In Model II Culicoides fly towards areas with greater light intensity, and in Model III Culicoides evaluate light sources in the field of view and fly towards the strongest. Model II and III incorporated the directionally dependent light field created around light traps with fluorescent light tubes. All three models were fitted to light trap collections obtained from two novel experimental setups in the field where traps were placed in different configurations. Results showed that overlapping ranges of attraction of neighboring traps extended the shared range of attraction. Model I did not fit data from any of the experimental setups. Model II could only fit data from one of the setups, while Model III fitted data from both experimental setups. The model with the best fit, Model III, indicates that Culicoides continuously evaluate the light source direction and intensity. The maximum range of attraction of a single 4W CDC light trap was estimated to be approximately 15.25 meters. The attraction towards light traps is different from the attraction to host animals and thus light trap catches may not represent the vector species and numbers attracted to hosts.

RF-Trapped Chip Scale Helium Ion Pump (RFT-CHIP)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-06

14. ABSTRACT A miniaturized (~1 cc) magnet -less RF electron trap for a helium ion pump is studied, addressing challenges associated with active...pump, ion pump, electron trap, magnet -less, MEMS, radiofrequency 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 19a...scale ion pumps. The Penning cell structure consists of three electrodes (an anode and two cathodes) and a magnet . Planar titanium cathodes are

Antiproton Studies in Penning Traps

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-12-31

14. SUBjeCT TERMSOS NUMBER_,Of PAGES antimatter , antiproton, trapping IL________COCK_ I?.SE -’IY- CLASSiFCAM*O fl. SECURITY CLSSIFICATIO it. SECURIT...incernational Conference on Low Energy Antimatter , Karlsruhe, GOrmlay (invited lecture) R’ NOV e 󈨝 10:59 U OF W GCS JM-Z4 PAGE.094 .... --. 89 WED er7:56 I

Sideband cooling of small ion Coulomb crystals in a Penning trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stutter, G.; Hrmo, P.; Jarlaud, V.; Joshi, M. K.; Goodwin, J. F.; Thompson, R. C.

2018-03-01

We have recently demonstrated the laser cooling of a single ? ion to the motional ground state in a Penning trap using the resolved-sideband cooling technique on the electric quadrupole transition S? D?. Here we report on the extension of this technique to small ion Coulomb crystals made of two or three ? ions. Efficient cooling of the axial motion is achieved outside the Lamb-Dicke regime on a two-ion string along the magnetic field axis as well as on two- and three-ion planar crystals. Complex sideband cooling sequences are required in order to cool both axial degrees of freedom simultaneously. We measure a mean excitation after cooling of ? for the centre of mass (COM) mode and ? for the breathing mode of the two-ion string with corresponding heating rates of 11(2) ? and ? at a trap frequency of 162 kHz. The occupation of the ground state of the axial modes (?) is above 75% for the two-ion planar crystal and the associated heating rates 0.8(5) ? at a trap frequency of 355 kHz.

Evaluation of the Dual-Chamber Pen Design for the Injection of Exenatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

PubMed Central

LaRue, Susan; Malloy, Jaret

2015-01-01

Background: Exenatide once weekly, an injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, has been shown to reduce A1C, fasting glucose, and body weight in patients with type 2 diabetes. Exenatide 2.0 mg is dispersed in poly-(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) polymer microspheres, which require resuspension in aqueous diluent before subcutaneous injection. A single-use, dual-chamber pen was developed to improve the convenience of exenatide once weekly delivery and tested following Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance. Methods: Design development goals were established, and validation tests (dose accuracy, torque/force requirements, usability, and ease-of-use) were performed. Dose accuracy was tested under a variety of conditions. After 10 exploratory studies in 329 patients, the final design’s usability and ease-of-use were tested in untrained health care practitioners (HCPs; n = 16) and untrained/trained patients (n = 30/17). Usability testing evaluated completion of multiple setup, dose preparation, and injection steps. Ease-of-use impression was assessed using a scale of 1−7 (1 = very difficult, 7 = very easy). Results: The dual-chamber pen successfully met development goals and delivered target volume (650 µL ± 10%) under tested conditions (mean 644.7–649.3 µL), with torque and force requirements below prespecified maximum values. In the final user study, most participants (≥87%) correctly completed pen setup, dose preparation, and injection steps. Mean ease-of-use scores were 5.8, 6.3, and 6.5 out of 7 in untrained HCPs, untrained patients, and trained patients, respectively. Conclusion: With self-education or minimal training, participants accurately and precisely suspended, mixed, and delivered exenatide-containing microspheres using the dual-chamber pen with high ease-of-use scores. The dual-chamber pen was FDA-approved in February 2014. PMID:25759181

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mount, Brianna J.; Redshaw, Matthew; Myers, Edmund G.

By fitting the Dunham-Watson model to extensive rotational and vibrational spectroscopic data of isotopic variants of CO, and by using existing precise masses of {sup 13}C,{sup 16}O, and {sup 18}O from Penning-trap mass spectrometry, we determine the atomic mass of {sup 17}O to be M[{sup 17}O]=16.999 131 644(30) u, where the uncertainty is purely statistical. Using Penning-trap mass spectrometry, we have also directly determined the atomic mass of {sup 17}O with the more precise result M[{sup 17}O]=16.999 131 756 6(9) u. The Dunham-Watson model applied to the molecular spectroscopic data hence predicts the mass of {sup 17}O to better thanmore » 1 part in 10{sup 8}.« less

Collisions between ultracold metastable He atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woestenenk, G.; Mastwijk, H. C.; Thomsen, J. W.; vna der Straten, P.; Pieksma, M.; van Rijnbach, M.; Niehaus, A.

1999-06-01

We present experimental data on collisions between excited He-atoms occurring in a magneto-optical trap (MOT) at a temperature of 1.1 mK. He(2 3S)-atoms produced in a discharge are pre-cooled and trapped using the He(2 3S)-He(2 3P 2) transition for laser manipulation. Measurements of the Penning ionization rate as a function of the MOT-laser frequency are presented and theoretically analyzed. The analysis, based on a model which is presented in detail for the first time, leads to a good understanding of the complex nature of optical collisions. Further, first and preliminary measurements of the kinetic energy distributions of He 2+- and He +-ions formed by Penning ionization in optical collisions are presented.

Experiments Towards Mitigation of Motional Heating in Trapped Ion Quantum Information Processing

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-27

in our surface electrode trap chips. The distance-dependence measurement was taken by Deslauri- ers et al . using a 3D needle trap [9]. These results...heating rate fit for this data is shown in Figure 6-5. 68 Delay time (ms) A ve ra ge M o ti o n al O cc u p at io n al L ev el ( ) <n...Wineland. Cooling in traps. Physica Scripta, 22:216–223, 1988 . [18] W. Itano and D. Wineland. Laser cooling of ions stored in harmonic and penning traps

Precision mass measurements of neutron-rich Co isotopes beyond N =40

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Izzo, C.; Bollen, G.; Brodeur, M.; Eibach, M.; Gulyuz, K.; Holt, J. D.; Kelly, J. M.; Redshaw, M.; Ringle, R.; Sandler, R.; Schwarz, S.; Stroberg, S. R.; Sumithrarachchi, C. S.; Valverde, A. A.; Villari, A. C. C.

2018-01-01

The region near Z =28 and N =40 is a subject of great interest for nuclear structure studies due to spectroscopic signatures in 68Ni suggesting a subshell closure at N =40 . Trends in nuclear masses and their derivatives provide a complementary approach to shell structure investigations via separation energies. Penning trap mass spectrometry has provided precise measurements for a number of nuclei in this region; however, a complete picture of the mass surfaces has so far been limited by the large uncertainty remaining for nuclei with N >40 along the iron (Z =26 ) and cobalt (Z =27 ) chains because these species are not available from traditional isotope separator online rare isotope facilities. The Low-Energy Beam and Ion Trap Facility at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory is the first and only Penning trap mass spectrometer coupled to a fragmentation facility and therefore presents the unique opportunity to perform precise mass measurements of these elusive isotopes. Here we present the first Penning trap measurements of Co,6968, carried out at this facility. Some ambiguity remains as to whether the measured values are ground-state or isomeric-state masses. A detailed discussion is presented to evaluate this question and to motivate future work. In addition, we perform ab initio calculations of ground-state and two-neutron separation energies of cobalt isotopes with the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group approach based on a particular set of two- and three-nucleon forces that predict saturation in infinite matter. We discuss the importance of these measurements and calculations for understanding the evolution of nuclear structure near 68Ni.

Precise Penning trap measurements of double β-decay Q-values

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redshaw, M.; Brodeur, M.; Bollen, G.; Bustabad, S.; Eibach, M.; Gulyuz, K.; Izzo, C.; Lincoln, D. L.; Novario, S. J.; Ringle, R.; Sandler, R.; Schwarz, S.; Valverde, A. A.

2015-10-01

The double β-decay (ββ -decay) Q-value, defined as the mass difference between parent and daughter atoms, is an important parameter for both two-neutrino ββ -decay (2 νββ) and neutrinoless ββ -decay (0 νββ) experiments. The Q-value enters into the calculation of the phase space factors, which relate the measured ββ -decay half-life to the nuclear matrix element and, in the case of 0 νββ , the effective Majorana mass of the neutrino. In addition, the Q-value defines the total kinetic energy of the two electrons emitted in 0 νββ , corresponding to the location of the single peak that is the sought after signature of 0 νββ . Hence, it is essential to have a precise and accurate Q-value determination. Over the last decade, the Penning trap mass spectrometry community has made a significant effort to provide precise ββ -decay Q-value determinations. Here we report on recent measurements with the Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) facility at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) of the 48Ca, 82Se, and 96Zr Q-values. These measurements complete the determination of ββ -decay Q-values for the 11 ``best'' candidates (those with Q >2 MeV). We also report on a measurement of the 78Kr double electron capture (2EC) Q-value and discuss ongoing Penning trap measurements relating to ββ -decay and 2EC. Support from NSF Contract No. PHY-1102511, and DOE Grant No. 03ER-41268.

Canadian Penning Trap Mass Measurements using a Position Sensitive MCP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuta, Trenton; Aprahamian, Ani; Marley, Scott; Nystrom, Andrew; Clark, Jason; Perez Galvan, Adrian; Hirsh, Tsviki; Savard, Guy; Orford, Rodney; Morgan, Graeme

2015-10-01

The primary focus of the Canadian Penning Trap (CPT) located at Argonne National Lab is to determine the masses of various isotopes produced in the spontaneous fission of Californium. Currently, the CPT is operating in conjunction with CARIBU at the ATLAS facility in an attempt to measure neutron-rich nuclei produced by a 1.5 Curie source of Californium 252. The masses of nuclei produced in fission is accomplished by measuring the cyclotron frequency of the isotopes circling within the trap. This frequency is determined by a position sensitive MCP, which records the relative position of the isotope in the trap at different times. Using these position changes over time in connection with a center spot, angles between these positions are calculated and used to determine the frequency. Most of the work currently being conducted on the CPT is focused on the precision of these frequency measurements. The use of traps has revolutionized the measurements of nuclear masses to very high precision. The optimization methods employed here include focusing the beam in order to reduce the spread on the position of the isotope as well as the tuning of the MR-ToF, a mass separator that is intended on removing contaminants in the beam. This work was supported by the nuclear Grant PHY-1419765 for the University of Notre Dame.

Rapid crystallization of externally produced ions in a Penning trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murböck, T.; Schmidt, S.; Birkl, G.; Nörtershäuser, W.; Thompson, R. C.; Vogel, M.

2016-10-01

We have studied the cooling dynamics, formation process, and geometric structure of mesoscopic crystals of externally produced magnesium ions in a Penning trap. We present a cooling model and measurements for a combination of buffer gas cooling and laser cooling which has been found to reduce the ion kinetic energy by eight orders of magnitude from several hundreds of eV to μ eV and below within seconds. With ion numbers of the order of 1 ×103 to 1 ×105 , such cooling leads to the formation of ion Coulomb crystals which display a characteristic shell structure in agreement with the theory of non-neutral plasmas. We show the production and characterization of two-species ion crystals as a means of sympathetic cooling of ions lacking a suitable laser-cooling transition.

Comparative evaluation of user interfaces for robot-assisted laser phonomicrosurgery.

PubMed

Dagnino, Giulio; Mattos, Leonardo S; Becattini, Gabriele; Dellepiane, Massimo; Caldwell, Darwin G

2011-01-01

This research investigates the impact of three different control devices and two visualization methods on the precision, safety and ergonomics of a new medical robotic system prototype for assistive laser phonomicrosurgery. This system allows the user to remotely control the surgical laser beam using either a flight simulator type joystick, a joypad, or a pen display system in order to improve the traditional surgical setup composed by a mechanical micromanipulator coupled with a surgical microscope. The experimental setup and protocol followed to obtain quantitative performance data from the control devices tested are fully described here. This includes sets of path following evaluation experiments conducted with ten subjects with different skills, for a total of 700 trials. The data analysis method and experimental results are also presented, demonstrating an average 45% error reduction when using the joypad and up to 60% error reduction when using the pen display system versus the standard phonomicrosurgery setup. These results demonstrate the new system can provide important improvements in terms of surgical precision, ergonomics and safety. In addition, the evaluation method presented here is shown to support an objective selection of control devices for this application.

Squeezed coherent states of motion for ions confined in quadrupole and octupole ion traps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mihalcea, Bogdan M.

2018-01-01

Quasiclassical dynamics of trapped ions is characterized by applying the time dependent variational principle (TDVP) on coherent state orbits, in case of quadrupole and octupole combined (Paul and Penning) or radiofrequency (RF) traps. A dequantization algorithm is proposed, by which the classical Hamilton (energy) function associated to the system results as the expectation value of the quantum Hamiltonian on squeezed coherent states. We develop such method and particularize the quantum Hamiltonian for both combined and RF nonlinear traps, that exhibit axial symmetry. We also build the classical Hamiltonian functions for the particular traps we considered, and find the classical equations of motion.

Determination of volatile organic compounds in pen inks by a dynamic headspace needle trap device combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Zang, Xiaohuan; Liang, Weiqian; Chang, Qingyun; Wu, Tong; Wang, Chun; Wang, Zhi

2017-09-01

Some harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as methylbenzene, ethylbenzene, xylene, chlorobenzene and bromobenzene, are the commonly found chemicals in pen inks. In this work, a dynamic headspace needle-trap device (D-HS-NTD) with a ZIF-8-derived nanoporous carbon (ZIF-8-NPC) as the adsorbent was developed for the extraction of some VOCs in different pen inks prior to GC-MS detection. The main important influencing experimental parameters including the flow rate of the purge gas N 2 , extraction temperature, extraction time, desorption temperature and desorption time for the extraction were optimized to obtain a high extraction efficiency. Under the optimized conditions, a good linearity was obtained in the concentration range of 0.1-400μgkg -1 with the correlation coefficients (r) ranging from 0.9911 to 0.9990 for the eleven VOCs. The LODs at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 (S/N=3) were measured to be 10-20ngkg -1 for the VOCs. The developed method was applied to determine the VOCs from 20 pen inks. The recoveries of the VOCs for the method at the spiking levels of 0.5 and 20.0μgkg -1 fell in the range from 80.0% to 108%. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Antimatter Transport Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Werf, D. P.; Andresen G. B.; Ashkezari, M. D.; Baquero-Ruiz, M.; Bertsche W.; Bowe, P. D.; Bray, C. C.; Butler, E.; Cesar, C. L.; Chapman, S.; Charlton, M.; Fajans, J.; Friesen, T.; Fujiwara, M. C.; Gill, D. R.; Hangst, J. S.; Hardy, W. N.; Hayano, R. S.; Hayden, M. E.; Humphries, A. J.; Hydomako, R.; Jonsell, S.; Kurchaninov, L.; Lambo, R.; Madsen, N.; Menary, S.; Nolan, P.; Olchanski, K.; Olin, A.; Povilus, A.; Pusa, P.; Robicheaux, F.; Sarid, E.; Silveira, D. M.; So, C.; Storey, J. W.; Thompson, R. I.; Wilding, D.; Wurtele, J. S.; Yamazaki, Y.; Alpha Collaboration

2010-07-01

The comparison of the 1S-2S energy levels of hydrogen and antihydrogen will yield a stringent test of CPT conservation. Necessarily, the antihydrogen atoms need to be trapped to perform high precision spectroscopy measurements. Therefore, an approximately 1 T deep neutral trap, about 0.7 K for ground state (anti)hydrogen atoms, has been superimposed on a Penning-Malmberg trap in which the antiatoms are formed. The antihydrogen atoms, which are required to have a low enough kinetic energy to be trapped, are produced following a number of steps. A bunch of antiprotons from the CERN Antiproton Decelerator are caught in a Penning-Malmberg trap and subsequently sympathetically cooled down and then compressed using rotating wall electric fields. A positron plasma, formed in a separate accumulator, is transported to the main system and also compressed. Antihydrogen atoms are then formed by mixing the antiprotons and positrons. The velocity of the antiatoms, and their binding energies, will strongly depend on the initial conditions of the constituent particles, for example their temperatures and densities, and on the details of the mixing process. In this talk the complete lifecycle of antihydrogen atoms will be presented, starting with the production of the constituent particles and the description of the manipulations necessary to prepare positrons and antiprotons appropriately for antihydrogen formation. The latter will also be described, as will the possible fates of the antiatoms.

Penning-trap mass measurements of the neutron-rich K and Ca isotopes: Resurgence of the N=28 shell strength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lapierre, A.; Brodeur, M.; Brunner, T.; Ettenauer, S.; Finlay, P.; Gallant, A. T.; Simon, V. V.; Delheij, P.; Lunney, D.; Ringle, R.; Savajols, H.; Dilling, J.

2012-02-01

We present Penning-trap mass measurements of neutron-rich 44,47-50K and 49,50Ca isotopes carried out at the TITAN facility at TRIUMF-ISAC. The 44K mass measurement was performed with a charge-bred 4+ ion utilizing the TITAN electron beam ion trap and agrees with the literature. The mass excesses obtained for 47K and 49,50Ca are more precise and agree with the values published in the 2003 Atomic Mass Evaluation (AME’03). The 48,49,50K mass excesses are more precise than the AME’03 values by more than 1 order of magnitude. For 48,49K, we find deviations of 7σ and 10σ, respectively. The new 49K mass excess lowers significantly the two-neutron separation energy at the neutron number N=30 compared with the separation energy calculated from the AME’03 mass-excess values and thus increases the N=28 neutron-shell gap energy at Z=19 by approximately 1 MeV.

Phonon mediated quantum spin simulator made from a two-dimensional Wigner crystal in Penning traps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Joseph; Keith, Adam; Freericks, J. K.

2013-03-01

Motivated by recent advances in quantum simulations in a Penning trap, we give a theoretical description for the use of two-dimensional cold ions in a rotating trap as a quantum emulator. The collective axial phonon modes and planar modes are studied in detail, including all effects of the rotating frame. We show the character of the phonon modes and spectrum, which is crucial for engineering exotic spin interactions. In the presence of laser-ion coupling with these coherent phonon excitations, we show theoretically how the spin-spin Hamiltonian can be generated. Specifically, we notice certain parameter regimes in which the level of frustration between spins can be engineered by the coupling to the planar modes. This may be relevant to the quantum simulation of spin-glass physics or other disordered problems. This work was supported under ARO grant number W911NF0710576 with funds from the DARPA OLE Program. J. K. F. also acknowledges the McDevitt bequest at Georgetown University. A. C. K. also acknowledges support of the National Science Foundation under grant

Optical sideband spectroscopy of a single ion in a Penning trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mavadia, S.; Stutter, G.; Goodwin, J. F.; Crick, D. R.; Thompson, R. C.; Segal, D. M.

2014-03-01

We perform resolved optical sideband spectroscopy on a single 40Ca+ ion in a Penning trap. We probe the electric quadrupole allowed S1/2↔D5/2 transition at 729 nm and observe equally spaced sidebands for the three motional modes. The axial mode, parallel to the trap axis, is a one-dimensional harmonic oscillator, whereas the radial cyclotron and magnetron modes are circular motions perpendicular to the magnetic field. The total energy associated with the magnetron motion is negative, but here we probe only the (positive) kinetic energy. From the equivalent Doppler widths of the sideband spectra corresponding to the three motions we find effective temperatures of 1.1±0.2 mK, 7±3 mK, and 42±8 μK for the axial, modified cyclotron, and magnetron modes, respectively. These should be compared to the cooling limits, estimated using optimal laser parameters, of 0.38 mK, 0.8 mK, and ˜10 μK. In future work we aim to perform resolved-sideband cooling of the ion on the 729-nm transition.

Measurements of Masses with the Canadian Penning Trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuta, Trenton; Nystrom, Andrew; Aprahamian, Ani; Brodeur, Maxime; Burdette, Daniel; Buchinger, Fritz; Orford, Rodney; Clark, Jason; Hirsh, Tsviki; Ling-Ying, Lin; Savard, Guy; Burkey, Mary; Klimes, Jeffery; Dwaipayan, Ray; Sharma, Kumar; Morgan, Graeme

2016-09-01

The primary focus of the Canadian Penning Trap (CPT) located at Argonne National Laboratory is to determine the masses of various isotopes relevant to the rprocess, an astrophysical process thought to be responsible for the creation of half the elements heavier than iron. Currently, the CPT is operating in conjunction with the CAlifornium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) at Argonne National Laboratory's ATLAS facility in an attempt to measure neutron-rich nuclei produced by a 1.0 Curie source of 252Cf. The mass measurements of these nuclei are accomplished by measuring the cyclotron frequency of the isotopes captured in the trap. This frequency is measured with a position-sensitive microchannel plate (MCP), which records the relative position of the isotope in the trap for different phase accumulation times. This summer, the CPT group was able to successfully measure to a precision of 10 keV/c2 the masses of 142I and 156 , 158 , 159Nd, which are key nuclei needed to more accurately model the rprocess. This also marks the first time that any of these nuclei had ever been measured. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Contract PHY-1205412, the University of Notre Dame, and the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357.

Physics with Trapped Antihydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charlton, Michael

2017-04-01

For more than a decade antihydrogen atoms have been formed by mixing antiprotons and positrons held in arrangements of charged particle (Penning) traps. More recently, magnetic minimum neutral atom traps have been superimposed upon the anti-atom production region, promoting the trapping of a small quantity of the antihydrogen yield. We will review these advances, and describe some of the first physics experiments performed on anrtihydrogen including the observation of the two-photon 1S-2S transition, invesigation of the charge neutrailty of the anti-atom and studies of the ground state hyperfine splitting. We will discuss the physics motivations for undertaking these experiments and describe some near-future initiatives.

Quantum-state-selective decay spectroscopy of 213Ra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lorenz, Ch.; Sarmiento, L. G.; Rudolph, D.; Ward, D. E.; Block, M.; Heßberger, F. P.; Ackermann, D.; Andersson, L.-L.; Cortés, M. L.; Droese, C.; Dworschak, M.; Eibach, M.; Forsberg, U.; Golubev, P.; Hoischen, R.; Kojouharov, I.; Khuyagbaatar, J.; Nesterenko, D.; Ragnarsson, I.; Schaffner, H.; Schweikhard, L.; Stolze, S.; Wenzl, J.

2017-09-01

An experimental scheme combining the mass resolving power of a Penning trap with contemporary decay spectroscopy has been established at GSI Darmstadt. The Universal Linear Accelerator (UNILAC) at GSI Darmstadt provided a 48Ca beam impinging on a thin 170Er target foil. Subsequent to velocity filtering of reaction products in the Separator for Heavy Ion reaction Products (SHIP), the nuclear ground state of the 5 n evaporation channel 213Ra was mass-selected in SHIPTRAP, and the 213Ra ions were finally transferred into an array of silicon strip detectors surrounded by large composite germanium detectors. Based on comprehensive geant4 simulations and supported by theoretical calculations, the spectroscopic results call for a revision of the decay path of 213Ra, thereby exemplifying the potential of a combination of a mass-selective Penning trap device with a dedicated nuclear decay station and contemporary geant4 simulations.

Coulomb clusters in RETRAP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steiger, J.; Beck, B. R.; Gruber, L.; Church, D. A.; Holder, J. P.; Schneider, D.

1999-01-01

Storage rings and Penning traps are being used to study ions in their highest charge states. Both devices must have the capability for ion cooling in order to perform high precision measurements such as mass spectrometry and laser spectroscopy. This is accomplished in storage rings in a merged beam arrangement where a cold electron beam moves at the speed of the ions. In RETRAP, a Penning trap located at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a sympathetic laser/ion cooling scheme has been implemented. In a first step, singly charged beryllium ions are cooled electronically by a tuned circuit and optically by a laser. Then hot, highly charged ions are merged into the cold Be plasma. By collisions, their kinetic energy is reduced to the temperature of the Be plasma. First experiments indicate that the highly charged ions form a strongly coupled plasma with a Coulomb coupling parameter exceeding 1000.

Penning trap mass spectrometry Q-value determinations for highly forbidden β-decays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandler, Rachel; Bollen, Georg; Eibach, Martin; Gamage, Nadeesha; Gulyuz, Kerim; Hamaker, Alec; Izzo, Chris; Kandegedara, Rathnayake; Redshaw, Matt; Ringle, Ryan; Valverde, Adrian; Yandow, Isaac; Low Energy Beam Ion Trap Team

2017-09-01

Over the last several decades, extremely sensitive, ultra-low background beta and gamma detection techniques have been developed. These techniques have enabled the observation of very rare processes, such as highly forbidden beta decays e.g. of 113Cd, 50V and 138La. Half-life measurements of highly forbidden beta decays provide a testing ground for theoretical nuclear models, and the comparison of calculated and measured energy spectra could enable a determination of the values of the weak coupling constants. Precision Q-value measurements also allow for systematic tests of the beta-particle detection techniques. We will present the results and current status of Q value determinations for highly forbidden beta decays. The Q values, the mass difference between parent and daughter nuclides, are measured using the high precision Penning trap mass spectrometer LEBIT at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory.

Differential application of lambda-cyhalothrin to control the sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis.

PubMed

Kelly, D W; Mustafa, Z; Dye, C

1997-01-01

To study the impact of residual pyrethroid insecticide on the abundance and distribution of peridomestic Lutzomyia longipalpis, the sandfly vector of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil, lambda-cyhalothrin was applied at 20 mg a.i.m-2 in the following interventions: (i) spraying of all animal pens in a village (blanket coverage); (ii) treatment of a subset of animal pens, either by spraying, or by installation of insecticide-impregnated 1 m2 cotton sheets as 'targets' (focal coverage). By sampling with CDC light traps, and using a novel analytical approach, we detected a 90% reduction in Lu.longipalpis abundance in sprayed sheds of the focal intervention. However, there was no discernible effect on the abundance of other phlebotomines trapped in sheds, or on the abundance of Lu.longipalpis in untreated dining-huts and houses. This differential impact on Lu.longipalpis abundance is explained in terms of the disruption of male pheromone production. Treated targets were approximately half as effective as residual spraying in reducing the abundance of Lu.longipalpis in sheds. Following blanket intervention, the abundance of Lu.longipalpis in traps fell by only 45% (not significant): catches at untreated dining-huts actually increased, possibly because the blanket coverage diverted Lu.longipalpis away from major aggregation sites at animal pens. It is recommended that care be taken during vector control programmes to ensure that all potential aggregation sites are treated. The possible consequences of leaving some sites untreated include poor control of peridomestic sandfly abundance and an increase in the biting rate on dogs and humans.

Application of biogenic carbon dioxide produced by yeast with different carbon sources for attraction of mosquitoes towards adult mosquito traps.

PubMed

Sukumaran, D; Ponmariappan, S; Sharma, Atul K; Jha, Hemendra K; Wasu, Yogesh H; Sharma, Ajay K

2016-04-01

Surveillance is a prime requisite for controlling arthropod vectors like mosquitoes that transmit diseases such as malaria, dengue and chikungunya. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the main cues from vertebrate breath that attracts mosquitoes towards the host. Hence, CO2 is used as an attractant during surveillance of mosquitoes either from commercial cylinders or dry ice for mosquito traps. In the present study, the biogenic carbon dioxide production was optimized with different carbon sources such as glucose, simple sugar and jaggery with and without yeast peptone dextrose (YPD) media using commercial baker's yeast. The results showed that yeast produced more biogenic CO2 with simple sugar as compared to other carbon sources. Further substrate concentration was optimized for the continuous production of biogenic CO2 for a minimum of 12 h by using 10 g of baker's yeast with 50 g of simple sugar added to 1.5 l distilled water (without YPD media) in a 2-l plastic bottle. This setup was applied in field condition along with two different mosquito traps namely Mosquito Killing System (MKS) and Biogents Sentinel (BGS) trap. Biogenic CO2 from this setup has increased the trapping efficiency of MKS by 6.48-fold for Culex quinquefasciatus, 2.62-fold for Aedes albopictus and 1.5-fold for Anopheles stephensi. In the case of BGS, the efficiency was found to be increased by 3.54-fold for Ae. albopictus, 4.33-fold for An. stephensi and 1.3-fold for Armigeres subalbatus mosquitoes. On the whole, plastic bottle setup releasing biogenic CO2 from sugar and yeast has increased the efficiency of MKS traps by 6.38-fold and 2.74-fold for BGS traps as compared to traps without biogenic CO2. The present study reveals that, among different carbon sources used, simple sugar as a substance (which is economical and readily available across the world) yielded maximum biogenic CO2 with yeast. This setup can be used as an alternative to CO2 cylinder and dry ice in any adult mosquito traps to enhance their trapping efficiency of a mosquito surveillance programme.

Electron spin resonance of gamma-irradiated poly/ethylene 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylate/.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogowski, R. S.; Pezdirtz, G. F.

1971-01-01

The two types of radicals trapped in gamma-irradiated PEN 2,6 are identified by ESR as - O - CH - CH2 - O - (radical I) and a radical located on the naphthalene ring (radical II). The concentrations of the radicals in the gross polyer are 10 to 20% of I and 80 to 90% of II. Similar trapped radicals are established in beta-irradiated PET, a structurally related polymer.

Note: Toward multiple addressable optical trapping

PubMed Central

Faustov, Alexei R.; Webb, Michael R.; Walt, David R.

2010-01-01

We describe a setup for addressable optical trapping in which a laser source is focused on a digital micromirror device and generates an optical trap in a microfluidic cell. In this paper, we report a proof-of-principle single beam∕single micromirror∕single three-dimensional trap arrangement that should serve as the basis for a multiple-trap instrument. PMID:20192526

A Scintillation Counter System Design To Detect Antiproton Annihilation using the High Performance Antiproton Trap(HiPAT)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, James J.; Lewis, Raymond A.; Stanojev, Boris

2003-01-01

The High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT), a system designed to hold up to l0(exp 12) charge particles with a storage half-life of approximately 18 days, is a tool to support basic antimatter research. NASA's interest stems from the energy density represented by the annihilation of matter with antimatter, 10(exp 2)MJ/g. The HiPAT is configured with a Penning-Malmberg style electromagnetic confinement region with field strengths up to 4 Tesla, and 20kV. To date a series of normal matter experiments, using positive and negative ions, have been performed evaluating the designs performance prior to operations with antiprotons. The primary methods of detecting and monitoring stored normal matter ions and antiprotons within the trap includes a destructive extraction technique that makes use of a micro channel plate (MCP) device and a non-destractive radio frequency scheme tuned to key particle frequencies. However, an independent means of detecting stored antiprotons is possible by making use of the actual annihilation products as a unique indicator. The immediate yield of the annihilation event includes photons and pie mesons, emanating spherically from the point of annihilation. To "count" these events, a hardware system of scintillators, discriminators, coincident meters and multi channel scalars (MCS) have been configured to surround much of the HiPAT. Signal coincidence with voting logic is an essential part of this system, necessary to weed out the single cosmic ray events from the multi-particle annihilation shower. This system can be operated in a variety of modes accommodating various conditions. The first is a low-speed sampling interval that monitors the background loss or "evaporation" rate of antiprotons held in the trap during long storage periods; provides an independent method of validating particle lifetimes. The second is a high-speed sample rate accumulating information on a microseconds time-scale; useful when trapped antiparticles are extracted against a target, providing an indication of quantity. This paper details the layout of this system, setup of the hardware components around HiPAT, and applicable checkouts using normal matter radioactive sources.

Deep cooling of optically trapped atoms implemented by magnetic levitation without transverse confinement.

PubMed

Li, Chen; Zhou, Tianwei; Zhai, Yueyang; Xiang, Jinggang; Luan, Tian; Huang, Qi; Yang, Shifeng; Xiong, Wei; Chen, Xuzong

2017-05-01

We report a setup for the deep cooling of atoms in an optical trap. The deep cooling is implemented by eliminating the influence of gravity using specially constructed magnetic coils. Compared to the conventional method of generating a magnetic levitating force, the lower trap frequency achieved in our setup provides a lower limit of temperature and more freedoms to Bose gases with a simpler solution. A final temperature as low as ∼6nK is achieved in the optical trap, and the atomic density is decreased by nearly two orders of magnitude during the second stage of evaporative cooling. This deep cooling of optically trapped atoms holds promise for many applications, such as atomic interferometers, atomic gyroscopes, and magnetometers, as well as many basic scientific research directions, such as quantum simulations and atom optics.

Deep cooling of optically trapped atoms implemented by magnetic levitation without transverse confinement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chen; Zhou, Tianwei; Zhai, Yueyang; Xiang, Jinggang; Luan, Tian; Huang, Qi; Yang, Shifeng; Xiong, Wei; Chen, Xuzong

2017-05-01

We report a setup for the deep cooling of atoms in an optical trap. The deep cooling is implemented by eliminating the influence of gravity using specially constructed magnetic coils. Compared to the conventional method of generating a magnetic levitating force, the lower trap frequency achieved in our setup provides a lower limit of temperature and more freedoms to Bose gases with a simpler solution. A final temperature as low as ˜ 6 nK is achieved in the optical trap, and the atomic density is decreased by nearly two orders of magnitude during the second stage of evaporative cooling. This deep cooling of optically trapped atoms holds promise for many applications, such as atomic interferometers, atomic gyroscopes, and magnetometers, as well as many basic scientific research directions, such as quantum simulations and atom optics.

Nuclear data for r-process models from ion trap measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clark, Jason, E-mail: jclark@anl.gov

2016-06-21

To truly understand how elements are created in the universe via the astrophysical r process, accurate nuclear data are required. Historically, the isotopes involved in the r process have been difficult to access for study, but the development of new facilities and measurement techniques have put many of the r-process isotopes within reach. This paper will discuss the new CARIBU facility at Argonne National Laboratory and two pieces of experimental equipment, the Beta-decay Paul Trap and the Canadian Penning Trap, that will dramatically increase the nuclear data available for models of the astrophysical r process.

BX-U linear trap for one-way production and confinement of Li+ and e- plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Himura, Haruhiko

2016-03-01

A modified version of the Penning-Malmberg trap was developed wherein both positive and negative harmonic potential wells were created by using multi-ring electrodes. The sequence of particle injection, particle trapping, and plasma extraction from the potential wells was controlled by a set of switching circuits. All the guns launching charged particles were collected together in one side of the linear trap. Nevertheless, pure electron (e-) and lithium-ion (Li+) plasmas were not only separately produced on the machine axis but also confined simultaneously. Preliminary data show that for B ≈ 0.13 T the e- plasma lasted for 15 s and the Li+ plasma lasted for ~ 4 s.

Results from a 64-pixel PIN-diode detector system for low-energy beta-electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wuestling, Sascha; Fraenkle, F.; Habermehl, F.; Renschler, P.; Steidl, M.

2010-12-01

The KATRIN neutrino mass experiment is based on a precise energy measurement (Δ E/ E=5×10 -5) of electrons emerging from tritium beta decay ( Emax=18.6 keV). This is done by a large electrostatic retarding spectrometer (MAC-E Filter), which is followed by an electron detector. Key requirements for this detector are a large sensitive area (˜80 cm 2), a certain energy resolution (Δ E=600 eV @ 18.6 keV) but also a certain spatial resolution (˜3 mm), which leads to a multi-pixel design. As a tentative design on the way to the final detector, but also for operational service on the so-called pre-spectrometer experiment, a detector system with a reduced size (16 cm 2) and a reduced pixel number (64), making use of a monolithic segmented silicon PIN diode, was designed and built. While the design and very first measurements have been presented in Wuestling et al. [6], this publication shows the operational performance of the detector system. The robust concept of the electronics allowed adaptation to mechanically different experimental setups. The spacial resolution of the detector system proved to be essential in examining Penning trap induced background and other effects in the pre-spectrometer experiment. The detector performance test runs include energy resolution and calibration, background rates, correlation between pixels (crosstalk), spatially resolved rate analysis, and a dead-layer measurement [7]. The detector allows for background searches with a sensitivity as low as 1.3×10 -3 cps/cm 2 in the energy range of 20 keV. This allows the pre-spectrometer to be characterized with e-gun illumination with a signal to background ratio of better than 10 5 and the search for ultra low Penning discharge emissions.

Compact setup for the production of {sup 87}Rb |F = 2, m{sub F} = + 2〉 Bose-Einstein condensates in a hybrid trap

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nolli, Raffaele; Venturelli, Michela; Marmugi, Luca, E-mail: l.marmugi@ucl.ac.uk

We present a compact experimental apparatus for Bose-Einstein condensation of {sup 87}Rb in the |F  =  2, m{sub F} = + 2〉 state. A pre-cooled atomic beam of {sup 87}Rb is obtained by using an unbalanced magneto-optical trap, allowing controlled transfer of trapped atoms from the first vacuum chamber to the science chamber. Here, atoms are transferred to a hybrid trap, as produced by overlapping a magnetic quadrupole trap with a far-detuned optical trap with crossed beam configuration, where forced radiofrequency evaporation is realized. The final evaporation leading to Bose-Einstein condensation is then performed by exponentially lowering the optical trapmore » depth. Control and stabilization systems of the optical trap beams are discussed in detail. The setup reliably produces a pure condensate in the |F = 2, m{sub F} = + 2〉 state in 50 s, which includes 33 s loading of the science magneto-optical trap and 17 s forced evaporation.« less

Creation of quantum-degenerate gases of ytterbium in a compact 2D-/3D-magneto-optical trap setup

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Doerscher, Soeren; Thobe, Alexander; Hundt, Bastian

2013-04-15

We report on the first experimental setup based on a 2D-/3D-magneto-optical trap (MOT) scheme to create both Bose-Einstein condensates and degenerate Fermi gases of several ytterbium isotopes. Our setup does not require a Zeeman slower and offers the flexibility to simultaneously produce ultracold samples of other atomic species. Furthermore, the extraordinary optical access favors future experiments in optical lattices. A 2D-MOT on the strong {sup 1}S{sub 0}{yields}{sup 1}P{sub 1} transition captures ytterbium directly from a dispenser of atoms and loads a 3D-MOT on the narrow {sup 1}S{sub 0}{yields}{sup 3}P{sub 1} intercombination transition. Subsequently, atoms are transferred to a crossed opticalmore » dipole trap and cooled evaporatively to quantum degeneracy.« less

Final Technical Report: "New Tools for Physics with Low-energy Antimatter"

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Surko, Clifford M.

2013-10-02

The objective of this research is to develop new tools to manipulate antimatter plasmas and to tailor them for specific scientific and technical uses. The work has two specific objectives. One is establishing the limits for positron accumulation and confinement in the form of single-component plasmas in Penning-Malmberg traps. This technique underpins a wealth of antimatter applications. A second objective is to develop an understanding of the limits for formation of cold, bright positron beams. The research done in this grant focused on particular facets of these goals. One focus was extracting tailored beams from a high-field Penning-Malmberg trap frommore » the magnetic field to form new kinds of high-quality electrostatic beams. A second goal was to develop the technology for colder trap-based beams using a cryogenically cooled buffer gas. A third objective was to conduct the basic plasma research to develop a new high-capacity multicell trap (MCT) for research with antimatter. Progress is reported here in all three areas. While the goal of this research is to develop new tools for manipulating positrons (i.e., the antiparticles of electrons), much of the work was done with test electron plasmas for increased data rate. Some of the techniques developed in the course of this work are also relevant to the manipulation and use of antiprotons.« less

Antiproton Studies in Penning Traps

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-09-30

applications to MRI imaging. This is by far the most sensitive test of CPT invariance with a baryon system and is one of the most accurate tests of CPT...system which has likely applications to MRI imaging. This is by far the most sensitive test of CPT invariance with a baryon system and is one of the...a thin window of matter . In a second 24 hour demonstration experiment, we managed to capture a few antiprotons in the small volume of an ion trap.1

Nonequilibrium thermodynamics of single DNA hairpins in a dual-trap optical tweezers setup

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crivellari, M. Ribezzi; Huguet, J. M.; Ritort, F.

2011-03-01

We use two counter propagating laser beams to create a dual trap optical tweezers setup which is free from cross interference between the beams and provides great instrumental stability. This setup works by direct measurement of light momentum, separately for each trap, and is based on the Minitweezers design [1]. The dual trap setup has many applications: it can be used to study the force-dependent unfolding kinetics of single molecules and to address fundamental problems in nonequilibrium thermodynamics of small systems [2]. Recent progress in statistical physics has shown the importance of considering large energy deviations in the beahvior of systems that are driven out-of-equilibrium by time-dependent forces. Prominent examples are nonequilibrium work relations (e.g. the Jarzynski equality [3]) and fluctuation theorems. By repeated measurement of the irreversible work the Jarzynski equality allows us to recover the free energy difference between two thermodynamic states, AF, by taking exponential averages of the work W done by the external agent on the system, e-βΔF =

Test measurement on ion-molecule reactions in a ringelectrode ion trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Savic, I.; Lukic, S. R.; Guth, I.; Gerlich, D.

2006-05-01

Very recently a new experimental setup has been developed allowing studies of astrophysically relevant collisions between neutral atoms and small pure carbon molecules from one side and ions from the other side and first results are obtained (Savić et al., 2005). The ions are stored in a radio- frequency (rf) ring-electrode trap and during reaction time exposed to the effusive carbon beam. In this paper, one of the final tests of the experimental setup is presented.

DUHOCAMIS: a dual hollow cathode ion source for metal ion beams.

PubMed

Zhao, W J; Müller, M W O; Janik, J; Liu, K X; Ren, X T

2008-02-01

In this paper we describe a novel ion source named DUHOCAMIS for multiply charged metal ion beams. This ion source is derived from the hot cathode Penning ion gauge ion source (JINR, Dubna, 1957). A notable characteristic is the modified Penning geometry in the form of a hollow sputter electrode, coaxially positioned in a compact bottle-magnetic field along the central magnetic line of force. The interaction of the discharge geometry with the inhomogeneous but symmetrical magnetic field enables this device to be operated as hollow cathode discharge and Penning discharge as well. The main features of the ion source are the very high metal ion efficiency (up to 25%), good operational reproducibility, flexible and efficient operations for low charged as well as highly charged ions, compact setup, and easy maintenance. For light ions, e.g., up to titanium, well-collimated beams in the range of several tens of milliamperes of pulsed ion current (1 ms, 10/s) have been reliably performed in long time runs.

BioPhotonics workstation: A versatile setup for simultaneous optical manipulation, heat stress, and intracellular pH measurements of a live yeast cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aabo, Thomas; Banás, Andrew Raphael; Glückstad, Jesper; Siegumfeldt, Henrik; Arneborg, Nils

2011-08-01

In this study we have modified the BioPhotonics workstation (BWS), which allows for using long working distance objective for optical trapping, to include traditional epi-fluorescence microscopy, using the trapping objectives. We have also added temperature regulation of sample stage, allowing for fast temperature variations while trapping. Using this modified BWS setup, we investigated the internal pH (pHi) response and membrane integrity of an optically trapped Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell at 5 mW subject to increasing temperatures. The pHi of the cell is obtained from the emission of 5-(and-6)-carboxyfluorescein diacetate, succinimidyl ester, at 435 and 485 nm wavelengths, while the permeability is indicated by the fluorescence of propidium iodide. We present images mapping the pHi and permeability of the cell at different temperatures and with enough spatial resolution to localize these attributes within the cell. The combined capability of optical trapping, fluorescence microscopy and temperature regulation offers a versatile tool for biological research.

Trapped Modes in a Three-Layer Fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saha, Sunanda; Bora, Swaroop Nandan

2018-03-01

In this work, trapped mode frequencies are computed for a submerged horizontal circular cylinder with the hydrodynamic set-up involving an infinite depth three-layer incompressible fluid with layer-wise different densities. The impermeable cylinder is fully immersed in either the bottom layer or the upper layer. The effect of surface tension at the surface of separation is neglected. In this set-up, there exist three wave numbers: the lowest one on the free surface and the other two on the internal interfaces. For each wave number, there exist two modes for which trapped waves exist. The existence of these trapped modes is shown by numerical evidence. We investigate the variation of these trapped modes subject to change in the depth of the middle layer as well as the submergence depth. We show numerically that two-layer and single-layer results cannot be recovered in the double and single limiting cases of the density ratios tending to unity. The existence of trapped modes shows that in general, a radiation condition for the waves at infinity is insufficient for the uniqueness of the solution of the scattering problem.

Development of a Charged-Particle Accumulator Using an RF Confinement Method

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-12

antiparticles (antiprotons and positrons), and to produce a large quantity of antimatter . Antihydrogen atoms have recently been produced using Penning...ultimate goal is to trap a large number of antiparticles and to produce a large quantity of antimatter . 15. SUBJECT TERMS 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF

Precise measurements of the atomic masses of silicon-28, phosphorus-31, sulfur-32, krypton-84,86, xenon-129,132,136, and the dipole moment of PH+ using single-ion and two-ion Penning trap techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redshaw, Matthew

This dissertation describes high precision measurements of atomic masses by measuring the cyclotron frequency of ions trapped singly, or in pairs, in a precision, cryogenic Penning trap. By building on techniques developed at MIT for measuring the cyclotron frequency of single trapped ions, the atomic masses of 84,86Kr, and 129,132,136Xe have been measured to less than a part in 1010 fractional precision. By developing a new technique for measuring the cyclotron frequency ratio of a pair of simultaneously trapped ions, the atomic masses of 28Si, 31P and 32S have been measured to 2 or 3 parts in 10 11. This new technique has also been used to measure the dipole moment of PH+. During the course of these measurements, two significant, but previously unsuspected sources of systematic error were discovered, characterized and eliminated. Extensive tests for other sources of systematic error were performed and are described in detail. The mass measurements presented here provide a significant increase in precision over previous values for these masses, by factors of 3 to 700. The results have a broad range of physics applications: The mass of 136 Xe is important for searches for neutrinoless double-beta-decay; the mass of 28Si is relevant to the re-definition of the artifact kilogram in terms of an atomic mass standard; the masses of 84,86Kr, and 129,132,136Xe provide convenient reference masses for less precise mass spectrometers in diverse fields such as nuclear physics and chemistry; and the dipole moment of PH+ provides a test of molecular structure calculations.

High-field penning-malmberg trap: confinement properties and use in positron accumulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hartley, J.H.

1997-09-01

This dissertation reports on the development of the 60 kG cryogenic positron trap at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and compares the trap`s confinement properties with other nonneutral plasma devices. The device is designed for the accumulation of up to 2{times}10{sup 9} positrons from a linear-accelerator source. This positron plasma could then be used in Bhabha scattering experiments. Initial efforts at time-of-flight accumulation of positrons from the accelerator show rapid ({approximately}100 ms) deconfinement, inconsistent with the long electron lifetimes. Several possible deconfinement mechanisms have been explored, including annihilation on residual gas, injection heating, rf noise from the accelerator, magnet field curvature,more » and stray fields. Detailed studies of electron confinement demonstrate that the empirical scaling law used to design the trap cannot be extrapolated into the parameter regime of this device. Several possible methods for overcoming these limitations are presented.« less

Stable thermophoretic trapping of generic particles at low pressures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fung, Long Fung Frankie

2017-04-01

We demonstrate levitation and three-dimensionally stable trapping of a wide variety of particles in medium vacuum through thermophoresis. Typical sizes of the trapped particles are between 10 μm and 1 mm; air pressure is between 1 and 10 Torr. We describe the experimental setup used to produce the temperature gradient, as well as our procedure for introducing particles into the experimental setup. To determine the levitation force and test various theoretical models, we examine the levitation heights of spherical polyethylene spheres under various conditions. A good agreement with two theoretical models is concluded. Our system offers a platform to discover various thermophoretic phenomena and to simulate dynamics of interacting many-body systems in a microgravity environment. NSF MRSEC Grant No. DMR-1420709.

Electron Plasmas Cooled by Cyclotron-Cavity Resonance

DOE PAGES

Povilus, A. P.; DeTal, N. D.; Evans, L. T.; ...

2016-10-21

We observe that high-Q electromagnetic cavity resonances increase the cyclotron cooling rate of pure electron plasmas held in a Penning-Malmberg trap when the electron cyclotron frequency, controlled by tuning the magnetic field, matches the frequency of standing wave modes in the cavity. For certain modes and trapping configurations, this can increase the cooling rate by factors of 10 or more. In this paper, we investigate the variation of the cooling rate and equilibrium plasma temperatures over a wide range of parameters, including the plasma density, plasma position, electron number, and magnetic field.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moura, Eduardo S., E-mail: emoura@wisc.edu; Micka, John A.; Hammer, Cliff G.

Purpose: This work presents the development of a phantom to verify the treatment planning system (TPS) algorithms used for high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy. It is designed to measure the relative dose in a heterogeneous media. The experimental details used, simulation methods, and comparisons with a commercial TPS are also provided. Methods: To simulate heterogeneous conditions, four materials were used: Virtual Water™ (VM), BR50/50™, cork, and aluminum. The materials were arranged in 11 heterogeneity configurations. Three dosimeters were used to measure the relative response from a HDR {sup 192}Ir source: TLD-100™, Gafchromic{sup ®} EBT3 film, and an Exradin™ A1SL ionization chamber. Tomore » compare the results from the experimental measurements, the various configurations were modeled in the PENELOPE/penEasy Monte Carlo code. Images of each setup geometry were acquired from a CT scanner and imported into BrachyVision™ TPS software, which includes a grid-based Boltzmann solver Acuros™. The results of the measurements performed in the heterogeneous setups were normalized to the dose values measured in the homogeneous Virtual Water™ setup and the respective differences due to the heterogeneities were considered. Additionally, dose values calculated based on the American Association of Physicists in Medicine-Task Group 43 formalism were compared to dose values calculated with the Acuros™ algorithm in the phantom. Calculated doses were compared at the same points, where measurements have been performed. Results: Differences in the relative response as high as 11.5% were found from the homogeneous setup when the heterogeneous materials were inserted into the experimental phantom. The aluminum and cork materials produced larger differences than the plastic materials, with the BR50/50™ material producing results similar to the Virtual Water™ results. Our experimental methods agree with the PENELOPE/penEasy simulations for most setups and dosimeters. The TPS relative differences with the Acuros™ algorithm were similar in both experimental and simulated setups. The discrepancy between the BrachyVision™, Acuros™, and TG-43 dose responses in the phantom described by this work exceeded 12% for certain setups. Conclusions: The results derived from the phantom measurements show good agreement with the simulations and TPS calculations, using Acuros™ algorithm. Differences in the dose responses were evident in the experimental results when heterogeneous materials were introduced. These measurements prove the usefulness of the heterogeneous phantom for verification of HDR treatment planning systems based on model-based dose calculation algorithms.« less

Assembling mesoscopic particles by various optical schemes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fournier, Jean-Marc; Rohner, Johann; Jacquot, Pierre; Johann, Robert; Mias, Solon; Salathé, René-P.

2005-08-01

Shaping optical fields is the key issue in the control of optical forces that pilot the manipulation of mesoscopic polarizable dielectric particles. The latter can be positioned according to endless configurations. The scope of this paper is to review and discuss several unusual designs which produce what we think are among some of the most interesting arrangements. The simplest schemes result from interference between two or several coherent light beams, leading to periodic as well as pseudo-periodic arrays of optical traps. Complex assemblages of traps can be created with holographic-type set-ups; this case is widely used by the trapping community. Clusters of traps can also be configured through interferometric-type set-ups or by generating external standing waves by diffractive elements. The particularly remarkable possibilities of the Talbot effect to generate three-dimensional optical lattices and several schemes of self-organization represent further very interesting means for trapping. They will also be described and discussed. in this paper. The mechanisms involved in those trapping schemes do not require the use of high numerical aperture optics; by avoiding the need for bulky microscope objectives, they allow for more physical space around the trapping area to perform experiments. Moreover, very large regular arrays of traps can be manufactured, opening numerous possibilities for new applications.

Cryogenic setup for trapped ion quantum computing.

PubMed

Brandl, M F; van Mourik, M W; Postler, L; Nolf, A; Lakhmanskiy, K; Paiva, R R; Möller, S; Daniilidis, N; Häffner, H; Kaushal, V; Ruster, T; Warschburger, C; Kaufmann, H; Poschinger, U G; Schmidt-Kaler, F; Schindler, P; Monz, T; Blatt, R

2016-11-01

We report on the design of a cryogenic setup for trapped ion quantum computing containing a segmented surface electrode trap. The heat shield of our cryostat is designed to attenuate alternating magnetic field noise, resulting in 120 dB reduction of 50 Hz noise along the magnetic field axis. We combine this efficient magnetic shielding with high optical access required for single ion addressing as well as for efficient state detection by placing two lenses each with numerical aperture 0.23 inside the inner heat shield. The cryostat design incorporates vibration isolation to avoid decoherence of optical qubits due to the motion of the cryostat. We measure vibrations of the cryostat of less than ±20 nm over 2 s. In addition to the cryogenic apparatus, we describe the setup required for an operation with 40 Ca + and 88 Sr + ions. The instability of the laser manipulating the optical qubits in 40 Ca + is characterized by yielding a minimum of its Allan deviation of 2.4 ⋅ 10 -15 at 0.33 s. To evaluate the performance of the apparatus, we trapped 40 Ca + ions, obtaining a heating rate of 2.14(16) phonons/s and a Gaussian decay of the Ramsey contrast with a 1/e-time of 18.2(8) ms.

Mass Measurements of Proton-Rich Isotopes between Mo and Pd using the Canadian Penning Trap Mass Spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fallis, J.; Sharma, K. S.; Sharma, H.; Savard, G.; Levand, A. F.; Sun, T.; Clark, J. A.; Deibel, C.; Parikh, A.; Wrede, C.; Lascar, D.; Segel, R.; Caldwell, S.; Sternberg, M.; van Schelt, J.; Buchinger, F.; Crawford, J. E.; Gulick, S.; Lee, J. K. P.; Li, G.; Scielzo, N. D.; Hecht, A. A.

2008-04-01

In our understanding of the origin of elemental abundances the means of producing the observed abundances of ^92Mo and ^94Mo have long been unknown. These ``light p'' nuclei cannot be adequately produced by the classic p-process alone. The νp-process however, which occurs due to the neutrino wind in core collapse supernovae explosions, involves both proton-capture and neutron-capture reactions and can produce ^92Mo and ^94Mo. The final abundances of these isotopes depend directly on the values of the proton separation energies, Sp, along the reaction path of this process. Recent mass measurements performed with the Canadian Penning Trap Mass Spectrometer have dramatically reduced the uncertainties of Sp values of proton-rich nuclei between Mo and Pd. These measurements and the resulting implications for both the νp-process path and the ^92Mo/^94Mo abundance ratio will be discussed. This work was supported by grants from NSERC, Canada and the U.S. DOE, Nucl. Phys. Div.,under Contract W-31-109-ENG-38

Shedding light on the mercury mass discrepancy by weighing Hg 52+ ions in a Penning trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fritioff, T.; Bluhme, H.; Schuch, R.; Bergström, I.; Björkhage, M.

2003-07-01

In their nuclear tables Audi and Wapstra have pointed out a serious mass discrepancy between their extrapolated values for the mercury isotopes and those from a direct measurement by the Manitoba group. The values deviate by as much as 85 ppb from each other with claimed uncertainties of about 16 and 7 ppb, respectively. In order to decide which values are correct the masses of the 198Hg and 204Hg isotopes have been measured in the Stockholm Penning trap mass spectrometer SMILETRAP using 52+ ions. This charge state corresponds to a filled Ni electron configuration for which the electron binding energy can be accurately calculated. The mass values obtained are 197.966 768 44(43) u for 198Hg and 203.973 494 10(39) u for 204Hg. These values agree with those measured by the Manitoba group, with a 3 times lower uncertainty. This measurement was made possible through the implementation of a cooling technique of the highly charged mercury ions during charge breeding in the electron beam ion source used for producing the Hg 52+ ions.

Single electron relativistic clock interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bushev, P. A.; Cole, J. H.; Sholokhov, D.; Kukharchyk, N.; Zych, M.

2016-09-01

Although time is one of the fundamental notions in physics, it does not have a unique description. In quantum theory time is a parameter ordering the succession of the probability amplitudes of a quantum system, while according to relativity theory each system experiences in general a different proper time, depending on the system's world line, due to time dilation. It is therefore of fundamental interest to test the notion of time in the regime where both quantum and relativistic effects play a role, for example, when different amplitudes of a single quantum clock experience different magnitudes of time dilation. Here we propose a realization of such an experiment with a single electron in a Penning trap. The clock can be implemented in the electronic spin precession and its time dilation then depends on the radial (cyclotron) state of the electron. We show that coherent manipulation and detection of the electron can be achieved already with present day technology. A single electron in a Penning trap is a technologically ready platform where the notion of time can be probed in a hitherto untested regime, where it requires a relativistic as well as quantum description.

Modeling of antihydrogen beam formation for interferometric gravity measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerber, Sebastian

2018-02-01

In this paper a detailed computational study is performed on the formation of antihydrogen via three-body-recombination of positrons and antiprotons in a Penning trap with a specific focus on formation of a beam of antihydrogen. First, an analytical model is presented to calculate the formation process of the anti-atoms, the yield of the fraction leaving the recombination plasma volume and their angular velocity distribution. This model is then benchmarked against data from different antihydrogen experiments. Subsequently, the flux of antihydrogen towards the axial opening angle of a Penning trap is evaluated for its suitability as input beam into a Talbot-Lau matter interferometer. The layout and optimization of the interferometer to measure the acceleration of antihydrogen in the Earth’s gravitational field is numerically calculated. The simulated results can assist experiments aiming to measure the weak equivalence principle of antimatter as proposed by the AEgIS experiment (Testera et al 2015 Hyperfine Interact. 233 13-20). The presented model can further help in the optimization of beam-like antihydrogen sources for CPT invariance tests of antimatter (Kuroda et al 2014 Nat. Commun. 5 3089).

Motional studies of one and two laser-cooled trapped ions for electric-field sensing applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domínguez, F.; Gutiérrez, M. J.; Arrazola, I.; Berrocal, J.; Cornejo, J. M.; Del Pozo, J. J.; Rica, R. A.; Schmidt, S.; Solano, E.; Rodríguez, D.

2018-03-01

We have studied the dynamics of one and two laser-cooled trapped ?Ca? ions by applying electric fields of different nature along the axial direction of the trap, namely, driving the motion with a harmonic dipolar field, or with white noise. These two types of driving induce distinct motional states of the axial modes: a coherent oscillation with the dipolar field, or an enhanced Brownian motion due to an additional contribution to the heating rate from the electric noise. In both scenarios, the sensitivity of an isolated ion and a laser-cooled two-ion crystal has been evaluated and compared. The analysis and understanding of this dynamics is important towards the implementation of a novel Penning trap mass-spectroscopy technique based on optical detection, aiming at improving precision and sensitivity.

Development of the cryogenic system of AEgIS at CERN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Derking, J. H.; Bremer, J.; Burghart, G.; Doser, M.; Dudarev, A.; Haider, S.

2014-01-01

The AEgIS (Antimatter Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy) experiment is located at the antiproton decelerator complex of CERN. The main goal of the experiment is to perform the first direct measurement of the Earth's gravitational acceleration on antihydrogen atoms within 1% precision. The antihydrogen is produced in a cylindrical Penning trap by combining antiprotons with positrons. To reach the precision of 1%, the antihydrogen has to be cooled to 100 mK to reduce its random velocity. A dilution refrigerator is selected to deliver the necessary cooling capacity of 100 μW at 50 mK. The AEgIS cryogenic system basically consists of cryostats for a 1-T and for a 5-T superconducting magnet, a central region cryostat, a dilution refrigerator cryostat and a measurement cryostat with a Moiré deflectometer to measure the gravitational acceleration. In autumn 2012, the 1-T cryostat, 5-T cryostat and central region cryostat were assembled and commissioned. The apparatus is cooled down in eight days using 2500 L of liquid helium and liquid nitrogen. During operation, the average consumption of liquid helium is 150 Lṡday-1 and of liquid nitrogen 5 Lṡday-1. The temperature sensors at the Penning traps measured 12 K to 18 K, which is higher than expected. Simulations show that this is caused by a bad thermalization of the trap wiring. The implementation of the sub-kelvin region is foreseen for mid-2015. The antihydrogen will be cooled down to 100 mK in an ultra-cold trap consisting of multiple high-voltage electrodes made of sapphire with gold plated electrode sectors.

Phase space holes and synchronized BGK modes in autoresonantly driven, Penning-trapped electron clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedland, Lazar; Fajans, Joel; Bertsche, Will; Wurtele, Jonathan

2003-10-01

We study excitation and control of BGK modes in pure electron plasmas in a Penning trap. We apply an oscillating external potential with a negatively chirped frequency. This drive resonates with, and phase-locks to, a group of axially bouncing electrons in the trap. All initially phase-locked electrons remain phase-locked during the chirp (the autoresonance phenomenon), while some new particles are added to the resonant group, as the bucket moves through the phase space. This creates an oscillating in space and slowly evolving in energy hole in the phase space distribution of the electrons. The electron density perturbation associated with this evolving hole yields a BGK mode synchronized with the drive. The local depth of the hole in phase space, and, thus, the amplitude of the mode are controlled by the external parameter (the driving frequency). The process is reversible, so that the BGK mode can be returned to its nearly initial state, by reversing the direction of variation of the driving frequency. A kinetic theory of this excitation process is developed. The theory uses results on passage through, and capture into, bounce resonance in the system from Monte Carlo simulations of resonant bucket dynamics. We discuss the dependence of the excited BGK mode on the drive frequency chirp rate and other plasma parameters and compare these predictions with experiments.

Progress towards an intense beam of positrons created by a Van de Graaff accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lund, K. R.; Weber, M. H.; Lynn, K. G.; Jennings, J.; Minnal, C.; Narimannezhad, A.; Rao, R.; Monster, K. A. W.

2017-12-01

A 4MV Van de Graaff accelerator was used to induce the nuclear reaction 12C(d,n)13N in order to produce an intense beam of positrons. The graphite target was heated so the radioactive 13N would desorb from the bulk into the vacuum. This radioactive gas is frozen onto a cryogenic freezer where it decays to produce an antiparticle beam of positrons. This high current beam is then guided into a superconducting magnet with field strength up to 7 Tesla where the positrons will be stored in a newly designed Micro-Penning-Malmberg trap. Several source geometries have been experimented on and found a maximum antimatter beam with a positron flux of greater than 0.55 ± 0.03 × 106 e+s-1 was achieved. This beam was produced using a solid rare gas moderator composed of krypton (Kr) at a temperature of 25 ± 5 K. Due to geometric restrictions on this set up and other loss mechanisms, 107-108 e+s-1 of the total number of positrons are lost. Simulations and preliminary experiments suggest a new geometry, currently under testing, will produce a beam of 107 e+s-1 or more. The setup and preliminary results for the new geometry will be discussed as well.

A novel approach for monitoring writing interferences during navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation mappings of writing related cortical areas.

PubMed

Rogić Vidaković, Maja; Gabelica, Dragan; Vujović, Igor; Šoda, Joško; Batarelo, Nikolina; Džimbeg, Andrija; Zmajević Schönwald, Marina; Rotim, Krešimir; Đogaš, Zoran

2015-11-30

It has recently been shown that navigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) is useful in preoperative neurosurgical mapping of motor and language brain areas. In TMS mapping of motor cortices the evoked responses can be quantitatively monitored by electromyographic (EMG) recordings. No such setup exists for monitoring of writing during nTMS mappings of writing related cortical areas. We present a novel approach for monitoring writing during nTMS mappings of motor writing related cortical areas. To our best knowledge, this is the first demonstration of quantitative monitoring of motor evoked responses from hand by EMG, and of pen related activity during writing with our custom made pen, together with the application of chronometric TMS design and patterned protocol of rTMS. The method was applied in four healthy subjects participating in writing during nTMS mapping of the premotor cortical area corresponding to BA 6 and close to the superior frontal sulcus. The results showed that stimulation impaired writing in all subjects. The corresponding spectra of measured signal related to writing movements was observed in the frequency band 0-20 Hz. Magnetic stimulation affected writing by suppressing normal writing frequency band. The proposed setup for monitoring of writing provides additional quantitative data for monitoring and the analysis of rTMS induced writing response modifications. The setup can be useful for investigation of neurophysiologic mechanisms of writing, for therapeutic effects of nTMS, and in preoperative mapping of language cortical areas in patients undergoing brain surgery. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Large atom number Bose-Einstein condensate machines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Streed, Erik W.; Chikkatur, Ananth P.; Gustavson, Todd L.

2006-02-15

We describe experimental setups for producing large Bose-Einstein condensates of {sup 23}Na and {sup 87}Rb. In both, a high-flux thermal atomic beam is decelerated by a Zeeman slower and is then captured and cooled in a magneto-optical trap. The atoms are then transferred into a cloverleaf-style Ioffe-Pritchard magnetic trap and cooled to quantum degeneracy with radio-frequency-induced forced evaporation. Typical condensates contain 20x10{sup 6} atoms. We discuss the similarities and differences between the techniques used for producing large {sup 87}Rb and {sup 23}Na condensates in the context of nearly identical setups.

Analysis of the Accuracy and Robustness of the Leap Motion Controller

PubMed Central

Weichert, Frank; Bachmann, Daniel; Rudak, Bartholomäus; Fisseler, Denis

2013-01-01

The Leap Motion Controller is a new device for hand gesture controlled user interfaces with declared sub-millimeter accuracy. However, up to this point its capabilities in real environments have not been analyzed. Therefore, this paper presents a first study of a Leap Motion Controller. The main focus of attention is on the evaluation of the accuracy and repeatability. For an appropriate evaluation, a novel experimental setup was developed making use of an industrial robot with a reference pen allowing a position accuracy of 0.2 mm. Thereby, a deviation between a desired 3D position and the average measured positions below 0.2 mm has been obtained for static setups and of 1.2 mm for dynamic setups. Using the conclusion of this analysis can improve the development of applications for the Leap Motion controller in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. PMID:23673678

Analysis of the accuracy and robustness of the leap motion controller.

PubMed

Weichert, Frank; Bachmann, Daniel; Rudak, Bartholomäus; Fisseler, Denis

2013-05-14

The Leap Motion Controller is a new device for hand gesture controlled user interfaces with declared sub-millimeter accuracy. However, up to this point its capabilities in real environments have not been analyzed. Therefore, this paper presents a first study of a Leap Motion Controller. The main focus of attention is on the evaluation of the accuracy and repeatability. For an appropriate evaluation, a novel experimental setup was developed making use of an industrial robot with a reference pen allowing a position accuracy of 0.2 mm. Thereby, a deviation between a desired 3D position and the average measured positions below 0.2 mm has been obtained for static setups and of 1.2 mm for dynamic setups. Using the conclusion of this analysis can improve the development of applications for the Leap Motion controller in the field of Human-Computer Interaction.

Energy gain calculations in Penning fusion systems using a bounce-averaged Fokker-Planck model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chacón, L.; Miley, G. H.; Barnes, D. C.; Knoll, D. A.

2000-11-01

In spherical Penning fusion devices, a spherical cloud of electrons, confined in a Penning-like trap, creates the ion-confining electrostatic well. Fusion energy gains for these systems have been calculated in optimistic conditions (i.e., spherically uniform electrostatic well, no collisional ion-electron interactions, single ion species) using a bounce-averaged Fokker-Planck (BAFP) model. Results show that steady-state distributions in which the Maxwellian ion population is dominant correspond to lowest ion recirculation powers (and hence highest fusion energy gains). It is also shown that realistic parabolic-like wells result in better energy gains than square wells, particularly at large well depths (>100 kV). Operating regimes with fusion power to ion input power ratios (Q-value) >100 have been identified. The effect of electron losses on the Q-value has been addressed heuristically using a semianalytic model, indicating that large Q-values are still possible provided that electron particle losses are kept small and well depths are large.

Practical Uses of Antiprotons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, Gerald P.

The production of commercial quantities of antiprotons has been a reality for many years now. The deceleration and trapping of antiprotons is a relatively new activity, but has been sufficiently proven to be translated into a business enterprise. Now that NASA has a portable Penning trap for transporting antiprotons, all the elements are in place to begin the commercial distribution of antiprotons. The list of potential customers for antiprotons is continuously growing, with detailed market analyses already performed on some medical and propulsion applications. In this paper these applications are reviewed, along with their appetite for antiprotons and the steps needed to bring them to market.

Photoionization of the Buckminsterfullerene Cation.

PubMed

Douix, Suzie; Duflot, Denis; Cubaynes, Denis; Bizau, Jean-Marc; Giuliani, Alexandre

2017-01-05

Photoionization of a buckminsterfullerene ion is investigated using an ion trap and a merged beam setup coupled to synchrotron radiation beamlines and compared to theoretical calculations. Absolute measurements derived from the ion trap experiment allow discrepancies concerning the photoionization cross section of C 60 + to be solved.

Evidence that Clouds of keV Hydrogen Ion Clusters Bounce Elastically from a Solid Surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, R. A.; Martin, James J.; Chakrabarti, Suman; Rodgers, Stephen L. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The behavior of hydrogen ion clusters is tested by an inject/hold/extract technique in a Penning-Malmberg trap. The timing pattern of the extraction signals is consistent with the clusters bouncing elastically from a detector several times. The ion clusters behave more like an elastic fluid than a beam of ions.

An efficient biosensor made of an electromagnetic trap and a magneto-resistive sensor.

PubMed

Li, Fuquan; Kosel, Jürgen

2014-09-15

Magneto-resistive biosensors have been found to be useful because of their high sensitivity, low cost, small size, and direct electrical output. They use super-paramagnetic beads to label a biological target and detect it via sensing the stray field. In this paper, we report a new setup for magnetic biosensors, replacing the conventional "sandwich" concept with an electromagnetic trap. We demonstrate the capability of the biosensor in the detection of E. coli. The trap is formed by a current-carrying microwire that attracts the magnetic beads into a sensing space on top of a tunnel magneto-resistive sensor. The sensor signal depends on the number of beads in the sensing space, which depends on the size of the beads. This enables the detection of biological targets, because such targets increase the volume of the beads. Experiments were carried out with a 6 µm wide microwire, which attracted the magnetic beads from a distance of 60 μm, when a current of 30 mA was applied. A sensing space of 30 µm in length and 6 µm in width was defined by the magnetic sensor. The results showed that individual E. coli bacterium inside the sensing space could be detected using super-paramagnetic beads that are 2.8 µm in diameter. The electromagnetic trap setup greatly simplifies the device and reduces the detection process to two steps: (i) mixing the bacteria with magnetic beads and (ii) applying the sample solution to the sensor for measurement, which can be accomplished within about 30 min with a sample volume in the µl range. This setup also ensures that the biosensor can be cleaned easily and re-used immediately. The presented setup is readily integrated on chips via standard microfabrication techniques. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Trapping cold ground state argon atoms.

PubMed

Edmunds, P D; Barker, P F

2014-10-31

We trap cold, ground state argon atoms in a deep optical dipole trap produced by a buildup cavity. The atoms, which are a general source for the sympathetic cooling of molecules, are loaded in the trap by quenching them from a cloud of laser-cooled metastable argon atoms. Although the ground state atoms cannot be directly probed, we detect them by observing the collisional loss of cotrapped metastable argon atoms and determine an elastic cross section. Using a type of parametric loss spectroscopy we also determine the polarizability of the metastable 4s[3/2](2) state to be (7.3±1.1)×10(-39)  C m(2)/V. Finally, Penning and associative losses of metastable atoms in the absence of light assisted collisions, are determined to be (3.3±0.8)×10(-10)  cm(3) s(-1).

Trapping, retention and laser cooling of Th3+ ions in a multisection linear quadrupole trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borisyuk, P. V.; Vasil'ev, O. S.; Derevyashkin, S. P.; Kolachevsky, N. N.; Lebedinskii, Yu. Yu.; Poteshin, S. S.; Sysoev, A. A.; Tkalya, E. V.; Tregubov, D. O.; Troyan, V. I.; Khabarova, K. Yu.; Yudin, V. I.; Yakovlev, V. P.

2017-06-01

A multisection linear quadrupole trap for Th3+ ions is described. Multiply charged ions are obtained by the laser ablation method. The possibility of trapping and retention of ˜103 ions is demonstrated in macroscopic time scales of ˜30 s. Specific features of cooling Th3+ ions on the electron transitions with wavelengths of 1088, 690 and 984 nm in Th3+ ion are discussed; a principal scheme of a setup for laser cooling is presented.

Development of the cryogenic system of AEgIS at CERN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Derking, J. H.; Bremer, J.; Burghart, G.

2014-01-29

The AEgIS (Antimatter Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy) experiment is located at the antiproton decelerator complex of CERN. The main goal of the experiment is to perform the first direct measurement of the Earth’s gravitational acceleration on antihydrogen atoms within 1% precision. The antihydrogen is produced in a cylindrical Penning trap by combining antiprotons with positrons. To reach the precision of 1%, the antihydrogen has to be cooled to 100 mK to reduce its random velocity. A dilution refrigerator is selected to deliver the necessary cooling capacity of 100 μW at 50 mK. The AEgIS cryogenic system basically consists of cryostatsmore » for a 1-T and for a 5-T superconducting magnet, a central region cryostat, a dilution refrigerator cryostat and a measurement cryostat with a Moiré deflectometer to measure the gravitational acceleration. In autumn 2012, the 1-T cryostat, 5-T cryostat and central region cryostat were assembled and commissioned. The apparatus is cooled down in eight days using 2500 L of liquid helium and liquid nitrogen. During operation, the average consumption of liquid helium is 150 L⋅day{sup −1} and of liquid nitrogen 5 L⋅day{sup −1}. The temperature sensors at the Penning traps measured 12 K to 18 K, which is higher than expected. Simulations show that this is caused by a bad thermalization of the trap wiring. The implementation of the sub-kelvin region is foreseen for mid-2015. The antihydrogen will be cooled down to 100 mK in an ultra-cold trap consisting of multiple high-voltage electrodes made of sapphire with gold plated electrode sectors.« less

Extending the applicability of an open-ring trap to perform experiments with a single laser-cooled ion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cornejo, J. M.; Colombano, M.; Doménech, J.

A special ion trap was initially built up to perform β-ν correlation experiments with radioactive ions. The trap geometry is also well suited to perform experiments with laser-cooled ions, serving for the development of a new type of Penning trap, in the framework of the project TRAPSENSOR at the University of Granada. The goal of this project is to use a single {sup 40}Ca{sup +} ion as detector for single-ion mass spectrometry. Within this project and without any modification to the initial electrode configuration, it was possible to perform Doppler cooling on {sup 40}Ca{sup +} ions, starting from large cloudsmore » and reaching single ion sensitivity. This new feature of the trap might be important also for other experiments with ions produced at radioactive ion beam facilities. In this publication, the trap and the laser system will be described, together with their performance with respect to laser cooling applied to large ion clouds down to a single ion.« less

Upgrade of the TITAN EBIT High Voltage Operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, Matt; Titan Collaboration

2016-09-01

TRIUMF's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science (TITAN) is a setup dedicated to highly precise mass measurements of short-lived isotopes down to 10ms. TITAN's Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT) is a charge breeder integrated into the setup to perform in-trap decay spectroscopy of highly charged ions and increase the precision of mass measurements. In its previous configuration TITAN's EBIT could not fulfil its maximum design specification due to high voltage safety restrictions, limiting its obtainable charge states. A recently completed upgrade of the high voltage operation that will allow the EBIT to fulfil its design specification and achieve higher charge states for heavier species is undergoing preliminary tests with stable beam. Simulations were performed to optimise the injection and extraction efficiency at high voltage and initial tests have involved using a Ge detector to identify x-rays produced by charge breeding stable ions. Future work comprises exploring electron capture rates of Ne-, He- and H-like charge states of 64Cu and higher masses, which were not previously accessible. The function of the EBIT within the TITAN setup, the work carried out on the upgrade thus far and its scope for future work will be presented.

Measurement of elastic light scattering from two optically trapped microspheres and red blood cells in a transparent medium.

PubMed

Kinnunen, Matti; Kauppila, Antti; Karmenyan, Artashes; Myllylä, Risto

2011-09-15

Optical tweezers can be used to manipulate small objects and cells. A trap can be used to fix the position of a particle during light scattering measurements. The places of two separately trapped particles can also be changed. In this Letter we present elastic light scattering measurements as a function of scattering angle when two trapped spheres are illuminated with a He-Ne laser. This setup is suitable for trapping noncharged homogeneous spheres. We also demonstrate measurement of light scattering patterns from two separately trapped red blood cells. Two different illumination schemes are used for both samples.

High-precision Penning trap mass measurements of 9,10Be and the one-neutron halo nuclide 11Be

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ringle, R.; Brodeur, M.; Brunner, T.; Ettenauer, S.; Smith, M.; Lapierre, A.; Ryjkov, V. L.; Delheij, P.; Drake, G. W. F.; Lassen, J.; Lunney, D.; Dilling, J.

2009-05-01

Penning trap mass measurements of 9Be, 10Be (t1 / 2 = 1.51 My), and the one-neutron halo nuclide 11Be (t1 / 2 = 13.8 s) have been performed using TITAN at TRIUMF. The resulting 11Be mass excess (ME = 20 177.60 (58) keV) is in agreement with the current Atomic Mass Evaluation (AME03) [G. Audi, et al., Nucl. Phys. A 729 (2003) 337] value, but is over an order of magnitude more precise. The precision of the mass values of 9,10Be have been improved by about a factor of four and reveal a ≈ 2 σ deviation from the AME mass values. Results of new atomic physics calculations are presented for the isotope shift of 11Be relative to 9Be, and it is shown that the new mass values essentially remove atomic mass uncertainties as a contributing factor in determining the relative nuclear charge radius from the isotope shift. The new mass values of 10,11Be also allow for a more precise determination of the single-neutron binding energy of the halo neutron in 11Be.

Q Value of the Superallowed Decay of {sup 46}V and Its Influence on V{sub ud} and the Unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa Matrix

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Savard, G.; Department of Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637; Buchinger, F.

2005-09-02

The masses of the radioactive nuclei {sup 46}V and its decay daughter {sup 46}Ti have been measured with the Canadian Penning Trap on-line Penning trap mass spectrometer to a precision of 1x10{sup -8}. A Q{sub EC} value of 7052.90(40) keV for the superallowed beta decay of {sup 46}V is obtained from the difference of these two masses. With this precise Q value, the Ft value for this decay is determined with improved precision. An investigation of an earlier Q-value measurement for {sup 46}V uncovers a set of 7 measurements that cannot be reconciled with modern data and affects previous evaluationsmore » of V{sub ud} from superallowed Fermi decays. A new evaluation, adding our new data and removing the discredited subset, yields new values for G{sub V} and V{sub ud}. When combined with recent results for V{sub us}, this yields modified constraints for the unitarity of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix and other extensions of the standard model.« less

Noncollisional kinetic model for non-neutral plasmas in a Penning trap: General properties and stationary solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coppa, G. G.; Ricci, Paolo

2002-10-01

This work deals with a noncollisional kinetic model for non-neutral plasmas in a Penning trap. Using the spatial coordinates r, θ, z and the axial velocity vz as phase-space variables, a kinetic model is developed starting from the kinetic equation for the distribution function f(r,θ,z,vz,t). In order to reduce the complexity of the model, the kinetic equations are integrated along the axial direction by assuming an ergodic distribution in the phase space (z,vz) for particles of the same axial energy ɛ and the same planar position. In this way, a kinetic equation for the z-integrated electron distribution F(r,θ,ɛ,t) is obtained taking into account implicitly the three-dimensionality of the problem. The general properties of the model are discussed, in particular the conservation laws. The model is also related to the fluid model that was introduced by Finn et al. [Phys. Plasmas 6, 3744 (1999); Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 2401 (2000)] and developed by Coppa et al. [Phys. Plasmas 8, 1133 (2001)]. Finally, numerical investigations are presented regarding the stationary solutions of the model.

Status of the project TRAPSENSOR: Performance of the laser-desorption ion source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cornejo, J. M.; Lorenzo, A.; Renisch, D.; Block, M.; Düllmann, Ch. E.; Rodríguez, D.

2013-12-01

Penning traps provide mass measurements on atomic nuclei with the highest accuracy and sensitivity. Depending on the experiment and on the physics goal, a relative mass uncertainty varying from 10-7 to below 10-11 is required. Regarding sensitivity, the use of only one ion for the measurement is crucial, either to perform mass measurements on superheavy elements (SHE), or to reach δm/m≈10-11 in order to contribute to the direct determination of the mass of the electron-antineutrino with accurate mass measurements on specific nuclei. This has motivated the development of a new technique called Quantum Sensor based on a laser-cooled ion stored in a Penning trap, to perform mass measurements using fluorescence photons instead of electronic detection. The device is currently under development at the University of Granada (Spain) within the project TRAPSENSOR. We describe the physics which motivates the construction of this device, the expected performance of the Quantum Sensor compared to that from existing techniques, and briefly present the main components of the project. As a specific aspect of the project, the performance of the laser-desorption ion source utilized to produce calcium, rhenium and osmium ions at different kinetic energies is presented.

Towards Simulating the Transverse Ising Model in a 2D Array of Trapped Ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sawyer, Brian

2013-05-01

Two-dimensional Coulomb crystals provide a useful platform for large-scale quantum simulation. Penning traps enable confinement of large numbers of ions (>100) and allow for the tunable-range spin-spin interactions demonstrated in linear ion strings, facilitating simulation of quantum magnetism at a scale that is currently intractable on classical computers. We readily confine hundreds of Doppler laser-cooled 9Be+ within a Penning trap, producing a planar array of ions with self-assembled triangular order. The transverse ``drumhead'' modes of our 2D crystal along with the valence electron spin of Be+ serve as a resource for generating spin-motion and spin-spin entanglement. Applying a spin-dependent optical dipole force (ODF) to the ion array, we perform spectroscopy and thermometry of individual drumhead modes. This ODF also allows us to engineer long-range Ising spin couplings of either ferromagnetic or anti-ferromagnetic character whose approximate power-law scaling with inter-ion distance, d, may be varied continuously from 1 /d0 to 1 /d3. An effective transverse magnetic field is applied via microwave radiation at the ~124-GHz spin-flip frequency, and ground states of the effective Ising Hamiltonian may in principle be prepared adiabatically by slowly decreasing this transverse field in the presence of the induced Ising coupling. Long-range anti-ferromagnetic interactions are of particular interest due to their inherent spin frustration and resulting large, near-degenerate manifold of ground states. We acknowledge support from NIST and the DARPA-OLE program.

Dual levitated coils for antihydrogen production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wofford, J. D.; Ordonez, C. A.

2013-04-01

Two coaxial superconducting magnetic coils that carry currents in the same direction and that are simultaneously levitated may serve for antihydrogen plasma confinement. The configuration may be suitable for use by a collaboration at the CERN Antiproton Decelerator facility to test fundamental symmetries between the properties of hydrogen and antihydrogen. Nested Penning traps are currently used to confine recombining antihydrogen plasma. Symmetry studies require the production of sufficiently cold antihydrogen. However, plasma drifts within nested Penning traps can increase the kinetic energy of antiprotons that form antihydrogen atoms. Dual levitated coils may serve to confine relatively large, cold, dense non-drifting recombining antihydrogen plasmas. A minimum-B magnetic field that is produced by the coils could provide for atom trapping. A toroidal plasma is confined between the coils. High density plasmas may be possible, by allowing plasma pressure to balance mechanical pressure to keep the coils apart. Progress is reported on theoretical and experimental efforts. The theoretical effort includes the development of a classical trajectory Monte Carlo simulation of confinement. The experimental effort includes levitation of a NdFeB permanent ring magnet, which produces a magnetic field that is qualitatively similar to the field that would be produced by the two coaxial superconducting magnetic coils. Liquid-nitrogen-cooled Bi-2223 high-temperature-superconducting components, with a critical temperature of 108 K, were used to levitate the ring magnet. An issue concerning keeping the plane of the levitated ring horizontal is discussed.

Microwave-mediated magneto-optical trap for polar molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dizhou, Xie; Wenhao, Bu; Bo, Yan

2016-05-01

Realizing a molecular magneto-optical trap has been a dream for cold molecular physicists for a long time. However, due to the complex energy levels and the small effective Lande g-factor of the excited states, the traditional magneto-optical trap (MOT) scheme does not work very well for polar molecules. One way to overcome this problem is the switching MOT, which requires very fast switching of both the magnetic field and the laser polarizations. Switching laser polarizations is relatively easy, but fast switching of the magnetic field is experimentally challenging. Here we propose an alternative approach, the microwave-mediated MOT, which requires a slight change of the current experimental setup to solve the problem. We calculate the MOT force and compare it with the traditional MOT and the switching MOT scheme. The results show that we can operate a good MOT with this simple setup. Project supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China.

Ion Temperature Measurements in an electron beam ion trap (EBIT)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beiersdorfer, P.; Decaux, V.; Widmann, K.

1997-11-01

An electron beam ion trap consists of a Penning-type cylindrical trap traversed by a high-energy (<= 200 keV), high-density (Ne <= 10^13 cm-3) electron beam. Ions are trapped by the space charge potential of the electron beam, a static potential on the end electrodes, and a 3-T axial magnetic field [1]. The ions are heated by the electron beam and leave the trap once their kinetic energy suffices to overcome the potential barriers. Using high-resolution x-ray spectroscopy, we have made systematic measurements of the temperature of Ti^20+ and Cs^45+ ions in the trap [2]. The dependence of the ion temperature on operating parameters, such as trapping potential, beam current, and neutral gas pressure, will be presented. Temperatures as low as 15.4 ± 4.4 eV and as high as 2 keV were observed. *Work performed under the auspices of the U.S.D.o.E. by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract No. W-7405-ENG-48. [1] M. Levine et al., Phys. Scripta T22, 157 (1989). [2]P. Beiersdorfer et al., PRL 77, 5356 (1996); P. Beiersdorfer, in AIP Conf. Proc. No. 389, p. 121 (1997).

Prospects for testing Lorentz and CPT symmetry with antiprotons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vargas, Arnaldo J.

2018-03-01

A brief overview of the prospects of testing Lorentz and CPT symmetry with antimatter experiments is presented. The models discussed are applicable to atomic spectroscopy experiments, Penning-trap experiments and gravitational tests. Comments about the sensitivity of the most recent antimatter experiments to the models reviewed here are included. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue `Antiproton physics in the ELENA era'.

Resonant structure of low-energy H3+ dissociative recombination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrignani, Annemieke; Altevogt, Simon; Berg, Max H.; Bing, Dennis; Grieser, Manfred; Hoffmann, Jens; Jordon-Thaden, Brandon; Krantz, Claude; Mendes, Mario B.; Novotný, Oldřich; Novotny, Steffen; Orlov, Dmitry A.; Repnow, Roland; Sorg, Tobias; Stützel, Julia; Wolf, Andreas; Buhr, Henrik; Kreckel, Holger; Kokoouline, Viatcheslav; Greene, Chris H.

2011-03-01

High-resolution dissociative recombination rate coefficients of rotationally cool and hot H3+ in the vibrational ground state have been measured with a 22-pole trap setup and a Penning ion source, respectively, at the ion storage-ring TSR. The experimental results are compared with theoretical calculations to explore the dependence of the rate coefficient on ion temperature and to study the contributions of different symmetries to probe the rich predicted resonance spectrum. The kinetic energy release was investigated by fragment imaging to derive internal temperatures of the stored parent ions under differing experimental conditions. A systematic experimental assessment of heating effects is performed which, together with a survey of other recent storage-ring data, suggests that the present rotationally cool rate-coefficient measurement was performed at 380-130+50 K and that this is the lowest rotational temperature so far realized in storage-ring rate-coefficient measurements on H3+. This partially supports the theoretical suggestion that temperatures higher than assumed in earlier experiments are the main cause for the large gap between the experimental and the theoretical rate coefficients. For the rotationally hot rate-coefficient measurement a temperature of below 3250 K is derived. From these higher-temperature results it is found that increasing the rotational ion temperature in the calculations cannot fully close the gap between the theoretical and the experimental rate coefficients.

Ultrafast state detection and 2D ion crystals in a Paul trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ip, Michael; Ransford, Anthony; Campbell, Wesley

2016-05-01

Projective readout of quantum information stored in atomic qubits typically uses state-dependent CW laser-induced fluorescence. This method requires an often sophisticated imaging system to spatially filter out the background CW laser light. We present an alternative approach that instead uses simple pulse sequences from a mode-locked laser to affect the same state-dependent excitations in less than 1 ns. The resulting atomic fluorescence occurs in the dark, allowing the placement of non-imaging detectors right next to the atom to improve the qubit state detection efficiency and speed. We also study 2D Coulomb crystals of atomic ions in an oblate Paul trap. We find that crystals with hundreds of ions can be held in the trap, potentially offering an alternative to the use of Penning traps for the quantum simulation of 2D lattice spin models. We discuss the classical physics of these crystals and the metastable states that are supported in 2D. This work is supported by the US Army Research Office.

A rare-earth-magnet ion trap for confining low-Z, bare nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brewer, Samuel M.; Tan, Joseph N.

2009-05-01

Simplifications in the theory for Rydberg states of hydrogenlike ions allow a substantial improvement in the accuracy of predicted levels, which can yield information on the values of fundamental constants and test theory if they can be compared with precision frequency measurements.[1] We consider the trapping of bare nuclei (fully-stripped) to be used in making Rydberg states of one-electron ions with atomic number 1< Z < 11. Numerical simulation is used here to study ion confinement in a compact, Penning-style ion trap consisting of electrodes integrated with rare-earth permanent magnets, and to model the capture of charge-state-selected ions extracted from an electron beam ion trap (EBIT). An experimental apparatus adapted to the NIST EBIT will also be discussed. Reference: [1] U.D. Jentschura, P.J. Mohr, J.N. Tan, and B.J. Wundt, ``Fundamental constants and tests of theory in Rydberg states of hydrogenlike ions,'' Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 160404 (2008).

Development of a Simple Positron Age-Momentum Setup

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheffield, Thomas; Quarles, C. A.

2009-04-01

A positron age-momentum setup that uses NIM Bin electronic modules and a conventional multichannel analyzer (MCA) is described. The essential idea is to accumulate a Doppler broadened spectrum (sensitive to the annihilation electron momentum) using a high purity Germanium detector in coincidence with a BaF2 scintillation counter, which also serves as the stop signal in a conventional positron lifetime setup. The MCA that collects the Doppler spectrum is gated by a selected region of the lifetime spectrum. Thus we can obtain Doppler broadening spectra as a function of positron lifetime: an age-momentum spectrum. The apparatus has been used so far to investigate a ZnO sample where the size of different vacancy trapping sites may affect the positron lifetime and the Doppler broadening spectrum. We are also looking at polymer and rubber carbon-black composite samples where differences in the Doppler spectrum may arise from positron trapping or positronium formation in the samples. Correction for background and contribution from the positron source itself to the Doppler spectrum will be discussed.

Investigation of a Mercury-Argon Hot Cathode Discharge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wamsley, Robert Charles

Classical absorption and laser induced fluorescence (LIF) experiments are used to investigate processes in the cathode region of a Hg-Ar hot cathode discharge. The absorption and LIF measurements are used to test the qualitative understanding and develop a quantitative model of a hot cathode discharge. The main contribution of this thesis is a model of the negative glow region that demonstrates the importance of Penning ionization to the ionization balance in the negative glow. We modeled the excited argon balance equation using a Monte Carlo simulation. In this simulation we used the trapped radiative decay rate of the resonance levels and the Penning ionization rate as the dominant loss terms in the balance equation. The simulated data is compared to and found to agree with absolute excited argon densities measured in a classical absorption experiment. We found the primary production rate per unit volume of excited Ar atoms in the simulation is sharply peaked near the cathode hot spot. We used the ion production rate from this simulation and a Green's function solution to the ambipolar diffusion equation to calculate the contribution of Penning ionization to the total ion density. We compared the results of this calculation to our experimental values of the Hg ^+ densities in the negative glow. We found that Penning ionization is an important and possibly the dominant ionization process in the negative glow.

Dark optical lattice of ring traps for cold atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Courtade, Emmanuel; Houde, Olivier; Clément, Jean-François; Verkerk, Philippe; Hennequin, Daniel

2006-09-01

We propose an optical lattice for cold atoms made of a one-dimensional stack of dark ring traps. It is obtained through the interference pattern of a standard Gaussian beam with a counterpropagating hollow beam obtained using a setup with two conical lenses. The traps of the resulting lattice are characterized by a high confinement and a filling rate much larger than unity, even if loaded with cold atoms from a magneto-optical trap. We have implemented this system experimentally, and demonstrated its feasibility. Applications in statistical physics, quantum computing, and Bose-Einstein condensate dynamics are conceivable.

Developing Antimatter Containment Technology: Modeling Charged Particle Oscillations in a Penning-Malmberg Trap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chakrabarti, S.; Martin, J. J.; Pearson, J. B.; Lewis, R. A.

2003-01-01

The NASA MSFC Propulsion Research Center (PRC) is conducting a research activity examining the storage of low energy antiprotons. The High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) is an electromagnetic system (Penning-Malmberg design) consisting of a 4 Tesla superconductor, a high voltage confinement electrode system, and an ultra high vacuum test section; designed with an ultimate goal of maintaining charged particles with a half-life of 18 days. Currently, this system is being experimentally evaluated using normal matter ions which are cheap to produce and relatively easy to handle and provide a good indication of overall trap behavior, with the exception of assessing annihilation losses. Computational particle-in-cell plasma modeling using the XOOPIC code is supplementing the experiments. Differing electrode voltage configurations are employed to contain charged particles, typically using flat, modified flat and harmonic potential wells. Ion cloud oscillation frequencies are obtained experimentally by amplification of signals induced on the electrodes by the particle motions. XOOPIC simulations show that for given electrode voltage configurations, the calculated charged particle oscillation frequencies are close to experimental measurements. As a two-dimensional axisymmetric code, XOOPIC cannot model azimuthal plasma variations, such as those induced by radio-frequency (RF) modulation of the central quadrupole electrode in experiments designed to enhance ion cloud containment. However, XOOPIC can model analytically varying electric potential boundary conditions and particle velocity initial conditions. Application of these conditions produces ion cloud axial and radial oscillation frequency modes of interest in achieving the goal of optimizing HiPAT for reliable containment of antiprotons.

Masses of Te130 and Xe130 and Double-β-Decay Q Value of Te130

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redshaw, Matthew; Mount, Brianna J.; Myers, Edmund G.; Avignone, Frank T., III

2009-05-01

The atomic masses of Te130 and Xe130 have been obtained by measuring cyclotron frequency ratios of pairs of triply charged ions simultaneously trapped in a Penning trap. The results, with 1 standard deviation uncertainty, are M(Te130)=129.906222744(16)u and M(Xe130)=129.903509351(15)u. From the mass difference the double-β-decay Q value of Te130 is determined to be Qββ(Te130)=2527.518(13)keV. This is a factor of 150 more precise than the result of the AME2003 [G. Audi , Nucl. Phys. A729, 337 (2003)NUPABL0375-947410.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.003].

Prospects for testing Lorentz and CPT symmetry with antiprotons.

PubMed

Vargas, Arnaldo J

2018-03-28

A brief overview of the prospects of testing Lorentz and CPT symmetry with antimatter experiments is presented. The models discussed are applicable to atomic spectroscopy experiments, Penning-trap experiments and gravitational tests. Comments about the sensitivity of the most recent antimatter experiments to the models reviewed here are included.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Antiproton physics in the ELENA era'. © 2018 The Author(s).

New Measurement of the Electron Magnetic Moment and the Fine Structure Constant: A First Application of a One-Electron Quantum Cyclotron

ScienceCinema

Gabrielse, Gerald

2018-05-22

Remarkably, the famous UW measurement of the electron magnetic moment has stood since 1987. With QED theory, this measurement has determined the accepted value of the fine structure constant. This colloquium is about a new Harvard measurement of these fundamental constants. The new measurement has an uncertainty that is about six times smaller, and it shifts the values by 1.7 standard deviations. One electron suspended in a Penning trap is used for the new measurement, like in the old measurement. What is different is that the lowest quantum levels of the spin and cyclotron motion are resolved, and the cyclotron as well as spin frequencies are determined using quantum jump spectroscopy. In addition, a 0.1 mK Penning trap that is also a cylindrical microwave cavity is used to control the radiation field, to suppress spontaneous emission by more than a factor of 100, to control cavity shifts, and to eliminate the blackbody photons that otherwise stimulate excitations from the cyclotron ground state. Finally, great signal-to-noise for one-quantum transitions is obtained using electronic feedback to realize the first one-particle self-excited oscillator. The new methods may also allow a million times improved measurement of the 500 times small antiproton magnetic moment.

Calorimetric Low-Temperature Detectors for X-Ray Spectroscopy on Trapped Highly-Charged Heavy Ions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kilbourne, Caroline; Kraft-Bermuth, S.; Andrianov, V.; Bleile, A.; Echler, A.; Egelhof, P.; Ilieva, S.; Kilbourne, C.; McCammon, D.

2012-01-01

The application of Calorimetric Low-Temperature Detectors (CLTDs) has been proposed at the Heavy-Ion TRAP facility HITRAP which is currently being installed at the Helmholtz Research Center for Heavy Ion Research GSI. This cold ion trap setup will allow the investigation of X-rays from ions practically at rest, for which the excellent energy resolution of CLTDs can be used to its full advantage. However, the relatively low intensities at HITRAP demand larger solid angles and an optimized cryogenic setup. The influence of external magnetic fields has to be taken into account. CLTDs will also be a substantial part of the instrumental equipment at the future Facility for Antiproton and Heavy Ion Research (FAIR), for which a wide variety of high-precision X-ray spectroscopy experiments has been proposed. This contribution will give an overview on the chances and challenges for the application of CLTDs at HITRAP as well as perspectives for future experiments at the FAIR facility.

Engineered spin-spin interactions on a 2D array of trapped ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Britton, Joe; Sawyer, Brian; Bollinger, John

2013-05-01

We work with laser cooled 9Be+ ions confined in a Penning trap to simulate quantum magnetic interactions. The valence electron of each ion behaves as an ideal spin- 1 / 2 particle. We recently demonstrated a uniform anti-ferromagnetic Ising interaction on a naturally occurring two-dimensional (2D) triangular crystal of 100 < N < 350 ions. The Ising interaction is generated by a spin-dependent optical dipole force (ODF). For spins separated by distance d, we show that the range can be tuned according to (d / d 0)-a, for 0 < a < 3 . For different operating parameters we can also generate an infinite range ferromagnetic Ising interaction. We also use the ODF for spectroscopy and thermometry of the normal modes of the trapped ion array. A detailed understanding of the modes is important because they mediate the spin-spin interactions. This work is supported by NIST and the DARPA OLE program.

RF Stabilization for Storage of Antiprotons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearson, J. Boise; Lewis, Raymond A.

2005-01-01

Portable storage of antimatter is an important step in the experimental exploration of antimatter in propulsion applications. The High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is a Penning-Malmberg ion trap being developed to trap and store low energy antiprotons for a period of weeks. The antiprotons can then be transported for use in experiments. HiPAT is being developed and evaluated using normal matter, before an attempt is made to store and transport antiprotons. Stortd ions have inherent instabilities that limit the storage lifetime. RF stabilization at cyclotron resonance frequencies is demonstrated over a period of 6 days for normal matter ion clouds. A variety of particles have been stored, including protons, C+ ions, and H2+ ions. Cyclotron resonance frequencies are defined and experimental evidence presented to demonstrate excitation of cyclotron waves in the plasma for all three species of ions.

Stability and instability for low refractive-index-contrast particle trapping in a dual-beam optical trap.

PubMed

Huff, Alison; Melton, Charles N; Hirst, Linda S; Sharping, Jay E

2015-10-01

A dual-beam optical trap is used to trap and manipulate dielectric particles. When the refractive index of these particles is comparable to that of the surrounding medium, equilibrium trapping locations within the system shift from stable to unstable depending on fiber separation and particle size. This is due to to the relationship between gradient and scattering forces. We experimentally and computationally study the transitions between stable and unstable trapping of poly(methyl methacrylate) beads for a range of parameters relevant to experimental setups involving giant unilamellar vesicles. We present stability maps for various fiber separations and particle sizes, and find that careful attention to particle size and configuration is necessary to obtain reproducible quantitative results for soft matter stretching experiments.

Stability and instability for low refractive-index-contrast particle trapping in a dual-beam optical trap

PubMed Central

Huff, Alison; Melton, Charles N.; Hirst, Linda S.; Sharping, Jay E.

2015-01-01

A dual-beam optical trap is used to trap and manipulate dielectric particles. When the refractive index of these particles is comparable to that of the surrounding medium, equilibrium trapping locations within the system shift from stable to unstable depending on fiber separation and particle size. This is due to to the relationship between gradient and scattering forces. We experimentally and computationally study the transitions between stable and unstable trapping of poly(methyl methacrylate) beads for a range of parameters relevant to experimental setups involving giant unilamellar vesicles. We present stability maps for various fiber separations and particle sizes, and find that careful attention to particle size and configuration is necessary to obtain reproducible quantitative results for soft matter stretching experiments. PMID:26504632

Search for tensor-like couplings in the β-decay of laser trapped 6He

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leredde, Arnaud; Bailey, Kevin; Mueller, Peter; O'Connor, Tom; Bagdasarova, Yelena; Garcia, Alejandro; Hong, Ran; Sternberg, Matthew; Storm, Derek; Swanson, Erik; Wauters, Frederik; Zumwalt, David; Flechard, Xavier; Naviliat-Cuncic, Oscar

2015-10-01

The beta-neutrino angular correlation in nuclear beta decay can reveal the nature of the weak interaction. The case of 6He is particularly sensitive to test for tensor contributions by measuring the corresponding angular correlation parameter aβν. Trapping techniques such as magneto-optical traps (MOT) combined with recoil ion momentum spectroscopy are powerful tools which allow to measure aβν with high precision. The experiment, located at the University of Washington, takes advantage of the tandem Van de Graaff accelerator to produce up to 2×1010 6He/s. A double-MOT setup has been optimized to trap and detect beta-recoil-ion coincidences at a rate of a few Hertz. Systematic effects have been investigated in details and major effort has been put to limit their contribution to less than 1% of aβν. The first goal of this experiment is to measure aβν with this 1% uncertainty and use this set of data to guide further improvements with the goal to bring the uncertainty to the 0.1% level. The performances of the trap setup, preliminary coincidence data, and studies of systematic uncertainties will be presented. This work is supported by DOE, Office of Nuclear Physics, under Contract Nos. DE-AC02-06CH11357 and DE-FG02-97ER41020.

A 6He production facility and an electrostatic trap for measurement of the beta-neutrino correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukul, I.; Hass, M.; Heber, O.; Hirsh, T. Y.; Mishnayot, Y.; Rappaport, M. L.; Ron, G.; Shachar, Y.; Vaintraub, S.

2018-08-01

A novel experiment has been commissioned at the Weizmann Institute of Science for the study of weak interactions via a high-precision measurement of the beta-neutrinoangular correlation in the radioactive decay of short-lived 6He. The facility consists of a 14 MeV d + t neutron generator to produce atomic 6He, followed by ionization and bunching in an electron beam ion source, and injection into an electrostatic ion beam trap. This ion trap has been designed for efficient detection of the decay products from trapped light ions. The storage time in the trap for different stable ions was found to be in the range of 0.6 to 1.2 s at the chamber pressure of ∼7 × 10-10 mbar. We present the initial test results of the facility, and also demonstrate an important upgrade of an existing method (Stora et al., 2012) for production of light radioactive atoms, viz. 6He, for the precision measurement. The production rate of 6He atoms in the present setup has been estimated to be ∼ 1 . 45 × 10-4 atoms per neutron, and the system efficiency was found to be 4.0 ± 0.6%. An improvement to this setup is also presented for the enhanced production and diffusion of radioactive atoms for future use.

A permanent magnet trap for buffer gas cooled atoms and molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nohlmans, D.; Skoff, S. M.; Hendricks, R. J.; Segal, D. M.; Sauer, B. E.; Hinds, E. A.; Tarbutt, M. R.

2013-05-01

Cold molecules are set to provide a wealth of new science compared to their atomic counterparts. Here we want to present preliminary results for cooling and trapping atoms/molecules in a permanent magnetic trap. By replacing the conventional buffer gas cell with an arrangement of permanent magnets, we will be able to trap a fraction of the molecules right where they are cooled. For this purpose we have designed a quadrupole trap using NdFeB magnets, which has a trap depth of 0.4 K for molecules with a magnetic moment of 1 μB. Cold helium gas is pulsed into the trap region by a solenoid valve and the atoms/molecules are subsequently ablated into this and cooled via elastic collisions, leaving a fraction of them trapped. This new set-up is currently being tested with lithium atoms as they are easier to make. After having optimised the trapping and detection processes, we will use the same trap for YbF molecules.

A cylindrical quadrupole ion trap in combination with an electrospray ion source for gas-phase luminescence and absorption spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stockett, Mark H., E-mail: stockett@phys.au.dk; Houmøller, Jørgen; Støchkel, Kristian

2016-05-15

A relatively simple setup for collection and detection of light emitted from isolated photo-excited molecular ions has been constructed. It benefits from a high collection efficiency of photons, which is accomplished by using a cylindrical ion trap where one end-cap electrode is a mesh grid combined with an aspheric condenser lens. The geometry permits nearly 10% of the emitted light to be collected and, after transmission losses, approximately 5% to be delivered to the entrance of a grating spectrometer equipped with a detector array. The high collection efficiency enables the use of pulsed tunable lasers with low repetition rates (e.g.,more » 20 Hz) instead of continuous wave (cw) lasers or very high repetition rate (e.g., MHz) lasers that are typically used as light sources for gas-phase fluorescence experiments on molecular ions. A hole has been drilled in the cylinder electrode so that a light pulse can interact with the ion cloud in the center of the trap. Simulations indicate that these modifications to the trap do not significantly affect the storage capability and the overall shape of the ion cloud. The overlap between the ion cloud and the laser light is basically 100%, and experimentally >50% of negatively charged chromophore ions are routinely photodepleted. The performance of the setup is illustrated based on fluorescence spectra of several laser dyes, and the quality of these spectra is comparable to those reported by other groups. Finally, by replacing the optical system with a channeltron detector, we demonstrate that the setup can also be used for gas-phase action spectroscopy where either depletion or fragmentation is monitored to provide an indirect measurement on the absorption spectrum of the ion.« less

A cylindrical quadrupole ion trap in combination with an electrospray ion source for gas-phase luminescence and absorption spectroscopy.

PubMed

Stockett, Mark H; Houmøller, Jørgen; Støchkel, Kristian; Svendsen, Annette; Brøndsted Nielsen, Steen

2016-05-01

A relatively simple setup for collection and detection of light emitted from isolated photo-excited molecular ions has been constructed. It benefits from a high collection efficiency of photons, which is accomplished by using a cylindrical ion trap where one end-cap electrode is a mesh grid combined with an aspheric condenser lens. The geometry permits nearly 10% of the emitted light to be collected and, after transmission losses, approximately 5% to be delivered to the entrance of a grating spectrometer equipped with a detector array. The high collection efficiency enables the use of pulsed tunable lasers with low repetition rates (e.g., 20 Hz) instead of continuous wave (cw) lasers or very high repetition rate (e.g., MHz) lasers that are typically used as light sources for gas-phase fluorescence experiments on molecular ions. A hole has been drilled in the cylinder electrode so that a light pulse can interact with the ion cloud in the center of the trap. Simulations indicate that these modifications to the trap do not significantly affect the storage capability and the overall shape of the ion cloud. The overlap between the ion cloud and the laser light is basically 100%, and experimentally >50% of negatively charged chromophore ions are routinely photodepleted. The performance of the setup is illustrated based on fluorescence spectra of several laser dyes, and the quality of these spectra is comparable to those reported by other groups. Finally, by replacing the optical system with a channeltron detector, we demonstrate that the setup can also be used for gas-phase action spectroscopy where either depletion or fragmentation is monitored to provide an indirect measurement on the absorption spectrum of the ion.

Masses of {sup 130}Te and {sup 130}Xe and Double-{beta}-Decay Q Value of {sup 130}Te

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Redshaw, Matthew; Mount, Brianna J.; Myers, Edmund G.

The atomic masses of {sup 130}Te and {sup 130}Xe have been obtained by measuring cyclotron frequency ratios of pairs of triply charged ions simultaneously trapped in a Penning trap. The results, with 1 standard deviation uncertainty, are M({sup 130}Te)=129.906 222 744(16) u and M({sup 130}Xe)=129.903 509 351(15) u. From the mass difference the double-{beta}-decay Q value of {sup 130}Te is determined to be Q{sub {beta}}{sub {beta}}({sup 130}Te)=2527.518(13) keV. This is a factor of 150 more precise than the result of the AME2003 [G. Audi et al., Nucl. Phys. A729, 337 (2003)].

Measurement of the Neutron Lifetime Using a Proton Trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dewey, M. S.; Gilliam, D. M.; Nico, J. S.; Wietfeldt, F. E.; Fei, X.; Snow, W. M.; Greene, G. L.; Pauwels, J.; Eykens, R.; Lamberty, A.; van Gestel, J.

2003-10-01

We report a new measurement of the neutron decay lifetime by the absolute counting of in-beam neutrons and their decay protons. Protons were confined in a quasi-Penning trap and counted with a silicon detector. The neutron beam fluence was measured by capture in a thin 6LiF foil detector with known absolute efficiency. The combination of these simultaneous measurements gives the neu­tron lifetime: τn=(886.8±1.2[stat]±3.2[syst]) s. The systematic uncertainty is dominated by uncertainties in the mass of the 6LiF deposit and the 6Li(n,t) cross section. This is the most precise measurement of the neutron lifetime to date using an in-beam method.

The LEBIT ion cooler and buncher

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwarz, S.; Bollen, G.; Ringle, R.; Savory, J.; Schury, P.

2016-04-01

This paper presents a detailed description of the ion cooler and buncher, installed at the Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap Facility (LEBIT) at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL). NSCL uses gas stopping to provide rare isotopes from projectile fragmentation for its low-energy physics program and to the re-accelerator ReA. The LEBIT ion buncher converts the continuous rare-isotope beam, delivered from the gas stopping cell, into short, low-emittance ion pulses, required for high-precision mass measurements with a 9.4 T Penning trap mass spectrometer. Operation at cryogenic temperatures, a simplified electrode structure and dedicated rugged electronics contribute to the high performance and reliability of the device, which have been essential to the successful LEBIT physics program since 2005.

Development of automatic surveillance of animal behaviour and welfare using image analysis and machine learned segmentation technique.

PubMed

Nilsson, M; Herlin, A H; Ardö, H; Guzhva, O; Åström, K; Bergsten, C

2015-11-01

In this paper the feasibility to extract the proportion of pigs located in different areas of a pig pen by advanced image analysis technique is explored and discussed for possible applications. For example, pigs generally locate themselves in the wet dunging area at high ambient temperatures in order to avoid heat stress, as wetting the body surface is the major path to dissipate the heat by evaporation. Thus, the portion of pigs in the dunging area and resting area, respectively, could be used as an indicator of failure of controlling the climate in the pig environment as pigs are not supposed to rest in the dunging area. The computer vision methodology utilizes a learning based segmentation approach using several features extracted from the image. The learning based approach applied is based on extended state-of-the-art features in combination with a structured prediction framework based on a logistic regression solver using elastic net regularization. In addition, the method is able to produce a probability per pixel rather than form a hard decision. This overcomes some of the limitations found in a setup using grey-scale information only. The pig pen is a difficult imaging environment because of challenging lighting conditions like shadows, poor lighting and poor contrast between pig and background. In order to test practical conditions, a pen containing nine young pigs was filmed from a top view perspective by an Axis M3006 camera with a resolution of 640 × 480 in three, 10-min sessions under different lighting conditions. The results indicate that a learning based method improves, in comparison with greyscale methods, the possibility to reliable identify proportions of pigs in different areas of the pen. Pigs with a changed behaviour (location) in the pen may indicate changed climate conditions. Changed individual behaviour may also indicate inferior health or acute illness.

An optical levitation system for a physics teaching laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isaksson, Oscar; Karlsteen, Magnus; Rostedt, Mats; Hanstorp, Dag

2018-02-01

We describe an experimental system based on optical levitation of an oil droplet. When combined with an applied electric field and a source of ionizing radiation, the setup permits the investigation of physical phenomena such as radiation pressure, light diffraction, the motion of a charged particle in an oscillating electric field, and the interaction of ionizing radiation with matter. The trapping occurs by creating an equilibrium between a radiation pressure force and the force of gravity. We have found that an oil droplet can be trapped for at least nine hours. The system can be used to measure the size and total electric charge on the trapped droplet. The intensity of the light from the trapping laser that is scattered by the droplet is sufficient to allow the droplet to be easily seen with the naked eye, covered by laser alignment goggles. When oscillating under the influence of an ac electric field, the motion of the droplet can be described as that of a driven, damped harmonic oscillator. The magnitude and polarity of the charge can be altered by exposing the droplet to ionizing radiation from a low-activity radioactive source. Our goal was to design a hands-on setup that allows undergraduate and graduate students to observe and better understand fundamental physical processes.

Rotatingwall Technique and Centrifugal Separation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderegg, François

This chapter describes the "rotating wall" technique which enables essentially unlimited confinement time of 109-1010 charged particles in a Penning trap. The applied rotating wall electric field provides a positive torque that counteracts background drags, resulting in radial compression or steady-state confinement in near-thermal equilibrium states. The last part of the chapter discusses centrifugal separation in a rotating multi-species non-neutral plasma. Separation occurs when the centrifugal energy is larger than the mixing due to thermal energy.

Antihydrogen from positronium impact with cold antiprotons: a Monte Carlo simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cassidy, D. B.; Merrison, J. P.; Charlton, M.; Mitroy, J.; Ryzhikh, G.

1999-04-01

A Monte Carlo simulation of the reaction to form antihydrogen by positronium impact upon antiprotons has been undertaken. Total and differential cross sections have been utilized as inputs to the simulation which models the conditions foreseen in planned antihydrogen formation experiments using positrons and antiprotons held in Penning traps. Thus, predictions of antihydrogen production rates, angular distributions and the variation of the mean antihydrogen temperature as a function of incident positronium kinetic energy have been produced.

Combined acoustic and optical trapping

PubMed Central

Thalhammer, G.; Steiger, R.; Meinschad, M.; Hill, M.; Bernet, S.; Ritsch-Marte, M.

2011-01-01

Combining several methods for contact free micro-manipulation of small particles such as cells or micro-organisms provides the advantages of each method in a single setup. Optical tweezers, which employ focused laser beams, offer very precise and selective handling of single particles. On the other hand, acoustic trapping with wavelengths of about 1 mm allows the simultaneous trapping of many, comparatively large particles. With conventional approaches it is difficult to fully employ the strengths of each method due to the different experimental requirements. Here we present the combined optical and acoustic trapping of motile micro-organisms in a microfluidic environment, utilizing optical macro-tweezers, which offer a large field of view and working distance of several millimeters and therefore match the typical range of acoustic trapping. We characterize the acoustic trapping forces with the help of optically trapped particles and present several applications of the combined optical and acoustic trapping, such as manipulation of large (75 μm) particles and active particle sorting. PMID:22025990

Quantum computation with trapped ions in an optical cavity.

PubMed

Pachos, Jiannis; Walther, Herbert

2002-10-28

Two-qubit logical gates are proposed on the basis of two atoms trapped in a cavity setup and commonly addressed by laser fields. Losses in the interaction by spontaneous transitions are efficiently suppressed by employing adiabatic transitions and the quantum Zeno effect. Dynamical and geometrical conditional phase gates are suggested. This method provides fidelity and a success rate of its gates very close to unity. Hence, it is suitable for performing quantum computation.

Trapped Ion Oscillation Frequencies as Sensors for Spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Vogel, Manuel; Quint, Wolfgang; Nörtershäuser, Wilfried

2010-01-01

The oscillation frequencies of charged particles in a Penning trap can serve as sensors for spectroscopy when additional field components are introduced to the magnetic and electric fields used for confinement. The presence of so-called “magnetic bottles” and specific electric anharmonicities creates calculable energy-dependences of the oscillation frequencies in the radiofrequency domain which may be used to detect the absorption or emission of photons both in the microwave and optical frequency domains. The precise electronic measurement of these oscillation frequencies therefore represents an optical sensor for spectroscopy. We discuss possible applications for precision laser and microwave spectroscopy and their role in the determination of magnetic moments and excited state life-times. Also, the trap-assisted measurement of radiative nuclear de-excitations in the X-ray domain is discussed. This way, the different applications range over more than 12 orders of magnitude in the detectable photon energies, from below μeV in the microwave domain to beyond MeV in the X-ray domain. PMID:22294921

First direct determination of the 48Ca double-β decay Q value

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bustabad, S.; Bollen, G.; Brodeur, M.; Lincoln, D. L.; Novario, S. J.; Redshaw, M.; Ringle, R.; Schwarz, S.; Valverde, A. A.

2013-08-01

The low-energy beam and ion trap Penning trap mass spectrometer was used for an improved determination of the 48Ca double-β decay Q value: Qββ=4268.121(79)keV. The new value is 1.2 keV greater than the value in the 2012 atomic mass evaluation [Chin. Phys. CCPCHCQ1674-113710.1088/1674-1137/36/12/003 36, 1603 (2012)], a shift of three σ, and is a factor of 5 more precise. Accurate knowledge of this Q value is important for experimental searches to observe neutrinoless double-β decay (0νββ) in 48Ca and is essential for extracting the effective mass of the electron neutrino if the 48Ca half-life of 0νββ was experimentally determined.

Magnetic field extraction of trap-based electron beams using a high-permeability grid

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hurst, N. C.; Danielson, J. R.; Surko, C. M., E-mail: csurko@physics.ucsd.edu

2015-07-15

A method to form high quality electrostatically guided lepton beams is explored. Test electron beams are extracted from tailored plasmas confined in a Penning-Malmberg trap. The particles are then extracted from the confining axial magnetic field by passing them through a high magnetic permeability grid with radial tines (a so-called “magnetic spider”). An Einzel lens is used to focus and analyze the beam properties. Numerical simulations are used to model non-adiabatic effects due to the spider, and the predictions are compared with the experimental results. Improvements in beam quality are discussed relative to the use of a hole in amore » high permeability shield (i.e., in lieu of the spider), and areas for further improvement are described.« less

Superconducting shielding with Pb and Nb tubes for momentum sensitive measurements of neutral antimatter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hinterberger, A.; Gerber, S.; Doser, M.

2017-09-01

In this paper we report on measurements and simulations of superconducting tubes in the presence of inhomogeneous externally applied magnetic fields in a cryogenic environment. The shielding effect is studied for two different tube materials, Pb and Nb, employing Hall sensors in a tabletop experiment. The measured internal and external fields of the tubes agree with the theory of the Meissner-Ochsenfeld effect [1], field trapping of type 2 superconductors, phase transitions and tube geometries. The obtained measurements are compared to a finite element simulation. Next, the simulation model is applied to estimate the shielding effect in the vicinity of a cryogenic Penning trap experiment. The controlled suppression of external magnetic fields is important for future precision experiments in atomic and antimatter physics in cryogenic environments.

Production of slow protonium in vacuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zurlo, N.; Rizzini, E. Lodi; Venturelli, L.; Amoretti, M.; Carraro, C.; Lagomarsino, V.; Macrì, M.; Manuzio, G.; Testera, G.; Variola, A.; Amsler, C.; Pruys, H.; Regenfus, C.; Bonomi, G.; Fontana, A.; Genova, P.; Montagna, P.; Rotondi, A.; Cesar, C. L.; Charlton, M.; Mitchard, D.; Jørgensen, L. V.; Madsen, N.; Van der Werf, D. P.; Doser, M.; Kellerbauer, A.; Landua, R.; Funakoshi, R.; Hayano, R. S.; Posada, L. G.; Yamazaki, Y.

We describe how protonium, the quasi-stable antiproton-proton bound system, has been synthesized following the interaction of antiprotons with the molecular ion H{2/+} in a nested Penning trap environment. From a careful analysis of the spatial distributions of antiproton annihilation events in the ATHENA experiment, evidence is presented for protonium production with sub-eV kinetic energies in states around n = 70, with iow angular momenta. This work provides a new two-body system for studies using laser spectroscopic techniques.

Evidence For The Production Of Slow Antiprotonic Hydrogen In Vacuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zurlo, N.; Amoretti, M.; Amsler, C.; Bonomi, G.; Carraro, C.; Cesar, C. L.; Charlton, M.; Doser, M.; Fontana, A.; Funakoshi, R.; Genova, P.; Hayano, R. S.; Jørgensen, L. V.; Kellerbauer, A.; Lagomarsino, V.; Landua, R.; Rizzini, E. Lodi; Macrì, M.; Madsen, N.; Manuzio, G.; Mitchard, D.; Montagna, P.; Posada, L. G.; Pruys, H.; Regenfus, C.; Rotondi, A.; Testera, G.; der Werf, D. P. Van; Variola, A.; Venturelli, L.; Yamazaki, Y.

2006-10-01

We present evidence showing how antiprotonic hydrogen, the quasistable antiproton (p¯)-proton bound system, has been synthesized following the interaction of antiprotons with the molecular ion H2+ in a nested Penning trap environment. From a careful analysis of the spatial distributions of antiproton annihilation events, evidence is presented for antiprotonic hydrogen production with sub-eV kinetic energies in states around n=70, and with low angular momenta. The slow antiprotonic hydrogen may be studied using laser spectroscopic techniques.

Production of slow protonium in vacuum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zurlo, N.; Amoretti, M.; Amsler, C.; Bonomi, G.; Carraro, C.; Cesar, C. L.; Charlton, M.; Doser, M.; Fontana, A.; Funakoshi, R.; Genova, P.; Hayano, R. S.; Jørgensen, L. V.; Kellerbauer, A.; Lagomarsino, V.; Landua, R.; Lodi Rizzini, E.; Macrì, M.; Madsen, N.; Manuzio, G.; Mitchard, D.; Montagna, P.; Posada, L. G.; Pruys, H.; Regenfus, C.; Rotondi, A.; Testera, G.; van der Werf, D. P.; Variola, A.; Venturelli, L.; Yamazaki, Y.

2006-09-01

We descrbe how protonium, the quasi-stable antiproton-proton bound system, has been synthesized following the interaction of antiprotons with the molecular ion H_2^+ in a nested Penning trap environment. From a careful analysis of the spatial distributions of antiproton annihilation events in the ATHENA experiment, evidence is presented for protonium production with sub-eV kinetic energies in states around n = 70, with low angular momenta. This work provides a new two-body system for studies using laser spectroscopic techniques.

Battery-powered, electrocuting trap for stable flies (Diptera: Muscidae).

PubMed

Pickens, L G

1991-11-01

A solar-charged, battery-powered, electrocuting grid was combined with a white plywood base to make a portable, pulsed-current, pest-electrocuting device that attracted and killed stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), outdoors. The grid was powered once every 1-2 s by a 0.016-s pulse of 60-Hz alternating current of 4 mA and 9,500 V. Power was turned off at night by a photoresistor. The trap functioned continuously for 14 d with an unrecharged 12-V, 18A/h lawn-tractor battery and killed as many as 4,000 flies per day. Solar cells were used to charge a single 12-V battery continuously that operated 12 grids for a period of 90 d. The grid did not short circuit for any length of time even during heavy rainstorms or when large insects were killed. The incorporation of moiré patterns and the utilization of the correct size, orientation, and placement of wires made the electrocuting grid itself attractive to stable flies. The traps were spaced at distances of up to 120 m from the battery and pulse circuit. The electrocuting traps were more effective than sticky traps and avoided the problems associated with chemicals. They are well suited for use around calf pens, dog kennels, or large animal shelters.

Dark soliton decay due to trap anharmonicity in atomic Bose-Einstein condensates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parker, N. G.; Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1; School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT

2010-03-15

A number of recent experiments with nearly pure atomic Bose-Einstein condensates have confirmed the predicted dark soliton oscillations when under harmonic trapping. However, a dark soliton propagating in an inhomogeneous condensate has also been predicted to be unstable to the emission of sound waves. Although harmonic trapping supports an equilibrium between the coexisting soliton and sound, we show that the ensuing dynamics are sensitive to trap anharmonicities. Such anharmonicities can break the soliton-sound equilibrium and lead to the net decay of the soliton on a considerably shorter time scale than other dissipation mechanisms. Thus, we propose that small realistic modificationsmore » to existing experimental setups could enable the experimental observation of this decay channel.« less

All-optical atom trap as a target for MOTRIMS-like collision experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, S.; Acharya, B. P.; De Silva, A. H. N. C.; Parris, N. W.; Ramsey, B. J.; Romans, K. L.; Dorn, A.; de Jesus, V. L. B.; Fischer, D.

2018-04-01

Momentum-resolved scattering experiments with laser-cooled atomic targets have been performed since almost two decades with magneto-optical trap recoil ion momentum spectroscopy (MOTRIMS) setups. Compared to experiments with gas-jet targets, MOTRIMS features significantly lower target temperatures allowing for an excellent recoil ion momentum resolution. However, the coincident and momentum-resolved detection of electrons was long rendered impossible due to incompatible magnetic field requirements. Here we report on an experimental approach which is based on an all-optical 6Li atom trap that—in contrast to magneto-optical traps—does not require magnetic field gradients in the trapping region. Atom temperatures of about 2 mK and number densities up to 109 cm-3 make this trap ideally suited for momentum-resolved electron-ion coincidence experiments. The overall configuration of the trap is very similar to conventional magneto-optical traps. It mainly requires small modifications of laser beam geometries and polarization which makes it easily implementable in other existing MOTRIMS experiments.

Using GPU parallelization to perform realistic simulations of the LPCTrap experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fabian, X.; Mauger, F.; Quéméner, G.; Velten, Ph.; Ban, G.; Couratin, C.; Delahaye, P.; Durand, D.; Fabre, B.; Finlay, P.; Fléchard, X.; Liénard, E.; Méry, A.; Naviliat-Cuncic, O.; Pons, B.; Porobic, T.; Severijns, N.; Thomas, J. C.

2015-11-01

The LPCTrap setup is a sensitive tool to measure the β - ν angular correlation coefficient, a β ν , which can yield the mixing ratio ρ of a β decay transition. The latter enables the extraction of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix element V u d . In such a measurement, the most relevant observable is the energy distribution of the recoiling daughter nuclei following the nuclear β decay, which is obtained using a time-of-flight technique. In order to maximize the precision, one can reduce the systematic errors through a thorough simulation of the whole set-up, especially with a correct model of the trapped ion cloud. This paper presents such a simulation package and focuses on the ion cloud features; particular attention is therefore paid to realistic descriptions of trapping field dynamics, buffer gas cooling and the N-body space charge effects.

Background-free beta-decay half-life measurements by in-trap decay and high-resolution MR-ToF mass analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolf, R. N.; Atanasov, D.; Blaum, K.; Kreim, S.; Lunney, D.; Manea, V.; Rosenbusch, M.; Schweikhard, L.; Welker, A.; Wienholtz, F.; Zuber, K.

2016-06-01

In-trap decay in ISOLTRAP's radiofrequency quadrupole (RFQ) ion beam cooler and buncher was used to determine the lifetime of short-lived nuclides. After various storage times, the remaining mother nuclides were mass separated from accompanying isobaric contaminations by the multi-reflection time-of-flight mass separator (MR-ToF MS), allowing for a background-free ion counting. A feasibility study with several online measurements shows that the applications of the ISOLTRAP setup can be further extended by exploiting the high resolving power of the MR-ToF MS in combination with in-trap decay and single-ion counting.

Electro-optic deflectors deliver advantages over acousto-optical deflectors in a high resolution, ultra-fast force-clamp optical trap.

PubMed

Woody, Michael S; Capitanio, Marco; Ostap, E Michael; Goldman, Yale E

2018-04-30

We characterized experimental artifacts arising from the non-linear response of acousto-optical deflectors (AODs) in an ultra-fast force-clamp optical trap and have shown that using electro-optical deflectors (EODs) instead eliminates these artifacts. We give an example of the effects of these artifacts in our ultra-fast force clamp studies of the interaction of myosin with actin filaments. The experimental setup, based on the concept of Capitanio et al. [Nat. Methods 9, 1013-1019 (2012)] utilizes a bead-actin-bead dumbbell held in two force-clamped optical traps which apply a load to the dumbbell to move it at a constant velocity. When myosin binds to actin, the filament motion stops quickly as the total force from the optical traps is transferred to the actomyosin attachment. We found that in our setup, AODs were unsuitable for beam steering due to non-linear variations in beam intensity and deflection angle as a function of driving frequency, likely caused by low-amplitude standing acoustic waves in the deflectors. These aberrations caused instability in the force feedback loops leading to artifactual jumps in the trap position. We demonstrate that beam steering with EODs improves the performance of our instrument. Combining the superior beam-steering capability of the EODs, force acquisition via back-focal-plane interferometry, and dual high-speed FPGA-based feedback loops, we apply precise and constant loads to study the dynamics of interactions between actin and myosin. The same concept applies to studies of other biomolecular interactions.

Review of the High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, James J.; Lewis, Raymond A.; Pearson, J. Boise; Sims, W. Herb; Chakrabarti, Suman; Fant, Wallace E.; McDonald, Stan

2003-01-01

Many space propulsion concepts exist that use matter-antimatter reactions. Current antiproton production rates are enough to conduct proof-of-principle evaluation of these concepts. One enabling technology for such experiments is portable storage of low energy antiprotons, to transport antiprotons to experimental facilities. To address this need, HiPAT is being developed, with a design goal of containing 10(exp 12) particles for up to 18 days. HiPAT is a Penning-Malmberg trap with a 4 Tesla superconductor, 20kV electrodes, radio frequency (RF) network, and 10(exp -13) Torr vacuum. 'Normal' matter is being used to evaluate the system. An electron beam ionizes background gas in situ, and particle beams are captured dynamically. The experiment examines ion storage lifetimes, RF plasma diagnostics, charge exchange with background gases, and dynamic ion beam capture.

m=1 diocotron mode damping in the Electron Diffusion Gauge (EDG) experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, Stephen F.; Morrison, Kyle A.; Davidson, Ronald C.; Jenkins, Thomas G.

2002-01-01

The evolution of the amplitude of the m=1 diocotron mode is used to measure the background neutral pressure in the Electron Diffusion Gauge (EDG), a Malmberg-Penning trap. Below 5×10-8 Torr, the dependence on pressure scales as P1/4, and is sensitive to pressure changes as small as ΔP=5×10-11 Torr. Previous studies on the EDG showed that the diocotron mode is more strongly damped at higher neutral pressures. Both the diocotron mode damping rate and the plasma expansion rate depend similarly on experimental parameters, i.e., conditions which favor expansion also favor suppression of the diocotron mode. The sensitivity of the mode evolution is examined as a function of the resistive growth driving conditions, which are controlled by the amount of wall resistance connected to the trap.

Confocal shift interferometry of coherent emission from trapped dipolar excitons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Repp, J.; Nanosystems Initiative Munich; Center for NanoScience and Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 München

2014-12-15

We introduce a confocal shift-interferometer based on optical fibers. The presented spectroscopy allows measuring coherence maps of luminescent samples with a high spatial resolution even at cryogenic temperatures. We apply the spectroscopy onto electrostatically trapped, dipolar excitons in a semiconductor double quantum well. We find that the measured spatial coherence length of the excitonic emission coincides with the point spread function of the confocal setup. The results are consistent with a temporal coherence of the excitonic emission down to temperatures of 250 mK.

Experimental system design for the integration of trapped-ion and superconducting qubit systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Motte, D.; Grounds, A. R.; Rehák, M.; Rodriguez Blanco, A.; Lekitsch, B.; Giri, G. S.; Neilinger, P.; Oelsner, G.; Il'ichev, E.; Grajcar, M.; Hensinger, W. K.

2016-12-01

We present a design for the experimental integration of ion trapping and superconducting qubit systems as a step towards the realization of a quantum hybrid system. The scheme addresses two key difficulties in realizing such a system: a combined microfabricated ion trap and superconducting qubit architecture, and the experimental infrastructure to facilitate both technologies. Developing upon work by Kielpinski et al. (Phys Rev Lett 108(13):130504, 2012. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.130504), we describe the design, simulation and fabrication process for a microfabricated ion trap capable of coupling an ion to a superconducting microwave LC circuit with a coupling strength in the tens of kHz. We also describe existing difficulties in combining the experimental infrastructure of an ion trapping set-up into a dilution refrigerator with superconducting qubits and present solutions that can be immediately implemented using current technology.

Comparison of Different Ion Mobility Setups Using Poly (Ethylene Oxide) PEO Polymers: Drift Tube, TIMS, and T-Wave

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haler, Jean R. N.; Massonnet, Philippe; Chirot, Fabien; Kune, Christopher; Comby-Zerbino, Clothilde; Jordens, Jan; Honing, Maarten; Mengerink, Ynze; Far, Johann; Dugourd, Philippe; De Pauw, Edwin

2018-01-01

Over the years, polymer analyses using ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IM-MS) measurements have been performed on different ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) setups. In order to be able to compare literature data taken on different IM(-MS) instruments, ion heating and ion temperature evaluations have already been explored. Nevertheless, extrapolations to other analytes are difficult and thus straightforward same-sample instrument comparisons seem to be the only reliable way to make sure that the different IM(-MS) setups do not greatly change the gas-phase behavior. We used a large range of degrees of polymerization (DP) of poly(ethylene oxide) PEO homopolymers to measure IMS drift times on three different IM-MS setups: a homemade drift tube (DT), a trapped (TIMS), and a traveling wave (T-Wave) IMS setup. The drift time evolutions were followed for increasing polymer DPs (masses) and charge states, and they are found to be comparable and reproducible on the three instruments. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Ion Dynamic Capture Experiments With The High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, James; Lewis, Raymond; Chakrabarti, Suman; Sims, William H.; Pearson, J. Boise; Fant, Wallace E.

2002-01-01

To take the first step towards using the energy produced from the matter-antimatter annihilation for propulsion applications, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Propulsion Research Center (PRC) has initiated a research activity examining the storage of low energy antiprotons. The High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) is an electromagnetic system (Penning-Malmberg design) consisting of a 4 Tesla superconductor, a high voltage electrode confinement system, and an ultra high vacuum test section. It has been designed with an ultimate goal of maintaining 10(exp 12) charged particles with a half-life of 18 days. Currently, this system is being evaluated experimentally using normal matter ions that are cheap to produce, relatively easy to handle, and provide a good indication of overall trap behavior (with the exception of assessing annihilation losses). The ions are produced via a positive hydrogen ion source and transported to HiPAT in a beam line equipped with electrostatic optics. The optics serve to both focus and gate the incoming ions, providing microsecond-timed beam pulses that are dynamically captured by cycling the HiPAT forward containment field like a "trap door". Initial dynamic capture experiments have been successfully performed with beam energy and currents set to 1.9 kV and 23 micro-amps, respectively. At these settings up to 2x10(exp 9) ions have been trapped during a single dynamic cycle.

Review of Plasma Techniques Used to Trap Antihydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fajans, Joel

2011-10-01

Recently, the ALPHA collaboration at CERN trapped antihydrogen atoms. To date, over three hundred antiatoms have been confined, some for as long as 1000s. This was the first time that antiatoms had ever been trapped. The ultimate goal of the ALPHA collaboration is to test CPT invariance by comparing the spectra of hydrogen and antihydrogen, and to measure the gravitational attraction between matter and antimatter. Such studies might resolve the baryogenesis problem: why is there very little antimatter in the Universe? The ALPHA experiment brought together techniques from many different fields of physics, but the crucial breakthroughs were in plasma physics. The essential problem is this: How does one combine two Malmberg-Penning trapped plasmas, one made from antiprotons, and the other positrons, which have opposite electrostatic potentials of nearly one volt, in such a manner that the antiprotons traverse the positrons with kinetic energies of less than 40 μeV, this latter being the depth of the superimposed neutral antihydrogen trap? The plasma techniques ALPHA developed to accomplish this include: Minimizing the effects of the neutral trap multipole fields on the positron and antiproton plasma confinement. Compressing antiprotons down to less than 0.5mm. Using autoresonance to inject antiprotons into the positrons with very little excess energy. Evaporative cooling of the electrons and antiprotons to record low temperatures. Development of charge, radial profile, temperature, and antiproton loss location diagnostics. Careful and lengthy manipulations to finesse the plasmas into the best states for optimal antihydrogen production and trapping. The plasma techniques necessary to trap antihydrogen will be reviewed in this talk. This work was supported by DOE and NSF, and is reported on behalf of the ALPHA collaboration.

Production of pure 133mXe for CTBTO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peräjärvi, K.; Eronen, T.; Gorelov, D.; Hakala, J.; Jokinen, A.; Kettunen, H.; Kolhinen, V.; Laitinen, M.; Moore, I. D.; Penttilä, H.; Rissanen, J.; Saastamoinen, A.; Toivonen, H.; Turunen, J.; Äystö, J.

2014-01-01

Underground nuclear weapon detonations release gaseous species into the atmosphere. The most interesting isotopes/isomers from the detection point of view are 131mXe, 133mXe, 133Xe and 135Xe. We have developed a method that employs high-precision Penning trap mass spectrometry at the JYFLTRAP facility, the University of Jyväskylä, to produce pure calibration samples of these isotopes/isomers. Among developments this work required a new mass resolution record of a few parts-per-million. Here the status and future plans of the project are reviewed.

Characterization of a Shiga-like Toxin Converting Phage from an Escherichia coli Strain Responsible for Hemorrhagic Colitis in Humans

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-04-30

paper (Whatman, England) was placed in a large baking dish filled with 20X SSPE (salt-sodium phosphate-EDTA) (Maniatis, 1982) and air bubbles trapped...avoid air bubbles between the 3 MM paper and the gel). A nitrocellulose filter moistened with 20X SSPE was placed on top of the gel and air bubbles were...proceed for 24 hours, the positions were marked with a pen. The filter was then soaked in 5X SSPE 27 for 10 minutes, dried at room temperature, and

Status of the Beam Thermalization Area at the NSCL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooper, Kortney; Barquest, Bradley; Morrissey, David; Rodriguez, Jose Alberto; Schwarz, Stefan; Sumithrarachchi, Chandana; Kwarsick, Jeff; Savard, Guy

2013-10-01

Beam thermalization is a necessary process for the production of low-energy ion beams at projectile fragmentation facilities. Present beam thermalization techniques rely on passing high-energy ion beams through solid degraders followed by a gas cell where the remaining kinetic energy is dissipated through collisions with buffer gas atoms. Recently, the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) upgraded its thermalization area with the implementation of new large acceptance beam lines and a large RF-gas catcher constructed by Argonne National Lab (ANL). Two high-energy beam lines were commissioned along with the installation and commissioning of this new device in late 2012. Low-energy radioactive ion beams have been successfully delivered to the Electron Beam Ion Trap (EBIT) charge breeder for the ReA3 reaccelerator, the SuN detector, the Low Energy Beam Ion Trap (LEBIT) penning trap, and the Beam Cooler and Laser Spectroscopy (BeCoLa) collinear laser beamline. Construction of a gas-filled reverse cyclotron dubbed the CycStopper is also underway. The status of the beam thermalization area will be presented and the overall efficiency of the system will be discussed.

Positron cooling of antiprotons: precursor of recombination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, J. N.; Estrada, J.; Yesley, P.; Bowden, N.; Oxley, P.; Storry, C.; Wessels, M.; Tan, J.; Gabrielse, G.; Oelert, W.; Scheppers, G.; Gronzonka, D.; Sefsick, T.; Fermann, H.; Zmeskal, H.; Breunlich, W.; Kalinowsky, H.; Wesdorp, C.

2001-05-01

The quest for cold antihydrogen, interrupted with the shut-down of LEAR, resumed with the operation of the newest antiproton decelerator (AD) at CERN.[See G.Gabrielse,Adv. in AMO Physics,vol.45,pp.1-38(2001).] Antiprotons injected into the AD with 2.75 GeV of kinetic energy slow to 5.31 MeV before extraction into the ATRAP apparatus, built for antihydrogen recombination experiments. Antiprotons extracted from the AD and positrons emitted from a 112 mCi ^22Na source are simultaneously accumulated in the ultra-high vacuum and 6 T field of a prototype Penning trap incorporating a miniature rotatable electrode. Preloaded electrons are used to thermalize ~ 10^5 antiprotons with the LHe-cooled trap (4.2K). Over 10^6 positrons/hr can be loaded with a new mechanism involving Rydberg positronium. After accumulation, the positrons are moved through the rotatable electrode into close proximity with the antiprotons to study their interactions. We report the first observation of positron cooling of antiprotons in a nested trap configuration suited for three-body recombination and other mechanisms.

Elastic light scattering from single cells: orientational dynamics in optical trap.

PubMed

Watson, Dakota; Hagen, Norbert; Diver, Jonathan; Marchand, Philippe; Chachisvilis, Mirianas

2004-08-01

Light-scattering diagrams (phase functions) from single living cells and beads suspended in an optical trap were recorded with 30-ms time resolution. The intensity of the scattered light was recorded over an angular range of 0.5-179.5 degrees using an optical setup based on an elliptical mirror and rotating aperture. Experiments revealed that light-scattering diagrams from biological cells exhibit significant and complex time dependence. We have attributed this dependence to the cell's orientational dynamics within the trap. We have also used experimentally measured phase function information to calculate the time dependence of the optical radiation pressure force on the trapped particle and show how it changes depending on the orientation of the particle. Relevance of these experiments to potential improvement in the sensitivity of label-free flow cytometry is discussed.

Towards a wire-mediated coupling of trapped ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, Robert; Lee, Tony; Daniilidis, Nikos; Sankaranarayanan, S.; Häffner, Hartmut

2008-03-01

Most schemes for ion trap quantum computation rely upon the exchange of information between ion-qubits in the same trap region, mediated by their shared vibrational mode. An alternative way to achieve this coupling is via the image charges induced in a conducting wire that connects different traps. This was shown to be theoretically possible by Heinzen and Wineland in 1990, but some important practical questions have remained unaddressed. Among these are how the presence of such a wire modifies the motional frequencies and heating rates of trapped ions. We thus have realized this system as a 1 mm-scale planar segmented rf ion trap combined with an electrically floating gold wire of 25 microns diameter and length 1 cm. This wire is placed close to trapped ions using a set of piezoelectric nanopositioners. We present here experimental measurements of the motional frequencies and heating rates of a single trapped calcium ion as the wire is moved from 3.0 mm to 0.2 mm away from the ion. We discuss the implications of these results for achieving wire-mediated coupling in the present apparatus, as well as in future improved setups.

Formation of a high intensity low energy positron string

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donets, E. D.; Donets, E. E.; Syresin, E. M.; Itahashi, T.; Dubinov, A. E.

2004-05-01

The possibility of a high intensity low energy positron beam production is discussed. The proposed Positron String Trap (PST) is based on the principles and technology of the Electron String Ion Source (ESIS) developed in JINR during the last decade. A linear version of ESIS has been used successfully for the production of intense highly charged ion beams of various elements. Now the Tubular Electron String Ion Source (TESIS) concept is under study and this opens really new promising possibilities in physics and technology. In this report, we discuss the application of the tubular-type trap for the storage of positrons cooled to the cryogenic temperatures of 0.05 meV. It is intended that the positron flux at the energy of 1-5 eV, produced by the external source, is injected into the Tubular Positron Trap which has a similar construction as the TESIS. Then the low energy positrons are captured in the PST Penning trap and are cooled down because of their synchrotron radiation in the strong (5-10 T) applied magnetic field. It is expected that the proposed PST should permit storing and cooling to cryogenic temperature of up to 5×109 positrons. The accumulated cooled positrons can be used further for various physics applications, for example, antihydrogen production.

Examination of the possible enhancement of neutrinoless double-electron capture in 78Kr

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bustabad, S.; Bollen, G.; Brodeur, M.; Lincoln, D. L.; Novario, S. J.; Redshaw, M.; Ringle, R.; Schwarz, S.

2013-09-01

Penning-trap mass spectrometry was used at the Low-Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) facility at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) to investigate 78Kr, a candidate for resonantly enhanced neutrinoless double-electron capture (0νECEC). The newly determined Q value of 2847.75 (27) keV is 1.4 keV greater than the value from the most recent atomic mass evaluation [Chin. Phys. C1674-113710.1088/1674-1137/36/12/003 36, 1603 (2012)], a change of two sigma, and the uncertainty has been reduced by a factor of three. The change in the Q value shifts allowed 0νECEC in 78Kr further from resonant enhancement. With the improved determination of the Q value, all known excited states can now be confidently excluded from possible 78Se candidates that could lead to resonantly enhanced 0νECEC.

Challenging the standard model by high-precision comparisons of the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulmer, S.; Mooser, A.; Nagahama, H.; Sellner, S.; Smorra, C.

2018-03-01

The BASE collaboration investigates the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons, such as charge-to-mass ratios and magnetic moments, using advanced cryogenic Penning trap systems. In recent years, we performed the most precise measurement of the magnetic moments of both the proton and the antiproton, and conducted the most precise comparison of the proton-to-antiproton charge-to-mass ratio. In addition, we have set the most stringent constraint on directly measured antiproton lifetime, based on a unique reservoir trap technique. Our matter/antimatter comparison experiments provide stringent tests of the fundamental charge-parity-time invariance, which is one of the fundamental symmetries of the standard model of particle physics. This article reviews the recent achievements of BASE and gives an outlook to our physics programme in the ELENA era. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue `Antiproton physics in the ELENA era'.

Double-trap measurement of the proton magnetic moment at 0.3 parts per billion precision.

PubMed

Schneider, Georg; Mooser, Andreas; Bohman, Matthew; Schön, Natalie; Harrington, James; Higuchi, Takashi; Nagahama, Hiroki; Sellner, Stefan; Smorra, Christian; Blaum, Klaus; Matsuda, Yasuyuki; Quint, Wolfgang; Walz, Jochen; Ulmer, Stefan

2017-11-24

Precise knowledge of the fundamental properties of the proton is essential for our understanding of atomic structure as well as for precise tests of fundamental symmetries. We report on a direct high-precision measurement of the magnetic moment μ p of the proton in units of the nuclear magneton μ N The result, μ p = 2.79284734462 (±0.00000000082) μ N , has a fractional precision of 0.3 parts per billion, improves the previous best measurement by a factor of 11, and is consistent with the currently accepted value. This was achieved with the use of an optimized double-Penning trap technique. Provided a similar measurement of the antiproton magnetic moment can be performed, this result will enable a test of the fundamental symmetry between matter and antimatter in the baryonic sector at the 10 -10 level. Copyright © 2017, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Mass measurements of neutron-rich indium isotopes toward the N =82 shell closure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babcock, C.; Klawitter, R.; Leistenschneider, E.; Lascar, D.; Barquest, B. R.; Finlay, A.; Foster, M.; Gallant, A. T.; Hunt, P.; Kootte, B.; Lan, Y.; Paul, S. F.; Phan, M. L.; Reiter, M. P.; Schultz, B.; Short, D.; Andreoiu, C.; Brodeur, M.; Dillmann, I.; Gwinner, G.; Kwiatkowski, A. A.; Leach, K. G.; Dilling, J.

2018-02-01

Precise mass measurements of the neutron-rich In-130125 isotopes have been performed with the TITAN Penning trap mass spectrometer. TITAN's electron beam ion trap was used to charge breed the ions to charge state q =13 + thus providing the necessary resolving power to measure not only the ground states but also isomeric states at each mass number. In this paper, the properties of the ground states are investigated through a series of mass differentials, highlighting trends in the indium isotopic chain as compared to its proton-magic neighbor, tin (Z =50 ). In addition, the energies of the indium isomers are presented. The (8-) level in 128In is found to be 78 keV lower than previously thought and the (21 /2- ) isomer in 127In is shown to be lower than the literature value by more than 150 keV.

Challenging the standard model by high-precision comparisons of the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons.

PubMed

Ulmer, S; Mooser, A; Nagahama, H; Sellner, S; Smorra, C

2018-03-28

The BASE collaboration investigates the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons, such as charge-to-mass ratios and magnetic moments, using advanced cryogenic Penning trap systems. In recent years, we performed the most precise measurement of the magnetic moments of both the proton and the antiproton, and conducted the most precise comparison of the proton-to-antiproton charge-to-mass ratio. In addition, we have set the most stringent constraint on directly measured antiproton lifetime, based on a unique reservoir trap technique. Our matter/antimatter comparison experiments provide stringent tests of the fundamental charge-parity-time invariance, which is one of the fundamental symmetries of the standard model of particle physics. This article reviews the recent achievements of BASE and gives an outlook to our physics programme in the ELENA era.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Antiproton physics in the ELENA era'. © 2018 The Authors.

A novel transparent charged particle detector for the CPET upgrade at TITAN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lascar, D.; Kootte, B.; Barquest, B. R.; Chowdhury, U.; Gallant, A. T.; Good, M.; Klawitter, R.; Leistenschneider, E.; Andreoiu, C.; Dilling, J.; Even, J.; Gwinner, G.; Kwiatkowski, A. A.; Leach, K. G.

2017-10-01

The detection of an electron bunch exiting a strong magnetic field can prove challenging due to the small mass of the electron. If placed too far from a solenoid's entrance, a detector outside the magnetic field will be too small to reliably intersect with the exiting electron beam because the light electrons will follow the diverging magnetic field outside the solenoid. The TITAN group at TRIUMF in Vancouver, Canada, has made use of advances in the practice and precision of photochemical machining (PCM) to create a new kind of charge collecting detector called the "mesh detector." The TITAN mesh detector was used to solve the problem of trapped electron detection in the new Cooler PEnning Trap (CPET) currently under development at TITAN. This thin array of wires etched out of a copper plate is a novel, low profile, charge agnostic detector that can be made effectively transparent or opaque at the user's discretion.

Dawning of the N =32 Shell Closure Seen through Precision Mass Measurements of Neutron-Rich Titanium Isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leistenschneider, E.; Reiter, M. P.; Ayet San Andrés, S.; Kootte, B.; Holt, J. D.; Navrátil, P.; Babcock, C.; Barbieri, C.; Barquest, B. R.; Bergmann, J.; Bollig, J.; Brunner, T.; Dunling, E.; Finlay, A.; Geissel, H.; Graham, L.; Greiner, F.; Hergert, H.; Hornung, C.; Jesch, C.; Klawitter, R.; Lan, Y.; Lascar, D.; Leach, K. G.; Lippert, W.; McKay, J. E.; Paul, S. F.; Schwenk, A.; Short, D.; Simonis, J.; Somà, V.; Steinbrügge, R.; Stroberg, S. R.; Thompson, R.; Wieser, M. E.; Will, C.; Yavor, M.; Andreoiu, C.; Dickel, T.; Dillmann, I.; Gwinner, G.; Plaß, W. R.; Scheidenberger, C.; Kwiatkowski, A. A.; Dilling, J.

2018-02-01

A precision mass investigation of the neutron-rich titanium isotopes Ti-5551 was performed at TRIUMF's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science (TITAN). The range of the measurements covers the N =32 shell closure, and the overall uncertainties of the Ti-5552 mass values were significantly reduced. Our results conclusively establish the existence of the weak shell effect at N =32 , narrowing down the abrupt onset of this shell closure. Our data were compared with state-of-the-art ab initio shell model calculations which, despite very successfully describing where the N =32 shell gap is strong, overpredict its strength and extent in titanium and heavier isotones. These measurements also represent the first scientific results of TITAN using the newly commissioned multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer, substantiated by independent measurements from TITAN's Penning trap mass spectrometer.

Challenging the standard model by high-precision comparisons of the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons

PubMed Central

Mooser, A.; Nagahama, H.; Sellner, S.; Smorra, C.

2018-01-01

The BASE collaboration investigates the fundamental properties of protons and antiprotons, such as charge-to-mass ratios and magnetic moments, using advanced cryogenic Penning trap systems. In recent years, we performed the most precise measurement of the magnetic moments of both the proton and the antiproton, and conducted the most precise comparison of the proton-to-antiproton charge-to-mass ratio. In addition, we have set the most stringent constraint on directly measured antiproton lifetime, based on a unique reservoir trap technique. Our matter/antimatter comparison experiments provide stringent tests of the fundamental charge–parity–time invariance, which is one of the fundamental symmetries of the standard model of particle physics. This article reviews the recent achievements of BASE and gives an outlook to our physics programme in the ELENA era. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Antiproton physics in the ELENA era’. PMID:29459414

A Superconducting Magnet UCN Trap for Precise Neutron Lifetime Measurements.

PubMed

Picker, R; Altarev, I; Bröcker, J; Gutsmiedl, E; Hartmann, J; Müller, A; Paul, S; Schott, W; Trinks, U; Zimmer, O

2005-01-01

Finite-element methods along with Monte Carlo simulations were used to design a magnetic storage device for ultracold neutrons (UCN) to measure their lifetime. A setup was determined which should make it possible to confine UCN with negligible losses and detect the protons emerging from β-decay with high efficiency: stacked superconducting solenoids create the magnetic storage field, an electrostatic extraction field inside the storage volume assures high proton collection efficiency. Alongside with the optimization of the magnetic and electrostatic design, the properties of the trap were investigated through extensive Monte Carlo simulation.

Optical trapping using cascade conical refraction of light.

PubMed

O'Dwyer, D P; Ballantine, K E; Phelan, C F; Lunney, J G; Donegan, J F

2012-09-10

Cascade conical refraction occurs when a beam of light travels through two or more biaxial crystals arranged in series. The output beam can be altered by varying the relative azimuthal orientation of the two biaxial crystals. For two identical crystals, in general the output beam comprises a ring beam with a spot at its centre. The relative intensities of the spot and ring can be controlled by varying the azimuthal angle between the refracted cones formed in each crystal. We have used this beam arrangement to trap one microsphere within the central spot and a second microsphere on the ring. Using linearly polarized light, we can rotate the microsphere on the ring with respect to the central sphere. Finally, using a half wave-plate between the two crystals, we can create a unique beam profile that has two intensity peaks on the ring, and thereby trap two microspheres on diametrically opposite points on the ring and rotate them around the central sphere. Such a versatile optical trap should find application in optical trapping setups.

Nonclassical and semiclassical para-Bose states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huerta Alderete, C.; Villanueva Vergara, Liliana; Rodríguez-Lara, B. M.

2017-04-01

Motivated by the proposal to simulate para-Bose oscillators in a trapped-ion setup [C. Huerta Alderete and B. M. Rodríguez-Lara, Phys. Rev. A 95, 013820 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevA.95.013820], we introduce an overcomplete, nonorthogonal basis for para-Bose Hilbert spaces. The states spanning these bases can be experimentally realized in the trapped-ion simulation via time evolution. The para-Bose states show both nonclassical and semiclassical statistics on their Fock state distribution, asymmetric field quadrature variances, and do not minimize the uncertainty relation for the field quadratures. These properties are analytically controlled by the para-Bose order and the evolution time; both parameters might be feasible for fine tuning in the trapped-ion quantum simulation.

Progress towards a rapidly rotating ultracold Fermi gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Ming-Guang; van de Graaff, Michael; Cornell, Eric; Jin, Deborah

2015-05-01

We are designing an experiment with the goal of creating a rapidly rotating ultracold Fermi gas, which is promising system in which to study quantum Hall physics. We propose to use selective evaporation of a gas that has been initialized with a modest rotation rate to increase the angular momentum per particle in order to reach rapid rotation. We have performed simulations of this evaporation process for a model optical trap potential. Achieving rapid rotation will require a very smooth, very harmonic, and dynamically variable optical trap. We plan to use a setup consisting of two acousto-optical modulators to ``paint'' an optical dipole trapping potential that can be made smooth, radially symmetric, and harmonic. This project is supported by NSF, NIST, NASA.

Levitated Optomechanics for Fundamental Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rashid, Muddassar; Bateman, James; Vovrosh, Jamie; Hempston, David; Ulbricht, Hendrik

2015-05-01

Optomechanics with levitated nano- and microparticles is believed to form a platform for testing fundamental principles of quantum physics, as well as find applications in sensing. We will report on a new scheme to trap nanoparticles, which is based on a parabolic mirror with a numerical aperture of 1. Combined with achromatic focussing, the setup is a cheap and readily straightforward solution to trapping nanoparticles for further study. Here, we report on the latest progress made in experimentation with levitated nanoparticles; these include the trapping of 100 nm nanodiamonds (with NV-centres) down to 1 mbar as well as the trapping of 50 nm Silica spheres down to 10?4 mbar without any form of feedback cooling. We will also report on the progress to implement feedback stabilisation of the centre of mass motion of the trapped particle using digital electronics. Finally, we argue that such a stabilised particle trap can be the particle source for a nanoparticle matterwave interferometer. We will present our Talbot interferometer scheme, which holds promise to test the quantum superposition principle in the new mass range of 106 amu. EPSRC, John Templeton Foundation.

Hexapole-compensated magneto-optical trap on a mesoscopic atom chip

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Joellenbeck, S.; Mahnke, J.; Randoll, R.

2011-04-15

Magneto-optical traps on atom chips are usually restricted to small atomic samples due to a limited capture volume caused primarily by distorted field configurations. Here we present a magneto-optical trap based on a millimeter-sized wire structure which generates a magnetic field with minimized distortions. Together with the loading from a high-flux two-dimensional magneto-optical trap, we achieve a loading rate of 8.4x10{sup 10} atoms/s and maximum number of 8.7x10{sup 9} captured atoms. The wire structure is placed outside of the vacuum to enable a further adaptation to new scientific objectives. Since all magnetic fields are applied locally without the need formore » external bias fields, the presented setup will facilitate parallel generation of Bose-Einstein condensates on a conveyor belt with a cycle rate above 1 Hz.« less

Multiplexing of miniaturized planar antibody arrays for serum protein profiling--a biomarker discovery in SLE nephritis.

PubMed

Petersson, Linn; Dexlin-Mellby, Linda; Bengtsson, Anders A; Sturfelt, Gunnar; Borrebaeck, Carl A K; Wingren, Christer

2014-06-07

In the quest to decipher disease-associated biomarkers, miniaturized and multiplexed antibody arrays may play a central role in generating protein expression profiles, or protein maps, of crude serum samples. In this conceptual study, we explored a novel, 4-times larger pen design, enabling us to, in a unique manner, simultaneously print 48 different reagents (antibodies) as individual 78.5 μm(2) (10 μm in diameter) sized spots at a density of 38,000 spots cm(-2) using dip-pen nanolithography technology. The antibody array set-up was interfaced with a high-resolution fluorescent-based scanner for sensitive sensing. The performance and applicability of this novel 48-plex recombinant antibody array platform design was demonstrated in a first clinical application targeting SLE nephritis, a severe chronic autoimmune connective tissue disorder, as the model disease. To this end, crude, directly biotinylated serum samples were targeted. The results showed that the miniaturized and multiplexed array platform displayed adequate performance, and that SLE-associated serum biomarker panels reflecting the disease process could be deciphered, outlining the use of miniaturized antibody arrays for disease proteomics and biomarker discovery.

Mass and Double-Beta-Decay Q Value of Xe136

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redshaw, Matthew; Wingfield, Elizabeth; McDaniel, Joseph; Myers, Edmund G.

2007-02-01

The atomic mass of Xe136 has been measured by comparing cyclotron frequencies of single ions in a Penning trap. The result, with 1 standard deviation uncertainty, is M(Xe136)=135.907 214 484 (11) u. Combined with previous results for the mass of Ba136 [Audi, Wapstra, and Thibault, Nucl. Phys. A 729, 337 (2003)NUPABL0375-947410.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.003], this gives a Q value (M[Xe136]-M[Ba136])c2=2457.83(37)keV, sufficiently precise for ongoing searches for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of Xe136.

Mass and Double-Beta-Decay Q Value of {sup 136}Xe

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Redshaw, Matthew; Wingfield, Elizabeth; McDaniel, Joseph

The atomic mass of {sup 136}Xe has been measured by comparing cyclotron frequencies of single ions in a Penning trap. The result, with 1 standard deviation uncertainty, is M({sup 136}Xe)=135.907 214 484 (11) u. Combined with previous results for the mass of {sup 136}Ba [Audi, Wapstra, and Thibault, Nucl. Phys. A 729, 337 (2003)], this gives a Q value (M[{sup 136}Xe]-M[{sup 136}Ba])c{sup 2}=2457.83(37) keV, sufficiently precise for ongoing searches for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of {sup 136}Xe.

Optical Trap Loading of Dielectric Microparticles In Air.

PubMed

Park, Haesung; LeBrun, Thomas W

2017-02-05

We demonstrate a method to trap a selected dielectric microparticle in air using radiation pressure from a single-beam gradient optical trap. Randomly scattered dielectric microparticles adhered to a glass substrate are momentarily detached using ultrasonic vibrations generated by a piezoelectric transducer (PZT). Then, the optical beam focused on a selected particle lifts it up to the optical trap while the vibrationally excited microparticles fall back to the substrate. A particle may be trapped at the nominal focus of the trapping beam or at a position above the focus (referred to here as the levitation position) where gravity provides the restoring force. After the measurement, the trapped particle can be placed at a desired position on the substrate in a controlled manner. In this protocol, an experimental procedure for selective optical trap loading in air is outlined. First, the experimental setup is briefly introduced. Second, the design and fabrication of a PZT holder and a sample enclosure are illustrated in detail. The optical trap loading of a selected microparticle is then demonstrated with step-by-step instructions including sample preparation, launching into the trap, and use of electrostatic force to excite particle motion in the trap and measure charge. Finally, we present recorded particle trajectories of Brownian and ballistic motions of a trapped microparticle in air. These trajectories can be used to measure stiffness or to verify optical alignment through time domain and frequency domain analysis. Selective trap loading enables optical tweezers to track a particle and its changes over repeated trap loadings in a reversible manner, thereby enabling studies of particle-surface interaction.

Final Technical Report for Department of Energy award number DE-FG02-06ER54882, Revised

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eggleston, Dennis L.

The research reported here involves studies of radial particle transport in a cylindrical, low-density Malmberg-Penning non-neutral plasma trap. The research is primarily experimental but involves careful comparisons to analytical theory and includes the results of a single-particle computer code. The transport is produced by applied electric fields that break the cylindrical symmetry of the trap, hence the term ``asymmetry-induced transport.'' Our computer studies have revealed the importance of a previously ignored class of particles that become trapped in the asymmetry potential. In many common situations these particles exhibit large radial excursions and dominate the radial transport. On the experimental side,more » we have developed new data analysis techniques that allowed us to determine the magnetic field dependence of the transport and to place empirical constraints on the form on the transport equation. Experiments designed to test the computer code results gave varying degrees of agreement with further work being necessary to understand the results. This work expands our knowledge of the varied mechanisms of cross-magnetic-field transport and should be of use to other workers studying plasma confinement.« less

Particle scattering by harmonically trapped Bose and Fermi gases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Ankita; Das, Samir; Biswas, Shyamal

2018-04-01

We have analytically explored the quantum phenomenon of particle scattering by harmonically trapped Bose and Fermi gases with the short ranged Fermi–Huang {δ }p3 interactions (Fermi 1936 Ric. Sci. 7 13; Huang and Yang 1957 Phys. Rev. 105 767) interactions among the incident particle and the scatterers. We have predicted differential scattering cross-sections and their temperature dependence in this regard. Coherent scattering even by a single boson or fermion in the finite geometry gives rise to new tool of determining energy eigenstate of the scatterer. Our predictions on the differential scattering cross-sections can be tested within the present day experimental setups, specially, for (i) 3D harmonically trapped interacting Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC), (ii) BECs in a double well, and (iii) BECs in an optical lattice.

Design and characterization of an integrated surface ion trap and micromirror optical cavity.

PubMed

Van Rynbach, Andre; Schwartz, George; Spivey, Robert F; Joseph, James; Vrijsen, Geert; Kim, Jungsang

2017-08-10

We have fabricated and characterized laser-ablated micromirrors on fused silica substrates for constructing stable Fabry-Perot optical cavities. We highlight several design features which allow these cavities to have lengths in the 250-300 μm range and be integrated directly with surface ion traps. We present a method to calculate the optical mode shape and losses of these micromirror cavities as functions of cavity length and mirror shape, and confirm that our simulation model is in good agreement with experimental measurements of the intracavity optical mode at a test wavelength of 780 nm. We have designed and tested a mechanical setup for dampening vibrations and stabilizing the cavity length, and explore applications for these cavities as efficient single-photon sources when combined with trapped Yb171 + ions.

Characterization of a Compact Cryogenic Package Approach to Ion Trap Quantum Comuting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spivey, Robert; Vrijsen, Geert; Ahn, Byeong-Hyeon; Hudek, Kai; Crain, Stephen; van Rynbach, Andre; Rachel, Noek; Kim, Jungsang

One challenge for the expansion of trapped ion systems to a large scale is the lack of repeatable integration technology to realize compact and stable operating environment. In this work, we present a novel ion trapping environment where conventional ultra-high vacuum (UHV) chambers are replaced with a sealed ceramic package operating in a cryogenic environment. A microfabricated surface ion trap mounted on a 100-pin ceramic pin grid array (CPGA) package is placed in a UHV environment. A titanium lid with windows for optical access is then attached to the CPGA via an indium seal which maintains the UHV conditions for the ion trap. The trap package assembly is operated at cryogenic temperatures (5K) in order to freeze out most of the residual background gas. Activated charcoal is used to pump remaining helium and hydrogen molecules. Metallic Yb ablated using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1,064 nm is used as the atomic source. A compact radio frequency resonant circuit is used to create the RF potential for trapping. A low output impedance amplifier drives a superconducting inductor of value 2 uH in series with the trap capacitance in order to produce 200V at 26 MHz with low heating at 5K. We present the experimental progress towards trapping ions in this compact cryogenic setup.

The Influence of Trapped Particles on the Parametric Decay Instability of Near-Acoustic Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Affolter, M.; Anderegg, F.; Dubin, D. H. E.; Driscoll, C. F.

2017-10-01

We present quantitative measurements of a decay instability to lower frequencies of near-acoustic waves. These experiments are conducted on pure ion plasmas confined in a cylindrical Penning-Malmberg trap. The axisymmetric, standing plasma waves have near-acoustic dispersion, discretized by the axial wave number kz =mz(π /Lp) . The nonlinear coupling rates are measured between large amplitude mz = 2 (pump) waves and small amplitude mz = 1 (daughter) waves, which have a small frequency detuning Δω = 2ω1 -ω2 . Classical 3-wave parametric coupling rates are proportional to pump wave amplitude as Γ (δn2 /n0) , with oscillatory energy exchange for Γ < Δω / 2 and decay instability for Γ > Δω / 2 . Experiments on cold plasmas agree quantitatively for oscillatory energy exchange, and agree within a factor-of-two for decay instability rates. However, nascent theory suggest that this latter agreement is merely fortuitous, and that the instability mechanism is trapped particles. Experiments at higher temperatures show that trapped particles reduce the instability threshold below classical 3-wave theory predictions. Supported by NSF Grant PHY-1414570, and DOE Grants DE-SC0002451 and DE-SC0008693. M. Affolter is supported by the DOE FES Postdoctoral Research Program administered by ORISE for the DOE. ORISE is managed by ORAU under DOE Contract Number DE-SC0014664.

High Energy Plasma Space Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, S. T.

2000-01-01

In order to meet NASA's challenge on advanced concept activity in the propulsion area, we initiated a new program entitled "High Energy Plasma Space Propulsion Studies" within the current cooperative agreement in 1998. The goals of this work are to gain further understanding of the engine of the AIMStar spacecraft, a concept which was developed at Penn State University, and to develop a prototype concept for the engine. The AIMStar engine concept was developed at Penn State University several years ago as a hybrid between antimatter and fusion technologies. Because of limited amounts of antimatter available, and concurrently the demonstrated ability for antiprotons to efficiently ignite nuclear fusion reactions, it was felt that this was a very good match. Investigations have been made concerning the performance of the reaction trap. This is a small Penning-like electromagnetic trap, which is used to simultaneously confine antiprotons and fusion fuels. Small DHe3 or DT droplets, containing a few percent molar of a fissile material, are injected into the trap, filled with antiprotons. We have found that it is important to separate the antiprotons into two adjacent wells, to inject he droplet between them and to simultaneously bring the antiprotons to the center of the trap, surrounding the droplet. Our previous concept had the droplet falling onto one cloud of antiprotons. This proved to be inefficient, as the droplet tended to evaporate away from the cloud as it interacted on its surface.

First and second sound in a two-dimensional harmonically trapped Bose gas across the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless transition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Xia-Ji, E-mail: xiajiliu@swin.edu.au; Hu, Hui, E-mail: hhu@swin.edu.au

2014-12-15

We theoretically investigate first and second sound of a two-dimensional (2D) atomic Bose gas in harmonic traps by solving Landau’s two-fluid hydrodynamic equations. For an isotropic trap, we find that first and second sound modes become degenerate at certain temperatures and exhibit typical avoided crossings in mode frequencies. At these temperatures, second sound has significant density fluctuation due to its hybridization with first sound and has a divergent mode frequency towards the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless (BKT) transition. For a highly anisotropic trap, we derive the simplified one-dimensional hydrodynamic equations and discuss the sound-wave propagation along the weakly confined direction. Due to themore » universal jump of the superfluid density inherent to the BKT transition, we show that the first sound velocity exhibits a kink across the transition. These predictions might be readily examined in current experimental setups for 2D dilute Bose gases with a sufficiently large number of atoms, where the finite-size effect due to harmonic traps is relatively weak.« less

The Electronic McPhail Trap

PubMed Central

Potamitis, Ilyas; Rigakis, Iraklis; Fysarakis, Konstantinos

2014-01-01

Certain insects affect cultivations in a detrimental way. A notable case is the olive fruit fly (Bactrocera oleae (Rossi)), that in Europe alone causes billions of euros in crop-loss/per year. Pests can be controlled with aerial and ground bait pesticide sprays, the efficiency of which depends on knowing the time and location of insect infestations as early as possible. The inspection of traps is currently carried out manually. Automatic monitoring traps can enhance efficient monitoring of flying pests by identifying and counting targeted pests as they enter the trap. This work deals with the hardware setup of an insect trap with an embedded optoelectronic sensor that automatically records insects as they fly in the trap. The sensor responsible for detecting the insect is an array of phototransistors receiving light from an infrared LED. The wing-beat recording is based on the interruption of the emitted light due to the partial occlusion from insect's wings as they fly in the trap. We show that the recordings are of high quality paving the way for automatic recognition and transmission of insect detections from the field to a smartphone. This work emphasizes the hardware implementation of the sensor and the detection/counting module giving all necessary implementation details needed to construct it. PMID:25429412

Precision Test of the Isobaric Multiplet Mass Equation in the A = 32, T = 2 Quintet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrer, R.; Kwiatkowski, A. A.; Bollen, G.; Campbell, C. M.; Folden, C. M., III; Lincoln, D.; Morrissey, D. J.; Pang, G. K.; Prinke, A.; Savory, J.; Schwarz, S.

2008-10-01

Masses of the radionuclides ^32,33Si and ^34P and of the stable nuclide ^32S have been measured with the Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap (LEBIT) Penning trap mass spectrometer. Relative mass uncertainties of 3 x 10-8 and better have been achieved. The measured mass value of ^32Si differs from the literature value [1,2] by four standard deviations. The precise mass determination of ^32Si and ^32S have been employed to test the isobaric multiplet mass equation for the A = 32, T= 2 isospin quintet. The experimental results indicate a significant deviation from the quadratic form. This work has been supported by Michigan State University, the NSF under contract number PHY- 0606007, and the DOE under the contract DE-FG02-00ER41144. References: 1. G. Audi, A.H. Wapstra, and C. Thibault, Nucl. Phys. A729 (2003) 337 2. A. Paul, S. R"ottger, A. Zimbal, and U. Keyser, Hyperfine Interact. 132 (2001) 189

Non-destructive single-pass low-noise detection of ions in a beamline

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schmidt, Stefan; Institut für Kernchemie, Johannes Gutenberg–Universität Mainz, 55099 Mainz; Murböck, Tobias

2015-11-15

We have conceived, built, and operated a device for the non-destructive single-pass detection of charged particles in a beamline. The detector is based on the non-resonant pick-up and subsequent low-noise amplification of the image charges induced in a cylindrical electrode surrounding the particles’ beam path. The first stage of the amplification electronics is designed to be operated from room temperature down to liquid helium temperature. The device represents a non-destructive charge counter as well as a sensitive timing circuit. We present the concept and design details of the device. We have characterized its performance and show measurements with low-energy highlymore » charged ions (such as Ar{sup 13+}) passing through one of the electrodes of a cylindrical Penning trap. This work demonstrates a novel approach of non-destructive, low noise detection of charged particles which is, depending on the bunch structure, suitable, e.g., for ion traps, low-energy beamlines or accelerator transfer sections.« less

Atomic masses of {sup 6}Li,{sup 23}Na,{sup 39,41}K,{sup 85,87}Rb, and {sup 133}Cs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mount, Brianna J.; Redshaw, Matthew; Myers, Edmund G.

2010-10-15

The atomic masses of the alkali-metal isotopes {sup 6}Li,{sup 23}Na,{sup 39,41}K,{sup 85,87}Rb, and {sup 133}Cs have been obtained from measurements of cyclotron frequency ratios of pairs of ions simultaneously trapped in a Penning trap. The results, with one standard deviation uncertainty, are: M({sup 6}Li)=6.015 122 887 4(16)u,M({sup 23}Na)=22.989769 282 8(26)u,M({sup 39}K)=38.963 706 485 6(52)u,M({sup 41}K)=40.961 825 257 4(48)u,M({sup 85}Rb)=84.911 789739(9)u,M({sup 87}Rb)=86.909 180 535(10)u, and M({sup 133}Cs)=132.905 451 963(13)u. Our mass of {sup 6}Li yields an improved neutron separation energy for {sup 7}Li of 7251.1014(45) keV.

Open microwave cavity for use in a Purcell enhancement cooling scheme.

PubMed

Evetts, N; Martens, I; Bizzotto, D; Longuevergne, D; Hardy, W N

2016-10-01

A microwave cavity is described which can be used to cool lepton plasmas for potential use in synthesis of antihydrogen. The cooling scheme is an incarnation of the Purcell effect: when plasmas are coupled to a microwave cavity, the plasma cooling rate is resonantly enhanced through increased spontaneous emission of cyclotron radiation. The cavity forms a three electrode section of a Penning-Malmberg trap and has a bulged cylindrical geometry with open ends aligned with the magnetic trapping axis. This allows plasmas to be injected and removed from the cavity without the need for moving parts while maintaining high quality factors for resonant modes. The cavity includes unique surface preparations for adjusting the cavity quality factor and achieving anti-static shielding using thin layers of nichrome and colloidal graphite, respectively. Geometric design considerations for a cavity with strong cooling power and low equilibrium plasma temperatures are discussed. Cavities of this weak-bulge design will be applicable to many situations where an open geometry is required.

Temporally, spatially, and spectrally resolved barrier discharge produced in trapped helium gas at atmospheric pressure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chiper, Alina Silvia; Popa, Gheorghe

2013-06-07

Experimental study was made on induced effects by trapped helium gas in the pulsed positive dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) operating in symmetrical electrode configuration at atmospheric pressure. Using fast photography technique and electrical measurements, the differences in the discharge regimes between the stationary and the flowing helium are investigated. It was shown experimentally that the trapped gas atmosphere (TGA) has notable impact on the barrier discharge regime compared with the influence of the flowing gas atmosphere. According to our experimental results, the DBD discharge produced in trapped helium gas can be categorized as a multi-glow (pseudo-glow) discharge, each discharge workingmore » in the sub-normal glow regime. This conclusion is made by considering the duration of current pulse (few {mu}s), their maximum values (tens of mA), the presence of negative slope on the voltage-current characteristic, and the spatio-temporal evolution of the most representative excited species in the discharge gap. The paper focuses on the space-time distribution of the active species with a view to better understand the pseudo-glow discharge mechanism. The physical basis for these effects was suggested. A transition to filamentary discharge is suppressed in TGA mode due to the formation of supplementary source of seed electrons by surface processes (by desorption of electrons due to vibrationally excited nitrogen molecules, originated from barriers surfaces) rather than volume processes (by enhanced Penning ionisation). Finally, we show that the pseudo-glow discharge can be generated by working gas trapping only; maintaining unchanged all the electrical and constructive parameters.« less

Efficient Raman sideband cooling of trapped ions to their motional ground state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Che, H.; Deng, K.; Xu, Z. T.; Yuan, W. H.; Zhang, J.; Lu, Z. H.

2017-07-01

Efficient cooling of trapped ions is a prerequisite for various applications of the ions in precision spectroscopy, quantum information, and coherence control. Raman sideband cooling is an effective method to cool the ions to their motional ground state. We investigate both numerically and experimentally the optimization of Raman sideband cooling strategies and propose an efficient one, which can simplify the experimental setup as well as reduce the number of cooling pulses. Several cooling schemes are tested and compared through numerical simulations. The simulation result shows that the fixed-width pulses and varied-width pulses have almost the same efficiency for both the first-order and the second-order Raman sideband cooling. The optimized strategy is verified experimentally. A single 25Mg+ ion is trapped in a linear Paul trap and Raman sideband cooled, and the achieved average vibrational quantum numbers under different cooling strategies are evaluated. A good agreement between the experimental result and the simulation result is obtained.

Dielectrophoresis-Assisted Raman Spectroscopy of Intravesicular Analytes on Metallic Pyramids.

PubMed

Barik, Avijit; Cherukulappurath, Sudhir; Wittenberg, Nathan J; Johnson, Timothy W; Oh, Sang-Hyun

2016-02-02

Chemical analysis of membrane-bound containers such as secretory vesicles, organelles, and exosomes can provide insights into subcellular biology. These containers are loaded with a range of important biomolecules, which further underscores the need for sensitive and selective analysis methods. Here we present a metallic pyramid array for intravesicular analysis by combining site-selective dielectrophoresis (DEP) and Raman spectroscopy. Sharp pyramidal tips act as a gradient force generator to trap nanoparticles or vesicles from the solution, and the tips are illuminated by a monochromatic light source for concurrent spectroscopic detection of trapped analytes. The parameters suitable for DEP trapping were optimized by fluorescence microscopy, and the Raman spectroscopy setup was characterized by a nanoparticle based model system. Finally, vesicles loaded with 4-mercaptopyridine were concentrated at the tips and their Raman spectra were detected in real time. These pyramidal tips can perform large-area array-based trapping and spectroscopic analysis, opening up possibilities to detect molecules inside cells or cell-derived vesicles.

Recent H- diagnostics, plasma simulations, and 2X scaled Penning ion source developments at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawrie, S. R.; Faircloth, D. C.; Smith, J. D.; Sarmento, T. M.; Whitehead, M. O.; Wood, T.; Perkins, M.; Macgregor, J.; Abel, R.

2018-05-01

A vessel for extraction and source plasma analyses is being used for Penning H- ion source development at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. A new set of optical elements including an einzel lens has been installed, which transports over 80 mA of H- beam successfully. Simultaneously, a 2X scaled Penning source has been developed to reduce cathode power density. The 2X source is now delivering a 65 mA H- ion beam at 10% duty factor, meeting its design criteria. The long-term viability of the einzel lens and 2X source is now being evaluated, so new diagnostic devices have been installed. A pair of electrostatic deflector plates is used to correct beam misalignment and perform fast chopping, with a voltage rise time of 24 ns. A suite of four quartz crystal microbalances has shown that the cesium flux in the vacuum vessel is only increased by a factor of two, despite the absence of a dedicated cold trap. Finally, an infrared camera has demonstrated good agreement with thermal simulations but has indicated unexpected heating due to beam loss on the downstream electrode. These types of diagnostics are suitable for monitoring all operational ion sources. In addition to experimental campaigns and new diagnostic tools, the high-performance VSim and COMSOL software packages are being used for plasma simulations of two novel ion thrusters for space propulsion applications. In parallel, a VSim framework has been established to include arbitrary temperature and cesium fields to allow the modeling of surface physics in H- ion sources.

Precision atomic mass spectrometry with applications to fundamental constants, neutrino physics, and physical chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mount, Brianna J.; Redshaw, Matthew; Myers, Edmund G.

2011-07-01

We present a summary of precision atomic mass measurements of stable isotopes carried out at Florida State University. These include the alkalis 6Li, 23Na, 39,41K, 85,87Rb, 133Cs; the rare gas isotopes 84,86Kr and 129,130,132,136Xe; 17,18O, 19F, 28Si, 31P, 32S; and various isotope pairs of importance to neutrino physics, namely 74,76Se/74,76Ge, 130Xe/130Te, and 115In/115Sn. We also summarize our Penning trap measurements of the dipole moments of PH + and HCO + .

Photodetachment and Doppler laser cooling of anionic molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerber, Sebastian; Fesel, Julian; Doser, Michael; Comparat, Daniel

2018-02-01

We propose to extend laser-cooling techniques, so far only achieved for neutral molecules, to molecular anions. A detailed computational study is performed for {{{C}}}2- molecules stored in Penning traps using GPU based Monte Carlo simulations. Two cooling schemes—Doppler laser cooling and photodetachment cooling—are investigated. The sympathetic cooling of antiprotons is studied for the Doppler cooling scheme, where it is shown that cooling of antiprotons to subKelvin temperatures could becomes feasible, with impacts on the field of antimatter physics. The presented cooling schemes also have applications for the generation of cold, negatively charged particle sources and for the sympathetic cooling of other molecular anions.

Plasma Modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubin, D. H. E.

This chapter explores several aspects of the linear electrostatic normal modes of oscillation for a single-species non-neutral plasma in a Penning trap. Linearized fluid equations of motion are developed, assuming the plasma is cold but collisionless, which allow derivation of the cold plasma dielectric tensor and the electrostatic wave equation. Upper hybrid and magnetized plasma waves in an infinite uniform plasma are described. The effect of the plasma surface in a bounded plasma system is considered, and the properties of surface plasma waves are characterized. The normal modes of a cylindrical plasma column are discussed, and finally, modes of spheroidal plasmas, and finite temperature effects on the modes, are briefly described.

Shot-noise-limited monitoring and phase locking of the motion of a single trapped ion.

PubMed

Bushev, P; Hétet, G; Slodička, L; Rotter, D; Wilson, M A; Schmidt-Kaler, F; Eschner, J; Blatt, R

2013-03-29

We perform a high-resolution real-time readout of the motion of a single trapped and laser-cooled Ba+ ion. By using an interferometric setup, we demonstrate a shot-noise-limited measurement of thermal oscillations with a resolution of 4 times the standard quantum limit. We apply the real-time monitoring for phase control of the ion motion through a feedback loop, suppressing the photon recoil-induced phase diffusion. Because of the spectral narrowing in the phase-locked mode, the coherent ion oscillation is measured with a resolution of about 0.3 times the standard quantum limit.

Micro-Raman Spectroscopy of Silver Nanoparticle Induced Stress on Optically-Trapped Stem Cells

PubMed Central

Bankapur, Aseefhali; Krishnamurthy, R. Sagar; Zachariah, Elsa; Santhosh, Chidangil; Chougule, Basavaraj; Praveen, Bhavishna; Valiathan, Manna; Mathur, Deepak

2012-01-01

We report here results of a single-cell Raman spectroscopy study of stress effects induced by silver nanoparticles in human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). A high-sensitivity, high-resolution Raman Tweezers set-up has been used to monitor nanoparticle-induced biochemical changes in optically-trapped single cells. Our micro-Raman spectroscopic study reveals that hMSCs treated with silver nanoparticles undergo oxidative stress at doping levels in excess of 2 µg/ml, with results of a statistical analysis of Raman spectra suggesting that the induced stress becomes more dominant at nanoparticle concentration levels above 3 µg/ml. PMID:22514708

Alkali vapor pressure modulation on the 100 ms scale in a single-cell vacuum system for cold atom experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dugrain, Vincent; Reichel, Jakob; Rosenbusch, Peter

2014-08-15

We describe and characterize a device for alkali vapor pressure modulation on the 100 ms timescale in a single-cell cold atom experiment. Its mechanism is based on optimized heat conduction between a current-modulated alkali dispenser and a heat sink at room temperature. We have studied both the short-term behavior during individual pulses and the long-term pressure evolution in the cell. The device combines fast trap loading and relatively long trap lifetime, enabling high repetition rates in a very simple setup. These features make it particularly suitable for portable atomic sensors.

Breeding red-winged blackbirds in captivity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Know, C.J.; Stickley, A.R.

1974-01-01

Ability to establish and maintain self-sustaining breeding colonies of captive Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) would facilitate long-term studies designed to develop methods for alleviating blackbird depredations as well as provide basic life history data. To be most useful, the colonies should be established in pens near laboratory facilities; this frequently involves putting colonies in unnatural nesting habitat. This paper describes a 5-year effort at Gainesville, Florida, to induce captive Red-wings, most of them taken from the wild as nestlings and then hand-reared in our laboratory, to breed regularly under such conditions. Except for an undocumented report of two young fully reared at the London Zoo in 1913 (Prestwick per. comm.), captive Red-wings have not been induced to breed successfully under avicultural conditions. In 1969, captive Red-wings, wild-trapped as adults, were induced to breed and to rear young successfully in large pens over normal marsh and hayfield nesting habitat in Ohio (Jackson pers. comm.). Earlier, a pair of Red-wings that had been caught as adults and kept together for a year hatched two young in a 40- X 20- X 6-foot cage in Massachusetts (Wetherbee 1960, Wilson Bull. 74: 90), but the nestlings died soon after hatching.

Hybrid quadrupole mass filter/quadrupole ion trap/time-of-flight-mass spectrometer for infrared multiple photon dissociation spectroscopy of mass-selected ions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gulyuz, Kerim; Stedwell, Corey N.; Wang Da

2011-05-15

We present a laboratory-constructed mass spectrometer optimized for recording infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectra of mass-selected ions using a benchtop tunable infrared optical parametric oscillator/amplifier (OPO/A). The instrument is equipped with two ionization sources, an electrospray ionization source, as well as an electron ionization source for troubleshooting. This hybrid mass spectrometer is composed of a quadrupole mass filter for mass selection, a reduced pressure ({approx}10{sup -5} Torr) quadrupole ion trap (QIT) for OPO irradiation, and a reflectron time-of-flight drift tube for detecting the remaining precursor and photofragment ions. A helium gas pulse is introduced into the QIT to temporarilymore » increase the pressure and hence enhance the trapping efficiency of axially injected ions. After a brief pump-down delay, the compact ion cloud is subjected to the focused output from the continuous wave OPO. In a recent study, we implemented this setup in the study of protonated tryptophan, TrpH{sup +}, as well as collision-induced dissociation products of this protonated amino acid [W. K. Mino, Jr., K. Gulyuz, D. Wang, C. N. Stedwell, and N. C. Polfer, J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2, 299 (2011)]. Here, we give a more detailed account on the figures of merit of such IRMPD experiments. The appreciable photodissociation yields in these measurements demonstrate that IRMPD spectroscopy of covalently bound ions can be routinely carried out using benchtop OPO setups.« less

A Single-Ion Reservoir as a High-Sensitive Sensor of Electric Signals.

PubMed

Domínguez, Francisco; Arrazola, Iñigo; Doménech, Jaime; Pedernales, Julen S; Lamata, Lucas; Solano, Enrique; Rodríguez, Daniel

2017-08-21

A single-ion reservoir has been tested, and characterized in order to be used as a highly sensitive optical detector of electric signals arriving at the trapping electrodes. Our system consists of a single laser-cooled 40 Ca + ion stored in a Paul trap with rotational symmetry. The performance is observed through the axial motion of the ion, which is equivalent to an underdamped and forced oscillator. Thus, the results can be projected also to Penning traps. We have found that, for an ion oscillator temperature T axial  ≲ 10 mK in the forced-frequency range ω z  = 2π × (80,200 kHz), the reservoir is sensitive to a time-varying electric field equivalent to an electric force of 5.3(2) neV/μm, for a measured quality factor Q = 3875(45), and a decay time constant γ z  = 88(2) s -1 . This method can be applied to measure optically the strength of an oscillating field or induced (driven) charge in this frequency range within times of tens of milliseconds. Furthermore the ion reservoir has been proven to be sensitive to electrostatic forces by measuring the ion displacement. Since the heating rate is below 0.3 μeV/s, this reservoir might be used as optical detector for any ion or bunch of charged particles stored in an adjacent trap.

Independent synchronized control and visualization of interactions between living cells and organisms.

PubMed

Rouger, Vincent; Bordet, Guillaume; Couillault, Carole; Monneret, Serge; Mailfert, Sébastien; Ewbank, Jonathan J; Pujol, Nathalie; Marguet, Didier

2014-05-20

To investigate the early stages of cell-cell interactions occurring between living biological samples, imaging methods with appropriate spatiotemporal resolution are required. Among the techniques currently available, those based on optical trapping are promising. Methods to image trapped objects, however, in general suffer from a lack of three-dimensional resolution, due to technical constraints. Here, we have developed an original setup comprising two independent modules: holographic optical tweezers, which offer a versatile and precise way to move multiple objects simultaneously but independently, and a confocal microscope that provides fast three-dimensional image acquisition. The optical decoupling of these two modules through the same objective gives users the possibility to easily investigate very early steps in biological interactions. We illustrate the potential of this setup with an analysis of infection by the fungus Drechmeria coniospora of different developmental stages of Caenorhabditis elegans. This has allowed us to identify specific areas on the nematode's surface where fungal spores adhere preferentially. We also quantified this adhesion process for different mutant nematode strains, and thereby derive insights into the host factors that mediate fungal spore adhesion. Copyright © 2014 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Proximity effect assisted absorption enhancement in thin film with locally clustered nanoholes.

PubMed

Wu, Shaolong; Zhang, Cheng; Li, Xiaofeng; Zhan, Yaohui

2015-03-01

We focus on the light-trapping characteristics of a thin film with locally clustered nanoholes (NHs), considering that the clustering effect is usually encountered in preparing the nanostructures. Our full-wave finite-element simulation indicates that an intentionally introduced clustering effect could be employed for improving the light-trapping performance of the nanostructured thin film. For a 100 nm thick amorphous silicon film, an optimal clustering design with NH diameter of 100 nm is able to double the integrated optical absorption over the solar spectrum, compared to the planar counterpart, as well as show much improved optical performance over that of the nonclustered setup. A further insight into the underlying physics explains the outstanding light-trapping capability in terms of the increased available modes, a stronger power coupling efficiency, a higher fraction of electric field concentrated in absorbable material, and a higher density of photon states.

Probing the critical exponent of the superfluid fraction in a strongly interacting Fermi gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Hui; Liu, Xia-Ji

2013-11-01

We theoretically investigate the critical behavior of a second-sound mode in a harmonically trapped ultracold atomic Fermi gas with resonant interactions. Near the superfluid phase transition with critical temperature Tc, the frequency or the sound velocity of the second-sound mode crucially depends on the critical exponent β of the superfluid fraction. In an isotropic harmonic trap, we predict that the mode frequency diverges like (1-T/Tc)β-1/2 when β<1/2. In a highly elongated trap, the speed of the second sound reduces by a factor of 1/2β+1 from that in a homogeneous three-dimensional superfluid. Our prediction could readily be tested by measurements of second-sound wave propagation in a setup, such as that exploited by Sidorenkov [Nature (London)NATUAS0028-083610.1038/nature12136 498, 78 (2013)] for resonantly interacting lithium-6 atoms, once the experimental precision is improved.

Magnetic field fluctuations analysis for the ion trap implementation of the quantum Rabi model in the deep strong coupling regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puebla, Ricardo; Casanova, Jorge; Plenio, Martin B.

2018-03-01

The dynamics of the quantum Rabi model (QRM) in the deep strong coupling regime is theoretically analyzed in a trapped-ion set-up. Recognizably, the main hallmark of this regime is the emergence of collapses and revivals, whose faithful observation is hindered under realistic magnetic dephasing noise. Here, we discuss how to attain a faithful implementation of the QRM in the deep strong coupling regime which is robust against magnetic field fluctuations and at the same time provides a large tunability of the simulated parameters. This is achieved by combining standing wave laser configuration with continuous dynamical decoupling. In addition, we study the role that amplitude fluctuations play to correctly attain the QRM using the proposed method. In this manner, the present work further supports the suitability of continuous dynamical decoupling techniques in trapped-ion settings to faithfully realize different interacting dynamics.

Optical Manipulation along Optical Axis with Polarization Sensitive Meta-lens.

PubMed

Markovich, Hen; Shishkin, Ivan; Hendler, Netta; Ginzburg, Pavel

2018-06-27

The ability to manipulate small objects with focused laser beams opens a broad spectrum of opportunities in fundamental and applied studies, where a precise control over mechanical path and stability is required. While conventional optical tweezers are based on bulky diffractive optical elements, developing compact integrable within a fluid cell trapping devices is highly demanded. Here, plasmonic polarization sensitive metasurface-based lens, embedded within a fluid, is demonstrated to provide several stable trapping centers along the optical axis. The position of a particle is controlled with the polarization of the incident light, interacting with plasmonic nanoscale patch antennas, organized within overlapping Fresnel zones of the lens. While standard diffractive optical elements face challenges to trap objects in lateral direction outside the depth of focus, bi-focal Fresnel meta-lens demonstrates the capability to manipulate a bead along 4 micrometers line. Additional fluorescent module, incorporated within the optical trapping setup, was implemented and enabled accurate mapping of optical potential via a particle tracking algorithm. Auxiliary micro- and nano- structures, integrated within fluidic devices, provide numerous opportunities to achieve flexible optomechanical manipulation, including, transport, trapping and sorting, which are highly demanded in lab-on-a-chip applications and many others.

Single-ion, transportable optical atomic clocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delehaye, Marion; Lacroûte, Clément

2018-03-01

For the past 15 years, tremendous progress within the fields of laser stabilization, optical frequency combs and atom cooling and trapping have allowed the realization of optical atomic clocks with unrivaled performances. These instruments can perform frequency comparisons with fractional uncertainties well below ?, finding applications in fundamental physics tests, relativistic geodesy and time and frequency metrology. Even though most optical clocks are currently laboratory setups, several proposals for using these clocks for field measurements or within an optical clock network have been published, and most of time and frequency metrology institutes have started to develop transportable optical clocks. For the purpose of this special issue, we chose to focus on trapped-ion optical clocks. Even though their short-term fractional frequency stability is impaired by a lower signal-to-noise ratio, they offer a high potential for compactness: trapped ions demand low optical powers and simple loading schemes, and can be trapped in small vacuum chambers. We review recent advances on the clock key components, including ion trap and ultra-stable optical cavity, as well as existing projects and experiments which draw the picture of what future transportable, single-ion optical clocks may resemble.

Review of the High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) Experiment at the Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearson, J. B.; Sims, Herb; Martin, James; Chakrabarti, Suman; Lewis, Raymond; Fant, Wallace

2003-01-01

The significant energy density of matter-antimatter annihilation is attractive to the designers of future space propulsion systems, with the potential to offer a highly compact source of power. Many propulsion concepts exist that could take advantage of matter-antimatter reactions, and current antiproton production rates are sufficient to support basic proof-of-principle evaluation of technology associated with antimatter- derived propulsion. One enabling technology for such experiments is portable storage of low energy antiprotons, allowing antiprotons to be trapped, stored, and transported for use at an experimental facility. To address this need, the Marshall Space Flight Center's Propulsion Research Center is developing a storage system referred to as the High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) with a design goal of containing 10(exp 12) particles for up to 18 days. The HiPAT makes use of an electromagnetic system (Penning- Malmberg design) consisting of a 4 Telsa superconductor, high voltage electrode structure, radio frequency (RF) network, and ultra high vacuum system. To evaluate the system normal matter sources (both electron guns and ion sources) are used to generate charged particles. The electron beams ionize gas within the trapping region producing ions in situ, whereas the ion sources produce the particles external to the trapping region and required dynamic capture. A wide range of experiments has been performed examining factors such as ion storage lifetimes, effect of RF energy on storage lifetime, and ability to routinely perform dynamic ion capture. Current efforts have been focused on improving the FW rotating wall system to permit longer storage times and non-destructive diagnostics of stored ions. Typical particle detection is performed by extracting trapped ions from HiPAT and destructively colliding them with a micro-channel plate detector (providing number and energy information). This improved RF system has been used to detect various plasma modes for both electron and ion plasmas in the two traps at MSFC, including axial, cyclotron, and diocotron modes. New diagnostics are also being added to HiPAT to measure the axial density distribution of the trapped cloud to match measured RF plasma modes to plasma conditions.

An Optical Trap for Relativistic Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ping

2002-11-01

Optical traps have achieved remarkable success recently in confining ultra-cold matter.Traps capable of confining ultra-hot matter, or plasma, have also been built for applications such as basic plasma research and thermonuclear fusion. For instance, low-density plasmas with temperature less than 1 keV have been confined with static magnetic fields in Malmberg-Penning traps. Low-density 10-50 keV plasmas are confined in magnetic mirrors and tokamaks. High density plasmas have been trapped in optical traps with kinetic energies up to 10 keV [J. L. Chaloupka and D. D. Meyerhofer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 4538 (1999)]. We present the results of experiment, theory and numerical simulation on an optical trap capable of confining relativistic plasma. A stationary interference grating with submicron spacing is created when two high-power (terawatt) laser pulses of equal wavelength (1-micron) are focused from orthogonal directions to the same point in space and time in high density underdense plasma. Light pressure gradients bunch electrons into sheets located at the minima of the interference pattern. The density of the bunched electrons is found to be up to ten times the background density, which is orders-of-magnitude above that previously reported for other optical traps or plasma waves. The amplitudes and frequencies of multiple satellites in the scattered spectrum also indicate the presence of a highly nonlinear ion wave and an electron temperature about 100 keV. Energy transfer from the stronger beam to the weaker beam is also observed. Potential applications include a test-bed for detailed studies of relativistic nonlinear scattering, a positron source and an electrostatic wiggler. This research is also relevant to fast igniter fusion or ion acceleration experiments, in which laser pulses with intensities comparable to those used in the experiment may also potentially beat [Y. Sentoku, et al., Appl. Phys. B 74, 207215 (2002)]. The details of a specific application, the injection of electrons into laser-driven plasma waves, will also be presented. With crossed beams, the energy of a laser-accelerated electron beam is increased and its emittance is decreased compared with a single beam, potentially paving the way towards an all-optical monoenergetic electron injector.

Overview of the High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, James; Chakrabarti, Suman; Pearson, Boise; Sims, W. Herbert; Lewis, Raymond; Fant, Wallace; Rodgers, Stephen (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

A general overview of the High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) Experiment is presented. The topics include: 1) Why Antimatter? 2) HiPAT Applicability; 3) Approach-Goals; 4) HiPAT General Layout; 5) Sizing For Containment; 6) Laboratory Operations; 7) Vacuum System Cleaning; 8) Ion Production Via Electron Gun; 9) Particle Capture Via Ion Sources; 10) Ion Beam Steering/Focusing; 11) Ideal Ion Stacking Sequence; 12) Setup For Dynamic Capture; 13) Dynamic Capture of H(+) Ions; 14) Dynamic Capture; 15) Radio Frequency Particle Detection; 16) Radio Frequency Antenna Modeling; and 17) R.F. Stabilization-Low Frequencies. A short presentation of propulsion applications of Antimatter is also given. This paper is in viewgraph form.

Net motion of acoustically levitating nano-particles: A theoretical analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lippera, Kevin; Dauchot, Olivier; Benzaquen, Michael; Gulliver-LadHyX Collaboration

2017-11-01

A particle 2D-trapped in the nodal planed of a standing acoustic wave is prone to acoustic-phoretic motion as soon as its shape breaks polar or chiral symmetry. such a setup constitues an ideal system to study boundaryless 2D collective behavior with purely hydrodynamic long range interactions. Recent studies have indeed shown that quasi-spherical particles may undergo net propulsion, a feature partially understood theoretically in the particular case of infinite viscous boundary layers. We here extend the theoretical results of to any boundary layer thickness, by that meeting typical experimental conditions. In addition, we propose an explanation for the net spinning of the trapped particles, as observed in experiments.

Mass Measurements beyond the Major r-Process Waiting Point {sup 80}Zn

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baruah, S.; Herlert, A.; Schweikhard, L.

2008-12-31

High-precision mass measurements on neutron-rich zinc isotopes {sup 71m,72-81}Zn have been performed with the Penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP. For the first time, the mass of {sup 81}Zn has been experimentally determined. This makes {sup 80}Zn the first of the few major waiting points along the path of the astrophysical rapid neutron-capture process where neutron-separation energy and neutron-capture Q-value are determined experimentally. The astrophysical conditions required for this waiting point and its associated abundance signatures to occur in r-process models can now be mapped precisely. The measurements also confirm the robustness of the N=50 shell closure for Z=30.

Precise positioning of an ion in an integrated Paul trap-cavity system using radiofrequency signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kassa, Ezra; Takahashi, Hiroki; Christoforou, Costas; Keller, Matthias

2018-03-01

We report a novel miniature Paul ion trap design with an integrated optical fibre cavity which can serve as a building block for a fibre-linked quantum network. In such cavity quantum electrodynamic set-ups, the optimal coupling of the ions to the cavity mode is of vital importance and this is achieved by moving the ion relative to the cavity mode. The trap presented herein features an endcap-style design complemented with extra electrodes on which additional radiofrequency voltages are applied to fully control the pseudopotential minimum in three dimensions. This method lifts the need to use three-dimensional translation stages for moving the fibre cavity with respect to the ion and achieves high integrability, mechanical rigidity and scalability. Not based on modifying the capacitive load of the trap, this method leads to precise control of the pseudopotential minimum allowing the ion to be moved with precisions limited only by the ion's position spread. We demonstrate this by coupling the ion to the fibre cavity and probing the cavity mode profile.

An apparatus for immersing trapped ions into an ultracold gas of neutral atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmid, Stefan; Härter, Arne; Frisch, Albert; Hoinka, Sascha; Denschlag, Johannes Hecker

2012-05-01

We describe a hybrid vacuum system in which a single ion or a well-defined small number of trapped ions (in our case Ba+ or Rb+) can be immersed into a cloud of ultracold neutral atoms (in our case Rb). This apparatus allows for the study of collisions and interactions between atoms and ions in the ultracold regime. Our setup is a combination of a Bose-Einstein condensation apparatus and a linear Paul trap. The main design feature of the apparatus is to first separate the production locations for the ion and the ultracold atoms and then to bring the two species together. This scheme has advantages in terms of stability and available access to the region where the atom-ion collision experiments are carried out. The ion and the atoms are brought together using a moving one-dimensional optical lattice transport which vertically lifts the atomic sample over a distance of 30 cm from its production chamber into the center of the Paul trap in another chamber. We present techniques to detect and control the relative position between the ion and the atom cloud.

Initial pen and field assessment of baits to use in oral rabies vaccination of Formosan ferret-badgers in response to the re-emergence of rabies in Taiwan.

PubMed

Wallace, Ryan M; Lai, Yuching; Doty, Jeffrey B; Chen, Chen-Chih; Vora, Neil M; Blanton, Jesse D; Chang, Susan S; Cleaton, Julie M; Pei, Kurtis J C

2018-01-01

Taiwan had been considered rabies free since 1961, until a newly established wildlife disease surveillance program identified rabies virus transmission within the Formosan ferret-badger (Melogale moschata subaurantiaca) in 2013. Ferret-badgers occur throughout southern China and Southeast Asia, but their ecological niche is not well described. As an initial feasibility assessment for potential rabies control measures, field camera trapping and pen assessment of 6 oral rabies vaccine (ORV) baits were conducted in Taiwan in 2013. 46 camera nights were recorded; 6 Formosan ferret-badgers and 14 non-target mammals were sighted. No baits were consumed by ferret-badgers and 8 were consumed by non-target mammals. Penned ferret-badgers ingested 5 of the 18 offered baits. When pen and field trials were combined, and analyzed for palatability, ferret-badgers consumed 1 of 9 marshmallow baits (11.1%), 1 of 21 fishmeal baits (4.8%), 0 of 3 liver baits, and 3 of 3 fruit-flavored baits. It took an average of 261 minutes before ferret-badgers made oral contact with the non-fruit flavored baits, and 34 minutes for first contact with the fruit-based bait. Overall, ferret-badgers sought out the fruit baits 8 times faster, spent a greater proportion of time eating fruit baits, and were 7.5 times more likely to have ruptured the vaccine container of the fruit-based bait. Ferret-badgers are now recognized as rabies reservoir species in China and Taiwan, through two independent 'dog to ferret-badger' host-shift events. Species of ferret-badgers can be found throughout Indochina, where they may be an unrecognized rabies reservoir. Findings from this initial study underscore the need for further captive and field investigations of fruit-based attractants or baits developed for small meso-carnivores. Non-target mammals' competition for baits, ants, bait design, and dense tropical landscape represent potential challenges to effective ORV programs that will need to be considered in future studies.

Initial pen and field assessment of baits to use in oral rabies vaccination of Formosan ferret-badgers in response to the re-emergence of rabies in Taiwan

PubMed Central

Wallace, Ryan M.; Lai, Yuching; Doty, Jeffrey B.; Chen, Chen-Chih; Vora, Neil M.; Blanton, Jesse D.; Chang, Susan S.; Pei, Kurtis J. C.

2018-01-01

Background Taiwan had been considered rabies free since 1961, until a newly established wildlife disease surveillance program identified rabies virus transmission within the Formosan ferret-badger (Melogale moschata subaurantiaca) in 2013. Ferret-badgers occur throughout southern China and Southeast Asia, but their ecological niche is not well described. Methodology/Principle findings As an initial feasibility assessment for potential rabies control measures, field camera trapping and pen assessment of 6 oral rabies vaccine (ORV) baits were conducted in Taiwan in 2013. 46 camera nights were recorded; 6 Formosan ferret-badgers and 14 non-target mammals were sighted. No baits were consumed by ferret-badgers and 8 were consumed by non-target mammals. Penned ferret-badgers ingested 5 of the 18 offered baits. When pen and field trials were combined, and analyzed for palatability, ferret-badgers consumed 1 of 9 marshmallow baits (11.1%), 1 of 21 fishmeal baits (4.8%), 0 of 3 liver baits, and 3 of 3 fruit-flavored baits. It took an average of 261 minutes before ferret-badgers made oral contact with the non-fruit flavored baits, and 34 minutes for first contact with the fruit-based bait. Overall, ferret-badgers sought out the fruit baits 8 times faster, spent a greater proportion of time eating fruit baits, and were 7.5 times more likely to have ruptured the vaccine container of the fruit-based bait. Conclusions/Significance Ferret-badgers are now recognized as rabies reservoir species in China and Taiwan, through two independent ‘dog to ferret-badger’ host-shift events. Species of ferret-badgers can be found throughout Indochina, where they may be an unrecognized rabies reservoir. Findings from this initial study underscore the need for further captive and field investigations of fruit-based attractants or baits developed for small meso-carnivores. Non-target mammals’ competition for baits, ants, bait design, and dense tropical landscape represent potential challenges to effective ORV programs that will need to be considered in future studies. PMID:29293591

New State Records for Lutzomyia shannoni and Lutzomyia vexator

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-04-01

These insects were found in a northeasterly band extending from southwesternKentucky to southwesternOhio. Both specieswere consistently captured...former scenario could presage an increased prevalence of the diseases associated with this group of insects . KEY WORDS leishmaniasis, vesicular... insects . The rest of the trap was then disassembled in reversemannerof setup.Coolerswerenoted toalways contain at least some residual dry ice at the time

3D mosquito screens to create window double screen traps for mosquito control.

PubMed

Khattab, Ayman; Jylhä, Kaisa; Hakala, Tomi; Aalto, Mikko; Malima, Robert; Kisinza, William; Honkala, Markku; Nousiainen, Pertti; Meri, Seppo

2017-08-29

Mosquitoes are vectors for many diseases such as malaria. Insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor residual spraying of insecticides are the principal malaria vector control tools used to prevent malaria in the tropics. Other interventions aim at reducing man-vector contact. For example, house screening provides additive or synergistic effects to other implemented measures. We used commercial screen materials made of polyester, polyethylene or polypropylene to design novel mosquito screens that provide remarkable additional benefits to those commonly used in house screening. The novel design is based on a double screen setup made of a screen with 3D geometric structures parallel to a commercial mosquito screen creating a trap between the two screens. Owing to the design of the 3D screen, mosquitoes can penetrate the 3D screen from one side but cannot return through the other side, making it a unidirectional mosquito screen. Therefore, the mosquitoes are trapped inside the double screen system. The permissiveness of both sides of the 3D screens for mosquitoes to pass through was tested in a wind tunnel using the insectary strain of Anopheles stephensi. Among twenty-five tested 3D screen designs, three designs from the cone, prism, or cylinder design groups were the most efficient in acting as unidirectional mosquito screens. The three cone-, prism-, and cylinder-based screens allowed, on average, 92, 75 and 64% of Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes released into the wind tunnel to penetrate the permissive side and 0, 0 and 6% of mosquitoes to escape through the non-permissive side, respectively. A cone-based 3D screen fulfilled the study objective. It allowed capturing 92% of mosquitoes within the double screen setup inside the wind tunnel and blocked 100% from escaping. Thus, the cone-based screen effectively acted as a unidirectional mosquito screen. This 3D screen-based trap design could therefore be used in house screening as a means of avoiding infective bites and reducing mosquito population size.

Towards high-precision measurement of the Tritium - He-3 mass difference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Wei; Redshaw, Matthew; Victoria, Juliette; Myers, Edmund

2004-05-01

An independent measurement of the mass difference of ^3He-^3T provides an important check of systematic errors in tritium beta-decay experiments that set limits to the electron anti-neutrino mass [1]. Using the precision Penning trap system developed at MIT but recently relocated to Florida State University [2], and the simultaneous two-ion cyclotron frequency measurement technique recently developed at MIT [3], we aim to measure this mass difference to better than 30 meV/c^2, more than an order of magnitude improvement over previous measurements [4,5]. Problems being addressed include producing single T^+ ions in the trap without spoiling the vacuum with ^3He, and the extension of the MIT techniques to ions of lighter mass. [1] KATRIN: http://iklau1.fzk.de/tritium [2] See abstract by Redshaw et al. [3] S. Rainville, J.K. Thompson, and D.E. Pritchard, Science 303, 334 (2004). [4] R.S. Van Dyck, D.L. Farnham, and P.B. Schwinberg, PRL 70, 2888 (1993). [5] G. Audi, A.H. Wapstra, and C. Thibault, Nuclear Physics A729, 337 (2003).

Measuring out-of-time-order correlations and multiple quantum spectra in a trapped-ion quantum magnet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gärttner, Martin; Bohnet, Justin G.; Safavi-Naini, Arghavan; Wall, Michael L.; Bollinger, John J.; Rey, Ana Maria

2017-08-01

Controllable arrays of ions and ultracold atoms can simulate complex many-body phenomena and may provide insights into unsolved problems in modern science. To this end, experimentally feasible protocols for quantifying the buildup of quantum correlations and coherence are needed, as performing full state tomography does not scale favourably with the number of particles. Here we develop and experimentally demonstrate such a protocol, which uses time reversal of the many-body dynamics to measure out-of-time-order correlation functions (OTOCs) in a long-range Ising spin quantum simulator with more than 100 ions in a Penning trap. By measuring a family of OTOCs as a function of a tunable parameter we obtain fine-grained information about the state of the system encoded in the multiple quantum coherence spectrum, extract the quantum state purity, and demonstrate the buildup of up to 8-body correlations. Future applications of this protocol could enable studies of many-body localization, quantum phase transitions, and tests of the holographic duality between quantum and gravitational systems.

Velocity space scattering coefficients with applications in antihydrogen recombination studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Yongbin; Ordonez, C. A.

2000-12-01

An approach for calculating velocity space friction and diffusion coefficients with Maxwellian field particles is developed based on a kernel function derived in a previous paper [Y. Chang and C. A. Ordonez, Phys. Plasmas 6, 2947 (1999)]. The original fivefold integral expressions for the coefficients are reduced to onefold integrals, which can be used for any value of the Coulomb logarithm. The onefold integrals can be further reduced to standard analytical expressions by using a weak coupling approximation. The integral expression for the friction coefficient is used to predict a time scale that describes the rate at which a reflecting antiproton beam slows down within a positron plasma, while both species are simultaneously confined by a nested Penning trap. The time scale is used to consider the possibility of achieving antihydrogen recombination within the trap. The friction and diffusion coefficients are then used to derive an expression for calculating the energy transfer rate between antiprotons and positrons. The expression is employed to illustrate achieving antihydrogen recombination while taking into account positron heating by the antiprotons. The effect of the presence of an electric field on recombination is discussed.

Flux-driven algebraic damping of m = 1 diocotron mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chim, Chi Yung; O'Neil, Thomas M.

2016-07-01

Recent experiments with pure electron plasmas in a Malmberg-Penning trap have observed the algebraic damping of m = 1 diocotron modes. Transport due to small field asymmetries produces a low density halo of electrons moving radially outward from the plasma core, and the mode damping begins when the halo reaches the resonant radius r = Rw at the wall of the trap. The damping rate is proportional to the flux of halo particles through the resonant layer. The damping is related to, but distinct from, spatial Landau damping, in which a linear wave-particle resonance produces exponential damping. This paper explains with analytic theory the new algebraic damping due to particle transport by both mobility and diffusion. As electrons are swept around the "cat's eye" orbits of the resonant wave-particle interaction, they form a dipole (m = 1) density distribution. From this distribution, the electric field component perpendicular to the core displacement produces E × B-drift of the core back to the axis, that is, damps the m = 1 mode. The parallel component produces drift in the azimuthal direction, that is, causes a shift in the mode frequency.

The REX-ISOLDE charge breeder as an operational machine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wenander, F.; Delahaye, P.; Scrivens, R.

2006-03-15

The charge breeding system of radioactive beam experiment at ISOLDE (REX-ISOLDE), consisting of a large Penning trap in combination with an electron-beam ion source (EBIS), is now a mature concept after having delivered radioactive beams for postacceleration to a number of experiments for three years. The system, preparing ions prior to injection into a compact linear accelerator, has shown to be versatile in terms of the ion species and energies that can be delivered. During the experimental periods 2004 and 2005 a significant part of the ISOLDE beam time was dedicated to REX-ISOLDE experiments. Ion masses in the range betweenmore » A=7 and 153 have been handled with record efficiencies. High-intensity as well as very-short-lived isotope beams were proven to be feasible. Continuous injection into the EBIS has also been successfully tested. Two means of suppressing unwanted beam contaminations were tested and are now in use. In addition, the experience gained from the trap-EBIS concept from a machine operational point of view will be discussed and the limitations described.« less

Sherman Creek Hatchery; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Fish Program, 2003 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lovrak, Jon; Combs, Mitch

2004-01-01

Sherman Creek Hatchery's primary objective is the restoration and enhancement of the recreational and subsistence fishery in Lake Roosevelt and Banks Lake. The Sherman Creek Hatchery (SCH) was designed to rear 1.7 million kokanee fry for acclimation and imprinting during the spring and early summer. Additionally, it was designed to trap all available returning adult kokanee during the fall for broodstock operation and evaluation. Since the start of this program, the operations on Lake Roosevelt have been modified to better achieve program goals. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Spokane Tribe of Indians and the Colville Confederated Tribes formmore » the interagency Lake Roosevelt Hatcheries Coordination Team (LRHCT) which sets goals and objectives for both Sherman Creek and the Spokane Tribal Hatchery. The LRHCT also serves to coordinate enhancement efforts on Lake Roosevelt and Banks Lake. Since 1994 the kokanee fingerling program has changed to yearling releases. By utilizing both the hatcheries and additional net pens, up to 1,000,000 kokanee yearlings can be reared and released. The construction and operation of twenty net pens in 2001 enabled the increased production. Another significant change has been to rear up to 300,000 rainbow trout fingerling at SCH from July through October, for stocking into the volunteer net pens. This enables the Spokane Tribal Hatchery (STH) to rear additional kokanee to further the enhancement efforts on Lake Roosevelt. Current objectives include increased use of native tributary stocks where available for propagation into Upper Columbia River Basin waters. The Lake Roosevelt Fisheries Evaluation Program (LRFEP) is responsible for monitoring and evaluation on the Lake Roosevelt Projects. From 1988 to 1998, the principal sport fishery on Lake Roosevelt has shifted from walleye to include rainbow trout and kokanee salmon (Underwood et al. 1997, Tilson and Scholz 1997). The angler use, harvest rates for rainbow and kokanee and the economic value of the fishery has increased substantially during this 10-year period. The investigations on the lake also suggest that the hatchery and net pen programs have enhanced the Lake Roosevelt fishery while not negatively impacting wild and native stocks within the lake. The 2003 Fourth Annual Two Rivers Trout Derby was again a great success. The harvest and data collection were the highest level to date with 1,668 rainbow trout and 416 kokanee salmon caught. The fishermen continue to praise the volunteer net pen program and the hatchery efforts as 90% of the rainbows and 93% of the kokanee caught were of hatchery origin (Lee, 2003).« less

Effect of a PEDOT:PSS modified layer on the electrical characteristics of flexible memristive devices based on graphene oxide:polyvinylpyrrolidone nanocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Woo Kyum; Wu, Chaoxing; Kim, Tae Whan

2018-06-01

The electrical characteristics of flexible memristive devices utilizing a graphene oxide (GO):polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) nanocomposite charge-trapping layer with a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)-modified layer fabricated on an indium-tin-oxide (ITO)-coated polyethylene glycol naphthalate (PEN) substrate were investigated. Current-voltage (I-V) curves for the Al/GO:PVP/PEDOT:PSS/ITO/PEN devices showed remarkable hysteresis behaviors before and after bending. The maximum memory margins of the devices before and after 100 bending cycles were approximately 7.69 × 103 and 5.16 × 102, respectively. The devices showed nonvolatile memory effect with a retention time of more than 1 × 104 s. The "Reset" voltages were distributed between 2.3 and 3.5 V, and the "Set" voltages were dispersed between -0.7 and -0.2 V, indicative of excellent, uniform electrical performance. The endurance number of ON/OFF-switching and bending cycles for the devices was 1 × 102, respectively. The bipolar resistive switching behavior was explained on the basis of I-V results. In particular, the bipolar resistive switching behaviors of the LRS and the HRS for the devices are dominated by the Ohmic and space charge current mechanisms, respectively.

Injection Force of SoloSTAR® Compared with Other Disposable Insulin Pen Devices at Constant Volume Flow Rates

PubMed Central

van der Burg, Thomas

2011-01-01

Background Injection force is a particularly important practical aspect of therapy for patients with diabetes, especially those who have dexterity problems. This laboratory-based study compared the injection force of the SoloSTAR® insulin pen (SoloSTAR; sanofi-aventis) versus other available disposable pens at injection speeds based on the delivered volume of insulin released at the needle. Method Four different prefilled disposable pens were tested: SoloSTAR containing insulin glargine; FlexPen® and the Next Generation FlexPen® (NGFP) (Novo Nordisk), both containing insulin detemir; and KwikPen® containing insulin lispro (Eli Lilly). All pens were investigated using the maximum dispense volume for each pen type [80 units (U) for SoloSTAR; 60 U for the other pens], from the free needle tip dispensing into a beaker. Twenty pens of each type were fitted with the recommended needles and tested at two dose speeds (6 and 10 U/s); each pen was tested twice. Results Mean plateau injection force and maximum injection force were consistently lower with SoloSTAR compared with FlexPen, NGFP, and KwikPen at both injection speeds tested. An injection speed of 10 U/s was associated with higher injection force compared with 6 U/s for all the pens tested (p < .001). Conclusions SoloSTAR stands out because of its low injection force, even when compared with newer insulin pen devices such as the KwikPen and NGFP. This may enable patients, especially those with dexterity problems, to administer insulin more easily and improve management of their diabetes. PMID:21303637

Mutant Allele-Specific Uncoupling of PENETRATION3 Functions Reveals Engagement of the ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter in Distinct Tryptophan Metabolic Pathways1[OPEN

PubMed Central

Lu, Xunli; Dittgen, Jan; Piślewska-Bednarek, Mariola; Molina, Antonio; Schneider, Bernd; Doubský, Jan; Schneeberger, Korbinian; Schulze-Lefert, Paul

2015-01-01

Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) PENETRATION (PEN) genes quantitatively contribute to the execution of different forms of plant immunity upon challenge with diverse leaf pathogens. PEN3 encodes a plasma membrane-resident pleiotropic drug resistance-type ATP-binding cassette transporter and is thought to act in a pathogen-inducible and PEN2 myrosinase-dependent metabolic pathway in extracellular defense. This metabolic pathway directs the intracellular biosynthesis and activation of tryptophan-derived indole glucosinolates for subsequent PEN3-mediated efflux across the plasma membrane at pathogen contact sites. However, PEN3 also functions in abiotic stress responses to cadmium and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA)-mediated auxin homeostasis in roots, raising the possibility that PEN3 exports multiple functionally unrelated substrates. Here, we describe the isolation of a pen3 allele, designated pen3-5, that encodes a dysfunctional protein that accumulates in planta like wild-type PEN3. The specific mutation in pen3-5 uncouples PEN3 functions in IBA-stimulated root growth modulation, callose deposition induced with a conserved peptide epitope of bacterial flagellin (flg22), and pathogen-inducible salicylic acid accumulation from PEN3 activity in extracellular defense, indicating the engagement of multiple PEN3 substrates in different PEN3-dependent biological processes. We identified 4-O-β-d-glucosyl-indol-3-yl formamide (4OGlcI3F) as a pathogen-inducible, tryptophan-derived compound that overaccumulates in pen3 leaf tissue and has biosynthesis that is dependent on an intact PEN2 metabolic pathway. We propose that a precursor of 4OGlcI3F is the PEN3 substrate in extracellular pathogen defense. These precursors, the shared indole core present in IBA and 4OGlcI3F, and allele-specific uncoupling of a subset of PEN3 functions suggest that PEN3 transports distinct indole-type metabolites in distinct biological processes. PMID:26023163

Effect of pond ash on pen surface properties

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Maintaining adequate feedlot pen surfaces is expensive. Pond ash (PA), a coal-fired electrical generation by-product, has good support qualities. A study was conducted comparing the performance of pond ash (PA) surfaced pens with soil surface (SS) pens. Four pens of an eight pen series with dimensio...

Fast production of Bose-Einstein condensates of metastable helium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouton, Q.; Chang, R.; Hoendervanger, A. L.; Nogrette, F.; Aspect, A.; Westbrook, C. I.; Clément, D.

2015-06-01

We report on the Bose-Einstein condensation of metastable 4He atoms using a hybrid approach, consisting of a magnetic quadrupole and an optical dipole trap. In our setup we cross the phase transition with 2 ×106 atoms, and we obtain pure condensates of 5 ×105 atoms in the optical trap. This approach to cooling 4He provides enhanced cycle stability, large optical access to the atoms and results in the production of a condensate every 6 s—a factor 2 faster than the state of the art. This speed-up will significantly reduce the data acquisition time needed for the measurement of many particle correlations, made possible by the ability of metastable helium atoms to be detected individually.

Preparation of a high concentration of lithium-7 atoms in a magneto-optical trap

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zelener, B. B., E-mail: bobozel@mail.ru; Saakyan, S. A.; Sautenkov, V. A.

2014-11-15

This study is aimed at obtaining high concentration of optically cooled lithium-7 atoms for preparing strongly interacting ultracold plasma and Rydberg matter. A special setup has been constructed, in which two high-power semiconductor lasers are used to cool lithium-7 atoms in a magneto-optical trap. At an optimum detuning of the cooling laser frequency and a magnetic field gradient of 35 G/cm, the concentration of ultracold lithium-7 atoms reaches about 10{sup 11} cm{sup −3}. Additional independent information about the concentration and number of ultracold lithium-7 atoms on different sublevels of the ground state was obtained by using of an additional probingmore » laser.« less

Pen-2 overexpression induces Aβ-42 production, memory defect, motor activity enhancement and feeding behavior dysfunction in NSE/Pen-2 transgenic mice.

PubMed

Nam, So Hee; Seo, Su Jin; Goo, Jun Seo; Kim, Jee Eun; Choi, Sun Il; Lee, Hae Ryun; Hwang, In Sik; Jee, Seung Wan; Lee, Su Hae; Bae, Chang Jun; Park, Jung Youn; Kim, Hye Sung; Shim, Sun Bo; Hwang, Dae Youn

2011-12-01

Pen-2 is a key regulator of the γ-secretase complex, which is involved in the production of the amyloid β (Aβ)-42 peptides, which ultimately lead to Alzheimer's disease (AD). While Pen-2 has been studied in vitro, Pen-2 function in vivo in the brains of transgenic (Tg) mice overexpressing human Pen-2 (hPen-2) protein has not been studied. This study aimed to determine whether Pen-2 overexpression could regulate the AD-like phenotypes in Tg mice. NSE/hPen-2 Tg mice were produced by the microinjection of the NSE/hPen-2 gene into the pronucleus of fertilized eggs. The expression of the hPen-2 gene under the control of the NSE promoter was successfully detected only in the brain and kidney tissue of NSE/hPen-2 Tg mice. Also, 12-month-old NSE/hPen-2 Tg mice displayed behavioral dysfunction in the water maze test, motor activity and feeding behavior dysfunction in food intake/water intake/motor activity monitoring system. In addition, tissue samples displayed dense staining with antibody to the Aβ-42 peptide. Furthermore, NSE/hPen-2 Tg mice exhibiting feeding behavior dysfunction were significantly more apt to display symptoms related to diabetes and obesity. These results suggest that Pen-2 overexpression in NSE/hPen-2 Tg mice may induce all the AD-like phenotypes, including behavioral deficits, motor activity and feeding behavior dysfunction, Aβ-42 peptide deposition and chronic disease induction.

Administration technique and storage of disposable insulin pens reported by patients with diabetes.

PubMed

Mitchell, Virginia D; Porter, Kyle; Beatty, Stuart J

2012-01-01

The purpose of the study was to evaluate insulin injection technique and storage of insulin pens as reported by patients with diabetes and to compare correct pen use to initial education on injection technique, hemoglobin A1C, duration of insulin therapy, and duration of insulin pen. Cross-sectional questionnaire orally administered to patients at a university-affiliated primary care practice. Subjects were patients with diabetes who were 18 years or older and prescribed a disposable insulin pen for at least 4 weeks. A correct usage score was calculated for each patient based on manufacturer recommendations for disposable insulin pen use. Associations were made between the correct usage score and certainty in technique, initial education, years of insulin therapy, duration of pen use, and hemoglobin A1C. Sixty-seven patients completed the questionnaire, reporting total use of 94 insulin pens. The 3 components most often neglected by patients were priming pen needle, holding for specific count time before withdrawal of pen needle from skin, and storing an in-use pen. For three-fourths of the insulin pens being used, users did not follow the manufacturer's instructions for proper administration and storage of insulin pens. Correct usage scores were significantly higher if initial education on insulin pens was performed by a pharmacist or nurse. The majority of patients may be ignoring or unaware of key components for consistent insulin dosing using disposable insulin pens; therefore, initial education and reeducation on correct use of disposable insulin pens by health care professionals are needed.

Comparing soil and pond ash feedlot pen surfaces for environmental management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Removing manure and replacing soil to maintain pen surfaces is expensive. Pond ash (PA), a coal-fired electrical generation by-product, has good support qualities. A study was conducted comparing the performance of pond ash (PA) surfaced pens with soil surface (SS) pens. Four pens of an eight pen se...

The invasive MenC cc103 lineage with penicillin reduced susceptibility persisting in Brazil.

PubMed

Fonseca, Érica L; Marin, Michel A; Freitas, Fernanda S; Vitório, Bruna S A; de Araújo, Flávio M G; Camargo, Dhian R A; Coimbra, Roney S; De Filippis, Ivano R; Vicente, Ana Carolina P

2017-09-01

Penicillin is the antibiotic of choice for the treatment of meningococcal infections, and mutations in penA gene are involved with reduced susceptibility (pen I ) emergence to this antibiotic. This study aimed to characterize the penA allelic diversity, their association with pen I phenotype and distribution among prevalent meningococci serogroups in Brazil. The entire penA from 49 invasive strains of distinct serogroups circulating in Brazil for more than two decades were obtained by PCR and sequencing. Additionally, the penA from 22 publicly available complete Neisseria meningitidis genomes from Brazil were included in the study. The allelic diversity was determined and a genetic tree was built using the penA sequence alignment. The penicillin MIC was obtained by the E-Test method. In general, the identified penA alleles correlated with the observed pen I phenotype. The canonical penA1 was the most prevalent allele, however, several altered penA were also identified in strains presenting increased penicillin MICs. It was identified a new penA amino acid position (residue 480) that possibly influence the penicillin MIC in some strains. Interestingly, the altered penA14 was found in pen I invasive MenC cc103 strains spread in Brazil and persisting since 2011, indicating that the biological cost imposed by pen I phenotype can be ameliorated by particular features present in this lineage, which represents an additional public health threat. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Helical plasma thruster

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beklemishev, A. D., E-mail: bekl@bk.ru

2015-10-15

A new scheme of plasma thruster is proposed. It is based on axial acceleration of rotating magnetized plasmas in magnetic field with helical corrugation. The idea is that the propellant ionization zone can be placed into the local magnetic well, so that initially the ions are trapped. The E × B rotation is provided by an applied radial electric field that makes the setup similar to a magnetron discharge. Then, from the rotating plasma viewpoint, the magnetic wells of the helically corrugated field look like axially moving mirror traps. Specific shaping of the corrugation can allow continuous acceleration of trapped plasma ionsmore » along the magnetic field by diamagnetic forces. The accelerated propellant is expelled through the expanding field of magnetic nozzle. By features of the acceleration principle, the helical plasma thruster may operate at high energy densities but requires a rather high axial magnetic field, which places it in the same class as the VASIMR{sup ®} rocket engine.« less

Comparative Assessment of Lixisenatide, Exenatide, and Liraglutide Pen Devices: A Pilot User-Based Study.

PubMed

Stauder, Udo; Enginee, Diplom; Elton, Hina; Penfornis, Alfred; Edelman, Steve

2014-01-01

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are a relatively recent addition to the treatment options for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and are administered using prefilled pen devices. In this open-label task and interview-based pilot study, 3 GLP-1 receptor agonist pen devices-exenatide (Byetta ® , Bristol-Myers Squibb/AstraZeneca), liraglutide (Victoza ® , Novo Nordisk), and lixisenatide (Lyxumia ® , Sanofi-Aventis)-were comparatively assessed in a randomized order in 30 participants with T2DM for ease of use, using a series of key performance measures (time taken to complete a series of tasks, number of user errors [successful performance], and user satisfaction rating). Linear and logistic regression analysis was conducted for the lixisenatide and liraglutide pens versus the exenatide pen. Participants' mean age was 60 years; 27% and 20% of the participants had visual impairments and reduced manual dexterity, respectively. Tasks were completed faster (P < .001) and with higher successful performance (P = .001) with the lixisenatide pen than with the exenatide pen, whereas the liraglutide pen was not statistically significant versus the exenatide pen on these parameters. Overall, user satisfaction was statistically higher for the lixisenatide and liraglutide pens versus the exenatide pen (P < .001 for both). Lixisenatide and liraglutide pens are associated with higher user satisfaction compared with the exenatide pen. In addition, the lixisenatide pen is faster and results in fewer errors than its comparator (exenatide). The lixisenatide pen may therefore be a suitable choice for patients with T2DM, including older and pen device-naïve patients, and those with visual impairments and reduced manual dexterity. © 2014 Diabetes Technology Society.

Comparative Assessment of Lixisenatide, Exenatide, and Liraglutide Pen Devices

PubMed Central

Enginee, Diplom; Elton, Hina; Penfornis, Alfred; Edelman, Steve

2014-01-01

Background: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are a relatively recent addition to the treatment options for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and are administered using prefilled pen devices. Method: In this open-label task and interview-based pilot study, 3 GLP-1 receptor agonist pen devices—exenatide (Byetta®, Bristol-Myers Squibb/AstraZeneca), liraglutide (Victoza®, Novo Nordisk), and lixisenatide (Lyxumia®, Sanofi-Aventis)—were comparatively assessed in a randomized order in 30 participants with T2DM for ease of use, using a series of key performance measures (time taken to complete a series of tasks, number of user errors [successful performance], and user satisfaction rating). Linear and logistic regression analysis was conducted for the lixisenatide and liraglutide pens versus the exenatide pen. Participants’ mean age was 60 years; 27% and 20% of the participants had visual impairments and reduced manual dexterity, respectively. Results: Tasks were completed faster (P < .001) and with higher successful performance (P = .001) with the lixisenatide pen than with the exenatide pen, whereas the liraglutide pen was not statistically significant versus the exenatide pen on these parameters. Overall, user satisfaction was statistically higher for the lixisenatide and liraglutide pens versus the exenatide pen (P < .001 for both). Conclusions: Lixisenatide and liraglutide pens are associated with higher user satisfaction compared with the exenatide pen. In addition, the lixisenatide pen is faster and results in fewer errors than its comparator (exenatide). The lixisenatide pen may therefore be a suitable choice for patients with T2DM, including older and pen device-naïve patients, and those with visual impairments and reduced manual dexterity. PMID:24876548

Vortex Dynamics and Shear-Layer Instability in High-Intensity Cyclotrons.

PubMed

Cerfon, Antoine J

2016-04-29

We show that the space-charge dynamics of high-intensity beams in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field in cyclotrons is described by the two-dimensional Euler equations for an incompressible fluid. This analogy with fluid dynamics gives a unified and intuitive framework to explain the beam spiraling and beam breakup behavior observed in experiments and in simulations. Specifically, we demonstrate that beam breakup is the result of a classical instability occurring in fluids subject to a sheared flow. We give scaling laws for the instability and predict the nonlinear evolution of beams subject to it. Our work suggests that cyclotrons may be uniquely suited for the experimental study of shear layers and vortex distributions that are not achievable in Penning-Malmberg traps.

Mass determination near N = 20 for Al and Na isotopes

DOE PAGES

Gallant, A. T.; Alanssari, M.; Bale, J. C.; ...

2017-08-31

We report on the mass measurements of 31;32Na and 29;34;35Al, performed with the TITAN Penning trap mass spectrometer at TRIUMF. The mass excesses were found to be 12246(14) keV and 18638(37) keV for 31;32Na and -18207:77(37) keV, -3000:5(29) keV, and -223:7(73) keV for 29;34;35Al, respectively. Our measurements con rm the observation of a crossover in the two-neutron separation energies of 33Mg and 34Al. We did not observe the recently reported, long-lived, isomeric state of 34Al, but, based on the previously measured half-lives, the mass value of the ground state was determined.

Observation of the continuous stern-gerlach effect on an electron bound in an atomic Ion

PubMed

Hermanspahn; Haffner; Kluge; Quint; Stahl; Verdu; Werth

2000-01-17

We report on the first observation of the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect on an electron bound in an atomic ion. The measurement was performed on a single hydrogenlike ion ( 12C5+) in a Penning trap. The measured g factor of the bound electron, g = 2.001 042(2), is in excellent agreement with the theoretical value, confirming the relativistic correction at a level of 0.1%. This proves the possibility of g-factor determinations on atomic ions to high precision by using the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect. The result demonstrates the feasibility of conducting experiments on single heavy highly charged ions to test quantum electrodynamics in the strong electric field of the nucleus.

New Experiments with Antiprotons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaplan, D. M.

2011-12-01

Fermilab operates the world's most intense antiproton source. Recently proposed experiments can use those antiprotons either parasitically during Teva-tron Collider running or after the Tevatron Collider finishes in about 2011. For example, the annihilation of 8 GeV antiprotons might make the world's most intense source of tagged D0 mesons, and thus the best near-term opportunity to study charm mixing and search for new physics via its CP-violation signature. Other possible precision measurements include properties of the X(3872) and the charmonium system. An experiment using a Penning trap and an atom interferometer could make the world's first measurement of the gravitational force on antimatter. These and other potential measurements using antiprotons could yield a broad physics program at Fermilab in the post-Tevatron era.

Protonium production in ATHENA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venturelli, L.; Amoretti, M.; Amsler, C.; Bonomi, G.; Carraro, C.; Cesar, C. L.; Charlton, M.; Doser, M.; Fontana, A.; Funakoshi, R.; Genova, P.; Hayano, R. S.; Jørgensen, L. V.; Kellerbauer, A.; Lagomarsino, V.; Landua, R.; Rizzini, E. Lodi; Macrì, M.; Madsen, N.; Manuzio, G.; Mitchard, D.; Montagna, P.; Posada, L. G.; Pruys, H.; Regenfus, C.; Rotondi, A.; Testera, G.; van der Werf, D. P.; Variola, A.; Yamazaki, Y.; Zurlo, N.; Athena Collaboration

2007-08-01

The ATHENA experiment at CERN, after producing cold antihydrogen atoms for the first time in 2002, has synthesised protonium atoms in vacuum at very low energies. Protonium, i.e. the antiproton-proton bound system, is of interest for testing fundamental physical theories. In the nested penning trap of the ATHENA apparatus protonium has been produced as result of a chemical reaction between an antiproton and the simplest matter molecule, H2+. The formed protonium atoms have kinetic energies in the range 40-700 meV and are metastable with mean lifetimes of the order of 1 μs. Our result shows that it will be possible to start measurements on protonium at low energy antiproton facilities, such as the AD at CERN or FLAIR at GSI.

Precision mass measurements of cesium isotopes—new entries in the ISOLTRAP chronicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atanasov, D.; Beck, D.; Blaum, K.; Borgmann, Ch; Cakirli, R. B.; Eronen, T.; George, S.; Herfurth, F.; Herlert, A.; Kowalska, M.; Kreim, S.; Litvinov, Yu A.; Lunney, D.; Manea, V.; Neidherr, D.; Rosenbusch, M.; Schweikhard, L.; Wienholtz, F.; Wolf, R. N.; Zuber, K.

2017-04-01

Alkali ion beams are among the most intense produced by the ISOLDE facility. These were the first to be studied by the ISOLTRAP mass spectrometer and ever since, new measurements have been regularly reported. Recently the masses of very neutron-rich and short-lived cesium isotopes were determined at ISOLTRAP. The isotope 148Cs was measured directly for the first time by Penning-trap mass spectrometry. Using the new results, the trend of two-neutron separation energies in the cesium isotopic chain is revealed to be smooth and gradually decreasing, similar to the ones of the barium and xenon isotopic chains. Predictions of selected microscopic models are employed for a discussion of the experimental data in the region.

Ease of use and patient preference injection simulation study comparing two prefilled insulin pens.

PubMed

Clark, Paula E; Valentine, Virginia; Bodie, Jennifer N; Sarwat, Samiha

2010-07-01

To determine patient ease of use and preference for the Humalog KwikPen* (prefilled insulin lispro [Humalog dagger] pen, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA) (insulin lispro pen) versus the Next Generation FlexPen double dagger (prefilled insulin aspart [NovoRapid section sign ] pen, Novo Nordisk A/S, Bagsvaerd, Denmark) (insulin aspart pen). This was a randomized, open-label, 2-period, 8-sequence crossover study in insulin pen-naïve patients with diabetes. Randomized patients (N = 367) received device training, then simulated low- (15 U) and high- (60 U) dose insulin injections with an appliance. Patients rated pens using an ease of use questionnaire and were asked separately for final pen preferences. The Insulin Device 'Ease of Use' Battery is a 10-item questionnaire with a 7-point scale (higher scores reflect greater ease of use). The primary objective was to determine pen preference for 'easy to press to inject my dose' (by comparing composite scores [low- plus high-dose]). Secondary objectives were to determine pen preference on select questionnaire items (from composite scores), final pen preference, and summary responses for all questionnaire items. On the primary endpoint, 'easy to press to inject my dose,' a statistically significant majority of patients with a preference chose the insulin lispro pen over the insulin aspart pen (68.4%, 95% CI = 62.7-73.6%). Statistically significant majorities of patients with a preference also favored the insulin lispro pen on secondary items: 'easy to hold in my hand when I inject' (64.9%, 95% CI = 58.8-70.7%), 'easy to use when I am in a public place' (67.5%, 95% CI = 61.0-73.6%), and 'overall easy to use' (69.9%, 95% CI = 63.9-75.4%). A statistically significant majority of patients had a final preference for the insulin lispro pen (67.3%, 95% CI = 62.2-72.1%). Among pen-naïve patients with diabetes who had a preference, the majority preferred the insulin lispro pen over the insulin aspart pen with regard to ease of use. Study limitations included open-label design and injection simulation, use of an unvalidated questionnaire, and enrollment of mostly insulin-naïve patients.

Humalog(®) KwikPen™: an insulin-injecting pen designed for ease of use.

PubMed

Schwartz, Sherwyn L; Ignaut, Debra A; Bodie, Jennifer N

2010-11-01

Insulin pens offer significant benefits over vial and syringe injections for patients with diabetes who require insulin therapy. Insulin pens are more discreet, easier for patients to hold and inject, and provide better dosing accuracy than vial and syringe injections. The Humalog(®) KwikPen™ (prefilled insulin lispro [Humalog] pen, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA) is a prefilled insulin pen highly rated by patients for ease of use in injections, and has been preferred by patients to both a comparable insulin pen and to vial and syringe injections in comparator studies. Together with an engineering study demonstrating smoother injections and reduced dosing error versus a comparator pen, recent evidence demonstrates the Humalog KwikPen device is an accurate, easy-to-use, patient-preferred insulin pen.

A Quantum Non-Demolition Parity measurement in a mixed-species trapped-ion quantum processor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marinelli, Matteo; Negnevitsky, Vlad; Lo, Hsiang-Yu; Flühmann, Christa; Mehta, Karan; Home, Jonathan

2017-04-01

Quantum non-demolition measurements of multi-qubit systems are an important tool in quantum information processing, in particular for syndrome extraction in quantum error correction. We have recently demonstrated a protocol for quantum non-demolition measurement of the parity of two beryllium ions by detection of a co-trapped calcium ion. The measurement requires a sequence of quantum gates between the three ions, using mixed-species gates between beryllium hyperfine qubits and a calcium optical qubit. Our work takes place in a multi-zone segmented trap setup in which we have demonstrated high fidelity control of both species and multi-well ion shuttling. The advantage of using two species of ion is that we can individually manipulate and read out the state of each ion species without disturbing the internal state of the other. The methods demonstrated here can be used for quantum error correcting codes as well as quantum metrology and are key ingredients for realizing a hybrid universal quantum computer based on trapped ions. Mixed-species control may also enable the investigation of new avenues in quantum simulation and quantum state control. left the group and working in a company now.

Long range magnetic ordering of ultracold fermions in an optical lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duarte, P. M.; Hart, R. A.; Yang, T.-L.; Hulet, R. G.

2013-05-01

We present progress towards the observation of long range antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering of fermionic 6Li atoms in an optical lattice. We prepare a two spin state mixture of 106 atoms at T /TF = 0 . 1 by evaporatively cooling in an optical dipole trap. The sample is then transferred to a dimple trap formed by three retroreflected laser beams at 1064 nm that propagate in orthogonal directions. The polarization of the retroreflected light is controlled using liquid crystal retarders, which allow us to adiabatically transform the dimple trap into a 3D lattice. Overlapped with each of the three dimple/lattice beams is a beam at 532 nm, which can cancel the harmonic confinement and flatten the band structure in the lattice. This setup offers the possibility of implementing proposed schemes which enlarge the size of the AFM phase in the trap. As a probe for AFM we use Bragg scattering of light. We have observed Bragg scattering off of the (100) lattice planes, and using an off-angle probe we can see the diffuse scattering from the sample which serves as background for the small signals expected before the onset of AFM ordering. Supported by NSF, ONR, DARPA, and the Welch Foundation.

A review of 25 years' experience with the NovoPen family of insulin pens in the management of diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Hyllested-Winge, Jacob; Jensen, Klaus H; Rex, Jørn

2010-01-01

NovoPen, the first insulin pen, was introduced in 1985. This review article is an update of a review paper published in 2006 on 20 years' use of the NovoPen family of insulin pens in the management of diabetes mellitus. The literature searches conducted in the earlier review article were updated with search results for new articles published since April 2005. This was followed by an iterative search of references cited in identified publications and by searches of abstracts from proceedings of major international diabetes conferences since 2005. Most of the original studies identified in the 2006 review showed that insulin regimens using the NovoPen family of insulin pens were at least as effective (and in some cases superior) in maintaining glycaemic control and were as safe (in terms of hypoglycaemia) as conventional insulin regimens employing vials and syringes. Most patients preferred the various NovoPen insulin pens over vials and syringes, with some evidence suggesting that the use of discreet devices, such as those of the NovoPen family, facilitates intensive insulin therapy regimens, thereby helping to improve lifestyle flexibility. The new search results showed that the current generation of the device for the adult population, NovoPen 4, retains these benefits and further meets patients' needs by improving ease of use, convenience and discretion, which may be particularly important for those with manual dexterity, visual or auditory impairments. There was also evidence that healthcare professionals would be more likely to recommend NovoPen 4 to their patients than other devices. The recently introduced NovoPen Echo, designed specifically for the paediatric population, combines half-increment dosing with a memory function that can be used to retrieve information about the time and amount of the last dose, potentially reducing the fear of double dosing or missing a dose. Evidence obtained from the new searches suggested that paediatric patients, their parents and healthcare professionals were highly satisfied with NovoPen Echo overall, with most paediatric patients rating it their favourite pen compared with other insulin pens. In conclusion, new data published over the last 5 years on the use of NovoPen devices add to the large body of published evidence supporting the patient-related benefits of durable insulin injection pens in the treatment of diabetes since the first such pen was introduced in 1985. Together, the benefits of NovoPen are considered likely to improve both patients' quality of life and their compliance with therapy.

Evaluating the Vector Control Potential of the In2Care® Mosquito Trap Against Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus Under Semifield Conditions in Manatee County, Florida.

PubMed

Buckner, Eva A; Williams, Katie F; Marsicano, Ambyr L; Latham, Mark D; Lesser, Christopher R

2017-09-01

Successful integrated vector management programs may need new strategies in addition to conventional larviciding and adulticiding strategies to target Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, which can develop in small, often cryptic, artificial and natural containers. The In2Care® mosquito trap was recently developed to target and kill larval and adult stages of these invasive container-inhabiting Aedes mosquitoes by utilizing autodissemination. Gravid females that visit the trap pick up pyriproxyfen (PPF) that they later transfer to nearby larval habitats as well as Beauveria bassiana spores that slowly kill them. We assessed the efficacy of the In2Care mosquito trap in a semifield setting against locally sourced strains of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. We found that the In2Care mosquito trap is attractive to gravid Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus females and serves as an egg sink, preventing any adult emergence from the trap (P = 0.0053 for both species). Adult females successfully autodisseminated PPF to surrounding water-filled containers, leading to a statistically significant reduction in new mosquito emergence (P ≤ 0.0002 for both species). Additionally, we found effective contamination with Beauveria bassiana spores, which significantly reduced the survivorship of exposed Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus (P ≤ 0.008 for both species in all experimental setups). In summary, the In2Care mosquito trap successfully killed multiple life stages of 2 main mosquito vector species found in Florida under semifield conditions.

An Investigation of the Usability of the Stylus Pen for Various Age Groups on Personal Digital Assistants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ren, Xiangshi; Zhou, Xiaolei

2011-01-01

Many handheld devices with stylus pens are available in the market; however, there have been few studies which examine the effects of the size of the stylus pen on user performance and subjective preferences for handheld device interfaces for various age groups. Two experiments (pen-length experiment and pen-tip width/pen-width experiment) were…

PEN as self-vetoing structural material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majorovits, B.; Eck, S.; Fischer, F.; Gooch, C.; Hayward, C.; Kraetzschmar, T.; van der Kolk, N.; Muenstermann, D.; Schulz, O.; Simon, F.

2018-01-01

Polyethylene Naphtalate (PEN) is a mechanically very favorable polymer. Earlier it was found that thin foils made from PEN can have very high radio-purity compared to other commercially available foils. In fact, PEN is already in use for low background signal transmission applications (cables). Recently it has been realized that PEN also has favorable scintillating properties. In combination, this makes PEN a very promising candidate as a self-vetoing structural material in low background experiments. Components instrumented with light detectors could be built from PEN. This includes detector holders, detector containments, signal transmission links, etc. The current R&D towards qualification of PEN as a self-vetoing low background structural material is be presented.

Modeling the Total Dose Radiation Effects of Hg(1-x)Cd(x)Te Photodiodes Using Numerical Device Simulators

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-01-01

Dosimetry : Analysis of dosimetry in two dewar/liquid nitrogen systems. TIME Estimate: One hour for setup, irradiation and TLD reading/analysis. IV...point indicates both electron and hole trapping at the boundary ........................ 12 3.3 Relationship between current and dose for irradiated...peak value. Carriers are collected across the vertical junction within a diffusion length. Since the electron diffusion length is much larger than for

Subcortical BOLD responses during visual sexual stimulation vary as a function of implicit porn associations in women

PubMed Central

de Jong, Peter J.; Georgiadis, Janniko R.

2014-01-01

Lifetime experiences shape people’s attitudes toward sexual stimuli. Visual sexual stimulation (VSS), for instance, may be perceived as pleasurable by some, but as disgusting or ambiguous by others. VSS depicting explicit penile–vaginal penetration (PEN) is relevant in this respect, because the act of penetration is a core sexual activity. In this study, 20 women without sexual complaints participated. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and a single-target implicit association task to investigate how brain responses to PEN were modulated by the initial associations in memory (PEN-‘hot’ vs PEN-disgust) with such hardcore pornographic stimuli. Many brain areas responded to PEN in the same way they responded to disgust stimuli, and PEN-induced brain activity was prone to modulation by subjective disgust ratings toward PEN stimuli. The relative implicit PEN-disgust (relative to PEN-‘hot’) associations exclusively modulated PEN-induced brain responses: comparatively negative (PEN-disgust) implicit associations with pornography predicted the strongest PEN-related responses in the basal forebrain (including nucleus accumbens and bed nucleus of stria terminalis), midbrain and amygdala. Since these areas are often implicated in visual sexual processing, the present findings should be taken as a warning: apparently their involvement may also indicate a negative or ambivalent attitude toward sexual stimuli. PMID:23051899

Subcortical BOLD responses during visual sexual stimulation vary as a function of implicit porn associations in women.

PubMed

Borg, Charmaine; de Jong, Peter J; Georgiadis, Janniko R

2014-02-01

Lifetime experiences shape people's attitudes toward sexual stimuli. Visual sexual stimulation (VSS), for instance, may be perceived as pleasurable by some, but as disgusting or ambiguous by others. VSS depicting explicit penile-vaginal penetration (PEN) is relevant in this respect, because the act of penetration is a core sexual activity. In this study, 20 women without sexual complaints participated. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and a single-target implicit association task to investigate how brain responses to PEN were modulated by the initial associations in memory (PEN-'hot' vs PEN-disgust) with such hardcore pornographic stimuli. Many brain areas responded to PEN in the same way they responded to disgust stimuli, and PEN-induced brain activity was prone to modulation by subjective disgust ratings toward PEN stimuli. The relative implicit PEN-disgust (relative to PEN-'hot') associations exclusively modulated PEN-induced brain responses: comparatively negative (PEN-disgust) implicit associations with pornography predicted the strongest PEN-related responses in the basal forebrain (including nucleus accumbens and bed nucleus of stria terminalis), midbrain and amygdala. Since these areas are often implicated in visual sexual processing, the present findings should be taken as a warning: apparently their involvement may also indicate a negative or ambivalent attitude toward sexual stimuli.

Glow plasma trigger for electron cyclotron resonance ion sources.

PubMed

Vodopianov, A V; Golubev, S V; Izotov, I V; Nikolaev, A G; Oks, E M; Savkin, K P; Yushkov, G Yu

2010-02-01

Electron cyclotron resonance ion sources (ECRISs) are particularly useful for nuclear, atomic, and high energy physics, as unique high current generators of multicharged ion beams. Plasmas of gas discharges in an open magnetic trap heated by pulsed (100 micros and longer) high power (100 kW and higher) high-frequency (greater than 37.5 GHz) microwaves of gyrotrons is promising in the field of research in the development of electron cyclotron resonance sources for high charge state ion beams. Reaching high ion charge states requires a decrease in gas pressure in the magnetic trap, but this method leads to increases in time, in which the microwave discharge develops. The gas breakdown and microwave discharge duration becomes greater than or equal to the microwave pulse duration when the pressure is decreased. This makes reaching the critical plasma density initiate an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) discharge during pulse of microwave gyrotron radiation with gas pressure lower than a certain threshold. In order to reduce losses of microwave power, it is necessary to shorten the time of development of the ECR discharge. For fast triggering of ECR discharge under low pressure in an ECRIS, we initially propose to fill the magnetic trap with the plasmas of auxiliary pulsed discharges in crossed ExB fields. The glow plasma trigger of ECR based on a Penning or magnetron discharge has made it possible not only to fill the trap with plasma with density of 10(12) cm(-3), required for a rapid increase in plasma density and finally for ECR discharge ignition, but also to initially heat the plasma electrons to T(e) approximately = 20 eV.

Numerical consideration on trapping and guiding of nanoparticles in a flow using scattering field of laser light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yokoi, Naomichi; Aizu, Yoshihisa

2017-04-01

Optical manipulation techniques proposed so far almost depend on carefully fabricated setups and samples. Similar conditions can be fixed in laboratories, however, it is still a challenging work to manipulate nanoparticles when the environment is not well controlled and is unknown in advance. Nonetheless, coherent light scattered by rough object generates speckles which are random interference patterns with well-defined statistical properties. In the present study, we numerically investigate the motion of a particle in a flow under the illumination of a speckle pattern that is at rest or in motion. Trajectory of the particle is simulated in relation to a flow velocity and a speckle contrast to confirm the feasibility of the present method for performing optical manipulation tasks such as trapping and guiding.

Synthesis of Polyfunctional Diorganomagnesium and Diorganozinc Reagents through In Situ Trapping Halogen-Lithium Exchange of Highly Functionalized (Hetero)aryl Halides in Continuous Flow.

PubMed

Ketels, Marthe; Ganiek, Maximilian A; Weidmann, Niels; Knochel, Paul

2017-10-02

We report a halogen-lithium exchange performed in the presence of various metal salts (ZnCl 2 , MgCl 2 ⋅LiCl) on a broad range of sensitive bromo- or iodo(hetero)arenes using BuLi or PhLi as the exchange reagent and a commercially available continuous-flow setup. The resulting diarylmagnesium or diarylzinc species were trapped with various electrophiles, resulting in the formation of polyfunctional (hetero)arenes in high yields. This method enables the functionalization of (hetero)arenes containing highly sensitive groups such as an isothiocyanate, nitro, azide, or ester. A straightforward scale-up was possible without further optimization. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Combining optical trapping in a microfluidic channel with simultaneous micro-Raman spectroscopy and motion detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawton, Penelope F.; Saunter, Christopher D.; Girkin, John M.

2014-03-01

Since their invention by Ashkin optical tweezers have demonstrated their ability and versatility as a non-invasive tool for micromanipulation. One of the most useful additions to the basic optical tweezers system is micro-Raman spectroscopy, which permits highly sensitive analysis of single cells or particles. We report on the development of a dual laser system combining two spatial light modulators to holographically manipulate multiple traps (at 1064nm) whilst undertaking Raman spectroscopy using a 532nm laser. We can thus simultaneously trap multiple particles and record their Raman spectra, without perturbing the trapping system. The dual beam system is built around micro-fluidic channels where crystallisation of calcium carbonate occurs on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads. The setup is designed to simulate at a microscopic level the reactions that occur on items in a dishwasher, where permanent filming of calcium carbonate on drinking glasses is a problem. Our system allows us to monitor crystal growth on trapped particles in which the Raman spectrum and changes in movement of the bead are recorded. Due to the expected low level of crystallisation on the bead surfaces this allows us to obtain results quickly and with high sensitivity. The long term goal is to study the development of filming on samples in-situ with the microfl.uidic system acting as a model dishwasher.

Mathematical model of a DIC position sensing system within an optical trap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wulff, Kurt D.; Cole, Daniel G.; Clark, Robert L.

2005-08-01

The quantitative study of displacements and forces of motor proteins and processes that occur at the microscopic level and below require a high level of sensitivity. For optical traps, two techniques for position sensing have been accepted and used quite extensively: quadrant photodiodes and an interferometric position sensing technique based on DIC imaging. While quadrant photodiodes have been studied in depth and mathematically characterized, a mathematical characterization of the interferometric position sensor has not been presented to the authors' knowledge. The interferometric position sensing method works off of the DIC imaging capabilities of a microscope. Circularly polarized light is sent into the microscope and the Wollaston prism used for DIC imaging splits the beam into its orthogonal components, displacing them by a set distance determined by the user. The distance between the axes of the beams is set so the beams overlap at the specimen plane and effectively share the trapped microsphere. A second prism then recombines the light beams and the exiting laser light's polarization is measured and related to position. In this paper we outline the mathematical characterization of a microsphere suspended in an optical trap using a DIC position sensing method. The sensitivity of this mathematical model is then compared to the QPD model. The mathematical model of a microsphere in an optical trap can serve as a calibration curve for an experimental setup.

Facilitating the safe use of insulin pens in hospitals through a mentored quality-improvement program.

PubMed

Lutz, Mark F; Haines, Stuart T; Lesch, Christine A; Szumita, Paul M

2016-10-01

Results of the MENTORED QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IMPACT PROGRAM℠ (MQIIP) on Ensuring Insulin Pen Safety in Hospitals, which was part of an ASHP educational initiative aimed at ensuring the safe use of insulin pens in hospitals, are described. During this ASHP initiative, which also included continuing-education activities and Web-based resources, distance mentoring by pharmacists with expertise in the safe use of insulin pens was provided to interprofessional teams at 14 hospitals between September 2014 and May 2015. The results of baseline assessments of nursing staff knowledge of insulin pen use, insulin pen storage and labeling audits, and insulin pen injection observations conducted in September and October 2014 were the basis for insulin pen quality-improvement plans. Postintervention data were collected in April and May 2015. Compared with the baseline period, significant improvements in nurses' knowledge of insulin pen use, insulin pen labeling and storage, and insulin pen administration were observed in the postintervention period despite the relatively short time frame for implementation of quality-improvement plans. Program participants are committed to sustaining and building on improvements achieved during the program. The outcome measures described in this report could be adapted by other health systems to identify opportunities to improve the safety of insulin pen use. Focused attention on insulin pen safety through an interprofessional team approach during the MQIIP enabled participating sites to detect potential safety issues based on collected data, develop targeted process changes, document improvements, and identify areas requiring further intervention. A sustained organizational commitment is required to ensure the safe use of insulin pen devices in hospitals. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

The motivation-based calving facility: Social and cognitive factors influence isolation seeking behaviour of Holstein dairy cows at calving.

PubMed

Rørvang, Maria Vilain; Herskin, Mette S; Jensen, Margit Bak

2018-01-01

In order to improve animal welfare it is recommended that dairy farmers move calving cows from the herd to individual pens when calving is imminent. However, the practicality of moving cows has proven a challenge and may lead to disturbance of the cows rather than easing the process of calving. One solution may be to allow the cow to seek isolation prior to calving. This study examined whether pre-parturient dairy cows will isolate in an individual calving pen placed in a group calving setting and whether a closing gate in this individual calving pen will cause more cows to isolate prior to calving. Danish Holstein cows (n = 66) were housed in groups of six in a group pen with access to six individual calving pens connected to the group area. Cows were trained to use one of two isolation opportunities i.e. individual calving pens with functional closing gates (n = 35) allowing only one cow access at a time, or individual calving pens with permanently open gates allowing free cow traffic between group area and individual pen (n = 31). The response variables were calving site, calving behaviour and social behaviour. Unexpectedly, a functional gate did not facilitate isolation seeking, perhaps because the cows were not able to combine a learnt response with the motivation to isolate. Dominant cows had the highest chance of calving in an individual calving pen. If an alien calf was present in the group pen or any of the individual pens, cows were less likely to calve in an individual calving pen. Future studies should allow cows easy access to an individual calving pen and explore what motivates pre-parturient cows to seek isolation in order to facilitate voluntary use of individual calving pens.

The motivation-based calving facility: Social and cognitive factors influence isolation seeking behaviour of Holstein dairy cows at calving

PubMed Central

Herskin, Mette S.; Jensen, Margit Bak

2018-01-01

In order to improve animal welfare it is recommended that dairy farmers move calving cows from the herd to individual pens when calving is imminent. However, the practicality of moving cows has proven a challenge and may lead to disturbance of the cows rather than easing the process of calving. One solution may be to allow the cow to seek isolation prior to calving. This study examined whether pre-parturient dairy cows will isolate in an individual calving pen placed in a group calving setting and whether a closing gate in this individual calving pen will cause more cows to isolate prior to calving. Danish Holstein cows (n = 66) were housed in groups of six in a group pen with access to six individual calving pens connected to the group area. Cows were trained to use one of two isolation opportunities i.e. individual calving pens with functional closing gates (n = 35) allowing only one cow access at a time, or individual calving pens with permanently open gates allowing free cow traffic between group area and individual pen (n = 31). The response variables were calving site, calving behaviour and social behaviour. Unexpectedly, a functional gate did not facilitate isolation seeking, perhaps because the cows were not able to combine a learnt response with the motivation to isolate. Dominant cows had the highest chance of calving in an individual calving pen. If an alien calf was present in the group pen or any of the individual pens, cows were less likely to calve in an individual calving pen. Future studies should allow cows easy access to an individual calving pen and explore what motivates pre-parturient cows to seek isolation in order to facilitate voluntary use of individual calving pens. PMID:29346399

Optical tweezers with 2.5 kHz bandwidth video detection for single-colloid electrophoresis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otto, Oliver; Gutsche, Christof; Kremer, Friedrich; Keyser, Ulrich F.

2008-02-01

We developed an optical tweezers setup to study the electrophoretic motion of colloids in an external electric field. The setup is based on standard components for illumination and video detection. Our video based optical tracking of the colloid motion has a time resolution of 0.2ms, resulting in a bandwidth of 2.5kHz. This enables calibration of the optical tweezers by Brownian motion without applying a quadrant photodetector. We demonstrate that our system has a spatial resolution of 0.5nm and a force sensitivity of 20fN using a Fourier algorithm to detect periodic oscillations of the trapped colloid caused by an external ac field. The electrophoretic mobility and zeta potential of a single colloid can be extracted in aqueous solution avoiding screening effects common for usual bulk measurements.

Identification of PAH Isomeric Structure in Cosmic Dust Analogs: The AROMA Setup

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabbah, Hassan; Bonnamy, Anthony; Papanastasiou, Dimitris; Cernicharo, Jose; Martín-Gago, Jose-Angel; Joblin, Christine

2017-07-01

We developed a new analytical experimental setup called AROMA (Astrochemistry Research of Organics with Molecular Analyzer) that combines laser desorption/ionization techniques with ion trap mass spectrometry. We report here on the ability of the apparatus to detect aromatic species in complex materials of astrophysical interest and characterize their structures. A limit of detection of 100 femto-grams has been achieved using pure polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) samples, which corresponds to 2 × 108 molecules in the case of coronene (C24H12). We detected the PAH distribution in the Murchison meteorite, which is made of a complex mixture of extraterrestrial organic compounds. In addition, collision induced dissociation experiments were performed on selected species detected in Murchison, which led to the first firm identification of pyrene and its methylated derivatives in this sample.

Phosphorylation is required for the pathogen defense function of the Arabidopsis PEN3 ABC transporter.

PubMed

Underwood, William; Somerville, Shauna C

2017-10-03

The Arabidopsis PEN3 ABC transporter accumulates at sites of pathogen detection, where it is involved in defense against a number of pathogens. Perception of PAMPs by pattern recognition receptors initiates recruitment of PEN3 and also leads to PEN3 phosphorylation at multiple amino acid residues. Whether PAMP-induced phosphorylation of PEN3 is important for its defense function or focal recruitment has not been addressed. In this study, we evaluated the role of PEN3 phosphorylation in modulating the localization and defense function of the transporter. We report that PEN3 phosphorylation is critical for its function in defense, but dispensable for recruitment to powdery mildew penetration sites. These results indicate that PAMP-induced phosphorylation is likely to regulate the transport activity of PEN3.

Feedlot- and Pen-Level Prevalence of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli in Feces of Commercial Feedlot Cattle in Two Major U.S. Cattle Feeding Areas.

PubMed

Cull, Charley A; Renter, David G; Dewsbury, Diana M; Noll, Lance W; Shridhar, Pragathi B; Ives, Samuel E; Nagaraja, Tiruvoor G; Cernicchiaro, Natalia

2017-06-01

The objective of this study was to determine feedlot- and pen-level fecal prevalence of seven enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) belonging to serogroups (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145, and O157, or EHEC-7) in feces of feedlot cattle in two feeding areas in the United States. Cattle pens from four commercial feedlots in each of the two major U.S. beef cattle areas were sampled. Up to 16 pen-floor fecal samples were collected from each of 4-6 pens per feedlot, monthly, for a total of three visits per feedlot, from June to August, 2014. Culture procedures including fecal enrichment in E. coli broth, immunomagnetic separation, and plating on selective media, followed by confirmation through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, were conducted. Generalized linear mixed models were fitted to estimate feedlot-, pen-, and sample-level fecal prevalence of EHEC-7 and to evaluate associations between potential demographic and management risk factors with feedlot and within-pen prevalence of EHEC-7. All study feedlots and 31.0% of the study pens had at least one non-O157 EHEC-positive fecal sample, whereas 62.4% of pens tested positive for EHEC O157; sample-level prevalence estimates ranged from 0.0% for EHEC O121 to 18.7% for EHEC O157. Within-pen prevalence of EHEC O157 varied significantly by sampling month; similarly within-pen prevalence of non-O157 EHEC varied significantly by month and by the sex composition of the pen (heifer, steer, or mixed). Feedlot management factors, however, were not significantly associated with fecal prevalence of EHEC-7. Intraclass correlation coefficients for EHEC-7 models indicated that most of the variation occurred between pens, rather than within pens, or between feedlots. Hence, the potential combination of preharvest interventions and pen-level management strategies may have positive food safety impacts downstream along the beef chain.

Progress Towards a Microtrap Array for Positron Storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narimannezhad, Alireza; Weber, Marc H.; Jennings, Joshah; Minnal, Chandrasekar; Lynn, Kelvin G.

2014-10-01

The storage of positrons has been a key for antimatter research and applications. One important goal is the attempt to reach higher densities of confined antimatter particles. Progress in this area is explored through a novel microtrap array with large length to radius aspect ratios and radii of the order of tens of microns. The proposed design consists of microtraps with substantially lower barrier potentials than conventional Penning-Malmberg traps arranged in parallel within a single magnet. Simulations showed positron plasma with 1E10 cm-3 density evolves toward a rigid-rotation phase in each microtrap while 10 V barriers confined the plasma axially. A trap of 4 cm length including more than 20,000 microtubes with 50 micron radii was fabricated and tested. Experiments conducted with electrons in a test structure addressing each microtube with a narrow beam will be described. This will explore the basic physics of the microtraps. Observed results were promising and they open a new avenue for manipulating high-density non-neutral plasmas. This work was supported by the Army Research Laboratory under Contract W9113M-09-C-0075, and the Office of Naval Research under Award #N00014-10-1-0543.

Compression of a mixed antiproton and electron non-neutral plasma to high densities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aghion, Stefano; Amsler, Claude; Bonomi, Germano; Brusa, Roberto S.; Caccia, Massimo; Caravita, Ruggero; Castelli, Fabrizio; Cerchiari, Giovanni; Comparat, Daniel; Consolati, Giovanni; Demetrio, Andrea; Di Noto, Lea; Doser, Michael; Evans, Craig; Fanì, Mattia; Ferragut, Rafael; Fesel, Julian; Fontana, Andrea; Gerber, Sebastian; Giammarchi, Marco; Gligorova, Angela; Guatieri, Francesco; Haider, Stefan; Hinterberger, Alexander; Holmestad, Helga; Kellerbauer, Alban; Khalidova, Olga; Krasnický, Daniel; Lagomarsino, Vittorio; Lansonneur, Pierre; Lebrun, Patrice; Malbrunot, Chloé; Mariazzi, Sebastiano; Marton, Johann; Matveev, Victor; Mazzotta, Zeudi; Müller, Simon R.; Nebbia, Giancarlo; Nedelec, Patrick; Oberthaler, Markus; Pacifico, Nicola; Pagano, Davide; Penasa, Luca; Petracek, Vojtech; Prelz, Francesco; Prevedelli, Marco; Rienaecker, Benjamin; Robert, Jacques; Røhne, Ole M.; Rotondi, Alberto; Sandaker, Heidi; Santoro, Romualdo; Smestad, Lillian; Sorrentino, Fiodor; Testera, Gemma; Tietje, Ingmari C.; Widmann, Eberhard; Yzombard, Pauline; Zimmer, Christian; Zmeskal, Johann; Zurlo, Nicola; Antonello, Massimiliano

2018-04-01

We describe a multi-step "rotating wall" compression of a mixed cold antiproton-electron non-neutral plasma in a 4.46 T Penning-Malmberg trap developed in the context of the AEḡIS experiment at CERN. Such traps are routinely used for the preparation of cold antiprotons suitable for antihydrogen production. A tenfold antiproton radius compression has been achieved, with a minimum antiproton radius of only 0.17 mm. We describe the experimental conditions necessary to perform such a compression: minimizing the tails of the electron density distribution is paramount to ensure that the antiproton density distribution follows that of the electrons. Such electron density tails are remnants of rotating wall compression and in many cases can remain unnoticed. We observe that the compression dynamics for a pure electron plasma behaves the same way as that of a mixed antiproton and electron plasma. Thanks to this optimized compression method and the high single shot antiproton catching efficiency, we observe for the first time cold and dense non-neutral antiproton plasmas with particle densities n ≥ 1013 m-3, which pave the way for an efficient pulsed antihydrogen production in AEḡIS.

The Ground-Dwelling Arthropod Community of Península Valdés in Patagonia, Argentina

PubMed Central

Cheli, Germán H.; Corley, J. C.; Bruzzone, O.; del Brío, M.; Martínez, F.; Román, N. Martínez; Ríos, I.

2010-01-01

This is the first study based on a planned and intensive sampling effort that describes the community composition and structure of the ground-dwelling arthropod assemblage of Península Valdés (Patagonia). It was carried out using pitfall traps, opened for two weeks during the summers of 2005, 2006 and 2007. A total of 28, 111 individuals were caught. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) dominated this community, followed by beetles (Coleoptera) and spiders (Araneae). The most abundant species were Pheidole bergi Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and Blapstinus punctulatus Solier (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Two new species were very recently described as new based on specimens collected during this study: Valdesiana curiosa Carpintero, Dellapé & Cheli (Hemiptera, Miridae) and Anomaloptera patagonica Dellapé & Cheli (Hemiptera, Oxycarenidae). The order Coleoptera was the most diverse taxa. The distribution of abundance data was best described by the logarithmic series model both at the family and species levels, suggesting that ecological relationships in this community could be controlled by a few factors. The community was dominated by predators from a trophic perspective. This suggests that predation acts as an important factor driving the distribution and abundances of surface-dwelling arthropods in this habitat and as such serves as a key element in understanding desert, above-ground community structure. These findings may also be useful for management and conservation purposes in arid Patagonia. PMID:20572783

The ground-dwelling arthropod community of Península Valdés in Patagonia, Argentina.

PubMed

Cheli, Germán H; Corley, J C; Bruzzone, O; Brío, M Del; Martínez, F; Román, N Martínez; Ríos, I

2010-01-01

This is the first study based on a planned and intensive sampling effort that describes the community composition and structure of the ground-dwelling arthropod assemblage of Península Valdés (Patagonia). It was carried out using pitfall traps, opened for two weeks during the summers of 2005, 2006 and 2007. A total of 28,111 individuals were caught. Ants(Hymenoptera: Formicidae) dominated this community, followed by beetles (Coleoptera) and spiders (Araneae). The most abundant species were Pheidole bergi Mayr (Hymenoptera:Formicidae) and Blapstinus punctulatus Solier (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Two new species were very recently described as new based on specimens collected during this study: Valdesianacuriosa Carpintero, Dellapé & Cheli (Hemiptera, Miridae) and Anomaloptera patagonica Dellapé& Cheli (Hemiptera, Oxycarenidae). The order Coleoptera was the most diverse taxa. The distribution of abundance data was best described by the logarithmic series model both at the family and species levels, suggesting that ecological relationships in this community could be controlled by a few factors. The community was dominated by predators from a trophic perspective. This suggests that predation acts as an important factor driving the distribution and abundances of surface-dwelling arthropods in this habitat and as such serves as a key element in understanding desert, above-ground community structure. These findings may also be useful for management and conservation purposes in arid Patagonia.

From Supercomputer Modeling to Highest Mass Resolution in FT-ICR.

PubMed

N Nikolaev, Evgene; N Vladimirov, Gleb; Jertz, Roland; Baykut, Gökhan

2013-01-01

Understanding of behavior of ion ensembles inside FT-ICR cell based on the computer simulation of ion motion gives rise to the new ideas of cell designs. The recently introduced novel FT-ICR cell based on a Penning ion trap with specially shaped excitation and detection electrodes prevents distortion of ion cyclotron motion phases (normally caused by non-ideal electric trapping fields) by averaging the trapping DC electric field during the ion motion in the ICR cell. Detection times of 5 min resulting in resolving power close to 40,000,000 have been reached for reserpine at m/z 609 at a magnetic field of only 7 Tesla. Fine structures of resolved 13Cn isotopic cluster groups could be measured for molecular masses up to 5.7 kDa (insulin) with resolving power of 4,000,000 at 7 Tesla. Based on resolved fine structure patterns atomic compositions can be directly determined using a new developed algorithm for fine structure processing. Mass spectra of proteins and multimers of proteins reaching masses up to 186 kDa (enolase tetramer) could be measured with isotopic resolution. For instance, at 7 Tesla resolving power of 800,000 was achieved for enolase dimer (96 kDa) and 500,000 for molecular masses above 100 kDa. Experimental data indicate that there is practically no limit for the resolving power of this ICR cell except by collisional damping in the ultrahigh vacuum chamber.

The EChemPen: A Guiding Hand to Learn Electrochemical Surface Modifications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valetaud, Mathieu; Loget, Gabriel; Roche, Je´rome; Hu¨sken, Nina; Fattah, Zahra; Badets, Vasilica; Fontaine, Olivier; Zigah, Dodzi

2015-01-01

The Electrochemical Pen (EChemPen) was developed as an attractive tool for learning electrochemistry. The fabrication, principle, and operation of the EChemPen are simple and can be easily performed by students in practical classes. It is based on a regular fountain pen principle, where the electrolytic solution is dispensed at a tip to locally…

Considerations for diabetes: treatment with insulin pen devices.

PubMed

Cuddihy, Robert M; Borgman, Sarah K

2013-01-01

Insulin is essential for the treatment of type 1 diabetes, and most patients with type 2 diabetes will eventually require insulin for glycemic control. Several barriers contribute to delays in initiating insulin therapy in type 2 diabetes. Furthermore, insulin-treated patients often miss doses or otherwise fail to self-administer their insulin as prescribed, placing themselves at the risk of developing complications. Insulin pens can help overcome barriers to initiating insulin therapy and can facilitate the self-management of diabetes. Compared with the vial and syringe, insulin pens are more accurate, associated with greater adherence, and preferred by patients because of their convenience and ease of use. Large database analyses suggest that insulin pens may reduce the rate of occurrence of hypoglycemic events in patients with type 2 diabetes. Despite higher costs of insulin pens vs vials and syringes, studies suggest little or no increase in total health care costs and decreases in diabetes-related costs associated with reduced health care utilization with pens. Interestingly, the use of insulin pens within the United States lags far behind the use of pens in Europe and Japan. Insulin pens may be disposable or refillable, and some pens have special features [eg, audible clicks, large-dose selector and dial, memory function, half-unit dosing, high dosing (ie, 80 U)] that offer the opportunity to individualize treatment by meeting patients' needs. This review compares available insulin pens, describes strategies to facilitate their usage, and discusses how insulin pens can improve self-management of diabetes while reducing cost.

Atomic mass and double-β-decay Q value of 48Ca

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redshaw, Matthew; Bollen, Georg; Brodeur, Maxime; Bustabad, Scott; Lincoln, David L.; Novario, Samuel J.; Ringle, Ryan; Schwarz, Stefan

2012-10-01

The possibility of detecting neutrinoless double-β-decay (0νββ-decay) in experiments that are currently in operation or under development provides the exciting opportunity to determine the Dirac or Majorana nature of the neutrino and its absolute mass scale. An important datum for interpreting 0νββ-decay experimental results is the Q value of the decay. Using Penning trap mass spectrometry we have measured the atomic mass of 48Ca to be M[48Ca] = 47.952 522 76(21) u which, combined with the mass of 48Ti evaluated by Audi [Nucl. Phys. ANUPABL0375-947410.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.003 729, 337 (2003)], provides a new determination of the 48Ca ββ-decay Q value: Qββ = 4262.96(84) keV.

Precision Mass Measurements of Cd-131129 and Their Impact on Stellar Nucleosynthesis via the Rapid Neutron Capture Process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atanasov, D.; Ascher, P.; Blaum, K.; Cakirli, R. B.; Cocolios, T. E.; George, S.; Goriely, S.; Herfurth, F.; Janka, H.-T.; Just, O.; Kowalska, M.; Kreim, S.; Kisler, D.; Litvinov, Yu. A.; Lunney, D.; Manea, V.; Neidherr, D.; Rosenbusch, M.; Schweikhard, L.; Welker, A.; Wienholtz, F.; Wolf, R. N.; Zuber, K.

2015-12-01

Masses adjacent to the classical waiting-point nuclide 130Cd have been measured by using the Penning-trap spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN. We find a significant deviation of over 400 keV from earlier values evaluated by using nuclear beta-decay data. The new measurements show the reduction of the N =82 shell gap below the doubly magic 132Sn. The nucleosynthesis associated with the ejected wind from type-II supernovae as well as from compact object binary mergers is studied, by using state-of-the-art hydrodynamic simulations. We find a consistent and direct impact of the newly measured masses on the calculated abundances in the A =128 - 132 region and a reduction of the uncertainties from the precision mass input data.

On the chemical reaction of matter with antimatter.

PubMed

Lodi Rizzini, Evandro; Venturelli, Luca; Zurlo, Nicola

2007-06-04

A chemical reaction between the building block antiatomic nucleus, the antiproton (p or H- in chemical notation), and the hydrogen molecular ion (H2+) has been observed by the ATHENA collaboration at CERN. The charged pair interact via the long-range Coulomb force in the environment of a Penning trap which is purpose-built to observe antiproton interactions. The net result of the very low energy collision of the pair is the creation of an antiproton-proton bound state, known as protonium (Pn), together with the liberation of a hydrogen atom. The Pn is formed in a highly excited, metastable, state with a lifetime against annihilation of around 1 micros. Effects are observed related to the temperature of the H2+ prior to the interaction, and this is discussed herein.

The PartoPen: Using Digital Pen Technology to Improve Maternal Labor Monitoring in the Developing World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Underwood, Heather Marie

2013-01-01

This dissertation presents the PartoPen, a new approach to addressing maternal labor monitoring challenges in developing countries. The PartoPen is a hardware and software system that uses digital pen technology to enhance, rather than replace, the paper-based labor monitoring tool known as the partograph. In the developing world, correct use of…

Immobilized Subpopulations of Leaf Epidermal Mitochondria Mediate PENETRATION2-Dependent Pathogen Entry Control in Arabidopsis

PubMed Central

Klapprodt, Christine; Hause, Gerd; Lipka, Volker

2016-01-01

The atypical myrosinase PENETRATION2 (PEN2) is required for broad-spectrum invasion resistance to filamentous plant pathogens. Previous localization studies suggested PEN2-GFP association with peroxisomes. Here, we show that PEN2 is a tail-anchored protein with dual-membrane targeting to peroxisomes and mitochondria and that PEN2 has the capacity to form homo-oligomer complexes. We demonstrate pathogen-induced recruitment and immobilization of mitochondrial subpopulations at sites of attempted fungal invasion and show that mitochondrial arrest is accompanied by peripheral accumulation of GFP-tagged PEN2. PEN2 substrate production by the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase CYP81F2 is localized to the surface of the endoplasmic reticulum, which focally reorganizes close to the immobilized mitochondria. Exclusive targeting of PEN2 to the outer membrane of mitochondria complements the pen2 mutant phenotype, corroborating the functional importance of the mitochondrial PEN2 protein subpool for controlled local production of PEN2 hydrolysis products at subcellular plant-microbe interaction domains. Moreover, live-cell imaging shows that mitochondria arrested at these domains exhibit a pathogen-induced redox imbalance, which may lead to the production of intracellular signals. PMID:26721862

Probability of detecting Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus infection using pen-based swine oral fluid specimens as a function of within-pen prevalence.

PubMed

Olsen, Chris; Wang, Chong; Christopher-Hennings, Jane; Doolittle, Kent; Harmon, Karen M; Abate, Sarah; Kittawornrat, Apisit; Lizano, Sergio; Main, Rodger; Nelson, Eric A; Otterson, Tracy; Panyasing, Yaowalak; Rademacher, Chris; Rauh, Rolf; Shah, Rohan; Zimmerman, Jeffrey

2013-05-01

Pen-based oral fluid sampling has proven to be an efficient method for surveillance of infectious diseases in swine populations. To better interpret diagnostic results, the performance of oral fluid assays (antibody- and nucleic acid-based) must be established for pen-based oral fluid samples. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to determine the probability of detecting Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection in pen-based oral fluid samples from pens of known PRRSV prevalence. In 1 commercial swine barn, 25 pens were assigned to 1 of 5 levels of PRRSV prevalence (0%, 4%, 12%, 20%, or 36%) by placing a fixed number (0, 1, 3, 5, or 9) of PRRSV-positive pigs (14 days post PRRSV modified live virus vaccination) in each pen. Prior to placement of the vaccinated pigs, 1 oral fluid sample was collected from each pen. Thereafter, 5 oral fluid samples were collected from each pen, for a total of 150 samples. To confirm individual pig PRRSV status, serum samples from the PRRSV-negative pigs (n = 535) and the PRRSV vaccinated pigs (n = 90) were tested for PRRSV antibodies and PRRSV RNA. The 150 pen-based oral fluid samples were assayed for PRRSV antibody and PRRSV RNA at 6 laboratories. Among the 100 samples from pens containing ≥1 positive pig (≥4% prevalence) and tested at the 6 laboratories, the mean positivity was 62% for PRRSV RNA and 61% for PRRSV antibody. These results support the use of pen-based oral fluid sampling for PRRSV surveillance in commercial pig populations.

What Is a Hookah?

MedlinePlus

... hookah smoking could be even more dangerous than cigarettes because people often smoke at hookah bars for an hour or more. Hookah Pens Hookah pens are basically another kind of e-cigarette (vape pen). Some disposable hookah pens vaporize a ...

A Comparison of Glide Force Characteristics Between 2 Prefilled Insulin Lispro Pens

PubMed Central

Lennartz, Amanda H.; Ignaut, Debra A.

2015-01-01

Background: Glide force, average glide force, and glide force variability of the insulin lispro 200 units/mL pen (Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA) were compared to the Humalog® KwikPen® 100 units/mL pen (hereafter, KwikPen; Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA). Methods: Data were collected on 2 doses, 2 injection speeds, and 2 needle types. Results: Insulin lispro 200 units/mL pen showed significantly lower maximum glide force, average glide force, and glide force variability than the KwikPen across all combinations of dose size, dose speed, and needle type. Conclusions: The lower glide force observed with the insulin lispro 200 units/mL pen offers another treatment option for patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes who require greater than 20 units of mealtime insulin daily. PMID:25591858

Participation in a mentored quality-improvement program for insulin pen safety: Opportunity to augment internal evaluation and share with peers.

PubMed

Rosenberg, Amy F

2016-10-01

UF Health's participation in a mentored quality-improvement impact program for health professionals as part of an ASHP initiative-"Strategies for Ensuring the Safe Use of Insulin Pens in the Hospital"-is described. ASHP invited hospitals to participate in its initiative at a time when UF Health was evaluating the risks and benefits of insulin pen use due to external reports of safety concerns and making a commitment to continue insulin pen use and optimize safeguards. Improvement opportunities in insulin pen best practices and staff education on insulin pen preparation and injection technique were identified and implemented. The storage of insulin pens for patients with contact isolation precautions was identified as a problem in certain patient care areas, and a practical solution was devised. Other process improvements included implementation of barcode medication administration, with scanning of insulin pens designated for specific patients to avoid inadvertent and intentional sharing of pens among multiple patients. Mentored calls with teams at other hospitals conducted as part of the program provided the opportunity to share experiences and solutions to improve insulin pen use. Participating with a knowledgeable mentor and other hospital teams struggling with the same issues and concerns related to safe insulin pen use facilitated problem solving. Discussing challenges and sharing ideas for solutions to safety concerns with other hospitals identified new process enhancements, which have the potential to improve the safety of insulin pen use at UF Health. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Degradation of Penicillin G by heat activated persulfate in aqueous solution.

PubMed

Norzaee, Samira; Taghavi, Mahmoud; Djahed, Babak; Kord Mostafapour, Ferdos

2018-06-01

We used Heat Activated of Persulfate (HAP) to decompose Penicillin G (PEN G) in aqueous solution. The effect of pH (3-11), temperature (313-353 K), and initial concentration of Sodium Persulfate (SPS) (0.05-0.5 mM) on the decomposition level of PEN G were investigated. The residue of PEN G was determined by spectrophotometry at the wavelength of 290 nm. Also, the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) was measured in each experiment. The Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analysis was utilized for surveying the mineralization of PEN G. In addition, based on Arrhenius equation, the activation energy of PEN G decomposition was calculated. The results indicated that the maximum PEN G removal rate was obtained at pH 5 and by increasing the doses of SPS from 0.05 to 0.5 mM, the PEN G decomposition was enhanced. It was found that an increase in temperature is accompanied by an increase in removal efficiency of PEN G. The activation energy of the studied process was determined to be 94.8 kJ mol -1 , suggesting that a moderate activation energy is required for PEN G decomposition. The TOC measurements indicate that the HAP can efficiently mineralize PEN G. Besides, the presence of the scavengers significantly suppressed the HAP process to remove the PEN G. Overall, the results of this study demonstrate that using HAP process can be a suitable method for decomposing of PEN G in aqueous solutions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy Storage of Polyarylene Ether Nitriles at High Temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Xiaohe; You, Yong; Mao, Hua; Li, Kui; Wei, Renbo; Liu, Xiaobo

2018-03-01

Polyarylene ether nitrile (PEN) was synthesized and used as film capacitors for energy storage at high temperature. Scanning electron microscopy observation indicated that the films of PEN have pinholes at nanoscales which restricted the energy storage properties of the material. The pinhole shadowing effect through which the energy storage properties of PEN were effectively improved to be 2.3 J/cm3 was observed by using the overlapped film of PEN. The high glass transition temperature (T g) of PEN was as high as 216 °C and PEN film showed stable dielectric constant, breakdown strength and energy storage density before the T g. The PEN films will be a potential candidate as high performance electronic storage materials used at high temperature.

Dielectrophoretic trapping of DNA-coated gold nanoparticles on silicon based vertical nanogap devices.

PubMed

Strobel, Sebastian; Sperling, Ralph A; Fenk, Bernhard; Parak, Wolfgang J; Tornow, Marc

2011-06-07

We report on the successful dielectrophoretic trapping and electrical characterization of DNA-coated gold nanoparticles on vertical nanogap devices (VNDs). The nanogap devices with an electrode distance of 13 nm were fabricated from Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) material using a combination of anisotropic reactive ion etching (RIE), selective wet chemical etching and metal thin-film deposition. Au nanoparticles (diameter 40 nm) coated with a monolayer of dithiolated 8 base pairs double stranded DNA were dielectrophoretically trapped into the nanogap from electrolyte buffer solution at MHz frequencies as verified by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM/TEM) analysis. First electrical transport measurements through the formed DNA-Au-DNA junctions partially revealed an approximately linear current-voltage characteristic with resistance in the range of 2-4 GΩ when measured in solution. Our findings point to the importance of strong covalent bonding to the electrodes in order to observe DNA conductance, both in solution and in the dry state. We propose our setup for novel applications in biosensing, addressing the direct interaction of biomolecular species with DNA in aqueous electrolyte media.

Single-Atom Single-Photon Quantum Interface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moehring, David; Bochmann, Joerg; Muecke, Martin; Specht, Holger; Weber, Bernhard; Wilk, Tatjana; Rempe, Gerhard

2008-05-01

By combining atom trapping techniques and cavity cooling schemes we are able to trap a single neutral atom inside a high-finesse cavity for several tens of seconds. We show that our coupled atom-cavity system can be used to generate single photons in a controlled way. With our long trapping times and high single-photon production efficiency, the non-classical properties of the emitted light can be shown in the photon correlations of a single atom. In a similar atom-cavity setup, we investigate the interface between atoms and photons by entangling a single atom with a single photon emitted into the cavity and by further mapping the quantum state of the atom onto a second single photon. These schemes are intrinsically deterministic and establish the basic element required to realize a distributed quantum network with individual atoms at rest as quantum memories and single flying photons as quantum messengers. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and the European Union SCALA and CONQUEST programs. D. L. M. acknowledges support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Trace detection of organic compounds in complex sample matrixes by single photon ionization ion trap mass spectrometry: real-time detection of security-relevant compounds and online analysis of the coffee-roasting process.

PubMed

Schramm, Elisabeth; Kürten, Andreas; Hölzer, Jasper; Mitschke, Stefan; Mühlberger, Fabian; Sklorz, Martin; Wieser, Jochen; Ulrich, Andreas; Pütz, Michael; Schulte-Ladbeck, Rasmus; Schultze, Rainer; Curtius, Joachim; Borrmann, Stephan; Zimmermann, Ralf

2009-06-01

An in-house-built ion trap mass spectrometer combined with a soft ionization source has been set up and tested. As ionization source, an electron beam pumped vacuum UV (VUV) excimer lamp (EBEL) was used for single-photon ionization. It was shown that soft ionization allows the reduction of fragmentation of the target analytes and the suppression of most matrix components. Therefore, the combination of photon ionization with the tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) capability of an ion trap yields a powerful tool for molecular ion peak detection and identification of organic trace compounds in complex matrixes. This setup was successfully tested for two different applications. The first one is the detection of security-relevant substances like explosives, narcotics, and chemical warfare agents. One test substance from each of these groups was chosen and detected successfully with single photon ionization ion trap mass spectrometry (SPI-ITMS) MS/MS measurements. Additionally, first tests were performed, demonstrating that this method is not influenced by matrix compounds. The second field of application is the detection of process gases. Here, exhaust gas from coffee roasting was analyzed in real time, and some of its compounds were identified using MS/MS studies.

The effect of bovine viral diarrhea virus infections on health and performance of feedlot cattle

PubMed Central

Booker, Calvin W.; Abutarbush, Sameeh M.; Morley, Paul S.; Guichon, P. Timothy; Wildman, Brian K.; Jim, G. Kee; Schunicht, Oliver C.; Pittman, Tom J.; Perrett, Tye; Ellis, John A.; Appleyard, Greg; Haines, Deborah M.

2008-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) infections (unapparent acute infections and persistent infections) on the overall health and performance of feedlot cattle. Calves from 25 pens (7132 calves) were enrolled in the study. Overall and infectious disease mortality rates were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in pens categorized at arrival as positive for type I BVDV and lower in pens that were positive for type II BVDV than in negative pens. Mortality attributed to BVDV infection or enteritis was significantly more common (P < 0.05) in the pens containing persistently infected (PI) calves than in pens not containing PI calves (non-PI pens). There were no statistically detectable (P ≥ 0.05) differences in morbidity, overall mortality, average daily gain, or the dry matter intake to gain ratio between PI and non-PI pens. Although type-I BVDV infections in feedlots appear to contribute to higher mortality rates, the presence of PI calves alone does not appear to have a strong impact on pen-level animal health and feedlot performance. PMID:18390097

Engineering study comparing injection force and dose accuracy between two prefilled insulin injection pens.

PubMed

Ignaut, Debra A; Opincar, Michael R; Clark, Paula E; Palaisa, Melanie K; Lenox, Sheila M

2009-12-01

This study compared injection force (measured by glide force [GF] and glide force variability [GFV]) and dosing accuracy of the Humalog KwikPen * (prefilled insulin lispro [Humalog dagger] pen, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN) and the Next Generation FlexPen double dagger (prefilled insulin aspart [NovoRapid section sign] pen, Novo Nordisk A/S, Bagsvaerd, Denmark). * Humalog KwikPen is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA. dagger Humalog is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, USA. double dagger FlexPen is a registered trademark of Novo Nordisk A/S, Bagsvaerd, Denmark. section sign NovoRapid is a registered trademark of Novo Nordisk A/S, Bagsvaerd, Denmark. A total of 100 prefilled insulin pens (50 insulin lispro pens, 50 insulin aspart pens) were tested using two dose sizes (30 U and 60 U). In all, 50 devices (25 of each type) were tested at 10 U/s dosing speed and 50 were tested at 6.6 U/s. Devices were used per manufacturer instructions. Dose accuracy (represented as absolute dose error %), maximum and average GF, and GFV data were automatically collected by the test system for all datasets (dose size/dosing speed/device type). The test system controlled for potential dosing errors. The insulin lispro pen demonstrated a significantly lower median maximum GF at both dosing speeds: (2.83 vs. 3.92 lbs [30 U] and 3.00 vs. 4.14 lbs [60 U]) at 10 U/s; (1.85 vs. 2.93 lbs [30 U] and 2.14 vs. 3.02 lbs [60 U]) at 6.6 U/s, all p < 0.0001. For all datasets, the median GFV was significantly lower for the insulin lispro pen, p < 0.0001. Median dose error was comparable between device types when tested at 10 U/s dosing speed; however, at 6.6 U/s, the median dose error was significantly lower for insulin lispro pen compared to insulin aspart pen (0.47 vs. 0.67% [30 U] and 0.50 vs. 0.78% [60 U], both p < 0.05). The insulin lispro pen had significantly lower median GF and GFV compared with insulin aspart pen when tested at two dose sizes and two dosing speeds. Median dose error was similar between the device types at the 10 U/s dosing speed, but median dose error was significantly lower for the insulin lispro pen at the 6.6 U/s dosing speed. A limitation of this study was that it was executed as an open label study.

A novel pen-based Bluetooth-enabled insulin delivery system with insulin dose tracking and advice.

PubMed

Bailey, Timothy S; Stone, Jenine Y

2017-05-01

Diabetes is growing in prevalence internationally. As more individuals require insulin as part of their treatment, technology evolves to optimize delivery, improve adherence, and reduce dosing errors. Insulin pens outperform vial and syringe in simplicity, dosing accuracy, and user preference. Bolus advisors improve dosing confidence and treatment adherence. The InPen System offers a novel approach to treatment via a wireless pen that syncs to a mobile application featuring a bolus advisor, enabling convenient insulin dose tracking and more accurate bolus advice among other features. Areas covered: Existing technology for insulin delivery and bolus advice are reviewed. The mechanics and functionality of the InPen device are delineated. Findings from formative testing and usability studies of the InPen system are reported. Future directions for the InPen system in the treatment of diabetes are discussed. Expert opinion: Diabetes management is complex and largely data-driven. The InPen System offers a promising new opportunity to avail insulin pen-users of features known to improve treatment efficacy, which have otherwise primarily been available to those using pumps. Given that the majority of insulin users do not use insulin pumps, the InPen System is poised to improve glucose control in a significant portion of the diabetes population.

Nanomoulding of Functional Materials, a Versatile Complementary Pattern Replication Method to Nanoimprinting

PubMed Central

Battaglia, Corsin; Söderström, Karin; Escarré, Jordi; Haug, Franz-Josef; Despeisse, Matthieu; Ballif, Christophe

2013-01-01

We describe a nanomoulding technique which allows low-cost nanoscale patterning of functional materials, materials stacks and full devices. Nanomoulding combined with layer transfer enables the replication of arbitrary surface patterns from a master structure onto the functional material. Nanomoulding can be performed on any nanoimprinting setup and can be applied to a wide range of materials and deposition processes. In particular we demonstrate the fabrication of patterned transparent zinc oxide electrodes for light trapping applications in solar cells. PMID:23380874

Hawking Radiation from an Acoustic Black Hole on an Ion Ring

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Horstmann, B.; Cirac, J. I.; Reznik, B.

2010-06-25

In this Letter we propose to simulate acoustic black holes with ions in rings. If the ions are rotating with a stationary and inhomogeneous velocity profile, regions can appear where the ion velocity exceeds the group velocity of the phonons. In these regions phonons are trapped like light in black holes, even though we have a discrete field theory and a nonlinear dispersion relation. We study the appearance of Hawking radiation in this setup and propose a scheme to detect it.

Hawking radiation from an acoustic black hole on an ion ring.

PubMed

Horstmann, B; Reznik, B; Fagnocchi, S; Cirac, J I

2010-06-25

In this Letter we propose to simulate acoustic black holes with ions in rings. If the ions are rotating with a stationary and inhomogeneous velocity profile, regions can appear where the ion velocity exceeds the group velocity of the phonons. In these regions phonons are trapped like light in black holes, even though we have a discrete field theory and a nonlinear dispersion relation. We study the appearance of Hawking radiation in this setup and propose a scheme to detect it.

Lateral trapping of DNA inside a voltage gated nanopore

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Töws, Thomas; Reimann, Peter

2017-06-01

The translocation of a short DNA fragment through a nanopore is addressed when the perforated membrane contains an embedded electrode. Accurate numerical solutions of the coupled Poisson, Nernst-Planck, and Stokes equations for a realistic, fully three-dimensional setup as well as analytical approximations for a simplified model are worked out. By applying a suitable voltage to the membrane electrode, the DNA can be forced to preferably traverse the pore either along the pore axis or at a small but finite distance from the pore wall.

Identification of PAH Isomeric Structure in Cosmic Dust Analogs: The AROMA Setup

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sabbah, Hassan; Bonnamy, Anthony; Joblin, Christine

We developed a new analytical experimental setup called AROMA (Astrochemistry Research of Organics with Molecular Analyzer) that combines laser desorption/ionization techniques with ion trap mass spectrometry. We report here on the ability of the apparatus to detect aromatic species in complex materials of astrophysical interest and characterize their structures. A limit of detection of 100 femto-grams has been achieved using pure polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) samples, which corresponds to 2 × 10{sup 8} molecules in the case of coronene (C{sub 24}H{sub 12}). We detected the PAH distribution in the Murchison meteorite, which is made of a complex mixture of extraterrestrialmore » organic compounds. In addition, collision induced dissociation experiments were performed on selected species detected in Murchison, which led to the first firm identification of pyrene and its methylated derivatives in this sample.« less

Surface forces between colloidal particles at high hydrostatic pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilat, D. W.; Pouligny, B.; Best, A.; Nick, T. A.; Berger, R.; Butt, H.-J.

2016-02-01

It was recently suggested that the electrostatic double-layer force between colloidal particles might weaken at high hydrostatic pressure encountered, for example, in deep seas or during oil recovery. We have addressed this issue by means of a specially designed optical trapping setup that allowed us to explore the interaction of a micrometer-sized glass bead and a solid glass wall in water at hydrostatic pressures of up to 1 kbar. The setup allowed us to measure the distance between bead and wall with a subnanometer resolution. We have determined the Debye lengths in water for salt concentrations of 0.1 and 1 mM. We found that in the pressure range from 1 bar to 1 kbar the maximum variation of the Debye lengths was <1 nm for both salt concentrations. Furthermore, the magnitude of the zeta potentials of the glass surfaces in water showed no dependency on pressure.

Rewriting History: Historical Research With the Digital Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-01

significant enough to warrant a change or further analysis of how cadets take notes. The simple nature of the digital pen, akin to writing with a pen on... significant . By the third week the larger the percentage of handwriting correctly recognized, the higher the performance rating for the pen. Related...the pen at all. The current data showed two significant correlations between percent of handwriting recognized and the factors of pen performance and

Of Papers and Pens: Polysemes and Homophones in Lexical (Mis)Selection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Leon; Slevc, L. Robert

2017-01-01

Every word signifies multiple senses. Many studies using comprehension-based measures suggest that polysemes' senses (e.g., "paper" as in "printer paper" or "term paper") share lexical representations, whereas homophones' meanings (e.g., "pen" as in "ballpoint pen" or "pig pen")…

Development of liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry strategies for the screening of complex organic matter: Application to astrophysical simulated materials.

PubMed

Eddhif, Balkis; Allavena, Audrey; Liu, Sylvie; Ribette, Thomas; Abou Mrad, Ninette; Chiavassa, Thierry; d'Hendecourt, Louis Le Sergeant; Sternberg, Robert; Danger, Gregoire; Geffroy-Rodier, Claude; Poinot, Pauline

2018-03-01

The present work aims at developing two LC-HRMS setups for the screening of organic matter in astrophysical samples. Their analytical development has been demonstrated on a 100-µg residue coming from the photo-thermo chemical processing of a cometary ice analog produced in laboratory. The first 1D-LC-HRMS setup combines a serially coupled columns configuration with HRMS detection. It has allowed to discriminate among different chemical families (amino acids, sugars, nucleobases and oligopeptides) in only one chromatographic run without neither a priori acid hydrolysis nor chemical derivatisation. The second setup is a dual-LC configuration which connects a series of trapping columns with analytical reverse-phase columns. By coupling on-line these two distinct LC units with a HRMS detection, high mass compounds (350

Measuring Fast-Temporal Sediment Fluxes with an Analogue Acoustic Sensor: A Wind Tunnel Study

PubMed Central

Poortinga, Ate; van Minnen, Jan; Keijsers, Joep; Riksen, Michel; Goossens, Dirk; Seeger, Manuel

2013-01-01

In aeolian research, field measurements are important for studying complex wind-driven processes for land management evaluation and model validation. Consequently, there have been many devices developed, tested, and applied to investigate a range of aeolian-based phenomena. However, determining the most effective application and data analysis techniques is widely debated in the literature. Here we investigate the effectiveness of two different sediment traps (the BEST trap and the MWAC catcher) in measuring vertical sediment flux. The study was performed in a wind tunnel with sediment fluxes characterized using saltiphones. Contrary to most studies, we used the analogue output of five saltiphones mounted on top of each other to determine the total kinetic energy, which was then used to calculate aeolian sediment budgets. Absolute sediment losses during the experiments were determined using a balance located beneath the test tray. Test runs were conducted with different sand sizes and at different wind speeds. The efficiency of the two traps did not vary with the wind speed or sediment size but was affected by both the experimental setup (position of the lowest trap above the surface and number of traps in the saltation layer) and the technique used to calculate the sediment flux. Despite this, good agreement was found between sediment losses calculated from the saltiphone and those measured using the balance. The results of this study provide a framework for measuring sediment fluxes at small time resolution (seconds to milliseconds) in the field. PMID:24058512

Measuring fast-temporal sediment fluxes with an analogue acoustic sensor: a wind tunnel study.

PubMed

Poortinga, Ate; van Minnen, Jan; Keijsers, Joep; Riksen, Michel; Goossens, Dirk; Seeger, Manuel

2013-01-01

In aeolian research, field measurements are important for studying complex wind-driven processes for land management evaluation and model validation. Consequently, there have been many devices developed, tested, and applied to investigate a range of aeolian-based phenomena. However, determining the most effective application and data analysis techniques is widely debated in the literature. Here we investigate the effectiveness of two different sediment traps (the BEST trap and the MWAC catcher) in measuring vertical sediment flux. The study was performed in a wind tunnel with sediment fluxes characterized using saltiphones. Contrary to most studies, we used the analogue output of five saltiphones mounted on top of each other to determine the total kinetic energy, which was then used to calculate aeolian sediment budgets. Absolute sediment losses during the experiments were determined using a balance located beneath the test tray. Test runs were conducted with different sand sizes and at different wind speeds. The efficiency of the two traps did not vary with the wind speed or sediment size but was affected by both the experimental setup (position of the lowest trap above the surface and number of traps in the saltation layer) and the technique used to calculate the sediment flux. Despite this, good agreement was found between sediment losses calculated from the saltiphone and those measured using the balance. The results of this study provide a framework for measuring sediment fluxes at small time resolution (seconds to milliseconds) in the field.

Impact of litter Salmonella status during feed withdrawal on Salmonella recovery from the broiler crop and ceca.

PubMed

Buhr, R J; Bourassa, D V; Hinton, A; Fairchild, B D; Ritz, C W

2017-12-01

Research was conducted to evaluate the impact of litter Salmonella status during feed withdrawal on Salmonella recovery from the crop and ceca following feed withdrawal. In 4 experiments, pens of broilers in separate rooms were challenged with marker strains of either Salmonella Montevideo or Salmonella Heidelberg. Three d post challenge, a 12-hour feed withdrawal was initiated, and one pen of broilers was switched between rooms for each Salmonella serotype. In experiments 3 and 4, non-challenged broilers also were added to the Salmonella challenge pens. The litter of each pen was sampled before and after the feed withdrawal period, the broilers euthanized, and the crop and ceca aseptically removed for Salmonella isolation. Results showed that only the challenge Salmonella serotype was recovered from the litter in challenge pens where broilers were not moved, while both Salmonella serotypes were recovered from the litter of the switched pens. Salmonella was recovered from 56/80 crops and from 66/80 ceca of challenged broilers that remained in the challenge pens. The challenge Salmonella serotype was recovered from 50/80 crops and from 60/80 ceca, and the switched pens' litter Salmonella serotype was recovered from 19/80 crops but not from the ceca in broilers challenged with Salmonella and then switched between pens. For experiments 3 and 4, Salmonella was recovered from 19/40 crops and from only 2/40 ceca from the non-challenged broilers placed into the Salmonella challenge pens. The results from broilers that were switched between Salmonella challenge pens indicate that the recovery of Salmonella from the crop of broilers following feed withdrawal (on Salmonella-contaminated litter) appears to depend mainly on the initial challenge Salmonella (62%) and less on the litter Salmonella (24%) status during the feed withdrawal period. In contrast, only the initial challenge Salmonella was recovered from the ceca (79%) from broilers that remained in challenge pens or were switched between Salmonella challenge pens. However, when non-challenged broilers were placed into the Salmonella challenge pens and commingled during the 12-hour feed and water withdrawal period, it was possible to recover the pen litter Salmonella from the ceca at a low level of 5% (2/40). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Poultry Science Association 2017.

Apertureless cantilever-free pen arrays for scanning photochemical printing.

PubMed

Zhou, Yu; Xie, Zhuang; Brown, Keith A; Park, Daniel J; Zhou, Xiaozhu; Chen, Peng-Cheng; Hirtz, Michael; Lin, Qing-Yuan; Dravid, Vinayak P; Schatz, George C; Zheng, Zijian; Mirkin, Chad A

2015-02-25

A novel, apertureless, cantilever-free pen array can be used for dual scanning photochemical and molecular printing. Serial writing with light is enabled by combining self-focusing pyramidal pens with an opaque backing between pens. The elastomeric pens also afford force-tuned illumination and simultaneous delivery of materials and optical energy. These attributes make the technique a promising candidate for maskless high-resolution photopatterning and combinatorial chemistry. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

40 CFR 721.1750 - 1H-Benzotriazole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)- and 1H-ben-zo-tri-a-zole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)-, sodium and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 1H-ben-zo-tri-a-zole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)-, sodium and potassium salts. 721.1750 Section 721.1750... 1H-Benzotriazole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)- and 1H-ben-zo-tri-a-zole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)-, sodium and potassium...-tyl-oxy)-, sodium salt (PMN P-92-35), and 1H-benzotriazole, 5-(pentyloxy)- , potassium salt (PMN P-92...

40 CFR 721.1750 - 1H-Benzotriazole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)- and 1H-ben-zo-tri-a-zole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)-, sodium and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 1H-ben-zo-tri-a-zole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)-, sodium and potassium salts. 721.1750 Section 721.1750... 1H-Benzotriazole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)- and 1H-ben-zo-tri-a-zole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)-, sodium and potassium...-tyl-oxy)-, sodium salt (PMN P-92-35), and 1H-benzotriazole, 5-(pentyloxy)- , potassium salt (PMN P-92...

The PEN&PAD data entry system: from prototype to practical system.

PubMed Central

Kirby, J.; Rector, A. L.

1996-01-01

This paper describes some of the issues addressed in the transition of the PEN&PAD from prototype clinical workstation to practical data entry system for use by general practitioners in the UK. Background and motivation of the PEN&PAD and GALEN projects are presented before the operation of the PEN&PAD user interface is described. A number of issues which have arisen in the development of the PEN&PAD Data Entry System are discussed. PMID:8947757

40 CFR 721.1750 - 1H-Benzotriazole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)- and 1H-ben-zo-tri-a-zole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)-, sodium and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 1H-ben-zo-tri-a-zole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)-, sodium and potassium salts. 721.1750 Section 721.1750... 1H-Benzotriazole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)- and 1H-ben-zo-tri-a-zole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)-, sodium and potassium...-tyl-oxy)-, sodium salt (PMN P-92-35), and 1H-benzotriazole, 5-(pentyloxy)- , potassium salt (PMN P-92...

40 CFR 721.1750 - 1H-Benzotriazole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)- and 1H-ben-zo-tri-a-zole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)-, sodium and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 1H-ben-zo-tri-a-zole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)-, sodium and potassium salts. 721.1750 Section 721.1750... 1H-Benzotriazole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)- and 1H-ben-zo-tri-a-zole, 5-(pen-tyl-oxy)-, sodium and potassium...-tyl-oxy)-, sodium salt (PMN P-92-35), and 1H-benzotriazole, 5-(pentyloxy)- , potassium salt (PMN P-92...

Usage and Perceptions of Pen Injectors for Diabetes Management: A Survey of Type 2 Diabetes Patients in the United States

PubMed Central

Toscano, Deborah; Brice, Jennifer; Alfaro, Christina

2012-01-01

Background This study was conducted to investigate type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patient perceptions of their pen injectors and determine which features were deemed most important to overall satisfaction. Methods Frost & Sullivan conducted a Web-based survey of T2DM patients in the United States in November 2010. Survey participants were initially screened prior to full participation. A total of 1002 adult T2DM patients who were using a pen injector on a regular basis to administer their diabetes medication(s) were surveyed. The survey consisted of 24 questions focused on awareness and current usage of pen injectors by type and brand, specific features of pen injectors, and patients' preferences for and satisfaction with pen injectors. Results The majority of surveyed patients were using prefilled pen injectors as compared with durable pens. The LANTUS SoloSTAR (sanofi-aventis) was reported to be the most commonly used pen. The LANTUS SoloSTAR was also ranked highly for overall satisfaction and likelihood of continued usage. Regardless of brand, most surveyed patients reported that they were likely to continue using their current pen. In general, the single most important feature for user satisfaction was an easy push-button injection. Conclusions Ease of self-administration is of highest priority to users of pen injectors. Important features facilitating ease of use, such as an easily depressed push-button injection, are likely to minimize the burden on T2DM patients, thereby improving compliance and clinical outcomes. PMID:22768901

Rock samples analysis with the pyrolysis system of the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steininger, H.; Goetz, W.; Goesmann, F.

2012-12-01

The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) is a combined pyrolysis gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC-MS) and laser desorption mass spectrometer (LD-MS). It will be the key instrument of the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars 2018 mission to search for extinct and extant life. Additionally the instrument will be able to detect the organic background which has possibly been delivered to Mars by meteorites. Several samples containing a wide range of organic molecules have been tested with a flight analog injection system. The results of the tests were compared to results obtained by a commercial pyrolysis system, the Pyrola pyrolysis unit. The first experimental setup (Pyrola unit) consists of a small quartz tube with an electrically heated platinum filament. A constant helium flow transports the volatilized compounds through an injection needle directly into the injector of the GC. The whole system is heated to 175°C. The second experimental setup (flight analog injection system) consists of a 6 mm diameter platinum oven connected to a microvalve plate to route the gas from the oven to the GC. The microvalves can be switched electrically. The volatiles are subsequently trapped in a cold trap consisting of a Tenax filed tube. Heating this tube releases the volatiles and injects them through an injection needle into the GC. A Varian 4000 GC-MS with RTX-5 column was used to separate and analyze the volatiles generated from both experimental setups. During the experiments several natural rock samples with a broad content of organic material have been analyzed. The sample material was crushed and ground. To obtain comparable results the same amount of sample was used in both setups. Lower temperatures were used in the flight analog injection system due to restrictions of the reusable oven. Lower temperatures normally lead to only a slight decrease in the very heavy and non-volatile compounds but do not change the overall appearance of the chromatogram. Significant differences in the amount and composition of organic compounds have been found in the GC traces. In the flight like configuration an increase of the light volatile compounds was observed especially for benzene and toluene. We want to acknowledge the support by DLR (FKZ 50QX1001).

Radiative properties of molecular nitrogen ions produced by helium Penning ionization and argon effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, George, III; Song, Kyo-Dong

1994-01-01

The development of hypersonic aerospace vehicles requires a better understanding on the thermal and chemical nonequilibrium kinetics of participating species in shock layers. The computational fluid dynamic (CFD) codes developed for such flowfields overestimate the radiation in the spectral region of 300 - 600 nm. A speculation for this overestimation is that inclusion of Ar, CO2, and H2O at the upper atmosphere flight region makes a significant impact on radiative kinetics of molecular nitrogen ions. To define the effects of minority species on the radiative kinetics of N2(+), an experimental setup was made by using the helium Penning ionization. The vibrational and rotational temperature were measured by mapping the vibrational and rotational distributions of N2(+) emission with high spectroscopic resolution and absolute intensity measurements. Measured vibrational temperatures were in the range from 18,000 to 36,000 K, and rotational temperatures were in the range from 300 to 370 K. The irradiance of 391.44 nm line and rotational and vibrational temperatures were analyzed to define argon and CO2 effects on the N2(+) emission. When Ar or CO2 is injected with N2, the rotational temperature did not change. The irradiances were reduced by 34 percent and 78 percent for the 50 percent of mixture of Ar and CO2, respectively. The vibrational temperatures were increased by 24.1 percent and 82.9 percent for the 50 percent of mixture of Ar and CO2, respectively. It appears that there are no significant effects from small concentrations of Ar and CO2 at the upper atmosphere flight region.

Sound exposure changes European seabass behaviour in a large outdoor floating pen: Effects of temporal structure and a ramp-up procedure.

PubMed

Neo, Y Y; Hubert, J; Bolle, L; Winter, H V; Ten Cate, C; Slabbekoorn, H

2016-07-01

Underwater sound from human activities may affect fish behaviour negatively and threaten the stability of fish stocks. However, some fundamental understanding is still lacking for adequate impact assessments and potential mitigation strategies. For example, little is known about the potential contribution of the temporal features of sound, the efficacy of ramp-up procedures, and the generalisability of results from indoor studies to the outdoors. Using a semi-natural set-up, we exposed European seabass in an outdoor pen to four treatments: 1) continuous sound, 2) intermittent sound with a regular repetition interval, 3) irregular repetition intervals and 4) a regular repetition interval with amplitude 'ramp-up'. Upon sound exposure, the fish increased swimming speed and depth, and swam away from the sound source. The behavioural readouts were generally consistent with earlier indoor experiments, but the changes and recovery were more variable and were not significantly influenced by sound intermittency and interval regularity. In addition, the 'ramp-up' procedure elicited immediate diving response, similar to the onset of treatment without a 'ramp-up', but the fish did not swim away from the sound source as expected. Our findings suggest that while sound impact studies outdoors increase ecological and behavioural validity, the inherently higher variability also reduces resolution that may be counteracted by increasing sample size or looking into different individual coping styles. Our results also question the efficacy of 'ramp-up' in deterring marine animals, which warrants more investigation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High Precision Determination of the β Decay QEC Value of 11C and Implications on the Tests of the Standard Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gulyuz, K.; Bollen, G.; Brodeur, M.; Bryce, R. A.; Cooper, K.; Eibach, M.; Izzo, C.; Kwan, E.; Manukyan, K.; Morrissey, D. J.; Naviliat-Cuncic, O.; Redshaw, M.; Ringle, R.; Sandler, R.; Schwarz, S.; Sumithrarachchi, C. S.; Valverde, A. A.; Villari, A. C. C.

2016-01-01

We report the determination of the QEC value of the mirror transition of 11C by measuring the atomic masses of 11C and 11B using Penning trap mass spectrometry. More than an order of magnitude improvement in precision is achieved as compared to the 2012 Atomic Mass Evaluation (Ame2012) [Chin. Phys. C 36, 1603 (2012)]. This leads to a factor of 3 improvement in the calculated F t value. Using the new value, QEC=1981.690 (61 ) keV , the uncertainty on F t is no longer dominated by the uncertainty on the QEC value. Based on this measurement, we provide an updated estimate of the Gamow-Teller to Fermi mixing ratio and standard model values of the correlation coefficients.

Dynamics and stability of a 2D ideal vortex under external strain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hurst, N. C.; Danielson, J. R.; Dubin, D. H. E.; Surko, C. M.

2017-11-01

The behavior of an initially axisymmetric 2D ideal vortex under an externally imposed strain flow is studied experimentally. The experiments are carried out using electron plasmas confined in a Penning-Malmberg trap; here, the dynamics of the plasma density transverse to the field are directly analogous to the dynamics of vorticity in a 2D ideal fluid. An external strain flow is applied using boundary conditions in a way that is consistent with 2D fluid dynamics. Data are compared to predictions from a theory assuming a piecewise constant elliptical vorticity distribution. Excellent agreement is found for quasi-flat profiles, whereas the dynamics of smooth profiles feature modified stability limits and inviscid damping of periodic elliptical distortions. This work supported by U.S. DOE Grants DE-SC0002451 and DE-SC0016532, and NSF Grant PHY-1414570.

High Precision Determination of the β Decay Q(EC) Value of (11)C and Implications on the Tests of the Standard Model.

PubMed

Gulyuz, K; Bollen, G; Brodeur, M; Bryce, R A; Cooper, K; Eibach, M; Izzo, C; Kwan, E; Manukyan, K; Morrissey, D J; Naviliat-Cuncic, O; Redshaw, M; Ringle, R; Sandler, R; Schwarz, S; Sumithrarachchi, C S; Valverde, A A; Villari, A C C

2016-01-08

We report the determination of the Q(EC) value of the mirror transition of (11)C by measuring the atomic masses of (11)C and (11)B using Penning trap mass spectrometry. More than an order of magnitude improvement in precision is achieved as compared to the 2012 Atomic Mass Evaluation (Ame2012) [Chin. Phys. C 36, 1603 (2012)]. This leads to a factor of 3 improvement in the calculated Ft value. Using the new value, Q(EC)=1981.690(61)  keV, the uncertainty on Ft is no longer dominated by the uncertainty on the Q(EC) value. Based on this measurement, we provide an updated estimate of the Gamow-Teller to Fermi mixing ratio and standard model values of the correlation coefficients.

Pen Pal Writing: A Holistic and Socio-Cultural Approach to Adult English Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larrotta, Clarena; Serrano, Arlene F.

2012-01-01

This qualitative study reports the findings implementing a pen pal letter exchange project between adult English language learners and volunteer native English speakers. The pen pal project was implemented using a holistic and socio-cultural approach to English literacy development. This article presents pen pal writing as an authentic language…

78 FR 34392 - Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff: Technical Considerations for Pen...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-07

...] Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff: Technical Considerations for Pen, Jet, and... availability of a final guidance document entitled ``Technical Considerations for Pen, Jet, and Related... developing information to support a marketing application for a pen, jet, or related injector device intended...

Phosphorylation is required for the pathogen defense function of the Arabidopsis PEN3 ABC transporter

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Arabidopsis PEN3 ABC transporter accumulates at sites of pathogen detection, where it is involved in defense against multiple pathogens. Perception of PAMPs by pattern recognition receptors initiates recruitment of PEN3 and also leads to PEN3 phosphorylation at multiple amino acid residues. Whet...

Shear viscosity in an anisotropic unitary Fermi gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samanta, Rickmoy; Sharma, Rishi; Trivedi, Sandip P.

2017-11-01

We consider a system consisting of a strongly interacting, ultracold unitary Fermi gas under harmonic confinement. Our analysis suggests the possibility of experimentally studying, in this system, an anisotropic shear viscosity tensor driven by the anisotropy in the trapping potential. In particular, we suggest that this experimental setup could mimic some features of anisotropic geometries that have recently been studied for strongly coupled field theories which have a dual gravitational description. Results using the AdS/CFT (anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence) in these theories show that in systems with a background linear potential, certain viscosity components can be made much smaller than the entropy density, parametrically violating the bound proposed by Kovtun, Son, and Starinets (KSS). This intuition, along with results from a Boltzmann analysis that we perform, suggests that a violation of the KSS bound can perhaps occur in the unitary Fermi gas system when it is subjected to a suitable anisotropic trapping potential which may be approximated to be linear in a suitable range of parameters. We give a concrete proposal for an experimental setup where an anisotropic shear viscosity tensor may arise. In such situations, it may also be possible to observe a reduction in the spin-1 component of the shear viscosity from its lowest value observed so far in ultracold Fermi gases. In extreme anisotropic situations, the reduction may be enough to reduce the shear viscosity to entropy ratio below the proposed KSS bound, although this regime is difficult to analyze in a theoretically controlled manner.

New apparatus of single particle trap system for aerosol visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higashi, Hidenori; Fujioka, Tomomi; Endo, Tetsuo; Kitayama, Chiho; Seto, Takafumi; Otani, Yoshio

2014-08-01

Control of transport and deposition of charged aerosol particles is important in various manufacturing processes. Aerosol visualization is an effective method to directly observe light scattering signal from laser-irradiated single aerosol particle trapped in a visualization cell. New single particle trap system triggered by light scattering pulse signal was developed in this study. The performance of the device was evaluated experimentally. Experimental setup consisted of an aerosol generator, a differential mobility analyzer (DMA), an optical particle counter (OPC) and the single particle trap system. Polystylene latex standard (PSL) particles (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 μm) were generated and classified according to the charge by the DMA. Singly charged 0.5 and 1.0 μm particles and doubly charged 2.0 μm particles were used as test particles. The single particle trap system was composed of a light scattering signal detector and a visualization cell. When the particle passed through the detector, trigger signal with a given delay time sent to the solenoid valves upstream and downstream of the visualization cell for trapping the particle in the visualization cell. The motion of particle in the visualization cell was monitored by CCD camera and the gravitational settling velocity and the electrostatic migration velocity were measured from the video image. The aerodynamic diameter obtained from the settling velocity was in good agreement with Stokes diameter calculated from the electrostatic migration velocity for individual particles. It was also found that the aerodynamic diameter obtained from the settling velocity was a one-to-one function of the scattered light intensity of individual particles. The applicability of this system will be discussed.

Outbreak of diffuse lamellar keratitis caused by marking-pen toxicity.

PubMed

Hadden, Osmond Bruce; McGhee, Charles N J; Morris, Antony Trevor; Gray, Trevor Buchanan; Ring, Charles Peter; Watson, Adam Stewart John

2008-07-01

To examine the evidence that a series of cases of diffuse lamellar keratitis (DLK) after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) was caused by a type of marker pen. Eye Institute, Auckland, New Zealand. During a 10-week period, 522 consecutive LASIK procedures were performed using a 60 Hz IntraLase femtosecond laser (IntraLase Corp.) to create the LASIK flap and a 217Z 100 Hz excimer laser (Bausch & Lomb) to perform the refractive ablation. As standard practice, a marking pen was used to enable accurate flap realignment. Three weeks after a sudden increase in the incidence of DLK was identified, one of the 5 surgeons performed 5 consecutive bilateral cases using the marking pen in the right eyes but not in the left eyes. Of the 522 LASIK cases (119 without marking pen, 403 with marking pen), DLK developed in 49 (9.4%). No eye treated without the marking pen developed DLK; of those in which the marking pen was used, 49 (12.2%) developed DLK (P<0.0001, Fischer exact test; odds ratio, 27). In the 5 consecutive bilateral cases in which the marking pen was used in the right eye but not the left eye, 4 right eyes and no left eye developed DLK (P=0.03). Forty-five of the 49 eyes with DLK quickly recovered. The other 4 developed central toxic keratopathy. There is strong statistical evidence that the marking pen was a factor in the occurrence of DLK.

Experimental infection of slaughter pigs with classical swine fever virus: transmission of the virus, course of the disease and antibody response.

PubMed

Laevens, H; Koenen, F; Deluyker, H; de Kruif, A

1999-08-28

The spread of classical swine fever virus was investigated in an isolation unit containing four pens, each containing six slaughter pigs. One pig in the middle pen of three adjacent pens was inoculated intramuscularly and intranasally with the virus. The fourth pen was located in a separate compartment. The pens were visited in a strict order to study, first, the effect of indirect contact via contaminated clothing and footwear on the spread of the virus to adjacent pens and, secondly, the airborne transmission of the virus between compartments. The pigs were examined and blood samples were taken every other day for 62 days for virological and serological analyses. The virus was highly contagious for the five pigs that were in direct contact with the inoculated pig, but spread to the other pens only after all the pigs in the originally infected pen had become viraemic. The spread of the virus was promoted by contaminated clothing and footwear, but airborne transmission contributed considerably to the spread of the virus within the pighouse. The first clinical signs observed after the virus was introduced into a pen were decreased feed intake, increased mean rectal temperature and apathy. Neither the clinical course of the infection, nor the pattern of seroconversion observed over time, was affected by the differences in the intensity of contact with the virus between the pigs in the different pens.

Incidence and transmission of Mycoplasma bovis mastitis in Holstein dairy cows in a hospital pen: A case study.

PubMed

Punyapornwithaya, V; Fox, L K; Hancock, D D; Gay, J M; Wenz, J R; Alldredge, J R

2011-01-01

The objective was to determine the incidence and transmission of mycoplasma mastitis in the hospital pen in a dairy herd of 650 lactating cows after a hospital pen was established following an outbreak of this disease. Mycoplasma mastitis status was monitored for 3 months through repeated collection of milk samples from cows with clinical mastitis (CM) and from bulk tank milk. During the outbreak 13 cows were diagnosed with Mycoplasma bovis CM, 1 cow with Mycoplasma sp. mastitis and 8 cows showed signs of arthritis, 3 of which were confirmed as having M. bovis arthritis. M. bovis isolates from cows with CM, arthritis and bulk tank milk had indistinguishable chromosomal digest pattern fingerprints. Incidence rates of M. bovis CM cases in the milking and hospital pens were 0.01 and 1.7 cases per 100 cow-days at risk. Approximately 70% of cows with M. bovis CM became infected within 12 days of entering the hospital pen. Transmission of M. bovis in the hospital pen occurred as 3 episodes. Each episode corresponded to the introduction of a cow with M. bovis CM from a milking pen. Evidence indicates that cows with M. bovis CM from milking pens were the source of transmission of the disease in the hospital pen and thus their presence in the hospital pen appeared to be a risk factor for transmission of M. bovis mastitis in this single case study herd. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Detection and determinants of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Alberta feedlot pens immediately prior to slaughter

PubMed Central

Renter, David G.; Smith, David R.; King, Robin; Stilborn, Robert; Berg, Janice; Berezowski, John; McFall, Margaret

2008-01-01

Food safety risks due to Escherichia coli O157:H7 may be affected by variability in prevalence in or on live cattle at slaughter. Our objectives were to assess the prevalence and risk factors associated with E. coli O157:H7 in feedlot pens immediately prior to slaughter, and assess relationships among methods of monitoring the E. coli O157:H7 status of pre-harvest pens. We studied 84 pens containing a total of nearly 27 000 head of cattle in commercial feedlots in Alberta during 2003 and 2004. Sampling devices (ROPES) prepared from manila ropes were used to detect high prevalence pens. Forty of 84 pens (48%) were classified ROPES-positive. Within pens, fecal prevalence ranged between 0% to 80% (median = 20%) and the hide prevalence ranged between 0% and 30% (median = 0%). Pens that were ROPES-positive had a higher median prevalence for feces (40%) and for hides (3.8%) than those that were ROPES-negative (13.3% and 0%, respectively). The prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in pens immediately prior to slaughter was found to be quite high or very low even within feedlots and seasons. Factors such as sampling month, temperature, precipitation, pen floor conditions, and water tank cleanliness were associated with E. coli O157:H7 outcome measures, although associated factors were not completely consistent among years and outcome measures. Fecal and hide prevalence are considered primary pre-harvest indicators of potential carcass contamination, but other methods such as ROPES that are associated with these outcomes may provide logistic advantages to efficiently classify pens of cattle as high or low risk to food safety. PMID:18505184

Fungal extracellular polysaccharides in house dust as a marker for exposure to fungi: relations with culturable fungi, reported home dampness, and respiratory symptoms.

PubMed

Douwes, J; van der Sluis, B; Doekes, G; van Leusden, F; Wijnands, L; van Strien, R; Verhoeff, A; Brunekreef, B

1999-03-01

Epidemiologic studies have demonstrated an association between indoor fungal growth and respiratory symptoms. However, in only a few studies was fungal exposure actually measured. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the measurement by enzyme immunoassay of extracellular polysaccharides of Aspergillus and Penicillium species (EPS-Asp/Pen ) in house dust as a marker for fungal exposure and to study the relations between EPS-Asp/Pen levels and home dampness and respiratory symptoms in children. Extracts of house dust samples from bedroom and living room floors and mattresses from homes of 31 children with chronic respiratory symptoms and 29 children with no chronic respiratory symptoms were analyzed for EPS-Asp/Pen. EPS-Asp/Pen were readily detectable (40 to 46,513 nanogram equivalent/g dust) in 161 house dust extracts, with highest concentrations in living room floor dust. EPS-Asp/Pen levels were 2 to 3 times higher on carpeted floors than on smooth floors. EPS-Asp/Pen were significantly correlated with total culturable fungi (r = 0.3 to 0.5) and with house dust mite allergens (r = 0.3 to 0.5). EPS-Asp/Pen levels in living room floor dust were positively associated with occupant-reported home dampness. This was not observed for EPS-Asp/Pen in bedroom floor and mattress dust. EPS-Asp/Pen levels in living room floor dust were positively associated with respiratory symptoms. EPS-Asp/Pen in bedroom floor and mattress dust showed a reversed association with respiratory symptoms, possibly because of allergen-avoidance measures taken in the bedroom. The enzyme immunoassay for fungal EPS-Asp/Pen may be a useful method for exposure assessment of indoor fungi.

Open-access microfluidic patch-clamp array with raised lateral cell trapping sites.

PubMed

Lau, Adrian Y; Hung, Paul J; Wu, Angela R; Lee, Luke P

2006-12-01

A novel open-access microfluidic patch-clamp array chip with lateral cell trapping sites raised above the bottom plane of the chip was developed by combining both a microscale soft-lithography and a macroscale polymer fabrication method. This paper demonstrates the capability of using such an open-access fluidic system for patch-clamp measurements. The surface of the open-access patch-clamp sites prepared by the macroscale hole patterning method of soft-state elastic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is examined; the seal resistances are characterized and correlated with the aperture dimensions. Whole cell patch-clamp measurements are carried out with CHO cells expressing Kv2.1 ion channels. Kv2.1 ion channel blocker (TEA) dosage response is characterized and the binding activity is examined. The results demonstrate that the system is capable of performing whole cell measurements and drug profiling in a more efficient manner than the traditional patch-clamp set-up.

Optical coupling of cold atoms to a levitated nanosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montoya, Cris; Witherspoon, Apryl; Fausett, Jacob; Lim, Jason; Kitching, John; Geraci, Andrew

2017-04-01

Cooling mechanical oscillators to their quantum ground state enables the study of quantum phenomena at macroscopic levels. In many cases, the temperature required to cool a mechanical mode to the ground state is below what current cryogenic systems can achieve. As an alternative to cooling via cryogenic systems, it has been shown theoretically that optically trapped nanospheres could reach the ground state by sympathetically cooling the spheres via cold atoms. Such cooled spheres can be used in quantum limited sensing and matter-wave interferometry, and could also enable new hybrid quantum systems where mechanical oscillators act as transducers. In our setup, optical fields are used to couple a sample of cold Rubidium atoms to a nanosphere. The sphere is optically levitated in a separate vacuum chamber, while the atoms are trapped in a 1-D optical lattice and cooled using optical molasses. This work is partially supported by NSF, Grant No. PHY-1506431.

Extended Coherence Time on the Clock Transition of Optically Trapped Rubidium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kleine Buening, G.; Will, J.; Ertmer, W.

2011-06-17

Optically trapped ensembles are of crucial importance for frequency measurements and quantum memories but generally suffer from strong dephasing due to inhomogeneous density and light shifts. We demonstrate a drastic increase of the coherence time to 21 s on the magnetic field insensitive clock transition of {sup 87}Rb by applying the recently discovered spin self-rephasing [C. Deutsch et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 020401 (2010)]. This result confirms the general nature of this new mechanism and thus shows its applicability in atom clocks and quantum memories. A systematic investigation of all relevant frequency shifts and noise contributions yields a stabilitymore » of 2.4x10{sup -11{tau}-1/2}, where {tau} is the integration time in seconds. Based on a set of technical improvements, the presented frequency standard is predicted to rival the stability of microwave fountain clocks in a potentially much more compact setup.« less

Second generation measurement of the electric dipole moment of the electron using trapped ThF+ ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ng, Kia Boon; Zhou, Yan; Gresh, Daniel; Cairncross, William; Grau, Matthew; Ni, Yiqi; Ye, Jun; Cornell, Eric

2016-05-01

ThF+ has been chosen as the candidate for a second generation measurement of the electric dipole moment of the electron (eEDM). Compared to the current HfF+ eEDM experiment, ThF+ has several advantages: (i) the eEDM-sensitive state (3Δ1) is the ground state, which facilitates a long coherence time; (ii) its effective electric field (38 GV/cm) is 50% larger than that of HfF+, which promises a direct increase of the eEDM sensitivity; and (iii) the ionization energy of neutral ThF is lower than its dissociation energy, which introduces greater flexibility in rotational state-selective photoionization via core-nonpenetrating Rydberg states. Here, we present progress of our experimental setup, preliminary spectroscopic data of multi-photon ionization, and discussions of new features in ion trapping, state preparation and population readout.

{sup 85}Rb tunable-interaction Bose-Einstein condensate machine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Altin, P. A.; Robins, N. P.; Doering, D.

We describe our experimental setup for creating stable Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) of {sup 85}Rb with tunable interparticle interactions. We use sympathetic cooling with {sup 87}Rb in two stages, initially in a tight Ioffe-Pritchard magnetic trap and subsequently in a weak, large-volume, crossed optical dipole trap, using the 155 G Feshbach resonance to manipulate the elastic and inelastic scattering properties of the {sup 85}Rb atoms. Typical {sup 85}Rb condensates contain 4x10{sup 4} atoms with a scattering length of a=+200a{sub 0}. Many aspects of the design presented here could be adapted to other dual-species BEC machines, including those involving degenerate Fermi-Bose mixtures.more » Our minimalist apparatus is well suited to experiments on dual-species and spinor Rb condensates, and has several simplifications over the {sup 85}Rb BEC machine at JILA, which we discuss at the end of this article.« less

Transmission of Salmonella to broilers by contaminated larval and adult lesser mealworms, Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae).

PubMed

Roche, A J; Cox, N A; Richardson, L J; Buhr, R J; Cason, J A; Fairchild, B D; Hinkle, N C

2009-01-01

The ability of the lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer), commonly known as the darkling beetle, to transmit marker Salmonella Typhimurium to day-of-hatch broiler chicks was evaluated, as well as the spread to nonchallenged pen mates. In trial 1, day-of-hatch chicks were orally gavaged with 4 larval or 4 adult beetles that had been exposed to marker Salmonella-inoculated feed for 72 h. In addition, chicks were gavaged with the marker Salmonella in saline solution. These chicks were then placed into pens to serve as challenged broilers. In trial 2, all pens received 2 challenged chicks that were gavaged with larvae or beetles that had been exposed to marker Salmonella-inoculated feed for 24 h and then removed from the inoculated feed for a period of 7 d. At 3 wk of age, cecal samples from the marker Salmonella-challenged broilers and from 5 pen mates in trial 1, or 10 pen mates in trial 2, were evaluated for the presence of the marker Salmonella in their ceca, and at 6 wk of age, all remaining pen mates were sampled. To monitor the presence of the marker Salmonella within pens, stepped-on drag swab litter samples were taken weekly. For the Salmonella-saline pens, 29 to 33% of the broilers that had been challenged and 10 to 55% of the pen mates were positive at 3 wk of age, and only 2 to 6% had positive ceca at 6 wk. For the pens challenged with adult beetles, 0 to 57% of the challenged broilers and 20 to 40% of the pen mates had positive ceca at 3 wk, and 4 to 7% were positive at 6 wk. The pens challenged with larvae had the greatest percentage of marker Salmonella-positive broilers; 25 to 33% of the challenged broilers and 45 to 58% of pen mates were positive at 3 wk, and 11 to 27% were positive at 6 wk. These results demonstrated that ingestion of larval or adult beetles contaminated with a marker Salmonella could be a significant vector for transmission to broilers.

Volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from beef feedlot pen surface as affected by within pen location, moisture, and temperature

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A laboratory study was conducted to determine effects of pen location, moisture, and temperature on emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC). Feedlot surface material (FSM) was obtained from pens where cattle were fed a diet containing 30% wet distillers grain plus soluble (WDGS). The FSM were ...

Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions from feedlot pen surface materials as affected by within pen location, moisture, and temperature

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effects of pen location, moisture, and temperature on emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) from surface materials obtained from feedlot pens where beef cattle were fed a diet containing 30% wet distillers grain plus solubles. Surface material...

Analysis of the NovoTwist Pen Needle in Comparison with Conventional Screw-Thread Needles

PubMed Central

Aye, Tandy

2011-01-01

Administration of insulin via a pen device may be advantageous over a vial and syringe system. Hofman and colleagues introduce a new insulin pen needle, the NovoTwist, to simplify injections to a small group of children and adolescents. Their overall preferences and evaluation of the handling of the needle are reported in the study. This new needle has the potential to ease administration of insulin via a pen device that may increase both the use of a pen device and adherence to insulin therapy. PMID:22226270

Dose accuracy and injection force dynamics of a novel disposable insulin pen.

PubMed

Clarke, Alastair; Spollett, Geralyn

2007-03-01

SoloStar (sanofi-aventis) is a new, disposable insulin pen for the administration of insulin glargine (Lantus, sanofi-aventis) or insulin glulisine (Apidra, sanofi-aventis). SoloStar was developed to address a wide range of patient needs and demonstrates advancement over previous devices, owing to its appropriate combination of ergonomically-tested and mechanically improved features. The authors report the results of key investigations carried out by sanofi-aventis as part of the SoloStar development plan, including dose accuracy and injection force testing. Comparisons between SoloStar and two commonly used pens, FlexPen (Novo Nordisk) and the Humulin/Humalog pen (Eli Lilly) establish SoloStar as a state of the art pen that is suitable for most patients with diabetes.

Integrated fiber-mirror ion trap for strong ion-cavity coupling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brandstätter, B., E-mail: birgit.brandstaetter@uibk.ac.at; Schüppert, K.; Casabone, B.

2013-12-15

We present and characterize fiber mirrors and a miniaturized ion-trap design developed to integrate a fiber-based Fabry-Perot cavity (FFPC) with a linear Paul trap for use in cavity-QED experiments with trapped ions. Our fiber-mirror fabrication process not only enables the construction of FFPCs with small mode volumes, but also allows us to minimize the influence of the dielectric fiber mirrors on the trapped-ion pseudopotential. We discuss the effect of clipping losses for long FFPCs and the effect of angular and lateral displacements on the coupling efficiencies between cavity and fiber. Optical profilometry allows us to determine the radii of curvaturemore » and ellipticities of the fiber mirrors. From finesse measurements, we infer a single-atom cooperativity of up to 12 for FFPCs longer than 200 μm in length; comparison to cavities constructed with reference substrate mirrors produced in the same coating run indicates that our FFPCs have similar scattering losses. We characterize the birefringence of our fiber mirrors, finding that careful fiber-mirror selection enables us to construct FFPCs with degenerate polarization modes. As FFPCs are novel devices, we describe procedures developed for handling, aligning, and cleaning them. We discuss experiments to anneal fiber mirrors and explore the influence of the atmosphere under which annealing occurs on coating losses, finding that annealing under vacuum increases the losses for our reference substrate mirrors. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements indicate that these losses may be attributable to oxygen depletion in the mirror coating. Special design considerations enable us to introduce a FFPC into a trapped ion setup. Our unique linear Paul trap design provides clearance for such a cavity and is miniaturized to shield trapped ions from the dielectric fiber mirrors. We numerically calculate the trap potential in the absence of fibers. In the experiment additional electrodes can be used to compensate distortions of the potential due to the fibers. Home-built fiber feedthroughs connect the FFPC to external optics, and an integrated nanopositioning system affords the possibility of retracting or realigning the cavity without breaking vacuum.« less

Force fields of charged particles in micro-nanofluidic preconcentration systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Lingyan; Ouyang, Wei; Li, Zirui; Han, Jongyoon

2017-12-01

Electrokinetic concentration devices based on the ion concentration polarization (ICP) phenomenon have drawn much attention due to their simple setup, high enrichment factor, and easy integration with many subsequent processes, such as separation, reaction, and extraction etc. Despite significant progress in the experimental research, fundamental understanding and detailed modeling of the preconcentration systems is still lacking. The mechanism of the electrokinetic trapping of charged particles is currently limited to the force balance analysis between the electric force and fluid drag force in an over-simplified one-dimensional (1D) model, which misses many signatures of the actual system. This letter studies the particle trapping phenomena that are not explainable in the 1D model through the calculation of the two-dimensional (2D) force fields. The trapping of charged particles is shown to significantly distort the electric field and fluid flow pattern, which in turn leads to the different trapping behaviors of particles of different sizes. The mechanisms behind the protrusions and instability of the focused band, which are important factors determining overall preconcentration efficiency, are revealed through analyzing the rotating fluxes of particles in the vicinity of the ion-selective membrane. The differences in the enrichment factors of differently sized particles are understood through the interplay between the electric force and convective fluid flow. These results provide insights into the electrokinetic concentration effect, which could facilitate the design and optimization of ICP-based preconcentration systems.

Educational session as a tool to increase patient satisfaction of switching etanercept from the prefilled syringe to the autoinjection pen.

PubMed

Borrás-Blasco, Joaquín; Gracia-Pérez, Antonio; Casterá, M Dolores-Elvira; Rosique-Robles, J Dolores; Abad, Javier

2013-08-01

To assess patients' acceptability of switching etanercept from the prefilled syringe to the autoinjection pen in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis patients. A two-phase cross-sectional study was designed. First phase: consisted of a 2 h information/education session to present the pen and learning its use. At the end of the session, patients completed a self-administered questionnaire regarding the meeting usefulness. Second phase: eight single-use prefilled Enbrel® Pen Myclic were provided. The number of patients included were 104 (rheumatoid arthritis 58, psoriatic arthritis 31, ankylosing spondylitis 15). Attendees showed a high satisfaction degree with the meeting. A high percentage of patients (74.4 - 95.1%) rated the items of the questionnaire as 'very much'. Patients reported > 95% adherence to etanercept autoinjection pen. The percentage of patients self-administering etanercept increased from 66 to 94% and the percentage of those attending primary care for injection decreased from 23 to 2%. It produced important cost savings, in our study represents > 22.000 euros/year. Pain at the injection site was significantly reduced with the use of autoinjection pen. Ninty seven (93%) patients considered that the use of the autoinjection pen was easier than the syringe and 94.2% chose the pen as their preferred delivery system. The autoinjection pen is an advantageous delivery option for etanercept. This study provides further evidence to support that the education strategy is a valid method for switching anti-TNF-α drugs from syringe to pen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.

Attitudes of Danish pig farmers towards requirements for hospital pens.

PubMed

Thomsen, Peter T; Klottrup, Anne; Steinmetz, Henriette; Herskin, Mette S

2016-06-01

According to Danish legislation, sick or injured pigs must be housed in hospital pens with specific requirements. During recent years the majority of cases of non-compliance with legislation have been related to management of these animals. Hence, we hypothesized that 1) pig farmers generally find a requirement for hospital pens reasonable, but do not know the specific requirements; 2) pig farmers do not find the specific requirements for hospital pens meaningful compared with their perception of what sick pigs need; and 3) pig farmers often omit to move sick pigs to hospital pens due to lack of time or labour. An on-line questionnaire regarding farmers' attitudes towards and knowledge about legal requirements for hospital pens was constructed and e-mailed to 2348 pig farmers. In total, 508 farmers answered the questionnaire. Overall, 66% of the respondents found that the requirements for hospital pens made good sense, and more than 90% found that it made at least partial sense. Even though almost all respondents thought they knew the legal requirements for specific facilities in hospital pens, in fact 20% of them did not. The majority of respondents found all specific requirements in accordance with the needs of sick pigs, with the exception of cooling (only 17% agreed that cooling was needed). Unexpectedly, lack of time or labour wasn't reported to be a major obstacle to the use of hospital pens. Possibly, different thresholds for defining a pig as 'sick enough' to need housing in a hospital pen may exist between farmers and authorities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Accuracy and Injection Force of the Gla-300 Injection Device Compared With Other Commercialized Disposable Insulin Pens.

PubMed

Klonoff, David; Nayberg, Irina; Thonius, Marissa; See, Florian; Abdel-Tawab, Mona; Erbstein, Frank; Haak, Thomas

2015-08-26

To deliver insulin glargine 300 U/mL (Gla-300), the widely used SoloSTAR(®) pen has been modified to allow for accurate and precise delivery of required insulin units in one-third of the volume compared with insulin glargine 100 U/mL, while improving usability. Here we compare the accuracy and injection force of 3 disposable insulin pens: Gla-300 SoloSTAR(®), FlexPen(®), and KwikPen™. For the accuracy assessment, 60 of each of the 3 tested devices were used for the delivery of 3 different doses (1 U, half-maximal dose, and maximal dose), which were measured gravimetrically. For the injection force assessment, 20 pens of each of the 3 types were tested twice at half-maximal and once at maximal dose, at an injection speed of 6 U/s. All tested pens met the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) requirements for dosing accuracy, with Gla-300 SoloSTAR showing the lowest between-dose variation (greatest reproducibility) at all dose levels. Mean injection force was significantly lower for Gla-300 SoloSTAR than for the other 2 pens at both half maximal and maximal doses (P < .0271). All tested pens were accurate according to ISO criteria, and the Gla-300 SoloSTAR pen displayed the greatest reproducibility and lowest injection force of any of the 3 tested devices. © 2015 Diabetes Technology Society.

Piezoelectric sensor pen for dynamic signature verification

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

EerNisse, E.P.; Land, C.E.; Snelling, J.B.

The concept of using handwriting dynamics for electronic identification is discussed. A piezoelectric sensor pen for obtaining the pen point dynamics during writing is described. Design equations are derived and details of an operating device are presented. Typical output waveforms are shown to demonstrate the operation of the pen and to show the dissimilarities between dynamics of a genuine signature and an attempted forgery.

NHEXAS PHASE I ARIZONA STUDY--STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE FOR LIGHT PEN OPERATION AND VERIFICATION OF SCANNED BAR CODES (UA-D-33.0)

EPA Science Inventory

The purpose of this SOP is to define the steps needed to operate the light pens, and verify the values produced by light pens used in the Arizona NHEXAS project and the "Border" study. Keywords: data; equipment; light pens.

The National Human Exposure Assessment Survey (NHEXAS)...

Chemically stable Au nanorods as probes for sensitive surface enhanced scattering (SERS) analysis of blue BIC ballpoint pens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alyami, Abeer; Saviello, Daniela; McAuliffe, Micheal A. P.; Cucciniello, Raffaele; Mirabile, Antonio; Proto, Antonio; Lewis, Liam; Iacopino, Daniela

2017-08-01

Au nanorods were used as an alternative to commonly used Ag nanoparticles as Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) probes for identification of dye composition of blue BIC ballpoint pens. When used in combination with Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), Au nanorod colloids allowed identification of the major dye components of the BIC pen ink, otherwise not identifiable by normal Raman spectroscopy. Thanks to their enhanced chemical stability compared to Ag colloids, Au nanorods provided stable and reproducible SERS signals and allowed easy identification of phthalocyanine and triarylene dyes in the pen ink mixture. These findings were supported by FTIR and MALDI analyses, also performed on the pen ink. Furthermore, the self-assembly of Au nanorods into large area ordered superstructures allowed identification of BIC pen traces. SERS spectra of good intensity and high reproducibility were obtained using Au nanorod vertical arrays, due to the high density of hot spots and morphological reproducibility of these superstructures. These results open the way to the employment of SERS for fast screening analysis and for quantitative analysis of pens and faded pens which are relevant for the fields of forensic and art conservation sciences.

Functionality of a novel follitropin alfa pen injector: results from human factor interactions by patients and nurses.

PubMed

Saunders, Helen; de la Fuente Bitaine, Laura; Eftekhar, Chriss; Howles, Colin M; Glaser, Johanna; Hoja, Tina; Arriagada, Pablo

2018-06-01

The main objective of this user experience testing study was to evaluate the impact of human factors on the use of a disposable pen containing follitropin alfa by patients and nurses with special focus on the convenience, safety and ease of use, in different types of stimulation protocols. Infertile women trying to conceive, and specialist nurses were recruited across 6 European countries. In total 18 patients and 19 nurses took part in the testing, which included both nurse-patient pairings and in-depth interviews. A standardized list of expected and pre-defined critical steps according to the Instructions for Use (IFU), was used to assess the correct handling of the pen. During the user experience testing, no critical errors, related to the use of the pen, which could affect the success of the injection process were identified. In general, both nurses and patients found the pen very easy to learn, use and would be confident using the pen for self-injection. Nurses also found the pen very easy to train the patients. The study provides valuable information on the pen from both patient and nurse perspectives in different simulated scenarios reflecting standard practice.

Examining Factors That Impact Inpatient Management of Diabetes and the Role of Insulin Pen Devices.

PubMed

Smallwood, Chelsea; Lamarche, Danièle; Chevrier, Annie

2017-02-01

Insulin administration in the acute care setting is an integral component of inpatient diabetes management. Although some institutions have moved to insulin pen devices, many acute care settings continue to employ the vial and syringe method of insulin administration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of insulin pen implementation in the acute care setting on patients, healthcare workers and health resource utilization. A review of published literature, including guidelines, was conducted to identify how insulin pen devices in the acute care setting may impact inpatient diabetes management. Previously published studies have revealed that insulin pen devices have the potential to improve inpatient management through better glycemic control, increased adherence and improved self-management education. Furthermore, insulin pen devices may result in cost savings and improved safety for healthcare workers. There are benefits to the use of insulin pen devices in acute care and, as such, their implementation should be considered. Copyright © 2016 Becton Dickinson Canada Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Results of the First Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) GC-MS Coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buch, Arnaud; Pinnick, Veronica; Szopa, Cyril; Danell, Ryan; Grand, Noel; Van Amerom, Friso; Glavin, Daniel; Freissinet, Caroline; Humeau, Olivier; Coll, Patrice; Arevalo, Ricardo; Stalport, Fabien; Brinckerhoff, William; Steininger, Harald; Goesmann, Fred; Mahaffy, Paul; Raulin, Francois

2014-11-01

The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) aboard the ExoMars rover will be a key analytical tool in providing chemical (molecular) information from the solid samples collected by the rover, with a particular focus on the char-acterization of the organic content. The core of the MOMA instrument is a gas chromatograph coupled with a mass spectrometer (GC-MS) which provides the unique capability to characterize a broad range of compounds, including both of volatile and non-volatile species. Samples will be crushed and deposited into sample cups seated in a rotating carousel. Soil samples will be analyzed either by UV laser desorption / ionization (LDI) or pyrolysis gas chromatography ion trap mass spectrometry (pyr-GC-ITMS).The French GC brassboard was coupled to the US ion trap mass spectrometer brassboard in a flight-like con-figuration for several coupling campains. The MOMA GC setup is based on the SAM heritage design with a He reservoir and 4 separate analytical modules including traps, columns and Thermal Conductivity Detectors. Solid samples are sealed and heated in this setup using a manual tapping station, designed and built at MPS in Germany, for GC-MS analysis. The gaseous species eluting from the GC are then ionized by an electron impact ionization source in the MS chamber and analyzed by the linear ion trap mass spectrometer. Volatile and non-volatile compounds were injected in the MOMA instrumental suite. Both of these compounds classes were detected by the TCD and by the MS. MS signal (total ion current) and single mass spectra by comparison with the NIST library, gave us an unambiguous confirmation of these identifications. The mass spectra arise from an average of 10 mass spectra averaged around a given time point in the total ion chromatogram.Based on commercial instrument, the MOMA requirement for sensitivity in the GC-MS mode for organic molecules is 1 pmol. In this test, sensitivity was determined for the GC TCD and MS response to a dilution series containing isopropanol, hexane and benzene deposited onto silica beads in the MOMA oven. Generally, the MS was found to be 5 to10 times more sensitive than the GC TCD for hexane and benzene respectively.

Vegetation survey of PEN Branch wetlands

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

A survey was conducted of vegetation along Pen Branch Creek at Savannah River Site (SRS) in support of K-Reactor restart. Plants were identified to species by overstory, understory, shrub, and groundcover strata. Abundance was also characterized and richness and diversity calculated. Based on woody species basal area, the Pen Branch delta was the most impacted, followed by the sections between the reactor and the delta. Species richness for shrub and groundcover strata were also lowest in the delta. No endangered plant species were found. Three upland pine areas were also sampled. In support of K Reactor restart, this report summarizesmore » a study of the wetland vegetation along Pen Branch. Reactor effluent enters Indian Grove Branch and then flows into Pen Branch and the Pen Branch Delta.« less

Vegetation survey of PEN Branch wetlands

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1991-01-01

A survey was conducted of vegetation along Pen Branch Creek at Savannah River Site (SRS) in support of K-Reactor restart. Plants were identified to species by overstory, understory, shrub, and groundcover strata. Abundance was also characterized and richness and diversity calculated. Based on woody species basal area, the Pen Branch delta was the most impacted, followed by the sections between the reactor and the delta. Species richness for shrub and groundcover strata were also lowest in the delta. No endangered plant species were found. Three upland pine areas were also sampled. In support of K Reactor restart, this report summarizesmore » a study of the wetland vegetation along Pen Branch. Reactor effluent enters Indian Grove Branch and then flows into Pen Branch and the Pen Branch Delta.« less

Effect of stray electric fields on cooling of center of mass motion of levitated graphite flakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagornykh, Pavel; Coppock, Joyce; Kane, Bruce

2015-03-01

Levitation of charged multilayer graphene flakes in a quadrupole ion trap provides a unique way to study graphene in isolated conditions. Cooling of a flake in such a setup is necessary for high vacuum measurements of the flake and is achieved by using a parametric feedback scheme. We present data showing the strong dependence of the cooling of the flake's center of mass motion on the stray electric fields. We achieve this by using auxiliary electrodes to shift the position of the trap center in space. Once the point of minimum interaction between the stray fields and the particle is found (leading to cooling of the flake motion to temperatures below 20K at pressure of 10-7 Torr), we can estimate charge and mass of the flake by observing quantized discharge of the particle and measure transient dynamics of the center of mass motion by turning the cooling off and on. As an additional benefit, the behavior of the flake away from the optimum trap position can be used to quantify stray fields' effect on the particle motion by measuring its spinning orientation and frequency dependence on offset from the optimum position.

A dark-line two-dimensional magneto-optical trap of 85Rb atoms with high optical depth.

PubMed

Zhang, Shanchao; Chen, J F; Liu, Chang; Zhou, Shuyu; Loy, M M T; Wong, G K L; Du, Shengwang

2012-07-01

We describe the apparatus of a dark-line two-dimensional (2D) magneto-optical trap (MOT) of (85)Rb cold atoms with high optical depth (OD). Different from the conventional configuration, two (of three) pairs of trapping laser beams in our 2D MOT setup do not follow the symmetry axes of the quadrupole magnetic field: they are aligned with 45° angles to the longitudinal axis. Two orthogonal repumping laser beams have a dark-line volume in the longitudinal axis at their cross over. With a total trapping laser power of 40 mW and repumping laser power of 18 mW, we obtain an atomic OD up to 160 in an electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) scheme, which corresponds to an atomic-density-length product NL = 2.05 × 10(15) m(-2). In a closed two-state system, the OD can become as large as more than 600. Our 2D MOT configuration allows full optical access of the atoms in its longitudinal direction without interfering with the trapping and repumping laser beams spatially. Moreover, the zero magnetic field along the longitudinal axis allows the cold atoms maintain a long ground-state coherence time without switching off the MOT magnetic field, which makes it possible to operate the MOT at a high repetition rate and a high duty cycle. Our 2D MOT is ideal for atomic-ensemble-based quantum optics applications, such as EIT, entangled photon pair generation, optical quantum memory, and quantum information processing.

Stocking density, milking duration, and lying times of lactating cows on Canadian freestall dairy farms.

PubMed

Charlton, G L; Haley, D B; Rushen, J; de Passillé, A M

2014-05-01

Lying time is an important measure of cow comfort, and the lying behavior of dairy cattle can now be recorded automatically with the use of accelerometers. To assess the effect that stall stocking density and the time that cows spend away from the home pen being milked has on the lying behavior of Holstein cattle, a total of 111 commercial freestall dairy farms were visited in Canada. Accelerometers were used to automatically record the lying behavior of 40 focal cows per farm. Total duration of lying, lying bout frequency, and the mean duration of lying bouts were calculated. Pen population was the total number of cows in the pen. To calculate stall stocking density (%) the number of cows in the pen and the number of useable stalls were counted and multiplied by 100, and the length × width of the pen was divided by the number of cows in the pen to calculate area/cow (m(2)). Time away from the pen per day was recorded from when the first cow in each pen was taken out of the home pen for milking until the last cow returned to the home pen after milking, and this time was multiplied by daily milking frequency. The median value for lying duration at the farm level was 10.6h/d, with 10.5 lying bouts/d, and a median lying bout duration of 1.2h. Stall stocking density ranged from 52.2 to 160.0%, with very few farms (7%) stocking at greater than 120%. Although stall stocking density was not significantly correlated with lying behavior, the results showed that no farm with stocking density greater that 100% achieved an average herd lying duration of 12h/d or higher, whereas 21.6% of farms with a stocking density of 100% or less did achieve the target lying time of ≥ 12 h/d, as recommended by the Canadian Code of Practice (χ(2)=4.86, degrees of freedom = 1). Area/cow (m(2)) was not correlated with any aspect of lying behavior, but regardless of space per cow, pen population was correlated with daily frequency and duration of lying bouts. As the number of cows in the pen increased, lying daily bout frequency increased (correlation coefficient = 0.24) and lying bout duration decreased (correlation coefficient = -0.30). Lying behavior was affected by the time the cows were away from the pen being milked. When cows were away from the pen for longer than 3.7h/d, no farm achieved the recommended herd median lying time of 12h/d or longer. These results suggest that providing 1 stall for each cow in the pen and minimizing time away from the pen are important factors if cattle are to achieve the recommended daily lying duration of 12h/d. Copyright © 2014 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Scaled experimental investigation of the moderation of auroral cyclotron emissions by background plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McConville, S. L.; Speirs, D. C.; Gillespie, K. M.; Phelps, A. D. R.; Cross, A. W.; Koepke, M. E.; Whyte, C. G.; Matheson, K.; Robertson, C. W.; Cairns, R. A.; Vorgul, I.; Bingham, R.; Kellett, B. J.; Ronald, K.

2012-04-01

Scaled laboratory experiments have been conducted at Strathclyde University [1,2] to further the understanding of the naturally occurring generation of Auroral Kilometric Radiation (AKR) in the Earth's polar magnetosphere. At an altitude of around 3200km there exists a region of partial plasma depletion (the auroral density cavity), through which electrons descend towards the Earth's atmosphere and are subject to magnetic compression. Due to conservation of the magnetic moment these electrons sacrifice parallel velocity for perpendicular velocity resulting in a horseshoe shaped distribution in velocity space which is unstable to the cyclotron maser instability [3,4]. The radiation is emitted at frequencies extending down to the local electron cyclotron frequency with a peak in emission at ~300kHz. The wave propagation is in the X-mode with powers ~109W corresponding to radiation efficiencies of 1% of the precipitated electron kinetic energy [5]. The background plasma frequency within the auroral density cavity is approximately 9kHz corresponding to an electron plasma density ~106m-3. Previous laboratory experiments at Strathclyde have studied cyclotron radiation emission from electron beams which have horseshoe shaped velocity distributions. Radiation measurements showed emissions in X-like modes with powers ~20kW and efficiencies ~1-2%, coinciding with both theoretical and numerical predictions [6-9] and magnetospheric studies. To enhance the experimental reproduction of the magnetospheric environment a Penning trap was designed and incorporated into the existing apparatus [10]. The trap was placed in the wave generation region where the magnetic field would be maintained at ~0.21T. The trap allowed a background plasma to be generated and its characteristics were studied using a plasma probe. The plasma had a significant impact on the radiation generated, introducing increasingly sporadic behaviour with increasing density. The power and efficiency of the radiation generated was lower than with no plasma present. Plasma diagnostics established the plasma frequency on the order of 150-300MHz and electron density ranging from ~1014-1015m-3, whilst the cyclotron frequency of the electrons within the Penning trap was 5.87GHz giving fce/fpe ~19-40, comparable to the auroral density cavity. Numerical simulations coinciding with this part of the experimental research program are currently being carried out using the VORPAL code. Details of these simulations will be presented in a separate paper [Speirs et al] at this meeting. McConville SL et al 2008, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion, 50, 074010 Ronald et al 2011, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion, 53, 074015 Bingham R and Cairns RA, 2002, Phys. Scr., T98, 160-162 Ergun RE et al, 1998, Geophys. Res. Lett., 25, 2061 Gurnett DA et al, 1974, J. Geophys. Res., 79, 4227-4238 Cairns RA et al, 2011, Phys. Plasmas, 18, 022902 Gillespie KM et al, 2008, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion, 50, 124038 Speirs et al 2010, Phys. Plasmas, 17, 056501 Vorgul et al 2011, Phys. Plasmas, 18, 056501 McConville SL et al 2011, Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion, 53, 124020

Analysis of the NovoTwist pen needle in comparison with conventional screw-thread needles.

PubMed

Aye, Tandy

2011-11-01

Administration of insulin via a pen device may be advantageous over a vial and syringe system. Hofman and colleagues introduce a new insulin pen needle, the NovoTwist, to simplify injections to a small group of children and adolescents. Their overall preferences and evaluation of the handling of the needle are reported in the study. This new needle has the potential to ease administration of insulin via a pen device that may increase both the use of a pen device and adherence to insulin therapy. © 2011 Diabetes Technology Society.

Technical note: whole-pen assessments of nutrient excretion and digestibility from dairy replacement heifers housed in sand-bedded freestalls.

PubMed

Coblentz, W K; Hoffman, P C; Esser, N M; Bertram, M G

2013-10-01

Our objectives were to describe and test refined procedures for quantifying excreta produced from whole pens of dairy heifers. Previous research efforts attempting to make whole-pen measurements of excreta output have been complicated by the use of organic bedding, which requires cumbersome analytical techniques to quantify excreta apart from the bedding. Research pens equipped with sand-bedded freestalls offer a unique opportunity for refinement of whole-pen fecal collection methods, primarily because sand-bedded freestall systems contain no organic bedding; therefore, concentrations of ash within the manure, sand, and feces can be used to correct for contamination of manure by sand bedding. This study was conducted on a subset of heifers from a larger production-scale feeding trial evaluating ensiled eastern gamagrass [Tripsacum dactyloides (L.) L.] haylage (EGG) that was incorporated into a corn silage/alfalfa haylage-based blended diet at rates of 0, 9.1, 18.3, or 27.4% of total DM. The diet without EGG also was offered on a limit-fed basis. Eighty Holstein dairy heifers were blocked (heavy weight, 424 ± 15.9 kg; light weight, 324 ± 22.4 kg) and then assigned to 10 individual pens containing 8 heifers/pen. One pen per block was assigned to each of the 5 research diets, and whole-pen fecal collections were conducted twice for each pen. Grab fecal samples also were gathered from individual heifers within each pen, and subsequent analysis of these whole-pen composites allowed reasonable estimates of OM and NDF excreta output. Under the conditions of our experimental design, pooled SEM for the excreta DM, OM, NDF, and NDF (ash corrected) output were 0.113, 0.085, 0.093, and 0.075 kg·heifer(-1)·d(-1), respectively. For DM excretion, this represented about one-third of the SEM reported for previous whole-pen collections from bedded-pack housing systems. Subsequent calculations of apparent DM and OM digestibilities indicated that the technique was sensitive, and linear trends (P ≤ 0.027) associated with the inclusion rates of EGG within the diet were detected. This technique allows estimation of apparent diet digestibilities on multiple animals simultaneously, thereby mitigating the need for isolating individual animals to obtain digestibility coefficients. The approach appears viable but requires hand labor for collections of multiple pens and thorough mixing of large volumes of manure as well as analytical corrections for sand ingested by lounging heifers.

Experimental generation of partially coherent beams with different complex degrees of coherence.

PubMed

Wang, Fei; Liu, Xianlong; Yuan, Yangsheng; Cai, Yangjian

2013-06-01

We established an experimental setup for generating partially coherent beams with different complex degrees of coherence, and we report experimental generation of an elliptical Gaussian Schell-model (GSM) beam and a Laguerre-GSM beam for the first time. It has been demonstrated experimentally that an elliptical GSM beam and a Laguerre-GSM beam produce an elliptical beam spot and a dark hollow beam spot in the focal plane (or in the far field), respectively, which agrees with theoretical predictions. Our results are useful for beam shaping and particle trapping.

Use of fish community data to evaluate restoration success of a riparian stream

Treesearch

Michael H. Paller; Marcel J.M. Reichert; John M. Dean; John C. Seigle

2000-01-01

From 1985 to 1988, stream and riparian habitats in Pen branch and Four Mile branch began recovering from deforestation caused by the previous release of hot water from nuclear reactors. The Pen branch corridor was replanted with wetland trees in 1995 to expedite recovery and restore the Pen branch ecosystem. Pen branch, Four Mile branch, and two relatively undisturbed...

A redesigned follitropin alfa pen injector for infertility: results of a market research study

PubMed Central

Abbotts, Carole; Salgado-Braga, Cristiana; Audibert-Gros, Céline

2011-01-01

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient-learning and nurse-teaching experiences when using a redesigned prefilled, ready-to-use follitropin alfa pen injector. Methods: Seventy-three UK women of reproductive age either administering daily treatment with self-injectable gonadotropins or about to start gonadotropin treatment for infertility (aged 24–47 years; 53 self-injection-experienced and 20 self-injection-naïve) and 28 nurses from UK infertility clinics were recruited for the study. Following instruction, patients and nurses used the redesigned follitropin alfa pen to inject water into an orange and completed questionnaires to evaluate their experiences with the pen immediately after the simulated injections. Results: Most (88%, n = 64) patients found it easy to learn how to use the pen. Among injection-experienced patients, 66% (n = 35) agreed that the redesigned pen was easier to learn to use compared with their current method and 70% (n = 37) also said they would prefer its use over current devices for all injectable fertility medications. All nurses considered the redesigned pen easy to learn and believed it would be easy to teach patients how to use. Eighty-six percent (n = 24) of the nurses thought it was easy to teach patients to determine the remaining dose to be dialed and injected in a second pen if the initial dose was incomplete. Compared with other injection devices, 96% (n = 27) thought it was “much easier” to “as easy” to teach patients to use the redesigned pen. Based on ease of teaching, 68% (n = 19) of nurses would choose to teach the pen in preference to any other injection method. Almost all (93%, n = 26) nurses considered that having the same pen format for a range of injectable gonadotropins would facilitate teaching and learning self-injection. Conclusion: In this market research study with infertile patients and infertility nurses, the redesigned follitropin alfa pen was perceived as easy to learn, easy to teach how to use, and well accepted. PMID:21792303

Percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for low back pain: a randomized crossover study.

PubMed

Ghoname, E A; Craig, W F; White, P F; Ahmed, H E; Hamza, M A; Henderson, B N; Gajraj, N M; Huber, P J; Gatchel, R J

1999-03-03

Low back pain (LBP) contributes to considerable disability and lost wages in the United States. Commonly used opioid and nonopioid analgesic drugs produce adverse effects and are of limited long-term benefit in the management of this patient population. To compare the effectiveness of a novel nonpharmacologic pain therapy, percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS), with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and flexion-extension exercise therapies in patients with long-term LBP. A randomized, single-blinded, sham-controlled, crossover study from March 1997 to December 1997. An ambulatory pain management center at a university medical center. Twenty-nine men and 31 women with LBP secondary to degenerative disk disease. Four therapeutic modalities (sham-PENS, PENS, TENS, and exercise therapies) were each administered for a period of 30 minutes 3 times a week for 3 weeks. Pretreatment and posttreatment visual analog scale (VAS) scores for pain, physical activity, and quality of sleep; daily analgesic medication usage; a global patient assessment questionnaire; and Health Status Survey Short Form (SF-36). PENS was significantly more effective in decreasing VAS pain scores after each treatment than sham-PENS, TENS, and exercise therapies (after-treatment mean +/- SD VAS for pain, 3.4+/-1.4 cm, 5.5+/-1.9 cm, 5.6+/-1.9 cm, and 6.4+/-1.9 cm, respectively). The average +/- SD daily oral intake of nonopioid analgesics (2.6+/-1.4 pills per day) was decreased to 1.3+/-1.0 pills per day with PENS (P<.008) compared with 2.5+/-1.1, 2.2+/-1.0, and 2.6+/-1.2 pills per day with sham-PENS, TENS, and exercise, respectively. Compared with the other 3 modalities, 91 % of the patients reported that PENS was the most effective in decreasing their LBP. The PENS therapy was also significantly more effective in improving physical activity, quality of sleep, and sense of well-being (P<.05 for each). The SF-36 survey confirmed that PENS improved posttreatment function more than sham-PENS, TENS, and exercise. In this sham-controlled study, PENS was more effective than TENS or exercise therapy in providing short-term pain relief and improved physical function in patients with long-term LBP.

Stacking Multiple Ion Captures in The High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, James J.; Lewis, Raymond A.; Sims, William H.; Chakrabarti, Suman; Pearson, Boise; Fant, Wallace E.

2004-01-01

The High performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) research project was initiated by the Marshall Space Flight Center's propulsion Research Center to examining the fundamental behavior of low energy antiprotons. Stored antiproton would ultimately be used for experimental demonstration of basic propulsive concepts. Matter-antimatter annihilation produces approximately 10(exp 8) MJ/g nearly 10 orders of magnitude more energy per unit mass than chemical based combustion, hence NASA's interest. To achieve containment, HiPAT utilizes a type of electromagnetic bottle know as a Penning trap positioned within an ultrahigh vacuum test section. Recently, the HiPAT hardware configuration has been enhanced to facilitate the capture of multiple normal matter ion burst. This endeavor is often referred to as "stacking" and used to increasing the number of captured particles. A prior normal matter experimental effort, successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of single burst capture. The stacking process is accomplished by manipulating the electric field generated by the confinement electrodes i.e. adjusting the well potential depth. These potential well values are initially configured to maximize the quantity of captured ions per burst; shallow wells with a depth of 100 volt or less (referenced to the incoming ion beam energy) are typically selected. Once captured, a cooling interval is required to reduce the energy of trapped particles below the lower extent of the "trap door" (or leading electrode) ion emitting potential. This is necessary such that a new burst of hot ions can be introduced while preventing those already inside from escaping. The cooling time is driven by a combination of mechanisms such as synchrotron radiation, background gas scattering, and resistive damping in a time scale on the order of minutes. A potential for reducing this hold period is to actively manipulate the electric field shape, using the power supply control system, to produce a deeper potential well. The trapped ions ride down the morphing well to a lower potential energy, leaving margin to once again cycle the "trap door" capturing a new burst while limiting the number of escaping ions. By adjusting the magnitude and timing of the potential well shaping, subsequent shots from the ion beam can be captured on a time scale shorter then that dictated by the standard inject, capture and cool technique. Currently, experimental tests are under way examining the functionally of this system for stacking multiple ions bursts within the HiPAT system.

Results from an international multicenter trial evaluating the ease-of-use of and preference for a newly developed disposable injection pen for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency in treatment-naïve children and adults

PubMed Central

Pleil, Andreas M; Darendeliler, Feyza; Dörr, Helmuth G; Hutchinson, Katherine; Wollmann, Hartmut A

2014-01-01

Previous research has reported that ease of use of and preference for a delivery device are associated with greater patient compliance – an important factor in achieving optimal therapeutic results. The objective of this study was to assess the ease-of-use of a new disposable pen (GoQuick®, Pfizer, Inc.) versus the current reusable pen (GENOTROPIN Pen®, Pfizer, Inc.) to inject a daily dose of recombinant DNA origin human growth hormone, Genotropin® (somatropin) in standard practice. In this randomized, crossover, multicenter, multinational, open-label study, ease-of-use of and preference for the two pens were assessed in three treatment-naïve populations: 1) parents of very young children; 2) parent–child dyads; and 3) adults via use of a validated self-report Injection Pen Assessment Questionnaire (IPAQ) after 2 months of at-home-use experience. The primary endpoint was the proportion of participants who reported the new disposable pen to be no different from or easier to use than the current reusable pen. Safety was also assessed and reported according to local legal requirements. Of the 120 screened patients, 119 were included in the ease-of-use analysis and all were included in the safety analyses. In all, 67.2% found the new somatropin disposable pen to be no different from or easier to use than the reusable pen (95% confidence interval: 58.8–75.7). Most adverse events were mild or moderate. No deaths or device- or treatment-related serious adverse events were reported. These results suggest that improvements made to the reusable somatropin pen are tangible and recognizable to treatment-naïve patients and their caregivers, child–caregiver dyads, and adults, and may positively impact continued compliance with therapy. Registry information ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01112865. PMID:24748824

Gonococcal Resistance to β-Lactams and Tetracycline Involves Mutation in Loop 3 of the Porin Encoded at the penB Locus

PubMed Central

Gill, M. J.; Simjee, S.; Al-Hattawi, K.; Robertson, B. D.; Easmon, C. S. F.; Ison, C. A.

1998-01-01

penB is a chromosomal mutation that confers resistance to β-lactams and tetracyclines and reduced susceptibility to quinolones in Neisseria gonorrhoeae. It is linked to the porin gene (por) and requires the increased expression of an efflux pump due to mtr. Transformation of a susceptible gonococcus (strain H1) with chromosomal DNA from strain FA140 (penA mtr penB; porin serovar IB1) and conjugal transfer of a β-lactamase-expressing plasmid was used to produce isogenic strains for determination of equilibrium periplasmic penicillin concentrations by the method of Zimmermann and Rosselet (W. Zimmermann and A. Rosselet, Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 12:368–372, 1977). In transformants with the Mtr and PenB phenotypes, equilibrium concentrations of penicillin were reduced. DNA sequence analysis of por from isogenic penB and penB+ transformants revealed 14 sequence differences; nine of these differences resulted in amino acid changes. Three amino acid changes were found in the putative gonococcal equivalent of the pore-constricting loop 3 of Escherichia coli OmpF. Two of these changes (Gly-101–Ala-102→Asp-Asp) result in an increased negative charge at this position in por loop 3. PCR products comprising the complete por gene from strain FA140 were transformed into strain H1-2 (penA mtr; porin serovar IB-3), with the resulting transformants having the antibiotic susceptibility phenotype associated with penB. penB-like mutations were found in loop 3 of clinical isolates of gonococci with chromosomally mediated resistance to penicillin. We conclude that penB is a mutation in loop 3 of por that reduces porin permeability to hydrophilic antibiotics and plays an important role in the development of chromosomally mediated resistance to penicillin and tetracycline in gonococci. PMID:9797206

Digital assist: A comparison of two note-taking methods (traditional vs. digital pen) for students with emotional behavioral disorders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rody, Carlotta A.

High school biology classes traditionally follow a lecture format to disseminate content and new terminology. With the inclusive practices of No Child Left Behind, the Common Core State Standards, and end-of-course exam requirement for high school diplomas, classes include a large range of achievement levels and abilities. Teachers assume, often incorrectly, that students come to class prepared to listen and take notes. In a standard diploma, high school biology class in a separate school for students with emotional and behavioral disorders, five students participated in a single-subject, alternating treatment design study that compared the use of regular pens and digital pens to take notes during 21 lecture sessions. Behavior measures were threefold between the two interventions: (a) quantity of notes taken per minute during lectures, (b) quantity of notes or notations taken during review pauses, and (c) percent of correct responses on the daily comprehension quizzes. The study's data indicated that two students were inclined to take more lecture notes when using the digital pen. Two students took more notes with the regular pen. One student demonstrated no difference in her performance with either pen type. Both female students took more notes per minute, on average, than the three males regardless of pen type. During the review pause, three of the five students only added notes or notations to their notes when using the regular pen. The remaining two students did not add to their notes. Quiz scores differed in favor of the regular pen. All five participants earned higher scores on quizzes given during regular pen sessions. However, the differences were minor, and recommendations are made for specific training in note-taking, the pause strategy, and digital pen fluency which may produce different results for both note-taking and quiz scores.

Microclimatic conditions and their effects on sheep behavior during a live export shipment from Australia to the Middle East.

PubMed

Pines, M K; Phillips, C J C

2013-09-01

The microclimate can potentially impact the health and welfare of livestock exported by ship. Within-pen microclimatic conditions were recorded and the effects of ammonia on sheep behavior investigated on a voyage from Australia to the Middle East. Ammonia, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide as well as wet-bulb, dry-bulb, and dew-point temperature and air speed were mapped in 20 open-deck focal pens, with the focus on the behavior and location of a marked sheep in each pen. Air speed was highly variable in most pens, with pockets of high but transient concentrations of ammonia (30.7 to 44.2 mg/m(3)) in 20% of pens that had no or minimal air flow. Carbon dioxide concentrations varied in some pens, but overall concentrations of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide were low. Sheep in pens previously identified to have high ammonia concentrations, high wet-bulb temperatures, and low wind speed stood longer (P = 0.003) and spent less time feeding (P = 0.01) and ruminating (P = 0.004) than those in pens previously identified with low ammonia, low wet-bulb temperature, and high wind speed. Moreover, sheep exposed to increased ammonia concentrations held their head higher (P = 0.004) to avoid the greater ammonia concentrations at lower heights, and these sheep had more conjunctivitis (P < 0.001). Sheep movement around the pen was limited. Increased time spent lying down (P = 0.04) and more rhythmical behavior in the second half of the voyage indicated that the sheep adjusted to shipboard conditions over time. It is concluded that high, transient concentrations of ammonia existed in some pens, which adversely affected the behavior of sheep.

Potential Insulin Underdelivery from Prefilled and Reusable Insulin Pens in Cases of Premature Needle Withdrawal: A Laboratory Evaluation.

PubMed

Joubert, Michael; Haddouche, Aini; Morera, Julia; Rod, Anne; Reznik, Yves

2015-10-01

Devices for the treatment of diabetes are not always used as recommended in good practice. Our aim was to evaluate potential insulin underdelivery in cases of premature needle withdrawal after injection with insulin pens, which is a commonly observed misuse, especially in young type 1 diabetes patients. Potential insulin underdelivery was evaluated using five prefilled insulin pens (lispro Kwikpen(®) [Eli Lilly, Indianapolis, IN], aspart Flexpen(®) [Novo Nordisk, Bagsvaerd, Denmark], glulisine Solostar(®) [Sanofi, Paris, France], detemir Flexpen(®) [Novo Nordisk], and glargine Solostar(®) [Sanofi]) and three reusable insulin pens (Humapen(®) Luxura HD with lispro cartridge [Eli Lilly], Novopen(®) Echo with aspart and detemir cartridge [Novo Nordisk], and JuniorSTAR(®) with glulisine and glargine cartridge [Sanofi]) in a laboratory. For each pen and insulin, we simulated premature needle withdrawal 2 and 3 s after an insulin injection of 5 and 10 units, respectively. With prefilled pens, mean potential insulin underdelivery was 0.43±0.30 and 0.44±0.32 units after injection of 5 and 10 units, respectively. With reusable pens, mean potential insulin underdelivery was lower (0.29±0.13 and 0.29±0.12 units after injection of 5 and 10 units, respectively; P<0.001). The results were heterogeneous across pens, ranging from 2.6%/1.6% to 20.2%/8.6% of the selected insulin dose for prefilled/reusable pens, respectively (P<0.001). Potential insulin underdelivery varies across prefilled and reusable insulin pens but may represent up to one-fifth of the total injected dose. Clinicians should be aware of the potential consequences of premature needle withdrawal and should reinforce insulin injection education.

Retrospective review of intravenous pentamidine for Pneumocystis pneumonia prophylaxis in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

PubMed

Diri, R; Anwer, F; Yeager, A; Krishnadasan, R; McBride, A

2016-02-01

Patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) are at risk of numerous opportunistic infections. Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) is a potentially life-threatening infection that can develop in immunocompromised individuals. Current prophylaxis for PJP includes trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), dapsone, atovaquone, or inhaled pentamidine (PEN), often with varying breakthrough rates. The use of intravenous (IV) PEN for PJP prophylaxis has been evaluated in pediatric patients. A single-institution retrospective review of electronic medical records was conducted for patients who underwent allo-HSCT between January 2001 and May 2013 and who had received at least 1 dose of IV PEN for PJP prophylaxis. Data collected included patient demographics, diagnosis, previous chemotherapy, pre-transplant conditioning regimen, other medications, microbiology test results, and clinical outcomes. A total of 113 patients were included in the study. The median number of PEN doses administered per patient was 3 (range 1-23). IV PEN was primary PJP prophylaxis in 74 of the patients (65%) and second-line prophylaxis in 39 (35%) post transplant, with the majority switching from oral TMP-SMX. Side effects of IV PEN administration were minimal. No patients who received IV PEN prophylaxis developed PJP infection. No case of PJP was seen in patients who received other agents for PJP prophylaxis. This retrospective study showed that IV PEN is very effective and well-tolerated prophylaxis for PJP; IV PEN can be considered a favorable alternative for PJP in situations where other agents might be contraindicated. Our findings provide strong support for prospective studies of IV PEN for PJP prophylaxis in adult HSCT recipients. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Intraoperative assessment of intraocular pressure in vitrectomized air-filled and fluid-filled eyes.

PubMed

Moon, Chan Hee; Choi, Kyung Seek; Rhee, Mi Ri; Lee, Sung Jin

2013-11-01

To ascertain the difference of intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement between vitrectomized air-filled and fluid-filled eyes. Thirty-one eyes of 31 consecutive patients who underwent conventional vitrectomy and intraocular gas tamponade were assessed. After vitrectomy, IOP of the fluid-filled eyes was measured by Tono-Pen. Thereafter, fluid-air exchange was performed, and IOP of the air-filled eyes was measured again. The IOP within each fluid- and air-filled eye was varied by selecting settings on the vitrectomy system, from 10 to 50 mmHg with 5-mmHg increments. Postoperatively, IOP was assessed by both Tono-Pen and Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT). Linear and nonlinear regression analyses were conducted between intraoperatively measured Tono-Pen readings and actual IOPs. Bland-Altman plot was used to assess the agreements between postoperatively measured Tono-Pen readings and GAT readings. The discrepancy between Tono-Pen readings and actual IOP in fluid-filled eyes was not significant, except for the profound high pressures over 45 mmHg. However, Tono-Pen readings in air-filled eyes were significantly lower than actual IOPs in all ranges, and Tono-Pen increasingly underestimates IOP at higher levels. Intraoperative Tono-Pen readings were correlated significantly with actual IOP and a quadratic equation evidenced the best fit (R(2) = 0.996). Postoperatively, difference of the measurements between Tono-Pen and GAT was not significant. Tono-Pen and GAT significantly underestimate actual IOP in air-filled eyes. It should be considered that actual IOP would be greater than the measured IOP in gas-filled eyes, even though the IOP is measured as normal. © 2013 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

An automated psychoacoustic testing apparatus for use in cats.

PubMed

Benovitski, Yuri B; Blamey, Peter J; Rathbone, Graeme D; Fallon, James B

2014-03-01

Animal behavioral studies make a significant contribution to hearing research and provide vital information which is not available from human subjects. Animal psychoacoustics is usually extremely time consuming and labor intensive; in addition, animals may become stressed, especially if restraints or negative reinforcers such as electric shocks are used. We present a novel behavioral experimental system that was developed to allow efficient animal training in response to acoustic stimuli. Cats were required to perform a relatively simple task of moving toward and away from the device depending on whether the members of a tone pair were different or the same in frequency (go/no-go task). The experimental setup proved to be effective, with all animals (N = 7) performing at above 90% correct on an easy task. Animals were trained within 2-4 weeks and then generated a total of 150-200 trials per day, distributed within approximately 8 self initiated sessions. Data collected using this system were stable over 1 week and repeatable over long test periods (14 weeks). Measured frequency discrimination thresholds from 3 animals at 3 different reference frequencies were comparable with previously published results. The main advantages of the system are: relatively simple setup; large amounts of data can be generated without the need of researcher supervision; multiple animals can be tested simultaneously without removal from home pens; and no electric shocks or restraints are required. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of calcium hydroxide application to cattle feedlot pens on Escherichia coli O157:H7 and total E. coli in pen surface manure

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Introduction: Cattle and beef products are sources of the pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7. Lime products have a long history of use in cattle production as disinfectants for sick pens, calving pens, and muddy areas, to control the spread of diseases. Lime may also be useful as a preharvest trea...

U.S.-MEXICO BORDER PROGRAM ARIZONA BORDER STUDY--STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE FOR LIGHT PEN OPERATION AND VERIFICATION OF SCANNED BAR CODES (UA-D-33.0)

EPA Science Inventory

The purpose of this SOP is to define the steps needed to operate the light pens, and verify the values produced by light pens used in the Arizona NHEXAS project and the Border study. Keywords: data; equipment; light pens.

The U.S.-Mexico Border Program is sponsored by the Envir...

Experimental research on showing automatic disappearance pen handwriting based on spectral imaging technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Yi; Xu, Lei; Liu, Ningning; Huang, Wei; Xu, Xiaojing

2016-10-01

Purpose to find an efficient, non-destructive examining method for showing the disappearing words after writing with automatic disappearance pen. Method Using the imaging spectrometer to show the potential disappearance words on paper surface according to different properties of reflection absorbed by various substances in different bands. Results the disappeared words by using different disappearance pens to write on the same paper or the same disappearance pen to write on different papers, both can get good show results through the use of the spectral imaging examining methods. Conclusion Spectral imaging technology can show the disappearing words after writing by using the automatic disappearance pen.

All-optical spinor Bose-Einstein condensation and the spinor dynamics-driven atom laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lundblad, Nathan Eric

Optical trapping as a viable means of exploring the physics of ultracold dilute atomic gases has revealed a new spectrum of physical phenomena. In particular, macroscopic and sudden occupation of the ground state below a critical temperature---a phenomenon known as Bose-Einstein condensation---has become an even richer system for the study of quantum mechanics, ultracold collisions, and many-body physics in general. Optical trapping liberates the spin degree of the BEC, making the order parameter vectorial ('spinor BEC'), as opposed to the scalar order of traditional magnetically trapped condensates. The work described within is divided into two main efforts. The first encompasses the all-optical creation of a Bose-Einstein condensate in rubidium vapor. An all-optical path to spinor BEC (as opposed to transfer to an optical trap from a magnetic trap condensate) was desired both for the simplicity of the experimental setup and also for the potential gains in speed of creation; evaporative cooling, the only known path to dilute-gas condensation, works only as efficiently as the rate of elastic collisions in the gas, a rate that starts out much higher in optical traps. The first all-optical BEC was formed elsewhere in 2001; the years following saw many groups worldwide seeking to create their own version. Our own all-optical spinor BEC, made with a single-beam dipole trap formed by a focused CO2 laser, is described here, with particular attention paid to trap loading, measurement of trap parameters, and the use of a novel 780 nm high-power laser system. The second part describes initial experiments performed with the nascent condensate. The spinor properties of the condensate are documented, and a measurement is made of the density-dependent rate of spin mixing in the condensate. In addition, we demonstrate a novel dual-beam atom laser formed by outcoupling oppositely polarized components of the condensate, whose populations have been coherently evolved through spin dynamics. We drive coherent spin-mixing evolution through adiabatic compression of the initially weak trap. Such dual beams, nominally number-correlated through the angular momentum-conserving collision 2m0 ⇋ m+1 + m-1 have been proposed as tools to explore entanglement and squeezing in Bose-Einstein condensates.

Surface chemical structure of poly(ethylene naphthalate) films during degradation in low-pressure high-frequency plasma treatments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamata, Noritsugu; Yuji, Toshifumi; Thungsuk, Nuttee; Arunrungrusmi, Somchai; Chansri, Pakpoom; Kinoshita, Hiroyuki; Mungkung, Narong

2018-06-01

The surface chemical structure of poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN) films treated with a low-pressure, high-frequency plasma was investigated by storing in a box at room temperature to protect the PEN film surface from dust. The functional groups on the PEN film surface changed over time. The functional groups of –C=O, –COH, and –COOH were abundant in the Ar + O2 mixture gas plasma-treated PEN samples as compared with those in untreated PEN samples. The changes occurred rapidly after 2 d following the plasma treatment, reaching steady states 8 d after the treatment. Hydrophobicity had an inverse relationship with the concentration of these functional groups on the surface. Thus, the effect of the low-pressure high-frequency plasma treatment on PEN varies as a function of storage time. This means that radical oxygen and oxygen molecules are clearly generated in the plasma, and this is one index to confirm that radical reaction has definitely occurred between the gas and the PEN film surface with a low-pressure high-frequency plasma.

Precise determination of the 113Cd fourth-forbidden non-unique β -decay Q value

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gamage, N. D.; Bollen, G.; Eibach, M.; Gulyuz, K.; Izzo, C.; Kandegedara, R. M. E. B.; Redshaw, M.; Ringle, R.; Sandler, R.; Valverde, A. A.

2016-08-01

Using Penning trap mass spectrometry, we have performed a precise determination of the Q value for the highly forbidden β decay of 113Cd. An independent measurement of the Q value fixes the end-point energy in a fit to the 113Cdβ -decay spectrum. This provides a strong test of systematics for detectors that have observed this decay, such as those developed for β β -decay searches in cadmium and other isotopes. It will also aid in the theoretical description of the β -decay spectrum. The result, Qβ=323.89 (27 ) keV , agrees at the 1.3 σ level with the value obtained from the 2012 Atomic Mass Evaluation [Chin. Phys. C 36, 1603 (2012), 10.1088/1674-1137/36/12/003], but is a factor of almost four more precise. We also report improved values for the atomic masses of 113Cd,113In, and 112Cd.

Observation of the isotope effect in sub-kelvin reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavert-Ofir, Etay; Shagam, Yuval; Henson, Alon B.; Gersten, Sasha; Kłos, Jacek; Żuchowski, Piotr S.; Narevicius, Julia; Narevicius, Edvardas

2014-04-01

Quantum phenomena in the translational motion of reactants, which are usually negligible at room temperature, can dominate reaction dynamics at low temperatures. In such cold conditions, even the weak centrifugal force is enough to create a potential barrier that keeps reactants separated. However, reactions may still proceed through tunnelling because, at low temperatures, wave-like properties become important. At certain de Broglie wavelengths, the colliding particles can become trapped in long-lived metastable scattering states, leading to sharp increases in the total reaction rate. Here, we show that these metastable states are responsible for a dramatic, order-of-magnitude-strong, quantum kinetic isotope effect by measuring the absolute Penning ionization reaction rates between hydrogen isotopologues and metastable helium down to 0.01 K. We demonstrate that measurements of a single isotope are insufficient to constrain ab initio calculations, making the kinetic isotope effect in the cold regime necessary to remove ambiguity among possible potential energy surfaces.

Vlasov Simulation of Mixing in Antihydrogen Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

So, Chukman; Fajans, Joel; Friedland, Lazar; Wurtele, Jonathan; Alpha Collaboration

2011-10-01

In the ALPHA apparatus, low temperature antiprotons (p) and positrons (e+) are prepared adjacent to each other in a nested Penning trap. To create trappable antihydrogen (H), the two species must be mixed such that some resultant H atoms have sub-Kelvin kinetic energy. A new simulation has been developed to study and optimize the autoresonant mixing, in ALPHA. The p dynamics are governed by their own self- field, the e+ plasma field, and the external fields. The e+ 's are handled quasi-statically with a Poisson-Boltzmann solver. p 's are handled by multiple time dependent 1D Vlasov-Poisson solvers, each representing a radial slice of the plasma. The 1D simulatiuons couple through the 2D Poisson equation. We neglect radial transport due to the strong solenoidal field. The advantages and disadvantages of different descretization schemes, comparisons of simulation with experiment, and techniques for optimizing mixing, will be presented.

Tracking Color Shift in Ballpoint Pen Ink Using Photoshop Assisted Spectroscopy: A Nondestructive Technique Developed to Rehouse a Nobel Laureate's Manuscript

PubMed Central

Wright, Kristi; Herro, Holly

2016-01-01

Many historically and culturally significant documents from the mid-to-late twentieth century were written in ballpoint pen inks, which contain light-sensitive dyes that present problems for collection custodians and paper conservators. The conservation staff at the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health, conducted a multiphase project on the chemistry and aging of ballpoint pen ink that culminated in the development of a new method to detect aging of ballpoint pen ink while examining a variety of storage environments. NLM staff determined that ballpoint pen ink color shift can be detected noninvasively using image editing software. Instructions are provided on how to detect color shift in digitized materials using a technique developed specifically for this project—Photoshop Assisted Spectroscopy.1 The study results offer collection custodians storage options for historic documents containing ballpoint pen ink. PMID:27587904

Microfabricated Fountain Pens for High-Density DNA Arrays

PubMed Central

Reese, Matthew O.; van Dam, R. Michae; Scherer, Axel; Quake, Stephen R.

2003-01-01

We used photolithographic microfabrication techniques to create very small stainless steel fountain pens that were installed in place of conventional pens on a microarray spotter. Because of the small feature size produced by the microfabricated pens, we were able to print arrays with up to 25,000 spots/cm2, significantly higher than can be achieved by other deposition methods. This feature density is sufficiently large that a standard microscope slide can contain multiple replicates of every gene in a complex organism such as a mouse or human. We tested carryover during array printing with dye solution, labeled DNA, and hybridized DNA, and we found it to be indistinguishable from background. Hybridization also showed good sequence specificity to printed oligonucleotides. In addition to improved slide capacity, the microfabrication process offers the possibility of low-cost mass-produced pens and the flexibility to include novel pen features that cannot be machined with conventional techniques. PMID:12975313

Final report of “A Detailed Study of the Physical Mechanisms Controlling CO2-Brine Capillary Trapping in the Subsurface” (University of Arizona, DE-SC0006696)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schaap, Marcel G.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) of carbon dioxide emissions generated by production or combustion of fossil fuels is a technologically viable means to reduce the build-up of CO2 in the atmosphere and oceans. Using advantages of scale and location, CCS is particularly suitable for large point sources near ubiquitous deep saline aquifers, depleted gas reservoirs, or at production reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). In the BES-funded research project, Oregon State University (OSU) carried out capillary trapping experiments with proxy fluids that mimic the properties of the scCO2/brine system under ambient temperatures and pressures, and successfully developed a unique andmore » novel x-ray compatible, high-pressure, elevated temperature setup to study the scCO2/brine system under challenging reservoir conditions. Both methodologies were applied to a variety of porous media, including synthetic (glass bead) and geologic (Bentheimer sandstone) materials. The University of Arizona (UA) developed pore-scale lattice Boltzmann (LB) models which are able to handle the experimental conditions for proxy fluids, as well as the scCO2/brine system, that are capable of simulating permeability in volumes of tens of millions of fluid elements. We reached the following summary findings (main institute indicated): 1. (OSU/UA) To understand capillary trapping in a multiphase fluid-porous medium system, the system must be analyzed from a pore-scale force balance perspective; trapping can be enhanced by manipulating wetting and nonwetting phase fluid properties. 2. (OSU) Pore-scale fluid connectivity and topology has a clear and direct effect on nonwetting phase capillary trapping efficiency. 3. (OSU) Rock type and flow regime also have a pronounced effects on capillary trapping. 4. (OSU/UA) There is a predictable relationship between NWP connectivity and NWP saturation, which allows for development of injection strategies that optimize trapping. The commonly used Land model (Land, 1968) does not predict amount of trapped NWP accurately. 5. (UA) There are ambiguities regarding the segmentation of large-volume gray-scale CT data into pore-volumes suitable for pore-scale modeling. Simulated permeabilities vary by three orders of magnitude and do not resemble observed values very well. Small-volume synchrotron-based CT data (such as produced by OSU) does not suffer significantly from segmentation ambiguities. 6. (UA) A standard properly parameterized Shan-Chen model LB model is useful for simulating porous media with proxy fluids as well as the scCO2/brine system and produces results that are consistent with tomographic observations. 7. (UA) A LB model with fluid-interactions defined by a (modified) Peng-Robinson Equation of State is able to handle the scCO2/brine system with variable solid phase wettability. This model is numerically stable at temperatures between 0 and 250 °C and pressures between 3 and 50 MPa, and produces appropriate densities above the critical point of CO2 and exhibits three-phase separation below. Based on above findings OSU and UA have proposed continued experimentation and pore-scale modeling of the scCO2/brine system. The reported research has extensively covered capillary trapping using proxy fluids, but due to limited beam-time availability we were unable to apply our high-pressure CO2 setup to sufficient variation in fluid properties, and initial scCO2 connectivity. New data will also allow us to test, calibrate and apply our LB models to reservoir conditions beyond those that are currently feasible experimentally. Such experiments and simulations will also allow us to provide information how suitable proxy fluids are for the scCO2/brine system. We believe it would be worthwhile to pursue the following new research questions: 1. What are the fundamental differences in the physics underlying capillary trapping at ambient vs. supercritical conditions? 2. Do newly developed pore-scale trapping interactions and relationships translate to continuum scales? A motivation for these questions was elaborated in “Capillary Trapping of Super-Critical CO2: Linking Pore and Continuum Scales to Verify new Relationships” that was submitted to DOE-BES in 2015.« less

One-dimensional collision carts computer model and its design ideas for productive experiential learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wee, Loo Kang

2012-05-01

We develop an Easy Java Simulation (EJS) model for students to experience the physics of idealized one-dimensional collision carts. The physics model is described and simulated by both continuous dynamics and discrete transition during collision. In designing the simulations, we discuss briefly three pedagogical considerations namely (1) a consistent simulation world view with a pen and paper representation, (2) a data table, scientific graphs and symbolic mathematical representations for ease of data collection and multiple representational visualizations and (3) a game for simple concept testing that can further support learning. We also suggest using a physical world setup augmented by simulation by highlighting three advantages of real collision carts equipment such as a tacit 3D experience, random errors in measurement and the conceptual significance of conservation of momentum applied to just before and after collision. General feedback from the students has been relatively positive, and we hope teachers will find the simulation useful in their own classes.

Trapped nonneutral plasmas, liquids, and crystals (the thermal equilibrium states)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubin, Daniel H.; O'neil, T. M.

1999-01-01

Plasmas consisting exclusively of particles with a single sign of charge (e.g., pure electron plasmas and pure ion plasmas) can be confined by static electric and magnetic fields (in a Penning trap) and also be in a state of global thermal equilibrium. This important property distinguishes these totally unneutralized plasmas from neutral and quasineutral plasmas. This paper reviews the conditions for, and the structure of, the thermal equilibrium states. Both theory and experiment are discussed, but the emphasis is decidedly on theory. It is a huge advantage to be able to use thermal equilibrium statistical mechanics to describe the plasma state. Such a description is easily obtained and complete, including for example the details of the plasma shape and microscopic order. Pure electron and pure ion plasmas are routinely confined for hours and even days, and thermal equilibrium states are observed. These plasmas can be cooled to the cryogenic temperature range, where liquid and crystal-like states are realized. The authors discuss the structure of the correlated states separately for three plasma sizes: large plasmas, in which the free energy is dominated by the bulk plasma; mesoscale plasmas, in which the free energy is strongly influenced by the surface; and Coulomb clusters, in which the number of particles is so small that the canonical ensemble is not a good approximation for the microcanonical ensemble. All three cases have been studied through numerical simulations, analytic theory, and experiment. In addition to describing the structure of the thermal equilibrium states, the authors develop a thermodynamic theory of the trapped plasma system. Thermodynamic inequalities and Maxwell relations provide useful bounds on and general relationships between partial derivatives of the various thermodynamic variables.

Data capture by digital pen in clinical trials: a qualitative and quantitative study.

PubMed

Estellat, Candice; Tubach, Florence; Costa, Yolande; Hoffmann, Isabelle; Mantz, Jean; Ravaud, Philippe

2008-05-01

To investigate the use of the digital pen (DP) system to collect data in a clinical trial. To assess the accuracy of the system in this setting. Qualitative study based on semistructured interviews and a focus group. Quantitative study comparing the DP system and a double manual data-entry system in accuracy of acquiring data by variable type (tick boxes, dates, numbers, letters). An ongoing randomised multicentric clinical trial in tertiary care in France. 27 investigators involved in the trial (anaesthetists) who did or did not include patients, 4 study monitors and the study coordinator. Six key findings emerged: 1) the DP system was easy to use; its utilisation was intuitive, even for investigators inexperienced in informatics; 2) despite its portability, the DP was not always used in front of patients; 3) the DP system did not affect patient recruitment; 4) most of the technical problems of the system occurred during setup (compatibility, password access, antivirus software); 5) the main advantage was quickness of data availability for the study coordination staff and the main hindrance was the extra time required for online verification; and 6) all investigators were ready to use the system again. The investigators had to check 16% of data obtained by the DP system during the verification step. There is no relevant difference between the number of errors for the DP and the double manual data-entry systems: 8/5022 versus 6/5022 data entries. 5 out of 8 DP-system failures were due to the intelligent character recognition system. The DP system has a good acceptability among all investigators in a clinical setting, whether they are experienced with computers or not, and a good accuracy, as compared with double manual data entry.

Optimized mounting of a polyethylene naphthalate scintillation material in a radiation detector.

PubMed

Nakamura, Hidehito; Yamada, Tatsuya; Shirakawa, Yoshiyuki; Kitamura, Hisashi; Shidara, Zenichiro; Yokozuka, Takayuki; Nguyen, Philip; Kanayama, Masaya; Takahashi, Sentaro

2013-10-01

Polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) has great potential as a scintillation material for radiation detection. Here the optimum mounting conditions to maximize the light collection efficiency from PEN in a radiation detector are discussed. To this end, we have determined light yields emitted from irradiated PEN for various optical couplings between the substrate and the photodetector, and for various substrate surface treatments. The results demonstrate that light extraction from PEN is more sensitive to the optical couplings due to its high refractive index. We also assessed the extent of radioactive impurities in PEN as background sources and found that the impurities are equivalent to the environmental background level. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neisseria cinerea with High Ceftriaxone MIC Is a Source of Ceftriaxone and Cefixime Resistance-Mediating penA Sequences in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

PubMed

Igawa, Gene; Yamagishi, Yuka; Lee, Ken-Ichi; Dorin, Misato; Shimuta, Ken; Suematsu, Hiroyuki; Nakayama, Shu-Ichi; Mikamo, Hiroshige; Unemo, Magnus; Ohnishi, Makoto

2018-03-01

Mosaic penA alleles have caused most of the cephalosporin resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae , but their evolution is mostly unknown. The penA gene from Neisseria cinerea strain AM1601 (ceftriaxone MIC, 1.0 μg/ml) caused ceftriaxone resistance (MIC, 1 μg/ml) in a ceftriaxone-susceptible gonococcal strain. The 3'-terminal half of AM1601 penA was almost identical to that of the ceftriaxone-resistant gonococcal GU140106 and FC428 strains. N. cinerea can serve as a reservoir of ceftriaxone resistance-mediating penA sequences that can be transferred to gonococci. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

DFT Modeling of Cross-Linked Polyethylene: Role of Gold Atoms and Dispersion Interactions.

PubMed

Blaško, Martin; Mach, Pavel; Antušek, Andrej; Urban, Miroslav

2018-02-08

Using DFT modeling, we analyze the concerted action of gold atoms and dispersion interactions in cross-linked polyethylene. Our model consists of two oligomer chains (PEn) with 7, 11, 15, 19, or 23 carbon atoms in each oligomer cross-linked with one to three Au atoms through C-Au-C bonds. In structures with a single gold atom the C-Au-C bond is located in the central position of the oligomer. Binding energies (BEs) with respect to two oligomer radical fragments and Au are as high as 362-489 kJ/mol depending on the length of the oligomer chain. When the dispersion contribution in PEn-Au-PEn oligomers is omitted, BE is almost independent of the number of carbon atoms, lying between 293 and 296 kJ/mol. The dispersion energy contributions to BEs in PEn-Au-PEn rise nearly linearly with the number of carbon atoms in the PEn chain. The carbon-carbon distance in the C-Au-C moiety is around 4.1 Å, similar to the bond distance between saturated closed shell chains in the polyethylene crystal. BEs of pure saturated closed shell PEn-PEn oligomers are 51-187 kJ/mol. Both Au atoms and dispersion interactions contribute considerably to the creation of nearly parallel chains of oligomers with reasonably high binding energies.

Efficacy of percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for the treatment of chronic low back pain in older adults.

PubMed

Weiner, Debra K; Rudy, Thomas E; Glick, Ronald M; Boston, J Robert; Lieber, Susan J; Morrow, Lisa A; Taylor, Stephen

2003-05-01

To determine the efficacy of a complementary analgesic modality, percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS), for the treatment of chronic low back pain (CLBP) in community-dwelling older adults. Randomized, controlled clinical trial. University of Pittsburgh Pain Evaluation and Treatment Institute. Thirty-four English speaking, community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older with CLBP of at least moderate intensity experienced every day or almost every day. Subjects were randomized to receive twice-weekly PENS and physical therapy (PT) or sham PENS and physical therapy for 6 weeks. At baseline, immediately after the 6-week intervention period, and 3 months later, the primary outcome measures pain intensity and pain-related disability were assessed. The secondary outcome measures physical performance (timed chair rise, functional reach, gait speed, static and isoinertial lifting), psychosocial factors (mood, sleep, and life control), and cognitive function (measures of attention, concentration, and mental flexibility) were also collected. Subjects randomized to PENS plus PT displayed significant reductions in pain intensity measures from pre- to posttreatment (P <.001), but the sham PENS plus PT group did not (P =.94). These pain reduction effects were maintained at 3-month follow-up. Similarly, significant reductions in pain-related disability were observed at posttreatment (P =.002) for the PENS plus PT group and were maintained at follow-up, but the sham PENS plus PT group did not show reductions in pain-related disability (P =.81). Of the secondary outcome measures, psychosocial function, timed chair rise, and isoinertial lifting endurance also improved significantly at posttreatment for the PENS plus PT group, and their improvement was sustained at 3-month follow-up, but the sham PENS plus PT did not display significant changes on these measures after treatment. This preliminary study suggests that PENS may be a promising treatment modality for community-dwelling older adults with CLBP, as demonstrated by reduction in pain intensity and self-reported disability, and improvement in mood, life control, and physical performance. Larger studies with longer duration of follow-up are needed to validate these findings and support the use of PENS in clinical practice.

Auto- and cross-power spectral analysis of dual trap optical tweezer experiments using Bayesian inference.

PubMed

von Hansen, Yann; Mehlich, Alexander; Pelz, Benjamin; Rief, Matthias; Netz, Roland R

2012-09-01

The thermal fluctuations of micron-sized beads in dual trap optical tweezer experiments contain complete dynamic information about the viscoelastic properties of the embedding medium and-if present-macromolecular constructs connecting the two beads. To quantitatively interpret the spectral properties of the measured signals, a detailed understanding of the instrumental characteristics is required. To this end, we present a theoretical description of the signal processing in a typical dual trap optical tweezer experiment accounting for polarization crosstalk and instrumental noise and discuss the effect of finite statistics. To infer the unknown parameters from experimental data, a maximum likelihood method based on the statistical properties of the stochastic signals is derived. In a first step, the method can be used for calibration purposes: We propose a scheme involving three consecutive measurements (both traps empty, first one occupied and second empty, and vice versa), by which all instrumental and physical parameters of the setup are determined. We test our approach for a simple model system, namely a pair of unconnected, but hydrodynamically interacting spheres. The comparison to theoretical predictions based on instantaneous as well as retarded hydrodynamics emphasizes the importance of hydrodynamic retardation effects due to vorticity diffusion in the fluid. For more complex experimental scenarios, where macromolecular constructs are tethered between the two beads, the same maximum likelihood method in conjunction with dynamic deconvolution theory will in a second step allow one to determine the viscoelastic properties of the tethered element connecting the two beads.

Laser heating tunability by off-resonant irradiation of gold nanoparticles.

PubMed

Hormeño, Silvia; Gregorio-Godoy, Paula; Pérez-Juste, Jorge; Liz-Marzán, Luis M; Juárez, Beatriz H; Arias-Gonzalez, J Ricardo

2014-01-29

Temperature changes in the vicinity of a single absorptive nanostructure caused by local heating have strong implications in technologies such as integrated electronics or biomedicine. Herein, the temperature changes in the vicinity of a single optically trapped spherical Au nanoparticle encapsulated in a thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) shell (Au@pNIPAM) are studied in detail. Individual beads are trapped in a counter-propagating optical tweezers setup at various laser powers, which allows the overall particle size to be tuned through the phase transition of the thermo-responsive shell. The experimentally obtained sizes measured at different irradiation powers are compared with average size values obtained by dynamic light scattering (DLS) from an ensemble of beads at different temperatures. The size range and the tendency to shrink upon increasing the laser power in the optical trap or by increasing the temperature for DLS agree with reasonable accuracy for both approaches. Discrepancies are evaluated by means of simple models accounting for variations in the thermal conductivity of the polymer, the viscosity of the aqueous solution and the absorption cross section of the coated Au nanoparticle. These results show that these parameters must be taken into account when considering local laser heating experiments in aqueous solution at the nanoscale. Analysis of the stability of the Au@pNIPAM particles in the trap is also theoretically carried out for different particle sizes. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Simplicity, safety, and acceptability of insulin pen use versus the conventional vial/syringe device in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus in Lebanon

PubMed Central

Ramadan, Wijdan H; Khreis, Noura A; Kabbara, Wissam K

2015-01-01

Background The aim of the study was to evaluate the simplicity, safety, patients’ preference, and convenience of the administration of insulin using the pen device versus the conventional vial/syringe in patients with diabetes. Methods This observational study was conducted in multiple community pharmacies in Lebanon. The investigators interviewed patients with diabetes using an insulin pen or conventional vial/syringe. A total of 74 questionnaires were filled over a period of 6 months. Answers were entered into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software and Excel spreadsheet. t-test, logistic regression analysis, and correlation analysis were used in order to analyze the results. Results A higher percentage of patients from the insulin pen users group (95.2%) found the method easy to use as compared to only 46.7% of the insulin conventional users group (P 0.001, relative risk [RR]: 2.041, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.178–3.535). Moreover, 61.9% and 26.7% of pen users and conventional users, respectively, could read the scale easily (P 0.037, RR 2.321, 95% CI: 0.940–5.731), while 85.7% of pen users found it more convenient shifting to pen and 86.7% of the conventional users would want to shift to pen if it had the same cost. Pain perception was statistically different between the groups. A much higher percentage (76.2%) of pen users showed no pain during injection compared to only 26.7% of conventional users (P 0.003, RR 2.857, 95% CI: 1.194–6.838). Conclusion The insulin pen was significantly much easier to use and less painful than the conventional vial/syringe. Proper education on the methods of administration/storage and disposal of needles/syringes is needed in both groups. PMID:25848231

LONG-TERM OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE TO PENCONAZOLE AND TEBUCONAZOLE BY HAIR BIOMONITORING.

PubMed

Mercadante, Rosa; Polledri, Elisa; Moretto, Angelo; Fustinoni, Silvia

2018-06-09

Penconazole (PEN) and tebuconazole (TEB) are fungicides widely used in vineyards. The aim of this the study was to assess the suitability of hair to assess long-term exposure to PEN and TEB. Hair samples of agricultural workers exposed to PEN (AW-PEN, 18 subjects) or TEB (AW-TEB, 2 subjects) during the application of fungicides, agricultural workers relatives (AR, 4 subjects), and research staff technicians (RS, 5 subjects) were collected before (PRE-EXP) and after (POST-EXP) the application season. PEN in PRE-EXP samples was quantifiable in all AW and AR (medians from 1.4 to 7.9 pg/mg hair) and in one RS (1.4 pg/mg hair); PEN in POST-EXP samples was always quantifiable (medians from 2.6 to 23.7 pg/mg hair), with higher levels in AW. Comparing PRE- vs. POST-EXP samples, an increase in PEN level in AW and RS was found. TEB in PRE-EXP samples was quantifiable in most AW and AR (median from 2.1 to 15.5 pg/mg hair), but not in RS; TEB in POST-EXP samples was similarly quantifiable in AW and AR, and was quantifiable also in RS (from 1.4 to median of 141.3 pg/mg hair). Comparing PRE- vs. POST-EXP samples, an increase in TEB level in AW and RS was found. In AW, a positive correlation between the number of PEN treatments during the season and the POST-EXP level of PEN in hair was found (N = 8, Spearman rho = 0.794, p = 0.019). Our results suggest that PEN and TEB accumulate in hair during the agricultural season and that hair is a promising matrix for biomonitoring long-term exposure. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Behaviours, thoughts and perceptions around mealtime insulin usage and wastage among people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus: A cross-sectional survey study.

PubMed

Van Brunt, Kate; Pedersini, Riccardo; Rooney, Jillian; Corrigan, Sheila M

2017-04-01

People with diabetes who use mealtime insulin (MTI) were surveyed about insulin wastage and injection habits when insufficient insulin remains in a disposable prefilled pen/cartridge to administer a full dose in a single injection. Cross-sectional, online, self-reported survey of MTI usage/wastage behaviour in 400 adults with type 1 (n=120) or type 2 (n=280) diabetes mellitus administering >20units/day of MTI via 100units/ml prefilled pens/cartridges for ⩾1month, conducted in France, Germany, Italy and UK. Participants' mean±standard deviation age was 54.5±12.2years, body mass index was 29.9±7.2kg/m 2 and duration of MTI therapy was 8.6±7.8years. They administered 3.7±5.9 injections/day with meals, using 11.3±18.0 prefilled pens/cartridges per month. Overall, 63.5% split the dose across two prefilled pens/cartridges (i.e. administered two injections to obtain a full dose), 15.0% used just what remained in their current pen (i.e. took a lower-than-prescribed dose) and 36.3% discarded prefilled pens/cartridges still containing insulin (i.e. took full dose with new pen). The latter participants discarded a mean 5.5±8.2 prefilled pens/cartridges monthly still containing insulin, each containing 8.6±8.7 units of insulin. Participants who wasted insulin considered it frustrating, time-consuming and painful to inject twice. Patients taking >20units/day MTI can find transitions between insulin pens challenging. This study highlights the need to identify ways of improving transitions between pens to make transitions easier for insulin users, which could potentially improve adherence to prescribed doses and reduce waste. Copyright © 2016 Eli Lilly and Company. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Genotype variation and genetic relationship among Escherichia coli from nursery pigs located in different pens in the same farm.

PubMed

Herrero-Fresno, Ana; Ahmed, Shahana; Hansen, Monica Hegstad; Denwood, Matthew; Zachariasen, Camilla; Olsen, John Elmerdahl

2017-01-05

So far, little is known about the genetic diversity and relatedness among Escherichia coli (E. coli) populations in the gut of swine. Information on this is required to improve modeling studies on antimicrobial resistance aiming to fight its occurrence and development. This work evaluated the genotype variation of E. coli isolated from swine fecal samples at the single pig and pen level, as well as between pens using repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP) PCR fingerprinting and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The genetic diversity of strains collected from media supplemented with ampicillin or tetracycline was also investigated. Besides, the genetic relationship of strains within each pen, between pens, as well as among strains within each group isolated from media with or without antibiotic, was assessed. REP-PCR patterns (N = 75) were generated for all the isolates (N = 720). Two profiles (REP_2 and REP_5) dominated, accounting for 23.7 and 23.3% of all isolates, respectively. At the pig and at the pen level, the number of different strains ranged from two to eight, and from 27 to 31, respectively, and multiple isolates from a single pen were found to be identical; however, in some of the pens, additional strains occurred at a lower frequency. E. coli isolates yielding different REP profiles were subjected to PFGE and led to 41 different genotypes which were also compared. Despite the presence of dominant strains, our results suggest a high genetic diversity of E. coli strains exist at the pen level and between pens. Selection with antibiotic seems to not affect the genetic diversity. The dominant REP profiles were the same found in a previous study in Denmark, which highlights that the same predominant strains are circulating in pigs of this country and might represent the archetypal E.coli commensal in pigs.

Outcomes associated with 12 years of grant funding: the Pediatric Endocrinology Nursing Society grant program.

PubMed

Keil, Margaret F; Lipman, Terri H

2007-06-01

In 1990, the Pediatric Endocrinology Nursing Society (PENS) developed a grant program to provide funding to advance pediatric endocrinology nursing practice through basic and applied research. Minimal data exist regarding the effect of grant funding on professional development and research dissemination. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent that PENS' grant funding has resulted in professional presentations, publications, and further research funding. Nineteen grants that received funding were identified. Survey questions included whether the results of the PENS-funded study were presented, published, and resulted in subsequent funding from other sources. Outcome data were available for 11 of 18 grants (61%). All funded studies were presented at PENS conference; 55% were presented at other national or international conferences. Sixteen publications resulted from seven funded studies; 64% of PENS' funded studies led to additional funding, and 18% resulted in additional research studies. In summary, the research grant program of PENS funded 19 grants, which resulted in numerous publications, presentations, and, in some cases, additional research funding from other sources. Many grant recipients acknowledged that PENS was their first source of research funding and gave them the opportunity to become experienced in their role as clinical researchers.

Of Papers and Pens: Polysemes and Homophones in Lexical (mis)Selection.

PubMed

Li, Leon; Slevc, L Robert

2017-05-01

Every word signifies multiple senses. Many studies using comprehension-based measures suggest that polysemes' senses (e.g., paper as in printer paper or term paper) share lexical representations, whereas homophones' meanings (e.g., pen as in ballpoint pen or pig pen) correspond to distinct lexical representations. Less is known about the lexical representations of polysemes compared to homophones in language production. In this study, speakers named pictures after reading sentence fragments that primed polysemes and homophones either as direct competitors to pictures (i.e., semantic-competitors), or as indirect-competitors to pictures (e.g., polysemous senses of semantic competitors, or homophonous meanings of semantic competitors). Polysemes (e.g., paper) elicited equal numbers of intrusions to picture names (e.g., cardboard) compared to in control conditions whether primed as direct competitors (printer paper) or as indirect-competitors (term paper). This contrasted with the finding that homophones (e.g., pen) elicited more intrusions to picture names (e.g., crayon) compared to in control conditions when primed as direct competitors (ballpoint pen) than when primed as indirect-competitors (pig pen). These results suggest that polysemes, unlike homophones, are stored and retrieved as unified lexical representations. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

A low-cost, computer-interfaced drawing pad for FMRI studies of dysgraphia and dyslexia.

PubMed

Reitz, Frederick; Richards, Todd; Wu, Kelvin; Boord, Peter; Askren, Mary; Lewis, Thomas; Berninger, Virginia

2013-04-17

We have developed a pen and writing tablet for use by subjects during fMRI scanning. The pen consists of two jacketed, multi-mode optical fibers routed to the tip of a hollowed-out ball-point pen. The pen has been further modified by addition of a plastic plate to maintain a perpendicular pen-tablet orientation. The tablet is simply a non-metallic frame holding a paper print of continuously varying color gradients. The optical fibers are routed out of the MRI bore to a light-tight box in an adjacent control room. Within the box, light from a high intensity LED is coupled into one of the fibers, while the other fiber abuts a color sensor. Light from the LED exits the pen tip, illuminating a small spot on the tablet, and the resulting reflected light is routed to the color sensor. Given a lookup table of position for each color on the tablet, the coordinates of the pen on the tablet may be displayed and digitized in real-time. While simple and inexpensive, the system achieves sufficient resolution to grade writing tasks testing dysgraphic and dyslexic phenomena.

A new paradigm for Aedes spp. surveillance using gravid ovipositing sticky trap and NS1 antigen test kit.

PubMed

Lau, Sai Ming; Chua, Tock H; Sulaiman, Wan-Yussof; Joanne, Sylvia; Lim, Yvonne Ai-Lian; Sekaran, Shamala Devi; Chinna, Karuthan; Venugopalan, Balan; Vythilingam, Indra

2017-03-21

Dengue remains a serious public health problem in Southeast Asia and has increased 37-fold in Malaysia compared to decades ago. New strategies are urgently needed for early detection and control of dengue epidemics. We conducted a two year study in a high human density dengue-endemic urban area in Selangor, where Gravid Ovipositing Sticky (GOS) traps were set up to capture adult Aedes spp. mosquitoes. All Aedes mosquitoes were tested using the NS1 dengue antigen test kit. All dengue cases from the study site notified to the State Health Department were recorded. Weekly microclimatic temperature, relative humidity (RH) and rainfall were monitored. Aedes aegypti was the predominant mosquito (95.6%) caught in GOS traps and 23% (43/187 pools of 5 mosquitoes each) were found to be positive for dengue using the NS1 antigen kit. Confirmed cases of dengue were observed with a lag of one week after positive Ae. aegypti were detected. Aedes aegypti density as analysed by distributed lag non-linear models, will increase lag of 2-3 weeks for temperature increase from 28 to 30 °C; and lag of three weeks for increased rainfall. Proactive strategy is needed for dengue vector surveillance programme. One method would be to use the GOS trap which is simple to setup, cost effective (below USD 1 per trap) and environmental friendly (i.e. use recyclable plastic materials) to capture Ae. aegypti followed by a rapid method of detecting of dengue virus using the NS1 dengue antigen kit. Control measures should be initiated when positive mosquitoes are detected.

Clinical application of a light-pen computer system for quantitative angiography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alderman, E. L.

1975-01-01

The important features in a clinical system for quantitative angiography were examined. The human interface for data input, whether an electrostatic pen, sonic pen, or light-pen must be engineered to optimize the quality of margin definition. The computer programs which the technician uses for data entry and computation of ventriculographic measurements must be convenient to use on a routine basis in a laboratory performing multiple studies per day. The method used for magnification correction must be continuously monitored.

Miniature penetrator (MinPen) acceleration recorder development test

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Franco, R.J.; Platzbecker, M.R.

1998-08-01

The Telemetry Technology Development Department at Sandia National Laboratories actively develops and tests acceleration recorders for penetrating weapons. This new acceleration recorder (MinPen) utilizes a microprocessor-based architecture for operational flexibility while maintaining electronics and packaging techniques developed over years of penetrator testing. MinPen has been demonstrated to function in shock environments up to 20,000 Gs. The MinPen instrumentation development has resulted in a rugged, versatile, miniature acceleration recorder and is a valuable tool for penetrator testing in a wide range of applications.

On-chip particle trapping and manipulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leake, Kaelyn Danielle

The ability to control and manipulate the world around us is human nature. Humans and our ancestors have used tools for millions of years. Only in recent years have we been able to control objects at such small levels. In order to understand the world around us it is frequently necessary to interact with the biological world. Optical trapping and manipulation offer a non-invasive way to move, sort and interact with particles and cells to see how they react to the world around them. Optical tweezers are ideal in their abilities but they require large, non-portable, and expensive setups limiting how and where we can use them. A cheap portable platform is required in order to have optical manipulation reach its full potential. On-chip technology offers a great solution to this challenge. We focused on the Liquid-Core Anti-Resonant Reflecting Optical Waveguide (liquid-core ARROW) for our work. The ARROW is an ideal platform, which has anti-resonant layers which allow light to be guided in liquids, allowing for particles to easily be manipulated. It is manufactured using standard silicon manufacturing techniques making it easy to produce. The planner design makes it easy to integrate with other technologies. Initially I worked to improve the ARROW chip by reducing the intersection losses and by reducing the fluorescence and background on the ARROW chip. The ARROW chip has already been used to trap and push particles along its channel but here I introduce several new methods of particle trapping and manipulation on the ARROW chip. Traditional two beam traps use two counter propagating beams. A trapping scheme that uses two orthogonal beams which counter to first instinct allow for trapping at their intersection is introduced. This scheme is thoroughly predicted and analyzed using realistic conditions. Simulations of this method were done using a program which looks at both the fluidics and optical sources to model complex situations. These simulations were also used to model and predict a sorting method which combines fluid flow with a single optical source to automatically sort dielectric particles by size in waveguide networks. These simulations were shown to be accurate when repeated on-chip. Lastly I introduce a particle trapping technique that uses Multimode Interference(MMI) patterns in order to trap multiple particles at once. The location of the traps can be adjusted as can the number of trapping location by changing the input wavelength. By changing the wavelength back and forth between two values this MMI can be used to pass a particle down the channel like a conveyor belt.

Improvement of Heart Redox States Contributes to the Beneficial Effects of Selenium Against Penconazole-Induced Cardiotoxicity in Adult Rats.

PubMed

Chaâbane, Mariem; Tir, Meriem; Hamdi, Safa; Boudawara, Ons; Jamoussi, Kamel; Boudawara, Tahia; Ghorbel, Raoudha Ellouze; Zeghal, Najiba; Soudani, Nejla

2016-02-01

The present study was performed to evaluate the protective effect of selenium (Se) against penconazole (PEN)-induced oxidative stress in the cardiac tissue of adult rats. Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups of six each. The first group represented the controls. For the second group (PEN), no treatment was performed during the first 6 days, and then, the rats received intraperitoneally 67 mg/kg body weight (bw) of PEN every 2 days from day 7 until day 15, the sacrifice day. For the third group (Se + PEN), Se was administered daily through the diet at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg of diet for 15 days. Rats of this group received also every 2 days PEN (67 mg/kg bw) from day 7 until day 15. The fourth group (Se) received daily, through the diet, Se (0.5 mg/Kg of diet) during 15 days. Our results showed that Se reduced significantly the elevated cardiac levels of malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl following PEN treatment, and attenuated DNA fragmentation induced by this fungicide. In addition, Se modulated the alterations of antioxidant status: enzymatic (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase) and nonenzymatic (glutathione and vitamin C) antioxidants in the heart of PEN-treated rats. This trace element was also able to alleviate perturbations of lipid profile. The protective effect of selenium was further evident through the histopathological changes produced by PEN in the heart tissue. Taken together, our results indicated that Se might be beneficial against PEN-induced cardiac oxidative damage in rats.

Speech understanding in noise with the Roger Pen, Naida CI Q70 processor, and integrated Roger 17 receiver in a multi-talker network.

PubMed

De Ceulaer, Geert; Bestel, Julie; Mülder, Hans E; Goldbeck, Felix; de Varebeke, Sebastien Pierre Janssens; Govaerts, Paul J

2016-05-01

Roger is a digital adaptive multi-channel remote microphone technology that wirelessly transmits a speaker's voice directly to a hearing instrument or cochlear implant sound processor. Frequency hopping between channels, in combination with repeated broadcast, avoids interference issues that have limited earlier generation FM systems. This study evaluated the benefit of the Roger Pen transmitter microphone in a multiple talker network (MTN) for cochlear implant users in a simulated noisy conversation setting. Twelve post-lingually deafened adult Advanced Bionics CII/HiRes 90K recipients were recruited. Subjects used a Naida CI Q70 processor with integrated Roger 17 receiver. The test environment simulated four people having a meal in a noisy restaurant, one the CI user (listener), and three companions (talkers) talking non-simultaneously in a diffuse field of multi-talker babble. Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) were determined without the Roger Pen, with one Roger Pen, and with three Roger Pens in an MTN. Using three Roger Pens in an MTN improved the SRT by 14.8 dB over using no Roger Pen, and by 13.1 dB over using a single Roger Pen (p < 0.0001). The Roger Pen in an MTN provided statistically and clinically significant improvement in speech perception in noise for Advanced Bionics cochlear implant recipients. The integrated Roger 17 receiver made it easy for users of the Naida CI Q70 processor to take advantage of the Roger system. The listening advantage and ease of use should encourage more clinicians to recommend and fit Roger in adult cochlear implant patients.

β -decay Q values among the A = 50 Ti-V-Cr isobaric triplet and atomic masses of Ti 46 , 47 , 49 , 50 , V 50 , 51 , and Cr 50 , 52 – 54

DOE PAGES

Kandegedara, R. M. E. B.; Bollen, G.; Eibach, M.; ...

2017-10-20

This manuscript describes a measurement of the Q value for the highly forbidden beta-decays of 50V and the double electron capture decay of 50Cr. The Q value corresponds to the total energy released during the decay and is equivalent to the mass difference between parent and daughter atoms. This mass difference was measured using high precision Penning trap mass spectrometry with the Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap facility at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. The Q value enters into theoretical calculations of the half-life and beta-decay spectrum for the decay, so improves these calculations. In addition the Q valuemore » corresponds to the end point energy of the beta-decay spectrum, which has been precisely measured for several highly-forbidden decays using modern low background detector techniques. Hence, our Q value measurements provide a test of systematics for these detectors. In addition, we have measured the absolute atomic masses of 46,47,49,50Ti, 50,51V, and 50,52-52Cr, providing improvements in precision by factors of up to 3. These atomic masses help to strengthen global evaluations of all atomic mass data, such as the Atomic Mass Evaluation.« less

β -decay Q values among the A = 50 Ti-V-Cr isobaric triplet and atomic masses of Ti 46 , 47 , 49 , 50 , V 50 , 51 , and Cr 50 , 52 – 54

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kandegedara, R. M. E. B.; Bollen, G.; Eibach, M.

This manuscript describes a measurement of the Q value for the highly forbidden beta-decays of 50V and the double electron capture decay of 50Cr. The Q value corresponds to the total energy released during the decay and is equivalent to the mass difference between parent and daughter atoms. This mass difference was measured using high precision Penning trap mass spectrometry with the Low Energy Beam and Ion Trap facility at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. The Q value enters into theoretical calculations of the half-life and beta-decay spectrum for the decay, so improves these calculations. In addition the Q valuemore » corresponds to the end point energy of the beta-decay spectrum, which has been precisely measured for several highly-forbidden decays using modern low background detector techniques. Hence, our Q value measurements provide a test of systematics for these detectors. In addition, we have measured the absolute atomic masses of 46,47,49,50Ti, 50,51V, and 50,52-52Cr, providing improvements in precision by factors of up to 3. These atomic masses help to strengthen global evaluations of all atomic mass data, such as the Atomic Mass Evaluation.« less

Resonant Formation and Control of m-Fold Symmetric V-States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Friedland, Lazar; Shagalov, Arkadi

2000-10-01

Magnetized, pure electron plasmas trapped in a Malmberg-Penning trap can be modeled (in the drift approximation) by two-dimensional Euler equations of ideal fluids. The plasma density in this approximation is analogous to vorticity, while the radial electric field potential to the stream function of the fluid velocity field. For instance, electron plasma cylinder aligned with the magnetic field is analogous to a circular vortex patch solution of an ideal fluid. We shall show that by starting in such a circular equilibrium one can drive an m-fold symmetric interface (vortex) waves in two dimensions (V-states, discovered by Deem and Zabusky [1] nearly 20 years ago)into a highly nonlinear excitation by applying a weak external oscillating potential of appropriate symmetry and slowly varying the frequency of these oscillations. The phenomenon is due to autoresonance [2,3] in the system as the excited plasma (vortex) boundary preserves its functional form despite the drive, but self-adjusts the aspect ratio to synchronize with the driving potential oscillations. A similar approach can be used in controlling interface dynamics subject to global constraints in many other fields of physics. Work supported by Israel Science Foundation grant 607-97 and INTAS grant 99-1068. [1] G. Deem and N. Zabusky, Phys. Rev. Lett. 40, 859 (1978). [2] L. Friedland, Phys. Rev. E, 4106 (1999). [3] J. Fajans, E. Gilson, and L. Friedland, Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4444 (1999).

Apomorphine

MedlinePlus

... needle unit. Wash your hands with soap and water. If you already have a medication cartridge in the injector pen, go to step 7 below. To insert a new medication cartridge into the injector pen, follow steps 3 through 6. Pull off the grey pen cap. Unscrew the cartridge holder from the ...

Lessons Learned during the Development of HumaPen® Memoir™, an Insulin Pen with a Memory Feature

PubMed Central

Breslin, Stuart D.; Ignaut, Debra A.; Boyd, Douglas E.

2010-01-01

Insulin pens are developed to address specific needs of diabetes patients for their pens, such as ease of use, portability, and discreetness. Like many consumer-based products, the development of insulin pens can pose significant challenges to the development team in that they must balance substantial accuracy requirements with aesthetic desires. The HumaPen® Memoir™ team learned valuable lessons throughout the development process that may be worth highlighting. A keen understanding of the unmet needs of the patient population and a skillfully planned product generation map are critical to successful device development. A development team must decide whether to use a Quality Functional Deployment or system engineering-based development plan and, additionally, recognize where proof of concept ends and product development begins to maintain a strict timeline for the project. A proficiency in understanding and managing technical risk is critical to ensure a timely and high-quality product launch to the marketplace. PMID:20513318

Increasing viscosity and inertia using a robotically-controlled pen improves handwriting in children

PubMed Central

Ben-Pazi, Hilla; Ishihara, Abraham; Kukke, Sahana; Sanger, Terence D

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of mechanical properties of the pen on the quality of handwriting in children. Twenty two school aged children, ages 8–14 years wrote in cursive using a pen attached to a robot. The robot was programmed to increase the effective weight (inertia) and stiffness (viscosity) of the pen. Speed, frequency, variability, and quality of the two handwriting samples were compared. Increased inertia and viscosity improved handwriting quality in 85% of children (p<0.05). Handwriting quality did not correlate with changes in speed, suggesting that improvement was not due to reduced speed. Measures of movement variability remained unchanged, suggesting that improvement was not due to mechanical smoothing of pen movement by the robot. Since improvement was not explained by reduced speed or mechanical smoothing, we conclude that children alter handwriting movements in response to pen mechanics. Altered movement could be caused by changes in proprioceptive sensory feedback. PMID:19794098

Does handwriting on a tablet screen affect students' graphomotor execution? A comparison between Grades Two and Nine.

PubMed

Alamargot, Denis; Morin, Marie-France

2015-12-01

We sought to ascertain how handwriting with a plastic-tipped pen on the screen of a digital tablet affects graphomotor execution in students, compared with handwriting on paper with a ballpoint pen. We predicted that the modification to propriokinesthetic feedback induced by the screen/plastic tip combination would differently disturb younger and older students, who rely on perceptual feedback either to form letters (former) or to adjust movement execution (latter). Twenty-eight students from Grades Two and Nine were asked to handwrite the alphabet and their names and surnames under the two conditions. Kinematics were recorded using the tablet, controlled by Eye and Pen software. Results showed that handwriting on the tablet surface with a plastic-tipped pen primarily affected pen pauses in the second graders and pen movements in the ninth graders, suggesting a disturbance in segment trajectory calculation in the younger participants and reduced control of muscular adjustment in the older children. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Experimental and numerical study of control of flow separation of a symmetric airfoil with trapped vortex cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahid, Abdullah Bin; Mashud, Mohammad

2017-06-01

This paper summarizes the experimental campaign and numerical analysis performed aimed to analyze the potential benefit available employing a trapping vortex cell system on a high thickness symmetric aero-foil without steady suction or injection mass flow. In this work, the behavior of a two dimensional model equipped with a span wise adjusted circular cavity has been researched. Pressure distribution on the model surface and inside and the complete flow field round the model have been measured. Experimental tests have been performed varying the wind tunnel speed and also the angle of attack. For numerical analysis the two dimensional model of the airfoil and the mesh is formed through ANSYS Meshing that is run in Fluent for numerical iterate solution. In the paper the performed test campaign, the airfoil design, the adopted experimental set-up, the numerical analysis, the data post process and the results description are reported, compared a discussed.

In Situ Magnetic Field Measurement using the Hanle Effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jackson, Jarom; Durfee, Dallin

2016-05-01

We have developed a simple method of in situ magnetic field mapping near zero points in magnetic fields. It is ideal for measuring trapping parameters such the field gradient and curvature, and should be applicable in most experiments with a magneto-optical trap (MOT) or similar setup. This method works by probing atomic transitions in a vacuum, and is based on the Hanle effect, which alters the polarization of spontaneous emission in the presence of a magnetic field. Unlike most techniques based on the Hanle effect, however, we look only at intensity. Instead of measuring polarization we use the change in directional radiation patterns caused by a magnetic field. Using one of the cooling beams for our MOT, along with a linear polarizer, a narrow slit, and an inexpensive webcam, we measure the three dimensional position of a magnetic field zero point within our vacuum to within +/-1 mm and the gradient through the zero point to an accuracy of 4%. This work was supported by NSF Grant Number PHY-1205736.

Quasi-molecular bosonic complexes-a pathway to SQUID with controlled sensitivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safavi-Naini, Arghavan; Capogrosso-Sansone, Barbara; Kuklov, Anatoly; Penna, Vittorio

2016-02-01

Recent experimental advances in realizing degenerate quantum dipolar gases in optical lattices and the flexibility of experimental setups in attaining various geometries offer the opportunity to explore exotic quantum many-body phases stabilized by anisotropic, long-range dipolar interaction. Moreover, the unprecedented control over the various physical properties of these systems, ranging from the quantum statistics of the particles, to the inter-particle interactions, allow one to engineer novel devices. In this paper, we consider dipolar bosons trapped in a stack of one-dimensional optical lattice layers, previously studied in (Safavi-Naini et al 2014 Phys. Rev. A 90 043604). Building on our prior results, we provide a description of the quantum phases stabilized in this system which include composite superfluids (CSFs), solids, and supercounterfluids, most of which are found to be threshold-less with respect to the dipolar interaction strength. We also demonstrate the effect of enhanced sensitivity to rotations of a SQUID-type device made of two CSF trapped in a ring-shaped optical lattice layer with weak links.

Efficacy of Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation and Therapeutic Exercise for Older Adults with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Weiner, Debra K.; Perera, Subashan; Rudy, Thomas E.; Glick, Ronald M.; Shenoy, Sonali; Delitto, Anthony

2008-01-01

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) in older adults may be disabling and therapeutically challenging, largely because of the inefficacy and/or morbidity associated with traditional pain treatment. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in 200 men and women ≥ age 65 with CLBP to evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS) with and without general conditioning and aerobic exercise (GCAE), for reducing pain and improving physical function. Participants were randomized to receive 1) PENS, 2) control-PENS (brief electrical stimulation to control for treatment expectancy), 3) PENS + GCAE, or 4) control-PENS + GCAE, twice a week for 6 weeks. All four groups experienced significantly reduced pain (range −2.3 to −4.1 on the McGill Pain Questionnaire short form), improved self-reported disability (range −2.1 to −3.0 on Roland scale) and improved gait velocity (0.04–0.07 m/sec), sustained at 6 months. The GCAE groups experienced significantly fewer fear avoidance beliefs immediately post-intervention and at 6 months than non-GCAE groups. There were no significant side effects. Since brief electrical stimulation (i.e., control-PENS) facilitated comparably reduced pain and improved function at 6 months as compared with PENS, the exact dose of electrical stimulation required for analgesia cannot be determined. GCAE was more effective than PENS alone in reducing fear avoidance beliefs, but not in reducing pain or improving physical function. PMID:18930352

Lake Roosevelt Volunteer Net Pens, Lake Roosevelt Rainbow Trout Net Pens, 2002-2003 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, Gene

2003-11-01

The completion of Grand Coulee Dam for power production, flood control, and irrigation resulted in the creation of a blocked area above the dam and in the loss of anadromous fish. Because of lake level fluctuations required to meet the demands for water release or storage, native or indigenous fish were often threatened. For many years very little effort was given to stocking the waters above the dam. However, studies by fish biologists showed that there was a good food base capable of supporting rainbow and kokanee (Gangmark and Fulton 1949, Jagielo 1984, Scholz etal 1986, Peone etal 1990). Furthermore » studies indicated that artificial production might be a way of restoring or enhancing the fishery. In the 1980's volunteers experimented with net pens. The method involved putting fingerlings in net pens in the fall and rearing them into early summer before release. The result was an excellent harvest of healthy fish. The use of net pens to hold the fingerlings for approximately nine months appears to reduce predation and the possibility of entrainment during draw down and to relieve the hatcheries to open up available raceways for future production. The volunteer net pen program grew for a few years but raising funds to maintain the pens and purchase food became more and more difficult. In 1995 the volunteer net pen project (LRDA) was awarded a grant through the Northwest Power Planning Council's artificial production provisions.« less

An Arabidopsis Lipid Flippase Is Required for Timely Recruitment of Defenses to the Host-Pathogen Interface at the Plant Cell Surface.

PubMed

Underwood, William; Ryan, Andrew; Somerville, Shauna C

2017-06-05

Deposition of cell wall-reinforcing papillae is an integral component of the plant immune response. The Arabidopsis PENETRATION 3 (PEN3) ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporter plays a role in defense against numerous pathogens and is recruited to sites of pathogen detection where it accumulates within papillae. However, the trafficking pathways and regulatory mechanisms contributing to recruitment of PEN3 and other defenses to the host-pathogen interface are poorly understood. Here, we report a confocal microscopy-based screen to identify mutants with altered localization of PEN3-GFP after inoculation with powdery mildew fungi. We identified a mutant, aberrant localization of PEN3 3 (alp3), displaying accumulation of the normally plasma membrane (PM)-localized PEN3-GFP in endomembrane compartments. The mutant was found to be disrupted in the P 4 -ATPase AMINOPHOSPHOLIPID ATPASE 3 (ALA3), a lipid flippase that plays a critical role in vesicle formation. We provide evidence that PEN3 undergoes continuous endocytic cycling from the PM to the trans-Golgi network (TGN). In alp3, PEN3 accumulates in the TGN, causing delays in recruitment to the host-pathogen interface. Our results indicate that PEN3 and other defense proteins continuously cycle through the TGN and that timely exit of these proteins from the TGN is critical for effective pre-invasive immune responses against powdery mildews. Copyright © 2017 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review: Factors affecting fouling in conventional pens for slaughter pigs.

PubMed

Larsen, M L V; Bertelsen, M; Pedersen, L J

2018-02-01

This review assesses factors affecting fouling in conventional pens for slaughter pigs. Fouling of the pen happens when pigs change their excretory behaviour from occurring in the designated dunging area to the lying area. This can result in a lower hygiene, bad air quality, extra work for the farmer, disturbance of the pigs' resting behaviour and an increase in agonistic interactions. A systematic search was conducted and results narrowed down to 21 articles. Four factors were found to affect fouling directly: insufficient space allowance, the flooring design of the pen, the thermal climate and pigs' earlier experience. Further, these primary factors are affected by secondary factors such as the shape of the pen, the weight of the pigs and especially the heat balance of the pigs, which is affected by several tertiary factors including, for example, temperature, humidity and draught. Results indicate that the most important factor to control when trying to prevent fouling of a pen is the pen climate. An appropriate climate may be accomplished through floor cooling in the designated lying area, sprinklers above the designated dunging area and by ensuring a more optimal ambient temperature curve that also fits the weight of the pigs in different stages of the production. All in all, fouling of the pen in conventional slaughter pigs is a multifactorial problem, but it is important to focus on increasing the comfortability, and especially the climate, of the designated lying area.

Electromyographic Comparison of Forearm Muscle Movements for Fine Skin Suturing Between an Enlarged Pen Needle Holder and a Webster Needle Holder

PubMed Central

Ohata, Erika; Matsuo, Kiyoshi; Ban, Ryokuya; Shiba, Masato; Yasunaga, Yoshichika

2013-01-01

Background: For surgical suturing, a Webster needle holder uses wrist supinating with supinator and extrinsic muscles, whereas a pen needle holder uses finger twisting with intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. Because the latter is better suited to microsurgery, which requires fine suturing with less forearm muscle movement, we have recently adopted an enlarged pen needle holder scaled from a micro needle holder for fine skin suturing. In this study, we assessed whether the enlarged pen needle holder reduced forearm muscle movement during fine skin suturing as compared with the Webster needle holder. Methods: A fine skin-suturing task was performed using pen holding with the enlarged micro needle holder or scissor holding with the Webster needle holder by 9 experienced and 6 inexperienced microsurgeons. The task lasted for 60 seconds and was randomly performed 3 times for each method. Forearm flexor and extensor muscular activities were evaluated by surface electromyography. Results: The enlarged pen needle holder method required significantly less forearm muscle movement for experienced microsurgeons despite it being their first time using the instrument. There was no significant difference between 2 methods for inexperienced microsurgeons. Conclusions: Experienced microsurgeons conserved forearm muscle movement by finger twisting in fine skin suturing with the enlarged pen needle holder. Inexperienced microsurgeons may benefit from the enlarged pen needle holder, even for fine skin suturing, to develop their internal acquisition model of the dynamics of finger twisting. PMID:23691259

Electromyographic comparison of forearm muscle movements for fine skin suturing between an enlarged pen needle holder and a webster needle holder.

PubMed

Ohata, Erika; Matsuo, Kiyoshi; Ban, Ryokuya; Shiba, Masato; Yasunaga, Yoshichika

2013-01-01

For surgical suturing, a Webster needle holder uses wrist supinating with supinator and extrinsic muscles, whereas a pen needle holder uses finger twisting with intrinsic and extrinsic muscles. Because the latter is better suited to microsurgery, which requires fine suturing with less forearm muscle movement, we have recently adopted an enlarged pen needle holder scaled from a micro needle holder for fine skin suturing. In this study, we assessed whether the enlarged pen needle holder reduced forearm muscle movement during fine skin suturing as compared with the Webster needle holder. A fine skin-suturing task was performed using pen holding with the enlarged micro needle holder or scissor holding with the Webster needle holder by 9 experienced and 6 inexperienced microsurgeons. The task lasted for 60 seconds and was randomly performed 3 times for each method. Forearm flexor and extensor muscular activities were evaluated by surface electromyography. The enlarged pen needle holder method required significantly less forearm muscle movement for experienced microsurgeons despite it being their first time using the instrument. There was no significant difference between 2 methods for inexperienced microsurgeons. Experienced microsurgeons conserved forearm muscle movement by finger twisting in fine skin suturing with the enlarged pen needle holder. Inexperienced microsurgeons may benefit from the enlarged pen needle holder, even for fine skin suturing, to develop their internal acquisition model of the dynamics of finger twisting.

Splitting Times of Doubly Quantized Vortices in Dilute Bose-Einstein Condensates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huhtamaeki, J. A. M.; Pietilae, V.; Virtanen, S. M. M.

2006-09-15

Recently, the splitting of a topologically created doubly quantized vortex into two singly quantized vortices was experimentally investigated in dilute atomic cigar-shaped Bose-Einstein condensates [Y. Shin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 160406 (2004)]. In particular, the dependency of the splitting time on the peak particle density was studied. We present results of theoretical simulations which closely mimic the experimental setup. We show that the combination of gravitational sag and time dependency of the trapping potential alone suffices to split the doubly quantized vortex in time scales which are in good agreement with the experiments.

Pediatric Endocrinology Nurses Society

MedlinePlus

... Scholarship applications are DUE no later than April 1, 2018. Click here for scholarship information. ​ ​ ​​​​​​​​​​​ Recent PENS Announcements Text2 ​ 2018 PENS Call for Presentations & Advanced Case Studies PENS Recognition Program Journal of Pediatric Nursing - ​Call ...

Characterization and separation of Cryptosporidium and Giardia cells using on-chip dielectrophoresis.

PubMed

Narayanan Unni, Harikrishnan; Hartono, Deny; Yue Lanry Yung, Lin; Mah-Lee Ng, Mary; Pueh Lee, Heow; Cheong Khoo, Boo; Lim, Kian-Meng

2012-03-01

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) has been shown to have significant potential for the characterization of cells and could become an efficient tool for rapid identification and assessment of microorganisms. The present work is focused on the trapping, characterization, and separation of two species of Cryptosporidium (C. parvum and C. muris) and Giardia lambia (G. lambia) using a microfluidic experimental setup. Cryptosporidium oocysts, which are 2-4 μm in size and nearly spherical in shape, are used for the preliminary stage of prototype development and testing. G. lambia cysts are 8-12 μm in size. In order to facilitate effective trapping, simulations were performed to study the effects of buffer conductivity and applied voltage on the flow and cell transport inside the DEP chip. Microscopic experiments were performed using the fabricated device and the real part of Clausius-Mossotti factor of the cells was estimated from critical voltages for particle trapping at the electrodes under steady fluid flow. The dielectric properties of the cell compartments (cytoplasm and membrane) were calculated based on a single shell model of the cells. The separation of C. muris and G. lambia is achieved successfully at a frequency of 10 MHz and a voltage of 3 Vpp (peak to peak voltage).

Associations between feedlot management practices and bovine respiratory disease in Australian feedlot cattle.

PubMed

Hay, K E; Morton, J M; Clements, A C A; Mahony, T J; Barnes, T S

2016-06-01

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the major cause of clinical disease and death in feedlot cattle. A prospective longitudinal study was conducted in a population of Australian feedlot cattle to assess associations between factors related to feedlot management and risk of BRD. In total, 35,131 animals in 170 pens (cohorts) inducted into 14 feedlots were included in statistical analyses. Causal diagrams were used to inform model building to allow separate estimation of total and direct effects. Multilevel mixed effects logistic regression models were fitted within the Bayesian framework. The placement of pen water troughs such that they could be accessed by animals in adjoining pens was associated with markedly increased risk of BRD (OR 4.3, 95% credible interval: 1.4-10.3). Adding animals to pens over multiple days was associated with increased risk of BRD across all animals in those pens compared to placing all animals in the pen on a single day (total effect: OR 1.9, 95% credible interval: 1.2-2.8). The much attenuated direct effect indicated that this was primarily mediated via factors on indirect pathways so it may be possible to ameliorate the adverse effects of adding animals to pens over multiple days by altering exposure to these intervening factors (e.g. mixing history). In pens in which animals were added to the pen over multiple days, animals added ≥7 days (OR: 0.7, credible interval: 0.5-0.9) or 1-6 days (OR: 0.8, credible interval: 0.7-1.0) before the last animal was added were at modestly reduced risk of BRD compared to the animals that were added to the pen on the latest day. Further research is required to disentangle effects of cohort formation patterns at animal-level and higher levels on animal-level risk of BRD. Vaccination against Bovine herpesvirus 1 at feedlot entry was investigated but results were inconclusive and further research is required to evaluate vaccine efficacy. We conclude that there are practical interventions available to feedlot managers to reduce the risk of cattle developing BRD at the feedlot. We recommend placement of water troughs in feedlot pens so that they cannot be accessed by animals in adjoining pens. Further research is required to identify practical and cost-effective management strategies that allow longer adaption times for cattle identified prior to induction as being at higher risk of developing BRD. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Using a Digital Pen to Support Secondary Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ok, Min Wook; Rao, Kavita

2017-01-01

Secondary students with learning disabilities (LD) can benefit from using assistive and instructional technologies to support content and skill acquisition. Digital pens have features that can be beneficial for students who struggle with comprehension, note taking, and organization. Livescribe pens, in particular, provide a variety features that…

Growth of long triisopropylsilylethynyl pentacene (TIPS-PEN) nanofibrils in a polymer thin film during spin-coating.

PubMed

Park, Minwoo; Min, Yuho; Lee, Yu-Jeong; Jeong, Unyong

2014-03-01

This study demonstrates the growth of long triisopropylsilyethynyl pentacene (TIPS-PEN) nanofibrils in a thin film of a crystalline polymer, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). During spin-coating, TIPS-PEN molecules are locally extracted around the PCL grain boundaries and they crystallize into [010] direction forming long nanofibrils. Molecular weight of PCL and weight fraction (α) of TIPS-PEN in PCL matrix are key factors to the growth of nanofibrils. Long high-quality TIPS-PEN nanofibrils are obtained with high-molecular-weight PCL and at the α values in the range of 0.03-0.1. The long nanofibrils are used as an active layer in a field-effect organic transistor. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Impact insertion of transfer-molded microneedle for localized and minimally invasive ocular drug delivery.

PubMed

Song, Hyun Beom; Lee, Kang Ju; Seo, Il Ho; Lee, Ji Yong; Lee, Sang-Mok; Kim, Jin Hyoung; Kim, Jeong Hun; Ryu, WonHyoung

2015-07-10

It has been challenging for microneedles to deliver drugs effectively to thin tissues with little background support such as the cornea. Herein, we designed a microneedle pen system, a single microneedle with a spring-loaded microneedle applicator to provide impact insertion. To firmly attach solid microneedles with 140 μm in height at the end of macro-scale applicators, a transfer molding process was employed. The fabricated microneedle pens were then applied to mouse corneas. The microneedle pens successfully delivered rhodamine dye deep enough to reach the stromal layer of the cornea with small entry only about 1000 μm(2). When compared with syringes or 30 G needle tips, microneedle pens could achieve more localized and minimally invasive delivery without any chances of perforation. To investigate the efficacy of microneedle pens as a way of drug delivery, sunitinib malate proven to inhibit in vitro angiogenesis, was delivered to suture-induced angiogenesis model. When compared with delivery by a 30 G needle tip dipped with sunitinib malate, only delivery by microneedle pens could effectively inhibit corneal neovascularization in vivo. Microneedle pens could effectively deliver drugs to thin tissues without impairing merits of using microneedles: localized and minimally invasive delivery. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Design and validation of the ball-pen probe for measurements in a low-temperature magnetized plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bousselin, G.; Cavalier, J.; Pautex, J. F.

Ball-pen probes have been used in fusion devices for direct measurements of the plasma potential. Their application in low-temperature magnetized plasma devices is still subject to studies. In this context, a ball-pen probe has been recently implemented on the linear plasma device Mirabelle. Produced by a thermionic discharge, the plasma is characterized by a low electron temperature and a low density. Plasma confinement is provided by an axial magnetic field that goes up to 100 mT. The principle of the ball-pen probe is to adjust the saturation current ratio to 1 by reducing the electron current contribution. In that case,more » the floating potential of the probe is close to the plasma potential. A thorough study of the ball-pen probe operation is performed for different designs of the probe over a large set of plasma conditions. Comparisons between ball-pen, Langmuir, and emissive probes are conducted in the same plasma conditions. The ball-pen probe is successfully measuring the plasma potential in these specific plasma conditions only if an adapted electronics and an adapted probe size to the plasma characteristic lengths ({lambda}{sub D}, {rho}{sub ce}) are used.« less

Technical note: Mining data from on-farm electronic equipment to identify the time dairy cows spend away from the pen.

PubMed

Thompson, A J; Weary, D M; von Keyserlingk, M A G

2017-05-01

The electronic equipment used on farms can be creatively co-opted to collect data for which it was not originally designed. In the current study, we describe 2 novel algorithms that harvest data from electronic feeding equipment and data loggers used to record standing and lying behavior, to estimate the time that dairy cows spend away from their pen to be milked. Our 2 objectives were to (1) measure the ability of the first algorithm to estimate the time cows spend away from the pen as a group and (2) determine the capability of a second algorithm to estimate the time it takes for individual cows to return to their pen after being milked. To achieve these objectives, we conducted 2 separate experiments: first, to estimate group time away, the feeding behavior of 1 pen of 20 Holstein cows was monitored electronically for 1 mo; second, to measure individual latency to return to the pen, feeding and lying behavior of 12 healthy Holstein cows was monitored electronically from parturition to 21 d in milk. For both experiments, we monitored the time each individual cow exited the pen before each milking and when she returned to the pen after milking using video recordings. Estimates generated by our algorithms were then compared with the times captured from the video recordings. Our first algorithm provided reliable pen-based estimates for the minimum time cows spent away from the pen to be milked in the morning [coefficient of determination (R 2 ) = 0.92] and afternoon (R 2 = 0.96). The second algorithm was able to estimate of the time it took for individual cows to return to the pen after being milked in the morning (R 2 = 0.98), but less so in the afternoon (R 2 = 0.67). This study illustrates how data from electronic systems used to assess feeding and lying behavior can be mined to estimate novel measures. New work is now required to improve the estimates of our algorithm for individuals, for example by adding data from other electronic monitoring systems on the farm. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae and extended-spectrum cephalosporins in California: surveillance and molecular detection of mosaic penA.

PubMed

Gose, Severin; Nguyen, Duylinh; Lowenberg, Daniella; Samuel, Michael; Bauer, Heidi; Pandori, Mark

2013-12-04

The spread of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains with mosaic penA alleles and reduced susceptibility to extended-spectrum cephalosporins is a major public health problem. While much work has been performed internationally, little is known about the genetics or molecular epidemiology of N. gonorrhoeae isolates with reduced susceptibility to extended-spectrum cephalosporins in the United States. The majority of N. gonorrhoeae infections are diagnosed without a live culture. Molecular tools capable of detecting markers of extended-spectrum cephalosporin resistance are needed. Urethral N. gonorrhoeae isolates were collected from 684 men at public health clinics in California in 2011. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) to ceftriaxone, cefixime, cefpodoxime and azithromycin were determined by Etest and categorized according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control 2010 alert value breakpoints. 684 isolates were screened for mosaic penA alleles using real-time PCR (RTPCR) and 59 reactive isolates were subjected to DNA sequencing of their penA alleles and Neisseria gonorrhoeae multi-antigen sequence typing (NG-MAST). To increase the specificity of the screening RTPCR in detecting isolates with alert value extended-spectrum cephalosporin MICs, the primers were modified to selectively amplify the mosaic XXXIV penA allele. Three mosaic penA alleles were detected including two previously described alleles (XXXIV, XXXVIII) and one novel allele (LA-A). Of the 29 isolates with an alert value extended-spectrum cephalosporin MIC, all possessed the mosaic XXXIV penA allele and 18 were sequence type 1407, an internationally successful strain associated with multi-drug resistance. The modified RTPCR detected the mosaic XXXIV penA allele in urethral isolates and urine specimens and displayed no amplification of the other penA alleles detected in this study. N. gonorrhoeae isolates with mosaic penA alleles and reduced susceptibility to extended-spectrum cephalosporins are currently circulating in California. Isolates with the same NG-MAST ST, penA allele and extended-spectrum cephalosporin MICs have caused treatment failures elsewhere. The RTPCR assay presented here may be useful for the detection of N. gonorrheoae isolates and clinical specimens with reduced extended-spectrum cephalosporin MICs in settings where antimicrobial susceptibility testing is unavailable. In an era of increasing antimicrobial resistance and decreasing culture capacity, molecular assays capable of detecting extended-spectrum cephalosporin of resistance are essential to public health.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae and extended-spectrum cephalosporins in California: surveillance and molecular detection of mosaic penA

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The spread of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains with mosaic penA alleles and reduced susceptibility to extended-spectrum cephalosporins is a major public health problem. While much work has been performed internationally, little is known about the genetics or molecular epidemiology of N. gonorrhoeae isolates with reduced susceptibility to extended-spectrum cephalosporins in the United States. The majority of N. gonorrhoeae infections are diagnosed without a live culture. Molecular tools capable of detecting markers of extended-spectrum cephalosporin resistance are needed. Methods Urethral N. gonorrhoeae isolates were collected from 684 men at public health clinics in California in 2011. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) to ceftriaxone, cefixime, cefpodoxime and azithromycin were determined by Etest and categorized according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control 2010 alert value breakpoints. 684 isolates were screened for mosaic penA alleles using real-time PCR (RTPCR) and 59 reactive isolates were subjected to DNA sequencing of their penA alleles and Neisseria gonorrhoeae multi-antigen sequence typing (NG-MAST). To increase the specificity of the screening RTPCR in detecting isolates with alert value extended-spectrum cephalosporin MICs, the primers were modified to selectively amplify the mosaic XXXIV penA allele. Results Three mosaic penA alleles were detected including two previously described alleles (XXXIV, XXXVIII) and one novel allele (LA-A). Of the 29 isolates with an alert value extended-spectrum cephalosporin MIC, all possessed the mosaic XXXIV penA allele and 18 were sequence type 1407, an internationally successful strain associated with multi-drug resistance. The modified RTPCR detected the mosaic XXXIV penA allele in urethral isolates and urine specimens and displayed no amplification of the other penA alleles detected in this study. Conclusion N. gonorrhoeae isolates with mosaic penA alleles and reduced susceptibility to extended-spectrum cephalosporins are currently circulating in California. Isolates with the same NG-MAST ST, penA allele and extended-spectrum cephalosporin MICs have caused treatment failures elsewhere. The RTPCR assay presented here may be useful for the detection of N. gonorrheoae isolates and clinical specimens with reduced extended-spectrum cephalosporin MICs in settings where antimicrobial susceptibility testing is unavailable. In an era of increasing antimicrobial resistance and decreasing culture capacity, molecular assays capable of detecting extended-spectrum cephalosporin of resistance are essential to public health. PMID:24305088

Overview of the High Performance Antiproton (HiPAT) Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, James J.; Sims, William H.; Chakrabarti, Suman; Pearson, Boise; Fant, Wallace E.; Lewis, Raymond A.; Rodgers, Stephen (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The annihilation of matter with antimatter represents the highest energy density of any known reaction, producing 10(exp 8) MJ/g, approximately 10 orders of magnitude more energy per unit mass than chemical based combustion. To take the first step towards using this energy for propulsion applications the NASA MSFC Propulsion Research Center (PRC) has initiated a research activity examining the storage of low energy antiprotons. Storage was identified as a key enabling technology since it builds the experience base necessary to understand the handling of antiprotons for virtually all utilization and high-density storage concepts. To address this need, a device referred to as the High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) is under development at the NASA MSFC PRC. The HiPAT is an electromagnetic system (Penning-Malmberg design) consisting of a 4 Tesla superconductor, a high voltage confinement electrode system (operation up to 20 KV), and an ultra high vacuum test section (operating in the 10(exp -12) torr range). The system was designed to be portable with an ultimate goal of maintaining 10(exp 12) charged particles with a half-life of 18 days. Currently, this system is being experimentally evaluated using normal matter ions which are cheap to produce and relatively easy to handle. These normal ions provide a good indication of overall trap behavior, with the exception of assessing annihilation losses. The ions are produced external to HiPAT using two hydrogen ion sources, with adjustable beam energy and current. Ion are transported in a beam line and controlled through the use of electrostatic optics. These optics serve to both focus and gate the incoming ions, providing microsecond-timed pulses that are dynamically captured by cycling the HiPAT electric containment field like a 'trap door'. The layout of this system more closely simulates the operations expected at an actual antiproton production facility where 'packets' of antiprotons with pulse widths measured in 100's of nanoseconds could be provided. Initial dynamic capture experiments have been performed with both trap and ton source system functioning at approximately 10% of maximum levels, minimizing the potential for extraneous effects. Dynamic trapping techniques demonstrated the successful capture of millions of hydrogen ions with good agreement with the predicted loading based on the timing sequence, trap electric field, and ion beam current. These techniques will be expanded to examine multiple shot capture or 'stacking' to increase the total number of ions stored within HiPAT.

Stochastic simulation model comparing distributions of STEC O157 faecal shedding prevalence between cattle vaccinated with type III secreted protein vaccines and non-vaccinated cattle.

PubMed

Vogstad, A R; Moxley, R A; Erickson, G E; Klopfenstein, T J; Smith, D R

2014-06-01

Pens of cattle with high Escherichia coli O157:H7 (STEC O157) prevalence at harvest may present a greater risk to food safety than pens of lower prevalence. Vaccination of live cattle against STEC O157 has been proposed as an approach to reduce STEC O157 prevalence in live cattle. Our objective was to create a stochastic simulation model to evaluate the effectiveness of pre-harvest interventions. We used the model to compare STEC O157 prevalence distributions for summer- and winter-fed cattle to summer-fed cattle immunized with a type III secreted protein (TTSP) vaccine. Model inputs were an estimate of vaccine efficacy, observed frequency distributions for number of animals within a pen, and pen-level faecal shedding prevalence for summer and winter. Uncertainty about vaccine efficacy was simulated using a log-normal distribution (mean = 58%, SE = 0.14). Model outputs were distributions of STEC O157 faecal pen prevalence of summer-fed cattle unvaccinated and vaccinated, and winter-fed cattle unvaccinated. The simulation was performed 5000 times. Summer faecal prevalence ranged from 0% to 80% (average = 30%). Thirty-six per cent of summer-fed pens had STEC O157 prevalence >40%. Winter faecal prevalence ranged from 0% to 60% (average = 10%). Seven per cent of winter-fed pens had STEC O157 prevalence >40%. Faecal prevalence for summer-fed pens vaccinated with a 58% efficacious vaccine product ranged from 0% to 52% (average = 13%). Less than one per cent of vaccinated pens had STEC O157 prevalence >40%. In this simulation, vaccination mitigated the risk of STEC O157 faecal shedding to levels comparable to winter, with the major effects being reduced average shedding prevalence, reduced variability in prevalence distribution, and a reduction in the occurrence of the highest prevalence pens. Food safety decision-makers may find this modelling approach useful for evaluating the value of pre-harvest interventions. © 2013 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Penning ionization widths by Fano-algebraic diagrammatic construction method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yun, Renjie; Narevicius, Edvardas; Averbukh, Vitali

2018-03-01

We present an ab initio theory and computational method for Penning ionization widths. Our method is based on the Fano theory of resonances, algebraic diagrammatic construction (ADC) scheme for many-electron systems, and Stieltjes imaging procedure. It includes an extension of the Fano-ADC scheme [V. Averbukh and L. S. Cederbaum, J. Chem. Phys. 123, 204107 (2005)] to triplet excited states. Penning ionization widths of various He*-H2 states are calculated as a function of the distance R between He* and H2. We analyze the asymptotic (large-R) dependences of the Penning widths in the region where the well-established electron transfer mechanism of the decay is suppressed by the multipole- and/or spin-forbidden energy transfer. The R-12 and R-8 power laws are derived for the asymptotes of the Penning widths of the singlet and triplet excited states of He*(1s2s1,3S), respectively. We show that the electron transfer mechanism dominates Penning ionization of He*(1s2s 3S)-H2 up until the He*-H2 separation is large enough for the radiative decay of He* to become the dominant channel. The same mechanism also dominates the ionization of He*(1s2s 1S)-H2 when R < 5 Å. We estimate that the regime of energy transfer in the He*-H2 Penning ionization cannot be reached by approaching zero collisional temperature. However, the multipole-forbidden energy transfer mechanism can become important for Penning ionization in doped helium droplets.

Dose accuracy of a durable insulin pen with memory function, before and after simulated lifetime use and under stress conditions.

PubMed

Xue, Ligang; Mikkelsen, Kristian Handberg

2013-03-01

The objective of this study was to assess the dose accuracy of NovoPen® 5 in delivering low, medium and high doses of insulin before and after simulated lifetime use. A secondary objective was to evaluate the durability of the pen and its memory function under various stress conditions designed to simulate conditions that may be encountered in everyday use of an insulin pen. All testing was conducted according to International Organization for Standardization guideline 11608-1, 2000 for pen injectors. Dose accuracy was measured for the delivery of 1 unit (U) (10 mg), 30 U (300 mg) and 60 U (600 mg) test medium in standard, cool and hot conditions and before and after simulated lifetime use. Dose accuracy was also tested after preconditioning in dry heat storage; cold storage; damp cyclical heat; shock, bump and vibration; free fall and after electrostatic charge and radiated field test. Memory function was tested under all temperature and physical conditions. NovoPen 5 maintained dosing accuracy and memory function at minimum, medium and maximum doses in standard, cool and hot conditions, stress tests and simulated lifetime use. The pens remained intact and retained dosing accuracy and a working memory function at all doses after exposure to variations in temperature and after physical challenge. NovoPen 5 was accurate at all doses tested and under various functionality tests. Its durable design ensured that the dose accuracy and memory function were retained under conditions of stress likely to be encountered in everyday use.

Distribution of Salmonella serovars and phage types on 80 Ontario swine farms in 2004

PubMed Central

Farzan, Abdolvahab; Friendship, Robert M.; Dewey, Catherine E.; Muckle, Anne C.; Gray, Jeff T.; Funk, Julie

2008-01-01

The objective of this study was to describe the distribution of Salmonella spp. on Ontario grower–finisher pig farms. Eighty swine farms were visited from January through July 2004. On each farm, fecal samples were collected from 5 pens, 2 rectal samples and 1 pooled sample from fresh manure on the floor per pen. Salmonella was isolated from 91 (11%) of the 800 rectal samples and 73 (18%) of the 397 pooled samples. Overall, Salmonella was recovered from 37 (46%) of the 80 farms. On each positive farm, Salmonella was cultured from 1 to 7 pigs or 1 to 5 pens. Of the 37 farms, 18, 13, 5, and 1 yielded 1, 2, 3, and 4 serovars, respectively. The most common serovars were S. Typhimurium var. Copenhagen, S. Infantis, S. Typhimurium, S. Derby, S. Agona, S. Havana, and S. enterica subsp. I:Rough-O. The 3 most frequent phage types were PT 104, PT 104a, and PT 104b. There was a statistically fair agreement between samples collected directly from pigs and pooled pen samples in determining the Salmonella status at the pen and farm level (κ = 0.6, P < 0.0001). However, in 62 pens, Salmonella status, serovars, or phage types differed between the pig and pooled pen samples. The distribution of Salmonella on the swine farms in this study indicates that, in developing an intervention strategy, priority should be given to farms positive for S. Typhimurium var. Copenhagen. Also, the variation in Salmonella status between pig and pooled pen samples deserves consideration in a sampling strategy. PMID:18214155

Pen-Enabled, Real-Time Student Engagement for Teaching in STEM Subjects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Urban, Sylvia

2017-01-01

The introduction of pen-enabling devices has been demonstrated to increase a student's ability to solve problems, communicate, and learn during note taking. For the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects that are considered to be symbolic in nature, pen interfaces are better suited for visual-spatial content and also provide a…

9 CFR 313.1 - Livestock pens, driveways and ramps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...) Livestock pens, driveways and ramps shall be maintained in good repair. They shall be free from sharp or... acceptable construction and maintenance. (c) U.S. Suspects (as defined in § 301.2(xxx)) and dying, diseased... awaiting disposition by the inspector. (d) Livestock pens and driveways shall be so arranged that sharp...

Application of micro-attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to ink examination in signatures written with ballpoint pen on questioned documents.

PubMed

Nam, Yun Sik; Park, Jin Sook; Lee, Yeonhee; Lee, Kang-Bong

2014-05-01

Questioned documents examined in a forensic laboratory sometimes contain signatures written with ballpoint pen inks; these signatures were examined to assess the feasibility of micro-attenuated total reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as a forensic tool. Micro-ATR FTIR spectra for signatures written with 63 ballpoint pens available commercially in Korea were obtained and used to construct an FTIR spectral database. A library-searching program was utilized to identify the manufacturer, blend, and model of each black ballpoint pen ink based upon their FTIR peak intensities, positions, and patterns in the spectral database. This FTIR technique was also successfully used in determining the sequence of homogeneous line intersections from the crossing lines of two ballpoint pen signatures. We have demonstrated with a set of sample documents that micro-ATR FTIR is a viable nondestructive analytical method that can be used to identify the origin of the ballpoint pen ink used to mark signatures. © 2014 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 vaccine field trial in 9 feedlots in Alberta and Saskatchewan

PubMed Central

2005-01-01

Abstract A feedlot trial was conducted to assess the efficacy of an Escherichia coli O157:H7 vaccine in reducing fecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7 in 218 pens of feedlot cattle in 9 feedlots in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Pens of cattle were vaccinated once at arrival processing and again at reimplanting with either the E. coli O157:H7 vaccine or a placebo. The E. coli O157:H7 vaccine included 50 μg of type III secreted proteins. Fecal samples were collected from 30 fresh manure patties within each feedlot pen at arrival processing, revaccination at reimplanting, and within 2 wk of slaughter. The mean pen prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in feces was 5.0%; ranging in pens from 0% to 90%, and varying signif icantly (P < 0.001) among feedlots. There was no signif icant association (P > 0.20) between vaccination and pen prevalence of fecal E. coli O157:H7 following initial vaccination, at reimplanting, or prior to slaughter. PMID:16187717

Study of carrier-mobility of organic thin film by dark-injection time-of-flight and electric-field-induced optical second-harmonic generation measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xin; Sunaga, Masashi; Taguchi, Dai; Manaka, Takaaki; Lin, Hong; Iwamoto, Mitsumasa

2017-06-01

By using dark-injection time-of-flight (ToF) and time-resolved electric-field-induced optical second-harmonic generation (EFISHG) measurements, we studied carrier mobility μ of pentacene (Pen) thin film of ITO/Pen/Al and Au/Pen/polyimide/ITO diodes where pentacene film is ∼100 nm in thickness. ToF showed that determination of transit time tr from trace of transient currents is difficult owing to large capacitive charging current. On the other hand, optical EFISHG is free from this charging current, and allows us to calculate hole and electron mobility as μh = 1.8 ×10-4 cm2/Vs and μe = 7.6 ×10-7 cm2/Vs, respectively, by using the relation tr = d / μ ∫tc tr E (0) dt (d : Pen thickness, E (0) : electric field across Pen), instead of the conventional relationship tr =d2 / μV (V : voltage across Pen). Time-resolved EFISHG measurement is useful for the determination of carrier mobility of organic thin film in organic devices.

Nitrile functionalized halloysite nanotubes/poly(arylene ether nitrile) nanocomposites: Interface control, characterization, and improved properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Xinyi; Zhan, Yingqing; Zeng, Guangyong; He, Yi

2017-01-01

To develop high-performance halloysite nanotube (HNT)-based nanocomposites, the two key issues need to be considered: precise interface control and the dispersal of HNTs. This study presents an efficient way to functionalize halloysite nanotubes with 3-aminophenoxy-phthalonitrile, followed by compounding with poly(arylene ether nitrile) (PEN), to prepare functional nanocomposite films. The surface functionalization of HNTs was characterized and confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Compared with neat PEN, the tensile strength and modulus of the resulting PEN nanocomposites with 3 wt% functionalized HNTs were found to increase by 25.7% and 20.7%, respectively. The good dispersion and high capacitance of the dielectric layer resulted in PEN/HNTs nancomposites with enhanced dielectric permittivity and relatively low dielectric loss. Moreover, the addition of functional HNTs greatly improved the thermal stability of PEN, which could be further enhanced through the chemical cross-linking reaction between the functional HNTs and the PEN matrix. This work provides a new path toward obtaining advanced polymer-based nanocomposites with functional properties.

Dose accuracy of a reusable insulin pen using a cartridge system with an integrated plunger mechanism.

PubMed

Clarke, Alastair; Dain, Marie-Paule

2006-09-01

Pen injection devices are a common method of administering insulin for patients with diabetes. Pen devices must comply with guidelines prepared by the International Organization for Standardization, which include device dose accuracy and precision. OptiClik (sanofi-aventis) was developed to fulfil unmet needs of patients with diabetes, including: easier cartridge changing, clearer dose display and readability, and a larger dose of insulin to be delivered with a single injection. In this paper, the authors report on the dose accuracy of the OptiClik pen device, which uses a novel cartridge system with an integrated plunger for easier cartridge changing. The authors show that OptiClik accurately delivers a required dose of insulin, which is maintained over the lifetime of the pen. OptiClik offers a significant contribution to the treatment of diabetes.

cDNA cloning, characterization and expression analysis of a novel antimicrobial peptide gene penaeidin-3 (Fi-Pen3) from the haemocytes of Indian white shrimp Fenneropenaeus indicus.

PubMed

Shanthi, S; Vaseeharan, B

2012-03-20

A new member of antimicrobial peptide genes of the penaeidin family, penaeidin 3, was cloned from the haemocytes of Indian white shrimp Fenneropeneaus indicus (F. indicus), by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA end (RACE-PCR) methods. The complete nucleotide sequence of cDNA clone of Indian white shrimp F. indicus Penaeidin 3 (Fi-Pen3) was 243bp long and has an open reading frame which encodes 80 amino acid peptide. The homology analysis of Fi-Pen3 sequence with other Penaeidins 3 shows higher similarity with Penaeus monodon (92%). The theoretical 3D structure generated through ab initio modelling indicated the presence of two-disulphide bridges in the alpha-helix. The signal peptide sequence of Fi-Pen3 is almost entirely homologous to that of other Penaeidin 3 of crustaceans, while differing relatively in the N-terminal domain of the mature peptide. The mature peptide has a predicted molecular weight of 84.9kDa, and a theoretical pI of 9.38. Phylogenetic analysis of Fi-Pen3 shows high resemblance with other Pen-3 from P. monodon, Litopenaeus stylirostris, Litopenaeus vannamei and Litopenaeus setiferus. Fi-Pen3 found to be expressed in haemocytes, heart, hepatopancreas, muscles, gills, intestine, and eyestalk with higher expression in haemocytes. Microbial challenge resulted in mRNA up-regulation, up to 6h post injection of Vibrio parahemolyticus. The Fi-Pen3 mRNA expression of F. indicus in the premolt stage (D(01) and D(02)) was significantly up-regulated than the postmolt (A and B) and intermolt stages (C). The findings of the present paper underline the involvement of Fi-Pen3 in innate immune system of F. indicus. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Effects of lignite application on ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions from cattle pens.

PubMed

Sun, Jianlei; Bai, Mei; Shen, Jianlin; Griffith, David W T; Denmead, Owen T; Hill, Julian; Lam, Shu Kee; Mosier, Arvin R; Chen, Deli

2016-09-15

Beef cattle feedlots are a major source of ammonia (NH3) emissions from livestock industries. We investigated the effects of lignite surface applications on NH3 and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from beef cattle feedlot pens. Two rates of lignite, 3 and 6kgm(-2), were tested in the treatment pen. No lignite was applied in the control pen. Twenty-four Black Angus steers were fed identical commercial rations in each pen. We measured NH3 and N2O concentrations continuously from 4th Sep to 13th Nov 2014 using Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) NH3 analysers and a closed-path Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analyser (CP-FTIR) in conjunction with the integrated horizontal flux method to calculate NH3 and N2O fluxes. During the feeding period, 16 and 26% of the excreted nitrogen (N) (240gNhead(-1)day(-1)) was lost via NH3 volatilization from the control pen, while lignite application decreased NH3 volatilization to 12 and 18% of the excreted N, for Phase 1 and Phase 2, respectively. Compared to the control pen, lignite application decreased NH3 emissions by approximately 30%. Nitrous oxide emissions from the cattle pens were small, 0.10 and 0.14gN2O-Nhead(-1)day(-1) (<0.1% of excreted N) for the control pen, for Phase 1 and Phase 2, respectively. Lignite application increased direct N2O emissions by 40 and 57%, to 0.14 and 0.22gN2O-Nhead(-1)day(-1), for Phase 1 and Phase 2, respectively. The increase in N2O emissions resulting from lignite application was counteracted by the lower indirect N2O emission due to decreased NH3 volatilization. Using 1% as a default emission factor of deposited NH3 for indirect N2O emissions, the application of lignite decreased total N2O emissions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dose Accuracy and Injection Force of Different Insulin Glargine Pens

PubMed Central

Friedrichs, Arnd; Bohnet, Janine; Korger, Volker; Adler, Steffen; Schubert-Zsilavecz, Manfred; Abdel-Tawab, Mona

2013-01-01

Background Dose accuracy and injection force, representing key parameters of insulin pens, were determined for three pens delivering insulin glargine-based copies, Pen Royale (WR) and DispoPen (WD) for Glaritus® (Wockhardt) and GanLee Pen (GL) for Basalin® (Gan & Lee), compared with pens of the originator, ClikSTAR® (CS) and S o l o S TA R® (SS) for Lantus® (Sanofi) . Methods Using the weighing procedure recommended by DIN EN ISO 11608–1:2000, dose accuracy was evaluated based on nonrandomized delivery of low (5 U), mid (30 U), and high (60 U) dosage levels. Injection force was measured by dispensing the maximum dose of insulin (60 U for the GL, WR, and WD; 80 U for the SS and CS) at dose speeds of 6 and 10 U/s. Results All tested pens delivered comparable average doses within the DIN EN ISO 11608–1:2000 limits at all dosage levels. The GL revealed a higher coefficient of variation (CV) at 5 U, and the WR and WD had higher CVs at all dosage levels compared with the CS and SS. Injection force was higher for the WR, WD, and GL compared with the CS and SS at both dose speeds. In contrast to the CS and SS with an end-of-content feature, doses exceeding the remaining insulin could be dialed with the WR, GL, and WD and, apparently, dispensed with the WD. Conclusions All pens fulfilled the dose accuracy requirements defined by DIN EN ISO 11608–1:2000 standards at all three dosage levels, with the WR, WD, and GL showing higher dosage variability and injection force compared with the SS and CS. Thus, the devices that deliver insulin glargine copies show different performance characteristics compared with the originator. J Diabetes Sci Technol 2013;7(5):1346–1353 PMID:24124963

Properties of Surface-Modification Layer Generated by Atomic Hydrogen Annealing on Poly(ethylene naphthalate) Substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heya, Akira; Matsuo, Naoto

2008-01-01

The surface of a poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN) substrate was modified by atomic hydrogen annealing (AHA). In this method, a PEN substrate was exposed to atomic hydrogen generated by cracking hydrogen molecules on heated tungsten wire. The properties of the surface-modification layer by AHA were evaluated by spectroscopic ellipsometry. It is found that the thickness of the modified layer was 5 nm and that the modification layer has a low refractive index compared with the PEN substrate. The modification layer relates to the reduction reaction of the PEN substrate by AHA.

Poly(2-oxazoline)-Antibiotic Conjugates with Penicillins.

PubMed

Schmidt, Martin; Bast, Livia K; Lanfer, Franziska; Richter, Lena; Hennes, Elisabeth; Seymen, Rana; Krumm, Christian; Tiller, Joerg C

2017-09-20

The conjugation of antibiotics with polymers is rarely done, but it might be a promising alternative to low-molecular-weight derivatization. The two penicillins penicillin G (PenG) and penicillin V (PenV) were attached to the end groups of different water-soluble poly(2-oxazoline)s (POx) via their carboxylic acid function. This ester group was shown to be more stable against hydrolysis than the β-lactam ring of the penicillins. The conjugates are still antimicrobially active and up to 20 times more stable against penicillinase catalyzed hydrolysis. The antibiotic activity of the conjugates against Staphylococcus aureus in the presence of penicillinase is up to 350 times higher compared with the free antibiotics. Conjugates with a second antimicrobial function, a dodecyltrimethylammonium group (DDA-X), at the starting end of the PenG and PenV POx conjugates are more antimicrobially active than the conjugates without DDA-X and show high activity in the presence of penicillinase. For example, the conjugates DDA-X-PEtOx-PenG and DDA-X-PEtOx-PenV are 200 to 350 times more active against S. aureus in the presence of penicillinase and almost as effective as the penicillinase stable cloxacollin (Clox) under these conditions. These conjugates show even greater activity compared to cloxacollin without this enzyme present. Further, both conjugates kill Escherichia coli more effectively than PenG and Clox.

Ecosystem Pen Pals: Using Place-Based Marine Science and Culture to Connect Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiener, Carlie S.; Matsumoto, Karen

2014-01-01

The marine environment provides a unique context for students to explore both natural and cultural connections. This paper reports preliminary findings on Ecosystem Pen Pals, an ocean literacy program for 4th and 5th graders focused on using a pen pal model for integrating traditional ecological knowledge into marine science. Surveys with…

The Compensatory Effectiveness of the Quicktionary Reading Pen II on the Reading Comprehension of Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Higgins, Eleanor L.; Raskind, Marshall H.

2005-01-01

The study investigated the compensatory effectiveness of the Quicktionary Reading Pen II (the Reading Pen), a portable device with miniaturized optical character recognition and speech synthesis capabilities. Thirty participants with reading disabilities aged 10-18 were trained on the operation of the technology and given two weeks to practice…

Signature Verification Using N-tuple Learning Machine.

PubMed

Maneechot, Thanin; Kitjaidure, Yuttana

2005-01-01

This research presents new algorithm for signature verification using N-tuple learning machine. The features are taken from handwritten signature on Digital Tablet (On-line). This research develops recognition algorithm using four features extraction, namely horizontal and vertical pen tip position(x-y position), pen tip pressure, and pen altitude angles. Verification uses N-tuple technique with Gaussian thresholding.

"My Pen Pal Goes to College": A Functional Approach to Literacy Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yellin, David

A study examined the effects of a "pen pal" letter writing exchange on undergraduate college students and second grade children. Subjects, 23 second graders, completed a letter writing attitude survey, and then (after receiving an explanation of what a pen pal is) exchanged letters with the undergraduates over a l5-week period. Results…

Gender Representation in an Electronic City Hall: Female Adoption of Santa Monica's PEN System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins-Jarvis, Lori A.

1993-01-01

Discussion of the use of electronic networking systems by women focuses on a study of their use of the Public Electronic Network (PEN) in Santa Monica (California). Characteristics of PEN that contributed to female adoption are described; gender, political participation, and motivation are examined; and future research is suggested. (46…

5 CFR 2634.304 - Gifts and reimbursements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

.... Example 1. An official accepts a print, a pen and pencil set, and a letter opener from a community service...: $185 Gift 3—Letter opener: $20 The official must disclose Gifts 1 and 2, since together they aggregate.... Example. Items such as a pen and pencil set, letter opener, leather case or engraved pen are generally...

5 CFR 2634.304 - Gifts and reimbursements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

.... Example 1. An official accepts a print, a pen and pencil set, and a letter opener from a community service...: $185 Gift 3—Letter opener: $20 The official must disclose Gifts 1 and 2, since together they aggregate.... Example. Items such as a pen and pencil set, letter opener, leather case or engraved pen are generally...

5 CFR 2634.304 - Gifts and reimbursements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

.... Example 1. An official accepts a print, a pen and pencil set, and a letter opener from a community service...: $185 Gift 3—Letter opener: $20 The official must disclose Gifts 1 and 2, since together they aggregate.... Example. Items such as a pen and pencil set, letter opener, leather case or engraved pen are generally...

Pen size and parity effects on maternal behaviour of Small-Tail Han sheep.

PubMed

Lv, S-J; Yang, Y; Dwyer, C M; Li, F-K

2015-07-01

The aim of this experiment was to study the effects of pen size and parity on maternal behaviour of twin-bearing Small-Tail Han ewes. A total of 24 ewes were allocated to a 2×2 design (six per pen), with parity (primiparous or multiparous) and pen size (large: 6.0×3.0 m; small: 6.0×1.5 m) as main effects at Linyi University, Shandong Province, China. Behaviour was observed from after parturition until weaning. All ewes were observed for 6 h every 5 days from 0700 to1000 h and from 1400 to 1700 h. Continuous focal animal sampling was used to quantify the duration of maternal behaviours: sucking, grooming and following as well as the frequency of udder accepting, udder refusing and low-pitched bleating. Oestradiol and cortisol concentrations in the faeces (collected in the morning every 5 days) were detected using EIA kits. All lambs were weighed 24 h after parturition and again at weaning at 35 days of age. The small pen size significantly reduced following (P<0.005), grooming (P<0.001) and suckling durations (P<0.05), as well as the frequency of udder refusals (P<0.001). However, there was a significant interaction with ewe parity, with decreased grooming and suckling in the small pen largely seen in the multiparous ewes (P<0.001). Independent of pen size, multiparous ewes accepted more sucking attempts by their lambs (P<0.05) and made more low-pitched bleats than primiparous ewes (P<0.001). Multiparous ewes had higher faecal oestradiol concentrations than primiparous ewes (P<0.001), and ewes in small pens had higher faecal cortisol levels compared with ewes in larger pens (P<0.001). As lambs increased in age, the duration of maternal grooming, following and suckling as well as frequency of udder acceptance and low-pitched bleating all declined, and the frequency of udder refusing increased (P<0.001 for all). Ewe parity, but not pen size, affected lamb weight gain during the period of observation (P<0.001). This is the first study to show that pen size, interacting with parity, can affect the expression of maternal behaviour in sheep during lactation. The study is also the first to report on the maternal behaviour of Chinese native sheep breeds (Small-Tail Han sheep), with implications for the production of sheep in China.

Pen confinement of yearling ewes with cows or heifers for 14 days to produce bonded sheep.

PubMed

Fredrickson, E L.; Anderson, D M.; Estell, R E.; Havstad, K M.; Shupe, W L.; Remmenga, M D.

2001-06-01

Mixed species stocking is commonly a more ecologically sound and efficient use of forage resources than single species stocking, especially in pastures having complex assemblages of forage species. However, in many environments livestock predation on especially smaller ruminants adds an extra challenge to mixed species stocking. When mixed sheep and cattle remain consistently as a cohesive group (flerd), predation risks are lessened, while fencing and herding costs are reduced. To establish a cohesive group (bond), a 30-day bonding period in which young sheep and cattle pairs are penned together is currently recommended. The purpose of this research was to test if a bond could be produced in <30 days (14 days) using pen confinement; thus reducing feed, labor, and overhead costs. Additionally, we tested whether cow age affects cohesiveness of bonded pairs immediately following 14 days of pen confinement. Sixteen mature cows (7-8 years of age) and sixteen 9-month-old heifers were randomly paired with one of 32 yearling ewe lambs. Eight cow/ewe (PC) and eight heifer/ewe (PH) pairs were maintained individually in 2mx6m pens for 14 days. The other eight-cow/ewe (NC) and heifer/ewe (NH) pairs were separated by species with each species maintained on separate pastures for the 14-day period. After 14 days, pairs were released in observation paddocks and separation distance between treatment pairs was measured during a 30-min open field test. Other behaviors were also noted and recorded during the field test. Separation distance did not differ (P=0.973) between the PC and PH treatments; however, separation distance for NC versus NH (P<0.004), NC versus PC (P<0.001), and NH versus PH (P<0.002) all differed. Mean separation distance (meters) and standard errors were 40+/-3.9, 3+/-0.3, 76+/-5.3, and 4+/-1.4 for NH, PH, NC, and PC treatments, respectively. Overall, the animals that were penned spent more time grazing and less time walking than animals not previously penned for 14 days. Penned animals also vocalized less than non-penned animals during the open field test. The bond sheep formed to the bovines was not affected by cow age. These data suggest that inter-specific bond formation using pen confinement can be accomplished within 14 days, representing a 53% savings in time and associated costs when compared to pen confinement lasting 30 days.

[Preference for etanercept pen versus syringe in patients with chronic arthritis. Nurse education workshop].

PubMed

Garcia-Diaz, Silvia; Girabent-Farrés, Montserrat; Roig-Vilaseca, Daniel; Reina, Delia; Cerdà, Dacia; González, Marina; Torrente-Segarra, Vicenç; Fíguls, Ramon; Corominas, Hèctor

2013-01-01

The aims of this study are to evaluate the level of fear of post-injection pain prior to the administration, the difficulty in handling the device, and the level of satisfaction of patients using a pre-filled syringe versus an etanercept pen, as well as to evaluate the usefulness of the training given by nursing staff prior to starting with the pen, and the preferences of patients after using both devices. A prospective study was designed to follow-up a cohort of patients during a 6 months period. The data was collected using questionnaires and analyzed with SPSS 18.00. Rank and McNemar tests were performed. Statistical significance was pre-set at an α level of 0.05. A total of 29 patients were included, of whom 69% female, and with a mean age 52.5±10.9 years. Of these, 48% had rheumatoid arthritis, 28% psoriatic arthritis, 21% ankylosing spondylitis, and 3% undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy. There were no statistically significant differences either with the fear or pain or handling of the device between the syringe and the pen (P=.469; P=.812; P=.169 respectively). At 6 months, 59% of patients referred to being satisfied or very satisfied with the pen. Almost all (93%) found useful or very useful the training given by nursing staff prior to using the pen, and 55% preferred the pen over the pre-filled syringe. The etanercept pen is another subcutaneous device option for patients with chronic arthritis. According to the present study, nursing educational workshops before starting this therapy are recommended. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Potential harmful health effects of inhaling nicotine-free shisha-pen vapor: a chemical risk assessment of the main components propylene glycol and glycerol.

PubMed

Kienhuis, Anne S; Soeteman-Hernandez, Lya G; Bos, Peter Mj; Cremers, Hans Wjm; Klerx, Walther N; Talhout, Reinskje

2015-01-01

A shisha-pen is an electronic cigarette variant that is advertised to mimic the taste of a water pipe, or shisha. The aim of this study was to assess the potential harmful health effects caused by inhaling the vapor of a nicotine-free shisha-pen. Gas chromatography analysis was performed to determine the major components in shisha-pen vapor. Risk assessment was performed using puff volumes of e-cigarettes and "normal" cigarettes and a 1-puff scenario (one-time exposure). The concentrations that reached the airways and lungs after using a shisha-pen were calculated and compared to data from published toxicity studies. The main components in shisha-pen vapor are propylene glycol and glycerol (54%/46%). One puff (50 to 70 mL) results in exposure of propylene glycol and glycerol of 430 to 603 mg/m(3) and 348 to 495 mg/m(3), respectively. These exposure concentrations were higher than the points of departure for airway irritation based on a human study (propylene glycol, mean concentration of 309 mg/m(3)) and a rat study (glycerol, no-observed adverse effect level of 165 mg/m(3)). Already after one puff of the shisha-pen, the concentrations of propylene glycol and glycerol are sufficiently high to potentially cause irritation of the airways. New products such as the shisha-pen should be detected and risks should be assessed to inform regulatory actions aimed at limiting potential harm that may be caused to consumers and protecting young people to take up smoking.

Psychometric Assessment of the Injection Pen Assessment Questionnaire (IPAQ): measuring ease of use and preference with injection pens for human growth hormone

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Purpose To examine the psychometric properties of the Injection Pen Assessment Questionnaire (IPAQ) including the following: 1) item and scale characteristics (e.g., frequencies, item distributions, and factor structure), 2) reliability, and 3) validity. Methods Focus groups and one-on-one dyad interviews guided the development of the IPAQ. The IPAQ was subsequently tested in 136 parent–child dyads in a Phase 3, 2-month, open-label, multicenter trial for a new Genotropin® disposable pen. Factor analysis was performed to inform the development of a scoring algorithm, and reliability and validity of the IPAQ were evaluated using the data from this two months study. Psychometric analyses were conducted separately for each injection pen. Results Confirmatory factor analysis provides evidence supporting a second order factor solution for four subscales and a total IPAQ score. These factor analysis results support the conceptual framework developed from previous qualitative research in patient dyads using the reusable pen. However, the IPAQ subscales did not consistently meet acceptable internal consistency reliability for some group level comparisons. Cronbach’s alphas for the total IPAQ score for both pens were 0.85, exceeding acceptable levels of reliability for group comparisons. Conclusions The total IPAQ score is a useful measure for evaluating ease of use and preference for injection pens in clinical trials among patient dyads receiving hGH. The psychometric properties of the individual subscales, mainly the lower internal consistency reliability of some of the subscales and the predictive validity findings, do not support the use of subscale scores alone as a primary endpoint. PMID:23046797

DNA Physical Mapping via the Controlled Translocation of Single Molecules through a 5-10nm Silicon Nitride Nanopore

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stein, Derek; Reisner, Walter; Jiang, Zhijun; Hagerty, Nick; Wood, Charles; Chan, Jason

2009-03-01

The ability to map the binding position of sequence-specific markers, including transcription-factors, protein-nucleic acids (PNAs) or deactivated restriction enzymes, along a single DNA molecule in a nanofluidic device would be of key importance for the life-sciences. Such markers could give an indication of the active genes at particular stage in a cell's transcriptional cycle, pinpoint the location of mutations or even provide a DNA barcode that could aid in genomics applications. We have developed a setup consisting of a 5-10 nm nanopore in a 20nm thick silicon nitride film coupled to an optical tweezer setup. The translocation of DNA across the nanopore can be detected via blockades in the electrical current through the pore. By anchoring one end of the translocating DNA to an optically trapped microsphere, we hope to stretch out the molecule in the nanopore and control the translocation speed, enabling us to slowly scan across the genome and detect changes in the baseline current due to the presence of bound markers.

Perception Evolution Network Based on Cognition Deepening Model--Adapting to the Emergence of New Sensory Receptor.

PubMed

Xing, Youlu; Shen, Furao; Zhao, Jinxi

2016-03-01

The proposed perception evolution network (PEN) is a biologically inspired neural network model for unsupervised learning and online incremental learning. It is able to automatically learn suitable prototypes from learning data in an incremental way, and it does not require the predefined prototype number or the predefined similarity threshold. Meanwhile, being more advanced than the existing unsupervised neural network model, PEN permits the emergence of a new dimension of perception in the perception field of the network. When a new dimension of perception is introduced, PEN is able to integrate the new dimensional sensory inputs with the learned prototypes, i.e., the prototypes are mapped to a high-dimensional space, which consists of both the original dimension and the new dimension of the sensory inputs. In the experiment, artificial data and real-world data are used to test the proposed PEN, and the results show that PEN can work effectively.

Product Plan of New Generation System Camera "OLYMPUS PEN E-P1"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogawa, Haruo

"OLYMPUS PEN E-P1", which is new generation system camera, is the first product of Olympus which is new standard "Micro Four-thirds System" for high-resolution mirror-less cameras. It continues good sales by the concept of "small and stylish design, easy operation and SLR image quality" since release on July 3, 2009. On the other hand, the half-size film camera "OLYMPUS PEN" was popular by the concept "small and stylish design and original mechanism" since the first product in 1959 and recorded sale number more than 17 million with 17 models. By the 50th anniversary topic and emotional value of the Olympus pen, Olympus pen E-P1 became big sales. I would like to explain the way of thinking of the product plan that included not only the simple functional value but also emotional value on planning the first product of "Micro Four-thirds System".

Sherman Creek Hatchery; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Fish Program, 2001 Annual Report.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Combs, Mitch

2002-01-01

Sherman Creek Hatchery's primary objective is the restoration and enhancement of the recreational and subsistence fishery in Lake Roosevelt and Banks Lake. The Sherman Creek Hatchery (SCH) was designed to rear 1.7 million kokanee fry for acclimation and imprinting during the spring and early summer. Additionally, it was designed to trap all available returning adult kokanee during the fall for broodstock operations and evaluations. Since the start of this program, the operations on Lake Roosevelt have been modified to better achieve program goals. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Spokane Tribe of Indians and the Colville Confederated Tribe formmore » the interagency Lake Roosevelt Hatcheries Coordination Team (LRHCT) which sets goals and objectives for both Sherman Creek and the Spokane Tribal Hatchery and serves to coordinate enhancement efforts on Lake Roosevelt and Banks Lake. The primary changes have been to replace the kokanee fingerling program with a yearling (post smolt) program of up to 1,000,000 fish. To construct and operate twenty net pens to handle the increased production. The second significant change was to rear up to 300,000 rainbow trout fingerling at SCH from July through October, for stocking into the volunteer net pens. This enables the Spokane Tribal Hatchery (STH) to rear additional kokanee to further the enhancement efforts on Lake Roosevelt. Current objectives include increased use of native/indigenous stocks where available for propagation into Upper Columbia River Basin Waters. Monitoring and evaluation is preformed by the Lake Roosevelt Fisheries Monitoring Program. From 1988 to 1998, the principle sport fishery on Lake Roosevelt has shifted from walleye to include rainbow trout and kokanee salmon (Underwood et al. 1997, Tilson and Scholz 1997). The angler use, harvest rates for rainbow and kokanee and the economic value of the fishery has increased substantially during this 10-year period. The most recent information from the monitoring program also suggests that the hatchery and net pen rearing programs have been beneficial to enhancing the Lake Roosevelt fishery while not negatively impacting wild and native stocks within the lake. The 2001 fishing season has been especially successful with great fishing for both rainbow and kokanee throughout Lake Roosevelt. The results of the Two Rivers Fishing Derby identified 100 percent of the rainbow and 47 percent of the kokanee caught were of hatchery origin.« less

Space Pens

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1986-01-01

Fisher's Space Pen was developed for use in gravity free environments. The cartridge, pressurized with nitrogen, seals out air preventing evaporation and oxidation of the ink. Internal pressures force ink outward toward the ball point. A thixotropic ink is used. The pen will operate from minus 50 to plus 45 degrees Fahrenheit, and will withstand atmospheric extremes. It was used both on the Apollo missions and by Soviet Cosmonauts.

Prediction of Genetic Values for Feed Intake from Individual Body Weight Gain and Total Feed Intake of the Pen

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Records of individual feed intake (FI) and gain (G) were obtained from the Germ Plasm Evaluation (GPE) program at US Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC). Animals were randomly assigned to pens. Only pens with 6 to 9 steers were used for this study (Data Set 1,289 steers). Variance components and g...

Getting to Know You: Cross-Cultural Pen Pals Expand Children's World View

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shandomo, Hibajene M.

2009-01-01

In this article, the author described the Poplar Street-Naledi pen pal project. The goals of this project were to provide elementary school students with a broader view of the world, to increase their social and cultural awareness, to develop content knowledge of where their pen pals live, and to determine the impact of this project on student…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kowarik, S.; Hinderhofer, A.; Wang, C.

Highly crystalline and stable molecular superlattices are grown with the smallest possible stacking period using monolayers (MLs) of the organic semiconductors pentacene (PEN) and perfluoro-pentacene (PFP). Superlattice reflections in X-ray reflectivity and their energy dependence in resonant soft X-ray reflectivity measurements show that PFP and PEN MLs indeed alternate even though the coherent ordering is lost after ~ 4 ML. The observed lattice spacing of 15.9 Å in the superlattice is larger than in pure PEN and PFP films, presumably because of more upright standing molecules and lack of interdigitation between the incommensurate crystalline PEN and PFP layers. The findingsmore » are important for the development of novel organic quantum optoelectronic devices.« less

Microstructural control over soluble pentacene deposited by capillary pen printing for organic electronics.

PubMed

Lee, Wi Hyoung; Min, Honggi; Park, Namwoo; Lee, Junghwi; Seo, Eunsuk; Kang, Boseok; Cho, Kilwon; Lee, Hwa Sung

2013-08-28

Research into printing techniques has received special attention for the commercialization of cost-efficient organic electronics. Here, we have developed a capillary pen printing technique to realize a large-area pattern array of organic transistors and systematically investigated self-organization behavior of printed soluble organic semiconductor ink. The capillary pen-printed deposits of organic semiconductor, 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS_PEN), was well-optimized in terms of morphological and microstructural properties by using ink with mixed solvents of chlorobenzene (CB) and 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB). Especially, a 1:1 solvent ratio results in the best transistor performances. This result is attributed to the unique evaporation characteristics of the TIPS_PEN deposits where fast evaporation of CB induces a morphological evolution at the initial printed position, and the remaining DCB with slow evaporation rate offers a favorable crystal evolution at the pinned position. Finally, a large-area transistor array was facilely fabricated by drawing organic electrodes and active layers with a versatile capillary pen. Our approach provides an efficient printing technique for fabricating large-area arrays of organic electronics and further suggests a methodology to enhance their performances by microstructural control of the printed organic semiconducting deposits.

The effect of rearing methods on survival of reintroduced black-footed ferrets

USGS Publications Warehouse

Biggins, D.E.; Godbey, J.L.; Hanebury, L.R.; Luce, B.; Marinari, P.E.; Matchett, M.R.; Vargas, A.

1998-01-01

We estimated minimum survival rates for 282 young-of-year, captive-reared, black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) reintroduced into prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) colonies in Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota. We used night surveys with spotlights to locate ferrets about 1 month and 9 months postrelease. We modeled minimum survival rates using gender, year, site, and 4 rearing methods. Minimum survival rates were highest (30% for 1 month, 20% for 9 months) for ferrets reared from early ages in outdoor pens with simulated prairie dog habitat; survival was lowest for cage-reared ferrets released without pen experience (11% for 1 month, 2% for 9 months). Rearing method and year influenced 1-month survival in a comparison of 3 levels of pen experience (pen rearing as defined above, transfer of kits from zoos to pen facilities at age 60-90 days, transfer at age >90 days) during releases in 1994-95 in Montana. Higher survival was associated with intensive management of coyotes (Canis latrans) in 1995. Survival was not different (P > 0.05) between sites or sexes, regardless of model. We recommend routine use of outdoor pens for prerelease conditioning of black-footed ferret kits.

Pen-on-paper strategy for point-of-care testing: Rapid prototyping of fully written microfluidic biosensor.

PubMed

Li, Zedong; Li, Fei; Xing, Yue; Liu, Zhi; You, Minli; Li, Yingchun; Wen, Ting; Qu, Zhiguo; Ling Li, Xiao; Xu, Feng

2017-12-15

Paper-based microfluidic biosensors have recently attracted increasing attentions in point-of-care testing (POCT) territories benefiting from their affordable, accessible and eco-friendly features, where technologies for fabricating such biosensors are preferred to be equipment free, easy-to-operate and capable of rapid prototyping. In this work, we developed a pen-on-paper (PoP) strategy based on two custom-made pens, i.e., a wax pen and a conductive-ink pen, to fully write paper-based microfluidic biosensors through directly writing both microfluidic channels and electrodes. Particularly, the proposed wax pen is competent to realize one-step fabrication of wax channels on paper, as the melted wax penetrates into paper during writing process without any post-treatments. The practical applications of the fabricated paper-based microfluidic biosensors are demonstrated by both colorimetric detection of Salmonella typhimurium DNA with detection limit of 1nM and electrochemical measurement of glucose with detection limit of 1mM. The developed PoP strategy for making microfluidic biosensors on paper characterized by true simplicity, prominent portability and excellent capability for rapid prototyping shows promising prospect in POCT applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gradual training of alpacas to the confinement of metabolism pens reduces stress when normal excretion behavior is accommodated.

PubMed

Lund, Kirrin E; Maloney, Shane K; Milton, John T B; Blache, Dominique

2012-01-01

Confinement in metabolism pens may provoke a stress response in alpacas that will reduce the welfare of the animal and jeopardize the validity of scientific results obtained in such pens. In this study, we tested a protocol designed to successfully train alpacas to be held in a specially designed metabolism pen so that the animals' confinement would not jeopardize their welfare. We hypothesized that the alpacas would show fewer behaviors associated with a response to stress as training gradually progressed, and that they would adapt to being in the confinement of the metabolism pen. The training protocol was successful at introducing alpacas to the metabolism pens, and it did reduce the incidence of behavioral responses to stress as the training progressed. The success of the training protocol may be attributed to the progressive nature of the training, the tailoring of the protocol to suit alpacas, and the use of positive reinforcement. This study demonstrated that both animal welfare and the validity of the scientific outcomes could be maximized by the gradual training of experimental animals, thereby minimizing the stress imposed on the animals during experimental procedures.

Raman-Ramsey multizone spectroscopy in a pure rubidium vapor cell

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Failache, H.; Lenci, L.; Lezama, A.

2010-02-15

In view of application to a miniaturized spectroscopy system, we consider an optical setup that splits a laser beam into several parallel narrow light sheets allowing an effective beam expansion and consequently longer atom-light interaction times. We analyze the multizone coherent population trapping (MZCPT) spectroscopy of alkali-metal-vapor atoms, without buffer gas, in the presence of a split light beam. We show that the MZCPT signal is largely insensitive to intensity broadening. Experimentally observed spectra are in qualitative agreement with the predictions of a simplified model that describes each spectrum as an integral over the atomic velocity distribution of Ramsey multizonemore » spectra.« less