Use Of Apparatus Research Articles

A cryogenic forced oscillation apparatus to measure anelasticity of ice.

We have developed a new cryogenic uni-axial forced oscillation apparatus to measure the anelastic behavior of ice by adapting the design of a previous high-precision apparatus for use in low-temperature (<0 °C) conditions. With this new apparatus, Young's modulus and attenuation can be measured over a broad frequency range from 10-4 to 10Hz. We have performed calibration tests with standard materials (steel spring, stainless steel, and acrylic samples) under various conditions to assess the apparatus properties and correct the effects on the obtained raw data. Young's modulus and attenuation for an acrylic sample after all of the data corrections show good agreement with previously published values, demonstrating the validity of the data corrections and reliability of the obtained data. We further obtained a preliminary dataset of Young's modulus and attenuation for an ice polycrystalline sample under small median stress and small stress amplitude. The anelastic response was not strain amplitude-dependent, that is, the response is linear. Moreover, the attenuation data are consistent with the data measured for other polycrystalline materials under similarly small stress conditions in terms of the Maxwell frequency scaling, which is known as a scaling law applicable to linear anelasticity induced by the diffusionally accommodated grain boundary sliding mechanism. Although there is still room for improving the control of testing conditions, we show that the new forced oscillation apparatus is capable of systematic studies on the anelastic properties of ice, the subject of future studies.

Development of a Semi-Dry Method for Measuring Drug Permeation into Skin Using an Electric Facial Care Device and Iontophoresis

Introduction: Percutaneous drug delivery systems are attractive not only as a therapeutic strategy but also for cosmetic treatment. Iontophoresis is a well-recognized method for promoting transdermal absorption of ionized compounds. Franz cells are generally used to estimate drug permeation of skin by iontophoresis. However, methods using Franz cells are less versatile; for instance, the method is unsuited for use with a portable electric facial care device having a working probe of a certain size and weight. In this study, we constructed a semi-dry apparatus for use with an electric facial care device. Methods: The apparatus has a multilayer structure consisting of mouse skin and 3 filter papers, modeled after the Franz cell. The skin permeation of the drug edaravone (3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one) was then measured using this apparatus. Results: Edaravone permeation depended on working time, drug concentration, and ionization ratio of edaravone when iontophoresis was carried out with an electric facial care device. Furthermore, glycyrrhizic acid, α-tocopheryl phosphate, retinoic acid, and ascorbyl palmitate, which are recognized as functional cosmetic materials, also permeated the skin by applying iontophoresis with the device. Conclusion: These results suggest that the developed measuring apparatus is applicable for use with a portable electric facial care device and that iontophoresis using a portable electric facial care device is potentially useful in the cosmetic field.

Enhanced surface flashover performance of oriented hexagonal boron nitride composites via anisotropic charge transportation

AbstractSurface flashover is a crucial issue for the miniaturisation of electronic facilities in military, industrial, and aerospace engineering. The oriented hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) composites, due to excellent thermal and electrical insulating properties, show a potential application in high‐voltage power equipment, while the surface flashover performance of hBN composites dependent on oriented hBN texture is rarely reported. The effects of hBN orientation and contents on the surface flashover performances of oriented hBN composites are investigated. The isothermal surface potential decay of the oriented hBN composites was also studied. It is found that the charge transportation could be adjusted by the hBN orientation, thus regulating surface flashover strength. The DC flashover voltage of the in‐plane oriented hBN composites with a thickness of 15 μm reached the maximum of 27.6 kV at the hBN loading of 20 wt%, 14.5% higher than that of the pure resin. The carrier mobility of out‐of‐plane oriented hBN composites is about three times greater than that of the in‐plane oriented composites, indicating that the charges are easily transported along the hBN basal plane. The larger carrier mobility causes charge dissipation in composites near the electrode at the hBN basal plane parallel to the axis of electrodes and inhibits the distortion of the surface electric field on the composites, thus enhancing the surface flashover. Consequently, developing oriented insulators for high‐voltage applications and enabling an optimum insulation design would be beneficial because of the compactness and high reliability of power apparatus for use in power grids.

Cellulose hydrolysis reactor incorporating stirring apparatus for use with carbon-based solid acid catalyst

A highly efficient reactor with a stirring device was specially designed with the intent of performing the hydrolysis of pure crystalline cellulose using a carbon-based solid acid catalyst. This catalyst comprised an amorphous carbon-based material bearing –SO3H, –COOH and –OH groups. The stirring apparatus had seven blades coated with polytetrafluoroethylene and arranged axially at regular intervals with a 60° offset. This design proved highly effective, providing double the glucose yield compared with conventional stirring systems. The basic properties of this novel reactor were investigated and analyzed and are discussed herein.

Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Apparatus for Use in Treatment of Fungal Skin Infections

Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Apparatus for Use in Treatment of Fungal Skin Infections

Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Apparatus for Use in Treatment of Fungal Skin Infections

Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Apparatus for Use in Treatment of Fungal Skin Infections

VHIT Testing of Vertical Semicircular Canals With Goggles Yield Different Results Depending on Which Canal Plane Being Tested.

Objective: The use of goggles to assess vertical semicircular canal function has become a standard method in vestibular testing, both in clinic and in research, but there are different methods and apparatus in use. The aim of this study was to determine what the cause of the systematic differences is between gain values in testing of the vertical semicircular canals with two different video head impulse test (vHIT) equipment in subjects with normal vestibular function.Study Design: Retrospective analysis of gain values on patients with clinically deemed normal vestibular function (absence of a corrective eye saccade), tested with either Interacoustics or Otometrics system. Prospective testing of subjects with normal vestibular function with the camera records the eye movements of both eyes. Finally, 3D sensors were placed on different positions on the goggles measuring the actual vertical movement in the different semicircular planes.Results: In the clinical cohorts, the gain depended on which side and semicircular canal was tested (p < 0.001). In the prospective design, the combination between the stimulated side, semicircular canal, and position of the recording device (right/left eye) highly influenced the derived gain (p < 0.001). The different parts of the goggles also moved differently in a vertical direction during vertical semicircular canal testing.Conclusion: The gain values when testing the function of the vertical semicircular canals seem to depend upon which eye is recorded and which semicircular plane is tested and suggests caution when interpreting and comparing results when different systems are used both clinically as well as in research. The results also imply that further research and development are needed to obtain accurate vertical semicircular canal testing, in regard to both methodology and equipment design.

Estimation of environmental effects on performance of contact surface thermometers using a calibration apparatus

In previous work, we developed a calibration apparatus for use with contact surface thermometers. In this apparatus, the temperature of the upper surface of a copper cube was used as reference surface temperature. In this new study, uncertainty components due to environmental conditions in the measurement space were estimated by measuring the temperature of the upper surface of the calibration apparatus and the output of contact surface thermometers while varying ambient temperature and air flow speed. It was found that the temperature of the upper surface of the calibration apparatus and the output of the contact surface thermometer increased with increasing ambient temperature. The uncertainty in our previous work due to the effect of the ambient temperature was estimated to be 0.01 °C, based on the ±1 °C variance of the ambient temperature in the lab room. We also found that the measured values tended to decrease with increasing the air flow speed around the calibration apparatus, but the effect of the air flow speed depends on the size of the contact surface thermometer. The effect of the air flow speed around the calibration apparatus was 0.07 °C using Model A of the contact surface thermometer, which has a 10 cm height, on the basis of the stability of air flow in the lab room being within ≪2 m s−1.

A modular apparatus for use in high-precision measurements of parity violation in polarized eV neutron transmission

We describe a modular apparatus for use in parity-violation measurements in epithermal neutron–nucleus resonances with high instantaneous neutron fluxes at the Manuel Lujan Jr. Neutron Scattering Center at Los Alamos National Laboratory. This apparatus is designed to conduct high-precision measurements of the parity-odd transmission asymmetry of longitudinally polarized neutrons through targets containing nuclei with p-wave neutron–nucleus resonances in the 0.1–10 eV energy regime and to accommodate a future search for time reversal violation in polarized neutron transmission through polarized nuclear targets. The apparatus consists of an adjustable neutron and gamma collimation system, a 3He-4He ion chamber neutron flux monitor, two identical cryostats for target cooling, an adiabatic eV-neutron spin flipper, a near-unit efficiency 6Li-7Li scintillation detector operated in current mode, a flexible CAEN data acquisition system, and a neutron spin filter based on spin-exchange optical pumping of 3He gas. We describe the features of the apparatus design devoted to the suppression of systematic errors in parity-odd asymmetry measurements. We describe the configuration of the apparatus used to conduct a precision measurement of parity violation at the 0.7 eV p-wave resonance in 139La which employs two identical 139La targets, one to polarize the beam on the p-wave resonance using the weak interaction and one to analyze the polarization.

Influence of the hyperfine structure on plutonium in resonant laser-SNMS

Resonance ionization mass spectrometry is an ultra-sensitive and highly element selective tool for spectroscopy, ionization and detection of atoms and thus enables rare isotope determination. In combination with spatially resolved sputtering of neutrals by an initial ion beam, e.g. within a commercial secondary ion mass spectrometer, an isotope and isobar selective analysis technique with resolution on the micrometer scale for particles and surfaces is realized. Detection of minuscule amounts of specific actinides, e.g. of plutonium, in environmental and technical samples by this ultra-trace analysis technique requires detailed knowledge about the atomic physics of the element. Identification and characterization of the specific resonance ionization scheme applied within the particular geometry of the apparatus in use is needed. An analysis of the dependence of the specifications, specifically regarding the influence of the relative laser beam polarizations is presented here as an aspect, that could have a severe impact on isotope ratio precision and overall efficiency in the resulting ion signal.

Design and material selection for a patient transport device in field hospitals

ACKGROUND: A major cause of patient and hospital worker injuries occurs transferring patients between two planes. The main aim of this paper was to propose a design of patient’s lift and transfer apparatus for use in field hospitals. The assumption was to design lightweight, durable and ergonomic device using innovative material. The authors concentrated on partial elimination of manual lifting in order to device could work both in two situations: with or without electricity. The paper includes mechanical design, material selection and analytical calculation. METHODS: In order to carry out strength calculations, the shape and size of device was designed using AutoCAD. Based on a comparison of composite material properties, an epoxy-carbon laminate was selected. The strength calculations were performed in the following order: determination of elementary stresses, determination of the most dangerous cross-section, calculation of tensile strength, calculation of Young’s modulus, selection of channel dimensions, determination of material parameters (thickness, fiber mass), determination of substitute stresses. RESULTS: To design a lightweight, durable and ergonomic patient lift with lifting capacity of 150 kg an epoxy-carbon laminate composed of three layers was chosen. A profile in a C-shape and dimension of 138x90x14 mm has been designed. Patient lift includes an arm of 1.6 m height and 1m length of the horizontal beam. The designed transport mechanism uses rollers, a linear electric actuator and a crank with a worm gear. CONCLUSIONS: The designed device fulfil the most important criterion, which is to ensure the safety of patients and medical personnel. The height adjustment mechanism partially eliminates the manual transfer of patients and is adapted to the conditions existing in a field hospital.

Creating and Experimenting with a Low-Cost, Rugged System to Visually Demonstrate the Vapor Pressure of Liquids as a Function of Temperature

A creative apparatus for use in a hands-on laboratory experiment that allows the visualization of the vapor pressure as a function of temperature is described in this paper. Inspired by homemade barometers and using simple materials that are easily accessible for teaching laboratories, a low-cost system for the establishment of the vapor-pressure curve was constructed and applied in deionized water and in car-radiator-additive samples (based on ethane-1,2-diol) at different concentrations. The system constructed proved to be efficient, simple, and quite robust and is applicable in teaching activities for comparing and visualizing vapor-pressure curves of different liquids. It can also be used to estimate the molar enthalpy of water vaporization. The main advantages and drawbacks of the apparatus created, the results obtained for liquid samples, and the evaluation of the ruggedness of this experiment are described throughout the text. The establishment of this system is the result of a project developed by first-year-undergraduate students along with postgraduate students and professors from the Bachelor’s Program of Science and Technology, hosted by the Universidade Federal do ABC, as part of the innovative course the Experimental Basis of Natural Sciences, a practical course which seeks to build knowledge through experimentation.

New device for nonvolitional evaluation of quadriceps force in ventilated patients.

In mechanically ventilated patients, nonvolitional assessment of quadriceps weakness using femoral-nerve stimulation (twitch force) while the leg rests on a right-angle trapezoid or dangles from the bed edge is impractical. Accordingly, we developed a knee-support apparatus for use in ventilated patients. Ninety subjects (12 ventilated patients, 28 ambulatory patients, and 50 healthy subjects) were enrolled. Twitches with leg-dangling, trapezoid, and knee-support setups were compared. Knee-support twitches were similar to trapezoid twitches but smaller than leg-dangling twitches (P < 0.0001). Inter- and intraoperator agreement was high for knee-support twitches at 1 week and 1 month. In ventilated patients, knee-support twitches were smaller than in healthy subjects and ambulatory patients (P < 0.004). The new knee-support apparatus allows accurate recording of quadriceps twitches. The ease of use in ventilated patients and excellent inter- and intraoperator agreement suggest that this technique is suitable for cross-sectional and longitudinal studies in critically ill patients. Muscle Nerve 57: 784-791, 2018.

Estimation of corona location from audible noise

Electrical discharges on electrical insulation, though they do not have an immediate effect, could be very hazardous in power systems over time. For that reason, before taking power system apparatus in use, the possible discharges should be identified. In this study, a neural network is configured to determine the exact location of corona discharges by using the sound recordings of audible corona discharge. For the experiment, corona was intentionally produced by placing an x-shaped string on a relatively smooth high-voltage line model. The x-shaped string generates a sharp point on the wire and that results in high stress concentration on this x-shaped string. Obtaining localized high stress on the x-shaped string ensures that a corona starts on the string before anywhere else on the wire and location of the corona can be controlled for data collection. Corona sound samples and corresponding x-shaped string coordinates are applied to a neural network in which sound information forms the input data and coordinates were the output data. Network was configured so that corona location can be estimated by using only 1 s of a recording per discharge. Results show that it is possible to use this method to estimate the location of corona with around 5% error.

Метод кодового поділу логічних каналів зв'язку в сучасних системах широкосмугового зв'язку (4G зокрема) на основі систем з нерівномірними ваговими коефіцієнтами

In article relevance of use of modern mobile systems of cellular communication is shown. Examples of various technologies of data transmission used in 3G networks, LTE, 4G are given. The main methods are considered: increases in speed of data exchange, increase in number of at the same time served subscribers, achievements of confidentiality of a radio communication. In article essentially new method of data transmission which is based on system with uneven weight coefficients is offered. The concept of system with unevenly distributed coefficients (CHPBK) is entered. The mathematical apparatus of use of CHPBK is open. The return coefficient of redundancy of a bit stream for CHPBK and CDMA – systems is calculated. The comparative analysis of loading of a communication channel of CHPBK and CDMA which shows reduction by 6 – 7 times of loading of the general channel of data exchange by redundancy is carried out. By means of such technology ensuring confidentiality of users, increase in speed of data exchange and the number of the served users is possible.

Scaling law in free walking of mice in circular open fields of various diameters.

Open-field tests are routinely used to study locomotor activity in rodents. I studied the effects of apparatus size on rodent locomotor activity, specifically with respect to how resting and walking periods are interwoven. I explored the open-field behavior of mice utilizing circular open fields of various diameters. When the diameter of the test apparatus was greater than 75 cm, the durations of the resting and moving periods of free walking behavior obeyed bounded power-law distribution functions. I found that the properties of the scaling exponents and model selection became similar for test apparatus diameters greater than 75 cm. These results can provide a guide for the selection of the size of the test apparatus for use in the study of the open-field behavior of rodents.

Dispensing apparatus for use in a cued food delivery task

Neurobiological models of obesity postulate that obese individuals have difficulty regulating food intake partly because they attribute excessive salience to stimuli signaling food availability. Typically, human studies that investigate the relationship between brain responses to food-related stimuli and obesity present food cues without subsequent delivery of food. However, in order to identify the brain correlates of cue reactivity, we must record brain responses to food-related cues signaling food availability. Therefore, we have developed a dispensing apparatus for use in a cued-food delivery task in which event-related potentials (ERPs) to food-related images predicting food delivery and images not predicting food delivery can be recorded. Here, we describe a method where:•The experimental apparatus dispenses an edible item (i.e., a chocolate candy) which may or may not be eaten, or a non-edible control item (e.g., a plastic bead).•Deposit boxes are available to store uneaten candies and the non-edible control items.•The dispensing mechanism is capable of recording the exact timestamp when each delivery event occurs (e.g., release from the dispenser, arrival in the receptacle, storage in the deposit box).

How do technical improvements change radiographers' practice – A practice theory perspective

IntroductionThe two plane imaging techniques are gradually being replaced by multidimensional imaging. How it affects radiographers' professional practice has not been investigated. AimTo explore how technical development affects the relations between different actors and their actions in the practice of Computer Tomography. MethodA qualitative design with data collection by open interviews (n = 8) and open observations (n = 10) of radiographers during their work with Computer Tomography. Data was first analyzed inductively resulting in seven codes. Secondly abduction was carried out by interpreting the content in the codes with a practice theory. This resulted in four themes. ResultFirst theme: Changed materiality makes the practical action easier. The actual image production has become practically easier. Second theme: Changed machines cause conflict between the arrangements of the work and the patients' needs. The time for the machine to carry out image production is easy to foresee, but information about the patient's individual status and needs is missing and this leads to difficulties in giving individual planned care. Third theme: Changing materiality prefigure learning. The different apparatus in use and the continuously changing methods of image production is co-constitutive of the practitioners' activities and learning. Fourth theme: Radiography is arranged for patient safety in relation to radiation doses and medical security risks. But the radiographers, who meet the patients, have to check the accuracy of the planned examination in relation to the clinical observed information about patient safety risks with the examination.

Integrated Hydraulic Bulge and Forming Limit Testing Method and Apparatus for Sheet Metals

This paper proposes an integrated hydraulic bulge and forming limit testing method and apparatus for sheet metals. By placing a PU (Polyurethane) plate between molds and uniformly applying hydraulic pressure to sheet metals, a biaxial stress-strain relationship and forming limit diagram (FLD) displaying both left and right sides were acquired using the same apparatus. An uniaxial tension test and traditional drawing test were conducted to compare the results obtained from the proposed hydraulic bulge and forming limit testing methods, respectively. A close correlation between the results of the stress-strain relationship and FLD in both comparisons verified the feasibility and capability of this integrated hydraulic testing method and apparatus for use with sheet metals.

Philip Drinker

Philip Drinker