28 research outputs found

    Experimental investigation of ball bearing lubrication conditions by shock pulse method

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    Lubricant (grease) is a vital requirement of ball bearing system. Grease not only protects ball bearing from wear and tear but performs various other functions that are essential for proper functioning of ball bearings. The lubricant (grease) under different conditions attains different properties which in turn affect the performance of the ball bearings. The effect of the condition of the lubricants on the performance of the ball bearings is well documented. the work reports about the investigation of ball bearing using shock pulse method by using two different instruments (Tester T2000 Model and Shock Pulse Meter 43A) of different operating conditions of ball bearing the condition such as used the quantity of grease as different percentage (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%) and bad quality grease (burn grease) at different rpm at a fixed load (10kg) and compare the normalized shock pulse value (dB) at different operating conditions. This method uses a piezo-electric accelerometer superimposed electrically as well as mechanically to about 32 kHz of resonant frequency. The result will help in bearing related to quantity as well as quality condition based maintenance choosing the optimum conditions for detecting the lubricant problem in ball bearing

    Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and its relationship with thyroid autoimmunity in Asian Indians: a community-based survey

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    25-Hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) deficiency is linked with predisposition to autoimmune type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Our objective was to assess the relationship between serum 25(OH)D levels and thyroid autoimmunity. Subjects included students, teachers and staff aged 16-60 years (total 642, 244 males, 398 females). Serum free thyroxine, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and thyroid peroxidase autoantibodies (TPOAb), intact parathyroid hormone and 25(OH)D were measured by electrochemiluminescence and RIA, respectively. Thyroid dysfunction was defined if (1) serum TSH ≥ 5 μ U/ml and TPOAb>34 IU/ml or (2) TSH ≥ 10 μ U/ml but normal TPOAb. The mean serum 25(OH)D of the study subjects was 17.5 (SD 10.2) nmol/l with 87 % having values ≤ 25 nmol/l. TPOAb positivity was observed in 21 % of subjects. The relationship between 25(OH)D and TPOAb was assessed with and without controlling for age and showed significant inverse correlation (r - 0.08, P = 0.04) when adjusted for age. The prevalence of TPOAb and thyroid dysfunction were comparable between subjects stratified according to serum 25(OH)D into two groups either at cut-off of ≤ 25 or >25 nmol/l or first and second tertiles. Serum 25(OH)D values show only weak inverse correlation with TPOAb titres. The presence of such weak association and narrow range of serum 25(OH)D did not allow us to interpret the present results in terms of quantitative cut-off values of serum 25(OH)D. Further studies in vitamin D-sufficient populations with wider range of serum 25(OH)D levels are required to substantiate the findings of the current study

    Spin selection rule for {\it S} level transitions in atomic rubidium under paraxial and nonparaxial two-photon excitation

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    We report on an experimental test of the spin selection rule for two-photon transitions in atoms. In particular, we demonstrate that the 5S1/26S1/25S_{1/2}\to 6S_{1/2} transition rate in a rubidium gas follows a quadratic dependency on the helicity parameter linked to the polarization of the excitation light. For excitation via a single Gaussian beam or two counterpropagating beams in a hot vapor cell, the transition rate scales as the squared degree of linear polarization. The rate reaches zero when the light is circularly polarized. In contrast, when the excitation is realized via an evanescent field near an optical nanofiber, the two-photon transition cannot be completely extinguished (theoretically, not lower than 13\% of the maximum rate, under our experimental conditions) by only varying the polarization of the fiber-guided light. Our findings lead to a deeper understanding of the physics of multiphoton processes in atoms in strongly nonparaxial light

    Probing the dynamics of an optically trapped particle by phase sensitive back focal plane interferometry

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    The dynamics of an optically trapped particle are often determined by measuring intensity shifts of the back-scattered light from the particle using position sensitive detectors. We present a technique which measures the phase of the back-scattered light using balanced detection in an external Mach-Zender interferometer scheme where we separate out and beat the scattered light from the bead and that from the top surface of our trapping chamber. The technique has improved axial motion resolution over intensity-based detection, and can also be used to measure lateral motion of the trapped particle. In addition, we are able to track the Brownian motion of trapped 1 and 3 μ\mum diameter beads from the phase jitter and show that, similar to intensity-based measurements, phase measurements can also be used to simultaneously determine displacements of the trapped bead as well as the spring constant of the trap. For lateral displacements, we have matched our experimental results with a simulation of the overall phase contour of the back-scattered light for lateral displacements by using plane wave decomposition in conjunction with Mie scattering theory. The position resolution is limited by path drifts of the interferometer which we have presently reduced to obtain a displacement resolution of around 2 nm for 1.1 μ\mum diameter probes by locking the interferometer to a frequency stabilized diode laser.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

    H11-induced immunoprotection is predominantly linked to N-glycan moieties during Haemonchus contortus infection

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    Nematodes are one of the largest groups of animals on the planet. Many of them are major pathogens of humans, animals and plants, and cause destructive diseases and socioeconomic losses worldwide. Despite their adverse impacts on human health and agriculture, nematodes can be challenging to control, because anthelmintic treatments do not prevent re-infection, and excessive treatment has led to widespread drug resistance in nematode populations. Indeed, many nematode species of livestock animals have become resistant to almost all classes of anthelmintics used. Most efforts to develop commercial anti-nematode vaccines (native or recombinant) for use in animals and humans have not succeeded, although one effective (dead) vaccine (Barbervax) has been developed to protect animals against one of the most pathogenic parasites of livestock animals – Haemonchus contortus (the barber’s pole worm). This vaccine contains native molecules, called H11 and H-Gal-GP, derived from the intestine of this blood-feeding worm. In its native form, H11 alone consistently induces high levels (75-95%) of immunoprotection in animals against disease (haemonchosis), but recombinant forms thereof do not. Here, to test the hypothesis that post-translational modification (glycosylation) of H11 plays a crucial role in achieving such high immunoprotection, we explored the N-glycoproteome and N-glycome of H11 using the high-resolution mass spectrometry and assessed the roles of N-glycosylation in protective immunity against H. contortus. Our results showed conclusively that N-glycan moieties on H11 are the dominant immunogens, which induce high IgG serum antibody levels in immunised animals, and that anti-H11 IgG antibodies can confer specific, passive immunity in naïve animals. This work provides the first detailed account of the relevance and role of protein glycosylation in protective immunity against a parasitic nematode, with important implications for the design of vaccines against metazoan parasites.Peer Reviewe

    Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map

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    We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and national space and research funding agencies.publishedVersio

    Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map

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    We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and national space and research funding agencies

    Evanescent Field Mediated Interactions of Cold Rubidium Atoms with Optical Nanofiber Guided Light

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    Optical nanofibers (ONFs) have shown promising potential for quantum technology developments. The tight transverse confinement of guided light over an extended length (> 1000!) offers strong atom-light interactions with potential long-range atom-atom interactions mediated by the guided light, allowing for better scalability in many quantum information applications than their corresponding free-space implementations. We demonstrated, experimentally, an electric quadrupole transition and a single-frequency two-photon transition in cold 87Rb atoms driven by nanofiber-guided light, establishing ONFs as excellent platforms for potential applications in compact fiber-based clocks and correlated photon pair sources. ONFs are well-suited for nonlinear collective interactions, such as four-wave mixing and superradiance, that require an ensemble of phase-matched quantum emitters coupled to a common radiation field. An effective system is a 1D array of few hundred atoms trapped near an ONF surface and coupled with the guided mode. A crucial requirement is maximizing the number of trapped atoms which remains challenging in the absence of a quantitative description of atom dynamics during the trap-loading process involving many-body interactions and complex scattering process. We experimentally optimized, leveraging the ability of machine learning algorithms, the number of 87Rb atoms loaded in a shallow fiber-based dipole trap by parametrizing the control of magneto-optical trap parameters. This sets the first step toward planned studies on optical nanofiber mediated collective atom-light interactions and nearest-neighbor interactions in a 1D lattice of Rydberg atoms.Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate Universit
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