A micromanipulation setup for comparative tests of microgrippers

A micromanipulation setup allowing comparative tests of manipulation micro tools has been developed. Repeatability measurements of positioning as well as optimization of manipulation conditions can be run with parts of typically 5 to 50μm over a large set of parameters including environment conditions, substrate and tip specifications, and different strategies (robot trajectories at picking and releasing time). The workstation consists of a high precise parallel robot, the Delta3, to position the gripper, linear stages to place the parts in the field of view and two microscopes for the visual feedback and position measurement. The setup is placed in a chamber for controlling relative humidity and temperature. An interface was developed to integrate every kind of tool on the robot. Automated operations and measurement have been carried out based on localization and tracking of micro objects and gripper. Integration of micro tools was successfully accomplished and comparative tests were executed with micro tweezers. Sub micrometer position repeatability was achieved with a success rate of pick and pick operations of 95%

RF spectroscopy in a resonant RF-dressed trap

We study the spectroscopy of atoms dressed by a resonant radiofrequency (RF) field inside an inhomogeneous magnetic field and confined in the resulting adiabatic potential. The spectroscopic probe is a second, weak, RF field. The observed line shape is related to the temperature of the trapped cloud. We demonstrate evaporative cooling of the RF-dressed atoms by sweeping the frequency of the second RF field around the Rabi frequency of the dressing field.Comment: 7 figures, 8 pages; to appear in J. Phys.

Characterization of micro manipulation tasks operated with various controlled conditions by microtweezers

Micro manipulation tasks with micro tweezers were operated in different configurations. This paper discusses the main issues of pick and place operations with micro tweezers as geometric consideration, grasping force and quality of the contact surfaces. This study is based on positioning repeatability measurements and success rate of the tasks operated automatically on our micro manipulation setup. Results for a MEMS micro gripper show a high reliability of more than 90% of success rate and positioning repeatability under the micrometer

Characterization of an inertial micro gripper based on adhesion forces

Adhesive forces become predominant in the micro world comparing to the gravity effect implying the development of new micro manipulation strategies. This paper presents the design and conception of a gripper that use the inertial principle for the release (applying a high acceleration, in the order of 10’000g) and the adhesion for catching a micro part of 50μm with the goal of precisely control the position after release. Experiments were conducted and showed a positioning repeatability of 2μm to 6μm depending on the relative humidity with a success rate of more than 90%

Micro-gripper à haute dynamique

Dans le monde microscopique, la force de gravité devient négligeable par rapport aux forces d’adhésion (capillarité, Van der Waals). Ce projet vise à utiliser ces forces pour la prise de bille d’une taille caractéristique de 50[μm]. La dépose quand à elle s’effectue de manière dynamique, en utilisant l’inertie de la bille soumise à une forte accélération. Le but de ce projet est de caractériser la prise (taux de succès) et la dépose (seuil d’accélération, taux de succès, précision et répétabilité). La prise dépend essentiellement du type de matériaux utilisés ; sa caractérisation a été faite pour un gripper en silicium et un gripper en verre dans l’air ambiant (20% humidité relative) et l’azote (3%). Pour fournir une accélération, un piézoélectrique est utilisé (cristal qui se déforme lorsqu’une tension est appliquée à ses bornes). L’avantage principal est que la déformation est bien contrôlable en intensité et direction. La dépose quand à elle a été caractérisée dans les mêmes conditions que la prise et en excitant le piézoélectrique avec des sinus continus ou en créant une seule impulsion Au final, il a été montré que cette technique est viable pour la micromanipulation. Toutefois des points clés nécessaires à un bon contrôle des opérations ont été identifiés, notamment au niveau de la rigidité du substrat pour éviter l’écrasement des objets et au niveau de la qualité des surfaces de contact

Stabilizing Monoatomic Two-Coordinate Bismuth(I) and Bismuth(II) Using a Redox Noninnocent Bis(germylene) Ligand

The formation of isolable monatomic BiI complexes and BiII radical species is challenging due to the pronounced reducing nature of metallic bismuth. Here, we report a convenient strategy to tame BiI and BiII atoms by taking advantage of the redox noninnocent character of a new chelating bis(germylene) ligand. The remarkably stable novel BiI cation complex 4, supported by the new bis(iminophosphonamido-germylene)xanthene ligand [(P)GeII(Xant)GeII(P)] 1, [(P)GeII(Xant)GeII(P) = Ph2P(NtBu)2GeII(Xant)GeII(NtBu)2PPh2, Xant = 9,9-dimethyl-xanthene-4,5-diyl], was synthesized by a two-electron reduction of the cationic BiIIII2 precursor complex 3 with cobaltocene (Cp2Co) in a molar ratio of 1:2. Notably, owing to the redox noninnocent character of the germylene moieties, the positive charge of BiI cation 4 migrates to one of the Ge atoms in the bis(germylene) ligand, giving rise to a germylium(germylene) BiI complex as suggested by DFT calculations and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Likewise, migration of the positive charge of the BiIIII2 cation of 3 results in a bis(germylium)BiIIII2 complex. The delocalization of the positive charge in the ligand engenders a much higher stability of the BiI cation 4 in comparison to an isoelectronic two-coordinate Pb0 analogue (plumbylone; decomposition below −30 °C). Interestingly, 4[BArF] undergoes a reversible single-electron transfer (SET) reaction (oxidation) to afford the isolable BiII radical complex 5 in 5[BArF]2. According to electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, the unpaired electron predominantly resides at the BiII atom. Extending the redox reactivity of 4[OTf] employing AgOTf and MeOTf affords BiIII(OTf)2 complex 7 and BiIIIMe complex 8, respectively, demonstrating the high nucleophilic character of BiI cation 4

Semi-Automatic And Automatic Ki-67 Index Examination In Whole Slide Images Of Meningiomas

Introduction/ Background Histological examination of tissue subjects by immunohistochemical staining is the basic method of recognizing types of cancer and it provides valuable indicators concerning choice of optimal therapy or defining the prognosis. One of a most important markers is the mitotic receptor Ki-67, among others, in meningiomas [1]. According to examination guidelines, ROI’s (Region of interest) whose fields correspond with the high positive receptors’ reaction should be selected. Aims The aim of this paper is a compare of Ki-67 index examination in meningioma specimens performed on the whole slide images(WSI) in two ways: with selection of hot-spot regions by the experts, and with automatic se- lection of hot-spots. Using both ways we have analyzed variability of results between two experts and between the experts and the automatic procedure, also in respect of Ki-67 level.   Methods The fifty cases of meningiomas were stained with the ready-to-use FLEX Ki-67 antigen (Dako, code IR626) in Dako Autostainer Link. Acquisition of WSIs was carried out by the 3DHistech Pannoramic 250 Flash II scanner under the 20x magnification of lens. The selection of hot-spots was done manually by two experts and automatically with the proposed method of automatic hot-spot detection. The suggested WSI processing scheme was based on the following steps: • defining the map of specimen using the thresholding procedure and morphological filtering, • eliminating the areas containing blood cells (hemorrhages) by the texture analysis (Unser features) and classification, • eliminating the specinem folds by the texture analysis (Unser and Local Binary Patterns) and classification, • selecting sequential fields of the hot-spots based  on cells segmentation and the punishment function to avoid excessive proximity, and it is the extention of idea presented in paper [2]. The final analysis of Ki-67 index was performed on the full resolution images with the same procedure of image analysis.   Results The results indicated that the mean difference between the Ki-67 index of Expert A and Expert B was -0.6065% (SD ±1.27%). Comparison between the results of Automatic system and Expert A gives mean difference 0.5207% (SD 1.18%) whereas in relation to the Exert B, it was -0.0858% (SD 1.21%). No significant skewness was observed in any of Bland-Altman plots.   The determination analysis gives R2 equals 0.947 (Expert A to Expert B), 0.947 (System to Expert A), and 0.944 (System to Expert B), all p<0.000001. The automatic procedure for the hot-spot detection in meningioma WSI gives the high concordance of results with the expert’s examinations. The differences between the automatic and both experts’ results are included in the range of variability of experts’ results. The presented results confirm that the proposed automatic procedure can be introduced to the multicenter verification process for practical applicability in histopathological diagnosis in the near future. This work has been supported by the National Centre for Research and Development (PBS2/ A9/21/2013 grant), Poland.

Diffuse reflection of a Bose-Einstein condensate from a rough evanescent wave mirror

We present experimental results showing the diffuse reflection of a Bose-Einstein condensate from a rough mirror, consisting of a dielectric substrate supporting a blue-detuned evanescent wave. The scattering is anisotropic, more pronounced in the direction of the surface propagation of the evanescent wave. These results agree very well with theoretical predictions.Comment: submitted to J Phys B, 10 pages, 6 figure

Bosons in cigar-shape traps: Thomas-Fermi regime, Tonks-Girardeau regime, and between

We present a quantitative analysis of the experimental accessibility of the Tonks-Girardeau gas in the current day experiments with cigar-trapped alkalis. For this purpose we derive, using a Bethe anzats generated local equation of state, a set of hydrostatic equations describing one-dimensional delta-interacting Bose gases trapped in a harmonic potential. The resulting solutions cover the_entire range_ of atomic densities.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

sox9b Is a Key Regulator of Pancreaticobiliary Ductal System Development

The pancreaticobiliary ductal system connects the liver and pancreas to the intestine. It is composed of the hepatopancreatic ductal (HPD) system as well as the intrahepatic biliary ducts and the intrapancreatic ducts. Despite its physiological importance, the development of the pancreaticobiliary ductal system remains poorly understood. The SRY-related transcription factor SOX9 is expressed in the mammalian pancreaticobiliary ductal system, but the perinatal lethality of Sox9 heterozygous mice makes loss-of-function analyses challenging. We turned to the zebrafish to assess the role of SOX9 in pancreaticobiliary ductal system development. We first show that zebrafish sox9b recapitulates the expression pattern of mouse Sox9 in the pancreaticobiliary ductal system and use a nonsense allele of sox9b, sox9bfh313, to dissect its function in the morphogenesis of this structure. Strikingly, sox9bfh313 homozygous mutants survive to adulthood and exhibit cholestasis associated with hepatic and pancreatic duct proliferation, cyst formation, and fibrosis. Analysis of sox9bfh313 mutant embryos and larvae reveals that the HPD cells appear to mis-differentiate towards hepatic and/or pancreatic fates, resulting in a dysmorphic structure. The intrahepatic biliary cells are specified but fail to assemble into a functional network. Similarly, intrapancreatic duct formation is severely impaired in sox9bfh313 mutants, while the embryonic endocrine and acinar compartments appear unaffected. The defects in the intrahepatic and intrapancreatic ducts of sox9bfh313 mutants worsen during larval and juvenile stages, prompting the adult phenotype. We further show that Sox9b interacts with Notch signaling to regulate intrahepatic biliary network formation: sox9b expression is positively regulated by Notch signaling, while Sox9b function is required to maintain Notch signaling in the intrahepatic biliary cells. Together, these data reveal key roles for SOX9 in the morphogenesis of the pancreaticobiliary ductal system, and they cast human Sox9 as a candidate gene for pancreaticobiliary duct malformation-related pathologies