1,068 research outputs found
Dynamic acoustic field activated cell separation (DAFACS)
Advances in diagnostics, cell and stem cell technologies drive the development of application-specific tools
for cell and particle separation. Acoustic micro-particle separation offers a promising avenue for highthroughput,
label-free, high recovery, cell and particle separation and isolation in regenerative medicine.
Here, we demonstrate a novel approach utilizing a dynamic acoustic field that is capable of separating an
arbitrary size range of cells. We first demonstrate the method for the separation of particles with different
diameters between 6 and 45 μm and secondly particles of different densities in a heterogeneous medium.
The dynamic acoustic field is then used to separate dorsal root ganglion cells. The shearless, label-free and
low damage characteristics make this method of manipulation particularly suited for biological applications.
Advantages of using a dynamic acoustic field for the separation of cells include its inherent safety and
biocompatibility, the possibility to operate over large distances (centimetres), high purity (ratio of particle
population, up to 100%), and high efficiency (ratio of separated particles over total number of particles to
separate, up to 100%)
Extreme non-linear response of ultra-narrow optical transitions in cavity QED for laser stabilization
We explore the potential of direct spectroscopy of ultra-narrow optical
transitions of atoms localized in an optical cavity. In contrast to
stabilization against a reference cavity, which is the approach currently used
for the most highly stabilized lasers, stabilization against an atomic
transition does not suffer from Brownian thermal noise. Spectroscopy of
ultra-narrow optical transitions in a cavity operates in a very highly
saturated regime in which non-linear effects such as bistability play an
important role. From the universal behavior of the Jaynes-Cummings model with
dissipation, we derive the fundamental limits for laser stabilization using
direct spectroscopy of ultra-narrow atomic lines. We find that with current
lattice clock experiments, laser linewidths of about 1 mHz can be achieved in
principle, and the ultimate limitations of this technique are at the 1 Hz
level.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Magneto-Optical Trap for Thulium Atoms
Thulium atoms are trapped in a magneto-optical trap using a strong transition
at 410 nm with a small branching ratio. We trap up to atoms at
a temperature of 0.8(2) mK after deceleration in a 40 cm long Zeeman slower.
Optical leaks from the cooling cycle influence the lifetime of atoms in the MOT
which varies between 0.3 -1.5 s in our experiments. The lower limit for the
leaking rate from the upper cooling level is measured to be 22(6) s. The
repumping laser transferring the atomic population out of the F=3 hyperfine
ground-state sublevel gives a 30% increase for the lifetime and the number of
atoms in the trap.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure
Transverse laser cooling of a thermal atomic beam of dysprosium
A thermal atomic beam of dysprosium (Dy) atoms is cooled using the
transition at 421 nm. The cooling is
done via a standing light wave orthogonal to the atomic beam. Efficient
transverse cooling to the Doppler limit is demonstrated for all observable
isotopes of dysprosium. Branching ratios to metastable states are demonstrated
to be . A scheme for enhancement of the
nonzero-nuclear-spin-isotope cooling, as well as a method for direct
identification of possible trap states, is proposed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures v2: 7 pages, 7 figure
Sympathetic Cooling of Mixed Species Two-Ion Crystals for Precision Spectroscopy
Sympathetic cooling of trapped ions has become an indispensable tool for
quantum information processing and precision spectroscopy. In the simplest
situation a single Doppler-cooled ion sympathetically cools another ion which
typically has a different mass. We analytically investigate the effect of the
mass ratio of such an ion crystal on the achievable temperature limit in the
presence of external heating. As an example, we show that cooling of a single
Al+ with Be+, Mg+ and Ca+ ions provides similar results for heating rates
typically observed in ion traps, whereas cooling ions with a larger mass
perform worse. Furthermore, we present numerical simulation results of the
rethermalisation dynamics after a background gas collision for the Al+/Ca+
crystal for different cooling laser configurations.Comment: Made Graphics black & white print compatible, clarified abstract and
summar
The development of a ε-polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold for CNS repair
Potential treatment strategies for the repair of spinal cord injury (SCI) currently favour a combinatorial approach incorporating several factors, including exogenous cell transplantation and biocompatible scaffolds. The use of scaffolds for bridging the gap at the injury site is very appealing although there has been little investigation into CNS neural cell interaction and survival on such scaffolds before implantation. Previously we demonstrated that aligned micro-grooves 12.5-25 µm wide on ε-polycaprolactone (PCL) promoted aligned neurite orientation and supported myelination. In this study we identify the appropriate substrate and its topographical features required for the design of a 3D scaffold intended for transplantation in SCI. Using an established myelinating culture system of dissociated spinal cord cells, recapitulating many of the features of the intact spinal cord, we demonstrate that astrocytes plated on the topography secrete soluble factors(s) that delay oligodendrocyte differentiation but do not prevent myelination. However, as myelination does occur after a further 10-12 days in culture this does not prevent the use of PCL as a scaffold material as part of a combined strategy for the repair of SCI
Hyper-Ramsey Spectroscopy of Optical Clock Transitions
We present non-standard optical Ramsey schemes that use pulses individually
tailored in duration, phase, and frequency to cancel spurious frequency shifts
related to the excitation itself. In particular, the field shifts and their
uncertainties of Ramsey fringes can be radically suppressed (by 2-4 orders of
magnitude) in comparison with the usual Ramsey method (using two equal pulses)
as well as with single-pulse Rabi spectroscopy. Atom interferometers and
optical clocks based on two-photon transitions, heavily forbidden transitions,
or magnetically induced spectroscopy could significantly benefit from this
method. In the latter case these frequency shifts can be suppressed
considerably below a fractional level of 10^{-17}. Moreover, our approach opens
the door for the high-precision optical clocks based on direct frequency comb
spectroscopy.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
An ultrastable silicon cavity in a continuously operating closed-cycle cryostat at 4 K
We report on a laser locked to a silicon cavity operating continuously at 4 K
with instability and a median linewidth of 17 mHz at 1542
nm. This is a ten-fold improvement in short-term instability, and a
improvement in linewidth, over previous sub-10 K systems. Operating at low
temperatures reduces the thermal noise floor, and thus is advantageous toward
reaching an instability of , a long-sought goal of the optical clock
community. The performance of this system demonstrates the technical readiness
for the development of the next generation of ultrastable lasers that operate
with ultranarrow linewidth and long-term stability without user intervention.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Coopetition of software firms in Open source software ecosystems
Software firms participate in an ecosystem as a part of their innovation
strategy to extend value creation beyond the firms boundary. Participation in
an open and independent environment also implies the competition among firms
with similar business models and targeted markets. Hence, firms need to
consider potential opportunities and challenges upfront. This study explores
how software firms interact with others in OSS ecosystems from a coopetition
perspective. We performed a quantitative and qualitative analysis of three OSS
projects. Finding shows that software firms emphasize the co-creation of common
value and partly react to the potential competitiveness on OSS ecosystems. Six
themes about coopetition were identified, including spanning gatekeepers,
securing communication, open-core sourcing and filtering shared code. Our work
contributes to software engineering research with a rich description of
coopetition in OSS ecosystems. Moreover, we also come up with several
implications for software firms in pursing a harmony participation in OSS
ecosystems.Comment: This is the author's version of the work. Copyright owner's version
can be accessed at
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-69191-6_10, Coopetition
of software firms in Open source software ecosystems, 8th ICSOB 2017, Essen,
Germany (2017
A diode laser stabilization scheme for 40Ca+ single ion spectroscopy
We present a scheme for stabilizing multiple lasers at wavelengths between
795 and 866 nm to the same atomic reference line. A reference laser at 852 nm
is stabilized to the Cs D2 line using a Doppler-free frequency modulation
technique. Through transfer cavities, four lasers are stabilized to the
relevant atomic transitions in 40Ca+. The rms linewidth of a transfer-locked
laser is measured to be 123 kHz with respect to an independent atomic
reference, the Rb D1 line. This stability is confirmed by the comparison of an
excitation spectrum of a single 40Ca+ ion to an eight-level Bloch equation
model. The measured Allan variance of 10^(-22) at 10 s demonstrates a high
degree of stability for time scales up to 100 s.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure
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