scholarly journals Vision-Based Microtribological Characterization of Linear Microball Bearings

Author(s):  
X. Tan ◽  
A. Modafe ◽  
R. Hergert ◽  
N. Ghalichechian ◽  
B. Shapiro ◽  
...  

Microball bearings can potentially provide robust and low friction support in micromachines such as micromotors and microgenerators. Their microtribological behavior needs to be investigated for design and control of such micromachines. In this paper a vision-based, non-intrusive measurement method is presented for characterization of friction in linear microball bearings. Infrared imaging is used to directly observe the dynamics of microballs and track the motion of bearing components. It is verified that microballs roll most of the time with occasional sliding or bumping resulting from fabrication nonuniformity. The friction-velocity curve demonstrates evident hysteresis. The dependence of frictional behavior on several factors is studied.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devon Jakob ◽  
Le Wang ◽  
Haomin Wang ◽  
Xiaoji Xu

<p>In situ measurements of the chemical compositions and mechanical properties of kerogen help understand the formation, transformation, and utilization of organic matter in the oil shale at the nanoscale. However, the optical diffraction limit prevents attainment of nanoscale resolution using conventional spectroscopy and microscopy. Here, we utilize peak force infrared (PFIR) microscopy for multimodal characterization of kerogen in oil shale. The PFIR provides correlative infrared imaging, mechanical mapping, and broadband infrared spectroscopy capability with 6 nm spatial resolution. We observed nanoscale heterogeneity in the chemical composition, aromaticity, and maturity of the kerogens from oil shales from Eagle Ford shale play in Texas. The kerogen aromaticity positively correlates with the local mechanical moduli of the surrounding inorganic matrix, manifesting the Le Chatelier’s principle. In situ spectro-mechanical characterization of oil shale will yield valuable insight for geochemical and geomechanical modeling on the origin and transformation of kerogen in the oil shale.</p>


Author(s):  
Elizabeth S. Radcliffe

The Introduction offers, first, a brief historical background to Hume’s theory of the passions, which is further elaborated in the APPENDIX. Foremost among the theses of the early modern rationalists—like Reynolds, Senault, Descartes, Cudworth, and Clarke—to which Hume is responding are: that many passions left unregulated lead to the pursuit of unsuitable objects, that reason can overcome the pernicious influence of the passions and control our actions, and that the passions are states that represent good and evil. Second, the Introduction presents a sketch of Hume’s characterization of reason and passion and his account of their relationship. Third, it explains the method of interpretation used in this book and previews its chapters. The approach is coherentist: to present an intelligible and consistent picture of Hume’s theory of passion and action, accounting for as many of the relevant texts as possible.


Robotica ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
M. Garcia ◽  
P. Castillo ◽  
E. Campos ◽  
R. Lozano

SUMMARY A novel underwater vehicle configuration with an operating principle as the Sepiida animal is presented and developed in this paper. The mathematical equations describing the movements of the vehicle are obtained using the Newton–Euler approach. An analysis of the dynamic model is done for control purposes. A prototype and its embedded system are developed for validating analytically and experimentally the proposed mathematical representation. A real-time characterization of one mass is done to relate the pitch angle with the radio of displacement of the mass. In addition, first validation of the closed-loop system is done using a linear controller.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Barizien ◽  
Morgan Le Guen ◽  
Stéphanie Russel ◽  
Pauline Touche ◽  
Florent Huang ◽  
...  

AbstractIncreasing numbers of COVID-19 patients, continue to experience symptoms months after recovering from mild cases of COVID-19. Amongst these symptoms, several are related to neurological manifestations, including fatigue, anosmia, hypogeusia, headaches and hypoxia. However, the involvement of the autonomic nervous system, expressed by a dysautonomia, which can aggregate all these neurological symptoms has not been prominently reported. Here, we hypothesize that dysautonomia, could occur in secondary COVID-19 infection, also referred to as “long COVID” infection. 39 participants were included from December 2020 to January 2021 for assessment by the Department of physical medicine to enhance their physical capabilities: 12 participants with COVID-19 diagnosis and fatigue, 15 participants with COVID-19 diagnosis without fatigue and 12 control participants without COVID-19 diagnosis and without fatigue. Heart rate variability (HRV) during a change in position is commonly measured to diagnose autonomic dysregulation. In this cohort, to reflect HRV, parasympathetic/sympathetic balance was estimated using the NOL index, a multiparameter artificial intelligence-driven index calculated from extracted physiological signals by the PMD-200 pain monitoring system. Repeated-measures mixed-models testing group effect were performed to analyze NOL index changes over time between groups. A significant NOL index dissociation over time between long COVID-19 participants with fatigue and control participants was observed (p = 0.046). A trend towards significant NOL index dissociation over time was observed between long COVID-19 participants without fatigue and control participants (p = 0.109). No difference over time was observed between the two groups of long COVID-19 participants (p = 0.904). Long COVID-19 participants with fatigue may exhibit a dysautonomia characterized by dysregulation of the HRV, that is reflected by the NOL index measurements, compared to control participants. Dysautonomia may explain the persistent symptoms observed in long COVID-19 patients, such as fatigue and hypoxia. Trial registration: The study was approved by the Foch IRB: IRB00012437 (Approval Number: 20-12-02) on December 16, 2020.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2274
Author(s):  
Haley E. Rymut ◽  
Laurie A. Rund ◽  
Courtni R. Bolt ◽  
Maria B. Villamil ◽  
Bruce R. Southey ◽  
...  

Weaning stress can elicit changes in the metabolic, hormone and immune systems of pigs and interact with prolonged disruptions stemming from maternal immune activation (MIA) during gestation. The present study advances the characterization of the combined effects of weaning stress and MIA on blood chemistry, immune and hormone indicators that inform on the health of pigs. Three-week-old female and male offspring of control gilts or gilts infected with the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus were allocated to weaned or nursed groups. The anion gap and bilirubin profiles suggest that MIA enhances tolerance to the effects of weaning stress. Interleukin 1 beta and interleukin 2 were highest among weaned MIA females, and cortisol was higher among weaned relative to nursed pigs across sexes. Canonical discriminant analysis demonstrated that weaned and nursed pigs have distinct chemistry profiles, whereas MIA and control pigs have distinct cytokine profiles. The results from this study can guide management practices that recognize the effects of the interaction between MIA and weaning stress on the performance and health of pigs.


Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 491
Author(s):  
Alejandra Ramirez-Hernandez ◽  
Ana K. Carrascal-Camacho ◽  
Andrea Varón-García ◽  
Mindy M. Brashears ◽  
Marcos X. Sanchez-Plata

The poultry industry in Colombia has implemented several changes and measures in chicken processing to improve sanitary operations and control pathogens’ prevalence. However, there is no official in-plant microbial profile reference data currently available throughout the processing value chains. Hence, this research aimed to study the microbial profiles and the antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolates in three plants. In total, 300 samples were collected in seven processing sites. Prevalence of Salmonella spp. and levels of Enterobacteriaceae were assessed. Additionally, whole-genome sequencing was conducted to characterize the isolated strains genotypically. Overall, the prevalence of Salmonella spp. in each establishment was 77%, 58% and 80% for plant A, B, and C. The mean levels of Enterobacteriaceae in the chicken rinsates were 5.03, 5.74, and 6.41 log CFU/mL for plant A, B, and C. Significant reductions were identified in the counts of post-chilling rinsate samples; however, increased levels were found in chicken parts. There were six distinct Salmonella spp. clusters with the predominant sequence types ST32 and ST28. The serotypes Infantis (54%) and Paratyphi B (25%) were the most commonly identified within the processing plants with a high abundance of antimicrobial resistance genes.


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Abhishek RoyChowdhury ◽  
Pallabi Mukherjee ◽  
Saumik Panja ◽  
Rupali Datta ◽  
Christos Christodoulatos ◽  
...  

The use of insensitive munitions such as 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO) is rapidly increasing and is expected to replace conventional munitions in the near future. Various NTO treatment technologies are being developed for the treatment of wastewater from industrial munition facilities. This is the first study to explore the potential phytoremediation of industrial NTO-wastewater using vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides L.). Here, we present evidence that vetiver can effectively remove NTO from wastewater, and also translocated NTO from root to shoot. NTO was phytotoxic and resulted in a loss of plant biomass and chlorophyll. The metabolomic analysis showed significant differences between treated and control samples, with the upregulation of specific pathways such as glycerophosphate metabolism and amino acid metabolism, providing a glimpse into the stress alleviation strategy of vetiver. One of the mechanisms of NTO stress reduction was the excretion of solid crystals. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis confirmed the presence of NTO crystals in the plant exudates. Further characterization of the exudates is in progress to ascertain the purity of these crystals, and if vetiver could be used for phytomining NTO from industrial wastewater.


Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 39
Author(s):  
Mariana Lemos ◽  
Teresa Valente ◽  
Paula Marinho Reis ◽  
Rita Fonseca ◽  
Itamar Delbem ◽  
...  

For more than 30 years, sulfide gold ores were treated in metallurgic plants located in Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and accumulated in the Cocoruto tailings dam. Both flotation and leaching tailings from a deactivated circuit, as well as roasted and leaching tailings from an ongoing plant, were studied for their acid mine drainage potential and elements’ mobility. Detailed characterization of both tailings types indicates the presence of fine-grain size material hosting substantial amounts of sulfides that exhibit distinct geochemical and mineralogical characteristics. The samples from the ongoing plant show high grades of Fe in the form of oxides, cyanide, and sulfates. Differently, samples from the old circuit shave higher average concentrations of Al (0.88%), Ca (2.4%), Mg (0.96%), and Mn (0.17%), present as silicates and carbonates. These samples also show relics of preserved sulfides, such as pyrite and pyrrhotite. Concentrations of Zn, Cu, Au, and As are higher in the tailings of the ongoing circuit, while Cr and Hg stand out in the tailings of the deactivated circuit. Although the obtained results show that the sulfide wastes do not tend to generate acid mine drainage, leaching tests indicate the possibility of mobilization of toxic elements, namely As and Mn in the old circuit, and Sb, As, Fe, Ni, and Se in the tailings of the plant that still works. This work highlights the need for proper management and control of tailing dams even in alkaline drainage environments such as the one of the Cocoruto dam. Furthermore, strong knowledge of the tailings’ dynamics in terms of geochemistry and mineralogy would be pivotal to support long-term decisions on wastes management and disposal.


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