Routh Reduction by Stages

This paper deals with the Lagrangian analogue of symplectic or point reduction by stages. We develop Routh reduction as a reduction technique that preserves the Lagrangian nature of the dynamics. To do so we heavily rely on the relation between Routh reduction and cotangent symplectic reduction. The main results in this paper are: (i) we develop a class of so called magnetic Lagrangian systems and this class has the property that it is closed under Routh reduction; (ii) we construct a transformation relating the magnetic Lagrangian system obtained after two subsequent Routh reductions and the magnetic Lagrangian system obtained after Routh reduction w.r.t. to the full symmetry group

A Lie algebroid framework for non-holonomic systems

In order to obtain a framework in which both non-holonomic mechanical systems and non-holonomic mechanical systems with symmetry can be described, we introduce in this paper the notion of a Lagrangian system on a subbundle of a Lie algebroid.Comment: 18 page

Effect of pH on ciprofloxacin ozonation in hospital WWTP effluent

A bubble column was used for ozonation of the quinolone antibiotic ciprofloxacin and the effect of pH was tested. Degradation at pH 7 increased the ciprofloxacin half life time to 29.1 min compared to pH 3 (26.8 min) and pH 10 (18.7 min), possibly due to increased sorption at neutral pH. Degradation product identification revealed strongest degradation at the piperazinyl substituent at pH 10 while degradation at the quinolone moiety seems promising at pH 7. For P. fluorescens and E. coli, reduction in antibacterial activity, monitored by agar diffusion tests, was in correlation with the ciprofloxacin degradation rate. For B. coagulans, however, no differences in residual antibacterial activity were found in function of pH, indicating that degradation products also affect antibacterial activity of ozonated samples

Towards a prototype of a spherical tippe top

Among spinning objects, the tippe top exhibits one of the most bizarre and counterintuitive behaviours. The commercially available tippe tops basically consist of a section of a sphere with a rod. After spinning on its rounded body, the top flips over and continues spinning on the stem. It is the friction with the bottom surface and the position of the center of mass below the centre of curvature that cause the tippe top to rise its centre of mass while continuing rotating around its symmetry axis (through the stem). The commonly used simplified mathematical model for the tippe top is a sphere whose mass distribution is axially but not spherically symmetric, spinning on a flat surface subject to a small friction force that is due to sliding. Adopting a bifurcation theory point of view we reach a global geometric understanding of the phase diagram of this dynamical system. According to the eccentricity of the sphere and the Jellet invariant (which includes information on the initial angular velocity) three main different dynamical behaviours are distinguished: tipping, non-tipping, hanging (i.e. the top rises but converges to an intermediate state instead of rising all the way to the vertical state). Subclasses according to the stability of relative equilibria can further be distinguished. Since our concern is the degree of confidence in the mathematical model predictions, we applied 3D-printing and rapid prototyping to manufacture a ’3-in-1 toy’ that could catch the three main characteristics defining the three main groups in the classification of spherical tippe tops as mentioned above. This ’toy’ is suitable to validate the mathematical model qualitatively and quantitatively

QuilA-adjuvanted T. gondii lysate antigens trigger robust antibody and IFNγ+ T cell responses in pigs leading to reduction in parasite DNA in tissues upon challenge infection

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite of all mammals and birds, responsible for toxoplasmosis. In healthy individuals T. gondii infections mostly remain asymptomatic, however this parasite causes severe morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients and congenital toxoplasmosis in pregnant women. The consumption of raw or undercooked pork is considered as an important risk factor to develop toxoplasmosis in humans. Since effective therapeutic interventions to treat toxoplasmosis are scarce, vaccination of meat producing animals may prevent T. gondii transmission to humans. Here, we evaluated the elicited immune responses and the efficacy of a potential vaccine candidate, generated by size fractionation of T. gondii lysate proteins, to reduce the parasite burden in tissues from experimentally T. gondii infected pigs as compared to vaccination with total lysate antigens (TLA). Our results show that both the vaccine candidate and the TLA immunization elicited strong serum IgG responses and elevated percentages of CD4+CD8+IFNγ+ T cells in T. gondii infected pigs. However, the TLA vaccine induced the strongest immune response and reduced the parasite DNA load below the detection limit in brain and skeletal muscle tissue in most animals. These findings might inform the development of novel vaccines to prevent T. gondii infections in livestock species and humans

Optical evidence for adsorption of charged inverse micelles in a Stern layer

Understanding the properties and behavior of nonpolar liquids containing surfactant and colloidal particles is essential for applications such as electrophoretic ink displays and liquid toner printing. Charged inverse micelles, formed from aggregated surfactant molecules, and their effect on the electrophoretic motion of colloidal particles have been investigated in quite some detail over the past years. However, the interactions of charged inverse micelles at the electrode interfaces are still not well understood. In some surfactant systems the charged inverse micelles bounce off the electrodes, while in other systems they are quickly adsorbed to the electrodes upon contact. In this work a fluorocarbon solvent doped with a fluorosurfactant is investigated in which the adsorption of charged inverse micelles to the electrode occurs slowly, leading to long-term charging phenomena. We propose a physical model and an equivalent electrical model based on adsorption and desorption of inverse micelles into a Stern layer with finite thickness. We compare two limiting cases of this model: the 'adsorption/desorption' limit and the 'Stern layer adsorption' limit. Both limits are compatible with electrical measurements. The 'Stern layer adsorption' limit additionally explains the optical measurements, because these measurements indicate that the diffuse double layer vanishes over time when a polarizing voltage step is applied. The obtained value for the Stern layer thickness and the proportionality between the charging time constant and the surfactant concentration are also compatible with the 'Stern layer adsorption' limit

Remote data acquisition for condition monitoring of wind turbines

While the number of offshore wind turbines is growing and turbines getting bigger and more expensive, the need for good condition monitoring systems is rising. From the research it is clear that failures of the gearbox, and in particular the gearwheels and bearings of the gearbox, have been responsible for the most downtime of a wind turbine. Gearwheels and bearings are being simulated in a multi-sensor environment to observe the wear on the surface