Search

We present a novel concept to tackle the power exhaust challenge of a magnetically confined fusion plasma. It relies on the prior establishment of an X-point radiator that dissipates a large fraction of the exhaust power before it reaches the divertor targets. Despite the spatial proximity of the magnetic X point to the confinement region, this singularity is far away from the hot fusion plasma in magnetic coordinates and therefore allows the coexistence of a cold and dense plasma with a high potential to radiate. In the compact radiative divertor (CRD) the target plates are placed close to this magnetic X point. We here report on high performance experiments in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak that indicate the feasibility of this concept. Despite the shallow (projected) field line incidence angles of the order of θ_{⊥}=0.2°, no hot spots were observed on the target surface monitored by an IR camera, even at a maximum heating power of P_{heat}=15  MW. And even with the X point located exactly on the target surface and without density or impurity feedback control, the discharge remains stable, the confinement good (H_{98,y2}=1), hot spots absent, and the divertor in a detached state. In addition to its technical simplicity, the CRD scales beneficially to reactor-scale plasmas that would benefit from an increased volume of the confined plasma, more space for breeding blankets, smaller poloidal field coil currents, and-potentially-an increased vertical stability.

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer with rising incidence, creating a significant health problem. We discovered increased expression of bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP6) in melanoma cells and tissues, and observed that BMP6 deficiency caused significantly delayed tumor onset and decelerated tumor progression in a melanoma mouse model. Moreover, we determined that BMP6 inhibits dermal mast cell recruitment and found that mast cell-derived mediators significantly reduced melanoma growth in vitro. In line with this, mast cell deficiency accelerated tumor onset and progression in a melanoma mouse model. Analysis of human melanoma tissues revealed a strong negative correlation between melanoma proliferation and mast cell infiltration. This study elucidates a novel role of BMP6-induced modulation of the tumor microenvironment.

The immune system in sepsis is impaired as seen by reduced numbers and function of immune cells and impaired antigen-specific antibody responses. We studied T cell function in septic mice using cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) as a clinically relevant mouse model for sepsis. The proliferative response of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells was suppressed in septic mice. Adoptive transfer experiments demonstrated that the T cells were not intrinsically altered by CLP. Instead, the septic host environment was responsible for this T cell suppression. While CLP-induced suppression was dependent on TNF activity, neither the activation of TNF receptors type 1 nor TNF receptor type 2 alone was sufficient to generate sepsis-induced suppression showing that the two TNF receptors can substitute each other. Specific depletion of regulatory T (Treg) cells improved the impaired T cell proliferation in septic recipients demonstrating participation of Treg in sepsis-induced suppression. In summary, sepsis leads to TNF-dependent suppression of T cell proliferation in vivo involving induction of Treg cells.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of surgical staging in patients with grade 1 endometrioid uterine cancer., Study Design: Data were extracted from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program from 1988 to 2001. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards analyses were used to determine predictors for disease-specific survival., Results: Twelve thousand seven hundred and twelve women were reported with endometrioid carcinoma, including 3867 with grade 1 disease, of which 25.5% had stage IC or more advanced disease, 15.4% with disease extending beyond the uterine corpus, 7.3% with extrauterine metastases, and 3.3% with lymph node metastases. On multivariate analysis, younger age and earlier stage remained as significant prognostic factors for improved survival., Conclusion: Since grade 1 endometrioid uterine cancers have a 15.4% risk of extrauterine spread, a complete surgical staging procedure is recommended when clinically feasible. Younger age and earlier stage are significant prognostic factors for improved survival.