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Superconducting (SC) tokamak JT-60SA plays an essential role in fusion research and development by supporting and complementing the ITER project, providing directions to the DEMO design activity and fostering next generation scientists and engineers. Since the short circuit incident at the terminal joints of equilibrium field coil #1 during the integrated commissioning (IC) in March 2021, both EU and JA implementing agencies (IAs) have examined how to ensure safe operation of JT-60SA by mitigating the risk of possible discharge occurrence inside the cryostat. Based on the experience of the global Paschen tests, the IAs have established a strategy of risk mitigation measures, which is a combination of (i) reinforcement of insulation, (ii) avoiding unnecessary voltage application to the coil systems and (iii) immediate de-energization of the coils when deteriorated vacuum conditions are detected. Thanks to the considerable efforts of the Integrated Project Team members, the IC restarted in May 2023. After confirmation of the SC state of the coil systems (TF, EF and CS), the coil energization test and the plasma operation phase 1 (OP-1) started. The first plasma was successfully achieved on 23 October 2023 with a limited value of voltage and current applied to the coils. The plasma configuration control was also confirmed with low plasma current and low auxiliary heating power conditions. Based on the IO–F4E–QST collaboration, activities of JT-60SA have been shared with the IO and provided an important lesson for ITER assembly and commissioning, and will provide an outstanding contribution to fusion research at large. After OP-1, maintenance & enhancement phase 1 (M/E-1) starts from January 2024, in which in-vessel components are installed, and heating and diagnostic systems are extensively upgraded to allow a high power heating experiment planned in OP-2. In order to make the best use of JT-60SA, a newly organized JT-60SA experiment team will refine the research plan for the future high heating power operation phase.

The elimination of the need for an Ohmic heating solenoid may be the most impactful design driver for the realization of economical compact fusion tokamak reactor systems. However, this would require fully non-inductive start-up and current ramp-up from zero plasma current and low electron temperature of sub-keV to the full plasma current of ∼10–15 MA at 20–30 keV electron temperature. To address this challenge, an efficient solenoid-free start-up and ramp-up scenario utilizing a low-field-side-launched extraordinary mode at the fundamental electron cyclotron harmonic frequency (X–I) is proposed, which has more than two orders of magnitude higher electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) efficiency than the conventional ECCD for the sub-keV start-up regime. A time dependent model was developed to simulate the start-up scenarios. For the Spherical Tokamak Advanced Reactor (STAR) (Menard et al 2023 Next-Step Low-Aspect-Ratio Tokamak Design Studies (IAEA)), it was found that to fully non-inductively ramp-up to 15 MA, it would take about 25 MW of EC power at 170 GHz. Because of the relatively large plasma volume of STAR, radiation losses must be considered. It is important to make sure that high Z impurities are kept sufficiently low during the early current start-up phase where the temperature is sub-keV range. Since the initial current ramp up takes place at a factor of ten lower density compared to the sustained regimes, it is important to transition into a higher bootstrap fraction discharge at lower density to minimize the ECCD power requirement during the densification. For the sustainment phase an array of eight gyrotron launchers with a total of about 60 MW of fundamental O-mode was found to be sufficient to provide the required axis-peaked external current drive. High efficiencies between 19–57 kA MW ^−1 were found with optimal aiming, and these were resilient to small changes in aiming angles and density and temperature profiles.

The plasma current start-up experiment is conducted through electron cyclotron (EC) heating in the QUEST spherical tokamak. During the EC heating, the application of a toroidal electric field in the opposite direction to the plasma current effectively inhibits the growth of energetic electrons. Observations show rapid increases in plasma current and hard x-ray count immediately following the cancellation of the retarding electric field. When a compact tokamak configuration maintains equilibrium on the high field side, along with the retarding field, it leads to effective bulk electron heating. This heating achieved an electron temperature of T _e ≈ 1 keV at electron density n _e > 1.0 × 10 ^18 m ^−3 . Ray tracing of the EC wave verifies that more power absorption into plasma through a single-pass occurs around the second resonance layer with higher values of electron density and temperature.

Results from the successful solenoid-free plasma startup using the method of transient coaxial helicity injection (transient CHI) in the QUEST spherical tokamak (ST) are reported. Unlike previous applications of CHI on HIT-II and on NSTX which required two toroidal insulating breaks to the vacuum vessel, QUEST uses a first of its kind, floating single biased electrode configuration, which does not use such a vacuum break. Instead, the CHI electrode is simply insulated from the outer lower divertor plate support structure. This configuration is much more suitable for implementation in a fusion reactor than the previous configurations. Transient CHI generated toroidal currents of 135 kA were obtained. The toroidal current during the formation of a closed flux configuration was over 50 kA. These results bode well for the application of transient CHI in a new generation of compact high-field STs and tokamaks in which the space for the central solenoid is very restricted.

Spatially resolved rotational temperature of ground state hydrogen molecules desorbed from plasma-facing surface was measured in QUEST, LTX-β, and DIII-D tokamaks, and the increases of the rotational temperature with the surface temperature and due to collisional-radiative processes in the plasmas were evaluated. The increase due to collisional-radiative processes was calculated by solving rate equations considering electron and proton collisional excitation and deexcitation and spontaneous emission. The calculation results suggest a high sensitivity for the rotational temperature to electron and proton densities, but a negligible sensitivity to the electron, proton, and surface temperatures. In the three tokamaks with different plasma parameters and plasma-facing surface materials, the spatial profile of the rotational temperature was estimated using Fulcher-α emission lines (600–608 nm). In QUEST, the spatial profile of the rotational temperature was estimated from spatially resolved spectra. In the other tokamaks, the rotational temperature was evaluated assuming a single point emission with a location determined from the Fulcher-α emission profile as measured with a filtered camera. In metal-walled devices QUEST and LTX-β, the rotational temperature increased with the surface temperature, and the calculated collisional-radiative increase is consistent with measured increase assuming that the rotational temperature at the surface is approximately 500–600 K higher than the surface temperature. In DIII-D with carbon walls, a larger collisional-radiative increase than the other tokamaks was observed because of the higher density leading to a large difference from the calculated increase compared to the other smaller tokamaks. Measurement of the Fulcher-α emission profile with higher spatial resolution in DIII-D may reduce the difference and reveal the effect of the surface temperature on the rotational temperature. These results show the increases in the rotational temperature with the surface temperature and due to the collisional-radiative processes.

QUEST (Q-shu university experiment with steady state spherical tokamak) is a midsize spherical tokamak capable of steady-state operation, comprising all-metal plasma-facing walls and a hot wall (HW) to address issues pertaining to fuel particle balance. The HW was installed summer 2014. Quantitative analysis pertaining to the HW at 373 K is carried out, and clarify the quantitative impact of shot history that obviously appears in wall stored hydrogen just before the discharge at the wall temperature. The model indicates the plasma-induced deposition layer play an essential role in fuel particle balance. A clear temperature dependence of fuel recycling was observed using outgassing just after plasma termination and played an essential role in regulation of particle balance. Consequently, long duration discharges lasting more than 1 h has been obtained at wall temperature, TW

This research investigated fuel particle balance during long duration discharge in an all-metal plasma facing wall (PFW) through intensive QUEST execution. A simple wall model including the plasma-induced deposition layer that creates hydrogen (H) barriers, called the H barrier model, was established. A simple calculation, based on a combination of H state rate equations and the H barrier model, was applied to real plasma in the early phase of its longest discharge. The model accurately reconstructed the evolutions of electron density and wall-stored H over time, proper values are chosen for the parameters that are difficult to determine experimentally. Comparative calculations that used the H barrier and a fully reflective models, predicted significant impacts of wall models on the plasma density time response and value of electron density, indicating that a proper wall model should be developed for all-metal PFW devices. Keywords: Fuel particle balance, steady state operation, Hydrogen barrier model, QUEST

To study radial distribution of hydrogen flux in peripheral plasma in long duration tokamak discharges, permeation and Langmuir reciprocate probes are used. The atomic hydrogen flux to the walls at several radial positions is deduced from the permeation flux. Contribution of the ions to the hydrogen flow is deduced from the Langmuir probe ion saturation current. It is found, that the atomic hydrogen has the most contribution to the hydrogen flow behind the plasma facing components (PFCs), while the ion flux there is negligible. The atomic flux behind the PFCs drops to the value of F~4.3×1015H/m2/s, which is ~6 % of that just in front of PFCs, F~7.7×1016H/m2/s.

A spectroscopic system with multiple viewing chords was developed for QUEST (Q-shu University Experiment with Steady-State Spherical Tokamak) to measure the spatial distribution of ion toroidal velocities in discharges sustained by electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECH). Twenty-four viewing chords were aligned in the midplane and C III emission line spectra were measured for three types of ECH discharge under different magnetic field configurations. By applying an inversion method to the measured spectra, we evaluated the radial distributions of C2+ ion emissivity, temperature, and toroidal velocity. The error in the evaluated velocity was estimated to be less than 5 km/s. It was found that the velocity depends on the magnetic field configuration.

In order to understand the atomic hydrogen distribution in different kinds of plasma and its influence on the recycling, two kinds of plasmas were used: non-confined annular electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) and confined long duration plasmas. The permeation probes are used to measure directly the atomic hydrogen flux at several poloidal positions. The permeation through metals due to the ion and atom component of the hydrogen flux to the wall is indistinguishable. To estimate the contribution of the ions directly, Langmuir probes were used. The Гinc profile behind the plasma facing components (PFCs) is almost constant, ∼2 ×1018 H/s/m2.

A 28 GHz system with a high-power gyrotron tube has been used for the QUEST spherical tokamak to form an over-dense plasma for electron Bernstein wave (EBW) heating and current drive with an 8.2 GHz-wave. Non-inductive high-density plasma ramp-up experiments with dual-frequency (dual-f ) electron cyclotron (EC) (8.2 GHz and 28 GHz) waves were conducted. A spontaneous density jump (SDJ) to an over-dense state was first observed as a bifurcation phenomenon in the dual-f  wave experiment. The over-dense plasma on the 8.2 GHz wave was non-inductively ramped up to 25 kA, and was maintained for 0.4 s under stable plasma equilibrium after two such jumps in one shot. Heating to mildly energetic electrons and bulk electrons was observed even in the over-dense region. The electrostatic EBW heating effect on the mildly energetic electrons in the over-dense region is assessed following a dispersion analysis of the 8.2 GHz wave. The bulk electron heating effect observed is explained as heat exchange from mildly energetic electrons heated by the electrostatic EBW. Remarkably, a high hard-x-ray-radiation temperature of  ∼500 keV was also observed in tangential viewing for current-carrying electrons in the over-dense core region. Synergetic heating from the overlap of different 28 GHz EC harmonic resonances as well as higher harmonic heating is discussed for maintaining the highly energetic electrons in the over-dense core region. In addition, the SDJ process and mechanism are considered based on the discussion of the electron heating effects with the 8.2 GHz wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fuel particle balance during long duration discharges in the Q-shu University Experiment with steady state spherical tokamak (QUEST) was investigated. QUEST has all-metal plasma facing walls (PFWs) that were temperature controlled during the experiments. The presence of a transport barrier for hydrogen (H) at the interface between a plasma-induced deposition layer and metallic substrate was confirmed by nuclear reaction analysis with exposing deuterium plasma. An effective method to evaluate global hydrogen flux to PFWs is proposed, taking advantage of the nature of wall saturation. The outgoing flux of fuel particles from the PFWs just after the plasma termination was proportional to the square of wall-stored H, which indicates that enhanced recombination of solved hydrogen played an essential role in dynamic retention and was in agreement with predictions from the H-barrier model. A simple calculation based on the combination of wall modelling and rate equations of the H states denoted a significant impact of wall modelling on the time response of the plasma density. Hence, a proper wall model including the effects of the deposition layer creating the H barrier is required to be developed, even for all-metal PFW devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Megawatt (MW) gyrotrons, with a wide frequency range from 14 to 300 GHz, are being developed as part of a collaborative electron cyclotron heating (ECH) study for advanced fusion devices and a demonstration power plant (DEMO). (1) Detailed designs for a 14 GHz 1 MW gyrotron are being developed for fabrication. For a 14 GHz radio frequency (RF) beam with high divergence, a calculated transmission efficiency of 94% to the corrugated waveguide coupling position was obtained initially by introducing the design concept (direct RF beam coupling by built-in waveguide) to minimize the RF transmission path. Installing a double-disk sapphire window will make it possible to develop a 1 MW gyrotron with a continuous wave (CW) at 14 GHz. (2) In experimental tests of a new 28/35 GHz dual-frequency gyrotron, the cooling characteristics of an optimal-structure double-disk sapphire window were evaluated. We confirmed that operating at 0.4 MW with a CW at 28 GHz is feasible, reaching twice the output power reported in previous studies. In a 2 ms short-pulse experimental test, maximum powers of 1.65 MW at 28.04 GHz and 1.21 MW at 34.83 GHz were achieved. (3) A design study of a 77/51 GHz dual-frequency gyrotron was performed. Oscillations above 1.5 MW for 77 GHz and 1.3 MW for 51.88 GHz are expected for a beam voltage Vk  =  80 kV and beam current Ik  =  60 A. (4) In an experiment with a 300 GHz gyrotron, the influence of the wave reflected from the window was reduced by tilting the output window, and mode competition in the cavity was suppressed. An output power of 0.62 MW with a pulse width of 1 ms, which is the new record for this frequency, was obtained. (5) We also performed a trial design study of a 240 GHz gyrotron for DEMO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initial results from the recently implemented transient coaxial helicity injection (CHI) system on QUEST are reported. QUEST uses a new CHI electrode configuration in which the CHI insulator is not part of the vacuum boundary, making this configuration easier to implement in fusion reactors. Experimental results show that transient CHI startup in this alternate electrode configuration is indeed possible. Reliable gas breakdown was achieved, and toroidal currents up to 45 kA were generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensity fluctuations are investigated using the fast camera imaging technique in the slab annular plasma as a function of magnetic shear and connection length in the spherical tokamak QUEST. Note that here QUEST is operated as a simple magnetized torus with a tight aspect ratio. Slab annular plasmas feature open magnetic field lines and can mimic the tokamak edge-scrape off layer (SOL)-like plasma attributes reasonably well. Three magnetic shear regimes are realized using three poloidal magnetic field (PF) coil pairs. A whole range of connection lengths (∼∞ ≥ Lc ≥ 5.5 m) is scanned by varying the PF strength for a given toroidal field for each magnetic shear regime. For the first time a systematic study of the effect of magnetic shear and field line pitch together on edge-SOL-like plasma fluctuations is being reported. Slab plasmas with intermediate magnetic shear are observed to be more susceptible to generate distinct blobs when Lc is reduced by increasing the PF strength. A distinct coherent mode appears only at the lowest magnetic shear slab featuring a deep potential well. Such mode is not apparent at other magnetic shear cases even at the same Lc. Finally, with a combination of PF coil pairs, both the features of intermediate and low magnetic shear slabs are shown to be realizable simultaneously. Significantly stronger blobs are observed with such combination of PF mirror ratios in the presence of a coherent mode. This study may provide better insight into the effect of magnetic configuration in the tokamak edge and SOL turbulence and can help in searching for better tools to control cross-field convective intermittent transport in tokamaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fully non-inductive second (2nd) harmonic electron cyclotron (EC) plasma current ramp-up was demonstrated with a newlly developed 28 GHz system in the QUEST spherical tokamak. A high plasma current of 54 kA was non-inductively ramped up and sustained stably for 0.9 s with a 270 kW 28 GHz wave. A higher plasma current of 66 kA was also non-inductively achieved with a slow ramp-up of the vertical field. We have achieved a significantly higher plasma current than those achieved previously with the 2nd harmonic EC waves. This fully non-inductive 2nd harmonic EC plasma ramp-up method might be useful for future burning plasma devices and fusion reactors, in particular for operations at half magnetic field with the same EC heating equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fully non-inductive plasma maintenance was achieved by a microwave of 8.2 GHz and 40 kW for more than 1 h 55 min with a well-controlled plasma-facing wall (PFW) temperature of 393 K, using a hot wall in the middle-sized spherical tokamak QUEST, until the discharge was finally terminated by the uncontrollability of the density. The PFW was composed of atmospheric plasma-sprayed tungsten and stainless steel. The hot wall plays an essential role in reducing the amount of wall-stored hydrogen and facilitates hydrogen recycling. The behaviour of fuel hydrogen in the PFW was investigated by monitoring the injection and evacuation of hydrogen into and from the plasma-producing vessel. A fuel particle balance equation based on the presence of a hydrogen transport barrier between the deposited layer and the substrate was applied to the long-duration discharges. It was found that the model could readily predict the observed behaviour in which a higher wall temperature likely gives rise to faster wall saturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nationally coordinated research on spherical tokamak is being conducted in Japan. Recent achievements include: (i) plasma current start-up and ramp-up without the use of the central solenoid by RF waves (in electron cyclotron and lower hybrid frequency ranges), (ii) plasma current start-up by AC Ohmic operation and by coaxial helicity injection, (iii) development of an advanced fuelling technique by compact toroid injection, (iv) ultra-long-pulse operation and particle control using a high temperature metal wall, (v) access to the ultra-high-β regime by high-power reconnection heating, and (vi) improvement of spherical tokamak plasma stability by externally applied helical field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Megawatt power gyrotrons are being developed for collaborative electron cyclotron heating (ECH) studies of advanced fusion devices and demonstration power plant (DEMO). (1) In the first experiment of a 300 GHz gyrotron, an output power above 0.5 MW in the TE32,18 single mode was achieved with a pulse width of 2 ms. This was the first observation of MW-scale oscillations in a DEMO-relevant gyrotron mode. It was also found that the reflection at the output window affected the determination of the oscillation mode. Furthermore, several single mode oscillations in the 226–254 GHz range were confirmed, which is important for the step-frequency tunable gyrotron in the sub-THz frequency range. (2) Based on the successful results of the 77 and 154 GHz large helical device (LHD) tubes, a new 154/116 GHz dual-frequency gyrotron with an output of over 1.5 MW is being designed. (3) A new record output of 1.38 MW was obtained using an existing 28 GHz gyrotron. A newly designed tube aimed at achieving a dual-frequency output power of 2 MW at 28 GHz (0.4 MW continuous wave) and 1 MW at 35 GHz was built. In the first experimental test, main mode oscillations were observed at the frequencies of 28.036 and 34.831 GHz with Gaussian-like output beams and output power of 1.27 and 0.48 MW, respectively. A total efficiency of 50% was achieved at 28 GHz operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response of the far scrape-off layer (far-SOL) to strong gas puffing (SGP), and its role as the boundary condition for core plasma, are investigated using a two-point Langmuir probe measurement in the high poloidal beta configuration in the QUEST spherical tokamak. The temperature and heat flux behave in an opposite way in the far-SOL and end-plate region after SGP, although SGP increases the density globally. The apparent density decay time in the far-SOL area is much longer than that in the core. Significant co-current flow is driven solely by the electron cyclotron wave in the far-SOL flow. Sheared flow is also observed in the perpendicular velocity profile during the recovered current flat-top phase, and such flow profiles are flattened by SGP. These flow profiles are attributed not only to drift-driven flow but also to transport-driven flow, the sink effect on the end-plate, and the balance of the neutral particle source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Megawatt-class gyrotrons covering a wide frequency range (14 GHz–300 GHz) are in increasing demand for nuclear fusion. Recent electron cyclotron heating and electron cyclotron current drive experiments highlight a requirement of megawatt-scale gyrotrons at a relatively lower frequency (14–35 GHz) range of some plasma devices, like GAMMA 10/PDX of the University of Tsukuba, QUEST of Kyushu University, NSTX-U of Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and Heliotron J of Kyoto University. Collaborative studies for designing a new 28 GHz/35 GHz dual-frequency gyrotron and a 14 GHz gyrotron have commenced. Operation above 1 MW of 28 GHz/35 GHz dual oscillation was demonstrated experimentally. Further in the design of dual-frequency gyrotron, operations with 2 MW 3 s and 0.4 MW CW (continuous wave) at 28 GHz, and power exceeding 1 MW for 3 s at 34.8 GHz have been shown to be feasible. The 14 GHz gyrotron is expected to operate above 1 MW. We are also developing higher frequency gyrotrons (77–300 GHz). The joint program of National Institute for Fusion Science and the University of Tsukuba developed two new 154 GHz gyrotrons for the large helical device after the demonstration of three 77 GHz gyrotrons. The 154 GHz gyrotrons achieved a maximum output power of 1.25 MW and quasi-CW operation of 0.35 MW for 30 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful production of high βp plasmas (εβp ⩾ 1) fully non-inductively (NI) and their long pulse sustainment with the help of modest power (<100 kW) of electron cyclotron waves is demonstrated. High βp plasmas are found for the first time to be naturally self organized to form a stable natural inboard poloidal field null (IPN) equilibrium. A critical βp value is identified, which defines the transition boundary from inboard limiter (IL) to IPN equilibrium. A new feature of plasma self organization is evidenced, which enhances its negative triangular shape to sustain high βp. These results show a relatively simple method to produce and sustain high βp plasma close to the equilibrium limit in a stable configuration exploiting its self organization property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effectiveness of high harmonic electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) was investigated by both experiments and ray-trace analyses. The conditions of both the EC wave injection and the magnetic field configuration were optimized in the large helical device. In the case of the second harmonic ordinary mode injection with a frequency of 77 GHz and with the optimized injection angle, about 30–40% absorption could be kept beyond the cut-off density of the second harmonic extraordinary (X2) mode, which is 3.7 × 1019 m−3. In the third harmonic X (X3) mode heating experiment, the dependence of the absorption rate on plasma density and temperature of the target plasma was precisely investigated and compared with the ray-trace (TRAVIS code) calculation. The calculation results of the absorption rate show fairly good agreement with the experimentally obtained ones on the plasma-parameter dependences. The maximum absorption rate in the X3 heating experiment attained approximately 40% around the electron density of 1.5 × 1019 m−3 and the electron temperature of 1.2 keV. Superposed stepwise injection from three gyrotrons with a total of 3 MW increased the central electron temperature to about 3.5 times of the initial target plasma temperature of 0.6 keV. This shows that the temperature increase improves the absorption rate of the subsequent injection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vigorous research has been conducted to accumulate biological and theoretical knowledge about neurodevelopmental disorders, including molecular, neural, computational, and behavioral characteristics; however, these findings remain fragmentary and do not elucidate integrated mechanisms. An obstacle is the heterogeneity of developmental pathways causing clinical phenotypes. Additionally, in symptom formations, the primary causes and consequences of developmental learning processes are often indistinguishable. Herein, we review developmental neurorobotic experiments tackling problems related to the dynamic and complex properties of neurodevelopmental disorders. Specifically, we focus on neurorobotic models under predictive processing lens for the study of developmental disorders. By constructing neurorobotic models with predictive processing mechanisms of learning, perception, and action, we can simulate formations of integrated causal relationships among neurodynamical, computational, and behavioral characteristics in the robot agents while considering developmental learning processes. This framework has the potential to bind neurobiological hypotheses (excitation-inhibition imbalance and functional disconnection), computational accounts (unusual encoding of uncertainty), and clinical symptoms. Developmental neurorobotic approaches may serve as a complementary research framework for integrating fragmented knowledge and overcoming the heterogeneity of neurodevelopmental disorders., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

A heavy ion beam probe (HIBP) has been designed for the QUEST spherical tokamak to measure plasma turbulence and the profiles of electric potential profiles. Using a cesium ion beam with an energy of several 10 keV, the observable region covers most of the upper half of the plasma. Although the probe beam is deflected by the poloidal magnetic field produced by plasma current and poloidal coil currents, it can be detected under plasma current up to 150 kA by modifying the trajectories with two electrostatic sweepers. According to the numerical estimation of the intensity of the detected beam, sufficient signal intensity for measuring plasma turbulence can be obtained over almost the measurable area when the electron density is up to 1 × 10 19 m -3 , which is larger than the cut-off density of electron cyclotron heating in QUEST. The performance of the designed HIBP is sufficient to explore the mechanisms of heat and particle transport in magnetically confined plasmas, including the influence of plasma wall interactions, which is a goal of the QUEST project.

Measuring the time variation of the wavenumber spectrum of turbulence is important for understanding the characteristics of high-temperature plasmas, and the application of a Doppler reflectometer with simultaneous multi-frequency sources is expected. To implement this diagnostic in future fusion devices, the use of a phased array antenna (PAA) that can scan microwave beams without moving antennas is recommended. Since the frequency-scanning waveguide leaky-wave antenna-type PAA has a complex structure, we have investigated its characteristics by modeling it with 3D metal powder additive manufacturing (AM). First, a single waveguide is fabricated to understand the characteristics of 3D AM techniques, and it is clear that there are differences in performance depending on the direction of manufacture and surface treatment. Then, a PAA is made, and it is confirmed that the beam can be emitted in any direction by frequency scanning. The plasma flow velocity can be measured by applying the 3D manufacturing PAA to plasma measurement.

Electron cyclotron emission (ECE) imaging diagnostics incorporating a lensless approach have been developed for measurements involving active spatial selectivity and direction-of-arrival estimation. The Capon method for adaptive-array analysis was proposed to improve the spatial resolution of the two-dimensional ECE imaging technique. Broadband noise source emissions were used to simulate the ECE to verify the practical effectiveness of the Capon method in the ECE imaging. Multiple noise source emission positions were properly estimated with a high spatial resolution using the Capon method.

The brain attenuates its responses to self-produced exteroceptions (e.g., we cannot tickle ourselves). Is this phenomenon, known as sensory attenuation, enabled innately, or acquired through learning? Here, our simulation study using a multimodal hierarchical recurrent neural network model, based on variational free-energy minimization, shows that a mechanism for sensory attenuation can develop through learning of two distinct types of sensorimotor experience, involving self-produced or externally produced exteroceptions. For each sensorimotor context, a particular free-energy state emerged through interaction between top-down prediction with precision and bottom-up sensory prediction error from each sensory area. The executive area in the network served as an information hub. Consequently, shifts between the two sensorimotor contexts triggered transitions from one free-energy state to another in the network via executive control, which caused shifts between attenuating and amplifying prediction-error-induced responses in the sensory areas. This study situates emergence of sensory attenuation (or self-other distinction) in development of distinct free-energy states in the dynamic hierarchical neural system., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

An accessibility enhanced efficient fundamental X-mode electron cyclotron heating (ECH) current start-up regime was identified for a reactorlike toroidal magnetic field range which has more than 100 times higher current drive efficiency compared to more conventional ECH methods for the relevant start-up temperature range. Very high current drive efficiency is possible due to the strong cyclotron interaction only with unidirectional passing electrons constrained by the wave accessibility conditions. This efficient electron cyclotron current drive regime may help facilitate the design of innovative economical solenoid-free tokamak fusion reactor systems.

The mechanism underlying the emergence of emotional categories from visual facial expression information during the developmental process is largely unknown. Therefore, this study proposes a system-level explanation for understanding the facial emotion recognition process and its alteration in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from the perspective of predictive processing theory. Predictive processing for facial emotion recognition was implemented as a hierarchical recurrent neural network (RNN). The RNNs were trained to predict the dynamic changes of facial expression movies for six basic emotions without explicit emotion labels as a developmental learning process, and were evaluated by the performance of recognizing unseen facial expressions for the test phase. In addition, the causal relationship between the network characteristics assumed in ASD and ASD-like cognition was investigated. After the developmental learning process, emotional clusters emerged in the natural course of self-organization in higher-level neurons, even though emotional labels were not explicitly instructed. In addition, the network successfully recognized unseen test facial sequences by adjusting higher-level activity through the process of minimizing precision-weighted prediction error. In contrast, the network simulating altered intrinsic neural excitability demonstrated reduced generalization capability and impaired emotional clustering in higher-level neurons. Consistent with previous findings from human behavioral studies, an excessive precision estimation of noisy details underlies this ASD-like cognition. These results support the idea that impaired facial emotion recognition in ASD can be explained by altered predictive processing, and provide possible insight for investigating the neurophysiological basis of affective contact., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Neurodevelopmental disorders are characterized by heterogeneous and non-specific nature of their clinical symptoms. In particular, hyper- and hypo-reactivity to sensory stimuli are diagnostic features of autism spectrum disorder and are reported across many neurodevelopmental disorders. However, computational mechanisms underlying the unusual paradoxical behaviors remain unclear. In this study, using a robot controlled by a hierarchical recurrent neural network model with predictive processing and learning mechanism, we simulated how functional disconnection altered the learning process and subsequent behavioral reactivity to environmental change. The results show that, through the learning process, long-range functional disconnection between distinct network levels could simultaneously lower the precision of sensory information and higher-level prediction. The alteration caused a robot to exhibit sensory-dominated and sensory-ignoring behaviors ascribed to sensory hyper- and hypo-reactivity, respectively. As long-range functional disconnection became more severe, a frequency shift from hyporeactivity to hyperreactivity was observed, paralleling an early sign of autism spectrum disorder. Furthermore, local functional disconnection at the level of sensory processing similarly induced hyporeactivity due to low sensory precision. These findings suggest a computational explanation for paradoxical sensory behaviors in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as coexisting hyper- and hypo-reactivity to sensory stimulus. A neurorobotics approach may be useful for bridging various levels of understanding in neurodevelopmental disorders and providing insights into mechanisms underlying complex clinical symptoms., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) plays a critical role in the host defense against microbial pathogens. Many pathogens modulate NF-κB signaling to establish infection in their host. Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) possesses two type III secretion systems (T3SS-1 and T3SS-2) and directly injects many effector proteins into host cells. It has been reported that some effectors block NF-κB signaling, but the molecular mechanism of the inactivation of NF-κB signaling in S. Typhimurium is poorly understood. Here, we identified seven type III effectors-GogA, GtgA, PipA, SseK1, SseK2, SseK3, and SteE-that inhibited NF-κB activation in HeLa cells stimulated with TNF-α. We also determined that only GogA and GtgA are involved in regulation of the activation of NF-κB in HeLa cells infected with S. Typhimurium. GogA, GtgA, and PipA are highly homologous to one another and have the consensus zinc metalloprotease HEXXH motif. Our experiments demonstrated that GogA, GtgA, and PipA each directly cleaved NF-κB p65, whereas GogA and GtgA, but not PipA, inhibited the NF-κB activation in HeLa cells infected with S. Typhimurium. Further, expressions of the gogA or gtgA gene were induced under the SPI-1-and SPI-2-inducing conditions, but expression of the pipA gene was induced only under the SPI-2-inducing condition. We also showed that PipA was secreted into RAW264.7 cells through T3SS-2. Finally, we indicated that PipA elicits bacterial dissemination in the systemic stage of infection of S. Typhimurium via a T3SS-1-independent mechanism. Collectively, our results suggest that PipA, GogA and GtgA contribute to S. Typhimurium pathogenesis in different ways., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, have been intensively investigated at the neural, cognitive, and behavioral levels, but the accumulated knowledge remains fragmented. In particular, developmental learning aspects of symptoms and interactions with the physical environment remain largely unexplored in computational modeling studies, although a leading computational theory has posited associations between psychiatric symptoms and an unusual estimation of information uncertainty (precision), which is an essential aspect of the real world and is estimated through learning processes. Here, we propose a mechanistic explanation that unifies the disparate observations via a hierarchical predictive coding and developmental learning framework, which is demonstrated in experiments using a neural network-controlled robot. The results show that, through the developmental learning process, homogeneous intrinsic neuronal excitability at the neural level induced via self-organization changes at the information processing level, such as hyper sensory precision and overfitting to sensory noise. These changes led to multifaceted alterations at the behavioral level, such as inflexibility, reduced generalization, and motor clumsiness. In addition, these behavioral alterations were accompanied by fluctuating neural activity and excessive development of synaptic connections. These findings might bridge various levels of understandings in autism spectrum and other neurodevelopmental disorders and provide insights into the disease processes underlying observed behaviors and brain activities in individual patients. This study shows the potential of neurorobotics frameworks for modeling how psychiatric disorders arise from dynamic interactions among the brain, body, and uncertain environments., (Copyright © 2020 Idei, Murata, Yamashita and Ogata.)

As technology has improved in recent years, it has become possible to create new valuable functions by combining various devices and sensors in a network. This concept is referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT), and predictive maintenance is a new valuable function associated with the IoT. In large-scale experimental facilities with many researchers, it is not desirable that experiments cannot be performed due to sudden failure of equipment. For this reason, it is important to predict the failure in advance based on the measurement results of sensors and to perform repairs in a planned manner. On the Q-shu University experiment with steady-state spherical tokamak (QUEST) large experimental device, it is necessary to drive a large current of 50 kA, and the diagnosis of its power line deterioration is well performed as predictive maintenance through the evaluation of its contact resistances of several micro ohms order on the network. In addition, as an example of the IoT, mechanisms to assist safe operation, such as a sound alarm system and an entrance management system, are built by sharing experimental information between devices via the network., (© 2020 The Author(s).)

Recently, applying computational models developed in cognitive science to psychiatric disorders has been recognized as an essential approach for understanding cognitive mechanisms underlying psychiatric symptoms. Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is hypothesized to affect information processes in the brain involving the estimation of sensory precision (uncertainty), but the mechanism by which observed symptoms are generated from such abnormalities has not been thoroughly investigated. Using a humanoid robot controlled by a neural network using a precision-weighted prediction error minimization mechanism, it is suggested that both increased and decreased sensory precision could induce the behavioral rigidity characterized by resistance to change that is characteristic of autistic behavior. Specifically, decreased sensory precision caused any error signals to be disregarded, leading to invariability of the robot's intention, while increased sensory precision caused an excessive response to error signals, leading to fluctuations and subsequent fixation of intention. The results may provide a system-level explanation of mechanisms underlying different types of behavioral rigidity in autism spectrum and other psychiatric disorders. In addition, our findings suggest that symptoms caused by decreased and increased sensory precision could be distinguishable by examining the internal experience of patients and neural activity coding prediction error signals in the biological brain., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

After several experimental campaigns in the Kyushu University Experiment with Steady-state Spherical Tokamak (QUEST), the originally stainless steel plasma-facing wall (PFW) becomes completely covered with a deposited film composed of mixture materials, such as iron, chromium, carbon, and tungsten. In this work, an innovative colorimetry-based method was developed to measure the thickness of the deposited film on the actual QUEST wall. Because the optical constants of the deposited film on the PFW were position-dependent and the extinction coefficient k 1 was about 1.0-2.0, which made the probing light not penetrate through some thick deposited films, the colorimetry method developed can only provide a rough value range of thickness of the metal-containing film deposited on the actual PFW in QUEST. However, the use of colorimetry is of great benefit to large-area inspections and to radioactive materials in future fusion devices that will be strictly prohibited from being taken out of the limited area.

An orthogonal dynamic programming (ODP) based particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique is developed to measure the time resolved flow field of the fluctuating structures at the plasma edge and scrape off layer (SOL) of tokamaks. This non-intrusive technique can provide two dimensional velocity fields at high spatial and temporal resolution from a fast framing image sequence and hence can provide better insights into plasma flow as compared to conventional probe measurements. Applicability of the technique is tested with simulated image pairs. Finally, it is applied to tangential fast visible images of QUEST plasma to estimate the SOL flow in inboard poloidal null-natural divertor configuration. This technique is also applied to investigate the intricate features of the core of the run-away dominated phase following the injection of a large amount of neutrals in the target Ohmic plasma. Development of the ODP-PIV code and its applicability on actual plasma images is reported.

A thermal imaging system to measure plasma Electron Bernstein Emission (EBE) emanating from the mode conversion region in overdense plasma is discussed. Unlike conventional ECE/EBE imaging, this diagnostics does not employ any active mechanical scanning mirrors or focusing optics to scan for the emission cones in plasma. Instead, a standard 3 × 3 waveguide array antenna is used as a passive receiver to collect emission from plasma and imaging reconstruction is done by accurate measurements of phase and intensity of these signals by heterodyne detection technique. A broadband noise source simulating the EBE, is installed near the expected mode conversion region and its position is successfully reconstructed using phase array technique which is done in post processing.

A Phased Array Antenna (PAA) was considered as launching and receiving antennae in reflectometry to attain good directivity in its applied microwave range. A well-focused beam was obtained in a launching antenna application, and differential-phase evolution was properly measured by using a metal reflector plate in the proof-of-principle experiment at low power test facilities. Differential-phase evolution was also evaluated by using the PAA in the Q-shu University Experiment with Steady State Spherical Tokamak (QUEST). A beam-forming technique was applied in receiving phased-array antenna measurements. In the QUEST device that should be considered as a large oversized cavity, standing wave effect was significantly observed with perturbed phase evolution. A new approach using derivative of measured field on propagating wavenumber was proposed to eliminate the standing wave effect.

We present a novel, relatively simple method for determining the mode content of the linearly polarized modes of a corrugated waveguide using the moments of the intensity pattern of the field radiated from the end of the waveguide. This irradiance moment method is based on calculating the low-order irradiance moments, using measured intensity profiles only, of the radiated field from the waveguide aperture. Unlike the phase retrieval method, this method does not use or determine the phase distribution at the waveguide aperture. The new method was benchmarked numerically by comparison with sample mode mixtures. The results predict less than ±0.7% error bar in the retrieval of the mode content. The method was also tested using high-resolution experimental data from beams radiated from 63.5 mm and 19 mm corrugated waveguides at 170 and 250 GHz, respectively. The results showed a very good agreement of the mode content retrieved using the irradiance moment method versus the phase retrieval technique. The irradiance moment method is most suitable for cases where the modal power is primarily in the fundamental HE 11 mode, with <8% of the power in high-order modes.

A fast visible imaging system is installed on the spherical tokamak QUEST to study edge turbulence. The camera uses a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor detector with a maximum resolution of 1024 × 1024 at 7000 frames∕s (fps) and can achieve 775 kfps at a resolution of 128 × 24. In this paper, we present the salient features of the system and its application to study edge turbulence in 8.2 GHz ECRH driven slab plasma, without plasma current. Vertical magnetic field (B(z)) topology is varied with three sets of poloidal field (PF) coils and the variation in the edge turbulence is investigated as a function of the B(z) strength and curvature. Fluctuation amplitude was highest for the shallow PF well. Cross-correlation coefficient shows distinct coherent mode along z direction at the steep density gradient region and it grows with the PF mirror ratio.

In magnetized plasmas, the presence of a significant number of energetic electrons has been observed but quantitative characteristics of these electrons are proving difficult to investigate. A Langmuir probe offers a means to provide quantitative measurement of these energetic electrons that takes into account electron emissions (secondary electron emission and electron reflection) from the probe tips and sheath expansion around the probe tips caused by a considerable negative potential. In this paper, these effects are experimentally confirmed and an analytical means to measure energetic electron characteristics are proposed. An analysis of plasmas produced by a high frequency wave is then applied leading to the successful detection of an asymmetric flow of energetic electrons. The estimated electron temperature and current density were approximately 4-5 keV and 2-3 kA/m(2)., (© 2011 American Institute of Physics)

Formamides having 1-arylalkyl groups on nitrogen undergo an unprecedented dehydrogenative [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction with alkynes via nickel/AlMe(3) cooperative catalysis to give highly substituted dihydropyridone derivatives in good yields. Notably, the transformation proceeds through double functionalization of C(sp(2))-H and C(sp(3))-H bonds in the formamides.

Regioselective alkenylation and alkylation of 2-pyridone derivatives are achieved through inter- and intramolecular insertion of alkynes, 1,3-dienes, and alkenes into the C(6)-H bond by nickel/AlMe(3) catalysis. Coordination of the heterocycles to the Lewis acid cocatalyst through their basic carbonyl oxygen is considered to be responsible for the regioselective activation of the C-H bonds, probably through oxidative addition to nickel(0).

Formamides are found to undergo addition reactions across alkynes and 1,3-dienes by nickel/Lewis acid catalysis to give a variety of alpha,beta- and beta,gamma-unsaturated amides with stereo- and regioselectivity. Intramolecular insertion reactions of olefins into the C-H bonds of formamides also proceed under similar conditions. The presence of Lewis acid cocatalysts is crucial, and formamide coordination to the Lewis acid is considered to be responsible for the activation of their formyl C-H bonds probably through oxidative addition to nickel(0).