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This work presents the first analysis of the disruptive locked mode (LM) triggered by the dynamics of a confinement change. It shows that, under certain conditions, the LM threshold during the transient is significantly lower than expected from steady states. We investigate the sensitivity to a controlled n = 1 error field (EF) activated prior to the L-H transition in the COMPASS tokamak, at q _95 ∼ 3, β _N ∼ 1, and using EF coils on the high-field side of the vessel. A threshold for EF penetration subsequent to the L-H transition is identified, which shows no significant trend with density or applied torque, and is an apparent consequence of the reduced intrinsic rotation of the 2/1 mode during this transient phase. This finding challenges the assumption made in theoretical and empirical works that natural mode rotation can be predicted by global plasma parameters and urges against using any parametric EF penetration scaling derived from steady-state experiments to define the EF correction strategy in the entire discharge. Furthermore, even at EFs below the identified penetration threshold, disruptive locking of sawtooth-seeded 2/1 tearing modes is observed after about 30% of L-H transitions without external torque.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a common malignancy frequently diagnosed at the metastatic stage. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) in RCC patients, including the peritumoral tissue microenvironment, to characterize the phenotypic patterns and functional characteristics of infiltrating immune cells. T cells from various compartments (peripheral blood, tumor, peritumoral area, and adjacent healthy renal tissue) were assessed using flow cytometry and Luminex analyses, both before and after T cell-specific stimulation, to evaluate activation status and migratory potential. Our findings demonstrated that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) exhibited heightened cytokine production compared to peritumoral T cells (pTILs), acting as the primary source of cytotoxic markers (IFN-γ, granzyme B, and FasL). CD8+ T cells primarily employed Fas Ligand for cytotoxicity, while CD4+ T cells relied on CD107a. In addition, a statistically significant negative correlation between patient mortality and the presence of CD4+CD107+ pTILs was demonstrated. The engagement with the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway was also more evident in CD4+ and CD8+ pTILs as opposed to TILs. PD-L1 expression in the non-leukocyte fraction of the tumor tissue was relatively lower than in their leukocytic counterparts and upon stimulation, peripheral blood T cells displayed much stronger responses to stimulation than TILs and pTILs. Our results suggest that tumor and peritumoral T cells exhibit limited responsiveness to additional activation signals, while peripheral T cells retain their capacity to respond to stimulatory signals