Search

A plasma generator for a long pulse H+/D+ ion source has been developed. The plasma generator was designed to produce 65 A H+/D+ beams at an energy of 120 keV from an ion extraction area of 12 cm in width and 45 cm in length. Configuration of the plasma generator is a multi-cusp bucket type with SmCo permanent magnets. Dimension of a plasma chamber is 25 cm in width, 59 cm in length, and 32.5 cm in depth. The plasma generator was designed and fabricated at Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Source plasma generation and beam extraction tests for hydrogen coupling with an accelerator of the KSTAR ion source have been performed at the KSTAR neutral beam test stand under the agreement of Japan-Korea collaborative experiment. Spatial uniformity of the source plasma at the extraction region was measured using Langmuir probes and ±7% of the deviation from an averaged ion saturation current density was obtained. A long pulse test of the plasma generation up to 200 s with an arc discharge power of 70 kW has been successfully demonstrated. The arc discharge power satisfies the requirement of the beam production for the KSTAR NBI. A 70 keV, 41 A, 5 s hydrogen ion beam has been extracted with a high arc efficiency of 0.9 -1.1 A/kW at a beam extraction experiment. A deuteron yield of 77% was measured even at a low beam current density of 73 mA/cm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-pulse acceleration of the high-power positive ion beam has been demonstrated with the JT-60 positive ion source in the joint experiment among Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and National Fusion Research Institute (NFRI) under the collaboration program for the development of plasma heating and current drive systems. In this joint experiment, the increase of the heat load and the breakdowns induced by the degradation of the beam optics due to the gas accumulation was one of the critical issues for the long-pulse acceleration. As a result of development of the long-pulse operation techniques of the ion source and facilities of the neutral beam test stand in KAERI, 2 MW 100 s beam has been achieved for the first time. The achieved beam performance satisfies the JT-60SA requirement which is designed to be a 1.94 MW ion beam power from an ion source corresponding to total neutral beam power of 20 MW with 24 ion sources. Therefore, it was found that the JT-60 positive ion sources were applicable in the JT-60SA neutral beam injectors. Moreover, because this ion source is planned to be a backup ion source for KSTAR, the operational region and characteristic has been clarified to apply to the KSTAR neutral beam injector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reports R&D progress of the MeV class accelerator, beam focussing technique and a high voltage (HV) bushing toward the ITER Neutral Beam system at JAEA. A H− ion beam of 320mA (current density: 140A/m2) was successfully accelerated up to 796keV by fixing air leak in the ion source chamber caused by heat loading due to backstream positive ions. From analyses of a three-dimensional beam trajectory, a countermeasure against beamlet deflection due to space charge repulsion among beamlets was identified to compensate the deflection by proper aperture offset in the electron suppression grid. For development of the HV bushing, a half-size (Ø800mm) mockup single stage bushing was manufactured and tested, that demonstrated the dc voltage holding capability of up to 220kV in a condition with vacuum inside. Electrostatic analyses and design of the HV bushing are in progress, in which some design improvements are suggested to reduce electric field strength on the surface of ceramic insulator. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the extent of tobacco cessation training content, including the introduction of a comprehensive programme; and the presence of tobacco-related topics, including new tobacco products, school years and course of training, educators, and attitudes and policies relevant to tobacco education in pharmacy schools in Japan., Design: A cross-sectional survey., Setting: All pharmacy schools in Japan with a 6-year course of training were invited to participate., Methods: Pharmacy schools in Japan that agreed to participate in a web-based survey asking about tobacco cessation training, and attitudes and policies relevant to tobacco education., Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was the number of pharmacy schools that introduced comprehensive tobacco cessation training in their curriculum. The secondary outcome was to clarify the curriculum coverage of 9 basic knowledge and 10 tobacco cessation-specific topics, including new tobacco products., Results: Of the 75 pharmacy schools with a 6-year course in Japan, 52 (74%) responded to the survey. While 27 (52%) schools reported that comprehensive tobacco cessation training would be beneficial, only 1 school had introduced it as a one-credit elective course in the fifth year. Basic knowledge topics for tobacco cessation listed in or related to the Model Core Curriculum were covered by 44%-65% of the schools, while practical skills were covered in 10%-19% of the schools. Only seven schools (14%) introduced the topic of new tobacco products in their curriculum., Conclusions: This study revealed that comprehensive tobacco cessation training is not generally offered in pharmacy schools in Japan. The Model Core Curriculum should revise its standards to implement updated tobacco cessation training programmes to keep up with new tobacco products and to train pharmacy students on counselling users of such products., Trial Registration Number: Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences No. 17 - 14., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: The aim of the trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of a program of cooperation between physician and pharmacist to reduce cardiovascular risk factors in patients with mild to moderate hypertension by promoting better blood pressure (BP) control, appropriate changes in antihypertensive medications, and beneficial changes in lifestyle., Methods: The 132 subjects in this randomized, controlled trial were in the age range of 40-79 years. The inclusion criteria were: systolic BP (SBP) ranging from 140-179 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP (DBP) ranging from 90-99 mm Hg and treatment-naive (untreated for hypertension); or on a regimen of medication for hypertension. Of these 132 subjects, 124 (94%) were already receiving treatment with antihypertensive medications. Equal numbers of subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups: a physician-pharmacist intervention group (n = 66) and a control group (n = 66)., Results: The 6-month follow-up rate was 97% in both groups. At 6 months, the mean decrease in SBP/DBP, as measured at home in the morning, was 2.9/3.3 mm Hg in the intervention group relative to baseline (P = 0.02 and P < 0.0001 for SBP and DBP, respectively). The mean decrease in home morning SBP in the intervention group was not significantly greater than in the control group. However, the DBP decline was significantly greater in the intervention than control groups, which showed a mean decrease of 2.8 mm Hg (confidence interval: -5.5 to -0.1; P = 0.04). The percentage of patients in whom control of home morning BP was achieved was 53% in the intervention group and 47% in the control group (P = 0.40). A higher percentage of patients in the intervention group, relative to the control group, were able to reduce the use of antihypertensive medications (31 vs. 8%, P < 0.0001), and fewer patients in this group required additional medications or increases in dosage relative to the controls (11 vs. 28%, P = 0.03). Patients of the intervention group were more likely to show reduction in body mass index and sodium intake and to stop smoking, as compared with the control group., Conclusions: A program of cooperation between physician and pharmacist was successful in reducing cardiovascular risk factors in patients with mild to moderate hypertension by promoting better blood pressure (BP) control, appropriate changes in antihypertensive medications, and beneficial changes in lifestyle.