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In this paper, the pixelated phase mask (PPM) method of interferometry is applied to coherence imaging (CI)—a passive, narrowband spectral imaging technique for diagnosing the edge and divertor regions of fusion plasma experiments. Compared to previous CI designs that use a linear phase mask, the PPM method allows for a higher possible spatial resolution. The PPM method is also observed to give a higher instrument contrast (analogous to a more narrow spectrometer instrument function). A single-delay PPM instrument is introduced as well as a multi-delay system that uses a combination of both pixelated and linear phase masks to encode the coherence of the observed radiation at four different interferometer delays simultaneously. The new methods are demonstrated with measurements of electron density ne, via Stark broadening of the Hγ emission line at 434.0 nm, made on the Magnum-PSI linear plasma experiment. A comparison of the Abel-inverted multi-delay CI measurements with Thomson scattering shows agreement across the 3 × 1019 < ne < 1 × 1021 m−3 range. For the single-delay CI results, agreement is found for ne > 1 × 1020 m−3 only. Accurate and independent interpretation of single-delay CI data at lower ne was not possible due to Doppler broadening and continuum emission.

Divertor detachment and alternative divertor magnetic geometries are predicted to be promising approaches to handle the power exhaust of future fusion devices. In order to understand the detachment process caused by volumetric losses in alternative divertor magnetic geometries, a Multi-Wavelength Imaging (MWI) diagnostic has recently been designed and built for the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak Upgrade. The MWI diagnostic will simultaneously capture 11 spectrally filtered images of the visible light emitted from divertor plasmas and provide crucial knowledge for the interpretation of observations and modeling efforts. This paper presents the optical design, mechanical design, hardware, and test results of an 11-channel MWI system with a field of view of 40°. The optical design shows better than 5 mm FWHM spatial resolution at the plasma on all 11 channels across the whole field of view. The spread of angle of incidence on the surface of each filter is also analyzed to inform the bandwidth specification of the interference filters. The results of the initial laboratory tests demonstrate that a spatial resolution of better than 5 mm FWHM is achieved for all 11 channels, meeting the specifications required for accurate tomography.

A study of a dataset of JET H-mode plasma with the Be/W ITER-like wall (JET-ILW) shows that reaching the edge MHD ballooning limit leads to confinement degradation. However, unlike JET plasmas with a carbon wall (JET-C), the JET-ILW plasmas stay in a marginal dithering phase for a relatively long period, associated with a higher (≈20%) H-mode density limit (HDL) than JET-C equivalents. This suggests that ITER could be operated in H-mode with higher density than the scaling based on carbon wall devices, but likely with a dithering phase plasma with lower confinement. A new, reliable estimator for JET E r, min has been derived by combining HRTS measurements of pedestal gradient and edge-SOL decay lengths. JET radial E r ETB wells are observed in the range of −15 to −60 kV m−1 in high performance H-modes, consistent with previous CXRS results in ASDEX Upgrade. The results imply that a higher positive E × B shear in the near SOL plays a role in sustaining a marginal phase in JET-ILW which leads to a higher HDL than that in JET-C. The results of the JET-ILW dataset show agreement with the Goldston finite collisionality HD model for SOL broadening at high collisionality. A hypothesis for the dithering H-mode phase is proposed: as n e,SOL increases, ν ∗,SOL increases, SOL broadens, E r shear decreases, triggers L-mode; n e drops, ν ∗,SOL decreases, SOL becomes narrower, and E r shear increases, triggering H-mode, resulting in a cycle of H–L–H- oscillations. For burning plasma devices, such as ITER, operating just below the MHD limit for the dithering phase could be a promising regime for maximising core density, and fusion performance while minimising plasma-material interaction. The oscillatory signal during the dithering phase could be used as a precursor of undesirable plasma performance for control purposes.

In this paper we present a novel algorithm to extract the optical plasma boundary and radiation front for detached divertor plasmas. We show that reliable detection of the divertor leg and radiation front is possible using lightweight image processing tools. Using a non-tomographic approach, the detected divertor leg and radiation front can be mapped to the poloidal plane. This approach is fast and accurate enough for real-time control purposes, allowing in particular real-time plasma shape and detachment control, and post-shot detachment physics and dynamics analysis.

The research program of the TCV tokamak ranges from conventional to advanced-tokamak scenarios and alternative divertor configurations, to exploratory plasmas driven by theoretical insight, exploiting the device's unique shaping capabilities. Disruption avoidance by real-time locked mode prevention or unlocking with electron-cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) was thoroughly documented, using magnetic and radiation triggers. Runaway generation with high-Z noble-gas injection and runaway dissipation by subsequent Ne or Ar injection were studied for model validation. The new 1 MW neutral beam injector has expanded the parameter range, now encompassing ELMy H-modes in an ITER-like shape and nearly non-inductive H-mode discharges sustained by electron cyclotron and neutral beam current drive. In the H-mode, the pedestal pressure increases modestly with nitrogen seeding while fueling moves the density pedestal outwards, but the plasma stored energy is largely uncorrelated to either seeding or fueling. High fueling at high triangularity is key to accessing the attractive small edge-localized mode (type-II) regime. Turbulence is reduced in the core at negative triangularity, consistent with increased confinement and in accord with global gyrokinetic simulations. The geodesic acoustic mode, possibly coupled with avalanche events, has been linked with particle flow to the wall in diverted plasmas. Detachment, scrape-off layer transport, and turbulence were studied in L- and H-modes in both standard and alternative configurations (snowflake, super-X, and beyond). The detachment process is caused by power 'starvation' reducing the ionization source, with volume recombination playing only a minor role. Partial detachment in the H-mode is obtained with impurity seeding and has shown little dependence on flux expansion in standard single-null geometry. In the attached L-mode phase, increasing the outer connection length reduces the in-out heat-flow asymmetry. A doublet plasma, featuring an internal X-point, was achieved successfully, and a transport barrier was observed in the mantle just outside the internal separatrix. In the near future variable-configuration baffles and possibly divertor pumping will be introduced to investigate the effect of divertor closure on exhaust and performance, and 3.5 MW ECRH and 1 MW neutral beam injection heating will be added., This work was supported in part by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Within the EUROfusion MST1 work package, a series of experiments has been conducted on AUG and TCV devices to disentangle the role of plasma fueling and plasma shape for the onset of small ELM regimes. On both devices, small ELM regimes with high confinement are achieved if and only if two conditions are fulfilled at the same time. Firstly, the plasma density at the separatrix must be large enough (), leading to a pressure profile flattening at the separatrix, which stabilizes type-I ELMs. Secondly, the magnetic configuration has to be close to a double null (DN), leading to a reduction of the magnetic shear in the extreme vicinity of the separatrix. As a consequence, its stabilizing effect on ballooning modes is weakened. Peer Reviewed Article escrit per 365 autors/autores: Labit, B.; Eich, T.; Harrer, G. F.; Wolfrum, E.; Bernert, M.; Dunne, M. G.; Frassinetti, L.; Hennequin, P.; Maurizio, R.; Merle, A.; Meyer, H.; Saarelma, S.; Sheikh, U.; Adamek, J.; Agostini, M.; Aguiam, D.; Akers, R.; Albanese, R.; Albert, C.; Alessi, E.; Ambrosino, R.; Andr be, Y.; Angioni, C.; Apruzzese, G.; Aradi, M.; Arnichand, H.; Auriemma, F.; Avdeeva, G.; Ayllon-Guerola, J. M.; Bagnato, F.; Bandaru, V. K.; Barnes, M.; Barrera-Orte, L.; Bettini, P.; Bilato, R.; Biletskyi, O.; Bilkova, P.; Bin, W.; Blanchard, P.; Blanken, T.; Bobkov, V.; Bock, A.; Boeyaert, D.; Bogar, K.; Bogar, O.; Bohm, P.; Bolzonella, T.; Bombarda, F.; Boncagni, L.; Bouquey, F.; Bowman, C.; Brezinsek, S.; Brida, D.; Brunetti, D.; Bucalossi, J.; Buchanan, J.; Buermans, J.; Bufferand, H.; Buller, S.; Buratti, P.; Burckhart, A.; Calabr, G.; Calacci, L.; Camenen, Y.; Cannas, B.; Cano Megías, P.; Carnevale, D.; Carpanese, F.; Carr, M.; Carralero, D.; Carraro, L.; Casolari, A.; Cathey, A.; Causa, F.; Cavedon, M.; Cecconello, M.; Ceccuzzi, S.; Cerovsky, J.; Chapman, S.; Chmielewski, P.; Choi, D.; Cianfarani, C.; Ciraolo, G.; Coda, S.; Coelho, R.; Colas, L.; Colette, D.; Cordaro, L.; Cordella, F.; Costea, S.; Coster, D.; Cruz Zabala, D. 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P.; Gorini, G.; Gospodarczyk, M.; Granucci, G.; Grekov, D. 1; Grenfell, G.; Griener, M.; Groth, M.; Grover, O.; Gruca, M.; Gude, A.; Guimarais, L.; Gyergyek, T.; Hacek, P.; Hakola, A.; Ham, C.; Happel, T.; Harrison, J.; Havranek, A.; Hawke, J.; Henderson, S.; Hesslow, L.; Hitzler, F.; Hnat, B.; Hobirk, J.; Hoelzl, M.; Hogeweij, D.; Hopf, C.; Hoppe, M.; Horacek, J.; Hron, M.; Huang, Z.; Iantchenko, A.; Iglesias, D.; Igochine, V.; Innocente, P.; Ionita-Schrittwieser, C.; Isliker, H.; Ivanova-Stanik, I.; Jacobsen, A.; Jakubowski, M.; Janky, F.; Jardin, A.; Jaulmes, F.; Jensen, T.; Jonsson, T.; Kallenbach, A.; Kappatou, A.; Karpushov, A.; Kasilov, S.; Kazakov, Y.; Kazantzidis, P. 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Improved localization of emission and reduction of artefacts have been achieved in tomographic reconstructions of the tangentially viewing spectroscopic divertor cameras in JET by introducing the contribution of reflections from the metallic wall surfaces in the geometry definition of the tomography process. The reconstructions thus describe the plasma emission only without features arising from misinterpreted reflected light. Benchmarks with synthetic emission distributions showed accurate reproduction within 10% and 1–2% of the reference emission distributions and camera images, respectively, when the reflection correction was applied. Without the correction, the reconstructed emission was observed to concentrate from the divertor volume towards the wall surfaces together with bright emission artefacts appearing in front of the surfaces to reproduce the reflections seen in the camera images.

In a snowflake (SF) divertor, two magnetic field nulls are placed close to each other creating four strike points (SPs) cf. two in a standard single-null (SN) divertor. In preparation to MAST-U experiments, magnetic configurations with SN and SF divertors located symmetrically at the top and at the bottom of the tokamak were modeled using a two-dimensional multi-fluid code UEDGE with a full plasma transport model featuring charge-state-resolved sputtered carbon impurities. SF configurations with various relative locations of the nulls and small null separation were considered. The complex interplay of the plasma transport and magnetic configurations was comprehensively studied using a simple model for the theoretically predicted fast plasma mixing (the “churning” mode) in the two-null SF region. The modeling results show that: 1) SF-plus and SF-minus configurations with closely located nulls produce same plasma parameters and heat fluxes at same SPs; 2) SF divertors approach the outer and inner SP detachment conditions at lower upstream density w.r.t. SN divertor; 3) heat flux profiles at primary SPs are substantially broadened and peak values are reduced in SF configurations w.r.t. SN divertor; this effect becomes more pronounced with the fast plasma mixing increase; 4) with the SF mixing, secondary SPs receive up to 10% (each) of the heat flux to the primary outer SP.

We present results of the design, implementation and testing of a Bayesian multi-diagnostic inference system which combines various divertor diagnostics to infer the 2D fields of electron temperature T e , density n e and deuterium neutral density n 0 in the divertor. The system was tested using synthetic diagnostic measurements derived from SOLPS-ITER fluid code predictions of the MAST-U Super-X divertor which include appropriate added noise. Two SOLPS-ITER simulations in different states of detachment, taken from a scan of the nitrogen seeding rate, were used as test-cases. Taken across both test-cases, the median absolute fractional errors in the inferred electron temperature and density estimates were 10.3% and 10.1% respectively. Differences between the inferred fields and the test-cases were well explained by solution uncertainty estimates derived from posterior sampling. This work represents a step toward a larger goal of obtaining a quantitative, 2D description of the divertor plasma state directly from experimental data, which could be used to gain better understanding of divertor physics phenomena.

This work presents a novel, real-time capable, 10-channel Multispectral Advanced Narrowband Tokamak Imaging System installed on the TCV tokamak, MANTIS. Software and hardware requirements are presented together with the complete system architecture. The image quality of the system is assessed with emphasis on effects resulting from the narrowband interference filters. Some filters are found to create internal reflection images that are correlated with the filters' reflection coefficient. This was measured for selected filters where significant absorption (up to 65% within similar to 70 nm of the filter center) was measured. The majority of this was attributed to the filter's design, and several filters' performance is compared. Tailored real-time algorithms exploiting the system's capabilities are presented together with benchmarks comparing polling and event based synchronization. The real-time performance is demonstrated with a density ramp discharge performed on TCV. The behavior of spectral lines' emission from different plasma species and their interpretation are qualitatively described.

The challenge of integrated exhaust consistent with the other requirements in DEMO and power plant class tokamaks (ITER-like and alternative DEMOs, Fusion Nuclear Science Facility approaches) is well-known and the exhaust solution is likely to be fundamental to the design and operating scenarios chosen. Strategies have been proposed such as high main plasma radiation, but improved solutions are sought and will require revised research methodologies. While no facility can address all the challenges, the new MAST Upgrade tokamak enables exploration of a wide range of divertor plasma aspects in a single device and their relation with the core plasma (e.g., access to H-mode) and in particular the development of fundamental understanding and new ideas. It has a unique combination of closed divertor, capability of a wide range of configurations from conventional to long leg (including Super-X), and fully symmetric double null (plasma and divertor structures). To extrapolate to DEMO and power plant scale devices where full integrated tests in advance are not feasible yet different physics mechanisms may dominate, theory-based models are likely to be essential for confident performance prediction, optimization, and a ``qualification' of the concept. Development and validation of such models is at the heart of the program around MAST Upgrade. Amongst the many areas to be explored, there will be a strong focus on the closely coupled topics of plasma detachment and cross-field transport mechanisms (e.g., plasma filaments), key ingredients of effective and reliable protection of the plasma-facing components at DEMO scale.

Ray-tracing techniques are applied to bolometry, a diagnostic where the finite collection volume is particularly sensitive to the machine and detector configuration. A technique is presented that can handle arbitrarily complex aperture and collimator geometries, neglecting reflection effects. Sight lines from the ASDEX Upgrade bolometer foils were ray-traced with a path tracing algorithm, where the optical path is represented by a statistical bundle of ray paths connecting the foil surface with the slit geometry. By using the full 3D machine model for the detector box and first wall, effects such as occlusion and vignetting were included in the calculation of the bolometer's étendue. Inversion matrices calculated with the ray-tracing technique were compared with the more conventional single-ray approach and shown to be naturally more constrained, requiring less regularisation. The two models were tested on a sample radiation scenario, and the common single-ray approximation is shown to be insufficient. These results are particularly relevant for the divertor where strong emission gradients may be present. The technique developed generalises well to arbitrarily complex viewing geometries and collimators, opening up a new design space for bolometer configurations that might not normally have been considered.

A large database of reciprocating probe data from the edge plasma of TCV (Tokamak a Configuration Variable) is used to test the radial velocity scalings of filaments from analytical theory [Myra et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 112502 (2006)]. The measured velocities are mainly scattered between zero and a maximum velocity which varies as a function of size and collisionality in agreement with the analytical scalings. The scatter is consistent with mechanisms that tend to slow the velocity of individual filaments. While the radial velocities were mainly clustered between 0.5 and 2 km/s, a minority reached outward velocities as high as 5 km/s or inward velocities as high as −4 km/s. Inward moving filaments are only observed in regions of high poloidal velocity shear in discharges with B × ∇B away from the X-point, a new finding. The filaments have diameters clustered between 3 and 11 mm, and normalized sizes a clustered between 0.3 and 1.1, such that most filaments populate the resistive-ballooning regime; therefore, most of the filaments in TCV have radial velocities with little or no dependence on collisionality. Improvements in cross-correlation techniques and conditional averaging techniques are discussed which reduce the sizes determined for the largest filaments, including those larger than the scrape-off layer.A large database of reciprocating probe data from the edge plasma of TCV (Tokamak a Configuration Variable) is used to test the radial velocity scalings of filaments from analytical theory [Myra et al., Phys. Plasmas 13, 112502 (2006)]. The measured velocities are mainly scattered between zero and a maximum velocity which varies as a function of size and collisionality in agreement with the analytical scalings. The scatter is consistent with mechanisms that tend to slow the velocity of individual filaments. While the radial velocities were mainly clustered between 0.5 and 2 km/s, a minority reached outward velocities as high as 5 km/s or inward velocities as high as −4 km/s. Inward moving filaments are only observed in regions of high poloidal velocity shear in discharges with B × ∇B away from the X-point, a new finding. The filaments have diameters clustered between 3 and 11 mm, and normalized ...

The ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) programme, jointly run with the EUROfusion MST1 task force, continues to significantly enhance the physics base of ITER and DEMO. Here, the full tungsten wall is a key asset for extrapolating to future devices. The high overall heating power, flexible heating mix and comprehensive diagnostic set allows studies ranging from mimicking the scrape-off-layer and divertor conditions of ITER and DEMO at high density to fully non-inductive operation (q95 = 5.5, ) at low density. Higher installed electron cyclotron resonance heating power 6 MW, new diagnostics and improved analysis techniques have further enhanced the capabilities of AUG. Stable high-density H-modes with MW m−1 with fully detached strike-points have been demonstrated. The ballooning instability close to the separatrix has been identified as a potential cause leading to the H-mode density limit and is also found to play an important role for the access to small edge-localized modes (ELMs). Density limit disruptions have been successfully avoided using a path-oriented approach to disruption handling and progress has been made in understanding the dissipation and avoidance of runaway electron beams. ELM suppression with resonant magnetic perturbations is now routinely achieved reaching transiently . This gives new insight into the field penetration physics, in particular with respect to plasma flows. Modelling agrees well with plasma response measurements and a helically localised ballooning structure observed prior to the ELM is evidence for the changed edge stability due to the magnetic perturbations. The impact of 3D perturbations on heat load patterns and fast-ion losses have been further elaborated. Progress has also been made in understanding the ELM cycle itself. Here, new fast measurements of and Er allow for inter ELM transport analysis confirming that Er is dominated by the diamagnetic term even for fast timescales. New analysis techniques allow detailed comparison of the ELM crash and are in good agreement with nonlinear MHD modelling. The observation of accelerated ions during the ELM crash can be seen as evidence for the reconnection during the ELM. As type-I ELMs (even mitigated) are likely not a viable operational regime in DEMO studies of 'natural' no ELM regimes have been extended. Stable I-modes up to have been characterised using -feedback. Core physics has been advanced by more detailed characterisation of the turbulence with new measurements such as the eddy tilt angle—measured for the first time—or the cross-phase angle of and fluctuations. These new data put strong constraints on gyro-kinetic turbulence modelling. In addition, carefully executed studies in different main species (H, D and He) and with different heating mixes highlight the importance of the collisional energy exchange for interpreting energy confinement. A new regime with a hollow profile now gives access to regimes mimicking aspects of burning plasma conditions and lead to nonlinear interactions of energetic particle modes despite the sub-Alfvénic beam energy. This will help to validate the fast-ion codes for predicting ITER and DEMO. This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014–2018 and 2019–2020 under grant agreement No. 633053. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission. "Article signat per més de 100 autors/es: H. Meyer, for the AUG Team: D. Aguiam, C. Angioni, C.G. Albert, N. Arden, R. Arredondo Parra, O. Asunta, M. de Baar, M. Balden, V. Bandaru, K. Behler, A. Bergmann, J. Bernardo, M. Bernert, A. Biancalani, R. Bilato, G. Birkenmeier, T.C. Blanken, V. Bobkov, A. Bock, T. Bolzonella, A. Bortolon, B. Böswirth, C. Bottereau, A. Bottino, H. van den Brand, S. Brezinsek, D. Brida, F. Brochard, C. Bruhn, J. Buchanan, A. Buhler, A. Burckhart, Y. Camenen, D. Carlton, M. Carr, D. Carralero, C. Castaldo, M. Cavedon, C. Cazzaniga, S. Ceccuzzi, C. Challis, A. Chankin, S. Chapman, C. Cianfarani, F. Clairet, S. Coda, R. Coelho, J.W. Coenen, L. Colas, G.D. Conway, S. Costea, D.P. Coster, T.B. Cote, A. Creely, G. Croci, G. Cseh, A. Czarnecka, I. Cziegler, O. D'Arcangelo, P. David, C. Day, R. Delogu, P. de Marné, S.S. Denk, P. Denner, M. Dibon, A. Di Siena, D. Douai, A. Drenik, R. Drube, M. Dunne, B.P. Duval, R. Dux, T. Eich, S. Elgeti, K. Engelhardt, B. Erdös, I. Erofeev, B. Esposito, E. Fable, M. Faitsch, U. Fantz, H. Faugel, I. Faust, F. Felici, J. Ferreira, S. Fietz, A. Figuereido, R. Fischer, O. Ford, L. Frassinetti, S. Freethy, M. Fröschle, G. Fuchert, J.C. Fuchs, H. Fünfgelder, K. Galazka, J. Galdon-Quiroga, A. Gallo, Y. Gao, S. Garavaglia, A. Garcia-Carrasco, M. Garcia-Muñoz, B. Geiger, L. Giannone, L. Gil, E. Giovannozzi, C. Gleason-González, S. Glöggler, M. Gobbin, T. Görler, I. Gomez Ortiz, J. Gonzalez Martin, T. Goodman, G. Gorini, D. Gradic, A. Gräter, G. Granucci, H. Greuner, M. Griener, M. Groth, A. Gude, S. Günter, L. Guimarais, G. Haas, A.H. Hakola, C. Ham, T. Happel, N. den Harder, G.F. Harrer, J. Harrison, V. Hauer, T. Hayward-Schneider, C.C. Hegna, B. Heinemann, S. Heinzel, T. Hellsten, S. Henderson, P. Hennequin, A. Herrmann, M.F. Heyn, E. Heyn, F. Hitzler, J. Hobirk, K. Höfler, M. Hölzl, T. Höschen, J.H. Holm, C. Hopf, W.A. Hornsby, L. Horvath, A. Houben, A. Huber, V. Igochine, T. Ilkei, I. Ivanova-Stanik, W. Jacob, A.S. Jacobsen, F. Janky, A. Jansen van Vuuren, A. Jardin, F. Jaulmes, F. Jenko, T. Jensen, E. Joffrin, C.-P. Käsemann, A. Kallenbach, S. Kálvin, M. Kantor, A. Kappatou, O. Kardaun, J. Karhunen, S. Kasilov,, Y. Kazakov, W. Kernbichler, A. Kirk, S. Kjer Hansen, V. Klevarova, G. Kocsis, A. Köhn, M. Koubiti, K. Krieger, A. Krivska, A. Krämer-Flecken, O. Kudlacek, T. Kurki-Suonio, B. Kurzan, B. Labit, K. Lackner, F. Laggner, P.T. Lang, P. Lauber, A. Lebschy, N. Leuthold, M. Li, O. Linder, B. Lipschultz, F. Liu, Y. Liu, A. Lohs, Z. Lu, T. Luda di Cortemiglia, N.C. Luhmann, R. Lunsford, T. Lunt, A. Lyssoivan, T. Maceina, J. Madsen, R. Maggiora, H. Maier, O. Maj, J. Mailloux, R. Maingi, E. Maljaars, P. Manas, A. Mancini, A. Manhard, M.-E. Manso, P. Mantica, M. Mantsinen, P. Manz, M. Maraschek, C. Martens, P. Martin, L. Marrelli, A. Martitsch, M. Mayer, D. Mazon, P.J. McCarthy, R. McDermott, H. Meister, A. Medvedeva, R. Merkel, A. Merle, V. Mertens, D. Meshcheriakov, O. Meyer, J. Miettunen, D. Milanesio, F. Mink, A. Mlynek, F. Monaco, C. Moon, F. Nabais, A. Nemes-Czopf, G. Neu, R. Neu, A.H. Nielsen, S.K. Nielsen, V. Nikolaeva, M. Nocente, J.-M. Noterdaeme, I. Novikau, S. Nowak, M. Oberkofler, M. Oberparleiter, R. Ochoukov, T. Odstrcil, J. Olsen, F. Orain, F. Palermo, O. Pan, G. Papp, I. Paradela Perez, A. Pau, G. Pautasso, F. Penzel, P. Petersson, J. Pinzón Acosta, P. Piovesan, C. Piron, R. Pitts, U. Plank, B. Plaum, B. Ploeckl, V. Plyusnin, G. Pokol, E. Poli, L. Porte, S. Potzel, D. Prisiazhniuk, T. Pütterich, M. Ramisch, J. Rasmussen, G.A. Rattá, S. Ratynskaia, G. Raupp, G.L. Ravera, D. Réfy, M. Reich, F. Reimold, D. Reiser, T. Ribeiro, J. Riesch, R. Riedl, D. Rittich, J.F. Rivero-Rodriguez, G. Rocchi, M. Rodriguez-Ramos, V. Rohde, A. Ross1, M. Rott, M. Rubel, D. Ryan, F. Ryter, S. Saarelma, M. Salewski, A. Salmi, L. Sanchis-Sanchez, J. Santos, O. Sauter, A. Scarabosio, G. Schall, K. Schmid, O. Schmitz, P.A. Schneider, R. Schrittwieser, M. Schubert, T. Schwarz-Selinger, J. Schweinzer, B. Scott, T. Semer, E. Seliunin, M. Sertoli, A. Shabbir, A. Shalpegin, L. Shao, S. Sharapov, G. Sias, M. Siccinio, B. Sieglin, A. Sigalov, A. Silva, C. Silva, D. Silvagni, P. Simon, J. Simpson, E. Smigelskis, A. Snicker, C. Sommariva, C. Sozzi, M. Spolaore, A. Stegmeir, M. Stejner, J. Stober, U. Stroth, E. Strumberger, G. Suarez, H.-J. Sun, W. Suttrop, E. Sytova, T. Szepesi, B. Tál, T. Tala, G. Tardini, M. Tardocchi, M. Teschke, D. Terranova, W. Tierens, E. Thorén, D. Told, P. Tolias, O. Tudisco, W. Treutterer, E. Trier, M. Tripský, M. Valisa, M. Valovic, B. Vanovac, D. van Vugt, S. Varoutis, G. Verdoolaege, N. Vianello, J. Vicente, T. Vierle, E. Viezzer, U. von Toussaint, D. Wagner, N. Wang, X. Wang, M. Weiland, A.E. White, S. Wiesen, M. Willensdorfer, B. Wiringer, M. Wischmeier, R. Wolf, E. Wolfrum, L. Xiang, Q. Yang, Z. Yang, Q. Yu, R. Zagórski, I. Zammuto, W. Zhang, M. van Zeeland, T. Zehetbauer, M. Zilker, S. Zoletnik, H. Zohm and the EUROfusion MST1 Team55

The Multi-Spectral Imaging system is a new diagnostic that captures simultaneous spectrally filtered images from a common line of sight while maintaining a large étendue and high throughput. Imaging several atomic line intensities simultaneously may enable numerous measurement techniques. By making a novel modification of a polychromator layout, the MSI sequentially filters and focuses images onto commercial CMOS cameras while exhibiting minimal vignetting and aberrations. A four-wavelength system was initially installed and tested on Alcator C-Mod and subsequently moved to TCV. The images are absolutely calibrated and spatially registered enabling 2D mappings of atomic line ratios and absolute line intensities. The spectral transmission of the optical system was calibrated using an integrating sphere of known radiance. The images are inverted by cross-referencing points on TCV with a computer-aided design (CAD) model.

Measurements of intensity fluctuation of light emission within the divertor volume of MAST provide strong evidence for the existence of filamentary structures within the private flux region (PFR). These filaments are observed in L-mode and H-mode confinement regimes. Correlation analysis of the camera data supports the hypothesis that the filaments observed in the line integrated camera data are genuinely within the PFR, as fluctuations at a given location in the PFR in the image are correlated with fluctuations elsewhere in the PFR, and these two regions are connected by field lines. The filaments appear to move from a position in the PFR of the inner divertor leg, moving towards the inner divertor target, whilst ejecting secondary blobs of plasma deeper into the PFR away from the separatrix.

Ball-pen probes (BPP)have been deployed in the SOL of numerous tokamak experiments and low-temperature magnetised plasmas to make direct measurements of the plasma potential and electron temperature. Despite strong empirical evidence for the success of the BPP it lacks a theoretical underpinning of its collection mechanism. In this paper we investigate the capability of the probe to measure the plasma potential by means of particle-in-cell simulations. The BPP is found to float at a potential offset from the plasma potential by a factor TₑαBPP. By simulating BPPs and Langmuir probes, excellent agreement has been found between the measured electron temperature and the specified source temperature. The transport mechanism for both ions and electrons has been determined.E×B drifts are observed to drive electrons and ions down the tunnel. This mechanism is sensitive to the diameter of the probe

This paper presents the use of a novel modelling technique based around intermittent transport due to filament motion, to interpret experimental profile and fluctuation data in the scrape-off layer (SOL) of JET during the onset and evolution of a density profile shoulder. A baseline case is established, prior to shoulder formation, and the stochastic model is shown to be capable of simultaneously matching the time averaged profile measurement as well as the PDF shape and autocorrelation function from the ion-saturation current time series at the outer wall. Aspects of the stochastic model are then varied with the aim of producing a profile shoulder with statistical measurements consistent with experiment. This is achieved through a strong localised reduction in the density sink acting on the filaments within the model. The required reduction of the density sink occurs over a highly localised region with the timescale of the density sink increased by a factor of 25. This alone is found to be insufficient to model the expansion and flattening of the shoulder region as the density increases, which requires additional changes within the stochastic model. An example is found which includes both a reduction in the density sink and filament acceleration and provides a consistent match to the experimental data as the shoulder expands, though the uniqueness of this solution can not be guaranteed. Within the context of the stochastic model, this implies that the localised reduction in the density sink can trigger shoulder formation, but additional physics is required to explain the subsequent evolution of the profile.

Using footage from high speed movies taken of the boundary plasma in the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) general properties of filaments are inferred through statistical moments. Filaments are observed up to and beyond the ψ N = 1.5 flux surface which, in single null configurations, lies well beyond the secondary separatrix and leads to filaments observed > 30 cm from the top of the plasma. In the divertor filaments are observed to connect through to the target, however a quiescent region is observed close to the X-point where no coherent filaments are identified. This region coincides with a sharp rise in the integrated magnetic shear which may change the nature of the filament cross-section.

Divertor detachment in the TCV tokamak has been investigated through experiments and modelling. Density ramp experiments were carried out in ohmic heated L-mode pulses with the ion del B drift directed away from the primary X-point, similar to previous studies [1]. Before the roll-over in the ion current to the outer strike point, C III and D-alpha emission from the outer leg recede slowly from the strike point toward the X-point, at a rate of similar to 2.0 x 10(-19) m/m(-3) along the magnetic field as the electron temperature along the leg reduces with increasing density. Around the onset of detachment, the upstream density profile and outer target D-alpha profiles broaden, possibly leading to an increase in radiation in the SOL by increased interaction between the SOL and the carbon tiles lining the outer wall. The plasma conditions upstream and at various locations along the detached outer divertor leg have been characterised, and the consistency of this data has been checked with the interpretive OSM-EIRENE-DIVIMP suite of codes [2] and are broadly found to be consistent with measured D-gamma/D-alpha emissivity profiles along the detached outer divertor leg.

The ELM wetted area is a key factor in the peak power load during an ELM, as it sets the region over which the ELM energy is deposited. The deposited heat flux at the target is seen to have striations in the profiles that are generated by the arrival of filaments ejected from the confined plasma. The effect of the filaments arriving at the target on the ELM wetted area, and the relation to the midplane mode number is investigated in this paper using infrared (IR) thermography and high speed visible imaging (>10 kHz). Type I ELMs are analysed, as these have the largest heat fluxes and are observed to have toroidal mode numbers of between 5 and 15. The IR profiles during the ELMs show clear filamentary structures that evolve during the ELM cycle. An increasing number of striations at the target is seen to correspond to an increase in the wetted area. Analysis shows that the ratio of the ELM wetted area to the inter-ELM wetted area, a key parameter for ITER, for the type I ELMs is between 3 and 6 for lower single null plasmas and varies with the ELM midplane mode number, as determined by visible measurements. Monte-Carlo modelling of the ELMs is used to understand the variation seen in the wetted area and the effect of an increased mode number; the modelling replicates the trends seen in the experimental data and supports the observation of increased toroidal mode number generating larger target ELM wetted areas. ITER is thought to be peeling unstable which would imply a lower ELM mode number compared to MAST which is peeling–ballooning unstable. The results of this analysis suggest that the lower n peeling unstable ELMs expected for ITER will have smaller wetted areas than peeling–ballooning unstable ELMs. A smaller wetted area will increase the level of ELM control required, therefore a key prediction required for ITER is the expected ELM mode number.

New results from MAST are presented that focus on validating models in order to extrapolate to future devices. Measurements during start-up experiments have shown how the bulk ion temperature rise scales with the square of the reconnecting field. During the current ramp up models are not able to correctly predict the current diffusion. Experiments have been performed looking at edge and core turbulence. At the edge detailed studies have revealed how filament characteristic are responsible for determining the near and far SOL density profiles. In the core the intrinsic rotation and electron scale turbulence have been measured. The role that the fast ion gradient has on redistributing fast ions through fishbone modes has led to a redesign of the neutral beam injector on MAST Upgrade. In H-mode the turbulence at the pedestal top has been shown to be consistent with being due to electron temperature gradient modes. A reconnection process appears to occur during ELMs and the number of filaments released determines the power profile at the divertor. Resonant magnetic perturbations can mitigate ELMs provided the edge peeling response is maximised and the core kink response minimised. The mitigation of intrinsic error fields with toroidal mode number n>1 has been shown to be important for plasma performance., 34 pages, 10 figures. This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article submitted for publication in Nuclear Fusion. IoP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it

openaire: EC/H2020/633053/EU//EUROfusion Considering reflections from metallic wall surfaces in generation of tomographic reconstructions of the tangentially viewing, visible-range spectroscopic divertor cameras in JET has been observed to yield enhanced spatial accuracy and significant reduction of emission artifacts in experimentally resolved 2D line emission distributions. Neglection of reflections in the tomography process was found to lead to overestimation of the emission near the wall surfaces by up to a factor of 4, as well as to formation of bright emission artifacts between the main emission regions and the wall surfaces, comprising locally up to 50% of the emission. Mimicking divertor spectroscopy measurements by integrating the tomographic reconstructions along vertical lines-of-sight implies that reflections comprise 15%-25% of the observed line-integrated emission peaks. The spatial differences in the reflection contribution between the different lines-of-sight are less pronounced than in the 2D reconstructions due to the dominance of the brightest emission regions through which the spectroscopic lines-of-sight pass. However, postprocessing EDGE2D-EIRENE simulations using the CHERAB code and synthetic spectroscopy suggests a decrease of the spectroscopically inferred divertor electron temperature by up to 75%, when redistribution of the observed light due to reflections is considered.

The mega amp spherical tokamak (MAST) was a low aspect ratio device (R/a = 0.85/0.65 ~ 1.3) with similar poloidal cross-section to other medium-size tokamaks. The physics programme concentrates on addressing key physics issues for the operation of ITER, design of DEMO and future spherical tokamaks by utilising high resolution diagnostic measurements closely coupled with theory and modelling to significantly advance our understanding. An empirical scaling of the energy confinement time that favours higher power, lower collisionality devices is consistent with gyrokinetic modelling of electron scale turbulence. Measurements of ion scale turbulence with beam emission spectroscopy and gyrokinetic modelling in up-down symmetric plasmas find that the symmetry of the turbulence is broken by flow shear. Near the non-linear stability threshold, flow shear tilts the density fluctuation correlation function and skews the fluctuation amplitude distribution. Results from fast particle physics studies include the observation that sawteeth are found to redistribute passing and trapped fast particles injected from neutral beam injectors in equal measure, suggesting that resonances between the m = 1 perturbation and the fast ion orbits may be playing a dominant role in the fast ion transport. Measured D–D fusion products from a neutron camera and a charged fusion product detector are 40% lower than predictions from TRANSP/NUBEAM, highlighting possible deficiencies in the guiding centre approximation. Modelling of fast ion losses in the presence of resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) can reproduce trends observed in experiments when the plasma response and charge-exchange losses are accounted for. Measurements with a neutral particle analyser during merging-compression start-up indicate the acceleration of ions and electrons. Transport at the plasma edge has been improved through reciprocating probe measurements that have characterised a geodesic acoustic mode at the edge of an ohmic L-mode plasma and particle-in-cell modelling has improved the interpretation of plasma potential estimates from ball-pen probes. The application of RMPs leads to a reduction in particle confinement in L-mode and H-mode and an increase in the core ionization source. The ejection of secondary filaments following type-I ELMs correlates with interactions with surfaces near the X-point. Simulations of the interaction between pairs of filaments in the scrape-off layer suggest this results in modest changes to their velocity, and in most cases can be treated as moving independently. A stochastic model of scrape-off layer profile formation based on the superposition of non-interacting filaments is in good agreement with measured time-average profiles. Transport in the divertor has been improved through fast camera imaging, indicating the presence of a quiescent region devoid of filament near the X-point, extending from the separatrix to ψ n ~ 1.02. Simulations of turbulent transport in the divertor show that the angle between the divertor leg on the curvature vector strongly influences transport into the private flux region via the interchange mechanism. Coherence imaging measurements show counter-streaming flows of impurities due to gas puffing increasing the pressure on field lines where the gas is ionised. MAST Upgrade is based on the original MAST device, with substantially improved capabilities to operate with a Super-X divertor to test extended divertor leg concepts. SOLPS-ITER modelling predicts the detachment threshold will be reduced by more than a factor of 2, in terms of upstream density, in the Super-X compared with a conventional configuration and that the radiation front movement is passively stabilised before it reaches the X-point. 1D fluid modelling reveals the key role of momentum and power loss mechanisms in governing detachment onset and evolution. Analytic modelling indicates that long legs placed at large major radius, or equivalently low at the target compared with the X-point are more amenable to external control. With MAST Upgrade experiments expected in 2019, a thorough characterisation of the sources of the intrinsic error field has been carried out and a mitigation strategy developed.

Clear filamentary structures are observed at the edge of tokamak plasmas. These filaments are ejected out radially and carry plasma in the far Scrape Off Layer (SOL) region, where they are responsible for producing most of the transport. A study has been performed of the characteristics of the filaments observed in L-mode plasma on MAST, using visible imaging. A comparison has then been made with the observed particle and power profiles obtained at the divertor as a function of the plasma current. The radial velocity and to a lesser extent the radial size of the filaments are found to decrease as the plasma current is increased at constant density and input power. The results obtained in this paper on the dependence of the average filament dynamics on plasma current are consistent with the idea that the filaments are responsible for determining the particle profiles at the divertor., 24 pages, 17 figures. This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article submitted for publication in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. IoP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it

Present research towards a plasma exhaust solution for a fusion power plant aims at validating edge physics models to strengthen the predictive capabilities and improving the operating regime and the divertor configuration. The TCV tokamak is used in particular to investigate to what extent geometric modifications of the configuration can affect the plasma exhaust performance by decreasing the peak heat loads, improving the control of the detached condition and enhancing the compatibility of the divertor solution with core performance. Detachment experiments in TCV have so far been restricted to Ohmically heated L-mode plasmas. Recent TCV experiments connect to previous detachment studies using standard single-null configurations, where the onset of detachment is best observed at sufficiently high density when the direction of the magnetic field results in an ion rB drift away from the X-point. The studies were extended to nitrogen seeding and to an entire suite of alternative magnetic configurations, including the variation of the poloidal flux expansion at the outer target, the introduction of flux flaring towards the target (X divertor), the movement of the secondary X-point inside the vessel (X-point target) as well as various snowflake configurations. The snowflake minus configuration has attracted particular interest as recent EMC3-EIRENE simulations predict a large region of radiation between two X-points. In addition to the detachment characteristics the effect of the altered connection length and magnetic shear on turbulent transport is investigated. The recent experiments benefited from a range of improved diagnostic capabilities including a new divertor spectroscopy system, an upgraded infrared thermography system, an extended set of wall-mounted Langmuir probes and a newly installed reciprocating probe. Experiments in 2016 will also be able to take advantage of the newly installed neutral beam injection (NBI) heating system, which allows for auxiliary heating of high density plasmas and thereby for testing of potential solutions under higher heat fluxes and in regimes with a higher SOL pressure.

In future nuclear fusion reactors high heat load events, such as edge-localised modes (ELMs), can potentially damage divertor materials and release impurities into the main plasma, limiting plasma performance. The most difficult to handle are type I ELMs since they carry the largest fraction of energy from the plasma and therefore deposit the largest heat flux at the target and on first wall materials. Knowing the temperature of the ions released from ELM events is important since it determines the potential sputtering they would cause from plasma facing materials. To make measurements of Ti by retarding field energy analyser (RFEA) during type I ELMs a new operational technique has been used to allow faster measurements to be made; this is called the fast swept technique (FST)., Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures. This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article submitted for publication in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion. IoP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it

Electron and ion heating characteristics during merging reconnection start-up on the MAST spherical tokamak have been revealed in detail using a 130 channel yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) and a 300 channel Ruby-Thomson scattering system and a new 32 chord ion Doppler tomography diagnostic. Detailed 2D profile measurements of electron and ion temperature together with electron density have been achieved for the first time and it is found that electron temperature forms a highly localized hot spot at the X point and ion temperature globally increases downstream. For the push merging experiment when the guide field is more than 3 times the reconnecting field, a thick layer of a closed flux surface form by the reconnected field sustains the temperature profile for longer than the electron and ion energy relaxation time ~4-10 ms, both characteristic profiles finally forming a triple peak structure at the X point and downstream. An increase in the toroidal guide field results in a more peaked electron temperature profile at the X point, and also produces higher ion temperatures at this point, but the ion temperature profile in the downstream region is unaffected.

Neutral deuterium gas puffing at the high field side of the mega ampere spherical tokamak (MAST) is shown to drive carbon impurity flows that are aligned with the trajectory of the magnetic field lines in the plasma scrape-off-layer. These impurity flows were directly imaged with emissions from C2+ ions at MAST by coherence imaging spectroscopy and were qualitatively reproduced in deuterium plasmas by modeling with the EMC3-EIRENE plasma edge fluid and kinetic neutral transport code. A reduced one-dimensional momentum and particle balance shows that a localized increase in the static plasma pressure in front of the neutral gas puff yields an acceleration of the plasma due to local ionization. Perpendicular particle transport yields a decay from which a parallel length scale can be determined. Parameter scans in EMC3-EIRENE were carried out to determine the sensitivity of the deuterium plasma flow phenomena to local fueling and diffusion parameters and it is found that these flows robustly form across a wide variety of plasma conditions. Finally, efforts to couple this behavior in the background plasma directly to the impurity flows observed experimentally in MAST using a trace impurity model are discussed. These results provide insight into the fueling and exhaust features at this pivotal point of the radial and parallel particle flux balance, which is a major part of the plasma fueling and exhaust characteristics in a magnetically confined fusion device.

The ball pen probe (BPP) technique is used successfully to make profile measurements of plasma potential, electron temperature and radial electric field on the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST). The potential profile measured by the BPP is shown to significantly differ from the floating potential both in polarity and profile shape. By combining the BPP potential and the floating potential the electron temperature can be measured, which is compared with the Thomson scattering (TS) diagnostic. Excellent agreement between the two diagnostics is obtained when secondary electron emission is accounted for in the floating potential. From the BPP profile an estimate of the radial electric field is extracted which is shown to be of the order ~1kV/m and increases with plasma current. Corrections to the BPP measurement, constrained by the TS comparison, introduce uncertainty into the ER measurements. The uncertainty is most significant in the electric field well inside the separatrix. The electric field is used to estimate toroidal and poloidal rotation velocities from ExB motion. This paper further demonstrates the ability of the ball pen probe to make valuable and important measurements in the boundary plasma of a tokamak.

SOLPS simulations of MAST-U have been carried out to identify in more detail the physics and operational properties of novel divertor configurations such as Super-x divertor (SXD), in particular the physics of detachment. A well diagnosed L-mode discharge from MAST has been utilised to determine L-mode transport coefficients representative for MAST-U L-mode plasmas. Simulations show that under the same core plasma conditions, the MAST-U SXD is strongly detached whilst the conventional divertor (CD) is not (1 eV versus 20 eV at the divertor plate). The detachment and higher power losses (1.6×) in the SXD versus the attached CD lead to a factor of 25 reduction in the target power load and are attributed to changes in radial location of the target. An attached regime can be established for the SXD in L-mode for higher pumping speed and/or heating power. In contrast, the simulation predicts that the MAST-U CD requires 3× higher density or 4× reduced power than the SXD to detach. Comparing two versions of the SXD, each with a different amount of poloidal expansion in the region near the divertor plate, we find that the effect of additional poloidal flux expansion of the SXD on an already detached plasma is small for a change in flux expansion in volume by a factor of 2–3 (target temperature 0.7 eV versus 1.1 eV). The poloidal flux expansion re-arranges the radiation pattern with only a small increase in divertor power losses (1.06×) compared to changing from the CD to SXD topology. By artifically increasing the leakage from the divertor chamber, we confirmed that the tight closure of the divertor region leads to strong increases in neutral density with concomitant power losses.

The Mega Ampère Spherical Tokamak (MAST) programme is strongly focused on addressing key physics issues in preparation for operation of ITER as well as providing solutions for DEMO design choices. In this regard, MAST has provided key results in understanding and optimizing H-mode confinement, operating with smaller edge localized modes (ELMs), predicting and handling plasma exhaust and tailoring auxiliary current drive. In all cases, the high-resolution diagnostic capability on MAST is complemented by sophisticated numerical modelling to facilitate a deeper understanding. Mitigation of ELMs with resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) with toroidal mode number n RMP = 2, 3, 4, 6 has been demonstrated: at high and low collisionality; for the first ELM following the transition to high confinement operation; during the current ramp-up; and with rotating n RMP = 3 RMPs. n RMP = 4, 6 fields cause less rotation braking whilst the power to access H-mode is less with n RMP = 4 than n RMP = 3, 6. Refuelling with gas or pellets gives plasmas with mitigated ELMs and reduced peak heat flux at the same time as achieving good confinement. A synergy exists between pellet fuelling and RMPs, since mitigated ELMs remove fewer particles. Inter-ELM instabilities observed with Doppler backscattering are consistent with gyrokinetic simulations of micro-tearing modes in the pedestal. Meanwhile, ELM precursors have been strikingly observed with beam emission spectroscopy (BES) measurements. A scan in beta at the L–H transition shows that pedestal height scales strongly with core pressure. Gyro-Bohm normalized turbulent ion heat flux (as estimated from the BES data) is observed to decrease with increasing tilt of the turbulent eddies. Fast ion redistribution by energetic particle modes depends on density, and access to a quiescent domain with ‘classical’ fast ion transport is found above a critical density. Highly efficient electron Bernstein wave current drive (1 A W−1) has been achieved in solenoid-free start-up. A new proton detector has characterized escaping fusion products. Langmuir probes and a high-speed camera suggest filaments play a role in particle transport in the private flux region whilst coherence imaging has measured scrape-off layer (SOL) flows. BOUT++ simulations show that fluxes due to filaments are strongly dependent on resistivity and magnetic geometry of the SOL, with higher radial fluxes at higher resistivity. Finally, MAST Upgrade is due to begin operation in 2016 to support ITER preparation and importantly to operate with a Super-X divertor to test extended leg concepts for particle and power exhaust.

Objectives: To determine the proportion of urine amino and organic acids screening tests (UMS) undertaken for patients referred with developmental delay or intellectual disability (DD/ID), and within the group with DD/ID, to determine the diagnostic yield, the proportion of diagnoses with a therapy and the associated recurrence risks. Methods: A retrospective review of request forms and results of UMS, in individuals older than 28 days, referred to the Women's and Children's Hospital, North Adelaide, between 1 January 1992 and 31 December 1998 was carried out. Urine was analysed by ion exchange chromatography (amino acids), gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (organic acids), colorimetric assay (orotic acid) and stable isotope−dilution mass spectrometry (trimethylamine). Results: A total of 3316 samples were received, 1447 being from patients with DD/ID. A diagnosis was determined for 1.8% of all referrals. For patients with DD/ID, the diagnostic yield was 1.1%, with a similar yield for isolated DD/ID and DD/ID with other features (9/828 vs 7/619; χ2 = 0.006; P = 0.93). Specific therapies were available for 69% of diagnoses associated with DD/ID and 87.5% had known Mendelian or mitochondrial inheritance. Conclusion: Urine metabolic screening is an important part of the evaluation of children with DD/ID as it can enable families to make reproductive decisions and children to receive appropriate therapy early.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common in obese patients. Apart from the physical discomfort and the economic burden, GERD may increase morbidity and mortality through its association with oesophageal carcinoma. The pathophysiology of GERD differs between obese and lean subjects. First, obese subjects are more sensitive to the presence of acid in the oesophagus. Second, hiatal hernia, capable of promoting GERD by several mechanisms, is more prevalent among the obese. Third, obese subjects have increased intra-abdominal pressure that displaces the lower oesophageal sphincter and increases the gastro-oesophageal gradient. Finally, vagal abnormalities associated with obesity may cause a higher output of bile and pancreatic enzymes, which makes the refluxate more toxic to the oesophageal mucosa. The altered body composition associated with obesity affects the pharmacokinetics of drugs. There are no data regarding the efficacy of any of the drugs used for GERD treatment. The dosages of cimetidine and ranitidine should be calculated according to the patient's ideal body weight, not their actual weight. Of the operative procedures used for weight loss, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass was found to be most effective for GERD, while gastric banding was associated with a high prevalence of reflux. This review outlines the pathophysiology and the treatment of GERD in obesity with emphasis on the therapeutic considerations in this population of patients.

In the last three years, magnetic reconnection research in the MAST spherical tokamak achieved major progress by the use of new 32 chord ion Doppler tomography and 130 channel YAG and 300 channel Ruby Thomson scattering diagnostics. In addition to the previously achieved high power plasma heating during merging, detailed full temperature profile measurements including the diffusion region have been achieved for the first time. 2D imaging measurements of ion and electron temperature profiles have revealed that magnetic reconnection mostly heats ions globally in the downstream region of outflow jet and electrons locally around the X-point. The toroidal field in MAST “over 0.3T” strongly inhibits cross-field thermal transport, and the characteristic peaked electron temperature profile around the X-point is sustained on a millisecond time scale. In contrast, ions are mostly heated in the downstream region of outflow acceleration and around the stagnation point formed by reconnected flux mostly by viscosity di...

Statistical analysis of the ion flux to the JET outer-wall is conducted in outer-wall limiter mounted Langmuir probe (OLP) time-series across a wide range of plasma current and line-averaged density during Ohmically heated horizontal target L-mode plasmas. The mean, μ, and the standard deviation, σ, of the ion-saturation current measured by the OLP show systematic variation with plasma current and density. Both increase as either plasma current decreases and/or density increases. Upon renormalization, achieved by subtraction of μ and rescaling by σ, the probability distribution functions (PDFs) of each signal collapse approximately onto a single curve. The shape of the curve deviates from a distribution in the tail of the PDF and is better described by a log-normal distribution. The invariance in the shape of the PDF, which occurs over approximately four decades of the ordinate, is shown to be the result of a balance between the duration time of the average burst wave-form, and the waiting time between bursts, . This implies that the intermittency parameter, , can be considered constant at the JET outer wall during horizontal target Ohmic L-mode operation. This result may be important both for model validation and prediction.

The operation of next-generation fusion reactors will be significantly affected by impurity transport in the scrape-off layer (SOL). Current modelling efforts are restricted by a lack of detailed data on impurity transport in the SOL. In order to address this, a carbon injector has been designed and installed on the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST). The injector creates short lived carbon plumes originating at the MAST divertor lasting less than 50 μs. High voltage capacitor banks are used to create a discharge across concentric carbon electrodes located in a probe mounted on the Divertor Science Facility in the MAST lower divertor. This results in a very short plume duration allowing observation of the evolution of the plume and precise localisation of the plume relative to the X-point on MAST. The emission from the carbon plume was imaged using fast visible cameras filtered in order to isolate the carbon II and carbon III emission lines centered around 514 nm and 465 nm.

One elusive aspect of voice over IP is the problem of providing a public switched telephone network (PSTN) using IP as the core technology. This paper discusses the need for PSTN replacement with IP, and compares some of the signalling and call control options currently being progressed in standards bodies. The bearer-independent call control (BICC) under development in the ITU is explained in greater depth, covering the requirements, functional modelling, information flows and protocol aspects. The paper concludes with the current open issues and time-scales for the standardisation of BICC.

We report a patient with late-onset nonketotic hyperglycinaemia managed with a sequential approach to drug therapy in placebo-controlled therapeutic trials. Partial response to low-protein diet and sodium benzoate and dramatic response to imipramine are demonstrated, with parental scores on the Developmental Behavioural Checklist falling from the 86th centile before treatment to normal with combined benzoate and imipramine therapy.

Knowledge of the ion temperature (Ti) is of key importance for determining heat fluxes to the divertor and plasma facing components, however data regarding this is limited compared to electron temperature (Te) data. Ti measurements at the divertor target, between edge-localised modes (inter-ELM) H-mode, have been made using a novel retarding field energy analyser (RFEA)., Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures

This work strongly exploits the interdisciplinary links between astrophysical (such as the solar upper atmosphere) and aboratory plasmas (such as tokamak devices) by sharing the development of a common modelling for time-dependent onisation. This is applied to the interpretation of solar flare data observed by the UVSP (Ultraviolet Spectrometer and olarimeter), on-board the Solar Maximum Mission and the IRIS (Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph), and also to data from B2-SOLPS (Scrape Off Layer Plasma Simulations) for MAST (Mega Ampère Spherical Tokamak) Super-X divertor upgrade. The derived atomic data, calculated in the framework of the ADAS (Atomic Data and Analysis Structure) project, allow equivalent prediction in non-stationary transport regimes and transients of both the solar atmosphere and tokamak divertors, except that the tokamak evolution is about one thousand times faster.

The scope of the Apps WG covers three areas of interest: Physics and Engineering Models (PEM), multi-physics Integrated Codes (IC), and Verification and Validation (V&V). Each places different demands on the exascale environment. The exascale challenge will be to provide environments that optimize all three. PEM serve as a test bed for both model development and 'best practices' for IC code development, as well as their use as standalone codes to improve scientific understanding. Rapidly achieving reasonable performance for a small team is the key to maintaining PEM innovation. Thus, the environment must provide the ability to develop portable code at a higher level of abstraction, which can then be tuned, as needed. PEM concentrate their computational footprint in one or a few kernels that must perform efficiently. Their comparative simplicity permits extreme optimization, so the environment must provide the ability to exercise significant control over the lower software and hardware levels. IC serve as the underlying software tools employed for most ASC problems of interest. Often coupling dozens of physics models into very large, very complex applications, ICs are usually the product of hundreds of staff-years of development, with lifetimes measured in decades. Thus, emphasis is placed on portability,more » maintainability and overall performance, with optimization done on the whole rather than on individual parts. The exascale environment must provide a high-level standardized programming model with effective tools and mechanisms for fault detection and remediation. Finally, V&V addresses the infrastructure and methods to facilitate the assessment of code and model suitability for applications, and uncertainty quantification (UQ) methods for assessment and quantification of margins of uncertainty (QMU). V&V employs both PEM and IC, with somewhat differing goals, i.e., parameter studies and error assessments to determine both the quality of the calculation and to estimate expected deviations of simulations from experiments. The exascale environment must provide a performance envelope suitable both for capacity calculations (high through-put) and full system capability runs (high performance). Analysis of the results place shared demand on both the I/O as well as the visualization subsystems.« less

An isotope dilution mass spectrometric assay for plasma cis-dec-4-enoic acid is described. It is quicker, more reliable and more accurate than previous methods. It confirmed previous findings that cis-dec-4-enoic acid is a reliable indicator for medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency (MCAD). The plasma cis-dec-4-enoic acid levels of both asymptomatic and symptomatic MCAD patients (3.5-71 mumol/L) are demonstrably higher than those of normal children (0.2-1.7 mumol/L), MCAD heterozygotes (0.1-1.5 mumol/L), those with other fatty acid oxidation defects (0.2-2.2 mumol/L) or those receiving high doses of valproic acid (0.2-0.4 mumol/L).

We investigated the effects that the combination of IL-1 alpha and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) had on PGE2 production in a murine clonal osteoblastic cell line MC3T3-E1 and primary rat calvarial osteoblast-like cells. In serum-supplemented medium, IL-1 alpha was a potent stimulator of PGE2 production in MC3T3-E1 cells (50-fold increase with 0.1 ng/ml). TGF-beta (10 ng/ml) had only a small effect alone and no additional effect on IL-1 alpha-induced responses. In serum-deprived MC3T3-E1 cells, PGE2 responses to IL-1 alpha were either absent or markedly reduced. TGF-beta alone had small effects. However, simultaneous addition of TGF-beta with IL-1 alpha to MC3T3-E1 cells partially restored the ability of IL-1 alpha to generate a PGE2 response (10-fold increase in PGE2 with 0.1 ng/ml of both IL-1 alpha and TGF-beta). As with MC3T3-E1 cells, serum-deprived primary fetal rat calvarial osteoblastic cells also did not respond to IL-1 alpha, unless TGF-beta was present in the medium (sixfold increase in PGE2 with 0.1 ng/ml IL-1 alpha and 10 ng/ml TGF-beta). The synergistic effect of TGF-beta and IL-1 alpha was specific for PGE2 responses, because these factors did not synergistically affect cell proliferation, collagen and noncollagen protein synthesis, or alkaline phosphatase activity. The observed synergy was not associated with changes in the steady state cyclooxygenase (PGH synthase) mRNA levels. However, it did correlate with increased release of [3H]arachidonic acid from prelabeled serum-depleted MC3T3-E1 cells. Hence, the synergistic interactions of IL-1 alpha and TGF-beta on PGE2 appear to occur through an increase in the release of arachidonic acid substrate from phospholipid pools. These effects may be important for both normal bone turnover and the responses of bone to inflammatory and immune stimuli.

The transport of particles via intermittent filamentary structures in the private flux region (PFR) of plasmas in the MAST tokamak has been investigated using a fast framing camera recording visible light emission from the volume of the lower divertor, as well as Langmuir probes and IR thermography monitoring particle and power fluxes to plasma-facing surfaces in the divertor. The visible camera data suggest that, in the divertor volume, fluctuations in light emission above the X-point are strongest in the scrape-off layer (SOL). Conversely, in the region below the X-point, it is found that these fluctuations are strongest in the PFR of the inner divertor leg. Detailed analysis of the appearance of these filaments in the camera data suggests that they are approximately circular, around 1–2 cm in diameter, but appear more elongated near the divertor target. The most probable toroidal quasi-mode number is between 2 and 3. These filaments eject plasma deeper into the private flux region, sometimes by the production of secondary filaments, moving at a speed of 0.5–1.0 km/s. Probe measurements at the inner divertor target suggest that the fluctuations in the particle flux to the inner target are strongest in the private flux region, and that the amplitude and distribution of these fluctuations are insensitive to the electron density of the core plasma, auxiliary heating and whether the plasma is single-null or double-null. It is found that the e-folding width of the time-average particle flux in the PFR decreases with increasing plasma current, but the fluctuations appear to be unaffected. At the outer divertor target, the fluctuations in particle and power fluxes are strongest in the SOL.