Thomson scattering diagnostic systems in the ITER divertor

A diagnostic array has been developed for studying the operating modes of the divertor in the ITER tokamak-reactor using the Thomson scattering technique. The aim of this study is to measure the spatial profiles of the electron temperature and density. The structure of the diagnostic setup was selected on the basis of a classical diagnostic geometry and the high-resolution LIDAR system, which provide access to different regions of the divertor plasma. A severe radiation environment, limited access to the plasma in the ITER divertor, and a high-dust environment (the divertor plate erosion material) in the divertor volume pose many problems for performing diagnostics under unique conditions having no analogs in the tokamaks that are now in operation. Different methods for protecting optical surfaces from plasma-enriched deposition are proposed and analyzed. The efficiency of these methods has been demonstrated in bench tests. The concept of laser and detector systems and diffraction polychromators capable of operating at different electron temperatures with a lower limit of 1 eV, has been justified and approved.     

An efficient electron-beam-pumped semiconductor laser for the green spectral range based on II–VI multilayer nanostructures

Emission characteristics of an electron-beam-pumped Cd(Zn)Se/ZnMgSSe semiconductor laser are studied. The laser’s active region consists of a set of ten equidistant ZnSe quantum wells containing fractional-monolayer CdSe quantum-dot inserts and a waveguide formed by a short-period superlattice with the net thickness of ～0.65 μm. Lasing occurs at room temperature at a wavelength of 542 nm. Pulsed power as high as 12 W per cavity face and an unprecedentedly high efficiency of ～8.5% are attained for the electron-beam energy of 23 keV.     

Structural and Superconducting Property Variations with Nominal Mg Non‐Stoichiometry in MgxB2 and Its Enhancement of Upper Critical Field

By applying a combination of characterisation tools, changes in structural and superconducting properties with nominal Mg non‐stoichiometry in Mg_xB₂ are found. The non‐stoichiometry produces enhanced in‐field critical current densities (J_c's) and upper critical field / irreversibility field (H_c2/H_irr(T)) values. Upper critical fields of ～ 21 T (4.2 K) were obtained in nominal Mg‐deficient samples compared to ～ 17 T (4.2 K) for near‐stoichiometric samples.     

Total classes of composition systems of discrete signals in isomorphous Galois fields

It is proposed a rule of total classes of composition systems of discrete frequency signals (CDF-signals) construction in extended Galois fields. It is carried out modeling and research a correlation properties of CDF-signals, and determined their practical attraction.     

PURIFICATION AND PROPERTIES OF TRANSGLUTAMINASE FROM STREPTOVERTICILLIUM MOBARAENSE

Transglutaminase (TGase) was separated from the culture broth of an isolated strain of Streptoverticillium mobaraense. The crude enzyme was prepared by centrifugation, ultrafiltration, precipitation by alcohol, centrifugation and freeze‐drying. The yield after these processes was 65–70%. Then the enzyme was purified to homogeneity by chromatography on CM‐cellulose and Sephadex G‐75 on which the yields were about 70% and 80%, respectively; the purified folds reached 2.5–4.7 and 1.08–2.06, respectively. The molecular weight of this TGase was 39,500–40,100 Da by gel filtration chromatography. Optimum enzyme activity was observed in the pH range of 5.0–7.0, and it was maintained stable at 20–40C. The optimal temperature and pH was 52C and 6.0, respectively. At 1 mM and 5 mM metal ion or inhibitors concentration, TGase activity was strongly inhibited by Zn²⁺ and NEM, and not affected obviously by Ba²⁺, Ca²⁺, Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Na⁺ as well as PMSF and EDTA. The effects of these additions on this TGase were compared with those of other microbial TGases.     

Entropy of multidimensional cellular automata

Since the topological entropy of a vast class of two-dimensional cellular automata (CA) is infinite, of interest is the possibility to renormalize it so that to obtain a positive finite value. We find the asymptotics of the information function of a multidimensional CA and, accordingly, introduce the renormalized topological entropy as a coefficient of this asymptotics. We describe some properties of the introduced quantity, in particular, its positivity for CA of the type of “The Game of Life.” Also, we give an example of an explicit evaluation of this parameter for a particular cellular automaton.     

Factors influencing feature usage in work-related communication

Two studies are presented. The first aimed to identify possible barriers to the uptake and use of commonly available telephony features and to determine whether greater knowledge of features/access codes and availability of user manuals could increase feature usage under certain conditions. Results showed that feature-usage patterns were not affected by any of the manipulations, but that they were determined by specific job demands. Using Constantine and Lockwood's (1999) conceptualization of user roles, a method to support feature bundling decisions for specific target markets was developed and tested in the second study. The method - Strategic User Needs Analysis (SUNA) - was shown to yield a useful balance between high- and low-level information about selected roles. SUNA provided sufficient information to distinguish between PDA feature usage patterns of two similar target user groups as well as to suggest additional features each of the two target groups would find useful. The development of SUNA and observational findings of actual PDA usage are reported.     

Using Web resources to construct multilingual medical thesaurus for cross-language medical information retrieval

Due to the language barrier, non-English users are unable to retrieve the most updated medical information from the U.S. authoritative medical websites, such as PubMed and MedlinePlus. However, currently, there is no any cross-language medical information retrieval (CLMIR) system that can help Chinese-speaking consumers cross the language barrier in finding useful English medical information. A few CLMIR systems utilize MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) to help overcome the language barrier. Unfortunately, the traditional Chinese version of MeSH is currently unavailable.In this paper, we employ a semi-automatic term translation method to construct a Chinese–English MeSH by exploiting abundant multilingual Web resources, including Web anchor texts and search–result pages. Through this method, we have developed a Chinese–English Mesh Compilation System to assist knowledge engineers in compiling a Chinese–English medical thesaurus with more than 19,000 entries. Furthermore, this thesaurus has been used to develop a prototypical system for cross-language medical information retrieval, MMODE, which can help consumers retrieve top-quality English medical information using Chinese terms.     

A prototype of a superconducting magnet for a 170-GHz gyrotron

Within the framework of the “International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor” (ITER) program, a prototype of a superconducting magnet for a 170-GHz gyrotron has been developed, manufactured, and tested. The operating induction value (7.1 T at the center of a 219-mm-diameter cold hole and 8.1 T on the winding) is reached at a current of 185.2 A. In the final version of the magnet, the required induction value was reached without aging. Special requirements are imposed on the distribution of the magnetic field along the axis, including an abrupt field decrease on both sides of the magnet. Axial forces are additionally taken by a special device. The magnet’s sections are wound with multifiber conductors based on niobium-tin and niobium-titanium alloys. Seventeen resistive shunts are provided for protecting sections during their transition to the normal state. The magnet is equipped with a device for removing a part of energy from the sections. Mechanical stresses in the magnet’s sections and the structure’s power elements have been measured during tests.     

Miniature in vivo robots for remote and harsh environments

Long-term human space exploration will require contingencies for emergency medical procedures including some capability to perform surgery. The ability to perform minimally invasive surgery (MIS) would be an important capability. The use of small incisions reduces surgical risk, but also eliminates the ability of the surgeon to view and touch the surgical environment directly. Robotic surgery, or telerobotic surgery, may provide emergency surgical care in remote or harsh environments such as space flight, or extremely forward environments such as battlefields. However, because current surgical robots are large and require extensive support personnel, their implementation has remained limited in forward environments, and they would be difficult, or impossible, to use in space flight or on battlefields. This paper presents experimental analysis of miniature fixed-base and mobile in vivo robots to support MIS surgery in remote and harsh environments. The objective is to develop wireless imaging and task-assisting robots that can be placed inside the abdominal cavity during surgery. Such robots will provide surgical task assistance and enable an on-site or remote surgeon to view the surgical environment from multiple angles. This approach is applicable to long-duration space flight, battlefield situations, and for traditional medical centers and other remote surgical locations.