On the mechanisms governing gas penetration into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection

A new 1D radial fluid code, IMAGINE, is used to simulate the penetration of gas into a tokamak plasma during a massive gas injection (MGI). The main result is that the gas is in general strongly braked as it reaches the plasma, due to mechanisms related to charge exchange and (to a smaller extent) recombination. As a result, only a fraction of the gas penetrates into the plasma. Also, a shock wave is created in the gas which propagates away from the plasma, braking and compressing the incoming gas. Simulation results are quantitatively consistent, at least in terms of orders of magnitude, with experimental data for a D 2 MGI into a JET Ohmic plasma. Simulations of MGI into the background plasma surrounding a runaway electron beam show that if the background electron density is too high, the gas may not penetrate, suggesting a possible explanation for the recent results of Reux et al in JET (2015 Nucl. Fusion 55 093013)

Novel Loci for Adiponectin Levels and Their Influence on Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Traits : A Multi-Ethnic Meta-Analysis of 45,891 Individuals

J. Kaprio, S. Ripatti ja M.-L. Lokki työryhmien jäseniä.Peer reviewe

THE RATE OF BINARY BLACK HOLE MERGERS INFERRED FROM ADVANCED LIGO OBSERVATIONS SURROUNDING GW150914

A transient gravitational-wave signal, GW150914, was identi fi ed in the twin Advanced LIGO detectors on 2015 September 2015 at 09:50:45 UTC. To asse ss the implications of this discovery, the detectors remained in operation with unchanged con fi gurations over a period of 39 days around the time of t he signal. At the detection statistic threshold corresponding to that observed for GW150914, our search of the 16 days of simultaneous two-detector observational data is estimated to have a false-alarm rate ( FAR ) of < ́ -- 4.9 10 yr 61 , yielding a p -value for GW150914 of < ́ - 210 7 . Parameter estimation follo w-up on this trigger identi fi es its source as a binary black hole ( BBH ) merger with component masses ( )( ) = - + - + mm M ,36,29 12 4 5 4 4 at redshift = - + z 0.09 0.04 0.03 ( median and 90% credible range ) . Here, we report on the constraints these observations place on the rate of BBH coalescences. Considering only GW150914, assuming that all BBHs in the universe have the same masses and spins as this event, imposing a search FAR threshold of 1 per 100 years, and assuming that the BBH merger rate is constant in the comoving frame, we infer a 90% credible range of merger rates between – -- 2 53 Gpc yr 31 ( comoving frame ) . Incorporating all search triggers that pass a much lower threshold while accounting for the uncerta inty in the astrophysical origin of each trigger, we estimate a higher rate, ranging from – -- 13 600 Gpc yr 31 depending on assumptions about the BBH mass distribution. All together, our various rate estimat es fall in the conservative range – -- 2 600 Gpc yr 31

Local Gazetteers Research Tools: overview and research application

Asian Studie

Tagging Hansenula polymorpha genes by random integration of linear DNA fragments (RALF)

We have investigated the feasibility of using gene tagging by restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) to isolate mutants in Hansenula polymorpha. A plasmid that cannot replicate in H. polymorpha and contains a dominant zeocin resistance cassette pREMI-Z was used as the integrative/mutagenic plasmid. We observed that high transformation efficiency was primarily dependent on the use of linearised pREMI-Z, and that the addition of restriction endonuclease to linearised pREMI-Z prior to transformation increased the transformation frequency only slightly. Integration of linearised pREMI-Z occurred at random in the H. polymorpha genome. Therefore, we termed this method Random integration of Linear DNA Fragments (RALF). To explore the potential of RALF in H. polymorpha, we screened a collection of pREMI-Z transformants for mutants affected in peroxisome biogenesis (pex) or selective peroxisome degradation (pdd). Many previously described PEX genes were obtained from the mutant collection, as well as a number of new genes, including H. polymorpha PEX12 and genes whose function in peroxisome biogenesis is still unclear. These results demonstrate that RALF is a powerful tool for tagging genes in H. polymorpha that should make it possible to carry out genome-wide mutagenesis screens.

Prostate Cancer DNA Ploidy and Response to Salvage Hormone Therapy After Radiotherapy With or Without Short-Term Total Androgen Blockade: An Analysis of RTOG 8610

Purpose: DNA ploidy has consistently been found to be a correlate of prostate cancer patient outcome. However, a minority of studies have used pretreatment diagnostic material and have involved radiotherapy (RT)-treated patients. In this retrospective study, the predictive value of DNA ploidy was evaluated in patients entered into Radiation Therapy Oncology Group protocol 8610. The protocol treatment randomization was RT alone versus RT plus short-course (∼4 months) neoadjuvant and concurrent total androgen blockade (RT+TAB). Patients and Methods: The study population consisted of 149 patients, of whom 74 received RT alone and 75 received RT+TAB. DNA content was determined by image analysis of Feulgen stained tissue sections; 94 patients were diploid and 55 patients were nondiploid. Kaplan-Meier univariate survival, the cumulative incidence method, and Cox proportional hazards multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the relationship of DNA ploidy to distant metastasis and overall survival. Results: DNA nondiploidy was not associated with any of the other prognostic factors in univariate analyses. In Kaplan-Meier analyses, 5-year overall survival was 70% for those with diploid tumors and 42% for nondiploid tumors. Cox proportional hazards regression revealed that nondiploidy was independently associated with reduced overall survival. No correlation was observed between DNA ploidy and distant metastasis. The diminished survival in the absence of an increase in distant metastasis was related to a reduction in the effect of salvage androgen ablation; patients treated initially with RT+TAB and who had nondiploid tumors had reduced survival after salvage androgen ablation. Conclusions: Nondiploidy was associated with shorter survival, which seemed to be related to reduced response to salvage hormone therapy for those previously exposed to short-term TAB

A new democratic phase coherent data-scatter technique for calibration, measurement, fingerprinting and rapid archival identification of ultraviolet-visible multi-component food spectra

The new theory of democratic phase coherent data-scatter (DPCD-S) is introduced. Basics of UV-visible spectrometry theory and error propagation have been presented. The qualitative spectral analysis provided is point-by-point over the complete data set and not just limited to Lambda-maxima. Equal weightings of the ‘voting’ data scattering algorithm are employed in the analysis of both the calibration and food colour data and this is consequently the democratic algorithm. The paper shows how the technique can be used with UV-visible standards to analyse the wavelength and photometric calibration of a spectrophotometer. The main results relate to the analysis of a series of spectra taken on complex mixtures of three important food dyes and their quantitative analysis using the phase coherent data-scatter technique. This method is shown to offer new possibilities for identifying and archiving UV-visible spectra from a single point in a transform space. Complex spectra can therefore be represented by a single point in this transform space, which is weighted by the ‘votes’ of all the data points in the complex data set. The software allows the user to interrogate the scatter results and locate the scatter point to the specific spectral positions. A new mathematical operator has been introduced to resolve any possible coincidence of two spectral projection points. Analysis of two close spectra from very-different admixtures of food colours shows powerfully the utility of this operator. Error propagation severely limits the accuracy of the usual UV-method of simultaneous equation secondary mixtures analysis