Movements of Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) in Nearshore Habitat as Determined by Acoustic Telemetry

Gulf sturgeon were tagged with telemetry tags and were tracked and relocated in fall and early winter of 1996 and 1998 to determine migration patterns and winter feeding habitats after they emigrated from the Suwannee River, Florida, into the Gulf of Mexico. We hypothesized that their migration would generally follow the drowned Suwannee River channel across the West Florida shelf. Fish left the river in late Oct. or early Nov., about the time river water temperatures fell below 20 C. Tracked and relocated fish moved slowly and remained offshore of Suwannee Sound in nearby shallow (\u3c6 m) marine-estuarine habitats until at least mid or late Dec. The relatively small area (~115km2) within which fish were consistently relocated in 1998 probably is a critically important feeding habitat because adult Gulf sturgeon, which do not feed while in the river, occupy it for up to half their short (4-5 mo) marine residency. The fish left the area in late Dec. or early Jan., most likely in response to powerful cold front-generated weather conditions (under which, boat-based acoustic tracking is infeasible). A large (1,760 km2) adjacent area was searched for sonic-tagged sturgeon in early Jan. 1999, but only one was relocated (~50 km northwest of the Nov.-Dec. area). Although we were unable to address the hypothesis that their migration follows the Suwannee paleochannel, the results do indicate that Gulf sturgeon move to yet unknown, distant, late-winter feeding areas of the Gulf of Mexico before returning to the river in spring

Quasi-coherent fluctuations limiting the pedestal growth on Alcator C-Mod: experiment and modelling

Performance predictions for future fusion devices rely on an accurate model of the pedestal structure. The candidate for predictive pedestal structure is EPED, and it is imperative to test the underlying hypotheses to further gain confidence for ITER projections. Here, we present experimental work testing one of the EPED hypotheses, namely the existence of a soft limit set by microinstabilities such as the kinetic ballooning mode. This work extends recent work on Alactor C-Mod (Diallo et al 2014 Phys. Rev. Lett. 112 115001), to include detailed measurements of the edge fluctuations and comparisons of edge simulation codes and experimental observations

Teaching tobacco dependence treatment and counseling skills during medical school: rationale and design of the Medical Students helping patients Quit tobacco (MSQuit) group randomized controlled trial

INTRODUCTION: Physician-delivered tobacco treatment using the 5As is clinically recommended, yet its use has been limited. Lack of adequate training and confidence to provide tobacco treatment is cited as leading reasons for limited 5A use. Tobacco dependence treatment training while in medical school is recommended, but is minimally provided. The MSQuit trial (Medical Students helping patients Quit tobacco) aims to determine if a multi-modal and theoretically-guided tobacco educational intervention will improve tobacco dependence treatment skills (i.e. 5As) among medical students. METHODS/DESIGN: 10 U.S. medical schools were pair-matched and randomized in a group-randomized controlled trial to evaluate whether a multi-modal educational (MME) intervention compared to traditional education (TE) will improve observed tobacco treatment skills. MME is primarily composed of TE approaches (i.e. didactics) plus a 1st year web-based course and preceptor-facilitated training during a 3rd year clerkship rotation. The primary outcome measure is an objective score on an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) tobacco-counseling smoking case among 3rd year medical students from schools who implemented the MME or TE. DISCUSSION: MSQuit is the first randomized to evaluate whether a tobacco treatment educational intervention implemented during medical school will improve medical students\u27 tobacco treatment skills. We hypothesize that the MME intervention will better prepare students in tobacco dependence treatment as measured by the OSCE. If a comprehensive tobacco treatment educational learning approach is effective, while also feasible and acceptable to implement, then medical schools may substantially influence skill development and use of the 5As among future physicians. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Poloidal asymmetries in edge transport barriers

Measurements of impurities in Alcator C-Mod indicate that in the pedestal region, significant poloidal asymmetries can exist in the impurity density, ion temperature, and main ion density. In light of the observation that ion temperature and electrostatic potential are not constant on a flux surface [Theiler et al., Nucl. Fusion 54, 083017 (2014)], a technique based on total pressure conservation to align profiles measured at separate poloidal locations is presented and applied. Gyrokinetic neoclassical simulations with XGCa support the observed large poloidal variations in ion temperature and density, and that the total pressure is approximately constant on a flux surface. With the updated alignment technique, the observed in-out asymmetry in impurity density is reduced from previous publishing [Churchill et al., Nucl. Fusion 53, 122002 (2013)], but remains substantial (nz,H/nz,L∼6). Candidate asymmetry drivers are explored, showing that neither non-uniform impurity sources nor localized fluctuation-driven transport are able to explain satisfactorily the impurity density asymmetry. Since impurity density asymmetries are only present in plasmas with strong electron density gradients, and radial transport timescales become comparable to parallel transport timescales in the pedestal region, it is suggested that global transport effects relating to the strong electron density gradients in the pedestal are the main driver for the pedestal in-out impurity density asymmetry.United States. Department of Energy (DE-FC02-99ER54512)United States. Department of Energy (DE-FG02-06ER54845)United States. Department of Energy (DE-FG02-86ER53223)United States. Department of Energy (DE-AC02-09CH11466

Impurity asymmetries in the pedestal region of the Alcator C-Mod Tokamak

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, 2014.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-216).In an effort to illuminate the effects of the strong plasma gradients in the pedestal region on impurity transport, research was conducted to measure complete sets of impurity density, poloidal and parallel velocity, and temperature at two separate poloidal locations in the pedestal region of the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. To this end, the diagnostic technique gas puff-CXRS was refined and expanded on, allowing for the first time in a tokamak complete measurements of impurities at the high-field side (HFS). Large in-out B5+ impurity density asymmetries were measured in H-mode plasmas with strong boundary electron density gradients, with a build-up of impurity density at the HFS. Impurity temperatures were also found to be asymmetric in the pedestal region, with larger temperatures at the low-field side (LFS). Such temperature asymmetries suggest a significant asymmetry in electron density near the separatrix. In contrast to these H-mode results, plasmas with low boundary electron density gradients, such as L-mode and I-mode, exhibit constant impurity density on a flux surface, even if strong electron temperature gradients are present. Mechanisms which could drive such poloidal asymmetries are explored. Experiments provide evidence against localized impurity sources and fluctuation-induced transport as primary causes. Particle transport timescales are compared, showing that the radial transport becomes comparable to or faster than the parallel transport in the pedestal region. Additionally, modelling of impurity transport using conventional, one-dimensional neoclassical physics fails to correctly reproduce the measured flux-surface averaged impurity density, suggesting along with the timescale estimates that a more complete two-dimensional treatment of impurity particle transport is required. The measured impurity velocities at the LFS and HFS are compared to the canonical form for particle flow velocity within the flux surface of a tokamak. Within the error bars of the measurement, agreement is found with the canonical form. The implications of exact matches to the canonical form are low radial transport, and the E x B drift dominating the perpendicular impurity flow. Further work is motivated into more precise velocity measurements to determine if the velocities exactly match this canonical form.by Randy Michael Churchill.Ph. D

Movements of Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) in Nearshore Habitat as Determined by Acoustic Telemetry

Gulf sturgeon were tagged with telemetry tags and were tracked and relocated in fall and early winter of 1996 and 1998 to determine migration patterns and winter feeding habitats after they emigrated from the Suwannee River, Florida, into the Gulf of Mexico. We hypothesized that their migration would generally follow the drowned Suwannee River channel across the West Florida shelf. Fish left the river in late Oct. or early Nov., about the time river water temperatures fell below 20 C. Tracked and relocated fish moved slowly and remained offshore of Suwannee Sound in nearby shallow (\u3c6 m) marine-estuarine habitats until at least mid or late Dec. The relatively small area (~115km2) within which fish were consistently relocated in 1998 probably is a critically important feeding habitat because adult Gulf sturgeon, which do not feed while in the river, occupy it for up to half their short (4-5 mo) marine residency. The fish left the area in late Dec. or early Jan., most likely in response to powerful cold front-generated weather conditions (under which, boat-based acoustic tracking is infeasible). A large (1,760 km2) adjacent area was searched for sonic-tagged sturgeon in early Jan. 1999, but only one was relocated (~50 km northwest of the Nov.-Dec. area). Although we were unable to address the hypothesis that their migration follows the Suwannee paleochannel, the results do indicate that Gulf sturgeon move to yet unknown, distant, late-winter feeding areas of the Gulf of Mexico before returning to the river in spring

EMC3-EIRENE modeling of toroidally-localized divertor gas injection experiments on Alcator C-Mod

Experiments on Alcator C-Mod with toroidally and poloidally localized divertor nitrogen injection have been modeled using the three-dimensional edge transport code EMC3-EIRENE to elucidate the mechanisms driving measured toroidal asymmetries. In these experiments five toroidally distributed gas injectors in the private flux region were sequentially activated in separate discharges resulting in clear evidence of toroidal asymmetries in radiated power and nitrogen line emission as well as a ∼50% toroidal modulation in electron pressure at the divertor target. The pressure modulation is qualitatively reproduced by the modeling, with the simulation yielding a toroidal asymmetry in the heat flow to the outer strike point. Toroidal variation in impurity line emission is qualitatively matched in the scrape-off layer above the strike point, however kinetic corrections and cross-field drifts are likely required to quantitatively reproduce impurity behavior in the private flux region and electron temperatures and densities directly in front of the target.United States. Department of Energy (Contract DE-AC05-00OR22725)United States. Department of Energy (Contract DE-FC02-99ER54512

Electromagnetic total-f algorithm for gyrokinetic particle-in-cell simulations of boundary plasma in XGC

The simplified delta-f mixed-variable/pull-back electromagnetic simulation algorithm implemented in XGC for core plasma simulations by Cole et al. [Phys. Plasmas 28, 034501 (2021)] has been generalized to a total-f electromagnetic algorithm that can include, for the first time, the boundary plasma in diverted magnetic geometry with neutral particle recycling, turbulence and neoclassical physics. The delta-f mixed-variable/pull-back electromagnetic implementation is based on the pioneering work by Kleiber and Mischenko et al. [Kleiber et al., Phys. Plasmas 23, 032501 (2016); Mishchenko et al., Comput. Phys. Commun. 238, 194 (2019)]. An electromagnetic demonstration simulation is performed in a DIII-D-like, H-mode boundary plasma, including a corresponding comparative electrostatic simulation, which confirms that the electromagnetic simulation is necessary for a higher fidelity understanding of the electron particle and heat transport even at the low-beta pedestal foot in the vicinity of the magnetic separatrix.This data set includes the data visualized in figures 2-7 in "Electromagnetic total-f algorithm for gyrokinetic particle-in-cell simulations of boundary plasma in XGC" Physics of Plasmas 29, 112308 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0097855. The file names indicate to which figure the data belongs. The data files themselves are in self-descriptive HDF5 format

Medical school curriculum characteristics associated with intentions and frequency of tobacco dependence treatment among 3rd year U.S. medical students

OBJECTIVE: Physicians play a critical role in addressing tobacco dependence, yet report limited training. Tobacco dependence treatment curricula for medical students could improve performance in this area. This study identified student and medical school tobacco treatment curricula characteristics associated with intentions and use of the 5As for tobacco treatment among 3rd year U.S. medical students. METHODS: Third year medical students (N = 1065, 49.3% male) from 10 U.S. medical schools completed a survey in 2009-2010 assessing student characteristics, including demographics, tobacco treatment knowledge, and self-efficacy. Tobacco curricula characteristics assessed included amount and type of classroom instruction, frequency of tobacco treatment observation, instruction, and perception of preceptors as role models. RESULTS: Greater tobacco treatment knowledge, self-efficacy, and curriculum-specific variables were associated with 5A intentions, while younger age, tobacco treatment self-efficacy, intentions, and each curriculum-specific variable were associated with greater 5A behaviors. When controlling for important student variables, greater frequency of receiving 5A instruction (OR = 1.07; 95%CI 1.01-1.12) and perception of preceptors as excellent role models in tobacco treatment (OR = 1.35; 95%CI 1.04-1.75) were significant curriculum predictors of 5A intentions. Greater 5A instruction (B = .06 (.03); p\u3c .05) and observation of tobacco treatment (B = .35 (.02); p\u3c .001) were significant curriculum predictors of greater 5A behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Greater exposure to tobacco treatment teaching during medical school is associated with both greater intentions to use and practice tobacco 5As. Clerkship preceptors, or those physicians who provide training to medical students, may be particularly influential when they personally model and instruct students in tobacco dependence treatment