Heat load budgeting of a superconducting induction heater‘s commercial cryocooler-based cryostat

Within a project funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWI), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) collaborates with the Theva GmbH and Bültmann GmbH to develop a superconduct-ing magnetic heater. The Theva GmbH designs and supplies the high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coil. It will be integrated in a cryostat designed and supplied by KIT and cooled to ca. 25 K via a GM-cryocooler. Granted successful test results at KIT, the cryostat with the superconducting coil will serve to operate an induction heater at the Bültmann GmbH and be assessed there under industrial conditions. The challenge within the cryogenic design lies in the simultaneous requirement of relatively low production costs, robustness and extremely limited operation downtimes to form a competitive product. This contribution presents aspects of the cryogenic system’s conceptional design, with a focus on its heat load budgeting. Due to the limited cooling capacities of cryocoolers on each stage, the main aim of the design is to distribute the estimated heat loads as suitably as possible between the cryocooler stages. In the cryostat we designed, the total heat loads on both cryocooler stages will have three significant contributions: heat conduc-tion along connected components, Joule heating and thermal radiation. The respective estimation methods for these heat loads and their results are briefly shown and evaluated in this contribution. In this context, specific examples for the results‘ influence on the cryostat design within the scope of thermal and economical design are given. The heat load approximations’ eligibility to serve as a determination basis of an appropriate cryocooler model is discussed as well. On this basis, finally, we give suggestions for specific cryocooler models currently on the market

Geographical distribution of torture: An epidemiological study of torture reported by asylum applicants examined at the Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen

Using reports from 154 examinations of alleged torture victims among asylum applicants to Denmark conducted by the Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, between 2001 and 2013, we have categorized the victims into four geographical regions, as well as according to the conflict that caused them to flee. The torture incidents described by the victims were divided into 12 different categories defined by the Istanbul Protocol. These data were cross-referenced in order to identify any differences in the prevalence of the 12 forms of torture. The study showed that crush injuries were only reported by refugees from Asia, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, and that incidents of electrical torture were reported twice as frequently by torture victims from Middle Eastern and North African countries, though it was lower among Iraqis, Iranians and ethnic Kurds. Sexual torture was reported by 78% of females and 25% of males

Microphonics Analysis of the SC 325 MHz CH-Cavity

Since the walls of superconducting (sc) cavities are kept very thin to support the cooling process, even small mechanical disturbances can detune the cavity. One of the main sources of detuning a cavity is microphonics. These low-frequent vibrations caused by vacuum pumps or underground noise are transferred to the cryostat and excite mechanical resonances of the cavity which may lead to frequency shifts larger than the bandwidth. To determine the mechanical resonance frequencies of the sc 325 MHz CH-cavity (Crossbar-H-Mode) simulations with ANSYS Workbench have been performed in a first step. Additionally, microphonics measurements were taken at room temperature as well as in a vertical cryostat at 4K in the cryo-lab of the IAP, Frankfurt University. Furthermore, the contraction of the cavity walls and the resulting frequency shift due to the cavity cool-down has been measured. A comparison between simulation results and the measured values is presented in this paper

Resolving desorption of complex organic molecules in a hot core: Transition from non-thermal to thermal desorption or two-step thermal desorption?

Using the high angular resolution provided by the ALMA interferometre we want to resolve the COM emission in the hot molecular core Sagittarius B2(N1) and thereby shed light on the desorption process of Complex Organic Molecules (COMs) in hot cores. We use data taken as part of the 3 mm spectral line survey Re-exploring Molecular Complexity with ALMA (ReMoCA) to investigate the morphology of COM emission in Sagittarius B2(N1). Spectra of ten COMs are modelled under the assumption of LTE and population diagrams are derived for positions at various distances to the south and west from the continuum peak. Based on this analysis, resolved COM rotation temperature and COM abundance profiles are derived. Based on the morphology, a rough separation into O- and N-bearing COMs can be done. Temperature profiles are in agreement with expectations of protostellar heating of an envelope with optically thick dust. Abundance profiles reflect a similar trend as seen in the morphology and, to a great extent, agree with results of astrochemical models that, besides the co-desorption with water, predict that O-bearing COMs are mainly formed on dust grain surfaces at low temperatures while at least some N-bearing COMs and CH$_3$CHO are substantially formed in the gas phase at higher temperatures. Our observational results, in comparison with model predictions, suggest that COMs that are exclusively or to a great extent formed on dust grains desorb thermally at ~100 K from the grain surface likely alongside water. Non-zero abundance values below ~100 K suggest that another desorption process is at work at these low temperatures: either non-thermal desorption or partial thermal desorption related to lower binding energies experienced by COMs in the outer, water-poor ice layers. In either case, this is the first time that the transition between two regimes of COM desorption has been resolved in a hot core.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Superconducting CH Cavities for Heavy Ion Acceleration

To demonstrate the operation ability of superconducting (sc) Crossbar-H-mode (CH) cavity technology a 217 MHz structure of this type is under development at the Institute for Applied Physics (IAP) of Frankfurt University. The cavity has 15 accelerating cells and a design beta of 0.059. It will be equipped with all necessary auxiliaries like a 10 kW power coupler and a tuning system. Currently, the cavity is under construction. Furthermore, this cavity will serve as demonstrator for a sc continuous wave (cw) LINAC at GSI. The proposed cw LINAC is highly requested to fulfil the requirements of nuclear chemistry and especially for a competitive production of new Super Heavy Elements (SHE) in the future. A full performance test by injecting and accelerating a beam from the GSI High Charge Injector (HLI) is planned in 2014. The current status of the sc CH cavity and the demonstrator project is presented

Evaluation of Transmitral Pressure Gradients in the Intraoperative Echocardiographic Diagnosis of Mitral Stenosis after Mitral Valve Repair

OBJECTIVE: Acute mitral stenosis (MS) following mitral valve (MV) repair is a rare but severe complication. We hypothesize that intraoperative echocardiography can be utilized to diagnose iatrogenic MS immediately after MV repair. METHODS: The medical records of 552 consecutive patients undergoing MV repair at a single institution were reviewed. Post-cardiopulmonary bypass peak and mean transmitral pressure gradients (TMPG), and pressure half time (PHT) were obtained from intraoperative transesophageal echocardiographic (TEE) examinations in each patient. RESULTS: Nine patients (9/552 = 1.6%) received a reoperation for primary MS, prior to hospital discharge. Interestingly, all of these patients already showed intraoperative post-CPB mean and peak TMPGs that were significantly higher compared to values for those who did not: 10.7±4.8 mmHg vs 2.9±1.6 mmHg; p<0.0001 and 22.9±7.9 mmHg vs 7.6±3.7 mmHg; p<0.0001, respectively. However, PHT varied considerably (87±37 ms; range: 20-439 ms) within the entire population, and only weakly predicted the requirement for reoperation (113±56 vs. 87±37 ms, p = 0.034). Receiver operating characteristic curves showed strong discriminating ability for mean gradients (AUC = 0.993) and peak gradients (area under the curve, AUC = 0.996), but poor performance for PHT (AUC = 0.640). A value of ≥7 mmHg for mean, and ≥17 mmHg for peak TMPG, best separated patients who required reoperation for MS from those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative TEE diagnosis of a peak TMPG ≥17 mmHg or mean TMPG ≥7 mmHg immediately following CPB are suggestive of clinically relevant MS after MV repair

Prognostic Value of Different CMR-Based Techniques to Assess Left Ventricular Myocardial Strain in Takotsubo Syndrome

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)-derived left ventricular (LV) global longitudinal strain (GLS) provides incremental prognostic information on various cardiovascular diseases but has not yet been investigated comprehensively in patients with Takotsubo syndrome (TS). This study evaluated the prognostic value of feature tracking (FT) GLS, tissue tracking (TT) GLS, and fast manual long axis strain (LAS) in 147 patients with TS, who underwent CMR at a median of 2 days after admission. Long-term mortality was assessed 3 years after the acute event. In contrast to LV ejection fraction and tissue characteristics, impaired FT-GLS, TT-GLS and fast manual LAS were associated with adverse outcome. The best cutoff points for the prediction of long-term mortality were similar with all three approaches: FT-GLS −11.28%, TT-GLS −11.45%, and fast manual LAS −10.86%. Long-term mortality rates were significantly higher in patients with FT-GLS > −11.28% (25.0% versus 9.8%; p = 0.029), TT-GLS > −11.45% (20.0% versus 5.4%; p = 0.016), and LAS > −10.86% (23.3% versus 6.6%; p = 0.014). However, in multivariable analysis, diabetes mellitus (p = 0.001), atrial fibrillation (p = 0.001), malignancy (p = 0.006), and physical triggers (p = 0.006) outperformed measures of myocardial strain and emerged as the strongest, independent predictors of long-term mortality in TS. In conclusion, CMR-based longitudinal strain provides valuable prognostic information in patients with TS, regardless of the utilized technique of assessment. Long-term mortality, however, is mainly determined by comorbidities

R&D Status of the New Superconducting CW Heavy Ion LINAC@GSI

To keep the ambitious Super Heavy Element (SHE) physics program at GSI competitive a superconducting (sc) continuous wave (cw) high intensity heavy ion LINAC is currently under progress as a multi-stage R&D program of GSI, HIM and IAP*. The baseline linac design consists of a high performance ion source, a new low energy beam transport line, an (cw) upgraded High Charge State Injector (HLI), and a matching line (1.4 MeV/u) which is followed by the new sc-DTL LINAC for post acceleration up to 7.3 MeV/u. In the present design the new cw-heavy ion LINAC comprises constant-beta sc Crossbar-H-mode (CH) cavities operated at 217 MHz. The advantages of the proposed beam dynamics concept applying a constant beta profile are easy manufacturing with minimized costs as well as a straightforward energy variation**. An important milestone will be the full performance test of the first CH cavity (Demonstrator), in a horizontal cryo module with beam. An advanced demonstrator setup comprising a string of cavities and focussing elements is proposed to build from 10 short CH-cavities with 8 gaps. The corresponding simulations and technical layout of the new cw heavy ion LINAC will be presented

Dynamics of entanglement between two trapped atoms

We investigate the dynamics of entanglement between two continuous variable quantum systems. The model system consists of two atoms in a harmonic trap which are interacting by a simplified s-wave scattering. We show, that the dynamically created entanglement changes in a steplike manner. Moreover, we introduce local operators which allow us to violate a Bell-CHSH inequality adapted to the continuous variable case. The correlations show nonclassical behavior and almost reach the maximal quantum mechanical value. This is interesting since the states prepared by this interaction are very different from any EPR-like state.Comment: 9 page

Polygenic burden in focal and generalized epilepsies.

Rare genetic variants can cause epilepsy, and genetic testing has been widely adopted for severe, paediatric-onset epilepsies. The phenotypic consequences of common genetic risk burden for epilepsies and their potential future clinical applications have not yet been determined. Using polygenic risk scores (PRS) from a European-ancestry genome-wide association study in generalized and focal epilepsy, we quantified common genetic burden in patients with generalized epilepsy (GE-PRS) or focal epilepsy (FE-PRS) from two independent non-Finnish European cohorts (Epi25 Consortium, n = 5705; Cleveland Clinic Epilepsy Center, n = 620; both compared to 20 435 controls). One Finnish-ancestry population isolate (Finnish-ancestry Epi25, n = 449; compared to 1559 controls), two European-ancestry biobanks (UK Biobank, n = 383 656; Vanderbilt biorepository, n = 49 494), and one Japanese-ancestry biobank (BioBank Japan, n = 168 680) were used for additional replications. Across 8386 patients with epilepsy and 622 212 population controls, we found and replicated significantly higher GE-PRS in patients with generalized epilepsy of European-ancestry compared to patients with focal epilepsy (Epi25: P = 1.64×10-15; Cleveland: P = 2.85×10-4; Finnish-ancestry Epi25: P = 1.80×10-4) or population controls (Epi25: P = 2.35×10-70; Cleveland: P = 1.43×10-7; Finnish-ancestry Epi25: P = 3.11×10-4; UK Biobank and Vanderbilt biorepository meta-analysis: P = 7.99×10-4). FE-PRS were significantly higher in patients with focal epilepsy compared to controls in the non-Finnish, non-biobank cohorts (Epi25: P = 5.74×10-19; Cleveland: P = 1.69×10-6). European ancestry-derived PRS did not predict generalized epilepsy or focal epilepsy in Japanese-ancestry individuals. Finally, we observed a significant 4.6-fold and a 4.5-fold enrichment of patients with generalized epilepsy compared to controls in the top 0.5% highest GE-PRS of the two non-Finnish European cohorts (Epi25: P = 2.60×10-15; Cleveland: P = 1.39×10-2). We conclude that common variant risk associated with epilepsy is significantly enriched in multiple cohorts of patients with epilepsy compared to controls-in particular for generalized epilepsy. As sample sizes and PRS accuracy continue to increase with further common variant discovery, PRS could complement established clinical biomarkers and augment genetic testing for patient classification, comorbidity research, and potentially targeted treatment