Evaluation of US demo helium-cooled blanket options

A He-V-Li blanket design was developed as a candidate for the U.S. fusion demonstration power plant. This paper presents an 18 MPa helium-cooled, lithium breeder, V-alloy design that can be coupled to the Brayton cycle with a gross efficiency of 46%. The critical issue of designing to high gas pressure and the compatibility between helium impurities and V-alloy are addressed

Hydrodynamic Issues in PAMS Mandrel Target Fabrication

OAK-B135 Imperfections in PAMS mandrels critically govern the quality of final ICF targets. Imperfections in the mandrels can have a wide range of origins. Here, they present observations of 3 types of imperfections, and data to support the proposal that hydrodynamic factors during the curing of the mandrel are potential causes of these imperfections

Rotation of planet-harbouring stars

The rotation rate of a star has important implications for the detectability, characterisation and stability of any planets that may be orbiting it. This chapter gives a brief overview of stellar rotation before describing the methods used to measure the rotation periods of planet host stars, the factors affecting the evolution of a star's rotation rate, stellar age estimates based on rotation, and an overview of the observed trends in the rotation properties of stars with planets.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures: Invited review to appear in 'Handbook of Exoplanets', Springer Reference Works, edited by Hans J. Deeg and Juan Antonio Belmont

AD Leonis: Radial Velocity Signal of Stellar Rotation or Spin–Orbit Resonance?

AD Leonis is a nearby magnetically active M dwarf. We find Doppler variability with a period of 2.23 days, as well as photometric signals: (1) a short-period signal, which is similar to the radial velocity signal, albeit with considerable variability; and (2) a long-term activity cycle of 4070 ± 120 days. We examine the short-term photometric signal in the available All-Sky Automated Survey and Microvariability and Oscillations of STars (MOST) photometry and find that the signal is not consistently present and varies considerably as a function of time. This signal undergoes a phase change of roughly 0.8 rad when considering the first and second halves of the MOST data set, which are separated in median time by 3.38 days. In contrast, the Doppler signal is stable in the combined High-Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher and High Resolution Echelle Spectrometer radial velocities for over 4700 days and does not appear to vary in time in amplitude, phase, period, or as a function of extracted wavelength. We consider a variety of starspot scenarios and find it challenging to simultaneously explain the rapidly varying photometric signal and the stable radial velocity signal as being caused by starspots corotating on the stellar surface. This suggests that the origin of the Doppler periodicity might be the gravitational tug of a planet orbiting the star in spin–orbit resonance. For such a scenario and no spin–orbit misalignment, the measured v sin i indicates an inclination angle of 15°̣5 ± 2°̣5 and a planetary companion mass of 0.237 ± 0.047 M Jup

The genome sequence of <i>Trypanosoma brucei gambiense</i>, causative agent of chronic Human African Trypanosomiasis

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Background:&lt;/b&gt; &lt;i&gt;Trypanosoma brucei gambiense&lt;/i&gt; is the causative agent of chronic Human African Trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness, a disease endemic across often poor and rural areas of Western and Central Africa. We have previously published the genome sequence of a &lt;i&gt;T. b. brucei&lt;/i&gt; isolate, and have now employed a comparative genomics approach to understand the scale of genomic variation between &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; and the reference genome. We sought to identify features that were uniquely associated with &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; and its ability to infect humans.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Methods and findings:&lt;/b&gt; An improved high-quality draft genome sequence for the group 1 &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; DAL 972 isolate was produced using a whole-genome shotgun strategy. Comparison with &lt;i&gt;T. b. brucei&lt;/i&gt; showed that sequence identity averages 99.2% in coding regions, and gene order is largely collinear. However, variation associated with segmental duplications and tandem gene arrays suggests some reduction of functional repertoire in &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; DAL 972. A comparison of the variant surface glycoproteins (VSG) in &lt;i&gt;T. b. brucei&lt;/i&gt; with all &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; sequence reads showed that the essential structural repertoire of VSG domains is conserved across &lt;i&gt;T. brucei&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/b&gt; This study provides the first estimate of intraspecific genomic variation within &lt;i&gt;T. brucei&lt;/i&gt;, and so has important consequences for future population genomics studies. We have shown that the &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt; genome corresponds closely with the reference, which should therefore be an effective scaffold for any &lt;i&gt;T. brucei&lt;/i&gt; genome sequence data. As VSG repertoire is also well conserved, it may be feasible to describe the total diversity of variant antigens. While we describe several as yet uncharacterized gene families with predicted cell surface roles that were expanded in number in &lt;i&gt;T. b. brucei&lt;/i&gt;, no &lt;i&gt;T. b. gambiense&lt;/i&gt;-specific gene was identified outside of the subtelomeres that could explain the ability to infect humans.&lt;/p&gt

Accretion of Planetary Material onto Host Stars

Accretion of planetary material onto host stars may occur throughout a star's life. Especially prone to accretion, extrasolar planets in short-period orbits, while relatively rare, constitute a significant fraction of the known population, and these planets are subject to dynamical and atmospheric influences that can drive significant mass loss. Theoretical models frame expectations regarding the rates and extent of this planetary accretion. For instance, tidal interactions between planets and stars may drive complete orbital decay during the main sequence. Many planets that survive their stars' main sequence lifetime will still be engulfed when the host stars become red giant stars. There is some observational evidence supporting these predictions, such as a dearth of close-in planets around fast stellar rotators, which is consistent with tidal spin-up and planet accretion. There remains no clear chemical evidence for pollution of the atmospheres of main sequence or red giant stars by planetary materials, but a wealth of evidence points to active accretion by white dwarfs. In this article, we review the current understanding of accretion of planetary material, from the pre- to the post-main sequence and beyond. The review begins with the astrophysical framework for that process and then considers accretion during various phases of a host star's life, during which the details of accretion vary, and the observational evidence for accretion during these phases.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures (with some redacted), invited revie

AI for Everyone? Critical Perspectives

We are entering a new era of technological determinism and solutionism in which governments and business actors are seeking data-driven change, assuming that Artificial Intelligence is now inevitable and ubiquitous. But we have not even started asking the right questions, let alone developed an understanding of the consequences. Urgently needed is debate that asks and answers fundamental questions about power. This book brings together critical interrogations of what constitutes AI, its impact and its inequalities in order to offer an analysis of what it means for AI to deliver benefits for everyone. The book is structured in three parts: Part 1, AI: Humans vs. Machines, presents critical perspectives on human-machine dualism. Part 2, Discourses and Myths About AI, excavates metaphors and policies to ask normative questions about what is ‘desirable’ AI and what conditions make this possible. Part 3, AI Power and Inequalities, discusses how the implementation of AI creates important challenges that urgently need to be addressed. Bringing together scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and regional contexts, this book offers a vital intervention on one of the most hyped concepts of our times

Access to Print in Low‐Income and Middle‐Income Communities: An Ecological Study of Four Neighborhoods

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/88026/1/RRQ.36.1.1.pd