Monte Carlo simulations of edge ion distribution and NPA fluxes in ASDEX upgrade

Using the low energy channels of neutral particle analyzers to measure edge ion temperature profile in tokamaks is investigated. The perpendicular velocity distribution of the edge ions is simulated for an H-mode AUG discharge using the guiding-center orbit-following Monte Carlo code ASCOT, and the local temperature is extracted assuming the distribution is Maxwellian. The CX-fluxes due to the test ion ensemble are evaluated

Barley starch

This thesis examined barley amylopectin structure and looked for correlations between the structure and physical properties of starch. The structure of amylopectin and gelatinisation and retrogradation of starch were studied in 10 different barley cultivars/breeding lines with differing genetic background. Amylopectin is built up of thousands of chains of glucose monomers, organised into clusters. The detailed fine structure of amylopectin was studied by isolating clusters of amylopectin and their building blocks, which are the tightly branched units building up the clusters. Barley cultivars/breeding lines possessing the amo1 mutation had fewer long chains of DP≥38 in amylopectin and more large building blocks. The structure of building blocks was rather conserved between the different barley cultivars/breeding lines studied and was categorized into different size groups. These different building blocks were shown to be randomly distributed in the amylopectin molecule. The C-chains in amylopectin can be of any length and are a category of chains different from the B-chains. The backbone in amylopectin consists of a special type of B-chains which, when cleaved by α-amylase, become chains of a similar type to C-chains. Gelatinisation and retrogradation (recrystallisation of gelatinised starch) of barley starch was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The amo1 mutation resulted in a broader gelatinisation temperature range and a higher enthalpy of retrogradation. Other structural features were also found to influence the physical properties of starch. Small clusters and denser structure of the building blocks resulted in higher gelatinisation temperature. Fast retrogradation was observed in barley which had amylopectin with shorter chains and many large building blocks consisting of many chains. Amylopectin structure was also studied in developing barley kernels. Three barley cultivars/breeding lines were grown in a phytotron and kernels were harvested at 9, 12 and 24 days after flowering. The results showed that amylopectin synthesized at later stages of development had a more tightly branched structure. Expression of the enzymes involved in starch biosynthesis is also known to change during endosperm development

Alpha-particle velocity-space diagnostic in ITER

We discuss α-particle velocity-space diagnostic in ITER based on the planned collective Thomson scattering (CTS) and γ-ray spectrometry (GRS) systems as well as ASCOT simulations of the α-particle distribution function. GRS is sensitive to α-particles with energies MeV at all pitches p, and CTS for MeV and . The remaining velocity space is not observed. GRS and CTS view the plasma (almost) perpendicularly to the magnetic field. Hence we cannot determine the sign of the pitch of the α-particles and cannot distinguish co- and counter-going α-particles with the currently planned α-particle diagnostics. Therefore we can only infer the sign-insensitive 2D distribution function by velocity-space tomography for MeV. This is a serious limitation, since co- and counter-going α-particle populations are expected to have different birth rates and neoclassical transport as well as different anomalous transport due to interaction with modes such as Alfvén eigenmodes. We propose the installation of an oblique GRS system on ITER to allow us to diagnostically track such anisotropy effects and to infer the full, sign-sensitive for MeV. α-particles with MeV are diagnosed by CTS only, which does not allow velocity-space tomography on its own. Nevertheless, we show that measurements of the α-particle energy spectrum, which is an ITER measurement requirement, are now feasible for MeV using a velocity-space tomography formalism assuming isotropy in velocity space

Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 127 open-angle glaucoma loci with consistent effect across ancestries

10.1038/s41467-020-20851-4Nature Communications121125