Software-sorted geographies.

This paper explores the central role of computerized code in shaping the social and geographical politics of inequality in advanced societies. The central argument is that, while such processes are necessarily multifaceted, multiscaled, complex and ambivalent, a great variety of ‘software-sorting’ techniques is now being widely applied in efforts to try to separate privileged and marginalized groups and places across a wide range of sectors and domains. This paper’s central demonstration is that the overwhelming bulk of software-sorting applications is closely associated with broader transformations from Keynesian to neoliberal service regimes. To illustrate such processes of software-sorting, the paper analyses recent research addressing three examples of software-sorting in practice. These address physical and electronic mobility systems, online geographical information systems (GIS), and face-recognition closed circuit television (CCTV) systems covering city streets. The paper finishes by identifying theoretical, research and policy implications of the diffusion of software-sorted geographies within which computerized code continually orchestrates inequalities through technological systems embedded within urban environments

The role of cities in telecommunications development

City authorities increasingly recognize the crucial importance of their telecommunications infrastructures. Indeed, many urban policy makers are now becoming actively involved in their development. This Comment reviews the types of intervention and policy models that are presenting themselves in Europe, Japan and North America. It argues two things: first, that cities must now be included in our understanding of the forces shaping the development of telecommunications; and second, that these new policies are developing to reflect the wider national contexts of urban government and telecommunications regulation in each case.

Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny

Comparative analysis of multiple genomes in a phylogenetic framework dramatically improves the precision and sensitivity of evolutionary inference, producing more robust results than single-genome analyses can provide. The genomes of 12 Drosophila species, ten of which are presented here for the first time (sechellia, simulans, yakuba, erecta, ananassae, persimilis, willistoni, mojavensis, virilis and grimshawi), illustrate how rates and patterns of sequence divergence across taxa can illuminate evolutionary processes on a genomic scale. These genome sequences augment the formidable genetic tools that have made Drosophila melanogaster a pre-eminent model for animal genetics, and will further catalyse fundamental research on mechanisms of development, cell biology, genetics, disease, neurobiology, behaviour, physiology and evolution. Despite remarkable similarities among these Drosophila species, we identified many putatively non-neutral changes in protein-coding genes, non-coding RNA genes, and cis-regulatory regions. These may prove to underlie differences in the ecology and behaviour of these diverse species

Real-time-capable prediction of temperature and density profiles in a tokamak using RAPTOR and a first-principle-based transport model

The RAPTOR code is a control-oriented core plasma profile simulator with various applications in control design and verification, discharge optimization and real-time plasma simulation. To date, RAPTOR was capable of simulating the evolution of poloidal flux and electron temperature using empirical transport models, and required the user to input assumptions on the other profiles and plasma parameters. We present an extension of the code to simulate the temperature evolution of both ions and electrons, as well as the particle density transport. A proof-of-principle neural-network emulation of the quasilinear gyrokinetic QuaLiKiz transport model is coupled to RAPTOR for the calculation of first-principle-based heat and particle turbulent transport. These extended capabilities are demonstrated in a simulation of a JET discharge. The multi-channel simulation requires ∼0.2 s to simulate 1 second of a JET plasma, corresponding to ∼20 energy confinement times, while predicting experimental profiles within the limits of the transport model. The transport model requires no external inputs except for the boundary condition at the top of the H-mode pedestal. This marks the first time that simultaneous, accurate predictions of Te, Tiand nehave been obtained using a first-principle-based transport code that can run in faster-than-real-time for present-day tokamaks

Runaway electron beam control

Post-disruption runaway electron (RE) beams in tokamaks with large current can cause deep melting of the vessel and are one of the major concerns for ITER operations. Consequently, a considerable effort is provided by the scientific community in order to test RE mitigation strategies. We present an overview of the results obtained at FTU and TCV controlling the current and position of RE beams to improve safety and repeatability of mitigation studies such as massive gas (MGI) and shattered pellet injections (SPI). We show that the proposed RE beam controller (REB-C) implemented at FTU and TCV is effective and that current reduction of the beam can be performed via the central solenoid reducing the energy of REs, providing an alternative/parallel mitigation strategy to MGI/SPI. Experimental results show that, meanwhile deuterium pellets injected on a fully formed RE beam are ablated but do not improve RE energy dissipation rate, heavy metals injected by a laser blow off system on low-density flat-top discharges with a high level of RE seeding seem to induce disruptions expelling REs. Instabilities during the RE beam plateau phase have shown to enhance losses of REs, expelled from the beam core. Then, with the aim of triggering instabilities to increase RE losses, an oscillating loop voltage has been tested on RE beam plateau phase at TCV revealing, for the first time, what seems to be a full conversion from runaway to ohmic current. We finally report progresses in the design of control strategies at JET in view of the incoming SPI mitigation experiments

Comparison of runaway electron generation parameters in small, medium-sized and large tokamaks - A survey of experiments in COMPASS, TCV, ASDEX-Upgrade and JET

This paper presents a survey of the experiments on runaway electrons (RE) carried out recently in frames of EUROFusion Consortium in different tokamaks: COMPASS, ASDEX-Upgrade, TCV and JET. Massive gas injection (MGI) has been used in different scenarios for RE generation in small and medium-sized tokamaks to elaborate the most efficient and reliable ones for future RE experiments. New data on RE generated at disruptions in COMPASS and ASDEX-Upgrade was collected and added to the JET database. Different accessible parameters of disruptions, such as current quench rate, conversion rate of plasma current into runaways, etc have been analysed for each tokamak and compared to JET data. It was shown, that tokamaks with larger geometrical sizes provide the wider limits for spatial and temporal variation of plasma parameters during disruptions, thus extending the parameter space for RE generation. The second part of experiments was dedicated to study of RE generation in stationary discharges in COMPASS, TCV and JET. Injection of Ne/Ar have been used to mock-up the JET MGI runaway suppression experiments. Secondary RE avalanching was identified and quantified for the first time in the TCV tokamak in RE generating discharges after massive Ne injection. Simulations of the primary RE generation and secondary avalanching dynamics in stationary discharges has demonstrated that RE current fraction created via avalanching could achieve up to 70-75% of the total plasma current in TCV. Relaxations which are reminiscent the phenomena associated to the kinetic instability driven by RE have been detected in RE discharges in TCV. Macroscopic parameters of RE dominating discharges in TCV before and after onset of the instability fit well to the empirical instability criterion, which was established in the early tokamaks and examined by results of recent numerical simulations