Design and fabrication of the superconducting-magnet system for the Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF-B)

The superconducting magnet system for the Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF-B) consists of 24 magnets; i.e. two pairs of C-shaped Yin-Yang coils, four C-shaped transition coils, four solenoidal axicell coils, and a 12-solenoid central cell. General Dynamics Convair Division has designed all the coils and is responsible for fabricating 20 coils. The two Yin-Yang pairs (four coils) are being fabricated by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Since MFTF-B is not a magnet development program, but rather a major physics experiment critical to the mirror fusion program, the basic philosophy has been to use proven materials and analytical techniques wherever possible. The transition and axicell coils are currently being analyzed and designed, while fabrication is under way on the solenoid magnets

Design features of the solenoid magnets for the central cell of the MFTF-B

The 14 superconducting solenoid magnets which form the central cell of the MFTF-B are being designed and fabricated by General Dynamics for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Each solenoid coil has a mean diameter of five meters and contains 600 turns of a proven conductor type. Structural loading resulting from credible fault events, cooldown and warmup requirements, and manufacturing processes consistent with other MFTF-B magnets have been considered in the selection of 304 LN as the structural material for the magnet. The solenoid magnets are connected by 24 intercoil beams and 20 solid struts which resist the longitudinal seismic and electromagnetic attractive forces and by 24 hanger/side supports which react magnet dead weight and seismic loads. A modular arrangement of two solenoid coils within a vacuum vessel segment allow for sequential checkout and installation

Design features of the A-cell and transition coils of MFTF-B

The MFTF-B transition coil and A-cell magnet designs use variations of the copper-stabilized NbTi conductor developed by LLNL for the MFTF Yin-Yang magnets. This conductor will be wound on the one inch thick (12.7 mm) stainless steel coil forms using a two-axis winding machine similar to the existing LLNL Yin-Yang winding machine. After winding, covers will be placed over the coil and welded to the coil form to form a helium-tight jacket around the conductor. These jacketed coils are then enclosed in thick structural cases that react the large Lorentz forces on the magnets. The space between the coil jacket and case will be filled by a stainless steel bladder that will be injected with urethane. The injection bladder will provide cooling passages during cooldown as well as transmitting the Lorentz forces between the jacket and the case. The large self-equilibrating lobe-spreading forces on the magnets (29.10/sup 6/ lb, 127.0 MN) for the A-cell are reacted primarily through the thick 304 LN case into the external superstructure. The net Lorentz forces and the inertial forces on the magnet are reacted through support systems into the LLNL vacuum vessel structure

Literacy practices of primary education children in Andalusia (Spain): a family-based perspective

Primary school children develop literacy practices in various domains and situations in everyday life. This study focused on the analysis of literacy practices of children aged 8–12 years from the perspec- tive of their families. 1,843 families participated in the non-experimental explanatory study. The children in these families speak Spanish as a first language and are schooled in this language. The instrument used was a self-report questionnaire about children’s home-literacy practices. The data obtained were analysed using categorical principal components analysis (CATPCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results show the complex relationship between literacy practices developed by children in the domains of home and school and the limited development of a literacy-promoting ‘third space’. In conclusion, the families in our study had limited awareness of their role as literacy- promoting agents and thought of literacy learning as restricted to formal or academic spaces

Trialling technologies to reduce hospital in‐patient falls: an agential realist analysis

This paper analyses the 'failure' of a patient safety intervention. Our study was part of an RCT of bed and bedside chair pressure sensors linked to radio pagers to prevent bedside falls in older people admitted to hospital. We use agential realism within science and technology studies to examine the fall and its prevention as a situated phenomenon of knowledge that is made and unmade through intra-actions between environment, culture, humans and technologies. We show that neither the intervention (the pressure sensor system), nor the outcome (fall prevention) could be disentangled from the broader sociomaterial context of the ward, the patients, the nurses and (especially) their work through the RCT. We argue that the RCT design, by virtue of its unacknowledged assumptions, played a part in creating the negative findings. The study also raises wider questions about the kind of subjectivities, agencies and power relations these entanglements might effect and (re)produce in the hospital ward

Where are we now with European forest multi-taxon biodiversity and where can we head to?

The European biodiversity and forest strategies rely on forest sustainable management (SFM) to conserve forest biodiversity. However, current sustainability assessments hardly account for direct biodiversity indicators. We focused on forest multi-taxon biodiversity to: i) gather and map the existing information; ii) identify knowledge and research gaps; iii) discuss its research potential. We established a research network to fit data on species, standing trees, lying deadwood and sampling unit description from 34 local datasets across 3591 sampling units. A total of 8724 species were represented, with the share of common and rare species varying across taxonomic classes: some included many species with several rare ones (e.g., Insecta); others (e.g., Bryopsida) were represented by few common species. Tree-related structural attributes were sampled in a subset of sampling units (2889; 2356; 2309 and 1388 respectively for diameter, height, deadwood and microhabitats). Overall, multi-taxon studies are biased towards mature forests and may underrepresent the species related to other developmental phases. European forest compositional categories were all represented, but beech forests were over-represented as compared to thermophilous and boreal forests. Most sampling units (94%) were referred to a habitat type of conservation concern. Existing information may support European conservation and SFM strategies in: (i) methodological harmonization and coordinated monitoring; (ii) definition and testing of SFM indicators and thresholds; (iii) data-driven assessment of the effects of environmental and management drivers on multi-taxon forest biological and functional diversity, (iv) multi-scale forest monitoring integrating in-situ and remotely sensed information

Mitochondrial respiratory states and rate

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to human health expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminologyconcerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. Thechemiosmotic theoryestablishes the mechanism of energy transformationandcoupling in oxidative phosphorylation. Theunifying concept of the protonmotive force providestheframeworkfordeveloping a consistent theoretical foundation ofmitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics.We followguidelines of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry(IUPAC)onterminology inphysical chemistry, extended by considerationsofopen systems and thermodynamicsof irreversible processes.Theconcept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and alignsconcepts and symbols withthe nomenclature of classicalbioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view ofmitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes.Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimatelycontribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thussupport the development of databases of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells.Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery