Start of SPIDER operation towards ITER neutral beams

Heating Neutral Beam (HNB) Injectors will constitute the main plasma heating and current drive tool both in ITER and JT60-SA, which are the next major experimental steps for demonstrating nuclear fusion as viable energy source. In ITER, in order to achieve the required thermonuclear fusion power gain Q=10 for short pulse operation and Q=5 for long pulse operation (up to 3600s), two HNB injectors will be needed [1], each delivering a total power of about 16.5 MW into the magnetically-confined plasma, by means of neutral hydrogen or deuterium particles having a specific energy of about 1 MeV. Since only negatively charged particles can be efficiently neutralized at such energy, the ITER HNB injectors [2] will be based on negative ions, generated by caesium-catalysed surface conversion of atoms in a radio-frequency driven plasma source. A negative deuterium ion current of more than 40 A will be extracted, accelerated and focused in a multi-aperture, multi-stage electrostatic accelerator, having 1280 apertures (~ 14 mm diam.) and 5 acceleration stages (~200 kV each) [3]. After passing through a narrow gas-cell neutralizer, the residual ions will be deflected and discarded, whereas the neutralized particles will continue their trajectory through a duct into the tokamak vessels to deliver the required heating power to the ITER plasma for a pulse duration of about 3600 s. Although the operating principles and the implementation of the most critical parts of the injector have been tested in different experiments, the ITER NBI requirements have never been simultaneously attained. In order to reduce the risks and to optimize the design and operating procedures of the HNB for ITER, a dedicated Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) [4] has been promoted by the ITER Organization with the contribution of the European Union\u2019s Joint Undertaking for ITER and of the Italian Government, with the participation of the Japanese and Indian Domestic Agencies (JADA and INDA) and of several European laboratories, such as IPP-Garching, KIT-Karlsruhe, CCFE-Culham, CEA-Cadarache. The NBTF, nicknamed PRIMA, has been set up at Consorzio RFX in Padova, Italy [5]. The planned experiments will verify continuous HNB operation for one hour, under stringent requirements for beam divergence (< 7 mrad) and aiming (within 2 mrad). To study and optimise HNB performances, the NBTF includes two experiments: MITICA, full-scale NBI prototype with 1 MeV particle energy and SPIDER, with 100 keV particle energy and 40 A current, aiming at testing and optimizing the full-scale ion source. SPIDER will focus on source uniformity, negative ion current density and beam optics. In June 2018 the experimental operation of SPIDER has started

Characterization of a former dump site in the Lagoon of Venice contaminated by municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash, and estimation of possible environmental risk

Bottom ash from a municipal solid waste incinerator on a former contaminated site, the island of Sacca San Biagio (Lagoon of Venice), was examined in order to evaluate levels of pollutants and their potential mobility and availability. Heavy metal concentrations were determined and the actual contamination of the site was compared with national legislation on polluted sites. The site was mainly contaminated by zinc, copper and lead. Physico-chemical characterization of bottom ash was carried out by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) with micro-analysis by EDS (Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy) and XRD (X-ray Diffractometry), for information on newly formed minerals. SEM-EDS analysis revealed the presence of particles, compounds and clusters containing heavy metals and, in particular, the presence of barium sulfate, which was assumed to be a site-specific compound. Similarities between bottom ash and atmospheric PM10 collected on the adjacent island of Sacca Fisola were studied and a risk of aerodispersion of the fine fraction of ash was assumed. Lastly, in order to evaluate the potentially available fraction of metals (non-residual fraction) and the directly exchangeable fraction, two single extraction procedures with HCl and citric acid were carried out, respectively. Results showed a relatively low concentration of readily phyto-available metals, as well as the high concentrations found for some heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn) in the potentially mobilizable fraction

Cannabis potency in North-East Italy: A ten-year study (2010\u20132019)

This paper presents data about potency of herbal and resin cannabis products seized during 2010\u20132019 in north-east Italy. More than 12,000 cannabis samples were analyzed and concentrations of THC, CBD and CBN were collected. The results of our study provided clear evidence for an increase in the potency of cannabis products across the study period, which is consistent with other studies. Globally, the median THC concentrations increased from about 6%\u201311%, but differences were found between herbal and resin materials. THC potency in resin materials increased more consistently across the study period with a dramatic raise during 2018\u20132019, with median THC contents around 17%. CBD concentrations were found to decrease constantly over the study period, especially in herbal materials, which had a mean CBD concentration of 0.3%. In particular, about 75% of the analyzed herbal samples had a CBD concentration which was less than 3% of the corresponding THC concentration. In contrast, more than 50% of the analyzed resin materials had a CBD concentration which was about 30% of the corresponding THC concentration. This is consistent with the increase in prevalence of high-potency seedless female herbal products observed in the same period and indicates that herbal and resin materials were produced from different varieties of cannabis plants. However, resin materials derived from high THC/low CBD cannabis plants were recently found. Different routes (e.g. northern Europe) or different modalities of distribution were assumed for these products. CBN concentrations were also considered and found to be very low and consistent across the study period indicating reliability of THC values used in statistical analysis. In conclusion, this study provided an accurate picture of cannabis products seized over a decade over a definite geographical area which can be extremely helpful for comparative purposes and for national and international statistical analyses on cannabis products

Insufficienza cardiaca o iperprescrizione nell'uso della digossina nella pratica clinica?

VII Seminario Nazionale, La valutazione dell'uso e della sicurezza dei farmaci, Istituto Superiore di Sanit\ue0, Roma, dicembre 199