Role of pinch in Argon impurity transport in ohmic discharges of Aditya-U Tokamak.

We present experimental results of the trace argon impurity puffing in the ohmic plasmas of Aditya-U tokamak performed to study the argon transport behaviour. Argon line emissions in visible and Vacuum Ultra Violet (VUV) spectral ranges arising from the plasma edge and core respectively are measured simultaneously. During the experiments, space resolved brightness profile of Ar1+ line emissions at 472.69 nm (3p44s 2P3/2-3p44p 2D3/2), 473.59 nm (3p44s 4P5/2-3p44p 4P3/2), 476.49 nm (3p44s 2P1/2-3p44p 2P3/2), 480.60 nm (3p44s 4P5/2-3p44p 4P5/2) are recorded using a high resolution visible spectrometer. Also, a VUV spectrometer has been used to simultaneously observe Ar13+ line emission at 18.79 nm (2s22p 2P3/2-2s2p2 2P3/2) and Ar14+ line emission at 22.11 nm (2s2 1S0-2s2p 1P1). The diffusivity and convective velocity of Ar are obtained by comparing the measured radial emissivity profile of Ar1+ emission and the line intensity ratio of Ar13+ and Ar14+ ions, with those simulated using the impurity transport code, STRAHL. Argon diffusivities ~ 12 m2/s and ~ 0.3 m2/s have been observed in the edge (ρ > 0.85) and core region of the Aditya-U, respectively. The diffusivity values both in the edge and core region are found to be higher than the neo-classical values suggesting that the argon impurity transport is mainly anomalous in the Aditya-U tokamak. Also, an inward pinch of ~ 10 m/s mainly driven by Ware pinch is required to match the measured and simulated data. The measured peaked profile of Ar density suggests impurity accumulation in these discharges.

Initial results from near-infrared spectroscopy on ADITYA-U tokamak.

Spectroscopy in vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and visible ranges plays an important role in the investigation and diagnosis of tokamak plasmas. However, under harsh environmental conditions of fusion grade devices, such as ITER, VUV-visible systems encounter many issues due to the degradation of optical components used in such systems. Here, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has become an effective tool in understanding the edge plasma dynamics. Considering its importance, a NIR spectroscopic diagnostic has been developed and installed on the ADITYA-U tokamak. The system consists of a 0.5 m spectrometer having three gratings with different groove densities, and it is coupled with a linear InGaAs photodiode array. Radiation from the ADITYA-U edge plasma has been collected using a collimating lens and optical fiber combination and transported to the spectrometer. The spectrum in the NIR range from the ADITYA-U plasma has been recorded using this system, in which Paß and Paγ along with many spectral lines from neutral and singly ionized impurities have been observed. The influxes of H and C have been estimated from measurements. The H influx value is found to be 2.8 × 1016 and 1.9 × 1016 particles cm-2 s-1 from neutral hydrogen lines Hα and Paß, respectively, and the C influx value is found to be 3.5 × 1015 and 2.9 × 1015 particles cm-2 s-1 from the neutral carbon and singly ionized carbon, respectively. A good agreement is seen between these results and the results obtained by using a routine photomultiplier tube based diagnostic.

First results of fast visible imaging diagnostic in Aditya-U tokamak.

A Fast Visible Imaging Diagnostic (FVID) system, measuring the visible light emission spectrum (400-1000 nm) from tokamak plasma, has been installed on the Aditya-U tokamak to monitor the two-dimensional dynamics of the poloidal cross section of the plasma. In this work, we present the design and installation of the FVID system on the Aditya-U tokamak. The evolution of plasma and plasma-wall interactions is described. The signature of the runaway electron beam in visible imaging and its correlation with other diagnostics is presented. The estimation of the electron cyclotron resonance layer position during pre-ionization is also discussed in this work.

Investigating the effect of density variation on pitch angle scattering events of runaway electrons as observed through electron cyclotron emission diagnostic at Aditya-upgrade tokamak.

Nascent observations about the influence of kinetic instabilities on electron cyclotron emission (ECE) from runaway electrons (REs) have been detected and explored at the Aditya-Upgrade (Aditya-U) tokamak. The developed broadband ECE radiometer system offers wideband measurements by integrating several radio frequency units with a fixed intermediate frequency receiver with multiple channels, which is a novel approach to meet the needs of the localized measurements at various toroidal fields and extend the system dynamic range. The low density (ne ≤ 1 × 10-19 m-3) plasma discharges at Aditya-U are consistently accompanied by a 20%-40% increase in the ECE radiometer signal amplitude within 100 µs and sporadic step-like modulations. The Pitch Angle Scattering (PAS) of REs induced by kinetic instabilities is a potential candidate for their occurrence. This steep jump in the radiometer signals was detected due to its high temporal resolution of 10 µs. A "PREDICT" code that employs the relativistic test particle model validates these experimental findings of the radiometer diagnostic for the first time for Aditya-U tokamak. Preliminary observations of the ECE radiometer signals also show that additional gas puffs can be used to vary the trigger timings of such PAS events or even lead to their complete avoidance.

Initial results from time-resolved LaBr based hard x-ray spectrometer for ADITYA-U tokamak.

Runaway electrons (REs) are passively studied by hard x-ray (HX) emissions generated by REs. A LaBr3(Ce) detector-based HX spectroscopic diagnostic (operational within ∼75 keV to 3.5 MeV) has been set up on the ADITYA-U. The diagnostic acquisition software utility is upgraded to obtain the temporal evolution of the HX spectrum to understand the RE energy distribution in plasma during its various phases. The peak position moves to lower energy for Ohmically heated discharges (200-80 keV), indicating a relative increase in the thermal particle content in the plasma. The peak position of RE energy shows a decreasing tendency with increasing ne with Ne gas puffing and termination of the electron cyclotron resonance pulse.

Observations of visible argon line emissions and its spatial profile from Aditya-U tokamak plasma.

The spectroscopic studies of medium and high Z impurities have been the subject of interest in fusion research due to their role in mitigating plasma disruption and reducing heat load on the plasma facing components. Line emissions from these impurities provide the rotation velocity and ion temperature measurements along with the understanding of the overall impurity behavior in plasma. In the Aditya-U tokamak, the spatially resolved Ar II line emissions have been observed using a high resolution multi-track spectroscopic diagnostic consisting of a 1 m Czerny-Turner spectrometer coupled with a charge coupled device (CCD) detector using seven lines of sight viewing plasma tangentially along the toroidal direction. The spatially resolved Ar II lines at 458.96 nm have been observed. The singly ionized Ar emission peaks at the radial location of ρ = 0.8 of the plasma having a minor radius of 25 cm. Moreover, a 0.5 m UV-visible spectrometer coupled with a CCD detector and having a line of sight passing through the plasma midplane from the radial port was used to record visible Ar survey spectra within the 670-810 nm wavelength range, and all these lines have been identified for further analysis.

Impurity toroidal rotation profile measurement using upgraded high-resolution visible spectroscopic diagnostic on ADITYA-U tokamak.

A high-resolution spectroscopic diagnostic for the measurement of spatial profiles of impurity ion toroidal rotation velocities on the ADITYA-U tokamak has been upgraded to cover the complete plasma minor radius. Earlier, the coverage of diagnostics toward the plasma edge was restricted due to the placement of collection optics on the tangential port outside the vacuum vessel. The coverage of the full plasma minor radius, from 0 to 24 cm, has been achieved using the newly designed and developed collection optics that have seven lines of sight to view the tokamak plasma mounted inside a customized re-entrant view port which is installed in the shadow of the limiter inside the vacuum vessel. The upgraded diagnostic also includes a faster charged coupled device detector with a smaller pixel size for the detection of a small wavelength shift. The complete spatial profile has been measured using the Doppler shifted passive change exchange spectral line at 529.0 nm from the C5+ ion. In this article, we present the collection optics' design, installation, calibration, and results obtained using the upgraded diagnostic.

Chemical composition and biological effects of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa): In vitro studies with implications for efficacy and drug interactions.

The safety and efficacy of kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) for treatment of pain is highly controversial. Kratom produces more than 40 structurally related alkaloids, but most studies have focused on just two of these, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. Here, we profiled 53 commercial kratom products using untargeted LC-MS metabolomics, revealing two distinct chemotypes that contain different levels of the alkaloid speciofoline. Both chemotypes were confirmed with DNA barcoding to be M. speciosa. To evaluate the biological relevance of variable speciofoline levels in kratom, we compared the opioid receptor binding activity of speciofoline, mitragynine, and 7-hydroxymitragynine. Mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine function as partial agonists of the human µ-opioid receptor, while speciofoline does not exhibit measurable binding affinity at the µ-, δ- or ƙ-opioid receptors. Importantly, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine demonstrate functional selectivity for G-protein signaling, with no measurable recruitment of ß-arrestin. Overall, the study demonstrates the unique binding and functional profiles of the kratom alkaloids, suggesting potential utility for managing pain, but further studies are needed to follow up on these in vitro findings. All three kratom alkaloids tested inhibited select cytochrome P450 enzymes, suggesting a potential risk for adverse interactions when kratom is co-consumed with drugs metabolized by these enzymes.

An innovative capstone health care informatics clinical residency: Interprofessional team collaboration.

Integrated information systems and wireless technology have been increasingly incorporated into health care organizations with the premise that information technology will promote safe, high-quality, cost-effective patient care. With the advancement of technology, the level of expertise necessary to assume health care information technology roles has escalated. The purpose of this article is to describe a clinical residency project whereby students in a graduate degree health care informatics program successfully fulfilled program competencies through a faculty-lead research project focused on the use of home telehealth with a group of heart failure patients. Through the use of Donabedian's framework of structure, process, and outcomes, the health care informatics students completed essential learning activities deemed essential for transition into the role of an informatics specialist. Health care informatics educational leaders are encouraged to adapt this template of applied learning into their practices.

A Critique of the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults.

Effective healthcare relies on the ability to communicate with patients. Ninety-eight million Americans are estimated to have limited health literacy that can impair their ability to read and interpret health-related education and information. Low health literacy is associated with higher mortality and 30-day hospital readmissions. Clinical nurse specialists and other advanced practice nurses must be able to evaluate and select a health literacy assessment instrument that is both reliable and produces valid data for the populations they serve. To assist with this important decision-making process, the psychometric properties of the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults are critiqued in the following article.

Home telehealth and hospital readmissions: a retrospective OASIS-C data analysis.

Technology holds potential to improve the quality of healthcare delivery. The use of remote patient monitoring, or telehealth (TH), has been widely adopted by many home care agencies to facilitate early identification of disease exacerbation, particularly for patients with chronic diseases such as heart failure. TH has been successfully used to improve symptom detection and potentially reduce rehospitalization rates. Quantifying program effectiveness through data analysis is a critical step for program improvement, resource allocation, and future strategic planning. Using the Outcome and Assessment Information Set-C database, a retrospective analysis was conducted examining 22 months of heart failure patient data from one home care agency in southern California. Seventy patients receiving TH were compared to patients who received usual home care nursing services. No major differences in baseline socio-demographics were found between the 2 groups. While receiving home healthcare services, the non-TH patients had a 21% all-cause hospital readmission rate, compared to the home TH patients with a 10% all-cause readmission rate. Statistical differences were found between groups on the variables of fall risk, vision, smoking, shortness of breath, the ability to bathe and take oral meds, along with having been discharged from a skilled nursing facility in the last 2 weeks. These results indicate that aggregate data analysis is useful in providing insight into program effectiveness. This study suggests TH programs have the potential to reduce the burden associated with rehospitalizations in the heart failure population.

Measurement of spatial and temporal behavior of H(α) emission from Aditya tokamak using a diagnostic based on a photomultiplier tube array.

A photo multiplier tube (PMT) array based spectroscopic diagnostic with fast time response of 10 µs and spatial resolution ∼3 cm has been developed and installed on Aditya tokamak to study the spatial and temporal behavior of Hα emissions from typical discharges. Collimated light has been collected from the plasma along 16 lines of sight passing through entire plasma poloidal cross section of Aditya and detected by two 8 channels PMT arrays after selecting Hα emission using interference filter. The studies are carried out during plasma formation phase of Aditya by changing vertical field and its delay with respect to loop voltage. It is observed that plasma initiated in the high field side in typical discharges of Aditya. The plasma formation position is matched with null field location estimated through simulation.

Silicon drift detector based X-ray spectroscopy diagnostic system for the study of non-thermal electrons at Aditya tokamak.

Silicon drift detector based X-ray spectrometer diagnostic was developed to study the non-thermal electron for Aditya tokamak plasma. The diagnostic was mounted on a radial mid plane port at the Aditya. The objective of diagnostic includes the estimation of the non-thermal electron temperature for the ohmically heated plasma. Bi-Maxwellian plasma model was adopted for the temperature estimation. Along with that the study of high Z impurity line radiation from the ECR pre-ionization experiments was also aimed. The performance and first experimental results from the new X-ray spectrometer system are presented.

ICU nursing orientation and postorientation practices: a national survey.

A survey was conducted to obtain information regarding adult intensive care unit (ICU) orientation and postorientation practices throughout the nation. This article presents the results of a random sampling of ICUs throughout the nation regarding orientation practices of newly licensed registered nurses (RNs), experienced RNs new to the ICU setting, and experienced ICU RNs. Twenty-four hospitals from 7 geographic regions within the United States were surveyed. Classroom training remains the predominant method of instruction outside the ICU. Most hospitals offer a formalized training for new preceptors. When provided, preceptor incentives include both monetary recognition and professional growth/recognition. Postorientation support for new ICU nurses varied. Geographic regional differences in orientation practices were not found. The major limitation of this study was the small sample size. Results from this survey are the beginning steps in understanding a national perspective of comprehensive orientation practices for new ICU nurses.