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In the framework of EU design activities for dimensioning the future fusion DEMOnstration reactor (DEMO), in-depth analyses were conducted in EUROfusion context, aiming to define the design of the DEMO magnets system. For the last DEMO baseline, CEA has proposed for Toroidal Field (TF) coils a concept with radial plates (named WP#4) which is ITER-like, with a round conductor embedded in steel plates. In order to consolidate this design, CEA conducted fine analyses that assess thermal hydraulic and mechanical aspects to allow ensuring compliance with design criteria. The outcomes of theses analyses were used to improve the TF design in order to avoid relying on conservative approaches at pre-design stage, which often end up in material over dimensioning, that penalize cost and space occupation. In this regard, two improving approaches will be exposed, that deal with mechanical consideration and temperature operation, together with future perspectives. On the other hand, CEA designed and manufactured in collaboration with ASIPP a full-size conductor sample derived from a previous TF CEA concept (square-in-square conductor) which is expected to operate at 88 kA and 12T. The two conductor legs of this sample were designed by CEA and manufactured by ASIPP following an extensive quality assurance (QA) preparation process. The sample is presently in course of assembly in CEA Cadarache and is expected to be tested in SULTAN facility (Villigen, CH) to assess its behaviour in both DC and AC regimes. An overview of the status of activities and future perspectives is given in this paper.

Fusion power plants offer the prospect of a new sustainable source of energy for future generations. The design and R&D of future reactors is expected to largely benefit from the experience gained in the design, construction and operation of ITER. However, deploying reliable fusion power plants, requires to overcome the design challenges and to address the remaining readiness gaps. Europe is starting the Conceptual Design Phase for building a superconducting DEMOnstration Fusion Power Plant (DEMO) and starting operations around the middle of the century. The aim is demonstrating the production of 500 MW of net electricity, with a closed tritium fuel cycle and adequate plant availability. For the design of the Superconducting Magnet System several variants of coils have been investigated in the pre-conceptual design phase, which has concluded in 2020. Some of them are very close to ITER design, therefore have a relatively high technology readiness level. The 'alternative' proposed solutions, that are very promising in terms of costs and performances, need a validation to industrial scale in order to be eligible for the down-selection expected in 2024. In particular, the validation regards the design of the layer-wound graded TF winding pack based on React-and-Wind Nb3Sn conductors, and the hybrid, layer-wound graded CS coil. The challenging aspect is that the CS magnet is made of REBCO conductors in high-field, React-and-Wind Nb3Sn conductors in medium field and NbTi conductors in low field. Also innovative techniques need to be studied for insulating critical parts of the coils, as penetrations, discontinuities and joints. The main issues of the technological development are illustrated. A R&D work plan is presented for the Conceptual Design phase to validate the technology within 2024 and demonstrate the operational capabilities by testing superconducting insert coils, that is about 50-m long wound conductors, by 2027

We present a numerical assessment of the thermal-hydraulic performance of the NbTi bus bars designed for the European DEMO. We consider the CS, TF and PF bus bars, as well as two alternative TF options for high-current operations. The main sources of static heat loads are identified and the corresponding thermal budget determined. In addition, the AC losses have been included in the simulations of the CS and PF bus bars, which present a pulsed operation, in contrast with the DC operation of the TF bus bars (and coils). By imposing appropriate pressure drops as boundary conditions, we compute the resulting He mass flow rates and the corresponding temperature margins along each bus bar. Thus, the most critical region of the bus bars in terms of cryogenic stability is identified, as well as the effect of AC losses on the temperature margin is quantified.

The recent experimental campaign, carried out in the upgraded SULTAN facility and supported by EUROfusion, investigated quench propagation in high field, sub-size HTS Cable-In-Conduit Conductors. The available experimental data consist of voltage, jacket and helium temperatures measured along the length of the conductors. In this work, the analysis of experimental data is carried out, focusing on the normal zone propagation velocity and the hotspot temperature reached during the quench. The validation of one-dimensional (1D) thermal-hydraulic and electric numerical models implemented in the H4C code is presented, showing very good agreement between experimental and computed results, both in terms of global and local quantities. The validated tool is then used to assess the impact on the hotspot measured in SULTAN and that reached in a uniform magnetic field configuration, showing that SULTAN measurements provide conservative assessments. The tool is then used to simulate a quench in a real-case scenario, i.e., the EU DEMO Central Solenoid operation, showing that a conventional quench detection strategy based on voltage measurements should suffice, leading to hotspot temperature around 250 K.

Background and aim Peritoneal free cancer cells (FCC) in patients with gastric cancer (GC) is poor prognostic factor. D2 gastrectomy dissection may induce exfoliated FCC spread from primary tumour or involved lymph nodes (LN). Conventional cytology for FCC detection has several limitations, and prophylactic use of extensive intraoperative peritoneal lavage (IPL) does not improve survival. A prospective single-arm observational study was conducted to verify whether D2 gastrectomy causes an increase of FCC in peritoneal lavage as in patients with GC following D2 gastrectomy. Methods Thirty GC patients underwent D2 gastrectomy, followed by objective quantitative measurements of CK19 mRNA level reflecting FCC with One-Step Nucleic Acid Amplification (OSNA) assay. The IPL with 3000 cc of saline was performed twice after: (1) gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy; and (2) alimentary tract reconstruction. The IPL samples were analysed by initial cytology and four (1–4) consecutive OSNA assays (Figure 1). Three patients were excluded due to positive cytology in samples obtained after laparotomy. Results Initial OSNA measurement (1) revealed positive results (≥24.6 cCP/μl) in 7 (29.6%) patients. Subsequent OSNA measurements revealed a significant decrease in the FCC level after removal of the primary tumour with regional LNs (D2 gastrectomy) (1 vs 2; medians [95%CI]: 4.6 [1.1–18.5] vs. 0.00004 [0–0.2] cCP/μl; P = 0.0012). The first IPL induced non-significant increase in the FCCs (2 vs 3, medians [95%CI]: 0.00004 [0–0.2] vs 0 [0–0.5] cCP/μl; P = 0.3300), but the second IPL reversed it to normal levels (3 vs 4, medians [95%CI]: 0 [0–0.5] vs 0 [0–0] cCP/μl; P = 0.0.0574). At this point of operation, additional finding was a trend toward temporal increase of FCC in patients with LN involvement (pN1–3)(2 vs 3; medians [95%CI]: 0 [0–0.2] vs 0 [0–42.8] cCP/μl; P = 0.0674). One patient was still positive (FCC) at the end of operation as measured by OSNA (4). Conclusion D2 Gastrectomy does not induce increase in the peritoneal FCCs. Temporal intraoperative increase in peritoneal FCC after the IPL may be observed, especially in tumours with LN metastases. At least two consecutive IPLs (with min. 3000 mL of saline) are necessary to reverse temporal increase of peritoneal FCC.

Background and aim There is an upward shift in the incidence and localization of gastric cancer (GC). Proximal gastrectomy (PG) has been advocated as an alternative operation for the upper third GC that may be performed as a function-preserving procedure with various new reconstruction techniques. Uneventful postoperative course is currently measured using well-defined textbook outcome (TO), which represents a composite of surgical quality metrics. The aim of this report was to compare the TO of the two reconstruction methods following PG: double tract reconstruction (DTR) and posterior esophago-gastrostomy with partial neo-fundoplication (EGF). Methods TO was defined as (1) radical resection according to the surgeons’ assessment at the end of the operation, (2) no intraoperative complications, (3) negative resection margins, (4) harvest of min. 15 lymph nodes (5) no severe postoperative complications, (6) no re-interventions, (7) no readmission to intensive care unit, (8) no prolonged hospital stay, (9) no hospital readmission and (10) no postoperative mortality. Some 44 patients were eligible for analysis. Results The DTR and EGF were performed in 21 and 23 patients, respectively. Detailed results of TO in DTR and EGF are shown in Table 1. Patients reconstructed with DTR had a nearly six-fold increased chance of achieving the TO compared to patients with EGF (OR = 5.80; P = 0.0090). Comparison of both reconstruction methods demonstrated no statistically significant differences in terms of postoperative complications and CCI score, and overall survival. Conclusion TO is more likely to be achieved in DTR than in EGF. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to indicate the preferred reconstruction technique after PG.

High-temperature superconductors (HTSs) enable exclusive operating conditions for fusion magnets, boosting their performance up to 20 T generated magnetic fields in the temperature range from 4 K to 20 K. One of the main technological issues of HTS conductors is focused on their protection in the case of thermal runaway (quench). In spite of the extremely high thermal stability of HTS materials, quenching is still possible due to local defects along the conductor length or insufficient cooling. In such cases, the high stability results in the slow propagation of a resistive zone. Thereby, a risky hot-spot temperature (>200 K) can be reached if applying conventional quench detection methods at a voltage threshold of 0.1–0.5 V, typical for fusion magnets. Aiming at an experimental study of the phenomenon, a series of sub-scale 15 kA 3.6 m long conductors based on stacks of tapes soldered in copper profiles are manufactured at the Swiss Plasma Center, including twisted rare earth barium copper oxide (ReBCO) and bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide (BISCCO) triplets, non-twisted and solder-filled ReBCO triplets, as well as indirectly cooled non-twisted ReBCO single strands. Applying either an increasing helium inlet temperature, overcurrent operation or energy deposited by embedded cartridge heaters, critical values of the electric field and temperature are evaluated for a given operating current (up to 15 kA) and background magnetic field (up to 10.9 T). Once quenching is actually triggered, the quench propagation is studied using distributed voltage taps and temperature sensors able to monitor the external temperature of the jacket and the internal temperature of the conductor (helium or copper). Thanks to the recent upgrade of the Supraleiter Test Anlage (SULTAN) test facility, quench propagation in the conductors is measured up to a total voltage of 2 V and a peak temperature of 320 K. Furthermore, advanced quench detection methods based on superconducting insulated wires and fiber optics are also instrumented and studied. A summary of the test samples, their instrumentation and corresponding test results are presented in this work.

The main coils of the new European DIPOle (EDIPO) test facility, which is able to provide a background magnetic field up to 12.35 T, were commissioned at the Center for Research in Plasma Physics in July 2013. A field homogeneity of +/-1% was achieved over a 900-mm length, as compared to SULTAN's 10.9 T over 425 mm. To complete the commissioning of the test facility, the new superconducting transformer has been operated in 2015, and a high-current NbTi sample, which was earlier tested in the SULTAN test facility, has been tested in EDIPO under the same conditions as in SULTAN to benchmark the results. During the initial commissioning of the 100-kA transformer in 2013, the primary coil was found to be insufficiently cooled due to the debonding of the primary winding from its former that also served as the liquid helium cryostat. The NbTi primary coil was therefore modified to be in direct contact with liquid helium. At the next attempt of commissioning, in March 2014, a mechanical failure due to the imperfect alignment of the primary and secondary windings caused major damage. A replacement primary coil, which was wound in Summer 2014, was used in the third commissioning campaign in November 2014, but it failed due to the poor impregnation of the NbTi winding. Eventually, the original primary winding was repaired and commissioned in April 2015. The commissioning included a calibration of the current meter for the secondary winding and the high-current test, i.e., up to 95 kA at various background fields, of the “Trasek” conductor sample, which is a rectangular cable-in-conduit conductor made of 324 SnAg-coated NbTi strands. An excellent agreement was found between the results obtained from the two facilities. The sample holder unit is also equipped with a high-temperature superconducting (HTS) adapter and a counterflow heat exchanger to allow testing in EDIPO of HTS high-current samples over a broad range of operating temperatures, from 4.5 up to 50 K.

The performance of two mass-produced Nb3Sn conductors for the ITER central solenoids was tested for the first timmass-produced Nb3Sn conductorse. One was cut from the forward end of an 80-m-long conductor, and the other was cut from the forward end of a 918-m-long conductor. The fifth-stage twist pitches of these conductors were lengthened by approximately 16% during cable insertion and compaction with conduit. The current sharing temperatures Tcs were measured over 20 000 electromagnetic cycles, including four thermal cycles between 4.2 K and room temperature. The Tcs of the former conductor increased and became almost constant through the cycling. In contrast, Tcs of the latter conductor not only increased but also decreased slightly against cycling. The Tcs decline rate after 10002 cycles was -4.50 × 10-6 K/cycle. If this rate is assumed to continue after 20000 cycles, Tcs would decrease by -0.27 K over 60000 cycles. Even so, Tcs is higher than an acceptance criterion of 6.5 K at 60 000 cycles. The ac losses Q of both conductors at a current of 0 kA were almost the same as or slightly lower than Q of a short sample conductor whose fifth-stage twist pitch was not lengthen. On each conductor, Q at 40 kA was approximately 10% higher than that at 0 kA; thus, the effect of the transport current on Q was not large.

The improved design concepts for the LTS TF coil system of DEMO have been proposed in 2013 by EPFL-CRPP PSI Villigen and ENEA Frascati. The present study is focused on the thermal-hydraulic analysis of the conductor designs, which includes: hydraulic analysis, heat removal analysis and assessment of the maximum temperature and the maximum pressure in each conductor during quench. Streszczenie. W 2013 r. zespoly z EPFL-CRPP i ENEA Frascati opracowaly udoskonalone koncepcje projektowe kabli dla poszczegolnych warstw cewki TF tokamaka DEMO. W pracy przedstawiono analize cieplno - przeplywową projektow kabli obejmującą: analize hydrauliczną, oszacowanie zdolności usuwania ciepla oraz oszacowanie maksymalnej temperatury oraz maksymalnego ciśnienia podczas utraty stanu nadprzewodzenia.. (Analiza cieplno-przeplywowa udoskonalonego projektu kabli nadprzewodnikowych dla cewki TF tokamaka DEMO).

The correction busbar (CB) conductors for the ITER project are being produced in China. The second China CB conductor sample (CBCN2, Phase II of conductor testing) and the third CB conductor sample (CBCN3, Phase III testing) were made of the WST NbTi strands, cabled by Changtong, jacketed at ASIPP, and tested in the SULTAN facility. The current sharing $(T_\mathrm{cs})$ test results show that the conductor sections of CBCN2 and CBCN3 have high $T_\mathrm{cs}$ performance. Using the electrical method, the $T_\mathrm{cs}$ of both CBCN2 and CBCN3 samples was 7.50 K at 10 kA/2.9 T (maximum operating field) before and after electromagnetic loading. AC loss measurement was performed before any electromagnetic loading of the sample, and the measurements were repeated after 1000 or 2000 cyclic loads. The AC loss measurements were performed at 2-T background field, without transport current. The ac loss of the CBCN2 and CBCN3 conductors slightly differs at ±0.2T ac field and various frequencies. According to the SULTAN test result, $T_\mathrm{cs}$ of CBCN2 and CBCN3 conductor samples meet the ITER acceptance criteria of 7.0 K at Bpeak field is 2.9 T and 10 kA.

In the last few years, the critical temperature (T c) of several ITER cable-in-conduit conductors (CICC) was determined by magnetization measurements at zero current. The distribution of the critical temperatures (T c), caused by variation of strain in the Nb3Sn strands, was found to vary with the number of load cycles. A comparison with mechanical modelling requires the strain distribution, while the T c distribution is sufficient to determine the CICC performance. The current sharing temperature (T cs) is calculated supposing that the measured distribution of T c is representative of its variation along a single strand and that the current is uniformly distributed among the strands. The T cs values, found for background and peak magnetic field, are compared with the results of the DC test in the SULTAN facility. The presented estimation techniques lead to an overestimation of T cs. The differences of the estimated and measured T cs values are discussed including the effect of different current-voltage characteristics of single strands and CIC conductors.

The tilted head race track coils of the EDIPO test facility are wound with cable-in-conduit conductors made by high current density Nb3Sn strands, Jc = 2400 A/mm2 at 12 T – 4.2 K. Since the commissioning of the coils, frequent voltage spikes were observed at the quench detection taps during the low current range of operation, completely disappearing above 2 T. The large amplitude of some spikes triggered the quench detection system: the parameters for protection (voltage thresholds and validation time) had to be modified for the voltage pairs monitoring the windings. The occurrence of partial flux jumps in the high current density strands is known from former characterization. The fast data acquisition of the quench detection system, with 800 Hz sampling frequency, allows investigation of the dynamics and propagation of the voltage spikes in the various layers of the winding. From the collected data of several runs of operation, statistics of amplitude, initial location, propagation and reproducibility were drawn, looking also for correlation with the operation history, e.g. first cooldown, ramp up vs. ramp down, ramp rate, etc. The energy released by the flux jumps is conservatively estimated by the time integration of the voltage spikes and discussed in terms of energy margin and heat removal rate in the layers. In conclusion, the limitation of the use of high current density Nb3Sn strands in high current conductors is discussed.

The tests of the ITER Toroidal Field (TF) full length conductors (hundreds of meters, production phase IV) were started at the end of year 2012 and were performed accordingly to the firmly specified test program. The TF conductors produced by the ITER domestic agencies (European Union, Japan, Korea, and Russian Federation) passed the qualification tests to be used for the TF coil winding. The four ITER Central Solenoid (CS) conductors produced in Japan were tested in frame of supplier qualification tests in order to verify the improved design of the CS conductor operating in cyclic mode and, thus, to solve the issue of drastic performance degradation with electromagnetic cyclic loading observed earlier. The test results of the recently tested ITER conductors are summarized in this paper, and the specific features of the voltage-temperature (VT) evolution in Nb3Sn conductors during the qualification test campaigns are highlighted and compared with earlier tested conductors.

The DEMO reactor is expected to be the first application of fusion for electricity generation in the near future. In the DEMO power plant the management of magnet system is of central importance as being driver on many crucial aspects such as nominal power plant performance (toroidal field scales fusion power), overall investment budget (about 1/3 of the total construction cost), production efficiency (full power total availability heavily impacted by magnet off-normal events). Therefore a careful approach is requested for this kind of component to ensure a safe design compatible with a power plant production conditions, keeping a control on the factors prone to degrade the economic model (cost, risk). The derivation of those considerations into practical activities results in a constant attempt to lead in parallel extensive design activities and the mastering of upstream knowledge in magnet behavior. In this purpose design activities on DEMO magnet system were continuously conducted in Europe, particularly evolving since 2012 in structured environments, always backed on the association of several laboratories. Since then, the actors underwent preparatory design phase and then the preconceptual design activity (CDA) phase, that led to evolutions of design in many aspects, from design features bottom lien themselves to evolution of associated tools and methods up to global strategic considerations.

The DEMO reactor is expected to be the first application of fusion for electricity generation in the near future. To this aim, conceptual design activities are progressing in Europe (EU) under the lead of the EUROfusion Consortium in order to drive on the development of the major tokamak systems. In 2014, the activities carried out by the magnet system project team were focused on the toroidal field (TF) magnet system design and demonstrated major achievements in terms of concept proposals and of consolidated evaluations against design criteria. Several magnet system RD activities were conducted in parallel, together with broad investigations on high temperature superconductor (HTS) technologies. In this paper, we present the outcomes of the work conducted in two areas in the 2014 magnet work program: 1) the EU inductive reactor (called DEMO1) 2014 configuration (power plant operating under inductive regime) was the basis of conceptual design activities, including further optimizations; and 2) the HTS RD activities building upon the consolidated knowledge acquired over the past years. © 2016 IEEE.

Sera of 413 dogs and 286 cats from the Czech Republic were tested for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii by the indirect fluorescent antibody test. The IgM antibodies to T. gondii were found in 10 (2.4%) dogs and 8 (2.8%) cats; IgG antibodies were found in 107 (25.9%) dogs and 126 (44.1%) cats. Of the dogs, the most exposed group were pet dogs, followed by police dogs; no antibodies were found in laboratory dogs. No statistically signifi- cant differences in prevalence were observed between clinically healthy (n = 115) and diseased pet dogs (n = 80); compare 0.87% and 1.25% for IgM, and 33.9% and 33.75% for IgG, respectively. Although T. gondii is a common parasite in domestic cats and dogs, the clinical importance is low.

Measurements are presented of inclusive charm and beauty cross sections in e$^+$p collisions at HERA for values of photon virtuality Q$^2$ > 150 GeV$^2$ and of inelasticity 0.1 < y < 0.7. The charm and beauty fractions are determined using a method based on the impact parameter, in the transverse plane, of tracks to the primary vertex, as measured by the H1 vertex detector. The data are divided into four regions in Q$^2$ and Bjorken x, and values for the structure functions $F_2^{c\overline{c}}$ and $F_2^{b\overline{b}}$ are obtained. The results are found to be compatible with the predictions of perturbative quantum chromodynamics.

Deep-inelastic positron-proton interactions at low values of Bjorken-x down to x \approx 4.10^-5 which give rise to high transverse momentum pi^0 mesons are studied with the H1 experiment at HERA. The inclusive cross section for pi^0 mesons produced at small angles with respect to the proton remnant (the forward region) is presented as a function of the transverse momentum and energy of the pi^0 and of the four-momentum transfer Q^2 and Bjorken-x. Measurements are also presented of the transverse energy flow in events containing a forward pi^0 meson. Hadronic final state calculations based on QCD models implementing different parton evolution schemes are confronted with the data.

In the Czech Republic, sera from 720 wild ruminants were examined for antibodies to Neospora caninum by screening competitive-inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and confirmed by indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT); the same sera were also examined for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii by IFAT. Neospora caninum antibodies were found in 14% (11 positive/79 tested) roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), 14% (2/14) sika deer (Cervus nippon), 6% (24/ 377) red deer (Cervus elaphus), 1% (2/143) fallow deer (Dama dama), 3% (3/105) mouflon (Ovis musimon), and none of 2 reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). Toxoplasma gondii antibodies were found in 50% (7/14) sika deer, 45% (169/377) red deer, 24% (19/79) roe deer, 17% (24/143) fallow deer, 9% (9/105) mouflon, and 1 of 2 reindeer. In 42 samples of wild ruminants that tested positive for N. caninum antibodies, 28 (67% of the positive N. caninum samples) reacted solely to N. caninum. This is the first evidence of N. caninum infection in mouflon, the first N. caninum seroprevalence study in farmed red deer, and the first survey of N. caninum in wild ruminants from the Czech Republic.

The ATLAS semiconductor tracker (SCT) is a major component of the inner detector being built for the ATLAS experiment, one of two general-purpose experiments for the forthcoming Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the CERN laboratory. The SCT consists of four barrel cylinders and 18 end-cap discs covered with 4088 radiation hard silicon detector modules. The macroassembly of the SCT barrels has recently been finished and the last barrel was sent to CERN on 24th August, 2005. The mounted modules were electrically tested during and after the macroassembly using a subset of the data acquisition system and power supply hardware that will be used in the final experiment. More than 99.7% of all channels of the SCT barrels are fully functional and no serious problems potentially degrading the SCT performance have been encountered during the barrel assembly process.

The low-temperature microscopic magnetic properties of the quasi-2D heavyfermion compound, CePt2In7 are investigated by using a positive muon-spin rotation and relaxation (?muSR) technique. Clear evidence for the formation of a commensurate antiferromagnetic order below TN=5.40 K is presented. The magnetic order parameter is shown to fit well to a modified BSC gap-energy function in a strong-coupling scenario., Comment: Accepted in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (2014)

The ATLAS SemiConductor Tracker (SCT) was built in three sections: a barrel and two end-caps. This paper describes the design, construction and final integration of the barrel section. The barrel is constructed around four nested cylinders that provide a stable and accurate support structure for the 2112 silicon modules and their associated services. The emphasis of this paper is directed at the aspects of engineering design that turned a concept into a fully-functioning detector, as well as the integration and testing of large sub-sections of the final SCT barrel detector. The paper follows the chronology of the construction. The main steps of the assembly are described with the results of intermediate tests. The barrel service components were developed and fabricated in parallel so that a flow of detector modules, cooling loops, opto-harnesses and Frequency-Scanning-Interferometry (FSI) alignment structures could be assembled onto the four cylinders. Once finished, each cylinder was conveyed to the next site for the mounting of modules to form a complete single barrel. Extensive electrical and thermal function tests were carried out on the completed single barrels. In the next stage, the four single barrels and thermal enclosures were combined into the complete SCT barrel detector so that it could be integrated with the Transition Radiation Tracker (TRT) barrel to form the central part of the ATLAS inner detector. Finally, the completed SCT barrel was tested together with the TRT barrel in noise tests and using cosmic rays. © 2008 IOP Publishing Ltd and SISSA.

The virulence of the oocysts of 7 Czech Toxoplasma gondii isolates was tested. The oocysts were obtained by experimental infection of cats with the tissue cysts of T. gondii isolates from dogs, cats, and rabbits. The cats shed the oocysts in feces, with prepatent periods of 3-5 days postinfection (PI); the patent period was 7-18 days. The number of oocysts shed varied between 0.94 million and 47 million, with 0.66 million-39 million oocysts found in the daily samples of excrement. The cats ceased oocyst production at 11-22 days PI. Sporulated oocysts were used to prepare infective doses of 1 to 10(5) oocysts for oral infection of 10 mice. Deoxyribonucleic acid isolated from 4 T. gondii isolates was used in polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for amplification of the ROP1 gene and restriction of the product of amplification by restriction endonuclease DdeI. On the basis of their biological characteristics, all 7 isolates belonged to the group of "avirulent" strains. In the PCR-RFLP tests, 2 isolates, K9 and K19, showed an "avirulent" strain pattern.

The metallic ruthenium perovskites ACu3Ru4O12 with A = Ca, Pr,Nd were investigated by zero field (ZF) and weak transverse field (TF) muon spin rotation/relaxation (μSR) spectroscopy. The ZF spectra for CaCu3Ru4O12 show pure static Gaussian Kubo-Toyabe relaxation arising from the interaction between the muon spin and the nuclear moments of the Cu ions. This confirms that no atomic magnetic moment exists. A sudden increase of the lattice parameter a when heating above ~150 K had previously been detected by neutron diffraction. The root mean square field at the muon site Brms was found to be 0.15 mT independent of temperature, in particular around 150 K. Also, no change of spectral parameters is seen in the weak TF data in that temperature range. Those findings imply that the structural change around 150 K takes place without noticeably shifting atomic positions. The spectra for PrCu3Ru4O12 and NdCu3Ru4O12 are dominated by the interaction with the dynamic rare earth moments. The analysis requires the use of the electron-nuclear double relaxation formalism. The electronic part shows simple exponential relaxation typical for a paramagnet. It features, with reducing the temperature a steep increase of paramagnetic relaxation rate as is characteristic for an approach to a magnetic spin freezing transition from above. That result suggests that the magnetic ground states of PrCu3Ru4O12 and NdCu3Ru4O12 are spin frozen states, although bulk magnetic data give no direct evidence in that direction.

The performance of two conductors for the ITER central solenoids was tested. The current sharing temperatures were measured over 17 050 electromagnetic cycles, including four thermal cycles between 4.2 K and room temperature. declined almost linearly over the 10 000 rated electromagnetic cycles. was nearly constant for 70% of the rated electromagnetic cycles, which implies the existence of a fatigue limit in the conductors. For 85% of the rated cycles, a very sharp degradation of approximately 0.2 K occurred. Some type of large deformation of strands, such as buckling, may have caused this sharp degradation. The effective strain degraded linearly with the electromagnetic force on the cable. The gradient after 10 000 cycles was 1.5 times greater than that before cycling. After 10 000 cycles, the ac losses of both conductors considerably decreased to less than half of those before cycling. These ac losses before cycling were less than a fourth of those of toroidal field conductors. After the test campaign, destructive inspection of the conductor clarified that on average, the distribution of residual strain along the cable was almost uniform at 32 ppm. It was also clarified that some strands were visibly deformed under a high magnetic field, whereas strands under a low magnetic field did not appear to be deformed. The deformations of the central solenoid cable were larger and wavier in subcables than those observed in the toroidal field cable. This plastic deformation of the strands could be one of the major reasons for the degradation during cyclic operation.

The results from measurement on the straight blade cascade are presented in the paper. The cascade is placed at the outlet of wind tunnel in ŠKODA POWER experimental base. The results in the form of velocity and loss fields behind blade cascade as well as the distribution of the loss coefficient in selected cross-section are evaluated.

Optical links are used for the readout of the 4088 silicon microstrip modules that make up the SemiConductor Tracker of the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The optical link requirements are reviewed, with particular emphasis on the very demanding environment at the LHC. The on-detector components have to operate in high radiation levels for 10 years, with no maintenance, and there are very strict requirements on power consumption, material and space. A novel concept for the packaging of the on-detector optoelectronics has been developed to meet these requirements. The system architecture, including its redundancy features, is explained and the critical on-detector components are described. The results of the extensive Quality Assurance performed during all steps of the assembly are discussed. Optical links are used for the readout of the 4088 silicon microstrip modules that make up the SemiConductor Tracker of the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The optical link requirements are reviewed, with particular emphasis on the very demanding environment at the LHC. The on-detector components have to operate in high radiation levels for 10 years, with no maintenance, and there are very strict requirements on power consumption, material and space. A novel concept for the packaging of the on-detector optoelectronics has been developed to meet these requirements. The system architecture, including its redundancy features, is explained and the critical on-detector components are described. The results of the extensive Quality Assurance performed during all steps of the assembly are discussed. Key words: Optical detector readout concepts; Electronic detector readout concepts (solid-state)

Clearly, the reasons for the blood loss of the patient described herein were multifactorial. In addition to the scalp and perineal lacerations, she had multiple bone fractures. Her hypothermic condition, head injury, and acidotic state were factors that could lead to coagulopathies. Lastly, multiple transfusions may have exacerbated the above problems both by hemodilution and further decreasing core temperature. Caring for patients like this one is a challenge to the trauma team and requires expert knowledge to anticipate, identify, and treat the wide variety of potential complications that can contribute to bleeding.

The commissioning of the European DIPOle (EDIPO) test facility at the Center for Research in Plasma Physics in Villigen was completed in Spring 2015, and the first test of a 60-kA/12-T high-temperature superconductor (HTS) was carried out in June 2015. User specifications are issued to allow external users to prepare their own sample matching the interface of the test facility. EDIPO offers a background magnetic field up to 12.35 T in a rectangular test well with a cross section of 89 mm $\times$ 138 mm (sample dimension). The homogeneous high field length is 910 mm (±1%) or 680 mm (±0.5%) at full current. A set of small copper coils provides a superimposed ac field with amplitude up to ±0.3 T and frequency up to 1 Hz. A superconducting transformer provides steady-state operating current for the sample up to 100 kA. The cooling circuit of the sample supplies supercritical helium at 10-bar inlet pressure. The mass flow rate, which is adjustable by cryogenic valves, is up to 8 g/s in each branch of the sample at 4.5 K. The operating temperature ranges from 4.5 to 60 K (at high temperature, the range of mass flow rate is reduced). To test samples at temperature higher than 10 K, an HTS “adapter” connects the sample to the NbTi transformer plates, which must remain cold. In such case, the length of the sample is reduced from 3600 mm (typical low-temperature superconductor sample) to 2900 mm (HTS sample with adapter).

We have studied low-temperature magnetic properties as well as high-temperature lithium ion diffusion in the battery cathode materials LixNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 by the use of muon spin rotation/relaxation. Our data reveal that the samples enter into a 2D spin-glass state below TSG=12 K. We further show that lithium diffusion channels become active for T>Tdiff=125 K where the Li-ion hopping-rate [nu(T)] starts to increase exponentially. Further, nu(T) is found to fit very well to an Arrhenius type equation and the activation energy for the diffusion process is extracted as Ea=100 meV., Submitted to Journal of Physics: Conference Series (2014)

This paper reports the main outcomes of the 2013 design activities for the toroidal field magnet of the European nuclear fusion reactor DEMOnstration Power Plant (DEMO). Within the current project plan, the manufacture of full-size conductor prototypes during 2014 and their test during 2015 are foreseen, aimed at the assessment of the proposed cable-in-conduit-conductor technologies. Industrial partners have been thus already involved at this early stage, and the preliminary cabling trials performed are illustrated here. As far as the coil design assessment is concerned, one of the main aspects to be investigated is the mechanical performance of the magnet, considering its large size and the high electromagnetic forces involved. An overall 3-D finite-element model of the coil has been set up, and mechanical stress analysis has been carried out for a selected instant of the plasma scenario after the computation of the electromagnetic loads within a full 3-D system model, including central solenoid and poloidal field coil contributions. The resulting loads have been mapped on the finite-element-method model, making use of a novel mesh-independent interpolator based on radial basis functions. The results reported here highlight a quite high level of stress, which is close to the acceptance limits, in some regions of the steel casing. Further investigations and assessments are required, but the most critical areas are clearly identified.

High temperature superconducting (HTS) materials are widely utilized in various design proposals for fusion magnets, resulting in enhanced performance of the machines compared to the past. However, a reliable quench detection in HTS conductors remains an open issue. Using a co-wound superconducting wire of high normal state resistance as an electrically insulated and thermally coupled sensor provides strongly increased sensitivity for the voltage-based quench detection methods. Furthermore, resistance of the wire can be practically proportional to the size of the normal zone, even though the location of the hot-spot cannot be identified. We present adaptation of this method for fusion conductors by considering various wire options, such as MgB2 wires in a highly resistive matrix, non-stabilized Nb3Sn wires and (K,Na)-Ba122 wires. The insulated wire of a small diameter (