Tangential extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray diagnostic system for time-resolved temperature measurement on the High Beta Tokamak-Extended Pulse

The High Beta Tokamak-Extended Pulse has recently incorporated a tangential multi-energy extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray diagnostic system. This system enables measurements of the electron temperature and the examination of mode dynamics within the tokamak. While other systems have been built for poloidal views over similar temperature ranges, this is the first multi-energy tangential-view system designed to work in a temperature range below 200 eV in a tokamak. To facilitate these measurements, a filter wheel comprising five distinct groups of dual-filters has been developed and implemented. By employing a combination of 0.1 μm aluminum and 0.2 μm titanium filters, the system allows estimation of electron temperature profiles through reconstruction of the emission profile using the standard "double-foil" technique. The influence of impurities and filter oxide layers on measurement outcomes is examined. Results reveal that, while the absolute electron temperature values may exhibit some deviations, key characteristics like the electron temperature profile shape and inversion radius during sawtooth events remain consistent. This consistency confirms the system's suitability for core plasma studies. This system has proven effective in detecting and analyzing internal magnetohydrodynamic phenomena, such as sawteeth.

Assistance dogs help reduce mental health symptoms among Australian Defence Force veterans and emergency services personnel: A pilot study

The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two specialized Australian PTSD assistance dog programs in reducing PTSD and mental health symptoms over a one-year period. A total of 44 participants who were partnered with an assistance dog were analysed. Using an intent to treat analysis, compared to the baseline measures, all mental health outcomes exhibited statistically significant reductions in scores at the 3-month follow-up, and persisted at the 6-month, and 12-month follow-up. When comparing baseline to 3-month follow-up the effect size (Cohen's d) was strongest for stress (d = 0.993), followed by PTSD (d = 0.892), anxiety (d = 0.837). Analyses among those who also completed the waitlist-baseline assessment (n = 23) showed slight reductions in stress and depression prior to receiving their dog (whilst waiting for their dog). However, larger reductions were yielded across all mental health measures when comparing waitlist-baseline to 3-month follow-up.

Feasibility study of a high spatial and time resolution beam emission spectroscopy diagnostic for localized density fluctuation measurements in Lithium Tokamak eXperiment-β (LTX-β)

Trapped electron mode (TEM) is the main source of turbulence predicted for the unique operation regime of a flat temperature profile under low-recycling conditions in the LTX-β tokamak, while ion temperature gradient driven turbulence may also occur with gas fueling from the edge. To investigate mainly TEM scale density fluctuations, a high spatial and time resolution 2D beam emission spectroscopy (BES) diagnostic is being developed. Apart from spatially localized density turbulence measurement, BES can provide turbulence flow and flow shear dynamics. This BES system will be realized using an avalanche photodiode-based camera and narrow band interference filter. The system can acquire data at 2 MHz. Simulations with the Simulation of Spectra (SOS) code indicate that a high signal to noise ratio can be achieved with the proposed system. This will enable sampling the density fluctuations at this high time resolution. The design considerations and system optimization using the SOS code are presented.

Does community HIV combination prevention (HPTN 071 (PopART)) impact healthcare inequity?

Background

This research explores the impact of the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) 071 combination prevention (PopART) trial on horizontal inequity in Zambia and South Africa. Evidence suggests there is often inequality in healthcare utilisation in relation to socioeconomic characteristics, such as wealth. This paper is the first to address such distributional outcomes and inequities in a randomised trial setting.

Methods

We utilise horizontal inequity as a key performance metric to make value judgements with regards to the distribution of healthcare utilisation in a health system. Additionally, we supplement this index by estimating the impact of PopART on inequality in healthcare utilisation and HIV prevalence, estimating concentration curves and indices.

Results

We find a pro-rich inequity in healthcare utilisation, as ranked by wealth, before and after the trial is implemented. Pro-rich implies, for example, the 20% poorest make up less than 20% of healthcare utilisation. This suggests the trial enabled the wealthier subset of the population to take better advantage of accessing healthcare.

Conclusions

Given the high prevalence of HIV in lower-income households in Zambia and South Africa, these results strengthen the case for interventions tailored to informing poorer households about the benefits of prevention and after-care.

Key messages

• The PopART trial demonstrates as with any intervention, there is a risk of exacerbating an underlying inequity. Policies directed at these problems specifically may help alleviate such burdens.

• This paper shows one example of a distributional imbalance in the HIV population. Given the absence of work on RCT interventions, the findings may also be used to inform future trial design.

Towards a real-time control of robotic ultrasound using haptic force feedback

Ultrasound is a widely used imaging technique and is appreciated for its non-invasiveness, absence of radiation, widespread availability, and compact equipment. Ergonomic difficulties in manual handling of the probe could be enhanced by a robotic controlled ultrasound. The paper addresses the development of such a system which enables remote operation of a ultrasound probe and includes haptic force feedback as well as video conferencing components for visual feedback. The development process followed a user-centered approach by investigating needs of potential end-users. Preliminary results demonstrated the functionality of the developed system for generating medical image data under laboratory conditions.

POS0041-HPR OUTCOME MEASURES IN RHEUMATOLOGY APPLIED IN SELF-MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS TARGETING PEOPLE WITH INFLAMMATORY ARTHRITIS - A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF OUTCOME DOMAINS AND MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS

Background

Self-management refers to the patient’s ability to manage a large range of consequences such as symptoms, medication, emotions, and preferable life-style changes coherent with living with a chronic disease. Evaluating the effect of interventions targeting to improve people with inflammatory arthritis (IA) self-management is a challenge because self-management interventions are complex and consensus on important outcomes is lacking. Solutions to these issues could be to consensus on a Core Outcome Set (COS) describing what outcomes are relevant and should be applied in future studies hereby lessening the heterogeneity between future studies. The purpose of this study was therefore to take the first actions in identifying possible candidate outcomes for such a COS.

Objectives

The aim was to identify, and map applied outcome domains and outcome measurement instruments from previous trials measuring the effect of self-management interventions targeting people with IA.

Methods

We performed an informative systematic literature review following guidance from the Handbooks described by ‘Outcome Measures in Rheumatology’ (OMERACT) and ‘Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials’ (COMET) initiatives. Randomized and non-randomized trials describing their experimental intervention as “self-management” and included a population of adults (≥18 years) with at least 50% diagnoses with IA (Rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriatic arthritis, Spondylarthritis) was included. Both screening of possible trials and data extraction was performed independently by two reviewers. Extracted data included: study characteristics, outcome domains and the corresponding measurement instruments. During analysis two reviewers simultaneously grouped and categorized domains and subdomains, and two senior researchers approved the categorization.

Results

Searches was performed 2021.02.08 on online databases, trial registers, conference abstracts and references of included trials. From a total of 2,502 records, we included 38 trials published between 1988 and 2021. The interventions were heterogenic and patients primarily female, diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and a calculated mean age of 54 years. We identified 12 different outcome domains, covering 39 subdomains, collected with 119 different measurement instruments. The most frequently applied outcome domains were self-efficacy, pain, physical functioning/disability, anxiety and depression, quality of life, fatigue, global assessment/disease activity and coping. Please see Figure 1 for all outcome domains identified. The applied measurement instruments varied within each outcome domain with up to 10 different instruments applied to measure the same domain. Instruments were predominantly patient-reported outcomes.

Conclusion

The outcome domains and measurement instruments used in self-management trials were widely diverse and differ from the current general OMERACT Core Outcome Sets (COS) for IA conditions. Further steps towards the establishment of a COS to be reported in all self-management intervention trials will enhance the relevance and the subsequent impact on the body of evidence from these trials.

References

The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (ID CRD42021238749).

[1]OMERACT Handbook 2019. Available at: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fd3673fsma45qe0/OMERACT Handbook Chapter 4 Apr 16 2019.pdf?dl=0.

[2]Williamson PR, Altman DG, Bagley H, Barnes KL, Blazeby JM, Brookes ST, m.fl. The COMET Handbook: Version 1.0, 2017. Available at: https://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13063-017-1978-4

Disclosure of Interests

None declared

The patient perspective on remote monitoring of cardiac devices: a german patient survey

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: None.

Background

Current guidelines recommend remote monitoring for patients with implanted cardiac devices. Nevertheless, data regarding patients’ attitude using remote monitoring is lacking. This study aims to analyze the patient perspective on remote monitoring of cardiac devices in Germany.

Methods

Patients with an implanted cardiac device and remote monitoring (continuous device follow-up and remote device follow-up) of all current manufacturers in three German centers were asked to participate in the study filling in a patient questionnaire between 07-11/2021. The questionnaire consisted of 37 questions regarding patient’s baseline characteristics, individual use and judgement on remote monitoring, as well as the patient’s opinion regarding future remote monitoring perspectives. Survey participation was anonymous and on a voluntary basis.

Results

617 patients (28.4 % women) out of three cardiac centers in Germany participated. Implanted cardiac devices were pacemakers ± cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) (11.9%), implantable defibrillators ± CRT (70.3%) and implantable loop recorders (17.8%). Technical problems with remote monitoring transmitter were reported to occur: never (60.3%), seldomly (25.5%), sometimes (12.0%) and all the time (2.2%). The majority of patients (84.9%) take part in remote monitoring without the help of others. After starting remote monitoring, patients reported a significant prolongation of the intervals (p<0.001) of their in-person follow-up visits (figure 1). 44.0% of the participating patients answered to have a better, 1.2% a worse and 54.8% an equal disease management since participating in remote monitoring. Regarding possible future perspectives using remote monitoring, 73.0% patients answered to own a smartphone. 48.3% of the patients would prefer a smartphone-based application for remote monitoring. 15.0% had no opinion on that question, whereas 36.7% would prefer the use of a transmitter in their bedroom.

Conclusion

In this patient survey, remote monitoring was a widely accepted tool for patients with implanted cardiac devices. Patients perceive an improvement of their disease management through telemonitoring. Furthermore, patients answered that intervals of outpatient visits could be prolonged by the use of remote monitoring. Most patients would appreciate a smartphone-based remote monitoring of their cardiac device.

P–617 Idiopathic early ovarian aging: Do biomarkers of ageing indicate premenopausal accelerated biological ageing in young women with diminished response to ART?

Study question

Do young women with idiopathic early ovarian ageing have changes in telomere length and epigenetic age indicating accelerated biological aging?

Summary answer

The telomere length and epigenetic age were comparable to those in young women with normal ovarian ageing.

What is known already

Increased risk of several health events usually considered to be age-related such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, over-all morbidity and mortality have been associated with premature and early menopause when compared to the risk in women with normal menopausal age suggesting an accelerated general ageing process associated to early ovarian ageing. It is unclear whether the onset of this process may start before menopause.

Study design, size, duration

A prospective cohort study. Young women (≤ 37 years) having ART at two Danish Public fertility clinics during the period 2016 to 2018 were divided into two groups dependent on their ovarian reserve status: early ovarian ageing (EOA) (N = 55) and normal ovarian ageing (NOA)( N = 52). Number of oocytes harvested in first and subsequent cycles was used as a marker of ovarian reserve. Blood samples was drawn at time of oocyte retrieval to assess biological age.

Participants/materials, setting, methods

EOA was defined as ≥ 2 IVF cycles with ≤ 5 harvested oocytes despite sufficient stimulation with FSH and NOA as ≥ 8 oocytes harvested in minimum 1 cycle. Known causes influencing the ovarian reserve (endometriosis, ovarian surgery, etc.) was reason for exclusion. Relative telomere length (qPCR) and epigenetic age acceleration (DNA methylation levels) were measured in white blood cells as markers of accelerated biological ageing.

Main results and the role of chance

Relative telomere length was comparable with a mean of 0.46 (± sd 0.12) in the EOA group and 0.47 (0.14) in the normal ovarian ageing group (p = 0.64). The difference of predicted mean epigenetic age and mean chronological age (i.e. epigenetic age acceleration) was, insignificantly, 0.5 years older in the EOA group when compared to the NOA group( (–1.02 years (2.62) and –1.57 years (2.56), respectively, p = 0.27)), but this difference disappeared when adjusting for chronological age.

Limitations, reasons for caution

Discrete changes in epigenetic age acceleration may not have been captured as the study only had power to detect an age acceleration of ≥ 2 years.

Wider implications of the findings: By analysis of biomarkers for ageing in whole blood, we did not find any indications of a premenopausal accelerated aging in young women with idiopathic EOA. Further investigations in a similar cohort of premenopausal women is needed to fully elucidate the potential relationship between premenopausal accelerated biological ageing and EOA.

Trial registration number

The study was approved by the Danish Data protection Agency (nr 1–16–02–320–14) and the Regional committee on health research ethics of Central Region Denmark (jr.no 1–10–72–142–14).

Is the road to good health paved in gold? HIV and mining in Sub-Saharan Africa

Background

This paper measures the impact of HIV prevalence on gold production in Sub-Saharan Africa. Gold mining adds billions of gross value to the African economy, however remains a highly-prevalent industry for HIV. Some of the largest global gold producers in South Africa estimate 30% of their workforce to be HIV-positive. In comparison, the current prevalence rate in the country is 3.7% in working-aged males.

Methods

There is a reverse causality between HIV and mining. HIV exerts a direct causal influence on mining production. The mining industry creates working and living environments which accelerate the spread of HIV. Using 22 years of panel data and an external instrumental variable, overseas development assistance, supported by an Arellano-Bond estimator, we measure the causal impact of HIV on gold mining.

Results

We estimate a 1% increase in HIV leads to a decrease in gold production of 9.866 tonnes, valued at over $402 million, nearly 3% of total African gold production, significant at the 10% level. These results are robust to the findings of the Arellano-Bond estimator, which are significant at the 5% level.

Conclusions

International aid foundations and donors have made great strides in funding for HIV treatment, and it is critical for multinational corporations to take necessary action to protect the progress that has been made so far, promoting health and economic outcomes. Understanding macroeconomic impacts will raise the cost-effectiveness of public health interventions, and increase the associated economic benefits to many individual sectors, as well as overall local and country-wide economies.

Key messages

In addition to saving lives and extending the quality of HIV-positive lives, there are economic gains to be had in investing in the prevention of HIV, as demonstrated in the gold mining industry. HIV-related productivity losses readily extend to a variety of industries across Africa and abroad. Policies that minimise these losses, and maximise health gains, can only be mutually beneficial.

3304High sensitive cardiac troponin i at admission and 30 minutes later to rule-in or rule-out acute myocardial infarction - Preliminary results from the RACING-MI trial

Introduction

Current ESC guidelines have introduced a 0h/1h algorithm for accelerated rule-in or rule-out of acute myocardial infarction (MI) when using assay specific high-sensitive cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI). Several studies have investigated the diagnostic performance and safety of this approach using different hs-cTnI assays. However, little is known of the diagnostic performance of a 0h/30min algorithm.

Purpose

To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of early rule-in or rule-out of MI after 30 minutes by applying assay specific hs-cTnI cut-off values from a recently validated 0h/1h algorithm.

Methods

We prospectively enrolled chest pain patients suggestive of MI admitted to the Emergency Department. Patients underwent serial hs-cTnI measurements at admission (0 hour) and after 3 hours according to clinical practice. In addition, hs-cTnI measurements were performed after 30 minutes. The assay specific cut-off values from the 0h/1h algorithm were applied to the 30 minute cohort (figure 1). Final diagnosis was adjudicated independently by two physicians.

Results

In total, 943 patients were included. MI was the final diagnosis in 67 (7.1%) patients. Overall, absolute hs-cTnI values after 30 minutes were significantly higher in the MI group than in the non-MI group (19.2 (Q1:Q3) 2.7–75.3) ng/L versus 0.1 (0.2–0.7) ng/L, p<0.001). When applying the assay-specific hs-cTnI cut-off valuesfor the 0h/1h algorithmto the 30 minute patient cohort, 52.4% of patients were classified as rule-out with a negative predictive value of 100% (95% CI: 99.2–100). In total, 8.5% were classified as rule-in with a positive predictive value of 83.8% (95% CI: 74.2–90.3). Sensitivity was 100% (95% CI: 94.6–100) and specificity was 97.4% (95% CI: 95.7–98.6). Overall, 39.1% were assigned to the observational zone with a 3.5% prevalence of MI.

Conclusions

The use of assay specific hs-cTnI measurement at admission (0h) and 30 min later can be used to safely rule-out MI. This indicates that it might be safe to develop a 0h/30min algorithm and hereby reduce time to diagnosis even further. NCT03634384.

Acknowledgement/Funding

Randers Regional Hospital, A.P Møller Foundation, Boserup Foundation, Korning Foundation, Højmosegård Grant, Siemens Healthcare (TNIH assays), etc.

P2673Challenging time limits: Using a single high-sensitive troponin I to rule-out acute myocardial infarction in early presenters

Introduction

According to ESC guidelines, an acute myocardial infarction (MI) can be excluded without serial troponin measurements in patients presenting with a single high-sensitive troponin below the 99th percentile and chest pain starting >6 hours prior to admission. However, it is unclear if single-testing of high-sensitive troponin can rule-out MI in early presenters.

Purpose

To investigate the diagnostic performance of a single value of high-sensitive cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) at presentation for ruling-out MI in patients presenting with chest pain to the Emergency Department irrespective of chest pain onset.

Methods

We conducted a substudy of preliminary data from the RACING-MI trial. We included patients presenting with chest pain suggestive of MI to the Emergency Department of a Regional Hospital. We used the Siemens hs-cTnI (Siemens Healthcare, TNIH, Limit of detection: 2.21 ng/L) and a diagnostic cut-off value <3 ng/L to rule-out MI at presentation. Two physicians independently adjudicated the final diagnosis based on all clinical information. Patients were stratified based on time from chest pain onset to hospital admission as very early (0–3 hours), early (3–6 hours) and late presenters (>6 hours).

Results

We included 989 patients with available hs-cTnI results at admission. MI was confirmed in 82 (8.3%) patients. Using hs-cTnI <3 ng/L as diagnostic cut-off value at presentation, 302 (30.5%) patients without MI were classified as rule-out. Overall, the negative predictive value (NPV) for MI was 100% (95% CI 98.7–100).

Based on chest pain onset, 33.8% of patients were classified as very early, 12.8% as early, and 42.7% as late presenters, with 10.7% patients with unreported/unknown onset. NPV was 100% (95% CI 96.5–100) for very early, 100% (95% CI 88.3–100) for early and 100% (95% CI 97.3–100) for late presenters.

Conclusions

Using a single hs-cTnI value <3ng/L as diagnostic cut-off to rule-out MI seems to be safe and to allow rapid rule-out of MI in patients presenting with chest pain to the emergency department, even in very early presenters.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03634384.

Acknowledgement/Funding

Randers Regional Hospital, A.P Møller Foundation, Boserup Foundation, Korning Foundation, Højmosegård Grant, Siemens Healthcare (TNIH assays), etc.

Compressed sensing MRI of different organs: ready for clinical daily practice?

OBJECTIVES

The aim was to evaluate the image quality and sensitivity to artifacts of compressed sensing (CS) acceleration technique, applied to 3D or breath-hold sequences in different clinical applications from brain to knee.

METHODS

CS with an acceleration from 30 to 60% and conventional MRI sequences were performed in 10 different applications in 107 patients, leading to 120 comparisons. Readers were blinded to the technique for quantitative (contrast-to-noise ratio or functional measurements for cardiac cine) and qualitative (image quality, artifacts, diagnostic findings, and preference) image analyses.

RESULTS

No statistically significant difference in image quality or artifacts was found for each sequence except for the cardiac cine CS for one of both readers and for the wrist 3D proton density (PD)-weighted CS sequence which showed less motion artifacts due to the reduced acquisition time. The contrast-to-noise ratio was lower for the elbow CS sequence but not statistically different in all other applications. Diagnostic findings were similar between conventional and CS sequence for all the comparisons except for four cases where motion artifacts corrupted either the conventional or the CS sequence.

CONCLUSIONS

The evaluated CS sequences are ready to be used in clinical daily practice except for the elbow application which requires a lower acceleration. The CS factor should be tuned for each organ and sequence to obtain good image quality. It leads to 30% to 60% acceleration in the applications evaluated in this study which has a significant impact on clinical workflow.

KEY POINTS

• Clinical implementation of compressed sensing (CS) reduced scan times of at least 30% with only minor penalty in image quality and no change in diagnostic findings. • The CS acceleration factor has to be tuned separately for each organ and sequence to guarantee similar image quality than conventional acquisition. • At least 30% and up to 60% acceleration is feasible in specific sequences in clinical routine.

["I will do laparoscopy somewhere else" : Total, highly immersive virtual reality without side effects?]

BACKGROUND

For virtual reality laparosopic simulation we developed a new, highly immersive simulation mode. The goal of the current pilot study was to investigate if kinetosis or other negative vegetative side effects can be caused by a total virtual training set-up (TVRL).

METHODS

In this study 20 participants with varying degrees of expertise in laparoscopy performed 3 tasks (i.e. ring exchange, fine dissection and cholecystectomy) in regular (VRL) and immersive mode (TVRL) with a head-mounted display (HMD) on a laparoscopic simulator. Aside from performance scores, the heart rate was recorded and the occurrence of vertigo was investigated.

RESULTS

Surgical performance was independent of the VR mode (VRL or TVRL). Participants' heart rate was higher in TVRL without reaching statistical significance. Kinetosis occurred in two participants (10%) with a history of motion sickness.

CONCLUSION

Laparoscopic training can take place in a total virtual environment with limited nagative vegetative side effects. Special attention should be paid to participants with a history of motion sickness. The development of TVRL enables new perspectives for surgical training.

Magnetic perturbation diagnostics in the high-temperature lithiated environment of LTX-β

Magnetic perturbation measurements will be invaluable for characterizing Lithium Tokamak Experiment Beta (LTX-β) plasmas due to the time-evolving 3D nature of the magnetic fields generated by eddy currents in the vessel and copper shell segments, as well as enhanced MHD instability drive due to newly introduced neutral beam heating. The LTX-β upgrade includes two new arrays of Mirnov coils: a shell eddy sensor array of two-axis coils distributed over the back surface of one shell segment and a toroidal array of poloidal field coils at the low-field side midplane gap. Evaporative lithium wall-coating and the high temperatures required for liquid lithium wall operation both complicate the implementation of in-vessel diagnostics. While the shell array is protected from lithium exposure, the shell segment to which it is mounted will at times exceed 300 °C. The toroidal array, however, will experience direct line-of-sight exposure to the lithium evaporator as well as close proximity to the hot shell and may also be subject to poorly confined beam-driven fast ions. We describe how the two new Mirnov coil arrays meet these environmental challenges and enhance the LTX-β diagnostic suite.

A valid and reliable method to measure jump-specific training and competition load in elite volleyball players

Use of a commercially available wearable device to monitor jump load with elite volleyball players has become common practice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of this device, the Vert, to count jumps and measure jump height with professional volleyball players. Jump count accuracy was determined by comparing jumps recorded by the device to jumps observed through systematic video analysis of three practice sessions and two league matches performed by a men's professional volleyball team. Jumps performed by 14 players were each coded for time and jump type and individually matched to device recorded jumps. Jump height validity of the device was examined against reference standards as participants performed countermovement jumps on a force plate and volleyball-specific jumps with a Vertec. The Vert device accurately counted 99.3% of the 3637 jumps performed during practice and match play. The device showed excellent jump height interdevice reliability for two devices placed in the same pouch during volleyball jumps (r = .99, 95% CI 0.98-0.99). The device had a minimum detectable change (MDC) of 9.7 cm and overestimated jump height by an average of 5.5 cm (95% CI 4.5-6.5) across all volleyball jumps. The Vert device demonstrates excellent accuracy counting volleyball-specific jumps during training and competition. While the device is not recommended to measure maximal jumping ability when precision is needed, it provides an acceptable measure of on-court jump height that can be used to monitor athlete jump load.

Jupiter's interior and deep atmosphere: The initial pole-to-pole passes with the Juno spacecraft

On 27 August 2016, the Juno spacecraft acquired science observations of Jupiter, passing less than 5000 kilometers above the equatorial cloud tops. Images of Jupiter's poles show a chaotic scene, unlike Saturn's poles. Microwave sounding reveals weather features at pressures deeper than 100 bars, dominated by an ammonia-rich, narrow low-latitude plume resembling a deeper, wider version of Earth's Hadley cell. Near-infrared mapping reveals the relative humidity within prominent downwelling regions. Juno's measured gravity field differs substantially from the last available estimate and is one order of magnitude more precise. This has implications for the distribution of heavy elements in the interior, including the existence and mass of Jupiter's core. The observed magnetic field exhibits smaller spatial variations than expected, indicative of a rich harmonic content.

Observation of Flat Electron Temperature Profiles in the Lithium Tokamak Experiment

It has been predicted for over a decade that low-recycling plasma-facing components in fusion devices would allow high edge temperatures and flat or nearly flat temperature profiles. In recent experiments with lithium wall coatings in the Lithium Tokamak Experiment (LTX), a hot edge (>200  eV) and flat electron temperature profiles have been measured following the termination of external fueling. Reduced recycling was demonstrated by retention of ∼60% of the injected hydrogen in the walls following the discharge. Electron energy confinement followed typical Ohmic confinement scaling during fueling, but did not decrease with density after fueling terminated, ultimately exceeding the scaling by ∼200%. Achievement of the low-recycling, hot edge regime has been an important goal of LTX and lithium plasma-facing component research in general, as it has potentially significant implications for the operation, design, and cost of fusion devices.

Robust extraction of quantitative structural information from high-variance histological images of livers from necropsied Soay sheep

Quantitative information is essential to the empirical analysis of biological systems. In many such systems, spatial relations between anatomical structures is of interest, making imaging a valuable data acquisition tool. However, image data can be difficult to analyse quantitatively. Many image processing algorithms are highly sensitive to variations in the image, limiting their current application to fields where sample and image quality may be very high. Here, we develop robust image processing algorithms for extracting structural information from a dataset of high-variance histological images of inflamed liver tissue obtained during necropsies of wild Soay sheep. We demonstrate that features of the data can be measured in a fully automated manner, providing quantitative information which can be readily used in statistical analysis. We show that these methods provide measures that correlate well with a manual, expert operator-led analysis of the same images, that they provide advantages in terms of sampling a wider range of information and that information can be extracted far more quickly than in manual analysis.