| 1. |
- Lorenzini, R., et al.
(författare)
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Self-organized helical equilibria as a new paradigm for ohmically heated fusion plasmas
- 2009
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Ingår i: Nature Physics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1745-2473 .- 1745-2481. ; 5:8, s. 570-574
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the quest for new energy sources, the research on controlled thermonuclear fusion has been boosted by the start of the construction phase of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). ITER is based on the tokamak magnetic configuration, which is the best performing one in terms of energy confinement. Alternative concepts are however actively researched, which in the long term could be considered for a second generation of reactors. Here, we show results concerning one of these configurations, the reversed-field pinch (RFP). By increasing the plasma current, a spontaneous transition to a helical equilibrium occurs, with a change of magnetic topology. Partially conserved magnetic flux surfaces emerge within residual magnetic chaos, resulting in the onset of a transport barrier. This is a structural change and sheds new light on the potential of the RFP as the basis for a low-magnetic-field ohmic fusion reactor.
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| 2. |
- Martin, P., et al.
(författare)
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Overview of RFX-mod results
- 2009
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Ingår i: Nuclear Fusion. - : IOP Publishing. - 0029-5515 .- 1741-4326. ; 49:10, s. 104019-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- With the exploration of the MA plasma current regime in up to 0.5 s long discharges, RFX-mod has opened new and very promising perspectives for the reversed field pinch (RFP) magnetic configuration, and has made significant progress in understanding and improving confinement and in controlling plasma stability. A big leap with respect to previous knowledge and expectations on RFP physics and performance has been made by RFX-mod since the last 2006 IAEA Fusion Energy Conference. A new self-organized helical equilibrium has been experimentally achieved ( the Single Helical Axis-SHAx-state), which is the preferred state at high current. Strong core electron transport barriers characterize this regime, with electron temperature gradients comparable to those achieved in tokamaks, and by a factor of 4 improvement in confinement time with respect to the standard RFP. RFX-mod is also providing leading edge results on real-time feedback control of MHD instabilities, of general interest for the fusion community.
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| 3. |
- Blomqvist, M., et al.
(författare)
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Structural and tribological properties of cluster-assembled CNx films
- 2007
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Ingår i: Applied Physics A. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0947-8396 .- 1432-0630. ; 87:4, s. 767-772
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the structural and tribological characterization of nanostructured CNx thin films produced by the deposition of a supersonic carbon cluster beam assisted by nitrogen ion bombardment. The influence of the deposition parameters on the chemical composition and structure of the films has been systematically studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, elastic recoil detection analysis, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Depending on the deposition parameters, the films show a structure ranging from amorphous to disordered graphitic with interlinked planes. Nitrogen content depends on the nitrogen ion kinetic energy. The films have a very low density with a high surface roughness. Friction measurements at the nanoscale show a correlation between nitrogen content and mechanical properties of the system.
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| 4. |
- Dideberg, Vinciane, et al.
(författare)
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An insertion-deletion polymorphism in the Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 (IRF5) gene confers risk of inflammatory bowel diseases
- 2007
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Ingår i: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 16:24, s. 3008-3016
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) gene encodes a transcriptionfactor that plays an important role in the innate as well asin the cell-mediated immune responses. The IRF5 gene has beenshown to be associated with systemic lupus erythematosus andrheumatoid arthritis. We studied whether the IRF5 gene is alsoassociated with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), Crohn disease(CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Twelve polymorphisms in theIRF5 gene were genotyped in a cohort of 1007 IBD patients (748CD and 241 UC) and 241 controls from Wallonia, Belgium. Thesame polymorphisms were genotyped in a confirmatory cohort of311 controls and 687 IBD patients (488 CD and 192 UC) from Leuven,Belgium. A strong signal of association (p = 1.9 x 10–5,OR: 1.81 (1.37-2.39)) with IBD was observed for a 5bp indel(CGGGG) polymorphism in the promoter region of the IRF5 gene.The association was detectable (p = 6.8 x 10–4) also inCD patients, and was particularly strong among the UC patients(p = 5.3 x 10–8, OR 2.42 (1.76 -3.34)). The associationof the CGGGG indel was confirmed in the second cohort (p = 3.2x 10–5, OR 1.59 (1.28 - 1.98)). The insertion of one CGGGGunit is predicted to create an additional binding site for thetranscription factor SP1. Using an electrophoretic mobilityshift assay we show allele-specific differences in protein bindingto this repetitive DNA-stretch, which suggest a potential functionrole for the CGGGG indel.
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