To successfully show that fusion is an attractive energy source, the ARC$^{\scriptstyle \mathrm{TM}}$ fusion power plant will need to operate with a robust, integrated power and particle exhaust solution. To maximise ARC’s fusion power output while avoiding excessive erosion of the plasma-facing components, we will need to radiatively dissipate most of the power crossing the last-closed flux surface, injecting radiating impurities such as argon or neon to access divertor detachment. Divertor detachment will need to be integrated with a high-performance core plasma, and with efficient impurity pumping to prevent the accumulation of helium ash in the core. To access and control detachment in high-performance plasmas, we have designed ARC with up–down-symmetric divertors, with secondary X-points in long, tightly baffled outer legs. Using a core-edge modelling workflow, we predict that with this divertor design, ARC will access detachment with modest argon seeding in the divertor (${c_{Ar,div}}\sim {0.9\,\%}$), which should have minimal impact on the core (${\Delta Z_{\textit{eff},\textit{core}}}\lt {0.5}$) for reasonable argon enrichment (${c_{Ar,div}/c_{Ar,\textit{core}}}={6}$). Due to the high predicted divertor neutral pressure (${p_{\textit{div}}}\sim {20\,\mathrm{Pa}}$), we predict that ARC will sufficiently pump helium to limit ash accumulation in the core (${c_{\textit{He},\textit{core}}}\lt {2\,\%}$) for a helium enrichment of ${c_{\textit{He},\textit{div}}/c_{\textit{He},\textit{core}}}={0.4}$. ARC’s divertor design is expected to increase the stability of a detachment front in the outer divertor leg, helping to prevent divertor reattachment during smaller heat-flux transients such as scrape-off-layer filaments associated with the quasi-continuous exhaust regime. However, this buffering will not be sufficient to prevent divertor reattachment during large type-I edge-localised modes (ELMs), and as such these will need to be avoided on ARC. Experiments on SPARC will be used to select an integrated scenario which avoids or mitigates type-I-ELMs while maintaining access to detachment, good core fusion performance and sufficient impurity exhaust. SPARC experiments will also be used to finalise ARC’s divertor design, by studying the impact of magnetic and first-wall geometry on detachment stability, impurity enrichment and neutral baffling under conditions similar to those expected for ARC. In conclusion, our analysis finds that ARC will have a viable power and particle exhaust solution which is compatible with high-power operations, and this solution will be validated in experiments on SPARC.

The Southern dietary pattern, derived within the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort, is characterised by high consumption of added fats, fried food, organ meats, processed meats and sugar-sweetened beverages and is associated with increased risk of several chronic diseases. The aim of the present study was to identify characteristics of individuals with high adherence to this dietary pattern. We analysed data from REGARDS, a national cohort of 30 239 black and white adults ≥45 years of age living in the USA. Dietary data were collected using the Block 98 FFQ. Multivariable linear regression was used to calculate standardised beta coefficients across all covariates for the entire sample and stratified by race and region. We included 16 781 participants with complete dietary data. Among these, 34·6 % were black, 45·6 % male, 55·2 % resided in stroke belt region and the average age was 65 years. Black race was the factor with the largest magnitude of association with the Southern dietary pattern (Δ = 0·76 sd, P < 0·0001). Large differences in Southern dietary pattern adherence were observed between black participants and white participants in the stroke belt and non-belt (stroke belt Δ = 0·75 sd, non-belt Δ = 0·77 sd). There was a high consumption of the Southern dietary pattern in the US black population, regardless of other factors, underlying our previous findings showing the substantial contribution of this dietary pattern to racial disparities in incident hypertension and stroke.

Hypocotyl callus cultures were established from six tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) cultivars that exhibited differential tolerance to preemergence and postemergence metribuzin [4-amino-6-tert-butyl-3-(methylthio)-as-triazin-5(4H)-one] at 0.5 kg ai/ha in the greenhouse. Metribuzin in a low sucrose growth medium inhibited callus growth, but calli were not highly sensitive to the herbicide Differences between cultivars in the response of calli to 50 ppm metribuzin were observed. The degree of tolerance of tomato cultivars to postemergence metribuzin at 0.5 kg/ha was similar to the degree of tolerance of their hypocotyl calli to 50 ppm metribuzin in the growth medium.

Gaia's Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS) has been operating in routine phase for over one year since initial commissioning. RVS continues to work well but the higher than expected levels of straylight reduce the limiting magnitude. The end-of-mission radial-velocity (RV) performance requirement for G2V stars was 15 km s−1 at V = 16.5 mag. Instead, 15 km s−1 precision is achieved at 15 < V < 16 mag, consistent with simulations that predict a loss of 1.4 mag. Simulations also suggest that changes to Gaia's onboard software could recover ~0.14 mag of this loss. Consequently Gaia's onboard software was upgraded in April 2015. The status of this new commissioning period is presented, as well as the latest scientific performance of the on-ground processing of RVS spectra. We illustrate the implications of the RVS limiting magnitude on Gaia's view of the Milky Way's halo in 6D using the Gaia Universe Model Snapshot (GUMS).

In this paper we calculate and compare diagnosis and net premium rates for critical illness insurance using different models for the claim delay distribution (CDD). The choice of CDD affects the diagnosis rates and hence the net premium rates in two ways: through the estimation of missing dates of diagnosis and through the adjustment of the exposure to allow for claims diagnosed but not settled in the observation period. We consider two CDDs: a three-parameter Burr distribution and a lognormal distribution. Our conclusion, based on a single, but extensive, data set, is that net premium rates are not significantly affected by the choice of CDD.

In 2006, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke-Canadian Stroke Network (NINDS-CSN) Vascular Cognitive Impairment Harmonization Standards recommended a 5-Minute Protocol as a brief screening instrument for vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). We report demographically adjusted norms for the 5-Minute Protocol and its relation to other measures of cognitive function and cerebrovascular risk factors. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 7199 stroke-free adults in the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study on the NINDS-CSN 5-Minute Protocol score. Total scores on the 5-Minute Protocol were inversely correlated with age and positively correlated with years of education, and performance on the Six-Item Screener, Word List Learning, and Animal Fluency (all p-values <.001). Higher cerebrovascular risk on the Framingham Stroke Risk Profile (FSRP) was associated with lower total 5-Minute Protocol scores (p <.001). The 5-Minute Protocol also differentiated between participants with and without confirmed stroke and with and without stroke symptom histories (p <.001). The NINDS-CSN 5-Minute Protocol is a brief, easily administered screening measure that is sensitive to cerebrovascular risk and offers a valid method of screening for cognitive impairment in populations at risk for VCI. (JINS, 2014, 20, 1–12)

Nano- and micron-sized metal particles have important applications in catalysis and in the medical and electronic industries. For applications requiring high conductivity, such as thick film conductive pastes or isotropic conductive adhesives, AgCu particles combine high conductivity with advantages of lower costs. Here, we report the generation of AgCu particles by spray pyrolysis, a process that has the advantages of simple experimental setup, large-scale production ability, and controllable particle size. Solutions of copper nitrate and silver nitrate dissolved in deionized water with either 40 vol% ethanol (ET) or 40 vol% ethylene glycol (EG) were used as the precursor. Phase separation was observed during the generation of AgCu particles, and the particles were mainly Ag-rich and Cu-rich solid solutions. The short reactor residence time experiments indicated that both the cosolvent properties and operating conditions affect the particle formation process and change the structure of particles.

A cosolvent spray pyrolysis process was used for the generation of micrometer-sized pure copper particles. Ethylene glycol (EG) and ethanol (ET) were selected as cosolvents, and their effects on particle morphology and composition were systematically investigated. Experimental results showed that oxide-free copper particles could be generated at temperatures greater than 400 °C with either cosolvent. Hollow particles with cracks were generated with ET at temperatures from 400 to 1000 °C, whereas EG promoted the formation of porous particles at temperatures up to 600 °C and hollow shell particles with smooth surfaces at 875 and 1000 °C. Results from short residence time experiments indicated that, during the generation process, lamellar and fragment-like copper hydroxy nitrate [Cu2(OH)3NO3] precipitated when EG and ET were used respectively. Cu2(OH)3NO3 then decomposed to cupric oxide (CuO) and cuprous oxide (Cu2O). Finally the oxides were reduced to copper (Cu) in the reducing atmosphere created by EG and ET.

The first matings of males resulted in the transfer of large spermatophores, while subsequent matings resulted in smaller and eventually no spermatophore. The transfer of a spermatophore was not required to produce a normal number of fertile eggs. Some young males inseminated two females within 24 hours and regardless of whether or not a spermatophore was formed the number of resulting progeny was normal. Thus males were found to be capable of inseminating more females than the yield of spermatophores obtained by dissecting females indicated.

Virgin females increased in attractiveness with age at least until their fifth day.