A high-density and high-confinement tokamak plasma regime for fusion energy.

The tokamak approach, utilizing a toroidal magnetic field configuration to confine a hot plasma, is one of the most promising designs for developing reactors that can exploit nuclear fusion to generate electrical energy. To reach the goal of an economical reactor, most tokamak reactor designs simultaneously require reaching a plasma line-averaged density above an empirical limit-the so-called Greenwald density-and attaining an energy confinement quality better than the standard high-confinement mode. However, such an operating regime has never been verified in experiments.

Validity and reliability evidence support task-specific metrics for laparoscopic fundoplication.

Background: Laparoscopic hiatal hernia repair (LHHR) is a complex operation requiring advanced surgical training. Surgical simulation offers a potential solution for learning complex operations without the need for high surgical volume. Our goal is to develop a virtual reality (VR) simulator for LHHR; however, data supporting task-specific metrics for this procedure are lacking.

The effect of bedside assistant technical performance on outcomes in robotic surgery.

Technical performance in surgery has been associated with patient outcomes. Robotic surgery is unique in that both a console surgeon and bedside surgeon are required. A systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines identified all pertinent literature regarding skill level of the bedside assistant with regards to patient outcomes in robotic surgery.

Spectrally resolved polarization angle across the motional Stark effect spectrum.

A new diagnostic technique has been developed that couples a spectrometer and an image-intensified camera into the traditional motional Stark effect (MSE) system on DIII-D. The image-intensified camera syncs with the photo-elastic modulators to spectrally resolve the Stokes parameters across the Stark multiplet. Polarization dependent phase shift, likely from a plasma facing mirror, leads to the spectropolarimeter measuring a variation in the polarization angle across the MSE spectrum of ∼8°.