Development of a magnetized coaxial plasma gun for compact toroid injection into the C-2 field-reversed configuration device.

A compact toroid (CT) injector was developed for the C-2 device, primarily for refueling of field-reversed configurations. The CTs are formed by a magnetized coaxial plasma gun (MCPG), which consists of coaxial cylindrical electrodes and a bias coil for creating a magnetic field. First, a plasma ring is generated by a discharge between the electrodes and is accelerated by Lorenz self-force. Then, the plasma ring is captured by an interlinkage flux (poloidal flux). Finally, the fully formed CT is ejected from the MCPG. The MCPG described herein has two gas injection ports that are arranged tangentially on the outer electrode. A tungsten-coated inner electrode has a head which can be replaced with a longer one to extend the length of the acceleration region for the CT. The developed MCPG has achieved supersonic CT velocities of ∼100 km/s. Plasma parameters for electron density, electron temperature, and the number of particles are ∼5 × 10(21) m(-3), ∼40 eV, and 0.5-1.0 × 10(19), respectively.

Two-chord interferometry using 3.39 µm He-Ne laser on a flux-coil-generated FRC.

A two-chord λ(IR)∼3.39 µm He-Ne laser interferometer system was developed for a flux-coil-generated field-reversed configuration to estimate the electron density and the total temperature of the field-reversed configuration (FRC) plasma. This two-chord heterodyne interferometer system consists of a single ∼2 mW infrared He-Ne laser, a visible (λ(vis)∼632.8 nm) He-Ne laser for the alignment, a 40 MHz acousto-optic modulator, photodetectors, and quadrature phase detectors. Initial measurement was performed and the measured average electron densities were 2-10×10(19) m(-3) at two different radial positions in the midplane. A time shift in density was observed as the FRC expands radially. The time evolution of the line-averaged density agrees with the density estimated from the in situ internal magnetic probes, based on a rigid-rotor profile model.

Spectroscopic measurement of ion temperature and ion velocity distributions in the flux-coil generated FRC.

One aim of the flux-coil generated field reversed configuration at Tri Alpha Energy (TAE) is to establish the plasma where the ion rotational energy is greater than the ion thermal energy. To verify this, an optical diagnostic was developed to simultaneously measure the Doppler velocity-shift and line-broadening using a 0.75 m, 1800 groves/mm, spectrometer. The output spectrum is magnified and imaged onto a 16-channel photomultiplier tube (PMT) array. The individual PMT outputs are coupled to high-gain, high-frequency, transimpedance amplifiers, providing fast-time response. The Doppler spectroscopy measurements, along with a survey spectrometer and photodiode-light detector, form a suite of diagnostics that provide insights into the time evolution of the plasma-ion distribution and current when accelerated by an azimuthal-electric field.

Nursing: a caring connection. Nurses are essential to healthy leadership teams.

In 1996, the American Hospital Association and the Picker Institute, a national research firm, sponsored an extensive study, summarized in the report Eye on Patients. Focus groups and surveys explored public perceptions of health care and hospitals. The patients and their families reported relatively high rates of satisfaction when surveyed about their experiences, but they also reported serious concerns and worries, primarily with the way the "system" works (or fails to work) and with the changes taking place in health care. As the primary link between patients and a changing health care environment, nurses play a key role in affecting treatment outcomes and perception of the hospital experience.

Scope of practice for APNs (advanced practice nurses). Discussion.

A bill for Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) Prescriptive Authority was introduced into the Michigan state legislature in 1996, and again in 1997. The legislation would add registered professional nurses with specialty certification to the list of health practitioners granted independent prescribing rights. Currently, licensed dentists, medical doctors, osteopathic doctors, podiatrists, certified optometrists and veterinarians comprise the list of prescribers.

MEA III presenting as pheochromocytoma and complicating pregnancy and the puerperium. A case report.

A case of multiple endocrine adenopathy (MEA III) presenting as pheochromocytoma complicated the immediate puerperium. The patient presented with paroxysmal changes in blood pressure and episodic headaches with vertigo. Computed tomography identified a left adrenal mass that was diagnosed preoperatively as pheochromocytoma, with the diagnosis subsequently confirmed on histologic sections. Pheochromocytoma complicating pregnancy is rare, and fewer than 150 cases have been reported on. MEA III presenting as pheochromocytoma and complicating the puerperium is described here for the first time.