Kyung-Wook Kim

Fabrication of cables for the background-field magnet system of SSTF

The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) device has a fully superconducting magnet system consisting of 16 Toroidal Field (TF) and 14 Poloidal Field (PF) coils. For the test of the KSTAR cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC), an ambient magnetic field of /spl plusmn/8 T with a maximum change rate of 20 T/s is required and a background-field magnet system is being developed for the Samsung Superconductor Test Facility (SSTF). The CICC for PF1-5 is used as the conductor for background-field coils to check the validity of the PF CICC design. Two pieces of cables have been fabricated and the cable has the length of 870 m and the diameter of 20.3 mm. Pitches are 40, 80, 145, and 237 mm at each cabling stage. The void fraction of the CICC is expected to be more than 36%.

Fabrication of the KSTAR superconducting CICC

A superconducting cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC) is adopted for the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) superconducting magnet system which consists of 16 TF coils and 14 PF coils. The KSTAR Magnet system uses two different types of CICCs-Nb/sub 3/Sn cable with Incoloy 908 conduit and NbTi cable with 316LN stainless-steel conduit. A continuous CICC jacketing system is developed for the KSTAR CICC fabrication and the jacketing system uses the tube-mill process, which consists of forming, welding, sizing and squaring procedures. The design specification of CICCs and the fabrication process is described. The welding of the Incoloy 908 strip joint is also discussed. The fabrication results including the geometrical specification and the void fraction will be discussed.

Relationship between cognitive insight and subjective quality of life in outpatients with schizophrenia.

Background The concept of cognitive insight refers to the cognitive processes involved in patients’ re-evaluation of their anomalous experiences and of their misinterpretations. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between cognitive insight and subjective quality of life in patients with schizophrenia to further shed light on the nature of cognitive insight and its functional correlates in schizophrenia. Methods Seventy-one stable outpatients with schizophrenia were evaluated for cognitive insight and subjective quality of life using the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS) and the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale Revision 4 (SQLS-R4). The symptoms of schizophrenia were also assessed. Pearson’s correlation analysis and partial correlation analysis that controlled for the severity of symptoms were performed to adjust for the possible effects of symptoms. Results The self-reflectiveness subscale score of the BCIS had significant positive correlations with the SQLS-R4 psychosocial domain and total SQLS-R4 scores, indicating that the higher the level of cognitive insight, the lower the subjective quality of life. In partial correlation analysis controlling for symptoms, the BCIS self-reflectiveness subscale score still had a significant correlation with the SQLS-R4 psychosocial domain score. The correlation coefficient between the BCIS self-reflectiveness and total SQLS-R4 scores was reduced to a nonsignificant statistical tendency. Conclusion The results of our study suggest that cognitive insight, particularly the level of self-reflectiveness, is negatively associated with the level of subjective quality of life in outpatients with schizophrenia and that this relationship is not wholly due to the confounding effect of symptoms. Future studies are necessary to explore possible mediating and moderating factors and to evaluate the effects of therapeutic interventions on the relationship.

Development of CICC for KSTAR TF coil system

The KSTAR (Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research) superconducting magnet system consists of 16 TFs (Toroidal Field) and 14 PFs (Poloidal Field) coils. Internally-cooled cabled superconductors will be used for the magnet system. The magnet systems adopt a superconducting CICC (Cable-In-Conduit Conductor) type conductor. The KSTAR TF CICC uses Nb/sub 3/Sn superconducting cable with Incoloy 908 conduit. For the fabrication of TF 1/spl sim/3 CICC, cables have been fabricated and the cable has a length of 640 m and a diameter of 22.3 mm. A continuous CICC jacketing system is developed for the CICC jacketing and the jacketing system uses the tube-mill process, which consists of forming, welding, sizing and squaring procedures. The cabling and the jacketing process is described. The welding condition of the Incoloy 908 and design specification of CICCs are also discussed. The fabrication results including the geometrical specification and the void fraction will be discussed.

Diminished autonomic neurocardiac function in patients with generalized anxiety disorder

Background Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a chronic and highly prevalent disorder that is characterized by a number of autonomic nervous system symptoms. The purpose of this study was to investigate the linear and nonlinear complexity measures of heart rate variability (HRV), measuring autonomic regulation, and to evaluate the relationship between HRV parameters and the severity of anxiety, in medication-free patients with GAD. Methods Assessments of linear and nonlinear complexity measures of HRV were performed in 42 medication-free patients with GAD and 50 healthy control subjects. In addition, the severity of anxiety symptoms was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory. The values of the HRV measures of the groups were compared, and the correlations between the HRV measures and the severity of anxiety symptoms were assessed. Results The GAD group showed significantly lower standard deviation of RR intervals and the square root of the mean squared differences of successive normal sinus intervals values compared to the control group (P<0.01). The approximate entropy value, which is a nonlinear complexity indicator, was also significantly lower in the patient group than in the control group (P<0.01). In correlation analysis, there were no significant correlations between HRV parameters and the severity of anxiety symptoms. Conclusion The present study indicates that GAD is significantly associated with reduced HRV, suggesting that autonomic neurocardiac integrity is substantially impaired in patients with GAD. Future prospective studies are required to investigate the effects of pharmacological or non-pharmacological treatment on neuroautonomic modulation in patients with GAD.