Biosensors and nanoscale analytical tools have shown huge growth in literature in the past 20 years, with a large number of reports on the topic of 'ultrasensitive', 'cost-effective', and 'early detection' tools with a potential of 'massproduction' cited on the web of science. Yet none of these tools are commercially available in the market or practically viable for mass production and use in pandemic diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019 . In this context, we review the technological challenges and opportunities of current bio/chemical sensors and analytical tools by critically analyzing the bottlenecks which have hindered the implementation of advanced sensing technologies in pandemic diseases. We also describe in brief COVID-19 by comparing it with other pandemic strains such as that of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) for the identification of features that enable biosensing. Moreover, we discuss visualization and characterization tools that can potentially be used not only for sensing applications but also to assist in speeding up the drug discovery and vaccine development process. Furthermore, we discuss the emerging monitoring mechanism, namely wastewater-based epidemiology, for early warning of the outbreak, focusing on sensors for rapid and on-site analysis of SARS-CoV2 in sewage. To conclude, we provide holistic insights into challenges associated with the quick translation of sensing technologies, policies, ethical issues, technology adoption, and an overall outlook of the role of the sensing technologies in pandemics.

The work of the ITPA SOL/divertor group is reviewed and implications for ITER discussed. Studies of near SOL gradients have revealed a connection to underlying turbulence models. Analysis of a multi-machine database shows that parallel conduction gradients near the separatrix scale as major radius. New SOL measurements have implicated low-field side transport as driving parallel flows to the inboard side. The high-n nature of ELMs has been elucidated and new measurements have determined that they carry ~10-20% of the ELM energy to the far SOL with implications for ITER limiters and the upper divertor. Analysis of ELM measurements imply that the ELM continuously loses energy as it travels across the SOL-larger gaps should reduce surface loads. The predicted divertor power loads for ITER disruptions has been reduced as a result of finding that the divertor footprint broadens during the thermal quench and that the plasma can lose up to 80% of its thermal energy before the thermal quench (not true for VDEs or ITBs). On the other hand predictions of power loading to surfaces outside the divertor have increased. Disruption mitigation through massive gas puffing has been successful at reducing divertor heat loads but estimates of the effect on the main chamber walls indicate 10s of kG of Be could be melted/mitigation. Estimates of ITER tritium retention have reduced the amount retained/discharge although the uncertainties are large and tritium cleanup may be necessary every few days to weeks. Long-pulse studies have shown that the fraction of injected gas that can be recovered after a discharge decreases with discharge length. The retention rate on the sides of tiles appears to ~ 1-3% of the ion flux to the front surface for C tiles and ~100x less for Mo tiles. T removal techniques are being developed based on surface heating and surface ablation although ITER mixed materials will make T removal more difficult. The use of mixed materials gives rise to a number of potential processes-e.g. reduction of surface melting temperatures (formation of alloys) and reduction of chemical sputtering. Advances in modelling of the ITER divertor and flows have enhanced the capability to match experimental data and predict ITER performance.

The electrochemistry and electronic absorption spectroscopy of samarium, europium, and ytterbium were investigated in the 1-(1-butyl)trimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (BuMe3NTf2N) and 1-butyl-3-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (BuMePyroTf2N) ionic liquids and in these solvents containing the neutral tridentate ligand N,N,N',N'-tetraoctyl-3-oxo-pentane diamide (TODGA) and the anionic hard ligand chloride. Lanthanide ions were introduced into the ionic liquids by controlled potential oxidation of the respective metals to yield solutions containing Eu(2+), Sm(3+), and Yb(3+), and it was possible to cycle between Eu(2+) and Eu(3+) as well as Yb(3+) and Yb(2+) using controlled potential electrolysis. Electronic absorption spectroscopy suggested that the Ln(3+) species are weakly solvated by Tf2N(-) anions as [Ln(Tf2N)x]((x-3)-) in the neat ILs. The quasireversible Ln(3+/2+) couples of all three elements were readily accessible in these ILs, but Sm(2+) was only stable on the voltammetric time scale. Addition of TODGA to [Ln(Tf2N)x]((x-3)-) solutions produces 3:1 complexes with Eu(3+) and Sm(3+) but only a 2:1 complex with the smaller Yb(3+) ion. Depending on the temperature, addition of Cl(-) to solutions of [Ln(Tf2N)x]((x-3)-) induces precipitation of LnCl3(s) when the mole ratio mCl(-)/mLn(3+) ≈ 3. However, when mCl(-)/mLn(3+) > 3, these precipitates redissolve to form the octahedral chloride complexes, [LnCl6](3-).

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The densities, viscosities, molar conductivities, and surface tensions of room temperature ionic liquids based on the bis͑trifluo-romethylsulfonyl͒imide anion and the 1-͑1-butyl͒-3-methylimidazolium, 1-butyltrimethylammonium, 1-͑1-butyl͒-1-methylpyrrolidinium, 1-͑1-butyl͒ pyridinium, and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium cations were measured as a function of temperature over the range from 298 to 353 K. The surface tension of tri-͑1-butyl͒methylammonium bis͑trifluoromethylsulfonyl͒imide is also reported. Linear equations were fitted to the experimental density and surface tension data, and the Vogel-Tammann-Fulcher equation for glass-forming liquids was fitted to the experimental viscosity and conductivity data. The surface energies, surface entropies, and critical temperatures were estimated from the temperature dependence of the surface tension data. All of the liquids studied obey the fractional Walden rule and fall only slightly below the ideal line, indicating that they possess high ionicity. In each case, the viscosity shows only modest decoupling from the conductivity as the temperature is increased. Diffusion coefficients for the oxidation of tris͑2,2Ј-bipyridyl͒ruthenium͑II͒ were measured in the six ionic liquids as a function of temperature. The hydrodynamic radius of tris͑2,2Ј-bipyridyl͒ruthenium͑II͒ was estimated from the Stokes-Einstein equation and was found to be remarkably close to the crystallographic radius of this species.

Recycling and wall pumping have been studied comparing low (~10 18 m-3) and high (~10 19 m-3) density long duration plasmas in TRIAM-1M. The recycling coefficient of each plasma increases with time. There exist two time constants in the temporal evolution of the recycling coefficient. One is a few seconds and the other is about 30 s. They may relate with characteristic times during which the physical adsorption and absorption due to the CX neutrals reach the equilibrium state, respectively. The wall pumping rates of low and high density plasmas are evaluated to be ~1.5×10 16 atoms m-2 s-1 and ~4×10 17 atoms m-2 s-1 , respectively. The difference is caused by the difference of the total amount of the CX neutral flux with the energy of <0.7 keV. In the ultra-long discharge (~70 min), the recycling coefficient becomes unity or more and again decreases below unity, i.e. the wall repeats a process of being saturated and refreshed. This refreshment of the wall seems to be caused by the co-deposition of Mo, which is a material of the limiter and divertor plates. In the high power and high density experiments, the wall saturation phenomenon has been observed. The discharge duration limited by the wall saturation decreases with increase in the density.

The effect of ionic liquids on photoinduced electron-transfer reactions in a donor−bridge−acceptor system is examined for two ionic liquid solvents, 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide and tributylmethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide. The results are compared with those for the same system in methanol and acetonitrile solution. Electron-transfer rates were measured using time-resolved fluorescence quenching for the donor− bridge−acceptor system comprising a 1-N,1-N-dimethylbenzene-1,4-diamine donor, a proline bridge, and a coumarin 343 acceptor. The photoinduced electron-transfer processes are in the inverted regime (−ΔG > λ) in all four solvents, with driving forces of −1.6 to −1.9 eV and estimated reorganization energies of about 1.0 eV. The observed electron-transfer kinetics have broadly distributed rates that are generally slower in the ionic liquids compared to the neutral solvents, which also have narrower rate distributions. To describe the broad distributions of electron-transfer kinetics, we use two different models: a distribution of exponential lifetimes and a discrete sum of exponential lifetimes. Analysis of the donor−acceptor electronic coupling shows that for ionic liquids this intramolecular electron-transfer reaction should be treated using a solvent-controlled electron-transfer model.

The experimental results of low pressure supersonic molecular beam injection (SMBI) fuelling on the HL-2A closed divertor indicate that during the period of pulsed SMBI the power density convected at the target plate surfaces was 0.4 times of that before or after the beam injection. An empirical scaling law used for the SMBI penetration depth for the HL-2A plasma was obtained. The cluster jet injection (CJI) is a new fuelling method which is based on and developed from the experiments of SMBI in the HL-1M tokamak. The hydrogen clusters are produced at liquid nitrogen temperature in a supersonic adiabatic expansion of moderate backing pressure gases into vacuum through a Laval nozzle and are measured by Rayleigh scattering. The measurement results have shown that the averaged cluster size of as large as hundreds of atoms was found at the backing pressures of more than 0.1 MPa. Multifold diagnostics gave coincidental evidence that when there was hydrogen CJI in the HL-2A plasma, a great deal of particles from the jet were deposited at a terminal area rather than uniformly ablated along the injecting path. SMB with clusters, which are like micro-pellets, will be of benefit for deeper fuelling, and its injection behaviour was somewhat similar to that of pellet injection. Both the particle penetration depth and the fuelling efficiency of the CJI were distinctly better than that of the normal SMBI under similar discharge operation. During hydrogen CJI or high-pressure SMBI, a combination of collision and radiative stopping forced the runaway electrons to cool down to thermal velocity due to such a massive fuelling.