Science.gov (United States)

Accidents Accident Preparedness, Accident Prevention, Chemical Accidents, Radiation Accidents Characterization Contingency Plans National Contingency Plan (NCP), Oil Removal...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This chapter provides an overview of the problem of response to a nuclear weapon accident, the fundamentals of response to an accident, and a summary of the NARP Manual. The manual provides a summary of procedural guidance, technical information, and DoD responsibilities, to assist DoD forces in preparing a response to a nuclear weapon accident.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A ground-breaking study was recently completed as part of the Seabrook Level 2 PRA update. This study updates the post-core damage phenomena to be consistent with the most recent information and includes accident management activities that should be modeled in the Level 2 PRA. Overall, the result is a Level 2 PRA that fully meets the requirements of the ASME PRA Standard with respect to modeling accident management in the LERF assessment and NRC requirements in Regulatory Guide 1.174 for considering late containment failures. This technical paper deals only with the incorporation of operator actions into the Level 2 PRA based on a comprehensive study of the Seabrook Station accident response procedures and guidance. The paper describes the process used to identify the key operator actions that can influence the Level 2 PRA results and the development of success criteria for these ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The accident assessment under emergency situation includes the accident status evaluation and its consequence estimation. This paper introduces evaluation methods for accident status and its assistant computer system (SESAME-GNP) utilized during the emergency situation in Guangdong Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station (GNPS) in detail. At the same time, an improved accident consequence estimation system in GNPS (RACAS-GNP) is briefly described. With the improvement of the accident assessment systems, the capability of emergency response in GNPS is strengthened

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Industrial radiography accounts for approximately half of all the reported accidents for the nuclear related industry, in both developed and developing countries. This Safety Report is the result of a review made of a large selection of accidents in industrial radiography reported by regulatory authorities, professional associations and scientific journals. A small, representative selection of 43 accident descriptions has been used to illustrate the primary causes of radiography accidents, and a set of measures provided to prevent the recurrence of such accidents or to mitigate the consequences of those that do occur. These accident descriptions were categorized by primary causes as follows: inadequate regulatory control; failure to follow operational procedures; inadequate training; inadequate maintenance; human error; equipment malfunction or defect; design ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The authors suggested a conceptual model of automatic processing the data on radioactive environment contamination (REC) after the accidents at the plants with nuclear fuel cycle. The possibilities of mathematic methods of processing the data on REC in automatic-control systems of radiation situation. It is stated that the following 2 methods most of all satisfy the existing requirements: linear interpolation on the locally homogenous fields and successive parametric adaptation. As an example there are demonstrated the results of estimation of the actual radiation situation in the region of accident at Siberian Chemical Plant (town Tomsk-7) in April, 1993. 6 refs.; 2 figs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DOE installations possessing sufficient quantities of fissile material to potentially constitute a critical mass, such that the excessive exposure of personnel to radiation from a nuclear accident is possible, are required to provide nuclear accident dosimetry services. This document describes the personal nuclear accident dosimeter (PNAD) used by SNL and prescribes methodologies to initially screen, and to process PNAD results. In addition, this report describes PNAD dosimetry results obtained during the Nuclear Accident Dosimeter Intercomparison Study (NAD23), held during 12-16 June 1995, at Los Alamos National Laboratories. Biases for reported neutron doses ranged from -6% to +36% with an average bias of +12%.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The report contains an overall frame for transformation of knowledge and experience from risk analysis to emergency education. An accident model has been developed to describe the emergency situation. A key concept of this model is uncontrolled flow of energy (UFOE), essential elements are the state, location and movement of the energy (and mass). A UFOE can be considered as the driving force of an accident, e.g., an explosion, a fire, a release of heavy gases. As long as the energy is confined, i.e. the location and movement of the energy are under control, the situation is safe, but loss of confinement will create a hazardous situation that may develop into an accident. A domain model has been developed for representing accident and emergency scenarios occurring in society. The domain model uses three main categories: status, context and objectives. A domain is a group of activities with allied goals ...

Science.gov (United States)

Accidents Accident Preparedness, Accident Prevention, Chemical Accidents, Radiation Accidents Characterization Contingency Plans National Contingency Plan (NCP), Oil Removal...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A series of meteorological and tracer experiments, was conducted during May and June 1984 over the 20-km wide /O/resund strait between Denmark and Sweden for the purpose of studying atmospheric dispersion processes over cold water and warm land surfaces and providing the data needed to evaluate meso-scale models in a coastal environment. In concert with these objectives the data from these experiments have been used as part of a continuing effort to evaluate the capability of the three-dimensional MATHEW/ADPIC (M/A) atmospheric dispersion models to simulate pollutant transport and diffusion characteristics of the atmospheric during a wide variety of meteorological conditions. Since previous studies have focused primarily on M/A model evaluations over rolling and complex terrain at inland sites, the /O/resund experiments provide a unique opportunity to evaluate the models in a coastal environment. The M/A models are used by the Atmospheric Release Advisory ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The results of a scoping study of onsite radiation exposures which could take place in each of three types of postulated reactor accidents are presented. The accident types are (1) a fuel handling accident at a Mark III BWR; an interfacing system LOCA or V sequence at a PWR; and and Anticipated Transient Without Scram (ATWS) at a Mark I BWR. Both external and internal dose pathways are considered. The results of the study indicate the prohibitively high radiation doses could be received in some plant areas if personnel were to remain there. However, times of the order of a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the type of accident, would be available before life-threatening doses would be accumulated assuming that the provided full face respiratory protection equipment were used promptly. Special attention was given radiation doses possibly received by control room personnel for several control room ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Short communication.

Science.gov (United States)

... number of terminals when requests ... INFORMATION RETRIEVAL, QUEUEING THEORY ... DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS, STOCHASTIC PROCESSES ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The US Department of Energy, Division of Electric Energy Systems, has undertaken to identify the environmental issues and potential impacts associated with the installation of underground electric power transmission systems. This study reports the results of investigations into the advanced cable technologies being considered for future underground applications, as part of the development oriented research program of the Division of Electric Energy Systems. While the technology involves a high level of sophistication, there are relatively few impacts to the environment that are potentially significant, and of these none are inherently non-mitigable. Route planning, system design, and methods of construction and accident response can be pursued in order to minimize impacts where strict constraints are appropriate.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The second international conference on containment design and operation included sessions on the following topics: performance and regulatory requirements; radionuclide behaviour; severe accident design and analysis; operation, maintenance, leaking and aging of containment systems; thermal hydraulic behaviour of containment systems; hydrogen mixing and mitigation; design methods and concepts; code validation; structural analysis and response tests; passive safety systems; aerosol behaviour; containment reliability, integrity, and risk assessment; hydrogen deflagration and detonation. Due prominence was given to CANDU and other PHWR reactors. The individual papers have been abstracted separately.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This file is devoted to the Chernobyl accident. It is divided in four parts. The first part concerns the accident itself and its technical management. The second part is relative to the radiation doses and the different contaminations. The third part reports the sanitary effects, the determinists ones and the stochastic ones. The fourth and last part relates the consequences for the other European countries with the case of France. Through the different parts a point is tackled with the measures taken after the accident by the other countries to manage an accident, the cooperation between the different countries and the groups of research and studies about the reactors safety, and also with the international medical cooperation, specially for the children, everything in relation with the Chernobyl accident. (N.C.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

'Small radioactive source results in big accident' have occurred repeatedly in China and worldwide alike. Radioactive source management is one of the key activities for a nuclear power plant to maintain its good safety record and image to the public. From aspects of establishing the management system, centralized storage, periodic accounting, performing whole process control to the source usage and experience feedback etc., the author reports the practice and experience of radioactive source management in Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In nuclear reactor safety research, the question of the possible consequences of delayed core reflood during severe accidents or anticipated transient without scram transients in boiling water reactors (BWRs) has been raised. One can envisage a very low probability accident scenario leading to core uncovery and core heat-up, followed by control blade melting and subsequential delayed reflooding of the core with unborated water before its degradation. Reflooding of the hot core causes significant increases in the peak heating, melting, and hydrogen production rates, thus increasing the probability of core degradation. However, as has been established, debris beds formed from shattered fuel rods and quenched fuel melt will be undermoderated. The reflood process of a voided, intact core was examined using the TRAC/BFI CODE.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An uncertainty decrease is an very important issue for enhancing risk-informed (RI) activities worldwide. Especially, a relatively large uncertainty in a level-2 (L2) PSA risk compared with level-1 internal PSA risk has been a bottleneck problem in the RI application to the extent of a severe accident management. According to the ASME PRA standard in which sources of an uncertainty to capture a category-II RI (= Option 2) capability are listed, an uncertainty analysis which identifies the key sources of an uncertainty and includes sensitivity studies for dominant contributors to LERF (Large Early Release Frequency) needs to be provided. To solve these problems, USNRC have developed the 'SPAR-LERF' model related to the L2 RI application and 'L2 uncertainty assessment and improvement' work is being taken as a main PSA2 topic of the SARNET (Severe Accident Research Network of Excellence) program in Europe by ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The applicability of the thermal response of an electrically heated simulated rod mostly used in loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA) experiments to that of a nuclear fuel rod is a concern for the safety evaluation of a reactor. The present analysis describes the characteristics of the thermal response for both electrically heated and nuclear fuel rods during typical reflood conditions for a PWR-LOCA. A model describing the radial temperature field in the rod is developed based on the scheme in HETRAP code by Malang and incorporated into a reflood analysis code, REFLA for that purpose. The calculations applied to the existing reflood tests gave good agreement with experiments, showing the validity of the present model. The analysis has shown that the nuclear fuel rod tends to give a lower clad temperature and a sooner quench time than the electrically heated rod in a typical reflood condition, due to the smaller gap heat ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Short communication.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In modern quality engineering, dual response surface methodology is a powerful tool to model an industrial process by using both the mean and the standard deviation of the measurements as the responses. The least squares method in regression is often used to estimate the coefficients in the mean and standard deviation models, and various decision criteria are proposed by researchers to find the optimal conditions. Based on the inherent hierarchical structure of the dual response problems, we propose a Bayesian hierarchical approach to model dual response surfaces. Such an approach is compared with two frequentist least squares methods by using two real data sets and simulated data.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this effort, the nonlinear responses and stability of a spindle system supported by ball bearings are presented. The dynamics of this system is described by a set of second order differential equations with a nonlinear piecewise smooth force. The Floquet theory is applied to investigate the stability of the periodic solution. Due to the loss of contact between the raceways and balls in the ball bearing, the bending of the frequency response curves switch to the left at the weak resonance region, which is similar to the frequency response curves of a system with a soft spring. With the decrease of the bearing clearance, the bending of the frequency response curves switch to the right, which is similar to the frequency response curves of a system with a hard spring. Increase of the frequency ratio, the bending of frequency response curves transforms from left ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Physiological bone remodeling is a highly coordinated process responsible for bone resorption and formation and is necessary to repair damaged bone and to maintain mineral homeostasis. In addition to...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Melt Vessel Interaction (MVI) project is concerned with the consequences of the interactions that a core melt, generated during a postulated severe accident in a light water reactor, may have with the pressure vessel. In particular, the issues concerned with the failure of the vessel bottom head are the focus of the research. The specific objectives of the project are to obtain data and develop validated models, which could be applied to prototypic plants, and accident conditions, for resolution of issues related to the melt vessel interactions. The project work has been performed by nine partners having varied responsibility. The work included a large number of experiments, with simulant materials, whose observations and results are employed, respectively, to understand the physical mechanisms and to develop validated models. Applications to the prototypic geometry and conditions have also been performed. This report ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A detailed outline of the application of the MELCOR and RELAP5/MOD3.1 codes to the analysis of the thermohydraulic response and determination of other parameters of the medium on the floor is given for several classes of secondary coolant circuit accidents along with the description of the related facilities. An overview is presented of the maximum values and time behavior of the thermohydraulic parameters, pressure, temperature, relative humidity, and water level on the floor. Transverse rupture of the steam generator, main steam header, or main feedwater header piping during normal operation is considered as the initiating event. Pressure is only 10% higher than the atmospheric pressure. Air temperature attains a value as high as 100 degC. Relative humidity is 100%, persisting as long as the steam source is available. The water level is typically about 8 cm and never exceeds 15 cm. (M.D.). 16 tabs., 37 figs., 32 refs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper use data from a pilot study to analyse relationships between type of resettlement (voluntary or involuntary) and individuals' everyday feelings, perceptions of risk, health status and control. The data were collected in 1995, within the Joint Study Project 2, i.e., a collaborative research project of the European Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, 1991/92 - 95/96. The aim of the study was to investigate reactions to change and new life conditions of people who had been resettled due to the Chernobyl accident. Participants from the respective countries included adult individuals sampled from two age groups of less than 45 years and 45 years and older, with approximately the same number of men and women. The questionnaire presented various topics to which responses were indicated on quantitative response scales, as well as in open ended response ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Debris coolability in the lower plenum of the reactor pressure vessel is an important factor for evaluation of debris in-vessel retention. The debris coolability analysis module is developed for the accurate prediction of the safety margin of the present reactor vessels in a severe accident. The module calculates debris spreading and cooling through melting and solidification in combination with a temperature distribution and failure evaluation of the vessel wall. Debris spreading is solved by the explicit method on a quasi-three-dimensional scheme and debris coolability is solved on the basis of natural convection analysis. The calculation for spreading is compared with a water spreading experiment on the floor and the calculation for coolability is compared with a n-octadecane melting experiment in a rectangular vessel. The comparisons show capabilities for predictions of spearhead transportation in the debris spreading process and of melting ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

National Nuclear Safety Department is authorized by Infra (Iranian Nuclear Regulatory Authority) for issuing rules and regulation and conducting the licensing and supervisory process for nuclear facilities. The main responsibilities of the NNSD are conducted via five main division are, nuclear codes and standards, Nuclear Safety assessment, Authorization, Inspection and Enforcement and Technical Support. In this paper, the functions and responsibilities of TSD in enhancing nuclear safety are described. Examples of main tasks to support the Nuclear Safety assessment division regarding to technical calculations and research of safety issues in licensing documents are provided. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this study we tried to develop the long-range transport system and find the way to prevent from the radiological emergency risk. For the study, meteorological forecast system in Korea Meteorological Administration is investigated. Numerical simulation is also carried out by the long-range transport model and Vis-5D. We surveyed the emergency preparedness for nuclear accidents which were ARAC in USA, RODOS in Europe and WSPEED in Japan and then investigated the processing of medium- and long-range atmospheric diffusion modeling system. We also studied on the application of KMA/NWPD model which are GDAPS and RDAPS. In the future, it is necessary to produce to the high resolution meteorological data from KMA/NWPD for the development of medium- and long-range atmospheric diffusion modeling system and construct the integrated system for data processing in real time. It was simulated by using micro-scale meteorological field ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Accidents from three main practices: medical applications, industrial radiography and industrial irradiators are used to illustrate some common causes of accidents and the main lessons to be learned. A brief description of some of these accidents is given. Lessons learned from the described accidents are approached by subjects covering: safety culture, quality assurance, human factors, good engineering practice, defence in depth, security of sources, safety assessment and monitoring and verification compliance. (author)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Four years of the IMPACT, 'Integrated Modular Plant Analysis and Computing Technology', project Phase 1 have been completed. The verification study of Severe Accident Analysis Code SAMPSON prototype developed in Phase 1 was conducted in two steps. First, each analysis module was run independently and analysis results were compared and verified against separate-effect test data with good results. Second, with the Simulation Supervisory System, up to 11 analysis modules were executed concurrently in the parallel environment (currently, NUPEC uses IBM-SP2 with 72 process elements), to demonstrate the code capability and integrity. The target plant was Surry as a typical PWR and the initiation events were a 10-inch cold leg failure. The analysis is divided to two cases; one is in-vessel retention analysis when the gap cooling is effective (In-vessel scenario test), the other is analysis of phenomena event is extended to ex-vessel due to the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To make a quantitative comparison of risks between the SNR-300 and a modern PWR (Biblis B), the consequences of an accident or the extent of damage of a release of radionuclides to the environment due to an accident are estimated by computer programs for accident consequence models. The accident analysis includes an analysis of events for Bethe-Tait accidents with failure of the outer containment. The FGSB release rates are compared with those of the Society for Reactor Safety (GRS).

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

With an ageing population the demand for cheap, efficient implants is ever increasing. Laser surface treatment offers a unique means of varying biomimetic properties to determine generic parameters to predict cell responses. This paper details how a KrF excimer laser can be employed for both laser-induced patterning and whole area irradiative processing to modulate the wettability characteristics and osteoblast cell response following 24h and 4 day incubation. Through white light interferometry (WLI) it was found that the surface roughness had considerably increased by up to 1.5mm for the laser-induced patterned samples and remained somewhat constant at around 0.1mm for the whole area irradiative processed samples. A sessile drop device determined that the wettability characteristics diffe...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The purpose of a FAAT analysis is to estimate the probability of system upset to an electromagnetic threat, for systems on which we have incomplete information. As an example of this process, we will discuss the response of part of a telephone repeater system to wideband transients. We first estimate the currents induced on above-ground and buried cables. After that, we describe the simple circuit we used to build a model of the amplifier and protective devices. Finally, we describe the scaling of the energy deposited in the electronics, including its nonlinear large-signal response, with the amplitude of the wideband waveforms.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The article describes control and monitoring concepts in which the delegation of responsibility is becoming more decisive than ever (automation hierarchy), and which are capable of optimized, automatic control of process events in pumped storage plants. 8 refs.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The proprotein convertases (PCs) are calcium-dependent proteases responsible for processing precursor proteins into their active forms in eukariotes. The PC1/3 is a pivotal enzyme of this family that...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved degradative pathway that has been implicated in a number of physiological events important for human health. This process was originally identified as a response...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

The biological age (BA) of the majority of the liquidators of the consequences of the radiation accidents in the Navy and of the liquidators of the Chernobyl' APS accident exceeds the medium standard and the DBA (due BA). The index of the BA can be a characteristic of the influence of the social-hygienic factors on the health condition of the Special Risk Subunit--the liquidators of the consequences of the radiation accidents. It was established, that the radiation influence concerns to the factors dramatically increasing the BA and the rate of senescence of the liquidators of the consequences of the radiation accidents. PMID:21809627

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A brief guide to training and equipment needed to effectively manage victims of radiation accidents. (DT)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

With the exception of the 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear weapon explosions and the 1986 Tchernobyl reactor accident, most of the radiation accidents concerns the medical and the traditional industrial sectors. The seriousness of the accident is directly function of the absorbed dose. The paper, first, gives the definition of a radiologic accident with its specific criteria and pathological manifestations. Then, some famous historical accidents are reviewed from the discovery of X-rays to recent acute irradiations due to the careless manipulation of radiation sources. From this analysis, three main causes are put forward: the dysfunction of nuclear medicine apparatuses, the victims` lack of training and knowledge of the risks, and the non-identification or the loss of radiation sources. (J.S.). 1 photo.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Severe accident management can be defined as the use of existing and alternative resources, systems, and actions to prevent or mitigate a core-melt accident in nuclear power plants. TRAIN (Training pRogram for AMP In NPP), developed for training control room staff and the technical group, is introduced in this report. The TRAIN composes of phenomenological knowledge base (KB), accident sequence KB and accident management procedures with AM strategy control diagrams and information needs. This TRAIN might contribute to training them by obtaining phenomenological knowledge of severe accidents, understanding plant vulnerabilities, and solving problems under high stress. 24 refs., 76 figs., 102 tabs. (Author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

One of the alternative ideas to solve the spent fuel issues, the partitioning and transmutation (P and T) technology has been developed for decades. Moreover, the concept of LILW production from P and T are proposed by Bowman. A PEACER (Proliferationresistant, Environmental-friendly Accident-tolerant, Continuable and Economical Reactor), based on pyrochemical process and Pb-Bi coolant transmutation reactor, has been conceptually designed to be able to convert all PWR spent fuel into low and intermediate level waste for near-surface disposal. In this study, the acceptance criteria for near-surface disposal facility is derived by the methodology for establishment of acceptance criteria. Then acceptable TRU decontamination factor (DF) and LLFP removal efficiency in order to meet acceptance criteria is evaluated.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Protective goals set the line of orientation of tasks and activities in the field of accident prevention. They have to be based on safety-science methods in order to develop from the conceptual idea to the practically feasible solution, while using the scientific methods to take into account the facts and the capabilities of a situation and, proceeding from them, finding an efficient and rational, optimal pragmatic approach by way of various strategies or tactics. In this process, the activities of defining, informing, thinking and developing need the proper terminology. Safety is absence of danger, protection is limitation of danger and prevention of damage. So it is protection what is needed with danger being given, and risks have to be minimized. Riskology is a novel method of safety science, combining risk analysis and risk control into a systematic concept which is practice-oriented. Applying this to the field of nuclear engineering, the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The program introduced here for determining and describing the multi-axial creep of pipes is based, on the one hand, on the results of the nuclear process heat prototype plant material program and, on the other hand, on the possible load conditions which arise for evaluating accidents or extreme working situations. The basis of a theoretical description of multi-axial creep is the invariant theory in which both the von Mises configuration change hypothesis and the Norton creep law are included. Combined tension and torsion are also considered in detail, the superimposition of cyclic stresses in the tensile threshold area is discussed and cases of partial relaxation are explained. Experimental results for the discussed loads are introduced, which have led to satisfactory agreement between theory and experiment. (orig./MM).

CERN Document Server

As a result of nuclear power plant accidents, large areas receive radioactive inputs of Cs-137. This cesium accumulates in herbs growing in such territories. The problem is whether the herbs contaminated by radiocesium may be used as a raw material for medicine. The answer depends on the amount of Cs-137 transfered from the contaminated raw material to the medicine. We have presented new results of the transfer of Cs-137 from contaminated Digitalis grandiflora Mill. and Convallaria majalis L. to medicine. We found that the extraction of Cs-137 depends strongly on the hydrophilicity of the solvent. For example 96.5%(vol.) ethyl alcohol extracts less Cs-137 (11.6%) than 40%(vol.) ethyl alcohol or pure water (66.2%). The solubility of the cardiac glycosides is inverse to the solubility of cesium, which may be of use in the technological processes for manufacturing ecologically pure herbal medicine.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A brief overview is given of a report on Emergency Core Cooling Systems (ECCS) Recirculation Reliability Knowledge Base compiled by the International Working Group on ECCS Reliability for the OECD/NEA/CSNI. Four safety issues are identified which arise in the context of loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs) and are connected with materials and/or processes that interfere with the ECCS safety function in ways other than just strainer head loss generation. They are: the generation of missiles during a LOCA from encapsulated insulation materials used to reduce insulation debris production; clogging of BWR pressure suppression containment vent pipes by insulation jackets or metallic insulation foil pieces; strainer or sump debris ingestion and the effects of ingested debris on ECCS equipment and core cooling; miscellaneous items such as material aging and self-cleaning strainer concepts. The emphasis is mainly on BWRs but many of the considerations ...

CERN Document Server

We report Sr, Pd and Ag abundances for a sample of metal-poor field giants and analyze a larger sample of Y, Zr, and Ba abundances. The [Y/Zr] and [Pd/Ag] abundance ratios are similar to those measured for the r-process-rich stars CS 22892-052 and CS 31082-001. The [Pd/Ag] ratio is larger than predicted from the solar-system r-process abundances. The constant[Y/Zr] and [Sr/Y] values in the field stars places strong limits on the contributions of the weak s-process and the main s-process to the light neutron-capture elements. Stars in the globular cluster M 15 possess lower [Y/Zr] values than the field stars. There is a large dispersion in [Y/Ba]. Because the r-process is responsible for the production of the heavy elements in the early Galaxy, these dispersions require varying light-to-heavy ratios in r-process yields.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The multidimensional countercurrent two-phase flow regimes that occur in a pressurized-water reactor (PWR) vessel downcomer during the refill phase of a large-break loss-of-coolant accident are studied using a transparent 1/10 scale model of a PWR vessel. The various flow regimes and their distribution in the downcomer have been identified and mapped for a range of air-water flooding experiments. The two-phase flow patterns that are identified in the downcomer included various types of film flows, droplet flows, countercurrent churn flows and cocurrent flows depending on the flooding condition. Through observation of the two-phase flow dynamics it was deduced that the physical mechanisms associated with the flooding processes could be separated into a liquid entrainment process and a film flow reversal process. In addition to the above exercise, the effect of non-uniform injection of water into the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Natural sunlight induces a genotoxic response in cultured CHO cells pre-treated with shale oil retort process water. Near ultraviolet light (NUV) component of the solar spectrum is the apparent radiation responsible for photoactivation. Cultured human skin fibroblasts are acutely sensitive to the genotoxic effects of photoactivated process water. The mutagenic potential of photoactivated process water in human cells is the same as that witnessed for an equivalent killing dose of the potent skin carcinogen FUV. DNA repair processes are involved in modulating genotoxic effects of this photo-induced process. The exact magnitude of the potential health-related and environmental risks resulting from photoactivation of retort process waters and other oil shale by-products is unassessed at this time. Our demonstration that a ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A probability-based approach is presented as the integration of probabilistic methods and deterministic modelling based on the finite element method. An existing finite element software package was linked to an existing probabilistic package to analyse the complex mechanics that occur during the transient non-linear analysis of impact problems. This methodology is applied to a pipe whip analysis of a group-distribution-header, which results from a guillotine break, and subsequent impact with the adjacent building wall; this is a postulated accident for the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant RBMK-1500 reactors. The uncertainties of material properties, component geometry data and loads were taken into consideration. The probabilities of failure of the impacted header and of the header support-wall were estimated given uncertainties in material properties, geometrical parameters and loading. The software ProFES was used for the probabilistic analysis and the finite element ...

Science.gov (United States)

Fault symptoms of running gearboxes must be detected as early as possible to avoid serious accidents. Diverse advanced methods are developed for this challenging task. However, for multiwavelet transforms, the fixed basis functions independent of the input dynamic response signals will possibly reduce the accuracy of fault diagnosis. Meanwhile, for multiwavelet denoising technique, the universal threshold denoising tends to overkill important but weak features in gear fault diagnosis. To overcome the shortcoming, a novel method incorporating customized (i.e., signal-based) multiwavelet lifting schemes with sliding window denoising is proposed in this paper. On the basis of Hermite spline interpolation, various vector prediction and update operators with the desirable properties of biorthogonality, symmetry, short support and vanishing moments are constructed. The customized lifting-based multiwavelets for feature matching are chosen by the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In the frame of the use of the Relap5 thermal hydraulic code in the predictions of LOCA transient scenarios in PWRs and considering the recent development of a methodology to evaluate the related uncertainty, the response to a Small Break LOCA of Eastern and Western type PWRs has been analyzed. A four loop/horizontal Steam Generator WWER-1000 (KOZLODUY in Bulgaria) and a two loop/vertical U-tubes Steam Generator Westinghouse (KRSKO in Slovenia) nuclear power plants have been considered in the analysis. The reference transient is a 2% equivalent cold leg break accident, without High Pressure Injection System intervention, as specified in the frame of a ``counterpart test`` activity involving experimental tests on four Integral Test Facilities: LOBI (European Community), SPES (Italy), BETHSY (France) and LSTF (Japan). The code results in the two cases, also taking into account the related uncertainty as evaluated by means of the aforementioned ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A 4-loop Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) primary coolant system has been analysed for the postulated Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) event in order to derive peak dynamic loads for qualifying the design of equipment supports and pipe whip restraints. Pipe whip restraints as well as pipe and equipment supports are nonlinear by nature because of the presence of gaps and the different directional stiffnesses arising from snubber, steelwork and geometric and material interaction at the concrete to steel embedment. The different structural idealisations for the supports and restraints have an influence on the dynamic response of the structure. In the first of the two part paper a range of idealisation models for the Steam Generator and Reactor Coolant Pump vertical columns ranging from elastic stiffnesses to bilinear stiffnesses with or without preload were examined. Due to both structural and loading complexity, the behaviour of these supports were ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Recent scholarship has explored the process by which modern commercial and property law came into being in the non western world, and has emphasized the role played by colonialism and conquest in this process. Using a case study from colonial India, this article suggests that the coding of commercial law was influenced more by commercialization than by the nature of the state, and was an endogenous response to the failure of local custom and common law to secure frictionless trade.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The main goal of this research is to delineate the wetting behavior of coal and it subsequent effects on fine coal processing. As both bulk and surface properties of coal are interrelated and have a controlling role on the performance of these processes, a detailed study has been undertaken to correlate their influence on both wetting behavior and the response of coal to flotation and other unit operations encountered in fine coal processing. During the last quarter, the effect of coal rank on water retention capacity was investigated. The effect of pH on the vacuum flotation yield and the effect of desliming on the film flotation response of coal were also studied. 6 refs., 5 figs.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Acidification is one of the most common and serious problems inducing process failure in anaerobic digesters. The production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) mainly triggers acidic shock. However, little is known about the bacteria involved in the processes of acidogenic metabolism, such as fermentation and reductive acetogenesis. Here, the metabolic responses of a methanogenic community to the acidification and resulting process deterioration were investigated using transcriptional profiling of both the 16S rRNA and formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (FTHFS) genes. The 16S rRNA-based analyses demonstrated that the dynamic shift of bacterial populations was closely correlated with reactor performance, especially with VFA accumulation levels. The pH drop accompanied by an increase in VFAs stim...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Severe accident analysis has been performed for the Wolsung nuclear power plants in Korea to investigate severe accident phenomena of CANDU-600 reactors as a part of Level II PSA study. The accident sequence analyzed in this paper is loss of active heat sinks (LOAH) which is caused by loss of off-site power, diesel generators, and DC power, ISAAC(Integrated Severe Accident Analysis Code) computer code developed by KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) was used in this analysis. This paper describes the important thermal-hydraulics and source term behaviors in the primary system and inside containment, and the failure mechanisms of calandria vessel and containment. In addition, some insights for accident management program (AMP) are also given.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Containment is considered as ultimate safety system and is designed to enclose whole reactor system and prevent the spread of active air-borne fission products. For Pressure and Temperature calculation, Design Basis Accident (Dba) is double ended break of reactor inlet header or main steam line break but activity release studies are done to access its performance following limiting design basis accident i.e. Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) and Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS). In such accident scenario, the core is severely damaged and results in production of steam and hydrogen along with release of activity to containment environment. Containment functions are maintained in such accident, and radiological consequences are within the prescribed limits. (author)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This chapter is an overview of total-ionizing-dose and single-event hardening techniques and should be used as a guide to a range of research publications. It should be stressed that there is no clear and simple route to a radiation-tolerant silicon integrated circuit. What works for one fabrication process may not work for another, and there are many complex interactions within individual processes and designs. The authors have attempted to highlight the most important factors and those process changes which should bring improved hardness. The main point is that radiation-hardening as a procedure must be approached in a methodical fashion and with a good understanding of the response mechanisms involved.

Science.gov (United States)

Most palladium thin film based hydrogen gas sensors have response and recovery times that are too long to make them useful in vehicular and stationary gas leak detection applications. In contrast, a palladium-silver thin film based microcantilever (MC) hydrogen gas microsensor is reported herein with near ideal response characteristics for use in these hydrogen economy related applications. Specifically, 3-10 second response and recovery times have been measured for these sensors in contrast to previous sensor response measurements of several to tens of minutes using Pd thin film and MC based sensing techniques. The much reduced response times observed in the present study are attributed to a wet chemical Pd-Ag thin film deposition technique and a gas conditioning protocol that produces a highly nanostructured, porous film that rapidly adsorbs and desorbs H2, allowing rapid ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corrosion control on gas pipelines plays an important role on the assessment of pipeline integrity and reliability. In many countries a great extension of buried pipelines is used on transport and distribution systems. This extension will be certainly increased in a near future due to the increasing consumption of natural gas. Inadequate corrosion control can drive to pipeline failures, bringing up the possibility of accidents in populated or environmental protected areas, bringing together severe economical, legal and environmental consequences. Corrosion is frequently considered as a natural and inevitable phenomenon. Based upon this assumption, some recommendations are included on design standards of gas pipelines in order to compensate its detrimental effect. The aim of this work is to present a review of the correlation between external corrosion process and the guidelines established during the project phase of gas pipelines. It is ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Central nervous system (CNS) development, homeostasis, stress responses, and plasticity are all mediated by epigenetic mechanisms that modulate gene expression and promote selective deployment of functional gene networks in response to complex profiles of interoceptive and environmental signals. Thus, not surprisingly, disruptions of these epigenetic processes are implicated in the pathogenesis of a spectrum of neurological and psychiatric diseases. Epigenetic mechanisms involve chromatin remodeling by relatively generic complexes that catalyze DNA methylation and various types of histone modifications. There is increasing evidence that these complexes are directed to their sites of action by long non-protein-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), of which there are tens if not hundreds of thousands speci...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A screening questionnaire designed to take an alcohol history was used on 996 patients attending the London Hospital Accident and Emergency Department. Questions concerned with 'binge' drinking detected...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The chapter presents the nuclear energy development in 20th century and the most important radiation accidents happened from the point of view of technological risk and high impact consequences: Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Rocky Flats Plant, located approximately 26 km northwest of downtown Denver, Colorado, has developed an emergency response atmospheric dispersion model for complex terrain applications. Plant personnel would use the model, known as the Terrain-Responsive Atmospheric Code (TRAC) (Hodgin 1985) to project plume impacts and provide off-site protective action recommendations to the State of Colorado should a hazardous material release occur from the facility. The Colorado Department of Health (CDH) entered into an interagency agreement with the Rocky Flats Plant prime contractor, EG&G Rocky Flats, and the US Department of Energy to evaluate TRAC as an acceptable emergency response tool. After exhaustive research of similar evaluation processes from other emergency response and regulatory organizations, the interagency committee devised a formal acceptance ...

Science.gov (United States)

A post-accident-heat-removal structural effects analysis for the steel liner in the FFTF concrete containment structure is presented. (JWR)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report draws an account of the consequences of Chernobyl accident 14 years after the disaster. It is made up of 8 chapters whose titles are: (1) Some figures about Chernobyl accident, (2) Chernobyl nuclear power plant, (3)Sanitary consequences of Chernobyl accident, (4) The management of contaminated lands, (5) The impact in France of Chernobyl fallout, (6) International cooperation, (7) More information about Chernobyl and (8) Glossary.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The Four years of the IMPACT, 'Integrated Modular Plant Analysis and Computing Technology' project Phase 1 have been completed. The verification study of Severe Accident Analysis Code SAMPSON prototype developed in Phase 1 was conducted in two steps. First, each analysis module was run independently and analysis results were compared and verified against separate-effect test data with good results. Test data are as follows: CORA-13 (FZK) for the Core Heat-up Module; VI-3 of HI/VI Test (ORNL) for the FP Release from Fuel Module; KROTOS-37 (JRC-ISPRA) for the Molten Core Relocation Module; Water Spread Test (UCSB) for the Debris Spreading Model and Benard's Melting Test for Natural Convection Model in the Debris Cooling Module; Hydrogen Burning Test (NUPEC) for the Ex-Vessel Thermal Hydraulics Module; PREMIX, PM10 (FZK) for the Steam Explosion Module; and SWISS-2 (SNL) for the Debris-Concrete Interaction Module. Second, with the Simulation Supervisory System, up to ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper identifies the event sequences that require thermal-hydraulic analyses for the success criteria of probabilistic safety analysis (PSA). The selection of the sequences is performed based on the review of the NEI Peer Review Process Guidance and ASME PRA Standard. Success criteria are the important element of PSA quality. Success criteria decide the success or failure of the key function in the PSA event tree. It is defined as a minimum set of components/trains of system required to mitigate an accident. Thermal-hydraulic codes are generally used to derive time-related criteria in the PSA, such as operator action time used in human reliability analysis (HRA), event timing, and time to recover the component or the power. This paper suggests the use of the MARS code for the T-H analysis to obtain the success criteria and sequence timing, and operator action time. In the Kori Units 3 and 4 PSA report, the T-H analyses for those criteria ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The biological effects of ionizing radiation exposure are the result of a complex sequence of physical, chemical, biochemical, and physiological interactions. One way to begin a search for an understanding of health effects of radiation is through the development of phenomenological models of the response. Many models have been presented and tested in the slowly evolving process of characterizing cellular response. A range of models covering different endpoints and phenomena has developed in parallel. Many of these models employ similar assumptions about some underlying processes while differing about the nature of others. An attempt is made to organize many of the models into groups with similar features and to compare the consequences of those features with the actual experimental observations. It is assumed that by showing that some assumptions are inconsistent with experimental observations, the job ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The information given in the present report about the Chernobyl accident and its radiological consequences indicates a serious crisis of the international radiation community. The following signs of this crises can be discerned: The international radiation community did not recognize the real reasons of the accident for a long time. It could not make a correct assessment of the damage to the thyroid of the affected populations of Belarus, Russia and the Ukraine. Up to present time it rejects the reliable data on hereditary malformations. It is not able to accept reliable data on the increase in the incidence in all categories of people affected by the Chernobyl accident. The international radiation community supported the Soviet authorities in their attempts to play down the radiological consequences of the Chernobyl accident for a long time. (author)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Probabilistic risk assessment is a technique used to systematically analyze complex technical systems, such as nuclear waste management facilities, in order to identify and measure their public health, environmental, and economic risks. Probabilistic techniques have been utilized at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico, to evaluate the probability of a catastrophic waste hoist accident. A probability model was developed to represent the hoisting system, and fault trees were constructed to identify potential sequences of events that could result in a hoist accident. Quantification of the fault trees using statistics compiled by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) indicated that the annual probability of a catastrophic hoist accident at WIPP is less than one in 60 million. This result allowed classification of a catastrophic hoist accident as ''not credible'' at ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sandia National Laboratories has the qualification evaluation responsibility for the design of certain components intended for use in nuclear weapons. Specific techniques in assurance and assessment have been developed to provide the quality evidence that the software has been properly qualified for use. Qualification Evaluation is a process for assessing the suitability of either a process used to develop or manufacture the product, or the product itself The qualification process uses a team approach to evaluating a product or process, chaired by a Quality Assurance professional, with other members representing the design organization, the systems organization, and the production agency. Suitable for use implies that adequate and appropriate definition and documentation has been produced and formally released, adequate verification and validation activities have taken place to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper describes the activities for improving the Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) quality in the human reliability analysis (HRA) of the pre-accident human errors for the Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP). We evaluate the HRA results of the PSA for the KSNP and identify the items to be improved using the ASME PRA Standard. Evaluation results show that the ratio of items to be improved for pre-accident human errors is relatively high when compared with the ratio of those for post-accident human errors. They also show that more than 50% of the items to be improved for pre-accident human errors are related to the identification and screening analysis for them. In this paper, we develop the modeling guidelines for pre-accident human errors and apply them to the auxiliary feedwater system of the KSNP. Application results show that more than 50% of the items to be ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Full text of publication follows: The hydrogen mitigation system of 20 igniters and 6 PARs is installed to control the hydrogen in the containment during severe accidents and design basis accidents, respectively, in Shin-Wolsung 1 and 2 nuclear power plants. The igniters are primarily installed at the hydrogen source locations, and the PARs are installed in the open spaces. The PARs will maintain the hydrogen concentration within the containment atmosphere below the limit of 4 v/o in accordance with Regulatory Guide 1.7 during design basis accidents. The igniters will maintain the hydrogen concentration within the containment atmosphere below the limit of 10 v/o in accordance with 10CFR50.34(f) during severe accidents. In addition, the PARs can be used as a supplementary means to control the hydrogen concentration during severe accidents because of their inherent passive ...

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

There is very little known about the long-term evolution of the MHC and MHC-like molecules. This is because both the theory (the evolutionary questions and models) and the practice (the animals systems, functional assays and reagents to identify and characterize these molecules) have been difficult to develop. There is no molecular evidence yet to decide whether vertebrate immune systems (and particularly the MHC molecules) are evolutionarily related to invertebrate allorecognition systems, and the functional evidence can be interpreted either way. Even among the vertebrates, there is great heterogeneity in the quality and quantity of the immune response. The functional evidence for T-lymphocyte function in jawless and cartilagenous fish is poor, while the bony fish seem to have many characteristics of a mammalian immune system. The organization and sequence of fish Ig genes also indicate that important events in the evolution of the immune system and the MHC ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A novel direct calculation method of response matrices on heterogeneous lattices by using the Monte Carlo method is proposed. These direct response matrices (DRMs) can be used in core calculations in place of the conventional homogenized lattice constants. The DRMs are formalized by four sub response matrices (sub-RMs) in order to respond to a core eigenvalue, k; thus the DRMs can be re-evaluated on each outer iteration in the core calculations. The sub-RMs can be evaluated by analyzing each neutron's trajectory from ordinary lattice calculations with the Monte Carlo code. Since these sub-RMs are calculated directly under an actual complex assembly geometry, i,e., without a homogenization process, intra-assembly heterogeneous effects can be reflected on global partial current balance calculations. With using two of the sub-RMs, which deal with neutron production probabilities for each fuel pin, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Assessment on the back end fuel cycle, in PEACER (Proliferation-resistant Environmental-friendly Accident-tolerant Continuable and Economical Reactor) that was designated as a new transmutation concept, was performed. Recovery system of uranium and TRU for PEACER is based on pyro-processing. In the assessment of long-lived fission products (LLFP) wastes, initially "9"0Sr and "1"3"7Cs are dominant contributor nuclides until 30 years and especially "9"0Sr and "1"3"7Cs have the highest activity and decay heat than other LLFP. In this study, recovery of "9"0Sr and "1"3"7Cs is recommended for reducing of wastes loading. The acceptable decontamination factor is investigated by the toxicity of PEACER spent fuel. The acceptable decontamination factor is about 1.02 E+05 for the actinides from PEACER spent fuel after 10 years cooling, 4.26 E+05 after 100 years cooling, 1.97 E+04 after 300 years cooling, 9.52 E+03 after 1000 years cooling. (authors)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nowadays the safety of Nuclear Power Plants is becoming more and more significant. Therefore consideration of severe accidents shall be included in both design and operating process of Nuclear Power Plants. In particular ground motion forms one of the important natural hazards. For structural analysis both linear-elastic and non-linear methods are specified by the engineering codes for earthquake resistance design. However, time history analysis is required for investigation of non-linear structural behaviour. Moreover, non-linearities are often caused by the presence of damage. This can be detected by means of structural health monitoring and subsequently system identification. In this paper the advantages of both dynamic time history analysis and damage detection by means of wavelet analysis are discussed. First, the non-linear behaviour of a frame structure due to an artificial earthquake motion is analyzed. A comparison to non-time history ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The authors present arguments against nuclear energy and pro renewable energy sources. Thus, the water used in Uranium mining and primary ore processing becomes contaminated in long lived radioisotopes and so a threat for local ecosystems and communities. Then, during the fabrication, enrichment, and handling of nuclear fuel the workers are exposed to radiations and dangerous accidental radioactive leaks can occur. But, by far, the most menacing aspect of nuclear power exploitation remains the human errors in operating the nuclear plants which can result in major accidents like that from Chernobyl which spread radioactivity all over the Europe. The equipment used in nuclear facilities which is highly contaminated as well as the burned fuel implies transportation and long term storage which also present high risks. The major advantage of the nuclear energy consists in its very low environment impact and its null contribution to the greenhouse ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP) is a single, highly integrated technical program for maintaining the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. The SSP uses past nuclear test data along with future non-nuclear test data, computational modeling and simulation, and experimental facilities to advance understanding of nuclear weapons. It includes stockpile surveillance, experimental research, development and engineering programs, and an appropriately scaled production capability to support stockpile requirements. This integrated national program will require the continued use of current facilities and programs along with new experimental facilities and computational enhancements to support these programs. The Advanced Simulation and Computing program (ASC) is a cornerstone of the SSP, providing simulation capabilities and computational resources to support the annual stockpile assessment and certification, to study advanced nuclear weapon design and manufacturing ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The total hemispherical emittance of an oxide film that formed on 6061-T6 aluminium alloy parts in the Tower Shielding Reactor-II at Oak Ridge National Laboratory was measured from 295 to 773 K using an emissometer and/or a calorimeter. The emittance of this film was critically needed for heat transfer calculations in a simulated loss-of-coolant accident of the reactor. X-ray diffraction analysis identified the film as boehmite (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} {times} H{sub 2}O), which dehydrated to alumina (Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}) upon heating above 473 K. The measured emittances for the alumina film are in excellent agreement with published values for anodized aluminum films and for bulk alumina. Published values of the emittance of boehmite could not be found for comparison, but evidence is presented that some anodization processes for aluminum yield boehmite and not alumina films.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-@b) has a crucial role in the differentiation of ectodermal cells to neural or epidermal precursors. TGF-@b and bone morphogenetic protein molecules (BMPs) are involved in many developmental processes, including cell proliferation and differentiation, apoptosis, mitotic arrest and intercellular interactions during morphogenesis. Additionally, the failure of central thymic tolerance mechanisms, leading to T cells with a skewed autoreactive response, is being described as a contributor in inflammatory processes in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Since TGF-@b and BMP proteins are crucial for the development of the neural system and the thymus, as well as for the differentiation of T cells, it is essential to further investigate their role i...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beta-C trademark is a metastable beta titanium alloy which can be heat treated to achieve a good combination of properties such as tensile strength, fatigue strength, ductility and toughness, such as needed in aircraft fasteners. Variations in hot and cold processing parameters and solution heat treatment can affect the resultant grain structure which in turn affects subsequent aging response and mechanical properties. Several processing/heat treating routes on round bar are explored in this study to determine the effects on microstructure and various mechanical properties.

CERN Document Server

Calcium (Ca) plays an important role in regulating various cellular processes. In a variety of cell types, Ca signaling occurs within microdomains where channels deliver localized pulses of Ca which activate a nearby collection of Ca-sensitive receptors. The small number of channels involved ensures that the signaling process is stochastic. The aggregate response of several thousand of these microdomains yields a whole-cell response which dictates the cell behavior. Here, we study analytically the statistical properties of a population of these microdomains in response to a trigger signal. We apply these results to understand the relationship between Ca influx and Ca release in cardiac cells. In this context, we use a first passage time approach to show analytically how Ca release in the whole cell depends on the single channel kinetics of Ca channels and the properties of ...

Wastenet

... Zinc-carbon/air and alkaline-manganese batteries can be reprocessed using a number of different methods, which include smelting and other thermal-metallurgical processes to ... Citron in France - thermal-metallurgical reprocessing primarily of zinc-carbon/air and alkaline-manganese (including older ones containing mercury), but also NiMH, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The results of a time-resolved study of the avalanche and streamer formation phases leading to breakdown in atmospheric nitrogen and dry air. Results of experiments and two-dimensional simulations are presented. It is shown what processes are responsible for the formation of a streamer. The trends of externally measured quantities correspond with those predicted by our model. 3 figs., 5 refs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, using the ANS low power and shutdown (LPSD) probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) Standard, evaluated the LPSD PSA model of the KSNP, Yonggwang Units 5 and 6, and identified the items to be improved. The evaluation results of human reliability analysis (HRA) of the post-accident human errors in the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP showed that 10 items among 19 items of supporting requirements for those in the ANS PRA Standard were identified as them to be improved. Thus, we newly carried out a HRA for post-accident human errors in the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP. Following tasks are the improvements in the HRA of post-accident human errors of the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP compared with the previous one: Interviews with operators in the interpretation of the procedure, modeling of operator actions, and the quantification results of human errors, site visit. Applications of limiting value to ...

CERN Document Server

The interaction energies between the different types of bases of a single strand of DNA molecule have been calculated. Using these original values of energies the harmonic behavior of a number of base patterns of DNA has been studied. In view of the great interest aroused by the discovery of the role of the telomere segment of the DNA in the replication process and its possible link with the aging process, we have investigated, with simple models, the harmonic behavior of the telomeric pattern of bases as well as the thermodynamic response in the biological system. With these results a conclusion on the probable role of the telomeric pattern on aging has also been drawn. Here the calculated values of harmonic frequencies of the telomeric pattern of bases and of other possible patterns show that the telomeric pattern is associated with the highest vibrational frequency among all patterns of base combinations at the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A lot of recent experimental results show that cladding failure limits to the RCCA ejection accident will be changed because of the impact of the high irradiation on the fuel rod behavior in the reactor. The maximal assembly discharge burnup in Daya Bay unit 1 and 2 will reach up to 52 GMd/tU with 18 month fuel cycle. It is necessary to perform the specific RCCA ejection accident analysis for the high burnup fuel assembly in order to evaluate the maximal enthalpy in the fuel rods. There is no definite design limit of maximal enthalpy for high burnup assembly during the RCCA ejection accident. One could perform the rod ejection accident analysis for the high burnup assemblies and compare the analytical results with the specific experimental results. The RCCA ejection accident analysis for the high burnup assemblies for Daya Bay NPS has been performed based on the conventional ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The immune system modulates many key biological processes in humans. However, the exact role of the immune system in particle-associated periprosthetic osteolysis is controversial. Human tissue retrieval studies, in vivo and in vitro experiments suggest that the immune response to polymer particles is non-specific and macrophage-mediated. Lymphocytes may modulate this response. However direct lymphocyte activation by polymer particle-protein complexes seems unlikely. However, metallic byproducts may complex with serum proteins and lead to a Type IV, lymphocyte-mediated immune reaction. In predisposed individuals, this reaction may rarely lead to persistent painful joint effusions, necessitating debridement and excision of the bearing surfaces of the prosthesis. In these patients, retrieved...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The primary responsibility of the Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory is to provide comprehensive occupational health and safety programs, waste processing, and environment protection. These activities are designed to protect the worker, the public, and the environment. Many disciplines are required to meet the responsibilities, including radiation protection, industrial hygiene, safety, occupational medicine, environmental science, epidemiology, and waste management. New and challenging health and safety problems arise occasionally from the diverse research and development work of the Laboratory. Research programs in HSE Division often stem from these applied needs. These programs continue but are also extended, as needed to study specific problems for the Department of Energy and to help develop better occupational health and safety practices.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In the food, chemical and safety industry there is a demand for gas detectors for process control applications, like quality control of food or leakage control in chemical plants. Gas sensor array systems have the potential to be used in this areas, with the advantage of being also affordable systems compared to other systems like gaschromatographs (GC) or infrared detectors (NIR, FTIR). One of the main drawbacks of the gas sensors is their response to non interesting ambient factors like temperature, pressure and humidity. Metal oxide sensors (MOS) have a low ambient temperature and pressure dependency. Some of them (SnO + dopands) have some sensitivity to humidity. In many cases the response of the sensors is often non-linear, which implies a concentration dependant pattern of the samples. (orig.)

Science.gov (United States)

The potential public safety impacts from accidents in conceptual fusion power plants were investigated. Fusion was found to have some potential for accidents, as does any energy generating system. Functions of fusion power plants were identified that possess sufficient potential for an accidental release of toxic materials to the environment. An assessment was made of the impact of the potential accidents and recommendations are included for R and D that will allow incorporation of safety concerns in fusion power plant design. This work was based on a review of information available in conceptual design documents of fusion reactor systems.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Death as a criterion (age distribution of occupational death; mean loss of life years due to radiation deaths); accidents at work (incidence of accidents of certain degrees of severity); total loss of working days due to accidents; occupational diseases; somatic and genetic radiation effects; radiation effects during pregnancy (incidence of pregnancies, ristes before implantation, hazards to the embryo, hazards to the foetus, total additional risk due to radiation exposure during pregnancy); age and sex dependence of risk figures; attempted formulation of an index of harm. (HP/orig.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The development of attenuated response ({open_quotes}tolerance{close_quotes}) to daily ozone (O{sub 3}) exposures in the laboratory is well established in healthy adult volunteers. However, the capability of asthmatics to develop tolerance during multiday ozone exposures in unclear. We exposed 10 adult volunteers with mild asthma to 0.4 ppm O{sub 3} in filtered air for 3 h/d on 5 consecutive d. Two similar filtered-air exposures during the preceding week served as controls. Follow-up O{sub 3} exposures were performed 4 and 7 d after the most recent consecutive exposure. All exposures were performed in an environmental chamber at 31 {degrees}C and 35% relative humidity. The subjects performed moderate exercise (mean ventilation rate of 32 l/min) for 15 min of each half-hour. Responses were measured with spirometry and symptom evaluations before and after each exposure, and a bronchial reactivity test (methacholine challenge) was conducted after ...

Science.gov (United States)

A series of radioactive catastrophes (from 1948 to 1967) in the Southern Urals in the USSR led to intensive environmental contamination. Radioactive wastes were dispersed over the 20000 km(2) territory of four provinces-Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen' and Kurgan-due to the activity of the military facility that was built in 1948 for the production of nuclear bomb plutonium. The results of 50 years of investigations into the consequences of these disasters allow a general picture of the events that occurred to be reconstructed and allow the medical consequences of the irradiation of about half a million residents to be depicted. However, due to the atmosphere of secrecy and inadequate medical procedures, the results of medical studies of radiation victims are scant. The current protocols present a unique opportunity to study the DNA damage at the nucleotide resolution level in the genome of inhabitants of the given region, who presumably received chronic doses of irradiation. Studies ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This project is to provide the regulatory direction of containment bypass during multiple steam generator tube failure issue for the Korean Next Generation Reactors, which is a part of major technical issues resulted from the safety regulation R and D on the KNGR. The outstanding results are as follows : the Multiple Steam Generator Tube Repture(MSGTR) event has never been occurred in the history of commercial nuclear reactor operation but single Steam Generator Tube Rupture(SGTR) event is reported to occur every two years. A probabilistic safety analysis study on MSGTR event, however, show its probability of occurrence is to be the same order as the design basis accidents such as LACA. In this regard, the ability of NPPs to cope with MSGTR event is required. Some requirements on initial and boundary conditions are suggested to be used in the analyses of NPPs during MSGTR events. The items that should be considered in establishing regulatory requirements are ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

This paper attempts to clarify the most common measures available for the fire and electrical engineer in the prevention of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) hazards. It points out the risks and the potential...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

... Except for isolated radiation accidents over the ensuing years, little practical experience has been gained in the treatment of thermal injuries ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

During a high speed road traffic accident, a 26-year-old man suffered multiple fractures of his thoracic vertebrae and bilateral pneumothoraces. The day after admission and commencement of nasogastric...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, using the ANS Low Power /Shutdown (LPSD)PRA Standard, evaluated the LPSD PSA model of the KSNP, Younggwang (YGN) Units 5 and 6, and identified the items to be improved. The evaluation results of human reliability analysis (HRA) of the pre-accident human errors in the LPSD PSA model of the KSNP showed that 13 items among 15 items of supporting requirements for those in the ANS PRA Standard were identified as them to be improved. Thus, we newly carried out a HRA for pre-accident human errors in the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP to improve its quality. We considered potential pre-accident human errors for all manual valves and control/instrumentation equipment of the systems modeled in the KSNP LPSD PSA model except reactor protection system/ engineering safety features actuation system. We reviewed 160 manual valves and 56 control/instrumentation equipment. The number of newly identified ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A computer controlled digital system, Fuji Computed Radiography (FCR) is capable of providing more stable output image than conventional screen/film system. So FCR would be an ideal system for the detection of pneumoconiosis due to the constant high quality of the output films. We tried to find the optimum image processing to compensate the small size (1/2 in length of a full-size radiograph) of the output image of digital radiography. The best result for FCR was given with gamma 0.85 and 0.30 enhancement of response at spatial frequency of 0.085 cycle/mm. On the other hand, the digitally processed FCR size ILO standard films, the characteristics of which is different from FCR output films, proved to be most preferable when the image processing is made with gamma 0.85 and 0.25 enhancement at spacial frequency of 0.17 cycle/mm. If the above mentioned image processings are adopted, ...

Science.gov (United States)

Aminated poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membranes were prepared that had a Nernstian response over a wide range of pH. The reaction between PVC and methyl-piperazine (MePIP) in dimethylformamide (DMF) was studied over a wide range of time and temperature, and in the presence of the catalyst, potassium fluoride (KF). Time, temperature, and KF increased the nitrogen (N) content of the resulting polymers, but sometimes at the expense of decreasing their specific viscosities (molecular weights). Activation energies of processes that occurred in different temperature ranges were estimated assuming an Arrhenius relationship. A Nernstian response occurred once the N content approached to about 0.3 w/w %, and was accelerated by the presence of KF at elevated temperatures. Increasing the N content above about 3% led to a loss of the Nernstian response either because of an increase in the double bond content and a ...

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

The aim of the present study was to test a mathematical model of the biochemical processes in the parathyroid glands responsible for the secretion of parathyroid hormone resulting from extracellular calcium reduction. A double exponential curve described the parathyroid hormone secretion induced by rapid lowering of blood-ionized calcium in humans with normal as well as abnormal parathyroid tissue. Our data show that it was possible to establish a simple mathematical model of the parathyroid hormone response to blood-ionized calcium lowering, sufficient to fit experimental data obtained from patients with abnormal and normal parathyroid tissue. The fitted parameters showed no significant differences between patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and controls. In primary hyperparathyroidism, the parathyroid hormone production and steady-state transport across the cell membrane were increased, probably due to the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Customized reference tubes reduced sensitivity discrepancies able to be observed from one probe to the other, due to the gain setting adjustment required for a pre-definite level in amplitude response of the artificial notch. The use of a reference circuit in place of a reference part, makes characterization of the probe matched to its generator more accurate: - the material dependence is cancelled during the compensation process, - the reference signal can be adjusted more accurately in amplitude and phase response, - the manufacturing cost is reduced compared to the one necessary for machining the reference part, - the amplitude and phase response of the reference circuit can be simply modelled by using the transformer relations, such as one can appreciate the variations of the probe definition parameters and its connexion to the generator, and makes them optimal for use. The method proposed by ALSTOM ...

Science.gov (United States)

Two hazard risk assessment matrices for the ranking of occupational health risks are described. The qualitative matrix uses qualitative measures of probability and consequence to determine risk assessment codes for hazard-disease combinations. A walk-through survey of an underground metalliferous mine and concentrator is used to demonstrate how the qualitative matrix can be applied to determine priorities for the control of occupational health hazards. The semi-quantitative matrix uses attributable risk as a quantitative measure of probability and uses qualitative measures of consequence. A practical application of this matrix is the determination of occupational health priorities using existing epidemiological studies. Calculated attributable risks from epidemiological studies of hazard-disease combinations in mining and minerals processing are used as examples. These historic response data do not reflect the risks associated with current ...

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Following the Chernobyl accident of April 1986, there has been a continual increase in the numbers of reported cases of childhood thyroid carcinoma. An EC-supported consortium to study the pathology and molecular biology of the thyroid cancers is being coordinated from the University of Cambridge. This paper reports the findings of this study so far, together with its recommendations for further studies. (author).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In Aug 2002, the National Nuclear Safety Administration of China issued the policy statement for building new nuclear power plants, which requires the probability based safety goal of severe core damage must be lower than 10"-"5/a. The station blackout accident would be possible to cause a severe accident if there were no effective engineering measures to prevent or mitigate the consequences of the accident. By using MELCOR1.8.5 and KORIGEN codes, the present paper has simulated the station blackout accident for Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant and calculated the source term and radioactivity of main fission products in the containment in the late phase of the accident. CsI is found the main part of aerosol in the containment. The Xe133 and Xe133m start releasing from the containment after its failure, and the upper limit of the amount of released radioactivity is evaluated less than ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The volume contains reports on plant technology, on systems organisation with the aim to minimize the risk (human error), on the problem of seismic risk, on core-disruptive accidents and on accident consequence models with different release categories and a comparison of the potential damage incurred. Mr. Webb; one of the authors, attempts to disprove the objections to his two earliest SNR statements by experts of Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Centre. (AK).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Requirements and guidance are provided for a quality assurance program for the design of nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities involving structures, systems and components whose satisfactory performance is required to prevent accidents that could cause undue risk to the health and safety of the public, or to mitigate the consequences of such accidents if they were to occur. The standard is to be used in conjunction with ANSI N46.2.

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The management procedure of a large PRISE (Primary-to-Secondary) leakage accident at Loviisa nuclear power plant taking into account the plant modifications which are expected to be realized during 1995-96 is described. The management procedure has been validated by performing thermal hydraulic analyses with the computer code RELAP5/MOD3 and the results from these analyses are also shortly discussed. (4 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.).

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We report for the first time a case of a 54 years old man with a fatal motorcycle accident due to an external bleeding compression of left internal mammary artery graft to the left anterior descending...Full Text Available

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The objectives of this project to interface the site-specific real-time radiological dose assessment system FADAS(Following Accident Dose Assessment System) to CARE. In this study, the results of the field tracer experiments conducted on the Younggwang site have been analysed. And the experimental procedure on Ulchin site has been introduced. The environmental characteristics on Ulchin and Wolsung has been investigated.

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Current projections of the response of the biosphere to global climatic change indicate as much as 50% to 90% spatial displacement of extratropical biomes. The mechanism of spatial shift could be dominated by either (1) competitive displacement of northern biomes by southern biomes, or (2) drought-induced dieback of areas susceptible to change. The current suite of global biosphere models cannot distinguish between these two processes, thus determining the need for a mechanistically based biome model. The model is in an early stage of development and will require several enhancements, including explicit simulation of potential evapotranspiration, extension to boreal and tropical biomes, a shift from steady-state to transient dynamics, and validation on other continents.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This report has been prepared in support of the industry effort to standardize nuclear plant designs. This document describes the Combustion Engineering, Inc. System 80+trademark Standard Design. This volume contain Chapter 18 -- Human Factors Engineering. Topics covered include: design team organization and responsibilities; design goals and design bases; design process and application to human factors engineering; functional task analysis; control room configuration; information presentation and panel layout evaluation; control and monitoring outside the main control room; and verification and validation.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

SP-700, an emerging #beta#-rich #alpha#+#beta# titanium alloy, is designed to improve superplastic formability as well as mechanical properties over Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Owing to its fine microstructure and low #beta#-transus temperature, it is superplastic-formable at temperature below 1,073K (800 C) with low flow stress. Remarkable workability of this alloy is also retained in conventional Manufacturing processes. Another advantage of SP-700 is heat treatment response which includes deep hardenability and quick aging kinetics. Corrosion resistance and machinability are equivalent to or better than Ti-6Al-4V alloy.

Science.gov (United States)

This investigation concerns the nonlinear dynamics of heat transfer from a surface using an upstream eddy promoter. A numerical model is developed for the coupled fluid flow and heat transfer process based on a modified MacCormack scheme. Numerical simulations are carried out to determine the response and heat transfer enhancement due to the promoter. The average heat transfer from a cavity floor is seen to be increased by a factor of approximately five over the unpromoted'' flow. Another interesting feature of the study is the nonlinear viscous flow dynamics from the cylinder-wall interaction which differ significantly from the familiar cylinder-free stream patterns.

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Economic depreciation of similar cost recovery schemes delay cash return of investment. Such delay may require new types of securities. Due to uncertainty of regulatory action and technology over the prolonged recovery life of the projects, investors may require a higher return, thereby raising the cost of capital. Utility managements might eschew long lived investment, too, even if cost effective to the consumer. Alternatives exist that would approximate the price signals of economic depreciation without discouraging investment. The importance of upfront returns to the investment process should not be minimized. 2 figs., 3 refs. (AV)

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The use of reversible pump/turbine sets in pumped storage has created a requirement for rapid reversibility. Softstart technology, based on static frequency converters (SFC) has evolved to such an extent that it is now the best choice for serving this purpose, both from a technical and from an economic point of view. The objective of our paper is to give the owners of pumped storage plants and those persons responsible for the selection, the operation or the maintenance of the electrical equipment the necessary insight into the SFC functions, features and all other application related aspects, to facilitate their decision making process. Case studies are included.

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Full text of publication follows: A porous media solution PORFLO has been developed for the 3-dimensional two-phase flow by describing the process facility in Cartesian or cylindrical coordinates. The local porosity fraction is applied for distinguishing the fluid filled volumes from the solid structures. The solid structure contribute the two-phase flow through the wall friction, flow area and heat transfer. Optionally the solid structure may contain primary liquid of steam generators, steam in the higher temperature and pressure to be condensed or electrical heating power. By using these optional boundary conditions three different process facilities have been analysed. The thermohydraulic solution based on 5-equation approach, where the conservation equations are solved for the liquid and gas (vapour) mass, mixture momentum (giving the velocity only for the mixture), liquid and gas energy, is described shortly. In addition to that the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Traditionally, probabilistic risk analyses [PRA] of severe accidents in nuclear power plants have limited themselves to consideration of the set of initiating events occurring during full power operation. However, some analyses of accident initiators during low power, shutdown, and other modes of plant operation other than full power have been performed. These studies as well as the Chernobyl accident and recent operating experience at U.S. pressurized water reactors suggested that risks during low power and shutdown could be significant. As such, the analysis of the frequencies, consequences, and risks of these accidents was identified as one task in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff's study of the implications of the Chernobyl accident to U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. The surry PRA project is an ongoing high priority effort at BNL [Brookhaven National Laboratory] ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The leakage behavior of containments beyond design conditions and knowledge of failure modes is required for evaluation of mitigation strategies for severe accidents, risk studies, emergency preparedness planning, and siting. These studies are directed towards assessing the risk and consequences of severe accidents. An accident sequence analysis conducted on a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR), Mark I (MK I), indicated very high temperatures in the dry-well region, which is the location of the majority of electrical penetration assemblies. Because of the high temperatures, it was postulated in the ORNL study that the sealants would fail and all the electrical penetration assemblies would leak before structural failure would occur. Since other containments had similar electrical penetration assemblies, it was concluded that all containments would experience the same type of failure. The results of this study, however, show that ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Full text: In heavy-water-moderated power reactors, tritium is primarily produced by neutron capture in deuterium nuclei in the moderator and coolant. For CANDU 6 reactors, the estimated steady-state values are #approx# 3 TBq#centre dot#kg"-"1 D_2O in the moderator and #approx# 74 GBq#centre dot#kg"-"1 D_2O in the coolant. Tritium removal is one option available to reactor operators for use in their heavy water and tritium management strategies. The WTRF is designed to remove tritium from tritiated heavy water in each of the four CANDU units at the Wolsung Site, to immobilize the tritium and to store it on site. The detritiation process is based on three steps: the first one (front-end) involves the transfer of tritium from heavy water to deuterium gas; the second one (enrichment) concentrates the tritium in a cryogenic distillation system to produce essentially pure D_2 and T_2 streams; and in the third step the tritium is packaged for long-term storage. The WTRF ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The production of ozone in a negative corona discharge fed by carbon dioxide with embedded traces of oxygen and water has been studied. The presence of traces of oxygen in both pure and dry CO_2 leads to an increase in nascent ozone concentrations. In contrast, traces of water vapour (0-800 ppm) are shown to rapidly suppress ozone concentrations with the largest decreases being observed at lowest gas pressures in the discharge (300 Torr). The presence of water vapour did not considerably affect the electrical properties of negative dc corona suggesting that a chemical process is responsible for the ozone loss. We have shown that the addition of water up to a concentration of 1500 ppm has only a marginal effect on the processes of ozone formation but the catalytic cycle of ozone destruction involving OH radicals can be the reason for observed decrease in the total ozone concentration with increasing water concentration.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Summary Status epilepticus or other brain-damaging insults launch a cascade of events that may lead to the development of epilepsy. MRI techniques available today, including T2- and T1-weighted imaging, functional MRI, manganese enhanced MRI (MEMRI), arterial spin labeling (ASL), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and phase imaging, can detect not only damage caused by status epilepticus but also plastic changes in the brain that occur in response to damage. Optimal balance between damage and recovery processes is a key for planning possible treatments, and noninvasive imaging has the potential to greatly facilitate this process and to make personalized treatment plans possible.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In evaluating the risk associated with low levels of exposure to toxicants, it is clear that DNA repair, one of the main defenses against agent damage, is not a constant. It can be modified by age, time of day, and physiological state. Nutrition, especially caloric restriction (CR), can modify almost every step in the process of protecting genomic integrity. And history of exposure can modify DNA repair. Thus, the conditions of exposure are almost as important to toxicity as the exposure itself, even at the level of DNA repair. Extrapolation from high to low dose, to be consistent with what is known, should be less a mathematical exercise than an exercise in toxicological judgement, which puts the exposure in proper perspective. This appears to be true at almost every level in the process including a response with a toxic stimulus, even those thought to be very basic, such as DNA repair.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An overview of climatic factors and impact relative to river ice engineering and science is presented. An explanation of the fundamentals of climatic change is followed by a review of direct and indirect climatic influences that govern river ice breakup and related trends. Known responses of river ice to climatic change and potential future changes to ice breakup processes are described along with the probable ecological and socio-economic consequences of these changes. Changes in engineering approaches to accommodate the present ice regime and predicted changes in climatic variables that affect river ice processes and reduce the vulnerability of infrastructure and ecosystems to climatic change are examined. Future research on the links between river ice and stream ecology is suggested to identify ecological concerns that may result from changes in river ice regimes induced by climatic change. 60 refs., 3 figs.

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This paper discusses a database of information collected and organized during the past eight years from 2,000 producing oil wells in the United States, all of which have been treated with special applications techniques developed to improve the effectiveness of MEOR technology. The database, believed to be the first of its kind, has been generated for the purpose of statistically evaluating the effectiveness and economics of the MEOR process in a wide variety of oil reservoir environments, and is a tool that can be used to improve the predictability of treatment response. The information in the database has also been evaluated to determine which, if any, reservoir characteristics are dominant factors in determining the applicability of MEOR.

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An experimental rig was set up to study the performance of a thermal storage unit using stearic acid as the heat storage medium. The unit mainly consists of an electrical heating rod and an outer tube, and the space between is an annulus that is filled with stearic acid. The thermal performance of the unit is measured, and the heat transfer characteristics of the melting processes of stearic acid are studied under different heat flux conditions to determine the influence of heat flux on the melting processes. A new type of fin is designed and fixed to the electrical heating rod to enhance the thermal response of the stearic acid. The experimental results show that the fin can improve the heat transfer of the melting process of the thermal storage unit greatly. The equivalent thermal conductivity of the PCM can be augmented by a factor up to 3. The analysis of the experimental results shows that the ...

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Factors important in choosing between process concepts were mechanical complexity and amenability to scale-up studies. The culmination of this work was a process concept known as Staged Turbulent Bed Retorting Process (STB), which has now been tested in pilot plants. Operating conditions are described. The environment in the retort section can be described as a staged, moving bed of particles, in which a portion of the particles are fluidized at gas velocities well below minimum fluidization velocity of many of the particles. Research and engineering evaluations have established that the STB provides prospects for the responsible development of oil shale resources on a commercial scale. A 320 ton/d semiworks unit, the next technological step, will be commissioned shortly. This unit will be large enough to provide scale-up data for design of modules and to demonstrate the entire ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, using the ASME PRA Standard, evaluated the PSA model of the Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plant (KSNP) and identified the items to be improved to enhance its quality. The new risk monitor PSA model for the KSNP of which quality was enhanced is called as PRiME-U3i. The evaluation results of human reliability analysis (HRA) of the post-accident human errors in the PSA model of the KSNP showed that 10 items among 19 items of supporting requirements for those in the ASME PRA Standard were identified as them to be improved. Thus, we newly carried out a HRA for post-accident human errors for the KSNP PSA model as the target of grading its quality above ASME PRA Standard Category I+. Following tasks were additionally major tasks performed in the HRA of post-accident human errors of PRiME-U3i compared with the previous PSA model of the KSNP: interviews with operators in the collection and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Characteristics of basal and insulin-stimulated glucose utilization by perifused adipocytes have been investigated by measuring the formation of "3HOH from D-(5-"3H) glucose. At a glucose concentration of 0.55 mmol/L, basal glucose utilization ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 nmol/min/10(6) cells. Perifused adipocytes showed a maximal response to insulin of a threefold to fourfold increase in the conversion of (5-"3H) glucose to "3HOH with a half-maximal response at an insulin concentration of 20 microU/mL. The response to insulin was blocked by phlorizin and cytochalasin B, competitive inhibitors of glucose transport, consistent with an effect of insulin on glucose transport. Insulin increased the Vmax for glucose metabolism but had no effect on the apparent affinity for glucose utilization. The characteristics of glucose utilization and the stimulation of glucose metabolism by insulin in the perifused adipocyte are therefore ...

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Aim: To determine whether experience improves the consistency of visual search behaviour in fracture identification in plain radiographs, and the effect of specialization. Material and methods: Twenty-five observers consisting of consultant radiologists, consultant orthopaedic surgeons, orthopaedic specialist registrars, orthopaedic senior house officers, and accident and emergency senior house officers examined 33 skeletal radiographs (shoulder, hand, and knee). Eye movement data were collected using a Tobii 1750 eye tracker with levels of diagnostic confidence collected simultaneously. Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence and Gaussian mixture model fitting of fixation distance-to-fracture were used to calculate the consistency and the relationship between discovery and reflective visual search phases among different observer groups. Results: Total time spent studying the radiograph was not significantly different between the groups. However, the expert groups had a ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

During the last years one focus of German PWR safety analysis was boron dilution events with the potential of reactivity transients. Coolant with a low boron concentration could be collected in localized areas of the reactor coolant system e.g. by separation of borated reactor coolant into highly concentrated and diluted fractions (inherent dilution) which can occur during reflux- condenser heat transfer after a small break loss of coolant accident with a limited availability of the emergency core cooling systems. The TUeV NORD SysTec was charged by German supervisory authorities with the assessment of the safety analyses of boron dilution events presented by the utilities. These analyses are based on the simulation of boron dilution and transport processes in conjunction with a number of dedicated experiments. The analyses shall demonstrate that boron dilution events cannot lead to recriticality of the core. Hence the boron concentration at ...

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The AVR experimental nuclear reactor was Professor Dr. Rudolf Schulten's brainchild. Visionary ideas led to the success of this technology: - Helium coolant because of the particularly high heat transfer coefficients; - an integrated primary system reactor concept as the basis of all safety considerations in the interest of maximum safety; - uranium-235 and thorium-232 fuel allowing new fuel to be bred; - high temperatures for electricity generation at maximum thermodynamic efficiencies, i.e. optimum fuel utilization; - the possibility to run chemical processes economically at high temperatures by means of nuclear fuels; - the inherent safety of the reactor, for a major accident accompanied by a complete loss of cooling cannot occur for nuclear physics reasons, as was tested twice in the AVR. The AVR attained its first criticality on August 28, 1968. It was operated for more than 20 years, until December 31, 1988, at approximately 67% ...

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The Phase I feasibility study has focused on determining the availability of information for estimating exposures of the public to chemicals and radionuclides released as a result of historical operation of the facilities at the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). The estimation of such past exposures is frequently called dose reconstruction. The initial project tasks, Tasks 1 and 2 were designed to identify and collect information that documents the history of activities at the ORR that resulted in the release of contamination and to characterize the availability of data that could be used to estimate the magnitude of the contaminant releases or public exposures. A history of operations that are likely to have generated off-site releases has been documented as a result of Task 1 activities. The activities required to perform this task involved the extensive review of historical operation records and interviews with present and past employees as well as other knowledgeable individuals. The ...

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Molybdenum is an essential element for living organisms. Moreover its radionuclides may represent an incorporation risk for members of the public and/or radiation workers after a nuclear accident or a release of radioactive materials. However, only few reliable data on Mo biokinetics in humans were available. The results of recent tracer kinetic investigations with stable isotopes have shown several differences from the ICRP data with regard to the processes of intestinal absorption and of excretion. As a consequence, the dose coefficients calculated with a revised biokinetic model deviate from the ICRP estimates. By ingestion of {sup 99}Mo radionuclides with solid food, for example, the dose to the colon may be higher of a factor up to 1 order of magnitude, due to the fraction of non-absorbed material which traverses the gastro-intestinal tract. (orig.) [Deutsch] Molybdaen ist einerseits ein fuer Lebewesen essentielles Spurenelement, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stable boiloff of core water during a severe LWR accident, that is, boiloff driven only by the decay power generated below the water level, is tractable analytically and is relatively insensitive to axial power distribution. As might be expected, calculated accident event times are sensitive to the fidelity of the decay power model. During later stages of boiloff, heat transfer or transport of energy from above the water level to the residual water can result in an unstable condition during which the boiloff rate increases greatly. The unstable boiloff phenomenon illustrates the highly nonlinear influence of core heat transfer during meltdown and emphasizes the great accuracy requirements which attend the modeling of the accident during periods of enhanced heat transfer when significant zirconium oxidation is possible.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract:- Two motorcycle riders lost control of their vehicle, fell, and hit a guardrail, which acted as a blade and led to a rapid, fatal outcome. In one case, the high velocity of the body at the time of the impact resulted in complete detachment of the trunk. Reconstruction of the accident dynamics enabled the guardrail post to be identified as the means of injury in both cases. The two accidents occurred over a short period of time, highlighting a dangerous phenomenon that in less severe cases is presumably associated with different degrees of survivor disability. The accidents deserve mention, because a different design of the impact surface of the guardrail post might have prevented the lethal outcome. There is an urgent need for legislators to pass regulations that modify crash bar...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

SAMPSON is an integration of twelve analysis modules under the final development phase (phase-2) and will be capable of simulating hypothesized severe accidents in a nuclear power plant. One of these modules, the Molten Core Relocation Analysis (MCRA) module, simulates the relocation behavior of a molten core during a severe accident. MCRA models severe accident phenomena by using mechanistic formulations for multi-phase, multi-component, and multi-velocity field. As one of the verification studies of SAMPSON in Phase-1, the in-core phenomena of PHEBUS/FPT0 was analyzed with three modules, MCRA, fuel rod heat up analysis (FRHA) module, and the analysis control module (ACM) of SAMPSON. (author)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In view of the persisting and understandable fear of parents with regard to radioactivity in the food of their babies as a consequence of the Chernobyl reactor accident, the Commission on Nutrition of the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Kinderheilkunde (German Society of Pediatrics) and the Strahlenschutzkommission have published a statement. According to this statement, the maximum permissible level of radioactivity in commercial baby food has been fixed by the EC to be 370 Bq/kg. The dietetic food industry itself has fixed a maximum for its products which is only a tenth of the radioactivity level permitted by the EC directive. The milk powders for infants tested since the reactor accident contained no measurable radioactivity or only very low amounts of Cs 134 or Cs 137, correspondung to a maximum of 25 Bq/kg in the product. Late damage to health is not to be expected. (orig./ECB).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Based on the practical condition of the plant and in reference to advanced management experiences worldwide, Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant has established its own peculiar management system for radiation protection management and ALARA implementation. The characteristics of the system are: radiation protection training to all workers, active involvement of all managers and staffs, and whole process safety control to maintenance activities. The management philosophy of 'workers are responsible for their own radiation safety' is adopted in the plant. A strict, formalized and systematic whole staff radiation protection training, evaluation, authorization and periodically refreshing mechanism had been established and executed in the plant. In the organizational point of view, the responsibilities of line managers were specified in plant procedures, ALARA coordination organization on plant level and for specific activities were ...

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Full text of publication follows: During calculations of SAR accidents and transients it is necessary to perform steam generator simulation. Best accuracy is 3D transient calculations presented in report. Main outcomes of work was next: 1. There was shown by analysis the applicability of code TRAC (Los-Alamos laboratory) for thermal - hydraulic calculations of horizontal steam generator PGV-1000M. Special nodalization scheme was developed for it purposes. 2. Validation and selection of thermal-hydraulic correlations for improvement of using the code at calculation PGV-1000M were performed. As result Labuntsov formula is recommended for horizontal SG. 3. Calculations of nominal mode operation of PGV-1000M for cross-verification with code STEG (Electrogorsk Research and Engineering Center EREC) during its verification were performed. Solution by TRAC was obtained for transient problem after stabilization time. 4. Development of dynamic SG model as conjugate problem ...

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This report contains the results of the Photovoltaic (PV) Industry Manufacturing Technology Assessment performed by the Automation and Robotics Research Institute (ARRI) of the University of Texas at Arlington for the National Renewable Energy laboratory. ARRI surveyed eleven companies to determine their state-of-manufacturing in the areas of engineering design, operations management, manufacturing technology, equipment maintenance, quality management, and plant conditions. Interviews with company personnel and plant tours at each of the facilities were conducted and the information compiled. The report is divided into two main segments. The first part of the report presents how the industry as a whole conforms to ``World Class`` manufacturing practices. Conclusions are drawn from the results of a survey as to the areas that the PV industry can improve on to become more competitive in the industry and World Class. Appendix A contains the questions asked in the survey, a brief ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The role of intermediate products of dioxygen reduction in cytotoxic effects ascribed to oxygen molecules was studied in vivo using various yeast mutants with changed response to oxygen stress. It has been documented that superoxide radical exerts its deleterious effects on yeast cells directly and the role of other oxygen species derived from it is hardly detectable. Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, however, cannot be considered as a typical eukaryotic organism due to its inability of synthesizing polyunsaturated fatty acids (pufa). These fatty acids are known as main target molecules during oxidative stress and their peroxidation leads to cytotoxic effects. As fatty acid content could be easily manipulated in yeast, this organism was used to evaluate the contribution of pufa peroxidation process to the cytotoxic effects of oxygen. Results obtained show, that yeast cells containing linolenic acid as the main constituent of phospholipids are ...

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Energy and exergy studies were conducted in an orange juice manufacturing industry in Nigeria to determine the energy consumption pattern and methods of energy optimization in the company. An adaptation of the process analysis method of energy accounting was used to evaluate the energy requirement for each of the eight defined unit operations. The types of energy used in the manufacturing of orange juice were electrical, steam and manual with the respective proportions of 18.51%, 80.91% and 0.58% of the total energy. It was estimated that an average energy intensity of 1.12 MJ/kg was required for the manufacturing of orange juice. The most energy intensive operation was identified as the pasteurizer followed by packaging unit with energy intensities of 0.932 and 0.119 MJ/kg, respectively. The exergy analysis revealed that the pasteurizer was responsible for most of the inefficiency (over 90%) followed by packaging (6.60%). It was suggested that ...

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The synovial and bone uptake of tracer in the knees of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was quantified using {sup 99}Tc{sup m}-hexamethyl propylene amine oxime-labelled leucocytes and {sup 99}Tc{sup m}-methylene diphosphonate (MDP), respectively. Significant neutrophil migration and MDP uptake occurred in the knees of patients with RA irrespective of the disease duration. In all but one patient neutrophil migration was reduced after intra-articular steroid injection. The change in MDP uptake after steroid injection was variable. There was a significant correlation between the percentage reduction in neutrophil migration and pain score, while the latter correlated poorly with the change in MDP uptake. The quantification of the neutrophil component of the inflammatory process is a sensitive index for monitoring RA activity and response to pharmacological interventions, while quantitative bone scintigraphy should not be employed to monitor ...

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The goal of the railplug project is to commercialize this miniaturized railgun as an engine technology as rapidly as possible. To improve the technology transfer process, a board of industrial advisors was established. A list of representatives is included at the end of this annual report. The Railplug External Advisory Board (REAB) met in Austin on March 17--18, 1991 to discuss the project plan. A list of comments from the REAB is included at the end of this progress report, along with our written response to those comments. An alternate ``first`` meeting with some representatives of the REAB was held on July 9, 1991. This meeting was attended by most of the board members who were unable to attend the first meeting. The second meeting of the REAB was held in Toronto, Canada, on October 10, 1991. A list of the board members comments from this meeting is included at the end of this report, along with our written response to ...

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The two-compartment radioassay for microbial kinetics based on continuous measurement of the {sup 14}CO{sub 2} released by bacterial metabolism of 14C-labeled substrate offers a valuable approach to testing the potency of antimicrobial drugs. By using a previously validated radioassay with gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, a group of protein synthesis inhibitors was evaluated for their effect on microbial growth kinetics. All tested drugs induced changes in both the slopes and intercepts of the growth curves. An exponential growth model was applied to quantify the drug effect on the processes of bacterial {sup 14}CO{sub 2} liberation and cell generation. The response was measured in terms of a generation rate constant. A linear dependence of the generation rate constant on the dose of spectinomycin was observed with Escherichia coli. Sigmoidal-shaped curves were found in the assays of chloramphenicol and tetracycline. The implications ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A solar water splitting cell composed of WO3, Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) and Pt was constructed for producing hydrogen from deionized water in sunlight. Spectral responsivity measurements under various temperatures and bias voltages were conducted for the cell using the Incident Photon to Current Efficiency (IPCE) method. For comparison, a known WO3 Photo Electro Chemical (PEC) cell containing H3PO4 electrolyte, WO3/H3PO4/Pt, was tested using the same test method. The WO3/PEM-H2O/Pt cell showed better Quantum Efficiency (QE) performance compared to that obtained from the cell with the chemical electrolyte. For the first time, spectral responsivity of photo water splitting process without bias power was unveiled in the new WO3 cell, demonstrating the self-sustained photo electrolysi...

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The working hypothesis of the research was that the soil of boreal forests is a large carbon store and the amount of C is still increasing in young soils, like in the forest soils of Finland, which makes these soils important sinks for atmospheric CO{sub 2}. Since the processes defining the soil C balance, primary production of plants and decomposition, are dependent on environmental factors and site properties, it was assumed that the organic carbon pool in the soil is also dependent on the same factors. The soil C store is therefore likely to change in response to climatic warming. The aim of this research was to estimate the C balance of forest soil in Finland and predict changes in the balance in response to changes in climatic conditions. To achieve the aim (1) intensive empirical experimentation on the density of C in different pools in the soil and on fluxes between the pools was done was done, (2) the effect of site ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anomalous fading of the feldspar infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signal hampers possibilities of using feldspar IRSL to obtain burial ages for sediments beyond the dating range of quartz optically stimulated luminescence. Here, we propose a new approach to quantify anomalous fading of the feldspar IRSL signal over geological burial times based on laboratory fading experiments. The approach builds on the description of the quantum mechanical tunnelling process recently proposed by Huntley [2006. An explanation of the power-law decay of luminescence. J. Phys. Condensed Matter 18, 1359-1365]. We show that our methods allow the construction of un-faded and natural IRSL dose-response curves as well as anomalous fading rates in field saturation. The predicted level of field saturation closely approximates the measured saturation level for five samples from fluvial deposits (Lower Rhine) known to be older than 1 Ma. The modelled anomalous ...

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PMID:19862292

KoreaScience (Korea)

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UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A patient is presented with a cervical spinal cord transection which occurred after a motor vehicle accident in which the air bag deployed and the seat belt was not in use. The patient had complete...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The motto of the U.S. Coast Guard, Semper Paratus (Always Ready), should resonate strongly with those of us in the health and safety business, because we must also be ready to deal with a variety of possible radiation accidents that could occur at any time.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundAlthough some previous studies have suggested that posttraumatic growth (PTG) is comprised of several factors with different properties, few have examined both the association...Full Text Available

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at 4:30 P.M. November 30, 2006 - NTSB Sends Investigators to Metro Accident in Alexandria, Virginia November 27, 2006 - (SB-06-67) John Clark Assumes New Scientific Post at...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This study examines some radiation accidents occurred in the past. This information has been systematically assessed to get global lessons. The experience feedback shows that the most of accidents happened in certain conditions. These conditions can be distributed in four categories: 1- perception and vigilance in occupation: accidental exposure happened by lack of vigilance in details and lack of vigilance and perception; 2- procedures: accidental exposure happened following a lack of procedures or control that were not enough complete, not enough documented or not completely implemented; 3- training and understanding: accidental exposures happened because the personnel was not enough qualified and educated, did not get the general training nor the the necessary specialized training; 4- liabilities: accidental exposures happened following lacks and ambiguity in the definition of functions of the personnel and in the hierarchy liabilities. In ...

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The Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) is a global partnership of business, civil society and government working for sustained reduction of road accidents in developing and transition countries. GRSP, which started operations in 1999, has a global secr...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The super simulator 'SAMPSON' has been developed to show that there exist certain safety margins for light water reactors under hypothetical severe accidents and to investigate realistic measures of accident management by simulating accidents with a parallel computer. Heat-up of fuel rods and release of fission products from fuels are important factors to evaluate source terms. Models for fuel rod heat-up, hydrogen production due to cladding oxidation and cladding deformation and failure in the core region have been developed in the fuel rod heat-up analysis module. Fuel temperatures were calculated by solving the heat conduction equation. The calculated results for fuel temperature and hydrogen production were compared with CORA-13 experiment results. The comparisons showed prediction capability for the heat-up of fuel rods. The fission product release analysis module incorporates with models for fission product transport ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundTraffic injuries can cause physical, psychological, and economical impairment, and affected individuals may also experience shortcomings in their post-accident care and...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The major feed-water line break accident is re-analyzed, which is based on Guangdong Daya Bay nuclear power station final safety analysis report, to justify the impacts of the decreasing of auxiliary feed-water flow rate on the safety margin in Daya Bay. The results showed that the accident analysis can meet the demands of acceptance criteria with the auxiliary feed-water flowrate decreasing from 45 m"3/h to 41.8 m"3/h, and enough safety margin is still retained

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An experimental technique is described which allows for parametric investigations of transient behavior of mobile core materials in a fuel bundle geometry. For the out-of-pile simulation of energy releases resulting from mild TOP- or LOF-accidents the exothermic reaction of an aluminium-oxide-thermite is used. Transient material relocation inside the test section is recorded by X-ray-cinematography. Results of some experiments recently performed close to conditions expected to be achieved during mild TOP-accidents are described in detail.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Within the APROS simulation environment we have built a thermo-hydraulic model of a conceptual fusion power plant which is water cooled and uses lithium-lead for tritium breeding. For the safety assessment of this design we have studied an accident sequence which starts from a loss or coolant flow then leads to first wall breach and pressurisation of the vacuum vessel. Simulations have revealed strong pressure transients which can be alleviated by design changes. One goal is to verify the adequacy of the containment design: it remains intact at least 14 h without any mitigating efforts. Estimates for radioactive releases are obtained. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This document contains the accident sequence analysis of internally initiated events for Grand Gulf, Unit 1 as it operates in the Low Power and Shutdown Plant Operational State 5 during a refueling outage. The report documents the methodology used during the analysis, describes the results from the application of the methodology, and compares the results with the results from two full power analyses performed on Grand Gulf.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A semi-mechanistic model for calculating solid radionuclide release rates from bubbling pools of sodium was developed. The influence of particle spacial and size distributions on the decontamination of the releases was analysed and found significant. Decontamination factors are shown as a function of pool depth, bubbling characteristics and particle size distribution. The calculation of a decontamination factor for estimating the source term of large scale hypothetical core disruptive accidents is presented. The decontamination factor for a large scale accident was found to be two orders of magnitude greater than results obtained from small scale experiments conducted with uniform particle distributions. (orig.).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Some of the Indian pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs) which use Stellite balls in the ball and screw mechanism of the adjustor rod drive mechanism in the moderator circuit have encountered high radiation fields in the moderator system due to "6"0Co. Release of particulate Stellite is responsible for the hotspots in addition to the general uniform contamination of internal surfaces with "6"0Co. Extensive laboratory studies have shown that it is possible to dissolve these Stellite particles by adopting a three-step redox process with permanganic acid as the oxidizing agent. These investigations with inactive Stellite in powder form helped to optimize the process conditions. Permanganic acid was found to have the highest dissolution efficiency as compared to alkaline and nitric acid permanganate. The susceptibility of Stellite to corrode or dissolve was found to depend on the concentration of the permanganate, pH and ...

Science.gov (United States)

This report describes the first phase of the AFS/DOE program on mathematical modeling of cupola behavior, covering the period May 19, 1989 to July 19, 1990. The objective of the program is to develop a comprehensive mathematical model of the cupola furnace for on-line and off-line process control and optimization. The work is being carried out by five organizations: Massachusetts Institute of Technology with responsibility for heat transfer and fluid flow modeling, and incorporation of the chemical models being developed by the University of Michigan team. Modern Equipment Company has the responsibility of compiling information on needed sensors for monitoring operation and providing materials data to be used for cupola input. General Motors, Central Foundry Division, is investigating the potential to augment the mathematical models with artificial intelligence programs. Lastly, General Motors Research laboratories are ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper contributes to an understanding of pharmacogenomics-in-the-making by foregrounding a regulatory setting in which these technologies must be situated: decision-making about pharmaceutical reimbursement. Health care assessment organizations have been introduced in many countries to systematically address the issue of health care coverage. Using the example of Sweden, the process of deciding reimbursement status is shown to hinge on the creation of stable and clinically feasible categories of patients, diseases and drug responses. Through a series of analogous examples concerning conventional pharmaceuticals, it is argued that current mechanisms for categorizing reimbursable drugs could be upset when pharmacogenomic advances provide a means of making patients more specific objects ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The thermoluminescence (TL) and emission of coloured RbCl and RbCl:Sn crystals are studied in the temperature range 300 to 560 K. The glow peaks responsible for F centres and tin centres in different valence states are identified using optical bleaching studies. The glow peaks are analysed using total curve fitting method and the kinetic parameters are determined. In moderately #gamma#-irradiated tin-doped RbCl crystals, the TL emission bands observed at 4.0, 3.6, and 2.2 eV are attributed to Sn"0, Sn"+, and Sn"- centers, respectively. A comprehensive energy level diagram depicting the various TL processes in these undoped and tin-doped RbCl crystals is proposed. (author).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A novel adhesive for carbon materials composed of phenol-formaldehyde resin, boron carbide and fumed silica, was prepared. The adhesive property of graphite joints bonded by the above adhesive treated at high-temperatures was tested. Results showed that the adhesive was found to have outstanding high-temperature bonding properties for graphite. The adhesive structure was dense and uniform even after the graphite joints were heat-treated at 1500 deg. C. Bonding strength was 17.1 MPa. The evolution of adhesive structure was investigated. The results indicated that the addition of the secondary additive, fumed silica, improved the bonding performance greatly. Borosilicate phase with better stability was formed during the heat-treatment process, and the volume shrinkage was restrained effectively, which was responsible for the satisfactory high-temperature bonding performance of graphite.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The goal of this three-year project was to improve the production systems in use by steel foundries in the United States. Improvements in the production systems result in less rework, less scrap, and less material handling, all of which would significantly reduce the energy demands of the process. Furthermore, these improvements would allow the companies to be more competitive, more responsive to customers' needs, deliver products with less lead time and require less capital. The ultimate result is a stronger domestic steel casting industry, which uses less energy. A major portion of this research involved the deployment of student researchers at steel foundries, to study their production systems and collect data.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A better understanding of the immune processes in the pathogenesis and progression of prostate cancer (CaP) may point the way towards improved treatment modalities. The challenge is to amplify immune responses to combat tumour escape mechanisms. Infection and inflammation may have a role in prostate carcinogenesis, including the newly discovered xenotropic murine leukaemia virus (XMRV). These inflammatory states damage defence mechanisms and induce a high proliferative state favouring further mutation and impaired immune surveillance. With this knowledge we are able to explore the use of immunotherapy to rejuvenate the immune system in combating CaP. Recently Sipuleucel-T, an immunotherapeutic agent for metastatic androgen independent CaP, has resulted in improved survival and might be the...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper presents a dynamic displacement influence line method for moving load identification on bridge. The finite element model of Poyang Lake continuous truss bridge-train systems is established and the dispersed modal shapes are acquired by modal analysis. Multi-axle moving train loads are identified with simulated annealing genetic algorithm by minimizing the errors between the measured displacements and the reconstructed displacements from the identified moving loads. In the identification process, the dynamic displacement influence line technique is used to calculate the time history displacement responses of the bridge to avoid solving equations of motion of the bridge repetitively. Several important parameters of the bridge-train system are discussed to investigate their effects...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Microgel-clay composite particles were prepared by one-step surfactant-free precipitation polymerization. Laponite nanoparticles present in the reaction mixture become encapsulated during the microgel formation process. Microgel-clay composites based on poly(N-vinylcaprolactam-co-acetoacetoxyethyl methacrylate) containing different amount of incorporated clay nanoparticles were synthesized. The clay content was varied from 2 wt% to 18 wt%. The extremely high incorporation efficiency of the clay nanoparticles into microgels was detected. The size of the hybrid microgels was decreased from 700 nm to 100 nm by increase of the clay concentration in the reaction mixture. Obtained hybrid microgels exhibit negative surface charge and excellent colloidal stability. Microgel-clay composite particle...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Nitric oxide (NO) and related molecules such as peroxynitrite, S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), and nitrotyrosine, among others, are involved in physiological processes as well in the mechanisms of response to stress conditions. In sunflower seedlings exposed to five different adverse environmental conditions (low temperature, mechanical wounding, high light intensity, continuous light, and continuous darkness), key components of the metabolism of reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), including the enzyme activities L-arginine-dependent nitric oxide synthase (NOS), S-nitrosogluthathione reductase (GSNOR), nitrate reductase (NR), catalase, and superoxide dismutase, the content of lipid hydroperoxide, hydrogen peroxide, S-nitrosothiols (SNOs), the cellular level of N...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An unprecedented mobilization at all levels is being established in order to fight against the effects of climate change and announcements are increasing each week with proposals of ever more ambitious plans of action. A new landscape is beginning to take shape from a more varied energy supply with less carbon. This new order highlights several central R/D areas which are to be developed and which re described in the first part of this article. How are these plans of action going to be put into practice in the field, within the dynamics of the great unifying project 'Grenoble University of Innovation'? How can the innovation process be speeded up to quickly find answers to all these questions? How can all scientific disciplines be incorporated in this run-up and how can the different players be brought to interact? The new PREDIS centre in Grenoble, described in the second part of the article, is intended to answer these questions. (authors)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Titanium and its alloy Ti6Al4V enjoy widespread use in various biomedical applications because of favourable local tissue response, higher corrosion resistance and fatigue strength than the stainless steels and cobalt-chromium alloy previously used. The study reported in this paper aims to optimize the conditions of nitrogen ion implantation on commercially pure titanium and to correlate the implantation parameters to the corrosion resistance. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to analyse surface concentration and the implantation processes. An improvement in the electrochemical behaviour of the passive film was shown to occur with nitrogen ion implantation on titanium, in simulated body fluids. (UK).

Science.gov (United States)

The author discusses the pervasive difficulty psychotherapists seem to have in discussing patient morality, relating it to the fear of imposing (and feeling) shame and guilt. A way of nonjudgmentally discussing moral values with patients is presented, which places emphasis not on moral abrogations, but rather on the "virtues" of altruism, responsibility, justice, egalitarianism, and honesty. Drawing on empirical studies of prosocial behavior, the author gives a rationale for how these virtues may, whether the therapist is conscious of it or not, be inherently promoted through the group therapy process. Ways are suggested by which the therapist can help the group deal with thorny moral issues and confront the morally confused patient without causing shame. PMID:8473062

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Data from Monte Carlo transport codes are used to model radiobiological effects. We previously reported the Fourier analysis of ionization data generated by simulating a 500-keV proton traversing water. Here, we extend Fourier analysis to energy transfer data of another radiation type, a 14-MeV #alpha#-particle. A radiobiological model based on this frequency-domain analysis views cell as an information processing system . It lends itself naturally to traditional engineering analyses. One engineering principle-the output response of a linear system to random signal-is applied here to explain the fact that there is measurable difference in the magnitude of the biological effectiveness when a given biological system is irradiated with two different radiation types of the same Linear Energy Transfer (LET).

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR) is a widely used tool to study host responses against parasites. A crucial step in the gene quantification process is the normalization of the expression data against stable housekeeping genes (HKGs). However, in recent years, several reports have showed that the transcriptional levels of such HKGs can change dramatically, especially when cellular changes appear in the tissues investigated. The aim of the current study was to assess the variability of 11 putative HKGs in bovine abomasal tissue during an infection with the parasitic nematode Ostertagia ostertagi. Gene transcription levels of selected potential HKGs were measured by qRT-PCR and the expression stabilities evaluated using geNorm, NormFinder, and The Mann-Whitney-U test. The analysis showed ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The authors have developed a high-sensitivity real-time neutron radiography (NR) system by the use of the low power reactor of Kinki University. The system was constructed with a high efficiency neutron-photon converter, an image intensifier and a SIT TELEVISION camera. Some digital image processing techniques were applied for improving the quality of the real-time neutron images. By the use of this system, dynamic neutron imaging was performed successfully under the condition of a weak neutron field that was about two orders of magnitude lower than that of the standard NR system. The neutron flux, calculated from the fluctuation of the neutron response of the images, was nearly equal to the value measured by the foil activation method. From this fact, the efficiency for the neutron detection of the imaging system was estimated to be almost 100%. For the purpose of developing a system with higher sensitivity, consideration of neutron statistics ...