Analysis of measurements for a uranium-free core experiment at the BFS-2 critical assembly

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hunter, Stuart [Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Inst., Oarai, Ibaraki (Japan). Oarai Engineering Center

1999-04-01

This document describes a series of calculations that were carried out to model various measurements from the BFS-58-1-I1 experiment. BFS-58-1-I1 was a mock-up of a uranium-free, Pu burning core at BFS-2, a Russian critical assembly operated by IPPE. The experiment measured values of Keff, Na void reactivity worth, material sample reactivity worths and reaction rate ratios. The experiments were modelled using a number of different methods. Basic nuclear data was taken from JENDL-3.2, in either 70 or 18 groups. Cross-section data for the various material regions of the assembly were calculated by either SLAROM or CASUP; the heterogeneous structure of the core regions was modelled in these calculations, with 3 different options considered for representing the (essentially 2D) geometry of the assembly components in a 1D cell model. Whole reactor calculations of flux and Keff were done using both a diffusion model (CITATION) and a transport model (TWOTRAN2), both using an RZ geometry. Reactivity worths were calculated both directly from differences in Keff values and by using the exact perturbation calculations of PERKY and SN-PERT (for CITATION and TWOTRAN2, respectively). Initial calculations included a number of inaccuracies in the assembly representation, a result of communication difficulties between JNC and IPPE; these errors were removed for the final calculations that are presented. Calculations for the experiments have also been carried out in Russia (IPPE) and France (CEA) as part of an international comparison exercise, some of those results are also presented here. The calculated value of Keff was 1.1%{delta}k/k higher than the measured value, Na void worth C/E values were {approx}1.06; these results were considered to be reasonable. (Discrepancies in certain Na void values were probably due to experimental causes , though the effect should be investigated in any future experiments.) Several sample worth values were small compared with calculational

Krypton-85 Monitoring at BfS in Germany and Technical Solutions for Safeguards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schlosser, C.; Klingberg, F.

2015-01-01

The radioactive noble gas isotope krypton-85 with a half-life of 10.76 years is produced by nuclear fission. The main source of krypton-85 in the atmosphere are releases from reprocessing plants for nuclear fuel in the Northern Hemisphere. This volatile isotope is not retained in such plants and thus a very good indicator for the processing of irradiated nuclear fuel. This includes reprocessing for military purposes. Additionally, Kr-85 could be used as tracer for the validation of Atmospheric Transport Models. The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) operates a noble gas laboratory and a global network which continuously monitors the krypton-85 activity concentrations in ground level air since the 1970s. The atmospheric activity concentration has continuously been increasing since the installation of reprocessing plants for nuclear fuels in the early 1950s until 2003. In the first decades it came mostly from military applications and later from civil reprocessing. Since 2003 the atmospheric krypton-85 background level in the Northern Hemisphere is nearly constant with a value of around 1.5 Bq/m 3 in Central Europe. The baseline is superimposed by spikes as a result from discharges of two European reprocessing plants of nuclear fuel, Sellafield and La Hague. The laboratory of the BfS and the techniques used will be presented. Long time series will be discussed and the use of ATM for source location demonstrated. (author)

Comments on the feasibility studies concerning the decommissioning options LAW retrieval, relocation and backfilling for the Asse facility with respect to the applicability of the BfS evaluation criteria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alt, Stefan; Kallenbach-Herbert, Beate; Neles, Julia

2009-01-01

The comments on the feasibility studies cover the decommissioning options LAW retrieval, relocation and backfilling for the Asse facility with respect to the applicability of the BfS evaluation criteria. The respective BfS criteria include the evaluation with respect to the safety during the operational phase, the environmental impacts in case of an uncontrollable brine intrusion; the preliminary long-term safety assessment; the feasibility; and the time required.

Application of Ti6Al7Nb Alloy for the Manufacture of Biomechanical Functional Structures (BFS) for Custom-Made Bone Implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Szymczyk, Patrycja; Ziółkowski, Grzegorz; Junka, Adam; Chlebus, Edward

2018-06-08

Unlike conventional manufacturing techniques, additive manufacturing (AM) can form objects of complex shape and geometry in an almost unrestricted manner. AM’s advantages include higher control of local process parameters and a possibility to use two or more various materials during manufacture. In this work, we applied one of AM technologies, selective laser melting, using Ti6Al7Nb alloy to produce biomedical functional structures (BFS) in the form of bone implants. Five types of BFS structures (A1, A2, A3, B, C) were manufactured for the research. The aim of this study was to investigate such technological aspects as architecture, manufacturing methods, process parameters, surface modification, and to compare them with such functional properties such as accuracy, mechanical, and biological in manufactured implants. Initial in vitro studies were performed using osteoblast cell line hFOB 1.19 (ATCC CRL-11372) (American Type Culture Collection). The results of the presented study confirm high applicative potential of AM to produce bone implants of high accuracy and geometric complexity, displaying desired mechanical properties. The experimental tests, as well as geometrical accuracy analysis, showed that the square shaped (A3) BFS structures were characterized by the lowest deviation range and smallestanisotropy of mechanical properties. Moreover, cell culture experiments performed in this study proved that the designed and obtained implant’s internal porosity (A3) enhances the growth of bone cells (osteoblasts) and can obtain predesigned biomechanical characteristics comparable to those of the bone tissue.

Analysis of Homogeneous BFS-73-1 MA Benchmark Core

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Yeong Il; Yoo, Jae Woon; Song, Hoon; Jang, Jin Wook; Kim, Yeong Il

2007-06-15

Analysis of BFS-73-1 critical assembly for MA transmutation has been carried out by using K-CORE system mainly, DIF3D code. All of measured data are compared with the results of analysis and sensitiveness of calculation conditions, for example, number of neutron energy groups, mesh size used, and analysis method, are assessed. Effective multiplication factor was in good agreement within experimental uncertainty in both transport and diffusion calculations. Fission rate distribution of U-235 and U-238 is also fairly good agreed with experimental results within maximum 5% in core region. But large discrepancy was seen in blanket region and it tends to increase as the location closes to core boundary. Largest error of relative reaction rate ratio was seen in Am-243 fission and U-238 capture. For the case of Am-243, the error lay on appropriate range considering the measurement uncertainty of that as 4.6%. Sample reactivity worths for scattering dominant isotope was greatly differ from the experimental results, which can be explained in terms of sample heterogeneity effect, sample self shielding and finally resonance bilinear correction effect. These effects will be evaluated as future study. C/E of effective delayed neutron fraction is within 4%, which is within the measurement uncertainty.

Analysis of Homogeneous BFS-73-1 MA Benchmark Core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yeong Il; Yoo, Jae Woon; Song, Hoon; Jang, Jin Wook; Kim, Yeong Il

2007-06-01

Analysis of BFS-73-1 critical assembly for MA transmutation has been carried out by using K-CORE system mainly, DIF3D code. All of measured data are compared with the results of analysis and sensitiveness of calculation conditions, for example, number of neutron energy groups, mesh size used, and analysis method, are assessed. Effective multiplication factor was in good agreement within experimental uncertainty in both transport and diffusion calculations. Fission rate distribution of U-235 and U-238 is also fairly good agreed with experimental results within maximum 5% in core region. But large discrepancy was seen in blanket region and it tends to increase as the location closes to core boundary. Largest error of relative reaction rate ratio was seen in Am-243 fission and U-238 capture. For the case of Am-243, the error lay on appropriate range considering the measurement uncertainty of that as 4.6%. Sample reactivity worths for scattering dominant isotope was greatly differ from the experimental results, which can be explained in terms of sample heterogeneity effect, sample self shielding and finally resonance bilinear correction effect. These effects will be evaluated as future study. C/E of effective delayed neutron fraction is within 4%, which is within the measurement uncertainty

Main areas of work of the German Radiation Protection Office (BfS). Final disposal of radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kleemann, U.

2006-01-01

The Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety (BMU) formulated twelve questions which are in principle relevant to all host rock formations and require clarification in any case. The task of the BfS was to compile a comparison of different host rock formations on the basis of the answers given to these twelve questions for the individual projects. The main focus was on whether these safety-related questions merit different answers for different host rock formations and whether this has an impact on the requirements to be placed on final disposal concepts

Investigation of the neutron detection statistics in fast critical assembly BFS-24-1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avramov, A.M.; Tyutyunnikov, P.L.; Mikulski, A.T.; Rafalska, E.; Chwaszczewski, S.; Jablonski, K.

1974-01-01

The results of the neutron detection statistics investigation at the fast critical assembly BFS-24-1 are given. The Ross-α measurements were carried out using: digital flash-start unit and 256 channel time analyzer, 10 channel time analyzer, alphameter device. Parallely the measurements using the variable dead time method and zero probability method were performed. The prompt neutron decay constants, the effectiveness of neutron detector and the intensity of external neutron source are determined using the experimental data. The experimental values of prompt neutron decay constant are compared with the calculated ones. The codes used in the calculation are following: one dimensional, diffusion, 26-group code 26-M and EWA-1, one dimensional, multiregion, nonstationary diffusion 3-group code SPECTR, 26-group, diffusion code in buckling approximation, MIXSPECTR. In all codes the 26 group nuclear constants BNAB-26 and BNAB-70 are used. (author)

Analysis of the BFS-62 critical experiment. A report produced for BNFL (Joint European contribution)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Newton, T.D.; Hosking, J.G.; Smith, P.J.

2004-01-01

A benchmark analysis for a hybrid UOX/MOX fuelled core of the BN-600 reactor was proposed during the first Research Co-ordination Meeting of the IAEA Co-ordinated Research Project 'Updated Codes and Methods to Reduce Calculational Uncertainties of LMFR Reactivity Effects'. Phase 5 of the benchmark focuses on validation of calculated sodium void coefficient distributions and integral reactivity coefficients by comparison with experimental measurements made in the critical facility BFS-62. The European. participation in Phase 5 of the benchmark analyses consists of a joint contribution from France (CEA Cadarache) and the UK (Serco Assurance Winfrith - sponsored by BNFL). Calculations have been performed using the ERANOS code and data system, which has been developed in the framework of the European collaboration on fast reactors. Results are presented in this paper for the sodium void reactivity effect based on calculated values of the absolute core reactivity. The spatial distribution of the void effect, determined using first order perturbation theory with the diffusion theory approximation, is also presented

MOLECULAR CLUMPS AND INFRARED CLUSTERS IN THE S247, S252, AND BFS52 REGIONS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shimoikura, Tomomi; Dobashi, Kazuhito [Department of Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Tokyo Gakugei University, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8501 (Japan); Saito, Hiro; Nakamura, Fumitaka [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan); Matsumoto, Tomoaki [Hosei University, Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8160 (Japan); Nishimura, Atsushi; Kimura, Kimihiro; Onishi, Toshikazu; Ogawa, Hideo, E-mail: ikura@u-gakugei.ac.jp [Department of Physical Science, Osaka Prefecture University, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531 (Japan)

2013-05-01

We present results of the observations carried out toward the S247, S252, and BFS52 H II regions with various molecular lines using the 1.85 m radio telescope and the 45 m telescope at Nobeyama Radio Observatory. There are at least 11 young infrared clusters (IR clusters) within the observed region. We found that there are two velocity components in {sup 12}CO (J = 2-1), and also that their spatial distributions show an anti-correlation. The IR clusters are located at their interfaces, suggesting that two distinct clouds with different velocities are colliding with each other, which may have induced the cluster formation. Based on {sup 13}CO (J = 1-0) and C{sup 18}O (J = 1-0) observations, we identified 16 clumps in and around the three H II regions. Eleven of the clumps are associated with the IR clusters and the other five clumps are not associated with any known young stellar objects. We investigated variations in the velocity dispersions of the 16 clumps as a function of the distance from the center of the clusters or the clumps. Clumps with clusters tend to have velocity dispersions that increase with distance from the cluster center, while clumps without clusters show a flat velocity dispersion over the clump extents. A {sup 12}CO outflow has been found in some of the clumps with IR clusters but not in the other clumps, supporting a strong relation of these clumps to the broader velocity dispersion region. We also estimated a mean star formation efficiency of {approx}30% for the clumps with IR clusters in the three H II regions.

Prompt gamma-ray analysis of steel slag in concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naqvi, Akhtar Abbas; Garwan, Muhammad Ahmad; Nagadi, Mahmoud Mohammad; Rehman, Khateeb-ur; Raashid, Mohammad; Masalehuddin Mohiuddin, Mohammad; Al-Amoudi, Omar Saeed Baghabra

2009-01-01

Blast furnace slag (BFS) is added to Portland cement concrete to increase its durability, particularly its corrosion resistance. Monitoring the concentration of BFS in concrete for quality control purposes is desired. In this study, the concentration of BFS in concrete was measured by utilizing an accelerator-based prompt gamma-ray neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) setup. The optimum size of the BFS cement concrete specimen that produces the maximum intensity of gamma rays at the detector location was calculated through Monte Carlo simulations. The simulation results were experimentally validated through the gamma-ray yield measurement from BFS cement concrete specimens having different radii. The concentration of BFS in the cement concrete specimens was assessed through calcium and silicon gamma-ray yield measurement from cement concrete specimens containing 5 to 80 wt% BFS. The yield of calcium gamma rays decreases with increasing BFS concentration in concrete while the yield of silicon gamma rays increases with increasing BFS concentration in concrete. The calcium-to-silicon gamma-ray yield ratio has an inverse relation with BFS concentration in concrete. (author)

Test and evaluation of computerized nuclear material accounting methods. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

In accordance with the definition of a Material Balance Area (MBA) as a well-defined geographical area involving an Integral operation, the building housing the BFS-1 and BFS-1 critical facilities is considered to consist of one MBA. The BFS materials are in the form of small disks clad in stainless steel and each disk with nuclear material has its own serial number. Fissile material disks in the BFS MBA can be located at three key monitoring points: BFS-1 facility, BFS-2 facility and main storage of BFS fissile materials (storage 1). When used in the BFS-1 or BFS-2 critical facilities, the fissile material disks are loaded in tubes (fuel rods) forming critical assembly cores. The following specific features of the BFS MBA should be taken into account for the purpose of computerized accounting of nuclear material: (1) very large number of nuclear material items (about 70,000 fissile material items); and (2) periodically very intensive shuffling of nuclear material items. Requirements for the computerized system are determined by basic objectives of nuclear material accounting: (1) providing accurate information on the identity and location of all items in the BFS material balance area; (2) providing accurate information on location and identity of tamper-indicating devices; (3) tracking nuclear material inventories; (4) issuing periodic reports; (5) assisting with the detection of material gains or losses; (6) providing a history of nuclear material transactions; (7) preventing unauthorized access to the system and data falsification. In August 1995, the prototype computerized accounting system was installed on the BFS facility for trial operation. Information on two nuclear material types was entered into the data base: weapon-grade plutonium metal and 36% enriched uranium dioxide. The total number of the weapon-grade plutonium disks is 12,690 and the total number of the uranium dioxide disks is 1,700

Energy Absorption and Dynamic Deformation of Backing Material for Ballistic Evaluation of Body Armour

OpenAIRE

Debarati Bhattacharjee; Ajay Kumar; Ipsita Biswas

2014-01-01

The measurement of back face signature (BFS) or behind armour blunt trauma (BABT) is a critical aspect of ballistic evaluation of body armour. BFS is the impact experienced by the armour wearing body, when subjected to a non-penetrating projectile. Mineral or polymeric clay is used to measure the BFS. In addition to stopping the projectile, the body armour can be used only when the BFS also falls within permissible limits. The extent of the BFS depends upon the behavior of the backing materia...

The Environmental Impact and Cost Analysis of Concrete Mixing Blast Furnace Slag Containing Titanium Gypsum and Sludge in South Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tae Hyoung Kim

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This study assessed the environmental effects and cost of the Industrial Waste addictive Blast Furnace Slag (W-BFS using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA and compared it to general BFS. The environmental impacts of W-BFS were as follows: 1.12 × 10−1 kg-CO2 eq/kg, 3.18 × 10−5 kg-Ethylene eq/kg, 4.79 × 10−4 kg-SO2 eq/kg, 7.15 × 10−4 kg-PO43− eq/kg, 7.15 × 10−4 kg-CFC11 eq/kg and 3.94 × 10−3 kg-Antimony eq/kg. Among the environmental impact category, GWP and AP were 9.28 × 10−2 kg-CO2 eq/kg and 3.33 × 10−4 kg-SO2 eq/kg at a raw material stage, accounting for 80% and 70% of total environmental impact respectively. In EP, POCP and ADP, in addition, raw material stage accounted for a great portion in total environmental impact because of “W” among input materials. In ODP, however, compared to the environmental impact of raw materials, oil, which was used in transporting BFS to the W-BFS manufacturing factory, was more influential. In terms of GWP, POCP and ODP, W-BFS was higher than general BFS. In terms of AP, EP and ADP, in contrast, the former was lower than the latter. In terms of cost, W-BFS (41.7 US$/ton was lower than general BFS by about 17% because of the use of waste additives comprised of industrial wastes instead of natural gypsum ,which has been commonly used in general BFS. In terms of GWP and POCP, the W-BFS mixed (30% concrete was lower than plain concrete by 25%. In terms of AP and EP, the former was lower than the latter by 30%. In terms of ADP, furthermore, W-BFS mixed (30% concrete was lower than plain concrete by 11%. In aggregate-related ODP, however, almost no change was found. In terms of cost, when W-BFS was added by 10% and 30%, it was able to reduce cost by 3% and 7% respectively, compared to plain concrete. Compared to BFS-mixed concrete as well, cost could be saved by 1% additionally because W-BFS (US$41.7/ton is lower than common cement (US$100.3/ton by about 60% in terms of production costs.

Sound and vibration sensitivity of VIIIth nerve fibers in the frogs Leptodactylus albilabris and Rana pipiens pipiens

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen-Dalsgaard, J; Narins, P M

1993-01-01

and to sound from 40 dB SPL by increasing their spike rate. Best frequencies (BFs) ranged from 60 to 900 Hz, and only fibers with BFs below 500 Hz responded to vibrations. The fibers had identical BF's for sound and vibration. The saccular fibers had BFs ranging from 10 to 80 Hz with 22 fibers having BFs at 40......-50 Hz. The fibers responded to sound from 70 dB SPL and to vibrations from 0.01 cm/s2. 3. No differences in sensitivity, tuning or phase-locking were found between the two species, except that most BP-fibers in R. pipiens pipiens had BFs from 1.2 to 1.4 kHz, whereas those in L. albilabris had BFs from 2...

Frequency-specific corticofugal modulation of the dorsal cochlear nucleus in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Lingzhi; Xiong, Colin; Li, Liang; Yan, Jun

2014-01-01

The primary auditory cortex (AI) modulates the sound information processing in the lemniscal subcortical nuclei, including the anteroventral cochlear nucleus (AVCN), in a frequency-specific manner. The dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) is a non-lemniscal subcortical nucleus but it is tonotopically organized like the AVCN. However, it remains unclear how the AI modulates the sound information processing in the DCN. This study examined the impact of focal electrical stimulation of AI on the auditory responses of the DCN neurons in mice. We found that the electrical stimulation induced significant changes in the best frequency (BF) of DCN neurons. The changes in the BFs were highly specific to the BF differences between the stimulated AI neurons and the recorded DCN neurons. The DCN BFs shifted higher when the AI BFs were higher than the DCN BFs and the DCN BFs shifted lower when the AI BFs were lower than the DCN BFs. The DCN BFs showed no change when the AI and DCN BFs were similar. Moreover, the BF shifts were linearly correlated to the BF differences. Thus, our data suggest that corticofugal modulation of the DCN is also highly specific to frequency information, similar to the corticofugal modulation of the AVCN. The frequency-specificity of corticofugal modulation does not appear limited to the lemniscal ascending pathway.

Thyroid exposure of Belarusian and Ukrainian children due to the Chernobyl accident and resulting thyroid cancer risk. Final report of BfS project StSch 4240

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jacob, P; Meckbach, R; Ulanovski, A; Schotola, C; Proehl, G [GSF-Institute of Radiation Protection, Neuherberg (Germany); Kenigsberg, J; Buglova, E; Kruk, J [Institute of Radiation Medicine and Endocrinology, Minsk (Belarus); Likhtarev, I; Kovgan, L; Vavilov, S; Chepurniy, M [Ukrainian Radiation Protection Inst., Kyiv (Ukraine); Tronko, M; Bogdanova, T [Institute of Endocrinolgoy and Metabolism of the Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv (Ukraine); Shinkarev, S; Gavrilin, Y [All-Russian Public Organization of Invalids ' Chernobylets' , Scientific Center ' FENIX' , Moscow (Russian Federation); Demidchik, Y [Thyroid Cancer Center, Minsk (Belarus)

2005-07-01

Main objectives of the BfS Project StSch4240 Thyroid Exposure of Belarusian and Ukrainian Children due to the Chernobyl Accident and Resulting Thyroid Cancer Risk were: to establish improved estimates of average thyroid dose for both genders and for each birth-year cohort of the period 1968 - 1985 in Ukrainian and Belarusian settlements, in which more than 10 measurements of the {sup 131}I activity in the human thyroid have been performed in May/June 1986, to explore, whether this dosimetric database can be extended to neighboring settlements, to establish improved estimates of average thyroid dose for both genders and for each birth-year cohort of the period 1968 - 1985 in Ukrainian and Belarusian oblasts (regions) and larger cities, to document the thyroid cancer incidence for the period 1986 - 2001 in Ukraine and Belarus and describe morphological characteristics of the cancer cases, to assess the contribution of the baseline incidence to the total thyroid cancer incidence in the two countries and identify regional and temporal dependencies, to perform analyses of excess risks in settlements with more than 10 measurements of the {sup 131}I activity in the human thyroid. The project has been conducted in the period 6 December 1999 to 31 March 2004. (orig.)

Thyroid exposure of Belarusian and Ukrainian children due to the Chernobyl accident and resulting thyroid cancer risk. Final report of BfS project StSch 4240

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacob, P.; Meckbach, R.; Ulanovski, A.; Schotola, C.; Proehl, G.; Kenigsberg, J.; Buglova, E.; Kruk, J.; Likhtarev, I.; Kovgan, L.; Vavilov, S.; Chepurniy, M.; Tronko, M.; Bogdanova, T.; Shinkarev, S.; Gavrilin, Y.; Demidchik, Y.

2005-01-01

Main objectives of the BfS Project StSch4240 Thyroid Exposure of Belarusian and Ukrainian Children due to the Chernobyl Accident and Resulting Thyroid Cancer Risk were: to establish improved estimates of average thyroid dose for both genders and for each birth-year cohort of the period 1968 - 1985 in Ukrainian and Belarusian settlements, in which more than 10 measurements of the 131 I activity in the human thyroid have been performed in May/June 1986, to explore, whether this dosimetric database can be extended to neighboring settlements, to establish improved estimates of average thyroid dose for both genders and for each birth-year cohort of the period 1968 - 1985 in Ukrainian and Belarusian oblasts (regions) and larger cities, to document the thyroid cancer incidence for the period 1986 - 2001 in Ukraine and Belarus and describe morphological characteristics of the cancer cases, to assess the contribution of the baseline incidence to the total thyroid cancer incidence in the two countries and identify regional and temporal dependencies, to perform analyses of excess risks in settlements with more than 10 measurements of the 131 I activity in the human thyroid. The project has been conducted in the period 6 December 1999 to 31 March 2004. (orig.)

Mechanical and morphological properties of trabecular bone samples obtained from third metacarpal bones of cadavers of horses with a bone fragility syndrome and horses unaffected by that syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Symons, Jennifer E; Entwistle, Rachel C; Arens, Amanda M; Garcia, Tanya C; Christiansen, Blaine A; Fyhrie, David P; Stover, Susan M

2012-11-01

To determine morphological and mechanical properties of trabecular bone of horses with a bone fragility syndrome (BFS; including silicate-associated osteoporosis). Cylindrical trabecular bone samples from the distal aspects of cadaveric third metacarpal bones of 39 horses (19 horses with a BFS [BFS bone samples] and 20 horses without a BFS [control bone samples]). Bone samples were imaged via micro-CT for determination of bone volume fraction; apparent and mean mineralized bone densities; and trabecular number, thickness, and separation. Bone samples were compressed to failure for determination of apparent elastic modulus and stresses, strains, and strain energy densities for yield, ultimate, and failure loads. Effects of BFS and age of horses on variables were determined. BFS bone samples had 25% lower bone volume fraction, 28% lower apparent density, 18% lower trabecular number and thickness, and 16% greater trabecular separation versus control bone samples. The BFS bone samples had 22% lower apparent modulus and 32% to 33% lower stresses, 10% to 18% lower strains, and 41 % to 52% lower strain energy densities at yield, ultimate, and failure loads, compared with control bone samples. Differences between groups of bone samples were not detected for mean mineral density and trabecular anisotropy. Results suggested that horses with a BFS had osteopenia and compromised trabecular bone function, consistent with bone deformation and pathological fractures that develop in affected horses. Effects of this BFS may be systemic, and bones other than those that are clinically affected had changes in morphological and mechanical properties.

Research activities in radiation protection. Programme report 1997. Report on the departmental research programme of the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety (BMU), performed under the scientific and administrative project management of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmitt-Hannig, A.; Goedde, R.; Thieme, M.

1998-03-01

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) is placing research and study contracts in the field of radiation protection. The results of these projects are used for developing radiation protection rules and to fulfill the special radiation protection tasks of the BMU, required by law. Planning, expert and administrative management, placing, assistance as well as expert evaluation of the results from these research projects lies within the responsibility of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection. This report provides information on preliminary and final results of radiation protection projects within the BMU Departmental Research Programme of the year 1997. (orig.) [de

El papel de la linfoterapia en la corrección de problemas de infertilidad de causa inmunológica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edwin Manrique

2001-10-01

Full Text Available This paper is based on an experimental model in animals targeted to prove the existence of Blocking Factors (BFs in the Mixed Lymphocyte Culture (MLC in subfertile and normal breeding female rabbit groups, which were applied two doses of allogenic lymphotherapy (LIT, in order to analyze its effect in the increase of fertility rates and pregnancy success. The BFs measurement was performed through MLC with the non-radio active MTT-Formazan technique. The existence of BFs in MLC was demonstrated in all groups of studied female rabbits. In allogenic LIT -treated breeding subfertile female rabbits, a significant in crease in the levels of BFs after each LIT was observed, as well as an increase in fertility rates. Also, it is established that BFs of cell proliferation continue inhibiting the MLC in other species, indicating that BFs' inhibitory effect is interspecific and nonintraspecific, as stated heretofore.

Trends of Obesity and Overweight among College Students in Oman; A cross sectional study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hashim Al-Kilani

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Body mass index (BMI, total body fat (TBF, and physical activity in relation to obesity and overweight prevalence among Omani students were studied. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 202 Omani students (101 males and 101 females from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU was carried out. Data were collected by interview using a structured questionnaire. Weight, TBF and physical activity score (PAS were measured using TANITA scales, and height measured using a standardised measuring tape. Results: Subjects were classified based on BMI as: underweight (2.48%, normal weight (69.31%, overweight (26.73% and obese (1.49%. According to TBF, 32.67% of students had low body fat scores (BFS, 26.73% high BFS and 22.28% very high BFS. Low BFS was insignificantly less likely with the increase in the mean hours of weekly exercising, (odds ratio [OR] = 0.708; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.448, 1.119 and the PAS (OR = 0.728; 95% CI= 0.562, 0.944. Among high and very high BFS students, the mean hours of weekly exercising (6.73±1.20 and physical activity scores (7.51±1.67 were higher than those of healthy students. Nutrition knowledge was higher among healthy students compared to low BFS, and high and very high BFS subjects. Higher nutrition knowledge was associated with a non-significant lower risk of low BFS (OR = 0.986; 95% CI = 0.958, 1.015, high and very high BFS (OR = 0.984; 95% CI = 0.961, 1.008. Conclusion: High and very high BFS were prevalent among subjects with sedentary lifestyles. Nutritional and physical activity interventions should be introduced to combat the problem of overweight students.

Study habits among Nigerian secondary school students with brain fag syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olufemi Morakinyo

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Brain Fag Syndrome (BFS is a psychiatric disorder associated with study affecting two to four out of every ten African students. One of the consequences of this illness is early foreclosure of education in affected students. Etiological factors such as nervous predisposition, motivation for achievement, and psycho-stimulant use have been found associated with it. However, the contributions of study habits to the pathogenesis of this study-related illness deserve more attention than has been given. We carried out this cross-sectional study to ascertain the types of study habits associated with BFS among a sample of senior secondary school students in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Five hundred students from six schools in Ile-Ife were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. The selected students completed the Socio-demographic Data Schedule, the Brain Fag Syndrome Scale, and Bakare’s Study Habit Inventory. The prevalence of BFS was 40.2% (201. There were no significant socio-demographic variables identifying BFS students apart from those without BFS. The significant measures of study habits that predicted BFS were homework and assignments, examinations, and written work. Those with BFS had 3.58 times the odds to perform poorly on homework and assignments, 3.27 times the odds to perform poorly on examinations, and 1.01 times the odds to perform poorly on written work compared to those without BFS. We concluded that the results of this study suggest that homework and assignments, examinations, and written work were significant study habit variables associated with BFS.

Effect of the bur grit size on the flexural strength of a glass-ceramic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. P. Kist

Full Text Available Abstract The purpose of the present study was to determine the biaxial flexural strength (BFS of a CAD/CAM leucite reinforced glass-ceramic ground by diamond burs of different grit sizes and the influence of surface roughness on the BFS. For this, 104 plates were obtained from CAD/CAM ceramic blocks and divided into 4 groups (n = 26, according to bur grit size: extra-fine, fine, medium and coarse. Roughness parameters (Ra, RyMax were measured, and plates were kept dry for 7 days. The flexural test was carried out and BFS was calculated. Ra, RyMax and BFS data were subjected to analysis of variance and post-hoc test. Weibull analysis was used to compare characteristic strength and Weibull modulus. Regression analysis was performed for BFS vs. Ra and RyMax. When burs with coarse grit were used, higher surface roughness values were found, causing a negative effect on the ceramic BFS (117 MPa for extra-fine, and 83 MPa for coarse. Correlation (r between surface roughness and BFS was 0.78 for RyMax and 0.73 for Ra. Increases in diamond grit size have a significant negative effect on the BFS of leucite-reinforced glass-ceramics, suggesting that grinding of sintered glass-ceramic should be performed using burs with the finest grit possible in order to minimize internal surface flaws and maximize flexural strength.

Phase 2 testing results of immobilization of WTP effluent management facility vaporator bottoms simulant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reigel, M. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Cozzi, A. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); McCabe, D. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

2017-09-08

The Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Low Activity Waste (LAW) vitrification facility will generate an aqueous condensate recycle stream (LAW Melter Off-Gas Condensate) from the primary off-gas system. This work examined three waste form formulations based on previous testing with related simulants: 8 wt% ordinary portland cement (OPC), 47 wt% blast furnace slag (BFS), 45 wt% fly ash (FA) known as Cast Stone formulation; 20 wt% Aquaset® II-GH and 80 wt% BFS; 20 wt% OPC and 80 wt% BFS. These tests successfully produced one waste form that set within five days (Cast Stone formulation); however the other two formulations, Aquaset® II-GH/BFS and OPC/BFS, took approximately eight and fourteen days to set, respectively.

Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz 1989-2014

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebermann, Lutz

2015-01-01

The information on the Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz 1989-2014 includes the following contributions: Bfs concentrates the radiation protection expertise; knowledge generation, knowledge testing knowledge application: the BfS as scientific organization; radiation protection and health; radiation protection and environment, safety of nuclear waste management; safety in nuclear technology; specific challenges for BfS.

Experimental study on the shrinkage properties and cracking potential of high strength concrete containing industrial by-products for nuclear power plant concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KIm, Baek Joong; Yi, Chong Ku

2017-01-01

In Korea, attempts have been made to develop high strength concrete for the safety and design life improvement of nuclear power plants. In this study, the cracking potentials of nuclear power plant-high strength concretes (NPP-HSCs) containing industrial by-products with W/B 0.34 and W/B 0.28, which are being reviewed for their application in the construction of containment structures, were evaluated through autogenous shrinkage, unrestrained drying shrinkage, and restrained drying shrinkage experiments. The cracking potentials of the NPP-HSCs with W/B 0.34 and W/B 0.28 were in the order of 0.34FA25 > 0.34FA25BFS25 > 0.34BFS50 > 0.34BFS65SF5 and 0.28FA25SF5 >> 0.28BFS65SF5 > 0.28BFS45SF5 > 0.28 FA20BFS25SF5, respectively. The cracking potentials of the seven mix proportions excluding 0.28FA25SF5 were lower than that of the existing nuclear power plant concrete; thus, the durability of a nuclear power plant against shrinkage cracking could be improved by applying the seven mix proportions with low cracking potentials

Experimental study on the shrinkage properties and cracking potential of high strength concrete containing industrial by-products for nuclear power plant concrete

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

KIm, Baek Joong; Yi, Chong Ku [School of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, Korea University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-02-15

In Korea, attempts have been made to develop high strength concrete for the safety and design life improvement of nuclear power plants. In this study, the cracking potentials of nuclear power plant-high strength concretes (NPP-HSCs) containing industrial by-products with W/B 0.34 and W/B 0.28, which are being reviewed for their application in the construction of containment structures, were evaluated through autogenous shrinkage, unrestrained drying shrinkage, and restrained drying shrinkage experiments. The cracking potentials of the NPP-HSCs with W/B 0.34 and W/B 0.28 were in the order of 0.34FA25 > 0.34FA25BFS25 > 0.34BFS50 > 0.34BFS65SF5 and 0.28FA25SF5 >> 0.28BFS65SF5 > 0.28BFS45SF5 > 0.28 FA20BFS25SF5, respectively. The cracking potentials of the seven mix proportions excluding 0.28FA25SF5 were lower than that of the existing nuclear power plant concrete; thus, the durability of a nuclear power plant against shrinkage cracking could be improved by applying the seven mix proportions with low cracking potentials.

Radionuclide data bases available for bioaccumulation factors for freshwater biota

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blaylock, B.G.

1982-01-01

Aquatic models currently in use for dose assessment simulate the transfer of radionuclides in aquatic environments and the transfer to man. In these models the assimilation of a radionuclide in aquatic biota is calculated by using a simple empirical relationship known as the bioaccumulation factor (BF) to represent the transfer of the radionuclide from water to organism. The purpose of this article is to review data bases that are available for BFs for freshwater biota and to identify the uncertainties associated with them. Data bases for raidoisotopes of Co, Cs, C, H, I, Pu, Ra, Ru, Sr, and U are reviewed. With the exception of ruthenium and carbon, the review is restricted to BFs determined for natural freshwater systems. Factors influencing the variability of BFs are identified, uncertainties associated with the validation of BFs are discussed, and some guidance is given for collecting data and measuring BFs

Estimation of minimum detectable concentration of chlorine in the blast furnace slag cement concrete

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naqvi, A.A., E-mail: aanaqvi@kfupm.edu.s [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Maslehuddin, M. [Center for Engineering Research, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Garwan, M.A.; Nagadi, M.M. [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Al-Amoudi, O.S.B. [Department of Civil Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Khateeb-ur-Rehman,; Raashid, M. [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia)

2011-01-01

The Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis technique was used to measure the concentration of chloride in the blast furnace slag (BFS) cement concrete to assess the possibility of reinforcement corrosion. The experimental setup was optimized using Monte Carlo calculations. The BFS concrete specimens containing 0.8-3.5 wt.% chloride were prepared and the concentration of chlorine was evaluated by determining the yield of 6.11, 6.62, 7.41, 7.79 and 8.58 MeV gamma-rays. The Minimum Detectable Concentration (MDC) of chlorine in the BFS cement concrete was estimated. The best value of MDC limit of chlorine in the BFS cement concrete was found to be 0.034 {+-} 0.011 and 0.038 {+-} 0.012 wt.% for 6.11 and 6.62 MeV prompt gamma-rays. Within the statistical uncertainty the lower bound of the measured MDC of chlorine in the BFS cement concrete meets the maximum permissible limit of 0.03 wt.% of chloride set by the American Concrete Institute.

Machining variability impacts on the strength of a 'chair-side' CAD-CAM ceramic.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Addison, Owen

2012-08-01

To develop a novel methodology to generate specimens for bi-axial flexure strength (BFS) determination from a \\'chair-side\\' CAD-CAM feldspathic ceramic with surface defect integrals analogous to the clinical state. The hypotheses tested were: BFS and surface roughness (R(a)) are independent of machining variability introduced by the renewal or deterioration of form-grinding tools and that a post-machining annealing cycle would significantly modify BFS.

Development of an MgO-based binder for stabilizing fine sediments and storing CO2.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Kyung-Yup; Ahn, Jun-Young; Kim, Cheolyong; Seo, Jeong-Yun; Hwang, Inseong

2015-12-01

An MgO-based binder was developed that could stabilize fine dredged sediments for reuse and store CO2. Initially, a binder consisting of fly ash (FA) and blast furnace slag (BFS) was developed by using alkaline activators such as KOH, NaOH, and lime. The FA0.4-BFS0.6 binder (mixed at a FA-to-BFS weight ratio of 4:6) showed the highest compressive strength of 10.7 MPa among FA/BFS binders when 5 M KOH was used. When lime (L) was tested as an alkaline activator, the strength was comparable with those obtained when KOH or NaOH was used. The L0.1-(FA0.4BFS0.6)0.9 binder (10 % lime mixed with the FA/BFS binder) showed the highest strength of 11.0 MPa. Finally, by amending this L0.1-(FA0.4BFS0.6)0.9 binder with MgO, a novel MgO-based binder (MgO0.5-(L0.1-(FA0.4BFS0.6)0.9) 0.5) was developed, which demonstrated the 28th day strength of 11.9 MPa. The MgO-based binder was successfully applied to stabilize a fine sediment to yield a compressive strength of 4.78 MPa in 365 days, which was higher than that obtained by the Portland cement (PC) system (3.22 MPa). Carbon dioxide sequestration was evidenced by three observations: (1) the decrease in pH of the treated sediment from 12.2 to 11.0; (2) the progress of the carbonation front inward the treated sediment; and (3) the presence of magnesium carbonates. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results showed that 67.2 kg of CO2 per ton of the treated sediment could be stored under the atmospheric condition during 1 year.

Refinement of criticality and breeding parameters by means of experiments on a series of critical assemblies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golubev, V.I.; Dulin, V.A.; Kazanskij, Yu.A.; Mamontov, V.M.; Mozhaev, V.K.; Sidorov, G.I.

1980-01-01

A programme of measurements was performed on a number of critical assemblies with the aim of obtaining reliable experimental data under conditions approximating the simplest calculation model. To this end the neutron balance at the centres of the BFS-31, BFS-33, BFS-35, BFS-38, KBR-3 and KBR-7 critical assemblies was investigated. These assemblies contained central inserts made of uranium dioxide (BFS-33), natural uranium oxide and plutonium metal (BFS-31), natural uranium and plutonium metal (BFS-38), 90% enriched metallic uranium and stainless steel (KBR-3) and enriched uranium dioxide and nickel (KBR-7). The composition of the inserts was such that Ksub(infinite)=1. The K + values, the ratios of the reaction rates of the principal raw material and fissionable isotopes and the reactivity coefficients of a number of materials were measured in the inserts. The components of the breeding coefficient were measured at the centre of the BFS-39 critical assembly which simulates a power reactor (simplest composition with low- and high-enrichment zones and no control mechanism). The authors describe briefly the critical assemblies, the methods of measurement and calculation and methods of correcting for differences between the calculation model and the conditions under which the measurements were performed and compare the results of the experiments with the corresponding theoretical values obtained using various systems of group constants. In their latest versions, the group constants derived from different sets of integral experiments describe the experimental data much better than was previously possible. The deviations which occur in the predicted criticality and breeding parameters using different versions of the constants essentially reflect the difference in the results of the sets of integral experiments that were used for the group constants. (author)

Graph Compression by BFS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto Apostolico

2009-08-01

Full Text Available The Web Graph is a large-scale graph that does not fit in main memory, so that lossless compression methods have been proposed for it. This paper introduces a compression scheme that combines efficient storage with fast retrieval for the information in a node. The scheme exploits the properties of the Web Graph without assuming an ordering of the URLs, so that it may be applied to more general graphs. Tests on some datasets of use achieve space savings of about 10% over existing methods.

Effect of Cement Type on Autogenous Deformation of Cement-Based Materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pietro, Lura; Ye, Guang; van Breugel, Klaas

2004-01-01

In this paper, measurements of non-evaporable water content, chemical shrinkage, autogenous deformation, internal relative humidity (RH), pore solution composition, and early-age elastic modulus are presented and discussed. All experiments were performed on Portland cement and blast-furnace slag...... (BFS) cement pastes. Self-desiccation shrinkage of the BFS cement paste was modeled based on the RH measurements, following the capillary-tension approach. The main findings of this study are: 1) self-desiccation shrinkage can be related to self-desiccation both for Portland and for BFS cement pastes......, taking into account the influence of the dissolved salts in the pore solution, 2) the BFS cement paste studied shows pronounced self-desiccation and self-desiccation shrinkage, mainly caused by its very fine pore structure....

Improving Behavioral Support for Smoking Cessation in Pregnancy: What Are the Barriers to Stopping and Which Behavior Change Techniques Can Influence These? Application of Theoretical Domains Framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Katarzyna A; Fergie, Libby; Coleman-Haynes, Tom; Cooper, Sue; Lorencatto, Fabiana; Ussher, Michael; Dyas, Jane; Coleman, Tim

2018-02-17

Behavioral support interventions are used to help pregnant smokers stop; however, of those tested, few are proven effective. Systematic research developing effective pregnancy-specific behavior change techniques (BCTs) is ongoing. This paper reports contributory work identifying potentially-effective BCTs relative to known important barriers and facilitators (B&Fs) to smoking cessation in pregnancy; to detect priority areas for BCTs development. A Nominal Group Technique with cessation experts ( n = 12) elicited an expert consensus on B&Fs most influencing women's smoking cessation and those most modifiable through behavioral support. Effective cessation interventions in randomized trials from a recent Cochrane review were coded into component BCTs using existing taxonomies. B&Fs were categorized using Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) domains. Matrices, mapping BCT taxonomies against TDF domains, were consulted to investigate the extent to which BCTs in existing interventions target key B&Fs. Experts ranked "smoking a social norm" and "quitting not a priority" as most important barriers and "desire to protect baby" an important facilitator to quitting. From 14 trials, 23 potentially-effective BCTs were identified (e.g., information about consequences). Most B&Fs fell into "Social Influences", "Knowledge", "Emotions" and "Intentions" TDF domains; few potentially-effective BCTs mapped onto every TDF domain. B&Fs identified by experts as important to cessation, are not sufficiently targeted by BCT's currently within interventions for smoking cessation in pregnancy.

Experimental study on steam gasification of coal using molten blast furnace slag as heat carrier for producing hydrogen-enriched syngas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan, Wenjun; Yu, Qingbo; Wu, Tianwei; Yang, Fan; Qin, Qin

2016-01-01

Highlights: • New method for producing HRG by gasification using BFS as heat carrier was proposed. • The continuous experiment of steam gasification in molten BFS was conducted. • The hydrogen-enriched syngas was produced by this method. • The molten BFS waste heat was utilized effectively by steam gasification. • This method could be widely used in steam gasification of different types of coal. - Abstract: The new method for producing hydrogen-enriched syngas (HRG) by steam gasification of coal using molten blast furnace slag (BFS) as heat carrier was established. In order to achieve the HRG production, a gasification system using this method was proposed and constructed. The carbon gasification efficiency (CE), hydrogen yield (YH_2) and cold gasification efficiency (CGE) in the molten slag reactor were measured, and the effects of temperature, S/C (steam to coal) ratio and coal type on the reaction performance were accessed. The results indicated that the preferred temperature was 1350 °C, which ensured the miscibility of coal–steam–slag, the diffusion of reactant in molten BFS as well as recovering waste heat. The optimal S/C ratio was 1.5–2.0 for producing HRG. Under these conditions, the hydrogen fraction was higher than 63% and the gas yield reached to 1.89 Nm"3/kg. The CE and CGE were higher than 96% and 102%, respectively. The YH_2 also reached to 1.20 Nm"3/kg. Meanwhile, different types of coal were successfully gasified in molten BFS reactor for producing HRG. The proposed method enhanced the gasification efficiency of different types of coal, recovered the BFS waste heat effectively, and had important guidance for industrial manufacture.

The Effect of First-Step Techniques from the Staggered Stance in American Football

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Nikolas Sten; Andersen, Thomas Bull

2017-01-01

.77±0.10 s) being faster than FFS (1.81±0.12 s) and BFS (2.01±0.13 s), and FFS being faster than BFS, although no differences were found in reaction time. In terms of mean force and power, NORM (331.1±39.2N, 542.2±72.3W) and FFS (320.8±43.2N, 550.9±81.4W) were significantly larger than BFS (256.9±36.2N, 443...... in each technique (normal (NORM), backwards false step (BFS) and forwards false step (FFS)) in random order. Sprint starts were performed on force plates to investigate ground reaction forces, reaction time and total sprint time. Analysis showed significant differences in sprint times, with NORM (1...

Cement-free Binders for Radioactive Waste Produced from Blast-furnace Slag using Vortex Layer Activation Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mazov Ilya

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The paper addresses the issue of recycling granulated blast-furnace slag (gBFS as a source for production of cement-free binder materials for further usage in rare-earth metals production for radioactive waste disposal. The use of the vortex layer activator was provided as main technique allowing to produce high-dispersed chemically activated binders. The paper examines the effect of processing conditions on the physical-chemical and mechanical properties of the resulting BFS-based cement-free materials and gBFS-based concretes.

Improving Behavioral Support for Smoking Cessation in Pregnancy: What Are the Barriers to Stopping and Which Behavior Change Techniques Can Influence Them? Application of Theoretical Domains Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Coleman-Haynes, Tom; Lorencatto, Fabiana; Ussher, Michael; Dyas, Jane; Coleman, Tim

2018-01-01

Behavioral support interventions are used to help pregnant smokers stop; however, of those tested, few are proven effective. Systematic research developing effective pregnancy-specific behavior change techniques (BCTs) is ongoing. This paper reports contributory work identifying potentially-effective BCTs relative to known important barriers and facilitators (B&Fs) to smoking cessation in pregnancy; to detect priority areas for BCTs development. A Nominal Group Technique with cessation experts (n = 12) elicited an expert consensus on B&Fs most influencing women’s smoking cessation and those most modifiable through behavioral support. Effective cessation interventions in randomized trials from a recent Cochrane review were coded into component BCTs using existing taxonomies. B&Fs were categorized using Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) domains. Matrices, mapping BCT taxonomies against TDF domains, were consulted to investigate the extent to which BCTs in existing interventions target key B&Fs. Experts ranked ‘smoking a social norm’ and ‘quitting not a priority’ as most important barriers and ‘desire to protect baby’ an important facilitator to quitting. From 14 trials, 23 potentially-effective BCTs were identified (e.g., ‘information about consequences). Most B&Fs fell into ‘Social Influences’, ‘Knowledge’, ‘Emotions’ and ‘Intentions’ TDF domains; few potentially-effective BCTs mapped onto every TDF domain. B&Fs identified by experts as important to cessation, are not sufficiently targeted by BCT’s currently within interventions for smoking cessation in pregnancy. PMID:29462994

The Use of Blast Furnace Slag for Removal of Phosphorus from Wastewater in Sweden—A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lena Johansson Westholm

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Research on Phosphorus (P removal capacity by blast furnace slags (BFS has been undertaken in Sweden for the last decade. Both laboratory experiments and field trials have been carried out. While laboratory investigations revealed that BFS has a high P-sorption capacity (95–100%, P removal in field trials was much lower, ranging from 40 to 53%. In addition, a number of problems have been observed in BFS field testing including clogging, sulfuric odor and environmental (regulatory concerns about possible leaching of heavy metals from the slag. In spite of these problems, and questioning by the environmental regulatory authorities, research continues to provide evidence that BFS can be regarded as a suitable filter media, and attempts have also been undertaken in order to further improve the P-removal capacity of this adsorbing material.

Research on the Technology of Producing Building Stone by Using Blast Furnace Slag

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Bingji; Zhang, Jianliang; Guo, Hongwei; Shi, Zhiwen; Liu, Feng

During production of a large quantity of steel, slag is produced at the same time. This paper chooses blast furnace slag (BFS) as the main material for the research. The purpose of the research is to explore its optimal physicochemical properties and the use of BFS in building stone field. The paper elaborates the experimentation process of producing glass-ceramics and presents the results. The results show that SiO2 content in BFS and amount of Cr2O3 and Fe2O3 added as nucleating agents have certain effect on the properties of glass-ceramics. The results also show that the exothermic peak temperature of base glass is the lowest when adding 20% SiO2 to the BFS, and 2% Cr2O3 and 3% Fe2O3 as nucleating agents, which makes easy crystallization and optimal properties of the glass-ceramics.

Nanosized zero-valent iron as Fenton-like reagent for ultrasonic-assisted leaching of zinc from blast furnace sludge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mikhailov, Ivan, E-mail: ivan.mikhailov@misis.ru [National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”, 4 Leninskiy prospekt, Moscow, 119049 (Russian Federation); Komarov, Sergey [Tohoku University, 6-6-02 Aramaki Aza Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8576 (Japan); Levina, Vera; Gusev, Alexander; Issi, Jean-Paul; Kuznetsov, Denis [National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”, 4 Leninskiy prospekt, Moscow, 119049 (Russian Federation)

2017-01-05

Highlights: • nZVI is used as Fenton-like reagent for activation of Zn leaching from the BFS. • nZVI has positive effect on kinetics of Zn leaching though with some loss of efficiency. • A complex ultrasonic-assisted method for BFS recycling is proposed. - Abstract: Ultrasonic-assisted sulphuric acid leaching combined with a Fenton-like process, utilizing nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI), was investigated to enhance the leaching of zinc from the blast furnace sludge (BFS). The leaching of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) from the sludge was investigated using Milli-Q water/BFS ratio of 10 and varying the concentration of hydrogen peroxide, sulphuric acid, the temperature, the input energy for ultrasound irradiation, and the presence or absence of nZVI as a Fenton reagent. The results showed that with 1 g/l addition of nZVI and 0.05 M of hydrogen peroxide, the kinetic rate of Zn leaching increased with a maximum dissolution degree of 80.2%, after 5 min treatment. In the absence of nZVI, the maximum dissolution degree of Zn was 99.2%, after 15 min treatment with 0.1 M of hydrogen peroxide. The rate of Zn leaching at several concentrations of hydrogen peroxide is accelerated in the presence of nZVI although a reduction in efficiency was observed. The loss of Fe was no more than 3%. On the basis of these results, the possible route for BFS recycling has been proposed (BFS slurry mixed with sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide is recirculated under ultrasonic irradiation then separated).

The Hamburg polonium-210 case. Monitoring of internal contaminations in a malevolent act

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalheimer, A.; Koenig, K.; Nosske, D.; Schaefer, I.

2009-01-01

The dead of Alexander Litvinenko in London in the late 2006 was linked with the visit of Dimitri Kovtun. So an investigation was started by the Hamburg Police. As the presence of polonium-210 was uncertain, the action was supported by the Federal Defense against Nuclear Hazards (NGA) of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). Radiation measurements in some flats in Hamburg confirmed the suspicion of polonium-210 contaminations. As incorporations by ingestion or inhalation could not generally be excluded, the Coordinating Office on Incorporation Monitoring of the BfS (Leitstelle Inkorporationsueberwachung des BfS) was requested to clarify this issue. The BfS office then coordinated the required bioassay analyses of urine samples carried out at four officially appointed in-vitro laboratories for incorporation monitoring. The group of people to be examined included the members of the family involved living in the contaminated flats, the emergency forces, as well as potentially exposed members of the public. The calculation of the internal dose was based on standard assumptions and also conducted by the BfS. The internal radiation doses proved to be within the range of radiation doses due to natural exposures. Retrospectively it should be stressed that the collaboration and cooperation of all institutions involved in the operation in Hamburg was extremely good despite their differing organisational structures. As a result of the incident in Hamburg various middle and long-term measures have been taken since then by the BfS Coordinating Office on Incorporation Monitoring. (orig.)

Comparison between Pentacam HR and Orbscan II after hyperopic photorefractive keratectomy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahmoud Jabbarvand

2017-01-01

Conclusion: Pentacam HR and Orbscan II after PRK for hyperopia show reasonable agreement for determining A-BFS, P-BFS, A-TG3, and CCT, but not for A-CE, P-CE, A-TG5, or ACD. CCT measurements with Pentacam HR have reasonable agreement with US pachymetry.

Use of Slag/Sugar Cane Bagasse Ash (SCBA) Blends in the Production of Alkali-Activated Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Castaldelli, Vinícius N; Akasaki, Jorge L; Melges, José L P; Tashima, Mauro M; Soriano, Lourdes; Borrachero, María V; Monzó, José; Payá, Jordi

2013-07-25

Blast furnace slag (BFS)/sugar cane bagasse ash (SCBA) blends were assessed for the production of alkali-activated pastes and mortars. SCBA was collected from a lagoon in which wastes from a sugar cane industry were poured. After previous dry and grinding processes, SCBA was chemically characterized: it had a large percentage of organic matter ( ca. 25%). Solutions of sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate were used as activating reagents. Different BFS/SCBA mixtures were studied, replacing part of the BFS by SCBA from 0 to 40% by weight. The mechanical strength of mortar was measured, obtaining values about 60 MPa of compressive strength for BFS/SCBA systems after 270 days of curing at 20 °C. Also, microstructural properties were assessed by means of SEM, TGA, XRD, pH, electrical conductivity, FTIR spectroscopy and MIP. Results showed a good stability of matrices developed by means of alkali-activation. It was demonstrated that sugar cane bagasse ash is an interesting source for preparing alkali-activated binders.

Brain Fag Syndrome – a myth or a reality | Ola | African Journal of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Brain Fag Syndrome (BFS) is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) as a culture bound syndrome. BFS is a tetrad of somatic complaints; cognitive impairments; sleep related complaints; and other somatic impairments. Prince first described this psychiatric illness associated with ...

Development of engineered cementitious composites with limestone powder and blast furnace slag

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhou, J.; Qian, S.; Sierra Beltran, M.G.; Ye, G.; Van Breugel, K.; Li, V.C.

2009-01-01

Nowadays limestone powder and blast furnace slag (BFS) are widely used in concrete as blended materials in cement. The replacement of Portland cement by limestone powder and BFS can lower the cost and enhance the greenness of concrete, since the production of these two materials needs less energy

Biofilms on Indwelling Urologic Devices: Microbes and Antimicrobial ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

hanumantp

Results: Both single and multi‑species BFs were formed on catheters, whereas mono‑bacterial BFs were exclusive on stents. Predominant organisms were. Pseudomonas ..... of biofouling until the colonized device is removed. Even after removal of a BF colonized-catheter, persistent organisms may re-colonize on the new ...

Influence of silane content and filler distribution on chemical-mechanical properties of resin composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tathy Aparecida XAVIER

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the influence of silane concentration and filler size distribution on the chemical-mechanical properties of experimental composites. Experimental composites with silane contents of 0%, 1% and 3% (in relation to filler mass and composites with mixtures of barium glass particles (median size = 0.4, 1 and 2 μm and nanometric silica were prepared for silane and filler analyses, respectively. The degree of conversion (DC was analyzed by FTIR. Biaxial flexural strength (BFS was tested after 24-h or 90-d storage in water, and fracture toughness, after 24 h. The data were subjected to ANOVA and Tukey’s test (p = 0.05. The DC was not significantly affected by the silane content or filler distribution. The 0% silane group had the lowest immediate BFS, and the 90-d storage time reduced the strength of the 0% and 3% groups. BFS was not affected by filler distribution, and aging decreased the BFS of all the groups. Silanization increased the fracture toughness of both the 1% and 3% groups, similarly. Significantly higher fracture toughness was observed for mixtures with 2 μm glass particles. Based on the results, 3% silane content boosted the initial strength, but was more prone to degradation after water storage. Variations in the filler distribution did not affect BFS, but fracture toughness was significantly improved by increasing the filler size.

Action of low-power laser irradiation on the proliferation of human gingival fibroblasts in vitro

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida-Lopes, Luciana; Jaeger, Marcia M. M.; Brugnera, Aldo, Jr.; Rigau, Josepa

1998-04-01

The low level power laser has been used in dental treatments aiming to improve tissue healing. An in vitro study was performed to analyze the laser influence on gingival fibroblast. A human gingival fibroblast culture (LMF) was produced in DME medium with 10% bovine fetal serum (BFS) cells (LMF) were allocated in Petri plates and cultured in different SFB concentrations (0%, 5% e 10%). After 48 hours the plates were divided in 9 groups: 3 control: 3 irradiated by 635 nm laser; and 3 irradiated by 780 nm laser. The cultured cells received 4 applications, in 12 hours intervals, with energy dosage of 2 joules for each plate, by means of a punctual technique. The growth curves showed that the growth levels were lower in low BFS concentrations. The irradiation with laser accelerated the growth rate in all groups. Additionally, the number of cells developed in low BFS concentration (5%) and irradiated was similar to the number of control cells developed in ideal conditions (10% BFS). There was no statistically significant differences between the effects of the two types of laser studied.

Effect of Hybrid Talc-Basalt Fillers in the Shell Layer on Thermal and Mechanical Performance of Co-Extruded Wood Plastic Composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Runzhou; Mei, Changtong; Xu, Xinwu; Kärki, Timo; Lee, Sunyoung; Wu, Qinglin

2015-12-08

Hybrid basalt fiber (BF) and Talc filled high density polyethylene (HDPE) and co-extruded wood-plastic composites (WPCs) with different BF/Talc/HDPE composition levels in the shell were prepared and their mechanical, morphological and thermal properties were characterized. Incorporating BFs into the HDPE-Talc composite substantially enhanced the thermal expansion property, flexural, tensile and dynamic modulus without causing a significant decrease in the tensile and impact strength of the composites. Strain energy estimation suggested positive and better interfacial interactions of HDPE with BFs than that with talc. The co-extruded structure design improved the mechanical properties of WPC due to the protective shell layer. The composite flexural and impact strength properties increased, and the thermal expansion decreased as BF content increased in the hybrid BF/Talc filled shells. The cone calorimetry data demonstrated that flame resistance of co-extruded WPCs was improved with the use of combined fillers in the shell layer, especially with increased loading of BFs. The combined shell filler system with BFs and Talc could offer a balance between cost and performance for co-extruded WPCs.

Experimental study on workability of alkali activated fly ash and slag-based geopolymer concretes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arbi, K.A.; Nedeljkovic, M.; Zuo, Y.; Grunewald, S.; Keulen, A.; Ye, G.

2015-01-01

This paper presents an investigation on workability and strength of geopolymer concrete made of fly ash (FA), blast furnace slag (BFS) and a multicompound activator of Na2SiO3 and NaOH solutions. The FA/BFS ratios were 100:0, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50, 40:60, 30:70 and 0:100. The workability of geopolymer

Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA): Assessment of the backup flight system FMEA/CIL

Science.gov (United States)

Prust, E. E.; Ewell, J. J., Jr.; Hinsdale, L. W.

1988-01-01

The results of the Independent Orbiter Assessment (IOA) of the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Critical Items List (CIL) are presented. The IOA effort first completed an analysis of the Backup Flight System (BFS) hardware, generating draft failure modes and Potential Critical Items. To preserve independence, this analysis was accomplished without reliance upon the results contained within the NASA FMEA/CIL documentation. The IOA results were then compared to the proposed NASA Post 51-L FMEA/CIL baseline. A resolution of each discrepancy from the comparison is provided through additional analysis as required. This report documents the results of that comparison for the Orbiter BFS hardware. The IOA product for the BFS analysis consisted of 29 failure mode worksheets that resulted in 21 Potential Critical Items (PCI) being identified. This product was originally compared with the proposed NASA BFS baseline and subsequently compared with the applicable Data Processing System (DPS), Electrical Power Distribution and Control (EPD and C), and Displays and Controls NASA CIL items. The comparisons determined if there were any results which had been found by the IOA but were not in the NASA baseline. The original assessment determined there were numerous failure modes and potential critical items in the IOA analysis that were not contained in the NASA BFS baseline. Conversely, the NASA baseline contained three FMEAs (IMU, ADTA, and Air Data Probe) for CIL items that were not identified in the IOA product.

Case-Mix Adjustment of the Bereaved Family Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Kutney-Lee, Ann; Carpenter, Joan; Smith, Dawn; Thorpe, Joshua; Tudose, Alina; Ersek, Mary

2018-01-01

Surveys of bereaved family members are increasingly being used to evaluate end-of-life (EOL) care and to measure organizational performance in EOL care quality. The Bereaved Family Survey (BFS) is used to monitor EOL care quality and benchmark performance in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health-care system. The objective of this study was to develop a case-mix adjustment model for the BFS and to examine changes in facility-level scores following adjustment, in order to provide fair comparisons across facilities. We conducted a cross-sectional secondary analysis of medical record and survey data from veterans and their family members across 146 VA medical centers. Following adjustment using model-based propensity weighting, the mean change in the BFS-Performance Measure score across facilities was -0.6 with a range of -2.6 to 0.6. Fifty-five (38%) facilities changed within ±0.5 percentage points of their unadjusted score. On average, facilities that benefited most from adjustment cared for patients with greater comorbidity burden and were located in urban areas in the Northwest and Midwestern regions of the country. Case-mix adjustment results in minor changes to facility-level BFS scores but allows for fairer comparisons of EOL care quality. Case-mix adjustment of the BFS positions this National Quality Forum-endorsed measure for use in public reporting and internal quality dashboards for VA leadership and may inform the development and refinement of case-mix adjustment models for other surveys of bereaved family members.

Biaxial Flexural Strength of High-Viscosity Glass-Ionomer Cements Heat-Cured with an LED Lamp during Setting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gustavo Fabián Molina

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Adding heat to glass ionomers during setting might improve mechanical properties. The aim was to compare the biaxial flexural strength (BFS between and within four glass ionomers, by time of exposure to a high-intensity LED light-curing unit. Materials and methods. Samples of Fuji 9 Gold Label, Ketac Molar Easymix, ChemFil Rock, and the EQUIA system were divided into three treatment groups (n=30: without heating (Group 1, heated with LED lamp of 1400 mW/cm2 for 30 s while setting (Group 2, and heated with LED lamp of 1400 mW/cm2 for 60 s while setting (Group 3. Samples were stored for 48 hours in distilled water at 37°C until tested. BFS was tested, using a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. Data were analyzed, using ANOVA test with the Bonferroni correction (α=0.05. Heating the glass-ionomer cements with an LED curing light of 1400 mW/cm2 during setting for 30 s increased the BFS value of all GICs. No statistically significant difference in mean BFS scores was found between the EQUIA system and ChemFil Rock at 30 s and 60 s. The mean BFS value was statistically significantly higher for the EQUIA system and ChemFil Rock than for Fuji 9 Gold Label and Ketac Molar Easymix at all exposure times.

Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz. Scientific publications, papers and lectures 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-10-01

Results of the scientific work of BfS (Federal Office for Radiation Protection) staff are usually published in professional journals or presented at congresses and meetings. The publications cover the fields radiation hygiene, radiation protection, nuclear safety, as well as nuclear waste management and transport. The annex contains a list of every thing published so far by BfS. (DG) [de

Waste-Based Pervious Concrete for Climate-Resilient Pavements.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Hsin-Lung; Huang, Ran; Hwang, Lih-Chuan; Lin, Wei-Ting; Hsu, Hui-Mi

2018-05-27

For the sake of environmental protection and circular economy, cement reduction and cement substitutes have become popular research topics, and the application of green materials has become an important issue in the development of building materials. This study developed green pervious concrete using water-quenched blast-furnace slag (BFS) and co-fired fly ash (CFFA) to replace cement. The objectives of this study were to gauge the feasibility of using a non-cement binder in pervious concrete and identify the optimal binder mix design in terms of compressive strength, permeability, and durability. For filled percentage of voids by cement paste (FPVs) of 70%, 80%, and 90%, which mixed with CFFA and BFS as the binder (40 + 60%, 50 + 50%, and 60 + 40%) to create pervious concrete with no cement. The results indicate that the complete (100%) replacement of cement with CFFA and BFS with no alkaline activator could induce hydration, setting, and hardening. After a curing period of 28 days, the compressive strength with different FPVs could reach approximately 90% that of the control cement specimens. The cementless pervious concrete specimens with BFS:CFFA = 7:3 and FPV = 90% presented better engineering properties and permeability.

Sintering mechanism of blast furnace slag-kaolin ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mostafa, Nasser Y.; Shaltout, Abdallah A.; Abdel-Aal, Mohamed S.; El-maghraby, A.

2010-01-01

A general ceramics processing scheme by cold uniaxial pressing and conventional sintering process have been used to prepare ceramics from mixtures of blast furnace slag (BFS) and kaolin (10%, 30% and 50% kaolin). The properties of the ceramics were studied by measuring linear shrinkage, bulk density, apparent porosity and mechanical properties of samples heated at temperatures from 800 o C to 1100 o C. The formed crystalline phases were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Slag melt formed at relatively low temperatures (800-900 o C) modified the sintering process to liquid phase sintering mechanism. Combination of BFS with 10% kaolin gave the highest mechanical properties, densification and shrinkage at relatively low firing temperatures. The crystalline phases were identified as gehlenite (Ca 2 Al 2 SiO 7 ) in both BFS and BFS with 10% kaolin samples. Anorthite (CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 ) phase increased with increasing kaolin contents. In the case of kaolin-rich mixtures (30% and 50% kaolin), increased expansion took place during firing at temperatures in the range 800-1000 o C. This effect could be attributed to the entrapment of released gases.

Effect of Age on Pentacam Keratoconus Indices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maged Maher Salib Roshdy

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To assess the effect of age on elevation and pachymetric Pentacam keratoconus (KC detection indices, and the need to adjust normative values accordingly. Methods. In a retrospective study, 95 eyes of myopic normal subjects without KC were evaluated using the OCULUS Pentacam, with an age range of 17.4 to 46.8 years. Subjects were categorised into three groups according to their age: the first included those younger than 21 years (19 eyes, the second was for the age range of 21–40 years (65 eyes, and the third comprised subjects older than 40 years (11 eyes. Results. There were statistically significant differences among the three groups regarding many elevation indices: AE from BFS, PE from BFS, and PE minus AE from BFS (P=0.003, 0.010, and <0.001, resp., and pachymetric indices: PPI avg, PPI max, ART avg, ART max, and diagonal decentration of the thinnest point (P=<0.001, 0.024, 0.003, 0.026, and 0.026, resp.. On comparing subjects below 21 years to those above 40 years, there was a statistically significant decrease of both PE from BFS and PE minus AE (P=0.005 and <0.001, resp. and statistically significant increase in AE from BFS (P=0.001. Conclusions. Age is an important determinant of elevation indices, significantly altering their normative values. The use of the more robust pachymetry, rather than elevation, indices is recommended in subjects below 21 or above 40 years of age.

Radiation protection research projects. Programme report 2013. Summary of results from recent research projects of the BMU's Applied Research Programme carried out under the responsibility of the German Office of Radiation Protection (BfS); Strahlenschutzforschung. Programmreport 2013. Bericht ueber das vom Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz fachlich begleitete und administrativ umgesetzte Forschungsprogramm Strahlenschutz des Bundesministeriums fuer Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmitt-Hannig, Annemarie; Goedde, Ralph; Loebke-Reinl, Angelika; Hachenberger, Claudia; Trugenberger-Schnabel, Angela (comps.)

2014-09-15

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) awards research grants for projects in the field of radiation protection. The findings of these projects serve as decision aiding information in the development of radiation protection regulations as well as in the fulfilment of specific tasks in the field of radiation protection. Planning, technical and administrative preparation, awarding of contracts, general support as well as the technical evaluation of research and study projects are tasks of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection. This report provides information on preliminary (in the form of status reports) and, where applicable, final results of radiation protection projects within the BMUB's Environmental Research Plan for the year 2013.

Radiation protection research projects. Programme report 2010. Summary of results from recent research projects of the BMU's Applied Research Programme carried out under the responsibility of the German Office of Radiation Protection (BfS); Strahlenschutzforschung. Programmreport 2010. Bericht ueber das vom Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz fachlich begleitete und administrativ umgesetzte Forschungsprogramm Strahlenschutz des Bundesministeriums fuer Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernhard-Stroel, Claudia; Goedde, Ralph; Hachenberger, Claudia; Loebke-Reinl, Angelika; Schmitt-Hannig, Annemarie

2011-11-15

On behalf of the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) awards research grants for projects in the field of radiation protection. The findings of these projects serve as decision aiding information in the development of radiation protection regulations as well as in the fulfilment of specific tasks in the field of radiation protection. Planning, technical and administrative preparation, awarding of contracts, general support as well as the technical evaluation of research and study projects are tasks of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection. This report provides information on preliminary and, where applicable, final results (in the form of status reports) of radiation protection projects within the BMU's Environmental Research Plan for the year 2010. (orig.)

Radiation protection research projects. Programme report 2012. Summary of results from recent research projects of the BMU's Applied Research Programme carried out under the responsibility of the German Office of Radiation Protection (BfS); Strahlenschutzforschung. Programmreport 2012. Bericht ueber das vom Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz fachlich begleitete und administrativ umgesetzte Forschungsprogramm Strahlenschutz des Bundesministeriums fuer Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernhard-Stroel, Claudia; Goedde, Ralph; Hachenberger, Claudia; Loebke-Reinl, Angelika; Schmitt-Hannig, Annemarie; Trugenberger-Schnabel, Angela

2013-12-15

On behalf of the Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) awards research grants for projects in the field of radiation protection. The findings of these projects serve as decision aiding information in the development of radiation protection regulations as well as in the fulfilment of specific tasks in the field of radiation protection. Planning, technical and administrative preparation, awarding of contracts, general support as well as the technical evaluation of research and study projects are tasks of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection. This report provides information on preliminary (in the form of status reports) and, where applicable, final results of radiation protection projects within the BMU's Environmental Research Plan for the year 2012.

Effect of furnace type and ceramming heat treatment conditions on the biaxial flexural strength of a canasite glass-ceramic.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, A; Shareef, M Y; van Noort, R; Walsh, J M

2000-07-01

To assess the effect of different heat treatment conditions when using two different furnace types on the biaxial flexural strength (BFS) of a fluorcanasite castable glass-ceramic. Two furnace types, one a programmable furnace (PF), the other a dental laboratory burnout furnace (DLF), were used with various ceramming times to determine their effect on the BFS of a fluorcanasite castable glass-ceramic. The glass-ceramic material was cast to produce discs of 12 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness using the lost wax casting process (n = 80). After casting, both furnace types were used to ceram the discs. Half the discs were not de-vested from the casting ring before ceramming but cerammed in situ (DLF) and half were de-vested before ceramming (PF). All the discs were given a nucleation heat treatment at 520 degrees C for 1 h and then cerammed at 860 degrees C using four heat soak times (0.5, 1, 2 and 3 h). The DLF furnace had a rate of climb of 13 degrees C/min and the PF furnace had a rate of climb of 5 degrees C/min to 520 degrees C and 3 degrees C/min to 860 degrees C. After ceramming the discs were de-vested and the BFS determined using a Lloyd 2000R tester. The maximum BFS values seen for both furnace types were almost identical (280 MPa), but were achieved at different heat soak times (1 h DLF, and 2 h PF). The only significant differences in BFS values for the two furnaces were between the 0.5 and 2 h heat soak times (p < or = 0.05). Individual differences were seen between results obtained from each furnace type/heat soak times evaluated (p < or = 0.05). Already available dental laboratory burnout furnaces can be used to ceram fluorcanasite glass-ceramic castings to the same BFS values as more expensive and slower specialist programmable furnaces.

Novel bayes factors that capture expert uncertainty in prior density specification in genetic association studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Spencer, Amy V; Cox, Angela; Lin, Wei-Yu; Easton, Douglas F; Michailidou, Kyriaki; Walters, Kevin

2015-05-01

Bayes factors (BFs) are becoming increasingly important tools in genetic association studies, partly because they provide a natural framework for including prior information. The Wakefield BF (WBF) approximation is easy to calculate and assumes a normal prior on the log odds ratio (logOR) with a mean of zero. However, the prior variance (W) must be specified. Because of the potentially high sensitivity of the WBF to the choice of W, we propose several new BF approximations with logOR ∼N(0,W), but allow W to take a probability distribution rather than a fixed value. We provide several prior distributions for W which lead to BFs that can be calculated easily in freely available software packages. These priors allow a wide range of densities for W and provide considerable flexibility. We examine some properties of the priors and BFs and show how to determine the most appropriate prior based on elicited quantiles of the prior odds ratio (OR). We show by simulation that our novel BFs have superior true-positive rates at low false-positive rates compared to those from both P-value and WBF analyses across a range of sample sizes and ORs. We give an example of utilizing our BFs to fine-map the CASP8 region using genotype data on approximately 46,000 breast cancer case and 43,000 healthy control samples from the Collaborative Oncological Gene-environment Study (COGS) Consortium, and compare the single-nucleotide polymorphism ranks to those obtained using WBFs and P-values from univariate logistic regression. © 2015 The Authors. *Genetic Epidemiology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Estimación de la biomasa foliar seca de Lippia graveolens Kunth del sureste de Coahuila

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eulalia Edith Villavicencio Gutiérrez

2018-01-01

Full Text Available El orégano es un recurso forestal no maderable de importancia comercial, considerado como una especie aromática y culinaria que se aprovecha en las zonas semiáridas de Coahuila, con una producción mayor a 700 t anuales, y representa para el sector rural una opción productiva. Con el propósito de cuantificar el recurso y contribuir a regular su aprovechamiento, se determinaron las relaciones alométricas de individuos de orégano recolectados en 20 poblaciones naturales distribuidas en los municipios General Cepeda, Parras de la Fuente y Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, para seleccionar un modelo que estime la biomasa foliar seca (Bfs de la planta. A partir de un muestreo destructivo, se analizaron 706 plantas, de las cuales se obtuvo su altura total (At, diámetro mayor arbustivo (DM y diámetro menor arbustivo (Dm, diámetro promedio (Dp de la copa y biomasa foliar seca (Bfs. Con la prueba de correlación de Pearson se eligieron las variables más relacionadas con la Bfs , las cuales se emplearon para ajustar 10 modelos de regresión mediante el procedimiento PROC MODEL. El modelo seleccionado fue el de Schumacher-Hall Bfs 0.00599(Dp1.935454(At0.256803por registrar valores superiores de R2aju (0.80 y el menor valor en la raíz del cuadrado medio del error (RCME, 0.304, considerando la significancia de sus parámetros (p≤ 0.0001, a partir de este se elaboró una tabla de doble entrada que estima la Bfs de las plantas.

Interaction of antimicrobial preservatives with blow-fill-seal packs: correlating sorption with solubility parameters.

Science.gov (United States)

Amin, Aeshna; Dare, Manish; Sangamwar, Abhay; Bansal, Arvind Kumar

2012-01-01

The aim of this work was to study the interaction of four commonly used ophthalmic antimicrobial preservatives [benzyl alcohol (BA), chlorbutol (CBL), benzalkonium chloride (BKC), and chlorhexidine gluconate (CG)] with Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) packs. Effect of packaging material [low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP)], humidity (25% RH, 75% RH) and concentration (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 mM BA/CBL in LDPE) was studied. BKC and CG gave negligible loss (<4%) in BFS packs over a period of 3 months. BA and CBL, however, gave marked losses in LDPE (ca. 70-90%) and PP (ca. 7-25%) packs. Humidity did not have any effect on the sorption loss of any preservative. Loss of BA switched from Case II to anomalous behavior with increasing initial concentration. A two-stage sorption behavior was inherent at all concentrations. Loss of CBL followed anomalous behavior with biphasic kinetics of loss. It was concluded that all the four preservatives were appropriate for use in PP BFS packs. However, only BKC and CG were amenable to be used in LDPE BFS packs. Lastly, an empirical expression consisting of the "solubility parameter distance" and "molar volume" of preservatives was developed to correlate the preservative loss in LDPE with the physicochemical properties of the preservatives.

Collaborative Russian-US work in nuclear material protection, control and accounting at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering. II. extension to additional facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuzin, V.V.; Pshakin, G.M.; Belov, A.P.

1996-01-01

During 1995, collaborative Russian-US nuclear material protection, control and accounting (MPC ampersand A) tasks at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE) in Obninsk, Russia focused on improving the protection of nuclear materials at the BFS Fast Critical Facility. BFS has thousands of fuel disks containing highly enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium that are used to simulate the core configurations of experimental reactors in two critical assemblies. Completed tasks culminated in demonstrations of newly implemented equipment and methods that enhanced the MPC ampersand A at BFS through computerized accounting, nondestructive inventory verification measurements, personnel identification and assess control, physical inventory taking, physical protection, and video surveillance. The collaborative work is now being extended. The additional tasks encompass communications and tamper-indicating devices; new storage alternatives; and systemization of the MPC ampersand A elements that are being implemented

Archival of the ZPPR-15B physics experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lell, R.; McKnight, R.

2012-01-01

This I-NERI collaboration between Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) began mid-year (April, 2010). This report summarizes the progress for year two of the proposed three-year collaboration to generate a physics validation database of integral experiments for metallic fueled fast reactor systems. The objective of the proposed project is to archive and evaluate the integral experiment data, analyze the experiments, and prepare detailed computational models to be used for validating the modern suites of fast reactor design analysis tools which are under development at ANL and KAERI. A series of mockup experiments for a 330 MWe Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) at ANL under the ZPPR-15 Program, also known as the IFR Benchmark Physics Test Program will be retrieved and analyzed in this project. The ZPPR-15 program was conducted in four phases. Each phase was marked by a particular composition of the reference assembly. In the first phase (15A), only plutonium, depleted uranium, stainless steel and sodium were included in this very clean physics assembly. This allowed examination of the effect of removing oxygen from the typical oxide-fueled sodium fast reactor. Zirconium was added in the second phase (15B). Additionally, 13 control rods and channels were added after the first phase. In the third phase (15C), roughly half of the core volume was fueled by enriched uranium to simulate a fast reactor transition composition. In the final phase (15D), the enriched uranium component was increased to 90%, simulating a near-beginning-of-life composition. In addition to criticality, control rod worths, reaction rate distribution, reactivity coefficients, gamma heating, neutron spectrum and kinetics, there were a number of measurements aimed at addressing special issues of safety, economics and metal fuel composition. The BFS-73-1 and BFS-75-1 experiments of KAERI carried out as the mockup experiment of KALIMER-150 at the Russian BFS-1

Characterization of a gamma spectrometry monitor LaBr{sub 3} automatic stations for environmental monitoring; Caracterizacion de un monitor de espectrometria gamma de LaBr{sub 3} para las estaciones automaticas de vigilancia ambiental

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vargas, A.; Salvador-Castineria, P.; Roig, M.; Fernandez-Varea, J. M.; Padro, A.

2011-07-01

The Institut de Techniques Energetiques (INTE) of the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC) is collaborating with the German Radiation Protection (BfS) in order to characterize LaBr{sub 3} detector developed by the BfS for future installation of monitoring networks automatic. This paper presents the results obtained with the monitor installed on the roof of the premises of INTE South Campus located in Barcelona and Monte Carlo simulations that complement its characterization.

Electromagnetic Shielding Characteristics of Eco-Friendly Foamed Concrete Wall

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sung-Sil Cho

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The electromagnetic shielding characteristics according to the material composition of foamed concrete, which was manufactured to reduce environmental pollution and to economically apply it in actual building walls, were researched herein. Industrial by-products such as ladle furnace slag (LFS, gypsum, and blast furnace slag (BFS were added to manufacture foamed concrete with enhanced functionalities such as lightweight, heat insulation, and sound insulation. The electrical characteristics such as permittivity and loss tangent according to the foam and BFS content were calculated and measured. Free space measurement was used to measure the electromagnetic shielding characteristics of the actually manufactured foamed concrete. It was confirmed that electromagnetic signals were better blocked when the foam content was low and the BFS content was high in the measured frequency bands (1–8 GHz and that approximately 90% of the electromagnetic signals were blocked over 4 GHz.

The influence of irradiation potential on the degree of conversion and mechanical properties of two bulk-fill flowable RBC base materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Finan, Leah; Palin, William M; Moskwa, Natalia; McGinley, Emma Louise; Fleming, Garry J P

2013-08-01

To assess the depth of cure claims of two bulk-fill flowable RBC bases (SDR and x-tra base) using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, biaxial flexure strength (BFS), and Vickers hardness number (VHN) for specimen depths of 8mm (in 1mm increments). The degree of conversion (DC) was measured by monitoring the peak height (6164cm(-1)) of specimens (11.0±0.1mm diameter, 1.0±0.1mm thickness) during light irradiation for 20s using a quartz tungsten halogen light curing unit at 650±26mW/cm(2). DC was measured up to 120s post irradiation and repeated (n=3) for irradiation depths up to 8mm (in 1mm increments). Further series (n=20) of eight discs were prepared, stacked, light irradiated and numbered from one to eight (distance from the LCU). The specimens were stored at 37±1°C for 24h and BFS tested with the fracture fragments used to determine the VHN for each specimen. X-tra base can be irradiated to 8mm without a change in DC, something the SDR material cannot claim. However, the DC results confirm both bulk-fill flowable RBC bases have a depth of cure in excess of 4mm. One-way ANOVAs of BFS and VHN data showed significant differences between irradiation depths for x-tra base and SDR with increasing irradiation depth (4mm) resulting in significant reductions in mean BFS and VHN. The claims that the bulk-fill flowable RBC bases have a depth of cure in excess of 4mm can be confirmed but the differing chemistry of the resin formulations and filler characteristics contribute to significant differences in DC, BFS and VHN data between the two materials tested. Copyright © 2013 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The implementation of biofiltration systems, rainwater tanks and urban irrigation in a single-layer urban canopy model

Science.gov (United States)

Demuzere, Matthias; Coutts, Andrew; Goehler, Maren; Broadbent, Ashley; Wouters, Hendrik; van Lipzig, Nicole; Gebert, Luke

2015-04-01

Urban vegetation is generally considered as a key tool to modify the urban energy balance through enhanced evapotranspiration (ET). Given that vegetation is most effective when it is healthy, stormwater harvesting and retention strategies (such as water sensitive urban design) could be used to support vegetation and promote ET. This study presents the implementation of a vegetated lined bio-filtration system (BFS) combined with a rainwater tank (RWT) and urban irrigation system in the single-layer urban canopy model Community Land Model-Urban. Runoff from roof and impervious road surface fractions is harvested and used to support an adequate soil moisture level for vegetation in the BFS. In a first stage, modelled soil moisture dynamics are evaluated and found reliable compared to observed soil moisture levels from biofiltration pits in Smith Street, Melbourne (Australia). Secondly, the impact of BFS, RWT and urban irrigation on ET is illustrated for a two-month period in 2012 using varying characteristics for all components. Results indicate that (i) a large amount of stormwater is potentially available for indoor and outdoor water demands, including irrigation of urban vegetation, (ii) ET from the BFS is an order of magnitude larger compared to the contributions from the impervious surfaces, even though the former only covers 10% of the surface fraction and (iii) attention should be paid to the cover fraction and soil texture of the BFS, size of the RWT and the surface fractions contributing to the collection of water in the RWT. Overall, this study reveals that this model development can effectuate future research with state-of-the-art urban climate models to further explore the benefits of vegetated biofiltration systems as a water sensitive urban design tool optimised with an urban irrigation system to maintain healthy vegetation.

Anatomy of a rift system: Triassic-Jurassic basins of eastern North America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schlische, R.W. (Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ (United States)); Olsen, P.E. (Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY (United States))

1991-03-01

Basins containing the early Mesozoic Newark Supergroup formed during the incipient rifting of Pangaea. The basins are characterized by the following: (1) The border fault systems (BFS) represent reactivated older faults. (2) A regionally persistent northwest-southeast to west-northeast-east-southeast extension direction reactivated northeast- to north-striking structures as predominantly normal dip-slip faults. (3) The half-grabens are lozenge-shaped basins in which subsidence-fault slip was greatest at or near the center of the BFS and decreased to zero toward either end. (4) Transverse folds in the hanging walls immediately adjacent to the BFS formed as a result of higher-frequency variations in subsidence. (5) Subsidence also decreased in a direction perpendicular to the BFS. (6) Intrabasinal faults are overwhelmingly synthetic and predominantly post-depositional. (7) Younger strata progressively onlap prerift rocks of the hanging wall block; this indicates that the basins grew both in width and length as they filled. (8) In all basins initial sedimentation was fluvial, reflecting an oversupply of sediment with respect to basin capacity. (9) Sediments were derived largely from the hanging wall block, which sloped toward the basin, and from streams that entered the basin axially; a direct footwall source was minor, owing to footwall uplift. (10) In strike-slip-dominated basins, subsidence was considerably less than in dip-slip basins, and mosaics of strike- and dip-slip faults are common.

Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz. Annual report 1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-08-01

The progress report submitted by Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz reveals that this federal radiation protection agency is not only entrusted with the fulfillment of the federal administrative tasks imposed by law but engages in applications-oriented research regarding the operational, metrological and health-related aspects of radiation protection, regarding nuclear safety and radioactive waste management. In addition, BfS takes care of public-relations tasks. The reports submitted by the BfS departments are completed by summaries of the main research results. (orig.) [de

Beam forming system modernization at the MMF linac proton injector

CERN Document Server

Derbilov, V I; Nikulin, E S; Frolov, O T

2001-01-01

The isolation improvements of the beam forming system (BFS) of the MMF linac proton injector ion source are reported. The mean beam current and,accordingly, BFS electrode heating were increased when the MMF linac has began to operate regularly in long beam sessions with 50 Hz pulse repetition rate. That is why the BFS electrode high-voltage isolation that was made previously as two consequently and rigidly glued solid cylinder insulators has lost mechanical and electric durability. The substitution of large (160 mm) diameter cylinder insulator for four small diameter (20 mm) tubular rods has improved vacuum conditions in the space of beam forming and has allowed to operate without failures when beam currents being up to 250 mA and extraction and focusing voltage being up to 25 and 40 kV respectively. Moreover,the construction provides the opportunity of electrode axial move. The insulators are free from electrode thermal expansion mechanical efforts in a transverse direction.

Superconducting bandpass delta-sigma modulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bulzacchelli, J.F.; Lee, H.-S.; Misewich, J.A.; Ketchen, M.B.

1999-01-01

Bandpass delta-sigma modulators digitize narrowband signals with high dynamic range and linearity. The required sampling rate is only a few times higher than the centre frequency of the input. This paper presents a superconducting bandpass delta-sigma modulator for direct analogue-to-digital conversion of RF signals in the GHz range. The input signal is capacitively coupled to one end of a microstrip transmission line, and a single flux quantum balanced comparator quantizes the current flowing out of the other end. Quantization noise is suppressed at the quarter-wave resonance of the transmission line (about 2 GHz in our design). Circuit performance at a 20 GHz sampling rate has been studied with several long JSIM simulations. Full-scale (FS) input sensitivity is 20 mV (rms), and in-band noise is -53 dBFS and -57 dBFS over bandwidths of 39 MHz and 19.5 MHz, respectively. In-band intermodulation distortion is better than -69 dBFS. (author)

Bi-Directional Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analyzer System for Long Range Distributed Sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Nan; Wang, Liang; Wang, Jie; Jin, Chao; Tam, Hwa-Yaw; Zhang, A. Ping; Lu, Chao

2016-01-01

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel scheme of bi-directional Brillouin time domain analyzer (BD-BOTDA) to extend the sensing range. By deploying two pump-probe pairs at two different wavelengths, the Brillouin frequency shift (BFS) distribution over each half of the whole fiber can be obtained with the simultaneous detection of Brillouin signals in both channels. Compared to the conventional unidirectional BOTDA system of the same sensing range, the proposed BD-BOTDA scheme enables distributed sensing with a performance level comparable to the conventional one with half of the sensing range and a spatial resolution of 2 m, while maintaining the Brillouin signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the BFS uncertainty. Based on this technique, we have achieved distributed temperature sensing with a measurement range of 81.9 km fiber at a spatial resolution of 2 m and BFS uncertainty of ~0.44 MHz without introducing any complicated components or schemes. PMID:27999250

Bi-Directional Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analyzer System for Long Range Distributed Sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Nan; Wang, Liang; Wang, Jie; Jin, Chao; Tam, Hwa-Yaw; Zhang, A Ping; Lu, Chao

2016-12-16

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel scheme of bi-directional Brillouin time domain analyzer (BD-BOTDA) to extend the sensing range. By deploying two pump-probe pairs at two different wavelengths, the Brillouin frequency shift (BFS) distribution over each half of the whole fiber can be obtained with the simultaneous detection of Brillouin signals in both channels. Compared to the conventional unidirectional BOTDA system of the same sensing range, the proposed BD-BOTDA scheme enables distributed sensing with a performance level comparable to the conventional one with half of the sensing range and a spatial resolution of 2 m, while maintaining the Brillouin signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the BFS uncertainty. Based on this technique, we have achieved distributed temperature sensing with a measurement range of 81.9 km fiber at a spatial resolution of 2 m and BFS uncertainty of ~0.44 MHz without introducing any complicated components or schemes.

Effect of the bur grit size on the flexural strength of a glass-ceramic

OpenAIRE

Kist, P. P.; Aurélio, I. L.; Amaral, M.; May, L. G.

2016-01-01

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to determine the biaxial flexural strength (BFS) of a CAD/CAM leucite reinforced glass-ceramic ground by diamond burs of different grit sizes and the influence of surface roughness on the BFS. For this, 104 plates were obtained from CAD/CAM ceramic blocks and divided into 4 groups (n = 26), according to bur grit size: extra-fine, fine, medium and coarse. Roughness parameters (Ra, RyMax) were measured, and plates were kept dry for 7 days. The flexu...

Blank Field Sources in the ROSAT HRI Brera Multiscale Wavelet catalog

OpenAIRE

Chieregato, M.; Campana, S.; Treves, A.; Moretti, A.; Mignani, R. P.; Tagliaferri, G.

2005-01-01

The search for Blank Field Sources (BFS), i.e. X-ray sources without optical counterparts, paves the way to the identification of unusual objects in the X-ray sky. Here we present four BFS detected in the Brera Multiscale Wavelet catalog of ROSAT HRI observations. This sample has been selected on the basis of source brightness, distance from possible counterparts at other wavelengths, point-like shape and good estimate of the X-ray flux (f_X). The observed f_X and the limiting magnitude of th...

Information on Asse II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

The brochure published by BfS describes the actual situation of Asse II with respect to the debate on an interim storage and the status of the realization of a final repository search law. During the visit of the new environment minister Hendricks in the underground facility repository Asse II the issue interim storage site and the retrieval of the corroded casks with radioactive waste were discussed. The challenges for BFS include the acceleration of the retrieval process and the safety of the procedure.

Effects of by-product feed-based silage on feeding, rumination, and excretion in growing Hanwoo heifers.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Young-Il; Lee, Sang Moo; Lee, Youn Hee; Lee, Myeon; Choi, Do Young; Kwak, Wan Sup

2015-01-01

This study investigated the effects of feeding by-product feed (BF)-based silage on the behavior of growing Hanwoo heifers. Twelve Hanwoo heifers (13.2 months-old, 315 kg body weight; four heifers per pen) were assigned to three diets: a rice straw (RS) diet (concentrate mix and free access to RS), a RS and BF-based silage (RSBFS) diet (concentrate mix and free access to RS and BF-based silage), and a BF-based silage (BFS) diet (concentrate mix and free access to BF-based silage). Behavior was recorded for 5 days using camcorders. Compared to the RS group, the BFS group showed 21.7% higher dry matter intake, shorter feeding, rumination, and chewing times, as well as longer resting time (p < 0.05). Although all groups exhibited similar drinking, urination, and defecation frequencies, the BFS group exhibited higher feeding rates, rumination efficiency, and chewing efficiency than the RS group (p < 0.05). Compared to the BFS group, the RSBFS group showed higher peNDF8.0 intake (15.2% vs. 25.0% dry matter intake), longer feeding and sitting times, lower defecation frequency (p < 0.05), and similar rumination efficiency. In conclusion, complete replacement of conventional RS with BF-based silage reduced rumination and chewing activity in growing Hanwoo heifers, and BF-based silage feeding with large-particle straw is an effective approach in improving heifer behavior.

Effect of Ceramic Surface Treatments After Machine Grinding on the Biaxial Flexural Strength of Different CAD/CAM Dental Ceramics.

Science.gov (United States)

Bagheri, Hossein; Hooshmand, Tabassom; Aghajani, Farzaneh

2015-09-01

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different ceramic surface treatments after machining grinding on the biaxial flexural strength (BFS) of machinable dental ceramics with different crystalline phases. Disk-shape specimens (10mm in diameter and 1.3mm in thickness) of machinable ceramic cores (two silica-based and one zirconia-based ceramics) were prepared. Each type of the ceramic surfaces was then randomly treated (n=15) with different treatments as follows: 1) machined finish as control, 2) machined finish and sandblasting with alumina, and 3) machined finish and hydrofluoric acid etching for the leucite and lithium disilicate-based ceramics, and for the zirconia; 1) machined finish and post-sintered as control, 2) machined finish, post-sintered, and sandblasting, and 3) machined finish, post-sintered, and Nd;YAG laser irradiation. The BFS were measured in a universal testing machine. Data based were analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey's multiple comparisons post-hoc test (α=0.05). The mean BFS of machined finish only surfaces for leucite ceramic was significantly higher than that of sandblasted (P=0.001) and acid etched surfaces (P=0.005). A significantly lower BFS was found after sandblasting for lithium disilicate compared with that of other groups (Pceramics was affected by the type of ceramic material and surface treatment method. Sandblasting with alumina was detrimental to the strength of only silica-based ceramics. Nd:YAG laser irradiation may lead to substantial strength degradation of zirconia.

Cost of goods sold and total cost of delivery for oral and parenteral vaccine packaging formats.

Science.gov (United States)

Sedita, Jeff; Perrella, Stefanie; Morio, Matt; Berbari, Michael; Hsu, Jui-Shan; Saxon, Eugene; Jarrahian, Courtney; Rein-Weston, Annie; Zehrung, Darin

2018-03-14

Despite limitations of glass packaging for vaccines, the industry has been slow to implement alternative formats. Polymer containers may address many of these limitations, such as breakage and delamination. However, the ability of polymer containers to achieve cost of goods sold (COGS) and total cost of delivery (TCOD) competitive with that of glass containers is unclear, especially for cost-sensitive low- and lower-middle-income countries. COGS and TCOD models for oral and parenteral vaccine packaging formats were developed based on information from subject matter experts, published literature, and Kenya's comprehensive multiyear plan for immunization. Rotavirus and inactivated poliovirus vaccines (IPV) were used as representative examples of oral and parenteral vaccines, respectively. Packaging technologies evaluated included glass vials, blow-fill-seal (BFS) containers, preformed polymer containers, and compact prefilled auto-disable (CPAD) devices in both BFS and preformed formats. For oral vaccine packaging, BFS multi-monodose (MMD) ampoules were the least expensive format, with a COGS of $0.12 per dose. In comparison, oral single-dose glass vials had a COGS of $0.40. BFS MMD ampoules had the lowest TCOD of oral vaccine containers at $1.19 per dose delivered, and ten-dose glass vials had a TCOD of $1.61 per dose delivered. For parenteral vaccines, the lowest COGS was achieved with ten-dose glass vials at $0.22 per dose. In contrast, preformed CPAD devices had the highest COGS at $0.60 per dose. Ten-dose glass vials achieved the lowest TCOD of the parenteral vaccine formats at $1.56 per dose delivered. Of the polymer containers for parenteral vaccines, BFS MMD ampoules achieved the lowest TCOD at $1.89 per dose delivered, whereas preformed CPAD devices remained the most expensive format, at $2.25 per dose delivered. Given their potential to address the limitations of glass and reduce COGS and TCOD, polymer containers deserve further consideration as alternative

Heat of hydration measurements on cemented radioactive wastes. Part 1: cement-water pastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, D.J.

1983-12-01

This report describes the hydration of cement pastes in terms of chemical and kinetic models. A calorimetric technique was used to measure the heat of hydration to develop these models. The effects of temperature, water/cement ratio and cement replacements, ground granulated blast furnace slag (BFS) and pulverised fuel ash (PFA) on the hydration of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is reported. The incorporation of BFS or PFA has a marked effect on the hydration reaction. The effect of temperature is also important but changing the water/cement ratio has little effect. Results from cement pastes containing only water and cement yield total heats of reaction of 400, 200 and 100 kJ/kg for OPC, BFS and PFA respectively. Using the results from the models which have been developed, the effect of major salts present in radioactive waste streams can be assessed. Values of the total heat of reaction, the time to complete 50 percent reaction, and the energy of activation, can be compared for different waste systems. (U.K.)

The use of activated slags as immobilisation matrices for ILW

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milestone, N. B.; Bai, Y.; Yang, C. H.; Shi, Y. J.; Li, X. C.

2008-01-01

Composite cements where large amounts of blast furnace slag (BFS) replace Portland cement are currently used for immobilisation of ILW. Hydration of BFS is activated by the small amount of OPC present but the amount of reaction that occurs is limited at ambient temperatures. Increasing the temperature increases the hydration of the BFS but large amounts still remain unreacted, leaving a porous matrix where the capillary pores remain filled with a highly alkaline solution. This solution causes corrosion of reactive metals giving rise to expansive reactions and hydrogen release, and it can destroy the structure of zeolites releasing the adsorbed species. Apart from OPC, BFS hydration can be activated by other compounds such as hydroxides, sulphates, silicates, and calcium aluminate cements. The use of these alternatives gives rise to binders such as ettringite and straetlingite which have a different chemistry where the pore solution has a lower pH. Corrosion of metals does not readily occur in these binders. This may be due to the reduced pH but could also arise from the lack of pore water, as these binders bind more water in their structure so that it is not available for transport of ionic species. This extra water binding also has potential for immobilisation of sludges where high w/s ratios are necessitated by the need to transport the sludge. This paper will review some of the alternative activators for slag hydration and present experimental results on several systems where slag has been activated with compounds other than OPC. (authors)

Open and fast available dose rate data for the public. Challenges and opportunities of internet based communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaehringer, M.; Luff, R.; Schiesewitz, M.

2014-01-01

The BfS website ''ODLInfo'' had been operational for many years when it suddenly became frequently visited by the public due to the Fukushima accident. BfS responded with increased polling frequency of the gamma probes in the network and a higher frequency in update of the web site. Not yet validated data were also published. The web site was extended by explanatory text and additional functionalities, including a complete translation into english language. Many questions directed to BfS by E-mail and related to this web site had to be answered. This was used as a valuable feedback for improving the its design. Additional services were implemented for providers of special applications of smartphones. The market is characterized by a great variability between serious and lurid apps. BfS seeks to support providers in giving explanatory help. Similar websites exist on European and international level. The EU is publishing data from member states on the EURDEP site. NGOs established platforms for uploading and visualizing private dose rate measurements in Japan after 11 march 2011. This development has important implication for emergency preparedness. Information platforms must be authentic and timely. They must compete with alternative data sources in contents and presentation. Data must be presented understandable. Ideally, the public can understand the data and set it into relation to reference values. Often people want to compare their own measurements - sometimes collected with low quality equipment - with official data. Radiation issues are much better understood by the lay public if visible effects in the variability of the measured dose rate are explained.

MRI-Based Regional Muscle Use during Hamstring Strengthening Exercises in Elite Soccer Players.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendez-Villanueva, Alberto; Suarez-Arrones, Luis; Rodas, Gil; Fernandez-Gonzalo, Rodrigo; Tesch, Per; Linnehan, Richard; Kreider, Richard; Di Salvo, Valter

2016-01-01

The present study examined site-specific hamstring muscles use with functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in elite soccer players during strength training. Thirty-six players were randomized into four groups, each performing either Nordic hamstring, flywheel leg-curl, Russian belt or the hip-extension conic-pulley exercise. The transverse relaxation time (T2) shift from pre- to post-MRI were calculated for the biceps femoris long (BFl) and short (BFs) heads, semitendinosus (ST) and semimembranosus (SM) muscles at proximal, middle and distal areas of the muscle length. T2 values increased substantially after flywheel leg-curl in all regions of the BFl (from 9±8 to 16±8%), BFs (41±6-71±11%), and ST (60±1-69±7%). Nordic hamstring induced a substantial T2 increase in all regions of the BFs (13±8-16±5%) and ST (15±7-17±5%). T2 values after the Russian belt deadlift substantially increased in all regions of the BFl (6±4-7±5%), ST (8±3-11±2%), SM (6±4-10±4%), and proximal and distal regions of BFs (6±6-8±5%). T2 values substantially increased after hip-extension conic-pulley only in proximal and middle regions of BFl (11±5-7±5%) and ST (7±3-12±4%). The relevance of such MRI-based inter- and intra-muscle use in designing more effective resistance training for improving hamstring function and preventing hamstring injuries in elite soccer players should be explored with more mechanistic studies.

Open and fast available dose rate data for the public. Challenges and opportunities of internet based communication; Offene und schnelle Verfuegbarkeit von ODL-Messwerten in der Oeffentlichkeit. Herausforderungen und Chancen durch internetbasierte Kommunikationsformen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zaehringer, M.; Luff, R.; Schiesewitz, M. [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, Salzgitter (Germany)

2014-01-20

The BfS website ''ODLInfo'' had been operational for many years when it suddenly became frequently visited by the public due to the Fukushima accident. BfS responded with increased polling frequency of the gamma probes in the network and a higher frequency in update of the web site. Not yet validated data were also published. The web site was extended by explanatory text and additional functionalities, including a complete translation into english language. Many questions directed to BfS by E-mail and related to this web site had to be answered. This was used as a valuable feedback for improving the its design. Additional services were implemented for providers of special applications of smartphones. The market is characterized by a great variability between serious and lurid apps. BfS seeks to support providers in giving explanatory help. Similar websites exist on European and international level. The EU is publishing data from member states on the EURDEP site. NGOs established platforms for uploading and visualizing private dose rate measurements in Japan after 11 march 2011. This development has important implication for emergency preparedness. Information platforms must be authentic and timely. They must compete with alternative data sources in contents and presentation. Data must be presented understandable. Ideally, the public can understand the data and set it into relation to reference values. Often people want to compare their own measurements - sometimes collected with low quality equipment - with official data. Radiation issues are much better understood by the lay public if visible effects in the variability of the measured dose rate are explained.

A Bayesian Approach to the Overlap Analysis of Epidemiologically Linked Traits.

Science.gov (United States)

Asimit, Jennifer L; Panoutsopoulou, Kalliope; Wheeler, Eleanor; Berndt, Sonja I; Cordell, Heather J; Morris, Andrew P; Zeggini, Eleftheria; Barroso, Inês

2015-12-01

Diseases often cooccur in individuals more often than expected by chance, and may be explained by shared underlying genetic etiology. A common approach to genetic overlap analyses is to use summary genome-wide association study data to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with multiple traits at a selected P-value threshold. However, P-values do not account for differences in power, whereas Bayes' factors (BFs) do, and may be approximated using summary statistics. We use simulation studies to compare the power of frequentist and Bayesian approaches with overlap analyses, and to decide on appropriate thresholds for comparison between the two methods. It is empirically illustrated that BFs have the advantage over P-values of a decreasing type I error rate as study size increases for single-disease associations. Consequently, the overlap analysis of traits from different-sized studies encounters issues in fair P-value threshold selection, whereas BFs are adjusted automatically. Extensive simulations show that Bayesian overlap analyses tend to have higher power than those that assess association strength with P-values, particularly in low-power scenarios. Calibration tables between BFs and P-values are provided for a range of sample sizes, as well as an approximation approach for sample sizes that are not in the calibration table. Although P-values are sometimes thought more intuitive, these tables assist in removing the opaqueness of Bayesian thresholds and may also be used in the selection of a BF threshold to meet a certain type I error rate. An application of our methods is used to identify variants associated with both obesity and osteoarthritis. © 2015 The Authors. *Genetic Epidemiology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Inverse gas chromatography as a method for determination of surface properties of binding materials

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Jihai; Lu, Xiaolei; Yang, Chunxia; Du, Baoli; Wang, Shuxian; Ye, Zhengmao

2017-09-01

Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) is a promising measurement technique for investigating the surface properties of binding materials, which are the major influence element for the adsorption performance of superplasticizer. In this work, using the IGC method, blast furnace slag (BFS), sulphoaluminate cement (SAC) and portland cement (P·O) are employed to systematically evaluate the corresponding dispersive component (γsd), specific surface free energy (γsab), and acid-base properties. The obtained results show that γsd contributes to a major section of the surface free energy in the three binding materials, suggesting they are of a relatively low polarity. Compared to the two kinds of cements, the BFS possesses the highest dispersive and specific surface free energies (the values are 45.01 mJ/m2 and 11.68 mJ/m2, respectively), and also exhibits a wider distribution range of γsd, indicating their surfaces are heterogeneous. For acid-base properties, the results indicate the surfaces of three samples are basic in nature. In addition, the adsorption investigation shows that per unit surface of BFS adsorbs the most superplasticizer molecules, which indicates the higher surface free energies is beneficial to the superplasticizer adsorption.

Prediction of the Sodium Void Reactivity in the Metal-fueled SFR Using the ENDF/B-VII.0 Library

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yun, Sunghwan; Lim, Jae-Yong [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

The SVR (Sodium Void Reactivity) is one of the most important parameters in SFR (Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor) safety analysis. In this paper, to estimate the error of the SVR in metal-fueled SFR, three physics experiments named as BFS-75-1, BFS-109-2A, and BFS-84-1 were examined using recent cross-section library, ENDF/B-VII.0 and the MCNP code. In the MCNP6 calculation, two million histories/generation with 50 inactive/300 active generations are used with the continuous-energy ENDF/B-VII.0 library. We expect that accuracy of total cross-section of the sodium may play a dominant role in errors of SVRs at core peripheral and sodium plenum regions, whereas accuracy of capture cross-section of the sodium may play a dominant role for the results in errors of SVRs at core central region. In addition, capture cross-sections of the sodium in the ENDF/B-VII.0, the JEFF-3.2, and the JENDL-4.0 libraries show significant differences between each other, while total cross-sections of sodium in three libraries show good agreement.

Research on optimizing components of microfine high-performance composite cementitious materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Shuguang; Guan Xuemao; Ding Qingjun

2002-01-01

The relationship between material components and mechanical properties was studied in terms of composite material principles and orthogonal experimental design. Moreover, the microstructure of microfine high-performance composite cementitious material (MHPCC) paste was investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods. The results showed that the composite material consisting of blast furnace slag (BFS), gypsum (G 2 ) and expansive agent (EA) could obviously improve the strength of the cementitious material containing 40% fly ash (FA). Although microfine cement (MC) was merely 45% percent of the MHPCC, the compressive strength of MHPCC paste was higher than that of neat MC paste. BFS played an important role in MHPCC. The optimum-added quantity of BFS was 15%. The needle-shaped ettringite obtained from the EA reacting with Ca(OH) 2 forms a three-dimensional network structure, which not only improved the early strength of MHPCC paste but also increased its late strength. The reason was that the network structure, which was similar to a fiber-reinforced composite, was formed in the late period of hydration with the progress of hydration and the deposition of hydration products into the network structure

Valor nutritivo y utilización para producción de leche del bagazo de alfalfa ensilado con diferentes aditivos

OpenAIRE

Gonzalez, V.; Fernández, E.; González, G.; Remón, J.

2011-01-01

Mediante pruebas de ingestión, digestibilidad de la materia orgánica (DMO) y lactación se ha estudiado el valor nutritivo del bagazo de alfalfa ensilado sin aditivos (BST), tratado con ácido fórmico (BF) y con formaldehído-sulfúrico (BFS). En la prueba de lactación el bagazo de alfalfa se comparó con heno de alfalfa de calidad media.La ingestión de MO en corderos fue mayor para los bagazos BFS y BF, un 16,4 y 9,3 % respectivamente, que la de BST. La DMO fue 54,4; 60,7 y 61,8 % para BST, BF y ...

Approval procedures for clinical trials in the field of radiation oncology; Genehmigungsverfahren klinischer Studien im Bereich der Radioonkologie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simon, Monique; Buettner, Daniel [Deutsches Konsortium fuer Translationale Krebsforschung (DKTK), Dresden (Germany); Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Heidelberg (Germany); Medizinische Fakultaet und Universitaetsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Klinik fuer Strahlentherapie und Radioonkologie und OncoRay - Nationales Zentrum fuer Strahlenforschung in der Onkologie, Dresden (Germany); Habeck, Matthias; Habeck, Uta; Brix, Gunnar [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (BfS), Fachbereich Strahlenschutz und Gesundheit, Neuherberg (Germany); Krause, Mechthild; Baumann, Michael [Deutsches Konsortium fuer Translationale Krebsforschung (DKTK), Dresden (Germany); Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Heidelberg (Germany); Medizinische Fakultaet und Universitaetsklinikum Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Klinik fuer Strahlentherapie und Radioonkologie und OncoRay - Nationales Zentrum fuer Strahlenforschung in der Onkologie, Dresden (Germany); Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Institut fuer Radioonkologie und OncoRay - Nationales Zentrum fuer Strahlenforschung in der Onkologie, Dresden (Germany); Willich, Normann [Universitaetsklinikum Muenster, Klinik fuer Strahlentherapie - Radioonkologie, Muenster (Germany); Wenz, Frederik [Universitaetsmedizin Mannheim, Medizinische Fakultaet Mannheim, Universitaet Heidelberg, Klinik fuer Strahlentherapie und Radioonkologie, Mannheim (Germany); Schmidberger, Heinz [Universitaetsmedizin Mainz, Klinik fuer Radioonkologie und Strahlentherapie, Mainz (Germany); Debus, Juergen [Universitaetsklinikum Heidelberg, Klinik fuer Radioonkologie und Strahlentherapie, Heidelberg (Germany); Noelling, Torsten

2015-12-15

Application of ionizing radiation for the purpose of medical research in Germany needs to be approved by the national authority for radiation protection (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, BfS). For studies in the field of radiation oncology, differentiation between use of radiation for ''medical care (Heilkunde)'' versus ''medical research'' frequently leads to contradictions. The aim of this article is to provide principle investigators, individuals, and institutions involved in the process, as well as institutional review or ethics committees, with the necessary information for this assessment. Information on the legal frame and the approval procedures are also provided. A workshop was co-organized by the German Society for Radiation Oncology (DEGRO), the Working Party for Radiation Oncology (ARO) of the German Cancer Society (DKG), the German Society for Medical Physics (DGMP), and the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) in October 2013. This paper summarizes the results of the workshop and the follow-up discussions between the organizers and the BfS. Differentiating between ''Heilkunde'' which does not need to be approved by the BfS and ''medical research'' is whether the specific application of radiation (beam quality, dose, schedule, target volume, etc.) is a clinically established and recognized procedure. This must be answered by the qualified physician(s) (''fachkundiger Arzt'' according to German radiation protection law) in charge of the study and the treatments of the patients within the study, taking into consideration of the best available evidence from clinical studies, guidelines and consensus papers. Among the important parameters for assessment are indication, total dose, and fractionation. Radiation treatments applied outside clinical trials do not require approval by the BfS, even if they are applied within a randomized or nonrandomized clinical trial

Enhancement web proxy cache performance using Wrapper Feature Selection methods with NB and J48

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmoud Al-Qudah, Dua'a.; Funke Olanrewaju, Rashidah; Wong Azman, Amelia

2017-11-01

Web proxy cache technique reduces response time by storing a copy of pages between client and server sides. If requested pages are cached in the proxy, there is no need to access the server. Due to the limited size and excessive cost of cache compared to the other storages, cache replacement algorithm is used to determine evict page when the cache is full. On the other hand, the conventional algorithms for replacement such as Least Recently Use (LRU), First in First Out (FIFO), Least Frequently Use (LFU), Randomized Policy etc. may discard important pages just before use. Furthermore, using conventional algorithm cannot be well optimized since it requires some decision to intelligently evict a page before replacement. Hence, most researchers propose an integration among intelligent classifiers and replacement algorithm to improves replacement algorithms performance. This research proposes using automated wrapper feature selection methods to choose the best subset of features that are relevant and influence classifiers prediction accuracy. The result present that using wrapper feature selection methods namely: Best First (BFS), Incremental Wrapper subset selection(IWSS)embedded NB and particle swarm optimization(PSO)reduce number of features and have a good impact on reducing computation time. Using PSO enhance NB classifier accuracy by 1.1%, 0.43% and 0.22% over using NB with all features, using BFS and using IWSS embedded NB respectively. PSO rises J48 accuracy by 0.03%, 1.91 and 0.04% over using J48 classifier with all features, using IWSS-embedded NB and using BFS respectively. While using IWSS embedded NB fastest NB and J48 classifiers much more than BFS and PSO. However, it reduces computation time of NB by 0.1383 and reduce computation time of J48 by 2.998.

Stable carbon (12/13C) and nitrogen (14/15N) isotopes as a tool for identifying the sources of cyanide in wastes and contaminated soils-A method development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weihmann, Jenny; Mansfeldt, Tim; Schulte, Ulrike

2007-01-01

The occurrence of iron-cyanide complexes in the environment is of concern, since they are potentially hazardous. In order to determine the source of iron-cyanide complexes in contaminated soils and wastes, we developed a method based on the stable isotope ratios 13 C/ 12 C and 15 N/ 14 N of the complexed cyanide-ion (CN - ). The method was tested on three pure chemicals and two industrials wastes: blast-furnace sludge (BFS) and gas-purifier waste (GPW). The iron-cyanide complexes were converted into the solid cupric ferrocyanide, Cu 2 [Fe(China) 6 ].7H 2 O, followed by combustion and determination of the isotope-ratios by continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Cupric ferrocyanide was obtained from the materials by (i) an alkaline extraction with 1 M NaOH and (ii) a distillate digestion. The [Fe(China) 6 ] 4- of the alkaline extraction was precipitated after adding Cu 2+ . The CN - of the distillate digestion was at first complexed with Fe 2+ under inert conditions and then precipitated after adding Cu 2+ . The δ 13 C-values obtained by the two methods differed slightly up to 1-3 per mille for standards and BFS. The difference was larger for alkaline-extracted GPW (4-7 per mille ), since non-cyanide C was co-extracted and co-precipitated. Therefore the distillate digestion technique is recommended when determining the C isotope ratios in samples rich in organic carbon. Since the δ 13 C-values of BFS are in the range of -30 to -24 per mille and of -17 to -5 per mille for GPW, carbon seems to be a suitable tracer for identifying the source of cyanide in both wastes. However, the δ 15 N-values overlapped for BFS and GPW, making nitrogen unsuitable as a tracer

The role of overall treatment time in the outcome of radiotherapy of prostate cancer: An analysis of biochemical failure in 4839 men treated between 1987 and 1995

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thames, Howard D.; Kuban, Deborah; Levy, Larry B.; Horwitz, Eric M.; Kupelian, Patrick; Martinez, Alvaro; Michalski, Jeffrey; Pisansky, Thomas; Sandler, Howard; Shipley, William; Zelefsky, Michael; Zietman, Anthony

2010-01-01

Purpose: Assess the importance of overall time (OT) and dose for biochemical failure (BF) after external-beam radiotherapy of prostate cancer in a retrospective analysis of a nine-institution database with 4839 patients. Patients and methods: Relevant baseline factors (T stage, Gleason score, initial PSA) were available for 4338 men. Cox models were used to estimate the effects of dose and OT corrected for baseline factors, treatment year, institution and interactions, and differences in post-treatment PSA-measurement intervals. After exclusion of very short and long intervals, patient numbers were 1445 events/3426 at risk (endpoint all BFs), and 1177 events/3354 at risk (endpoint exclusion of BFs that were likely distant failures). Separate analyses were carried out by risk group for men who received <70 Gy and ≥70 Gy. Results: Neither dose nor OT was significant when the analysis was restricted to doses <70 Gy, while for patients treated to 70 Gy or higher there were significant influences of both dose and OT on outcome in low- and intermediate-risk patients. These effects were quantified as a relative increase after 5 years followup of 6% in BFs for a 1-week increase in OT, a relative decrease of 15% in BFs for a 6-Gy increase in dose, and a dose equivalent of proliferation of 0.24 Gy/day. As the dose per fraction was nearly constant, the data contain no information on the α/β ratio. Conclusion: The results show that OT and dose are significant determinants of outcome of radiotherapy in low- and intermediate-risk patients treated to 70 Gy or higher, and suggest that meaningful improvements in outcome may be targeted by modest increases in total dose and decreases in OT.

MRI-Based Regional Muscle Use during Hamstring Strengthening Exercises in Elite Soccer Players

Science.gov (United States)

Mendez-Villanueva, Alberto; Suarez-Arrones, Luis; Rodas, Gil; Fernandez-Gonzalo, Rodrigo; Tesch, Per; Linnehan, Richard; Kreider, Richard; Di Salvo, Valter

2016-01-01

The present study examined site-specific hamstring muscles use with functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in elite soccer players during strength training. Thirty-six players were randomized into four groups, each performing either Nordic hamstring, flywheel leg-curl, Russian belt or the hip-extension conic-pulley exercise. The transverse relaxation time (T2) shift from pre- to post-MRI were calculated for the biceps femoris long (BFl) and short (BFs) heads, semitendinosus (ST) and semimembranosus (SM) muscles at proximal, middle and distal areas of the muscle length. T2 values increased substantially after flywheel leg-curl in all regions of the BFl (from 9±8 to 16±8%), BFs (41±6–71±11%), and ST (60±1–69±7%). Nordic hamstring induced a substantial T2 increase in all regions of the BFs (13±8–16±5%) and ST (15±7–17±5%). T2 values after the Russian belt deadlift substantially increased in all regions of the BFl (6±4–7±5%), ST (8±3–11±2%), SM (6±4–10±4%), and proximal and distal regions of BFs (6±6–8±5%). T2 values substantially increased after hip-extension conic-pulley only in proximal and middle regions of BFl (11±5–7±5%) and ST (7±3–12±4%). The relevance of such MRI-based inter- and intra-muscle use in designing more effective resistance training for improving hamstring function and preventing hamstring injuries in elite soccer players should be explored with more mechanistic studies. PMID:27583444

The effect of casting conditions on the biaxial flexural strength of glass-ceramic materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, A; Shareef, M Y; Walsh, J M; Hatton, P V; van Noort, R; Hill, R G

1998-11-01

To assess the effect of mould and glass casting temperatures on the biaxial flexural strength (BFS) of two different types of castable glass-ceramic, using existing laboratory equipment and techniques. Two castable glass-ceramic materials were evaluated. One glass (LG3) is based on SiO2-Al2O3-P2O5-CaO-CaF2, and is similar in composition to glasses used in the manufacture of glass-ionomer cements. The other glass (SG3) is based on SiO2-K2O-Na2O-CaO-CaF2, and is a canasite-based material. Both materials were used to produce discs of 12 mm diameter and 2 mm thickness using the same lost-wax casting process as used for metal castings. Mould temperatures of between 500 degrees C and 1000 degrees C and glass casting temperatures of between 1100 degrees C and 1450 degrees C were evaluated. The cast discs were cerammed and the biaxial flexural strength determined with a Lloyd 2000 R tester. A significant difference was found for the BFS in the range of mould temperatures evaluated, with the optimum investment mould temperature being 590 degrees C for LG3 and 610 degrees C for SG3 (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.019, respectively). No significant differences were seen between any of the glass casting temperatures evaluated. The mould temperature for castable glass-ceramic materials produced using the lost-wax casting process can have a significant effect on BFS. The optimum mould temperature may differ slightly depending on the type of material being used. The glass casting temperature of these materials does not appear to have a significant effect on BFS.

Catalyst design for carbon nanotube growth using atomistic modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pint, Cary L; Bozzolo, Guillermo; Hauge, Robert

2008-01-01

The formation and stability of bimetallic catalyst particles, in the framework of carbon nanotube growth, is studied using the Bozzolo-Ferrante-Smith (BFS) method for alloys. Monte Carlo-Metropolis simulations with the BFS method are utilized in order to predict and study equilibrium configurations for nanoscale catalyst particles which are directly relevant to the catalyst state prior to growth of carbon nanotubes. At the forefront of possible catalyst combinations is the popular Fe-Mo bimetallic catalyst, which we have recently studied experimentally. We explain our experimental results, which indicate that the growth observed is dependent on the order of co-catalyst deposition, in the straightforward interpretation of BFS strain and chemical energy contributions toward the formation of Fe-Mo catalyst prior to growth. We find that the competition between the formation of metastable inner Mo cores and clusters of surface-segregated Mo atoms in Fe-Mo catalyst particles influences catalyst formation, and we investigate the role of Mo concentration and catalyst particle size in this process. Finally, we apply the same modeling approach to other prominent bimetallic catalysts and suggest that this technique can be a powerful tool to understand and manipulate catalyst design for highly efficient carbon nanotube growth

Scalable Parallel Distributed Coprocessor System for Graph Searching Problems with Massive Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wanrong Huang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The Internet applications, such as network searching, electronic commerce, and modern medical applications, produce and process massive data. Considerable data parallelism exists in computation processes of data-intensive applications. A traversal algorithm, breadth-first search (BFS, is fundamental in many graph processing applications and metrics when a graph grows in scale. A variety of scientific programming methods have been proposed for accelerating and parallelizing BFS because of the poor temporal and spatial locality caused by inherent irregular memory access patterns. However, new parallel hardware could provide better improvement for scientific methods. To address small-world graph problems, we propose a scalable and novel field-programmable gate array-based heterogeneous multicore system for scientific programming. The core is multithread for streaming processing. And the communication network InfiniBand is adopted for scalability. We design a binary search algorithm to address mapping to unify all processor addresses. Within the limits permitted by the Graph500 test bench after 1D parallel hybrid BFS algorithm testing, our 8-core and 8-thread-per-core system achieved superior performance and efficiency compared with the prior work under the same degree of parallelism. Our system is efficient not as a special acceleration unit but as a processor platform that deals with graph searching applications.

Discourse and policy making on consumer protection in the areas of mobile telecommunication and tanning.

Science.gov (United States)

Schweikardt, Christoph; Rosentreter, Michael; Gross, Dominik

2012-01-01

Perceived health risks from electromagnetic fields in mobile telecommunication and from UV radiation in tanning have become regulation issues in Germany during the last decade. Health risk messages from government expert bodies and the main stakeholders in these areas as well as subsequent consumer protection policy making are investigated. Publications and websites of government expert bodies and the main stakeholders as well as debates in Federal Parliament were analysed to compare argumentation patterns and parliamentary decision-making processes. In both areas, the public received competing health risk messages from the industries and their critics. As a government expert body, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) held the view that alleged health risks from electromagnetic telecommunication were not proven, and propagated the precautionary principle. This opinion did not endanger the agreement of 2001 between the government and mobile telecommunication operators. After the failure to obtain voluntary commitment from the tanning industry, by contrast, the BfS recommended stricter consumer protection legislation, which was subsequently implemented. The BfS was in a key position to demand the prerogative of interpretation concerning mutually excluding health risk messages and to provide the argumentation which led the way to non-ionic radiation health protection measures.

Comparison of three techniques for production goat lentivirus antigen used in the agar gel immunodifusion test

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raymundo Rizaldo Pinheiro

2005-12-01

Full Text Available The Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE is a disease who cause considerable economic losses, including loss in the milk production and reduction of the useful life of the animal. In the diagnosis of this disease the agar gel immunodifusion test (AGID is used worldwide as the selection test. The objective of thid work was to test three different concentrations of bovine fetal serum (BFS in the production of the antigen (Ag for the diagnosis of the CAE virus (CAEV, to verify amongst the three methods the most efficient concentration and which the antigen concentration of the antigen produced is appropriate for the test. The method of the AMICON and the concentration of the Ag for dialysis was indicated, however the system AMICON, despite the implantation costs, promoted minor loss of antigen, little time expense in the processing and greater simplicity. With relation to the amount of BFS placed after the viral inoculation it was verified that 5% of BFS the amount that presented better resulted. The antigen concentration 100 times was more indicated, therefore it allowed the diagnosis of the CAEV for two proteins (gp 135 and p28. The concentration of the Ag for precipitation/ultracentrifugation, used for imunoenzimatic tests, did not present resulted satisfactory used in the AGID.

Parallel Breadth-First Search on Distributed Memory Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Computational Research Division; Buluc, Aydin; Madduri, Kamesh

2011-04-15

Data-intensive, graph-based computations are pervasive in several scientific applications, and are known to to be quite challenging to implement on distributed memory systems. In this work, we explore the design space of parallel algorithms for Breadth-First Search (BFS), a key subroutine in several graph algorithms. We present two highly-tuned par- allel approaches for BFS on large parallel systems: a level-synchronous strategy that relies on a simple vertex-based partitioning of the graph, and a two-dimensional sparse matrix- partitioning-based approach that mitigates parallel commu- nication overhead. For both approaches, we also present hybrid versions with intra-node multithreading. Our novel hybrid two-dimensional algorithm reduces communication times by up to a factor of 3.5, relative to a common vertex based approach. Our experimental study identifies execu- tion regimes in which these approaches will be competitive, and we demonstrate extremely high performance on lead- ing distributed-memory parallel systems. For instance, for a 40,000-core parallel execution on Hopper, an AMD Magny- Cours based system, we achieve a BFS performance rate of 17.8 billion edge visits per second on an undirected graph of 4.3 billion vertices and 68.7 billion edges with skewed degree distribution.

Decontamination of fast reactor hulls and properties of immobilised waste forms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biddle, P.; Brown, P.E.; Rees, J.H.

1986-01-01

The studies described in this Report have been carried out on five batches of stainless steel hulls resulting from the reprocessing of fuel from the Prototype Fast Reactor at Dounreay. Direct immobilisation in cement and decontamination have been examined as possible routes for treating the hulls. A number of low temperature chemical techniques have been used to remove actinides and fission products from the hulls. The levels of α-activity could be reduced to less than 0.3 Ci/te of hulls. Thus decontamination might permit cheaper disposal than would be the case for undecontaminated hulls. 10mm sections of hulls have been immobilised in two cements in which either sand or blast furnace slag was used to extend the ordinary Portland cement. The level of Cs-137 leached from hulls immobilised in either of the cement compositions was about an order of magnitude lower than that leached from the bare hulls. For Sr-90, the BFS/OPC matrix gave a tenfold better retention than the sand/OPC. Ru-106 and Sb-125 were leached from the sand/OPC but not from the BFS/OPC samples. The preliminary studies suggested that cement was a satisfactory matrix for immobilising hulls and that the BFS/OPC was the better formulation. 30 refs, 26 tabs, 23 figs

Experimental study of the flow over a backward-facing rounded ramp

Science.gov (United States)

Duriez, Thomas; Aider, Jean-Luc; Wesfreid, Jose Eduardo

2010-11-01

The backward-facing rounded ramp (BFR) is a very simple geometry leading to boundary layer separation, close to the backward facing step (BFS) flow. The main difference with the BFS flow is that the separation location depends on the incoming flow while it is fixed to the step edge for the BFS flow. Despite the simplicity of the geometry, the flow is complex and the transition process still has to be investigated. In this study we investigate the BFR flow using time-resolved PIV. For Reynolds number ranging between 300 and 12 000 we first study the time averaged properties such as the positions of the separation and reattachment, the recirculation length and the shear layer thickness. The time resolution also gives access to the characteristic frequencies of the time-dependant flow. An appropriate Fourier filtering of the flow field, around each frequency peak in the global spectrum, allows an investigation of each mode in order to extract its wavelength, phase velocity, and spatial distribution. We then sort the spectral content and relate the main frequencies to the most amplified Kelvin-Helmholtz instability mode and its harmonics, the vortex pairing, the low frequency recirculation bubble oscillation and the interactions between all these phenomena.

Micro-textures of Deformed Gouges by Friction Experiments of Mont Terri Main Fault, Switzerland

Science.gov (United States)

Aoki, K.; Seshimo, K.; Sakai, T.; Komine, Y.; Kametaka, M.; Watanabe, T.; Nussbaum, C.; Guglielmi, Y.

2017-12-01

Friction experiment was conducted on samples from the Main Fault of Mont Terri Rock Laboratory, Switzerland and then micro-textures of deformed gouges were observed using a scanning electron microscope JCM-6000 and JXA-8530F. Samples were taken at the depths of 47.2m and 37.3m of borehole BSF-1, and at 36.7m, 37.1m, 41.4m and 44.6m of borehole BSF-2, which were drilled from the drift floor at 260m depth from the surface. Friction experiment was conducted on above 6 samples using a rotary shear low to high-velocity friction apparatus at the Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration in Beijing at a normal stress of 3.95 to 4.0 MPa and at slip rates ranging 0.2 microns/s to 2.1mm/s. Cylindrical specimens of Ti-Al-V alloy, exhibiting similar behaviors as the host rock specimen, were used as rotary and stationary pistons of 40 mm diameter. A Teflon sleeve was used around the piston to confine the sample during the test. Main results are summarized as follows. 1) Mud rocks in Mont Terri drill holes (BFS-1, BFS-2) had steady-state or nearly steady-state friction coefficient μss in the range of 0.1 0.3 for wet gouges and 0. 5 0.7 for dry gouges. Friction coefficients of dry gouges were approximately twice as large as those of wet gouges. However, the fault rock (37.3 m, BFS-1) with scaly fabric showed no difference between wet and dry conditions : μss (wet): 0.50 0.77, μss (dry): 0.45 0.78. This is probably because the clay contents of this rock is less ( 33 %) than those in other rocks (67 73 %) (Shimamoto, 2017). 2) Deformed gouges are characterized by well-developed slip zones adjacent to the rotary and stationary pistons, accompanied by slickenside surfaces with clear striations. Such slickenside surfaces are similar to those developed in the drill core samples used in our experiments. 3) Multiple slip zones were observed in the 37.3m of BFS-1 and the 36.7m of BFS-2 samples under dry condition, suggesting that a slip occurred in the interior of the gouge

The immobilization of anion exchange resins in polymer modified cements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dyer, A.; Morgan, P.D.

1991-09-01

Organic anion exchange resins, loaded with 99-Tc as the pertechnate ion, were incorporated into polymer modified cements (Flexocrete Ltd, Preston). BFS/OPC (9:1 mix) also was modified by three polymers from the same source (styrene acrylic (2) styrene butadiene) and loaded with anion exchanger containing the pertechnate. Composites were tested for initial compressive strengths, under water and radiation stability and leach rate. IAEA standard leach testing was with simulated sea and ground waters. Ground water leaching also was carried out on composites subjected to 1.10 9 rads (γ). Leach testing correlated well with compressive strength. Modified composites performed better than the BFS/OPC mix under all conditions studied and were able to encapsulate higher resin loadings. (author)

Bureau for Food Security Travel and Mission Support System

Data.gov (United States)

US Agency for International Development — FTRAMS is a travel data collection system for BFS that collects information on both the basic details of an employee's trips (destination, length, purpose, etc.) and...

Effects of low heterogeneity in fast critical assemblies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belov, S.P.; Dulin, V.A.; Zhukov, A.V.; Kuzin, E.N.; Mozhaev, V.K.; Sitnikov, V.I.; Tsibulya, A.M.; Shapar', A.V.; Zayfert, E.; Kuntsman, B.; Khayntsel'man, B.

1989-01-01

The problem of the low heterogeneity of fast critical assemblies, which are used to simulate fast reactors that are under design, has begun to assume increasing importance as the errors in nuclear data and group constants decrease and the capabilities of design codes improve. The design of the fuel channels of the fast critical assemblies of a BFS differs from that of the fuel subassemblies of a power reactor. The principal difference is that critical assemblies have a more heterogeneous structure than a reactor core does. As a result, the effects of this heterogeneity turn out to be appreciable for a number of functionals. Of particular interest was the measurement of the main neutronic characteristics of a fast reactor in its actual design and in the mockup produced by using BFS facilities. The authors measured and calculated the most important functionals (the ratios of the average cross sections of the main absorbing and fissioning elements, etc.) for both a homogeneous medium (fuel assemblies) and a heterogeneous medium (slugs, tubes) of practically identical composition. The objective of this work was to compare the discrepancy between experiment and calculations for the central functionals in the homogeneous and heterogeneous cases after corrections. This is a check of the accuracy of the simulation of homogeneous cores in fast power reactors by using the tools of the BFS fast critical assembly

Stable carbon ({sup 12/13}C) and nitrogen ({sup 14/15}N) isotopes as a tool for identifying the sources of cyanide in wastes and contaminated soils-A method development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weihmann, Jenny [Arbeitsgruppe Bodengeographie/Bodenkunde, Geographisches Institut, Universitaet zu Koeln, D-50923 Cologne (Germany); Mansfeldt, Tim [Arbeitsgruppe Bodengeographie/Bodenkunde, Geographisches Institut, Universitaet zu Koeln, D-50923 Cologne (Germany)]. E-mail: tim.mansfeldt@uni-koeln.de; Schulte, Ulrike [Lehrstuhl fuer Sediment- und Isotopengeologie, Institut fuer Geologie, Mineralogie und Geophysik, Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, D-44780 Bochum (Germany)

2007-01-23

The occurrence of iron-cyanide complexes in the environment is of concern, since they are potentially hazardous. In order to determine the source of iron-cyanide complexes in contaminated soils and wastes, we developed a method based on the stable isotope ratios {sup 13}C/{sup 12}C and {sup 15}N/{sup 14}N of the complexed cyanide-ion (CN{sup -}). The method was tested on three pure chemicals and two industrials wastes: blast-furnace sludge (BFS) and gas-purifier waste (GPW). The iron-cyanide complexes were converted into the solid cupric ferrocyanide, Cu{sub 2}[Fe(China){sub 6}].7H{sub 2}O, followed by combustion and determination of the isotope-ratios by continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Cupric ferrocyanide was obtained from the materials by (i) an alkaline extraction with 1 M NaOH and (ii) a distillate digestion. The [Fe(China){sub 6}]{sup 4-} of the alkaline extraction was precipitated after adding Cu{sup 2+}. The CN{sup -} of the distillate digestion was at first complexed with Fe{sup 2+} under inert conditions and then precipitated after adding Cu{sup 2+}. The {delta} {sup 13}C-values obtained by the two methods differed slightly up to 1-3 per mille for standards and BFS. The difference was larger for alkaline-extracted GPW (4-7 per mille ), since non-cyanide C was co-extracted and co-precipitated. Therefore the distillate digestion technique is recommended when determining the C isotope ratios in samples rich in organic carbon. Since the {delta} {sup 13}C-values of BFS are in the range of -30 to -24 per mille and of -17 to -5 per mille for GPW, carbon seems to be a suitable tracer for identifying the source of cyanide in both wastes. However, the {delta} {sup 15}N-values overlapped for BFS and GPW, making nitrogen unsuitable as a tracer.

Bayesian flood forecasting methods: A review

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Shasha; Coulibaly, Paulin

2017-08-01

Over the past few decades, floods have been seen as one of the most common and largely distributed natural disasters in the world. If floods could be accurately forecasted in advance, then their negative impacts could be greatly minimized. It is widely recognized that quantification and reduction of uncertainty associated with the hydrologic forecast is of great importance for flood estimation and rational decision making. Bayesian forecasting system (BFS) offers an ideal theoretic framework for uncertainty quantification that can be developed for probabilistic flood forecasting via any deterministic hydrologic model. It provides suitable theoretical structure, empirically validated models and reasonable analytic-numerical computation method, and can be developed into various Bayesian forecasting approaches. This paper presents a comprehensive review on Bayesian forecasting approaches applied in flood forecasting from 1999 till now. The review starts with an overview of fundamentals of BFS and recent advances in BFS, followed with BFS application in river stage forecasting and real-time flood forecasting, then move to a critical analysis by evaluating advantages and limitations of Bayesian forecasting methods and other predictive uncertainty assessment approaches in flood forecasting, and finally discusses the future research direction in Bayesian flood forecasting. Results show that the Bayesian flood forecasting approach is an effective and advanced way for flood estimation, it considers all sources of uncertainties and produces a predictive distribution of the river stage, river discharge or runoff, thus gives more accurate and reliable flood forecasts. Some emerging Bayesian forecasting methods (e.g. ensemble Bayesian forecasting system, Bayesian multi-model combination) were shown to overcome limitations of single model or fixed model weight and effectively reduce predictive uncertainty. In recent years, various Bayesian flood forecasting approaches have been

Do air-gaps behind soft body armour affect protection?

Science.gov (United States)

Tilsley, Lee; Carr, D J; Lankester, C; Malbon, C

2018-02-01

Body armour typically comprises a fabric garment covering the torso combined with hard armour (ceramic/composite). Some users wear only soft armour which provides protection from sharp weapons and pistol ammunition. It is usually recommended that body armour is worn against the body with no air-gaps being present between the wearer and the armour. However, air-gaps can occur in certain situations such as females around the breasts, in badly fitting armour and where manufacturers have incorporated an air-gap claiming improvements in thermophysiological burden. The effect of an air-gap on the ballistic protection and the back face signature (BFS) as a result of a non-perforating ballistic impact was determined. Armour panels representative of typical police armour (400x400 mm) were mounted on calibrated Roma Plastilina No 1 and impacted with 9 mm Luger FMJ (9×19 mm; full metal jacket; Dynamit Nobel DM11A1B2) ammunition at 365±10 m/s with a range of air-gaps (0-15 mm). Whether or not the ammunition perforated the armour was noted, the BFS was measured and the incidence of pencilling (a severe, deep and narrow BFS) was identified. For 0° impacts, a critical air-gap size of 10 mm is detrimental to armour performance for the armour/ammunition combination assessed in this work. Specifically, the incidences of pencilling were more common with a 10 mm air-gap and resulted in BFS depth:volume ratios ≥1.0. For impacts at 30° the armour was susceptible to perforation irrespective of air-gap. This work suggested that an air-gap behind police body armour might result in an increased likelihood of injury. It is recommended that body armour is worn with no air-gap underneath. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Joint European contribution to phase 5 of the BN600 hybrid reactor benchmark core analysis (European ERANOS formulaire for fast reactor core analysis)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rimpault, G.

2004-01-01

Hybrid UOX/MOX fueled core of the BN-600 reactor was endorsed as an international benchmark. BFS-2 critical facility was designed for full size simulation of core and shielding of large fast reactors (up tp 3000 MWe). Wide experimental programme including measurements of criticality, fission rates, rod worths, and SVRE was established. Four BFS-62 critical assemblies have been designed to study changes in BN-600 reactor physics-when moving to a hybrid MOX core. BFS-62-3A assembly is a full scale model of the BN-600 reactor hybrid core. it consists of three regions of UO 2 fuel, axial and radial fertile blankets, MOX fuel added in a ring between MC and OC zones, 120 deg sector of stainless steel reflector included within radial blanket. Joint European contribution to the Phase 5 benchmark analysis was performed by Serco Assurance Winfrith (UK) and CEA Cadarache (France). Analysis was carried out using Version 1.2 of the ERANOS code; and data system for advanced and fast reactor core applications. Nuclear data is based on the JEF2.2 nuclear data evaluation (including sodium). Results for Phase 5 of the BN-600 benchmark have been determined for criticality and SVRE in both diffusion and transport theory. Full details of the results are presented in a paper posted on the IAEA Business Collaborator website nad a brief summary is provided in this paper

Applicability of alkali activated slag-seeded Egyptian Sinai kaolin for the immobilization of 60Co radionuclide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Naggar, M.R.

2014-01-01

The present work was established to determine the applicability of local Egyptian kaolinite and blast furnace slag (BFS) as raw materials toward the synthesis of geopolymers and subsequent immobilization of cobalt-60, which is one of the most abundant radionuclides generated in radioactive waste streams in Egypt. XRF, XRD, FT-IR, and SEM techniques were used to characterize the local raw materials and their corresponding alkali activated products. Metakaolin (MK) was obtained by thermal treatment of Egyptian Sinai kaolin 750 °C/4 h. MK and five different BFS content (5, 10, 30, 50 and 80%) were used to synthesize geopolymeric matrices using an alkaline activator of Si-modulus = 1.35 at solid/liquid ratios of 0.8. Compressive strength tests were performed indicating that 50% BFS addition gave the highest values of compressive strength. The IAEA standard leaching tests of cobalt-60 from the solidified waste matrices were carried out. The effective diffusion coefficients of cobalt-60 radionuclides from the solidified waste matrices were calculated to be in the order of 10 −14 cm 2 /s. Leaching of radionuclides was examined to be controlled by the wash-off mechanism with very acceptable values. These results gave encouragement that the tested Egyptian raw materials can be conveniently applied for the synthesis of geopolymers that can be used as a low-cost and high-efficiency materials for the immobilization of radioactive waste

Oncological outcomes of high-risk prostate cancer patients between robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and laparoscopic radical prostatectomy in Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chieh-Chun Liao

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To compare pathological and oncological outcomes between robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RaLRP and laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (LRP among high-risk prostate cancer patient in a tertiary center in Taiwan. Materials and methods: From November 2003 to October 2013, 129 high-risk prostate cancer patients receiving minimally-invasive radical prostatectomy were included. The Kaplan–Meier analysis was used for measuring biochemical recurrence-free survival (BFS. Multivariate logistic regression models and Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to determine predictors of positive surgical margin and BFS. Results: Among the 129 high-risk prostate cancer patients included, 80 (62% patients received LRP and 49 (38% patients received RaLRP. There was no significant difference of positive surgical margin and biochemical recurrence rate between RaLRP and LRP group (P = 0.802 and 0.292. Higher pathological T stage predicted an increased likelihood of positive margins (OR = 3.44, 95% CI [1.45, 8.18], P = 0.005. Higher initial PSA level (HR = 2.88, 95% CI [1.04, 7.94], P = 0.041 and positive surgical margin (HR = 2.55, 95% CI [1.20, 5.44], P = 0.015 were poor prognostic factors for BFS. Conclusion: RaLRP can be considered among high-risk prostate cancer in Asian people with comparable oncological outcomes to LRP. Higher pathological T stage was associated with increased likelihood of positive margins, patients with higher iPSA level and positive surgical margin had worsen biochemical recurrence-free survival.

Binary breath figures for straightforward and controllable self-assembly of microspherical caps.

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Jianliang; Xu, Bingang; Tao, Xiaoming; Li, Lei

2016-05-11

The intense interest surrounding asymmetrical microparticles originates from their unique anisotropic properties and promising applications. In this work, direct self-assembly of polymeric microspherical caps without the assistance of any additives has been achieved by using low-surface-tension methanol (MeOH) and high-surface-tension water as binary breath figures (BFs). With the evaporation of polystyrene (PS) solution containing low-boiling-point solvent in the binary vapors, the formed MeOH BFs could quickly diffuse into solution, while water BFs tended to remain at the solution surface. This led to the formation of a gradient nonsolvent layer at the vapor/solution interface, which induced the formation of nuclei and guided further asymmetrical growth of polymer particles. After the spontaneous removal of MeOH, water and residual solvent by evaporation, polymeric microspherical caps were left on the substrate. Through controlling the proportion of water introduced by adjusting the ratios of MeOH and water, polymeric microspherical caps with a range of controllable shapes (divided at different positions of a sphere) were successfully obtained. The formation mechanism was explained based on the difference of vapor pressure, surface tension and miscibility between the employed solvents and nonsolvents. A solvent possessing a high vapor pressure, low surface tension and good miscibility with MeOH contributed to the formation of microspherical caps. This flexible, green and straightforward technique is a nondestructive strategy, and avoids complicated work on design, preparation and removal of hard templates and additives.

Formal TCA cycle description based on elementary actions

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Prakash

2006-12-20

Dec 20, 2006 ... Applied to the description of the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), we show that. BioΨ allows ... BAs, biological activities; BEAs, basic elements of action; BFs, biological ..... the mitochondria, such as respiratory chain and fatty acid.

Using a Bayesian Probabilistic Forecasting Model to Analyze the Uncertainty in Real-Time Dynamic Control of the Flood Limiting Water Level for Reservoir Operation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Dedi; Li, Xiang; Guo, Shenglian

2015-01-01

Dynamic control of the flood limiting water level (FLWL) is a valuable and effective way to maximize the benefits from reservoir operation without exceeding the design risk. In order to analyze the impacts of input uncertainty, a Bayesian forecasting system (BFS) is adopted. Applying quantile water...... inflow values and their uncertainties obtained from the BFS, the reservoir operation results from different schemes can be analyzed in terms of benefits, dam safety, and downstream impacts during the flood season. When the reservoir FLWL dynamic control operation is implemented, there are two fundamental......, also deterministic water inflow was tested. The proposed model in the paper emphasizes the importance of analyzing the uncertainties of the water inflow forecasting system for real-time dynamic control of the FLWL for reservoir operation. For the case study, the selected quantile inflow from...

Flowsheet finalisation for immobilisation of SGHWR wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, D.J.

1984-09-01

This report summarises research and development work carried out during the year ended March 1983 on the programme for cementing the Winfrith Reactor (SGHWR) sludge. Further results from the characterisation programme are reported, together with data from the cementation programme. Formulations based on Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), ground granulated blast furnace slag (BFS) and Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) have been tested. The results show that a blend of 90% BFS/10% OPC by weight, gives the best properties. Chemical pretreatment as a method for producing a stable waste form is discussed. A dewatering pretreatment to provide a sludge suitable for direct cementation is also outlined. A flowsheet for cementing the SGHWR sludge is proposed based on these laboratory and pilot scale studies. The major components required for the active plant are identified and provisional plant layouts are given. (author)

Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-09-01

Presented are organization and tasks of the departments of the BfS: Central Department Z (administration, legal concerns); Department S Radiation Hygiene; Department ST Radiation Protection; Department KT Nuclear Safety; Department ET Nuclear Waste Management and Transport. (HP) [de

United States Department of Defense: Agency Financial Report Fiscal Year 2014

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

associated environmental costs using two methods: physical capacity for operating landfills and life expectancy in years for all other assets. The...construction, and rehabilitation projects on inland waterways. The BFS manages and invests for the Trust Fund. Defense Commissary Agency Surcharge

The importance of research for the regulatory framework of radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmitt-Hannig, A.

1998-01-01

On behalf of the Federal ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the Federal Office for Radiation Protection in Germany (BfS) is carrying out a research program in the field of radiation protection. More that 60 research and study contracts in 11 different radiation protection areas are funded every year, and these are carried out mainly by universities and research centers. The results of these projects are used in developing radiation protection regulations, guidelines and procedures to fulfill the special radiation protection tasks of the BMU, the execution of which is required by law. Planning, scientific and administrative management, provision of assistance as well as expert evaluation of the results from these projects lies within the area of responsibility of the BfS. A report issued annually provides information on preliminary and final results of radiation protection research projects in Germany (author) Germany (author)

The effect of ZrO2 and TiO 2 on solubility and strength of apatite-mullite glass-ceramics for dental applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Fathi, Hawa M; Miller, Cheryl; Stokes, Christopher; Johnson, Anthony

2014-03-01

The effect of ZrO2 and TiO2 on the chemical and mechanical properties of apatite-mullite glass-ceramics was investigated after sample preparation according to the ISO (2768:2008) recommendations for dental ceramics. All materials were characterized using differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy was used to determine the concentrations of elements present in all materials produced. The chemical solubility test and the biaxial flexural strength (BFS) test were then carried out on all the samples. The best solubility value of 242 ± 61 μg/cm(2) was obtained when HG1T was heat-treated for 1 h at the glass transition temperature plus 20 °C (Tg + 20 °C) followed by 5 h at 1200 °C. The highest BFS value of 174 ± 38 MPa was achieved when HG1Z and HG1Z+T were heat-treated for 1 h at the Tg + 20 °C followed by 7 h at 1200 °C. The present study has demonstrated that the addition of TiO2 to the reference composition showed promise in both the glass and heat-treated samples. However, ZrO2 is an effective agent for developing the solubility or the mechanical properties of an apatite-mullite glass-ceramic separately but does not improve the solubility and the BFS simultaneously.

Identities for the electron forms 2 and their 3D representation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minogin, Vladimir G.

2012-01-01

New type of identities for products of the electron forms 2 (Fs2) and the bilinear forms (BFs) are derived. The identities are found for both temporal Fs2 describing the electron energy and quasi energy densities and spatial Fs2 describing the linear momentum and quasi linear momentum densities. The identities allow one to transform the quasi energy densities into the energy densities as well as the quasi linear momentum densities into the linear momentum densities. It is shown that by choosing any one of the 16 electron temporal or spatial Fs2 one can represent the remaining 15 temporal or spatial Fs2 as combinations of a chosen form 2 (F2) and the derivatives of a number of BFs. Any one of such 16 sets of identities can be considered as a specific form of an irreducible representation for the temporal or spatial Fs2. Similar to the bilinear identities for BFs the derived identities can be used for reduction different physical quantities describing the electron to the forms defined by the basic physical observables. As an example we consider transformation of the electron energy density to a new fundamental form that presents the energy density through the linear momentum density. - Highlights: ► New type of identities connecting electron forms 2 and bilinear forms is derived.► Identities are found for temporal and spatial forms 2. ► Irreducible representation of the identities is derived. ► New forms of the electron energy density are presented.

Effect of Limestone Powder on Microstructure of Ternary Cementitious System

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhang, Y.; Ye, G.

2012-01-01

The pressure to reach sustainability favours the development of ternary composite cement. The synergistic effect on mechanical behaviour at 28 days between limestone powder (LP) and pozzolanic additives, i.e. fly ash (FA) and blast furnace slag (BFS), has been documented. In order to better

Transient and residual stresses in a pressable glass-ceramic before and after resin-cement coating determined using profilometry.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

2011-05-01

The effect of heat-pressing and subsequent pre-cementation (acid-etching) and resin-cementation operative techniques on the development of transient and residual stresses in different thicknesses of a lithium disilicate glass-ceramic were characterised using profilometry prior to biaxial flexure strength (BFS) determination.

United States Department of Defense Agency Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2013. Financial Section

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

capacity for operating landfills and life expectancy in years for all other assets. The Department expenses the full cost to clean up contamination for...construction, and rehabilitation projects on inland waterways. The BFS manages and invests for the Trust Fund. Defense Commissary Agency Surcharge Trust

Effects of hydrostatic pressure on the integrity of concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dawspm, D.M.; Briggs, A.

1986-01-01

The effects of simulated sea dumping conditions on some physical properties of 9:1 blast furnace slag-ordinary Portland cement (BFS-OPC) grout are described. Using measurements of ultrasound transit time and diametral compression strength it has been shown that minor degradation occurs during pressurisation/depressurisation treatment, and that less degradation occurs when the grout is pressurised in air than when it is open to the ingress of water. It is inferred that microcracking or matrix/inclusion separation occurs during pressurisation, but it is predicted that such cracking might self-heal in the presence of water as a result of continued cement hydration. The mass properties of the material are not altered significantly by the degradation resulting from pressurisation/depressurisation treatment. On the basis of its behaviour under pressurisation, 9:1 BFS-OPC mixture is considered to be suitable for use as either a matrix material in monolithic packages or a grout for composite packages for sea disposal. (author)

Multithreaded Asynchronous Graph Traversal for In-Memory and Semi-External Memory

KAUST Repository

Pearce, Roger

2010-11-01

Processing large graphs is becoming increasingly important for many domains such as social networks, bioinformatics, etc. Unfortunately, many algorithms and implementations do not scale with increasing graph sizes. As a result, researchers have attempted to meet the growing data demands using parallel and external memory techniques. We present a novel asynchronous approach to compute Breadth-First-Search (BFS), Single-Source-Shortest-Paths, and Connected Components for large graphs in shared memory. Our highly parallel asynchronous approach hides data latency due to both poor locality and delays in the underlying graph data storage. We present an experimental study applying our technique to both In-Memory and Semi-External Memory graphs utilizing multi-core processors and solid-state memory devices. Our experiments using synthetic and real-world datasets show that our asynchronous approach is able to overcome data latencies and provide significant speedup over alternative approaches. For example, on billion vertex graphs our asynchronous BFS scales up to 14x on 16-cores. © 2010 IEEE.

Water Absorption Properties of Heat-Treated Bamboo Fiber and High Density Polyethylene Composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lanxing Du

2014-01-01

Full Text Available To modify water absorption properties of bamboo fiber (BF and high density polyethylene (HDPE composites, heat treatment of BFs was performed prior to compounding them with HDPE to form the composites. The moisture sorption property of the composites was measured and their diffusion coefficients (Dm were evaluated using a one-dimensional diffusion model. Moisture diffusion coefficient values of all composites were in the range of 0.115x10-8 to 1.267x10-8 cm2/s. The values of Dm decreased with increasing BF heat-treatment temperature, and increased with increasing BF loading level. The Dm value of 40 wt% bamboo fiber/HDPE composites with BFs treated with 100 oC was the greatest (i.e., 1.267x10-8cm2/s. Morphology analysis showed increased fiber-matrix interfacial bonding damage due to fiber swelling and shrinking from water uptaking and drying. The mechanism of water absorption of the composite, indicated a general Fickian diffusion process.

A comparative study of the pore structures and surfaces of hardened cement pastes of potential use in radioactive waste repositories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowan, S.M.; Donaldson, L.; White, S.

1988-02-01

Measurements of water vapour adsorption at 20 0 C and mercury intrusion have been used to compare the surfaces and pore structures of hardened cement pastes made from ordinary portland cement (OPC) and the additives blast furnace slag (BFS) and pulverised fuel ash (PFA). The results suggest that each additive, after taking part in the hydration reaction with OPC, produces a paste whose gel pore structure is similar to that derived from OPC alone. The BET adsorption surface area of the cement pastes, in the form of half inch diameter coupons was ca. 55 m 2 g -1 and was not influenced by the presence of the additives. However the pastes containing the additives have a larger and better interconnected meso and macropore structure than OPC which may account for larger diffusion coefficients reported elsewhere for caesium ions passing through concrete containing BFS in comparison with a concrete containing OPC alone. (author)

Sediment measurement and transport modeling: impact of riparian and filter strip buffers.

Science.gov (United States)

Moriasi, Daniel N; Steiner, Jean L; Arnold, Jeffrey G

2011-01-01

Well-calibrated models are cost-effective tools to quantify environmental benefits of conservation practices, but lack of data for parameterization and evaluation remains a weakness to modeling. Research was conducted in southwestern Oklahoma within the Cobb Creek subwatershed (CCSW) to develop cost-effective methods to collect stream channel parameterization and evaluation data for modeling in watersheds with sparse data. Specifically, (i) simple stream channel observations obtained by rapid geomorphic assessment (RGA) were used to parameterize the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model stream channel variables before calibrating SWAT for streamflow and sediment, and (ii) average annual reservoir sedimentation rate, measured at the Crowder Lake using the acoustic profiling system (APS), was used to cross-check Crowder Lake sediment accumulation rate simulated by SWAT. Additionally, the calibrated and cross-checked SWAT model was used to simulate impacts of riparian forest buffer (RF) and bermudagrass [ (L.) Pers.] filter strip buffer (BFS) on sediment yield and concentration in the CCSW. The measured average annual sedimentation rate was between 1.7 and 3.5 t ha yr compared with simulated sediment rate of 2.4 t ha yr Application of BFS across cropped fields resulted in a 72% reduction of sediment delivery to the stream, while the RF and the combined RF and BFS reduced the suspended sediment concentration at the CCSW outlet by 68 and 73%, respectively. Effective riparian practices have potential to increase reservoir life. These results indicate promise for using the RGA and APS methods to obtain data to improve water quality simulations in ungauged watersheds. American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

Information on the Schacht Asse II. Responsibility; Informationen ueber die Schachtanlage Asse II. Verantwortung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2016-03-15

The information brochure (BfS) on Asse - responsibility - discusses the issue of radioactive waste disposal. The members of the final repository commission have to present the final report on the site selection for the final repository. The central question is the safe disposal of nuclear waste for a million of years.

BisGMA/TEGDMA dental nanocomposites containing glyoxylic acid modified high-aspect ratio hydroxyapatite nanofibers with enhanced dispersion

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Liang; Xu, Changqi; Wang, Yong; Shi, Jian; Yu, Qingsong

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of the glyoxylic acid (GA) modification of hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanofibers on their dispersion in bisphenol A glycidyl methacrylate (BisGMA)/triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) dental composites and also investigate the mechanical properties, water absorption, and water solubility of the resulting dental resins and composites. Scanning/Transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images showed that microsized HAP nanofiber bundles could be effectively broken down to individual HAP nanofibers with an average length of ~15 μm after the surface modification process. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) characterization confirmed glyoxylic acid was chemically grafted on the HAP nanofiber surface, hypothetically by reacting with the amine group on HAP nanofiber surface. The enhanced dispersion of HAP nanofibers in dental matrix led to increased biaxial flexural strength (BFS) compared with the corresponding dental resins and composites filled with untreated HAP nanofibers. In addition, impregnation of small mass fractions of the glyoxylic acid modified HAP nanofibers into the BisGMA/TEGDMA dental resins (5wt%, 10wt%) or composites (2wt%, 3wt%) could also substantially improve the BFS in comparison with the controls(pure resins or dental composites filled with silica particles alone). Larger mass fractions could not further increase the mechanical property or even degrade the BFS values. Water behavior testing results indicated that the addition of glyoxylic acid modified HAP nanofibers resulted in higher water absorption and water solubility values which is not preferred for clinical application. In summary, well dispersed HAP nanofibers and their dental composites with enhanced mechanical property have been successfully fabricated but the water absorption and water solubility of such dental composites need to be

The role of dendritic non-linearities in single neuron computation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boris Gutkin

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Experiment has demonstrated that summation of excitatory post-synaptic protientials (EPSPs in dendrites is non-linear. The sum of multiple EPSPs can be larger than their arithmetic sum, a superlinear summation due to the opening of voltage-gated channels and similar to somatic spiking. The so-called dendritic spike. The sum of multiple of EPSPs can also be smaller than their arithmetic sum, because the synaptic current necessarily saturates at some point. While these observations are well-explained by biophysical models the impact of dendritic spikes on computation remains a matter of debate. One reason is that dendritic spikes may fail to make the neuron spike; similarly, dendritic saturations are sometime presented as a glitch which should be corrected by dendritic spikes. We will provide solid arguments against this claim and show that dendritic saturations as well as dendritic spikes enhance single neuron computation, even when they cannot directly make the neuron fire. To explore the computational impact of dendritic spikes and saturations, we are using a binary neuron model in conjunction with Boolean algebra. We demonstrate using these tools that a single dendritic non-linearity, either spiking or saturating, combined with somatic non-linearity, enables a neuron to compute linearly non-separable Boolean functions (lnBfs. These functions are impossible to compute when summation is linear and the exclusive OR is a famous example of lnBfs. Importantly, the implementation of these functions does not require the dendritic non-linearity to make the neuron spike. Next, We show that reduced and realistic biophysical models of the neuron are capable of computing lnBfs. Within these models and contrary to the binary model, the dendritic and somatic non-linearity are tightly coupled. Yet we show that these neuron models are capable of linearly non-separable computations.

BisGMA/TEGDMA dental nanocomposites containing glyoxylic acid-modified high-aspect ratio hydroxyapatite nanofibers with enhanced dispersion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Liang; Yu Qingsong; Li Hao; Xu Changqi; Wang Yong; Shi Jian

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of the glyoxylic acid (GA) modification of hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanofibers on their dispersion in bisphenol A glycidyl methacrylate (BisGMA)/triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) dental composites and also to investigate the mechanical properties, water absorption and water solubility of the resulting dental resins and composites. Scanning/transmission electron microscopy images showed that microsized HAP nanofiber bundles could be effectively broken down into individual HAP nanofibers with an average length of ∼15 µm after the surface modification process. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermal gravimetric analysis characterization confirmed that GA was chemically grafted on the HAP nanofiber surface, hypothetically by reacting with the amine group on the HAP nanofiber surface. The enhanced dispersion of HAP nanofibers in the dental matrix led to increased biaxial flexural strength (BFS) compared with the corresponding dental resins and composites filled with untreated HAP nanofibers. In addition, impregnation of small mass fractions of the GA-modified HAP nanofibers into the BisGMA/TEGDMA dental resins (5 wt%, 10 wt%) or composites (2 wt%, 3 wt%) could also substantially improve the BFS in comparison with the controls (pure resins or dental composites filled with silica particles alone). Larger mass fractions could not increase the mechanical property further or even degraded the BFS values. Water behavior testing results indicated that the addition of the GA-modified HAP nanofibers resulted in higher water absorption and water solubility values, which are not preferred for clinical application. In summary, well-dispersed HAP nanofibers and their dental composites with enhanced mechanical properties have been successfully fabricated, but the water absorption and water solubility of such dental composites need to be further improved. (paper)

Prevalence of foot-and-mouth disease antibodies in dairy herds in the Netherlands four years after vaccination

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dekker, A.; Terpstra, C.

1996-01-01

A total of 298 serum samples were collected from Dutch cattle born in 1988 or before, and examined in the virus neutralisation test for antibodies against foot-and-mouth disease virus types A10Holland, O1BFS, and C1Detmold. All the cattle had been vaccinated at least twice during the annual

A Linear Time Complexity of Breadth-First Search Using P System with Membrane Division

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Einallah Salehi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available One of the known methods for solving the problems with exponential time complexity such as NP-complete problems is using the brute force algorithms. Recently, a new parallel computational framework called Membrane Computing is introduced which can be applied in brute force algorithms. The usual way to find a solution for the problems with exponential time complexity with Membrane Computing techniques is by P System with active membrane using division rule. It makes an exponential workspace and solves the problems with exponential complexity in a polynomial (even linear time. On the other hand, searching is currently one of the most used methods for finding solution for problems in real life, that the blind search algorithms are accurate, but their time complexity is exponential such as breadth-first search (BFS algorithm. In this paper, we proposed a new approach for implementation of BFS by using P system with division rule technique for first time. The theorem shows time complexity of BSF in this framework on randomly binary trees reduced from O(2d to O(d.

Corrosion studies on mild steel in contact with cemented waste forms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Platts, N.

1987-03-01

The internal corrosion of mild steel drums has been assessed in support of the proposed cementation of low level solid and sludge wastes arising from the Winfrith SGHWR. General corrosion rates are expected to be very low but while oxygen is present pitting, at least in principle, is possible. Passive currents for mild steel in contact with the different cement formulations have therefore been determined, thereby enabling the timescale for residual oxygen within the drums to be assessed. These measurements indicate that for BFS/OPC cement formulations the oxygen will be exhausted within 37 days, though potential monitoring suggests that sulphides present in the cement may reduce this figure. For PFA/OPC cement formulations the passive currents suggest that it would take ca. one year for the oxygen present in a drum to be exhausted. Therefore though pitting should not be a problem with the BFS/OPC cement formulations, further investigation of the extent of pitting that may occur in the PFA/OPC waste form is desirable. (author)

137Cs, 60Co and 125I bioaccumulation by seaweeds from the Angra dos Reis nuclear power plant region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guimaraes, J.R.; Penna-Franca, E.

1985-01-01

As part of a broad research program on the behaviour of critical radionuclides to be discharged into the sea by the first Brazilian nuclear power plant, the uptake, accumulation and loss of 137 Cs, 60 Co and 125 I by locally abundant seaweed species was studied. Uptake in static 12 liter aquarium experiments reached apparent steady-state in 2 to 7 days ( 60 Co and 125 I), or 2 to 3 weeks ( 137 Cs). Elimination followed a reverse pattern, being comparatively fast for 137 Cs and slow for 60 Co and 125 I. Dry weight bioaccumulation factors (BFs) were variable, falling in the 10 1 range for 137 Cs, 10 3 for 125 I and 10 3 to 10 4 for 60 Co. Various short-term experiments, performed over a 16 month period, showed marked temporal variations of 60 Co BFs for all species. The results demonstrated that the studied species may play an important role in the transfer of the critical radionuclides through local food webs and can be employed as useful monitors for routine or accidental radionuclide releases. (author)

Improved Degree Search Algorithms in Unstructured P2P Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guole Liu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Searching and retrieving the demanded correct information is one important problem in networks; especially, designing an efficient search algorithm is a key challenge in unstructured peer-to-peer (P2P networks. Breadth-first search (BFS and depth-first search (DFS are the current two typical search methods. BFS-based algorithms show the perfect performance in the aspect of search success rate of network resources, while bringing the huge search messages. On the contrary, DFS-based algorithms reduce the search message quantity and also cause the dropping of search success ratio. To address the problem that only one of performances is excellent, we propose two memory function degree search algorithms: memory function maximum degree algorithm (MD and memory function preference degree algorithm (PD. We study their performance including the search success rate and the search message quantity in different networks, which are scale-free networks, random graph networks, and small-world networks. Simulations show that the two performances are both excellent at the same time, and the performances are improved at least 10 times.

Degenerate gauge conditions, generalized Gribov's ambiguity and BRST symmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fabbrichesi, M.E.

1987-01-01

The BFS-BRST approach to gauge theories is considered. It is argued that the BRST-invariant boundary conditions ordinarily used do not maintain the necessary degeneracy in the gauge fixing. As a by-product of this discussion, the existence of a generalized Gribov-like ambiguity is suggested. This ambiguity is however shown to be just a particular BRST transformation

Journal of Biosciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) serotype O is the most predominant among the endemic serotypes in India. A stable, full-length cDNA clone of FMDV type O1BFS 1860 preceded by a bacteriophage T7 polymerase promoter was assembled in a plasmid vector pGEMR-7Zf(–). An ∼8.2 kb PCR product was amplified ...

Technetium and Iodine Getters to Improve Cast Stone Performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qafoku, Nikolla [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Neeway, James J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lawter, Amanda R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Levitskaia, Tatiana G. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Serne, R. Jeffrey [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Westsik, Joseph H. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Snyder, Michelle MV [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-02-19

To determine the effectiveness of the various getter materials prior to their solidification in Cast Stone, a series of batch sorption experiments was performed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. To quantify the effectiveness of the removal of Tc(VII) and I(I) from solution by getters, the distribution coefficient, K_d (mL/g), was calculated. Testing involved placing getter material in contact with spiked waste solutions at a 1:100 solid-to-solution ratio for periods up to 45 days with periodic solution sampling. One Tc getter was also tested at a 1:10 solid-to-solution ratio. Two different solution media, 18.2 MΩ deionized water (DI H₂O) and a 7.8 M Na LAW simulant, were used in the batch sorption tests. Each test was conducted at room temperature in an anoxic chamber containing N2 with a small amount of H₂ (0.7%) to maintain anoxic conditions. Each getter-solution combination was run in duplicate. Three Tc- and I-doping concentrations were used separately in aliquots of both the 18.2 MΩ DI H2O and a 7.8 M Na LAW waste simulant. The 1× concentration was developed based on Hanford Tank Waste Operations Simulator (HTWOS) model runs to support the River Protection Project System Plan Revision 6. The other two concentrations were 5× and 10× of the HTWOS values. The Tc and I tests were run separately (i.e., the solutions did not contain both solutes). Sampling of the solid-solution mixtures occurred nominally after 0.2, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 days and ~35 to 45 days. Seven getter materials were tested for Tc and five materials were tested for I. The seven Tc getters were blast furnace slag 1 (BFS1) (northwest source), BFS2 (southeast source), Sn(II)-treated apatite, Sn(II) chloride, nano tin phosphate, KMS (a potassium-metal-sulfide), and tin hydroxapatite. The five iodine getters were layered bismuth hydroxide (LBH), argentite mineral, synthetic argentite, silver-treated carbon, and silver-treated zeolite. The Tc Kd values

Technetium and Iodine Getters to Improve Cast Stone Performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qafoku, Nikolla; Neeway, James J.; Lawter, Amanda R.; Levitskaia, Tatiana G.; Serne, R. Jeffrey; Westsik, Joseph H.; Snyder, Michelle MV

2014-07-01

To determine the effectiveness of the various getter materials prior to their solidification in Cast Stone, a series of batch sorption experiments was performed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. To quantify the effectiveness of the removal of Tc(VII) and I(I) from solution by getters, the distribution coefficient, Kd (mL/g), was calculated. Testing involved placing getter material in contact with spiked waste solutions at a 1:100 solid-to-solution ratio for periods up to 45 days with periodic solution sampling. One Tc getter was also tested at a 1:10 solid-to-solution ratio. Two different solution media, 18.2 MΩ deionized water (DI H2O) and a 7.8 M Na LAW simulant, were used in the batch sorption tests. Each test was conducted at room temperature in an anoxic chamber containing N2 with a small amount of H2 (0.7%) to maintain anoxic conditions. Each getter-solution combination was run in duplicate. Three Tc- and I-doping concentrations were used separately in aliquots of both the 18.2 MΩ DI H2O and a 7.8 M Na LAW waste simulant. The 1× concentration was developed based on Hanford Tank Waste Operations Simulator (HTWOS) model runs to support the River Protection Project System Plan Revision 6. The other two concentrations were 5× and 10× of the HTWOS values. The Tc and I tests were run separately (i.e., the solutions did not contain both solutes). Sampling of the solid-solution mixtures occurred nominally after 0.2, 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 days and ~35 to 45 days. Seven getter materials were tested for Tc and five materials were tested for I. The seven Tc getters were blast furnace slag 1 (BFS1) (northwest source), BFS2 (southeast source), Sn(II)-treated apatite, Sn(II) chloride, nano tin phosphate, KMS (a potassium-metal-sulfide), and tin hydroxapatite. The five iodine getters were layered bismuth hydroxide (LBH), argentite mineral, synthetic argentite, silver-treated carbon, and silver-treated zeolite. The Tc Kd values measured from experiments conducted

Calculation of ex-core detector weighting functions for a sodium-cooled tru burner mockup using MCNP5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pham Nhu Viet Ha; Min Jae Lee; Sunghwan Yun; Sang Ji Kim

2015-01-01

Power regulation systems of fast reactors are based on the signals of excore detectors. The excore detector weighting functions, which establish correspondence between the core power distribution and detector signal, are very useful for detector response analyses, e.g., in rod drop experiments. This paper presents the calculation of the weighting functions for a TRU burner mockup of the Korean Prototype Generation-IV Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (named BFS-76-1A) using the MCNP5 multi-group adjoint capability. For generation of the weighting functions, all fuel assemblies were considered and each of them was divided into ten horizontal layers. Then the weighting functions for individual fuel assembly horizontal layers, the assembly weighting functions, and the shape annealing functions at RCP (Reactor Critical Point) and at conditions under which a control rod group was fully inserted into the core while other control rods at RCP were determined and evaluated. The results indicate that the weighting functions can be considered relatively insensitive to the control rods position during the rod drop experiments and therefore those weighting values at RCP can be applied to the dynamic rod worth simulation for the BFS-76-1A. (author)

An International Approach to identify the root causes of Childhood Leukemia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laurier, Dominique

2015-01-01

Living near a nuclear site is one of the risk factors studied for childhood leukemia. The IRSN and BfS brought together scientists from several disciplines under the aegis of the European Association MelodiGLO to take stock of the existing epidemiological studies, their contributions and their limitations as well as to identify the analysis and research avenues to provide more robust answers. (author)

Integral test of JENDL-3.3 for fast reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiba, Gou

2003-01-01

An integral test of JENDL-3.3 was performed for fast reactors. Various types of fast reactors were analyzed. Calculation values of the nuclear characteristics were greatly especially affected by the revisions of the cross sections of U-235 capture and elastic scattering reactions. The C/E values were improved for ZPPR cross where plutonium is mainly fueled, but not for BFS cores where uranium is mainly fueled. (author)

Formulating a low-alkalinity, high-resistance and low-heat concrete for radioactive waste repositories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cau Dit Coumes, Celine; Courtois, Simone; Nectoux, Didier; Leclercq, Stephanie; Bourbon, Xavier

2006-01-01

Investigations were carried out in order to formulate and characterize low-alkalinity and low-heat cements which would be compatible with an underground waste repository environment. Several systems comprising Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), a fast-reacting pozzolan (silica fume (SF) or metakaolin (MK)) and, in some cases, a slow-reacting product (fly ash (FA) or blastfurnace slag (BFS)) were compared. Promising results were obtained with some binary mixtures of OPC and SF, and with some ternary blends of OPC, SF and FA or BFS: pH of water in equilibrium with the fully hydrated cements dropped below 11. Dependence of the properties of standard mortars on the high contents of FA and SF in the low-pH blends was examined. Combining SF and FA seemed attractive since SF compensated for the low reactivity of FA, while FA allowed to reduce the water demand, and dimensional variations of the mortars. Finally, low-heat (ΔT < 20 deg. C under semi-adiabatic conditions) and high strength (∼ 70-80 MPa) concretes were prepared from two low-pH cements: a binary blend made from 60% of OPC and 40% of SF, and a ternary blend including 37.5% OPC, 32.5% SF and 30% FA

Elution behavior of heavy metals from cement solidified products of incinerated ash waste - 59102

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meguro, Yoshihiro; Kawato, Yoshimi; Nakayama, Takuya; Tomioka, Osamu; Mitsuda, Motoyuki

2012-01-01

A method, in which incinerated ash is solidified with a cement material, has been developed to dispose radioactive incinerated ash waste. In order to bury the solidified product, it is required that elution of hazardous heavy metals included in the ash from the solidified products is inhibited. In this study, the elution behavior of the heavy metals from the synthetic solidified products, which included Pb(II), Cd(II), and Cr(VI) and were prepared using ordinary portland cement (OPC), blast furnace slag cement (BFS), or a cement material that showed low alkalinity (LA-Cement), was investigated. Several chemicals and materials were added as additive agents to prevent the elution of the heavy metals. When OPC was used, Cd elution was inhibited, but Pb and Cr were not enough even using the additive agent examined. FeSO 4 and Na 2 S additive agents worked effective to inhibit elution of Cr. When BFS was used, the elution of Pb, Cd and Cr was inhibited for the all products prepared. In the case of LA-Cement, the elution of Pb and Cd was inhibited for the all products, but only the product that was added FeSO 4 showed good result of the elution of Cr. (authors)

The Litvinenko 210polonium case. German experiences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kroeger, Emily Alice

2009-01-01

The high scientific standards of the BfS were necessary in order to characterize and evaluate the low activities of 210 Po found during the deployment in Hamburg. The evaluation of the measurements enabled the BfS to offer effective radiation protection advice and to assist the police investigation. The majority of the 210 Po traces were found in places that had been in skin contact with Kovtun, leading to the conclusion that Kovtun had most probably incorporated 210 Po before his visit to Hamburg in October 2006. As yet, no formal charges have been brought by the German authorities against Kovtun and the costs of the operation remain under discussion. Strategies to improve the internal and external deployment communication of the ZUB are being developed and implemented to deal with both the real and the perceived threats that occur during such an incident. Open communication from the onset of a deployment is essential, both between the institutions involved and between deployment leaders and the press. This will save precious time and resources, lower anxiety in the public and emergency workers and could, in a culture of trust where radiation protection advice is listened to and followed, ultimately save lives. (orig.)

Long term atmospheric radioxenon measurements and iodine-131 detections over Europe in 2011 and 2012; Langzeitmessungen von Radioxenon in der Atmosphaere und Jod-131 Nachweis in Europa in 2011 und 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schlosser, C.; Bieringer, J.; Krais, R.; Konrad, M.; Kumberg, T.; Schmid, S. [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, Freiburg (Germany); Ross, J.O. [Bundesanstalt fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hannover (Germany)

2014-01-20

The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, BfS) continuously monitors the activity concentration of {sup 133}Xe in ground level air in Germany since 1976. Since 2004, Xenon is measured at Schauinsland in samples with 24 hours sampling time with the automated system SPALAX as part of the International Monitoring System (IMS) of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Furthermore the BfS operates two high air volume samplers, one in Freiburg and one at the monitoring station Schauinsland. The surveillance of radioactive traces in the atmosphere is part of the German monitoring program of the Integrated Measurement and Information System (IMIS). The available data set allow the study of trends over long time periods and therefore the influence of different sources. Possible sources and their contribution could be investigated by the methods of Atmospheric Transport Modelling (ATM). Beside radioactive xenon isotopes also the medical isotope {sup 131}I is released in traces into the atmosphere and the detection at single trace analysis stations is not exceptional. However, in autumn 2011 and spring 2012 traces of this radioisotope were detected over longer periods over Europe. These events clearly showed the importance of a fast, transboundary and comprehensive data exchange between institutions to identify and localize the source.

Stimulant use among secondary school students in Osogbo, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Eegunranti, B A; Fatoye, F O; Morakinyo, O

2009-09-01

The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and pattern of stimulant use and its association with 'brain fag syndrome' among secondary school students in Osogbo, Osun State. The study also aimed to determine the association of socio-demographic variables (of the students and their parents) with stimulant use. A questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic variables, the stimulant use section of the WHO Student Drug Use Questionnaire and the Brain Fag Syndrome Scale (BFSS) was administered on randomly selected students of the two Local Government Areas of Osogbo. The prevalence rates of stimulant use were calculated and the association of stimulant use with Brain Fag Syndrome (BFS) and socio-demographic variables was determined. The 30-day prevalence rate of stimulant use was 20.3%. Users engaged more in the use of common and cheap stimulants (coffee and kola nut). Majority of users started at age 13 years or below. There was a very high relationship between stimulant use and the symptoms of the BFS (pfather and the description of mother as being too permissive. The findings suggest the need to increase the awareness of the dangers of stimulant use among students. Control programmes are urgently needed to prevent student wastage.

Regulations for the disposal of radioactive waste in the Konrad repository - 59105

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Hagen G.; Bandt, Gabriele

2012-01-01

In Germany low / medium level waste, which is classified here as radioactive waste with negligible heat generation, will be disposed of in the Konrad underground repository. The construction and the operation of this nuclear facility required authorization by different fields of law, i.e., by nuclear law, mining law and water law. Whereas the nuclear law considers solely radiological aspects, the relevant permit issued according to the water law considers the impact of radioactive as well as non-radioactive harmful substances. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) as operator of the repository and permit holder has (a) to record the disposed of radioactive and non-radioactive harmful substances and (b) to balance them. To meet these requirements BfS has developed a concept, which led to a site specific solution. Threshold values were defined for recording and for balancing the harmful substances. It had to be verified that by disposal of radioactive waste packages according to these values an adverse effect on the near-surface groundwater can be excluded. The Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Protection and Nature Conservation Agency (NLWKN) as the responsible water law regulatory authority approved the operator's concept as appropriate to comply with the requirements of the Water Law Permit. Nonetheless, collateral clauses were imposed to assure this. (authors)

Conceptual and safety-related questions in the final storage of radioactive waste - a comparison of various types of host rock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kleemann, U.

2005-01-01

The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) in early November published the synthesis report (BfS 2005) about the conceptual and safety-related specific questions associated with the final storage of radioactive waste. In addition to a condensed version of twelve individual projects, the report contains a description of the results of the peer review and the workshops carried out, in particular an evaluation comparing different types of host rock in Germany. The whole project constitutes a comprehensive documentation of the current state of the art. Findings are expressed at a general level referring neither to the suitability of any specific repository site nor to that of salts as a repository formation, but covering all potential repository formations in deep geologic strata in Germany. The limits to and possibilities of, generic comparisons of various types of host rock are shown. It si seen that, in principle, none of the host rock varieties in Germany would be preferable to others. Numerous problems can be solved only for specific sites, thus requiring site comparisons. While some questions indicate a need for regulatory treatment, the need for basic research is considered to be low. The contribution presents the main findings made in each of the specific projects and the evaluations by the Office. (orig.)

Development of a perturbation code, PERT-K, for hexagonal core geometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Taek Kyum; Kim, Sang Ji; Song, Hoon; Kim, Young Il; Kim, Young Jin [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea)

1999-01-01

A perturbation code for hexagonal core geometry has been developed based on Nodal Expansion Method. By using relevant output files of DIF3D code, it can calculate the reactivity changes caused by perturbation in composition or/and neutron cross section libraries. The accuracy of PERT-K code has been validated by calculating the reactivity changes due to fuel composition change, the sodium void coefficients, and the sample reactivity worths of BFS-73-1 critical experiments. In the case of 10% reduction in all fuel isotopics at a assembly located in the outer core, PERT-K computation agrees with the direct computation by DIF3D within 60 pcm. The sample reactivity worths of BFS-73-1 critical experiments are predicted with PERT-K code within the experimental error bounds. For 100% sodium void occurrence at the inner core, the maximum difference of reactivity changes between PERT-K and direct DIF3D computations is less than 40 pcm. On the other hand, the same sodium void condition at the outer core leads to a difference of reactivity change greater than 400 pcm. However, as sodium voiding becomes near zero value, the difference becomes less and rapidly falls within the acceptable bound, i.e. 40 pcm. (author). 11 refs., 9 figs., 6 tabs.

Forewarning system for controlling Yellow Sigatoka in Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara de Almeida Rios

2013-09-01

Full Text Available This trial aimed to evaluate the Biological Forewarning System (BFS for controlling Yellow Sigatoka in Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil. It was carried out in the town of Nova Porteirinha. One tested 7 treatments, using 6 gross sum (GS values (1,000; 1,300; 1,600; 1,900; 2,200, and 2,500 and the systematic disease control every 15 days. The treatments were distributed into 7 plots (120 plants/plot with ‘Prata-Anã’ and 10 plants from each plot were weekly evaluated with regard to leaf emission rate and disease incidence on the leaves 2, 3 and 4. The more advanced lesion stages and their intensity were used to calculate the gross sum, which aided in decision-making for chemical control. One collected data on production and firmness, pH, and acidity analysis of fruits. For the GS 2,500 treatment, taking into account 2-year evaluation, there was a reduction from 12 to 3 applications, i.e. 75% less fungicide was applied, without loss in productivity. Therefore, one suggests, taking into account the conditions of Nova Porteirinha, the application of BFS for chemical control of Yellow Sigatoka, using the GS value of 2,500 as an indicator of the correct time to perform pulverization.

Crystallization of high-strength nano-scale leucite glass-ceramics.

Science.gov (United States)

Theocharopoulos, A; Chen, X; Wilson, R M; Hill, R; Cattell, M J

2013-11-01

Fine-grained, high strength, translucent leucite dental glass-ceramics are synthesized via controlled crystallization of finely milled glass powders. The objectives of this study were to utilize high speed planetary milling of an aluminosilicate glass for controlled surface crystallization of nano-scale leucite glass-ceramics and to test the biaxial flexural strength. An aluminosilicate glass was synthesized, attritor or planetary milled and heat-treated. Glasses and glass-ceramics were characterized using particle size analysis, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Experimental (fine and nanoscale) and commercial (Ceramco-3, IPS Empress Esthetic) leucite glass-ceramics were tested using the biaxial flexural strength (BFS) test. Gaussian and Weibull statistics were applied. Experimental planetary milled glass-ceramics showed an increased leucite crystal number and nano-scale median crystal sizes (0.048-0.055 μm(2)) as a result of glass particle size reduction and heat treatments. Experimental materials had significantly (p0.05) strength difference. All other groups' mean BFS and characteristic strengths were found to be significantly different (pglass-ceramics with high flexural strength. These materials may help to reduce problems associated with brittle fracture of all-ceramic restorations and give reduced enamel wear. Copyright © 2013 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Larval settlement and metamorphosis of the mussel Mytilus coruscus in response to monospecific bacterial biofilms.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jin-Long; Shen, Pei-Jing; Liang, Xiao; Li, Yi-Feng; Bao, Wei-Yang; Li, Jia-Le

2013-01-01

The effects of bacterial biofilms (BFs) on larval settlement and metamorphosis of the mussel, Mytilus coruscus, were investigated in the laboratory. Of nine different isolates, Shewanella sp.1 BF induced the highest percentage of larval settlement and metamorphosis, whereas seven other isolates had a moderate inducing activity and one isolate, Pseudoalteromonas sp. 4, had a no inducing activity. The inducing activity of individual bacterial isolates was not correlated either with their phylogenetic relationship or with the surfaces from which they were isolated. Among the eight bacterial species that demonstrated inducing activity, bacterial density was significantly correlated with the inducing activity for each strain, with the exception of Vibrio sp. 1. The Shewanella sp. 1 BF cue that was responsible for inducing larval settlement and metamorphosis was further investigated. Treatment of the BFs with formalin, antibiotics, ultraviolet irradiation, heat, and ethanol resulted in a significant decrease in their inducing activities and cell survival. BF-conditioned water (CW) did not induce larval metamorphosis, but it triggered larval settlement behavior. A synergistic effect of CW with formalin-fixed Shewanella sp. 1 BF significantly promoted larval metamorphosis. Thus, a cocktail of chemical cues derived from bacteria may be necessary to stimulate larval settlement and metamorphosis in this species.

Integral test of JENDL-3.3 on fast reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiba, Gou; Hazama, Taira

2003-05-01

An integral test has been carried out to evaluate a performance of evaluated nuclear data library JENDL-3.3, which was newly released, in a view of applying neutronics analyses of fast reactors. Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute has a large amount of data of critical assembly experiments (ZPPR, BFS, MOZART and FCA) and power reactor tests (JOYO). The database was utilized in this test. In plutonium loaded cores, an improvement was observed about 0.3% ε k in criticality and 5% in the non-leakage term of sodium void reactivity by a revision form JENDL-3.2 to -3.3. These results shoed that the revision is valid in plutonium loaded cores. In uranium loaded cores, dependence of C/E values on control rod position became smaller in control rod worth in ZPPR cores. On the other hand, C/E values became worse both in criticality (0.6%εk) and in sodium void reactivity (30%) in BFS cores. The main cause was a revision of uranium-235 capture cross section, and it could not be concluded whether the revision is valid or not in uranium loaded cores. It is necessary to carry out a validation test at other independent critical experiments in which uranium fuel is used. (author)

The nuclear specific danger prevention in the Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz; Die nuklearspezifische Gefahrenabwehr im Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lange, Britta [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, Berlin (Germany). Arbeitsgruppe Nuklearspezifische Gefahrenabwehr (AG-NGA)

2016-07-01

The nuclear-related danger prevention (NGA: nuklearspezifische Gefahrenabwehr) in the BfS is usually seen as part of emergency planning. NGA is dealing with incidents resulting from possible or verified radioactive material abuse. It is always assumed or expected that there is a criminal or in the worst case terroristic intention. Therefore the NGA operation is usually of a radiological situation a combination with police actions inducing enhanced challenges to planning, communication and cooperation.

Analysis of radioxenon and Krypton-85 at the BfS noble gas laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlosser, C; Bollhöfer, A; Schmid, S; Krais, R; Bieringer, J; Konrad, M

2017-08-01

Proportional counters and a β-γ coincidence system and their performance characteristics are described, with emphasis on internal and external quality controls. Typical limits of detection (LD) are 8mBqm -3 for 85 Kr and 4mBqm -3 for 133 Xe for the proportional counters, while for similar xenon volumes the LD for 133 Xe in the β-γ system is approximately 4 times lower. Results of comparative analyses agree above the limit of quantification. Xenon-133 levels in southern Germany are presently at or below the LD of the proportional counters, but above the LD of the β-γ system, which is now routinely used for analysis of environmental samples. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Economic development influences on sediment-bound nitrogen and phosphorus accumulation of lakes in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Zhaokui; Wang, Shengrui

2015-12-01

China has been confronted with serious water quality deterioration concurrent with rapid socioeconomic progress during the past 40 years. Consequently, knowledge about economic growth and lake water quality dynamics is important to understand eutrophication processes. Objectives were to (i) reconstruct historical nutrient accumulation and the basin economic progress on burial flux (BF); (ii) determine forms and structures of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in sediment and water using six cores in three of the most severely eutrophic lake areas in China (i.e., Eastern Plain, Yunnan-Guizhou Plain, and Inner Mongolia-Xinjiang regions). Results suggest that BFs of total nitrogen (TN) continued to increase in sediment, whereas total phosphorus (TP) levels were consistent or only slightly increased, except in highly polluted lakes during the past decades. Similar results were observed for concentrations of nutrients in water (i.e., increased N/P). This historical distribution pattern was correlated to long-term fertilization practices of farmers in the watershed (N fertilization exceeds that of P) and was contingent upon pollution control policies (e.g., emphasized P whereas N was ignored). Vertical profiles of BFs indicated that lake nutrient accumulation included three stages in China. Nutrient accumulation started in the 1980s, accelerated from the 1990s, and then declined after 2000. Before the 1980s, nutrients were relatively low and stable, with nutrient inputs being controlled by natural processes. Thereafter, N- and P-bound sediments dramatically increased due to the increasing influence of anthropogenic processes. Nutrients were primarily derived from industries and domestic sewage. After 2000, BFs of nutrients were steady and even decreased, owing to implementation of watershed load reduction policies. The decreasing NaOH-extracted P (Fe/Al-P) and increasing organic phosphorus (OP) indicated that the source of exogenous pollution underwent a shift. Inputs of

EVALUACIÓN DE UN RECUBRIMIENTO FORMULADO CON BASE EN PINTURA INDUSTRIAL Y EXTRACTO DE Aloe saponaria EXPUESTO A LA ATMÓSFERA MARINA I EVALUATION OF A COATING MADE FROM INDUSTRIAL PAINT BASE AND EXTRACT OF Aloe saponaria EXPOSED TO MARINE ATMOSPHERE

OpenAIRE

Asyuri del Valle Roquez Ramos; Solange Ysbeth Paredes Dugarte

2018-01-01

A base of industrial paint mixed with extract of plants of the genus Aloe was evaluated as a possible corrosion inhibiting coating. A phosphate buffered saline solution (BFS) was used to prepare the aqueous extract of Aloe saponaria and mixtures were prepared based industrial paint and the aqueous extract at different ratios (80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50). Plates of AA3003 aluminum alloy were coated and exposed to the marine atmosphere using the Sucre Atmospher...

The Spectra of Des S-Boxes

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-01

cryptography continues to be a topic of relevance. Within spectral graph theory, the classic references are written by Norman Biggs , Dragoš Cvetkovíc et al...should consult some of the more classic texts on abstract algebra by John Fraleigh [2] and Thomas Hungerford [3]. 2.1 Number Theory Number theory is...background is presented. Since bent BFs are not the focus of this thesis, the reader should consult the works of John Dillon, Oscar Rothaus, Robert

Arrays of Hollow Silica Half-Nanospheres Via the Breath Figure Approach

KAUST Repository

Gao, Yangqin; Hou, Yuanfang; Beaujuge, Pierre

2015-01-01

Breath figures (BFs) are patterns of liquid droplets that usually form upon condensation on a cold surface. Earlier work has shown that BFs can be used to produce continuous films of porous honeycomb-structured patterns on various types of materials, paving the path to a number of important applications such as the manufacturing of highly ordered nano- and micron-sized templates, micro lenses, and superhydrophobic coatings. It is worth noting, however, that few new findings have been reported in this area in recent years, limiting pursuits of novel architectures and key applications. In this report, an alternative method is described by which arrays of hollow silica half-nanospheres can be produced via BF templates. In the present method, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) protocol performed while the BF is formed on a glass substrate yields a nanostructured pattern of silica half-spheres, which size (100-700 nm) and density across the glass surface vary with substrate modification and with the relative rates of water condensation and hydrolysis from silica precursors (a process carried out at room temperature). This method of forming arrays of hollow half-nanospheres via the BF approach may be applicable to various other oxides and a broad range of substrates including large-area flexible plastics. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Crystallization kinetics of magnetic glass-ceramics prepared by the processing of waste materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francis, A.A.

2006-01-01

The objective of the present investigation was to study the feasibility of conversion of an intimate mixture of blast furnace slag and blast furnace flue dust generated by a single industrial company into magnetic glass-ceramic product. Blast furnace slag (BFS) and blast furnace flue dust (BFD) are generated at a rate of 300,000 and 30,000 tons/year, respectively, from iron and steel factory. The crystallization mechanisms of a composition containing BFS and BFD in a 50/50 proportion were investigated by differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The crystallization temperature was found to vary from 900 to 1100 deg. C and two phases appeared in the crystallized samples: pyroxene Ca(Mg, Fe, Al)(Si, Al) 2 O 6 and magnetite/maghemite. Heating rate and particle sizes effects on crystal growth of powdered samples were studied by DTA. The apparent activation energy of crystal growth using the particle size 180-315 μm was determined to be 355 and 329 kJ/mol for the first and second peak, respectively. The presence of sharp and broad crystallization peaks indicate simultaneous surface and internal crystallization mechanism. Good wear resistance and chemical durability particularly in alkaline environment, combine with good hardness and magnetic properties make this glass-ceramic material potentially useful for various industrial applications

Quality assurance for radon measurements in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beck, T.R.; Buchroeder, H.; Foerster, E.; Schmidt, V.

2005-01-01

Full text: Radiation protection regarding work activities at workplaces with naturally occurring radiation has been regulated in the German Radiation Protection Ordinance. Regulations refer only to workplaces where the presence of natural radiation leads to a significant increase in the exposure of workers. These workplaces were identified in the following working areas with enhanced exposures to radon-222: underground mines, including visitor mines and show caves; radon-spas and galleries; water supply and distribution industries. Presently, regulations are being initiated by the German government to limit the exposures to radon in homes. For radon measurements at workplaces passive radon devices for individual monitoring as well as active measuring systems for workplace monitoring can be used. However, passive radon devices are preferred for radon measurements in homes because of low costs and availability in large quantities. To assure the quality of radon measurements the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) has established annual interlaboratory comparisons for passive radon devices. The comparisons are carried out in the BfS radon calibration laboratory accredited by the German Calibration Service. Passive radon devices which use solid state track detectors, electrets or activated charcoal can be submitted. Approved radon services which offer radon measurements to determine radon exposure in homes and at workplaces have to pass the comparisons successfully. (author)

Arrays of Hollow Silica Half-Nanospheres Via the Breath Figure Approach

KAUST Repository

Gao, Yangqin

2015-04-21

Breath figures (BFs) are patterns of liquid droplets that usually form upon condensation on a cold surface. Earlier work has shown that BFs can be used to produce continuous films of porous honeycomb-structured patterns on various types of materials, paving the path to a number of important applications such as the manufacturing of highly ordered nano- and micron-sized templates, micro lenses, and superhydrophobic coatings. It is worth noting, however, that few new findings have been reported in this area in recent years, limiting pursuits of novel architectures and key applications. In this report, an alternative method is described by which arrays of hollow silica half-nanospheres can be produced via BF templates. In the present method, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) protocol performed while the BF is formed on a glass substrate yields a nanostructured pattern of silica half-spheres, which size (100-700 nm) and density across the glass surface vary with substrate modification and with the relative rates of water condensation and hydrolysis from silica precursors (a process carried out at room temperature). This method of forming arrays of hollow half-nanospheres via the BF approach may be applicable to various other oxides and a broad range of substrates including large-area flexible plastics. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

MELODI: The 'Multidisciplinary European Low-Dose Initiative'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belli, M.; Salomaa, S.; Ottolenghi, A.

2011-01-01

The importance of research to reduce uncertainties in risk assessment of low and protracted exposures is now recognised globally. In Europe a new initiative, called 'Multidisciplinary European Low Dose Initiative' (MELODI), has been proposed by a 'European High Level and Expert Group on low-dose risk research' (www.hleg.de), aimed at integrating national and EC (Euratom) efforts. Five national organisations: BfS (DE), CEA (FR), IRSN (FR), ISS (IT) and STUK (FI), with the support of the EC, have initiated the creation of MELODI by signing a letter of intent. In the forthcoming years, MELODI will integrate in a step-by-step approach EU institutions with significant programmes in the field and will be open to other scientific organisations and stakeholders. A key role of MELODI is to develop and maintain over time a strategic research agenda (SRA) and a road map of scientific priorities within a multidisciplinary approach, and to transfer the results for the radiation protection system. Under the coordination of STUK a network has been proposed in the 2009 Euratom Programme, called DoReMi (Low-Dose Research towards Multidisciplinary Integration), which can help the integration process within the MELODI platform. DoReMi and the First MELODI Open Workshop, organised by BfS in September 2009, are now important inputs for the European SRA. (authors)

Detecting cm-scale hot spot over 24-km-long single-mode fiber by using differential pulse pair BOTDA based on double-peak spectrum.

Science.gov (United States)

Diakaridia, Sanogo; Pan, Yue; Xu, Pengbai; Zhou, Dengwang; Wang, Benzhang; Teng, Lei; Lu, Zhiwei; Ba, Dexin; Dong, Yongkang

2017-07-24

In distributed Brillouin optical fiber sensor when the length of the perturbation to be detected is much smaller than the spatial resolution that is defined by the pulse width, the measured Brillouin gain spectrum (BGS) experiences two or multiple peaks. In this work, we propose and demonstrate a technique using differential pulse pair Brillouin optical time-domain analysis (DPP-BOTDA) based on double-peak BGS to enhance small-scale events detection capability, where two types of single mode fiber (main fiber and secondary fiber) with 116 MHz Brillouin frequency shift (BFS) difference have been used. We have realized detection of a 5-cm hot spot at the far end of 24-km single mode fiber by employing a 50-cm spatial resolution DPP-BOTDA with only 1GS/s sampling rate (corresponding to 10 cm/point). The BFS at the far end of 24-km sensing fiber has been measured with 0.54 MHz standard deviation which corresponds to a 0.5°C temperature accuracy. This technique is simple and cost effective because it is implemented using the similar experimental setup of the standard BOTDA, however, it should be noted that the consecutive small-scale events have to be separated by a minimum length corresponding to the spatial resolution defined by the pulse width difference.

Occupational radiation exposure in Central and Eastern European countries - ESOREX EAST -. Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frasch, G.; Anatschkowa, E.

1999-02-01

On behalf of the European Commission, the BfS is currently executing a project entitled 'European Study of Occupational Radiation Exposure - ESOREX'. The project consists of several surveys executed in the Member States of the European Union, furthermore in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. In each of these countries the - 1. administrative systems used to register individual occupational radiation exposure, - 2. numbers and dose distributions of occupationally radiation exposed persons in 1995 are surveyed. The aim is to describe and compare the administrative structures of the various national registration systems and the distributions of the workers and their doses. It shall identify the differences between the states and analyse the possibilities for a European harmonization. Because of the intention of numerous Central and Eastern European countries to join the European Community, the harmonization theme is also of considerable importance for these countries. The workshop served the preparing works to execute the ESOREX study also in ten Central and Eastern European countries. In order to establish the necessary contacts and to prepare the co-operation with the respective institutions of these states, the BfS organised, together with the State Office for Nuclear Safety of the Czech Republic, an international introductory workshop in Prague in September 1998. The proceedings reflect the presentations of the participants and the results of the discussions. (orig.) [de

Requirements on radioactive waste for disposal (waste acceptance requirements as of February 2017). Konrad repository; Anforderungen an endzulagernde radioaktive Abfaelle (Endlagerungsbedingungen, Stand: Februar 2017). Endlager Konrad

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kugel, Karin; Moeller, Kai (eds.)

2017-02-10

The Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (BfS - Federal Office for Radiation Protection) has established waste acceptance requirements for the Konrad repository. These requirements were developed on the basis of the results of a site-specific safety assessment. They include general requirements on waste packages and specific requirements on waste forms and packagings as well as limitations for activities of individual radionuclides and limitations to masses of non-radioactive harmful substances. Requirements on documentation and delivery of waste packages were additionally included.

Mobility assessment in older people: new possibilities and challenges

OpenAIRE

Zijlstra, Wiebren; Aminian, Kamiar

2007-01-01

A major challenge for researchers and clinicians who address health issues in the ageing population is to monitor functioning, and to timely initiate interventions that aim to prevent loss of functional abilities and to improve the quality of life of older people. With the progress of technologies in the last decades, methods have become available that use body fixed sensors (BFS) to measure aspects of human performance under real-life conditions. These methods are based on the use of miniatu...

Literature review of the potential impact of glycolic acid on the technetium chemistry of srs tank waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nash, Charles A.; McCabe, Daniel J.

2017-01-01

This document presents a literature study of the impact of glycolate on technetium chemistry in the Savannah River Site (SRS) waste system and specifically Saltstone. A predominant portion of the Tc at SRS will be sent to the Saltstone Facility where it will be immobilized. The Tc in the tank waste is in the highly soluble chemical form of pertechnetate ion (TcO 4 - ) which is reduced by blast furnace slag (BFS) in Saltstone, rendering it highly insoluble and resistant to leaching.

Geographic information processing in the Integrated Measuring and Information System (IMIS). An overview; Geographische Informationsverarbeitung im integrierten Mess- und Informationssystem (IMIS). Ein Ueberblick

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burbeck, S. [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (BfS), Freiburg (Germany)

2014-01-20

As most public administrations the Federal Office for Radiation Protection faces various tasks and requirements with geographic information playing an important role. All the more this is true for the Department of Emergency Protection with its Integrated Measuring and Information System (IMIS) and the tasks of information provision for the public. Crucial part in geographic information extraction and provision is cartographic representation. In BfS the different requirements shall be met by a common software architecture, based on web services.

Evaluation of spatial variability of metal bioavailability in soils using geostatistics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Owsianiak, Mikolaj; Hauschild, Michael Zwicky; Rosenbaum, Ralph K.

2012-01-01

Soil properties show signifficant spatial variability at local, regional and continental scales. This is a challenge for life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) of metals, because fate, bioavailability and effect factors are controlled by environmental chemistry and can vary orders of magnitude...... is performed using ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst. Results show that BFs of copper span a range of 6 orders of magnitude, and have signifficant spatial variability at local and continental scales. The model nugget variance is signifficantly higher than zero, suggesting the presence of spatial variability...

Second expert discussion on the BMU/BfS concept of man-machine interaction in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gersinska, R.; Hennig, R.; Kociok, B.

1992-04-01

The purpose of this meeting was to assess the need for further research on the impact of human factors. As a result, the following topics were defined as future research projects: Technical requirements on the interface man-machine during the operation of nuclear power plants; technical, organizational and personal requirements during service, maintenance and repair in nuclear power plants; technical, organizational and personel requirements for accident management. For the examination of these key subjects detailled performance criteria were set up by the BfS. (orig./DG) [de

Literature review of the potential impact of glycolic acid on the technetium chemistry of srs tank waste

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nash, Charles A. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); McCabe, Daniel J. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

2017-10-09

This document presents a literature study of the impact of glycolate on technetium chemistry in the Savannah River Site (SRS) waste system and specifically Saltstone. A predominant portion of the Tc at SRS will be sent to the Saltstone Facility where it will be immobilized. The Tc in the tank waste is in the highly soluble chemical form of pertechnetate ion (TcO₄ ^-) which is reduced by blast furnace slag (BFS) in Saltstone, rendering it highly insoluble and resistant to leaching.

Characterisation and modelling of blended cements and their application to radioactive waste immobilisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glasser, F.P.; Atkins, M.; Kindness, A.

1991-01-01

Various aspects of the chemistry of cements, including blends with FA and BFS, pertinent to the immobilization of radioactive waste are described. The methodology and development of a model for predicting the solid and liquid phase composition in aged cement blends are given. Experimental work, backed up by thermodynamic calculations (where possible), has given valuable insight into some of the important interactions between selected (active and inactive) radwaste components and cements. The effects of elevated pressure and temperature on blended cement are also investigated. (author)

Adición de una escoria geotérmica ultrafina sobre morteros de escoria de alto horno activadas por álcalis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Escalante, J. I.

2002-12-01

Full Text Available Investigations were carried out in mortars with alkali activated blast furnace slag (BFS as the binder. The slag was replaced by up to 30% by weight of an ultrafine geothermal slag (GS which was predominantly siliceous. The activating agents were waterglass and NaOH, commercial lime was added in 4% to promote pozzolanic activity of both slags. Measurements of non evaporable water indicated that the presence of the GS increased the reactivity of the cementitious systems. Also, for the NaOH activation, the replacement with 5-10% of the BFS by GS favored a porosity reduction (as observed by scanning electron microscopy and the compressive strength improvement. For the waterglass activation, the addition of GS resulted in more compact microstructures; however, in spite of such improvement, during the mixing and castings of such mortars, air bubbles were trapped in the microstructure due to a fast setting, degrading the compressive strength with respect to the neat BFS mortars. After 90 days, the lime was not observed in the microstructure, suggesting that it was consumed by both slags.

Se realizaron investigaciones en morteros con ligante de escoria de alto horno activada por álcalis. La escoria se reemplazó de 0 a 30% con una escoria geotérmica (EG ultrafina predominantemente silícea. Los agentes activantes empleados fueron vidrio soluble y NaOH, agregando 4% de cal comercial como activante para promover la actividad puzolánica de ambas escorias. Las mediciones de agua no evaporable indicaron que la presencia de la EG incrementó la reactividad de los sistemas cementicios. Asimismo, para la activación con NaOH, la adición de 5-10% de EG favoreció la reducción de la porosidad (por microscopía electrónica de barrido y la resistencia a la compresión. Al respecto de la activación con vidrio soluble, se observaron las microestructuras mas compactas, sin embargo durante el mezclado y moldeado de morteros con EG se notó la formaci

Frog: Asynchronous Graph Processing on GPU with Hybrid Coloring Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shi, Xuanhua; Luo, Xuan; Liang, Junling; Zhao, Peng; Di, Sheng; He, Bingsheng; Jin, Hai

2018-01-01

GPUs have been increasingly used to accelerate graph processing for complicated computational problems regarding graph theory. Many parallel graph algorithms adopt the asynchronous computing model to accelerate the iterative convergence. Unfortunately, the consistent asynchronous computing requires locking or atomic operations, leading to significant penalties/overheads when implemented on GPUs. As such, coloring algorithm is adopted to separate the vertices with potential updating conflicts, guaranteeing the consistency/correctness of the parallel processing. Common coloring algorithms, however, may suffer from low parallelism because of a large number of colors generally required for processing a large-scale graph with billions of vertices. We propose a light-weight asynchronous processing framework called Frog with a preprocessing/hybrid coloring model. The fundamental idea is based on Pareto principle (or 80-20 rule) about coloring algorithms as we observed through masses of realworld graph coloring cases. We find that a majority of vertices (about 80%) are colored with only a few colors, such that they can be read and updated in a very high degree of parallelism without violating the sequential consistency. Accordingly, our solution separates the processing of the vertices based on the distribution of colors. In this work, we mainly answer three questions: (1) how to partition the vertices in a sparse graph with maximized parallelism, (2) how to process large-scale graphs that cannot fit into GPU memory, and (3) how to reduce the overhead of data transfers on PCIe while processing each partition. We conduct experiments on real-world data (Amazon, DBLP, YouTube, RoadNet-CA, WikiTalk and Twitter) to evaluate our approach and make comparisons with well-known non-preprocessed (such as Totem, Medusa, MapGraph and Gunrock) and preprocessed (Cusha) approaches, by testing four classical algorithms (BFS, PageRank, SSSP and CC). On all the tested applications and

Computing Maximum Cardinality Matchings in Parallel on Bipartite Graphs via Tree-Grafting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azad, Ariful; Buluc, Aydn; Pothen, Alex

2016-01-01

It is difficult to obtain high performance when computing matchings on parallel processors because matching algorithms explicitly or implicitly search for paths in the graph, and when these paths become long, there is little concurrency. In spite of this limitation, we present a new algorithm and its shared-memory parallelization that achieves good performance and scalability in computing maximum cardinality matchings in bipartite graphs. This algorithm searches for augmenting paths via specialized breadth-first searches (BFS) from multiple source vertices, hence creating more parallelism than single source algorithms. Algorithms that employ multiple-source searches cannot discard a search tree once no augmenting path is discovered from the tree, unlike algorithms that rely on single-source searches. We describe a novel tree-grafting method that eliminates most of the redundant edge traversals resulting from this property of multiple-source searches. We also employ the recent direction-optimizing BFS algorithm as a subroutine to discover augmenting paths faster. Our algorithm compares favorably with the current best algorithms in terms of the number of edges traversed, the average augmenting path length, and the number of iterations. Here, we provide a proof of correctness for our algorithm. Our NUMA-aware implementation is scalable to 80 threads of an Intel multiprocessor and to 240 threads on an Intel Knights Corner coprocessor. On average, our parallel algorithm runs an order of magnitude faster than the fastest algorithms available. The performance improvement is more significant on graphs with small matching number.

Effect of a probiotic fermented milk on the thymus in Balb/c mice under non-severe protein-energy malnutrition.

Science.gov (United States)

Núñez, Ivanna Novotny; Galdeano, Carolina Maldonado; Carmuega, Esteban; Weill, Ricardo; de Moreno de LeBlanc, Alejandra; Perdigón, Gabriela

2013-08-28

Protein–energy malnutrition (PEM) causes a significant impairment of the immune system, the thymus being one of the most affected organs. It has been demonstrated that the administration of probiotic fermented milk (PFM) recovered the intestinal barrier, histological alterations and mucosal and systemic immune functions in a non-severe malnutrition model using BALB/c mice. The aim of the present study was to evaluate, in the same model of malnutrition, the effect of a PFM added to a re-nutrition diet on the recovery of the thymus, analysing histological and functional alterations caused by malnutrition. Mice were undernourished and divided into three groups according to the dietary supplement received during re-nutrition: milk, PFM or its bacterial-free supernatant (BFS). They were compared with well-nourished and malnourished mice. PFM was the most effective re-nutrition supplement to improve the histology of the thymus, decreasing cellular apoptosis in this organ and recovering the percentage of CD4þ/CD82 single-positive thymocytes. Immature doublepositive thymocytes were increased in the malnourished control (MC). The production of different cytokines in the thymus was increased in mice given PFM, compared with the mice that received other dietary supplements and MC. Mice given the BFS presented an improvement in the thymus similar to those that received milk. We demonstrated the importance of the whole PFM supplementation on the histological and functional recovery of the thymus in a non-severe PEM model.

BF*F allotype of the alternative pathway of complement: A marker of protection against the development of antiphospholipid antibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Science.gov (United States)

Picceli, V F; Skare, T L; Nisihara, R M; Nass, F R; Messias-Reason, I T; Utiyama, S R R

2016-04-01

B factor (BF) from the alternative complement pathway seems to participate in the pathophysiology of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). To study the allotypic variability of BF in SLE and their associations with clinical and autoantibodies profile. BF allotypes were determined by high-voltage agarose gel electrophoresis, under constant cooling, followed by immunofixation with anti-human BF antibody, in 188 SLE patients and 103 controls. Clinical and serological data were obtained from medical examination and records. No significant differences of BF variants between patients and controls were found, neither in relation to epidemiologic or clinical manifestations. Associations of phenotype BF SS07 and allotype BF*S07 were found with anticardiolipin IgM (aCl-IgM) antibodies (p = 0.014 and p = 0.009 respectively), but not with aCl-IgG, lupus anticoagulant (LA), anti β2GPI or clinical APS. A significant decrease in BF*F allotype (p = 0.043) and BF SF phenotype (p = 0.018) was detected in patients with anti-phospholipid antibodies as a whole (aCl-IgG, aCl-IgM, LA and anti β2GPI). There is a link between phenotype BF SS07 and allotype BF*S07 with aCl-IgM in SLE patients; BF*F allotype could be considered a marker of protection against the development of antiphospholipid antibodies in these patients. © The Author(s) 2015.

Collaborative Russian-US work in nuclear material protection, control and accounting at the Institute of Physics and Power Engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matveenko, I.P.; Pshakin, G.M.; Mozhaev, V.K.

1995-01-01

The Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE) is a leading research center under the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation. IPPE encompasses many installations and many specialists who perform fundamental and applied investigations in nuclear power and technology for the national nuclear program. IPPE has a key role in the national nuclear material protection, control, and accounting (MPC ampersand A) system both as a nuclear facility and also as a training center for MPC ampersand A. As a participant in the US-Russian Laboratory-to-Laboratory Cooperative Program in MPC ampersand A, IPPE is conducting several tasks in collaboration with US Department of Energy national laboratories. The main goal of these tasks is the rapid improvement of MPC ampersand A at one of the most sensitive operating IPPE installations, the BFS critical facility, which has large numbers of fuel items containing highly enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium. After the completion of several test, evaluation, and demonstration tasks, it is hoped that the tested and adopted methods and procedures can be applied not only to the entire population of BFS fuel items, but also to other facilities at IPPE and other Russian nuclear institutes and operating facilities. The collaborative tasks cover seven areas: computerized nuclear material accounting, entry control and portals, item control and inventory, design evaluation and analysis, gamma and neutron assay, an integrated demonstration, and physical protection elements and test bed

Angled shots onto body armour using 9 mm ammunition: the effect on potential blunt injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyall, Alison; Carr, D J; Lankester, C; Malbon, C

2017-02-01

Some military specialists wear body armour that is more similar to police armour and provides protection from ammunition fired from pistols. During ballistic testing, these armours are mounted on a standardised type of modelling clay and the back face signature (BFS; depth of depression) formed as a result of the non-perforating impact event on to the armour is measured. This study investigated the effect of impact angle on the BFS and on the deformation of the bullet. Two commonly worn types of armour (HG1/A+KR1 and HG1+KR1) were considered that provide protection from pistol ammunition and sharp weapons. Armours were tested against two types of pistol ammunition (9 mm full metal jacket and 9 mm hollow point) at eight different impact angles (0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 70°, 75° and 80°). Increased impact angles resulted in smaller BFSs. Impact angle also affected whether bullets were retained in the armour; as the impact angle increased, the probability of a round exiting the side of the armour increased. Bullet deformation was affected by impact angle. Understanding the deformation of bullets may assist with recreating a shooting incident and interpreting forensic evidence. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Effective brain network analysis with resting-state EEG data: a comparison between heroin abstinent and non-addicted subjects

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Bin; Dong, Qunxi; Hao, Yanrong; Zhao, Qinglin; Shen, Jian; Zheng, Fang

2017-08-01

Objective. Neuro-electrophysiological tools have been widely used in heroin addiction studies. Previous studies indicated that chronic heroin abuse would result in abnormal functional organization of the brain, while few heroin addiction studies have applied the effective connectivity tool to analyze the brain functional system (BFS) alterations induced by heroin abuse. The present study aims to identify the abnormality of resting-state heroin abstinent BFS using source decomposition and effective connectivity tools. Approach. The resting-state electroencephalograph (EEG) signals were acquired from 15 male heroin abstinent (HA) subjects and 14 male non-addicted (NA) controls. Multivariate autoregressive models combined independent component analysis (MVARICA) was applied for blind source decomposition. Generalized partial directed coherence (GPDC) was applied for effective brain connectivity analysis. Effective brain networks of both HA and NA groups were constructed. The two groups of effective cortical networks were compared by the bootstrap method. Abnormal causal interactions between decomposed source regions were estimated in the 1-45 Hz frequency domain. Main results. This work suggested: (a) there were clear effective network alterations in heroin abstinent subject groups; (b) the parietal region was a dominant hub of the abnormally weaker causal pathways, and the left occipital region was a dominant hub of the abnormally stronger causal pathways. Significance. These findings provide direct evidence that chronic heroin abuse induces brain functional abnormalities. The potential value of combining effective connectivity analysis and brain source decomposition methods in exploring brain alterations of heroin addicts is also implied.

Epidemiological study to childrens cancer in the environment of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grosche, Bernd; Jung, Thomas; Weiss, Wolfgang

2010-01-01

The results of the KiKK-study were presented in December 2007, followed by scientific publications in January 2008. The results caused a long-lasting debate, and the study was evaluated by different groups. Amongst these, the evaluation given by the SSK is of special importance. Now, BfS presents its final evaluation: The findings of the KiKK-study cannot be explained on the basis of current knowledge, but they give cause for further research activities. Scientific disciplines outside radiation biology and radiation epidemiology have to be involved. (orig.)

PERL-2 and LAVR-2 programs for Monte Carlo calculation of reactivity disturbances with trajectory correlation using random numbers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamaeva, O.B.; Polevoj, V.B.

1983-01-01

Realization of BESM-6 computer of a technique is described for calculating a wide class of reactivity disturbances by plotting trajectories in undisturbed and disturbed systems using one sequence of random numbers. The technique was realized on the base of earlier created programs of calculation of widespreed (PERL) and local (LAVR) reactivity disturbances. The efficiency of the technique and programs is demonstrated by calculation of change of effective neutron-multiplication factor when absorber is substituted for fuel element in a BFS-40 critical assembly and by calculation of control drum characteristics

Study on the early warning mechanism for the security of blast furnace hearths

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Hong-bo; Huo, Shou-feng; Cheng, Shu-sen

2013-04-01

The campaign life of blast furnace (BF) hearths has become the limiting factor for safety and high efficiency production of modern BFs. However, the early warning mechanism of hearth security has not been clear. In this article, based on heat transfer calculations, heat flux and erosion monitoring, the features of heat flux and erosion were analyzed and compared among different types of hearths. The primary detecting elements, mathematical models, evaluating standards, and warning methods were discussed. A novel early warning mechanism with the three-level quantificational standards was proposed for BF hearth security.

Reactor safety and radiation protection. Draft of the BMU deparmental budget 16 of the 1998 German federal budget

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1997-01-01

The expenditures earmarked for reactor safety and radiation protection in the 1998 budget of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Reactor Safety (BMU) total DM 101 million. The expenditures of the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) are to amount to a total of DM 579 million. These are the figures included in departmental budget 16 of the 1998 federal budget, which was discussed by the Federal Parliament in September 1997. The atw compilation singles out a number of significant items of the departmental budget. (orig.) [de

The analysis of neutron physical characteristics of fast reactors by means of pulsed experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stumbur, Eh.A.; Milyutina, Z.N.

1992-01-01

Possibility is considered for determination of macroscopic cross sections of homogeneous multiplicating media with fast neutrons. It is shown that by means of the critical size, laplaccian and neutron pulse damping decrement measurement results it is possible to obtain values of almost all cross sections of a medium. The method is tested with systems of metal 235 U and BFS-32 assemblies with the composition, typical for fast power reactors. A suitable algorithm is developed for solving nonstationary asymptotic transport problems. Calculation results are compared with experimental ones. 21 refs.; 2 figs.; 3 tabs

Búsqueda de recursos en redes peer-to-peer totalmente descentralizadas basada en redes neuronales artificiales

OpenAIRE

Corbalán, Leonardo César

2014-01-01

Las redes Peer-to-Peer (P2P) puras no estructuradas como Gnutella, dónde los nodos se conectan entre sí como pares o iguales, sin roles diferenciados ni jerarquías de ninguna clase, son sistemas distribuidos, dinámicos, sin punto alguno de centralización, que favorecen la robustez y tolerancia a fallos. Sin embargo, la búsqueda de recursos en estos sistemas constituye un problema esencial. El algoritmo de búsqueda BFS de Gnutella genera gran cantidad de tráfico dificultando su escalabilidad. ...

Hydrogen management techniques in German LWR-containments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berg, H.P.; Froehmel, T.

1993-01-01

Investigations are described which are necessary to develop an accident management concept for German PWRs, in particular possible solutions of the hydrogen problem resulting from a core melting accident. This work is an important part of the Nuclear Regulatory Research Programme initiated and financed by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). Two fundamental strategies are discussed: prevention of the formation of inflammable gas mixtures by making the atmosphere of the containment inert, and mitigation of the consequence of possible combustion by limiting the local hydrogen concentration. (Z.S.) 1 fig

Molecular Gas toward the Gemini OB1 Molecular Cloud Complex. II. CO Outflow Candidates with Possible WISE Associations

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yingjie; Li, Fa-Cheng; Xu, Ye; Wang, Chen; Du, Xin-Yu; Yang, Wenjin; Yang, Ji

2018-03-01

We present a large-scale survey of CO outflows in the Gem OB1 molecular cloud complex and its surroundings, using the Purple Mountain Observatory Delingha 13.7 m telescope. A total of 198 outflow candidates were identified over a large area (∼58.5 square degrees), of which 193 are newly detected. Approximately 68% (134/198) are associated with the Gem OB1 molecular cloud complex, including clouds GGMC 1, GGMC 2, BFS 52, GGMC 3, and GGMC 4. Other regions studied are: the Local arm (Local Lynds, West Front), Swallow, Horn, and Remote cloud. Outflow candidates in GGMC 1, BFS 52, and Swallow are mainly located at ring-like or filamentary structures. To avoid excessive uncertainty in distant regions (≳3.8 kpc), we only estimated the physical parameters for clouds in the Gem OB1 molecular cloud complex and in the Local arm. In those clouds, the total kinetic energy and the energy injection rate of the identified outflow candidates are ≲1% and ≲3% of the turbulent energy and the turbulent dissipation rate of each cloud, indicating that the identified outflow candidates cannot provide enough energy to balance turbulence of their host cloud at the scale of the entire cloud (several to dozens of parsecs). The gravitational binding energy of each cloud is ≳135 times the total kinetic energy of the identified outflow candidates within the corresponding cloud, indicating that the identified outflow candidates cannot cause major disruptions to the integrity of their host cloud at the scale of the entire cloud.

Results of the in vitro ring trial:. Thorium and uranium isotopes in urine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartmann, M.; Dalheimer, A.; Haenisch, K.

2006-08-01

On 22 September 2004 a workshop was held at the Berlin branch of the Federal Radiation Protection Office (BfS) on the in vitro ring trial ''Th isotopes and U isotopes in urine'' organised by the BfS head office for incorporation monitoring. The workshop was attended by 11 experts from the German, Austrian and Swiss incorporation measurement stations participating in the ring trial. The main focus of this second workshop was on the presentation of the results of the ring trial concerning Th and U isotopes in urine. According to paragraph 41 (8) of the Federal Radiation Protection Ordinance (StrlSchV 2001) one of the responsibilities of the head office for incorporation monitoring in terms of quality assurance is to have ring trials performed by the excretion analysis laboratories designated by the competent authorities as measurement stations. Section 5.2 of the Guideline on Requirements for Incorporation Monitoring Stations still in force (referred to in the following as the ''Requirements Guideline''/Guideline 1996) stipulates that incorporation measurement stations whose scope includes this type of measurement are obliged to participate in such ring trials. Inofficial and foreign incorporation measurement stations are also entitled to participate in ring trials organised by the head office. Ring trials may comprise either data acquisition or the dosimetric interpretation of data or both. By participating in ring trials measurement stations are supposed to demonstrate that the analysis and measurement methods they use are capable of supplying correct results with sufficient precision within the required time frame and of providing dosimetrically correct interpretations of activity increases

Bayesian inference of shared recombination hotspots between humans and chimpanzees.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ying; Rannala, Bruce

2014-12-01

Recombination generates variation and facilitates evolution. Recombination (or lack thereof) also contributes to human genetic disease. Methods for mapping genes influencing complex genetic diseases via association rely on linkage disequilibrium (LD) in human populations, which is influenced by rates of recombination across the genome. Comparative population genomic analyses of recombination using related primate species can identify factors influencing rates of recombination in humans. Such studies can indicate how variable hotspots for recombination may be both among individuals (or populations) and over evolutionary timescales. Previous studies have suggested that locations of recombination hotspots are not conserved between humans and chimpanzees. We made use of the data sets from recent resequencing projects and applied a Bayesian method for identifying hotspots and estimating recombination rates. We also reanalyzed SNP data sets for regions with known hotspots in humans using samples from the human and chimpanzee. The Bayes factors (BF) of shared recombination hotspots between human and chimpanzee across regions were obtained. Based on the analysis of the aligned regions of human chromosome 21, locations where the two species show evidence of shared recombination hotspots (with high BFs) were identified. Interestingly, previous comparative studies of human and chimpanzee that focused on the known human recombination hotspots within the β-globin and HLA regions did not find overlapping of hotspots. Our results show high BFs of shared hotspots at locations within both regions, and the estimated locations of shared hotspots overlap with the locations of human recombination hotspots obtained from sperm-typing studies. Copyright © 2014 by the Genetics Society of America.

Factors for Consideration in an Open-Flame Test for Assessing Fire Blocking Performance of Barrier Fabrics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shonali Nazaré

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The main objective of the work reported here is to assess factors that could affect the outcome of a proposed open flame test for barrier fabrics (BF-open flame test. The BF-open flame test characterizes barrier effectiveness by monitoring the ignition of a flexible polyurethane foam (FPUF layer placed in contact with the upper side of the barrier fabric, exposed to a burner flame from below. Particular attention is given to the factors that influence the ignitibility of the FPUF, including thermal resistance, permeability, and structural integrity of the barrier fabrics (BFs. A number of barrier fabrics, displaying a wide range of the properties, are tested with the BF-open flame test. Visual observations of the FPUF burning behavior and BF char patterns, in addition to heat flux measurements on the unexposed side of the barrier fabrics, are used to assess the protective performance of the BF specimen under the open flame test conditions. The temperature and heat transfer measurements on the unexposed side of the BF and subsequent ranking of BFs for their thermal protective performance suggest that the BF-open flame test does not differentiate barrier fabrics based on their heat transfer properties. A similar conclusion is reached with regard to BF permeability characterized at room temperature. However, the outcome of this BF-open flame test is found to be heavily influenced by the structural integrity of thermally degraded BF. The BF-open flame test, in its current form, only ignited FPUF when structural failure of the barrier was observed.

Assessment of particle-tracking models for dispersed particle-laden flows implemented in OpenFOAM and ANSYS FLUENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Franziska Greifzu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the present study two benchmark problems for turbulent dispersed particle-laden flow are investigated with computational fluid dynamics (CFD. How the CFD programs OpenFOAM and ANSYS FLUENT model these flows is tested and compared. The numerical results obtained with Lagrangian–Eulerian (LE point-particle (PP models for Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS simulations of the fluid flow in steady state and transient modes are compared with the experimental data available in the literature. The effect of the dispersion model on the particle motion is investigated in particular, as well as the order of coupling between the continuous carrier phase and the dispersed phase. First, a backward-facing step (BFS case is validated. As a second case, the confined bluff body (CBB is used. The simulated fluid flows correspond well with the experimental data for both test cases. The results for the dispersed solid phase reveal a good accordance between the simulation results and the experiments. It seems that particle dispersion is slightly under-predicted when ANSYS FLUENT is used, whereas the applied solver in OpenFOAM overestimates the dispersion somewhat. Only minor differences between the coupling schemes are detected due to the low volume fractions and mass loadings that are investigated. In the BFS test case the importance of the spatial dimension of the numerical model is demonstrated. Even if it is reasonable to assume a two-dimensional fluid flow structure, it is crucial to simulate the turbulent particle-laden flow with a three-dimensional model since the turbulent dispersion of the particles is three-dimensional.

The Asse. On inconvenient truths and the suppression of disagreeable principles; Die Asse. Ueber unbequeme Wahrheiten und das Verdraengen unliebsamer Prinzipien

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gellermann, Rainer

2016-08-01

The retrieval of radioactive wastes and the closure of the repository Asse II is a very complex project: not only with respect to technical aspects but also with respect to public information. The information brochure no 29 edited by the Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz BfS is dealing with the rather philosophic questions knowledge and truth. The German expert on constitutional law Peter Bull answered to the question whether subjectively assumed health hazards could inhibit a reasonable solution: it has to be expected from the public to bear inconvenient truth. Clarification is necessary instead of wrong populism and suppression of obnoxious findings.

Die Bundesstatistik als Anbieter und Nutzer von raumbezogenen Daten

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Humbel

Einige konkrete und potentielle Anwendungen der vorhandenen Daten sollen das Potential und die Breite der Fragestellungen, die damit angegangen werden können, illustrieren. Eine besondere Stellung dürfte in Zukunft aber auch die Satellitenfernerkundung erhalten, deren Daten und Auswertungen eine willkommene Ergänzung für die eher traditionellen GIS-Datensätze bilden werden. Ein erster Pilotversuch wurde vor wenigen Monaten im BFS gestartet, der zum Ziel hat, die Machbarkeit einer gesamtschweizerischen Unterscheidung von Laub-, Nadel- und Mischwald als Ergänzung der auf der Grundlage von konventionellen Luftbildern erhobenen Arealstatistik nachzuweisen.

The Asse. On inconvenient truths and the suppression of disagreeable principles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gellermann, Rainer

2016-01-01

The retrieval of radioactive wastes and the closure of the repository Asse II is a very complex project: not only with respect to technical aspects but also with respect to public information. The information brochure no 29 edited by the Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz BfS is dealing with the rather philosophic questions knowledge and truth. The German expert on constitutional law Peter Bull answered to the question whether subjectively assumed health hazards could inhibit a reasonable solution: it has to be expected from the public to bear inconvenient truth. Clarification is necessary instead of wrong populism and suppression of obnoxious findings.

Assessment of the fears of the public concerning possible hazards from HF electromagnetic fields of mobile phone equipment - annual enquiries. Final report on the enquiry of 2005

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belz, Janina

2007-01-01

The BfS (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, Federal Radiation Protection Office) carries out a continuous series of investigations on citizens' fears concerning the potential hazards of HF electromagnetic fields emitted by mobile phones (''Ermittlung der Befuerchtungen und Aengste der breiten Oeffentlichkeit hinsichtlich moeglicher Gefahren der hochfrequenten elektromagnetischen Felder des Mobilfunks''). For this purpose, enquiries by telephone were carried out annually between 2003 and 2006 among representative parts of the population by the Institut fuer angewandte Sozialwissenschaft. These are to investigate the awareness of the population of health risks of electromagnetic fields and also show changes in awareness over the period under investigation. (orig.) [de

Instruments to measure radon activity concentration or exposure to radon. Interlaboratory comparison 2011

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foerster, Elisabeth; Beck, Thomas; Buchroeder, Helmut; Doering, Joachim; Schmidt, Volkmar

2011-10-01

According to the Directive 96/29/EURATOM the monitoring of occupational radiation exposures shall base on individual measurements carried out by an approved dosimetric service. Pursuant to the European Directive an approved dosimetric service is a body responsible for the calibration, reading or interpretation of individual monitoring devices.., whose capacity to act in this respect is recognized by the competent authorities. This concept will also be applied to radon services issuing passive radon measurement devices. Passive radon measurement devices 1 using solid state nuclear track detectors or electrets are recommended for individual monitoring of exposures to radon. German regulations lay down that radon measuring devices are appropriate for purposes of occupational radiation monitoring if the devices are issued by recognized radon measurement services, and the measurement service submits devices of the same type issued for radon monitoring to regular intercomparisons conducted by BfS. A radon measuring service is recognized by the competent authority if it proves its organizational and technical competence, e. g. by accreditation. These regulations have been introduced in the area of occupational radiation exposures. Nevertheless, it is recommended that radon measuring services which carry out radon measurements in other areas (e.g. dwellings) should subject themselves to these measures voluntarily. The interlaboratory comparisons comprise the organization, exposure, and evaluation of measurements of radon activity concentration or exposure to radon. The comparisons only concern radon-222; radon-220 is not in the scope. Radon services being interested can get further information from the website www.bfs.de/de/ion/radon/fachinfomessung/vergleichspruefungen.html and from the European Information System on Proficiency Testing Schemes (eptis) available in the internet. (orig.)

Instruments to measure radon-222 activity concentration or exposure to radon-222. Intercomparison 2014

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foerster, Elisabeth; Beck, Thomas; Buchroeder, Helmut; Doering, Joachim; Schmidt, Volkmar

2014-10-01

According to the Directive 96/29/EURATOM the monitoring of occupational radiation exposures shall base on individual measurements carried out by an approved dosimetric service. Pursuant to the European Directive an approved dosimetric service is a body responsible for the calibration, reading or interpretation of individual monitoring devices.., whose capacity to act in this respect is recognized by the competent authorities. This concept will also be applied to radon services issuing passive radon measurement devices. Passive radon measurement devices 1 using solid state nuclear track detectors or electrets are recommended for individual monitoring of exposures to radon. German regulations lay down that radon measuring devices are appropriate for purposes of occupational radiation monitoring if the devices are issued by recognized radon measurement services, and the measurement service submits devices of the same type issued for radon monitoring to regular intercomparisons conducted by the Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (BfS). A radon measuring service is recognized by the competent authority if it proves its organisational and technical competence, e. g. by accreditation. These regulations have been introduced in the area of occupational radiation exposures. Nevertheless, it is recommended that radon measuring services which carry out radon measurements in other areas (e.g. dwellings) should subject themselves to these measures voluntarily. The interlaboratory comparisons comprise the organization, exposure, and evaluation of measurements of radon activity concentration or exposure to radon. The comparisons only concern radon-222; radon-220 is not in the scope. Radon services being interested can get further information from the European Information System on Proficiency Testing Schemes (EPTIS) and from the BfS websites.

Mechanical properties and ion release from bioactive restorative composites containing glass fillers and calcium phosphate nano-structured particles.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiari, Marina D S; Rodrigues, Marcela C; Xavier, Tathy A; de Souza, Eugen M N; Arana-Chavez, Victor E; Braga, Roberto R

2015-06-01

To evaluate the effect of the replacement of barium glass by dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) particles on the mechanical properties and degree of conversion (DC) of composites. Additionally, calcium and hydrogen phosphate (HPO4(2-)) release were followed for 28 days. Nine composites containing equal parts (in mols) of BisGMA and TEGDMA and 40, 50 or 60 vol% of total filler were manipulated. Filler phase was constituted by silanated barium glass and 0%, 10% or 20% of DCPD particles. DC was determined by near-FTIR. Biaxial flexural strength (BFS) and modulus (E) were tested using the "piston on three balls" method, while fracture toughness (KIc) used the "single edge notched beam" method. Specimens were tested after 24h and 28 days in water. Ion release was determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Data were analyzed by ANOVA/Tukey (DC and ion release) or Kruskal-Wallis/Mann-Whitney (mechanical properties; alpha: 5%). DC was not affected by DCPD. The presence of DCPD reduced BFS for both storage times, while differences in E became evident after 28 days. After 24h, KIc increased with the addition of DCPD; after 28 days, however, KIc decreased only for DCPD-containing composites. Calcium release was similar for both DCPD contents and remained fairly constant during the 28-day period. Overall, HPO4(2-) release was higher at 7 days and did not decrease after 14 days. The composite with the highest filler level and 10% DCPD represented the best compromise between mechanical properties after aging in water and ion release. Copyright © 2015 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Universal perceptron and DNA-like learning algorithm for binary neural networks: LSBF and PBF implementations.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Fangyue; Chen, Guanrong Ron; He, Guolong; Xu, Xiubin; He, Qinbin

2009-10-01

Universal perceptron (UP), a generalization of Rosenblatt's perceptron, is considered in this paper, which is capable of implementing all Boolean functions (BFs). In the classification of BFs, there are: 1) linearly separable Boolean function (LSBF) class, 2) parity Boolean function (PBF) class, and 3) non-LSBF and non-PBF class. To implement these functions, UP takes different kinds of simple topological structures in which each contains at most one hidden layer along with the smallest possible number of hidden neurons. Inspired by the concept of DNA sequences in biological systems, a novel learning algorithm named DNA-like learning is developed, which is able to quickly train a network with any prescribed BF. The focus is on performing LSBF and PBF by a single-layer perceptron (SLP) with the new algorithm. Two criteria for LSBF and PBF are proposed, respectively, and a new measure for a BF, named nonlinearly separable degree (NLSD), is introduced. In the sense of this measure, the PBF is the most complex one. The new algorithm has many advantages including, in particular, fast running speed, good robustness, and no need of considering the convergence property. For example, the number of iterations and computations in implementing the basic 2-bit logic operations such as AND, OR, and XOR by using the new algorithm is far smaller than the ones needed by using other existing algorithms such as error-correction (EC) and backpropagation (BP) algorithms. Moreover, the synaptic weights and threshold values derived from UP can be directly used in designing of the template of cellular neural networks (CNNs), which has been considered as a new spatial-temporal sensory computing paradigm.

Depressive Symptoms and Orthostatic Hypotension Are Risk Factors for Unexplained Falls in Community-Living Older People.

Science.gov (United States)

Menant, Jasmine C; Wong, Alfred K W; Trollor, Julian N; Close, Jacqueline C T; Lord, Stephen R

2016-05-01

To investigate risk factors for unexplained falls in older community-dwelling individuals. Prospective cohort study. Community population, Sydney, Australia. Older adults (N = 529; mean age 79.8 ± 4.4, 52.2% female). Participants provided information demographic, medical, and medication characteristics and completed cardiovascular (tilt table test, pulse wave velocity), cognitive, and sensorimotor assessments at baseline. Falls were then recorded in monthly fall diaries for 12 months. Unexplained fallers (UFs) were those who reported falls due to a blackout, dizziness, feeling faint, or "found themselves suddenly on the ground." Of the 523 participants available at follow-up, 238 (45.5%) reported one or more falls; 35 participants fulfilled the definition of UFs. UFs were more likely than balance-related fallers (BFs) (n = 203) and nonfallers (n = 291) to have orthostatic hypotension (39.4%, 20.5% and 22.4%, respectively) and depressive symptoms (24.2%, 10.1%, and 7.9% respectively). More UFs (88.6%) than BFs (70.9%) had injurious falls. A multivariate logistic regression model revealed that depressive symptoms and orthostatic hypotension were significant and independent determinants of UF status. Approximately 15% of fallers had unexplained falls, which were more likely to result in injuries. Depressive symptoms and orthostatic hypotension increased the risk of unexplained falls, whereas cognitive deficits and sensorimotor and balance impairments did not. Future research should investigate whether psychotherapy and physical exercise to improve mood and medication reviews and nonpharmacological therapies for the treatment of orthostatic hypotension and depression are effective at reducing the risk of unexplained falls in older people. © 2016, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.

Manometric findings in relation to functional outcomes in different types of anorectal malformations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kyrklund, Kristiina; Pakarinen, Mikko P; Rintala, Risto J

2017-04-01

To compare anorectal manometry (AM) in patients with different types of anorectal malformations (ARMs) in relation to functional outcomes. A single-institution, cross-sectional study. After ethical approval, all patients ≥7years old treated for anterior anus (AA), perineal fistula (PF), vestibular fistula (VF), or rectourethral fistula (RUF) from 1983 onwards were invited to answer the Rintala bowel function score (BFS) questionnaire and to attend anorectal manometry (AM). Patients with mild ARMs (AA females and PF males) had been treated with minimally invasive perineal procedures. Females with VF/PF and males with RUF had undergone internal-sphincter saving sagittal repairs. 55 of 132 respondents (42%; median age 12 (7-29) years; 42% male) underwent AM. Patients with mild ARMs displayed good anorectal function after minimally invasive treatments. The median anal resting and squeeze pressures among patients with mild ARMs (60 cm H2O and 116 cm H2O respectively) were significantly higher than among patients with more severe ARMs (50 cm H2O, and 80cm H2O respectively; p≤0.002). The rectoanal inhibitory reflex was preserved in 100% of mild ARMs and 83% of patients with more severe malformations after IAS-saving sagittal repair. The functional outcome was poor in 4/5 patients with an absent RAIR (BFS≤11 or antegrade continence enema-dependence). Rectal sensation correlated significantly with the BFS. Our findings support the appropriateness of our minimally invasive approaches to the management of mild ARMs, and IAS-saving anatomical repairs for patients with more severe malformations. III. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An investigation of the characteristics of humic acid and of its effects on the chemistry of the near field of a radioactive waste repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bates, C.I.; Bayliss, S.; Gardiner, M.P.; Hobley, J.; Smith, A.J.; Williams, S.J.

1992-07-01

The work described in this report attempts to assess the possible effects of humic substances in the near field of a radioactive waste repository. Two samples of humic acid were studied by analytical ultracentrifugation. It was found to be an advantage to reduce sample polydispersity before carrying out molecular weight determinations. Ultrafiltration experiments showed that calcium concentrations of greater than 10 -3 M were sufficient to cause precipitation of humic acid. Boom clay extracts in sodium hydroxide solution were able to maintain high concentrations of americium in the aqueous phase. Extracts of Boom clay in cement-equilibrated water showed less ability to increase americium concentrations. The sorption of americium on BFS/OPC was studied. Distribution ratios of 600 ml g -1 in the absence of humic acid and 500 ml g -1 in its presence were obtained. Size distribution studies on americium showed that humic acid had little effect on the concentration of the radioelement in solutions passed through filters with up to 2 μm pore size. However, size distribution studies on plutonium revealed that more plutonium was associated with each filtered fraction in the experiments which contained Boom clay extract than in those which used cement-equilibrated water. Measurements of the sorption of neptunium on cements showed that this radioelement was strongly sorbed onto both 9:1 BFS/OPC and the Nirex reference backfill. The presence of humic acid extracted from Boom clay did not cause any discernible decrease in the sorption of this radioelement on cement. Thermodynamic calculations, using a simple model, illustrate the important role which calcium could play in controlling the concentrations of actinide humates in the near-field porewater. (author)

A 115dB-DR Audio DAC with –61dBFS out-of-band noise

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Westerveld, H.J.; Schinkel, Daniel; van Tuijl, Adrianus Johannes Maria

2015-01-01

Out-of-band noise (OBN) is troublesome in analog circuits that process the output of a noise-shaping audio DAC. It causes slewing in amplifiers and aliasing in sampling circuits like ADCs and class-D amplifiers. Nonlinearity in these circuits also causes cross-modulation of the OBN into the audio

Salt mine Asse II. Status of the retrieval activities; Schachtanlage Asse II. Stand der Arbeiten und Rueckholung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2017-02-15

The booklet on the status of retrieval activities in the salt mine Asse II includes information on the background of medium-level radioactive waste disposal during 1967 to 1978 on behalf of the Federal government. Since 2009 the former mine is operated by the BfS with the assignment of decommissioning. The potential risk for stability and safety due to problems of water ingress were known before beginning of the disposals. The retrieval of the radioactive waste will require many decades; the costs are financed by tax money. The planning of the retrieval is currently on the way, details of the concept are described.

Salt mine Asse II. Status of the retrieval activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-02-01

The booklet on the status of retrieval activities in the salt mine Asse II includes information on the background of medium-level radioactive waste disposal during 1967 to 1978 on behalf of the Federal government. Since 2009 the former mine is operated by the BfS with the assignment of decommissioning. The potential risk for stability and safety due to problems of water ingress were known before beginning of the disposals. The retrieval of the radioactive waste will require many decades; the costs are financed by tax money. The planning of the retrieval is currently on the way, details of the concept are described.

Comparative assessment of the spreading of central lung cancer by the results of tomography and bronchological investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lovyagin, E.V.; Moerman, B.A.; Tereshchenko, O.I.

1987-01-01

The results of tomographic and bronchological investigations were compared in 100 patients with central lung cancer. Bronchofibroscopy (BFS) was shown to play a leading role in the assessment of tumor involvement of the proximal parts of the bronchial tree. In 38% of the cases additional information on the bronchial status permitted a more precise definition of the disease stage (T factor). Tomography was superior with respect to the assessment of the intrathoratic lymph nodes giving a preliminary idea of the bronchial state. Tomography potentialities could be expanded by using an equalizer network for better differentiation of the mediastinal structures including small increases in the lymph nodes

Característica histológica, ultra-estrutural e produção de nitrito de folículos pré-antrais caprinos cultivados in vitro na ausência ou presença de soro Histological and ultrastructural feature and nitrite production of caprine preantral follicles in vitro cultured in the presence or absence of serum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J.B. Bruno

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Avaliou-se o efeito da adição de diferentes tipos e concentrações de soro sobre o desenvolvimento e a sobrevivência de folículos ovarianos pré-antrais (FOPA caprinos in vitro. Além disso, verificou-se a relação entre as concentrações de nitrito presentes no meio de cultivo e a viabilidade folicular. Cada par ovariano foi dividido em 29 fragmentos, sendo um destinado ao controle. Os fragmentos foram cultivados por um ou sete dias em meio essencial mínimo suplementado (MEM+ ou MEM+ com diferentes concentrações (10 ou 20% de soro fetal bovino (SFB, soro de cabra em estro (SCE ou soro de cabra em diestro (SCD. Na análise morfológica após sete dias, apenas o tratamento com 10% de SFB apresentou percentual de FOPA normais similar ao MEM+ (P>0,05. A análise ultra-estrutural dos folículos cultivados por sete dias com MEM+ ou MEM+ com 10% de SFB mostrou danos oocitários, porém células da granulosa normais. A análise do meio de cultivo revelou correlação positiva entre a viabilidade folicular e a produção de nitrito. A suplementação com soro não melhorou a viabilidade de FOPA e a concentração de nitrito no meio de cultivo funcionou como um indicador da viabilidade das células da granulosa de FOPA caprinos cultivados in vitro.The effect of the addition of different types and concentrations of sera on the viability and development of caprine preantal follicles (PAF in vitro cultured was analyzed. In addition, it was evaluated the correlation between nitrite concentrations in culture medium and folicular viability. Each ovarian pair was divided in 29 fragments and one was used as control. The fragments were cultured for one or seven days in minimal essential medium (MEM+ or MEM+ with different concentrations of (10 or 20% bovine fetal serum (BFS, estrous goat serum (EGS, or diestrous goat serum (DGS. After seven days, the morphological analysis showed that only the treatment with 10% BFS maintained the percentage of normal

The measurement and estimation method of the sorption of lead onto cementitious materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakanishi, Kiyoshi; Tsukamoto, Masaki; Fujita, Tomonari; Sugiyama, Daisuke

2002-01-01

Cementitious material is a potential waste packaging material for radioactive waste disposal, and is expected to provide chemical containment. In particular, the sorption of radionuclides onto cementitious material is a very important parameter when considering the release of radionuclides from radioactive waste. In this study, sorption of lead, onto hydrated Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), OPC/Blast Furnace Slag blended cement (BFS), Highly containing Flyash and Silica Fume Cement (HFSC) and cement constituent minerals (portlandite, ettringite, hydrotalcite and C-S-H gels (Ca/Si = 0.9 and 1.65)) was measured using the batch sorption technique. Lead is one of the important nuclides for safety assessment. The obtained distribution ratios, Rd values, for sorption of lead onto hydrated (freshly cured) OPC and HFSC are very high:>1000 cm3g-1. The distribution ratio for sorption of lead onto OPC/BFS could not be determined quantitatively due to the precipitation of PbS. Comparing the Rd values onto cements and minerals, it was suggested the sorption onto C-S-H gel phases dominate the sorption for lead onto hydrated cements. Once a cementitious material is altered in the disposal environment, its sorption ability may be affected. The sorption of lead onto degraded OPC and degraded HFSC, which were altered in the presence of distilled water, was also measured. It was observed that the alteration did not cause changes that decreased the sorption of lead onto OPC and HFSC. An approach, in which it is assumed that each of the component phases contributes to the composite material, is proposed and discussed to describe the sorption of lead onto cement using a knowledge of the phase components in a linear additive manner. The results showed reasonably good agreement between the predicted and measured Rd values for lead onto freshly cured and altered cements. (author)

Radiotherapy of prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krause, S.; Herfarth, K.

2011-01-01

With the development of modern radiation techniques, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), a dose escalation in the definitive radiotherapy of prostate cancer and a consecutive improvement in biochemical recurrence-free survival (BFS) could be achieved. Among others, investigators at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) saw 5-year BFS rates of up to 98%. A further gain in effectiveness and safety is expected of hypofractionation schedules, as suggested by data published by Kupelian et al., who saw a low 5-year rate of grade ≥2 rectal side-effects of 4.5%. However, randomized studies are just beginning to mature. Patients with intermediate or high-risk tumors should receive neoadjuvant (NHT) and adjuvant (AHT) androgen deprivation. Bolla et al. could show an increase in 5-year overall survival from 62-78%. The inclusion of the whole pelvis in the treatment field (WPRT) is still controversial. The RTOG 94-13 study showed a significant advantage in disease-free survival after 60 months but long-term data did not yield significant differences between WPRT and irradiation of the prostate alone. The German Society of Urology strongly recommends adjuvant radiotherapy of the prostate bed for pT3 N0 tumors with positive margins. In a pT3 N0 R0 or pT2 N0 R+ situation, adjuvant radiotherapy should at least be considered. So far, no randomized data on NHT and AHT have been published, so androgen deprivation remains an individual decision in the postoperative setting. In a retrospective analysis Spiotto et al. reported a positive effect for adjuvant WPRT and biochemical control. This article summarizes the essential publications on definitive and adjuvant radiotherapy and discusses the additional use of androgen deprivation and WPRT. (orig.) [de

Use of inorganic materials for the uptake of anions from simulated nuclear wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Usman, J.N.

1991-01-01

Investigations on some commercially available hydrous oxides (Ferrox, Zirox, Alumina, Oxti and Oxtain) have been carried out with a view to understanding their sorption properties for anions (such as 36 C1 - , 51 Cr 2 O 4 2- , 99 MoO 4 - and 106 Ru complexes) and to assess their suitability in specific applications in the nuclear fuel cycle. All the materials exhibited sorption for the anions with oxtain showing the lowest of sorption in various media solutions. Sorption was most effective at solution pH 2-9 following the amphotericism of these materials. The presence of competing anions had a marked effect on the sorption properties of the exchangers for all the anions investigated. TG and DTG results revealed a general weight loss presumably due to loss of moisture. The selectivity for NO 3 - and 36 C1 - was studied by plotting ion-exchange isotherms for each exchanger. All isotherms displayed large hysteresis. The fixed-bed column experiments revealed a high affinity for 36 C1 - on Ferrox, Zirox and Alumina than was observed in the K d measurements. In-vivo γ-radiation effects on the materials and their sorption properties were investigated. Prolonged chemical treatment had little or no effect on the sorption properties of the exchangers, and revealed that none of the materials withstood long term exposure to acid or alkaline conditions. The leachability of isotopically labelled exchangers contained in cement (OPC) composites was studied along deionised water, synthetic sea-water and synthetic ground water as leachants. The effect of cement additives (BFS) on the leachability of the composites was also studied. The diffusion coefficients for the leaching process were evaluated by using the Carman-Haul equation. Results clearly showed that BFS had little or no effect on the leachability of 36 C1 - . (author)

An investigation of the characteristics of humic acid and of its effects on the chemistry of the near field of a radioactive waste repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bates, C.I.; Bayliss, S.; Gardiner, M.P.; Hobley, J.; Smith, A.J.; Williams, S.J.

1993-01-01

The work described in this report attempts to assess the possible effects of humic substances in the near field of a radioactive waste repository. Two samples of humic acid were studied by analytical ultracentrifugation. It was found to be an advantage to reduce sample polydispersity before carrying out molecular weight determinations. Ultrafiltration experiments showed that calcium concentrations of greater than 10 -3 M were sufficient to cause precipitation of humic acid. Boom clay extracts in sodium hydroxide solution were able to maintain high concentrations of americium in the aqueous phase. Extracts of Boom clay in cement-equilibrated water showed less ability to increase americium concentrations. The sorption of americium on BFS/OPC was studied. Distribution ratios of 600 ml g -1 in the absence of humic acid and 500 ml g -1 in its presence were obtained. Size distribution studies on americium showed that humic acid had little effect on the concentration of the radioelement in solutions passed through filters with up to 2 μm pore size. However, size distribution studies on plutonium revealed that more plutonium was associated with each filtered fraction in the experiments which contained Boom clay extract than in those which used cement-equilibrated water. Measurements of the sorption of neptunium on cements showed that this radioelement was strongly sorbed onto both 9:1 BFS/OPC and the Nirex reference backfill. The presence of humic acid extracted from Boom clay did not cause any discernible decrease in the sorption of this radioelement on cement. Thermodynamic calculations, using a simple model, illustrate the important role which calcium could play in controlling the concentrations of actinide humates in the near-field porewater. 31 refs., 19 figs., 12 tabs

Evaluation of a novel multiple phase veneering ceramic.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinthuprasirt, Pannapa; van Noort, Richard; Moorehead, Robert; Pollington, Sarah

2015-04-01

To produce a new veneering ceramic based on the production of a multiple phase glass-ceramic with improved performance in terms of strength and toughness. A composition of 60% leucite, 20% diopside and 20% feldspathic glass was prepared, blended and a heat treatment schedule of 930°C for 5 min was derived from differential thermal analysis (DTA) of the glasses. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and SEM analysis determined the crystalline phases and microstructure. Chemical solubility, biaxial flexural strength (BFS), fracture toughness, hardness, total transmittance and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) were all measured in comparison to a commercial veneering ceramic (VITA VM9). Thermal shock resistance of the leucite-diopside and VITA VM9 veneered onto a commercial high strength zirconia (Vita In-Ceram YZ) was also assessed. Statistical analysis was undertaken using Independent Samples t-test. Weibull analysis was employed to examine the reliability of the strength data. The mean chemical solubility was 6 μg/cm(2) for both ceramics (P=1.00). The mean BFS was 109 ± 8 MPa for leucite-diopside ceramic and 79 ± 11 MPa for VITA VM9 ceramic (P=0.01). Similarly, the leucite-diopside ceramic demonstrated a significantly higher fracture toughness and hardness. The average total transmittance was 46.3% for leucite-diopside ceramic and 39.8% for VITA VM9 (P=0.01). The leucite-diopside outperformed the VITA VM9 in terms of thermal shock resistance. Significance This novel veneering ceramic exhibits significant improvements in terms of mechanical properties, yet retains a high translucency and is the most appropriate choice as a veneering ceramic for a zirconia base core material. Copyright © 2015 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quality management for noble gas trace analysis; Qualitaetssicherung bei der Edelgasspurenanalyse

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmid, S.; Konrad, M.; Kumberg, T.; Schlosser, C. [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (BfS), Freiburg (Germany); Gohla, H. [Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Vienna International Centre, Vienna (Austria). Preparatory Commission

2014-01-20

The Federal Office for Radiation Protection operates measurement systems to determine the activity concentrations of Krypton-85 and Xenon-133 in air samples since the early 70s. Certified standards with stable noble gas admixtures are still missing for quality assurance (certified activity concentrations). The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) is currently establishing a global noble gas monitoring network for the verification of compliance with the Treaty. In cooperation with CTBTO the BfS currently develops concepts of quality assurance for noble gas measurements. Opportunities for quality assurance without using certified standards are discussed by comparisons between individual laboratories and internal audits. The results from the first CTBTO laboratory intercomparison with synthetic radioxenon samples look very promising.

Childhood leukaemia around nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wojcik, Andrzej; Feychting, Maria

2010-06-01

In December 2007 the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) published a report on the incidence of childhood cancers among children living in the vicinity of 16 German nuclear power plants. The results show a significantly enhanced risk of leukaemia in children aged below 5 years, who live within 5 km from a nuclear power plant. The study is known as KiKK (Epidemiologische Studie zu Kinderkrebs in der Umgebung von Kernkraftwerken) and stirred considerable concern about the safety of nuclear installations. In this review we summarise the present state-of-the art regarding childhood leukaemia in the vicinity of nuclear installations and present the main results of the KiKK study with a critical evaluation

Childhood leukaemia around nuclear facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wojcik, Andrzej (Centre for Radiation Protection Research, GMT Dept., Stockholm Univ., Stockholm (Sweden)); Feychting, Maria (Inst. of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Inst., Stockholm (Sweden))

2010-06-15

In December 2007 the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) published a report on the incidence of childhood cancers among children living in the vicinity of 16 German nuclear power plants. The results show a significantly enhanced risk of leukaemia in children aged below 5 years, who live within 5 km from a nuclear power plant. The study is known as KiKK (Epidemiologische Studie zu Kinderkrebs in der Umgebung von Kernkraftwerken) and stirred considerable concern about the safety of nuclear installations. In this review we summarise the present state-of-the art regarding childhood leukaemia in the vicinity of nuclear installations and present the main results of the KiKK study with a critical evaluation

Self-compacting concrete with sugarcane bagasse ash – ground blast furnace slag blended cement: fresh properties

Science.gov (United States)

Le, Duc-Hien; Sheen, Yeong-Nain; Ngoc-Tra Lam, My

2018-04-01

In this investigation, major properties in fresh state of self-compacting concrete (SCC) developed from sugarcane bagasse ash and granulated blast furnace slag as supplementary cementitious materials were examined through an experimental work. There were four mix groups (S0, BA10, BA20, and BA30) containing different cement replacing levels; and totally, 12 SCC mixtures and one control mixture were provided for the test. Fresh properties of the proposed SCC were evaluated through measurement of the density, slump, slump-flow, V-funnel test, T500 slump, Box-test, and setting time. The testing results indicated that replacing either SBA and/or BFS to OPC in SCC mixtures led to lower density, lesser flowability, and longer hardening times.

Radiation exposure from civil aviation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schalch, D.

1994-01-01

The question as to whether civil air crews and frequent air passengers ought to be classified among the group of occupationally exposed persons has in principle been decided by the recommendations adopted by the ICRP, the competent bodies of the EU, and national authorities. Measurements for more information on the radiation fields involved are planned. The German Radiation Protection Office (BfS) recently published a statement on dose commitments, assuming a maximum annual dose of approx. 8 mSv in addition to the mean value already determined. Legal provisions, which ought to be adopted also on EU level since civil aviation is a transboundary traffic system, have yet to come. (orig./HP) [de

Monomer conversion, dimensional stability, strength, modulus, surface apatite precipitation and wear of novel, reactive calcium phosphate and polylysine-containing dental composites.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kanokrat Kangwankai

Full Text Available The aim was to assess monomer conversion, dimensional stability, flexural strength / modulus, surface apatite precipitation and wear of mono / tri calcium phosphate (CaP and polylysine (PLS-containing dental composites. These were formulated using a new, high molecular weight, fluid monomer phase that requires no polymerisation activator.Urethane and Polypropylene Glycol Dimethacrylates were combined with low levels of an adhesion promoting monomer and a light activated initiator. This liquid was mixed with a hybrid glass containing either 10 wt% CaP and 1 wt% PLS (F1 or 20 wt% CaP and 2 wt% PLS (F2. Powder to liquid mass ratio was 5:1. Commercial controls included Gradia Direct Posterior (GD and Filtek Z250 (FZ. Monomer conversion and polymerisation shrinkage were calculated using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR. Subsequent volume increases in water over 7 weeks were determined using gravimetric studies. Biaxial flexural strength (BFS / modulus (BFM reduction and surface apatite precipitation upon 1 and 4 weeks immersion in water versus simulated body fluid (SBF were assessed using a mechanical testing frame and scanning electron microscope (SEM. Mass / volume loss and surface roughness (Ra following 7 weeks water immersion and subsequent accelerated tooth-brush abrasion were examined using gravimetric studies and profilometer.F1 and F2 exhibited much higher monomer conversion (72% than FZ (54% and low calculated polymerization shrinkage (2.2 vol%. Final hygroscopic expansions decreased in the order; F2 (3.5 vol% > F1 (1.8 vol% ~ Z250 (1.6 vol% > Gradia (1.0 vol%. BFS and BFM were unaffected by storage medium type. Average BFS / BFM upon 4 weeks immersion reduced from 144 MPa / 8 GPa to 107 MPa / 5 GPa for F1 and 105 MPa / 6 GPa to 82 MPa / 4 GPa for F2. Much of this change was observed in the first week of immersion when water sorption rate was high. Surface apatite layers were incomplete at 1 week, but around 2 and 15 micron thick for F1 and

Comparison of influences of sediments and sea water on accumulation of radionuclides by marine organisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueda, Taiji; Nakamura, Ryoichi; Suzuki, Yuzuru

1978-01-01

The concentration factors of 106 Ru- 106 Rh and 137 Cs for a marine bivalve and a alga were investigated. Furthermore, the transfer ratio ([cpm/g of organism]/[cpm/g of sediment]) of these nuclides from contaminated sediments to organisms was examined. Then the concentration factors were compared with the transfer ratio to know the relative influence of sea water and sediments on the contamination of marine organisms. The obtained figures, we call the biological factor of the sediments (BFS), were 70 and 160 for red alga and bivalve on 137 Cs, and 5400 and 2900 for them in case of 106 Ru- 106 Rh, respectively. These figures were comparable to those for annelid worm, 40 on 137 Cs and 1000 on 106 Ru- 106 Rh. (auth.)

Ultimate disposal of radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roethemeyer, H.

1991-01-01

The activities developed by the Federal Institution of Physical Engineering PTB and by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) concentrated, among others, on work to implement ultimate storage facilities for radioactive wastes. The book illuminates this development from site designation to the preliminary evaluation of the Gorleben salt dome, to the preparation of planning documents proving that the Konrad ore mine is suitable for a repository. The paper shows the legal provisions involved; research and development tasks; collection of radioactive wastes ready for ultimate disposal; safety analysis in the commissioning and post-operational stages, and product control. The historical development of waste management in the Federal Republic of Germany and international cooperation in this area are outlined. (DG) [de

Digital image acquisition in the X-ray diagnostics. Its influence on the patients' exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoberg, Bernd; Voigt, Stefan

2012-01-01

Radiation exposure in the classical X-ray diagnostics was continuously reduced during the past years. The annual report 2009 of the Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (BfS) shows that 46% of the radiological examinations in Germany concern the skeleton, the lungs and the digestive and urogenital tract. The respective radiation dose is only 20% of the total dose of the public from X-ray diagnostic measures. Considering computerized tomography, angiography and interventional radiology, that amount to about 10% of the radiological examinations, their dose percentage reaches about 80%. Therefore, the emphasis of modern radiation protection has to be targeted to digital techniques in the future X-ray diagnostics. The authors describe digital detectors, direct and indirect digitalized image receivers, flat-panel detectors and dynamic detectors.

A network-flow based valve-switching aware binding algorithm for flow-based microfluidic biochips

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tseng, Kai-Han; You, Sheng-Chi; Minhass, Wajid Hassan

2013-01-01

-flow based resource binding algorithm based on breadth-first search (BFS) and minimum cost maximum flow (MCMF) in architectural-level synthesis. The experimental results show that our methodology not only makes significant reduction of valve-switching activities but also diminishes the application completion......Designs of flow-based microfluidic biochips are receiving much attention recently because they replace conventional biological automation paradigm and are able to integrate different biochemical analysis functions on a chip. However, as the design complexity increases, a flow-based microfluidic...... biochip needs more chip-integrated micro-valves, i.e., the basic unit of fluid-handling functionality, to manipulate the fluid flow for biochemical applications. Moreover, frequent switching of micro-valves results in decreased reliability. To minimize the valve-switching activities, we develop a network...

Mechanical Properties of Wood Flour Reinforced High Density Polyethylene Composites with Basalt Fibers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guojun LU

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Basalt fibers (BFs were surface-treated with a vinyl triethoxy silane coupling agent to improve the mechanical properties of wood fiber-reinforced high density polyethylene (HDPE composites. Basalt fibers were characterized with SEM and FT-IR. The effects of the basalt fiber content and apparent morphology on the mechanical properties of the hybrid composites were investigated in this paper. The results show that the BF coated with the vinyl triethoxy silane coupling agent resulted in an improvement in mechanical properties due to the increased interfacial compatibility between the BF and HDPE. The flexural strength and impact properties significantly increased with 4 wt.% modified basalt fibers. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.20.4.6441

The Effect of Inoculants of Thiobacillus and Aspergillus on Corn Growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Mohammdi Aria

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Phosphorus (P is one of the essential macronutrients for growth and development of plant. Phosphorus is added to soil in the form of phosphatic fertilizers, part of which is utilized by plants and the remainder converted into insoluble fixed forms. Increasingly high cost of chemical fertilizers has been the major stimulus to search for an alternative, naturally-occurring, phosphate source. The researchers offered phosphorus rocks as a valuable alternative source for P. fertilizer. Unfortunately, rock phosphate is not plant available in soils with a pH greater than 6. One method to increase soluble form inorganic P is application of phosphate solublizing microorganisms and sulfur oxidizing bacteria (Thiobacillus with rock phosphate. A greenhouse experiment was carried out with two bio fertilizers (bio fertilizers santes in incubation condition in a soil with low available P on corn growth. The bio fertilizers were: rock phosphate with 20% sulfur, 15% vermicompost, Thiobacillus bacteria and Aspergillus fungi (BFS20V15 at three rates: 440 kg/ha (BF1 , 880 kg/ha (BF2, 1320kg/ha (BF3, rock phosphate with 20% sulfur, 15% vermicompost, Thiobacillus bacteria (BFS20V15 at three rates: 440 kg/ha (B1 , 880 kg/ha (B2, 1320kg/ha (B3, triple super phosphate (TSP, and control without phosphorus. In the greenhouse experiment, shoot dry matter, p uptake in plant and available p in soil were determined. The results showed that maximum yield obtained from BF3 with the shoot dry weight 7.2 g per plant and with no significant difference in relation to the triple super phosphate (7.5g at 5% level. Also highest rate p-uptake resulted from BF3. There was significant difference between treatment BF3 and TSP on p-uptake. Results indicated that it could be possible to substitute rock phosphate inoculated with sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and phosphorous-solublizing fungus for super phosphate. Keywords: Uptake-p, pH Rock phosphate, Solfur, Vermicompost

A 16-bit sigma-delta modulator applied in micro-machined inertial sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Honglin, Xu; Qiang, Fu; Hongna, Liu; Liang, Yin; Pengfei, Wang; Xiaowei, Liu

2014-04-01

A fourth-order low-distortion low-pass sigma-delta (ΣΔ) modulator is presented for micro-machined inertial sensors. The proposed single-loop single-bit feedback modulator is optimized with a feed-forward path to decrease the nonlinearities and power consumption. The IC is implemented in a standard 0.6 μm CMOS technology and operates at a sampling frequency of 3.846 MHz. The chip area is 2.12 mm2 with 23 pads. The experimental results indicate a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 100 dB and dynamic range (DR) of 103 dB at an oversampling rate (OSR) of 128 with the input signal amplitude of -3.88 dBFS at 9.8 kHz; the power consumption is 15 mW at a 5 V supply.

A 16-bit sigma–delta modulator applied in micro-machined inertial sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Honglin; Fu Qiang; Liu Hongna; Yin Liang; Wang Pengfei; Liu Xiaowei

2014-01-01

A fourth-order low-distortion low-pass sigma–delta (ΣΔ) modulator is presented for micro-machined inertial sensors. The proposed single-loop single-bit feedback modulator is optimized with a feed-forward path to decrease the nonlinearities and power consumption. The IC is implemented in a standard 0.6 μm CMOS technology and operates at a sampling frequency of 3.846 MHz. The chip area is 2.12 mm 2 with 23 pads. The experimental results indicate a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 100 dB and dynamic range (DR) of 103 dB at an oversampling rate (OSR) of 128 with the input signal amplitude of −3.88 dBFS at 9.8 kHz; the power consumption is 15 mW at a 5 V supply. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Evaluation of the accuracy of group calculations for reactor criticality perturbations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dulin, V.A.

1985-09-01

For calculations of criticality perturbations it is necessary to use group constants which take into account not only the peculiarities of the intra-group flux but also those of the behaviour of the adjoint flux. A new method is proposed for obtaining bilinear-averaged constants of this type on the basis of the resonance characteristics of the importance function and the difference between the value of neutron importance at the group boundary and the group-averaged value (the bsup(+j) factor). A number of calculations are made for the ratios of reactivity coefficients in the BFS assemblies. Values have been obtained for the difference between the results of calculation with bilinear-averaged constants and those averaged conventionally (over flux). In many cases, this difference exceeds the experimental error. (author)

Radiation protection research projects. Program report 2015. Report on research program radiation protection of the Federal ministry for environment, nature conservation and reactor safety with technical and administrative steering by the Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz; Strahlenschutzforschung. Programmreport 2015. Bericht ueber das vom Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz fachlich begleitete und administrativ umgesetzte Forschungsprogramm Strahlenschutz des Bundesministeriums fuer Umwelt, Naturschutz, Bau und Reaktorsicherheit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmitt-Hannig, Annemarie; Loebke-Reinl, Angelika; Peter, Josef; Goedde, Ralph; Hachenberger, Claudia; Trugenberger-Schnabel, Angela (comps.)

2016-08-15

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) awards research grants for projects in the field of radiation protection. The findings of these projects serve as decision aiding information in the development of radiation protection regulations as well as in the fulfilment of specific tasks in the field of radiation protection. The tasks of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection involve planning, technical and administrative preparation, awarding of contracts, general support as well as the technical evaluation of research and study projects. This report provides information on results, i. e. preliminary (in the form of status reports) and, where applicable, final results of radiation protection projects within the BMUB's Environmental Research Plan for the year 2015.

The importance of mines for ultimate storage at Deilmann-Haniel Shaft Sinking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greinacher, Jochen; Oellers, Thomas; Ahlbrecht, Thomas

2011-01-01

Deilmann-Haniel Shaft Sinking GmbH and its predecessor and associate companies have been involved in projects for underground ultimate storage in Germany, Europe and America for over 45 years. The field of activities previously comprised surveying, planning and sinking of shafts, repair and conversion work, design of underground sealing structures, planning of conveyors and support of the BfS in planning approval procedures. Following discontinuation of activities in the German coal mining industry the use of mines for ultimate storage is an important support for German specialist mining companies. The use of mines for ultimate storage ensures that the existing mining know how in Germany is maintained, because training of the younger generation on the commercial and engineering side of the companies is made possible by the imminent major projects.

MEASUREMENT OF WASTE LOADING IN SALTSTONE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harbour, J; Vickie Williams, V

2008-01-01

One of the goals of the Saltstone variability study is to identify the operational and compositional variables that control or influence the important processing and performance properties of Saltstone grout mixtures. One of those properties of importance is the Waste Loading (WL) of the decontaminated salt solution (DSS) in the Saltstone waste form. Waste loading is a measure of the amount of waste that can be incorporated within a waste form. The value of the Saltstone waste loading ultimately determines the number of vaults that will be required to disposition all of the DSS. In this report, the waste loading is defined as the volume in milliliters of DSS per liter of Saltstone waste form. The two most important parameters that determine waste loading for Saltstone are water to cementitious material (w/cm) ratio and the cured grout density. Data are provided that show the dependence of waste loading on the w/cm ratio for a fixed DSS composition using the current premix material (45% Blast Furnace Slag (BFS), 45% Fly Ash (FA) and 10% Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC)). The impact of cured grout density on waste loading was also demonstrated. Mixes (at 0.60 w/cm) made with a Modular Caustic side extraction Unit (MCU) simulant and either OPC or BFS have higher cured grout densities than mixes made with premix and increase the WL to 709 mL/L for the OPC mix and 689 mL/L for the BFS mix versus the value of 653 mL/L for MCU in premix at 0.60 w/cm ratio. Bleed liquid reduces the waste loading and lowers the effective w/cm ratio of Saltstone. A method is presented (and will be used in future tasks) for correcting the waste loading and the w/cm ratio of the as-batched mixes in those cases where bleed liquid is present. For example, the Deliquification, Dissolution and Adjustment (DDA) mix at an as-batched 0.60 w/cm ratio, when corrected for % bleed, gives a mix with a 0.55 w/cm ratio and a WL that has been reduced from 662 to 625 mL/L. An example is provided that

T25 Qualification of old containers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoerning, T.; Kasparek, E.M.; Voelzke, H.

2013-01-01

Radioactive waste for final disposal in the repository Konrad has to be packaged in licensed containers. The qualification of containers is performed according the respective standards and BfS requirements. The latter ones differ for different container types with respect to accident resistance based on the release behavior of the waste. Usually qualification of container types is performed before series production. The qualification of already produced containers (''old containers'') is significantly more complicated. The differences of quality assurance and materials properties of the older containers have to be evaluated. A main tool for this evaluation is the numerical re-calculation of accident scenarios for estimation of the safety margins. The validation of appropriate finite element models is available. Based on these date it might be possible to abandon additional drop tests with the existing old containers to prove the structural integrity.

Recent trends and future of pharmaceutical packaging technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nityanand Zadbuke

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The pharmaceutical packaging market is constantly advancing and has experienced annual growth of at least five percent per annum in the past few years. The market is now reckoned to be worth over $20 billion a year. As with most other packaged goods, pharmaceuticals need reliable and speedy packaging solutions that deliver a combination of product protection, quality, tamper evidence, patient comfort and security needs. Constant innovations in the pharmaceuticals themselves such as, blow fill seal (BFS vials, anti-counterfeit measures, plasma impulse chemical vapor deposition (PICVD coating technology, snap off ampoules, unit dose vials, two-in-one prefilled vial design, prefilled syringes and child-resistant packs have a direct impact on the packaging. The review details several of the recent pharmaceutical packaging trends that are impacting packaging industry, and offers some predictions for the future.

Recent trends and future of pharmaceutical packaging technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Zadbuke, Nityanand; Shahi, Sadhana; Gulecha, Bhushan; Padalkar, Abhay; Thube, Mahesh

2013-04-01

The pharmaceutical packaging market is constantly advancing and has experienced annual growth of at least five percent per annum in the past few years. The market is now reckoned to be worth over $20 billion a year. As with most other packaged goods, pharmaceuticals need reliable and speedy packaging solutions that deliver a combination of product protection, quality, tamper evidence, patient comfort and security needs. Constant innovations in the pharmaceuticals themselves such as, blow fill seal (BFS) vials, anti-counterfeit measures, plasma impulse chemical vapor deposition (PICVD) coating technology, snap off ampoules, unit dose vials, two-in-one prefilled vial design, prefilled syringes and child-resistant packs have a direct impact on the packaging. The review details several of the recent pharmaceutical packaging trends that are impacting packaging industry, and offers some predictions for the future.

Atomistic modelling of the interdiffusion of Al in the UMo based fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garces, Jorge E.; Marino, Armando C.; Bozzolo, Guillermo

2002-01-01

The analysis of the initial stages and trends in the process of interdiffusion of Al in the UMo solid solution as a function of Mo concentration is made using the BFS method for alloys. The approach presented in this work helps to understand the exchange mechanism between adatoms and substrate atoms in the binary systems, leading to the behavior observed in the ternary Al-U-Mo system. While in Al/U Al atoms show a noticeable tendency to interdiffusion in the bulk, in Al/Mo the same atoms show a tendency to layer-by-layer growth and the formation of structures in the overlayer. In the case of Al/U-Mo, the two competing behaviors observed for Al/Mo and Al/U, translate into the role of regions rich in Mo acting as interdiffusion barriers, in excellent agreement with experimental evidence. (author)

Recent trends and future of pharmaceutical packaging technology

Science.gov (United States)

Zadbuke, Nityanand; Shahi, Sadhana; Gulecha, Bhushan; Padalkar, Abhay; Thube, Mahesh

2013-01-01

The pharmaceutical packaging market is constantly advancing and has experienced annual growth of at least five percent per annum in the past few years. The market is now reckoned to be worth over $20 billion a year. As with most other packaged goods, pharmaceuticals need reliable and speedy packaging solutions that deliver a combination of product protection, quality, tamper evidence, patient comfort and security needs. Constant innovations in the pharmaceuticals themselves such as, blow fill seal (BFS) vials, anti-counterfeit measures, plasma impulse chemical vapor deposition (PICVD) coating technology, snap off ampoules, unit dose vials, two-in-one prefilled vial design, prefilled syringes and child-resistant packs have a direct impact on the packaging. The review details several of the recent pharmaceutical packaging trends that are impacting packaging industry, and offers some predictions for the future. PMID:23833515

European study of occupational radiation exposure - ESOREX -. Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frasch, G.; Anatschkowa, E.

1997-11-01

The ESOREX-Project consists of several surveys executed in the Member States of the European Union, furthermore in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Its purpose is to survey in each of these countries 1. the administrative systems used to register individual occupational radiation exposure, 2. the numbers of occupationally radiation exposed persons and dose distributions for the year 1995. The study shall describe and compare the administrative structures of the various national registration systems and the quantity structures. It shall identify the differences between the states and analyze the possibilities for a European harmonization. In order to achieve the co-operation of the European states the European Commission and the BfS organized an international introductory workshop in Luxembourg in May, 1997. The proceedings reflect the presentations of the participants and the results of the discussions. (orig.) [de

Process flow sheet evaluation of a nuclear hydrogen steelmaking plant applying very high temperature reactors for efficient steel production with less CO{sub 2} emissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kasahara, Seiji, E-mail: kasahara.seiji@jaea.go.jp; Inagaki, Yoshiyuki; Ogawa, Masuro

2014-05-01

Highlights: • CO{sub 2} emissions from a nuclear hydrogen steelmaking system was 13–21% of that from a blast furnace steelmaking system. • Heat input to shaft furnace in hydrogen steelmaking was large with much H{sub 2} consumption in the part. • Though hydrogen production thermal efficiency had influence on total heat input to hydrogen steelmaking, the effect on the CO{sub 2} emissions was small. • Steelmaking scale of a nuclear hydrogen steelamking plant with 2 VHTRs was a little smaller than that of the largest Midrex{sup ®} steelmaking plants. - Abstract: Recently, CO{sub 2} reduction is an important problem for steelmaking. Substitution of coal, presently used as a reducing agent of iron ore in blast furnaces, to hydrogen produced by non-fossil energy is a way to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions. In this study, the idea of nuclear hydrogen steelmaking (NHS) system was investigated using very high temperature reactor (VHTR) and thermochemical hydrogen production iodine–sulfur (IS) process. Heat input and CO{sub 2} emissions including material production, material transportation, and electricity generation were evaluation criteria. Results of the NHS system were compared with those of a conventional blast furnace steelmaking (BFS) system. Influence of heat input options to the steelmaking process and hydrogen production thermal efficiency of IS process were investigated for the NHS system. Though heat input to the NHS system was 130–142% of that to the BFS system, CO{sub 2} emissions of the system were 13–21%. Pre-heating of hydrogen by coal combustion before blowing to a shaft furnace was effective to decrease heat input, although CO{sub 2} emissions increased. Direct pre-heating by nuclear heat was also effective without increase of CO{sub 2} emissions if close location of the nuclear reactor to the steelmaking plant was publicly accepted. Hydrogen production thermal efficiency had a significant influence on the heat input. Conceptual design of a

Implementation of High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy and Androgen Deprivation in Patients With Prostate Cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lilleby, Wolfgang, E-mail: wolfgang.lilleby@ous-hf.no [Cancer Clinic, Oslo University Hospital, Norwegian Radiumhospital, Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Oslo (Norway); Tafjord, Gunnar; Raabe, Nils K. [Cancer Clinic, Oslo University Hospital, Norwegian Radiumhospital, Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Oslo (Norway)

2012-07-01

Purpose: To evaluate outcome (overall survival [OS], the actuarial 5-year cancer-specific survival [CSS], disease-free survival [DFS], biochemical failure-free survival [BFS]), complications and morbidity in patients treated with high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) boost and hormonal treatment with curative aims. Methods: Between 2004 and 2009, 275 prospectively followed pN0/N0M0 patients were included: 19 patients (7%) with T2, Gleason score 7 and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) <10 and 256 patients (93%) with T3 or Gleason score 8-10 or PSA >20 received multimodal treatment with conformal four-field radiotherapy (prostate/vesiculae 2 Gy Multiplication-Sign 25) combined with HDR-BT (iridium 192; prostate 10 Gy Multiplication-Sign 2) with long-term androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Results: After a median observation time of 44.2 months (range, 10.4-90.5 months) 12 patients had relapsed clinically and/or biochemically and 10 patients were dead, of which 2 patients died from prostate cancer. Five-year estimates of BFS, CSS, DFS, and OS rates were 98.5%, 99.3%, 95.6%, and 96.3%, respectively. None of the patients with either Gleason score <8 or with intermediate risk profile had relapsed. The number of HDR-BT treatments was not related to outcome. Despite of age (median, 65.7 years; range, 45.7-77 years) and considerable pretreatment comorbidity in 39 of 275 patients, Genitourinary treatment-related morbidity was moderate with long-lasting Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Grade 2 voiding problems in 26 patients (9.5%) and occasionally mucous discharge in 20 patients (7%), none with Grade >2 for gastrointestinal at follow-up. Complications during implantations were related to pubic arch interference (4 patients) and lithotomy time, causing 2 patients to develop compartment syndrome. Conclusion: Despite still preliminary observations, our 5-year outcome estimates favor the implementation of high-dose-rate brachytherapy in high-risk patients combined with conformal

A Basis Function Approach to Simulate Storm Surge Events for Coastal Flood Risk Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Wenyan; Westra, Seth; Leonard, Michael

2017-04-01

Storm surge is a significant contributor to flooding in coastal and estuarine regions, especially when it coincides with other flood producing mechanisms, such as extreme rainfall. Therefore, storm surge has always been a research focus in coastal flood risk assessment. Often numerical models have been developed to understand storm surge events for risk assessment (Kumagai et al. 2016; Li et al. 2016; Zhang et al. 2016) (Bastidas et al. 2016; Bilskie et al. 2016; Dalledonne and Mayerle 2016; Haigh et al. 2014; Kodaira et al. 2016; Lapetina and Sheng 2015), and assess how these events may change or evolve in the future (Izuru et al. 2015; Oey and Chou 2016). However, numeric models often require a lot of input information and difficulties arise when there are not sufficient data available (Madsen et al. 2015). Alternative, statistical methods have been used to forecast storm surge based on historical data (Hashemi et al. 2016; Kim et al. 2016) or to examine the long term trend in the change of storm surge events, especially under climate change (Balaguru et al. 2016; Oh et al. 2016; Rueda et al. 2016). In these studies, often the peak of surge events is used, which result in the loss of dynamic information within a tidal cycle or surge event (i.e. a time series of storm surge values). In this study, we propose an alternative basis function (BF) based approach to examine the different attributes (e.g. peak and durations) of storm surge events using historical data. Two simple two-parameter BFs were used: the exponential function and the triangular function. High quality hourly storm surge record from 15 tide gauges around Australia were examined. It was found that there are significantly location and seasonal variability in the peak and duration of storm surge events, which provides additional insights in coastal flood risk. In addition, the simple form of these BFs allows fast simulation of storm surge events and minimises the complexity of joint probability

Further investigations of the properties of polymer modified cements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, D.I.

1988-05-01

This report concludes the work done on behalf of the Department of the Environment on polymer modified cement composites. Topics covered include: the influence of cure schedule on flexural properties, observation of the onset and cracking during flexural testing, measurement of water permeability and caesium diffusion rates, and the use of Back Scattered Electron Imaging to identify the polymer phase. The properties of epoxide resin modified cements in the previous report were disappointing. Air entrainment of the mixing stage was a likely cause of the poor performance of these products and procedures to overcome this problem were devised. The range of polymer additives investigated was broadened by the inclusion of modified acrylic latexes and a polymensable acrylate resin additive. Properties for OPC and 9 BFS: 1 OPC cements are compared and the modification of properties achieved by polymer additions to both cement systems is discussed. (author)

Product Evaluation Task Force Phase Two report for centrifuge cake

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francis, A.J.; Davies, A.

1990-01-01

It has been proposed that all Intermediate Level Wastes arising at Sellafield should be encapsulated prior to ultimate disposal. The Product Evaluation Task Force (PETF) was set up to investigate possible encapsulants and to produce and adequate data base to justify the preferred matrices. Three possible types of encapsulants for Centrifuge Cake;- Inorganic cements, Polymer cements, and Polymers, are evaluated using the Kepner Tregoe decision analysis technique. This technique provides a methodology for scoring and ranking alternative options and evaluating any risks associated with an option. The analysis shows that for all four stages of waste management operations ie. Storage Transport, handling and emplacement Disposal, and Process, cement matrices are considerably superior to other potential matrices. A matrix, consisting of nine parts Blast Furnace Slag (BFS) to one part Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is recommended as the preferred matrix for Phase 3 studies on Centrifuge Cake. (author)

Development of spectrometric probes for emergency preparedness. Status and way forward; Entwicklung von spektrometrierenden Sonden fuer den Notfallschutz. Stand und Perspektiven

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zaehringer, M.; Bleher, M. [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (BfS), Salzgitter (Germany); Dambacher, M. [X-Ray Imaging Europe, Freiburg (Germany); and others

2014-01-20

Spectrometric probes with medium energy resolution (NaI, LaBr{sub 3}, CZT) have the potential to enhance existing gamma dose rate monitoring networks as a early warning system by increasing the sensitivity and specificity. In an emergency situation nuclide specific information with sufficient spatial resolution can be made available to decision makers. An ongoing research project between BfS and the Freiburg Material Research Centre (FMF) aims at the development of semiconductor detectors based on Cadmium-Zink-Telluride which can be used for low cost ruggedized spectrometric systems suitable for deployment in an environmental network. The new probe contains also a newly developed versatile multi channel analyser. The system has a modular design and is based - where ever possible - on open source components. It is complemented by specific analysis software using established data exchange formats. This facilitates international cooperation and exploits synergies through distributed development of components.

Treating experimental data of inverse kinetic method by unitary linear regression analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Yusen; Chen Xiaoliang

2009-01-01

The theory of treating experimental data of inverse kinetic method by unitary linear regression analysis was described. Not only the reactivity, but also the effective neutron source intensity could be calculated by this method. Computer code was compiled base on the inverse kinetic method and unitary linear regression analysis. The data of zero power facility BFS-1 in Russia were processed and the results were compared. The results show that the reactivity and the effective neutron source intensity can be obtained correctly by treating experimental data of inverse kinetic method using unitary linear regression analysis and the precision of reactivity measurement is improved. The central element efficiency can be calculated by using the reactivity. The result also shows that the effect to reactivity measurement caused by external neutron source should be considered when the reactor power is low and the intensity of external neutron source is strong. (authors)

The characterization of insoluble dissolver residues and the development of treatment methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, H.T.; Brown, P.E.; Pateman, R.J.; Wilkinson, K.L.

1986-01-01

Characterization studies have been carried out on the insoluble residue arising from laboratory scale dissolution of single pins of mixed oxide fuel irradiated in the Dounreay Fast Reactor (DFR). Similar characterization work has also been completed on six samples of insoluble residue recovered from the reprocessing of complete sub-assemblies of mixed oxide fuel irradiated in PFR. Treatment methods for the dissolver insolubles have consisted of preparing immobilized samples in sand/ordinary portland cement (OPC), sand/pulverized fly ash (PFA)/OPC, and blast furnace slag (BFS)/OPC. A programme of leach testing has been carried out according to the conditions laid down in the international Standard Organization Test. Four samples of DFR originated insoluble residues and six samples of PFR originated insoluble residues have been immobilized and leach tested. Variations have included experiments to evaluate the leach rate under temperature influence and to acid wash prior to immobilization

Quality control concept for radioactive waste packages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warnecke, E.; Martens, B.R.; Odoj, R.

1990-01-01

In the Federal Republic of Germany a contract with the BfS for the performance of quality control measures is necessary. It is principally possible to apply two alternative methods: random checks on waste packages or qualification of conditioning processes with subsequent inspections. Priority is given to the control by the process qualification. Both methods have successfully been developed in the Federal Republic of Germany and can be applied. In the course of the qualification of conditioning processes it must be demonstrated by inactive and/or active runs that waste packages are produced which fulfil the waste acceptance requirements. The qualification results in the fixation of a handbook for the operation of the respective conditioning process including the process instrumentation and the operational margins. The qualified process will be inspected to assure the compliance of the actual operation with the conditions fixed in the handbook. (orig./DG)

Graph 500 on OpenSHMEM: Using a Practical Survey of Past Work to Motivate Novel Algorithmic Developments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grossman, Max [Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States); Pritchard Jr., Howard Porter [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Budimlic, Zoran [Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States); Sarkar, Vivek [Rice Univ., Houston, TX (United States)

2016-12-22

Graph500 [14] is an effort to offer a standardized benchmark across large-scale distributed platforms which captures the behavior of common communicationbound graph algorithms. Graph500 differs from other large-scale benchmarking efforts (such as HPL [6] or HPGMG [7]) primarily in the irregularity of its computation and data access patterns. The core computational kernel of Graph500 is a breadth-first search (BFS) implemented on an undirected graph. The output of Graph500 is a spanning tree of the input graph, usually represented by a predecessor mapping for every node in the graph. The Graph500 benchmark defines several pre-defined input sizes for implementers to test against. This report summarizes investigation into implementing the Graph500 benchmark on OpenSHMEM, and focuses on first building a strong and practical understanding of the strengths and limitations of past work before proposing and developing novel extensions.

Response properties of neighboring neurons in the auditory midbrain for pure-tone stimulation: a tetrode study.

Science.gov (United States)

Seshagiri, Chandran V; Delgutte, Bertrand

2007-10-01

The complex anatomical structure of the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICC), the principal auditory nucleus in the midbrain, may provide the basis for functional organization of auditory information. To investigate this organization, we used tetrodes to record from neighboring neurons in the ICC of anesthetized cats and studied the similarity and difference among the responses of these neurons to pure-tone stimuli using widely used physiological characterizations. Consistent with the tonotopic arrangement of neurons in the ICC and reports of a threshold map, we found a high degree of correlation in the best frequencies (BFs) of neighboring neurons, which were mostly binaural beats. However, the characteristic phases (CPs) of neighboring neurons revealed a significant correlation. Because the CP is related to the neural mechanisms generating the ITD sensitivity, this result is consistent with segregation of inputs to the ICC from the lateral and medial superior olives.

The selection of hyperaccumulators for phytoremediation of uranium-contaminated soils and their uranium-accumulating characters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Li; Ren Yamin; Xu Jun; Yao Zhongwei; Xia Chuanqin; Bo Yun; Deng Dachao

2009-01-01

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the possibility for phytoremediation of U-contaminated soils. The plants of cruciferae (8 species), malvaceae or compositae were planted for 55 days in the U-contaminated soils (100 mg·kg -1 ). The samples were analyzed using an inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES). The results showed that U concentration was the highest in shoots of Chinese mustard (var.Texuanzhacai, 1115 mg·kg -1 ), the highest U removal from U-contaminated soils to plants occurred in the shoots of Artemisia argyi(1113 μg per pot). For the Chinese mustard (var.Paoqingcai, var. Texuanzhacai), uranium concentration in shoots was higher than in roots, and bioaccumulation factors (BFs) and transfer factors (TFs) were more than one. They showed better suitability for phytoremediation of U than other plants due to their high U accumulation in the aboveground tissues. (authors)

Human behaviour in PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schott, H.

1999-01-01

Based on the current international state of the art of methodology for evaluation of human errors for PSA, many research projects have been initiated by the competent departments of the BMU and the BfS (Federal Min. of the Environment and Reactor Safety, Federal Radiation Protection Office). Three major areas of the research activities are discussed: Database: - Specific investigations into the applicability of generic data (THERP) to other than the original cases, possibly elaboration of approaches for application-specific modification, further evaluation of operating results; - general enhancement of insight into human performance and errors, e.g. with respect to causes of error and application areas (influence of organisation, cognitive performance); interviews with experts as a supplementary approach for data verification and database enhancement. Sensitivity analysis: - Identification of information describing human errors essentially contributing to frequency of occurrence of incidents and system non-availability; - establishment of relevance rating system, methodology for uncertainty analysis. Further development of methodology: - Modelling of repair activities and knowledge-based behaviour. (orig./CB) [de

Immobilisation of ion exchange resins in cement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howard, C.G.; Jolliffe, C.B.; Lee, D.J.

1990-02-01

Over the last seven years, Low Oxidation State Metal Ion reagents (LOMI) have been used to decontaminate the 100 MW(e) Steam Generating Heavy Water Ractor (SGHWR) at Winfrith. The use of these reagents has resulted in a dilute ionic solution containing activation products which are produced by corrosion of metallic components in the reactor. It has been demonstrated that the amount of activity in the solution can be reduced using organic ion exchanger resins. These resins consist of a cross linked polystyrene with sulphonic acid or quaternary ammonium function groups and can be successfully immobilised in blended cement systems. The formulation which has been developed is produced from a 9 to 1 blend of ground granulated blast furnace slag (BFS) and ordinary Portland cement (OPC) containing 28% ion exchange resin in the water saturated form. If 6% Microsilica is added to the blended cement the waste loading can be increased to 36 w/o. (author)

Atomistic modeling and simulation of the role of Be and Bi in Al diffusion in U-Mo fuel

Science.gov (United States)

Hofman, G. L.; Bozzolo, G.; Mosca, H. O.; Yacout, A. M.

2011-07-01

Within the RERTR program, previous experimental and modeling studies identified Si as the alloying addition to the Al cladding responsible for inhibiting Al interdiffusion in the UMo fuel. However, difficulties with reprocessing have rendered this choice inappropriate, leading to the need to study alternative elements. In this work, we discuss the results of an atomistic modeling effort which allows for the systematic study of several possible alloying additions. Based on the behavior observed in the phase diagrams, beryllium or bismuth additions suggest themselves as possible options to replace Si. The results of temperature-dependent simulations using the Bozzolo-Ferrante-Smith (BFS) method for the energetics for varying concentrations of either element are shown, indicating that Be could have a substantial effect in stopping Al interdiffusion, while Bi does not. Details of the calculations and the dependence of the role of each alloying addition as a function of temperature and concentration (of beryllium or bismuth in Al) are shown.

Atomistic modeling and simulation of the role of Be and Bi in Al diffusion in U-Mo fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hofman, G.L. [Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Bozzolo, G., E-mail: guille_bozzolo@yahoo.com [Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Mosca, H.O. [Gerencia de Investigaciones y Aplicaciones, CNEA, Av. Gral Paz 1499, B165KNA, San Martin, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Yacout, A.M. [Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL 60439 (United States)

2011-07-15

Within the RERTR program, previous experimental and modeling studies identified Si as the alloying addition to the Al cladding responsible for inhibiting Al interdiffusion in the UMo fuel. However, difficulties with reprocessing have rendered this choice inappropriate, leading to the need to study alternative elements. In this work, we discuss the results of an atomistic modeling effort which allows for the systematic study of several possible alloying additions. Based on the behavior observed in the phase diagrams, beryllium or bismuth additions suggest themselves as possible options to replace Si. The results of temperature-dependent simulations using the Bozzolo-Ferrante-Smith (BFS) method for the energetics for varying concentrations of either element are shown, indicating that Be could have a substantial effect in stopping Al interdiffusion, while Bi does not. Details of the calculations and the dependence of the role of each alloying addition as a function of temperature and concentration (of beryllium or bismuth in Al) are shown.

Product Evaluation Task Force Phase Two report for CAGR graphite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francis, A.J.; Davies, A.

1991-01-01

It has been proposed that all Intermediate Level Wastes arising at Sellafield should be encapsulated prior to ultimate disposal. The Product Evaluation Task Force (PETF) was set up to investigate possible encapsulants and to produce an adequate data base to justify the preferred matrices. This report details the work carried out under Phase 2 of the Product Evaluation Task Force programme, on CAGR graphite. Three possible types of encapsulants for CAGR graphites:-Inorganic cements, Polymer cements and Polymers are evaluated using the Kepner Tregoe decision analysis technique. This technique provides a methodology for scoring and ranking alternative options and evaluating any risks associated with an option. The analysis shows that for all four stages of waste management operations ie Storage, Transport, handling and emplacement, Disposal and Process, cement matrices are considerably superior to other potential matrices. A matrix, consisting of three parts Blast Furnace Slag (BFS) to one part Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is recommended as the preferred matrix for Phase 3 studies on CAGR graphite. (author)

Peripheral origins and functional characteristics of vibration-sensitive VIIIth nerve fibers in the frog Rana temporaria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jøgensen, Morten Buhl; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jakob

1991-01-01

were studied. 2) Vibration-sensitive fibers were found in both the anterior and posterior branch of the VIIIth nerve. 3) No vibration-sensitive fibers were found in the lagenar nerve. 4) The vibration-sensitive fibers in the posterior branch probably innervated the amphibian papilla and many...... of these fibers also responded to low-frequency sound. 5) The vibration-sensitive fibers in the anterior branch probably innervated the sacculus and the utriculus. 6) Hence, the grassfrog has at least two, and probably three, vibration-sensitive organs in the inner ear. 7) All fibers had V-shaped vibrational...... tuning curves. In the posterior branch best frequencies (BFs) ranged from 10 to 300 Hz, in the anterior branch from 10 to 100 Hz. In the posterior branch spike-rate thresholds at BF ranged from 0.04 to 1.28 cm/s2, in the anterior branch from 0.02 to 1.28 cm/s2. All fibers showed strong synchronization...

Expansive failure reactions and their prevention in the encapsulation of phenol formaldehyde type ion exchange resins in cement based systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Constable, M.; Howard, C.G.; Johnson, M.A.; Jolliffe, C.B. (AEA Decommissioning and Waste Management, Winfrith (United Kingdom)); Sellers, R.M. (Nuclear Electric plc, Barnwood (United Kingdom))

1992-01-01

Lewatit DN is a phenol formaldehyde based ion exchange resin used to remove radioactive caesium from liquid waste streams such as fuel cooling ponds and effluents. This paper presents the results of a study of the encapsulation of the bead form of the resin in cement with particular reference to the mechanisms of its interaction with the encapsulant. When incorporated in pure ordinary Portland cement (OPC) at loadings in excess of 15 wt % an unstable product results due to expansion of the systems and at higher waste loadings failure results after only a few days. Evidence from differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy all indicate the cause of the expansive reaction to be the formation of crystals of calcium salts around and within the resin beads. Addition of BFS and sodium hydroxide prevent the formation of these salts by removal of calcium hydroxide from the system in other reactions. (author).

Radon exposure at workplaces in mining and balneotherapy. Summary of the survey results in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmitz, J.; Fritsche, R.

1993-01-01

In respect to the demands of the Euratom Basic Standards workplaces in more than 350 institutions in mines, show caves and visitors mines were measured as well as in balneotherapy. By onsite measurement and working time questioning the expected annual dose of the workers by radon progeny and direct radiation was calculated. In addition the respective data evaluated by the Materials Testing Institute at Dortmund (MPA) mainly from hard coal mines were considered togther with data received from the Federal Office for Radiaton Protection (BfS) concerning the non-uranium underground workplaces in the new federal countries, which are surveyed routinely. The statistical handling of the data gives a reliable picture for eventually necessary procedures if limits and interaction levels are introduced in Germany. One can assume that about 10% of the underground workplaces measured are exposed to annual doses of more than 15 mSv, while in balneotherapy a very small number of workers will reach this value. (orig./HP) [de

Ternary Blends of High Aluminate Cement, Fly ash and Blast-furnace slag for Sewerage Lining Mortar

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, L. C.; Kuo, C. P.

2018-01-01

High aluminate cement (HAC), fly ash (FA) and blast-furnace slag (BFS) have been treated sustainable materials for the use of cement products for wastewater infrastructure due to their capabilities of corrosion resistance. The purpose of this study is to optimize a ternary blend of above mentioned materials for a special type of mortar for sewerage lining. By the using of Taguchi method, four control parameters including water/cementitious material ratio, mix water content, fly ash content and blast-furnace slag content were considered in nine trial mix designs in this study. By evaluating target properties including (1) maximization of compressive strength, (2) maximization of electricity resistance and (3) minimization of water absorption rate, the best possible levels for each control parameter were determined and the optimal mix proportions were verified. Through the implementation of the study, a practical and completed idea for designing corrosion resistive mortar comprising HAC, FA and BSF is provided.

Scaling Techniques for Massive Scale-Free Graphs in Distributed (External) Memory

KAUST Repository

Pearce, Roger

2013-05-01

We present techniques to process large scale-free graphs in distributed memory. Our aim is to scale to trillions of edges, and our research is targeted at leadership class supercomputers and clusters with local non-volatile memory, e.g., NAND Flash. We apply an edge list partitioning technique, designed to accommodate high-degree vertices (hubs) that create scaling challenges when processing scale-free graphs. In addition to partitioning hubs, we use ghost vertices to represent the hubs to reduce communication hotspots. We present a scaling study with three important graph algorithms: Breadth-First Search (BFS), K-Core decomposition, and Triangle Counting. We also demonstrate scalability on BG/P Intrepid by comparing to best known Graph500 results. We show results on two clusters with local NVRAM storage that are capable of traversing trillion-edge scale-free graphs. By leveraging node-local NAND Flash, our approach can process thirty-two times larger datasets with only a 39% performance degradation in Traversed Edges Per Second (TEPS). © 2013 IEEE.

Indoor Positioning Using Nonparametric Belief Propagation Based on Spanning Trees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Savic Vladimir

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Nonparametric belief propagation (NBP is one of the best-known methods for cooperative localization in sensor networks. It is capable of providing information about location estimation with appropriate uncertainty and to accommodate non-Gaussian distance measurement errors. However, the accuracy of NBP is questionable in loopy networks. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a novel approach, NBP based on spanning trees (NBP-ST created by breadth first search (BFS method. In addition, we propose a reliable indoor model based on obtained measurements in our lab. According to our simulation results, NBP-ST performs better than NBP in terms of accuracy and communication cost in the networks with high connectivity (i.e., highly loopy networks. Furthermore, the computational and communication costs are nearly constant with respect to the transmission radius. However, the drawbacks of proposed method are a little bit higher computational cost and poor performance in low-connected networks.

Establishment of Collaboration System for SFR Technology Development between Korea and France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Jae Woon; Kim, Yeong Il; Choi, Jong Hyeun; Seong, Seung Hwan; Eoh, Jae Hyuk; Jeong, Hae Yong; Hahn, Do Hee; Lee, Yong Bum; Chang, Jin Wook; Lee, Dong Uk

2010-03-01

1) Review of the technical status and plane associated with STCs on the SFR R and D · The objective of the study was accomplished by constructing an human network and investigating the status on the following 5 STCs - Analysis of BFS -73 -1 and 75-1 critical experiments using ERANOS. - SFR : Elector-magnetic pumps or mechanical pumps; criteria for selection, description and modeling - Phenix end of life tests - SC-CO2 Brayton cycle : Investigation of sodium-carbon dioxide interactions; potential consequences on reactor operation - Evaluation of lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) coolant for SFR intermediate loop 2) Holding KAERI-CEA SFR technical meeting on STCs - Final investigation at SFR technical meeting held at CEA Cadarache from Jan. 5 to Jan. 7 in 2010. - Agreement on further action plan for completing the STC - Deduction of future collaboration topics and agreed to submit into the next JCCNE - Agreed to hold next SFR technical meeting in Korea on around October 2010

Ideas in support to the definition of the Phase 6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rimpault, G.

2004-01-01

Hybrid UOX/MOX fuelled core of the BN-600 reactor was endorsed as an international benchmark. Phases 1 and 2 consist of RZ and HEX-Z homogeneous models of the hybrid version of the BN-600 reactor. Phase 3 consists of RZ and HEX-Z heterogeneous models of the hybrid version of the BN-600 reactor. Phase 4 consists of RZ and HEX-Z heterogeneous models of the full MOX version of the BN-600 reactor. Phase 5 consists of the Analysis of BFS-62 hybrid configuration in support to Phase 3 studies. The background strategy was defined to make the world safer by using weapon grade Plutonium for civil application. Make that use safe by checking the behaviour of the BN-600 core with limited (hybrid core: Phases 1, 2 and 3) and then full use of MOX (Phase 4); Verify uncertainties on reactivity coefficients and especially on SVRE with some BFS-62 experiments (Phase 5) and use of Minor Actinides in the fuel (Phase 6 and possibly Phase 7). The French Strategy was make the link between existing reactors PWR and GEN-IV ones. From 2030 - 2040, Introduction of 4th generation systems was planned. The P4 and N4 PWR reactors will reach 40 years lifetime at 2025-2035. Lifetime extension to 50 years is considered. The replacement of PWR reactors by Gen IV systems will be effective. Proposal of Phase 6 considers to develop a strategy in connection with GEN IV criteria, use BN-600 as a demonstrator of GEN IV cores, use spent fuels from WWERs, RBMKs as a fuel for use in LMFBR (BN-600 being the first in the row). In Russia, there are roughly 9 GWe WWER and 10.2 GWe RBMK reactors. UOX is being used (no MOX being used), burn up rate is 45 GWd/ton. At the moment, no reprocessing is performed but a reasonable scenario is to develop a simplified dry reprocessing or a dry reprocessing to extract both MA and Pu resulting in no separation and limited Proliferation. Pu vector will no longer be weapon grade. There will be no blanket as far as possible. Study the BN-600 behaviour with this type of fuel

Occupational radiation exposure in Germany in 2011. Report of the radiation protection register

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frasch, Gerhard; Kammerer, Lothar; Karofsky, Ralf; Mordek, Else; Schlosser, Andrea; Spiesl, Josef

2013-04-01

In Germany, persons who are occupationally exposed to ionising radiation are monitored by several official dosimetry services that transmit the dose records about individual radiation monitoring to the Radiation Protection Register of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). The purpose of the Radiation Protection Register is to supervise the keeping of the dose limits and to monitor the compliance with the radiation protection principle ''Optimisation'' by performing detailed annual statistical analyses of the monitored persons and their radiation exposure. The annual report of the Radiation Protection Register provides information about status and development of occupational radiation exposure in Germany. In 2011, about 350,000 workers were monitored with dosemeters for occupational radiation exposure. The number increased during the past five years continuously by 10 %. Only 19 % of the monitored persons received measurable personal doses. The average annual dose of these exposed workers was 0.58 mSv corresponding to 3 % of the annual dose limit of 20 mSv for radiation workers. In total, 7 persons exceeded the annual dose limit of 20 mSv, i.e. two cases per 100,000 monitored persons. The collective dose of the monitored persons decreased to 38.5 Person-Sv, the lowest value since the last fifty years of occupational dose monitoring. In 2010, 45 airlines calculated the route doses of 39,000 members of the aircraft crew personnel by using certified computer programmes for dose calculation and sent the accumulated monthly doses via the Federal Office for Civil Aviation (''Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, LBA'') to the BfS. The collective dose of the aircraft crew personnel is 83 person-Sv, and thus significantly higher than the total collective dose of the workers monitored with personal dosemeters (38.5 person-Sv). The annual average dose of aircraft crew personnel was 2.12 mSv and decreased compared to 2010 (2,30 mSv). In 2011, about 70,000 outside-workers were in

Occupational radiation exposure in Germany in 2011. Report of the radiation protection register; Die berufliche Strahlenexposition in Deutschland 2011. Bericht des Strahlenschutzregisters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frasch, Gerhard; Kammerer, Lothar; Karofsky, Ralf; Mordek, Else; Schlosser, Andrea; Spiesl, Josef

2013-04-15

In Germany, persons who are occupationally exposed to ionising radiation are monitored by several official dosimetry services that transmit the dose records about individual radiation monitoring to the Radiation Protection Register of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). The purpose of the Radiation Protection Register is to supervise the keeping of the dose limits and to monitor the compliance with the radiation protection principle ''Optimisation'' by performing detailed annual statistical analyses of the monitored persons and their radiation exposure. The annual report of the Radiation Protection Register provides information about status and development of occupational radiation exposure in Germany. In 2011, about 350,000 workers were monitored with dosemeters for occupational radiation exposure. The number increased during the past five years continuously by 10 %. Only 19 % of the monitored persons received measurable personal doses. The average annual dose of these exposed workers was 0.58 mSv corresponding to 3 % of the annual dose limit of 20 mSv for radiation workers. In total, 7 persons exceeded the annual dose limit of 20 mSv, i.e. two cases per 100,000 monitored persons. The collective dose of the monitored persons decreased to 38.5 Person-Sv, the lowest value since the last fifty years of occupational dose monitoring. In 2010, 45 airlines calculated the route doses of 39,000 members of the aircraft crew personnel by using certified computer programmes for dose calculation and sent the accumulated monthly doses via the Federal Office for Civil Aviation (''Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, LBA'') to the BfS. The collective dose of the aircraft crew personnel is 83 person-Sv, and thus significantly higher than the total collective dose of the workers monitored with personal dosemeters (38.5 person-Sv). The annual average dose of aircraft crew personnel was 2.12 mSv and decreased compared to 2010 (2,30 mSv). In 2011

Faster Parallel Traversal of Scale Free Graphs at Extreme Scale with Vertex Delegates

KAUST Repository

Pearce, Roger

2014-11-01

© 2014 IEEE. At extreme scale, irregularities in the structure of scale-free graphs such as social network graphs limit our ability to analyze these important and growing datasets. A key challenge is the presence of high-degree vertices (hubs), that leads to parallel workload and storage imbalances. The imbalances occur because existing partitioning techniques are not able to effectively partition high-degree vertices. We present techniques to distribute storage, computation, and communication of hubs for extreme scale graphs in distributed memory supercomputers. To balance the hub processing workload, we distribute hub data structures and related computation among a set of delegates. The delegates coordinate using highly optimized, yet portable, asynchronous broadcast and reduction operations. We demonstrate scalability of our new algorithmic technique using Breadth-First Search (BFS), Single Source Shortest Path (SSSP), K-Core Decomposition, and Page-Rank on synthetically generated scale-free graphs. Our results show excellent scalability on large scale-free graphs up to 131K cores of the IBM BG/P, and outperform the best known Graph500 performance on BG/P Intrepid by 15%

Faster Parallel Traversal of Scale Free Graphs at Extreme Scale with Vertex Delegates

KAUST Repository

Pearce, Roger; Gokhale, Maya; Amato, Nancy M.

2014-01-01

© 2014 IEEE. At extreme scale, irregularities in the structure of scale-free graphs such as social network graphs limit our ability to analyze these important and growing datasets. A key challenge is the presence of high-degree vertices (hubs), that leads to parallel workload and storage imbalances. The imbalances occur because existing partitioning techniques are not able to effectively partition high-degree vertices. We present techniques to distribute storage, computation, and communication of hubs for extreme scale graphs in distributed memory supercomputers. To balance the hub processing workload, we distribute hub data structures and related computation among a set of delegates. The delegates coordinate using highly optimized, yet portable, asynchronous broadcast and reduction operations. We demonstrate scalability of our new algorithmic technique using Breadth-First Search (BFS), Single Source Shortest Path (SSSP), K-Core Decomposition, and Page-Rank on synthetically generated scale-free graphs. Our results show excellent scalability on large scale-free graphs up to 131K cores of the IBM BG/P, and outperform the best known Graph500 performance on BG/P Intrepid by 15%

Evaluation of dry-solids-blend material source for grouts containing 106-AN waste: September 1990 progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilliam, T.M.; Osborne, S.C.; Francis, C.L.; Scott, T.C.

1993-09-01

Stabilization/solidification (S/S) is the most widely used technology for the treatment and ultimate disposal of both radioactive and chemically hazardous wastes. Such technology is being utilized in a Grout Treatment Facility (GTF) by the Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC) for the disposal of various wastes, including 106-AN wastes, located on the Hanford Reservation. The WHC personnel have developed a grout formula for 106-AN disposal that is designed to meet stringent performance requirements. This formula consists of a dry-solids blend containing 40 wt % limestone, 28 wt % granulated blast furnace slag (BFS), 28 wt % ASTM Class F fly ash, and 4 wt % Type I-II-LA Portland cement. The blend is mixed with 106-AN waste at a ratio of 9 lb of dry-solids blend per gallon of waste. This report documents progress made to date on efforts at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in support of WHC's Grout Technology Program to assess the effects of the source of the dry-solids-blend materials on the resulting grout formula

APINetworks Java. A Java approach to the efficient treatment of large-scale complex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz-Caro, Camelia; Niño, Alfonso; Reyes, Sebastián; Castillo, Miriam

2016-10-01

We present a new version of the core structural package of our Application Programming Interface, APINetworks, for the treatment of complex networks in arbitrary computational environments. The new version is written in Java and presents several advantages over the previous C++ version: the portability of the Java code, the easiness of object-oriented design implementations, and the simplicity of memory management. In addition, some additional data structures are introduced for storing the sets of nodes and edges. Also, by resorting to the different garbage collectors currently available in the JVM the Java version is much more efficient than the C++ one with respect to memory management. In particular, the G1 collector is the most efficient one because of the parallel execution of G1 and the Java application. Using G1, APINetworks Java outperforms the C++ version and the well-known NetworkX and JGraphT packages in the building and BFS traversal of linear and complete networks. The better memory management of the present version allows for the modeling of much larger networks.

Type testing of devices with inserted radioactive sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rolle, A.; Droste, B.; Dombrowski, H.

2006-01-01

In Germany devices with inserted radioactive sources can get a type approval if they comply with specific requirements. Whoever operates a device whose type has been approved in accordance with the German Radiation Protection Ordinance does not need an individual authorization. Such type approvals for free use are granted by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (B.f.S.) on the basis of type testing performed by the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (P.T.B.), the national metrology institute, and the Bundesanstalt fur Materialforschung und -prufung (B.A.M.), the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing. Main aspects of the assessment are the activity of the radioactive sources, the dose equivalent rate near the devices, the tamper-proofness and leak-tightness of the sources and the safety of the construction of the devices. With the new Radiation Protection Ordinance in 2001, more stringent requirements for a type approval were established. Experiences with the new regulations and the relevant assessment criteria applied by P.T.B. and B.A.M. will be presented. (authors)

Enhanced performance for differential detection in coherent Brillouin optical time-domain analysis sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Liyang; Zhang, Yunpeng; Li, Zonglei; Zhang, Zhiyong; Zou, Xihua; Luo, Bin; Pan, Wei; Yan, Lianshan

2016-11-01

Logarithmic detectors (LogDs) have been used in coherent Brillouin optical time-domain analysis (BOTDA) sensors to reduce the effect of phase fluctuation, demodulation complexities, and measurement time. However, because of the inherent properties of LogDs, a DC component at the level of hundreds of millivolts that prohibits high-gain signal amplification (SA) could be generated, resulting in unacceptable data acquisition (DAQ) inaccuracies and decoding errors in the process of prototype integration. By generating a reference light at a level similar to the probe light, differential detection can be applied to remove the DC component automatically using a differential amplifier before the DAQ process. Therefore, high-gain SA can be employed to reduce quantization errors. The signal-to-noise ratio of the weak Brillouin gain signal is improved from ˜11.5 to ˜21.8 dB. A BOTDA prototype is implemented based on the proposed scheme. The experimental results show that the measurement accuracy of the Brillouin frequency shift (BFS) is improved from ±1.9 to ±0.8 MHz at the end of a 40-km sensing fiber.

Product Evaluation Task Force Phase Two report for BWR/PWR dissolver wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francis, A.J.

1990-01-01

It has been proposed that all Intermediate Level Wastes arising at Sellafield should be encapsulated prior to ultimate disposal. The Product Evaluation Task Force (PETF) was set up to investigate possible encapsulants and to produce an adequate data base to justify the preferred matrices. This report details the work carried out, under Phase 2 of the Product Evaluation Task Force programme, on BWR/PWR Dissolver Wastes. Three possible types of encapsulants for BWR/PWR Dissolver Wastes:- Inorganic cements, Polymer cements and Polymers are evaluated using the Kepner Tregoe decision analysis technique. This technique provides a methodology for scoring and ranking alternative options and evaluating any risks associated with an option. The analysis shows that for all four stages of waste management operations ie Storage, Transport, handling and emplacement, Disposal and Process, cement matrices are considerably superior to other potential matrices. A matrix, consisting of three parts Blast Furnace Slag (BFS) to one part Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), is recommended for Phase 3 studies on BWR/PWR Dissolver Wastes. (author)

Development of new testing methods for the numerical load analysis for the drop test of steel sheet containers for the final repository Konrad

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Protz, C.; Voelzke, H.; Zencker, U.; Hagenow, P.; Gruenewald, H.

2011-01-01

The qualification of steel sheet containers as intermediate-level waste container for the final repository is performed by the BAM (Bundeasmt fuer Materialpruefung) according to the BfS (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz) requirements. The testing requirements include the stacking pressure tests, lifting tests, drop tests thermal tests (fire resistance) and tightness tests. Besides the verification using model or prototype tests and transferability considerations numerical safety analyses may be performed alternatively. The authors describe the internal BAM research project ConDrop aimed to develop extended testing methods for the drop test of steel sheet containers for the final repository Konrad using numerical load analyses. A finite element model was developed using The FE software LS-PrePost 3.0 and ANSYS 12.0 and the software FE-Code LS-DYNA for the simulation of the drop test (5 m height). The results were verified by experimental data from instrumented drop tests. The container preserves its integrity after the drop test, plastic deformation occurred at the bottom plate, the side walls, the cask cover and the lateral uprights.

Product Evaluation Task Force Phase Two report for MEB crud/filter aid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francis, A.J.

1991-01-01

It has been proposed that all Intermediate Level Wastes arising at Sellafield should be encapsulated prior to ultimate disposal. The Product Evaluation Task Force (PETF) was set up to investigate possible encapsulants and to produce an adequate data base to justify the preferred matrices. This report details the work carried out, under Phase 2 of the Product Evaluation Task Force programme, on MEB Crud/Filter Aid. Three possible types of encapsulants for MEB Crud/Filter Aid:- Inorganic cements, Polymer cements, and Polymers are evaluated using the Kepner Tregoe decision and analysis technique. This technique provides a methodology for scoring and ranking alternative options and evaluating any risks associated with an option. The analysis shows that for all four stages of waste management operations, ie Storage, Transport, handling and emplacement, Disposal and, Process, cement matrices are considerably superior to other potential matrices. A matrix, consisting of nine parts Blast Furnace Slag (BFS) to one part Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is recommended as the preferred matrix for Phase 3 studies on MEB/Filter Aid. (author)

Arsenic accumulation by two brake ferns growing on an arsenic mine and their potential in phytoremediation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Chao-Yang; Chen, Tong-Bin

2006-05-01

In an area near an arsenic mine in Hunan Province of south China, soils were often found with elevated arsenic levels. A field survey was conducted to determine arsenic accumulation in 8 Cretan brake ferns (Pteris cretica) and 16 Chinese brake ferns (Pteris vittata) growing on these soils. Three factors were evaluated: arsenic concentration in above ground parts (fronds), arsenic bioaccumulation factor (BF; ratio of arsenic in fronds to soil) and arsenic translocation factor (TF; ratio of arsenic in fronds to roots). Arsenic concentrations in the fronds of Chinese brake fern were 3-704 mg kg-1, the BFs were 0.06-7.43 and the TFs were 0.17-3.98, while those in Cretan brake fern were 149-694 mg kg-1, 1.34-6.62 and 1.00-2.61, respectively. Our survey showed that both ferns were capable of arsenic accumulation under field conditions. With most of the arsenic being accumulated in the fronds, these ferns have potential for use in phytoremediation of arsenic contaminated soils.

Determination of radon emission rate with regard to energetic reconstruction of buildings; Bestimmung der Radonquellstaerke im Zusammenhang mit Massnahmen zur energetischen Sanierung von Gebaeuden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neugebauer, Thomas; Grund, A.L.; Hingmann, H.; Buermeyer, J.; Grimm, V.; Breckow, J. [Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen (THM), Giessen (Germany). Inst. fuer Medizinische Physik und Strahlenschutz (IMPS)

2015-07-01

In frame of a project funded by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) the influence of meteorological and room climate parameters and energetic reconstruction on the radon concentration inside buildings has been investigated. For this purpose parameters like temperature, air pressure, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration have been measured. The daily and seasonal variations of the radon concentration were influenced by the behaviour of the residents. A parameter less influenced by this behaviour is the radon emission rate. Complementary to the above mentioned project the method of determination of the radon emission rate has been developed in frame of a project funded by the Ministry of the Environment of Hesse (HMUKLV). With the improved method, it is possible to determine the radon emission rate on a continuous base. Therefore both, the radon concentration and the air exchange rate of a building have to be determined. For the verification of the method simulations and measurements have been performed. Additionally meteorological parameters have been recorded in order to evaluate possible influences on the radon emission rate.

Assessing reactor physics codes capabilities to simulate fast reactors on the example of the BN-600 benchmark

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ivanov, Vladimir [Scientific and Engineering Centre for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (SES NRS), Moscow (Russian Federation); Bousquet, Jeremy [Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS) gGmbH, Garching (Germany)

2016-11-15

This work aims to assess the capabilities of reactor physics codes (initially validated for thermal reactors) to simulate fast sodium cooled reactors. The BFS-62-3A critical experiment from the BN-600 Hybrid Core Benchmark Analyses was chosen for the investigation. Monte-Carlo codes (KENO from SCALE and SERPENT 2.1.23) and the deterministic diffusion code DYN3D-MG are applied to calculate the neutronic parameters. It was found that the multiplication factor and reactivity effects calculated by KENO and SERPENT using the ENDF/B-VII.0 continuous energy library are in a good agreement with each other and with the measured benchmark values. Few-groups macroscopic cross sections, required for DYN3D-MG, were prepared in applying different methods implemented in SCALE and SERPENT. The DYN3D-MG results of a simplified benchmark show reasonable agreement with results from Monte-Carlo calculations and measured values. The former results are used to justify DYN3D-MG implementation for sodium cooled fast reactors coupled deterministic analysis.

Occupational radiation exposure in Germany in 2006. Report of the radiation protection register

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frasch, G.; Fritzsche, E.; Kammerer, L.; Karofsky, R.; Spiesl, J.; Stegemann, R.

2008-06-01

In Germany, persons occupationally exposed to radiation are monitored by several official dosimetric services who transmit their records about individual radiation doses to the Radiation Protection Register of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). The number of dose recordings reported to the Radiation Protection Register has annually increased to more than three million records per year and thus accumulated to more than 34 million dose records at the end of 2006. The purpose of the Radiation Protection Register is to supervise the keeping of the dose limits by each radiation worker and to monitor the compliance with the radiation protection principle ''optimisation'' by performing detailed annual statistical analyses of the monitored persons and their radiation exposure. Amongst others, the annual report of the Radiation Protection Register provides information about status and development of occupational radiation exposure in Germany. In 2006, about 312,000 workers were monitored with dosimeters for occupational radiation exposure. About 18 % of the monitored persons received a measurable personal dose. The average annual dose of these exposed workers was 0.75 mSv. This value is the lowest average annual dose since dose monitoring for occupational worker was introduced. It remains below the dose limit of 1 mSv for the general public and amounts only 4 % of the annual dose limit of 20 mSv for radiation workers. Since 2003 aircraft crew personnel is subject to dose monitoring if it is employed in accordance with the German employment act and likely to receive an effective dose of at least 1 mSv per year from cosmic radiation during flight operation. This accounts for about 33.000 pilots and flight attendants. 45 airlines report the monthly accumulated dose values of their personnel via the Federal Office for Civil Aviation (''Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, LBA'') to the BfS. The collective dose of the aircraft crew personnel is 71 Person-Sv and thus

Occupational radiation exposure in Germany in 2012. Report of the radiation protection register; Die berufliche Strahlenexposition in Deutschland 2012. Bericht des Strahlenschutzregisters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frasch, Gerhard; Kammerer, Lothar; Karofsky, Ralf; Mordek, Else; Schlosser, Andrea; Spiesl, Josef

2014-04-15

In Germany, persons who are occupationally exposed to ionising radiation are monitored by several official dosimetry services that transmit the dose records about individual radiation monitoring to the Radiation Protection Register of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). The purpose of the Radiation Protection Register is to supervise the keeping of the dose limits and to monitor the compliance with the radiation protection principle ''Optimisation'' by performing detailed annual statistical analyses of the monitored persons and their radiation exposure. The annual report of the Radiation Protection Register provides information about status and development of occupational radiation exposure in Germany. In 2012, about 350,000 workers were monitored with dosemeters for occupational radiation exposure. The number increased continuously by totally 10 % into the past five years. 19 % of the monitored persons received measurable personal doses. The average annual dose of these exposed workers was 0.52 mSv corresponding to 2.6 % of the annual dose limit of 20 mSv for radiation workers. In total, 2 persons exceeded the annual dose limit of 20 mSv, i.e. less than one case per 100,000 monitored persons. The collective dose of the monitored persons decreased to 27.9 Person-Sv, the lowest value since the last fifty years of occupational dose monitoring. 45 airlines calculated the route doses of 40,000 aircraft crew members by using certified computer programmes for dose calculation and sent the accumulated monthly doses via the Federal Office for Civil Aviation (''Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, LBA'') to the BfS. The collective dose of the aircraft crew personnel is 78.5 person- Sv, and thus significantly higher than the total collective dose of the workers monitored with personal dosemeters. The annual average dose of aircraft crew personnel was 1.96 mSv and decreased compared to 2011 (2.12 mSv) due to solar cycle. In 2012, about

Chemical stabilization of cadmium in acidic soil using alkaline agronomic and industrial by-products.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Yao-Tsung; Hsi, Hsing-Cheng; Hseu, Zeng-Yei; Jheng, Shao-Liang

2013-01-01

In situ immobilization of heavy metals using reactive or stabilizing materials is a promising solution for soil remediation. Therefore, four agronomic and industrial by-products [wood biochar (WB), crushed oyster shell (OS), blast furnace slag (BFS), and fluidized-bed crystallized calcium (FBCC)] and CaCO3 were added to acidic soil (Cd = 8.71 mg kg(-1)) at the rates of 1%, 2%, and 4% and incubated for 90 d. Chinese cabbage (Brassica chinensis L.) was then planted in the soil to test the Cd uptake. The elevation in soil pH caused by adding the by-products produced a negative charge on the soil surface, which enhanced Cd adsorption. Consequently, the diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)-extractable Cd content decreased significantly (P soil. These results from the sequential extraction procedure indicated that Cd converted from the exchangeable fraction to the carbonate or Fe-Mn oxide fraction. The long-term effectiveness of Cd immobilization caused by applying the 4 by-products was much greater than that caused by applying CaCO3. Plant shoot biomass clearly increased because of the by-product soil amendment. Cd concentration in the shoots was soil.

The fifth research coordination meeting (RCM) on 'Updated codes and methods to reduce the calculational uncertainties of liquid metal fast reactors reactivity effects'. Working material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

The general objective of the CRP is to validate, verify and improve methodologies and computer codes used for the calculation of reactivity coefficients in fast reactors aiming at enhancing the utilization of plutonium and minor actinides. The objectives of the fifth RCM were: to review the progress achieved since the 4th RCM; to review and finalize the draft synthesis report on BN-600 MOX Fueled Core Benchmark Analysis (Phase 4); to compare the results of Phase 5 (BFS Benchmark Analysis); to agree on the work scope of Phase 6 (BN-Full MOX Minor Actinide Core Benchmark); to discuss the preparation of the final report. In this context, review and related discussions were made on the following items: summary review of Actions and results since the 4th RCM; finalization of the draft synthesis report on BN-600 full MOX-fueled core benchmark analysis (Phase 4); presentation of individual results for Phase 5 by Member States; preliminary inter-comparison analysis of the results for Phase 5; definition of the benchmark model and work scope to be performed for Phase 6; details of the work scope and future CRP timetable for preparing a final report

MultiAspect Graphs: Algebraic Representation and Algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klaus Wehmuth

2016-12-01

Full Text Available We present the algebraic representation and basic algorithms for MultiAspect Graphs (MAGs. A MAG is a structure capable of representing multilayer and time-varying networks, as well as higher-order networks, while also having the property of being isomorphic to a directed graph. In particular, we show that, as a consequence of the properties associated with the MAG structure, a MAG can be represented in matrix form. Moreover, we also show that any possible MAG function (algorithm can be obtained from this matrix-based representation. This is an important theoretical result since it paves the way for adapting well-known graph algorithms for application in MAGs. We present a set of basic MAG algorithms, constructed from well-known graph algorithms, such as degree computing, Breadth First Search (BFS, and Depth First Search (DFS. These algorithms adapted to the MAG context can be used as primitives for building other more sophisticated MAG algorithms. Therefore, such examples can be seen as guidelines on how to properly derive MAG algorithms from basic algorithms on directed graphs. We also make available Python implementations of all the algorithms presented in this paper.

Loads imposed on dual purpose casks in German on-site-storage facilities for long term intermediate storage of spent nuclear fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wetzel, N.; Rabe, O. [TUeV NORD EnSys Hannover GmbH und Co. KG, Hanover (Germany)

2004-07-01

In accordance with recent changes of the atomic energy act and in order to secure reliable removal of spent fuel from the nuclear power plants' fuel storage ponds the German utilities filed license applications for a total of 12 onsite- storage facilities for spent fuel assemblies. By the end of 2003 the last of these storage facilities were licensed and are currently under construction. The first on-site-storage facility of that line became operational in late 2002. There are several design lines of storage facilities with different handling procedures or possible accident conditions. Short term interim storage facilities for a few casks are characterized by individual concrete hoods shielding the casks in horizontal position whereas long term intermediate storage facilities currently erected for large numbers of casks typically feature a condensed pattern of casks stored in upright position and massive structures of reinforced concrete. TUeV Hannover/Sachsen-Anhalt e. V. (now TUeV NORD EnSys Hannover GmbH and Co. KG) has been contracted as a body of independent experts for the assessment of all related safety requirements on behalf of the national licensing authority, the federal office for radiation protection (BfS).

Bayes factor design analysis: Planning for compelling evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Schönbrodt, Felix D; Wagenmakers, Eric-Jan

2018-02-01

A sizeable literature exists on the use of frequentist power analysis in the null-hypothesis significance testing (NHST) paradigm to facilitate the design of informative experiments. In contrast, there is almost no literature that discusses the design of experiments when Bayes factors (BFs) are used as a measure of evidence. Here we explore Bayes Factor Design Analysis (BFDA) as a useful tool to design studies for maximum efficiency and informativeness. We elaborate on three possible BF designs, (a) a fixed-n design, (b) an open-ended Sequential Bayes Factor (SBF) design, where researchers can test after each participant and can stop data collection whenever there is strong evidence for either [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text], and (c) a modified SBF design that defines a maximal sample size where data collection is stopped regardless of the current state of evidence. We demonstrate how the properties of each design (i.e., expected strength of evidence, expected sample size, expected probability of misleading evidence, expected probability of weak evidence) can be evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations and equip researchers with the necessary information to compute their own Bayesian design analyses.

Crystallization characteristics of iron-rich glass ceramics prepared from nickel slag and blast furnace slag

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhong-Jie; Ni, Wen; Li, Ke-Qing; Huang, Xiao-Yan; Zhu, Li-Ping

2011-08-01

The crystallization process of iron-rich glass-ceramics prepared from the mixture of nickel slag (NS) and blast furnace slag (BFS) with a small amount of quartz sand was investigated. A modified melting method which was more energy-saving than the traditional methods was used to control the crystallization process. The results show that the iron-rich system has much lower melting temperature, glass transition temperature ( T g), and glass crystallization temperature ( T c), which can result in a further energy-saving process. The results also show that the system has a quick but controllable crystallization process with its peak crystallization temperature at 918°C. The crystallization of augite crystals begins from the edge of the sample and invades into the whole sample. The crystallization process can be completed in a few minutes. A distinct boundary between the crystallized part and the non-crystallized part exists during the process. In the non-crystallized part showing a black colour, some sphere-shaped augite crystals already exist in the glass matrix before samples are heated to T c. In the crystallized part showing a khaki colour, a compact structure is formed by augite crystals.

Changes in the 'medical research' licensing procedure under the German Radiation Protection Ordinance; Neuerungen im Genehmigungsverfahren 'Medizinische Forschung' gemaess Roentgen- und Strahlenschutzverordnung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Habeck, M.; Minkov, V.; Griebel, J.; Brix, G. [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (BfS), Oberschleissheim-Neuherberg (Germany). Fachbereich Strahlenschutz und Gesundheit; Epsch, R.; Langer, M. [Deutsche Roentgengesellschaft e.V. (DRG), Berlin (Germany). Klinische Studienkoordination

2012-06-15

This publication outlines the 'medical research' licensing procedure as specified in the amendment of the German Radiation Protection Ordinance of November 1, 2011. The general licensing requirements for the use of radiation have not been changed by the amendment. Three so-called use restrictions (i.e., dose limits of 10 mSv and 20 mSv, age limit of 50 years) have been modified. They will only apply to healthy volunteers in the future. In addition, there are considerable simplifications with respect to applications and licensing procedures of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, BfS) regarding the use of radiation in the newly introduced 'accompanying diagnostics' ('Begleitdiagnostik') case group. The newly established, independent panel of experts at the German Radiological Society (Deutsche Roentgengesellschaft, DRG) may provide essential support to principal investigators, qualified physicians and sponsors for differentiating between 'medical research' and 'health care', the latter not being subject to licensing. An expert statement will be issued by the DRG within four weeks of an inquiry. This consulting service is subject to confidentiality, and is free of charge for inquirers and without any commitment. (orig.)

Implementation and test of proposals to integrate human factors in reporting and causal analysis in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilpert; Maimer, H.; Miller, R.; Fahlbruch, B.; Leiber, I.; Szameitat, S.; Baggen, R.; Gans, A.; Becker, G.

1998-01-01

The research project 'Implementation and Test of Proposals to integrate Human Factors in Reporting and Causal Analysis in Nuclear Power Plants' ('Implementation and Test', SR 2039/8) is based on two antecedent projects: 'Reporting System' (SR 2039/1) and 'Causal Analysis' (SR 2039/2). The project 'Implementation and Test' conducted various tests and introductory programs in cooperation with different target groups concerning the event analysis methodology 'SOL - Safety through Organizational Learning': Regulators, consultant organizations, union/works councillors and utilities. Thus, SOL was concurrently optimized and [apted for the practice in the German nuclear power industry. SOL was also validated in a German nuclear power plant using a concrete event. Results of the 'Implementation and Test' project demonstrate that SOL is fit to conduct event analyses practicably and economically with appropriate comprehensiveness and depth. SOL facilitates the identification of relevant contributing factors of events. This report concludes with various concrete proposals for the further development of the Program of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Reactor Safety (BMU) and the Federal Agency of R[iation Protection (BfS) concerning 'The Contribution of Humans to Safety of Nuclear Power Plants'. (orig.) [de

High-Density Polyethylene and Heat-Treated Bamboo Fiber Composites: Nonisothermal Crystallization Properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanjun Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The effect of heat-treated bamboo fibers (BFs on nonisothermal crystallization of high-density polyethylene (HDPE was investigated using differential scanning calorimetry under nitrogen. The Avrami-Jeziorny model was used to fit the measured crystallization data of the HDPE/BF composites and to obtain the model parameters for the crystallization process. The heat flow curves of neat HDPE and HDPE/heat-treated BF composites showed similar trends. Their crystallization mostly occurred within a temperature range between 379 K and 399 K, where HDPE turned from the liquid phase into the crystalline phase. Values of the Avrami exponent (n were in the range of 2.8~3.38. Lamellae of neat HDPE and their composites grew in a three-dimensional manner, which increased with increased heat-treatment temperature and could be attributed to the improved ability of heterogeneous nucleation and crystallization completeness. The values of the modified kinetic rate constant (KJ first increased and then decreased with increased cooling rate because the supercooling was improved by the increased number of nucleating sites. Heat-treated BF and/or a coupling agent could act as a nucleator for the crystallization of HDPE.

The Prediction of the Gas Utilization Ratio based on TS Fuzzy Neural Network and Particle Swarm Optimization.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Sen; Jiang, Haihe; Yin, Yixin; Xiao, Wendong; Zhao, Baoyong

2018-02-20

Gas utilization ratio (GUR) is an important indicator that is used to evaluate the energy consumption of blast furnaces (BFs). Currently, the existing methods cannot predict the GUR accurately. In this paper, we present a novel data-driven model for predicting the GUR. The proposed approach utilized both the TS fuzzy neural network (TS-FNN) and the particle swarm algorithm (PSO) to predict the GUR. The particle swarm algorithm (PSO) is applied to optimize the parameters of the TS-FNN in order to decrease the error caused by the inaccurate initial parameter. This paper also applied the box graph (Box-plot) method to eliminate the abnormal value of the raw data during the data preprocessing. This method can deal with the data which does not obey the normal distribution which is caused by the complex industrial environments. The prediction results demonstrate that the optimization model based on PSO and the TS-FNN approach achieves higher prediction accuracy compared with the TS-FNN model and SVM model and the proposed approach can accurately predict the GUR of the blast furnace, providing an effective way for the on-line blast furnace distribution control.

Changes in the 'medical research' licensing procedure under the German Radiation Protection Ordinance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Habeck, M.; Minkov, V.; Griebel, J.; Brix, G.; Epsch, R.; Langer, M.

2012-01-01

This publication outlines the 'medical research' licensing procedure as specified in the amendment of the German Radiation Protection Ordinance of November 1, 2011. The general licensing requirements for the use of radiation have not been changed by the amendment. Three so-called use restrictions (i.e., dose limits of 10 mSv and 20 mSv, age limit of 50 years) have been modified. They will only apply to healthy volunteers in the future. In addition, there are considerable simplifications with respect to applications and licensing procedures of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, BfS) regarding the use of radiation in the newly introduced 'accompanying diagnostics' ('Begleitdiagnostik') case group. The newly established, independent panel of experts at the German Radiological Society (Deutsche Roentgengesellschaft, DRG) may provide essential support to principal investigators, qualified physicians and sponsors for differentiating between 'medical research' and 'health care', the latter not being subject to licensing. An expert statement will be issued by the DRG within four weeks of an inquiry. This consulting service is subject to confidentiality, and is free of charge for inquirers and without any commitment. (orig.)

Patterns of failure after iodine-125 seed implantation for prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamb, David S.; Greig, Lynne; Russell, Grant L.; Nacey, John N.; Broome, Kim; Studd, Rod; Delahunt, Brett; Iupati, Douglas; Jain, Mohua; Rooney, Colin; Murray, Judy; Lamb, Peter J.; Bethwaite, Peter B.

2014-01-01

Purpose: To determine the site of relapse when biochemical failure (BF) occurs after iodine-125 seed implantation for prostate cancer. Materials and methods: From 2001–2009, 500 men underwent implantation in Wellington, New Zealand. Men who sustained BF were placed on relapse guidelines that delayed restaging and intervention until the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was ⩾20 ng/mL. Results: Most implants (86%) had a prostate D90 of ⩾90%, and multivariate analysis showed that this parameter was not a variable that affected the risk of BF. Of 21 BFs that occurred, the site of failure was discovered to be local in one case and distant in nine cases. Restaging failed to identify the site of relapse in two cases. In nine cases the trigger for restaging had not been reached. Conclusions: If post-implant dosimetry is generally within the optimal range, distant rather than local failure appears to be the main cause of BF. Hormone treatment is therefore the most commonly indicated secondary treatment intervention (STI). Delaying the start of STI prevents the unnecessary treatment of men who undergo PSA ‘bounce’ and have PSA dynamics initially mimicking those of BF

Improved low-distortion sigma-delta ADC with DWA for WLAN standards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li Di; Yang Yintang; Zhu Zhangming; Shi Lichun; Wu Xiaofeng; Wang Jiangan, E-mail: lidi2004@126.co [School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi' an 710071 (China)

2010-02-15

An improved low distortion sigma-delta ADC (analog-to-digital converter) for wireless local area network standards is presented. A feed-forward MASH 2-2 multi-bit cascaded sigma-delta ADC is adopted; however, this work shows a much better performance than the ADCs which have been presented to date by adding a feedback factor in the second stage to improve the performance of the in-band SNDR (signal to noise and distortion ratio), using 4-bit ADCs in both stages to minimize the quantization noise. Data weighted averaging technology is therefore used to decrease the mismatch noise induced by the 4-bit DACs, which improves the SFDR (spurious free dynamic range) of the ADC. The modulator has been implemented by a 0.18 {mu}m CMOS process and operates at a single 1.8 V supply voltage. Experimental results show that for a 1.25 MHz - -6 dBFS input signal at 160 MHz sampling frequency, the improved ADC with all non-idealities considered achieves a peak SNDR of 80.9 dB and an SFDR of 87 dB, and the effective number of bits is 13.15 bits. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Chaotic Traversal (CHAT): Very Large Graphs Traversal Using Chaotic Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Changaival, Boonyarit; Rosalie, Martin; Danoy, Grégoire; Lavangnananda, Kittichai; Bouvry, Pascal

2017-12-01

Graph Traversal algorithms can find their applications in various fields such as routing problems, natural language processing or even database querying. The exploration can be considered as a first stepping stone into knowledge extraction from the graph which is now a popular topic. Classical solutions such as Breadth First Search (BFS) and Depth First Search (DFS) require huge amounts of memory for exploring very large graphs. In this research, we present a novel memoryless graph traversal algorithm, Chaotic Traversal (CHAT) which integrates chaotic dynamics to traverse large unknown graphs via the Lozi map and the Rössler system. To compare various dynamics effects on our algorithm, we present an original way to perform the exploration of a parameter space using a bifurcation diagram with respect to the topological structure of attractors. The resulting algorithm is an efficient and nonresource demanding algorithm, and is therefore very suitable for partial traversal of very large and/or unknown environment graphs. CHAT performance using Lozi map is proven superior than the, commonly known, Random Walk, in terms of number of nodes visited (coverage percentage) and computation time where the environment is unknown and memory usage is restricted.

HLA antigens and other genetic markers in the Mapuche Indians of Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

Haas, E J; Salzano, F M; Araujo, H A; Grossman, F; Barbetti, A; Weimer, T A; Franco, M H; Verruno, L; Nasif, O; Morales, V H

1985-01-01

A total of 107 Mapuche Indians living in western Argentina were studied with respect to 16 genetic systems. For HLA, there were a few differences in relation to previous studies; and considering the averages observed in 15 other South American tribes, Mapuche Indians showed low values for A2, A9 and C3, but high ones for A28 and B16. This is the first report of the presence (in low frequencies, 1-6%) of alleles C2, C6 and C7, as well as of DR antigens (most frequent alleles DR4 and DR2) in South American Indians. Some peculiar reactions shown by products of locus B suggest the presence of antigens that are characteristic of the Mapuche. As for the other systems, the frequencies of R1 (Rh) and PGM1(1) were lower but those for r (Rh), GLO1 and Hp1 were higher than the averages obtained considering previous studies of this ethnic group. Other salient findings were the variability observed in the PGM2 and C3 systems, and the low prevalence of Bfs.

Loads imposed on dual purpose casks in German on-site-storage facilities for long term intermediate storage of spent nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wetzel, N.; Rabe, O.

2004-01-01

In accordance with recent changes of the atomic energy act and in order to secure reliable removal of spent fuel from the nuclear power plants' fuel storage ponds the German utilities filed license applications for a total of 12 onsite- storage facilities for spent fuel assemblies. By the end of 2003 the last of these storage facilities were licensed and are currently under construction. The first on-site-storage facility of that line became operational in late 2002. There are several design lines of storage facilities with different handling procedures or possible accident conditions. Short term interim storage facilities for a few casks are characterized by individual concrete hoods shielding the casks in horizontal position whereas long term intermediate storage facilities currently erected for large numbers of casks typically feature a condensed pattern of casks stored in upright position and massive structures of reinforced concrete. TUeV Hannover/Sachsen-Anhalt e. V. (now TUeV NORD EnSys Hannover GmbH and Co. KG) has been contracted as a body of independent experts for the assessment of all related safety requirements on behalf of the national licensing authority, the federal office for radiation protection (BfS)

Removal of bulk contaminants from radioactive waste water at Bruce A using a clay based flocculent system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davloor, R.; Harper, B.

2011-01-01

Bruce Power's Bruce Nuclear Generating Station 'A', located on Lake Huron, has a treatment system that processes all aqueous radioactive waste water originating from the station. This Active Liquid Waste Treatment System (ALWTS) consists of collection tanks for the collection of radioactive waste water, a Pre-Treatment System (PTS) for the removal of bulk contaminants and suspended solids, a Reverse Osmosis System (ROS) to remove dissolved solids, an Evaporation and Solidification System (ESS) to concentrate and immobilize solids contained in concentrated waste streams from the ROS, and discharge tanks for the dispersal of the treated water. The ALWTS has been in continuous service since 1999 and is used to treat approximately 100,000 litres of Active Liquid Waste (ALW) each day. With the exception of tritium, it discharges waste water containing near zero concentrations of radioactive and conventional contaminants to the lake. The original design of the Bruce A ALWTS used a Backwashable Filtration System (BFS) to provide solids free water to the ROS, as measured by the Silt Density Index (SDI). During commissioning, the BFS was not successful in backwashing the solids from the filter elements. For approximately one year, a temporary solution was implemented using a Disposable Filtration System (DFS). A cationic polymer was added upstream of the DFS to agglomerate the solids. The system proved to be highly unreliable. It was difficult to agglomerate solids in the waste stream containing high amounts of detergent. As a result, DFS consumption was high and very costly. The SDI specification for the RO membrane was not always met, resulting in a quick decline of performance of the first stage ROS membranes in the treatment process. In addition, the excess cationic polymer in the RO feed caused the membranes to become fouled. In-house station staff, together with personnel from Colloid Environmental Technologies (CETCO) Company, worked to develop and

Removal of bulk contaminants from radioactive waste water at Bruce A using a clay based flocculent system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davloor, R.; Harper, B. [Bruce Power, Tiverton, ON (Canada)

2011-07-01

Bruce Power's Bruce Nuclear Generating Station 'A', located on Lake Huron, has a treatment system that processes all aqueous radioactive waste water originating from the station. This Active Liquid Waste Treatment System (ALWTS) consists of collection tanks for the collection of radioactive waste water, a Pre-Treatment System (PTS) for the removal of bulk contaminants and suspended solids, a Reverse Osmosis System (ROS) to remove dissolved solids, an Evaporation and Solidification System (ESS) to concentrate and immobilize solids contained in concentrated waste streams from the ROS, and discharge tanks for the dispersal of the treated water. The ALWTS has been in continuous service since 1999 and is used to treat approximately 100,000 litres of Active Liquid Waste (ALW) each day. With the exception of tritium, it discharges waste water containing near zero concentrations of radioactive and conventional contaminants to the lake. The original design of the Bruce A ALWTS used a Backwashable Filtration System (BFS) to provide solids free water to the ROS, as measured by the Silt Density Index (SDI). During commissioning, the BFS was not successful in backwashing the solids from the filter elements. For approximately one year, a temporary solution was implemented using a Disposable Filtration System (DFS). A cationic polymer was added upstream of the DFS to agglomerate the solids. The system proved to be highly unreliable. It was difficult to agglomerate solids in the waste stream containing high amounts of detergent. As a result, DFS consumption was high and very costly. The SDI specification for the RO membrane was not always met, resulting in a quick decline of performance of the first stage ROS membranes in the treatment process. In addition, the excess cationic polymer in the RO feed caused the membranes to become fouled. In-house station staff, together with personnel from Colloid Environmental Technologies (CETCO) Company, worked to develop and

Speeches on the inauguration of the BfS Vice-President, the Manager of the Radiation Hygiene Section and the Manager of the Nuclear Safety Section

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-08-01

The speeches by the Federal Minister for the Environment and the gentlemen in charge of the Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz provide information on the perceived tasks of the Bundesamt: the principles of radiation protection, implementation of the new ICRP recommendations, the formation of the radiation protection register, cooperation on the amendment of the nuclear law with regard to disposal - terminal storage area Konrad, terminal storage project Gorleben, terminal storage area Moosleben. (HSCH) [de

Official dosimetry with individual electronic dosemeters - the concept in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Czarwinski, R.; Kaulard, J.; Pfeffer, W.

2005-01-01

Full text: Presently, in Germany passive dosemeters (film batches, RPL, TLD) are used for the official individual monitoring of occupational exposed personal. The application of electronic individual dosemeters (EPD) is carried out mainly for the operative radiation protection control particularly in nuclear power engineering companies, big hospitals und research centres. This means in such institutions double monitoring exists - legally and operatively. A crucial advantage of EPD compared to passive dosemeter is the possibility to adapt the monitoring period to the working time in the control area, e.g. a job related monitoring is available. Germany started a project for an optimized implementation of EPD into the official dosimetry. Objective of the project whose results will be described in the paper is the harmonization of radiation protection of companies workers and outside workers concerning the record of individual and job related exposures. The approval of the EPD by the Federal and Laender authorities as an official dosimetric system demands the implementation of special requirements concerning the data acquisition, data transfer and data evaluation. These issues are focuses of the Federal research project, supervised by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) and performed by the Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS), Cologne to develop a concept in the first stage. (author)

Transit and absorption of nuclear industry derivatives by marine biota

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayr, L.; Moraes, R.; Lopes, M.A.; Vicente, C.; Mauro, J.N.

1988-01-01

A broard research program on radionuclides became necessary due to the construction of the Nuclear Power Plant at Angra dos Reis. As part of this program the research developped by the Marine Biology Departament, UFRJ, aimed at estimating the radiation doses to wich the population of the region might be exposed and to determine biological indicators to radioactive contamination. Up to the present moment, the bioacumulation factors (BFs) of 60 Co, 137 Cs and 131 I by ''clam'' (Anomalocardia brasiliana) and the biological half-life of cobalt and cesium in this animal were determined, as well as the B.F. of 85 Sr by ''snail'' (Strombus pugilis) and by ''barnacle'' (Megabalanus tintinnabulum). The remobilization of 60 Co by microbiological activity in marine sediment was also studied. These studies were made using the standard methodology for bioaccumulation and elimination in closed water systems. The results showed an important microbiological activity in the remobilization of elements in the sediment. Due to the low bioaccumulation factors obtained the studied organisms were not considered ideal biological indicators for radioactive pollution. However, their importance as edible animals in the Angra dos Reis region recommends their radiometry for routine radiological monitoring. Studies on other organisms and/or radionuclides are now in progress at the Marine Biology Departament (UFRJ). (author) [pt

Evolution of pH in a radwaste repository: leaching of modified cements and reactions with groundwater

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atkinson, A.; Guppy, R.M.

1988-01-01

Cementitious materials in radioactive waste repositories establish high pH which brings many benefits. The pH will change with time as the chemical constituents responsible for it are leached away. This has been simulated in the laboratory for a Sulphate Resisting Portland Cement (SRPC), a slag-modified cement composed of 90% Blast Furnace Slag (BFS) and 10% Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and an ash-modified cement containing 90% Pulverized Fuel Ash (PFA) and 10% OPC. They have been leached in demineralised water and a synthetic groundwater typical of a clay environment. Leachate analyses for a variety of elements showed that the leachate was not usually in equilibrium with any of the solid phases. Nevertheless the experimental evolution of pH was not too different from that predicted by assuming equilibrium and the predictions offer a means of estimating a lower bound for pH as it evolves in a real repository. The experiments with synthetic groundwater showed that the dominant effect influencing pH was precipitation of CaCO 3 from bicarbonates in the groundwater resulting in a reduction in both pH and buffer capacity. The ash-modified cement has particularly poor pH-buffering performance which is exacerbated in the groundwater. (author)

Preliminary formulation studies for a ''hydroceramic'' alternative waste form for INEEL HLW

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siemer, D.D.; Gougar, M.L.D.; Grutzeck, M.W.; Scheetz, B.E.

1999-01-01

Herein the authors discuss scoping studies performed to develop an efficient way to prepare the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) nominally high-level (∼40 W/m 3 ) calcined radioactive waste (HLW) and liquid metal (sodium) reactor coolants for disposal. The investigated approach implements the chemistry of Hanford's cancrinite-making clay reaction process via Oak Ridge National Laboratory's (ORNL's) formed-under-elevated-temperatures-and-pressures concrete monolith-making technology to make hydroceramics (HCs). The HCs differ from conventional Portland cement/blast furnace slag (PC/BFS) grouts in that the binder minerals formed during the curing process are hydrated alkali-aluminosilicates (feldspathoids-sodalites, cancrinites, and zeolites) rather than hydrated calcium silicates (CSH). This is desirable because (a) US defense-type radioactive wastes generally contain much more sodium and aluminum than calcium; (b) sodalites/cancrinites do a much better job of retaining the anionic components of real radioactive waste (e.g., nitrate) than do calcium silicates; (c) natural feldspathoids form from glasses (and therefore are more stable) in that region of the United States where a repository for this sort of waste could be sited; and (d) if eventually deemed necessary, feldspathoid-type concrete wasteforms could be hot-isostatically-pressed into even more durable materials without removing them from their original canisters

Operationalisation of the model 'risk-sovereignty' in the field of radiation protection. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Renn, Ortwin; Ruddat, Michael; Sautter, Alexander

2007-01-01

The central aim of the BfS research project titled ''operationalization of the 'risk sovereignty model' with special consideration to lifestyle and value approaches as a basis for risk communication in the field of radiation protection'' was the identification of suitable measures to enhance the degree of risk sovereignty of the German population with regard to radiation risks (mobile telephony, nuclear power, ultraviolet radiation and X-rays). This requires the development of a measuring instrument for capturing the prevailing degree of risk sovereignty in the whole population or in certain subgroups with regard to radiation risks empirically. In the first two phases of the project suitable instruments for the construct ''risk sovereignty'' have been developed. Furthermore a value-typology for the identification of different groups of persons as well as independent variables likely to have an influence on 'risk sovereignty' (information behavior, communication or participation intention) were included in the study. The empirical research is divided into a quantitative and a qualitative inquiry. Based on the empirical studies, a guidance document to improve the cognitive capability of people to build up risk sovereignty, in particular in relation to radiation was developed. For the three types of respondents, different strategies were recommended taking into account their needs and information seeking behavior

Breadth-First Search-Based Single-Phase Algorithms for Bridge Detection in Wireless Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Akram, Vahid Khalilpour; Dagdeviren, Orhan

2013-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are promising technologies for exploring harsh environments, such as oceans, wild forests, volcanic regions and outer space. Since sensor nodes may have limited transmission range, application packets may be transmitted by multi-hop communication. Thus, connectivity is a very important issue. A bridge is a critical edge whose removal breaks the connectivity of the network. Hence, it is crucial to detect bridges and take preventions. Since sensor nodes are battery-powered, services running on nodes should consume low energy. In this paper, we propose energy-efficient and distributed bridge detection algorithms for WSNs. Our algorithms run single phase and they are integrated with the Breadth-First Search (BFS) algorithm, which is a popular routing algorithm. Our first algorithm is an extended version of Milic's algorithm, which is designed to reduce the message length. Our second algorithm is novel and uses ancestral knowledge to detect bridges. We explain the operation of the algorithms, analyze their proof of correctness, message, time, space and computational complexities. To evaluate practical importance, we provide testbed experiments and extensive simulations. We show that our proposed algorithms provide less resource consumption, and the energy savings of our algorithms are up by 5.5-times. PMID:23845930

A meshless scheme for incompressible fluid flow using a velocity-pressure correction method

KAUST Repository

Bourantas, Georgios

2013-12-01

A meshless point collocation method is proposed for the numerical solution of the steady state, incompressible Navier-Stokes (NS) equations in their primitive u-v-p formulation. The flow equations are solved in their strong form using either a collocated or a semi-staggered "grid" configuration. The developed numerical scheme approximates the unknown field functions using the Moving Least Squares approximation. A velocity, along with a pressure correction scheme is applied in the context of the meshless point collocation method. The proposed meshless point collocation (MPC) scheme has the following characteristics: (i) it is a truly meshless method, (ii) there is no need for pressure boundary conditions since no pressure constitutive equation is solved, (iii) it incorporates simplicity and accuracy, (iv) results can be obtained using collocated or semi-staggered "grids", (v) there is no need for the usage of a curvilinear system of coordinates and (vi) it can solve steady and unsteady flows. The lid-driven cavity flow problem, for Reynolds numbers up to 5000, has been considered, by using both staggered and collocated grid configurations. Following, the Backward-Facing Step (BFS) flow problem was considered for Reynolds numbers up to 800 using a staggered grid. As a final example, the case of a laminar flow in a two-dimensional tube with an obstacle was examined. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

A Novel Online Sequential Extreme Learning Machine for Gas Utilization Ratio Prediction in Blast Furnaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanjiao Li

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Gas utilization ratio (GUR is an important indicator used to measure the operating status and energy consumption of blast furnaces (BFs. In this paper, we present a soft-sensor approach, i.e., a novel online sequential extreme learning machine (OS-ELM named DU-OS-ELM, to establish a data-driven model for GUR prediction. In DU-OS-ELM, firstly, the old collected data are discarded gradually and the newly acquired data are given more attention through a novel dynamic forgetting factor (DFF, depending on the estimation errors to enhance the dynamic tracking ability. Furthermore, we develop an updated selection strategy (USS to judge whether the model needs to be updated with the newly coming data, so that the proposed approach is more in line with the actual production situation. Then, the convergence analysis of the proposed DU-OS-ELM is presented to ensure the estimation of output weight converge to the true value with the new data arriving. Meanwhile, the proposed DU-OS-ELM is applied to build a soft-sensor model to predict GUR. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed DU-OS-ELM obtains better generalization performance and higher prediction accuracy compared with a number of existing related approaches using the real production data from a BF and the created GUR prediction model can provide an effective guidance for further optimization operation.

A Novel Online Sequential Extreme Learning Machine for Gas Utilization Ratio Prediction in Blast Furnaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yanjiao; Zhang, Sen; Yin, Yixin; Xiao, Wendong; Zhang, Jie

2017-08-10

Gas utilization ratio (GUR) is an important indicator used to measure the operating status and energy consumption of blast furnaces (BFs). In this paper, we present a soft-sensor approach, i.e., a novel online sequential extreme learning machine (OS-ELM) named DU-OS-ELM, to establish a data-driven model for GUR prediction. In DU-OS-ELM, firstly, the old collected data are discarded gradually and the newly acquired data are given more attention through a novel dynamic forgetting factor (DFF), depending on the estimation errors to enhance the dynamic tracking ability. Furthermore, we develop an updated selection strategy (USS) to judge whether the model needs to be updated with the newly coming data, so that the proposed approach is more in line with the actual production situation. Then, the convergence analysis of the proposed DU-OS-ELM is presented to ensure the estimation of output weight converge to the true value with the new data arriving. Meanwhile, the proposed DU-OS-ELM is applied to build a soft-sensor model to predict GUR. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed DU-OS-ELM obtains better generalization performance and higher prediction accuracy compared with a number of existing related approaches using the real production data from a BF and the created GUR prediction model can provide an effective guidance for further optimization operation.

Alkali activated slag mortars provide high resistance to chloride-induced corrosion of steel

Science.gov (United States)

Criado, Maria; Provis, John L.

2018-06-01

The pore solutions of alkali-activated slag cements and Portland-based cements are very different in terms of their chemical and redox characteristics, particularly due to the high alkalinity and high sulfide content of alkali-activated slag cement. Therefore, differences in corrosion mechanisms of steel elements embedded in these cements could be expected, with important implications for the durability of reinforced concrete elements. This study assesses the corrosion behaviour of steel embedded in alkali-activated blast furnace slag (BFS) mortars exposed to alkaline solution, alkaline chloride-rich solution, water, and standard laboratory conditions, using electrochemical techniques. White Portland cement (WPC) mortars and blended cement mortars (white Portland cement and blast furnace slag) were also tested for comparative purposes. The steel elements embedded in immersed alkali-activated slag mortars presented very negative redox potentials and high apparent corrosion current values; the presence of sulfide reduced the redox potential, and the oxidation of the reduced sulfur-containing species within the cement itself gave an electrochemical signal that classical electrochemical tests for reinforced concrete durability would interpret as being due to steel corrosion processes. However, the actual observed resistance to chloride-induced corrosion was very high, as measured by extraction and characterisation of the steel at the end of a 9-month exposure period, whereas the steel embedded in white Portland cement mortars was significantly damaged under the same conditions.

Graph embedding with rich information through heterogeneous graph

KAUST Repository

Sun, Guolei

2017-11-12

Graph embedding, aiming to learn low-dimensional representations for nodes in graphs, has attracted increasing attention due to its critical application including node classification, link prediction and clustering in social network analysis. Most existing algorithms for graph embedding only rely on the topology information and fail to use the copious information in nodes as well as edges. As a result, their performance for many tasks may not be satisfactory. In this thesis, we proposed a novel and general framework for graph embedding with rich text information (GERI) through constructing a heterogeneous network, in which we integrate node and edge content information with graph topology. Specially, we designed a novel biased random walk to explore the constructed heterogeneous network with the notion of flexible neighborhood. Our sampling strategy can compromise between BFS and DFS local search on heterogeneous graph. To further improve our algorithm, we proposed semi-supervised GERI (SGERI), which learns graph embedding in an discriminative manner through heterogeneous network with label information. The efficacy of our method is demonstrated by extensive comparison experiments with 9 baselines over multi-label and multi-class classification on various datasets including Citeseer, Cora, DBLP and Wiki. It shows that GERI improves the Micro-F1 and Macro-F1 of node classification up to 10%, and SGERI improves GERI by 5% in Wiki.

The effect of TiO2 concentration on properties of apatite-mullite glass-ceramics for dental use.

Science.gov (United States)

Fathi, Hawa M; Johnson, Anthony

2016-02-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of TiO2 concentration on the properties of apatite-mullite glass-ceramics namely strength and the chemical solubility to comply with the ISO standard recommendations for dental ceramics (BS EN ISO 6872-2008). Ten novel glass-ceramic materials were produced based on the general formula (4.5SiO2-3Al2O3-1.5P2O5-3CaO-CaF2-xTiO2) where x varied from 0.5 to 5 wt%. Glass with no TiO2 added (HG1T0.0) was used as a reference. Discs of 12 mm diameter and 1.6 mm (±0.2 mm) thickness were prepared for both biaxial flexural strength (BFS) and chemical solubility testing, in accordance with the BS EN ISO 6872-2008 for dental ceramics. All produced materials were investigated using differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS) was also carried out on some samples to identify the element composition of samples. Increasing the concentration of TiO2 from 0.5 wt% to 2 wt% significantly (Pceramic only up to 2.5 wt% concentration. Copyright © 2015 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Magnesium alloys and graphite wastes encapsulated in cementitious materials: Reduction of galvanic corrosion using alkali hydroxide activated blast furnace slag

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chartier, D., E-mail: david.chartier@cea.fr [Commissariat à l' Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, CEA, DEN, DTCD, SPDE, F-30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze (France); Muzeau, B. [DEN-Service d’Etude du Comportement des Radionucléides (SECR), CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91191, Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Stefan, L. [AREVA NC/D& S - France/Technical Department, 1 place Jean Millier 92084 Paris La Défense (France); Sanchez-Canet, J. [Commissariat à l' Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, CEA, DEN, DTCD, SPDE, F-30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze (France); Monguillon, C. [DEN-Service d’Etude du Comportement des Radionucléides (SECR), CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91191, Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

2017-03-15

Highlights: • Embedded in cement, magnesium is corroded by residual water present in porosity of the matrix. • Corrosion is enhanced by galvanic phenomenon when magnesium is in contact with graphite. • Galvanic corrosion of magnesium in contact with graphite debris is shown to be severe with ordinary Portland cement. • Galvanic corrosion is significantly lowered in high alkali medium such as sodium hydroxide. • Sodium hydroxide activated blast furnace slag is a convenient binder to embed magnesium. - Abstract: Magnesium alloys and graphite from spent nuclear fuel have been stored together in La Hague plant. The packaging of these wastes is under consideration. These wastes could be mixed in a grout composed of industrially available cement (Portland, calcium aluminate…). Within the alkaline pore solution of these matrixes, magnesium alloys are imperfectly protected by a layer of Brucite resulting in a slow corrosion releasing hydrogen. As the production of this gas must be considered for the storage safety, and the quality of wasteform, it is important to select a cement matrix capable of lowering the corrosion kinetics. Many types of calcium based cements have been tested and most of them have caused strong hydrogen production when magnesium alloys and graphite are conditioned together because of galvanic corrosion. Exceptions are binders based on alkali hydroxide activated ground granulated blast furnace slag (BFS) which are presented in this article.

Atomic Energy Act (AtG) and subordinate legislation. 19. ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ziegler, E.

1995-01-01

This 19th edition covers the amendments added since the 17th edition ( March 1994 ) referring to the following: (1) AtG sections 7 and 9a (Artikelgesetz, as of 19.7. 1994, published in BGBl I, p. 1618 ff); (2) incorporation of the legal requirements governing the environmental impact statement (EIS) in compliance with the EIS Act (UVPG) into the Nuclear Installations Ordinance (BGBl I, p. 181 ff); (3) amendment of the Radiation Protection Ordinance (StrlSchV) in sections 6, 22, 31, 42, 87, sub-sec. 2, due to the new act on medical products, in section 41 due to the amended act on health care facilities and services, and in section 87, sub-sec. 1 due to section 7 of the 31st penal reform law - 2nd law to combat environmental crime; (4) amendment of the Preventive Radiation Protection Act in section 11, extension of competence of the BfS (Federal Rad. Prot. Office); (5) amendment of the Penal Code, environmental crime committed by release of ionizing radiation, or faulty construction of a nuclear installation; (6) update of provisions concerning competences of the federal states in implementation of nuclear laws. In the 19th edition of the commentary, the numbering of the various acts and ordinances, and the relevant page numbering have been completely revised. (HP) [de

Magnesium alloys and graphite wastes encapsulated in cementitious materials: Reduction of galvanic corrosion using alkali hydroxide activated blast furnace slag

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chartier, D.; Muzeau, B.; Stefan, L.; Sanchez-Canet, J.; Monguillon, C.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Embedded in cement, magnesium is corroded by residual water present in porosity of the matrix. • Corrosion is enhanced by galvanic phenomenon when magnesium is in contact with graphite. • Galvanic corrosion of magnesium in contact with graphite debris is shown to be severe with ordinary Portland cement. • Galvanic corrosion is significantly lowered in high alkali medium such as sodium hydroxide. • Sodium hydroxide activated blast furnace slag is a convenient binder to embed magnesium. - Abstract: Magnesium alloys and graphite from spent nuclear fuel have been stored together in La Hague plant. The packaging of these wastes is under consideration. These wastes could be mixed in a grout composed of industrially available cement (Portland, calcium aluminate…). Within the alkaline pore solution of these matrixes, magnesium alloys are imperfectly protected by a layer of Brucite resulting in a slow corrosion releasing hydrogen. As the production of this gas must be considered for the storage safety, and the quality of wasteform, it is important to select a cement matrix capable of lowering the corrosion kinetics. Many types of calcium based cements have been tested and most of them have caused strong hydrogen production when magnesium alloys and graphite are conditioned together because of galvanic corrosion. Exceptions are binders based on alkali hydroxide activated ground granulated blast furnace slag (BFS) which are presented in this article.

EVALUACIÓN DE UN RECUBRIMIENTO FORMULADO CON BASE EN PINTURA INDUSTRIAL Y EXTRACTO DE Aloe saponaria EXPUESTO A LA ATMÓSFERA MARINA I EVALUATION OF A COATING MADE FROM INDUSTRIAL PAINT BASE AND EXTRACT OF Aloe saponaria EXPOSED TO MARINE ATMOSPHERE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asyuri del Valle Roquez Ramos

2018-04-01

Full Text Available A base of industrial paint mixed with extract of plants of the genus Aloe was evaluated as a possible corrosion inhibiting coating. A phosphate buffered saline solution (BFS was used to prepare the aqueous extract of Aloe saponaria and mixtures were prepared based industrial paint and the aqueous extract at different ratios (80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50. Plates of AA3003 aluminum alloy were coated and exposed to the marine atmosphere using the Sucre Atmospheric Corrosion Station I, located in the zone of Turpialito in the south of Gulf of Cariaco, Sucre State. To characterize the industrial paint base, extract and mixtures (base:extract, the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR was used, while the evaluation of the coatings was carried out once a month by visual inspection, photographic record and optical microscopy. The results of FT-IR identified functional groups of esters and hydrocarbons in all mixtures (base:extract, which are also present both in painting and in extract. Coatings formulated with the base paint and Aloe saponaria extract exhibited better performance against the marine atmosphere compared to coating with paint alone, the latter having blistering degradation. This behavior suggests that the aqueous extract may be acting as a stabilizer in coatings (base paint:extract against aggressive media and showed no blistering and maintained their consistency during the duration of the experiment.

Product Control of Waste Products with New Coating Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krumbach, H.; Steinmetz, H.J.; Odoj, R.; Wartenberg, W.; Grunau, H.

2009-01-01

In Germany, with the shaft KONRAD a repository for low radioactive waste will be available at the earliest in the year 2013. The previously conditioned radioactive waste has to be suitable for a longer-term interim storage. They have to be treated in a way that they are chemically stable and that their integrity is guaranteed for a long time. That is why the waste product or the container is covered/ coated for special waste such as hygroscopic waste or waste that includes aluminium. The Product Control Group for radioactive waste (PKS) has to proof the suitability of the so-treated waste for the repository KONRAD on behalf of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). This has to be done before the delivering. In this context the PKS also assesses the suitability of new coating materials for low radioactive waste products or containers and their correct technical application. The characteristics and the technical application of polyurethane coatings as well as the control of the so-coated waste for the disposal in the shaft KONRAD are described in this poster. The Poster shows the development stages of the coating and the filling. There are also shown the boundary conditions and the investigations of the Product Control Group for the use of the new coating material for radioactive waste. (authors)

Review of disposal techniques for radioactively contaminated organic ion-exchange resins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inman, J.R.; Mack, J.

1993-03-01

Organic ion-exchange resins are used in the UK nuclear industry to remove radioactive nuclides from dilute aqueous solution. Resins represent a significant proportion of the organic content of ILW and LLW, particularly ILW. Spent resins are destined to be disposed of in the UK deep repository. There are concerns regarding the potential effects of organic materials on long-term repository performance, and these effects have been the subject of much recent research work. The object of this study has been to conduct a worldwide review of treatment and conditioning techniques available for spent organic ion-exchange resins with the intention of recommending the best option for dealing with the waste in the UK. Data on available techniques have been gathered together, and are presented in tabular form at the back of the report. The techniques have been reviewed and compared considering safety, practicality and cost, and a best option selected on the basis of current knowledge. On balance it would appear that wet oxidation using hydrogen peroxide with residue encapsulation in BFS/OPC is the most appropriate technique, probably implemented using a mobile plant. This conclusion and recommendation is not however clear cut and further advice regarding the acceptability of organic material in the repository is necessary before a definite recommendation can be made. (Author)

More Accurate Oral Cancer Screening with Fewer Salivary Biomarkers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James Michael Menke

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Signal detection and Bayesian inferential tools were applied to salivary biomarkers to improve screening accuracy and efficiency in detecting oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC. Potential cancer biomarkers are identified by significant differences in assay concentrations, receiver operating characteristic areas under the curve (AUCs, sensitivity, and specificity. However, the end goal is to report to individual patients their risk of having disease given positive or negative test results. Likelihood ratios (LRs and Bayes factors (BFs estimate evidential support and compile biomarker information to optimize screening accuracy. In total, 26 of 77 biomarkers were mentioned as having been tested at least twice in 137 studies and published in 16 summary papers through 2014. Studies represented 10 212 OSCC and 25 645 healthy patients. The measure of biomarker and panel information value was number of biomarkers needed to approximate 100% positive predictive value (PPV. As few as 5 biomarkers could achieve nearly 100% PPV for a disease prevalence of 0.2% when biomarkers were ordered from highest to lowest LR. When sequentially interpreting biomarker tests, high specificity was more important than test sensitivity in achieving rapid convergence toward a high PPV. Biomarkers ranked from highest to lowest LR were more informative and easier to interpret than AUC or Youden index. The proposed method should be applied to more recently published biomarker data to test its screening value.

Non-destructive analysis of chlorine in fly ash cement concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naqvi, A.A.; Garwan, M.A.; Nagadi, M.M.; Maslehuddin, M.; Al-Amoudi, O.S.B.; Khateeb-ur-Rehman

2009-01-01

Preventive measures against reinforcement corrosion in concrete require increasing concrete density to prevent the diffusion of chloride ions to the steel surface. Pozzolanic materials, such as fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF), and blast furnace slag (BFS) are added to concrete to increase its density. Monitoring the chloride concentration in concrete is required to assess the chances of reinforcement corrosion. In this study, FA was added to Portland cement concrete to increase its density. Prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) technique was utilized to analyze the concentration of chlorine in concrete. The chlorine concentration in the FA cement concrete was evaluated by determining the yield of 1.16, 1.95, 6.11, 6.62, 7.41, 7.79, and 8.58 MeV gamma-rays of chlorine from the FA concrete specimen containing 0.4-3.5 wt% chlorine. An excellent agreement was noted between the experimental yield of the prompt gamma-rays and the calculated yield obtained through the Monte Carlo simulations. The Minimum Detectable Concentration (MDC) of chlorine in FA cement concrete was also calculated. The best value of MDC limit of chlorine in the FA cement concrete was found to be 0.022±0.007 and 0.038±0.017 wt% for 1.16 and 6.11 MeV prompt gamma-rays, respectively. Within the statistical uncertainty, the lower bound of MDC meets the maximum permissible limit of 0.03 wt% of chlorine in concrete set by American Concrete Institute Committee 318.

Leukaemia risks and exposure to ionizing radiations. ASN seminar, Tuesday, June 9, 2015, report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niel, Jean-Christophe; Samain, Jean-Paul; Colonna, Marc; Maynadie, Marc; Richardson, David; Bey, Pierre; Leuraud, Klervi; Laurier, Dominique; Hemon, Denis; Spycher, Ben; Kosti, Ourania; Bouville, Andre; Grosche, Bernd; Ziegelberger, Gunde; Kesminiene, Ausrele; Clavel, Jacqueline; Smeesters, Patrick; Murith, Christophe

2015-08-01

This seminar aims at proposing a review of present knowledge on leukaemia risks for children and adults associated with ionizing radiations, and at sharing knowledge between experts. After an introduction which outlined the interest of the ASN in research issues, and the importance awarded by the ASN to the variety of points of view, a first session addressed leukaemia and exposures to ionizing radiations. The contributions addressed some general aspects (an overview of leukaemia in France, the different types of adult and child leukaemia), leukaemia and acute exposures to ionizing radiations (ionizing radiation and leukaemia among Japanese bomb survivors, risks of leukaemia after radiotherapy), leukaemia and chronic exposures to ionizing radiations (assessment of epidemiological studies for adult chronic exposures). The second session addressed childhood leukaemia and ionizing radiations. The contributions of this second session more particularly addressed the following topics: childhood leukaemia and natural radioactivity (French studies, synthesis of international studies and a new Swiss study), childhood leukaemia and proximity of nuclear base installations (assessment of national and international studies, analysis of cancer risks in populations near nuclear facilities in the US, calculation of dose at the medulla as example of dosimetry of ionizing radiations and leukaemia, conclusions of the 2012 MELODI workshop), childhood leukaemia and scanner (recent results and perspectives), childhood leukaemia and other risk factors (etiology of childhood leukaemia - presentation of French studies initiated by the INSERM, and presentation of studies initiated by BfS)

Measurement of Kr-85 and Xe-133 as undisturbed tracers for the representing of atmospheric transport after disposal of radioactivity from nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frank, G.; Steinkopff, T.; Salvamoser, J.

2016-01-01

The Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD, German Meteorological Service) operates since 1996 a sampling and measurement device for the radioactive rare gases Kr-85 and Xe-133 in Offenbach. These measurements are embedded in the German Measurement and Information System for Monitoring Environmental Radioactivity (Integriertes Mess- und Informationssystem zur Ueberwachung der Radioaktivitaet in der Umwelt, IMIS) [1]. In addition to these measurements the DWD is sampling rare gases in Potsdam and since 2014 in Trier in cooperation with the Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (Federal Office for Radiation Protection, BfS). In the frame of the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW)-program of the WMO the DWD operated a sampling station at the Zugspitze (Schneefernerhaus) from 1999 to 2005. This location at the Zugspitze is well suited for the observation of long distance transport of Kr-85 in the higher atmosphere. The DWD in Offenbach operates a complex analytical system for the measurement of Kr-85 and Xe-133 since 1998. This system consists of sampling with first enrichment, second enrichment, gas chromatographic separation and preparation of Krypton and Xenon and measurement of Kr-85 and Xe-133. Using the example Fukushima, it is shown, that the radioactive rare gases Kr-85 and Xe-133 are well undisturbed tracers for atmospheric transport in case of a nuclear accident or routine nuclear reprocessing plants. Measurements of Xe-133, I-131, Cs-137 and Kr-85 are correlated with source and atmospheric transport to the sampling sites at Offenbach and Potsdam.

Integrated systems approach identifies risk regulatory pathways and key regulators in coronary artery disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yan; Liu, Dianming; Wang, Lihong; Wang, Shuyuan; Yu, Xuexin; Dai, Enyu; Liu, Xinyi; Luo, Shanshun; Jiang, Wei

2015-12-01

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease. However, the molecular mechanisms of CAD remain elusive. Regulatory pathways are known to play crucial roles in many pathogenic processes. Thus, inferring risk regulatory pathways is an important step toward elucidating the mechanisms underlying CAD. With advances in high-throughput data, we developed an integrated systems approach to identify CAD risk regulatory pathways and key regulators. Firstly, a CAD-related core subnetwork was identified from a curated transcription factor (TF) and microRNA (miRNA) regulatory network based on a random walk algorithm. Secondly, candidate risk regulatory pathways were extracted from the subnetwork by applying a breadth-first search (BFS) algorithm. Then, risk regulatory pathways were prioritized based on multiple CAD-associated data sources. Finally, we also proposed a new measure to prioritize upstream regulators. We inferred that phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) may be a key regulator in the dysregulation of risk regulatory pathways. This study takes a closer step than the identification of disease subnetworks or modules. From the risk regulatory pathways, we could understand the flow of regulatory information in the initiation and progression of the disease. Our approach helps to uncover its potential etiology. We developed an integrated systems approach to identify risk regulatory pathways. We proposed a new measure to prioritize the key regulators in CAD. PTEN may be a key regulator in dysregulation of the risk regulatory pathways.

Rheological study of self-compacting mortars based on ternary cements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elhadja Dada

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Self-compacting concrete (SCC is able to provide the ability to be easily implemented without vibration and to achieve spectacular structures, by its high fluidity and its rheological stability. By against its formulation requires a large volume of cement, which is necessary to allow its flow. The current environmental considerations lead to reduce the production of clinker however, it is essential to use cementitious additions to replace cement, because of their high availability and their moderate price. Furthermore, their use contributes in a simple and economical way to solve the problems related to the environment. The objective of our work is to study the effects of the incorporation of mineral additions such as: blast furnace slag of El-Hadjar (BFS, and marble powder (MP on the rheological parameters of selfcompacting mortars developed in different combinations in ternary system with a substitution rate ranging from 20% to 60%. According to this study, it been found that the substitution of cement by blast furnace slag and marble powder has negatively affected the rheological behavior of the mixtures. In addition, a considerable decrease in the rheological parameters has been achieved with a substitution rate of 20% of slag and 30% of marble powder. As well as an improvement of workability has been proven to self-compacting mortars and this is due to the increase of ternary cement replacement rate by marble powder from 20% to 30%.

Measurement of Kr-85 and Xe-133 as undisturbed tracers for the representing of atmospheric transport after disposal of radioactivity from nuclear facilities; Messungen von Kr-85 und Xe-133 als ungestoerte Tracer zur Darstellung atmosphaerischer Transportvorgaenge nach Freisetzung von Radioaktivitaet aus kerntechnischen Anlagen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frank, G.; Steinkopff, T. [Deutscher Wetterdienst (Germany); Salvamoser, J. [Institut fuer Angewandte Isotopen-, Gas- und Umweltuntersuchungen (IGU), Woerthsee (Germany)

2016-07-01

The Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD, German Meteorological Service) operates since 1996 a sampling and measurement device for the radioactive rare gases Kr-85 and Xe-133 in Offenbach. These measurements are embedded in the German Measurement and Information System for Monitoring Environmental Radioactivity (Integriertes Mess- und Informationssystem zur Ueberwachung der Radioaktivitaet in der Umwelt, IMIS) [1]. In addition to these measurements the DWD is sampling rare gases in Potsdam and since 2014 in Trier in cooperation with the Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (Federal Office for Radiation Protection, BfS). In the frame of the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW)-program of the WMO the DWD operated a sampling station at the Zugspitze (Schneefernerhaus) from 1999 to 2005. This location at the Zugspitze is well suited for the observation of long distance transport of Kr-85 in the higher atmosphere. The DWD in Offenbach operates a complex analytical system for the measurement of Kr-85 and Xe-133 since 1998. This system consists of sampling with first enrichment, second enrichment, gas chromatographic separation and preparation of Krypton and Xenon and measurement of Kr-85 and Xe-133. Using the example Fukushima, it is shown, that the radioactive rare gases Kr-85 and Xe-133 are well undisturbed tracers for atmospheric transport in case of a nuclear accident or routine nuclear reprocessing plants. Measurements of Xe-133, I-131, Cs-137 and Kr-85 are correlated with source and atmospheric transport to the sampling sites at Offenbach and Potsdam.

Non-destructive analysis of chlorine in fly ash cement concrete

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naqvi, A.A. [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia)], E-mail: aanaqvi@kfupm.edu.sa; Garwan, M.A.; Nagadi, M.M. [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Maslehuddin, M. [Center for Engineering Research, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Al-Amoudi, O.S.B. [Department of Civil Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Khateeb-ur-Rehman [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia)

2009-08-11

Preventive measures against reinforcement corrosion in concrete require increasing concrete density to prevent the diffusion of chloride ions to the steel surface. Pozzolanic materials, such as fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF), and blast furnace slag (BFS) are added to concrete to increase its density. Monitoring the chloride concentration in concrete is required to assess the chances of reinforcement corrosion. In this study, FA was added to Portland cement concrete to increase its density. Prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) technique was utilized to analyze the concentration of chlorine in concrete. The chlorine concentration in the FA cement concrete was evaluated by determining the yield of 1.16, 1.95, 6.11, 6.62, 7.41, 7.79, and 8.58 MeV gamma-rays of chlorine from the FA concrete specimen containing 0.4-3.5 wt% chlorine. An excellent agreement was noted between the experimental yield of the prompt gamma-rays and the calculated yield obtained through the Monte Carlo simulations. The Minimum Detectable Concentration (MDC) of chlorine in FA cement concrete was also calculated. The best value of MDC limit of chlorine in the FA cement concrete was found to be 0.022{+-}0.007 and 0.038{+-}0.017 wt% for 1.16 and 6.11 MeV prompt gamma-rays, respectively. Within the statistical uncertainty, the lower bound of MDC meets the maximum permissible limit of 0.03 wt% of chlorine in concrete set by American Concrete Institute Committee 318.

The degree of hydration assessment of blended cement pastes by differential thermal and thermogravimetric analysis. Morphological evolution of the solid phases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monteagudo, S.M.; Moragues, A.; Gálvez, J.C.; Casati, M.J.; Reyes, E.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A proposal of hydration degree calculation for blended cement pastes is presented. • The method is based both on the contributions of various authors and on DTA–TG results. • Paste and mortar specimens with BFS, FA and SF mineral admixtures were used. • The evaluation of CH gives information on hydration and pozzolanic reactions. • The assessment of α provides an insight into future strength evolution. - Abstract: The degree of hydration assessment of cement paste from differential thermal and thermogravimetric analysis data has been performed by several authors that have offered a number of proposals for technical application to blended cements. In this paper, two calculation methods are studied in detail. Then, a proposal of the degree of hydration calculation for blended cements, based on the analysis of experimental results of DTA–TG, is presented. The proposed method combines the contributions of the authors and allows straightforward calculation of the degree of hydration from the experimental results. Validation of the methodology was performed by macroscopic and microstructural tests through paste and mortar specimens with blast furnace slag, flying ash and silica fume mineral admixtures bei(g)ng used. Tests of scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive analyser on paste specimens, and of mechanical strength on mortar specimens with the same percentages of substitution, were performed. They showed good agreement with the information derived from the differential thermal and thermogravimetric analysis data

ARN results in interlaboratory comparison exercises

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Equillor, Hugo; Lewis, Cecilia; Fernandez, Jorge; Canoba, Analia; Gavini, Ricardo; Grinman, Ana; Palacios, Miguel; Sartori, Francisco; Giustina, Daniel; Gnoni, Gabriela; Czerniczyniec, Mariela; Cialella, Hugo; Acosta, Soledad; Diodati, Jorge; Bonino, Nestor; Campos, Juan; Mondini, Julia; Franco, Graciela

2008-01-01

For years, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARN) has been involved in several laboratory intercomparison programmes. The objective of participating in these exercises is to assure the quality of the determinations that the radiochemical laboratories of ARN carries out as part of its regulatory activity. Most of these determinations are related to its environmental monitoring program in the vicinity of nuclear and radioactive facilities existing in the country, in operation or not. Other determinations are related with effluent samples and monitoring activities performed inside the facilities. On the other hand, these intercomparisons are part of the requirements for the laboratories under ISO 17025. ARN laboratories are in process to obtain or maintain ISO 17025 accreditation as a priority objective. During the development of the intercomparisons, different samples have been tested in several matrices containing alpha, beta and gamma emitters. These exercises were organized by different laboratories as the IAEA, the EML and NIST from United States, the NPL and the NRPB from England, the BFS from Germany, and so on. The results were very satisfactory not only in direct measurements (gamma spectrometry) but also in those that require a previous intensive laboratory processing (alpha spectrometry and liquid scintillation), resulting in many cases better than the general average. This paper provides a summary of the results obtained in these exercises and the results are compared with the overall average of the participating laboratories. (author)

Long-term interactions of full-scale cemented waste simulates in salt solutions. Summary report; Langzeit-Wechselwirkungen von zementierten Abfallsimulaten im Originalmassstab mit Salzloesungen. Zusammenfassender Abschlussbericht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kienzler, Bernhard; Borkel, Christoph; Metz, Volker [Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie (KIT), Karlsruhe (Germany). Inst. fuer Nukleare Entsorgung (INE)

2015-12-04

On March 13,.2013 the Federal Office of Radiation Protection (BfS) published a note that the responsible group of the Helmholtz Zentrums Muenchen had finished the experiments in the socalled leaching test room at the 490 m level of the Asse II mine. In this room, the previous operator the Gesellschaft fuer Strahlen- und Umweltforschung mbH (GSF) carried out leaching and corrosion experiments with cemented full-scale samples. These experiments were performed since 1979 requested by the licensing authorities. With respect to the safety case for the Asse salt mine it was a need to demonstrate the transferability of results obtained by laboratory samples to real waste forms and to investigate the effects of the industrial cementation process an the properties of the waste forms. A research program was initiated by the Nuclear Research Centre Karlsruhe (today Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, KIT) and the Institut fuer Tieflagerung of the Gesellschaft fuer Strahlenforschung m.b.H. (GSF). Since 1996 the scientific supervision of the experiments were dedicated to the Institute for Nuclear Waste Disposal (INE) of KIT. Until 2013, the corroding solutions were sampled several times. In 2006 four full-scale samples were retrieved and investigated with respect to variations of the solids. After termination of the experiments in January 2013, radioactively doped samples were transferred to KIT-INE for final evaluations. The present report summarizes the background and objectives of the experiments as well as the results of the solutions and solid state analyses.

KREX2 is not essential for either procyclic or bloodstream form Trypanosoma brucei.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jason Carnes

Full Text Available Most mitochondrial mRNAs in Trypanosoma brucei require RNA editing for maturation and translation. The edited RNAs primarily encode proteins of the oxidative phosphorylation system. These parasites undergo extensive changes in energy metabolism between the insect and bloodstream stages which are mirrored by alterations in RNA editing. Two U-specific exonucleases, KREX1 and KREX2, are both present in protein complexes (editosomes that catalyze RNA editing but the relative roles of each protein are not known.The requirement for KREX2 for RNA editing in vivo was assessed in both procyclic (insect and bloodstream form parasites by methods that use homologous recombination for gene elimination. These studies resulted in null mutant cells in which both alleles were eliminated. The viability of these cells demonstrates that KREX2 is not essential in either life cycle stage, despite certain defects in RNA editing in vivo. Furthermore, editosomes isolated from KREX2 null cells require KREX1 for in vitro U-specific exonuclease activity.KREX2 is a U-specific exonuclease that is dispensable for RNA editing in vivo in T. brucei BFs and PFs. This result suggests that the U deletion activity, which is required for RNA editing, is primarily mediated in vivo by KREX1 which is normally found associated with only one type of editosome. The retention of the KREX2 gene implies a non-essential role or a role that is essential in other life cycle stages or conditions.

Mechanical and Thermal Properties of R-High Density Polyethylene Composites Reinforced with Wheat Straw Particleboard Dust and Basalt Fiber

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min Yu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The effect of individual and combined particleboard dust (PB dust and basalt fibers (BFs on mechanical and thermal expansion performance of the filled virgin and recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE composites was studied. It was shown that the use of PB dust had a positive effect on improving mechanical properties and on reducing linear coefficient of thermal expansion (LCTE values of filled composites, because the adhesive of the particle board held the wheat straw fibers into bundles, which made PB dust have a certain aspect ratio and high strength. Compared with the commonly used commercial WPC products, the flexural strength of PB dust/VHDPE, PB dust/RHDPE, and PB dust/VHDPE/RHDEPE at 40 wt% loading level increased by 79.9%, 41.5%, and 53.9%, respectively. When 40 wt% PB dust was added, the crystallization degree of the composites based on three matrixes decreased to 72.5%, 45.7%, and 64.1%, respectively. The use of PB dust can help lower the composite costs and increase its recyclability. Mechanical properties and LCTE values of composites with combined BF and PB dust fillers varied with PB dust and BF ratio at a given total filler loading level. As the BF portion of the PB dust/BF fillers increased, the LCTE values decreased markedly, which was suggested to be able to achieve a desirable dimensional stability for composites. The process provides a useful route to further recycling of agricultural wastes.

Guideline for the assessment of radioactive substances in drinking water in the frame of the implementation of the drinking water regulation. Recommendation by BMUB, BfS, UBA and the responsible state authorities and DVGW and BDFW; Leitfaden zur Untersuchung und Bewertung von radioaktiven Stoffen im Trinkwasser bei der Umsetzung der Trinkwasserverordnung. Empfehlung von BMUB, BMG, BfS, UBA und den zustaendigen Landesbehoerden sowie DVGW und BDEW

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2017-01-15

The guidelines on the assessment of radioactive substances in drinking water cover the following issues: terms, symbols and units concerning radioactivity, radioactivity in the drinking water and radiation exposure, requirements for drinking water with respect to radioactive substances, fundamentals of the assessment concept according to the drinking water regulation, practical application of the assessment concept, analytical determination of radioactivity related parameters.

Transporting existing VSC-24 canisters using a risk-based licensing approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Srinivasan, R.; Sisley, S.E.; Hopf, J.E. [BNFL Fuel Solutions, Campbell, CA (United States)

2004-07-01

The eventual disposition of the spent fuel assemblies loaded in canisters and casks currently designed and licensed only for on-site storage is an industry-wide issue. The canister-specific BUC evaluation approach developed by BFS can be used to license many of these storage canisters and casks for transportation. This will allow these storage canisters and casks to be transported intact to a long-term storage facility or repository, thereby minimizing fuel handling operations, impact on plant operations, and occupational exposure, as well as total infrastructure costs. Application of the proposed canister-specific BUC analysis approach to a preliminary evaluation of the 58 loaded MSBs demonstrates the benefits of this approach. The results of this preliminary evaluation show that a more rigorous analysis based on the known characteristics of the loaded spent fuel, rather than the design-basis fuel parameters, produces significantly lower maximum keff values and can be used to qualify many of the existing loaded storage canisters for transportation. Transportation certification for storage canisters having more reactive spent fuel payloads may require reliance on BUC approaches that are more aggressive than current NRC guidelines allow. Credit may be required for fission- product isotopes that do not have sufficient chemical assay data for benchmarking. In addition, reduced criticality safety margins may be required. For these more-aggressive BUC approaches, a risk assessment should be provided to support the NRC-approval basis. The risk assessment should evaluate the possibility and consequences of an accidental criticality event based upon inaccuracies in the characterization of the spent-fuel payloads.

Experience with the loading and transport of fuel assembly transport casks, including CASTOR casks, and the radiation exposure of personnel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bentele, W.; Kinzelmann, T.

1999-01-01

In 1997 and 1998, six spent fuel assembly transports started from the nuclear power plant Gemeinschaftskernkraftwerk Neckar (GKN), using CASTOR-V19 casks. Professor Kuni of Marburg University challenged the statement made by the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (BfS)) based on accepted scientific knowledge, according to which so-called CASTOR transports present no risk, either to the population or to the escorting police units. This paper shows that the collective dose during the loading of the CASTOR casks amounted to 4.5 mSv (gamma and neutrons) per cask at the most, and that the maximum individual dose amounted to 0.26 mSv. In addition to these doses, the collective dose during handling and transport must be considered: this amounted to 0.35 mSv (gamma and neutrons). The dose to the police escort was -2 (limit for surface contamination), presented degrees of contamination >4 Bq cm -2 upon reaching the Valognes/Cogema terminal. However, transport casks coming from French plants also revealed degrees of contamination >4 Bq cm -2 , as well as 'hot spots'. No such contamination was found on NTL 11 casks transported from the GKN to Sellafield. Neither was any increased contamination found upon the arrival of CASTOR-V19 casks transported from GKN to Gorleben or Ahaus. The partially sensationalist media reports were inversely proportional to the actual radiological relevance of the matter. The German Commission on Radiation Protection (SSK) confirmed that the radiological effect of such contaminated spent fuel transports is negligible. (author)

Bioaccumulation and elimination of 60 Co and 137 Cs by Anomalocardia brasiliana (Gmelin, 1791) (Mollusca bivalvia). Remobilization of 60 Co, retained in marine sediment by microbial activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayr, L.M.

1984-05-01

It was studied the capacity of a bi valve mollusc Anomalocardia brasiliana, which lives in the local bottom sediment, to remobilize 60 Co previously sorbed in the sediment. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that the transference of 60 Co from the sediment to the animal was insignificant (bioaccumulation factor (BF) of the order of 10 -3 ). At the same time, the capacity of microorganisms, present in the bottom sediment, to remobilize 60 Co was studied. The results showed that this via of transference was important, considering the much greater microorganism biomass in relation to the biomass of bentonic organisms, as a whole. For 137 Cs the determined BF from water to the animal was 2.2. and, as in the case of 60 Co, the soft tissues concentrated more 137 Cs than shell. Remaining viscera showed the highest BFs. In another series of experiments, the loss of 60 Co or 137 Cs, previously accumulated by A. brasiliana, was followed in aquaria with or without sediment and the respective biological half-lives were calculated. Soft tissues retained 60 Co longer (biological half-life = 117 days) than shells, whereas for 137 Cs the opposite was observed and shells showed a biological half life of 38.5 days. The low values of 60 Co and 137 Cs BF S do not allow to classify A. brasiliana as good biological indicator for pollution by there radionuclides. However since A brasiliana is consumed by the local population and is commercialized to other areas, it was recommended that its contamination by 60 Co or 137 Cs should be monitored. (author)

Transporting existing VSC-24 canisters using a risk-based licensing approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srinivasan, R.; Sisley, S.E.; Hopf, J.E.

2004-01-01

The eventual disposition of the spent fuel assemblies loaded in canisters and casks currently designed and licensed only for on-site storage is an industry-wide issue. The canister-specific BUC evaluation approach developed by BFS can be used to license many of these storage canisters and casks for transportation. This will allow these storage canisters and casks to be transported intact to a long-term storage facility or repository, thereby minimizing fuel handling operations, impact on plant operations, and occupational exposure, as well as total infrastructure costs. Application of the proposed canister-specific BUC analysis approach to a preliminary evaluation of the 58 loaded MSBs demonstrates the benefits of this approach. The results of this preliminary evaluation show that a more rigorous analysis based on the known characteristics of the loaded spent fuel, rather than the design-basis fuel parameters, produces significantly lower maximum keff values and can be used to qualify many of the existing loaded storage canisters for transportation. Transportation certification for storage canisters having more reactive spent fuel payloads may require reliance on BUC approaches that are more aggressive than current NRC guidelines allow. Credit may be required for fission- product isotopes that do not have sufficient chemical assay data for benchmarking. In addition, reduced criticality safety margins may be required. For these more-aggressive BUC approaches, a risk assessment should be provided to support the NRC-approval basis. The risk assessment should evaluate the possibility and consequences of an accidental criticality event based upon inaccuracies in the characterization of the spent-fuel payloads

Development and application of RP-HPLC methods for the analysis of transition metals and their radioactive isotops in radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seekamp, S.

1999-07-01

A major criterion in the final disposal of nuclear waste is to keep possible changes in the geosphere due to the introduction of radioactive waste as small as possible and to prevent any escape into the biosphere in the long term. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) has therefore established limit values for a number of nuclides. Verifying these limits has to date involved laborious wet chemical analysis. In order to accelerate quantification there is a need to develop rapid multielement methods. HPLC methods represent a starting point for this development. Chemical separation is necessary to quantify β-emitters via their radioactive radiation since they are characterized by a continuous energy spectrum. A method for quantifying transition metals and their radioactive isotopes from radioactive waste has been created by using a chelating agent to select the analytes and RP-HPLC to separate the complexes formed. In addition to separating the matrix, complexation on a precolumn has the advantage of enriching the analytes. The subject of this thesis is the development and application of the method including studies of the mobile and stationary phase, as well as the optimization of all parameters, such as pH value, sample volume etc., which influence separation, enrichment or detection. The method developed was successfully tested using cement samples. It was also used for investigations of ion exchange resins and for trace analysis in calcium fluoride. Furthermore, the transferability of the method to actinides was examined by using a different complexing agent. (orig.) [de

Accelerated weathering of composite cements used for immobilisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borges, P. H. R.; Milestone, N. B.; Streatfield, R. E.

2008-01-01

Trying to estimate the long-term durability of cemented waste-forms is a difficult task as the cement matrix is a reactive medium and interactions can occur with the encapsulated waste as well as with the environment. There are few studies of samples that have been stored under controlled conditions for more than 10-15 years. waste-forms are now being expected to last hundreds of years, much of that likely to be in some form of storage where sample integrity is important. There is also the concern that results from any long-term samples may only be indicative as both formulations and materials change with time. This paper discusses changes in physical properties that occur in composite cements when some of the short-term accelerated procedures employed in construction testing are applied to encapsulating matrices. Changes after increased temperature of curing, wetting/drying and accelerated carbonation are discussed. Many of the encapsulating formulations currently used are composite cements where large replacement levels of OPC with supplementary cementing materials (SCMs) such as PFA or BFS are made, primarily to reduce heat output. Accelerating the exposure conditions, either by increasing temperature or through wetting/drying has the effect of changing the hydration pattern of the composite cement by generating more hydration in the SCMs than would normally occur. The large amount of porosity that occurs because of limited hydration allows intrusion of gases and ready movement of water, so the samples subjected to accelerated testing do not appear as durable as expected if stored at ambient. (authors)

Response properties of single units in the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus of decerebrate cats.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Kevin A; Lomakin, Oleg; Pesavento, Michael J

2007-09-01

The dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (DNLL) receives afferent inputs from many brain stem nuclei and, in turn, is a major source of inhibitory inputs to the inferior colliculus (IC). The goal of this study was to characterize the monaural and binaural response properties of neurons in the DNLL of unanesthetized decerebrate cat. Monaural responses were classified according to the patterns of excitation and inhibition observed in contralateral and ipsilateral frequency response maps. Binaural classification was based on unit sensitivity to interaural level differences. The results show that units in the DNLL can be grouped into three distinct types. Type v units produce contralateral response maps that show a wide V-shaped excitatory area and no inhibition. These units receive ipsilateral excitation and exhibit binaural facilitation. The contralateral maps of type i units show a more restricted I-shaped region of excitation that is flanked by inhibition. Type o maps display an O-shaped island of excitation at low stimulus levels that is bounded by inhibition at higher levels. Both type i and type o units receive ipsilateral inhibition and exhibit binaural inhibition. Units that produce type v maps have a low best frequency (BF), whereas type i and type o units have high BFs. Type v and type i units give monotonic rate-level responses for both BF tones and broadband noise. Type o units are inhibited by tones at high levels, but are excited by high-level noise. These results show that the DNLL can exert strong, differential effects in the IC.

Radioactive waste management in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brammer, K.J.

2011-01-01

The responsibility for the disposal of radioactive waste is regulated in the Federal Republic of Germany in the Atomic Energy Act. Basically, it is the responsibility of the waste producers to carry out all necessary processing steps up to the delivery to a repository. The Federal Republic reserves the right to select, explore and operate the repository (§ 9a, para. 3 AtG). The costs of all necessary expenditures of this task are borne by the waste producers in accordance with § 21 AtG regulation. The waste quantity forecasts have shown that by the year 2080 a total volume of about 300,000 m3 of low- and intermediate-level (non-heat-generating) waste will be generated in research, industry, medicine and in the production of electricity in nuclear power plants. This waste is to be transported to the ‘Konrad repository’ which is under construction. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), which is responsible for the construction and operation, intends to commission the repository at 2019. As a repository for heat-generating wastes, i. Approximately 10.000 tSM spent fuel (BE) 7,500 molds (HAW and MAW, corresponding to about 6000 tSM) returned Waste from reprocessing, the Gorleben salt dome has been explored since 1979. The works were resumed on 01.10.2010 after a 10-year break. Federal Environment Minister Röttgen has made it clear that the Federal Government has proposed a transparent procedure and a dialogue and participation procedure for open-ended exploration. (roessner)

Detection of adulterated honey produced by honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies fed with different levels of commercial industrial sugar (C₃ and C₄ plants) syrups by the carbon isotope ratio analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Guler, Ahmet; Kocaokutgen, Hasan; Garipoglu, Ali V; Onder, Hasan; Ekinci, Deniz; Biyik, Selim

2014-07-15

In the present study, one hundred pure and adulterated honey samples obtained from feeding honeybee colonies with different levels (5, 20 and 100 L/colony) of various commercial sugar syrups including High Fructose Corn Syrup 85 (HFCS-85), High Fructose Corn Syrup 55 (HFCS-55), Bee Feeding Syrup (BFS), Glucose Monohydrate Sugar (GMS) and Sucrose Sugar (SS) were evaluated in terms of the δ(13)C value of honey and its protein, difference between the δ(13)C value of protein and honey (Δδ(13)C), and C4% sugar ratio. Sugar type, sugar level and the sugar type*sugar level interaction were found to be significant (Phoney, Δδ(13)C (protein-honey), and C4% sugar ratio were used as criteria according to the AOAC standards. However, it was possible to detect the adulteration by using the same criteria in the honeys taken from the 20 and 100 L/colony of HFCS-85 and the 100L/colony of HFCS-55. Adulteration at low syrup level (20 L/colony) was more easily detected when the fructose content of HFCS syrup increased. As a result, the official methods (AOAC, 978.17, 1995; AOAC, 991.41, 1995; AOAC 998.12, 2005) and Internal Standard Carbon Isotope Ratio Analysis could not efficiently detect the indirect adulteration of honey obtained by feeding the bee colonies with the syrups produced from C3 plants such as sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) and wheat (Triticium vulgare). For this reason, it is strongly needed to develop novel methods and standards that can detect the presence and the level of indirect adulterations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bioaccumulation and elimination of {sup 60} Co and {sup 137} Cs by Anomalocardia brasiliana (Gmelin, 1791) (Mollusca bivalvia). Remobilization of {sup 60} Co, retained in marine sediment by microbial activity; Bioacumulacao e eliminacao de {sup 60}Co e {sup 137}Cs por anomalocardia brasiliana (Gmelin, 1791) (Mollusca bivalvia). Remobilizacao de {sup 60}Co retido em sedimento marinho por atividade microbiana

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mayr, L M

1984-05-01

It was studied the capacity of a bi valve mollusc Anomalocardia brasiliana, which lives in the local bottom sediment, to remobilize {sup 60} Co previously sorbed in the sediment. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that the transference of {sup 60} Co from the sediment to the animal was insignificant (bioaccumulation factor (BF) of the order of 10{sup -3}). At the same time, the capacity of microorganisms, present in the bottom sediment, to remobilize {sup 60} Co was studied. The results showed that this via of transference was important, considering the much greater microorganism biomass in relation to the biomass of bentonic organisms, as a whole. For {sup 137} Cs the determined BF from water to the animal was 2.2. and, as in the case of {sup 60} Co, the soft tissues concentrated more {sup 137} Cs than shell. Remaining viscera showed the highest BFs. In another series of experiments, the loss of {sup 60} Co or {sup 137} Cs, previously accumulated by A. brasiliana, was followed in aquaria with or without sediment and the respective biological half-lives were calculated. Soft tissues retained {sup 60} Co longer (biological half-life = 117 days) than shells, whereas for {sup 137} Cs the opposite was observed and shells showed a biological half life of 38.5 days. The low values of {sup 60} Co and {sup 137} Cs BF{sub S} do not allow to classify A. brasiliana as good biological indicator for pollution by there radionuclides. However since A brasiliana is consumed by the local population and is commercialized to other areas, it was recommended that its contamination by {sup 60} Co or {sup 137} Cs should be monitored. (author).

The Construction of the Konrad Repository - Status and Perspective - 13034

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunze, V.

2013-01-01

Due to the Atomic Energy Act of Germany the Federation is responsible for the construction and operation of installations for the safekeeping and disposal of radioactive waste. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz - BfS) is assigned with this duty. In 1982 the abandoned iron ore mine Konrad near Salzgitter (Federal State of Lower Saxony) was proposed as a repository for low and intermediate level radioactive waste with negligible heat generation. After 20 years of plan approval procedure the license was granted by the Ministry for Environment of Lower Saxony in May 2002. This decision was finally confirmed by the Federal Administrative Court in March 2007. The construction has started, but former assumptions about the beginning of waste emplacement tuned out to be too optimistic. In the course of the preparatory work and the implementation planning it turned out that many changes need to be done. As a matter of fact most of the documents and planning originate from the 1990's and need to be revised because from that time on until now no adaptation was appropriate. The necessity to apply the state-of-the-art technology and other legal implications give rise to further changes and new licensing procedures, especially building licenses. Furthermore, the license from 2002 also includes a lot of collateral clauses that need to be fulfilled before radioactive waste can be emplaced. With this in mind, the time frame for the construction of the Konrad repository was revised in 2010. As a result, the completion of the erection before 2019 does not seem to be realistic. (authors)

The impact of ambient dose rate measuring network and precipitation radar system for detection of environmental radioactivity released by accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bleher, M; Stoehlker, U.

2003-01-01

For the surveillance of environmental radioactivity, the German measuring network of BfS consists of more than 2000 stations where the ambient gamma dose rate is continuously measured. This network is a helpful tool to detect and localise enhanced environmental contamination from artificial radionuclides. The threshold for early warning is so low, that already an additional dose rate contribution of 0,07 μGy/h is detectable. However, this threshold is frequently exceeded due to precipitation events caused by washout of natural activity in air. Therefore, the precipitation radar system of the German Weather Service provides valuable information on the problem, whether the increase of the ambient dose rate is due to natural or man-made events. In case of an accidental release, the data of this radar system show small area precipitation events and potential local hot spots not detected by the measuring network. For the phase of cloud passage, the ambient dose rate measuring network provides a reliable database for the evaluation of the current situation and its further development. It is possible to compare measured data for dose rate with derived intervention levels for countermeasures like ''sheltering''. Thus, critical regions can be identified and it is possible to verify implemented countermeasures. During and after this phase of cloud passage the measured data of the monitoring network help to adapt the results of the national decision support systems PARK and RODOS. Therefore, it is necessary to derive the actual additional contribution to the ambient dose rate. Map representations of measured dose rate are rapidly available and helpful to optimise measurement strategies of mobile systems and collection strategies for samples of agricultural products. (orig.)

The injection of ultrahigh rates of reducing gas into a modern blast furnace

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buergler, T.; Skoeld, B.E. [Voestalpine, Linz (Austria)

2007-07-01

The pilot plant for gas injection consists of a screw compressor unit to supply two blast furnaces with reduction gas. Almost all of the reducing gas will react in the raceway; only a small part will combust inside the tuyere. Comparing different injection systems in the case with two lances, the gas will react faster than for the one lance system where the gas is more trapped inside a beam. During the project the melting rate of the furnace was increased by more than 30 %. Injecting reducing gas compensates increased raceway adiabatic flame temperature, RAFT by higher oxygen enrichment rates. The operation results showed that a lower RAFT and low-quality raw material result in increased consumption of reducing agents. 1 kg coke oven gas, COG substitutes 0.81 kg oil and 1.03 kg coke. Sulfur input was reduced by 40 % in comparison with heavy fuel oil operation. The top-gas calorific value is increased up to 30 %. This reduces the consumption of natural gas used to control a constant calorific value in the gas network. A high hydrogen content up to 12 % is no problem for the gas consumers. Tests with simultaneous COG/BOF gas injection have shown that a decrease in the oil rate can be compensated. The replacement of a carbon-rich resultant such as coke and oil in the BF process with a carbon-lean resultant such as COG leads to an absolute reduction in the CO{sub 2} emissions of the BF process and the power plant of approximately 184.000 t/a for both BFs or 102 kg/tHM. 3 refs., 98 figs., 16 tabs., 1 annex.

Concept of assistance of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection with regard to prevention of serious cases of nuclear hazards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, D.E. [Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Salzgitter (Germany)

2000-05-01

For the defence against the threats caused by radioactive substances, a general concept was elaborated under the overall control of the Federal Government. A number of competent organisations are involved in this, for example the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Armed Forces, and the Federal Office for Radiation Protection. In Germany, the 16 Federal States are responsible for the prevention of nuclear hazards. In the case of hazards caused by radioactive material, experts from the competent radiation protection authorities are consulted. For the prevention of serious cases of nuclear hazards (nuclear fuels, criticality, danger of dispersion), the Federal Office for Radiation Protection - a subordinate authority of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety responsible for radiation protection, nuclear safety, and waste management - was given order to elaborate a concept for assistance to those Federal States. The field of prevention of nuclear hazards ranges from combatting illegal trade with radioactive test sources up to the defence of nuclear fuels with the possibility to construct critical assemblies or the threatening by the distribution of airborne material which might enter the lungs. The latter are considered as serious cases of nuclear hazards. Since the expenditures for devices and personal to be trained would be inadequately high, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) is prepared to support the Federal States if it becomes necessary. The concept includes a stand-by service, the search for radioactive material by helicopter or a ground team, analysis of the activity and the type of nuclides, risk assessment, and also measures to steam the risk. This concept will be presented. (author)

Concept of assistance of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection with regard to prevention of serious cases of nuclear hazards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, D.E.

2000-01-01

For the defence against the threats caused by radioactive substances, a general concept was elaborated under the overall control of the Federal Government. A number of competent organisations are involved in this, for example the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation, the Federal Armed Forces, and the Federal Office for Radiation Protection. In Germany, the 16 Federal States are responsible for the prevention of nuclear hazards. In the case of hazards caused by radioactive material, experts from the competent radiation protection authorities are consulted. For the prevention of serious cases of nuclear hazards (nuclear fuels, criticality, danger of dispersion), the Federal Office for Radiation Protection - a subordinate authority of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety responsible for radiation protection, nuclear safety, and waste management - was given order to elaborate a concept for assistance to those Federal States. The field of prevention of nuclear hazards ranges from combatting illegal trade with radioactive test sources up to the defence of nuclear fuels with the possibility to construct critical assemblies or the threatening by the distribution of airborne material which might enter the lungs. The latter are considered as serious cases of nuclear hazards. Since the expenditures for devices and personal to be trained would be inadequately high, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) is prepared to support the Federal States if it becomes necessary. The concept includes a stand-by service, the search for radioactive material by helicopter or a ground team, analysis of the activity and the type of nuclides, risk assessment, and also measures to steam the risk. This concept will be presented. (author)

Safety aspects of long-term dry interim storage of type-B spent fuel and HLW transport casks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolff, D.; Probst, U.; Voelzke, H.; Droste, B.; Roedel, R.

2004-01-01

Based on the German decision to minimise transports of spent fuel casks between nuclear power plants, reprocessing plants and central storage facilities several on-site storage facilities have been licensed till the end of 2003. Because of the large amount of type-B transport casks which are going to be used for long-term interim storage the question of time limited type-B license maintenance during the storage period of up to 40 years has been discussed under different aspects. This paper describes present technical aspects of the discussion. A main aspect of transport cask qualification for interim storage is the long-term behaviour of the metallic seal lid system. Concerning this results from current experimental long-term tests with metallic ''Helicoflex''-seals in which pool water is enclosed are presented. The test series has been performed by the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) on behalf of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) since 2001. Finally, the paper presents a German concept for an authorities' and technical experts' exchange of experience, know-how and state of the art referring to cask dispatch in nuclear facilities. BAM has taken over a central role in this so-called ''co-ordinating institution for cask dispatching information'' (''KOBAF'') which contains an online data base and a technical working group meeting twice a year. The goal is to keep comparable technical standards for all nuclear sites and storage facilities which are going to load and dispatch casks of the same or similar types under the responsibility of different German state governments for the next decades

Humidification of base flow gas during adult high-frequency oscillatory ventilation: an experimental study using a lung model.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiba, Naoki; Nagano, Osamu; Hirayama, Takahiro; Ichiba, Shingo; Ujike, Yoshihito

2012-01-01

In adult high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) with an R100 artificial ventilator, exhaled gas from patient's lung may warm the temperature probe and thereby disturb the humidification of base flow (BF) gas. We measured the humidity of BF gas during HFOV with frequencies of 6, 8 and 10 Hz, maximum stroke volumes (SV) of 285, 205, and 160 ml at the respective frequencies, and, BFs of 20, 30, 40 l/min using an original lung model. The R100 device was equipped with a heated humidifier, Hummax Ⅱ, consisting of a porous hollow fiber in circuit. A 50-cm length of circuit was added between temperature probe (located at 50 cm proximal from Y-piece) and the hollow fiber. The lung model was made of a plastic container and a circuit equipped with another Hummax Ⅱ. The lung model temperature was controlled at 37℃. The Hummax Ⅱ of the R100 was inactivated in study-1 and was set at 35℃ or 37℃ in study-2. The humidity was measured at the distal end of the added circuit in study-1 and at the proximal end in study-2. In study-1, humidity was detected at 6 Hz (SV 285 ml) and BF 20 l/min, indicating the direct reach of the exhaled gas from the lung model to the temperature probe. In study-2 the absolute humidity of the BF gas decreased by increasing SV and by increasing BF and it was low with setting of 35℃. In this study setting, increasing the SV induced significant reduction of humidification of the BF gas during HFOV with R100.

Safety aspects of long-term dry interim storage of Type B spent fuel and high-level transport casks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolff, D.; Probst, U.; Voelzke, H.; Droste, B.; Roedel, R.

2004-01-01

Based on the German decision to minimise transport of spent fuel casks between nuclear power plants, reprocessing plants and central storage facilities several on-site storage facilities were licensed until the end of 2003. Because of the large amount of Type B(U) transport casks which are going to be used for long-term interim storage the question of time-limited Type B(U) licence maintenance during the storage period of up to 40 years has been discussed under different aspects. This paper describes present technical aspects of the discussion. A main aspect of qualification of transport casks for interim storage is the long-term behaviour of the metallic seal-lid system. Here we present results from current long-term experimental tests with metallic 'Helicoflex' seals in which pool water is enclosed. This series of tests has been performed by the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) on behalf of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) since 2001. Finally, the paper presents a German concept for an exchange of experience, know-how and state-of-the-art between authorities and technical experts with regard to cask dispatch in nuclear facilities. BAM has taken over a central role in this so-called 'coordinating institution for cask dispatching information' ('KOBAF') which entails management of an online database of cask-specific documents and a technical working group meeting twice a year. The goal is to keep comparable technical standards for all nuclear sites and storage facilities which are going to load and dispatch casks of the same or similar types under the responsibility of different German state governments for the coming decades. (author)

Effect of olive cultivar on bioaccessibility and antioxidant activity of phenolic fraction of virgin olive oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Quintero-Flórez, Angélica; Pereira-Caro, Gema; Sánchez-Quezada, Cristina; Moreno-Rojas, José Manuel; Gaforio, José J; Jimenez, Antonio; Beltrán, Gabriel

2017-06-05

This study aims to characterize the phenolic profile and antioxidant capacity of seven monovarietal virgin olive oils (VOOs) and evaluate their in vitro gastrointestinal stability. 'Picual', 'Blanqueta', 'Sevillana', 'Habichuelero', and 'Chetoui' olive cultivars were selected for VOO extraction. The oils were subjected to in vitro digestion. The recovery index (RI) of phenolic compounds after each digestion step and the bioaccessibility index (BI) were evaluated. In addition, the antioxidant activity of the bioaccessible fraction (BF) of VOOs was determined by DPPH, ABTS, and ORAC assays, as well as by studying the intracellular reactive oxygen species in Caco-2 cells. Differences were found in the composition of phenolic compounds in VOOs depending on cultivars. During the digestive process, important losses of phenolic compounds were observed between the buccal and duodenal steps, unlike HTy and Ty, which presented increased recovery due to the hydrolysis of secoiridoid derivatives. Differences in the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds were found between varieties of VOOs. 'Sevillana' VOO had the highest total bioaccessibility (36%), followed by the 'Picual' (19%), 'Chetoui' (17%), 'Habichuelero' (10%), and 'Blanqueta' (8%) varieties. The BF of all the varieties of VOO showed similar radical ABTS scavenging capacity, 'Chetoui', and 'Blanqueta'-BF having the highest radical DPPH scavenging capacity, and 'Habichuelero' and 'Picual'-BF showing protective effects against the peroxyl radical measured by ORAC FL assay. All VOO-BFs presented decreases in ROS levels in Caco-2 cells. Our results suggest differences in the bioaccessibility of phenolics from diverse VOO varieties, which could lead to different biological properties. Therefore, this study represents a first step toward the development of novel dietary strategies focusing on the phenolic supplementation of different VOOs to preserve human health.

Cancer incidence in the environment of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heller, W.

2008-01-01

An epidemiological study of cancer in children in the environment of nuclear power plants has been written on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). The study is a case controlled study based on the German Register of Cancer in Children. The most important outcome of the study is the finding that a connection can be observed in Germany between the proximity to a nuclear power plant of the place of living and the risk of a child to develop cancer in the 5 th year of life. The magnitude of this risk was calculated to be approximately 0.2%, i.e., out of a total of 13,373 cases of cancer, 29 would be attributable to living within the 5 km zone around a nuclear power plant. This finding demands an explanation. The study proper cannot serve as a material witness because it had not been designed to establish cause and effect relations between the risk and potential origins. The expert consultants frankly state that current knowledge about radiation biology and epidemiology in principle does not allow the ionizing radiation emitted by German nuclear power plants in normal operation to be interpreted as the cause. Whether confounders, selection or chance play a role in the observed and documented finding cannot be explained for good by the study. However, although representing an honorable acquittal, the study produces a different effect in the public mind. What is remembered is the link between nuclear power plants and cancer in children. (orig.)

Tenth act amending the German atomic energy act

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heller, W.

2009-01-01

On January 14, 2009, the German federal government introduced into parliament the 10th Act Amending the Atomic Energy Act. In the first reading in the federal parliament, Federal Minister for the Environment Gabriel emphasized 2 main points: Intensified protection of nuclear facilities and of transports of radioactive substances against unauthorized interventions; transfer by law to the Federal Office for Radiological Protection (BfS) of decommissioning of the Asse mine. Reliability review: The amendment to Sec.12 b of the Atomic Energy Act is to meet the different safety and security conditions after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in the United States and other terrorist activities afterwards (London, Madrid) also with respect to hazards arising to nuclear facilities and nuclear transports. The bill must be seen in conjunction with the Ordinance on Reliability Reviews under the Atomic Energy Act dated July 1, 1999 which covers reviews of reliability of persons holding special responsibilities. Asse II mine: The competence of the Federal Office for Radiological Protection is achieved by an amendment to Sec.23, Para.1, Number 2, Atomic Energy Act, in which the words ''and for the Asse II mine'' are added after the word ''waste.'' Further proceedings depend on the additional provision in a new Sec.57 b, Atomic Energy Act. Accordingly, the operation and decommissioning of the Asse II mine are subject to the regulations applicable to facilities of the federation pursuant to Sec.9a, Para.3. In this way, Asse II is given the same legal status as the federal waste management facilities. Moreover, it is stipulated that the mine is to be shut down immediately. (orig.)

Esorex 2005.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrová, Karla; Frasch, Gerhard

2007-01-01

The European Study on Occupational Radiation Exposure called ESOREX was initiated by the European Commission in the 1997 year. The objectives of this European study are: (1) to provide the European Commission and the national competent radiation protection authorities with reliable information on how personal radiation monitoring, reporting and recording of dosimetric results is structured in European countries; (2) to collect reliable and directly comparable data on individual and collective radiation exposure in all occupational sectors where classified workers are employed. Therefore, it is important to receive information about the levels of individual personal radiation doses to workers in the different sectors and the trends and developments of these doses over a period of several years; (3) at present, all 25 European Union Member States, plus Bulgaria, Iceland, Norway, Romania and Switzerland, participate in the study; and (4) the study was executed under the leadership of German BfS in co-operation with Czech SUJB. First results and analyses based on the data collected in the previous studies are presented in the paper 'Frasch, Petrová: Dose trends in occupational radiation exposure in Europe-Results from the ESOREX project'. As a result of a call for tender of the European Commission/DGTREN in the year 2003, the new ESOREX study called 'ESOREX2005' has been initiated. This study will end at the year 2007 and its main objectives are-to finalise the updating of the country-wise reports by describing the current situation in the field of occupational exposure control, evaluation and registration of personal doses of radiation workers and as a second part of the study, to collect dosimetric data for the period 2001-2005.

Clinical studies of cerebral blood flows using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), 1; The remote effects of tumors and the adverse effects of radiochemotherapy in the non-affected brain of patients with intracranial tumors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Araki, Yuzo (Gifu Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Medicine)

1991-01-01

To examine remote effects of tumors on cerebral blood flow (CBF) and adverse effects of radiochemotherapy on cerebral and cerebellar blood flow (CeBF), mean CBF (mCBF) and mean CeBF (mCeBF) have been studied by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with Xe-133. The subjects were 78 patients with brain tumor, whose ages ranged from 9 to 74 years. Forty normal volunteers served as controls. In the control group, both mCBF and mCeBF were significantly decreased with advancing age. Both ipsilateral and contralateral mCeBFs were significantly decreased in adult patients with bilateral cerebral tumor, as compared with the control group, which was dependent on tumor volume. mCeBF was significantly decreased on the contralataral side than on the ipsilataral side. Similarly, ipsilateral mCBF was significantly lower than that in the control group. Crossed cerebellar diaschisis occurred frequently associated with extensive involvement of tumor into the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes. In adult patients, a decreased mCBF on the non-affected side before surgery was improved postoperatively. One month after irradiation, it transiently increased and decreased again. Three months after irradiation, mCBF was significantly decreased, as compared with that in the control group. The degree of atrophy and tumor volume influenced mCBF on the non-affected side. These factors were responsible for mCBF in younger patients for the adult group, and in older patients for the child group. For adult patients, radiation dose was also a contributing factor for mCBF. In the group given chemotherapy, mCBF was significantly decreased, as compared with the group without chemotherapy. (N.K.) 102 refs.

Body composition changes in female bodybuilders during preparation for competition.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Ploeg, G E; Brooks, A G; Withers, R T; Dollman, J; Leaney, F; Chatterton, B E

2001-04-01

To determine anthropometric and body composition changes in female bodybuilders during preparation for competition. There was an attempt to match subjects in the control and experimental groups for height and percentage body fat (%BF) for the initial test of this longitudinal study. Five competitive bodybuilders (-X +/- s.d.: 35.3 +/- 5.7 y; 167.3 +/- 3.7 cm; 66.38 +/- 6.30 kg; 18.3 +/- 3.5 %BF) and five athletic females (-X +/- s.d.: 30.9 +/- 13.0 y; 166.9 +/- 3.9 cm; 55.94 +/- 3.59 kg; 19.1 +/- 3.3 %BF) were recruited from advertisements in a bodybuilding newsletter and placed on sports centre noticeboards. The following measurements were conducted 12 weeks, 6 weeks and 3-5 d before the bodybuilders' competitions: anthropometric profile, body density by underwater weighing, total body water via deuterium dilution and bone mineral mass from a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan. A combination of the last three measurements enabled the %BF to the determined by a four compartment model. A significant (P bodybuilders as they prepared for competition was primarily due to a reduction in fat mass (FM; -4.42 kg; 76.2%) as opposed to fat-free mass (FFM; -1.38 kg; 23.8%). The decreases in body mass and FM over the final 6 weeks were greater than those over the first 6 weeks. Their %BF decreased (P bodybuilders were accompanied by a significant decline (P bodybuilders presented with low %BFs at the start of the experiment, they still significantly decreased their body mass during the 12 week preparation for competition and most of this loss was due to a reduction in FM as opposed to FFM.

Unmanned aerial vehicles ('drones') as tools for small scale radiometric surveys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luff, R.; Stöhlker, U.; Bossew, P.

2017-01-01

An UAV has been developed by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) and tested in the Chernobyl exclusion zone in September 2016. A commercially available hexacopter has been equipped with a 1.5 cm³ CZT gamma spectrometric detector (μSPEC), GPS, data processing unit (Rasperry PI with Linux) and Wi-Fi for data transmission to the ground base. Optionally a camera can be carried. The system records gamma dose rate every 2 seconds and gamma spectra every 10 minutes. The total cost of the system is significantly below 10k€ which includes the detector (6k€), data acquisition system (0.2k€) and the UAV (1.2k€). The system is very mobile, easy to set up and to operate in the field. Results are plausible and easy to interpret, spatial resolution of the gamma dose rate on the ground is surprisingly high. Measurement results from the Chernobyl exclusion zone show that the sensitivity of the detector allows radiation survey in areas where the dose rate level is above 0.3 μSv/h. Limitation of the small system are the relatively short operation range of a few 100 m and the lack of an altimeter to assure constant flight altitude above ground. Among the results of the exercise were that a high gamma dose rate gradient in the field can be well identified and the observation that the measured gamma dose rate depends relatively little on the flight altitude between 3 and about 15 meters above ground, for a large scale contamination field. As a conclusion, the use of UAVs for radiometric surveys is a promising and viable complement to traditional air-borne reconnaissance for small areas, and an alternative to ground-based surveys in case of high radiation levels or difficult access. (author)

Effect of silica fume addition on the PGNAA measurement of chlorine in concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naqvi, A.A.; Maslehuddin, M.; Garwan, M.A.; Nagadi, M.M.; Al-Amoudi, O.S.B.; Raashid, M.; Khateeb-ur-Rehman

2010-01-01

Pozzolanic materials, such as fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF), and blast furnace slag (BFS) are added to Portland cement in concrete to prevent reinforcement steel corrosion in concrete. Further preventive measure against reinforcement steel corrosion require monitoring of chloride salts concentration in concrete using non-destructive techniques, such as the prompt gamma-ray neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) technique. Due to interferences between gamma-rays from chlorine and calcium in PGNAA technique, detection limit of chlorine in concrete strongly depends upon calcium concentration in concrete. SF mainly contains silica and its addition to cement concrete reduces overall concentration of calcium in concrete. This may result in an improvement in detection limit of chlorine in SF-based concrete in PGNAA studies. Particularly for chlorine detection using 6.11 and 6.62 MeV prompt gamma-rays that strongly interfere with 6.42 MeV prompt gamma-rays from calcium. In this study, SF was added to Portland cement to prevent concrete reinforcement steel from corrosion. The chlorine concentration in SF cement concrete specimens containing 0.2-3.0 wt% chlorine was measured through yield of 1.16, 1.95, 6.11, 6.62, 7.41, 7.79, and 8.58 MeV chlorine gamma-rays using PGNAA technique. An excellent agreement was noted between the experimental yield of the prompt gamma-rays and the gamma-ray yield calculated through the Monte Carlo simulations. Further the minimum detectable concentration (MDC) of chlorine in SF cement concrete was calculated and compared with the MDC values of chlorine in plain concrete and concrete mixed with fly ash cement. The MDC of chlorine in SF-based concrete through 6.11 MeV, and 6.62 MeV chlorine gamma-rays was found to be improved as compared to those in plain concrete and concrete mixed with fly ash cement.

Chemical alteration of cement hydrates by dissolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugiyama, Daisuke; Fujita, Tomonari; Nakanishi, Kiyoshi

2000-01-01

Cementitious material is a potential waste packaging and backfilling material for the radioactive waste disposal, and is expected to provide both physical and chemical containment. In particular, the sorption of radionuclides onto cementitious material and the ability to provide a high pH condition are very important parameters when considering the release of radionuclides from radioactive wastes. For the long term, in the geological disposal environment, cement hydrates will be altered by, for example, dissolution, chemical reaction with ions in the groundwater, and hydrothermal reaction. Once the composition or crystallinity of the constituent minerals of a cement hydrate is changed by these processes, the pH of the repository buffered by cementitious material and its sorption ability might be affected. However, the mechanism of cement alteration is not yet fully understood. In this study, leaching experiments of some candidate cements for radioactive waste disposal were carried out. Hydrated Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), Blast Furnace Slag blended cement (OPC/BFS) and Highly containing Flyash and Silicafume Cement (HFSC) samples were contacted with distilled water at liquid:solid ratios of 10:1, 100:1 and 1000:1 at room temperature for 200 days. In the case of OPC, Ca(OH) 2 dissolved at high liquid:solid ratios. The specific surface area of all cement samples increased by leaching process. This might be caused by further hydration and change of composition of constituent minerals. A model is presented which predicts the leaching of cement hydrates and the mineral composition in the hydrated cement solid phase, including the incongruent dissolution of CSH gel phases and congruent dissolution of Ca(OH) 2 , Ettringite and Hydrotalcite. Experimental results of dissolution of Ca-O-H and Ca-Si-O-H phases were well predicted by this model. (author)

Unmanned aerial vehicles ('drones') as tools for small scale radiometric surveys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luff, R.; Stöhlker, U.; Bossew, P., E-mail: rluff@bfs.de [German Federal Office for Radiation Protection, Salzgitter (Germany)

2017-07-01

An UAV has been developed by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) and tested in the Chernobyl exclusion zone in September 2016. A commercially available hexacopter has been equipped with a 1.5 cm³ CZT gamma spectrometric detector (μSPEC), GPS, data processing unit (Rasperry PI with Linux) and Wi-Fi for data transmission to the ground base. Optionally a camera can be carried. The system records gamma dose rate every 2 seconds and gamma spectra every 10 minutes. The total cost of the system is significantly below 10k€ which includes the detector (6k€), data acquisition system (0.2k€) and the UAV (1.2k€). The system is very mobile, easy to set up and to operate in the field. Results are plausible and easy to interpret, spatial resolution of the gamma dose rate on the ground is surprisingly high. Measurement results from the Chernobyl exclusion zone show that the sensitivity of the detector allows radiation survey in areas where the dose rate level is above 0.3 μSv/h. Limitation of the small system are the relatively short operation range of a few 100 m and the lack of an altimeter to assure constant flight altitude above ground. Among the results of the exercise were that a high gamma dose rate gradient in the field can be well identified and the observation that the measured gamma dose rate depends relatively little on the flight altitude between 3 and about 15 meters above ground, for a large scale contamination field. As a conclusion, the use of UAVs for radiometric surveys is a promising and viable complement to traditional air-borne reconnaissance for small areas, and an alternative to ground-based surveys in case of high radiation levels or difficult access. (author)

Effects of time after infection, mosquito genotype, and infectious viral dose on the dynamics of Culex tarsalis vector competence for western equine encephalomyelitis virus.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahmood, Farida; Chiles, Robert E; Fang, Ying; Green, Emily N; Reisen, William K

2006-06-01

The vector competence of Culex tarsalis Coquillett for the BFS 1703 strain of western equine encephalomyelitis virus (WEEV) changed significantly as a function of time after infection, mosquito genotype, and infectious virus dose. After ingesting a high virus dose (5 log10 plaque-forming units [PFU]/0.1 ml), female of the susceptible high virus producer (HVP) strain rapidly amplified the virus, developed a disseminated infection, and efficiently transmitted WEEV by 4 days postinfection (dpi). The quantity of virus expectorated peaked at 4 dpi (mean 3.4 log10 PFU), and the percentage of females transmitting per os peaked at 7 dpi (80%); both measures of transmission subsequently decreased to low levels throughout the remainder of infected life. HVP females imbibing a low virus dose (3 log10 PFU/0.1 ml) were infected less frequently and took longer to amplify virus to levels recorded for the high virus dose group and did not transmit virus efficiently, thereby indicating midgut infection and escape barriers were dose and time dependent. These data emphasized the importance of elevated avian viremias in Cx. tarsalis vector competence. Females from the WEEV-resistant (WR) strain and two wild-type strains from Kern and Riverside counties were significantly less susceptible to infection at both high and low doses than was the HVP strain. Overall, females with a high virus titer more frequently had a disseminated infection, but there did not seem to be a distinct threshold demarcating this relationship. In marked contrast, all infected females transmitting virus had body titers >4.3 log10 PFU, and most had titers >4.8 log10 PFU. These data indicated that not all females with a disseminated infection transmitted virus because of the presence of one or more salivary gland barriers.

DBE on site public relations tasks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krug, H.J.; Meyer, R.

1998-01-01

Full text: Thesis: There is no 'golden rule' for an immediate increase in acceptance of nuclear facility sites - this applies to nuclear power plants as well as waste management facilities. The German Company for the Construction and Operation of Repositories for Waste Products (DBE - entrusted on behalf of the Federal Government with the management of all three German waste repository sites (projects), Morsleben, Konrad, Gorleben - concentrates in the field of public relations work on the following: - caring for (and informing) visitors from home and abroad; - cooperation with local and regional authorities and their representatives, press, media, etc. including associate editing of the GORLEBEN-information leaflet which appears monthly or every second month in cooperation with the Federal Board for Radiation Protection (BfS), as well as press releases if required; - responding to inquiries and visit requests of press, radio and TV. Basic work: - early and comprehensive information of the public at the sites about progress of work and possible exceptional events with special involvement of local politicians and representatives as well as press agencies. Close contacts exist to the local paper and to a national paper; - municipal representatives and the media are regularly directly informed on site or sporadically at their own request; - special emphasis is placed on the spoken, explaining word, namely that communication and discussion are valued more highly than written material. Of course, transparencies, films and brochures are available to support the spoken word; - continual availability for discussion and information presentations e.g., also at weekends; - maintenance of casual contacts to opponents of the plant. In Gorleben - the site of further waste management facilities beside the exploration mine - there is close cooperation with representatives of the other important companies and institutions hence, visitors are generally pooled, i.e., the majority

Conditioning of alpha bearing wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

Alpha bearing wastes are generated during the reprocessing of spent fuel, mixed oxide fuel fabrication, decommissioning and other activities. The safe and effective management of these wastes is of particular importance owing to the radiotoxicity and long lived characteristics of certain transuranic (TRU) elements. The management of alpha bearing wastes involves a number of stages which include collection, characterization, segregation, treatment, conditioning, transport, storage and disposal. This report describes the currently available matrices and technologies for the conditioning of alpha wastes and relates them to their compatibility with the other stages of the waste management process. The selection of a specific immobilization process is dependent on the waste treatment state and the subsequent handling, transport, storage and disposal requirements. The overall objectives of immobilization are similar for all waste producers and processors, which are to produce: (a) Waste forms with sufficient mechanical, physical and chemical stability to satisfy all stages of handling, transport and storage (referred to as the short term requirements), and (b) Waste forms which will satisfy disposal requirements and inhibit the release of radionuclides to the biosphere (referred to as the long term requirements). Cement and bitumen processes have already been successfully applied to alpha waste conditioning on the industrial scale in many of the IAEA Member States. Cement systems based on BFS and pozzolanic cements have emerged as the principal encapsulation matrices for the full range of alpha bearing wastes. Alternative technologies, such as polymers and ceramics, are being developed for specific waste streams but are unlikely to meet widespread application owing to cost and process complexity. The merits of alpha waste conditioning are improved performance in transport, storage and disposal combined with enhanced public perception of waste management operations. These

Potentials and limits of electronic situation displays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hable, K.; Hoebler, C.; Bieringer, P.

2007-01-01

In the field of precautionary radiation protection and disaster response, the amount of information and the number of its sources is steadily increasing. Central compilation and instant availability of information for all involved authorities becomes more and more important. In this context the structured presentation of documents on a web server in terms of an ''Electronic Situation Display'' (ESD) has been established. In Germany, there are several Electronic Situation Display prototypes run by federal and state authorities for various purposes and using different technical approaches. The systems of the federal states focus on workflow management. They provide emergency log books and information on the implementation of countermeasures for disaster response authorities. The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) tasked the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) to develop the Federal Electronic Situation Display (ELAN) that is mainly used as an information platform for decision making in case of nuclear emergencies. Documents containing radiological data or results from Decision Support Systems are almost automatically integrated into ELAN. Read and write permissions for users are managed by a concept of specific roles. The federal ESD and the systems of the federal states will be coordinated in order to achieve a better harmonisation. Interfaces for data exchange and data processing must be defined. Authorities of the federal states can use protected areas within the federal ESD where information is kept confidential for internal use before it is distributed to other states and federal authorities. In addition, key information of Electronic Situation Displays from the federal states can automatically be integrated into ELAN. Several task groups of the IAEA are working on the development and realization of a prototype for an information platform harmonising ESDs on international level. (orig.)

Computational Materials Program for Alloy Design

Science.gov (United States)

Bozzolo, Guillermo

2005-01-01

The research program sponsored by this grant, "Computational Materials Program for Alloy Design", covers a period of time of enormous change in the emerging field of computational materials science. The computational materials program started with the development of the BFS method for alloys, a quantum approximate method for atomistic analysis of alloys specifically tailored to effectively deal with the current challenges in the area of atomistic modeling and to support modern experimental programs. During the grant period, the program benefited from steady growth which, as detailed below, far exceeds its original set of goals and objectives. Not surprisingly, by the end of this grant, the methodology and the computational materials program became an established force in the materials communitiy, with substantial impact in several areas. Major achievements during the duration of the grant include the completion of a Level 1 Milestone for the HITEMP program at NASA Glenn, consisting of the planning, development and organization of an international conference held at the Ohio Aerospace Institute in August of 2002, finalizing a period of rapid insertion of the methodology in the research community worlwide. The conference, attended by citizens of 17 countries representing various fields of the research community, resulted in a special issue of the leading journal in the area of applied surface science. Another element of the Level 1 Milestone was the presentation of the first version of the Alloy Design Workbench software package, currently known as "adwTools". This software package constitutes the first PC-based piece of software for atomistic simulations for both solid alloys and surfaces in the market.Dissemination of results and insertion in the materials community worldwide was a primary focus during this period. As a result, the P.I. was responsible for presenting 37 contributed talks, 19 invited talks, and publishing 71 articles in peer-reviewed journals, as

Experimental studies to validate model calculations and maximum solubility limits for Plutonium and Americium; Experimentelle Arbeiten zur Absicherung von Modellrechnungen und Maximalkonzentrationen fuer Plutonium und Americium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2017-02-16

This report focuses on studies of KIT-INE to derive a significantly improved description of the chemical behaviour of Americium and Plutonium in saline NaCl, MgCl{sub 2} and CaCl{sub 2} brine systems. The studies are based on new experimental data and aim at deriving reliable Am and Pu solubility limits for the investigated systems as well as deriving comprehensive thermodynamic model descriptions. Both aspects are of high relevance in the context of potential source term estimations for Americium and Plutonium in aqueous brine systems and related scenarios. Americium and Plutonium are long-lived alpha emitting radionuclides which due to their high radiotoxicity need to be accounted for in a reliable and traceable way. The hydrolysis of trivalent actinides and the effect of highly alkaline pH conditions on the solubility of trivalent actinides in calcium chloride rich brine solutions were investigated and a thermodynamic model derived. The solubility of Plutonium in saline brine systems was studied under reducing and non-reducing conditions and is described within a new thermodynamic model. The influence of dissolved carbonate on Americium and Plutonium solubility in MgCl{sub 2} solutions was investigated and quantitative information on Am and Pu solubility limits in these systems derived. Thermodynamic constants and model parameter derived in this work are implemented in the Thermodynamic Reference Database THEREDA owned by BfS. According to the quality assurance approach in THEREDA, is was necessary to publish parts of this work in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The publications are focused on solubility experiments, spectroscopy of aquatic and solid species and thermodynamic data. (Neck et al., Pure Appl. Chem., Vol. 81, (2009), pp. 1555-1568., Altmaier et al., Radiochimica Acta, 97, (2009), pp. 187-192., Altmaier et al., Actinide Research Quarterly, No 2., (2011), pp. 29-32.).

Mitigating yield-scaled greenhouse gas emissions through combined application of soil amendments: A comparative study between temperate and subtropical rice paddy soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Muhammad Aslam; Kim, P J; Inubushi, K

2015-10-01

Effects of different soil amendments were investigated on methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, global warming potential (GWP) and yield scaled GWPs in paddy soils of Republic of Korea, Japan and Bangladesh. The experimental treatments were NPK only, NPK+fly ash, NPK+silicate slag, NPK+phosphogypsum(PG), NPK+blast furnace slag (BFS), NPK+revolving furnace slag (RFS), NPK+silicate slag (50%)+RFS (50%), NPK+biochar, NPK+biochar+Azolla-cyanobacteria, NPK+silicate slag+Azolla-cyanobacteria, NPK+phosphogypsum (PG)+Azolla-cyanobacteria. The maximum decrease in cumulative seasonal CH4 emissions was recorded 29.7% and 32.6% with Azolla-cyanobacteria plus phospho-gypsum amendments in paddy soils of Japan and Bangladesh respectively, followed by 22.4% and 26.8% reduction with silicate slag plus Azolla-cyanobacteria application. Biochar amendments in paddy soils of Japan and Bangladesh decreased seasonal cumulative N2O emissions by 31.8% and 20.0% respectively, followed by 26.3% and 25.0% reduction with biochar plus Azolla-cyanobacteria amendments. Although seasonal cumulative CH4 emissions were significantly increased by 9.5-14.0% with biochar amendments, however, global warming potentials were decreased by 8.0-12.0% with cyanobacterial inoculation plus biochar amendments. The maximum decrease in GWP was calculated 22.0-30.0% with Azolla-cyanobacteria plus silicate slag amendments. The evolution of greenhouse gases per unit grain yield (yield scaled GWP) was highest in the NPK treatment, which was decreased by 43-50% from the silicate slag and phosphogypsum amendments along with Azolla-cyanobacteria inoculated rice planted soils. Conclusively, it is recommended to incorporate Azolla-cyanobacteria with inorganic and organic amendments for reducing GWP and yield scaled GWP from the rice planted paddy soils of temperate and subtropical countries. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The study of sub-surface damage distributions during grinding process on different abrasion materials

Science.gov (United States)

Kuo, Ching-Hsiang; Huang, Chien-Yao; Yu, Zong-Ru; Shu, Shyu-Cheng; Chang, Keng-Shou; Hsu, Wei-Yao

2017-10-01

The grinding process is the primary technology for curvature generation (CG) on glass optics. The higher material removal rate (MRR) leads to deeper sub-surface damage (SSD) on lens surface. The SSD must be removed by following lapping and polishing processes to ensure the lens quality. However, these are not an easy and an efficient process to remove the SSD from ground surface directly for aspheric surfaces with tens or hundreds microns departure from bestfit- sphere (BFS). An efficient fabrication procedure for large aspheric departure on glass materials must be considered. We propose 3-step fabrication procedures for aspheric surface with larger departure. 1st step is to generate a specific aspheric surface with depth less than 10 μm of SSD residual. 2nd step is to remove SSD and keep the aspheric form by using Zeeko polisher with higher MRR pad. Final step is to figure and finish the aspheric surface by using QED MRF machine. In this study, we focus on the 1st step to investigate the residual depth of SSD after grinding process on different abrasion materials. The materials of tested part are fused silica, S-NPH2, and S-PHM52. The cross grinding would be configured and depth of SSD/surface roughness would be evaluated in this study. The characteristic of SSD could be observed after etching by confocal microscope. The experimental results show the depth of SSD below 31.1 μm with #400 grinding wheel. And the near 10 μm depth of SSD would be achieved with #1,000 grinding wheel. It means the aspherization polishing on large parts with large departure from best fit sphere would be replaced. The fabrication of large aspheric part would be efficient.

Supramolecular solvent-based extraction of benzimidazolic fungicides from natural waters prior to their liquid chromatographic/fluorimetric determination.

Science.gov (United States)

Moral, Antonia; Sicilia, María Dolores; Rubio, Soledad

2009-05-01

A supramolecular solvent made up of vesicles of decanoic acid in the nano- and microscale regimes dispersed in a continuous aqueous phase is proposed for the extraction/preconcentration of benzimidazolic fungicides (BFs) from river and underground water samples prior to their determination by liquid chromatography (LC)/fluorimetry. The solvent is produced from the coacervation of decanoic acid aqueous vesicles by the action of tetrabutylammonium (Bu(4)N(+)). Carbendazim (CB), thiabendazole (TB) and fuberidazole (FB) are extracted on the basis of hydrophobic and pi-cation interactions and the formation of hydrogen bonds. The extraction provides high preconcentration factors (160 for CB and 190 for TB and FB), requires a short time (the procedure takes less than 20 min and several samples can be simultaneously processed) and a low sample volume (20 mL), and avoids the use of toxic organic solvents. Because of the absence of matrix interferences and the low viscosity of the extracts, these can be directly injected into the chromatographic system without the need of cleaning-up or diluting them. Recoveries are not influenced by the presence of salt concentrations up to 1 M. The proposed method provides detection limits for the determination of CB, TB and FB in natural waters of 32, 4 and 0.1 ng L(-1), respectively, and a precision, expressed as relative standard deviation (n=11) of 5.5% for CB (100 ng L(-1)), 4.0% for TB (80 ng L(-1)) and 2.5% for FB (30 ng L(-1)). Recoveries obtained by applying this approach to the analysis of river and underground water samples fortified at the ng L(-1) level are in the intervals 75-83, 95-102 and 97-101% for CB, TB and FB, respectively.

Gender, Race, and Survival: A Study in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Brain Metastases Patients Utilizing the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Recursive Partitioning Analysis Classification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Videtic, Gregory M.M.; Reddy, Chandana A.; Chao, Samuel T.; Rice, Thomas W.; Adelstein, David J.; Barnett, Gene H.; Mekhail, Tarek M.; Vogelbaum, Michael A.; Suh, John H.

2009-01-01

Purpose: To explore whether gender and race influence survival in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients with brain metastases, using our large single-institution brain tumor database and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) brain metastases classification. Methods and materials: A retrospective review of a single-institution brain metastasis database for the interval January 1982 to September 2004 yielded 835 NSCLC patients with brain metastases for analysis. Patient subsets based on combinations of gender, race, and RPA class were then analyzed for survival differences. Results: Median follow-up was 5.4 months (range, 0-122.9 months). There were 485 male patients (M) (58.4%) and 346 female patients (F) (41.6%). Of the 828 evaluable patients (99%), 143 (17%) were black/African American (B) and 685 (83%) were white/Caucasian (W). Median survival time (MST) from time of brain metastasis diagnosis for all patients was 5.8 months. Median survival time by gender (F vs. M) and race (W vs. B) was 6.3 months vs. 5.5 months (p = 0.013) and 6.0 months vs. 5.2 months (p = 0.08), respectively. For patients stratified by RPA class, gender, and race, MST significantly favored BFs over BMs in Class II: 11.2 months vs. 4.6 months (p = 0.021). On multivariable analysis, significant variables were gender (p = 0.041, relative risk [RR] 0.83) and RPA class (p < 0.0001, RR 0.28 for I vs. III; p < 0.0001, RR 0.51 for II vs. III) but not race. Conclusions: Gender significantly influences NSCLC brain metastasis survival. Race trended to significance in overall survival but was not significant on multivariable analysis. Multivariable analysis identified gender and RPA classification as significant variables with respect to survival.

Simulation of potential accident scenarios for the emergency protection in the neighborhood of nuclear power plants using RODOS; Simulation potentieller Unfallszenarien fuer den Notfallschutz in der Umgebung von Kernkraftwerken mit RODOS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walter, H.; Gering, F.; Arnold, K.; Gerich, B.; Heinrich, G.; Welte, U.

2014-12-15

Triggered by the Fukushima disaster, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) in Germany started in March 2011 to investigate the potential radiological consequences of a ''Fukushima-like'' accident in a German nu-clear power plant and conducted appropriate simulations in 2012. Between end 2012 and end 2013, the first study was followed by a much more detailed and comprehensive investigation comprising more than 5.000 case studies for three nuclear power plant (NPP) sites in Germany. Based on these results the German Commission on Radio-logical Protection (SSK) has released a new recommendation in March 2014 for the extension of current emer-gency planning zones for nuclear power plants in Germany. Key results of this study are maximum distances, in which dose criteria for protective actions for the population are exceeded; all results are given for the largest source term scenario ''FKA'' (INES scale 7): - Threshold values for deterministic effects and high doses (effective doses higher than 1.000 mSv) can be ex-ceeded within a distance of about 3 km on average. - The dose criterion for ''evacuation'' can be exceeded within a distance of about 9 - 18 km (adults) resp. 14 -24 km (infants) on average (the given interval considers minimum and maximum values for the median value for all three NPP sites). - The dose criterion for ''sheltering'' can be exceeded within a distance of about 62 - 80 km (adults) resp. 91 - 114 km (infants) on average. - The dose criteria for ''iodine thyroid blocking'' can be exceeded within a distance of about 24 - 34 km (adults) resp. 148 - 161 km (infants) on average.

Effect of silica fume addition on the PGNAA measurement of chlorine in concrete

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naqvi, A.A. [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia)], E-mail: aanaqvi@kfupm.edu.sa; Maslehuddin, M. [Center for Engineering Research, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Garwan, M.A. [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Nagadi, M.M. [Center for Engineering Research, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Al-Amoudi, O.S.B. [Department of Civil Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia); Raashid, M.; Khateeb-ur-Rehman [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia)

2010-03-15

Pozzolanic materials, such as fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF), and blast furnace slag (BFS) are added to Portland cement in concrete to prevent reinforcement steel corrosion in concrete. Further preventive measure against reinforcement steel corrosion require monitoring of chloride salts concentration in concrete using non-destructive techniques, such as the prompt gamma-ray neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) technique. Due to interferences between gamma-rays from chlorine and calcium in PGNAA technique, detection limit of chlorine in concrete strongly depends upon calcium concentration in concrete. SF mainly contains silica and its addition to cement concrete reduces overall concentration of calcium in concrete. This may result in an improvement in detection limit of chlorine in SF-based concrete in PGNAA studies. Particularly for chlorine detection using 6.11 and 6.62 MeV prompt gamma-rays that strongly interfere with 6.42 MeV prompt gamma-rays from calcium. In this study, SF was added to Portland cement to prevent concrete reinforcement steel from corrosion. The chlorine concentration in SF cement concrete specimens containing 0.2-3.0 wt% chlorine was measured through yield of 1.16, 1.95, 6.11, 6.62, 7.41, 7.79, and 8.58 MeV chlorine gamma-rays using PGNAA technique. An excellent agreement was noted between the experimental yield of the prompt gamma-rays and the gamma-ray yield calculated through the Monte Carlo simulations. Further the minimum detectable concentration (MDC) of chlorine in SF cement concrete was calculated and compared with the MDC values of chlorine in plain concrete and concrete mixed with fly ash cement. The MDC of chlorine in SF-based concrete through 6.11 MeV, and 6.62 MeV chlorine gamma-rays was found to be improved as compared to those in plain concrete and concrete mixed with fly ash cement.

Degradation of isobutanal at high loading rates in a compost biofilter.

Science.gov (United States)

Sercu, Bram; Demeestere, Kristof; Baillieul, Hans; Van Langenhove, Herman; Verstraete, Willy

2005-08-01

Biofiltration has been increasingly used for cleaning waste gases, mostly containing low concentrations of odorous compounds. To expand the application area of this technology, the biofiltration of higher pollutant loading rates has to be investigated. This article focuses on the biodegradation of isobutanal (IBAL) in a compost biofilter (BF) at mass loading rates between 211 and 4123 g/m3/day (30-590 ppm(v)). At mass loading rates up to 785 g/m3/day, near 100% removal efficiencies could be obtained. However, after increasing the loading rate to 1500-1900 g/m3/ day, the degradation efficiency decreased to 62-98%. In addition, a pH decrease and production of isobutanol (IBOL) and isobutyric acid (IBAC) were observed. This is the first report showing that an aldehyde can act as electron donor as well as acceptor in a BF. To study the effects of pH, compost moisture content, and electron acceptor availability on the biofiltration of IBAL, IBOL, and IBAC, additional batch and continuous experiments were performed. A pH of 5.2 reduced the IBAL degradation rate and inhibited the IBOL degradation, although adaptation of the microorganisms to low pH was observed in the BFs. IBAC was not degraded in the batch experiments. High moisture content (51%) initially had no effect on the IBOL production, although it negatively affected the IBAL elimination increasingly during a 21-day time-course experiment. In batch experiments, the reduction of IBAL to IBOL did not decrease when the amount of available electron acceptors (oxygen or nitrate) was increased. The IBAL removal efficiency at higher loading rates was limited by a combination of nutrient limitation, pH decrease, and dehydration, and the importance of each limiting factor depended on the influent concentration.

Novel antibody binding determinants on the capsid surface of serotype O foot-and-mouth disease virus

Science.gov (United States)

Asfor, Amin S.; Upadhyaya, Sasmita; Knowles, Nick J.; King, Donald P.; Paton, David J.

2014-01-01

Five neutralizing antigenic sites have been described for serotype O foot-and-mouth disease viruses (FMDV) based on monoclonal antibody (mAb) escape mutant studies. However, a mutant virus selected to escape neutralization of mAb binding at all five sites was previously shown to confer complete cross-protection with the parental virus in guinea pig challenge studies, suggesting that amino acid residues outside the mAb binding sites contribute to antibody-mediated in vivo neutralization of FMDV. Comparison of the ability of bovine antisera to neutralize a panel of serotype O FMDV identified three novel putative sites at VP2-74, VP2-191 and VP3-85, where amino acid substitutions correlated with changes in sero-reactivity. The impact of these positions was tested using site-directed mutagenesis to effect substitutions at critical amino acid residues within an infectious copy of FMDV O1 Kaufbeuren (O1K). Recovered viruses containing additional mutations at VP2-74 and VP2-191 exhibited greater resistance to neutralization with both O1K guinea pig and O BFS bovine antisera than a virus that was engineered to include only mutations at the five known antigenic sites. The changes at VP2-74 and VP3-85 are adjacent to critical amino acids that define antigenic sites 2 and 4, respectively. However VP2-191 (17 Å away from VP2-72), located at the threefold axis and more distant from previously identified antigenic sites, exhibited the most profound effect. These findings extend our knowledge of the surface features of the FMDV capsid known to elicit neutralizing antibodies, and will improve our strategies for vaccine strain selection and rational vaccine design. PMID:24584474

Incineration of European non-nuclear radioactive waste in the USA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moloney, B. P.; Ferguson, D.; Stephenson, B.

2013-01-01

Incineration of dry low level radioactive waste from nuclear stations is a well established process achieving high volume reduction factors to minimise disposal costs and to stabilise residues for disposal. Incineration has also been applied successfully in many European Union member countries to wastes arising from use of radionuclides in medicine, nonnuclear research and industry. However, some nations have preferred to accumulate wastes over many years in decay stores to reduce the radioactive burden at point of processing. After decay and sorting the waste, they then require a safe, industrial scale and affordable processing solution for the large volumes accumulated. This paper reports the regulatory, logistical and technical issues encountered in a programme delivered for Eckert and Ziegler Nuclitec to incinerate safely 100 te of waste collected originally from German research, hospital and industrial centres, applying for the first time a 'burn and return' process model for European waste in the US. The EnergySolutions incinerators at Bear Creek, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA routinely incinerate waste arising from the non-nuclear user community. To address the requirement from Germany, EnergySolutions had to run a dedicated campaign to reduce cross-contamination with non-German radionuclides to the practical minimum. The waste itself had to be sampled in a carefully controlled programme to ensure the exacting standards of Bear Creek's license and US emissions laws were maintained. Innovation was required in packaging of the waste to minimise transportation costs, including sea freight. The incineration was inspected on behalf of the German regulator (the BfS) to ensure suitability for return to Germany and disposal. This first 'burn and return' programme has safely completed the incineration phase in February and the arising ash will be returned to Germany presently. The paper reports the main findings and lessons learned on this first

Public relations work in the field of disposal of radioactive wastes in the Federal Republic of Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmitt, R.

1996-01-01

Many institutions have participated in public relations work concerning the final disposal of radioactive wastes in Germany since preliminary research work in this field was started in the early 1960's. The large number of institutions involved necessitates a uniform phraseology, kept up to date by permanent exchanges of information. The Press and Public Information Section of the Bundesamt fur Strahlenschutz (BfS) is responsible for co-ordination, with the aim of presenting both the general disposal concept of the Federal Government, and the work done within the scope of individual projects in the field of final waste disposal. Public relations activities are supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft zum Bau and Betrieb von Endlagern fur Abfallstoffe mbH (DBE) which conducts public relations work at site level. Since the early sixties radioactive waste disposal policy in Germany has been based on the decision that all kinds of radioactive wastes should be disposed of in deep geological formations. One operating repository and two different disposal projects are currently under was in Germany. The paper discusses these three sites and their public relations efforts. A lot of work has been done in the public relations field in Germany, for more than 15 years now. Open, comprehensive information and reporting are essential for transparent and credible representations of the activities necessary for the disposal of radioactive waste, as well as to create a climate of confidence in order to fashion a position identity for such large-scale projects. In addition to personal contacts, target-group oriented information meetings and scientifically understandable information material are important means to achieved this end. The permanent presence of contact persons at the sites supports this objective, especially with regard to information directed towards the general public. (author)

Expanding Astronomy Education Innovations to the International Community

Science.gov (United States)

Slater, Stephanie J.; Slater, Timothy F.; Tatge, Coty; Guffey, Sarah Katie

2015-08-01

In the course of learning astronomy, it is generally accepted that successful science learning experiences should result in learners developing a meaningful understanding of the nature of science as inquiry where: (i) students are engaged in questions; (ii) students are designing plans to pursue data; and (iii) students are generating and defending conclusions based on evidence they have collected. In support of these goals, we have systematically field-test three separate instructional tools that are ready to be field-tested beyond the United States. The first of these is called LECTURE-TUTORIALS. These are self-contained, classroom-ready, collaborative group activities. The materials are designed specifically to be easily integrated into the lecture course and directly address the needs of busy faculty for effective, student-centered, classroom-ready materials that do not require a drastic course revision for implementation. Students are asked to reason about difficult concepts, while working in pairs, and to discuss their ideas openly. The second of these is a series of computer-mediated, inquiry learning experiences based upon an inquiry-oriented teaching approach framed by the notions of BACKWARDS-FADED SCAFFOLDING as an overarching theme for instruction that leverage online science data. BFS is a strategy where the conventional and rigidly linear scientific method is turned on its head and students are first taught how to create conclusions based on evidence, then how experimental design creates evidence, and only at the end introduces students to - what we believe is the most challenging part of inquiry - inventing scientifically appropriate questions. Third, contemporary ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS, including the TOAST and EGGS surveys, for astronomy & geology have been developed to help teachers measure the success of their implementation. Evaluation results consistently suggest that these tools help teachers better engage students in self-directed scientific

Substantial dose reduction in modern multi-slice spiral computed tomography (MSCT)-guided craniofacial and skull base surgery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Widmann, G.; Fasser, M.; Jaschke, W.; Bale, R.; Schullian, P.; Zangerl, A.; Puelacher, W.; Kral, F.; Riechelmann, H.

2012-01-01

Purpose: Reduction of the radiation exposure involved in image-guided craniofacial and skull base surgery is an important goal. The purpose was to evaluate the influence of low-dose protocols in modern multi-slice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) on target registration errors (TREs). Materials and Methods: An anthropomorphic skull phantom with target markers at the craniofacial bone and the anterior skull base was scanned in Sensation Open (40-slice), LightSpeed VCT (64-slice) and Definition Flash (128-slice). Identical baseline protocols (BP) at 120 kV/100 mAs were compared to the following low-dose protocols (LD) in care dose/dose modulation: (LD-I) 100 kV/35ref. mAs, (LD-II) 80 kV/40 - 41ref. mAs, and (LD-III) 80 kV/15 - 17ref. mAs. CTDIvol and DLP were obtained. TREs using an optical navigation system were calculated for all scanners and protocols. Results were statistically analyzed in SPSS and compared for significant differences (p ≤ 0.05). Results: CTDIvol for the Sensation Open/LightSpeed VCT/Definition Flash showed: (BP) 22.24 /32.48 /14.32 mGy; (LD-I) 4.61 /3.52 /1,62 mGy; (LD-II) 3.15 /2.01 /0.87 mGy; and (LD-III) na/0.76 /0.76 mGy. Differences between the BfS (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz) reference CTDIvol of 9 mGy and the lowest CTDIvol were approximately 3-fold for Sensation Open, and 12-fold for the LightSpeed VCT and Definition Flash. A total of 33 registrations and 297 TRE measurements were performed. In all MSCT scanners, the TREs did not significantly differ between the low-dose and the baseline protocols. Conclusion: Low-dose protocols in modern MSCT provided substantial dose reductions without significant influence on TRE and should be strongly considered in image-guided surgery. (orig.)

Abatement of styrene waste gas emission by biofilter and biotrickling filter: comparison of packing materials and inoculation procedures.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez, M C; Álvarez-Hornos, F J; Portune, K; Gabaldón, C

2015-01-01

The removal of styrene was studied using two biofilters packed with peat and coconut fibre (BF1-P and BF2-C, respectively) and one biotrickling filter (BTF) packed with plastic rings. Two inoculation procedures were applied: an enriched culture with strain Pseudomonas putida CECT 324 for BFs and activated sludge from a municipal wastewater treatment plant for the BTF. Inlet loads (ILs) between 10 and 45 g m(-3) h(-1) and empty bed residence times (EBRTs) from 30 to 120 s were applied. At inlet concentrations ranging between 200 and 400 mg Nm(-3), removal efficiencies between 70 % and 95 % were obtained in the three bioreactors. Maximum elimination capacities (ECs) of 81 and 39 g m(-3) h(-1) were obtained for the BF1-P and BF2-C, respectively (IL of 173 g m(-3) h(-1) and EBRT of 60 s in BF1-P; IL of 89 g m(-3) h(-1) and EBRT of 90 s in BF2-C). A maximum EC of 52 g m(-3) h(-1) was obtained for the BTF (IL of 116 g m(-3) h(-1), EBRT of 45 s). Problems regarding high pressure drop appeared in the peat BF, whereas drying episodes occurred in the coconut fibre BF. DGGE revealed that the pure culture used for BF inoculation was not detected by day 105. Although two different inoculation procedures were applied, similar styrene removal at the end of the experiments was observed. The use as inoculum of activated sludge from municipal wastewater treatment plant appears a more feasible option.

Interaural delay sensitivity and the classification of low best-frequency binaural responses in the inferior colliculus of the guinea pig.

Science.gov (United States)

McAlpine, D; Jiang, D; Palmer, A R

1996-08-01

Monaural and binaural response properties of single units in the inferior colliculus (IC) of the guinea pig were investigated. Neurones were classified according to the effect of monaural stimulation of either ear alone and the effect of binaural stimulation. The majority (309/334) of IC units were excited (E) by stimulation of the contralateral ear, of which 41% (127/309) were also excited by monaural ipsilateral stimulation (EE), and the remainder (182/309) were unresponsive to monaural ipsilateral stimulation (EO). For units with best frequencies (BF) up to 3 kHz, similar proportions of EE and EO units were observed. Above 3 kHz, however, significantly more EO than EE units were observed. Units were also classified as either facilitated (F), suppressed (S), or unaffected (O) by binaural stimulation. More EO than EE units were suppressed or unaffected by binaural stimulation, and more EE than EO units were facilitated. There were more EO/S units above 1.5 kHz than below. Binaural beats were used to examine the interaural delay sensitivity of low-BF (BF binaural facilitation, whilst those with larger BPs generally showed binaural suppression. The classification of units based upon binaural stimulation with BF tones was consistent with their interaural-delay sensitivity. Characteristic delays (CD) were examined for 96 low-BF units. A clear relationship between BF and CD was observed. CDs of units with very low BFs (binaural processing in the guinea pig at low frequencies is similar to that reported in all other species studied. However, the dependence of CD on BF would suggest that the delay line system that sets up the interaural-delay sensitivity in the lower brainstem varies across frequency as well as within each frequency band.

Experimental studies to validate model calculations and maximum solubility limits for Plutonium and Americium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

This report focuses on studies of KIT-INE to derive a significantly improved description of the chemical behaviour of Americium and Plutonium in saline NaCl, MgCl 2 and CaCl 2 brine systems. The studies are based on new experimental data and aim at deriving reliable Am and Pu solubility limits for the investigated systems as well as deriving comprehensive thermodynamic model descriptions. Both aspects are of high relevance in the context of potential source term estimations for Americium and Plutonium in aqueous brine systems and related scenarios. Americium and Plutonium are long-lived alpha emitting radionuclides which due to their high radiotoxicity need to be accounted for in a reliable and traceable way. The hydrolysis of trivalent actinides and the effect of highly alkaline pH conditions on the solubility of trivalent actinides in calcium chloride rich brine solutions were investigated and a thermodynamic model derived. The solubility of Plutonium in saline brine systems was studied under reducing and non-reducing conditions and is described within a new thermodynamic model. The influence of dissolved carbonate on Americium and Plutonium solubility in MgCl 2 solutions was investigated and quantitative information on Am and Pu solubility limits in these systems derived. Thermodynamic constants and model parameter derived in this work are implemented in the Thermodynamic Reference Database THEREDA owned by BfS. According to the quality assurance approach in THEREDA, is was necessary to publish parts of this work in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The publications are focused on solubility experiments, spectroscopy of aquatic and solid species and thermodynamic data. (Neck et al., Pure Appl. Chem., Vol. 81, (2009), pp. 1555-1568., Altmaier et al., Radiochimica Acta, 97, (2009), pp. 187-192., Altmaier et al., Actinide Research Quarterly, No 2., (2011), pp. 29-32.).

Synthesis of basalt fiber@Zn{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}O core/shell nanostructures for selective photoreduction of CO{sub 2} to CO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwak, Byeong Sub; Kim, Kang Min [Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38541 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Sun-Min, E-mail: psm@kicet.re.kr [Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology (KICET), Jinju, Gyeongnam 52851 (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Misook, E-mail: mskang@ynu.ac.kr [Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38541 (Korea, Republic of)

2017-06-15

Highlights: • ZnO and Zn{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}O crystals were grown onto the BFs. • The core@shell structured BF@Zn{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}O particles significantly increased the adsorption of CO{sub 2} gas. • The BF@ZnO or BF@Zn{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}O particles selectively reduce the carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide. - Abstract: This study focused on the development of a catalyst for converting carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming, into a beneficial energy source. Core@shell structured particles, BF@ZnO and BF@Zn{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}O, are synthesized in order to selectively obtain CO gas from the photoreduction of CO{sub 2}. A modified sol-gel process is used to synthesize the core@shell structures with a three-dimensional microstructure, which are subsequently characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDAX), ultraviolet (UV)–vis absorption, photoluminescence (PL), and photocurrent density analysis. The CO{sub 2} adsorption abilities of the core@shell particles are estimated through CO{sub 2}-temperature programmed desorption (TPD). The core@shell structured BF@Zn{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}O particles including the Mg ingredient significantly increased the adsorption of CO{sub 2} gas at the microfiber/nanoparticle interface. Both the BF@ZnO and BF@Zn{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}O particles selectively reduce the carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide, with almost no other reduced products being observed. These results are attributed to the effective adsorption of CO{sub 2} gas and inhibited recombination of the photogenerated electron–hole pairs. BF@Zn{sub 0.75}Mg{sub 0.25}O exhibited superior photocatalytic behavior and selectively produced 5.0 μmolg{sub cat}{sup −1} L{sup −1} of CO gas after 8 h of reaction.

Summary record of the topical session of 17. Meeting of the IGSC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noseck, Ulrich; Bailey, Lucy; )

2015-01-01

The topical session was an exchange of experiences from the siting process, as performed, or planned to be performed, in the different member countries of the IGSC. The focus was on the role and use of geo-scientific arguments within the whole siting process. In particular, the objectives were to: (i) explore how members are planning or have used geo-scientific arguments to identify suitable sites for geological disposal facilities; (ii) compile what geo-scientific safety arguments have been used or are planned for use; (iii) explore how particular geo-scientific safety arguments were received by stakeholders (both technical and non-technical) in countries where the siting process is advanced; and (iv) evaluate regulatory views / experience on using geo-scientific safety arguments for siting. The following presentations were given: - The role of the geology in site selection in the US. Abraham Van Luik, Carlsbad Field Office, US Department of Energy - Nomination of scientifically suitable areas within the revised site selection process in Japan (Hiroyushi Ueda, NUMO, Japan); - The UK national geological screening exercise (Glenda Crockett, RWM, UK); - geo-scientific arguments in the early stage of siting (Sona Konopaskova, SURAO, Czech Republic); - The Use of Geoscience Data in the Early Phases of Canada's Siting Program for a Used Fuel DGR (Ben Belfadel, NWMO, Canada); - The new siting procedure in Germany and the role of geo-scientific information (Juergen Wollrath, BfS, Germany); - Geosciences within the siting process: the French experience (Emilia Huret and Guillaume Pepin, Andra, France); - Role of geo-scientific arguments in the on-going siting process in Switzerland (Juerg Schneider, Nagra, Switzerland); - Using geo-scientific argumentation for the siting process and in the construction licensing phase- experiences from Finland (Barbara Pastina, Posiva, Finland); - Role of geo-scientific arguments in siting an SNF repository in Sweden (Allan Hedin, SKB

Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel before Final Disposal in Germany - Regulator's view

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arens, G.; Goetz, Ch.; Geupel, Sandra; Gmal, B.; Mester, W.

2014-01-01

For spent nuclear fuel management in Germany the concept of dry interim storage in dual purpose casks before direct disposal is applied. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) is the competent authority for licensing of interim storage facilities. The competent authority for surveillance of operation is the responsible authority of the respective federal state (Land). Currently operation licenses for storage facilities have been granted for a storage time of 40 years and are based on safety demonstrations for all safety issues as safe enclosure, shielding, sub-criticality and decay heat removal under consideration of operation conditions. In addition, transportability of the casks for the whole storage period has to be provided. Due to current delay in site selection and exploration of a disposal site, an extension of the storage time beyond 40 years could be needed. This will cause appropriate actions by the licensee and the competent authorities as well. A brief description of the regulatory base of licensing and surveillance of interim storage is given from the regulators view. Furthermore the current planning for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high level waste and its interconnections between storage and disposal concepts are shortly explained. Finally the relevant aspects for licensing of extended storage time beyond 40 years will be discussed. Current activities on this issue, which have been initiated by the Federal Government, will be addressed. On the regulatory side a review and amendment of the safety guideline for interim storage of spent fuel has been performed and the procedure of periodic safety review is being implemented. A guideline for implementing an ageing management programme is available in a draft version. Regarding safety of long term storage a study focussing on the identification and evaluation of long term effects as well as gaps of knowledge has been finished in 2010. A continuation and update is currently underway

Turbulence modeling of transverse flow on ship hulls in shallow water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jakobsen, Ken-Robert Gjelstad

2010-09-15

The hydrodynamic forces acting on a ship that travels in restricted water vary greatly with water depth and the geometry of the ship hull. This will affect the ship maneuverability in terms of various flow effects like for instance squat, when the ship is sucked down towards the seabed due to a pressure drop on the hull at forward speed. It is, thus, important to gain detailed knowledge on these aspects of marine engineering. The problem is in the present work addressed through a numerical investigation of turbulent transverse flow on two-dimensional ship sections in shallow water. The numerical code is validated against traditional flow problems in the literature. Namely, the Backward-facing step (BFS) and the Smoothly-contoured ramp (SCR). 2D and 3D laminar flows and 2D low Reynolds number turbulent flows are calculated, and the results are found to be in good agreement with the previous numerical and experimental comparison data. The turbulence model used in the calculations is the one-equation Spalart-Allmaras model. The overall goal of achieving more efficient and accurate numerical schemes will always be in focus of code development. Adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) is then a very helpful tool to save both time for grid generation prior to the calculations in question and the CPU hours needed to solve the governing equations. The latter is even more evident in a parallel environment. These aspects are included in the present investigation as part of the process to adapt and investigate a CFD tool suitable to handle turbulent flows on a ship hull in shallow water. Several physical and numerical parameters are included in the present study and the Plackett-Burman screening design is utilized to efficiently analyze the results. With the latter method, a simple function for calculating the drag force on a two-dimensional ship section as function of the given parameters has been obtained. (Author)

Effective Use of Water and Increased Dry Matter Partitioned to Grain Contribute to Yield of Common Bean Improved for Drought Resistance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jose A. Polania

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. is the most important food legume in the diet of poor people in the tropics. Drought causes severe yield loss in this crop. Identification of traits associated with drought resistance contributes to improving the process of generating bean genotypes adapted to these conditions. Field studies were conducted at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT, Palmira, Colombia, to determine the relationship between grain yield and different parameters such as effective use of water (EUW, canopy biomass and dry partitioning indices (pod partitioning index, harvest index and pod harvest index in elite lines selected for drought resistance over the past decade. Carbon isotope discrimination (CID was used for estimation of water use efficiency (WUE. The main objectives were: (i to identify specific morpho-physiological traits that contribute to improved resistance to drought in lines developed over several cycles of breeding and that could be useful as selection criteria in breeding; and (ii to identify genotypes with desirable traits that could serve as parents in the corresponding breeding programs. A set of 36 bean genotypes belonging to the Middle American gene pool were evaluated under field conditions with two levels of water supply (irrigated and drought over two seasons. Eight bean lines (NCB 280, NCB 226, SEN 56, SCR 2, SCR 16, SMC 141, RCB 593 and BFS 67 were identified as resistant to drought stress. Resistance to terminal drought stress was positively associated with EUW combined with increased dry matter partitioned to pod and seed production and negatively associated with days to flowering and days to physiological maturity. Differences in genotypic response were observed between grain CID and grain yield under irrigated and drought stress. Based on phenotypic differences in CID, leaf stomatal conductance, canopy biomass and grain yield under drought stress, the lines tested were classified into

E2 = Energy concept x final storage [+ the law?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schneider, Horst

2010-01-01

The world is changing all the time, opinions and evaluations assume new shapes. It is the function of the law to ensure reliability and confidence by its very continuity. However, it is not only the revisions of the law which are subject to the zeitgeist; also the interpretations and applications of the law are not exempt from current trends of thought. The coalition agreement signed by the CDU/CSU and FDP parties on October 26, 2009 announced an energy concept encompassing life extension of nuclear power plants and a continued exploration of the Gorleben salt dome as a repository for high-level waste producting heat. The Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) tries to prove in a legal opinion that an extension of nuclear power plant life was illegal and unconstitutional because the problem of the back end of the fuel cycle was not likely to be solved in a foreseeable time. Continuing exploration of the Gorleben salt dome is based on mining law. The agency responsible for filing an application under the German Atomic Energy Act is the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). In Germany, the final storage issue has always been an area of violent political debate. Given the strategic purpose of the DUH legal opinion as a tool furthering opt-out of the use of nuclear power, several points are presented and discussed in this article which were overlooked in that opinion. The equation, 'energy concept x final storage =..?', seems to be open today. The law can support results. Existing legal regulations especially about the nuclear power sector must be used as starting points for new ideas: The existence of legal norms is to ensure reliability and confidence. Consequently, changes in the law must be prepared very thoroughly and weighed comprehensively. In current thinking, after all, transparency is part of political action, especially so in defining and implementing goals in topics such as the energy concept and final storage. Yet, unnecessary delays would not be justified

RODOS-based simulation of potential accident scenarios for emergency response management in the vicinity of nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walter, H.; Gering, F.; Arnold, K.; Gerich, B.; Heinrich, G.; Welte, U.

2016-09-15

In the wake of the Fukushima disaster in March 2011, the German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) started to investigate the potential radiological consequences of a ''Fukushima-like'' accident in a German nuclear power plant and conducted appropriate simulations in 2012. Between the end of 2012 and the end of 2013, the first study was followed by a much more detailed and comprehensive investigation comprising more than 5000 case studies for three nuclear power plant (NPP) sites in Germany. Based on these results the German Commission on Radiological Protection (SSK) released a new recommendation in March 2014 including an expansion of the current emergency planning zones for nuclear power plants in Germany. The key results of this study with respect to the maximum dimensions of the affected areas where dose criteria may be exceeded are described below. The following results are based on the largest nuclear release scenario ''FKA'' (INES scale 7): - Threshold levels for deterministic effects and high doses (effective doses higher than 1000 mSv) can be reached or exceeded within a distance of about 3 km on average. - The emergency reference level for the intervention ''Evacuation'' can be reached or exceeded within a distance of up to 9 to 18 km (adults) and/or up to 14 to 24 km (infants) on average (the indicated interval describes the minimum and maximum levels of the median value at all three NPP sites). - The emergency reference level for the intervention ''Sheltering'' can be reached or exceeded within a distance of up to 62 to 80 km (adults) and/or up to 91 to 114 km (infants) on average. - The emergency reference level for the intervention ''Stable iodine prophylaxis'' can be exceeded within a distance of up to 24 to 34 km (adults) and/or up to 148 to 161 km (infants and pregnant women) on average.

Operación de hornos altos con inyección de carbón pulverizado en diferentes condiciones tecnológicas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Formoso Prego, Antonio

2001-06-01

Full Text Available Efficiency of pulverized coal injection (PCI at two blast furnaces (BFs in Spain and Ukraine which operate at different burden and blast conditions has been analyzed using statistical methods, calculation of material and heat balances and a mathematical model. Effect of PCI on the parameters of blast furnace operation, pig iron quality and also on interactions between process parameters has been studied. At high-grade burden and high parameters of the combined blast, dependence of coke consumption rate on PC amount is linear up to a high rate of PCI. At unfavorable burden and technological conditions dependence of the main furnace operating parameters on PC rate has extreme character. High efficiency of PC use can be achieved at the different conditions due to optimization of the technological regime.

Se analiza la eficiencia de la inyección de carbón pulverizado (ICP en dos hornos altos (HAs, en España y Ucrania, que operan en condiciones diferentes de viento y carga, usando un modelo matemático, métodos estadísticos y cálculos de los balances de materias y térmico. Se estudia el efecto de la ICP sobre los parámetros de operación de alto homo, calidad del arrabio y, también, las interacciones entre los parámetros de proceso. Al operar con una carga de calidad y altos parámetros de viento combinado el consumo de coque disminuye linealmente al incrementar, hasta tasas elevadas, la ICP. La dependencia entre los principales índices de fusión y el caudal de CP adquiere un carácter extremo cuando se opera con carga de baja calidad y en condiciones tecnológicas poco favorables. La alta eficiencia en la utilización de la ICP puede lograrse en condiciones diferentes mediante la optimización del régimen tecnológico.

Radon in workplaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reichelt, A.; Lehmann, K.-H.; Reineking, A.; Porstendoerfer, J.; Schwedt, J.; Streil, T.

2000-01-01

The radiological assessment of the results of radon measurements in dwellings is not automatically applicable to workplaces due to different forms of utilization, constructional conditions, time of exposure, heating and ventilation conditions, additional aerosol sources, aerosol parameters, chemical substances, etc. In order to investigate the peculiarities of the radon situation in workplaces located inside buildings compared with that in dwellings, long-time recordings of radon, attached radon progeny and unattached radon progeny concentrations ( 218 Po, 214 Pb, 214 Bi) are carried out at several categories of workplaces (e.g. offices, social establishments, schools, production rooms, workshops, kitchens, agricultural facilities). 36 workplaces have been investigated. There have been carried out at least 2-3 long-time recordings for each workplace during different seasons. At the same time the gamma dose rate, meteorological conditions, aerosol particle concentrations have been registered. Many special dates from the workplaces and the buildings have been recorded. Activity size distribution of the aerosol-attached and unattached fraction of short-lived radon decay products have been determinated in 20 workplaces. Mainly the following measurement systems were used: Radon- and Radon Progeny Monitor EQF 3020, SARAD GmbH, Germany. Alpha-Track Radon Detectors, BfS Berlin, Germany. Screen Diffusion Batteries with Different Screens, University of Goettingen, Germany. Low-Pressure Cascade Impactor, Type BERNER. Condensation Nuclei Counter, General Electric, USA. PAEC-f p -Rn-Monitor, University of Goettingen, Germany. Through the measurements, many peculiarities in the course of the radon-concentration, the equilibrium factor F, the unattached fraction f p and the activity size distribution have been determined. These amounts are influenced mainly by the working conditions and the working intervals. The influence of these peculiarities in workplaces on the dose have

Status report on the use of nuclear energy in the Federal Republic of Germany 2016; Statusbericht zur Kernenergienutzung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 2016

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bredberg, Ines; Hutter, Johann; Kuehn, Kerstin; Niedzwiedz, Katarzyna; Philippczyk, Frank [Bundesamt fuer kerntechnische Entsorgungssicherheit (BFE), Salzgitter (Germany); Thoemmes, Achim [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz, Salzgitter (Germany)

2017-08-15

On 7-30-2016, the ''Act on the Organisational Restructuring in the Field of Radioactive Waste Management'' came into force. It provides for bundling the governmental tasks of licensing and supervision in the field of nuclear technology, interim storage, site selection and repository monitoring in a new authority, the Federal Office for Nuclear Waste Disposal Safety (BfE). With the entry into force of the law, the corresponding specialist tasks of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) were transferred to the BfE. The task of preparing the annual status report on the use of nuclear energy is now the task of the BfE. A state-owned company, the Bundesgesellschaft fuer Endlager (BGE), will assume responsibility for the operational tasks of site search, construction and operation of the repository, the Asse II mine and Gorleben salt mine. This report as at 12-31-2016 provides an overview of the use of nuclear energy in the Federal Republic of Germany. The report lists the key data of all nuclear power plants, research reactors and nuclear fuel supply and disposal facilities. At the reporting date of December 31,2016, eight nuclear power plant units were in operation. Nuclear power generation in 2016 totalled approximately 84.6 TWh (2015:91.8 TWh). Nuclear energy accounted for 13.0% of total gross electricity generation (2015:14.2%)1. In the case of nuclear power plants, the report summarizes the main operating results and provides information on the nuclear licences granted in the year under review. A brief description of the current status of the decommissioned and decommissioned nuclear power plants as well as of the discontinued projects will be given. For the research reactors, the essential information on the type, the characteristics (thermal power, thermal neutron flux) and the intended use of the plant are presented. Furthermore, an overview of the approval and operating history as well as the current operating status is given

Boron application improves yield of rice cultivars under high temperature stress during vegetative and reproductive stages

Science.gov (United States)

Shahid, Mohammad; Nayak, Amaresh Kumar; Tripathi, Rahul; Katara, Jawahar Lal; Bihari, Priyanka; Lal, Banwari; Gautam, Priyanka

2018-04-01

It is reported that high temperatures (HT) would cause a marked decrease in world rice production. In tropical regions, high temperatures are a constraint to rice production and the most damaging effect is on spikelet sterility. Boron (B) plays a very important role in the cell wall formation, sugar translocation, and reproduction of the rice crop and could play an important role in alleviating high temperature stress. A pot culture experiment was conducted to study the effect of B application on high temperature tolerance of rice cultivars in B-deficient soil. The treatments comprised of four boron application treatments viz. control (B0), soil application of 1 kg B ha-1 (B1), soil application of 2 kg B ha-1 (B2), and foliar spray of 0.2% B (Bfs); three rice cultivars viz. Annapurna (HT stress tolerant), Naveen, and Shatabdi (both HT stress susceptible); and three temperature regimes viz. ambient (AT), HT at vegetative stage (HTV), and HT at reproductive stage (HTR). The results revealed that high temperature stress during vegetative or flowering stage reduced grain yield of rice cultivars mainly because of low pollen viability and spikelet fertility. The effects of high temperature on the spikelet fertility and grain filling varied among cultivars and the growth stages of plant when exposed to the high temperature stress. Under high temperature stress, the tolerant cultivar displays higher cell membrane stability, less accumulation of osmolytes, more antioxidant enzyme activities, and higher pollen viability and spikelet fertility than the susceptible cultivars. In the present work, soil application of boron was effective in reducing the negative effects of high temperature both at vegetative and reproductive stages. Application of B results into higher grain yield under both ambient and high temperature condition over control for all the three cultivars; however, more increase was observed for the susceptible cultivar over the tolerant one. The results suggest

Analysis of Monolith Cores from an Engineering Scale Demonstration of a Prospective Cast Stone Process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crawford, C. L.; Cozzi, A. D.; Hill, K. A.

2016-01-01

The primary disposition path of Low Activity Waste (LAW) at the DOE Hanford Site is vitrification. A cementitious waste form is one of the alternatives being considered for the supplemental immobilization of the LAW that will not be treated by the primary vitrification facility. Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) has been directed to generate and collect data on cementitious or pozzolanic waste forms such as Cast Stone. This report documents the coring and leach testing of monolithic samples cored from an engineering-scale demonstration (ES Demo) with non-radioactive simulants. The ES Demo was performed at SRNL in October of 2013 using the Scaled Continuous Processing Facility (SCPF) to fill an 8.5 ft. diameter x 3.25 ft. high container with simulated Cast Stone grout. The Cast Stone formulation was chosen from the previous screening tests. Legacy salt solution from previous Hanford salt waste testing was adjusted to correspond to the average LAW composition generated from the Hanford Tank Waste Operation Simulator (HTWOS). The dry blend materials, ordinary portland cement (OPC), Class F fly ash, and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS or BFS), were obtained from Lafarge North America in Pasco, WA. In 2014 core samples originally obtained approximately six months after filling the ES Demo were tested along with bench scale molded samples that were collected during the original pour. A latter set of core samples were obtained in late March of 2015, eighteen months after completion of the original ES Demo. Core samples were obtained using a 2'' diameter x 11'' long coring bit. The ES Demo was sampled in three different regions consisting of an outer ring, a middle ring and an inner core zone. Cores from these three lateral zones were further segregated into upper, middle and lower vertical segments. Monolithic core samples were tested using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 1315, which is designed to provide mass

Engineering scale demonstration of a prospective Cast Stone process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cozzi, A.; Fowley, M.; Hansen, E.; Fox, K.; Miller, D.; Williams, M.

2014-01-01

This report documents an engineering-scale demonstration with non-radioactive simulants that was performed at SRNL using the Scaled Continuous Processing Facility (SCPF) to fill an 8.5 ft container with simulated Cast Stone grout. The Cast Stone formulation was chosen from the previous screening tests. Legacy salt solution from previous Hanford salt waste testing was adjusted to correspond to the average composition generated from the Hanford Tank Waste Operation Simulator (HTWOS). The dry blend materials, ordinary portland cement (OPC), Class F fly ash, and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS or BFS), were obtained from Lafarge North America in Pasco, WA. Over three days, the SCPF was used to fill a 1600 gallon container, staged outside the facility, with simulated Cast Stone grout. The container, staged outside the building approximately 60 ft from the SCPF, was instrumented with x-, y-, and z-axis thermocouples to monitor curing temperature. The container was also fitted with two formed core sampling vials. For the operation, the targeted grout production rate was 1.5 gpm. This required a salt solution flow rate of approximately 1 gpm and a premix feed rate of approximately 580 lb/h. During the final day of operation, the dry feed rate was increased to evaluate the ability of the system to handle increased throughput. Although non-steady state operational periods created free surface liquids, no bleed water was observed either before or after operations. The final surface slope at a fill height of 39.5 inches was 1-1.5 inches across the 8.5 foot diameter container, highest at the final fill point and lowest diametrically opposed to the fill point. During processing, grout was collected in cylindrical containers from both the mixer discharge and the discharge into the container. These samples were stored in a humid environment either in a closed box proximal to the container or inside the laboratory. Additional samples collected at these sampling points

Nuclear Legislation in OECD and NEA Countries. Regulatory and Institutional Framework for Nuclear Activities - Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This country profile provide comprehensive information on the regulatory and Institutional Framework governing nuclear activities as well as a detailed review of a full range of nuclear law topics, including: mining regime; radioactive substances; nuclear installations; trade in nuclear materials and equipment; radiation protection; radioactive waste management; non-proliferation and physical protection; transport; and nuclear third party liability. The profile is complemented by reproductions of the primary legislation regulating nuclear activities in the country. Content: I. General regulatory regime: 1. Introduction; 2. Mining regime; 3. Radioactive substances, nuclear fuel and equipment (Definitions; Licensing requirements); 4. Nuclear installations (Licensing regime; Protection of the environment against radiation effects; Emergency response; Surveillance of installations and activities); 5. Trade in nuclear materials and equipment; 6. Radiation protection (General; Principal elements of the Radiation Protection Ordinance; Additional radiation protection norms); 7. Radioactive waste management (Atomic Energy Act 2002; Radiation Protection Ordinance; International obligations); 8. Non-proliferation and physical protection (Non-proliferation regime; Physical protection regime); 9. Transport; 10. Nuclear third party liability; II. Institutional Framework: 1. Regulatory and supervisory authorities: Federal authorities (Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Federal Minister for Education and Research, Federal Minister of Finance, Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, Federal Minister for Economy and Technology, Federal Minister of Defence, Federal Office for Radiation Protection - BfS, Federal Office of Economics and Export Control); Authorities of the Laender; 2. Advisory bodies (Reactor Safety Commission - RSK; Radiation Protection Commission - SSK; Disposal Commission - ESK; Nuclear Technology

Safety analysis of fusion reactors pertaining to nuclear incidents and accidents. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raeder, J.; Weller, A.; Wolf, R.; Jin, X.; Boccaccini, L.V.; Stieglitz, R.; Carloni, D.; Pistner, C.; Herb, J.

2013-11-01

The BfS gave the projekt partners IPP, KIT, Oeko-Institut e. V., and GRS the order to carry out a literature study on the topic of safety of fusion power plants regarding nuclear incidents and accidents. In the framework of this study the actual status of science and technology of the safety concept of fusion power plants should be determined and the applicability of the nuclear safety regulations hitherto developed for nuclear power plants checked. For future commercial fusion power plants today only conceptional designs exist. The most advanced conceptual study for a future fusion power plant is the European Power Plant Conceptual Study (PPCS) from the year 2005, which is based on the tokamak principle. In this study also fundamental aspects of the safety concept of nuclear fusion are treated. Hereby several different conceptual approaches are discussed, which differ among others also in the lay-out approaches relevant for the safety of a facility like for instance the choice of the breeding concept or the materials for the blanket/divertor structure and the coolants. The safety concept of nuclear fusion is oriented on safety concepts for facilities with radioactive inventory. It is based on the concept of tiered safety levels. In order to check whether for the nuclear fusion a safety concept comparable with the nuclear fission at all is necessary, in a first step it was considered, which consequences are possible at a postulated release o large parts of the radioactive inventory of a fusion power plant. Such a worst-case scenario was compared with a corresponding, postulated release of large parts of the radioactive inventory of a nuclear power plant. As scale hereby served the radiological criterion, at the transgression of which in the environment of the facility an evacuation would be necessary. In a next step the transferability of the safety concept of the tiered safety levels of nuclear technology to the fusion was checked. Beside events transferable from

Boron application improves yield of rice cultivars under high temperature stress during vegetative and reproductive stages.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahid, Mohammad; Nayak, Amaresh Kumar; Tripathi, Rahul; Katara, Jawahar Lal; Bihari, Priyanka; Lal, Banwari; Gautam, Priyanka

2018-04-12

It is reported that high temperatures (HT) would cause a marked decrease in world rice production. In tropical regions, high temperatures are a constraint to rice production and the most damaging effect is on spikelet sterility. Boron (B) plays a very important role in the cell wall formation, sugar translocation, and reproduction of the rice crop and could play an important role in alleviating high temperature stress. A pot culture experiment was conducted to study the effect of B application on high temperature tolerance of rice cultivars in B-deficient soil. The treatments comprised of four boron application treatments viz. control (B0), soil application of 1 kg B ha -1 (B1), soil application of 2 kg B ha -1 (B2), and foliar spray of 0.2% B (Bfs); three rice cultivars viz. Annapurna (HT stress tolerant), Naveen, and Shatabdi (both HT stress susceptible); and three temperature regimes viz. ambient (AT), HT at vegetative stage (HTV), and HT at reproductive stage (HTR). The results revealed that high temperature stress during vegetative or flowering stage reduced grain yield of rice cultivars mainly because of low pollen viability and spikelet fertility. The effects of high temperature on the spikelet fertility and grain filling varied among cultivars and the growth stages of plant when exposed to the high temperature stress. Under high temperature stress, the tolerant cultivar displays higher cell membrane stability, less accumulation of osmolytes, more antioxidant enzyme activities, and higher pollen viability and spikelet fertility than the susceptible cultivars. In the present work, soil application of boron was effective in reducing the negative effects of high temperature both at vegetative and reproductive stages. Application of B results into higher grain yield under both ambient and high temperature condition over control for all the three cultivars; however, more increase was observed for the susceptible cultivar over the tolerant one. The results

Overview of Experiments for Physics of Fast Reactors from the International Handbooks of Evaluated Criticality Safety Benchmark Experiments and Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bess, J. D.; Briggs, J. B.; Gulliford, J.; Ivanova, T.; Rozhikhin, E. V.; Semenov, M. Yu.; Tsibulya, A. M.; Koscheev, V. N.

2017-07-01

Overview of Experiments to Study the Physics of Fast Reactors Represented in the International Directories of Critical and Reactor Experiments John D. Bess Idaho National Laboratory Jim Gulliford, Tatiana Ivanova Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development E.V.Rozhikhin, M.Yu.Sem?nov, A.M.Tsibulya Institute of Physics and Power Engineering The study the physics of fast reactors traditionally used the experiments presented in the manual labor of the Working Group on Evaluation of sections CSEWG (ENDF-202) issued by the Brookhaven National Laboratory in 1974. This handbook presents simplified homogeneous model experiments with relevant experimental data, as amended. The Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development coordinates the activities of two international projects on the collection, evaluation and documentation of experimental data - the International Project on the assessment of critical experiments (1994) and the International Project on the assessment of reactor experiments (since 2005). The result of the activities of these projects are replenished every year, an international directory of critical (ICSBEP Handbook) and reactor (IRPhEP Handbook) experiments. The handbooks present detailed models of experiments with minimal amendments. Such models are of particular interest in terms of the settlements modern programs. The directories contain a large number of experiments which are suitable for the study of physics of fast reactors. Many of these experiments were performed at specialized critical stands, such as BFS (Russia), ZPR and ZPPR (USA), the ZEBRA (UK) and the experimental reactor JOYO (Japan), FFTF (USA). Other experiments, such as compact metal assembly, is also of interest in terms of the physics of fast reactors, they have been carried out on the universal critical stands in Russian institutes (VNIITF and VNIIEF) and the US (LANL, LLNL, and others.). Also worth mentioning

[Hadroproduction of charmed and bottom mesons (Fermilab experiment E-653): Progress report, June 13, 1983--June 14, 1984

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1984-12-31

(I)Results are given for photoproduction of the D{sup *} at 103 GeV. Clean signals are seen for the decay D{sup *{+-}} {yields} {pi}{sup {+-}}D{sup 0} with the D{sup 0} decaying into both K{sup {-+}}{pi}{sup {+-}} and K{sup {-+}}{pi}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup 0}. Analysis of the Dalitz plot for the K{pi}{pi} mode gives branching fractions (BFs) for K{sup {minus}}{rho}{sup +}, K{sup *{minus}}{pi}{sup +}, and {anti K}{sup *0}{pi}{sup 0} final states. The BF for D{sup 0} {yields} K{sup {minus}}{rho}{sup +}, much lower than a previous result, is in approximate agreement with the value expected for an l=1/2 final state. (II)Inelastic and elastic J/{psi} photoproduction on H is investigated at 103 GeV. The inelastic cross section with E{sub {psi}}/E{sub {gamma}} {lt} 0.9 is significantly lower than the corresponding result for muoproduction on Fe targets, but consistent with second-order perturbative QCD calculation. The mean p{sub +} of inelastic events is larger than that of elastic events. (III)Analysis of data from the CLEO experiment has yielded evidence for B{bar B} production from the 4S upsilon state. A preliminary cross section is shown. (IV)The SSD prototyping and testing program is described. The detectors performed as expected. (V)Three 24 x 36 mm{sup 2} Centronic detectors 300 microns thick were tested in 650-MeV/c proton and 600-MeV/c pion beams. Charge sharing was found to occur. (VI)Tests of attenuation lengths and light output were made on three types of scintillator: NE102A, PS12, and PS10. PS10 appears the most suitable. (VII)Charge-sharing SSDs of (V) were subject to analysis: checking of pulse heights of single stripes, hit pairs, and hit quads vs theoretical values; resolution of three-point proton/pion tracks, and characterization of devices by charge sum/difference plots of hit pairs. (VIII) Board fabrication and tests of a hadron calorimeter intended to be 91 x 91 sq.in. are discussed. (IX)Testing of an amplifier with LRS hybrid preamp is related.

Atmospheric transport modelling for the CTBT radionuclide network in routine operation and after the Fukushima releases; Atmosphaerische Transportmodellierung fuer das Radionuklidmessnetz zur Ueberwachung des Kernwaffenteststoppvertrages im Regelbetrieb und nach den Freisetzungen in Fukushima

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ross, J.O.; Ceranna, L.; Boennemann, C. [Bundesanstalt fuer Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), Hannover (Germany). B4.3; Schlosser, C. [Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (BfS), Freiburg (Germany). SW2.5

2014-01-20

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all types of nuclear explosions. For verification of compliance with Treaty the International Monitoring System (IMS) is being built up by the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) of the CTBT-Organisation in Vienna. The IMS observes waveform signals (seismic, infrasound, hydroacoustic) of explosions and traces of radionuclides in the atmosphere to proof the nuclear character of an event. The International Data Centre (IDC) provides analysis products for the IMS data such as various event bulletins, radionuclide reports, and atmospheric transport modeling (ATM) results confining the possible source region of detected radionuclides. The judgment on the character of a suspicious event remains with the member states. The German National Data Centre for verification of CTBT is hosted by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in Hannover. The BGR operates four IMS stations (IS26, IS27, PS19, and AS35) and cooperates closely with the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) who operates the radionuclide station RN33 at mount Schauinsland and supports the NDC with radionuclide expertise. In response to the Fukushima accident caused by the large magnitude 9.0 Tohuku Earthquake and Tsunami the HSYSPLIT model driven by 0.5 degree NCEP data was used at the German NDC to simulate the primary transport pathways of potentially emitted radioisotopes. The analysis focuses on arrival times and dilution ratios at the radionuclide stations of the IMS. The arrival times were predicted correctly at most stations for ten days after the accident. Traces of the Fukushima emissions were detected at all IMS radionuclide stations on the Northern Hemisphere end of March. In April also some stations on the Southern Hemisphere detected some traces which passed the ITCZ. In respect to the CTBT context the influence of the Tohoku earthquake and the Fukushima emissions on the network capability to detect a

Engineering scale demonstration of a prospective Cast Stone process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cozzi, A.; Fowley, M.; Hansen, E.; Fox, K.; Miller, D.; Williams, M.

2014-09-30

This report documents an engineering-scale demonstration with non-radioactive simulants that was performed at SRNL using the Scaled Continuous Processing Facility (SCPF) to fill an 8.5 ft container with simulated Cast Stone grout. The Cast Stone formulation was chosen from the previous screening tests. Legacy salt solution from previous Hanford salt waste testing was adjusted to correspond to the average composition generated from the Hanford Tank Waste Operation Simulator (HTWOS). The dry blend materials, ordinary portland cement (OPC), Class F fly ash, and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS or BFS), were obtained from Lafarge North America in Pasco, WA. Over three days, the SCPF was used to fill a 1600 gallon container, staged outside the facility, with simulated Cast Stone grout. The container, staged outside the building approximately 60 ft from the SCPF, was instrumented with x-, y-, and z-axis thermocouples to monitor curing temperature. The container was also fitted with two formed core sampling vials. For the operation, the targeted grout production rate was 1.5 gpm. This required a salt solution flow rate of approximately 1 gpm and a premix feed rate of approximately 580 lb/h. During the final day of operation, the dry feed rate was increased to evaluate the ability of the system to handle increased throughput. Although non-steady state operational periods created free surface liquids, no bleed water was observed either before or after operations. The final surface slope at a fill height of 39.5 inches was 1-1.5 inches across the 8.5 foot diameter container, highest at the final fill point and lowest diametrically opposed to the fill point. During processing, grout was collected in cylindrical containers from both the mixer discharge and the discharge into the container. These samples were stored in a humid environment either in a closed box proximal to the container or inside the laboratory. Additional samples collected at these sampling points

Research activities in radiation protection. Programme report 1996. Report on the departmental research programme of the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety (BMU), performed under the scientific and administrative project management of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmitt-Hannig, A.; Thieme, M.; Goedde, R.

1997-02-01

On behalf of the Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the Federal Office for Radiation Protection is placing research and study contracts in the field of radiation protection. The results of these projects are used for developing radiation protection rules and to fulfill the special radiation protection tasks of the BMU, required by law. Planning, expert and administrative management, placing, assistance as well as expert evaluation of the results from these research projects lies within the responsibility of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection. This report provides information on preliminary and final results of radiation protection projects within the BMU Department Research Programme of the year 1996. (orig.) [de

Executive Summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

Each session of the workshop consisted of a number of presentations followed by a panel discussion moderated by the session Chairs. A summary of each session and subsequent discussion that ensued are provided. Session 1: National approaches for long term interim storage facilities. Seven papers were presented during this session by representatives of research institutes in USA (EPRI) and in Norway (IFE), governmental authorities for the nuclear industry in Finland (STUK) and Slovak Republic (UJD), technical support organizations in Germany (GRS) and France (IRSN) and the public company in charge of waste management in Spain (ENRESA). The papers discussed the national policy, the regulatory framework and the current situation for storage of SF and HLW in various European countries (Germany, Spain, Finland, Norway and Slovak Republic). The main activities the EPRI is undertaking to establish the technical bases for extended (long-term) storage and the IRSN's definition of the safety principles and objectives for new storage facilities regarding long-term storage are also discussed. Session 2: Safety requirements, regulatory framework and implementation issues. Eleven papers were presented during this session by representatives from international groups (the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)), representatives of regulatory bodies from the United States (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and Germany (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz (BfS)), German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), operators from the United Kingdom (Sellafield Limited, UK) and France (EDF), vendors (AREVA), and representatives of TSOs in Germany (TUV and Oko-Institut). Session 3: Technical issues and operational experience, needs for R and D. This session was chaired by Karl Wasinger (AREVA, Germany) and Fumihisa Nagase (JAEA, Japan). Ten papers were presented during this session by representatives of research institutes of Japan (CRIEPI

Mitigating yield-scaled greenhouse gas emissions through combined application of soil amendments: A comparative study between temperate and subtropical rice paddy soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, Muhammad Aslam; Kim, P.J.; Inubushi, K.

2015-01-01

Effects of different soil amendments were investigated on methane (CH 4 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions, global warming potential (GWP) and yield scaled GWPs in paddy soils of Republic of Korea, Japan and Bangladesh. The experimental treatments were NPK only, NPK + fly ash, NPK + silicate slag, NPK + phosphogypsum(PG), NPK + blast furnace slag (BFS), NPK + revolving furnace slag (RFS), NPK + silicate slag (50%) + RFS (50%), NPK + biochar, NPK + biochar + Azolla-cyanobacteria, NPK + silicate slag + Azolla-cyanobacteria, NPK + phosphogypsum (PG) + Azolla-cyanobacteria. The maximum decrease in cumulative seasonal CH 4 emissions was recorded 29.7% and 32.6% with Azolla-cyanobacteria plus phospho-gypsum amendments in paddy soils of Japan and Bangladesh respectively, followed by 22.4% and 26.8% reduction with silicate slag plus Azolla-cyanobacteria application. Biochar amendments in paddy soils of Japan and Bangladesh decreased seasonal cumulative N 2 O emissions by 31.8% and 20.0% respectively, followed by 26.3% and 25.0% reduction with biochar plus Azolla-cyanobacteria amendments. Although seasonal cumulative CH 4 emissions were significantly increased by 9.5–14.0% with biochar amendments, however, global warming potentials were decreased by 8.0–12.0% with cyanobacterial inoculation plus biochar amendments. The maximum decrease in GWP was calculated 22.0–30.0% with Azolla-cyanobacteria plus silicate slag amendments. The evolution of greenhouse gases per unit grain yield (yield scaled GWP) was highest in the NPK treatment, which was decreased by 43–50% from the silicate slag and phosphogypsum amendments along with Azolla-cyanobacteria inoculated rice planted soils. Conclusively, it is recommended to incorporate Azolla-cyanobacteria with inorganic and organic amendments for reducing GWP and yield scaled GWP from the rice planted paddy soils of temperate and subtropical countries. - Highlights: • Azolla-cyanobacteria with organic and inorganic amendments

Session Report - S. Voinis (Andra)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voinis, Sylvie

2014-01-01

The session addressed key issues related to the industrial feasibility of construction. It covered the implementer and regulator points of view. The conclusions derive from three presentations completed by the outcomes of six WG. At the Morsleben Repository, Germany, the licensing of the closure of the repository has been initiated by BfS. The closure concept is based on extensive backfilling with salt concrete complemented by seals. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing such a seal structure an in-situ experiment is performed in a drift of the repository. In the UK, the framework for implementing geological disposal of the higher activity radioactive waste is described in the White Paper published by the UK Government in June 2008. The process to site a facility will be staged and based on voluntarism and partnership with local communities. This process is in its early stage. The paper outlines the work being undertaken by the NDA. In canada, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has submitted information required for a CNSC licence to prepare the site and construct a DGR for the disposal of low and intermediate level waste from the operation of their nuclear power reactors. That submission includes an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), as required for a Panel Review under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA), and the information required for a licence application under the NSCA Regulations. Discussions between the proponent and the regulator in the pre-licensing phase, clarified CNSC expectations for the characterization of the site and for the development of the EIS and application. They also helped to ensure that OPG understood these expectations. Outcomes WG session-1: - Start with construction but during operational phase: Simultaneous construction and operation activities. - Need for technical requirements/criteria: So that it can be judged whether 'products' meet the requirements; LT safety issues to be considered during

Evaluation of Technetium Getters to Improve the Performance of Cast Stone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neeway, James J.; Qafoku, Nikolla P.; Serne, R. Jeffrey; Lawter, Amanda R.; Stephenson, John R.; Lukens, Wayne W.; Westsik, Joseph H.

2015-01-01

Cast Stone has been selected as the preferred waste form for solidification of aqueous secondary liquid effluents from the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) process condensates and low-activity waste (LAW) melter off-gas caustic scrubber effluents. Cast Stone is also being evaluated as a supplemental immobilization technology to provide the necessary LAW treatment capacity to complete the Hanford tank waste cleanup mission in a timely and cost effective manner. One of the major radionuclides that Cast Stone has the potential to immobilize is technetium (Tc). The mechanism for immobilization is through the reduction of the highly mobile Tc(VII) species to the less mobile Tc(IV) species by the blast furnace slag (BFS) used in the Cast Stone formulation. Technetium immobilization through this method would be beneficial because Tc is one of the most difficult contaminants to address at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site due to its complex chemical behavior in tank waste, limited incorporation in mid- to high-temperature immobilization processes (vitrification, steam reformation, etc.), and high mobility in subsurface environments. In fact, the Tank Closure and Waste Management Environmental Impact Statement for the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington (TC&WM EIS) identifies technetium-99 ( 99 Tc) as one of the radioactive tank waste components contributing the most to the environmental impact associated with the cleanup of the Hanford Site. The TC&WM EIS, along with an earlier supplemental waste-form risk assessment, used a diffusion-limited release model to estimate the release of different contaminants from the WTP process waste forms. In both of these predictive modeling exercises, where effective diffusivities based on grout performance data available at the time, groundwater at the 100-m down-gradient well exceeded the allowable maximum permissible concentrations for 99 Tc. (900 pCi/L). Recent relatively short-term (63 day

From the first nuclear power plant to fourth-generation nuclear power installations [on the 60th anniversary of the World's First nuclear power plant

Science.gov (United States)

Rachkov, V. I.; Kalyakin, S. G.; Kukharchuk, O. F.; Orlov, Yu. I.; Sorokin, A. P.

2014-05-01

Successful commissioning in the 1954 of the World's First nuclear power plant constructed at the Institute for Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE) in Obninsk signaled a turn from military programs to peaceful utilization of atomic energy. Up to the decommissioning of this plant, the AM reactor served as one of the main reactor bases on which neutron-physical investigations and investigations in solid state physics were carried out, fuel rods and electricity generating channels were tested, and isotope products were bred. The plant served as a center for training Soviet and foreign specialists on nuclear power plants, the personnel of the Lenin nuclear-powered icebreaker, and others. The IPPE development history is linked with the names of I.V. Kurchatov, A.I. Leipunskii, D.I. Blokhintsev, A.P. Aleksandrov, and E.P. Slavskii. More than 120 projects of various nuclear power installations were developed under the scientific leadership of the IPPE for submarine, terrestrial, and space applications, including two water-cooled power units at the Beloyarsk NPP in Ural, the Bilibino nuclear cogeneration station in Chukotka, crawler-mounted transportable TES-3 power station, the BN-350 reactor in Kazakhstan, and the BN-600 power unit at the Beloyarsk NPP. Owing to efforts taken on implementing the program for developing fast-neutron reactors, Russia occupied leading positions around the world in this field. All this time, IPPE specialists worked on elaborating the principles of energy supertechnologies of the 21st century. New large experimental installations have been put in operation, including the nuclear-laser setup B, the EGP-15 accelerator, the large physical setup BFS, the high-pressure setup SVD-2; scientific, engineering, and technological schools have been established in the field of high- and intermediate-energy nuclear physics, electrostatic accelerators of multicharge ions, plasma processes in thermionic converters and nuclear-pumped lasers, physics of compact

Institute of Energy and Climate Research IEK-6. Nuclear waste management and reactor safety report 2009/2010. Material science for nuclear waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klinkenberg, M.; Neumeier, S.; Bosbach, D.

2011-01-01

. Within the product quality control group (PKS) 16 scientists and engineers are currently working on the qualification of radioactive waste on behalf of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). The nuclear safeguards group is coordinating the joint safeguards R and D programme between IAEA and BMWi. Research and development activities are integrated into national and international research programms and cooperations. They represent a substantial part of the Helmholtz Research programme ''Nuclear Safety Research''. Material science for nuclear waste management is the research subject of IEK-6, Nuclear Waste Management part. (orig.)

ENETRAP: training and education in radiological protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coeck, M.

2006-01-01

The development of a common European radiation protection and safety culture and, based on that, the mutual recognition of radiation protection courses and the acquired competencies of radiation protection experts (RPE) and officers (RPO) is becoming a real need. The ENETRAP project ('European Network for Education and Training in RAdiological Protection') aims at bringing together different ideas and approaches of education and training (E and T) in radiological protection (RP) in order to better integrate and harmonise national E and T activities on a European level. The project started in April 2005. 10 partners are involved in ENETRAP: SCK-CEN (coordinator), CEA-INSTN, FZK-FTU, BfS, ENEA, NRG, CIEMAT, HPA-RPD, UJF and UHI-NHC. These partners have years of experience with established E and T programmes and play an important role in the development of specific techniques such as e-learning or On-the-Job Training (OJT) related to RP. As a result of their fundamental scientific research, collaboration with industry and practical experience, the partners have a solid scientific knowledge of all aspects of RP and are ideally placed to transfer the know-how and estimate the needs in this field. The ENETRAP project aims at establishing a sustainable E and T infrastructure for RP as an essential component to combat the perceived decline in expertise and to ensure the continuation of the high level of RP knowledge. The main objectives of the ENETRAP project are (1) to better integrate existing E and T activities in the RP infrastructure of the European countries in order to combat the decline in both student numbers and teaching institutions, (2) to develop more harmonised approaches for E and T in RP in Europe, (3) to better integrate the national resources and capacities for E and T and (4) to provide the necessary competence and expertise for the continued safe use of radiation in industry, medicine and research. Any such infrastructure must ensure that provision is

Permission for the disposal of substances. Recommendation of the Radiation Protection Commission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldauf, D.

2007-01-01

Since the Nineteen Eighties the German Radiation Protection Commission (SSK) has issued a number of recommendations for the release of weakly radioactive substances from the requirement of official approval for use. These have been summarised in a general guide [SSK 98]. The recommendations are based on the de minimis concept of the IAEA [IAEA 88] which allows an upper total dose limit for the general population of several 10 μSv per year from all substances exempt from official approval. As a means of modelling the disposal of exempt substances the general guide uses a model based on a study by Poschner and Schaller [POS 95]. The exemption values given in the general guide also take account of age groups and the dose coefficients given in the basic radiation protection standards of the EU [EU 96]. In the meantime the framework conditions have changed, due in part to new waste management regulations and in part to improvements in disposal technology. The changes in waste management law have resulted in particular from the Ordinance on the Environmentally Friendly Landfilling of Household Wastes (AbfAblV) of 20 February 2001, BGBl 2001, 305 and from the Ordinance on Landfills and Long-Term Storage Facilities (DepV) of 24 July 2002, BGBl 2002, 2807, in which the regulations of the Technical Code on Household Waste (TASi) [TASi 93] have been detailed and made binding. This has led to certain requirements being placed on existing as well as new landfills and storage facilities and related work processes, which in turn has impacted on dose calculation formulas (in particular soil sealing, covering, pretreatment of wastes). The consequences of the new requirements were investigated in a research project conducted by the Federal Radiation Protection Office (BfS) [THI 04]. For these reasons the Radiation Protection Commission has been commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety (BMU) to work out a recommendation for

Role of Aquaporin 0 in lens biomechanics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sindhu Kumari, S; Gupta, Neha; Shiels, Alan; FitzGerald, Paul G; Menon, Anil G; Mathias, Richard T; Varadaraj, Kulandaiappan

2015-07-10

Maintenance of proper biomechanics of the eye lens is important for its structural integrity and for the process of accommodation to focus near and far objects. Several studies have shown that specialized cytoskeletal systems such as the beaded filament (BF) and spectrin-actin networks contribute to mammalian lens biomechanics; mutations or deletion in these proteins alters lens biomechanics. Aquaporin 0 (AQP0), which constitutes ∼45% of the total membrane proteins of lens fiber cells, has been shown to function as a water channel and a structural cell-to-cell adhesion (CTCA) protein. Our recent ex vivo study on AQP0 knockout (AQP0 KO) mouse lenses showed the CTCA function of AQP0 could be crucial for establishing the refractive index gradient. However, biomechanical studies on the role of AQP0 are lacking. The present investigation used wild type (WT), AQP5 KO (AQP5(-/-)), AQP0 KO (heterozygous KO: AQP0(+/-); homozygous KO: AQP0(-/-); all in C57BL/6J) and WT-FVB/N mouse lenses to learn more about the role of fiber cell AQPs in lens biomechanics. Electron microscopic images exhibited decreases in lens fiber cell compaction and increases in extracellular space due to deletion of even one allele of AQP0. Biomechanical assay revealed that loss of one or both alleles of AQP0 caused a significant reduction in the compressive load-bearing capacity of the lenses compared to WT lenses. Conversely, loss of AQP5 did not alter the lens load-bearing ability. Compressive load-bearing at the suture area of AQP0(+/-) lenses showed easy separation while WT lens suture remained intact. These data from KO mouse lenses in conjunction with previous studies on lens-specific BF proteins (CP49 and filensin) suggest that AQP0 and BF proteins could act co-operatively in establishing normal lens biomechanics. We hypothesize that AQP0, with its prolific expression at the fiber cell membrane, could provide anchorage for cytoskeletal structures like BFs and together they help to confer

Calendar

Science.gov (United States)

2004-06-01

JULY 2004 2nd World Congress of the Game Theory Society, Faculty of Luminy, Marseille, France 5-9 July 2004 Europa Organisation (europa@europa-organisation.com), +33 5 34 45 26 45, www.gts2004.org Budapest Workshop on Behavioral Economics, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary 5-10 July 2004 Eva Dotzi (behavecon@ceu.hu), www.iza.org/en/calls_conferences/CallCEU_04.pdf FDA'04. 1st IFAC Workshop on Fractional Differentiation and its Applications, Bordeaux, France 19-20 July 2004 IFAC secretariat (fda04@lap.u-bordeaux1.fr), www.lap.u-bordeaux.fr/fda04/ Bachelier Finance Society Third World Congress, InterContinental Hotel, Chicago, IL, USA 21-24 July 2004 bfs2004@uic.edu, www.uic.edu/orgs/bachelier/ BS/IMS 2004. 6th World Congress of the Bernoulli Society for Mathematical Statistics and Probability, Barcelona, Spain 26-31 July 2004 wc2004@pacifico-meetings.com, +34 93 402 13 85, www.imub.ub.es/events/wc2004 AUGUST 2004 Summer School in Econometrics. The Cointegrated VAR Model: Econometric Methodology and Macroeconomic Applications, Institute of Economics, University of Copenhagen, Denmark 2-22 August 2004 Summerschool@econ.ku.dk, www.econ.ku.dk/summerschool SEPTEMBER 2004 First Bonzenfreies Colloquium on Market Dynamics and Quantitative Economics, Alessandria, Palazzo Borsalino, Italy 9-10 September 2004 colloquium@unipmn.it, www.mfn.unipmn.it/~colloqui/ Risk Analysis 2004. 4th International Conference on Computer Simulation in Risk Analysis and Hazard Mitigation, Aldemar Paradise Royal Mare Hotel, Rhodes, Greece 27-29 September 2004 enquiries@wessex.ac.uk, +44 (0)238 029 3223, www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2004/risk04/ OCTOBER 2004 IRC Hedge 2004, InterContinental Hotel, London, UK 10, 11 October 2004 enquiries@irc-conferences.com, www.irc-conferences.com/show_conference.php?id=10 NOVEMBER 2004 IRC DICE 2004, InterContinental Hotel, London, UK 22, 23 November 2004 enquiries@irc-conferences.com, www.irc-conferences.com/show_conference.php?id=13 DECEMBER 2004

Manufacture, characterisation and properties of novel fluorcanasite glass-ceramics.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollington, Sarah; van Noort, Richard

2012-11-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the manufacture and characterisation of different compositions of fluorcanasite glass-ceramics with reduced fluorine content and to assess their mechanical and physical properties. Three compositional variations (S80, S81 and S82) of a fluorcanasite glass were investigated. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) identified crystallisation temperatures and phases. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) determined the element composition in the glass-ceramics. Different heat treatments [2 h nucleation and either 2 or 4 h crystallisation] were used for the glasses. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examined the microstructure of the cerammed glass. The chemical solubility, biaxial flexural strength, fracture toughness, hardness and brittleness index of S81 and S82 fluorcanasite were investigated with lithium disilicate (e.max CAD, Ivoclar Vivadent) as a commercial comparison. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey's multiple comparison tests (Pglasses. XRD analysis confirmed fluorcanasite formation with the S81 and S82 compositions, with the S82 (2+2h) showing the most prominent crystal structure. The chemical solubility of the glass-ceramics was significantly different, varying from 2565 ± 507 μg/cm(2) for the S81 (2+2 h) to 722 ± 177 μg/cm(2) for the S82 (2+2 h) to 37.4 ± 25.2 μg/cm(2) for the lithium disilicate. BFS values were highest for the S82 (2+2 h) composition (250 ± 26 MPa) and lithium disilicate (266 ± 37 MPa) glass-ceramics. The fracture toughness was higher for the S82 compositions, with the S82 (2+2h) attaining the highest value of 4.2 ± 0.3 MPa m(1/2)(P=0.01). The S82 (2+2 h) fluorcanasite glass-ceramic had the lowest brittleness index. The S82 (2+2 h) fluorcanasite glass-ceramic has acceptable chemical solubility, high biaxial flexural strength, fracture toughness and hardness. A novel glass-ceramic has been developed with potential as a restorative material. The

Institute of Energy and Climate Research IEK-6. Nuclear waste management and reactor safety report 2009/2010. Material science for nuclear waste management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klinkenberg, M; Neumeier, S; Bosbach, D [eds.

2011-07-01

graphite. Within the product quality control group (PKS) 16 scientists and engineers are currently working on the qualification of radioactive waste on behalf of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). The nuclear safeguards group is coordinating the joint safeguards R and D programme between IAEA and BMWi. Research and development activities are integrated into national and international research programms and cooperations. They represent a substantial part of the Helmholtz Research programme ''Nuclear Safety Research''. Material science for nuclear waste management is the research subject of IEK-6, Nuclear Waste Management part. (orig.)

Evaluation of Technetium Getters to Improve the Performance of Cast Stone

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neeway, James J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Qafoku, Nikolla P. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Serne, R. Jeffrey [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lawter, Amanda R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Stephenson, John R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lukens, Wayne W. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Westsik, Joseph H. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-11-01

Cast Stone has been selected as the preferred waste form for solidification of aqueous secondary liquid effluents from the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) process condensates and low-activity waste (LAW) melter off-gas caustic scrubber effluents. Cast Stone is also being evaluated as a supplemental immobilization technology to provide the necessary LAW treatment capacity to complete the Hanford tank waste cleanup mission in a timely and cost effective manner. One of the major radionuclides that Cast Stone has the potential to immobilize is technetium (Tc). The mechanism for immobilization is through the reduction of the highly mobile Tc(VII) species to the less mobile Tc(IV) species by the blast furnace slag (BFS) used in the Cast Stone formulation. Technetium immobilization through this method would be beneficial because Tc is one of the most difficult contaminants to address at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hanford Site due to its complex chemical behavior in tank waste, limited incorporation in mid- to high-temperature immobilization processes (vitrification, steam reformation, etc.), and high mobility in subsurface environments. In fact, the Tank Closure and Waste Management Environmental Impact Statement for the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington (TC&WM EIS) identifies technetium-99 (⁹⁹Tc) as one of the radioactive tank waste components contributing the most to the environmental impact associated with the cleanup of the Hanford Site. The TC&WM EIS, along with an earlier supplemental waste-form risk assessment, used a diffusion-limited release model to estimate the release of different contaminants from the WTP process waste forms. In both of these predictive modeling exercises, where effective diffusivities based on grout performance data available at the time, groundwater at the 100-m down-gradient well exceeded the allowable maximum permissible concentrations for ⁹⁹Tc. (900 pCi/L). Recent relatively

Environmental radioactivity in Germany. Report of the federal installations and the Federal office of radiation protection. Data and evaluation; Umweltradioaktivitaet in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Bericht der Leitstellen des Bundes und des Bundesamtes fuer Strahlenschutz. Stand 2014. Daten und Bewertung

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2015-04-15

measured by the BfS in Freiburg remained at about 1.5 Bq/m{sup 3}. The measured activity concentrations of {sup 133}Xe ranged from one to 100 mBq/m{sup 3}, except for the time after the Fukushima disaster. Almost all measured values of {sup 137}Cs concentrations in drinking water and groundwater are below the detection limit The BfS, in cooperation with the PTB, carried out interlaboratory comparisons to determine natural radionuclides in drinking water in 2012 and 2014. In the North Sea sampling was performed every August. The {sup 137}Cs activity concentration ranged from 1.3 Bq/m{sup 3} in the Elbe estuary up to 3.0 Bq/m{sup 3} in the outer German Bight. Compared to this, the {sup 137}Cs activity concentration in the Baltic Sea is higher, ranging from 20 Bq/m{sup 3} in the western part, to 34 Bq/m{sup 3} in the eastern part of the region under study, as a result of the Chernobyl reactor accident. Consequently, the measured {sup 137}Cs activity concentrations in fish are also higher in the Baltic Sea than in the North Sea, reaching up to 11 Bq/kg during the reporting period. Increased activity concentrations are still being measured in fish from inland waters, especially from lakes. In Southern Germany, these have declined from more than 200 Bq/kg moist mass in 1986 down to 2.3 Bq/kg up to now. As a result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, more than 10 PBq of {sup 134}Cs and {sup 137}Cs (1 PBq = 1015Bq) entered the Pacific Ocean every. While soil contamination with {sup 137}Cs is due to the Chernobyl accident, most of the {sup 90}Sr deposits go back to the time of the atmospheric nuclear weapons tests. In feedstuffs, mean values ranging from < 0.1 Bq/kg up to 0.8 Bq/kg were measured for {sup 137}Cs and from 0.1 Bq/kg up to 2.3 Bq/kg for {sup 90}Sr. Contamination of milk constantly remains at a low level. Dietary intake of {sup 137}Cs and 90Sr was 73 Bq and 29 Bq, respectively, on average in 2013. An interlaboratory comparison involving 72 institutions from Germany and

Environmental radioactivity in Germany. Report of the federal installations and the Federal office of radiation protection. Data and evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-04-01

This report is a compilation and evaluation of data on radioactivity in the environment and in the vicinity of nuclear facilities in Germany from 2011 to 2013. The mean radiation exposure of the public in Germany was about 4.0 mSv in 2013, of which natural radiation exposure accounted for about 2.1 mSv and man-made radiation exposure for 1.9 mSv. An international work group is in charge of the preparation of quality standards for radon measurements. These latter also serve as a basis to implement the regulations of the new EURATOM Basic Safety Standards Directive. Rice grown within the contaminated zone around Fukushima has been certified as reference material for food monitoring. The trace analysis laboratory for airborne radioactive substances obtained several striking results of measurements performed during the reporting period. Man-made radionuclides from the Fukushima nuclear accident were detectable, too. Assessment of anthropogenic radioactivity also requires thorough measurement of ''natural'' radiation components. Three different measurement areas are used as a reference for calibration. Discharges of radioactive substances into the exit air and wastewaters from nuclear power plants remained far below the authorised limit from 2011 to 2013. There has been a trend of decreasing discharges since 1975. The nine nuclear power plant units in operation at the end of the reporting period had a total capacity of 12.7 GW and accounted for 15 per cent of power generation. The annual mean values provided by the measuring network of the Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD; German Meteorological Service) amounted to 0.6 mBq/m"3, 0.7 mBq/m"3 and 0.7 mBq/m"3 for the total -activity in the air and 58 Bq/m"2, 38 Bq/m"2, and 27 Bq/m"2 for the total -activity deposited by precipitation in 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively. The higher annual value for 2011 is due to the Fukushima releases. The activity concentrations of "8"5Kr measured by the BfS in Freiburg remained at about 1.5 Bq

Radiation effects on medium active waste forms. Annual report - 1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, D.; Wilding, C.; Lyon, C.

1989-01-01

Work has continued on measurements of dimensional changes, strength, and gas evolution on samples of several simulated waste forms under accelerated γ and α irradiation conditions. Samples of RMA5 (mixed ion exchangers in modified vinylester polymer) and RMA10 (incinerated PCM materials in cement) maintain their integrity during irradiation but samples of RMA3 (organic ion exchangers in cement) and RMA11.1 (mixed PCM materials in cement) swell and eventually disintegrate under some γ irradiation conditions. Disintegration of RMA3 samples occurred when samples were γ irradiated whilst immersed in water. Samples of RMA11.1 which cannot rapidly dry out swell, sometimes substantially, during γ irradiation. The principal gases of interest in gas evolution experiments are hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is evolved under all circumstances but oxygen evolution does not always occur. Samples of RMA10 evolve oxygen when α irradiated in an inert atmosphere but oxygen concentration initially falls during α irradiation in air atmosphere. Samples of RMA11.1 absorb oxygen from an air atmosphere during both α and γ irradiation. A comparison has been carried out of the effects of γ and α irradiation on identical cement grouts using BFS/OPC mixes produced under high shear mixing conditions. In contrast to earlier results on such systems, no γ irradiated samples showed physical deterioration after irradiation to 9 MGy but the a irradiated samples all showed surface cracks after about 1 MGy. The gas evolution measurements showed that during α irradiation oxygen evolution commenced after a dose of ∼ 1 MGy whereas oxygen was completely removed from the atmosphere γ irradiation. Hydrogen was evolved under all conditions and the rate of production was found to be dependent upon the dose rate. More hydrogen was evolved during α irradiations than during γ irradiation. A technique for the measurement of hydrogen permeability through cement systems has been further developed

Institute of Energy and Climate Research IEK-6. Nuclear waste management and reactor safety report 2009/2010. Material science for nuclear waste management

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klinkenberg, M.; Neumeier, S.; Bosbach, D. (eds.)

2011-07-01

graphite. Within the product quality control group (PKS) 16 scientists and engineers are currently working on the qualification of radioactive waste on behalf of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS). The nuclear safeguards group is coordinating the joint safeguards R and D programme between IAEA and BMWi. Research and development activities are integrated into national and international research programms and cooperations. They represent a substantial part of the Helmholtz Research programme ''Nuclear Safety Research''. Material science for nuclear waste management is the research subject of IEK-6, Nuclear Waste Management part. (orig.)

Operational experience with a commercial plant for stabilisation Of radioactive sludge and other materials in the United Kingdom - 16042

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagan, M.; Cornell, R.M.; Riley, B.; Ware, B.

2009-01-01

In 2000, Nuvia Limited was contracted to design, build and commission a waste treatment plant (WETP) to stabilise the active sludge stored in the External Active Storage Tanks (EAST) at UKAEA Winfrith, UK. The sludge was generated during the operational period of the prototype Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactor (SGHWR), which is now in the process of being decommissioned. This work supports UKAEA's mission, which is to carry out environmental restoration of its nuclear sites and to put them to alternative uses wherever possible. Recently UKAEA has been reorganised and responsibility for the site lies with Research Sites Restoration Limited (RSRL) with funding provided by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The process of stabilisation of the SGHWR sludge from the EAST tanks within 500 litre stainless steel drums in the Winfrith EAST Treatment Plant (WETP) using ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and blast furnace slag (BFS) is now almost complete. At this stage it was planned to decommission and demolish the WETP facilities but RSRL have introduced a further stabilisation project involving thorium metal waste ahead of the start of the planned decommissioning. As a result, the facilities are to be revised to provide for the encapsulation of bars of thorium metal within modified 500 litre drums together with a number of necessary changes to the plant control system. The cell line used for stabilisation consists of five operational cells separated by shield doors designed to maintain strict contamination control. There is a wet cell where the drums are filled with sludge and powder, a cell with stations for curing and grouting the drums, a cell for lidding, bolting and QA inspection, a maintenance and gamma monitoring cell and a buffer store to hold the completed drums. After completion, drums are moved in a shielded overpack to the Treated Radwaste Store located on a different part of the Winfrith site. In the revised cell line configuration the wet cell will

Key Factors That Influence The Performance Properties Of ARP/MCU Saltstone Mixes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harbour, J.; Edwards, T.; Williams, V.

2009-01-01

At the Saltstone Production Facility (SPF), decontaminated salt solution (DSS) is combined with premix (a cementitious mixture of portland cement (PC), blast furnace slag (BFS) and Class F fly ash (FA)) in a Readco mixer to produce fresh (uncured) Saltstone. After transfer to the Saltstone Disposal Facility (SDF) the hydration reactions initiated during the contact of the premix and salt solution continue during the curing period to produce the hardened waste form product. The amount of heat generated from hydration and the resultant temperature increase in the vaults depend on the composition of the decontaminated salt solution being dispositioned as well as the grout formulation (mix design). This report details the results from Task 3 of the Saltstone Variability Study for FY09 which was performed to identify, and quantify when possible, those factors that drive the performance properties of the projected ARP/MCU Batches. A baseline ARP/MCU mix (at 0.60 water to cementitious materials (w/cm) ratio) was established and consisted of the normal premix composition and a salt solution that was an average of the projected compositions of the last three ARP/MCU batches developed by T. A. Le. This task introduced significant variation in (1) wt % slag, w/cm ratio, and wt % portland cement about the baseline mix and (2) the temperature of curing in order to better assess the dependence of the performance properties on these factors. Two separate campaigns, designated Phase 10 and Phase 11, were carried out under Task 3. Experimental designs and statistical analyses were used to search for correlation among properties and to develop linear models to predict property values based on factors such as w/cm ratio, slag concentration, and portland cement concentration. It turns out that the projected salt compositions contained relatively high amounts of aluminate (0.22 M) even though no aluminate was introduced due to caustic aluminate removal from High Level Waste. Previous

Mitigating yield-scaled greenhouse gas emissions through combined application of soil amendments: A comparative study between temperate and subtropical rice paddy soils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ali, Muhammad Aslam, E-mail: litonaslam@yahoo.com [Dept. of Environmental Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202 (Bangladesh); Dept. of Agricultural Chemistry, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju (Korea, Republic of); Division of Environmental Horticulture, Chiba University, Matsudo, Chiba 271-8510 (Japan); Kim, P.J., E-mail: pjkim@nongae.gsnu.ac.kr [Dept. of Agricultural Chemistry, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju (Korea, Republic of); Inubushi, K. [Division of Environmental Horticulture, Chiba University, Matsudo, Chiba 271-8510 (Japan)

2015-10-01

Effects of different soil amendments were investigated on methane (CH{sub 4}) and nitrous oxide (N{sub 2}O) emissions, global warming potential (GWP) and yield scaled GWPs in paddy soils of Republic of Korea, Japan and Bangladesh. The experimental treatments were NPK only, NPK + fly ash, NPK + silicate slag, NPK + phosphogypsum(PG), NPK + blast furnace slag (BFS), NPK + revolving furnace slag (RFS), NPK + silicate slag (50%) + RFS (50%), NPK + biochar, NPK + biochar + Azolla-cyanobacteria, NPK + silicate slag + Azolla-cyanobacteria, NPK + phosphogypsum (PG) + Azolla-cyanobacteria. The maximum decrease in cumulative seasonal CH{sub 4} emissions was recorded 29.7% and 32.6% with Azolla-cyanobacteria plus phospho-gypsum amendments in paddy soils of Japan and Bangladesh respectively, followed by 22.4% and 26.8% reduction with silicate slag plus Azolla-cyanobacteria application. Biochar amendments in paddy soils of Japan and Bangladesh decreased seasonal cumulative N{sub 2}O emissions by 31.8% and 20.0% respectively, followed by 26.3% and 25.0% reduction with biochar plus Azolla-cyanobacteria amendments. Although seasonal cumulative CH{sub 4} emissions were significantly increased by 9.5–14.0% with biochar amendments, however, global warming potentials were decreased by 8.0–12.0% with cyanobacterial inoculation plus biochar amendments. The maximum decrease in GWP was calculated 22.0–30.0% with Azolla-cyanobacteria plus silicate slag amendments. The evolution of greenhouse gases per unit grain yield (yield scaled GWP) was highest in the NPK treatment, which was decreased by 43–50% from the silicate slag and phosphogypsum amendments along with Azolla-cyanobacteria inoculated rice planted soils. Conclusively, it is recommended to incorporate Azolla-cyanobacteria with inorganic and organic amendments for reducing GWP and yield scaled GWP from the rice planted paddy soils of temperate and subtropical countries. - Highlights: • Azolla-cyanobacteria with organic and

Disposal of radioactive waste: the forming of a new approach in Germany. Summary and international perspective. FSC Community Visit and National Workshop, Hitzacker, Hamburg, 5-8 October 2004

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

The fifth workshop of the OECD/NEA Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC) was hosted by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the authorities responsible for implementing and regulating radioactive waste management in Germany, respectively. The central theme of the event was 'the forming of a new approach to radioactive waste management in Germany'. The three-day event started with a community visit in Hitzacker, which included a one-day meeting with community representatives and other stakeholders. This was followed by a tour to radioactive waste management facilities in Gorleben, and then the national workshop, which took place in Hamburg. Sixty-five registered participants, from 13 countries, attended the event. About 60% were German stakeholders, the remainder came from FSC member countries and international organisations. The German stakeholders included local actors, academics, and representatives of state and federal governments, NGOs, waste producers and other companies. The international audience consisted of FSC, typically affiliated with national regulatory bodies, government, or implementing organisations, plus other delegates and academics. The event was structured as follows: The introductory session (Day 1 morning and early afternoon) took place in Hitzaker and explored the historical context and the current situation of radioactive waste management in Germany. It entailed plenary presentations by key actors of policy making processes and discussions focusing on stakeholder concerns about trust and confidence. Three sessions took place in Hamburg and addressed the topics 'The new proposed approach to site selection, with emphasis on basic premises' (Day 1 late afternoon), 'The new proposed approach to site selection, with emphasis on stakeholder involvement' (Day 2 afternoon), and 'The new approach to

The Herdecke questionnaire on quality of life (HLQ: Validation of factorial structure and development of a short form within a naturopathy treated in-patient collective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beer Andre-Michael

2005-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Quality of life (QoL of patients has become a central evaluation parameter that also acts as an aid for decisions related to treatment strategies particularly for patients with chronic illnesses. In Germany, one of the newer instruments attempting to measure distinct QoL aspects is the "Herdecke Questionnaire for Quality of Life" (HLQ. In this study, we aimed to validate the HLQ with respect to its factorial structure, and to develop a short form. The validation has been carried out in relation to other questionnaires including the SF-36 Health Survey, the Mood-Scale Bf-S, the Giessen Physical Complaints Questionnaire GBB-24 and McGill's Pain Perception Scale SES. Methods Data for this study derived from a model project on the treatment of patients using naturopathy methods in Blankenstein Hospital, Hattingen. In total, 2,461 patients between the ages of 16 and 92 years (mean age: 58.0 ± 13.4 years were included in this study. Most of the patients (62% suffered from rheumatic diseases. Factorial validation of the HLQ, it's reliability and external consistency analysis and the development of a short form were carried out using the SPSS software. Results Structural analysis of the HLQ-items pointed to a 6-factor model. The internal consistency of both the long and the short version is excellent (Cronbach's α is 0.935 for the HLQ-L and 0.862 for the HLQ-S. The highest reliability in the HLQ-L was obtained for the "Initiative Power and Interest" scale, the lowest for the 2-item scales "Digestive Well-Being" and the "Physical Complaints". However, the scales found by factor analysis herein were only in part congruent with the original 5-scale model which was approved a multitrait analysis approach. The new instrument shows good correlations with several scales of other relevant QoL instruments. The scales "Initiative Power and Interest", "Social Interaction", "Mental Balance", "Motility", "Physical Complaints", "Digestive Well

Role of Aquaporin 0 in lens biomechanics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sindhu Kumari, S.; Gupta, Neha [Physiology and Biophysics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (United States); Shiels, Alan [Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (United States); FitzGerald, Paul G. [Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA (United States); Menon, Anil G. [University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Mathias, Richard T. [Physiology and Biophysics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (United States); SUNY Eye Institute, NY (United States); Varadaraj, Kulandaiappan, E-mail: kulandaiappan.varadaraj@stonybrook.edu [Physiology and Biophysics, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY (United States); SUNY Eye Institute, NY (United States)

2015-07-10

Maintenance of proper biomechanics of the eye lens is important for its structural integrity and for the process of accommodation to focus near and far objects. Several studies have shown that specialized cytoskeletal systems such as the beaded filament (BF) and spectrin-actin networks contribute to mammalian lens biomechanics; mutations or deletion in these proteins alters lens biomechanics. Aquaporin 0 (AQP0), which constitutes ∼45% of the total membrane proteins of lens fiber cells, has been shown to function as a water channel and a structural cell-to-cell adhesion (CTCA) protein. Our recent ex vivo study on AQP0 knockout (AQP0 KO) mouse lenses showed the CTCA function of AQP0 could be crucial for establishing the refractive index gradient. However, biomechanical studies on the role of AQP0 are lacking. The present investigation used wild type (WT), AQP5 KO (AQP5{sup −/−}), AQP0 KO (heterozygous KO: AQP0{sup +/−}; homozygous KO: AQP0{sup −/−}; all in C57BL/6J) and WT-FVB/N mouse lenses to learn more about the role of fiber cell AQPs in lens biomechanics. Electron microscopic images exhibited decreases in lens fiber cell compaction and increases in extracellular space due to deletion of even one allele of AQP0. Biomechanical assay revealed that loss of one or both alleles of AQP0 caused a significant reduction in the compressive load-bearing capacity of the lenses compared to WT lenses. Conversely, loss of AQP5 did not alter the lens load-bearing ability. Compressive load-bearing at the suture area of AQP0{sup +/−} lenses showed easy separation while WT lens suture remained intact. These data from KO mouse lenses in conjunction with previous studies on lens-specific BF proteins (CP49 and filensin) suggest that AQP0 and BF proteins could act co-operatively in establishing normal lens biomechanics. We hypothesize that AQP0, with its prolific expression at the fiber cell membrane, could provide anchorage for cytoskeletal structures like BFs and

Role of Aquaporin 0 in lens biomechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sindhu Kumari, S.; Gupta, Neha; Shiels, Alan; FitzGerald, Paul G.; Menon, Anil G.; Mathias, Richard T.; Varadaraj, Kulandaiappan

2015-01-01

Maintenance of proper biomechanics of the eye lens is important for its structural integrity and for the process of accommodation to focus near and far objects. Several studies have shown that specialized cytoskeletal systems such as the beaded filament (BF) and spectrin-actin networks contribute to mammalian lens biomechanics; mutations or deletion in these proteins alters lens biomechanics. Aquaporin 0 (AQP0), which constitutes ∼45% of the total membrane proteins of lens fiber cells, has been shown to function as a water channel and a structural cell-to-cell adhesion (CTCA) protein. Our recent ex vivo study on AQP0 knockout (AQP0 KO) mouse lenses showed the CTCA function of AQP0 could be crucial for establishing the refractive index gradient. However, biomechanical studies on the role of AQP0 are lacking. The present investigation used wild type (WT), AQP5 KO (AQP5 −/− ), AQP0 KO (heterozygous KO: AQP0 +/− ; homozygous KO: AQP0 −/− ; all in C57BL/6J) and WT-FVB/N mouse lenses to learn more about the role of fiber cell AQPs in lens biomechanics. Electron microscopic images exhibited decreases in lens fiber cell compaction and increases in extracellular space due to deletion of even one allele of AQP0. Biomechanical assay revealed that loss of one or both alleles of AQP0 caused a significant reduction in the compressive load-bearing capacity of the lenses compared to WT lenses. Conversely, loss of AQP5 did not alter the lens load-bearing ability. Compressive load-bearing at the suture area of AQP0 +/− lenses showed easy separation while WT lens suture remained intact. These data from KO mouse lenses in conjunction with previous studies on lens-specific BF proteins (CP49 and filensin) suggest that AQP0 and BF proteins could act co-operatively in establishing normal lens biomechanics. We hypothesize that AQP0, with its prolific expression at the fiber cell membrane, could provide anchorage for cytoskeletal structures like BFs and together they help to

Inverse modelling of radionuclide release rates using gamma dose rate observations

Science.gov (United States)

Hamburger, Thomas; Evangeliou, Nikolaos; Stohl, Andreas; von Haustein, Christoph; Thummerer, Severin; Wallner, Christian

2015-04-01

inversion method uses a Bayesian formulation considering uncertainties for the a priori source term and the observations (Eckhardt et al., 2008, Stohl et al., 2012). The a priori information on the source term is a first guess. The gamma dose rate observations are used to improve the first guess and to retrieve a reliable source term. The details of this method will be presented at the conference. This work is funded by the Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz BfS, Forschungsvorhaben 3612S60026. References Davoine, X. and Bocquet, M., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 1549-1564, 2007. Devell, L., et al., OCDE/GD(96)12, 1995. Eckhardt, S., et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 3881-3897, 2008. Saunier, O., et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11403-11421, 2013. Stohl, A., et al., Atmos. Environ., 32, 4245-4264, 1998. Stohl, A., et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 5, 2461-2474, 2005. Stohl, A., et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 2313-2343, 2012.

Geoarchaeologic and paleopedologic evidences for the holocene paleoenvironmental evolution of the Crisuri plain (Western Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolae Josan

2007-12-01

écouverte et décrite pour la première fois en Allemange du Sud par H. RITTWEGER (2000 sous le nom de "Black Floodplain Soils" (BFS. Ce type de sol s'est formé lors de la période Boréal-Atlantique et n'a acquis ses caractéristiques actuelles que pendant le Sub-boréal, quand le développement des processus illuviaux dans les plaines alluviales était devenu possible grâce à un climat plus sec qui avait permis l'abaissement du niveau des nappes phréatiques. Il est évident que la fossilisation a commencé avant la moitié du premier millénaire, au moment où l'horizon de la culture Basarabi était déjà constitué (VIIIème - VIème siècles avant J.C.. Cela est confirmé par le fait qu'il est séparé de cette couche de culture par un horizon alluvial argilo-sableux d'une puissance de 40­50 cm. La présence de l'horizon BFS est clairement liée, du point de vue morphogénétique, à l'optimum climatique de l'Atlantique - Sub-boréal, qui s'est manifesté dans la partie ouest de la Roumanie jusqu'à environ 3000 avant J.C. Cela est démontré par la présence de la culture Coţofeni (Âge du Bronze inférieur, dont la fossilisation ultérieure marque le déclin de la période de relative tranquillité morphogénétique pendant laquelle s'est formé l'horizon BFS. L'élaboration du niveau d'habitat Coţofeni a été possible grâce à l'établissement d'une situation stable du point de vue morpho-hydrodynamique sur les basses terrasses. Ces transformations indiquent aussi que le climat de la période Atlantique a été, au moins au cours de sa dernière phase, moins humide que ce qu'on le considère habituellement. Ce fait est également souligné par les recherches de T. JURCSÁK (1970 sur le site néolithique de Salca (englobé dans la ville d'Oradea. La reconstitution de la faune à partir des observations sur ce site (localisé au niveau de la première terrasse de la rivière Crişul Repede a montré la présence d'espèces forestières ainsi que steppiques

Summary record of the topical session of 10. Meeting of the IGSC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gierszewski, P.; De Preter, P.

2008-01-01

the perspective and possible relevant experience on operational safety in the mining industry. The presentations were: a. Canada: Balancing operational and long-term safety in OPG's L and ILW DGR design (H. Leung and P. Gierszewski, OPG); Canada: Operational safety issues in uranium mines: application to deep geological repository (B.R. Ravishankar, CNSC); b. France: Operational safety and conventional hazards in designing a HLW repository (B. Cahen, Andra); c. France: Balancing operational and post closure safety issues (P. Bodenez and G. Dandrieux, ASN; C. Serres, IRSN); d. Germany: Implications of pre-closure activities on the backfilling and sealing measures for the ERAM LLW (R. Mauke and J. Wollrath, Federal Office for Radiation Protection, BfS); e. Germany: Experience from developing an advanced safety concept for HLW disposal in rock salt (J. Krone, DBE Technology); f. US: Balancing operational risks and worker safety with long term repository benefits in the Yucca Mountain repository design (E. Smistad, DOE-YM); g. Finland: Experience from ONKALO (M. Snellman, Saanio and Riekkola Oy); h. Industry: Operational safety and radiation protection: practical experience in uranium mining (J-M. Marino, AREVA)

Optimisation of Protection as applicable to geological disposal: the ICRP view

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weiss, W.

2010-01-01

Wolfgang Weiss (BfS), vice-chair of ICRP Committee 4, recalled that the role of optimisation is to select the best protection options under the prevailing circumstances based on scientific considerations, societal concerns and ethical aspects as well as considerations of transparency. An important role of the concept of optimisation of protection is to foster a 'safety culture' and thereby to engender a state of thinking in everyone responsible for control of radiation exposures, such that they are continuously asking themselves the question, 'Have I done all that I reasonably can to avoid or reduce these doses?' Clearly, the answer to this question is a matter of judgement and necessitates co-operation between all parties involved and, as a minimum, the operating management and the regulatory agencies, but the dialogue would be more complete if other stakeholders were also involved. What kinds of checks and balances or factors would be needed to be considered for an 'optimal' system? Can indicators be identified? Quantitative methods may provide input to this dialogue but they should never be the sole input. The ICRP considers that the parameters to take into account include also social considerations and values, environmental considerations, as well as technical and economic considerations. Wolfgang Weiss approached the question of the distinction to be made between system optimisation (in the sense of taking account of social and economic as well as of all types of hazards) and optimisation of radiological protection. The position of the ICRP is that the system of protection that it proposes is based on both science (quantification of the health risk) and value judgement (what is an acceptable risk?) and optimisation is the recommended process to integrate both aspects. Indeed, there has been evolution since the old system of intervention levels to the new system, whereby, even if the level of the dose or risk (which is called constraint in ICRP-81 ) is met

Does befriending by trained lay workers improve psychological well-being and quality of life for carers of people with dementia, and at what cost? A randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Charlesworth, G; Shepstone, L; Wilson, E; Thalanany, M; Mugford, M; Poland, F

2008-03-01

To determine whether a social support intervention (access to an employed befriending facilitator in addition to usual care) is effective compared with usual care alone. Also to document direct and indirect costs, and establish incremental cost-effectiveness. The Befriending and Costs of Caring (BECCA) trial was a cost-effectiveness randomised controlled trial. Data on well-being and resource use were collected through interviews with participants at baseline and at 6, 15 and 24 months. This research was carried out in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, and the London Borough of Havering. It was a community-based study. Participants were family carers who were cohabiting with, or providing at least 20 hours' care per week for, a community-dwelling relative with a primary progressive dementia. The intervention was 'access to a befriender facilitator' (BF). BFs, based with charitable/voluntary-sector organisations, were responsible for local befriending schemes, including recruitment, screening, training and ongoing support of befriending volunteers, and for matching carers with befrienders. The role of befrienders was to provide emotional support for carers. The target duration for befriending relationships was 6 months or more. Depression was measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) at 15 months postrandomisation. The health-related quality of life scale EQ-5D (EuroQol 5 Dimensions) was used to derive utilities for the calculation of quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). A total of 236 carers were randomised into the trial (116 intervention; 120 control). At final follow-up, 190 carers (93 intervention; 97 control) were still involved in the trial (19% attrition). There was no evidence of effectiveness or cost-effectiveness from the primary analyses on the intention-to-treat population. The mean incremental cost per incremental QALY gained was in excess of 100,000 pounds, with only a 42.2% probability of being below 30,000 pounds per

Bilateral communication and information exchange, an attempt relating to mandate 8 of the Dutch-German commission (NDKK)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salfeld, H.Ch.; Hable, K.; Kok, Y.S.; Reinen, H.A.J.M.

2003-01-01

Full text: According to a memorandum of understanding between Germany and the Netherlands, the NDKK has to review the existing communication methods. Proceeding from this review proposals have to be developed to improve the bilateral communication and data exchange in case of events near the German-Dutch border and more generally for every event involving nuclear facilities. The NDKK has established a working group for reviewing and working out the proposals. Members of the working group are federal institutions resp. state institutions. Within their scope of duties are emergency management and communication, data collection and communication and expert advice to stakeholders. On the Dutch side the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) takes part, on the German side, the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) and the Lower Saxony State Agency for Ecology (NLOE) are involved. At international level, the ECURIE (European Community Urgent Radiological Information Exchange, system of the EU) and EMERCON (Emergency Convention, system of the IAEA) are used for early notification and subsequent messaging. The designated contact points and competent authorities are VROM (Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment) and BMU (German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety). According to a bilateral agreement, there is an additional direct communication for emergency notification between BMU and VROM. For the exchange of radiological measurement data the EURDEP standard (European Radiological Data Exchange Platform) is applied. In addition to the multinational procedure, it has been decided to exchange data directly in order to make the exchange faster and redundant. Presently, data are exchanged on a weekly basis by ftp, using EURDEP 2.0 format. The only NPP located near the Dutch-German border is the German NPP Emsland (KKE) close to the town of Lingen. Other nuclear facilities in this area

Variability Of KD Values In Cementitious Materials And Sediments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Almond, P.; Kaplan, D.; Shine, E.

2012-01-01

Measured distribution coefficients (K d values) for environmental contaminants provide input data for performance assessments (PA) that evaluate physical and chemical phenomena for release of radionuclides from wasteforms, degradation of engineered components and subsequent transport of radionuclides through environmental media. Research efforts at SRNL to study the effects of formulation and curing variability on the physiochemical properties of the saltstone wasteform produced at the Saltstone Disposal Facility (SDF) are ongoing and provide information for the PA and Saltstone Operations. Furthermore, the range and distribution of plutonium K d values in soils is not known. Knowledge of these parameters is needed to provide guidance for stochastic modeling in the PA. Under the current SRS liquid waste processing system, supernate from F and H Tank Farm tanks is processed to remove actinides and fission products, resulting in a low-curie Decontaminated Salt Solution (DSS). At the Saltstone Production Facility (SPF), DSS is mixed with premix, comprised of blast furnace slag (BFS), Class F fly ash (FA), and portland cement (OPC) to form a grout mixture. The fresh grout is subsequently placed in SDF vaults where it cures through hydration reactions to produce saltstone, a hardened monolithic waste form. Variation in saltstone composition and cure conditions of grout can affect the saltstone's physiochemical properties. Variations in properties may originate from variables in DSS, premix, and water to premix ratio, grout mixing, placing, and curing conditions including time and temperature (Harbour et al. 2007; Harbour et al. 2009). There are no previous studies reported in the literature regarding the range and distribution of K d values in cementitious materials. Presently, the Savannah River Site (SRS) estimate ranges and distributions of K d values based on measurements of K d values made in sandy SRS sediments (Kaplan 2010). The actual cementitious material K d

International nuclear safety experts complete IAEA peer review of German regulatory system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

policies, the regulatory framework and activities identified by the IRRS team were: Both BMU and UM BW have high quality and experienced staff, which are supported by experienced and competent technical support organizations. Both organizations have a high commitment to learning and self improvement; The team has also made recommendations and suggestions related to areas where the regulatory system as a whole could be improved. Examples include: There is room for improving information exchange and communication between the Federal and State regulatory bodies. Such enhanced communication would also lead to increased mutual trust and public confidence. In order to fulfill their regulatory responsibilities, BMU and UM BW should be staffed appropriately and develop a plan for a succession planning strategy. It could be very beneficial for the regulatory system, and helpful for worldwide learning, if all German 'Laender' (states) with nuclear power plants also took the opportunity to benefit from the experience of an IRRS mission, including making self- assessments against international best practice. The peer review consisted of an analysis of technical regulatory information, interviews, and discussions with key personnel at BMU and UM BW, as well as with regulatory inspectors at Neckarwestheim-1 Nuclear Power Plant to witness a regulatory inspection. Regulatory aspects were also discussed with Federal Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Minister Tanja Goenner of Baden-Wuerttemberg. Other organisations such as the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BFS), the Reactor Safety Commission (RSK), the technical support organisation Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit (GRS), and the Nuclear Safety Standards Commission (ILK) were also involved. (author)

Current regulatory developments concerning the implementation of probabilistic safety analyses for external hazards in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krauss, Matias; Berg, Heinz-Peter

2014-01-01

Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). This expert group, led by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS), has the task to advise the BMU on all methodological issues for the implementation of probabilistic safety analyses and has elaborated two publications on methods and data for PSA with the aim to support a unified application of the PSA in Germany. With the publication 'Safety requirements for nuclear power plants', a modern version of a German nuclear safety regulations has been published. In this regulation the broad experience of the application of the periodic safety reviews have been incorporated as a key element of regulatory supervision. Further key findings from the European safety review of nuclear power plants were taken into account after the accident at Fukushima. The revision also paid special attention to the requirements and recommendations of WENRA and IAEA. In addition, the recommendations and guidelines of the Nuclear Safety Standards Commission (KTA) and the expert group on Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA FAK) have also been updated. The activities of the updates have been focused the natural external hazards 'earthquake' and 'flooding' in the German regulations: - Probabilistic assessment for retrofit measures in individual cases for all operating modes and the PSA level 1 and level 2 is possible. - Deterministic and probabilistic site hazard analysis for the events 'earthquake' and 'flood' are required. - For the event 'earthquake' according to IAEA plants receives a minimum design comparable to 0.1 g >concept. - Furthermore, a seismic instrumentation independent of the location of intensity is required for each installation. - The importance of quality assured plant walk downs to determine the specified plant conditions was explicitly emphasized and required measures to ensure. - Furthermore, the existing methods for their applicability verified the associated generic data base for PSA updated. - The

Calendar

Science.gov (United States)

2004-04-01

2004 dkermani@fit.edu, +1 321 674 7412, http://kermani.math.fit.edu/ JULY 2004 2nd World Congress of the Game Theory Society, Faculty of Luminy, Marseille, France 5-9 July 2004 Europa Organisation (europa@europa-organisation.com), +33 5 34 45 26 45, www.gts2004.org Budapest Workshop on Behavioral Economics, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary 5-10 July 2004 Eva Dotzi (behavecon@ceu.hu), www.iza.org/en/calls_conferences/CallCEU_04.pdf FDA'04 1st IFAC Workshop on Fractional Differentiation and its Applications, Bordeaux, France 19-20 July 2004 IFAC secretariat (fda04@lap.u-bordeaux1.fr), www.lap.u-bordeaux.fr/fda04/ Bachelier Finance Society Third World Congress, InterContinental Hotel, Chicago, IL, USA 21-24 July 2004 bfs2004@uic.edu, www.uic.edu/orgs/bachelier/ BS/IMS 2004 6th World Congress of the Bernoulli Society for Mathematical Statistics and Probability, Barcelona, Spain 26-31 July 2004 wc2004@pacifico-meetings.com, +34 93 402 13 85, www.imub.ub.es/events/wc2004 AUGUST 2004 Summer School in Econometrics. The Cointegrated VAR Model: Econometric Methodology and Macroeconomic Applications, Institute of Economics, University of Copenhagen, Denmark 2-22 August 2004 Summerschool@econ.ku.dk, www.econ.ku.dk/summerschool SEPTEMBER 2004 First Bonzenfreies Colloquium on Market Dynamics and Quantitative Economics, Alessandria, Palazzo Borsalino, Italy 9-10 September 2004 colloquium@unipmn.it, www.mfn.unipmn.it/~colloqui/ Risk Analysis 2004. 4th International Conference on Computer Simulation in Risk Analysis and Hazard Mitigation, Aldemar Paradise Royal Mare Hotel, Rhodes, Greece 27-29 September 2004 enquiries@wessex.ac.uk, +44 (0)238 029 3223, www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2004/risk04/ OCTOBER 2004 IRC Hedge 2004, InterContinental Hotel, London, UK 10, 11 October 2004 enquiries@irc-conferences.com, www.irc-conferences.com/show_conference.php?id=10 NOVEMBER 2004 IRC DICE 2004, InterContinental Hotel, London, UK 22, 23 November 2004 enquiries

Materials characterization of radioactive waste forms using a multi-element detection method based on the instrumental neutron activation analysis. MEDINA; Stoffliche Charakterisierung radioaktiver Abfallprodukte durch ein Multi-Element-Analyseverfahren basierend auf der instrumentellen Neutronen-Aktivierungs-Analyse. MEDINA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Havenith, Andreas Wilhelm

2015-07-01

Radioactive waste has to meet the specifications and acceptance criteria defined by national regulatory and management authorities for its intermediate and final storage. In Germany the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz - BfS) has established waste acceptance requirements for the Konrad repository. Konrad is the disposal for radioactive waste with negligible heat generation and is located near the city of Salzgitter and is currently under construction. It will start operation not before the year 2021. The waste-acceptance-requirements are derived from a site-specific safety assessment. They include specific requirements on waste forms, packaging as well as limitations to activities of individual radionuclides and limitations to masses of non-radioactive harmful substances. The amount of chemically toxic elements in the waste is limited in order to avoid pollution of underground water reserves. To comply with these requirements every waste package has to be characterised in its radiological and chemical composition. This characterisation can be performed on the basis of existing documentation or, if the documentation is insufficient, on further analytical analysis. Segmented or integral gamma-scanning as well as active or passive neutron counting are used worldwide as the standard measurement methods for the radiological characterisation and quality checking of radioactive waste. These techniques determine the isotope specific activity of waste packages, but they do not allow the detection of non-radioactive hazardous substances inside the waste packages. Against this background the Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Technology Transfer (NET) at RWTH Aachen University and the Institute of Safety Research and Reactor Technology at Forschungszentrum Juelich jointly develop an innovative non-destructive analytical technique called MEDINA - ''Multi-Element Detection based on Instrumental Neutron Activation'' for

Materials characterization of radioactive waste forms using a multi-element detection method based on the instrumental neutron activation analysis. MEDINA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Havenith, Andreas Wilhelm

2015-01-01

Radioactive waste has to meet the specifications and acceptance criteria defined by national regulatory and management authorities for its intermediate and final storage. In Germany the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt fuer Strahlenschutz - BfS) has established waste acceptance requirements for the Konrad repository. Konrad is the disposal for radioactive waste with negligible heat generation and is located near the city of Salzgitter and is currently under construction. It will start operation not before the year 2021. The waste-acceptance-requirements are derived from a site-specific safety assessment. They include specific requirements on waste forms, packaging as well as limitations to activities of individual radionuclides and limitations to masses of non-radioactive harmful substances. The amount of chemically toxic elements in the waste is limited in order to avoid pollution of underground water reserves. To comply with these requirements every waste package has to be characterised in its radiological and chemical composition. This characterisation can be performed on the basis of existing documentation or, if the documentation is insufficient, on further analytical analysis. Segmented or integral gamma-scanning as well as active or passive neutron counting are used worldwide as the standard measurement methods for the radiological characterisation and quality checking of radioactive waste. These techniques determine the isotope specific activity of waste packages, but they do not allow the detection of non-radioactive hazardous substances inside the waste packages. Against this background the Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Technology Transfer (NET) at RWTH Aachen University and the Institute of Safety Research and Reactor Technology at Forschungszentrum Juelich jointly develop an innovative non-destructive analytical technique called MEDINA - ''Multi-Element Detection based on Instrumental Neutron Activation'' for

Proceedings of the International Conference on Modern Radiotherapy. Advances and Challenges in Radiation Protection of Patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-12-01

- Accident reporting system; the Rosis experience (M. Coffey, J. Cunningham, Rosis, Ireland); 20 - Side effects of radiotherapy: general management (J. Bourhis, Estro); 21 - Cell therapy treatment for radiation induced cutaneous damage (JJ. Lataillade, Percy Military Hospital, Clamart); 22 - The Equipment: safety, commissioning, re-commissioning - calibration, A medical physicist point of view (A. Lisbona, Centre A. Gauducheau, Nantes, France); 23 - A manufacturer's point of view (U. Lutz, SNITEM - Siemens, Germany); 24 - The staff; radiation oncologist-Physicists, technologists, engineers: organisation, missions, responsibility. The Radiation Therapist profession: a challenge and an opportunity to improve the safety and the patient care in Radiation Oncology (G. Brusadin, EFRS); 25 - The EFOMP approach in reducing errors in Radiotherapy (H.J Van Kleffens, EFOMP); 26 - Education and training. The IAEA experience (R. Czarwinski, IAEA); 27 - The IAEA quality audits in radiotherapy (J. Izewska, IAEA); 28 - The external beam controls: Equal-Estro Experience (A. Veres, Equal-Estro); 29 - The Norwegian Program on Quality Assurance in Radiotherapy (KVIST) - Organisation, Benefits and Experiences of this initiative for stakeholders involvement (H.M. Olerud, NRPA, Norway); 30 - Audits in radiotherapy in Switzerland (A. Stuessi, FOPH, Switzerland); 31 - Clinical Audits: who should control what? - European guidelines (H. Jarvinen, STUK - Finland); 32 - The ICPR take home message (P. Ortiz Lopez, ICRP); 33-37 - National regulators experiences (C. Flannery, CRCPD, USA; J. Griebel, BFS, Germany; U. O'Doherty, UK; K. Petrova, Czech republic; JL. Godet, France); 38 - A road-map for Cancer Radiotherapy in France (D. Maraninchi, InCA); 39-40 - Synthesis and conclusions (A.C. Lacoste, M. Bourguignon, ASN)

Effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis (Glomus intraradice on Egyptian Broomrape (Orobanche aegyptiaca. Pers in Cultivated Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

mojtaba zafarian

2017-03-01

the data in the end of experiment collected on the characteristics of tomato and broomrape (after normality test of Kolmogorov - Smirnov was done separately using software SAS V 9.2 and the comparisons were done with Fisher LSD test at the 5% and 1% levels and drawing graphs in Excel. Results and Discussion: The results showed that among arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi treatments, two levels of 50 and 100 kg ha-1 in most cases, orobanche and tomato traits had no significant effect within the orobanche infested control treatment. With the possible existence of uniform density of orobanche seeds ready to germinate in the surroundings of tomato root and absence of adequate colonization by the fungies, these treatments will not be able to prevent the germination establishment of weed on tomato roots. Lack of adequate root colonization can firstly be due to the lack of sufficient numbers of fungi and secondly because of the unsuitable growth environment conditions for fungal propagation. But the treatments of 150 and 200 kg ha-1 decreased the number of nodules on the roots of tomato, orobanche dry weight, and time of emergence of orobanche flower on the soil surface, ratio of orobanche dry weight to tomato shoot dry weight. The difference may be due to the high fungal mycorrhiza colonization on the tomato roots that has led to a significant level of tomato root covered with the fungus, thereby was prohibited the haustorium penetration of orobanche into the root host. The host plant roots do this effect with the release of molecular signals called branching factors (BFs that induced a wide branching of fungal hyphae. Whereas the treatments of 150 and 200 kg ha-1 increased tomato shoot dry weight and the percentage of tomato root dry weight to shoot dry weight. Even in these two measured traits, the treatments of 150 and 200 kg ha-1 were also transcended on weed-free treatment. Generally, because of no of significant differences between the two treatments of 150 and 200 kg ha-1