WorldWideScience

Sample records for group enrichment activities

  1. Enriching Orphans’ Potentials through Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Intelligence Enrichment Activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurulwahida Hj Azid

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Orphans are considered a minority and they should be given a greater emphasis so that they do not feel left out and can build their own lives without a sense of humility. This does not mean that the orphans should be pampered instead they should be given the confidence and motivation to strive for success in later life. Humility among orphans can be associated with interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. This study aims to evaluate the impact of problem-solving activity treatment based on the interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. 46 students from two orphanages were involved as the treatment group. The research design used was a one-group pretest-posttest design applied through a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Enrichment activities that provided interpersonal and intrapersonal skills as evidenced in this study should be carried out regularly at orphanages. Our study has proven that orphans‟ rights to learn cannot be neglected and „no child left behind „policy needs to be carried through by everybody involved with orphans‟ well-being. Teachers and carers need to be trained to use these enrichment activities at their orphanages to help maximize the orphans‟ potentials.

  2. Beta activity of enriched uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nambiar, P.P.V.J.; Ramachandran, V.

    1975-01-01

    Use of enriched uranium as reactor fuel necessitates its handling in various forms. For purposes of planning and organising radiation protection measures in enriched uranium handling facilities, it is necessary to have a basic knowledge of the radiation status of enriched uranium systems. The theoretical variations in beta activity and energy with U 235 enrichment are presented. Depletion is considered separately. Beta activity build up is also studied for two specific enrichments, in respect of which experimental values for specific alpha activity are available. (author)

  3. Motor-enriched learning activities can improve mathematical performance in preadolescent children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beck, Mikkel Malling; Lind, Rune Rasmussen; Geertsen, Svend Sparre

    2016-01-01

    Objective: An emerging field of research indicates that physical activity can benefit cognitive functions and academic achievements in children. However, less is known about how academic achievements can benefit from specific types of motor activities (e.g., fine and gross) integrated into learning......-enriched mathematical teaching in Danish preadolescent children (n = 165, age = 7.5 ± 0.02 years). Three groups were included: a control group (CON), which received non-motor enriched conventional mathematical teaching, a fine motor math group (FMM) and a gross motor math group (GMM), which received mathematical.......73 correct answers (p = 0.04) and FMM 2.14 ± 0.72 correct answers (p = 0.008). These effects were not observed in low math-performers. The effects were partly accounted for by visuo-spatial short-term memory and gross motor skills. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that motor enriched learning activities...

  4. Motor-Enriched Learning Activities Can Improve Mathematical Performance in Preadolescent Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Mikkel M.; Lind, Rune R.; Geertsen, Svend S.; Ritz, Christian; Lundbye-Jensen, Jesper; Wienecke, Jacob

    2016-01-01

    Objective: An emerging field of research indicates that physical activity can benefit cognitive functions and academic achievements in children. However, less is known about how academic achievements can benefit from specific types of motor activities (e.g., fine and gross) integrated into learning activities. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate whether fine or gross motor activity integrated into math lessons (i.e., motor-enrichment) could improve children's mathematical performance. Methods: A 6-week within school cluster-randomized intervention study investigated the effects of motor-enriched mathematical teaching in Danish preadolescent children (n = 165, age = 7.5 ± 0.02 years). Three groups were included: a control group (CON), which received non-motor enriched conventional mathematical teaching, a fine motor math group (FMM) and a gross motor math group (GMM), which received mathematical teaching enriched with fine and gross motor activity, respectively. The children were tested before (T0), immediately after (T1) and 8 weeks after the intervention (T2). A standardized mathematical test (50 tasks) was used to evaluate mathematical performance. Furthermore, it was investigated whether motor-enriched math was accompanied by different effects in low and normal math performers. Additionally, the study investigated the potential contribution of cognitive functions and motor skills on mathematical performance. Results: All groups improved their mathematical performance from T0 to T1. However, from T0 to T1, the improvement was significantly greater in GMM compared to FMM (1.87 ± 0.71 correct answers) (p = 0.02). At T2 no significant differences in mathematical performance were observed. A subgroup analysis revealed that normal math-performers benefitted from GMM compared to both CON 1.78 ± 0.73 correct answers (p = 0.04) and FMM 2.14 ± 0.72 correct answers (p = 0.008). These effects were not observed in low math-performers. The effects were partly

  5. Nitrogen-enriched bituminous coal-based active carbons as materials for supercapacitors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    R. Pietrzak; K. Jurewicz; P. Nowicki; K. Babel; H. Wachowska [A. Mickiewicz University, Poznan (Poland). Laboratory of Coal Chemistry and Technology

    2010-11-15

    The paper presents the results of a study on obtaining N-enriched active carbons from bituminous coal and on testing its use as an electrode material in supercapacitors. The coal was carbonised, activated with KOH and ammoxidised by a mixture of ammonia and air at the ratio 1:3 at 300{sup o}C or 350{sup o}C, at different stages of the production, that is, at those of precursor, carbonisate, and active carbon. The products were microporous N-enriched active carbon samples of well-developed surface area reaching from 1577 to 2510 m{sup 2}/g and containing 1.0 to 8.5 wt% of nitrogen. The XPS measurements have shown that in the active carbons enriched in nitrogen at the stage of precursor and at the stage of carbonisate, the dominant nitrogen species are the N-5 groups, while in the samples ammoxidised at the last stage of the treatment the dominant nitrogen species are the surface groups of imines and/or nitriles, probably accompanied by amines and amides. The paper reports the results of a comprehensive study of the effect of the structure and chemical composition of a series of active carbon samples of different properties on their capacity performance in water solutions of H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} or KOH, with the behaviour of positive and negative electrodes analysed separately. 33 refs., 7 figs., 8 tabs.

  6. Is music enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Emma K.; Altschul, Drew; Körfer, Karoline; Benti, Benjamin; Kaeser, Amanda; Lambeth, Susan; Waller, Bridget M.; Slocombe, Katie E.

    2017-01-01

    Many facilities that house captive primates play music for animal enrichment or for caregiver enjoyment. However, the impact on primates is unknown as previous studies have been inconclusive. We conducted three studies with zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and one with group-housed chimpanzees at the National Centre for Chimpanzee Care to investigate the effects of classical and pop/rock music on various variables that may be indicative of increased welfare. Study one compared the behaviour and use of space of 18 animals when silence, classical or pop/rock music was played into one of several indoor areas. Overall, chimpanzees did not actively avoid the area when music was playing but were more likely to exit the area when songs with higher beats per minute were broadcast. Chimpanzees showed significantly fewer active social behaviours when music, rather than silence, was playing. They also tended to be more active and engage in less abnormal behaviour during the music but there was no change to either self-grooming or aggression between music and silent conditions. The genre of music had no differential effects on the chimpanzees’ use of space and behaviour. In the second study, continuous focal observations were carried out on three individuals with relatively high levels of abnormal behaviour. No differences in behaviour between music and silence periods were found in any of the individuals. The final two studies used devices that allowed chimpanzees to choose if they wanted to listen to music of various types or silence. Both studies showed that there were no persistent preferences for any type of music or silence. When taken together, our results do not suggest music is enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees, but they also do not suggest that music has a negative effect on welfare. PMID:28355212

  7. Is music enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emma K Wallace

    Full Text Available Many facilities that house captive primates play music for animal enrichment or for caregiver enjoyment. However, the impact on primates is unknown as previous studies have been inconclusive. We conducted three studies with zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes and one with group-housed chimpanzees at the National Centre for Chimpanzee Care to investigate the effects of classical and pop/rock music on various variables that may be indicative of increased welfare. Study one compared the behaviour and use of space of 18 animals when silence, classical or pop/rock music was played into one of several indoor areas. Overall, chimpanzees did not actively avoid the area when music was playing but were more likely to exit the area when songs with higher beats per minute were broadcast. Chimpanzees showed significantly fewer active social behaviours when music, rather than silence, was playing. They also tended to be more active and engage in less abnormal behaviour during the music but there was no change to either self-grooming or aggression between music and silent conditions. The genre of music had no differential effects on the chimpanzees' use of space and behaviour. In the second study, continuous focal observations were carried out on three individuals with relatively high levels of abnormal behaviour. No differences in behaviour between music and silence periods were found in any of the individuals. The final two studies used devices that allowed chimpanzees to choose if they wanted to listen to music of various types or silence. Both studies showed that there were no persistent preferences for any type of music or silence. When taken together, our results do not suggest music is enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees, but they also do not suggest that music has a negative effect on welfare.

  8. Is music enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Emma K; Altschul, Drew; Körfer, Karoline; Benti, Benjamin; Kaeser, Amanda; Lambeth, Susan; Waller, Bridget M; Slocombe, Katie E

    2017-01-01

    Many facilities that house captive primates play music for animal enrichment or for caregiver enjoyment. However, the impact on primates is unknown as previous studies have been inconclusive. We conducted three studies with zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and one with group-housed chimpanzees at the National Centre for Chimpanzee Care to investigate the effects of classical and pop/rock music on various variables that may be indicative of increased welfare. Study one compared the behaviour and use of space of 18 animals when silence, classical or pop/rock music was played into one of several indoor areas. Overall, chimpanzees did not actively avoid the area when music was playing but were more likely to exit the area when songs with higher beats per minute were broadcast. Chimpanzees showed significantly fewer active social behaviours when music, rather than silence, was playing. They also tended to be more active and engage in less abnormal behaviour during the music but there was no change to either self-grooming or aggression between music and silent conditions. The genre of music had no differential effects on the chimpanzees' use of space and behaviour. In the second study, continuous focal observations were carried out on three individuals with relatively high levels of abnormal behaviour. No differences in behaviour between music and silence periods were found in any of the individuals. The final two studies used devices that allowed chimpanzees to choose if they wanted to listen to music of various types or silence. Both studies showed that there were no persistent preferences for any type of music or silence. When taken together, our results do not suggest music is enriching for group-housed captive chimpanzees, but they also do not suggest that music has a negative effect on welfare.

  9. A working plan for working group 2 'enrichment' within the scope of INFCE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1977-01-01

    A working plan for INFCE/WG.2 is presented, outlining the major questions which the group needs to answer under the headings: 1. Enrichment needs and supply, 2. Models for cross-investment, 3. Market situation, 4. Technical and economic assessment of the different enrichment technologies, and 5. Safeguards aspects. It is suggested that the group's assessment should include: 1. Future enrichment capacities, 2. Multinational or regional fuel cycle centres, 3. Possible patterns for guarantees of supply, and 4. Special needs of developing countries

  10. Detection of uranium enrichment activities using environmental monitoring techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belew, W.L.; Carter, J.A.; Smith, D.H.; Walker, R.L.

    1993-01-01

    Uranium enrichment processes have the capability of producing weapons-grade material in the form of highly enriched uranium. Thus, detection of undeclared uranium enrichment activities is an international safeguards concern. The uranium separation technologies currently in use employ UF 6 gas as a separation medium, and trace quantities of enriched uranium are inevitably released to the environment from these facilities. The isotopic content of uranium in the vegetation, soil, and water near the plant site will be altered by these releases and can provide a signature for detecting the presence of enriched uranium activities. This paper discusses environmental sampling and analytical procedures that have been used for the detection of uranium enrichment facilities and possible safeguards applications of these techniques

  11. Effect of environmental enrichment devices on behaviors of single- and group-housed squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spring, S. E.; Clifford, J. O.; Tomko, D. L.

    1997-01-01

    Squirrel monkeys display an interest in novel places, habituate to new situations, and spend most of their daily activity in the wild in large groups engaging in feeding behaviors over a broad area. Captivity limits these behaviors and consequently may disrupt normal social organizations. In captivity, squirrel monkeys may exhibit stereotypical behaviors that are believed to indicate decreased psychologic well-being. When a monkey's behavior can be made to approach that seen in the wild, and stereotypical behaviors are minimal, it is assumed that psychologic well-being is adequate. Environmental enrichment devices have been used to address the Animal Welfare Act requirement that psychologic well-being of captive nonhuman primates be considered. The purpose of the study reported here was to examine whether various environmental enrichment devices improve the psychologic well-being of captive squirrel monkeys. In the study, we used behavioral observation to quantify the effectiveness of several environmental enrichment devices for reducing stereotypical behaviors in squirrel monkeys housed alone or in groups. Analysis of our results revealed that the environmental enrichment devices did not affect the expression of normal or stereotypical behaviors, but that the type of housing did.

  12. Super enrichment of Fe-group nuclei in solar flares and their association with large 3He enrichments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anglin, J.D.; Dietrich, W.F.; Simpson, J.A.

    1977-01-01

    ''Fe''/He ratios at approximately 2 MeV/n have been measured in 60 solar flares and periods of enhanced fluxes during the interval 1972-1976. The observed ditribution of ratios is extremely wide with values ranging from approximately 1 to more than 1000 times the solar abundance ratio. In constrast, most of the CHO/He ratios for the same flares lie within a factor 2 of the observed mean value of 2 x 10 -2 . While experimental limitations prevent a complete correlation study of Fe-group and 3 He abundances, comparison of flares with large Fe enrichments with flares with large 3 He enrichments for the period 1969-1976 shows that a 3 He-rich flare is also likely to be rich in iron. We feel that the association of 3 He and Fe enrichments may be explained by a two-stage process in which a preliminary enrichment of heavy nuclei precedes the preferential acceleration of ambient 3 He. Nuclear interactions are ruled out as the principal source of the enriched 3 He. (author)

  13. Embedding an enriched environment in an acute stroke unit increases activity in people with stroke: a controlled before-after pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosbergen, Ingrid Cm; Grimley, Rohan S; Hayward, Kathryn S; Walker, Katrina C; Rowley, Donna; Campbell, Alana M; McGufficke, Suzanne; Robertson, Samantha T; Trinder, Janelle; Janssen, Heidi; Brauer, Sandra G

    2017-11-01

    To determine whether an enriched environment embedded in an acute stroke unit could increase activity levels in acute stroke patients and reduce adverse events. Controlled before-after pilot study. An acute stroke unit in a regional Australian hospital. Acute stroke patients admitted during (a) initial usual care control period, (b) an enriched environment period and (c) a sustainability period. Usual care participants received usual one-on-one allied health intervention and nursing care. The enriched environment participants were provided stimulating resources, communal areas for eating and socializing and daily group activities. Change management strategies were used to implement an enriched environment within existing staffing levels. Behavioural mapping was used to estimate patient activity levels across groups. Participants were observed every 10 minutes between 7.30 am and 7.30 pm within the first 10 days after stroke. Adverse and serious adverse events were recorded using a clinical registry. The enriched environment group ( n = 30, mean age 76.7 ± 12.1) spent a significantly higher proportion of their day engaged in 'any' activity (71% vs. 58%, P = 0.005) compared to the usual care group ( n = 30, mean age 76.0 ± 12.8). They were more active in physical (33% vs. 22%, P social (40% vs. 29%, P = 0.007) and cognitive domains (59% vs. 45%, P = 0.002) and changes were sustained six months post implementation. The enriched group experienced significantly fewer adverse events (0.4 ± 0.7 vs.1.3 ± 1.6, P = 0.001), with no differences found in serious adverse events (0.5 ± 1.6 vs.1.0 ± 2.0, P = 0.309). Embedding an enriched environment in an acute stroke unit increased activity in stroke patients.

  14. Statistical assessment of crosstalk enrichment between gene groups in biological networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCormack, Theodore; Frings, Oliver; Alexeyenko, Andrey; Sonnhammer, Erik L L

    2013-01-01

    Analyzing groups of functionally coupled genes or proteins in the context of global interaction networks has become an important aspect of bioinformatic investigations. Assessing the statistical significance of crosstalk enrichment between or within groups of genes can be a valuable tool for functional annotation of experimental gene sets. Here we present CrossTalkZ, a statistical method and software to assess the significance of crosstalk enrichment between pairs of gene or protein groups in large biological networks. We demonstrate that the standard z-score is generally an appropriate and unbiased statistic. We further evaluate the ability of four different methods to reliably recover crosstalk within known biological pathways. We conclude that the methods preserving the second-order topological network properties perform best. Finally, we show how CrossTalkZ can be used to annotate experimental gene sets using known pathway annotations and that its performance at this task is superior to gene enrichment analysis (GEA). CrossTalkZ (available at http://sonnhammer.sbc.su.se/download/software/CrossTalkZ/) is implemented in C++, easy to use, fast, accepts various input file formats, and produces a number of statistics. These include z-score, p-value, false discovery rate, and a test of normality for the null distributions.

  15. Enrichment of Nanodiamond Surfaces with Carboxyl Groups for Doxorubicin Loading and Release

    Science.gov (United States)

    Astuti, Y.; Saputra, F. D.; Wuning, S.; Arnelli; Bhaduri, G.

    2017-02-01

    In their pristine state, nanodiamond crystals produced via detonation techniques containing several functional groups present on the surface including amine, amide, alcohol, carbonyl, and carboxyl. These functional groups facilitate nanodiamond to interact drugs so as to nanodiamond is potential for medical application such as drug delivery. Even though research on t he use of nanodiamond for this application has been conducted widely, research on the effect of enrichment of nanodiamond surface with carboxyl functional groups for drug loading and release has not been explored extensively. Therefore, in this paper, the effect of carboxyl-terminated nanodiamond (ND-COOH) on drug loading and release will be presented. The enrichment of nanodiamond with carboxyl groups was undertaken by treating nanodiamond with sulphuric acid and nitric acid. The results show that the doxorubicin (DOX) loading and release efficiencies of ND pristine are higher than that of ND-COOH.

  16. Effect of Environmental Enrichment on Singly- and Group-Housed Squirrel Monkeys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spring, Sarah E.; Clifford, James O.; Tomko, David L.; Hargens, Alan R. (Technical Monitor)

    1996-01-01

    Nonhuman primates display an interest in novel places, habituate to new situations, and spend most of their daily activity in the wild in large groups engaging in feeding behaviors. Captivity changes these behaviors, and disrupts normal social hierarchies. In captivity, animals may exhibit stereotypical behaviors which are thought to indicate decreased psychological well-being (PWB). If an animal's behaviors can be made to approach those seen in the wild, and stereotypical behaviors are minimal it is assumed that PWB is adequate. Environmental enrichment (EE) devices have been used to address the Animal Welfare Act's requirement that the PWB of captive nonhuman primates be considered. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether various EE devices improve the PWB of captive squirrel monkeys. The present study used behavioral observation to quantify the effectiveness of several EE devices in reducing stereotypical behaviors in squirrel monkeys housed singly or in groups. Results showed that the EE devices used did not affect the expression of normal or stereotypical behaviors, but that the type of housing did.

  17. Environmental Enrichments for a Group of Captive Macaws: Low Interaction Does Not Mean Low Behavioral Changes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reimer, Jéssica; Maia, Caroline Marques; Santos, Eliana Ferraz

    2016-01-01

    Environmental enrichment has been widely used to improve conditions for nonhuman animals in captivity. However, there is no consensus about the best way to evaluate the success of enrichments. This study evaluated whether the proportion of time spent interacting with enrichments indicated the proportion of overall behavioral changes. Six environmental enrichments were introduced in succession to 16 captive macaws, and interaction of the animals with them as well as the behaviors of the group were recorded before and during the enrichments. All of the enrichments affected the proportions of time spent in different behaviors. Macaws interacted more with certain items (hibiscus and food tree) than with others (a toy or swings and stairs), but introduction of the enrichments that invoked the least interaction caused as many behavioral changes as those that invoked the most. Moreover, feeding behavior was only affected by the enrichment that invoked the least interaction, a change not detected by a general analysis of enrichment effects. In conclusion, little interaction with enrichment does not mean little change in behavior, and the effects of enrichments are more complex than previously considered.

  18. Porous concrete block as an environmental enrichment device increases activity of laying hens in cages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holcman, A; Gorjanc, G; Stuhec, I

    2008-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to consider the influence of simple and cheap environmental enrichment such as porous concrete on the behavior of laying hens in conventional cages. Forty brown laying hens were housed in individual wire mesh cages: 20 in experimental cages with porous concrete block provided for pecking and 20 in a control group without concrete block provided. Porous concrete block (5 cm length x 5 cm width x 5 cm height) was mounted on the side wall at the height of the hen's head. Behavior was studied from 42 to 48 wk of age. A group of 8 hens was filmed for 24 h, and the camera was moved each day so that all 40 hens were recorded over 5 d each wk. Videotaping was performed in wk 1, 3, 5, and 7 of the experiment. States (long-term behavior) were observed with 5-min interval recording (feeding, preening, resting, and remaining inactive), whereas events (short-term activities) were observed with instantaneous recording (drinking, pecking concrete, pecking neighbors, pecking cage, and attempting to escape). Data were analyzed with generalized linear mixed model with binomial distribution for states, and Poisson distribution for events. Monte Carlo Markov Chain methods were used to estimate model parameters. Because posterior distributions of quantities of interest were skewed, medians and standard errors are reported. Hens in experimental cages were more active in long-term behavior than controls (64.9 +/- 1.9 and 59.3 +/- 1.9% of the light period, respectively). Correspondingly, hens in the control group showed more long-term inactivity. In addition to pecking the porous concrete block, hens in experimental cages also showed other short-term activities with greater frequency (4.10 +/- 0.31 and 3.51 +/- 0.25 events per h, respectively). Our hypothesis that hens in enriched cages would have a greater level of activity was confirmed. Provision of a piece of porous concrete block as a pecking substrate enriched the environment of the birds at negligible

  19. High Efficient Enrichment and Activated Dissolution of Refractory Low Grade Rh-containing Material

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    WU Xiaofeng; DONG Haigang; TONG Weifeng; ZHAO Jiachun; ZENG Rui

    2012-01-01

    Aiming to the low-grade rhodium-containing waste materials,a new process was proposed to enrich and activate rhodium by smelting using iron oxide as a trapping agent and activator.A rhodium concentrate was obtained by the separation of base metals and precious metals.The concentrate was reacted with dilute aqua regia to obtain rhodium solution.The factors influencing the enrichment and activation effects were discussed in this paper.The results showed that the dissolution rate is greater than 99% under the optimum conditions.In this process,the activation of rhodium was finished in the enrichment process.The iron oxide is both a trapping agent and activator,which simplifies the process and reduce the cost.

  20. BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF APPLE JUICE ENRICHED BY HERBAL EXTRACTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Ivanišová

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Herbal phytochemicals have recently become an attractive subject for scientists in many different research areas. The aim of this study was to determine antioxidant activity, total polyphenol and flavonoid content of apple juice enriched by water herbal extracts. Secondary was to evaluate sensory characteristic of enriched apple juice. It was found that applications of water herbal extracts to apple juice increase antioxidant activities, and also total polyphenol and flavonoid content with compare to pure apple juice. The highest biological activities were detected in apple juice with addition of lemon balm (14.42 mg TEAC/L; 84.38 mg TEAC/L; 50.88 mg GAE/L; 36.26 μg QE/L, oregano (14.92 mg TEAC/L; 79.97 mg TEAC/L; 50.51 mg GAE/L; 31.02 μg QE/L and salvia (8.40 mg TEAC/L; 30.40 mg TEAC/L; 23.33 mg GAE/L; 27.67 μg QE/L water extract. Sensorial analysis of samples showed, that enriched juices had better properties for evaluators with compared to pure juice. The aim of this study was also to mention the potential use of medicinal herbs in food industry, because plant bioactive compounds can play an important role in preventing cardiovascular diseases, cancers and reduction inflammatory action.

  1. Active-interrogation measurements of fast neutrons from induced fission in low-enriched uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dolan, J.L.; Marcath, M.J.; Flaska, M.; Pozzi, S.A.; Chichester, D.L.; Tomanin, A.; Peerani, P.

    2014-01-01

    A detection system was designed with MCNPX-PoliMi to measure induced-fission neutrons from U-235 and U-238 using active interrogation. Measurements were then performed with this system at the Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy on low-enriched uranium samples. Liquid scintillators measured induced fission neutrons to characterize the samples in terms of their uranium mass and enrichment. Results are presented to investigate and support the use of organic liquid scintillators with active interrogation techniques to characterize uranium containing materials. -- Highlights: • We studied low-enriched uranium using active-interrogation experiments including a deuterium–tritium neutron generator and an americium–lithium isotopic neutron source. • Liquid scintillators measured induced-fission neutrons from the active-interrogation methods. • Fast-neutron (DT) and thermal-neutron (Am–Li) interrogation resulted in the measurement of trends in uranium mass and 235 U enrichment respectively. • MCNPX-PoliMi, the Monte Carlo transport code, simulated the measured induced-fission neutron trends in the liquid scintillators

  2. Active-interrogation measurements of fast neutrons from induced fission in low-enriched uranium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dolan, J.L., E-mail: jldolan@umich.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Marcath, M.J.; Flaska, M.; Pozzi, S.A. [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Chichester, D.L. [Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415 (United States); Tomanin, A.; Peerani, P. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements, Ispra (Italy)

    2014-02-21

    A detection system was designed with MCNPX-PoliMi to measure induced-fission neutrons from U-235 and U-238 using active interrogation. Measurements were then performed with this system at the Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy on low-enriched uranium samples. Liquid scintillators measured induced fission neutrons to characterize the samples in terms of their uranium mass and enrichment. Results are presented to investigate and support the use of organic liquid scintillators with active interrogation techniques to characterize uranium containing materials. -- Highlights: • We studied low-enriched uranium using active-interrogation experiments including a deuterium–tritium neutron generator and an americium–lithium isotopic neutron source. • Liquid scintillators measured induced-fission neutrons from the active-interrogation methods. • Fast-neutron (DT) and thermal-neutron (Am–Li) interrogation resulted in the measurement of trends in uranium mass and {sup 235}U enrichment respectively. • MCNPX-PoliMi, the Monte Carlo transport code, simulated the measured induced-fission neutron trends in the liquid scintillators.

  3. Uranium enrichment management review. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellett, J.D.; Rieke, W.B.; Simpson, J.W.; Sullivan, P.E.

    1980-01-01

    The uranium enrichment enterprise of the US Department of Energy (DOE) provides enriched nuclear fuel for private and government utilities domestically and abroad. The enterprise, in effect, provides a commercial service and represents a signficant business operation within the US government: more than $1 billion in revenues annually and future capital expenditures estimated at several billions of dollars. As a result, in May 1980, the Assistant Secretary for Resource Applications within DOE requested that a group of experienced business executives be assembled to review the operation, financing, and management of the uranium enrichment enterprise as a basis for advising the Secretary of Energy. The review group was specifically asked to focus on the management activities to which sound business practices could be applied. The group developed findings and recommendations in six areas: management of operations and construction; long-range planning; marketing of enrichment services; financial management; research and development; and general management. The chapters of this report present first the management review group's recommendations in the six areas evaluated and then the findings and issues in each area. An appendix provides the group's calendar of meetings. A list of major reference sources used in the course of the study is also included. 12 references

  4. Active volume studies with depleted and enriched BEGe detectors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sturm, Katharina von [Eberhard Karls Universitaet Tuebingen (Germany); Universita degli Studi di Padova, Padua (Italy); Collaboration: GERDA-Collaboration

    2013-07-01

    The Gerda experiment is currently taking data for the search of the 0νββ decay in {sup 76}Ge. In 2013, 30 newly manufactured Broad Energy Germanium (BEGe) diodes will be deployed which will double the active mass within Gerda. These detectors were fabricated from high-purity germanium enriched in {sup 76}Ge and tested in the HADES underground laboratory, owned by SCK.CEN, in Mol, Belgium. As the BEGes are source and detector at the same time, one crucial parameter is their active volume which directly enters into the evaluation of the half-life. This talk illustrates the dead layer and active volume determination of prototype detectors from depleted germanium as well as the newly produced detectors from enriched material, using gamma spectroscopy methods and comparing experimental results to Monte-Carlo simulations. Recent measurements and their results are presented, and systematic effects are discussed.

  5. Effects of 6 weeks motor-enrichment-intervention to improve math performance in preadolescent children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wienecke, Jacob; Beck, Mikkel Malling; Lind, Rune Rasmussen

    al., 2015). We conducted a six-week cluster-randomized intervention study of motor-enriched mathematics for Danish schoolchildren (n= 148, age= 7.5 ± 0.02). We investigated whether low intensity motor activity congruently integrated during solving of math problems could enhance math performance....... Three groups were included: 1) Control group with normal math teaching, CON (used pencil, paper but refrained from additional motor activity). 2) Fine-motor-enriched-group, FM (motor-manipulating LEGO bricks integrated in the lessons). 3) Gross-motor-enriched-group, GM (full-body movements integrated...... in the lessons). In FM and GM, all math classes (six lessons pr. week) had motor activity integrated in the math lessons and the teachers of all groups followed a detailed description for the conduction of the lessons. This aimed at ensuring homogeneity between groups concerning the taught themes. The children...

  6. Diagenetic silica enrichment and late-stage groundwater activity in Gale crater, Mars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frydenvang, Jens; Gasda, Patrick J.; Hurowitz, Joel A.; Grotzinger, John P.; Wiens, Roger C.; Newsom, Horton E.; Edgett, Ken S.; Watkins, Jessica; Bridges, John C.; Maurice, Sylvestre; Fisk, Martin R.; Johnson, Jeffrey R.; Rapin, William; Stein, Nathan; Clegg, Sam M.; Schwenzer, S. P.; Bedford, C.; Edwards, P.; Mangold, Nicolas; Cousin, Agnes; Anderson, Ryan; Payre, Valerie; Vaniman, David; Blake, David; Lanza, Nina L.; Gupta, Sanjeev; Van Beek, Jason; Sautter, Violaine; Meslin, Pierre-Yves; Rice, Melissa; Milliken, Ralf; Gellert, Ralf; Thompson, Lucy; Clark, Ben C.; Sumner, Dawn Y.; Fraeman, Abigail A.; Kinch, Kjartan M; Madsen, Morten B.; Mitofranov, Igor; Jun, Insoo; Calef, Fred J.; Vasavada, Ashwin R.

    2017-01-01

    Diagenetic silica enrichment in fracture-associated halos that crosscut lacustrine and unconformably overlying aeolian sedimentary bedrock is observed on the lower north slope of Aeolis Mons in Gale crater, Mars. The diagenetic silica enrichment is colocated with detrital silica enrichment observed in the lacustrine bedrock yet extends into a considerably younger, unconformably draping aeolian sandstone, implying that diagenetic silica enrichment postdates the detrital silica enrichment. A causal connection between the detrital and diagenetic silica enrichment implies that water was present in the subsurface of Gale crater long after deposition of the lacustrine sediments and that it mobilized detrital amorphous silica and precipitated it along fractures in the overlying bedrock. Although absolute timing is uncertain, the observed diagenesis likely represents some of the most recent groundwater activity in Gale crater and suggests that the timescale of potential habitability extended considerably beyond the time that the lacustrine sediments of Aeolis Mons were deposited.

  7. The Effects of Methionine-Enriched and Vitamins (Folate, Pyridoxine and Cobalamine-Deficient Diet on Exploratory Activity in Rats - A Brief Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mijailovic Natasa

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of increased homocysteine levels induced by methionine nutritional overload (twice as standard and deficiency of the vitamins folate, pyridoxine and cobalamine, which plays an important role in homocysteine metabolism in anxiety-related behaviour, expressed by means of exploratory activity in rats. Twenty-three male Wistar albino rats (4 weeks old, 100±15 g body weight were divided into three groups: control (n=8, methionine-enriched (Meth+, 7.7 g of methionine/kg chow, n=7 and methionine-enriched vitamin-deficient (Meth+Vit-, 7.7 g of methionine/ kg chow, deficient in folate, pyridoxine and cobalamine - 0.08, 0.01 and 0.01 mg/kg, n=8. All animals had free access to food and water for 30 days. Behavioural testing was performed using the elevated plus maze (EPM test. Standard parameters for vertical exploratory activity, the number of rearings and the number of head-dippings, as well as the total exploratory activity (summarizing overall exploratory activity in the EPM were significantly reduced following 30 days of methionine nutritional overload (p<0.05, p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively. A methionine-enriched diet coupled with a reduction in some B vitamins resulted in a more pronounced decline in exploratory drive observed in the EPM test compared to the control (p<0.01. The decline in total exploratory activity associated with vitamin deficiency was significant compared to the Meth+ group (p<0.05. The results of this study highlight the important role of homocysteine in the modulation of exploratory activity in rats. Decreased exploratory drive induced by both a methionine-enriched and vitamin-deficient diet could be attributed to an anxiogenic effect of hyperhomocysteinemia.

  8. Antioxidant activity of polyphenol-enriched apple juice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Šumić Zdravko M.

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper shows that it is possible to improve antioxidant activity of apple juice by extraction of polyphenolic compounds from apple pomace, as waste, and their addition to the apple juice. Raw apple juice was prepared by pressing of apple mash. After thermal treatment of raw apple juice, depectinisation, additional clarification and filtration, the clarified juice was obtained. In raw and clarified apple juice soluble solids, acidity, reducing sugar, total sugars and brown component content were determined, as well as total dry matter, ash, acidity, reducing sugar, total sugars, total pectins, cellulose and starch content in apple mash and pomace. The total cotent of phenolics in clarified apple juice and apple pomace extract, determined spectrophotometrically using the Folin- Ciocalteu reagent, was 0.496 mg/ml and 6.505 mg/g, respectively. The antioxidant activity of clarified and polyphenol-enriched clarified juice (with addition of apple pomace extract in the concentrations 0.05 g, 0.1 g, 0.5 g and 1 g of phenolic compounds per liter of clarified apple juice was examined on stable 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH free radicals. Based on the obtained results it can be concluded that polyphenol-enriched clarified juice was more effective on DPPH radicals than the clarified apple juice.

  9. Portulaca oleracea reduces triglyceridemia, cholesterolemia, and improves lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase activity in rats fed enriched-cholesterol diet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zidan, Y; Bouderbala, S; Djellouli, F; Lacaille-Dubois, M A; Bouchenak, M

    2014-10-15

    The effects of Portulaca oleracea (Po) lyophilized aqueous extract were determined on the serum high-density lipoproteins (HDL2 and HDL3) amounts and composition, as well as on lecithin: cholesterol acyltansferase (LCAT) activity. Male Wistar rats (n = 12) were fed on 1% cholesterol-enriched diet for 10 days. After this phase, hypercholesterolemic rats (HC) were divided into two groups fed the same diet supplemented or not with Portulaca oleracea (Po-HC) (0.5%) for four weeks. Serum total cholesterol (TC) and triacylglycerols (TG), and liver TG values were respectively 1.6-, 1.8-, and 1.6-fold lower in Po-HC than in HC group. Cholesterol concentrations in LDL-HDL1, HDL2, and HDL3 were respectively 1.8, 1.4-, and 2.4-fold decreased in Po-HC group. HDL2 and HDL3 amounts, which were the sum of apolipoproteins (apos), TG, cholesteryl esters (CE), unesterified cholesterol (UC), and phospholipids (PL) contents, were respectively 4.5-fold higher and 1.2-fold lower with Po treatment. Indeed, enhanced LCAT activity (1.2-fold), its cofactor-activator apo A-I (2-fold) and its reaction product HDL2-CE (2.1-fold) were observed, whereas HDL3-PL (enzyme substrate) and HDL3-UC (acyl group acceptor) were 1.2- and 2.4-fold lower. Portulaca oleracea reduces triglyceridemia, cholesterolemia, and improves reverse cholesterol transport in rat fed enriched-cholesterol diet, contributing to anti-atherogenic effects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  10. Tritium Activity Measurement of Water Samples Using Liquid Scintillation Counter and Electrolytical Enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baresic, J.; Krajcar Bronic, I.; Horvatincic, N.; Obelic, B.; Sironic, A.; Kozar-Logar J.

    2011-01-01

    Tritium (3H) activity of natural waters (precipitation, groundwater, surface waters) has recently become too low to be directly measured by low-level liquid scintillation (LSC) techniques. It is therefore necessary to perform electrolytical enrichment of tritium in such waters prior to LSC measurements. Electrolytical enrichment procedure has been implemented at the Rudjer Boskovic Institute (RBI) Tritium Laboratory in 2008, and since then 19 electrolyses have been completed. The mean enrichment factor E (a ratio between the final and initial 3H activities) after stabilisation of the system is E R BI = 22.5 @ 0.5, and the mean enrichment parameter (which describes the process of water mass reduction during electrolysis) is P R BI 0.949 @ 0.003. These values are comparable with those obtained at the Jo@ef Stefan Institute (JSI) Laboratory for liquid scintillation counting, at the electrolysis equipment of the same producer (AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland) after 66 electrolyses carried out under identical conditions since 2007: E J SI = 18.9 @ 1.5, and P J SI = 0.896 @ 0.021. Both RBI and JSI laboratories have Ultra-low-level LSC Quantulus 1220 (Wallac, PerkinElmer) for measurement of 3H activity. A set of water samples having 3H activities in the range from 0 TU (''dead-water'' samples) to 18 000 TU (1 TU 0.118 Bq/L) were measured at both laboratories. Samples having 3H activity <200 TU were electrolytically enriched, while the others were measured directly in LSC. A very good agreement was obtained (correlation coefficient 0.991). Both laboratories participated in the IAEA TRIC2008 international intercomparison exercise. The analyses of reported 3H activity results in terms of z and u parameters showed that all results in both laboratories were acceptable. (author)

  11. A Systematic Approach to Marital Enrichment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinkmeyer, Don; Carlson, Jon

    1986-01-01

    Presents a systematic approach to enriching marital relationships. The history and current status of marital enrichment is reviewed. An Adlerian approach to marital enrichment is described. Applications of the program in enrichment groups, marriage therapy and couple groups are included. (Author)

  12. Active interrogation of highly enriched uranium

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairrow, Nannette Lea

    Safeguarding special nuclear material (SNM) in the Department of Energy Complex is vital to the national security of the United States. Active and passive nondestructive assays are used to confirm the presence of SNM in various configurations ranging from waste to nuclear weapons. Confirmation measurements for nuclear weapons are more challenging because the design complicates the detection of a distinct signal for highly enriched uranium. The emphasis of this dissertation was to investigate a new nondestructive assay technique that provides an independent and distinct signal to confirm the presence of highly enriched uranium (HEU). Once completed and tested this assay method could be applied to confirmation measurements of nuclear weapons. The new system uses a 14-MeV neutron source for interrogation and records the arrival time of neutrons between the pulses with a high efficiency detection system. The data is then analyzed by the Feynman reduced variance method. The analysis determined the amount of correlation in the data and provided a unique signature of correlated fission neutrons. Measurements of HEU spheres were conducted at Los Alamos with the new system. Then, Monte Carlo calculations were performed to verify hypothesis made about the behavior of the neutrons in the experiment. Comparisons of calculated counting rates by the Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code (MCNP) were made with the experimental data to confirm that the measured response reflected the desired behavior of neutron interactions in the highly enriched uranium. In addition, MCNP calculations of the delayed neutron build-up were compared with the measured data. Based on the results obtained from this dissertation, this measurement method has the potential to be expanded to include mass determinations of highly enriched uranium. Although many safeguards techniques exist for measuring special nuclear material, the number of assays that can be used to confirm HEU in shielded systems is

  13. Diesel-Enriched Particulate Matter Functionally Activates Human Dendritic Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porter, Michael; Karp, Matthew; Killedar, Smruti; Bauer, Stephen M.; Guo, Jia; Williams, D'Ann; Breysse, Patrick; Georas, Steve N.; Williams, Marc A.

    2007-01-01

    Epidemiologic studies have associated exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) with exacerbations of asthma. It is unknown how different sources of PM affect innate immunity. We sought to determine how car- and diesel exhaust–derived PM affects dendritic cell (DC) activation. DC development was modeled using CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors. Airborne PM was collected from exhaust plenums of Fort McHenry Tunnel providing car-enriched particles (CEP) and diesel-enriched particles (DEP). DC were stimulated for 48 hours with CEP, DEP, CD40-ligand, or lipopolysaccharide. DC activation was assessed by flow cytometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and standard culture techniques. DEP increased uptake of fluorescein isothiocyanate–dextran (a model antigen) by DC. Diesel particles enhanced cell-surface expression of co-stimulatory molecules (e.g., CD40 [P < 0.01] and MHC class II [P < 0.01]). By contrast, CEP poorly affected antigen uptake and expression of cell surface molecules, and did not greatly affect cytokine secretion by DC. However, DEP increased production of TNF, IL-6, and IFN-γ (P < 0.01), IL-12 (P < 0.05), and vascular endothelial growth factor (P < 0.001). In co-stimulation assays of PM-exposed DC and alloreactive CD4+ T cells, both CEP and DEP directed a Th2-like pattern of cytokine production (e.g., enhanced IL-13 and IL-18 and suppressed IFN-γ production). CD4+ T cells were not functionally activated on exposure to either DEP or CEP. Car- and diesel-enriched particles exert a differential effect on DC activation. Our data support the hypothesis that DEP (and to a lesser extent CEP) regulate important functional aspects of human DC, supporting an adjuvant role for this material. PMID:17630318

  14. Cranberry extract-enriched diets increase NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase and catalase activities in obese but not in nonobese mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boušová, Iva; Bártíková, Hana; Matoušková, Petra; Lněničková, Kateřina; Zappe, Lukáš; Valentová, Kateřina; Szotáková, Barbora; Martin, Jan; Skálová, Lenka

    2015-10-01

    Consumption of antioxidant-enriched diets is 1 method of addressing obesity, which is associated with chronic oxidative stress and changes in the activity/expression of various enzymes. In this study, we hypothesized that the modulation of antioxidant enzymes and redox status through a cranberry extract (CBE)-enriched diet would differ between obese and nonobese mice. The CBE used in this study was obtained from the American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon, Ericaceae), a popular constituent of dietary supplements that is a particularly rich source of (poly)phenols and has strong antioxidant properties. The present study was designed to test and compare the in vivo effects of 28-day consumption of a CBE-enriched diet (2%) on the antioxidant status of nonobese mice and mice with monosodium glutamate-induced obesity. Plasma, erythrocytes, liver, and small intestine were studied concurrently to obtain more complex information. The specific activities, protein, and messenger RNA expression levels of antioxidant enzymes as well as the levels of malondialdehyde and thiol (SH) groups were analyzed. Cranberry extract treatment increased the SH group content in plasma and the glutathione S-transferase activity in the erythrocytes of the obese and nonobese mice. In addition, in the obese animals, the CBE treatment reduced the malondialdehyde content in erythrocytes and increased quinone oxidoreductase (liver) and catalase (erythrocytes and small intestine) activities. The elevation of hepatic quinone oxidoreductase activity was accompanied by an increase in the corresponding messenger RNA levels. The effects of CBE on the activity of antioxidant enzymes and redox status were more pronounced in the obese mice compared with the nonobese mice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Behavioral Effects of Enrichment and Nicotine in Male Sprague Dawley Rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-10-01

    activity, increased habituation to a novel environment, decreased voluntary exercise. Rats in the physically-enriched group had increased voluntary ... voluntary exercise. Environmental enrichment prolonged nicotine’s effects through nicotine cessation. Enrichment’s effects on body weight could not...68 Euthanasia ................................................................................................... 68 DATA ANALYTIC STRATEGY FOR

  16. Enrichment of Biologically Active Compounds from Selected Plants Using Adsorptive Bubble Separation

    OpenAIRE

    Thompson, Leonor

    2006-01-01

    In this research, foam fractionation a method belonging to the Adsorptive Bubble Separation Methods, was employed to enrich the following active principles contained in medically valuable plants: Faradiol esters from Calendula officinalis, catechins from Camellia sinensis, tryptanthrin from Isatis Tinctoria and cannabinoids from Cannabis sativa. The enrichment methods have been developed in the batch mode for these principles aqueous dilute solutions, based on their physicochemical nature and...

  17. Bio-active nanoemulsions enriched with gold nanoparticle, marigold extracts and lipoic acid: In vitro investigations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guler, Emine; Barlas, F Baris; Yavuz, Murat; Demir, Bilal; Gumus, Z Pinar; Baspinar, Yucel; Coskunol, Hakan; Timur, Suna

    2014-09-01

    A novel and efficient approach for the preparation of enriched herbal formulations was described and their potential applications including wound healing and antioxidant activity (cell based and cell free) were investigated via in vitro cell culture studies. Nigella sativa oil was enriched with Calendula officinalis extract and lipoic acid capped gold nanoparticles (AuNP-LA) using nanoemulsion systems. The combination of these bio-active compounds was used to design oil in water (O/W) and water in oil (W/O) emulsions. The resulted emulsions were characterized by particle size measurements. The phenolic content of each nanoemulsion was examined by using both colorimetric assay and chromatographic analyses. Two different methods containing cell free chemical assay (1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl method) and cell based antioxidant activity test were used to evaluate the antioxidant capacities. In order to investigate the bio-activities of the herbal formulations, in vitro cell culture experiments, including cytotoxicity, scratch assay, antioxidant activity and cell proliferation were carried out using Vero cell line as a model cell line. Furthermore, to monitor localization of the nanoemulsions after application of the cell culture, the cell images were monitored via fluorescence microscope after FITC labeling. All data confirmed that the enriched N. sativa formulations exhibited better antioxidant and wound healing activity than N. sativa emulsion without any enrichment. In conclusion, the incorporation of AuNP-LA and C. officinalis extract into the N. sativa emulsions significantly increased the bio-activities. The present work may support further studies about using the other bio-active agents for the enrichment of herbal preparations to strengthen their activities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. A route for oxygen isotope enrichment of α-COOH groups in amino acids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steinschneidner, A.; St Armour, T.; Valentine, B.; Burgar, M.I.; Fiat, D.

    1981-01-01

    Oxygen-17 was introduced into leucine, proline, phenylalanine and tyrosine. The corresponding tert-butyloxycarbonyl amino acids were first converted to their O-methyl esters. Following saponification with Na 17 OH, the tert-butyloxycarbonyl group was removed to yield free amino acid enriched with oxygen-17 by approximately 1000-fold. Oxygen-17 NMR revealed well-resolved peaks for the labelled amino acids. The chemical shifts are reported. (author)

  19. Foraging enrichment modulates open field response to monosodium glutamate in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onaolapo, Olakunle J; Onaolapo, Adejoke Y; Akanmu, Moses A; Olayiwola, Gbola

    2015-07-01

    Environmental enrichment can enhance expression of species-specific behaviour. While foraging enrichment is encouraged in laboratory animals, its impact on novelty induced behaviour remain largely unknown. Here, we studied behavioural response of mice to acute and subchronic oral monosodium glutamate (MSG) in an open field with /without foraging enrichment. Adult male mice, assigned to five groups were administered vehicle (distilled water), or one of four selected doses of MSG (10, 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) for 21 days. Open field novelty induced behaviours i.e. horizontal locomotion, rearing and grooming were assessed after the first and last doses of MSG. Results were analysed using MANOVA followed by Tukey HSD multiple comparison test and expressed as mean ± S.E.M. Following acute MSG administration without enrichment, locomotor activity reduced, grooming increased, while rearing activity reduced at lower doses and increased at higher doses. Subchronic administration without enrichment was associated with increased locomotor activity and reduction in grooming, rearing activity however still showed a biphasic response. Addition of enrichment with acute administration resulted in sustained reduction in locomotor and rearing activities with a biphasic grooming response. Subchronically, there was reduction in horizontal locomotion, biphasic rearing response and sustained increase in grooming activity. Behavioural response to varying doses of MSG as observed in the open field is affected by modifications such as foraging enrichment, which can reverse or dampen the central effects seen irrespective of duration of administration.

  20. Effect of broccoli extract enriched diet on liver cholesterol oxidation in rats subjected to exhaustive exercise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardenia, Vladimiro; Rodriguez-Estrada, Maria Teresa; Lorenzini, Antonello; Bandini, Erika; Angeloni, Cristina; Hrelia, Silvana; Malaguti, Marco

    2017-05-01

    The effect of broccoli extract (BE)-enriched diet was studied in order to evaluate its ability to counteract liver cholesterol oxidation products (COPs) induced by acute strenuous exercise in rats. Thirty-two female Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: control diet without exercise (C), BE-enriched diet without exercise (B), control diet with acute exhaustive exercise (S) and BE-enriched diet with acute exhaustive exercise (BS). The study lasted 45days and on the last day, rats of S and BS groups were forced to run until exhaustion on a treadmill. Glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and cholesterol oxidation products (COPs) were determined in liver. Exhaustive exercise was clearly responsible for tissue damage, as evidenced by the increase of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) plasma activity in the S group. Moreover, the exercise protocol reduced CAT activity in liver, while it did not affect GST, GR and GPx. BE-enriched diet raised GST, GR and CAT activities in rats of BS group. The main COPs found were 7α-hydroxycholesterol, 7β-hydroxycholesterol, 7-ketocholesterol, cholestanetriol, 24-hydroxycholesterol and 27-hydroxycholesterol. The BE-enriched diet led to reduced cholesterol oxidation following exhaustive exercise; the highest level of COPs was found in the S group, whereas the BS rats showed the lowest amount. This study indicates that the BE-enriched diet increases antioxidant enzyme activities and exerts an antioxidant effect towards cholesterol oxidation in rat liver, suggesting the use of phytochemicals in the prevention of oxidative damage and in the modulation of the redox environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Anticancer and Antioxidant Activity of Bread Enriched with Broccoli Sprouts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gawlik-Dziki, Urszula; Świeca, Michał; Dziki, Dariusz; Sęczyk, Łukasz; Złotek, Urszula; Różyło, Renata; Kaszuba, Kinga; Ryszawy, Damian; Czyż, Jarosław

    2014-01-01

    This study is focused on antioxidant and anticancer capacity of bread enriched with broccoli sprouts (BS) in the light of their potential bioaccessibility and bioavailability. Generally, bread supplementation elevated antioxidant potential of product (both nonenzymatic and enzymatic antioxidant capacities); however, the increase was not correlated with the percent of BS. A replacement up to 2% of BS gives satisfactory overall consumers acceptability and desirable elevation of antioxidant potential. High activity was especially found for extracts obtained after simulated digestion, which allows assuming their protective effect for upper gastrointestinal tract; thus, the anticancer activity against human stomach cancer cells (AGS) was evaluated. A prominent cytostatic response paralleled by the inhibition of AGS motility in the presence of potentially mastication-extractable phytochemicals indicates that phenolic compounds of BS retain their biological activity in bread. Importantly, the efficient phenolics concentration was about 12 μM for buffer extract, 13 μM for extracts after digestion in vitro, and 7 μM for extract after absorption in vitro. Our data confirm chemopreventive potential of bread enriched with BS and indicate that BS comprise valuable food supplement for stomach cancer chemoprevention. PMID:25050366

  2. Anticancer and Antioxidant Activity of Bread Enriched with Broccoli Sprouts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Urszula Gawlik-Dziki

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This study is focused on antioxidant and anticancer capacity of bread enriched with broccoli sprouts (BS in the light of their potential bioaccessibility and bioavailability. Generally, bread supplementation elevated antioxidant potential of product (both nonenzymatic and enzymatic antioxidant capacities; however, the increase was not correlated with the percent of BS. A replacement up to 2% of BS gives satisfactory overall consumers acceptability and desirable elevation of antioxidant potential. High activity was especially found for extracts obtained after simulated digestion, which allows assuming their protective effect for upper gastrointestinal tract; thus, the anticancer activity against human stomach cancer cells (AGS was evaluated. A prominent cytostatic response paralleled by the inhibition of AGS motility in the presence of potentially mastication-extractable phytochemicals indicates that phenolic compounds of BS retain their biological activity in bread. Importantly, the efficient phenolics concentration was about 12 μM for buffer extract, 13 μM for extracts after digestion in vitro, and 7 μM for extract after absorption in vitro. Our data confirm chemopreventive potential of bread enriched with BS and indicate that BS comprise valuable food supplement for stomach cancer chemoprevention.

  3. Determination of U235 enrichment from nuclear fuel by neutronic activation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almeida, M.C.M. de.

    1988-01-01

    The enrichment of 235 U in UO 2 pellets samples through the instrumental neutron activation analysis method (I.N.A.A.) was determined. By high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry (H.R.G.S.), from analysis of isotopic ratios between fission products peaks from 235 U and 239 Np different energies peaks from 238 U, the enrichment was achieved. The 'Boatstrap' statistics technique for the analytical results, which is based in shaping results of an unknown distribution to the Gaussian distribution by B replications in interested statistics such as: the mean and its standard error, was introduced. (M.J.C.) [pt

  4. Antioxidant, antifungal and anticancer activities of se-enriched Pleurotus spp. mycelium extracts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milovanović Ivan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this study was the evaluation of antifungal, antioxidant and anticancer potentials of Pleurotus eryngii, P. ostreatus and P. pulmonarius mycelial extracts, and the influence of mycelium enrichment with selenium on these activities. Both Se-amended and non-amended extracts showed the same or similar minimal inhibitory concentration for 14 studied micromycetes, while a fungicidal effect was not noted, contrary to ketoconazole, which had inhibitory and fungicidal effects at very low concentrations. Se-non-amended extracts exhibited antioxidant activity, especially at higher concentrations. Selenium enrichment influenced activity, its effects decreasing in P. eryngii and P. pulmonarius, while in P. ostreatus no effect was noted. The DPPH• radical scavenging capacity of the extracts was in direct correlation with their phenol and flavonoid contents. Cytotoxic activity against both HeLa and LS174 cell lines was very low compared with cis-DDP. These features suggest that mycelium should be an object of intensive studies. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 173032

  5. Blue-enriched office light competes with natural light as a zeitgeber.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vetter, Céline; Juda, Myriam; Lang, Dieter; Wojtysiak, Andreas; Roenneberg, Till

    2011-09-01

    Circadian regulation of human physiology and behavior (eg, body temperature or sleep-timing), depends on the "zeitgeber" light that synchronizes them to the 24-hour day. This study investigated the effect of changing light temperature at the workplace from 4000 Kelvin (K) to 8000 K on sleep-wake and activity-rest behavior. An experimental group (N=27) that experienced the light change was compared with a non-intervention group (N=27) that remained in the 4000 K environment throughout the 5-week study period (14 January to 17 February). Sleep logs and actimetry continuously assessed sleep-wake behavior and activity patterns. Over the study period, the timing of sleep and activity on free days steadily advanced parallel to the seasonal progression of sunrise in the non-intervention group. In contrast, the temporal pattern of sleep and activity in the experimental group remained associated with the constant onset of work. The results suggest that artificial blue-enriched light competes with natural light as a zeitgeber. While subjects working under the warmer light (4000 K) appear to entrain (or synchronize) to natural dawn, the subjects who were exposed to blue-enriched (8000 K) light appear to entrain to office hours. The results confirm that light is the dominant zeitgeber for the human clock and that its efficacy depends on spectral composition. The results also indicate that blue-enriched artificial light is a potent zeitgeber that has to be used with diligence.

  6. Mammalian transcriptional hotspots are enriched for tissue specific enhancers near cell type specific highly expressed genes and are predicted to act as transcriptional activator hubs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joshi, Anagha

    2014-12-30

    Transcriptional hotspots are defined as genomic regions bound by multiple factors. They have been identified recently as cell type specific enhancers regulating developmentally essential genes in many species such as worm, fly and humans. The in-depth analysis of hotspots across multiple cell types in same species still remains to be explored and can bring new biological insights. We therefore collected 108 transcription-related factor (TF) ChIP sequencing data sets in ten murine cell types and classified the peaks in each cell type in three groups according to binding occupancy as singletons (low-occupancy), combinatorials (mid-occupancy) and hotspots (high-occupancy). The peaks in the three groups clustered largely according to the occupancy, suggesting priming of genomic loci for mid occupancy irrespective of cell type. We then characterized hotspots for diverse structural functional properties. The genes neighbouring hotspots had a small overlap with hotspot genes in other cell types and were highly enriched for cell type specific function. Hotspots were enriched for sequence motifs of key TFs in that cell type and more than 90% of hotspots were occupied by pioneering factors. Though we did not find any sequence signature in the three groups, the H3K4me1 binding profile had bimodal peaks at hotspots, distinguishing hotspots from mono-modal H3K4me1 singletons. In ES cells, differentially expressed genes after perturbation of activators were enriched for hotspot genes suggesting hotspots primarily act as transcriptional activator hubs. Finally, we proposed that ES hotspots might be under control of SetDB1 and not DNMT for silencing. Transcriptional hotspots are enriched for tissue specific enhancers near cell type specific highly expressed genes. In ES cells, they are predicted to act as transcriptional activator hubs and might be under SetDB1 control for silencing.

  7. Italian activities in the field of uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bullio, P.

    1977-01-01

    The Italian effort on uranium enrichment is principally developed along the two classical processes: gaseous diffusion, centrifuges. Research, development and industrial activities play different role in the two methods; a special working group (GIAU) was established by CNEN to help coordinating this activity. In the field of gaseous diffusion, research and development effort, was, from the starting of the program in 1968, mainly devoted to barriers and compressors. The aim was to gain a full understanding of the process and to demonstrate the capability to overcome the main problems of this technology. Isotope separation of UF 6 was demonstrated in 1974 at an experimental plant level. Cost sharing contracts were signed between CNEN and industries to build prototypes and ''first of a kind'' components; small production lines have been set up to evaluate economics and assess production quality: Eurodif is partially associated with the development of this activity. On the industrial level Agip Nucleare and CNEN were among the promoters of the Eurodif venture from the beginning in 1973 and now own 25% of the shares. In the field of ultracentrifugation the work is still devoted mainly to research and development on the machines. The demonstration of the separation process has been achieved in 1973 at laboratory level with a Zippe type centrifuge. Further on, work has been aimed to the development of high capacity machines and different solutions are under close scrutiny. Carbon fibers and multiple rotors machines have been mechanically tested; the first reference design of small cascade plant has been completed. In the field of laser separation, after a complete and critical survey of different process under development abroad, experimental research work is now being undertaken; experiments on basic aspects of the process are in progress [fr

  8. Recent activities of the ESARDA working group on NDA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harry, R.J.S.

    1983-01-01

    The European Safeguards Research and Development Association, ESARDA, has one of the largest coordinated safeguards and development programs in the world. There are several working groups for specific R and D activities. One of these is the ''ESARDA Working Group on Techniques and Standards for non-Destructive Analysis''. The NDA working group has initiated the international project of the preparation of uranium oxide certified reference materials for the gamma spectrometric determination of the enrichment, which are made in a collaboration with the US NBS and the European Communities' Central Bureau for Nuclear Measurements, CBNM, at Geel. The possibility of a similar type of reference material for Pu isotopic abundance measurements is investigated at CBNM, and the pilot samples may become available for intercomparisons. Safeguards acceptability and users manual have been considered carefully. The working group has undertaken an intercomparison on the determination of plutonium isotopic ratios by gamma spectrometry, using NBS-SRM's-946, -947 and 948. A new exercise on 0,5 gram samples of seven different isotopic compositions samples will be executed under the name PIDIE (Plutonium Isotopic Determination Intercomparison Exercise)

  9. Enrichment and activation of smectite-poor clay

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sarcevica, Inese; Kostjukovs, Juris; Actint, Andris, E-mail: inese.sarcevicha@gmail.com [Department of Chemistry, University of Latvia, Kr. Valdemara street 48, Riga (Latvia)

    2011-06-23

    A new method of smectite clay enrichment has been developed. The method is based on dispersing clay in a phosphate solution and sequential coagulation. The product of enrichment is characterized with X-ray powder diffraction, wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetry. Sorption of methylene blue and hexadecylpyridinium bromide on raw and purified clays was studied.

  10. Uranium enrichment services activity. Financial statements for fiscal year ended June 30, 1975

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1975-01-01

    Financial statements for the Uranium Enrichment Services Activity, covering both ERDA and its contractors, are presented to provide information concerning the operations and financial position of this operation

  11. Polyphenols and antioxidant activities of Kombucha beverage enriched with Coffeeberry® extract

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Essawet Najmi Ahmed

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Kombucha is a traditional beverage obtained by fermenting sweetened black tea with tea fungus, which represents a consortium of acetic acid bacteria and yeasts. Also, CoffeeBerry® products, which derived from the whole fruit of the coffee plant, are valuable ingredients with nutritional and health-enhancing potential. Samples of fermentation broths enriched with CoffeeBerry® extract and traditional Kombucha were analysed. The fermentation was performed in a bioreactor at 28±1°C for nine days. The results showed that the CoffeeBerry® extract has contributed to a faster fermentation of cultivation medium. Some individual polyphenolic compounds and catehins in fermentation broth samples were identified and quantified by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC. Among the bioactive compounds present in investigated samples obtained during Kombucha fermentation of the sweetened black tea enriched with CoffeeBerry® extract, chlorogenic acid (188.94-458.56 μg/mL was the predominant. The antioxidant activity of investigated samples was tested by measuring their ability to scavenge DPPH and reactive hydroxyl radicals by electron spin resonance (ESR spectroscopy. The scavenging activities on DPPH and hydroxyl radicals were increased with duration of fermentation. IC50 values for Kombucha fermentation broth enriched with CoffeBerry®, based on DPPH and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities, were in the range 26.33-170.13 μL/mL and 11.33-102.22 μL/mL, respectively.

  12. Influence of social upbringing on the activity pattern of captive lion Panthera leo cubs: Benefits of behavior enrichment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sibonokuhle NCUBE, Hilton Garikai Taambuka NDAGURWA

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available The influence of social upbringing on the activity pattern of lion Panthera leo cubs was investigated at three sites. In this study, stimulus objects such as sticks, grass, fresh dung (elephant Loxondota africana, zebra Equus quagga, impala Aepyceros melampus, duiker Sylvicapra grimmia, kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros, giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis and wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus and cardboard boxes, were utilized in an enrichment program aimed at encouraging active behaviors of captive lion cubs at Antelope Park and Masuwe. Lion cubs at Chipangali were not behaviorally enriched. Activity patterns were recorded for 10 days at each site. We recorded moving, resting, playing, grooming, visual exploration and display of hunting instincts. We found that behavioral enrichment enhanced the active behaviors of captive lion cubs. Orphan-raised cubs spent more time moving, playing and displaying hunting instincts than mother-raised cubs, but the time spent grooming was similar across areas and suggests that grooming is not influenced by enrichment. Mother-raised cubs spent more time engaged in visual exploration than orphan-raised cubs and this could be a behavior acquired from mothers or a result of confidence to explore because of their presence. Activity patterns were different among time treatments across our three study sites. Based on these findings, we suggest that lion cubs raised in captivity could benefit from behavioral enrichment to encourage active behaviors essential for eventual reintroduction into the wild [Current Zoology 56 (4: 389–394, 2010].

  13. Corexit 9500 Enhances Oil Biodegradation and Changes Active Bacterial Community Structure of Oil-Enriched Microcosms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Techtmann, Stephen M; Zhuang, Mobing; Campo, Pablo; Holder, Edith; Elk, Michael; Hazen, Terry C; Conmy, Robyn; Santo Domingo, Jorge W

    2017-05-15

    To better understand the impacts of Corexit 9500 on the structure and activity levels of hydrocarbon-degrading microbial communities, we analyzed next-generation 16S rRNA gene sequencing libraries of hydrocarbon enrichments grown at 5 and 25°C using both DNA and RNA extracts as the sequencing templates. Oil biodegradation patterns in both 5 and 25°C enrichments were consistent with those reported in the literature (i.e., aliphatics were degraded faster than aromatics). Slight increases in biodegradation were observed in the presence of Corexit at both temperatures. Differences in community structure were observed between treatment conditions in the DNA-based libraries. The 25°C consortia were dominated by Vibrio , Idiomarina , Marinobacter , Alcanivorax , and Thalassospira species, while the 5°C consortia were dominated by several species of the genera Flavobacterium , Alcanivorax , and Oleispira Most of these genera have been linked to hydrocarbon degradation and have been observed after oil spills. Colwellia and Cycloclasticus , known aromatic degraders, were also found in these enrichments. The addition of Corexit did not have an effect on the active bacterial community structure of the 5°C consortia, while at 25°C, a decrease in the relative abundance of Marinobacter was observed. At 25°C, Thalassospira , Marinobacter , and Idiomarina were present at higher relative abundances in the RNA than DNA libraries, suggesting that they were active in degradation. Similarly, Oleispira was greatly stimulated by the addition of oil at 5°C. IMPORTANCE While dispersants such as Corexit 9500 can be used to treat oil spills, there is still debate on the effectiveness on enhancing oil biodegradation and its potential toxic effect on oil-degrading microbial communities. The results of this study provide some insights on the microbial dynamics of hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial populations in the presence of Corexit 9500. Operational taxonomic unit (OTU) analyses

  14. Evaluation of objects and food for environmental enrichment of NZW rabbits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, L D; Custer, L B; Soranaka, E T; Burge, J R; Ruble, G R

    2001-01-01

    The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals states that both structural and social environments should be considered when addressing the husbandry needs of laboratory animals. The purpose of this study was to investigate environmental enrichment strategies that could potentially enhance the well-being of rabbits. Male and female 6-week old New Zealand White rabbits were divided into three groups: food-enriched (Bunny Stix, Bunny Blocks, or celery), non-food enriched (Jingle Ball, Kong toy, or Nylabone), and not enriched. Animals were given a particular enrichment for 1 h daily for 15 days. Home cages were fitted with specially designed plexiglass doors, which allowed the animals' interactions with the objects to be videotaped. The amount of time the animal interacted with each object and the total activity during the 1-h taped session were recorded for each rabbit. Rabbits were weighed weekly. Rabbits spent significantly more time interacting with the Bunny Stix than any other food item or non-food object. In addition, total activity time was significantly greater for all rabbits enriched with food versus any of the non-food items. Weight gains after 15 days did not differ significantly, but there was a trend towards increased weight gains in food-enriched rabbits. In this study, food was a stronger, more sustained enrichment device than were non-food objects.

  15. Effects of nutrient enrichment on the decomposition of wood and associated microbial activity in streams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vladislav Gulis; Amy D. Rosemond; Keller Suberkropp; Holly S. Weyers; Jonathan P. Benstead

    2004-01-01

    We determined the effects of nutrient enrichment on wood decomposition rates and microbial activity during a 3-year study in two headwater streams at Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, NC, U.S.A. After a 1-year pretreatment period, one of the streams was continuously enriched with inorganic nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) for 2 years while the other stream served as a...

  16. Enriched environment palliates nicotine-induced addiction and associated neurobehavioral deficits in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nawaz, Amber; Batool, Zehra; Ahmed, Saara; Tabassum, Saiqa; Khaliq, Saima; Mehdi, Bushra Jabeen; Sajid, Irfan; Ahmad, Shoaib; Saleem, Sadia; Naqvi, Fizza; Naqvi, Faizan; Haider, Saida

    2017-11-01

    This study was designed to investigate the role of enriched environment in preventing and/or reducing the neurobehavioral deficits produced after nicotine administration in albino Wistar rats. Equal numbers of rat in two groups were either placed in social environment (control group) or social along with physically enriched environment for four weeks before the administration of nicotine. Exposure to different environmental conditions was followed by the intraperitoneal injection of nicotine at the dose of 0.6 mg/kg for seven consecutive days during which addictive behavior was monitored using conditioned placed preference paradigm. Behavioral responses to locomotor activity, anxiety and retention of short term memory were investigated in control and nicotine injected groups exposed to different environments. Results of this study showed that the rats pre-exposed to physical along with social enrichment exhibited a decrease in drug seeking behavior, hyper locomotion, anxiogenic effects along with improvement of working memory as compared to control and nicotine injected groups that were kept in social environment alone. This behavioral study suggests that the exposure to physical enrichment along with socialization in young age can later reduce the chances of compulsive dependence on nicotine and related neurobehavioral deficits.

  17. Selenium enrichment on Cordyceps militaris link and analysis on its main active components.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Jing Z; Lei, C; Ai, Xun R; Wang, Y

    2012-03-01

    To investigate the effects of selenium on the main active components of Cordyceps militaris fruit bodies, selenium-enriched cultivation of C. militaris and the main active components of the fruit bodies were studied. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and contents of cordycepin, cordycepic acid, and organic selenium of fruit bodies were sodium selenite concentration dependent; contents of adenosine and cordycep polysaccharides were significantly enhanced by adding sodium selenite in the substrates, but not proportional to sodium selenite concentrations. In the cultivation of wheat substrate added with 18.0 ppm sodium selenite, SOD activity and contents of cordycepin, cordycepic acid, adenosine, cordycep polysaccharides, and total amino acids were enhanced by 121/145%, 124/74%, 325/520%, 130/284%, 121/145%, and 157/554%, respectively, compared to NS (non-selenium-cultivated) fruit bodies and wild Cordyceps sinensis; organic selenium contents of fruit bodies reached 6.49 mg/100 g. So selenium-enriched cultivation may be a potential way to produce more valuable medicinal food as a substitute for wild C. sinensis.

  18. Engaging High School Girls in Native American Culturally Responsive STEAM Enrichment Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kant, Joanita M.; Burckhard, Suzette R.; Meyers, Richard T.

    2018-01-01

    Providing science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) culturally responsive enrichment activities is one way of promoting more interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) studies and careers among indigenous students. The purpose of the study was to explore the impact, if any, of STEAM culturally…

  19. Uranium enrichment activities: the SILVA program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guyot, J.; Cazalet, J.; Camarcat, N.; Figuet, J.

    1994-01-01

    Through its commitment to a nuclear electricity generation policy, France holds today a specific position in the uranium enrichment market thanks to the modern multinational EURODIF gaseous diffusion plant. France has, altogether, a long-term goal in developing SILVA, a laser uranium enrichment process, based on the selective photo-ionization of U-235. After reviewing the fundamentals of SILVA (the laser system with copper vapor lasers and dye lasers and the separator system), a description of the general organization of the R and D program is provided going through basic research, subsystems assessment, production demonstrations and simulations (with the LACAN code), plant design and economics. The general schedule of SILVA is outlined, leading to the possible construction of a commercial plant. 7 figs., 11 refs

  20. United States uranium enrichment policies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberts, R.W.

    1977-01-01

    ERDA's uranium enrichment program policies governing the manner in which ERDA's enrichment complex is being operated and expanded to meet customer requirements for separative work, research and development activities directed at providing technology alternatives for future enrichment capacity, and establishing the framework for additional domestic uranium enrichment capacity to meet the domestic and foreign nuclear industry's growing demand for enrichment services are considered. The ERDA enrichment complex consists of three gaseous diffusion plants located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Paducah, Kentucky; and Portsmouth, Ohio. Today, these plants provide uranium enrichment services for commercial nuclear power generation. These enrichment services are provided under contracts between the Government and the utility customers. ERDA's program involves a major pilot plant cascade, and pursues an advanced isotope separation technique for the late 1980's. That the United States must develop additional domestic uranium enrichment capacity is discussed

  1. US enrichment safeguards program development activities with potential International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards applications. Part 1. Executive summaries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swindle, D.W. Jr.

    1984-07-01

    The most recent progress, results, and plans for future work on the US Enrichment Safeguards Program's principal development activities are summarized. Nineteen development activities are reported that have potential International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards applications. Part 1 presents Executive Summaries for these, each of which includes information on (1) the purpose and scope of the development activity; (2) the potential IAEA safeguards application and/or use if adopted; (3) significant development work, results, and/or conclusions to date; and where appropriate (4) future activities and plans for continued work. Development activities cover: measurement technology for limited-frequency-unannounced-access stategy inspections; integrated data acquisition system; enrichment-monitoring system; load-cell-based weighing system for UF 6 cylinder mass verifications; vapor phase versus liquid phase sampling of UF 6 cylinders; tamper-safing hardware and systems; an alternative approach to IAEA nuclear material balance verifications resulting from intermittent inspections; UF 6 sample bottle enrichment analyzer; crated waste assay monitor; and compact 252 Cf shuffler for UF 6 measurements

  2. Active method of neutron time correlation coincidence measurement to authenticate mass and enrichment of uranium metal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Songbai; Wu Jun; Zhu Jianyu; Tian Dongfeng; Xie Dong

    2011-01-01

    The active methodology of time correlation coincidence measurement of neutron is an effective verification means to authenticate uranium metal. A collimated 252 Cf neutron source was used to investigate mass and enrichment of uranium metal through the neutron transport simulation for different enrichments and different masses of uranium metal, then time correlation coincidence counts of them were obtained. By analyzing the characteristic of time correlation coincidence counts, the monotone relationships were founded between FWTH of time correlation coincidence and multiplication factor, between the total coincidence counts in FWTH for time correlation coincidence and mass of 235 U multiplied by multiplication factor, and between the ratio of neutron source penetration and mass of uranium metal. Thus the methodology to authenticate mass and enrichment of uranium metal was established with time correlation coincidence by active neutron investigation. (authors)

  3. The enrichment secondary market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Einbund, D.R.

    1986-01-01

    This paper will addresses two topics: the background to the present status of the enrichment secondary market and the future outlook of the secondary market in enrichment services, and the viability of the nuclear fuel brokerage industry. These two topics are inevitably connected, as most secondary market activity, not only in enrichment but also in natural uranium, has traditionally been conducted with the participation of brokers. Therefore, the author interrelates these topics

  4. Turkey's regulatory plans for high enriched to low enriched conversion of TR-2 reactor core

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guelol Oezdere, Oya

    2003-01-01

    Turkey is a developing country and has three nuclear facilities two of which are research reactors and one pilot fuel production plant. One of the two research reactors is TR-2 which is located in Cekmece site in Istanbul. TR-2 Reactor's core is composed of both high enriched and low enriched fuel and from high enriched to low enriched core conversion project will take place in year 2005. This paper presents the plans for drafting regulations on the safety analysis report updates for high enriched to low enriched core conversion of TR-2 reactor, the present regulatory structure of Turkey and licensing activities of nuclear facilities. (author)

  5. Summary of the Effort to Use Active-induced Time Correlation Techniques to Measure the Enrichment of HEU

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McConchie, Seth M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Crye, Jason Michael [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Pena, Kirsten [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Sword, Eric [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Mihalczo, John T. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2015-09-30

    This document summarizes the effort to use active-induced time correlation techniques to measure the enrichment of bulk quantities of enriched uranium. In summary, these techniques use an external source to initiate fission chains, and the time distribution of the detected fission chain neutrons is sensitive to the fissile material enrichment. The number of neutrons emitted from a chain is driven by the multiplication of the item, and the enrichment is closely coupled to the multiplication of the item. As the enrichment increases (decreases), the multiplication increases (decreases) if the geometry is held constant. The time distribution of fission chain neutrons is a complex function of the enrichment and material configuration. The enrichment contributes to the probability of a subsequent fission in a chain via the likelihood of fissioning on an even-numbered isotope versus an odd-numbered isotope. The material configuration contributes to the same probability via solid angle effects for neutrons inducing subsequent fissions and the presence of any moderating material. To simplify the ability to accurately measure the enrichment, an associated particle imaging (API) D-T neutron generator and an array of plastic scintillators are used to simultaneously image the item and detect the fission chain neutrons. The image is used to significantly limit the space of enrichment and material configuration and enable the enrichment to be determined unambiguously.

  6. Reducing enrichment of fuel for research reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanda, Keiji; Matsuura, Shojiro.

    1980-01-01

    In research reactors, highly enriched uranium (HEU) is used as fuel for their purposes of operation. However, the United States strongly required in 1977 that these HEU should be replaced by low enrichment uranium (LEU) of 20% or less, or even in unavoidable cases, it should be replaced by medium enrichment uranium (MEU). INFCE (International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation) which started its activity just at that time decided to discuss this problem in the research reactor group of No. 8 sectional committee. Japan has been able to forward the work, taking a leading part in the international opinion because she has taken the countermeasures quickly. INFCE investigated the problem along the lines of policy that the possibility of reducing the degree of enrichment should be limited to the degree in which the core structures and equipments of research reactors will be modified as little as possible, and the change of fuel element geometry will be done within the permissible thermohydrodynamic capacity, and concluded that it might be possible in near future to reduce the degree of enrichment to about 45% MEU, while the reduction to 20% LEU might require considerable research, development and verification. On the other hand, the joint researches by Kyoto University and ANL (Argonne National Laboratory) and by Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute and ANL are being continued. IAEA has edited the guidebook (IAEA-TECDOC-233) for reducing the degree of enrichment for developing countries. (Wakatsuki, Y.)

  7. Interim report of working group on development and examination of new material, high performance centrifuge technology, Advisory Committee on Nuclear Uranium Enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-01-01

    The industrialization of uranium enrichment in Japan has been advanced by the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp. by centrifugal separation technology. In April, 1988, the partial operation of the uranium enrichment prototype plant by centrifugal separation process (200 t SWU/year) was begun in Ningyo Pass, Okayama Prefecture, and its full operation is expected in January, 1989. Based on this achievement, Japan Nuclear Fuel Industry Co., Ltd. advances the construction of a commercial uranium enrichment plant in Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture, aiming at the start of operation around 1991. On the other hand, the environment surrounding the uranium enrichment business in Japan is extremely severe at present, and due to the excessive supply capacity of world uranium enrichment service and the recent rapid appreciation of yen, the further improvement of the economical efficiency of Japanese uranium enrichment business is demanded. The working group held four meetings since May, 1988, and evaluated the present status of the research and development of new material, high performance centrifuges, and investigated and discussed the method of advancing the research and development hereafter. The results are reported. (Kako, I.)

  8. A fraction enriched in rat hippocampal mossy fibre synaptosomes contains trophic activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taupin, P; Roisin, M P; Ben-Ari, Y; Barbin, G

    1994-06-27

    Subcellular fractions prepared from the rat hippocampus, were assessed for the presence of trophic activities. The cytosol of synaptosomal fractions induced mitotic reinitiation of confluent 3T3 fibroblasts. The synaptosomal fraction, enriched in mossy fibre terminals, contained the highest mitotic activity. The mitogenic activity was heat and trypsin sensitive, suggesting that polypeptides are involved. The cytosol of the mossy fibre synaptosomal fraction promoted neuritic outgrowth of PC 12 cells and embryonic hippocampal neurones in primary cultures. These results suggest that mossy fibres contain both mitogenic and neurotrophic activities. These factors could participate in mossy fibre sprouting that occur following brief seizures or experimental lesions.

  9. Corexit 9500 Enhances Oil Biodegradation and Changes Active Bacterial Community Structure of Oil-Enriched Microcosms

    OpenAIRE

    Techtmann, Stephen M.; Zhuang, Mobing; Campo, Pablo; Holder, Edith; Elk, Michael; Hazen, Terry C.; Conmy, Robyn; Santo Domingo, Jorge W.

    2017-01-01

    To better understand the impacts of Corexit 9500 on the structure and activity levels of hydrocarbon-degrading microbial communities, we analyzed next-generation 16S rRNA gene sequencing libraries of hydrocarbon enrichments grown at 5 and 25°C using both DNA and RNA extracts as the sequencing templates. Oil biodegradation patterns in both 5 and 25°C enrichments were consistent with those reported in the literature (i.e., aliphatics were degraded faster than aromatics). Slight increases in bio...

  10. Diet enriched with mushroom Phellinus linteus extract enhances the growth, innate immune response, and disease resistance of kelp grouper, Epinephelus bruneus against vibriosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harikrishnan, Ramasamy; Balasundaram, Chellam; Heo, Moon-Soo

    2011-01-01

    The effect of diet supplemented with Phellinus linteus fed for 30 days was investigated in grouper Epinephelus bruneus challenged with Vibrio anguillarum, Vibrio harveyi, Vibrio alginolyticus, and Vibrio carchariae; infected and treated fish had a significantly higher percent weight gain and feed efficiency. In groups fed with enriched diet and challenged with V. anguillarum and V. harveyi the mortality rate declined with a consequent rise in survival rate than with other pathogens. On the other hand, in groups fed with P. linteus enriched diet and challenged with V. anguillarum, V. harveyi, and V. alginolyticus the cellular and humoral immune responses, such as the alternative complement activity (ACH(50)), serum lysozyme activity, phagocytic activity (PA), phagocytic index (PI) significantly higher than in the control group. The respiratory bursts (RB), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities were found significantly enhanced when the groups fed with enriched diet against V. anguillarum and V. harveyi. The results reveal that kelp grouper fed for 30 days with P. linteus enriched diet had higher cellular and humoral immune response and disease protection from vibriosis than the group fed on basal diet with the protection linked to stimulation of immune system. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. A multilateral enrichment facility in Iran as a solution to the nuclear crisis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Forden, G.; Thomson, J.

    2006-01-01

    A little known report issued in early 2005 by a group of experts might contain the seeds for solving the current Iranian crisis. The group, convened by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), examined the technical aspects of a number of options for multinationalizing the nuclear fuel cycle as a way of assuring all countries in good standing with the Nonproliferation Treaty access to peaceful nuclear technology. One option examined in general by the IAEA experts group could be used to guarantee Iran's future nuclearfuel supply and prevent its abuse for military purposes. We examine this option in detail for the case of Iran. It could be used to solve the Iranian crisis by constructing an enrichment facility on Iranian soil jointly owned and operated by Iran and Western governments. As a condition for this plant being built, Iran would pledge--and undertake additional safeguard requirements to verify--that it is not engaging in enrichment activities anywhere else; a pledge other countries have made under similar circumstances when they joined URENCO, a European enrichment consortium. Furthermore, the very nature of the joint venture would guarantee that Iran could not covertly divert any of the LEU or the plant's enrichment capabilities for military purposes. Western technicians would be present at, and in fact jointly operate, the facility 24-hours per day, seven days per week; Western accountants would be monitoring all the business activities of the venture; and Western managers would be involved in all operating decisions. (authors)

  12. Beneficial effects of enriched environment following status epilepticus in immature rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faverjon, S; Silveira, D C; Fu, D D; Cha, B H; Akman, C; Hu, Y; Holmes, G L

    2002-11-12

    There is increasing evidence that enriching the environment can improve cognitive and motor deficits following a variety of brain injuries. Whether environmental enrichment can improve cognitive impairment following status epilepticus (SE) is not known. To determine whether the environment in which animals are raised influences cognitive function in normal rats and rats subjected to SE. Rats (n = 100) underwent lithium-pilocarpine-induced SE at postnatal (P) day 20 and were then placed in either an enriched environment consisting of a large play area with toys, climbing objects, and music, or in standard vivarium cages for 30 days. Control rats (n = 32) were handled similarly to the SE rats but received saline injections instead of lithium-pilocarpine. Rats were then tested in the water maze, a measure of visual-spatial memory. A subset of the rats were killed during exposure to the enriched or nonenriched environment and the brains examined for dentate granule cell neurogenesis using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and phosphorylated cyclic AMP response element binding protein (pCREB) immunostaining, a brain transcription factor important in long-term memory. Both control and SE rats exposed to the enriched environment performed significantly better than the nonenriched group in the water maze. There was a significant increase in neurogenesis and pCREB immunostaining in the dentate gyrus in both control and SE animals exposed to the enriched environment compared to the nonenriched groups. Environmental enrichment resulted in no change in SE-induced histologic damage. Exposure to an enriched environment in weanling rats significantly improves visual-spatial learning. Even following SE, an enriched environment enhances cognitive function. An increase in neurogenesis and activation of transcription factors may contribute to this enhanced visual-spatial memory.

  13. Horticulture Therapy Activities for Exceptional Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doutt, Kathleen M.; And Others

    1989-01-01

    The Tennessee Technological University offers an enrichment program (consisting of a summer session and three Saturdays) in which gifted children and children with learning disabilities are grouped together for activities. Horticulture is one of the few enrichment activities adaptable to both groups. Children are allowed to engage in the same…

  14. The effect of taurine and enriched environment on behaviour, memory and hippocampus of diabetic rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahmeier, Francine Luciano; Zavalhia, Lisiane Silveira; Tortorelli, Lucas Silva; Huf, Fernanda; Géa, Luiza Paul; Meurer, Rosalva Thereza; Machado, Aryadne Cardoso; Gomez, Rosane; Fernandes, Marilda da Cruz

    2016-09-06

    Diabetes mellitus (DM) has been studied recently as a major cause of cognitive deficits, memory and neurodegenerative damage. Taurine and enriched environment have stood out for presenting neuroprotective and stimulating effects that deserve further study. In this paper, we examined the effects of taurine and enriched environment in the context of diabetes, evaluating effects on behaviour, memory, death and cellular activity. Eighty-eight Wistar rats were divided into 2 groups (E=enriched environment; C=standard housing). Some animals (24/group) underwent induction of diabetes, and within each group, some animals (half of diabetics (D) and half of non-diabetics (ND)/group) were treated for 30days with taurine (T). Untreated animals received saline (S). In total, there were eight subgroups: DTC, DSC, NDTC, NDSC, DTE, DSE, NDTE and NDSE. During the experiment, short-term memory was evaluated. After 30th day of experiment, the animals were euthanized and was made removal of brains used to immunohistochemistry procedures for GFAP and cleaved caspase-3. As a result, we observed that animals treated with taurine showed better performance in behavioural and memory tasks, and the enriched environment had positive effects, especially in non-diabetic animals. Furthermore, taurine and enriched environment seemed to be able to interfere with neuronal apoptosis and loss of glial cells, and in some instances, these two factors seemed to have synergistic effects. From these data, taurine and enriched environment may have important neurostimulant and neuroprotective effects. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Uranium enrichment: an activity for the riches

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mundim, S.G.

    1985-01-01

    The United States in the first place, the European countries next, have begun to maintain strict control of the technology transfer of the methods of enrichment, helped largely by the International Atomic Energy Agency which creates additional obstacles with is so-called 'safeguards'. So that it can possess a complete energy cycle, Brazil needs to have access to the techniques of enrichment. The methods are many and still extremely costly. Committed to signing a risk contract with Germany in the scope of its nuclear treaty with the intention of implementing here the jetcentrofuge method, Brazil should, nevertheless, make an effort to cause to emerge from its laboratories a new procedure which would permit it to become independent in this sector. (Author) [pt

  16. On-Line Enrichment Monitor for UF{sub 6} Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ianakiev, K. D.; Boyer, B.; Favalli, A.; Goda, J. M.; Hill, T.; Keller, C.; Lombardi, M.; Paffett, M.; MacArthur, D. W.; McCluskey, C.; Moss, C. E.; Parker, R.; Smith, M. K.; Swinhoe, M. T. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos (United States)

    2012-06-15

    This paper is a continuation of the Advanced Enrichment Monitoring Technology for UF{sub 6} Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plant (GCEP) work, presented in the 2010 IAEA Safeguards Symposium. Here we will present the system architecture for a planned side-by-side field trial test of passive (186-keV line spectroscopy and pressure-based correction for UF{sub 6} gas density) and active (186-keV line spectroscopy and transmission measurement based correction for UF{sub 6} gas density) enrichment monitoring systems in URENCO's enrichment plant in Capenhurst. Because the pressure and transmission measurements of UF{sub 6} are complementary, additional information on the importance of the presence of light gases and the UF{sub 6} gas temperature can be obtained by cross-correlation between simultaneous measurements of transmission, pressure and 186-keV intensity. We will discuss the calibration issues and performance in the context of accurate, on-line enrichment measurement. It is hoped that a simple and accurate on-line enrichment monitor can be built using the UF{sub 6} gas pressure provided by the Operator, based on online mass spectrometer calibration, assuming a negligible (a small fraction of percent) contribution of wall deposits. Unaccounted-for wall deposits present at the initial calibration will lead to unwanted sensitivity to changes in theUF{sub 6} gas pressure and thus to error in the enrichment results. Because the accumulated deposits in the cascade header pipe have been identified as an issue for Go/No Go measurements with the Cascade Header Enrichment Monitor (CHEM) and Continuous Enrichment Monitor (CEMO), it is important to explore their effect. Therefore we present the expected uncertainty on enrichment measurements obtained by propagating the errors introduced by deposits, gas density, etc. and will discuss the options for a deposit correction during initial calibration of an On-Line Enrichment Monitor (OLEM).

  17. Antioxidant activity of water extracts from fruit body of Lentinus edodes enriched with selenium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Savić Milena D.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Shiitake (Lentinus edodes belongs to medically important and delicious fungi. It is recognizable for its healing properties, excellent taste and rich aroma. According to the traditional Japanese and Chinese medicine, shiitake mushroom significantly increases the strength and vitality of the body. Shiitake contains immunostimulants, compounds that lower cholesterol, prevents clogging of blood vessels, regulates the pressure, balances blood sugar levels, regulates digestion, and improves the performance of respiratory organs by its antirheumatic and antiallergic activities. Shiitake is recommended to use as food, prevention and cure, usually in a form of a spice (dried and ground or tea. It can be consumed fresh, too. The objective of this study was to test the effect of enrichment in selenium on antioxidant, reducing and free radical scavenging activity of water extracts from fruit body of Lentinus edodes. The fungus was enhanced by adding organic selenium, zinc (II complex with the ligand 2.6-bis diacetylpyridine (selenosemicarbazon and inorganic compounds (Na2SeO3 of selenium in nutritional substrate where the fungus was grown. The total selenium content in fruit body was around 50 ppm for the sample enriched with selenium originating from organic sources, and 80 ppm for the sample enriched with selenium from inorganic sources. Samples were prepared by extraction of fruiting bodies in heated water. The results indicated that water extracts of whole fruit bodies, from both control and mushrooms supplemented with selenium, had quite good antioxidant activity. However, there was no significant difference between the samples supplemented with selenium content and those that were not.

  18. Surface strontium enrichment on highly active perovskites for oxygen electrocatalysis in solid oxide fuel cells

    KAUST Repository

    Crumlin, Ethan J.; Mutoro, Eva; Liu, Zhi; Grass, Michael E.; Biegalski, Michael D.; Lee, Yueh-Lin; Morgan, Dane; Christen, Hans M.; Bluhm, Hendrik; Shao-Horn, Yang

    2012-01-01

    Perovskite oxides have high catalytic activities for oxygen electrocatalysis competitive to platinum at elevated temperatures. However, little is known about the oxide surface chemistry that influences the activity near ambient oxygen partial pressures, which hampers the design of highly active catalysts for many clean-energy technologies such as solid oxide fuel cells. Using in situ synchrotron-based, ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to study the surface chemistry changes, we show that the coverage of surface secondary phases on a (001)-oriented La 0.8Sr 0.2CoO 3-δ (LSC) film becomes smaller than that on an LSC powder pellet at elevated temperatures. In addition, strontium (Sr) in the perovskite structure enriches towards the film surface in contrast to the pellet having no detectable changes with increasing temperature. We propose that the ability to reduce surface secondary phases and develop Sr-enriched perovskite surfaces of the LSC film contributes to its enhanced activity for O 2 electrocatalysis relative to LSC powder-based electrodes. © 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

  19. DETERMINATION OF B-GROUP VITAMINS IN ENRICHED FLAVORED MILK MIXES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. S. A. COSTA

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available

    The aim of this research was to evaluate the levels of enrichment of vitamins B1, B2, B6, B3 and B12 in vanilla, strawberry and chocolate flavored milk. The chromatographic separation was performed in a C18 column with gradient elution and UV detector at 254, 278 and 358 nm. The B12 levels were the most near of the values declared in the package of the analysis products, while the vitamin B2 levels were found between 20-150% more than the package value. In general, the levels of vitamins determined in the samples were higher than the declared values on the labels and did not be in accordance with the legislation to enriched foods.

  20. R and D activities of the ESARDA NDA working group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guardini, S.; Bignan, G.

    1999-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to report the R and D activities of the ESARDA Working Group on Techniques and Standards for Non-Destructive Analysis (NDA), as well as to discuss the role and possibilities of the group in the modern R and D scenario in safeguards and non-proliferation. The main tasks of the ESARDA NDA Working have been identified as being to: Define needs for procedural standards and reference materials; Design and manage the production and characterisation of reference materials; Assess and contribute to improving the performances of NDA techniques; Set up and maintain a list of NDA instruments and methods currently used for Safeguards purposes; and, through the above activities, assist Operators and Safeguards Authorities in their duty of Safeguards implementation. Members and observers appointed to the working group represent plant operators, the nuclear industry, R and D laboratories, NDA instrument developers and both safeguards control authorities. The participation of major European plant operators and of the EURATOM Safeguards Directorate and IAEA has always been assured and contributes to the good outcome of the WG activities. The ongoing R and D activities of the NDA Working Group are: Monte Carlo performance intercomparisons; 242 Pu accuracy assessment and improvement; NDA Sampling errors; General NDA performance evaluations. Some milestones have recently been reached: The 242 Pu uncertainty improvement project is coming to an end with the issuing of a new isotopic correlation; The NCC 'reals' evaluation and the Monte Carlo round robin is producing its first results; The Uranium Enrichment Round Robin Exercise has been completed; The waste drum standards are being characterised and constructed: they will be available by spring 1998. The round robin amongst laboratories will then start: summer 1998. Future activities comprise, beside the above issues, technical problems linked with the new challenges posed by new regimes of safeguards and non

  1. A short-term intervention trial with selenate, selenium-enriched yeast and selenium-enriched milk: effects on oxidative defence regulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ravn-Haren, Gitte; Bugel, Susanne; Krath, Britta

    2008-01-01

    -enriched yeast or Se-enriched milk. We found no effect on plasma lipid resistance to oxidation, total cholesterol, TAG, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol, GPX, glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities measured in erythrocytes, GPX and GR activities determined in plasma, or GR and GST...

  2. The enriched chromium neutrino source for GALLEX

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hartmann, F.X.; Hahn, R.L.

    1991-01-01

    The preparation and study of an intense source of neutrinos in the form of neutron irradiated materials which are enriched in Cr-50 for use in the GALLEX solar neutrino experiment are discussed. Chromyl fluoride gas is enriched in the Cr-50 isotope by gas centrifugation and subsequently converted to a very stable form of chromium oxide. The results of neutron activation analyses of such chromium samples indicate low levels of any long-lived activities, but show that short-lived activities, in particular Na-24, may be of concern. These results show that irradiating chromium oxide enriched in Cr-50 is preferable to irradiating either natural chromium or argon gas as a means of producing a neutrino source to calibrate the GALLEX detector. These results of the impurity level analysis of the enriched chromyl fluoride gas and its conversion to the oxide are also of interest to work in progress by other members of the Collaboration investigating an alternative conversion of the enriched gas to chromium metal. 35 refs., 12 figs., 5 tabs

  3. Determining method and device for enrichment distribution inside of fuel assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirano, Yasushi; Hida, Kazuki; Sakurada, Koichi.

    1997-01-01

    An enrichment degree at an initial burning stage of each of fuel rods of a BWR type reactor assembly is divided into groups. The enrichment degree at the initial burning stage of each of the groups is inputted, and the burning period from the loading to the taking out is divided into a plurality of burning steps. Nuclear characteristics of fuel assemblies such as the power of fuel rods, R-factor and infinite multiplication factor in each of the burning steps are estimated. The enrichment degree of the group of enrichment degree at the initial burning stage and the estimated power of fuel rods in a reactor operation state during the burning step are stored in the memory. A sensitivity coefficient showing the amount of change of the power of fuel rods in the burning step relative to the change of the enrichment degree of the group of enrichment degree is evaluated. A weighing function in the burning step is inputted. The maximum value of the product of the weighing function and the power of fuel rods throughout the entire burning steps is determined as an aimed function. Optimization calculation is conducted for determining the enrichment degree of the group so as to minimize the aimed function thereby determining the distribution of the enrichment degree. (N.H.)

  4. Groundwater fluoride enrichment in an active rift setting: Central Kenya Rift case study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olaka, Lydia A., E-mail: lydiaolaka@gmail.com [Department of Geology, University of Nairobi, P.O Box 30197, Nairobi (Kenya); Wilke, Franziska D.H. [Geoforschungs Zentrum, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam (Germany); Olago, Daniel O.; Odada, Eric O. [Department of Geology, University of Nairobi, P.O Box 30197, Nairobi (Kenya); Mulch, Andreas [Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt (Germany); Institut für Geowissenschaften, Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Altenhöferallee 1, 60438 Frankfurt (Germany); Musolff, Andreas [UFZ-Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Hydrogeology, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig (Germany)

    2016-03-01

    Groundwater is used extensively in the Central Kenya Rift for domestic and agricultural demands. In these active rift settings groundwater can exhibit high fluoride levels. In order to address water security and reduce human exposure to high fluoride in drinking water, knowledge of the source and geochemical processes of enrichment are required. A study was therefore carried out within the Naivasha catchment (Kenya) to understand the genesis, enrichment and seasonal variations of fluoride in the groundwater. Rocks, rain, surface and groundwater sources were sampled for hydrogeochemical and isotopic investigations, the data was statistically and geospatially analyzed. Water sources have variable fluoride concentrations between 0.02–75 mg/L. 73% exceed the health limit (1.5 mg/L) in both dry and wet seasons. F{sup −} concentrations in rivers are lower (0.2–9.2 mg/L) than groundwater (0.09 to 43.6 mg/L) while saline lake waters have the highest concentrations (0.27–75 mg/L). The higher values are confined to elevations below 2000 masl. Oxygen (δ{sup 18}O) and hydrogen (δD) isotopic values range from − 6.2 to + 5.8‰ and − 31.3 to + 33.3‰, respectively, they are also highly variable in the rift floor where they attain maximum values. Fluoride base levels in the precursor vitreous volcanic rocks are higher (between 3750–6000 ppm) in minerals such as cordierite and muscovite while secondary minerals like illite and kaolinite have lower remnant fluoride (< 1000 ppm). Thus, geochemical F{sup −} enrichment in regional groundwater is mainly due to a) rock alteration, i.e. through long residence times and natural discharge and/or enhanced leakages of deep seated geothermal water reservoirs, b) secondary concentration fortification of natural reservoirs through evaporation, through reduced recharge and/or enhanced abstraction and c) through additional enrichment of fluoride after volcanic emissions. The findings are useful to help improve water management

  5. Enriching stable isotopes: Alternative use for Urenco technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rakhorst, H.; de Jong, P.G.T.; Dawson, P.D.

    1996-01-01

    The International Urenco Group utilizes a technologically advanced centrifuge process to enrich uranium in the fissionable isotope 235 U. The group operates plants in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Germany and currently holds a 10% share of the multibillion dollar world enrichment market. In the early 1990s, Urenco embarked on a strategy of building on the company's uniquely advanced centrifuge process and laser isotope separation (LIS) experience to enrich nonradioactive isotopes colloquially known as stable isotopes. This paper summarizes the present status of Urenco's stable isotopes business

  6. Short- and long-term effects of nutrient enrichment on microbial exoenzyme activity in mangrove peat

    KAUST Repository

    Keuskamp, Joost A.; Feller, Ilka C.; Laanbroek, Hendrikus J.; Verhoeven, Jos T.A.; Hefting, Mariet M.

    2015-01-01

    -limited mangroves. To examine this, we quantified the short- and long-term effects of N and P enrichment on microbial biomass and decomposition-related enzyme activities in a Rhizophora mangle-dominated mangrove, which had been subjected to fertilisation treatments

  7. Comparative studies on mitochondria isolated from neuron-enriched and glia-enriched fractions of rabbit and beef brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamberger, A; Blomstrand, C; Lehninger, A L

    1970-05-01

    Fractions enriched in neuronal and glial cells were obtained from dispersions of whole beef brain and rabbit cerebral cortex by large-scale density gradient centrifugation procedures. The fractions were characterized by appropriate microscopic observation. Mitochondria were then isolated from these fractions by differential centrifugation of their homogenates. The two different types of mitochondria were characterized with respect to certain enzyme activities, respiratory rate, rate of protein synthesis, and their buoyant density in sucrose gradients. The mitochondria from the neuron-enriched fraction were distinguished by a higher rate of incorporation of amino acids into protein, higher cytochrome oxidase activity, and a higher buoyant density in sucrose density gradients. Mitochondria from the glia-enriched fraction showed relatively high monoamine oxidase and Na(+)- and K(+)-stimulated ATPase activities. The rates of oxidation of various substrates and the acceptor control ratios did not differ appreciably between the two types of mitochondria. The difference in the buoyant density of mitochondria isolated from the neuron-enriched and glia-enriched cell fractions was utilized in attempts to separate neuronal and glial mitochondria from the mixed mitochondria obtained from whole brain homogenates in shallow sucrose gradients. The appearance of two peaks of cytochrome oxidase, monoamine oxidase, and protein concentration in such gradients shows the potential feasibility of such an approach.

  8. Diacylglycerol-enriched structured lipids containing CLA and capric acid alter body fat mass and lipid metabolism in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hye-Jin; Lee, Ki-Teak; Lee, Mi-Kyung; Jeon, Seon-Min; Choi, Myung-Sook

    2006-01-01

    The present study compared the effect of corn oil, diacylglycerol (DG) oil, and DG-enriched structured lipids (SL-DG) produced from corn oil, capric and conjugated linoleic acid on adiposity in rats fed an AIN-76 diet (5% fat) for 6 weeks. The plasma and hepatic lipids, adipose tissue weight, and enzyme activities related to fatty acid metabolism were determined. The weights of the epididymal white adipose tissue (WAT), perirenal WAT, and interscapular WAT were significantly lower in the SL-DG group than in the DG group. Reduction of fat mass in the SL-DG group was related to suppressing fatty acid synthase activities and enhancing beta-oxidation activity in perirenal WAT. The plasma leptin was lower in the SL-DG group than in the DG group, plus a lower plasma TG level was accompanied by an increase in adipocyte LPL activity. Meanwhile the SL-DG supplement lowered the plasma and hepatic cholesterol level. In addition, the hepatic HMG-CoA reductase and ACAT activities were significantly lower in the SL-DG group than in the other groups. The DG-enriched SL used in this study was effective in enhancing triglyceride metabolism in adipose tissue, especially as regards reducing the abdominal fat mass and cholesterol metabolism in the liver. Copyright 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  9. Platinum group element enrichments and possible chondritic Ru:Ir across the Frasnian-Famennian boundary, western New York State.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Over, D J; Conaway, C A; Katz, D J; Goodfellow, W D; Gregoire, D C

    1997-08-01

    The Frasnian-Famennian boundary is recognized as the culmination of a global mass extinction in the Late Devonian. In western New York State the boundary is a distinct horizon within a pyritic black shale bed of the upper Hanover Shale defined by the first occurrence of Palmatolepis triangularis in the absence of Frasnian conodonts. The boundary is characterized by a minor disconformity marked by a lag concentration of conodonts. Iridium at the boundary is 0.11-0.24 ng/g, two to five times background levels of <0.05 ng/g; other Ir enrichments of 0.38 ng/g and 0.49 ng/g occur within 50 cm of the conodont-constrained boundary. Numerous Ir enrichments in the boundary interval suggest extraterrestrial accretion and platinum group element (PGE) concentration at disconformities, or mobilization and concentration in organic-rich/pyritic-rich laminations from cosmic or terrestrial sources. PGE ratios of Pt/Pd and Ku/Ir at the boundary horizon approximate chondritic ratios and are suggestive of an unaltered extraterrestrial source. These values do not conclusively establish a single extraterrestrial impact as the ultimate cause of the Frasnian-Famennian mass extinction, especially given the presence of similar Ir enrichments elsewhere in the section and the absence at the boundary of microtektites and shocked mineral grains.

  10. Enriching step-based product information models to support product life-cycle activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarigecili, Mehmet Ilteris

    The representation and management of product information in its life-cycle requires standardized data exchange protocols. Standard for Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP) is such a standard that has been used widely by the industries. Even though STEP-based product models are well defined and syntactically correct, populating product data according to these models is not easy because they are too big and disorganized. Data exchange specifications (DEXs) and templates provide re-organized information models required in data exchange of specific activities for various businesses. DEXs show us it would be possible to organize STEP-based product models in order to support different engineering activities at various stages of product life-cycle. In this study, STEP-based models are enriched and organized to support two engineering activities: materials information declaration and tolerance analysis. Due to new environmental regulations, the substance and materials information in products have to be screened closely by manufacturing industries. This requires a fast, unambiguous and complete product information exchange between the members of a supply chain. Tolerance analysis activity, on the other hand, is used to verify the functional requirements of an assembly considering the worst case (i.e., maximum and minimum) conditions for the part/assembly dimensions. Another issue with STEP-based product models is that the semantics of product data are represented implicitly. Hence, it is difficult to interpret the semantics of data for different product life-cycle phases for various application domains. OntoSTEP, developed at NIST, provides semantically enriched product models in OWL. In this thesis, we would like to present how to interpret the GD & T specifications in STEP for tolerance analysis by utilizing OntoSTEP.

  11. Enrichment 2.0 Gifted and Talented Education for the 21st Century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckstein, Michelle

    2009-01-01

    Enrichment clusters, a component of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model, are multigrade investigative groups based on constructivist learning methodology. Enrichment clusters are organized around major disciplines, interdisciplinary themes, or cross-disciplinary topics. Within clusters, students are grouped across grade levels by interests and focused…

  12. Impact of Different Forms of Environmental Enrichment on Foraging and Activity Levels in Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristie Charmoy

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The maintenance of species-specific behaviors for animals in zoological institutions is of top priority, as this can help ensure high levels of animal welfare. Strict feeding schedules within institutions can often impact natural foraging behaviors of animals, as they are no longer required to seek out or manipulate food items. In the wild, western lowland gorillas would spend a majority of their time foraging. The goal of the current study was to examine the impact of different forms of environmental enrichment on activity and foraging levels in gorillas at the Brookfield Zoo. Results suggest that automatic belt feeders that can feed at randomized times, will have the largest impact on behavior of all enrichment tested. However, there were individual differences observed between animals and the level of impact on their behavior. Using enrichment to increase the amount of time that zoo-housed gorillas spend searching for, acquiring, and consuming food can increase their overall activity levels and shift their behavior towards a more naturalistic direction.

  13. Enrichment: CRISLA [chemical reaction by isotope selective activation] aims to reduce costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eerkens, J.W.

    1989-01-01

    Every year, more than $3 billion is spent on enriching uranium. CRISLA (Chemical Reaction by Isotope Selective Activation) uses a laser-catalyzed chemical reaction which, its proponents claim, could substantially reduce these costs. In CRISLA, an infrared CO laser illuminates the intracavity reaction cell (IC) at a frequency tuned to excite primarily UF 6 . When UF 6 and co-reactant RX are passed through the IC, the tuned laser photons preferentially enhance the reaction of UF 6 with RX ten-thousand-fold over the thermal reaction rate. Thus the laser serves as an activator and the chemical energy for separation is largely chemical. (author)

  14. Uranium enrichment management review: summary of analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-01-01

    In May 1980, the Assistant Secretary for Resource Applications within the Department of Energy requested that a group of experienced business executives be assembled to review the operation, financing, and management of the uranium enrichment enterprise as a basis for advising the Secretary of Energy. After extensive investigation, analysis, and discussion, the review group presented its findings and recommendations in a report on December 2, 1980. The following pages contain background material on which that final report was based. This report is arranged in chapters that parallel those of the uranium enrichment management review final report - chapters that contain summaries of the review group's discussion and analyses in six areas: management of operations and construction; long-range planning; marketing of enrichment services; financial management; research and development; and general management. Further information, in-depth analysis, and discussion of suggested alternative management practices are provided in five appendices

  15. Uranium enrichment management review: summary of analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1981-01-01

    In May 1980, the Assistant Secretary for Resource Applications within the Department of Energy requested that a group of experienced business executives be assembled to review the operation, financing, and management of the uranium enrichment enterprise as a basis for advising the Secretary of Energy. After extensive investigation, analysis, and discussion, the review group presented its findings and recommendations in a report on December 2, 1980. The following pages contain background material on which that final report was based. This report is arranged in chapters that parallel those of the uranium enrichment management review final report - chapters that contain summaries of the review group's discussion and analyses in six areas: management of operations and construction; long-range planning; marketing of enrichment services; financial management; research and development; and general management. Further information, in-depth analysis, and discussion of suggested alternative management practices are provided in five appendices.

  16. Institutional arrangements for uranium enrichment U.S. contribution to INFCE working group 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-12-01

    In acquiring enrichment services, by contract or by facility construction, assurance of long term fuel supply and minimizing proliferation risks are two important factors. Various alternative institutional arrangements, ranging from construction of a national facility, reliance on a single foreign supplier or on several foreign sources, to multinational enrichment centers are reviewed. It is argued that for most nations the two specified goals are likely to be met by contracting with one or more foreign suppliers. The possible creation of an international fuel bank is explored briefly

  17. Enriched open field facilitates exercise and social interaction in 2 strains of guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brewer, Jacob S; Bellinger, Seanceray A; Joshi, Prianca; Kleven, Gale A

    2014-07-01

    Current housing guidelines for laboratory rodents include recommendations for enrichment. Working with guinea pigs, we have developed an open-field enrichment paradigm that provides several aspects of this species' natural environment. These naturalistic aspects include access to increased space for exploration, access to western timothy (Phleum pratense L.) hay, and grouping as a herd to facilitate social interaction. To determine the immediate effect on behavior from access to the enriched environment, female guinea pigs from 2 strains, IAF Hairless and NIH Hartley, were observed in both standard home cages and an open-field enriched environment. Subjects were housed with cagemates in pairs for the home-cage observation and were grouped as a herd when in the open-field arena. Behaviors were videorecorded for 1 h and then scored. Salivary cortisol levels were measured both prior to and immediately after behavioral observations. Analyses revealed higher levels of activity and social interaction in the open-field arena compared with the home cage, with no significant change in salivary cortisol levels. These results suggest that exposure to the open-field environment provide increased opportunities for exercise and social enrichment. Although additional studies are needed to determine long-term effects on experimental outcomes, the open-field configuration holds promise as a laboratory enrichment paradigm for guinea pigs.

  18. URENCO. Uranium enrichment with advanced technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    URENCO Deutschland is a subsidiary of URENCO Enrichment Company Limited, an international enterprise founded in 1970 in the State Treaty of Almelo, which offers uranium enrichment for nuclear power plants all over the world with the use of advanced technology. URENCO facilities at present are operated in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, USA, and in Germany. The German URENCO location is Gronau, Westphalia, where cascades have been in operation since 1985 using centrifuge technology to enrich nuclear fuel to up to 5% uranium-235. The URENCO Group supplies nuclear power plants in Europe and overseas countries with a world market share, at present, of more than 25% with a rising tendency. The first uranium separation plant in Gronau (UTA-1) attained its full separation performance of 1,800 t USW/a in late 2005. In February 2005, construction and operation of another plant had been licensed, which can raise the aggregate capacity on site to 4,500 t USW per annum. Construction of the new plant (UTA-2) was begun in summer 2005. UTA-2 will use the latest, most powerful URENCO centrifuge. URENCO has more than 3,500 visitors a year at its German location alone, thus demonstrating its pro-active information policy and offering to the public a maximum of opportunities to acquire information by attending presentations and tours of the plant. (orig.)

  19. A prominent large high-density lipoprotein at birth enriched in apolipoprotein C-I identifies a new group of infancts of lower birth weight and younger gestational age

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kwiterovich Jr., Peter O.; Cockrill, Steven L.; Virgil, Donna G.; Garrett, Elizabeth; Otvos, James; Knight-Gibson, Carolyn; Alaupovic, Petar; Forte, Trudy; Farwig, Zachlyn N.; Macfarlane, Ronald D.

    2003-10-01

    Because low birth weight is associated with adverse cardiovascular risk and death in adults, lipoprotein heterogeneity at birth was studied. A prominent, large high-density lipoprotein (HDL) subclass enriched in apolipoprotein C-I (apoC-I) was found in 19 percent of infants, who had significantly lower birth weights and younger gestational ages and distinctly different lipoprotein profiles than infants with undetectable, possible or probable amounts of apoC-I-enriched HDL. An elevated amount of an apoC-I-enriched HDL identifies a new group of low birth weight infants.

  20. Copper-catalyzed recycling of halogen activating groups via 1,3-halogen migration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grigg, R David; Van Hoveln, Ryan; Schomaker, Jennifer M

    2012-10-03

    A Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-halogen migration reaction effectively recycles an activating group by transferring bromine or iodine from a sp(2) to a benzylic carbon with concomitant borylation of the Ar-X bond. The resulting benzyl halide can be reacted in the same vessel under a variety of conditions to form an additional carbon-heteroatom bond. Cross-over experiments using an isotopically enriched bromide source support intramolecular transfer of Br. The reaction is postulated to proceed via a Markovnikov hydrocupration of the o-halostyrene, oxidative addition of the resulting Cu(I) complex into the Ar-X bond, reductive elimination of the new sp(3) C-X bond, and final borylation of an Ar-Cu(I) species to turn over the catalytic cycle.

  1. GAME (Goals - Activity - Motor Enrichment): protocol of a single blind randomised controlled trial of motor training, parent education and environmental enrichment for infants at high risk of cerebral palsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, Catherine; Novak, Iona; Dale, Russell C; Guzzetta, Andrea; Badawi, Nadia

    2014-10-07

    Cerebral palsy is the most common physical disability of childhood and early detection is possible using evidence based assessments. Systematic reviews indicate early intervention trials rarely demonstrate efficacy for improving motor outcomes but environmental enrichment interventions appear promising. This study is built on a previous pilot study and has been designed to assess the effectiveness of a goal - oriented motor training and enrichment intervention programme, "GAME", on the motor outcomes of infants at very high risk of cerebral palsy (CP) compared with standard community based care. A two group, single blind randomised controlled trial (n = 30) will be conducted. Eligible infants are those diagnosed with CP or designated "at high risk of CP" on the basis of the General Movements Assessment and/or abnormal neuroimaging. A physiotherapist and occupational therapist will deliver home-based GAME intervention at least fortnightly until the infant's first birthday. The intervention aims to optimize motor function and engage parents in developmental activities aimed at enriching the home learning environment. Primary endpoint measures will be taken 16 weeks after intervention commences with the secondary endpoint at 12 months and 24 months corrected age. The primary outcome measure will be the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale second edition. Secondary outcomes measures include the Gross Motor Function Measure, Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Affordances in the Home Environment for Motor Development - Infant Scale, and the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure. Parent well-being will be monitored using the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. This paper presents the background, design and intervention protocol of a randomised trial of a goal driven, motor learning approach with customised environmental interventions and parental education for young infants at high risk of cerebral palsy. This trial is registered on the Australian

  2. Proper housing conditions in experimental stroke studies – special emphasis on environmental enrichment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satu eMering

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Environmental enrichment provides laboratory animals with novelty and extra space, allowing different forms of multisensory stimulation ranging from social grouping to enhanced motor activity. At the extreme end of the spectrum, one can have a super-enriched environment. Environmental enrichment is believed to result in improved cognitive and sensorimotor functions both in naïve rodents and in animals with brain lesions such as those occurring after a stroke. Robust behavioral effects in animals which have suffered a stroke are probably related not only to neuronal plasticity in the perilesional cortex but also in remote brain areas. There is emerging evidence to suggest that testing restorative therapies in an enriched environment can maximize treatment effects, e.g., the perilesional milieu seems to be more receptive to concomitant pharmacotherapy and/or cell therapy. This review provides an updated overview on the effect of an enriched environment in stroke animals from the practical points to be considered when planning experiments to the mechanisms explaining why combined therapies can contribute to behavioral improvement in a synergistic manner.

  3. Centrifuge enrichment program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Astley, E.R.

    1976-01-01

    Exxon Nuclear has been active in privately funded research and development of centrifuge enrichment technology since 1972. In October of 1975, Exxon Nuclear submitted a proposal to design, construct, and operate a 3000-MT SWU/yr centrifuge enrichment plant, under the provisions of the proposed Nuclear Fuel Assurance Act of 1975. The U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) accepted the proposal as a basis for negotiation. It was proposed to build a 1000-MT SWU/yr demonstration increment to be operational in 1982; and after successful operation for about one year, expand the facilities into a 3000-MT SWU/yr plant. As part of the overall centrifuge enrichment plant, a dedicated centrifuge manufacturing plant would be constructed; sized to support the full 3000-MT SWU/yr plant. The selection of the centrifuge process by Exxon Nuclear was based on an extremely thorough evaluation of current and projected enrichment technology; results show that the technology is mature and the process will be cost effective. The substantial savings in energy (about 93%) from utilization of the centrifuge option rather than gaseous diffusion is a compelling argument. As part of this program, Exxon Nuclear has a large hardware R and D program, plus a prototype centrifuge manufacturing capability in Malta, New York. To provide a full-scale machine and limited cascade test capability, Exxon Nuclear is constructing a $4,000,000 Centrifuge Test Facility in Richland, Washington. This facility was to initiate operations in the Fall of 1976. Exxon Nuclear is convinced that the centrifuge enrichment process is the rational selection for emergence of a commercial enrichment industry

  4. DEVELOPMENT OF ENRICHMENT VERIFICATION ASSAY BASED ON THE AGE AND 235U AND 238U ACTIVITIES OF THE SAMPLES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    AL-YAMAHI, H.; EL-MONGY, S.A.

    2008-01-01

    Development of the enrichment verification methods is the backbone of the nuclear materials safeguards skeleton. In this study, the 235U percentage of depleted , natural and very slightly enriched uranium samples were estimated based on the sample age and the measured activity of 235U and 238U. The HpGe and NaI spectrometry were used for samples assay. A developed equation was derived to correlate the sample age and 235U and 238U activities with the enrichment percentage (E%). The results of the calculated E% by the deduced equation and the target E% values were found to be similar and within 0.58 -1.75% bias in the case of HpGe measurements. The correlation between them was found to be very sharp. The activity was also calculated based on the measured sample count rate and the efficiency at the gamma energies of interest. The correlation between the E% and the 235U activity was estimated and found to be linearly sharp. The results obtained by NaI was found to be less accurate than these obtained by HpGe. The bias in the case of NaI assay was in the range from 6.398% to 22.8% for E% verification

  5. Isotopically enriched structural materials in nuclear devices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morgan, L.W.G., E-mail: Lee.Morgan@ccfe.ac.uk [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Shimwell, J. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield S3 7RH (United Kingdom); Gilbert, M.R. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 3DB (United Kingdom)

    2015-01-15

    Highlights: • C-B analysis of isotopic enrichment of structural materials is presented. • Some, previously, prohibited elements could be used as alloying elements in LAM's. • Adding enriched molybdenum and nickel, to EUROFER, could increase availability. • Isotope enrichment for EUROFER could be cost-effective. • Isotopically enriching copper, in CuCrZr, can reduce helium production by 50%. - Abstract: A large number of materials exist which have been labeled as low activation structural materials (LAM). Most often, these materials have been designed in order to substitute-out or completely remove elements that become activated and contribute significantly to shut-down activity after being irradiated by neutrons in a reactor environment. To date, one of the fundamental principles from which LAMs have been developed is that natural elemental compositions are the building blocks of LAMs. Thus, elements such as Co, Al, Ni, Mo, Nb, N and Cu that produce long-lived decay products are significantly reduced or removed from the LAM composition. These elements have an important part to play in the composition of steels and the removal/substitution can have a negative impact on materials properties such as yield stress and fracture toughness. This paper looks in more detail at whether using isotopic selection of the more mechanically desirable, but prohibited due to activation, elements can improve matters. In particular, this paper focuses on the activation of Eurofer. Carefully chosen isotopically enriched elements, which are normally considered to be on the prohibited element list, are added to EUROFER steel as potential alloying elements. The EUROFER activation results show that some prohibited elements can be used as alloying elements in LAM steels, providing the selected isotopes do not have a significant impact on waste disposal rating or shut-down dose. The economic implications of isotopically enriching elements and the potential implications for

  6. Effects of normal saline and selenium-enriched hot spring water on experimentally induced rhinosinusitis in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Dong-Hyun; Yeo, Sang Won

    2013-01-01

    This prospective, randomized, and controlled study examined the effects of normal saline and selenium-enriched hot spring water on experimentally induced rhinosinusitis in rats. The study comprised two control groups (untreated and saline-treated) and three experimental groups of Sprague Dawley rats. The experimental groups received an instillation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) only, LPS+normal saline (LPS/saline), or LPS+selenium-enriched hot spring water (LPS/selenium). Histopathological changes were identified using hematoxylin-eosin staining. Leakage of exudate was identified using fluorescence microscopy. Microvascular permeability was measured using the Evans blue dye technique. Expression of the Muc5ac gene was measured using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Mucosal edema and expression of the Muc5ac gene were significantly lower in the LPS/saline group than in the LPS group. Microvascular permeability, mucosal edema, and expression of the Muc5ac gene were significantly lower in the LPS/selenium group than in the LPS group. Mucosal edema was similar in the LPS/selenium group and LPS/saline group, but capillary permeability and Muc5ac expression were lower in the LPS/selenium group. This study shows that normal saline and selenium-enriched hot spring water reduce inflammatory activity and mucus hypersecretion in LPS-induced rhinosinusitis in rats. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. The use of environmental monitoring as a technique to identify isotopic enrichment activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buchmann, Jose Henrique

    2000-01-01

    The use of environmental monitoring as a technique to identify activities related to the nuclear fuel cycle has been proposed, by international organizations, as an additional measure to the safeguards agreements in force. The elements specific for each kind of nuclear activity, or nuclear signatures, inserted in the ecosystem by several transfer paths, can be intercepted with better or worse ability by different live organisms. Depending on the kind of signature of interest, the anthropogenic material identification and quantification require the choice of adequate biologic indicators and, mainly, the use of sophisticated techniques associated with elaborate sample treatments. This work demonstrates the technical viability of using pine needles as bioindicators of nuclear signatures associated with uranium enrichment activities. Additionally, it proposes the use of a technique widely diffused nowadays in the scientific community, the High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (HR-ICP-MS), to identify the signature corresponding to that kind of activities in the ecosystem. It can be also found a description of a methodology recently being applied in analytical chemistry,based on uncertainties estimates metrological concepts, used to calculate the uncertainties associated with the obtained measurement results. Nitric acid solutions with a concentration of 0.3 mol.kg -1 , used to wash pine needles sampled near facilities that manipulate enriched uranium and containing only 0.1 μg.kg -1 of uranium, exhibit a 235 U: 238 U isotopic abundance ratio of 0.0092±0.0002, while solutions originated from samples collected at places located more than 200 km far from activities related to the nuclear fuel cycle exhibit a value of 0.0074±0.0002 for this abundance ratio. Similar results were obtained for samples collected in different places permit to confirm the presence of anthropogenic uranium and demonstrate the viability of using this technique and the

  8. Environmental Enrichment Mitigates Deficits after Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xixia; Qiu, Jianhua; Alcon, Sasha; Hashim, Jumana; Meehan, William P; Mannix, Rebekah

    2017-08-15

    Although environmental enrichment has been shown to improve functional and histologic outcomes in pre-clinical moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), there are a paucity of pre-clinical data regarding enrichment strategies in the setting of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI). Given the vast numbers of athletes and those in the military who sustain rmTBI, the mounting evidence of the long-term and progressive sequelae of rmTBI, and the lack of targeted therapies to mitigate these sequelae, successful enrichment interventions in rmTBI could have large public health significance. Here, we evaluated enrichment strategies in an established pre-clinical rmTBI model. Seventy-one male C57BL/6 mice were randomized to two different housing conditions, environmental enrichment (EE) or normal condition (NC), then subjected to rmTBI injury (seven injuries in 9 days) or sham injury (anesthesia only). Functional outcomes in all four groups (NC-TBI, EE-TBI, NC-sham, and EE-sham) were assessed by motor, exploratory/anxiety, and mnemonic behavioral tests. At the synaptic level, N-methyl d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) subunit expression of phosphorylated glutamate receptor 1 (GluR1), phosphorylated Ca 2+ /calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), and calpain were evaluated by western blot. Compared to injured NC-TBI mice, EE-TBI mice had improved memory and decreased anxiety and exploratory activity post-injury. Treatment with enrichment also corresponded to normal NMDAR subunit expression, decreased GluR1 phosphorylation, decreased phosphorylated CaMKII, and normal calpain expression post-rmTBI. These data suggest that enrichment strategies may improve functional outcomes and mitigate synaptic changes post-rmTBI. Given that enrichment strategies are feasible in the clinical setting, particularly for athletes and soldiers for whom the risk of repetitive injury is greatest, these data suggest that clinical trials may be warranted.

  9. GOMA: functional enrichment analysis tool based on GO modules

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Qiang Huang; Ling-Yun Wu; Yong Wang; Xiang-Sun Zhang

    2013-01-01

    Analyzing the function of gene sets is a critical step in interpreting the results of high-throughput experiments in systems biology.A variety of enrichment analysis tools have been developed in recent years,but most output a long list of significantly enriched terms that are often redundant,making it difficult to extract the most meaningful functions.In this paper,we present GOMA,a novel enrichment analysis method based on the new concept of enriched functional Gene Ontology (GO) modules.With this method,we systematically revealed functional GO modules,i.e.,groups of functionally similar GO terms,via an optimization model and then ranked them by enrichment scores.Our new method simplifies enrichment analysis results by reducing redundancy,thereby preventing inconsistent enrichment results among functionally similar terms and providing more biologically meaningful results.

  10. Development of empirical relation for isotope of uranium in enriched uranium matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Srivastava, S.K.; Vidyasagar, D.; Jha, S.K.; Tripathi, R.M.

    2018-01-01

    Uranium enriched in 235 U is required in commercial light water reactors to produce a controlled nuclear reaction. Enrichment allows the 235 U isotopes to be increased from 0.71% to a range between 2% to 5% depending upon requirement. The enriched uranium in the form of sintered UO 2 pellet is used for any commercially operating boiling light water reactors. The enriched uranium fuel bundle surface swipes sample is being analysed to assess the tramp uranium as a quality control parameter. It is known that the 234 U isotope also enriched along with 235 U isotope in conventional gaseous diffusion enrichment process. The information about enrichment percentage of 234 U helps to characterize isotopic properties of enriched uranium. A few reports provide the empirical equation and graphs for finding out the specific activity, activity percentage, activity ratio of 234 U isotopes for enriched uranium. Most of them have not provided the reference for the data used and their source. An attempt has been made to model the relationship between 234 U and 235 U as a function of uranium enrichment at low level

  11. 1. half results 2003 - AREVA group; Resultats du 1. semestre 2003 - groupe AREVA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2003-10-01

    This financial presentation of the Areva group, the world nuclear industry leader, results for the first half 2003 highlights the good level of activity, the negotiations with URENCO in final stages concerning the enrichment, the revision of estimates and negotiations underway concerning the dismantling and the operating income positive in Q2 2003 concerning the connectors division. (A.L.B.)

  12. Unjust enrichment in business law

    OpenAIRE

    Vydrová, Zuzana

    2016-01-01

    This thesis analyses the concept of unjust enrichment under the business law. First of all the thesis explains the term of business law. Business law is a complex of legal rules concerning the contractual relationships between entrepreneurs arising from their business activities. Business law is a comprehensive field of law which extends into many other fields of law, both private and public law. Equally the regulation of unjust enrichment within the business law expands into many other laws ...

  13. Modular enrichment measurement system for in-situ enrichment assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stewart, J.P.

    1976-01-01

    A modular enrichment measurement system has been designed and is in operation within General Electric's Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Facility for the in-situ enrichment assay of uranium-bearing materials in process containers. This enrichment assay system, which is based on the ''enrichment meter'' concept, is an integral part of the site's enrichment control program and is used in the in-situ assay of the enrichment of uranium dioxide (UO 2 ) powder in process containers (five gallon pails). The assay system utilizes a commercially available modular counting system and a collimnator designed for compatability with process container transport lines and ease of operator access. The system has been upgraded to include a microprocessor-based controller to perform system operation functions and to provide data acquisition and processing functions. Standards have been fabricated and qualified for the enrichment assay of several types of uranium-bearing materials, including UO 2 powders. The assay system has performed in excess of 20,000 enrichment verification measurements annually and has significantly contributed to the facility's enrichment control program

  14. EURODIF: the uranium enrichment by gaseous diffusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rougeau, J.P.

    1981-01-01

    During the seventies the nuclear power programme had an extremely rapid growth rate which entailed to increase the world uranium enrichment capacity. EURODIF is the largest undertaking in this field. This multinational joint venture built and now operates and enrichment plant using the gaseous diffusion process at Tricastin (France). This plant is delivering low enriched uranium since two years and has contracted about 110 million SWU's till 1990. Description, current activity and prospects are given in the paper. (Author) [pt

  15. Review of environmental enrichment for broiler chickens

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Riber, Anja Brinch; Van de Weerd, H.A.; de Jong, I.C.

    2018-01-01

    to improvements of the biological function. This definition has been broadened to include practical and economic aspects, as any enrichment strategy that adversely affects the health of animals or that has too many economic or practical constraints will never be implemented on commercial farms and thus never...... benefit animals. Environmental enrichment for broilers often has the purpose of satisfying behavioral needs and/or stimulating the broilers to an increased level of activity, which among others will reduce the occurrence of leg problems. Potentially successful environmental enrichments for broiler...... chickens are elevated resting-places, panels, barriers, and bales of straw (“point-source enrichment”), as well as covered verandas and outdoor ranges (“complex enriched environments”). Many of the ideas for environmental enrichment for broilers need to be further developed and studied, preferably...

  16. Environmental enrichment improves learning and memory and long-term potentiation in young adult rats through a mechanism requiring mGluR5 signaling and sustained activation of p70s6k.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hullinger, Rikki; O'Riordan, Kenneth; Burger, Corinna

    2015-11-01

    Previous studies from our lab have demonstrated that mild cognitive impairments identified early in life are predictive of cognitive deficits that develop with age, suggesting that enhancements in cognition at an early age can provide a buffer against age-related cognitive decline. Environmental enrichment has been shown to improve learning and memory in the rodent, but the impact of enrichment on synaptic plasticity and the molecular mechanisms behind enrichment are not completely understood. To address these unresolved issues, we have housed 2-month old rats in environmentally enriched (EE), socially enriched (SE), or standard housing (SC) and conducted tests of learning and memory formation at various time intervals. Here we demonstrate that animals that have been exposed to one month of social or environmental enrichment demonstrate enhanced learning and memory relative to standard housed controls. However, we have found that after 4months EE animals perform better than both SE and SC groups and demonstrate an enhanced hippocampal LTP. Our results demonstrate that this LTP is dependent on mGluR5 signaling, activation of ERK and mTOR signaling cascades, and sustained phosphorylation of p70s6 kinase, thus providing a potential target mechanism for future studies of cognitive enhancement in the rodent. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Alpha spectrometry enriched uranium urinalysis results from IPEN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lima, Marina Ferreira

    2008-01-01

    Full text: IPEN (Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares) manufactures the nuclear fuel to its research reactor, the IEA-R1. The CCN (Centro do Ciclo do Combustivel) facility produces the fuel cermets from UF 6 (uranium hexafluoride) enriched to 19.75% in 235 U. The production involves the transformation of the gaseous form in oxides and silicates by ceramic and metallurgical processing. The workers act in more than one step that involves exposition to types F, S and M compounds of uranium. Until 2003, only fluorimetric analysis was carried out by the LRT (Laboratorio de Radiotoxicologia - IPEN) in order to evaluate the intake of uranium, in spite of the sub estimation of the 234 U contribution to the internal doses. Isotopic uranium determination in urine by alpha spectrometry is the current method to monitoring the contribution of 234 U, 235 U and 238 U. Alpha spectrometry data of 164 samples from 84 individuals separate in three categories of workers: routinely work group; special operation group and control group - were analyzed how the isotopic composition excreted by urinary tract corresponds with the level of enrichment and isotopic composition of the plant products. Results show that is hard to estimate these intakes of 234 U and 235 U since these isotopes alpha activities are below the limit of detection or minimum detectable activity (MAD) of this method in the most part of the samples. Only in 22 samples it was possibly to measure the three radionuclides. Not expected high contribution of 234 U activity was found in samples of the control group. No one result over the 234 U and 235 U MAD was found in the samples from the special operation group. Only in 5 samples from the routinely group the levels of 235 U was higher than the levels of others groups. In a complementary study, 3 solid samples of UF 6 , U 2 O 8 and U 3 Si 2 from CCN plant were analyzed to determinate the isotopic uranium composition in these salts, since this composition varies

  18. Financial audit: DOE Uranium Enrichment Activity financial statements - September 30, 1984

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-01-01

    In GAO's opinion the Department of Energy did not comply with the terms and provisions of laws and regulations for the financial transactions tested. Specifically, DOE did not comply with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, requiring the Uranium Enrichment Activity to recover the cost of its operations when setting prices to be charged to its customers. Also, DOE's actions concerning its new utility services contract were not in compliance with applicable statutory principles. UEA did not amend its pricing criteria as required by the Atomic Energy Act, as amended. Consequently UEA did not comply with the 45-day notification to the appropriate congressional oversight committees as also required by the act

  19. AREVA Technical Days (ATD) session 1: Energy outlook and presentation of the Areva Group; AREVA Technical Days (ATD) session 1: enjeux energetiques et presentation du groupe AREVA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2002-07-01

    These technical days organized by the Areva Group aims to explain the group activities in a technological and economic point of view, to provide an outlook of worldwide energy trends and challenges and to present each of their businesses in a synthetic manner. This first session deals with energy challenges and nuclear, public acceptance of nuclear power, mining activities, chemistry activities, enrichment activities, fuel assembly, reactors and services activities, nuclear measurements activities, reprocessing and recycling activities, logistics activities and connectors activities. (A.L.B.)

  20. Enriching Classroom Learning through a Microblogging-Supported Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Kun; Darr, Kent; Gao, Fei

    2018-01-01

    Researchers have recognized the role that microblogging tools play in enhancing the effectiveness of communication and interaction in the classroom. However, few studies have specifically examined how to use microblogging tools to bring educational resources into the classroom to enrich the student learning experience. The exploratory case study…

  1. Group Activities for Math Enthusiasts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holdener, J.; Milnikel, R.

    2016-01-01

    In this article we present three group activities designed for math students: a balloon-twisting workshop, a group proof of the irrationality of p, and a game of Math Bingo. These activities have been particularly successful in building enthusiasm for mathematics and camaraderie among math faculty and students at Kenyon College.

  2. The low-enrichment fuel development program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stahl, D.

    1993-01-01

    In the 1950s and 1960s, low-power research reactors were built around the world utilized MTR-type fuel elements containing 20% enriched uranium. However, the demand for higher specific power created a need for greater uranium-235 concentrations. Early difficulties in increasing uranium content led to the substitution of highly enriched uranium in place of the 20% enriched fuel previously utilized. The highly enriched material also yielded other benefits including longer core residence time, higher specific reactivity, and somewhat lower cost. Highly enriched material then became readily available and was used for high-power reactors as well as in low-power reactors where 20% enriched material would have sufficed. The trend toward higher and higher specific power also led to the development of the dispersion-type fuels which utilized highly enriched uranium at a concentration of about 40 wt%. In the 1970's, however, concerns were raised about the proliferation resistance of fuels and fuel cycles. As a consequence, the U.S. Department of State has recently prohibited the foreign shipment of highly enriched material, except where prior contractual obligation or special merit exists. This will impact on the availability and utilization of highly enriched uranium for research and test reactor fuel. It has also stimulated development programs on fuels with higher uranium content which would allow the use of uranium of lower enrichment. The purpose of this report is to briefly describe the overall fuel-development program which is coordinated by Argonne National Laboratory for the Department of Energy, and to indicate the current and potential uranium loadings. Other reports will address the individual fuel-development activities in greater detail

  3. Selective enrichment of a methanol-utilizing consortium using pulp & paper mill waste streams

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gregory R. Mockos; William A. Smith; Frank J. Loge; David N. Thompson

    2007-04-01

    Efficient utilization of carbon inputs is critical to the economic viability of the current forest products sector. Input carbon losses occur in various locations within a pulp mill, including losses as volatile organics and wastewater . Opportunities exist to capture this carbon in the form of value-added products such as biodegradable polymers. Waste activated sludge from a pulp mill wastewater facility was enriched for 80 days for a methanol-utilizing consortium with the goal of using this consortium to produce biopolymers from methanol-rich pulp mill waste streams. Five enrichment conditions were utilized: three high-methanol streams from the kraft mill foul condensate system, one methanol-amended stream from the mill wastewater plant, and one methanol-only enrichment. Enrichment reactors were operated aerobically in sequencing batch mode at neutral pH and 25°C with a hydraulic residence time and a solids retention time of four days. Non-enriched waste activated sludge did not consume methanol or reduce chemical oxygen demand. With enrichment, however, the chemical oxygen demand reduction over 24 hour feed/decant cycles ranged from 79 to 89 %, and methanol concentrations dropped below method detection limits. Neither the non-enriched waste activated sludge nor any of the enrichment cultures accumulated polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) under conditions of nitrogen sufficiency. Similarly, the non-enriched waste activated sludge did not accumulate PHAs under nitrogen limited conditions. By contrast, enriched cultures accumulated PHAs to nearly 14% on a dry weight basis under nitrogen limited conditions. This indicates that selectively-enriched pulp mill waste activated sludge can serve as an inoculum for PHA production from methanol-rich pulp mill effluents.

  4. Exercise and nutrition routine improving cancer health (ENRICH: The protocol for a randomized efficacy trial of a nutrition and physical activity program for adult cancer survivors and carers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boyes Allison

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Exercise and Nutrition Routine Improving Cancer Health (ENRICH study is investigating a novel lifestyle intervention aimed at improving the health behaviors of adult cancer survivors and their carers. The main purpose of the study is to determine the efficacy of lifestyle education and skill development delivered via group-based sessions on the physical activity and dietary behaviors of participants. This article describes the intervention development, study design, and participant recruitment. Methods/Design ENRICH is a randomized controlled trial, conducted in Australia, with two arms: an intervention group participating in six, two-hour face-to-face sessions held over eight weeks, and a wait-list control group. Intervention sessions are co-facilitated by an exercise physiologist and dietician. Content includes healthy eating education, and a home-based walking (utilizing a pedometer and resistance training program (utilizing elastic tubing resistance devices. The program was developed with reference to social cognitive theory and chronic disease self-management models. The study population consists of cancer survivors (post active-treatment and their carers recruited through community-based advertising and referral from health professionals. The primary outcome is seven-days of sealed pedometry. Secondary outcomes include: self-reported physical activity levels, dietary intake, sedentary behavior, waist circumference, body mass index, quality of life, and perceived social support. The outcomes will be measured at baseline (one week prior to attending the program, eight-weeks (at completion of intervention sessions, and 20-weeks. The intervention group will also be invited to complete 12-month follow-up data collection. Process evaluation data will be obtained from participants by questionnaire and attendance records. Discussion No trials are yet available that have evaluated the efficacy of group-based lifestyle

  5. Novel meat-enriched foods for older consumers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farouk, Mustafa M; Yoo, Michelle J Y; Hamid, Nazimah S A; Staincliffe, Maryann; Davies, Briar; Knowles, Scott O

    2018-02-01

    Red meat enriched versions of bread, spaghetti, yoghurt, ice cream and chocolate were prototyped and assessed for some of their physical, chemical and microbiological properties, as well as sensory appeal. The protein content of the products were significantly increased and their colour went darker with meat enrichment (pice cream meltability and yoghurt apparent viscosity decreased with meat enrichment (pice cream and spaghetti were not affected (p>0.05) but that of non-flavoured ice cream and yoghurt went down (pindustry stretch its established business models, and encouraging further development of novel food choices for elderly and other groups of consumers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-08-01

    This paper reports that in 1990 the Department of Energy began a two-year project to illustrate the technical and economic feasibility of a new uranium enrichment technology-the atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS) process. GAO believes that completing the AVLIS demonstration project will provide valuable information about the technical viability and cost of building an AVLIS plant and will keep future plant construction options open. However, Congress should be aware that DOE still needs to adequately demonstrate AVLIS with full-scale equipment and develop convincing cost projects. Program activities, such as the plant-licensing process, that must be completed before a plant is built, could take many years. Further, an updated and expanded uranium enrichment analysis will be needed before any decision is made about building an AVLIS plant. GAO, which has long supported legislation that would restructure DOE's uranium enrichment program as a government corporation, encourages DOE's goal of transferring AVLIS to the corporation. This could reduce the government's financial risk and help ensure that the decision to build an AVLIS plant is based on commercial concerns. DOE, however, has no alternative plans should the government corporation not be formed. Further, by curtailing a planned public access program, which would have given private firms an opportunity to learn about the technology during the demonstration project, DOE may limit its ability to transfer AVLIS to the private sector

  7. The changes in the biochemical compositions and enzymatic activities of rotifer (Brachionus plicatilis, Müller) and Artemia during the enrichment and starvation periods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naz, Mehmet

    2008-12-01

    The changes in the biochemical compositions and enzymatic activities of rotifer (Brachionus plicatilis) and Artemia, enriched and stored at 4 degrees C temperature, were determined. The total starvation period was 16 h and samples were taken at the end of the 8th and 16th hours. In present study, the rotifer and nauplii catabolized a large proportion of the protein during the enrichment period. Lipid contents of both live preys increased during the enrichment period and decreased in nauplii and metanauplii throughout the starvation period but lipid content of the rotifer remained relatively constant during the starvation period. The changes observed in the amino acid compositions of Artemia and the rotifer were statistically significant (P < 0.05). The conspicuous decline the essential amino acid (EAA) and nonessential amino acid (NEAA) content of the rotifer was observed during the enrichment period. However, the essential amino acid (EAA) and nonessential amino acid (NEAA) contents of Artemia nauplii increased during the enrichment period. The unenriched and enriched rotifers contained more monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFAs) than polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) and saturated fatty acids (SFA). However, Artemia contained more PUFAs than MUFAs and SFA during the experimental period. A sharp increase in the amounts of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) during the enrichment of the rotifer and Artemia nauplii was observed. However, the amount of DHA throughout the starvation period decreased in Artemia metanauplii but not in Artemia nauplii. Significant differences in tryptic, leucine aminopeptidase N (LAP), and alkaline phosphatase (AP) enzyme activities of Artemia and rotifer were observed during the enrichment and starvation period (P < 0.05). The digestive enzymes derived from live food to fish larvae provided the highest contribution at the end of the enrichment period. In conclusion, the results of the study provide important contributions to determine the most

  8. Retrospective group fusion similarity search based on eROCE evaluation metric.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avram, Sorin I; Crisan, Luminita; Bora, Alina; Pacureanu, Liliana M; Avram, Stefana; Kurunczi, Ludovic

    2013-03-01

    In this study, a simple evaluation metric, denoted as eROCE was proposed to measure the early enrichment of predictive methods. We demonstrated the superior robustness of eROCE compared to other known metrics throughout several active to inactive ratios ranging from 1:10 to 1:1000. Group fusion similarity search was investigated by varying 16 similarity coefficients, five molecular representations (binary and non-binary) and two group fusion rules using two reference structure set sizes. We used a dataset of 3478 actives and 43,938 inactive molecules and the enrichment was analyzed by means of eROCE. This retrospective study provides optimal similarity search parameters in the case of ALDH1A1 inhibitors. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Validation of SCALE 4.0 -- CSAS25 module and the 27-group ENDF/B-IV cross-section library for low-enriched uranium systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jordan, W.C.

    1993-02-01

    A version of KENO V.a and the 27-group library in SCALE-4.0 were validated for use in evaluating the nuclear criticality safety of low-enriched uranium systems. A total of 59 critical systems were analyzed. A statistical analysis of the results was performed, and subcritical acceptanced criteria are established.

  10. Validation of SCALE 4. 0 -- CSAS25 module and the 27-group ENDF/B-IV cross-section library for low-enriched uranium systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jordan, W.C.

    1993-02-01

    A version of KENO V.a and the 27-group library in SCALE-4.0 were validated for use in evaluating the nuclear criticality safety of low-enriched uranium systems. A total of 59 critical systems were analyzed. A statistical analysis of the results was performed, and subcritical acceptanced criteria are established.

  11. Effects of Postnatal Enriched Environment in a Model of Parkinson’s Disease in Adult Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adel Jungling

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Environmental enrichment is a widespread neuroprotective strategy during development and also in the mature nervous system. Several research groups have described that enriched environment in adult rats has an impact on the progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD. The aim of our present study was to examine the effects of early, postnatal environmental enrichment after 6-hydroxydopamine-induced (6-OHDA lesion of the substantia nigra in adulthood. Newborn Wistar rats were divided into control and enriched groups according to their environmental conditions. For environmental enrichment, during the first five postnatal weeks animals were placed in larger cages and exposed to intensive complex stimuli. Dopaminergic cell loss, and hypokinetic and asymmetrical signs were evaluated after inducing PD with unilateral injections of 6-OHDA in three-month-old animals. Treatment with 6-OHDA led to a significant cell loss in the substantia nigra of control animals, however, postnatal enriched circumstances could rescue the dopaminergic cells. Although there was no significant difference in the percentage of surviving cells between 6-OHDA-treated control and enriched groups, the slightly less dopaminergic cell loss in the enriched group compared to control animals resulted in less severe hypokinesia. Our investigation is the first to provide evidence for the neuroprotective effect of postnatal enriched environment in PD later in life.

  12. Extraction, characterization and antioxidant activities of Se-enriched tea polysaccharides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yuanfeng; Li, Yongfu; Liu, Yangyang; Chen, Xueqing; Wei, Xinlin

    2015-01-01

    Se-polysaccharides from Se-enriched tea leaves were purified by DEAE-sepharose fast flow gel column (2.5×60cm) and three polysaccharide fractions (Se-TPS1, Se-TPS2, and Se-TPS3) were isolated and purified with yields of 6.5, 37.14, and 8.57%, respectively. The average sizes of Se-TPS1 and Se-TPS2 were determined by HPGPC system, with molecular weights of 1.1×10(5) and 2.4×10(5)Da, respectively. Se-TPS3 was a polysaccharide polymer with two peaks with molecular weights of 9.2×10(5) and 2.5×10(5)Da. Monosaccharide components analysis by ion chromatography revealed Se-polysaccharides were acidic polysaccharoses and different from each other in monosaccharide kinds and molar ratio. Elements of Se, C, H, N, S, and 14 kinds of mineral elements were analyzed by AFS, EA, and ICP-AES, respectively. Spectral analysis (IR and UV) indicated Se-polysaccharides were typical glycoproteins. Morphological analyses of the samples were determined by SEM and AFM. In addition, the DPPH and superoxide radicals scavenging activities were also discussed to assess antioxidant activities of the samples, and Se-polysaccharides showed higher antioxidant activities compared to the ordinary polysaccharides. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Group Member or Outsider: Perceptions of Undergraduates with Disabilities on Leisure Time Physical Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devine, Mary Ann

    2013-01-01

    College provides students with many opportunities to achieve academic success and enrich other aspects of their lives. Participating in campus activities can reduce stress, create social connections, promote healthy active living, and broaden civic engagement (Lindsey & Sessoms, 2006; Watson, Ayers, Zizzi, & Naoi, 2006). Studies noting…

  14. Idaho National Engineering Laboratory materials in inventory natural and enriched uranium management and storage costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nebeker, R.L.

    1995-11-01

    On July 13, 1994, the Office of Environmental Management (EM) was requested to develop a planning process that would result in management policies for dealing with nuclear materials in inventory. In response to this request, EM launched the Materials In Inventory (MIN) Initiative. A Headquarters Working Group was established to develop the broad policy framework for developing MIN management policies. MIN activities cover essentially all nuclear materials within the DOE complex, including such items as spent nuclear fuel, depleted uranium, plutonium, natural and enriched uranium, and other materials. In August 1995, a report discussing the natural and enriched uranium portion of the Initiative for the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) was published. That report, 'Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Materials-in-Inventory, Natural and Enriched Uranium'.' identified MIN under the control of Lockheed Idaho Technologies Company at the INEL. Later, additional information related to the costs associated with the storage of MIN materials was requested to supplement this report. This report provides the cost information for storing, disposing, or consolidating the natural and enriched uranium portion of the MIN materials at the INEL. The information consists of eight specific tables which detail present management costs and estimated costs of future activities

  15. Enrichment of specific electro-active microorganisms and enhancement of methane production by adding granular activated carbon in anaerobic reactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jung-Yeol; Lee, Sang-Hoon; Park, Hee-Deung

    2016-04-01

    Direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) via conductive materials can provide significant benefits to anaerobic methane formation in terms of production amount and rate. Although granular activated carbon (GAC) demonstrated its applicability in facilitating DIET in methanogenesis, DIET in continuous flow anaerobic reactors has not been verified. Here, evidences of DIET via GAC were explored. The reactor supplemented with GAC showed 1.8-fold higher methane production rate than that without GAC (35.7 versus 20.1±7.1mL-CH4/d). Around 34% of methane formation was attributed to the biomass attached to GAC. Pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene demonstrated the enrichment of exoelectrogens (e.g. Geobacter) and hydrogenotrophic methanogens (e.g. Methanospirillum and Methanolinea) from the biomass attached to GAC. Furthermore, anodic and cathodic currents generation was observed in an electrochemical cell containing GAC biomass. Taken together, GAC supplementation created an environment for enriching the microorganisms involved in DIET, which increased the methane production rate. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Modeling of UF{sub 6} enrichment with gas centrifuges for nuclear safeguards activities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mercurio, G.; Peerani, P.; Richir, P.; Janssens, W.; Eklund, G. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements Via Fermi, 2749-TP181,20127 Ispra (Italy)

    2012-09-26

    The physical modeling of uranium isotopes ({sup 235}U, {sup 238}U) separation process by centrifugation of is a key aspect for predicting the nuclear fuel enrichment plant performances under surveillance by the Nuclear Safeguards Authorities. In this paper are illustrated some aspects of the modeling of fast centrifuges for UF{sub 6} gas enrichment and of a typical cascade enrichment plant with the Theoretical Centrifuge and Cascade Simulator (TCCS). The background theory for reproducing the flow field characteristics of a centrifuge is derived from the work of Cohen where the separation parameters are calculated using the solution of a differential enrichment equation. In our case we chose to solve the hydrodynamic equations for the motion of a compressible fluid in a centrifugal field using the Berman - Olander vertical velocity radial distribution and the solution was obtained using the Matlab software tool. The importance of a correct estimation of the centrifuge separation parameters at different flow regimes, lies in the possibility to estimate in a reliable way the U enrichment plant performances, once the separation external parameters are set (feed flow rate and feed, product and tails assays). Using the separation parameters of a single centrifuge allow to determine the performances of an entire cascade and, for this purpose; the software Simulink was used. The outputs of the calculation are the concentrations (assays) and the flow rates of the enriched (product) and depleted (tails) gas mixture. These models represent a valid additional tool, in order to verify the compliance of the U enrichment plant operator declarations with the 'on site' inspectors' measurements.

  17. Pre-freshman enrichment program [University of New Haven

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-06-01

    The Connecticut Pre-Engineering Program, Inc. (CPEP), is a collaboration of school districts, businesses, colleges, universities, government and community organizations whose mission and program efforts are aimed at increasing the pool of African-American, Hispanic, Native-American Indian, Asian American, Women and other under-represented minority students who pursue mathematics, science, engineering and other technological based college study and careers. CPEP provides enrichment programs and activities throughout the year in New Haven. Since 1987, CPEP has sponsored summer enrichment programs designed to motivate and stimulate middle school and high school students to pursue careers in mathematics, science, engineering and other technology related fields. Through the Summer Enrichment Program, CPEP has been able to better prepare under-represented and urban students with skills that will facilitate their accessing colleges and professionals careers. The essential premise of the program design and academic content is that targeted students must be taught and nurtured as to develop their self-confidence and personal ambitions so that they can seriously plan for and commit to college-level studies. The program stresses multi-disciplinary hands-on science and mathematics experience, group learning and research, and career exploration and academic guidance. Students study under the direction of school teachers and role model undergraduate students. Weekly field trips to industrial sites, science centers and the shoreline are included in this program.

  18. High-solids enrichment of thermophilic microbial communities and their enzymes on bioenergy feedstocks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reddy, A. P.; Allgaier, M.; Singer, S.W.; Hazen, T.C.; Simmons, B.A.; Hugenholtz, P.; VanderGheynst, J.S.

    2011-04-01

    Thermophilic microbial communities that are active in a high-solids environment offer great potential for the discovery of industrially relevant enzymes that efficiently deconstruct bioenergy feedstocks. In this study, finished green waste compost was used as an inoculum source to enrich microbial communities and associated enzymes that hydrolyze cellulose and hemicellulose during thermophilic high-solids fermentation of the bioenergy feedstocks switchgrass and corn stover. Methods involving the disruption of enzyme and plant cell wall polysaccharide interactions were developed to recover xylanase and endoglucanase activity from deconstructed solids. Xylanase and endoglucanase activity increased by more than a factor of 5, upon four successive enrichments on switchgrass. Overall, the changes for switchgrass were more pronounced than for corn stover; solids reduction between the first and second enrichments increased by a factor of four for switchgrass while solids reduction remained relatively constant for corn stover. Amplicon pyrosequencing analysis of small-subunit ribosomal RNA genes recovered from enriched samples indicated rapid changes in the microbial communities between the first and second enrichment with the simplified communities achieved by the third enrichment. The results demonstrate a successful approach for enrichment of unique microbial communities and enzymes active in a thermophilic high-solids environment.

  19. On the enrichment of hydrophobic organic compounds in fog droplets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valsaraj, K. T.; Thoma, G. J.; Reible, D. D.; Thibodeaux, L. J.

    The unusual degree of enrichment of hydrophobic organics in fogwater droplets reported by several investigators can be interpreted as a result of (a) the effects of temperature correction on the reported enrichment factors, (b) the effects of colloidal organic matter (both filterable and non-filterable) in fog water and (c) the effects of the large air-water interfacial adsorption of neutral hydrophobic organics on the tiny fog droplets. The enrichment factor was directly correlated to the hydrophobicity (or the activity coefficient in water) of the compounds, as indicated by their octanol-water partition constants. Compounds with large octanol-water partition coefficients (high activity coefficients in water) showed the largest enrichment. Available experimental data on the adsorption of hydrophobic compounds at the air-water interface and on colloidal organic carbon were used to show that the large specific air-water interfacial areas of fog droplets contribute significantly to the enrichment factor.

  20. An investigation into the use of music as potential auditory enrichment for moloch gibbons (Hylobates moloch).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Emma K; Kingston-Jones, Mark; Ford, Matthew; Semple, Stuart

    2013-01-01

    The use of music as enrichment has rarely been explored in zoos, despite evidence that music has a positive effect on a range of laboratory housed animals. In this study of moloch gibbons, Hylobates moloch, at Howletts Wild Animal Park (Kent, England), instrumental classical music was played to eight individuals in two family groups. Music was played 7 hr a day during three of six study weeks for each group, alternating with control weeks in which no music was played. In focal watches, data were recorded on a measure of activity, brachiation, and on two rates of affiliative behavior, giving and receiving grooming. In addition, to assess potential impacts on emotional state, data were recorded on self-scratching and self-grooming, two widely used indices of anxiety or stress. Analyses were carried out for each individual separately, as previous studies of primates indicate animals may differ in their response to enrichment. Results revealed little evidence for effects of music on gibbons' behavior. During the music compared to control weeks, the adult male from one group showed higher rates of self-scratching and higher durations of both self-grooming and grooming others. The adult female from the same group was groomed more during the music weeks than control weeks. For the six other animals, no significant differences in behaviors were seen between music and control conditions. Our findings suggest music may not be an effective enrichment for captive gibbons, and further highlight the importance of considering individual differences when assessing the effects of potential enrichment. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals Inc.

  1. Uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-01-01

    This report looks at the following issues: How much Soviet uranium ore and enriched uranium are imported into the United States and what is the extent to which utilities flag swap to disguise these purchases? What are the U.S.S.R.'s enriched uranium trading practices? To what extent are utilities required to return used fuel to the Soviet Union as part of the enriched uranium sales agreement? Why have U.S. utilities ended their contracts to buy enrichment services from DOE?

  2. Gas-phase UF6 enrichment monitor for enrichment plant safeguards

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strittmatter, R.B.; Tape, J.W.

    1980-03-01

    An in-line enrichment monitor is being developed to provide real-time enrichment data for the gas-phase UF 6 feed stream of an enrichment plant. The nondestructive gamma-ray assay method can be used to determine the enrichment of natural UF 6 with a relative precision of better than 1% for a wide range of pressures

  3. Effects of an omega-3 fatty acid-enriched lipid emulsion on eicosanoid synthesis in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, parallel group study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chacon Pilar

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The use of lipid emulsions has been associated with changes in lung function and gas exchange which may be mediated by biologically active metabolites derived from arachidonic acid. The type and quantity of the lipid emulsions used could modulate this response, which is mediated by the eicosanoids. This study investigates the use of omega-3 fatty acid-enriched lipid emulsions in ARDS patients and their effects on eicosanoid values. Methods Prospective, randomized, double-blind, parallel group study carried out at the Intensive Medicine Department of Vall d'Hebron University Hospital (Barcelona-Spain. We studied 16 consecutive patients with ARDS and intolerance to enteral nutrition (14 men; age: 58 ± 13 years; APACHE II score 17.8 ± 2.3; Lung Injury Score: 3.1 ± 0.5; baseline PaO2/FiO2 ratio: 149 ± 40. Patients were randomized into two groups: Group A (n = 8 received the study emulsion Lipoplus® 20%, B. Braun Medical (50% MCT, 40% LCT, 10% fish oil (FO; Group B (n = 8 received the control emulsion Intralipid® Fresenius Kabi (100% LCT. Lipid emulsions were administered for 12 h at a dose of 0.12 g/kg/h. We measured LTB4, TXB2, and 6-keto prostaglandin F1α values at baseline [immediately before the administration of the lipid emulsions (T-0], at the end of the administration (T-12 and 24 hours after the beginning of the infusion (T 24 in arterial and mixed venous blood samples. Results In group A (FO LTB4, TXB2, 6-keto prostaglandin F1α levels fell during omega-3 administration (T12. After discontinuation (T24, levels of inflammatory markers (both systemic and pulmonary behaved erratically. In group B (LCT all systemic and pulmonary mediators increased during lipid administration and returned to baseline levels after discontinuation, but the differences did not reach statistical significance. There was a clear interaction between the treatment in group A (fish oil and changes in LTB4 over time. Conclusions Infusion of

  4. The impact of early postnatal environmental enrichment on maternal care and offspring behaviour following weaning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ki Angel; Lund, Emilie Torp; Voigt, Jörg-Peter W

    2016-01-01

    The early postnatal period is a sensitive period in rodents as behavioural systems are developing and maturing during this time. However, relatively little information is available about the impact of environmental enrichment on offspring behaviour if enrichment is implemented only during this period. Here, environmental enrichment was provided from postnatal day 1 until weaning. On post-natal day 9, maternal behaviour and nonmaternal behaviour of the dam was observed. Nursing time in the enriched group was reduced but dams showed more non-maternal appetitive behaviours. Offspring were exposed to either the open field or the elevated plus maze (EPM) after weaning. In the open field, rats from the enriched group approached the more aversive inner zone of the open field later than control rats. Offspring from the enriched group made fewer entries into the inner zone and spent less time in this part of the arena. Enrichment had no impact on behaviour in the EPM. The present study provides evidence that postnatal enrichment can interfere with maternal behaviour in rats and can possibly lead to increased anxiety in the offspring. The findings suggest that enrichment procedures can have potentially unintended effects, interfering with the development of emotional behaviours in rats. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel Conversion Activities for the High Flux Isotope Reactor, Annual Report for FY 2011

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Renfro, David G [ORNL; Cook, David Howard [ORNL; Freels, James D [ORNL; Griffin, Frederick P [ORNL; Ilas, Germina [ORNL; Sease, John D [ORNL; Chandler, David [ORNL

    2012-03-01

    This report describes progress made during FY11 in ORNL activities to support converting the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) from high-enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. Conversion from HEU to LEU will require a change in fuel form from uranium oxide to a uranium-molybdenum (UMo) alloy. With both radial and axial contouring of the fuel foil and an increase in reactor power to 100 MW, calculations indicate that the HFIR can be operated with LEU fuel with no degradation in performance to users from the current levels achieved with HEU fuel. Studies are continuing to demonstrate that the fuel thermal safety margins can be preserved following conversion. Studies are also continuing to update other aspects of the reactor steady state operation and accident response for the effects of fuel conversion. Technical input has been provided to Oregon State University in support of their hydraulic testing program. The HFIR conversion schedule was revised and provided to the GTRI program. In addition to HFIR conversion activities, technical support was provided directly to the Fuel Fabrication Capability program manager.

  6. Low-Enriched Uranium Fuel Conversion Activities for the High Flux Isotope Reactor, Annual Report for FY 2011

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Renfro, David G.; Cook, David Howard; Freels, James D.; Griffin, Frederick P.; Ilas, Germina; Sease, John D.; Chandler, David

    2012-01-01

    This report describes progress made during FY11 in ORNL activities to support converting the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) from high-enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. Conversion from HEU to LEU will require a change in fuel form from uranium oxide to a uranium-molybdenum (UMo) alloy. With both radial and axial contouring of the fuel foil and an increase in reactor power to 100 MW, calculations indicate that the HFIR can be operated with LEU fuel with no degradation in performance to users from the current levels achieved with HEU fuel. Studies are continuing to demonstrate that the fuel thermal safety margins can be preserved following conversion. Studies are also continuing to update other aspects of the reactor steady state operation and accident response for the effects of fuel conversion. Technical input has been provided to Oregon State University in support of their hydraulic testing program. The HFIR conversion schedule was revised and provided to the GTRI program. In addition to HFIR conversion activities, technical support was provided directly to the Fuel Fabrication Capability program manager.

  7. 1. half results 2003 - AREVA group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-01-01

    This financial presentation of the Areva group, the world nuclear industry leader, results for the first half 2003 highlights the good level of activity, the negotiations with URENCO in final stages concerning the enrichment, the revision of estimates and negotiations underway concerning the dismantling and the operating income positive in Q2 2003 concerning the connectors division. (A.L.B.)

  8. Astroglial Activation by an Enriched Environment after Transplantation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Enhances Angiogenesis after Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung-Rae Cho

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs has paracrine effects; however, the effects are known to be largely limited. Here we investigated the combination effects of cell transplantation and enriched environment (EE in a model of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. Brain damage was induced in seven-day-old mice by unilateral carotid artery ligation and exposure to hypoxia (8% O2 for 90 min. At six weeks of age, the mice were randomly assigned to four groups: phosphate-buffered saline (PBS-control (CON, PBS-EE, MSC-CON, and MSC-EE. Rotarod and grip strength tests were performed to evaluate neurobehavioral functions. Histologic evaluations were also performed to confirm the extent of astrocyte activation and endogenous angiogenesis. An array-based multiplex ELISA and Western blot were used to identify growth factors in vivo and in vitro. Two weeks after treatment, levels of astrocyte density and angiogenic factors were increased in MSC-EE mice, but glial scarring was not increased. Eight weeks after treatment, angiogenesis was increased, and behavioral outcomes were synergistically improved in the MSC-EE group. Astrocytes co-cultured with MSCs expressed higher levels of angiogenic factors than astrocytes cultured alone. The mechanisms of this synergistic effect included enhanced repair processes, such as increased endogenous angiogenesis and upregulation of angiogenic factors released from activated astrocytes.

  9. Centrifugal extraction of highly enriched tin isotopes and increase of specific activity of the radionuclide 119mSn on the gas centrifuge cascade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suvorov, I.A.; Tcheltsov, A.N.; Sosnin, L.Yu.; Sazikin, A.A.; Rudnev, A.I.

    2002-01-01

    This work contains the results of research on centrifugal enrichment of 118 Sn isotope followed by irradiation and, finally, a second centrifugal enrichment to produce high specific activity 119m Sn. Non-steady-state separation methods were used for the effective extraction of the radionuclide 119m Sn from the irradiated target. As a result of this work, radiation sources based on 119m Sn were obtained with a specific activity of 500 mCi/g. This is 100 times greater than the specific activity obtained after irradiation in the reactor alone. In addition, the sources had an previously unattainable radio-purity ratio of 113 Sn/ 119m Sn of approximately 10 -6

  10. Uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rae, H.K.; Melvin, J.G.

    1988-06-01

    Canada is the world's largest producer and exporter of uranium, most of which is enriched elsewhere for use as fuel in LWRs. The feasibility of a Canadian uranium-enrichment enterprise is therefore a perennial question. Recent developments in uranium-enrichment technology, and their likely impacts on separative work supply and demand, suggest an opportunity window for Canadian entry into this international market. The Canadian opportunity results from three particular impacts of the new technologies: 1) the bulk of the world's uranium-enrichment capacity is in gaseous diffusion plants which, because of their large requirements for electricity (more than 2000 kW·h per SWU), are vulnerable to competition from the new processes; 2) the decline in enrichment costs increases the economic incentive for the use of slightly-enriched uranium (SEU) fuel in CANDU reactors, thus creating a potential Canadian market; and 3) the new processes allow economic operation on a much smaller scale, which drastically reduces the investment required for market entry and is comparable with the potential Canadian SEU requirement. The opportunity is not open-ended. By the end of the century the enrichment supply industry will have adapted to the new processes and long-term customer/supplier relationships will have been established. In order to seize the opportunity, Canada must become a credible supplier during this century

  11. Regulation of hepatitis B virus ENI enhancer activity by hepatocyte-enriched transcription factor HNF3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, M; Hieng, S; Qian, X; Costa, R; Ou, J H

    1994-11-15

    Hepatitis B virus (HBV) ENI enhancer can activate the expression of HBV and non-HBV genes in a liver-specific manner. By performing the electrophoretic mobility-shift assays, we demonstrated that the three related, liver-enriched, transcription factors, HNF3 alpha, HNF3 beta, and HNF3 gamma could all bind to the 2c site of HBV ENI enhancer. Mutations introduced in the 2c site to abolish the binding by HNF3 reduced the enhancer activity approximately 15-fold. Moreover, expression of HNF3 antisense sequences to suppress the expression of HNF3 in Huh-7 hepatoma cells led to reduction of the ENI enhancer activity. These results indicate that HNF3 positively regulates the ENI enhancer activity and this regulation is most likely mediated through the 2c site. The requirement of HNF3 for the ENI enhancer activity could explain the liver specificity of this enhancer element.

  12. A Dynamic Policy for Grouping Maintenance Activities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    R.E. Wildeman (Ralph); R. Dekker (Rommert); A.C.J.M. Smit

    1995-01-01

    textabstractA maintenance activity carried out on a technical system often involves a system-dependent set-up cost that is the same for all maintenance activities carried out on that system. Grouping activities thus saves costs since execution of a group of activities requires only one set-up. Many

  13. [Impact of consumption of corn flour with low level enrichment in children of rural zones].

    Science.gov (United States)

    del Refugio Carrasco Quintero, Ma; Ortiz Hernández, L; Chávez Villasana, A; Roldán Amaro, J A; Guarneros Soto, N; Aguirre Arenas, J; Ledesma Solano, J A

    2011-01-01

    Corn has been from the prehispanic era, the most important feeding plant in the Mexican population, particularly in the most important sectors and in marginal areas. In this setting, enriching the product as flour implies an increase in its nutritional quality, especially because corn is the basic food. To assess the effect of the consumption of corn flour enriched with 3% soybean, vitamins, and minerals on the growth and development of infants and preschool children. experimental study lasting 10 months. The experimental group (n=195) received enriched corn flour whereas the control group (n=200) received non-enriched flour. The indicators were: nutritional status, mental and psychomotor development, and blood hemoglobin levels. in the total sample, there were no differences between the experimental group and the control group. However, there were improvements in the weight-to-height and weight-to-age indexes in the children consuming enriched flour and in children older than one year, who were the babies of indigenous women living in marginal areas. enriched corn flour appears to be an alternative benefitting the children population with higher nutritional deficiencies. However, a longer intervention is necessary to obtain better results.

  14. On the technical, economical and safeguard informations of the different enrichment techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-03-01

    The proposed outline and the first three chapters of the working group report are presented. The chapters include: Scope of the report, basic data collected on enrichment techniques, and status of enrichment technologies

  15. AREVA Technical Days (ATD) session 1: Energy outlook and presentation of the Areva Group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    These technical days organized by the Areva Group aims to explain the group activities in a technological and economic point of view, to provide an outlook of worldwide energy trends and challenges and to present each of their businesses in a synthetic manner. This first session deals with energy challenges and nuclear, public acceptance of nuclear power, mining activities, chemistry activities, enrichment activities, fuel assembly, reactors and services activities, nuclear measurements activities, reprocessing and recycling activities, logistics activities and connectors activities. (A.L.B.)

  16. Group-Based Active Learning of Classification Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Zhipeng; Hauskrecht, Milos

    2017-05-01

    Learning of classification models from real-world data often requires additional human expert effort to annotate the data. However, this process can be rather costly and finding ways of reducing the human annotation effort is critical for this task. The objective of this paper is to develop and study new ways of providing human feedback for efficient learning of classification models by labeling groups of examples. Briefly, unlike traditional active learning methods that seek feedback on individual examples, we develop a new group-based active learning framework that solicits label information on groups of multiple examples. In order to describe groups in a user-friendly way, conjunctive patterns are used to compactly represent groups. Our empirical study on 12 UCI data sets demonstrates the advantages and superiority of our approach over both classic instance-based active learning work, as well as existing group-based active-learning methods.

  17. Advanced enrichment techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, A.

    1988-01-01

    BNFL is in a unique position in that it has commercial experience of diffusion enrichment, and of centrifuge enrichment through its associate company Urenco. In addition BNFL is developing laser enrichment techniques as part of a UK development programme in this area. The paper describes the development programme which led to the introduction of competitive centrifuge enrichment technology by Urenco and discusses the areas where improvements have and will continue to be made in the centrifuge process. It also describes the laser development programme currently being undertaken in the UK. The paper concludes by discussing the relative merits of the various methods of uranium enrichment, with particular reference to the enrichment market likely to obtain over the rest of the century

  18. Advanced enrichment techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, A.

    1987-01-01

    BNFL is in a unique position in that it has commercial experience of diffusion enrichment, and of centrifuge enrichment through its associate company Urenco. In addition BNFL is developing laser enrichment techniques as part of a UK development programme in this area. The paper describes the development programme which led to the introduction of competitive centrifuge enrichment technology by Urenco and discusses the areas where improvements have and will continue to be made in the centrifuge process. It also describes the laser development programme currently being undertaken in the UK. The paper concludes by discussing the relative merits of the various methods of uranium enrichment, with particular reference to the enrichment market likely to obtain over the rest of the century. (author)

  19. Juvenile psittacine environmental enrichment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simone-Freilicher, Elisabeth; Rupley, Agnes E

    2015-05-01

    Environmental enrichment is of great import to the emotional, intellectual, and physical development of the juvenile psittacine and their success in the human home environment. Five major types of enrichment include social, occupational, physical, sensory, and nutritional. Occupational enrichment includes exercise and psychological enrichment. Physical enrichment includes the cage and accessories and the external home environment. Sensory enrichment may be visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, or taste oriented. Nutritional enrichment includes variations in appearance, type, and frequency of diet, and treats, novelty, and foraging. Two phases of the preadult period deserve special enrichment considerations: the development of autonomy and puberty. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Efficacy of selenium from hydroponically produced selenium-enriched kale sprout (Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra L.) in broilers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chantiratikul, Anut; Pakmaruek, Pornpan; Chinrasri, Orawan; Aengwanich, Worapol; Chookhampaeng, Sumalee; Maneetong, Sarunya; Chantiratikul, Piyanete

    2015-05-01

    An experiment was conducted to determine the efficacy of Se from hydroponically produced Se-enriched kale sprout (HPSeKS) on performance, carcass characteristics, tissue Se concentration, and physiological responses of broilers in comparison to that of Se from Se-enriched yeast and sodium selenite. Three hundred and sixty male broilers, 10 days of age, were assigned to 6 groups, 4 replicates of 15 broilers each, according to the completely randomized design. The dietary treatments were the following: T1: control diet; T2: control diet plus 0.3 mg Se/kg from sodium selenite; T3: control diet plus 0.3 mg Se/kg from Se-enriched yeast; and T4, T5, and T6: control diet plus 0.3, 1.0, and 2.0 mg Se/kg from HPSeKS, respectively. The results found that dietary Se supplementation did not (p > 0.05) alter performance and carcass characteristics of broilers. Se supplementation increased (p < 0.05) Se concentrations in the liver and kidney of broilers. Heart tissue Se concentration of broilers fed Se from sodium selenite was lower (p < 0.05) than that of broilers fed Se from HPSeKS and Se-enriched yeast. Selenium from HPSeKS increased higher (p < 0.05) GSH-Px activity when compared to Se from sodium selenite and Se-enriched yeast. The results indicated that the efficacy of Se from HPSeKS was comparable in increasing tissue Se concentration, but higher in improving GSH-Px activity in Rbc when compared to those of Se from Se-enriched yeast.

  1. Uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-01-01

    GAO was asked to address several questions concerning a number of proposed uranium enrichment bills introduced during the 100th Congress. The bill would have restructured the Department of Energy's uranium enrichment program as a government corporation to allow it to compete more effectively in the domestic and international markets. Some of GAO's findings discussed are: uranium market experts believe and existing market models show that the proposed DOE purchase of a $750 million of uranium from domestic producers may not significantly increase production because of large producer-held inventories; excess uranium enrichment production capacity exists throughout the world; therefore, foreign producers are expected to compete heavily in the United States throughout the 1990s as utilities' contracts with DOE expire; and according to a 1988 agreement between DOE's Offices of Nuclear Energy and Defense Programs, enrichment decommissioning costs, estimated to total $3.6 billion for planning purposes, will be shared by the commercial enrichment program and the government

  2. Isotope enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lydtin, H-J.; Wilden, R.J.; Severin, P.J.W.

    1978-01-01

    The isotope enrichment method described is based on the recognition that, owing to mass diffusion and thermal diffusion in the conversion of substances at a heated substrate while depositing an element or compound onto the substrate, enrichment of the element, or a compound of the element, with a lighter isotope will occur. The cycle is repeated for as many times as is necessary to obtain the degree of enrichment required

  3. Phosphopeptide enrichment by immobilized metal affinity chromatography

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thingholm, Tine E.; Larsen, Martin R.

    2016-01-01

    Immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) has been the method of choice for phosphopeptide enrichment prior to mass spectrometric analysis for many years and it is still used extensively in many laboratories. Using the affinity of negatively charged phosphate groups towards positively...... charged metal ions such as Fe3+, Ga3+, Al3+, Zr4+, and Ti4+ has made it possible to enrich phosphorylated peptides from peptide samples. However, the selectivity of most of the metal ions is limited, when working with highly complex samples, e.g., whole-cell extracts, resulting in contamination from...

  4. Uranium enrichment: a competitive market in the future?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marques, Andre Ferreira; Honaiser, Eduardo Henrique Rangel [Centro Tecnologico da Marinha em Sao Paulo (CTMSP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)]. E-mail: 20-1@ctemsp.mar.mil.br

    2005-07-01

    Uranium enrichment is the costly step in the nuclear fuel cycle. It has born as a an activity for the military in the 40s, financed by governments, such as the United States (US) and the former Soviet Union. Later, other major nations have joined them in the nuclear weapons development. The activity of enrichment was done in each country that developed nuclear weapons, and the nuclear weapons countries, especially the US and Soviet Union, dictated the mined uranium market. In the 70s, with the growth of the commercial use of nuclear energy, uranium enrichment started to be treated as a market, which gradually have structured itself, strongly influenced by the historical background. Today, the market is an oligopoly of four major government-owned (or government-influenced) companies. In this paper, the trends in the enrichment market are identified, focusing on competitiveness. Through the conduction of a market analysis (past and future), and the study of the market structure evolution, a more competitive market is shown, but still influenced by the governmental participation. Competitiveness is dictated by government support, verticalization capacity, and, mainly by technological advantages. (author)

  5. Uranium enrichment: a competitive market in the future?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marques, Andre Ferreira; Honaiser, Eduardo Henrique Rangel

    2005-01-01

    Uranium enrichment is the costly step in the nuclear fuel cycle. It has born as a an activity for the military in the 40s, financed by governments, such as the United States (US) and the former Soviet Union. Later, other major nations have joined them in the nuclear weapons development. The activity of enrichment was done in each country that developed nuclear weapons, and the nuclear weapons countries, especially the US and Soviet Union, dictated the mined uranium market. In the 70s, with the growth of the commercial use of nuclear energy, uranium enrichment started to be treated as a market, which gradually have structured itself, strongly influenced by the historical background. Today, the market is an oligopoly of four major government-owned (or government-influenced) companies. In this paper, the trends in the enrichment market are identified, focusing on competitiveness. Through the conduction of a market analysis (past and future), and the study of the market structure evolution, a more competitive market is shown, but still influenced by the governmental participation. Competitiveness is dictated by government support, verticalization capacity, and, mainly by technological advantages. (author)

  6. Antioxidant activity and nutrient release from polyphenol-enriched cheese in a simulated gastrointestinal environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamothe, Sophie; Langlois, Ariane; Bazinet, Laurent; Couillard, Charles; Britten, Michel

    2016-03-01

    Green tea polyphenols are recognized for their antioxidant properties and their effects on lipid digestion kinetics. Polyphenols are sensitive to degradation in the intestinal environment. Interactions with dairy proteins could modulate the stability and biological activity of polyphenols during digestion. The objective of this study was to evaluate the release of nutrients (polyphenols, fatty acids and peptides) and the antioxidant activity in polyphenol-enriched cheese containing different levels of calcium in a simulated gastrointestinal environment. The relationship between cheese matrix texture, matrix degradation and nutrient release during digestion was also studied. Green tea extract was added to milk at 0% or 0.1%, and cheeses were produced on a laboratory scale. The level of available calcium was adjusted to low (Ca(low)), regular (Ca(reg)) or high (Ca(high)) during the salting step of the cheese-making process. Cheeses were subjected to simulated digestion. The rate and extent of fatty acid release were 21% lower for Ca(low) cheese than for Ca(reg) and Ca(high) cheeses. The greater adhesiveness of Ca(low) cheese, which resulted in lower rates of matrix degradation and proteolysis, contributed to the reduced rate of lipolysis. The presence of green tea extract in cheese reduced the release of free fatty acids at the end of digestion by 7%. The addition of green tea extract increased cheese hardness but did not influence matrix degradation or proteolysis profiles. The formation of complexes between tea polyphenols and proteins within the cheese matrix resulted in a more than twofold increase in polyphenol recovery in the intestinal phase compared with the control (tea polyphenol extract incubated with polyphenol-free cheese). Antioxidant activity was 14% higher in the digest from polyphenol-enriched cheese than in the control. These results suggest that cheese is an effective matrix for the controlled release of nutrients and for the protection of green

  7. Selenium-Enriched Foods Are More Effective at Increasing Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) Activity Compared with Selenomethionine: A Meta-Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bermingham, Emma N.; Hesketh, John E.; Sinclair, Bruce R.; Koolaard, John P.; Roy, Nicole C.

    2014-01-01

    Selenium may play a beneficial role in multi-factorial illnesses with genetic and environmental linkages via epigenetic regulation in part via glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity. A meta-analysis was undertaken to quantify the effects of dietary selenium supplementation on the activity of overall GPx activity in different tissues and animal species and to compare the effectiveness of different forms of dietary selenium. GPx activity response was affected by both the dose and form of selenium (p selenium supplementation on GPx activity (p selenium supply include red blood cells, kidney and muscle. The meta-analysis identified that for animal species selenium-enriched foods were more effective than selenomethionine at increasing GPx activity. PMID:25268836

  8. An investigation of the auditory perception of western lowland gorillas in an enrichment study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooker, Jake S

    2016-09-01

    Previous research has highlighted the varied effects of auditory enrichment on different captive animals. This study investigated how manipulating musical components can influence the behavior of a group of captive western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) at Bristol Zoo. The gorillas were observed during exposure to classical music, rock-and-roll music, and rainforest sounds. The two music conditions were modified to create five further conditions: unmanipulated, decreased pitch, increased pitch, decreased tempo, and increased tempo. We compared the prevalence of activity, anxiety, and social behaviors between the standard conditions. We also compared the prevalence of each of these behaviors across the manipulated conditions of each type of music independently and collectively. Control observations with no sound exposure were regularly scheduled between the observations of the 12 auditory conditions. The results suggest that naturalistic rainforest sounds had no influence on the anxiety of captive gorillas, contrary to past research. The tempo of music appears to be significantly associated with activity levels among this group, and social behavior may be affected by pitch. Low tempo music also may be effective at reducing anxiety behavior in captive gorillas. Regulated auditory enrichment may provide effective means of calming gorillas, or for facilitating active behavior. Zoo Biol. 35:398-408, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Environmental enrichment for a mixed-species nocturnal mammal exhibit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Fay E; Melfi, Vicky A

    2012-01-01

    Environmental enrichment (EE) is an integral aspect of modern zoo animal management but, empirical evaluation of it is biased toward species housed in single-species groups. Nocturnal houses, where several nocturnal species are housed together, are particularly overlooked. This study investigated whether three species (nine-banded armadillos, Dasypus novemcinctus; Senegal bush babies, Galago senegalensis; two-toed sloths, Choloepus didactylus) in the nocturnal house at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park, UK could be enriched using food-based and sensory EE. Subjects were an adult male and female of each species. EE was deemed effective if it promoted target species-typical behaviors, behavioral diversity, and increased use of enriched exhibit zones. Results from generalized linear mixed models demonstrated that food-based EE elicited the most positive behavioral effects across species. One set of food-based EEs (Kong®, termite mound and hanging food) presented together was associated with a significant increase in species-typical behaviors, increased behavioral diversity, and increased use of enriched exhibit zones in armadillos and bush babies. Although one type of sensory EE (scented pine cones) increased overall exhibit use in all species, the other (rainforest sounds) was linked to a significant decrease in species-typical behavior in bush babies and sloths. There were no intra or interspecies conflicts over EE, and commensalism occurred between armadillos and bush babies. Our data demonstrate that simple food-based and sensory EE can promote positive behavioral changes in a mixed-species nocturnal mammal exhibit. We suggest that both food and sensory EE presented concurrently will maximize opportunities for naturalistic activity in all species. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Antioxidant activity of oregano, parsley, and olive mill wastewaters in bulk oils and oil-in-water emulsions enriched in fish oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jimenez-Alvarez, D; Giuffrida, F; Golay, P A; Cotting, C; Lardeau, A; Keely, Brendan J

    2008-08-27

    The antioxidant activity of oregano, parsley, olive mill wastewaters (OMWW), Trolox, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) was evaluated in bulk oils and oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions enriched with 5% tuna oil by monitoring the formation of hydroperoxides, hexanal, and t-t-2,4-heptadienal in samples stored at 37 degrees C for 14 days. In bulk oil, the order of antioxidant activity was, in decreasing order (p oregano > parsley > EDTA > Trolox. The antioxidant activity in o/w emulsion followed the same order except that EDTA was as efficient an antioxidant as OMWW. In addition, the total phenolic content, the radical scavenging properties, the reducing capacity, and the iron chelating activity of OMWW, parsley, and oregano extracts were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteau, oxygen radical absorbance capacity, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and iron(II) chelating activity assays, respectively. The antioxidant activity of OMWW, parsley, and oregano in food systems was related to their total phenolic content and radical scavenging capacity but not to their ability to chelate iron in vitro. OMWW was identified as a promising source of antioxidants to retard lipid oxidation in fish oil-enriched food products.

  11. Review of environmental enrichment for broiler chickens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riber, A B; van de Weerd, H A; de Jong, I C; Steenfeldt, S

    2018-02-01

    Welfare problems are commonly found in both conventional and organic production of broiler chickens. In order to reduce the extent of welfare problems, it has been suggested to provide stimulating, enriched environments. The aim of the present paper is to provide a review of the effect on behavior and welfare of the different kinds of environmental enrichments in the production of broilers that have been described in the scientific literature. Environmental enrichment is defined as an improvement of the environment of captive animals, which increases the behavioral opportunities of the animal and leads to improvements of the biological function. This definition has been broadened to include practical and economic aspects, as any enrichment strategy that adversely affects the health of animals or that has too many economic or practical constraints will never be implemented on commercial farms and thus never benefit animals. Environmental enrichment for broilers often has the purpose of satisfying behavioral needs and/or stimulating the broilers to an increased level of activity, which among others will reduce the occurrence of leg problems. Potentially successful environmental enrichments for broiler chickens are elevated resting-places, panels, barriers, and bales of straw ("point-source enrichment"), as well as covered verandas and outdoor ranges ("complex enriched environments"). Many of the ideas for environmental enrichment for broilers need to be further developed and studied, preferably in commercial trials, with respect to the use, the effect on behavior and on other welfare aspects such as leg health, and the interaction with genotype, production system, stocking density, light, and flock size. In addition, information on the practical application and the economics of the production system is often lacking, although it is important for application in practice. © 2017 Poultry Science Association Inc.

  12. Antibacterial activity of the alkaloid-enriched extract from Prosopis juliflora pods and its influence on in vitro ruminal digestion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dos Santos, Edilene T; Pereira, Mara Lúcia A; da Silva, Camilla Flávia P G; Souza-Neta, Lourdes C; Geris, Regina; Martins, Dirceu; Santana, Antônio Euzébio G; Barbosa, Luiz Cláudio A; Silva, Herymá Giovane O; Freitas, Giovana C; Figueiredo, Mauro P; de Oliveira, Fernando F; Batista, Ronan

    2013-04-17

    The purpose of this study was to assess the in vitro antimicrobial activity of alkaloid-enriched extracts from Prosopis juliflora (Fabaceae) pods in order to evaluate them as feed additives for ruminants. As only the basic chloroformic extract (BCE), whose main constituents were juliprosopine (juliflorine), prosoflorine and juliprosine, showed Gram-positive antibacterial activity against Micrococcus luteus (MIC = 25 μg/mL), Staphylococcus aureus (MIC = 50 μg/mL) and Streptococcus mutans (MIC = 50 μg/mL), its influence on ruminal digestion was evaluated using a semi-automated in vitro gas production technique, with monensin as the positive control. Results showed that BCE has decreased gas production as efficiently as monensin after 36 h of fermentation, revealing its positive influence on gas production during ruminal digestion. Since P. juliflora is a very affordable plant, this study points out this alkaloid enriched extract from the pods of Prosopis juliflora as a potential feed additive to decrease gas production during ruminal digestion.

  13. New generation enrichment monitoring technology for gas centrifuge enrichment plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ianakiev, Kiril D.; Alexandrov, Boian S.; Boyer, Brian D.; Hill, Thomas R.; Macarthur, Duncan W.; Marks, Thomas; Moss, Calvin E.; Sheppard, Gregory A.; Swinhoe, Martyn T.

    2008-01-01

    The continuous enrichment monitor, developed and fielded in the 1990s by the International Atomic Energy Agency, provided a go-no-go capability to distinguish between UF 6 containing low enriched (approximately 4% 235 U) and highly enriched (above 20% 235 U) uranium. This instrument used the 22-keV line from a 109 Cd source as a transmission source to achieve a high sensitivity to the UF 6 gas absorption. The 1.27-yr half-life required that the source be periodically replaced and the instrument recalibrated. The instrument's functionality and accuracy were limited by the fact that measured gas density and gas pressure were treated as confidential facility information. The modern safeguarding of a gas centrifuge enrichment plant producing low-enriched UF 6 product aims toward a more quantitative flow and enrichment monitoring concept that sets new standards for accuracy stability, and confidence. An instrument must be accurate enough to detect the diversion of a significant quantity of material, have virtually zero false alarms, and protect the operator's proprietary process information. We discuss a new concept for advanced gas enrichment assay measurement technology. This design concept eliminates the need for the periodic replacement of a radioactive source as well as the need for maintenance by experts. Some initial experimental results will be presented.

  14. Gene-ontology enrichment analysis in two independent family-based samples highlights biologically plausible processes for autism spectrum disorders.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Anney, Richard J L

    2012-02-01

    Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have implicated a range of genes from discrete biological pathways in the aetiology of autism. However, despite the strong influence of genetic factors, association studies have yet to identify statistically robust, replicated major effect genes or SNPs. We apply the principle of the SNP ratio test methodology described by O\\'Dushlaine et al to over 2100 families from the Autism Genome Project (AGP). Using a two-stage design we examine association enrichment in 5955 unique gene-ontology classifications across four groupings based on two phenotypic and two ancestral classifications. Based on estimates from simulation we identify excess of association enrichment across all analyses. We observe enrichment in association for sets of genes involved in diverse biological processes, including pyruvate metabolism, transcription factor activation, cell-signalling and cell-cycle regulation. Both genes and processes that show enrichment have previously been examined in autistic disorders and offer biologically plausibility to these findings.

  15. Glutamine-enriched enteral diet increases splanchnic blood flow in the rat

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Houdijk, A. P.; van Leeuwen, P. A.; Boermeester, M. A.; van Lambalgen, T.; Teerlink, T.; FLINKERBUSCH, E. L.; Sauerwein, H. P.; Wesdorp, R. I.

    1994-01-01

    The hemodynamic consequences of glutamine (Gln)-enriched nutrition have not been investigated. This study investigates the effects of a Gln-enriched enteral diet on organ blood flows and systemic hemodynamics. Male Fischer 344 rats (n = 24) were randomized to a group that received a 12.5% (wt/wt)

  16. Antimicrobial Activity of Chitosan Film Forming Solution Enriched with Essential Oils; an in Vitro Assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raphaël, Kana Jean; Meimandipour, Amir

    2017-01-01

    Background: The resistance of the bacteria and fungi to the innumerous antimicrobial agents is a major challenge in the treatment of the infections demands to the necessity for searching and finding new sources of substances with antimicrobial properties. The incorporation of the essential oils (EOs) in chitosan film forming solution may enhance antimicrobial properties. However, its use as the feeding additive in the poultry nutrition needs to clarify the product's activity against both pathogen and the useful microbes in the gastrointestinal tract. Objectives: In the present study, we carried out an in vitro investigation and evaluated the antimicrobial activity of chitosan film forming solution incorporated with essential oils (CFs+EOs) against microbial strains including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus rahmnosus, Aspergillus niger and Alternaria alternate . Material and Methods: In three replicates, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of different treatments including: 1- essential oils (EOs), 2- chitosan film solution (CFs), and 3-chitosan film solution enriched with EOs (CFs+EOs) were determined against above mentioned microbes. Results: The results indicated that the chitosan solution enriched with essential oils (CFs+EOs) is capable of inhibiting the bacterial and fungal growth even at the lowest concentrations. The MIC and MBC for all the antimicrobial agents against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were very low compared to the concentrations needed to inhibit the growth of useful bacteria, Lactobacillus rahmnosu and Enterococcus faecium . The antifungal activity of chitosan was enhanced as the concentration of EOs increased in the film solution. Conclusion: Chitosan-EOs complexes are the promising candidate for novel contact antimicrobial agents that can be used in animal feeds.

  17. Far-red enrichment and photosynthetically active radiation level influence leaf senescence in field-grown sunflower

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rousseaux, M.C.; Hall, A.J.; Sánchez, R.A.

    1996-01-01

    Basal leaves frequently senesce before anthesis in high population density crops. This paper evaluates the hypothesis that quantitative and qualitative changes in the light environment associated with a high leaf area index (LAI) trigger leaf senescence in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) canopies. Mean leaf duration (LD, time from achievement of maximum leaf area) of leaf 8 was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced from 51 to 19 days as crop population density was increased from 0.47 to 4.76 plants m−2. High compared to low plant population density was associated with earlier reduction in the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and red/far-red ratio (R/FR) reaching the target leaf. However the changes in R/FR preceded those in PAR. When the light environment of individual leaves of isolated plants growing under field conditions was manipulated using filters and FR-reflecting mirrors, LD was positively and linearly related with the mean daily PAR (MDR) received in the FR- (no FR enrichment) treatments. FR enrichment of light reaching the abaxial surface of the leaf significantly (P < 0.05) reduced LD by 9 days at intermediate PAR levels with respect to FR-controls, but did not affect LD at the maximum PAR used in these experiments. However, when light reaching both leaf surfaces was enriched with FR, LD (for leaves receiving maximum PAR) was 13 days shorter than that of the FR- control. These results show that basal leaf senescence in sunflower is enhanced both by a decrease in PAR and by a decrease in R/FR. (author)

  18. Environmental Development Plan: uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-09-01

    This Environmental Development Plan identifies and examines the environmental, health, safety, and socioeconomic concerns and corresponding requirements associated with the DOE research, development, demonstration, and operation of the Uranium Enrichment program, including the gaseous diffusion process, the centrifuge process, centrifuge rotor fabrication, and related research and development activities

  19. Prenatal nutritional manipulation by in ovo enrichment influences bone structure, composition, and mechanical properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yair, R; Shahar, R; Uni, Z

    2013-06-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the effect of embryonic nutritional enrichment on the development and properties of broiler leg bones (tibia and femur) from the prenatal period until maturity. To accomplish the objective, 300 eggs were divided into 2 groups: a noninjected group (control) and a group injected in ovo with a solution containing minerals, vitamins, and carbohydrates (enriched). Tibia and femur from both legs were harvested from chicks on embryonic days 19 (E19) and 21 (E21) and d 3, 7, 14, 28, and 54 posthatch (n = 8). The bones were mechanically tested (stiffness, maximal load, and work to fracture) and scanned in a micro-computed tomography (μCT) scanner to examine the structural properties of the cortical [cortical area, medullary area, cortical thickness, and maximal moment of inertia (Imax)] and trabecular (bone volume percent, trabecular thickness, and trabecular number) areas. To examine bone mineralization, bone mineral density (BMD) of the cortical area was obtained from the μCT scans, and bones were analyzed for the ash and mineral content. The results showed improved mechanical properties of the enriched group between E19 and d 3 and on d 14 (P bones), greater femoral cortical area on d 3, and greater Imax of both bones on d 14 (P bone trabecular architecture were that the enriched group had greater bone volume percent and trabecular thickness in the tibia on d 7 and the femur on d 28 (P mineralization between E19 and d 54 showed improved mineralization in the enriched group on E19 whereas on d 3 and 7, the control group showed a mineralization advantage, and on d 28 and 54, the enriched group showed again greater mineralization (P bone properties pre- and postnatally and showed that avian embryos are a good model for studying the effect of embryonic nutrition on natal and postnatal development. Most importantly, the enrichment led to improved mechanical properties until d 14 (roughly third of the lifespan of the bird), a big

  20. Uranium enrichment plans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, D.C.; Gagne, R.W.

    1978-01-01

    The following topics are covered: the status of the Government's existing uranium enrichment services contracts, natural uranium requirements based on the latest contract information, uncertainty in predicting natural uranium requirements based on uranium enrichment contracts, and domestic and foreign demand assumed in enrichment planning

  1. N2O-reducing activity of soil amended with organic and inorganic enrichments under flooded conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alicja Księżopolska

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Changes, apparent after investigation, in the physical and chemical properties in soil, as a result of organic and inorganic enrichments under flooded conditions, influence the growth of denitrifiers. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the addition of manure (8 kg m−2 (M, clay (50 kg m−2 (CL and lime (1.12 kg m−2 (Ca on the N2O-reducing activity (N2O-RA of sandy loam soil (clay content - 24 % in 0-20 cm, during NO3 reduction under flooding. The soil samples were taken from field plots after 3 years of enrichment with grass cultivation. The enrichments had a distinct effect on the N2O-RA and N2O-released, due to the change in pH, the porosity, and the sorptive properties of the soil. The pH had the greatest impact on the N2O-RA of the soil and ranged from 4.9 to 7.6. For actual denitrification to N2O-realized (aD-N2O, the maximum N2O-releasing (mcN2O-releasing followed the order: 1.36 for the M-treatment, 6.39 for the M+CL+Ca-treatment, 7.79 for the c-soil and 8.69 N2O-N mg kg−1 for the M+CL-treatment. For actual denitrification (aD, the mcN2O-releasing was followed the order: 10.37 for the M-treatment, 10.49 for the control soil, 14.60 for the M+CL+Ca-treatment and 20.00 N2O-N mg kg−1 for the M+CL-treatment. The N2O-RA of the soil samples increased as pH increased. The average N2O/N2+N2O ratio and the N2O-RA of the soil samples increased in the following order: M+CL, control soil, M+CL+Ca, M-enrichments. The addition of enrichments did not pose a threat to the environment due to increased N2O emissions, but as regards conserving NO3− in the soil, the addition of clay distinctly increased the complete denitrification process.

  2. Antibacterial Activity of the Alkaloid-Enriched Extract from Prosopis juliflora Pods and Its Influence on in Vitro Ruminal Digestion

    OpenAIRE

    Santos, Edilene dos; Pereira, Mara; Silva, Camilla da; Souza-Neta, Lourdes; Geris, Regina; Martins, Dirceu; Santana, Antônio; Barbosa, Luiz; Silva, Herymá; Freitas, Giovana; Figueiredo, Mauro; Oliveira, Fernando de; Batista, Ronan

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the in vitro antimicrobial activity of alkaloid-enriched extracts from Prosopis juliflora (Fabaceae) pods in order to evaluate them as feed additives for ruminants. As only the basic chloroformic extract (BCE), whose main constituents were juliprosopine (juliflorine), prosoflorine and juliprosine, showed Gram-positive antibacterial activity against Micrococcus luteus (MIC = 25 μg/mL), Staphylococcus aureus (MIC = 50 μg/mL) and Streptococcus mutans (MIC ...

  3. INSIGHTS INTO PRE-ENRICHMENT OF STAR CLUSTERS AND SELF-ENRICHMENT OF DWARF GALAXIES FROM THEIR INTRINSIC METALLICITY DISPERSIONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leaman, Ryan

    2012-01-01

    Star clusters are known to have smaller intrinsic metallicity spreads than dwarf galaxies due to their shorter star formation timescales. Here we use individual spectroscopic [Fe/H] measurements of stars in 19 Local Group dwarf galaxies, 13 Galactic open clusters, and 49 globular clusters to show that star cluster and dwarf galaxy linear metallicity distributions are binomial in form, with all objects showing strong correlations between their mean linear metallicity Z-bar and intrinsic spread in metallicity σ(Z) 2 . A plot of σ(Z) 2 versus Z-bar shows that the correlated relationships are offset for the dwarf galaxies from the star clusters. The common binomial nature of these linear metallicity distributions can be explained with a simple inhomogeneous chemical evolution model, where the star cluster and dwarf galaxy behavior in the σ(Z) 2 - Z-bar diagram is reproduced in terms of the number of enrichment events, covering fraction, and intrinsic size of the enriched regions. The inhomogeneity of the self-enrichment sets the slope for the observed dwarf galaxy σ(Z) 2 - Z-bar correlation. The offset of the star cluster sequence from that of the dwarf galaxies is due to pre-enrichment, and the slope of the star cluster sequence represents the remnant signature of the self-enriched history of their host galaxies. The offset can be used to separate star clusters from dwarf galaxies without a priori knowledge of their luminosity or dynamical mass. The application of the inhomogeneous model to the σ(Z) 2 - Z-bar relationship provides a numerical formalism to connect the self-enrichment and pre-enrichment between star clusters and dwarf galaxies using physically motivated chemical enrichment parameters. Therefore we suggest that the σ(Z) 2 - Z-bar relationship can provide insight into what drives the efficiency of star formation and chemical evolution in galaxies, and is an important prediction for galaxy simulation models to reproduce.

  4. Other enrichment related contracts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hall, J.C.

    1978-01-01

    In addition to long-term enrichment contracts, DOE has other types of contracts: (1) short-term, fixed-commitment enrichment contract; (2) emergency sales agreement for enriched uranium; (3) feed material lease agreement; (4) enriched uranium storage agreement; and (5) feed material usage agreement

  5. Morning and Evening Blue-Enriched Light Exposure Alters Metabolic Function in Normal Weight Adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivy N Cheung

    Full Text Available Increasing evidence points to associations between light-dark exposure patterns, feeding behavior, and metabolism. This study aimed to determine the acute effects of 3 hours of morning versus evening blue-enriched light exposure compared to dim light on hunger, metabolic function, and physiological arousal. Nineteen healthy adults completed this 4-day inpatient protocol under dim light conditions (<20lux. Participants were randomized to 3 hours of blue-enriched light exposure on Day 3 starting either 0.5 hours after wake (n = 9; morning group or 10.5 hours after wake (n = 10; evening group. All participants remained in dim light on Day 2 to serve as their baseline. Subjective hunger and sleepiness scales were collected hourly. Blood was sampled at 30-minute intervals for 4 hours in association with the light exposure period for glucose, insulin, cortisol, leptin, and ghrelin. Homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR and area under the curve (AUC for insulin, glucose, HOMA-IR and cortisol were calculated. Comparisons relative to baseline were done using t-tests and repeated measures ANOVAs. In both the morning and evening groups, insulin total area, HOMA-IR, and HOMA-IR AUC were increased and subjective sleepiness was reduced with blue-enriched light compared to dim light. The evening group, but not the morning group, had significantly higher glucose peak value during blue-enriched light exposure compared to dim light. There were no other significant differences between the morning or the evening groups in response to blue-enriched light exposure. Blue-enriched light exposure acutely alters glucose metabolism and sleepiness, however the mechanisms behind this relationship and its impacts on hunger and appetite regulation remain unclear. These results provide further support for a role of environmental light exposure in the regulation of metabolism.

  6. An enriched rearing environment calms adult male rat sexual activity: implication for distinct serotonergic and hormonal responses to females.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susumu Urakawa

    Full Text Available Early life events induce alterations in neural function in adulthood. Although rearing in an enriched environment (EE has a great impact on behavioral development, the effects of enriched rearing on sociosexual behavior remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of rearing in an EE on male copulatory behavior and its underlying neurobiological mechanisms in Wistar-Imamichi rats. Three-week-old, recently weaned rats were continuously subjected to a standard environment (SE or an EE comprised of a large cage with several objects, such as toys, tunnels, ladders, and a running wheel. After 6 weeks, rats reared in an EE (EE rats showed decreased sexual activity compared with rats reared in a SE (SE rats. This included a lower number of ejaculations and longer latencies in three consecutive copulatory tests. In addition, EE rats showed decreased emotional responsiveness and less locomotor behavior in an open field. In a runway test, on the other hand, sexual motivation toward receptive females in EE males was comparable to that of SE males. Furthermore, following exposure to a female, increases in serotonin levels in the nucleus accumbens and the striatum were significantly suppressed in EE males, whereas dopaminergic responses were similar between the groups. Female-exposure-induced increases in the levels of plasma corticosterone and testosterone were also suppressed in EE rats compared to SE rats. These data suggest that rearing in an EE decreases male copulatory behavior, and serotonin and hormonal regulating systems may regulate the differences in sociosexual interactions that result from distinct rearing environments.

  7. Early social isolation impairs development, mate choice and grouping behaviour of predatory mites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schausberger, Peter; Gratzer, Marian; Strodl, Markus A

    2017-05-01

    The social environment early in life is a key determinant of developmental, physiological and behavioural trajectories across vertebrate and invertebrate animals. One crucial variable is the presence/absence of conspecifics. For animals usually reared in groups, social isolation after birth or hatching can be a highly stressful circumstance, with potentially long-lasting consequences. Here, we assessed the effects of social deprivation (isolation) early in life, that is, absence of conspecifics, versus social enrichment, that is, presence of conspecifics, on developmental time, body size at maturity, mating behaviour and group-living in the plant-inhabiting predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis . Socially deprived protonymphs developed more slowly and were less socially competent in grouping behaviour than socially enriched protonymphs. Compromised social competence in grouping behaviour was evident in decreased activity, fewer mutual encounters and larger interindividual distances, all of which may entail severe fitness costs. In female choice/male competition, socially deprived males mated earlier than socially enriched males; in male choice/female competition, socially deprived females were more likely to mate than socially enriched females. In neither mate choice situation did mating duration or body size at maturity differ between socially deprived and enriched mating opponents. Social isolation-induced shifts in mating behaviour may be interpreted as increased attractiveness or competitiveness or, more likely, as hastiness and reduced ability to assess mate quality. Overall, many of the social isolation-induced behavioural changes in P. persimilis are analogous to those observed in other animals such as cockroaches, fruit flies, fishes or rodents. We argue that, due to their profound and persistent effects, early social deprivation or enrichment may be important determinants in shaping animal personalities.

  8. The benefits of chess for the intellectual and social-emotional enrichment in schoolchildren.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aciego, Ramón; García, Lorena; Betancort, Moisés

    2012-07-01

    This paper examines the benefits of regularly playing chess for the intellectual and social-emotional enrichment of a group of 170 schoolchildren from 6-16 years old. It is based on a quasi-experimental design, where the independent variable was the extracurricular activity of chess (n = 170) versus extracurricular activities of soccer or basketball (n = 60). The dependent variable was intellectual and socio-affective competence, which was measured by an IQ test (WISC-R), a self-report test (TAMAI) and a hetero-report questionnaire (teacher-tutor's criterion) applied at the beginning and the end of the academic year. In contrast to the comparison group, it was found that chess improves cognitive abilities, coping and problem-solving capacity, and even socioaffective development of children and adolescents who practice it. The results are modulated, particularly in the area socioaffective, by the personal profile of students who choose practice this activity.

  9. Searching for self-enrichment in Cygnus OB2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berlanas, Sara R.; Herrero, Artemio; Comerón, Fernando; Pasquali, Anna; Simón-Díaz, Sergio

    2017-11-01

    Cygnus OB2 is a rich and relatively close (d~1.4 kpc) OB association in our Galaxy. It represents an ideal testbed for our theories about self-enrichment processes produced by pollution of the interstellar medium by successive generations of massive stars. Comerón & Pasquali (2012, A&A, 543, A101) found a correlation between the age of young stellar groups in Cygnus OB2 and their Galactic longitude. If is associated with a chemical composition gradient, it could support these self-enrichment processes.

  10. Books to Expand and Enrich Experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winfield, Evelyn T.

    1983-01-01

    Books are briefly described that parents can read and discuss with their children to enrich travel and cultural activities. Books on the nation's capital city, the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty, architecture, zoos, dinosaurs, and other subjects are included. (PP)

  11. Method of deuterium isotope separation and enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benson, S.W.

    1980-01-01

    A method of deuterium isotope separation and enrichment using infrared laser technology in combination with chemical processes for treating and recycling the unreacted and deuterium-depleted starting materials is described. Organic molecules of the formula RX (where R is an ethyl, isopropyl, t-butyl, or cyclopentenyl group and X is F, Cl, Br or OH) containing a normal abundance of hydrogen and deuterium are exposed to intense laser infrared radiation. An olefin containing deuterium (olefin D) will be formed, along with HX. The enriched olefin D can be stripped from the depleted stream of RX and HX, and can be burned to form enriched water or pyrolyzed to produce hydrogen gas with elevated deuterium content. The depleted RX is decomposed to olefins and RX, catalytically exchanged with normal water to restore the deuterium content to natural levels, and recombined to form RX which can be recycled. (LL)

  12. Growth and characterization of isotopically enriched 70Ge and 74Ge single crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Itoh, K.

    1992-10-01

    Isotopically enriched 70 Ge and 74 Ge single crystals were successfully gown by a newly developed vertical Bridgman method. The system allows us to reliably grow high purity Ge single crystals of approximately 1 cm 3 volume. To our knowledge, we have grown the first 70 Ge single crystal. The electrically active chemical impurity concentration for both crystals was found to be ∼2 x cm -3 which is two order of magnitude better that of 74 Ge crystals previously grown by two different groups. Isotopic enrichment of the 70 Ge and the 74 Ge crystals is 96.3% and 96.8%, respectively. The residual chemical impurities present in both crystals were identified as phosphorus, copper, aluminum, and indium. A wide variety of experiments which take advantage of the isotopic purity of our crystals are discussed

  13. Adsorption of volatile sulphur compounds onto modified activated carbons: Effect of oxygen functional groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vega, Esther; Lemus, Jesús; Anfruns, Alba; Gonzalez-Olmos, Rafael; Palomar, José; Martin, María J.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • HNO 3 oxidation incorporates a higher amount of functionalities than O 3 oxidation. • The loss of porosity is compensated by the massive incorporation of oxygen groups. • HNO 3 oxidation increases OH groups in AC and the ETM and DMS adsorption capacities. • The oxygen functional groups in the AC surface did not affect the DMDS adsorption. • COSMO-RS predicts the important role of OH groups for VSC adsorption. -- Abstract: The effect of physical and chemical properties of activated carbon (AC) on the adsorption of ethyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulphide and dimethyl disulphide was investigated by treating a commercial AC with nitric acid and ozone. The chemical properties of ACs were characterised by temperature programme desorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. AC treated with nitric acid presented a larger amount of oxygen functional groups than materials oxidised with ozone. This enrichment allowed a significant improvement on adsorption capacities for ethyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulphide but not for dimethyl disulphide. In order to gain a deeper knowledge on the effect of the surface chemistry of AC on the adsorption of volatile sulphur compounds, the quantum-chemical COSMO-RS method was used to simulate the interactions between AC surface groups and the studied volatile sulphur compounds. In agreement with experimental data, this model predicted a greater affinity of dimethyl disulphide towards AC, unaffected by the incorporation of oxygen functional groups in the surface. Moreover, the model pointed out to an increase of the adsorption capacity of AC by the incorporation of hydroxyl functional groups in the case of ethyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulphide due to the hydrogen bond interactions

  14. Adsorption of volatile sulphur compounds onto modified activated carbons: Effect of oxygen functional groups

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vega, Esther, E-mail: esther@lequia.udg.cat [LEQUIA, Institute of the Environment, University of Girona, Campus Montilivi, Girona, Catalonia E-17071 (Spain); Lemus, Jesús [Universidad de Madrid, Sección de Ingeniería Química, Cantoblanco, Madrid E-28049 (Spain); Anfruns, Alba; Gonzalez-Olmos, Rafael [LEQUIA, Institute of the Environment, University of Girona, Campus Montilivi, Girona, Catalonia E-17071 (Spain); Palomar, José [Universidad de Madrid, Sección de Ingeniería Química, Cantoblanco, Madrid E-28049 (Spain); Martin, María J. [LEQUIA, Institute of the Environment, University of Girona, Campus Montilivi, Girona, Catalonia E-17071 (Spain)

    2013-08-15

    Highlights: • HNO{sub 3} oxidation incorporates a higher amount of functionalities than O{sub 3} oxidation. • The loss of porosity is compensated by the massive incorporation of oxygen groups. • HNO{sub 3} oxidation increases OH groups in AC and the ETM and DMS adsorption capacities. • The oxygen functional groups in the AC surface did not affect the DMDS adsorption. • COSMO-RS predicts the important role of OH groups for VSC adsorption. -- Abstract: The effect of physical and chemical properties of activated carbon (AC) on the adsorption of ethyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulphide and dimethyl disulphide was investigated by treating a commercial AC with nitric acid and ozone. The chemical properties of ACs were characterised by temperature programme desorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. AC treated with nitric acid presented a larger amount of oxygen functional groups than materials oxidised with ozone. This enrichment allowed a significant improvement on adsorption capacities for ethyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulphide but not for dimethyl disulphide. In order to gain a deeper knowledge on the effect of the surface chemistry of AC on the adsorption of volatile sulphur compounds, the quantum-chemical COSMO-RS method was used to simulate the interactions between AC surface groups and the studied volatile sulphur compounds. In agreement with experimental data, this model predicted a greater affinity of dimethyl disulphide towards AC, unaffected by the incorporation of oxygen functional groups in the surface. Moreover, the model pointed out to an increase of the adsorption capacity of AC by the incorporation of hydroxyl functional groups in the case of ethyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulphide due to the hydrogen bond interactions.

  15. Effects of nitrogen enrichment on phosphatase activity and nitrogen : phosphorus relationships in Cladonia portentosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogan, E J; Minnullina, G; Smith, R I; Crittenden, P D

    2010-06-01

    *Relationships between nitrogen deposition in the UK and phosphomonoesterase (PME) activity and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in Cladonia portentosa were quantified to understand factors limiting lichen growth and to further develop biomarkers for N pollution. *Lichen was collected from sites differing either in rates of wet N (NH(4)(+) + NO(3)(-)) deposition or in annual mean N concentration in rainfall based on both measured and modelled data sets. The PME activity, and total N and P concentrations were measured in specific horizontal strata in lichen mats and PME activity in the thallus was located using an enzyme-labelled fluorescent phosphatase substrate. *With an increase in modelled N deposition from 4.1 to 32.8 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1), PME activity, thallus N and N : P ratio increased by factors of 2.3, 1.4 and 1.8, respectively. Correlations with modelled data were generally stronger than with measured data and those with N deposition were stronger than those with N concentration in rainfall. The PME activity was located solely in the lichen fungus in outer regions of the thallus. *Nitrogen enrichment changes lichen N : P ratios from values typical of N limitation (for example, 10) to those indicative of P limitation (for example, 26) driving upregulation of PME activity.

  16. The influence of enriched environment on spatial memory in Swiss mice of different ages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandra Fernandes Druzian

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of enriched environment on spatial memory acquisition in mice of three different age groups. Weanling, young, and young adult female Swiss mice were housed in a standard control or enriched environment for 50 days, and their spatial memory was tested with the Morris Water Maze. We did not observe an experimental effect for spatial memory acquisition, and there was neither an effect of time of analysis nor an interaction between experimental group and time of analysis. Regarding effects of experimental group and training day in relation to latency in finding the hidden platform, we did find an effect in the experimental young adult mice group (p = 0.027, but there was no interaction between these factors in all three groups. Based on these findings environmental enrichment did not enhance spatial memory acquisition in female Swiss mice in the tested age groups.

  17. Mass-invariance of the iron enrichment in the hot haloes of massive ellipticals, groups, and clusters of galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mernier, F.; de Plaa, J.; Werner, N.; Kaastra, J. S.; Raassen, A. J. J.; Gu, L.; Mao, J.; Urdampilleta, I.; Truong, N.; Simionescu, A.

    2018-05-01

    X-ray measurements find systematically lower Fe abundances in the X-ray emitting haloes pervading groups (kT ≲ 1.7 keV) than in clusters of galaxies. These results have been difficult to reconcile with theoretical predictions. However, models using incomplete atomic data or the assumption of isothermal plasmas may have biased the best fit Fe abundance in groups and giant elliptical galaxies low. In this work, we take advantage of a major update of the atomic code in the spectral fitting package SPEX to re-evaluate the Fe abundance in 43 clusters, groups, and elliptical galaxies (the CHEERS sample) in a self-consistent analysis and within a common radius of 0.1r500. For the first time, we report a remarkably similar average Fe enrichment in all these systems. Unlike previous results, this strongly suggests that metals are synthesised and transported in these haloes with the same average efficiency across two orders of magnitude in total mass. We show that the previous metallicity measurements in low temperature systems were biased low due to incomplete atomic data in the spectral fitting codes. The reasons for such a code-related Fe bias, also implying previously unconsidered biases in the emission measure and temperature structure, are discussed.

  18. Central fuel banking to reduce the number of proliferation sensitive enrichment activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cserhati, A.

    2008-01-01

    Central fuel banking is a complex international political, economic and technical concept that aims to reduce uncontrolled spreading of uranium enrichment technology in the world in order to prevent proliferation of nuclear weapons. This paper first gives an outline of the notions: 'non-proliferation', the 'front-end' of the fuel cycle, the scope of fuel baking, nuclear fuel and the 60 years of enrichment technology. Enrichment technology is highly concentrated in the nuclear weapon states and other developed countries, but this is not exclusive any more. The technology is spreading. The global demand for enrichment services - parallel to massive nuclear investments in the civil sector and the ageing of older facilities - is constantly growing. Proliferation sensitivity calls for an effective and comprehensive non-proliferation regime. The solution may be multilateralizing the nuclear fuel cycle. After a historical overview, the proposals on multilateral nuclear approaches are presented. The assessment of the proposals is complex in the dimensions of: the non-proliferation aim, the assurance of supply aspect and other variables such as legal issues and non-nuclear inducements. A general evaluation and the recommendations of the Expert Panel of the IAEA are introduced outlining a plan on a middle- and long-term basis. The conclusion of the paper stresses the importance and challenge in finding the 'new balance' between obligations and interests of the members of the global community stating that the answers will have a significant impact on the nuclear indus- try, world wide economics and security policy. (orig.)

  19. Activity-associated miRNA are packaged in Map1b-enriched exosomes released from depolarized neurons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldie, Belinda J; Dun, Matthew D; Lin, Minjie; Smith, Nathan D; Verrills, Nicole M; Dayas, Christopher V; Cairns, Murray J

    2014-08-01

    Rapid input-restricted change in gene expression is an important aspect of synaptic plasticity requiring complex mechanisms of post-transcriptional mRNA trafficking and regulation. Small non-coding miRNA are uniquely poised to support these functions by providing a nucleic-acid-based specificity component for universal-sequence-dependent RNA binding complexes. We investigated the subcellular distribution of these molecules in resting and potassium chloride depolarized human neuroblasts, and found both selective enrichment and depletion in neurites. Depolarization was associated with a neurite-restricted decrease in miRNA expression; a subset of these molecules was recovered from the depolarization medium in nuclease resistant extracellular exosomes. These vesicles were enriched with primate specific miRNA and the synaptic-plasticity-associated protein MAP1b. These findings further support a role for miRNA as neural plasticity regulators, as they are compartmentalized in neurons and undergo activity-associated redistribution or release into the extracellular matrix. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  20. Comments on applications of reduced enrichment fuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winkler, M.H.

    1983-01-01

    Full text: I will briefly describe the experience gained using different fuels in the SAPHIR reactor in Switzerland. The SAPHIR has been operating since 1957 and was the first swimming pool reactor built outside of the United States, which was originally known as the Geneva Conference Reactor. The first core was loaded with 20 percent enriched high density UO 2 fuel with a density of about 2.5 grams per cc, fabricated in 1955 by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After a few years of operation at a power level of one MW, more than one batch of the elements released small amounts of fission products mainly Xe and Kr. When these releases were discovered, high enriched fuel was becoming available so that the fuel fabricators began to produce the lower density high enriched fuels. During this transition from fabrication of low to high enriched fuels no one could foresee that the stone age of nuclear fuel fabrication would come back again. Therefore, we did not investigate the reasons for the fission product release from the high density low enriched UO 2 fuel. The second fuel type used in the SAPHIR was the 90 percent enriched low density U 3 O 8 fuel fabricated by NUKEM. This high enriched fuel has performed satisfactorily over the years. Since 1968, the core has been using improved 23 plate fuel elements with a loading of 280 grams of uranium. The reactor power has been recently increased to five MW. An additional increase in the power level to 10 MW is planned at the end of next year so that heavier loaded elements will be needed. In order to follow the recommendations of the INFCE working group 8C and in cooperation with the reduced enrichment program, we intend to initially reduce the fuel enrichment to 45 percent. Last year we ordered five fuel elements with a loading of 320 grams 235 U/element and 45 percent enrichment for full power tests. Unfortunately, the delivery of the necessary enriched fuel uranium has been delayed and it is not available at this time. If

  1. Electrically Cooled Germanium System for Measurements of Uranium Enrichments in UF6 Cylinders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dvornyak, P.; Koestlbauer, M.; Lebrun, A.; Murray, M.; Nizhnik, V.; Saidler, C.; Twomey, T.

    2010-01-01

    Measurements of Uranium enrichment in UF6 cylinders is a significant part of the IAEA Safeguards verification activities at enrichment and conversion plants. Nowadays, one of the main tools for verification of Uranium enrichment in UF6 cylinders used by Safeguards inspectors is the gamma spectroscopy system with HPGe detector cooled with liquid nitrogen. Electrically Cooled Germanium System (ECGS) is a new compact and portable high resolution gamma spectrometric system free from liquid nitrogen cooling, which can be used for the same safeguards applications. It consists of the ORTEC Micro-trans-SPEC HPGe Portable Spectrometer, a special tungsten collimator and UF6 enrichment measurement software. The enrichment of uranium is determined by of quantifying the area of the 185.7 keV peak provided that the measurement is performed with a detector viewing an infinite thickness of material. Prior starting the verification of uranium enrichment at the facility, the ECGS has to be calibrated with a sample of known uranium enrichment, material matrix, container wall thickness and container material. Evaluation of the ECGS capabilities was performed by carrying out a field test on actual enrichment verification of uranium in UF6 cylinder or other forms of uranium under infinite thickness conditions. The results of these evaluations allow to say that the use of ECGS will enhance practicality of the enrichment measurements and support unannounced inspection activities at enrichment and conversion plants. (author)

  2. Uranium Enrichment, an overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coates, J.H.

    1994-01-01

    This general presentation on uranium enrichment will be followed by lectures on more specific topics including descriptions of enrichment processes and assessments of the prevailing commercial and industrial situations. I shall therefore avoid as much as possible duplications with these other lectures, and rather dwell on: some theoretical aspects of enrichment in general, underlying the differences between statistical and selective processes, a review and comparison between enrichment processes, remarks of general order regarding applications, the proliferation potential of enrichment. It is noteworthy that enrichment: may occur twice in the LWR fuel cycle: first by enriching natural uranium, second by reenriching uranium recovered from reprocessing, must meet LWR requirements, and in particular higher assays required by high burn up fuel elements, bears on the structure of the entire front part of the fuel cycle, namely in the conversion/reconversion steps only involving UF 6 for the moment. (author). tabs., figs., 4 refs

  3. Uranium enrichment by centrifuge in Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watanabe, T.; Murase, T.

    1977-01-01

    The demand for enriched uranium is on the increase with nuclear power capacity in which the LWR predominates and is estimated to exceed the supply from the present facilities in the world in less than ten years. Therefore, the basic strategy for enriched uranium is investigated on the following three-point long-range program in Japan: 1. To continue negotiations to extend the current allocation by the long-term contract; 2. To seek active participation in international enrichment projects; and 3. To make efforts to develop uranium enrichment technology and to construct inland facilities. On this basis, a vigorous development program of gas centrigue process for industrialization was launched out in 1972 as a national project. Ever since substantial progress in this field has been made and development works have been increased year after year. At present, a concrete plan of a pilot plant is taking shape. Up to now, several types of centrifuges were developed, of which some were completed as prototype models, and subjected to life tests and also to extensive earthquake-resistivity tests for the characteristics of Japanese geological condition. An enrichment plant is composed of so many centrifuges that the installation and piping system of centrifuges is an important factor which has an effect on plant economy and reliability. Two types of the experimental cascade were constructed in Japan. One has been in operation since 1973, and the other since 1975. Valuable empirical data have been accumulated on cascade characteristics, maintenance scheme and so on. It will be important for the coming plants to have a flexibility to escalation of labor and energy cost, or to variation of the separative work requirement and further. An economic prospect of centrifuge enrichment process is presented

  4. Platinum-group element mineralization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gruenewaldt, G.

    1985-01-01

    The purpose of this investigation is to determine the geological processes responsible for the abnormal enrichment of the platinum-group elements (PGE) in the mineralized layers of the Bushveld Complex. Questions asked are: what processes caused enrichment of the Bushveld magma in the PGE ; by what processes were these PGE concentrated in the mineralized layers ; was contamination of the Bushveld magma from external sources important in the formation of the PGE enriched layers ; what are the effects of fractional crystallization on the PGE ratios

  5. Knowledge, perceptions and preferences of elderly regarding protein-enriched functional food.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Zanden, Lotte D T; van Kleef, Ellen; de Wijk, René A; van Trijp, Hans C M

    2014-09-01

    Promoting protein consumption in the elderly population may contribute to improving the quality of their later years in life. Our study aimed to explore knowledge, perceptions and preferences of elderly consumers regarding protein-enriched food. We conducted three focus groups with independently living (ID) elderly (N = 24, Mage = 67 years) and three with elderly living in a residential home (RH) (N = 18, Mage = 83 years). Both the ID and RH elderly were predominantly sceptical about functional food in general. Confusion, distrust and a perceived lack of personal relevance were main perceived barriers to purchasing and consuming these products, although a majority of the participants did report occasionally consuming at least one type of functional food. For the ID elderly, medical advice was an important facilitator that could overcome barriers to purchasing and consuming protein-enriched food, indicating the importance of personal relevance for this group. For the RH elderly, in contrast, sensory appeal of protein-enriched foods was a facilitator. Carrier preferences were similar for the two groups; the elderly preferred protein-enriched foods based on healthy products that they consumed frequently. Future studies should explore ways to deal with the confusion and distrust regarding functional food within the heterogeneous population of elderly. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohrhauer, H.

    1982-01-01

    The separation of uranium isotopes in order to enrich the fuel for light water reactors with the light isotope U-235 is an important part of the nuclear fuel cycle. After the basic principals of isotope separation the gaseous diffusion and the centrifuge process are explained. Both these techniques are employed on an industrial scale. In addition a short review is given on other enrichment techniques which have been demonstrated at least on a laboratory scale. After some remarks on the present situation on the enrichment market the progress in the development and the industrial exploitation of the gas centrifuge process by the trinational Urenco-Centec organisation is presented. (orig.)

  7. The world enrichment market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gunter, L.; McCants, C.; Rutkowski, E.

    1991-01-01

    The enrichment market can be divided into two periods: the near-term market (1991 to 1995) and the long-term market (1995 and beyond). The near-term market is characterized by limited unfilled requirements of 4% per year, to be supplied by national stockpiles and excess inventories. This low-cost material will be drawn down by about 1993, causing a subsequent price rise. As the price rises, primary supplier activity is expected to increase. In the near-term, two contracting activities are apparent: spot; and intermediate-term. The current spot market is expected to last until available low cost inventories are drawn down. Recently, in attempts to gain market share, suppliers have offered attractively priced intermediate-term (3 year) contracts for 1996 to 1998. While a small spot market will continue after 1995, it is anticipated that utilities will prefer a mix of medium- and long-term (5 to 10 year) contracts from primary suppliers for most of their enrichment requirements. As national stockpiles and utility inventories are consumed, low-cost supply available to the spot market is expected to diminish. Consequently, with little low-cost supply available, the only apparent source of material will be from primary suppliers, and the resulting competition over market share is expected to be intense. (author)

  8. Blueprint for domestic uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-01-01

    The AEC advisory committee on domestic production of uranium enrichment has studied for more than a year how to achieve the domestic enrichment of uranium by the construction and operation of a commercial enriching plant using centrifugal separation method, and the report was submitted to the Atomic Energy Commission on August 18, 1980. Japan has depended wholly on overseas services for her uranium enrichment needs, but the development of domestic enrichment has been carried on in parallel. The AEC decided to construct a uranium enrichment pilot plant using centrifuges, and it has been forwarded as a national project. The plant is operated by the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp. since 1979. The capacity of the plant will be raised to approximately 75 ton SWU a year. The centrifuges already operated have provided the first delivery of fuel of about 1 ton for the ATR ''Fugen''. The demand-supply balance of uranium enrichment service, the significance of the domestic enrichment of uranium, the evaluation of uranium enrichment technology, the target for domestic enrichment plan, the measures to promote domestic uranium enrichment, and the promotion of the construction of a demonstration plant are reported. (Kako, I.)

  9. Functional properties of pasta enriched with variable cereal brans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaur, Gurkirat; Sharma, Savita; Nagi, H P S; Dar, Basharat N

    2012-08-01

    To explore the potentiality of cereal brans for preparation of fiber enriched pasta, various cereal brans (Wheat, Rice, Barley and Oat) were added at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 per cent to durum wheat semolina. The effect of cereal bran enrichment on the colour, cooking, sensory quality and shelf life of enriched pasta was assessed at ambient temperature. Pasta prepared with added fiber at 25 per cent level had the highest protein and dietary fiber content as compared to control. Enrichment with variable fiber sources improved the brightness of pasta, as colour of pasta enhanced significantly. Addition of cereal brans resulted an increase in the water absorption and cooking losses of pasta. This effect was dependent on the level and type of cereal brans. Significant correlation (r = 0.80) was obtained between water absorption and volume expansion in all types of bran enriched pasta. At 25 per cent level of supplementation, maximum solids were leached into cooking water. Bran enriched pasta required less cooking time for complete gelatinization of starch. Increasing level of cereal brans had significantly affected the overall acceptability of enriched pasta. Cooking quality of pasta remained constant during storage. Non significant effect of storage was found on water activity, free fatty acids. Enriched pasta (15 per cent level of wheat, rice and oat bran and 10 per cent barley bran) was highly acceptable upto 4 months of storage with respect to quality.

  10. Radioactivity 85Kr in krypton enriched with light isotope

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuz'minov, V.V.; Novikov, V.M.; Pomanskij, A.A.

    1992-01-01

    85 Kr content in krypton enriched with 78 Kr is measured within the frames of experiment for search of binary position decay and conversion of atomic electron into 78 Kr. Voluminous activity in krypton enriched up to 98% 78 Kr equal to 0.206 -0.004 +0.001 Bq/L is obtained which is by 4000 less as compared to natural krypton. 7 refs.; 1 fig.; 1 tab

  11. [Evaluation of antioxidant properties of enriched bakery products in experiment on laboratory animals].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilova, L P; Pilipenko, T V

    2016-01-01

    The purpose was to study the effect of enriched bakery products in the diet of rats on indicators of prooxidant-antioxidant system of blood serum. Experiment was carried out on male Wistar rats with initial weight 140-180 g. After a quarantine during the preparatory period rats for 14 days were accustomed to the partial (50%) replacement of the standard diet by bakery products with standard compound­ing. Then, 7 groups of rats were formed: the 1st group of rats (control group, n=10) continued to receive bakery products of a standard composition; groups with the 2nd on 7th (experimental, n=8 in everyone) received enriched bakery products: the 2nd group - with blueberry powder; the 3rd group - with mountain ash powder; the 4th group - with sea-buckthorn powder; the 5th group - with flour of a pine nut; the 6th group - with rice bran oil; the 7th group - with pumpkin oil. The intensity of free radical oxidation and antioxidant activity (by chemiluminescence method), activity of superoxide dismutase and level of secondary oxidation products reacted with thiobarbituric acid (by spectrophotometry) were monitored in rat blood serum. It has been shown that the use of bakery products with different compounding in the animal diet had different effects on indicators of prooxidant-antioxidant system of blood serum. Bakery products containing sea buckthorn pomace powder, flour of pine nut and rice bran oil reduced intensity of free radical oxidation in rat blood serum by 36.0, 24.6 and 18.8%, respectively. It is suggested that bakery products containing flour of pine nut products brake a free radical oxidation in rat blood serum in case of simultaneous content of natural antioxidants and melanoidins. The anthocyanins of powder from blueberry berries can render antioxidant effect and slow down formation of by-products of oxidation. No statistically significant change on indicators of prooxidant-antioxidant system of blood serum of rats treated with bakery products with rowan

  12. The Effectiveness of Marriage Enrichment Training on Job Stress and Quality of Work Life of working women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Today, women alongside men to help their family economic cycle. So the quality of work life and job stress affect on behavioral reactions such as job satisfaction, job involvement and job performance. Because more women than men experience job stress, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of marriage enrichment training on job stress and quality of work life of working women at Bafg Central Iron Ore Company. Methods: This study was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest  and control group. The population of this study was all of married female employees who worked at Bafg Central Iron Ore Company (150 persons. From these 150 persons 30 persons were selected by purposeful sampling method. then, they were assignment  into 2 groups (experimental and control groups including test and control group. The marriage enrichment training (eight sessions was held on experimental group. The instruments of this research were Health and Safety Executive HSE and Quality of work life QWL. Results: The results showed that marriage enrichment training had significant influence on job stress in experimental group. But, marriage enrichment training did not affect on quality of working life in the experimental group. And so, this was not observed in the control group. Conclusion: since, the job in women is very important, using of this training can reduce job stress the importance of women in the workforce is remarkable use of enrichment education can in women.

  13. Uranium enrichment. Enrichment processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexandre, M.; Quaegebeur, J.P.

    2009-01-01

    Despite the remarkable progresses made in the diversity and the efficiency of the different uranium enrichment processes, only two industrial processes remain today which satisfy all of enriched uranium needs: the gaseous diffusion and the centrifugation. This article describes both processes and some others still at the demonstration or at the laboratory stage of development: 1 - general considerations; 2 - gaseous diffusion: physical principles, implementation, utilisation in the world; 3 - centrifugation: principles, elementary separation factor, flows inside a centrifuge, modeling of separation efficiencies, mechanical design, types of industrial centrifuges, realisation of cascades, main characteristics of the centrifugation process; 4 - aerodynamic processes: vortex process, nozzle process; 5 - chemical exchange separation processes: Japanese ASAHI process, French CHEMEX process; 6 - laser-based processes: SILVA process, SILMO process; 7 - electromagnetic and ionic processes: mass spectrometer and calutron, ion cyclotron resonance, rotating plasmas; 8 - thermal diffusion; 9 - conclusion. (J.S.)

  14. Promotion of uranium enrichment business

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurushima, Morihiro

    1981-01-01

    The Committee on Nuclear Power has studied on the basic nuclear power policy, establishing its five subcommittees, entrusted by the Ministry of Nternational Trade and Industry. The results of examination by the subcommittee on uranium enrichment business are given along with a report in this connection by the Committee. In order to establish the nuclear fuel cycle, the aspect of uranium enrichment is essential. The uranium enrichment by centrifugal process has proceeded steadily in Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation. The following matters are described: the need for domestic uranium enrichment, the outlook for overseas enrichment services and the schedule for establishing domestic enrichment business, the current state of technology development, the position of the prototype enrichment plant, the course to be taken to establish enrichment business the main organization operating the prototype and commercial plants, the system of supplying centrifuges, the domestic conversion of natural uranium the subsidies for uranium enrichment business. (J.P.N.)

  15. Neutrino Research Group. 2011-2014 activity report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2014-01-01

    For the last two decades, neutrino physics has been producing major discoveries including neutrino oscillations. These results gave clear confirmation that active neutrinos oscillate and therefore have mass with three different mass states. This is a very important result showing that the Minimal Standard Model is incomplete and requires an extension which is not yet known. The neutrino research field is very broad and active, at the frontier of today's particle physics. The Neutrino Research Group (GDR) was created in January 2005 with the aim of gathering CEA and CNRS research teams working on Neutrino Physics on experimental or theoretical level. This document is the 2011-2014 activity report of the research group, ten years after its creation. It presents the results of the 5 working groups: 1 - Determination of neutrino parameters; 2 - Physics beyond the standard model; 3 - Neutrinos in the universe; 4 - Accelerators, detection means, R and D and valorisation; 5 - Common tools to all working groups. The research group structure, participating laboratories and teams and the neutrino physics road-map are presented in appendixes

  16. Measurement of highly enriched uranium metal buttons with the high-level neutron coincidence counter operating in the active mode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foley, J.E.

    1980-10-01

    The portable High-Level Neutron Coincidence Counter is used in the active mode with the addition of AmLi neutron sources to assay the 235 U content of highly enriched metal pieces or buttons. It is concluded that the portable instrument is a practical instrument for assaying uranium metal buttons with masses in the range 1.5 to 4 kg

  17. Enrichment Conditions of Krypton Onto Activated Carbons%活性炭对氪的富集条件

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    陈莉云; 曾宝珠; 张昌云; 武山; 刘龙波; 杨静; 韦冠一

    2012-01-01

    In order to monitor radioactive krypton distribution in the environment, active charcoal is used to enrich krypton before the sample can be submitted to further laboratory analysis. The importance and method of krypton enrichment were presented. The absorption behavior of krypton by charcoal was analyzed. The experimental setup was designed to investigate effects of working temperature, linear velocities, partial-pressure of krypton on the enrichment of krypton by charcoal. The micro-structure parameters of the absorbing material to characterize its absorbing property was used, and the experimental data with theoretical analysis to conclude that for CF-1450 was fitted. The saturation absorption capacity at 191 K is 32. 9 mL/g.%从环境监测角度,叙述了开展活性炭对氪富集条件研究的重要意义.以氪在活性炭上的动态吸附实验为基础,研究了活性炭、温度、气体线流速和氪的分压对氪富集的影响,利用吸附材料的微结构,通过吸附理论模型拟合实验数据,得到CF-1450活性炭在191 K下对氪的饱和吸附量为32.9 mL/g.

  18. Optimised selenium enrichment of Artemia sp. feed to improve red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) larvae rearing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juhász, Péter; Lengyel, Szvetlana; Udvari, Zsolt; Sándor, Alex Nagy; Stündl, László

    2017-09-01

    Selenium is an essential microelement for the normal functioning of life processes. Moreover, it is a component of enzymes with antioxidant effects. However, it has the smallest window of any micronutrient between requirement and toxicity. Selenium is a regularly used element in fish feeds; moreover, enriching zooplankton with selenium to rear larvae is also a well-known technology. It is accepted that the most common starter foods of fish larvae, natural rotifers contain the smallest dosage of selenium, but providing selenium enriched Artemia sp. instead could increase survival and growth rate of fish. However, no such references are available for the red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) larvae. Therefore, in this study, Artemia sp. was enriched with nano-selenium of verified low toxicity and easy availability in 5 treatments (1, 5, 10, 50, 100 mg/l Se), and then, fish larvae were fed with four of these enriched Artemia stocks (1, 5, 10, 50 mg/l Se) and a control group. At the end of the 9-day-long experiment, survival rate (S) and growth parameters (SL, W, K-factor, SGR) of fish larvae were calculated as well as their selenium retention and glutathione peroxidase enzyme activity were analysed. It was revealed that a moderate level of selenium enrichment (~4 mg/kg dry matter) of Artemia sp. positively influences the rearing efficiency (i.e. survival and growth) of fish larvae, but higher dosages of selenium could cause adverse effects.

  19. An optimal sequence of the reload charge fuel enrichment to a reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, S.

    1975-01-01

    An optimal sequence of enrichment of the reload charge of a three regions PWR during its life has been determined by dynamic programming. The state of the reactor is specified by the burnup of the fuel in the three regions and their initial enrichments. Constraints were imposed on the power peaking factor, the maximum burnup, the length of each stage between refueling and the total life of the reactor. 'Central-scatter loading' was assumed at each reloading. The two group diffusion equations were solved by the modal method for the static calculations of the reactor. Otimization of enrichment of the reload charge was performed under several hypotheses on the variation of the costs of uranium, costs of enrichment and the plant factor during the reactor life. It was observed that the optimum enrichment of the reload fuel is influenced more by the cost of enrichment rather than plant factor or cost of uranium. (Author) [pt

  20. Environmental enrichment affects adrenocortical stress responses in the endangered black-footed ferret

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poessel, S.A.; Biggins, D.E.; Santymire, R.M.; Livieri, T.M.; Crooks, K.R.; Angeloni, L.

    2011-01-01

    Potential stressors of wildlife living in captivity, such as artificial living conditions and frequent human contact, may lead to a higher occurrence of disease and reduced reproductive function. One successful method used by wildlife managers to improve general well-being is the provision of environmental enrichment, which is the practice of providing animals under managed care with environmental stimuli. The black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) is a highly-endangered carnivore species that was rescued from extinction by removal of the last remaining individuals from the wild to begin an ex situ breeding program. Our goal was to examine the effect of environmental enrichment on adrenocortical activity in ferrets by monitoring fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM). Results demonstrated that enrichment lowered FGM in juvenile male ferrets, while increasing it in adult females; enrichment had no effect on FGM in juvenile females and adult males. These results correspond with our findings that juvenile males interacted more with the enrichment items than did adult females. However, we did not detect an impact of FGM on the incidence of disease or on the ability of ferrets to become reproductive during the following breeding season. We conclude that an environmental enrichment program could benefit captive juvenile male ferrets by reducing adrenocortical activity. ?? 2011 Elsevier Inc.

  1. From high enriched to low enriched uranium fuel in research reactors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Den Berghe, S.; Leenaers, A.; Koonen, E.; Moons, F.; Sannen, L. [Nuclear Materials Science Institute, SCK.CEN, Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol (Belgium)

    2010-07-01

    Since the 1970's, global efforts have been going on to replace the high-enriched (>90% {sup 235}U), low-density UAlx research reactor fuel with high-density, low enriched (<20% {sup 235}U) replacements. This search is driven by the attempt to reduce the civil use of high-enriched material because of proliferation risks and terrorist threats. American initiatives, such as the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) and the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) program have triggered the development of reliable low-enriched fuel types for these reactors, which can replace the high enriched ones without loss of performance. Most success has presently been obtained with U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} dispersion fuel, which is currently used in many research reactors in the world. However, efforts to search for a replacement with even higher density, which will also allow the conversion of some high flux research reactors that currently cannot change to U{sub 3}Si{sub 2} (eg. BR2 in Belgium), have continued and are for the moment mainly directed towards the U(Mo) alloy fuel (7-10 w% Mo). This paper provides an overview of the past efforts and presents the current status of the U(Mo) development. (authors)

  2. From high enriched to low enriched uranium fuel in research reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Den Berghe, S.; Leenaers, A.; Koonen, E.; Moons, F.; Sannen, L.

    2010-01-01

    Since the 1970's, global efforts have been going on to replace the high-enriched (>90% 235 U), low-density UAlx research reactor fuel with high-density, low enriched ( 235 U) replacements. This search is driven by the attempt to reduce the civil use of high-enriched material because of proliferation risks and terrorist threats. American initiatives, such as the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) and the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) program have triggered the development of reliable low-enriched fuel types for these reactors, which can replace the high enriched ones without loss of performance. Most success has presently been obtained with U 3 Si 2 dispersion fuel, which is currently used in many research reactors in the world. However, efforts to search for a replacement with even higher density, which will also allow the conversion of some high flux research reactors that currently cannot change to U 3 Si 2 (eg. BR2 in Belgium), have continued and are for the moment mainly directed towards the U(Mo) alloy fuel (7-10 w% Mo). This paper provides an overview of the past efforts and presents the current status of the U(Mo) development. (authors)

  3. Uranium enrichment by gas centrifuge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heriot, I.D.

    1988-01-01

    After recalling the physical principles and the techniques of centrifuge enrichment the report describes the centrifuge enrichment programmes of the various countries concerned and compares this technology with other enrichment technologies like gaseous diffusion, laser, aerodynamic devices and chemical processes. The centrifuge enrichment process is said to be able to replace with advantage the existing enrichment facilities in the short and medium term. Future prospects of the process are also described, like recycled uranium enrichment and economic improvements; research and development needs to achieve the economic prospects are also indicated. Finally the report takes note of the positive aspect of centrifuge enrichment as far as safeguards and nuclear safety are concerned. 27 figs, 113 refs

  4. Derived enriched uranium market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rutkowski, E.

    1996-01-01

    The potential impact on the uranium market of highly enriched uranium from nuclear weapons dismantling in the Russian Federation and the USA is analyzed. Uranium supply, conversion, and enrichment factors are outlined for each country; inventories are also listed. The enrichment component and conversion components are expected to cause little disruption to uranium markets. The uranium component of Russian derived enriched uranium hexafluoride is unresolved; US legislation places constraints on its introduction into the US market

  5. Georges Besse 2. A new era for enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-01-01

    Since 1978, AREVA group subsidiary EURODIF's Georges Besse plant has been using gaseous diffusion to enrich uranium and meet the requirements of electricity utilities. Georges Besse II plant, which will use far less electricity, will replace George Besse not so long. The Georges Besse II plant is located on the Tricastin nuclear site in southern France. AREVA ensure delivery of uranium enrichment services in accordance with customer expectations. AREVA obtained the right to use URENCO's centrifugation technology on July 3, 2006. This is the process to be used at Georges Besse II. The new uranium enrichment plant will comprise two enrichment units, with a total production capacity of 7.5 million separative work units, which can be extended to 11 million if needed. Each enrichment unit will include: a Centrifuge Assembly Building (CAB), a Centrifuge Utility Building (CUB) with offices and control room, annexes for purification, supply and extraction of uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ), modules containing the halls that house the centrifuge cascades. The modular design of the Georges Besse II plant will allow production in the first cascade where as the others cascades are build. The first cascade should be operational in the first half of 2009. At an overall cost of 3 billion euros, this project is one of the largest investments of the decade in France On November 24, 2003, AREVA and URENCO signed an agreement under which AREVA would buy 50% of the shares in the Enrichment Technology Company (ETC), which designs and manufactures centrifuges

  6. Experience with environmental sampling at gas centrifuge enrichment plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ekenstam, G. af; Bush, W.; Janov, J.; Kuhn, E.; Ryjinski, M.

    2001-01-01

    results obtained for two samples taken in May 1997 from the cascade hall at one of the enrichment plants. The evaluation of the results, using model enrichment calculations, showed that at least two enrichment processes had taken place - feeding with natural uranium and with recycled uranium. The effectiveness of environmental sampling was also demonstrated by analyzing a series of swipe samples taken at regular intervals in the process area of a newly commissioned centrifuge enrichment cascade in which the product enrichment was stepwise increased up to 5% 235 U. Experience is still being gained with environmental sampling at centrifuge enrichment plants but it is already considered to be a very useful technique, which allows determining past and current enrichment activities, in particular providing complementary assurance that no clandestine HEU production has occurred. Sampling both inside cascade areas and in cylinder filling and blending areas has proven to be useful and appropriate. A safeguards approach based on the traditional safeguards measures combined with environmental sampling for routine use is under development. This approach will enhance the efficiency of inspector's work in the field and the detection probability for clandestine activities

  7. Report of the Working Party on the conversion of HIFAR to low enrichment uranium fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-06-01

    This report states the effect on research reactor operations and applications of international and national political decisions relating to fuel enrichment. Technical work done in Australia and overseas to establish parameters for conversion of research reactors from High Enrichment Uranium (HEU) to Low Enrichment Uranium (LEU) have been considered in developing a strategy for HIFAR. The requirements of the research groups, isotope production group and reactor operating staff have been considered. For HIFAR to continue to provide the required facilities in support of the national need, it is concluded these should be no reduction of neutron flux

  8. Configuration of LWR fuel enrichment or burnup yielding maximum power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bartosek, V.; Zalesky, K.

    1976-01-01

    An analysis is given of the spatial distribution of fuel burnup and enrichment in a light-water lattice of given dimensions with slightly enriched uranium, at which the maximum output is achieved. It is based on the spatial solution of neutron flux using a one-group diffusion model in which linear dependence may be expected of the fission cross section and the material buckling parameter on the fuel burnup and enrichment. Two problem constraints are considered, i.e., the neutron flux value and the specific output value. For the former the optimum core configuration remains qualitatively unchanged for any reflector thickness, for the latter the cases of a reactor with and without reflector must be distinguished. (Z.M.)

  9. Reduced enrichment program for the FRM-II, status 2004

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roehrmoser, A.; Petry, W.; Boening, K; Wieschalla, N.

    2005-01-01

    The new research reactor FRM-II of the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) has been designed to provide a maximal thermal neutron flux at mere 20 MW power. The single element design uses silicide fuel of densities 3.0 and 1.5 g/cm 3 of highly enriched uranium (HEU, 93 % U-235). With the nuclear license, that was granted in May 2003, a condition was imposed to reduce the enrichment of FRM-II to medium enriched uranium (MEU) with not more than 50 % U-235 until the end of the year 2010. The TUM has established an international working group to meet this target. This paper presents the backgrounds and the results and plannings for the first of three 2 1/2 year periods to reach the conversion in time. (author)

  10. Preservation of microbial communities enriched on lignocellulose under thermophilic and high-solid conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Chaowei; Reddy, Amitha P; Simmons, Christopher W; Simmons, Blake A; Singer, Steven W; VanderGheynst, Jean S

    2015-01-01

    Microbial communities enriched from diverse environments have shown considerable promise for the targeted discovery of microorganisms and enzymes for bioconversion of lignocellulose to liquid fuels. While preservation of microbial communities is important for commercialization and research, few studies have examined storage conditions ideal for preservation. The goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of preservation method on composition of microbial communities enriched on switchgrass before and after storage. The enrichments were completed in a high-solid and aerobic environment at 55 °C. Community composition was examined for each enrichment to determine when a stable community was achieved. Preservation methods included cryopreservation with the cryoprotective agents DMSO and glycerol, and cryopreservation without cryoprotective agents. Revived communities were examined for their ability to decompose switchgrass under high-solid and thermophilic conditions. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing of DNA extracted from enrichment samples showed that the majority of the shift in composition of the switchgrass-degrading community occurred during the initial three 2-week enrichments. Shifts in community structure upon storage occurred in all cryopreserved samples. Storage in liquid nitrogen in the absence of cryoprotectant resulted in variable preservation of dominant microorganisms in enriched samples. Cryopreservation with either DMSO or glycerol provided consistent and equivalent preservation of dominant organisms. A stable switchgrass-degrading microbial community was achieved after three 2-week enrichments. Dominant microorganisms were preserved equally well with DMSO and glycerol. DMSO-preserved communities required more incubation time upon revival to achieve pre-storage activity levels during high-solid thermophilic cultivation on switchgrass. Despite shifts in the community with storage, the samples were active upon revival under thermophilic and

  11. Hydrogen enrichment of an internal combustion engine via closed loop thermochemical recuperation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zwitserlood, J.G.; Hofman, T.; Erickson, P.A.

    2013-01-01

    Hydrogen enrichment in an internal combustion engine can greatly improve efficiency and at the same time reduce emissions without the need for extensive engine modifications. One option for a hydrogen source for the enrichment is actively producing hydrogen on-board the vehicle through steam

  12. Radiometric enrichment of nonradioactive ores

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mokrousov, V.A.; Lileev, V.A.

    1979-01-01

    Considered are the methods of mineral enrichment based on the use of the radioation of various types. The physical essence of enrichment processes is presented, their classification is given. Described are the ore properties influencing the efficiency of radiometric enrichment, methods of the properties study and estimation of ore enrichment. New possibilities opened by radiometric enrichment in the technology of primary processing of mineral raw materials are elucidated. A considerable attention is paid to the main and auxiliary equipment for radiometric enrichment. The foundations of the safety engineering are presented in a brief form. Presented are also results of investigations and practical works in the field of enrichment of ores of non-ferrous, ferrous and non-metallic minerals with the help of radiometric methods

  13. Omega-3 Fatty Acid Enriched Chevon (Goat Meat Lowers Plasma Cholesterol Levels and Alters Gene Expressions in Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahdi Ebrahimi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study, control chevon (goat meat and omega-3 fatty acid enriched chevon were obtained from goats fed a 50% oil palm frond diet and commercial goat concentrate for 100 days, respectively. Goats fed the 50% oil palm frond diet contained high amounts of α-linolenic acid (ALA in their meat compared to goats fed the control diet. The chevon was then used to prepare two types of pellets (control or enriched chevon that were then fed to twenty-male-four-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats (n=10 in each group for 12 weeks to evaluate their effects on plasma cholesterol levels, tissue fatty acids, and gene expression. There was a significant increase in ALA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA in the muscle tissues and liver of the rats fed the enriched chevon compared with the control group. Plasma cholesterol also decreased (P<0.05 in rats fed the enriched chevon compared to the control group. The rat pellets containing enriched chevon significantly upregulated the key transcription factor PPAR-γ and downregulated SREBP-1c expression relative to the control group. The results showed that the omega-3 fatty acid enriched chevon increased the omega-3 fatty acids in the rat tissues and altered PPAR-γ and SREBP-1c genes expression.

  14. Omega-3 fatty acid enriched chevon (goat meat) lowers plasma cholesterol levels and alters gene expressions in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebrahimi, Mahdi; Rajion, Mohamed Ali; Meng, Goh Yong; Soleimani Farjam, Abdoreza

    2014-01-01

    In this study, control chevon (goat meat) and omega-3 fatty acid enriched chevon were obtained from goats fed a 50% oil palm frond diet and commercial goat concentrate for 100 days, respectively. Goats fed the 50% oil palm frond diet contained high amounts of α-linolenic acid (ALA) in their meat compared to goats fed the control diet. The chevon was then used to prepare two types of pellets (control or enriched chevon) that were then fed to twenty-male-four-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 10 in each group) for 12 weeks to evaluate their effects on plasma cholesterol levels, tissue fatty acids, and gene expression. There was a significant increase in ALA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the muscle tissues and liver of the rats fed the enriched chevon compared with the control group. Plasma cholesterol also decreased (P < 0.05) in rats fed the enriched chevon compared to the control group. The rat pellets containing enriched chevon significantly upregulated the key transcription factor PPAR-γ and downregulated SREBP-1c expression relative to the control group. The results showed that the omega-3 fatty acid enriched chevon increased the omega-3 fatty acids in the rat tissues and altered PPAR-γ and SREBP-1c genes expression.

  15. Study of chromium speciation in normal and diabetic rats by activable enriched stable isotope technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng, W.Y.; Qian, Q.F.; Ding, W.J.; Chai, Z.F.

    2000-01-01

    Chromium speciation was investigated in the liver cytosol, serum and urine of normal and diabetic rats after a single intravenous injection of enriched stable isotope 50 Cr tracer solution. Sephadex G-25 gel chromatography combined with instrumental neutron activation analysis was used to isolate and characterize protein-bound chromium in the above materials. The results indicate that Cr is mainly combined with a high-molecular-weight protein either in liver cytosol or serum. A low-molecular-weight, Cr-containing compound (LMWCr) was found in all the observed liver, serum and urine samples of both normal and diabetic rats. Chromium is excreted chiefly as LMWCr in urine. (author)

  16. PWR fuel of high enrichment with erbia and enriched gadolinia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bejmer, Klaes-Håkan; Malm, Christian

    2011-01-01

    Today standard PWR fuel is licensed for operation up to 65-70 MWd/kgU, which in most cases corresponds to an enrichment of more than 5 w/o "2"3"5U. Due to criticality safety reason of storage and transportation, only fuel up to 5 w/o "2"3"5U enrichment is so far used. New fuel storage installations and transportation casks are necessary investments before the reactivity level of the fresh fuel can be significantly increased. These investments and corresponding licensing work takes time, and in the meantime a solution that requires burnable poisons in all pellets of the fresh high-enriched fuel might be used. By using very small amounts of burnable absorber in every pellet the initial reactivity can be reduced to today's levels. This study presents core calculations with fuel assemblies enriched to almost 6 w/o "2"3"5U mixed with a small amount of erbia. Some of the assemblies also contain gadolinia. The results are compared to a reference case containing assemblies with 4.95 w/o "2"3"5U without erbia, utilizing only gadolinia as burnable poison. The comparison shows that the number of fresh fuel assemblies can be reduced by 21% (which increases the batch burnup by 24%) by utilizing the erbia fuel concept. However, increased cost of uranium due to higher enrichment is not fully compensated for by the cost gain due to the reduction of the number assemblies. Hence, the fuel cycle cost becomes slightly higher for the high enrichment erbia case than for the reference case. (author)

  17. Effects of exercise and enrichment on behaviour in CD-1 mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aujnarain, Amiirah B; Luo, Owen D; Taylor, Natalie; Lai, Jonathan K Y; Foster, Jane A

    2018-04-16

    A host of scholarly work has characterized the positive effects of exercise and environmental enrichment on behaviour and cognition in animal studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the uptake and longitudinal impact of exercise and enrichment on the behavioural phenotype of male and female CD-1 mice. CD-1 mice housed in standard (STD) or exercise and enrichment (EE) conditions post-weaning were tested in the 3-chamber sociability test, open field, and elevated plus maze and exercise activity was monitored throughout the enrichment protocol. Male and female EE mice both showed reduced anxiety and activity in the open field and elevated plus maze relative to sex-matched STD mice. EE altered social behaviours in a sex-specific fashion, with only female EE mice showing increased social preference relative to female STD mice and a preference for social novelty only present in male EE mice. This sexual dimorphism was not observed to be a product of exercise uptake, as CD-1 mice of both sexes demonstrated a consistent trend of wheel rotation frequencies. These findings suggest the importance of considering variables such as sex and strain on experimental design variables in future work on environmental enrichment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Polyphasic characterization of a PCP-to-phenol dechlorinating microbial community enriched from paddy soil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoshida, Naoko [EcoTopia Science Institute, Nagoya University Nagoya 464-8603 (Japan)]. E-mail: ysd75@esi.nagoya-u.ac.jp; Yoshida, Yukina [Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603 (Japan); Handa, Yuko [Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603 (Japan); Kim, Hyo-Keun [Korea Ginseng and Tobacco Research Institute, Taejon 305-345 (Korea, Republic of); Ichihara, Shigeyuki [Faculty of Agriculture, Meijo University, Nagoya 468-8502 (Japan); Katayama, Arata [EcoTopia Science Institute, Nagoya University Nagoya 464-8603 (Japan); Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603 (Japan)

    2007-08-01

    Dechlorination of PCP has been observed previously under anaerobic condition in paddy soil. However, there is poor information about the dechlorination pathway of PCP and the microbial community associated with the PCP dechlorination in paddy soil. In this study, an anaerobic microbial community dechlorinating PCP was enriched by serial transfers from a paddy soil using a medium containing PCP, lactate and the steam-sterilized paddy soil. The enriched microbial community dechlorinated PCP completely to phenol under the anaerobic condition by a dechlorinating pathway as follows; PCP {sup {yields}} 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol {sup {yields}} 3,4,5-trichlorophenol {sup {yields}} 3,5-dichlorophenol {sup {yields}} 3-chlorophenol {sup {yields}} phenol. Intermediate products such as 3-chlorophenol were not accumulated, which were immediately dechlorinated to phenol. The enriched microbial community was characterized physiologically by testing the effects of electron donors and electron acceptors on the dechlorinating activity. The dechlorinating activity was promoted with lactate, pyruvate, and hydrogen as electron donors but not with acetate. Electron acceptors, nitrate and sulphate, inhibited the dechlorinating activity competitively but not iron (III). The microbial group associated with the anaerobic dechlorination was characterized by the effect of specific inhibitors on the PCP dechlorination. Effects of specific metabolic inhibitors and antibiotics indicated the involvement of Gram-positive spore-forming bacteria with the PCP dechlorinating activity, which was represented as bacteria of phylum Firmicutes. The structure of the microbial community was characterized by fluorescence in situ hybridization, quinone profiling, and PCR-DGGE (denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis). The combined results indicated the predominance of Clostridium species of phylum Firmicutes in the microbial community. Desulfitobacterium spp. known as anaerobic Gram-positive spore

  19. Polyphasic characterization of a PCP-to-phenol dechlorinating microbial community enriched from paddy soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshida, Naoko; Yoshida, Yukina; Handa, Yuko; Kim, Hyo-Keun; Ichihara, Shigeyuki; Katayama, Arata

    2007-01-01

    Dechlorination of PCP has been observed previously under anaerobic condition in paddy soil. However, there is poor information about the dechlorination pathway of PCP and the microbial community associated with the PCP dechlorination in paddy soil. In this study, an anaerobic microbial community dechlorinating PCP was enriched by serial transfers from a paddy soil using a medium containing PCP, lactate and the steam-sterilized paddy soil. The enriched microbial community dechlorinated PCP completely to phenol under the anaerobic condition by a dechlorinating pathway as follows; PCP → 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol → 3,4,5-trichlorophenol → 3,5-dichlorophenol → 3-chlorophenol → phenol. Intermediate products such as 3-chlorophenol were not accumulated, which were immediately dechlorinated to phenol. The enriched microbial community was characterized physiologically by testing the effects of electron donors and electron acceptors on the dechlorinating activity. The dechlorinating activity was promoted with lactate, pyruvate, and hydrogen as electron donors but not with acetate. Electron acceptors, nitrate and sulphate, inhibited the dechlorinating activity competitively but not iron (III). The microbial group associated with the anaerobic dechlorination was characterized by the effect of specific inhibitors on the PCP dechlorination. Effects of specific metabolic inhibitors and antibiotics indicated the involvement of Gram-positive spore-forming bacteria with the PCP dechlorinating activity, which was represented as bacteria of phylum Firmicutes. The structure of the microbial community was characterized by fluorescence in situ hybridization, quinone profiling, and PCR-DGGE (denaturing gel gradient electrophoresis). The combined results indicated the predominance of Clostridium species of phylum Firmicutes in the microbial community. Desulfitobacterium spp. known as anaerobic Gram-positive spore-forming bacteria dechlorinating PCP were not detected by PCR using a

  20. 77 FR 14838 - General Electric-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment LLC, Commercial Laser-Based Uranium Enrichment...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-13

    ... Laser Enrichment LLC, Commercial Laser-Based Uranium Enrichment Facility, Wilmington, North Carolina... a license to General Electric-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment LLC (GLE or the applicant) to authorize construction of a laser-based uranium enrichment facility and possession and use of byproduct...

  1. A protein extract and a cysteine protease inhibitor enriched fraction from Jatropha curcas seed cake have in vitro anti-Toxoplasma gondii activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soares, A M S; Carvalho, L P; Melo, E J T; Costa, H P S; Vasconcelos, I M; Oliveira, J T A

    2015-06-01

    Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite of great medical and veterinary importance that has worldwide distribution and causes toxoplasmosis. There are few treatments available for toxoplasmosis and the search for plant extracts and compounds with anti-Toxoplasma activity is of utmost importance for the discovery of new active drugs. The objective of this study was to investigate the action of a protein extract and a protease inhibitor enriched fraction from J. curcas seed cake on developing tachyzoites of T. gondii-infected Vero cells. The protein extract (JcCE) was obtained after solubilization of the J. curcas seed cake with 100 mM sodium borate buffer, pH 10, centrifugation and dialysis of the resulting supernatant with the extracting buffer. JcCE was used for the in vitro assays of anti-Toxoplasma activity at 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, 1.5, 3.0 and 5.0 mg/ml concentration for 24 h. The results showed that JcCE reduced the percentage of infection and the number of intracellular parasites, but had no effect on the morphology of Vero cells up to 3.0 mg/mL. The cysteine protease inhibitor enriched fraction, which was obtained after chromatography of JcCE on Sephadex G-75 and presented a unique protein band following SDS-PAGE, reduced both the number of T. gondii infected cells and intracellular parasites. These results suggest that both JcCE and the cysteine protease inhibitor enriched fraction interfere with the intracellular growth of T. gondii. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. NAA analysis of enriched Zn-68 by

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rafii, H.; Mirzaei, M.; Mirzajani, N.; Sardari, D.; Shahabi, I.; Majedi, F.

    2002-01-01

    Excessive application of enriched isotopes in various fields of sciences and industry necessitates measuring their abundant by a precise and rapid methos. Beside the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, the thermal neutron activation analysis, NAA, is an alternative method, which is capable to determine trace amounts of elements as well as the elemental abundance. In this article the enrichment of Zn-68 in two different samples has been studied by mean of NAA. One sample was separated by an electromagnetic system in our center and the other was purchased from a French company, Cortecnet. The neutron irradiation was took place in MNSR reactor by flux 10 1 1n/cm 2 sec. for 30 min. and the produced radioactivity from Zn-69 m was measured one day after irradiation by HPGe detector. The results shows a good agreement with the reported ones and its low derivation of about ±3.05 indicates that the NAA is a precise, rapid, and supplemental method for analyzing enriched Zn-68

  3. Effects of DHA-enriched hen egg yolk and L-cysteine supplementation on quality of cryopreserved boar semen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chanapiwat, Panida; Kaeoket, Kampon; Tummaruk, Padet

    2009-09-01

    The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-enriched hen egg yolks and L-cysteine supplementation on the qualities of the cryopreserved boar semen. A total of 15 ejaculates from 5 Pietrain boars were divided into 4 groups according to the compositions of the freezing extenders used, that is, normal hen egg yolk (group I), DHA-enriched hen egg yolk (group II), normal hen egg yolk with 5 mmol L(-1) of cysteine supplementation (group III) and DHA-enriched hen egg yolk with 5 mmol L(-1) of cysteine supplementation (group IV). The semen was cryopreserved using controlled rate freezer and was thawed at 50 degrees C for 12 s. Progressive motility, sperm viability, acrosome integrity and functional integrity of sperm plasma membrane of the post-thawed semen were evaluated. The supplementation of L-cysteine in the freezing extender alone (group III) improved progressive motility (P semen qualities (P > 0.05). In conclusion, the supplementation of antioxidant L-cysteine alone or in combination with DHA-enriched hen egg yolk significantly improved the post-thawed semen qualities, especially progressive motility and acrosome integrity.

  4. Standardized Environmental Enrichment Supports Enhanced Brain Plasticity in Healthy Rats and Prevents Cognitive Impairment in Epileptic Rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kouchi, Hayet Y.; Bodennec, Jacques; Morales, Anne; Georges, Béatrice; Bonnet, Chantal; Bouvard, Sandrine; Sloviter, Robert S.; Bezin, Laurent

    2013-01-01

    Environmental enrichment of laboratory animals influences brain plasticity, stimulates neurogenesis, increases neurotrophic factor expression, and protects against the effects of brain insult. However, these positive effects are not constantly observed, probably because standardized procedures of environmental enrichment are lacking. Therefore, we engineered an enriched cage (the Marlau™ cage), which offers: (1) minimally stressful social interactions; (2) increased voluntary exercise; (3) multiple entertaining activities; (4) cognitive stimulation (maze exploration), and (5) novelty (maze configuration changed three times a week). The maze, which separates food pellet and water bottle compartments, guarantees cognitive stimulation for all animals. Compared to rats raised in groups in conventional cages, rats housed in Marlau™ cages exhibited increased cortical thickness, hippocampal neurogenesis and hippocampal levels of transcripts encoding various genes involved in tissue plasticity and remodeling. In addition, rats housed in Marlau™ cages exhibited better performances in learning and memory, decreased anxiety-associated behaviors, and better recovery of basal plasma corticosterone level after acute restraint stress. Marlau™ cages also insure inter-experiment reproducibility in spatial learning and brain gene expression assays. Finally, housing rats in Marlau™ cages after severe status epilepticus at weaning prevents the cognitive impairment observed in rats subjected to the same insult and then housed in conventional cages. By providing a standardized enriched environment for rodents during housing, the Marlau™ cage should facilitate the uniformity of environmental enrichment across laboratories. PMID:23342033

  5. Standardized environmental enrichment supports enhanced brain plasticity in healthy rats and prevents cognitive impairment in epileptic rats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raafat P Fares

    Full Text Available Environmental enrichment of laboratory animals influences brain plasticity, stimulates neurogenesis, increases neurotrophic factor expression, and protects against the effects of brain insult. However, these positive effects are not constantly observed, probably because standardized procedures of environmental enrichment are lacking. Therefore, we engineered an enriched cage (the Marlau™ cage, which offers: (1 minimally stressful social interactions; (2 increased voluntary exercise; (3 multiple entertaining activities; (4 cognitive stimulation (maze exploration, and (5 novelty (maze configuration changed three times a week. The maze, which separates food pellet and water bottle compartments, guarantees cognitive stimulation for all animals. Compared to rats raised in groups in conventional cages, rats housed in Marlau™ cages exhibited increased cortical thickness, hippocampal neurogenesis and hippocampal levels of transcripts encoding various genes involved in tissue plasticity and remodeling. In addition, rats housed in Marlau™ cages exhibited better performances in learning and memory, decreased anxiety-associated behaviors, and better recovery of basal plasma corticosterone level after acute restraint stress. Marlau™ cages also insure inter-experiment reproducibility in spatial learning and brain gene expression assays. Finally, housing rats in Marlau™ cages after severe status epilepticus at weaning prevents the cognitive impairment observed in rats subjected to the same insult and then housed in conventional cages. By providing a standardized enriched environment for rodents during housing, the Marlau™ cage should facilitate the uniformity of environmental enrichment across laboratories.

  6. ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND POLYPHENOL CONTENT OF MALT BEVERAGES ENRICHED WITH BEE POLLEN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miriam Solgajová

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available In food industry, especially among the brewers, using of natural ingredients is increasingly growing demand. Beer is one of the most popular beverages in the world with evident positive effects on the overall health condition. It can be used as a base for developing a variety of products with specific physiological activity. Bee pollen is considered to be one of the possible sources of active ingredients for that purpose. Activity of phenolic and flavonoid compounds in bee pollen can contribute to the antioxidant potential of beer. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of different types and content of bee pollen on the antioxidant properties of malt beverages and to compare phenolic and flavonoid profiles. The technological process of malt beverages preparation with addition of bee pollen was also verified. It was found out that all beverages enriched with bee pollen had higher polyphenol, flavonoid content and antioxidant potential than control sample – pure wort. The higher antioxidant activities of all extracts was measured in sample R2 - wort with 0.6% of dry rapeseed pollen and sample R4 - wort with 0.6% of frozen rapeseed pollen. The higher phenolic content than in other samples was measured in sample M4 - wort with 0.6% of frozen poppy pollen and sample M1 - wort with 0.256% of dry poppy pollen. Higher total flavonoid content was found out in sample M2 - wort with 0.6% of dry poppy pollen and M4 - wort with 0.6% of frozen poppy pollen. In conclusion, the most noticeable results of antioxidant activity, phenolic and flavonoid content were achieved in samples with higher 0.6% addition of bee pollen, mostly poppy (Papaver somniferum L. pollen.

  7. Blueberry Anthocyanins-Enriched Extracts Attenuate Cyclophosphamide-Induced Cardiac Injury.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yunen Liu

    Full Text Available We sought to explore the effect of blueberry anthocyanins-enriched extracts (BAE on cyclophosphamide (CTX-induced cardiac injury. The rats were divided randomly into five groups including normal control, CTX 100 mg/kg, BAE 80mg/kg, CTX+BAE 20mg/kg and CTX+BAE 80mg/kg groups. The rats in the three BAE-treated groups were administered BAE for four weeks. Seven days after BAE administration, rats in CTX group and two BAE-treated groups were intraperitoneally injected with a single dose of 100 mg/kg CTX. Cardiac injury was assessed using physiological parameters, Echo, morphological staining, real-time PCR and western blot. In addition, cardiotoxicity indices, inflammatory cytokines expression and oxidative stress markers were also detected. Four weeks 20mg/kg and 80mg/kg dose of BAE treatment following CTX exposure attenuated mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate and activities of heart enzymes, improved cardiac dysfunction, left ventricular hypertrophy and fibrosis. Importantly, BAE also attenuated CTX-induced LV leukocyte infiltration and inflammatory cytokines expression, ameliorated oxidative stress as well as cardiomyocyte apoptosis. In conclusion, BAE attenuated the CTX-induced cardiac injury and the protective mechanisms were related closely to the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory characteristics of BAE.

  8. Trace Element Abundances in Eucrite Basalts: Enrichment or Depletion?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castle, N. R.

    2018-05-01

    It is not clear how incompatible trace element (ITE) variation in eucrite basalts originated. Here, mechanisms for relative ITE enrichment or depletion are experimentally evaluated in an attempt to reconcile the Stannern and main group eucrites.

  9. N-enriched multilayered porous carbon derived from natural casings for high-performance supercapacitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Zongying; Li, Yu; Li, Dandan; Wang, Dawei; Zhao, Jing; Wang, Zhifeng; Banis, Mohammad N.; Hu, Yongfeng; Zhang, Huaihao

    2018-06-01

    In this study, N-enriched multilayered porous activated carbon (LPAC), using natural casings as precursor, was fabricated by a facile carbonization and subsequent KOH activation procedure. The influence of the mass ratio of KOH to carbonized material on pore-structure and surface element composition of LPACs was investigated by a variety of means, such as SEM, HRTEM, BET, Raman, XRD, XPS and XAS. Owing to the unique multilayered texture and nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) rich feature of natural casings, the resulting LPACs possess interconnected and developed porous structure with N- and O-enriched functional groups, contributing to larger pseudocapacitance. With the rise of mass ratio, the specific surface area (SSA) and average pore size of LPACs increased. The final materials were endowed with a desirable SSA (3100 m2 g-1) and high N content (6.34 at.%). Meanwhile, N- and O-enriched LPAC-4 exhibited a high specific capacitance (307.5 F g-1 at a current density of 0.5 A g-1 in 6 M KOH aqueous solution), excellent rate performance (63.4% capacitance retention at 20 A g-1) and good cycling stability (7.1% capacitance loss after 5000 cycles). Furthermore, the assembled symmetrical supercapacitor (LPAC-4//LPAC-4) with a wide voltage window of 1.4 V delivered a remarkable energy density of 11.6 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 297 W kg-1. These results suggested that unique LPACs derived from natural casings are a promising material for supercapacitors.

  10. TRIGA low enrichment fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gietzen, A.

    1993-01-01

    Sixty TRIGA reactors have been sold and the earliest of these are now passing twenty years of operation. All of these reactors use the uranium zirconium hydride fuel (UZrH) which provides certain unique advantages arising out of its large prompt negative temperature coefficient, very low fission product release, and high temperature capability. Eleven of these Sixty reactors are conversions from plate fuel to TRIGA fuel which were made as a result of these advantages. With only a few exceptions, TRIGA reactors have always used low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel with an enrichment of 19.9%. The exceptions have either been converted from the standard low-enriched fuel to the 70% enriched FLIP fuel in order to achieve extended lifetime, or are higher powered reactors which were designed for long life using 93%-enriched uranium during the time when the use and export of highly enriched uranium (HEU) was not restricted. The advent of international policies focusing attention on nonproliferation and safeguards made the HEU fuels obsolete. General Atomic immediately undertook a development effort (nearly two years ago) in order to be in a position to comply with these policies for all future export sales and also to provide a low-enriched alternative to fully enriched plate-type fuels. This important work was subsequently partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The laboratory and production tests have shown that higher uranium densities can be achieved to compensate for reducing the enrichment to 20%, and that the fuels maintain the characteristics of the very thoroughly proven standard TRIGA fuels. In May of 1978, General Atomic announced that these fuels were available for TRIGA reactors and for plate-type reactors with power levels up to 15 MW with General Atomic's standard commercial warranty

  11. TRIGA low enrichment fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gietzen, A.

    1993-01-01

    Sixty TRIGA reactors have been sold and the earliest of these are now passing twenty years of operation. All of these reactors use the uranium-zirconium hydride fuel (UZrH) which provides certain unique advantages arising out of its large prompt negative temperature coefficient, very low fission product release, and high temperature capability. Eleven of these Sixty reactors are conversions from plate fuel to TRIGA fuel which were made as a result of these advantages. With only a few exceptions, TRIGA reactors have always used low-enriched-uranium (LEU) fuel with an enrichment of 19.9%. The exceptions have either been converted from the standard low-enriched fuel to the 70% enriched FLIP fuel in order to achieve extended lifetime, or are higher powered reactors which were designed for long life using 93%-enriched uranium during the time when the use and export of highly enriched uranium (HEU) was not restricted. The advent of international policies focusing attention on nonproliferation and safeguards made the HEU fuels obsolete. General Atomic immediately undertook a development effort (nearly two years ago) in order to be in a position to comply with these policies for all future export sales and also to provide a low-enriched alternative to fully enriched plate-type fuels. This important work was subsequently partially supported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The laboratory and production tests have shown that higher uranium densities can be achieved to compensate for reducing the enrichment to 20%, and that the fuels maintain the characteristics of the very thoroughly proven standard TRIGA fuels. In May of 1978, General Atomic announced that these fuels were available for TRIGA reactors and for plate-type reactors with power levels up to 15 MW with GA's standard commercial warranty

  12. Fish burger enriched by olive oil industrial by-product.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cedola, Annamaria; Cardinali, Angela; Del Nobile, Matteo Alessandro; Conte, Amalia

    2017-07-01

    Oil industry produces large volume of waste, which represents a disposal and a potential environmental pollution problem. Nevertheless, they are also promising sources of compounds that can be recovered and used as valuable substances. The aim of this work is to exploit solid olive by-products, in particular dry olive paste flour (DOPF) coming from Coratina cultivar, to enrich fish burger and enhance the quality characteristics. In particular, the addition of olive by-products leads to an increase of the phenolic content and the antioxidant activity; however, it also provokes a deterioration of sensory quality. Therefore, to balance quality and sensory characteristics of fish burgers, three subsequent phases have been carried out: first, the quality of DOPF in terms of phenolic compounds content and antioxidant activity has been assessed; afterward, DOPF has been properly added to fish burgers and, finally, the formulation of the enriched fish burgers has been optimized in order to improve the sensory quality. Results suggested that the enriched burgers with 10% DOPF showed considerable amounts of polyphenols and antioxidant activity, even though they are not very acceptable from the sensory point of view. Pre-treating DOPF by hydration/extraction with milk, significantly improved the burger sensory quality by reducing the concentration of bitter components.

  13. Alterations in protein and amino acid metabolism in rats fed a branched-chain amino acid- or leucine-enriched diet during postprandial and postabsorptive states.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holecek, Milan; Siman, Pavel; Vodenicarovova, Melita; Kandar, Roman

    2016-01-01

    Many people believe in favourable effects of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs; valine, leucine, and isoleucine), especially leucine, on muscle protein balance and consume BCAAs for many years. We determined the effects of the chronic intake of a BCAA- or leucine-enriched diet on protein and amino acid metabolism in fed and postabsorptive states. Rats were fed a standard diet, a diet with a high content of valine, leucine, and isoleucine (HVLID), or a high content of leucine (HLD) for 2 months. Half of the animals in each group were sacrificed in the fed state on the last day, and the other half were sacrificed after overnight fast. Protein synthesis was assessed using the flooding dose method (L-[3,4,5-(3)H]phenylalanine), proteolysis on the basis of chymotrypsin-like activity (CHTLA) of proteasome and cathepsin B and L activities. Chronic intake of HVLID or HLD enhanced plasma levels of urea, alanine and glutamine. HVLID also increased levels of all three BCAA and branched-chain keto acids (BCKA), HLD increased leucine, ketoisocaproate and alanine aminotransferase and decreased valine, ketovaline, isoleucine, ketoisoleucine, and LDL cholesterol. Tissue weight and protein content were lower in extensor digitorum longus muscles in the HLD group and higher in kidneys in the HVLID and HLD groups. Muscle protein synthesis in postprandial state was higher in the HVLID group, and CHTLA was lower in muscles of the HVLID and HLD groups compared to controls. Overnight starvation enhanced alanine aminotransferase activity in muscles, and decreased protein synthesis in gastrocnemius (in HVLID group) and extensor digitorum longus (in HLD group) muscles more than in controls. Effect of HVLID and HLD on CHTLA in muscles in postabsorptive state was insignificant. The results failed to demonstrate positive effects of the chronic consumption of a BCAA-enriched diet on protein balance in skeletal muscle and indicate rather negative effects from a leucine-enriched diet. The primary

  14. EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT SUPPLEMENTS INCLUSION OF THE ENRICHED DIET ON PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE AND EGG STRUCTURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natasha Trajan Gjorgovska

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Nutritional manipulation and genetic selection for egg size and production may lead to changes in egg components. This experiment was carried out to analyze the egg structure parameters of eggs produced by Hisex Brown laying hens fed with diet with different supplements inclusion. The intensity of egg production was significantly higher in the groups fed with enriched feed with iodine (90.00%, vitamin E (90.00% and selenium (91.98%, and significantly lower in the group fed with DHA inclusion feed (76.00% in respect to the control group (82.00%, confidence interval of 95%. Concerning diet supplemented with selenium and diet supplemented with vitamin E, the egg yolk weight was statistically different compared with the control group (confidence interval of 95%. The yolk weight averaged 1.80 g and 1.29 g more than yolk weight in the control eggs, respectively. The egg shell weight was statistically different in diet enriched with iodine compared with the control. The egg shell weight averaged 1.48 g less per egg for the eggs enriched with iodine with 17.45% less underweight than the control eggs. Enriched eggs offer consumer a variety of value-added options for their egg purchase. Although enriched eggs may provide consumers with a specific quality attribute or healthful ingredient, they do not appear to provide quality and value in a traditional sense as defined by the standards of quality and grade.

  15. High enrichment to low enrichment core's conversion. Technical securities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbate, P.; Madariaga, M.R.

    1990-01-01

    This work presents the fulfillment of the technical securities subscribed by INVAP S.E. for the conversion of a high enriched uranium core. The reactor (of 5 thermal Mw), built in the 50's and 60's, is of the 'swimming pool' type, with light water and fuel elements of the curve plates MTR type, enriched at 93.15 %. These are neutronic and thermohydraulic securities. (Author) [es

  16. Permeation of iodide from iodine-enriched yeast through porcine intestine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryszka, Florian; Dolińska, Barbara; Zieliński, Michał; Chyra, Dagmara; Dobrzański, Zbigniew

    2013-01-01

    Iodine deficiency is a common phenomenon, threatening the whole global human population. Recommended daily intake of iodine is 150 μg for adults and 250 μg for pregnant and breastfeeding women. About 50% of human population can be at risk of moderate iodine deficiency. Due to this fact, increased iodine supplementation is recommended, through intake of iodized mineral water and salt iodization. The aim of this study was to investigate permeation and absorption of iodide from iodine bioplex (experimental group) in comparison with potassium iodide (controls). Permeation and absorption processes were investigated in vitro using a porcine intestine. The experimental model was based on a standard Franz diffusion cell (FD-Cell). The iodine bioplex was produced using Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast and whey powder: iodine content - 388 μg/g, total protein - 28.5%, total fat - 0.9%., glutamic acid - 41.2%, asparaginic acid - 29.4%, lysine - 24.8%; purchased from: F.Z.N.P. Biochefa, Sosnowiec, Poland. Potassium iodide was used as controls, at 388 μg iodine concentration, which was the same as in iodine-enriched yeast bioplex. A statistically significant increase in iodide permeation was observed for iodine-enriched yeast bioplex in comparison with controls - potassium iodide. After 5h the total amount of permeated iodide from iodine-enriched yeast bioplex was 85%, which is ~ 2-fold higher than controls - 37%. Iodide absorption was by contrast statistically significantly higher in controls - 7.3%, in comparison with 4.5% in experimental group with iodine-enriched yeast bioplex. Presented results show that iodide permeation process dominates over absorption in case of iodine-enriched yeast bioplex.

  17. The measurement of tritium in water samples with electrolytic enrichment using liquid scintillation counter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janković Marija M.

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Tritium (3H present in the environment decreased in the last decades and nowadays it has low activity concentrations. Measurement of low-level tritium activities in natural waters, e. g. in precipitation, groundwater, and river water requires special techniques for water pretreatment and detection of low-level radioactivity. In order to increase the tritium concentration to an easily measurable level, electrolytic enrichment must be applied. This paper presents the enrichment method performed by electrolysis in a battery of 18 cells, giving an enrichment factor of 5.84 (calculated from 59 electrolyses. The calculated mean values of the separation factor and enrichment parameter were 4.10 and 0.84, respectively. Results for tritium activity in precipitation and surface water collected in Belgrade during 2008 and 2009 are presented. The Radiation and Environmental Protection Department of the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, participated in the IAEA TRIC2008 international intercomparison exercise. The participation in the intercomparisons for any laboratory doing low-level 3H measurements in the waters is very important and useful. It is considered the best way to check the entire procedure and methods of the measurements and the reliability of the standard used. The analysis of the reported 3H activity results showed that all results for five intercomparison samples, for which electrolytic enrichment were applied prior to the 3H measurement, are acceptable.

  18. Guided play and free play in an enriched environment: Impact on motor development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Míriam Stock Palma

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of guided play and free play in an enriched environmentintervention programs using motor skill development in kindergarten children. Seventy-one children attending kindergarten classes were assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. Participants performed the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 before and after the intervention period. Results revealed that both boys and girls in the guided play group showed motor skill improvement, whereas no changes were observed in motor development in the boys and girls assigned to the free play in enriched environment group, nor in those in the control group. These findings indicate that the teacher's role in the guided play intervention was crucial to help preschool children to improve their performance.

  19. The effects of the formula of amino acids enriched BCAA on nutritional support in traumatic patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xin-Ying; Li, Ning; Gu, Jun; Li, Wei-Qin; Li, Jie-Shou

    2003-03-01

    To investigate the formula of amino acid enriched BCAA on nutritional support in traumatic patients after operation. 40 adult patients after moderate or large abdominal operations were enrolled in a prospective, randomly and single-blind-controlled study, and received total parenteral nutrition (TPN) with either formula of amino acid (AA group, 20 cases) or formula of amino acid enriched BCAA (BCAA group, 20 cases). From the second day after operation, total parenteral nutrition was infused to the patients in both groups with equal calorie and equal nitrogen by central or peripheral vein during more than 12 hours per day for 6 days. Meanwhile, nitrogen balance was assayed by collecting 24 hours urine for 6 days. The markers of protein metabolism were investigated such as amino acid patterns, levels of total protein, albumin, prealbumin, transferrin and fibronectin in serum. The positive nitrogen balance in BCAA group occurred two days earlier than that in AA group. The serum levels of total protein and albumin in BCAA group were increased more obviously than that in AA group. The concentration of valine was notably increased and the concentration of arginine was markedly decreased in BCAA group after the formula of amino acids enriched BCAA transfusion. The formula of amino acid enriched BCAA may normalize the levels of serum amino acids, reduce the proteolysis, increase the synthesis of protein, improve the nutritional status of traumatic patients after operation.

  20. Isotope enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garbuny, M.

    1979-01-01

    The invention discloses a method for deriving, from a starting material including an element having a plurality of isotopes, derived material enriched in one isotope of the element. The starting material is deposited on a substrate at less than a critical submonatomic surface density, typically less than 10 16 atoms per square centimeter. The deposit is then selectively irradiated by a laser (maser or electronic oscillator) beam with monochromatic coherent radiation resonant with the one isotope causing the material including the one istope to escape from the substrate. The escaping enriched material is then collected. Where the element has two isotopes, one of which is to be collected, the deposit may be irradiated with radiation resonant with the other isotope and the residual material enriched in the one isotope may be evaporated from the substrate and collected

  1. Effects of nutrient enrichment derived from fish farming activities on macroinvertebrate assemblages in a subtropical region of Hong Kong.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Qin-Feng; Cheung, Kwok-Leung; Cheung, Siu-Gin; Shin, Paul K S

    2005-01-01

    To study the correlation between nutrient enrichment derived from fish farming activities and changes in macrobenthic assemblages, a one-year field study was conducted in Kau Sai Bay marine fish culture zone of Hong Kong. Bimonthly sediment samples were collected at six stations: two at the fish cages, two near the boundary of the fish culture area, and two reference sites further away from the culture area. Sediment physico-chemical characteristics in terms of silt/clay fraction, moisture content, total organic carbon (TOC), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and total phosphorus (TP) were analyzed. The macrobenthos (>0.5 mm) present in the sediment were sorted, identified and enumerated. On average, TOC, TKN and TP levels at the fish cage stations were 82.8%, 128.5% and 1315.7% higher than those at the reference stations, respectively. As a result, the N:P molar ratio was greatly reduced from 8.75 at the reference stations to 1.83 at the fish cage stations. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that diversity of macrofauna was significantly reduced and community structure differed at the fish cage stations relative to the reference sites. The intermediary stations near the fish culture area showed a transitional state of disturbance. Faunal diversity was negatively correlated with nutrient level, reflecting the adverse impacts of nutrient enrichment derived from fish farming activities on the benthic assemblages. Whilst in subtropical Asia-Pacific trash fish is the major feed for fish culture resulting in a higher nutrient loading and nutrient ratio accumulated in the sediment beneath the fish rafts, the effects of nutrient enrichment on macrobenthic assemblages are comparable to that in temperate waters owing to relatively high sediment metabolism rate and smaller fish culture scale in Hong Kong.

  2. Evaluation of the antioxidant effect of a new functional food enriched with Sideritis euboea in healthy subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skouroliakou, Maria; Kastanidou, Olympia; Stathopoulou, Maria; Vourli, Georgia

    2009-10-01

    Sideritis euboea is a Greek plant that is traditionally consumed as a beverage (mountain tea). From in vitro studies, its extract has shown antioxidant and estrogenic activities. In our study we used S. euboea as an enriching food factor in order to produce a new functional food, a jelly dessert, in order to explore its antioxidant effects if consumed on a daily basis by healthy subjects. In this placebo-controlled clinical trial, 63 subjects were recruited for a 1-month nutritional intervention. Twelve subjects were excluded. The remaining 51 subjects were randomly classified in the intervention group (daily consumption of the jelly containing 0.3 g of S. euboea extract) or the placebo group (daily consumption of the same jelly without the enrichment). Vitamins C, A, and E, glutathione, coenzyme Q10, total nitrites, nitrates, total nitrogen oxide, nitrites/nitrates ratio, and total antioxidant status were measured in blood samples before and after the intervention. After the intervention, free glutathione and coenzyme Q10 increased, and nitrites decreased significantly in both groups. The other antioxidant markers were not altered. No statistical significant differences were observed between the two groups. The daily consumption of the functional food, for 30 days, had no effects on the antioxidant status of healthy volunteers.

  3. Laser and gas centrifuge enrichment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heinonen, Olli [Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States)

    2014-05-09

    Principles of uranium isotope enrichment using various laser and gas centrifuge techniques are briefly discussed. Examples on production of high enriched uranium are given. Concerns regarding the possibility of using low end technologies to produce weapons grade uranium are explained. Based on current assessments commercial enrichment services are able to cover the global needs of enriched uranium in the foreseeable future.

  4. Enrichment technology. Dependable vendor of gas centrifuges; Enrichment Technology. Zuverlaessiger Lieferant von Gaszentrifugen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anon.

    2011-10-15

    Enrichment Technology is an innovative, high-tech company that develops, manufactures and installs gas centrifuges for enriching uranium. In addition, Enrichment Technology designs enrichment plants that use gas centrifuge technology. This technology offers the most efficient and cost-effective method for enriching uranium yet: high-performance, safe technology that dominates the market with a global share of 45 percent. A determining factor in Enrichment Technology's success is its mission: supplying its customers with safe, reliable technology. Production of the centrifuges requires versatile know-how and collaboration between different departments as well as interdisciplinary teams at the various sites. More than 2000 operators at 8 sites in 5 countries contribute their individual knowledge and personal skills in order to produce this exceptional technology. The head office is in Beaconsfield near London and the operational headquarters are in Almelo in the Netherlands. There are other sites in Germany (Juelich und Gronau), Great Britain (Capenhurst) as well as project sites in the USA and France. Capenhurst is where experienced engineers design new enrichment plants and organise their construction. Centrifuge components are manufactured in Almelo and Juelich, while the pipework needed to connect up the centrifuges is produced at the site in Gronau. In Juelich, highly qualified scientists in interdisciplinary teams are continuously researching ways of improving the current centrifuges. Communication between specialists in the fields of chemistry, physics and engineering forms the basis for the company's success and the key to extending this leading position in the global enrichment market. (orig.)

  5. Enrichment of Phenolic Compounds from Olive Mill Wastewater and In Vitro Evaluation of Their Antimicrobial Activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saleh Abu-Lafi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The production of olive oil generates massive quantities of by-product called olive mill wastewater (OMWW. The uncontrolled disposal of OMWW poses serious environmental problems. The OMWW effluent is rich in several polyphenolic compounds. Liquid-liquid extraction of OMWW using ethyl acetate solvent was used to enrich phenolic compounds under investigation. Total phenolic and flavonoid content and antioxidant activity of the extract were determined. HPLC coupled to photodiode array (PDA detector was used to analyze the main three phenolic compounds of OMWW, namely, hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, and oleuropein. The antimicrobial activity of the extract was also investigated. Additionally, the OMWW extract was used as natural preservative and antioxidants for olive oil. Results showed that OMWW is very rich in phenolic compounds and has strong antioxidant activity. HPLC analysis showed that the extract contains mainly hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol but no oleuropein. The OMWW extract showed also positive activities as antibacterial (gram positive and gram negative and antifungal as well as activities against yeast. The addition of OMWW extract to olive oil samples has an effect on the stability of olive oil as reflected by its acid value, peroxide value, K232 and K270, and total phenolic content.

  6. 76 FR 11523 - Atomic Safety and Licensing Board; AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC (Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-02

    ... and Licensing Board; AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC (Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility); Notice of... Governmental Entities Regarding Environmental Portion of Enrichment Facility Licensing Proceeding February 24.... White. In this 10 CFR part 70 proceeding regarding the request of applicant AREVA Enrichment Services...

  7. Nuclear fuel cycle head-end enriched uranium purification and conversion into metal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonini, A.; Cabrejas, J.; Lio, L. de; Dell'Occhio, L.; Devida, C.; Dupetit, G.; Falcon, M.; Gauna, A.; Gil, D.; Guzman, G.; Neuringer, P.; Pascale, A.; Stankevicius, A.

    1998-01-01

    The CNEA (Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica - Argentina) operated two facilities at the Ezeiza Atomic Center which supply purified enriched uranium employed in the production of nuclear fuels. At one of those facilities, the Triple Height Laboratory scraps from the production of MTR type fuel elements (mainly out of specification U 3 O 8 plates or powder) are purified to nuclear grade. The purification is accomplished by a solvent extraction process. The other facility, the Enriched Uranium Laboratory produces 90% enriched uranium metal to be used in Mo 99 production (originally the uranium was used for the manufacture of MTR fuel elements made of aluminium-uranium alloy). This laboratory also provided metallic uranium with a lower enrichment (20%) for a first uranium-silicon testing fuel element, and in the near future it is going to recommence 20% enriched uranium related activities in order to provide the metal for the silicon-based fuel elements production (according to the policy of enrichment reduction for MTR reactors). (author)

  8. Discriminative latent models for recognizing contextual group activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lan, Tian; Wang, Yang; Yang, Weilong; Robinovitch, Stephen N; Mori, Greg

    2012-08-01

    In this paper, we go beyond recognizing the actions of individuals and focus on group activities. This is motivated from the observation that human actions are rarely performed in isolation; the contextual information of what other people in the scene are doing provides a useful cue for understanding high-level activities. We propose a novel framework for recognizing group activities which jointly captures the group activity, the individual person actions, and the interactions among them. Two types of contextual information, group-person interaction and person-person interaction, are explored in a latent variable framework. In particular, we propose three different approaches to model the person-person interaction. One approach is to explore the structures of person-person interaction. Differently from most of the previous latent structured models, which assume a predefined structure for the hidden layer, e.g., a tree structure, we treat the structure of the hidden layer as a latent variable and implicitly infer it during learning and inference. The second approach explores person-person interaction in the feature level. We introduce a new feature representation called the action context (AC) descriptor. The AC descriptor encodes information about not only the action of an individual person in the video, but also the behavior of other people nearby. The third approach combines the above two. Our experimental results demonstrate the benefit of using contextual information for disambiguating group activities.

  9. CD32 is expressed on cells with transcriptionally active HIV but does not enrich for HIV DNA in resting T cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdel-Mohsen, Mohamed; Kuri-Cervantes, Leticia; Grau-Exposito, Judith; Spivak, Adam M; Nell, Racheal A; Tomescu, Costin; Vadrevu, Surya Kumari; Giron, Leila B; Serra-Peinado, Carla; Genescà, Meritxell; Castellví, Josep; Wu, Guoxin; Del Rio Estrada, Perla M; González-Navarro, Mauricio; Lynn, Kenneth; King, Colin T; Vemula, Sai; Cox, Kara; Wan, Yanmin; Li, Qingsheng; Mounzer, Karam; Kostman, Jay; Frank, Ian; Paiardini, Mirko; Hazuda, Daria; Reyes-Terán, Gustavo; Richman, Douglas; Howell, Bonnie; Tebas, Pablo; Martinez-Picado, Javier; Planelles, Vicente; Buzon, Maria J; Betts, Michael R; Montaner, Luis J

    2018-04-18

    The persistence of HIV reservoirs, including latently infected, resting CD4 + T cells, is the major obstacle to cure HIV infection. CD32a expression was recently reported to mark CD4 + T cells harboring a replication-competent HIV reservoir during antiretroviral therapy (ART) suppression. We aimed to determine whether CD32 expression marks HIV latently or transcriptionally active infected CD4 + T cells. Using peripheral blood and lymphoid tissue of ART-treated HIV + or SIV + subjects, we found that most of the circulating memory CD32 + CD4 + T cells expressed markers of activation, including CD69, HLA-DR, CD25, CD38, and Ki67, and bore a T H 2 phenotype as defined by CXCR3, CCR4, and CCR6. CD32 expression did not selectively enrich for HIV- or SIV-infected CD4 + T cells in peripheral blood or lymphoid tissue; isolated CD32 + resting CD4 + T cells accounted for less than 3% of the total HIV DNA in CD4 + T cells. Cell-associated HIV DNA and RNA loads in CD4 + T cells positively correlated with the frequency of CD32 + CD69 + CD4 + T cells but not with CD32 expression on resting CD4 + T cells. Using RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization, CD32 coexpression with HIV RNA or p24 was detected after in vitro HIV infection (peripheral blood mononuclear cell and tissue) and in vivo within lymph node tissue from HIV-infected individuals. Together, these results indicate that CD32 is not a marker of resting CD4 + T cells or of enriched HIV DNA-positive cells after ART; rather, CD32 is predominately expressed on a subset of activated CD4 + T cells enriched for transcriptionally active HIV after long-term ART. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

  10. 76 FR 34103 - In the Matter of Areva Enrichment Services, LLC (Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility); Notice of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-10

    .... 10-899-02-ML-BD01] In the Matter of Areva Enrichment Services, LLC (Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility...'' portion of this proceeding regarding the December 2008 application by AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC (AES... gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility--denoted as the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility (EREF)--in...

  11. Blood-group-Ii-active gangliosides of human erythrocyte membranes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feizi, T.; Childs, R.A.; Hakomori, S.-I.; Powell, M.E.

    1978-01-01

    More than ten new types of gangliosides, in addition to haematoside and sialosylparagloboside, were isolated from human erythrocyte membranes. These were separated by successive chromatographies on DAEA-Sephadex, on porous silica-gel columns and on thin-layer silica gel as acetylated compounds. Highly potent blood-group-Ii and moderate blood-group-H activities were demonstrated in some of the ganglioside fractions. The gangliosides incorporated into chlolesterol/phosphatidylcholine liposomes stoicheiometrically inhibited binding of anti-(blood-group-I and i) antibodies to a radioiodinated blood-group-Ii-active glycoprotein. The fraction with the highest blood-group-I activity, I(g) fraction, behaved like sialosyl-deca- to dodeca-glycosylceramides on t.l.c. Certain blood-group-I and most of the i-determinants were in partially or completely cryptic form and could be unmasked by sialidase treatment. Thus the I and i antigens, which are known to occur on internal structures of blood-group-ABH-active glycoproteins in secretions, also occur in the interior of the carbohydrate chains of erythrocyte gangliosides. (author)

  12. [Characteristics of heavy metals enrichment in algae ano its application prospects].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Kaixing; Tang, Jian-jun; Jiang, De'an

    2006-01-01

    Using algae to bio-remedy heavy metals-contaminated waters has become an available and practical approach for environmental restoration. Because of its special cell wall structure, high capacity of heavy metal-enrichment, and easy to desorption, algae has been considered as an ideal biological adsorbent. This paper briefly introduced the structural and metabolic characteristics adapted for heavy metals enrichment of algae, including functional groups on cell wall, extracellular products, and intracellular heavy metals-chelating proteins, discussed the enrichment capability of living, dead and immobilized algae as well as the simple and convenient ways for desorption, and analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of using algae for bioremediation of polluted water, and its application prospects.

  13. Essential amino acid enriched high-protein enteral nutrition modulates insulin-like growth factor-1 system function in a rat model of trauma-hemorrhagic shock.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xianfeng Xia

    Full Text Available Nutrition support for critically ill patients supplemented with additional modular protein may promote skeletal muscle protein anabolism in addition to counteracting acute nitrogen loss. The present study was designed to investigate whether the essential amino acid (EAA enriched high-protein enteral nutrition (EN modulates the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1 system and activates the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR anabolic signaling pathway in a trauma-hemorrhagic shock (T-HS rat model.Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 90, 278.18 ± 0.94 g were randomly assigned to 5 groups: (1 normal control, (2 pair-fed, (3 T-HS, (4 T-HS and standard EN, and (5 T-HS and EAA enriched high-protein EN. Six animals from each group were harvested on days 2, 4, and 6 for serum, gastrocnemius, soleus, and extensor digitorum longus sample collection. T-HS significantly reduced muscle mass. Nutrition support maintained muscle mass, especially the EAA enriched high-protein EN. Meanwhile, a pronounced derangement in IGF-1-IGFBPs axis as well as impaired mTOR transduction was observed in the T-HS group. Compared with animals receiving standard EN, those receiving EAA enriched high-protein EN presented 18% higher serum free IGF-1 levels following 3 days of nutrition support and 22% higher after 5 days. These changes were consistent with the concomitant elevation in serum insulin and reduction in corticosterone levels. In addition, phosphorylations of downstream anabolic signaling effectors - including protein kinase B, mTOR, and ribosomal protein S6 kinase1 - increased significantly in rats receiving EAA enriched high-protein EN.Our findings firstly demonstrate the beneficial effect of EAA enriched high-protein EN on the metabolic modulation of skeletal muscle protein anabolism by regulating the IGF-1 system and downstream anabolic signaling transduction.

  14. Is painting by elephants in zoos as enriching as we are led to believe?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megan English

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The relationship between the activity of painting and performance of stereotyped and other stress-related behaviour was investigated in four captive Asian elephants at Melbourne Zoo, Australia. The activity involved the elephant being instructed to paint on a canvas by its keeper in front of an audience. Painting by elephants in zoos is commonly believed to be a form of enrichment, but this assumption had not been based on any systematic research. If an activity is enriching we would expect stress-related behaviour to be reduced but we found no evidence of the elephants anticipating the painting activity and no effect on the performance of stereotyped or other stress-related behaviour either before or after the painting session. This indicates that the activity does not fulfil one of the main aims of enrichment. However, if an elephant was not selected to paint on a given day this was associated with higher levels of non-interactive behaviour, a possible indicator of stress. Behavioural observations associated with ear, eye and trunk positions during the painting session showed that the elephant’s attentiveness to the painting activity or to the keeper giving instruction varied between individuals. Apart from positive reinforcement from the keeper, the results indicated that elephants gain little enrichment from the activity of painting. Hence, the benefits of this activity appear to be limited to the aesthetic appeal of these paintings to the people viewing them.

  15. Enrichment plants. A survey of major new uranium enriching projects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kovan, D.

    1976-01-01

    The work enrichment situation is reported. The development of enrichment in the U.S. and in Europe is outlined. A brief description is given of the technology of separation by diffusion and by centrifugation and the advantages and disadvantages of the two processes are compared. Finally the supply and demand situation is briefly considered. (U.K.)

  16. Behavioral responses of three armadillo species (Mammalia: Xenarthra) to an environmental enrichment program in Villavicencio, Colombia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortés Duarte, Alexandra; Trujillo, Fernando; Superina, Mariella

    2016-07-01

    Enrichment is a powerful tool to improve the welfare of animals under human care. Stress-related health and behavioral problems, as well as reproductive failure, are frequent in armadillos (Xenarthra, Cingulata, Dasypodidae) under human care, which hinders the development of successful ex situ conservation programs. Nevertheless, scientific studies on the effect of enrichment programs on armadillos are virtually non-existent. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of an enrichment program on the behavior of armadillos under human care. The behavior of 12 individuals of three species (Dasypus novemcinctus, D. sabanicola, and Cabassous unicinctus) maintained at Finca El Turpial, Villavicencio, Colombia, was recorded using scan sampling during three daily time blocks of 2 hr each before (4 weeks) and after (4 weeks) implementing an enrichment program. Enrichment did not stimulate the armadillos to change or extend their activity period. In general, activity levels were low during the entire study, and virtually no activity was recorded in the morning in any species, neither without nor with enrichment. The latter did, however, improve welfare by reducing abnormal and increasing natural foraging behaviors. All species were attracted by artificial termite mounds. Dasypus spp. showed special interest in cardboard boxes with food, while Cabassous was mainly attracted to hollow plastic balls filled with food. Our results suggest that separate enrichment programs need to be developed for different armadillo species, and that they should be applied during the time of day at which they are most active. Zoo Biol. 35:304-312, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Environmental enrichment delays pup-induced maternal behavior in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mann, Phyllis E; Gervais, Kristen J

    2011-05-01

    Adult, virgin rats do not spontaneously display maternal behavior when exposed to foster pups. However, continuous daily exposure of the female to foster pups for about 5-7 days can induce a set of maternal behaviors similar to those shown by postpartum dams. Induction latencies depend upon a number of factors, including the stress and anxiety levels of the female. The goal of this study was to attempt to mitigate the likely stressfulness of being singly housed during testing by enriching the rat's home cage environment and to determine if the concomitant environmental change would alter the latency to express maternal behavior. In addition, the effect of varying the number of test pups used for testing was examined. Two groups of virgin Sprague-Dawley rats were first tested on the elevated plus maze after 1 week of exposure to either control (standard housing) or enriched conditions. One week later, maternal behavior testing began using one or three pups. Upon completion of maternal behavior testing, plasma corticosterone concentrations were determined following a mild stressor. The data indicate that enrichment tends to increase anxiety-like behaviors in the elevated plus maze. In addition, enrichment delayed the onset of maternal behavior irrespective of the number of test pups. There were no effects of environmental enrichment on plasma corticosterone levels following exposure to a stressor. These results indicate that what is considered a modestly enriched environment delays the expression of pup-oriented responses and does not apparently reduce stress or improve performance on all behavioral tasks. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Developments in uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohrhauer, H.

    1995-01-01

    The enrichment services market is still characterized by overcapacities. While consumption worldwide will rise by some 15% to 39,000 t SWU/a over the next ten years, capacities amount to nearly 50,000 t SWU/a. The price for enrichment services probably has reached its all time low. Prices below U.S. $ 100/kg SWU are not likely to cover costs even of the economically most advanced enrichment processes. Urenco has prepared for the difficult enrichment business in the years to come by streamlining and cost cutting measures. The company intends to hold and increase its share of more than 10% in the world market. The uranium enrichment plant of Gronau will be expanded further. Expansion beyond 1000 t is subject to another permit being granted under the Atomic Energy Act, an application for which was filed in December 1994. Centrifuge technology is the superior enrichment technology, i.e., there is still considerable potential for further development. Construction of enrichment plants employing the centrifuge technology in the United States and in France is being pursued in various phases, from feasibility studies to licensing procedures. Before these plants could be implemented, however, considerable problems of organization would have to be solved, and the market would have to change greatly, respectively. The laser process, at the present time, does not seem to be able to develop into a major industrial competitor. (orig.) [de

  19. Enrichment of 15N by ion exchange chromatography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohwaki, Masao; Ohtsuka, Haruhisa; Nomura, Masao; Okamoto, Makoto; Fujii, Yasuhiko

    1996-01-01

    15 N isotope separation was studied using cation exchange resins which consist of functional groups: sulfonic acid, carboxylic acid and phenol at various concentration of the eluent LiOH. The isotope separation coefficients for these ion exchange resins were observed to be nearly equal, in spite of the large difference in ion exchange characteristics. The effect of flow rate on 15 N isotope separation was also studied, and the results indicate that the operation at high flow rate would be preferable for the industrial process of 15 N enrichment. Based on the preliminary investigations, a continuous operation using a series of ion exchange columns has been carried out in order to achieve high enrichment of 15 N. (author)

  20. Uranium enrichment plans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gagne, R.W.; Thomas, D.C.

    1977-01-01

    The status of existing uranium enrichment contracts in the US is reviewed and expected natural uranium requirements for existing domestic uranium enrichment contracts are evaluated. Uncertainty in natural uranium requirements associated with requirements-type and fixed-commitment type contracts is discussed along with implementation of variable tails assay

  1. R and D on laser uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1986-01-01

    An AEC Advisory Committee on Uranium Enrichment has completed investigations into the actual condition of laser isotope separation. The working group set up for the purpose has issued a report on the series of investigations made on its development and measures for promoting it. The report says that the development of the process in Japan is at a fundamental stage. Noting that further efforts are needed before its future can be predicted, the report proposes a cource of research and development for the immediate future. For the atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS), government organizations are engaged in data base buildup and conducting basis engineering tests, and Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute will consider the re-enrichment of uranium recovered from reprocessing. Non-governmental unions of researchers will promote the combination of copper-vapor laser and dye laser. For the molecular laser isotope separation (MLIS), the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research will take up studies with the cooperation of the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation. In chapters covering the philosophy of laser uranium enrichment technology development, the report deals with its significance, actual conditions and tasks, and goals and measures for its promotion. (Nogami, K.)

  2. Huanglongbing impairs the rhizosphere-to-rhizoplane enrichment process of the citrus root-associated microbiome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yunzeng; Xu, Jin; Riera, Nadia; Jin, Tao; Li, Jinyun; Wang, Nian

    2017-08-10

    Roots are the primary site for plant-microbe interactions. Among the three root-associated layers (i.e., rhizosphere, rhizoplane, and endorhiza), the rhizoplane is a key component serving a critical gating role that controls microbial entry into plant roots. The microbial communities colonizing the three layers are believed to be gradually enriched from the bulk soil inoculum. However, it is unknown how this enrichment process, particularly the rhizosphere to rhizoplane step, is affected by biotic stresses, such as disease. In this study, we address this question using the citrus root-associated microbiome as a model. We identified the rhizosphere-to-rhizoplane-enriched taxonomic and functional properties of the citrus root-associated microbiome and determined how they were affected by Huanglongbing (HLB), a severe systemic disease caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, using metagenomic and metatranscriptomic approaches. Multiple rhizoplane-enriched genera were identified, with Bradyrhizobium and Burkholderia being the most dominant. Plant-derived carbon sources are an important driving force for the enrichment process. The enrichment of functional attributes, such as motility, chemotaxis, secretion systems, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) synthesis, demonstrated more active microbe-plant interactions on the rhizoplane than the rhizosphere. We observed that HLB impaired the rhizosphere-to-rhizoplane enrichment process of the citrus root-associated microbiome in three ways: (1) by decreasing the relative abundance of most rhizoplane-enriched genera; (2) by reducing the relative abundance and/or expression activity of the functional attributes involved in microbe-plant interactions; and (3) by recruiting more functional features involved in autotrophic life cycle adaptation, such as carbon fixation and nitrogen nitrification in the HLB rhizoplane microbiome. Finally, our data showed that inoculation of Burkholderia strains isolated from the healthy citrus root

  3. 77 FR 13367 - General Electric-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment, LLC, Proposed Laser-Based Uranium Enrichment...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-06

    ... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2009-0157] General Electric-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment, LLC, Proposed Laser-Based Uranium Enrichment Facility, Wilmington, NC AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory... Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed General Electric- Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment, LLC (GLE...

  4. Environmental enrichment as a therapeutic avenue for anxiety in aged Wistar rats: Effect on cat odor exposition and GABAergic interneurons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sampedro-Piquero, P; Castilla-Ortega, E; Zancada-Menendez, C; Santín, L J; Begega, A

    2016-08-25

    The use of more ethological animal models to study the neurobiology of anxiety has increased in recent years. We assessed the effect of an environmental enrichment (EE) protocol (24h/day over a period of two months) on anxiety-related behaviors when aged Wistar rats (21months old) were confronted with cat odor stimuli. Owing to the relationship between GABAergic interneurons and the anxiety-related neuronal network, we examined changes in the expression of Parvalbumin (PV) and 67kDa form of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD-67) immunoreactive cells in different brain regions involved in stress response. Behavioral results revealed that enriched rats traveled further and made more grooming behaviors during the habituation session. In the cat odor session, they traveled longer distances and they showed more active interaction with the odor stimuli and less time in freezing behavior. Zone analysis revealed that the enriched group spent more time in the intermediate zone according to the proximity of the predator odor. Regarding the neurobiological data, the EE increased the expression of PV-positive cells in some medial prefrontal regions (cingulate (Cg) and prelimbic (PL) cortices), whereas the GAD-67 expression in the basolateral amygdala was reduced in the enriched group. Our results suggest that EE is able to reduce anxiety-like behaviors in aged animals even when ethologically relevant stimuli are used. Moreover, GABAergic interneurons could be involved in mediating this resilient behavior. Copyright © 2016 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Effects of CO2 Enrichment on Growth and Development of Impatiens hawkeri

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Fan-Fan; Wang, Yan-Li; Huang, Zhi-Zhe; Zhu, Xiao-Chen; Zhang, Feng-Jiao; Chen, Fa-Di; Fang, Wei-Min; Teng, Nian-Jun

    2012-01-01

    The effects of CO2 enrichment on growth and development of Impatiens hawkeri, an important greenhouse flower, were investigated for the purpose of providing scientific basis for CO2 enrichment to this species in greenhouse. The plants were grown in CO2-controlled growth chambers with 380 (the control) and 760 (CO2 enrichment) μmol·mol−1, respectively. The changes in morphology, physiology, biochemistry, and leaf ultrastructure of Impatiens were examined. Results showed that CO2 enrichment increased flower number and relative leaf area compared with the control. In addition, CO2 enrichment significantly enhanced photosynthetic rate, contents of soluble sugars and starch, activities of peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), but reduced chlorophyll content and malondialdehyde (MDA) content. Furthermore, significant changes in chloroplast ultrastructure were observed at CO2 enrichment: an increased number of starch grains with an expanded size, and an increased ratio of stroma thylakoid to grana thylakoid. These results suggest that CO2 enrichment had positive effects on Impatiens, that is, it can improve the visual value, promote growth and development, and enhance antioxidant capacity. PMID:22536147

  6. Thermal breeder fuel enrichment zoning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Capossela, H.J.; Dwyer, J.R.; Luce, R.G.; McCoy, D.F.; Merriman, F.C.

    1992-01-01

    A method and apparatus for improving the performance of a thermal breeder reactor having regions of higher than average moderator concentration are disclosed. The fuel modules of the reactor core contain at least two different types of fuel elements, a high enrichment fuel element and a low enrichment fuel element. The two types of fuel elements are arranged in the fuel module with the low enrichment fuel elements located between the high moderator regions and the high enrichment fuel elements. Preferably, shim rods made of a fertile material are provided in selective regions for controlling the reactivity of the reactor by movement of the shim rods into and out of the reactor core. The moderation of neutrons adjacent the high enrichment fuel elements is preferably minimized as by reducing the spacing of the high enrichment fuel elements and/or using a moderator having a reduced moderating effect. 1 figure

  7. Longitudinal effects of environmental enrichment on behaviour and physiology of pigs reared on an intensive-stock farm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Augusto Vitale

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper was to provide a longitudinal evaluation of the effects of physical enrichments on the behaviour and physiology of intensive stock-farming pigs. Twenty-eight crossbred pigs of both sexes, were exposed to four types of enrichments (hemp ropes, steel chains, plastic balls, rubber hoses over a period of eleven weeks. This investigation was based on specific abnormal behaviours and physiological indicators, including hematologic parameters. For behavioural score, focal sampling was used with recording of abnormal behaviours (body-, tail- and ear-biting, belly nosing, running, and interaction with objects (for Enriched pigs. The presence of skin injuries was also recorded. In general, the frequency of abnormal behaviours was significantly reduced in the Enriched group. A timerelated profile appeared in the use of the enrichments. Males showed higher occurrence of skin injuries than females. Physiological measurements, such as levels of complement system, white blood cells and neutrophils, were lower in pigs from the Enriched group. Enriched pigs, as a whole, presented much lower levels of serum DHEA-S concentration over two weeks. The findings of this study show the successful provision of appropriate enrichments to encourage behaviours which may result in satisfactory animal oral interaction with the enriching objects, preventing them biting pen-mates. In this respect, the objects proposed were strongly effective in producing changes in behaviour which could mitigate inadequate conditions, such as the relationship between animal body weight and the available space allowance.

  8. COSPAR/PRBEM international working group activities report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourdarie, S.; Blake, B.; Cao, J. B.; Friedel, R.; Miyoshi, Y.; Panasyuk, M.; Underwood, C.

    It is now clear to everybody that the current standard AE8 AP8 model for ionising particle specification in the radiation belts must be updated But such an objective is quite difficult to reach just as a reminder to develop AE8 AP8 model in the seventies was 10 persons full time for ten years It is clear that world-wide efforts must be combined because not any individual group has the human resource to perform these new models by themselves Under COSPAR umbrella an international group of expert well distributed around the world has been created to set up a common framework for everybody involved in this field Planned activities of the international group of experts are to - Define users needs - Provide guidelines for standard file format for ionising measurements - Set up guidelines to process in-situ data on a common basis - Decide in which form the new models will have to be - Centralise all progress done world-wide to advise the community - Try to organise world-wide activities as a project to ensure complementarities and more efficiencies between all efforts done Activities of this working group since its creation will be reported as well as future plans

  9. Uranium enrichment in the United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hill, J.H.; Parks, J.W.

    1975-01-01

    History, improvement programs, status of electrical power availability, demands for uranium enrichment, operating plan for the U. S. enriching facilities, working inventory of enriched uranium, possible factors affecting deviations in the operating plan, status of gaseous diffusion technology, status of U. S. gas centrifuge advances, transfer of enrichment technology, gaseous diffusion--gas centrifuge comparison, new enrichment capacity, U. S. separative work pricing, and investment in nuclear energy are discussed. (LK)

  10. Enrichment into the 21st century

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rutkowski, E.

    1995-01-01

    This article discusses the future of the enrichment services market into the next century. It is estimated that demand for enrichment services will reach 31 million SWU by the end of the century and remain constant for the following 10 years. The current world enrichment capacity is 44 million SWU, or some 50% ahead of the demand. This oversupply is projected to continue into the next century, but in spite of this, several suppliers are planning new enrichment facilities. HEU as a source of enriched uranium is examined. Overall, long-term prices for enrichment services are expected to decline in the coming decade

  11. The commercial role for centrifuge enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Readle, P.H.; Wilcox, P.

    1987-01-01

    The enrichment market is extremely competitive and capacity greatly exceeds demand. BNFL [British Nuclear Fuels Ltd.] is in a unique position in having commercial experience of the two enrichment technologies currently used industrially: diffusion, and centrifuge enrichment through its associate company Urenco. In addition, BNFL is developing laser enrichment techniques as part of a UK development programme. The paper describes the enrichment market, briefly discusses the relative merits of the various methods of uranium enrichment and concludes that the gas centrifuge will be best able to respond to market needs for at least the remainder of the century. (author)

  12. High enrichment to low enrichment core's conversion. Accidents analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbate, P.; Rubio, R.; Doval, A.; Lovotti, O.

    1990-01-01

    This work analyzes the different accidents that may occur in the reactor's facility after the 20% high-enriched uranium core's conversion. The reactor (of 5 thermal Mw), built in the 50's and 60's, is of the 'swimming pool' type, with light water and fuel elements of the curve plates MTR type, enriched at 93.15 %. This analysis includes: a) accidents by reactivity insertion; b) accidents by coolant loss; c) analysis by flow loss and d) fission products release. (Author) [es

  13. The design of an automated electrolytic enrichment apparatus for tritium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Myers, J.L.

    1994-12-01

    The Radiation Analytical Sciences Section at Laboratory at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory performs analysis of low-level tritium concentrations in various natural water samples from the Tri-Valley Area, DOE Nevada Test Site, Site 300 in Tracy, CA, and other various places around the world. Low levels of tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, which is pre-concentrated in the RAS laboratory using an electrolytic enrichment apparatus. Later these enriched waters are analyzed by liquid scintillation counting to determine the activity of tritium. The enrichment procedure and the subsequent purification process by vacuum distillation are currently undertaken manually, hence being highly labor-intensive. The whole process typically takes about 2 to 3 weeks to complete a batch of 30 samples, with a dedicated personnel operating the process. The goal is to automate the entire process, specifically having the operation PC-LabVIEW{trademark} controlled with real-time monitoring capability. My involvement was in the design and fabrication of a prototypical automated electrolytic enrichment cell. Work will be done on optimizing the electrolytic process by assessing the different parameters of the enrichment procedure. Hardware and software development have also been an integral component of this project.

  14. Small exotic companion mammal wellness management and environmental enrichment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilny, Anthony A

    2015-05-01

    Wellness management and environmental enrichment are important components of preventative veterinary medical care. Small exotic mammals represent a diverse group of pets with widely varying types of care, diet, and husbandry considerations; thus, environmental enrichment must go beyond the cage or tank design in order to provide proper mental fitness in meeting any pet's psychological needs. Addressing the pet's environmental, dietary, exercise, and social needs is vital to keeping these animals healthier and more disease resistant. The key to accomplishing this is largely impacted by the annual or biannual veterinary wellness visit and a commitment from the pet's owner. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Early enrichment in free-range laying hens: effects on ranging behaviour, welfare and response to stressors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, D L M; Hinch, G N; Downing, J A; Lee, C

    2018-03-01

    Free-range laying hen systems are increasing within Australia. The pullets for these systems are typically reared indoors before being provided first range access around 21 to 26 weeks of age. Thus, the rearing and laying environments are disparate and hens may not adapt well to free-range housing. In this study, we reared 290 Hy-Line® Brown day-old chicks divided into two rooms each with feed, water and litter. In the enriched room, multiple structural, manipulable, visual and auditory stimuli were also provided from 4 to 21 days, the non-enriched room had no additional objects or stimuli. Pullets were transferred to the laying facility at 12 weeks of age and divided into six pens (three enriched-reared, three non-enriched-reared) with identical indoor resources and outdoor range area. All birds were first provided range access at 21 weeks of age. Video observations of natural disturbance behaviours on the range at 22 to 23 and 33 to 34 weeks of age showed no differences in frequency of disturbance occurrences between treatment groups (P=0.09) but a decrease in disturbance occurrences over time (Prange each day (Prange visits than non-enriched birds from 21 to 24 weeks of age (P=0.01). Enriched birds accessed the range on more days (P=0.03) but over time, most birds in both treatment groups accessed the range daily. Basic external health scoring showed minimal differences between treatment groups with most birds in visibly good condition. At 38 weeks of age all birds were locked inside for 2 days and from 40 to 42 weeks of age the outdoor range was reduced to 20% of its original size to simulate stressful events. The eggs from non-enriched birds had higher corticosterone concentrations following lock-in and 2 weeks following range reduction compared with the concentrations within eggs from enriched birds (Prange area reduction compared to non-enriched hens (P=0.02). Only one rearing room per treatment was used but these preliminary data indicate 3 weeks of early

  16. Advanced Neutron Source enrichment study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bari, R.A.; Ludewig, H.; Weeks, J.R.

    1996-01-01

    A study has been performed of the impact on performance of using low-enriched uranium (20% 235 U) or medium-enriched uranium (35% 235 U) as an alternative fuel for the Advanced Neutron Source, which was initially designed to use uranium enriched to 93% 235 U. Higher fuel densities and larger volume cores were evaluated at the lower enrichments in terms of impact on neutron flux, safety, safeguards, technical feasibility, and cost. The feasibility of fabricating uranium silicide fuel at increasing material density was specifically addressed by a panel of international experts on research reactor fuels. The most viable alternative designs for the reactor at lower enrichments were identified and discussed. Several sensitivity analyses were performed to gain an understanding of the performance of the reactor at parametric values of power, fuel density, core volume, and enrichment that were interpolations between the boundary values imposed on the study or extrapolations from known technology

  17. Comparative study on gene set and pathway topology-based enrichment methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayerlová, Michaela; Jung, Klaus; Kramer, Frank; Klemm, Florian; Bleckmann, Annalen; Beißbarth, Tim

    2015-10-22

    Enrichment analysis is a popular approach to identify pathways or sets of genes which are significantly enriched in the context of differentially expressed genes. The traditional gene set enrichment approach considers a pathway as a simple gene list disregarding any knowledge of gene or protein interactions. In contrast, the new group of so called pathway topology-based methods integrates the topological structure of a pathway into the analysis. We comparatively investigated gene set and pathway topology-based enrichment approaches, considering three gene set and four topological methods. These methods were compared in two extensive simulation studies and on a benchmark of 36 real datasets, providing the same pathway input data for all methods. In the benchmark data analysis both types of methods showed a comparable ability to detect enriched pathways. The first simulation study was conducted with KEGG pathways, which showed considerable gene overlaps between each other. In this study with original KEGG pathways, none of the topology-based methods outperformed the gene set approach. Therefore, a second simulation study was performed on non-overlapping pathways created by unique gene IDs. Here, methods accounting for pathway topology reached higher accuracy than the gene set methods, however their sensitivity was lower. We conducted one of the first comprehensive comparative works on evaluating gene set against pathway topology-based enrichment methods. The topological methods showed better performance in the simulation scenarios with non-overlapping pathways, however, they were not conclusively better in the other scenarios. This suggests that simple gene set approach might be sufficient to detect an enriched pathway under realistic circumstances. Nevertheless, more extensive studies and further benchmark data are needed to systematically evaluate these methods and to assess what gain and cost pathway topology information introduces into enrichment analysis. Both

  18. Ideologically motivated activism: How activist groups influence corporate social change activities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    den Hond, F.; de Bakker, F.G.A.; Hickman, G. R.

    2010-01-01

    Using insights from the social movement literature and institutional change theory, we explore how activism influences corporate social change activities. As the responsibility for addressing a variety of social issues is transferred from the state to the private sector, activist groups increasingly

  19. Prospects and problems of uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Imai, Ryukichi

    1974-01-01

    The problem of uranium enrichment now concerns principally peaceful nuclear power generation. With the current oil crisis, energy resources assume unprecedented importance. However, the requirements for enriched uranium vary with the vicissitude of the world situation in nuclear power generation; the enterprise of uranium enrichment is related to economic aspect. The following matters are described: dimension of enrichment problem, political factors, changes in requirements, projects in each country, and strategy of enrichment in Japan. (Mori, K.)

  20. Effect of Immune-Enhancing Enteral Nutrition Enriched with or without Beta-Glucan on Immunomodulation in Critically Ill Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jae Gil Lee

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available We investigated whether high-protein enteral nutrition with immune-modulating nutrients (IMHP enriched with β-glucan stimulates immune function in critically ill patients. In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study, 30 patients consumed one of three types of enteral nutrition: a control or IMHP with and without β-glucan. The IMHP with β-glucan group showed increases in natural killer (NK cell activities relative to the baseline, and greater increases were observed in NK cell activities relative to the control group after adjusting for age and gender. The IMHP groups with and without β-glucan had greater increases in serum prealbumin and decreases in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP than the control group. The control group had a greater decrease in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC interleukin (IL-12 production than the IMHP with and without β-glucan groups. In all patients, the change (Δ in hs-CRP was correlated with Δ prealbumin and Δ PBMC IL-12, which were correlated with ΔNK cell activity and Δ prealbumin. This study showed beneficial effects of a combination treatment of β-glucan and IMHP on NK cell activity. Additionally, strong correlations among changes in NK cell activity, PBMC IL-12, and hs-CRP suggested that β-glucan could be an attractive candidate for stimulating protective immunity without enhanced inflammation (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02569203.

  1. Uranium enrichment: an overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cazalet, J.

    1995-01-01

    This paper is a general presentation of uranium enrichment processes and assessments of the prevailing commercial and industrial situations. It gives first some theoretical aspects of enrichment in general and explains the differences between statistical and selective processes in particular. Then a review of the different processes is made with a comparison between them. Finally, some general remarks concerning applications are given and the risks of proliferation related to enrichment are mentioned. (J.S.). 4 refs., 5 figs., 8 tabs

  2. Development of active learning modules in pharmacology for small group teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tripathi, Raakhi K; Sarkate, Pankaj V; Jalgaonkar, Sharmila V; Rege, Nirmala N

    2015-01-01

    Current teaching in pharmacology in undergraduate medical curriculum in India is primarily drug centered and stresses imparting factual knowledge rather than on pharmacotherapeutic skills. These skills would be better developed through active learning by the students. Hence modules that will encourage active learning were developed and compared with traditional methods within the Seth GS Medical College, Mumbai. After Institutional Review Board approval, 90 second year undergraduate medical students who consented were randomized into six sub-groups, each with 15 students. Pre-test was administered. The three sub-groups were taught a topic using active learning modules (active learning groups), which included problems on case scenarios, critical appraisal of prescriptions and drug identification. The remaining three sub-groups were taught the same topic in a conventional tutorial mode (tutorial learning groups). There was crossover for the second topic. Performance was assessed using post-test. Questionnaires with Likert-scaled items were used to assess feedback on teaching technique, student interaction and group dynamics. The active and tutorial learning groups differed significantly in their post-test scores (11.3 ± 1.9 and 15.9 ± 2.7, respectively, P active learning session as interactive (vs. 37/90 students in tutorial group) and enhanced their understanding vs. 56/90 in tutorial group), aroused intellectual curiosity (47/90 students of active learning group vs. 30/90 in tutorial group) and provoked self-learning (41/90 active learning group vs. 14/90 in tutorial group). Sixty-four students in the active learning group felt that questioning each other helped in understanding the topic, which was the experience of 25/90 students in tutorial group. Nevertheless, students (55/90) preferred tutorial mode of learning to help them score better in their examinations. In this study, students preferred an active learning environment, though to pass examinations, they

  3. Nutrient-enriched formula milk versus human breast milk for preterm infants following hospital discharge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henderson, G; Fahey, T; McGuire, W

    2007-10-17

    Preterm infants are often growth-restricted at hospital discharge. Feeding infants after hospital discharge with nutrient-enriched formula milk instead of human breast milk might facilitate "catch-up" growth and improve development. To determine the effect of feeding nutrient-enriched formula compared with human breast milk on growth and development of preterm infants following hospital discharge. The standard search strategy of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group was used. This included searches of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library, Issue 2, 2007), MEDLINE (1966 - May 2007), EMBASE (1980 - May 2007), CINAHL (1982 - May 2007), conference proceedings, and previous reviews. Randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials that compared feeding preterm infants following hospital discharge with nutrient-enriched formula compared with human breast milk. The standard methods of the Cochrane Neonatal Review Group were used, with separate evaluation of trial quality and data extraction by two review authors. No eligible trials were identified. There are no data from randomised controlled trials to determine whether feeding preterm infants following hospital discharge with nutrient-enriched formula milk versus human breast milk affects growth and development. Mothers who wish to breast feed, and their health care advisors, would require very clear evidence that feeding with a nutrient-enriched formula milk had major advantages for their infants before electing not to feed (or to reduce feeding) with maternal breast milk. If evidence from trials that compared feeding preterm infants following hospital discharge with nutrient-enriched versus standard formula milk demonstrated an effect on growth or development, then this might strengthen the case for undertaking trials of nutrient-enriched formula milk versus human breast milk.

  4. Supply of low enriched (LEU) and highly enriched uranium (HEU) for research reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, H.

    1997-01-01

    Enriched uranium for research reactors in the form of LEU /= low enriched uranium at 19.75% U-235) and HEU (= highly enriched uranium at 90 to 93% U-235) was and is - due to its high U-235 enrichment - a political fuel other than enriched uranium for power reactors. The sufficient availability of LEU and HEU is a vital question for research reactors, especially in Europe, in order to perform their peaceful research reactor programs. In the past the USA were in the Western hemisphere sole supplier of LEU and HEU. Today the USA have de facto stopped the supply of LEU and HEU, for HEU mainly due to political reasons. This paper deals, among others, with the present availability of LEU and HEU for European research reactors and touches the following topics: - historical US supplies, - influence of the RERTR-program, - characteristics of LEU and HEU, - military HEU enters the civil market, -what is the supply situation for LEU and HEU today? - outlook for safe supplies of LEU and HEU. (author)

  5. Anti-diabetic effect of Cyclo-His-Pro (CHP)-enriched yeast ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Anti-diabetic effect of Cyclo-His-Pro (CHP)-enriched yeast hydrolysate in ... The present study was designed to investigate the hypoglycemic effects of the daily ... in the area under curve (AUC) value of YH supplemented groups as compared ...

  6. Influence of environmental enrichment techniques in improvement of welfare of Callithrix penicillata (E. Geoffroy, 1812 (Primates: Callitrichidae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Prado Borges

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available This study applied environmental enrichment techniques to a captive Callithrix penicillata group aiming to improve the welfare of these animals. Enrichment was carried out with six animals, three males and three females, of Sabiá Municipal Park zoo (Uberlândia, MG, Brazil. Data were collected in three phases, before enrichment, during enrichment and after enrichment, each phase with 40h of quantitative observations. We used two sensorial and four feeding enrichment devices. The animals’ responses to the enrichment were positive. We observed an increase in some of the behavioral categories, such as “exploring”, “foraging”, “social” and “territorial”. On the other hand, other behaviors decreased, e.g. “stereotypic” (a behavior that indicates stress. During and after the application of enrichment, new behaviors appeared particularly reproductive behaviors, which we had not seen previously. The behavioral changes observed indicate that the enrichment promoted an increase in welfare.

  7. Activities of Gaz de France Group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2003-01-01

    The Board of Directors of Gaz de France approved the Group's consolidated accounts for 2004. In a more dynamic economic environment than in 2003, the Gaz de France Group reports enhanced results and has continued to pursue its growth in Europe. Increase in net sales driven by sustained growth in sales (+ 8.9%): In 2004, net sales rose 8.9% compared with the 2003 financial year to reach a total of euro 18,129 m. This strong increase in business activities was driven by sustained growth in sales volumes both in France and Europe. Total Group sales volumes amounted to 730 TWh (approximately 66 billion cubic metres), equal to growth of 10.3%. Natural gas sales volumes increased by approximately 10% in France, and are almost 18% higher in Europe, notably in the United Kingdom, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. The Group has pursued the profitable development of its activities outside France. As a result, international activities account for 29% of total sales in 2004, against 23% in 2003. The contribution made by international subsidiaries - particularly those specializing in exploration and production - grew by a very substantial 44.3% to reach a total of euro 502 m in 2004. Energy and Services Offering Branch: this core business line, which includes natural gas and oil exploration and production, energy trading and sales, and services associated with the supply of energy, boasts net sales of euro 16,498 m, equal to growth of 10.8% compared with 2003. Infrastructures Branch: this division, which groups together all activities related to the management of transmission and distribution infrastructures in both the French domestic and international markets, generated net sales of euro 6,794 m in 2004, virtually unchanged from the previous year. This situation is the result of higher sales generated by the distribution subsidiaries operating outside France (+9.2%) offset by a decline in the sales performance of the Transmission, Storage and Distribution in France

  8. Teaching Group Interdependence: A Campus Murder Mystery Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minei, Elizabeth M.; Shearer Dunn, Karen

    2017-01-01

    Courses: Introduction to Communication; small group; interpersonal. Objectives: This single activity demonstrates: (1) how interdependence can lead to better group outcomes than individual outcomes can; (2) how diversity of knowledge from multiple contributors helps group functioning; and (3) how students can be introduced to members of the…

  9. The RERTR [Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor] program:

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Travelli, A.

    1987-01-01

    The progress of the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) program is described. After a brief summary of the results which the RERTR program, in collaboration with its many international partners, had achieved by the end of 1986, the activities, results and new developments which ocurred in 1987 are reviewed. Irradiation of the second miniplate series, concentrating on U 3 Si 2 -Al and U 3 Si-Al fuels was completed and postirradiation examinations were performed on many of its miniplates. The whole-core ORR demonstration with U 3 Si 2 -Al fuel at 4.8 g U/cm 3 was completed at the end of March with excellent results and with 29 elements estimated to have reached at least 40 % average burnup. Good progress was made in the area of LEU usage for the production of fission 99 Mo, and in the coordination of safety evaluations related to LEU conversions of U.S. university reactors. Planned activities include testing and demonstrating advanced fuels intended to allow use of reduced enrichment uranium in very-high-performance reactors. Two candidate fuels are U 3 Si-Al with 19.75 % enrichment and U 3 Si 2 -Al with 45 % enrichment. Demonstration of these fuels will include irradiation of full-size elements and, possibly, a full-core demonstration. Achievement of the final program goals is still projected for 1990. This progress could not have been possible without the close international cooperation which has existed from the beginning, and which is essential to the ultimate success of the RERTR program. (Author)

  10. Study on bioavailability of zinc for children's diet by using activable isotopic tracer 70Zn and neutron activation analysis techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Yangmei; Ni Bangfa; Wang Pingsheng; Tian Weizhi; Cao Lei

    2001-01-01

    Bioavailability of zinc for three groups (low amount of diet zinc, balance amount of diet zinc and high amount of diet zinc) of children's diet is studied by using activable isotopic tracer 70 Zn and neutron activation analysis techniques. The results indicate that the fractional absorption of zinc from balance diet zinc group is the highest, up to 33.9%. A procedure of pre-irradiation concentration zinc for fecal samples using anion exchanger is developed, and the enriched 70 Zn with isotopic abundance of 18.3% is used for tracer. The mass ratios between 70 Zn and 68 Zn or 64 Zn and their contents between natural zinc and enriched zinc are used to calculate the bioavailability of zinc. Instrumental neutron activation analysis of 64 Zn of each original fecal samples and pre-irradiation concentrated zinc samples are used to normalize the chemical yield in order to reduce the uncertainty during the chemical separation procedure

  11. A view of the uranium enrichment market of the late 1990's and beyond

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Longenecker, J.R.

    1991-01-01

    The author discusses the following topics related to the international uranium enrichment market: a market overview from the early 1980's, including price projections and the impact of new technologies; outlook for the market over the next decade, including military versus commercial requirements, supply and demand for enrichment services, uranium enrichment prices for the 1990's, utility procurement practices, new technologies, and an update on development and design activities related to laser isotope separation at CRISLA Technologies, Inc

  12. Iodine. Do we need an enrichment program in Denmark?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Lone Banke; Andersson, G.; Haraldsdottir, J.

    1996-01-01

    A working group was established to evaluate the need for iodine enrichment in Denmark. Judged from studies of urinary iodine excretion and one dietary survey the intake of iodine in Denmark is low compared with recommended intakes. The occurrence of non-toxic goitre is relatively high; between 9...

  13. Knowledge Enrichment Analysis for Human Tissue- Specific Genes Uncover New Biological Insights

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gong Xiu-Jun

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The expression and regulation of genes in different tissues are fundamental questions to be answered in biology. Knowledge enrichment analysis for tissue specific (TS and housekeeping (HK genes may help identify their roles in biological process or diseases and gain new biological insights.In this paper, we performed the knowledge enrichment analysis for 17,343 genes in 84 human tissues using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA and Hypergeometric Analysis (HA against three biological ontologies: Gene Ontology (GO, KEGG pathways and Disease Ontology (DO respectively.The analyses results demonstrated that the functions of most gene groups are consistent with their tissue origins. Meanwhile three interesting new associations for HK genes and the skeletal muscle tissuegenes are found. Firstly, Hypergeometric analysis against KEGG database for HK genes disclosed that three disease terms (Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease are intensively enriched.Secondly, Hypergeometric analysis against the KEGG database for Skeletal Muscle tissue genes shows that two cardiac diseases of “Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM” and “Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC” are heavily enriched, which are also considered as no relationship with skeletal functions.Thirdly, “Prostate cancer” is intensively enriched in Hypergeometric analysis against the disease ontology (DO for the Skeletal Muscle tissue genes, which is a much unexpected phenomenon.

  14. The competitive enrichment market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parks, J.W.; Huffman, F.C.

    1984-01-01

    With the enactment of the ''Private Ownership of Special Nuclear Materials Act'' in 1964, the U.S. Government made provisions to enter into the uranium enrichment services business. Since nuclear power was in its infancy and the Government was promoting its growth as well as trying to help U.S. industry sell reactors overseas, the initial contracts (Requirements Contracts) for enrichment services placed most of the risks associated with the supplying of the services on the Government. Projections of nuclear power additions continued to grow and in 1972 the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) stopped contracting under Requirements Contracts in order to study which mode of contracting best suited the commercial development of the industry. In mid-1973, the AEC introduced the Long-Term Fixed Commitment (LTFC) contract which shifted the risk to the customer. By mid-1974, AEC had contracts which completely used the enrichment capacity of its complex and refused to accept requests for additional contracts. This action further convinced European nations that they should continue to develop their own enrichment capacity and resulted in the EURODIF and URENCO projects. Before this time the U.S. supplied 100% of the world market for enriching services

  15. Enrichment: Dealing with overcapacity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, C.H.

    1989-01-01

    Today's surplus of enrichment capacity will continue until at least the end of this century. This will challenge the ingenuity of the separative work unit (SWU) suppliers as they attempt to keep market share and remain profitable in a very competitive marketplace. The utilities will be faced with attractive choices, but making the best choice will require careful analysis and increased attention to market factors. Current demand projections will probably prove too high to the extent that more reactors are canceled or delayed. The DOE has the vast majority of the unused capacity, so it will feel the most immediate impact of this large surplus in productive capacity. The DOE has responded to these market challenges by planning another reorganization of its enriching operations. Without a major agreement among the governments affected by the current surplus in enrichment capacity, the future will see lower prices, more competitive terms, and the gradual substitution of centrifuge or laser enrichment for the gaseous diffusion plants. The competition that is forcing the gaseous diffusion prices down to marginal cost will provide the long-term price basis for the enrichment industry

  16. In vitro antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of selenium-containing phycocyanin from selenium-enriched Spirulina platensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Tianfeng; Wong, Yum-Shing

    2008-06-25

    Both selenium and phycocyanin have been reported to show potent cancer chemopreventive activities. In this study, we investigated the in vitro antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of selenium-containing phycocyanin (Se-PC) purified from selenium-enriched Spirulina platensis. The antioxidant activity of Se-PC was evaluated by using four different free radical scavenging assays, namely, the 2,2'-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazolin-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assay, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, superoxide anion scavenging assay, and erythrocyte hemolysis assay. The results indicated that Se-PC exhibited stronger antioxidant activity than phycocyanin by scavenging ABTS, DPPH, superoxide anion, and 2,2'-azobis-(2-amidinopropane)dihydrochloride free radicals. Se-PC also showed dose-dependent protective effects on erythrocytes against H 2O 2-induced oxidative DNA damage as evaluated by the Comet assay. Moreover, Se-PC was identified as a potent antiproliferative agent against human melanoma A375 cells and human breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7 cells. Induction of apoptosis in both A375 and MCF-7 cells by Se-PC was evidenced by accumulation of sub-G1 cell populations, DNA fragmentation, and nuclear condensation. Further investigation on intracellular mechanisms indicated that depletion of mitochondrial membrane potential (DeltaPsi m) was involved in Se-PC-induced cell apoptosis. Our findings suggest that Se-PC is a promising organic Se species with potential applications in cancer chemoprevention.

  17. Wheat bread enriched with green coffee - In vitro bioaccessibility and bioavailability of phenolics and antioxidant activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Świeca, Michał; Gawlik-Dziki, Urszula; Dziki, Dariusz; Baraniak, Barbara

    2017-04-15

    The potential bioaccessibility and bioavailability of phenolics, caffeine and antioxidant activity of wheat bread enriched with green coffee were studied. Supplementation enhanced nutraceutical potential by improving phenolic content and lipid protecting capacity. The simulated-digestion-released phenolics (mainly caffeic acid, syringic acid and vanillic acid) from bread, also caused significant qualitative changes (chlorogenic acids were cleaved and significant amounts of caffeic acid and ferulic acid were determined). Compared to the control, for the bread with 1% and 5% of the functional component the contents of phenolics were 1.6 and 3.33 times higher. Also, an approximately 2.3-fold increase in antioxidant activity was found in bread containing 5% of the supplement. The compounds responsible for antioxidant potential have high bioaccessibility but poor bioavailability. The qualitative composition of the phenolic fraction has a key role in developing the antioxidant potential of bread; however, caffeine and synergism between antioxidants are also important considerations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Enriching Group Counseling through Integrating Yoga Concepts and Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rybak, Christopher; Deuskar, Megha

    2010-01-01

    Integrating practices from yoga with group counseling offers many creative paths of therapeutic learning. While yoga emphasizes the increased sense of connection with the self, group counseling emphasizes the increased sense of authenticity in relationship with oneself and with others. Common aims of both yoga and counseling are liberation from…

  19. The effect of environmental enrichment on the behavior of captive tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Kirsten R; Mikkelsen, L F; Hau, J

    2010-01-01

    The authors provided different forms of environmental enrichment to six old laboratory male tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) and studied the behavior of the monkeys during a baseline period and during three enrichment periods. Each observation period lasted 5 d, with an interval of 6 d...... between periods. During the first enrichment period, the authors provided Buster cubes and wood cylinders with drilled holes filled with gum arabic. During the second enrichment period, monkeys were provided with a deep litter of bark shavings, and during the third enrichment period, they were given...... Buster cubes, wood cylinders and bark shavings. When provided with enrichment, the monkeys engaged in natural, species-specific activities and began to exhibit behavioral profiles that more closely resembled those of their natural counterparts. This suggests that their psychological well-being had...

  20. Development of on-line uranium enrichment monitor of gaseous UF6 for uranium enrichment plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Xuesheng; Liu Guorong; Jin Huimin; Zhao Yonggang; Li Jinghuai; Hao Xueyuan; Ying Bin; Yu Zhaofei

    2013-01-01

    An on-line enrichment monitor was developed to measure the enrichment of UF 6 , flowing through the processing pipes in uranium enrichment plant. A Nal (Tl) detector was used to measure the count rates of the 185.7 keV γ-ray emitted from 235 U, and the total quantity of uranium was determined from thermodynamic characteristics of gaseous uranium hexafluoride. The results show that the maximum relative standard deviation is less than 1% when the measurement time is 120 s or more and the pressure is more than 2 kPa in the measurement chamber. Uranium enrichment of gaseous uranium hexafluoride in the output end of cascade can be monitored continuously by using the device. It should be effective for nuclear materials accountability verifications and materials balance verification at uranium enrichment plant. (authors)

  1. Iran to sign additional protocol and suspend uranium enrichment and reprocessing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-01-01

    Full text: Iran's representative to the IAEA, Ambassador Ali Akbar Salehi, today delivered a letter to IAEA Director General, Mohamed ElBaradei conveying his Government's acceptance of the Additional Protocol. Mr. Salehi also informed the Director General that Iran had decided, as of today, to suspend all uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities in Iran - specifically, to suspend all activities on the site of Natanz, not to produce feed material for enrichment processes and not to import enrichment-related items. 'This is a welcome and positive development,' IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said. The IAEA intends to verify, in the context of the Safeguards Agreement and the Additional Protocol, the implementation by Iran of these decisions. At its meeting on 12 September, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution calling on Iran to sign, ratify and fully implement the Additional Protocol promptly and unconditionally, and as a confidence building measure to act henceforth in accordance with the Additional Protocol. The Board also called on Iran to suspend all further uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, pending provision by the Director General of the assurances required by Member States and pending satisfactory application of the provisions of the Additional Protocol. Also today, Mr. ElBaradei has released his report to IAEA Member States on the 'Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran' for consideration at the 20 November Board of Governors' meeting. Unless the IAEA Board decides otherwise, the document's circulation is restricted and it cannot be released to the press. (IAEA)

  2. Building a Team of Passionate Callers to Enrich Education in Croatia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gojsic, Jasenka; Magzan, Masa

    2010-01-01

    This article is about a group of eight people joined by a common idea--a strong call to enrich education in Croatia so that it motivates leadership and empowers children. Through use of philosophy and methodology of Appreciative Inquiry, this informal group of people has gradually developed into the core team of a potential national movement.…

  3. Behavioral and physiologic responses to environmental enrichment in the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cummings, Dawn; Brown, Janine L; Rodden, Melissa D; Songsasen, Nucharin

    2007-09-01

    The ex situ population of maned wolves is not self-sustaining due to poor reproduction, caused primarily by parental incompetence. Studies have shown that environmental enrichment can promote natural parental behaviors in zoo animals. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of environmental enrichment on behavioral and physiological responses of maned wolves. During an 8-week experimental period, daily behavior observations and fecal sample collection were conducted on four adult wolves (2.2) individually housed in environments without enrichment. After 2 weeks, the wolves were chronologically provided with 2-week intervals of hiding dead mice around the exhibit, no enrichment, and introduction of boomer balls. Responses of the wolves to enrichment were assessed based on activity levels and exploratory rates, as well as the level of corticoid metabolites in fecal samples collected daily throughout the study period. Providing wolves with environmental enrichment significantly increased exploratory behaviors (Pmaned wolves. There is evidence suggesting that providing animals with ability to forage for food is a more effective enrichment strategy than introducing objects. There is need for a longer term study to determine the impact of environmental enrichment in this species. Zoo Biol 26:331-343, 2007. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  4. Oxygen enrichment incineration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jeong Guk; Yang, Hee Chul; Park, Geun Il; Kim, Joon Hyung

    2000-10-01

    Oxygen enriched combustion technology has recently been used in waste incineration. To apply the oxygen enrichment on alpha-bearing waste incineration, which is being developed, a state-of-an-art review has been performed. The use of oxygen or oxygen-enriched air instead of air in incineration would result in increase of combustion efficiency and capacity, and reduction of off-gas product. Especially, the off-gas could be reduced below a quarter, which might reduce off-gas treatment facilities, and also increase an efficiency of off-gas treatment. However, the use of oxygen might also lead to local overheating and high nitrogen oxides (NOx) formation. To overcome these problems, an application of low NOx oxy-fuel burner and recycling of a part of off-gas to combustion chamber have been suggested

  5. Oxygen enrichment incineration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Jeong Guk; Yang, Hee Chul; Park, Geun Il; Kim, Joon Hyung

    2000-10-01

    Oxygen enriched combustion technology has recently been used in waste incineration. To apply the oxygen enrichment on alpha-bearing waste incineration, which is being developed, a state-of-an-art review has been performed. The use of oxygen or oxygen-enriched air instead of air in incineration would result in increase of combustion efficiency and capacity, and reduction of off-gas product. Especially, the off-gas could be reduced below a quarter, which might reduce off-gas treatment facilities, and also increase an efficiency of off-gas treatment. However, the use of oxygen might also lead to local overheating and high nitrogen oxides (NOx) formation. To overcome these problems, an application of low NOx oxy-fuel burner and recycling of a part of off-gas to combustion chamber have been suggested.

  6. A Group Recommender System for Tourist Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Inma; Sebastia, Laura; Onaindia, Eva; Guzman, Cesar

    This paper introduces a method for giving recommendations of tourist activities to a group of users. This method makes recommendations based on the group tastes, their demographic classification and the places visited by the users in former trips. The group recommendation is computed from individual personal recommendations through the use of techniques such as aggregation, intersection or incremental intersection. This method is implemented as an extension of the e-Tourism tool, which is a user-adapted tourism and leisure application, whose main component is the Generalist Recommender System Kernel (GRSK), a domain-independent taxonomy-driven search engine that manages the group recommendation.

  7. Report of the Comptroller General of the United States. Comments on selected aspects of the Administration's proposal for government assistance to private uranium enrichment groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1976-01-01

    This report presents GAO's views on matters raised by the Vice Chairman, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, related to the private ownership of uranium enrichment and reemphasizes GAO's belief that the Government should add on to one of its existing enrichment plants to provide the next increment of enrichment capacity

  8. A blueberry-enriched diet attenuates nephropathy in a rat model of hypertension via reduction in oxidative stress.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carrie M Elks

    Full Text Available To assess renoprotective effects of a blueberry-enriched diet in a rat model of hypertension. Oxidative stress (OS appears to be involved in the development of hypertension and related renal injury. Pharmacological antioxidants can attenuate hypertension and hypertension-induced renal injury; however, attention has shifted recently to the therapeutic potential of natural products as antioxidants. Blueberries (BB have among the highest antioxidant capacities of fruits and vegetables.Male spontaneously hypertensive rats received a BB-enriched diet (2% w/w or an isocaloric control diet for 6 or 12 weeks or 2 days. Compared to controls, rats fed BB-enriched diet for 6 or 12 weeks exhibited lower blood pressure, improved glomerular filtration rate, and decreased renovascular resistance. As measured by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, significant decreases in total reactive oxygen species (ROS, peroxynitrite, and superoxide production rates were observed in kidney tissues in rats on long-term dietary treatment, consistent with reduced pathology and improved function. Additionally, measures of antioxidant status improved; specifically, renal glutathione and catalase activities increased markedly. Contrasted to these observations indicating reduced OS in the BB group after long-term feeding, similar measurements made in rats fed the same diet for only 2 days yielded evidence of increased OS; specifically, significant increases in total ROS, peroxynitrite, and superoxide production rates in all tissues (kidney, brain, and liver assayed in BB-fed rats. These results were evidence of "hormesis" during brief exposure, which dissipated with time as indicated by enhanced levels of catalase in heart and liver of BB group.Long-term feeding of BB-enriched diet lowered blood pressure, preserved renal hemodynamics, and improved redox status in kidneys of hypertensive rats and concomitantly demonstrated the potential to delay or attenuate development

  9. Establishing a Cost Basis for Converting the High Flux Isotope Reactor from High Enriched to Low Enriched Uranium Fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Primm, Trent; Guida, Tracey

    2010-01-01

    Under the auspices of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors Program, the National Nuclear Security Administration/Department of Energy (NNSA/DOE) has, as a goal, to convert research reactors worldwide from weapons grade to non-weapons grade uranium. The High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) at Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) is one of the candidates for conversion of fuel from high enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU). A well documented business model, including tasks, costs, and schedules was developed to plan the conversion of HFIR. Using Microsoft Project, a detailed outline of the conversion program was established and consists of LEU fuel design activities, a fresh fuel shipping cask, improvements to the HFIR reactor building, and spent fuel operations. Current-value costs total $76 million dollars, include over 100 subtasks, and will take over 10 years to complete. The model and schedule follows the path of the fuel from receipt from fuel fabricator to delivery to spent fuel storage and illustrates the duration, start, and completion dates of each subtask to be completed. Assumptions that form the basis of the cost estimate have significant impact on cost and schedule.

  10. Enrichr: interactive and collaborative HTML5 gene list enrichment analysis tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Edward Y; Tan, Christopher M; Kou, Yan; Duan, Qiaonan; Wang, Zichen; Meirelles, Gabriela Vaz; Clark, Neil R; Ma'ayan, Avi

    2013-04-15

    System-wide profiling of genes and proteins in mammalian cells produce lists of differentially expressed genes/proteins that need to be further analyzed for their collective functions in order to extract new knowledge. Once unbiased lists of genes or proteins are generated from such experiments, these lists are used as input for computing enrichment with existing lists created from prior knowledge organized into gene-set libraries. While many enrichment analysis tools and gene-set libraries databases have been developed, there is still room for improvement. Here, we present Enrichr, an integrative web-based and mobile software application that includes new gene-set libraries, an alternative approach to rank enriched terms, and various interactive visualization approaches to display enrichment results using the JavaScript library, Data Driven Documents (D3). The software can also be embedded into any tool that performs gene list analysis. We applied Enrichr to analyze nine cancer cell lines by comparing their enrichment signatures to the enrichment signatures of matched normal tissues. We observed a common pattern of up regulation of the polycomb group PRC2 and enrichment for the histone mark H3K27me3 in many cancer cell lines, as well as alterations in Toll-like receptor and interlukin signaling in K562 cells when compared with normal myeloid CD33+ cells. Such analyses provide global visualization of critical differences between normal tissues and cancer cell lines but can be applied to many other scenarios. Enrichr is an easy to use intuitive enrichment analysis web-based tool providing various types of visualization summaries of collective functions of gene lists. Enrichr is open source and freely available online at: http://amp.pharm.mssm.edu/Enrichr.

  11. 75 FR 10525 - In the Matter of: AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC (Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility) and All Other...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-08

    ...: AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC (Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility) and All Other Persons Who Seek or Obtain... for the Implementation of a Safeguards Information Program (Effective Immediately) I AREVA Enrichment... it to construct and operate a uranium enrichment facility in Bonneville County, Idaho. AES submitted...

  12. Learners’ views about cloud computing-based group activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yildirim Serkan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Thanks to its use independently of time and place during the process of software development and by making it easier to access to information with mobile technologies, cloud based environments attracted the attention of education world and this technology started to be used in various activities. In this study, for programming education, the effects of extracurricular group assignments in cloud based environments on learners were evaluated in terms of group work satisfaction, ease of use and user satisfaction. Within the scope of computer programming education lasting eight weeks, a total of 100 students participated in the study including 34 men and 66 women. Participants were divided into groups of at least three people considering the advantages of cooperative learning in programming education. In this study carried out in both conventional and cloud based environments, between groups factorial design was used as research design. The data collected by questionnaires of opinions of group work were examined with quantitative analysis method. According to the study results extracurricular learning activities as group activity created satisfaction. However, perceptions of easy use of the environment and user satisfaction were partly positive. Despite the similar understandings; male participants were easier to perceive use of cloud computing based environments. Some variables such as class level, satisfaction, computer and internet usage time do not have any effect on satisfaction and perceptions of ease of use. Evening class students stated that they found it easy to use cloud based learning environments and became more satisfied with using these environments besides being happier with group work than daytime students.

  13. Enrichment with Wood Blocks Does Not Affect Toxicity Assessment in an Exploratory Toxicology Model Using Sprague–Dawley Rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ditewig, Amy C; Bratcher, Natalie A; Davila, Donna R; Dayton, Brian D; Ebert, Paige; Lesuisse, Philippe; Liguori, Michael J; Wetter, Jill M; Yang, Hyuna; Buck, Wayne R

    2014-01-01

    Environmental enrichment in rodents may improve animal well-being but can affect neurologic development, immune system function, and aging. We tested the hypothesis that wood block enrichment affects the interpretation of traditional and transcriptomic endpoints in an exploratory toxicology testing model using a well-characterized reference compound, cyclophosphamide. ANOVA was performed to distinguish effects of wood block enrichment separate from effects of 40 mg/kg cyclophosphamide treatment. Biologically relevant and statistically significant effects of wood block enrichment occurred only for body weight gain. ANOVA demonstrated the expected effects of cyclophosphamide on food consumption, spleen weight, and hematology. According to transcriptomic endpoints, cyclophosphamide induced fewer changes in gene expression in liver than in spleen. Splenic transcriptomic pathways affected by cyclophosphamide included: iron hemostasis; vascular tissue angiotensin system; hepatic stellate cell activation and fibrosis; complement activation; TGFβ-induced hypertrophy and fibrosis; monocytes, macrophages, and atherosclerosis; and platelet activation. Changes in these pathways due to cyclophosphamide treatment were consistent with bone marrow toxicity regardless of enrichment. In a second study, neither enrichment nor type of cage flooring altered body weight or food consumption over a 28-d period after the first week. In conclusion, wood block enrichment did not interfere with a typical exploratory toxicology study; the effects of ingested wood on drug level kinetics may require further consideration. PMID:24827566

  14. Bone Response to Dietary Co-Enrichment with Powdered Whole Grape and Probiotics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cynthia Blanton

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Nutrition is a primary modifiable determinant of chronic noncommunicable disease, including osteoporosis. An etiology of osteoporosis is the stimulation of bone-resorbing osteoclasts by reactive oxygen species (ROS. Dietary polyphenols and probiotics demonstrate protective effects on bone that are associated with reduced ROS formation and suppressed osteoclast activity. This study tested the effect of dietary enrichment with powdered whole grape and probiotics (composed of equal parts Bifidobacterium bifidum, B. breve, Lactobacillus casei, L. plantarum, and L. bulgaricus on bone microarchitecture in a mouse model of age-related osteoporosis. Groups (n = 7 each of 10-month-old male mice were fed one of six diets for 6 months: 10% grape powder with sugar corrected to 20%; 20% grape powder; 1% probiotic with sugar corrected to 20%; 10% grape powder + 1% probiotic with sugar corrected to 20%; 20% grape powder + 1% probiotic; 20% sugar control. Femur, tibia and 4th lumbar vertebrae from 10-month-old mice served as comparator baseline samples. Bone microarchitecture was measured by micro-computed tomography and compared across diet groups using analysis of variance. Aging exerted a significant effect on tibia metaphysis trabecular bone, with baseline 10-month-old mice having significantly higher bone volume/total volume (BV/TV and trabecular number measurements and lower trabecular spacing measurements than all 16-month-old groups (p < 0.001. Neither grape nor probiotic enrichment significantly improved bone microarchitecture during aging compared to control diet. The combination of 20% grape + 1% probiotic exerted detrimental effects on tibia metaphysis BV/TV compared to 10% grape + 1% probiotic, and trabecular number and trabecular spacing compared to 10% grape + 1% probiotic, 1% probiotic and control groups (p < 0.05. Femur metaphysis trabecular bone displayed less pronounced aging effects than tibia bone, but also showed detrimental effects of the

  15. Efficacy of lycopene-enriched virgin olive oil for treating burning mouth syndrome: a double-blind randomised.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cano-Carrillo, P; Pons-Fuster, A; López-Jornet, P

    2014-04-01

    Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is an intensive chronic oral mucosal pain condition of unknown aetiology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical performance of lycopene-enriched virgin olive oil used to treat the condition, comparing this with a placebo. This study took the form of a double-bind, randomised clinical trial. A total of 60 patients with BMS were randomly divided into two groups: Group I (n = 30) treated with lycopene-enriched virgin olive oil (300 ppm) (1.5 mL three times a day) and Group II (n=treated with a placebo (1.5 mL three times a day). Evaluations were made before and after 12 weeks of product/placebo application. Symptoms were evaluated by VAS, whilst patient psychological profiles were assessed using the HAD scale and patient quality of life using the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) and the Medical Outcome Short Form Health Survey questionnaire (SF36). Fifty patients completed the 12-week treatment (26 in Group I and 24 in Group II). Visual analogue scale pain values improved in both groups but without statistically significant differences between the groups (P = 0.57). Oral quality of life also improved. Four patients in Group I (treatment) left the study and six left Group II (placebo). No patients experienced any adverse effects resulting from treatment at any of the evaluation times. Patients were lost from the sample due to lack of compliance. It was found that the lipid profile did not change during the 3-month study period as a result of the application of lycopene-enriched olive oil (Group I); nor did any change occur in the placebo group (Group II). In this way, the placebo effect was seen to be strong. The topical lycopene-enriched virgin olive oil is a very safe and an effective similar way that the placebo for treating patients with BMS. However, future studies are required to establish the treatment for patients with chronic and painful syndrome.

  16. Platelet-rich preparations to improve healing. Part II: platelet activation and enrichment, leukocyte inclusion, and other selection criteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Vicki L; Abukabda, Alaeddin B; Radio, Nicholas M; Witt-Enderby, Paula A; Clafshenkel, William P; Cairone, J Vito; Rutkowski, James L

    2014-08-01

    Multiple platelet-rich preparations have been reported to improve wound and bone healing, such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet rich fibrin (PRF). The different methods employed during their preparation are important, as they influence the quality of the product applied to a wound or surgical site. Besides the general protocol for preparing the platelet-rich product (discussed in Part 1 of this review), multiple choices need to be considered during its preparation. For example, activation of the platelets is required for the release and enmeshment of growth factors, but the method of activation may influence the resulting matrix, growth factor availability, and healing. Additionally, some methods enrich leukocytes as well as platelets, but others are designed to be leukocyte-poor. Leukocytes have many important roles in healing and their inclusion in PRP results in increased platelet concentrations. Platelet and growth factor enrichment reported for the different types of platelet-rich preparations are also compared. Generally, TGF-β1 and PDGF levels were higher in preparations that contain leukocytes compared to leukocyte-poor PRP. However, platelet concentration may be the most reliable criterion for comparing different preparations. These and other criteria are described to help guide dental and medical professionals, in large and small practices, in selecting the best procedures for their patients. The healing benefits of platelet-rich preparations along with the low risk and availability of simple preparation procedures should encourage more clinicians to incorporate platelet-rich products in their practice to accelerate healing, reduce adverse events, and improve patient outcomes.

  17. Proton accumulation and ATPase activity in Golgi apparatus-enriched vesicles from rat liver

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yeh, H.I.; van Rossum, G.D.

    1991-01-01

    We have studied the mechanism by which liver Golgi apparatus maintains the acidity of its contents, using a subcellular fraction from rat liver highly enriched in Golgi marker enzymes. Proton accumulation (measured by quenching of acridine-orange fluorescence) and anion-dependent ATPase were characterized and compared. Maximal ATPase and proton accumulation required ATP; GTP and other nucleotides gave 10% to 30% of maximal activity. Among anions, Cl- and Br- approximately doubled the activities; others were much less effective. Half-maximal increase of ATPase and H+ uptake required 55 mmol/L and 27 mmol/L Cl-, respectively. In predominantly chloride media, SCN- and NO3- markedly inhibited H+ uptake. Nitrate competitively inhibited both the chloride-dependent ATPase (apparent Ki 6 mmol/L) and proton uptake (apparent Ki 2 mmol/L). Nitrate and SCN- also inhibited uptake of 36Cl. Replacing K+ with Na+ had no effect on the initial rate of proton uptake but somewhat reduced the steady state attained. Replacement of K+ with NH4+ and choline reduced proton uptake without affecting ATPase. The ATPase and H+ uptake were supported equally well by Mg2+ or Mn2+. The ATPase was competitively inhibited by 4-acetamido-4'-isothiocyano-stilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (apparent Ki 39 mumol/L). Other agents inhibiting both H+ uptake and ATPase were N-ethylmaleimide, N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, chlorpromazine, diethylstilbestrol, Zn2+, Co2+ and Cu2+. In the Cl- medium, accumulated protons were released by ionophores at the relative rates, monensin = nigericin greater than valinomycin greater than carbonyl cyanide mchlorophenylhydrazone; the last of these also reduced ATPase activity. In the absence of Cl-, monensin and valinomycin both stimulated the ATPase. These results show a close association between ATPase activity and acidification of liver Golgi vesicles

  18. Effect of ingredients on oxidative stability of fish oil-enriched drinking yoghurt

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Nina Skall; Klein, Anna; Jacobsen, Charlotte

    2009-01-01

    , pectin, citric acid or gluconodelta- lactone did not affect the oxidative stability of fish oil-enriched yoghurt emulsions. Furthermore, the fruit preparation and added sugar did not lead to increased antioxidative activity. It is concluded that yoghurt as the dairy component in the fish oil......The oxidative stabilities of fish oil-enriched milk and fish oil-enriched drinking yoghurt were compared by following the development of lipid oxidation in plain milk, plain yoghurt and yoghurt to which ingredients present in drinking yoghurt were added one by one. All samples were enriched with 1...... wt-% fish oil. After 3 weeks of storage, development of peroxide values, volatile secondary oxidation products and fishy offflavors were much more pronounced in the milk compared to any of the yoghurt samples, irrespective of any added ingredients used to prepare flavored drinking yoghurt. Thus...

  19. Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Enriched Hen Eggs Consumption Enhances Microvascular Reactivity in Young Healthy Individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stupin, Ana; Rasic, Lidija; Matic, Anita; Stupin, Marko; Kralik, Zlata; Kralik, Gordana; Grcevic, Manuela; Drenjancevic, Ines

    2018-04-10

    Whilst the beneficial effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) supplementation on cardiovascular (CV) system is well supported in CV patients, the effect of consumption of omega-3 PUFAs enriched functional food in healthy individuals is still not fully elucidated. This study aimed to determine the effect of consumption of omega-3 PUFAs enriched hen eggs on microvascular reactivity (primary outcome), blood pressure (BP) and serum lipid profile in young healthy individuals. Control group (N=16) ate three ordinary hen eggs (277 mg omega-3 PUFAs/day), and OMEGA-3 group (N=20) ate three omega-3 PUFAs enriched eggs containing 259 mg of omega-3 PUFAs/egg daily (ALA 167 mg/egg, EPA 7 mg/egg, DHA 84 mg/egg) for 3 weeks (777 mg omega-3 PUFAs/day). Post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PORH) in skin microcirculation assessed by laser Doppler flowmetry, serum lipid profile, fasting blood glucose, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and arterial BP were measured in all subjects before and after the protocol. PORH was significantly enhanced, and triglycerides, hsCRP and BP were significantly decreased in OMEGA-3 group compared to baseline measurement, while there was no significant difference in Control group after the protocol compared to baseline. This is the first study to demonstrate that consumption of a mixture of omega-3 PUFAs (ALA+EPA+DHA), provided via enriched hen eggs, elicits changes in microvascular reactivity, BP and triglycerides level in healthy subjects that are associated with CV benefits, thus suggesting that daily consumption of omega-3 PUFAs enriched eggs in healthy individuals may potentially contribute to CV risk factors attenuation and disease prevention.

  20. 76 FR 387 - Atomic Safety and Licensing Board; AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC (Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-04

    ... and Licensing Board; AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC (Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility) December 17, 2010... construction and operation of a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility--denoted as the Eagle Rock... site at http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/arevanc.html . These and other documents relating...

  1. Environmental enrichment of brown capuchins (Cebus apella): behavioral and plasma and fecal cortisol measures of effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boinski, S; Swing, S P; Gross, T S; Davis, J K

    1999-01-01

    No consensus exists about the quantity and variety of environmental enrichment needed to achieve an acceptable level of psychological well-being among singly housed primates. Behavioral and plasma and fecal cortisol measures were used to evaluate the effectiveness of four levels of toy and foraging enrichment provided to eight wild-caught, singly housed adult male brown capuchins (Cebus apella). The 16-week-long study comprised six conditions and began with a 4-week-long preexperimental and ended with a 4-week-long postexperimental period during which the subjects were maintained at baseline enrichment levels. During the intervening 8 weeks, the subjects were randomly assigned to a sequence of four 2-week-long experimental conditions: control (baseline conditions), toy (the addition of two plastic toys to each cage), box (access to a foraging box with food treats hidden within crushed alfalfa), and box & toy (the addition of two plastic toys and access to a foraging box). Behavioral responses to changes in enrichment were rapid and extensive. Within-subject repeated-measure ANOVAs with planned post hoc contrasts identified highly significant reductions in abnormal and undesirable behaviors (and increases in normal behaviors) as the level of enrichment increased from control to toy to box to box & toy. No significant behavioral differences were found between the control and pre- and postexperimental conditions. Plasma and fecal cortisol measures revealed a different response to changing enrichment levels. Repeated-measure ANOVA models found significant changes in both these measures across the six conditions. The planned post hoc analyses, however, while finding dramatic increases in cortisol titers in both the pre- and postexperimental conditions relative to the control condition, did not distinguish cortisol responses among the four enrichment levels. Linear regressions among weekly group means in behavioral and cortisol measures (n=16) found that plasma cortisol

  2. Environmental enrichment of brown capuchins (Cebus apella): Behavioral and plasma and fecal cortisol measures of effectiveness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boinski, S.; Swing, S.P.; Gross, T.S.; Davis, J.K.

    1999-01-01

    No consensus exists about the quantity and variety of environmental enrichment needed to achieve an acceptable level of psychological well-being among singly housed primates. Behavioral and plasma and fecal cortisol measures were used to evaluate the effectiveness of four levels of toy and foraging enrichment provided to eight wild-caught, singly housed adult male brown capuchins (Cebus apella). The 16-week-long study comprised six conditions and began with a 4-week-long preexperimental and ended with a 4-week-long postexperimental period during which the subjects were maintained at baseline enrichment levels. During the intervening 8 weeks, the subjects were randomly assigned to a sequence of four 2-week-long experimental conditions: control (baseline conditions), toy (the addition of two plastic toys to each cage), box (access to a foraging box with food treats hidden within crushed alfalfa), and box and toy (the addition of two plastic toys and access to a foraging box). Behavioral responses to changes in enrichment were rapid and extensive. Within-subject repeated-measure ANOVAs with planned post hoc contrasts identified highly significant reductions in abnormal and undesirable behaviors (and increases in normal behaviors) as the level of enrichment increased from control to toy to box to box and toy. No significant behavioral differences were found between the control and pre- and postexperimental conditions. Plasma and fecal cortisol measures revealed a different response to changing enrichment levels. Repeated-measure ANOVA models found significant changes in both these measures across the six conditions. The planned post hoc analyses, however, while finding dramatic increases in cortisol titers in both the pre- and postexperimental conditions relative to the control condition, did not distinguish cortisol responses among the four enrichment levels. Linear regressions among weekly group means in behavioral and cortisol measures (n = 16) found that plasma

  3. Enrichment of Pb, Hg and Cr in cultured carp otolith

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    AJL

    2012-01-26

    Jan 26, 2012 ... converted to certain organic metal compounds under microbial activity, and ... these years, the chosen aquatic organisms are aquatic algae, zooplankton ..... enriched and accumulated in marine animals. In natural water, the ...

  4. Applied nuclear physics group - activities report. 1977-1997

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Appoloni, Carlos Roberto

    1998-06-01

    This report presents the activities conducted by the Applied Nuclear Physics group of the Londrina State University - Applied Nuclear Physics Laboratory - Brazil, from the activities beginning (1977) up to the end of the year 1997

  5. Preliminary outline for the final report of INFCE working group 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-04-01

    After proposing a revised and detailed outline for the working group report, a draft of chapter 6, assessment and comparison of the proliferation aspects of enrichment, is given. Major subheadings within the chapter include: proliferation aspects in general, proliferation aspects of enrichment, means to minimize the risks of proliferation of enrichment technologies, international safeguards aspects specific to enrichment, international aspects, including multi-national or regional fuel cycle centers, special features to proliferation resistance at enrichment techniques, and general conclusions

  6. Effects of commercial enrichment products on fatty acid components ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ajl yemi

    2011-10-26

    Oct 26, 2011 ... 3050 (ZB) and Spresso (ZC) on fatty acid compositions in rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) which were intensively ... docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and the ratio of n–3/n–6 in enriched rotifers groups were higher (p < 0.05). The level of ...... acid profiles and bacterial load in cultured rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis ...

  7. Effective bioleaching of chromium in tannery sludge with an enriched sulfur-oxidizing bacterial community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Jing; Gou, Min; Tang, Yue-Qin; Li, Guo-Ying; Sun, Zhao-Yong; Kida, Kenji

    2016-10-01

    In this study, a sulfur-oxidizing community was enriched from activated sludge generated in tannery wastewater treatment plants. Bioleaching of tannery sludge containing 0.9-1.2% chromium was investigated to evaluate the effectiveness of the enriched community, the effect of chromium binding forms on bioleaching efficiency, and the dominant microbes contributing to chromium bioleaching. Sludge samples inoculated with the enriched community presented 79.9-96.8% of chromium leaching efficiencies, much higher than those without the enriched community. High bioleaching efficiencies of over 95% were achieved for chromium in reducible fraction, while 60.9-97.9% were observed for chromium in oxidizable and residual fractions. Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans, the predominant bacteria in the enriched community, played an important role in bioleaching, whereas some indigenous heterotrophic species in sludge might have had a supporting role. The results indicated that A. thiooxidans-dominant enriched microbial community had high chromium bioleaching efficiency, and chromium binding forms affected the bioleaching performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Tetraspanin-enriched microdomains: a functional unit in cell plasma membranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yáñez-Mó, María; Barreiro, Olga; Gordon-Alonso, Mónica; Sala-Valdés, Mónica; Sánchez-Madrid, Francisco

    2009-09-01

    Membrane lipids and proteins are non-randomly distributed and are unable to diffuse freely in the plane of the membrane. This is because of multiple constraints imposed both by the cortical cytoskeleton and by the preference of lipids and proteins to cluster into diverse and specialized membrane domains, including tetraspanin-enriched microdomains, glycosylphosphatidyl inositol-linked proteins nanodomains and caveolae, among others. Recent biophysical characterization of tetraspanin-enriched microdomains suggests that they might be specially suited for the regulation of avidity of adhesion receptors and the compartmentalization of enzymatic activities. Moreover, modulation by tetraspanins of the function of adhesion receptors involved in inflammation, lymphocyte activation, cancer and pathogen infection suggests potential as therapeutic targets. This review explores this emerging picture of tetraspanin microdomains and discusses the implications for cell adhesion, proteolysis and pathogenesis.

  9. Chronic vitamin A-enriched diet feeding regulates hypercholesterolaemia through transcriptional regulation of reverse cholesterol transport pathway genes in obese rat model of WNIN/GR-Ob strain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shanmugam M Jeyakumar

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background & objectives: Hepatic scavenger receptor class B1 (SR-B1, a high-density lipoprotein (HDL receptor, is involved in the selective uptake of HDL-associated esterified cholesterol (EC, thereby regulates cholesterol homoeostasis and improves reverse cholesterol transport. Previously, we reported in euglycaemic obese rats (WNIN/Ob strain that feeding of vitamin A-enriched diet normalized hypercholesterolaemia, possibly through hepatic SR-B1-mediated pathway. This study was aimed to test whether it would be possible to normalize hypercholesterolaemia in glucose-intolerant obese rat model (WNIN/GR/Ob through similar mechanism by feeding identical vitamin A-enriched diet. Methods: In this study, 30 wk old male lean and obese rats of WNIN/GR-Ob strain were divided into two groups and received either stock diet or vitamin A-enriched diet (2.6 mg or 129 mg vitamin A/kg diet for 14 wk. Blood and other tissues were collected for various biochemical analyses. Results: Chronic vitamin A-enriched diet feeding decreased hypercholesterolaemia and normalized abnormally elevated plasma HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C levels in obese rats as compared to stock diet-fed obese groups. Further, decreased free cholesterol (FC and increased esterified cholesterol (EC contents of plasma cholesterol were observed, which were reflected in higher EC to FC ratio of vitamin A-enriched diet-fed obese rats. However, neither lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT activity of plasma nor its expression (both gene and protein in the liver were altered. On the contrary, hepatic cholesterol levels significantly increased in vitamin A-enriched diet fed obese rats. Hepatic SR-B1 expression (both mRNA and protein remained unaltered among groups. Vitamin A-enriched diet fed obese rats showed a significant increase in hepatic low-density lipoprotein receptor mRNA levels, while the expression of genes involved in HDL synthesis, namely, ATP-binding cassette protein 1 (ABCA1 and

  10. Adsorption of CO2 on KOH activated, N-enriched carbon derived from urea formaldehyde resin: kinetics, isotherm and thermodynamic studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiwari, Deepak; Bhunia, Haripada; Bajpai, Pramod K.

    2018-05-01

    High surface area nitrogen enriched carbon adsorbents were prepared from a low cost and widely available urea-formaldehyde resin using a standard chemical activation with KOH and characterized using different characterization techniques for their porous structure and surface functional groups. Maximum surface area and total pore volume of 4547 m2 g-1 and 4.50 cm3 g-1 were found by controlling the activation conditions. Nitrogen content of this sample was found to be 5.62%. Adsorption of CO2 uptake for the prepared carbon adsorbents was studied using a dynamic fixed bed adsorption system at different adsorption temperatures (30-100 °C) and at different CO2 concentrations (5-12.5%), relevant from the flue gas point application. Maximum CO2 uptake of 1.40 mmol g-1 for UFA-3-700 at 30 °C under 12.5% CO2 flow was obtained. Complete regenerability of the adsorbents over multiple adsorption-desorption cycles was obtained. Fractional order kinetic model provided best description over all adsorption temperatures and CO2 concentrations. Heterogeneity of the adsorbent surface was confirmed from Temkin adsorption isotherm model fit and isosteric heat of adsorption values. Negative value of ΔG° and ΔH° confirms spontaneous, feasible nature and exothermic nature of adsorption process. Overall, very high surface area of carbon adsorbent makes this adsorbent a new promising carbon material for CO2 capture from power plant flue gas and for other relevant applications.

  11. Argentine activities related to the development of low enriched fuel elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giorsetti, Domingo R.; Perez, Edmundo E.

    1983-01-01

    Within the framework of the RERTR Program and supported by the technical cooperation work agreed upon between the U.S.A. and Argentina in May 1979, the CNEA Nuclear Fuel Department - Low Enriched Fuel Elements Project (ECBE Project), has carried on its own program for developing fuels with low enrichment for research and test reactors. Up to the present, its main objective has been to replace the highly enriched fuel used in its only reactor (RA-3) for research, development and radioisotopes production. The basic stages of the Argentine Program are shown in Table 1. At a meeting held in Vienna in March, 1980, the CNEA stated that its development of fuels with low enrichment would be in two fuel lines: UAl x -Al and U 3 O 8 -Al, and that its aim would be to reach uranium densities of 18-2.2 g/cm 3 for the UAI x -Al line and 2.4-3.0 g/cm 3 for the U 3 O 8 line. At the international meeting held at ANL in November, 1980, and after having received depleted uranium and uranium with 20% and 45% enrichment (purchased from the U.S.A. for manufacturing miniplates and possible standard fuels) to carry on the proposed development, CNEA anticipated -- after its first tests -- that the conditions were satisfactory for reaching uranium densities of 2.4-3.0 g/cm 3 in U 3 O 8 -Al fuel and of 2.4 g/cm 3 in UAI x -Al fuel. In February 1981, after Argentina accepted the obligation of paying for the irradiation service, authorization was obtained for irradiating miniplates in the Oak Ridge Reactor within the RERTR Program. In June 1981, the first set of miniplates was sent to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The maximum actual densities reached at that time were 3.12 g/cm 3 with U 3 O 8 -Al and 2.52 g/cm 3 with UAl x -Al. During a visit of the CNEA Project Technical Manager to the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in July 1981, and after exchanging ideas with ANL professional staff, the CNEA decided to incorporate a new line of development, that of U 3 Si-Al. Three months later

  12. Isothiocyanate-enriched moringa seed extract alleviates ulcerative colitis symptoms in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Youjin; Wu, Alex G; Jaja-Chimedza, Asha; Graf, Brittany L; Waterman, Carrie; Verzi, Michael P; Raskin, Ilya

    2017-01-01

    Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) seed extract (MSE) has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. We investigated the effects of MSE enriched in moringa isothiocyanate-1 (MIC-1), its putative bioactive, on ulcerative colitis (UC) and its anti-inflammatory/antioxidant mechanism likely mediated through Nrf2-signaling pathway. Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced acute (n = 8/group; 3% DSS for 5 d) and chronic (n = 6/group; cyclic rotations of 2.5% DSS/water for 30 d) UC was induced in mice that were assigned to 4 experimental groups: healthy control (water/vehicle), disease control (DSS/vehicle), MSE treatment (DSS/MSE), or 5-aminosalicyic acid (5-ASA) treatment (positive control; DSS/5-ASA). Following UC induction, water (vehicle), 150 mg/kg MSE, or 50 mg/kg 5-ASA were orally administered for 1 or 2 wks. Disease activity index (DAI), spleen/colon sizes, and colonic histopathology were measured. From colon and/or fecal samples, pro-inflammatory biomarkers, tight-junction proteins, and Nrf2-mediated enzymes were analyzed at protein and/or gene expression levels. Compared to disease control, MSE decreased DAI scores, and showed an increase in colon lengths and decrease in colon weight/length ratios in both UC models. MSE also reduced colonic inflammation/damage and histopathological scores (modestly) in acute UC. MSE decreased colonic secretions of pro-inflammatory keratinocyte-derived cytokine (KC), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, nitric oxide (NO), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in acute and chronic UC; reduced fecal lipocalin-2 in acute UC; downregulated gene expression of pro-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, TNF-α, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in acute UC; upregulated expression of claudin-1 and ZO-1 in acute and chronic UC; and upregulated GSTP1, an Nrf2-mediated phase II detoxifying enzyme, in chronic UC. MSE was effective in mitigating UC symptoms and reducing UC-induced colonic pathologies, likely by suppressing pro-inflammatory biomarkers

  13. Mg-enriched erythrite from Bou Azzer, Anti-Atlas Mountains, Morocco: geochemical and spectroscopic characteristics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dumańska-Słowik, Magdalena; Pieczka, Adam; Natkaniec-Nowak, Lucyna; Kunecki, Piotr; Gaweł, Adam; Heflik, Wiesław; Smoliński, Wojciech; Kozub-Budzyń, Gabriela

    2018-06-01

    Supergene Mg-enriched erythrite, with an average composition (Co2.25Mg0.58Ni0.14Fe0.04Mn0.02 Zn0.02) (As1.97PMorocco. The unit cell parameters of monoclinic Mg-enriched erythrite [space group C2/ m, a = 10.252(2) Å, b = 13.427(3) Å, c = 4.757(3) Å, ß = 105.12(1)°] make the mineral comparable with erythrite from other localities. The composition of the sample represents the solid solution between erythrite, hörnesite and annabergite, that is, the nearest to the endmember erythrite. However, Mg-enriched erythrite forming the crystal exhibits variable compositions, especially in Mg and Co contents, with Mg increasing from 0.32 up to 1.39 apfu, and Co decreasing from 2.53 to 1.50 apfu, which manifests in the fine compositional oscillatory zoning. It is the highest content of Mg in erythrite structure reported so far. The most intensive Raman active ν3 and ν1 bands, recorded for the crystal's zones with maximum Mg contents, occur at 865 and 800 cm- 1 and are shifted towards higher wavenumbers, where normally hörnesite Raman bands appear. The characteristic oscillatory zoning texture results from varying contents of main and trace elements mobilized from the host ores (Co arsenides, mainly skutterudite) and rock-forming minerals (among others, dolomite) by the solutions in the oxidation zone of the ore deposits. The heating of the Mg-enriched erythrite up to 1000 °C leads to the crystallization of the water-free (Co,Mg)3(AsO4)2 phase.

  14. Environmental Enrichment Mitigates Detrimental Cognitive Effects of Ketogenic Diet in Weanling Rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scichilone, John M; Yarraguntla, Kalyan; Charalambides, Ana; Harney, Jacob P; Butler, David

    2016-09-01

    For decades, the ketogenic diet has been an effective treatment of intractable epilepsy in children. Childhood epilepsy is pharmacoresistant in 25-40 % of patients taking the current prescribed medications. Chronic seizure activity has been linked to deficits in cognitive function and behavioral problems which negatively affect the learning abilities of the child. Recent studies suggest the ketogenic diet (KD), a high fat with low carbohydrate and protein diet, has adverse effects on cognition in weanling rats. The diet reduces circulating glucose levels to where energy metabolism is converted from glycolysis to burning fat and generating ketone bodies which has been suggested as a highly efficient source of energy for the brain. In contrast, when weanling rats are placed in an enriched environment, they exhibit increased spatial learning, memory, and neurogenesis. Thus, this study was done to determine if weanling rats being administered a KD in an environmental enrichment (EE) would still exhibit the negative cognitive effects of the diet previously observed. The present study suggests that an altered environment is capable of reducing the cognitive deficits in weanling rats administered a KD. Learning was improved with an EE. The effect of diet and environment on anxiety and depression suggests a significant reduction in anxiety with enrichment rearing. Interestingly, circulating energy substrate levels were increased in the EE groups along with brain-derived neurotrophic factor despite the least changes in weight gain. In light of numerous studies using KDs that seemingly have adverse effects on cognition, KD-induced reductions in excitotoxic events would not necessarily eliminate that negative aspect of seizures.

  15. Enriched TeO2 bolometers with active particle discrimination: Towards the CUPID experiment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D.R. Artusa

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available We present the performances of two 92% enriched 130TeO2 crystals operated as thermal bolometers in view of a next generation experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of 130Te. The crystals, 435 g each, show an energy resolution, evaluated at the 2615 keV γ-line of 208Tl, of 6.5 and 4.3 keV FWHM. The only observable internal radioactive contamination arises from 238U (15 and 8 μBq/kg, respectively. The internal activity of the most problematic nuclei for neutrinoless double beta decay, 226Ra and 228Th, are both evaluated as <3.1 μBq/kg for one crystal and <2.3 μBq/kg for the second. Thanks to the readout of the weak Cherenkov light emitted by β/γ particles by means of Neganov–Luke bolometric light detectors we were able to perform an event-by-event identification of β/γ events with a 95% acceptance level, while establishing a rejection factor of 98.21% and 99.99% for α particles.

  16. AEC determines uranium enrichment policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    The Advisory Committee on Uranium Enrichment of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) has submitted a report to AEC chairman concerning the promotion of the introduction of advanced material, high performance centrifuges to replace conventional metallic drum centrifuges, and the development of next generation advanced centrifuges. The report also called for the postponement until around 1997 of the decision whether the development should be continued or not on atomic vapor laser isotope separation (AVLIS) and molecular laser isotope separation (MLIS) processes, as well as the virtual freezing of the construction of a chemical process demonstration plant. The report was approved by the AEC chairman in August. The uranium enrichment service market in the world will continue to be characterized by oversupply. The domestic situation of uranium enrichment supply-demand trend, progress of the expansion of Rokkasho enrichment plant, the trend in the development of gas centrifuge process and the basic philosophy of commercializing domestic uranium enrichment are reported. (K.I.)

  17. Gaseous diffusion -- the enrichment workhorse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shoemaker, J.E. Jr.

    1984-01-01

    Construction of the first large-scale gaseous diffusion facility was started as part of the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in 1943. This facility, code named ''K-25,'' began operation in January 1945 and was fully on stream by September 1945. Four additional process buildings were later added in Oak Ridge as the demand for enriched uranium escalated. New gaseous diffusion plants were constructed at Paducah, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio, during this period. The three gaseous diffusion plants were the ''workhorses'' which provided the entire enriched uranium demand for the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. As the demand for enriched uranium for military purposes decreased during the early 1960s, power to the diffusion plants was curtailed to reduce production. During the 1960s, as plans for the nuclear power industry were formulated, the role of the diffusion plants gradually changed from providing highly-enriched uranium for the military to providing low-enriched uranium for power reactors

  18. Activity report of the Neutrino Research Group. Year 2006

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-01-01

    For the last two decades, neutrino physics has been producing major discoveries including neutrino oscillations. These results gave clear confirmation that active neutrinos oscillate and therefore have mass with three different mass states. This is a very important result showing that the Minimal Standard Model is incomplete and requires an extension which is not yet known. The neutrino research field is very broad and active, at the frontier of today's particle physics. The Neutrino Research Group (GDR) was created in January 2005 with the aim of gathering CEA and CNRS research teams working on Neutrino Physics on experimental or theoretical level. This document is the 2006 activity report of the research group, two years after its creation. It presents the results of the 5 working groups: 1 - Determination of neutrino parameters; 2 - Physics beyond the standard model; 3 - Neutrinos in the universe; 4 - Accelerators, detection means, R and D and valorisation; 5 - Common tools to all working groups. The proposed neutrino physics road-map and the actual and future short-, medium- and long-term projects are presented in appendixes. The Neutrino research group organization, the Memphys specific mission group, the research group participating laboratories and teams, as well as the Memphys project are presented too

  19. URENCO's view of the future of enrichment supply

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paleit, J.A.

    1991-01-01

    Since three large diffusion plants were constructed in the US during 1944-53, several competing enrichment ventures and other processes have been introduced. France and Britain each constructed a diffusion plant for military purposes, but in fact, each has played a part in the development of commercial enrichment. These were followed by Eurodif, the French-Belgian-Italian-Spanish group, which constructed a solely commercial diffusion plant, and by URENCO, the British-Dutch-German group, which developed and constructed centrifuge plants and additions to them as business increased. The USSR not only supplied the Soviet nuclear power stations but also entered the Western market in the early 1970s, initially using diffusion plant capacity but shortly thereafter displacing it with centrifuge technology. The policy of constant and evolutionary improvement and modular plant installation is the optimum technical strategy for at least the next 10 yr; while it offers real commercial prices, it can be relied upon for steady cost improvement, certainty of supply, and flexibility of contracting, all of which are believed to be the combination of attributes that best meet the requirements of responsible nuclear utilities

  20. ToNER: A tool for identifying nucleotide enrichment signals in feature-enriched RNA-seq data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuttachon Promworn

    Full Text Available Biochemical methods are available for enriching 5' ends of RNAs in prokaryotes, which are employed in the differential RNA-seq (dRNA-seq and the more recent Cappable-seq protocols. Computational methods are needed to locate RNA 5' ends from these data by statistical analysis of the enrichment. Although statistical-based analysis methods have been developed for dRNA-seq, they may not be suitable for Cappable-seq data. The more efficient enrichment method employed in Cappable-seq compared with dRNA-seq could affect data distribution and thus algorithm performance.We present Transformation of Nucleotide Enrichment Ratios (ToNER, a tool for statistical modeling of enrichment from RNA-seq data obtained from enriched and unenriched libraries. The tool calculates nucleotide enrichment scores and determines the global transformation for fitting to the normal distribution using the Box-Cox procedure. From the transformed distribution, sites of significant enrichment are identified. To increase power of detection, meta-analysis across experimental replicates is offered. We tested the tool on Cappable-seq and dRNA-seq data for identifying Escherichia coli transcript 5' ends and compared the results with those from the TSSAR tool, which is designed for analyzing dRNA-seq data. When combining results across Cappable-seq replicates, ToNER detects more known transcript 5' ends than TSSAR. In general, the transcript 5' ends detected by ToNER but not TSSAR occur in regions which cannot be locally modeled by TSSAR.ToNER uses a simple yet robust statistical modeling approach, which can be used for detecting RNA 5'ends from Cappable-seq data, in particular when combining information from experimental replicates. The ToNER tool could potentially be applied for analyzing other RNA-seq datasets in which enrichment for other structural features of RNA is employed. The program is freely available for download at ToNER webpage (http://www4a

  1. ToNER: A tool for identifying nucleotide enrichment signals in feature-enriched RNA-seq data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Promworn, Yuttachon; Kaewprommal, Pavita; Shaw, Philip J; Intarapanich, Apichart; Tongsima, Sissades; Piriyapongsa, Jittima

    2017-01-01

    Biochemical methods are available for enriching 5' ends of RNAs in prokaryotes, which are employed in the differential RNA-seq (dRNA-seq) and the more recent Cappable-seq protocols. Computational methods are needed to locate RNA 5' ends from these data by statistical analysis of the enrichment. Although statistical-based analysis methods have been developed for dRNA-seq, they may not be suitable for Cappable-seq data. The more efficient enrichment method employed in Cappable-seq compared with dRNA-seq could affect data distribution and thus algorithm performance. We present Transformation of Nucleotide Enrichment Ratios (ToNER), a tool for statistical modeling of enrichment from RNA-seq data obtained from enriched and unenriched libraries. The tool calculates nucleotide enrichment scores and determines the global transformation for fitting to the normal distribution using the Box-Cox procedure. From the transformed distribution, sites of significant enrichment are identified. To increase power of detection, meta-analysis across experimental replicates is offered. We tested the tool on Cappable-seq and dRNA-seq data for identifying Escherichia coli transcript 5' ends and compared the results with those from the TSSAR tool, which is designed for analyzing dRNA-seq data. When combining results across Cappable-seq replicates, ToNER detects more known transcript 5' ends than TSSAR. In general, the transcript 5' ends detected by ToNER but not TSSAR occur in regions which cannot be locally modeled by TSSAR. ToNER uses a simple yet robust statistical modeling approach, which can be used for detecting RNA 5'ends from Cappable-seq data, in particular when combining information from experimental replicates. The ToNER tool could potentially be applied for analyzing other RNA-seq datasets in which enrichment for other structural features of RNA is employed. The program is freely available for download at ToNER webpage (http://www4a.biotec.or.th/GI/tools/toner) and Git

  2. Field Trial of LANL On-Line Advanced Enrichment Monitor for UF6 GCEP

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ianakiev, Kiril D. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Lombardi, Marcie [Los Alamos National Laboratory; MacArthur, Duncan W. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Parker, Robert F. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Smith, Morag K. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Keller, Clifford [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Friend, Peter [URENCO; Dunford, Andrew [URENCO

    2012-07-13

    The outline of this presentation is: (1) Technology basis of on-line enrichment monitoring; (2) Timescale of trial; (3) Description of installed equipment; (4) Photographs; (5) Results; (6) Possible further development; and (7) Conclusions. Summary of the good things about the Advanced Enrichment Monitor (AEM) performance is: (1) High accuracy - normally better than 1% relative, (2) Active system as accurate as passive system, (3) Fast and accurate detection of enrichment changes, (4) Physics is well understood, (5) Elegant method for capturing pressure signal, and (6) Data capture is automatic, low cost and fast. A couple of negative things are: (1) Some jumps in measured passive enrichment - of around +2% relative (due to clock errors?); and (2) Data handling and evaluation is off-line, expensive and very slow. Conclusions are: (1) LANL AEM is being tested on E23 plant at Capenhurst; (2) The trial is going very well; (3) AEM could detect production of HEU at potentially much lower cost than existing CEMO; (4) AEM can measure {sup 235}U assay accurately; (5) Active system using X-Ray source would avoid need for pressure measurement; (6) Substantial work lies ahead to go from current prototype to a production instrument.

  3. Considering the post-1995 enrichment market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gunter, L.

    1994-01-01

    World demand for uranium enrichment services is likely to grow only a little over the next decade, from the current 28 million separative work units (SWU) per year to 33 MSWU per year. Much of the growth will come from Asia where nuclear generating capacity is still increasing. The current situation of the primary enrichment companies is summarized. The primary Western suppliers, Cogema, United States Enrichment Corporation and Urenco, are competing for increased market share in the USA, Europe and Asia as utilities purchase their post-1995 requirements. Entry of the Russian enrichment company, Tenex, into Western markets has been limited by trade restrictions. As a consequence of disarmament, blended weapons material has resulted in a surplus of low-enriched uranium. Together with over-capacity amongst the primary enrichers this has led to an expectation that reduced prices will be negotiable in the medium term. (3 figures). (UK)

  4. Present state of development of uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-01-01

    The pilot plant for uranium enrichment started the operation on September 12, 1979. The pilot plant has been constructed by the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corp. in Ningyo Pass, Okayama Prefecture. 7000 centrifugal separators will be installed by mid 1981, and yearly production of 70 t SWU is expected. The Uranium Enrichment Committee of Japan Atomic Industrial Forum has made the proposal on the method of forwarding the development of uranium enrichment in Japan to Atomic Energy Commission and related government offices in December, 1978. This survey summarized the trends of uranium enrichment in Japan and foreign countries and the problems about nuclear non-proliferation, and provides with the reference materials. The demand and supply of uranium enrichment in the world, the present states and plans in USA, Europe, USSR and others, the demand and supply of uranium enrichment and the measures for securing it in Japan, the present state and future plan of uranium enrichment project in Japan, the international regulation of uranium enrichment, the recent policy of USA and INFCE, and the trend of the regulation of utilizing enriched uranium are described. Moreover, the concept of separation works in uranium enrichment and the various technologies of separation are explained. (Kako, I.)

  5. Inoculation stress hypothesis of environmental enrichment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crofton, Elizabeth J; Zhang, Yafang; Green, Thomas A

    2015-02-01

    One hallmark of psychiatric conditions is the vast continuum of individual differences in susceptibility vs. resilience resulting from the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. The environmental enrichment paradigm is an animal model that is useful for studying a range of psychiatric conditions, including protective phenotypes in addiction and depression models. The major question is how environmental enrichment, a non-drug and non-surgical manipulation, can produce such robust individual differences in such a wide range of behaviors. This paper draws from a variety of published sources to outline a coherent hypothesis of inoculation stress as a factor producing the protective enrichment phenotypes. The basic tenet suggests that chronic mild stress from living in a complex environment and interacting non-aggressively with conspecifics can inoculate enriched rats against subsequent stressors and/or drugs of abuse. This paper reviews the enrichment phenotypes, mulls the fundamental nature of environmental enrichment vs. isolation, discusses the most appropriate control for environmental enrichment, and challenges the idea that cortisol/corticosterone equals stress. The intent of the inoculation stress hypothesis of environmental enrichment is to provide a scaffold with which to build testable hypotheses for the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying these protective phenotypes and thus provide new therapeutic targets to treat psychiatric/neurological conditions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. SIGMA: the novel approach of a new non-proliferating uranium enrichment technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rivarola, M.; Florido, P.; Brasnarof, D.; Bergallo, E.

    2000-01-01

    The SIGMA concept, under development by Argentina, represents the evolution of the Uranium Enrichment Gaseous Diffusion technology, updated to face the challenge of the new economic-based and competitive world frame. The Enrichment technology has been historically considered as a highly proliferating activity in the nuclear field, and central countries limited the access of the developing countries to this technology. The SIGMA concept incorporates innovative proliferation resistant criteria at the beginning of the design process, and inherits all the non-proliferation features of the gaseous diffusion plants (GDPs). The radical new proliferation resistance approach of the SIGMA technology suggests a new kind of global control of the uranium enrichment market, where some developing countries might access an Enrichment plant without access to the technology itself. In this paper, we investigate the economy of the SIGMA plants, and the implications of this technology on the Uranium Global Market. (authors)

  7. SIGMA, the novel approach of a new non-proliferating uranium enrichment technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rivarola, M.; Florido, P.; Brasnarof, D.; Bergallo, J.

    2001-01-01

    The SIGMA concept, under development by Argentina, represents the evolution of the Uranium Enrichment Gaseous Diffusion technology, updated to face the challenge of the new economic-based and competitive world frame. The Enrichment technology has been historically considered as a highly proliferating activity in the nuclear field, and central countries have limited the access of the developing countries to this technology. The SIGMA concept incorporates innovative proliferation resistant criteria at the beginning of the design process, and inherits all the non-proliferation features of the Gaseous Diffusion Plants (GDPs). The radical new proliferation resistant approach of the SIGMA technology, suggest a new kind of global control of the Uranium Enrichment Market, were some developing countries might access to an Enrichment plant without accessing to the technology itself. In this paper, we analyse the economy of the SIGMA plants, and the implications of this technology on the Uranium Global Market. (authors)

  8. Inulin-enriched pasta improves intestinal permeability and modifies the circulating levels of zonulin and glucagon-like peptide 2 in healthy young volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo, Francesco; Linsalata, Michele; Clemente, Caterina; Chiloiro, Marisa; Orlando, Antonella; Marconi, Emanuele; Chimienti, Guglielmina; Riezzo, Giuseppe

    2012-12-01

    Apart from the intestinal environment, inulin induces physiological effects, which includes a reduction in glucose and lipid concentrations and modulation of gastrointestinal motility through the release of different peptides. We hypothesized that inulin-enriched pasta may also improve small intestine permeability in relation to zonulin and glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2) levels in healthy young subjects. Twenty healthy, young male volunteers completed a randomized, double-blind crossover study consisting of a 2-week run-in period and two 5-week study periods (11% inulin-enriched or control pasta), with an 8-week washout period in between. The intestinal barrier function was assessed by lactulose-mannitol excretion in urine. Zonulin values and GLP-2 release were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In the inulin group, the urinary lactulose recovery was significantly lower than the other 2 groups. There were no significant differences in urinary mannitol levels between groups. Accordingly, the lactulose-mannitol excretion ratio was significantly decreased in the inulin-enriched pasta group compared with the other 2 groups. The inulin-enriched pasta group had significantly lower zonulin serum values and significantly higher GLP-2 basal values when compared with the baseline and control pasta groups. The dietary use of inulin-enriched pasta preserves intestinal mucosal barrier functioning and modulates circulating levels of zonulin and GLP-2, suggesting that prebiotics could be used in the prevention of gastrointestinal diseases and metabolic disorders. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Noble gas enrichment studies at JET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Groth, M.; Andrew, P.; Fundamenski, W.; Guo, H.Y.; Hillis, D.L.; Hogan, J.T.; Horton, L.D.; Matthews, G.F.; Meigs, A.G.; Morgan, P.M.; Stamp, M.F.; Hellermann, M. von

    2001-01-01

    Adequate helium exhaust has been achieved in reactor-relevant ELMy H-mode plasmas in JET performed in the MKII AP and MKII GB divertor geometry. The divertor-characteristic quantities of noble gas compression and enrichment have been experimentally inferred from Charge Exchange Recombination Spectroscopy measurements in the core plasma, and from spectroscopic analysis of a Penning gauge discharge in the exhaust gas. The retention of helium was found to be satisfactory for a next-step device, with enrichment factors exceeding 0.1. The helium enrichment decreases with increasing core plasma density, while the neon enrichment has the opposite behaviour. Analytic and numerical analyses of these plasmas using the divertor impurity code package DIVIMP/NIMBUS support the explanation that the enrichment of noble gases depends significantly on the penetration depth of the impurity neutrals with respect to the fuel atoms. Changes of the divertor plasma configuration and divertor geometry have no effect on the enrichment

  10. Extraosseus enrichments in bone scintigraphy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jochens, R.; Schumacher, T.; Amthauer, H.; Wolter, M.; Stock, W.; Stroszczynski, C.; Moersler, J.P.; Eichstaedt, H.

    1996-01-01

    Extraosseus enrichments are common findings in bone scintigraphy. Main causes are artifacts by skin or cloth contamination, paravenous and subcutaneous injection. Physical examination, removal of cloths, skin cleaning or further images in differing projections lead to the correct diagnosis artefact or extraosseous enrichments. Further on, extraosseous enrichments are seen in physiological variants. In different diseases extraosseous enrichments are common, especially in urinary tract, liver and extremities. Further diagnostics, e.g. conventional radiologic procedures, sonography and CT scans, have to be performed. In individual cases side results in bone scintigraphy lead to formerly unknown diagnosis, further diagnostic procedure is influenced decisively. Own cases show for example a cerebral apoplectic insult, formerly unknown liver metastasis or metastasis in extraosseous Ewings's sarcoma. (orig.) [de

  11. Environmental enrichment decreases asphyxia-induced neurobehavioral developmental delay in neonatal rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiss, Peter; Vadasz, Gyongyver; Kiss-Illes, Blanka; Horvath, Gabor; Tamas, Andrea; Reglodi, Dora; Koppan, Miklos

    2013-11-13

    Perinatal asphyxia during delivery produces long-term disability and represents a major problem in neonatal and pediatric care. Numerous neuroprotective approaches have been described to decrease the effects of perinatal asphyxia. Enriched environment is a popular strategy to counteract nervous system injuries. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether enriched environment is able to decrease the asphyxia-induced neurobehavioral developmental delay in neonatal rats. Asphyxia was induced in ready-to-deliver mothers by removing the pups by caesarian section after 15 min of asphyxia. Somatic and neurobehavioral development was tested daily and motor coordination weekly. Our results show that rats undergoing perinatal asphyxia had a marked developmental delay and worse performance in motor coordination tests. However, pups kept in enriched environment showed a decrease in the developmental delay observed in control asphyctic pups. Rats growing up in enriched environment did not show decrease in weight gain after the first week and the delay in reflex appearance was not as marked as in control rats. In addition, the development of motor coordination was not as strikingly delayed as in the control group. Short-term neurofunctional outcome are known to correlate with long-term deficits. Our results thus show that enriched environment could be a powerful strategy to decrease the deleterious developmental effects of perinatal asphyxia.

  12. Combined effect of CO2 enrichment and foliar application of salicylic acid on the production and antioxidant activities of anthocyanin, flavonoids and isoflavonoids from ginger

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background The increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration caused by climate change and agricultural practices is likely to affect biota by producing changes in plant growth, allocation and chemical composition. This study was conducted to evaluate the combined effect of the application of salicylic acid (SA, at two levels: 0 and 10-3 M) and CO2 enrichment (at two levels: 400 and 800 μmol·mol−1) on the production and antioxidant activities of anthocyanin, flavonoids and isoflavonoids from two Malaysian ginger varieties, namely Halia Bentong and Halia Bara. Methods High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with photodiode array detection and mass spectrometry was employed to identify and quantify the flavonoids and anthocyanins in the ginger extracts. The antioxidant activity of the leaf extracts was determined by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) assays. The substrate specificity of chalcone synthase, the key enzyme for flavonoid biosynthesis, was investigated using the chalcone synthase (CHS) assay. Results CO2 levels of 800 μmol·mol−1 significantly increased anthocyanin, rutin, naringenin, myricetin, apigenin, fisetin and morin contents in ginger leaves. Meanwhile, the combined effect of SA and CO2 enrichment enhanced anthocyanin and flavonoid production compared with single treatment effects. High anthocyanin content was observed in H Bara leaves treated with elevated CO2 and SA. The highest chalcone synthase (CHS) activity was observed in plants treated with SA and CO2 enrichment. Plants not treated with SA and kept under ambient CO2 conditions showed the lowest CHS activity. The highest free radical scavenging activity corresponded to H Bara treated with SA under high CO2 conditions, while the lowest activity corresponded to H Bentong without SA treatment and under atmospheric CO2 levels. As the level of CO2 increased, the DPPH activity increased. Higher TBA activity was also recorded in the extracts of H Bara

  13. Combined effect of CO2 enrichment and foliar application of salicylic acid on the production and antioxidant activities of anthocyanin, flavonoids and isoflavonoids from ginger

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ghasemzadeh Ali

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration caused by climate change and agricultural practices is likely to affect biota by producing changes in plant growth, allocation and chemical composition. This study was conducted to evaluate the combined effect of the application of salicylic acid (SA, at two levels: 0 and 10-3 M and CO2 enrichment (at two levels: 400 and 800 μmol·mol−1 on the production and antioxidant activities of anthocyanin, flavonoids and isoflavonoids from two Malaysian ginger varieties, namely Halia Bentong and Halia Bara. Methods High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC with photodiode array detection and mass spectrometry was employed to identify and quantify the flavonoids and anthocyanins in the ginger extracts. The antioxidant activity of the leaf extracts was determined by the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH and thiobarbituric acid (TBA assays. The substrate specificity of chalcone synthase, the key enzyme for flavonoid biosynthesis, was investigated using the chalcone synthase (CHS assay. Results CO2 levels of 800 μmol·mol−1 significantly increased anthocyanin, rutin, naringenin, myricetin, apigenin, fisetin and morin contents in ginger leaves. Meanwhile, the combined effect of SA and CO2 enrichment enhanced anthocyanin and flavonoid production compared with single treatment effects. High anthocyanin content was observed in H Bara leaves treated with elevated CO2 and SA. The highest chalcone synthase (CHS activity was observed in plants treated with SA and CO2 enrichment. Plants not treated with SA and kept under ambient CO2 conditions showed the lowest CHS activity. The highest free radical scavenging activity corresponded to H Bara treated with SA under high CO2 conditions, while the lowest activity corresponded to H Bentong without SA treatment and under atmospheric CO2 levels. As the level of CO2 increased, the DPPH activity increased. Higher TBA activity was also recorded in the

  14. Implementation trial of high performance trace analysis/environmental sampling (HPTA/ES) in uranium centrifuge enrichment plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nackaerts, H.; Kloeckner, W.; Landresse, G.; MacLean, F.; Betti, M.; Forcina, V.; Hiernaut, T.; Tamborini, G.; Koch, L.; Schenkel, R.

    1999-01-01

    Field trials have demonstrated that the analysis of particles upon swipes obtained from inside nuclear installations provides clear signatures of past operations in that installation. This can offer a valuable tool for gaining assurance regarding the compliance with declared activities and the absence of undeclared activities (e.g. enrichment, reprocessing, and reactor operation) at such sites. This method, known as 'Environmental Sampling' (ES) or 'High Performance Trace Analysis' (HPTA) in EURATOM terminology, is at present being evaluated by the EURATOM Safeguards Directorate (ESD) in order to assess its possible use in nuclear installations within the European Union. It is expected that incorporation of HPTA/ES of sample collection and analysis into routine inspection activities will allow EURATOM to improve the effectiveness of safeguards in these installations and hopefully save inspection resources as well. The EURATOM Safeguards Directorate has therefore performed implementation trials involving the collection of particles by the so-called swipe sampling method in uranium centrifuge enrichment plants and hot cells in the European Union. These samples were subsequently analysed by the Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU) in Karlsruhe. Sampling points were chosen on the basis of the activities performed in the vicinity and by considering the possible ways through which particles are released, diffused and transported. The aim was to test the efficiency of the method as regards: the collection of enough representative material; the identification of a large enough number of uranium particles; the accurate measurement of the enrichment of the uranium particles found on the swipe; the representativity of the results in respect of past activities in the plant; the capability of detecting whether highly enriched uranium has been produced, used or occasionally transported in a location where low enriched uranium is routinely produced in

  15. Report of the Subcommittee on Domestic Uranium Enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-01-01

    A report by the Subcommittee on Domestic Uranium Enrichment to the Atomic Energy Commission is described; which covers the procedure of the domestic uranium enrichment by centrifugal process up to the commercial production, reviewing the current situation in this field. Domestic uranium enrichment is important in the aspects of securing stable enrichment service, establishing sound fuel cycle, and others. As the future target, the production around the year 2000 is set at 3,000 tons SWU per year at least. The business of uranium enrichment, which is now developed in the Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation, is to be carried out by private enterprise. The contents are as follows: demand and supply balance of uranium enrichment service, significance of domestic uranium enrichment, evaluation of centrifugal uranium enrichment technology, the target of domestic uranium enrichment, the policy of domestic uranium enrichment promotion. (J.P.N.)

  16. Maternal enrichment affects prenatal hippocampal proliferation and open-field behaviors in female offspring mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maruoka, Takashi; Kodomari, Ikuko; Yamauchi, Rena; Wada, Etsuko; Wada, Keiji

    2009-04-17

    The maternal environment is thought to be important for fetal brain development. However, the effects of maternal environment are not fully understood. Here, we investigated whether enrichment of the maternal environment can influence prenatal brain development and postnatal behaviors in mice. An enriched environment is a housing condition with several objects such as a running wheel, tube and ladder, which are thought to increase sensory, cognitive and motor stimulation in rodents compared with standard housing conditions. First, we measured the number of BrdU-positive cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of fetuses from pregnant dams housed in an enriched environment. Our results revealed that maternal enrichment influences cell proliferation in the hippocampus of female, but not male, fetuses. Second, we used the open-field test to investigate postnatal behaviors in the offspring of dams housed in the enriched environment during pregnancy. We found that maternal enrichment significantly affects the locomotor activity and time spent in the center of the open-field in female, but not male, offspring. These results indicate that maternal enrichment influences prenatal brain development and postnatal behaviors in female offspring.

  17. 31 CFR 540.316 - Uranium enrichment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Uranium enrichment. 540.316 Section 540.316 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to Money and Finance (Continued) OFFICE OF... REGULATIONS General Definitions § 540.316 Uranium enrichment. The term uranium enrichment means the process of...

  18. Small Group Activities for Introductory Business Classes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mundrake, George

    1999-01-01

    Describes numerous small-group activities for the following areas of basic business education: consumer credit, marketing, business organization, entrepreneurship, insurance, risk management, economics, personal finance, business careers, global markets, and government regulation. (SK)

  19. Tissue-Specific Enrichment of Lymphoma Risk Loci in Regulatory Elements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayes, James E; Trynka, Gosia; Vijai, Joseph; Offit, Kenneth; Raychaudhuri, Soumya; Klein, Robert J

    2015-01-01

    Though numerous polymorphisms have been associated with risk of developing lymphoma, how these variants function to promote tumorigenesis is poorly understood. Here, we report that lymphoma risk SNPs, especially in the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma subtype chronic lymphocytic leukemia, are significantly enriched for co-localization with epigenetic marks of active gene regulation. These enrichments were seen in a lymphoid-specific manner for numerous ENCODE datasets, including DNase-hypersensitivity as well as multiple segmentation-defined enhancer regions. Furthermore, we identify putatively functional SNPs that are both in regulatory elements in lymphocytes and are associated with gene expression changes in blood. We developed an algorithm, UES, that uses a Monte Carlo simulation approach to calculate the enrichment of previously identified risk SNPs in various functional elements. This multiscale approach integrating multiple datasets helps disentangle the underlying biology of lymphoma, and more broadly, is generally applicable to GWAS results from other diseases as well.

  20. Effects of Enriched Housing Design on Broiler Performance, Welfare, Chicken Meat Composition and Serum Cholesterol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ulku Gulcihan Simsek

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of enrichment housing design on performance, selected welfare indicators, chicken meat composition and serum cholesterol concentration of broiler chicken. For this purpose, 480 Ross-308 chicks were assigned to two groups, Control and Test, each with 4 replications. The pens of the Test Group were enriched with perches and sand bedding. At the end of the study, 8 males and 8 females whose live weights were close to the group average from each group were slaughtered. Their blood was collected and serum was separated. For chemical analysis of the chicken meat, whole carcasses of 4 males and 4 females, and half of the breast and left thigh from the remaining 4 males and 4 females were collected. In the carcass group, whole carcass with its bones was minced, whereas in the other groups breast and tight meat were separated from the bones and minced in a meat grinder, homogenized with an electronic mixer, then flash frozen (-40 °C, 8–10 h and stored (-20 °C, 3–4 weeks until analysed. There was no significant difference between the groups in body weight, daily weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion and survivability. Litter moisture of the sand bedding was lower than that of the wood shavings. Contact dermatitis of hocks was reduced in the Test Group (P P P P < 0.05. In conclusion, it was found that housing enriched with perches and sand bedding in addition to wood shavings bedding improved broiler welfare and meat quality.

  1. Social cognitive theory mediators of physical activity in a lifestyle program for cancer survivors and carers: findings from the ENRICH randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stacey, F G; James, E L; Chapman, K; Lubans, D R

    2016-04-14

    Despite increasing numbers of cancer survivors and evidence that diet and physical activity improves the health of cancer survivors, most do not meet guidelines. Some social cognitive theory (SCT)-based interventions have increased physical activity behavior, however few have used objective physical activity measures. The Exercise and Nutrition Routine Improving Cancer Health (ENRICH) randomized controlled trial reported a significant intervention effect for the primary outcome of pedometer-assessed step counts at post-test (8-weeks) and follow-up (20-weeks). The aim of this study was to test whether the SCT constructs operationalized in the ENRICH intervention were mediators of physical activity behavior change. Randomized controlled trial with 174 cancer survivors and carers assessed at baseline, post-test (8-weeks), and follow-up (20-weeks). Participants were randomized to the ENRICH six session face-to-face healthy lifestyle program, or to a wait-list control. Hypothesized SCT mediators of physical activity behavior change (self-efficacy, behavioral goal, outcome expectations, impediments, and social expectations) were assessed using valid and reliable scales. Mediation was assessed using the Preacher and Hayes SPSS INDIRECT macro. At eight weeks, there was a significant intervention effect on behavioral goal (A = 9.12, p = 0.031) and outcome expectations (A = 0.25, p = 0.042). At 20 weeks, the intervention had a significant effect on self-efficacy (A = 0.31, p = 0.049) and behavioral goal (A = 13.15, p = 0.011). Only changes in social support were significantly associated with changes in step counts at eight weeks (B = 633.81, p = 0.023). Behavioral goal was the only SCT construct that had a significant mediating effect on step counts, and explained 22 % of the intervention effect at 20 weeks (AB = 397.9, 95 % CI 81.5-1025.5). SCT constructs had limited impact on objectively-assessed step counts in a multiple health

  2. [Efficiency of application of the enriched bakery products in children nutrition].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koryachkina, S Ya; Ladnova, O L; Lublinsky, S L; Kholodova, E N

    2015-01-01

    The results of the research devoted to an assessment of efficiency of application of the enriched bakery products in nutrition of school students have been presented. Composition and technology of the enriched bakery products have been developed. The influence of enrichers on the basis of proteins of whey, plasma of blood, hemoglobin, calcium and iodinated components and food fibers on the nutritive and energy value of bakery products has been defined. The consumption of 100 g of the enriched bakery products provides a significant amount of protein--12.5-23% of the recommended daily intake (RDI), to satisfy daily need of school students in calcium up to 13.4%, in iron--up to 20%, iodine--12.5% and food fibers--17.3%. When comparing blood hemoglobin content in school students after inclusion in a diet of the enriched bakery products, the lack of significant changes of this indicator in children with normal hemoglo- bin content has been determined that is the confirmation of safety of use of the products enriched with hem iron. At the same time, normalization of hemoglobin level in children (9.7%) with the initial threshold and lowered hemoglobin indicators is noted. The reliable increase in the content of hemoglobin in this group of children from 112 ± 3 to 131 ± 6 g/l was established (p ≤ 0.05). Positive dynamics of the content of iodine in urine at school students with initial deficiency of iodine under administration of the bread enriched with iodine has been defined. Ioduria indicators authentically increased from 88 ± 10 to 116 ± 9 mkg/l (p ≤ 0.05). Before diet correction in 53 from 59 children surveyed in the Stavropol region, a mild lack of iodine has been revealed (iodine levels less than 100 mkg/l urine), while after bread intake--only in 7 (11.9%) students.

  3. Availability of enriched stable isotopes: present status and future prospects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoff, R.W.

    1986-01-01

    The Electromagnetic Isotope Enrichment Facility (EMIEF) is currently used to produce 225 enriched stable isotopes of 50 elements. Among these are included most of the known elements with stable isotopes except for the noble gases, certain light elements, monisotopic elements, etc. The EMIEF can also be used to produce enriched samples of radioactive species, most notably the isotopes of uranium and plutonium. These enriched materials are placed in either the Sales Inventory of in the Research Materials Collection (RMC). The materials in the Sales Inventory are for sale to anyone on a first come, first served basis. Prices in the most recent catalog range from $0.05/mg for 99.8% 140 Ce to $1,267/mg for 98.5% 176 Lu. The materials in the RMC are made available to US researchers (or groups that include a US investigator) on a loan basis for use in non-destructive experiments and applications. In addition, certain samples have been provided to European investigators for cross-section studies through the auspices of EURATOM and the European-American Nuclear Data Committee. The status of the enriched isotopes included in the Sales Inventory is tabulated where isotopes are listed that are either not available or are in insufficient quantity or quality to meet current requests, as of 6/30/86. These can be summarized in the following subcategories: isotopes with zero inventory (22), Isotopes of insufficient quantity (17), and isotopes with insufficient enrichment quality (10). Of these 49 species, the supplies of 10 will be replenished by the scheduled FY86 enrichments in process (isotopes of bromine, calcium, nickel, potassium, rubidium, and strontium). In Table 3 are listed isotopes where the current inventory is less than the average annual sales level for the past five years. There are 47 isotopes listed, representing 25 different elements. Thus, there exists considerable potential for a substantial increase in the number of isotopes with zero inventory

  4. Effects on hemodynamics and gas exchange of omega-3 fatty acid-enriched lipid emulsion in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, parallel group study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sacanell Judit

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction We investigated the effects on hemodynamics and gas exchange of a lipid emulsion enriched with omega-3 fatty acids in patients with ARDS. Methods The design was a prospective, randomized, double-blind, parallel group study in our Intensive Medicine Department of Vall d'Hebron University Hospital (Barcelona-Spain. We studied 16 consecutive patients with ARDS and intolerance to enteral nutrition (14 men and 2 women; mean age: 58 ± 13 years; APACHE II score: 17.8 ± 2.3; Lung Injury Score: 3.1 ± 0.5; baseline PaO2/FiO2 ratio: 149 ± 40. Patients were randomized into 2 groups: Group A (n = 8 received the study emulsion Lipoplus® 20%, B.Braun Medical (50% MCT, 40% LCT, 10% ω-3; Group B (n = 8 received the control emulsion Intralipid® Fresenius Kabi (100% LCT. Lipid emulsions were administered during 12 h at a dose of 0.12 g/kg/h. Measurements of the main hemodynamic and gas exchange parameters were made at baseline (immediately before administration of the lipid emulsions, every hour during the lipid infusion, at the end of administration, and six hours after the end of administration lipid infusion. Results No statistically significant changes were observed in the different hemodynamic values analyzed. Likewise, the gas exchange parameters did not show statistically significant differences during the study. No adverse effect attributable to the lipid emulsions was seen in the patients analyzed. Conclusion The lipid emulsion enriched with omega-3 fatty acids was safe and well tolerated in short-term administration to patients with ARDS. It did not cause any significant changes in hemodynamic and gas exchange parameters. Trial registration ISRCTN63673813

  5. Gamma techniques for IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] safeguards at centrifuge enrichment cascades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aaldijk, J.K.; de Betue, P.A.C.; van der Meer, K.; Harry, R.J.S.

    1987-01-01

    On February 4, 1983, the Hexapartite Safeguards Project (HSP) concluded that the safeguards approach involving limited frequency unannounced access (LFUA) by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to cascades areas together with inspection activities outside the cascade areas meets the IAEA safeguards objectives in an effective and efficient way. In this way, the risks of revealing sensitive information were also minimized. The approach has been defined clearly and unambiguously, and it should be applied equally to all technology holders. One of the conclusions of the HSP was that a nondestructive assay go/no-go technique should be used during the LFUA inspections in the cascade areas of centrifuge enrichment plants. The purpose is to verify that the enrichment of the product UF 6 gas is in the range of low-enriched uranium (LEU), i.e., the enrichment is below 20%

  6. Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors. Proceedings of the XIV international meeting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suripto, Asmedi; Hastowo, Hudi; Hersubeno, J B [eds.

    1995-07-01

    Apart from the progress of the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) Program the national programs of Indonesia, Japan and China were presented. The major events, findings, and activities of 1991 are reviewed with a brief summary of the results which the RERTR Program had achieved by the end of 1990 in collaboration with its many international partners. The RERTR program, has concentrated its efforts on technology transfer and implementation activities consistent with the guidance received from the Department of Energy at the end of 1990. A number of presentations were devoted to development of new fuel uranium silicide fuel elements, fuel irradiation testing and reactor core conversions from highly enriched (HEU) to slightly enriched uranium (LEU). Calculations and measurements of converted reactor core parameters were shown related to safety test and analysis. Fuel cycle issue were discussed as well. One should note that a significant number of papers were devoted to Indonesian GA SIWABESSY reactor core conversion and related topics.

  7. Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors. Proceedings of the XIV international meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suripto, Asmedi; Hastowo, Hudi; Hersubeno, J.B.

    1995-01-01

    Apart from the progress of the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) Program the national programs of Indonesia, Japan and China were presented. The major events, findings, and activities of 1991 are reviewed with a brief summary of the results which the RERTR Program had achieved by the end of 1990 in collaboration with its many international partners. The RERTR program, has concentrated its efforts on technology transfer and implementation activities consistent with the guidance received from the Department of Energy at the end of 1990. A number of presentations were devoted to development of new fuel uranium silicide fuel elements, fuel irradiation testing and reactor core conversions from highly enriched (HEU) to slightly enriched uranium (LEU). Calculations and measurements of converted reactor core parameters were shown related to safety test and analysis. Fuel cycle issue were discussed as well. One should note that a significant number of papers were devoted to Indonesian GA SIWABESSY reactor core conversion and related topics

  8. The reduced enrichment program for JRR-4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takayanagi, M.

    1992-01-01

    Japan Research Reactor No. 4(JRR-4) with the rated power of 3.5 MW, swimming pool type research reactor, 93 % enriched uranium ETR-type fuel used, light water moderated and cooled. The first criticality reached on 28th January, 1965. The reactor has operated for about 26 years. However, it was planed to the reduced enrichment of the fuels to low enrichment according to the International Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) program. This paper describes the program for conversion of the enrichment of fuel from 93 % to less than 20 %. (author)

  9. Air strikes on uranium enrichment plants as potential sources of radioecological danger

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Živanov Dragan

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available According to the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT, the signatory countries are not forbidden to preform uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes. However, if there is a justified doubt that the uranium enrichment is performed with the aim to produce nuclear weapons, this certainly causes great concern. In this case, the international community can apply pressure to a certain country if it determines that the country does not want to cease activities of making its own nuclear weapons. The international community pressure on the country can be intesified until its political leadership is not made to question and cease all activities of producing nuclear weapons. This pressure can be political, economic, and as a last resort-military. As a gesture of goodwill the country can stop the uranium enrichment process. In this way, the country shows that it finally gives up the intention to produce nuclear weapons. However, when military pressure is applied, i.e. military strikes (air strikes for example on nuclear plants used for uranium enrichment, this certainly creates a risk of releasing radioactivity into the environment. That is why the aim of this paper is to signal this very fact. Using military force in these cases leads to additional radioactive contamination of the environment, so this way of solving conflicts should be avoided within the international community.

  10. Dried apple enriched with mandarin juice counteracts tamoxifen induced oxidative stress in rats.

    OpenAIRE

    CODOÑER FRANCH, PILAR; Betoret Valls, María Ester; López Jaén, Ana Belén; Betoret Valls, Noelia; Fito Maupoey, Pedro; Valls Bellés, Maria Victoria

    2013-01-01

    [EN] The effect of a product made of dehydrated apples enriched with mandarin juice by vacuum impregnation on markers of oxidative stress (plasma antioxidant capacity, carbonyl groups (CGs), 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8OHdG) and alpha-tocopherol) was tested in rats. Six groups of animals were studied: one group was fed a standard diet; two groups were supplemented with dehydrated apple either impregnated or not with mandarin juice throughout 28 days; and three groups (one unsupplemented and two...

  11. Competing for the non-US enrichment markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1980-01-01

    The article discusses three basic steps: first, the historical perspectives; second, where the enrichment industry and the non-US markets for enrichment stand today (the present situation); and third, the likely future developments, which, for practical purposes, are dealt with in two parts: the non-US enrichment markets in the 1980s; and the non-US enrichment markets beyond the 1980s;

  12. Enriched uranium sales: effect on supply industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersen, R.K.

    1985-01-01

    The subject is covered in sections: introduction (combined effect of low-enriched uranium (LEU) inventory sales and utility services enrichment contract terms); enrichment market overview; enrichment market dynamics; the reaction of the US Department of Energy; elimination of artificial demand; draw down of inventories; purchase and sale of LEU inventories; tails assay option; unfulfilled requirements for U 3 O 8 ; conclusions. (U.K.)

  13. Stable isotope enrichment: Current and future potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tracy, J.G.; Aaron, W.S.

    1992-01-01

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) operates the Isotope Enrichment Facility for the purpose of providing enriched stable isotopes, selected radioactive isotopes (including the actinides), and isotope-related materials and services for use in various research applications. ORNL is responsible for isotope enrichment and the distribution of approximately 225 nongaseous stable isotopes from 50 multi-isotopic elements. Many enriched isotope products are of prime importance in the fabrication of nuclear targets and the subsequent production of special radionuclides. State-of-the-art techniques to achieve special isotopic, chemical, and physical requirements are performed at ORNL This report describes the status and capabilities of the Isotope Enrichment Facility and the Isotope Research Materials Laboratory as well as emphasizing potential advancements in enrichment capabilities

  14. Stable isotope enrichment - current and future potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tracy, J.G.; Aaron, W.S.

    1993-01-01

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) operates the Isotope Enrichment Facility for the purpose of providing enriched stable isotopes, selected radioactive isotopes (including the actinides), and isotope-related materials and services for use in various research applications. ORNL is responsible for isotope enrichment and the distribution of approximately 225 nongaseous stable isotopes from 50 multi-isotopic elements. Many enriched isotope products are of prime importance in the fabrication of nuclear targets and the subsequent production of special radionuclides. State-of-the-art techniques to achieve special isotopic, chemical, and physical requirements are performed at ORNL. This report describes the status and capabilities of the Isotope Enrichment Facility and the Isotope Research Materials Laboratory as well as emphasizing potential advancements in enrichment capabilities. (orig.)

  15. The Effect of an Enrichment Reading Program on the Cognitive Processes and Neural Structures of Children Having Reading Difficulties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hayriye Gül KURUYER

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The main purpose of the current study is to explain the effect of an enrichment reading program on the cognitive processes and neural structures of children experiencing reading difficulties. The current study was carried out in line with a single-subject research method and the between-subjects multiple probe design belonging to this method. This research focuses on a group of eight students with reading difficulties. Within the context of the study, memory capacities, attention spans, reading-related activation and white matter pathways of the students were determined before and after the application of the enrichment reading program. This determination process was carried out in two stages. Neuro-imaging was performed in the first stage and in the second stage the students’ cognitive processes and neural structures were investigated in terms of focusing attention and memory capacities by using the following tools: Stroop Test TBAG Form, Auditory Verbal Digit Span Test-Form B, Cancellation Test and Number Order Learning Test. The results obtained show that the enrichment reading program resulted in an improvement in the reading profiles of the students having reading difficulties in terms of their cognitive processes and neural structures.

  16. U.S. forms uranium enrichment corporation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seltzer, R.

    1993-01-01

    After almost 40 years of operation, the federal government is withdrawing from the uranium enrichment business. On July 1, the Department of Energy turned over to a new government-owned entity--the US Enrichment Corp. (USEC)--both the DOE enrichment plants at Paducah, Ky., and Portsmouth, Ohio, and domestic and international marketing of enriched uranium from them. Pushed by the inability of DOE's enrichment operations to meet foreign competition, Congress established USEC under the National Energy Policy Act of 1992, envisioning the new corporation as the first step to full privatization. With gross revenues of $1.5 billion in fiscal 1992, USEC would rank 275th on the Fortune 500 list of top US companies. USEC will lease from DOE the Paducah and Portsmouth facilities, built in the early 1950s, which use the gaseous diffusion process for uranium enrichment. USEC's stock is held by the US Treasury, to which it will pay annual dividends. Martin Marietta Energy Systems, which has operated Paducah since 1984 and Portsmouth since 1986 for DOE, will continue to operate both plants for USEC. Closing one of the two facilities will be studied, especially in light of a 40% world surplus of capacity over demand. USEC also will consider other nuclear-fuel-related ventures. USEC will produce only low-enriched uranium, not weapons-grade material. Indeed, USEC will implement a contract now being completed under which the US will purchase weapons-grade uranium from dismantled Russian nuclear weapons and convert it into low-enriched uranium for power reactor fuel

  17. Robust de novo pathway enrichment with KeyPathwayMiner 5 [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolas Alcaraz

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Identifying functional modules or novel active pathways, recently termed de novo pathway enrichment, is a computational systems biology challenge that has gained much attention during the last decade. Given a large biological interaction network, KeyPathwayMiner extracts connected subnetworks that are enriched for differentially active entities from a series of molecular profiles encoded as binary indicator matrices. Since interaction networks constantly evolve, an important question is how robust the extracted results are when the network is modified. We enable users to study this effect through several network perturbation techniques and over a range of perturbation degrees. In addition, users may now provide a gold-standard set to determine how enriched extracted pathways are with relevant genes compared to randomized versions of the original network.

  18. A study of the material accountancy procedure at the uranium enrichment facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shirahashi, J.; Akiba, M.; Omae, M.

    1984-01-01

    This paper describes an evaluation of material accountancy based on total uranium (U element MUF) to detect diversions of significant quantity in the uranium enrichment facility operating at a stated maximum enrichment level of 5%. Verification that material production is within the declared enrichment can be achieved by the inspection activities associated with limited - frequency unannounced access (LFUA) to cascade areas as treated extensively in HSP. According to the experience of the material accountancy at our facility, the reduction of the material accountancy capability by changing from U-235 isotope MUF to U element MUF is only about half. However, still the U element MUF approach can meet the current IAEA detection goals for the up to about 1000 tswu/a plant

  19. Short- and long-term effects of nutrient enrichment on microbial exoenzyme activity in mangrove peat

    KAUST Repository

    Keuskamp, Joost A.

    2015-02-01

    © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. Mangroves receive increasing quantities of nutrients as a result of coastal development, which could lead to significant changes in carbon sequestration and soil subsidence. We hypothesised that mangrove-produced tannins induce a nitrogen (N) limitation on microbial decomposition even when plant growth is limited by phosphorus (P). As a result, increased N influx would lead to a net loss of sequestered carbon negating the ability to compensate for sea level rise in P-limited mangroves. To examine this, we quantified the short- and long-term effects of N and P enrichment on microbial biomass and decomposition-related enzyme activities in a Rhizophora mangle-dominated mangrove, which had been subjected to fertilisation treatments for a period of fifteen years. We compared microbial biomass, elemental stoichiometry and potential enzyme activity in dwarf and fringe-type R. mangle-dominated sites, where primary production is limited by P or N depending on the proximity to open water. Even in P-limited mangroves, microbial activity was N-limited as indicated by stoichiometry and an increase in enzymic activity upon N amendment. Nevertheless, microbial biomass increased upon field additions of P, indicating that the carbon supply played even a larger role. Furthermore, we found that P amendment suppressed phenol oxidase activity, while N amendment did not. The possible differential nutrient limitations of microbial decomposers versus primary producers implies that the direction of the effect of eutrophication on carbon sequestration is nutrient-specific. In addition, this study shows that phenol oxidase activities in this system decrease through P, possibly strengthening the enzymic latch effect of mangrove tannins. Furthermore, it is argued that the often used division between N-harvesting, P-harvesting, and carbon-harvesting exoenzymes needs to be reconsidered.

  20. Activity report of the Neutrino Research Group. Year 2010

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    For the last two decades, neutrino physics has been producing major discoveries including neutrino oscillations. These results gave clear confirmation that active neutrinos oscillate and therefore have mass with three different mass states. This is a very important result showing that the Minimal Standard Model is incomplete and requires an extension which is not yet known. The neutrino research field is very broad and active, at the frontier of today's particle physics. The Neutrino Research Group (GDR) was created in January 2005 with the aim of gathering CEA and CNRS research teams working on Neutrino Physics on experimental or theoretical level. This document is the 2010 activity report of the research group, six years after its creation. It presents the results of the 5 working groups: 1 - Determination of neutrino parameters; 2 - Physics beyond the standard model; 3 - Neutrinos in the universe; 4 - Accelerators, detection means, R and D and valorisation; 5 - Common tools to all working groups. The proposed neutrino physics road-map and the actual and future short-, medium- and long-term projects are presented in appendixes

  1. Uranium Conversion & Enrichment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karpius, Peter Joseph [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-02-06

    The isotopes of uranium that are found in nature, and hence in ‘fresh’ Yellowcake’, are not in relative proportions that are suitable for power or weapons applications. The goal of conversion then is to transform the U3O8 yellowcake into UF6. Conversion and enrichment of uranium is usually required to obtain material with enough 235U to be usable as fuel in a reactor or weapon. The cost, size, and complexity of practical conversion and enrichment facilities aid in nonproliferation by design.

  2. Expressed sequence enrichment for candidate gene analysis of citrus tristeza virus resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernet, G P; Bretó, M P; Asins, M J

    2004-02-01

    Several studies have reported markers linked to a putative resistance gene from Poncirus trifoliata ( Ctv-R) located at linkage group 4 that confers resistance against one of the most important citrus pathogens, citrus tristeza virus (CTV). To be successful in both marker-assisted selection and transformation experiments, its accurate mapping is needed. Several factors may affect its localization, among them two are considered here: the definition of resistance and the genetic background of progeny. Two progenies derived from P. trifoliata, by self-pollination and by crossing with sour orange ( Citrus aurantium), a citrus rootstock well-adapted to arid and semi-arid areas, were used for linkage group-4 marker enrichment. Two new methodologies were used to enrich this region with expressed sequences. The enrichment of group 4 resulted in the fusion of several C. aurantium linkage groups. The new one A(7+3+4) is now saturated with 48 markers including expressed sequences. Surprisingly, sour orange was as resistant to the CTV isolate tested as was P. trifoliata, and three hybrids that carry Ctv-R, as deduced from its flanking markers, are susceptible to CTV. The new linkage maps were used to map Ctv-R under the hypothesis of monogenic inheritance. Its position on linkage group 4 of P. trifoliata differs from the location previously reported in other progenies. The genetic analysis of virus-plant interaction in the family derived from C. aurantium after a CTV chronic infection showed the segregation of five types of interaction, which is not compatible with the hypothesis of a single gene controlling resistance. Two major issues are discussed: another type of genetic analysis of CTV resistance is needed to avoid the assumption of monogenic inheritance, and transferring Ctv-R from P. trifoliata to sour orange might not avoid the CTV decline of sweet orange trees.

  3. Uranium enrichment. Technology, economics, capacity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voigt, W.R. Jr.; Saire, D.E.; Gestson, D.K.; Peske, S.E.; Vanstrum, P.R.

    1983-01-01

    Large-scale enrichment of uranium has now been carried out for 40 years. While the gaseous diffusion process was the original choice of several countries and continues today to provide the major component of the world production of separative work, the last two decades have witnessed the development of a number of alternative processes for enrichment. These processes, which are being studied and deployed around the world, offer a wide range of technical and economic characteristics which will be useful in assuring adequate capacity to meet projected reactor fuel market needs through the rest of this century at competitive prices. With present uncertainties in future enriched uranium needs, it is apparent that flexibility in the deployment and operation of any enrichment process will be one of the prime considerations for the future. More economical production of separative work not only can have a beneficial impact on reactor fuel costs, but also tends to conserve natural uranium resources. This paper reviews the world scene in the enrichment component of the fuel cycle, including existing or planned commercial-scale facilities and announced R+D efforts on various processes. (author)

  4. Uranium enrichment: technology, economics, capacity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Voigt, Jr., W. R.; Vanstrum, P. R.; Saire, D. E.; Gestson, D. K.; Peske, S. E.

    1982-08-01

    Large-scale enrichment of uranium has now been carried out for 40 years. While the gaseous diffusion process was the original choice of several countries and continues today to provide the major component of the world production of separative work, the last two decades have witnessed the development of a number of alternative processes for enrichment. These processes, which are being studied and deployed around the world, offer a wide range of technical and economic characteristics which will be useful in assuring adequate capacity to meet projected reactor fuel market needs through the rest of this century at competitive prices. With present uncertainties in future enriched uranium needs, it is apparent that flexibility in the deployment and operation of any enrichment process will be one of the prime considerations for the future. More economical production of separative work not only can have a beneficial impact on reactor fuel costs, but also tends to conserve natural uranium resources. This paper reviews the world scene in the enrichment component of the fuel cycle, including existing or planned commercial-scale facilities and announced R and D efforts on various processes.

  5. Uranium enrichment: technology, economics, capacity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Voigt, W.R. Jr.; Vanstrum, P.R.; Saire, D.E.; Gestson, D.K.; Peske, S.E.

    1982-01-01

    Large-scale enrichment of uranium has now been carried out for 40 years. While the gaseous diffusion process was the original choice of several countries and continues today to provide the major component of the world production of separative work, the last two decades have witnessed the development of a number of alternative processes for enrichment. These processes, which are being studied and deployed around the world, offer a wide range of technical and economic characteristics which will be useful in assuring adequate capacity to meet projected reactor fuel market needs through the rest of this century at competitive prices. With present uncertainties in future enriched uranium needs, it is apparent that flexibility in the deployment and operation of any enrichment process will be one of the prime considerations for the future. More economical production of separative work not only can have a beneficial impact on reactor fuel costs, but also tends to conserve natural uranium resources. This paper reviews the world scene in the enrichment component of the fuel cycle, including existing or planned commercial-scale facilities and announced R and D efforts on various processes

  6. Industrial plants for production of highly enriched nitrogen-15

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krell, E.; Jonas, C.

    1977-01-01

    A discussion is presented of the present stage of development of large-scale enrichment of 15 N. The most important processes utilized to separate nitrogen isotopes, namely chemical exchange in the NO/NO 2 /HNO 3 system and low-temperature distillation of NO at -151 0 C, are compared, especially with respect to their economics and use of energy. As examples, chemical exchange plants in the GDR are discussed, and the research activities necessary to optimize the process, especially to solve aerodynamic, hydrodynamic, interface and processing problems, are reviewed. Good results were obtained by the choice of an optimum location and the design of a plant for pre-enrichment to 10 at.% 15 N and an automatically operating two-section cascade for the high enrichment of 15 N to more than 99 at.%. The chemical industry has taken over operation of the plant with the consequence that the raw materials are all available without additional transport. All by-products (nitrous gases and sulphuric acid) are returned for use elsewhere within the industry. The technology of the plant has been chosen so that the quantity of highly enriched product can be varied within a wide range. The final product is used to synthesize more than 250 different 15 N-labelled compounds which are also produced on an industrial scale. (author)

  7. Development of long-life low enrichment fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gietzen, A.J.; West, G.B.

    1978-01-01

    With only a few exceptions, TRIGA reactors have always used low-enriched-uranium (LEU) fuel with an enrichment of 19.9%. The exceptions have either been converted from the standard low-enriched fuel to the 70% enriched FLIP fuel in order to achieve extended lifetime, or are higher powered reactors which were designed for long life using 93%-enriched uranium during the time when the use and export of highly enriched uranium (HEU) was not restricted. The advent of international policies focusing attention on non-proliferation and safeguards made the HEU fuels obsolete. General Atomic immediately undertook a development effort (nearly two years ago) in order to be in a position to comply with these policies for all future export sales and also to provide a low-enriched alternative to fully enriched plate-type fuels. This important work was subsequently partially supported by the U. S. Department of Energy. The laboratory and production tests have shown that higher uranium densities can be achieved to compensate for reducing the enrichment to 20%, and that the fuels maintain the characteristics of the very thoroughly proven standard TRIGA fuels. In May of this year, General Atomic announced that these fuels were available for TRIGA reactors and for plate-type reactors with power levels up to 15 MW with GA's standard commercial warranty

  8. Music for the birds: effects of auditory enrichment on captive bird species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robbins, Lindsey; Margulis, Susan W

    2016-01-01

    With the increase of mixed species exhibits in zoos, targeting enrichment for individual species may be problematic. Often, mammals may be the primary targets of enrichment, yet other species that share their environment (such as birds) will unavoidably be exposed to the enrichment as well. The purpose of this study was to determine if (1) auditory stimuli designed for enrichment of primates influenced the behavior of captive birds in the zoo setting, and (2) if the specific type of auditory enrichment impacted bird behavior. Three different African bird species were observed at the Buffalo Zoo during exposure to natural sounds, classical music and rock music. The results revealed that the average frequency of flying in all three bird species increased with naturalistic sounds and decreased with rock music (F = 7.63, df = 3,6, P = 0.018); vocalizations for two of the three species (Superb Starlings and Mousebirds) increased (F = 18.61, df = 2,6, P = 0.0027) in response to all auditory stimuli, however one species (Lady Ross's Turacos) increased frequency of duetting only in response to rock music (X(2) = 18.5, df = 2, P < 0.0001). Auditory enrichment implemented for large mammals may influence behavior in non-target species as well, in this case leading to increased activity by birds. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Individual differences in the forced swimming test and the effect of environmental enrichment: searching for an interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sequeira-Cordero, A; Mora-Gallegos, A; Cuenca-Berger, P; Fornaguera-Trías, J

    2014-04-18

    Animals with low and high immobility in the forced swimming test (FST) differ in a number of neurobehavioral factors. A growing body of evidence suggests that the exposure to enriched environments mediates a number of changes in the brain. Therefore, we studied if animals' individuality can somehow modulate the response to environmental stimuli. Male rats were classified according to their immobility time scores in the FST test session as animals with low, medium or high immobility. Then, rats from groups with low and high immobility were randomly distributed in two groups to be reared in different housing conditions (i.e., enriched and standard conditions) during 8weeks. Animals were subjected to the open field test (OFT) before and 6weeks after the start of housing protocol. Rats with high immobility in the FST also showed high ambulation and high rearing time in the first OFT. Such findings were not observed in the second OFT. Conversely, an effect of environmental enrichment was found in the second OFT where enriched animals showed lower ambulation and higher grooming time than the standard control group. Rats were sacrificed after the housing protocol and neurochemical content and/or gene expression were studied in three different brain regions: the prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus and the nucleus accumbens. Rats with low immobility showed significantly higher accumbal 5-HT levels than animals with high immobility, whereas no neurochemical differences were observed between enriched and standard animals. Regarding expression data, however, an effect of enrichment on accumbal corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and its receptor 1 (CRFR1) levels was observed, and such effect depended on immobility levels. Thus, our results not only allowed us to identify a number of differences between animals with low and high immobility or animals housed in standard and enriched conditions, but also suggested that animals' individuality modulated in some way the response to

  10. World enrichment requirements to 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1991-01-01

    The primary enrichment suppliers-Eurodif, Techsnabexport, Urenco, and the US DOE - are positioning themselves to take advantage of the post - 1995 market. Overall, unfilled requirements represent about 40 percent of world requirements in the year 2000. The USA will be the primary market, as US utilities' unfilled enrichment requirements account for over 60 percent of the world's total unfilled requirements. The enrichment market is moving toward more global competition, as each supplier tries to maintain its current regional market base and then to capture additional market share in other regions

  11. Measurement of uranium enrichment by 14 MeV neutron irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rezende, H.R.

    1987-01-01

    a non-destructive technique for the determination of uranium in UO 2 samples was developed, making use of the change in the fission cross section of a nuclide with the neutron energy. The active interrogation method was used by irradiating the samples with pulsed 14 MeV neutrons and further detection of delayed fission neutrons. In order to discriminate U-238 from U-235 the neutron energy was tailored by means of two concentric cylinders of lead and paraffin/poliethylene, 11 and 4 cm thick. Between neutron pulses, delayed neutrons from fission were detected by a long counter built with five BF 3 proportional counters. Calibration curves for enrichment and total mass versus delayed neutron response were obtained using available UO 2 pellets of known enrichment. Enrichment detection limit, obtained with 95% confidence level by the Student distribution was estimated to be 0.33%. The minimal detectable mass was estimated to be 4.4 g. (author) [pt

  12. Measure of uranium enrichment by 14 MeV neutron irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rezende, H.R.

    1987-01-01

    A non-destructive technique for the determination of uranium in UO 2 samples was developed, marking use of the change in the fission cross of a nuclide with the neutron energy. The active interrogation method was used by irradiating the samples with pulsed 14 MeV neutrons and furtherdetection of delayed fission neutrons. In order to descriminated U-238 from U-235 the neutron energy was tailored by means of two concentric cylinders of lead and paraffin/poliethylene, 11 and 4 cm thick. Between neutron pulses, delayed neutrons from fission were detected by a long counter built with five BF 3 proportional counters. Calibration curves for enrichment and total mass versus delayed neutron response were obtained using available UO 2 pellets of Known enrichment. Enrichment detection limit, obtained with 95% confidence level by the the Student distribution was estimated to be 0.33%. The minimal detectable mass was estimated to be 4.4 g. (Author) [pt

  13. DOE enrichment plants-safeguards means business

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Donnelly, R.

    1987-01-01

    The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, owned by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and operated by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., is a full service enrichment plant. Its long enriching cascade can process uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ) feeds at almost any 235 U level and can produce UF 6 over the complete spectrum from depleted to very highly enriched uranium. The DOE uranium enrichment program is a government-owned enterprise operating as a business. The operating concerns of the DOE uranium enrichment plants and their safeguards programs have evolved together over the past three decades, and that evolution will likely continue. As the risk associated with possession, processing, and shipment of strategic nuclear material increased, the protection and control of it increased; as the value of the product grew with time, better ways were found to measure and conserve it. In each of these areas, safeguards objectives and the business requirements of the plant are complementary, and the progress made in one area has been reflected by progress in the other. The plant's material control and accountability program has become crucial to such business requirements as quantifying the enriched uranium (separative work units) produced in each monthly period and convincing financial auditors that the multibillion dollar enriched uranium assets located at the Portsmouth plant are properly stated

  14. Responses of soil Collembola to long-term atmospheric CO2 enrichment in a mature temperate forest

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Guoliang; Fu Shenglei; Schleppi, Patrick; Li Maihe

    2013-01-01

    Responses of Collembola to 7 years of CO 2 enrichment (550 ppm) in a Swiss free-air CO 2 enrichment (FACE) experiment in a forest with 80- to 120-year-old trees were investigated in this study. Contrary to our expectations, increased CO 2 caused a significant decrease in Collembola numbers, including a significant decrease in euedaphic Collembola. Increased CO 2 , however, did not affect community group richness. Collembola biomass was not significantly changed by CO 2 enrichment, regardless of whether it was considered in terms of the total community, life-strategy groups, or individual species (with an exception of Mesaphorura krausbaueri). The reason for this is that CO 2 enrichment caused a general increase in individual body size, which compensated for reduced abundances. The results are consistent with the idea that the rhizosphere is important for soil fauna, and the combination of reduced fine root growth and increased soil moisture might trigger a reduction in Collembola abundance. - Highlights: ► Increased CO 2 caused a significant decrease in Collembola abundance. ► Increased CO 2 caused a significant decrease in euedaphic Collembola. ► Collembola body size tended to be larger. ► A decrease in fine roots biomass might trigger the reduction in Collembola. - Seven years of CO 2 enrichment caused a significant decrease in Collembola abundance, especially in euedaphic species.

  15. Availability of enrichment services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Svenke, E.

    1977-01-01

    The report summarizes major uncertainties which are likely to influence future demands for uranium isotopic enrichment. Since for the next decade the development of nuclear power will be largely concerned with the increment in demand the timely need for enrichment capacity will be particularly sensitive to assumptions about growth rates. Existing worldwide capacity together with capacities under construction will be sufficient well into the 1980's. However, long decision and construction leadtime, uncertainty as to future demand as well as other factors, specifically high capital need, all of which entail financial risks, create hindrances to a timely development of increment. The adequacy of current technology is well demonstrated in plant operation and new technology is under way. Technology is, however, not freely available on a purely commercial basis. Commercial willingness, which anticipates a limited degree of financial risk, is requesting both long term back-up from the utilities that would parallel their firm decisions on the acquisition of nuclear power units, and a protective government umbrella. This situation depends on the symbiotic relationship that exists between the nuclear power generating organizations, the enrichment undertakings and the governments involved. The report accordingly stresses the need for a more cooperative approach and this, moreover, at the multinational level. There is otherwise a risk that proper resources and financing means will not be allocated to the enrichment sector. Export limitations that request the highest degree of industrial processing of nuclear fuel, i.e. the compulsory enrichment of natural uranium, do not serve the interests of overall industrial efficiency

  16. Clinical-scale elutriation as a means of enriching antigen-presenting cells and manipulating alloreactivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Micklethwaite, Kenneth P; Garvin, Frances M; Kariotis, Melina R; Yee, Leng L; Hansen, Anna M; Antonenas, Vicki; Sartor, Mary M; Turtle, Cameron J; Gottlieb, David J

    2009-01-01

    Clinical-scale elutriation using the Elutra(c) has been shown to enrich monocytes reliably for immunotherapy protocols. Until now, a detailed assessment of the four (F1-F4) non-monocyte fractions derived from this process has not been performed. Using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), we performed phenotypic analyses to investigate the possible enrichment of T, B, natural killer (NK) and dendritic cells (DC) or their subsets in one or more Elutra fractions. Blood DC were enriched up to 10-fold in some fractions (F3 and F4) compared with the pre-elutriation apheresis product. This increased the number of DC that could be isolated from a given cell number by immunomagnetic separation. It was also found that CD62L(-) effector memory CD4(+) T cells were enriched in later fractions. In four of five cases tested, cells from F3 demonstrated decreased alloreactive proliferation in a mixed lymphocyte reaction compared with cells from the apheresis product. B cells were enriched in F1 compared with the apheresis product. In addition to providing enrichment of monocytes for the generation of DC, the Elutra enriches cell subsets that may be incorporated into and enhance existing immunotherapy and stem cell transplantation protocols.

  17. Analysis of the performance of fuel cells PWR with a single enrichment and radial distribution of enrichments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vargas, S.; Gonzalez, J. A.; Alonso, G.; Del Valle, E.; Xolocostli M, J. V.

    2008-01-01

    One of the main challenges in the design of fuel assemblies is the efficient use of uranium achieving burnt homogeneous of the fuel rods as well as the burnt maximum possible of the same ones to the unload. In the case of the assemblies type PWR has been decided actually for fuel assemblies with a single radial enrichment. The present work has like effect to show the because of this decision, reason why a comparison of the neutronic performance of two fuel cells takes place with the same enrichment average but one of them with radial distribution of enrichment and the other with a single enrichment equal to the average. The results shown in the present study of the behavior of the neutron flow as well as the power distribution through of assembly sustain the because of a single radial enrichment. (Author)

  18. Polyphenols-enriched Chardonnay white wine and sparkling Pinot Noir red wine identically prevent early atherosclerosis in hamsters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Auger, Cyril; Rouanet, Jean-Max; Vanderlinde, Regina; Bornet, Aurélie; Décordé, Kelly; Lequeux, Nadine; Cristol, Jean-Paul; Teissedre, Pierre-Louis

    2005-12-14

    The effects of a white wine enriched with polyphenols (PEWW) from Chardonnay grapes and of a sparkling red wine (SRW) from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes were studied for the first time on early atherosclerosis in hamsters. Animals were fed an atherogenic diet for 12 weeks. They received by force-feeding PEWW, SRW, ethanol 12% (ETH), or water as control (mimicking a moderate consumption of approximately 2 red wine glasses per meal for a 70 kg human). Plasma cholesterol concentrations were lower in groups that consumed PEWW and SRW accompanied by an increase in the ratio apo A-1/apo B. Liver-specific activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase were significantly increased by PEWW (38 and 16%, respectively) and by SRW (48 and 15%, respectively). PEWW and ETH significantly increased plasma antioxidant capacity and vitamin A concentrations. Aortic fatty streak area (AFSA) was significantly strongly reduced in the groups receiving PEWW (85%) and SRW (89%) in comparison with the control. AFSA was reduced by ethanol to a lesser extent (58%). These data suggest that tannins from the phenolics-enriched white wine induce a protective effect against early atherosclerosis comparable to that produced by sparkling red wine containing tanins and anthocyanins and dissociated from the antioxidant action of these compounds.

  19. Civilian inventories of plutonium and highly enriched uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albright, D.

    1987-01-01

    In the future, commercial laser isotope enrichment technologies, currently under development, could make it easier for national to produce highly enriched uranium secretly. The head of a US firm that is developing a laser enrichment process predicts that in twenty years, major utilities and small countries will have relatively small, on-site, laser-based uranium enrichment facilities. Although these plants will be designed for the production of low enriched uranium, they could be modified to produce highly enriched uranium, an option that raises the possibility of countries producing highly enriched uranium in small, easily hidden facilities. Against this background, most of this report describes the current and future quantities of plutonium and highly enriched uranium in the world, their forms, the facilities in which they are produced, stored, and used, and the extent to which they are transported. 5 figures, 10 tables

  20. Sex, Age, and Individual Differences in Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus in Response to Environmental Enrichment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Holli C. Eskelinen

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Application of environmental enrichment, as a means to successfully decrease undesired behaviors (e.g., stereotypic and improve animal welfare, has been documented in a variety of zoological species. However, a dearth of empirical evidence exists concerning age, sex, and individual differences in response to various types of enrichment tools and activities in Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus. This study involved a comparative assessment of enrichment participation of three resident, bottlenose dolphin populations, over the course of 17 months, with respect to sex and age class (calf, sub-adult, adult. Enrichment sessions were randomly assigned, conducted, and categorically assessed based on participation during seven, broad based enrichment classes (Object, Ingestible, Human, or a combination of the three. Overall, the proportion of participation in enrichment sessions was high (≥ 0.74, with individual differences in participation noted among the three populations. Sessions involving Humans and/or Ingestible items resulted in a significantly higher mean proportion of participation. Sub-adult and adult males were significantly more likely to participate in enrichment sessions, as well as engage in Human Interaction/Object sessions. Calves participated significantly more than adults or sub-adults across all enrichment classes with no noted differences between males and females. These data can serve as a tool to better understand the intricacies of bottlenose dolphin responses to enrichment in an effort to develop strategic enrichment plans with the goal of improving animal well-being and welfare.

  1. NRC licensing of uranium enrichment plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moran, B.W.

    1991-01-01

    The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is preparing a rule making that establishes the licensing requirements for low-enriched uranium enrichment plants. Although implementation of this rule making is timed to correspond with receipt of a license application for the Louisiana Energy Services centrifuge enrichment plant, the rule making is applicable to all uranium enrichment technologies. If ownership of the US gaseous diffusion plants and/or atomic vapor laser isotope separation is transferred to a private or government corporation, these plants also would be licensable under the new rule making. The Safeguards Studies Department was tasked by the NRC to provide technical assistance in support of the rule making and guidance preparation process. The initial and primary effort of this task involved the characterization of the potential safeguards concerns associated with a commercial enrichment plant, and the licensing issues associated with these concerns. The primary safeguards considerations were identified as detection of the loss of special nuclear material, detection of unauthorized production of material of low strategic significance, and detection of production of uranium enriched to >10% 235 U. The primary safeguards concerns identified were (1) large absolute limit of error associated with the material balance closing, (2) the inability to shutdown some technologies to perform a cleanout inventory of the process system, and (3) the flexibility of some technologies to produce higher enrichments. Unauthorized production scenarios were identified for some technologies that could prevent conventional material control and accounting programs from detecting the production and removal of 5 kg 235 U as highly enriched uranium. Safeguards techniques were identified to mitigate these concerns

  2. Environmental enrichment choices of shelter cats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, J J; Stryhn, H; Spears, J; Cockram, M S

    2017-08-01

    Choices made by cats between different types of environmental enrichment may help shelters to prioritize how to most effectively enrich cat housing, especially when limited by space or funds. This study investigates the environmental enrichment use of cats in a choice test. Twenty-six shelter cats were kept singularly in choice chambers for 10days. Each chamber had a central area and four centrally-linked compartments containing different types of environmental enrichment: 1) an empty control, 2) a prey-simulating toy, 3) a perching opportunity, and 4) a hiding opportunity. Cat movement between compartments was quantitatively recorded using a data-logger. Enriched compartments were visited significantly more frequently during the light period than during the dark period. Cats spent a significantly greater percentage of time in the hiding compartment (median=55%, IQR=46) than in the toy compartment (median=2%, IQR=9), or in the empty control compartment (median=4%, IQR=4). These results provide additional evidence to support the value of a hiding box to cats housed in a novel environment, in that they choose hiding relative to other types of environmental enrichment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Pyrosequencing reveals high-temperature cellulolytic microbial consortia in Great Boiling Spring after in situ lignocellulose enrichment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph P Peacock

    Full Text Available To characterize high-temperature cellulolytic microbial communities, two lignocellulosic substrates, ammonia fiber-explosion-treated corn stover and aspen shavings, were incubated at average temperatures of 77 and 85°C in the sediment and water column of Great Boiling Spring, Nevada. Comparison of 109,941 quality-filtered 16S rRNA gene pyrosequences (pyrotags from eight enrichments to 37,057 quality-filtered pyrotags from corresponding natural samples revealed distinct enriched communities dominated by phylotypes related to cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic Thermotoga and Dictyoglomus, cellulolytic and sugar-fermenting Desulfurococcales, and sugar-fermenting and hydrogenotrophic Archaeoglobales. Minor enriched populations included close relatives of hydrogenotrophic Thermodesulfobacteria, the candidate bacterial phylum OP9, and candidate archaeal groups C2 and DHVE3. Enrichment temperature was the major factor influencing community composition, with a negative correlation between temperature and richness, followed by lignocellulosic substrate composition. This study establishes the importance of these groups in the natural degradation of lignocellulose at high temperatures and suggests that a substantial portion of the diversity of thermophiles contributing to consortial cellulolysis may be contained within lineages that have representatives in pure culture.

  4. Do previous sports experiences influence the effect of an enrichment programme in basketball skills?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Sara; Mateus, Nuno; Sampaio, Jaime; Leite, Nuno

    2017-09-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the effect of an enrichment programme in motor, technical and tactical basketball skills, when accounting for the age of youth sport specialisation. Seventy-six college students (age: M = 20.4, SD = 1.9) were allocated according to three different paths: (i) non-structured (n = 14), (ii) early specialisation (n = 34), and (iii) late specialisation (n = 28), according to information previously provided by the participants about the quantity and type of sporting activities performed throughout their sporting careers. Then, the participants of each path were randomly distributed across control and experimental groups. Variables under study included agility, technical skills circuit, as well as tactical actions performed in a 4-on-4 full-court basketball game. The results indicated improvements in the early and late specialisation paths namely in the experimental training groups. However, the late specialisation path revealed larger benefits, in contrast with the non-structured path, which showed less sensitivity to the enrichment programme, mostly sustained in physical literacy and differential learning. Higher improvements were observed in agility, and also in reducing the number of unsuccessful actions performed during the game. Overall, this study provided evidence of how early sports experiences affect basketball skill acquisition and contribute to adapt to new contexts with motor and technical-tactical challenges. In addition, a path supported by late specialisation might present several advantages in sport performance achievement.

  5. Fair value enrichment pricing: is it fair

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-01-01

    The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (Public Law 83-702), requires the Department of Energy to recover all costs for its enrichment activities over a reasonable period of time. The proposed legislation would allow the Department to recover its costs plus a percentage of these costs. Six major factors are examined to determine whether the legislation should be adopted: What effect will the legislation have on the prices paid by ultimate consumers of electricity; will the increase in price resulting from the legislation help promote the establishment of a private uranium enrichment industry; how will the price increase impact on the administration's nuclear non-proliferation goals; what additional revenues will be generated from domestic and foreign customers; should the United States continue to perpetuate a subsidy to the U.S. nuclear industry; what effect, if any, will the new price have on the U.S. supply and demand situation for energy

  6. Adaptive control theory of concentration in the uranium enrichment plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sugitsue, Noritake; Miyagawa, Hiroshi; Yokoyama, Kaoru; Nakakura, Hiroyuki

    1999-01-01

    This paper presents the new adaptive control of concentration in the uranium enrichment plant. The purpose of this control system is average concentration control in production tram. As a result the accuracy and practical use of this control system have already been confirmed by the operation of the uranium enrichment demonstration plant. Three elements of technology are required to this method. The first is the measurement of the concentration using product flow quantity change. This technology shall be called 'Qp difference to Xp transform method'. The second is the relationship between temperature change and flow quantity using G.M.D.H. (Groupe Method of Data Handling) and the third is the estimation of temperature change using AR (Auto-regressive) model. (author)

  7. Ovalbumin with Glycated Carboxyl Groups Shows Membrane-Damaging Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ching-Chia Tang

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to investigate whether glycated ovalbumin (OVA showed novel activity at the lipid-water interface. Mannosylated OVA (Man-OVA was prepared by modification of the carboxyl groups with p-aminophenyl α-dextro (d-mannopyranoside. An increase in the number of modified carboxyl groups increased the membrane-damaging activity of Man-OVA on cell membrane-mimicking vesicles, whereas OVA did not induce membrane permeability in the tested phospholipid vesicles. The glycation of carboxyl groups caused a notable change in the gross conformation of OVA. Moreover, owing to their spatial positions, the Trp residues in Man-OVA were more exposed, unlike those in OVA. Fluorescence quenching studies suggested that the Trp residues in Man-OVA were located on the interface binds with the lipid vesicles, and their microenvironment was abundant in positively charged residues. Although OVA and Man-OVA showed a similar binding affinity for lipid vesicles, the lipid-interacting feature of Man-OVA was distinct from that of OVA. Chemical modification studies revealed that Lys and Arg residues, but not Trp residues, played a crucial role in the membrane-damaging activity of Man-OVA. Taken together, our data suggest that glycation of carboxyl groups causes changes in the structural properties and membrane-interacting features of OVA, generating OVA with membrane-perturbing activities at the lipid-water interface.

  8. How can computers support, enrich, and transform collaborative creativity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalsgaard, Peter; Inie, Nanna; Hansen, Nicolai Brodersen

    2017-01-01

    The aim of the workshop is to examine and discuss how computers can support, enrich, and transform collaborative creative processes. By exploring and combining methodological, theoretical, and design- oriented perspectives, we wish to examine the implications, potentials, and limitations of diffe......The aim of the workshop is to examine and discuss how computers can support, enrich, and transform collaborative creative processes. By exploring and combining methodological, theoretical, and design- oriented perspectives, we wish to examine the implications, potentials, and limitations...... of different approaches to providing digital support for collaborative creativity. Participation in the workshop requires participants to actively document and identify salient themes in one or more examples of computer- supported collaborative creativity, and the resulting material will serve as the empirical...

  9. Bioavailability of tryptophan from a single oral dose of a trytophan-enriched peptide mixture in healthy men

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brink, E.J.; Boelsma, E.; Steijns, J.; Hendriks, H.F.J.

    2004-01-01

    The aim of the study was to investigate the bioavailability of tryptophan (Trp) from a Trp-enriched peptide mixture in healthy men. A second objective was to investigate the effect of this Trp-enriched protein hydrolysate on potential parameters of serotonergic activity. serum serotonim melatonin

  10. Quantitative Secretome Analysis of Activated Jurkat Cells Using Click Chemistry-Based Enrichment of Secreted Glycoproteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witzke, Kathrin E; Rosowski, Kristin; Müller, Christian; Ahrens, Maike; Eisenacher, Martin; Megger, Dominik A; Knobloch, Jürgen; Koch, Andrea; Bracht, Thilo; Sitek, Barbara

    2017-01-06

    Quantitative secretome analyses are a high-performance tool for the discovery of physiological and pathophysiological changes in cellular processes. However, serum supplements in cell culture media limit secretome analyses, but serum depletion often leads to cell starvation and consequently biased results. To overcome these limiting factors, we investigated a model of T cell activation (Jurkat cells) and performed an approach for the selective enrichment of secreted proteins from conditioned medium utilizing metabolic marking of newly synthesized glycoproteins. Marked glycoproteins were labeled via bioorthogonal click chemistry and isolated by affinity purification. We assessed two labeling compounds conjugated with either biotin or desthiobiotin and the respective secretome fractions. 356 proteins were quantified using the biotin probe and 463 using desthiobiotin. 59 proteins were found differentially abundant (adjusted p-value ≤0.05, absolute fold change ≥1.5) between inactive and activated T cells using the biotin method and 86 using the desthiobiotin approach, with 31 mutual proteins cross-verified by independent experiments. Moreover, we analyzed the cellular proteome of the same model to demonstrate the benefit of secretome analyses and provide comprehensive data sets of both. 336 proteins (61.3%) were quantified exclusively in the secretome. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD004280.

  11. Purification and in vitro antioxidant activities of tellurium-containing phycobiliproteins from tellurium-enriched Spirulina platensis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fang; Wong, Ka-Hing; Yang, Yufeng; Li, Xiaoling; Jiang, Jie; Zheng, Wenjie; Wu, Hualian; Chen, Tianfeng

    2014-01-01

    Tellurium-containing phycocyanin (Te-PC) and allophycocyanin (Te-APC), two organic tellurium (Te) species, were purified from tellurium-enriched Spirulina platensis by a fast protein liquid chromatographic method. It was found that the incorporation of Te into the peptides enhanced the antioxidant activities of both phycobiliproteins. With fractionation by ammonium sulfate precipitation and hydroxylapatite chromatography, Te-PC and Te-APC could be effectively separated with high purity, and Te concentrations were 611.1 and 625.3 μg g(-1) protein in Te-PC and Te-APC, respectively. The subunits in the proteins were identified by using MALDI-TOF-TOF mass spectrometry. Te incorporation enhanced the antioxidant activities of both phycobiliproteins, as examined by 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid assay. Moreover, Te-PC and Te-APC showed dose-dependent protection on erythrocytes against the water-soluble free radical initiator 2,2'-azo(2-asmidinopropane)dihydrochloride-induced hemolysis. In the hepatoprotective model, apoptotic cell death and nuclear condensation induced by tert-butyl hydroperoxide in HepG2 cells was significantly attenuated by Te-PC and Te-APC. Taken together, these results suggest that Te-PC and Te-APC are promising Te-containing proteins with application potential for treatment of diseases related to oxidative stress.

  12. Analysis of copper-nickel ores by gamma-gamma method in ore enrichment works

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bol'shakov, A.Yu.; Tovstenko, Yu.G.; Chinskij, E.B.; Eliseev, G.I.

    1973-01-01

    The paper presents experimental data on continuous gamma-gamma assay of copper-nickel ores on conveyor belts and of dry discrete samples of classifier overflow at the enrichment plants of the Pechenganikel' group. The relative errors are given of the results of comparison of two-hour rapid analyses and shift and 24-hour chemical analyses of classifier overflow samples with the figures for gamma-gamma assay. The factors affecting the accuracy of the latter technique are elucidated. Practical recommendations are given on the use of this technique at the above enrichment plants. (author)

  13. Uranium enrichment: heading for a cliff

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norman, C.

    1987-01-01

    Thanks to drastic cost cutting in the past 2 years, US enrichment plants now have the lowest cost production in the world, but US prices are still higher than those of overseas competitors because the business is paying for past mistakes. The most serious difficulty is that the Department of Energy (DOE), which owns and operates the US enrichment enterprise, is paying more than $500 million a year to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for electricity it once thought it would need but no longer requires. Another is that billions of dollars were spent in the 1970s and early 1980s to build new capacity that is now not needed. As a result, the enrichment enterprise has accumulated a debt to the US Treasury that the General Accounting Office (GAO) estimates at $8.8 billion. This paper presents the background and current debate in Congress about the difficulties facing the enrichment industry. In the midst of this debate over the future of the enterprise, the development of the next generation of enrichment technology is being placed in jeopardy. Known as atomic vapor laser isotope separation, or AVLIS, the process was viewed as the key to the long-term competitiveness of US enrichment. As the federal deficit mounted, however, funding for the AVLIS program was cut back and the timetable was stretched out. The US enrichment program has reached the point at which Congress will be forced to make some politically difficult decisions

  14. Phosphopeptide Enrichment by Covalent Chromatography after Derivatization of Protein Digests Immobilized on Reversed-Phase Supports

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nika, Heinz; Nieves, Edward; Hawke, David H.; Angeletti, Ruth Hogue

    2013-01-01

    A rugged sample-preparation method for comprehensive affinity enrichment of phosphopeptides from protein digests has been developed. The method uses a series of chemical reactions to incorporate efficiently and specifically a thiol-functionalized affinity tag into the analyte by barium hydroxide catalyzed β-elimination with Michael addition using 2-aminoethanethiol as nucleophile and subsequent thiolation of the resulting amino group with sulfosuccinimidyl-2-(biotinamido) ethyl-1,3-dithiopropionate. Gentle oxidation of cysteine residues, followed by acetylation of α- and ε-amino groups before these reactions, ensured selectivity of reversible capture of the modified phosphopeptides by covalent chromatography on activated thiol sepharose. The use of C18 reversed-phase supports as a miniaturized reaction bed facilitated optimization of the individual modification steps for throughput and completeness of derivatization. Reagents were exchanged directly on the supports, eliminating sample transfer between the reaction steps and thus, allowing the immobilized analyte to be carried through the multistep reaction scheme with minimal sample loss. The use of this sample-preparation method for phosphopeptide enrichment was demonstrated with low-level amounts of in-gel-digested protein. As applied to tryptic digests of α-S1- and β-casein, the method enabled the enrichment and detection of the phosphorylated peptides contained in the mixture, including the tetraphosphorylated species of β-casein, which has escaped chemical procedures reported previously. The isolates proved highly suitable for mapping the sites of phosphorylation by collisionally induced dissociation. β-Elimination, with consecutive Michael addition, expanded the use of the solid-phase-based enrichment strategy to phosphothreonyl peptides and to phosphoseryl/phosphothreonyl peptides derived from proline-directed kinase substrates and to their O-sulfono- and O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O

  15. Safety of uranium enrichment plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yonekawa, Shigeru; Morikami, Yoshio; Morita, Minoru; Takahashi, Tsukasa; Tokuyasu, Takashi.

    1991-01-01

    With respect to safety evaluation of the gas centrifuge enrichment facility, several characteristic problems are described as follows. Criticality safety in the cascade equipments can be obtained to maintain the enrichment of UF 6 below 5 %. External radiation dose equivalent rate of the 30B cylinder is low enough, the shield is not necessary. Penetration ratio of the two-stage HEPA filters for UF 6 aerosol is estimated at 10 -9 . From the experimental investigation, vacuum tightness is not damaged by destruction of gas centrifuge rotor. Carbon steel can be used for uranium enrichment equipments under the condition below 100degC. (author)

  16. Profile of World Uranium Enrichment Programs - 2007

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laughter, Mark D.

    2007-01-01

    It is generally agreed that the most difficult step in building a nuclear weapon is acquiring weapons grade fissile material, either plutonium or highly enriched uranium (HEU). Plutonium is produced in a nuclear reactor, while HEU is produced using a uranium enrichment process. Enrichment is also an important step in the civil nuclear fuel cycle, in producing low enriched uranium (LEU) for use in fuel for nuclear reactors. However, the same equipment used to produce LEU for nuclear fuel can also be used to produce HEU for weapons. Safeguards at an enrichment plant are the array of assurances and verification techniques that ensure uranium is only enriched to LEU, no undeclared LEU is produced, and no uranium is enriched to HEU or secretly diverted. There are several techniques for enriching uranium. The two most prevalent are gaseous diffusion, which uses older technology and requires a lot of energy, and gas centrifuge separation, which uses more advanced technology and is more energy efficient. Gaseous diffusion plants (GDPs) provide about 40% of current world enrichment capacity, but are being phased out as newer gas centrifuge enrichment plants (GCEPs) are constructed. Estimates of current and future enrichment capacity are always approximate, due to the constant upgrades, expansions, and shutdowns occurring at enrichment plants, largely determined by economic interests. Currently, the world enrichment capacity is approximately 53 million kg-separative work units (SWU) per year, with 22 million in gaseous diffusion and 31 million in gas centrifuge plants. Another 23 million SWU/year of capacity are under construction or planned for the near future, almost entirely using gas centrifuge separation. Other less-efficient techniques have also been used in the past, including electromagnetic and aerodynamic separations, but these are considered obsolete, at least from a commercial perspective. Laser isotope separation shows promise as a possible enrichment technique

  17. Carbon-enriched coal fly ash as a precursor of activated carbons for SO2 removal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izquierdo, M T; Rubio, B

    2008-06-30

    Carbon-enriched coal fly ash was evaluated in this work as a low-cost adsorbent for SO2 removal from stack gases. The unburned carbon in coal fly ash was concentrated by mechanical sieving and vegetal oil agglomeration. The carbon concentrates were activated with steam at 900 degrees C in order to develop porosity onto the samples. The performance of these samples in the SO2 abatement was tested in the following conditions: 100 degrees C, 1000 ppmv SO2, 5% O2, 6% water vapor. A good SO2 removal capacity was shown by some of the studied samples that can be related to their textural properties. Cycles of SO2 adsorption/regeneration were carried out in order to evaluate the possibility of thermal regeneration and re-use of these carbons. Regeneration of the exhausted carbons was carried out at 400 degrees C of temperature and a flow of 25 ml/min of Ar. After each cycle, the SO2 removal capacity of the sample decreases.

  18. Safeguards for reprocessing and enrichment plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1977-01-01

    Agency safeguards are entering a new phase with the coming under active safeguards for the first time of reprocessing plants in several regions of the world. This is taking place at a time when not only the safeguards aspect itself is coming under international scrutiny, but also at a time when the necessity of reprocessing plants is being called into question. Attracting less attention at the moment, but potentially of equal significance, are the enrichment plants that soon will be coming under Agency safeguards. It is not unreasonable in view of the present controversies to ask what is the significance of these reprocessing and enrichment plants, what are the problems concerning safeguards that appear to have given rise to the controversies, and how these problems are to be solved. The question of significance is an easy one to answer. The output of these plants is material which some people consider can be used directly for military purposes, whereas the output from other plants, for instance, reactors, would require long and extensive processing before it could be used for military purposes. Like most short answers, this one is an over-simplification which requires some elaboration to make it strictly accurate. For example, the material output of a power reactor is in the form of irradiate assemblies containing plutonium which is potentially of military use if the irradiation had been within a certain range. However, to utilize this plutonium under clandestine conditions, the highly radioactive material would have to be secretly transported to a reprocessing plant and there would have to be simultaneous falsification of the reactor material accounts and the plant records. Such falsification would be difficult to conceal. The total time required to obtain usable plutonium would be many months. Diversion of material from a uranium fabrication plant making fuel for power reactors would be easier physically but strategically it would be of little value. The

  19. Bone/soft-tissue enrichment ratio in skeletal scintiscanning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reuschel, W.

    1982-01-01

    The thesis aimed at establishing normal values for the enrichment intensity of sup(99m)Tc-MDP above the sacrum (S) as reference point for spongy bones in relation to soft-tissue (ST) enrichment (S/St ratio). A normal range for S/ST was determined for five age groups which was given separately for males and females. In addition, the question was examined what causes there could be for S/ST exceeding, the norm or an increased F/ST ratio (F=femur centre) between bone and soft tissue. The question was studied whether or not beniguity or malignancy of a base disease has an important influence on F/ST values. Dependence of F/ST values from primary tumour localization and the tendency of metastatic spread in bones were investigated in malignoma patients. In addition, an assessment was made of what correlation existed, between the laboratory parameters measured, particularly alkaline phosphatase, and the F/ST values. The questions were examined what correlation existed between the F/ST values established and scintiscan findings; whether or not solitary radionuclide enrichments or multiple foci were found in the scintiscan; and what influence the number of foci had on the F/ST values. In tumour patients, the question examined what correlation existed between a tumour-specific treatment and the F/ST values. (orig./MG) [de

  20. Recovery of the Decorin-Enriched Fraction, Extract (D, From Human Skin: An Accelerated Protocol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denys N. Wheatley

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The original extraction procedure of Engel and Catchpole [1] has often been used to recover decorin-enriched material from the skin. This material has a strong inhibitory effect on fibroblast proliferation, and clearly suppresses it in skin except after the first 5–6 days of wounding when new scaffold material is required. The aim of our present study has been to find and evaluate the product of a faster recovery method, and to check its consistency as a more reliable means of regularly obtaining sufficient material for topical application in wounds that might become hypertrophic. Modifications of the original Toole and Lowther [2] extraction procedure have been carefully evaluated in an attempt to cut preparation time without compromising biological activity of the inhibitory extract. We have devised a faster recovery procedure without compromising biological activity, even if initial recovery has been somewhat reduced. The latter problem could be offset by repeated cycles of the final extraction step. The main inhibitory activity is shown to be within the decorin-enriched “extract D,” as the core protein and DSPG II. Adjustment of the extract towards neutrality after dialysis against water keeps most of the extracted protein in solution and yielded a decorin-enriched preparation that had a specific activity equivalent to that of the old method. It also yielded a fraction that was readily lyophilised to give a small amount of material that could be stored indefinitely without loss of activity and readily redissolved in aqueous solution. A reliable and relatively quick method is presented for the production, from human skin, of a decorin-enriched preparation that has strong fibroblast inhibitory action. The value of the procedure is that it is inexpensive and can produce the quantities that might be used topically in reducing hypertrophic scarring of wounds.

  1. Computer-optimized γ-NDA geometries for uranium enrichment verification of gaseous UF6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wichers, V.A.; Aaldijk, J.K.; Betue, P.A.C. de; Harry, R.J.S.

    1993-05-01

    An improved collimator pair of novel design tailored for deposit independent enrichment verification of gaseous UF 6 at low pressures in cascade-to-header pipes of small diameters in centrifuge enrichment plants is presented. The designs are adapted for use in a dual-geometry arrangement for simultaneous measurements with both detection geometries. The average measurement time with the dual-geometry arrangement is approximately half an hour for deposit-to-gas activity ratios as high as 20. (orig.)

  2. Air-conditioner filters enriching dust mites allergen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhan, Xiaodong; Li, Chaopin; Xu, Haifeng; Xu, Pengfei; Zhu, Haibin; Diao, Jidong; Li, Na; Zhao, Beibei

    2015-01-01

    We detected the concentration of dust mites allergen (Der f1 & Der p1) in the air of different places before and after the starting of air-conditioners in Wuhu City, Anhui, China, and to discuss the relation between the dust mites allergen in air-conditioner filters and the asthma attack. The dust samples were collected from the air-conditioner filters in dining rooms, shopping malls, hotels and households respectively. Concentrations of dust mites major group allergen 1 (Der f 1, Der p1) were detected with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the dust mite immune activities were determined by dot-ELISA. The concentration of Der f1 in dining rooms, shopping malls, hotels and households was 1.52 μg/g, 1.24 μg/g, 1.31 μg/g and 1.46 μg/g respectively, and the concentration of Der p1 in above-mentioned places was 1.23 μg/g, 1.12 μg/g, 1.16 μg/g and 1.18 μg/g respectively. The concentration of Der f1 & Der p1 in air was higher after the air-conditioners starting one hours later, and the difference was significant (Pair-conditioner filters can enrich dust mites major group allergen, and the allergens can induce asthma. The air-conditioner filters shall be cleaned or replaced regularly to prevent or reduce accumulation of the dust mites and its allergens.

  3. Factors affecting radon removal from Rn-222 enriched water

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abulfaraj, W.H.; Mamoon, A.

    1994-01-01

    Continued use of potable well water that has elevated levels of Rn-222 is harmful to human health. activated carbon, aeration and heating can remove radon from treated water. Water artificially enriched with Rn-222 using a pitchblende source was studied in a laboratory scale model under controlled conditions. (author), 3 figs., 3 refs

  4. Leadership in physical activity groups for older adults: a qualitative analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estabrooks, Paul A; Munroe, Krista J; Fox, Elizabeth H; Gyurcsik, Nancy C; Hill, Jennie L; Lyon, Robert; Rosenkranz, Sara; Shannon, Vanessa R

    2004-07-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine whether a theory-based framework could be used to deductively identify and understand the characteristics of motivational leaders of physical activity groups for older adults. Participants were 23 older adults (mean age = 78.5 +/- 8.0 years, 65% women). An interview-guide approach was employed to elicit older adults' thoughts on important characteristics of physical activity group leaders. The data suggested that effective leaders are those whom the participants feel are properly qualified, are able to develop a personal bond with participants, and can use their knowledge and the group to demonstrate collective accomplishments. It was concluded that the findings could be used to extend the leadership activities beyond the traditional technical performance and individual feedback to include activities of social integration. Furthermore, the conceptual framework identified can serve as a valuable tool in guiding future researchers in their examination of leadership in physical activity groups for older adults. Copyright 2004 Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.

  5. Establishment and Characterization of an Anaerobic Thermophilic (55 degrees C) Enrichment Culture Degrading Long-Chain Fatty Acids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Angelidaki, Irini; Ahring, Birgitte Kiær

    1995-01-01

    A thermophilic, long-chain fatty acid-oxidizing culture was enriched. Stearate was used as the substrate, and methane and carbon dioxide were the sole end products. Cultivation was possible only when a fed-batch system was used or with addition of activated carbon or bentonite. The enrichment...

  6. The future cost of uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pouris, A.

    1986-01-01

    The cost of uranium enrichment is the most important factor determining the fuel cost of nuclear energy. This paper attempts to forecast the future direction of the price of separative work by examining the forces that determine it. It is argued that the interplay among the characteristics of enrichment technologies, the structure of the international market, and the balance of supply and demand determine the enrichment price. The analysis indicates that all forces point towards a price much lower than the current one. It is predicted that, depending on the technological advances, the price of separative work unit for uranium enrichment will range between $40 and $90 by the year 2000. (author)

  7. [Relationships between the enrichment of ETBF, Fn, Hp in intestinal and colorectal cancer].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, J; Lu, X L; Zhao, G; Shi, H T; Geng, Y; Zhong, W T; Dong, L

    2018-02-23

    Objective: To explore relationships between the enrichment of ETBF, Fn, Hp in feces, tissues and colorectal cancer. Methods: Feces, lesion tissue and adjacent tissue from 24 patients with colorectal cancer and 31 patients with adenomas were collected, and we collected Feces and tissue of 20 healthy control persons. Then the copy numbers of enterotoxigenic B. fragilis (ETBF), Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) and Helicobacter pylori (Hp) were determined by quantitative real-time PCR. Immunohistochemical method was used to examine the expression intensity of EGFR and p53, and the relationships between different expression intensity of EGFR, p53 and the numbers of three bacterias. Results: In the feces, copy numbers of ETBF and Fn were as follous: colorectal cancer group>adenomas group>healthy control group ( P healthy control group ( P healthy control group ( P adenomas group>healthy control group ( P healthy control group ( P healthy control group ( P bacteria in the lesion tissue and the adjacent tissue had no significant difference. This happened both in colorectal cancer group and adenomas group. The different expression intensity of EGFR, p53 and the number of three bacteria showed no obviously statistical correlation( P >0.05). Conclusion: Adenomatous polyp and colorectal cancer patients show high enrichment of ETBF, Fn and Hp in both feces and tissues. ETBF, Fn and Hp probably contribute to the development of adenomatous polyp and colorectal cancer. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR-BOC-17012509.

  8. 31 CFR 540.308 - Low Enriched Uranium (LEU).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Low Enriched Uranium (LEU). 540.308... OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM (HEU) AGREEMENT ASSETS CONTROL REGULATIONS General Definitions § 540.308 Low Enriched Uranium (LEU). The term low enriched...

  9. Foraging-Based Enrichment Promotes More Varied Behaviour in Captive Australian Fur Seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hocking, David P.; Salverson, Marcia; Evans, Alistair R.

    2015-01-01

    During wild foraging, Australian fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus) encounter many different types of prey in a wide range of scenarios, yet in captive environments they are typically provided with a narrower range of opportunities to display their full repertoire of behaviours. This study aimed to quantitatively explore the effect of foraging-based enrichment on the behaviour and activity patterns displayed by two captive Australian fur seals at Melbourne Zoo, Australia. Food was presented as a scatter in open water, in a free-floating ball device, or in a static box device, with each treatment separated by control trials with no enrichment. Both subjects spent more time interacting with the ball and static box devices than the scatter feed. The total time spent pattern swimming was reduced in the enrichment treatments compared to the controls, while the time spent performing random swimming behaviours increased. There was also a significant increase in the total number of bouts of behaviour performed in all three enrichment treatments compared to controls. Each enrichment method also promoted a different suit of foraging behaviours. Hence, rather than choosing one method, the most effective way to increase the diversity of foraging behaviours, while also increasing variation in general activity patterns, is to provide seals with a wide range of foraging scenarios where food is encountered in different ways. PMID:25946412

  10. Alteration of synaptic activity-regulating genes underlying functional improvement by long-term exposure to an enriched environment in the adult brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Min-Young; Yu, Ji Hea; Kim, Ji Yeon; Seo, Jung Hwa; Park, Eun Sook; Kim, Chul Hoon; Kim, Hyongbum; Cho, Sung-Rae

    2013-01-01

    Housing animals in an enriched environment (EE) enhances behavioral function. However, the mechanism underlying this EE-mediated functional improvement and the resultant changes in gene expression have yet to be elucidated. We attempted to investigate the underlying mechanisms associated with long-term exposure to an EE by evaluating gene expression patterns. We housed 6-week-old CD-1 (ICR) mice in standard cages or an EE comprising a running wheel, novel objects, and social interaction for 2 months. Motor and cognitive performances were evaluated using the rotarod test and passive avoidance test, and gene expression profile was investigated in the cerebral hemispheres using microarray and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). In behavioral assessment, an EE significantly enhanced rotarod performance and short-term working memory. Microarray analysis revealed that genes associated with neuronal activity were significantly altered by an EE. GSEA showed that genes involved in synaptic transmission and postsynaptic signal transduction were globally upregulated, whereas those associated with reuptake by presynaptic neurotransmitter transporters were downregulated. In particular, both microarray and GSEA demonstrated that EE exposure increased opioid signaling, acetylcholine release cycle, and postsynaptic neurotransmitter receptors but decreased Na+ / Cl- -dependent neurotransmitter transporters, including dopamine transporter Slc6a3 in the brain. Western blotting confirmed that SLC6A3, DARPP32 (PPP1R1B), and P2RY12 were largely altered in a region-specific manner. An EE enhanced motor and cognitive function through the alteration of synaptic activity-regulating genes, improving the efficient use of neurotransmitters and synaptic plasticity by the upregulation of genes associated with postsynaptic receptor activity and downregulation of presynaptic reuptake by neurotransmitter transporters.

  11. Radioanalysis of RE enrichment of ion adsorption type RE ores

    CERN Document Server

    Zhao Shu Quan; Hu He Ping; Li Fu Sheng; Chen Ying Min; LiuShiMing

    2002-01-01

    Objective: To analyze the radioactivity in Rare Earth (RE) enrichment of ion adsorption type RE ores. Methods: Using HPGe-gamma spectrometer to analyze the activity ratio of gamma radionuclides in kind of samples, using FJ-2603 low background alpha, beta measurement apparatus to measure their total alpha and total beta activities, and using X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to analyze contents of La sub 2 O sub 3 and Y sub 2 O sub 3 , respectively. Results: HPGe gamma spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy are simple, convenient and non-destructive methods of analyzing radionuclides and La sub 2 O sub 3 , Y sub 2 O sub 3 in RE enrichment of ion adsorption type RE ores, respectively. Conclusion: The basic data were provided for radiation protection and treatment of gas, liquid and solid waste in RE production of ion adsorption type RE ores; method and experience were provided for studying ion adsorption type RE ores

  12. New Approach to Enrich Pasta with Polyphenols from Grape Marc

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Marinelli

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Food industry produces significant amount of waste that represents a problem for the sector. However, by-products are also promising sources of compounds which may be reused for their nutritional properties. The aim of this work is to exploit wine-making by-products, obtaining an extract by ultrasound-assisted extraction only using water as solvent. The characteristics of spaghetti enriched with grape marc were assessed and compared to control samples. In particular, total phenolic and flavonoids contents, the antioxidant activity, the cooking quality, and the sensory acceptability were evaluated at various steps of pasta production. The enriched spaghetti showed higher total phenolic and flavonoids contents and higher antioxidant activity than the control pasta. In addition, low cooking losses were found. In terms of sensory properties fortified pasta is acceptable as the traditional product, thus demonstrating that it is possible to exploit food waste to better satisfy consumer demand for healthy food products in a more sustainable perspective.

  13. Analysis Of The Effect Of Fuel Enrichment Error On Neutronic Properties Of The RSG-GAS Core

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saragih, Tukiran; Pinem, Surian

    2002-01-01

    The analysis of the fuel enrichment error effect on neutronic properties has been carried out. The fuel enrichment could be improperly done because of wrong fabrication. Therefore it is necessary to analyze the fuel enrichment error effect to determine how many percents the fuel enrichment maximum can be accepted in the core. The analysis was done by simulation method The RSG-GAS core was simulated with 5 standard fuels and 1 control element having wrong enrichment when inserted into the core. Fuel enrichment error was then simulated from 20%, 25% and 30% and the simulation was done using WIMSD/4 and Batan-2DIFF codes. The cross section of core material of the RSG-GAS was generated by WIMSD/4 code in 1-D, X-Y geometry and 10 energy neutron group. Two dimensions, diffusion calculation based on finite element method was done by using Batan-2DIFF code. Five fuel elements and one control element changed the enrichment was finally arranged as a new core of the RSG-Gas reactor. The neutronic properties can be seen from eigenvalues (k eff ) as well as from the kinetic properties based on moderator void reactivity coefficient. The calculated results showed that the error are still acceptable by k eff 1,097 even until 25% fuel enrichment but not more than 25,5%

  14. Measurement of 235U Enrichment Using the Semi-Peak-Ratio Technique with CdZnTe Gamma-Ray Detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ha, J. H.; Ko, W. I.; Lee, S. Y.; Song, D. Y.; Kim, H. D.; Yang, M. S.

    2001-01-01

    In uranium enrichment plants and nuclear fuel fabrication facilities, exact measurement of fissile isotope enrichment of Uranium is required for material accounting in international safeguards inspection as well as process quality control. The purpose of this study was to develop a simple measurement system which can portably be used at nuclear fuel fabrication plants especially dealing with low enriched uranium. For this purpose, a small size CZT (CdZnTe) detector was used, and the detector performance in low uranium gamma/X-rays energy range was investigated by use of various enriched uranium oxide samples. New enrichment measurement technique and analysis method for low enriched uranium oxide, so-called, 'semi-peak ratio technique' was developed. The newly developed method was considered as an alternative technique for the low enrichment and would be useful to account nuclear material in safeguarding activity at nuclear fuel fabrication facility

  15. A Technology Based Program That Matches Enrichment Resources With Student Strengths

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.S. Renzulli

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Remarkable advances in instructionalcommunication technology (ICT have now made ispossible to provide high levels of enrichment and thekinds of curricular differentiation that facilitateadvanced learning services to students who have accessto a computer and the Internet. But in order tomaximize the potential if ICT it is necessary to constructprograms that are based on learning theory that goesbeyond the didactic and prescriptive models that haveresulted in too much worksheets-on-line and electronicencyclopedias. The Renzulli Learning System (RLSuses a strength-based learning theory called theEnrichment Triad Model that is purposefully designedto promote advanced level learning, creativeproductivity, and high levels of student engagement byfocusing on the application of knowledge rather than themere acquisition and storage of information.The Renzulli Learning System is acomprehensive program that begins by providing acomputer-generated profile of each student’s academicstrengths, interests, learning styles, and preferred modesof expression. A search engine then matches Internetresources to the student’s profile from fourteen carefullyscreened data bases that are categorized by subject area,grade level, state curricular standards, and degree ofcomplexity. There are also hundreds of enrichmentactivities that can be down loaded and reproduced forindividual or group learning activities. A managementsystem called the Wizard Project Maker guides studentsin the application of knowledge to teacher or studentselected assignments, independent research studies, orcreative projects that individuals or small groups wouldlike to pursue. Students and teachers can evaluate thequality of students’ products using a rubric called TheStudent Product Assessment Form. Students can rateeach site visited, conduct a self-assessment of what theyhave gained from the site, and place resources in theirown Total talent Portfolio for future use. RLS alsoincludes a

  16. Industrial aspects in uranium enrichment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mezin, M.

    1982-05-01

    Characteristics of isotope separation processes in operation and under development are discussed. These include the number of stages in series, the number of components, the component unit capacity and enery requirements. The implementation of an enrichment process and the question of an enrichment plant in Australia are also considered

  17. Update on Calibration of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Passive-Active Neutron Drum Shuffler for Measurement of Highly Enriched Uranium Oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mount, M.; O'Connell, W.; Cochran, C.; Rinard, P.; Dearborn, D.; Endres, E.

    2002-01-01

    In October of 1999, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) began an effort to calibrate the LLNL passive-active neutron (PAN) drum shuffler for measurement of highly enriched uranium (HEU) oxide. A single unit of certified reference material (CRM) 149 (Uranium (93% Enriched) Oxide - U 3 O 8 Standard for Neutron Counting Measurements) was used to (1) develop a mass calibration curve for HEU oxide in the nominal range of 393 g to 3144 g 235 U, and (2) perform a detailed axial and radial mapping of the detector response over a wide region of the PAN shuffler counting chamber. Results from these efforts were reported at the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management 4lSt Annual Meeting in July 2000. This paper describes subsequent efforts by LLNL to use a unit of CRM 146 (Uranium Isotopic Standard for Gamma Spectrometry Measurements) in consort with Monte Carlo simulations of the PAN shuffler response to CRM 149 and CRM 146 units and a selected set of containers with CRM 149-equivalent U 3 O 8 to (1) extend the low range of the reported mass calibration curve to 10 g 235 U, (2) evaluate the effect of U 3 O 8 density (2.4 g/cm 3 to 4.8 g/cm 3 ) and container size (5.24 cm to 12.17 cm inside diameter and 6.35 cm to 17.72 cm inside height) on the PAN shuffler response, and (3) develop mass calibration curves for U 3 O 8 enriched to 20.1 wt% 235 U and 52.5 wt% 235 U.

  18. Enrichment Wastes' Processing of Manganiferous Ores with the Use of Mechanochemical Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubekova, Sholpan N.; Kapralova, Viktoria I.; Ibraimova, Gulnur T.; Batyrbayeva, Aigul A.

    2016-01-01

    The aim of the research is the study of the chemical and phase composition of enrichment wastes of manganiferous ore in Ushkatyn-III deposit and the synthesis of new materials by mechanochemical activation and subsequent heat treatment of the mechanical activation products. The use of XFA, infrared spectroscopy and electron probe microanalysis…

  19. Hidden Markov models for the activity profile of terrorist groups

    OpenAIRE

    Raghavan, Vasanthan; Galstyan, Aram; Tartakovsky, Alexander G.

    2012-01-01

    The main focus of this work is on developing models for the activity profile of a terrorist group, detecting sudden spurts and downfalls in this profile, and, in general, tracking it over a period of time. Toward this goal, a $d$-state hidden Markov model (HMM) that captures the latent states underlying the dynamics of the group and thus its activity profile is developed. The simplest setting of $d=2$ corresponds to the case where the dynamics are coarsely quantized as Active and Inactive, re...

  20. Advances in uranium enrichment processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rae, H.K.; Melvin, J.G.; Slater, J.B.

    1986-05-01

    Advances in gas centrifuges and development of the atomic vapour laser isotope separation process promise substantial reductions in the cost of enriched uranium. The resulting reduction in LWR fuel costs could seriously erode the economic advantage of CANDU, and in combination with LWR design improvements, shortened construction times and increased operational reliability could allow the LWR to overtake CANDU. CANDU's traditional advantages of neutron economy and high reliability may no longer be sufficient - this is the challenge. The responses include: combining neutron economy and dollar economy by optimizing CANDU for slightly enriched uranium fuel; developing cost-reducing improvements in design, manufacture and construction; and reducing the cost of heavy water. Technology is a renewable resource which must be continually applied to a product for it to remain competitive in the decades to come. Such innovation is a prerequisite to Canada increasing her share of the international market for nuclear power stations. The higher burn-up achievable with enriched fuel in CANDU can reduce the fuel cycle costs by 20 to 40 percent for a likely range of costs for yellowcake and separative work. Alternatively, some of the benefits of a higher fissile content can take the form of a cheaper reactor core containing fewer fuel channels and less heavy water, and needing only a single fuelling machine. An opportunity that is linked to this need to introduce an enriched uranium fuel cycle into CANDU is to build an enrichment business in Canada. This could offer greater value added to our uranium exports, security of supply for enriched CANDUs, technological growth in Canada and new employment opportunities. AECL has a study in progress to define this opportunity

  1. Radon-enriched spring waters in the South of Poland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozlowska, B.; Hetman, A.; Dorda, J.; Zipper, W.

    2001-01-01

    A method for determination of 222 Rn in natural water samples which involves a Wallac 1414 Win Spectral α/β liquid scintillation counter is described. Samples were collected from springs in health resorts in the Sudety Mountains in Poland. Half of the studied water samples were radon enriched with an activity concentration higher then 74 Bq/l. Seasonal variations of 222 Rn in these waters are under investigation. The method introduced is very convenient and elegant for radon activity measurements.

  2. The importance of group activities for quality of life of women in postmenopause

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata Calazans Negrão

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To assess the quality of life of postmenopausal women who participate in different activities groups for elderly. Methods: We selected 59 women, divided as follows: hydrotherapy group (n = 15, physical activity and bingo group (n = 15, and a control group(n = 29. Data collection was done through a questionnaire evaluating the Quality of Life(WHOQOL-Bref, the Blatt and Kupperman Menopausal Index and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS. The assessments were conducted in two stages with an interval of two monthsbetween each one. Results: There was an improvement in quality of life of women participants in activities groups with respect to the control group, and in all domains of quality of life questionnaire, the control group had lower values. Significant differences occurred in the environment domain, in comparing the hydrotherapy group and physical activity/bingo groups, of which the latter showed better responses. Conclusion: The activities groups were positive for improving quality of life of postmenopausal women, emphasizing the importance of encouraging the practice of not only physical activities, but also those that stimulate the social and psychological profile of these women.

  3. Environmental enrichment for aquatic animals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corcoran, Mike

    2015-05-01

    Aquatic animals are the most popular pets in the United States based on the number of owned pets. They are popular display animals and are increasingly used in research settings. Enrichment of captive animals is an important element of zoo and laboratory medicine. The importance of enrichment for aquatic animals has been slower in implementation. For a long time, there was debate over whether or not fish were able to experience pain or form long-term memories. As that debate has reduced and the consciousness of more aquatic animals is accepted, the need to discuss enrichment for these animals has increased. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Environmental enrichment brings a beneficial effect on beam walking and enhances the migration of doublecortin-positive cells following striatal lesions in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urakawa, S; Hida, H; Masuda, T; Misumi, S; Kim, T-S; Nishino, H

    2007-02-09

    Rats raised in an enriched environment (enriched rats) have been reported to show less motor dysfunction following brain lesions, but the neuronal correlates of this improvement have not been well clarified. The present study aimed to elucidate the effect of chemical brain lesions and environmental enrichment on motor function and lesion-induced neurogenesis. Three week-old, recently weaned rats were divided into two groups: one group was raised in an enriched environment and the other group was raised in a standard cage for 5 weeks. Striatal damage was induced at an age of 8 weeks by injection of the neuro-toxins 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) or quinolinic acid (QA) into the striatum, or by injection of 6-OHDA into the substantia nigra (SN), which depleted nigrostriatal dopaminergic innervation. Enriched rats showed better performance on beam walking compared with those raised in standard conditions, but both groups showed similar forelimb use asymmetry in a cylinder test. The number of bromodeoxyuridine-labeled proliferating cells in the subventricular zone was increased by a severe striatal lesion induced by QA injection 1 week after the lesion, but decreased by injection of 6-OHDA into the SN. Following induction of lesions by striatal injection of 6-OHDA or QA, the number of cells positive for doublecortin (DCX) was strongly increased in the striatum; however, there was no change in the number of DCX-positive cells following 6-OHDA injection into the SN. Environmental enrichment enhanced the increase of DCX-positive cells with migrating morphology in the dorsal striatum. In enriched rats, DCX-positive cells traversed the striatal parenchyma far from the corpus callosum and lateral ventricle. DCX-positive cells co-expressed an immature neuronal marker, polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule, but were negative for a glial marker. These data suggest that environmental enrichment improves motor performance on beam walking and enhances neuronal migration toward

  5. Enrichment in Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time (ELT) Schools. Issue Brief

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caven, Meghan; Checkoway, Amy; Gamse, Beth; Luck, Rachel; Wu, Sally

    2012-01-01

    This brief highlights key information about enrichment activities, which represent one of the main components of the Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time (ELT) initiative. Over time, the ELT initiative has supported over two dozen schools across the Commonwealth. A comprehensive evaluation of the ELT initiative found that implementation of the…

  6. Laser Isotope Enrichment for Medical and Industrial Applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leonard Bond

    2006-07-01

    Laser Isotope Enrichment for Medical and Industrial Applications by Jeff Eerkens (University of Missouri), Jay Kunze (Idaho State University), and Leonard Bond (Idaho National Laboratory) The principal isotope enrichment business in the world is the enrichment of uranium for commercial power reactor fuels. However, there are a number of other needs for separated isotopes. Some examples are: 1) Pure isotopic targets for irradiation to produce medical radioisotopes. 2) Pure isotopes for semiconductors. 3) Low neutron capture isotopes for various uses in nuclear reactors. 4) Isotopes for industrial tracer/identification applications. Examples of interest to medicine are targets to produce radio-isotopes such as S-33, Mo-98, Mo-100, W-186, Sn-112; while for MRI diagnostics, the non-radioactive Xe-129 isotope is wanted. For super-semiconductor applications some desired industrial isotopes are Si-28, Ga-69, Ge-74, Se-80, Te-128, etc. An example of a low cross section isotope for use in reactors is Zn-68 as a corrosion inhibitor material in nuclear reactor primary systems. Neutron activation of Ar isotopes is of interest in industrial tracer and diagnostic applications (e.g. oil-logging). . In the past few years there has been a sufficient supply of isotopes in common demand, because of huge Russian stockpiles produced with old electromagnetic and centrifuge separators previously used for uranium enrichment. Production of specialized isotopes in the USA has been largely accomplished using old ”calutrons” (electromagnetic separators) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. These methods of separating isotopes are rather energy inefficient. Use of lasers for isotope separation has been considered for many decades. None of the proposed methods have attained sufficient proof of principal status to be economically attractive to pursue commercially. Some of the authors have succeeded in separating sulfur isotopes using a rather new and different method, known as condensation

  7. Laser Isotope Enrichment for Medical and Industrial Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leonard Bond

    2006-01-01

    Laser Isotope Enrichment for Medical and Industrial Applications by Jeff Eerkens (University of Missouri), Jay Kunze (Idaho State University), and Leonard Bond (Idaho National Laboratory) The principal isotope enrichment business in the world is the enrichment of uranium for commercial power reactor fuels. However, there are a number of other needs for separated isotopes. Some examples are: (1) Pure isotopic targets for irradiation to produce medical radioisotopes. (2) Pure isotopes for semiconductors. (3) Low neutron capture isotopes for various uses in nuclear reactors. (4) Isotopes for industrial tracer/identification applications. Examples of interest to medicine are targets to produce radio-isotopes such as S-33, Mo-98, Mo-100, W-186, Sn-112; while for MRI diagnostics, the non-radioactive Xe-129 isotope is wanted. For super-semiconductor applications some desired industrial isotopes are Si-28, Ga-69, Ge-74, Se-80, Te-128, etc. An example of a low cross section isotope for use in reactors is Zn-68 as a corrosion inhibitor material in nuclear reactor primary systems. Neutron activation of Ar isotopes is of interest in industrial tracer and diagnostic applications (e.g. oil-logging). . In the past few years there has been a sufficient supply of isotopes in common demand, because of huge Russian stockpiles produced with old electromagnetic and centrifuge separators previously used for uranium enrichment. Production of specialized isotopes in the USA has been largely accomplished using old ''calutrons'' (electromagnetic separators) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. These methods of separating isotopes are rather energy inefficient. Use of lasers for isotope separation has been considered for many decades. None of the proposed methods have attained sufficient proof of principal status to be economically attractive to pursue commercially. Some of the authors have succeeded in separating sulfur isotopes using a rather new and different method, known as condensation

  8. Long-term outlook for global natural uranium and uranium enrichment supply and demand situations after the impact of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuo, Yuhji; Murakami, Tomoko

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, the authors propose long-term projections of global nuclear power generation, uranium production, and uranium enrichment capacities by region, and estimate the trade flows of natural uranium and uranium enrichment activities in 2020 and 2035. In spite of the rapid nuclear power generation capacity growth expected especially in Asia, the natural uranium and uranium enrichment trade will not be tightened by 2020 due to the projected increase in both natural uranium production and uranium enrichment capacities, which may cause a drop in natural uranium and uranium enrichment prices. Thus, there is a great possibility that the current projects for capacity expansion will be delayed considerably. However, in the 'high-demand scenario', where nuclear expansion will be accelerated due to growing concerns about global warming and energy security issues, additional investments in uranium production and enrichment facilities will be needed by 2035. In Asia, the self-sufficiency ratio for both natural uranium supply and uranium enrichment activities will remain relatively low until 2035. However, the Herfindahl-Hirschman (HH) index of natural uranium and uranium enrichment activity trade to Asia will be lowered considerably up to 2035, indicating that nuclear capacity expansion can contribute to enhancing energy security in Asia. (author)

  9. Biomass of Spirulina maxima enriched by biosorption process as a new feed supplement for swine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saeid, A; Chojnacka, K; Korczyński, M; Korniewicz, D; Dobrzański, Z

    2013-04-01

    This paper deals with the new mineral feed additives with Cu produced in a biosorption process from a semi-technical scale. The natural biomass of edible microalga Spirulina sp. was enriched with Cu(II) and then used as a mineral supplement in feeding experiments on swine to assess its nutrition properties. A total of 24 piglets divided into two groups (control and experimental) were used to determine the bioavailability of a new generation of mineral feed additives based on Spirulina maxima . The control group was feed using traditional inorganic supplements of microelements, while the experimental group was fed with the feed containing the biomass of S. maxima enriched with Cu by biosorption. The apparent absorption was 30 % ( P  maxima -is a promising alternative to currently used inorganic salts as the source of nutritionally important microelements.

  10. Free-range farming: a natural alternative to produce vitamin D-enriched eggs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kühn, Julia; Schutkowski, Alexandra; Kluge, Holger; Hirche, Frank; Stangl, Gabriele I

    2014-04-01

    Food-based strategies need to be developed to improve the vitamin D status of individuals. Recent studies identified ultraviolet B irradiation as an efficient method to enrich mushrooms and eggs with vitamin D. The aim of this study was to determine whether free-range farming of hens could provide a valuable method to produce vitamin D-enriched eggs. Laying hens were randomly assigned to three groups of 33 to 34 animals each, and were kept either indoors (indoor group), outdoors (outdoor group), or with an indoor/outdoor option (indoor/outdoor group) over 4 wk. The study shows that the vitamin D3 content of egg yolk was three- to fourfold higher in the groups that were exposed to sunlight (outdoor and indoor/outdoor groups) compared with the indoor group (P Egg yolk from the outdoor group revealed the highest vitamin D3 content, which averaged 14.3 μg/100 g dry matter (DM), followed by that from the indoor/outdoor group (11.3 μg/100 g DM). Yolk from indoor eggs contained only 3.8 μg vitamin D/100 g DM. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D3) content of egg yolk was also influenced by sunlight exposure, although less pronounced than the vitamin D content (P eggs randomly acquired from supermarkets had relatively low vitamin D contents. Free-range farming offers an efficient alternative to fortify eggs with vitamin D, provided that farming conditions are sufficiently attractive for hens to range outside. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Background and future activities of PBNCC's nuclear training working group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rieh, C.H.; Chung, K.; Hamlin, K.W.

    1988-01-01

    This paper presents a review of the background and activities of the nuclear training working group of the Pacific Basin Nuclear Cooperation Committee. The working group has examined various mechanisms for regional cooperation including the development of a regional catalog of training programs and the conceptualization of sharing training facilities among nuclear operators in the region. The working group has focused its attention on the exchange of information on the on-going training programs, operator training facilities, available resources for training assistance and proposed cooperative schemes. These activities are expected to continue and will provide invaluable information for nuclear power programs in the Pacific Basin region. The group also reviewed problems and issues associated with developing regional cooperation

  12. Background and future activities of PBNCC's nuclear training working group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chong Hun Rieh; Kunmo Chung; Hamlin, K.W.

    1987-01-01

    This paper presents a review of the background and activities of the nuclear training working group of the Pacific Basin Nuclear Cooperation Committee. The working group has examined various mechanisms for regional cooperation including the development of aregional catalog of training programs and the conceptualization of sharing training facilities among nuclear operators in the region. The working group has focused its attention on the exchange of information on the on-going training programs, operator training facilities, available resources for training assistance and proposed cooperative schemes. These activities are expected to continue and will provide invaluable information for nuclear power programs in the Pacific Basin region. The group also reviewed problems and issues associated with developing regional cooperation. (author)

  13. Review of uranium enrichment prospects in Canada, 1976

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Developments since 1971 which affect the prospects for uranium enrichment in Canada from the federal government point of view are reviewed. The market for enriched uranium to the year 2000 is similar to that projected in 1971. The committed enrichment capacity of the world will be sufficient until 1990. The Canadian uranium mining capability may be adequate to supply an enrichment plant, but the present reserves policy along with the currently known resources are likely to restrict exports of its products during the plant life. Prices for enriched uranium produced in Canada would be higher than those reported by other proposed new plants; however, newer enrichment techniques have some potential for cost reductions. Application of enrichment with U235 (or plutonium and U233/thorium) to CANDU offers some uranium resource conservation and possible slight power cost reductions. Construction of an enrichment plant in Canada to supply the export market is less attractive in 1976 than in 1971, but there is potential for such a business in the future. (L.L.)

  14. Profile of World Uranium Enrichment Programs-2009

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laughter, Mark D.

    2009-01-01

    It is generally agreed that the most difficult step in building a nuclear weapon is acquiring fissile material, either plutonium or highly enriched uranium (HEU). Plutonium is produced in a nuclear reactor, whereas HEU is produced using a uranium enrichment process. Enrichment is also an important step in the civil nuclear fuel cycle, in producing low enriched uranium (LEU) for use as fuel for nuclear reactors to generate electricity. However, the same equipment used to produce LEU for nuclear reactor fuel can also be used to produce HEU for weapons. Safeguards at an enrichment plant are the array of assurances and verification techniques that ensure uranium is not diverted or enriched to HEU. There are several techniques for enriching uranium. The two most prevalent are gaseous diffusion, which uses older technology and requires a lot of energy, and gas centrifuge separation, which uses more advanced technology and is more energy efficient. Gaseous diffusion plants (GDPs) provide about 40% of current world enrichment capacity but are being phased out as newer gas centrifuge enrichment plants (GCEPs) are constructed. Estimates of current and future enrichment capacity are always approximate, due to the constant upgrades, expansions, and shutdowns occurring at enrichment plants, largely determined by economic interests. Currently, the world enrichment capacity is approximately 56 million kilogram separative work units (SWU) per year, with 22.5 million in gaseous diffusion and more than 33 million in gas centrifuge plants. Another 34 million SWU/year of capacity is under construction or planned for the near future, almost entirely using gas centrifuge separation. Other less-efficient techniques have also been used in the past, including electromagnetic and aerodynamic separations, but these are considered obsolete, at least from a commercial perspective. Laser isotope separation shows promise as a possible enrichment technique of the future but has yet to be

  15. Enrichment and genome sequence of the group I.1a ammonia-oxidizing Archaeon "Ca. Nitrosotenuis uzonensis" representing a clade globally distributed in thermal habitats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena V Lebedeva

    Full Text Available The discovery of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA of the phylum Thaumarchaeota and the high abundance of archaeal ammonia monooxygenase subunit A encoding gene sequences in many environments have extended our perception of nitrifying microbial communities. Moreover, AOA are the only aerobic ammonia oxidizers known to be active in geothermal environments. Molecular data indicate that in many globally distributed terrestrial high-temperature habits a thaumarchaeotal lineage within the Nitrosopumilus cluster (also called "marine" group I.1a thrives, but these microbes have neither been isolated from these systems nor functionally characterized in situ yet. In this study, we report on the enrichment and genomic characterization of a representative of this lineage from a thermal spring in Kamchatka. This thaumarchaeote, provisionally classified as "Candidatus Nitrosotenuis uzonensis", is a moderately thermophilic, non-halophilic, chemolithoautotrophic ammonia oxidizer. The nearly complete genome sequence (assembled into a single scaffold of this AOA confirmed the presence of the typical thaumarchaeotal pathways for ammonia oxidation and carbon fixation, and indicated its ability to produce coenzyme F420 and to chemotactically react to its environment. Interestingly, like members of the genus Nitrosoarchaeum, "Candidatus N. uzonensis" also possesses a putative artubulin-encoding gene. Genome comparisons to related AOA with available genome sequences confirmed that the newly cultured AOA has an average nucleotide identity far below the species threshold and revealed a substantial degree of genomic plasticity with unique genomic regions in "Ca. N. uzonensis", which potentially include genetic determinants of ecological niche differentiation.

  16. Enrichment and genome sequence of the group I.1a ammonia-oxidizing Archaeon "Ca. Nitrosotenuis uzonensis" representing a clade globally distributed in thermal habitats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lebedeva, Elena V; Hatzenpichler, Roland; Pelletier, Eric; Schuster, Nathalie; Hauzmayer, Sandra; Bulaev, Aleksandr; Grigor'eva, Nadezhda V; Galushko, Alexander; Schmid, Markus; Palatinszky, Marton; Le Paslier, Denis; Daims, Holger; Wagner, Michael

    2013-01-01

    The discovery of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) of the phylum Thaumarchaeota and the high abundance of archaeal ammonia monooxygenase subunit A encoding gene sequences in many environments have extended our perception of nitrifying microbial communities. Moreover, AOA are the only aerobic ammonia oxidizers known to be active in geothermal environments. Molecular data indicate that in many globally distributed terrestrial high-temperature habits a thaumarchaeotal lineage within the Nitrosopumilus cluster (also called "marine" group I.1a) thrives, but these microbes have neither been isolated from these systems nor functionally characterized in situ yet. In this study, we report on the enrichment and genomic characterization of a representative of this lineage from a thermal spring in Kamchatka. This thaumarchaeote, provisionally classified as "Candidatus Nitrosotenuis uzonensis", is a moderately thermophilic, non-halophilic, chemolithoautotrophic ammonia oxidizer. The nearly complete genome sequence (assembled into a single scaffold) of this AOA confirmed the presence of the typical thaumarchaeotal pathways for ammonia oxidation and carbon fixation, and indicated its ability to produce coenzyme F420 and to chemotactically react to its environment. Interestingly, like members of the genus Nitrosoarchaeum, "Candidatus N. uzonensis" also possesses a putative artubulin-encoding gene. Genome comparisons to related AOA with available genome sequences confirmed that the newly cultured AOA has an average nucleotide identity far below the species threshold and revealed a substantial degree of genomic plasticity with unique genomic regions in "Ca. N. uzonensis", which potentially include genetic determinants of ecological niche differentiation.

  17. Sequential enrichment of microbial population exhibiting enhanced biodegradation of crude oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Venkateswaran, Kasthuri; Harayama, Shigeaki.

    1995-01-01

    The distribution of oil-degrading bacteria in the coastal waters and sediments of Hokkaido, Japan, was surveyed. It was found that the potential of mixed microbial populations to degrade weathered crude oil was not confined to any ecological components (water or sediment) nor to the sampling stations. One microbial culture that was stable during repeated subculturing degraded 45% of the saturates and 20% of the aromatics present in crude oil in 10 days during the initial screening. The residual hydrocarbons in this culture were extracted by chloroform and dispersed in a fresh seawater-based medium and subsequently inoculated with microorganisms from the first culture. After full growth of the second culture, the residual hydrocarbons were extracted and dispersed in a fresh medium in which microorganisms from the second culture had been inoculated. This sequential process was carried out six times to enrich those microorganisms that grew on the recalcitrant components of crude oil. After repeated exposure of the residual crude oil to the enriched microorganisms, about 80% of the initially added crude oil was degraded. The cultures obtained after each enrichment cycle were kept, and the degradation of fresh crude oil by the enriched microorganisms was monitored. The degrading activity of the enriched cultures increased as the number of enrichment cycles increased. A microbial population that had been selected six times on the residual crude oil could degrade 70% of the saturates and 30% of the aromatics of crude oil, indicating that growth of a microbial population on residual crude oil improved its ability to biodegrade crude oil. 21 refs., 2 tabs., 7 figs

  18. Effect of Organic Selenium from Se-enriched Alga (Chlorella spp. on Selenium Transfer from Sows to Their Progeny

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Svoboda

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The study was conducted to determine the efficacy of organic Se from Se-enriched alga Chlorella spp. in placental transfer to piglets. In group A (n = 8 the sows were fed during the gestation a diet supplemented with inorganic Se (sodium selenite, 0.3 mg/kg. In group B (n = 8 the diet of the sows was supplemented with organic Se from Se-enriched alga (0.3 mg/kg. The Se concentrations in the whole blood (P P Chlorella spp. in sows resulted in greater transfer of Se to their progeny.

  19. Evaluating biomarkers for prognostic enrichment of clinical trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, Kathleen F; Roth, Jeremy; Zhu, Kehao; Thiessen-Philbrook, Heather; Meisner, Allison; Wilson, Francis Perry; Coca, Steven; Parikh, Chirag R

    2017-12-01

    A potential use of biomarkers is to assist in prognostic enrichment of clinical trials, where only patients at relatively higher risk for an outcome of interest are eligible for the trial. We investigated methods for evaluating biomarkers for prognostic enrichment. We identified five key considerations when considering a biomarker and a screening threshold for prognostic enrichment: (1) clinical trial sample size, (2) calendar time to enroll the trial, (3) total patient screening costs and the total per-patient trial costs, (4) generalizability of trial results, and (5) ethical evaluation of trial eligibility criteria. Items (1)-(3) are amenable to quantitative analysis. We developed the Biomarker Prognostic Enrichment Tool for evaluating biomarkers for prognostic enrichment at varying levels of screening stringency. We demonstrate that both modestly prognostic and strongly prognostic biomarkers can improve trial metrics using Biomarker Prognostic Enrichment Tool. Biomarker Prognostic Enrichment Tool is available as a webtool at http://prognosticenrichment.com and as a package for the R statistical computing platform. In some clinical settings, even biomarkers with modest prognostic performance can be useful for prognostic enrichment. In addition to the quantitative analysis provided by Biomarker Prognostic Enrichment Tool, investigators must consider the generalizability of trial results and evaluate the ethics of trial eligibility criteria.

  20. Antioxidant potential and quality characteristics of vegetable-enriched corn-based extruded snacks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bisharat, G I; Lazou, A E; Panagiotou, N M; Krokida, M K; Maroulis, Z B

    2015-07-01

    Phenolic content, antioxidant activity and sensory characteristics of vegetable-enriched extrudates were investigated as a result of extrusion conditions, including extrusion temperature (140-180 °C), screw rotation speed (150-250 rpm) and feed moisture content (14-19 % w.b.). Broccoli flour and olive paste was used in mixtures with corn flour at a ratio of 4 to 10 % (broccoli/corn) and 4 to 8 % (olive paste/corn). A simple power model was developed for the prediction of phenolic content and antioxidant activity of extrudates by extrusion conditions and feed composition. Phenolic content and antioxidant activity of broccoli enriched extrudates increased with extrusion temperature and broccoli addition and decreased with feed moisture content. The antioxidant activity of olive paste extrudates increased with material ratio and decreased with feed moisture content and screw rotation. Sensory porosity, homogenous structure, crispness, cohesiveness and melting decreased with feed moisture content, while the latter increased the mealy flavor and hardness of extrudates. Acceptable snacks containing broccoli flour or olive paste can be produced by selecting the appropriate process conditions.

  1. BCAA-enriched snack improves nutritional state of cirrhosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakaya, Yutaka; Okita, Kiwamu; Suzuki, Kazuyuki; Moriwaki, Hisataka; Kato, Akinobu; Miwa, Yoshiyuki; Shiraishi, Koichi; Okuda, Hiroaki; Onji, Morikazu; Kanazawa, Hidenori; Tsubouchi, Hirohito; Kato, Shinzo; Kaito, Masahiko; Watanabe, Akiharu; Habu, Daiki; Ito, Susumu; Ishikawa, Tomohisa; Kawamura, Naohiro; Arakawa, Yasuyuki

    2007-02-01

    A late evening snack improves the catabolic state in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis. We tested whether long-term (3 mo) late evening snacking that included a branched-chain amino acid (BCAA)-enriched nutrient mixture produces a better nutritional state and better quality of life than ordinary food in patients with hepatitis C virus-positive liver cirrhosis. In a multicenter, randomized study, 48 patients with liver cirrhosis received late-evening supplementation with the BCAA-enriched nutrient mixture or ordinary food, such as a rice ball or bread, for 3 mo. During the study period, each patient was instructed on energy and protein intake. Blood biochemical data, nitrogen balance, respiratory quotient, and health-related quality of life (Short Form 36 questionnaire) were evaluated at baseline and at the end of the study. Total and late-evening energy intakes were similar in the two groups at 3 mo. Serum albumin level, nitrogen balance, and respiratory quotient were significantly improved by the BCAA mixture but not by ordinary food. The parameters of the Short Form 36 did not statistically significantly improve over 3 mo in either group. Long-term oral supplementation with a BCAA mixture is better than ordinary food in a late evening snack at improving the serum albumin level and the energy metabolism in patients with cirrhosis.

  2. Active versus receptive group music therapy for major depressive disorder-A pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atiwannapat, Penchaya; Thaipisuttikul, Papan; Poopityastaporn, Patchawan; Katekaew, Wanwisa

    2016-06-01

    To compare the effects of 1) active group music therapy and 2) receptive group music therapy to group counseling in treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). On top of standard care, 14 MDD outpatients were randomly assigned to receive 1) active group music therapy (n=5), 2) receptive group music therapy (n=5), or 3) group counseling (n=4). There were 12 one-hour weekly group sessions in each arm. Participants were assessed at baseline, 1 month (after 4 sessions), 3 months (end of interventions), and 6 months. Primary outcomes were depressive scores measured by Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) Thai version. Secondary outcomes were self-rated depression score and quality of life. At 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months, both therapy groups showed statistically non-significant reduction in MADRS Thai scores when compared with the control group (group counseling). The reduction was slightly greater in the active group than the receptive group. Although there were trend toward better outcomes on self-report depression and quality of life, the differences were not statistically significant. Group music therapy, either active or receptive, is an interesting adjunctive treatment option for outpatients with MDD. The receptive group may reach peak therapeutic effect faster, but the active group may have higher peak effect. Group music therapy deserves further comprehensive studies. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  3. Enrichment of Acinetobacter spp. from food samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvalheira, Ana; Ferreira, Vânia; Silva, Joana; Teixeira, Paula

    2016-05-01

    Relatively little is known about the role of foods in the chain of transmission of acinetobacters and the occurrence of different Acinetobacter spp. in foods. Currently, there is no standard procedure to recover acinetobacters from food in order to gain insight into the food-related ecology and epidemiology of acinetobacters. This study aimed to assess whether enrichment in Dijkshoorn enrichment medium followed by plating in CHROMagar™ Acinetobacter medium is a useful method for the isolation of Acinetobacter spp. from foods. Recovery of six Acinetobacter species from food spiked with these organisms was compared for two selective enrichment media (Baumann's enrichment and Dijkshoorn's enrichment). Significantly (p enrichment. Next, the Dijkshoorn's enrichment followed by direct plating on CHROMagar™ Acinetobacter was applied to detect Acinetobacter spp. in different foods. Fourteen different presumptive acinetobacters were recovered and assumed to represent nine different strains on the basis of REP-PCR typing. Eight of these strains were identified by rpoB gene analysis as belonging to the species Acinetobacter johnsonii, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Acinetobacter guillouiae and Acinetobacter gandensis. It was not possible to identify the species level of one strain which may suggests that it represents a distinct species. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Enrichment of sub-milligram size carbon samples

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kitagawa, H; vanderPlicht, J

    We have developed a carbon isotope enrichment system for use in conjunction with the Groningen Accelerator Mass Spectrometer. Using thermal diffusion of CO, we obtained an enrichment factor of about 3 for C-13 for half-gram carbon in 5 days. This means we expect for C-14 an enrichment factor of 6,

  5. Current perspective of the uranium enrichment market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laughon, K.O.

    1986-01-01

    Over the past several years, developments in the uranium enrichment market have required the Department of Energy (DOE) to make a number of changes in the U.S. enrichment enterprise. These changes have been made to allow DOE to conduct our enrichment business so as to be more responsive to changing market forces. Needless to say, some of these changes have been difficult, but they have been necessary if they are to conduct a healthy and competitive uranium enrichment business in the United States. This paper discusses several topics, including: The Uranium Enrichment Market, Utility Services (US) Contracts, Reduced Prices, Incentive Pricing, Better Customer Services, and Advanced Technology. In addition to these topics, information is provided on the recent court action regarding the US Contracts and the viability finding on the uranium mining industry

  6. Applying mealtime functionality to tailor protein-enriched meals to older consumer segments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Uijl, den Louise C.; Jager, Gerry; Zandstra, Elizabeth H.; Graaf, de Kees; Kremer, Stefanie

    2017-01-01

    The older adults group is highly heterogeneous, and its members do not always meet their recommended protein intake. We explored mealtime functionality as a basis for tailoring protein-enriched (PE) meal concepts to two senior consumer segments: 1) cosy socialisers, who eat mainly for cosiness

  7. Effect of administration of water enriched in O2 by injection or electrolysis on transcutaneous oxygen pressure in anesthetized pigs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charton, Antoine; Péronnet, François; Doutreleau, Stephane; Lonsdorfer, Evelyne; Klein, Alexis; Jimenez, Liliana; Geny, Bernard; Diemunsch, Pierre; Richard, Ruddy

    2014-01-01

    Oral administration of oxygenated water has been shown to improve blood oxygenation and could be an alternate way for oxygen (O2) supply. In this experiment, tissue oxygenation was compared in anesthetized pigs receiving a placebo or water enriched in O2 by injection or a new electrolytic process. Forty-two pigs randomized in three groups received either mineral water as placebo or water enriched in O2 by injection or the electrolytic process (10 mL/kg in the stomach). Hemodynamic parameters, partial pressure of oxygen in the arterial blood (PaO2), skin blood flow, and tissue oxygenation (transcutaneous oxygen pressure, or TcPO2) were monitored during 90 minutes of general anesthesia. Absorption and tissue distribution of the three waters administered were assessed using dilution of deuterium oxide. Mean arterial pressure, heart rate, PaO2, arteriovenous oxygen difference, and water absorption from the gut were not significantly different among the three groups. The deuterium to protium ratio was also similar in the plasma, skin, and muscle at the end of the protocol. Skin blood flow decreased in the three groups. TcPO2 slowly decreased over the last 60 minutes of the experiment in the three groups, but when compared to the control group, the values remained significantly higher in animals that received the water enriched in O2 by electrolysis. In this protocol, water enriched in O2 by electrolysis lessened the decline of peripheral tissue oxygenation. This observation is compatible with the claim that the electrolytic process generates water clathrates which trap O2 and facilitate O2 diffusion along pressure gradients. Potential applications of O2-enriched water include an alternate method of oxygen supply.

  8. Listening to young people with special needs: the influence of group activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, Peter

    2005-12-01

    The article reports on the experiences of group activities within an area of Yorkshire that helped young people with special needs to express their views and opinions. Significant issues were raised by the ethics of undertaking work with young people and these are reviewed. The young people involved in the research reported that their participation in the groups developed their self-confidence and advocacy skills. This led them to be more confident in expressing their needs at school and in the community. To establish wider generalizability for the study findings, the Yorkshire group activities were compared with another similar group in London where further data were collected from the young people involved. In facilitating group activities, willing staff were an important addition to the group because their presence provided and encouraged positive reactions to the distinctive achievements of the young people themselves. In both groups, members were committed to participation in project-based activities that raised their self-esteem and helped establish a sense of their own identity and purpose.

  9. Enriched enteral nutrition may improve short-term survival in stage IV gastric cancer patients: A randomized, controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klek, Stanislaw; Scislo, Lucyna; Walewska, Elzbieta; Choruz, Ryszard; Galas, Aleksander

    2017-04-01

    The aim of the study was to determine whether the postoperative use of enteral nutrition enriched with arginine, glutamine, and omega-3 fatty acids influences survival in patients diagnosed with stomach cancer. For the purpose of the study, the second wave of the trial performed in 2003 to 2009 was done. Ninety-nine patients who underwent surgery for gastric cancer (27 F, 72 M, mean age: 62.9 y) met the inclusion criteria. Of those, 54 were randomized to standard and 45 to enriched enteral nutrition (EEN). In all patients, short- and long-term (5 y) survival was analyzed. Analysis of the overall survival time did not reveal differences between groups (P = 0.663). Until the end of the third month, however, there were nine deaths in the standard enteral nutrition group and no deaths in the EEN group (16.7% versus 0.0%, P = 0.004). The univariate analyses suggested that the EEN group may have lower risk, especially during the first year after intervention. A significant reduction in the risk of death was seen during the early period after surgery (first 6 mo) in the EEN group in stage IV patients (hazard ratio = 0.25, P = 0.049). The use of enriched enteral diet did not influence, however, the risk of dying when patients were analyzed together. The study does not support the beneficial effect of enriched enteral nutrition in long-term survival; however, the positive impact on the stage IV patients suggests the need for further, more detailed studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Comparative proteomic assessment of matrisome enrichment methodologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krasny, Lukas; Paul, Angela; Wai, Patty; Howard, Beatrice A.; Natrajan, Rachael C.; Huang, Paul H.

    2016-01-01

    The matrisome is a complex and heterogeneous collection of extracellular matrix (ECM) and ECM-associated proteins that play important roles in tissue development and homeostasis. While several strategies for matrisome enrichment have been developed, it is currently unknown how the performance of these different methodologies compares in the proteomic identification of matrisome components across multiple tissue types. In the present study, we perform a comparative proteomic assessment of two widely used decellularisation protocols and two extraction methods to characterise the matrisome in four murine organs (heart, mammary gland, lung and liver). We undertook a systematic evaluation of the performance of the individual methods on protein yield, matrisome enrichment capability and the ability to isolate core matrisome and matrisome-associated components. Our data find that sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) decellularisation leads to the highest matrisome enrichment efficiency, while the extraction protocol that comprises chemical and trypsin digestion of the ECM fraction consistently identifies the highest number of matrisomal proteins across all types of tissue examined. Matrisome enrichment had a clear benefit over non-enriched tissue for the comprehensive identification of matrisomal components in murine liver and heart. Strikingly, we find that all four matrisome enrichment methods led to significant losses in the soluble matrisome-associated proteins across all organs. Our findings highlight the multiple factors (including tissue type, matrisome class of interest and desired enrichment purity) that influence the choice of enrichment methodology, and we anticipate that these data will serve as a useful guide for the design of future proteomic studies of the matrisome. PMID:27589945

  11. Study on the radiotoxicology of enriched uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Shoupeng; Zheng Siying; Wang Guolin; Wang Chongdao; Cao Genfa

    1987-12-01

    A study on the retentive peculiarity of soluble enriched uranium UO 2 F 2 were observed after iv once or consecutive ip qd x 3d to Wistar male rats. The dynamic retention of radioactivity in the body showed that the enriched uranium UO 2 F 2 was chiefly localized in kidney, and then in skeleton and liver. The radioactivity of the enriched uranium UO 2 F 2 in skeleton rose steadily while the concentratoin in kidney and liver droped. When enriched uranium UO 2 F 2 was accumulated in organism, it caused chromosome aberrations on bone marrow cells. Results indicated that the chromosome aberration rates were elevated when the dose of the enriched uranium UO 2 F 2 was increased, at the same time, the cell division was depressed. Accumulation of insoluble enriched uranium U 3 O 8 in gastrointestinal tract was well described by a two exponential expression. Values of retention estimate for fast component, T 1 = 0.34 d, and for relatively long term component, T 2 = 4.05 d. The deposition of UO 2 F 2 in the intact skin was only 0.16 to 0.18% of the total contaminated UO 2 F 2 . Penetration of the enriched uranium UO 2 F 2 was dominantly increased in abraded skin. This value is about 25 to 32 times as compaired with that in intact skin. Retention of the enriched uranium UO 2 F 2 through abraded skins was dominantly localized in kidney and skeleton

  12. Enrichment technology. Dependable vendor of gas centrifuges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2011-01-01

    Enrichment Technology is an innovative, high-tech company that develops, manufactures and installs gas centrifuges for enriching uranium. In addition, Enrichment Technology designs enrichment plants that use gas centrifuge technology. This technology offers the most efficient and cost-effective method for enriching uranium yet: high-performance, safe technology that dominates the market with a global share of 45 percent. A determining factor in Enrichment Technology's success is its mission: supplying its customers with safe, reliable technology. Production of the centrifuges requires versatile know-how and collaboration between different departments as well as interdisciplinary teams at the various sites. More than 2000 operators at 8 sites in 5 countries contribute their individual knowledge and personal skills in order to produce this exceptional technology. The head office is in Beaconsfield near London and the operational headquarters are in Almelo in the Netherlands. There are other sites in Germany (Juelich und Gronau), Great Britain (Capenhurst) as well as project sites in the USA and France. Capenhurst is where experienced engineers design new enrichment plants and organise their construction. Centrifuge components are manufactured in Almelo and Juelich, while the pipework needed to connect up the centrifuges is produced at the site in Gronau. In Juelich, highly qualified scientists in interdisciplinary teams are continuously researching ways of improving the current centrifuges. Communication between specialists in the fields of chemistry, physics and engineering forms the basis for the company's success and the key to extending this leading position in the global enrichment market. (orig.)

  13. The enrichment behavior of natural radionuclides in pulverized oil shale-fired power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vaasma, Taavi; Kiisk, Madis; Meriste, Tõnis; Tkaczyk, Alan Henry

    2014-01-01

    The oil shale industry is the largest producer of NORM (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) waste in Estonia. Approximately 11–12 million tons of oil shale containing various amounts of natural radionuclides is burned annually in the Narva oil shale-fired power plants, which accounts for approximately 90% of Estonian electricity production. The radionuclide behavior characteristics change during the fuel combustion process, which redistributes the radionuclides between different ash fractions. Out of 24 operational boilers in the power plants, four use circulating fluidized bed (CFB) technology and twenty use pulverized fuel (PF) technology. Over the past decade, the PF boilers have been renovated, with the main objective to increase the efficiency of the filter systems. Between 2009 and 2012, electrostatic precipitators (ESP) in four PF energy blocks were replaced with novel integrated desulphurization technology (NID) for the efficient removal of fly ash and SO 2 from flue gases. Using gamma spectrometry, activity concentrations and enrichment factors for the 238 U ( 238 U, 226 Ra, 210 Pb) and 232 Th ( 232 Th, 228 Ra) family radionuclides as well as 40 K were measured and analyzed in different PF boiler ash fractions. The radionuclide activity concentrations in the ash samples increased from the furnace toward the back end of the flue gas duct. The highest values in different PF boiler ash fractions were in the last field of the ESP and in the NID ash, where radionuclide enrichment factors were up to 4.2 and 3.3, respectively. The acquired and analyzed data on radionuclide activity concentrations in different PF boiler ashes (operating with an ESP and a NID system) compared to CFB boiler ashes provides an indication that changes in the fuel (oil shale) composition and boiler working parameters, as well as technological enhancements in Estonian oil shale fired power plants, have had a combined effect on the distribution patterns of natural radionuclides in

  14. Tritium enrichment in aqueous phase by catalytic isotopic exchange

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schindewolf, U.

    1983-01-01

    At normal pressure, the most promising enrichment method appears to be an inverse current exchanger system using electrolysis at the bottom of the inverse current column apparatus and recombination in an oxyhydrogen gas flame at the top of the column apparatus. A hydrophobic catalyst is used which is made of a pulverized mix of platinized activated carbon and PTFE. (DG) [de

  15. The RERTR [Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor] Program: Progress and plans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Travelli, A.

    1987-01-01

    The progress of the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) Program is described. After a brief summary of the results which the RERTR Program, in collaboration with its many international partners, had achieved by the end of 1986, the activities, results, and new developments which occurred in 1987 are reviewed. Irradiation of the second miniplate series, concentrating on U 3 Si 2 -Al and U 3 Si-Al fuels, was completed and postirradiation examinations were performed on many of its miniplates. The whole-core ORR demonstration with U 3 Si 2 -Al fuel at 4.8 g U/cm 3 was completed at the end of March with excellent results and with 29 elements estimated to have reached at least 40% average burnup. Good progress was made in the area of LEU usage for the production of fission 99 Mo, and in the coordination of safety evaluations related to LEU conversions of US university reactors. Planned activities include testing and demonstrating advanced fuels intended to allow use of reduced enrichment uranium in very-high-performance reactors. Two candidate fuels are U 3 Si-Al with 19.75% enrichment and U 3 Si 2 -Al with 45% enrichment. Demonstration of these fuels will include irradiation of full-size elements and, possibly, a full-core demonstration. Achievement of the final program goals is still projected for 1990. This progress could not have been possible without the close international cooperation which has existed from the beginning, and which is essential to the ultimate success of the RERTR Program

  16. Effects of group size on behaviour, growth and occurrence of bite marks in farmed mink

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Axelsson, Helene M. K.; Hansen, Steffen W.; Loberg, Jenny

    2017-01-01

    The aims of this study were to investigate the occurrence of stereotypic behaviours and the activity level in farmed mink when group housed in climbing cages and if group housing increase aggression by assessing the prevalence of bite marks. This was studied in juvenile mink of the colour types...... sunset during six periods of five days each from August-October. After pelting, the leather side of the undried skins were visually inspected for bite marks. Stereotypic behaviours were infrequent (0.1% of observations). Pair housed mink in climbing cages were more "inactive out in cage" than pair housed...... mink in standard cages (p 0.0001), but cage type had no effect on the behaviours "being in nest box", "active out in cage", "interactions with enrichments" or "social interactions" (n.s.). Group sizes of three or four mink increased the behaviours "active out in cage" (P 0.0001) and decreased "being...

  17. Fuel enrichment reduction for heavy water moderated research reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCulloch, D.B.

    1984-01-01

    Twelve heavy-water-moderated research reactors of significant power level (5 MW to 125 MW) currently operate in a number of countries, and use highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel. Most of these reactors could in principle be converted to use uranium of lower enrichment, subject in some cases to the successful development and demonstration of new fuel materials and/or fuel element designs. It is, however, generally accepted as desirable that existing fuel element geometry be retained unaltered to minimise the capital costs and licensing difficulties associated with enrichment conversion. The high flux Australian reactor, HIFAR, at Lucas Heights, Sydney is one of 5 Dido-class reactors in the above group. It operates at 10 MW using 80% 235 U HEU fuel. Theoretical studies of neutronic, thermohydraulic and operational aspects of converting HIFAR to use fuels of reduced enrichment have been made over a period. It is concluded that with no change of fuel element geometry and no penalty in the present HEU fuel cycle burn-up performance, conversion to MEU (nominally 45% 235 U) would be feasible within the limits of current fully qualified U-Al fuel materials technology. There would be no significant, adverse effects on safety-related parameters (e.g. reactivity coefficients) and only small penalties in reactor flux. Conversion to LEU (nominally 20% 235 U) a similar basis would require that fuel materials of about 2.3 g U cm -3 be fully qualified, and would depress the in-core thermal neutron flux by about 15 per cent relative to HEU fuelling. In qualitative terms, similar conclusions would be expected to hold for a majority of the above heavy water moderated reactors. (author)

  18. 78 FR 65389 - United States Enrichment Corporation, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-31

    ..., USEC notified the NRC of its decision to permanently cease uranium enrichment activities at the PGDP... Accession Nos. ML13105A010 and ML13176A151, respectively. NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of... in Paducah, Kentucky, using the gaseous [[Page 65390

  19. Continuous monitoring of variations in the 235U enrichment of uranium in the header pipework of a centrifuge enrichment plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Packer, T.W.

    1991-01-01

    Non-destructive assay equipment, based on gamma-ray spectrometry and x-ray fluorescence analysis has previously been developed for confirming the presence of low enriched uranium in the header pipework of UF 6 gas centrifuge enrichment plants. However inspections can only be carried out occasionally on a limited number of pipes. With the development of centrifuge enrichment technology it has been suggested that more frequent, or ideally, continuous measurements should be made in order to improve safeguards assurance between inspections. For this purpose we have developed non-destructive assay equipment based on continuous gamma-ray spectrometry and x-ray transmission measurements. This equipment is suitable for detecting significant changes in the 235 U enrichment of uranium in the header pipework of new centrifuge enrichment plants. Results are given in this paper of continuous measurements made in the laboratory and also on header pipework of a centrifuge enrichment plant at Capenhurst

  20. Nature vs. nurture: can enrichment rescue the behavioural phenotype of BDNF heterozygous mice?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chourbaji, Sabine; Brandwein, Christiane; Vogt, Miriam A; Dormann, Christof; Hellweg, Rainer; Gass, Peter

    2008-10-10

    In earlier experiments we have demonstrated that group-housing in a rather impoverished "standard" environment can be a crucial stress factor in male C57Bl/6 mice. The present study aimed at investigating the effect of combining a probable genetic vulnerability--postulated by the "Neurotrophin Hypothesis of Depression"--with the potentially modulating influence of a stressful environment such as "impoverished" standard housing conditions. For that purpose mice with a partial deletion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were group-housed under standard and enriched housing conditions and analysed in a well-established test battery for emotional behaviours. Standard group-housing affected emotional behaviour in male and female BDNF heterozygous mice, causing an increase in anxiety, changes in exploration as well as nociception. Providing the animals' cages with supplementary enrichment, however, led to a rescue of emotional alterations, which emphasises the significance of external factors and their relevance for a valid investigation of genetic aspects in these mutants as well as others, which may be examined in terms of stress-responsiveness or emotionality.