Use of PSA in a regulatory framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ross, P.J.

1994-01-01

The paper will briefly describe the use of PSA in the licensing process for the Sizewell 'B' PWR Power Station currently under construction in the U.K. There are two distinct phases in the licensing process - (i) A PSA has been performed to support the application to construct Sizewell 'B'. At that stage the PSA was used as a design tool (along with deterministic design requirements) for Sizewell 'B' and as such lead to a number of significant design changes in the early design process. (ii) A PSA is currently being performed to support the application to operate Sizewell 'B'. The PSA is required to support the claim that the design has included all reasonably practical measures to prevent and mitigate accidents. The comprehensive PSA being produced for the second phase of the licensing process will be described. The way the regulators/designer/analysts have interacted over the years has affected the scope, complexity, detail and bias of the comprehensive PSA. The paper will discuss these issues and highlight some of the more significant ones. The benefits and drawbacks of providing a PSA in a regulatory framework will be discussed. One of the conclusions of the paper is that the use of true ''best-estimates'' in the PSA is difficult to achieve in a regulatory framework where persistent bias to the conservative side is apparent in the designers, analysts and regulators judgements. The usefulness of the PSA is therefore, potentially, compromised by giving misleading outputs or diverting resources to unnecessary areas. (author)

Implementation guidelines for seismic PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coman, Ovidiu; Samaddar, Sujit; Hibino, Kenta; )

2014-01-01

The presentation was devoted to development of guidelines for implementation of a seismic PSA. If successful, these guidelines can close an important gap. ASME/ANS PRA standards and the related IAEA Safety Guide (IAEA NS-G-2.13) describe capability requirements for seismic PSA in order to support risk-informed applications. However, practical guidance on how to meet these requirements is limited. Such guidelines could significantly contribute to improving risk-informed safety demonstration, safety management and decision making. Extensions of this effort to further PSA areas, particularly to PSA for other external hazards, can enhance risk-informed applications

MODIFICATION OF THE SPAR-H METHOD TO SUPPORT HRA FOR LEVEL 2 PSA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

St. Germain, S.; Boring, R.; Banaseanu, G.; Akl, Y.; Xu, M.

2016-10-01

Currently, available Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) methods were generally developed to support Level 1 Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA) models. There has been an increased emphasis placed on Level 2 PSA in recent years; however, the currently used HRA methods are not ideal for this application, including the SPAR-H method. Challenges that will likely be present during a severe accident such as degraded or hazardous operating conditions, shift in control from the main control room to the technical support center, unavailability of instrumentation, and others are not routinely considered for Level 1 HRA analysis. These factors combine to create a much more uncertain condition to be accounted for in the HRA analysis. While the SPAR-H shaping factors were established to support Level 1 HRA, previous studies have shown it may be used for Level 2 HRA analysis as well. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in a joint project are investigating modifications to the SPAR-H method to create more consistency in applying the performance shaping factors used in the method for Level 2 analysis.

Applicability of living PSA in NPP modernization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Himanen, R.

1999-01-01

Recently the utility Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO) has modernized the Olkiluoto 1 and 2 nuclear units and increased the net electric power by 18 per cent. Level 2 PSA was performed during the modernization project and the living level 1 PSA was used to support the design of the plant modifications. The plant specific living PSA model was a powerful tool when evaluating modernization alternatives. Successive support of safety management with the PSA model requires, that both the utility and the Regulatory Body understand capability and limitations of the model in details. TVO has prepared an internal procedure that presents in detail the practices and responsibilities concerning living PSA. The procedure is based on general guidelines and requirements on probabilistic safety analysis of nuclear power plants in Finland, released by the Regulatory Body. Living PSA requires that also the procedure for the use of living PSA is living. The recently published USNRC Regulatory Guides on PSA will be taken into account in the next version of the TVO PSA procedure. The PSA Peer Review Certification Process is one way to evaluate the quality of PSA in general, but also to detect the weaknesses of the PSA. However, the Certification Process cover only limited scope of PSA omitting e.g. all other external events except internal floods. This paper gives an overview on the scope of living PSA for Olkiluoto 1 and 2, and presents some examples on the real use of PSA concerning the modernization of the plant. Definition of quantitative dependability requirements for renovated systems is possible, but on the other hand, proving of these targets is in some cases extremely difficult, because of lacking dependability data. The problems are mainly concerned in systems with of programmable logic control. (au)

Challenges and status of multi-unit PSA development in Canada

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yalaoui, Smain

2015-01-01

Firstly, this paper discusses the issues and challenges related to the development of a Multi-Unit PSA (MU-PSA) and the general recommendations and conclusions from the MU-PSA Workshop organized by the CNSC in Ottawa, November 2014. This includes a discussion regarding the issue related to the methodological challenges in performing MU-PSA, the site-based risk metrics to be adopted, and the issue of risk aggregation across all hazards and all units. The paper also addresses the challenges for establishing site-based safety goals as the current safety goals were established on a per-unit basis. CNSC Staff efforts, both at the national and international level, on developing whole-site safety goals and guidance on MU-PSA and risk aggregation methodologies will also be discussed. Finally, the paper will provide a summary of the industry effort and road map for completing the pilot Whole-site PSA project for the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, as requested by the Commission following to the public hearing for licence renewal in February 20 and May 29-31, 2013. (author)

Improving PSA quality of KSNP PSA model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Joon Eon; Ha, Jae Joo

2004-01-01

In the RIR (Risk-informed Regulation), PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment) plays a major role because it provides overall risk insights for the regulatory body and utility. Therefore, the scope, the level of details and the technical adequacy of PSA, i.e. the quality of PSA is to be ensured for the successful RIR. To improve the quality of Korean PSA, we evaluate the quality of the KSNP (Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant) internal full-power PSA model based on the 'ASME PRA Standard' and the 'NEI PRA Peer Review Process Guidance.' As a working group, PSA experts of the regulatory body and industry also participated in the evaluation process. It is finally judged that the overall quality of the KSNP PSA is between the ASME Standard Capability Category I and II. We also derive some items to be improved for upgrading the quality of the PSA up to the ASME Standard Capability Category II. In this paper, we show the result of quality evaluation, and the activities to improve the quality of the KSNP PSA model

Qualification of calculation aids for PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goetz, K.; Hennigs, W.; Kirstein, B.M.; Reinhardt, C.

1998-01-01

In Germany Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA) are part of the evaluation of a nuclear power plants safety. The German PSA guide stipulates that the used software must enable a PSA according to the state of the art. This software must be qualified to assure that its features, mathematic methods and its performance enable a PSA like this. In this research work specifications and requirements are developed, which allow the testing of software. A procedure was developed to qualify PSA software according to the PSA guide and the experiences of users of PSA. Setting up a procedure, a tool for a systematic and uniform examination was crated. Additionally the options, mathematic fundamentals and performance of PSA-programs were analyzed. According to this all programs that were analyzed are capable to sovle their original task, that is the calculation of the safety of high available system based on high available components. Against that the requirements of modern PSA, e.g. to handle less available functions, HRA and fire analyses, based on the use of modern software and the implementation of new developments in the field of PSA are not supported adequately by all programs. (orig.) [de

PSA, PSA derivatives, proPSA and prostate health index in the diagnosis of prostate cancer

OpenAIRE

Ayyıldız, Sema Nur; Ayyıldız, Ali

2014-01-01

Currently, prostate- specific antigen (PSA) is the most common oncological marker used for prostate cancer screening. However, high levels of PSA in benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis decrease the specificity of PSA as a cancer marker. To increase the specificity of PSA, PSA derivatives and PSA kinetics have been used. However, these new techniques were not able to increase the diagnostic specificity for prostate cancer. Therefore, the search for new molecules and derivatives of PSA...

PSA, subjective probability and decision making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clarotti, C.A.

1989-01-01

PSA is the natural way to making decisions in face of uncertainty relative to potentially dangerous plants; subjective probability, subjective utility and Bayes statistics are the ideal tools for carrying out a PSA. This paper reports that in order to support this statement the various stages of the PSA procedure are examined in detail and step by step the superiority of Bayes techniques with respect to sampling theory machinery is proven

Review of APR+ Level 2 PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehner, J.R.; Mubayi, V.; Pratt, W.T.

2012-01-01

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) assisted the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety (KINS) in reviewing the Level 2 Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) of the APR+ Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) prepared by the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co., Ltd (KHNP) and KEPCO Engineering and Construction Co., Inc. (KEPCO-E and C). The work described in this report involves a review of the APR+ Level 2 PSA submittal (Ref. 1). The PSA and, therefore, the review is limited to consideration of accidents initiated by internal events. As part of the review process, the review team also developed three sets of Requests for Additional Information (RAIs). These RAIs were provided to KHNP and KEPCO-E and C for their evaluation and response. This final detailed report documents the review findings for each technical element of the PSA and includes consideration of all of the RAIs made by the reviewers as well as the associated responses. This final report was preceded by an interim report (Ref. 2) that focused on identifying important issues regarding the PSA. In addition, a final meeting on the project was held at BNL on November 21-22, 2011, where BNL and KINS reviewers discussed their preliminary review findings with KHNP and KEPCO-E and C staffs. Additional information obtained during this final meeting was also used to inform the review findings of this final report. The review focused not only on the robustness of the APR+ design to withstand severe accidents, but also on the capability and acceptability of the Level 2 PSA in terms of level of detail and completeness. The Korean nuclear regulatory authorities will decide whether the PSA is acceptable and the BNL review team is providing its comments for KINS consideration. Section 2.0 provides the basis for the BNL review. Section 3.0 presents the review of each technical element of the PSA. Conclusions and a summary are presented in Section 4.0. Section 5.0 contains the references.

Core melt progression and consequence analysis methodology development in support of the Savannah River Reactor PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Kula, K.R.; Sharp, D.A.; Amos, C.N.; Wagner, K.C.; Bradley, D.R.

1992-01-01

A three-level Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) of production reactor operation has been underway since 1985 at the US Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS). The goals of this analysis are to: Analyze existing margins of safety provided by the heavy-water reactor (HWR) design challenged by postulated severe accidents; Compare measures of risk to the general public and onsite workers to guideline values, as well as to those posed by commercial reactor operation; and Develop the methodology and database necessary to prioritize improvements to engineering safety systems and components, operator training, and engineering projects that contribute significantly to improving plant safety. PSA technical staff from the Westinghouse Savannah River Company (WSRC) and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) have performed the assessment despite two obstacles: A variable baseline plant configuration and power level; and a lack of technically applicable code methodology to model the SRS reactor conditions. This paper discusses the detailed effort necessary to modify the requisite codes before accident analysis insights for the risk assessment were obtained

Status and use of PSA in Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knochenhauer, M.

1996-05-01

The performance and use of PSA:s in Sweden goes back about two decades. During all of this time, the field of PSA has been developing intensively, both internationally and within Sweden. The latest years have been characterised by an increased use of PSA models and results, and by major extensions of existing PSA models. The aim of this document is to describe PSA in Sweden with respect to development, scope and maturity, as well as to the contents of the analyses and the use of results. PSA activities will be described from the point of view of both the authorities and the utilities. The report gives an overview of the development within the area of PSA in Sweden both its history and current trends. The aim has been to include a reasonable amount of detail, both on the methods and results in PSA:s performed and on the numerous supporting research programs dealing with various aspects of PSA. 39 refs 39 refs

Status and use of PSA in Sweden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Knochenhauer, M

1996-05-01

The performance and use of PSA:s in Sweden goes back about two decades. During all of this time, the field of PSA has been developing intensively, both internationally and within Sweden. The latest years have been characterised by an increased use of PSA models and results, and by major extensions of existing PSA models. The aim of this document is to describe PSA in Sweden with respect to development, scope and maturity, as well as to the contents of the analyses and the use of results. PSA activities will be described from the point of view of both the authorities and the utilities. The report gives an overview of the development within the area of PSA in Sweden both its history and current trends. The aim has been to include a reasonable amount of detail, both on the methods and results in PSA:s performed and on the numerous supporting research programs dealing with various aspects of PSA. 39 refs 39 refs.

PSA kinetics after prostate brachytherapy: PSA bounce phenomenon and its implications for PSA doubling time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciezki, Jay P.; Reddy, Chandana A.; Garcia, Jorge; Angermeier, Kenneth; Ulchaker, James; Mahadevan, Arul; Chehade, Nabil; Altman, Andrew; Klein, Eric A.

2006-01-01

Purpose: To analyze prostate-specific antigen (PSA) kinetics in patients treated with prostate brachytherapy (PI) with a minimum of 5 years of PSA follow-up. Methods and Materials: The records of 162 patients treated with PI for localized prostate cancer with a minimum of 5 years of PSA follow-up were reviewed. A variety of pretreatment and posttreatment variables were examined. Patients were coded as having a PSA bounce if their PSA achieved a nadir, elevated at least 0.2 ng/mL greater than that nadir, and decreased to, or below, the initial nadir. Two definitions of biochemical failure (bF) or biochemical relapse-free survival (bRFS) were used: the classic American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology consensus definition of three consecutive rises (bF3) and the nadir plus 2 ng/mL definition (bFn+2). Associations between a PSA bounce and the various pre- and posttreatment factors were assessed with logistic regression analysis, and the association between a PSA bounce and bF was examined with the log-rank test. The Mann-Whitney U test was applied to test for differences in the PSA doubling time (PSADT) and the time to a PSA rise between the PSA bounce patients and the bF patients. PSADT was calculated from the nadir to the time of the first PSA rise, because this point is known first in the clinical setting. Results: The 5-year overall bRFS rate was 87% for the bF3 definition and 96% for the bFn+2 definition. A PSA bounce was experienced by 75 patients (46.3%). Patients who experienced a PSA bounce were less likely to have a bF, regardless of the bRFS definition used (bF3: p = 0.0015; bFn+2: p = 0.0040). Among the pre- and posttreatment factors, only younger age predicted for a PSA bounce on multivariate analysis (p = 0.0018). The use of androgen deprivation had no effect on PSA bounce. No difference was found in the PSADT between patients who had a PSA bounce and those with bF. The median PSADT for those with a PSA bounce was 8.3 months vs. 10.3 months

Level 2 PSA methodology and severe accident management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

The objective of the work was to review current Level 2-PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment) methodologies and practices and to investigate how Level 2-PSA can support severe accident management programmes, i.e. the development, implementation, training and optimisation of accident management strategies and measures. For the most part, the presented material reflects the state in 1996. Current Level 2 PSA results and methodologies are reviewed and evaluated with respect to plant type specific and generic insights. Approaches and practices for using PSA results in the regulatory context and for supporting severe accident management programmes by input from level 2 PSAs are examined. The work is based on information contained in: PSA procedure guides, PSA review guides and regulatory guides for the use of PSA results in risk informed decision making; plant specific PSAs and PSA related literature exemplifying specific procedures, methods, analytical models, relevant input data and important results, use of computer codes and results of code calculations. The PSAs are evaluated with respect to results and insights. In the conclusion section, the present state of risk informed decision making, in particular in the level 2 domain, is described and substantiated by relevant examples

NPP Krsko Living PSA Concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vrbanic, I.; Spiler, J.

2000-01-01

NPP Krsko developed PSA model of internal and external initiators within the frame of the Individual Plant Examination (IPE) project. Within this project PSA model was used to examine the existing plant design features. In order to continue with use of this PSA model upon the completion of IPE in various risk-informed applications in support of plant operation and evaluations of design changes, an appropriate living PSA concept needed to be defined. The Living PSA concept is in NPP Krsko considered as being a set of activities pursued in order to update existing PSA model in a manner that it appropriately represents the plant design, operation practice and history. Only a PSA model which is being updated in this manner can serve as a platform for plant-specific risk informed applications. The NPP Krsko living PSA concept is based on the following major ponts. First, the baseline PSA model is defined, which is to be maintained and updated and which is to be reference point for any risk-informed application. Second, issues having a potential for impact on baseline PSA model are identified and procedure and responsibilities for their permanent monitoring and evaluation are established. Third, manner is defined in which consequential changes to baseline PSA model are implemented and controlled, together with associated responsibilities. Finally, the process is defined by which the existing version of baseline PSA model is superseded by a new one. Each time a new version of baseline PSA model is released, it would be re-quantified and the results evaluated and interpreted. By documenting these re-quantifications and evaluations of results in a sequence, the track is being kept of changes in long-term averaged risk perspective, represented by long-term averaged frequencies of core damage and pre-defined release categories. These major topics of NPP Krsko living PSA concept are presented and discussed in the paper. (author)

A methodology for PSA model validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unwin, S.D.

1995-09-01

This document reports Phase 2 of work undertaken by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in support of the Atomic Energy Control Board's Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) review. A methodology is presented for the systematic review and evaluation of a PSA model. These methods are intended to support consideration of the following question: To within the scope and depth of modeling resolution of a PSA study, is the resultant model a complete and accurate representation of the subject plant? This question was identified as a key PSA validation issue in SAIC's Phase 1 project. The validation methods are based on a model transformation process devised to enhance the transparency of the modeling assumptions. Through conversion to a 'success-oriented' framework, a closer correspondence to plant design and operational specifications is achieved. This can both enhance the scrutability of the model by plant personnel, and provide an alternative perspective on the model that may assist in the identification of deficiencies. The model transformation process is defined and applied to fault trees documented in the Darlington Probabilistic Safety Evaluation. A tentative real-time process is outlined for implementation and documentation of a PSA review based on the proposed methods. (author). 11 refs., 9 tabs., 30 refs

Examples of the use of PSA in the design process and to support modifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, D.H.; Bley, D.C.; Lin, J.C.; Schueller, J.; Otterloo, R.W. van; Ramsey, C.T.; Linn, M.A.

2004-01-01

Many, if not most, of the world's commercial nuclear power plants have been the subject of plant-specific probabilistic safety assessments (PSA). A growing number of other nuclear facilities as well as other types of industrial installations have been the focus of plant-specific PSAs. Such studies have provided valuable information concerning the nature of the risk of the individual facility and have been used to identify opportunities to manage that risk. This paper explores the risk management activities associated with three diverse facilities to demonstrate the versatility of the use of PSA to support risk-related decision making. The three facilities considered are a DOE research reactor with an extensive operating history, a proposed DOE research reactor in the advanced conceptual design phase, and an offshore unmanned oil and gas installation. (author)

External events analysis in PSA studies for Czech NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holy, J.; Hustak, S.; Kolar, L.; Jaros, M.; Hladky, M.; Mlady, O.

2014-01-01

The purpose of the paper is to summarize current status of natural external hazards analysis in the PSA projects maintained in Czech Republic for both Czech NPPs - Dukovany and Temelin. The focus of the presentation is put upon the basic milestones in external event analysis effort - identification of external hazards important for Czech NPPs sites, screening out of the irrelevant hazards, modeling of plant response to the initiating events, including the basic activities regarding vulnerability and fragility analysis (supported with on-site analysis), quantification of accident sequences, interpretation of results and development of measures decreasing external events risk. The following external hazards are discussed in the paper, which have been addressed during several last years in PSA projects for Czech NPPs: 1)seismicity, 2)extremely low temperature 3)extremely high temperature 4)extreme wind 5)extreme precipitation (water, snow) 6)transport of dangerous substances (as an example of man-made hazard with some differences identified in comparison with natural hazards) 7)other hazards, which are not considered as very important for Czech NPPs, were screened out in the initial phase of the analysis, but are known as potential problem areas abroad. The paper is a result of coordinated effort with participation of experts and staff from engineering support organization UJV Rez, a.s. and NPPs located in Czech Republic - Dukovany and Temelin. (authors)

Tools for PSA reviews

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linden, J. von

1998-01-01

It is desirable to have a uniform and competent procedure for the review of PSAs which are performed within the framework of the Periodic Safety Review of German Nuclear Power Plants. Guidelines for the review process should therefore be evaluated within task A. 1 of project SR 2096. The basis for this work is the experience and knowledge within GRS derived from PSA-related work and from several review projects as well as the German PSA Guide with its appendices. Furthermore, the review processes in the USA, Switzerland and Sweden and the Guidelines for the International Peer Review Service (IPERS Guidelines) were utilized. As a result, recommendations are given for the review process, with individual recommendations concerning the organization of the review, task allocation between the reviewers, interface problems, assessment criteria, the scope and depth of the review as well as the supporting documents. An additional result are checklists for the technical elements of the PSA, which are listed to facilicate the review work. It is not the intention of this report to work out complete review guidelines. Its aims is rather more to give recommondations and support for the review in addition to what can be derived from the existing documents that should be used for the review. The recommendations reflect the view of GRS and go beyond the statements given in the German PSA Guide (Leitfaden Probabilistische Sicherheitsanalyse /PSUe97/) in some points. (orig.) [de

Cooptation of Peer Support Staff: Quantitative Evidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony J. Alberta

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Objective In 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS sent a letter to state Medicaid directors outlining requirements for implementing peer-based recovery support services (P-BRSS as a Medicaid-funded service. Since then, 30 states have implemented these services. Although the literature describing implementation of P-BRSS has identified the cooptation of peer support staff (PSS as a barrier to the effective provision of P-BRSS, the evidence for it remains anecdotal. This study attempts to determine if the context of employment in either a treatment organization or peer organization affected cooptation. Methods We conducted a survey of PSS in the fall of 2013. In all, 92 of the 181 respondents were working as PSS at the time, 53 in treatment organizations. Chi-square analysis was used to determine if the context of employment had an effect on the cooptation of peer staff. Results Peer staff working in treatment organizations reported that they were supervised by treatment staff and participated in employment-related training to improve their skills at providing treatment services more frequently than their counterparts in peer organizations. Peer staff working in treatment organizations also participated in training and education to prepare for employment as treatment professionals more frequently than peer staff working in peer organizations. Conclusions and Implications for Practice Peer staff members working in treatment organizations are subject to processes of acculturation into professional cultures that peer staff working in peer organizations are not. Effective implementation of P-BRSS should include specific efforts to minimize the cooptation of peer staff.

Opium consumption is negatively associated with serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), free PSA, and percentage of free PSA levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Safarinejad, Mohammad Reza; Asgari, Seyyed Alaeddin; Farshi, Alireza; Iravani, Shahrokh; Khoshdel, Alireza; Shekarchi, Babak

2013-01-01

Addiction to opium continues to be a major worldwide medical and social problem. The study addressing the association between opium consumption and serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level is lacking. We determined the effects of opium consumption on serum PSA levels in opium-addict men. Our study subjects comprised 438 opium-addict men with a mean age of 52.2 ± 6.4 years (group 1). We compared these men with 446 men who did not indicate current or past opium use (group 2). Serum total PSA (tPSA), free PSA (fPSA), % fPSA, and sex hormones were compared between the 2 groups. The mean serum tPSA level was significantly lower in group 1 (1.05 ng/mL) than in controls (1.45 ng/mL) (P = 0.001). Opium consumption was also associated with lower fPSA (P = 0.001) and % fPSA (P = 0.001). Serum free testosterone level in opium-addict patients (132.5 ± 42 pg/mL) was significantly lower than that in controls (156.2 ± 43 pg/mL) (P = 0.03). However, no significant correlation existed between tPSA and free testosterone levels (r = 0.28, 95% CI, -0.036 to 0.51, P = 0.34). Among the patients with cancer in group 1, 35% were found to have high-grade tumor (Gleason score ≥ 7) compared with 26.7% in group 2 (P = 0.02). Total PSA and fPSA were strongly correlated with duration of opium use (r = -0.06, 95% CI, -0.04 to -0.08, P = 0.0001; and r = -0.05, 95% CI, -0.03 to -0.07, P = 0.0001, respectively). Opium consumption is independently and negatively associated with serum tPSA, fPSA, and % fPSA levels.

Supported Conversation for hospital staff

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Forchhammer, Hysse B; Løvholt, Annelise P.; Mathiesen, Lone Lundbak

in communication and interaction, Supported Conversation for Adults with Aphasia (SCA) was adapted and implemented in a large neurological department at Rigshospitalet-Glostrup in Copenhagen. Method 152 staff members representing different health professionals were assigned to one of eleven courses during a six...... month period. Each course had 10-12 participants and lasted 6 hours, including instruction in the SCA principles, video analysis, interdisciplinary group work, and practice sessions with PWAs. Self-assessed learning outcomes were evaluated with a brief questionnaire filled out by staff members...... in communication, also showed significant improvements across all staff groups. After the course, more time to spend with patients was perceived as the most important factor to further increase communication success with PWA. Conclusion The results show that interdisciplinary SCA-courses successfully increase...

Cultivating Leadership Development for Support Staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Russell, Sharon

1997-01-01

Describes an urban school district's focus on leadership development for support staff. The project identified and trained 500 front-line supervisors representing office managers, food service managers, head custodians, and district maintenance supervisors. This paper explains program design, objectives, participants, management support, content,…

Comparison of SKIFS 2004:1 and Tillsynshandbok PSA against the ASME PRA Standard and European requirements on PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hellstroem, Per

2005-04-01

Requirements on PSA for risk informed applications are expressed in different international documents. The ASME PRA standard published in spring 2002 is one such document, PSA requirements are also expressed in the European Utility Requirements (EUR) for new reactors. The Swedish PSA requirements are provided in the Swedish regulators (SKI) statutes SKIFS 2004:1. SKI also has a review handbook for PSA activities (SKI report 2003:48). The review handbook is a support during review of the utilities PSA activities and the PSAs themselves. The review handbook expresses SKIs expectations by providing so called important aspects for both the PSA work and the PSAs, A comparison of SKIFS requirements and the important aspects in the Review handbook, on one side, and the requirements on PSA in EUR and ASME on the other side, is presented. The comparison shows a large difference in the level of detail in the different documents, where ASME is most detailed and specific. This is expected since the SKI review handbook not is a 'PSA guide' in the same way as the ASME PRA standard. A direct comparison of the ASME PRA standard requirements with the important aspects in the review handbook cannot answer the question which ASME capacity level that is achieved by a PSA meeting all important aspects. The conclusion is that it is not likely to achieve capacity level 2 and 3, since very few ASME level 3 attributes are explicitly expressed as important aspects, though many are expressed in general terms. The review handbook important aspects that are most similar to the ASME capacity level 1 attributes are initiating events, sequence analysis, and system analysis while less similarity is found for analysis of operator actions data analysis, quantification and containment analysis (level 2). Less similarity is found for capacity level 2 and 3. However, the number of additional ASME attributes on capacity level 2 and 3 are few. There are also important aspects in the review handbook that

Methodology - PSA Regulatory handbook. Comparisons to a modern PSA study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bostroem, Urban; Jung, Gunnar; Flodin, Yngve

2003-03-01

The regulatory handbook is applicable to all types of initiating events and all operating conditions. It should be noted that it does not make the traditional subdivision of PSA into internal and external events, level 1 and level 2 PSA, or power operation and shut-down. The reason for this is that this has given the regulatory handbook a more logical structure, and that this approach underlines the integrated character of PSA when it comes to creating the plan risk profile. The regulatory handbook has been structured following the requirements on a PSA for a nuclear power plant, as this is the most demanding application. However, it is applicable also to the analysis of other nuclear installations. The purpose of the comparative review presented in this report has been to, as part of a quality review establish the PSA Handbook, compare (parts of) the handbook and its criteria with a recent PSA analysis, and to identify major discrepancies. Considerable weight has also been allocated to a review of the plant model (Risk Spectrum event trees and fault trees). The results presented in the report are not based on a complete review of the PSA in question (or of the complete PSA Handbook). Following discussions between the SKI and SwedPower, and based on the experience of the SwedPower reviewers, the following issues were chosen to be the main parts of the project: 1) General comparison according to content and transparency - Levels of ambition in PSA Handbook, PSA method description and actual PSA report. 2) Detailed comparison of: Selected component failure data - Assumptions regarding room events - CCI frequencies, realism, identification, categorisation - Taking credit for non-safety classified systems - Event tree modelling - Presentation of results 3) Fault tree model, specifically - Time frame for crediting of battery capacity - Modelling of regulators - Modelling of dependencies for room events - general quality, like how the paper documentation and the logic

Stress, Depression, Workplace and Social Supports and Burnout in Intellectual Disability Support Staff

Science.gov (United States)

Mutkins, E.; Brown, R. F.; Thorsteinsson, E. B.

2011-01-01

Background: Staff providing support to people with intellectual disabilities are exposed to stressful work environments which may put them at an increased risk of burnout. A small prior literature has examined predictors of burnout in disability support staff, but there is little consensus. In this study, we examined direct and indirect…

Applications of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-02-01

This report, which compiles information on a comprehensive set of PSA applications in the areas of NPP design, operation, and accident mitigation and management, is the culmination of an IAEA project on PSA Applications and Tools to Improve NPP Safety. In this regard, the Technical Committee Meeting (TCM) held in Madrid in February 1998 allowed participants to review and provide very valuable comments for this report. Several important facts related to PSA and its applications were highlighted during this TCM: living PSAs are the basis for the risk informed approach to decision making; development and use of safety/risk monitors as tools for configuration management is spreading fast; the different uses of PSA to support NPP testing and maintenance planning and optimization are amongst the most widespread PSA applications; plant specific PSAs are being used to support the safety upgrading programmes of plants built to earlier standards; not all countries have a regulatory framework for the use of the probabilistic approach in decision making. Some countries are still far from 'risk-informed' regulation, and this means that there is still considerable work ahead, both for regulators and utilities, to clarify approaches, to establish a framework and to reach a common understanding in relation to the use of PSA in decision making. This report is based on the premise that the use of PSA can provide useful information for the decision maker. This report is intended to provide an overview of current PSA applications. Section 2 addresses the PSA application process, outlines the general requirements for PSA tools and provides a discussion on PSA aspects such as PSA level, scope and level of detail, which have to be considered when planning/performing PSA applications. Section 3 discusses the technical aspects of individual applications and is divided into three parts. Section 3.1 is dedicated to the design related PSA applications. The second part of Section 3 considers

The Recruitment of Support Staff in Tanzanian Secondary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Mwaisumo, William Nathan

2016-01-01

This paper focuses on the meaning, classification and types of support staff, their contributions towards conducive teaching and learning environments, conditions required/attributes required for support staff to be employed in temporally or permanent terms. It further identifies current situations and challenges in recruitment and recruited…

Detection of prostate cancer with complexed PSA and complexed/total PSA ratio - is there any advantage?

OpenAIRE

Strittmatter, F; Stieber, P; Nagel, D; Füllhase, C; Walther, S; Stief, CG; Waidelich, R

2011-01-01

Abstract Objective To evaluate the performance of total PSA (tPSA), the free/total PSA ratio (f/tPSA), complexed PSA (cPSA) and the complexed/total PSA ratio (c/tPSA) in prostate cancer detection. Methods Frozen sera of 442 patients have been analysed for tPSA, free PSA (fPSA) and cPSA. 131 patients had prostate cancer and 311 patients benign prostatic hyperplasia. Results Differences in the distribution of the biomarkers were seen as follows: tPSA, cPSA and c/tPSA were significantly higher i...

Lessons learned form IRSN review of Flamanville 3 Level PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Georgescu, G.; Corenwinder, F.

2012-01-01

In the frame of the construction and licensing of Flamanville 3 NPP the PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment)plays an important role for the EPR Project assessment. The PSA was used for early design verification of EPR Reactor, several design improvement being defined based on these PSA insights and following the discussions with the French and German safety authorities. IRSN, as the French Safety Authority (ASN) technical support organization, performs the review of the PSA developed by the plant operator (EDF). The paper presents the main issues regarding the using of 'design PSA', identified by IRSN following the review of the internal events Level 1 PSA transmitted by EDF in the frame of the anticipated instruction of the application for operating license of the Flamanville 3 reactor. (authors)

Survey of Dynamic PSA Methodologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hansul; Kim, Hyeonmin; Heo, Gyunyoung; Kim, Taewan

2015-01-01

uncertainties and variability • Benefits for risk informed decision-making • As it demands robust PSA results • In addition to risk measures, decision makers want information on uncertainties Nevertheless, each of the methods has advantages and disadvantages, so we, first, need to find the nature of the problems that we are interested in. As a next step of this study, authors are going to investigate the specific problems or issues that require the support of the dynamic PSA, and develop the detailed algorithms

Survey of Dynamic PSA Methodologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Hansul; Kim, Hyeonmin; Heo, Gyunyoung [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Taewan [KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

uncertainties and variability • Benefits for risk informed decision-making • As it demands robust PSA results • In addition to risk measures, decision makers want information on uncertainties Nevertheless, each of the methods has advantages and disadvantages, so we, first, need to find the nature of the problems that we are interested in. As a next step of this study, authors are going to investigate the specific problems or issues that require the support of the dynamic PSA, and develop the detailed algorithms.

A national multicenter phase 2 study of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) pox virus vaccine with sequential androgen ablation therapy in patients with PSA progression: ECOG 9802.

Science.gov (United States)

DiPaola, Robert S; Chen, Yu-Hui; Bubley, Glenn J; Stein, Mark N; Hahn, Noah M; Carducci, Michael A; Lattime, Edmund C; Gulley, James L; Arlen, Philip M; Butterfield, Lisa H; Wilding, George

2015-09-01

E9802 was a phase 2 multi-institution study conducted to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of vaccinia and fowlpox prostate-specific antigen (PSA) vaccine (step 1) followed by combination with androgen ablation therapy (step 2) in patients with PSA progression without visible metastasis. To test the hypothesis that vaccine therapy in this early disease setting will be safe and have a biochemical effect that would support future studies of immunotherapy in patients with minimal disease burden. Patients who had PSA progression following local therapy were treated with PROSTVAC-V (vaccinia)/TRICOM on cycle 1 followed by PROSTVAC-F (fowlpox)/TRICOM for subsequent cycles in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (step 1). Androgen ablation was added on progression (step 2). Step 1 primary end points included progression at 6 mo and characterization of change in PSA velocity pretreatment to post-treatment. Step 2 end points included PSA response with combined vaccine and androgen ablation. In step 1, 25 of 40 eligible patients (63%) were progression free at 6 mo after registration (90% confidence interval [CI], 48-75). The median pretreatment PSA velocity was 0.13 log(PSA)/mo, in contrast to median postregistration velocity of 0.09 log(PSA)/mo (p=0.02), which is an increase in median PSA doubling time from 5.3 mo to 7.7 mo. No grade ≥4 treatment-related toxicity was observed. In the 27 patients eligible and treated for step 2, 20 patients achieved a complete response (CR) at 7 mo (CR rate: 74%; 90% CI, 57-87). Although supportive of larger studies in the cooperative group setting, this study is limited by the small number of patients and the absence of a control group as in a phase 3 study. A viral PSA vaccine can be administered safely in the multi-institutional cooperative group setting to patients with minimal disease volume alone and combined with androgen ablation, supporting the feasibility of future phase 3 studies in this

Use of PSA in the development of SMRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maioli, A.; Finnicum, D.J.; Lichtenstein, R.H.; Harsche, S.Y.

2012-01-01

This paper reviews the potential new scenarios where PSA (probabilistic safety assessment) may be of significant support to design and operation of SMRs (Small Modular Reactors); it reviews Westinghouse's experience and lessons learned in this endeavour and will discuss related challenges and what the PSA community is currently developing to address them. (authors)

Examples of the use of PSA in the design process and to support modifications at two research reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, D.H.; Bley, D.C.; Lin, J.C.; Ramsey, C.T.; Linn, M.A.

1994-01-01

Many, if not most, of the world's commercial nuclear power plants have been the subject of plant-specific probabilistic safety assessments (PSA). A growing number of other nuclear facilities as well as other types of industrial installations have been the focus of plant-specific PSAs. Such studies have provided valuable information concerning the nature of the risk of the individual facility and have been used to identify opportunities to manage that risk. This paper explores the risk management activities associated with two research reactors in the United States as a demonstration of the versatility of the use of PSA to support risk-related decision making

Putting PSA to work

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gubler, R.; Gomez-Cobo, A.

1998-01-01

The IAEA has, during the last three years, been working intensively on PSA applications. The draft TECDOC prepared during these activities, ''PSA Applications'' is summarized in this paper. Actual events at nuclear facilities provide an important basis to compare PSAs with reality. PSA based operational event analysis therefore can be used to evaluate the importance of operational events from a risk perspective but also can contribute to validating and enhancing PSAs and to continuously check whether or not the PSA models are adequate, appropriate and complete. The work of the IAEA in this area is therefore summarized as well. In a companion paper, titled ''Towards a credible PSA fit for applications'', two specific aspects regarding the quality of the PSA to be used are discussed in detail, namely the Living PSA concept, which ensures that the PSA reflects actual design and operational features and Quality Assurance for PSA. (author)

A preliminary investigation of PSA validation methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Unwin, S D [Science Applications International Corp., (United States)

1995-09-01

This document has been prepared to support the initial phase of the Atomic Energy Control Board`s program to review and evaluate Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) studies conducted by nuclear generating station designers and licensees. The document provides (1) a review of current and prospective applications of PSA technology in the Canadian nuclear power industry; (2) an assessment of existing practices and techniques for the review or risk and hazard identification studies in the international nuclear power sector and other technological sectors; and (3) proposed analytical framework in which to develop systematic techniques for the scrutiny and evaluation of a PSA model. These frameworks are based on consideration of the mathematical structure of a PSA model and are intended to facilitate the development of methods to evaluate a model relative to intended end-uses. (author). 34 refs., 10 tabs., 3 figs.

A preliminary investigation of PSA validation methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unwin, S.D.

1995-09-01

This document has been prepared to support the initial phase of the Atomic Energy Control Board's program to review and evaluate Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) studies conducted by nuclear generating station designers and licensees. The document provides (1) a review of current and prospective applications of PSA technology in the Canadian nuclear power industry; (2) an assessment of existing practices and techniques for the review or risk and hazard identification studies in the international nuclear power sector and other technological sectors; and (3) proposed analytical framework in which to develop systematic techniques for the scrutiny and evaluation of a PSA model. These frameworks are based on consideration of the mathematical structure of a PSA model and are intended to facilitate the development of methods to evaluate a model relative to intended end-uses. (author). 34 refs., 10 tabs., 3 figs

PSA as a tool for decision making

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Niehaus, F; Lederman, L

1986-05-01

The question on ''How safe is safe enough'' is being responded presently by deterministic criteria. Probabilistic criteria in support to more rational and less emotional decisions in regulatory and licensing issues, rationalization of resource allocation and research prioritization, among others, have a potential which is only marginally being explored. This paper discussed PSA limitations and proposes three areas for the use of PSA in decision making, namely: preventing accidents, mitigating accidents, and defining regulatory requirements. Current activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency in these areas are mentioned. PSA studies depict clearly the uncertainties and this is viewed as a positive aspect, which is unique to the use of probabilistic methods.

Summary report for the second TUV-workshop proceedings on living PSA application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

This workshop on living PSA Application was organized to support the OECD/NEA CSNI-Principal Working Group No.5 on Risk Assessment for an international exchange of experience on living PSA application. The first session was devoted to Living PSA Applications and the second session to Tools for Living PSA. Living PSA Applications: Reasons for performing PSA (regulatory requirement, targets; corporate requirement, targets; safety related activity prioritization; other); Logistic of Living PSA Management (Corporate management involvement, Decision making levels and guidance, Plant level involvement, Required personnel commitment, Frequency and extent of re-quantification of PSA, Types of safety/risk parameters to be monitored, Quality assurance on maintaining Living PSA); Examples of Application (Experiences of application, State of Living PSA/e.g. all accident sequences involved, Details of component level involvement). Tools for Living PSA: Data Collection Systems and Codes (Source and type of data collected, Probabilistic parameter quantification, Interface to basic event data, Data code systems). An executive summary of the workshop is given

Vergleichende Einschätzung der diagnostischen Aussagekraft der Kenngrößen freies PSA, Alpha1-Antichymotrypsin-PSA und komplexiertes PSA in der Diagnostik des Prostatakarzinoms

OpenAIRE

Baumgart E; Deger S; Jung K; Lein M; Loening SA; Schnorr D

2001-01-01

Ziel der Studie war die vergleichende Einschätzung der diagnostischen Aussagekraft von Gesamt-PSA (tPSA), freiem PSA (fPSA), alpha1-Antichymotrypsin-PSA (ACT-PSA) und komplexiertem PSA (cPSA) sowie der entsprechenden Quotienten zur Differenzierung zwischen einem Prostatakarzinom (PCa) und einer Benignen Prostatahyperplasie (BPH). Die Bestimmung erfolgte bei insgesamt 324 Männern (PCa: n = 144; BPH: n = 89; Kontrollen: n = 91). Die tPSA- und cPSA-Konzentrationen wurden mit dem Bayer Immuno 1 S...

The effectiveness of staff training focused on increasing emotional intelligence and improving interaction between support staff and clients.

Science.gov (United States)

Zijlmans, L J M; Embregts, P J C M; Gerits, L; Bosman, A M T; Derksen, J J L

2015-07-01

Recent research addressed the relationship between staff behaviour and challenging behaviour of individuals with an intellectual disability (ID). Consequently, research on interventions aimed at staff is warranted. The present study focused on the effectiveness of a staff training aimed at emotional intelligence and interactions between staff and clients. The effects of the training on emotional intelligence, coping style and emotions of support staff were investigated. Participants were 214 support staff working within residential settings for individuals with ID and challenging behaviour. The experimental group consisted of 76 staff members, 138 staff members participated in two different control groups. A pre-test, post-test, follow-up control group design was used. Effectiveness was assessed using questionnaires addressing emotional intelligence, coping and emotions. Emotional intelligence of the experimental group changed significantly more than that of the two control groups. The experimental group showed an increase in task-oriented coping, whereas one control group did not. The results with regard to emotions were mixed. Follow-up data revealed that effects within the experimental group were still present four months after the training ended. A staff training aimed at emotional intelligence and staff-client interactions is effective in improving emotional intelligence and coping styles of support staff. However, the need for more research aiming at the relationship between staff characteristics, organisational factors and their mediating role in the effectiveness of staff training is emphasised. © 2014 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Determining if pretreatment PSA doubling time predicts PSA trajectories after radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soto, Daniel E.; Andridge, Rebecca R.; Pan, Charlie C.; Williams, Scott G.; Taylor, Jeremy M.G.; Sandler, Howard M.

2009-01-01

Introduction: To determine if pretreatment PSA doubling time (PSA-DT) can predict post-radiation therapy (RT) PSA trajectories for localized prostate cancer. Materials and methods: Three hundred and seventy-five prostate cancer patients treated with external beam RT without androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) were identified with an adequate number of PSA values. We utilized a linear mixed model (LMM) analysis to model longitudinal PSA data sets after definitive treatment. Post-treatment PSA trajectories were allowed to depend on the pre-RT PSA-DT, pre-RT PSA (iPSA), Gleason score (GS), and T-stage. Results: Pre-RT PSA-DT had a borderline impact on predicting the rate of PSA rise after nadir (p = 0.08). For a typical low risk patient (T1, GS ≤ 6, iPSA 10), the predicted PSA-DT post-nadir was 21% shorter for pre-RT PSA-DT 24 month (19 month vs. 24 month). Additional significant predictors of post-RT PSA rate of rise included GS (p < 0.0001), iPSA (p < 0.0001), and T-stage (p = 0.02). Conclusions: We observed a trend between rapidly rising pre-RT PSA and the post-RT post-nadir PSA rise. This effect appeared to be independent of iPSA, GS, or T-stage. The results presented suggest that pretreatment PSA-DT may help predict post-RT PSA trajectories

Re-examining Prostate-specific Antigen (PSA) Density: Defining the Optimal PSA Range and Patients for Using PSA Density to Predict Prostate Cancer Using Extended Template Biopsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Jue, Joshua S; Barboza, Marcelo Panizzutti; Prakash, Nachiketh S; Venkatramani, Vivek; Sinha, Varsha R; Pavan, Nicola; Nahar, Bruno; Kanabur, Pratik; Ahdoot, Michael; Dong, Yan; Satyanarayana, Ramgopal; Parekh, Dipen J; Punnen, Sanoj

2017-07-01

To compare the predictive accuracy of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density vs PSA across different PSA ranges and by prior biopsy status in a prospective cohort undergoing prostate biopsy. Men from a prospective trial underwent an extended template biopsy to evaluate for prostate cancer at 26 sites throughout the United States. The area under the receiver operating curve assessed the predictive accuracy of PSA density vs PSA across 3 PSA ranges (10 ng/mL). We also investigated the effect of varying the PSA density cutoffs on the detection of cancer and assessed the performance of PSA density vs PSA in men with or without a prior negative biopsy. Among 1290 patients, 585 (45%) and 284 (22%) men had prostate cancer and significant prostate cancer, respectively. PSA density performed better than PSA in detecting any prostate cancer within a PSA of 4-10 ng/mL (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC]: 0.70 vs 0.53, P PSA >10 mg/mL (AUC: 0.84 vs 0.65, P PSA density was significantly more predictive than PSA in detecting any prostate cancer in men without (AUC: 0.73 vs 0.67, P PSA increases, PSA density becomes a better marker for predicting prostate cancer compared with PSA alone. Additionally, PSA density performed better than PSA in men with a prior negative biopsy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PSA as a tool for decision making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niehaus, F.; Lederman, L.

1986-01-01

The question on ''How safe is safe enough'' is being responded presently by deterministic criteria. Probabilistic criteria in support to more rational and less emotional decisions in regulatory and licensing issues, rationalization of resource allocation and research prioritization, among others, have a potential which is only marginally being explored. This paper discussed PSA limitations and proposes three areas for the use of PSA in decision making, namely: preventing accidents, mitigating accidents, and defining regulatory requirements. Current activities of the International Atomic Energy Agency in these areas are mentioned. PSA studies depict clearly the uncertainties and this is viewed as a positive aspect, which is unique to the use of probabilistic methods. (orig.)

Influence of PSA, PSA velocity and PSA doubling time on contrast-enhanced 18F-choline PET/CT detection rate in patients with rising PSA after radical prostatectomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schillaci, Orazio; Calabria, Ferdinando; Tavolozza, Mario; Caracciolo, Cristiana Ragano; Orlacchio, Antonio; Danieli, Roberta; Simonetti, Giovanni; Agro, Enrico Finazzi; Miano, Roberto

2012-01-01

To evaluate the accuracy of contrast-enhanced 18 F-choline PET/CT in restaging patients with prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy in relation to PSA, PSA velocity (PSAve) and PSA doubling time (PSAdt). PET/CT was performed in 49 patients (age range 58-87 years) with rising PSA (mean 4.13 ng/ml) who were divided in four groups according to PSA level: ≤1 ng/ml, 1 to ≤2 ng/ml, 2 to ≤4 ng/ml, and >4 ng/ml. PSAve and PSAdt were measured. PET and CT scans were interpreted separately and then together. PET/CT diagnosed relapse in 33 of the 49 patients (67%). The detection rates were 20%, 55%, 80% and 87% in the PSA groups ≤1, 1 to ≤2, 2 to ≤4 and >4 ng/ml, respectively. PET/CT was positive in 7 of 18 patients (38.9%) with a PSA ≤2 ng/ml, and in 26 of 31 (83.9%) with a PSA >2 ng/ml. PET/CT was positive in 7 of 25 patients (84%) with PSAdt ≤6 months, and in 12 of 24 patients (50%) with PSAdt >6 months, and was positive in 26 of 30 patients (86%) with a PSAve >2 ng/ml per year, and in 7 of 19 patients (36.8%) with PSAve ≤2 ng/ml per year. PET alone was positive in 31 of 49 patients (63.3%), and of these 31 patients, CT was negative in 14 but diagnosed bone lesions in 2 patients in whom PET alone was negative. CT with the administration of intravenous contrast medium did not provide any further information. Detection rate of 18 F-choline imaging is closely related to PSA and PSA kinetics. In particular, 18 F-choline PET/CT is recommended in patients with PSA >2 ng/ml, PSAdt ≤6 months and PSAve >2 ng/ml per year. CT is useful for detecting bone metastases that are not 18 F-choline-avid. The use of intravenous contrast agent seems unnecessary. (orig.)

Sources of Social Support After Patient Assault as Related to Staff Well-Being.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Erin L; Fenwick, Karissa M; Brekke, John S; Novaco, Raymond W

2017-10-01

Patient assault is a serious issue for the well-being of staff in psychiatric hospitals. To guide workplace responses to patient assault, more information is needed about social support from different sources and whether those supports are associated with staff well-being. The present study examines social support after patient assault from work-based and nonwork-based sources, and whether inpatient psychiatric staff desires support from them and perceive the support received as being effective. Received support across sources was examined in relations to staff well-being (physical health, mental health, anger, sleep quality) and perceptions of safety. Survey data was collected from 348 clinical staff in a large public forensic mental hospital. Among the 242 staff who reported an assault in the last year, 71% wanted support and 72% found effective support from at least one source. Generally, effective support from supervisors, coworkers, and their combination was associated with better well-being. Support from nonwork sources was related to less concerns about safety, but not to other well-being measures. However, 28% of staff did not receive effective support from any source postassault. Gaps in support as reported in this study and as found by other investigators call for systematic programming by hospital organizations to enhance the well-being of clinical staff, which in turn has implications for patient care.

[A listening support group for nursing staff].

Science.gov (United States)

Lemoine, Dominique

2016-05-01

The feedback from a consultant nurse in a listening support group for health professionals shows that, for hospital nursing staff, the phenomenon of suffering in the workplace is a reality. In addition to providing help to professionals who request it, the missions of such a group are to promote discussion around psycho-social risks in the framework of a policy of compassionate care for staff. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The diagnostic value of PSA, cPSA and bone scintigraphy for early skeletal metastasis of prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xue Zhongguang

2007-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the value of prostate specific antigen (PSA), complexed prostate specific antigen (cPSA) and bone scintigraphic imaging in diagnosis of early skeletal metastasis of prostate cancer. Methods: 152 patients (74 with prostate cancer, 78 with benign prostate disease) and 90 controls were examined for the serum concentrations of PSA and cPSA. At the same time, the 74 patients with PCa were examined with bone scintigraphy. The cPSA/PSA ratio was calculated. Results: Serum PSA, cPSA levels and cPSA/PSA ratio of patients with prostate cancer were significantly higher than those in benign prostate patients and controls. In addition, the serum PSA, cPSA levels and cPSA/PSA ratio in prostate cancer patients with skeletal metastasis were remarkably higher than those in patients without skeletal metastasis, and the differences were significant (P 20 μg/L, cPSA>10 μg/L, cPSA/PSA>0.80, there is a high probability that skeletal metastasis of prostate cancer would be present and bone scintigraphy should be performed. (authors)

Influence of PSA, PSA velocity and PSA doubling time on contrast-enhanced {sup 18}F-choline PET/CT detection rate in patients with rising PSA after radical prostatectomy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schillaci, Orazio [University ' ' Tor Vergata' ' , Department of Biopathology and Diagnostic Imaging, Interventional, Rome (Italy); IRCCS Neuromed, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Pozzilli (Italy); Calabria, Ferdinando [IRCCS Neuromed, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Pozzilli (Italy); Tavolozza, Mario; Caracciolo, Cristiana Ragano; Orlacchio, Antonio; Danieli, Roberta; Simonetti, Giovanni [University ' ' Tor Vergata' ' , Department of Biopathology and Diagnostic Imaging, Interventional, Rome (Italy); Agro, Enrico Finazzi; Miano, Roberto [University Hospital ' ' Tor Vergata' ' , Department of Urology, Rome (Italy)

2012-04-15

To evaluate the accuracy of contrast-enhanced {sup 18}F-choline PET/CT in restaging patients with prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy in relation to PSA, PSA velocity (PSAve) and PSA doubling time (PSAdt). PET/CT was performed in 49 patients (age range 58-87 years) with rising PSA (mean 4.13 ng/ml) who were divided in four groups according to PSA level: {<=}1 ng/ml, 1 to {<=}2 ng/ml, 2 to {<=}4 ng/ml, and >4 ng/ml. PSAve and PSAdt were measured. PET and CT scans were interpreted separately and then together. PET/CT diagnosed relapse in 33 of the 49 patients (67%). The detection rates were 20%, 55%, 80% and 87% in the PSA groups {<=}1, 1 to {<=}2, 2 to {<=}4 and >4 ng/ml, respectively. PET/CT was positive in 7 of 18 patients (38.9%) with a PSA {<=}2 ng/ml, and in 26 of 31 (83.9%) with a PSA >2 ng/ml. PET/CT was positive in 7 of 25 patients (84%) with PSAdt {<=}6 months, and in 12 of 24 patients (50%) with PSAdt >6 months, and was positive in 26 of 30 patients (86%) with a PSAve >2 ng/ml per year, and in 7 of 19 patients (36.8%) with PSAve {<=}2 ng/ml per year. PET alone was positive in 31 of 49 patients (63.3%), and of these 31 patients, CT was negative in 14 but diagnosed bone lesions in 2 patients in whom PET alone was negative. CT with the administration of intravenous contrast medium did not provide any further information. Detection rate of {sup 18}F-choline imaging is closely related to PSA and PSA kinetics. In particular, {sup 18}F-choline PET/CT is recommended in patients with PSA >2 ng/ml, PSAdt {<=}6 months and PSAve >2 ng/ml per year. CT is useful for detecting bone metastases that are not {sup 18}F-choline-avid. The use of intravenous contrast agent seems unnecessary. (orig.)

Living PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, M.G.K.

1997-01-01

The aim of this presentation is to gain an understanding of the requirements for a PSA to be considered a Living PSA. The presentation is divided into the following topics: Definition; Planning/Documentation; Task Performance; Maintenance; Management. 4 figs

Correlative study of SPECT bone scan, serum tPSA and fPSA/tPSA ratio and the pathological grade of prostate cancer with bone metastasis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Haiqing; Duan Jun

2011-01-01

Objective: To study the rules and characteristics of SPECT bone scan, serum TPSA, fPSA/tPSA ratio and the pathological grade of prostate cancer with bone metastasis. Methods: Nuclear medicine SPECT bone scan as the gold standard, retrospective analysis of the in vitro radioimmunoassay in 107 patients with prostate cancer serum PSA (prostate specific antigen) levels, serum fPSA/tPSA ratio and whole body bone imaging studies and pathological classification. Results: 107 patients with prostate cancer : 49 patients had bone metastases, accounting for 45.8% (49/107), in which groups of different pathological comparison between the incidence of bone metastasis significantly, the lower the degree of differentiation, the more the incidence of bone metastases high; with elevated levels of tPSA, the incidence of bone metastasis increased significantly; serum tPSA 4 - 40 ng/ml, the use of fPSA/tPSA ratio may improve the diagnostic specificity of prostate cancer. Conclusion: Patients with bone metastases of prostate cancer incidence and degree of differentiation of prostate cancer, serum PSA levels and fPSA/tPSA ratio of a certain relationship. The lower degree of differentiation,the higher the incidence of bone metastasis. (authors)

The clinical study of serum PSA and fPSA assayed by CLIA in diagnosing prostate disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiong Jiang; Qian Xiaoyu; Ji Hong; Yang Su; Ding Ying; Zhu Ruisen; Chen Zhong

2003-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical value of PSA (prostate specific antigen) and fPSA(free prostate specific antigen) in differentiating prostate disease. CLIA was used to quantitatively assay PSA, fPSA and fPSA/PSA in 30 cases of normal controls, 32 cases of prostate cancer patients and 76 cases of BPH patients. The result showed that if liminal value of PSA was set at 4 ng/mL, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of prostate cancer were 100% and 50.6% respectively. Meanwhile, if liminal value of fPSA/PSA set at 16% was added, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of prostate cancer were 100% and 85.3% respectively. It was concluded that the combining assay of PSA and fPSA could increase the diagnostic specificity of prostate cancer in a certain degree

Can PSA Reflex Algorithm be a valid alternative to other PSA-based prostate cancer screening strategies?

Science.gov (United States)

Caldarelli, G; Troiano, G; Rosadini, D; Nante, N

2017-01-01

The available laboratory tests for the differential diagnosis of prostate cancer, are represented by the total PSA, the free PSA, and the free/total PSA ratio. In Italy most of doctors tend to request both total and free PSA for their patients even in cases where the total PSA doesn't justify the further request of free PSA, with a consequent growth of the costs for the National Health System. The aim of our study was to predict the saving in Euro (due to reagents) and reduction in free PSA tests, applying the "PSA Reflex" algorithm. We calculated the number of total PSA and free PSA exams performed in 2014 in the Hospital of Grosseto and, simulating the application of the "PSA Reflex" algorithm in the same year, we calculated the decrease in the number of free PSA requests and we tried to predict the Euro savings in reagents, obtained from this reduction. In 2014 in the Hospital of Grosseto 25,955 total PSA tests have been performed: 3,631 (14%) resulted greater than 10 ng / ml; 7,686 (29.6%) between 2 and 10 ng / ml; 14,638 (56.4%) lower than 2 ng / ml. The performed free PSA tests were 16904. Simulating the use of "PSA Reflex" algorithm, the free PSA tests would be performed only in cases with total PSA values between 2 and 10 ng / mL with a saving of 54.5% of free PSA exams and of 8,971 euros, only for reagents. Our study showed that the "PSA Reflex" algorithm is a valid alternative leading to a reduction of the costs. The estimated intralaboratory savings, due to the reagents, seem to be modest, however, they are followed by the additional savings due to the other diagnostic processes for prostate cancers.

Self-management-support in dementia care: A mixed methods study among nursing staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Verkaik, Renate; van Antwerpen-Hoogenraad, Paulien; de Veer, Anke; Francke, Anneke; Huis In Het Veld, Judith

2017-11-01

Background Self-management in patients and family caregivers confronted with dementia is not self-evident. Self-management skills may be limited because of the progressive cognitive decline of the patient and because family caregivers are often also very aged. Self-management support by nursing staff is therefore of paramount importance. Objectives To gain insight into how nursing staff perceive their self-management support tasks, and how they put them into practice. Research questions are: 'What are the opinions and experiences of Dutch nursing staff working in home care or residential elderly care regarding self-management support for people with dementia and their family caregivers?' and 'Do nursing staff feel sufficiently trained and skilled for self-management support?'. Methods A mixed methods approach was used, combining cross-sectional quantitative survey data from 206 Dutch nursing professionals with qualitative interviews among 12 nursing staff working in home care or residential elderly care in The Netherlands. Results Nursing staff working in home care experienced self-management support of people with dementia as a part of their job and as an attractive task. They consider 'helping people with dementia to maintain control over their lives by involving them in decisions in daily care' the essence of self-management support. Nursing staff saw family caregivers as their main partners in providing self-management support to the patient. They were less aware that family caregivers themselves might also need self-management support. Nursing staff often felt insufficiently trained to give adequate self-management support. RN's and CNA's did not differ in their opinions, experiences and training needs. Conclusions Nursing staff in home care do consider self-management support an important and attractive task in dementia care. Their skills for providing self-management support to patients with dementia and family caregivers need improvement. Recommendations

Molecular Form Differences Between Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Standards Create Quantitative Discordances in PSA ELISA Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

McJimpsey, Erica L.

2016-02-01

The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) assays currently employed for the detection of prostate cancer (PCa) lack the specificity needed to differentiate PCa from benign prostatic hyperplasia and have high false positive rates. The PSA calibrants used to create calibration curves in these assays are typically purified from seminal plasma and contain many molecular forms (intact PSA and cleaved subforms). The purpose of this study was to determine if the composition of the PSA molecular forms found in these PSA standards contribute to the lack of PSA test reliability. To this end, seminal plasma purified PSA standards from different commercial sources were investigated by western blot (WB) and in multiple research grade PSA ELISAs. The WB results revealed that all of the PSA standards contained different mass concentrations of intact and cleaved molecular forms. Increased mass concentrations of intact PSA yielded higher immunoassay absorbance values, even between lots from the same manufacturer. Standardization of seminal plasma derived PSA calibrant molecular form mass concentrations and purification methods will assist in closing the gaps in PCa testing measurements that require the use of PSA values, such as the % free PSA and Prostate Health Index by increasing the accuracy of the calibration curves.

Evaluation of total PSA assay on vitros ECi and correlation with Kryptor-PSA assay.

Science.gov (United States)

Cassinat, B; Wacquet, M; Toubert, M E; Rain, J D; Schlageter, M H

2001-01-01

An increasing number of multiparametric immuno-analysers for PSA assays are available. As different immuno-assays may vary in their analytical quality and their accuracy for the follow-up of patients, expertise is necessary for each new assay. The PSA assay on the Vitros-ECi analyser has been evaluated and compared with the PSA assay from the Kryptor analyser. Variation coefficients were 0.91 to 1.98% for within-run assays, and 4.2% to 5.4% for interassay (PSA levels = 0.8 microgram/L to 33.6 micrograms/L). Dilution tests showed 93 to 136% recovery until 70 micrograms/L PSA. Functional sensitivity was estimated at 0.03 microgram/L. Equimolarity of the test was confirmed. Correlation of PSA levels measured with Vitros-ECi and Kryptor analysers displayed a correlation coefficient r2 of 0.9716. The half-lives and doubling times of PSA were similar using both methods. Vitros-ECi PSA assay meets the major criteria for the management of prostate cancer patients.

SERIAL PERCENT-FREE PSA IN COMBINATION WITH PSA FOR POPULATION-BASED EARLY DETECTION OF PROSTATE CANCER

Science.gov (United States)

Ankerst, Donna Pauler; Gelfond, Jonathan; Goros, Martin; Herrera, Jesus; Strobl, Andreas; Thompson, Ian M.; Hernandez, Javier; Leach, Robin J.

2016-01-01

PURPOSE To characterize the diagnostic properties of serial percent-free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in relation to PSA in a multi-ethnic, multi-racial cohort of healthy men. MATERIALS AND METHODS 6,982 percent-free PSA and PSA measures were obtained from participants in a 12 year+ Texas screening study comprising 1625 men who never underwent biopsy, 497 who underwent one or more biopsies negative for prostate cancer, and 61 diagnosed with prostate cancer. Area underneath the receiver-operating-characteristic-curve (AUC) for percent-free PSA, and the proportion of patients with fluctuating values across multiple visits were determined according to two thresholds (under 15% versus 25%) were evaluated. The proportion of cancer cases where percent-free PSA indicated a positive test before PSA > 4 ng/mL did and the number of negative biopsies that would have been spared by percent-free PSA testing negative were computed. RESULTS Percent-free PSA fluctuated around its threshold of PSA tested positive earlier than PSA in 71.4% (34.2%) of cancer cases, and among men with multiple negative biopsies and a PSA > 4 ng/mL, percent-free PSA would have tested negative in 31.6% (65.8%) instances. CONCLUSIONS Percent-free PSA should accompany PSA testing in order to potentially spare unnecessary biopsies or detect cancer earlier. When near the threshold, both tests should be repeated due to commonly observed fluctuation. PMID:26979652

Probability of an Abnormal Screening PSA Result Based on Age, Race, and PSA Threshold

Science.gov (United States)

Espaldon, Roxanne; Kirby, Katharine A.; Fung, Kathy Z.; Hoffman, Richard M.; Powell, Adam A.; Freedland, Stephen J.; Walter, Louise C.

2014-01-01

Objective To determine the distribution of screening PSA values in older men and how different PSA thresholds affect the proportion of white, black, and Latino men who would have an abnormal screening result across advancing age groups. Methods We used linked national VA and Medicare data to determine the value of the first screening PSA test (ng/mL) of 327,284 men age 65+ who underwent PSA screening in the VA healthcare system in 2003. We calculated the proportion of men with an abnormal PSA result based on age, race, and common PSA thresholds. Results Among men age 65+, 8.4% had a PSA >4.0ng/mL. The percentage of men with a PSA >4.0ng/mL increased with age and was highest in black men (13.8%) versus white (8.0%) or Latino men (10.0%) (PPSA >4.0ng/mL ranged from 5.1% of Latino men age 65–69 to 27.4% of black men age 85+. Raising the PSA threshold from >4.0ng/mL to >10.0ng/mL, reclassified the greatest percentage of black men age 85+ (18.3% absolute change) and the lowest percentage of Latino men age 65–69 (4.8% absolute change) as being under the biopsy threshold (PPSA threshold together affect the pre-test probability of an abnormal screening PSA result. Based on screening PSA distributions, stopping screening among men whose PSA 10ng/ml has the greatest effect on reducing the number of older black men who will face biopsy decisions after screening. PMID:24439009

The systems psychodynamic experiences of organisational transformation amongst support staff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Steyn

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Orientation: The unconscious impact of organisational transformation is often neglected and even denied. This research revealed the manifestation and impact of high levels and different forms of anxiety experienced by employees during transformation. Research objective: The objective was to study and describe the manifesting systems psychodynamic behaviour amongst support staff during organisational transformation. Motivation for the study: Organisational transformation is mostly researched from a leadership viewpoint. Little research data are available on the experiences of support staff on the receiving end of decisions about and implementation of transformation. Research design, approach and method: A qualitative approach within the phenomenological hermeneutic interpretive stance was used. The research was set in a government organisation. A semi-structured interview with four conveniently and purposefully chosen support staff members was thematically analysed using systems psychodynamics as theoretical paradigm. Main findings: Four themes manifested, namely de-authorisation and detachment, being bullied and seduced by leadership, the organisation in the mind as incompetent, and a dangerous and persecutory system. In the discussion, the basic assumptions and relevant constructs are interpreted. Practical implications: Understanding the transformation experiences of support staff could assist the industrial psychologist to facilitate appropriate support in coaching more junior staff towards increasing wellness and work performance. Contribution: Organisational transformation is highlighted as an anxiety provoking experience especially on the lower levels of the organisation. Its potentially deep and complex psychological impact could possibly derail parts of the system if not managed in a psychologically contained manner.

Molecular Form Differences Between Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Standards Create Quantitative Discordances in PSA ELISA Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

McJimpsey, Erica L.

2016-01-01

The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) assays currently employed for the detection of prostate cancer (PCa) lack the specificity needed to differentiate PCa from benign prostatic hyperplasia and have high false positive rates. The PSA calibrants used to create calibration curves in these assays are typically purified from seminal plasma and contain many molecular forms (intact PSA and cleaved subforms). The purpose of this study was to determine if the composition of the PSA molecular forms found in these PSA standards contribute to the lack of PSA test reliability. To this end, seminal plasma purified PSA standards from different commercial sources were investigated by western blot (WB) and in multiple research grade PSA ELISAs. The WB results revealed that all of the PSA standards contained different mass concentrations of intact and cleaved molecular forms. Increased mass concentrations of intact PSA yielded higher immunoassay absorbance values, even between lots from the same manufacturer. Standardization of seminal plasma derived PSA calibrant molecular form mass concentrations and purification methods will assist in closing the gaps in PCa testing measurements that require the use of PSA values, such as the % free PSA and Prostate Health Index by increasing the accuracy of the calibration curves. PMID:26911983

Evaluating the Phoenix definition of biochemical failure after (125)I prostate brachytherapy: Can PSA kinetics distinguish PSA failures from PSA bounces?

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Anna; Keyes, Mira; Pickles, Tom; Palma, David; Moravan, Veronika; Spadinger, Ingrid; Lapointe, Vincent; Morris, W James

2010-10-01

To evaluate the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) kinetics of PSA failure (PSAf) and PSA bounce (PSAb) after permanent (125)I prostate brachytherapy (PB). The study included 1,006 consecutive low and "low tier" intermediate-risk patients treated with (125)I PB, with a potential minimum follow-up of 4 years. Patients who met the Phoenix definition of biochemical failure (nadir + 2 ng/mL(-1)) were identified. If the PSA subsequently fell to ≤0.5 ng/mL(-1)without intervention, this was considered a PSAb. All others were scored as true PSAf. Patient, tumor and dosimetric characteristics were compared between groups using the chi-square test and analysis of variance to evaluate factors associated with PSAf or PSAb. Median follow-up was 54 months. Of the 1,006 men, 57 patients triggered the Phoenix definition of PSA failure, 32 (56%) were true PSAf, and 25 PSAb (44%). The median time to trigger nadir + 2 was 20.6 months (range, 6-36) vs. 49 mo (range, 12-83) for PSAb vs. PSAf groups (p < 0.001). The PSAb patients were significantly younger (p < 0.0001), had shorter time to reach the nadir (median 6 vs. 11.5 months, p = 0.001) and had a shorter PSA doubling time (p = 0.05). Men younger than age 70 who trigger nadir +2 PSA failure within 38 months of implant have an 80% likelihood of having PSAb and 20% chance of PSAf. With adequate follow-up, 44% of PSA failures by the Phoenix definition in our cohort were found to be benign PSA bounces. Our study reinforces the need for adequate follow-up when reporting PB PSA outcomes, to ensure accurate estimates of treatment efficacy and to avoid unnecessary secondary interventions. 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating the Phoenix Definition of Biochemical Failure After 125I Prostate Brachytherapy: Can PSA Kinetics Distinguish PSA Failures From PSA Bounces?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thompson, Anna; Keyes, Mira; Pickles, Tom

2010-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) kinetics of PSA failure (PSAf) and PSA bounce (PSAb) after permanent 125 I prostate brachytherapy (PB). Methods and Materials: The study included 1,006 consecutive low and 'low tier' intermediate-risk patients treated with 125 I PB, with a potential minimum follow-up of 4 years. Patients who met the Phoenix definition of biochemical failure (nadir + 2 ng/mL -1 ) were identified. If the PSA subsequently fell to ≤0.5 ng/mL -1 without intervention, this was considered a PSAb. All others were scored as true PSAf. Patient, tumor and dosimetric characteristics were compared between groups using the chi-square test and analysis of variance to evaluate factors associated with PSAf or PSAb. Results: Median follow-up was 54 months. Of the 1,006 men, 57 patients triggered the Phoenix definition of PSA failure, 32 (56%) were true PSAf, and 25 PSAb (44%). The median time to trigger nadir + 2 was 20.6 months (range, 6-36) vs. 49 mo (range, 12-83) for PSAb vs. PSAf groups (p < 0.001). The PSAb patients were significantly younger (p < 0.0001), had shorter time to reach the nadir (median 6 vs. 11.5 months, p = 0.001) and had a shorter PSA doubling time (p = 0.05). Men younger than age 70 who trigger nadir +2 PSA failure within 38 months of implant have an 80% likelihood of having PSAb and 20% chance of PSAf. Conclusions: With adequate follow-up, 44% of PSA failures by the Phoenix definition in our cohort were found to be benign PSA bounces. Our study reinforces the need for adequate follow-up when reporting PB PSA outcomes, to ensure accurate estimates of treatment efficacy and to avoid unnecessary secondary interventions.

Impact of total PSA, PSA doubling time and PSA velocity on detection rates of 11C-Choline positron emission tomography in recurrent prostate cancer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rybalov, Maxim; Breeuwsma, Anthonius J.; Leliveld, Anna M.; Pruim, Jan; Dierckx, Rudi A.; de Jong, Igle J.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of total PSA (tPSA) and PSA kinetics on the detection rates of (11)C-Choline PET in patients with biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy (RP) or external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). METHODS: We included 185 patients with BCR after RP (PSA >0.2 ng/ml)

PSA in licensing, safety reviews and design as applied in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berg, H.P.; Goertz, R.; Schott, H.; Wendling, R.D.

1994-01-01

In this paper, two topics - the application of PSA in the regulatory process and the effort to improve PSA methods and models - are addressed. From the regulators' point of view, the most important application of PSA in Germany is presently within the safety reviews of nuclear power plants in operation. The current status of regulatory guidance which shall be provided to establish a uniform procedure for a periodic safety review is described with special emphasis on the role of PSA. An important goal is to have all plant-specific PSAs comparable as far as possible. Guidance for PSA review is under development likewise. Furthermore, the application of PSA in licensing of nuclear power plants is addressed as well as its use in the design process of future pressurized water reactors. The development of models and methods to be applied in PSA has been and will be supported by a number of studies and investigations. An overview of the main issues of these investigations is provided. A specific task was the elaboration of a proposal for incorporating fire events into the PSA. The status of these efforts is outlined. (author). 7 refs, 3 figs, 2 tabs

Antigenic determinants of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and development of assays specific for different forms of PSA.

OpenAIRE

Nilsson, O.; Peter, A.; Andersson, I.; Nilsson, K.; Grundstr?m, B.; Karlsson, B.

1997-01-01

Monoclonal antibodies were raised against prostate-specific antigen (PSA) by immunization with purified free PSA, i.e. not in complex with any protease inhibitor (F-PSA) and PSA in complex with alpha1-anti-chymotrypsin (PSA-ACT). Epitope mapping of PSA using the established monoclonal antibody revealed a complex pattern of independent and partly overlapping antigenic domains in the PSA molecule. Four independent antigenic domains and at least three partly overlapping domains were exposed both...

A framework for a quality assurance programme for PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-08-01

Reviews organized by the IAEA of probabilistic safety assessments (PSAs) of nuclear facilities have, in the past years, shown significant progress in the technical methods and data used for these studies. The IAEA has made a considerable effort to support the development of technical capabilities for PSA in Member States and in writing technical procedures for carrying out PSAs. However, the reviews have also shown significant deficiencies in quality assurance (QA) for PSAs, ranging from no QA at all to inappropriate, inefficient or unbalanced QA. As a PSA represents a very complex model which describes the risk associated with a nuclear facility, an appropriate and efficient QA programme is crucial to obtain a quality PSA. Historically, in the first integral PSAs, many of the PSA elements were handled by independent groups. These elements were finally integrated and put together in the overall model. Many of the interfaces between the elements or tasks were handled as appropriate by exchanging information in oral or written form. Since WASH-1400, the first integral PSA, the process of constructing the PSA model has been further developed. PSA elements previously considered separately can now be handled together with the capable software developed in recent years. Software has made interface control and data transfer easier to perform, but also permits the development of more detailed and complex models. Previously, QA for PSA projects was organized in an ad hoc manner and was sometimes very limited. In recent years, increasingly comprehensive QA programmes have been developed and implemented for PSA projects. Today, a comprehensive, effective and performance-oriented QA is considered to be essential for a reliable and credible PSA. This report describes the framework for developing an adequate QA programme for PSA studies. The framework is based on and is in accordance with the related QA guidelines of the IAEA for safety in nuclear power plants and other nuclear

Comparison and lessons learned from plant specific PSA of German NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balfanz, Hans-Peter; Berg, H.P.

2000-01-01

PSA are launched in frame of Periodic Safety Reviews (PSR) in Germany. The aims are to identify overall safety level and relative weak points. Some backfitting measures have been realized for older plants to remove relative weak points and to bring these plants to the state of the art. In this field PSA is well accepted today and is seen as a valuable tool supplementing the deterministic analysis. Main application of PSA within PSR is planned to become mandatory as part of the revision of the German Atomic Energy Act. According to the German PSA Guideline plant specific PSA level 1+ were performed for all 19 In comparison with international practice German PSA are very detailed. Otherwise they do not handle all external events, non-power states and accident management measures as discussed before. The New PSA guideline will cover these aspects and therefore analysts have to take them into account in further PSA. Moreover gathering of plant specific data is needed. The development in this field is driven by the utilities (for instance in frame of their so-called ZEDB project). Public discussion about quantitative risk of industrial hazards is quite limited in Germany and PSA results have only few impacts to this respect. Independent from this PSA for NPP is understood as a diverse tool in supporting the deterministic licensing and supervision process. Risk based decision making as well as informed regulation are just only of the beginning. State of PSA of NPP in Germany, comparison of PSA result of different NPP, German PSA guideline and state of discussion of further development and recommendation of further development of PSA of NPP are discussed in this paper in more detail. (S.Y.)

Comparison and lessons learned from plant specific PSA of German NPP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balfanz, Hans-Peter [TUEV Nord, Hamburg (Germany); Berg, H.P.

2000-07-01

PSA are launched in frame of Periodic Safety Reviews (PSR) in Germany. The aims are to identify overall safety level and relative weak points. Some backfitting measures have been realized for older plants to remove relative weak points and to bring these plants to the state of the art. In this field PSA is well accepted today and is seen as a valuable tool supplementing the deterministic analysis. Main application of PSA within PSR is planned to become mandatory as part of the revision of the German Atomic Energy Act. According to the German PSA Guideline plant specific PSA level 1+ were performed for all 19 In comparison with international practice German PSA are very detailed. Otherwise they do not handle all external events, non-power states and accident management measures as discussed before. The New PSA guideline will cover these aspects and therefore analysts have to take them into account in further PSA. Moreover gathering of plant specific data is needed. The development in this field is driven by the utilities (for instance in frame of their so-called ZEDB project). Public discussion about quantitative risk of industrial hazards is quite limited in Germany and PSA results have only few impacts to this respect. Independent from this PSA for NPP is understood as a diverse tool in supporting the deterministic licensing and supervision process. Risk based decision making as well as informed regulation are just only of the beginning. State of PSA of NPP in Germany, comparison of PSA result of different NPP, German PSA guideline and state of discussion of further development and recommendation of further development of PSA of NPP are discussed in this paper in more detail. (S.Y.)

Development of PSA workstation KIRAP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Tae Un; Han, Sang Hoon; Kim, Kil You; Yang, Jun Eon; Jeong, Won Dae; Chang, Seung Cheol; Sung, Tae Yong; Kang, Dae Il; Park, Jin Hee; Lee, Yoon Hwan; Hwang, Mi Jeong

1997-01-01

Advanced Research Group of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has been developing the Probabilistic Safety Assessment(PSA) workstation KIRAP from 1992. This report describes the recent development activities of PSA workstation KIRAP. The first is to develop and improve the methodologies for PSA quantification, that are the incorporation of fault tree modularization technique, the improvement of cut set generation method, the development of rule-based recovery, the development of methodology to solve a fault tree which has the logical loops and to handle a fault tree which has several initiators. These methodologies are incorporated in the PSA quantification software KIRAP-CUT. The second is to convert PSA modeling softwares for Windows, which have been used on the DOS environment since 1987. The developed softwares are the fault tree editor KWTREE, the event tree editor CONPAS, and Data manager KWDBMAN for event data and common cause failure (CCF) data. With the development of PSA workstation, it makes PSA modeling and PSA quantification and automation easier and faster. (author). 8 refs.

Development of PSA workstation KIRAP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Tae Un; Han, Sang Hoon; Kim, Kil You; Yang, Jun Eon; Jeong, Won Dae; Chang, Seung Cheol; Sung, Tae Yong; Kang, Dae Il; Park, Jin Hee; Lee, Yoon Hwan; Hwang, Mi Jeong.

1997-01-01

Advanced Research Group of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has been developing the Probabilistic Safety Assessment(PSA) workstation KIRAP from 1992. This report describes the recent development activities of PSA workstation KIRAP. The first is to develop and improve the methodologies for PSA quantification, that are the incorporation of fault tree modularization technique, the improvement of cut set generation method, the development of rule-based recovery, the development of methodology to solve a fault tree which has the logical loops and to handle a fault tree which has several initiators. These methodologies are incorporated in the PSA quantification software KIRAP-CUT. The second is to convert PSA modeling softwares for Windows, which have been used on the DOS environment since 1987. The developed softwares are the fault tree editor KWTREE, the event tree editor CONPAS, and Data manager KWDBMAN for event data and common cause failure (CCF) data. With the development of PSA workstation, it makes PSA modeling and PSA quantification and automation easier and faster. (author). 8 refs

Proteolytic Activity of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) towards Protein Substrates and Effect of Peptides Stimulating PSA Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Mattsson, Johanna M.; Ravela, Suvi; Hekim, Can; Jonsson, Magnus; Malm, Johan; Närvänen, Ale; Stenman, Ulf-Håkan; Koistinen, Hannu

2014-01-01

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA or kallikrein-related peptidase-3, KLK3) exerts chymotrypsin-like proteolytic activity. The main biological function of PSA is the liquefaction of the clot formed after ejaculation by cleavage of semenogelins I and II in seminal fluid. PSA also cleaves several other substrates, which may explain its putative functions in prostate cancer and its antiangiogenic activity. We compared the proteolytic efficiency of PSA towards several protein and peptide substrates and studied the effect of peptides stimulating the activity of PSA with these substrates. An endothelial cell tube formation model was used to analyze the effect of PSA-degraded protein fragments on angiogenesis. We showed that PSA degrades semenogelins I and II much more efficiently than other previously identified protein substrates, e.g., fibronectin, galectin-3 and IGFBP-3. We identified nidogen-1 as a new substrate for PSA. Peptides B2 and C4 that stimulate the activity of PSA towards small peptide substrates also enhanced the proteolytic activity of PSA towards protein substrates. Nidogen-1, galectin-3 or their fragments produced by PSA did not have any effect on endothelial cell tube formation. Although PSA cleaves several other protein substrates, in addition to semenogelins, the physiological importance of this activity remains speculative. The PSA levels in prostate are very high, but several other highly active proteases, such as hK2 and trypsin, are also expressed in the prostate and may cleave protein substrates that are weakly cleaved by PSA. PMID:25237904

Proteolytic activity of prostate-specific antigen (PSA towards protein substrates and effect of peptides stimulating PSA activity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johanna M Mattsson

Full Text Available Prostate-specific antigen (PSA or kallikrein-related peptidase-3, KLK3 exerts chymotrypsin-like proteolytic activity. The main biological function of PSA is the liquefaction of the clot formed after ejaculation by cleavage of semenogelins I and II in seminal fluid. PSA also cleaves several other substrates, which may explain its putative functions in prostate cancer and its antiangiogenic activity. We compared the proteolytic efficiency of PSA towards several protein and peptide substrates and studied the effect of peptides stimulating the activity of PSA with these substrates. An endothelial cell tube formation model was used to analyze the effect of PSA-degraded protein fragments on angiogenesis. We showed that PSA degrades semenogelins I and II much more efficiently than other previously identified protein substrates, e.g., fibronectin, galectin-3 and IGFBP-3. We identified nidogen-1 as a new substrate for PSA. Peptides B2 and C4 that stimulate the activity of PSA towards small peptide substrates also enhanced the proteolytic activity of PSA towards protein substrates. Nidogen-1, galectin-3 or their fragments produced by PSA did not have any effect on endothelial cell tube formation. Although PSA cleaves several other protein substrates, in addition to semenogelins, the physiological importance of this activity remains speculative. The PSA levels in prostate are very high, but several other highly active proteases, such as hK2 and trypsin, are also expressed in the prostate and may cleave protein substrates that are weakly cleaved by PSA.

Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test

Science.gov (United States)

... Cancer Prostate Cancer Screening Research Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test On This Page What is the PSA ... parts of the body before being detected. The PSA test may give false-positive or false-negative ...

PSA Level 2:Scope And Method Of PSA Level 2 For Nuclear Power Plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Widodo, Surip; Antariksawan, Anhar R.

2001-01-01

A study of scope and method of PSA Level 2 had been conducted. The background of the study is the need to gain the capability to well perform PSA Level 2 for nuclear facilities. This study is a literature survey. The scope of PSA Level 2 consists of generating plant damage states, accident progression analysis, and grouping source terms. Concerning accident progression analysis, several methods are used, among others event tree method, named accident progression event tree (APET) or containment event tree (CET), and fault tree method. The end result of PSA Level 2 is release end states which is grouped into release bins. The results will be used for PSA Level 3

Generation of monoclonal antibodies against prostate specific antigen (PSA) for the detection of PSA and its purification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acevedo Castro, Boris Ernesto

2012-01-01

The prostate cancer in Cuba is a problem of health (2672 diagnosed cases and 2769 deaths in 2007). Various diagnostic methods have been implemented for the detection and management of this disease, emphasizing among them (PSA) prostate-specific antigen serological determination. At this work was generated and characterized a panel of 11 antibodies (AcMs) monoclonal IgG1 detected with high affinity described major epitopes of the PSA, both in solution and attached to the test plate. From the panel obtained AcMs was the standardization of an essay type ELISA for the detection of serum total PSA (associated and free) equimolar, based on antibody monoclonal CB-PSA.4 in the coating and the CB-PSA.9 coupled with biotin as liner, with a detection limit of 0.15 ng/mL. Similarly, standardized system for detection in serum free PSA, based on the AcMs CB-PSA.4 (coating) and CB-PSA.2 coupled with biotin (liner), with a detection limit of 0.5 ng/mL. Finally, with the purpose of using PSA as standard in trials type ELISA, developed a simple method of inmunopurificación based on the AcM, CB-PSA.2, which was obtained the PSA with a purity exceeding 90%. Immunoassay Centre on the basis of the AcMs panel and the results of this study, developed and recorded two diagnostic systems for the detection of PSA in human serum. (author)

Model engineering in a modular PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friedlhuber, Thomas

2014-01-01

For the purpose of PSA (Probabilistic Safety Analysis) for complex industrial systems, often PSA models in the form of fault and event trees are developed to model the risk of unwanted situations (hazards). While the recent decades, PSA models have gained high acceptance and have been developed massively. This lead to an increase in model sizes and complexity. Today, PSA models are often difficult to understand and maintain. This manuscript presents the concept of a modular PSA. A modular PSA tries to cope with the increased complexity by the techniques of modularization and instantiation. Modularization targets to treat a model by smaller pieces (the 'modules') to regain control over models. Instantiation aims to configure a generic model to different contexts. Both try to reduce model complexity. A modular PSA proposes new functionality to manage PSA models. Current model management is rather limited and not efficient. This manuscript shows new methods to manage the evolutions (versions) and deviations (variants) of PSA models in a modular PSA. The concepts of version and variant management are presented in this thesis. In this context, a model comparison and fusion of PSA models is precised. Model comparison provides important feedback to model engineers and model fusion kind of combines the work from different model engineers (concurrent model engineering). Apart from model management, methods to understand the content of PSA models are presented. The methods focus to highlight the dependencies between modules rather than their contents. Dependencies are automatically derived from a model structure. They express relations between model objects (for example a fault tree may have dependencies to basic events). To visualize those dependencies (for example in form of a model cartography) can constitute a crucial aid to model engineers for understanding complex interrelations in PSA models. Within the scope of this thesis, a software named 'Andromeda' has been

Development of a PSA information management system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ho, Seok; Dong Kyu, Kim; Sun Koo, Kang

2007-01-01

In general, Probabilistic Safety Agreement (PSA) is a very complicated work that uses and generates a lot of resources such as reports, procedures, drawings, assumptions, calculation sheets, PSA model, and so on. In many PSAs, however, the data, materials and knowledge considered and generated during performing PSA are scattered in many documents so that overall structure of PSA and information relationship between documents and models cannot easily be understood. To organize and manage all documents related to PSA, to capture knowledge of analysts, and finally to improve the quality of PSA, a PSA information management system (PIMS) was developed. The PIMS can manage all the documents of a PSA in a database and connect the causal relation between one information to another in the scattered documents via link. The PIMS can manage all the assumptions and technical basis used in PSA, and it can keep the record of the design changes the revision of PSA model. It can also control the review results of PSA models. The link of the PIMS can explicitly describe and reveal the expertise of the PSA analysts, and it enables the users to capture the knowledge and to understand the structure and contents of a PSA with ease. We are planning to apply the PIMS to the PSA of Shin Kori Units 1 and 2 as feasibility study and then to all the PSAs of the nuclear power plants in Korea. The PIMS is expected to contribute to enhancing the quality and confidence of PSA and reducing the efforts and costs of maintenance and update of PSA. (authors)

Development of a PSA information management system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ho, Seok; Dong Kyu, Kim; Sun Koo, Kang [Korea Power Engineering Company, Inc (Korea, Republic of)

2007-07-01

In general, Probabilistic Safety Agreement (PSA) is a very complicated work that uses and generates a lot of resources such as reports, procedures, drawings, assumptions, calculation sheets, PSA model, and so on. In many PSAs, however, the data, materials and knowledge considered and generated during performing PSA are scattered in many documents so that overall structure of PSA and information relationship between documents and models cannot easily be understood. To organize and manage all documents related to PSA, to capture knowledge of analysts, and finally to improve the quality of PSA, a PSA information management system (PIMS) was developed. The PIMS can manage all the documents of a PSA in a database and connect the causal relation between one information to another in the scattered documents via link. The PIMS can manage all the assumptions and technical basis used in PSA, and it can keep the record of the design changes the revision of PSA model. It can also control the review results of PSA models. The link of the PIMS can explicitly describe and reveal the expertise of the PSA analysts, and it enables the users to capture the knowledge and to understand the structure and contents of a PSA with ease. We are planning to apply the PIMS to the PSA of Shin Kori Units 1 and 2 as feasibility study and then to all the PSAs of the nuclear power plants in Korea. The PIMS is expected to contribute to enhancing the quality and confidence of PSA and reducing the efforts and costs of maintenance and update of PSA. (authors)

Proceedings of the 10th Korea-Japan joint workshop on PSA. For Asian PSA network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Joon-Eon; Homma, Toshimitsu

2009-12-01

The tenth Korea-Japan Joint Workshop on Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) was held in the Jeju island of Korea, on May 18-20, 2009 organized by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI). The purpose of the workshop was to provide a forum for presentation and discussions on experiences and technical achievements related to PSA, risk-informed and performance-based approach, and other relevant issues in both countries. Since the first Korea-Japan Joint Workshop on PSA started in 1992, the workshops have provided an important and timely opportunity for exchange and discussion of the relevant information to all PSA practitioners and users of risk information in the industry, research, academia and regulatory arena. This was the tenth anniversary of the Joint Workshop with the main theme of 'For Asian PSA Network' and participants included those from China, Taiwan and the United States of America besides Korea and Japan. Two keynote speeches were presented by the former chairmen of this workshop, Prof. Chang-Sun Kang of Seoul National University and Prof. emeritus Shunsuke Kondo of Tokyo University. We had two special lectures, 70 papers presented by experts at 10 technical sessions related PSA, the special session on the status of PSA in Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan and panel discussion on their cooperation in PSA. This report provides the summary of each session, and all the presentation materials presented in the 10th Korea-Japan Joint Workshop on PSA. (author)

Factors prompting PSA-testing of asymptomatic men in a country with no guidelines: a national survey of general practitioners.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Drummond, Frances J

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: Increased use of prostate specific antigen (PSA) has been associated with increased prostate cancer incidence. Ireland is estimated to have one of the highest prostate cancer incidences in Europe and has no national guidelines for prostate cancer screening. GPs have a pivotal role in influencing PSA testing, therefore, our aim was to describe GP testing practices and to identify factors influencing these. METHODS: A postal survey, including questions on clinical practice and experience, knowledge and demographics was distributed to all GPs (n = 3,683). The main outcomes were (i) PSA testing asymptomatic men and (ii) "inappropriate" PSA testing, defined as testing asymptomatic men aged < 50 or > 75 years. Factors associated with these outcomes were identified using logistic regression. RESULTS: 1,625 GPs responded (response rate corrected for eligibility = 53%). Most respondents (79%) would PSA test asymptomatic men. Of these, 34% and 51% would test asymptomatic men < 50 and > 75 years, respectively. In multivariate analyses, GPs were more likely to test asymptomatic men if they were >or= 50 years, in practice >or= 10 years, female or less knowledgeable about PSA efficacy. Male GPs who would have a PSA test themselves were > 8-times more likely to PSA test asymptomatic men than GPs who would not have a test. GPs who had an asymptomatic patient diagnosed with prostate cancer following PSA testing, were > 3-times more likely to test asymptomatic men. Practice-related factors positively associated with testing included: running \\'well man\\' clinics, performing occupational health checks and performing other tests routinely with PSA. Factors positively associated with \\'inappropriate\\' testing included; being male and willing to have a PSA test, having worked\\/trained in the UK and supporting annual PSA testing. 91% of respondents supported the development of national PSA testing guidelines. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that widespread PSA testing

PyPSA: Python for Power System Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Brown

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Python for Power System Analysis (PyPSA is a free software toolbox for simulating and optimising modern electrical power systems over multiple periods. PyPSA includes models for conventional generators with unit commitment, variable renewable generation, storage units, coupling to other energy sectors, and mixed alternating and direct current networks. It is designed to be easily extensible and to scale well with large networks and long time series. In this paper the basic functionality of PyPSA is described, including the formulation of the full power flow equations and the multi-period optimisation of operation and investment with linear power flow equations. PyPSA is positioned in the existing free software landscape as a bridge between traditional power flow analysis tools for steady-state analysis and full multi-period energy system models. The functionality is demonstrated on two open datasets of the transmission system in Germany (based on SciGRID and Europe (based on GridKit.   Funding statement: This research was conducted as part of the CoNDyNet project, which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research under grant no. 03SF0472C. The responsibility for the contents lies solely with the authors

The role of support staff in promoting the social inclusion of persons with an intellectual disability.

Science.gov (United States)

McConkey, R; Collins, S

2010-08-01

Past studies have found that people supported in more individualised housing options tend to have levels of community participation and wider social networks than those in other accommodation options. Yet, the contribution of support staff in facilitating social inclusion has received relatively scant attention. In all 245 staff working in either supported living schemes, or shared residential and group homes, or in day centres completed a written questionnaire in which they rated in terms of priority to their job, 16 tasks that were supportive of social inclusion and a further 16 tasks that related to the care of the person they supported. In addition staff identified those tasks that they considered were not appropriate to their job. Across all three service settings, staff rated more care tasks as having higher priority than they did the social inclusion tasks. However, staff in supported living schemes rated more social inclusion tasks as having high priority than did staff in the other two service settings. Equally the staff who were most inclined to rate social inclusion tasks as not being applicable to their job were those working day centres; female rather than male staff, those in front-line staff rather than senior staff, and those in part-time or relief positions rather than full-time posts. However, within each service settings, there were wide variations in how staff rated the social inclusion tasks. Staff working in more individualised support arrangements tend to give greater priority to promoting social inclusion although this can vary widely both across and within staff teams. Nonetheless, staff gave greater priority to care tasks especially in congregated service settings. Service managers may need to give more emphasis to social inclusion tasks and provide the leadership, training and resources to facilitate support staff to re-assess their priorities.

Development of a PSA information database system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seung Hwan

2005-01-01

The need to develop the PSA information database for performing a PSA has been growing rapidly. For example, performing a PSA requires a lot of data to analyze, to evaluate the risk, to trace the process of results and to verify the results. PSA information database is a system that stores all PSA related information into the database and file system with cross links to jump to the physical documents whenever they are needed. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute is developing a PSA information database system, AIMS (Advanced Information Management System for PSA). The objective is to integrate and computerize all the distributed information of a PSA into a system and to enhance the accessibility to PSA information for all PSA related activities. This paper describes how we implemented such a database centered application in the view of two areas, database design and data (document) service

Enhancing the well-being of support services staff in higher education: The power of appreciation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurika van Straaten

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Orientation: A literature search for studies on the well-being of support staff of higher education institutions (HEIs produced very little results. Appreciation was then used to identify elements that might enhance the well-being of a selected HEI’s support staff. Research purpose: The aim was to explore the strengths of a selected HEI that might serve as driving forces for enhancing its support staff’s well-being. Motivation for the study: The lack of research on the well-being of support staff motivated the study. A need was identified to explore driving forces that might enhance their well-being. Research design, approach and method: A literature review guided by theoretical perspectives and theories on staff well-being was conducted. Subsequently, a qualitative action research design involving an Appreciative Inquiry (AI workshop with support staff of an institution was followed. Main findings: The following strengths that might serve as driving forces for enhancing the well-being of the institution’s support services staff were identified: hard-working and dedicated support staff, positive relations among colleagues, a willingness to adapt to change,good remuneration and benefits, job security and a supportive work environment. Appreciative Inquiry was found to be well suited for identifying such strengths, as opposed to methods that focus on identifying problems or weaknesses of an organisation. As a result of this study, the relevant institution might react and build on these identified strengths towards promoting the well-being of its support staff. Practical/managerial implications: Institutions should make an effort to enhance staff well being. The results of the study could also be used to encourage HEIs to use AI to establish optimal staff well-being. Contribution/value add: The study confirmed the power of appreciation to identify the strengths that might serve as driving forces for enhancing the well-being of support staff

Preventing work-related stress among staff working in children's cancer Principal Treatment Centres in the UK: a brief survey of staff support systems and practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Beresford, B; Gibson, F; Bayliss, J; Mukherjee, S

2018-03-01

Growing evidence of the association between health professionals' well-being and patient and organisational outcomes points to the need for effective staff support. This paper reports a brief survey of the UK's children's cancer Principal Treatment Centres (PTCs) regarding staff support systems and practices. A short on-line questionnaire, administered in 2012-2013, collected information about the availability of staff support interventions which seek to prevent work-related stress among different members of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT). It was completed by a member of staff with, where required, assistance from colleagues. All PTCs (n = 19) participated. Debriefs following a patient death was the most frequently reported staff support practice. Support groups were infrequently mentioned. There was wide variability between PTCs, and between professional groups, regarding the number and type of interventions available. Doctors appear to be least likely to have access to support. A few Centres routinely addressed work-related stress in wider staff management strategies. Two Centres had developed a bespoke intervention. Very few Centres were reported to actively raise awareness of support available from their hospital's Occupational Health department. A minority of PTCs had expert input regarding staff support from clinical psychology/liaison psychiatry. © 2016 The Authors. European Journal of Cancer Care Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Clinical performance of serum [-2]proPSA derivatives, %p2PSA and PHI, in the detection and management of prostate cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ya-Qiang; Sun, Tong; Zhong, Wei-De; Wu, Chin-Lee

2014-01-01

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been widely used as a serum marker for prostate cancer (PCa) screening or progression monitoring, which dramatically increased rate of early detection while significantly reduced PCa-specific mortality. However, a number of limitations of PSA have been noticed. Low specificity of PSA may lead to overtreatment in men who presenting with a total PSA (tPSA) level of PHI) and %p2PSA, which were defined as [(p2PSA/fPSA) × √ tPSA] and [(p2PSA/fPSA) × 100] respectively, have been suggested to be increased in PCa and can better distinguish PCa from benign prostatic diseases than tPSA or fPSA. We performed a systematic review of the available scientific evidences to evaluate the potentials of %p2PSA and PHI in clinical application. Mounting evidences suggested that both %p2PSA and PHI possess higher area under the ROC curve (AUC) and better specificity at a high sensitivity for PCa detection when compare with tPSA and %fPSA. It indicated that measurements of %p2PSA and PHI significantly improved the accuracy of PCa detection and diminished unnecessary biopsies. Furthermore, elevations of %p2PSA and PHI are related to more aggressive diseases. %p2PSA and PHI might be helpful in reducing overtreatment on indolent cases or assessing the progression of PCa in men who undergo active surveillance. Further studies are needed before being applied in routine clinical practice.

Methodology for seismic PSA of NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jirsa, P.

1999-09-01

A general methodology is outlined for seismic PSA (probabilistic safety assessment). The main objectives of seismic PSA include: description of the course of an event; understanding the most probable failure sequences; gaining insight into the overall probability of reactor core damage; identification of the main seismic risk contributors; identification of the range of peak ground accelerations contributing significantly to the plant risk; and comparison of the seismic risk with risks from other events. The results of seismic PSA are typically compared with those of internal PSA and of PSA of other external events. If the results of internal and external PSA are available, sensitivity studies and cost benefit analyses are performed prior to any decision regarding corrective actions. If the seismic PSA involves analysis of the containment, useful information can be gained regarding potential seismic damage of the containment. (P.A.)

Stress, Social Support, and Burnout Among Long-Term Care Nursing Staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Woodhead, Erin L; Northrop, Lynn; Edelstein, Barry

2016-01-01

Long-term care nursing staff are subject to considerable occupational stress and report high levels of burnout, yet little is known about how stress and social support are associated with burnout in this population. The present study utilized the job demands-resources model of burnout to examine relations between job demands (occupational and personal stress), job resources (sources and functions of social support), and burnout in a sample of nursing staff at a long-term care facility (N = 250). Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that job demands (greater occupational stress) were associated with more emotional exhaustion, more depersonalization, and less personal accomplishment. Job resources (support from supervisors and friends or family members, reassurance of worth, opportunity for nurturing) were associated with less emotional exhaustion and higher levels of personal accomplishment. Interventions to reduce burnout that include a focus on stress and social support outside of work may be particularly beneficial for long-term care staff. © The Author(s) 2014.

Living PSA program for VVER 440/213 in the Czech Republic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Husak, S.; Patrik, M.

2000-01-01

The paper presents an overview of a Living PSA concept in the Czech Republic for the VVER 440/213 NPP Dukovany unit. The first step of PSA program was a Level 1 basic study for Unit No. 1 which was completed in 1995. The main objective of the study was to determine the risk level of full power operation and its contributors as well as to reveal the weak points of the plant. Living PSA program for a Level 1 study has been afterwards established as a framework for all activities related to risk assessment and risk based decision-making support in NPP Dukovany. The basic parts of the project are: a management of PSA models and studies to implement design and procedures, modifications or new data inputs from data collection; continuous improvement based of new analyses, experiments or more detailed models; an extensions of the scope (external events, all plant operating modes, other sources of radioactive releases). The Living PSA program in NPP Dukovany provides basis for three kinds of PSA activities: risk assessment applications, risk monitoring and risk assessment of operational. (author)

[PSA interest and prostatitis: literature review].

Science.gov (United States)

Bruyère, F; Amine Lakmichi, M

2013-12-01

Prostatitis is easily diagnosed but sometimes associated with PSA measurement. An increased PSA in an asymptomatic patient may be associated with antibiotic use to eliminate the inflammatory part and to confirm prostate biopsy. It seems interesting to confirm or infirm these attitudes with a systematic review of the literature We performed a literature review using the words [prostatitis], [acute prostatitis], [prostate specific antigen], [PSA], in the MEDLINE, Pubmed and AMBASE database searching for articles in French or English published in the past 20 years. PSA is not always increased during an acute prostatitis episode. An increased PSA in an asymptomatic man does not seem to be systematically correlated to prostate inflammation. Analyzing the studies, it seems inaccurate to measure PSA value during a febrile urinary infection episode in men. Systematic use of antibiotic to decrease PSA and not performing prostate biopsy is not relevant and may induce resistance to antibiotic and doesn't induce a reduction risk of having prostate biopsy. PSA is unnecessary in case of febrile urinary tract infection in men. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

State of the art on the probabilistic safety assessment (P.S.A.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devictor, N.; Bassi, A.; Saignes, P.; Bertrand, F.

2008-01-01

The use of Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) is internationally increasing as a means of assessing and improving the safety of nuclear and non-nuclear facilities. To support the development of a competence on Probabilistic Safety Assessment, a set of states of the art regarding these tools and their use has been made between 2001 and 2005, in particular on the following topics: - Definition of the PSA of level 1, 2 and 3; - Use of PSA in support to design and operation of nuclear plants (risk-informed applications); - Applications to Non Reactor Nuclear Facilities. The report compiled in a single document these states of the art in order to ensure a broader use; this work has been done in the frame of the Project 'Reliability and Safety of Nuclear Facility' of the Nuclear Development and Innovation Division of the Nuclear Energy Division. As some of these states of the art have been made in support to exchanges with international partners and were written in English, a section of this document is written in English. This work is now applied concretely in support to the design of 4. Generation nuclear systems as Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors and especially Gas-cooled Fast Reactor, that have been the subject of communications during the conferences ANS (Annual Meeting 2007), PSA'08, ICCAP'08 and in the journal Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations. (authors)

IC modelling in the IRSN EPR level 1 PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delache, J.

2012-01-01

Today in France, an EPR (European Pressurized Water Reactor) Unit is under construction at the Flamanville site. The creation authorization was granted in April 2007 and the plant commissioning is planned for 2012. The plant operator (EDF) provided for the construction license several PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment) studies. IRSN, as TSO (Technical Safety Organisation), wishes to dispose of the appropriate knowledge and tools for the independent verification of the operator studies and so developed its own model of PSA level 1. The goal is not to rebuild the plant operator PSA (with a full scope...) but to dispose of a simplified model able to clearly point out specific important issues. In the IRSN model a particular effort has recently been done on the Digital IC modelling. The IC (Instrumentation and Control) is modelled in the IRSN EPR PSA by using Fault Trees. Instead, EDF EPR PSA applies the COMPACT model to simplify the command and instrumentation logics. The IRSN model is more detailed in order to be more accurate in the global analysis of the Digital IC. For instance the communication ways between automates are considered as well as the failure of support systems. The model is still under development mainly in order to define the CCF (Common Cause Failure) which may be considered. (authors)

The percentage of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) isoform [-2]proPSA and the Prostate Health Index improve the diagnostic accuracy for clinically relevant prostate cancer at initial and repeat biopsy compared with total PSA and percentage free PSA in men aged ≤65 years.

Science.gov (United States)

Boegemann, Martin; Stephan, Carsten; Cammann, Henning; Vincendeau, Sébastien; Houlgatte, Alain; Jung, Klaus; Blanchet, Jean-Sebastien; Semjonow, Axel

2016-01-01

To prospectively test the diagnostic accuracy of the percentage of prostate specific antigen (PSA) isoform [-2]proPSA (%p2PSA) and the Prostate Health Index (PHI), and to determine their role for discrimination between significant and insignificant prostate cancer at initial and repeat prostate biopsy in men aged ≤65 years. The diagnostic performance of %p2PSA and PHI were evaluated in a multicentre study. In all, 769 men aged ≤65 years scheduled for initial or repeat prostate biopsy were recruited in four sites based on a total PSA (t-PSA) level of 1.6-8.0 ng/mL World Health Organization (WHO) calibrated (2-10 ng/mL Hybritech-calibrated). Serum samples were measured for the concentration of t-PSA, free PSA (f-PSA) and p2PSA with Beckman Coulter immunoassays on Access-2 or DxI800 instruments. PHI was calculated as (p2PSA/f-PSA × √t-PSA). Uni- and multivariable logistic regression models and an artificial neural network (ANN) were complemented by decision curve analysis (DCA). In univariate analysis %p2PSA and PHI were the best predictors of prostate cancer detection in all patients (area under the curve [AUC] 0.72 and 0.73, respectively), at initial (AUC 0.67 and 0.69) and repeat biopsy (AUC 0.74 and 0.74). t-PSA and %f-PSA performed less accurately for all patients (AUC 0.54 and 0.62). For detection of significant prostate cancer (based on Prostate Cancer Research International Active Surveillance [PRIAS] criteria) the %p2PSA and PHI equally demonstrated best performance (AUC 0.70 and 0.73) compared with t-PSA and %f-PSA (AUC 0.54 and 0.59). In multivariate analysis PHI we added to a base model of age, prostate volume, digital rectal examination, t-PSA and %f-PSA. PHI was strongest in predicting prostate cancer in all patients, at initial and repeat biopsy and for significant prostate cancer (AUC 0.73, 0.68, 0.78 and 0.72, respectively). In DCA for all patients the ANN showed the broadest threshold probability and best net benefit. PHI as single parameter

Towards a PSA harmonization French-Belgian comparison of the level 1 PSA for two similar PWR types

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dupuy, P.; Corenwinder, F.; Lanore, J.M.; Gryffroy, D.; Gelder, P. de; Hulsmans, M.

2002-06-01

In the framework of the cooperation between French and Belgian regulatory authorities, a PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment) comparison exercise has been carried out for several years. This comparison deals with two PSA level 1 studies for internal events, performed for both power and shutdown states: the French PSA of the 900 MWe-series PWR, and the Belgian PSA of the Tihange 1 PWR, which both concern PWRs with a similar Framatome design. The purpose of this paper is to describe the PSA comparison methodology and to present, in a qualitative way, an overview of the insights obtained up to now. It also shows that such an 'a posteriori' benchmark exercise turns out to be a step towards PSA harmonization, and gives more confidence in the results of plant specific PSA when used for applications like precursor analysis or evaluations of importance to safety. (authors)

PSA results and trends for Spain's NPPs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carretero, J.A.

1993-01-01

The Spain regulatory authority CSN demanded performance of PSA for all Spain nuclear power plants. The specific data analysis carried out as a part of the PSA has contributed to the realistic view on the results which could be achieved by the PSA. The main characteristics of the PSA in Spain and PSA trends in the development are presented in the paper

Staff views on supporting evidence based practice for children with ASD.

Science.gov (United States)

Trembath, David; Sulek, Rhylee; Paynter, Jessica; Simpson, Kate; Keen, Deb

2017-11-22

A variety of empirically supported interventions are available for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but previous research suggests that their selection and use within an evidence-based practice (EBP) framework in clinical settings is challenging. To date, research has primarily focused on identifying individual, organisational, and contextual barriers to EBP rather than identifying collaborative solutions to these barriers through consultation with staff. The aim of our study was to explore staff views on supporting EBP in their work with children with ASD. We conducted five focus groups involving 29 professional (e.g., speech pathologists, teachers), paraprofessional (e.g., childcare workers), and managerial staff to explore their views. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Two central themes, comprising six categories, emerged to account for the participants' views. Initiative and Effort accounted for the range of creative strategies staff had developed to support their engagement in EBP. They also expressed the need for A Better Way involving organisational-wide support such as this engagement, including peer-to-peer mentoring. The findings suggest that an organisational-wide model to support engagement in EBP, with peer-to-peer mentoring at its foundation, may provide a desirable, ecologically valid, and acceptable model. Implications for Rehabilitation Clinicians and educators recognise the importance of evidence-based practice. Efforts to support evidence-based practice have focused mostly on access to research evidence. Clinicians and educators in this study were developing their own strategies based on intuition. They identified a need for organisation-wide approaches to supporting evidence-based practice. Peer-to-peer mentoring appears to be an acceptable and viable strategy.

Clinical performance of serum [-2]proPSA derivatives, %p2PSA and PHI, in the detection and management of prostate cancer

OpenAIRE

Huang, Ya-Qiang; Sun, Tong; Zhong, Wei-De; Wu, Chin-Lee

2014-01-01

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been widely used as a serum marker for prostate cancer (PCa) screening or progression monitoring, which dramatically increased rate of early detection while significantly reduced PCa-specific mortality. However, a number of limitations of PSA have been noticed. Low specificity of PSA may lead to overtreatment in men who presenting with a total PSA (tPSA) level of < 10 ng/mL. As a type of free PSA (fPSA), [-2]proPSA is differentially expressed in peripheral ...

UV/EB curable psa's

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glotfelter, C.A.

1995-01-01

The author describe both water-based and 100% solids UV/EB curable PSA's (Pressure Sensitive Adhesives) and their properties. A new acrylate monomer, ethoxylated nonyl phenol acrylate, has great utility in the formulation of water-based PSA's

The Planetary Science Archive (PSA): Exploration and discovery of scientific datasets from ESA's planetary missions

Science.gov (United States)

Vallat, C.; Besse, S.; Barbarisi, I.; Arviset, C.; De Marchi, G.; Barthelemy, M.; Coia, D.; Costa, M.; Docasal, R.; Fraga, D.; Heather, D. J.; Lim, T.; Macfarlane, A.; Martinez, S.; Rios, C.; Vallejo, F.; Said, J.

2017-09-01

The Planetary Science Archive (PSA) is the European Space Agency's (ESA) repository of science data from all planetary science and exploration missions. The PSA provides access to scientific datasets through various interfaces at http://psa.esa.int. All datasets are scientifically peer-reviewed by independent scientists, and are compliant with the Planetary Data System (PDS) standards. The PSA has started to implement a number of significant improvements, mostly driven by the evolution of the PDS standards, and the growing need for better interfaces and advanced applications to support science exploitation.

THE DISCRIMINATIVE ABILITY OF PERCENT FREE PSA IN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Blood samples were collected from all patients, and total PSA, free PSA and % free PSA were calculated in all specimens. Total PSA was measured using the Imx ... Un prélèvement de sang a été réalisé chez tous les patients avec un dosage du PSA total et de la fraction libre de PSA. Le PSA total a été mesuré par un kit ...

Insulin promotes cell migration by regulating PSA-NCAM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monzo, Hector J.; Coppieters, Natacha [Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland (New Zealand); Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland (New Zealand); Park, Thomas I.H. [Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland (New Zealand); Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland (New Zealand); Dieriks, Birger V.; Faull, Richard L.M. [Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland (New Zealand); Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland (New Zealand); Dragunow, Mike [Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland (New Zealand); Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland (New Zealand); Curtis, Maurice A., E-mail: m.curtis@auckland.ac.nz [Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland (New Zealand); Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland (New Zealand)

2017-06-01

Cellular interactions with the extracellular environment are modulated by cell surface polysialic acid (PSA) carried by the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). PSA-NCAM is involved in cellular processes such as differentiation, plasticity, and migration, and is elevated in Alzheimer's disease as well as in metastatic tumour cells. Our previous work demonstrated that insulin enhances the abundance of cell surface PSA by inhibiting PSA-NCAM endocytosis. In the present study we have identified a mechanism for insulin-dependent inhibition of PSA-NCAM turnover affecting cell migration. Insulin enhanced the phosphorylation of the focal adhesion kinase leading to dissociation of αv-integrin/PSA-NCAM clusters, and promoted cell migration. Our results show that αv-integrin plays a key role in the PSA-NCAM turnover process. αv-integrin knockdown stopped PSA-NCAM from being endocytosed, and αv-integrin/PSA-NCAM clusters co-labelled intracellularly with Rab5, altogether indicating a role for αv-integrin as a carrier for PSA-NCAM during internalisation. Furthermore, inhibition of p-FAK caused dissociation of αv-integrin/PSA-NCAM clusters and counteracted the insulin-induced accumulation of PSA at the cell surface and cell migration was impaired. Our data reveal a functional association between the insulin/p-FAK-dependent regulation of PSA-NCAM turnover and cell migration through the extracellular matrix. Most importantly, they identify a novel mechanism for insulin-stimulated cell migration. - Highlights: • Insulin modulates PSA-NCAM turnover through upregulation of p-FAK. • P-FAK modulates αv-integrin/PSA-NCAM clustering. • αv-integrin acts as a carrier for PSA-NCAM endocytosis. • Cell migration is promoted by cell surface PSA. • Insulin promotes PSA-dependent migration in vitro.

Insulin promotes cell migration by regulating PSA-NCAM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monzo, Hector J.; Coppieters, Natacha; Park, Thomas I.H.; Dieriks, Birger V.; Faull, Richard L.M.; Dragunow, Mike; Curtis, Maurice A.

2017-01-01

Cellular interactions with the extracellular environment are modulated by cell surface polysialic acid (PSA) carried by the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). PSA-NCAM is involved in cellular processes such as differentiation, plasticity, and migration, and is elevated in Alzheimer's disease as well as in metastatic tumour cells. Our previous work demonstrated that insulin enhances the abundance of cell surface PSA by inhibiting PSA-NCAM endocytosis. In the present study we have identified a mechanism for insulin-dependent inhibition of PSA-NCAM turnover affecting cell migration. Insulin enhanced the phosphorylation of the focal adhesion kinase leading to dissociation of αv-integrin/PSA-NCAM clusters, and promoted cell migration. Our results show that αv-integrin plays a key role in the PSA-NCAM turnover process. αv-integrin knockdown stopped PSA-NCAM from being endocytosed, and αv-integrin/PSA-NCAM clusters co-labelled intracellularly with Rab5, altogether indicating a role for αv-integrin as a carrier for PSA-NCAM during internalisation. Furthermore, inhibition of p-FAK caused dissociation of αv-integrin/PSA-NCAM clusters and counteracted the insulin-induced accumulation of PSA at the cell surface and cell migration was impaired. Our data reveal a functional association between the insulin/p-FAK-dependent regulation of PSA-NCAM turnover and cell migration through the extracellular matrix. Most importantly, they identify a novel mechanism for insulin-stimulated cell migration. - Highlights: • Insulin modulates PSA-NCAM turnover through upregulation of p-FAK. • P-FAK modulates αv-integrin/PSA-NCAM clustering. • αv-integrin acts as a carrier for PSA-NCAM endocytosis. • Cell migration is promoted by cell surface PSA. • Insulin promotes PSA-dependent migration in vitro.

Prevalence and causes of abnormal PSA recovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Lautenbach, Noémie; Müntener, Michael; Zanoni, Paolo; Saleh, Lanja; Saba, Karim; Umbehr, Martin; Velagapudi, Srividya; Hof, Danielle; Sulser, Tullio; Wild, Peter J; von Eckardstein, Arnold; Poyet, Cédric

2018-01-26

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is of paramount importance as a diagnostic tool for the detection and monitoring of patients with prostate cancer. In the presence of interfering factors such as heterophilic antibodies or anti-PSA antibodies the PSA test can yield significantly falsified results. The prevalence of these factors is unknown. We determined the recovery of PSA concentrations diluting patient samples with a standard serum of known PSA concentration. Based on the frequency distribution of recoveries in a pre-study on 268 samples, samples with recoveries 120% were defined as suspect, re-tested and further characterized to identify the cause of interference. A total of 1158 consecutive serum samples were analyzed. Four samples (0.3%) showed reproducibly disturbed recoveries of 10%, 68%, 166% and 4441%. In three samples heterophilic antibodies were identified as the probable cause, in the fourth anti-PSA-autoantibodies. The very low recovery caused by the latter interference was confirmed in serum, as well as heparin- and EDTA plasma of blood samples obtained 6 months later. Analysis by eight different immunoassays showed recoveries ranging between PSA which however did not show any disturbed PSA recovery. About 0.3% of PSA determinations by the electrochemiluminescence assay (ECLIA) of Roche diagnostics are disturbed by heterophilic or anti-PSA autoantibodies. Although they are rare, these interferences can cause relevant misinterpretations of a PSA test result.

Management and organisational factors in PSA; Organisations- und Management-Faktoren in der PSA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balfanz, H.P. [TUEV Nord e.V., Hamburg (Germany)

1999-04-01

The constraints of PSA are increasingly considered with increasing application of PSA for the safety management of nuclear power plants (see US-NRC, 'Risk Informed Regulation', NRC-1). There is a vivid international discourse about the applicability of the variables of plant management and organisation in PSAs, which has lead to a great variety of research activities into this matter (see PSAM 4). This paper here summarizes the current state of progress of research work and discusses the applicability of results. The studies for comparative assessment of methodology and results were performed by the TUeV Nord under the roof of the BMU/BfS-sponsored project SR 2260, ''Further development of probabilistic methods for nuclear power plant safety assessment. (orig./CB) [German] Mit zunehmender Anwendung der PSA (Probabilistische Sicherheitsanalyse) im Sicherheitsmanagement von KKW (vergl. US-NRC, Einfuehrung des Konzepts 'Risk Informed Regulation' NRC-1) gewinnt die Beachtung der Grenzen der PSA zusaetzliche Bedeutung. International ist eine intensive Diskussion ueber die Moeglichkeiten einer Einbindung der Einflussgroesse von Organisation und Management in der PSA zu verzeichnen und wird belegt durch vielfaeltige Forschungs- und Entwicklungsarbeiten (vergl. PSAM 4). Dieser Beitrag setzt sich in erster Linie mit diesem Entwicklungsstand auseinander und diskutiert seinen Anwendungsstand fuer die PSA. Die hierzu vom TUeV Nord durchgefuehrten Arbeiten basieren auf dem BMU/BfS-Vorhaben SR 2260, 'Weiterentwicklung probabilistischer Methoden zur Sicherheitsbeurteilung von KKW'. (orig.)

Staff Concerns in Schools Planning for and Implementing School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports

Science.gov (United States)

Tyre, Ashli D.; Feuerborn, Laura L.; Woods, Leslie

2018-01-01

Understanding staff concerns about a systemic change effort allows leadership teams to better anticipate and address staff needs for professional development and support. In this study, staff concerns in nine schools planning for or implementing School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) were explored using the…

Development of the SKI Handbook for reviewing PSA after the review of the of a PSA level 2 study; Utveckling av SKIs Tillsynshandbok foer PSA utifraan granskningen av en PSA Nivaa-2 studie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lindholm, Ilona; Sairanen, Risto [VTT Processes, Helsinki (Finland)

2003-02-01

A review of the Oskarshamn 2 Level 2 PSA has been conducted by VTT Processes. One objective of the review was validation and development of Tillsynshandbok PSA applying it to Oskarshamn 2 PSA Level 2 study. The review was based on the PSA Level 2 documentation: the main report, the supporting reports on containment success criteria and release calculations with the MAAP4 code, and five phenomenological reports for selected specific questions. The main result of the phenomenological analyses is that none of the phenomena considered contributes to the conditional failure probability of the Oskarshamn 2 containment in severe accidents. The project was conducted as a set of separate studies and the project quality assurance has also focused on one part at the time. As such, the quality assurance is adequate. A high level QA ensuring that all separate studies and analysis steps use same assumptions seems to be missing. Results from the phenomenology reports are not always transferred to accident analyses and vice versa. There is no specific discussion of uncertainty or sensitivity analyses. In general, the number of sensitivity analyses could be larger. Such should have been provided for sequences or phenomena that could result in early or unmitigated release. Examples are pressure vessel failure at high pressure, the effect of larger hydrogen production, and the key assumptions used for steam explosion and direct containment heating. Suggestions for additional sensitivity studies have been given in discussion of phenomenological reports. The project documentation is generally good. Missing information is usually associated with transfer of results from one study to another. It can be assumed that the information exists also in this cases but has not been documented in the reports above. Documentation of the containment event trees and the assumptions used for them could be more detailed, maybe similar to the approach used in the Appendix of this report. More effort

Time to PSA rise differentiates the PSA bounce after HDR and LDR brachytherapy of prostate cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Burchardt, Wojciech; Skowronek, Janusz

2018-02-01

To investigate the differences in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) bounce (PB) after high-dose-rate (HDR-BT) or low-dose-rate (LDR-BT) brachytherapy alone in prostate cancer patients. Ninety-four patients with localized prostate cancer (T1-T2cN0), age ranged 50-81 years, were treated with brachytherapy alone between 2008 and 2010. Patients were diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, Gleason score ≤ 7. The LDR-BT total dose was 144-145 Gy, in HDR-BT - 3 fractions of 10.5 or 15 Gy. The initial PSA level (iPSA) was assessed before treatment, then PSA was rated every 3 months over the first 2 years, and every 6 months during the next 3 years. Median follow-up was 3.0 years. Mean iPSA was 7.8 ng/ml. In 58 cases, PSA decreased gradually without PB or biochemical failure (BF). In 24% of patients, PB was observed. In 23 cases (24%), PB was observed using 0.2 ng/ml definition; in 10 cases (11%), BF was diagnosed using nadir + 2 ng/ml definition. The HDR-BT and LDR-BT techniques were not associated with higher level of PB (26 vs. 22%, p = 0.497). Time to the first PSA rise finished with PB was significantly shorter after HDR-BT then after LDR-BT (median, 10.5 vs. 18.0 months) during follow-up. Predictors for PB were observed only after HDR-BT. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and higher Gleason score decreased the risk of PB (HR = 0.11, p = 0.03; HR = 0.51, p = 0.01). The higher PSA nadir and longer time to PSA nadir increased the risk of PB (HR 3.46, p = 0.02; HR 1.04, p = 0.04). There was no predictors for PB after LDR-BT. HDR-BT and LDR-BT for low and intermediate risk prostate cancer had similar PB rate. The PB occurred earlier after HDR-BT than after LDR-BT. ADT and higher Gleason score decreased, and higher PSA nadir and longer time to PSA nadir increased the risk of PB after HDR-BT.

State of the art of probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) in the FRG, and principles of a PSA-guideline

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balfanz, H.P.

1987-01-01

Contents of the articles: Survey of PSA performed during licensing procedures of an NPP; German Nuclear Standards' requirements on the reliability of safety systems; PSA-guideline for NPP: Principles and suggestions; Motivation and tasks of PSA; Aspects of the methodology of safety analyses; Structure of event tree and fault tree analyses; Extent of safety analyses; Performance and limits of PSA. (orig./HSCH)

Experience from the comparison of two PSA-studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holmberg, J.; Pulkkinen, U.

2001-03-01

Two probabilistic safety assessments (PSA) made for nearly identical reactors units (Forsmark 3 and Oskarshamn 3) have been compared. Two different analysis teams made the PSAs, and the analyses became quite different. The goal of the study is to identify, clarify and explain differences between PSA-studies. The purpose is to understand limitations and uncertainties in PSA, to explain reasons for differences between PSA-studies, and to give recommendations for comparison of PSA-studies and for improving the PSA-methodology. The reviews have been made by reading PSA-documentation, using the computer model and interviewing persons involved in the projects. The method and findings have been discussed within the project group. Both the PSA-project and various parts in the PSA-model have been reviewed. A major finding was that the two projects had different purpose and thus had different resources, scope and even methods in their study. The study shows that comparison of PSA results from different plants is normally not meaningful. It takes a very deep knowledge of the PSA studies to make a comparison of the results and usually one has to ensure that the compared studies have the same scope and are based on the same analysis methods. Harmonisation of the PSA-methodology is recommended in the presentation of results, presentation of methods, scope main limitation and assumption, and definitions for end states, initiating events and common cause failures. This would facilitate the comparison of the studies. Methods for validation of PSA for different application areas should be developed. The developed PSA review standards can be applied for a general validation of a study. The most important way to evaluate the real feasibility of PSA can take place only with practical applications. The PSA-documentation and models can be developed to facilitate the communication between PSA-experts and users. In any application consultation with the PSA-expert is however needed. Many

Blackpool: More evidence on PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cullingford, M.

1985-01-01

PSA is spreading widely throughout the world, with 30 IAEA Member States having active programmes in this area. The main reason for its popularity is that it offers insights critical in the safety decision-making process available from no other method. It allows power plant designers, regulators, and operators to discriminate between issues important to safety and those which are trivial. Although it is beneficial to perform a PSA to utilize the potential products available from such a study, it is especially important to realize that the PSA process itself is a valuable experience. The main points such as potential users of PSA, safety evaluations, treatment of uncertainties as well as future trends are briefly discussed in this paper

Development of PSA audit guideline and regulatory PSA model for SMART

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Namchul; Lee, Chang-Ju; Kim, I.S.

2012-01-01

SMART is under development for dual purposes of power generation and seawater desalination in Korea. It is an integral reactor type with a thermal power output of 330 MW and employs advanced design features such as a passive system for the removal of residual heat and also the setting of all the components of the primary system inside the reactor pressure vessel. It is essential to develop new probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) validation guidance for SMART. For the purpose of regulatory verification to the risk level of SMART, the insights and key issues on the PSA are identified with referring some worldwide safety guides as well as its design characteristics. Regulatory PSA model under the development for the design confirmation and its preliminary result are also described. (authors)

Level 1 PSA study of Mochovce unit 1 NPP (SM AA 10 and 08)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cillik, I.

1997-01-01

This paper presents genesis of Level 1 PSA project preparation for all operational modes of Mochovce NPP unit 1 including the description of its' main objectives, scope and working method. The PSA study which includes full power (FPSA) as well as shutdown and low power conditions (SPSA) Level 1 PSA has to support the nuclear safety improvements of the unit. They evaluate the basic design and the benefits of all improvements, which were found necessary to be incorporated before the start-up of the unit. The study includes internal events (transients and under-loss of coolant accident, LOCAs), internal hazards as fires and floods and selected external hazards as earthquake, influence of external industry, extreme meteorological conditions and aircraft crash.The PSA (both FPSA and SPSA) models is developed using the RISK SPECTRUM PSA code. (author)

External Events PSA for the Paks NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bareith, Attila; Karsa, Zoltan; Siklossy, Tamas; Vida, Zoltan

2014-01-01

quantification and interpretation of results. The risk of core damage induced by natural external hazards was quantified to the extent seen feasible. In addition to risk quantification, unresolved issues and necessary follow-on analyses were identified and proposed. At present an action plan is being developed for these analyses. Core damage risk has been assessed quantitatively for wind, snow and frost hazards. Detailed importance, sensitivity and uncertainty analyses were conducted. Moreover the main risk contributors induced by these external events were also identified. Additional follow-on analyses were proposed to enable an improved risk quantification by means of reducing uncertainties, establishing a better technical basis for the applied analytical assumptions, or decreasing unnecessarily high conservatism. Based on the findings of hazard assessment and plant response analysis, the core damage risk induced by extreme rainfall and lightning was found to be insignificant. However, some follow-on analyses were proposed and safety enhancement measures were conceptualised to fully underpin this conclusion. Due to lack of appropriate data and supporting analysis on the capacity of plant systems and components no PSA model has been developed yet for extreme temperatures. Follow-on analyses necessary for quantifying the risk of core damage induced by extreme temperatures have been identified. (authors)

ASAMPSA-E guidance for level 2 PSA Volume 2. Implementing external Events modelling in Level 2 PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cazzoli, E.; Vitazkova, J.; Loeffler, H.; Burgazzi, L.

2016-01-01

The objective of the present document is to provide guidance on the implementation of external events into an 'extended' L2 PSA. It has to be noted that L2 PSA addresses issues beginning with fuel degradation and ending with the release of radionuclides into the environment. Therefore, the present document may touch upon, but does not evaluate explicitly issues that involve events or phenomena which occur before the fuel begins to degrade. Following the accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi, the nuclear safety community has realized that much attention should be given to the areas of operator interventions and accidents that may develop at the same time in more than one unit if they are initiated by one or more common external events. For this reason and to fulfill the PSA end-users' wish list (as reflected by an ASAMPSA-E survey), the attention is mostly focused on interface between L1 and L2 PSA, fragility analysis, human response analysis and some consideration is given to L2 PSA modeling of severe accidents for multiple unit sites, even though it is premature to provide extensive guidance in this area. The following recommendations, mentioned in various sections within this document, are summarized here: 1. Vulnerability/fragility analyses should be performed with respect to all external hazards and all structures, systems and components potentially affected that could be relevant to L2 PSA, 2. Importance should be given to the assessment of human performance following extreme external events; for extreme circumstances with high stress level, low confidence is justified for SAM human interventions and for such conditions, human interventions could be analyzed as sensitivity cases only in L2 PSA, 3. Results presentation should include assessment of total risk measures compared with risk targets able to assess all contributions to the risk and to judge properly the safety, 4. Total risk measures shall be associated to appropriate information on all

Supporting informed decision making for prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing on the web: an online randomized controlled trial.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Evans, R.; Joseph-Williams, N.; Edwards, A.; Newcombe, R.G.; Wright, P.; Kinnersley, P.; Griffiths, J.; Jones, M.; Williams, J.; Grol, R.P.T.M.; Elwyn, G.

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND: Men considering the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer, an increasingly common male cancer, are encouraged to make informed decisions, as the test is limited in its accuracy and the natural history of the condition is poorly understood. The Web-based PSA decision

Murine polyomavirus virus-like particles carrying full-length human PSA protect BALB/c mice from outgrowth of a PSA expressing tumor.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mathilda Eriksson

Full Text Available Virus-like particles (VLPs consist of capsid proteins from viruses and have been shown to be usable as carriers of protein and peptide antigens for immune therapy. In this study, we have produced and assayed murine polyomavirus (MPyV VLPs carrying the entire human Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA (PSA-MPyVLPs for their potential use for immune therapy in a mouse model system. BALB/c mice immunized with PSA-MPyVLPs were only marginally protected against outgrowth of a PSA-expressing tumor. To improve protection, PSA-MPyVLPs were co-injected with adjuvant CpG, either alone or loaded onto murine dendritic cells (DCs. Immunization with PSA-MPyVLPs loaded onto DCs in the presence of CpG was shown to efficiently protect mice from tumor outgrowth. In addition, cellular and humoral immune responses after immunization were examined. PSA-specific CD4(+ and CD8(+ cells were demonstrated, but no PSA-specific IgG antibodies. Vaccination with DCs loaded with PSA-MPyVLPs induced an eight-fold lower titre of anti-VLP antibodies than vaccination with PSA-MPyVLPs alone. In conclusion, immunization of BALB/c mice with PSA-MPyVLPs, loaded onto DCs and co-injected with CpG, induces an efficient PSA-specific tumor protective immune response, including both CD4(+ and CD8(+ cells with a low induction of anti-VLP antibodies.

Murine Polyomavirus Virus-Like Particles Carrying Full-Length Human PSA Protect BALB/c Mice from Outgrowth of a PSA Expressing Tumor

Science.gov (United States)

Eriksson, Mathilda; Andreasson, Kalle; Weidmann, Joachim; Lundberg, Kajsa; Tegerstedt, Karin

2011-01-01

Virus-like particles (VLPs) consist of capsid proteins from viruses and have been shown to be usable as carriers of protein and peptide antigens for immune therapy. In this study, we have produced and assayed murine polyomavirus (MPyV) VLPs carrying the entire human Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) (PSA-MPyVLPs) for their potential use for immune therapy in a mouse model system. BALB/c mice immunized with PSA-MPyVLPs were only marginally protected against outgrowth of a PSA-expressing tumor. To improve protection, PSA-MPyVLPs were co-injected with adjuvant CpG, either alone or loaded onto murine dendritic cells (DCs). Immunization with PSA-MPyVLPs loaded onto DCs in the presence of CpG was shown to efficiently protect mice from tumor outgrowth. In addition, cellular and humoral immune responses after immunization were examined. PSA-specific CD4+ and CD8+ cells were demonstrated, but no PSA-specific IgG antibodies. Vaccination with DCs loaded with PSA-MPyVLPs induced an eight-fold lower titre of anti-VLP antibodies than vaccination with PSA-MPyVLPs alone. In conclusion, immunization of BALB/c mice with PSA-MPyVLPs, loaded onto DCs and co-injected with CpG, induces an efficient PSA-specific tumor protective immune response, including both CD4+ and CD8+ cells with a low induction of anti-VLP antibodies. PMID:21858228

THE ROLE OF SUPPORT GROUPS IN THE COOPERATION BETWEEN PARENTS OF PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND PROFESSIONAL STAFF

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Metka NOVAK

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: One of the ways of building and developing a better cooperative relationship between parents of people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities and professional staff is the inclusion of parents in support groups for parents and staff in support groups for staff. Goal: To examine the correlation of the level of cooperative relationship between the parents of people with severe and profound intellectual disabilities and professional staff with the inclusion of parents in support groups for parents and staff in support groups for staff. Methodology: Respondents: parents (296 of people with severe and profound learning disabilities and staff (298 in five centres across Slovenia; Methods: descriptive statistics, test of homogeneity, the rankit method, one-way analysis of variance; Procedures: survey questionnaires for parents and staff. The data was processed using SPSS software for personal computers. Results: The difference between the variances of the groups (parent found is statistically significant (F = 6.16; p = 0.01. Staff included in support groups have a significantly lower level of cooperative relationship with parents (f=10; M = - 0.12 than staff not included in these groups (f = 191; M = 0.04. Conclusion:In contrast to theoretical findings the results indicated less successful cooperation for professional staff included in support groups. The results furthermore did not confirm any differences in the cooperative relationship of parents included in support groups and those who are not. We suggest an in-depth analysis of the workings of support groups.

Issues reporting PSA in prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lange, Paul H.

1996-01-01

The National Cancer Institute Prostate; Lung; Colon; Ovarian Cancer Screening (PLCO) project is a multi-center trial developed to investigate the effectiveness of DRE and PSA testing in the early detection and outcome of patients with prostate cancer. Accordingly, the Prostate Cancer Intervention versus Observation Trial (PIVOT) has been launched and is a randomized trial comparing radical prostatectomy versus expectant management for ALCaP. PSA: Initially PSA was thought to be of little value for diagnosis because 20% of men undergoing radical prostatectomy have 'normal' PSA and patients with apparently only symptomatic BPH have 'elevated' levels as follows: 4-10 ng/ml (Tandem-R) - 20%, >10 ng/ml -3%. Yet, PSA has looked attractive as a diagnostic tool in many studies; for example, when PSA was used in a screening approach as the first test which then drove further evaluation (Catalona, Brawer). It was shown that the positive predictive value for PSA's between 4 and 10 is approximately 20% and > 10 approximately 55%. The value of serial PSA's (velocity) is unknown but is under intense study: one major issue is determination of what represents a significant rise (details to be presented). Studies have also revealed that a DRE and PSA are important for optimal results. About 18% of clinically detectable cancers are only DRE positive while about 25 - 30% are only PSA positive. When both a DRE and PSA are used together, very few clinically apparent cancers are missed (3-5%). Recent ROC curves suggest that 4 ng/ml is reasonable. Recently, PSA values for men without apparent cancer were stratified by age, and taking the 2SD, age specific reference values were generated as follows: age 40-49 (0-2.5 ng/ml), 50-59 (0-3.5), 60-69 (0-4.5), 70-70 (0-6.5). Finally, there is the issue about different PSA assays regarding the compatabilities/reliability of the upper limit of normal and serial values. Much of the confusion is because there is no international PSA standard and

A PSA study for the SMART basic design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Sang Hoon; Kim, H. C.; Yang, S. H.; Lee, D. J.

2002-03-01

SMART (System-Integrated Modular Advanced Reactor) is under development that is an advanced integral type small and medium category nuclear power reactor with the rated thermal power of 330 MW. A Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA) for the SMART basic design has been performed to evaluate the safety and optimize the design. Currently, the basic design is done and the detailed design is not available for the SMART, we made several assumptions about the system design before performing the PSA. The scope of the PSA was limited to the Level-1 internal full power PSA. The level-2 and 3 PSA, the external PSA, and the low power/shutdown PSA will be performed in the final design stage

PSA methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magne, L.

1996-01-01

The purpose of this text is first to ask a certain number of questions on the methods related to PSAs. Notably we will explore the positioning of the French methodological approach - as applied in the EPS 1300 1 and EPS 900 2 PSAs - compared to other approaches (Part One). This reflection leads to more general reflection: what contents, for what PSA? This is why, in Part Two, we will try to offer a framework for definition of the criteria a PSA should satisfy to meet the clearly identified needs. Finally, Part Three will quickly summarize the questions approached in the first two parts, as an introduction to the debate. 15 refs

PSA in America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linn, M.A.; Cunningham, M.A.; Johnson, D.H.

1996-01-01

Although the concept of acceptable risk has always been the foundation of the nuclear industry design, the use of formal PSA (or PRA-probabilistic risk assessment) in the U.S. nuclear power industry has followed an unusual path in arriving at its current level of notability. Prior to 1975, probabilistic evaluations were limited to a few specific applications such as the evaluation of man-made (i.e., airplane crashes) and natural (i.e., earthquakes) hazards. In 1975, the industry was introduced to comprehensive PSA by the Reactor Safety Study (WASH-1400). However, the study languished in relative obscurity until the accident at Three Mile Island 2 (TMI-2) in 1979. This event significantly altered the industry's view of severe accidents in the U.S. and worldwide. Investigative committees of TMI-2 recommended that PSA techniques be more widely used to augment the traditional deterministic methods of determining nuclear plant safety. This initiated an unprecedented effort by nuclear regulators and licensees worldwide to significantly improve the state of knowledge of severe accidents at nuclear power plants. In the U.S., use of PSA began to increase as evidenced by its application in the anticipated transient without scram and station blackout rulemakings, generic issue prioritization and resolution, risk-based inspection guidelines, backfit policy, and technical specification improvements. However, broad application of probabilistic techniques to the industry as a whole was initiated in 1986 with the publication of Safety Goals for the Operation of Nuclear Power Plant; Policy Statement. This put PSA front and center in the U.S. regulatory arena by open-quotes establish[ing] goals that broadly define an acceptable level of radiological risk that might be imposed on the public as a result of nuclear power plant operation.close quotes Both qualitative safety goals and quantitative objectives were articulated in this policy statement

Seismic Level 2 PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dirksen, Gerben; Pellissetti, Manuel; Duncan-Whiteman, Paul

2014-01-01

For most external events, the calculation of the core damage frequency (CDF) in Level 1 PSA is sufficient to be able to show that the contribution of the event to the plant risk is negligible. However, it is not sufficient to compare the CDF due to the external event to the total plant CDF; instead the Level 1 PSA result for the event should be compared to the large early release frequency (LERF), or alternatively arguments should be given why the CDF from the external event will not contribute mostly to LERF. For seismic events in particular, it can often not be easily excluded that sequences leading to core damage would not also result in LERF. Since the confinement function is one of the most essential functions for Level 2 PSA, special care must be taken of the containment penetrations. For example systems with containment penetrations that are normally closed during operation or are designed to withstand more than the maximum containment pressure are normally screened out in the Level 2 PSA for the containment isolation function, however the possibility of LOCA in such systems due to an earthquake may nevertheless lead to containment bypass. Additionally, the functionality of passive features may be compromised in case of a beyond design earthquake. In the present paper, we present crucial ingredients of a methodology for a Level 2 seismic PSA. This methodology consists of the following steps: Extension of the seismic equipment list (SEL) to include Level 2 PSA relevant systems (e.g. containment isolation system, features for core melt stabilization, hydrogen mitigation systems), Determination of the systems within the existing SEL with increased demands in case of severe accidents, Determination of essential components for which a dedicated fragility analysis needs to be performed. (author)

The open PSA standard as a framework for migration of probabilistic models. Experiences with the KKB PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, G.; Hussels, U.; Epstein, S.; Rauzy, A.; Schubert, B.

2008-01-01

In its present state, the open PSA standard is helpful to determine capabilities of PSA approaches, which have been taken into account by those who formulated it. As soon, as tools come up, which can automatically bring a given PSA into the standard form, the data will be accessible by other software tools, which either are supplementary to the original one, or they may act in the context of quality control. Taking into account, that a PSA model represents a value of some two to ten person years (dependent on level of completeness and level of detail), it is important to have the data in a transparent way, which does not depend on proprietary formats, and can thus be used for more purposes than those, which are implemented in given PSA codes. (orig.)

Clinical diagnostic value of combined determination of serum tPSA, cPSA and IGF-I levels in patients with prostatic disorders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Bashan; Zhang Zigang; Lai Fudi

2008-01-01

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic value of combined determination of serum total prostatic specific antigen (tPSA), complex prostatic specific antigen (cPSA) and IGF-I levels in patients with prostatic disorders. Methods: Serum tPSA, cPSA (with CLIA) and IGF-I (with IRMA) levels were determined in 41 patients with prostatic carcinoma, 60 patients with benign prosta- tic hypertrophy (BPH) and 55 controls. Results: The serum tPSA, cPSA and IGF-I levels in patients with prostatic cancer were significantly higher than those in patients with BPH and controls (P<0.01). Taking the cut-off values of 4ng/ml, 3.6ng/ml and 150 for tPSA, cPSA and IGF-I respectively, the combined determination of these three items would yield a sensitivity of 88.6%, specificity of 84.9%, positive predicative value of 83% and negative predicative value of 90.0% for diagnosis of prostatic cancer. Conclusion: Combined determination of tPSA, cPSA and IGF-I would yield better sensitive and accurate diagnostic rate in patients with prostatic cancer, especially in those with laboratory values within the 'grey zone'. (authors)

How Do Staff Perceive Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports? Implications for Teams in Planning and Implementing Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Feuerborn, Laura L.; Tyre, Ashli D.

2016-01-01

Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) offers an alternative to reactive and exclusionary school discipline practices. However, the shift to SWPBS requires substantial change in the practices of staff, and many leadership teams struggle to rally staff support for implementation. With a more thorough understanding of staff perceptions, level…

Association of PSA, free-PSA and testosteron levels in serum of patients with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiwin Mailana; Kristina Dwi P; Sri Insani WW; Puji Widayati

2015-01-01

Prostate cancer screening can be done by measuring the concentration levels of PSA, free-PSA and testosterone in serum that examined with radioimmunoassay (RIA). A total of 30 patients of 45-81 years old had enrolled in this study and were taken their venous blood. The aim of research is to know the relationship between PSA and testosterone free-PSA with BPH and prostate cancer. Results showed that there was no correlation between age with BPH and prostate cancer (p = 0.06), but there is a relationship between PSA with BPH and prostate cancer (p = 0.002), the relationship between free-PSA with BPH and prostate cancer (p = 0.001). No correlation was found between PSA ratio with BPH and prostate cancer as well as the absence of a relationship between testosterone with BPH and prostate cancer (p = 0.924). (author)

Interoperability in the Planetary Science Archive (PSA)

Science.gov (United States)

Rios Diaz, C.

2017-09-01

The protocols and standards currently being supported by the recently released new version of the Planetary Science Archive at this time are the Planetary Data Access Protocol (PDAP), the EuroPlanet- Table Access Protocol (EPN-TAP) and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards. We explore these protocols in more detail providing scientifically useful examples of their usage within the PSA.

Academic Staff's Views About International Scholarships and Support Programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Ertaç ATİLA

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to determine views of academic staff who have been to the United States in order to do a research study by means of scholarships and support programs provided by the Higher Education Council or Scientific or Technological Research Council of Turkey about the scholarship programs. The qualitative study is carried out as a holistic multiple case study research design. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews from 10 academic staff who participated the scholarship program. Data were analyzed with content analysis technique. The results indicated that application process, time and financial resources were important for the preferences of academic staff in scholarship and support programs. The main reasons for applying the scholar program to undertake an international research study are grouped under three headings as academic, socio-cultural and foreign language improvements. The main influencing factors behind the researchers' preferences to go the United States are its' level of advancements in scientific research and peer influence. Concerning the duration of a research study in abroad the participants thought that 6 months to one year is adequate time and this time depends on the foreign language skills of the researchers, the field of study, subject and project. The main drawbacks of an international research study visit are the long waiting times for having the United States visa with no adequate support, the cost of health insurance and visa, lack of speaking foreign language skills, and adaptation time in the first arrival. As a result, the experienced participants suggested that the future scholarships have to cover health insurance; the researchers have to be supported for developing their foreign language skills and develop a clear research agenda and project prior to going abroad.

PSA - a tool for the nuclear safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Himanen, R.

1992-01-01

The PSA-model for BWR-type reactors of Finnish power company, Teollisuuden Voima Oy (TVO) was finished in year 1989. This basic PSA model included all safety systems, normal operating systems and auxiliary systems. Today TVO is working to enlarge the PSA to level 2 (environmental effects, for the fires, for the floodings and the outages). The TVO's experiences has been showed the PSA an useful tool for the developing the safety of BWR's (orig.)

Generation of monoclonal antibodies against prostate specific antigen (PSA) for the detection of PSA and its purification; Generación de anticuerpos monoclonales contra el antígeno específico de próstata (PSA) para la detección del PSA y su purificación

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Acevedo Castro, Boris Ernesto [Centro de Ingeniería Genética y Biotecnología, CIGB, La Habana (Cuba)

2012-07-01

The prostate cancer in Cuba is a problem of health (2672 diagnosed cases and 2769 deaths in 2007). Various diagnostic methods have been implemented for the detection and management of this disease, emphasizing among them (PSA) prostate-specific antigen serological determination. At this work was generated and characterized a panel of 11 antibodies (AcMs) monoclonal IgG1 detected with high affinity described major epitopes of the PSA, both in solution and attached to the test plate. From the panel obtained AcMs was the standardization of an essay type ELISA for the detection of serum total PSA (associated and free) equimolar, based on antibody monoclonal CB-PSA.4 in the coating and the CB-PSA.9 coupled with biotin as liner, with a detection limit of 0.15 ng/mL. Similarly, standardized system for detection in serum free PSA, based on the AcMs CB-PSA.4 (coating) and CB-PSA.2 coupled with biotin (liner), with a detection limit of 0.5 ng/mL. Finally, with the purpose of using PSA as standard in trials type ELISA, developed a simple method of inmunopurificación based on the AcM, CB-PSA.2, which was obtained the PSA with a purity exceeding 90%. Immunoassay Centre on the basis of the AcMs panel and the results of this study, developed and recorded two diagnostic systems for the detection of PSA in human serum. (author)

PSA methodology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Magne, L

1997-12-31

The purpose of this text is first to ask a certain number of questions on the methods related to PSAs. Notably we will explore the positioning of the French methodological approach - as applied in the EPS 1300{sup 1} and EPS 900{sup 2} PSAs - compared to other approaches (Part One). This reflection leads to more general reflection: what contents, for what PSA? This is why, in Part Two, we will try to offer a framework for definition of the criteria a PSA should satisfy to meet the clearly identified needs. Finally, Part Three will quickly summarize the questions approached in the first two parts, as an introduction to the debate. 15 refs.

PET/CT with (18)F-choline after radical prostatectomy in patients with PSA ≤2 ng/ml. Can PSA velocity and PSA doubling time help in patient selection?

Science.gov (United States)

Chiaravalloti, Agostino; Di Biagio, Daniele; Tavolozza, Mario; Calabria, Ferdinando; Schillaci, Orazio

2016-07-01

To investigate the performance of (18)F-fluorocholine ((18)F-FCH) PET/CT in relation to the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) kinetic indexes, PSA doubling time (PSAdt) and PSA velocity (PSAve), in detecting recurrent prostate cancer (PC) in a selected population of patients treated with radical prostatectomy and with PSA ≤2 ng/ml. The study group comprised 79 patients (mean age 70 ± 7 years, range 58 - 77 years) who had been treated with radical surgery 30 to 90 months previously and with biochemical failure (defined as a measurable serum PSA level) who were evaluated with (18)F-FCH PET/CT. In order to establish the optimal threshold for PSAdt and PSAve, the diagnostic performance of PSA, PSAdt and PSAve were compared by receiver operating characteristic analysis. In the population examined, PSA (mean ± SD) was 1.37 ± 0.44 ng/ml (range 0.21 - 2 ng/ml) before PET/CT examination, PSAdt was 10.04 ± 16.67 months and PSAve was 2.75 ± 3.11 ng/ml per year. (18)F-FCH PET/CT was positive in 44 patients (55 %). PSAve and PSAdt were significantly different between patients with a positive and a negative (18)F-FCH PET/CT scan. Thresholds of 6 months for PSAdt and 1 ng/ml per year for PSAve were selected. For PSAdt ≤6 months the detection rate (DR) was 65 %, and for PSAve >1 ng/ml per year the DR was 67 %. PSA values were not significantly different between patients with a positive and a negative PET/CT scan. The results of our study suggest that (18)F-FCH PET/CT could be considered for the evaluation of patients with biochemical recurrence of PC and with low PSA levels. Fast PSA kinetics could be useful in the selection of these patients.

Computerized systems for high level information processing and decision making in the field of PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kafka, P.; Kunitz, H.

1990-01-01

A comprehensive review of Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) related program packages is made. Three fields in methodological succession are covered: plant modeling, data quantification procedures and decision-making support. Packages for fault tree construction and minimal cut sets evaluation are referred to and the performances of three of them: RALLY, ORCHARD and SALP-PC, are discussed and compared. Notions on the raw data sources are presented and the Nuclear Computerized Library for Assessing Reactor Reliability (NUCLARR) is given as an example for data base management system generating PSA data. Aggregated risk models for support in safety assessment, plant operation and accident management (SARA, ESSM, PRISIM) are cited. Examples of systems supporting 'living PSA' (SAIS, SUPER-NET, LESSEPS 1300, NUPRA, SPSA) are given. The concluding remarks outline the state-of-the-art developments of computerized systems for reliability analyses. 1 fig., 1 tab., 51 refs. (R.Ts)

The correlation of PSA nadir and biochemical freedom from cancer after external beam treatment: effects of stage, grade and pretreatment PSA groupings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinover, W.H.; Hanlon, A.L.; Lee, W.R.; Hanks, G.E.

1996-01-01

Purpose: This study demonstrates the correlation of various post-irradiation PSA nadirs with long term biochemical freedom from disease (bNED) survival in patients treated mainly with conformal external beam radiation therapy. It also shows the effects of various groupings of pretreatment (prerx) PSA level, stage, and Gleason score on the rate of achieving a favorable PSA nadir. Materials and Methods: Three hundred forty patients with known pretreatment PSA, >2 years followup treated with radiation alone (278 conformal, 62 conventional) are reported. The median followup is 41 months (range 24 to 96 mos.). Patient grouping by pretreatment PSA levels are <10 ng/ml (143 patients), 10-19.9 ng/ml (108 patients), ≥20 ng/ml (89 patients); by palpation stage are T1C,2AB (240 patients) and T2C,3,4 (100 patients); and by differentiation are Gleason 2-4 (108 patients), Gleason 5-7 (221 patients), Gleason 8-10 (11 patients). The PSA nadir response is given for all patients, and for each of the above prerx groupings. The 5 year actuarial bNED survival is determined for all patients by PSA nadir. Biochemical failure is a PSA ≥1.5 ng/ml and rising on two consecutive measures. Multivariate analysis (MVA) is performed to determine factors predictive of favorable PSA nadir response and predictive of bNED survival. Results: The PSA nadir responses and 5 year bNED survival rates are shown in the table for all patients according to PSA nadir. 66% of patients achieved a favorable nadir (<1.0 ng/ml) which was associated with a 75%-87% 5 year bNED rate, while 34% achieved an unfavorable nadir associated with an 18-32% bNED survival rate at 5 years. The figure illustrates the dramatic separation in outcome associated with the nadir response. The table also illustrates the fraction of patients that achieve various nadir levels subdivided by prerx PSA level, palpation stage and Gleason score. A favorable PSA nadir is obtained in 90%, 63%, and 31% of patients with a prerx PSA <10, 10

Experience in PSA fault tree modularization at the ASCO NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nos Llorens, V.; Frances Urmeneta, M.; Fraig Sureda, J.

1995-01-01

Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA) is a basic tool in decision-making for the optimization of back fittings, procedures and maintenance practices. ASCO NPP PSA was developed with a high level of detail in the models. This required considerable computer resources (long running time) to carry out the quantification. The quantification time had therefore to be flexible to allow continuous evaluation of the impact on the estimation and reduction of risk in the plant, and also to facilitate post-PSA applications. The most suitable way of achieving this flexibility was by compacting and reducing the detailed fault trees of the project by means of a modularization process. The purpose of the paper is to present the practical experience acquired with modularization carried out in the UTE UNITEC-INYPSA-EMPRESARIOS AGRUPADOS framework and the method applied, the support computer programs devised and their degree of effectiveness. (Author)

Purification of PSA from human semen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venkatesh, M.

1997-01-01

Full text: 1. Human seminal plasma collected from many volunteers are pooled and passed through a column of phenyl sepharose equilibrated with 1.25 M ammonium sulphate. Elution is carried out with 1.25 M ammonium sulphate initially, to remove the bulk non-adsorbing proteins. Gradient elution of the absorbed proteins with 0.01 M Tris-HCl, 0.25 M NaCl, pH 7.0 buffer gives a sharp peak containing PSA. At each stage, PSA has to be identified by an independent method such as immunodiffusion or an immunoassay. 2. The absorbed protein peak containing PSA is then lyophilised, redissolved in Tris-HCl buffer and chromatographed in a Superdex-75 or Sephadex-75 column. The absorbed proteins elute out as multiple peaks and PSA is eluted as a sharp peak.At each stage, PSA has to be identified by an independent method such as immunodiffusion or an immunoassay. 3. Step 2 is repeated for better purity. 4. The PSA peak is lyophilised, dissolved in Tris-HCl buffer without NaCl and further purified on an ion exchange column (either anion or cation exchange columns such as DEAE Sephadex or CM-Sephadex or Mono Q). Gradient elution using Tris-HCl buffer without NaCl and Tris-HCl buffer with 0.25 M NaCl resulted in a sharp pure PSA peak (homogenous, sharp single band on SDS-PAGE). This procedure is based on that reported by Wang et al., Oncology, 39,1,1982

Supporting staff in employment: the emotional wellbeing of staff in an NHS psychiatric hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, I D; Bell, J S

2000-09-01

The objective of this study was to assess the emotional wellbeing of a broad sample of NHS employees in a psychiatric setting; to seek their views on sources of distress; and to identify preferred ways of dealing with it. A cross-sectional postal survey, employing two questionnaires: GHQ-28, and a semi-structured questionnaire. These were sent to a nominal 50% sample (n = 599). The population was the staff of a large Scottish psychiatric service. A 47.9% response rate was achieved; 32.9% of respondents exceeded a cut-off score of four on the GHQ-28. Neither occupational, group nor gender effects were significant on this measure. The reporting of emotionally-distressing problems affecting their performance was found to be more common amongst doctors; males, overall, showed a non-significant trend towards having been affected more than females by such problems; and older staff (above 45) were affected significantly more often than younger staff. Almost a third of staff were unaware of the availability of an internal organisational resource (the Occupational Health service). NHS Trusts should ensure the culture at work is appropriate from a preventative point of view and be aware that factors outwith the workplace can affect employees emotional wellbeing and performance. Preventative and supportive measures to minimise psychological distress in the workforce should be considered; the Scottish Needs Assessment Programme: Mental Health in the Workplace offers useful guidance.

Pattern of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Failure Dictates the Probability of a Positive Bone Scan in Patients With an Increasing PSA After Radical Prostatectomy

Science.gov (United States)

Dotan, Zohar A.; Bianco, Fernando J.; Rabbani, Farhang; Eastham, James A.; Fearn, Paul; Scher, Howard I.; Kelly, Kevin W.; Chen, Hui-Ni; Schöder, Heiko; Hricak, Hedvig; Scardino, Peter T.; Kattan, Michael W.

2007-01-01

Purpose Physicians often order periodic bone scans (BS) to check for metastases in patients with an increasing prostate-specific antigen (PSA; biochemical recurrence [BCR]) after radical prostatectomy (RP), but most scans are negative. We studied patient characteristics to build a predictive model for a positive scan. Patients and Methods From our prostate cancer database we identified all patients with detectable PSA after RP. We analyzed the following features at the time of each bone scan for association with a positive BS: preoperative PSA, time to BCR, pathologic findings of the RP, PSA before the BS (trigger PSA), PSA kinetics (PSA doubling time, PSA slope, and PSA velocity), and time from BCR to BS. The results were incorporated into a predictive model. Results There were 414 BS performed in 239 patients with BCR and no history of androgen deprivation therapy. Only 60 (14.5%) were positive for metastases. In univariate analysis, preoperative PSA (P = .04), seminal vesicle invasion (P = .02), PSA velocity (P < .001), and trigger PSA (P < .001) predicted a positive BS. In multivariate analysis, only PSA slope (odds ratio [OR], 2.71; P = .03), PSA velocity (OR, 0.93; P = .003), and trigger PSA (OR, 1.022; P < .001) predicted a positive BS. A nomogram for predicting the bone scan result was constructed with an overfit-corrected concordance index of 0.93. Conclusion Trigger PSA, PSA velocity, and slope were associated with a positive BS. A highly discriminating nomogram can be used to select patients according to their risk for a positive scan. Omitting scans in low-risk patients could reduce substantially the number of scans ordered. PMID:15774789

Relationship of chronic histologic prostatic inflammation in biopsy specimens with serum isoform [-2]proPSA (p2PSA), %p2PSA, and prostate health index in men with a total prostate-specific antigen of 4-10 ng/ml and normal digital rectal examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Lazzeri, Massimo; Abrate, Alberto; Lughezzani, Giovanni; Gadda, Giulio Maria; Freschi, Massimo; Mistretta, Francesco; Lista, Giuliana; Fossati, Nicola; Larcher, Alessandro; Kinzikeeva, Ella; Buffi, Nicolòmaria; Dell'Acqua, Vincenzo; Bini, Vittorio; Montorsi, Francesco; Guazzoni, Giorgio

2014-03-01

To investigate the relationship between serum [-2]proPSA (p2PSA) and derivatives with chronic histologic prostatic inflammation (CHPI) in men undergoing prostate biopsy for suspected prostate cancer (PCa). This nested case-control study resulted from an observational prospective trial for the definition of sensibility, specificity, and accuracy of p2PSA, %p2PSA, and Beckman Coulter Prostate Health Index (PHI), in men undergoing prostate biopsy, with a total prostate-specific antigen (PSA) of 4-10 ng/mL and normal digital rectal examination. CHPI was the outcome of interest and defined as the presence of moderate to large infiltration of lymphomononuclear cells with interstitial and/or glandular disruption in absence of PCa. p2PSA, %p2PSA, and PHI were considered the index tests and compared with the established biomarker reference standard tests: tPSA, fPSA, %fPSA. Of 267 patients subjected to prostate biopsy, 73 (27.3%) patients were diagnosed with CHPI. Comparing CHPI with PCa patients, %p2PSA and PHI were found to be significantly lower, whereas fPSA and %fPSA were significantly higher. %p2PSA and PHI were the most accurate predictors of CHPI at biopsy, significantly outperforming tPSA, fPSA, and %fPSA. On the contrary, no significant differences were found in PSA, p2PSA, and derivatives between CHPI and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) patients. Our findings showed that p2PSA, %p2PSA, and PHI values might discriminate PCa from CHPI or BPH, but not CHPI from BPH, in men with a total PSA 4-10 ng/mL and normal digital rectal examination. p2PSA isoform and its derivatives could be useful in clinical decision making to avoid unnecessary biopsies in patients with CHPI and elevated tPSA value. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mission Critical: Nursing Leadership Support for Compassion to Sustain Staff Well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Lown, Beth A

Compassion, the foundation of Nursing, is a source of both healing for those who suffer and of purpose and meaning for those who seek to heal others. Increasingly, however, the fast pace and volume of care and documentation requirements diminish time with patients and families and hinder the enactment of compassion. These issues and other aspects of the work environment decrease the satisfaction and well-being of professional caregivers and are contributing to a rising tide of burnout. Research suggests that employee engagement emerges from their satisfaction and well-being; however, it is difficult for an individual to engage when she or he feels depleted and unsupported. Nursing leaders and managers can play a significant role in support of compassionate practices for staff and improvement of the work environment and staff well-being. Compassion practices that recognize employees for the caring they show to patients and each other, and that provide the support needed to sustain their caring and compassion, are associated with significantly better patient ratings of their care experiences in hospitals and ambulatory settings. This article describes an example of a compassion practice, Schwartz Rounds®, a program that has been implemented internationally to enhance staff caring and compassion, teamwork, and psychological well-being. Schwartz Rounds have been included as a component of organizational initiatives to enhance staff well-being and patient experience, and as an individual program. Nurse leaders and managers who wish to engage their staff can do so by supporting their compassion and well-being.

PSA-based evaluation and rating of operational events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez Cobo, A.

1997-01-01

The presentation discusses the PSA-based evaluation and rating of operational events, including the following: historical background, procedures for event evaluation using PSA, use of PSA for event rating, current activities

Updating the Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) Core Domain Set: A Report from the PsA Workshop at OMERACT 2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Orbai, Ana-Maria; de Wit, Maarten; Mease, Philip J; Callis Duffin, Kristina; Elmamoun, Musaab; Tillett, William; Campbell, Willemina; FitzGerald, Oliver; Gladman, Dafna D; Goel, Niti; Gossec, Laure; Hoejgaard, Pil; Leung, Ying Ying; Lindsay, Chris; Strand, Vibeke; van der Heijde, Désirée M; Shea, Bev; Christensen, Robin; Coates, Laura; Eder, Lihi; McHugh, Neil; Kalyoncu, Umut; Steinkoenig, Ingrid; Ogdie, Alexis

2017-10-01

To include the patient perspective in accordance with the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Filter 2.0 in the updated Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) Core Domain Set for randomized controlled trials (RCT) and longitudinal observational studies (LOS). At OMERACT 2016, research conducted to update the PsA Core Domain Set was presented and discussed in breakout groups. The updated PsA Core Domain Set was voted on and endorsed by OMERACT participants. We conducted a systematic literature review of domains measured in PsA RCT and LOS, and identified 24 domains. We conducted 24 focus groups with 130 patients from 7 countries representing 5 continents to identify patient domains. We achieved consensus through 2 rounds of separate surveys with 50 patients and 75 physicians, and a nominal group technique meeting with 12 patients and 12 physicians. We conducted a workshop and breakout groups at OMERACT 2016 in which findings were presented and discussed. The updated PsA Core Domain Set endorsed with 90% agreement by OMERACT 2016 participants included musculoskeletal disease activity, skin disease activity, fatigue, pain, patient's global assessment, physical function, health-related quality of life, and systemic inflammation, which were recommended for all RCT and LOS. These were important, but not required in all RCT and LOS: economic cost, emotional well-being, participation, and structural damage. Independence, sleep, stiffness, and treatment burden were on the research agenda. The updated PsA Core Domain Set was endorsed at OMERACT 2016. Next steps for the PsA working group include evaluation of PsA outcome measures and development of a PsA Core Outcome Measurement Set.

Low Power Shutdown PSA for CANDU Type Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bae, Yeon Kyoung; Kim, Myung Su [KHNP CRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

KHNP also have concentrated on full power PSA. Some recently constructed OPR1000 type plants and APR1400 type plants have performed the low power and shutdown (LPSD) PSA. The purpose of LPSD PSA is to identify the main contributors on the accident sequences of core damage and to find the measure of safety improvement. After the Fukushima accident, Korean regulatory agency required the shutdown severe accident management guidelines (SSAMG) development for safety enhancement. For the reliability of SSAMG, KHNP should develop the LPSD PSA. Especially, the LPSD PSA for CANDU type plant had developed for the first time in Korea. This paper illustrates how the LPSD PSA for CANDU type developed and the core damage frequency (CDF) is different with that of full power PSA. KHNP performed LPSD PSA to develop the SSAMG after the Fukushima accidents. The results show that risk at the specific operation mode during outage is higher than that of full power operation. Also, the results indicated that recovery failure of class 4 power at the POS 5A, 5B contribute dominantly to the total CDF from importances analysis. LPSD PSA results such as CDF with initiating events and POSs, risk results with plant damage state, and containment failure probability and frequency with POSs can be used by inputs for developing the SSAMG.

Expectations and responsibilities regarding the sale of complementary medicines in pharmacies: perspectives of consumers and pharmacy support staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Iyer, Priya; McFarland, Reanna; La Caze, Adam

2017-08-01

Most sales of complementary medicines within pharmacies are conducted by pharmacy support staff. The absence of rigorous evidence for the effectiveness of many complementary medicines raises a number of ethical questions regarding the sale of complementary medicines in pharmacies. Explore (1) what consumers expect from pharmacists/pharmacies with regard to the sale of complementary medicines, and (2) how pharmacy support staff perceive their responsibilities when selling complementary medicines. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of pharmacy support staff and consumers in pharmacies in Brisbane. Consumers were asked to describe their expectations when purchasing complementary medicines. Pharmacy support staff were asked to describe their responsibilities when selling complementary medicines. Interviews were conducted and analysed using the techniques developed within Grounded Theory. Thirty-three consumers were recruited from three pharmacies. Consumers described complementary medicine use as a personal health choice. Consumer expectations on the pharmacist included: select the right product for the right person, expert product knowledge and maintaining a wide range of good quality stock. Twenty pharmacy support staff were recruited from four pharmacies. Pharmacy support staff employed processes to ensure consumers receive the right product for the right person. Pharmacy support staff expressed a commitment to aiding consumers, but few evaluated the reliability of effectiveness claims regarding complementary medicines. Pharmacists need to respect the personal health choices of consumers while also putting procedures in place to ensure safe and appropriate use of complementary medicines. This includes providing appropriate support to pharmacy support staff. © 2016 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Life-sustaining support: ethical, cultural, and spiritual conflicts. Part II: Staff support--a neonatal case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Stutts, Amy; Schloemann, Johanna

2002-06-01

As medical knowledge and technology continue to increase, so will the ability to provide life-sustaining support to patients who otherwise would not survive. Along with these advances comes the responsibility of not only meeting the clinical needs of our patients, but also of understanding how the family's culture and spirituality will affect their perception of the situation and their decision-making process. As the U.S. continues to become a more culturally diverse society, health care professionals will need to make changes in their practice to meet the psychosocial needs of their patients and respect their treatment decisions. Part I of this series (April 2002) discussed how the cultural and spiritual belief systems of Baby S's family affected their decision-making processes and also their ability to cope with the impending death of their infant. The development of a culturally competent health care team can help bridge the gap between culturally diverse individuals. This article addresses the following questions: 1. What legal alternatives are available to the staff to protect the patient from suffering associated with the continuation of futile life-sustaining support? 2. What conflicts might the staff experience as a result of the continuation of futile life-sustaining support? 3. What efforts can be made to support members of the staff? 4. What can be done to prepare others in the health care professions to deal more effectively with ethical/cultural issues?

Radiometric assays for the measurement of PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venkatesh, M.

1997-01-01

Prostate Specific Antigen, a serine protease enzyme, of M.W. ∼ 26-33 kDa, is widely considered to be a very useful marker for prostate cancer. It satisfies nearly all the requirements of an ideal 'Tumour Marker' and has hence attracted a lot of attention in the past decade. PSA is present in multiple forms in serum, with an appreciable fraction bound to the protease inhibitor α-1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) and to a small extent to other proteins such as α-2-macroglobulin (AMG) leaving the rest in the free form. The total PSA levels have been reported to have 80% sensitivity and 60% specificity towards the detection of prostate cancer. The lack of specificity occurs mainly due to the high levels of t-PSA in benign prostatic hypertrophy(BPH) apart from the cancer. The concept of free PSA has been introduced in the recent past and the ratio of free/total PSA levels have been shown to be advantageous in the differential diagnosis of BPH from prostate cancer. The f/t ratio is considered to be particularly useful in the grey zones of decision making (t-PSA levels 4-20 ng/mL). The need for the development of assays for total and free PSA is felt due to: a. the high incidence of prostate cancers being detected currently; b. the high cost of tests (higher for free PSA assay, and the cost becomes an important parameter when a patient has to be regularly monitored after therapy) that is not affordable for many patients; c. the potential for research in the area of prostate cancer management where the PSA (total and free) assays will be of great help

Status of the PSA use in the Czech regulatory process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dusek, J.

1994-01-01

A review of previous probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) activities initiated by regulatory body and preparation of the preliminary PSA study and final PSA study (released in January 1994) for the nuclear power plant Dukovany with WWER-440 type 213 reactor is described. A brief information about the NPP Temelin (with WWER-1000) PSA Study, shutdown and PSA risk monitor current activities for the NPP Dukovany, next PSA activities in 1994 and about planned PSA activities in future is attached. (author). 21 refs

Workshop on PSA for New and Advanced Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-01-01

This workshop was organized by the NEA Working Group on Risk Assessment (WGRISK). The key objective of the workshop was to share the current state-of-the art on the PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment) applied for new reactors and advanced reactors. Fifty experts from 13 countries and one international organization (IAEA) participated in the present workshop, and 35 technical papers were presented. The main topics of interest, discussed during the workshop, included the followings: regulatory aspects, risk-informed methods, technical aspects of the PSA for new and advanced reactors, hazards of PSA (internal and external), severe accident/source term/Level 2 PSA, and consequence analysis/Level 3 PSA. Among the technical aspects of the PSA, the assessment of the reliability of passive safety systems appears to be a recurrent issue

Development of multipurpose regulatory PSA model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Chang Ju; Sung, Key Yong; Kim, Hho Jung; Yang, Joon Eon; Ha, Jae Joo

2004-01-01

Generally, risk information for nuclear facilities comes from the results of Probabilistic safety assessment (PSA). PSA is a systematic tool to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities, since it is based on thorough and consistent application of probability models. In particular, the PSA has been widely utilized for risk-informed regulation (RIR), including various licensee-initiated risk-informed applications (RIA). In any regulatory decision, the main goal is to make a sound safety decision based on technically defensible information. Also, due to the increased public requests for giving a safety guarantee, the regulator should provide the visible means of safety. The use of PSA by the regulator can give the answer on this problem. Therefore, in order to study the applicability of risk information for regulatory safety management, it is a demanding task to prepare a well-established regulatory PSA model and tool. In 2002, KINS and KAERI together made a research cooperation to form a working group to develop the regulatory PSA model - so-called MPAS model. The MPAS stands for multipurpose probabilistic analysis of safety. For instance, a role of the MPAS model is to give some risk insights in the preparation of various regulatory programs. Another role of this model is to provide an independent risk information to the regulator during regulatory decision-making, not depending on the licensee's information

The optimal timing to perform 18F/11C-choline PET/CT in patients with suspicion of relapse of prostate cancer: trigger PSA versus PSA velocity and PSA doubling time.

Science.gov (United States)

Calabria, Ferdinando; Rubello, Domenico; Schillaci, Orazio

2014-12-09

In the present short communication we considered the main publications focused on trigger prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and PSA kinetics that systematically compared 18F to 11C-choline PET/CT in order to establish the optimal time to perform choline PET/CT in relation to the trigger values and velocity, as well as doubling time of PSA serum levels.

Neurochemical Characterization of PSA-NCAM+ Cells in the Human Brain and Phenotypic Quantification in Alzheimer's Disease Entorhinal Cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Helen C; Swanson, Molly E V; Dieriks, B Victor; Turner, Clinton; Faull, Richard L M; Curtis, Maurice A

2018-02-21

Polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) is widely expressed in the adult human brain and facilitates structural remodeling of cells through steric inhibition of intercellular NCAM adhesion. We previously showed that PSA-NCAM immunoreactivity is decreased in the entorhinal cortex in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Based on available evidence, we hypothesized that a loss of PSA-NCAM + interneurons may underlie this reduction. PSA-NCAM expression by interneurons has previously been described in the human medial prefrontal cortex. Here we used postmortem human brain tissue to provide further evidence of PSA-NCAM + interneurons throughout the human hippocampal formation and additional cortical regions. Furthermore, PSA-NCAM + cell populations were assessed in the entorhinal cortex of normal and AD cases using fluorescent double labeling and manual cell counting. We found a significant decrease in the number of PSA-NCAM + cells per mm 2 in layer II and V of the entorhinal cortex, supporting our previous description of reduced PSA-NCAM immunoreactivity. Additionally, we found a significant decrease in the proportion of PSA-NCAM + cells that co-labeled with NeuN and parvalbumin, but no change in the proportion that co-labeled with calbindin or calretinin. These results demonstrate that PSA-NCAM is expressed by a variety of interneuron populations throughout the brain. Furthermore, that loss of PSA-NCAM expression by NeuN + cells predominantly contributes to the reduced PSA-NCAM immunoreactivity in the AD entorhinal cortex. Copyright © 2018 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhanced detection sensitivity of prostate-specific antigen via PSA-conjugated gold nanoparticles based on localized surface plasmon resonance: GNP-coated anti-PSA/LSPR as a novel approach for the identification of prostate anomalies.

Science.gov (United States)

Jazayeri, M H; Amani, H; Pourfatollah, A A; Avan, A; Ferns, G A; Pazoki-Toroudi, H

2016-10-01

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is used to screen for prostate disease, although it has several limitations in its application as an organ-specific or cancer-specific marker. Furthermore, a highly specific/sensitive and/or label-free identification of PSA still remains a challenge in the diagnosis of prostate anomalies. We aimed to develop a gold nanoparticle (GNP)-conjugated anti-PSA antibody-based localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) as a novel approach to detect prostatic disease. A total of 25 nm colloidal gold particles were prepared followed by conjugation with anti-PSA pAb (GNPs-PSA pAb). LSPR was used to monitor the absorption changes of the aggregation of the particles. The size, shape and stability of the GNP-anti-PSA were evaluated by dynamic light scattering transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and zetasizer. The GNPs-conjugated PSA-pAb was successfully synthesized and subsequently characterized using ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy and TEM to determine the size distribution, crystallinity and stability of the particles (for example, stability of GNP: 443 mV). To increase the stability of the particles, we pegylated GNPs using an N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N*-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC)/N-hydroxylsuccinimide (NHS) linker (for example, stability of GNP after pegylation: 272 mV). We found a significant increase in the absorbance and intensity of the particles with extinction peak at 545/2 nm, which was shifted by ~1 nm after conjugation. To illustrate the potential of the GNPs-PSA pAb to bind specifically to PSA, LSPR was used. We found that the extinction peak shifted 3 nm for a solution of 100 nM unlabeled antigen. In summary, we have established a novel approach for improving the efficacy/sensitivity of PSA in the assessment of prostate disease, supporting further investigation on the diagnostic value of GNP-conjugated anti-PSA/LSPR for the detection of prostate cancer.

PSA testing for men at average risk of prostate cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruce K Armstrong

2017-07-01

magnetic resonance imaging to triage patients with elevated PSA, a likely bias towards intervention (particularly for cancer, and the potential to limit harm by treating more conservatively (although this may not occur consistently. They provide important insights, and disagree on some issues, but generally concur that men should decide for themselves whether to be tested. It seems reasonable to support men’s autonomy to make their own decisions based on their own values. However, the support men might require to decide is likely to be considerable, and this needs to be taken seriously in policy making.

Upgrade of Common Cause Failure Modelling of NPP Krsko PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vukovic, I.; Mikulicic, V.; Vrbanic, I.

2006-01-01

Over the last thirty years the probabilistic safety assessments (PSA) have been increasingly applied in technical engineering practice. Various failure modes of system of concern are mathematically and explicitly modelled by means of fault tree structure. Statistical independence of basic events from which the fault tree is built is not acceptable for an event category referred to as common cause failures (CCF). Based on overview of current international status of modelling of common cause failures in PSA several steps were made related to primary technical basis for methodology and data used for CCF model upgrade project in NPP Krsko (NEK) PSA. As a primary technical basis for methodological aspects of CCF modelling in Krsko PSA the following documents were considered: NUREG/CR-5485, NUREG/CR-4780, and Westinghouse Owners Group documents (WOG) WCAP-15674 and WCAP-15167. Use of these documents is supported by the most relevant guidelines and standards in the field, such as ASME PRA Standard and NRC Regulatory Guide 1.200. WCAP documents are in compliance with NUREG/CR-5485 and NUREG/CR-4780. Additionally, they provide WOG perspective on CCF modelling, which is important to consider since NEK follows WOG practice in resolving many generic and regulatory issues. It is, therefore, desirable that NEK CCF methodology and modelling is in general accordance with recommended WOG approaches. As a primary basis for CCF data needed to estimate CCF model parameters and their uncertainty, the main used documents were: NUREG/CR-5497, NUREG/CR-6268, WCAP-15167, and WCAP-16187. Use of NUREG/CR-5497 and NUREG/CR-6268 as a source of data for CCF parameter estimating is supported by the most relevant industry and regulatory PSA guides and standards currently existing in the field, including WOG. However, the WCAP document WCAP-16187 has provided a basis for CCF parameter values specific to Westinghouse PWR plants. Many of events from NRC / INEEL database were re-classified in WCAP

IAEA work with guides for PSA quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hellstroem, Per

2004-09-01

IAEA has a project on development of a TECDOC 'PSA Quality for Various Applications'. The project develops the guidance document in stages with intermediate meetings with exchange of ideas, thoughts and experience. Draft versions are being produced successively. The objective with the project is to use attributes to describe the quality of different elements of a PSA (Analysis of initiating events, accident progression, system, data, human reliability, etc) making the PSA suitable for application in various risk informed activities. Two of the meetings in this project took place in February 2004 and in July 2004. The February meeting discussed different aspects of PSA quality in relation to applications and a draft of the TECDOC was reviewed. The meeting made recommendations for preparation of a final document and set priorities for further work in the area. The July meeting elaborated the document further in a small working group and a new draft version was prepared. A final version is expected to be published during 2005. The project has come to the conclusion that it is a limited number of PSA element attributes that are specific for a certain application. Most of the attributes concern plant specificity, realism and level of detail in a general manner, how plant specific is the model, how realistic and how detailed? Many attributes have the characteristic that they are good to have, but not necessarily needed to do the job. This last statement is valid both for a baseline PSA and a PSA application. The IAEA project has identified a limited number of attributes that are necessary to describe characteristics needed for specific applications. The PSA scope needed for a specific application is not covered by the project/document, even though it is obvious that different applications will need different scope or approaches to handle scope limitations. The guidance on performing a PSA available today is old. It is a need to review these guides and update with regard

Method comparison for determination of the tumor markers AFP, CEA, PSA and free PSA between Immulite 2000 XPI and Dimension Vista 1500.

Science.gov (United States)

Zur, Berndt; Holdenrieder, Stefan; Walgenbach-Brünagel, Gisela; Albers, Eike; Stoffel-Wagner, Birgit

2012-01-01

For the Luminescent Oxygen Channeling Immunoassay (LOCI) technology as established for Dimension Vista 1500, assays have been developed for the serum tumor markers AFP, CEA, PSA and free PSA. We performed a method analysis for these parameters using the Immulite 2000 XPI. Determination of within-day and total imprecision of the methods was carried out according to CLSI guidelines with three serum pools. In addition, parallel measurements were performed with both systems in 1,871 routine serum samples and correlations were calculated. Calculated total imprecision of the three serum pools for AFP was 3.8 - 4.3%, for CEA 3.3 - 4.3%, for tPSA 3.6 - 4.0% and for fPSA it was 3.5 - 8.2%. Correlations of these markers across the entire value range were very good with the following correlation coefficients: 0.997 for AFP, 0.996 for CEA, 0.971 for tPSA and 0.988 for fPSA. While values for AFP and tPSA from both methods were comparable (slopes 1.02 and 1.01), lower values were measured for CEA and fPSA with the Dimension Vista (slopes 0.83 and 0.91). For AFP, a sample cluster with considerably higher values than with Dimension Vista was observed in the lower measurement range (CEA, tPSA and fPSA, as developed with the LOCI technology for the Dimension Vista, show good comparability with results obtained from the Immulite 2000 XPI. However, lower measurement ranges for CEA and fPSA as well as individual divergences, especially with AFP, must be taken into consideration in the event of method changeover.

Characteristics Studies of 125I- and total PSA antibody's Binding with prostate specific antigen (PSA) in Human Uterus Tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Mudaffar, S.; Al-Salihi, J.

2005-01-01

Two groups of uterus tumors (benign and malignant) postmenopausal patients were used to investigate the presence of prostate specific antigen (PSA). Preliminary experiments were performed to follow the binding of '1 25 I-anti total PSA antibody with PSA in uterus tissues homogenates of the two groups with their corresponding antigen and found to be (8.8,7.1%) for benign and malignant tumors, respectively. An Immuno Radio Metric Assay (IRMA) procedure was developed for measuring PSA in benign and malignant uterus tumors homogenates. The optimum conditions of the binding of 125 I-anti total PSA antibody with PSA were as follows: PSA concentration (150,200 μg protein),tracer antibody concentration (125,250 μg protein), p H (7.6,7.2), temp (15,25?C) and time (1.5 hrs) for postmenopausal benign and malignant uterus tumors tissue homogenates, respectively. The use of different concentrations of Na + and Mg 2+ ions were shown to cause an increase in the binding at concentration of (125,75 mΜ) of Na 1+ ions (75,225 mΜ) of Mg 2+ ions for benign and malignant uterus tumors homogenates, respectively, while the use of different concentrations of urea and polyethylene glycol (PEG) Caused a decrease in the binding with the increase in the concentration of each of urea and PEG in the both cases

Training and Support of Sessional Staff to Improve Quality of Teaching and Learning at Universities.

Science.gov (United States)

Knott, Gillian; Crane, Linda; Heslop, Ian; Glass, Beverley D

2015-06-25

Sessional staff is increasingly involved in teaching at universities, playing a pivotal role in bridging the gap between theory and practice for students, especially in the health professions, including pharmacy. Although sessional staff numbers have increased substantially in recent years, limited attention has been paid to the quality of teaching and learning provided by this group. This review will discuss the training and support of sessional staff, with a focus on Australian universities, including the reasons for and potential benefits of training, and structure and content of training programs. Although sessional staff views these programs as valuable, there is a lack of in-depth evaluations of the outcomes of the programs for sessional staff, students and the university. Quality assurance of such programs is only guaranteed, however, if these evaluations extend to the impact of this training and support on student learning.

The New Planetary Science Archive (PSA): Exploration and Discovery of Scientific Datasets from ESA's Planetary Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Heather, David; Besse, Sebastien; Vallat, Claire; Barbarisi, Isa; Arviset, Christophe; De Marchi, Guido; Barthelemy, Maud; Coia, Daniela; Costa, Marc; Docasal, Ruben; Fraga, Diego; Grotheer, Emmanuel; Lim, Tanya; MacFarlane, Alan; Martinez, Santa; Rios, Carlos; Vallejo, Fran; Saiz, Jaime

2017-04-01

The Planetary Science Archive (PSA) is the European Space Agency's (ESA) repository of science data from all planetary science and exploration missions. The PSA provides access to scientific datasets through various interfaces at http://psa.esa.int. All datasets are scientifically peer-reviewed by independent scientists, and are compliant with the Planetary Data System (PDS) standards. The PSA is currently implementing a number of significant improvements, mostly driven by the evolution of the PDS standard, and the growing need for better interfaces and advanced applications to support science exploitation. As of the end of 2016, the PSA is hosting data from all of ESA's planetary missions. This includes ESA's first planetary mission Giotto that encountered comet 1P/Halley in 1986 with a flyby at 800km. Science data from Venus Express, Mars Express, Huygens and the SMART-1 mission are also all available at the PSA. The PSA also contains all science data from Rosetta, which explored comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and asteroids Steins and Lutetia. The year 2016 has seen the arrival of the ExoMars 2016 data in the archive. In the upcoming years, at least three new projects are foreseen to be fully archived at the PSA. The BepiColombo mission is scheduled for launch in 2018. Following that, the ExoMars Rover Surface Platform (RSP) in 2020, and then the JUpiter ICy moon Explorer (JUICE). All of these will archive their data in the PSA. In addition, a few ground-based support programmes are also available, especially for the Venus Express and Rosetta missions. The newly designed PSA will enhance the user experience and will significantly reduce the complexity for users to find their data promoting one-click access to the scientific datasets with more customized views when needed. This includes a better integration with Planetary GIS analysis tools and Planetary interoperability services (search and retrieve data, supporting e.g. PDAP, EPN-TAP). It will also be up

Guideline level-3 PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roelofsen, P.M.; Van der Steen, J.

1993-09-01

For several applications of radioactive materials calculations must be executed to determine the radiation risk for the population. A guideline for the risk calculation method of two main sources: nuclear power plants, and other intended and unintended activities with radioactive materials, is given. The standards, recommendations and regulations in this report concern mainly the analysis of the radiological (external) consequences of nuclear power plant accidents, classified as level-3 PSA (Probabilistic Safety Analysis). Level-3 PSA falls within the scales 5-7 of the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). The standards, etc., focus on the risks for groups of people and the so-called maximum individual risk. In chapter two the standards and regulations are formulated for each part of level-3 PSA: the source term spectrum, atmospheric distribution and deposition, exposure to radiation doses and calculation of radiation doses, dose-response relationships, measures to reduce the effect of radiation doses, design basis accidents, and finally uncertainty analysis. In chapter four, modelled descriptions are given of the standards and regulations, which could or should be used in a calculation program in case of level-3 PSA. In chapter three the practical execution of a probabilistic consequences analysis, the collection of input data and the presentation of the results are dealt with. 2 figs., 14 tabs., 64 refs

Best-practices guidelines for L2PSA development and applications. Volume 1 - General

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raimond, E.; Pichereau, F.; Durin, T.; Rahni, N.; Loeffler, H.; Roesch, O.; Lajtha, G.; Santamaria, C.S.; Dienstbier, J.; Rydl, A.; Holmberg, J.E.; Lindholm, I.; Maennistoe, I.; Pauli, E.M.; Dirksen, G.; Grindon, L.; Peers, K.; Bassi, C.; Hulqvist, G.; Parozzi, F.; Polidoro, F.; Cazzoli, E.; Vitazkova, J.; Burgazzi, L.; Brinkman, H.; Seidel, A.; Schubert, B.; Wohlstein, R.; Guentay, S.; Oury, L.; Ngatchou, C.; Siltanen, S.; Niemela, I.; Routamo, T.; Vincon, L.; Helstroem, P.

2010-01-01

The objective of this coordinated action was to develop best practice guidelines for the performance and application of Level 2 PSA with a view to achieve harmonisation at EU level and to allow a meaningful and practical uncertainty evaluation in a Level 2 PSA. Specific relationships with communities in charge of nuclear reactor safety (utilities, safety authorities, vendors, and research or services companies) have been established in order to define the current needs in terms of guidelines for Level 2 PSA development and application. An international workshop was organised in Hamburg, with the support of VATTENFALL, in November 2008. The Level 2 PSA experts from ASAMPSA2 project partners have proposed some guidelines for the development and application of L2PSA based on their experience, open literature, and on information available from international cooperation (EC Severe Accident network of Excellence - SARNET, IAEA standards, OECD-NEA publications and workshop). There are a large number of technical issues addressed in the guideline which are not all covered with the same level of detail in the first version of the guideline. This version was submitted for external review in November 2010 by severe accident and PSA experts (especially from SARNET and OECD-NEA members). The feedback of the external review will be dis cussed during an international open works hop planned for March 2011 and all outcomes will be taken into consideration in the final version of this guideline (June 2011). The guideline includes 3 volumes: - Volume 1 - General considerations on L2PSA. - Volume 2 - Technical recommendations for Gen II and III reactors. - Volume 3 - Specific considerations for future reactors (Gen IV). The recommendations formulated in the guideline should not be considered as 'mandatory' but should help Level 2 PSA developers to achieve high quality studies with limited time and resources. It may also help Level 2 PSA reviewers by positioning one specific study in

Extreme conservation of the psaA/psaB intercistronic spacer reveals a translational motif coincident with the evolution of land plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Peredo, Elena L; Les, Donald H; King, Ursula M; Benoit, Lori K

2012-12-01

Although chloroplast transcriptional and translational mechanisms were derived originally from prokaryote endosymbionts, chloroplasts retain comparatively few genes as a consequence of the overall transfer to the nucleus of functions associated formerly with prokaryotic genomes. Various modifications reflect other evolutionary shifts toward eukaryotic regulation such as posttranscriptional transcript cleavage with individually processed cistrons in operons and gene expression regulated by nuclear-encoded sigma factors. We report a notable exception for the psaA-psaB-rps14 operon of land plant (embryophyte) chloroplasts, where the first two cistrons are separated by a spacer region to which no significant role had been attributed. We infer an important function of this region, as indicated by the conservation of identical, structurally significant sequences across embryophytes and their ancestral protist lineages, which diverged some 0.5 billion years ago. The psaA/psaB spacers of embryophytes and their progenitors exhibit few sequence and length variants, with most modeled transcripts resolving the same secondary structure: a loop with projecting Shine-Dalgarno site and well-defined stem that interacts with adjacent coding regions to sequester the psaB start codon. Although many functions of the original endosymbiont have been usurped by nuclear genes or interactions, conserved functional elements of embryophyte psaA/psaB spacers provide compelling evidence that translation of psaB is regulated here by a cis-acting mechanism comparable to those common in prokaryotes. Modeled transcripts also indicate that spacer variants in some plants (e.g., aquatic genus Najas) potentially reflect ecological adaptations to facilitate temperature-regulated translation of psaB.

PSA-operations synergism for the advanced test reactor shutdown operations PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atkinson, S.A.

1996-01-01

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) for shutdown operations, cask handling, and canal draining is a successful example of the importance of good PSA-operations synergism for achieving a realistic and accepted assessment of the risks and for achieving desired risk reduction and safety improvement in a best and cost-effective manner. The implementation of the agreed-upon upgrades and improvements resulted in the reductions of the estimated mean frequency for core or canal irradiated fuel uncovery events, a total reduction in risk by a factor of nearly 1000 to a very low and acceptable risk level for potentially severe events

A Preliminary Fire PSA on PGSFR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kilyoo; Han, Sanghoon; Lee, KwiLim

2017-01-01

A Prototype Generation IV Sodium Fast Reactor (PGSFR) is under design with defense in depth concept with active, passive, and inherent safety features to acquire a design approval for PGSFR from Korean regulatory authority by around 2017. A preliminary fire PSA on PGSFR is done in 2016 and a final fire PSA of PGSFR will be done in 2017. The characteristics of the preliminary fire PSA on PGSFR are described in this paper. Since PGSFR is very safe reactor, it is not bad approach to use a conservative assumption in the preliminary PSA. In addition, several drawings including cable routing are not yet issued, a conservative calculation for CDF is performed. As shown in Table 2, the CDF caused by the fire in the control room takes 89% portion of total CDF. Thus, a detailed fire modeling for control room is necessary for the final fire PSA on PGSFR. Also, the increased ignition frequency due to sodium leak would be derived by considering the sodium piping complexity in the final fire PSA on PGSFR. The 4th column of Table 2 is derived the 3rd column by multiplying the factor (592/1177). The 5th column is the ignition frequency caused by the sodium leak. The 6th column is derived by summing the 4th column and the 5th column. The 7th column is the CDF portion of each fire area. The control room (fire area F-A404A) is the most important area since the control room fire takes 89% portion of total CDF.

SUPPORTING PRETERM INFANT ATTACHMENT AND SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: STAFF PERCEPTIONS.

Science.gov (United States)

Twohig, Aoife; Reulbach, Udo; Figuerdo, Ricardo; McCarthy, Anthony; McNicholas, Fiona; Molloy, Eleanor Joan

2016-01-01

The infant-parent relationship has been shown to be of particular significance to preterm infant socioemotional development. Supporting parents and infants in this process of developing their relationships is an integral part of neonatal intensive care; however, there is limited knowledge of NICU staff perceptions about this aspect of care. To explore NICU staff perceptions about attachment and socioemotional development of preterm infants, experience of training in this area and the emotional impact of their work. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey of staff perceptions of the emotional experiences of parents and the developing parent-infant relationship in an NICU was conducted in a Level III NICU, after pilot testing, revision, and ethical approval. Fifty-seven (68%) of NICU staff responded to the survey. Respondents identified parents' emotional experiences such as "anxiety," "shock," "loss of control," and "lack of feelings of competence as parents" as highly prevalent. Infant cues of "responding to parent's voice" and "quieting-alerting" were ranked most highly; "crying" and "physiological changes" were ranked lowest. Preterm infant medical risk, maternal emotional state, and mental health are perceived to impact most highly on the developing relationship, as compared with infant state or behavior and socioeconomic factors. Fifty-three (93%) respondents felt confident, and 50 (87.8%) felt competent discussing their emotional experiences with parents. Fifty-four (95%) responded that attending to these areas was an integral part of their role; however, staff had seldom received education in this area. Respondents also perceived that specific psychological support for parents was lacking both during and after the infant's discharge. While all staff surveyed perceived the nature of their work to be emotionally stressful, there were differences among NICU staff disciplines and with years of experience in the NICU in terms of their perceptions about education in

An approach to develop a PSA workstation in KAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, T. W.; Han, S. H.; Park, C. K.

1995-01-01

This paper describes three kinds of efforts for the development of PSA workstation in KAERI; Development of a PSA tool, KIRAP, Reliability Database Development, Living PSA tool development. Korea has 9 nuclear power plants (NPPs) in operation and 9 NPPs under design or construction. For the NPPs recently constructed or designed, the probabilistic safety assessments (PSAs) have been performed by the Government requirements. For these PSAs, the MSDOS version of KIRAP has been used. For the consistent data management and the easiness of information handling needed in PSA, APSA workstation, KIRAP-Win is under development under Windows environment. For the reliability database on component failure rate, human error rate, and common cause failure rate, data used in international PSA or reliability data handbook are collected and processed to use in Korean new plants' PSAs. Finally, an effort for the development of a living PSA tool in KAERI based on dynamic PSA concept is described

Development and perspectives of PSA in Cuba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

During the last decade the GDA/PSA has carried out the pre-operational PSA task for the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant. Since 1991 the work has been accomplished in the frames of the IAEA Technical Assistance Project CUB/9/008. The paper describes the stages of this study, (concluding with the Final Report of the pre-operational Level 1 PSA Rev. O), its assumptions, limitations and the main results and concluding remarks

PSA applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubreuil Chambardel, A.

1996-01-01

The IAEA now defines three types of PSA applications: Validation of design and of operation procedures; optimization of plant operation; and regulatory applications. The applications of PSA are manifold: only a few are dealt with here (precursor analysis is dealt with in session 3, topic 4). For each of them, we will do the utmost to demonstrate the main difficulties encountered, EDF's viewpoint on the matter, and the points remaining to be solved. In what follows, unless explicitly stated otherwise, we have made every effort to represent the different applications as they are practiced by all concerned in the international community, and to describe the inherent difficulties the international community has encountered with these applications with all objectivity. It goes without saying that the comments below are simply those of the ESF department, and are submitted here for discussion by the experts. 13 refs

PSA applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dubreuil Chambardel, A

1997-12-31

The IAEA now defines three types of PSA applications: Validation of design and of operation procedures; optimization of plant operation; and regulatory applications. The applications of PSA are manifold: only a few are dealt with here (precursor analysis is dealt with in session 3, topic 4). For each of them, we will do the utmost to demonstrate the main difficulties encountered, EDF`s viewpoint on the matter, and the points remaining to be solved. In what follows, unless explicitly stated otherwise, we have made every effort to represent the different applications as they are practiced by all concerned in the international community, and to describe the inherent difficulties the international community has encountered with these applications with all objectivity. It goes without saying that the comments below are simply those of the ESF department, and are submitted here for discussion by the experts. 13 refs.

PSA testing anxiety, psychological morbidity, and PSA utility in the management of prostate cancer.

OpenAIRE

Micsunescu, Anamaria Elia

2017-01-01

Anecdotal reports from urologists and medical oncologists have suggested that patients with prostate cancer (PCa) often present with anxiety related to ongoing monitoring of their PSA levels as part of their disease management. The purpose of the current study, therefore, was to determine the prevalence and severity of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing anxiety in a population of patients with either localised or metastatic PCa living in Australia. Other aspects of psychological morbidit...

DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC UTILITY OF SERUM PSA IN BREAST CANCER

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

张淑群; 强水云; 李妙羡; 纪宗正

2004-01-01

Objective To investigate the diagnostic and prognostic value of total and free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in breast cancer women. Methods Using the microparticle enzyme immunoassay system, we measured the concentrations of these markers in the sera of 85 women with breast cancer and in 30 healthy women.Results Free PSA levels were significantly higher in women with breast cancer than healthy women (P ＜0. 05 ).The percentage of free PSA predominant subjects was 37. 6% in breast cancer patients and 3. 3% in healthy women.In women with breast cancer,total PSA positivity was 23.5% and free PSA positivity was 27. 1%. When compared to negatives,total PSA positive patients had a higher percentage of lymph node involvement tamours ( P ＞0. 05).However, patients with predominant free PSA had a higher percentage of early stage than patients with predominant PSA-ACT. Conclusion This study indicate clinical significance of preoperative measurement of serum total and free PSA in diagnosis and prognosis of women with breast cancer. The expression of KLKs is correlated with carcinogenesis of breast cancer.

Repeat prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test before prostate biopsy: a 20% decrease in PSA values is associated with a reduced risk of cancer and particularly of high-grade cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

De Nunzio, Cosimo; Lombardo, Riccardo; Nacchia, Antonio; Tema, Giorgia; Tubaro, Andrea

2018-07-01

To analyse the impact of repeating a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level assessment on prostate biopsy decision in a cohort of men undergoing prostate biopsy. From 2015 onwards, we consecutively enrolled, at a single institution in Italy, men undergoing 12-core transrectal ultrasonography-guided prostate needle biopsy. Indication for prostate biopsy was a PSA level of ≥4 ng/mL. Demographic, clinical, and histopathological data were collected. The PSA level was tested at enrolment (PSA 1 ) and 4 weeks later on the day before biopsy (PSA 2 ). Variations in PSA level were defined as: stable PSA 2 within a 10% variation, stable PSA 2 within a 20% variation, PSA 2 decreased by ≥10%, PSA 2 decreased by ≥20%, PSA 2 increased by ≥10%, PSA 2 increased by ≥20%, and PSA 2 PSA within 20% variation had a higher risk of prostate cancer (odds ratio [OR] 1.80, P PSA2 decreased by ≥20% had a lower risk of prostate cancer (OR 0.37, P PSA2 increased by ≥10% had an increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer (OR 1.93, P PSA returned to normal values (PSA levels significantly reduced the risk of high-grade prostate cancer. Further multicentre studies should validate our present results. © 2018 The Authors BJU International © 2018 BJU International Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Universities' expectations of pastoral care: trends, stressors, resource gaps and support needs for teaching staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Laws, Thomas A; Fiedler, Brenton A

2012-10-01

Since the mid-90s, the university environment has challenged the motivation of academic staff to engage in pastoral care. A literature review revealed five themes that aligned with analysis of interview data from a previous study (Laws and Fiedler, 2010). The key themes were i) staff were often disturbed by unplanned intrusions of students who exhibited behavioural problems or sought emotional support, ii) the management of emotions in face-to-face encounters was stressful, iii) staff felt under-equipped for dealing with Mental Health (MH) issues, iv) standards and control needed updating and v) counselling and disability services did not meet academics' need to know about 'at risk' students. Having identified the incidence of mental health issues among Australian University students, this study aims to locate literature that describes how well current university policies/protocols are supported by Evidence Based Practice in the management of MH problems in the student population. Findings from a content analysis of the literature were triangulated with verbatim comments recorded during a previous study that utilised semi structured interviews with 34 academics at the School of Nursing and Midwifery and the School of Commerce at the University of South Australia (Laws and Fiedler, 2010). Lack of clarity on role boundaries around promotion of students' well-being was not clearly defined. The Higher Education (HE) institutions' slowness in responding to mental health needs of students combined with the increasing expectations of academics' performance monitoring has lead staff to avoid deep investment in their students' well-being. The literature indicates that students are in need of psychological support, but pastoral care remains ill-defined despite enduring expectations held by university administrators. Teacher motivation is diminished by time spent with students in need of emotional support which is not acknowledged in workloads. Staff stress is increased by

Final guidance document for extended Level 2 PSA Volume 1. Summary report for external hazards implementation in extended L2 PSA, validation of SAMG strategy and complement of ASAMPSA2 L2PSA guidance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loeffler, H.; Raimond, E.

2016-01-01

The present document is a summary of the deliverables produced within the ASAMPSA-E project for extended L2 PSA. These deliverables are: D30.7 vol. 2, 'Implementing external Events modelling in Level 2 PSA': D30.7 vol. 3: 'Verification and improvement of SAM strategy: D30.7 vol. 4: 'Consideration of shutdown states, spent fuel pools and recent R and D results'. Among many others, the following summary statements are provided: Analyses of external events: - No need for new methodology, - It is necessary to develop L1 PSA first and then clearly defined boundary conditions for the L2 PSA must be generated, - The remaining challenge is how to address adverse environmental conditions due to external hazards. Multi units: - No practical methodology exists to treat the problem, - A new methodology is necessary to be developed first for the L1 PSA. This should, from the beginning, take into account the specific needs of L2 PSA so that the boundary conditions for subsequent level 2 analysis can be generated adequately. SAM strategies verification and improvement: - L2 PSA methodology can usefully by applied and experience exists for internal initiating events L2 PSA, - How to address adverse environmental conditions due to external hazards - needs for new methodology or examples of experience, - How to model the decision process when there is a conflict of interest - needs for new methodology or examples of experience. For L2 PSA in shutdown states with open RPV, some new technical issues (fission product release, thermal load to structures above RPV) have to be addressed. Spent fuel pool issues have been developed, in particular: - Heat load from the melting spent fuel to structures above (e.g. to the containment roof) is a severe challenge for the plant and for the present-day, methodology is missing. Recent R and D achievements with relevance for L2 PSA: - Basic research has been continued in the radiochemistry (iodine and ruthenium chemistry) field, but the existing

PSA Model Improvement Using Maintenance Rule Function Mapping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seo, Mi Ro [KHNP-CRI, Nuclear Safety Laboratory, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2011-10-15

The Maintenance Rule (MR) program, in nature, is a performance-based program. Therefore, the risk information derived from the Probabilistic Safety Assessment model is introduced into the MR program during the Safety Significance determination and Performance Criteria selection processes. However, this process also facilitates the determination of the vulnerabilities in currently utilized PSA models and offers means of improving them. To find vulnerabilities in an existing PSA model, an initial review determines whether the safety-related MR functions are included in the PSA model. Because safety-related MR functions are related to accident prevention and mitigation, it is generally necessary for them to be included in the PSA model. In the process of determining the safety significance of each functions, quantitative risk importance levels are determined through a process known as PSA model basic event mapping to MR functions. During this process, it is common for some inadequate and overlooked models to be uncovered. In this paper, the PSA model and the MR program of Wolsong Unit 1 were used as references

One Approach to the Fire PSA Uncertainty Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simic, Z.; Mikulicic, V.; Vukovic, I.

2002-01-01

Experienced practical events and findings from the number of fire probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) studies show that fire has high relative importance for nuclear power plant safety. Fire PSA is a very challenging phenomenon and a number of issues are still in the area of research and development. This has a major impact on the conservatism of fire PSA findings. One way to reduce the level of conservatism is to conduct uncertainty analysis. At the top-level, uncertainty of the fire PSA can be separated in to three segments. The first segment is related to fire initiating events frequencies. The second uncertainty segment is connected to the uncertainty of fire damage. Finally, there is uncertainty related to the PSA model, which propagates this fire-initiated damage to the core damage or other analyzed risk. This paper discusses all three segments of uncertainty. Some recent experience with fire PSA study uncertainty analysis, usage of fire analysis code COMPBRN IIIe, and uncertainty evaluation importance to the final result is presented.(author)

Predictor of response to salvage radiotherapy in patients with PSA recurrence after radical prostatectomy. The usefulness of PSA doubling time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Numata, Kousaku; Azuma, Koji; Hashine, Katsuyoshi; Sumiyoshi, Yoshiteru

2005-01-01

We assessed predictors of response to salvage radiotherapy (sRT) in patients with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence after radical prostatectomy. A total of 21 patients receiving sRT for PSA recurrence without systemic progression after radical prostatectomy had medical records available for retrospective review. We defined sRT as external beam radiotherapy for patients with a continuous increase in PSA level≥0.2 ng/ml after radical prostatectomy. Response was defined as achievement of a PSA nadir of ≤0.1 ng/ml. Various pre-treatment parameters were evaluated retrospectively. The median follow-up period after sRT was 38 months. Of the 21 patients, 15 were good responders (71%). The only predictive factor was PSA doubling time (PSADT). Age and PSA level at diagnosis, Gleason score and surgical margin status were not significant predictors of response. The median PSADT in responders was 6.2 months versus 1.9 months in non-responders (P=0.019). The patients with a PSADT of ≥5 months were all responders. PSADT appears to be a good predictor of response to sRT. sRT was especially effective when PSADT was ≥5 months. (author)

Disaster Preparedness among Health Professionals and Support Staff: What is Effective? An Integrative Literature Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Gowing, Jeremy R; Walker, Kim N; Elmer, Shandell L; Cummings, Elizabeth A

2017-06-01

Introduction It is important that health professionals and support staff are prepared for disasters to safeguard themselves and the community during disasters. There has been a significantly heightened focus on disasters since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York (USA); however, despite this, it is evident that health professionals and support staff may not be adequately prepared for disasters. Report An integrative literature review was performed based on a keyword search of the major health databases for primary research evaluating preparedness of health professionals and support staff. The literature was quality appraised using a mixed-methods appraisal tool (MMAT), and a thematic analysis was completed to identify current knowledge and gaps. Discussion The main themes identified were: health professionals and support staff may not be fully prepared for disasters; the most effective content and methods for disaster preparedness is unknown; and the willingness of health professionals and support staff to attend work and perform during disasters needs further evaluation. Gaps were identified to guide further research and the creation of new knowledge to best prepare for disasters. These included the need for: high-quality research to evaluate the best content and methods of disaster preparedness; inclusion of the multi-disciplinary health care team as participants; preparation for internal disasters; the development of validated competencies for preparedness; validated tools for measurement; and the importance of performance in actual disasters to evaluate preparation. The literature identified that all types of disaster preparedness activities lead to improvements in knowledge, skills, or attitude preparedness for disasters. Most studies focused on external disasters and the preparedness of medical, nursing, public health, or paramedic professionals. There needs to be a greater focus on the whole health care team, including allied health

PSA in operator training

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nos, V.; Faig, J.; Plesa, P.; Delgado, J. L.

2000-01-01

The systematic approach to training is internationally accepted as the best method to achieve and maintain the qualification and competence of power plant personnel and to guarantee the quality of their training. Following the recommendations and guidelines of international organisations competent in the field, TECNATOM SA has developed projects based on the systematic approach to training for all Spanish nuclear power plants. One of the latest projects was the systematic approach to training developed for the operation personnel of ASCO Nuclear Power Plant. In this case, certain results of the Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA) which complement the systematic safety and reliability criteria of the systematic approach to training process have been incorporated in the traditional processes of work and task analysis and training plan design. This incorporation provides the training manager with additional criteria based not only on safety aspects obtained through the statistical treatment of considerations of skilled technical personnel (operators, operation chief supervisors, etc), but also on the independent criterion of the PSA. The inclusion of this approach basically affects all systematics in two of its stages: During the selection process of operating practices in SMR or SGI, the possible scenarios have been associated with all those situations where human actions which lead to an initiating event or human actions to mitigate an initiating event, may take place, as defined in the PSA. During the scenario development process, the instruments involved in the performance of human actions which originate or mitigate an event taking place have been identified. This pakes it possible to reconcile the scenario event sequence with the sequence considered in the PSA study, as the most likely to provoke a more serious accident. The incorporation of these PSA results contributes to the strengthening of safety aspects in training in an objective way, and confirms that

Upgrade of internal events PSA model using the AESJ level-1 PSA standard for operating state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Teruyoshi; Yoneyama, Mitsuru; Hirokawa, Naoki; Sato, Chikahiro; Sato, Eisuke; Tomizawa, Shigeatsu

2009-01-01

In 2003, the Atomic Energy Society of Japan (AESJ) started to develop the Level-1 Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) standard of internal events for operating state (AESJ standard). The AESJ standard has been finished to be asked for public comment. Using the AESJ standard (draft version), the authors have upgraded the PSA model for Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) BWR-5 plant not only to reflect latest knowledge but also to ensure high quality of PSA model (not yet peer-reviewed) for the purpose of better operation and maintenance management of TEPCO BWR plants. For example, the categorization of structures, systems and components (SSCs) will be performed to improve nuclear reactor safety using information of risk importance. (author)

Development of the SKI Handbook for reviewing PSA after the review of the of a PSA level 2 study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindholm, Ilona; Sairanen, Risto

2003-02-01

A review of the Oskarshamn 2 Level 2 PSA has been conducted by VTT Processes. One objective of the review was validation and development of Tillsynshandbok PSA applying it to Oskarshamn 2 PSA Level 2 study. The review was based on the PSA Level 2 documentation: the main report, the supporting reports on containment success criteria and release calculations with the MAAP4 code, and five phenomenological reports for selected specific questions. The main result of the phenomenological analyses is that none of the phenomena considered contributes to the conditional failure probability of the Oskarshamn 2 containment in severe accidents. The project was conducted as a set of separate studies and the project quality assurance has also focused on one part at the time. As such, the quality assurance is adequate. A high level QA ensuring that all separate studies and analysis steps use same assumptions seems to be missing. Results from the phenomenology reports are not always transferred to accident analyses and vice versa. There is no specific discussion of uncertainty or sensitivity analyses. In general, the number of sensitivity analyses could be larger. Such should have been provided for sequences or phenomena that could result in early or unmitigated release. Examples are pressure vessel failure at high pressure, the effect of larger hydrogen production, and the key assumptions used for steam explosion and direct containment heating. Suggestions for additional sensitivity studies have been given in discussion of phenomenological reports. The project documentation is generally good. Missing information is usually associated with transfer of results from one study to another. It can be assumed that the information exists also in this cases but has not been documented in the reports above. Documentation of the containment event trees and the assumptions used for them could be more detailed, maybe similar to the approach used in the Appendix of this report. More effort

Development of seismic PSA methodology at JAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muramatsu, K.; Ebisawa, K.; Matsumoto, K.; Oikawa, T.; Kondo, M.

1995-01-01

The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) is developing a methodology for seismic probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) of nuclear power plants, aiming at providing a set of procedures, computer codes and data suitable for performing seismic PSA in Japan. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of JAERI's methodology and to obtain better understanding on the controlling factors of the results of seismic PSAs, a seismic PSA for a BWR is in progress. In the course of this PSA, various improvements were made on the methodology. In the area of the hazard analysis, the application of the current method to the model plant site is being carried out. In the area of response analysis, the response factor method was modified to consider the non-linear response effect of the building. As for the capacity evaluation of components, since capacity data for PSA in Japan are very scarce, capacities of selected components used in Japan were evaluated. In the systems analysis, the improvement of the SECOM2 code was made to perform importance analysis and sensitivity analysis for the effect of correlation of responses and correlation of capacities. This paper summarizes the recent progress of the seismic PSA research at JAERI with emphasis on the evaluation of component capacity and the methodology improvement of systems reliability analysis. (author)

Childhood Obesity – Prevention Begins with Breastfeeding PSA (:60)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

This 60 second Public Service Announcement (PSA) is based on the August, 2011 CDC Vital Signs report. Childhood obesity is an epidemic in the US. Breastfeeding can help prevent obesity, but one in three moms stop without hospital support. About 95% of hospitals lack policies that fully support breastfeeding moms. Hospitals need to do more to help moms start and continue breastfeeding.

Results of level 1 PSA in Trillo 1 NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez, F.; Lopez, C.

1998-01-01

In July 1991, C. N. Trillo I was requested by the Spanish Regulatory Body (CSN) to perform a PSA that should include: - Level 1 PSA at power - Internal flooding analysis - Level 2 PSA including containment capacity analysis. - External event analyses (fires, external flooding, seismic events and other external events) - Risk analysis for off power conditions (shutdown and low power) - Risk analysis due to other sources of radioactivity In 1992 the Project Plan was issued and the PSA team for the performance of Level 1 PSA was established. Before finishing the Project, it was decided to develop a Phase B to take into account some important modifications that had been accomplished in the Plant and that, probably, could affect the results. Level 1 PSA was finished in March 1998. Both the results of the study and the main conclusions derived from the importance, uncertainty and sensibility analysis performed are presented in this paper. These results de not include the internal flooding analysis conclusions and correspond to PSA revision 0 that is currently being evaluated by the Spanish Regulatory Body. (Author)

Perspectives of Living PSA in NPP Krsko

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vrbanic, I.; Kastelan, M.

1996-01-01

Nuclear power plant Krsko has completed the Level 1/Level 2 Probabilistic Safety Analysis (PSA) for internal initiating events and is in the process of completing the same for the external initiators. The analysis completed up to now has provided a valuable insight into a plant risk profile. In NPP Krsko there is a plan to use the PSA model as a permanent tool for the risk based applications and incorporate it into a decision making process. In order to achieve this there is a need to permanently maintain the PSA model in a manner that it reflects both the plan configuration/design at a time point and the operational experience up to the time point. All the activities aimed toward keeping the PSA model up-to-dated in this sense are usually referred to as a Living PSA (LPSA) program. NPP Krsko is in the process of defining and proceduralizing a LPSA program that would be plant specific and based on known world practices. Further, in order to be suitable for risk based applications the PSA model must be flexible in a sense that modifications to the base case model may be done easily and requantifications performed quickly as to evaluate various conditions imposed by real or hypothetical situations. NPP Krsko PSA model has been based on licensing type software. The requirements specified above dictate the transfer of the overall model to an application oriented software of newer generation with larger capabilities. The transfer becomes a part of a mentioned ongoing effort aimed at establishing LPSA model and concept. The paper present this effort and the perspectives of LPSA concept and risk based applications in NPP Krsko. (author)

Acceptance and mindfulness-based stress management for support staff caring for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

McConachie, Douglas Alexander James; McKenzie, Karen; Morris, Paul Graham; Walley, Robert M

2014-06-01

Support staff working with individuals with intellectual disability (ID) and challenging behaviour experience high levels of work-related stress. Preliminary theoretical and experimental research has highlighted the potential suitability of acceptance and mindfulness approaches for addressing support staff stress. This study examines the effectiveness of an acceptance and mindfulness-based stress management workshop on the levels of psychological distress and well-being of support staff working with individuals with ID and challenging behaviour. Support staff (n=120) were randomly assigned to a workshop intervention condition (n=66) or to a waiting list control condition (n=54). Measurements were completed at three time points (pre-, post and 6 week follow-up) for: psychological distress, well-being, perceived work stressors, thought suppression, and emotional avoidance/psychological inflexibility. The intervention led to significantly greater reductions in distress in the intervention group than in the control group. This was largely maintained at 6 week follow-up. This effect was more pronounced amongst a subsample that had shown higher levels of psychological distress at baseline. Thought suppression was found to reduce significantly in the intervention group between post intervention and follow-up, although no significant change was found in well-being or experiential avoidance/psychological inflexibility. Overall, results demonstrated support for the effectiveness of an acceptance and mindfulness-based intervention in reducing distress. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Human Reliability Analysis of Post- Accident Human Errors in the Low Power and Shutdown PSA of KSNP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Daeil; Kim, J. H.; Jang, S. C

2007-03-15

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, using the ANS low power and shutdown (LPSD) probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) Standard, evaluated the LPSD PSA model of the KSNP, Yonggwang Units 5 and 6, and identified the items to be improved. The evaluation results of human reliability analysis (HRA) of the post-accident human errors in the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP showed that 10 items among 19 items of supporting requirements for those in the ANS PRA Standard were identified as them to be improved. Thus, we newly carried out a HRA for post-accident human errors in the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP. Following tasks are the improvements in the HRA of post-accident human errors of the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP compared with the previous one: Interviews with operators in the interpretation of the procedure, modeling of operator actions, and the quantification results of human errors, site visit. Applications of limiting value to the combined post-accident human errors. Documentation of information of all the input and bases for the detailed quantifications and the dependency analysis using the quantification sheets The assessment results for the new HRA results of post-accident human errors using the ANS LPSD PRA Standard show that above 80% items of its supporting requirements for post-accident human errors were graded as its Category II. The number of the re-estimated human errors using the LPSD Korea Standard HRA method is 385. Among them, the number of individual post-accident human errors is 253. The number of dependent post-accident human errors is 135. The quantification results of the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP with new HEPs show that core damage frequency (CDF) is increased by 5.1% compared with the previous baseline CDF It is expected that this study results will be greatly helpful to improve the PSA quality for the domestic nuclear power plants because they have sufficient PSA quality to meet the Category II of Supporting Requirements for the post

A Human Reliability Analysis of Post- Accident Human Errors in the Low Power and Shutdown PSA of KSNP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Daeil; Kim, J. H.; Jang, S. C.

2007-03-01

Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, using the ANS low power and shutdown (LPSD) probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) Standard, evaluated the LPSD PSA model of the KSNP, Yonggwang Units 5 and 6, and identified the items to be improved. The evaluation results of human reliability analysis (HRA) of the post-accident human errors in the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP showed that 10 items among 19 items of supporting requirements for those in the ANS PRA Standard were identified as them to be improved. Thus, we newly carried out a HRA for post-accident human errors in the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP. Following tasks are the improvements in the HRA of post-accident human errors of the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP compared with the previous one: Interviews with operators in the interpretation of the procedure, modeling of operator actions, and the quantification results of human errors, site visit. Applications of limiting value to the combined post-accident human errors. Documentation of information of all the input and bases for the detailed quantifications and the dependency analysis using the quantification sheets The assessment results for the new HRA results of post-accident human errors using the ANS LPSD PRA Standard show that above 80% items of its supporting requirements for post-accident human errors were graded as its Category II. The number of the re-estimated human errors using the LPSD Korea Standard HRA method is 385. Among them, the number of individual post-accident human errors is 253. The number of dependent post-accident human errors is 135. The quantification results of the LPSD PSA model for the KSNP with new HEPs show that core damage frequency (CDF) is increased by 5.1% compared with the previous baseline CDF It is expected that this study results will be greatly helpful to improve the PSA quality for the domestic nuclear power plants because they have sufficient PSA quality to meet the Category II of Supporting Requirements for the post

Regulatory review of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) Level 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-07-01

Probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) is increasingly being used as part of the decision making process to assess the level of safety of nuclear power plants. The methodologies in use are maturing and the insights gained from the PSAs are being used along with those from deterministic analysis. Many regulatory authorities consider the current state of the art in PSA to be sufficiently well developed for results to be used centrally in the regulatory decision making process-referred to as risk informed regulation. For these applications to be successful, it will be necessary for the regulatory authority to have a high degree of confidence in the PSA. However, at the 1994 IAEA Technical Committee Meeting on Use of PSA in the Regulatory Process and at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Committee for Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) 'Special Issues' meeting in 1997 on Review Procedures and Criteria for Different Regulatory Applications of PSA, it was recognized that formal regulatory review guidance for PSA did not exist. The senior regulators noted that there was a need to produce some international guidance for reviewing PSAs to establish an agreed basis for assessing whether important technological and methodological issues in PSAs are treated adequately and to verify that conclusions reached are appropriate. In 1997, the IAEA and OECD Nuclear Energy Agency agreed to produce, in cooperation, guidance on Regulatory Review of PSA. This led to the publication of IAEA-TECDOC-1135 on the Regulatory Review of Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) Level 1, which gives advice for the review of Level 1 PSA for initiating events occurring at power plants. This TECDOC extends the coverage to address the regulatory review of Level 2 PSA.These publications are intended to provide guidance to regulatory authorities on how to review the PSA for a nuclear power plant to gain confidence that it has been carried out to an acceptable level of quality so that it can be used as the

The PSA assessment of Defense in Depth Memorandum and proposals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fiorini, Gian-Luigi; La Rovere, Stefano

2016-01-01

This report concerns the peculiar roles of the Defence-in-Depth (DiD) concept and the Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) approach for the optimization of the safety performances of the nuclear installation. It proposes a conceptual framework and related process for the assessment of the 'safety architecture' implementing DiD, which is articulated in four main steps devoted to (1) the formulation of the safety objectives, (2) the identification of loads and environmental conditions, (3) the representation of the safety architecture and (4) the evaluation of the physical performance and reliability of the levels of DiD. A final additional step achieves the practical assessment of the safety architecture and the corresponding DiD with the support of the PSA. The comprehensive safety assessment of the implemented architecture needs its multi-dimensional representation, i.e. for given initiating event, sequence of possible failures, affected safety function and level of DiD. The risk space (frequency/probability of occurrence, versus consequences) is the framework for the integration between the DiD concept and the PSA approach. Additional qualitative key-notions are introduced in order to address the compliance of the safety architecture with a number of international safety requirements. In this context, the role of the PSA is no longer limited to the verification of the fulfilment of probabilistic targets but includes different contributions to the assessment of the DiD identified in this report. (authors)

Regulatory review of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) level 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-02-01

Probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) is increasingly being used as part of the decision making process to assess the level of safety of nuclear power plants. The methodologies in use are maturing and the insights gained from the PSAs are being used along with those from the deterministic analysis. Many regulatory authorities consider that the current state of the art in PSA (especially Level 1 PSA) is sufficiently well developed that it can be used centrally in the regulatory decision making process - referred to as 'risk informed regulation'. For these applications to be successful, it will be necessary for regulatory authorities to have a high degree of confidence in PSA. However, at the IAEA Technical Committee Meeting on Use of PSA in the Regulatory Process in 1994 and at the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Committee for Nuclear Regulatory Activities (CNRA) 'Special Issues' Meeting in 1997 on Review Procedures and Criteria for Different Regulatory Applications of PSA, it was recognized that formal regulatory review guidance for PSA did not exist. The senior regulators noted that there was a need to produce some international guidance for reviewing PSAs to establish an agreed basis for assessing whether important technological and methodological issues in PSAs are treated adequately and to verify that conclusions reached are appropriate. In 1997 the IAEA and OECD Nuclear Energy Agency agreed to produce in co-operation a technical document on the regulatory review of PSA. This publication is intended to provide guidance to regulatory authorities on how to review the PSA for a nuclear power plant to gain confidence that it has been carried out to an acceptable standard so that it can be used as the basis for taking risk informed decisions within a regulatory decision making process. The document gives guidance on how to set about reviewing a PSA and on the technical issues that need to be addressed. This publication gives guidance for the review of Level 1 PSA for

Clinical performance of serum prostate-specific antigen isoform [-2]proPSA (p2PSA) and its derivatives, %p2PSA and the prostate health index (PHI), in men with a family history of prostate cancer: results from a multicentre European study, the PROMEtheuS project.

Science.gov (United States)

Lazzeri, Massimo; Haese, Alexander; Abrate, Alberto; de la Taille, Alexandre; Redorta, Joan Palou; McNicholas, Thomas; Lughezzani, Giovanni; Lista, Giuliana; Larcher, Alessandro; Bini, Vittorio; Cestari, Andrea; Buffi, Nicolòmaria; Graefen, Markus; Bosset, Olivier; Le Corvoisier, Philippe; Breda, Alberto; de la Torre, Pablo; Fowler, Linda; Roux, Jacques; Guazzoni, Giorgio

2013-08-01

To test the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of serum prostate-specific antigen isoform [-2]proPSA (p2PSA), %p2PSA and the prostate health index (PHI), in men with a family history of prostate cancer (PCa) undergoing prostate biopsy for suspected PCa. To evaluate the potential reduction in unnecessary biopsies and the characteristics of potentially missed cases of PCa that would result from using serum p2PSA, %p2PSA and PHI. The analysis consisted of a nested case-control study from the PRO-PSA Multicentric European Study, the PROMEtheuS project. All patients had a first-degree relative (father, brother, son) with PCa. Multivariable logistic regression models were complemented by predictive accuracy analysis and decision-curve analysis. Of the 1026 patients included in the PROMEtheuS cohort, 158 (15.4%) had a first-degree relative with PCa. p2PSA, %p2PSA and PHI values were significantly higher (P PHI (AUC: 0.733) to be the most accurate predictors of PCa at biopsy, significantly outperforming total PSA ([tPSA] AUC: 0.549), free PSA ([fPSA] AUC: 0.489) and %fPSA (AUC: 0.600) (P ≤ 0.001). For %p2PSA a threshold of 1.66 was found to have the best balance between sensitivity and specificity (70.4 and 70.1%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 58.4-80.7 and 59.4-79.5 respectively). A PHI threshold of 40 was found to have the best balance between sensitivity and specificity (64.8 and 71.3%, respectively; 95% CI 52.5-75.8 and 60.6-80.5). At 90% sensitivity, the thresholds for %p2PSA and PHI were 1.20 and 25.5, with a specificity of 37.9 and 25.5%, respectively. At a %p2PSA threshold of 1.20, a total of 39 (24.8%) biopsies could have been avoided, but two cancers with a Gleason score (GS) of 7 would have been missed. At a PHI threshold of 25.5 a total of 27 (17.2%) biopsies could have been avoided and two (3.8%) cancers with a GS of 7 would have been missed. In multivariable logistic regression models, %p2PSA and PHI achieved independent predictor status and

Clinical outcomes and nadir prostate-specific antigen (PSA) according to initial PSA levels in primary androgen deprivation therapy for metastatic prostate cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Kitagawa, Yasuhide; Ueno, Satoru; Izumi, Kouji; Kadono, Yoshifumi; Mizokami, Atsushi; Hinotsu, Shiro; Akaza, Hideyuki; Namiki, Mikio

2016-03-01

To investigate the clinical outcomes of metastatic prostate cancer patients and the relationship between nadir prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and different types of primary androgen deprivation therapy (PADT). This study utilized data from the Japan Study Group of Prostate Cancer registry, which is a large, multicenter, population-based database. A total of 2982 patients treated with PADT were enrolled. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to compare progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients treated using combined androgen blockade (CAB) and non-CAB therapies. The relationships between nadir PSA levels and PADT type according to initial serum PSA levels were also investigated. Among the 2982 enrolled patients, 2101 (70.5 %) were treated with CAB. Although CAB-treated patients had worse clinical characteristics, their probability of PFS and OS was higher compared with those treated with a non-CAB therapy. These results were due to a survival benefit with CAB in patients with an initial PSA level of 500-1000 ng/mL. Nadir PSA levels were significantly lower in CAB patients than in non-CAB patients with comparable initial serum PSA levels. A small survival benefit for CAB in metastatic prostate cancer was demonstrated in a Japanese large-scale prospective cohort study. The clinical significance of nadir PSA levels following PADT was evident, but the predictive impact of PSA nadir on OS was different between CAB and non-CAB therapy.

PSA in design of passive/active safety reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, T.; Tanabe, A.; Kondo, S.

1995-01-01

PSAs in the design of advanced reactors are applied mainly in level 1 PSA areas. However, even in level 1 PSA, there are certain areas where special care must be taken depending on plant design concepts. This paper identifies these areas both for passive and active safety reactor concepts. For example, 'long-term PSA' and shutdown PSA are very important for a passive safety reactor concept from the standpoint of effectiveness of a grace period and passive safety systems. External events are also important for an active safety reactor concept. These kinds of special PSAs are difficult to conduct precisely in a conceptual design stage. This paper shows methods of conducting these kinds of special PSAs simply and conveniently and the use of acquired insights for the design of advanced reactors. This paper also clarifies the meaning or definition of a grace period from the standpoint of PSA

Deciding on PSA-screening - Quality of current consumer information on the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Korfage, Ida J; van den Bergh, Roderick C N; Essink-Bot, Marie-Louise

2010-11-01

Given that screening for prostate cancer has the potential to reduce prostate cancer mortality at the expense of considerable overdiagnosis and overtreatment, the availability of core consumer information - correct, balanced and supportive of autonomous decision-making - is a must. We assessed the quality of consumer information available through the Internet per November 2009 and its possible contribution to informed decision-making by potential screenees. Consumer information on PSA-screening was sought through the Internet in November 2009. Materials had to be targeted at potential consumers, offered by not-for-profit organisations, released in 2005 or after, in English or Dutch. Per material 2 of the authors assessed independently from each other whether standardised pre-defined topics were addressed, whether the content was correct and which approach was taken towards the decision-making process about uptake. Twenty-three materials were included, of which 11 were released (shortly) after the results of 2 large randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated the effectiveness of screening for prostate cancer had been published in March 2009. That a PSA-test result can be abnormal because of non-cancerous conditions (false positive) and that it may miss prostate cancer (false negative) was not addressed in 2/23 and 8/23 materials, respectively. The risk of overdiagnosis and overtreatment was not mentioned in 6 out of 23. PSA-screening was presented as a usual thing to do in some materials, whereas other materials emphasised the voluntary nature of PSA-screening ('it is your decision'). The content of 19/23 materials was considered sufficiently informative according to the pre-defined criteria, 12/23 materials were considered supportive of informed decision-making by men. Most materials of not-for-profit organizations supplied adequate information about PSA-screening, whilst the degree of persuasion towards uptake reflected variations in opinions on men

PSA data base, comparison of the German and French approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kreuser, A.; Tirira, J.

2001-01-01

The results of probabilistic safety assessments (PSA) of nuclear power plants strongly depend on the reliability data used. This report describes coarsely the general process to generate reliability data for components and resumes the differences between the German and French approaches. As has been shown in former studies which compared international PSA data, PSA data are closely related to the model definitions of the PSA. Therefore single PSA data cannot be compared directly without regard e.g. to the corresponding fault trees. These findings are confirmed by this study. The comparison of German and French methods shows a lot of differences concerning various details of the data generation process. Some differences between single reliability data should be eliminated when taking into account the complete fault tree analysis. But there are some other differences which have a direct impact on the obtained results of a PSA. In view of the all differences between both approaches concerning the definition of data and the data collection process, it is not possible to compare directly German and French PSA data. However, the database differences give no indication on the influence on the PSA results. Therefore, it is a need to perform a common IPSN/GRS assessment on how the different databases impact the PSA results. (orig.)

The role of PSA in safety management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szikszai, T.

1997-01-01

The presentation discusses the following issues: defence in depth principle (the role of the barriers, how does PSA represents the barriers?); the safety management and nuclear power plants; the probabilistic and deterministic approaches; the PSA applications and safety management

Long-term longitudinal changes in baseline PSA distribution and estimated prevalence of prostate cancer in male Japanese participants of population-based PSA screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Oki, Ryo; Ito, Kazuto; Suzuki, Rie; Fujizuka, Yuji; Arai, Seiji; Miyazawa, Yoshiyuki; Sekine, Yoshitaka; Koike, Hidekazu; Matsui, Hiroshi; Shibata, Yasuhiro; Suzuki, Kazuhiro

2018-04-26

Japan has experienced a drastic increase in the incidence of prostate cancer (PC). To assess changes in the risk for PC, we investigated baseline prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels in first-time screened men, across a 25-year period. In total, 72,654 men, aged 50-79, underwent first-time PSA screening in Gunma prefecture between 1992 and 2016. Changes in the distribution of PSA levels were investigated, including the percentage of men with a PSA above cut-off values and linear regression analyses comparing log 10 PSA with age. The 'ultimate incidence' of PC and clinically significant PC (CSPC) were estimated using the PC risk calculator. Changes in the age-standardized incidence rate (AIR) during this period were analyzed. The calculated coefficients of linear regression for age versus log 10 PSA fluctuated during the 25-year period, but no trend was observed. In addition, the percentage of men with a PSA above cut-off values varied in each 5-year period, with no specific trend. The 'risk calculator (RC)-based AIR' of PC and CSPC were stable between 1992 and 2016. Therefore, the baseline risk for developing PC has remained unchanged in the past 25 years, in Japan. The drastic increase in the incidence of PC, beginning around 2000, may be primarily due to increased PSA screening in the country. © 2018 UICC.

Experiences of Uncertainty in Men With an Elevated PSA.

Science.gov (United States)

Biddle, Caitlin; Brasel, Alicia; Underwood, Willie; Orom, Heather

2015-05-15

A significant proportion of men, ages 50 to 70 years, have, and continue to receive prostate specific antigen (PSA) tests to screen for prostate cancer (PCa). Approximately 70% of men with an elevated PSA level will not subsequently be diagnosed with PCa. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 men with an elevated PSA level who had not been diagnosed with PCa. Uncertainty was prominent in men's reactions to the PSA results, stemming from unanswered questions about the PSA test, PCa risk, and confusion about their management plan. Uncertainty was exacerbated or reduced depending on whether health care providers communicated in lay and empathetic ways, and provided opportunities for question asking. To manage uncertainty, men engaged in information and health care seeking, self-monitoring, and defensive cognition. Results inform strategies for meeting informational needs of men with an elevated PSA and confirm the primary importance of physician communication behavior for open information exchange and uncertainty reduction. © The Author(s) 2015.

A Joint Report on PSA for New and Advanced Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

This report addresses the application of Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) to new and advanced nuclear reactors. As far as advanced reactors are concerned, the objectives were to characterize the ability of current PSA technology to address key questions regarding the development, acceptance and licensing of advanced reactor designs, to characterize the potential value of advanced PSA methods and tools for application to advanced reactors, and to develop recommendations for any needed developments regarding PSA for these reactors. As far as the design and commissioning of new nuclear power plants is concerned, the objectives were to identify and characterize current practices regarding the role of PSA, to identify key technical issues regarding PSA, lessons learned and issues requiring further work; to develop recommendations regarding the use of PSA, and to identify future international cooperative work on the identified issues. In order to reach these objectives, questionnaires had been sent to participating countries and organisations

Performance of serum prostate-specific antigen isoform [-2]proPSA (p2PSA) and the prostate health index (PHI) in a Chinese hospital-based biopsy population.

Science.gov (United States)

Na, Rong; Ye, Dingwei; Liu, Fang; Chen, Haitao; Qi, Jun; Wu, Yishuo; Zhang, Guiming; Wang, Meilin; Wang, Wenying; Sun, Jielin; Yu, Guopeng; Zhu, Yao; Ren, Shancheng; Zheng, S Lilly; Jiang, Haowen; Sun, Yinghao; Ding, Qiang; Xu, Jianfeng

2014-11-01

The use of serum [-2]proPSA (p2PSA) and its derivative, the prostate health index (PHI), in detecting prostate cancer (PCa) have been consistently shown to have better performance than total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA) in discriminating biopsy outcomes in western countries. However, little is known about their performance in Chinese men. Our objective is to test the performance of p2PSA and PHI and their added value to tPSA in discriminating biopsy outcomes in Chinese men. Consecutive patients who underwent prostate biopsy in three tertiary hospitals in Shanghai, China during 2012-2013 were recruited. Serum tPSA, free PSA (fPSA), and p2PSA were measured centrally using Beckman Coulter's DxI 800 Immunoassay System. The primary outcome is PCa and the secondary outcome is high-grade PCa (Gleason Score of 4 + 3 or worse). Discriminative performance was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), detection rate and Decision Curve Analysis (DCA). Among 636 patients who underwent prostate biopsy, PHI was a significant predictor of biopsy outcomes, independent of other clinical variables. The AUC in discriminating PCa from non-PCa was consistently higher for PHI than tPSA in the entire cohort (0.88 vs. 0.81) as well as in patients with tPSA at 2-10 ng/ml (0.73 vs. 0.53), at 10.1-20 ng/ml (0.81 vs. 0.58), and at tPSA >20 ng/ml (0.90 vs. 0.80). The differences were statistically significant in all comparisons, P prostate biopsy in China. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Quality of the current low power and shutdown PSA practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Seung Cheol; Park, Jin Hee; Lim, Ho Gon; Kim, Tae Woon

2004-01-01

A probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) for the low-power and shutdown (LPSD) modes in a Korea standard nuclear power plant (KSNP) has been performed for the purpose of estimating the LPSD risk and identifying the vulnerabilities of LPSD operations. Both the operational experience and PSA results indicate that the risks from LPSD operations could be comparable with those from power operations. However, the application of the LPSD risk insights to risk-informed decision making has been slow to be adopted in practice. It is largely due to the question of whether the current LPSD PSA practice is appropriate for application to risk-informed decision making or not. Such a question has to do with the quality of the current LPSD PSA practice. In this paper, we have performed self-assessment of the KSNP LPSD PSA quality based on the ANS Standard (draft as of 13 Sep. 2002). The aims of the work are to find the LPSD PSA technical areas insufficient for application to risk-informed decision making and to efficiently allocate the limited research resources to improve the LPSD PSA model quality. Many useful findings regarding the current LPSD PSA quality are presented in this paper

Development of the IPRO-zone for fire PSA and its applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, D. I.; Han, S. H.

2012-01-01

A PSA analyst has been manually determining fire-induced component failure modes and modeling them into the PSA logics. These can be difficult and time-consuming tasks as they need much information and many events are to be modeled. KAERI has been developing the IPRO-ZONE (interface program for constructing zone effect table) to facilitate fire PSA works for identifying and modeling fire-induced component failure modes, and to construct a one top fire event PSA model. With the output of the IPRO-ZONE, the AIMS-PSA, and internal event one top PSA model, one top fire events PSA model is automatically constructed. The outputs of the IPRO-ZONE include information on fire zones/fire scenarios, fire propagation areas, equipment failure modes affected by a fire, internal PSA basic events corresponding to fire-induced equipment failure modes, and fire events to be modeled. This paper introduces the IPRO-ZONE, and its application results to fire PSA of Ulchin Unit 3 and SMART(System-integrated Modular Advanced Reactor). (authors)

Development of the IPRO-zone for fire PSA and its applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, D. I.; Han, S. H. [Integrated Safety Assessment Div., Korea Atomic Energy Research Inst. KAERI, 1045 Daedeokdaero (150 Deokjin-Dong), Yuseong-Gu, Daejon, 305-353 (Korea, Republic of)

2012-07-01

A PSA analyst has been manually determining fire-induced component failure modes and modeling them into the PSA logics. These can be difficult and time-consuming tasks as they need much information and many events are to be modeled. KAERI has been developing the IPRO-ZONE (interface program for constructing zone effect table) to facilitate fire PSA works for identifying and modeling fire-induced component failure modes, and to construct a one top fire event PSA model. With the output of the IPRO-ZONE, the AIMS-PSA, and internal event one top PSA model, one top fire events PSA model is automatically constructed. The outputs of the IPRO-ZONE include information on fire zones/fire scenarios, fire propagation areas, equipment failure modes affected by a fire, internal PSA basic events corresponding to fire-induced equipment failure modes, and fire events to be modeled. This paper introduces the IPRO-ZONE, and its application results to fire PSA of Ulchin Unit 3 and SMART(System-integrated Modular Advanced Reactor). (authors)

Development of a Base Model for the New Fire PSA Training

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kilyoo; Kang, Daeil; Kim, Wee Kyong; Do, Kyu Sik

2013-01-01

US NRC/EPRI issued a new fire PSA method represented by NUREG/CR 6850, and have been training many operators and inspectors to widely spread the new method. However, there is a limitation in time and efficiency for many foreigners, who generally have communication problem, to participate in the EPRI/NRC training to learn the new method. Since it is about time to introduce the new fire PSA method as a regulatory requirement for the fire protection in Korea, a simple and easy-understandable base model for the fire PSA training is required, and KAERI-KINS is jointly preparing the base model for the new fire PSA training. This paper describes how the base model is developed. Using an imaginary simple NPP, a base model of fire PSA following the new fire PSA method was developed in two ways from the internal PSA model. Since we have the base model and know the process of making the fire PSA model, the training for the new fire PSA method can be in detail performed in Korea

Analytic expressions for the construction of a fire event PSA model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Dae Il; Kim, Kil Yoo; Kim, Dong San; Hwang, Mee Jeong; Yang, Joon Eon

2016-01-01

In this study, the changing process of an internal event PSA model to a fire event PSA model is analytically presented and discussed. Many fire PSA models have fire induced initiating event fault trees not shown in an internal event PSA model. Fire-induced initiating fault tree models are developed for addressing multiple initiating event issues. A single fire event within a fire compartment or fire scenario can cause multiple initiating events. As an example, a fire in a turbine building area can cause a loss of the main feed-water and loss of off-site power initiating events. Up to now, there has been no analytic study on the construction of a fire event PSA model using an internal event PSA model with fault trees of initiating events. In this paper, the changing process of an internal event PSA model to a fire event PSA model was analytically presented and discussed. This study results show that additional cutsets can be obtained if the fault trees of initiating events for a fire event PSA model are not exactly developed.

Analytic expressions for the construction of a fire event PSA model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Dae Il; Kim, Kil Yoo; Kim, Dong San; Hwang, Mee Jeong; Yang, Joon Eon [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

In this study, the changing process of an internal event PSA model to a fire event PSA model is analytically presented and discussed. Many fire PSA models have fire induced initiating event fault trees not shown in an internal event PSA model. Fire-induced initiating fault tree models are developed for addressing multiple initiating event issues. A single fire event within a fire compartment or fire scenario can cause multiple initiating events. As an example, a fire in a turbine building area can cause a loss of the main feed-water and loss of off-site power initiating events. Up to now, there has been no analytic study on the construction of a fire event PSA model using an internal event PSA model with fault trees of initiating events. In this paper, the changing process of an internal event PSA model to a fire event PSA model was analytically presented and discussed. This study results show that additional cutsets can be obtained if the fault trees of initiating events for a fire event PSA model are not exactly developed.

Serum PSA levels in the Indian population: Is it different?

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, Amit; Karan, Shailesh Chandra

2017-04-01

Serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is an important tumour, marker which is widely used to trigger trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy. However, the PSA levels vary with race and ethnicity. Therefore, there is a need to have an Indian reference range. All adult male patients meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled in this study. They were subjected to assessment of serum total PSA, digital rectal examination and trans-abdominal ultrasound. If any one or more of these were found abnormal, then a TRUS-guided 12-core prostate biopsy was done. Patients who were detected to have prostatic cancer were excluded from the final analysis. The data so obtained was grouped among the following three age groups: 40-49, 50-59 and 60-70 years, and the age-specific PSA values, prostatic volume and PSA density were found. A total of 1772 patients were analysed. The mean serum total PSA was 1.76 ng/ml with a standard deviation of 2.566 ng/ml. Group-wise age distribution of the mean serum total PSA was 1.22, 1.97 and 2.08 ng/ml in 40-49, 50-59 and 60-70 years age groups. The mean total PSA and the age-specific PSA range tend to be lower in the Indians than the Western population.

Safety Goal, Multi-unit Risk and PSA Uncertainty

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Joon-Eon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

The safety goal is an answer of each country to the question 'How safe is safe enough?'. Table 1 shows some examples of the safety goal. However, many countries including Korea do not have the official safety goal for NPPs up to now since the establishment of safety goal is not just a technical issue but a very complex socio-technical issue. In establishing the safety goal for nuclear facilities, we have to consider various factors including not only technical aspects but also social, cultural ones. Recently, Korea is trying to establish the official safety goal. In this paper, we will review the relationship between the safety goal and Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA). We will also address some important technical issues to be considered in establishing the safety goal for NPPs from PSA point of view, i.e. a multi-unit risk issue and the uncertainty of PSA. In this paper, we reviewed some issues related to the safety goal and PSA. We believe that the safety goal is to be established in Korea considering the multi-unit risk. In addition, the relationship between the safety goal and PSA should be also defined clearly since PSA is the only way to answer to the question 'How safe is safe enough?'.

[Rates of total and free PSA prescriptions in France (2012-2014)].

Science.gov (United States)

Tuppin, Philippe; Leboucher, Claire; Peyre-Lanquar, Gabrielle; Lamy, Pierre-Jean; Gabach, Pierre; Rébillard, Xavier

2017-10-01

In 2010, the French Haute Autorité de santé (National Health Authority) confirmed the limited value of prostate cancer (PCa) screening by total prostate-specific antigen (PSA) assay. This study was designed to determine the modalities of ordering total PSA or free PSA assays (in the absence of PCa) according to various parameters and the corresponding sums reimbursed. Men aged 40 years and older covered by the national health insurance general scheme (73% of the French population) between 2012 and 2014 were selected. Data were derived from the Système national d'information inter-régimes de l'assurance maladie (Sniiram) (National health insurance information system) database. In 2014, 27% of the 11.6 million men 40 years and older underwent at least one total PSA assay and 5.6% underwent at least one free PSA assay, with marked variations according to the presence or absence of treated lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) (53% and 15% vs 24% and 5%) and from one administrative department to another. The peak total PSA assay rate was observed between the ages of 65 and 74 years: 64% of men with LUTS, 46% without LUTS. Between 2012 and 2014, men in whom at least one PSA assay had been performed underwent a mean of 1.8 total PSA assays and 1.7 free PSA assays, with means of 2.3 and 2, respectively, in the presence of LUTS. General practice specialists ordered 91% of the PSA tests reimbursed in 2014 (92% for total PSA and 87% for free PSA) and urologists ordered 4% of reimbursed tests. The total sum reimbursed was €28.5 million, comprising €8.7 million for free PSA. An average of 10 laboratory tests was performed at the same time as the PSA assay in the absence of treated LUTS. Total PSA and free PSA assays are performed in a large number of men, although the value of these tests as first-line test before biopsy remains controversial. These PSA assays are associated with many other laboratory tests looking for possible abnormalities, especially in younger

Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test: MedlinePlus Lab Test Information

Science.gov (United States)

... medlineplus.gov/labtests/prostatespecificantigenpsatest.html Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test To use the sharing features on this ... enable JavaScript. What is a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test? A prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test measures ...

Real-life experience of using conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Retrospective analysis of the efficacy of methotrexate, sulfasalazine, and leflunomide in PsA in comparison to spondyloarthritides other than PsA and literature review of the use of conventional DMARDs in PsA

Science.gov (United States)

Roussou, Euthalia; Bouraoui, Aicha

2017-01-01

Objective With the aim of assessing the response to treatment with conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) used in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), data on methotrexate, sulfasalazine (SSZ), and leflunomide were analyzed from baseline and subsequent follow-up (FU) questionnaires completed by patients with either PsA or other spondyloarthritides (SpAs). Material and Methods A single-center real-life retrospective analysis was performed by obtaining clinical data via questionnaires administered before and after treatment. The indices used were erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) level, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Function Index (BASFI), wellbeing (WB), and treatment effect (TxE). The indices measured at baseline were compared with those measured on one occasion in a FU visit at least 1 year later. Results A total of 73 patients, 51 with PsA (mean age 49.8±12.8 years; male-to-female ratio [M:F]=18:33) and 22 with other SpAs (mean age 50.6±16 years; M:F=2:20), were studied. BASDAI, BASFI, and WB displayed consistent improvements during FU assessments in both PsA patients and controls in comparison to baseline values. SSZ exhibited better efficacy as confirmed by TxE in both PsA patients and controls. ESR and CRP displayed no differences in either the PsA or the SpA group between the cases before and after treatment. Conclusion Real-life retrospective analysis of three DMARDs used in PsA (and SpAs other than PsA) demonstrated that all three DMARDs that were used brought about improvements in BASDAI, BASFI, TxE, and WB. However, the greatest improvements at FU were seen with SSZ use in both PsA and control cohorts. PMID:28293446

Variability of assay methods for total and free PSA after WHO standardization.

Science.gov (United States)

Foj, L; Filella, X; Alcover, J; Augé, J M; Escudero, J M; Molina, R

2014-03-01

The variability of total PSA (tPSA) and free PSA (fPSA) results among commercial assays has been suggested to be decreased by calibration to World Health Organization (WHO) reference materials. To characterize the current situation, it is necessary to know its impact in the critical cutoffs used in clinical practice. In the present study, we tested 167 samples with tPSA concentrations of 0 to 20 μg/L using seven PSA and six fPSA commercial assays, including Access, ARCHITECT i2000, ADVIA Centaur XP, IMMULITE 2000, Elecsys, and Lumipulse G1200, in which we only measured tPSA. tPSA and fPSA were measured in Access using the Hybritech and WHO calibrators. Passing-Bablok analysis was performed for PSA, and percentage of fPSA with the Hybritech-calibrated access comparison assay. For tPSA, relative differences were more than 10 % at 0.2 μg/L for ARCHITECT i2000, and at a critical concentration of 3, 4, and 10 μg/L, the relative difference was exceeded by ADVIA Centaur XP and WHO-calibrated Access. For percent fPSA, at a critical concentration of 10 %, the 10 % relative difference limit was exceeded by IMMULITE 2000 assay. At a critical concentration of 20 and 25 %, ADVIA Centaur XP, ARCHITECT i2000, and IMMULITE 2000 assays exceeded the 10 % relative difference limit. We have shown significant discordances between assays included in this study despite advances in standardization conducted in the last years. Further harmonization efforts are required in order to obtain a complete clinical concordance.

Work-related injuries of educational support staff in schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Dong Hwan; Jeong, Byung Yong

2018-02-15

This study aims to describe the characteristics of occupational injuries to educational support staff (service worker) in schools. In this research, 803 injured workers registered in 2015 were analyzed in terms of their gender, age, work experience, school type, work type, accident type, agency of accident, nature of injury and injured part of the body for each occupation. The workers were classified into after-school instructor, custodian and cooking staff. Accidents occurred mainly due to slips (35.6%) on floor/stair or contact with high temperature (18.1%). Also, the workers mostly fractured (41.2%) or had burns (19.3%) on their leg/foot (37.1%) or arm/hand/finger (29.8%). The results showed the difference in characteristics and injury pattern of injured persons for each occupation type, addressing the need for customized preventative measures for each situation. The results of this study can be a baseline in devising policies and guidelines for preventing accidents of service workers in schools.

Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Bounce After Dose-Escalated External Beam Radiation Therapy Is an Independent Predictor of PSA Recurrence, Metastasis, and Survival in Prostate Adenocarcinoma Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Romesser, Paul B; Pei, Xin; Shi, Weiji; Zhang, Zhigang; Kollmeier, Marisa; McBride, Sean M; Zelefsky, Michael J

2018-01-01

To evaluate the difference in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence-free, distant metastasis-free, overall, and cancer-specific survival between PSA bounce (PSA-B) and non-bounce patients treated with dose-escalated external beam radiation therapy (DE-EBRT). During 1990-2010, 1898 prostate adenocarcinoma patients were treated with DE-EBRT to ≥75 Gy with ≥5 years follow-up. Patients receiving neoadjuvant/concurrent androgen-deprivation therapy (n=1035) or with fewer than 4 PSA values obtained 6 months or more after post-EBRT completion (n=87) were excluded. The evaluable 776 patients were treated (median, 81.0 Gy). Prostate-specific antigen bounce was defined as a ≥0.2-ng/mL increase above the interval PSA nadir, followed by a decrease to nadir or below. Prostate-specific antigen relapse was defined as post-radiation therapy PSA nadir + 2 ng/mL. Median follow-up was 9.2 years (interquartile range, 6.9-11.3 years). One hundred twenty-three patients (15.9%) experienced PSA-B after DE-EBRT at a median of 24.6 months (interquartile range, 16.1-38.5 months). On multivariate analysis, younger age (P=.001), lower Gleason score (P=.0003), and higher radiation therapy dose (P=.0002) independently predicted PSA-B. Prostate-specific antigen bounce was independently associated with decreased risk for PSA relapse (hazard ratio [HR] 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.33-0.85; P=.008), distant metastatic disease (HR 0.34; 95% CI 0.12-0.94; P=.04), and all-cause mortality (HR 0.53; 95% CI 0.29-0.96; P=.04) on multivariate Cox analysis. Because all 50 prostate cancer-specific deaths in patients without PSA-B were in the non-bounce cohort, competing-risks analysis was not applicable. A nonparametric competing-risks test demonstrated that patients with PSA-B had superior cancer-specific survival compared with patients without PSA-B (P=.004). Patients treated with dose-escalated radiation therapy for prostate adenocarcinoma who experience posttreatment PSA-B have

The inverse relationship between prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Aref, Adel; Vincent, Andrew D; O'Callaghan, Michael; Martin, Sean; Sutherland, Peter; Hoy, Andrew; Butler, Lisa M; Wittert, Gary

2018-06-25

Obese men have lower serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) than comparably aged lean men, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of obesity on PSA and the potential contributing mechanisms. A cohort of 1195 men aged 35 years and over at recruitment, with demographic, anthropometric (body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC)) and serum hormone (serum testosterone (T), estradiol (E2)), PSA and hematology assessments obtained over two waves was assessed. Men with a history of prostate cancer or missing PSA were excluded, leaving 970 men for the final analysis. Mixed-effects regressions and mediation analyses adjusting for hormonal and volumetric factors explore the potential mechanisms relating obesity to PSA. After adjusting for age, PSA levels were lower in men with greater WC (p=0.001). In a multivariable model including WC, age, E2/T and PlasV as predictors, no statistically significant associations were observed between with PSA and either WC (p=0.36) or PlasV (p=0.49), while strong associations were observed with both E2/T (pPSA (p=0.31), while when E2/T is a mediator; the ACME explained roughly 0.5 of the effect (pPSA levels in obese men, as compared to normal weight men, can be explained both by hormonal changes (elevated E2/T ratio) and haemodilution. Hormonal factors therefore represent a substantial but underappreciated mediating pathway.

The use of PSA in the French regulatory practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mennesiez, H.

1994-01-01

The presentation gives a description of fundamental documents (since 1977-1978) through which have been set up in France probabilistic objectives, and PSAs, including shutdown states, performed for 900-1300 MWe PWR-type nuclear power plants. PSA developments and use, including fire PSA, level 2 and PSA for the future French-German European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) are also discussed

Methodology for fire PSA during design process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kollasko, Heiko; Blombach, Joerg

2009-01-01

Fire PSA is an essential part of a full scope level 1 PSA. Cable fires play an important role in fire PSA. Usually, cable routing is therefore modeled in detail. During the design of new nuclear power plants the information on cable routing is not yet available. However, for the use of probabilistic safety insights during the design and for licensing purposes a fire PSA may be requested. Therefore a methodology has been developed which makes use of the strictly divisional separation of redundancies in the design of modern nuclear power plants: cable routing is not needed within one division but replaced by the conservative assumption that all equipment fails due to a fire in the concerned division; critical fire areas are defined where components belonging to different divisions may be affected by a fire. For the determination of fire frequencies a component based approach is proposed. The resulting core damage frequencies due to fire are conservative. (orig.)

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density in the diagnostic algorithm of prostate cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordström, Tobias; Akre, Olof; Aly, Markus; Grönberg, Henrik; Eklund, Martin

2018-04-01

Screening for prostate cancer using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) alone leads to un-necessary biopsying and overdiagnosis. PSA density is easily accessible, but early evidence on its use for biopsy decisions was conflicting and use of PSA density is not commonly recommended in guidelines. We analyzed biopsy outcomes in 5291 men in the population-based STHLM3 study with PSA ≥ 3 ng/ml and ultrasound-guided prostate volume measurements by using percentages and regression models. PSA density was calculated as total PSA (ng/ml) divided by prostate volume (ml). Main endpoint was clinically significant cancer (csPCa) defined as Gleason Score ≥ 7. The median PSA-density was 0.10 ng/ml 2 (IQR 0.075-0.14). PSA-density was associated with the risk of finding csPCa both with and without adjusting for the additional clinical information age, family history, previous biopsies, total PSA and free/total PSA (OR 1.06; 95% CI:1.05-1.07 and OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.06-1.08). Discrimination for csPCa was better when PSA density was added to a model with additional clinical information (AUC 0.75 vs. 0.73, P PSA-density. Omitting prostate biopsy for men with PSA-density ≤0.07 ng/ml 2 would save 19.7% of biopsy procedures, while missing 6.9% of csPCa. PSA-density cutoffs of 0.10 ng/ml 2 and 0.15 ng/ml 2 resulted in detection of 77% (729/947) and 49% (461/947) of Gleason Score ≥7 tumors. PSA-density might inform biopsy decisions, and spare some men from the morbidity associated with a prostate biopsy and diagnosis of low-grade prostate cancer.

Risk Metrics and Measures for an Extended PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wielenberg, A.; Loeffler, H.; Hasnaoui, C.; Burgazzi, L.; Cazzoli, E.; Jan, P.; La Rovere, S.; Siklossy, T.; Vitazkova, J.; Raimond, E.

2016-01-01

This report provides a review of the main used risk measures for Level 1 and Level 2 PSA. It depicts their advantages, limitations and disadvantages and develops some more precise risk measures relevant for extended PSAs and helpful for decision-making. This report does not recommend or suggest any quantitative value for the risk measures. It does not discuss in details decision-making based on PSA results neither. The choice of one appropriate risk measure or a set of risk measures depends on the decision making approach as well as on the issue to be decided. The general approach for decision making aims at a multi-attribute approach. This can include the use of several risk measures as appropriate. Section 5 provides some recommendations on the main risk metrics to be used for an extended PSA. For Level 1 PSA, Fuel Damage Frequency and Radionuclide Mobilization Frequency are recommended. For Level 2 PSA, the characterization of loss of containment function and a total risk measure based on the aggregated activity releases of all sequences rated by their frequencies is proposed. (authors)

Updating the Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) Core Domain Set

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Orbai, Ana-Maria; de Wit, Maarten; Mease, Philip J

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To include the patient perspective in accordance with the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Filter 2.0 in the updated Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) Core Domain Set for randomized controlled trials (RCT) and longitudinal observational studies (LOS). METHODS: At OMERACT 2016, research...... conducted to update the PsA Core Domain Set was presented and discussed in breakout groups. The updated PsA Core Domain Set was voted on and endorsed by OMERACT participants. RESULTS: We conducted a systematic literature review of domains measured in PsA RCT and LOS, and identified 24 domains. We conducted...... and breakout groups at OMERACT 2016 in which findings were presented and discussed. The updated PsA Core Domain Set endorsed with 90% agreement by OMERACT 2016 participants included musculoskeletal disease activity, skin disease activity, fatigue, pain, patient's global assessment, physical function, health...

Developing an Education Intervention for Staff Supporting Persons with an Intellectual Disability and Advanced Dementia

Science.gov (United States)

Fahey-McCarthy, Elizabeth; McCarron, Mary; Connaire, Kevin; McCallion, Philip

2009-01-01

Generally, staff working in settings that provide care for adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) have not received specific education with respect to extended care for terminal illnesses or late-stage dementia. Equally, staff working in specialist palliative care often are not familiar with the unique issues of supporting persons with…

Development of Integrated PSA Database and Application Technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, Sang Hoon; Park, Jin Hee; Kim, Seung Hwan; Choi, Sun Yeong; Jung, Woo Sik; Jeong, Kwang Sub; Ha Jae Joo; Yang, Joon Eon; Min Kyung Ran; Kim, Tae Woon

2005-04-15

The purpose of this project is to develop 1) the reliability database framework, 2) the methodology for the reactor trip and abnormal event analysis, and 3) the prototype PSA information DB system. We already have a part of the reactor trip and component reliability data. In this study, we extend the collection of data up to 2002. We construct the pilot reliability database for common cause failure and piping failure data. A reactor trip or a component failure may have an impact on the safety of a nuclear power plant. We perform the precursor analysis for such events that occurred in the KSNP, and to develop a procedure for the precursor analysis. A risk monitor provides a mean to trace the changes in the risk following the changes in the plant configurations. We develop a methodology incorporating the model of secondary system related to the reactor trip into the risk monitor model. We develop a prototype PSA information system for the UCN 3 and 4 PSA models where information for the PSA is inputted into the system such as PSA reports, analysis reports, thermal-hydraulic analysis results, system notebooks, and so on. We develop a unique coherent BDD method to quantify a fault tree and the fastest fault tree quantification engine FTREX. We develop quantification software for a full PSA model and a one top model.

Predictive value of [-2]propsa (p2psa and its derivatives for the prostate cancer detection in the 2.0 to 10.0ng/mL PSA range

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Vukovic

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Introduction To assess predictive value of new tumor markers, precursor of prostate specific antigen (p2PSA and its derivates-%p2PSA and prostate health index (PHI in detection of patients with indolent and aggressive prostate cancer (PC in a subcohort of man whose total PSA ranged from 2 to 10ng/mL. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional study included 129 consecutive male patients aged over 50 years, with no previous history of PC and with normal digital rectal examination findings, but with serum PSA in interval between 2 and 10ng/mL. All patients underwent standard transrectal ultrasonography guided prostate biopsy for the first time. For all patients, serum PSA, free PSA (fPSA and p2PSA were measured and PHI and %p2PSA were calculated. Results PHI and %p2PSA levels were significanlty higher in patients with PC compared to those without this malignancy. The same findings have been observed in group of patients with Gleason score ≥7 compared to those with Gleason score <7. ROC analysis reveled the highest area under the curve with these two markers. Multivariate logistic regression showed significant improvement in PC detection and its agressive form (assumed as Gleason score ≥7. Conclusions New markers, derivates of p2PSA (especially %p2PSA and PHI, represente potentially very important clinical tool for predicting presence of PC, and even more important, to discriminate patients with Gleason score <7 from those with Gleason score ≥7 with total PSA in range from 2 to 10ng/mL.

Predictive value of [-2]propsa (p2psa) and its derivatives for the prostate cancer detection in the 2.0 to 10.0ng/mL PSA range.

Science.gov (United States)

Vukovic, I; Djordjevic, D; Bojanic, N; Babic, U; Soldatovic, I

2017-01-01

To assess predictive value of new tumor markers, precursor of prostate specific antigen (p2PSA) and its derivates-%p2PSA and prostate health index (PHI) in detection of patients with indolent and aggressive prostate cancer (PC) in a subcohort of man whose total PSA ranged from 2 to 10ng/mL. This cross-sectional study included 129 consecutive male patients aged over 50 years, with no previous history of PC and with normal digital rectal examination findings, but with serum PSA in interval between 2 and 10ng/mL. All patients underwent standard transrectal ultrasonography guided prostate biopsy for the first time. For all patients, serum PSA, free PSA (fPSA) and p2PSA were measured and PHI and %p2PSA were calculated. PHI and %p2PSA levels were significanlty higher in patients with PC compared to those without this malignancy. The same findings have been observed in group of patients with Gleason score ≥7 compared to those with Gleason score <7. ROC analysis reveled the highest area under the curve with these two markers. Multivariate logistic regression showed significant improvement in PC detection and its agressive form (assumed as Gleason score ≥7). New markers, derivates of p2PSA (especially %p2PSA and PHI), represente potentially very important clinical tool for predicting presence of PC, and even more important, to discriminate patients with Gleason score <7 from those with Gleason score ≥7 with total PSA in range from 2 to 10ng/mL. Copyright® by the International Brazilian Journal of Urology.

PSA LEVEL 3 DAN IMPLEMENTASINYA PADA KAJIAN KESELAMATAN PWR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pande Made Udiyani

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Kajian keselamatan PLTN menggunakan metodologi kajian probabilistik sangat penting selain kajian deterministik. Metodologi kajian menggunakan Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA Level 3 diperlukan terutama untuk estimasi kecelakaan parah atau kecelakaan luar dasar desain PLTN. Metode ini banyak dilakukan setelah kejadian kecelakaan Fukushima. Dalam penelitian ini dilakukan implementasi PSA Level 3 pada kajian keselamatan PWR, postulasi kecelakan luar dasar desain PWR AP-1000 dan disimulasikan di contoh tapak Bangka Barat. Rangkaian perhitungan yang dilakukan adalah: menghitung suku sumber dari kegagalan teras yang terjadi, pemodelan kondisi meteorologi tapak dan lingkungan, pemodelan jalur paparan, analisis dispersi radionuklida dan transportasi fenomena di lingkungan, analisis deposisi radionuklida, analisis dosis radiasi, analisis perlindungan & mitigasi, dan analisis risiko. Kajian menggunakan rangkaian subsistem pada perangkat lunak PC Cosyma. Hasil penelitian membuktikan bahwa implementasi metode kajian keselamatan PSA Level 3 sangat efektif dan komprehensif terhadap estimasi dampak, konsekuensi, risiko, kesiapsiagaan kedaruratan nuklir (nuclear emergency preparedness, dan manajemen kecelakaan reaktor terutama untuk kecelakaan parah atau kecelakaan luar dasar desain PLTN. Hasil kajian dapat digunakan sebagai umpan balik untuk kajian keselamatan PSA Level 1 dan PSA Level 2. Kata kunci: PSA level 3, kecelakaan, PWR   Reactor safety assessment of nuclear power plants using probabilistic assessment methodology is most important in addition to the deterministic assessment. The methodology of Level 3 Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA is especially required to estimate severe accident or beyond design basis accidents of nuclear power plants. This method is carried out after the Fukushima accident. In this research, the postulations beyond design basis accidentsof PWR AP - 1000 would be taken, and simulated at West Bangka sample site. The

Cost implications of PSA screening differ by age.

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Karthik; Liang, Stella; Cardamone, Michael; Joshu, Corinne E; Marmen, Kyle; Bhavsar, Nrupen; Nelson, William G; Ballentine Carter, H; Albert, Michael C; Platz, Elizabeth A; Pollack, Craig E

2018-05-09

Multiple guidelines seek to alter rates of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based prostate cancer screening. The costs borne by payers associated with PSA-based screening for men of different age groups-including the costs of screening and subsequent diagnosis, treatment, and adverse events-remain uncertain. We sought to develop a model of PSA costs that could be used by payers and health care systems to inform cost considerations under a range of different scenarios. We determined the prevalence of PSA screening among men aged 50 and higher using 2013-2014 data from a large, multispecialty group, obtained reimbursed costs associated with screening, diagnosis, and treatment from a commercial health plan, and identified transition probabilities for biopsy, diagnosis, treatment, and complications from the literature to generate a cost model. We estimated annual total costs for groups of men ages 50-54, 55-69, and 70+ years, and varied annual prostate cancer screening prevalence in each group from 5 to 50% and tested hypothetical examples of different test characteristics (e.g., true/false positive rate). Under the baseline screening patterns, costs of the PSA screening represented 10.1% of the total costs; costs of biopsies and associated complications were 23.3% of total costs; and, although only 0.3% of all screen eligible patients were treated, they accounted for 66.7% of total costs. For each 5-percentage point decrease in PSA screening among men aged 70 and older for a single calendar year, total costs associated with prostate cancer screening decreased by 13.8%. For each 5-percentage point decrease in PSA screening among men 50-54 and 55-69 years old, costs were 2.3% and 7.3% lower respectively. With constrained financial resources and with national pressure to decrease use of clinically unnecessary PSA-based prostate cancer screening, there is an opportunity for cost savings, especially by focusing on the downstream costs disproportionately associated with

Elevation of PSA after prostate radiotherapy: Rebound or biochemical recurrence?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toledano, A.; Kanoui, A.; Chiche, R.; Lamallem, H.; Beley, S.; Thibault, F.; Sebe, P.

2008-01-01

The fact that external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy are now considered to be curative techniques has led to major review of the modalities of follow-up after radiotherapy for prostate cancer. The problem concerns both the diagnosis of recurrence, rapidly announced by elevation of prostatic-specific antigen (PSA), usually at a subclinical stage, and the validity of criteria of biochemical recurrence to allow comparison of various study. Physicians involved in follow-up should be aware of the potential of bounce in PSA follow-up after external beam radiotherapy or brachytherapy. The PSA bounce phenomenon was defined by a rise of PSA values (+ 0.1 -0.8 ng/ml) with a subsequent fall. Biochemical failure after external beam radiotherapy or brachytherapy (with or without hormonotherapy) was defined by Phoenix criteria by a rise of 2 ng/ml above an initial PSA nadir. This definition was more correlated to PSA bounce phenomenon. (authors)

CERN Staff Association supports the personnel of WIPO

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2017-01-01

For over two years already, the Director General of WIPO has been attacking the WIPO Staff Council: firing the Staff Association President, intimidating staff delegates as well as the personnel, organising an election for his own council to replace the legitimately elected Staff Council, etc. 25.01.2017 - CERN Staff Association The behaviour of the Director General of WIPO is absolutely intolerable and contrary to the rules, principles and agreements applicable in international organisations. It is also in clear contradiction with the fundamental rights and especially the freedom of speech and expression, even more so within an Association whose legitimacy cannot be unilaterally challenged. fi On Wednesday 25 January 2017, in response to a call for participation by FICSA (Federation of International Civil Servants’ Associations – www.FICSA.org) and CCISUA (Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions and Associations – www.ccisua.org), several delegations of Geneva-ba...

Development of the Level 1 PSA Model for PGSFR Regulatory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Na, Hyun Ju; Lee, Yong Suk; Shin, Andong; Suh, Nam Duk

2014-01-01

SFR (sodium-cooled fast reactor) is Gen-IV nuclear energy system, which is designed for stability, sustainability and proliferation resistance. KALIMER-600 and PGSFR (Prototype Gen-IV SFR) are under development in Korea with enhanced passive safety concepts, e.g. passive reactor shutdown, passive residual heat removal, and etc. Risk analysis from a regulatory perspective is necessary for regulatory body to support the safety and licensing review of SFR. Safety issues should be identified in the early design phase in order to prevent the unexpected cost increase and the delay of PGSFR licensing schedule. In this respect, the preliminary PSA Model of KALIMER-600 had been developed for regulatory. In this study, the development of PSA Level 1 Model is presented. The important impact factors in the risk analysis for the PGSFR, such as Core Damage Frequency (CDF), have been identified and the related safety insights have been derived. The PSA level 1 model for PGSFR regulatory is developed and the risk analysis is conducted. Regarding CDF, LOISF frequency, uncertainty parameter for passive system CCF, loss of 125V DC control center bus and damper CCF are identified as the important factors. Sensitivity analyses show that the CDF would be differentiated (lowered) according to their values

Review of SFR Design Safety using Preliminary Regulatory PSA Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Na, Hyun Ju; Lee, Yong Suk; Shin, Andong; Suh, Nam Duk

2013-01-01

The major objective of this research is to develop a risk model for regulatory verification of the SFR design, and thereby, make sure that the SFR design is adequate from a risk perspective. In this paper, the development result of preliminary regulatory PSA model of SFR is discussed. In this paper, development and quantification result of preliminary regulatory PSA model of SFR is discussed. It was confirmed that the importance PDRC and ADRC dampers is significant as stated in the result of KAERI PSA model. However, the importance can be changed significantly depending on assumption of CCCG and CCF factor of PDRC and ADRC dampers. SFR (sodium-cooled fast reactor) which is Gen-IV nuclear energy system, is designed to accord with the concept of stability, sustainability and proliferation resistance. KALIMER-600, which is under development in Korea, includes passive safety systems (e. g. passive reactor shutdown, passive residual heat removal, and etc.) as well as active safety systems. Risk analysis from a regulatory perspective is needed to support the regulatory body in its safety and licensing review for SFR (KALIMER-600). Safety issues should be identified in the early design phase in order to prevent the unexpected cost increase and delay of the SFR licensing schedule that may be caused otherwise

Rate of PSA rise predicts metastatic versus local recurrence after definitive radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sartor, C.I.; Strawderman, M.H.; Lin, X.; Kish, K.E.; McLaughlin, P.W.; Lichter, A.S.; Sandler, H.S.

1995-01-01

Objective: A rising PSA following treatment for adenocarcinoma of the prostate indicates eventual clinical failure, but the rate of rise can be quite different from patient to patient, as can the pattern of clinical failure. We sought to determine whether the rate of PSA rise could differentiate future local vs. metastatic failure. Materials and Methods: PSA values from our series of 671 patients treated between 1987 and 1994 with 3-D conformal radiotherapy for localized adenocarcinoma were analyzed. Patients who had a pre-treatment PSA and >4 post-treatment PSA values available, had received no hormonal therapy, and had information detailing clinical outcome were used in this analysis. First site of failure was determined by abnormal DRE or biopsy, abnormal bone scan or radiographic evidence of metastasis as directed by clinical symptoms or follow-up clinical exam. Each patient's PSA pattern was defined by the function PSA(t)=C 1 e - a 1 (t) + C 2 e a 2 (t) where -a 1 relates to the rate of decline and a 2 to the rate of rise, if any. Univariate analysis was used to determine the correlation between initial PSA or rising PSA and clinical failure. Adjacent category logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the rate of rise and pattern of clinical failure. Results: 671 patients were reviewed; 401 patients met the requirements and 2667 PSA values were analyzed. We confirmed the finding of others that pre-treatment PSA is a prognostic indicator: patients presenting with PSA 3-20ng/ml had a relative risk of 9 (p=0.03) and PSA>20ng/ml had a RR of 26 (p=0.002) for clinical failure when compared to presenting PSA 2 >1.5/year predicted metastatic as opposed to local failure when compared to PSA rise with a 2 between 0.5-1.5/yr or 1.5 log(ng/ml)/year vs. 0.5-1.5 log(ng/ml)/yr or <0.5 log(ng/ml)/yr. Conclusions: The rate of rise of PSA following definitive radiotherapy can predict clinical failure patterns, with a rapidly rising PSA indicating metastatic as opposed to

Ascertaining the international state of the art of PSA methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linden, J. von

1998-01-01

Plant-specific PSAs, to be performed within the framework of the Periodic Safety Review of German Nuclear Power Plants require further development of the methodology. For that purpose foreign PSA-guidelines and PSA-reviewes as well as relevant literature are examined and appropriate insights are adopted within task A.2 of project SR 2096. The main goal of these activities is to achieve a comparison of the state of the art of PSA-methodologies applied abroad and in Germany. The German state of the art refers to the extent as is documented in the German PSA Guide (Leitfaden Probabilistische Sicherheitsanalyse /PSUe97/) which has to be used for the Periodic Safety Review of German Nuclear Power Plants. The structure for the evaluation is based on the working steps of a PSA. In total, according to the objectives of the Periodic Safety Review the German approach for plant-specific PSAs based on the German PSA Guide is conform to the state of the art abroad. Identified deviations in some details are evaluated reflecting the view of GRS. Particular aspects resulting from the evaluation should be considered for further development of the German PSA Guide. (orig.) [de

Explaining Perceptions of Administrative Support among Prison Treatment Staff: A Spotlight on Deputy Wardens in Charge of Treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Garland, Brett E.; McCarty, William P.

2006-01-01

This paper explores how perceptions of administrative support among 83 treatment staff working in a midwest prison system vary according to personal and work-related variables. It extends on previous literature by: (1) analyzing how perceptions of administrative support vary exclusively among prison treatment staff; (2) focusing on a single type…

Age-Specific Cutoff Value for the Application of Percent Free Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) in Chinese Men with Serum PSA Levels of 4.0–10.0 ng/ml

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Liping; He, Dalin; Zhou, Liqun; Xu, Chuanliang; Gao, Xu; Ren, Shancheng; Wang, Fubo; Ma, Lulin; Wei, Qiang; Yin, Changjun; Tian, Ye; Sun, Zhongquan; Fu, Qiang; Ding, Qiang; Zheng, Junhua; Ye, Zhangqun; Ye, Dingwei; Xu, Danfeng; Hou, Jianquan; Xu, Kexin; Yuan, Jianlin; Gao, Xin; Liu, Chunxiao; Pan, Tiejun; Sun, Yinghao

2015-01-01

Objective The influence of age on the performance of percent free prostate-specific antigen (%fPSA) in diagnosing prostate cancer (PCa) in East Asians is controversial. We tested the diagnostic performance of %fPSA in a multi-center biopsy cohort in China and identified the proper age-specific cutoff values to avoid unnecessary biopsies. Methods Consecutive patients with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of 4.0–10.0 ng/ml or 10.1–20.0 ng/ml who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided or transperineal prostate biopsy were enrolled from 22 Chinese medical centers from Jan 1, 2010 to Dec 31, 2013. The diagnostic accuracy of PSA and %fPSA was determined using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC). Age-specific cutoff values were calculated using ROC curve analysis. Results The median %fPSA was much lower in younger patients compared with older patients with a PSA level of 4.0–10.0 ng/ml or 10.1–20.0 ng/ml. The AUC of %fPSA was higher than PSA only in older patients. In patients aged 50 to 59 years, %fPSA failed to improve the diagnosis compared with PSA in these two PSA ranges. Age-specific cutoff values were 24%, 27% and 32% for patients aged 60–69, 70–79 and ≥80 years, respectively, to reduce unnecessary biopsies in men with PSA levels of 4.0–10.0 ng/ml to detect 90% of all PCa. Conclusions The effectiveness of %fPSA is correlated with age in the Chinese population. Age-specific cutoff values would help avoid unnecessary biopsies in the Chinese population. PMID:26091007

Proceedings of the international workshop on reliability data collection in support of PSA, maintenance and life-assurance programmes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The utilisation of data to support Probabilistic Safety Assessments, Maintenance Activities and Life-Assurance Programmes is becoming more widely recognized as these areas become more and more developed throughout the nuclear industry. Almost every member country of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency uses PSA in one way or another in their assessment of nuclear power plant safety. A majority of utilities and licensees have completed or are in the process of planning plant specific PSAs. Operability costs associated with maintenance activities and life assurance programmes are highly dependent upon the data and how it is utilized. Considering these statements and the various suggestions made, the Workshop addressed the following topics concerning reliability data collection: data compilation systems; data bases development and management; data application; parameter estimation; common cause failure and dependent failure data

Proceedings of the international workshop on reliability data collection in support of PSA, maintenance and life-assurance programmes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-07-01

The utilisation of data to support Probabilistic Safety Assessments, Maintenance Activities and Life-Assurance Programmes is becoming more widely recognized as these areas become more and more developed throughout the nuclear industry. Almost every member country of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency uses PSA in one way or another in their assessment of nuclear power plant safety. A majority of utilities and licensees have completed or are in the process of planning plant specific PSAs. Operability costs associated with maintenance activities and life assurance programmes are highly dependent upon the data and how it is utilized. Considering these statements and the various suggestions made, the Workshop addressed the following topics concerning reliability data collection: data compilation systems; data bases development and management; data application; parameter estimation; common cause failure and dependent failure data

Seminal plasma PSA in spinal cord injured men

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brasso, K; Sønksen, J; Sommer, P

1998-01-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of spinal cord injury on seminal plasma PSA concentration.......The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of spinal cord injury on seminal plasma PSA concentration....

PSA modeling of long-term accident sequences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Georgescu, Gabriel; Corenwinder, Francois; Lanore, Jeanne-Marie

2014-01-01

In the context of the extension of PSA scope to include external hazards, in France, both operator (EDF) and IRSN work for the improvement of methods to better take into account in the PSA the accident sequences induced by initiators which affect a whole site containing several nuclear units (reactors, fuel pools,...). These methodological improvements represent an essential prerequisite for the development of external hazards PSA. However, it has to be noted that in French PSA, even before Fukushima, long term accident sequences were taken into account: many insight were therefore used, as complementary information, to enhance the safety level of the plants. IRSN proposed an external events PSA development program. One of the first steps of the program is the development of methods to model in the PSA the long term accident sequences, based on the experience gained. At short term IRSN intends to enhance the modeling of the 'long term' accident sequences induced by the loss of the heat sink or/and the loss of external power supply. The experience gained by IRSN and EDF from the development of several probabilistic studies treating long term accident sequences shows that the simple extension of the mission time of the mitigation systems from 24 hours to longer times is not sufficient to realistically quantify the risk and to obtain a correct ranking of the risk contributions and that treatment of recoveries is also necessary. IRSN intends to develop a generic study which can be used as a general methodology for the assessment of the long term accident sequences, mainly generated by external hazards and their combinations. This first attempt to develop this generic study allowed identifying some aspects, which may be hazard (or combinations of hazards) or related to initial boundary conditions, which should be taken into account for further developments. (authors)

Development and evaluation of the INSPIRE measure of staff support for personal recovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Julie; Leamy, Mary; Bird, Victoria; Le Boutillier, Clair; Norton, Sam; Pesola, Francesca; Slade, Mike

2015-05-01

No individualised standardised measure of staff support for mental health recovery exists. To develop and evaluate a measure of staff support for recovery. initial draft of measure based on systematic review of recovery processes; consultation (n = 61); and piloting (n = 20). Psychometric evaluation: three rounds of data collection from mental health service users (n = 92). INSPIRE has two sub-scales. The 20-item Support sub-scale has convergent validity (0.60) and adequate sensitivity to change. Exploratory factor analysis (variance 71.4-85.1 %, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin 0.65-0.78) and internal consistency (range 0.82-0.85) indicate each recovery domain is adequately assessed. The 7-item Relationship sub-scale has convergent validity 0.69, test-retest reliability 0.75, internal consistency 0.89, a one-factor solution (variance 70.5 %, KMO 0.84) and adequate sensitivity to change. A 5-item Brief INSPIRE was also evaluated. INSPIRE and Brief INSPIRE demonstrate adequate psychometric properties, and can be recommended for research and clinical use.

[Use of prostatic specific antigen in primary care (PSA)].

Science.gov (United States)

Panach-Navarrete, J; Gironés-Montagud, A; Sánchez-Cano, E; Doménech-Pérez, C; Martínez-Jabaloyas, J M

2017-04-01

In the literature it is shown that the use of PSA is occasionally wrong, by requesting this marker in very young or very old men, and repeated measurements in short periods of time. The main objective of this study was to describe the use of PSA in daily practice by primary care physicians in our area, dealing with aspects such as the importance of patient age, the value in the screening for prostate cancer, or the subjective beliefs about its usefulness. A secondary objective was the comparison of use, and beliefs among doctors who claim to know PSA well, and those who do not. A descriptive and comparative study was conducted using questionnaires that were handed to primary care doctors in all health centres in our area. A descriptive analysis was performed and response rates among doctors who thought they had enough information about PSA, and those who did not, were compared using the Chi-squared test. A total of 103 questionnaires were received from the physicians, with 83.5% claiming to have sufficient knowledge about the PSA. The professionals in this latter group request PSA at an earlier age (P=.029), with a higher frequency (P=.011) and have more doubts about its usefulness (P=.009) than those with less knowledge. Almost half (49.5%) said they request less than 50 determinations per year, and 33% between 50 and 100. More than half (53.4%) of doctors would not request the first PSA on a patient until their 50s, and up to 49% request it up to 80 years. The true value of PSA has been established many times by 64.1% of requesters, and 29.1% believe it is unhelpful in the diagnosis of cancer. In our study, 64% of primary care physicians have considered the true value of the PSA several times, and 29% believe it to be of little use in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. In addition, some data suggest it has limited use due to the fact that 50% made less than 50 PSA requests per years, and 28% of the professionals would never request it on a male without urinary

ASAMPSA-E guidance for level 2 PSA Volume 3. Verification and improvement of SAM strategies with L2 PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahni, N.; Raimond, E.; Jan, P.; Lopez, J.; Loeffler, H.; Mildenberger, O.; Kubicek, J.; Vitazkova, J.; Ivanov, I.; Groudev, P.; Lajtha, G.; Serrano, C.; Zhabin, O.; Prosek, Andrej; Dirksen, G.; Yu, S.; Oury, L.; Hultqvist, G.

2016-01-01

For each NPP, severe accident management (SAM) strategies shall make use of components or systems and human resources to limit as far as possible the consequences of any severe accident on-site and off-site. L2 PSA is one of the tools that can be used to verify and improve these strategies. The present report (deliverable D40.5 of the project ASAMPSA-E) provides an opportunity for a comparison of objectives in the different countries in terms of SAM strategies verification and improvement. The report summarizes also experience of each partner (including potential deficiencies) involved in this activity, in order to derive some good practices and required progress, addressing: - SAM modeling in L2 PSA, - Positive and negative aspects in current SAM practices, - Discussion on possible criteria related to L2 PSA for verification and improvement: risk reduction (in relation with WP30 activities on risk metrics), reduction of uncertainties on the severe accident progression paths until NPP stabilization, reduction of human failure conditional probabilities (depending on the SAM strategy, the environmental conditions...), - Review with a perspective of verification and improvement of the main SAM strategies (corium cooling, RCS depressurization, control of flammable gases, reactivity control, containment function, containment pressure control, limitation of radioactive releases,...), - SAM strategies to be considered in the context of an extended L2 PSA (as far possible, depending on existing experience), taking into account all operating modes, accidents also occurring in the SFPs and long term and multi-unit accidents. The deliverable D40.5 is developed from the partners' experience. Many of the topics described here are beyond the common practices of L2 PSA applications: in some countries, L2 PSA application is limited to the calculations of frequencies of release categories with no formal requirement for SAM verification and improvement. (authors)

Investigation of the efficiency and qualification of computer codes for PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andernacht, M.; Dinsmore, S.

1992-01-01

An international selection of computer codes for the quantification of level 1 PSA models was evaluated due to the consistence of results of different Benchmark exercises. The exercises in this project are based on those developed during the first benchmark project (Phase I). Due to several large differences in the results during Phase I of the Benchmark, the exercises in Phase II were more precisely defined. Due to the improved definition of the benchmark exercises, the results delivered from the different computer codes for Phase II are much more consistent. In general, the results of Benchmark II show, that the exercises were defined well enough to allow consistant results to be generated. Thus, the exercises can also be used to support the evaluation of additional PSA programs. (orig.) [de

Extent of disease in recurrent prostate cancer determined by [(68)Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT in relation to PSA levels, PSA doubling time and Gleason score.

Science.gov (United States)

Verburg, Frederik A; Pfister, David; Heidenreich, Axel; Vogg, Andreas; Drude, Natascha I; Vöö, Stefan; Mottaghy, Felix M; Behrendt, Florian F

2016-03-01

To examine the relationship between the extent of disease determined by [(68)Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC-PET/CT and the important clinical measures prostate-specific antigen (PSA), PSA doubling time (PSAdt) and Gleason score. We retrospectively studied the first 155 patients with recurrent prostate cancer (PCA) referred to our university hospital for [(68)Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT. PET/CT was positive in 44%, 79% and 89% of patients with PSA levels of ≤1, 1-2 and ≥2 ng/ml, respectively. Patients with high PSA levels showed higher rates of local prostate tumours (p PSA and PSAdt were independent determinants of scan positivity and of extrapelvic lymph node metastases. PSAdt was the only independent marker of bone metastases (p = 0.001). Of 20 patients with a PSAdt PSA ≥2 ng/ml, 19 (95%) had a positive scan and 12 (60%) had M1a disease. Of 14 patients with PSA 6 months, only 5 (36%) had a positive scan and 1 (7%) had M1a disease. [(68)Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT will identify PCA lesions even in patients with very low PSA levels. Higher PSA levels and shorter PSAdt are independently associated with scan positivity and extrapelvic metastases, and can be used for patient selection for [(68)Ga]PSMA-HBED-CC PET/CT.

Prediction of PSA bounce after permanent prostate brachytherapy for localized prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanai, Kunimitsu; Nakashima, Jun; Sugawara, Akitomo

2009-01-01

We aimed to calculate the frequency and features of the development of a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) bounce after prostate brachytherapy alone, to correlate the bounce with clinical and dosimetric factors and to identify factors that predict PSA bounce. PSA bounce was evaluated in 86 patients with T1-T2 prostate cancer who underwent radioactive seed implantation using iodine-125 (I-125) without hormonal therapy or external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) from September 2004 to December 2007. A PSA bounce was defined as a rise of at least 0.4 ng/ml greater than a previous PSA level with a subsequent decline equal to, or less than, the initial nadir. Calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method, the incidence of PSA bounce at a 2-year follow-up was 26%. Median time to the PSA bounce was 15 months. Univariate analysis demonstrated that age, dose received by 90% of the prostate gland (D90), volume of gland receiving 100% of the prescribed dose (V100), and V150 were significantly associated with the PSA bounce, while pretreatment PSA level, Gleason score, pretreatment prostate volume, clinical T stage, and V200 were not. In multivariate analysis, age 67 years or less and D90 more than 180 Gy were identified as independent factors for predicting the PSA bounce (P<0.05). PSA bounce is not a rare phenomenon after prostate brachytherapy. It is more common in younger patients and patients receiving higher doses of radiation. (author)

SEPRA - shutdown PSA for the OLKILUOTO nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Himanen, R.

1995-01-01

The utility TVO has extended the PSA study to the analysis of refueling, shutdown and startup. The Shutdown Event PRA (SEPRA) was reported to the authority in September 1992. The study consists of the analysis of leaks and loss of decay heat removal in the planned shutdown conditions. Special studies were performed for the cold pressurization, for local criticality events, for heavy load transport and for the transients during startup and shutdown. A remarkable effort was put to identify risks, i.e. to the qualitative analysis. The regular preventive maintenance tasks in the refueling outages were analyzed and the important tasks were selected for further studies. Besides the severe core damage risk the utility was interested in less grave consequences, e.g. the economic risks, causing significant extension of outages. The plant specific screening of initiators consisted of a study on the incident history and of interviewing the plant personnel on selected tasks. A number of thermohydraulic calculations were carried out to support the analysis of accident sequences. The operator actions after an initiating event were verified with the operating staff. The annual core damage risk from the refueling outage is about one forth of the total annual risk. The modifications decreased significantly the core damage frequency. It is foreseen that the SEPRA will form a basis of the procedure enhancement for the low power states. (author) 5 figs., 1 tab., 10 refs

Modelling job support, job fit, job role and job satisfaction for school of nursing sessional academic staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Cowin, Leanne S; Moroney, Robyn

2018-01-01

Sessional academic staff are an important part of nursing education. Increases in casualisation of the academic workforce continue and satisfaction with the job role is an important bench mark for quality curricula delivery and influences recruitment and retention. This study examined relations between four job constructs - organisation fit, organisation support, staff role and job satisfaction for Sessional Academic Staff at a School of Nursing by creating two path analysis models. A cross-sectional correlational survey design was utilised. Participants who were currently working as sessional or casual teaching staff members were invited to complete an online anonymous survey. The data represents a convenience sample of Sessional Academic Staff in 2016 at a large school of Nursing and Midwifery in Australia. After psychometric evaluation of each of the job construct measures in this study we utilised Structural Equation Modelling to better understand the relations of the variables. The measures used in this study were found to be both valid and reliable for this sample. Job support and job fit are positively linked to job satisfaction. Although the hypothesised model did not meet model fit standards, a new 'nested' model made substantive sense. This small study explored a new scale for measuring academic job role, and demonstrated how it promotes the constructs of job fit and job supports. All four job constructs are important in providing job satisfaction - an outcome that in turn supports staffing stability, retention, and motivation.

The Staff Perceptions of Behavior and Discipline Survey: A Tool to Help Achieve Systemic Change through Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support

Science.gov (United States)

Feuerborn, Laura L.; Tyre, Ashli D.; King, Joe P.

2015-01-01

The practices of schoolwide positive behavior support (SWPBS) are dependent on staff implementation in classroom and common areas throughout the school. Thus, gaining the support and commitment of school staff is a critical step toward reaching full implementation of SWPBS. However, achieving buildingwide support can be challenging; many schools…

Development of PSA procedure for a criticality in reprocessing facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Endo, Shigeki; Takanashi, Mitsuhiro; Ueda, Yoshinori

2012-08-01

Utilization of risk information for the nuclear safety regulation is being discussed in Japan. The development of probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) procedure is indispensable for the utilization of risk information. The Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization (JNES) has been conducting trial PSA to a model plant for major events, i.e. hydrogen explosion, solution boiling, rapid decomposition of TBP complexes, criticality, solvent fire, leakage of molten glass, leakage of high active concentrated liquid waste, loss of all AC electricity, drop of a fuel assembly, for the purpose of developing the PSA procedure for reprocessing facilities. For criticality events results of trial PSA were summarized as a report in which how to evaluate an amount of radioactive materials released from a facility and a health effect on the public were emphasized. Therefore, for criticality events the results of trial PSA were summarized in this report to emphasize procedures from making event progression scenarios to quantifying event sequences, which were not handled in the previous report, in a style of a document describing PSA procedures. (author)

Babesiosis PSA (:60)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2012-04-25

This 60 second PSA describes babesiosis, a preventable and treatable tickborne disease, including the signs and symptoms of infection and ways to prevent it.  Created: 4/25/2012 by Center for Global Health, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria.   Date Released: 4/26/2012.

Construction and Quantification of the One Top model of the Fire Events PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Dae Il; Lee, Yoon Hwan; Han, Sang Hoon

2008-01-01

KAERI constructed the one top model of the fire events PSA for Ulchin Unit 3 and 4 by using the 'mapping technique'. The mapping technique was developed for the construction and quantification of external events PSA models with a one top model for an internal events PSA. With 'AIMS', the mapping technique can be implemented by the construction of mapping tables. The mapping tables include fire rooms, fire ignition frequency, related initiating events, fire transfer events, and the internal PSA basic events affected by a fire. The constructed one top fire PSA model is based on previously conducted fire PSA results for Ulchin Unit 3 and 4. In this paper, we introduce the construction procedure and quantification results of the one top model of the fire events PSA by using the mapping technique. As the one top model of the fire events PSA developed in this study is based on the previous study, we also introduce the previous fire PSA approach focused on quantification

Development and application of probabilistic safety assessment PSA in Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Weigang; Chen Jiefei; Guo Jianbing; Zhen Wei

2005-01-01

This paper discusses the development and application of Level 1 PSA used for safety review, risk monitoring and on line maintenance of the nuclear power plant. PSA development includes the analysis of event tree, fault tree, FMEA, PSA quantification and the equipment reliability database. We have collected and processed the reliability data of external power source, the equipment reliability data and the initial event frequency. The thermal-hydraulics analysis of some important events and accidents, human factor analysis, and the calculation of human error probability have been made. During the development of event trees and fault trees, the effect of some support systems such as compressed air distribution system, ventilation system and electrical system have been taken into account. The system manuals, operation procedures and emergency operating procedures of Daya Bay NPP are referred to in this project. The operators of the NPP were involved in the establishment of all event trees and fault trees analysis. Furthermore, we have accepted the suggestion of IAEA experts, completed the logic chart of initial events to the initial events analysis of Daya Bay NPP, and optimized the code system of PSA model again. Together with the development of the reliability database, by absorbing the advanced experience of EDF, we have gained the reports about equipment's classifying, function and experience feedback information of Daya Bay NPP. According to the quantitative calculation of the latest Level 1 PSA Model of Daya Bay NPP, the results of Core Damage Frequency (CDF) is: CDF = 2.13E-5/reactor . year. The latest PSA Model of Daya Bay NPP includes: 1) 12 sorts of initial events, 67 sub-initial events, 70 fault trees; 2) 25 nuclear safety related systems were developed by fault trees and FMEA ; 3) 2609 fault tree logic gates; 4) 2146 basic events; 5) 680 core damage accident sequences. (authors)

Use of PSA for improving the safety of French PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lanore, J.M.; Chambon, J.L.

1994-06-01

Two French PWR Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) studies were conducted for the standardized PWR series of 900 and 1300 MWe. Both PSA 900 and PSA 1300 are level 1 PSAs, that means their objective is the evaluation of core meltdown frequency. These studies have some specific features, in particular the treatment of shutdown conditions, the treatment of long term post-accidental situations, and a wide use of French experience feedback. The PSAs are used for safety improvements of the French PWRs. Following the PSA results, several modifications to plants concerning the dominant sequences were decided. (R.P.). 2 refs., 4 figs

Work engagement, social support, and job satisfaction in Portuguese nursing staff: A winning combination.

Science.gov (United States)

Orgambídez-Ramos, Alejandro; de Almeida, Helena

2017-08-01

Job Demands-Resources model assumes the mediator role of work engagement between social support (job resource) and job satisfaction (organizational result). However, recent studies suggest that social support can be considered as a moderator variable in the relationship between engagement and job satisfaction in nursing staff. The aim of this study is to analyze the moderator role of social support, from supervisor and from co-workers, in the relationship between work engagement and job satisfaction in a Portuguese nursing sample. We conducted a cross-sectional and correlational study assessing a final sample of 215 participants (55.56% response rate, 77.21% women). Moderation analyses were carried out using multiple and hierarchical linear regression models. Job satisfaction was significantly predicted by work engagement and social support from supervisor and from co-workers. The significant interaction in predicting job satisfaction showed that social support from co-workers enhances the effects of work engagement on nurses' satisfaction. A climate of social support among co-workers and higher levels of work engagement have a positive effect on job satisfaction, improving quality care and reducing turnover intention in nursing staff. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Directorate of Management - Special Staff - Joint Staff - Leadership - The

Science.gov (United States)

NGB Official March Today in Guard History Leadership CNGB VCNGB SEA DANG DARNG Joint Staff J-1 J-2 J-3 J-4 J-5 J-6 J-7 J-8 Personal Staff Inspector General Judge Advocate General Officer Management Public Affairs Executive Support Services Legislative Liaison Special Staff Directorate of Management

Programmable automation systems in PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pulkkinen, U.

1997-06-01

The Finnish safety authority (STUK) requires plant specific PSAs, and quantitative safety goals are set on different levels. The reliability analysis is more problematic when critical safety functions are realized by applying programmable automation systems. Conventional modeling techniques do not necessarily apply to the analysis of these systems, and the quantification seems to be impossible. However, it is important to analyze contribution of programmable automation systems to the plant safety and PSA is the only method with system analytical view over the safety. This report discusses the applicability of PSA methodology (fault tree analyses, failure modes and effects analyses) in the analysis of programmable automation systems. The problem of how to decompose programmable automation systems for reliability modeling purposes is discussed. In addition to the qualitative analysis and structural reliability modeling issues, the possibility to evaluate failure probabilities of programmable automation systems is considered. One solution to the quantification issue is the use of expert judgements, and the principles to apply expert judgements is discussed in the paper. A framework to apply expert judgements is outlined. Further, the impacts of subjective estimates on the interpretation of PSA results are discussed. (orig.) (13 refs.)

Childhood Obesity – Prevention Begins with Breastfeeding PSA (:60)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2011-08-02

This 60 second Public Service Announcement (PSA) is based on the August, 2011 CDC Vital Signs report. Childhood obesity is an epidemic in the US. Breastfeeding can help prevent obesity, but one in three moms stop without hospital support. About 95% of hospitals lack policies that fully support breastfeeding moms. Hospitals need to do more to help moms start and continue breastfeeding.  Created: 8/2/2011 by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).   Date Released: 8/2/2011.

Marital satisfaction: the differential impact of social support dependent on situation and gender in medical staff in Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Rostami, Arian; Ghazinour, Mehdi; Richter, Jörg

2013-05-12

Stress is unavoidable in everyday life and it can effect on marital relationship. Social support especially from emotionally closed persons as a protective factor can help individuals to deal with stress and buffers the negative effects of life stress on marital satisfaction. In the present cross-sectional study we investigated the relationship between social and spousal support and marital satisfaction in medical staff in Iran. Data collection was performed in 653 medical staff using socio-demographic questions, the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Inventory, and the Social Support Questionnaire. Women and men did not differ in total social support satisfaction and the total number of supporting people; but, women were more often support providers for their husbands than men were for their wives. Spouse support was a more important indicator of marital satisfaction for women than for men. Also results revealed that spouse support is more important than social support from other resources to explain marital satisfaction. Job satisfaction had an explanatory effect on marital satisfaction especially in men. Furthermore, the findings showed that social support could decrease the explanatory impact of job satisfaction on scales of marital satisfaction. Therefore, focusing on social support, especially spouse support could be an effective approach in family counseling or family education programs to improve marital satisfaction in medical staff.

Review process of PSA level 2 of KBR - Concept and Experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andernacht, M.; Glaser, H.; Sonnenkalb, M.

2013-01-01

In Germany, a periodic safety review (PSR) has to be performed every ten years by the utility. In the past, a PSR only included a plant-specific probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) Level 1 study. Since a revised version of the German PSA guideline has been released in 2005, these plant-specific PSAs have to include a PSA Level 2, too. For the NPP Brokdorf (KBR) PSA Level 2 project, an agreement was reached between all parties involved that the study will be performed not as a part of the PSR process, but supplementary to it. This paper will focus on conclusions and findings from an ongoing parallel review process of the first full scope PSA Level 2 performed by the utility for KBR, a typical German PWR-1300. The responsible authority 'Ministerium fuer Soziales, Gesundheit, Familie, Jugend und Senioren des Landes Schleswig- Holstein' (MSGF) initiated this parallel review process in agreement with the utility KBR and the E.ON Kernkraft in 2006. The project will be completed soon. Such a review process allows that essential steps of the PSA will be reviewed and commented before the PSA Level 2 will be finished. So the benefit from this parallel review process is a significant enhancement of the quality and completeness of the PSA Level 2 study as the majority of the recommendations given by the review team has been taken over by the utility and the developer of the PSA, the AREVA NP company. Further, a common understanding and agreement will be reached at the end between all parties involved on the major topics of the PSA Level 2 study. The paper is followed by the slides of the presentation. (authors)

Review process of PSA Level 2 of KBR. Concept and experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andernacht, Martin; Glaser, Hendrik; Sonnenkalb, Martin

2009-01-01

In Germany, a periodic safety review (PSR) has to be performed every 10 years by the utility. In the past, a PSR only included a plant-specific probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) Level 1 study. For the NPP Brokdorf (KBR) PSA Level 2 project, an agreement was reached between all parties involved that the study will be performed not as a part of the PSR process, but supplementary to it. Since a revised version of the German PSA guideline has been released in 2005, these plant-specific PSAs have to include a PSA Level 2, too. This paper will focus on conclusions and findings from a ongoing parallel review process of the first full scope PSA Level 2 performed by the utility for KBR, a typical German PWR-1300. The responsible authority 'Ministerium fuer Soziales, Gesundheit, Familie, Jugend und Senioren des Landes Schleswig-Holstein (MSGF)' (Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Family, Youth and Senior Citizens of Schleswig-Holstein) initiated this parallel review process in agreement with the utility KBR and the E.ON Kernkraft in 2006. The project will be completed soon. Such a review process allows that essential steps of the PSA will be reviewed and commented before the PSA Level 2 will be finished. So the benefit from this parallel review process is a significant enhancement of the quality and completeness of the PSA Level 2 study as the majority of the recommendations given by the review team has been taken over by the utility and the developer of the PSA, the Areva NP company. Further, a common understanding and agreement will be reached at the end between all parties involved on the major topics of the PSA Level 2 study. (orig.)

A formal treatment of uncertainty sources in a level 2 PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahn, Kwang Il; Yang, Joon Eon

2003-01-01

The methodological framework of the level 2 PSA appears to be currently standardized in a formalized fashion, but there have been different opinions on the way the sources of uncertainty are characterized and treated. This is primarily because the level 2 PSA deals with complex phenomenological processes that are deterministic in nature rather than random processes, and there are no probabilistic models characterizing them clearly. As a result, the probabilistic quantification of the level 2 PSA is often subjected to two sources of uncertainty: (a) incomplete modeling of accident pathways or different predictions for the behavior of phenomenological events and (b) expert-to-expert variation in estimating the occurrence probability of phenomenological events. While a clear definition of the two sources of uncertainty involved in the level 2 PSA makes it possible to treat an uncertainty in a consistent manner, careless application of these different sources of uncertainty may produce different conclusions in the decision-making process. The primary purpose of this paper is to characterize typical sources of uncertainty that would often be addressed in the level 2 PSA and their impacts on the PSA level 2 risk results. An additional purpose of this paper is to give a formal approach on how to combine random uncertainties addressed in the level 1 PSA with subjectivistic uncertainties addressed in the level 2 PSA

Video Feedback in Key Word Signing Training for Preservice Direct Support Staff

Science.gov (United States)

Rombouts, Ellen; Meuris, Kristien; Maes, Bea; De Meyer, Anne-Marie; Zink, Inge

2016-01-01

Purpose: Research has demonstrated that formal training is essential for professionals to learn key word signing. Yet, the particular didactic strategies have not been studied. Therefore, this study compared the effectiveness of verbal and video feedback in a key word signing training for future direct support staff. Method: Forty-nine future…

Immunohistochemical staining of precursor forms of prostate-specific antigen (proPSA) in metastatic prostate cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Parwani, Anil V; Marlow, Cameron; Demarzo, Angelo M; Mikolajczyk, Stephen D; Rittenhouse, Harry G; Veltri, Robert W; Chan, Theresa Y

2006-10-01

Precursors of prostate-specific antigen (proPSA) have been previously shown to be more concentrated in prostate cancer tissue. This study characterizes the immunohistochemical staining (IHS) of proPSA forms in metastatic prostate cancer compared with prostate specific antigen (PSA) and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP). A tissue microarray, consisting of 74 cases of metastatic prostate carcinoma and control tissues, was used. IHS, using monoclonal antibodies against proPSA with a truncated proleader peptide containing 2 amino acids ([-2]pPSA), native ([-5/-7]pPSA), PSA, and PAP, was analyzed. The monoclonal antibodies were specific for both benign and malignant prostatic glandular tissue. IHS with [-5/-7]pPSA showed the least number of cases with negative staining (3%), and the most number of cases with moderate or strong staining (76%). In the 60 cases where all 4 stains could be evaluated, none of them were negative for proPSA and positive for PSA or PAP, and all 7 cases that were negative for both PSA and PAP showed IHS to proPSA. [-5/-7]pPSA (native proPSA) may be a better marker than PSA and PAP in characterizing metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma, with most of the cases showing positivity for the marker. Even cases that were negative for PSA and PAP, were reactive for proPSA. Such enhanced detection is particularly important in poorly differentiated carcinomas involving metastatic sites where prostate carcinoma is a consideration. A panel of markers, including proPSA, should be performed when metastatic prostate carcinoma is in the differential diagnosis.

Guidance to Risk-Informed Evaluation of Technical Specifications using PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baeckstroem, Ola; Haeggstroem, Anna; Maennistoe, Ilkka

2010-04-01

This report presents guidance for evaluation of Technical Specification conditions with PSA. It covers quality in PSA, how to verify that the PSA model is sufficiently robust and sufficiently complete and general requirements on methods. Acceptance criteria for evaluation of changes in the TS conditions are presented. As the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) has developed over the years, it has demonstrated to constitute a useful tool for evaluating many aspects of the TS from a risk point of view. and in that way making the PSAs as well as the decision tools better. This also means that it will be possible to take credit for safety system overcapacity as well as inherent safety features and strength of non-safety classed systems. However, PSA is only one of the tools that shall be used in an evaluation process of TS changes (strengthening/relaxation). PSA is an excellent tool to be used to verify the importance, and thereby possibly relaxation, of TS requirements. But, since PSA is only one tool in the evaluation, it is not sufficient in itself for defining which equipment that shall or shall not have TS requirements. The purpose of this guidance document is to provide general requirements, requirements on methods and acceptance criteria on risk-informed evaluation of TS changes based on PSA. The purpose is not to provide a single solution. As part of the review of the TS conditions this guidance specify requirements on: - Quality verification of the PSA model; - Verification that the PSA model is sufficiently robust with regard to SSCs for which requirements both are and are not defined by the TS; - Verification that the SSCs, for which TS demands are to be evaluated, are modelled in a sufficient manner; - Methods for performing the evaluation; - Which evaluation criteria that shall be used (and how that is verified to be correct); - Acceptance criteria: This guidance also briefly discusses the documentation of the analysis of the TS changes. This guidance

Guidance to risk-informed evaluation of technical specifications using PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baeckstroem, O.; Haeggstroem, A.; Maennistoe, I.

2010-10-01

This report presents guidance for evaluation of Technical Specification conditions with PSA. It covers quality in PSA, how to verify that the PSA model is sufficiently robust and sufficiently complete and general requirements on methods. Acceptance criteria for evaluation of changes in the TS conditions are presented. As the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) has developed over the years, it has demonstrated to constitute a useful tool for evaluating many aspects of the TS from a risk point of view. and in that way making the PSAs as well as the decision tools better. This also means that it will be possible to take credit for safety system overcapacity as well as inherent safety features and strength of non-safety classed systems. However, PSA is only one of the tools that shall be used in an evaluation process of TS changes (strengthening/relaxation). PSA is an excellent tool to be used to verify the importance, and thereby possibly relaxation, of TS requirements. But, since PSA is only one tool in the evaluation, it is not sufficient in itself for defining which equipment that shall or shall not have TS requirements. The purpose of this guidance document is to provide general requirements, requirements on methods and acceptance criteria on risk-informed evaluation of TS changes based on PSA. The purpose is not to provide a single solution. As part of the review of the TS conditions this guidance specify requirements on: - Quality verification of the PSA model; - Verification that the PSA model is sufficiently robust with regard to SSCs for which requirements both are and are not defined by the TS; - Verification that the SSCs, for which TS demands are to be evaluated, are modelled in a sufficient manner; - Methods for performing the evaluation; - Which evaluation criteria that shall be used (and how that is verified to be correct); - Acceptance criteria: This guidance also briefly discusses the documentation of the analysis of the TS changes. This guidance

Guidance to risk-informed evaluation of technical specifications using PSA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baeckstroem, O.; Haeggstroem, A. (Scandpower AB, Stockholm (Sweden)); Maennistoe, I. (VTT, Helsingfors (Finland))

2010-04-15

This report presents guidance for evaluation of Technical Specification conditions with PSA. It covers quality in PSA, how to verify that the PSA model is sufficiently robust and sufficiently complete and general requirements on methods. Acceptance criteria for evaluation of changes in the TS conditions are presented. As the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) has developed over the years, it has demonstrated to constitute a useful tool for evaluating many aspects of the TS from a risk point of view. and in that way making the PSAs as well as the decision tools better. This also means that it will be possible to take credit for safety system overcapacity as well as inherent safety features and strength of non-safety classed systems. However, PSA is only one of the tools that shall be used in an evaluation process of TS changes (strengthening/relaxation). PSA is an excellent tool to be used to verify the importance, and thereby possibly relaxation, of TS requirements. But, since PSA is only one tool in the evaluation, it is not sufficient in itself for defining which equipment that shall or shall not have TS requirements. The purpose of this guidance document is to provide general requirements, requirements on methods and acceptance criteria on risk-informed evaluation of TS changes based on PSA. The purpose is not to provide a single solution. As part of the review of the TS conditions this guidance specify requirements on: - Quality verification of the PSA model; - Verification that the PSA model is sufficiently robust with regard to SSCs for which requirements both are and are not defined by the TS; - Verification that the SSCs, for which TS demands are to be evaluated, are modelled in a sufficient manner; - Methods for performing the evaluation; - Which evaluation criteria that shall be used (and how that is verified to be correct); - Acceptance criteria: This guidance also briefly discusses the documentation of the analysis of the TS changes. This guidance

Guidance to Risk-Informed Evaluation of Technical Specifications using PSA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baeckstroem, Ola; Haeggstroem, Anna (Scandpower AB, Stockholm (Sweden)); Maennistoe, Ilkka (VTT, Helsingfors (Finland))

2010-04-15

This report presents guidance for evaluation of Technical Specification conditions with PSA. It covers quality in PSA, how to verify that the PSA model is sufficiently robust and sufficiently complete and general requirements on methods. Acceptance criteria for evaluation of changes in the TS conditions are presented. As the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) has developed over the years, it has demonstrated to constitute a useful tool for evaluating many aspects of the TS from a risk point of view. and in that way making the PSAs as well as the decision tools better. This also means that it will be possible to take credit for safety system overcapacity as well as inherent safety features and strength of non-safety classed systems. However, PSA is only one of the tools that shall be used in an evaluation process of TS changes (strengthening/relaxation). PSA is an excellent tool to be used to verify the importance, and thereby possibly relaxation, of TS requirements. But, since PSA is only one tool in the evaluation, it is not sufficient in itself for defining which equipment that shall or shall not have TS requirements. The purpose of this guidance document is to provide general requirements, requirements on methods and acceptance criteria on risk-informed evaluation of TS changes based on PSA. The purpose is not to provide a single solution. As part of the review of the TS conditions this guidance specify requirements on: - Quality verification of the PSA model; - Verification that the PSA model is sufficiently robust with regard to SSCs for which requirements both are and are not defined by the TS; - Verification that the SSCs, for which TS demands are to be evaluated, are modelled in a sufficient manner; - Methods for performing the evaluation; - Which evaluation criteria that shall be used (and how that is verified to be correct); - Acceptance criteria: This guidance also briefly discusses the documentation of the analysis of the TS changes. This guidance

Flooding PSA with Plant Specific Operating Experiences of Korean PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Sun Yeong; Yang, Joon Yull

2006-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to update the flooding PSA with Korean plant specific operating experience data and the appropriate estimation method for the flooding frequency to improve the PSA quality. The existing flooding PSA used the NPE (Nuclear Power Experience) database up to 1985 for the flooding frequency. They are all USA plant operating experiences. So an upgraded flooding frequency with Korean specific plant operation experience is required. We also propose a method of only using the PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) data for the flooding frequency estimation in the case of the flooding area in the primary building even though the existing flooding PSA used both PWR and BWR (Boiled Water Reactor) data for all kinds of plant areas. We evaluate the CDF (Core Damage Frequency) with the modified flooding frequency and compare the results with that of the existing flooding PSA method

Guidance for Decision Making based on Extended PSA. Volume 1 - Summary report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loeffler, H.; Kumar, M.; Raimond, E.

2016-01-01

This report of ASAMPSA-E project is a summary report of the WP30 activities which were intended to develop guidance on decision-making process based on extended PSA results, when the PSA scope has been extended to all sources of radioactivity, all internal and relevant external events. It summarizes the ASAMPSA-E recommendations on: - the lessons of Fukushima Dai-ichi accident for PSA, - the risk metrics, - the method for identifying Initiating Events and Hazards for an Extended PSA (screening), - the link between extended PSA and the defense-in-depth concept. The report then provides some general considerations on application of extended PSA results, criteria that can be applied and also some difficulties inherent to the status of extended PSAs. (authors)

Application of PSA in risk informed decision making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hari Prasad, M.; Vinod, Gopika; Saraf, R.K.; Ghosh, A.K.; Kushwaha, H.S.

2006-01-01

Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) models have been successfully employed during design evaluation to assess weak links and carry out design modifications to improve system reliability and safety. Recently, studies are directed towards applying PSA in various decision making issues concerned with plant operations and safety regulations. This necessitates development of software tools like Living PSA, Risk Monitor etc. Risk Monitor is a PC based tool developed to assess the risk, based on the actual status of systems and components. Such tools find wide application with plant personnel and regulatory authorities since they can provide solutions to various plant issues and regulatory decision making issues respectively. (author)

Regulatory aspects of the use of PSA to evaluate technical specifications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rumpf, J.

1991-01-01

Based on experiences gained in PSA activities the regulatory body of the GDR initiated a programme to investigate the feasibility of using PSA for the evaluation of technical specifications. This programme is just under work. In addition, to improve PSA, the GDR takes part in a programme which is aimed at performing plant specific level 1, PSA as well as and which enables operating organizations to carry out PSA on their own. The most important of some preliminary general findings presented in this paper are: - Technical specifications form a well established envelope of operational conditions and procedures. A total re-evaluation is not considered necessary; Probabilistic evaluation of technical specifications should be an integrated part of PSA activities (at least level 1). Single assessment is not considered reasonable; Probabilistic evaluation of technical specifications has to be based on plant specific information and realistic accident sequence calculations; Up to now no quantitative probabilistic criteria for technical specifications have been established. (author)

Interoperability In The New Planetary Science Archive (PSA)

Science.gov (United States)

Rios, C.; Barbarisi, I.; Docasal, R.; Macfarlane, A. J.; Gonzalez, J.; Arviset, C.; Grotheer, E.; Besse, S.; Martinez, S.; Heather, D.; De Marchi, G.; Lim, T.; Fraga, D.; Barthelemy, M.

2015-12-01

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, there is a greater need to provide interoperability with software and applications that are commonly being used globally. For this purpose, the development of the new Planetary Science Archive (PSA), by the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) Science Data Centre (ESDC), is focused on building a modern science archive that takes into account internationally recognised standards in order to provide access to the archive through tools from third parties, for example by the NASA Planetary Data System (PDS), the VESPA project from the Virtual Observatory of Paris as well as other international institutions. The protocols and standards currently being supported by the new Planetary Science Archive at this time are the Planetary Data Access Protocol (PDAP), the EuroPlanet-Table Access Protocol (EPN-TAP) and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards. The architecture of the PSA consists of a Geoserver (an open-source map server), the goal of which is to support use cases such as the distribution of search results, sharing and processing data through a OGC Web Feature Service (WFS) and a Web Map Service (WMS). This server also allows the retrieval of requested information in several standard output formats like Keyhole Markup Language (KML), Geography Markup Language (GML), shapefile, JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) and Comma Separated Values (CSV), among others. The provision of these various output formats enables end-users to be able to transfer retrieved data into popular applications such as Google Mars and NASA World Wind.

Research on the improvement of nuclear safety -Improvement of level 1 PSA computer code package-

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Chang Kyoo; Kim, Tae Woon; Kim, Kil Yoo; Han, Sang Hoon; Jung, Won Dae; Jang, Seung Chul; Yang, Joon Un; Choi, Yung; Sung, Tae Yong; Son, Yung Suk; Park, Won Suk; Jung, Kwang Sub; Kang Dae Il; Park, Jin Heui; Hwang, Mi Jung; Hah, Jae Joo

1995-07-01

This year is the third year of the Government-sponsored mid- and long-term nuclear power technology development project. The scope of this sub project titled on 'The improvement of level-1 PSA computer codes' is divided into three main activities : (1) Methodology development on the underdeveloped fields such as risk assessment technology for plant shutdown and low power situations, (2) Computer code package development for level-1 PSA, (3) Applications of new technologies to reactor safety assessment. At first, in this area of shutdown risk assessment technology development, plant outage experiences of domestic plants are reviewed and plant operating states (POS) are decided. A sample core damage frequency is estimated for over draining event in RCS low water inventory i.e. mid-loop operation. Human reliability analysis and thermal hydraulic support analysis are identified to be needed to reduce uncertainty. Two design improvement alternatives are evaluated using PSA technique for mid-loop operation situation: one is use of containment spray system as backup of shutdown cooling system and the other is installation of two independent level indication system. Procedure change is identified more preferable option to hardware modification in the core damage frequency point of view. Next, level-1 PSA code KIRAP is converted to PC-windows environment. For the improvement of efficiency in performing PSA, the fast cutest generation algorithm and an analytical technique for handling logical loop in fault tree modeling are developed. 48 figs, 15 tabs, 59 refs. (Author)

Research on the improvement of nuclear safety -Improvement of level 1 PSA computer code package-

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Chang Kyoo; Kim, Tae Woon; Kim, Kil Yoo; Han, Sang Hoon; Jung, Won Dae; Jang, Seung Chul; Yang, Joon Un; Choi, Yung; Sung, Tae Yong; Son, Yung Suk; Park, Won Suk; Jung, Kwang Sub; Kang Dae Il; Park, Jin Heui; Hwang, Mi Jung; Hah, Jae Joo [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1995-07-01

This year is the third year of the Government-sponsored mid- and long-term nuclear power technology development project. The scope of this sub project titled on `The improvement of level-1 PSA computer codes` is divided into three main activities : (1) Methodology development on the underdeveloped fields such as risk assessment technology for plant shutdown and low power situations, (2) Computer code package development for level-1 PSA, (3) Applications of new technologies to reactor safety assessment. At first, in this area of shutdown risk assessment technology development, plant outage experiences of domestic plants are reviewed and plant operating states (POS) are decided. A sample core damage frequency is estimated for over draining event in RCS low water inventory i.e. mid-loop operation. Human reliability analysis and thermal hydraulic support analysis are identified to be needed to reduce uncertainty. Two design improvement alternatives are evaluated using PSA technique for mid-loop operation situation: one is use of containment spray system as backup of shutdown cooling system and the other is installation of two independent level indication system. Procedure change is identified more preferable option to hardware modification in the core damage frequency point of view. Next, level-1 PSA code KIRAP is converted to PC-windows environment. For the improvement of efficiency in performing PSA, the fast cutest generation algorithm and an analytical technique for handling logical loop in fault tree modeling are developed. 48 figs, 15 tabs, 59 refs. (Author).

Improvement of PSA Models Using Monitoring and Prognostics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heo, Gyun Young; Chang, Yoon Suk; Kim, Hyun Dae [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2014-08-15

Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) has performed a significant role for quantitative decision-making by finding design and operational vulnerability and evaluating cost-benefit in improving such weak points. Especially, it has been widely used as the core methodology for Risk-Informed Applications (RIAs). Even though the nature of PSA seeks realistic results, there are still 'conservative' aspects. The sources for the conservatism come from the assumption of safety analysis and the estimation of failure frequency. Surveillance, Diagnosis, and Prognosis (SDP) utilizing massive database and information technology is worthwhile to be highlighted in terms of the capability of alleviating the conservatism in the conventional PSA. This paper provides enabling techniques to concretize the method to provide time- and condition-dependent risk by integrating a conventional PSA model with condition monitoring and prognostics techniques. We will discuss how to integrate the results with frequency of initiating events (IEs) and failure probability of basic events (BEs). Two illustrative examples will be introduced: how the failure probability of a passive system can be evaluated under different plant conditions and how the IE frequency for Steam Generator Tube Rupture (SGTR) can be updated in terms of operating time. We expect that the proposed PSA model can take a role of annunciator to show the variation of Core Damage Frequency (CDF) in terms of time and operational conditions.

Workshop on PSA applications, Sofia, Bulgaria, 7-11 October 1996. Lecturing materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

The objective of this workshop was to present detailed, systematic and useful information about PSA-based tools and PSA applications. The first presentation of the workshop was titled ''The role of PSA in safety management''. This topic served to introduce the workshop and to highlight several concepts that were afterwards stressed during the week, i.e. the defence in depth principle and the use of deterministic and probabilistic approaches in a complementary way. This presentation provided a basis for the discussion of ''PSA applications''. As a complement to the theoretical lectures, there was a workshop during which three different exercises were run in parallel. For two of these, computer-based PSA tools were used. One of them was focused towards the analysis of design modifications and the other one towards demonstrating configuration control strategies. The objective of the third practice was to obtain Allowed Outage Times using different PSA-based approaches and to discuss the differences observed and the insights obtained. To conclude the workshop, stress was put on the importance of the quality of the PSA (the development of a high quality Living PSA should be the first step), the necessity to be cautious (before taking decisions both the qualitative and numerical results should be carefully analyzed), and the logical order for the implementation of PSA applications. Refs, figs, tabs

Profiling the Psychological Training and Support Needs of Oncology Staff, and Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Level 2 Psychological Support Training Program Workshop.

Science.gov (United States)

Laffan, Amanda J; Daniels, Jo; Osborn, Michael

2015-01-01

The importance of training non-psychology healthcare professionals to offer psychological support to people with cancer is becoming increasingly recognized. This small-scale pilot project sought to identify the training and support needs of oncology staff and to evaluate the effectiveness of a Level 2 Psychological Support Training Program workshop. Semi-structured interviews with five members of multidisciplinary oncology staff identified that training needs were primarily around communication skills, recognizing and dealing with emotions, offering support and empathy, and self-care. Pre and post-training questionnaires developed with these themes in mind revealed that the Level 2 Training Program workshops run in this network of hospitals are effective in increasing participants' levels of perceived knowledge and confidence across each of these domains. Recommendations are made for further enhancing this effectiveness.

PSA kinetics following primary focal cryotherapy (hemiablation) in organ-confined prostate cancer patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Kongnyuy, Michael; Islam, Shahidul; Mbah, Alfred K; Halpern, Daniel M; Werneburg, Glenn T; Kosinski, Kaitlin E; Chen, Connie; Habibian, David J; Schiff, Jeffrey T; Corcoran, Anthony T; Katz, Aaron E

2018-02-01

We aim to evaluate prostate-specific antigen (PSA) trends in post-primary focal cryotherapy (PFC) patients. This was an institutional review board-approved retrospective study of PFC patients from 2010 to 2015. Patients with at least one post-PFC PSA were included in the study. Biochemical recurrence (BCR) was determined using the Phoenix criteria. PSA bounce was also assessed. We analyzed rates of change of PSA over time of post-PFC between BCR and no BCR groups. PSA-derived variables were analyzed as potential predictors of BCR. A total of 104 PFC patients were included in our analysis. Median (range) age and follow-up time were 66 (48-82) years and 19 (6.3-38.6) months, respectively. Four (3.8%) patients experienced PSA bounce. The median percent drop in first post-PFC PSA of 80.0% was not associated with BCR (p = 0.256) and may indicate elimination of the index lesion. The rate of increase of PSA in BCR patients was significantly higher compared to patients who did not recur (median PSA velocity (PSAV): 0.15 vs 0.04 ng/ml/month, p = 0.001). Similar to PSAV (HR 9.570, 95% CI 3.725-24.592, p PSA nadir ≥ 2 ng/ml [HR (hazard ratio) 1.251, 95% CI 1.100-1.422, p = 0.001] was independently associated with BCR. A significant drop in post-PFC PSA may indicate elimination of the index lesion. Patients who are likely to recur biochemically have a significantly higher PSAV compared to those who do not recur. Nadir PSA of less than 2 ng/ml may be considered the new normal PSA in focal cryotherapy (hemiablation) follow-up.

PSA doubling time of prostate carcinoma managed with watchful observation alone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choo, Richard; DeBoer, Gerrit; Klotz, Lawrence; Danjoux, Cyril; Morton, Gerard C.; Rakovitch, Eileen; Fleshner, Neil; Bunting, Peter; Kapusta, Linda; Hruby, George

2001-01-01

Purpose: To study prostate-specific antigen (PSA) doubling time of untreated, favorable grade, prostate carcinoma. Methods and Materials: A prospective single-arm cohort study has been in progress to assess the feasibility of a watchful observation protocol with selective delayed intervention using clinical, histologic, or PSA progression as treatment indication in untreated, localized, favorable grade prostate adenocarcinoma (T1b-T2bN0 M0, Gleason Score ≤7, and PSA ≤15 ng/mL). Patients are conservatively managed with watchful observation alone, as long as they do not meet the arbitrarily defined disease progression criteria. Patients are followed regularly and undergo blood tests including PSA at each visit. PSA doubling time (Td) is estimated from a linear regression of ln(PSA) on time, assuming a simple exponential growth model. Results: As of March 2000, 134 patients have been on the study for a minimum of 12 months (median, 24; range, 12-52) and have a median frequency of PSA measurement of 7 times (range, 3-15). Median age is 70 years. Median PSA at enrollment is 6.3 (range, 0.5-14.6). The distribution of Td is as follows: 50 years, 27. The median Td is 5.1 years. In 44 patients (33%), Td is greater than 10 years. There was no correlation between Td and patient age, clinical T stage, Gleason score, or initial PSA level. Conclusion: Td of untreated prostate cancer varies widely. In our cohort, 33% have Td >10 years. Td may be a useful tool to guide treatment intervention for patients managed conservatively with watchful observation alone

[Clinical evaluation of TANDEM PSA in Japanese cases and comparison with other methods].

Science.gov (United States)

Kuriyama, M; Yamamoto, N; Shinoda, I; Kawada, Y; Akimoto, S; Shimazaki, J

1995-01-01

Clinical evaluation of TANDEM PSA which is the most frequently used prostate specific antigen (PSA) assay method in the world and a comparison with other methods were performed in Japanese cases in a cooperative research fashion. The minimum detectable level of the method was found to be 0.50 ng of PSA in one ml of serum and 1.9 ng/ml was regarded as the upper normal value in Japanese males. The distribution of serum PSA showed a significant difference between the benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH) cases and patients with stage C or D prostate cancer. The sero-diagnosis prostate cancer at an early stage with the TANDEM PSA was difficult. The correlation to other methods of PSA detection was very high. Furthermore, the clinical use of the method in following-up the clinical course of prostate cancer patients was very useful. These findings suggested that the PSA detection using TANDEM PSA is applicable even in Japanese cases although the upper cut-off level is decreased.

International network on incorporation of ageing effects into PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirchsteiger, C.; Patrik, M.

2006-01-01

This paper describes the background and status of a new International Network on ''Incorporating Ageing Effects into Probabilistic Safety Assessment''. The Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission organized in September 2004 the kickoff meeting of this Network at JRC's Institute for Energy in Petten, Netherlands, with the aims to open the APSA Network, to start discussion of ageing issues in relation to incorporating ageing effects into PSA tools and to come to consensus on objectives and work packages of the Network, taking into account the specific expectations of potential Network partners. The presentations and discussions at the meeting confirmed the main conclusion from the previously organized PSAM 7 pre-conference workshop on ''Incorporating PSA into Ageing Management'', Budapest, June 2004, namely that incorporating ageing effects into PSA seems to be more and more a hot topic particularly for risk assessment and ageing management of nuclear power plants operating at advanced age (more than 25-30 years) and for the purpose of plant life extension. However, it also appeared that, especially regarding the situation in Europe, at present there are several on-going feasibility or full studies in this area, but not yet a completed Ageing PSA leading to applications. The project's working method is a NETWORK of operators, industry, research, academia and consultants with an active interest in the area (physical networking via a series of workshops and virtual networking via the Internet). The resulting knowledge should help PSA developers and users to incorporate the effects of equipment ageing into current PSA tools and models, to identify and/or develop most effective corresponding methods, to focus on dominant ageing contributors and components and to promote the use of PSA for ageing management of Nuclear Power Plants. (orig.)

Seismic PSA of nuclear power plants a case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hari Prasad, M.; Dubey, P.N.; Reddy, G.R.; Saraf, R.K.; Ghosh, A.K.

2006-07-01

Seismic Probabilistic Safety Assessment (Seismic PSA) analysis is an external event PSA analysis. The objective of seismic PSA for the plants is to examine the existence of plant vulnerabilities against postulated earthquakes by numerically assessing the plant safety and to take appropriate measures to enhance the plant safety. Seismic PSA analysis integrates the seismic hazard analysis, seismic response analysis, seismic fragility analysis and system reliability/ accident sequence analysis. In general, the plant consists of normally operating and emergency standby systems and components. The failure during an earthquake (induced directly by excessive inertial stresses or indirectly following the failure of some other item) of an operating component will lead to a change in the state of the plant. In that case, various scenarios can follow depending on the initiating event and the status of other sub-systems. The analysis represents these possible chronological sequences by an event tree. The event trees and the associated fault trees model the sub-systems down to the level of individual components. The procedure has been applied for a typical Indian nuclear power plant. From the internal event PSA level I analysis significant contribution to the Core Damage Frequency (CDF) was found due to the Fire Water System. Hence, this system was selected to establish the procedure of seismic PSA. In this report the different elements that go into seismic PSA analysis have been discussed. Hazard curves have been developed for the site. Fragility curve for the seismically induced failure of Class IV power has been developed. The fragility curve for fire-water piping system has been generated. Event tree for Class IV power supply has been developed and the dominating accident sequences were identified. CDF has been estimated from these dominating accident sequences by convoluting hazard curves of initiating event and fragility curves of the safety systems. (author)

An operator support system for research reactor operations and fault diagnosis through a connectionist framework and PSA based knowledge based systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varde, P.V.; Sankar, S.; Verma, A.K.

1998-01-01

During reactor upset/abnormal conditions, emphasis is placed on the plant operator's ability to quickly identify the problem and perform diagnosis and initiate recovery action to ensure the safety of the plant. However, the reliability of human action is adversely affected at the time of crisis due to time stress and psychological factors. The availability of operational aids capable of monitoring the status of the plant and quickly identifying the deviation from normal operation is expected to significantly improve the operator reliability. The development of operator support systems using probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) techniques and information is finding wide application in nuclear plant operation. Often it is observed that most of the applications use a rule-based approach for diagnosis as well as safety status/transient conditions monitoring. A more efficient approach using artificial neural networks for safety status/transient condition monitoring and rule-based systems for diagnosis and emergency procedure generation has been applied for the development of a prototype operator adviser (OPAD) system for a 100 MW(th) heavy water moderated, cooled and natural uranium fueled research reactor. The development objective of this system is to improve the reliability of operator action and hence the reactor safety at the time of crisis as well as in normal operation. In order to address safety objectives at various stages of development of OPAD, the PSA techniques and tools have been used for knowledge representation. It has been demonstrated, with recall tests on the artificial neural network, that it can efficiently identify the reactor status in real-time scenario. This paper discusses various issues related to the development of an operator support system in a comprehensive way, right from the study of safety objectives, to data collection, to implementation of such a system

Percentage of free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a useful method in deciding to perform prostate biopsy with higher core numbers in patients with low PSA cut-off values.

Science.gov (United States)

Yilmaz, Hasan; Ciftci, Seyfettin; Yavuz, Ufuk; Ustuner, Murat; Saribacak, Ali; Dillioglugil, Ozdal

2015-06-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive role of percentage of free prostate-specific antigen (%fPSA) cut-points in prostate cancer (PCa) detection in patients with total PSA (tPSA) levels between 2.5 ng/mL and 10.0 ng/mL. In total, 1321 consecutive initial transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided 12-core biopsies performed between 2005 and 2011 were evaluated retrospectively. Benign pathologies, high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, and atypical small acinary proliferations were categorized as noncancerous (benign), and prostate adenocarcinomas were categorized as cancerous (malignant). The patients were categorized according to: Catalona's published %fPSA categories ( 25%); digital rectal examination (DRE) results [benign (negative) or suspicious of malignancy (positive)]. There was a significant relationship between the %fPSA cut-points and detection of PCa in DRE-negative patients. The presence of a 10% cut-point increased the probability of PCa threefold. The %fPSA was significantly more related to PCa than the tPSA value in receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses (p = 0.001). Based on our findings, a lower %fPSA, especially <10%, is an important parameter when deciding whether to perform a biopsy on patients with a tPSA between 2.5 ng/mL and 10 ng/mL. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Taiwan.

Analysis of specific features of digital instrumentation and control systems and possibilities of accounting for them within PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hustak, S.

2002-10-01

The report is structured as follows: Basic information on the peculiarities of digital technology for the I and C system at an NPP (Digital signal; Digital communication; Communication protocols; Examples of practical tools for creation of I and C digital systems); Peculiarities of the digital I and C technology from the reliability viewpoint (Software as a new component of implementation of a system function; Problems with the assessment or demonstration of reliability of software components of an I and C system); Possibilities of accounting for the specific features of digital I and C technology within PSA (Relevant PSA components; Using PSA as a supporting tool in designing new NPPs; Categorization of NPP I and C system tasks with respect to the defence-in-depth principle). (P.A.)

The relationship between serum PSA, six sex hormones and the benign or malignant prostate diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Yancun

2008-01-01

In order to study clinical significance of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), free prostate specific antigen (PSA), f/tPSA and six sex hormones in prostate diseases, the serum levels of PSA, fPSA, f/tPSA, T, P, E 2 , PRL, LH and FSH in 72 cases of hyperplasia of prostate patients and 40 patients with prostate cancer were determined by RIA. The results showed that the serum levels of T, E 2 , PRL, LH, FSH in the BPH Group were significantly lower than those of in Pca group, the serum level of P in Pca group were significantly lower than those in BPH group; the levels of fPSA and f/tPSA ratio in BPH Group were significantly higher than those in Pca group. The results suggest that benign and malignant prostate disease (BPH and Pca) was related with the hormone imbalance. The serum total PSA and fPSA can be regarded as important indicators in the diagnosis of BPH and Pea. The combined determination of PSA, fPSA and f/tPSA may improve the diagnostic accuracy of Pca. (authors)

Estimation Procedure of Common Cause Failure Parameters for CAFE-PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Dae Il; Hwang, M. J.; Han, S. H.

2009-03-01

Detailed common cause failure (CCF) analysis generally needs the data for CCF events from other nuclear power plants because the CCF events rarely occur. Since 2002, KAERI has participated in the international common cause failure data exchange (ICDE) project to get data for CCF events. The operation office of the ICDE project sent about 400 CCF event data for emergency diesel generators, motor operated valves, check valves, pumps, and breakers to KAERI in 2009. However, there was no program available to analyze the ICDE CCF event data. Therefore, we developed the CAFE-PSA (common CAuse Failure Event analysis program for PSA) to estimate CCF parameters by using the ICDE CCF event data. With CAFE-PSA, the CCF events in the ICDE database can be qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. The qualitative analysis results of the ICDE CCF data, by using the CAFE-PSA, showed that the major root cause of CCF events, for motor operated valves, check valves, and pumps, was the fault of their internal parts, and that for emergency diesel generators and breakers was the inadequacy of design/manufacture or construction. The quantitative analysis results of the ICDE CCF data, by using the CAFE-PSA, showed that the estimated Alpha Factors of components, mentioned above, were lower than those previously used in the PSA for domestic nuclear power plants, but were higher than those in USNRC 2007 CCF data. Through performing qualitative and quantitative analysis of the ICDE CCF data, by using the CAFE-PSA, a plan for coping with CCF events for design and operation of nuclear power plants can be produced and reasonable values for CCF parameters can be estimated. In addition, it is expected that the technical adequacy of PSA can be improved

Procedure for Application of Software Reliability Growth Models to NPP PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Son, Han Seong; Kang, Hyun Gook; Chang, Seung Cheol

2009-01-01

As the use of software increases at nuclear power plants (NPPs), the necessity for including software reliability and/or safety into the NPP Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) rises. This work proposes an application procedure of software reliability growth models (RGMs), which are most widely used to quantify software reliability, to NPP PSA. Through the proposed procedure, it can be determined if a software reliability growth model can be applied to the NPP PSA before its real application. The procedure proposed in this work is expected to be very helpful for incorporating software into NPP PSA

Marital Satisfaction: The Differential Impact of Social Support Dependent on Situation and Gender in Medical Staff in Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Rostami, Arian; Ghazinour, Mehdi; Richter, Jörg

2013-01-01

Stress is unavoidable in everyday life and it can effect on marital relationship. Social support especially from emotionally closed persons as a protective factor can help individuals to deal with stress and buffers the negative effects of life stress on marital satisfaction. In the present cross-sectional study we investigated the relationship between social and spousal support and marital satisfaction in medical staff in Iran. Data collection was performed in 653 medical staff using socio-demographic questions, the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Inventory, and the Social Support Questionnaire. Women and men did not differ in total social support satisfaction and the total number of supporting people; but, women were more often support providers for their husbands than men were for their wives. Spouse support was a more important indicator of marital satisfaction for women than for men. Also results revealed that spouse support is more important than social support from other resources to explain marital satisfaction. Job satisfaction had an explanatory effect on marital satisfaction especially in men. Furthermore, the findings showed that social support could decrease the explanatory impact of job satisfaction on scales of marital satisfaction. Therefore, focusing on social support, especially spouse support could be an effective approach in family counseling or family education programs to improve marital satisfaction in medical staff. PMID:23777731

Improvement of level-1 PSA computer code package

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Tae Woon; Park, C. K.; Kim, K. Y.; Han, S. H.; Jung, W. D.; Chang, S. C.; Yang, J. E.; Sung, T. Y.; Kang, D. I.; Park, J. H.; Lee, Y. H.; Kim, S. H.; Hwang, M. J.; Choi, S. Y.

1997-07-01

This year the fifth (final) year of the phase-I of the Government-sponsored Mid- and Long-term Nuclear Power Technology Development Project. The scope of this subproject titled on `The improvement of level-1 PSA Computer Codes` is divided into two main activities : (1) improvement of level-1 PSA methodology, (2) development of applications methodology of PSA techniques to operations and maintenance of nuclear power plant. Level-1 PSA code KIRAP is converted to PC-Windows environment. For the improvement of efficiency in performing PSA, the fast cutset generation algorithm and an analytical technique for handling logical loop in fault tree modeling are developed. Using about 30 foreign generic data sources, generic component reliability database (GDB) are developed considering dependency among source data. A computer program which handles dependency among data sources are also developed based on three stage bayesian updating technique. Common cause failure (CCF) analysis methods are reviewed and CCF database are established. Impact vectors can be estimated from this CCF database. A computer code, called MPRIDP, which handles CCF database are also developed. A CCF analysis reflecting plant-specific defensive strategy against CCF event is also performed. A risk monitor computer program, called Risk Monster, are being developed for the application to the operation and maintenance of nuclear power plant. The PSA application technique is applied to review the feasibility study of on-line maintenance and to the prioritization of in-service test (IST) of motor-operated valves (MOV). Finally, the root cause analysis (RCA) and reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) technologies are adopted and applied to the improvement of reliability of emergency diesel generators (EDG) of nuclear power plant. To help RCA and RCM analyses, two software programs are developed, which are EPIS and RAM Pro. (author). 129 refs., 20 tabs., 60 figs.

Improvement of level-1 PSA computer code package

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Tae Woon; Park, C. K.; Kim, K. Y.; Han, S. H.; Jung, W. D.; Chang, S. C.; Yang, J. E.; Sung, T. Y.; Kang, D. I.; Park, J. H.; Lee, Y. H.; Kim, S. H.; Hwang, M. J.; Choi, S. Y.

1997-07-01

This year the fifth (final) year of the phase-I of the Government-sponsored Mid- and Long-term Nuclear Power Technology Development Project. The scope of this subproject titled on 'The improvement of level-1 PSA Computer Codes' is divided into two main activities : 1) improvement of level-1 PSA methodology, 2) development of applications methodology of PSA techniques to operations and maintenance of nuclear power plant. Level-1 PSA code KIRAP is converted to PC-Windows environment. For the improvement of efficiency in performing PSA, the fast cutset generation algorithm and an analytical technique for handling logical loop in fault tree modeling are developed. Using about 30 foreign generic data sources, generic component reliability database (GDB) are developed considering dependency among source data. A computer program which handles dependency among data sources are also developed based on three stage bayesian updating technique. Common cause failure (CCF) analysis methods are reviewed and CCF database are established. Impact vectors can be estimated from this CCF database. A computer code, called MPRIDP, which handles CCF database are also developed. A CCF analysis reflecting plant-specific defensive strategy against CCF event is also performed. A risk monitor computer program, called Risk Monster, are being developed for the application to the operation and maintenance of nuclear power plant. The PSA application technique is applied to review the feasibility study of on-line maintenance and to the prioritization of in-service test (IST) of motor-operated valves (MOV). Finally, the root cause analysis (RCA) and reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) technologies are adopted and applied to the improvement of reliability of emergency diesel generators (EDG) of nuclear power plant. To help RCA and RCM analyses, two software programs are developed, which are EPIS and RAM Pro. (author). 129 refs., 20 tabs., 60 figs

Whooping Cough PSA (:30)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

This 30 second PSA encourages pregnant women to get the whooping cough vaccine, called Tdap, during the third trimester of each pregnancy in order to pass antibodies to their babies so they are born with protection against this serious disease.

Care and caring in the intensive care unit: Family members' distress and perceptions about staff skills, communication, and emotional support.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, Eve B; Spain, David A; Muhtadie, Luma; McDade-Montez, Liz; Macia, Kathryn S

2015-06-01

Family members of intensive care unit (ICU) patients are sometimes highly distressed and report lower satisfaction with communication and emotional support from staff. Within a study of emotional responses to traumatic stress, associations between family distress and satisfaction with aspects of ICU care were investigated. In 29 family members of trauma patients who stayed in an ICU, we assessed symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during ICU care. Later, family members rated staff communication, support, and skills and their overall satisfaction with ICU care. Ratings of staff competence and skills were significantly higher than ratings of frequency of communication, information needs being met, and support. Frequency of communication and information needs being met were strongly related to ratings of support (rs = .75-.77) and staff skills (rs = .77-.85), and aspects of satisfaction and communication showed negative relationships with symptoms of depression (rs = -.31 to -.55) and PTSD (rs = -.17 to -.43). Although satisfaction was fairly high, family member distress was negatively associated with several satisfaction variables. Increased understanding of the effects of traumatic stress on family members may help staff improve communication and increase satisfaction of highly distressed family members. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Low percentage of free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a strong predictor of later detection of prostate cancer among Japanese men with serum levels of total PSA of 4.0 ng/mL or less.

Science.gov (United States)

Sasaki, Mitsuharu; Ishidoya, Shigeto; Ito, Akihiro; Saito, Hideo; Yamada, Shigeyuki; Mitsuzuka, Koji; Kaiho, Yasuhiro; Shibuya, Daisuke; Yamaguchi, Takuhiro; Arai, Yoichi

2014-11-01

To investigate the effect of the percentage of free prostate-specific antigen (%fPSA) on future prostate cancer risk. We examined serum total PSA (tPSA) and %fPSA annually in a prostate cancer-screening cohort between July 2001 and June 2011. Men with tPSA >4.0 ng/mL or tPSA of 2.0-4.0 ng/mL with %fPSA ≤12% were screened as positive and were recommended to undergo a biopsy. The study population consisted of 6368 men, aged 40-79 years, who had tPSA ≤4.0 ng/mL at initial screening and who subsequently underwent 1 or more screenings. We calculated the cumulative risk and hazard ratio of prostate cancer stratified by the initial %fPSA groups as quartiles of prostate cancer patients. During a median follow-up of 36 months, 119 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer. The lowest quartile of %fPSA (22.2%). For the subset with an initial tPSA ≤1.0 ng/mL, all men diagnosed with cancer had an initial %fPSA ≤33.3% (median). For the subset with tPSA >1.0 ng/mL, men with %fPSA ≤23.0% (median) had significantly higher risk for cancer than those with %fPSA >23.0% (P men with prostate cancer in whom pathologic findings were available, 79 (69.3%) had a Gleason score ≥3 + 4 = 7. A low %fPSA is a strong predictor of a subsequent diagnosis of prostate cancer among men with tPSA levels ≤4.0 ng/mL. Measurement of %fPSA might enhance the detection of high-grade cancer that warrants aggressive treatment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Generation of risk importance information from severe accident PSA model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seo, Mi Ro; Kim, Hyeong Taek; Moon, Chan Kook

2012-01-01

One of the important objects conducting Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) is the relative evaluation of importance of the component or function that is greatly affected to the plant safety. This evaluation is performed by the importance assessment methods such as Risk Reduction Worth, Risk Achievement Worth, and Fuss el Vessley method from the aspect of core damage frequency (CDF). In the Level 1 PSA model, the importance of each component can be evaluated since the CDF is calculated by the combination of the branch probability of event tree and the component failure probability in the fault tree. But, the Level 2 PSA model in order to assess the containment integrity cannot evaluate the risk importance by the above methods because the model is consisted of 3 parts, plant damage status, containment event tree, and source term category. So, in the field that the Level 2 PSA risk importance information should be reflected, such as maintenance rule program, risk importance has been determined by the subjective judgment of the model developer. This study was performed in order to generate the risk importance information more objectively and systematically in the Level 2 PSA model, focused on the containment event tree in the domain PHWR Level 2 PSA model

Analysis of urinary PSA glycosylation is not indicative of high-risk prostate cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrabés, Sílvia; Llop, Esther; Ferrer-Batallé, Montserrat; Ramírez, Manel; Aleixandre, Rosa N; Perry, Antoinette S; de Llorens, Rafael; Peracaula, Rosa

2017-07-01

The levels of core fucosylation and α2,3-linked sialic acid in serum Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA), using the lectins Pholiota squarrosa lectin (PhoSL) and Sambucus nigra agglutinin (SNA), can discriminate between Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and indolent prostate cancer (PCa) from aggressive PCa. In the present work we evaluated whether these glycosylation determinants could also be altered in urinary PSA obtained after digital rectal examination (DRE) and could also be useful for diagnosis determinations. For this purpose, α2,6-sialic acid and α1,6-fucose levels of urinary PSA from 53 patients, 18 biopsy-negative and 35 PCa patients of different aggressiveness degree, were analyzed by sandwich ELLA (Enzyme Linked Lectin Assay) using PhoSL and SNA. Changes in the levels of specific glycosylation determinants, that in serum PSA samples were indicative of PCa aggressiveness, were not found in PSA from DRE urine samples. Although urine is a simpler matrix for analyzing PSA glycosylation compared to serum, an immunopurification step was necessary to specifically detect the glycans on the PSA molecule. Those specific glycosylation determinants on urinary PSA were however not useful to improve PCa diagnosis. This could be probably due to the low proportion of PSA from the tumor in urine samples, which precludes the identification of aberrantly glycosylated PSA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Classified Staff Perceptions of Behavior and Discipline: Implications for Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports

Science.gov (United States)

Feuerborn, Laura L.; Tyre, Ashli D.; Beaudoin, Kathleen

2018-01-01

Classified staff are important stakeholders in schools and commonly interact with students across grade levels, subject matter areas, and physical locations--making their involvement in the implementation of schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS) essential. However, their voice, including the intentional and systematic…

EOP Improvement Proposal for SGTR based on The OPR PSA Update

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Jin Hee; Cho, Jae Hyun; Kim, Dong San; Yang, Joon Eon [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

This updating process was also focused to enhance the PSA quality and to respect the as built and as operated conditions of target plants. For this purpose, the EOP(Emergency Operating Procedure) and AOP(Abnormal Operating Procedure) of target plant were reviewed in detail and various thermal hydraulic(T/H) analysis were also performed to analyze the realistic PSA accident sequence model. In this paper, the unreasonable point of SGTR (Steam Generator Tube Rupture) EOP based on PSA perspective was identified and the initial proposal for EOP change items from PSA insight was proposed. In this paper, the unreasonable point of SGTR EOP based on PSA perspective was identified and the EOP improvement items are proposed to enhance safety and operator's convenience for the target plant.

The organizational factor in PSA framework

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farcasiu, Mita, E-mail: mmfarcasiu@yahoo.com; Nitoi, Mirela

2015-11-15

The goals of the Man–Machine–Organization system analysis are to develop the suitable studies and techniques to identify, prevent and predict the cause of system unavailability. A descriptive concept of man–machine–organization system was developed. MMOS is defined in probability theory in the attempt to find ways for its qualitative and quantitative quantification in a PSA framework. The need for this study was demonstrated by analysis of variance of the complex system unavailability in relation to human error probability (HEP) and organizational error probability (OMP). The PSA model proposed in this paper assesses the organizational factor in MMOS by observing its influence on the human factor and equipment. Thus the influence of organizational factors is evaluated not only on component but also on the human performance. The study highlights the need to improve the understanding of the influence of organizational factors on the safe operation of nuclear installations. Using MMOS concept in PSA could identify any serious deficiencies of human and equipment performance which can sometime be corrected by improvement of the organizational factor.

The organizational factor in PSA framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farcasiu, Mita; Nitoi, Mirela

2015-01-01

The goals of the Man–Machine–Organization system analysis are to develop the suitable studies and techniques to identify, prevent and predict the cause of system unavailability. A descriptive concept of man–machine–organization system was developed. MMOS is defined in probability theory in the attempt to find ways for its qualitative and quantitative quantification in a PSA framework. The need for this study was demonstrated by analysis of variance of the complex system unavailability in relation to human error probability (HEP) and organizational error probability (OMP). The PSA model proposed in this paper assesses the organizational factor in MMOS by observing its influence on the human factor and equipment. Thus the influence of organizational factors is evaluated not only on component but also on the human performance. The study highlights the need to improve the understanding of the influence of organizational factors on the safe operation of nuclear installations. Using MMOS concept in PSA could identify any serious deficiencies of human and equipment performance which can sometime be corrected by improvement of the organizational factor.

PSA - A utility perspective from the United Kingdom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ross, P.J.

2004-01-01

This paper provides an outline of the three stages of PSA used for the Sizewell B PWR. These stages cover the use of PSA during design, licensing and (in future) operation of Sizewell B. The paper discusses each of these stages in some detail, highlighting the differences in approach and lessons learnt at each stage. (author)

Evaluation of PSA-age volume score in predicting prostate cancer in Chinese populationArticle Subject.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yi-Shuo; Wu, Xiao-Bo; Zhang, Ning; Jiang, Guang-Liang; Yu, Yang; Tong, Shi-Jun; Jiang, Hao-Wen; Mao, Shan-Hua; Na, Rong; Ding, Qiang

2018-02-06

This study was performed to evaluate prostate-specific antigen-age volume (PSA-AV) scores in predicting prostate cancer (PCa) in a Chinese biopsy population. A total of 2355 men who underwent initial prostate biopsy from January 2006 to November 2015 in Huashan Hospital were recruited in the current study. The PSA-AV scores were calculated and assessed together with PSA and PSA density (PSAD) retrospectively. Among 2133 patients included in the analysis, 947 (44.4%) were diagnosed with PCa. The mean age, PSA, and positive rates of digital rectal examination result and transrectal ultrasound result were statistically higher in men diagnosed with PCa (all P PSA-AV were 0.864 and 0.851, respectively, in predicting PCa in the entire population, both performed better than PSA (AUC = 0.805; P PSA-AV was more obvious in subgroup with PSA ranging from 2.0 ng ml-1 to 20.0 ng ml-1. A PSA-AV score of 400 had a sensitivity and specificity of 93.7% and 40.0%, respectively. In conclusion, the PSA-AV score performed equally with PSAD and was better than PSA in predicting PCa. This indicated that PSA-AV score could be a useful tool for predicting PCa in Chinese population.

Metastatic prostate cancer in the modern era of PSA screening

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philip A. Fontenot Jr

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Introduction To characterize initial presentation and PSA screening status in a contemporary cohort of men treated for metastatic prostate cancer at our institution. Materials and methods We reviewed records of 160 men treated for metastatic prostate cancer between 2008-2014 and assessed initial presentation, categorizing patients into four groups. Groups 1 and 2 presented with localized disease and received treatment. These men suffered biochemical recurrence late (>1 year or earlier (<1 year, respectively, and developed metastases. Groups 3 and 4 had asymptomatic and symptomatic metastases at the outset of their diagnosis. Patients with a first PSA at age 55 or younger were considered to have guideline-directed screening. Results Complete records were available on 157 men for initial presentation and 155 men for PSA screening. Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 included 27 (17%, 7 (5%, 69 (44% and 54 (34% patients, respectively. Twenty (13% patients received guideline-directed PSA screening, 5/155 (3% patients presented with metastases prior to age 55 with their first PSA, and 130/155 (84% had their first PSA after age 55, of which 122/130 (94% had metastasis at the time of diagnosis. Conclusion Despite widespread screening, most men treated for metastatic prostate cancer at our institution presented with metastases rather than progressed after definitive treatment. Furthermore, 25 (16% patients received guideline-directed PSA screening at or before age 55. These data highlight that, despite mass screening efforts, patients treated for incurable disease at our institution may not have been a result of a failed screening test, but a failure to be screened.

Metastatic prostate cancer in the modern era of PSA screening

Science.gov (United States)

Fontenot, Philip A.; Nehra, Avinash; Parker, William; Wyre, Hadley; Mirza, Moben; Duchene, David A.; Holzbeierlein, Jeffrey; Thrasher, James Brantley; Veldhuizen, Peter Van; Lee, Eugene K.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Introduction To characterize initial presentation and PSA screening status in a contemporary cohort of men treated for metastatic prostate cancer at our institution. Materials and methods We reviewed records of 160 men treated for metastatic prostate cancer between 2008-2014 and assessed initial presentation, categorizing patients into four groups. Groups 1 and 2 presented with localized disease and received treatment. These men suffered biochemical recurrence late (>1 year) or earlier (<1 year), respectively, and developed metastases. Groups 3 and 4 had asymptomatic and symptomatic metastases at the outset of their diagnosis. Patients with a first PSA at age 55 or younger were considered to have guideline-directed screening. Results Complete records were available on 157 men for initial presentation and 155 men for PSA screening. Groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 included 27 (17%), 7 (5%), 69 (44%) and 54 (34%) patients, respectively. Twenty (13%) patients received guideline-directed PSA screening, 5/155 (3%) patients presented with metastases prior to age 55 with their first PSA, and 130/155 (84%) had their first PSA after age 55, of which 122/130 (94%) had metastasis at the time of diagnosis. Conclusion Despite widespread screening, most men treated for metastatic prostate cancer at our institution presented with metastases rather than progressed after definitive treatment. Furthermore, 25 (16%) patients received guideline-directed PSA screening at or before age 55. These data highlight that, despite mass screening efforts, patients treated for incurable disease at our institution may not have been a result of a failed screening test, but a failure to be screened. PMID:28338310

Current status of low power/shutdown PSA and accident sequence analysis for loss of RHR during mid-loop operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Chang Kyu; Choi, Young; Kim, Tae Woon; Jin, Young Ho

1994-07-01

Probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) has been applied to only full-power operation of nuclear power plant (NPP), but some events which were recently occurred could reach severe plant damage state. Thus, various countries around the world have focused their interests on the evaluation for low power/shutdown (LP/S) operation. This report covers the main stream of LP/S PSA methodology, current status of LP/S PSA practices and results, and accident sequence analysis for loss of RHR during mid-loop operation. Therefore this report would be helpful for us to practice LP/S PSA for YGN 5,6 NPP which will be built in the near future. Also the results of accident sequence analysis show that operator's mis-diagnosis and failure of recovery action would initiate core damage during LP/S operation. In summary, overall environmental improvements (equipments, procedures, Tech Spec, etc, ...) and operating support system will be very useful to reduce risk during LP/S operation. (Author) 5 figs., 9 tabs

Child Injury: What You Need to Know PSA (:60)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

This 60 second PSA is based on the April 2012 CDC Vital Signs report. Many childhood deaths and injuries are preventable, including those caused by crashes, suffocation, poisoning, drowning, fires, and falls. The PSA discusses ways to help prevent these deaths and injuries.

PSA bounce phenomenon after transperineal interstitial permanent prostate brachytherapy for localized prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morita, Masashi; Lederer, J.L.; Fukagai, Takashi; Yoshida, Hideki; Shimada, Makoto

2004-01-01

We described the temporarily increase phenomenon in prostate-specific antigen level (PSA bounce) after transperineal interstitial permanent prostate brachytherapy (TIPPB) for localized prostate cancer. From December 1998 to May 2003, 500 consecutive patients with localized prostate cancer were treated with TIPPB using iodine-125 or palladium-103. We examined 200 patients who have more than 2-year PSA follow-up. Median follow-up length was 1,069 days (range, 712-1,411 days). No patient received neoadjuvant or adjuvant hormone therapy. PSA determinations were performed every 3 months for the first 2 years after procedure, and every 6 months hereafter. PSA bounce was defined as an increase of 0.1 ng/ml or greater above the preceding PSA level after implant followed by a subsequent decrease below that level. The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) consensus panel criteria 1996 were used to define biochemical failure. PSA bounce was observed in 40% (80/200) of the cases receiving TIPPB. The median time to PSA bounce was 13 months from the day of implant. The median magnitude of the PSA bounce was 0.3 ng/ml from the pre-bounce level. Twelve cases demonstrated biochemical failure according to the ASTRO consensus guidelines of three consecutive rises in PSA. Ten of these subsequently showed a drop in PSA, consistent with biologic control of their disease. Two cases remain classified as apparent biochemical failures. A transient rise in the PSA following TIPPB, the so-called ''bounce'' is a common occurrence. The apparent PSA control of ten of twelve cases failing by the ASTRO criteria raises some concern. Further observation will be necessary to determine ways to discriminate these from true disease progression. (author)

PSA bounce after 125I-brachytherapy for prostate cancer as a favorable prognosticator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engeler, Daniel S.; Schwab, Christoph; Schmid, Hans-Peter; Thoeni, Armin F.; Hochreiter, Werner; Prikler, Ladislav; Suter, Stefan; Stucki, Patrick; Schiefer, Johann; Plasswilm, Ludwig; Putora, Paul Martin

2015-01-01

Permanent low-dose-rate brachytherapy (BT) with iodine 125 is an established curative treatment for localized prostate cancer. After treatment, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) kinetics may show a transient rise (PSA bounce). Our aim was to investigate the association of PSA bounce with biochemical control. Patients treated with BT in Switzerland were registered in a prospective database. Only patients with a follow-up of at least 2 years were included in our analysis. Clinical follow-up and PSA measurements were assessed after 1.5, 3, 6, and 12 months, and annually thereafter. If PSA increased, additional follow-up visits were scheduled. Cases of PSA bounce were defined as a rise of at least 0.2 ng/ml above the initial PSA nadir with a subsequent decline to or below the initial nadir without treatment. Biochemical failure was defined as a rise to nadir + 2 ng/ml. Between March 2001 and November 2010, 713 patients with prostate cancer undergoing BT with at least 2 years of follow-up were registered. Median follow-up time was 41 months. Biochemical failure occurred in 28 patients (3.9 %). PSA bounce occurred in 173 (24.3 %) patients; only three (1.7 %) patients with PSA bounce developed biochemical failure, in contrast to 25 (4.6 %) patients without previous bounce (p < 0.05). The median time to bounce was 12 months, the median time to biochemical failure was 30 months. The median bounce increase was 0.78 ng/ml. Twenty-eight patients with bounce (16.5 %) had a transient PSA rise of + 2 ng/ml above the nadir. In most cases, an early increase in PSA after BT indicates PSA bounce and is associated with a lower risk of biochemical failure. (orig.) [de

Binge Drinking PSA (:60)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

This PSA is based on the October, 2010 CDC Vital Signs report which indicates that drinking too much, including binge drinking, causes more than 79,000 deaths in the U.S. each year and is the third leading preventable cause of death.

Diagnostic value of serum free PSA and the ratio of free to total PSA in the diagnosis of prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiu Ningyan; Zhang Jingxin; Wu Jinchang; Gong Yiming; Li Huiping

2005-01-01

In order to evaluate the value of free prostate specific antigen (FPSA) and F/T PSA ratio in differential diagnosis of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) from prostate cancer (PC), serum FPSA and TPSA levels were measured in 85 patients with PC, 97 BPH and 89 healthy volunteers by chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA), and the ratio of F/T PSA was calculated. The results showed that serum FPSA and TPSA levels were increased in healthy volunteers of 41-88 years old and were significantly higher in healthy volunteers of 61-88 years old than that in 20-40 gear old (P 10.0 μg/L were 65.0%, 30.9% and 4.1%, respectively, while they were 5.9%, 20.0% and 74.1% in PC patients (P<0.01). When the TPSA value was between 4.0-10.0 μg/L and the ratio of F/T PSA was at 0.10 and below, the probability of PC was larger(88.9%). But the ratio of F/T PSA was at 0.25 and above, the probability of PC was smaller(6.20%). Serum FPSA and TPSA both increased with age in healthy volunteers of 41-88 years old and were positively correlated with age. There were about 30.9% of BPH and 20.0% of PC patients with overlapping of TPSA level. Our conclusion is that the F/T PSA ratio can significantly enhance the specificity for PC diagnosis, especially when the TPSA is within the diagnostic gray zone. (authors)

Use of an Acceptance and Mindfulnessbased Stress Management Workshop Intervention with support staff caring for individuals with intellectual disabilities

OpenAIRE

McConachie, Douglas

2012-01-01

Introduction: Support staff working with individuals with intellectual disability (ID) and challenging behaviour experience high levels of work-related stress. Preliminary theoretical and experimental research has highlighted the potential suitability of acceptance and mindfulness approaches for addressing support staff stress. This study examines the effectiveness of an acceptance and mindfulness-based stress management workshop on the levels of psychological distress and well...

Determination of Component Failure Modes for a Fire PSA by Using Decision Trees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Dae Il; Han, Sang Hoon; Lim, Jae Won

2007-01-01

KAERI developed the method, called a mapping technique, for the quantification of external events PSA models with one top model for an internal events PSA. The mapping technique can be implemented by the construction of mapping tables. The mapping tables include initiating events and transfer events of fire, and internal PSA basic events affected by a fire. This year, KAERI is making mapping tables for the one top model for Ulchin Unit 3 and 4 fire PSA with previously conducted Fire PSA results for Ulchin Unit 3 and 4. A Fire PSA requires a PSA analyst to determine component failure modes affected by a fire. The component failure modes caused by a fire depend on several factors. These several factors are whether components are located at fire initiation and propagation areas or not, fire effects on control and power cables for components, designed failure modes of components, success criteria in a PSA model, etc. Thus, it is not easy to manually determine component failure modes caused by a fire. In this paper, we propose the use of decision trees for the determination of component failure modes affected by a fire and the selection of internal PSA basic events. Section 2 presents the procedure for previously performed the Ulchin Unit 3 and 4 fire PSA and mapping technique. Section 3 presents the process for identification of basic events and decision trees. Section 4 presents the concluding remarks

Early diagnostic role of PSA combined miR-155 detection in prostate cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, T; Wang, X-X; Fu, H; Tang, Y-C; Meng, B-Q; Chen, C-H

2018-03-01

As a kind of malignant tumor in the male genitourinary system, prostate cancer exhibits significantly increased occurrence. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) expression can be seen in the prostate cancer, prostatitis, and other diseases, therefore, lack of diagnostic specificity. The miR-155 expression is abnormally increased in the tumors. Therefore, this study aims to explore the clinical significance of PSA combined miR-155 detection in the early diagnosis of prostate cancer. A total of 86 patients diagnosed with prostate cancer were enrolled in this study. PSA and miR-155 gene expression in tumor tissue were detected by using Real-time PCR. The serum levels of PSA were measured by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The correlation of PSA and miR-155 expression with age, body mass index (BMI), tumor volume, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, lymph node metastasis (LNM), and other clinicopathological features were analyzed, respectively. Serum PSA expression and PSA gene in tumor tissue were significantly higher compared to that in adjacent tissues (pPSA gene and protein increased significantly with the clinical stage of TNM and decreased following the increase of grade (pPSA and miR-155 expressions were positively correlated with TNM stage, tumor volume, and LNM, and negatively correlated with grade (pPSA and miR-155 were closely related to the clinicopathological features of prostate cancer. Combined detection is helpful for the early diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Design review of SPWR with PSA methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oikawa, Tetsukuni; Muramatsu, Ken; Iwamura, Takamichi; Tone, Tatsuzo; Kasahara, Takeo; Mizuno, Yoshio

1993-01-01

This paper presents the procedures and results of a PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment) of the SPWR (System-Integrated PWR), which is being developed at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) as a medium sized innovative passive safe reactor, to assist in the design improvement of the SPWR by reviewing the design and identifying the design weaknesses. This PSA was performed in four steps: (1) identification of initiating events by the failure mode effect analysis and other methods, (2) delineation of accident sequences for three selected initiating events using accident progression flow charts and event trees, (3) quantification of event trees based on the review of past PSAs for LWRs, and (4) sensitivity analysis and interpretation of results. Qualitative and quantitative results of PSA provided very useful information for decision makings of design improvement and recommendations for further consideration in the process of detailed design

Development of Tsunami PSA method for Korean NPP site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Min Kyu; Choi, In Kil; Park, Jin Hee

2010-01-01

A methodology of tsunami PSA was developed in this study. A tsunami PSA consists of tsunami hazard analysis, tsunami fragility analysis and system analysis. In the case of tsunami hazard analysis, evaluation of tsunami return period is major task. For the evaluation of tsunami return period, numerical analysis and empirical method can be applied. The application of this method was applied to a nuclear power plant, Ulchin 56 NPP, which is located in the east coast of Korean peninsula. Through this study, whole tsunami PSA working procedure was established and example calculation was performed for one of real nuclear power plant in Korea

Impact of Pre-Initiators on PSA in Research Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ochirbat, Chimedtseren [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Sok Chul [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

Most of nuclear power plants had already conducted PSA work to examine their plant safety for identifying vulnerability and preparing the mitigating strategies for severe accident. However, the PSA for research reactor has been conducted limitedly comparing with nuclear power plants due to lack of awareness and resources. Most of PSA results demonstrated that human failure events (HFEs) take a major role of risk contributor in terms of core damage frequency. HFEs are categorized as the following three types: pre-initiating event interaction (e.g., maintenance of errors, testing errors, calibration errors), initiating event related interactions (e.g., human error causing loss of power, human error causing system trip), and post-initiating event (e.g., all action actuating manual safety system backup of an automatic system). Lack of resources and utilization of research reactor calls a vicious circle in terms of safety degradation. The safety degradation poses the vulnerability of human failure during research reactor utilization process. Typically, evaluation of pre-initiators related to test and maintenance are not taking into account in PSA for research reactors. This paper aims to investigate the impact of pre-initiating events related to test and maintenance activities on PSA results in terms of core damage frequency for a research reactor.

Impact of Pre-Initiators on PSA in Research Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ochirbat, Chimedtseren; Kim, Sok Chul

2014-01-01

Most of nuclear power plants had already conducted PSA work to examine their plant safety for identifying vulnerability and preparing the mitigating strategies for severe accident. However, the PSA for research reactor has been conducted limitedly comparing with nuclear power plants due to lack of awareness and resources. Most of PSA results demonstrated that human failure events (HFEs) take a major role of risk contributor in terms of core damage frequency. HFEs are categorized as the following three types: pre-initiating event interaction (e.g., maintenance of errors, testing errors, calibration errors), initiating event related interactions (e.g., human error causing loss of power, human error causing system trip), and post-initiating event (e.g., all action actuating manual safety system backup of an automatic system). Lack of resources and utilization of research reactor calls a vicious circle in terms of safety degradation. The safety degradation poses the vulnerability of human failure during research reactor utilization process. Typically, evaluation of pre-initiators related to test and maintenance are not taking into account in PSA for research reactors. This paper aims to investigate the impact of pre-initiating events related to test and maintenance activities on PSA results in terms of core damage frequency for a research reactor

Preliminary Consideration for the Development of Regulatory Level 2 PSA Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Chang-Ju

2006-01-01

In order to assess the validity of PSA (probabilistic safety assessment) results and to establish regulatory requirements for relevant safety issues most of the regulators want to develop an independent and convenient risk assessment model including Level 2 PSA area. As this model and framework should be implicitly independent on the licensee's PSA model, it has a primary objective directly for applying to the risk-informed regulatory affairs and for supporting those kinds of works. According this, the regulator can take an objective view for the uncertainty of risk information made by the licensee and keep up the capability and decision-making framework for overall risk assessment results. In addition, the regulatory model may be used to verify and validate the operational risk levels of all engineered safety features of nuclear power plants (NPPs). An issue for plant-specific application of safety goals was previously identified in the US NRC's risk-informed regulatory guidance development activities, and discussed in many Commission papers, e. g. SECY-97-287, which identifies the goal for large early release frequency (LERF). LERF defines a containment performance criteria derived from the quantitative health objectives. As we know, the LERF was chosen to assess risk significance in Regulatory Guide 1.174 (2002) again, which provides one measure of the performance of the containment barrier, and represents a surrogate for early health effects

Religious Coping, Meaning-Making and Stress: Perspective of Support Staff of Children with Disabilities in Residential Disability Centres in Oman

Science.gov (United States)

Emam, Mahmoud; Al-Bahrani, Muna

2016-01-01

Staff providing support to children with disabilities in residential disability centres in Oman are exposed to stressful work environments which may put them at an increased risk of burnout. Previous research has examined predictors of stress in disability support staff, but there is little consensus as the findings are inconclusive. Using a…

Priorities for Addressing Severe Accident and L3PSA in Radiation Environmental Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jang, M. S.; Kang, H. S.; Kim, S. R. [NESS, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Yang, Y. H.; Yoon, Y. I. [KHNP, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

Domestic rules for the radiation environment impact assessment were enacted based on NUREG-0555, the guidance to the nuclear regulatory commission staff in implementing provisions of 10 CFR 51, 'environmental protection regulations for domestic licensing and related regulatory functions', related to NPPs. A revised document of NUREG-0555 was published in 2000 as NUREG-1555, Vol. 1 and 2. The related domestic rules would have made some revisions in accordance with NUREG-1555 in 2016. In this paper, we would introduce the new technical standards and review legal and technical issues on legislation. There are three legal and technical issues on revised legislation that includes severe accidents and L3PSA results in RER. First, it may need a regular and continuing education for the severe accident concept, probabilistic assessment method and conservative assumptions for severe accident, how to interpret the assessment results, the probability of a severe accident, SAMA and etc. to obtain the public understanding for severe accident. Second, it needs the development of strategy and technology not only to evaluate the risk of multi-unit accidents and failure case and the impacts of inter-unit shared systems and common events for the probabilistic assessment of severe accidents but also to solve many potential L3PSA challenges. Finally, the cost-beneficial SAMAs analysis would be added in radiation environmental impact and severe accident impact analysis.

Polysialylated-neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM in the human trigeminal ganglion and brainstem at prenatal and adult ages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melis Tiziana

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The polysialylated neuronal cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM is considered a marker of developing and migrating neurons and of synaptogenesis in the immature vertebrate nervous system. However, it persists in the mature normal brain in some regions which retain a capability for morphofunctional reorganization throughout life. With the aim of providing information relevant to the potential for dynamic changes of specific neuronal populations in man, this study analyses the immunohistochemical occurrence of PSA-NCAM in the human trigeminal ganglion (TG and brainstem neuronal populations at prenatal and adult age. Results Western blot analysis in human and rat hippocampus supports the specificity of the anti-PSA-NCAM antibody and the immunodetectability of the molecule in postmortem tissue. Immunohistochemical staining for PSA-NCAM occurs in TG and several brainstem regions during prenatal life and in adulthood. As a general rule, it appears as a surface staining suggestive of membrane labelling on neuronal perikarya and proximal processes, and as filamentous and dot-like elements in the neuropil. In the TG, PSA-NCAM is localized to neuronal perikarya, nerve fibres, pericellular networks, and satellite and Schwann cells; further, cytoplasmic perikaryal staining and positive pericellular fibre networks are detectable with higher frequency in adult than in newborn tissue. In the adult tissue, positive neurons are mostly small- and medium-sized, and amount to about 6% of the total ganglionic population. In the brainstem, PSA-NCAM is mainly distributed at the level of the medulla oblongata and pons and appears scarce in the mesencephalon. Immunoreactivity also occurs in discretely localized glial structures. At all ages examined, PSA-NCAM occurs in the spinal trigeminal nucleus, solitary nuclear complex, vestibular and cochlear nuclei, reticular formation nuclei, and most of the precerebellar nuclei. In specimens of different age

The Struggle to Satisfy Need: Exploring the Institutional Cues for Teaching Support Staff

Science.gov (United States)

Winslett, Greg

2016-01-01

The decision-making around resource allocation in universities is complex. It plays out through the structures of governance and bureaucracy, through interactions with colleagues, workplace cultures and through day-to-day individual work practices. To survive and succeed within this complex environment, teaching support staff need to be sensitive…

Behavioral Emergency Response Team: Implementation Improves Patient Safety, Staff Safety, and Staff Collaboration.

Science.gov (United States)

Zicko, Cdr Jennifer M; Schroeder, Lcdr Rebecca A; Byers, Cdr William S; Taylor, Lt Adam M; Spence, Cdr Dennis L

2017-10-01

Staff members working on our nonmental health (non-MH) units (i.e., medical-surgical [MS] units) were not educated in recognizing or deescalating behavioral emergencies. Published evidence suggests a behavioral emergency response team (BERT) composed of MH experts who assist with deescalating behavioral emergencies may be beneficial in these situations. Therefore, we sought to implement a BERT on the inpatient non-MH units at our military treatment facility. The objectives of this evidence-based practice process improvement project were to determine how implementation of a BERT affects staff and patient safety and to examine nursing staffs' level of knowledge, confidence, and support in caring for psychiatric patients and patients exhibiting behavioral emergencies. A BERT was piloted on one MS unit for 5 months and expanded to two additional units for 3 months. Pre- and postimplementation staff surveys were conducted, and the number of staff assaults and injuries, restraint usage, and security intervention were compared. The BERT responded to 17 behavioral emergencies. The number of assaults decreased from 10 (pre) to 1 (post); security intervention decreased from 14 to 1; and restraint use decreased from 8 to 1. MS staffs' level of BERT knowledge and rating of support between MH staff and their staff significantly increased. Both MS and MH nurses rated the BERT as supportive and effective. A BERT can assist with deescalating behavioral emergencies, and improve staff collaboration and patient and staff safety. © 2017 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Development of the fire PSA methodology and the fire analysis computer code system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katsunori, Ogura; Tomomichi, Ito; Tsuyoshi, Uchida; Yusuke, Kasagawa

2009-01-01

Fire PSA methodology has been developed and was applied to NPPs in Japan for power operation and LPSD states. CDFs of preliminary fire PSA for power operation were the higher than that of internal events. Fire propagation analysis code system (CFAST/FDS Network) was being developed and verified thru OECD-PRISME Project. Extension of the scope for LPSD state is planned to figure out the risk level. In order to figure out the fire risk level precisely, the enhancement of the methodology is planned. Verification and validation of phenomenological fire propagation analysis code (CFAST/FDS Network) in the context of Fire PSA. Enhancement of the methodology such as an application of 'Electric Circuit Analysis' in NUREG/CR-6850 and related tests in order to quantify the hot-short effect precisely. Development of seismic-induced fire PSA method being integration of existing seismic PSA and fire PSA methods is ongoing. Fire PSA will be applied to review the validity of fire prevention and mitigation measures

The Impact of Staff Training on the Knowledge of Support Staff in Relation to Bereavement and People with an Intellectual Disability

Science.gov (United States)

Watters, Laura; McKenzie, Karen; Wright, Rachel

2012-01-01

This study aimed to investigate whether a 1-day training course improved support staff knowledge about bereavement and grief in people with a learning disability. A questionnaire based, mixed design was used. Forty-eight participants were randomly assigned to one of two equal groups. A staggered design allowed for group 2 to act both as a control…

The Hidden Burden of Outpatient Repeat PSA Testing in a Prospective Cohort

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Browne, E

2017-05-01

PSA testing is widespread throughout Europe for diagnostic purposes and follow up. We performed a prospective outpatient cohort study of 250 men (2013-2015) in two hospital sites. Included were those men being followed up by urology with PSA blood testing. First appointments and those men in whom non-PSA tests were ordered by urology were excluded. The median age was 67.2yrs (46-88). Eighty-one point two percent of samples had a combination of 21 different serology tests at an added cost of >€18,000. Abnormal serology resulted in 53 referrals. Twenty-six-six percentof correspondence referenced abnormal serology other than PSA. Follow up of non-PSA test results poses a challenge in an outpatient setting with failure to appropriately follow-up on abnormal results, increased costs, and medico-legal implications. There is currently no Irish legislature in place to safeguard hospital physicians. This study quantifies the levels of expenditure, resources and risk associated with ambulant PSA testing.

What do PSA changes after radiotherapy with or without prior androgen deprivation mean?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denham, J.W.; Woodhead, D.; Lamb, D.S.; Duchesne, G.

2003-01-01

The TROG 96.01 randomised patients with Stage B2 and C prostate cancer to radiotherapy alone to 66 Gy (RT), 3 months maximal androgen deprivation (MAD) with goserelin and flutamide prior to and during RT, and 6 months MAD prior to and during RT. Minimum follow up time is now 3 years. Prior to preliminary analysis of one of the trial's main endpoints biochemical relapse free survival (bRFS), the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) time course for every patient was evaluated to assess the performance of the ASTRO definition of biochemical failure (BF). Following MAD and RT PSA levels immediately rise in the majority of cases (PSA 'rebound'). In over 50% of cases, PSA levels then plateau at <1 ng/ml for 2 - 3 years prior to clear evidence of failure. Premature diagnosis of BF is possible in some of these cases. Fluctuations in PSA level ('bouncing') are more frequent after MAD and RT. As a result there can be difficulty in interpreting the ASTRO definition of BF in cases where overall PSA trend is upwards shortly after completion of therapy. In patients experiencing BF, the rate of PSA rise often corresponds to the site of failure. PSA doubling times (DT) under 7 months are usually associated with development of bony metastases, while DTs greater than that are usually associated with local failure. Decline in PSA levels following RT alone is frequently not mono-exponential and patients with those patterns experience lower PSA nadir levels and are subject to lower risks of all forms of relapse. These patients also survive longer. In cases where PSA descent patterns are discernable after MAD and RT, opposite trends are seen. Caution is necessary in diagnosing BF after MAD plus RT. Variations in the natural history of prostate cancer are reflected by variations in the rate of PSA changes following therapy. The importance of monitoring this marker and evaluating its time course is emphasised. Prospective studies are needed

Activities relating to PSA in the regulatory process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, J.F.; Grint, G.C.

1994-01-01

In addition to the IAEA activities concerning the use of PSA in the regulatory process there are two other international initiatives in this area by the European Commission and the OECD's Committee for Nuclear Regulatory Authorities (CRNA). The paper gives a brief outline of these activities as well as introducing an update on the regulatory use of PSA in the UK. 3 refs, 3 tabs

Insights of PSA studies made for operating nuclear power stations in Finland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laaksonen, J.; Virolainen, R.

1991-01-01

In 1984 the Finnish regulatory authority (STUK) required the utilities to make plant specific probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) studies for each plant. It was also strongly recommended that most of the work be made by plant personnel. This advice was well observed by both utilities. Results of level 1 PSA studies were submitted for regulatory review in June 1989. Only internal initiating events, including loss-of-offsite power and human errors, were considered at this stage. Each study took an effort of 12 to 20 man years. A thorough regulatory review, about two man years per plant, is currently underway, and will cause some changes in the initial results of the studies. The utilities are continuing their PSA work with the fire and flood analysis, and then with the analysis of risks during start-up and shutdown conditions. As soon as a level 1 PSA study has been reviewed, and a common understanding of the models and data has been reached between the utility and the STUK, this basic PSA version will be the first element of a living PSA. The second element is a user friendly PSA code that can rapidly run through the quantitative part of the study and thus easily indicate the influence of any deviation from the basic version. The third element is plant specific data collection and processing system. The living PSA for the first plant is expected to be fully operational sometime next year. The first use of the living PSA will be the safety assessment of proposed plant modifications and a systematic re-evaluation of technical specifications

Development of IRMA reagent and methodology for PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Najafi, R.

1997-01-01

The PSA test is a solid phase two-site immunoassay. Rabbit anti PSA is coated or bound on surface of solid phase and monoclonal anti PSA labeled with 1-125. The PSA molecules present in the standard solution or serum are 'Sandwiched' between the two antibodies. After formation of coated antibody-antigen-labeled antibody complex, the unbound labeled antibody will removed by washing. The complex is measured by gamma counter. The concentration of analyte is proportional to the counts of test sample. In order to develop kits for IRMA PSA, it should be prepared three essential reagents Antibody coated solid phase, labeled antibody, standards and finally optimizing them to obtain an standard curve fit to measure specimen PSA in desired range of concentration. The type of solid phase and procedure(s) to coat or bind to antibody, is still main debatable subject in development and setting up RIA/IRMA kits. In our experiments, polystyrene beads, because of their easy to coat with antibody as well as easy to use, can be considered as a desired solid phase. Most antibodies are passively adsorbed to a plastic surface (e.g. Polystyrene, Propylene, and Polyvinyl chloride) from a diluted buffer. The antibody coated plastic surface, then acts as solid phase reagent. Poor efficiency and time required to reach equilibrium and also lack of reproducibility especially batch-to-batch variation between materials, are disadvantages in this simple coating procedure. Improvements can be made by coating second antibody on surface of beads, and reaction between second and primary antibodies. There is also possible to enhance more coating efficiency of beads by using Staphylococcus ureus-Protein A. Protein A is a major component of staphylococcus aureus cell wall which has an affinity for FC segment of immunoglobulin G (IgG) of some species, including human; rabbit; and mice. This property of Staphylococcal Protein A has made it a very useful tool in the purification of classes and subclasses

Assessment of Atorvastatin Effectiveness on Serum PSA Level in Hypercholesterolemic Males

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darya Khosropanah

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The previous large retrospective studies demonstrated that treatment with Statins reduces both the incidence of prostate cancer by 50% and serum Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA level up to 40%. However the main problem in those studies was the absence of control groups of men with hypercholesterolemia without Statin treatment. We performed a small prospective controlled clinical trial to assess the influence of the treatment with Atorvastatin on serum PSA in men with hypercholesterolemia referred to our educational and treatment center from October 2007 to March 2008. In this study, among the newly diagnosed males with hypercholesterolemia (LDL > 130 mg/dl, 40 patients with LDL more than 190 mg/dl were selected as a case group and were treated with Atorvastatin (20 mg/day. Among the same population and in the same period, another 40 patients with LDL between 130 and 190 mg/dl were selected as first control group and were treated only with low fat diet. Another 40 patients with normal serum cholesterol and without any treatment were selected as second control group. The lipid profile and serum PSA level of patients of all groups were tested at the first and third months after the therapy. After completion of data, the mean serum lipids and PSA level were measured in both visits and compared with each other by paired t-test. Also the mean PSA change in two visits between three groups was compared by ANOVA and Tukey HSD test. There was not any significant difference in mean baseline PSA between hypercholesterolemic and normocholesterolemic patients (P=0.547. In case group, mean PSA and LDL was reduced by 14.1% (P=0.0001 and 30% (P=0.0001 respectively by second visit. In first control group, mean PSA was not changed significantly (P=0.337, whereas mean LDL in this group was reduced by 9.6% (P= 0.0001. Similarly in the second control group mean PSA was not changed significantly (P=0.309 by second visit. In addition, mean change of PSA in case group

Key Characteristics of Combined Accident including TLOFW accident for PSA Modeling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Bo Gyung; Kang, Hyun Gook [KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Ho Joon [Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)

2015-05-15

The conventional PSA techniques cannot adequately evaluate all events. The conventional PSA models usually focus on single internal events such as DBAs, the external hazards such as fire, seismic. However, the Fukushima accident of Japan in 2011 reveals that very rare event is necessary to be considered in the PSA model to prevent the radioactive release to environment caused by poor treatment based on lack of the information, and to improve the emergency operation procedure. Especially, the results from PSA can be used to decision making for regulators. Moreover, designers can consider the weakness of plant safety based on the quantified results and understand accident sequence based on human actions and system availability. This study is for PSA modeling of combined accidents including total loss of feedwater (TLOFW) accident. The TLOFW accident is a representative accident involving the failure of cooling through secondary side. If the amount of heat transfer is not enough due to the failure of secondary side, the heat will be accumulated to the primary side by continuous core decay heat. Transients with loss of feedwater include total loss of feedwater accident, loss of condenser vacuum accident, and closure of all MSIVs. When residual heat removal by the secondary side is terminated, the safety injection into the RCS with direct primary depressurization would provide alternative heat removal. This operation is called feed and bleed (F and B) operation. Combined accidents including TLOFW accident are very rare event and partially considered in conventional PSA model. Since the necessity of F and B operation is related to plant conditions, the PSA modeling for combined accidents including TLOFW accident is necessary to identify the design and operational vulnerabilities.The PSA is significant to assess the risk of NPPs, and to identify the design and operational vulnerabilities. Even though the combined accident is very rare event, the consequence of combined

Time from first detectable PSA following radical prostatectomy to biochemical recurrence: A competing risk analysis

Science.gov (United States)

de Boo, Leonora; Pintilie, Melania; Yip, Paul; Baniel, Jack; Fleshner, Neil; Margel, David

2015-01-01

Introduction: In this study, we estimated the time from first detectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) following radical prostatectomy (RP) to commonly used definitions of biochemical recurrence (BCR). We also identified the predictors of time to BCR. Methods: We identified subjects who underwent a RP and had an undetectable PSA after surgery followed by at least 1 detectable PSA between 2000 and 2011. The primary outcome was time to BCR (PSA ≥0.2 and successive PSA ≥0.2) and prediction of the rate of PSA rise. Outcomes were calculated using a competing risk analysis, with univariable and multivariable Fine and Grey models. We employed a mixed effect model to test clinical predictors that are associated with the rate of PSA rise. Results: The cohort included 376 patients. The median follow-up from surgery was 60.5 months (interquartile range [IQR] 40.8–91.5) and from detectable PSA was 18 months (IQR 11–32). Only 45.74% (n = 172) had PSA values ≥0.2 ng/mL, while 15.16% (n = 57) reached the PSA level of ≥0.4 ng/mL and rising. On multivariable analysis, the values of the first detectable PSA and pathologic Gleason grade 8 or higher were consistently independent predictors of time to BCR. In the mixed effect model rate, the PSA rise was associated with time from surgery to first detectable PSA, Gleason score, and prostate volume. The main limitation of this study is the large proportion of patients that received treatment without reaching BCR. It is plausible that shorter estimated median times would occur at a centre that does not use salvage therapy at such an early state. Conclusion: The time from first detectable PSA to BCR may be lengthy. Our analyses of the predictors of the rate of PSA rise can help determine a personalized approach for patients with a detectable PSA after surgery. PMID:25624961

Supporting adolescent emotional health in schools: a mixed methods study of student and staff views in England

Science.gov (United States)

Kidger, Judi; Donovan, Jenny L; Biddle, Lucy; Campbell, Rona; Gunnell, David

2009-01-01

Background Schools have been identified as an important place in which to support adolescent emotional health, although evidence as to which interventions are effective remains limited. Relatively little is known about student and staff views regarding current school-based emotional health provision and what they would like to see in the future, and this is what this study explored. Methods A random sample of 296 English secondary schools were surveyed to quantify current level of emotional health provision. Qualitative student focus groups (27 groups, 154 students aged 12-14) and staff interviews (12 interviews, 15 individuals) were conducted in eight schools, purposively sampled from the survey respondents to ensure a range of emotional health activity, free school meal eligibility and location. Data were analysed thematically, following a constant comparison approach. Results Emergent themes were grouped into three areas in which participants felt schools did or could intervene: emotional health in the curriculum, support for those in distress, and the physical and psychosocial environment. Little time was spent teaching about emotional health in the curriculum, and most staff and students wanted more. Opportunities to explore emotions in other curriculum subjects were valued. All schools provided some support for students experiencing emotional distress, but the type and quality varied a great deal. Students wanted an increase in school-based help sources that were confidential, available to all and sympathetic, and were concerned that accessing support should not lead to stigma. Finally, staff and students emphasised the need to consider the whole school environment in order to address sources of distress such as bullying and teacher-student relationships, but also to increase activities that enhanced emotional health. Conclusion Staff and students identified several ways in which schools can improve their support of adolescent emotional health, both within

Supporting adolescent emotional health in schools: a mixed methods study of student and staff views in England

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Campbell Rona

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Schools have been identified as an important place in which to support adolescent emotional health, although evidence as to which interventions are effective remains limited. Relatively little is known about student and staff views regarding current school-based emotional health provision and what they would like to see in the future, and this is what this study explored. Methods A random sample of 296 English secondary schools were surveyed to quantify current level of emotional health provision. Qualitative student focus groups (27 groups, 154 students aged 12-14 and staff interviews (12 interviews, 15 individuals were conducted in eight schools, purposively sampled from the survey respondents to ensure a range of emotional health activity, free school meal eligibility and location. Data were analysed thematically, following a constant comparison approach. Results Emergent themes were grouped into three areas in which participants felt schools did or could intervene: emotional health in the curriculum, support for those in distress, and the physical and psychosocial environment. Little time was spent teaching about emotional health in the curriculum, and most staff and students wanted more. Opportunities to explore emotions in other curriculum subjects were valued. All schools provided some support for students experiencing emotional distress, but the type and quality varied a great deal. Students wanted an increase in school-based help sources that were confidential, available to all and sympathetic, and were concerned that accessing support should not lead to stigma. Finally, staff and students emphasised the need to consider the whole school environment in order to address sources of distress such as bullying and teacher-student relationships, but also to increase activities that enhanced emotional health. Conclusion Staff and students identified several ways in which schools can improve their support of adolescent

Supporting adolescent emotional health in schools: a mixed methods study of student and staff views in England.

Science.gov (United States)

Kidger, Judi; Donovan, Jenny L; Biddle, Lucy; Campbell, Rona; Gunnell, David

2009-10-31

Schools have been identified as an important place in which to support adolescent emotional health, although evidence as to which interventions are effective remains limited. Relatively little is known about student and staff views regarding current school-based emotional health provision and what they would like to see in the future, and this is what this study explored. A random sample of 296 English secondary schools were surveyed to quantify current level of emotional health provision. Qualitative student focus groups (27 groups, 154 students aged 12-14) and staff interviews (12 interviews, 15 individuals) were conducted in eight schools, purposively sampled from the survey respondents to ensure a range of emotional health activity, free school meal eligibility and location. Data were analysed thematically, following a constant comparison approach. Emergent themes were grouped into three areas in which participants felt schools did or could intervene: emotional health in the curriculum, support for those in distress, and the physical and psychosocial environment. Little time was spent teaching about emotional health in the curriculum, and most staff and students wanted more. Opportunities to explore emotions in other curriculum subjects were valued. All schools provided some support for students experiencing emotional distress, but the type and quality varied a great deal. Students wanted an increase in school-based help sources that were confidential, available to all and sympathetic, and were concerned that accessing support should not lead to stigma. Finally, staff and students emphasised the need to consider the whole school environment in order to address sources of distress such as bullying and teacher-student relationships, but also to increase activities that enhanced emotional health. Staff and students identified several ways in which schools can improve their support of adolescent emotional health, both within and outside the curriculum. However

Sensitivity Studies on Revised PSA Model of KHNP Nuclear Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hyun-Gyo; Hwang, Seok-Won; Shin, Tae-Young

2016-01-01

Korea also performed safety revaluation for all nuclear power plants led by Korean regulatory and elicited 49 improvement factor for plants. One of those factors is Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMG) development, KHNP decided to develop Low Power and Shutdown(LPSD) Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) models and upgrade full power PSA models of all operating plants for enhancement of guideline quality. In this paper we discuss about the effectiveness of post Fukushima equipment and improvements of each plant based on the results of revised full power PSA and newly developed LPSD PSA. Through sensitivity analysis based on revised PSA models we confirmed that the facilities installed or planned to installation as follow-up measures of Fukushima accident helped to enhance the safety of nuclear power plants. These results will provide various technical insights to scheduled studies which evaluate effectiveness of Fukushima post action items and develop accident management guideline. Also it will contribute to improve nuclear power plants safety

Sensitivity Studies on Revised PSA Model of KHNP Nuclear Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Hyun-Gyo; Hwang, Seok-Won; Shin, Tae-Young [KHNP, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

Korea also performed safety revaluation for all nuclear power plants led by Korean regulatory and elicited 49 improvement factor for plants. One of those factors is Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMG) development, KHNP decided to develop Low Power and Shutdown(LPSD) Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) models and upgrade full power PSA models of all operating plants for enhancement of guideline quality. In this paper we discuss about the effectiveness of post Fukushima equipment and improvements of each plant based on the results of revised full power PSA and newly developed LPSD PSA. Through sensitivity analysis based on revised PSA models we confirmed that the facilities installed or planned to installation as follow-up measures of Fukushima accident helped to enhance the safety of nuclear power plants. These results will provide various technical insights to scheduled studies which evaluate effectiveness of Fukushima post action items and develop accident management guideline. Also it will contribute to improve nuclear power plants safety.

Improvement of Prostate Cancer Diagnosis by Detecting PSA Glycosylation-Specific Changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Llop, Esther; Ferrer-Batallé, Montserrat; Barrabés, Sílvia; Guerrero, Pedro Enrique; Ramírez, Manel; Saldova, Radka; Rudd, Pauline M; Aleixandre, Rosa N; Comet, Josep; de Llorens, Rafael; Peracaula, Rosa

2016-01-01

New markers based on PSA isoforms have recently been developed to improve prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis. However, novel approaches are still required to differentiate aggressive from non-aggressive PCa to improve decision making for patients. PSA glycoforms have been shown to be differentially expressed in PCa. In particular, changes in the extent of core fucosylation and sialylation of PSA N-glycans in PCa patients compared to healthy controls or BPH patients have been reported. The objective of this study was to determine these specific glycan structures in serum PSA to analyze their potential value as markers for discriminating between BPH and PCa of different aggressiveness. In the present work, we have established two methodologies to analyze the core fucosylation and the sialic acid linkage of PSA N-glycans in serum samples from BPH (29) and PCa (44) patients with different degrees of aggressiveness. We detected a significant decrease in the core fucose and an increase in the α2,3-sialic acid percentage of PSA in high-risk PCa that differentiated BPH and low-risk PCa from high-risk PCa patients. In particular, a cut-off value of 0.86 of the PSA core fucose ratio, could distinguish high-risk PCa patients from BPH with 90% sensitivity and 95% specificity, with an AUC of 0.94. In the case of the α2,3-sialic acid percentage of PSA, the cut-off value of 30% discriminated between high-risk PCa and the group of BPH, low-, and intermediate-risk PCa with a sensitivity and specificity of 85.7% and 95.5%, respectively, with an AUC of 0.97. The latter marker exhibited high performance in differentiating between aggressive and non-aggressive PCa and has the potential for translational application in the clinic.

Gender Employment Longevity: I.T Staff Response to Organizational Support in Pakistan

OpenAIRE

Haque, Adnan ul; Yamoah, Fred

2014-01-01

This research attempts to explain reasons behind employment longevity on the basis of gender among the I.T staff. Previous empirical researches have confirmed the correlation between organisational commitment, job satisfaction, and organisational support programme. However, most researches were single dimension primarily due to their focus on establishing the relationship between above mentioned variables in different organisational settings whereas, this research mainly explore on the groun...

Need for ethics support in healthcare institutions: views of Dutch board members and ethics support staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Dauwerse, Linda; Abma, Tineke; Molewijk, Bert; Widdershoven, Guy

2011-08-01

The purpose of this article is to investigate the need for ethics support in Dutch healthcare institutions in order to understand why ethics support is often not used in practice and which factors are relevant in this context. This study had a mixed methods design integrating quantitative and qualitative research methods. Two survey questionnaires, two focus groups and 17 interviews were conducted among board members and ethics support staff in Dutch healthcare institutions. Most respondents see a need for ethics support. This need is related to the complexity of contemporary healthcare, the contribution of ethics support to the core business of the organisation and to the surplus value of paying structural attention to ethical issues. The need for ethics support is, however, not unconditional. Reasons for a lacking need include: aversion of innovations, negative associations with the notion of ethics support service, and organisational factors like resources and setting. There is a conditioned need for ethics support in Dutch healthcare institutions. The promotion of ethics support in healthcare can be fostered by focusing on formats which fit the needs of (practitioners in) healthcare institutions. The emphasis should be on creating a (culture of) dialogue about the complex situations which emerge daily in contemporary healthcare practice.

Serum complexed and free prostate-specific antigen (PSA) for the diagnosis of the polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

Science.gov (United States)

Diamandis, Eleftherios P; Stanczyk, Frank Z; Wheeler, Sarah; Mathew, Anu; Stengelin, Martin; Nikolenko, Galina; Glezer, Eli N; Brown, Marshall D; Zheng, Yingye; Chen, Yen-Hao; Wu, Hsiao-Li; Azziz, Ricardo

2017-10-26

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a common cause of reproductive and metabolic dysfunction. We hypothesized that serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) may constitute a new biomarker for hyperandrogenism in PCOS. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 45 women with PCOS and 40 controls. Serum from these women was analyzed for androgenic steroids and for complexed PSA (cPSA) and free PSA (fPSA) with a novel fifth- generation assay with a sensitivity of ~10 fg/mL for cPSA and 140 fg/mL for fPSA. cPSA and fPSA levels were about three times higher in PCOS compared to controls. However, in PCOS, cPSA and fPSA did not differ according to waist-to-hip ratio, Ferriman-Gallwey score, or degree of hyperandrogenemia or oligo-ovulation. In PCOS and control women, serum cPSA and fPSA levels were highly correlated with each other, and with free and total testosterone levels, but not with other hormones. Adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI) and race, cPSA was significantly associated with PCOS, with an odds ratio (OR) of 5.67 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.86, 22.0). The OR of PCOS for fPSA was 7.04 (95% CI: 1.65, 40.4). A multivariate model that included age, BMI, race and cPSA yielded an area-under-the-receiver-operating-characteristic curve of 0.89. Serum cPSA and fPSA are novel biomarkers for hyperandrogenism in PCOS and may have value for disease diagnosis.

Understanding PSA and its derivatives in prediction of tumor volume: Addressing health disparities in prostate cancer risk stratification.

Science.gov (United States)

Chinea, Felix M; Lyapichev, Kirill; Epstein, Jonathan I; Kwon, Deukwoo; Smith, Paul Taylor; Pollack, Alan; Cote, Richard J; Kryvenko, Oleksandr N

2017-03-28

To address health disparities in risk stratification of U.S. Hispanic/Latino men by characterizing influences of prostate weight, body mass index, and race/ethnicity on the correlation of PSA derivatives with Gleason score 6 (Grade Group 1) tumor volume in a diverse cohort. Using published PSA density and PSA mass density cutoff values, men with higher body mass indices and prostate weights were less likely to have a tumor volume PSA derivatives when predicting for tumor volume. In receiver operator characteristic analysis, area under the curve values for all PSA derivatives varied across race/ethnicity with lower optimal cutoff values for Hispanic/Latino (PSA=2.79, PSA density=0.06, PSA mass=0.37, PSA mass density=0.011) and Non-Hispanic Black (PSA=3.75, PSA density=0.07, PSA mass=0.46, PSA mass density=0.008) compared to Non-Hispanic White men (PSA=4.20, PSA density=0.11 PSA mass=0.53, PSA mass density=0.014). We retrospectively analyzed 589 patients with low-risk prostate cancer at radical prostatectomy. Pre-operative PSA, patient height, body weight, and prostate weight were used to calculate all PSA derivatives. Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed for each PSA derivative per racial/ethnic group to establish optimal cutoff values predicting for tumor volume ≥0.5 cm3. Increasing prostate weight and body mass index negatively influence PSA derivatives for predicting tumor volume. PSA derivatives' ability to predict tumor volume varies significantly across race/ethnicity. Hispanic/Latino and Non-Hispanic Black men have lower optimal cutoff values for all PSA derivatives, which may impact risk assessment for prostate cancer.

PSA predicts development of incident lower urinary tract symptoms: results from the REDUCE study.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Devin N; Feng, Tom; Simon, Ross M; Howard, Lauren E; Vidal, Adriana C; Moreira, Daniel M; Castro-Santamaria, Ramiro; Roehrborn, Claus; Andriole, Gerald L; Freedland, Stephen J

2018-05-23

The relationship between baseline prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and development of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic men is unclear. We sought to determine if PSA predicts incident LUTS in these men. A post-hoc analysis of the 4-year REDUCE study was performed to assess for incident LUTS in 1534 men with mild to no LUTS at baseline. The primary aim was to determine whether PSA independently predicted incident LUTS after adjusting for the key clinical variables of age, prostate size, and baseline International prostate symptom score (IPSS). Incident LUTS was defined as the first report of medical treatment, surgery, or sustained clinically significant symptoms (two IPSS >14). Cox proportional hazards, cumulative incidence curves, and the log-rank test were used to test our hypothesis. A total of 1534 men with baseline IPSS PSA 2.5-4 ng/mL, 589 with PSA 4.1-6 ng/mL, and 610 with PSA 6-10 ng/mL. During the 4-year study, 196 men progressed to incident LUTS (50.5% medical treatment, 9% surgery, and 40.5% new symptoms). As a continuous variable, higher PSA was associated with increased incident LUTS on univariable (HR 1.09, p = 0.019) and multivariable (HR 1.08, p = 0.040) analysis. Likewise, baseline PSA 6-10 ng/mL was associated with increased incident LUTS vs. PSA 2.5-4 ng/mL in adjusted models (HR 1.68, p = 0.016). This association was also observed in men with PSA 4.1-6 ng/mL vs. PSA 2.5-4 ng/mL (HR 1.60, p = 0.032). Men with mild to no LUTS but increased baseline PSA are at increased risk of developing incident LUTS presumed due to benign prostatic hyperplasia.

32 CFR 270.5 - Staff.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Staff. 270.5 Section 270.5 National Defense... Staff. (a) The Commission will have a support staff, which will include staff members sufficient to expeditiously and efficiently process the applications for payments under this part. All members of the staff...

Development of an immunoradiometric method for the measurement of total PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venkatesh, M.; Korde, A.; Bapat, K.; Shukla, A.; Pillai, M.R.A.

1999-01-01

Development of an IRMA for total-PSA was taken up in our laboratories (Isotope Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India) and efforts were made to obtain monoclonals for PSA at our laboratory. Following the guidelines laid at the first meeting of this CRP we have used the reagents supplied by the Agency as well as our inhouse reagents, and attempted to develop assay procedures for measuring total-PSA in human sera

Effect of a Low-Intensity PSA-Based Screening Intervention on Prostate Cancer Mortality: The CAP Randomized Clinical Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Richard M; Donovan, Jenny L; Turner, Emma L; Metcalfe, Chris; Young, Grace J; Walsh, Eleanor I; Lane, J Athene; Noble, Sian; Oliver, Steven E; Evans, Simon; Sterne, Jonathan A C; Holding, Peter; Ben-Shlomo, Yoav; Brindle, Peter; Williams, Naomi J; Hill, Elizabeth M; Ng, Siaw Yein; Toole, Jessica; Tazewell, Marta K; Hughes, Laura J; Davies, Charlotte F; Thorn, Joanna C; Down, Elizabeth; Davey Smith, George; Neal, David E; Hamdy, Freddie C

2018-03-06

.3%) than in the control group (n = 7853; 3.6%) (RR, 1.19 [95% CI, 1.14 to 1.25]; P PSA screening intervention vs standard practice without screening, there was no significant difference in prostate cancer mortality after a median follow-up of 10 years but the detection of low-risk prostate cancer cases increased. Although longer-term follow-up is under way, the findings do not support single PSA testing for population-based screening. ISRCTN Identifier: ISRCTN92187251.

Impact of engaging middle management in practice interventions on staff support and learning culture: a quasi-experimental design.

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Amanda; Burmeister, Liz; Schoonbeek, Sue; Ossenberg, Christine; Gneilding, Julieanne

2014-11-01

This study evaluated the impact of different levels of engaging middle management in ward based strategies implemented by a project educator. The challenge for learning in practice is to develop effective teams where experienced staff engage and foster learning with students and other novice staff. A quasi-experimental pre- and post- intervention four group design was conducted from November 2009 to May 2010 across four general surgical and four general medical inpatient matched units in two settings in South East Queensland, Australia. Staff survey data was used to compare control and intervention groups (one actively engaging nurse managers) before and after 'practice learning' interventions. The survey comprised demographic data and data from two validated scales (support instrument for nurses facilitating learning and clinical learning organisational culture). Number of surveys returned pre- and post-intervention was 336 from 713 (47%). There were significant differences across many subscales pertaining to staff perception of support in the intervention groups, with only one change in the control group. The number of significant different subscales in the learning culture was also greater when middle management supported the intervention. Middle management should work closely with facilitators to assist embedding practice interventions. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Attentional processes in interactions between people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities and direct support staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Hostyn, Ine; Ine, Hostyn; Neerinckx, Heleen; Heleen, Neerinckx; Maes, Bea; Bea, Maes

2011-01-01

Few studies have examined joint attention in interactions with persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD), despite its important role in high-quality interaction. The purpose of this study is to describe the attention-directing behaviours of persons with PIMD and their direct support staff and the attention episodes resulting from their interactions, and to understand how these variables relate to each other. Video observations of 17 staff-client dyads were coded using partial interval recording. The results showed considerable variation across individuals and dyads. In general, persons with PIMD directed the attention of staff members infrequently. The staff members frequently directed their clients' attention towards a topic of interest but did not often use the tactile modality. Within the staff-client dyad, there was not much joint attention; however, shared attention episodes occurred frequently. Shared attention and joint attention are strongly correlated. A negative correlation was found between clients not using attention-directing behaviours and staff members using tactile methods to direct the attention, and joint attention episodes. This study presents both directions for future research and practical implications. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Engineering safety review mission Krsko NPP external events PSA. Ljubljana, Slovenia 19-23 February 1996. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Budnitz, R.J.; Smith, P.

1996-01-01

Within the scope of the TC Project RER/9/035, a review mission visited Ljubljana, Slovenia, 19-23 February 1996. Two outside experts, Messrs. R.J. Budnitz (USA) and Paul Smith (USA), as well as a staff member, A. Guerpinar (ESS-NSNI) took part in the review. The purpose of the mission was to assist the Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration to review the external events PSA prepared by Krsko NPP consultants Westinghouse Energy Systems Europe and EQE International. Another seismic safety review was performed concurrently in Ljubljana involving the investigations in relation to the tectonic stability and reassessment of the design basis ground motion characterization for the Krsko NPP site

Review of updated design of SPWR with PSA methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oikawa, Tetsukuni; Muramatsu, Ken

1995-01-01

This paper presents the procedures and results of a PSA (Probabilistic Safety Assessment) of the SPWR (System-Integrated PWR), which is being developed at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) as a medium sized innovative passive safe reactor, to assist in the design improvement of the SPWR at the basic or conceptual design phase by reviewing the design and identifying the design vulnerability. The first phase PSA, which was carried out in 1991, was a scoping analysis in order to understand overall plant characteristics and to search for general design weakness. After discussing the results of the first phase PSA, the SPWR designer group changed some designs of the SPWR. The second phase PSA of the SPWR was performed for the modified design in order to identify the design vulnerability as well as to grasp its overall safety level. Special items of these PSAs are as follows: (1) systematic identification of initiating events related to newly designed systems by the failure mode effect analysis (FMEA), (2) delineation of accident sequences for the internal initiating events using accident progression flow charts which is cost effective for conceptual design phase, (3) quantification of event trees based on many engineering judgement, and (4) lots of sensitivity analyses to examine applicability of data assignment. Qualitative and quantitative results of PSA provided very useful information for decision makings of design improvement and recommendations for further consideration in the process of detailed design. (author)

Quality assurance in the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant preoperational PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valhuerdi Debesa, C.

1996-01-01

Quality Assurance (QA) is nowadays an important requirement for the competence of any production or service, making possible to get the desired quality at the lowest cost In the case of PSA, which are multidisciplinary, very detailed and complex analysis, with many interfaces between analyst tasks, QA plays an important role as a tool for the analytical process management, and it is recognized as one of the PSA issues which require additional development In this paper the QA system developed for the Juragua NPP preoperational PSA, its antecedents and the experiences of its application are described

Men presenting with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values of over 100 ng/mL.

Science.gov (United States)

Ang, Mann; Rajcic, Branimir; Foreman, Darren; Moretti, Kim; O'Callaghan, Michael E

2016-04-01

To investigate overall survival and prostate cancer-specific mortality in men with prostate cancer presenting with a PSA level PSA level extracted from the South Australian Prostate Cancer Clinical Outcomes Collaborative (SA-PCCOC) database. Men included were diagnosed between January 1998 and August 2013. Patients were divided into groups according to diagnostic PSA level: 500 ng/mL. Outcomes measured include overall survival and prostate cancer-specific mortality. Clinical stage, Gleason score and the presence of bony metastasis was evaluated to determine if they were prognostic factors in patients with PSA over 100 at diagnosis. Cox proportional hazards and competing risks regression were used to model overall survival and prostate cancer-specific mortality outcomes respectively. Of this cohort, 241 patients (4.2%) had a diagnostic PSA level >100 ng/mL. Patients with PSA >100 ng/mL have a significant reduction in five (29.1% vs 62.5% vs 87%) and ten-year (18.2% vs 36.7% vs 70.7%) overall survival when compared to men with diagnostic PSA 20-100 and PSA level at diagnosis. Overall survival was associated with PSA level, Gleason score and age. There was a linear increase in risk (overall survival) as PSA increased until 200 and no association thereafter. Models of overall survival and prostate cancer-specific mortality incorporating a risk stratification developed by Izumi et al. predicted overall survival but not prostate cancer-specific mortality. The use of this stratification did not improve model accuracy. Only a small number of men (4.2%) with prostate cancer present with PSA >100 ng/mL at diagnosis. Overall survival at five and ten years was significantly poorer in patients with PSA >100 ng/mL. In this cohort of men presenting with PSA >100 at diagnosis, PSA level was not associated with prostate cancer-specific mortality. Gleason score and metastases are significant prognostic factors in this group of men. © 2016 The Authors BJU International © 2016

Survey on Prognostics Techniques for Updating Initiating Event Frequency in PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hyeonmin; Heo, Gyunyoung

2015-01-01

One of the applications using PSA is a risk monito. The risk monitoring is real-time analysis tool to decide real-time risk based on real state of components and systems. In order to utilize more effective, the methodologies that manipulate the data from Prognostics was suggested. Generally, Prognostic comprehensively includes not only prognostic but also monitoring and diagnostic. The prognostic method must need condition monitoring. In case of applying PHM to a PSA model, the latest condition of NPPs can be identified more clearly. For reducing the conservatism and uncertainties, we suggested the concept that updates the initiating event frequency in a PSA model by using Bayesian approach which is one of the prognostics techniques before. From previous research, the possibility that PSA is updated by using data more correctly was found. In reliability theory, the Bathtub curve divides three parts (infant failure, constant and random failure, wareout failure). In this paper, in order to investigate the applicability of prognostic methods in updating quantitative data in a PSA model, the OLM acceptance criteria from NUREG, the concept of how to using prognostic in PSA, and the enabling prognostic techniques are suggested. The prognostic has the motivation that improved the predictive capabilities using existing monitoring systems, data, and information will enable more accurate equipment risk assessment for improved decision-making

Survey on Prognostics Techniques for Updating Initiating Event Frequency in PSA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hyeonmin; Heo, Gyunyoung [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

One of the applications using PSA is a risk monito. The risk monitoring is real-time analysis tool to decide real-time risk based on real state of components and systems. In order to utilize more effective, the methodologies that manipulate the data from Prognostics was suggested. Generally, Prognostic comprehensively includes not only prognostic but also monitoring and diagnostic. The prognostic method must need condition monitoring. In case of applying PHM to a PSA model, the latest condition of NPPs can be identified more clearly. For reducing the conservatism and uncertainties, we suggested the concept that updates the initiating event frequency in a PSA model by using Bayesian approach which is one of the prognostics techniques before. From previous research, the possibility that PSA is updated by using data more correctly was found. In reliability theory, the Bathtub curve divides three parts (infant failure, constant and random failure, wareout failure). In this paper, in order to investigate the applicability of prognostic methods in updating quantitative data in a PSA model, the OLM acceptance criteria from NUREG, the concept of how to using prognostic in PSA, and the enabling prognostic techniques are suggested. The prognostic has the motivation that improved the predictive capabilities using existing monitoring systems, data, and information will enable more accurate equipment risk assessment for improved decision-making.

Simulation and optimization of an industrial PSA unit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barg C.

2000-01-01

Full Text Available The Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA units have been used as a low cost alternative to the usual gas separation processes. Its largest commercial application is for hydrogen purification systems. Several studies have been made about the simulation of pressure swing adsorption units, but there are only few reports on the optimization of such processes. The objective of this study is to simulate and optimize an industrial PSA unit for hydrogen purification. This unit consists of six beds, each of them have three layers of different kinds of adsorbents. The main impurities are methane, carbon monoxide and sulfidric gas. The product stream has 99.99% purity in hydrogen, and the recovery is around 90%. A mathematical model for a commercial PSA unit is developed. The cycle time and the pressure swing steps are optimized. All the features concerning with complex commercial processes are considered.

Improved Monte Carlo Method for PSA Uncertainty Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Jongsoo

2016-01-01

The treatment of uncertainty is an important issue for regulatory decisions. Uncertainties exist from knowledge limitations. A probabilistic approach has exposed some of these limitations and provided a framework to assess their significance and assist in developing a strategy to accommodate them in the regulatory process. The uncertainty analysis (UA) is usually based on the Monte Carlo method. This paper proposes a Monte Carlo UA approach to calculate the mean risk metrics accounting for the SOKC between basic events (including CCFs) using efficient random number generators and to meet Capability Category III of the ASME/ANS PRA standard. Audit calculation is needed in PSA regulatory reviews of uncertainty analysis results submitted for licensing. The proposed Monte Carlo UA approach provides a high degree of confidence in PSA reviews. All PSA needs accounting for the SOKC between event probabilities to meet the ASME/ANS PRA standard

Improved Monte Carlo Method for PSA Uncertainty Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Jongsoo [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

The treatment of uncertainty is an important issue for regulatory decisions. Uncertainties exist from knowledge limitations. A probabilistic approach has exposed some of these limitations and provided a framework to assess their significance and assist in developing a strategy to accommodate them in the regulatory process. The uncertainty analysis (UA) is usually based on the Monte Carlo method. This paper proposes a Monte Carlo UA approach to calculate the mean risk metrics accounting for the SOKC between basic events (including CCFs) using efficient random number generators and to meet Capability Category III of the ASME/ANS PRA standard. Audit calculation is needed in PSA regulatory reviews of uncertainty analysis results submitted for licensing. The proposed Monte Carlo UA approach provides a high degree of confidence in PSA reviews. All PSA needs accounting for the SOKC between event probabilities to meet the ASME/ANS PRA standard.

Methodologies for uncertainty analysis in the level 2 PSA and their implementation procedures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahn, Kwang Il; Yang, Joon Eun; Kim, Dong Ha

2002-04-01

Main purpose of this report to present standardized methodologies for uncertainty analysis in the Level 2 Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) and their implementation procedures, based on results obtained through a critical review of the existing methodologies for the analysis of uncertainties employed in the Level 2 PSA, especially Accident Progression Event Tree (APET). Uncertainties employed in the Level 2 PSA, quantitative expressions of overall knowledge of analysts' and experts' participating in the probabilistic quantification process of phenomenological accident progressions ranging from core melt to containment failure, their numerical values are directly related to the degree of confidence that the analyst has that a given phenomenological event or accident process will or will not occur, or analyst's subjective probabilities of occurrence. These results that are obtained from Level 2 PSA uncertainty analysis, become an essential contributor to the plant risk, in addition to the Level 1 PSA and Level 3 PSA uncertainties. Uncertainty analysis methodologies and their implementation procedures presented in this report was prepared based on the following criteria: 'uncertainty quantification process must be logical, scrutable, complete, consistent and in an appropriate level of detail, as mandated by the Level 2 PSA objectives'. For the aforementioned purpose, this report deals mainly with (1) summary of general or Level 2 PSA specific uncertainty analysis methodologies, (2) selection of phenomenological branch events for uncertainty analysis in the APET, methodology for quantification of APET uncertainty inputs and its implementation procedure, (3) statistical propagation of uncertainty inputs through APET and its implementation procedure, and (4) formal procedure for quantification of APET uncertainties and source term categories (STCs) through the Level 2 PSA quantification codes

Comparative Study on Atmospheric Dispersion Module of Level 3 PSA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Dahye; Jang, Misuk; Kang, Hyun Sik; Kim, Seoung Rae [NESS, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

Some regulation documents such as Regulatory Guides and NUREG publications from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) have influences on domestic radiation environmental analyses. As renewal versions of NUREG-0800 and NUREG-1555 have issued lately, the assessment for Severe Accident (SA) with Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) should be added to Safety Analysis Report (SAR) and Radiation Environmental Report (RER). Because these reports are the required documents for obtaining the construction permit and operating license, it is important to understand the PSA methodology and it needs to improve the site-specific input data of L3PSA codes for SA. First, our review focuses on the atmospheric dispersion and deposition related input data of L3PSA code in this paper. Then we will continue to review the improvements of other input data. Two atmospheric dispersion models, which are PAVAN developed for design basis accident and ATMOS of MACCS2 code developed for SA, were reviewed in this paper. L3PSA deals with the effects of severe accidents and basically includes the evaluation of both short- and long-term effects. Therefore, both the deposition effects and nuclide information(type, amount, and chemical characteristics of released radionuclide) would be considered as the input parameters of atmospheric dispersion model for L3PSA. Additionally, the meteorological data would be sampled randomly to meet the purpose of probabilistic method. However, the sampling method would be selected according to analysis purpose. After review, ATMOS module and its input data are suitably developed for the atmospheric dispersion analysis of L3PSA. However, ATMOS module was developed using the site-specific terrain and environment characteristics. For the domestic application, it needs to study the input data reflecting the Korean terrain and environment characteristics. It would be also continuously improved in response to the time- and site-specific changes of weather

Radiographic progression with nonrising PSA in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bryce, A H; Alumkal, J J; Armstrong, A

2017-01-01

monitoring alone to determine disease status on therapy. This approach has not been adequately tested. METHODS: Chemotherapy-naive asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic men (n=872) with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who were treated with the androgen receptor inhibitor enzalutamide......BACKGROUND: Advanced prostate cancer is a phenotypically diverse disease that evolves through multiple clinical courses. PSA level is the most widely used parameter for disease monitoring, but it has well-recognized limitations. Unlike in clinical trials, in practice, clinicians may rely on PSA...... treated with enzalutamide. As restaging in advanced prostate cancer patients is often guided by increases in PSA levels, our results demonstrate that disease progression on enzalutamide can occur without rising PSA levels. Therefore, a disease monitoring strategy that includes imaging not entirely reliant...

[Prostate specific antigen--PSA and histopathological findings of endometrium in women with fibrocystic breast disease].

Science.gov (United States)

Radowicki, Stanisław; Kunicki, Michał

2010-02-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between serum free and total PSA and histopathological findings in women with fibrocystic mastopathy. 176 women with fibrocystic breast disease, aged 18 to 45 years.--Group I: comprised 114 patients with cysts 10 mm in diameter. The control group consisted of 46 healthy women aged 18 - 45 years who had no breast pathology Total PSA (PSA-T) and free PSA (PSA-Free) were measured by an ultra-sensitive fluoroimmunometric DELFIA assay (Prostatus PSA Free/Total Wallac, Turku, Finland). The detection limit for PSA was 0.01 ng/ml. Endometrial samples have been obtained with Pipelle probe between 22 and 24 days of the menstrual cycle. In the control group secretory endometrium was more frequently detected than in the mastopathy group (chi2 = 11,15, p = 0.01). Proliferatory (chi2 = 8.27, p = 0.004) and presecretory endometrium (chi2 = 4.61, p = 0.03) were more frequently detected in the mastopathy group than in controls. We did not find statistically significant relationship between the mean PSA concentrations between the groups in relation to histopathological findings. No relationships between free and total PSA measured in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle and endometrial findings were detected in our study. Further research is required to evaluate the relationship between PSA and endometrial findings.

Staff Group Trainer: Development of a Computer-Driven, Structured, Staff Training Environment

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Koger, Milton

1998-01-01

.... The project produced two training support packages (TSP)--battalion and brigade--designed to train these staffs to more effectively and efficiently communicate within and between staff sections, command post, and the unit commander...

World AIDS Day PSA (:30)

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2011-11-16

December 1 is World AIDS Day. In this PSA, communities are encouraged to get tested for HIV.  Created: 11/16/2011 by National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP).   Date Released: 11/16/2011.

Prebiopsy biparametric MRI: differences of PI-RADS version 2 in patients with different PSA levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, M H; Lee, Y J; Jung, S E; Rha, S E; Byun, J Y

2018-06-09

To validate the diagnostic accuracy of Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) version 2 in detecting clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa, Gleason score ≥7) on prebiopsy biparametric MRI (bpMRI) in patients with different prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. This retrospective study included 184 patients who underwent prebiopsy bpMRI followed by transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy between June 2015 and February 2017. Reader 1 performed a combination of systematic and targeted biopsy with cognitive fusion after reviewing bpMRI and reader 2 reviewed the bpMRIs retrospectively. PI-RADS categories 4 and 5 were considered positive, and the results of the biopsy were considered the reference standard. Diagnostic performance of PI-RADS of bpMRI was evaluated in two PSA groups with a PSA cut-off level of 10 ng/ml and compared to PSA and the PSA density using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis. csPCa was diagnosed in 24 of 123 patients (19.5%) and 26 of 61 patients (42.6%) in the low and high PSA groups, respectively. A PI-RADS v2 category by either readers 1 or 2 had a significantly better performance to detect csPCa than PSA in both PSA groups. In the high PSA group, only one csPCa was missed by reader 2, but none by reader 1. In the low PSA group, readers 1 and 2 were unable to detect seven and five of the 24 csPCas, respectively. Prebiopsy bpMRI has good performance for detecting csPCa in the high PSA group but may miss small-volume csPCa in the low PSA group. Copyright © 2018 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.