Sample records for beryllium disease related

  1. Risks of beryllium disease related to work processes at a metal, alloy, and oxide production plant.

    PubMed

    Kreiss, K; Mroz, M M; Zhen, B; Wiedemann, H; Barna, B

    1997-08-01

    To describe relative hazards in sectors of the beryllium industry, risk factors of beryllium disease and sensitisation related to work process were sought in a beryllium manufacturing plant producing pure metal, oxide, alloys, and ceramics. All 646 active employees were interviewed; beryllium sensitisation was ascertained with the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation blood test on 627 employees; clinical evaluation and bronchoscopy were offered to people with abnormal test results; and industrial hygiene measurements related to work processes taken in 1984-93 were reviewed. 59 employees (9.4%) had abnormal blood tests, 47 of whom underwent bronchoscopy. 24 new cases of beryllium disease were identified, resulting in a beryllium disease prevalence of 4.6%, including five known cases (29/632). Employees who had worked in ceramics had the highest prevalence of beryllium disease (9.0%). Employees in the pebble plant (producing beryllium metal) who had been employed after 1983 also had increased risk, with a prevalence of beryllium disease of 6.4%, compared with 1.3% of other workers hired in the same period, and a prevalence of abnormal blood tests of 19.2%. Logistic regression modelling confirmed these two risk factors for beryllium disease related to work processes and the dependence on time of the risk at the pebble plant. The pebble plant was not associated with the highest gravimetric industrial hygiene measurements available since 1984. Further characterisation of exposures in beryllium metal production may be important to understanding how beryllium exposures confer high contemporary risk of beryllium disease.

  2. Chronic Beryllium Disease

    MedlinePlus

    ... Newman LS. Re-examination of the blood lymphocyte transformation test in the diagnosis of chronic beryllium disease. ... et al. A study on the beryllium Lymphocyte Transformation Test and the beryllium levels in working environment. ...

  3. Beryllium disease

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1991-12-20

    After two workers at the nuclear weapons plant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee were diagnosed earlier this year with chronic beryllium disease (CBD), a rare and sometimes fatal scarring of the lungs, the Department of Energy ordered up a 4-year probe. Now, part of that probe has begun - tests conducted by the Oak Ridge Associated Universities' Center for Epidemiological Research measuring beryllium sensitivity in 3,000 people who've been exposed to the metal's dust since Manhattan Project managers opened the Y-12 plant at Oak Ridge in 1943. Currently, 119 Y-12 employees process beryllium, which has a number ofmore » industrial uses, including rocket heat shields and nuclear weapon and electrical components. The disease often takes 20 to 25 years to develop, and the stricken employees haven't worked with beryllium for years. There is no cure for CBD, estimated to strike 2% of people exposed to the metal. Anti-inflammatory steroids alleviate such symptoms as a dry cough, weight loss, and fatigue. Like other lung-fibrosis diseases that are linked to lung cancer, some people suspect CBD might cause some lung cancer. While difficult to diagnose, about 900 cases of CBD have been reported since a Beryllium Case Registry was established in 1952. The Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that about 10,000 DOE employees and 800,000 people in private industry have worked with beryllium.« less

  4. Chronic beryllium disease: Diagnosis and management

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rossman, M.D.

    1996-10-01

    Chronic beryllium disease is predominantly a pulmonary granulomatosis that was originally described in 1946. Symptoms usually include dyspnea and cough. Fever, anorexia, and weight loss are common. Skin lesions are the most common extrathoracic manifestation. Granulomatous hepatitis, hypercalcemia, and kidney stones can also occur. Radiographic and physiologic abnormalities are similar to those in sarcoidosis. While traditionally the pathologic changes included granulomas and cellular interstitial changes, the hallmark of the disease today is the well-formed granuloma. Immunologic studies have demonstrated a cell-mediated response to beryllium that is due to an accumulation of CD4{sup +} T cells at the site of diseasemore » activity. Diagnosis depends on the demonstration of pathologic changes (i.e., granuloma) and evidence that the granuloma was caused by a hypersensitivity to beryllium (i.e., positive lung proliferative response to beryllium). Using these criteria, the diagnosis of chronic beryllium disease can now be made before the onset of clinical symptoms. Whether, with early diagnosis, the natural course of this condition will be the same as when it was traditionally diagnosed is not known. Currently, corticosteroids are used to treat patients with significant symptoms or evidence of progressive disease. 21 refs.« less

  5. Beryllium-stimulated neopterin as a diagnostic adjunct in chronic beryllium disease.

    PubMed

    Maier, Lisa A; Kittle, Lori A; Mroz, Margaret M; Newman, Lee S

    2003-06-01

    The diagnosis of chronic beryllium disease (CBD) relies on the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT) to demonstrate a Be specific immune response. This test has improved early diagnosis, but cannot discriminate beryllium sensitization (BeS) from CBD. We previously found high neopterin levels in CBD patients' serum and questioned whether Be-stimulated neopterin production by peripheral blood cells in vitro might be useful in the diagnosis of CBD. CBD, BeS, Be exposed workers without disease (Be-exp) normal controls and sarcoidosis subjects were enrolled. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMN) were cultured in the presence and absence of beryllium sulfate. Neopterin levels were determined from cell supernatants by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Clinical evaluation of CBD subjects included chest radiography, pulmonary function testing, exercise testing, and the BeLPT. CBD patients produced higher levels of neopterin in both unstimulated and Be-stimulated conditions compared to all other subjects (P < 0.0001). Unstimulated neopterin mononuclear cell levels overlapped among groups, however, Be-stimulated neopterin levels in CBD showed little overlap. Using a neopterin concentration of 2.5 ng/ml as a cutoff, Be-stimulated neopterin had a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 100% for CBD and was able to differentiate CBD from BeS. Be-stimulated neopterin was inversely related to measures of pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and gas exchange. Neopterin may be a useful diagnostic adjunct in the non-invasive assessment of CBD, differentiating CBD from BeS. Further studies will be required to determine how it performs in workplace screening. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  6. 75 FR 80734 - Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-23

    ... Disease Prevention Program AGENCY: Office of Health, Safety and Security, Department of Energy. ACTION... and comments on issues related to its current chronic beryllium disease prevention program. The... disease prevention program. DATES: All comments on the issues presented in this document must be received...

  7. Beryllium sensitization and disease among long-term and short-term workers in a beryllium ceramics plant.

    PubMed

    Henneberger, P K; Cumro, D; Deubner, D D; Kent, M S; McCawley, M; Kreiss, K

    2001-04-01

    Workers at a beryllium ceramics plant were tested for beryllium sensitization and disease in 1998 to determine whether the plant-wide prevalence of sensitization and disease had declined since the last screening in 1992; an elevated prevalence was associated with specific processes or with high exposures; exposure-response relationships differed for long-term workers hired before the last plant-wide screening and short-term workers hired since then. Current workers were asked to complete a questionnaire and to provide blood for the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT). Those with an abnormal BeLPT were classified as sensitized, and were offered clinical evaluation for beryllium disease. Task- and time-specific measurements of airborne beryllium were combined with individual work histories to compute mean, cumulative, and peak beryllium exposures for each worker. The 151 participants represented 90% of 167 eligible workers. Fifteen (9.9% of 151) had an abnormal BeLPT and were split between long-term workers (8/77 = 10.4%) and short-term workers (7/74 = 9.5%). Beryllium disease was detected in 9.1% (7/77) of long-term workers but in only 1.4% (1/74) of short-term workers (P = 0.06), for an overall prevalence of 5.3% (8/151). These prevalences were similar to those observed in the earlier survey. The prevalence of sensitization was elevated in 1992 among machinists, and was still elevated in 1998 among long-term workers (7/40 = 18%) but not among short-term workers (2/36 = 6%) with machining experience. The prevalence of sensitization was also elevated in both groups of workers for the processes of lapping, forming, firing, and packaging. The data suggested a positive relationship between peak beryllium exposure and sensitization for long-term workers and between mean, cumulative, and peak exposure and sensitization for short-term workers, although these findings were not statistically significant. Long-term workers with either a high peak exposure or work

  8. Beryllium disease among construction trade workers at Department of Energy nuclear sites.

    PubMed

    Welch, Laura S; Ringen, Knut; Dement, John; Bingham, Eula; Quinn, Patricia; Shorter, Janet; Fisher, Miles

    2013-10-01

    A medical surveillance program was developed to identify current and former construction workers at significant risk for beryllium related disease from work at the DOE nuclear weapons facilities, and to improve surveillance among beryllium exposed workers. Medical examinations included a medical history and a beryllium blood lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT). Stratified and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to explore the risk of disease by age, race, trade, and reported work in buildings where beryllium was used. After adjusting for covariates, the risk of BeS was significantly higher among boilermakers, roofers, and sheet metal workers, as suggested in the stratified analyses. Workers identified as sensitized to beryllium were interviewed to determine whether they had been subsequently diagnosed with chronic beryllium disease. Between 1998 and December 31, 2010 13,810 workers received a BeLPT through the BTMed program; 189 (1.4%) were sensitized to beryllium, and 28 reported that they had had a compensation claim accepted for CBD. These data on former construction workers gives us additional information about the predictive value of the blood BeLPT test for detection of CBD in populations with lower total lifetime exposures and more remote exposures than that experienced by current workers in beryllium machining operations. Through this surveillance program we have identified routes of exposures to beryllium and worked with DOE site personnel to identity and mitigate those exposures which still exist, as well as helping to focus attention on the risk for beryllium exposure among current demolition workers at these facilities. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Chronic beryllium disease and beryllium sensitization at Rocky Flats: a case-control study.

    PubMed

    Viet, S M; Torma-Krajewski, J; Rogers, J

    2000-01-01

    A case-control study was conducted to evaluate the risk of chronic beryllium disease (CBD) and beryllium sensitization (SENS) associated with various levels of historical beryllium exposure at the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons facility. Fifty CBD and 74 SENS cases were matched to controls of the same age group, race, gender, and smoking status. A job exposure matrix was developed from job history data and fixed airhead (FAH) exposure data available from 1960 to 1988. Job titles and building areas were assigned factors based on exposure relative to a machinist in the Building 444 Beryllium Shop. Concurrence on these factors was obtained from past and present Rocky Flats industrial hygienists. Using the matrix, long-term mean and cumulative exposures were estimated for each subject. Both exposure estimates (p < 0.0001) and years of employment (p = 0.010) were found to be significantly higher for CBD cases as compared with their controls, but not so for the SENS cases as compared with their controls. Logistic regression analyses showed statistically significant relationships between both cumulative and mean exposure and CBD, but not for SENS. These findings suggest that reduced worker exposures might lower the future incidence of CBD, but may not necessarily lower the incidence of SENS.

  10. Development of Biomarkers for Chronic Beryllium Disease in Mice

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gordon, Terry

    2013-01-25

    Beryllium is a strategic metal, indispensable for national defense programs in aerospace, telecommunications, electronics, and weaponry. Exposure to beryllium is an extensively documented occupational hazard that causes irreversible, debilitating granulomatous lung disease in as much as 3 - 5% of exposed workers. Mechanistic research on beryllium exposure-disease relationships has been severely limited by a general lack of a sufficient CBD animal model. We have now developed and tested an animal model which can be used for dissecting dose-response relationships and pathogenic mechanisms and for testing new diagnostic and treatment paradigms. We have created 3 strains of transgenic mice in whichmore » the human antigen-presenting moiety, HLA-DP, was inserted into the mouse genome. Each mouse strain contains HLA-DPB1 alleles that confer different magnitude of risk for chronic beryllium disease (CBD): HLA-DPB1*0401 (odds ratio = 0.2), HLA-DPB1*0201 (odds ratio = 15), HLA-DPB1*1701 (odds ratio = 240). Our preliminary work has demonstrated that the *1701 allele, as predicted by human studies, results in the greatest degree of sensitization in a mouse ear swelling test. We have also completed dose-response experiments examining beryllium-induced lung granulomas and identified susceptible and resistant inbred strains of mice (without the human transgenes) as well as quantitative trait loci that may contain gene(s) that modify the immune response to beryllium. In this grant application, we propose to use the transgenic and normal inbred strains of mice to identify biomarkers for the progression of beryllium sensitization and CBD. To achieve this goal, we propose to compare the sensitivity and accuracy of the lymphocyte proliferation test (blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid) with the ELISPOT test in the three HLA-DP transgenic mice strains throughout a 6 month treatment with beryllium particles. Because of the availability of high-throughput proteomics, we will also

  11. Recent advances in understanding the biomolecular basis of chronic beryllium disease: a review.

    PubMed

    McCleskey, T Mark; Buchner, Virginia; Field, R William; Scott, Brian L

    2009-01-01

    In this review we summarize the work conducted over the past decade that has advanced our knowledge of pulmonary diseases associated with exposure to beryllium that has provided a molecular-based understanding of the chemistry, immunopathology, and immunogenetics of beryllium toxicity. Beryllium is a strong and lightweight metal that generates and reflects neutrons, resists corrosion, is transparent to X-rays, and conducts electricity. Beryllium is one of the most toxic elements on the periodic table, eliciting in susceptible humans (a) an allergic immune response known as beryllium sensitization (BeS); (b) acute beryllium disease, an acutely toxic, pneumonitis-like lung condition resulting from exposure to high beryllium concentrations that are rarely seen in modern industry; and (c) chronic beryllium disease (CBD) following either high or very low levels of exposure. Because of its exceptional strength, stability, and heat-absorbing capability, beryllium is used in many important technologies in the modern world. In the early 1940s, beryllium was recognized as posing an occupational hazard in manufacturing and production settings. Although acute beryllium disease is now rare, beryllium is an insidious poison with a latent toxicity and the risk of developing CBD persists. Chronic beryllium disease-a systemic granulomatous lung disorder caused by a specific delayed immune response to beryllium within a few months to several decades after exposure-has been called the "unrecognized epidemic". Although not a disease in itself, BeS, the innate immune response to beryllium identified by an abnormal beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test result, is a population-based predictor of CBD. Genetic susceptibility to CBD is associated with alleles of the major histocompatibility gene, human leukocyte antigen DP (HLA-DP) containing glutamic acid at the 69th position of the beta chain (HLA-DPbeta-E69). Other genes are likely to be involved in the disease process, and research on

  12. Solubility and chemistry of materials encountered by beryllium mine and ore extraction workers: relation to risk.

    PubMed

    Deubner, David C; Sabey, Philip; Huang, Wenjie; Fernandez, Diego; Rudd, Abigail; Johnson, William P; Storrs, Jason; Larson, Rod

    2011-10-01

    Beryllium mine and ore extraction mill workers have low rates of beryllium sensitization and chronic beryllium disease relative to the level of beryllium exposure. The objective was to relate these rates to the solubility and composition of the mine and mill materials. Medical surveillance and exposure data were summarized. Dissolution of BeO, ore materials and beryllium hydroxide, Be(OH)(2) was measured in synthetic lung fluid. The ore materials were more soluble than BeO at pH 7.2 and similar at pH 4.5. Be(OH)(2) was more soluble than BeO at both pH. Aluminum dissolved along with beryllium from ore materials. Higher solubility of beryllium ore materials and Be(OH)(2) at pH 7.2 might shorten particle longevity in the lung. The aluminum content of the ore materials might inhibit the cellular immune response to beryllium.

  13. Defense programs beryllium good practice guide

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Herr, M.

    1997-07-01

    Within the DOE, it has recently become apparent that some contractor employees who have worked (or are currently working) with and around beryllium have developed chronic beryllium disease (CBD), an occupational granulomatous lung disorder. Respiratory exposure to aerosolized beryllium, in susceptible individuals, causes an immunological reaction that can result in granulomatous scarring of the lung parenchyma, shortness of breath, cough, fatigue, weight loss, and, ultimately, respiratory failure. Beryllium disease was originally identified in the 1940s, largely in the fluorescent light industry. In 1950, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) introduced strict exposure standards that generally curtailed both the acute and chronicmore » forms of the disease. Beginning in 1984, with the identification of a CBD case in a DOE contractor worker, there was increased scrutiny of both industrial hygiene practices and individuals in this workforce. To date, over 100 additional cases of beryllium-specific sensitization and/or CBD have been identified. Thus, a disease previously thought to be largely eliminated by the adoption of permissible exposure standards 45 years ago is still a health risk in certain workforces. This good practice guide forms the basis of an acceptable program for controlling workplace exposure to beryllium. It provides (1) Guidance for minimizing worker exposure to beryllium in Defense Programs facilities during all phases of beryllium-related work, including the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of facilities. (2) Recommended controls to be applied to the handling of metallic beryllium and beryllium alloys, beryllium oxide, and other beryllium compounds. (3) Recommendations for medical monitoring and surveillance of workers exposed (or potentially exposed) to beryllium, based on the best current understanding of beryllium disease and medical diagnostic tests available. (4) Site-specific safety procedures for all processes of beryllium that is

  14. 10 CFR Appendix A to Part 850 - Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed Consent Form

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed Consent Form A Appendix A to Part 850 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM Pt. 850, App. A Appendix A to Part 850—Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed...

  15. 10 CFR Appendix A to Part 850 - Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed Consent Form

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed Consent Form A Appendix A to Part 850 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM Pt. 850, App. A Appendix A to Part 850—Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed...

  16. 10 CFR Appendix A to Part 850 - Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed Consent Form

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed Consent Form A Appendix A to Part 850 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM Pt. 850, App. A Appendix A to Part 850—Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed...

  17. 10 CFR Appendix A to Part 850 - Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed Consent Form

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed Consent Form A Appendix A to Part 850 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM Pt. 850, App. A Appendix A to Part 850—Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed...

  18. 10 CFR Appendix A to Part 850 - Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed Consent Form

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed Consent Form A Appendix A to Part 850 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM Pt. 850, App. A Appendix A to Part 850—Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program Informed...

  19. Chronic beryllium disease and cancer risk estimates with uncertainty for beryllium released to the air from the Rocky Flats Plant.

    PubMed Central

    McGavran, P D; Rood, A S; Till, J E

    1999-01-01

    Beryllium was released into the air from routine operations and three accidental fires at the Rocky Flats Plant (RFP) in Colorado from 1958 to 1989. We evaluated environmental monitoring data and developed estimates of airborne concentrations and their uncertainties and calculated lifetime cancer risks and risks of chronic beryllium disease to hypothetical receptors. This article discusses exposure-response relationships for lung cancer and chronic beryllium disease. We assigned a distribution to cancer slope factor values based on the relative risk estimates from an occupational epidemiologic study used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine the slope factors. We used the regional atmospheric transport code for Hanford emission tracking atmospheric transport model for exposure calculations because it is particularly well suited for long-term annual-average dispersion estimates and it incorporates spatially varying meteorologic and environmental parameters. We accounted for model prediction uncertainty by using several multiplicative stochastic correction factors that accounted for uncertainty in the dispersion estimate, the meteorology, deposition, and plume depletion. We used Monte Carlo techniques to propagate model prediction uncertainty through to the final risk calculations. We developed nine exposure scenarios of hypothetical but typical residents of the RFP area to consider the lifestyle, time spent outdoors, location, age, and sex of people who may have been exposed. We determined geometric mean incremental lifetime cancer incidence risk estimates for beryllium inhalation for each scenario. The risk estimates were < 10(-6). Predicted air concentrations were well below the current reference concentration derived by the EPA for beryllium sensitization. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 PMID:10464074

  20. Chronic beryllium disease in a precious metal refinery. Clinical epidemiologic and immunologic evidence for continuing risk from exposure to low level beryllium fumes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cullen, M.R.; Kominsky, J.R.; Rossman, M.D.

    1987-01-01

    Five workers at a precious metal refinery developed granulomatous lung disease between 1972 and 1985. The original diagnosis was sarcoidosis, but 4 of the workers were subsequently proved to have hypersensitivity to beryllium by in vitro proliferative responses of lymphocytes obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage. Review of medical records of coworkers and extensive industrial hygiene surveillance of the plant demonstrated that 4 cases occurred in the furnace area where air concentrations of beryllium fume were consistently below the permissible exposure limit of 2 micrograms/M3. A single case has been recognized from parts of the refinery where exposures to cold beryllium dustmore » often exceeded the standard by as much as 20-fold. These data demonstrate that chronic beryllium disease still occurs and confirm the importance of specific immunologic testing in patients suspected of having sarcoidosis but with potential exposure to beryllium. The data raise concern about the adequacy of modern industrial controls, especially in the setting of exposure to highly respirable beryllium fumes.« less

  1. Screening for beryllium disease among construction trade workers at Department of Energy nuclear sites.

    PubMed

    Welch, Laura; Ringen, Knut; Bingham, Eula; Dement, John; Takaro, Tim; McGowan, William; Chen, Anna; Quinn, Patricia

    2004-09-01

    To determine whether current and former construction workers are at significant risk for occupational illnesses from work at the Department of Energy's (DOE) nuclear weapons facilities, screening programs were undertaken at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, Oak Ridge Reservation, and the Savannah River Site. Medical examination for beryllium disease used a medical history and a beryllium blood lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT). Stratified and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to explore the risk of disease by age, race, sex, trade, duration of DOE employment, reported work in buildings where beryllium was used, and time since last DOE site employment. Of the 3,842 workers included in this study, 34% reported exposure to beryllium. Overall, 2.2% of workers had at least one abnormal BeLPT test, and 1.4% were also abnormal on a second test. Regression analyses demonstrated increased risk of having at least one abnormal BeLPT to be associated with ever working in a site building where beryllium activities had taken place. The prevalence of beryllium sensitivity and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) in construction workers is described and the positive predictive value of the BeLPT in a population with less intense exposure to beryllium than other populations that have been screened is discussed. The BeLPT findings and finding of cases of CBD demonstrate that some of these workers had significant exposure, most likely, during maintenance, repair, renovation, or demolition in facilities where beryllium was used.

  2. Exposure and genetics increase risk of beryllium sensitisation and chronic beryllium disease in the nuclear weapons industry.

    PubMed

    Van Dyke, Michael V; Martyny, John W; Mroz, Margaret M; Silveira, Lori J; Strand, Matt; Cragle, Donna L; Tankersley, William G; Wells, Susan M; Newman, Lee S; Maier, Lisa A

    2011-11-01

    Beryllium sensitisation (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) are caused by exposure to beryllium with susceptibility affected by at least one well-studied genetic host factor, a glutamic acid residue at position 69 (E69) of the HLA-DPβ chain (DPβE69). However, the nature of the relationship between exposure and carriage of the DPβE69 genotype has not been well studied. The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between DPβE69 and exposure in BeS and CBD. Current and former workers (n=181) from a US nuclear weapons production facility, the Y-12 National Security Complex (Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA), were enrolled in a case-control study including 35 individuals with BeS and 19 with CBD. HLA-DPB1 genotypes were determined by PCR-SSP. Beryllium exposures were assessed through worker interviews and industrial hygiene assessment of work tasks. After removing the confounding effect of potential beryllium exposure at another facility, multivariate models showed a sixfold (OR 6.06, 95% CI 1.96 to 18.7) increased odds for BeS and CBD combined among DPβE69 carriers and a fourfold (OR 3.98, 95% CI 1.43 to 11.0) increased odds for those exposed over an assigned lifetime-weighted average exposure of 0.1 μg/m(3). Those with both risk factors had higher increased odds (OR 24.1, 95% CI 4.77 to 122). DPβE69 carriage and high exposure to beryllium appear to contribute individually to the development of BeS and CBD. Among workers at a beryllium-using facility, the magnitude of risk associated with either elevated beryllium exposure or carriage of DPβE69 alone appears to be similar.

  3. Exposure and genetics increase risk of beryllium sensitisation and chronic beryllium disease in the nuclear weapons industry

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Van Dyke, M. V.; Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO; Martyny, John W.

    2011-04-02

    Beryllium sensitisation (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) are caused by exposure to beryllium with susceptibility affected by at least one well-studied genetic host factor, a glutamic acid residue at position 69 (E69) of the HLA-DPb chain (DPbE69). However, the nature of the relationship between exposure and carriage of the DPbE69 genotype has not been well studied. The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between DP{beta}E69 and exposure in BeS and CBD. Current and former workers (n=181) from a US nuclear weapons production facility, the Y-12 National Security Complex (Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA), were enrolled in amore » case-control study including 35 individuals with BeS and 19 with CBD. HLA-DPB1 genotypes were determined by PCR-SSP. Beryllium exposures were assessed through worker interviews and industrial hygiene assessment of work tasks. After removing the confounding effect of potential beryllium exposure at another facility, multivariate models showed a sixfold (OR 6.06, 95% CI 1.96 to 18.7) increased odds for BeS and CBD combined among DP{beta}E69 carriers and a fourfold (OR 3.98, 95% CI 1.43 to 11.0) increased odds for those exposed over an assigned lifetime-weighted average exposure of 0.1 {micro}g/m{sup 3}. Those with both risk factors had higher increased odds (OR 24.1, 95% CI 4.77 to 122). DP{beta}E69 carriage and high exposure to beryllium appear to contribute individually to the development of BeS and CBD. Among workers at a beryllium-using facility, the magnitude of risk associated with either elevated beryllium exposure or carriage of DP{beta}E69 alone appears to be similar.« less

  4. Beryllium health effects in the era of the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test.

    PubMed

    Maier, L A

    2001-05-01

    The beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT) has revolutionized our approach to the diagnosis, screening, and surveillance of beryllium health effects. Based on the development of a beryllium-specific cell-mediated immune response, the BeLPT has allowed us to define early health effects of beryllium, including beryllium sensitization (BeS), and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) at a subclinical stage. The use of this test as a screening tool has improved our understanding of these health effects. From a number of studies it is apparent that BeS precedes CBD and develops after as little as 9 weeks of beryllium exposure. CBD occurs within 3 months and up to 30 years after initial beryllium exposure. Exposure-response variables have been associated with BeS/CBD, including work as a machinist, chemical or metallurgical operator, laboratory technician, work in ceramics or beryllium metal production, and years of beryllium exposure. Recent studies have found BeS and CBD in workplaces in which the majority of exposures were below the 2 microg/m3 OSHA time-weighted average (TWA). Ideally, the BeLPT would be used in surveillance aimed at defining other risk-related processes, determining exposure variables which predict BeS and CBD, and defining the exposure level below which beryllium health effects do not occur. Unfortunately, the BeLPT can result in false negative tests and still requires an invasive procedure, a bronchoscopy, for the definitive diagnosis of CBD. Thus, research is needed to establish new tests to be used alone or in conjunction with the BeLPT to improve our ability to detect early beryllium health effects.

  5. Technical Basis for PNNL Beryllium Inventory

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Johnson, Michelle Lynn

    2014-07-09

    The Department of Energy (DOE) issued Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 850, “Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program” (the Beryllium Rule) in 1999 and required full compliance by no later than January 7, 2002. The Beryllium Rule requires the development of a baseline beryllium inventory of the locations of beryllium operations and other locations of potential beryllium contamination at DOE facilities. The baseline beryllium inventory is also required to identify workers exposed or potentially exposed to beryllium at those locations. Prior to DOE issuing 10 CFR 850, Pacific Northwest Nuclear Laboratory (PNNL) had documented the beryllium characterizationmore » and worker exposure potential for multiple facilities in compliance with DOE’s 1997 Notice 440.1, “Interim Chronic Beryllium Disease.” After DOE’s issuance of 10 CFR 850, PNNL developed an implementation plan to be compliant by 2002. In 2014, an internal self-assessment (ITS #E-00748) of PNNL’s Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program (CBDPP) identified several deficiencies. One deficiency is that the technical basis for establishing the baseline beryllium inventory when the Beryllium Rule was implemented was either not documented or not retrievable. In addition, the beryllium inventory itself had not been adequately documented and maintained since PNNL established its own CBDPP, separate from Hanford Site’s program. This document reconstructs PNNL’s baseline beryllium inventory as it would have existed when it achieved compliance with the Beryllium Rule in 2001 and provides the technical basis for the baseline beryllium inventory.« less

  6. Short- and long-term response to corticosteroid therapy in chronic beryllium disease.

    PubMed

    Marchand-Adam, S; El Khatib, A; Guillon, F; Brauner, M W; Lamberto, C; Lepage, V; Naccache, J-M; Valeyre, D

    2008-09-01

    Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) is a granulomatous disorder that affects the lung after exposure to beryllium. The present study reports short- and long-term evolution of granulomatous and fibrotic components in eight patients with severe CBD receiving corticosteroid therapy. Eight patients with confirmed CBD were studied at baseline, after initial corticosteroid treatment (4-12 months), at relapse and at the final visit. Beryllium exposure, Glu(69) (HLA-DPB1 genes coding for glutamate at position beta69) polymorphism, symptoms, pulmonary function tests (PFT), serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (SACE) and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) quantification of pulmonary lesions were analysed. The CBD patients were observed for a median (range) of 69 (20-180) months. After stopping beryllium exposure, corticosteroids improved symptoms and PFT (vital capacity +26%, diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide +15%), and decreased SACE level and active lesion HRCT score. In total, 18 clinical relapses occurred after the treatment was tapered and these were associated with SACE and active lesion HRCT score impairment. At the final visit, corticosteroids had completely stabilised all parameters including both HRCT scores of active lesions and fibrotic lesions in six out of eight patients. Corticosteroids were beneficial in chronic beryllium disease. They were effective in suppressing granulomatosis lesions in all cases and in stopping the evolution to pulmonary fibrosis in six out of eight patients.

  7. Genetic susceptibility to beryllium: a case-referent study of men and women of working age with sarcoidosis or other chronic lung disease.

    PubMed

    Cherry, Nicola; Beach, Jeremy; Burstyn, Igor; Parboosingh, Jillian; Schouchen, Janine; Senthilselvan, Ambikaipakan; Svenson, Larry; Tamminga, Jan; Yiannakoulias, Niko

    2015-01-01

    The study was designed to investigate whether beryllium exposure was related to illness diagnosed as sarcoidosis. Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) and sarcoidosis are clinically and pathologically indistinguishable, with only the presence of beryllium-specific T-lymphocytes identifying CBD. Testing for such cells is not feasible in community studies of sarcoidosis but a second characteristic of CBD, its much greater incidence in those with a glutamic acid residue at position 69 of the HLA-DPB1 gene (Glu69), provides an alternative approach to answering this question. Cases of sarcoidosis aged 18-60 years diagnosed in Alberta, Canada, from 1999 to 2005 were approached through their specialist physician, together with age-matched and sex-matched referents with other chronic lung disease. Referents were grouped into chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and other lung disease. Participants completed a telephone questionnaire, including industry-specific questionnaires. DNA was extracted from mailed-in mouthwash samples and genotyped for Glu69. Duration of employment in types of work with independently documented beryllium exposure was calculated. DNA was extracted for 655 cases (270 Glu69 positive) and 1382 referents (561 positive). No increase in sarcoidosis was seen with either Glu69 or beryllium exposure (none, <10, ≥10 years) as main effects: longer duration in possible beryllium jobs was related to COPD. In Glu69 positive men with exposure ≥10 years, the trend towards increasing rate of COPD was reversed, and a significant interaction of duration of exposure and Glu69 was detected (OR=4.51 95% CI 1.17 to 17.48). The gene-environment interaction supports the hypothesis that some cases diagnosed as sarcoidosis result from occupational beryllium exposure. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  8. Beryllium

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Foley, Nora K.; Jaskula, Brian W.; Piatak, Nadine M.; Schulte, Ruth F.; Schulz, Klaus J.; DeYoung,, John H.; Seal, Robert R.; Bradley, Dwight C.

    2017-12-19

    producing aircraft and satellite structural components that have a high stiffness-to-weight ratio and low surface vibration. Beryllium oxide ceramics are used in a wide range of applications, including missile guidance systems, radar applications, and cell phone transmitters, and they are critical to medical technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, medical lasers, and portable defibrillators.The United States is expected to remain self-sufficient with respect to most of its beryllium requirements, based on information available at the time this chapter was prepared (2013). The United States is one of only three countries that currently process beryllium ores and concentrate them into beryllium products, and these three countries supply most of the rest of the world with these products. Exploration for new deposits in the United States is limited because domestic beryllium production is dominated by a single producer that effectively controls the domestic beryllium market, which is relatively small and specialized, and the market cannot readily accommodate new competition on the raw material supply side.

  9. Beryllium in the environment: a review.

    PubMed

    Taylor, Tammy P; Ding, Mei; Ehler, Deborah S; Foreman, Trudi M; Kaszuba, John P; Sauer, Nancy N

    2003-02-01

    Beryllium is an important industrial metal because of its unusual material properties: it is lighter than aluminum and six times stronger than steel. Often alloyed with other metals such as copper, beryllium is a key component of materials used in the aerospace and electronics industries. Beryllium has a small neutron cross-section, which makes it useful in the production of nuclear weapons and in sealed neutron sources. Unfortunately, beryllium is one of the most toxic elements in the periodic table. It is responsible for the often-fatal lung disease, Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD) or berylliosis, and is listed as a Class A EPA carcinogen. Coal-fired power plants, industrial manufacturing and nuclear weapons production and disposal operations have released beryllium to the environment. This contamination has the potential to expose workers and the public to beryllium. Despite the increasing use of beryllium in industry, there is surprisingly little published information about beryllium fate and transport in the environment. This information is crucial for the development of strategies that limit worker and public exposure. This review summarizes the current understanding of beryllium health hazards, current regulatory mandates, environmental chemistry, geochemistry and environmental contamination.

  10. Introduction to beryllium: uses, regulatory history, and disease.

    PubMed

    Kolanz, M E

    2001-05-01

    Beryllium is an ubiquitous element in the environment, and it has many commercial applications. Because of its strength, electrical and thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, and nuclear properties, beryllium products are used in the aerospace, automotive, energy, medical, and electronics industries. What eventually came to be known as chronic beryllium disease (CBD) was first identified in the 1940s, when a cluster of cases was observed in workers from the fluorescent light industry. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission recommended the first 8-hour occupational exposure limit (OEL) for beryllium of 2.0 microg/m3 in 1949, which was later reviewed and accepted by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the vast majority of countries and standard-setting bodies worldwide. The 2.0 microg/m3 standard has been in use by the beryllium industry for more than 50 years and has been considered adequate to protect workers against clinical CBD. Recently, improved diagnostic techniques, including immunological testing and safer bronchoscopy, have enhanced our ability to identify subclinical CBD cases that would have formerly remained unidentified. Some recent epidemiological studies have suggested that some workers may develop CBD at exposures less than 2.0 microg/m3. ACGIH is currently reevaluating the adequacy of the current 2.0 microg/m3 guideline, and a plethora of research initiatives are under way to provide a better understanding of the cause of CBD. The research is focusing on the risk factors and exposure metrics that could be associated with CBD, as well as on efforts to better characterize the natural history of CBD. There is growing evidence that particle size and chemical form may be important factors that influence the risk of developing CBD. These research efforts are

  11. 20 CFR 30.207 - How does a claimant prove a diagnosis of a beryllium disease covered under Part B?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... beryllium disease covered under Part B? 30.207 Section 30.207 Employees' Benefits OFFICE OF WORKERS... disease covered under Part B? (a) Written medical documentation is required in all cases to prove that the... lavage cells. (c) Chronic beryllium disease is established in the following manner: (1) For diagnoses on...

  12. 20 CFR 30.207 - How does a claimant prove a diagnosis of a beryllium disease covered under Part B?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... beryllium disease covered under Part B? 30.207 Section 30.207 Employees' Benefits OFFICE OF WORKERS... disease covered under Part B? (a) Written medical documentation is required in all cases to prove that the... lavage cells. (c) Chronic beryllium disease is established in the following manner: (1) For diagnoses on...

  13. 20 CFR 30.207 - How does a claimant prove a diagnosis of a beryllium disease covered under Part B?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... beryllium disease covered under Part B? 30.207 Section 30.207 Employees' Benefits OFFICE OF WORKERS... disease covered under Part B? (a) Written medical documentation is required in all cases to prove that the... lavage cells. (c) Chronic beryllium disease is established in the following manner: (1) For diagnoses on...

  14. 20 CFR 30.207 - How does a claimant prove a diagnosis of a beryllium disease covered under Part B?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... beryllium disease covered under Part B? 30.207 Section 30.207 Employees' Benefits OFFICE OF WORKERS... disease covered under Part B? (a) Written medical documentation is required in all cases to prove that the... lavage cells. (c) Chronic beryllium disease is established in the following manner: (1) For diagnoses on...

  15. 20 CFR 30.207 - How does a claimant prove a diagnosis of a beryllium disease covered under Part B?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... beryllium disease covered under Part B? 30.207 Section 30.207 Employees' Benefits OFFICE OF WORKERS... disease covered under Part B? (a) Written medical documentation is required in all cases to prove that the... lavage cells. (c) Chronic beryllium disease is established in the following manner: (1) For diagnoses on...

  16. Beryllium contamination inside vehicles of machine shop workers

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sanderson, W.T.; Henneberger, P.K.; Martyny, J.

    1999-04-01

    Inhalation of beryllium particles causes a chronic, debilitating lung disease--chronic beryllium disease (CBD)--in immunologically sensitized workers. Evidence that very low concentrations of beryllium may initiate this chronic disease is provided by incidences of the illness in family members exposed to beryllium dust from workers` clothes and residents in neighborhoods surrounding beryllium refineries. This article describes the results of a cross-sectional survey to evaluate potential take-home beryllium exposures by measuring surface concentrations on the hands and in vehicles of workers at a precision machine shop where cases of CBD had recently been diagnosed. Many workers did not change out of theirmore » work clothes and shoes at the end of their shift, increasing the risk of taking beryllium home to their families. Wipe samples collected from workers` hands and vehicle surfaces were analyzed for beryllium content by inductively coupled argon plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The results ranged widely, from nondetectable to 40 {micro}g/ft{sup 2} on workers` hands and up to 714 {micro}g/fg{sup 2} inside their vehicles, demonstrating that many workers carried residual beryllium on their hands and contaminated the inside of their vehicles when leaving work. The highest beryllium concentrations inside the workers` vehicles were found on the drivers` floor (GM = 19 {micro}g/ft{sup 2}, GSD = 4.9), indicating that workers were carrying beryllium on their shoes into their vehicles. A safe level of beryllium contamination on surfaces is not known, but it is prudent to reduce the potential for workers to carry beryllium away from the work site.« less

  17. Prevalence of beryllium sensitization among aluminium smelter workers

    PubMed Central

    Slade, M. D.; Cantley, L. F.; Kirsche, S. R.; Wesdock, J. C.; Cullen, M. R.

    2010-01-01

    Background Beryllium exposure occurs in aluminium smelters from natural contamination of bauxite, the principal source of aluminium. Aims To characterize beryllium exposure in aluminium smelters and determine the prevalence rate of beryllium sensitization (BeS) among aluminium smelter workers. Methods A population of 3185 workers from nine aluminium smelters owned by four different aluminium-producing companies were determined to have significant beryllium exposure. Of these, 1932 workers participated in medical surveillance programmes that included the serum beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT), confirmation of sensitization by at least two abnormal BeLPT test results and further evaluation for chronic beryllium disease in workers with BeS. Results Personal beryllium samples obtained from the nine aluminium smelters showed a range of <0.01–13.00 μg/m3 time-weighted average with an arithmetic mean of 0.25 μg/m3 and geometric mean of 0.06 μg/m3. Nine workers were diagnosed with BeS (prevalence rate of 0.47%, 95% confidence interval = 0.21–0.88%). Conclusions BeS can occur in aluminium smelter workers through natural beryllium contamination of the bauxite and further concentration during the refining and smelting processes. Exposure levels to beryllium observed in aluminium smelters are similar to those seen in other industries that utilize beryllium. However, compared with beryllium-exposed workers in other industries, the rate of BeS among aluminium smelter workers appears lower. This lower observed rate may be related to a more soluble form of beryllium found in the aluminium smelting work environment as well as the consistent use of respiratory protection. PMID:20610489

  18. A mortality study of workers exposed to insoluble forms of beryllium

    PubMed Central

    Boffetta, Paolo; Fordyce, Tiffani

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated lung cancer and other diseases related to insoluble beryllium compounds. A cohort of 4950 workers from four US insoluble beryllium manufacturing facilities were followed through 2009. Expected deaths were calculated using local and national rates. On the basis of local rates, all-cause mortality was significantly reduced. Mortality from lung cancer (standardized mortality ratio 96.0; 95% confidence interval 80.0, 114.3) and from nonmalignant respiratory diseases was also reduced. There were no significant trends for either cause of death according to duration of employment or time since first employment. Uterine cancer among women was the only cause of death with a significantly increased standardized mortality ratio. Five of the seven women worked in office jobs. This study confirmed the lack of an increase in mortality from lung cancer and nonmalignant respiratory diseases related to insoluble beryllium compounds. PMID:24589746

  19. Beryllium fluoride film protects beryllium against corrosion

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    O donnell, P. M.; Odonnell, P. M.

    1967-01-01

    Film of beryllium fluoride protects beryllium against corrosion and stress corrosion cracking in water containing chloride ion concentrations. The film is formed by exposing the beryllium to fluorine gas at 535 degrees C or higher and makes beryllium suitable for space applications.

  20. 10 CFR 850.33 - Beryllium emergencies.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... Beryllium emergencies. (a) The responsible employer must comply with 29 CFR 1910.120(l) for handling beryllium emergencies related to decontamination and decommissioning operations. (b) The responsible employer must comply with 29 CFR 1910.120(q) for handling beryllium emergencies related to all other...

  1. Beryllium Manufacturing Processes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Goldberg, A

    2006-06-30

    . by 61 cm high), may be cut or machined into parts or be thermomechanically processed to develop the desired microstructure, properties, and shapes. Vacuum hot-isostatic pressing and cold-isostatic pressing (CIP) followed by sintering and possibly by a final HIP'ing (CIP/Sinter/HIP) are important in their use for the production of near net-shaped parts. For the same starting powder, a HIP'ed product will have less anisotropy than that obtained for a VHP'ed product. A schematic presentation illustrating the difference between VHP'ing and HIP'ing is shown in Figure I-1. The types of powders and the various beryllium grades produced from the consolidated powders and their ambient-temperature mechanical properties were presented in the consolidation report referred to above. Elevated-temperature properties and the effect of processing variables on mechanical properties are described in the mechanical properties report. Beryllium can also be deposited as coatings as well as freestanding forms. The microstructure, properties, and various methods used that are related to the deposition of beryllium are discussed in the report on beryllium coatings.« less

  2. Sampling and Analysis Issues Relating to the ACGIH Notice of Intended Change for the Beryllium Threshold Limit Value

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Brisson, Michael J.; Ashley, Kevin

    2005-08-16

    Beryllium in various forms is widely used throughout the world in ceramics, aerospace and military applications, electronics, and sports equipment. Workplace exposure to beryllium is a growing industrial hygiene concern due to the potential for development of chronic beryllium disease (CBD), a lung condition with no known cure, in a small percentage of those exposed. There are workplace exposure limits for beryllium that have been in place for several decades. However, recent studies suggest that the current American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Value (TLV) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)more » may not be sufficiently protective for workers who are potentially exposed to airborne beryllium. Early in 2005, ACGIH issued a Notice of Intended Change (NIC) to the current TLV for beryllium which entails a 100-fold reduction (from 2 to 0.02 micrograms per cubic meter of sampled air). It is noted that ACGIH TLVs do not carry legal force in the manner that OSHA PELs or other federal regulations do. Nevertheless, OSHA plans a beryllium rulemaking in the near future, and a reduction in the PEL is anticipated. Also, if this change in the TLV for beryllium is adopted, it is reasonable to assume that at least some sampling and analysis activities will need to be modified to address airborne beryllium at the lower levels. There are implications to both the industrial hygiene and the laboratory communities, which are discussed.« less

  3. Illness Absences Among Beryllium Sensitized Workers

    PubMed Central

    Watkins, Janice P.; Ellis, Elizabeth D.; Girardi, David J.; Cragle, Donna L.

    2014-01-01

    Objectives. This study examined absence rates among US Department of Energy workers who had beryllium sensitization (BeS) or were diagnosed with chronic beryllium disease (CBD) compared with those of other workers. Methods. We used the lymphocyte proliferation test to determine beryllium sensitivity. In addition, we applied multivariable logistic regression to compare absences from 2002 to 2011 between workers with BeS or CBD to those without, and survival analysis to compare time to first absence by beryllium sensitization status. Finally, we examined beryllium status by occupational group. Results. Fewer than 3% of the 19 305 workers were BeS, and workers with BeS or CBD had more total absences (odds ratio [OR] = 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.18, 1.46) and respiratory absences (OR = 1.51; 95% CI = 1.24, 1.84) than did other workers. Time to first absence for all causes and for respiratory conditions occurred earlier for workers with BeS or CBD than for other workers. Line operators and crafts personnel were at increased risk for BeS or CBD. Conclusions. Although not considered “diseased,” workers with BeS have higher absenteeism compared with nonsensitized workers. PMID:25211750

  4. Extraction of beryllium from refractory beryllium oxide with dilute ammonium bifluoride and determination by fluorescence: a multiparameter performance evaluation.

    PubMed

    Goldcamp, Michael J; Goldcamp, Diane M; Ashley, Kevin; Fernback, Joseph E; Agrawal, Anoop; Millson, Mark; Marlow, David; Harrison, Kenneth

    2009-12-01

    Beryllium exposure can cause a number of deleterious health effects, including beryllium sensitization and the potentially fatal chronic beryllium disease. Efficient methods for monitoring beryllium contamination in workplaces are valuable to help prevent dangerous exposures to this element. In this work, performance data on the extraction of beryllium from various size fractions of high-fired beryllium oxide (BeO) particles (from < 32 microm up to 212 microm) using dilute aqueous ammonium bifluoride (ABF) solution were obtained under various conditions. Beryllium concentrations were determined by fluorescence using a hydroxybenzoquinoline fluorophore. The effects of ABF concentration and volume, extraction temperature, sample tube types, and presence of filter or wipe media were examined. Three percent ABF extracts beryllium nearly twice as quickly as 1% ABF; extraction solution volume has minimal influence. Elevated temperatures increase the rate of extraction dramatically compared with room temperature extraction. Sample tubes with constricted tips yield poor extraction rates owing to the inability of the extraction medium to access the undissolved particles. The relative rates of extraction of Be from BeO of varying particle sizes were examined. Beryllium from BeO particles in fractions ranging from less than 32 microm up to 212 microm were subjected to various extraction schemes. The smallest BeO particles are extracted more quickly than the largest particles, although at 90 degrees C even the largest BeO particles reach nearly quantitative extraction within 4 hr in 3% ABF. Extraction from mixed cellulosic-ester filters, cellulosic surface-sampling filters, wetted cellulosic dust wipes, and cotton gloves yielded 90% or greater recoveries. Scanning electron microscopy of BeO particles, including partially dissolved particles, shows that dissolution in dilute ABF occurs not just on the exterior surface but also via accessing particles' interiors due to porosity

  5. Occupational Exposure to Beryllium. Final rule.

    PubMed

    2017-01-09

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is amending its existing standards for occupational exposure to beryllium and beryllium compounds. OSHA has determined that employees exposed to beryllium at the previous permissible exposure limits face a significant risk of material impairment to their health. The evidence in the record for this rulemaking indicates that workers exposed to beryllium are at increased risk of developing chronic beryllium disease and lung cancer. This final rule establishes new permissible exposure limits of 0.2 micrograms of beryllium per cubic meter of air (0.2 [mu]g/m\\3\\) as an 8-hour time-weighted average and 2.0 [mu]g/m\\3\\ as a short-term exposure limit determined over a sampling period of 15 minutes. It also includes other provisions to protect employees, such as requirements for exposure assessment, methods for controlling exposure, respiratory protection, personal protective clothing and equipment, housekeeping, medical surveillance, hazard communication, and recordkeeping. OSHA is issuing three separate standards--for general industry, for shipyards, and for construction--in order to tailor requirements to the circumstances found in these sectors.

  6. Beryllium chemical speciation in elemental human biological fluids.

    PubMed

    Sutton, Mark; Burastero, Stephen R

    2003-09-01

    The understanding of beryllium chemistry in human body fluids is important for understanding the prevention and treatment of chronic beryllium disease. Thermodynamic modeling has traditionally been used to study environmental contaminant migration and rarely in the examination of metal (particularly beryllium) toxicology. In this work, a chemical thermodynamic speciation code (MINTEQA2) has been used to model and understand the chemistry of beryllium in simulated human biological fluids such as intracellular, interstitial, and plasma fluids, a number of airway surface fluids for patients with lung conditions, saliva, sweat, urine, bile, gastric juice, and pancreatic fluid. The results show that predicted beryllium solubility and speciation vary markedly between each simulated biological fluid. Formation of beryllium hydroxide and/or phosphate was observed in most of the modeled fluids, and results support the postulation that beryllium absorption in the gastrointestinal tract may be limited by the formation of beryllium phosphate solids. It is also postulated that beryllium is potentially 13% less soluble in the airway surface fluid of a patient with asthma when compared to a "normal" case. The results of this work, supported by experimental validation, can aid in the understanding of beryllium toxicology. Our results can potentially be applied to assessing the feasibility of biological monitoring or chelation treatment of beryllium body burden.

  7. Method for welding beryllium

    DOEpatents

    Dixon, Raymond D.; Smith, Frank M.; O'Leary, Richard F.

    1997-01-01

    A method is provided for joining beryllium pieces which comprises: depositing aluminum alloy on at least one beryllium surface; contacting that beryllium surface with at least one other beryllium surface; and welding the aluminum alloy coated beryllium surfaces together. The aluminum alloy may be deposited on the beryllium using gas metal arc welding. The aluminum alloy coated beryllium surfaces may be subjected to elevated temperatures and pressures to reduce porosity before welding the pieces together. The aluminum alloy coated beryllium surfaces may be machined into a desired welding joint configuration before welding. The beryllium may be an alloy of beryllium or a beryllium compound. The aluminum alloy may comprise aluminum and silicon.

  8. Method for welding beryllium

    DOEpatents

    Dixon, R.D.; Smith, F.M.; O`Leary, R.F.

    1997-04-01

    A method is provided for joining beryllium pieces which comprises: depositing aluminum alloy on at least one beryllium surface; contacting that beryllium surface with at least one other beryllium surface; and welding the aluminum alloy coated beryllium surfaces together. The aluminum alloy may be deposited on the beryllium using gas metal arc welding. The aluminum alloy coated beryllium surfaces may be subjected to elevated temperatures and pressures to reduce porosity before welding the pieces together. The aluminum alloy coated beryllium surfaces may be machined into a desired welding joint configuration before welding. The beryllium may be an alloy of beryllium or a beryllium compound. The aluminum alloy may comprise aluminum and silicon. 9 figs.

  9. Potential exposures and risks from beryllium-containing products.

    PubMed

    Willis, Henry H; Florig, H Keith

    2002-10-01

    Beryllium is the strongest of the lightweight metals. Used primarily in military applications prior to the end of the Cold War, beryllium is finding new applications in many commercial products, including computers, telecommunication equipment, and consumer and automotive electronics. The use of beryllium in nondefense consumer applications is of concern because beryllium is toxic. Inhalation of beryllium dust or vapor causes a chronic lung disease in some individuals at concentrations as low as 0.01 microg/m3 in air. As beryllium enters wider commerce, it is prudent to ask what risks this might present to the general public and to workers downstream of the beryllium materials industry. We address this question by evaluating the potential for beryllium exposure from the manufacturing, use, recycle, and disposal of beryllium-containing products. Combining a market study with a qualitative exposure analysis, we determine which beryllium applications and life cycle phases have the largest exposure potential. Our analysis suggests that use and maintenance of the most common types of beryllium-containing products do not result in any obvious exposures of concern, and that maintenance activities result in greater exposures than product use. Product disposal has potential to present significant individual risks, but uncertainties concerning current and future routes of product disposal make it difficult to be definitive. Overall, additional exposure and dose-response data are needed to evaluate both the health significance of many exposure scenarios, and the adequacy of existing regulations to protect workers and the public. Although public exposures to beryllium and public awareness and concern regarding beryllium risks are currently low, beryllium risks have psychometric qualities that may lead to rapidly heightened public concern.

  10. Beryllium Laboratory Analysis--The Regulations May Drive the Science

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Taruru, Seuri K

    Beryllium has many industry-specific applications, such as medical X-ray windows for diagnostic equipment, nuclear reactors, aerospace applications, precision instrumentation, and other consumer products for which lightness and rigidity is essential. According to the National Toxicology Program, beryllium oxide (BeO) is one of the most significant beryllium compounds in production. Although beryllium and its compounds have a wide array of beneficial uses, due to its unique properties it is not an ideal metal to be used in all situations. Exposure to beryllium is linked to beryllium sensitization and Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD), which is incurable, debilitating, and potentially fatal. The Internationalmore » Agency for Research on Cancer classifies beryllium and beryllium compounds as “carcinogenic to humans” (Group I), and EPA classifies beryllium as a likely human carcinogen, the lung being the primary target organ. Laboratory analysis for beryllium samples has always presented a challenge to the analytical community. While most metals of interest to industrial hygienists have occupational exposure limits (OELs) in milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m 3), the beryllium OELs are in micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3). Some regulatory agencies have recently published beryllium OELs so low that in some cases a laboratory limit of detection (LOD) in nanograms (ng) is required. For most substances, science drives the regulations, but for beryllium, regulations appear to be driving science to develop laboratory analytical methods that can adequately support the proposed OELs. (EPA has issued guidelines regarding ambient and community airborne beryllium exposure, but this article focuses on beryllium from an occupational exposure perspective.)« less

  11. Beryllium Laboratory Analysis--The Regulations May Drive the Science

    DOE PAGES

    Taruru, Seuri K

    2017-08-01

    Beryllium has many industry-specific applications, such as medical X-ray windows for diagnostic equipment, nuclear reactors, aerospace applications, precision instrumentation, and other consumer products for which lightness and rigidity is essential. According to the National Toxicology Program, beryllium oxide (BeO) is one of the most significant beryllium compounds in production. Although beryllium and its compounds have a wide array of beneficial uses, due to its unique properties it is not an ideal metal to be used in all situations. Exposure to beryllium is linked to beryllium sensitization and Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD), which is incurable, debilitating, and potentially fatal. The Internationalmore » Agency for Research on Cancer classifies beryllium and beryllium compounds as “carcinogenic to humans” (Group I), and EPA classifies beryllium as a likely human carcinogen, the lung being the primary target organ. Laboratory analysis for beryllium samples has always presented a challenge to the analytical community. While most metals of interest to industrial hygienists have occupational exposure limits (OELs) in milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m 3), the beryllium OELs are in micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3). Some regulatory agencies have recently published beryllium OELs so low that in some cases a laboratory limit of detection (LOD) in nanograms (ng) is required. For most substances, science drives the regulations, but for beryllium, regulations appear to be driving science to develop laboratory analytical methods that can adequately support the proposed OELs. (EPA has issued guidelines regarding ambient and community airborne beryllium exposure, but this article focuses on beryllium from an occupational exposure perspective.)« less

  12. Validation of cleaning method for various parts fabricated at a Beryllium facility

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Davis, Cynthia M.

    This study evaluated and documented a cleaning process that is used to clean parts that are fabricated at a beryllium facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The purpose of evaluating this cleaning process was to validate and approve it for future use to assure beryllium surface levels are below the Department of Energy’s release limits without the need to sample all parts leaving the facility. Inhaling or coming in contact with beryllium can cause an immune response that can result in an individual becoming sensitized to beryllium, which can then lead to a disease of the lungs called chronic berylliummore » disease, and possibly lung cancer. Thirty aluminum and thirty stainless steel parts were fabricated on a lathe in the beryllium facility, as well as thirty-two beryllium parts, for the purpose of testing a parts cleaning method that involved the use of ultrasonic cleaners. A cleaning method was created, documented, validated, and approved, to reduce beryllium contamination.« less

  13. Beryllium for fusion application - recent results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khomutov, A.; Barabash, V.; Chakin, V.; Chernov, V.; Davydov, D.; Gorokhov, V.; Kawamura, H.; Kolbasov, B.; Kupriyanov, I.; Longhurst, G.; Scaffidi-Argentina, F.; Shestakov, V.

    2002-12-01

    The main issues for the application of beryllium in fusion reactors are analyzed taking into account the latest results since the ICFRM-9 (Colorado, USA, October 1999) and presented at 5th IEA Be Workshop (10-12 October 2001, Moscow Russia). Considerable progress has been made recently in understanding the problems connected with the selection of the beryllium grades for different applications, characterization of the beryllium at relevant operational conditions (irradiation effects, thermal fatigue, etc.), and development of required manufacturing technologies. The key remaining problems related to the application of beryllium as an armour in near-term fusion reactors (e.g. ITER) are discussed. The features of the application of beryllium and beryllides as a neutron multiplier in the breeder blanket for power reactors (e.g. DEMO) in pebble-bed form are described.

  14. Beryllium

    Cancer.gov

    Learn about beryllium, exposure to which can increase your risk of lung cancer. Beryllium is a naturally occurring, light-weight metal used in products such as aerospace components, transistors, nuclear reactors, and golf clubs. Most exposures occur to workers who produce such products.

  15. Some Properties of Beryllium Oxide and Beryllium Oxide - Columbium Ceramals

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Robards, C F; Gangler, J J

    1951-01-01

    High-temperature tensile and thermal-shock investigations were conducted on beryllium oxide and beryllium oxide plus columbium metal additions. X-ray diffraction and metallographic results are given. The tensile strength of 6150 pounds per square inch for beryllium oxide at 1800 degrees F compared favorably with the zirconia bodies previously tested. Additions of 2, 5, 8, 10, 12, and 15 percent by weight of columbium metal failed to improve the shock resistance over that of pure beryllium oxide.

  16. Containerless processing of beryllium

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wouch, G.; Keith, G. H.; Frost, R. T.; Pinto, N. P.

    1977-01-01

    Melting and solidification of a beryllium alloy containing 1.5% BeO by weight in the weightless environment of space has produced cast beryllium with a relatively uniform dispersion of BeO throughout. Examination of the cast material shows that it is coarse grained, although the BeO is not heavily agglomerated in the flight specimen. Ground based comparison experiments show extreme agglomeration and segregation of BeO, resulting in large zones which are practically free of the oxide. Several postulated hypotheses for the failure to grain refine the beryllium are formulated. These are: (1) spherodization of the BeO particles during specimen preparation and during the molten phase of the experiment; (2) loss of nucleation potency through aging in the molten phase; and (3) inability of BeO to act as a grain refiner for beryllium. Further investigation with non spherodized particles and shorter dwell times molten may delineate which of these hypotheses are valid. The results of this flight experiment indicate that the weightless environment of space is an important asset in conducting research to find grain refiners for beryllium and other metals for which cast dispersions of grain refining agents cannot be prepared terrestrially due to gravitationally driven settling and agglomeration.

  17. The Cryogenic Properties of Several Aluminum-Beryllium Alloys and a Beryllium Oxide Material

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gamwell, Wayne R.; McGill, Preston B.

    2003-01-01

    Performance related mechanical properties for two aluminum-beryllium (Al-Be) alloys and one beryllium-oxide (BeO) material were developed at cryogenic temperatures. Basic mechanical properties (Le., ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, percent elongation, and elastic modulus were obtained for the aluminum-beryllium alloy, AlBeMetl62 at cryogenic [-195.5"C (-320 F) and -252.8"C (-423"F)I temperatures. Basic mechanical properties for the Be0 material were obtained at cyrogenic [- 252.8"C (-423"F)] temperatures. Fracture properties were obtained for the investment cast alloy Beralcast 363 at cryogenic [-252.8"C (-423"F)] temperatures. The AlBeMetl62 material was extruded, the Be0 material was hot isostatic pressing (HIP) consolidated, and the Beralcast 363 material was investment cast.

  18. Modeling Airborne Beryllium Concentrations From Open Air Dynamic Testing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Becker, N. M.

    2003-12-01

    A heightened awareness of airborne beryllium contamination from industrial activities was reestablished during the late 1980's and early 1990's when it became recognized that Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD) had not been eradicated, and that the Occupational Health and Safety Administration standards for occupational air exposure to beryllium may not be sufficiently protective. This was in response to the observed CBD increase in multiple industrial settings where beryllium was manufactured and/or machined, thus producing beryllium particulates which are then available for redistribution by airborne transport. Sampling and modeling design activities were expanded at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to evaluate potential airborne beryllium exposure to workers who might be exposed during dynamic testing activities associated with nuclear weapons Stockpile Stewardship. Herein is presented the results of multiple types of collected air measurements that were designed to characterize the production and dispersion of beryllium used in components whose performance is evaluated during high explosive detonation at open air firing sites. Data from fallout, high volume air, medium volume air, adhesive film, particle size impactor, and fine-particulate counting techniques will be presented, integrated, and applied in dispersion modeling to assess potential onsite and offsite personal exposures resulting from dynamic testing activities involving beryllium.

  19. Beryllium particle combustion

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Prentice, J. L.

    1972-01-01

    A two-year study of the combustion efficiency of single beryllium droplets burning in a variety of oxidizers (primarily mixtures of oxygen/argon and oxygen/nitrogen) is summarized. An advanced laser heating technique was used to acquire systematic quantitative data on the burning of single beryllium droplets at atmospheric pressure. The research confirmed the sensitivity of beryllium droplet combustion to the chemistry of environmental species and provides experimental documentation for the nitrogen-induced droplet fragmentation of burning beryllium droplets.

  20. A study of beryllium and beryllium-lithium complexes in single crystal silicon

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Crouch, R. K.; Robertson, J. B.; Gilmer, T. E., Jr.

    1972-01-01

    When beryllium is thermally diffused into silicon, it gives rise to acceptor levels 191 MeV and 145 meV above the valence band. Quenching and annealing studies indicate that the 145-MeV level is due to a more complex beryllium configuration than the 191-MeV level. When lithium is thermally diffused into a beryllium-doped silicon sample, it produces two acceptor levels at 106 MeV and 81 MeV. Quenching and annealing studies indicate that these levels are due to lithium forming a complex with the defects responsible for the 191-MeV and 145-MeV beryllium levels, respectively. Electrical measurements imply that the lithium impurity ions are physically close to the beryllium impurity atoms. The ground state of the 106-MeV beryllium level is split into two levels, presumably by internal strains. Tentative models are proposed.

  1. Development of beryllium honeycomb sandwich composite for structural and other related applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Vogan, J. W.; Grant, L. A.

    1972-01-01

    The feasibility of fabricating large beryllium honeycomb panels was demonstrated. Both flat and curved sandwich structures were manufactured using practical, braze bonding techniques. The processes developed prove that metallurgically assembled beryllium honeycomb panels show decided potential where rigid, lightweight structures are required. Three panels, each 10 square feet in surface area, were fabricated, and radiographically inspected to determine integrity. This examination revealed a 97 percent braze in the final panel. It is believed that ceramic dies for forming and brazing would facilitate the fabrication techniques for higher production rates. Ceramic dies would yield a lower thermal gradient in the panel during the braze cycle. This would eliminate the small amount of face sheet wrinkling present in the panels. Hot forming the various panel components demonstrated efficient manufacturing techniques for scaling up and producing large numbers of hot formed beryllium components and panels. The beryllium honeycomb panel demonstrated very good vibrational loading characteristics under test with desirable damping characteristics.

  2. Beryllium--important for national defense

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Boland, M.A.

    2012-01-01

    Beryllium is one of the lightest and stiffest metals, but there was little industrial demand for it until the 1930s and 1940s when the aerospace, defense, and nuclear sectors began using beryllium and its compounds. Beryllium is now classified by the U.S. Department of Defense as a strategic and critical material because it is used in products that are vital to national security. The oxide form of beryllium was identified in 1797, and scientists first isolated metallic beryllium in 1828. The United States is the world's leading source of beryllium. A single mine at Spor Mountain, Utah, produced more than 85 percent of the beryllium mined worldwide in 2010. China produced most of the remainder, and less than 2 percent came from Mozambique and other countries. National stockpiles also provide significant amounts of beryllium for processing. To help predict where future beryllium supplies might be located, U.S.Geological Survey (USGS) scientists study how and where beryllium resources are concentrated in Earth's crust and use that knowledge to assess the likelihood that undiscovered beryllium resources may exist. Techniques to assess mineral resources have been developed by the USGS to support the stewardship of Federal lands and to better evaluate mineral resource availability in a global context. The USGS also compiles statistics and information on the worldwide supply of, demand for, and flow of beryllium. These data are used to inform U.S. national policymaking.

  3. Cryogenic Properties of Aluminum Beryllium and Beryllium Materials

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gamwell, Wayne R.; McGill, Preston B.

    2003-01-01

    Ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation were obtained for the aluminum-beryllium alloy, AlBeMetl62 (38%Al-62%Be), at cryogenic (-195.5 C (-320 F) and (-252.8 C) (-423 F)) temperatures, and for an optical grade beryllium, O-30H (99%Be), at -252.8 C. AlBeMetl62 material was purchased to the requirements of SAE-AMS7912, "Aluminum-Beryllium Alloy, Extrusions." O-30H material was purchased to the requirements of Brush Wellman Inc. specification O-30H Optical Grade Beryllium. The ultimate tensile and yield strengths for extruded AlBeMetl62 material increased with decreasing temperature, and the percent elongation decreased with decreasing temperature. Design properties for the ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, and percent elongation for extruded AlBeMetl62 were generated. It was not possible to distinguish a difference in the room and cryogenic ultimate strength for the hot isostatically pressed (HIP'ed) O-30H material. The O30H elongation decreased with decreasing temperature.

  4. Low Prevalence of Chronic Beryllium Disease Among Workers at aNuclearWeaponsResearchandDevelopmentFacility

    PubMed Central

    Arjomandi, Mehrdad; Seward, James; Gotway, Michael B.; Nishimura, Stephen; Fulton, George P.; Thundiyil, Josef; King, Talmadge E.; Harber, Philip; Balmes, John R.

    2012-01-01

    Objective To study the prevalence of beryllium sensitization (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) in a cohort of workers from a nuclear weapons research and development facility. Methods We evaluated 50 workers with BeS with medical and occupational histories, physical examination, chest imaging with high-resolution computed tomography (N = 49), and pulmonary function testing. Forty of these workers also underwent bronchoscopy for bronchoalveolar lavage and transbronchial biopsies. Results The mean duration of employment at the facility was 18 years and the mean latency (from first possible exposure) to time of evaluation was 32 years. Five of the workers had CBD at the time of evaluation (based on histology or high-resolution computed tomography); three others had evidence of probable CBD. Conclusions These workers with BeS, characterized by a long duration of potential Be exposure and a long latency, had a low prevalence of CBD. PMID:20523233

  5. Low Prevalence of Chronic Beryllium Disease among Workers at a Nuclear Weapons Research and Development Facility

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Arjomandi, M; Seward, J P; Gotway, M B

    2010-01-11

    To study the prevalence of beryllium sensitization (BeS) and chronic beryllium disease (CBD) in a cohort of workers from a nuclear weapons research and development facility. We evaluated 50 workers with BeS with medical and occupational histories, physical examination, chest imaging with HRCT (N=49), and pulmonary function testing. Forty of these workers also underwent bronchoscopy for bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and transbronchial biopsies. The mean duration of employment at the facility was 18 yrs and the mean latency (from first possible exposure) to time of evaluation was 32 yrs. Five of the workers had CBD at the time of evaluation (basedmore » on histology or HRCT); three others had evidence of probable CBD. These workers with BeS, characterized by a long duration of potential Be exposure and a long latency, had a low prevalence of CBD.« less

  6. Prevalence of beryllium sensitization among Department of Defense conventional munitions workers at low risk for exposure.

    PubMed

    Mikulski, Marek A; Sanderson, Wayne T; Leonard, Stephanie A; Lourens, Spencer; Field, R William; Sprince, Nancy L; Fuortes, Laurence J

    2011-03-01

    To estimate the prevalence of beryllium sensitization among former and current Department of Defense workers from a conventional munitions facility. Participants were screened by using Beryllium Lymphocyte Proliferation Test. Those sensitized were offered clinical evaluation for chronic beryllium disease. Eight (1.5%) of 524 screened workers were found sensitized to beryllium. Although the confidence interval was wide, the results suggested a possibly higher risk of sensitization among workers exposed to beryllium by occasional resurfacing of copper-2% beryllium alloy tools compared with workers with the lowest potential exposure (odds ratio = 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 0.23-29.9). The findings from this study suggest that Department of Defense workers with low overall exposure to beryllium had a low prevalence of beryllium sensitization. Sensitization rates might be higher where higher beryllium exposures presumably occurred, although this study lacked sufficient power to confirm this.

  7. 5. VIEW OF BERYLLIUM PROCESSING AREA, ROLLING MILL. BERYLLIUM FORMING ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    5. VIEW OF BERYLLIUM PROCESSING AREA, ROLLING MILL. BERYLLIUM FORMING BEGAN IN SIDE A OF THE BUILDING IN 1962. (11/5/73) - Rocky Flats Plant, Uranium Rolling & Forming Operations, Southeast section of plant, southeast quadrant of intersection of Central Avenue & Eighth Street, Golden, Jefferson County, CO

  8. Beryllium R&D for blanket application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Donne, M. Dalle; Longhurst, G. R.; Kawamura, H.; Scaffidi-Argentina, F.

    1998-10-01

    The paper describes the main problems and the R&D for the beryllium to be used as neutron multiplier in blankets. As the four ITER partners propose to use beryllium in the form of pebbles for their DEMO relevant blankets (only the Russians consider the porous beryllium option as an alternative) and the ITER breeding blanket will use beryllium pebbles as well, the paper is mainly based on beryllium pebbles. Also the work on the chemical reactivity of fully dense and porous beryllium in contact with water steam is described, due to the safety importance of this point.

  9. Proteomic analysis of beryllium-induced genotoxicity in an Escherichia coli mutant model system.

    PubMed

    Taylor-McCabe, Kirsten J; Wang, Zaolin; Sauer, Nancy N; Marrone, Babetta L

    2006-03-01

    Beryllium is the second lightest metal, has a high melting point and high strength-to-weight ratio, and is chemically stable. These unique chemical characteristics make beryllium metal an ideal choice as a component material for a wide variety of applications in aerospace, defense, nuclear weapons, and industry. However, inhalation of beryllium dust or fumes induces significant health effects, including chronic beryllium disease and lung cancer. In this study, the mutagenicity of beryllium sulfate (BeSO(4)) and the comutagenicity of beryllium with a known mutagen 1-methyl-3-nitro-1-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) were evaluated using a forward mutant detection system developed in Escherichia coli. In this system, BeSO(4) was shown to be weakly mutagenic alone and significantly enhanced the mutagenicity of MNNG up to 3.5-fold over MNNG alone. Based on these results a proteomic study was conducted to identify the proteins regulated by BeSO(4). Using the techniques of 2-DE and oMALDI-TOF MS, we successfully identified 32 proteins being differentially regulated by beryllium and/or MNNG in the E. coli test system. This is the first study to describe the proteins regulated by beryllium in vitro, and the results suggest several potential pathways for the focus of further research into the mechanisms underlying beryllium-induced genotoxicity.

  10. Beryllium Metal Supply Options

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1989-01-01

    vacuum evaporator treatment to form ABF crystals, which are separated in a horizontal bowl centrifuge and dried. Formation of Beryllium Fluoride The...addition, the high viscosity of the slag may cause poor pebble formation and yield. Thus, the following programs to improve efficiency have been suggested...and avoiding the formation of beryllium fines, which are difficult to recover. The production of a readily manageable beryllium sponge is desired, which

  11. Hanford Site Beryllium Program: Past, Present, and Future - 12428

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Fisher, Mark; Garcia, Pete; Goeckner, Julie

    2012-07-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has a long history of beryllium use because of the element's broad application to many nuclear operations and processes. At the Hanford Site beryllium alloy was used to fabricate parts for reactors, including fuel rods for the N-Reactor during plutonium production. Because of continued confirmed cases of chronic beryllium disease (CBD), and data suggesting CBD occurs at exposures to low-level concentrations, the DOE decided to issue a rule to further protect federal and contractor workers from hazards associated with exposure to beryllium. When the beryllium rule was issued in 1999, each of the Hanfordmore » Site contractors developed a Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program (CBDPP) and initial site wide beryllium inventories. A new site-wide CBDPP, applicable to all Hanford contractors, was issued in May, 2009. In the spring of 2010 the DOE Headquarters Office of Health, Safety, and Security (HSS) conducted an independent inspection to evaluate the status of implementation of the Hanford Site Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program (CBDPP). The report identified four Findings and 12 cross-cutting Opportunities for Improvement (OFIs). A corrective action plan (CAP) was developed to address the Findings and crosscutting OFIs. The DOE directed affected site contractors to identify dedicated resources to participate in development of the CAP, along with involving stakeholders. The CAP included general and contractor-specific recommendations. Following initiation of actions to implement the approved CAP, it became apparent that additional definition of product deliverables was necessary to assure that expectations were adequately addressed and CAP actions could be closed. Consequently, a supplement to the original CAP was prepared and transmitted to DOE-HQ for approval. Development of the supplemental CAP was an eight month effort. From the onset a core group of CAP development members were identified to develop a

  12. The beryllium "double standard" standard.

    PubMed

    Egilman, David S; Bagley, Sarah; Biklen, Molly; Golub, Alison Stern; Bohme, Susanna Rankin

    2003-01-01

    Brush Wellman, the world's leading producer and supplier of beryllium products, has systematically hidden cases of beryllium disease that occurred below the threshold limit value (TLV) and lied about the efficacy of the TLV in published papers, lectures, reports to government agencies, and instructional materials prepared for customers and workers. Hypocritically, Brush Wellman instituted a zero exposure standard for corporate executives while workers and customers were told the 2 microgram standard was "safe." Brush intentionally used its workers as "canaries for the plant," and referred to them as such. Internal documents and corporate depositions indicate that these actions were intentional and that the motive was money. Despite knowledge of the inadequacy of the TLV, Brush has successfully used it as a defense against lawsuits brought by injured workers and as a sales device to provide reassurance to customers. Brush's policy has reaped an untold number of victims and resulted in mass distribution of beryllium in consumer products. Such corporate malfeasance is perpetuated by the current market system, which is controlled by an organized oligopoly that creates an incentive for the neglect of worker health and safety in favor of externalizing costs to victimized workers, their families, and society at large.

  13. Thermal shock induced oxidation of beryllium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spilker, B.; Linke, J.; Pintsuk, G.; Wirtz, M.

    2017-12-01

    Beryllium has been chosen as a plasma facing material for the first wall of the experimental fusion reactor ITER, mainly because of its low atomic number and oxygen getter capabilities, which are favorable for a high plasma performance. While the steady state operational temperature of 250 °C has no deteriorating effect on the beryllium surface, transient plasma events can deposit power densities of up to 1 GW m-2 on the beryllium armor tiles. Previous research has shown that the oxidation of beryllium can occur under these thermal shock events. In the present study, S-65 grade beryllium specimens were exposed to 100 thermal shocks with an absorbed power density of 0.6 GW m-2 and a pulse duration of 1 ms, leading to a peak surface temperature of ˜800 °C. The induced surface morphology changes were compared to a steady state heated specimen at the same surface temperature with a holding time of 150 s. As a result, a pitting structure with an average pit diameter of ˜0.45 μm was observed on the thermal shock loaded surface, which was caused by beryllium oxide grain nucleation and subsequent erosion of the weakly bound beryllium oxide particles. In contrast, the steady state heated surface exhibited a more homogeneous beryllium oxide layer featuring small pits with diameters of tens of nm and showed the beryllium oxide grain nucleation in a beginning stage. The experiment demonstrated that thermal shock loading conditions can significantly accelerate the beryllium oxide grain nucleation. The resulting surface morphology change can potentially alter the fusion application relevant erosion, absorption, and retention characteristics of beryllium.

  14. Method for fabricating beryllium structures

    DOEpatents

    Hovis, Jr., Victor M.; Northcutt, Jr., Walter G.

    1977-01-01

    Thin-walled beryllium structures are prepared by plasma spraying a mixture of beryllium powder and about 2500 to 4000 ppm silicon powder onto a suitable substrate, removing the plasma-sprayed body from the substrate and placing it in a sizing die having a coefficient of thermal expansion similar to that of the beryllium, exposing the plasma-sprayed body to a moist atmosphere, outgassing the plasma-sprayed body, and then sintering the plasma-sprayed body in an inert atmosphere to form a dense, low-porosity beryllium structure of the desired thin-wall configuration. The addition of the silicon and the exposure of the plasma-sprayed body to the moist atmosphere greatly facilitate the preparation of the beryllium structure while minimizing the heretofore deleterious problems due to grain growth and grain orientation.

  15. REACTIONS OF BERYLLIUM IN OXIDIZING ENVIRONMENTS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Snyder, P.E.; Boes, D.J.

    1964-05-01

    To evaluate the potential health hazard of beryllium under certain circumstances, a study was made of the interaction of metallic beryllium with oxidizing environments. This study consisted of two parts. Beryllium was subjected to the action of hydrocarbon/hydrogen/oxygen flames at temperatures below and above the melting point. A determination was made of the amount of contamination by the oxide of the downstream flue gases. The experiments indicated that the oxidation rates and the contamination are relatively low below the melting point of beryllium (1283 deg C). Above this temperature, however, it was found that the molten metal burned rapidly whenmore » unprotected by an oxide layer. This caused a sharp increase in both rate of oxidation and in downstream contamination. The behavior of beryllium when surrounded by water substance was investigated. The experimental work was divided into two phases involving reaction in liquid water and in steam. In general, it was found that the oxide layer formed was at first tightly adherent and later became thick and porous. The time between these two conditions depended on temperature, decreasing sharply as the melting point was approached. Upon melting, the oxide layer tended to act as a crucible containing the liquid metal. Under suitable conditions, the liquid would break out of its cage and oxidize very rapidly. When this occurred, the surrounding steam was slightly contaminated with the oxide. (auth)« less

  16. Release of beryllium from mineral ores in artificial lung and skin surface fluids.

    PubMed

    Duling, Matthew G; Stefaniak, Aleksandr B; Lawrence, Robert B; Chipera, Steve J; Virji, M Abbas

    2012-06-01

    Exposure to some manufactured beryllium compounds via skin contact or inhalation can cause sensitization. A portion of sensitized persons who inhale beryllium may develop chronic beryllium disease (CBD). Little is understood about exposures to naturally occurring beryllium minerals. The purpose of this study was to assess the bioaccessibility of beryllium from bertrandite ore. Dissolution of bertrandite from two mine pits (Monitor and Blue Chalk) was evaluated for both the dermal and inhalation exposure pathways by determining bioaccessibility in artificial sweat (pH 5.3 and pH 6.5), airway lining fluid (SUF, pH 7.3), and alveolar macrophage phagolysosomal fluid (PSF, pH 4.5). Significantly more beryllium was released from Monitor pit ore than Blue Chalk pit ore in artificial sweat buffered to pH 5.3 (0.88 ± 0.01% vs. 0.36 ± 0.00%) and pH 6.5 (0.09 ± 0.00% vs. 0.03 ± 0.01%). Rates of beryllium released from the ores in artificial sweat were faster than previously measured for manufactured forms of beryllium (e.g., beryllium oxide), known to induce sensitization in mice. In SUF, levels of beryllium were below the analytical limit of detection. In PSF, beryllium dissolution was biphasic (initial rapid diffusion followed by latter slower surface reactions). During the latter phase, dissolution half-times were 1,400 to 2,000 days, and rate constants were ~7 × 10(-10) g/(cm(2)·day), indicating that bertrandite is persistent in the lung. These data indicate that it is prudent to control skin and inhalation exposures to bertrandite dusts.

  17. 10 CFR 850.20 - Baseline beryllium inventory.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Baseline beryllium inventory. 850.20 Section 850.20 Energy... Baseline beryllium inventory. (a) The responsible employer must develop a baseline inventory of the locations of beryllium operations and other locations of potential beryllium contamination, and identify the...

  18. Mineral resource of the month: beryllium

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    ,

    2013-01-01

    The article discusses information about Beryllium. It notes that Beryllium is a light metal that has a gray color. The metal is used in the production of parts and devices including bearings, computer-chip heat sinks, and output windows of X-ray tubes. The article mentions Beryllium's discovery in 1798 by French chemist, Louis-Nicolas Vanquelin. It cites that bertrandite and beryl are the principal mineral components for the commercial production of beryllium.

  19. 20 CFR 30.508 - What is beryllium sensitivity monitoring?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... ENERGY EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM ACT OF 2000 CLAIMS FOR COMPENSATION UNDER THE ENERGY EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM ACT OF 2000, AS AMENDED Survivors; Payments... has established chronic beryllium disease. ...

  20. Migration of Beryllium via Multiple Exposure Pathways among Work Processes in Four Different Facilities

    PubMed Central

    Armstrong, Jenna L.; Day, Gregory A.; Park, Ji Young; Stefaniak, Aleksandr B.; Stanton, Marcia L.; Deubner, David C.; Kent, Michael S.; Schuler, Christine R.; Virji, M. Abbas

    2016-01-01

    Inhalation of beryllium is associated with the development of sensitization; however, dermal exposure may also be important. The primary aim of this study was to elucidate relationships among exposure pathways in four different manufacturing and finishing facilities. Secondary aims were to identify jobs with increased levels of beryllium in air, on skin, and on surfaces; identify potential discrepancies in exposure pathways, and determine if these are related to jobs with previously identified risk. Beryllium was measured in air, on cotton gloves, and on work surfaces. Summary statistics were calculated and correlations among all three measurement types were examined at the facility and job level. Exposure ranking strategies were used to identify jobs with higher exposures. The highest air, glove, and surface measurements were observed in beryllium metal production and beryllium oxide ceramics manufacturing jobs that involved hot processes and handling powders. Two finishing and distribution facilities that handle solid alloy products had lower exposures than the primary production facilities, and there were differences observed among jobs. For all facilities combined, strong correlations were found between air-surface (rp ≥ 0.77), glove-surface (rp ≥ 0.76), and air-glove measurements (rp ≥ 0.69). In jobs where higher risk of beryllium sensitization or disease has been reported, exposure levels for all three measurement types were higher than in jobs with lower risk, though they were not the highest. Some jobs with low air concentrations had higher levels of beryllium on glove and surface wipe samples, suggesting a need to further evaluate the causes of the discrepant levels. Although such correlations provide insight on where beryllium is located throughout the workplace, they cannot identify the direction of the pathways between air, surface, or skin. Ranking strategies helped to identify jobs with the highest combined air, glove, and/or surface exposures

  1. Novel plasma source for safe beryllium spectral line studies in the presence of beryllium dust

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stankov, B. D.; Vinić, M.; Gavrilović Božović, M. R.; Ivković, M.

    2018-05-01

    Plasma source for beryllium spectral line studies in the presence of beryllium dust particles was realised. The guideline during construction was to prevent exposure to formed dust, considering the toxicity of beryllium. Plasma source characterization through determination of optimal working conditions is described. The necessary conditions for Be spectral line appearance and optimal conditions for line shape measurements are found. It is proven experimentally that under these conditions dust appears coincidently with the second current maximum. The electron density measured after discharge current maximum is determined from the peak separation of the hydrogen Balmer beta spectral line, and the electron temperature is determined from the ratios of the relative intensities of Be spectral lines emitted from successive ionized stages of atoms. Maximum values of electron density and temperature are measured to be 9.3 × 1022 m-3 and 16 800 K, respectively. Construction details and testing of the BeO discharge tube in comparison with SiO2 and Al2O3 discharge tubes are also presented in this paper.

  2. METHOD OF WORKING BERYLLIUM

    DOEpatents

    Macherey, R.E.

    1959-02-01

    >A process is presented for fabricating beryllium metal. The billet cf beryllium metal is sheathed with a jacket of either copper or stainless steel. It may then be worked by drawing or the like at a tcmperature of 300 to 400 C.

  3. Migration of Beryllium via Multiple Exposure Pathways among Work Processes in Four Different Facilities.

    PubMed

    Armstrong, Jenna L; Day, Gregory A; Park, Ji Young; Stefaniak, Aleksandr B; Stanton, Marcia L; Deubner, David C; Kent, Michael S; Schuler, Christine R; Virji, M Abbas

    2014-01-01

    Inhalation of beryllium is associated with the development of sensitization; however, dermal exposure may also be important. The primary aim of this study was to elucidate relationships among exposure pathways in four different manufacturing and finishing facilities. Secondary aims were to identify jobs with increased levels of beryllium in air, on skin, and on surfaces; identify potential discrepancies in exposure pathways, and determine if these are related to jobs with previously identified risk. Beryllium was measured in air, on cotton gloves, and on work surfaces. Summary statistics were calculated and correlations among all three measurement types were examined at the facility and job level. Exposure ranking strategies were used to identify jobs with higher exposures. The highest air, glove, and surface measurements were observed in beryllium metal production and beryllium oxide ceramics manufacturing jobs that involved hot processes and handling powders. Two finishing and distribution facilities that handle solid alloy products had lower exposures than the primary production facilities, and there were differences observed among jobs. For all facilities combined, strong correlations were found between air-surface (rp ≥ 0.77), glove-surface (rp ≥ 0.76), and air-glove measurements (rp ≥ 0.69). In jobs where higher risk of beryllium sensitization or disease has been reported, exposure levels for all three measurement types were higher than in jobs with lower risk, though they were not the highest. Some jobs with low air concentrations had higher levels of beryllium on glove and surface wipe samples, suggesting a need to further evaluate the causes of the discrepant levels. Although such correlations provide insight on where beryllium is located throughout the workplace, they cannot identify the direction of the pathways between air, surface, or skin. Ranking strategies helped to identify jobs with the highest combined air, glove, and/or surface exposures

  4. Method for hot pressing beryllium oxide articles

    DOEpatents

    Ballard, Ambrose H.; Godfrey, Jr., Thomas G.; Mowery, Erb H.

    1988-01-01

    The hot pressing of beryllium oxide powder into high density compacts with little or no density gradients is achieved by employing a homogeneous blend of beryllium oxide powder with a lithium oxide sintering agent. The lithium oxide sintering agent is uniformly dispersed throughout the beryllium oxide powder by mixing lithium hydroxide in an aqueous solution with beryllium oxide powder. The lithium hydroxide is converted in situ to lithium carbonate by contacting or flooding the beryllium oxide-lithium hydroxide blend with a stream of carbon dioxide. The lithium carbonate is converted to lithium oxide while remaining fixed to the beryllium oxide particles during the hot pressing step to assure uniform density throughout the compact.

  5. METHOD OF BRAZING BERYLLIUM

    DOEpatents

    Hanks, G.S.; Keil, R.W.

    1963-05-21

    A process is described for brazing beryllium metal parts by coating the beryllium with silver (65- 75 wt%)-aluminum alloy using a lithium fluoride (50 wt%)-lithium chloride flux, and heating the coated joint to a temperature of about 700 un. Concent 85% C for about 10 minutes. (AEC)

  6. Effects of neutron irradiation at 70-200 °C in beryllium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chakin, V. P.; Kazakov, V. A.; Melder, R. R.; Goncharenko, Yu. D.; Kupriyanov, I. B.

    2002-12-01

    At present beryllium is considered one of the metals to be used as a plasma facing and blanket material. This paper presents the investigations of several Russian beryllium grades fabricated by HE and HIP technologies. Beryllium specimens were irradiated in the SM reactor at 70-200 °C up to a neutron fluence (0.6-3.9)×10 22 cm -2 ( E>0.1 MeV). It is shown that the relative mass decrease of beryllium specimens that were in contact with the water coolant during irradiation achieved the value >1.5% at the maximum dose. Swelling was in the range of 0.2-1.5% and monotonically increasing with the neutron dose. During mechanical tensile and compression tests one could observe the absolute brittle destruction of the irradiated specimens at the reduced strength level in comparison to the initial state. A comparatively higher level of brittle strength was observed on beryllium specimens irradiated at 200 °C. The basic type of destruction of the irradiated beryllium specimens is brittle and intergranular with some fraction of transgranular chip.

  7. The acute toxicity of inhaled beryllium metal in rats

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Haley, P.J.; Finch, G.L.; Hoover, M.D.

    1990-01-01

    The authors exposed rats once by nose only for 50 min to a mean concentration of 800 [mu]g/m[sup 3] of beryllium metal to characterize the acute toxic effects within the lung. Histological changes within the lung and enzyme changes within bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid were evaluated at 3, 7, 10, 14, 31, 59, 115, and 171 days postexposure (dpe). Beryllium metal-exposed rats developed acute, necrotizing, hemorrhagic, exudative pneumonitis and intraalveolar fibrosis that peaked at 14 dpe. By 31 dpe, inflammatory lesions were replaced by minimal interstitial and intraalveolar fibrosis. Necrotizing inflammation was observed again at 59 dpe which progressed tomore » chronic-active inflammation by 115 dpe. Low numbers of diffusely distributed lymphocytes were also present but they were not associated with granulomas as is observed in beryllium-induced disease in man. Lymphocytes were not elevated in BAL samples collected from beryllium-exposed rats at any time after exposure. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), [beta]-glucuronidase, and protein levels were elevated in BAL fluid from 3 through 14 dpe but returned to near normal levels by 31 dpe. LDH increased once again at 59 dpe and remained elevated at 171 dpe. [beta]-Glucuronidase and protein levels were slightly, but not significantly, elevated from 31 through 171 dpe.« less

  8. Beryllium surface levels in a military ammunition plant.

    PubMed

    Sanderson, Wayne T; Leonard, Stephanie; Ott, Darrin; Fuortes, Laurence; Field, William

    2008-07-01

    This study evaluated the presence of beryllium surface contamination in a U.S. conventional munitions plant as an indicator of possible past beryllium airborne and skin exposure and used these measurements to classify job categories by potential level of exposure. Surface samples were collected from production and nonproduction areas of the plant and at regional industrial reference sites with no known history of beryllium use. Surface samples of premoistened wiping material were analyzed for beryllium mass content using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and results expressed as micrograms of beryllium per 100 square centimeters (micro g/100 cm(2)). Beryllium was detected in 87% of samples collected at the munitions plant and in 72% of the samples collected at regional reference sites. Two munitions plant samples from areas near sanders and grinders were above 3.0 micro g/100 cm(2) (U.S. Department of Energy surface contamination limit). The highest surface level found at the reference sites was 0.44 micro g/100 cm(2). Workers in areas where beryllium-containing alloy tools were sanded or ground, but not other work areas, may have been exposed to airborne beryllium concentrations above levels encountered in other industries where metal work is conducted. Surface sampling provided information useful for categorizing munitions plant jobs by level of past beryllium airborne and skin exposure and, subsequently, for identifying employees within exposure strata to be screened for beryllium sensitization.

  9. Beryllium Interactions in Molten Salts

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    G. S. Smolik; M. F. Simpson; P. J. Pinhero

    Molten flibe (2LiF·BeF2) is a candidate as a cooling and tritium breeding media for future fusion power plants. Neutron interactions with the salt will produce tritium and release excess free fluorine ions. Beryllium metal has been demonstrated as an effective redox control agent to prevent free fluorine, or HF species, from reacting with structural metal components. The extent and rate of beryllium solubility in a pot design experiments to suppress continuously supplied hydrogen fluoride gas has been measured and modeled[ ]. This paper presents evidence of beryllium loss from specimens, a dependence of the loss upon bi-metal coupling, i.e., galvanicmore » effect, and the partitioning of the beryllium to the salt and container materials. Various posttest investigative methods, viz., scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to explore this behavior.« less

  10. Method for fabricating beryllium-based multilayer structures

    DOEpatents

    Skulina, Kenneth M.; Bionta, Richard M.; Makowiecki, Daniel M.; Alford, Craig S.

    2003-02-18

    Beryllium-based multilayer structures and a process for fabricating beryllium-based multilayer mirrors, useful in the wavelength region greater than the beryllium K-edge (111 .ANG. or 11.1 nm). The process includes alternating sputter deposition of beryllium and a metal, typically from the fifth row of the periodic table, such as niobium (Nb), molybdenum (Mo), ruthenium (Ru), and rhodium (Rh). The process includes not only the method of sputtering the materials, but the industrial hygiene controls for safe handling of beryllium. The mirrors made in accordance with the process may be utilized in soft x-ray and extreme-ultraviolet projection lithography, which requires mirrors of high reflectivity (>60%) for x-rays in the range of 60-140 .ANG. (60-14.0 nm).

  11. Brazing of beryllium for structural applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Vogan, J. W.

    1972-01-01

    Progress made in fabricating a beryllium compression tube structure and a stiffened beryllium panel. The compression tube was 7.6cm in diameter and 30.5cm long with titanium end fittings. The panel was 203cm long and stiffened with longitudinal stringers. Both units were assembled by brazing with BAg-18 braze alloy. The detail parts were fabricated by hot forming 0.305cm beryllium sheet and the brazing parameters established.

  12. 20 CFR 30.205 - What are the criteria for eligibility for benefits relating to beryllium illnesses covered under...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... benefits relating to beryllium illnesses covered under Part B of EEOICPA? 30.205 Section 30.205 Employees... ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM ACT OF 2000 CLAIMS FOR COMPENSATION UNDER THE ENERGY EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM ACT OF 2000, AS AMENDED Eligibility Criteria Eligibility Criteria for Claims...

  13. 20 CFR 30.205 - What are the criteria for eligibility for benefits relating to beryllium illnesses covered under...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... benefits relating to beryllium illnesses covered under Part B of EEOICPA? 30.205 Section 30.205 Employees... ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM ACT OF 2000 CLAIMS FOR COMPENSATION UNDER THE ENERGY EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM ACT OF 2000, AS AMENDED Eligibility Criteria Eligibility Criteria for Claims...

  14. 20 CFR 30.205 - What are the criteria for eligibility for benefits relating to beryllium illnesses covered under...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... benefits relating to beryllium illnesses covered under Part B of EEOICPA? 30.205 Section 30.205 Employees... ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM ACT OF 2000 CLAIMS FOR COMPENSATION UNDER THE ENERGY EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM ACT OF 2000, AS AMENDED Eligibility Criteria Eligibility Criteria for Claims...

  15. 20 CFR 30.205 - What are the criteria for eligibility for benefits relating to beryllium illnesses covered under...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... benefits relating to beryllium illnesses covered under Part B of EEOICPA? 30.205 Section 30.205 Employees... ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM ACT OF 2000 CLAIMS FOR COMPENSATION UNDER THE ENERGY EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM ACT OF 2000, AS AMENDED Eligibility Criteria Eligibility Criteria for Claims...

  16. 20 CFR 30.205 - What are the criteria for eligibility for benefits relating to beryllium illnesses covered under...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... benefits relating to beryllium illnesses covered under Part B of EEOICPA? 30.205 Section 30.205 Employees... ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM ACT OF 2000 CLAIMS FOR COMPENSATION UNDER THE ENERGY EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM ACT OF 2000, AS AMENDED Eligibility Criteria Eligibility Criteria for Claims...

  17. Beryllium Health and Safety Committee Data Reporting Task Force White Paper #2 -- Uses of Uncensored Data

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    MacQueen, D H

    2007-10-10

    On December 8, 1999, the Department of Energy (DOE) published Title 10 CFR 850 (hereafter referred to as the Rule) to establish a chronic beryllium disease prevention program (CBDPP) to: (1) reduce the number of workers currently exposed to beryllium in the course of their work at DOE facilities managed by DOE or its contractors; (2) minimize the levels of, and potential for, exposure to beryllium; and (3) establish medical surveillance requirements to ensure early detection of the disease. On January 4, 2001, DOE issued DOE G 440.1-7A, Implementation Guide for use with 10 CFR 850, Chronic Beryllium Disease Preventionmore » Program, to assist line managers in meeting their responsibilities for implementing the CBDPP. That guide describes methods and techniques that DOE considers acceptable in complying with the Rule. In 2005 a draft DOE Technical Standard ''Management of Items and Areas Containing Low Levels of Beryllium'' (SAFT 0103; hereafter referred to as the ''TS'') was circulated for comment (http://www.hss.energy.gov/NuclearSafety/techstds/tsdrafts/saft-0103.pdf). DOE technical standards are voluntary consensus standards developed when industry standards do not exist (see http://www.hss.energy.gov/NuclearSafety/techstds/index.html for more information). DOE does not require its field elements to implement DOE technical standards, but field elements may choose to adopt these standards to meet specific needs. This beryllium TS is intended to provide best practices and lessons learned for manageing items and areas that contain low levels of beryllium, which has been a costly and technically challenging component of CBDPPs. The TS is also intended to provide guidance for determining if the Rule's housekeeping and release criteria are met. On challenge the TS addressed was the statistical interpretation of data sets with non-detected results, a topic for which no strong consensus exists. Among the many comments on the draft TS was a suggestion that certain of

  18. METHOD FOR PREPARATION OF SINTERABLE BERYLLIUM OXIDE

    DOEpatents

    Sturm, B.J.

    1963-08-13

    High-purity beryllium oxide for nuclear reactor applications can be prepared by precipitation of beryllium oxalate monohydrate from aqueous solution at a temperature above 50 deg C and subsequent calcination of the precipitate. Improved purification with respect to metallic impurities is obtained, and the product beryllium oxide sinters reproducibly to a high density. (AEC)

  19. Physicochemical characteristics of aerosol particles generated during the milling of beryllium silicate ores: implications for risk assessment.

    PubMed

    Stefaniak, Aleksandr B; Chipera, Steve J; Day, Gregory A; Sabey, Phil; Dickerson, Robert M; Sbarra, Deborah C; Duling, Mathew G; Lawrence, Robert B; Stanton, Marcia L; Scripsick, Ronald C

    2008-01-01

    Inhalation of beryllium dusts generated during milling of ores and cutting of beryl-containing gemstones is associated with development of beryllium sensitization and low prevalence of chronic beryllium disease (CBD). Inhalation of beryllium aerosols generated during primary beryllium production and machining of the metal, alloys, and ceramics are associated with sensitization and high rates of CBD, despite similar airborne beryllium mass concentrations among these industries. Understanding the physicochemical properties of exposure aerosols may help to understand the differential immunopathologic mechanisms of sensitization and CBD and lead to more biologically relevant exposure standards. Properties of aerosols generated during the industrial milling of bertrandite and beryl ores were evaluated. Airborne beryllium mass concentrations among work areas ranged from 0.001 microg/m(3) (beryl ore grinding) to 2.1 microg/m(3) (beryl ore crushing). Respirable mass fractions of airborne beryllium-containing particles were < 20% in low-energy input operation areas (ore crushing, hydroxide product drumming) and > 80% in high-energy input areas (beryl melting, beryl grinding). Particle specific surface area decreased with processing from feedstock ores to drumming final product beryllium hydroxide. Among work areas, beryllium was identified in three crystalline forms: beryl, poorly crystalline beryllium oxide, and beryllium hydroxide. In comparison to aerosols generated by high-CBD risk primary production processes, aerosol particles encountered during milling had similar mass concentrations, generally lower number concentrations and surface area, and contained no identifiable highly crystalline beryllium oxide. One possible explanation for the apparent low prevalence of CBD among workers exposed to beryllium mineral dusts may be that characteristics of the exposure material do not contribute to the development of lung burdens sufficient for progression from sensitization to

  20. Low CTE glass, SiC & Beryllium for lightweight mirror substrates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Geyl, Roland; Cayrel, Marc

    2005-10-01

    This paper is intended to analyze the relative merits of low CTE glass, SiC and Beryllium as candidates for lightweight mirror substrates in connection with real practical experience and example or three major projects using these three materials and running presently at SAGEM-REOSC. Beryllium and SiC have nice thermal and mechanical properties but machined glass ceramic can still well compete technically or economically in some cases.

  1. Massachusetts Beryllium Screening Program for Former Workers of Wyman-Gordon, Norton Abrasives, and MIT/Nuclear Metals

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pepper, L. D.

    2008-05-21

    The overall objective of this project was to provide medical screening to former workers of Wyman-Gordon Company, Norton Abrasives, and MIT/Nuclear Metals (NMI) in order to prevent and minimize the health impact of diseases caused by site related workplace exposures to beryllium. The program was developed in response to a request by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that had been authorized by Congress in Section 3162 of the 1993 Defense Authorization Act, urging the DOE to carry out a program for the identification and ongoing evaluation of current and former DOE employees who are subjected to significant health risksmore » during such employment." This program, funded by the DOE, was an amendment to the medical surveillance program for former DOE workers at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). This program's scope included workers who had worked for organizations that provided beryllium products or materials to the DOE as part of their nuclear weapons program. These organizations have been identified as Beryllium Vendors.« less

  2. Assessment of the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test using statistical process control.

    PubMed

    Cher, Daniel J; Deubner, David C; Kelsh, Michael A; Chapman, Pamela S; Ray, Rose M

    2006-10-01

    Despite more than 20 years of surveillance and epidemiologic studies using the beryllium blood lymphocyte proliferation test (BeBLPT) as a measure of beryllium sensitization (BeS) and as an aid for diagnosing subclinical chronic beryllium disease (CBD), improvements in specific understanding of the inhalation toxicology of CBD have been limited. Although epidemiologic data suggest that BeS and CBD risks vary by process/work activity, it has proven difficult to reach specific conclusions regarding the dose-response relationship between workplace beryllium exposure and BeS or subclinical CBD. One possible reason for this uncertainty could be misclassification of BeS resulting from variation in BeBLPT testing performance. The reliability of the BeBLPT, a biological assay that measures beryllium sensitization, is unknown. To assess the performance of four laboratories that conducted this test, we used data from a medical surveillance program that offered testing for beryllium sensitization with the BeBLPT. The study population was workers exposed to beryllium at various facilities over a 10-year period (1992-2001). Workers with abnormal results were offered diagnostic workups for CBD. Our analyses used a standard statistical technique, statistical process control (SPC), to evaluate test reliability. The study design involved a repeated measures analysis of BeBLPT results generated from the company-wide, longitudinal testing. Analytical methods included use of (1) statistical process control charts that examined temporal patterns of variation for the stimulation index, a measure of cell reactivity to beryllium; (2) correlation analysis that compared prior perceptions of BeBLPT instability to the statistical measures of test variation; and (3) assessment of the variation in the proportion of missing test results and how time periods with more missing data influenced SPC findings. During the period of this study, all laboratories displayed variation in test results that

  3. Inhibited solid propellant composition containing beryllium hydride

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thompson, W. W. (Inventor)

    1978-01-01

    An object of this invention is to provide a composition of beryllium hydride and carboxy-terminated polybutadiene which is stable. Another object of this invention is to provide a method for inhibiting the reactivity of beryllium hydride toward carboxy-terminated polybutadiene. It was found that a small amount of lecithin inhibits the reaction of beryllium hydride with the acid groups in carboxy terminated polybutadiene.

  4. The status of beryllium technology for fusion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Scaffidi-Argentina, F.; Longhurst, G. R.; Shestakov, V.; Kawamura, H.

    2000-12-01

    Beryllium was used for a number of years in the Joint European Torus (JET), and it is planned to be used extensively on the lower heat-flux surfaces of the reduced technical objective/reduced cost international thermonuclear experimental reactor (RTO/RC ITER). It has been included in various forms in a number of tritium breeding blanket designs. There are technical advantages but also a number of safety issues associated with the use of beryllium. Research in a variety of technical areas in recent years has revealed interesting issues concerning the use of beryllium in fusion. Progress in this research has been presented at a series of International Workshops on Beryllium Technology for Fusion. The most recent workshop was held in Karlsruhe, Germany on 15-17 September 1999. In this paper, a summary of findings presented there and their implications for the use of beryllium in the development of fusion reactors are presented.

  5. An electrolytic process for ultra fine beryllium

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lidman, W. G.; Griffiths, V.

    1972-01-01

    Studies were made on the electrolysis of a molten BeCl2-NaCl bath using a mercury cathode and beryllium anode. A quasi-amalgam was obtained. The beryllium was consolidated by direct hot pressing of the amalgam at temperatures in the range of 800 C and using pressures of 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 psi. The work confirms the ability to produce ultrafine beryllium particles by electrolysis.

  6. Enhanced preventive programme at a beryllium oxide ceramics facility reduces beryllium sensitisation among new workers

    PubMed Central

    Cummings, Kristin J; Deubner, David C; Day, Gregory A; Henneberger, Paul K; Kitt, Margaret M; Kent, Michael S; Kreiss, Kathleen; Schuler, Christine R

    2007-01-01

    Background A 1998 survey at a beryllium oxide ceramics manufacturing facility found that 10% of workers hired in the previous 6 years had beryllium sensitisation as determined by the beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT). In response, the facility implemented an enhanced preventive programme to reduce sensitisation, including increased respiratory and dermal protection and particle migration control. Aim To assess the programme's effectiveness in preventing sensitisation. Methods In 2000, the facility began testing newly hired workers for beryllium sensitisation with the BeLPT at time of hire and during employment. The sensitisation rate and prevalence for workers hired from 2000 to 2004 were compared with that for workers hired from 1993 to 1998, who were tested in the 1998 survey. Facility environmental conditions for both time periods were evaluated. Results Newly hired workers in both cohorts worked for a mean of 16 months. Of the 97 workers hired from 2000 to 2004 with at least one employment BeLPT result, four had abnormal results at time of hire and one became sensitised during employment. Of the 69 workers hired from 1993 to 1998 and tested in 1998, six were found to be sensitised. The sensitisation rate for the 2000–4 workers was 0.7–2.7/1000 person‐months of employment, and that for the 1993–8 workers was 5.6/1000 person‐months, at least 2.1 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.6 to 8.4) and up to 8.2 (95% CI 1.2 to 188.8) times higher than that for the 2000–4 workers. The sensitisation prevalence for the 2000–4 workers was 1% and that for the 1993–8 workers was 8.7%, 8.4 (95% CI 1.04 to 68.49) times higher than that for the 2000–4 workers. Airborne beryllium levels for production workers for the two time periods were similar. Conclusions A comprehensive preventive programme reduced beryllium sensitisation in new workers during the first years of employment, despite airborne beryllium levels for production workers that were

  7. Beryllium Toxicity

    MedlinePlus

    ... Favorites Del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo MyWeb Beryllium Toxicity Patient Education Care Instruction Sheet ... Favorites Del.icio.us Digg Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo MyWeb Page last reviewed: May 23, 2008 Page ...

  8. Oxide segregation and melting behavior of transient heat load exposed beryllium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spilker, B.; Linke, J.; Pintsuk, G.; Wirtz, M.

    2016-10-01

    In the experimental fusion reactor ITER, beryllium will be applied as first wall armor material. However, the ITER-like wall project at JET already experienced that the relatively low melting temperature of beryllium can easily be exceeded during plasma operation. Therefore, a detailed study was carried out on S-65 beryllium under various transient, ITER-relevant heat loads that were simulated in the electron beam facility JUDITH 1. Hereby, the absorbed power densities were in the range of 0.15-1.0 GW m-2 in combination with pulse durations of 1-10 ms and pulse numbers of 1-1000. In metallographic cross sections, the emergence of a transition region in a depth of ~70-120 µm was revealed. This transition region was characterized by a strong segregation of oxygen at the grain boundaries, determined with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy element mappings. The oxide segregation strongly depended on the maximum temperature reached at the end of the transient heat pulse in combination with the pulse duration. A threshold for this process was found at 936 °C for a pulse duration of 10 ms. Further transient heat pulses applied to specimens that had already formed this transition region resulted in the overheating and melting of the material. The latter occurred between the surface and the transition region and was associated with a strong decrease of the thermal conductivity due to the weakly bound grains across the transition region. Additionally, the transition region caused a partial separation of the melt layer from the bulk material, which could ultimately result in a full detachment of the solidified beryllium layers from the bulk armor. Furthermore, solidified beryllium filaments evolved in several locations of the loaded area and are related to the thermally induced crack formation. However, these filaments are not expected to account for an increase of the beryllium net erosion.

  9. Quantification and micron-scale imaging of spatial distribution of trace beryllium in shrapnel fragments and metallurgic samples with correlative fluorescence detection method and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS)

    PubMed Central

    Abraham, Jerrold L.; Chandra, Subhash; Agrawal, Anoop

    2014-01-01

    Recently, a report raised the possibility of shrapnel-induced chronic beryllium disease (CBD) from long-term exposure to the surface of retained aluminum shrapnel fragments in the body. Since the shrapnel fragments contained trace beryllium, methodological developments were needed for beryllium quantification and to study its spatial distribution in relation to other matrix elements, such as aluminum and iron, in metallurgic samples. In this work, we developed methodology for quantification of trace beryllium in samples of shrapnel fragments and other metallurgic sample-types with main matrix of aluminum (aluminum cans from soda, beer, carbonated water, and aluminum foil). Sample preparation procedures were developed for dissolving beryllium for its quantification with the fluorescence detection method for homogenized measurements. The spatial distribution of trace beryllium on the sample surface and in 3D was imaged with a dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) instrument, CAMECA IMS 3f SIMS ion microscope. The beryllium content of shrapnel (~100 ppb) was the same as the trace quantities of beryllium found in aluminum cans. The beryllium content of aluminum foil (~25 ppb) was significantly lower than cans. SIMS imaging analysis revealed beryllium to be distributed in the form of low micron-sized particles and clusters distributed randomly in X-Y-and Z dimensions, and often in association with iron, in the main aluminum matrix of cans. These observations indicate a plausible formation of Be-Fe or Al-Be alloy in the matrix of cans. Further observations were made on fluids (carbonated water) for understanding if trace beryllium in cans leached out and contaminated the food product. A direct comparison of carbonated water in aluminum cans and plastic bottles revealed that beryllium was below the detection limits of the fluorescence detection method (~0.01 ppb). These observations indicate that beryllium present in aluminum matrix was either present in an

  10. Quantification and micron-scale imaging of spatial distribution of trace beryllium in shrapnel fragments and metallurgic samples with correlative fluorescence detection method and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS).

    PubMed

    Abraham, J L; Chandra, S; Agrawal, A

    2014-11-01

    Recently, a report raised the possibility of shrapnel-induced chronic beryllium disease from long-term exposure to the surface of retained aluminum shrapnel fragments in the body. Since the shrapnel fragments contained trace beryllium, methodological developments were needed for beryllium quantification and to study its spatial distribution in relation to other matrix elements, such as aluminum and iron, in metallurgic samples. In this work, we developed methodology for quantification of trace beryllium in samples of shrapnel fragments and other metallurgic sample-types with main matrix of aluminum (aluminum cans from soda, beer, carbonated water and aluminum foil). Sample preparation procedures were developed for dissolving beryllium for its quantification with the fluorescence detection method for homogenized measurements. The spatial distribution of trace beryllium on the sample surface and in 3D was imaged with a dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry instrument, CAMECA IMS 3f secondary ion mass spectrometry ion microscope. The beryllium content of shrapnel (∼100 ppb) was the same as the trace quantities of beryllium found in aluminum cans. The beryllium content of aluminum foil (∼25 ppb) was significantly lower than cans. SIMS imaging analysis revealed beryllium to be distributed in the form of low micron-sized particles and clusters distributed randomly in X-Y- and Z dimensions, and often in association with iron, in the main aluminum matrix of cans. These observations indicate a plausible formation of Be-Fe or Al-Be alloy in the matrix of cans. Further observations were made on fluids (carbonated water) for understanding if trace beryllium in cans leached out and contaminated the food product. A direct comparison of carbonated water in aluminum cans and plastic bottles revealed that beryllium was below the detection limits of the fluorescence detection method (∼0.01 ppb). These observations indicate that beryllium present in aluminum matrix was either

  11. Hydrogen transport behavior of beryllium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anderl, R. A.; Hankins, M. R.; Longhurst, G. R.; Pawelko, R. J.; Macaulay-Newcombe, R. G.

    1992-12-01

    Beryllium is being evaluated for use as a plasma-facing material in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). One concern in the evaluation is the retention and permeation of tritium implanted into the plasma-facing surface. We performed laboratory-scale studies to investigate mechanisms that influence hydrogen transport and retention in beryllium foil specimens of rolled powder metallurgy product and rolled ingot cast beryllium. Specimen characterization was accomplished using scanning electron microscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) techniques. Hydrogen transport was investigated using ion-beam permeation experiments and nuclear reaction analysis (NRA). Results indicate that trapping plays a significant role in permeation, re-emission, and retention, and that surface processes at both upstream and downstream surfaces are also important.

  12. Beryllium processing technology review for applications in plasma-facing components

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Castro, R.G.; Jacobson, L.A.; Stanek, P.W.

    1993-07-01

    Materials research and development activities for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), i.e., the next generation fusion reactor, are investigating beryllium as the first-wall containment material for the reactor. Important in the selection of beryllium is the ability to process, fabricate and repair beryllium first-wall components using existing technologies. Two issues that will need to be addressed during the engineering design activity will be the bonding of beryllium tiles in high-heat-flux areas of the reactor, and the in situ repair of damaged beryllium tiles. The following review summarizes the current technology associated with welding and joining of beryllium to itselfmore » and other materials, and the state-of-the-art in plasma-spray technology as an in situ repair technique for damaged beryllium tiles. In addition, a review of the current status of beryllium technology in the former Soviet Union is also included.« less

  13. Accelerator mass spectrometry detection of beryllium ions in the antigen processing and presentation pathway

    DOE PAGES

    Tooker, Brian C.; Brindley, Stephen M.; Chiarappa-Zucca, Marina L.; ...

    2014-06-16

    We report that exposure to small amounts of beryllium (Be) can result in beryllium sensitization and progression to Chronic Beryllium Disease (CBD). In CBD, beryllium is presented to Be-responsive T-cells by professional antigen-presenting cells (APC). This presentation drives T-cell proliferation and pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-2, TNFα, and IFNγ) production and leads to granuloma formation. The mechanism by which beryllium enters an APC and is processed to become part of the beryllium antigen complex has not yet been elucidated. Developing techniques for beryllium detection with enough sensitivity has presented a barrier to further investigation. The objective of this study was to demonstratemore » that Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) is sensitive enough to quantify the amount of beryllium presented by APC to stimulate Be-responsive T-cells. To achieve this goal, APC - which may or may not stimulate Be-responsive T-cells - were cultured with Be-ferritin. Then, by utilizing AMS, the amount of beryllium processed for presentation was determined. Further, IFNγ intracellular cytokine assays were performed to demonstrate that Be-ferritin (at levels used in the experiments) could stimulate Be-responsive T-cells when presented by an APC of the correct HLA type (HLA-DP0201). The results indicated that Be-responsive T-cells expressed IFNγ only when APC with the correct HLA type were able to process Be for presentation. Utilizing AMS, we determined that APC with HLA-DP0201 had membrane fractions containing 0.17-0.59 ng Be and APC with HLA-DP0401 had membrane fractions bearing 0.40-0.45 ng Be. However, HLA-DP0401 APC had 20-times more Be associated with the whole cells (57.68-61.12 ng) then HLA-DP0201 APC (0.90-3.49 ng). As these findings demonstrate, AMS detection of picogram levels of Be processed by APC is possible. Further, regardless of form, Be requires processing by APC to successfully stimulate Be-responsive T-cells to generate IFNγ.« less

  14. Implanted Deuterium Retention and Release in Carbon-Coated Beryllium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anderl, R. A.; Longhurst, G. R.; Pawelko, R. J.; Oates, M. A.

    1997-06-01

    Deuterium implantation experiments have been conducted on samples of clean and carbon-coated beryllium. These studies entailed preparation and characterization of beryllium samples coated with carbon thicknesses of 100, 500, and 1000 Å. Heat treatment of a beryllium sample coated with carbon to a thickness of approximately 100 Å revealed that exposure to a temperature of 400°C under high vacuum conditions was sufficient to cause substantial diffusion of beryllium through the carbon layer, resulting in more beryllium than carbon at the surface. Comparable concentrations of carbon and beryllium were observed in the bulk of the coating layer. Higher than expected oxygen levels were observed throughout the coating layer as well. Samples were exposed to deuterium implantation followed by thermal desorption without exposure to air. Differences were observed in deuterium retention and postimplantation release behavior in the carbon-coated samples as compared with bare samples. For comparable implantation conditions (sample temperature of 400°C and an incident deuterium flux of approximately 6 × 1019 D/m2-s), the quantity of deuterium retained in the bare sample was less than that retained in the carbon-coated samples. Further, the release of the deuterium took place at lower temperatures for the bare beryllium surfaces than for carbon-coated beryllium samples.

  15. Beryllium-aluminum alloys for investment castings

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nachtrab, W.T.; Levoy, N.

    1997-05-01

    Beryllium-aluminum alloys containing greater than 60 wt % beryllium are very favorable materials for applications requiring light weight and high stiffness. However, when produced by traditional powder metallurgical methods, these alloys are expensive and have limited applications. To reduce the cost of making beryllium-aluminum components, Nuclear Metals Inc. (NMI) and Lockheed Martin Electronics and Missiles have recently developed a family of patented beryllium-aluminum alloys that can be investment cast. Designated Beralcast, the alloys can achieve substantial weight savings because of their high specific strength and stiffness. In some cases, weight has been reduced by up to 50% over aluminum investmentmore » casting. Beralcast is now being used to make thin wall precision investment castings for several advanced aerospace applications, such as the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter and F-22 jet fighter. This article discusses alloy compositions, properties, casting method, and the effects of cobalt additions on strength.« less

  16. Neutron counter based on beryllium activation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bienkowska, B.; Prokopowicz, R.; Scholz, M.; Kaczmarczyk, J.; Igielski, A.; Karpinski, L.; Paducha, M.; Pytel, K.

    2014-08-01

    The fusion reaction occurring in DD plasma is followed by emission of 2.45 MeV neutrons, which carry out information about fusion reaction rate and plasma parameters and properties as well. Neutron activation of beryllium has been chosen for detection of DD fusion neutrons. The cross-section for reaction 9Be(n, α)6He has a useful threshold near 1 MeV, which means that undesirable multiple-scattered neutrons do not undergo that reaction and therefore are not recorded. The product of the reaction, 6He, decays with half-life T1/2 = 0.807 s emitting β- particles which are easy to detect. Large area gas sealed proportional detector has been chosen as a counter of β-particles leaving activated beryllium plate. The plate with optimized dimensions adjoins the proportional counter entrance window. Such set-up is also equipped with appropriate electronic components and forms beryllium neutron activation counter. The neutron flux density on beryllium plate can be determined from the number of counts. The proper calibration procedure needs to be performed, therefore, to establish such relation. The measurements with the use of known β-source have been done. In order to determine the detector response function such experiment have been modeled by means of MCNP5-the Monte Carlo transport code. It allowed proper application of the results of transport calculations of β- particles emitted from radioactive 6He and reaching proportional detector active volume. In order to test the counter system and measuring procedure a number of experiments have been performed on PF devices. The experimental conditions have been simulated by means of MCNP5. The correctness of simulation outcome have been proved by measurements with known radioactive neutron source. The results of the DD fusion neutron measurements have been compared with other neutron diagnostics.

  17. Quantifying design trade-offs of beryllium targets on NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yi, S. A.; Zylstra, A. B.; Kline, J. L.; Loomis, E. N.; Kyrala, G. A.; Shah, R. C.; Perry, T. S.; Kanzleiter, R. J.; Batha, S. H.; MacLaren, S. A.; Ralph, J. E.; Masse, L. P.; Salmonson, J. D.; Tipton, R. E.; Callahan, D. A.; Hurricane, O. A.

    2017-10-01

    An important determinant of target performance is implosion kinetic energy, which scales with the capsule size. The maximum achievable performance for a given laser is thus related to the largest capsule that can be imploded symmetrically, constrained by drive uniformity. A limiting factor for symmetric radiation drive is the ratio of hohlraum to capsule radii, or case-to-capsule ratio (CCR). For a fixed laser energy, a larger hohlraum allows for driving bigger capsules symmetrically at the cost of reduced peak radiation temperature (Tr). Beryllium ablators may thus allow for unique target design trade-offs due to their higher ablation efficiency at lower Tr. By utilizing larger hohlraum sizes than most modern NIF designs, beryllium capsules thus have the potential to operate in unique regions of the target design parameter space. We present design simulations of beryllium targets with a large CCR = 4.3 3.7 . These are scaled surrogates of large hohlraum low Tr beryllium targets, with the goal of quantifying symmetry tunability as a function of CCR. This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. DOE by LANL under contract DE-AC52- 06NA25396, and by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

  18. Risk-based approach for controlling beryllium exposure in a manufacturing environment

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gilmore, W. E.; Clawson, C. D.; Ellis, K. K.

    There are many diverse uses for beryllium in both military and industrial applications. Unfortunately, there are certain worker health risks associated with the manufacture and production of beryllium products. Respiratory illnesses due to prolonged contact with beryllium particulate are of paramount concern. However, these health risks can be controlled provided that the appropriate protective measures to prevent worker exposure from beryllium are in place. But it is no1 always a straightforward process to identify exactly what the beryllium protective measures should be in order to realize a true risk savings. Without prudent attention to a systematic inquiry and suitable evaluativemore » criteria, a program for controlling beryllium health risks can be lacking in completeness and overall effectiveness. One approach that took into account the necessary ingredients for risk-based determination of beryllium protective measures was developed for a beryllium operation at a Department of Energy (DOE) facility. The methodological framework that was applied at this facility, as well as a discussion of the final beryllium protective measures that were determined by this approach will be presented. Regulatory aspects for working with beryllium, as well as a risk-assessment strategy for ranking beryllium-handling activities with respect to exposure potential will also be discussed. The presentation will conclude with a synopsis of lessons-learned as gleaned from this case study, as well as providing the participants with a constructive blueprint that can be adapted to other processes involving beryllium.« less

  19. Method of making alloys of beryllium with plutonium and the like

    DOEpatents

    Runnals, O J.C.

    1959-02-24

    The production or alloys of beryllium with one or more of the metals uranium, plutonium, actinium, americium, curium, thorium, and cerium is described. A halide salt or the metal to be alloyed with the beryllium is heated at l3O0 deg C in the presence of beryllium to reduce the halide to metal and cause the latter to alloy directly with the beryllium. Although the heavy metal halides are more stable, thermodynamically, than the beryllium halides, the reducing reaction proceeds to completion if the beryllium halide product is continuously removed by vacuum distillation.

  20. METHOD OF MAKING ALLOYS OF BERYLLIUM WITH PLUTONIUM AND THE LIKE

    DOEpatents

    Runnals, O.J.C.

    1959-02-24

    The production of alloys of beryllium with one or more of the metals uranium, plutonium, actinium, americium, curium, thorium, and cerium are described. A halide salt of the metal to be alloyed with the beryllium is heated at 1300 deg C in the presence of beryllium to reduce the halide to metal and cause the latter to alloy directly with the beryllium. Although the heavy metal halides are more stable, thermodynamically, than the beryllium halides, the reducing reaction proceeds to completion if the beryllium halide product is continuously removed by vacuum distillation.

  1. Beryllium Metal II. A Review of the Available Toxicity Data

    PubMed Central

    Strupp, Christian

    2011-01-01

    Beryllium metal was classified in Europe collectively with beryllium compounds, e.g. soluble salts. Toxicological equivalence was assumed despite greatly differing physicochemical properties. Following introduction of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation, beryllium metal was classified as individual substance and more investigational efforts to appropriately characterize beryllium metal as a specific substance apart from soluble beryllium compounds was required. A literature search on toxicity of beryllium metal was conducted, and the resulting literature compiled together with the results of a recently performed study package into a comprehensive data set. Testing performed under Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development guidelines and Good Laboratory Practice concluded that beryllium metal was neither a skin irritant, an eye irritant, a skin sensitizer nor evoked any clinical signs of acute oral toxicity; discrepancies between the current legal classification of beryllium metal in the European Union (EU) and the experimental results were identified. Furthermore, genotoxicity and carcinogenicity were discussed in the context of the literature data and the new experimental data. It was concluded that beryllium metal is unlikely to be a classical nonthreshold mutagen. Effects on DNA repair and morphological cell transformation were observed but need further investigation to evaluate their relevance in vivo. Animal carcinogenicity studies deliver evidence of carcinogenicity in the rat; however, lung overload may be a species-specific confounding factor in the existing studies, and studies in other species do not give convincing evidence of carcinogenicity. Epidemiology has been intensively discussed over the last years and has the problem that the studies base on the same US beryllium production population and do not distinguish between metal and soluble compounds. It is noted that the correlation

  2. Fracture toughness of hot-pressed beryllium

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lemon, D. D.; Brown, W. F., Jr.

    1985-01-01

    This paper presents the results of an investigation into the fracture toughness, sustained-load flaw growth, and fatigue-crack propagation resistance of S200E hot-pressed beryllium at room temperature. It also reviews the literature pertaining to the influence of various factors on the fracture toughness of hot-pressed beryllium determined using fatigue-cracked specimens.

  3. Quantitative method of determining beryllium or a compound thereof in a sample

    DOEpatents

    McCleskey, T. Mark; Ehler, Deborah S.; John, Kevin D.; Burrell, Anthony K.; Collis, Gavin E.; Minogue, Edel M.; Warner, Benjamin P.

    2006-10-31

    A method of determining beryllium or a beryllium compound thereof in a sample, includes providing a sample suspected of comprising beryllium or a compound thereof, extracting beryllium or a compound thereof from the sample by dissolving in a solution, adding a fluorescent indicator to the solution to thereby bind any beryllium or a compound thereof to the fluorescent indicator, and determining the presence or amount of any beryllium or a compound thereof in the sample by measuring fluorescence.

  4. Quantitative method of determining beryllium or a compound thereof in a sample

    DOEpatents

    McCleskey, T. Mark; Ehler, Deborah S.; John, Kevin D.; Burrell, Anthony K.; Collis, Gavin E.; Minogue, Edel M.; Warner, Benjamin P.

    2010-08-24

    A method of determining beryllium or a beryllium compound thereof in a sample, includes providing a sample suspected of comprising beryllium or a compound thereof, extracting beryllium or a compound thereof from the sample by dissolving in a solution, adding a fluorescent indicator to the solution to thereby bind any beryllium or a compound thereof to the fluorescent indicator, and determining the presence or amount of any beryllium or a compound thereof in the sample by measuring fluorescence.

  5. The mechanical behavior of cross-rolled beryllium sheet

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Henkener, J. A.; Spiker, I. K.; Castner, W. L.

    1992-01-01

    In response to the failure of a conical section of the Insat C satellite during certification testing, the use of beryllium for payload structures, particularly in sheet product form, is being reevaluated. A test program was initiated to study the tensile, shear, and out-of-plane failure modes of beryllium cross-rolled sheet and to apply data to the development of an appropriate failure criterion. Tensile test results indicated that sanding the surface of beryllium sheet has no significant effect on yield strength but can produce a profound reduction in ultimate strength and results obtained by finite element analysis. Critical examination of these test results may contribute to the modification of a JSC policy for the use of beryllium in orbiter and payload structures.

  6. Detection of beryllium by laser-induced-breakdown spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Radziemski, Leon J.; Cremers, David A.; Loree, Thomas R.

    Using the new technique of laser-induced-breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) a limit of detection was measured for beryllium in air of 0.5 ng/g ( w/w), which is one-third of the OSHA limit for the 8-h average exposure to beryllium. Approximately linear working curves were obtained over the concentration range 0.5 to 2 × 10 4 ng g -1. The potential application of this technique to a beryllium monitoring instrument is discussed.

  7. Neutron counter based on beryllium activation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bienkowska, B.; Prokopowicz, R.; Kaczmarczyk, J.

    2014-08-21

    The fusion reaction occurring in DD plasma is followed by emission of 2.45 MeV neutrons, which carry out information about fusion reaction rate and plasma parameters and properties as well. Neutron activation of beryllium has been chosen for detection of DD fusion neutrons. The cross-section for reaction {sup 9}Be(n, α){sup 6}He has a useful threshold near 1 MeV, which means that undesirable multiple-scattered neutrons do not undergo that reaction and therefore are not recorded. The product of the reaction, {sup 6}He, decays with half-life T{sub 1/2} = 0.807 s emitting β{sup −} particles which are easy to detect. Large areamore » gas sealed proportional detector has been chosen as a counter of β–particles leaving activated beryllium plate. The plate with optimized dimensions adjoins the proportional counter entrance window. Such set-up is also equipped with appropriate electronic components and forms beryllium neutron activation counter. The neutron flux density on beryllium plate can be determined from the number of counts. The proper calibration procedure needs to be performed, therefore, to establish such relation. The measurements with the use of known β–source have been done. In order to determine the detector response function such experiment have been modeled by means of MCNP5–the Monte Carlo transport code. It allowed proper application of the results of transport calculations of β{sup −} particles emitted from radioactive {sup 6}He and reaching proportional detector active volume. In order to test the counter system and measuring procedure a number of experiments have been performed on PF devices. The experimental conditions have been simulated by means of MCNP5. The correctness of simulation outcome have been proved by measurements with known radioactive neutron source. The results of the DD fusion neutron measurements have been compared with other neutron diagnostics.« less

  8. Cryo-scatter measurements of beryllium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lippey, Barret; Krone-Schmidt, Wilfried

    1991-12-01

    Bi-directional Reflection Distribution Function measurements were performed as a function of cryogenic temperature for various substrates. Substrates investigated include HIPed and sputtered beryllium produced from different powders and by various manufacturing and polishing processes. In some samples investigated, the BRDF at 10.6 microns increased by a factor of 2 to 5 during cooling from 300 to 30 Kelvin. On repeated temperature cycling the change in BRDF appeared to be totally elastic. The cryo-scatter effect does not occur for all types of beryllium.

  9. Proton irradiation effects on beryllium - A macroscopic assessment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simos, Nikolaos; Elbakhshwan, Mohamed; Zhong, Zhong; Camino, Fernando

    2016-10-01

    Beryllium, due to its excellent neutron multiplication and moderation properties, in conjunction with its good thermal properties, is under consideration for use as plasma facing material in fusion reactors and as a very effective neutron reflector in fission reactors. While it is characterized by unique combination of structural, chemical, atomic number, and neutron absorption cross section it suffers, however, from irradiation generated transmutation gases such as helium and tritium which exhibit low solubility leading to supersaturation of the Be matrix and tend to precipitate into bubbles that coalesce and induce swelling and embrittlement thus degrading the metal and limiting its lifetime. Utilization of beryllium as a pion production low-Z target in high power proton accelerators has been sought both for its low Z and good thermal properties in an effort to mitigate thermos-mechanical shock that is expected to be induced under the multi-MW power demand. To assess irradiation-induced changes in the thermal and mechanical properties of Beryllium, a study focusing on proton irradiation damage effects has been undertaken using 200 MeV protons from the Brookhaven National Laboratory Linac and followed by a multi-faceted post-irradiation analysis that included the thermal and volumetric stability of irradiated beryllium, the stress-strain behavior and its ductility loss as a function of proton fluence and the effects of proton irradiation on the microstructure using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The mimicking of high temperature irradiation of Beryllium via high temperature annealing schemes has been conducted as part of the post-irradiation study. This paper focuses on the thermal stability and mechanical property changes of the proton irradiated beryllium and presents results of the macroscopic property changes of Beryllium deduced from thermal and mechanical tests.

  10. Process for synthesis of beryllium chloride dietherate

    DOEpatents

    Bergeron, Charles; Bullard, John E.; Morgan, Evan

    1991-01-01

    A low temperature method of producing beryllium chloride dietherate through the addition of hydrogen chloride gas to a mixture of beryllium metal in ether in a reaction vessel is described. A reflux condenser provides an exit for hydrogen produced form the reaction. A distillation condenser later replaces the reflux condenser for purifying the resultant product.

  11. Evaluation of beryllium for space shuttle components

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Trapp, A. E.

    1972-01-01

    Application of beryllium to specific full-scale space shuttle structural components and assemblies was studied. Material evaluations were conducted to check the mechanical properties of as-received material to gain design information on characteristics needed for the material in the space shuttle environment, and to obtain data needed for evaluating component and panel tests. Four beryllium structural assemblies were analyzed and designed. Selected components of these assemblies, representing areas of critical loading or design/process uncertainty, were designed and tested, and two panel assemblies were fabricated. Trends in cost and weight factors were determined by progressive estimation at key points of preliminary design, final design, and fabrication to aid in a cost/weight evaluation of the use of beryllium.

  12. 40 CFR 63.11166 - What General Provisions apply to primary beryllium production facilities?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... Primary Nonferrous Metals Area Sources-Zinc, Cadmium, and Beryllium Primary Beryllium Production Facilities § 63.11166 What General Provisions apply to primary beryllium production facilities? (a) You must... primary beryllium production facilities? 63.11166 Section 63.11166 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL...

  13. A Report on the Validation of Beryllium Strength Models

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Armstrong, Derek Elswick

    2016-02-05

    This report discusses work on validating beryllium strength models with flyer plate and Taylor rod experimental data. Strength models are calibrated with Hopkinson bar and quasi-static data. The Hopkinson bar data for beryllium provides strain rates up to about 4000 per second. A limitation of the Hopkinson bar data for beryllium is that it only provides information on strain up to about 0.15. The lack of high strain data at high strain rates makes it difficult to distinguish between various strength model settings. The PTW model has been calibrated many different times over the last 12 years. The lack ofmore » high strain data for high strain rates has resulted in these calibrated PTW models for beryllium exhibiting significantly different behavior when extrapolated to high strain. For beryllium, the α parameter of PTW has recently been calibrated to high precision shear modulus data. In the past the α value for beryllium was set based on expert judgment. The new α value for beryllium was used in a calibration of the beryllium PTW model by Sky Sjue. The calibration by Sjue used EOS table information to model the temperature dependence of the heat capacity. Also, the calibration by Sjue used EOS table information to model the density changes of the beryllium sample during the Hopkinson bar and quasi-static experiments. In this paper, the calibrated PTW model by Sjue is compared against experimental data and other strength models. The other strength models being considered are a PTW model calibrated by Shuh- Rong Chen and a Steinberg-Guinan type model by John Pedicini. The three strength models are used in a comparison against flyer plate and Taylor rod data. The results show that the Chen PTW model provides better agreement to this data. The Chen PTW model settings have been previously adjusted to provide a better fit to flyer plate data, whereas the Sjue PTW model has not been changed based on flyer plate data. However, the Sjue model provides a reasonable

  14. Beryllium and compounds

    Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)

    EPA / 635 / R - 98 / 008 TOXICOLOGICAL REVIEW OF BERYLLIUM AND COMPOUNDS ( CAS No . 7440 - 41 - 7 ) In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System ( IRIS ) April 1998 U.S . Environmental Protection Agency Washington , DC DISCLAIMER This document has been reviewed in ac

  15. Compatibility of stainless steels and lithiated ceramics with beryllium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Flament, T.; Fauvet, P.; Sannier, J.

    1988-07-01

    The introduction of beryllium as a neutron multiplier in ceramic blankets of thermonuclear fusion reactors may give rise to the following compatibility problems: (i) oxidation of Be by ceramics (lithium aluminate and silicates) or by water vapour; (ii) interaction between beryllium and austenitic and martensitic steels. The studies were done in contact tests under vacuum and in tests under wet sweeping helium. The contact tests under vacuum have revealed that the interaction of beryllium with ceramics seems to be low up to 700°C, the interaction of beryllium with steels is significant and is characterized by the formation of a diffusion layer and of a brittle Be-Fe-Ni compound. With type 316 L austenitic steel, this interaction appears quite large at 600°C whereas it is noticeable only at 700°C with martensitic steels. The experiments carried out with sweeping wet helium at 600°C have evidenced a slight oxidation of beryllium due to water vapour which can be enhanced in the front of uncompletely dehydrated ceramics.

  16. Characterization of beryllium deformation using in-situ x-ray diffraction

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Magnuson, Eric Alan; Brown, Donald William; Clausen, Bjorn

    2015-08-24

    Beryllium’s unique mechanical properties are extremely important in a number of high performance applications. Consequently, accurate models for the mechanical behavior of beryllium are required. However, current models are not sufficiently microstructure aware to accurately predict the performance of beryllium under a range of processing and loading conditions. Previous experiments conducted using the SMARTS and HIPPO instruments at the Lujan Center(LANL), have studied the relationship between strain rate and texture development, but due to the limitations of neutron diffraction studies, it was not possible to measure the response of the material in real-time. In-situ diffraction experiments conducted at the Advancedmore » Photon Source have allowed the real time measurement of the mechanical response of compressed beryllium. Samples of pre-strained beryllium were reloaded orthogonal to their original load path to show the reorientation of already twinned grains. Additionally, the in-situ experiments allowed the real time tracking of twin evolution in beryllium strained at high rates. The data gathered during these experiments will be used in the development and validation of a new, microstructure aware model of the constitutive behavior of beryllium.« less

  17. Mineral resource of the month: beryllium

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Shedd, Kim B.

    2006-01-01

    Beryllium metal is lighter than aluminum and stiffer than steel. These and other properties, including its strength, dimensional stability, thermal properties and reflectivity, make it useful for aerospace and defense applications, such as satellite and space-vehicle structural components. Beryllium’s nuclear properties, combined with its low density, make it useful as a neutron reflector and moderator in nuclear reactors. Because it is transparent to most X rays, beryllium is used as X-ray windows in medical, industrial and analytical equipment.

  18. Investigation of ITER candidate beryllium grades irradiated at high temperature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kupriyanov, I. B.; Gorokhov, V. A.; Melder, R. R.; Ostrovsky, Z. E.; Gervash, A. A.

    1998-10-01

    Beryllium is one of the main candidate materials both for the neutron multiplier in a solid breeding blanket and for the plasma facing components. That is why the investigation of beryllium behaviour under the typical for fusion reactor loading, in particular under the neutron irradiation, is of a great importance. This paper presents some results of investigation of five beryllium grades (DshG-200, TR-30, TshG-56, TRR, TE-30, TIP-30) fabricated by VNIINM, Russia, and one (S-65) fabricated by Brush Wellman, USA. The average grain size of the investigated beryllium grades varied from 8 to 40 μm, beryllium oxide content was 0.7-3.2 wt.%, initial tensile strength 250-680 MPa. All the samples were irradiated in active zone of SM-3 reactor of 650-700°C up to the fast neutron fluence (5.5-6.2) × 10 21 cm -2 (2.7-3.0 dpa, helium content up to 1150 appm), E > 0.1 MeV. Irradiation swelling of the materials was revealed to be in the range of 0.3-1.7%. Beryllium grades TR-30 and TRR having the smallest grain size and highest beryllium oxide content, demonstrated minimal swelling, which did not exceed 0.3% at 700°C and fluence 5.5 × 10 21 cm -2. Mechanical properties and microstructure parameters measured before and after irradiation are also presented.

  19. Proton irradiation effects on beryllium – A macroscopic assessment

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Simos, Nikolaos; Elbakhshwan, Mohamed; Zhong, Zhong

    Beryllium, due to its excellent neutron multiplication and moderation properties, in conjunction with its good thermal properties, is under consideration for use as plasma facing material in fusion reactors and as a very effective neutron reflector in fission reactors. While it is characterized by unique combination of structural, chemical, atomic number, and neutron absorption cross section it suffers, however, from irradiation generated transmutation gases such as helium and tritium which exhibit low solubility leading to supersaturation of the Be matrix and tend to precipitate into bubbles that coalesce and induce swelling and embrittlement thus degrading the metal and limiting itsmore » lifetime. Utilization of beryllium as a pion production low-Z target in high power proton accelerators has been sought both for its low Z and good thermal properties in an effort to mitigate thermos-mechanical shock that is expected to be induced under the multi-MW power demand. To assess irradiation-induced changes in the thermal and mechanical properties of Beryllium, a study focusing on proton irradiation damage effects has been undertaken using 200 MeV protons from the Brookhaven National Laboratory Linac and followed by a multi-faceted post-irradiation analysis that included the thermal and volumetric stability of irradiated beryllium, the stress-strain behavior and its ductility loss as a function of proton fluence and the effects of proton irradiation on the microstructure using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The mimicking of high temperature irradiation of Beryllium via high temperature annealing schemes has been conducted as part of the post-irradiation study. This study focuses on the thermal stability and mechanical property changes of the proton irradiated beryllium and presents results of the macroscopic property changes of Beryllium deduced from thermal and mechanical tests.« less

  20. Proton irradiation effects on beryllium – A macroscopic assessment

    DOE PAGES

    Simos, Nikolaos; Elbakhshwan, Mohamed; Zhong, Zhong; ...

    2016-07-01

    Beryllium, due to its excellent neutron multiplication and moderation properties, in conjunction with its good thermal properties, is under consideration for use as plasma facing material in fusion reactors and as a very effective neutron reflector in fission reactors. While it is characterized by unique combination of structural, chemical, atomic number, and neutron absorption cross section it suffers, however, from irradiation generated transmutation gases such as helium and tritium which exhibit low solubility leading to supersaturation of the Be matrix and tend to precipitate into bubbles that coalesce and induce swelling and embrittlement thus degrading the metal and limiting itsmore » lifetime. Utilization of beryllium as a pion production low-Z target in high power proton accelerators has been sought both for its low Z and good thermal properties in an effort to mitigate thermos-mechanical shock that is expected to be induced under the multi-MW power demand. To assess irradiation-induced changes in the thermal and mechanical properties of Beryllium, a study focusing on proton irradiation damage effects has been undertaken using 200 MeV protons from the Brookhaven National Laboratory Linac and followed by a multi-faceted post-irradiation analysis that included the thermal and volumetric stability of irradiated beryllium, the stress-strain behavior and its ductility loss as a function of proton fluence and the effects of proton irradiation on the microstructure using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The mimicking of high temperature irradiation of Beryllium via high temperature annealing schemes has been conducted as part of the post-irradiation study. This study focuses on the thermal stability and mechanical property changes of the proton irradiated beryllium and presents results of the macroscopic property changes of Beryllium deduced from thermal and mechanical tests.« less

  1. 40 CFR 468.20 - Applicability; description of the beryllium copper forming subcategory.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... beryllium copper forming subcategory. 468.20 Section 468.20 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS COPPER FORMING POINT SOURCE CATEGORY Beryllium Copper Forming Subcategory § 468.20 Applicability; description of the beryllium copper forming...

  2. 40 CFR 468.20 - Applicability; description of the beryllium copper forming subcategory.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... beryllium copper forming subcategory. 468.20 Section 468.20 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS COPPER FORMING POINT SOURCE CATEGORY Beryllium Copper Forming Subcategory § 468.20 Applicability; description of the beryllium copper forming...

  3. Purfication kinetics of beryllium during vacuum induction melting

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mukherjee, J. L.; Gupta, K. P.; Li, C. H.

    1972-01-01

    The kinetics of evaporation in binary alloys were quantitatively treated. The formalism so developed works well for several systems studied. The kinetics of purification of beryllium was studied through evaporation data actually acquired during vacuum induction melting. Normal evaporation equations are shown to be generally valid and useful for understanding the kinetics of beryllium purification. The normal evaporation analysis has been extended to cover cases of limited liquid diffusion. It was shown that under steady-state evaporation, the solute concentration near the surface may be up to six orders of magnitude different from the bulk concentration. Corrections for limited liquid diffusion are definitely needed for the highly evaporative solute elements, such as Zn, Mg, and Na, for which the computed evaporation times are improved by five orders of magnitude. The commonly observed logarithmic relation between evaporation time and final concentration further supports the validity of the normal evaporation equations.

  4. Structure and mechanical properties of foils made of nanocrystalline beryllium

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zhigalina, O. M., E-mail: zhigal@ns.crys.ras.ru; Semenov, A. A.; Zabrodin, A. V.

    2016-07-15

    The phase composition and structural features of (45–90)-μm-thick foils obtained from nanocrystalline beryllium during multistep thermomechanical treatment have been established using electron microscopy, electron diffraction, electron backscattering diffraction, and energy-dispersive analysis. This treatment is shown to lead to the formation of a structure with micrometer- and submicrometer-sized grains. The minimum average size of beryllium grains is 352 nm. The inclusions of beryllium oxide (BeO) of different modifications with tetragonal (sp. gr. P4{sub 2}/mnm) and hexagonal (sp. gr. P6{sub 3}/mmc) lattices are partly ground during deformation to a size smaller than 100 nm and are located along beryllium grain boundaries inmore » their volume, significantly hindering migration during treatment. The revealed structural features of foils with submicrometer-sized crystallites provide the thermal stability of their structural state. Beryllium with this structure is a promising material for X-ray instrument engineering and for the production of ultrathin (less than 10 μm) vacuum-dense foils with very high physicomechanical characteristics.« less

  5. Comparison of plastic, high density carbon, and beryllium as indirect drive NIF ablators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kritcher, A. L.; Clark, D.; Haan, S.; Yi, S. A.; Zylstra, A. B.; Callahan, D. A.; Hinkel, D. E.; Berzak Hopkins, L. F.; Hurricane, O. A.; Landen, O. L.; MacLaren, S. A.; Meezan, N. B.; Patel, P. K.; Ralph, J.; Thomas, C. A.; Town, R.; Edwards, M. J.

    2018-05-01

    Detailed radiation hydrodynamic simulations calibrated to experimental data have been used to compare the relative strengths and weaknesses of three candidate indirect drive ablator materials now tested at the NIF: plastic, high density carbon or diamond, and beryllium. We apply a common simulation methodology to several currently fielded ablator platforms to benchmark the model and extrapolate designs to the full NIF envelope to compare on a more equal footing. This paper focuses on modeling of the hohlraum energetics which accurately reproduced measured changes in symmetry when changes to the hohlraum environment were made within a given platform. Calculations suggest that all three ablator materials can achieve a symmetric implosion at a capsule outer radius of ˜1100 μm, a laser energy of 1.8 MJ, and a DT ice mass of 185 μg. However, there is more uncertainty in the symmetry predictions for the plastic and beryllium designs. Scaled diamond designs had the most calculated margin for achieving symmetry and the highest fuel absorbed energy at the same scale compared to plastic or beryllium. A comparison of the relative hydrodynamic stability was made using ultra-high resolution capsule simulations and the two dimensional radiation fluxes described in this work [Clark et al., Phys. Plasmas 25, 032703 (2018)]. These simulations, which include low and high mode perturbations, suggest that diamond is currently the most promising for achieving higher yields in the near future followed by plastic, and more data are required to understand beryllium.

  6. Isotopic Transmutations in Irradiated Beryllium and Their Implications on MARIA Reactor Operation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Andrzejewski, Krzysztof J.; Kulikowska, Teresa A

    2004-04-15

    Beryllium irradiated by neutrons with energies above 0.7 MeV undergoes (n,{alpha}) and (n,2n) reactions. The Be(n,{alpha}) reaction results in subsequent buildup of {sup 6}Li and {sup 3}He isotopes with large thermal neutron absorption cross sections causing poisoning of irradiated beryllium. The amount of the poison isotopes depends on the neutron flux level and spectrum. The high-flux MARIA reactor operated in Poland since 1975 consists of a beryllium matrix with fuel channels in cutouts of beryllium blocks. As the experimental determination of {sup 6}Li, {sup 3}H, and {sup 3}He content in the operational reactor is impossible, a systematic computational study ofmore » the effect of {sup 3}He and {sup 6}Li presence in beryllium blocks on MARIA reactor reactivity and power density distribution has been undertaken. The analysis of equations governing the transmutation has been done for neutron flux parameters typical for MARIA beryllium blocks. Study of the mutual influence of reactor operational parameters and the buildup of {sup 6}Li, {sup 3}H, and {sup 3}He in beryllium blocks has shown the necessity of a detailed spatial solution of transmutation equations in the reactor, taking into account the whole history of its operation. Therefore, fuel management calculations using the REBUS code with included chains for Be(n,{alpha})-initiated reactions have been done for the whole reactor lifetime. The calculated poisoning of beryllium blocks has been verified against the critical experiment of 1993. Finally, the current {sup 6}Li, {sup 3}H, and {sup 3}He contents, averaged for each beryllium block, have been calculated. The reactivity drop caused by this poisoning is {approx}7%.« less

  7. Use of 41Ar production to measure ablator areal density in NIF beryllium implosions

    DOE PAGES

    Wilson, Douglas Carl; Cassata, W. S.; Sepke, S. M.; ...

    2017-02-06

    For the first time, 41Ar produced by the (n,Υ) reaction from 40Ar in the beryllium shell of a DT filled Inertial Confinement Fusion capsule has been measured. Ar is co-deposited with beryllium in the sputter deposition of the capsule shell. Combined with a measurement of the neutron yield, the radioactive 41Ar then quantifies the areal density of beryllium during the DT neutron production. Here, the measured 1.15 ± 0.17 × 10 +8 atoms of 41Ar are 2.5 times that from the best post-shot calculation, suggesting that the Ar and Be areal densities are correspondingly higher than those calculated. Possible explanationsmore » are that (1) the beryllium shell is compressed more than calculated, (2) beryllium has mixed into the cold DT ice, or more likely (3) less beryllium is ablated than calculated. Since only one DT filled beryllium capsule has been fielded at NIF, these results can be confirmed and expanded in the future.« less

  8. IRIS TOXICOLOGICAL REVIEW AND SUMMARY DOCUMENTS FOR BERYLLIUM AND COMPOUNDS

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA's assessment of the noncancer health effects and carcinogenic potential of Beryllium was added to the IRIS database in 1998. The IRIS program is updating the IRIS assessment for Beryllium. This update will incorporate health effects information published since the last assess...

  9. Developing effective health and safety training materials for workers in beryllium-using industries.

    PubMed

    Mayer, A S; Brazile, W J; Erb, S A; Barker, E A; Miller, C M; Mroz, M M; Maier, L A; Van Dyke, M V

    2013-07-01

    Despite reduced workplace exposures, beryllium sensitization and chronic beryllium disease still occur. Effective health and safety training is needed. Through an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Targeted Topic Training grant and company partners, we developed a training program. Evaluation and validation included knowledge and training reaction assessments and training impact survey. We describe herein the iterative, five-pronged approach: (1) needs assessment; (2) materials development; (3) pilot-testing, evaluation, and material revisions; (4) worker training; and (5) evaluation and validation. Mean posttraining test score increased 14% (82% to 96%; P < 0.005) and were unchanged at 90-day follow-up (94%; P = 0.744). In addition, 49% reported making changes in work practices. The use of a five-pronged training program was effective and well received and resulted in improved work practices. These materials are available on the OSHA Web site.

  10. IRIS Toxicological Review of Beryllium and Compounds (2008 ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA is conducting a peer review and public comment of the scientific basis supporting the human health hazard and dose-response assessment of Beryllium that when finalized will appear on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database. An IRIS Toxicological Review of Beryllium and Compounds was published in 1988 and reassessed in 1998. The current draft (2007) only focuses on the cancer assessment and does not re-evaluate posted reference doses or reference concentrations.

  11. Actinide/beryllium neutron sources with reduced dispersion characteristics

    DOEpatents

    Schulte, Louis D.

    2012-08-14

    Neutron source comprising a composite, said composite comprising crystals comprising BeO and AmBe.sub.13, and an excess of beryllium, wherein the crystals have an average size of less than 2 microns; the size distribution of the crystals is less than 2 microns; and the beryllium is present in a 7-fold to a 75-fold excess by weight of the amount of AmBe.sub.13; and methods of making thereof.

  12. Beryllium fabrication/cost assessment for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Beeston, J.M.; Longhurst, G.R.; Parsonage, T.

    1990-06-01

    A fabrication and cost estimate of three possible beryllium shapes for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) blanket is presented. The fabrication method by hot pressing (HP), cold isostatic pressing plus sintering (CIP+S), cold isostatic pressing plus sintering plus hot isostatic pressing (CIP+S+HIP), and sphere production by atomization or rotary electrode will be discussed. Conventional hot pressing blocks of beryllium with subsequent machining to finished shapes can be more expensive than production of a net shape by cold isostatic pressing and sintering. The three beryllium shapes to be considered here and proposed for ITER are: (1) cubic blocks (3 tomore » 17 cm on an edge), (2) tubular cylinders (33 to 50 mm i.d. by 62 mm o.d. by 8 m long), and (3) spheres (1--5 mm dia.). A rough cost estimate of the basic shape is presented which would need to be refined if the surface finish and tolerances required are better than the sintering process produces. The final cost of the beryllium in the blanket will depend largely on the machining and recycling of beryllium required to produce the finished product. The powder preparation will be discussed before shape fabrication. 10 refs., 6 figs.« less

  13. Inorganic dust pneumonias: the metal-related parenchymal disorders.

    PubMed Central

    Kelleher, P; Pacheco, K; Newman, L S

    2000-01-01

    In recent years the greatest progress in our understanding of pneumoconioses, other than those produced by asbestos, silica, and coal, has been in the arena of metal-induced parenchymal lung disorders. Inhalation of metal dusts and fumes can induce a wide range of lung pathology, including airways disorders, cancer, and parenchymal diseases. The emphasis of this update is on parenchymal diseases caused by metal inhalation, including granulomatous disease, giant cell interstitial pneumonitis, chemical pneumonitis, and interstitial fibrosis, among others. The clinical characteristics, epidemiology, and pathogenesis of disorders arising from exposure to aluminum, beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, copper, iron, mercury, and nickel are presented in detail. Metal fume fever, an inhalation fever syndrome attributed to exposure to a number of metals, is also discussed. Advances in our knowledge of antigen-specific immunologic reactions in the lung are particularly evident in disorders secondary to beryllium and nickel exposure, where immunologic mechanisms have been well characterized. For example, current evidence suggests that beryllium acts as an antigen, or hapten, and is presented by antigen-presenting cells to CD4+ T cells, which possess specific surface antigen receptors. Other metals such as cadmium and mercury induce nonspecific damage, probably by initiating production of reactive oxygen species. Additionally, genetic susceptibility markers associated with increased risk have been identified in some metal-related diseases such as chronic beryllium disease and hard metal disease. Future research needs include development of biologic markers of metal-induced immunologic disease, detailed characterization of human exposure, examination of gene alleles that might confer risk, and association of exposure data with that of genetic susceptibility. PMID:10931787

  14. Methods for the mitigation of the chemical reactivity of beryllium in steam

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Druyts, F.; Alves, E. C.; Wu, C. H.

    2004-08-01

    In the safety assessment of future fusion reactors, the reaction of beryllium with steam remains one of the main concerns. In case of a loss of coolant accident (LOCA), the use of beryllium in combination with pressurised water as coolant can lead to excessive hydrogen production due to the reaction Be + H 2O = BeO + H 2 + heat. Therefore, we started an R&D programme aimed at investigating mitigation methods for the beryllium/steam reaction. Beryllium samples were implanted with either calcium or aluminium ions in a 210 kV ion implanter at ITN Lisbon. The chemical reactivity of these samples in steam was measured at SCK • CEN in a dedicated experimental facility providing coupled thermogravimetry/mass spectrometry. In comparison to reference undoped material, the reactivity of doped beryllium after 30 min of exposure decreased with a factor 2 to 4. The mitigating effect was higher for calcium-doped than for aluminium-doped samples.

  15. Determination of beryllium concentrations in UK ambient air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Goddard, Sharon L.; Brown, Richard J. C.; Ghatora, Baljit K.

    2016-12-01

    Air quality monitoring of ambient air is essential to minimise the exposure of the general population to toxic substances such as heavy metals, and thus the health risks associated with them. In the UK, ambient air is already monitored under the UK Heavy Metals Monitoring Network for a number of heavy metals, including nickel (Ni), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) to ensure compliance with legislative limits. However, the UK Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS) has highlighted a need to limit concentrations of beryllium (Be) in air, which is not currently monitored, because of its toxicity. The aim of this work was to analyse airborne particulate matter (PM) sampled onto filter papers from the UK Heavy Metals Monitoring Network for quantitative, trace level beryllium determination and compare the results to the guideline concentration specified by EPAQS. Samples were prepared by microwave acid digestion in a matrix of 2% sulphuric acid and 14% nitric acid, verified by the use of Certified Reference Materials (CRMs). The digested samples were then analysed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The filters from the UK Heavy Metals Monitoring Network were tested using this procedure and the average beryllium concentration across the network for the duration of the study period was 7.87 pg m-3. The highest site average concentration was 32.0 pg m-3 at Scunthorpe Low Santon, which is significantly lower than levels that are thought to cause harm. However the highest levels were observed at sites monitoring industrial point sources, indicating that beryllium is being used and emitted, albeit at very low levels, from these point sources. Comparison with other metals concentrations and data from the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory suggests that current emissions of beryllium may be significantly overestimated.

  16. Evaluation of Defects inside Beryllium Foils using X-ray Computed Tomography and Shearing Interferometry

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sakurai, Tatsuyuki; Kohmura, Yoshiki; Takeuchi, Akihisa

    2007-01-19

    When beryllium is used in transmission X-ray optical elements for spatially coherent beams, speckles are usually observed in the transmission images. These speckles seem to be caused by defects either inside or on the surface of beryllium foil. We measured highly polished beryllium foil using two methods, X-ray computed tomography and X-ray shearing interferometry. The results indicate that observed speckle pattern is caused by many voids inside beryllium or inner low-density regions.

  17. Chronic Beryllium Disease: Revealing the Role of Beryllium Ion and Small Peptides Binding to HLA-DP2

    PubMed Central

    Petukh, Marharyta; Wu, Bohua; Stefl, Shannon; Smith, Nick; Hyde-Volpe, David; Wang, Li; Alexov, Emil

    2014-01-01

    Chronic Beryllium (Be) Disease (CBD) is a granulomatous disorder that predominantly affects the lung. The CBD is caused by Be exposure of individuals carrying the HLA-DP2 protein of the major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII). While the involvement of Be in the development of CBD is obvious and the binding site and the sequence of Be and peptide binding were recently experimentally revealed [1], the interplay between induced conformational changes and the changes of the peptide binding affinity in presence of Be were not investigated. Here we carry out in silico modeling and predict the Be binding to be within the acidic pocket (Glu26, Glu68 and Glu69) present on the HLA-DP2 protein in accordance with the experimental work [1]. In addition, the modeling indicates that the Be ion binds to the HLA-DP2 before the corresponding peptide is able to bind to it. Further analysis of the MD generated trajectories reveals that in the presence of the Be ion in the binding pocket of HLA-DP2, all the different types of peptides induce very similar conformational changes, but their binding affinities are quite different. Since these conformational changes are distinctly different from the changes caused by peptides normally found in the cell in the absence of Be, it can be speculated that CBD can be caused by any peptide in presence of Be ion. However, the affinities of peptides for Be loaded HLA-DP2 were found to depend of their amino acid composition and the peptides carrying acidic group at positions 4 and 7 are among the strongest binders. Thus, it is proposed that CBD is caused by the exposure of Be of an individual carrying the HLA-DP2*0201 allele and that the binding of Be to HLA-DP2 protein alters the conformational and ionization properties of HLA-DP2 such that the binding of a peptide triggers a wrong signaling cascade. PMID:25369028

  18. DETERMINING BERYLLIUM IN DRINKING WATER BY GRAPHITE FURNACE ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY

    EPA Science Inventory

    A direct graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy method for the analysis of beryllium in drinking water has been derived from a method for determining beryllium in urine. Ammonium phosphomolybdate and ascorbic acid were employed as matrix modifiers. The matrix modifiers s...

  19. Photoluminescence enhancement from GaN by beryllium doping

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    García-Gutiérrez, R.; Ramos-Carrazco, A.; Berman-Mendoza, D.; Hirata, G. A.; Contreras, O. E.; Barboza-Flores, M.

    2016-10-01

    High quality Be-doped (Be = 0.19 at.%) GaN powder has been grown by reacting high purity Ga diluted alloys (Be-Ga) with ultra high purity ammonia in a horizontal quartz tube reactor at 1200 °C. An initial low-temperature treatment to dissolve ammonia into the Ga melt produced GaN powders with 100% reaction efficiency. Doping was achieved by dissolving beryllium into the gallium metal. The powders synthesized by this method regularly consist of two particle size distributions: large hollow columns with lengths between 5 and 10 μm and small platelets in a range of diameters among 1 and 3 μm. The GaN:Be powders present a high quality polycrystalline profile with preferential growth on the [10 1 bar 1] plane, observed by means of X-ray diffraction. The three characteristics growth planes of the GaN crystalline phase were found by using high resolution TEM microscopy. The optical enhancing of the emission in the GaN powder is attributed to defects created with the beryllium doping. The room temperature photoluminescence emission spectra of GaN:Be powders, revealed the presence of beryllium on a shoulder peak at 3.39 eV and an unusual Y6 emission at 3.32eV related to surface donor-acceptor pairs. Also, a donor-acceptor-pair transition at 3.17 eV and a phonon replica transition at 3.1 eV were observed at low temperature (10 K). The well-known yellow luminescence band coming from defects was observed in both spectra at room and low temperature. Cathodoluminescence emission from GaN:Be powders presents two main peaks associated with an ultraviolet band emission and the yellow emission known from defects. To study the trapping levels related with the defects formed in the GaN:Be, thermoluminescence glow curves were obtained using UV and β radiation in the range of 50 and 150 °C.

  20. Low temperature coefficient of resistance and high gage factor in beryllium-doped silicon

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Robertson, J. B.; Littlejohn, M. A.

    1974-01-01

    The gage factor and resistivity of p-type silicon doped with beryllium was studied as a function of temperature, crystal orientation, and beryllium doping concentration. It was shown that the temperature coefficient of resistance can be varied and reduced to zero near room temperature by varying the beryllium doping level. Similarly, the magnitude of the piezoresistance gage factor for beryllium-doped silicon is slightly larger than for silicon doped with a shallow acceptor impurity such as boron, whereas the temperature coefficient of piezoresistance is about the same for material containing these two dopants. These results are discussed in terms of a model for the piezoresistance of compensated p-type silicon.

  1. The Cryogenic Tensile Properties of an Extruded Aluminum-Beryllium Alloy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gamwell, W. R.

    2002-01-01

    Basic mechanical properties; i.e., ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, percent elongation, and elastic modulus, were obtained for the aluminum-beryllium alloy, AlBeMet162, at cryogenic (-195.5 C (-320 F) and -252.8 C (-423 F)) temperatures. The material evaluated was purchased to the requirements of SAE-AMS7912, "Aluminum-Beryllium Alloy, Extrusions."

  2. Double Photoionization of excited Lithium and Beryllium

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Yip, Frank L.; McCurdy, C. William; Rescigno, Thomas N.

    2010-05-20

    We present total, energy-sharing and triple differential cross sections for one-photon, double ionization of lithium and beryllium starting from aligned, excited P states. We employ a recently developed hybrid atomic orbital/ numerical grid method based on the finite-element discrete-variable representation and exterior complex scaling. Comparisons with calculated results for the ground-state atoms, as well as analogous results for ground-state and excited helium, serve to highlight important selection rules and show some interesting effects that relate to differences between inter- and intra-shell electron correlation.

  3. 2. VIEW IN ROOM 111, ATOMIC ABSORPTION BERYLLIUM ANALYSIS LABORATORY. ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    2. VIEW IN ROOM 111, ATOMIC ABSORPTION BERYLLIUM ANALYSIS LABORATORY. AIR FILTERS AND SWIPES ARE DISSOLVED WITH ACIDS AND THE REMAINING RESIDUES ARE SUSPENDED IN NITRIC ACID SOLUTION. THE SOLUTION IS PROCESSED THROUGH THE ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROPHOTOMETER TO DETECT THE PRESENCE AND LEVELS OF BERYLLIUM. - Rocky Flats Plant, Health Physics Laboratory, On Central Avenue between Third & Fourth Streets, Golden, Jefferson County, CO

  4. Mechanical properties of irradiated beryllium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beeston, J. M.; Longhurst, G. R.; Wallace, R. S.; Abeln, S. P.

    1992-10-01

    Beryllium is planned for use as a neutron multiplier in the tritium breeding blanket of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). After fabricating samples of beryllium at densities varying from 80 to 100% of the theoretical density, we conducted a series of experiments to measure the effect of neutron irradiation on mechanical properties, especially strength and ductility. Samples were irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) to a neutron fluence of 2.6 × 10 25 n/m 2 ( E > 1 MeV) at an irradiation temperature of 75°C. These samples were subsequently compression-tested at room temperature, and the results were compared with similar tests on unirradiated specimens. We found that the irradiation increased the strength by approximately four times and reduced the ductility to approximately one fourth. Failure was generally ductile, but the 80% dense irradiated samples failed in brittle fracture with significant generation of fine particles and release of small quantities of tritium.

  5. Beryllium metal I. experimental results on acute oral toxicity, local skin and eye effects, and genotoxicity.

    PubMed

    Strupp, Christian

    2011-01-01

    The toxicity of soluble metal compounds is often different from that of the parent metal. Since no reliable data on acute toxicity, local effects, and mutagenicity of beryllium metal have ever been generated, beryllium metal powder was tested according to the respective Organisation for Economical Co-Operation and Development (OECD) guidelines. Acute oral toxicity of beryllium metal was investigated in rats and local effects on skin and eye in rabbits. Skin-sensitizing properties were investigated in guinea pigs (maximization method). Basic knowledge about systemic bioavailability is important for the design of genotoxicity tests on poorly soluble substances. Therefore, it was necessary to experimentally compare the capacities of beryllium chloride and beryllium metal to form ions under simulated human lung conditions. Solubility of beryllium metal in artificial lung fluid was low, while solubility in artificial lysosomal fluid was moderate. Beryllium chloride dissolution kinetics were largely different, and thus, metal extracts were used in the in vitro genotoxicity tests. Genotoxicity was investigated in vitro in a bacterial reverse mutagenicity assay, a mammalian cell gene mutation assay, a mammalian cell chromosome aberration assay, and an unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) assay. In addition, cell transformation was tested in a Syrian hamster embryo cell assay, and potential inhibition of DNA repair was tested by modification of the UDS assay. Beryllium metal was found not to be mutagenic or clastogenic based on the experimental in vitro results. Furthermore, treatment with beryllium metal extracts did not induce DNA repair synthesis, indicative of no DNA-damaging potential of beryllium metal. A cell-transforming potential and a tendency to inhibit DNA repair when the cell is severely damaged by an external stimulus were observed. Beryllium metal was also found not to be a skin or eye irritant, not to be a skin sensitizer, and not to have relevant acute oral

  6. METHOD OF ALLOYING REACTIVE METALS WITH ALUMINUM OR BERYLLIUM

    DOEpatents

    Runnalls, O.J.C.

    1957-10-15

    A halide of one or more of the reactive metals, neptunium, cerium and americium, is mixed with aluminum or beryllium. The mass is heated at 700 to 1200 deg C, while maintaining a substantial vacuum of above 10/sup -3/ mm of mercury or better, until the halide of the reactive metal is reduced and the metal itself alloys with the reducing metal. The reaction proceeds efficiently due to the volatilization of the halides of the reducing metal, aluminum or beryllium.

  7. Sampling and analysis plan for assessment of beryllium in soils surrounding TA-40 building 15

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ruedig, Elizabeth

    Technical Area (TA) 40 Building 15 (40-15) is an active firing site at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The weapons facility operations (WFO) group plans to build an enclosure over the site in 2017, so that test shots may be conducted year-round. The enclosure project is described in PRID 16P-0209. 40-15 is listed on LANL OSH-ISH’s beryllium inventory, which reflects the potential for beryllium in/on soils and building surfaces at 40-15. Some areas in and around 40-15 have previously been sampled for beryllium, but past sampling efforts did not achieve complete spatial coverage of the area. This Sampling and Analysis Planmore » (SAP) investigates the area surrounding 40-15 via 9 deep (≥1-ft.) soil samples and 11 shallow (6-in.) soil samples. These samples will fill the spatial data gaps for beryllium at 40-15, and will be used to support OSH-ISH’s final determination of 40-15’s beryllium registry status. This SAP has been prepared by the Environmental Health Physics program in consultation with the Industrial Hygiene program. Industrial Hygiene is the owner of LANL’s beryllium program, and will make a final determination with regard to the regulatory status of beryllium at 40-15.« less

  8. Summary of Surface Swipe Sampling for Beryllium on Lead Bricks and Shielding

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Paik, S Y; Barron, D A

    2011-08-03

    Approximately 25,000 lbs of lead bricks at Site 300 were assessed by the Site 300 Industrial Hygienis tand Health Physicist for potential contamination of beryllium and radiation for reuse. These lead bricks and shielding had been used as shielding material during explosives tests that included beryllium and depleted uranium. Based on surface swipe sampling that was performed between July 26 and October 11, 2010, specifically for beryllium, the use of a spray encapsulant was found to be an effective means to limit removable surface contamination to levels below the DOE release limit for beryllium, which is 0.2 mcg/100 cm{sup 2}.more » All the surface swipe sampling data for beryllium and a timeline of when the samples were collected (and a brief description) are presented in this report. On December 15, 2010, the lead bricks and shielding were surveyed with an ion chamber and indicated dose rates less than 0.05 mrem per hour on contact. This represents a dose rate consistent with natural background. An additional suevey was performed on February 8, 2011, using a GM survey instrument to estimate total activity on the lead bricks and shielding, confirming safe levels of radioactivity. The vendor is licensed to possess and work with radioactive material.« less

  9. Ab Initio Simulation Beryllium in Solid Molecular Hydrogen: Elastic Constant

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guerrero, Carlo L.; Perlado, Jose M.

    2016-03-01

    In systems of inertial confinement fusion targets Deuterium-Tritium are manufactured with a solid layer, it must have specific properties to increase the efficiency of ignition. Currently there have been some proposals to model the phases of hydrogen isotopes and hence their high pressure, but these works do not allow explaining some of the structures present at the solid phase change effect of increased pressure. By means of simulation with first principles methods and Quantum Molecular Dynamics, we compare the structural difference of solid molecular hydrogen pure and solid molecular hydrogen with beryllium, watching beryllium inclusion in solid hydrogen matrix, we obtain several differences in mechanical properties, in particular elastic constants. For C11 the difference between hydrogen and hydrogen with beryllium is 37.56%. This may produce a non-uniform initial compression and decreased efficiency of ignition.

  10. Assessment of Lead and Beryllium deposition and adsorption to exposed stream channel sediments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pawlowski, E.; Karwan, D. L.

    2016-12-01

    The fallout radionuclides Beryllium-7 and Lead-210 have been shown to be effective sediment tracers that readily bind to particles. The adsorption capacity has primarily been assessed in marine and coastal environments with an important assumption being the radionuclides' uniform spatial distribution as fallout from the atmosphere. This neglects localized storm events that may mine stratospheric reserves creating variable distributions. To test this assumption atmospheric deposition is collected at the University of Minnesota St. Paul Campus weather station during individual storm events and subsequently analyzed for Beryllium-7 and Lead-210. This provides further insight into continental effects on radionuclide deposition. The study of Beryllium-7 and Lead-210 adsorption in marine and coastal environments has provided valuable insights into the processes that influence the element's binding to particles but research has been limited in freshwater river environments. These environments have greater variation in pH, iron oxide content, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) levels which have been shown to influence the adsorption of Beryllium and Lead in marine settings. This research assesses the adsorption of Beryllium and Lead to river sediments collected from in-channel deposits by utilizing batch experiments that mimic the stream conditions from which the deposits were collected. Soils were collected from Difficult Run, VA, and the West Swan River, MN. Agitating the soils in a controlled solution of known background electrolyte and pH while varying the level of iron oxides and DOC in step provides a better understanding of the sorption of Lead and Beryllium under the conditions found within freshwater streams. Pairing the partitioning of Lead and Beryllium with their inputs to streams via depositional processes, from this study and others, allows for their assessment as possible sediment tracers and age-dating tools within the respective watersheds.

  11. Fostering the Basic Instinct of Boron in Boron-Beryllium Interactions.

    PubMed

    Montero-Campillo, M Merced; Alkorta, Ibon; Elguero, José

    2018-03-29

    A set of complexes L 2 HB···BeX 2 (L = CNH, CO, CS, N 2 , NH 3 , NCCH 3 , PH 3 , PF 3 , PMe 3 , OH 2 ; X = H, F) containing a boron-beryllium bond is described at the M06-2X/6-311+G(3df,2pd)//M062-2X/6-31+G(d) level of theory. In this quite unusual bond, boron acts as a Lewis base and beryllium as a Lewis acid, reaching binding energies up to -283.3 kJ/mol ((H 2 O) 2 HB···BeF 2 ). The stabilization of these complexes is possible thanks to the σ-donor role of the L ligands in the L 2 HB···BeX 2 structures and the powerful acceptor nature of beryllium. According to the topology of the density, these B-Be interactions present positive laplacian values and negative energy densities, covering different degrees of electron sharing. ELF calculations allowed measuring the population in the interboundary B-Be region, which varies between 0.20 and 2.05 electrons upon switching from the weakest ((CS) 2 HB···BeH 2 ) to the strongest complex ((H 2 O) 2 HB···BeF 2 ). These B-Be interactions can be considered as beryllium bonds in most cases.

  12. Modelisation and distribution of neutron flux in radium-beryllium source (226Ra-Be)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Didi, Abdessamad; Dadouch, Ahmed; Jai, Otman

    2017-09-01

    Using the Monte Carlo N-Particle code (MCNP-6), to analyze the thermal, epithermal and fast neutron fluxes, of 3 millicuries of radium-beryllium, for determine the qualitative and quantitative of many materials, using method of neutron activation analysis. Radium-beryllium source of neutron is established to practical work and research in nuclear field. The main objective of this work was to enable us harness the profile flux of radium-beryllium irradiation, this theoretical study permits to discuss the design of the optimal irradiation and performance for increased the facility research and education of nuclear physics.

  13. Characterization of Beryllium Windows for Coherent X-ray Optics

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Goto, Shunji; Yabashi, Makina; Tamasaku, Kenji

    2007-01-19

    Beryllium foils fabricated by several processes were characterized using spatially coherent x rays at 1-km beamline of SPring-8. By thickness dependence of bright x-ray spot density due to Fresnel diffraction from several-micron deficiencies, we found that speckles (bright x-ray spots) were due to voids with densities 103-104 mm-3 in powder foils and ingot foils. Compared with powder and ingot foils, a polished physical-vapor-deposited (PVD) beryllium foil gave highly uniform beams with no speckles. The PVD process eliminates the internal voids in principle and the PVD foil is the best for coherent x-ray applications.

  14. Method for removal of beryllium contamination from an article

    DOEpatents

    Simandl, Ronald F.; Hollenbeck, Scott M.

    2012-12-25

    A method of removal of beryllium contamination from an article is disclosed. The method typically involves dissolving polyisobutylene in a solvent such as hexane to form a tackifier solution, soaking the substrate in the tackifier to produce a preform, and then drying the preform to produce the cleaning medium. The cleaning media are typically used dry, without any liquid cleaning agent to rub the surface of the article and remove the beryllium contamination below a non-detect level. In some embodiments no detectible residue is transferred from the cleaning wipe to the article as a result of the cleaning process.

  15. Assessment of personal airborne exposures and surface contamination from x-ray vaporization of beryllium targets at the National Ignition Facility.

    PubMed

    Paik, Samuel Y; Epperson, Patrick M; Kasper, Kenneth M

    2017-06-01

    This article presents air and surface sampling data collected over the first two years since beryllium was introduced as a target material at the National Ignition Facility. Over this time, 101 experiments with beryllium-containing targets were executed. The data provides an assessment of current conditions in the facility and a baseline for future impacts as new, reduced regulatory limits for beryllium are being proposed by both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Department of Energy. This study also investigates how beryllium deposits onto exposed surfaces as a result of x-ray vaporization and the effectiveness of simple decontamination measures in reducing the amount of removable beryllium from a surface. Based on 1,961 surface wipe samples collected from entrant components (equipment directly exposed to target debris) and their surrounding work areas during routine reconfiguration activities, only one result was above the beryllium release limit of 0.2 µg/100 cm 2 and 27 results were above the analytical reporting limit of 0.01 µg/100 cm 2 , for a beryllium detection rate of 1.4%. Surface wipe samples collected from the internal walls of the NIF target chamber, however, showed higher levels of beryllium, with beryllium detected on 73% and 87% of the samples during the first and second target chamber entries (performed annually), respectively, with 23% of the samples above the beryllium release limit during the second target chamber entry. The analysis of a target chamber wall panel exposed during the first 30 beryllium-containing experiments (cumulatively) indicated that 87% of the beryllium contamination remains fixed onto the surface after wet wiping the surface and 92% of the non-fixed contamination was removed by decontaminating the surface using a dry wipe followed by a wet wipe. Personal airborne exposures assessed during access to entrant components and during target chamber entry indicated that airborne beryllium was not present

  16. Infrared spectroscopic study of radiation-induced adsorption of n-hexane on a beryllium surface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gadzhieva, N. N.

    2017-07-01

    Radiation-stimulated adsorption on a beryllium surface is studied by IR reflection-absorption spectroscopy. It is found that γ-irradiation at room temperature leads to the appearance of n-hexane adsorption centers on a beryllium surface according to molecular and dissociation mechanisms. The kinetics of n-hexane adsorption in a Be- n-hexane system is studied; activated dissociative chemisorption accompanied by formation of beryllium alkyls and surface hydrides is observed at absorbed doses 15 kGy ≤ Vγ ≤ 35 kGy. A possible mechanism of this process is suggested.

  17. Hydrogen isotope retention in beryllium for tokamak plasma-facing applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anderl, R. A.; Causey, R. A.; Davis, J. W.; Doerner, R. P.; Federici, G.; Haasz, A. A.; Longhurst, G. R.; Wampler, W. R.; Wilson, K. L.

    Beryllium has been used as a plasma-facing material to effect substantial improvements in plasma performance in the Joint European Torus (JET), and it is planned as a plasma-facing material for the first wall (FW) and other components of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The interaction of hydrogenic ions, and charge-exchange neutral atoms from plasmas, with beryllium has been studied in recent years with widely varying interpretations of results. In this paper we review experimental data regarding hydrogenic atom inventories in experiments pertinent to tokamak applications and show that with some very plausible assumptions, the experimental data appear to exhibit rather predictable trends. A phenomenon observed in high ion-flux experiments is the saturation of the beryllium surface such that inventories of implanted particles become insensitive to increased flux and to continued implantation fluence. Methods for modeling retention and release of implanted hydrogen in beryllium are reviewed and an adaptation is suggested for modeling the saturation effects. The TMAP4 code used with these modifications has succeeded in simulating experimental data taken under saturation conditions where codes without this feature have not. That implementation also works well under more routine conditions where the conventional recombination-limited release model is applicable. Calculations of tritium inventory and permeation in the ITER FW during the basic performance phase (BPP) using both the conventional recombination model and the saturation effects assumptions show a difference of several orders of magnitude in both inventory and permeation rate to the coolant.

  18. 20 CFR 30.615 - What type of tort suits filed against beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may disqualify certain claimants from receiving benefits under... Special Provisions Effect of Tort Suits Against Beryllium Vendors and Atomic Weapons Employers § 30.615 What type of tort suits filed against beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may disqualify...

  19. 20 CFR 30.615 - What type of tort suits filed against beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may disqualify certain claimants from receiving benefits under... Special Provisions Effect of Tort Suits Against Beryllium Vendors and Atomic Weapons Employers § 30.615 What type of tort suits filed against beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may disqualify...

  20. 20 CFR 30.615 - What type of tort suits filed against beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may disqualify certain claimants from receiving benefits under... Special Provisions Effect of Tort Suits Against Beryllium Vendors and Atomic Weapons Employers § 30.615 What type of tort suits filed against beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may disqualify...

  1. 20 CFR 30.615 - What type of tort suits filed against beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may disqualify certain claimants from receiving benefits under... Special Provisions Effect of Tort Suits Against Beryllium Vendors and Atomic Weapons Employers § 30.615 What type of tort suits filed against beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may disqualify...

  2. 20 CFR 30.615 - What type of tort suits filed against beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may disqualify certain claimants from receiving benefits under... Special Provisions Effect of Tort Suits Against Beryllium Vendors and Atomic Weapons Employers § 30.615 What type of tort suits filed against beryllium vendors or atomic weapons employers may disqualify...

  3. Risk of beryllium sensitization in a low-exposed former nuclear weapons cohort from the Cold War era.

    PubMed

    Mikulski, Marek A; Leonard, Stephanie A; Sanderson, Wayne T; Hartley, Patrick G; Sprince, Nancy L; Fuortes, Laurence J

    2011-03-01

    The nuclear weapons industry has long been known as a source of beryllium exposure. A total of 1,004 former workers from a nuclear weapons assembly site in the Midwest were screened for sensitization to beryllium (BeS). The screenings were part of the Department of Energy (DOE) Former Worker Program established in 1996. Twenty-three (2.3%) workers were found sensitized to beryllium and this prevalence was comparable to other DOE sites. Occasional, direct exposure to beryllium through machining and grinding of copper-beryllium (Cu-Be) 2% alloy tools was found to increase the risk of sensitization compared to background exposure (OR = 3.83; 95% CI: 1.04-14.03) with a statistically significant trend (P = 0.03) revealing that particular jobs are associated with sensitization. Exposure potential in this study was estimated based on job titles and not personal exposure information. These results confirm the need to screen workers using beryllium alloy tools in other industries and for consideration of altering work practices. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  4. 20 CFR 30.206 - How does a claimant prove that the employee was a “covered beryllium employee” exposed to...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... was a âcovered beryllium employeeâ exposed to beryllium dust, particles or vapor in the performance of... beryllium dust, particles or vapor in the performance of duty? (a) Proof of employment at or physical... during a period when beryllium dust, particles, or vapor may have been present at such a facility, may be...

  5. 20 CFR 30.206 - How does a claimant prove that the employee was a “covered beryllium employee” exposed to...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... was a âcovered beryllium employeeâ exposed to beryllium dust, particles or vapor in the performance of... beryllium dust, particles or vapor in the performance of duty? (a) Proof of employment at or physical... during a period when beryllium dust, particles, or vapor may have been present at such a facility, may be...

  6. 20 CFR 30.206 - How does a claimant prove that the employee was a “covered beryllium employee” exposed to...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... was a âcovered beryllium employeeâ exposed to beryllium dust, particles or vapor in the performance of... beryllium dust, particles or vapor in the performance of duty? (a) Proof of employment at or physical... during a period when beryllium dust, particles, or vapor may have been present at such a facility, may be...

  7. 20 CFR 30.206 - How does a claimant prove that the employee was a “covered beryllium employee” exposed to...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... was a âcovered beryllium employeeâ exposed to beryllium dust, particles or vapor in the performance of... beryllium dust, particles or vapor in the performance of duty? (a) Proof of employment at or physical... during a period when beryllium dust, particles, or vapor may have been present at such a facility, may be...

  8. 20 CFR 30.206 - How does a claimant prove that the employee was a “covered beryllium employee” exposed to...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... was a âcovered beryllium employeeâ exposed to beryllium dust, particles or vapor in the performance of... beryllium dust, particles or vapor in the performance of duty? (a) Proof of employment at or physical... during a period when beryllium dust, particles, or vapor may have been present at such a facility, may be...

  9. Assessment of personal airborne exposures and surface contamination from x-ray vaporization of beryllium targets at the National Ignition Facility

    DOE PAGES

    Paik, Samuel Y.; Epperson, Patrick M.; Kasper, Kenneth M.

    2017-02-28

    Here, this article presents air and surface sampling data collected over the first two years since beryllium was introduced as a target material at the National Ignition Facility. Over this time, 101 experiments with beryllium-containing targets were executed. The data provides an assessment of current conditions in the facility and a baseline for future impacts as new, reduced regulatory limits for beryllium are being proposed by both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Department of Energy. This study also investigates how beryllium deposits onto exposed surfaces as a result of x-ray vaporization and the effectiveness of simple decontamination measuresmore » in reducing the amount of removable beryllium from a surface. Based on 1,961 surface wipe samples collected from entrant components (equipment directly exposed to target debris) and their surrounding work areas during routine reconfiguration activities, only one result was above the beryllium release limit of 0.2 µg/100 cm 2 and 27 results were above the analytical reporting limit of 0.01 µg/100 cm 2, for a beryllium detection rate of 1.4%. Surface wipe samples collected from the internal walls of the NIF target chamber, however, showed higher levels of beryllium, with beryllium detected on 73% and 87% of the samples during the first and second target chamber entries (performed annually), respectively, with 23% of the samples above the beryllium release limit during the second target chamber entry. The analysis of a target chamber wall panel exposed during the first 30 beryllium-containing experiments (cumulatively) indicated that 87% of the beryllium contamination remains fixed onto the surface after wet wiping the surface and 92% of the non-fixed contamination was removed by decontaminating the surface using a dry wipe followed by a wet wipe. Personal airborne exposures assessed during access to entrant components and during target chamber entry indicated that airborne beryllium was

  10. Irradiated Beryllium Disposal Workshop, Idaho Falls, ID, May 29-30, 2002

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Longhurst, Glen Reed; Anderson, Gail; Mullen, Carlan K

    2002-07-01

    In 2001, while performing routine radioactive decay heat rate calculations for beryllium reflector blocks for the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR), it became evident that there may be sufficient concentrations of transuranic isotopes to require classification of this irradiated beryllium as transuranic waste. Measurements on samples from ATR reflector blocks and further calculations confirmed that for reflector blocks and outer shim control cylinders now in the ATR canal, transuranic activities are about five times the threshold for classification. That situation implies that there is no apparent disposal pathway for this material. The problem is not unique to the ATR. The Highmore » Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Missouri University Research Reactor at Columbia, Missouri and other reactors abroad must also deal with this issue. A workshop was held in Idaho Falls Idaho on May 29-30, 2002 to acquaint stakeholders with these findings and consider a path forward in resolving the issues attendant to disposition of irradiated material. Among the findings from this workshop were (1) there is a real potential for the US to be dependent on foreign sources for metallic beryllium within about a decade; (2) there is a need for a national policy on beryllium utilization and disposition and for a beryllium coordinating committee to be assembled to provide guidance on that policy; (3) it appears it will be difficult to dispose of this material at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico due to issues of Defense classification, facility radioactivity inventory limits, and transportation to WIPP; (4) there is a need for a funded DOE program to seek resolution of these issues including research on processing techniques that may make this waste acceptable in an existing disposal pathway or allow for its recycle.« less

  11. Beryllium-10 dating of the duration and retreat of the last pinedale glacial sequence

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gosse, J.C.; Klein, J.; Evenson, E.B.

    Accurate terrestrial glacial chronologies are needed for comparison with the marine record to establish the dynamics of global climate change during transitions from glacial to interglacial regimes. Cosmogenic beryllium-10 measurements in the Wind River Range indicate that the last glacial maximum (marine oxygen isotope stage 2) was achieved there by 21,700 {+-} 700 beryllium-10 years and lasted 5900 years. Ages of a sequence of recessional moraines and striated bedrock surfaces show that the initial deglaciation was rapid and that the entire glacial system retreated 33 kilometers to the cirque basin by 12,100 {+-} 500 beryllium-10 years.

  12. Influence of argon impurities on the elastic scattering of x-rays from imploding beryllium capsules

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saunders, A. M.; Chapman, D. A.; Kritcher, A. L.; Schoff, M.; Shuldberg, C.; Landen, O. L.; Glenzer, S. H.; Falcone, R. W.; Gericke, D. O.; Döppner, T.

    2018-03-01

    We investigate the effect of argon impurities on the elastic component of x-ray scattering spectra taken from directly driven beryllium capsule implosions at the OMEGA laser. The plasma conditions were obtained in a previous analysis [18] by fitting the inelastic scattering component. We show that the known argon impurity in the beryllium modifies the elastic scattering due to the larger number of bound electrons. We indeed find significant deviations in the elastic scattering from roughly 1 at.% argon contained in the beryllium. With knowledge of the argon impurity fraction, we use the elastic scattering component to determine the charge state of the compressed beryllium, as the fits are rather insensitive to the argon charge state. Finally, we discuss how doping small fractions of mid- or high-Z elements into low-Z materials could allow ionization balance studies in dense plasmas.

  13. An occurrence model for the national assessment of volcanogenic beryllium deposits

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Foley, Nora K.; Seal, Robert R.; Piatak, Nadine M.; Hetland, Brianna

    2010-01-01

    The general occurrence model summarized here is intended to provide a descriptive basis for the identification and assessment of undiscovered beryllium deposits of a type and style similar to those found at Spor Mountain, Juab County, Utah. The assessment model is restricted in its application in order to provide a coherent basis for assessing the probability of the occurrence of similar economic deposits using the current U.S. Geological Survey methodology. The model is intended to be used to identify tracts of land where volcanogenic epithermal replacement-type beryllium deposits hosted by metaluminous to peraluminous rhyolite are most likely to occur. Only a limited number of deposits or districts of this type are known, and only the ores of the Spor Mountain district have been studied in detail. The model highlights those distinctive aspects and features of volcanogenic epithermal beryllium deposits that pertain to the development of assessment criteria and puts forward a baseline analysis of the geoenvironmental consequences of mining deposits of this type.

  14. Status of RF beryllium characterization for ITER Fist Wall

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kupriyanov, I. B.; Nikolaev, G. N.; Roedig, M.; Gervash, A. А.; Linke, I. J.; Kurbatova, L. A.; Perevalov, S. I.; Giniyatulin, R. N.

    2011-10-01

    The status of RF R&D activities in production and characterization of TGP-56FW beryllium grade is presented. The results of metallographic studies of microstructure and cracks morphology are reported for full-scale Be tiles (56 × 56 × 10 mm) subjected to VDE simulation tests in TSEFEY-M testing facility (VDE-10 MJ/m 2 during 0.1 s, 1 shot ) and following low cycle thermal fatigue tests (500 thermal cycles at 1.5 MW/m 2). First results of plasma disruption tests ( E = 1.2-5 MJ/m 2, 5 ms), which were obtained during the realization of Thermal Shock/VDE Qualification program of RF beryllium in JUDITH-1 facility, are also discussed.

  15. Concept for a beryllium divertor with in-situ plasma spray surface regeneration

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, M. F.; Watson, R. D.; McGrath, R. T.; Croessmann, C. D.; Whitley, J. B.; Causey, R. A.

    1990-04-01

    Two serious problems with the use of graphite tiles on the ITER divertor are the limited lifetime due to erosion and the difficulty of replacing broken tiles inside the machine. Beryllium is proposed as an alternative low-Z armor material because the plasma spray process can be used to make in-situ repairs of eroded or damaged surfaces. Recent advances in plasma spray technology have produced beryllium coatings of 98% density with a 95% deposition efficiency and strong adhesion to the substrate. With existing technology, the entire active region of the ITER divertor surface could be coated with 2 mm of beryllium in less than 15 h using four small plasma spray guns. Beryllium also has other potential advantages over graphite, e.g., efficient gettering of oxygen, ten times less tritium inventory, reduced problems of transient fueling from D/T exchange and release, no runaway erosion cascades from self-sputtering, better adhesion of redeposited material, as well as higher strength, ductility, and fracture toughness than graphite. A 2-D finite element stress analysis was performed on a 3 mm thick Be tile brazed to an OFHC soft-copper saddle block, which was brazed to a high-strength copper tube. Peak stresses remained 50% below the ultimate strength for both brazing and in-service thermal stresses.

  16. Calculated power distribution of a thermionic, beryllium oxide reflected, fast-spectrum reactor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mayo, W.; Lantz, E.

    1973-01-01

    A procedure is developed and used to calculate the detailed power distribution in the fuel elements next to a beryllium oxide reflector of a fast-spectrum, thermionic reactor. The results of the calculations show that, although the average power density in these outer fuel elements is not far from the core average, the power density at the very edge of the fuel closest to the beryllium oxide is about 1.8 times the core avearge.

  17. Influence of argon impurities on the elastic scattering of x-rays from imploding beryllium capsules

    DOE PAGES

    Saunders, A. M.; Chapman, D. A.; Kritcher, A. L.; ...

    2018-03-01

    Here, we investigate the effect of argon impurities on the elastic component of x-ray scattering spectra taken from directly driven beryllium capsule implosions at the OMEGA laser. The plasma conditions were obtained in a previous analysis [18] by fitting the inelastic scattering component. We show that the known argon impurity in the beryllium modifies the elastic scattering due to the larger number of bound electrons. We indeed find significant deviations in the elastic scattering from roughly 1 at.% argon contained in the beryllium. With knowledge of the argon impurity fraction, we use the elastic scattering component to determine the chargemore » state of the compressed beryllium, as the fits are rather insensitive to the argon charge state. Lastly, we discuss how doping small fractions of mid- or high-Z elements into low-Z materials could allow ionization balance studies in dense plasmas.« less

  18. Is beryllium-induced lung cancer caused only by soluble forms and high exposure levels?

    PubMed

    Schubauer-Berigan, Mary K; Couch, James R; Deddens, James A

    2017-08-01

    The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently proposed a permissible exposure limit of 0.2 µg/m 3 for beryllium, based partly on extrapolated estimates of lung cancer risk from a pooled occupational cohort. The purpose of the present analysis was to evaluate whether cohort members exposed at lower levels to mainly insoluble forms of beryllium exhibit increased risk of lung cancer. We conducted Cox proportional hazards regression analyses among 75 lung cancer cases in age-based risk sets within two lower exposure plants in the pooled cohort followed from 1940 to 2005. We used categorical and power models to evaluate exposure-response patterns for mean and cumulative beryllium exposures in the two-plant cohort, comparing findings with the full pooled cohort. We also evaluated the distribution of exposure-years in each cohort by solubility class (soluble, insoluble and mixed). 98% of workers in the two-plant cohort were hired between 1955 and 1969. The mean beryllium exposure averaged 1.3 µg/m 3 and the predominant form was insoluble. Adjusting for confounders, we observed a monotonic increase in lung cancer mortality across exposure categories in the two-plant cohort. The exposure-response coefficients (per unit ln exposure) were 0.270 (p=0.061) for mean exposure and 0.170 (p=0.033) for cumulative exposure, compared with 0.155 and 0.094 (respectively) in the full cohort. The low-exposure levels at these two plants and the predominance of insoluble beryllium suggest that the overall pooled cohort findings on which OSHA's lung cancer risk assessment is based are relevant for current workers exposed to any form of beryllium. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  19. Tritium retention in S-65 beryllium after 100 eV plasma exposure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Causey, Rion A.; Longhurst, Glen R.; Harbin, Wally

    1997-02-01

    The tritium plasma experiment (TPE) has been used to measure the retention of tritium in S-65 beryllium under conditions similar to that expected for the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER). Beryllium samples 2 mm thick and 50 mm in diameter were exposed to a plasma of tritium and deuterium. The particle flux striking the samples was varied from approximately 1 × 10 17 ( D + T)/ cm2s up to about 3 × 10 18 ( D + T)/ cm2s. The beryllium samples were negatively biased to elevate the energy of the impinging ions to 100 eV. The temperature of the samples was varied from 373 K to 973 K. Exposure times of 1 h were used. Subsequent to the plasma exposure, the samples were outgassed in a separate system where 99% He and 1% H 2 gas was swept over the samples during heating. The sweep gas along with the released tritium was sent through an ionization chamber, through a copper oxide catalyst bed, and into a series of glycol bubblers. The amount of released tritium was determined both by the ionization chamber and by liquid scintillation counting of the glycol. Tritium retention in the beryllium disks varied from a high of 2.4 × 10 17 ( D + T)/ cm2 at 373 K to a low of 1 × 10 16 ( D + T)/ cm2 at 573 K. For almost every case, the tritium retention in the beryllium was less than that calculated using the C = 0 boundary condition at the plasma facing surface. It is believed that this lower than expected retention is due to rapid release of tritium from the large specific surface area created in the implant zone due to the production of voids, bubbles, and blisters.

  20. Adsorption of beryllium atoms and clusters both on graphene and in a bilayer of graphite investigated by DFT.

    PubMed

    Ferro, Yves; Fernandez, Nicolas; Allouche, Alain; Linsmeier, Christian

    2013-01-09

    We herein investigate the interaction of beryllium with a graphene sheet and in a bilayer of graphite by means of periodic DFT calculations. In all cases, we find the beryllium atoms to be more weakly bonded on graphene than in the bilayer. Be(2) forms both magnetic and non-magnetic structures on graphene depending on the geometrical configuration of adsorption. We find that the stability of the Be/bilayer system increases with the size of the beryllium clusters inserted into the bilayer of graphite. We also find a charge transfer from beryllium to the graphite layers. All these results are analysed in terms of electronic structure.

  1. Analysis of beryllium and depleted uranium: An overview of detection methods in aerosols and soils

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Camins, I.; Shinn, J.H.

    We conducted a survey of commercially available methods for analysis of beryllium and depleted uranium in aerosols and soils to find a reliable, cost-effective, and sufficiently precise method for researchers involved in environmental testing at the Yuma Proving Ground, Yuma, Arizona. Criteria used for evaluation include cost, method of analysis, specificity, sensitivity, reproducibility, applicability, and commercial availability. We found that atomic absorption spectrometry with graphite furnace meets these criteria for testing samples for beryllium. We found that this method can also be used to test samples for depleted uranium. However, atomic absorption with graphite furnace is not as sensitive amore » measurement method for depleted uranium as it is for beryllium, so we recommend that quality control of depleted uranium analysis be maintained by testing 10 of every 1000 samples by neutron activation analysis. We also evaluated 45 companies and institutions that provide analyses of beryllium and depleted uranium. 5 refs., 1 tab.« less

  2. Diffusion Bonding Beryllium to Reduced Activation Ferritic Martensitic Steel: Development of Processes and Techniques

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hunt, Ryan Matthew

    Only a few materials are suitable to act as armor layers against the thermal and particle loads produced by magnetically confined fusion. These candidates include beryllium, tungsten, and carbon fiber composites. The armor layers must be joined to the plasma facing components with high strength bonds that can withstand the thermal stresses resulting from differential thermal expansion. While specific joints have been developed for use in ITER (an experimental reactor in France), including beryllium to CuCrZr as well as tungsten to stainless steel interfaces, joints specific to commercially relevant fusion reactors are not as well established. Commercial first wall components will likely be constructed front Reduced Activation Ferritic Martensitic (RAFM) steel, which will need to be coating with one of the three candidate materials. Of the candidates, beryllium is particularly difficult to bond, because it reacts during bonding with most elements to form brittle intermetallic compounds. This brittleness is unacceptable, as it can lead to interface crack propagation and delamination of the armor layer. I have attempted to overcome the brittle behavior of beryllium bonds by developing a diffusion bonding process of beryllium to RAFM steel that achieves a higher degree of ductility. This process utilized two bonding aids to achieve a robust bond: a. copper interlayer to add ductility to the joint, and a titanium interlayer to prevent beryllium from forming unwanted Be-Cu intermetallics. In addition, I conducted a series of numerical simulations to predict the effect of these bonding aids on the residual stress in the interface. Lastly, I fabricated and characterized beryllium to ferritic steel diffusion bonds using various bonding parameters and bonding aids. Through the above research, I developed a process to diffusion bond beryllium to ferritic steel with a 150 M Pa tensile strength and 168 M Pa shear strength. This strength was achieved using a Hot Isostatic

  3. X-ray radiography of cavitation in a beryllium alloy nozzle

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Duke, Daniel J.; Matusik, Katarzyna E.; Kastengren, Alan L.

    In this study, making quantitative measurements of the vapor distribution in a cavitating nozzle is difficult, owing to the strong scattering of visible light at gas–liquid boundaries and wall boundaries, and the small lengths and time scales involved. The transparent models required for optical experiments are also limited in terms of maximum pressure and operating life. Over the past few years, x-ray radiography experiments at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source have demonstrated the ability to perform quantitative measurements of the line of sight projected vapor fraction in submerged, cavitating plastic nozzles. In this paper, we present the results of new radiographymore » experiments performed on a submerged beryllium nozzle which is 520 μm in diameter, with a length/diameter ratio of 6. Beryllium is a light, hard metal that is very transparent to x-rays due to its low atomic number. We present quantitative measurements of cavitation vapor distribution conducted over a range of non-dimensional cavitation and Reynolds numbers, up to values typical of gasoline and diesel fuel injectors. A novel aspect of this work is the ability to quantitatively measure the area contraction along the nozzle with high spatial resolution. Analysis of the vapor distribution, area contraction and discharge coefficients are made between the beryllium nozzle and plastic nozzles of the same nominal geometry. When gas is dissolved in the fuel, the vapor distribution can be quite different from that found in plastic nozzles of the same dimensions, although the discharge coefficients are unaffected. In the beryllium nozzle, there were substantially fewer machining defects to act as nucleation sites for the precipitation of bubbles from dissolved gases in the fuel, and as such the effect on the vapor distribution was greatly reduced.« less

  4. X-ray radiography of cavitation in a beryllium alloy nozzle

    DOE PAGES

    Duke, Daniel J.; Matusik, Katarzyna E.; Kastengren, Alan L.; ...

    2017-01-17

    In this study, making quantitative measurements of the vapor distribution in a cavitating nozzle is difficult, owing to the strong scattering of visible light at gas–liquid boundaries and wall boundaries, and the small lengths and time scales involved. The transparent models required for optical experiments are also limited in terms of maximum pressure and operating life. Over the past few years, x-ray radiography experiments at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source have demonstrated the ability to perform quantitative measurements of the line of sight projected vapor fraction in submerged, cavitating plastic nozzles. In this paper, we present the results of new radiographymore » experiments performed on a submerged beryllium nozzle which is 520 μm in diameter, with a length/diameter ratio of 6. Beryllium is a light, hard metal that is very transparent to x-rays due to its low atomic number. We present quantitative measurements of cavitation vapor distribution conducted over a range of non-dimensional cavitation and Reynolds numbers, up to values typical of gasoline and diesel fuel injectors. A novel aspect of this work is the ability to quantitatively measure the area contraction along the nozzle with high spatial resolution. Analysis of the vapor distribution, area contraction and discharge coefficients are made between the beryllium nozzle and plastic nozzles of the same nominal geometry. When gas is dissolved in the fuel, the vapor distribution can be quite different from that found in plastic nozzles of the same dimensions, although the discharge coefficients are unaffected. In the beryllium nozzle, there were substantially fewer machining defects to act as nucleation sites for the precipitation of bubbles from dissolved gases in the fuel, and as such the effect on the vapor distribution was greatly reduced.« less

  5. Calculation and Experiment of Adding Top Beryllium Shims for Iran MNSR

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ebadati, Javad; Rezvanifard, Mehdi; Shahabi, Iraj

    2006-07-01

    Miniature Neutron Source Reactor which is called MNSR were put into operation on June 1994 in Esfahan Nuclear Technology Center (ENTC). At that time the excess reactivity at the cold condition was 3.85 mk. After 7 years of operation and fuel consumption the reactivity was reduced to 2.90 mk. To compensate this reduction and upgrade the reactor, Beryllium Shim were used at the top of the core. This paper discusses the steps for this accurate and sensitive task. Finally a layer of 1.5 mm Beryllium were added to restore the reactor life. (authors)

  6. Elemental Analysis of Beryllium Samples Using a Microzond-EGP-10 Unit

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Buzoverya, M. E.; Karpov, I. A.; Gorodnov, A. A.; Shishpor, I. V.; Kireycheva, V. I.

    2017-12-01

    Results concerning the structural and elemental analysis of beryllium samples obtained via different technologies using a Microzond-EGP-10 unit with the help of the PIXE and RBS methods are presented. As a result, the overall chemical composition and the nature of inclusions were determined. The mapping method made it possible to reveal the structural features of beryllium samples: to select the grains of the main substance having different size and chemical composition, to visualize the interfaces between the regions of different composition, and to describe the features of the distribution of impurities in the samples.

  7. ZIRCONIUM-TITANIUM-BERYLLIUM BRAZING ALLOY

    DOEpatents

    Gilliland, R.G.; Patriarca, P.; Slaughter, G.M.; Williams, L.C.

    1962-06-12

    A new and improved ternary alloy is described which is of particular utility in braze-bonding parts made of a refractory metal selected from Group IV, V, and VI of the periodic table and alloys containing said metal as a predominating alloying ingredient. The brazing alloy contains, by weight, 40 to 50 per cent zirconium, 40 to 50 per cent titanium, and the balance beryllium in amounts ranging from 1 to 20 per cent, said alloy having a melting point in the range 950 to 1400 deg C. (AEC)

  8. Sound Velocity and Strength of Beryllium along the Principal Hugoniot using Quartz Windows

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCoy, Chad; Knudson, Marcus; Desjarlais, Michael

    2017-06-01

    The measurement of the interface wave profile is a traditional method to determine the strength of a shocked material. A novel technique was developed to enable wave profile measurements with quartz windows, extending the range of pressures where wave profile measurements are possible beyond lithium fluoride windows. The technique uses the quartz sound velocity to map Lagrangian characteristics from the shock front back to the material interface and determine the particle velocity profile in a sample. This technique was applied to experiments conducted on beryllium at the Sandia Z Accelerator. We present measurements of the longitudinal and bulk sound velocity across the beryllium shock-melt transition and the strength of solid beryllium for pressures from 130 to 200 GPa. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

  9. Impact of HFIR LEU Conversion on Beryllium Reflector Degradation Factors

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ilas, Dan

    2013-10-01

    An assessment of the impact of low enriched uranium (LEU) conversion on the factors that may cause the degradation of the beryllium reflector is performed for the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). The computational methods, models, and tools, comparisons with previous work, along with the results obtained are documented and discussed in this report. The report documents the results for the gas and neutronic poison production, and the heating in the beryllium reflector for both the highly enriched uranium (HEU) and LEU HFIR configurations, and discusses the impact that the conversion to LEU may have on these quantities. A time-averagingmore » procedure was developed to calculate the isotopic (gas and poisons) production in reflector. The sensitivity of this approach to different approximations is gauged and documented. The results show that the gas is produced in the beryllium reflector at a total rate of 0.304 g/cycle for the HEU configuration; this rate increases by ~12% for the LEU case. The total tritium production rate in reflector is 0.098 g/cycle for the HEU core and approximately 11% higher for the LEU core. A significant increase (up to ~25%) in the neutronic poisons production in the reflector during the operation cycles is observed for the LEU core, compared to the HEU case, for regions close to the core s horizontal midplane. The poisoning level of the reflector may increase by more than two orders of magnitude during long periods of downtime. The heating rate in the reflector is estimated to be approximately 20% lower for the LEU core than for the HEU core. The decrease is due to a significantly lower contribution of the heating produced by the gamma radiation for the LEU core. Both the isotopic (gas and neutronic poisons) production and the heating rates are spatially non-uniform throughout the beryllium reflector volume. The maximum values typically occur in the removable reflector and close to the midplane.« less

  10. Predicting Print-thru for the Sub-scale Beryllium Mirror Demonstrator (SBMD)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Craig, Larry; J. Kevin Russell (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    This document presents a finite element method for predicting print-thru or quilting for a lightweight mirror in a low temperature environment. The mirror is represented with quadrilateral and triangular plate finite elements. The SBMD (Sub-scale Beryllium Mirror Demonstrator) is circular with a diameter of 50 cm and one flat side. The mirror structure is a thin-wall triangular cell core with a single facesheet. There is a 4 mm radius fillet between the facesheet and cell walls. It is made entirely of Beryllium. It is assumed that polishing the mirror surface creates a thin surface layer with different material properties. Finite element results are compared with measured values at cryogenic temperatures.

  11. First-principles equation-of-state table of beryllium based on density-functional theory calculations

    DOE PAGES

    Ding, Y. H.; Hu, S. X.

    2017-06-06

    Beryllium has been considered a superior ablator material for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) target designs. An accurate equation-of-state (EOS) of beryllium under extreme conditions is essential for reliable ICF designs. Based on density-functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have established a wide-range beryllium EOS table of density ρ = 0.001 to 500 g/cm 3 and temperature T = 2000 to 10 8 K. Our first-principle equation-of-state (FPEOS) table is in better agreement with the widely used SESAME EOS table (SESAME 2023) than the average-atom INFERNO and Purgatorio models. For the principal Hugoniot, our FPEOS prediction shows ~10% stiffer than the lastmore » two models in the maximum compression. Although the existing experimental data (only up to 17 Mbar) cannot distinguish these EOS models, we anticipate that high-pressure experiments at the maximum compression region should differentiate our FPEOS from INFERNO and Purgatorio models. Comparisons between FPEOS and SESAME EOS for off-Hugoniot conditions show that the differences in the pressure and internal energy are within ~20%. By implementing the FPEOS table into the 1-D radiation–hydrodynamic code LILAC, we studied in this paper the EOS effects on beryllium-shell–target implosions. Finally, the FPEOS simulation predicts higher neutron yield (~15%) compared to the simulation using the SESAME 2023 EOS table.« less

  12. First-principles equation-of-state table of beryllium based on density-functional theory calculations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ding, Y. H.; Hu, S. X.

    Beryllium has been considered a superior ablator material for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) target designs. An accurate equation-of-state (EOS) of beryllium under extreme conditions is essential for reliable ICF designs. Based on density-functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have established a wide-range beryllium EOS table of density ρ = 0.001 to 500 g/cm 3 and temperature T = 2000 to 10 8 K. Our first-principle equation-of-state (FPEOS) table is in better agreement with the widely used SESAME EOS table (SESAME 2023) than the average-atom INFERNO and Purgatorio models. For the principal Hugoniot, our FPEOS prediction shows ~10% stiffer than the lastmore » two models in the maximum compression. Although the existing experimental data (only up to 17 Mbar) cannot distinguish these EOS models, we anticipate that high-pressure experiments at the maximum compression region should differentiate our FPEOS from INFERNO and Purgatorio models. Comparisons between FPEOS and SESAME EOS for off-Hugoniot conditions show that the differences in the pressure and internal energy are within ~20%. By implementing the FPEOS table into the 1-D radiation–hydrodynamic code LILAC, we studied in this paper the EOS effects on beryllium-shell–target implosions. Finally, the FPEOS simulation predicts higher neutron yield (~15%) compared to the simulation using the SESAME 2023 EOS table.« less

  13. The experience in production of composite refraction lenses from beryllium

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Semenov, A. A.; Zabrodin, A. V.; Gorlevskiy, V. V.

    2017-01-15

    The choice of beryllium-based material for the use in X-ray optics has been substantiated based on electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction data. The first results of applying refraction lenses made of this material are reported.

  14. Detection of beryllium treatment of natural sapphires by NRA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gutiérrez, P. C.; Ynsa, M.-D.; Climent-Font, A.; Calligaro, T.

    2010-06-01

    Since the 1990's, artificial treatment of natural sapphires (Al 2O 3 crystals coloured by impurities) by diffusion of beryllium at high temperature has become a growing practice. This process permits to enhance the colour of these gemstones, and thus to increase their value. Detection of such a treatment - diffusion of tens of μg/g of beryllium in Al 2O 3 crystals - is usually achieved using high sensitivity techniques like laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP/MS) or laser-induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS) which are unfortunately micro-destructive (leaving 50-100-μm diameter craters on the gems). The simple and non-destructive alternative method proposed in this work is based on the nuclear reaction 9Be(α, nγ) 12C with an external helium ion beam impinging on the gem directly placed in air. The 4439 keV prompt γ-ray tagging Be atoms are detected with a high efficiency bismuth germanate scintillator. Beam dose is monitored using the 2235 keV prompt γ-ray produced during irradiation by the aluminium of the sapphire matrix through the 27Al(α, pγ) 30Si nuclear reaction. The method is tested on a series of Be-treated sapphires previously analyzed by LA-ICP/MS to determine the optimal conditions to obtain a peak to background appropriate to reach the required μg/g sensitivity. Using a 2.8-MeV external He beam and a beam dose of 200 μC, beryllium concentrations from 5 to 16 μg/g have been measured in the samples, with a detection limit of 1 μg/g.

  15. Rapid separation of beryllium and lanthanide derivatives by capillary gas chromatography

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Harvey, Scott D.; Lucke, Richard B.; Douglas, Matt

    2012-09-04

    Previous studies describe derivatization of metal ions followed by analysis using gas chromatography, usually on packed columns. In many of these studies, stable and volatile derivatives were formed using fluorinated β-diketonate reagents. This paper extends previous work by investigating separations of the derivatives on small-diameter capillary gas chromatography columns and exploring on-fiber, solid-phase microextraction derivatization techniques for beryllium. The β-diketonate used for these studies was 1,1,1,2,2,6,6,7,7,7-decafluoro-3,5-heptanedione. Derivatization of lanthanides also required addition of a neutral donor, dibutyl sulfoxide, in addition to 1,1,1,2,2,6,6,7,7,7-decafluoro-3,5-heptanedione. Unoptimized separations on a 100-μm i.d. capillary column proved capable of rapid separations (within 15 min) of lanthanidemore » derivatives that are adjacent to one another in the periodic table. Full-scan mass spectra were obtained from derivatives containing 5 ng of each lanthanide. Studies also developed a simple on-fiber solid-phase microextraction derivatization of beryllium. Beryllium could be analyzed in the presence of other alkali earth elements (Ba(II) and Sr(II)) without interference. Finally, extension of the general approach was demonstrated for several additional elements (i.e. Cu(II), Cr(III), and Ga(III)).« less

  16. Control of molten salt corrosion of fusion structural materials by metallic beryllium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Calderoni, P.; Sharpe, P.; Nishimura, H.; Terai, T.

    2009-04-01

    A series of tests have been performed between 2001 and 2006 at the Safety and Tritium Applied Research facility of the Idaho National Laboratory to demonstrate chemical compatibility between the molten salt flibe (2LiF + BeF 2 in moles) and fusion structural materials once suitable fluoride potential control methods are established. The tests adopted metallic beryllium contact as main fluoride potential control, and the results have been published in recent years. A further step was to expose two specimens of low activation ferritic/martensitic steel 9Cr-2W to static corrosion tests that include an active corrosion agent (hydrofluoric gas) in controlled conditions at 530 °C, and the results of the tests are presented in this paper. The results confirmed the expected correlation of the HF recovery with the concentration of metallic impurities dissolved in the salt because of specimen corrosion. The metals concentration dropped to levels close to the detectable limit when the beryllium rod was inserted and increased once the content of excess beryllium in the system had been consumed by HF reduction and specimen corrosion progressed. Metallographic analysis of the samples after 500 h exposure in reactive conditions showed evidence of the formation of unstable chromium oxide layers on the specimen's surface.

  17. Control of molten salt corrosion of fusion structural materials by metallic beryllium

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    P. Calderoni; P. Sharpe; H. Nishimura

    2009-04-01

    A series of tests have been performed between 2001 and 2006 at the Safety and Tritium Applied Research facility of the Idaho National Laboratory to demonstrate chemical compatibility between the molten salt flibe (2LiF+BeF2 in moles) and fusion structural materials once suitable fluoride potential control methods are established. The tests adopted metallic beryllium contact as main fluoride potential control, and the results have been published in recent years. A further step was to expose two specimens of low activation ferritic/martensitic steel 9Cr-2W to static corrosion tests that include an active corrosion agent (hydrofluoric gas) in controlled conditions at 530 C,more » and the results of the tests are presented in this paper. The results confirmed the expected correlation of the HF recovery with the concentration of metallic impurities dissolved in the salt because of specimen corrosion. The metals concentration dropped to level close to the detectable limit when the beryllium rod was inserted and increased once the content of excess beryllium in the system had been consumed by HF reduction and specimens corrosion progressed. Metallographic analysis of the samples after 500 hours exposure in reactive conditions showed evidence of the formation of unstable chromium oxide layers on the specimens surface.« less

  18. Irradiation effects in beryllium exposed to high energy protons of the NuMI neutrino source

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuksenko, V.; Ammigan, K.; Hartsell, B.; Densham, C.; Hurh, P.; Roberts, S.

    2017-07-01

    A beryllium primary vacuum-to-air beam 'window' of the "Neutrinos at the Main Injector" (NuMI) beamline at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), Batavia, Illinois, USA, has been irradiated by 120 GeV protons over 7 years, with a maximum integrated fluence at the window centre of 2.06 1022 p/cm2 corresponding to a radiation damage level of 0.48 dpa. The proton beam is pulsed at 0.5 Hz leading to an instantaneous temperature rise of 40 °C per pulse. The window is cooled by natural convection and is estimated to operate at an average of around 50 °C. The microstructure of this irradiated material was investigated by SEM/EBSD and Atom Probe Tomography, and compared to that of unirradiated regions of the beam window and that of stock material of the same PF-60 grade. Microstructural investigations revealed a highly inhomogeneous distribution of impurity elements in both unirradiated and irradiated conditions. Impurities were mainly localised in precipitates, and as segregations at grain boundary and dislocation lines. Low levels of Fe, Cu, Ni, C and O were also found to be homogeneously distributed in the beryllium matrix. In the irradiated materials, up to 440 appm of Li, derived from transmutation of beryllium was homogeneously distributed in solution in the beryllium matrix.

  19. Beryllium and Boron abundances in population II stars

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1995-01-01

    The scientific focus of this program was to undertake UV spectroscopic abundance analyses of extremely metal poor stars with attention to determining abundances of light elements such as beryllium and boron. The abundances are likely to reflect primordial abundances within the early galaxy and help to constrain models for early galactic nucleosynthesis. The general metal abundances of these stars are also important for understanding stellar evolution.

  20. Nanostructured Alloys as an Alternative to Copper-Beryllium

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-11-19

    2014 Presented by Jonathan McCrea Report Documentation Page Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the collection of...unclassified c. THIS PAGE unclassified Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 Advanced Materials Integran Technologies...requirements for current and future copper-beryllium alloy needs/ applications ● Demonstrate with three distinct product forms :  1) Bulk material for

  1. PREPARATION OF COMPACTS MADE FROM URANIUM AND BERYLLIUM BY SINTERING

    DOEpatents

    Angier, R.P.

    1961-04-11

    A powder metallurgical method for making high-density compacts of uranium and beryllium is reported. Powdered UBe/sub 9/ and powdered Be are blended, compacted, and then sintered by rapidly heating to a temperature of approximately 1220 to 1280 deg C in an inert atmosphere.

  2. 9. VIEW OF FOUNDRY FURNACE, DEPLETED URANIUM INGOTS, BERYLLIUM INGOTS, ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    9. VIEW OF FOUNDRY FURNACE, DEPLETED URANIUM INGOTS, BERYLLIUM INGOTS, AND ALUMINUM SHAPES WERE PRODUCED IN THE FOUNDRY. (10/30/56) - Rocky Flats Plant, Non-Nuclear Production Facility, South of Cottonwood Avenue, west of Seventh Avenue & east of Building 460, Golden, Jefferson County, CO

  3. IRIS Toxicological Review of Beryllium and Compounds (2008 External Review Draft)

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA is conducting a peer review and public comment of the scientific basis supporting the human health hazard and dose-response assessment of Beryllium that when finalized will appear on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) database.

  4. Development of structural test articles from magnesium-lithium and beryllium

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Alario, R.

    1969-01-01

    Study on the fabrication and testing of a magnesium-lithium box beam shows the formability and machinability characteristics of that alloy to be excellent. Results of forming tests for shrink and stretch flanges show values for both flange heights that may be used in future beryllium design.

  5. Thermal fatigue testing of a diffusion-bonded beryllium divertor mock-up under ITER-relevant conditions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Youchison, D.L.; Watson, R.D.; McDonald, J.M.

    Thermal response and thermal fatigue tests of four 5-mm-thick beryllium tiles on a Russian Federation International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)-relevant divertor mock-up were completed on the electron beam test system at Sandia National Laboratories. Thermal response tests were performed on the tiles to an absorbed heat flux of 5 MW/m{sup 2} and surface temperatures near 300{degree}C using 1.4 MPa water at 5 m/s flow velocity and an inlet temperature of 8 to 15{degree}C. One tile was exposed to incrementally increasing heat fluxes up to 9.5 MW/m{sup 2} and surface temperatures up to 690{degree}C before debonding at 10MW/m{sup 2}. A secondmore » tile debonded in 25 to 30 cycles at <0.5 MW/m{sup 2}. However, a third tile debonded after 9200 thermal fatigue cycles at 5 MW/m{sup 2}, while another debonded after 6800 cycles. Posttest surface analysis indicated that fatigue failure occurred in the intermetallic layers between the beryllium and copper. No fatigue cracking of the bulk beryllium was observed. It appears that microcracks growing at the diffusion bond produced the observed gradual temperature increases during thermal cycling. These experiments indicate that diffusion-bonded beryllium tiles can survive several thousand thermal cycles under ITER-relevant conditions. However, the reliability of the diffusion-bonded joint remains a serious issue. 17 refs., 25 figs., 6 tabs.« less

  6. Development of retrospective quantitative and qualitative job-exposure matrices for exposures at a beryllium processing facility.

    PubMed

    Couch, James R; Petersen, Martin; Rice, Carol; Schubauer-Berigan, Mary K

    2011-05-01

    To construct a job-exposure matrix (JEM) for an Ohio beryllium processing facility between 1953 and 2006 and to evaluate temporal changes in airborne beryllium exposures. Quantitative area- and breathing-zone-based exposure measurements of airborne beryllium were made between 1953 and 2006 and used by plant personnel to estimate daily weighted average (DWA) exposure concentrations for sampled departments and operations. These DWA measurements were used to create a JEM with 18 exposure metrics, which was linked to the plant cohort consisting of 18,568 unique job, department and year combinations. The exposure metrics ranged from quantitative metrics (annual arithmetic/geometric average DWA exposures, maximum DWA and peak exposures) to descriptive qualitative metrics (chemical beryllium species and physical form) to qualitative assignment of exposure to other risk factors (yes/no). Twelve collapsed job titles with long-term consistent industrial hygiene samples were evaluated using regression analysis for time trends in DWA estimates. Annual arithmetic mean DWA estimates (overall plant-wide exposures including administration, non-production, and production estimates) for the data by decade ranged from a high of 1.39 μg/m(3) in the 1950s to a low of 0.33 μg/m(3) in the 2000s. Of the 12 jobs evaluated for temporal trend, the average arithmetic DWA mean was 2.46 μg/m(3) and the average geometric mean DWA was 1.53 μg/m(3). After the DWA calculations were log-transformed, 11 of the 12 had a statistically significant (p < 0.05) decrease in reported exposure over time. The constructed JEM successfully differentiated beryllium exposures across jobs and over time. This is the only quantitative JEM containing exposure estimates (average and peak) for the entire plant history.

  7. Preparing the future post-mortem analysis of beryllium-based JET and ITER samples by multi-wavelengths Raman spectroscopy on implanted Be, and co-deposited Be

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rusu, M. I.; Pardanaud, C.; Ferro, Y.; Giacometti, G.; Martin, C.; Addab, Y.; Roubin, P.; Minissale, M.; Ferri, L.; Virot, F.; Barrachin, M.; Lungu, C. P.; Porosnicu, C.; Dinca, P.; Lungu, M.; Köppen, M.; Hansen, P.; Linsmeier, Ch.

    2017-07-01

    This study demonstrates that Raman microscopy is a suitable technique for future post mortem analyses of JET and ITER plasma facing components. We focus here on laboratory deposited and bombarded samples of beryllium and beryllium carbides and start to build a reference spectral databases for fusion relevant beryllium-based materials. We identified the beryllium phonon density of states, its second harmonic and E 2G and B 2G second harmonic and combination modes for defective beryllium in the spectral range 300-700 and 700-1300 cm-1, lying close to Be-D modes of beryllium hydrides. We also identified beryllium carbide signature, Be2C, combining Raman microscopy and DFT calculation. We have shown that, depending on the optical constants of the material probed, in depth sensitivity at the nanometer scale can be performed using different wavelengths. This way, we demonstrate that multi-wavelength Raman microscopy is sensitive to in-depth stress caused by ion implantation (down to  ≈30 nm under the surface for Be) and Be/C concentration (down to 400 nm or more under the surface for Be+C), which is a main contribution of this work. The depth resolution reached can then be adapted for studying the supersaturated surface layer found on tokamak deposits.

  8. Radiation hydrodynamic effects in two beryllium plates with an idealized aluminum joint

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Belkov, S.A.; Mkhitarian, L.S.; Vinokurov, O.A.

    A beryllium capsule formed from two hemispherical shells with a thin bond is one possible ignition target for the National Ignition Facility [J. A. Paisner {ital et al.}, Laser Focus World {bold 30}, 75 (1994)] Nonuniformities in density, opacity, and interface position at the joint between these hemishells will initiate two-dimensional (2-D) perturbations of the shock wave and material behind the shock as the shock passes through the shell perpendicular to the joint width. Rarefaction of material flow behind the shock front can cause the interface between the shell and joint material to oscillate in position. The amplitude of thesemore » oscillations may be comparable to the joint width. The evolution of these perturbations is studied by numerically simulating shock passage through flat beryllium plates containing aluminum joints. Using the MIMOSA-ND code [D. Sofronov {ital et al.}, Vopr. At. Nauki Tekh., Ser: Mat. modelirovanie fizicheskih processov {bold 2}, 3 (1990)] two different cases are calculated{emdash}a wide (10 {mu}m) and a narrow (1 {mu}m) joint of aluminum between two 150 {mu}m long semiinfinite beryllium plates. Both cases showed good agreement with an analytic representation of the oscillation behavior. For the narrow joint, a special technique allows the calculation of mixing between the joint and surrounding material caused by the Kelvin{endash}Helmholtz instability. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Institute of Physics.}« less

  9. The role of lymphocyte proliferation tests in assessing occupational sensitization and disease

    PubMed Central

    Hines, Stella E.; Pacheco, Karin; Maier, Lisa A.

    2018-01-01

    Purpose of Review Lymphocyte proliferation testing (LPT) is used in diagnosing occupationally-acquired delayed-type hypersensitivity. It has been used in beryllium-health effects, and it role is expanding in metal allergy. It may find application in diagnosis of other sensitizers. Recent findings Use of the beryllium LPT (BeLPT) in medical surveillance identifies beryllium sensitization at low exposure with chronic beryllium disease (CBD) that leads to physiologic impairment and need for immunosuppressive medications. New studies indicate that both beryllium exposure and genetic variation are associated with increased risk of CBD. Borderline positive BeLPTs warrant inclusion into diagnostic algorithms. Furthermore, use of LPTs to diagnose metal allergy is being proposed in diagnosis of chromium allergy and hypersensitivity to surgical implants. New occupational sensitizers continue to be identified including metalworking fluids, the sterilizing agent ortho-phthalaldehyde and the solvent parachlorobenzotrifluoride. Use of LPT in occupational surveillance to these agents, and other known sensitizers may play expanding roles. Summary Lymphocyte proliferation testing serves a valuable role in diagnosing occupational sensitization, as demonstrated with beryllium-health effects, as cases continue to be found at low exposure levels. The use of LPTs in diagnosing contact allergy is expanding, and new applications may be identified in human and animal studies. PMID:22306552

  10. Beryllium10: a free and simple tool for creating and managing group safety data sheets

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Countless chemicals and mixtures are used in laboratories today, which all possess their own properties and dangers. Therefore, it is important to brief oneself about possible risks and hazards before doing any experiments. However, this task is laborious and time consuming. Summary Beryllium10 is a program, which supports users by carrying out a large part of the work such as collecting/importing data sets from different providers and compiling most of the information into a single group safety data sheet, which is suitable for having all necessary information at hand while an experiment is in progress. We present here the features of Beryllium10, their implementation, and their design and development criteria and ideas. Conclusion A program for creating and managing of group safety data sheets was developed and released as open source under GPL. The program provides a fast and clear user-interface, and well-conceived design for collecting and managing safety data. It is available for download from the web page http://beryllium.keksecks.de. PMID:24650446

  11. Infrared spectroscopy of radiation-chemical transformation of n-hexane on a beryllium surface

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gadzhieva, N. N.

    2017-07-01

    The radiation-chemical decomposition of n-hexane in a Be- n-hexane system under the effect of γ-irradiation at room temperature is studied by infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy. In the absorbed dose range 5 kGy ≤ Vγ ≤ 50 kGy, intermediate surface products of radiation-heterogeneous decomposition of n-hexane (beryllium alkyls, π-olefin complexes, and beryllium hydrides) are detected. It is shown that complete radiolysis occurs at Vγ = 30 kGy; below this dose, decomposition of n-hexane occurs only partially, while higher doses lead to steady-state saturation. The radiation-chemical yield of the final decomposition product—molecular hydrogen—is determined to be G ads(H2) = 24.8 molecules/100 eV. A possible mechanism of this process is discussed.

  12. The chloride induced localised corrosion of aluminium and beryllium: A study by electron and X-ray spectroscopies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mallinson, Christopher F.

    Beryllium is an important metal in the nuclear industry for which there are no suitable replacements. It undergoes localised corrosion at the site of heterogeneities in the metal surface. Corrosion pits are associated with a range of second phase particles. To investigate the role of these particles in corrosion, a safe experimental protocol was established using an aluminium alloy as a corrosion material analogue. The 7075-T6 alloy had not previously been investigated using the experimental methodology used in this thesis. This work led to the development of the experimental methodology and safe working practices for handling beryllium. The range and composition of the second phase particles present in S-65 beryllium billet were identified using a combination of SEM, AES, EDX and WDX. Following the identification of a range of particles with various compositions, including the AlFeBe4 precipitate which has been previously associated with corrosion, the location of the particles were marked to enable their repeated study. Attention was focused on the microchemistry in the vicinity of second phase particles, as a function of immersion time in pH 7, 0.1 M NaCl solution. The corrosion process associated with different particles was followed by repeatedly relocating the particles to perform analysis by means of SEM, AES and EDX. The use of traditional chlorinated vapour degreasing solvents on beryllium was investigated and compared to two modern commercially available cleaning solutions designed as drop-in replacements. This work expanded the range of solvents suitable for cleaning beryllium and validated the conclusions from previous thermodynamic modelling. Additionally, a new experimental methodology has been developed which enables the acquisition of chemical state information from the surface of micron scale features. This was applied to sub-micron copper and iron particles, as well as a copper intermetallic.

  13. A field instrument for quantitative determination of beryllium by activation analysis

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Vaughn, William W.; Wilson, E.E.; Ohm, J.M.

    1960-01-01

    A low-cost instrument has been developed for quantitative determinations of beryllium in the field by activation analysis. The instrument makes use of the gamma-neutron reaction between gammas emitted by an artificially radioactive source (Sb124) and beryllium as it occurs in nature. The instrument and power source are mounted in a panel-type vehicle. Samples are prepared by hand-crushing the rock to approximately ?-inch mesh size and smaller. Sample volumes are kept constant by means of a standard measuring cup. Instrument calibration, made by using standards of known BeO content, indicates the analyses are reproducible and accurate to within ? 0.25 percent BeO in the range from 1 to 20 percent BeO with a sample counting time of 5 minutes. Sensitivity of the instrument maybe increased somewhat by increasing the source size, the sample size, or by enlarging the cross-sectional area of the neutron-sensitive phosphor normal to the neutron flux.

  14. Test fixture design for boron-aluminum and beryllium test panels

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Breaux, C. G.

    1973-01-01

    A detailed description of the test fixture design and the backup analysis of the fixture assembly and its components are presented. The test fixture is required for the separate testing of two boron-aluminum and two beryllium compression panels. This report is presented in conjunction with a complete set of design drawings on the test fixture system.

  15. 18. VIEW OF ENGINEERING CONTROLS USED IN THE BERYLLIUM SHOP ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    18. VIEW OF ENGINEERING CONTROLS USED IN THE BERYLLIUM SHOP TO REDUCE EMPLOYEE EXPOSURE. THE LATHE IS COVERED BY A HOOD WITH A SEPARATE AIR-HANDLING SYSTEM. PRECISION EQUIPMENT IS CONTROLLED DIGITALLY. (11/13/89) - Rocky Flats Plant, Non-Nuclear Production Facility, South of Cottonwood Avenue, west of Seventh Avenue & east of Building 460, Golden, Jefferson County, CO

  16. REMOVAL OF BERYLLIUM FROM DRINKING WATER BY CHEMICAL COAGULATION AND LIME SOFTENING

    EPA Science Inventory

    The effectiveness of conventional drinking water treatment and lime softening was evaluated for beryllium removal from two drinking water sources. ar test studies were conducted to determine how common coagulants (aluminum sulfate and ferric chloride and lime softening performed ...

  17. Heat transfer and technological investigations on mixed beds of beryllium and Li 4SiO 4 pebbles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dalle Donne, M.; Goraieb, A.; Huber, R.; Schmitt, B.; Schumacher, G.; Sordon, G.; Weisenburger, A.

    1994-09-01

    For the European BOT DEMO solid breeder blanket design the use of mixtures of 2 mm beryllium and 0.1-0.2 mm Li 4SiO 4 pebbles with and without 0.1-0.2 mm beryllium pebbles has been proposed. A series of heat transfer and technological investigations are being performed for these pebbles. Namely: (a) Measurements of the thermal conductivity and of the wall heat transfer coefficient of a 2 mm Be pebble bed, of a bed with 2 mm Be plus 0.1-0.2 mm Li 4SiO 4 pebbles and of a bed with 2 mm Be pebbles plus 0.1-0.2 mm Li 4SiO 4 and Be pebbles. (b) Thermal cycle tests of mixed beds of Li 4SiO 4 and beryllium pebbles; during these tests the pressure drop across the bed of the helium purging flow is measured. (c) Annealing tests at 650°C of the Li 4SiO 4 pebbles with and without the beryllium pebbles. (d) Measurement of the failure loads of the Li 4SiO 4 pebbles before and after annealing. Tests (a) and (b) have been performed for bigger Li 4SiO 4 pebbles (0.3-0.6 mm) as well. The results of the experiments are reported in the paper.

  18. Chemical investigation of three plutonium–beryllium neutron sources

    DOE PAGES

    Byerly, Benjamin; Kuhn, Kevin; Colletti, Lisa; ...

    2017-02-03

    Thorough physical and chemical characterization of plutonium–beryllium (PuBe) neutron sources is an important capability with applications ranging from material accountancy to nuclear forensics. Furthermore, characterization of PuBe sources is not trivial owing to range of existing source designs and the need for adequate infrastructure to deal with radiation and protect the analyst. Our study demonstrates a method for characterization of three PuBe sources that includes physical inspection and imaging followed by controlled disassembly and destructive analysis.

  19. Chemical investigation of three plutonium–beryllium neutron sources

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Byerly, Benjamin; Kuhn, Kevin; Colletti, Lisa

    Thorough physical and chemical characterization of plutonium–beryllium (PuBe) neutron sources is an important capability with applications ranging from material accountancy to nuclear forensics. Furthermore, characterization of PuBe sources is not trivial owing to range of existing source designs and the need for adequate infrastructure to deal with radiation and protect the analyst. Our study demonstrates a method for characterization of three PuBe sources that includes physical inspection and imaging followed by controlled disassembly and destructive analysis.

  20. Beryllium Science: US-UK agreement on the use of Atomic Energy for mutual defense

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hanafee, J.E.

    1988-02-19

    Twenty-seven papers are presented on beryllium supply, production, fabrication, safe handling, analysis, powder technology, and coatings. Separate abstracts have been prepared for the individual papers. (DLC)

  1. Density-Functional-Theory-Based Equation-of-State Table of Beryllium for Inertial Confinement Fusion Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ding, Y. H.; Hu, S. X.

    2017-10-01

    Beryllium has been considered a superior ablator material for inertial confinement fusion target designs. Based on density-functional-theory calculations, we have established a wide-range beryllium equation-of-state (EOS) table of density ρ = 0.001 to ρ = 500 g/cm3 and temperature T = 2000 to 108 K. Our first-principles equation-of-state (FPEOS) table is in better agreement with widely used SESAMEEOS table (SESAME2023) than the average-atom INFERNOmodel and the Purgatoriomodel. For the principal Hugoniot, our FPEOS prediction shows 10% stiffer behavior than the last two models at maximum compression. Comparisons between FPEOS and SESAMEfor off-Hugoniot conditions show that both the pressure and internal energy differences are within 20% between two EOS tables. By implementing the FPEOS table into the 1-D radiation-hydrodynamics code LILAC, we studied the EOS effects on beryllium target-shell implosions. The FPEOS simulation predicts up to an 15% higher neutron yield compared to the simulation using the SESAME2023 EOS table. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration under Award Number DE-NA0001944.

  2. Sulfasalazine and Mesalamine Modulate Beryllium-Specific Lymphocyte Proliferation and Inflammatory Cytokine Production

    PubMed Central

    Dobis, Dave R.; Sawyer, Richard T.; Gillespie, May M.; Newman, Lee S.; Maier, Lisa A.; Day, Brian J.

    2010-01-01

    Occupational exposure to beryllium (Be) results in Be sensitization (BeS) that can progress to pulmonary granulomatous inflammation associated with chronic Be disease (CBD). Be-specific lymphocytes are present in the blood of patients with BeS and in the blood and lungs of patients with CBD. Sulfasalazine and its active metabolite, mesalamine, are clinically used to ameliorate chronic inflammation associated with inflammatory bowel disease. We tested whether sulfasalazine or mesalamine could decrease Be-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferation in subjects with CBD and BeS and Be-induced cytokine production in CBD bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells. CBD (n = 25), BeS (n = 12) and healthy normal control (n = 6) subjects were enrolled and ex vivo proliferation and cytokine production were assessed in the presence of Be and sulfasalazine or mesalamine. Be-stimulated PBMC proliferation was inhibited by treatment with either sulfasalazine or mesalamine. Be-stimulated CBD BAL cell IFN-γ and TNF-α cytokine production was decreased by treatment with sulfasalazine or mesalamine. Our data suggest that both sulfasalazine and mesalamine interfere with Be-stimulated PBMC proliferation in CBD and BeS and dampens Be-stimulated CBD BAL cell proinflammatory cytokine production. These studies demonstrate that sulfasalazine and mesalamine can disrupt inflammatory pathways critical to the pathogenesis of chronic granulomatous inflammation in CBD, and may serve as novel therapy for human granulomatous lung diseases. PMID:19901345

  3. Sulfasalazine and mesalamine modulate beryllium-specific lymphocyte proliferation and inflammatory cytokine production.

    PubMed

    Dobis, Dave R; Sawyer, Richard T; Gillespie, May M; Newman, Lee S; Maier, Lisa A; Day, Brian J

    2010-10-01

    Occupational exposure to beryllium (Be) results in Be sensitization (BeS) that can progress to pulmonary granulomatous inflammation associated with chronic Be disease (CBD). Be-specific lymphocytes are present in the blood of patients with BeS and in the blood and lungs of patients with CBD. Sulfasalazine and its active metabolite, mesalamine, are clinically used to ameliorate chronic inflammation associated with inflammatory bowel disease. We tested whether sulfasalazine or mesalamine could decrease Be-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) proliferation in subjects with CBD and BeS and Be-induced cytokine production in CBD bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells. CBD (n = 25), BeS (n = 12) and healthy normal control (n = 6) subjects were enrolled and ex vivo proliferation and cytokine production were assessed in the presence of Be and sulfasalazine or mesalamine. Be-stimulated PBMC proliferation was inhibited by treatment with either sulfasalazine or mesalamine. Be-stimulated CBD BAL cell IFN-γ and TNF-α cytokine production was decreased by treatment with sulfasalazine or mesalamine. Our data suggest that both sulfasalazine and mesalamine interfere with Be-stimulated PBMC proliferation in CBD and BeS and dampens Be-stimulated CBD BAL cell proinflammatory cytokine production. These studies demonstrate that sulfasalazine and mesalamine can disrupt inflammatory pathways critical to the pathogenesis of chronic granulomatous inflammation in CBD, and may serve as novel therapy for human granulomatous lung diseases.

  4. Cryogenic Fracture Toughness Evaluation of an Investment Cast Aluminum-Beryllium Alloy for Structural Applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gamwell, Wayne; McGill, Preston

    2006-01-01

    This document is a viewgraph presentation that details the fracture toughness of Aluminum-Beryllium Alloy for use in structures at cryogenic temperatures. Graphs and charts are presented in the presentation

  5. A study of the durability of beryllium rocket engines. [space shuttle reaction control system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Paster, R. D.; French, G. C.

    1974-01-01

    An experimental test program was performed to demonstrate the durability of a beryllium INTEREGEN rocket engine when operating under conditions simulating the space shuttle reaction control system. A vibration simulator was exposed to the equivalent of 100 missions of X, Y, and Z axes random vibration to demonstrate the integrity of the recently developed injector-to-chamber braze joint. An off-limits engine was hot fired under extreme conditions of mixture ratio, chamber pressure, and orifice plugging. A durability engine was exposed to six environmental cycles interspersed with hot-fire tests without intermediate cleaning, service, or maintenance. Results from this program indicate the ability of the beryllium INTEREGEN engine concept to meet the operational requirements of the space shuttle reaction control system.

  6. Failure prediction of thin beryllium sheets used in spacecraft structures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Roschke, Paul N.; Mascorro, Edward; Papados, Photios; Serna, Oscar R.

    1991-01-01

    The primary objective of this study is to develop a method for prediction of failure of thin beryllium sheets that undergo complex states of stress. Major components of the research include experimental evaluation of strength parameters for cross-rolled beryllium sheet, application of the Tsai-Wu failure criterion to plate bending problems, development of a high order failure criterion, application of the new criterion to a variety of structures, and incorporation of both failure criteria into a finite element code. A Tsai-Wu failure model for SR-200 sheet material is developed from available tensile data, experiments carried out by NASA on two circular plates, and compression and off-axis experiments performed in this study. The failure surface obtained from the resulting criterion forms an ellipsoid. By supplementing experimental data used in the the two-dimensional criterion and modifying previously suggested failure criteria, a multi-dimensional failure surface is proposed for thin beryllium structures. The new criterion for orthotropic material is represented by a failure surface in six-dimensional stress space. In order to determine coefficients of the governing equation, a number of uniaxial, biaxial, and triaxial experiments are required. Details of these experiments and a complementary ultrasonic investigation are described in detail. Finally, validity of the criterion and newly determined mechanical properties is established through experiments on structures composed of SR200 sheet material. These experiments include a plate-plug arrangement under a complex state of stress and a series of plates with an out-of-plane central point load. Both criteria have been incorporated into a general purpose finite element analysis code. Numerical simulation incrementally applied loads to a structural component that is being designed and checks each nodal point in the model for exceedance of a failure criterion. If stresses at all locations do not exceed the failure

  7. Cleaning and activation of beryllium-copper electron multiplier dynodes.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Pongratz, M. B.

    1972-01-01

    Description of a cleaning and activation procedure followed in preparing beryllium-copper dynodes for electron multipliers used in sounding-rocket experiments to detect auroral electrons. The initial degreasing step involved a 5-min bath in trichloroethylene in an ultrasonic cleaner. This was followed by an ultrasonic rinse in methanol and by a two-step acid pickling treatment to remove the oxides. Additional rinsing in water and methanol was followed by activation in a stainless-steel RF induction oven.

  8. Beryllium abundances in parent stars of extrasolar planets: 16 Cygni A & B and rho (1) CANCRI

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garcia Lopez, R. J.; Perez de Taoro, M. R.

    1998-06-01

    The (9) Be ii lambda 3131 Angstroms doublet has been observed in the solar-type stars 16 Cyg A & B and in the late G-type star rho (1) Cnc, to derive their beryllium abundances. 16 Cyg A & B show similar (solar) beryllium abundances while 16 Cyg B, which has been proposed to have a planetary companion of ~ 2 M_Jup, is known to be depleted in lithium by a factor larger than 6 with respect to 16 Cyg A. Differences in their rotational histories which could induce different rates of internal mixing of material, and the ingestion of a similar planet by 16 Cyg A are discussed as potential explanations. The existence of two other solar-type stars which are candidates to harbour planetary-mass companions and which show lithium and beryllium abundances close to those of 16 Cyg A, requires a more detailed inspection of the peculiarities of the 16 Cyg system. For rho (1) Cnc, which is the coolest known object candidate to harbour a planetary-mass companion (M > 0.85 M_Jup), we establish a precise upper limit for its beryllium abundance, showing a strong Be depletion which constrains the available mixing mechanisms. Observations of similar stars without companions are required to assess the potential effects of the planetary companion on the observed depletion. It has been recently claimed that rho (1) Cnc appears to be a subgiant. If this were the case, the observed strong Li and Be depletions could be explained by a dilution process taking place during its post-main sequence evolution. Based on observations made with the Nordic Optical and William Herschel Telescopes, which are operated on the island of La Palma by the NOT Scientific Association and the Isaac Newton Group, respectively, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrof\\'\\i sica de Canarias.

  9. Beryllium implosion experiments at high case-to-capsule ratio on the National Ignition Facility

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zylstra, Alex; Yi, Austin; Kline, John; Kyrala, George; Loomis, Eric; Perry, Ted; Shah, Rahul; Batha, Steve; MacLaren, Steve; Ralph, Joe; Salmonson, Jay; Masse, Laurent; Nikroo, Abbas; Stadermann, Michael; Callahan, Debbie; Hurricane, Omar; Rice, Neal; Huang, Haibo; Kong, Casey

    2017-10-01

    Using beryllium as an ablator material has several potential advantages for inertial fusion because of its low opacity and thus higher ablation rate. This could enable novel designs taking advantage of the reduced ablation-front growth rate, or operating at lower radiation temperature. To investigate the integrated performance of beryllium implosions, we conducted a tuning campaign leading into DT layered implosions using a 900um radius capsule in a 6.72mm diameter hohlraum (case-to-capsule ratio CCR=3.7); the large CCR enables direct study of the 1-D implosion performance. The tuning campaign shots demonstrate excellent control over the shock timing and implosion symmetry at this CCR. Performance data from the DT experiments will also be discussed. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. DoE by LANL under contract DE-AC52-06NA52396.

  10. Premelting hcp to bcc Transition in Beryllium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, Y.; Sun, T.; Zhang, Ping; Zhang, P.; Zhang, D.-B.; Wentzcovitch, R. M.

    2017-04-01

    Beryllium (Be) is an important material with wide applications ranging from aerospace components to x-ray equipment. Yet a precise understanding of its phase diagram remains elusive. We have investigated the phase stability of Be using a recently developed hybrid free energy computation method that accounts for anharmonic effects by invoking phonon quasiparticles. We find that the hcp → bcc transition occurs near the melting curve at 0

  11. Large-area beryllium metal foils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stoner, J. O., Jr.

    1997-02-01

    To manufacture beryllium filters having diameters up to 82 mm and thicknesses in the range 0.1-1 μm, it was necessary to construct apparatus in which the metal could safely be evaporated, and then to find an acceptable substrate and evaporation procedure. The metal was evaporated resistively from a tantalum dimple boat mounted in a baffled enclosure that could be placed in a conventional vacuum bell jar, obviating the need for a dedicated complete vacuum system. Substrates were 102 mm × 127 mm × 0.05 mm cleaved mica sheets, coated with 0.1 μm of NaCl, then with approximately 50 μg/cm 2 of cellulose nitrate. These were mounted on poly(methyl methacrylate) sheets 3 mm thick that were in turn clamped to a massive aluminum block for thermal stability. Details of the processes for evaporation, float off, and mounting are given, and the resulting foils described.

  12. Spatially resolved x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy of beryllium capsule implosions at the NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    MacDonald, M. J.; Bishel, D. T.; Saunders, A. M.; Scott, H. A.; Kyrala, G.; Kline, J.; MacLaren, S.; Thorn, D. B.; Yi, S. A.; Zylstra, A. B.; Falcone, R. W.; Doeppner, T.

    2017-10-01

    Beryllium ablators used in indirectly driven inertial confinement fusion implosions are doped with copper to prevent preheat of the cryogenic hydrogen fuel. Here, we present analysis of spatially resolved copper K- α fluorescence spectra from the beryllium ablator layer. It has been shown that K- α fluorescence spectroscopy can be used to measure plasma conditions of partially ionized dopants in high energy density systems. In these experiments, K-shell vacancies in the copper dopant are created by the hotspot emission at stagnation, resulting in K-shell fluorescence at bang time. Spatially resolved copper K- α emission spectra are compared to atomic kinetics and radiation code simulations to infer density and temperature profiles. This work was supported by the US DOE under Grant No. DE-NA0001859, under the auspices of the US DOE by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344, and by Los Alamos National Laboratory under contract DE-AC52-06NA52396.

  13. Monte Carlo simulation of thermal neutron flux of americium-beryllium source used in neutron activation analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Didi, Abdessamad; Dadouch, Ahmed; Bencheikh, Mohamed; Jai, Otman

    2017-09-01

    The neutron activation analysis is a method of exclusively elemental analysis. Its implementation of irradiates the sample which can be analyzed by a high neutron flux, this method is widely used in developed countries with nuclear reactors or accelerators of particle. The purpose of this study is to develop a prototype to increase the neutron flux such as americium-beryllium and have the opportunity to produce radioisotopes. Americium-beryllium is a mobile source of neutron activity of 20 curie, and gives a thermal neutron flux of (1.8 ± 0.0007) × 106 n/cm2 s when using water as moderator, when using the paraffin, the thermal neutron flux increases to (2.2 ± 0.0008) × 106 n/cm2 s, in the case of adding two solid beryllium barriers, the distance between them is 24 cm, parallel and symmetrical about the source, the thermal flux is increased to (2.5 ± 0.0008) × 106 n/cm2 s and in the case of multi-source (6 sources), with-out barriers, increases to (1.17 ± 0.0008) × 107 n/cm2 s with a rate of increase equal to 4.3 and with the both barriers flux increased to (1.37 ± 0.0008) × 107 n/cm2 s.

  14. Experimental Investigation of Several Copper and Beryllium Hemispherical Models in Air at Stagnation Temperatures of 2,000 to 3,600 F

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Trout, Otto F., Jr.

    1959-01-01

    As part of an investigation by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to determine the resistance to heating of various materials when used as a heat sink for hypersonic airframes, hemispherical nose-shape models of beryllium and copper have been tested in a Mach number 4 hot-air jet at stagnation temperatures of 2,000 F to 3,600 F and Reynolds numbers of 1.88 x 10(exp 6) to 2.93 x 10(exp 6). The experimental results of heating on the nose of the beryllium models agreed reasonably well with theoretical results, whereas heating on the nose of the copper models was almost twice that predicted by theory. Heating of the cylindrical wall behind the hemisphere agreed fairly well with that predicted by theory at lower temperatures. Beryllium produced a thin protective oxide when heated to its melting point with no tendency to ignite before melting. Copper produced a somewhat heavier layer of oxide upon heating, and ignited when heated to near its melting point. These tests indicate that beryllium is superior to copper as a heat-sink material because it absorbs more heat per unit weight, has greater resistance to oxidation in heated air, and does not ignite when heated in air up to its melting temperature.

  15. Characterization of Beryllium Windows Using Coherent X-rays at 1-km Beamline

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Goto, Shunji; Yabashi, Makina; Takahashi, Sunao

    2004-05-12

    Beryllium windows were characterized using coherent x-rays at the one-kilometer beamline of SPring-8. Non-uniformity of transmission x-ray images is largely due to Fresnel diffraction from deficiencies such as surface pits with diameter of order of one micron to ten microns, having no correlation with averaged surface roughness measured with an optical profilometer.

  16. Acidity enhancement of unsaturated bases of group 15 by association with borane and beryllium dihydride. Unexpected boron and beryllium Brønsted acids.

    PubMed

    Martín-Sómer, Ana; Mó, Otilia; Yáñez, Manuel; Guillemin, Jean-Claude

    2015-01-21

    The intrinsic acidity of CH2[double bond, length as m-dash]CHXH2, HC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CXH2 (X = N, P, As, Sb) derivatives and of their complexes with BeH2 and BH3 has been investigated by means of high-level density functional theory and molecular orbital ab initio calculations, using as a reference the ethyl saturated analogues. The acidity of the free systems steadily increases down the group for the three series of derivatives, ethyl, vinyl and ethynyl. The association with both beryllium dihydride and borane leads to a very significant acidity enhancement, being larger for BeH2 than for BH3 complexes. This acidity enhancement, for the unsaturated compounds, is accompanied by a change in the acidity trends down the group, which do not steadily decrease but present a minimum value for both the vinyl- and the ethynyl-phosphine. When the molecule acting as the Lewis acid is beryllium dihydride, the π-type complexes in which the BeH2 molecules interact with the double or triple bond are found, in some cases, to be more stable, in terms of free energies, than the conventional complexes in which the attachment takes place at the heteroatom, X. The most important finding, however, is that P, As, and Sb ethynyl complexes with BeH2 do not behave as P, As, or Sb Brønsted acids, but unexpectedly as Be acids.

  17. Simulations of threshold displacement in beryllium

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jackson, Matthew L.; Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 3DB; Fossati, Paul C. M.

    Atomic scale molecular dynamics simulations of radiation damage have been performed on beryllium. Direct threshold displacement simulations along a geodesic projection of directions were used to investigate the directional dependence with a high spatial resolution. It was found that the directionally averaged probability of displacement increases from 0 at 35 eV, with the energy at which there is a 50% chance of a displacement occurring is 70 eV and asymptotically approaching 1 for higher energies. This is, however, strongly directionally dependent with a 50% probability of displacement varying from 35 to 120 eV, with low energy directions corresponding to the nearest neighbour directions.more » A new kinetic energy dependent expression for the average maximum displacement of an atom as a function of energy is derived which closely matches the simulated data.« less

  18. Premelting hcp to bcc Transition in Beryllium.

    PubMed

    Lu, Y; Sun, T; Zhang, Ping; Zhang, P; Zhang, D-B; Wentzcovitch, R M

    2017-04-07

    Beryllium (Be) is an important material with wide applications ranging from aerospace components to x-ray equipment. Yet a precise understanding of its phase diagram remains elusive. We have investigated the phase stability of Be using a recently developed hybrid free energy computation method that accounts for anharmonic effects by invoking phonon quasiparticles. We find that the hcp → bcc transition occurs near the melting curve at 0

  19. The pathological anatomy of acute experimental baryllium poisoning peripheral blood changes resulting from intravenous administration of beryllium sulphate

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Scott, J.E.

    1947-09-01

    The lesions produced in the organs following a single intravenous administration of hydrated beryllium sulfate are described. The lesions of the lungs and eyes of animals exposed to the above compound are reviewed. When the baryllium sulfate is given intravenously, midsonal focal necrosis of the liver cells, necrosis of cells of the distal one-third of the proximal convoluted tubules of the kidney and generative changes in the cells of the hemopoietic system are produced. Following exposure of animals to beryllium sulfate dust (100 mg/m{sup 3}, 8 hours daily for eleven days), inflammatory pulmonary lesions are produced which vary in intensitymore » with different species. Pulmonary edema, a terminal bronchitis, and focal atelectasis are the most commonly observed lesions. The eyes of some species exposed to this dust develop conjunctivitis, heratitis, and corneal ulcers. Following a single intravenous administration of beryllium sulfate, rather sharp changes occur in the elements of the peripheral blood. These consist of a secondary anemia (probably resulting from intravascular lysis of red cells), a leukocytosis, and an increase in the number of circulating platelets. 29 figs.« less

  20. Beryllium, zinc and lead single crystals as a thermal neutron monochromators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Adib, M.; Habib, N.; Bashter, I. I.; Morcos, H. N.; El-Mesiry, M. S.; Mansy, M. S.

    2015-03-01

    The monochromatic features of Be, Zn and Pb single crystals are discussed in terms of orientation, mosaic spread, and thickness within the wavelength band from 0.04 up to 0.5 nm. A computer program MONO written in "FORTRAN-77", has been adapted to carry out the required calculations. Calculations show that a 5 mm thick of beryllium (HCP structure) single crystal cut along its (0 0 2) plane having 0.6° FWHM are the optimum parameters when it is used as a monochromator with high reflected neutron intensity from a thermal neutron flux. Furthermore, at wavelengths shorter than 0.16 nm it is free from the accompanying higher order ones. Zinc (HCP structure) has the same parameters, with intensity much less than the latter. The same features are seen with lead (FCC structure) cut along its (3 1 1) plane with less reflectivity than the former. However, Pb (3 1 1) is more preferable than others at neutron wavelengths ⩽ 0.1 nm, since the glancing angle (θ ∼ 20°) is more suitable to carry out diffraction experiments. For a cold neutron flux, the first-order neutrons reflected from beryllium is free from the higher orders up to 0.36 nm. While for Zn single crystal is up to 0.5 nm.

  1. First beryllium capsule implosions on the National Ignition Facility

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kline, J. L.; Yi, S. A.; Simakov, A. N.

    2016-05-15

    The first indirect drive implosion experiments using Beryllium (Be) capsules at the National Ignition Facility confirm the superior ablation properties and elucidate possible Be-ablator issues such as hohlraum filling by ablator material. Since the 1990s, Be has been the preferred Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) ablator because of its higher mass ablation rate compared to that of carbon-based ablators. This enables ICF target designs with higher implosion velocities at lower radiation temperatures and improved hydrodynamic stability through greater ablative stabilization. Recent experiments to demonstrate the viability of Be ablator target designs measured the backscattered laser energy, capsule implosion velocity, core implosionmore » shape from self-emission, and in-flight capsule shape from backlit imaging. The laser backscatter is similar to that from comparable plastic (CH) targets under the same hohlraum conditions. Implosion velocity measurements from backlit streaked radiography show that laser energy coupling to the hohlraum wall is comparable to plastic ablators. The measured implosion shape indicates no significant reduction of laser energy from the inner laser cone beams reaching the hohlraum wall as compared with plastic and high-density carbon ablators. These results indicate that the high mass ablation rate for beryllium capsules does not significantly alter hohlraum energetics. In addition, these data, together with data for low fill-density hohlraum performance, indicate that laser power multipliers, required to reconcile simulations with experimental observations, are likely due to our limited understanding of the hohlraum rather than the capsule physics since similar multipliers are needed for both Be and CH capsules as seen in experiments.« less

  2. First beryllium capsule implosions on the National Ignition Facility

    DOE PAGES

    Kline, J. L.; Yi, S. A.; Simakov, A. N.; ...

    2016-05-01

    The first indirect drive implosion experiments using Beryllium (Be) capsules at the National Ignition Facility confirm the superior ablation properties and elucidate possible Be-ablator issues such as hohlraum filling by ablator material. Since the 1990s, Be has been the preferred Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) ablator because of its higher mass ablation rate compared to that of carbon-based ablators. This enables ICF target designs with higher implosion velocities at lower radiation temperatures and improved hydrodynamic stability through greater ablative stabilization. Recent experiments to demonstrate the viability of Be ablator target designs measured the backscattered laser energy, capsule implosion velocity, core implosionmore » shape from self-emission, and in-flight capsule shape from backlit imaging. The laser backscatter is similar to that from comparable plastic (CH) targets under the same hohlraum conditions. Implosion velocity measurements from backlit streaked radiography show that laser energy coupling to the hohlraum wall is comparable to plastic ablators. The measured implosion shape indicates no significant reduction of laser energy from the inner laser cone beams reaching the hohlraum wall as compared with plastic and high-density carbon ablators. These results indicate that the high mass ablation rate for beryllium capsules does not significantly alter hohlraum energetics. In addition, these data, together with data for low fill-density hohlraum performance, indicate that laser power multipliers, required to reconcile simulations with experimental observations, are likely due to our limited understanding of the hohlraum rather than the capsule physics since similar multipliers are needed for both Be and CH capsules as seen in experiments.« less

  3. Photoionization of the beryllium isoelectronic sequence: Relativistic and nonrelativistic R-matrix calculations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chu, Wei-Chun

    The photoionization of the beryllium-like isoelectronic series has been studied. The bound state wave functions of the target ions were built with CIV3 program. The relativistic Breit-Pauli R-matrix method was used to calculate the cross sections in the photon energy range between the ionization threshold and 1s24 f7/2 threshold for each ion. For the total cross sections of Be, B+, C+2, N+3, and O +4, our results match experiment well. The comparison between the present work and other theoretical works are also discussed. We show the comparison with our LS results as it indicates the importance of relativistic effects on different ions. In the analysis, the resonances converging to 1 s22lj and 1s 23lj were identified and characterized with quantum defects, energies and widths using the eigenphase sum methodology. We summarize the general appearance of resonances along the resonance series and along the isoelectronic sequence. Partial cross sections are also reported systematically along the sequence. All calculations were performed on the NERSC system. INDEX WORDS: Photoionization, R-matrix, Cross section, Beryllium-like ion, Resonance

  4. Interlaboratory evaluation of a standardized inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method for the determination of trace beryllium in air filter samples.

    PubMed

    Ashley, Kevin; Brisson, Michael J; Howe, Alan M; Bartley, David L

    2009-12-01

    A collaborative interlaboratory evaluation of a newly standardized inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method for determining trace beryllium in workplace air samples was carried out toward fulfillment of method validation requirements for ASTM International voluntary consensus standard test methods. The interlaboratory study (ILS) was performed in accordance with an applicable ASTM International standard practice, ASTM E691, which describes statistical procedures for investigating interlaboratory precision. Uncertainty was also estimated in accordance with ASTM D7440, which applies the International Organization for Standardization Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement to air quality measurements. Performance evaluation materials (PEMs) used consisted of 37 mm diameter mixed cellulose ester filters that were spiked with beryllium at levels of 0.025 (low loading), 0.5 (medium loading), and 10 (high loading) microg Be/filter; these spiked filters were prepared by a contract laboratory. Participating laboratories were recruited from a pool of over 50 invitees; ultimately, 20 laboratories from Europe, North America, and Asia submitted ILS results. Triplicates of each PEM (blanks plus the three different loading levels) were conveyed to each volunteer laboratory, along with a copy of the draft standard test method that each participant was asked to follow; spiking levels were unknown to the participants. The laboratories were requested to prepare the PEMs by one of three sample preparation procedures (hotplate or microwave digestion or hotblock extraction) that were described in the draft standard. Participants were then asked to analyze aliquots of the prepared samples by ICP-MS and to report their data in units of mu g Be/filter sample. Interlaboratory precision estimates from participating laboratories, computed in accordance with ASTM E691, were 0.165, 0.108, and 0.151 (relative standard deviation) for the PEMs spiked at 0.025, 0

  5. Predicting the sensitivity of the beryllium/scintillator layer neutron detector using Monte Carlo and experimental response functions.

    PubMed

    Styron, J D; Cooper, G W; Ruiz, C L; Hahn, K D; Chandler, G A; Nelson, A J; Torres, J A; McWatters, B R; Carpenter, Ken; Bonura, M A

    2014-11-01

    A methodology for obtaining empirical curves relating absolute measured scintillation light output to beta energy deposited is presented. Output signals were measured from thin plastic scintillator using NIST traceable beta and gamma sources and MCNP5 was used to model the energy deposition from each source. Combining the experimental and calculated results gives the desired empirical relationships. To validate, the sensitivity of a beryllium/scintillator-layer neutron activation detector was predicted and then exposed to a known neutron fluence from a Deuterium-Deuterium fusion plasma (DD). The predicted and the measured sensitivity were in statistical agreement.

  6. Cryogenic optical tests of a lightweight HIP beryllium mirror

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Melugin, Ramsey K.; Miller, Jacob H.; Young, J. A.; Howard, Steven D.; Pryor, G. Mark

    1989-01-01

    Five interferometric tests were conducted at cryogenic temperatures on a lightweight, 50 cm diameter, hot isostatic pressed (HIP) beryllium mirror in the Ames Research Center (ARC) Cryogenic Optics Test Facility. The purpose of the tests was to determine the stability of the mirror's figure when cooled to cryogenic temperatures. Test temperatures ranged from room ambient to 8 K. One cycle to 8 K and five cycles to 80 K were performed. Optical and thermal test methods are described. Data is presented to show the amount of cryogenic distortion and hysteresis present in the mirror when measured with an earlier, Shack interferometer, and with a newly-acquired, phase-measuring interferometer.

  7. Primordial beryllium as a big bang calorimeter.

    PubMed

    Pospelov, Maxim; Pradler, Josef

    2011-03-25

    Many models of new physics including variants of supersymmetry predict metastable long-lived particles that can decay during or after primordial nucleosynthesis, releasing significant amounts of nonthermal energy. The hadronic energy injection in these decays leads to the formation of ⁹Be via the chain of nonequilibrium transformations: Energy(h)→T, ³He→⁶He, ⁶Li→⁹Be. We calculate the efficiency of this transformation and show that if the injection happens at cosmic times of a few hours the release of O(10 MeV) per baryon can be sufficient for obtaining a sizable ⁹Be abundance. The absence of a plateau structure in the ⁹Be/H abundance down to a O(10⁻¹⁴) level allows one to use beryllium as a robust constraint on new physics models with decaying or annihilating particles.

  8. High-temperature annealing of proton irradiated beryllium – A dilatometry-based study

    DOE PAGES

    Simos, Nikolaos; Elbakhshwan, Mohamed; Zhong, Zhong; ...

    2016-04-07

    S—200 F grade beryllium has been irradiated with 160 MeV protons up to 1.2 10 20 cm –2 peak fluence and irradiation temperatures in the range of 100–200 °C. To address the effect of proton irradiation on dimensional stability, an important parameter in its consideration in fusion reactor applications, and to simulate high temperature irradiation conditions, multi-stage annealing using high precision dilatometry to temperatures up to 740 °C were conducted in air. X-ray diffraction studies were also performed to compliment the macroscopic thermal study and offer a microscopic view of the irradiation effects on the crystal lattice. The primary objectivemore » was to qualify the competing dimensional change processes occurring at elevated temperatures namely manufacturing defect annealing, lattice parameter recovery, transmutation 4He and 3H diffusion and swelling and oxidation kinetics. Further, quantification of the effect of irradiation dose and annealing temperature and duration on dimensional changes is sought. Here, the study revealed the presence of manufacturing porosity in the beryllium grade, the oxidation acceleration effect of irradiation including the discontinuous character of oxidation advancement, the effect of annealing duration on the recovery of lattice parameters recovery and the triggering temperature for transmutation gas diffusion leading to swelling.« less

  9. Modelling of radiation impact on ITER Beryllium wall

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Landman, I. S.; Janeschitz, G.

    2009-04-01

    In the ITER H-Mode confinement regime, edge localized instabilities (ELMs) will perturb the discharge. Plasma lost after each ELM moves along magnetic field lines and impacts on divertor armour, causing plasma contamination by back propagating eroded carbon or tungsten. These impurities produce enhanced radiation flux distributed mainly over the beryllium main chamber wall. The simulation of the complicated processes involved are subject of the integrated tokamak code TOKES that is currently under development. This work describes the new TOKES model for radiation transport through confined plasma. Equations for level populations of the multi-fluid plasma species and the propagation of different kinds of radiation (resonance, recombination and bremsstrahlung photons) are implemented. First simulation results without account of resonance lines are presented.

  10. Manufacture, assembly, and delivery of beryllium test panels

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1972-01-01

    Details of the fabrication and assembly of two 99 cm by 99 cm (39 in. by 39 in.) beryllium heat shield test panels are presented. Each panel consists of two hat-stiffened, formed skins which overlap a transverse slip joint at the center of the panel; clips join the two skins at the slip joint, and continuous standoffs are provided at the ends of the panel. The hat-stiffeners are joined to the skin by furnace-brazing, using the braze alloy BAg 18. The parts are generally 0.051 cm (0.020 in.) thick. Tools used to form the detail parts are shown, together with the results of preliminary forming and brazing trials to verify processing techniques. Problems encountered in the manufacture of the panels are discussed.

  11. Experimental study of ELM-like heat loading on beryllium under ITER operational conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Spilker, B.; Linke, J.; Pintsuk, G.; Wirtz, M.

    2016-02-01

    The experimental fusion reactor ITER, currently under construction in Cadarache, France, is transferring the nuclear fusion research to the power plant scale. ITER’s first wall (FW), armoured by beryllium, is subjected to high steady state and transient power loads. Transient events like edge localized modes not only deposit power densities of up to 1.0 GW m-2 for 0.2-0.5 ms in the divertor of the machine, but also affect the FW to a considerable extent. Therefore, a detailed study was performed, in which transient power loads with absorbed power densities of up to 1.0 GW m-2 were applied by the electron beam facility JUDITH 1 on beryllium specimens at base temperatures of up to 300 °C. The induced damage was evaluated by means of scanning electron microscopy and laser profilometry. As a result, the observed damage was highly dependent on the base temperatures and absorbed power densities. In addition, five different classes of damage, ranging from ‘no damage’ to ‘crack network plus melting’, were defined and used to locate the damage, cracking, and melting thresholds within the tested parameter space.

  12. U-Pb ages of uraniferous opals and implications for the history of beryllium, fluorine, and uranium mineralization at Spor Mountain, Utah

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Ludwig, K. R.; Lindsey, D.A.; Zielinski, R.A.; Simmons, K.R.

    1980-01-01

    The U-Pb isotope systematics of uraniferous opals from Spor Mountain, Utah, were investigated to determine the suitability of such material for geochronologic purposes, and to estimate the timing of uranium and associated beryllium and fluorine mineralization. The results indicate that uraniferous opals can approximate a closed system for uranium and uranium daughters, so that dating samples as young as ???1 m.y. should be possible. In addition, the expected lack of initial 230Th and 231Pa in opals permits valuable information on the initial 234U/238U to be obtained on suitable samples of ???10 m.y. age. The oldest 207Pb/235U apparent age observed, 20.8 ?? 1 m.y., was that of the opal-fluorite core of a nodule from a beryllium deposit in the Spor Mountain Formation. This age is indistinguishable from that of fission-track and K-Ar ages from the host rhyolite, and links the mineralization to the first episode of alkali rhyolite magmatism and related hydrothermal activity at Spor Mountain. Successively younger ages of 13 m.y. and 8-9 m.y. on concentric outer zones of the same nodule indicate that opal formed either episodically or continuously for over 10 m.y. Several samples of both fracture-filling and massive-nodule opal associated with beryllium deposits gave 207Pb/235U apparent ages of 13-16 m.y., which may reflect a restricted period of mineralization or perhaps an averaging of 21- and <13-m.y. periods of opal growth. Several samples of fracture-filling opal in volcanic rocks as young as 6 m.y. gave 207Pb/235U ages of 3.4-4.8 m.y. These ages may reflect hot-spring activity after the last major eruption of alkali rhyolite. ?? 1980.

  13. Calculated temperature dependence of elastic constants and phonon dispersion of hcp and bcc beryllium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hahn, Steven; Arapan, Sergiu; Harmon, Bruce; Eriksson, Olle

    2011-03-01

    Conventional first principle methods for calculating lattice dynamics are unable to calculate high temperature thermophysical properties of materials containing modes that are entropically stabilized. In this presentation we use a relatively new approach called self-consistent ab initio lattice dynamics (SCAILD) to study the hcp to bcc transition (1530 K) in beryllium. The SCAILD method goes beyond the harmonic approximation to include phonon-phonon interactions and produces a temperature-dependent phonon dispersion. In the high temperature bcc structure, phonon-phonon interactions dynamically stabilize the N-point phonon. Fits to the calculated phonon dispersion were used to determine the temperature dependence of the elastic constants in the hcp and bcc phases. Work at the Ames Laboratory was supported by the Department of Energy-Basic Energy Sciences under Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11358.

  14. Cost effective aluminum beryllium mirrors for critical optics applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Say, Carissa; Duich, Jack; Huskamp, Chris; White, Ray

    2013-09-01

    The unique performance of aluminum-beryllium frequently makes it an ideal material for manufacturing precision optical-grade metal mirrors. Traditional methods of manufacture utilize hot-pressed powder block in billet form which is subsequently machined to final dimensions. Complex component geometries such as lightweighted, non-plano mirrors require extensive tool path programming, fixturing, and CNC machining time and result in a high buy-to-fly ratio (the ratio of the mass of raw material purchased to the mass of the finished part). This increases the cost of the mirror structure as a significant percentage of the procurement cost is consumed in the form of machining, tooling, and scrap material that do not add value to the final part. Inrad Optics, Inc. and IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. undertook a joint study to evaluate the suitability of investment-cast Beralcast® 191 and 363 aluminum-beryllium as a precision mirror substrate material. Net shape investment castings of the desired geometry minimizes machining to just cleanup stock, thereby reducing the recurring procurement cost while still maintaining performance. The thermal stability of two mirrors, (one each of Beralcast® 191 and Beralcast® 363), was characterized from -40°F to +150°F. A representative pocketed mirror was developed, including the creation of a relevant geometry and production of a cast component to validate the approach. Information from the demonstration unit was used as a basis for a comparative cost study of the representative mirror produced in Beralcast® and one machined from a billet of AlBeMet® 162 (AlBeMet® is a registered trademark of Materion Corporation). The technical and financial results of these studies will be discussed in detail.

  15. What Are Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases?

    MedlinePlus

    ... Back To Health Topics / Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases Also known as What Is ... as the peritoneum (PER-ih-to-NE-um). Asbestos-Related Lung Diseases Figure A shows the location ...

  16. Survival and in-vessel redistribution of beryllium droplets after ITER disruptions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vignitchouk, L.; Ratynskaia, S.; Tolias, P.; Pitts, R. A.; De Temmerman, G.; Lehnen, M.; Kiramov, D.

    2018-07-01

    The motion and temperature evolution of beryllium droplets produced by first wall surface melting after ITER major disruptions and vertical displacement events mitigated during the current quench are simulated by the MIGRAINe dust dynamics code. These simulations employ an updated physical model which addresses droplet-plasma interaction in ITER-relevant regimes characterized by magnetized electron collection and thin-sheath ion collection, as well as electron emission processes induced by electron and high-Z ion impacts. The disruption scenarios have been implemented from DINA simulations of the time-evolving plasma parameters, while the droplet injection points are set to the first-wall locations expected to receive the highest thermal quench heat flux according to field line tracing studies. The droplet size, speed and ejection angle are varied within the range of currently available experimental and theoretical constraints, and the final quantities of interest are obtained by weighting single-trajectory output with different size and speed distributions. Detailed estimates of droplet solidification into dust grains and their subsequent deposition in the vessel are obtained. For representative distributions of the droplet injection parameters, the results indicate that at most a few percents of the beryllium mass initially injected is converted into solid dust, while the remaining mass either vaporizes or forms liquid splashes on the wall. Simulated in-vessel spatial distributions are also provided for the surviving dust, with the aim of providing guidance for planned dust diagnostic, retrieval and clean-up systems on ITER.

  17. Celiac disease and new diseases related to gluten

    PubMed

    Jiménez Ortega, Ana Isabel; Martínez García, Rosa María; Quiles Blanco, María José; Majid Abu Naji, Jamil Abdel; González Iglesias, María José

    2016-07-12

    Celiac disease is the most common chronic intestinal disease. Nowadays it´s known that this is a multisistemic pathology of immune mechanism, triggered by gluten, which occurs in genetically susceptible individuals. It affects approximately 1% of the world population, which is a very high prevalence, affects all age groups and has symptoms both digestive and extra-digestive. Since it is a disease that requires maintaining a gluten-free diet and medical monitoring for life, it is important to know it and establish its diagnosis properly. Along with celiac disease a number of new diseases related to gluten are diagnosed increasingly, including the non celiac gluten sensitivity or wheat allergy. The suffering of celiac disease, or other related diseases, by conditioning diet changes of the affected individual, it may be associated with nutritional imbalances that need to monitor and try to solve. Therefore patients with this problem need special nutritional advice.

  18. High-Affinity Interactions of Beryllium(2+) with Phosphatidylserine Result in a Cross-Linking Effect Reducing Surface Recognition of the Lipid.

    PubMed

    Ermakov, Yuri A; Kamaraju, Kishore; Dunina-Barkovskaya, Antonina; Vishnyakova, Khava S; Yegorov, Yegor E; Anishkin, Andriy; Sukharev, Sergei

    2017-10-10

    Beryllium has multiple industrial applications, but its manufacture is associated with a serious occupational risk of developing chronic inflammation in the lungs known as berylliosis, or chronic beryllium disease. Although the Be 2+ -induced abnormal immune responses have recently been linked to a specific MHC-II allele, the nature of long-lasting granulomas is not fully understood. Here we show that Be 2+ binds with a micromolar affinity to phosphatidylserine (PS), the major surface marker of apoptotic cells. Isothermal titration calorimetry indicates that, like that of Ca 2+ , binding of Be 2+ to PS liposomes is largely entropically driven, likely by massive desolvation. Be 2+ exerts a compacting effect on PS monolayers, suggesting cross-linking through coordination by both phosphates and carboxyls in multiple configurations, which were visualized in molecular dynamics simulations. Electrostatic modification of PS membranes by Be 2+ includes complete neutralization of surface charges at ∼30 μM, accompanied by an increase in the boundary dipole potential. The data suggest that Be 2+ can displace Ca 2+ from the surface of PS, and being coordinated in a tight shell of four oxygens, it can mask headgroups from Ca 2+ -mediated recognition by PS receptors. Indeed, 48 μM Be 2+ added to IC-21 cultured macrophages specifically suppresses binding and engulfment of PS-coated silica beads or aged erythrocytes. We propose that Be 2+ adsorption at the surface of apoptotic cells may potentially prevent normal phagocytosis, thus causing accumulation of secondary necrotic foci and the resulting chronic inflammation.

  19. Age-related and disease-related muscle loss: the effect of diabetes, obesity, and other diseases

    PubMed Central

    Kalyani, Rita Rastogi; Corriere, Mark; Ferrucci, Luigi

    2014-01-01

    The term sarcopenia refers to the loss of muscle mass that occurs with ageing. On the basis of study results showing that muscle mass is only moderately related to functional outcomes, international working groups have proposed that loss of muscle strength or physical function should also be included in the definition. Irrespective of how sarcopenia is defined, both low muscle mass and poor muscle strength are clearly highly prevalent and important risk factors for disability and potentially mortality in individuals as they age. Many chronic diseases, in addition to ageing, could also accelerate decrease of muscle mass and strength, and this effect could be a main underlying mechanism by which chronic diseases cause physical disability. In this Review, we address both age-related and disease-related muscle loss, with a focus on diabetes and obesity but including other disease states, and potential common mechanisms and treatments. Development of treatments for age-related and disease-related muscle loss might improve active life expectancy in older people, and lead to substantial health-care savings and improved quality of life. PMID:24731660

  20. Crucible cast from beryllium oxide and refractory cement is impervious to flux and molten metal

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Jastrzebski, Z. D.

    1966-01-01

    Crucible from a mixture of a beryllium oxide aggregate and hydraulic refractory cement, and coated with an impervious refractory oxide will not deteriorate in the presence of fused salt- molten metal mixtures such as uranium- magnesium-zinc-halide salt systems. Vessels cast by this process are used in the flux reduction of oxides of thorium and uranium.

  1. Beryllium and titanium cost-adjustment report

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Owen, John; Ulph, Eric, Sr.

    1991-09-01

    This report summarizes cost adjustment factors for beryllium (Be, S200) and titanium (Ti, 6Al-4V) that were derived relative to aluminum (Al, 7075-T6). Aluminum is traditionally the material upon which many of the Cost Analysis Office, Missile Division cost estimating relationships (CERs) are based. The adjustment factors address both research and development and production (Q > 100) quantities. In addition, the factors derived include optical elements, normal structure, and structure with special requirements for minimal microcreep, such as sensor assembly parts and supporting components. Since booster cost per payload pound is an even larger factor in total missile launch costs than was initially presumed, the primary cost driver for all materials compared was the missiles' booster cost per payload pound for both R&D and production quantities. Al and Ti are 1.5 and 2.4 times more dense, respectively, than Be, and the cost to lift the heavier materials results in greater booster expense. In addition, Al and Ti must be 2.1 and 2.8, respectively, times the weight of a Be component to provide equivalent stiffness, based on the example component addressed in the report. These factors also increase booster costs. After review of the relative factors cited above, especially the lower costs for Be when stiffness and booster costs are taken into consideration, affordability becomes an important issue. When this study was initiated, both government and contractor engineers said that Be was the material to be used as a last resort because of its prohibitive cost and extreme toxicity. Although the initial price of Be may lead one to believe that any Be product would be extremely expensive, the total cost of Be used for space applications is actually competitive with or less costly than either Al or Ti. Also, the Be toxicity problem has turned out to be a non-issue for purchasers of finished Be components since no machining or grinding operations are required on the finished

  2. Efficient and robust photo-ionization loading of beryllium ions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wolf, Sebastian; Studer, Dominik; Wendt, Klaus; Schmidt-Kaler, Ferdinand

    2018-02-01

    We demonstrate the efficient generation of Be^+ ions with a 60 ns and 150 nJ laser pulse near 235 nm for two-step photo-ionization, proven by subsequent counting of the number of ions loaded into a linear Paul trap. The bandwidth and power of the laser pulse are chosen in such a way that a first, resonant step fully saturates the entire velocity distribution of beryllium atoms effusing from a thermal oven. The second excitation step is driven by the same light field causing efficient non-resonant ionization. Our ion-loading scheme has a similar efficiency as compared to former pathways using two-photon continuous wave laser excitation, but with an order of magnitude lower than average UV light power.

  3. Pain-related diseases and sleep disorders

    PubMed Central

    Roizenblatt, M.; Rosa Neto, N.S.; Tufik, S.; Roizenblatt, S.

    2012-01-01

    Pain and sleep share mutual relations under the influence of cognitive and neuroendocrine changes. Sleep is an important homeostatic feature and, when impaired, contributes to the development or worsening of pain-related diseases. The aim of the present review is to provide a panoramic view for the generalist physician on sleep disorders that occur in pain-related diseases within the field of Internal Medicine, such as rheumatic diseases, acute coronary syndrome, digestive diseases, cancer, and headache. PMID:22760852

  4. Fracture toughness of CIP-HIP (cold isostatic pressed - hot isostatic pressed) beryllium at elevated temperatures. Final report, 13 May 1980-13 February 1981

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Barker, L.M.; Jones, A.H.

    1986-04-01

    The fracture toughness of CIP-HIP (cold isostatic pressed-hot isostatic pressed) beryllium was determined using the short-bar fracture-toughness (K/sub IcSB/) method. The K/sub IcSB/ value measured was 10.96 MPa x the square root of m at room temperature. This falls well within the expected range of 9 to 12 MPa x the square root of m as observed from previous fracture toughness measurements of beryllium. Toughness increased rapidly between 400 F and 500 F reaching a value of 16.7 MPa x the square root of m at 500 F.

  5. Evaluation of Cadmium Ratio and Foil Activation Measurements for a Beryllium-Reflected Assembly of U(93.15)O 2 Fuel Rods (1.506-cm Triangular Pitch)

    DOE PAGES

    Marshall, Margaret A.

    2014-11-04

    A series of small, compact critical assembly (SCCA) experiments were completed from 1962 to 1965 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Critical Experiments Facility (ORCEF) in support of the Medium-Power Reactor Experiments (MPRE) program. Initial experiments, performed in November and December of 1962, consisted of a core of un-moderated stainless-steel tubes, each containing 26 UOIdaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States) fuel pellets, surrounded by a graphite reflector. Measurements were performed to determine critical reflector arrangements, fission-rate distributions, and cadmium ratio distributions. The graphite reflectors were then changed to beryllium reflectors. For the beryllium reflected assemblies, the fuel wasmore » in 1.506-cm-triangular and 7-tube clusters leading to two critical configurations. Once the critical configurations had been achieved, various measurements of reactivity, relative axial and radial activation rates of 235U, and cadmium ratios were performed. The cadmium ratio, reactivity, and activation rate measurements, performed on the 1.506-cm-array critical configuration, have been evaluated and are described in this paper.« less

  6. Atmospheric deposition of beryllium in Central Europe: comparison of soluble and insoluble fractions in rime and snow across a pollution gradient.

    PubMed

    Bohdalkova, Leona; Novak, Martin; Voldrichova, Petra; Prechova, Eva; Veselovsky, Frantisek; Erbanova, Lucie; Krachler, Michael; Komarek, Arnost; Mikova, Jitka

    2012-11-15

    Little is known about atmospheric input of beryllium (Be) into ecosystems, despite its highly toxic behavior. For three consecutive winters (2009-2011), we measured Be concentrations in horizontal deposition (rime) and vertical deposition (snow) at 10 remote mountain-top locations in the Czech Republic, Central Europe. Beryllium was determined both in filtered waters, and in HF digests of insoluble particles. Across the sites, soluble Be concentrations in rime were 7 times higher, compared to snow (6.1 vs. 0.9ng·L(-1)). Rime scavenged the pollution-rich lower segments of clouds. The lowest Be concentrations were detected in the soluble fraction of snow. Across the sites, 34% of total Be deposition occurred in the form of soluble (bioavailable) Be, the rest were insoluble particles. Beryllium fluxes decreased in the order: vertical dry deposition insoluble>vertical dry deposition soluble>horizontal deposition soluble>vertical wet deposition insoluble>vertical wet deposition soluble>horizontal deposition insoluble. The average contributions of these Be forms to total deposition were 56, 21, 8, 7, 5 and 3%, respectively. Sites in the northeast were more Be-polluted than the rest of the country with sources of pollution in industrial Silesia. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Notched strength of beryllium powder and ingot sheets.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moss, R. G.

    1972-01-01

    The effects of notches in thin beryllium sheets were studied as functions of material variables and notch severity. Double edge notched samples having stress concentration factors of 1.0 to 15.4 were prepared by milling to size, etching, and electrical discharge machining the notches. Strength was not reduced greatly by sharp notches, and duller notches were more deleterious than sharp notches. The trend was for reduced strength for dull notches, increased strength for sharper notches, and reduced strength for very sharp notches. Differences in material purity or source of the sheet had little affect on notch sensitivity. The most important factors appear to be oxide content and directionality of the sheet microstructure; high oxide content and highly directional microstructure tend to give more notch sensitivity than low oxide content, and more bidirectional microstructure. Postulated causes of the change in notched/unnotched strength are given.

  8. Development of beryllium-based neutron target system with three-layer structure for accelerator-based neutron source for boron neutron capture therapy.

    PubMed

    Kumada, Hiroaki; Kurihara, Toshikazu; Yoshioka, Masakazu; Kobayashi, Hitoshi; Matsumoto, Hiroshi; Sugano, Tomei; Sakurai, Hideyuki; Sakae, Takeji; Matsumura, Akira

    2015-12-01

    The iBNCT project team with University of Tsukuba is developing an accelerator-based neutron source. Regarding neutron target material, our project has applied beryllium. To deal with large heat load and blistering of the target system, we developed a three-layer structure for the target system that includes a blistering mitigation material between the beryllium used as the neutron generator and the copper heat sink. The three materials were bonded through diffusion bonding using a hot isostatic pressing method. Based on several verifications, our project chose palladium as the intermediate layer. A prototype of the neutron target system was produced. We will verify that sufficient neutrons for BNCT treatment are generated by the device in the near future. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Report on Beryllium Strength Experiments Conducted at the TA-55 40 mm Impact Test Facility, Fiscal Year 2017

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Anderson, William Wyatt; Hollowell, Benjamin Charles; Martinez, Todd P.

    A series of experiments is currently in progress at eth 40 mm Impact Test Facility (ITF), located at TA-55, to understand the strength behavior of Beryllium metal at elevated temperature and pressure. In FY 2017, three experiments were conducted as a part of this project.

  10. [Differential Diagnosis of Mediastinal and Hilar Lymphadenopathy with Focus on Occupational Diseases].

    PubMed

    Lux, H; Cavalcante, L Barreira; Baur, X

    2018-06-01

    Hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy may represent a diagnostic challenge in clinical practice. This article is intended to facilitate differential diagnosis by a systematic description of relevant pathologies, notably with occupational etiology. Clinical findings of relevant diseases, i. e. of tuberculosis, chronic beryllium disease, sarcoidosis, lung cancer, malignant lymphoma, Epstein-Barr virus infection, and histoplasmosis are compared.Case history, imaging and laboratory tests have important diagnostic impact. But also invasive methods can be necessary in order to exclude and prove malignancy, infection or autoimmune disease. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  11. Interpreting Beryllium-7 and Lead-210 fluxes and ratios for age dating fluvial sediments in Difficult Run Watershed, Virginia, USA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karwan, D. L.; Pizzuto, J. E.; Skalak, K.; Benthem, A.

    2016-12-01

    The sources and transport of suspended sediments within watersheds of varying sizes remain an important area of study within the geosciences. Short term fallout radionuclides, such as Beryllium-7 (7Be) and Lead-210 (210Pb), and their ratios can be a valuable tool for gaining insight into suspended sediment transport dynamics. We use these techniques in combination with other sediment exchange and transport models to estimate residence and transport time of suspended sediment in nested reaches of the Difficult Run watershed (Virginia, USA) on timescales from storm events to centuries and longer. During several winter and spring 2015-2016 precipitation events, Beryllium-7 to excess Lead-210 ratios vary from 0.4 - 2.5 in direct channel precipitation and 0.2 - 1 on suspended sediment. Previously published age dating models would suggest that the suspended sediments were originally "tagged" by, or in contact with wet fallout of, by Beryllium7 fallout approximately 20-80 days before sampling. Sediments at the upstream reach (watershed size 14 km2) tend to be older ( 75 days), while sediments at the downstream reach (watershed size 117 km2) tend to be newer ( 20 days). We use multiple sediment transport models and hypothesize that fluvial sediments are tagged with direct channel precipitation between the upstream and downstream reach, explaining their apparently younger age. Our analysis includes error propagation as well as a comparison of radioisotope gamma analyses from different labs across multiple institutions.

  12. Thermal shock tests with beryllium coupons in the electron beam facility JUDITH

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Roedig, M.; Duwe, R.; Schuster, J.L.A.

    1995-09-01

    Several grades of American and Russian beryllium have been tested in high heat flux tests by means of an electron beam facility. For safety reasons, major modifications of the facility had to be fulfilled in advance to the tests. The influence of energy densities has been investigated in the range between 1 and 7 MJ/m{sup 2}. In addition the influence of an increasing number of shots at constant energy density has been studied. For all samples, surface profiles have been measured before and after the experiments. Additional information has been gained from scanning electron microscopy, and from metallography.

  13. Capsule physics comparison of National Ignition Facility implosion designs using plastic, high density carbon, and beryllium ablators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Clark, D. S.; Kritcher, A. L.; Yi, S. A.; Zylstra, A. B.; Haan, S. W.; Weber, C. R.

    2018-03-01

    Indirect drive implosion experiments on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [E. I. Moses et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 041006 (2009)] have now tested three different ablator materials: glow discharge polymer plastic, high density carbon, and beryllium. How do these different ablators compare in current and proposed implosion experiments on NIF? What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of each? This paper compares these different ablator options in capsule-only simulations of current NIF experiments and potential future designs. The simulations compare the impact of the capsule fill tube, support tent, and interface surface roughness for each case, as well as all perturbations in combination. According to the simulations, each ablator is impacted by the various perturbation sources differently, and each material poses unique challenges in the pursuit of ignition on NIF.

  14. Particle clearance and histopathology in lungs of C3H/HeJ mice administered beryllium/copper alloy by intratracheal instillation.

    PubMed

    Benson, J M; Holmes, A M; Barr, E B; Nikula, K J; March, T H

    2000-08-01

    Beryllium/copper (BeCu) alloys are commonly used in the electronics, automotive, consumer, defense, and aerospace industries. Some individuals exposed occupationally to BeCu alloys have developed chronic beryllium disease. However, little is known of the toxicity and fate of BeCu alloys in the respiratory tract. To begin to address this question, we investigated the pulmonary toxicity and clearance of BeCu alloy (2% Be; 98% Cu) in mice. Groups of 40 female C3H/HeJ mice were administered 12.5, 25, and 100 microg BeCu alloy or 2 and 8 microg Be metal by intratracheal instillation. Mice were sacrificed at 1 h and 1, 7, 14, and 28 days postinstillation. Left lungs were evaluated for histopathological change. Right lungs were analyzed for Be and Cu content. Twenty-five percent of the high-dose BeCu mice and 7.5% of the mid-dose BeCu mice died within 24 h of dosing. Acute pulmonary lesions included acute alveolitis and interstitial inflammation. Type II epithelial cell hyperplasia and centriacinar fibrosis were present by 7 days after dosing. Lesions persisted through 28 days after instillation. No lesions attributable to alloy exposure were present in liver or kidney. Be metal instillation caused no deaths and minimal pulmonary changes over the time studied, indicating that the pulmonary lesions were due to Cu rather than Be. Cu cleared the lung with a half-time of 0. 5-2 days. Be cleared with a half-time of several weeks or longer. Results of this study suggest that exposure to BeCu alloy is more acutely toxic to lung than Be metal. The results of tissue analyses also indicate that, while the Cu component of the alloy clears the lung rapidly, Be is retained and may accumulate upon repeated exposure.

  15. Smoking-related interstitial lung diseases.

    PubMed

    Caminati, A; Graziano, P; Sverzellati, N; Harari, S

    2010-12-01

    In pulmonary pathology, a wide spectrum of morphological changes is related to the consequences of smoking, and recognizing them on surgical specimens and on small transbronchial biopsies represents a challenge for the pathologist. Respiratory bronchiolitis, also referred to as smoker's bronchiolitis, is a common histologic feature found in the lung tissue of cigarette smokers. When identified as the sole histopathologic finding in the clinical setting of symptomatic interstitial lung disease, a diagnosis of respiratory bronchiolitis-interstitial lung disease is made. Since smoking is recognized to cause a variety of histologic patterns encompassing respiratory bronchiolitis, respiratory bronchiolitis-interstitial lung disease, desquamative interstitial pneumonia and pulmonary Langerhans cell hystiocytosis, smoking-related interstitial lung disease may be a useful concept to keep in mind for the pathologists. The relationship of smoking with each of these entities has been largely established on the basis of epidemiologic evidence. Although they have been retained as distinct and separate conditions in various classifications of interstitial lung diseases, these entities share a number of clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features suggesting that they represent a spectrum of patterns of interstitial lung disease occurring in predisposed individuals who smoke. Evaluation of histologic features, particularly in surgical lung biopsy samples, is important in making the distinction between these disorders. However, even after tissue biopsy, it may sometimes be difficult to clearly separate these entities. Recently, respiratory bronchiolitis-interstitial lung disease with fibrosis has been described and postulated that this is a smoking-related condition distinct from fibrotic non-specific interstitial pneumonia.

  16. Prevalence of celiac disease among first-degree relatives of Indian celiac disease patients.

    PubMed

    Mishra, Asha; Prakash, Shyam; Kaur, Gurvinder; Sreenivas, Vishnubhatla; Ahuja, Vineet; Gupta, Siddhartha Datta; Makharia, Govind K

    2016-03-01

    Celiac disease, once thought to be uncommon in Asia, is now recognized in Asian nations as well. We investigated the prevalence of celiac disease in first-degree relatives of celiac disease patients followed in our centre. First-degree relatives were screened prospectively for celiac disease using questionnaire-based interview and anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody. Serology positive first-degree relatives underwent duodenal biopsies. Diagnosis of celiac disease was made based on positive serology and villous abnormality Marsh grade 2 or higher. Human leucocyte antigen DQ2/-DQ8 was also assessed in 127 first-degree relatives. 434 first-degree relatives of 176 celiac disease patients were prospectively recruited; 282 were symptomatic (64.9%), 58 were positive for serology (13.3%). Seroprevalence was higher in female than in males (19% vs 8.5%; p=0.001) and highest in siblings (16.9%) than parents (13.6%) and children (5.9%) of celiac patients (p=0.055); 87.4% first-degree relatives were human leucocyte antigen-DQ2/-DQ8 positive. Overall prevalence of celiac disease was 10.9% amongst first-degree relatives. The prevalence of celiac disease in first-degree relatives of celiac disease patients was 10.9% in our cohort, and 87% had human leucocyte antigen-DQ2 or -DQ8 haplotype. All first-degree relatives of celiac disease patients should be screen for celiac disease even if asymptomatic or with atypical manifestations. Copyright © 2015 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Benchmark CCSD(T) and DFT study of binding energies in Be7 - 12: in search of reliable DFT functional for beryllium clusters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Labanc, Daniel; Šulka, Martin; Pitoňák, Michal; Černušák, Ivan; Urban, Miroslav; Neogrády, Pavel

    2018-05-01

    We present a computational study of the stability of small homonuclear beryllium clusters Be7 - 12 in singlet electronic states. Our predictions are based on highly correlated CCSD(T) coupled cluster calculations. Basis set convergence towards the complete basis set limit as well as the role of the 1s core electron correlation are carefully examined. Our CCSD(T) data for binding energies of Be7 - 12 clusters serve as a benchmark for performance assessment of several density functional theory (DFT) methods frequently used in beryllium cluster chemistry. We observe that, from Be10 clusters on, the deviation from CCSD(T) benchmarks is stable with respect to size, and fluctuating within 0.02 eV error bar for most examined functionals. This opens up the possibility of scaling the DFT binding energies for large Be clusters using CCSD(T) benchmark values for smaller clusters. We also tried to find analogies between the performance of DFT functionals for Be clusters and for the valence-isoelectronic Mg clusters investigated recently in Truhlar's group. We conclude that it is difficult to find DFT functionals that perform reasonably well for both beryllium and magnesium clusters. Out of 12 functionals examined, only the M06-2X functional gives reasonably accurate and balanced binding energies for both Be and Mg clusters.

  18. STARTUP REACTIVITY ACCOUNTABILITY ATTRIBUTED TO ISOTOPIC TRANSMUTATIONS IN THE IRRADIATED BERYLLIUM REFLECTOR OF THE HIGH FLUX ISTOTOPE REACTOR

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chandler, David; Maldonado, G Ivan; Primm, Trent

    2010-01-01

    The objective of this study is to develop a methodology to predict the reactivity impact as a function of outage time between cycles of 3He, 6Li, and other poisons in the High Flux Isotope Reactor s (HFIR) beryllium reflector. The reactivity worth at startup of the HFIR has been incorrectly predicted in the past after the reactor has been shut-down for long periods of time. The incorrect prediction was postulated to be due to the erroneous calculation of 3He buildup in the beryllium reflector. It is necessary to develop a better estimate of the start-of-cycle symmetric critical control element positionsmore » since if the estimated and actual symmetrical critical control element positions differ by more than $1.55 in reactivity (approximately one-half inch in control element startup position), HFIR is to be shutdown and a technical evaluation is performed to resolve the discrepancy prior to restart. 3He is generated and depleted during operation, but during an outage, the depletion of 3He ceases because it is a stable isotope. 3He is born from the radioactive decay of tritium, and thus the concentration of 3He increases during shutdown. The computer program SCALE, specifically the TRITON and CSAS5 control modules including the KENO V.A, COUPLE, and ORIGEN functional modules were utilized in this study. An equation relating the down time (td) to the change in symmetric control element position was generated and validated against measurements for approximately 40 HFIR operating cycles. The newly-derived correlation was shown to improve accuracy of predictions for long periods of down time.« less

  19. Association of age-related macular degeneration and reticular macular disease with cardiovascular disease.

    PubMed

    Rastogi, Neelesh; Smith, R Theodore

    2016-01-01

    Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of adult blindness in the developed world. Thus, major endeavors to understand the risk factors and pathogenesis of this disease have been undertaken. Reticular macular disease is a proposed subtype of age-related macular degeneration correlating histologically with subretinal drusenoid deposits located between the retinal pigment epithelium and the inner segment ellipsoid zone. Reticular lesions are more prevalent in females and in older age groups and are associated with a higher mortality rate. Risk factors for developing age-related macular degeneration include hypertension, smoking, and angina. Several genes related to increased risk for age-related macular degeneration and reticular macular disease are also associated with cardiovascular disease. Better understanding of the clinical and genetic risk factors for age-related macular degeneration and reticular macular disease has led to the hypothesis that these eye diseases are systemic. A systemic origin may help to explain why reticular disease is diagnosed more frequently in females as males suffer cardiovascular mortality at an earlier age, before the age of diagnosis of reticular macular disease and age-related macular degeneration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. VALIDATION OF ANALYTICAL METHODS AND INSTRUMENTATION FOR BERYLLIUM MEASUREMENT: REVIEW AND SUMMARY OF AVAILABLE GUIDES, PROCEDURES, AND PROTOCOLS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ekechukwu, A

    Method validation is the process of evaluating whether an analytical method is acceptable for its intended purpose. For pharmaceutical methods, guidelines from the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH), and the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) provide a framework for performing such valications. In general, methods for regulatory compliance must include studies on specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, range, detection limit, quantitation limit, and robustness. Elements of these guidelines are readily adapted to the issue of validation for beryllium sampling and analysis. This document provides a listing of available sources which can be used to validatemore » analytical methods and/or instrumentation for beryllium determination. A literature review was conducted of available standard methods and publications used for method validation and/or quality control. A comprehensive listing of the articles, papers and books reviewed is given in the Appendix. Available validation documents and guides are listed therein; each has a brief description of application and use. In the referenced sources, there are varying approches to validation and varying descriptions of the valication process at different stages in method development. This discussion focuses on valication and verification of fully developed methods and instrumentation that have been offered up for use or approval by other laboratories or official consensus bodies such as ASTM International, the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). This review was conducted as part of a collaborative effort to investigate and improve the state of validation for measuring beryllium in the workplace and the environment. Documents and publications from the United States and Europe are included. Unless otherwise specified, all referenced documents were published in English.« less

  1. Nutrition and age-related eye diseases

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Vision loss among the elderly is an important health problem. Approximately one person in three has some form of vision-reducing eye disease by the age of 65 [1]. Age-related cataract, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma are the major diseases resulting in visu...

  2. Pre-melting hcp to bcc Transition in Beryllium: A Study by First-Principles Phonon Quasiparticle Approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, D. B., Sr.

    2017-12-01

    Beryllium (Be) is an important material with wide applications ranging from aerospace components to X-ray equipments. Yet a precise understanding of its phase diagram remains elusive. We have investigated the phase stability of Be using a recently developed hybrid free energy computation method that accounts for anharmonic effects by invoking phonon quasiparticles. We find that the hcp to bcc transition occurs near the melting curve at 0

  3. Water-Related Parasitic Diseases in China

    PubMed Central

    Lv, Shan; Tian, Li-Guang; Liu, Qin; Qian, Men-Bao; Fu, Qing; Steinmann, Peter; Chen, Jia-Xu; Yang, Guo-Jing; Yang, Kun; Zhou, Xiao-Nong

    2013-01-01

    Water-related parasitic diseases are directly dependent on water bodies for their spread or as a habitat for indispensable intermediate or final hosts. Along with socioeconomic development and improvement of sanitation, overall prevalence is declining in the China. However, the heterogeneity in economic development and the inequity of access to public services result in considerable burden due to parasitic diseases in certain areas and populations across the country. In this review, we demonstrated three aspects of ten major water-related parasitic diseases, i.e., the biology and pathogenicity, epidemiology and recent advances in research in China. General measures for diseases control and special control strategies are summarized. PMID:23685826

  4. Occurrence model for volcanogenic beryllium deposits: Chapter F in Mineral deposit models for resource assessment

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Foley, Nora K.; Hofstra, Albert H.; Lindsey, David A.; Seal, Robert R.; Jaskula, Brian W.; Piatak, Nadine M.

    2012-01-01

    Current global and domestic mineral resources of beryllium (Be) for industrial uses are dominated by ores produced from deposits of the volcanogenic Be type. Beryllium deposits of this type can form where hydrothermal fluids interact with fluorine and lithophile-element (uranium, thorium, rubidium, lithium, beryllium, cesium, tantalum, rare earth elements, and tin) enriched volcanic rocks that contain a highly reactive lithic component, such as carbonate clasts. Volcanic and hypabyssal high-silica biotite-bearing topaz rhyolite constitutes the most well-recognized igneous suite associated with such Be deposits. The exemplar setting is an extensional tectonic environment, such as that characterized by the Basin and Range Province, where younger topaz-bearing igneous rock sequences overlie older dolomite, quartzite, shale, and limestone sequences. Mined deposits and related mineralized rocks at Spor Mountain, Utah, make up a unique economic deposit of volcanogenic Be having extensive production and proven and probable reserves. Proven reserves in Utah, as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey National Mineral Information Center, total about 15,900 tons of Be that are present in the mineral bertrandite (Be4Si2O7(OH)2). At the type locality for volcanogenic Be, Spor Mountain, the tuffaceous breccias and stratified tuffs that host the Be ore formed as a result of explosive volcanism that brought carbonate and other lithic fragments to the surface through vent structures that cut the underlying dolomitic Paleozoic sedimentary rock sequences. The tuffaceous sediments and lithic clasts are thought to make up phreatomagmatic base surge deposits. Hydrothermal fluids leached Be from volcanic glass in the tuff and redeposited the Be as bertrandite upon reaction of the hydrothermal fluid with carbonate clasts in lithic-rich sections of tuff. The localization of the deposits in tuff above fluorite-mineralized faults in carbonate rocks, together with isotopic evidence for the

  5. High performance bimorph piezoelectric MEMS harvester via bulk PZT thick films on thin beryllium-bronze substrate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yi, Zhiran; Yang, Bin; Li, Guimiao; Liu, Jingquan; Chen, Xiang; Wang, Xiaolin; Yang, Chunsheng

    2017-07-01

    This letter presents a high performance bimorph piezoelectric MEMS harvester with bulk PZT thick films on both sides of a flexible thin beryllium-bronze substrate via bonding and thinning technologies. The upper and lower PZT layers are thinned down to about 53 μm and 76 μm, respectively, and a commercial beryllium bronze with the thickness of about 50 μm is used as the substrate. The effective volume of this device is 30.6 mm3. The harvester with a tungsten proof mass generated the close-circuit peak-to-peak voltage of 53.1 V, the output power of 0.979 mW, and the power density of 31.99 mW/cm3 with the matching load resistance of 360 kΩ at the applied acceleration amplitude of 3.5 g and the applied frequency of 77.2 Hz. Meanwhile, in order to evaluate the stability, the device was measured continuously under applied acceleration amplitudes of 1.0 g and 3.5 g for one hour and demonstrated a good stability. Then, the harvester was utilized to light up LEDs and about twenty-one serial LEDs were lighted up at resonance under an applied acceleration amplitude of 3.0 g.

  6. Inflammation: The Common Pathway of Stress-Related Diseases

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Yun-Zi; Wang, Yun-Xia; Jiang, Chun-Lei

    2017-01-01

    While modernization has dramatically increased lifespan, it has also witnessed that the nature of stress has changed dramatically. Chronic stress result failures of homeostasis thus lead to various diseases such as atherosclerosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and depression. However, while 75%–90% of human diseases is related to the activation of stress system, the common pathways between stress exposure and pathophysiological processes underlying disease is still debatable. Chronic inflammation is an essential component of chronic diseases. Additionally, accumulating evidence suggested that excessive inflammation plays critical roles in the pathophysiology of the stress-related diseases, yet the basis for this connection is not fully understood. Here we discuss the role of inflammation in stress-induced diseases and suggest a common pathway for stress-related diseases that is based on chronic mild inflammation. This framework highlights the fundamental impact of inflammation mechanisms and provides a new perspective on the prevention and treatment of stress-related diseases. PMID:28676747

  7. Complexes between neutral oxyacid beryllium salts and dihydrogen: a possible way for hydrogen storage?

    PubMed

    Alkorta, Ibon; Montero-Campillo, M Merced; Elguero, José; Yáñez, Manuel; Mó, Otilia

    2018-06-05

    Accurate ab initio calculations reveal that oxyacid beryllium salts yield rather stable complexes with dihydrogen. The binding energies range between -40 and -60 kJ mol-1 for 1 : 1 complexes, remarkably larger than others previously reported for neutral H2 complexes. The second H2 molecule in 1 : 2 complexes is again strongly bound (between -18 and -20 kJ mol-1). The incoming H2 molecules in 1 : n complexes (n = 3-6) are more weakly bound, confirming the preference of Be for tetracoordinated arrangements.

  8. Are beryllium abundances anomalous in stars with giant planets?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Santos, N. C.; Israelian, G.; García López, R. J.; Mayor, M.; Rebolo, R.; Randich, S.; Ecuvillon, A.; Domínguez Cerdeña, C.

    2004-12-01

    In this paper we present beryllium (Be) abundances in a large sample of 41 extra-solar planet host stars, and for 29 stars without any known planetary-mass companion, spanning a large range of effective temperatures. The Be abundances were derived through spectral synthesis done in standard Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium, using spectra obtained with various instruments. The results seem to confirm that overall, planet-host stars have ``normal'' Be abundances, although a small, but not significant, difference might be present. This result is discussed, and we show that this difference is probably not due to any stellar ``pollution'' events. In other words, our results support the idea that the high-metal content of planet-host stars has, overall, a ``primordial'' origin. However, we also find a small subset of planet-host late-F and early-G dwarfs that might have higher than average Be abundances. The reason for the offset is not clear, and might be related either to the engulfment of planetary material, to galactic chemical evolution effects, or to stellar-mass differences for stars of similar temperature. Based on observations collected with the VLT/UT2 Kueyen telescope (Paranal Observatory, ESO, Chile) using the UVES spectrograph (Observing runs 66.C-0116 A, 66.D-0284 A, and 68.C-0058 A), and with the William Herschel and Nordic Optical Telescopes, operated on the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group and jointly by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway, respectively, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.

  9. NO-Rich Diet for Lifestyle-Related Diseases

    PubMed Central

    Kobayashi, Jun; Ohtake, Kazuo; Uchida, Hiroyuki

    2015-01-01

    Decreased nitric oxide (NO) availability due to obesity and endothelial dysfunction might be causally related to the development of lifestyle-related diseases such as insulin resistance, ischemic heart disease, and hypertension. In such situations, instead of impaired NO synthase (NOS)-dependent NO generation, the entero-salivary nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway might serve as a backup system for NO generation by transmitting NO activities in the various molecular forms including NO and protein S-nitrosothiols. Recently accumulated evidence has demonstrated that dietary intake of fruits and vegetables rich in nitrate/nitrite is an inexpensive and easily-practicable way to prevent insulin resistance and vascular endothelial dysfunction by increasing the NO availability; a NO-rich diet may also prevent other lifestyle-related diseases, including osteoporosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cancer. This review provides an overview of our current knowledge of NO generation through the entero-salivary pathway and discusses its safety and preventive effects on lifestyle-related diseases. PMID:26091235

  10. Paget's Disease of Bone and Osteoarthritis: Different Yet Related

    MedlinePlus

    ... and Osteoarthritis: Different Yet Related Paget’s Disease of Bone and Osteoarthritis: Different Yet Related Paget’s disease and ... about Paget’s disease , contact: NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases ~ National Resource Center Website: http://www.bones. ...

  11. VALIDATION OF ANALYTICAL METHODS AND INSTRUMENTATION FOR BERYLLIUM MEASUREMENT: REVIEW AND SUMMARY OF AVAILABLE GUIDES, PROCEDURES, AND PROTOCOLS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ekechukwu, A.

    This document proposes to provide a listing of available sources which can be used to validate analytical methods and/or instrumentation for beryllium determination. A literature review was conducted of available standard methods and publications used for method validation and/or quality control. A comprehensive listing of the articles, papers, and books reviewed is given in Appendix 1. Available validation documents and guides are listed in the appendix; each has a brief description of application and use. In the referenced sources, there are varying approaches to validation and varying descriptions of validation at different stages in method development. This discussion focuses onmore » validation and verification of fully developed methods and instrumentation that have been offered up for use or approval by other laboratories or official consensus bodies such as ASTM International, the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). This review was conducted as part of a collaborative effort to investigate and improve the state of validation for measuring beryllium in the workplace and the environment. Documents and publications from the United States and Europe are included. Unless otherwise specified, all documents were published in English.« less

  12. [Work-related diseases and health-related compensation claims, Northeastern Brazil, 2000].

    PubMed

    Souza, Norma Suely Souto; Santana, Vilma Sousa; Albuquerque-Oliveira, Paulo Rogério; Barbosa-Branco, Anadergh

    2008-08-01

    To estimate the contribution of work-related diseases to sick leaves due to general and occupational health problems. Sociodemographic, occupational and health data from 29,658 records of temporary disability benefits, granted on account of health problems by the Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social (National Institute of Social Security) in the state of Bahia (Northeastern Brazil), were analyzed. All constant ICD-10 clinical diagnoses were taken into consideration, except for those referring to external causes and factors that influence contact with health services. The link between diagnosis and occupation was based on the ICD-10 code and whether the type of compensation was due to a "work-related accident/disease" or not. From all the benefits, 3.1% were granted due to work-related diseases: 70% were musculoskeletal system and connective tissue diseases, while 14.5% were related to the nervous system. In general, benefits granted at more than two times the expected frequency were as follows: tenosynovitis in the manufacturing sector (Proportion Ratio-PR=2.70), carpal tunnel syndrome in the financial intermediation sector (PR=2.43), and lumbar disc degeneration in the transportation, postal service and telecommunications sectors (PR=2.17). However, no causal connection could be established for these diseases, in these activity sectors, in a significant percentage of benefits. Results suggest the existence of possible occupational risk factors for diseases in these fields of activity, as well as the underreporting of the link between diseases and work, thus disguising the responsibility of companies and the perspective of prevention through work reorganization.

  13. Oxidative Stress Related Diseases in Newborns

    PubMed Central

    Aykac, Kubra

    2016-01-01

    We review oxidative stress-related newborn disease and the mechanism of oxidative damage. In addition, we outline diagnostic and therapeutic strategies and future directions. Many reports have defined oxidative stress as an imbalance between an enhanced reactive oxygen/nitrogen species and the lack of protective ability of antioxidants. From that point of view, free radical-induced damage caused by oxidative stress seems to be a probable contributing factor to the pathogenesis of many newborn diseases, such as respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, periventricular leukomalacia, necrotizing enterocolitis, patent ductus arteriosus, and retinopathy of prematurity. We share the hope that the new understanding of the concept of oxidative stress and its relation to newborn diseases that has been made possible by new diagnostic techniques will throw light on the treatment of those diseases. PMID:27403229

  14. [IgG4-related disease].

    PubMed

    González-Moreno, Juan; Losada López, Inés; Ortego Centeno, Norberto

    2015-12-21

    IgG4-related disease is a recently described clinicopathological entity showing a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations that share a common pathology. Its most characteristic feature is the formation of inflammatory tumors in different organs, which makes differentiation mainly with neoplastic diseases fundamental. The inflammatory process is typically comprised of IgG4 lymphoplasmacytic cells. The pathophysiological role of the immunoglobulin is not clear. The treatment of choice is corticosteroids. This article aims to summarize the main features of the disease. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  15. The isotopic composition of cosmic-ray beryllium and its implication for the cosmic ray's age

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lukasiak, A.; Ferrando, P.; Mcdonald, F. B.; Webber, W. R.

    1994-01-01

    We report a new measurement of the cosmic-ray isotopic composition of beryllium in the low-energy range from 35 to 113 MeV per nucleon. This measurement was made using the High Energy Telescope of the CRS experiment on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft during the time period from 1977 to 1991. In this overall time period of 14 years the average solar modulation level was about 500 MV. The cosmic-ray beryllium isotopes were completely separated with an average mass resolution sigma of 0.185 amu. The isotope fractions of Be-7, Be-9, and Be-10 obtained are 52.4 +/- 2.9%, 43.3 +/- 3.7%, and 4.3 +/- 1.5%, respectively. The measured cosmic-ray abundances of Be-7 and Be-9 are found to be in agreement with calculations based on standard Leaky-Box model for the interstellar propagation of cosmic-ray nuclei using the recent cross sections of the New Mexico-Saclay collaboration. From our observed ratio Be-10/Be = 4.3 +/- 1.5% we deduce an average interstellar density of about 0.28 (+0.14, -0.11) atoms/cu cm, and acosmic-ray lifetime for escape of 27 (+19, -9) x 10(exp 6) years. The surviving fraction of Be-10 is found to be 0.19 +/- 0.07. Modifications to the conclusions of the Leaky-Box model when a diffusion + convection halo model for propagation is used are also considered.

  16. The isotopic composition of cosmic-ray beryllium and its implication for the cosmic ray's age

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lukasiak, A.; Ferrando, P.; McDonald, F. B.; Webber, W. R.

    1994-03-01

    We report a new measurement of the cosmic-ray isotopic composition of beryllium in the low-energy range from 35 to 113 MeV per nucleon. This measurement was made using the High Energy Telescope of the CRS experiment on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft during the time period from 1977 to 1991. In this overall time period of 14 years the average solar modulation level was about 500 MV. The cosmic-ray beryllium isotopes were completely separated with an average mass resolution sigma of 0.185 amu. The isotope fractions of Be-7, Be-9, and Be-10 obtained are 52.4 +/- 2.9%, 43.3 +/- 3.7%, and 4.3 +/- 1.5%, respectively. The measured cosmic-ray abundances of Be-7 and Be-9 are found to be in agreement with calculations based on standard Leaky-Box model for the interstellar propagation of cosmic-ray nuclei using the recent cross sections of the New Mexico-Saclay collaboration. From our observed ratio Be-10/Be = 4.3 +/- 1.5% we deduce an average interstellar density of about 0.28 (+0.14, -0.11) atoms/cu cm, and a cosmic-ray lifetime for escape of 27 (+19, -9) x 106 years. The surviving fraction of Be-10 is found to be 0.19 +/- 0.07. Modifications to the conclusions of the Leaky-Box model when a diffusion + convection halo model for propagation is used are also considered.

  17. Dietary Approaches that Delay Age-Related Diseases

    PubMed Central

    Everitt, Arthur V; Hilmer, Sarah N; Brand-Miller, Jennie C; Jamieson, Hamish A; Truswell, A Stewart; Sharma, Anita P; Mason, Rebecca S; Morris, Brian J; Le Couteur, David G

    2006-01-01

    Reducing food intake in lower animals such as the rat decreases body weight, retards many aging processes, delays the onset of most diseases of old age, and prolongs life. A number of clinical trials of food restriction in healthy adult human subjects running over 2–15 years show significant reductions in body weight, blood cholesterol, blood glucose, and blood pressure, which are risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Lifestyle interventions that lower energy balance by reducing body weight such as physical exercise can also delay the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In general, clinical trials are suggesting that diets high in calories or fat along with overweight are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and dementia. There is a growing literature indicating that specific dietary constituents are able to influence the development of age-related diseases, including certain fats (trans fatty acids, saturated, and polyunsaturated fats) and cholesterol for cardiovascular disease, glycemic index and fiber for diabetes, fruits and vegetables for cardiovascular disease, and calcium and vitamin D for osteoporosis and bone fracture. In addition, there are dietary compounds from different functional foods, herbs, and neutraceuticals such as ginseng, nuts, grains, and polyphenols that may affect the development of age-related diseases. Long-term prospective clinical trials will be needed to confirm these diet—disease relationships. On the basis of current research, the best diet to delay age-related disease onset is one low in calories and saturated fat and high in wholegrain cereals, legumes, fruits and vegetables, and which maintains a lean body weight. Such a diet should become a key component of healthy aging, delaying age-related diseases and perhaps intervening in the aging process itself. Furthermore, there are studies suggesting that nutrition in childhood

  18. Temporally varying relative risks for infectious diseases: implications for infectious disease control

    PubMed Central

    Goldstein, Edward; Pitzer, Virginia E.; O'Hagan, Justin J.; Lipsitch, Marc

    2016-01-01

    Risks for disease in some population groups relative to others (relative risks) are usually considered to be consistent over time, though they are often modified by other, non-temporal factors. For infectious diseases, in which overall incidence often varies substantially over time, the patterns of temporal changes in relative risks can inform our understanding of basic epidemiologic questions. For example, recent work suggests that temporal changes in relative risks of infection over the course of an epidemic cycle can both be used to identify population groups that drive infectious disease outbreaks, and help elucidate differences in the effect of vaccination against infection (that is relevant to transmission control) compared with its effect against disease episodes (that reflects individual protection). Patterns of change in the in age groups affected over the course of seasonal outbreaks can provide clues to the types of pathogens that could be responsible for diseases for which an infectious cause is suspected. Changing apparent efficacy of vaccines during trials may provide clues to the vaccine's mode of action and/or indicate risk heterogeneity in the trial population. Declining importance of unusual behavioral risk factors may be a signal of increased local transmission of an infection. We review these developments and the related public health implications. PMID:27748685

  19. Temporally Varying Relative Risks for Infectious Diseases: Implications for Infectious Disease Control.

    PubMed

    Goldstein, Edward; Pitzer, Virginia E; O'Hagan, Justin J; Lipsitch, Marc

    2017-01-01

    Risks for disease in some population groups relative to others (relative risks) are usually considered to be consistent over time, although they are often modified by other, nontemporal factors. For infectious diseases, in which overall incidence often varies substantially over time, the patterns of temporal changes in relative risks can inform our understanding of basic epidemiologic questions. For example, recent studies suggest that temporal changes in relative risks of infection over the course of an epidemic cycle can both be used to identify population groups that drive infectious disease outbreaks, and help elucidate differences in the effect of vaccination against infection (that is relevant to transmission control) compared with its effect against disease episodes (that reflects individual protection). Patterns of change in the age groups affected over the course of seasonal outbreaks can provide clues to the types of pathogens that could be responsible for diseases for which an infectious cause is suspected. Changing apparent efficacy of vaccines during trials may provide clues to the vaccine's mode of action and/or indicate risk heterogeneity in the trial population. Declining importance of unusual behavioral risk factors may be a signal of increased local transmission of an infection. We review these developments and the related public health implications.

  20. Simulation study of neutron production in thick beryllium targets by 35 MeV and 50.5 MeV proton beams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shin, Jae Won; Park, Tae-Sun

    2017-09-01

    A data-driven nuclear model dedicated to an accurate description of neutron productions in beryllium targets bombarded by proton beams is developed as a custom development that can be used as an add-on to GEANT4 code. The developed model, G4Data(Endf7.1), takes as inputs the total and differential cross section data of ENDF/B-VII.1 for not only the charge-exchange 9Be(p,n)9B reaction which produces discrete neutrons but also the nuclear reactions relevant for the production of continuum neutrons such as 9Be(p,pn)8Be and 9Be(p,n α) 5Li . In our benchmarking simulations for two experiments with 35 MeV and 50.5 MeV proton beams impinged on 1.16 and 1.05 cm thick beryllium targets, respectively, we find that the G4Data(Endf7.1) model can reproduce both the total amounts and the spectral shapes of the measured neutron yield data in a satisfactory manner, while all the considered hadronic models of GEANT4 cannot.

  1. Identifying patterns of immune-related disease: use in disease prevention and management.

    PubMed

    Dietert, Rodney R; Zelikoff, Judith T

    2010-05-01

    Childhood susceptibility to diseases linked with immune dysfunction affects over a quarter of the pediatric population in some countries. While this alone is a significant health issue, the actual impact of immune-related diseases extends over a lifetime and involves additional secondary conditions. Some comorbidities are well known (e.g., allergic rhinitis and asthma). However, no systematic approach has been used to identify life-long patterns of immune-based disease where the primary condition arises in childhood. Such information is useful for both disease prevention and treatment approaches. Recent primary research papers as well as review articles were obtained from PubMed, Chem Abstracts, Biosis and from the personal files of the authors. Search words used were: the diseases and conditions shown Figs. 1 and 2 in conjunction with comorbid, comorbidities, pediatric, childhood, adult, immune, immune dysfunction, allergy, autoimmune, inflammatory, infectious, health risks, environment, risk factors. Childhood diseases such as asthma, type-1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, respiratory infections /rhinitis, recurrent otitis media, pediatric celiac, juvenile arthritis and Kawasaki disease are examples of significant childhood health problems where immune dysfunction plays a significant role. Each of these pediatric diseases is associated with increased risk of several secondary conditions, many of which appear only later in life. To illustrate, four prototypes of immune-related disease patterns (i.e., allergy, autoimmunity, inflammation and infectious disease) are shown as tools for: 1) enhanced disease prevention; 2) improved management of immune-based pediatric diseases; and 3) better recognition of underlying pediatric immune dysfunction. Identification of immune-related disease patterns beginning in childhood provides the framework for examining the underlying immune dysfunctions that can contribute to additional diseases in later life. Many pediatric

  2. Immunoglobulin G4-related disease: a rare disease with an unusual presentation.

    PubMed

    Khan, Muhammad Waqas; Hadley, Terrance; Kesler, Melissa; Gul, Zartash

    2016-07-01

    IgG4-RD can also present in the skeletal muscle, mimicking several other diseases. It is unusual for this relatively new classification of diseases to present in the muscles and can be mistakenly diagnosed as other autoimmune diseases rendering a delay in the appropriate management and progression of the disease.

  3. Thermal damage study of beryllium windows used as vacuum barriers in synchrotron radiation beamlines

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Holdener, F.R.; Johnson, G.L.; Karpenko, V.P.

    An experimental study to investigate thermal-induced damage to SSRL-designed beryllium foil windows was performed at LLNL's Laser Welding Research Facility. The primary goal of this study was to determine the threshold at which thermal-stress-induced damage occurs in these commonly used vacuum barriers. An Nd:Yag pulsed laser with cylindrical optics and a carefully designed test cell provided a test environment that closely resembles the actual beamline conditions at SSRL. Tests performed on two beryllium window geometries, with different vertical aperture dimensions but equal foil thicknesses of 0.254 mm, resulted in two focused total-power thresholds at which incipient damage was determined. Formore » a beam spot size similar to that of the Beamline-X Wiggler Line, onset of surface damage for a 5-mm by 25-mm aperture window was observed at 170 W after 174,000 laser pulses (1.2-ms pulse at 100 pps). A second window with double the vertical aperture dimension (10 mm by 25 mm) was observed to have surface cracking after 180,000 laser pulses with 85 W impinging its front surface. It failed after approximately 1,000,000 pulses. Another window of the same type (10 mm by 25 mm) received 2,160,000 laser pulses at 74.4 W, and subsequent metallographic sectioning revealed no signs of through-thickness damage. Comparison of windows with equal foil thicknesses and aperture dimensions has effectively identified the heat flux limit for incipient failure. The data show that halving the aperture's vertical dimension allows doubling the total incident power for equivalent onsets of thermal-induced damage.« less

  4. Generalized Lenard-Balescu calculations of electron-ion temperature relaxation in beryllium plasma.

    PubMed

    Fu, Zhen-Guo; Wang, Zhigang; Li, Da-Fang; Kang, Wei; Zhang, Ping

    2015-09-01

    The problem of electron-ion temperature relaxation in beryllium plasma at various densities (0.185-18.5g/cm^{3}) and temperatures [(1.0-8)×10^{3} eV] is investigated by using the generalized Lenard-Balescu theory. We consider the correlation effects between electrons and ions via classical and quantum static local field corrections. The numerical results show that the electron-ion pair distribution function at the origin approaches the maximum when the electron-electron coupling parameter equals unity. The classical result of the Coulomb logarithm is in agreement with the quantum result in both the weak (Γ_{ee}<10^{-2}) and strong (Γ_{ee}>1) electron-electron coupling ranges, whereas it deviates from the quantum result at intermediate values of the coupling parameter (10^{-2}<Γ_{ee}<1). We find that with increasing density of Be, the Coulomb logarithm will decrease and the corresponding relaxation rate ν_{ie} will increase. In addition, a simple fitting law ν_{ie}/ν_{ie}^{(0)}=a(ρ_{Be}/ρ_{0})^{b} is determined, where ν_{ie}^{(0)} is the relaxation rate corresponding to the normal metal density of Be and ρ_{0}, a, and b are the fitting parameters related to the temperature and the degree of ionization 〈Z〉 of the system. Our results are expected to be useful for future inertial confinement fusion experiments involving Be plasma.

  5. Climate change-related migration and infectious disease.

    PubMed

    McMichael, Celia

    2015-01-01

    Anthropogenic climate change will have significant impacts on both human migration and population health, including infectious disease. It will amplify and alter migration pathways, and will contribute to the changing ecology and transmission dynamics of infectious disease. However there has been limited consideration of the intersections between migration and health in the context of a changing climate. This article argues that climate-change related migration - in conjunction with other drivers of migration - will contribute to changing profiles of infectious disease. It considers infectious disease risks for different climate-related migration pathways, including: forced displacement, slow-onset migration particularly to urban-poor areas, planned resettlement, and labor migration associated with climate change adaptation initiatives. Migration can reduce vulnerability to climate change, but it is critical to better understand and respond to health impacts - including infectious diseases - for migrant populations and host communities.

  6. Survey of Manual Methods of Measurements of Asbestos, Beryllium, Lead, Cadmium, Selenium, and Mercury in Stationary Source Emissions. Environmental Monitoring Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coulson, Dale M.; And Others

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate existing manual methods for analyzing asbestos, beryllium, lead, cadmium, selenium, and mercury, and from this evaluation to provide the best and most practical set of analytical methods for measuring emissions of these elements from stationary sources. The work in this study was divided into two phases.…

  7. 20 CFR 30.5 - What are the definitions used in this part?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... beryllium employee (see § 30.205), a covered employee with cancer (see § 30.210(a)), a covered employee with... have had established chronic beryllium disease, cancer, or chronic silicosis. (z) Eligible surviving... means, under Part B of the Act, a covered beryllium illness, cancer sustained in the performance of duty...

  8. Coeliac disease and gluten-related disorders in childhood.

    PubMed

    Vriezinga, Sabine L; Schweizer, Joachim J; Koning, Frits; Mearin, M Luisa

    2015-09-01

    Gluten-related disorders such as coeliac disease, wheat allergy and noncoeliac gluten sensitivity are increasingly being diagnosed in children. Coeliac disease occurs frequently, affecting 1-3% of the Western population. The condition manifests at a very young age, more so in girls, and is related to the HLA genotype. Coeliac disease might be considered a public health problem and, as primary prevention is not possible, the debate on mass screening should be reopened. Wheat proteins, including gluten, are responsible for one of the most common food allergies in children: wheat allergy. Unlike coeliac disease and wheat allergy, noncoeliac gluten sensitivity is an unclear and controversial entity. These three gluten-related disorders are treated with a gluten-free diet. In coeliac disease, the diet should be strictly followed, whereas wheat allergy only requires wheat elimination and in noncoeliac gluten sensitivity occasional trials of gluten reintroduction can be done. A good diagnostic work-up is important for gluten-related disorders in childhood to avoid unnecessary restrictive diets in children. In this Review, we provide an overview of the pathogenesis, diagnosis and management of the most common gluten-related disorders in children.

  9. 10 CFR 850.34 - Medical surveillance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... beryllium-related health effects. (ii) The responsible employer must provide to beryllium-associated workers... physician who is familiar with the health effects of beryllium. (4) The responsible employer must establish... beryllium-related health effects. (2) Periodic evaluation. (i) The responsible employer must provide to...

  10. Preparation, certification and interlaboratory analysis of workplace air filters spiked with high-fired beryllium oxide.

    PubMed

    Oatts, Thomas J; Hicks, Cheryl E; Adams, Amy R; Brisson, Michael J; Youmans-McDonald, Linda D; Hoover, Mark D; Ashley, Kevin

    2012-02-01

    Occupational sampling and analysis for multiple elements is generally approached using various approved methods from authoritative government sources such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as consensus standards bodies such as ASTM International. The constituents of a sample can exist as unidentified compounds requiring sample preparation to be chosen appropriately, as in the case of beryllium in the form of beryllium oxide (BeO). An interlaboratory study was performed to collect analytical data from volunteer laboratories to examine the effectiveness of methods currently in use for preparation and analysis of samples containing calcined BeO powder. NIST SRM(®) 1877 high-fired BeO powder (1100 to 1200 °C calcining temperature; count median primary particle diameter 0.12 μm) was used to spike air filter media as a representative form of beryllium particulate matter present in workplace sampling that is known to be resistant to dissolution. The BeO powder standard reference material was gravimetrically prepared in a suspension and deposited onto 37 mm mixed cellulose ester air filters at five different levels between 0.5 μg and 25 μg of Be (as BeO). Sample sets consisting of five BeO-spiked filters (in duplicate) and two blank filters, for a total of twelve unique air filter samples per set, were submitted as blind samples to each of 27 participating laboratories. Participants were instructed to follow their current process for sample preparation and utilize their normal analytical methods for processing samples containing substances of this nature. Laboratories using more than one sample preparation and analysis method were provided with more than one sample set. Results from 34 data sets ultimately received from the 27 volunteer laboratories were subjected to applicable statistical analyses. The observed

  11. Climate change-related migration and infectious disease

    PubMed Central

    McMichael, Celia

    2015-01-01

    Anthropogenic climate change will have significant impacts on both human migration and population health, including infectious disease. It will amplify and alter migration pathways, and will contribute to the changing ecology and transmission dynamics of infectious disease. However there has been limited consideration of the intersections between migration and health in the context of a changing climate. This article argues that climate-change related migration - in conjunction with other drivers of migration – will contribute to changing profiles of infectious disease. It considers infectious disease risks for different climate-related migration pathways, including: forced displacement, slow-onset migration particularly to urban-poor areas, planned resettlement, and labor migration associated with climate change adaptation initiatives. Migration can reduce vulnerability to climate change, but it is critical to better understand and respond to health impacts – including infectious diseases - for migrant populations and host communities. PMID:26151221

  12. Crystal growth and optical characteristics of beryllium-free polyphosphate, KLa(PO3)4, a possible deep-ultraviolet nonlinear optical crystal

    PubMed Central

    Shan, Pai; Sun, Tongqing; Chen, Hong; Liu, Hongde; Chen, Shaolin; Liu, Xuanwen; Kong, Yongfa; Xu, Jingjun

    2016-01-01

    Deep-ultraviolet nonlinear optical crystals are of great importance as key materials in generating coherent light with wavelength below 200 nm through cascaded frequency conversion of solid-state lasers. However, the solely usable crystal in practice, KBe2BO3F2 (KBBF), is still commercially unavailable because of the high toxicity of beryllium-containing and the extreme difficulty of crystal growth. Here, we report the crystal growth and characteristics of an beryllium-free polyphosphate, KLa(PO3)4. Centimeter-sized single crystals have been easily obtained by the flux method and slow-cooling technique. The second-harmonic generation efficiency of KLa(PO3)4 powder is 0.7 times that of KH2PO4; moreover, the KLa(PO3)4 crystal is phase-matchable. Remarkably, the KLa(PO3)4 crystal exhibits an absorption edge of 162 nm, which is the shortest among phase-matchable phosphates so far. These attributes make KLa(PO3)4 a possible deep-ultraviolet nonlinear optical crystal. An analysis of the dipole moments of the polyhedra and theoretical calculations by density functional theory were made to elucidate the structure-properties relationships of KLa(PO3)4. PMID:27126353

  13. Crystal growth and optical characteristics of beryllium-free polyphosphate, KLa(PO3)4, a possible deep-ultraviolet nonlinear optical crystal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shan, Pai; Sun, Tongqing; Chen, Hong; Liu, Hongde; Chen, Shaolin; Liu, Xuanwen; Kong, Yongfa; Xu, Jingjun

    2016-04-01

    Deep-ultraviolet nonlinear optical crystals are of great importance as key materials in generating coherent light with wavelength below 200 nm through cascaded frequency conversion of solid-state lasers. However, the solely usable crystal in practice, KBe2BO3F2 (KBBF), is still commercially unavailable because of the high toxicity of beryllium-containing and the extreme difficulty of crystal growth. Here, we report the crystal growth and characteristics of an beryllium-free polyphosphate, KLa(PO3)4. Centimeter-sized single crystals have been easily obtained by the flux method and slow-cooling technique. The second-harmonic generation efficiency of KLa(PO3)4 powder is 0.7 times that of KH2PO4; moreover, the KLa(PO3)4 crystal is phase-matchable. Remarkably, the KLa(PO3)4 crystal exhibits an absorption edge of 162 nm, which is the shortest among phase-matchable phosphates so far. These attributes make KLa(PO3)4 a possible deep-ultraviolet nonlinear optical crystal. An analysis of the dipole moments of the polyhedra and theoretical calculations by density functional theory were made to elucidate the structure-properties relationships of KLa(PO3)4.

  14. Disease-related and drug-induced skin manifestations in inflammatory bowel disease.

    PubMed

    Hindryckx, Pieter; Novak, Gregor; Costanzo, Antonio; Danese, Silvio

    2017-03-01

    Skin manifestations are common in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and can be part of a concomitant illness with a shared genetic background, an extra-intestinal manifestation of the disease, or a drug side-effect. Areas covered: We provide a practical overview of the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapeutic approach and prognosis of the most frequent disease-related and drug-induced cutaneous manifestations in IBD, illustrated by cases encountered in our clinical practice. Among the most frequently encountered IBD-related lesions are erythema nodosum, pyoderma gangrenosum and Sweet's syndrome. Common skin manifestations with a strong association to TNF antagonists are local injection site reactions, psoriasiform lesions, cutaneous infections, vasculitides and lupus-like syndromes. In addition, we discuss the relation of thiopurines and TNF antagonists with the risk of skin cancer. Expert commentary: We hope this review will help caretakers involved in the management of IBD patients to recognize the lesions and to manage them in close collaboration with a dedicated dermatologist.

  15. [Raise awareness of IgG4 relative ocular disease].

    PubMed

    Wei, Shihui; Li, Hongyang

    2015-12-01

    Purpose IgG4-related ocular disease is a chronic systemic disease with lymphocyte abnormal. The lacrimal glands, extraocular muscles and infraorbital nerve were often involved which was often the first symptom of systemic disease. While ophthalmologists did not know this disease well. They usually misdiagnosed it as idiopathic inflammatory pseudotumor, thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy etc, which resulted in delayed treatments. Here pathogenesis, clinical features and treatment methods of IgG4-relative ocular disease were described in order to improve awareness of this ocular disease, reduce clinical misdiagnosis, improve disease prognosis and standardized treatment. As the incidence of this disease increased in recent years, it is very necessary to improve awareness of the disease for ophthalmologists.

  16. Molecular inflammation: underpinnings of aging and age-related diseases.

    PubMed

    Chung, Hae Young; Cesari, Matteo; Anton, Stephen; Marzetti, Emanuele; Giovannini, Silvia; Seo, Arnold Young; Carter, Christy; Yu, Byung Pal; Leeuwenburgh, Christiaan

    2009-01-01

    Recent scientific studies have advanced the notion of chronic inflammation as a major risk factor underlying aging and age-related diseases. In this review, low-grade, unresolved, molecular inflammation is described as an underlying mechanism of aging and age-related diseases, which may serve as a bridge between normal aging and age-related pathological processes. Accumulated data strongly suggest that continuous (chronic) upregulation of pro-inflammatory mediators (e.g., TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, COX-2, iNOS) are induced during the aging process due to an age-related redox imbalance that activates many pro-inflammatory signaling pathways, including the NF-kappaB signaling pathway. These pro-inflammatory molecular events are discussed in relation to their role as basic mechanisms underlying aging and age-related diseases. Further, the anti-inflammatory actions of aging-retarding caloric restriction and exercise are reviewed. Thus, the purpose of this review is to describe the molecular roles of age-related physiological functional declines and the accompanying chronic diseases associated with aging. This new view on the role of molecular inflammation as a mechanism of aging and age-related pathogenesis can provide insights into potential interventions that may affect the aging process and reduce age-related diseases, thereby promoting healthy longevity.

  17. Molecular Inflammation: Underpinnings of Aging and Age-related Diseases

    PubMed Central

    Chung, Hae Young; Cesari, Matteo; Anton, Stephen; Marzetti, Emanuele; Giovannini, Silvia; Seo, Arnold Young; Carter, Christy; Yu, Byung Pal; Leeuwenburgh, Christiaan

    2013-01-01

    Recent scientific studies have advanced the notion of chronic inflammation as a major risk factor underlying aging and age-related diseases. In this review, low-grade, unresolved, molecular inflammation is described as an underlying mechanism of aging and age-related diseases, which may serve as a bridge between normal aging and age-related pathological processes. Accumulated data strongly suggest that continuous (chronic) up-regulation of pro-inflammatory mediators (e.g., TNF-α, IL-1β, 6, COX-2, iNOS) are induced during the aging process due to an age-related redox imbalance that activates many pro-inflammatory signaling pathways, including the NF-κB signaling pathway. These pro-inflammatory molecular events are discussed in relation to their role as basic mechanisms underlying aging and age-related diseases. Further, the anti-inflammatory actions of aging-retarding caloric restriction and exercise are reviewed. Thus, the purpose of this review is to describe the molecular roles of age-related physiological functional declines and the accompanying chronic diseases associated with aging. This new view on the role of molecular inflammation as a mechanism of aging and age-related pathogenesis can provide insights into potential interventions that may affect the aging process and reduce age-related diseases, thereby promoting healthy longevity. PMID:18692159

  18. Diet and Inflammation in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Chronic Diseases: A Review.

    PubMed

    Gardener, Samantha L; Rainey-Smith, Stephanie R; Martins, Ralph N

    2016-01-01

    Inflammation is one of the pathological features of the neurodegenerative disease, Alzheimer's disease (AD). A number of additional disorders are likewise associated with a state of chronic inflammation, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type-2 diabetes, which are themselves risk factors for AD. Dietary components have been shown to modify the inflammatory process at several steps of the inflammatory pathway. This review aims to evaluate the published literature on the effect of consumption of pro- or anti-inflammatory dietary constituents on the severity of both AD pathology and related chronic diseases, concentrating on the dietary constituents of flavonoids, spices, and fats. Diet-based anti-inflammatory components could lead to the development of potent novel anti-inflammatory compounds for a range of diseases. However, further work is required to fully characterize the therapeutic potential of such compounds, including gaining an understanding of dose-dependent relationships and limiting factors to effectiveness. Nutritional interventions utilizing anti-inflammatory foods may prove to be a valuable asset in not only delaying or preventing the development of age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as AD, but also treating pre-existing conditions including type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.

  19. 20 CFR 410.462 - Presumption relating to respirable disease.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Presumption relating to respirable disease... Pneumoconiosis § 410.462 Presumption relating to respirable disease. (a) Even though the existence of... was employed for 10 years or more in the Nation's coal mines and died from a respirable disease, it...

  20. 20 CFR 410.462 - Presumption relating to respirable disease.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 20 Employees' Benefits 2 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Presumption relating to respirable disease... Pneumoconiosis § 410.462 Presumption relating to respirable disease. (a) Even though the existence of... was employed for 10 years or more in the Nation's coal mines and died from a respirable disease, it...

  1. The prevention of tobacco-related disease.

    PubMed

    Raw, M; McNeill, A

    1994-11-01

    The key components of a strategy to prevent tobacco-related disease are outlined. These measures aim to increase the cessation of tobacco use and reduce its uptake. Components are wide-ranging, including a taxation policy, a ban on advertising and promotion, a comprehensive health promotion programme including advice from primary health care professionals and the development of campaigning skills, particularly by the medical profession. The prevention of tobacco-related disease has moved into the domain of campaigners and lobbyists at political, economic and international levels. The key target is countering the activities, especially the unethical trade practices, of the wealthy and powerful tobacco industry.

  2. Asbestos-related diseases in automobile mechanics.

    PubMed

    Ameille, Jacques; Rosenberg, Nicole; Matrat, Mireille; Descatha, Alexis; Mompoint, Dominique; Hamzi, Lounis; Atassi, Catherine; Vasile, Manuela; Garnier, Robert; Pairon, Jean-Claude

    2012-01-01

    Automobile mechanics have been exposed to asbestos in the past, mainly due to the presence of chrysotile asbestos in brakes and clutches. Despite the large number of automobile mechanics, little is known about the non-malignant respiratory diseases observed in this population. The aim of this retrospective multicenter study was to analyse the frequency of pleural and parenchymal abnormalities on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) in a population of automobile mechanics. The study population consisted of 103 automobile mechanics with no other source of occupational exposure to asbestos, referred to three occupational health departments in the Paris area for systematic screening of asbestos-related diseases. All subjects were examined by HRCT and all images were reviewed separately by two independent readers; who in the case of disagreement discussed until they reached agreement. Multiple logistic regression models were constructed to investigate factors associated with pleural plaques. Pleural plaques were observed in five cases (4.9%) and interstitial abnormalities consistent with asbestosis were observed in one case. After adjustment for age, smoking status, and a history of non-asbestos-related respiratory diseases, multiple logistic regression models showed a significant association between the duration of exposure to asbestos and pleural plaques. The asbestos exposure experienced by automobile mechanics may lead to pleural plaques. The low prevalence of non-malignant asbestos-related diseases, using a very sensitive diagnostic tool, is in favor of a low cumulative exposure to asbestos in this population of workers.

  3. Asbestos-related diseases in automobile mechanics

    PubMed Central

    Ameille, Jacques; Rosenberg, Nicole; Matrat, Mireille; Descatha, Alexis; Mompoint, Dominique; Hamzi, Lounis; Atassi, Catherine; Vasile, Manuela; Garnier, Robert; Pairon, Jean-Claude

    2012-01-01

    Purpose Automobile mechanics have been exposed to asbestos in the past, mainly due to the presence of chrysotile asbestos in brakes and clutches. Despite the large number of automobile mechanics, little is known about the non-malignant respiratory diseases observed in this population. The aim of this retrospective multicenter study was to analyze the frequency of pleural and parenchymal abnormalities on HRCT in a population of automobile mechanics. Methods The study population consisted of 103 automobile mechanics with no other source of occupational exposure to asbestos, referred to three occupational health departments in the Paris area for systematic screening of asbestos–related diseases. All subjects were examined by HRCT and all images were reviewed separately by two independent readers, with further consensus in the case of disagreement. Multiple logistic regression models were constructed to investigate factors associated with pleural plaques. Results Pleural plaques were observed in 5 cases (4.9%) and interstitial abnormalities consistent with asbestosis were observed in 1 case. After adjustment for age, smoking status, and a history of non-asbestos-related respiratory diseases, multiple logistic regression models showed a significant association between the duration of exposure to asbestos and pleural plaques. Conclusions The asbestos exposure experienced by automobile mechanics may lead to pleural plaques. The low prevalence of non-malignant asbestos-related diseases, using a very sensitive diagnostic tool, is in favor of a low cumulative exposure to asbestos in this population of workers. PMID:21965465

  4. Disease-Related Detection with Electrochemical Biosensors: A Review.

    PubMed

    Huang, Ying; Xu, Jin; Liu, Junjie; Wang, Xiangyang; Chen, Bin

    2017-10-17

    Rapid diagnosis of diseases at their initial stage is critical for effective clinical outcomes and promotes general public health. Classical in vitro diagnostics require centralized laboratories, tedious work and large, expensive devices. In recent years, numerous electrochemical biosensors have been developed and proposed for detection of various diseases based on specific biomarkers taking advantage of their features, including sensitivity, selectivity, low cost and rapid response. This article reviews research trends in disease-related detection with electrochemical biosensors. Focus has been placed on the immobilization mechanism of electrochemical biosensors, and the techniques and materials used for the fabrication of biosensors are introduced in details. Various biomolecules used for different diseases have been listed. Besides, the advances and challenges of using electrochemical biosensors for disease-related applications are discussed.

  5. Incidence and prevalence of pregnancy-related heart disease.

    PubMed

    Sliwa, Karen; Böhm, Michael

    2014-03-15

    Worldwide, the numbers of women who have a pre-existing cardiovascular disease or develop cardiac problems during pregnancy are increasing and, due to the lack of evidenced-based data, this provides challenges for the treating physician. Cardiovascular disease in pregnancy is a complex topic as women can present either pre- or post-partum, due to a pre-existing heart disease such as operated on or unoperated on congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, chronic hypertension, or familial dilated cardiomyopathy. Women often present with symptoms and signs of acute heart failure. On the other hand, there are diseases which are directly related to pregnancy, such as hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and peripartum cardiomyopathy, or where pregnancy increases risk of a disease as, for example, the risk of myocardial infarction. These diseases can have long-term implications to the life of the affected women and their families. There is, in particular, a paucity of data from developing countries of this unique disease pattern and its presentations. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the incidence and prevalence of pregnancy-related cardiovascular disease in women presenting pre- or post-partum.

  6. Multi-scale modelling to relate beryllium surface temperature, deuterium concentration and erosion in fusion reactor environment

    DOE PAGES

    Safi, E.; Valles, G.; Lasa, A.; ...

    2017-03-27

    Beryllium (Be) has been chosen as the plasma-facing material for the main wall of ITER, the next generation fusion reactor. Identifying the key parameters that determine Be erosion under reactor relevant conditions is vital to predict the ITER plasma-facing component lifetime and viability. To date, a certain prediction of Be erosion, focusing on the effect of two such parameters, surface temperature and D surface content, has not been achieved. In this paper, we develop the first multi-scale KMC-MD modeling approach for Be to provide a more accurate database for its erosion, as well as investigating parameters that affect erosion. First,more » we calculate the complex relationship between surface temperature and D concentration precisely by simulating the time evolution of the system using an object kinetic Monte Carlo (OKMC) technique. These simulations provide a D surface concentration profile for any surface temperature and incoming D energy. We then describe how this profile can be implemented as a starting configuration in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We finally use MD simulations to investigate the effect of temperature (300–800 K) and impact energy (10–200 eV) on the erosion of Be due to D plasma irradiations. The results reveal a strong dependency of the D surface content on temperature. Increasing the surface temperature leads to a lower D concentration at the surface, because of the tendency of D atoms to avoid being accommodated in a vacancy, and de-trapping from impurity sites diffuse fast toward bulk. At the next step, total and molecular Be erosion yields due to D irradiations are analyzed using MD simulations. The results show a strong dependency of erosion yields on surface temperature and incoming ion energy. The total Be erosion yield increases with temperature for impact energies up to 100 eV. However, increasing temperature and impact energy results in a lower fraction of Be atoms being sputtered as BeD molecules due to the lower

  7. Multi-scale modelling to relate beryllium surface temperature, deuterium concentration and erosion in fusion reactor environment

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Safi, E.; Valles, G.; Lasa, A.

    Beryllium (Be) has been chosen as the plasma-facing material for the main wall of ITER, the next generation fusion reactor. Identifying the key parameters that determine Be erosion under reactor relevant conditions is vital to predict the ITER plasma-facing component lifetime and viability. To date, a certain prediction of Be erosion, focusing on the effect of two such parameters, surface temperature and D surface content, has not been achieved. In this paper, we develop the first multi-scale KMC-MD modeling approach for Be to provide a more accurate database for its erosion, as well as investigating parameters that affect erosion. First,more » we calculate the complex relationship between surface temperature and D concentration precisely by simulating the time evolution of the system using an object kinetic Monte Carlo (OKMC) technique. These simulations provide a D surface concentration profile for any surface temperature and incoming D energy. We then describe how this profile can be implemented as a starting configuration in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We finally use MD simulations to investigate the effect of temperature (300–800 K) and impact energy (10–200 eV) on the erosion of Be due to D plasma irradiations. The results reveal a strong dependency of the D surface content on temperature. Increasing the surface temperature leads to a lower D concentration at the surface, because of the tendency of D atoms to avoid being accommodated in a vacancy, and de-trapping from impurity sites diffuse fast toward bulk. At the next step, total and molecular Be erosion yields due to D irradiations are analyzed using MD simulations. The results show a strong dependency of erosion yields on surface temperature and incoming ion energy. The total Be erosion yield increases with temperature for impact energies up to 100 eV. However, increasing temperature and impact energy results in a lower fraction of Be atoms being sputtered as BeD molecules due to the lower

  8. Multi-scale modelling to relate beryllium surface temperature, deuterium concentration and erosion in fusion reactor environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Safi, E.; Valles, G.; Lasa, A.; Nordlund, K.

    2017-05-01

    Beryllium (Be) has been chosen as the plasma-facing material for the main wall of ITER, the next generation fusion reactor. Identifying the key parameters that determine Be erosion under reactor relevant conditions is vital to predict the ITER plasma-facing component lifetime and viability. To date, a certain prediction of Be erosion, focusing on the effect of two such parameters, surface temperature and D surface content, has not been achieved. In this work, we develop the first multi-scale KMC-MD modeling approach for Be to provide a more accurate database for its erosion, as well as investigating parameters that affect erosion. First, we calculate the complex relationship between surface temperature and D concentration precisely by simulating the time evolution of the system using an object kinetic Monte Carlo (OKMC) technique. These simulations provide a D surface concentration profile for any surface temperature and incoming D energy. We then describe how this profile can be implemented as a starting configuration in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We finally use MD simulations to investigate the effect of temperature (300-800 K) and impact energy (10-200 eV) on the erosion of Be due to D plasma irradiations. The results reveal a strong dependency of the D surface content on temperature. Increasing the surface temperature leads to a lower D concentration at the surface, because of the tendency of D atoms to avoid being accommodated in a vacancy, and de-trapping from impurity sites diffuse fast toward bulk. At the next step, total and molecular Be erosion yields due to D irradiations are analyzed using MD simulations. The results show a strong dependency of erosion yields on surface temperature and incoming ion energy. The total Be erosion yield increases with temperature for impact energies up to 100 eV. However, increasing temperature and impact energy results in a lower fraction of Be atoms being sputtered as BeD molecules due to the lower D

  9. Glaucoma and Alzheimer Disease: A Single Age-Related Neurodegenerative Disease of the Brain.

    PubMed

    Mancino, Raffaele; Martucci, Alessio; Cesareo, Massimo; Giannini, Clarissa; Corasaniti, Maria Tiziana; Bagetta, Giacinto; Nucci, Carlo

    2017-12-06

    Open Angle Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness worldwide. Elevated intraocular pressure is considered an important risk factor for glaucoma, however a subset of patients experience disease progression even in presence of normal intraocular pressure values. This implies that risk factors other than intraocular pressure are involved in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. A possible relationship between glaucoma and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer Disease has been suggested. In this regard, we have recently described a high prevalence of alterations typical of glaucoma, using Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph-3 (HRT-3), in a group of patients with Alzheimer Disease. Interestingly, these alterations were not associated with elevated intraocular pressure or abnormal Central Corneal Thickness values. Alzheimer Disease is the most common form of dementia associated with progressive deterioration of memory and cognition. Complaints related to vision are common among Alzheimer Disease patients. Features common to both diseases, including risk factors and pathophysiological mechanisms, gleaned from the recent literature do suggest that Alzheimer Disease and glaucoma can be considered age-related neurodegenerative diseases that may co-exist in the elderly. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  10. Behaviors of beryllium compensation doping in InGaAsP grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ma, Y. J.; Zhang, Y. G.; Gu, Y.; Xi, S. P.; Chen, X. Y.; Liang, Baolai; Juang, Bor-Chau; Huffaker, Diana L.; Du, B.; Shao, X. M.; Fang, J. X.

    2017-07-01

    We report structural properties as well as electrical and optical behaviors of beryllium (Be)-doped InGaAsP lattice-matched to InP grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy. P type layers present a high degree of compensation on the order of 1018 cm-3, and for Be densities below 9.5×1017 cm-3, they are found to be n type. Enhanced incorporation of oxygen during Be doping is observed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy. Be in forms of interstitial donors or donor-like Be-O complexes for cell temperatures below 800°C is proposed to account for such anomalous compensation behaviors. A constant photoluminescence energy of 0.98 eV without any Moss-Burstein shift for Be doping levels up to 1018 cm-3 along with increased emission intensity due to passivation effect of Be is also observed. An increasing number of minority carriers tend to relax via Be defect state-related Shockley-Read-Hall recombination with the increase of Be doping density.

  11. Persons with Diet-Related Diseases.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McNutt, Kristen W.; Steinberg, Louis H.

    1980-01-01

    This article focuses on the educational approach to dealing with people with diet related diseases, their prevention, detection, and treatment. Issues include content and goals of education, identification of factors affecting food choices, professional education improvement, coordination of nutrition education systems, and nutrition concerns. (SA)

  12. SU-C-16A-02: A Beryllium Oxide (BeO) Fibre-Coupled Luminescence Dosimeter for High Dose Rate Brachytherapy

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Santos, A; Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing and School of Chem and Phys, Adelaide, South Australia; Mohammadi, M

    Purpose: Beryllium oxide (BeO) ceramics have an effective atomic number, zeff ∼7.1, closely matched to water, zeff ∼7.4. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of a beryllium oxide (BeO) ceramic fibrecoupled luminescence dosimeter, named RL/OSL BeO FOD, for high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy dosimetry. In our dosimetry system the radioluminescence (RL) of BeO ceramics is utilized for dose-rate measurements, and the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) can be read post exposure for accumulated dose measurements. Methods: The RL/OSL BeO FOD consists of a 1 mm diameter × 1 mm long cylinder of BeO ceramic coupled to amore » 15 m long silica-silica optical fibre. The optical fibre is connected to a custom developed portable RL and OSL reader, located outside of the treatment suite. The x-ray energy response was evaluated using superficial x-rays, an Ir-192 source and high energy linear accelerators. The RL/OSL BeO FOD was then characterised for an Ir-192 source, investigating the dose response and angular dependency. A depth dose curve for the Ir-192 source was also measured. Results: The RL/OSL BeO FOD shows an under-response at low energy x-rays as expected. Though at higher x-ray energies, the OSL response continued to increase, while the RL response remained relatively constant. The dose response for the RL is found to be linear up to doses of 15 Gy, while the OSL response becomes more supralinear to doses above 15 Gy. Little angular dependency is observed and the depth dose curve measured agreed within 4% of that calculated based on TG-43. Conclusion: This works shows that the RL/OSL BeO FOD can be useful in HDR dosimetry. With the RL/OSL BeO FODs current size, it is capable of being inserted into intraluminal catheters and interstitial needles to verify HDR treatments.« less

  13. IgG4-related disease of the rectum

    PubMed Central

    Choi, Sung-Bong; Lim, Chul-Hyun; Cha, Myung-Guen

    2016-01-01

    IgG4-related disease is a relatively new disease entity characterized by elevated serum IgG4 levels and marked infiltration of IgG4-positive plasma cells in lesions. Organ enlargement or nodular lesions consisting of abundant infiltration of lymphocytes and IgG4-positive plasma cells and fibrosis are seen in various organs throughout. We encountered a patient with an inflammatory pseudotumor of the rectum, which was histopathologically confirmed to be an IgG4-related disease. The patient was a 28-year-old woman who had constipation for 3 months. The endoluminal ultrasonography showed a lesion that was heterogeneous and low echogenic in lower rectum. The result of colonoscopic biopsy findings was of chronic proctitis with lymphoid aggregates. For a confirmative diagnosis, excision was performed. Histopathological examination represented plasma cell infiltration and fibrosis. Immunohistochemistry revealed prominence of IgG4-positive plasma cells and confirmed the diagnosis of IgG4-related disease. The patient is currently under observation on low-dose oral prednisolone without relapse. PMID:27186575

  14. Disease-Related Detection with Electrochemical Biosensors: A Review

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Ying; Xu, Jin; Liu, Junjie; Wang, Xiangyang; Chen, Bin

    2017-01-01

    Rapid diagnosis of diseases at their initial stage is critical for effective clinical outcomes and promotes general public health. Classical in vitro diagnostics require centralized laboratories, tedious work and large, expensive devices. In recent years, numerous electrochemical biosensors have been developed and proposed for detection of various diseases based on specific biomarkers taking advantage of their features, including sensitivity, selectivity, low cost and rapid response. This article reviews research trends in disease-related detection with electrochemical biosensors. Focus has been placed on the immobilization mechanism of electrochemical biosensors, and the techniques and materials used for the fabrication of biosensors are introduced in details. Various biomolecules used for different diseases have been listed. Besides, the advances and challenges of using electrochemical biosensors for disease-related applications are discussed. PMID:29039742

  15. A comparison of hydro-instabilities in CH, HDC, and beryllium ablators on NIF

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smalyuk, V. A.; Robey, H. F.; Ali, S.; Berzak Hopkins, L. F.; Casey, D. T.; Celliers, P. M.; Clark, D. S.; Felker, S. J.; Field, J. E.; Haan, S. W.; Hammel, B. A.; Hsing, W. W.; Kroll, J. J.; Landen, O. L.; Lepape, S.; Macphee, A. G.; Martinez, D.; Milovich, J.; Nikroo, A.; Pickworth, L.; Stadermann, M.; Weber, C. R.; Kline, J.; Loomis, E.; Yi, A.

    2017-10-01

    A comparison of the hydrodynamic growth in plastic, high-density carbon, and beryllium ablators will be presented in indirect-drive implosions on National Ignition Facility. This comparison is based on experimentally measured instabilities in all phases of implosions for the three ablators. The 2-D and 3-D perturbations were measured at the ablation-surface with the Hydrodynamic Growth Radiography platform. In the deceleration phase of implosions, innovative self-emission and ``self-backlight'' techniques were used. Results of the 3-D perturbation growth including engineering features will also be presented for convergence up to 20 and compared for the three ablators. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

  16. Beryllium Ignition Targets for Indirect Drive NIF Experiments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simakov, A. N.; Wilson, D. C.; Yi, S. A.; Kline, J. L.; Salmonson, J. D.; Clark, D. S.; Milovich, J. L.; Marinak, M. M.; Callahan, D. A.

    2013-10-01

    Current NIF plastic capsules are under-performing, and alternate ablators are being investigated. Beryllium presents an attractive option, since it has lower opacity and therefore higher ablation rate, pressure, and velocity. Previous NIF Be designs assumed significantly better hohlraum performance than recently observed (e.g., 7.5 vs. 15-17% of back-scattered power and 1.0 vs. 0.85 main pulse's power multipliers) and employed less accurate atomic configuration models than currently used (XSN vs. DCA), and thus an updated design is required. We present a new, Rev. 6 Be ignition target design that employs the full NIF capacity (1.8 MJ, 520 TW) and uses a standard 5.75 mm gold hohlraum with 1.5 mg/cm3 of helium gas fill. The 1051 μm capsule features 180 μm of layered copper-doped (with the maximum of 3 atom-%) Be ablator and 90 μm of cryogenic deuterium-tritium fuel. The peak implosion velocity of 367 μm/ns results in 4.1 keV of no-burn ion temperature, 1.6 and 1.9 g/cm2 of fuel and total areal densities, respectively, and 20.6 MJ of fusion yield. The capsule demonstrates robust performance with surface/interface roughnesses up to 1.6 times larger that Rev. 3 specs. Work supported by the US Department of Energy.

  17. A Comparison of "Total Dust" and Inhalable Personal Sampling for Beryllium Exposure

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Carter, Colleen M.

    2012-05-09

    In 2009, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) reduced the Beryllium (Be) 8-hr Time Weighted Average Threshold Limit Value (TLV-TWA) from 2.0 μg/m 3 to 0.05 μg/m 3 with an inhalable 'I' designation in accordance with ACGIH's particle size-selective criterion for inhalable mass. Currently, per the Department of Energy (DOE) requirements, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is following the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 2.0 μg/m 3 as an 8-hr TWA, which is also the 2005 ACGIH TLV-TWA, and an Action Level (AL) of 0.2 μg/m 3 and sampling is performedmore » using the 37mm (total dust) sampling method. Since DOE is considering adopting the newer 2009 TLV guidelines, the goal of this study was to determine if the current method of sampling using the 37mm (total dust) sampler would produce results that are comparable to what would be measured using the IOM (inhalable) sampler specific to the application of high energy explosive work at LLNL's remote experimental test facility at Site 300. Side-by-side personal sampling using the two samplers was performed over an approximately two-week period during chamber re-entry and cleanup procedures following detonation of an explosive assembly containing Beryllium (Be). The average ratio of personal sampling results for the IOM (inhalable) vs. 37-mm (total dust) sampler was 1.1:1 with a P-value of 0.62, indicating that there was no statistically significant difference in the performance of the two samplers. Therefore, for the type of activity monitored during this study, the 37-mm sampling cassette would be considered a suitable alternative to the IOM sampler for collecting inhalable particulate matter, which is important given the many practical and economic advantages that it presents. However, similar comparison studies would be necessary for this conclusion to be applied to other types of activities, where earlier

  18. Beryllium Abundances of Six Halo Stars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thorburn, J. A.; Hobbs, L. M.

    1996-05-01

    High signal-to-noise (S/N≍80), high-resolution (R≍25 000) spectra of six warm halo stars have been obtained in the Be II λ3130 region. Beryllium abundances derived through spectrum synthesis are generally consistent with [Be/Fe]≍0 and probably do not support the simplest models of cosmic-ray nucleosynthesis. Alternative scenarios whereby energetic C, N, and O nuclei collide with ambient He nuclei-rather than the converse-are more compatible with the data. However, these observations constrain net Be production only. If Galactic astration of Be is important, then Be production mechanisms must be proportionally more efficient. In the case of the near twin stars HD 94028 and HD 194598, log(Be/H) differs by 0.3 dex despite effectively identical Li abundances. A difference in initial Be abundance rather than stellar depletion is proposed to account for the discrepancy. Our Be abundances are typically ˜0.3 dex lower than those reported by Boesgaard & King [Al, 106, 2309 (1993)] for five stars in common. The disparity in Be abundance scales is due to the combined influences of differences in assigned stellar parameters and overestimated Be ii λ3131.066 line strengths in the Boesgaard & King study. Systematic errors in published Be abundances may be greater than has previously been suggested. A consistency check of the line list used for the synthesis reveals an unidentified blending feature of moderate strength slightly blueward of λ3131.066 in the Sun. Results of the present investigation are not significantly influenced by the ambiguous identity of the contaminating feature. However, studies which include cooler, more metal-rich stars may, as a consequence of neglecting or improperly identifying this line, report incorrect slopes of log(Be/H) vs [Fe/H] or erroneously large scatter in log(Be/H).

  19. The Burden of Exposure–Related Diffuse Lung Disease

    PubMed Central

    Goldyn, Sheryl R.; Condos, Rany; Rom, William N.

    2013-01-01

    Estimating the burden of exposure-related diffuse lung disease in terms of health effects and economic burden remains challenging. Labor statistics are inadequate to define the scope of the problem, and few studies have analyzed the prevalence of exposure-related illnesses and the subsequent health care cost. Well-defined exposures, such as those associated with coal mines, asbestos mines, and stonecutting, have led to more accurate assessment of prevalence and cost. As governmental regulation of workplace exposure has increased, the prevalence of diseases such as silicosis and coal workers’ pneumoconiosis has diminished. However, the health and economic effects of diseases with long latency periods, such as asbestosis and mesothelioma, continue to increase in the short term. Newer exposures, such as those related to air pollution, nylon flock, and the World Trade Center collapse, have added to these costs. As a result, estimates of cost for occupational diseases, including respiratory illnesses, exceed $26 billion annually, and the true economic burden is likely much higher. PMID:19221957

  20. Recognizing global burden of cardiovascular disease and related chronic diseases.

    PubMed

    Kelly, Bridget B; Narula, Jagat; Fuster, Valentín

    2012-01-01

    Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, affecting not only high-income but also low- and middle-income countries. Nearly 80 percent of all estimated cardiovascular disease-related deaths worldwide now occur in low- and middle-income countries, where nearly 30 percent of all deaths are attributable to cardiovascular disease. The health burden of cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases is also accompanied by a significant deleterious economic impact at the level of both national economies and households. The global trends in the health and economic burden of cardiovascular disease provide a compelling argument in support of prioritizing urgent yet carefully planned efforts to prevent and control cardiovascular disease worldwide-and especially in low- and middle-income countries. After decades of escalating efforts to draw attention to the high burden of cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases, this critically important issue is now emerging as a more central part of the global health and development agenda. The breadth of behavioral, biological, social, environmental, and systems-level factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease necessitates multisectoral approaches across the lifecourse that promote healthful lifestyles, reduce risk, and reduce cardiovascular-disease morbidity and mortality through the delivery of quality health care services. Given that the complex interactions among the determinants of cardiovascular disease vary in different contexts, real progress in control efforts will come through approaches that are driven by a country's disease burden and risk profile, capacities, resources, and priorities-approaches that are led by a country's key decision-makers and stakeholders, including governments, civil society, the private sector, and communities. Many countries are already establishing efforts to address chronic diseases. In addition to these locally driven efforts, success will require active

  1. Health-related quality of life in youth with Crohn disease: role of disease activity and parenting stress.

    PubMed

    Gray, Wendy N; Boyle, Shana L; Graef, Danielle M; Janicke, David M; Jolley, Christopher D; Denson, Lee A; Baldassano, Robert N; Hommel, Kevin A

    2015-06-01

    Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important, but understudied construct in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease. Family level predictors of HRQOL have been understudied as are the mechanisms through which disease activity affects HRQOL. The present study examines the relation between a family level factor (parenting stress) and HRQOL in youth with Crohn disease. Parenting stress is examined as a mechanism through which disease activity affects HRQOL. A total of 99 adolescents with Crohn disease and their parents were recruited across 3 sites. Adolescents completed the IMPACT-III (inflammatory bowel disease-specific HRQOL). Parents completed the Pediatric Inventory for Parents, a measure of medically related parenting stress that assesses stress because of the occurrence of medical stressors and stress because of the perceived difficulty of stressors. Disease activity was obtained from medical records. Parenting stress because of the occurrence of medical stressors partially mediated the disease severity-HRQOL relation, reducing the relation between these variables from 49.67% to 31.58% (B= -0.56, P < 0.0001). Bootstrapping analysis confirmed that the indirect effect of disease severity on HRQOL via parenting stress significantly differed from zero. Parenting stress because of the perceived difficulty of medical stressors partially mediated the disease severity-HRQOL relation, reducing the relation from 49.67% to 30.29% (B= -0.55, P < 0.0001). The indirect effect was confirmed via bootstrapping procedures. As disease severity increased, parenting stress also increased, and adolescent HRQOL decreased. Parenting stress should be considered and assessed for along with medical factors as part of a comprehensive approach to improve HRQOL in adolescents with Crohn disease.

  2. Modern Chemistry Techniques Applied to Metal Behavior and Chelation in Medical and Environmental Systems ? Final Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sutton, M; Andresen, B; Burastero, S R

    2005-02-03

    This report details the research and findings generated over the course of a 3-year research project funded by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD). Originally tasked with studying beryllium chemistry and chelation for the treatment of Chronic Beryllium Disease and environmental remediation of beryllium-contaminated environments, this work has yielded results in beryllium and uranium solubility and speciation associated with toxicology; specific and effective chelation agents for beryllium, capable of lowering beryllium tissue burden and increasing urinary excretion in mice, and dissolution of beryllium contamination at LLNL Site 300; {sup 9}Be NMR studies previously unstudied atmore » LLNL; secondary ionization mass spec (SIMS) imaging of beryllium in spleen and lung tissue; beryllium interactions with aerogel/GAC material for environmental cleanup. The results show that chelator development using modern chemical techniques such as chemical thermodynamic modeling, was successful in identifying and utilizing tried and tested beryllium chelators for use in medical and environmental scenarios. Additionally, a study of uranium speciation in simulated biological fluids identified uranium species present in urine, gastric juice, pancreatic fluid, airway surface fluid, simulated lung fluid, bile, saliva, plasma, interstitial fluid and intracellular fluid.« less

  3. [Exercise for prevention of osteoporosis and other lifestyle-related diseases].

    PubMed

    Suzuki, Takao

    2011-05-01

    The prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases including hypertension, dyslipidemia (hyperlipidemia) and diabetes increases with aging, and all these conditions are risk factors of arteriosclerotic diseases such as cerebrovascular event (stroke) and myocardial infarction. The term "metabolic domino" has been used to describe the collective concept of the development and progression of these lifestyle-related diseases, the sequence of events, and the progression process of complications. Like the first tile of a domino toppling game, undesirable lifestyle such as overeating and underexercising first triggers obesity, and is followed in succession by onset of an insulin resistance state (underlied by a genetic background indigenous to Japanese) , hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and further postprandial hyperglycemia (the pre-diabetic state) , the so-called metabolic syndrome, at around the same time. On the other hand, apart from the other lifestyle-related diseases, the prevalence of osteoporosis also increases rapidly accompanying aging. Osteoporosis is known to be strongly related to disorders due to the metabolic domino such as arteriosclerosis and vascular calcification, and a new disease category called "osteo-vascular interaction" has attracted attention recently. Regarding "osteo-vascular interaction" , a close relation between bone density loss or osteoporotic changes and vascular lesion-associated lifestyle-related diseases such as hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes has been reported. Therefore, as a common preventive factor for bone mass loss or osteoporosis and lifestyle-related diseases including hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes (osteo-vascular interaction) , exercise has been recognized anew as an important non-pharmaceutical therapy that should take top priority. This article overviews the evidence of exercise therapy for the prevention of osteoporosis and other lifestyle-related diseases, from the viewpoint of health promotion, especially of

  4. Illness perceptions and coping with disease in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Effects on health-related quality of life.

    PubMed

    Vaske, Isabelle; Kenn, Klaus; Keil, Daniel C; Rief, Winfried; Stenzel, Nikola M

    2017-10-01

    This study investigated the effects of illness perceptions and coping with disease on health-related quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Therefore, participants ( N = 444) completed online questionnaires assessing illness severity (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage), Illness Perceptions Questionnaire, coping with disease (Essener Coping Questionnaire), and health-related quality of life (short form-12). Hierarchical regression and moderation analyses were conducted. The results showed that health-related quality of life was predicted by illness perceptions and several aspects of coping with disease. The association between illness perceptions and health-related quality of life was mediated by the corresponding coping with disease subscales. It is concluded that in order to prevent decreasing health-related quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, treatment may be adjusted by promoting coping with disease and functional illness perceptions.

  5. The epigenetic landscape of age-related diseases: the geroscience perspective.

    PubMed

    Gensous, Noémie; Bacalini, Maria Giulia; Pirazzini, Chiara; Marasco, Elena; Giuliani, Cristina; Ravaioli, Francesco; Mengozzi, Giacomo; Bertarelli, Claudia; Palmas, Maria Giustina; Franceschi, Claudio; Garagnani, Paolo

    2017-08-01

    In this review, we summarize current knowledge regarding the epigenetics of age-related diseases, focusing on those studies that have described DNA methylation landscape in cardio-vascular diseases, musculoskeletal function and frailty. We stress the importance of adopting the conceptual framework of "geroscience", which starts from the observation that advanced age is the major risk factor for several of these pathologies and aims at identifying the mechanistic links between aging and age-related diseases. DNA methylation undergoes a profound remodeling during aging, which includes global hypomethylation of the genome, hypermethylation at specific loci and an increase in inter-individual variation and in stochastic changes of DNA methylation values. These epigenetic modifications can be an important contributor to the development of age-related diseases, but our understanding on the complex relationship between the epigenetic signatures of aging and age-related disease is still poor. The most relevant results in this field come from the use of the so called "epigenetics clocks" in cohorts of subjects affected by age-related diseases. We report these studies in final section of this review.

  6. Elevated Endomyocardial Biopsy Macrophage-Related Markers in Intractable Myocardial Diseases.

    PubMed

    Hayashi, Yuka; Hanawa, Haruo; Jiao, Shuang; Hasegawa, Go; Ohno, Yukako; Yoshida, Kaori; Suzuki, Tomoyasu; Kashimura, Takeshi; Obata, Hiroaki; Tanaka, Komei; Watanabe, Tohru; Minamino, Tohru

    2015-12-01

    Tissue macrophages can be activated by endogenous danger signals released from cells that are stressed or injured, leading to infiltration of inflammatory macrophages and neutrophils. We postulated that macrophage-related markers might be closely associated with the existence of endogenous danger signals, reflecting ongoing tissue injury in the absence of foreign substances. This study was designed to assess the ability of macrophage-related markers in endomyocardial biopsies to predict ongoing cardiac injury in non-inflammatory myocardial diseases. We examined levels of macrophage-related markers (CD68, CD163, CD45) in endomyocardial biopsies from patients (n = 86) with various myocardial diseases by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (n = 78) and immunohistochemistry (n = 56). Thirty-three patients without inflammatory cardiac disease such as myocarditis and sarcoidosis were classified as "improved" or "non-improved" defined as a 10% increase in left ventricular ejection fraction by echocardiograph and a value greater than 30% at the time of follow-up. All macrophage-related (MacR) markers levels were not higher in non-improved dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) patients than improved patients. However, patients with cardiac amyloidosis, cardiac Fabry disease, mitochondrial cardiomyopathy, and biventricular arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), which were categorized as "non-improvement diseases," had elevated macrophage-related markers compared to improved patients. Macrophage-related markers levels were increased in endomyocardial biopsy samples of patients with intractable myocardial diseases such as amyloidosis, mitochondrial disease, Fabry disease, and biventricular ARVC.

  7. Addressing Disease-Related Malnutrition in Healthcare

    PubMed Central

    Correia, Maria Isabel; Hegazi, Refaat A.; Diaz-Pizarro Graf, José Ignacio; Gomez-Morales, Gabriel; Fuentes Gutiérrez, Catalina; Goldin, Maria Fernanda; Navas, Angela; Pinzón Espitia, Olga Lucia; Tavares, Gilmária Millere

    2015-01-01

    Alarmingly high rates of disease-related malnutrition have persisted in hospitals of both emerging and industrialized nations over the past 2 decades, despite marked advances in medical care over this same interval. In Latin American hospitals, the numbers are particularly striking; disease-related malnutrition has been reported in nearly 50% of adult patients in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Uruguay. The tolls of disease-related malnutrition are high in both human and financial terms—increased infectious complications, higher incidence of pressure ulcers, longer hospital stays, more frequent readmissions, greater costs of care, and increased risk of death. In an effort to draw attention to malnutrition in Latin American healthcare, a feedM.E. Latin American Study Group was formed to extend the reach and support the educational efforts of the feedM.E. Global Study Group. In this article, the feedM.E. Latin American Study Group shows that malnutrition incurs excessive costs to the healthcare systems, and the study group also presents evidence of how appropriate nutrition care can improve patients’ clinical outcomes and lower healthcare costs. To achieve the benefits of nutrition for health throughout Latin America, the article presents feedM.E.’s simple and effective Nutrition Care Pathway in English and Spanish as a way to facilitate its use. PMID:25883116

  8. Clinical and Molecular Features of POLG-Related Mitochondrial Disease

    PubMed Central

    Stumpf, Jeffrey D.; Saneto, Russell P.; Copeland, William C.

    2013-01-01

    The inability to replicate mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) by the mitochondrial DNA polymerase (pol γ) leads to a subset of mitochondrial diseases. Many mutations in POLG, the gene that encodes pol γ, have been associated with mitochondrial diseases such as myocerebrohepatopathy spectrum (MCHS) disorders, Alpers-Huttenlocher syndrome, myoclonic epilepsy myopathy sensory ataxia (MEMSA), ataxia neuropathy spectrum (ANS), and progressive external ophthalmoplegia (PEO). This chapter explores five important topics in POLG-related disease: (1) clinical symptoms that identify and distinguish POLG-related diseases, (2) molecular characterization of defects in polymerase activity by POLG disease variants, (3) the importance of holoenzyme formation in disease presentation, (4) the role of pol γ exonuclease activity and mutagenesis in disease and aging, and (5) novel approaches to therapy and avoidance of toxicity based on primary research in pol γ replication. PMID:23545419

  9. Conflict and diarrheal and related diseases: A global analysis

    PubMed Central

    Kerridge, Bradley T.; Khan, Maria R.; Rehm, Jürgen; Sapkota, Amir

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the association between deaths owing to terrorism, civil war and one-sided violence from 1994–2000 and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to diarrheal and related diseases, schistosomiasis, trachoma and the nematode infections (DSTN diseases) in 2002 among World Health Organization Member States. Deaths resulting from terrorism, civil war and one-sided violence were significantly related to DSTN DALYs across the majority of sex–age subgroups of the populace, after controlling for baseline levels of improved water/sanitation and a variety of economic measures: overall, a 1.0% increase in deaths owing to terrorism and related violence was associated with an increase of 0.16% in DALYs lost to DSTN diseases. Associations were greatest among 0-to-4-year olds. The results of the present study suggest that DSTN disease control efforts should target conflict-affected populations with particular attention to young children who suffer disproportionately from DSTN diseases in these settings. In view of the evidence that terrorism and related violence may influence DSTN DALYs in the longer term, control strategies should move beyond immediate responses to decrease the incidence and severity of DSTN diseases to seek solutions through bolstering health systems infrastructure development among conflict-affected populations. PMID:24206798

  10. Conflict and diarrheal and related diseases: a global analysis.

    PubMed

    Kerridge, Bradley T; Khan, Maria R; Rehm, Jürgen; Sapkota, Amir

    2013-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the association between deaths owing to terrorism, civil war and one-sided violence from 1994-2000 and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to diarrheal and related diseases, schistosomiasis, trachoma and the nematode infections (DSTN diseases) in 2002 among World Health Organization Member States. Deaths resulting from terrorism, civil war and one-sided violence were significantly related to DSTN DALYs across the majority of sex-age subgroups of the populace, after controlling for baseline levels of improved water/sanitation and a variety of economic measures: overall, a 1.0% increase in deaths owing to terrorism and related violence was associated with an increase of 0.16% in DALYs lost to DSTN diseases. Associations were greatest among 0-to-4-year olds. The results of the present study suggest that DSTN disease control efforts should target conflict-affected populations with particular attention to young children who suffer disproportionately from DSTN diseases in these settings. In view of the evidence that terrorism and related violence may influence DSTN DALYs in the longer term, control strategies should move beyond immediate responses to decrease the incidence and severity of DSTN diseases to seek solutions through bolstering health systems infrastructure development among conflict-affected populations. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  11. Effects of Beryllium and Compaction Pressure on the Thermal Diffusivity of Uranium Dioxide Fuel Pellets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Camarano, D. M.; Mansur, F. A.; Santos, A. M. M.; Ferraz, W. B.; Ferreira, R. A. N.

    2017-09-01

    In nuclear reactors, the performance of uranium dioxide (UO2) fuel is strongly dependent on the thermal conductivity, which directly affects the fuel pellet temperature, the fission gas release and the fuel rod mechanical behavior during reactor operation. The use of additives to improve UO2 fuel performance has been investigated, and beryllium oxide (BeO) appears as a suitable additive because of its high thermal conductivity and excellent chemical compatibility with UO2. In this paper, UO2-BeO pellets were manufactured by mechanical mixing, pressing and sintering processes varying the BeO contents and compaction pressures. Pellets with BeO contents of 2 wt%, 3 wt%, 5 wt% and 7 wt% BeO were pressed at 400 MPa, 500 MPa and 600 MPa. The laser flash method was applied to determine the thermal diffusivity, and the results showed that the thermal diffusivity tends to increase with BeO content. Comparing thermal diffusivity results of UO2 with UO2-BeO pellets, it was observed that there was an increase in thermal diffusivity of at least 18 % for the UO2-2 wt% BeO pellet pressed at 400 MPa. The maximum relative expanded uncertainty (coverage factor k = 2) of the thermal diffusivity measurements was estimated to be 9 %.

  12. Comparison of plastic, high-density carbon, and beryllium as NIF ablators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kritcher, Andrea

    2017-10-01

    An effort is underway to compare the three principal ablators for National Ignition Facility (NIF) implosions: plastic (CH), High Density Carbon (HDC), and beryllium (Be). This presentation will summarize the comparison and discuss in more detail the issues pertaining to hohlraum performance and symmetry. Several aspects of the hohlraum design are affected by the ablator properties, as the ablator constrains the first shock and determines the overall pulse length. HDC targets can utilize shorter pulse lengths due to the thinner, higher density shell, and should be less susceptible to late time wall motion. However, HDC requires a larger picket energy to ensure adequate melt, leading to increased late time wall movement. Be is intermediate to CH and HDC in both these regards, and has more ablated material in the hohlraum. These tradeoffs as well as other design choices for currently fielded campaigns are assessed in this work. To assess consistently the radiation drive and symmetry, integrated postshot simulations of the hohlraum and capsule were done for each design using the same methodology. The simulation results are compared to experimental data. Using this post-shot model, we make a projection of the relative plausible performance that can be achieved, while maintaining adequate symmetry, using the full NIF laser, i.e. 1.8 MJ/500 TW Full NIF Equivalent (FNE). The hydrodynamic stability of the different ablators is also an important consideration and will be presented for the current platforms and projection to FNE. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

  13. Design of the beryllium window for Brookhaven Linac Isotope Producer

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nayak, S.; Mapes, M.; Raparia, D.

    2015-11-01

    In the Brookhaven Linac Isotope Producer (BLIP) beam line, there were two Beryllium (Be) windows with an air gap to separate the high vacuum upstream side from low vacuum downstream side. There had been frequent window failures in the past which affected the machine productivity and increased the radiation dose received by workers due to unplanned maintenance. To improve the window life, design of Be window is reexamined. Detailed structural and thermal simulations are carried out on Be window for different design parameters and loading conditions to come up with better design to improve the window life. The new designmore » removed the air gap and connect the both beam lines with a Be window in-between. The new design has multiple advantages such as 1) reduces the beam energy loss (because of one window with no air gap), 2) reduces air activation due to nuclear radiation and 3) increased the machine reliability as there is no direct pressure load during operation. For quick replacement of this window, an aluminum bellow coupled with load binder was designed. There hasn’t been a single window failure since the new design was implemented in 2012.« less

  14. Advanced Silicon-on-Insulator: Crystalline Silicon on Atomic Layer Deposited Beryllium Oxide.

    PubMed

    Min Lee, Seung; Hwan Yum, Jung; Larsen, Eric S; Chul Lee, Woo; Keun Kim, Seong; Bielawski, Christopher W; Oh, Jungwoo

    2017-10-16

    Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology improves the performance of devices by reducing parasitic capacitance. Devices based on SOI or silicon-on-sapphire technology are primarily used in high-performance radio frequency (RF) and radiation sensitive applications as well as for reducing the short channel effects in microelectronic devices. Despite their advantages, the high substrate cost and overheating problems associated with complexities in substrate fabrication as well as the low thermal conductivity of silicon oxide prevent broad applications of this technology. To overcome these challenges, we describe a new approach of using beryllium oxide (BeO). The use of atomic layer deposition (ALD) for producing this material results in lowering the SOI wafer production cost. Furthermore, the use of BeO exhibiting a high thermal conductivity might minimize the self-heating issues. We show that crystalline Si can be grown on ALD BeO and the resultant devices exhibit potential for use in advanced SOI technology applications.

  15. Erosion simulation of first wall beryllium armour under ITER transient heat loads

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bazylev, B.; Janeschitz, G.; Landman, I.; Pestchanyi, S.; Loarte, A.

    2009-04-01

    The beryllium is foreseen as plasma facing armour for the first wall in the ITER in form of Be-clad blanket modules in macrobrush design with brush size about 8-10 cm. In ITER significant heat loads during transient events (TE) are expected at the main chamber wall that may leads to the essential damage of the Be armour. The main mechanisms of metallic target damage remain surface melting and melt motion erosion, which determines the lifetime of the plasma facing components. Melting thresholds and melt layer depth of the Be armour under transient loads are estimated for different temperatures of the bulk Be and different shapes of transient loads. The melt motion damages of Be macrobrush armour caused by the tangential friction force and the Lorentz force are analyzed for bulk Be and different sizes of Be-brushes. The damage of FW under radiative loads arising during mitigated disruptions is numerically simulated.

  16. Over-Aging Effect on Fracture Toughness of Beryllium Copper Alloy C17200

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jen, Kei-Peng; Xu, Liqun; Hylinski, Steven; Gildersleeve, Nate

    2008-10-01

    This study experimentally increased the fracture toughness of Beryllium Copper (CuBe) UNS C17200 alloy using three different age hardening processes. At the same time, the micro- and macro-fracture behavior of this alloy were comprehensively studied. ASTM E399 fracture toughness, tensile, and Charpy impact tests were conducted for all three heat-treated rods. The fracture surfaces were examined under both an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope to investigate the failure mechanisms. Multiple test orientations were considered to explore isotropy. Increasing the temperature and duration at which age hardening was performed increased fracture toughness while decreasing ultimate tensile strength. The maximum fracture toughness was reached on the most overaged specimen, while retaining a serviceable tensile strength. The specimen test data allowed a relationship to be established among Charpy impact toughness, fracture toughness, and yield strength. Analysis of fracture behavior revealed an interesting relationship between fracture toughness and pre-cracking fatigue propagation rate.

  17. Integrating Multiple On-line Knowledge Bases for Disease-Lab Test Relation Extraction.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yaoyun; Soysal, Ergin; Moon, Sungrim; Wang, Jingqi; Tao, Cui; Xu, Hua

    2015-01-01

    A computable knowledge base containing relations between diseases and lab tests would be a great resource for many biomedical informatics applications. This paper describes our initial step towards establishing a comprehensive knowledge base of disease and lab tests relations utilizing three public on-line resources. LabTestsOnline, MedlinePlus and Wikipedia are integrated to create a freely available, computable disease-lab test knowledgebase. Disease and lab test concepts are identified using MetaMap and relations between diseases and lab tests are determined based on source-specific rules. Experimental results demonstrate a high precision for relation extraction, with Wikipedia achieving the highest precision of 87%. Combining the three sources reached a recall of 51.40%, when compared with a subset of disease-lab test relations extracted from a reference book. Moreover, we found additional disease-lab test relations from on-line resources, indicating they are complementary to existing reference books for building a comprehensive disease and lab test relation knowledge base.

  18. Chemical-induced disease relation extraction via convolutional neural network.

    PubMed

    Gu, Jinghang; Sun, Fuqing; Qian, Longhua; Zhou, Guodong

    2017-01-01

    This article describes our work on the BioCreative-V chemical-disease relation (CDR) extraction task, which employed a maximum entropy (ME) model and a convolutional neural network model for relation extraction at inter- and intra-sentence level, respectively. In our work, relation extraction between entity concepts in documents was simplified to relation extraction between entity mentions. We first constructed pairs of chemical and disease mentions as relation instances for training and testing stages, then we trained and applied the ME model and the convolutional neural network model for inter- and intra-sentence level, respectively. Finally, we merged the classification results from mention level to document level to acquire the final relations between chemical and disease concepts. The evaluation on the BioCreative-V CDR corpus shows the effectiveness of our proposed approach. http://www.biocreative.org/resources/corpora/biocreative-v-cdr-corpus/. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

  19. Botanicals for age-related diseases: from field to practice1234

    PubMed Central

    Weaver, Connie M; Barnes, Stephen; Wyss, J Michael; Kim, Helen; Morré, Dorothy M; Morré, D James; Simon, James E; Lila, Mary Ann; Janle, Elsa M; Ferruzzi, Mario G

    2009-01-01

    The Purdue–University of Alabama Botanicals Research Center for Age Related Disease joins novel technologies to study the bioavailability of bioactive polyphenolic constituents and their relation to health. Many diseases that manifest with age relate to oxidative stress and tissue damage. Our goal is to follow the fate of bioactive constituents from a complex mixture to the organ affected by the disease and relate that to a protective mechanism. Equally important is to screen commercially available botanicals for their efficacy and safety. Botanicals and their relation to bone antiresorptive capacity, cognitive function, vascular effects, and cancer are principal themes in our center. PMID:18258645

  20. Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias Summit 2016: National research priorities.

    PubMed

    Corriveau, Roderick A; Koroshetz, Walter J; Gladman, Jordan T; Jeon, Sophia; Babcock, Debra; Bennett, David A; Carmichael, S Thomas; Dickinson, Susan L-J; Dickson, Dennis W; Emr, Marian; Fillit, Howard; Greenberg, Steven M; Hutton, Michael L; Knopman, David S; Manly, Jennifer J; Marder, Karen S; Moy, Claudia S; Phelps, Creighton H; Scott, Paul A; Seeley, William W; Sieber, Beth-Anne; Silverberg, Nina B; Sutherland, Margaret L; Taylor, Angela; Torborg, Christine L; Waddy, Salina P; Gubitz, Amelie K; Holtzman, David M

    2017-12-05

    Goal 1 of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease is to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer disease and Alzheimer disease-related dementias by 2025. To help inform the research agenda toward achieving this goal, the NIH hosts periodic summits that set and refine relevant research priorities for the subsequent 5 to 10 years. This proceedings article summarizes the 2016 Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias Summit, including discussion of scientific progress, challenges, and opportunities in major areas of dementia research, including mixed-etiology dementias, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal degeneration, vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia, dementia disparities, and dementia nomenclature. © 2017 American Academy of Neurology.

  1. Lung function, biological monitoring, and biological effect monitoring of gemstone cutters exposed to beryls

    PubMed Central

    Wegner, R.; Heinrich-Ramm, R.; Nowak, D.; Olma, K.; Poschadel, B.; Szadkowski, D.

    2000-01-01

    OBJECTIVES—Gemstone cutters are potentially exposed to various carcinogenic and fibrogenic metals such as chromium, nickel, aluminium, and beryllium, as well as to lead. Increased beryllium concentrations had been reported in the air of workplaces of beryl cutters in Idar-Oberstein, Germany. The aim of the survey was to study the excretion of beryllium in cutters and grinders with occupational exposure to beryls—for example, aquamarines and emeralds—to examine the prevalence of beryllium sensitisation with the beryllium lymphocyte transformation test (BeLT), to examine the prevalence of lung disease induced by beryllium, to describe the internal load of the respective metals relative to work process, and to screen for genotoxic effects in this particular profession.
METHODS—In a cross sectional investigation, 57 out of 100 gemstone cutters working in 12 factories in Idar-Oberstein with occupational exposure to beryls underwent medical examinations, a chest radiograph, lung function testing (spirometry, airway resistance with the interrupter technique), and biological monitoring, including measurements of aluminium, chromium, and nickel in urine as well as lead in blood. Beryllium in urine was measured with a newly developed direct electrothermal atomic absorption spectroscopy technique with a measurement limit of 0.06 µg/l. Also, cytogenetic tests (rates of micronuclei and sister chromatid exchange), and a BeLT were performed. Airborne concentrations of beryllium were measured in three factories. As no adequate local control group was available, the cutters were categorised into those with an exposure to beryls of >4 hours/week (group A) and ⩽4 hours/week (group B).
RESULTS—Clinical, radiological, or spirometric abnormalities indicating pneumoconiosis were detected in none of the gemstone cutters. Metal concentrations in biological material were far below the respective biological limit values, and beryllium in urine was only measurable in

  2. Arsenic-related Bowen's disease, palmar keratosis, and skin cancer.

    PubMed Central

    Cöl, M; Cöl, C; Soran, A; Sayli, B S; Oztürk, S

    1999-01-01

    Chronic arsenical intoxication can still be found in environmental and industrial settings. Symptoms of chronic arsenic intoxication include general pigmentation or focal "raindrop" pigmentation of the skin and the appearance of hyperkeratosis of the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. In addition to arsenic-related skin diseases including keratosis, Bowen's disease, basal-cell-carcinoma, and squamous-cell carcinoma, there is also an increased risk of some internal malignancies. Arsenic-related diseases are common in areas of the world where the drinking water has a high arsenic content. In this paper, we describe a 35-year-old male patient who had arsenic-related keratosis, squamous-cell carcinoma in the palmar area of his left hand, and Bowen's disease on his left thigh. The patient worked in a borax mine for 15 years, so he was exposed to arsenic in drinking water, airborne arsenic in his workplace, and had direct contact. The patient was treated for 11 months for arsenic-related keratosis until an axillary lymph node metastasis occurred; the lesion was excised and diagnosed to be malignant. Bowen's disease was detected when the patient was being treated for cancer. No other malignancy was found. The patient is still receiving regular follow-up care. Images Figure 1 Figure 2 PMID:10417369

  3. Estimates of RF-Induced Erosion at Antenna-Connected Beryllium Plasma-Facing Components in JET

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Borodin, D.; Groth, M.; Airila, M.

    2016-01-01

    During high-power, ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH), RF sheath rectification and RF induced plasma-wall interactions (RF-PWI) can potentially limit long-pulse operation. With toroidally-spaced ICRH antennas, in an ITER-like wall (ILW) environment, JET provides an ideal environment for ITER-relevant, RF-PWI studies. JET pulses combining sequential toggling of the antennas with q95 (edge safety factor) sweeping were recently used to localize RF-enhanced Be I and Be II spectral line emission at outboard poloidal (beryllium) limiters. These measurements were carried out in the early stages of JET-ILW and in ICRF-only, L-mode discharges. The appearance of enhanced emission spots was explained by their magneticmore » connection to regions of ICRH antennas associated with higher RF-sheath rectification [1]. The measured emission lines were the same as those already qualified in ERO modelling of inboard limiter beryllium erosion in JET limiter plasmas [2]. In the present work, we revisit this spectroscopic study with the focus on obtaining estimates of the impact of these RF-PWI on sputtering and on net erosion of the affected limiter regions. To do this, the ERO erosion and re-deposition code [2] is deployed with the detailed geometry of a JET outboard limiter. The effect of RF-PWI on sputtering is represented by varying the surface negative biasing, which affects the incidence energy and the resulting sputtering yield. The observed variations in line emission, from [1], for JET pulse 81173 of about factor 3 can be reproduced with ~ 100 200 V bias. ERO simulations show that the influence of the respective E-field on the local Be transport is localized near the surface and relatively small. Still, the distribution of the 3D plasma parameters, shadowing and other geometrical effects are quite important. The plasma parameter simulated by Edge2D-EIRENE [3] are extrapolated towards the surface and mapped in 3D. These initial modelling results are consistent with the

  4. Occupational exposure to asbestos and cardiovascular related diseases: A meta-analysis

    PubMed Central

    Rong, Yi; Luo, Xin; Zhang, Zhihong; Cui, Xiuqing; Liu, Yuewei; Chen, Weihong

    2015-01-01

    Asbestos has become one of the leading causes of death among occupational workers in the world. The association between asbestos and cardiovascular disease is less reported. We performed a meta-analysis to quantify the association between asbestos exposure and the mortality of cardiovascular related diseases. We performed a systematic review in the PubMed database before December 2014. All cohort studies citing the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of cardiovascular related diseases in workers exposed to asbestos were collected. We then calculated the pooled standardized mortality ratios of such diseases. Sixteen studies were included. The combined results from all studies indicated the pooled SMR estimate for cardiovascular related diseases was 1.11 (95% CI, 1.01–1.22). This meta-analysis showed that asbestos exposure significantly increased the risk of cardiovascular related diseases in exposed workers. PMID:26844169

  5. Electronic properties of functionalized (5,5) beryllium oxide nanotubes.

    PubMed

    Chigo Anota, Ernesto; Cocoletzi, Gregorio Hernández

    2013-05-01

    Using the density functional theory (DFT) we study the structural and electronic properties of functionalized (5,5) chirality single wall beryllium oxide nanotubes (SW-BeONTs), i.e. armchair nanotubes. The nanotube surface and ends are functionalized by the hydroxyl (OH) functional group. Our calculations consider the Hamprecht-Cohen-Tozer-Handy functional in the generalized gradient approximation (HCTH-GGA) to deal with the exchange-correlation energies, and the base function with double polarization (DNP). The geometry optimization of both defects free and with point defects nanotubes is done applying the criterion of minimum energy. Six configurations are considered: The OH oriented toward the Be (on the surface and at the end), toward the O (on the surface and at the end) and placed at the nanotube ends. Simulation results show that the nanotube functionalization takes place at the nanotube ends with the BeO bond displaying hydrogen-like bridge bonds. Moreover the nanotube semiconductor behavior remains unchanged. The polarity is high (it shows a transition from covalent to ionic) favoring solvatation. On the other hand, the work function low value suggests this to be a good candidate for the device fabrication. When the nanotube contains surface point defects the work function is reduced which provides excellent possibilities for the use of this material in the electronic industry. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Chemical-induced disease relation extraction with various linguistic features.

    PubMed

    Gu, Jinghang; Qian, Longhua; Zhou, Guodong

    2016-01-01

    Understanding the relations between chemicals and diseases is crucial in various biomedical tasks such as new drug discoveries and new therapy developments. While manually mining these relations from the biomedical literature is costly and time-consuming, such a procedure is often difficult to keep up-to-date. To address these issues, the BioCreative-V community proposed a challenging task of automatic extraction of chemical-induced disease (CID) relations in order to benefit biocuration. This article describes our work on the CID relation extraction task on the BioCreative-V tasks. We built a machine learning based system that utilized simple yet effective linguistic features to extract relations with maximum entropy models. In addition to leveraging various features, the hypernym relations between entity concepts derived from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)-controlled vocabulary were also employed during both training and testing stages to obtain more accurate classification models and better extraction performance, respectively. We demoted relation extraction between entities in documents to relation extraction between entity mentions. In our system, pairs of chemical and disease mentions at both intra- and inter-sentence levels were first constructed as relation instances for training and testing, then two classification models at both levels were trained from the training examples and applied to the testing examples. Finally, we merged the classification results from mention level to document level to acquire final relations between chemicals and diseases. Our system achieved promisingF-scores of 60.4% on the development dataset and 58.3% on the test dataset using gold-standard entity annotations, respectively. Database URL:https://github.com/JHnlp/BC5CIDTask. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

  7. [The Utilization of Health-Related Applications in Chronic Disease Self-Management].

    PubMed

    Kao, Chi-Wen; Chuang, Hui-Wan; Chen, Ting-Yu

    2017-08-01

    The dramatic increase in smartphone usage has spurred the development of many health-related mobile applications (apps). On the other hand, population aging and the associated rise in the incidence of chronic disease is increasing the demand for long-term care. Effective chronic disease self-management has been shown to help patients improve their health condition. Numerous smartphone applications currently support patient self-management of chronic disease, facilitating health management and health promotion. The purpose of the present article was to introduce the definition, contents, and types of health-related apps; to discuss the effectiveness of self-management health-related apps in promoting chronic disease management; and to assess and evaluate these apps. We hope that the present article helps give to healthcare professionals and patients who are willing to manage their diseases a general understanding of health-related apps and their potential to facilitate the self-management of chronic diseases.

  8. Waterborne disease-related risk perceptions in the Sonora River basin, Mexico.

    PubMed

    Morua, Agustin Robles; Halvorsen, Kathleen E; Mayer, Alex S

    2011-05-01

    Waterborne disease is estimated to cause about 10% of all diseases worldwide. However, related risk perceptions are not well understood, particularly in the developing world where waterborne disease is an enormous problem. We focus on understanding risk perceptions related to these issues in a region within northern Mexico. Our findings show how waterborne disease problems and solutions are understood in eight small communities along a highly contaminated river system. We found major differences in risk perceptions between health professionals, government officials, and lay citizens. Health professionals believed that a high level of human-waste-related risk existed within the region. Few officials and lay citizens shared this belief. In addition, few officials and lay citizens were aware of poor wastewater-management-related disease outbreaks and water contamination. Finally, aside from health professionals, a few interviewees understood the importance of basic hygiene and water treatment measures that could help to prevent disease. Our results add to the literature on environmentally-related risk perceptions in the developing world. We discuss recommendations for improving future human-wastewater-related risk communication within the region. © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis.

  9. The therapeutic use of the relaxation response in stress-related diseases.

    PubMed

    Esch, Tobias; Fricchione, Gregory L; Stefano, George B

    2003-02-01

    The objective of this work was to investigate a possible (therapeutic) connection between the relaxation response (RR) and stress-related diseases. Further, common underlying molecular mechanisms and autoregulatory pathways were examined. For the question of (patho)physiology and significance of RR techniques in the treatment of stress-related diseases, we analyzed peer-reviewed references only. The RR has been shown to be an appropriate and relevant therapeutic tool to counteract several stress-related disease processes and certain health-restrictions, particularly in certain immunological, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases/mental disorders. Further, common underlying molecular mechanisms may exist that represent a connection between the stress response, pathophysiological findings in stress-related diseases, and physiological changes/autoregulatory pathways described in the RR. Here, constitutive or low-output nitric oxide (NO) production may be involved in a protective or ameliorating context, whereas inducible, high-output NO release may facilitate detrimental disease processes. In mild or early disease states, a high degree of biological and physiological flexibility may still be possible (dynamic balance). Here, the therapeutic use of RR techniques may be considered particularly relevant, and the observable (beneficial) effects may be exerted via activation of constitutive NO pathways. RR techniques, regularly part of professional stress management or mind/body medical settings, represent an important tool to be added to therapeutic strategies dealing with stress-related diseases. Moreover, as part of 'healthy' life-style modifications, they may serve primary (or secondary) prevention. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the complex physiology underlying the RR and its impact upon stress-related disease states.

  10. Prebiotics as functional food ingredients preventing diet-related diseases.

    PubMed

    Florowska, A; Krygier, K; Florowski, T; Dłużewska, E

    2016-05-18

    This paper reviews the potential of prebiotic-containing foods in the prevention or postponement of certain diet-related diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases with hypercholesterolemia, osteoporosis, diabetes, gastrointestinal infections and gut inflammation. Also the data on prebiotics as food ingredients and their impact on food product quality are presented. Prebiotics are short chain carbohydrates that are resistant to the digestion process in the upper part of the digestive system, are not absorbed in any segment of the gastrointestinal system, and finally are selectively fermented by specific genera of colonic bacteria. The mechanisms of the beneficial impacts of prebiotics on human health are very difficult to specify directly, because their health-promoting functions are related to fermentation by intestinal microflora. The impact of prebiotics on diet-related diseases in many ways also depends on the products of their fermentation. Prebiotics as functional food ingredients also have an impact on the quality of food products, due to their textural and gelling properties. Prebiotics as food additives can be very valuable in the creation of functional food aimed at preventing or postponing many diet-related diseases. They additionally have beneficial technological properties which improve the quality of food products.

  11. NAD+ Deficits in Age-Related Diseases and Cancer.

    PubMed

    Garrido, Amanda; Djouder, Nabil

    2017-08-01

    The phenomenon of aging has gained widespread attention in recent times. Although significant advances have been made to better understand aging and its related pathologies including cancer, there is not yet a clear mechanism explaining why diseases and cancer are inherent parts of the aging process. Finding a unifying equation that could bridge aging and its related diseases would allow therapeutic development and solve an immense human health problem to live longer and better. In this review, we discuss NAD + reduction as the central mechanism that may connect aging to its related pathologies and cancer. NAD + boosters would ensure and ameliorate health quality during aging. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Genetics Home Reference: COL4A1-related brain small-vessel disease

    MedlinePlus

    ... COL4A1-related brain small-vessel disease COL4A1-related brain small-vessel disease Printable PDF Open All Close ... view the expand/collapse boxes. Description COL4A1 -related brain small-vessel disease is part of a group ...

  13. Rheumatic diseases presenting as sports-related injuries.

    PubMed

    Jennings, Fabio; Lambert, Elaine; Fredericson, Michael

    2008-01-01

    Most individuals seeking consultation at sports medicine clinics are young, healthy athletes with injuries related to a specific activity. However, these athletes may have other systemic pathologies, such as rheumatic diseases, that may initially mimic sports-related injuries. As rheumatic diseases often affect the musculoskeletal system, they may masquerade as traumatic or mechanical conditions. A systematic review of the literature found numerous case reports of athletes who presented with apparent mechanical low back pain, sciatica pain, hip pain, meniscal tear, ankle sprain, rotator cuff syndrome and stress fractures and who, on further investigation, were found to have manifestations of rheumatic diseases. Common systemic, inflammatory causes of these musculoskeletal complaints include ankylosing spondylitis (AS), gout, chondrocalcinosis, psoriatic enthesopathy and early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Low back pain is often mechanical among athletes, but cases have been described where spondyloarthritis, especially AS, has been diagnosed. Neck pain, another common mechanical symptom in athletes, can be an atypical presentation of AS or early RA. Hip or groin pain is frequently related to injuries in the hip joint and its surrounding structures. However, differential diagnosis should be made with AS, RA, gout, psudeogout, and less often with haemochromatosis and synovial chondochromatosis. In athletes presenting with peripheral arthropathy, it is mandatory to investigate autoimmune arthritis (AS, RA, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus), crystal-induced arthritis, Lyme disease and pigmented villonodular synovitis. Musculoskeletal soft tissue disorders (bursitis, tendinopathies, enthesitis and carpal tunnel syndrome) are a frequent cause of pain and disability in both competitive and recreational athletes, and are related to acute injuries or overuse. However, these disorders may occasionally be a manifestation of RA, spondyloarthritis

  14. Assessment of disease-related knowledge and possible factors associated with the knowledge level among Chilean patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

    PubMed

    Simian, Daniela; Flores, Lilian; Quera, Rodrigo; Kronberg, Udo; Ibáñez, Patricio; Figueroa, Carolina; Lubascher, Jaime

    2017-06-01

    To assess disease-related knowledge among patients with inflammatory bowel disease and to identify the factors that are possibly associated with the knowledge level. Disease-related knowledge can positively influence the acceptance of the disease, increase treatment compliance and improve the quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted and prospectively included patients from the inflammatory bowel disease programme between October 2014-July 2015. A Spanish-translated version of the 24-item Crohn's and Colitis Knowledge score was used to assess disease-related knowledge. Patients also completed a demographic and clinical questionnaire. A total of 203 patients were included, 62% were female, and 66% were diagnosed with ulcerative colitis; the median age was 34 years (range 18-79), and the median disease duration was four years. The median disease-related knowledge score was 9 (range 1-20). Only 29% of the patients answered more than 50% of the questions correctly. Lower disease-related knowledge was observed in questions related to pregnancy/fertility and surgery/complications. Patients older than 50 years, with ulcerative colitis, with disease durations less than five years and patients without histories of surgery exhibited lower disease-related knowledge. There was no association between the knowledge scores and the educational levels. The patients who attended our inflammatory bowel disease programme exhibited poor disease-related knowledge that was similar to the knowledge levels that have been observed in developed countries. It is necessary to assess patient knowledge to develop educational strategies and evaluate the influences of these strategies on patient compliance and quality of life. These results will allow the inflammatory bowel disease team to develop educational programmes that account for the disease-related knowledge of each patient. Inflammatory bowel disease nurses

  15. CD-REST: a system for extracting chemical-induced disease relation in literature.

    PubMed

    Xu, Jun; Wu, Yonghui; Zhang, Yaoyun; Wang, Jingqi; Lee, Hee-Jin; Xu, Hua

    2016-01-01

    Mining chemical-induced disease relations embedded in the vast biomedical literature could facilitate a wide range of computational biomedical applications, such as pharmacovigilance. The BioCreative V organized a Chemical Disease Relation (CDR) Track regarding chemical-induced disease relation extraction from biomedical literature in 2015. We participated in all subtasks of this challenge. In this article, we present our participation system Chemical Disease Relation Extraction SysTem (CD-REST), an end-to-end system for extracting chemical-induced disease relations in biomedical literature. CD-REST consists of two main components: (1) a chemical and disease named entity recognition and normalization module, which employs the Conditional Random Fields algorithm for entity recognition and a Vector Space Model-based approach for normalization; and (2) a relation extraction module that classifies both sentence-level and document-level candidate drug-disease pairs by support vector machines. Our system achieved the best performance on the chemical-induced disease relation extraction subtask in the BioCreative V CDR Track, demonstrating the effectiveness of our proposed machine learning-based approaches for automatic extraction of chemical-induced disease relations in biomedical literature. The CD-REST system provides web services using HTTP POST request. The web services can be accessed fromhttp://clinicalnlptool.com/cdr The online CD-REST demonstration system is available athttp://clinicalnlptool.com/cdr/cdr.html. Database URL:http://clinicalnlptool.com/cdr;http://clinicalnlptool.com/cdr/cdr.html. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

  16. Cross-cultural variation in disease-related concerns among patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

    PubMed

    Levenstein, S; Li, Z; Almer, S; Barbosa, A; Marquis, P; Moser, G; Sperber, A; Toner, B; Drossman, D A

    2001-06-01

    The aim of this work was to study cross-cultural variations in the impact of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on health-related quality of life by an international comparison of disease-related concerns. Item and factor scores on the Rating Form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patient Concerns and overall mean concern levels were compared by analysis of variance among 2002 IBD patients in eight countries. The overall level of concern varied from 51 out of 100 in Portugal to 19 in Sweden, with intermediate scores for Italy (43), Canada (40), United States (39), France (39), Austria (33), and Israel (25). Having surgery, an ostomy, the uncertain nature of the disease, and medication side effects were each rated among the first five in importance in six countries. Other items varied considerably. For example, concern regarding pain and suffering was high in Israel and low in Portugal, whereas concern over developing cancer was low in Italy. Concern over financial issues and access to high-quality health care were inversely associated with measures of national economic prosperity. 1) Cross-cultural comparisons of patient concerns related to IBD are feasible using translated scales. 2) Reporting tendencies vary greatly; within Europe, patients from southern countries report greater overall concern. 3) The complications and the variable evolution of disease elicit general concern, but the importance of specific issues varies among countries. 4) The reasons for national differences may have social, cultural, and/or economic determinants with relevance to the patient-physician relationship, patient education, and therapeutic decision making.

  17. Occupational exposure to beryllium in French enterprises: a survey of airborne exposure and surface levels.

    PubMed

    Vincent, Raymond; Catani, Jacques; Créau, Yvon; Frocaut, Anne-Marie; Good, Andrée; Goutet, Pierre; Hou, Alain; Leray, Fabrice; André-Lesage, Marie-Ange; Soyez, Alain

    2009-06-01

    An assessment survey of occupational exposure to beryllium (Be) was conducted in France between late 2004 and the end of 2006. Exposure estimates were based on the analytical results of samples collected from workplace air and from work surfaces in 95 facilities belonging to 37 sectors of activity. The results of this study indicated airborne Be concentrations in excess of the occupational exposure limit value of 2 microg m(-3) recommended in France. Metallurgy and electronic component manufacturing represented the activities and occupations where workers had the highest arithmetic mean exposures to Be. Surface contamination levels were also high and frequently exceeded thresholds recommended by different bodies. These results should prompt the development of prevention programmes that include Be substitution, process control and surface decontamination, in conjunction with suitable medical surveillance.

  18. Interventions for age-related diseases: Shifting the paradigm.

    PubMed

    Figueira, Inês; Fernandes, Adelaide; Mladenovic Djordjevic, Aleksandra; Lopez-Contreras, Andres; Henriques, Catarina M; Selman, Colin; Ferreiro, Elisabete; Gonos, Efstathios S; Trejo, José Luis; Misra, Juhi; Rasmussen, Lene Juel; Xapelli, Sara; Ellam, Timothy; Bellantuono, Ilaria

    2016-12-01

    Over 60% of people aged over 65 are affected by multiple morbidities, which are more difficult to treat, generate increased healthcare costs and lead to poor quality of life compared to individual diseases. With the number of older people steadily increasing this presents a societal challenge. Age is the major risk factor for age-related diseases and recent research developments have led to the proposal that pharmacological interventions targeting common mechanisms of ageing may be able to delay the onset of multimorbidity. Here we review the state of the knowledge of multimorbidity, appraise the available evidence supporting the role of mechanisms of ageing in the development of the most common age-related diseases and assess potential molecules that may successfully target those key mechanisms. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  19. iPSCs, aging and age-related diseases.

    PubMed

    Isobe, Ken-Ichi; Cheng, Zhao; Nishio, Naomi; Suganya, Thanasegan; Tanaka, Yuriko; Ito, Sachiko

    2014-09-25

    Human histocompatibility antigens are quite heterogeneous and promote the rejection of transplanted tissue. Recent advances in stem cell research that enable the use of a patient's own stem cells for transplantation are very important because rejection could be avoided. In particular, Yamanaka's group in Japan gave new hope to patients with incurable diseases when they developed induced murine pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in 2006 and human iPSCs in 2007. Whereas embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are derived from the inner cell mass and are supported in culture by LIF, iPSCs are derived from fetal or adult somatic cells. Through the application of iPSC technology, adult somatic cells can develop a pluripotent state. One advantage of using iPSCs instead of ESCs in regenerative medicine is that (theoretically) immune rejection could be avoided, although there is some debate about immune rejection of a patient's own iPSCs. Many diseases occur in elderly patients. In order to use regenerative medicine with the elderly, it is important to demonstrate that iPSCs can indeed be generated from older patients. Recent findings have shown that iPSCs can be established from aged mice and aged humans. These iPSCs can differentiate to cells from all three germ layers. However, it is not known whether iPSCs from aged mice or humans show early senescence. Before clinical use of iPSCs, issues related to copy number variation, tumorigenicity and immunogenicity must be resolved. It is particularly important that researchers have succeeded in generating iPSCs that have differentiated to somatic cells related to specific diseases of the elderly, including atherosclerosis, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. These efforts will facilitate the use of personalized stem cell transplantation therapy for currently incurable diseases. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. DEXTER: Disease-Expression Relation Extraction from Text.

    PubMed

    Gupta, Samir; Dingerdissen, Hayley; Ross, Karen E; Hu, Yu; Wu, Cathy H; Mazumder, Raja; Vijay-Shanker, K

    2018-01-01

    Gene expression levels affect biological processes and play a key role in many diseases. Characterizing expression profiles is useful for clinical research, and diagnostics and prognostics of diseases. There are currently several high-quality databases that capture gene expression information, obtained mostly from large-scale studies, such as microarray and next-generation sequencing technologies, in the context of disease. The scientific literature is another rich source of information on gene expression-disease relationships that not only have been captured from large-scale studies but have also been observed in thousands of small-scale studies. Expression information obtained from literature through manual curation can extend expression databases. While many of the existing databases include information from literature, they are limited by the time-consuming nature of manual curation and have difficulty keeping up with the explosion of publications in the biomedical field. In this work, we describe an automated text-mining tool, Disease-Expression Relation Extraction from Text (DEXTER) to extract information from literature on gene and microRNA expression in the context of disease. One of the motivations in developing DEXTER was to extend the BioXpress database, a cancer-focused gene expression database that includes data derived from large-scale experiments and manual curation of publications. The literature-based portion of BioXpress lags behind significantly compared to expression information obtained from large-scale studies and can benefit from our text-mined results. We have conducted two different evaluations to measure the accuracy of our text-mining tool and achieved average F-scores of 88.51 and 81.81% for the two evaluations, respectively. Also, to demonstrate the ability to extract rich expression information in different disease-related scenarios, we used DEXTER to extract information on differential expression information for 2024 genes in lung

  1. 10 CFR 850.35 - Medical removal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Medical removal. 850.35 Section 850.35 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM Specific Program Requirements § 850.35 Medical removal. (a) Medical removal protection. The responsible employer must offer a beryllium-associated worker...

  2. 10 CFR 850.35 - Medical removal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Medical removal. 850.35 Section 850.35 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM Specific Program Requirements § 850.35 Medical removal. (a) Medical removal protection. The responsible employer must offer a beryllium-associated worker...

  3. 10 CFR 850.35 - Medical removal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Medical removal. 850.35 Section 850.35 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM Specific Program Requirements § 850.35 Medical removal. (a) Medical removal protection. The responsible employer must offer a beryllium-associated worker...

  4. 10 CFR 850.35 - Medical removal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Medical removal. 850.35 Section 850.35 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM Specific Program Requirements § 850.35 Medical removal. (a) Medical removal protection. The responsible employer must offer a beryllium-associated worker...

  5. 10 CFR 850.35 - Medical removal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Medical removal. 850.35 Section 850.35 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM Specific Program Requirements § 850.35 Medical removal. (a) Medical removal protection. The responsible employer must offer a beryllium-associated worker...

  6. Attachment, childhood abuse, and IBD-related quality of life and disease activity outcomes.

    PubMed

    Caplan, Rachel A; Maunder, Robert G; Stempak, Joanne M; Silverberg, Mark S; Hart, Tae L

    2014-05-01

    This study examined attachment style as a moderator of the relationship between childhood abuse and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-related outcomes. Study participants were 205 patients with IBD from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Participants completed self-report questionnaires regarding personal relationships, abuse history, and IBD-related information. Multiple regression models were fit using 3 outcome variables: disease-related quality of life (QOL), disease activity for ulcerative colitis, and disease activity for Crohn's disease. Patients reporting less severe abuse and low levels of avoidant attachment had the highest levels of QOL, whereas patients reporting high levels of avoidant attachment had the lowest levels of QOL, regardless of abuse severity. Patients reporting greater anxious attachment had lower QOL scores. Patients reporting less severe abuse and low levels of avoidant attachment had the lowest levels of disease activity, whereas patients reporting high levels of avoidant attachment had the highest levels of ulcerative colitis-related disease activity, regardless of abuse severity. However, for anxious attachment, there was no significant main effect or significant interaction of abuse by anxious attachment on ulcerative colitis-related disease activity. Childhood abuse and attachment style were not found to be associated with Crohn's disease-related disease activity. Adult attachment style may moderate the relationship between childhood abuse and IBD-related outcomes, by impacting one's QOL and disease activity. Distinct types of insecure attachment styles may impact these relationships differently. Psychological interventions focusing on attachment styles of patients with IBD have the potential to improve IBD-related QOL and disease activity.

  7. Poverty-related diseases (PRDs): unravelling complexities in disease responses in Cameroon.

    PubMed

    Makoge, Valerie; Maat, Harro; Vaandrager, Lenneke; Koelen, Maria

    2017-01-01

    In Cameroon, poverty-related diseases (PRDs) are a major public health concern. Research and policies addressing PRDs are based on a particular understanding of the interaction between poverty and disease, usually an association between poverty indicators and health indicators for a specific country or region. Such indicators are useful but fail to explain the nature of the linkages between poverty and disease or poverty and health. This paper presents results of a study among university students, unravelling how they perceive diseases, the linkages with poverty, their responses to diseases and the motivations behind reported responses. Based on the health belief model, this cross-sectional study was carried out among 272 students at the universities of Buea and Yaoundé in Cameroon. Data were collected using questionnaires containing items matching the research objectives. The questionnaires were self-completed. Malaria was considered as the most common disease perceived and also a major PRD. Contrary to official rankings of HIV/AIDS and TB, cholera and diarrhoea were considered as other major PRDs. Also, typhoid fever was perceived to be more common and a PRD than HIV/AIDS and TB combined. The most prominently attributed cause for disease was (lack of) hygiene. In response, students deployed formal and/or informal healthcare strategies, depending on factors like available money, perceived severity of the disease and disease type. Discrepancies were observed in respondents' response to diseases generally and to malaria in particular. Even though, overall, respondents pre-dominantly reported a formal healthcare response toward diseases in general, for malaria, informal responses dominated. There was an overall strong awareness and (pro)activity among students for dealing with diseases. Although the high use of informal facilities and medication for malaria may well be a reason why eradication is problematic, this seems to be a deliberate strategy linked to an

  8. [Work-related rhinitis - Is it always an occupational disease?

    PubMed

    Salski, Witold; Wiszniewska, Marta; Salska, Agata; Tymoszuk, Diana; Walusiak-Skorupa, Jolanta

    2016-12-22

    Rhinitis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the upper respiratory tract, characterized by a high prevalence and a complex pathogenesis. Work-related rhinitis (WRR) can be divided into occupational rhinitis (OR) and work-exacerbated rhinitis (WER). It is not only considered as a disease entity but also in the context of medical certification as the allergic disease associated with occupational exposure. Epidemiology of work-related rhinitis has been found to vary depending on the occupation and specific exposure, on the other hand the prevalence data may be underestimated due to the lack of uniform diagnostic criteria. This paper reviews the issues comprising the pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of patients with work-related rhinitis. It also discusses the significance of the disease in occupational medicine, particularly in terms of preventive worker care, general principles of good practice in primary and secondary WRR prevention and the necessary directions of changes in medical certification in the cases of occupational rhinitis. Med Pr 2016;67(6):801-815. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

  9. Potential Sex Differences Relative to Autism Spectrum Disorder and Metals.

    PubMed

    Dickerson, Aisha S; Rotem, Ran S; Christian, MacKinsey A; Nguyen, Vy T; Specht, Aaron J

    2017-12-01

    This study aims to summarize the current body of literature on the relationship between various toxic metals exposures (i.e., aluminum, antimony, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, and nickel) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with a focus on potential sex differences in these associations. Sex differences in ASD diagnosis and mutagenic effects of toxic exposures indicate that sex differences may play a major part in the causal relationship of any potential associations seen; however, we were only able to find three studies that reported on sex differences in observed associations with toxic metals exposure and ASD. We also found several studies investigating associations between ASD and metals exposures, including 11 on aluminum, 6 on antimony, 15 on arsenic, 5 on beryllium, 17 on cadmium, 11 on chromium, 25 on lead, 14 on manganese, and 13 on nickel with markers of exposure in hair, urine, blood, teeth, fingernails, and air pollution. Results for each metal were conflicting, but studies on cadmium and lead yielded the highest proportion of studies with positive results (72% and 36%, respectively). Based on our examination of existing literature, the current evidence warrants a considerable need for evaluations of sex differences in future studies assessing the association between metals exposures and ASD. Additionally, failure to account for potential sex differences could result in bias and misinterpretation of exposure-disease relationships.

  10. 10 CFR 850.26 - Regulated areas.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Regulated areas. 850.26 Section 850.26 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM Specific Program Requirements § 850.26 Regulated areas. (a) If airborne concentrations of beryllium in areas in DOE facilities are measured at or...

  11. 10 CFR 850.2 - Applicability.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Applicability. 850.2 Section 850.2 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM General Provisions § 850.2 Applicability. (a) This... part does not apply to: (1) Beryllium articles; and (2) DOE laboratory operations that meet the...

  12. 10 CFR 850.2 - Applicability.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Applicability. 850.2 Section 850.2 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CHRONIC BERYLLIUM DISEASE PREVENTION PROGRAM General Provisions § 850.2 Applicability. (a) This... part does not apply to: (1) Beryllium articles; and (2) DOE laboratory operations that meet the...

  13. Economic Burden of Human Papillomavirus-Related Diseases in Italy

    PubMed Central

    Baio, Gianluca; Capone, Alessandro; Marcellusi, Andrea; Mennini, Francesco Saverio; Favato, Giampiero

    2012-01-01

    Introduction Human papilloma virus (HPV) genotypes 6, 11, 16, and 18 impose a substantial burden of direct costs on the Italian National Health Service that has never been quantified fully. The main objective of the present study was to address this gap: (1) by estimating the total direct medical costs associated with nine major HPV-related diseases, namely invasive cervical cancer, cervical dysplasia, cancer of the vulva, vagina, anus, penis, and head and neck, anogenital warts, and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, and (2) by providing an aggregate measure of the total economic burden attributable to HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18 infection. Methods For each of the nine conditions, we used available Italian secondary data to estimate the lifetime cost per case, the number of incident cases of each disease, the total economic burden, and the relative prevalence of HPV types 6, 11, 16, and 18, in order to estimate the aggregate fraction of the total economic burden attributable to HPV infection. Results The total direct costs (expressed in 2011 Euro) associated with the annual incident cases of the nine HPV-related conditions included in the analysis were estimated to be €528.6 million, with a plausible range of €480.1–686.2 million. The fraction attributable to HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18 was €291.0 (range €274.5–315.7 million), accounting for approximately 55% of the total annual burden of HPV-related disease in Italy. Conclusions The results provided a plausible estimate of the significant economic burden imposed by the most prevalent HPV-related diseases on the Italian welfare system. The fraction of the total direct lifetime costs attributable to HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18 infections, and the economic burden of noncervical HPV-related diseases carried by men, were found to be cost drivers relevant to the making of informed decisions about future investments in programmes of HPV prevention. PMID:23185412

  14. Splicing regulatory factors, ageing and age-related disease.

    PubMed

    Latorre, Eva; Harries, Lorna W

    2017-07-01

    Alternative splicing is a co-transcriptional process, which allows for the production of multiple transcripts from a single gene and is emerging as an important control point for gene expression. Alternatively expressed isoforms often have antagonistic function and differential temporal or spatial expression patterns, yielding enormous plasticity and adaptability to cells and increasing their ability to respond to environmental challenge. The regulation of alternative splicing is critical for numerous cellular functions in both pathological and physiological conditions, and deregulated alternative splicing is a key feature of common chronic diseases. Isoform choice is controlled by a battery of splicing regulatory proteins, which include the serine arginine rich (SRSF) proteins and the heterogeneous ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) classes of genes. These important splicing regulators have been implicated in age-related disease, and in the ageing process itself. This review will outline the important contribution of splicing regulator proteins to ageing and age-related disease. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Ischaemic heart disease in first-degree relatives to coeliac patients.

    PubMed

    Emilsson, Louise; James, Stefan; Ludvigsson, Jonas F

    2014-04-01

    Coeliac disease (CD) has been linked to an increased risk of ischaemic heart disease (IHD). We examined the risk of IHD in first-degree relatives and spouses to coeliac patients to ascertain the genetic contribution to IHD excess risk. Coeliac disease was defined as having a biopsy-verified villous atrophy (Marsh grade 3) in 1969-2008 (n = 29,096). Coeliac patients were matched to 144,522 controls. Through Swedish registers, we identified all first-degree relatives and spouses to coeliac patients and their controls, in total 87,622 unique coeliac relatives and 432,655 unique control relatives. Our main outcome measure was IHD defined according to relevant international classification of disease codes in the Swedish Inpatient Registry or in the Cause of Death Registry. Hazard ratios (HR) and confidence intervals (CI) were estimated through Cox regression adjusted for sex, age-group and calendar year at study entry of the relative. During a median follow-up of 10·8 years, 2880 coeliac relatives and 13,817 control relatives experienced IHD. First-degree relatives of coeliac patients were at increased risk of IHD (HR = 1·05; 95% CI = 1·00-1·09, P-value = 0·04), while spouses were at no increased risk (HR = 0·99; 95% CI = 0·87-1·12). The excess risk of IHD in coeliac first-degree relatives aged 40-59 years was 70/100,000 person-years. First-degree relatives to coeliac patients seem to be at an increased risk of IHD but the excess risk is so small that it has little clinical relevance. © 2014 Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation.

  16. A vector space model approach to identify genetically related diseases.

    PubMed

    Sarkar, Indra Neil

    2012-01-01

    The relationship between diseases and their causative genes can be complex, especially in the case of polygenic diseases. Further exacerbating the challenges in their study is that many genes may be causally related to multiple diseases. This study explored the relationship between diseases through the adaptation of an approach pioneered in the context of information retrieval: vector space models. A vector space model approach was developed that bridges gene disease knowledge inferred across three knowledge bases: Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, GenBank, and Medline. The approach was then used to identify potentially related diseases for two target diseases: Alzheimer disease and Prader-Willi Syndrome. In the case of both Alzheimer Disease and Prader-Willi Syndrome, a set of plausible diseases were identified that may warrant further exploration. This study furthers seminal work by Swanson, et al. that demonstrated the potential for mining literature for putative correlations. Using a vector space modeling approach, information from both biomedical literature and genomic resources (like GenBank) can be combined towards identification of putative correlations of interest. To this end, the relevance of the predicted diseases of interest in this study using the vector space modeling approach were validated based on supporting literature. The results of this study suggest that a vector space model approach may be a useful means to identify potential relationships between complex diseases, and thereby enable the coordination of gene-based findings across multiple complex diseases.

  17. Mental disease-related emergency admissions attributable to hot temperatures.

    PubMed

    Lee, Suji; Lee, Hwanhee; Myung, Woojae; Kim, E Jin; Kim, Ho

    2018-03-01

    The association between high temperature and mental disease has been the focus of several studies worldwide. However, no studies have focused on the mental disease burden attributable to hot temperature. Here, we aim to quantify the risk attributed to hot temperatures based on the exposure-lag-response relationship between temperature and mental diseases. From data on daily temperature and emergency admissions (EA) for mental diseases collected from 6 major cities (Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, and Gwangju in South Korea) over a period of 11years (2003-2013), we estimated temperature-disease associations using a distributed lag non-linear model, and we pooled the data by city through multivariate meta-analysis. Cumulative relative risk and attributable risks were calculated for extreme hot temperatures, defined as the 99th percentile relative to the 50th percentile of temperatures. The strongest association between mental disease and high temperature was seen within a period of 0-4days of high temperature exposure. Our results reveal that 14.6% of EA for mental disease were due to extreme hot temperatures, and the elderly were more susceptible (19.1%). Specific mental diseases, including anxiety, dementia, schizophrenia, and depression, also showed significant risk attributed to hot temperatures. Of all EA for anxiety, 31.6% were attributed to extremely hot temperatures. High temperature was responsible for an attributable risk for mental disease, and the burden was higher in the elderly. This finding has important implications for designing appropriate public health policies to minimize the impact of high temperature on mental health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Average annual cost of Parkinson’s disease in São Paulo, Brazil, with a focus on disease-related motor symptoms

    PubMed Central

    Bovolenta, Tânia M; de Azevedo Silva, Sônia Maria Cesar; Saba, Roberta Arb; Borges, Vanderci; Ferraz, Henrique Ballalai; Felicio, Andre C

    2017-01-01

    Background Although Parkinson’s disease is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease worldwide, its cost in Brazil – South America’s largest country – is unknown. Objective The goal of this study was to calculate the average annual cost of Parkinson’s disease in the city of São Paulo (Brazil), with a focus on disease-related motor symptoms. Subjects and methods This was a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis using a bottom-up approach (ie, from the society’s perspective). Patients (N=260) at two tertiary public health centers, who were residents of the São Paulo metropolitan area, completed standardized questionnaires regarding their disease-related expenses. We used simple and multiple generalized linear models to assess the correlations between total cost and patient-related, as well as disease-related variables. Results The total average annual cost of Parkinson’s disease was estimated at US$5,853.50 per person, including US$3,172.00 in direct costs (medical and nonmedical) and US$2,681.50 in indirect costs. Costs were directly correlated with disease severity (including the degree of motor symptoms), patients’ age, and time since disease onset. Conclusion In this study, we determined the cost of Parkinson’s disease in Brazil and observed that disease-related motor symptoms are a significant component of the costs incurred on the public health system, patients, and society in general. PMID:29276379

  19. The role of inflammation in age-related disease

    PubMed Central

    Howcroft, T. Kevin; Campisi, Judith; Louis, Germaine Buck; Smith, Martyn T.; Wise, Bradley; Wyss-Coray, Tony; Augustine, Alison Deckhut; McElhaney, Janet E.; Kohanski, Ron; Sierra, Felipe

    2013-01-01

    The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Geroscience Interest Group (GSIG) sponsored workshop, The Role of Inflammation in Age-Related Disease, was held September 6th-7th, 2012 in Bethesda, MD. It is now recognized that a mild pro-inflammatory state is correlated with the major degenerative diseases of the elderly. The focus of the workshop was to better understand the origins and consequences of this low level chronic inflammation in order to design appropriate interventional studies aimed at improving healthspan. Four sessions explored the intrinsic, environmental exposures and immune pathways by which chronic inflammation are generated, sustained, and lead to age-associated diseases. At the conclusion of the workshop recommendations to accelerate progress toward understanding the mechanistic bases of chronic disease were identified. PMID:23474627

  20. Effect of casting atmosphere on the marginal deficiency and misfit of Ni-Cr alloys with and without beryllium.

    PubMed

    da Silva, Leandro J; Leal, Monica B; Valente, Mariana L C; de Castro, Denise T; Pagnano, Valéria O; Dos Reis, Andréa C; Bezzon, Osvaldo L

    2017-07-01

    The marginal adaptation of prosthetic crowns is still a significant clinical problem. The purpose of this in vitro study was to evaluate the marginal deficiency and misfit of Ni-Cr alloys with and without beryllium under different casting conditions. Four casting conditions were selected: flame-torch, induction/argon, induction/vacuum, and induction/air; and 2 alloys were used, Ni-Cr-Be and Ni-Cr. For each group, 10 metal specimens were prepared. Silicone indirect impressions and analysis of the degree of rounding were used to evaluate the marginal deficiencies of metal copings, and a standardized device for the setting pressure associated with optical microscopy was used to analyze the marginal misfit. Results were evaluated with 2-way ANOVA (α=.05), followed by the Tukey honest significant difference post hoc test, and the Pearson correlation test (α=.05). Alloy (P<.001) and casting technique (P<.001) were shown to affect marginal deficiencies. The Ni-Cr cast using the torch technique showed the highest marginal deficiency, and the Ni-Cr-Be cast in a controlled argon atmosphere showed the lowest (P<.001). Alloy (P=.472) and casting techniques (P=.206) did not affect the marginal misfit, but significant differences were found in the interaction (P=.001); the lowest misfit was achieved using the Ni-Cr-Be, and the highest misfit occurred with the molten Ni-Cr, using the cast torch technique. No correlation was found between deficiency and marginal misfit (r=.04, P=.69). The interactions demonstrated that the alloy containing beryllium that was cast in an argon atmosphere led to reduced marginal deficiency. Improved marginal adaptation can be achieved for the same alloy by using the torch technique. Copyright © 2016 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Unprecedented Disease-Related Coral Mortality in Southeastern Florida.

    PubMed

    Precht, William F; Gintert, Brooke E; Robbart, Martha L; Fura, Ryan; van Woesik, Robert

    2016-08-10

    Anomalously high water temperatures, associated with climate change, are increasing the global prevalence of coral bleaching, coral diseases, and coral-mortality events. Coral bleaching and disease outbreaks are often inter-related phenomena, since many coral diseases are a consequence of opportunistic pathogens that further compromise thermally stressed colonies. Yet, most coral diseases have low prevalence (<5%), and are not considered contagious. By contrast, we document the impact of an extremely high-prevalence outbreak (61%) of white-plague disease at 14 sites off southeastern Florida. White-plague disease was observed near Virginia Key, Florida, in September 2014, and after 12 months had spread 100 km north and 30 km south. The disease outbreak directly followed a high temperature coral-bleaching event and affected at least 13 coral species. Eusmilia fastigiata, Meandrina meandrites, and Dichocoenia stokesi were the most heavily impacted coral species, and were reduced to <3% of their initial population densities. A number of other coral species, including Colpophyllia natans, Pseudodiploria strigosa, Diploria labyrinthiformis, and Orbicella annularis were reduced to <25% of their initial densities. The high prevalence of disease, the number of susceptible species, and the high mortality of corals affected suggests this disease outbreak is arguably one of the most lethal ever recorded on a contemporary coral reef.

  2. Unprecedented Disease-Related Coral Mortality in Southeastern Florida

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Precht, William F.; Gintert, Brooke E.; Robbart, Martha L.; Fura, Ryan; van Woesik, Robert

    2016-08-01

    Anomalously high water temperatures, associated with climate change, are increasing the global prevalence of coral bleaching, coral diseases, and coral-mortality events. Coral bleaching and disease outbreaks are often inter-related phenomena, since many coral diseases are a consequence of opportunistic pathogens that further compromise thermally stressed colonies. Yet, most coral diseases have low prevalence (<5%), and are not considered contagious. By contrast, we document the impact of an extremely high-prevalence outbreak (61%) of white-plague disease at 14 sites off southeastern Florida. White-plague disease was observed near Virginia Key, Florida, in September 2014, and after 12 months had spread 100 km north and 30 km south. The disease outbreak directly followed a high temperature coral-bleaching event and affected at least 13 coral species. Eusmilia fastigiata, Meandrina meandrites, and Dichocoenia stokesi were the most heavily impacted coral species, and were reduced to <3% of their initial population densities. A number of other coral species, including Colpophyllia natans, Pseudodiploria strigosa, Diploria labyrinthiformis, and Orbicella annularis were reduced to <25% of their initial densities. The high prevalence of disease, the number of susceptible species, and the high mortality of corals affected suggests this disease outbreak is arguably one of the most lethal ever recorded on a contemporary coral reef.

  3. Thermal and Lorentz Force Analysis of Beryllium Windows for the Rectilinear Muon Cooling Channel

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Luo, Tianhuan; Li, D.; Virostek, S.

    Reduction of the 6-dimensional phase-space of a muon beam by several orders of magnitude is a key requirement for a Muon Collider. Recently, a 12-stage rectilinear ionization cooling channel has been proposed to achieve that goal. The channel consists of a series of low frequency (325 MHz-650 MHz) normal conducting pillbox cavities, which are enclosed with thin beryllium windows (foils) to increase shunt impedance and give a higher field on-axis for a given amount of power. These windows are subject to ohmic heating from RF currents and Lorentz force from the EM field in the cavity, both of which willmore » produce out of the plane displacements that can detune the cavity frequency. In this study, using the TEM3P code, we report on a detailed thermal and mechanical analysis for the actual Be windows used on a 325 MHz cavity in a vacuum ionization cooling rectilinear channel for a Muon Collider.« less

  4. Thermal and Lorentz force analysis of beryllium windows for a rectilinear muon cooling channel

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Luo, T.; Stratakis, D.; Li, D.

    Reduction of the 6-dimensional phase-space of a muon beam by several orders of magnitude is a key requirement for a Muon Collider. Recently, a 12-stage rectilinear ionization cooling channel has been proposed to achieve that goal. The channel consists of a series of low frequency (325 MHz-650 MHz) normal conducting pillbox cavities, which are enclosed with thin beryllium windows (foils) to increase shunt impedance and give a higher field on-axis for a given amount of power. These windows are subject to ohmic heating from RF currents and Lorentz force from the EM field in the cavity, both of which willmore » produce out of the plane displacements that can detune the cavity frequency. In this study, using the TEM3P code, we report on a detailed thermal and mechanical analysis for the actual Be windows used on a 325 MHz cavity in a vacuum ionization cooling rectilinear channel for a Muon Collider.« less

  5. Multiphase Equation of State and Strength Properties of Beryllium from AB INITIO and Quantum Molecular Dynamics Calculations.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Robert, G.; Sollier, A.; Legrand, Ph.

    2007-12-01

    In the framework of density functional theory, static properties and phonon spectra of beryllium have been calculated under high compression (for pressures up to 4 Mbar) for two solid phases: hexagonal compact (hcp) and body-centered cubic (bcc). The melting curve and some isotherms in the liquid phase have been calculated using quantum molecular dynamics. The coupling of these theoretical data to a quasi-harmonic approach (phonon moments) allows us to suggest a new theoretical phase diagram and to build a multiphase equation of state (EOS) valid in a large range of pressure and temperature. The resulting Hugoniot curves as well as the evolution of the longitudinal sound speed with both pressure and temperature are in good agreement with available experimental data.

  6. A non-LTE treatment of beryllium lines - Misidentification of the solar Be I feature at 2650 A

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shipman, H. L.; Auer, L. H.

    1979-01-01

    The formation of beryllium lines, with particular reference to the solar Be spectrum, is investigated in a non-LTE context with a 25-level model atom in which 15 levels are allowed to depart from LTE. In some transitions, particularly the Be I 2650-A line, the non-LTE effects can be quite dramatic, changing the deduced abundances by a factor of 4. Based on the non-LTE calculations and Copernicus observations of other stars, it is found that a solar spectral feature at 2650 A, previously identified by numerous investigators as a Be I line, cannot be produced by Be I. Non-LTE effects on the Be II 3131-A line, used for most Be abundance determinations in the literature, are small by comparison.

  7. Coeliac disease and C virus-related chronic hepatitis: a non association.

    PubMed

    Gravina, Antonietta Gerarda; Federico, Alessandro; Masarone, Mario; Cuomo, Antonio; Tuccillo, Concetta; Loguercio, Carmelina; Persico, Marcello; Romano, Marco

    2012-09-26

    A higher prevalence of coeliac disease has recently been reported among patients with HCV-related chronic hepatitis. Moreover, development of clinically overt coeliac disease has been described in a number of HCV-related chronic hepatitis patients during α-interferon therapy. This prospective study was designed to evaluate 1) the prevalence of coeliac disease in patients with HCV-related chronic hepatitis; 2) the prevalence of HCV infection in patients with coeliac disease; 3) whether PEG interferon-α treatment might favour the development of coeliac disease in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Two hundred-ten consecutive patients (M/F = 140/70, range of age 35-58 years, median age 46.5 years) with biopsy proven chronic hepatitis C underwent serological screening for antiendomysial and tissue transglutaminase IgA antibodies. One hundred ninety-four coeliac patients (M/F = 52/142, range of age 18-74 years, median age 34 years) were screened for HCV antibodies. Positivity for HCV antibodies in coeliac disease patients was confirmed by detection of serum HCV-RNA by RT-PCR. This work was carried out in accordance to ethical guidelines of Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by Institutional Ethics Committee of the Second University of Naples. All patients gave informed written consent. 1) none of the 210 HCV-related chronic hepatitis patients were positive for coeliac disease serologic screening; 2) prevalence of HCV infection among coeliac patients was 1.54% (3/194) which is comparable to that reported in the Southern Italy population; 3) PEG interferon-α treatment was not associated with development of coeliac disease either clinical or serological. 1) coeliac disease is not associated with HCV infection; 2) PEG interferon-α does not trigger celiac disease.

  8. IgG4 related sclerosing mastitis: expanding the morphological spectrum of IgG4 related diseases.

    PubMed

    Chougule, Abhijit; Bal, Amanjit; Das, Ashim; Singh, Gurpreet

    2015-01-01

    IgG4 related disease (IgG4RD) is a recently recognised condition characterised by mass forming lesions associated with storiform fibrosis, obliterative phlebitis, lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate rich in IgG4 positive plasma cells and elevated serum IgG4 levels. Although rare, mammary involvement has been reported as IgG4 related sclerosing mastitis, the morphological counterpart of a growing family of IgG4 related diseases. A total of 17 cases belonging to mass forming benign inflammatory breast lesions such as plasma cell mastitis, granulomatous lobular mastitis, non-specific mastitis and inflammatory pseudotumour were investigated as a possible member of IgG4 related sclerosing mastitis. Clinical, radiological, histopathological and immunohistochemistry findings were noted in all cases. Cases diagnosed as inflammatory pseudotumour showed all the histopathological features of IgG4RD along with increased number of IgG4 positive plasma cells and IgG4/IgG ratio >40%. However, only a few IgG4 positive cells were seen in plasma cell mastitis, granulomatous lobular mastitis and non-specific mastitis cases. These cases also did not fulfill the morphological criteria for the diagnosis of IgG4 related diseases. IgG4RD should be excluded in plasma cell rich lesions diagnosed on core biopsies by IgG4 immunostaining. This can avoid unnecessary surgery as IgG4 related diseases respond to simple and effective steroid treatment.

  9. Polyglutamine aggregation in Huntington and related diseases.

    PubMed

    Polling, Saskia; Hill, Andrew F; Hatters, Danny M

    2012-01-01

    Polyglutamine (polyQ)-expansions in different proteins cause nine neurodegenerative diseases. While polyQ aggregation is a key pathological hallmark of these diseases, how aggregation relates to pathogenesis remains contentious. In this chapter, we review what is known about the aggregation process and how cells respond and interact with the polyQ-expanded proteins. We cover detailed biophysical and structural studies to uncover the intrinsic features of polyQ aggregates and concomitant effects in the cellular environment. We also examine the functional consequences ofpolyQ aggregation and how cells may attempt to intervene and guide the aggregation process.

  10. Diabetes mellitus related bone metabolism and periodontal disease

    PubMed Central

    Wu, Ying-Ying; Xiao, E; Graves, Dana T

    2015-01-01

    Diabetes mellitus and periodontal disease are chronic diseases affecting a large number of populations worldwide. Changed bone metabolism is one of the important long-term complications associated with diabetes mellitus. Alveolar bone loss is one of the main outcomes of periodontitis, and diabetes is among the primary risk factors for periodontal disease. In this review, we summarise the adverse effects of diabetes on the periodontium in periodontitis subjects, focusing on alveolar bone loss. Bone remodelling begins with osteoclasts resorbing bone, followed by new bone formation by osteoblasts in the resorption lacunae. Therefore, we discuss the potential mechanism of diabetes-enhanced bone loss in relation to osteoblasts and osteoclasts. PMID:25857702

  11. Tooth-related risk factors for periodontal disease in community-dwelling elderly people.

    PubMed

    Hirotomi, Toshinobu; Yoshihara, Akihiro; Ogawa, Hiroshi; Miyazaki, Hideo

    2010-06-01

    While most previous epidemiological studies have focused on subject-level risk factors for periodontal destruction, tooth-related factors have not been fully explored. The purpose of this study was to evaluate both tooth-related and subject-related factors affecting periodontal disease progression using a two-level multilevel model. A longitudinal survey over a period of 10 years was carried out on 286 community-dwelling elderly subjects aged 70 years at baseline. Clinical attachment level (CAL) was measured at six sites per tooth on all teeth present and periodontal disease progression was defined as CAL> or =3 mm. Periodontal disease progression was found in 79% of the subjects and most frequently in maxillary molars. Multilevel logistic regressions revealed that subjects wearing removable dentures were significantly at risk for periodontal disease progression. Abutment teeth for removable/fixed dentures were also significantly more likely to suffer periodontal breakdown. Furthermore, the following tooth-related variables were found to be possible risk factors for periodontal disease progression: maxillary and multirooted teeth. Multirooted teeth and abutments for a fixed denture were possible risk factors for periodontal disease progression.

  12. Endocrine Disruptors Leading to Obesity and Related Diseases.

    PubMed

    Petrakis, Demetrios; Vassilopoulou, Loukia; Mamoulakis, Charalampos; Psycharakis, Christos; Anifantaki, Aliki; Sifakis, Stavros; Docea, Anca Oana; Tsiaoussis, John; Makrigiannakis, Antonios; Tsatsakis, Aristides M

    2017-10-24

    The review aims to comprehensively present the impact of exposure to endocrine disruptors (EDs) in relation to the clinical manifestation of obesity and related diseases, including diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, carcinogenesis and infertility. EDs are strong participants in the obesity epidemic scenery by interfering with cellular morphological and biochemical processes; by inducing inflammatory responses; and by presenting transcriptional and oncogenic activity. Obesity and lipotoxicity enhancement occur through reprogramming and/or remodeling of germline epigenome by exposure to EDs. Specific population groups are vulnerable to ED exposure due to current dietary and environmental conditions. Obesity, morbidity and carcinogenicity induced by ED exposure are an evolving reality. Therefore, a new collective strategic approach is deemed essential, for the reappraisal of current global conditions pertaining to energy management.

  13. Economic burden from smoking-related diseases in Thailand.

    PubMed

    Bundhamcharoen, Kanitta; Aungkulanon, Suchunya; Makka, Nuttapat; Shibuya, Kenji

    2016-09-01

    To assess economic burden attributable to smoking in Thailand in 2009. A prevalence-based, disease-specific cost of illness approach was used to estimate the direct medical costs, indirect medical costs, productivity loss due to premature deaths and absenteeism caused by smoking-related diseases. Direct healthcare costs were obtained from the inpatient and outpatient charge database at the National Health Security Office and the Central Office for Healthcare Information. Indirect healthcare costs were obtained from the Health and Welfare Survey. The household Socioeconomic Survey provided data on income of the population. Costs were estimated for 7 disease groups, namely, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease (CVD), upper aerodigestive tract cancer, other cancer, other respiratory diseases and other medical conditions. Smoking Attributable Fractions were derived from the 2009 Thai Burden of Disease study. Total economic burden of smoking amounted to 74.88 billion Thai Baht (THB) (95% CI 74.59 to 75.18) (US$2.18, 95% CI US$2.17 to US$2.19 billion). Of this, most of the burden resulted from productivity loss 62.24 billion THB (95% CI 62.05 to 62.44) (US$1.81, 95% CI US$1.81 to US$1.82 billion). Total medical cost was 12.64 billion THB (12.44 to 12.85) (US$0.37, 95% CI US$0.36 to US$0.37 billion). Excluding other medical conditions, the direct healthcare costs were highest for CVD, followed by COPD and other respiratory diseases, respectively. All together, the total cost of smoking accounted for 0.78% (95% CI 0.78% to 0.79%) of the national gross domestic product and about 18.19% (95% CI 18.12% to 18.27%) of total health expenditure. The total economic loss from smoking-related diseases highlights the significant loss to the society, health sector and the country's economy. Such information is crucial for informing national public health policy, particularly when a conflict arises between the economy and health. Published

  14. Travel and transplantation: travel-related diseases in transplant recipients.

    PubMed

    Kotton, Camille N

    2012-12-01

    Travel-related diseases may be seen in transplant recipients after travel, after transplant tourism, and via transmission from blood and organ donors, augmented by recent increases in travel, migration, and globalization. Such infections include tuberculosis, Plasmodium (malaria), Babesia, Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas disease), Strongyloides, Coccidioides, Histoplasma, Leishmania, Brucella, HTLV, dengue, among numerous others. Review of cohorts of transplant recipients show that they tend to have minimal or suboptimal preparation prior to travel, with limited pretravel vaccination, medications, and education, which poses a greatly increased risk of travel-related infections and complications. The epidemiology of such travel-related infections in transplant recipients, along with methods for prevention, including vaccines, chemoprophylaxis, and education may help SOT recipients avoid travel-related infections, and are discussed in this review. Optimizing the understanding of the risk of tropical, geographically restricted, and other unusual or unexpected, travel-related infections will enhance the safety of vulnerable transplant recipients from potentially life-threatening infections.

  15. Mechanisms and assessment of IgG4-related disease: lessons for the rheumatologist.

    PubMed

    Yamamoto, Motohisa; Takahashi, Hiroki; Shinomura, Yasuhisa

    2014-03-01

    Recognition of IgG4-related disease as an independent chronic inflammatory disorder is a relatively new concept; previously, the condition was thought to represent a subtype of Sjögren's syndrome. IgG4-related disease is characterized by elevated serum levels of IgG4 and inflammation of various organs, with abundant infiltration of IgG4-bearing plasma cells, storiform fibrosis and obliterative phlebitis representing the major histopathological features of the swollen organs. The aetiology and pathogenesis of this disorder remain unclear, but inflammation and subsequent fibrosis occur due to excess production of type 2 T-helper-cell and regulatory T-cell cytokines. The disease can comprise various organ manifestations, such as dacryoadenitis and sialadenitis (also called Mikulicz disease), type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis, kidney dysfunction and lung disease. Early intervention using glucocorticoids can improve IgG4-related organ dysfunction; however, patients often relapse when doses of these agents are tapered. The disease has also been associated with an increased incidence of certain malignancies. Increased awareness of IgG4-related disease might lead to consultation with rheumatologists owing to its clinical, and potentially pathogenetic, similarities with certain rheumatic disorders. With this in mind, we describe the pathogenic mechanisms of IgG4-related disease, and outline considerations for diagnosis and treatment of the condition.

  16. Patterns of coral disease across the Hawaiian Archipelago: Relating disease to environment

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Aeby, G.S.; Williams, G.J.; Franklin, E.C.; Kenyon, J.; Cox, E.F.; Coles, S.; Work, Thierry M.

    2011-01-01

    In Hawaii, coral reefs occur across a gradient of biological (host abundance), climatic (sea surface temperature anomalies) and anthropogenic conditions from the human-impacted reefs of the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) to the pristine reefs of the northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). Coral disease surveys were conducted at 142 sites from across the Archipelago and disease patterns examined. Twelve diseases were recorded from three coral genera (Porites, Montipora, Acropora) with Porites having the highest prevalence. Porites growth anomalies (PorGAs) were significantly more prevalent within and indicative of reefs in the MHI and Porites trematodiasis (PorTrm) was significantly more prevalent within and indicative of reefs in the NWHI. Porites tissue loss syndrome (PorTLS) was also important in driving regional differences but that relationship was less clear. These results highlight the importance of understanding disease ecology when interpreting patterns of disease occurrence. PorTrm is caused by a parasitic flatworm that utilizes multiple hosts during its life cycle (fish, mollusk and coral). All three hosts must be present for the disease to occur and higher host abundance leads to higher disease prevalence. Thus, a high prevalence of PorTrm on Hawaiian reefs would be an indicator of a healthy coral reef ecosystem. In contrast, the high occurrence of PorGAs within the MHI suggests that PorGAs are related, directly or indirectly, to some environmental co-factor associated with increased human population sizes. Focusing on the three indicator diseases (PorGAs, PorTrm, PorTLS) we used statistical modeling to examine the underlying associations between disease prevalence and 14 different predictor variables (biotic and abiotic). All three diseases showed positive associations with host abundance and negative associations with thermal stress. The association with human population density differed among disease states with PorGAs showing a positive and PorTrm showing

  17. Patterns of Coral Disease across the Hawaiian Archipelago: Relating Disease to Environment

    PubMed Central

    Aeby, Greta S.; Williams, Gareth J.; Franklin, Erik C.; Kenyon, Jean; Cox, Evelyn F.; Coles, Steve; Work, Thierry M.

    2011-01-01

    In Hawaii, coral reefs occur across a gradient of biological (host abundance), climatic (sea surface temperature anomalies) and anthropogenic conditions from the human-impacted reefs of the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) to the pristine reefs of the northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). Coral disease surveys were conducted at 142 sites from across the Archipelago and disease patterns examined. Twelve diseases were recorded from three coral genera (Porites, Montipora, Acropora) with Porites having the highest prevalence. Porites growth anomalies (PorGAs) were significantly more prevalent within and indicative of reefs in the MHI and Porites trematodiasis (PorTrm) was significantly more prevalent within and indicative of reefs in the NWHI. Porites tissue loss syndrome (PorTLS) was also important in driving regional differences but that relationship was less clear. These results highlight the importance of understanding disease ecology when interpreting patterns of disease occurrence. PorTrm is caused by a parasitic flatworm that utilizes multiple hosts during its life cycle (fish, mollusk and coral). All three hosts must be present for the disease to occur and higher host abundance leads to higher disease prevalence. Thus, a high prevalence of PorTrm on Hawaiian reefs would be an indicator of a healthy coral reef ecosystem. In contrast, the high occurrence of PorGAs within the MHI suggests that PorGAs are related, directly or indirectly, to some environmental co-factor associated with increased human population sizes. Focusing on the three indicator diseases (PorGAs, PorTrm, PorTLS) we used statistical modeling to examine the underlying associations between disease prevalence and 14 different predictor variables (biotic and abiotic). All three diseases showed positive associations with host abundance and negative associations with thermal stress. The association with human population density differed among disease states with PorGAs showing a positive and PorTrm showing

  18. A hybrid network-based method for the detection of disease-related genes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cui, Ying; Cai, Meng; Dai, Yang; Stanley, H. Eugene

    2018-02-01

    Detecting disease-related genes is crucial in disease diagnosis and drug design. The accepted view is that neighbors of a disease-causing gene in a molecular network tend to cause the same or similar diseases, and network-based methods have been recently developed to identify novel hereditary disease-genes in available biomedical networks. Despite the steady increase in the discovery of disease-associated genes, there is still a large fraction of disease genes that remains under the tip of the iceberg. In this paper we exploit the topological properties of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network to detect disease-related genes. We compute, analyze, and compare the topological properties of disease genes with non-disease genes in PPI networks. We also design an improved random forest classifier based on these network topological features, and a cross-validation test confirms that our method performs better than previous similar studies.

  19. Western forest diseases and climate relations: General considerations, dwarf mistletoe and stem rusts

    Treesearch

    B. W. Geils

    2008-01-01

    This is a preliminary, draft outline for organizing information on the relation of climate to western forest diseases. The question is how to assess the threat of these diseases under a regime of climate change. Although forest diseases are often important, assessment of disease-climate relations is a challenging problem due to the multiple values at risk and the...

  20. Long-term epidemiological observation of asbestos-related diseases in Poland, 1970-2015.

    PubMed

    Swiatkowska, B; Szeszenia-Dabrowska, N

    2017-04-01

    Occupational exposure to asbestos constitutes a major public health concern. Despite this in many countries, data and registration systems for occupational asbestos-related diseases are non-existent or poorly developed. To analyse the incidence of occupational asbestos-related diseases in Poland between the years 1970 and 2015, with particular emphasis on the periods after introduction of a ban on asbestos and following introduction of a surveillance programme. Analysis based on all medically recognized cases, certified as occupational diseases and reported obligatorily from all over the country to the Central Register of Occupational Diseases. During the period 1970-2015, 4983 cases were reported as asbestos-related diseases. The most prevalent were asbestosis, lung cancer, diseases of pleura or pericardium and mesothelioma. A considerable increase in the number of such cases from the beginning of their registration until 2004 occurred after introduction of the Amiantus programme, a nationwide programme of periodic medical examinations for former asbestos workers. Introduction of a medical surveillance programme improved case recognition and allowed a more reliable estimate of the number of reported asbestos-related diseases. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  1. Tay Sachs and Related Storage Diseases: Family Planning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schneiderman, Gerald; And Others

    1978-01-01

    Based on interviews with 24 families, the article discusses family planning and the choices available to those families in which a child has previously died from Tay-Sachs or related lipid storage diseases. (IM)

  2. Prioritizing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) candidate genes in COPD-related networks

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Yihua; Li, Wan; Feng, Yuyan; Guo, Shanshan; Zhao, Xilei; Wang, Yahui; He, Yuehan; He, Weiming; Chen, Lina

    2017-01-01

    Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a multi-factor disease, which could be caused by many factors, including disturbances of metabolism and protein-protein interactions (PPIs). In this paper, a weighted COPD-related metabolic network and a weighted COPD-related PPI network were constructed base on COPD disease genes and functional information. Candidate genes in these weighted COPD-related networks were prioritized by making use of a gene prioritization method, respectively. Literature review and functional enrichment analysis of the top 100 genes in these two networks suggested the correlation of COPD and these genes. The performance of our gene prioritization method was superior to that of ToppGene and ToppNet for genes from the COPD-related metabolic network or the COPD-related PPI network after assessing using leave-one-out cross-validation, literature validation and functional enrichment analysis. The top-ranked genes prioritized from COPD-related metabolic and PPI networks could promote the better understanding about the molecular mechanism of this disease from different perspectives. The top 100 genes in COPD-related metabolic network or COPD-related PPI network might be potential markers for the diagnosis and treatment of COPD. PMID:29262568

  3. Prioritizing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) candidate genes in COPD-related networks.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yihua; Li, Wan; Feng, Yuyan; Guo, Shanshan; Zhao, Xilei; Wang, Yahui; He, Yuehan; He, Weiming; Chen, Lina

    2017-11-28

    Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a multi-factor disease, which could be caused by many factors, including disturbances of metabolism and protein-protein interactions (PPIs). In this paper, a weighted COPD-related metabolic network and a weighted COPD-related PPI network were constructed base on COPD disease genes and functional information. Candidate genes in these weighted COPD-related networks were prioritized by making use of a gene prioritization method, respectively. Literature review and functional enrichment analysis of the top 100 genes in these two networks suggested the correlation of COPD and these genes. The performance of our gene prioritization method was superior to that of ToppGene and ToppNet for genes from the COPD-related metabolic network or the COPD-related PPI network after assessing using leave-one-out cross-validation, literature validation and functional enrichment analysis. The top-ranked genes prioritized from COPD-related metabolic and PPI networks could promote the better understanding about the molecular mechanism of this disease from different perspectives. The top 100 genes in COPD-related metabolic network or COPD-related PPI network might be potential markers for the diagnosis and treatment of COPD.

  4. Is there a sign of new physics in beryllium transitions?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fornal, Bartosz

    2017-01-01

    A 6.8 σ anomaly in the invariant mass distribution of e+e- pairs produced via internal pair creation in 8 Be nuclear transitions has been reported recently by Krasznahorkay et al. in Phys. Rev. Lett. 116 (2016) 042501. The data can be explained by a 17 MeV vector gauge boson X produced in the transition of an excited beryllium state to the ground state, 8Be* ->8 Be X , followed by the decay X ->e+e- . We find that the gauge boson X can be associated with a new ``protophobic'' fifth force (i.e.with a coupling to protons suppressed compared to its coupling to neutrons) with a characteristic range of 10 fm and milli-charged couplings to first generation quarks and electrons. We show that such a ``protophobic'' gauge boson is consistent with all available experimental constraints and we discuss several ways to embed this new particle into an anomaly-free extension of the Standard Model. One of the most appealing theories of this type is a model with gauged baryon number, in which the new gauge boson kinetically mixes with the photon, and provides a portal to the dark matter sector. Apart from the phenomenological richness of the model, it can also alleviate the current 3.6 σ discrepancy between the predicted and measured values of the muon's anomalous magnetic moment. B.F. acknowledges partial support from DOE Grant DE-SC0009919 and NSF Grant PHY-1316792.

  5. Integrated Approaches to Drug Discovery for Oxidative Stress-Related Retinal Diseases.

    PubMed

    Nishimura, Yuhei; Hara, Hideaki

    2016-01-01

    Excessive oxidative stress induces dysregulation of functional networks in the retina, resulting in retinal diseases such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. Although various therapies have been developed to reduce oxidative stress in retinal diseases, most have failed to show efficacy in clinical trials. This may be due to oversimplification of target selection for such a complex network as oxidative stress. Recent advances in high-throughput technologies have facilitated the collection of multilevel omics data, which has driven growth in public databases and in the development of bioinformatics tools. Integration of the knowledge gained from omics databases can be used to generate disease-related biological networks and to identify potential therapeutic targets within the networks. Here, we provide an overview of integrative approaches in the drug discovery process and provide simple examples of how the approaches can be exploited to identify oxidative stress-related targets for retinal diseases.

  6. Senescent Cells: A Novel Therapeutic Target for Aging and Age-Related Diseases

    PubMed Central

    Naylor, RM; Baker, DJ; van Deursen, JM

    2014-01-01

    Aging is the main risk factor for most chronic diseases, disabilities, and declining health. It has been proposed that senescent cells—damaged cells that have lost the ability to divide—drive the deterioration that underlies aging and age-related diseases. However, definitive evidence for this relationship has been lacking. The use of a progeroid mouse model (which expresses low amounts of the mitotic checkpoint protein BubR1) has been instrumental in demonstrating that p16Ink4a-positive senescent cells drive age-related pathologies and that selective elimination of these cells can prevent or delay age-related deterioration. These studies identify senescent cells as potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of aging and age-related diseases. Here, we describe how senescent cells develop, the experimental evidence that causally implicates senescent cells in age-related dysfunction, the chronic diseases and disorders that are characterized by the accumulation of senescent cells at sites of pathology, and the therapeutic approaches that could specifically target senescent cells. PMID:23212104

  7. [Developing Exercise-mimicking Drugs toward Realization of Preemptive Medicine for Lifestyle-related Diseases.

    PubMed

    Iwabu, Masato; Yamauchi, Toshimasa; Okada-Iwabu, Miki; Kadowaki, Takashi

    Modern society is characterized by an explosion of lifestyle-related diseases that have, as their basis, obesity due to lack of exercise, which include the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. While exercise is known to be a definitive preventive or therapeutic measure against these diseases, it is clear that contemporary lifestyles tend to make exercise rather difficult to continue. Thus, there are mounting expectations worldwide for exercise-mimicking drugs that activate exercise-mediated signaling pathways. Therefore, this review discusses the mechanisms through which the adiponectin receptor(AdipoR)likely mimics exercise as a key molecule in lifestyle-related diseases, as well as the prospects for emerging small-molecule AdipoR-activating compounds that contribute toward realization of preemptive medicine for lifestyle-related diseases.

  8. The psychosocial burden of human papillomavirus related disease and screening interventions.

    PubMed

    Pirotta, M; Ung, L; Stein, A; Conway, E L; Mast, T C; Fairley, C K; Garland, S

    2009-12-01

    (i) To assess the psychosocial burden of testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) related genital disease or of a HPV-related diagnosis; (ii) to compare an instrument specifically designed to measure HPV-related psychosocial burden with other generic quality of life (QoL) instruments. A cross-sectional design. Researchers recruited women from outpatient clinics at a major tertiary women's hospital and a sexual health centre who completed surveys within 3 months of receiving 331 women, 18-45 years, who had experienced a normal cervical Papanicolaou (Pap) result, an abnormal Pap result, biopsy confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or external genital warts (EGW). The HPV impact profile (HIP) designed to assess the psychosocial impact of HPV; two general health-related QoL surveys-the EuroQoL VAS and the Sheehan disability scale; and a HPV knowledge survey. Response rate was 78%. Significant psychosocial impacts were found for women screened for, or having a diagnosis of, HPV-related genital disease. The largest impact was in women with CIN 2/3 and EGW. This HPV-related psychosocial impact was most sensitively detected with the HIP. Relative to generic measures of QoL, the HIP provided insight into the full range of psychosocial impacts of HPV testing and diagnoses. Clinicians need to be aware of the potential psychosocial impact of testing for or diagnosing HPV-related genital disease, in particular CIN 2/3 and EGW. The HIP survey is a more sensitive measure of the psychosocial impact of HPV-related genital disease than generic QoL surveys.

  9. SAP: structure, function, and its roles in immune-related diseases.

    PubMed

    Xi, Dan; Luo, TianTian; Xiong, Haowei; Liu, Jichen; Lu, Hao; Li, Menghao; Hou, Yuqing; Guo, Zhigang

    2015-01-01

    Serum amyloid P component (SAP), also known as pentraxin-2, is a member of the pentraxin protein family with an established relationship to the immune response. In the last century, SAP has been used as a diagnostic marker in amyloidosis diagnosis and patient follow-up. SAP has been thought to have potential for treating and curing amyloidosis and fibrosis diseases. More recently, it has been shown that SAP may serve as both a diagnostic marker and a therapeutic target for many immune-related diseases, such as cardiovascular, pulmonary, nephritic, neurological and autoimmune diseases. In the cardiovascular system, SAP has been defined as the culprit in amyloidosis in the heart. SAP may also exert a protective role during the early stage of atherosclerosis and myocardial fibrosis. In noncardiovascular system diseases, SAP is being developed for the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. In this review, we summarize SAP history, structure, and its roles in immune-related diseases in different systems with emphasis on the cardiovascular system. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Obesity-hypertension and its relation to other diseases in dogs.

    PubMed

    Pérez-Sánchez, Alicia Pamela; Del-Angel-Caraza, Javier; Quijano-Hernández, Israel Alejandro; Barbosa-Mireles, Marco Antonio

    2015-03-01

    Obesity is a chronic disease in which adipose tissue accumulates in such a way that it affects the health of the patient and is associated with a myriad of alterations such as systemic hypertension (HTN). The mechanisms by which obesity causes HTN are complex and involve several organic mechanisms. The objective of this study was to determine the correlation between obesity to HTN in dogs in accordance with recent international protocols (systolic blood pressure >160 mmHg) relating to age, genre, gonadal status, breed and other diseases commonly associated with HTN. A total of 244 dogs were studied, 105 non-obese controls and 139 in the obese group. For both groups, healthy and a variety of diseased dogs were observed; the correlations between pathologies and obesity were studied, paying special attention to diseases whose pathophysiologies could lead to HTN. We conclude that obesity is not a risk factor for dogs to develop HTN, and that HTN present in these patients was related to comorbidities such as chronic kidney disease, cardiopathies and endocrinopathies.

  11. DRUMS: a human disease related unique gene mutation search engine.

    PubMed

    Li, Zuofeng; Liu, Xingnan; Wen, Jingran; Xu, Ye; Zhao, Xin; Li, Xuan; Liu, Lei; Zhang, Xiaoyan

    2011-10-01

    With the completion of the human genome project and the development of new methods for gene variant detection, the integration of mutation data and its phenotypic consequences has become more important than ever. Among all available resources, locus-specific databases (LSDBs) curate one or more specific genes' mutation data along with high-quality phenotypes. Although some genotype-phenotype data from LSDB have been integrated into central databases little effort has been made to integrate all these data by a search engine approach. In this work, we have developed disease related unique gene mutation search engine (DRUMS), a search engine for human disease related unique gene mutation as a convenient tool for biologists or physicians to retrieve gene variant and related phenotype information. Gene variant and phenotype information were stored in a gene-centred relational database. Moreover, the relationships between mutations and diseases were indexed by the uniform resource identifier from LSDB, or another central database. By querying DRUMS, users can access the most popular mutation databases under one interface. DRUMS could be treated as a domain specific search engine. By using web crawling, indexing, and searching technologies, it provides a competitively efficient interface for searching and retrieving mutation data and their relationships to diseases. The present system is freely accessible at http://www.scbit.org/glif/new/drums/index.html. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  12. Allergy-related diseases and recurrent abdominal pain during childhood - a birth cohort study.

    PubMed

    Olén, O; Neuman, Å; Koopmann, B; Ludvigsson, J F; Ballardini, N; Westman, M; Melén, E; Kull, I; Simrén, M; Bergström, A

    2014-12-01

    Allergy and immune dysregulation may have a role in the pathophysiology of recurrent abdominal pain of functional origin, but previous studies of allergy-related diseases and abdominal pain have contradictory results. To examine the association between allergy-related diseases or sensitisation during childhood and abdominal pain at age 12 years. In this birth cohort study of 4089 children, parents answered questionnaires regarding asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema and food hypersensitivity ('allergy-related diseases') at ages 0,1,2,4,8 and 12 years. Blood for analyses of allergen-specific IgE was sampled at 4 and 8 years. At 12 years, the children answered questions regarding abdominal pain. Children with coeliac disease or inflammatory bowel disease were excluded. Associations were examined using multivariable logistic regression. Among 2610 children with complete follow-up, 9% (n = 237) reported abdominal pain at 12 years. All allergy-related diseases were associated with concurrent abdominal pain at 12 years and the risk increased with increasing number of allergy-related diseases (P for trend <0.001). Asthma at 1 and 2 years and food hypersensitivity at 8 years were significantly associated with abdominal pain at 12 years. There was an increased risk of abdominal pain at 12 years in children sensitised to food allergens at 4 or 8 years, but in stratified analyses, this was confined to children whose parents had not reported food hypersensitivity at time of sensitisation. Allergy-related diseases as well as sensitisation to food allergens were associated with an elevated risk of abdominal pain, and the risk increased with the number of allergy-related diseases. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. The Oslo definitions for coeliac disease and related terms

    PubMed Central

    Ludvigsson, Jonas F; Leffler, Daniel A; Bai, Julio; Biagi, Federico; Fasano, Alessio; Green, Peter HR; Hadjivassiliou, Marios; Kaukinen, Katri; Kelly, Ciaran; Leonard, Jonathan N; Lundin, Knut E; Murray, Joseph A; Sanders, David S; Walker, Marjorie M; Zingone, Fabiana; Ciacci, Carolina

    2012-01-01

    Background The literature suggests a lack of consensus on the use of terms related to coeliac disease (CD) and gluten. Methods A multi-disciplinary task force of 16 physicians from 7 countries used the electronic database PubMed to review the literature with regards to CD-related terms up to January 2011. Teams of physicians then suggested a definition for each term, followed by feedback of these definitions through a web survey on definitions, discussions during a meeting in Oslo, and phone conferences. We evaluated the following terms (in alphabetical order): Coeliac disease and the following descriptors of CD: asymptomatic, atypical, classical, latent, non-classical, overt, paediatric classical, potential, refractory, silent, subclinical, symptomatic, typical, CD serology, CD autoimmunity, genetically at risk of CD, dermatitis herpetiformis, gluten, gluten ataxia, gluten intolerance, gluten sensitivity, and gliadin-specific antibodies. Results CD was defined as “a chronic small intestinal immune-mediated enteropathy precipitated by exposure to dietary gluten in genetically predisposed individuals”. Classical CD was defined as “CD presenting with signs and symptoms of malabsorption. Diarrhoea, steatorrhoea, weight loss or growth failure is required.” We suggest that “gluten-related disorders” is the umbrella term for all diseases triggered by gluten and that the term gluten intolerance is not to be used. Other definitions are presented in the paper. Conclusion This paper presents the Oslo definitions for CD-related terms. PMID:22345659

  14. Cognitive functions in Parkinson's disease: relation to disease severity and hallucination.

    PubMed

    Wakamori, Takaaki; Agari, Takashi; Yasuhara, Takao; Kameda, Masahiro; Kondo, Akihiko; Shinko, Aiko; Sasada, Susumu; Sasaki, Tatsuya; Furuta, Tomohisa; Date, Isao

    2014-04-01

    We wished to relate severity of Parkinson's disease (PD) with cognitive function in relation to cerebral blood flow (CBF). Eighty-one consecutive PD patients were enrolled in this study. We used Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third edition (WAIS-III) to evaluate cognitive functions, and three-dimensional stereotactic ROI template (3DSRT) and Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) 8 to evaluate single photon emission CT (SPECT) recordings of regional CBF. The mean MMSE score of PD patients was 27.4 ± 2.4. The scores of most patients were higher than 23/30. On the other hand, the mean Full-scale IQ of PD patients was 88.4 ± 17.3 in WAIS-III, which was lower than that of normal controls. In particular, visuospatial function score of most patients was lower. There was significant correlation between cognitive scores and Hoehn & Yahr stage and hallucinatory episodes. PD Patients with stage III and IV showed significant deterioration in cognitive functions compared to stage II patients. Analysis of CBF revealed relative reductions in perfusion in the cerebral cortex relative to that in normal control. SPM 8 showed that cognitive functions in PD patients were positively correlated with rCBF in the thalamus and cingulate gyrus. This is the study to demonstrate the cognitive impairments in PD patients using WAIS-III. Visuospatial dysfunction might be caused by decrease in rCBF in the parietal and occipital lobes and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The severity of cognitive impairments in PD patients was correlated with disease severity and hallucinatory episodes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Effect of genomics-related literacy on non-communicable diseases.

    PubMed

    Nakamura, Sho; Narimatsu, Hiroto; Katayama, Kayoko; Sho, Ri; Yoshioka, Takashi; Fukao, Akira; Kayama, Takamasa

    2017-09-01

    Recent progress in genomic research has raised expectations for the development of personalized preventive medicine, although genomics-related literacy of patients will be essential. Thus, enhancing genomics-related literacy is crucial, particularly for individuals with low genomics-related literacy because they might otherwise miss the opportunity to receive personalized preventive care. This should be especially emphasized when a lack of genomics-related literacy is associated with elevated disease risk, because patients could therefore be deprived of the added benefits of preventive interventions; however, whether such an association exists is unclear. Association between genomics-related literacy, calculated as the genomics literacy score (GLS), and the prevalence of non-communicable diseases was assessed using propensity score matching on 4646 participants (males: 1891; 40.7%). Notably, the low-GLS group (score below median) presented a higher risk of hypertension (relative risk (RR) 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-1.16) and obesity (RR 1.11, 95% CI 1.01-1.22) than the high-GLS group. Our results suggest that a low level of genomics-related literacy could represent a risk factor for hypertension and obesity. Evaluating genomics-related literacy could be used to identify a more appropriate population for health and educational interventions.

  16. Integrated Approaches to Drug Discovery for Oxidative Stress-Related Retinal Diseases

    PubMed Central

    Hara, Hideaki

    2016-01-01

    Excessive oxidative stress induces dysregulation of functional networks in the retina, resulting in retinal diseases such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. Although various therapies have been developed to reduce oxidative stress in retinal diseases, most have failed to show efficacy in clinical trials. This may be due to oversimplification of target selection for such a complex network as oxidative stress. Recent advances in high-throughput technologies have facilitated the collection of multilevel omics data, which has driven growth in public databases and in the development of bioinformatics tools. Integration of the knowledge gained from omics databases can be used to generate disease-related biological networks and to identify potential therapeutic targets within the networks. Here, we provide an overview of integrative approaches in the drug discovery process and provide simple examples of how the approaches can be exploited to identify oxidative stress-related targets for retinal diseases. PMID:28053689

  17. Electron impact ionization cross sections of beryllium-tungsten clusters*

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sukuba, Ivan; Kaiser, Alexander; Huber, Stefan E.; Urban, Jan; Probst, Michael

    2016-01-01

    We report calculated electron impact ionization cross sections (EICSs) of beryllium-tungsten clusters, BenW with n = 1,...,12, from the ionization threshold to 10 keV using the Deutsch-Märk (DM) and the binary-encounter-Bethe (BEB) formalisms. The positions of the maxima of DM and BEB cross sections are mostly close to each other. The DM cross sections are more sensitive with respect to the cluster size. For the clusters smaller than Be4W they yield smaller cross sections than BEB and vice versa larger cross sections than BEB for clusters larger than Be6W. The maximum cross section values for the singlet-spin groundstate clusters range from 7.0 × 10-16 cm2 at 28 eV (BeW) to 54.2 × 10-16 cm2 at 43 eV (Be12W) for the DM cross sections and from 13.5 × 10-16 cm2 at 43 eV (BeW) to 38.9 × 10-16 cm2 at 43 eV (Be12W) for the BEB cross sections. Differences of the EICSs in different isomers and between singlet and triplet states are also explored. Both the DM and BEB cross sections could be fitted perfectly to a simple expression used in modeling and simulation codes in the framework of nuclear fusion research. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Atomic Cluster Collisions (7th International Symposium)", edited by Gerardo Delgado Barrio, Andrey Solov'Yov, Pablo Villarreal, Rita Prosmiti.Supplementary material in the form of one pdf file available from the Journal web page at http://dx.doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2015-60583-7

  18. [Epidemiology of FGF23-related hypophosophatemic diseases].

    PubMed

    Endo, Itsuro

    2016-02-01

    Through the studies of patients with hypophosphatemic rickets/osteomalacia, fibroblast growth factor 23(FGF23)has emerged as a humoral factor that reduces serum phosphate. Discovery of FGF23 as an essential regulator of phosphate homeostasis has markedly improved our understanding of phosphate homeostasis and hypophosphatemic or hyperphosphatemic disorders. A nationwide epidemiologic survey of FGF23-related hypophosphatemic diseases indicated that the patients showed FGF23 levels of above 30 pg/mL by intact assay in the presence of hypophosphatemia. The survey also showed that prevalence and biochemical data before and after treatment of the diseases. Novel therapeutic methods for these disorders may be developed by elucidation of the mechanism of action of FGF23.

  19. Are Lung Disease and Function Related to Age-related Macular Degeneration?

    PubMed Central

    Moorthy, Sonia; Cheung, Ning; Klein, Ronald; Shahar, E; Wong, Tien Y

    2010-01-01

    Purpose To describe the relationship of lung disease and function with early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a population-based study. Design A population-based, cross-sectional study of 12,596 middle-aged participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Methods Lung function was assessed by spirometry. Physician diagnosis of asthma and lung disease was ascertained from a standardized questionnaire. AMD signs were graded from fundus photographs according to the Wisconsin grading protocol. Results Of our study population, 587 (4.7%) had early AMD, 638 (5.1%) had asthma and 581 (4.6%) had lung disease. After adjusting for age, gender, smoking and hypertension, each litre increase in predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) (odds ratio [OR]: 1.27; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.89, 1.80), forced vital capacity (FVC) (OR 1.18; 95% CI: 0.93, 1.51) and peak expiratory flow rate (OR 1.12; 95% CI: 0.95, 1.33) were not significantly associated with early AMD. FEV1/FVC ratio (second quartile OR 1.61; 95%CI 0.88–2.93, third quartile OR 1.65; CI 0.90–3.03, fourth quartile OR 1.28; 95%CI 0.68–2.40) was not significantly associated with early AMD. Similarly, asthma (OR 1.06; 95% CI: 0.86, 1.27) and other lung diseases (OR 1.08; 95% CI: 0.90, 1.29) were not associated with early AMD. Conclusion Our data do not support a cross-sectional association between lung disease and risk of early AMD. PMID:21168814

  20. Comparison of mechanical properties for several electrical spring contact alloys. [Beryllium-nickel alloy 440 (Ni--1. 95 Be--0. 5 Ti); comparison with Neyoro G and Paliney 7

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nordstrom, T.V.

    Purpose was to determine whether beryllium--nickel alloy 440 (Ni-1.95 Be-0.5 Ti) had mechanical properties which made it suitable as a substitute for the presently used precious metal contact alloys Paliney 7 and Neyoro G, in certain electrical contact applications. Possible areas of applicability for the alloy were where extremely low contact resistance was not necessary or in components encountering elevated temperatures above those presently seen in weapons applications. Evaluation of the alloy involved three major experimental areas: (1) measurement of the room temperature microplastic (epsilon approximately 10/sup -6/) and macroplastic (epsilon approximately 10/sup -3/) behavior of alloy 440 in variousmore » age hardening conditions, (2) determination of applied stress effects on stress relaxation or contact force loss, and (3) measurement of elevated temperature mechanical properties and stress relaxation behavior. Similar measurements were also made on Neyoro G and Paliney 7 for comparison. Results show that beryllium-nickel alloy 440 is equal or superior to the presently used Paliney 7 and Neyoro G for normal Sandia requirements. For elevated temperature applications, alloy 440 has clearly superior mechanical properties. 12 fig.« less

  1. Patient Factors Influencing Respiratory-Related Clinician Actions in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Screening.

    PubMed

    Wadland, William C; Zubek, Valentina Bayer; Clerisme-Beaty, Emmanuelle M; Ríos-Bedoya, Carlos F; Yawn, Barbara P

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify patient-related factors that may explain the increased likelihood of receiving a respiratory-related clinician action in patients identified to be at risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a U.S.-based pragmatic study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease screening. This post hoc analysis (conducted in 2014-2015) of the Screening, Evaluating and Assessing Rate Changes of Diagnosing Respiratory Conditions in Primary Care 1 (SEARCH1) study (conducted in 2010-2011), used the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Population Screener questionnaire in 112 primary care practices. Anyone with a previous chronic obstructive pulmonary disease diagnosis was excluded. Multivariate logistic regression modeling was used to assess patient factors associated with the likelihood of receiving an respiratory-related clinician action following positive screening. Overall, 994 of 6,497 (15%) screened positive and were considered at risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, only 187 of the 994 patients (19%) who screened positive received a respiratory-related clinician action. The chances of receiving a respiratory-related clinician action were significantly increased in patients who visited their physician with a respiratory issue (p<0.05) or had already been prescribed a respiratory medication (p<0.05). Most (81%) patients who screened positive or had a respiratory-related clinician action had one or more comorbidity, including cardiovascular disease (68%), diabetes (30%), depression/anxiety (26%), asthma (11%), and cancer (9%). Routine chronic obstructive pulmonary disease screening appears to promote respiratory-related clinician actions in patients with a high likelihood for disease who have respiratory complaints or already use prescribed respiratory medication. Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Effects of Vegetables on Cardiovascular Diseases and Related Mechanisms

    PubMed Central

    Tang, Guo-Yi; Meng, Xiao; Li, Ya; Zhao, Cai-Ning; Liu, Qing

    2017-01-01

    Epidemiological studies have shown that vegetable consumption is inversely related to the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, research has indicated that many vegetables like potatoes, soybeans, sesame, tomatoes, dioscorea, onions, celery, broccoli, lettuce and asparagus showed great potential in preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases, and vitamins, essential elements, dietary fibers, botanic proteins and phytochemicals were bioactive components. The cardioprotective effects of vegetables might involve antioxidation; anti-inflammation; anti-platelet; regulating blood pressure, blood glucose, and lipid profile; attenuating myocardial damage; and modulating relevant enzyme activities, gene expression, and signaling pathways as well as some other biomarkers associated to cardiovascular diseases. In addition, several vegetables and their bioactive components have been proven to protect against cardiovascular diseases in clinical trials. In this review, we analyze and summarize the effects of vegetables on cardiovascular diseases based on epidemiological studies, experimental research, and clinical trials, which are significant to the application of vegetables in prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. PMID:28796173

  3. History of asbestos related disease

    PubMed Central

    Bartrip, P

    2004-01-01

    The first medical article on the hazards of asbestos dust appeared in the British Medical Journal in 1924. Following inquiries by Edward Merewether and Charles Price, the British government introduced regulations to control dangerous dust emissions in UK asbestos factories. Until the 1960s these appeared to have addressed the problem effectively. Only then, with the discoveries that mesothelioma was an asbestos related disease and that workers other than those employed in the dustiest parts of asbestos factories were at risk, were the nature and scale of the hazard reassessed. In Britain, America, and elsewhere new and increasingly strict regulations were enacted. PMID:14970292

  4. [Disease perception in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration].

    PubMed

    Kostadinov, F; Valmaggia, C

    2015-04-01

    The disease perception of the patients treated with intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor due to wet age-related macular degeneration was investigated. 177 questionnaires focusing on the development of the perceived visual acuity and the quality of life were evaluated. The subgroup 1 included 125 patients (70.6%) with a unilateral wet age-related macular degeneration. The subgroup 2 included 52 patients (29.4%) with a bilateral wet age-related macular degeneration. Patients would almost always recommend the therapy to a friend (97.2%). The critical remarks are related to the uncertain course of the disease (22.8%) and the uncertain duration of the treatment (19%). There was a discrepancy between the measured visual outcome and the perceived one in 5.6% in the subgroup 1, and in 38.5% in the subgroup 2. This difference was statistically significant (chi-square test with p<0.01). The treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration with intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor is judged positively. Binocular affected patients have a higher disease perception and therefore a poorer self-assessment of their visual acuity and their quality of life compared with monocular affected patients. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  5. Deregulation of CRTCs in Aging and Age-related Disease Risk

    PubMed Central

    Escoubas, Caroline C.; Silva-García, Carlos G.; Mair, William B.

    2017-01-01

    Advances in public health in the last century have seen a sharp increase in human life expectancy. With these changes have come increased incidence of age-related pathologies and health burdens in the elderly. Patient age is the biggest risk factor for multiple chronic conditions that often occur simultaneously within one individual. An alternative to disease centric therapeutic approaches is that of ‘geroscience’, which aims to define molecular mechanisms that link age to overall disease risk. One such mechanism is deregulation of CREB-regulated transcriptional coactivators, CRTCs. Initially identified for their role in modulating CREB transcription, the last five years has seen an expansion in knowledge of new cellular regulators and roles of CRTCs beyond CREB. CRTCs have been shown to modulate organismal aging in C. elegans and to impact age-related diseases in humans. Here, we discuss CRTC deregulation as a new driver of aging, and integrating link between age and disease risk. PMID:28365140

  6. Themes in the literature related to cardiovascular disease risk reduction.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Shannon Munro; Kataoka-Yahiro, Merle

    2009-01-01

    This article aimed to identify themes in the literature related to patient-healthcare provider beliefs, barriers to adherence, and interventions pertaining to cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Twenty quantitative and qualitative primary research studies including 2 meta-analyses published between 1995 and 2008 were analyzed for themes and practice implications to synthesize existing research on cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Databases searched included EBSCO, CINAHL, MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, HealthSource, and PsychLit using the search terms patient- provider adherence, adherence and shared decision making, adherence and decision support, patient- provider goal setting, and cardiovascular disease risk reduction. The emergent themes found in this literature review included (1) complex medication regimens; (2) risk perception, quality of life, and competing priorities; (3) motivation for change; (4) provider clinical inertia; and (5) goal setting, feedback, and reminders. Studies reporting the highest rates of adherence to cardiovascular disease risk reduction recommendations incorporated patient-provider goal setting and decision support, self-management techniques, and personalized printed communication. Goal setting in cardiovascular disease risk reduction is a relatively unexplored area and is an important component of shared decision making and adherence to cardiovascular disease health recommendations. The following review will address the 5 themes identified in more detail and provide a basis for improved clinical practice.

  7. Treatment- and Disease-Related Complications of Prostate Cancer

    PubMed Central

    Simoneau, Anne R

    2006-01-01

    One of the highlights of the 16th International Prostate Cancer Update was a session on treatment- and disease-related complications of prostate disease. It began with presentation of a challenging case of rising prostate-specific antigen levels after radical prostatectomy, followed by an overview of the use of zoledronic acid in prostate cancer, a review of side effects of complementary medicines, an overview of complications of cryotherapy, an assessment of complications of brachytherapy and external beam radiation therapy, and a comparison of laparoscopy versus open prostatectomy. PMID:17021643

  8. A parametric study of helium retention in beryllium and its effect on deuterium retention

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alegre, D.; Baldwin, M. J.; Simmonds, M.; Nishijima, D.; Hollmann, E. M.; Brezinsek, S.; Doerner, R. P.

    2017-12-01

    Beryllium samples have been exposed in the PISCES-B linear plasma device to conditions relevant to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in pure He, D, and D/He mixed plasmas. Except at intermediate sample exposure temperatures (573-673 K) He addition to a D plasma is found to have a beneficial effect as it reduces the D retention in Be (up to ˜55%), although the mechanism is unclear. Retention of He is typically around 1020-1021 He m-2, and is affected primarily by the Be surface temperature during exposition, by the ion fluence at <500 K exposure, but not by the ion impact energy at 573 K. Contamination of the Be surface with high-Z elements from the mask of the sample holder in pure He plasmas is also observed under certain conditions, and leads to unexpectedly large He retention values, as well as changes in the surface morphology. An estimation of the tritium retention in the Be first wall of ITER is provided, being sufficiently low to allow a safe operation of ITER.

  9. Estimates of RF-induced erosion at antenna-connected beryllium plasma-facing components in JET

    DOE PAGES

    Klepper, C. C.; Borodin, D.; Groth, M.; ...

    2016-01-18

    Radio-frequency (RF)-enhanced surface erosion of beryllium (Be) plasma-facing components is explored, for the first time, using the ERO code. We applied the code in order to measure the RF-enhanced edge Be line emission at JET Be outboard limiters, in the presence of high-power, ion cyclotronresonance heating (ICRH) in L-mode discharges. In this first modelling study, the RF sheath effect from an ICRH antenna on a magnetically connected, limiter region is simulated by adding a constant potential to the local sheath, in an attempt to match measured increases in local Be I and Be II emission of factors of 2 3.more » It was found that such increases are readily simulated with added potentials in the range of 100 200 V, which is compatible with expected values for potentials arising from rectification of sheath voltage oscillations from ICRH antennas in the scrape-off layer plasma. We also estimated absolute erosion values within the uncertainties in local plasma conditions.« less

  10. Extreme decay of meteoric beryllium-10 as a proxy for persistent aridity.

    PubMed

    Valletta, Rachel D; Willenbring, Jane K; Lewis, Adam R; Ashworth, Allan C; Caffee, Marc

    2015-12-09

    The modern Antarctic Dry Valleys are locked in a hyper-arid, polar climate that enables the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) to remain stable, frozen to underlying bedrock. The duration of these dry, cold conditions is a critical prerequisite when modeling the long-term mass balance of the EAIS during past warm climates and is best examined using terrestrial paleoclimatic proxies. Unfortunately, deposits containing such proxies are extremely rare and often difficult to date. Here, we apply a unique dating approach to tundra deposits using concentrations of meteoric beryllium-10 ((10)Be) adhered to paleolake sediments from the Friis Hills, central Dry Valleys. We show that lake sediments were emplaced between 14-17.5 My and have remained untouched by meteoric waters since that time. Our results support the notion that the onset of Dry Valleys aridification occurred ~14 My, precluding the possibility of EAIS collapse during Pliocene warming events. Lake fossils indicate that >14 My ago the Dry Valleys hosted a moist tundra that flourished in elevated atmospheric CO2 (>400 ppm). Thus, Dry Valleys tundra deposits record regional climatic transitions that affect EAIS mass balance, and, in a global paleoclimatic context, these deposits demonstrate how warming induced by 400 ppm CO2 manifests at high latitudes.

  11. Extreme decay of meteoric beryllium-10 as a proxy for persistent aridity

    PubMed Central

    Valletta, Rachel D.; Willenbring, Jane K.; Lewis, Adam R.; Ashworth, Allan C.; Caffee, Marc

    2015-01-01

    The modern Antarctic Dry Valleys are locked in a hyper-arid, polar climate that enables the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) to remain stable, frozen to underlying bedrock. The duration of these dry, cold conditions is a critical prerequisite when modeling the long-term mass balance of the EAIS during past warm climates and is best examined using terrestrial paleoclimatic proxies. Unfortunately, deposits containing such proxies are extremely rare and often difficult to date. Here, we apply a unique dating approach to tundra deposits using concentrations of meteoric beryllium-10 (10Be) adhered to paleolake sediments from the Friis Hills, central Dry Valleys. We show that lake sediments were emplaced between 14–17.5 My and have remained untouched by meteoric waters since that time. Our results support the notion that the onset of Dry Valleys aridification occurred ~14 My, precluding the possibility of EAIS collapse during Pliocene warming events. Lake fossils indicate that >14 My ago the Dry Valleys hosted a moist tundra that flourished in elevated atmospheric CO2 (>400 ppm). Thus, Dry Valleys tundra deposits record regional climatic transitions that affect EAIS mass balance, and, in a global paleoclimatic context, these deposits demonstrate how warming induced by 400 ppm CO2 manifests at high latitudes. PMID:26647733

  12. The impact of human immunodeficiency virus-related diseases on pigmented skin types.

    PubMed

    Ameen, M

    2013-10-01

    Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a significant problem globally. Early diagnosis and treatment with antiretroviral drugs has considerably improved health outcomes and decreased disease-related morbidity. HIV infection is associated with a wide range of skin disorders enabling dermatologists to diagnose HIV as well as associated opportunistic infections early in the course of disease. Despite concerted efforts by international health organizations to limit disease incidence, the prevalence of HIV infection remains high and is highest in sub-Saharan Africa. The diagnosis of HIV-related skin diseases is challenging as immunosuppression often results in atypical disease presentation. In addition, the clinical presentation will vary in pigmented skin types. The aim of this article is to describe disease variation in pigmented skin types. © 2013 The Author BJD © 2013 British Association of Dermatologists.

  13. Physical activity and telomere biology: exploring the link with aging-related disease prevention.

    PubMed

    Ludlow, Andrew T; Roth, Stephen M

    2011-02-21

    Physical activity is associated with reduced risk of several age-related diseases as well as with increased longevity in both rodents and humans. Though these associations are well established, evidence of the molecular and cellular factors associated with reduced disease risk and increased longevity resulting from physical activity is sparse. A long-standing hypothesis of aging is the telomere hypothesis: as a cell divides, telomeres shorten resulting eventually in replicative senescence and an aged phenotype. Several reports have recently associated telomeres and telomere-related proteins to diseases associated with physical inactivity and aging including cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and hypertension. Interestingly several reports have also shown that longer telomeres are associated with higher physical activity levels, indicating a potential mechanistic link between physical activity, reduced age-related disease risk, and longevity. The primary purpose of this review is to discuss the potential importance of physical activity in telomere biology in the context of inactivity- and age-related diseases. A secondary purpose is to explore potential mechanisms and important avenues for future research in the field of telomeres and diseases associated with physical inactivity and aging.

  14. Relativistic Many-Body Calculations of n=2 States for the Beryllium Isoelectronic Sequence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Safronova, M. S.; Johnson, W. R.; Safronova, U. I.

    1996-05-01

    Energies of the ten (2l2l') states of ions of the beryllium isoelectronic sequence are determined to second-order in relativistic many-body perturbation theory. Both the second-order Coulomb interaction and the second-order Breit-Coulomb interaction are included. Corrections for the frequency-dependent Breit interaction are taken in account in lowest order only. The effect of the Lamb shift is also estimated and included. Comparisons with other calculations and with experiment are made. Our theoretical results for the 2s-2p_3/2 transitions in U^88+ and Th^86+ (4501.60 eV and 4069.02 eV, resp.) differ only by 0.12 eV for U^88+ and 0.55 eV for Th^86+ from experimental data obtained at the SUPER-EBIT in LLNL.(P. Beiersdorfer, D. Knapp, R.E. Marrs, S.R. Elliot and M.H. Chen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 71), 3939 (1993); P. Beiersdorfer, A. Osterheld, S.R. Elliot, M.H. Chen, D. Knapp, and K. Reed, Phys. Rev. A52, 2693 (1995). Excellent agreement with experimental results for the splitting of ^3 P terms is found.

  15. [The cost of tobacco-related diseases for Brazil's Unified National Health System].

    PubMed

    Pinto, Márcia; Ugá, Maria Alicia Domínguez

    2010-06-01

    This study aimed to identify the direct costs of hospitalizations due to three smoking-related groups of diseases - cancer and circulatory and respiratory diseases - in Brazil's Unified National Health System (SUS) in 2005. For cancer, the cost of chemotherapy was also included. The study derived cost estimates using administrative databases, relative risks, smoking prevalence, and smoking-attributable fraction. According to the estimates, smoking- attributable medical expenditures for the three disease groups amounted to R$338,692,516.02 (approximately U$185 million), accounting for 27.6% of total medical expenditures. Considering all hospitalizations and chemotherapy provided by the National Health System, tobacco-related diseases accounted for 7.7% of total medical expenditures. These costs also represented 0.9% of expenditures by federally funded public health services. This study provides a conservative estimate of smoking-related costs and suggests the need for continued research on comprehensive approaches to measure the total burden of smoking for society.

  16. Olfaction in Parkinson's disease and related disorders.

    PubMed

    Doty, Richard L

    2012-06-01

    Olfactory dysfunction is an early 'pre-clinical' sign of Parkinson's disease (PD). The present review is a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of such dysfunction in PD and related disorders. The olfactory bulb is implicated in the dysfunction, since only those syndromes with olfactory bulb pathology exhibit significant smell loss. The role of dopamine in the production of olfactory system pathology is enigmatic, as overexpression of dopaminergic cells within the bulb's glomerular layer is a common feature of PD and most animal models of PD. Damage to cholinergic, serotonergic, and noradrenergic systems is likely involved, since such damage is most marked in those diseases with the most smell loss. When compromised, these systems, which regulate microglial activity, can influence the induction of localized brain inflammation, oxidative damage, and cytosolic disruption of cellular processes. In monogenetic forms of PD, olfactory dysfunction is rarely observed in asymptomatic gene carriers, but is present in many of those that exhibit the motor phenotype. This suggests that such gene-related influences on olfaction, when present, take time to develop and depend upon additional factors, such as those from aging, other genes, formation of α-synuclein- and tau-related pathology, or lowered thresholds to oxidative stress from toxic insults. The limited data available suggest that the physiological determinants of the early changes in PD-related olfactory function are likely multifactorial and may include the same determinants as those responsible for a number of other non-motor symptoms of PD, such as dysautonomia and sleep disturbances. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Olfaction in Parkinson's disease and related disorders

    PubMed Central

    Doty, Richard L.

    2012-01-01

    Olfactory dysfunction is an early ‘pre-clinical’ sign of Parkinson's disease (PD). The present review is a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of such dysfunction in PD and related disorders. The olfactory bulb is implicated in the dysfunction, since only those syndromes with olfactory bulb pathology exhibit significant smell loss. The role of dopamine in the production of olfactory system pathology is enigmatic, as overexpression of dopaminergic cells within the bulb's glomerular layer is a common feature of PD and most animal models of PD. Damage to cholinergic, serotonergic, and noradrenergic systems is likely involved, since such damage is most marked in those diseases with the most smell loss. When compromised, these systems, which regulate microglial activity, can influence the induction of localized brain inflammation, oxidative damage, and cytosolic disruption of cellular processes. In monogenetic forms of PD, olfactory dysfunction is rarely observed in asymptomatic gene carriers, but is present in many of those that exhibit the motor phenotype. This suggests that such gene-related influences on olfaction, when present, take time to develop and depend upon additional factors, such as those from aging, other genes, formation of α-synuclein- and tau-related pathology,or lowered thresholds to oxidative stress from toxic insults. The limited data available suggest that the physiological determinants of the early changes in PD-related olfactory function are likely multifactorial and may include the same determinants as those responsible for a number of other non-motor symptoms of PD, such as dysautonomia and sleep disturbances. PMID:22192366

  18. Systematic analysis of the gerontome reveals links between aging and age-related diseases

    PubMed Central

    Fernandes, Maria; Wan, Cen; Tacutu, Robi; Barardo, Diogo; Rajput, Ashish; Wang, Jingwei; Thoppil, Harikrishnan; Thornton, Daniel; Yang, Chenhao; Freitas, Alex

    2016-01-01

    Abstract In model organisms, over 2,000 genes have been shown to modulate aging, the collection of which we call the ‘gerontome’. Although some individual aging-related genes have been the subject of intense scrutiny, their analysis as a whole has been limited. In particular, the genetic interaction of aging and age-related pathologies remain a subject of debate. In this work, we perform a systematic analysis of the gerontome across species, including human aging-related genes. First, by classifying aging-related genes as pro- or anti-longevity, we define distinct pathways and genes that modulate aging in different ways. Our subsequent comparison of aging-related genes with age-related disease genes reveals species-specific effects with strong overlaps between aging and age-related diseases in mice, yet surprisingly few overlaps in lower model organisms. We discover that genetic links between aging and age-related diseases are due to a small fraction of aging-related genes which also tend to have a high network connectivity. Other insights from our systematic analysis include assessing how using datasets with genes more or less studied than average may result in biases, showing that age-related disease genes have faster molecular evolution rates and predicting new aging-related drugs based on drug-gene interaction data. Overall, this is the largest systems-level analysis of the genetics of aging to date and the first to discriminate anti- and pro-longevity genes, revealing new insights on aging-related genes as a whole and their interactions with age-related diseases. PMID:28175300

  19. The application of information theory for the research of aging and aging-related diseases.

    PubMed

    Blokh, David; Stambler, Ilia

    2017-10-01

    This article reviews the application of information-theoretical analysis, employing measures of entropy and mutual information, for the study of aging and aging-related diseases. The research of aging and aging-related diseases is particularly suitable for the application of information theory methods, as aging processes and related diseases are multi-parametric, with continuous parameters coexisting alongside discrete parameters, and with the relations between the parameters being as a rule non-linear. Information theory provides unique analytical capabilities for the solution of such problems, with unique advantages over common linear biostatistics. Among the age-related diseases, information theory has been used in the study of neurodegenerative diseases (particularly using EEG time series for diagnosis and prediction), cancer (particularly for establishing individual and combined cancer biomarkers), diabetes (mainly utilizing mutual information to characterize the diseased and aging states), and heart disease (mainly for the analysis of heart rate variability). Few works have employed information theory for the analysis of general aging processes and frailty, as underlying determinants and possible early preclinical diagnostic measures for aging-related diseases. Generally, the use of information-theoretical analysis permits not only establishing the (non-linear) correlations between diagnostic or therapeutic parameters of interest, but may also provide a theoretical insight into the nature of aging and related diseases by establishing the measures of variability, adaptation, regulation or homeostasis, within a system of interest. It may be hoped that the increased use of such measures in research may considerably increase diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities and the fundamental theoretical mathematical understanding of aging and disease. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Is tremor related to celiac disease?

    PubMed

    Ameghino, Lucia; Rossi, Malco Damian; Cerquetti, Daniel; Merello, Marcelo

    2017-06-14

    Neurological features in celiac disease (CD) are not rare (5%-36%), but tremor is scarcely described. Subjects with CD and healthy controls completed an online survey using WHIGET tremor rating scale. One thousand five hundred and twelve subjects completed the survey, finally 674 CD patients and 290 healthy subjects were included. A higher prevalence of tremor in CD patients was observed in comparison to controls (28% vs 14%, P < 0.001). Frequency of family history of tremor in CD patients with and without tremor was 25% and 20% ( P = 0.2), while in the control group it was 41% and 10% ( P < 0.001). Controls with tremor showed a higher frequency of family history of tremor when compared to CD patients with tremor (41.5% vs 24.6%, P = 0.03). The results suggested that tremor in CD might be more frequent and possibly related to the disease itself and not due to associated essential tremor.

  1. Fall-related activity avoidance in relation to a history of falls or near falls, fear of falling and disease severity in people with Parkinson's disease.

    PubMed

    Kader, Manzur; Iwarsson, Susanne; Odin, Per; Nilsson, Maria H

    2016-06-02

    There is limited knowledge concerning fall-related activity avoidance in people with Parkinson's disease (PD); such knowledge would be of importance for the development of more efficient PD-care and rehabilitation. This study aimed to examine how fall-related activity avoidance relates to a history of self-reported falls/near falls and fear of falling (FOF) as well as to disease severity in people with PD. Data were collected from 251 (61 % men) participants with PD; their median (min-max) age and PD duration were 70 (45-93) and 8 (1-43) years, respectively. A self-administered postal survey preceded a home visit which included observations, clinical tests and interview-administered questionnaires. Fall-related activity avoidance was assessed using the modified Survey of Activities and Fear of Falling in the Elderly (mSAFFE) as well as by using a dichotomous (Yes/No) question. Further dichotomous questions concerned: the presence of FOF and the history (past 6 months) of falls or near falls, followed by stating the number of incidents. Disease severity was assessed according to the Hoehn and Yahr (HY) stages. In the total sample (n = 251), 41 % of the participants reported fall-related activity avoidance; the median mSAFFE score was 22. In relation to a history of fall, the proportions of participants (p < 0.001) that reported fall-related activity avoidance were: non-fallers (30 %), single fallers (50 %) and recurrent fallers, i.e. ≥ 2 falls (57 %). Among those that reported near falls (but no falls), 51 % (26 out of 51) reported fall-related activity avoidance. Of those that reported FOF, 70 % reported fall-related activity avoidance. Fall-related activity avoidance ranged from 24 % in the early PD-stage (HY I) to 74 % in the most severe stages (HY IV-V). Results indicate that fall-related activity avoidance may be related to a history of self-reported falls/near falls, FOF and disease severity in people with PD. Importantly, fall-related

  2. Nutritional influences on epigenetics and age-related disease

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Nutritional epigenetics has emerged as a novel mechanism underlying gene–diet interactions, further elucidating the modulatory role of nutrition in aging and age-related disease development. Epigenetics is defined as a heritable modification to the DNA that regulates chromosome architecture and modu...

  3. Relations between Household Livestock Ownership, Livestock Disease, and Young Child Growth.

    PubMed

    Mosites, Emily; Thumbi, Samuel M; Otiang, Elkanah; McElwain, Terry F; Njenga, M K; Rabinowitz, Peter M; Rowhani-Rahbar, Ali; Neuhouser, Marian L; May, Susanne; Palmer, Guy H; Walson, Judd L

    2016-05-01

    In resource-limited settings in which child malnutrition is prevalent, humans live in close proximity to household livestock. However, the relation between household livestock and child nutrition represents a considerable knowledge gap. We assessed whether household livestock ownership or livestock disease episodes were associated with growth in young children in western Kenya. We incorporated monthly anthropometric measurements for children <5 y of age into an ongoing linked human and animal surveillance cohort in rural western Kenya. Using linear mixed models adjusted for age, sex, and household wealth, we tested whether baseline household livestock ownership was related to baseline child height for age or prospective growth rate. We also evaluated whether livestock disease episodes were associated with child growth rate over 11 mo of follow-up. We collected data on 925 children over the course of follow-up. Greater household livestock ownership at baseline was not related to baseline child height-for-age z score (adjusted β: 0.01 SD; 95% CI: -0.02, 0.04 SD) or child growth rate (adjusted β: 0.02 cm/y; 95% CI: -0.03, 0.07 cm/y). Livestock disease episodes were not significantly associated with child growth across the entire cohort (adjusted β: -0.007 cm/mo; 95% CI: -0.02, 0.006 cm/mo). However, children in households with livestock digestive disease between June and November gained less height than did children in households that did not report livestock disease (β: -0.063 cm/mo; 95% CI: -0.112, -0.016 cm/mo). Children <2 y of age in households with livestock digestive disease gained less weight than did those who did not report disease (β: -0.033 kg/mo; 95% CI: -0.063, -0.003 kg/mo). In this cohort of young children in western Kenya, we did not find an association between ownership of livestock and child growth status. However, disease episodes in household livestock may be related to a lower child growth rate in some groups. © 2016 American Society for

  4. Stimulating high impact HIV-related cardiovascular research: recommendations from a multidisciplinary NHLBI Working Group on HIV-related heart, lung, and blood disease.

    PubMed

    Shah, Monica R; Cook, Nakela; Wong, Renee; Hsue, Priscilla; Ridker, Paul; Currier, Judith; Shurin, Susan

    2015-02-24

    The clinical challenges confronting patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have shifted from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related illnesses to chronic diseases, such as coronary artery disease, chronic lung disease, and chronic anemia. With the growing burden of HIV-related heart, lung, and blood (HLB) disease, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recognizes it must stimulate and support HIV-related HLB research. Because HIV offers a natural, accelerated model of common pathological processes, such as inflammation, HIV-related HLB research may yield important breakthroughs for all patients with HLB disease. This paper summarizes the cardiovascular recommendations of an NHLBI Working Group, Advancing HIV/AIDS Research in Heart, Lung, and Blood Diseases, charged with identifying scientific priorities in HIV-related HLB disease and developing recommendations to promote multidisciplinary collaboration among HIV and HLB investigators. The working group included multidisciplinary sessions, as well as HLB breakout sessions for discussion of disease-specific issues, with common themes about scientific priorities and strategies to stimulate HLB research emerging in all 3 groups. Copyright © 2015 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. The paradox of nutrition-related diseases in the Arab countries: the need for action.

    PubMed

    Musaiger, Abdulrahman O; Hassan, Abdelmonem S; Obeid, Omar

    2011-09-01

    The aim of this review was to highlight the current situation of nutrition-related diseases in the Arab countries, and factors associated with prevalence of these diseases. PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for data relating to such nutrition-related diseases published between January 1990 and May 2011. The picture of nutritional status in the Arab countries has changed drastically over the past 30 years as a result of changes in the social and economic situation. Two contrasting nutrition-related diseases exist, those associated with inadequate intake of nutrients and unhealthy dietary habits such as growth retardation among young children and micronutrient deficiencies; and those associated with changes in lifestyle such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes and obesity (diet-related non-communicable diseases). Factors contributing to nutritional problems vary from country to country, depending on socio-economic status. In general, unsound dietary habits, poor sanitation, poverty, ignorance and lack of access to safe water and health services are mainly responsible for under-nutrition. Changes in lifestyle and dietary habits as well as inactivity are associated with the occurrence of diet-related non-communicable diseases. Programs to prevent and control nutrition-related diseases are insufficient and ineffective, due mainly to a focus on curative care at the expense of preventive health care services, lack of epidemiological studies, lack of nutritional surveillance, inadequate nutrition information and lack of assessment of the cost-effectiveness of nutrition intervention programs.

  6. The Paradox of Nutrition-Related Diseases in the Arab Countries: The Need for Action

    PubMed Central

    Musaiger, Abdulrahman O.; Hassan, Abdelmonem S.; Obeid, Omar

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this review was to highlight the current situation of nutrition-related diseases in the Arab countries, and factors associated with prevalence of these diseases. PubMed and Google Scholar were searched for data relating to such nutrition-related diseases published between January 1990 and May 2011. The picture of nutritional status in the Arab countries has changed drastically over the past 30 years as a result of changes in the social and economic situation. Two contrasting nutrition-related diseases exist, those associated with inadequate intake of nutrients and unhealthy dietary habits such as growth retardation among young children and micronutrient deficiencies; and those associated with changes in lifestyle such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes and obesity (diet-related non-communicable diseases). Factors contributing to nutritional problems vary from country to country, depending on socio-economic status. In general, unsound dietary habits, poor sanitation, poverty, ignorance and lack of access to safe water and health services are mainly responsible for under-nutrition. Changes in lifestyle and dietary habits as well as inactivity are associated with the occurrence of diet-related non-communicable diseases. Programs to prevent and control nutrition-related diseases are insufficient and ineffective, due mainly to a focus on curative care at the expense of preventive health care services, lack of epidemiological studies, lack of nutritional surveillance, inadequate nutrition information and lack of assessment of the cost-effectiveness of nutrition intervention programs. PMID:22016708

  7. [Correlations between climate change-related infectious diseases and meteorological factors in Korea].

    PubMed

    Kim, Si Heon; Jang, Jae Yeon

    2010-09-01

    Infectious diseases are known to be affected by climate change. We investigated if the infectious diseases were related to meteorological factors in Korea. Scrub typhus, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), leptospirosis, malaria and Vibrio vulnificus sepsis among the National Notifiable Infectious Diseases were selected as the climate change-related infectious diseases. Temperature, relative humidity and precipitation were used as meteorological factors. The study period was from 2001 through 2008. We examined the seasonality of the diseases and those correlations with meteorological factors. We also analyzed the correlations between the incidences of the diseases during the outbreak periods and monthly meteorological factors in the hyper-endemic regions. All of the investigated diseases showed strong seasonality; malaria and V. vulnificus sepsis were prevalent in summer and scrub typhus, HFRS and leptospirosis were prevalent in the autumn. There were significant correlations between the monthly numbers of cases and all the meteorological factors for malaria and V. vulnificus sepsis, but there were no correlation for the other diseases. However, the incidence of scrub typhus in hyper-endemic region during the outbreak period was positively correlated with temperature and humidity during the summer. The incidences of HFRS and leptospirosis had positive correlations with precipitation in November and temperature and humidity in February, respectively. V. vulnificus sepsis showed positive correlations with precipitation in April/May/July. In Korea, the incidences of the infectious diseases were correlated with meteorological factors, and this implies that the incidences could be influenced by climate change.

  8. Occurrence of Autoimmune Diseases Related to the Vaccine against Yellow Fever

    PubMed Central

    Oliveira, Ana Cristina Vanderley; Maria Henrique da Mota, Licia; dos Santos-Neto, Leopoldo Luiz; De Carvalho, Jozélio Freire; Caldas, Iramaya Rodrigues; Martins Filho, Olindo Assis; Tauil, Pedro Luis

    2014-01-01

    Yellow fever is an infectious disease, endemic in South America and Africa. This is a potentially serious illness, with lethality between 5 and 40% of cases. The most effective preventive vaccine is constituted by the attenuated virus strain 17D, developed in 1937. It is considered safe and effective, conferring protection in more than 90% in 10 years. Adverse effects are known as mild reactions (allergies, transaminases transient elevation, fever, headache) and severe (visceral and neurotropic disease related to vaccine). However, little is known about its potential to induce autoimmune responses. This systematic review aims to identify the occurrence of autoinflammatory diseases related to 17D vaccine administration. Six studies were identified describing 13 possible cases. The diseases were Guillain-Barré syndrome, multiple sclerosis, multiple points evanescent syndrome, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, autoimmune hepatitis, and Kawasaki disease. The data suggest that 17D vaccination may play a role in the mechanism of loss of self-tolerance. PMID:25405025

  9. Paraprotein-Related Kidney Disease: Diagnosing and Treating Monoclonal Gammopathy of Renal Significance.

    PubMed

    Rosner, Mitchell H; Edeani, Amaka; Yanagita, Motoko; Glezerman, Ilya G; Leung, Nelson

    2016-12-07

    Paraprotein-related kidney disease represents a complex group of diseases caused by an abnormal paraprotein secreted by a clone of B cells. The disease manifestations range from tubulopathies, such as the Fanconi syndrome, to a spectrum of glomerular diseases that can present with varying degrees of proteinuria and renal dysfunction. Diagnosis of these diseases can be challenging because of the wide range of manifestations as well as the relatively common finding of a serum paraprotein, especially in elderly patients. Thus, renal biopsy along with detailed hematologic workup is essential to link the presence of the paraprotein to the associated renal disease. Recent advances in treatment with more effective and targeted chemotherapies, as well as stem cell transplantation, have improved the renal and overall prognosis for many of these disorders. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Nephrology.

  10. The poverty-related neglected diseases: Why basic research matters.

    PubMed

    Hotez, Peter J

    2017-11-01

    Together, malaria and the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) kill more than 800,000 people annually, while creating long-term disability in millions more. International support for mass drug administration, bed nets, and other preventive measures has resulted in huge public health gains, while support for translational research is leading to the development of some new neglected disease drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines. However, funding for basic science research has not kept up, such that we are missing opportunities to create a more innovative pipeline of control tools for parasitic and related diseases. There is an urgent need to expand basic science approaches for neglected diseases, especially in the areas of systems biology and immunology; ecology, evolution, and mathematical biology; functional and comparative OMICs; gene editing; expanded use of model organisms; and a new single-cell combinatorial indexing RNA sequencing approach. The world's poor deserve access to innovation for neglected diseases. It should be considered a fundamental human right.

  11. [Behaviours related to infectious disease and family factors in primary and middle school students].

    PubMed

    Feng, Na; Luo, Jiayou; Li, Huixia; Zhu, Na; Feng, Qi; Li, Xiongwei; Zhou, Haixiang

    2015-06-01

    To explore the behaviors related to infectious disease and family factors in primary and middle school students, and to provide evidence for improving behaviors related to infectious disease.
 A total of 8465 students were randomly surveyed by a standard questionnaire of behaviors related to infectious disease. Chi-square test was used to analyze the influential factors for behaviors related to infectious disease, and non conditional logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the multiple factors.
 The total formation rate of behaviors related to infectious disease was 66.4%. The rates for primary and middle school students were 69.4% and 62.8% respectively, with significant difference (P<0.05). There were significant differences in the following behaviors, such as washing hands before eating food, rarely buying snacks on outside stalls, informing teachers when showing infectious disease symptoms (all P<0.05), the degree for such behaviors in primary school students was higher than that in middle school students. There were also significant differences in the following behaviors, such as washing hands after using the toilet, blocking with a handkerchief, wiping while coughing and sneezing (all P<0.05), the degree for such behaviors in middle school students was higher than that in primary school students. Non conditional logistic regression analysis showed that the behaviors related to infectious disease in primary and middle school students were associated with parents' education degree, mother's occupation and living status with parents.
 Behaviors related to infectious disease in primary and middle school students need to be improved, and the formation of these behaviors may be related to many family factors.

  12. IgG4-related retroperitoneal fibrosis: a newly characterized disease.

    PubMed

    Lian, Linjuan; Wang, Cong; Tian, Jian-Li

    2016-11-01

    Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RPF) is a rare disease characterized by chronic, nonspecific inflammatory and sclerotic or fibrotic tissue in the periaortic or periiliac retroperitoneum that encases adjacent structures. There will be a series of clinical manifestations once the proliferated fibrous tissues encase the abdominal aorta, iliac arteries and urinary duct. RPF is generally divided into two types: idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis (IRPF) without identified pathogenesis, making up about two-thirds of cases, and secondary retroperitoneal fibrosis. Recent studies on Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) reveal that abundant infiltration of IgG4 positive plasma cells is found in biopsies on the mass of RPF of some IRPF patients, which is identified as one spectrum of IgG4-RD and is named IgG4-related RPF. IgG4-related RPF is often misdiagnosed as retroperitoneal visceral malignancy and is treated with surgery. In addition, because of its good response to glucocorticoid, early detection and treatment is important. We review the definition, epidemiology, clinical features, diagnostic criteria, treatment and prognosis of IgG4-related RPF in this article to raise awareness of this newly characterized disease. © 2016 Asia Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  13. Cardiovascular disease in live related renal transplantation.

    PubMed

    Kaul, A; Sharm, R K; Gupta, A; Sinha, N; Singh, U

    2011-11-01

    Cardiovascular disease has become the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in renal transplant recipients, although its pathogenesis and treatment are poorly understood. Modifiable cardiovascular risk factors and graft dysfunction both play an important role in development of post transplant cardiovascular events. Prevalence of cardiovascular disease was studied in stable kidney transplant patients on cyclosporine based triple immunosuppression in relation to the various risk factors and post transplant cardiovascular events. Analysis of 562 post transplant patients with stable graft function for 6 months, the patients were evaluated for cardiovascular events in post transplant period. Pre and post transplant risk factors were analyzed using the COX proportional hazard model. 174 patients had undergone pre transplant coronary angiography, 15 of these patients underwent coronary revascularization (angioplasty in 12, CABG in 3). The prevalence of CAD was 7.2% in transplant recipients. Of 42 patients with CAD 31 (73.8%) had cardiovascular event in post transplant period. Age > or = 40 yrs, male sex, graft dysfunction, diabetes as primary renal disease, pre transplant cardiovascular event, chronic rejection showed significant correlation in univariate analysis and there was significant between age > or = 40 years (OR = 2.16 with 95% CI, 0.977-4.78) S creatinine > or = 1.4 mg % (OR = 2.40 with 95% CI, 1.20 - 4.82), diabetes as primary disease (OR with 95% CI 3.67, 3.2-14.82), PTDM (OR 3.67, 95% CI 1.45-9.40), pre-transplant cardiovascular disease (OR 4.14, 95% CI .38-13.15) with post transplant cardiovascular event on multivariate analysis. There was poor patient and graft survival among those who suffered post transplant cardiovascular event. The incidence of cardiovascular disease continues to be high after renal transplantation and modifiable risk factors should be identified to prevent occurrence of events in post transplant period.

  14. Smoking-related disease on Australian television news: inaccurate portrayals may contribute to public misconceptions.

    PubMed

    Mackenzie, Ross; Johnson, Nathalie; Chapman, Simon; Holding, Simon

    2009-04-01

    To describe the range and frequency of reportage of tobacco-related disease on Australian television news. Content analysis of all news items mentioning smoking-related disease broadcast on five free-to-air Sydney television channels 2 May 2005 to 31 December 2007. Three in four tobacco-related disease news reports focus on lung cancer. Other cancers and smoking attributable diseases attract modest coverage. Television news coverage may contribute to public misconceptions regarding the associated health risks of smoking, limiting understanding about the many risks involved. Tobacco control advocates should seek to increase the newsworthiness of diseases in addition to lung cancer. While the Australian public is generally aware of the connection between lung cancer and tobacco, considerable misconception exists as to the broad range of tobacco-related mortality and disease. Given television's role as a key source of public information on health issues in Australia, such coverage can limit understanding about the many attributable risks involved. Tobacco control advocates need to find ways to improve the newsworthiness of tobacco related illness.

  15. IgG4-related disease presenting with destructive sinonasal lesion mimicking malignancy.

    PubMed

    Chen, Bo-Nien

    2016-11-01

    IgG4-related disease is a newly recognized systemic fibroinflammatory disorder. We report a 36-year-old man who presented with intractable right nasal pain and frontal headache for 1 month. Computed tomography revealed an ill-defined lesion with bony erosion over the right anterior ethmoid sinus and middle turbinate. The lesion was resected through endoscopic anterior ethmoidectomy and middle turbinectomy. IgG4-related disease was definitively diagnosed according to histopathological features. Prednisolone was administered postoperatively. IgG4-related disease presenting with destructive sinonasal lesion mimicking malignancy is rare. Awareness is essential to avoid delayed diagnosis or unnecessary invasive intervention, because the disorder responds to glucocorticoid and immunosuppressant therapy.

  16. MicroRNAs as Peripheral Biomarkers in Aging and Age-Related Diseases.

    PubMed

    Kumar, S; Vijayan, M; Bhatti, J S; Reddy, P H

    2017-01-01

    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are found in the circulatory biofluids considering the important molecules for biomarker study in aging and age-related diseases. Blood or blood components (serum/plasma) are primary sources of circulatory miRNAs and can release these in cell-free form either bound with some protein components or encapsulated with microvesicle particles, called exosomes. miRNAs are quite stable in the peripheral circulation and can be detected by high-throughput techniques like qRT-PCR, microarray, and sequencing. Intracellular miRNAs could modulate mRNA activity through target-specific binding and play a crucial role in intercellular communications. At a pathological level, changes in cellular homeostasis lead to the modulation of molecular function of cells; as a result, miRNA expression is deregulated. Deregulated miRNAs came out from cells and frequently circulate in extracellular body fluids as part of various human diseases. Most common aging-associated diseases are cardiovascular disease, cancer, arthritis, dementia, cataract, osteoporosis, diabetes, hypertension, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Variation in the miRNA signature in a diseased peripheral circulatory system opens up a new avenue in the field of biomarker discovery. Here, we measure the biomarker potential of circulatory miRNAs in aging and various aging-related pathologies. However, further more confirmatory researches are needed to elaborate these findings at the translation level. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Heat-related Emergency Hospitalizations for Respiratory Diseases in the Medicare Population

    PubMed Central

    Anderson, G. Brooke; Dominici, Francesca; Wang, Yun; McCormack, Meredith C.; Bell, Michelle L.

    2013-01-01

    Rationale: The heat-related risk of hospitalization for respiratory diseases among the elderly has not been quantified in the United States on a national scale. With climate change predictions of more frequent and more intense heat waves, it is of paramount importance to quantify the health risks related to heat, especially for the most vulnerable. Objectives: To estimate the risk of hospitalization for respiratory diseases associated with outdoor heat in the U.S. elderly. Methods: An observational study of approximately 12.5 million Medicare beneficiaries in 213 United States counties, January 1, 1999 to December 31, 2008. We estimate a national average relative risk of hospitalization for each 10°F (5.6°C) increase in daily outdoor temperature using Bayesian hierarchical models. Measurements and Main Results: We obtained daily county-level rates of Medicare emergency respiratory hospitalizations (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, 464–466, 480–487, 490–492) in 213 U.S. counties from 1999 through 2008. Overall, each 10°F increase in daily temperature was associated with a 4.3% increase in same-day emergency hospitalizations for respiratory diseases (95% posterior interval, 3.8, 4.8%). Counties’ relative risks were significantly higher in counties with cooler average summer temperatures. Conclusions: We found strong evidence of an association between outdoor heat and respiratory hospitalizations in the largest population of elderly studied to date. Given projections of increasing temperatures from climate change and the increasing global prevalence of chronic pulmonary disease, the relationship between heat and respiratory morbidity is a growing concern. PMID:23491405

  18. Impact of traveling to visit friends and relatives on chronic disease management.

    PubMed

    Gurgle, Holly E; Roesel, David J; Erickson, Tiffany N; Devine, Emily Beth

    2013-01-01

    Travelers visiting friends and relatives (VFR) are known to be at high risk of acquiring infectious diseases during travel. However, little is known about the impact of VFR travel on chronic diseases. This was a nonrandomized, retrospective observational study. Patients were adult VFR travelers who received care from an internal medical clinic serving immigrants and refugees. The primary objective was to determine the impact of VFR travel on markers of chronic disease management including: blood pressure, glycosylated hemoglobin, body mass index, serum creatinine, and anticoagulation. Of the 110 VFR travelers in our study, N = 48 traveled to Africa and N = 62 traveled to Asia for a mean duration of 59 (range 21-303) days. Of the 433 counseling points discussed at pre-travel visits, 71% were infectious disease prevention, 16% chronic disease related, and 13% travel safety. A total of 63 patients (57%) reported one or more health problems while traveling. Of these, 35 patients (32%) experienced a problem related to a chronic condition. In comparison, 24 (22%) patients experienced an acute infection. Sixty percent of patients were nonadherent to medications during travel. An average increase in diastolic blood pressure of 3.6 mmHg among patients with hypertension was the only statistically significant change in a chronic disease marker when values before and after travel were compared. Subgroup analysis revealed that travel to Africa and nonadherence to medications were also associated with worsening blood pressure control, and patients traveling to Africa experienced a decrease in body mass index. This study identified a high proportion of problems related to chronic conditions experienced during VFR travel, while pre-travel appointments tended to focus on infectious disease prevention. A greater emphasis on medication adherence and chronic disease management during VFR travel is also needed during pre-travel preparations. © 2013 International Society of

  19. The endoplasmic reticulum stress response in aging and age-related diseases

    PubMed Central

    Brown, Marishka K.; Naidoo, Nirinjini

    2012-01-01

    The endoplasmic reticulum(ER) is a multifunctional organelle within which protein folding, lipid biosynthesis, and calcium storage occurs. Perturbations such as energy or nutrient depletion, disturbances in calcium or redox status that disrupt ER homeostasis lead to the misfolding of proteins, ER stress and up-regulation of several signaling pathways coordinately called the unfolded protein response (UPR). The UPR is characterized by the induction of chaperones, degradation of misfolded proteins and attenuation of protein translation. The UPR plays a fundamental role in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and thus is central to normal physiology. However, sustained unresolved ER stress leads to apoptosis. Aging linked declines in expression and activity of key ER molecular chaperones and folding enzymes compromise proper protein folding and the adaptive response of the UPR. One mechanism to explain age associated declines in cellular functions and age-related diseases is a progressive failure of chaperoning systems. In many of these diseases, proteins or fragments of proteins convert from their normally soluble forms to insoluble fibrils or plaques that accumulate in a variety of organs including the liver, brain or spleen. This group of diseases, which typically occur late in life includes Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, type II diabetes and a host of less well known but often equally serious conditions such as fatal familial insomnia. The UPR is implicated in many of these neurodegenerative and familial protein folding diseases as well as several cancers and a host of inflammatory diseases including diabetes, atherosclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease and arthritis. This review will discuss age-related changes in the ER stress response and the role of the UPR in age-related diseases. PMID:22934019

  20. Sources, transport and alterations of metal compounds: an overview. I. Arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, and nickel.

    PubMed Central

    Fishbein, L

    1981-01-01

    An overview is presented of the current state of knowledge of the salient aspects of the sources, transport, and alterations of arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, and nickel. This information is considered vital for a better assessment of the scope of potential human hazard to these ubiquitous toxicants and their compounds. Stress is focused on both natural and industrial activities, particularly on the latter's projected trends. Increasing use patterns per se of most of these metals, as well as aspects of waste disposal and the anticipated increased combustion of fossil fuels for power generation and space heating (particularly in the United States), are major causes of potential health concern. Additionally, attention is drawn to the need for increased research to fill the gaps in our knowledge in these vital areas, all in the hope of permitting a more facile identification and quantification of the potential hazard to exposure to these agents. PMID:7023934