Evidence for the remobilisation of transuranic elements in the terrestrial environment.

PubMed

Hursthouse, A S; Livens, F R

1993-09-01

The transuranium elements, Np, Pu and Am discharged from the BNFL fuel reprocessing plant at Sellafield have accumulated in the local environment. The processes responsible for their dispersal rely both on physical transportation and their chemical reactivity. The transuranics have a complex chemistry, with multiple oxidation states and a strongly polarising character. In the environment, the particle active III/IV and more mobile VNI oxidation state groups are important and govern their geochemical behaviour and subsequent dispersal.Studies of the behaviour of the transuranics, particularly Pu, in the Irish Sea, have shown that the majority of the radionuclides in the liquid effluent discharged from Sellafield, quickly becomes associated with the marine sediments. Their dispersal and distribution in the environment is then governed primarily by the movement of particulate material and for some sites it has been suggested that sediment profiles preserve the historical record of discharges from the plant.In tidally inundated soils, radionuclide levels are greatly enhanced. These soils are water-logged for long periods of the year, are strongly anoxic and accretion rate are very low. The distribution of Np, Pu and Am in the soil suggests that simple sedimentary accumulation mechanism cannot provide an adequate explanation for the profiles observed. From preliminary studies of soil pore water composition and detailed analysis of the variation of isotopic ratios in the soil cores, it is apparent that a small but significant component of the radionuclide inventory is mobile. In addition, it is clear that the mechanisms responsible for this mobility allows differentiation between the transuranium nuclides.

Advantages of Production of New Fissionable Nuclides for the Nuclear Power Industry in Hybrid Fusion-Fission Reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsibulskiy, V. F.; Andrianova, E. A.; Davidenko, V. D.; Rodionova, E. V.; Tsibulskiy, S. V.

2017-12-01

A concept of a large-scale nuclear power engineering system equipped with fusion and fission reactors is presented. The reactors have a joint fuel cycle, which imposes the lowest risk of the radiation impact on the environment. The formation of such a system is considered within the framework of the evolution of the current nuclear power industry with the dominance of thermal reactors, gradual transition to the thorium fuel cycle, and integration into the system of the hybrid fusion-fission reactors for breeding nuclear fuel for fission reactors. Such evolution of the nuclear power engineering system will allow preservation of the existing structure with the dominance of thermal reactors, enable the reprocessing of the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) with low burnup, and prevent the dangerous accumulation of minor actinides. The proposed structure of the nuclear power engineering system minimizes the risk of radioactive contamination of the environment and the SNF reprocessing facilities, decreasing it by more than one order of magnitude in comparison with the proposed scheme of closing the uranium-plutonium fuel cycle based on the reprocessing of SNF with high burnup from fast reactors.

FACILITY LAYOUT OF FUEL STORAGE BUILDING (CPP603) SHOWING STORAGE BASINS, ...

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

FACILITY LAYOUT OF FUEL STORAGE BUILDING (CPP-603) SHOWING STORAGE BASINS, FUEL ELEMENT CUTTING FACILITY, AND DRY GRAPHITE STORAGE FACILITY. INL DRAWING NUMBER 200-0603-00-030-056329. - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, Fuel Reprocessing Complex, Scoville, Butte County, ID

The effect of military motion-assisted memory desensitization and reprocessing treatment on the symptoms of combat-related post traumatic stress disorder: first preliminary results.

PubMed

Vermetten, Eric; Meijer, Lydia; van der Wurff, Peter; Mert, Agali

2013-01-01

Although the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in the general and military population seem very similar, combat-related PTSD (cr-PTSD) is typically thought to be more severe due to the repeated and prolonged exposure of traumatic events. Therapeutic adherence is reported a problem in military populations compromising treatment efficacy. Therefore, a new potential supplementary treatment is specially designed for patients with cr-PTSD. This intervention is called Military Motion Memory Desensitization and Reprocessing (3MDR). The treatment incorporates key elements of successful treatments as Virtual Reality Exposure (VRE) and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) and adds motion to the condition. We aimed at designing a treatment procedure that preserved dual task processing principle, yet introduced new engagement by performing the desensitization during motion by to walking on a treadmill. Moreover, we aimed at exposure to real high-affect pictures of deployment setting. Subjects walk a repetitive cycle while walking and viewing high affect pictures of deployment scenes. Dual task processing was maintained by an oscillating ball. Aspects of presence are adhered to, to maximize possible positive outcome. Two veterans with chronic PTSD, received four weekly sessions of 3MDR therapy. The indicator of effectiveness was difference in CAPS (Clinical Administrated PTSD Scale)-score. The treatment was designed on the Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN) facility. The 3MDR treatment did further decrease PTSD symptoms. Patients were highly satisfied about the treatment and had no attention to drop out. The results of the two cases suggest that the 3MDR treatment is a successful, more additional treatment that goes further into the patients affect where other treatment may stagnate. The presence was highly appreciated. Further research with more patients needs to be performed to obtain more reliable results.

PLOT PLAN OF FUEL STORAGE BUILDING (CPP603) SHOWING STORAGE BASINS ...

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

PLOT PLAN OF FUEL STORAGE BUILDING (CPP-603) SHOWING STORAGE BASINS AND PROPOSED LOCATION OF FUEL ELEMENT CUTTING FACILITY. INL DRAWING NUMBER 200-0603-00-706-051287. ALTERNATE ID NUMBER CPP-C-1287. - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, Fuel Reprocessing Complex, Scoville, Butte County, ID

Reprocessing Close Range Terrestrial and Uav Photogrammetric Projects with the Dbat Toolbox for Independent Verification and Quality Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murtiyoso, A.; Grussenmeyer, P.; Börlin, N.

2017-11-01

Photogrammetry has recently seen a rapid increase in many applications, thanks to developments in computing power and algorithms. Furthermore with the democratisation of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), close range photogrammetry has seen more and more use due to the easier capability to acquire aerial close range images. In terms of photogrammetric processing, many commercial software solutions exist in the market that offer results from user-friendly environments. However, in most commercial solutions, a black-box approach to photogrammetric calculations is often used. This is understandable in light of the proprietary nature of the algorithms, but it may pose a problem if the results need to be validated in an independent manner. In this paper, the Damped Bundle Adjustment Toolbox (DBAT) developed for Matlab was used to reprocess some photogrammetric projects that were processed using the commercial software Agisoft Photoscan. Several scenarios were experimented on in order to see the performance of DBAT in reprocessing terrestrial and UAV close range photogrammetric projects in several configurations of self-calibration setting. Results show that DBAT managed to reprocess PS projects and generate metrics which can be useful for project verification.

Molten tin reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel elements

DOEpatents

Heckman, Richard A.

1983-01-01

A method and apparatus for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel is described. Within a containment vessel, a solid plug of tin and nitride precipitates supports a circulating bath of liquid tin therein. Spent nuclear fuel is immersed in the liquid tin under an atmosphere of nitrogen, resulting in the formation of nitride precipitates. The layer of liquid tin and nitride precipitates which interfaces the plug is solidified and integrated with the plug. Part of the plug is melted, removing nitride precipitates from the containment vessel, while a portion of the plug remains solidified to support the liquid tin and nitride precipitates remaining in the containment vessel. The process is practiced numerous times until substantially all of the precipitated nitrides are removed from the containment vessel.

An extended version of the SERPENT-2 code to investigate fuel burn-up and core material evolution of the Molten Salt Fast Reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aufiero, M.; Cammi, A.; Fiorina, C.; Leppänen, J.; Luzzi, L.; Ricotti, M. E.

2013-10-01

In this work, the Monte Carlo burn-up code SERPENT-2 has been extended and employed to study the material isotopic evolution of the Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR). This promising GEN-IV nuclear reactor concept features peculiar characteristics such as the on-line fuel reprocessing, which prevents the use of commonly available burn-up codes. Besides, the presence of circulating nuclear fuel and radioactive streams from the core to the reprocessing plant requires a precise knowledge of the fuel isotopic composition during the plant operation. The developed extension of SERPENT-2 directly takes into account the effects of on-line fuel reprocessing on burn-up calculations and features a reactivity control algorithm. It is here assessed against a dedicated version of the deterministic ERANOS-based EQL3D procedure (PSI-Switzerland) and adopted to analyze the MSFR fuel salt isotopic evolution. Particular attention is devoted to study the effects of reprocessing time constants and efficiencies on the conversion ratio and the molar concentration of elements relevant for solubility issues (e.g., trivalent actinides and lanthanides). Quantities of interest for fuel handling and safety issues are investigated, including decay heat and activities of hazardous isotopes (neutron and high energy gamma emitters) in the core and in the reprocessing stream. The radiotoxicity generation is also analyzed for the MSFR nominal conditions. The production of helium and the depletion in tungsten content due to nuclear reactions are calculated for the nickel-based alloy selected as reactor structural material of the MSFR. These preliminary evaluations can be helpful in studying the radiation damage of both the primary salt container and the axial reflectors.

THE ECONOMICS OF REPROCESSING vs DIRECT DISPOSAL OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL

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

Matthew Bunn; Steve Fetter; John P. Holdren

This report assesses the economics of reprocessing versus direct disposal of spent nuclear fuel. The breakeven uranium price at which reprocessing spent nuclear fuel from existing light-water reactors (LWRs) and recycling the resulting plutonium and uranium in LWRs would become economic is assessed, using central estimates of the costs of different elements of the nuclear fuel cycle (and other fuel cycle input parameters), for a wide range of range of potential reprocessing prices. Sensitivity analysis is performed, showing that the conclusions reached are robust across a wide range of input parameters. The contribution of direct disposal or reprocessing and recyclingmore » to electricity cost is also assessed. The choice of particular central estimates and ranges for the input parameters of the fuel cycle model is justified through a review of the relevant literature. The impact of different fuel cycle approaches on the volume needed for geologic repositories is briefly discussed, as are the issues surrounding the possibility of performing separations and transmutation on spent nuclear fuel to reduce the need for additional repositories. A similar analysis is then performed of the breakeven uranium price at which deploying fast neutron breeder reactors would become competitive compared with a once-through fuel cycle in LWRs, for a range of possible differences in capital cost between LWRs and fast neutron reactors. Sensitivity analysis is again provided, as are an analysis of the contribution to electricity cost, and a justification of the choices of central estimates and ranges for the input parameters. The equations used in the economic model are derived and explained in an appendix. Another appendix assesses the quantities of uranium likely to be recoverable worldwide in the future at a range of different possible future prices.« less

MicroRaman measurements for nuclear fuel reprocessing applications

DOE PAGES

Casella, Amanda; Lines, Amanda; Nelson, Gilbert; ...

2016-12-01

Treatment and reuse of used nuclear fuel is a key component in closing the nuclear fuel cycle. Solvent extraction reprocessing methods that have been developed contain various steps tailored to the separation of specific radionuclides, which are highly dependent upon solution properties. The instrumentation used to monitor these processes must be robust, require little or no maintenance, and be able to withstand harsh environments such as high radiation fields and aggressive chemical matrices. Our group has been investigating the use of optical spectroscopy for the on-line monitoring of actinides, lanthanides, and acid strength within fuel reprocessing streams. This paper willmore » focus on the development and application of a new MicroRaman probe for on-line real-time monitoring of the U(VI)/nitrate ion/nitric acid in solutions relevant to used nuclear fuel reprocessing. Previous research has successfully demonstrated the applicability on the macroscopic scale, using sample probes requiring larger solution volumes. In an effort to minimize waste and reduce dose to personnel, we have modified this technique to allow measurement at the microfluidic scale using a Raman microprobe. Under the current sampling environment, Raman samples typically require upwards of 10 mL and larger. Using the new sampling system, we can sample volumes at 10 μL or less, which is a scale reduction of over 1,000 fold in sample size. Finally, this paper will summarize our current work in this area including: comparisons between the macroscopic and microscopic probes for detection limits, optimized channel focusing, and application in a flow cell with varying levels of HNO 3, and UO 2(NO 3) 2.« less

Molten tin reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel elements. [Patent application; continuous process

DOEpatents

Heckman, R.A.

1980-12-19

A method and apparatus for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel is described. Within a containment vessel, a solid plug of tin and nitride precipitates supports a circulating bath of liquid tin therein. Spent nuclear fuel is immersed in the liquid tin under an atmosphere of nitrogen, resulting in the formation of nitride precipitates. The layer of liquid tin and nitride precipitates which interfaces the plug is solidified and integrated with the plug. Part of the plug is melted, removing nitride precipitates from the containment vessel, while a portion of the plug remains solidified to support te liquid tin and nitride precipitates remaining in the containment vessel. The process is practiced numerous times until substantially all of the precipitated nitrides are removed from the containment vessel.

Canister arrangement for storing radioactive waste

DOEpatents

Lorenzo, D.K.; Van Cleve, J.E. Jr.

1980-04-23

The subject invention relates to a canister arrangement for jointly storing high level radioactive chemical waste and metallic waste resulting from the reprocessing of nuclear reactor fuel elements. A cylindrical steel canister is provided with an elongated centrally disposed billet of the metallic waste and the chemical waste in vitreous form is disposed in the annulus surrounding the billet.

Canister arrangement for storing radioactive waste

DOEpatents

Lorenzo, Donald K.; Van Cleve, Jr., John E.

1982-01-01

The subject invention relates to a canister arrangement for jointly storing high level radioactive chemical waste and metallic waste resulting from the reprocessing of nuclear reactor fuel elements. A cylindrical steel canister is provided with an elongated centrally disposed billet of the metallic waste and the chemical waste in vitreous form is disposed in the annulus surrounding the billet.

129I in the environment of the La Hague nuclear fuel reprocessing plant--from sea to land.

PubMed

Fréchou, C; Calmet, D

2003-01-01

In recent years, particular attention was paid to the long-lived radionuclides discharged with authorized low-level radioactive liquid and gaseous effluents by the nuclear spent fuel reprocessing plants of La Hague and Sellafield. The knowledge of (129)I (half-life=15.7 x 10(6) a) distribution in the environment is required to assess the radiological impact to the environment and population living in the area under the direct influence of La Hague NRP discharges. Measurement difficulties of (129)I in environmental matrices, where it is usually present at trace level, limited data published on (129)I activity levels in the European and more particularly in the French territory. Studies conducted to qualify a new alternative measurement method, direct gamma-X spectrometry with experimental self-absorption correction, led to test samples collected in the La Hague marine and terrestrial environment : seaweeds, lichens, grass, bovine thyroids, etc. All these results, often already published separately for analytical purposes and treated for intercomparison exercises, are presented here together in a radioecological manner. The levels of (129)I activity and (129)I/(127)I ratios in these samples show the spatial and temporal influence of the La Hague NRP in its local near-field environment as well as at the regional scale along the French Channel coast.

Nuclear physics research operation. Monthly report, November 1958

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

Faulkner, J.E.

1958-12-10

This report is a summary of projects worked on in support of the production reactors at Hanford. The projects include criticality studies, from tasks associated with fuel element reprocessing to shipments of slightly enriched uranium. They include studies of neutron cross sections for different reactions and neutron flux measurements in different reactor locations, as well as design studies for future reactor projects.

Analysis of Advanced Fuel Assemblies and Core Designs for the Current and Next Generations of LWRs

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

Ragusa, Jean; Vierow, Karen

2011-09-01

The objective of the project is to design and analyze advanced fuel assemblies for use in current and future light water reactors and to assess their ability to reduce the inventory of transuranic elements, while preserving operational safety. The reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel can delay or avoid the need for a second geological repository in the US. Current light water reactor fuel assembly designs under investigation could reduce the plutonium inventory of reprocessed fuel. Nevertheless, these designs are not effective in stabilizing or reducing the inventory of minor actinides. In the course of this project, we developed and analyzedmore » advanced fuel assembly designs with improved thermal transmutation capability regarding transuranic elements and especially minor actinides. These designs will be intended for use in thermal spectrum (e.g., current and future fleet of light water reactors in the US). We investigated various fuel types, namely high burn-up advanced mixed oxides and inert matrix fuels, in various geometrical designs that are compliant with the core internals of current and future light water reactors. Neutronic/thermal hydraulic effects were included. Transmutation efficiency and safety parameters were used to rank and down-select the various designs.« less

Surgical instrument biocontaminant fluorescence detection in ambient lighting conditions for hospital reprocessing and sterilization department (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baribeau, François; Bubel, Annie; Dumont, Guillaume; Vachon, Carl; Lépine, André; Rochefort, Stéphane; Massicotte, Martin; Buteau-Vaillancourt, Louis; Gallant, Pascal; Mermut, Ozzy

2017-03-01

Hospitals currently rely on simple human visual inspection for assessing cleanliness of surgical instruments. Studies showed that surgical site infections are in part attributed to inadequate cleaning of medical devices. Standards groups recognize the need to objectively quantify the amount of residues on surgical instruments and establish guidelines. We developed a portable technology for the detection of contaminants on surgical instruments through fluorescence following cleaning. Weak fluorescence signals are usually detected in the obscurity only with the lighting of the excitation source. The key element of this system is that it works in ambient lighting conditions, a requirement to not disturb the normal workflow of hospital reprocessing facilities. A biocompatible fluorescent dye is added to the detergent and labels the proteins of organic residues. It is resistant to the harsh environment in a washer-disinfector. Two inspection devices have been developed with a 488nm laser as the excitation source: a handheld scanner and a tabletop station using spectral-domain and time-domain ambient light cancellation schemes. The systems are eye safe and equipped with image processing and interfacing software to provide visual or audible warnings to the operator based on a set of adjustable signal thresholds. Micron-scale residues are detected by the system which can also evaluate soil size and mass. Unlike swabbing, it can inspect whole tools in real-time. The technology has been validated in an independent hospital decontamination research laboratory. It also has potential applications in the forensics, agro-food, and space fields. Technical aspects and results will be presented and discussed.

Geochemical landscapes of the conterminous United States; new map presentations for 22 elements

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gustavsson, N.; Bolviken, B.; Smith, D.B.; Severson, R.C.

2001-01-01

Geochemical maps of the conterminous United States have been prepared for seven major elements (Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na, and Ti) and 15 trace elements (As, Ba, Cr, Cu, Hg, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr, V, Y, Zn, and Zr). The maps are based on an ultra low-density geochemical survey consisting of 1,323 samples of soils and other surficial materials collected from approximately 1960-1975. The data were published by Boerngen and Shacklette (1981) and black-and-white point-symbol geochemical maps were published by Shacklette and Boerngen (1984). The data have been reprocessed using weighted-median and Bootstrap procedures for interpolation and smoothing.

Improvements to the MODIS Land Products in Collection Version 6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolfe, R. E.; Devadiga, S.; Masuoka, E. J.; Running, S. W.; Vermote, E.; Giglio, L.; Wan, Z.; Riggs, G. A.; Schaaf, C.; Myneni, R. B.; Friedl, M. A.; Wang, Z.; Sulla-menashe, D. J.; Zhao, M.

2013-12-01

The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Adaptive Processing System (MODAPS), housed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), has been processing the earth view data acquired by the MODIS instrument aboard the Terra (EOS AM) and Aqua (EOS PM) satellites to generate suite of land and atmosphere data products using the science algorithms developed by the MODIS Science Team. These data products are used by diverse set of users in research and other applications from both government and non-government agencies around the world. These validated global products are also being used in interactive Earth system models able to predict global change accurately enough to assist policy makers in making sound decisions concerning the protection of our environment. Hence an increased emphasis is being placed on generation of high quality consistent data records from the MODIS data through reprocessing of the records using improved science algorithms. Since the launch of Terra in December 1999, MODIS land data records have been reprocessed four times. The Collection Version 6 (C6) reprocessing of MODIS Land and Atmosphere products is scheduled to start in Fall 2013 and is expected to complete in Spring 2014. This presentation will describe changes made to the C6 science algorithms to correct issues in the C5 products, additional improvements made to the products as deemed necessary by the data users and science teams, and new products introduced in this reprocessing. In addition to the improvements from product specific changes to algorithms, the C6 products will also see significant improvement in the calibration by the MODIS Calibration Science Team (MCST) of the C6 L1B Top of the Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance and radiance product, more accurate geolocation, and an improved Land Water mask. For the a priori land cover input, this reprocessing will use the multi-year land cover product generated with three years of MODIS data as input as opposed to one single land cover product used for the entire mission in the C5 reprocessing. The C6 products are expected to be released from the Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) soon after the reprocessing begins. To facilitate user acquaintance with products from the new version and independent evaluation of C6 by comparison of two versions, MODAPS plans to continue generation of products from both versions for at least a year after completion of the C6 reprocessing after which C5 processing will be discontinued.

Radionuclide speciation in effluent from La Hague reprocessing plant in France.

PubMed

Salbu, B; Skipperud, L; Germain, P; Guéguéniat, P; Strand, P; Lind, O C; Christensen, G

2003-09-01

Effluent from the La Hague nuclear fuel reprocessing plant was mixed with seawater in order to investigate the fate of the various radionuclides. Thus, a major objective of the present work is to characterize the effluent from La Hague reprocessing plant and to study how the radionuclide speciation changes with time when discharged into the marine environment. Discharges from the La Hague nuclear reprocessing plant represent an important source of artificially produced radionuclides to the North Sea. The transport, distribution, and biological uptake of radionuclides in the marine environment depends, however, on the physicochemical forms of radionuclides in the discharged effluents and on transformation processes that occur after entering the coastal waters. Information of these processes is needed to understand the transport and long-term distribution of the radionuclides. In the present work, a weekly discharged effluent from the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at Cap La Hague in France was mixed with coastal water and fractionated with respect to particle size and charged species using ultra centrifugation and hollow fiber ultrafiltration with on line ion exchange. The size distribution pattern of gamma-emitting radionuclides was followed during a 62-h period after mixing the effluent with seawater. 54Mn was present as particulate material in the effluent, while other investigated radionuclides were discharged in a more mobile form or were mobilized after mixing with sea water (e.g., 60Co) and can be transported long distances in the sea. Sediments can act as a sink for less mobile discharged radionuclides (Skipperud et al. 2000). A kinetic model experiment was performed to provide information of the time-dependent distribution coefficients, Kd (t). The retention of the effluent radionuclides in sediments was surprisingly low (Kd 20-50), and the sediments acted as a poor sink for the released radionuclides. Due to the presence of non-reacting radionuclide species in the effluent, a major fraction of the radionuclides, such as Cs-isotopes, 106Ru and 125Sb, in the effluent will be subjected to marine transport to the Northern Seas (i.e., the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea). The La Hague effluent may, therefore, contribute to enriched levels of radionuclides found in the English Channel, including 90Sr, 60Co and Pu-isotopes, and also 106Ru and 125Sb.

Separation of mixtures of chemical elements in plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolgolenko, D. A.; Muromkin, Yu A.

2017-10-01

This paper reviews proposals on the plasma processing of radioactive waste (RW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The chemical processing of SNF based on the extraction of its components from water solutions is rather expensive and produces new waste. The paper considers experimental research on plasma separation of mixtures of chemical elements and isotopes, whose results can help evaluate the plasma methods of RW and SNF reprocessing. The analysis identifies the difference between ionization levels of RW and SNF components at their transition to the plasma phase as a reason why all plasma methods are difficult to apply.

Disposal of spent fuel

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

Blomeke, J O; Ferguson, D E; Croff, A G

1978-01-01

Based on preliminary analyses, spent fuel assemblies are an acceptable form for waste disposal. The following studies appear necessary to bring our knowledge of spent fuel as a final disposal form to a level comparable with that of the solidified wastes from reprocessing: 1. A complete systems analysis is needed of spent fuel disposition from reactor discharge to final isolation in a repository. 2. Since it appears desirable to encase the spent fuel assembly in a metal canister, candidate materials for this container need to be studied. 3. It is highly likely that some ''filler'' material will be needed betweenmore » the fuel elements and the can. 4. Leachability, stability, and waste-rock interaction studies should be carried out on the fuels. The major disadvantages of spent fuel as a disposal form are the lower maximum heat loading, 60 kW/acre versus 150 kW/acre for high-level waste from a reprocessing plant; the greater long-term potential hazard due to the larger quantities of plutonium and uranium introduced into a repository; and the possibility of criticality in case the repository is breached. The major advantages are the lower cost and increased near-term safety resulting from eliminating reprocessing and the treatment and handling of the wastes therefrom.« less

Application of low-frequency eddy current testing to the inspection of a double-walled tank in a reprocessing plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tajima, Naoki; Yusa, Noritaka; Hashizume, Hidetoshi

2018-04-01

This paper discusses the applicability of simple low-frequency eddy current testing to the detection of deeply embedded flaws. The study specifically considered a double tank in a reprocessing plant for extracting plutonium-uranium from spent nuclear fuels. The tank was modelled by two type 304 austenitic stainless steel plates situated with an air gap of 80 mm, and the change in the thickness of one of the plates was detected through the other plate and the air gap. Axisymmetric two-dimensional finite element simulations were conducted and found that a simple circular coil with a large diameter enabled to detect the thickness based on the magnetic flux density at the centre of the coil although the plates were as thick as 30 mm. The results of the numerical simulations were validated by experiments.

A Brief User's Guide to the Excel ® -Based DF Calculator

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

Jubin, Robert T.

2016-06-01

To understand the importance of capturing penetrating forms of iodine as well as the other volatile radionuclides, a calculation tool was developed in the form of an Excel ® spreadsheet to estimate the overall plant decontamination factor (DF). The tool requires the user to estimate splits of the volatile radionuclides within the major portions of the reprocessing plant, speciation of iodine and individual DFs for each off-gas stream within the Used Nuclear Fuel reprocessing plant. The Impact to the overall plant DF for each volatile radionuclide is then calculated by the tool based on the specific user choices. The Excelmore » ® spreadsheet tracks both elemental and penetrating forms of iodine separately and allows changes in the speciation of iodine at each processing step. It also tracks 3H, 14C and 85Kr. This document provides a basic user's guide to the manipulation of this tool.« less

Development of spent fuel reprocessing process based on selective sulfurization: Study on the Pu, Np and Am sulfurization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirishima, Akira; Amano, Yuuki; Nihei, Toshifumi; Mitsugashira, Toshiaki; Sato, Nobuaki

2010-03-01

For the recovery of fissile materials from spent nuclear fuel, we have proposed a novel reprocessing process based on selective sulfurization of fission products (FPs). The key concept of this process is utilization of unique chemical property of carbon disulfide (CS2), i.e., it works as a reductant for U3O8 but works as a sulfurizing agent for minor actinides and lanthanides. Sulfurized FPs and minor actinides (MA) are highly soluble to dilute nitric acid while UO2 and PuO2 are hardly soluble, therefore, FPs and MA can be removed from Uranium and Plutonium matrix by selective dissolution. As a feasibility study of this new concept, the sulfurization behaviours of U, Pu, Np, Am and Eu are investigated in this paper by the thermodynamical calculation, phase analysis of chemical analogue elements and tracer experiments.

Characterization and simulation of soft gamma-ray mirrors for their use with spent fuel rods at reprocessing facilities

DOE PAGES

Ruz, J.; Descalle, M. A.; Alameda, J. B.; ...

2016-05-24

The use of a grazing incidence optic to selectively reflect K-shell fluorescence emission and isotope-specific lines from special nuclear materials is a highly desirable nondestructive analysis method for use in reprocessing fuel environments. Preliminary measurements have been performed, and a simulation suite has been developed to give insight into the design of the x ray optics system as a function of the source emission, multilayer coating characteristics, and general experimental configurations. As a result, the experimental results are compared to the predictions from our simulation toolkit to illustrate the ray-tracing capability and explore the effect of modified optics in futuremore » measurement campaigns.« less

Current state of nuclear fuel cycles in nuclear engineering and trends in their development according to the environmental safety requirements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vislov, I. S.; Pischulin, V. P.; Kladiev, S. N.; Slobodyan, S. M.

2016-08-01

The state and trends in the development of nuclear fuel cycles in nuclear engineering, taking into account the ecological aspects of using nuclear power plants, are considered. An analysis of advantages and disadvantages of nuclear engineering, compared with thermal engineering based on organic fuel types, was carried out. Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) reprocessing is an important task in the nuclear industry, since fuel unloaded from modern reactors of any type contains a large amount of radioactive elements that are harmful to the environment. On the other hand, the newly generated isotopes of uranium and plutonium should be reused to fabricate new nuclear fuel. The spent nuclear fuel also includes other types of fission products. Conditions for SNF handling are determined by ecological and economic factors. When choosing a certain handling method, one should assess these factors at all stages of its implementation. There are two main methods of SNF handling: open nuclear fuel cycle, with spent nuclear fuel assemblies (NFAs) that are held in storage facilities with their consequent disposal, and closed nuclear fuel cycle, with separation of uranium and plutonium, their purification from fission products, and use for producing new fuel batches. The development of effective closed fuel cycles using mixed uranium-plutonium fuel can provide a successful development of the nuclear industry only under the conditions of implementation of novel effective technological treatment processes that meet strict requirements of environmental safety and reliability of process equipment being applied. The diversity of technological processes is determined by different types of NFA devices and construction materials being used, as well as by the composition that depends on nuclear fuel components and operational conditions for assemblies in the nuclear power reactor. This work provides an overview of technological processes of SNF treatment and methods of handling of nuclear fuel assemblies. Based on analysis of modern engineering solutions on SNF regeneration, it has been concluded that new reprocessing technologies should meet the ecological safety requirements, provide a more extensive use of the resource base of nuclear engineering, allow the production of valuable and trace elements on an industrial scale, and decrease radioactive waste release.

Technetium-99 and strontium-90: Abundance determination at ultratrace sensitivity by AMS as signatures of undeclared nuclear reprocessing activity

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

McAninch, J.E.; Proctor, I.D.

1995-03-01

The purpose of this White Paper is to examine the use of the ultratrace technique Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) to lower detection limits for {sup 99}Tc and {sup 90}Sr, and to examine the utility of these isotopes as signatures of a convert reprocessing facility. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has committed to improving the effectiveness of the IAEA Safeguards System. This is in some degree a result of the discovery in 1991 of an undeclared Iraqi EMIS program. Recommendations from the March 1993 Consultants Group Meeting have resulted in several studies and follow on field trials to identify environmentalmore » signatures from covert nuclear fuel reprocessing activity. In particular, the April, 1993 reports of the Standing Advisory Group on Safeguards Implementation (SAGSI) identified the long-lived radioisotopes Technetium-99 and strontium-90 as two reliable signatures of fuel reprocessing activity. This report also suggested pathways in the chemical processing of irradiated fuel where these elements would be volatilized and potentially released in amounts detectable with ultratrace sensitivity techniques. Based on measured {sup 99}Tc background levels compiled from a variety of sources, it is estimated that AMS can provide 10% measurements of environmental levels of {sup 99}Tc in a few minutes using modestly sized samples: a few grams for soils, plants, or animal tissues; one to several liters for rain or seawater samples; and tens to hundreds of cubic meters for air sampling. Small sample sizes and high sample throughput result in significant increases in feasibility, cost effectiveness, and quality of data for a regional monitoring program. Similar results are expected for {sup 90}Sr.« less

Ethical and hygiene aspects of the reprocessing of medical devices in Germany

PubMed Central

Kramer, Axel; Assadian, Ojan

2008-01-01

Based on safety and quality principles, for each medical device (MD), regardless of its declared status as single- or multi-use device, careful considerations must be made. This includes assessment whether reprocessing is economical and ecological meaningful, and technical feasible. So far, however, in Germany reprocessing of declared single use MD is legally allowed, provided that the above aspects are well covered. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate, when circumstances allow reprocessing of declared single-use MD. For reprocessing of single use MD the following preconditions must be fulfilled: The security level of the reprocessed MD must be equivalent to the status of the newly delivered item; this means that a patient is not exposed to a higher risk through a reprocessed disposable MD than through the new, i.e. un-processed product. The reprocessing must be based on a detailed risk assessment and risk analysis, and must be described in detail regarding selection of the reprocessing method. Additionally, all necessary safety- and quality assurance measures must be stated. The reprocessing measure needs to be accompanied with a quality management system which determines and documents the responsibility of all stages of reprocessing; where the corresponding reprocessing procedures are well defined; and the efficacy of the procedure is proven by product-specific or product-group-specific tests and reports. The process must be validated according to recognised methods of science and technology, taking into account potential negative influences of the reprocessing on the properties of the material and the technical and functional safety. For reprocessing of MDs of the category Critical C the quality assurance must be certified by an accredited certifying body. PMID:20204097

TRANSURANIC STUDIES STATUS AND PROBLEM STATEMENT

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

Leuze, R E

1959-04-29

The purpose of the Transuranics Program is to develop separation processes for the transuranic elements, primarily those produced by long-term neutron irradiation of Pu/sup 239/. The program includes laboratory process development, pilot-plant process testing, processing of 10 kg of Pu/sup 239/ irradiated to greater than 99% burn-up for plutonium and americium-curium recovery, and processing the reirradiated plutonium and americium-curium fractions. The proposed method for processing highly irradiated plutonium is: (1) plutonium-aluminum alloy dissolution in HNO/sub 3/; (2) plutonium recovery by TBP extraction; (3) americium, curium, and rare-earth extraction by TBP from neutral nitrate solution; (4) partial rare-earth removal (primarily lanthanum)more » by americium-curium extraction into 100% TBP from 15M HNO/sub 3/; (5) additional rare-earth removal by extraction in 0.48M mono-2-ethylhexylphosphoric acid from 12M HCl; and (6) americium-curium purification by chloride anion exchange. Processing through the 100% TBP, 15M HNO/sub 3/ cycle can be carried out in the Power Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Pilot Plant. New facilities are proposed 15M HNO/ sub 3/ cycle can be carried out in the Power Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Pilot Plant. New facilities are proposed for laboratory process development studies and the final processing of the transplutonic elements. (auth)« less

Experience with soluble neutron poisons for criticality control at ICPP

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

Wilson, R.E.; Mortimer, S.R.

1978-01-01

Soluble neutron poisons assure criticality control in two of the headend fuel reprocessing systems at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant. Soluble poisons have been used successfully since 1964 and will be employed in the projected new headend processes. The use of soluble poisons (1) greatly increases the process output (2) allows versatility in the size of fuel assemblies processed and (3) allows the practical reprocessing of some fuels. The safety limit for all fluids entering the U-Zr alloy dissolver is 3.6 g/liter boron. To allow for possible deviations in the measurement systems and drift between analytical sampling periods, the standardmore » practice is to use 3.85 g/liter boron as the lower limit. This dissolver has had 4000 successful hours of operation using soluble poisons. The electrolytic dissolution process depends on soluble gadolinium for criticality safety. This system is used to process high enriched uranium clad in stainless steel. Electrolytic dissolution takes advantage of the anodic corrosion that occurs when a large electrical current is passed through the fuel elements in a corrosive environment. Three control methods are used on each headend system. First, the poison is mixed according to standard operating procedures and the measurements are affirmed by the operator's supervisor. Second, the poisoned solution is stirred, sampled, analyzed, and the analysis reported while still in the mix tank. Finally, a Nuclear Poison Detection System (NPDS) must show an acceptable poison concentration before the solution can be transferred. The major disadvantage of using soluble poisons is the need for very sophisticated control systems and procedures, which require extensive checkout. The need for a poisoned primary heating and cooling system means a secondary system is needed as well. Experience has shown, however, that production enhancement more than makes up for the problems.« less

Status of the nuclear measurement stations for the process control of spent fuel reprocessing at AREVA NC/La Hague

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

Eleon, Cyrille; Passard, Christian; Hupont, Nicolas

2015-07-01

Nuclear measurements are used at AREVA NC/La Hague for the monitoring of spent fuel reprocessing. The process control is based on gamma-ray spectroscopy, passive neutron counting and active neutron interrogation, and gamma transmission measurements. The main objectives are criticality and safety, online process monitoring, and the determination of the residual fissile mass and activities in the metallic waste remained after fuel shearing and dissolution (empty hulls, grids, end pieces), which are put in radioactive waste drums before compaction. The whole monitoring system is composed of eight measurement stations which will be described in this paper. The main measurement stations no.more » 1, 3 and 7 are needed for criticality control. Before fuel element shearing for dissolution, station no. 1 allows determining the burn-up of the irradiated fuel by gamma-ray spectroscopy with HP Ge (high purity germanium) detectors. The burn-up is correlated to the {sup 137}Cs and {sup 134}Cs gamma emission rates. The fuel maximal mass which can be loaded in one bucket of the dissolver is estimated from the lowest burn-up fraction of the fuel element. Station no. 3 is dedicated to the control of the correct fuel dissolution, which is performed with a {sup 137}Cs gamma ray measurement with a HP Ge detector. Station no. 7 allows estimating the residual fissile mass in the drums filled with the metallic residues, especially in the hulls, from passive neutron counting (spontaneous fission and alpha-n reactions) and active interrogation (fission prompt neutrons induced by a pulsed neutron generator) with proportional {sup 3}He detectors. The measurement stations have been validated for the reprocessing of Uranium Oxide (UOX) fuels with a burn-up rate up to 60 GWd/t. This paper presents a brief overview of the current status of the nuclear measurement stations. (authors)« less

Dialyzer best practice: single use or reuse?

PubMed

Lacson, Eduardo; Lazarus, J Michael

2006-01-01

Outcome studies have shown either no additional risk or a small additional risk for hospitalization and mortality associated with reprocessing dialyzers. Although the risks from reprocessing dialyzers have yet to be fully elucidated, reuse can be done safely if it is performed in full compliance with the standards of Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI). Like most industrial processes, however, complete control of the reuse process in a clinical environment and full compliance with regulations at all times is difficult. Potential errors and breakdowns in the reuse process are continuing concerns. The quality controls for reprocessing of dialyzers are not equal to the rigor of the manufacturing process under the purview of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Therefore, if one were to determine "best practice," single use is preferable to reuse of dialyzers based on medical criteria and risk assessment. The long-term and cumulative effects of exposure to reuse reagents are unknown and there is no compelling medical indication for reprocessing of dialyzers. The major impediment when deciding to convert from reuse to single use of dialyzers is economic. The experience in Fresenius Medical Care-North America (FMCNA) facilities demonstrates that converting from a practice of reuse to single use is achievable. However, the overall economic impact of conversion to single use is provider specific. The dominance of reuse has been negated of late by a major shift in practice toward single use. Physicians and patients should be well informed in making decisions regarding the practice of single use versus reuse of dialyzers.

Quantitative analysis of residual protein contamination of podiatry instruments reprocessed through local and central decontamination units

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The cleaning stage of the instrument decontamination process has come under increased scrutiny due to the increasing complexity of surgical instruments and the adverse affects of residual protein contamination on surgical instruments. Instruments used in the podiatry field have a complex surface topography and are exposed to a wide range of biological contamination. Currently, podiatry instruments are reprocessed locally within surgeries while national strategies are favouring a move toward reprocessing in central facilities. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of local and central reprocessing on podiatry instruments by measuring residual protein contamination of instruments reprocessed by both methods. Methods The residual protein of 189 instruments reprocessed centrally and 189 instruments reprocessed locally was determined using a fluorescent assay based on the reaction of proteins with o-phthaldialdehyde/sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate. Results Residual protein was detected on 72% (n = 136) of instruments reprocessed centrally and 90% (n = 170) of instruments reprocessed locally. Significantly less protein (p < 0.001) was recovered from instruments reprocessed centrally (median 20.62 μg, range 0 - 5705 μg) than local reprocessing (median 111.9 μg, range 0 - 6344 μg). Conclusions Overall, the results show the superiority of central reprocessing for complex podiatry instruments when protein contamination is considered, though no significant difference was found in residual protein between local decontamination unit and central decontamination unit processes for Blacks files. Further research is needed to undertake qualitative identification of protein contamination to identify any cross contamination risks and a standard for acceptable residual protein contamination applicable to different instruments and specialities should be considered as a matter of urgency. PMID:21219613

Quantitative analysis of residual protein contamination of podiatry instruments reprocessed through local and central decontamination units.

PubMed

Smith, Gordon Wg; Goldie, Frank; Long, Steven; Lappin, David F; Ramage, Gordon; Smith, Andrew J

2011-01-10

The cleaning stage of the instrument decontamination process has come under increased scrutiny due to the increasing complexity of surgical instruments and the adverse affects of residual protein contamination on surgical instruments. Instruments used in the podiatry field have a complex surface topography and are exposed to a wide range of biological contamination. Currently, podiatry instruments are reprocessed locally within surgeries while national strategies are favouring a move toward reprocessing in central facilities. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of local and central reprocessing on podiatry instruments by measuring residual protein contamination of instruments reprocessed by both methods. The residual protein of 189 instruments reprocessed centrally and 189 instruments reprocessed locally was determined using a fluorescent assay based on the reaction of proteins with o-phthaldialdehyde/sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate. Residual protein was detected on 72% (n = 136) of instruments reprocessed centrally and 90% (n = 170) of instruments reprocessed locally. Significantly less protein (p < 0.001) was recovered from instruments reprocessed centrally (median 20.62 μg, range 0 - 5705 μg) than local reprocessing (median 111.9 μg, range 0 - 6344 μg). Overall, the results show the superiority of central reprocessing for complex podiatry instruments when protein contamination is considered, though no significant difference was found in residual protein between local decontamination unit and central decontamination unit processes for Blacks files. Further research is needed to undertake qualitative identification of protein contamination to identify any cross contamination risks and a standard for acceptable residual protein contamination applicable to different instruments and specialities should be considered as a matter of urgency.

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

Venkataraman, M.; Natarajan, R.; Raj, Baldev

The reprocessing of spent fuel from Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) has been successfully demonstrated in the pilot plant, CORAL (COmpact Reprocessing facility for Advanced fuels in Lead shielded cell). Since commissioning in 2003, spent mixed carbide fuel from FBTR of different burnups and varying cooling period, have been reprocessed in this facility. Reprocessing of the spent fuel with a maximum burnup of 100 GWd/t has been successfully carried out so far. The feed backs from these campaigns with progressively increasing specific activities, have been useful in establishing a viable process flowsheet for reprocessing the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR)more » spent fuel. Also, the design of various equipments and processes for the future plants, which are either under design for construction, namely, the Demonstration Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant (DFRP) and the Fast reactor fuel Reprocessing Plant (FRP) could be finalized. (authors)« less

Reprocessing Multiyear GPS Data from Continuously Operating Reference Stations on Cloud Computing Platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, S.

2016-12-01

To define geodetic reference frame using GPS data collected by Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) network, historical GPS data needs to be reprocessed regularly. Reprocessing GPS data collected by upto 2000 CORS sites for the last two decades requires a lot of computational resource. At National Geodetic Survey (NGS), there has been one completed reprocessing in 2011, and currently, the second reprocessing is undergoing. For the first reprocessing effort, in-house computing resource was utilized. In the current second reprocessing effort, outsourced cloud computing platform is being utilized. In this presentation, the outline of data processing strategy at NGS is described as well as the effort to parallelize the data processing procedure in order to maximize the benefit of the cloud computing. The time and cost savings realized by utilizing cloud computing approach will also be discussed.

Coprocessed nuclear fuels containing (U, Pu) values as oxides, carbides or carbonitrides

DOEpatents

Lloyd, M.H.

1981-01-09

Method for direct coprocessing of nuclear fuels derived from a product stream of fuels reprocessing facility containing uranium, plutonium, and fission product values comprising nitrate stabilization of said stream vacuum concentration to remove water and nitrates, neutralization to form an acid deficient feed solution for the internal gelation mode of sol-gel technology, green spherule formation, recovery and treatment for loading into a fuel element by vibra packed or pellet formation technologies.

Coprocessed nuclear fuels containing (U, Pu) values as oxides, carbides or carbonitrides

DOEpatents

Lloyd, Milton H.

1983-01-01

Method for direct coprocessing of nuclear fuels derived from a product stream of a fuels reprocessing facility containing uranium, plutonium, and fission product values comprising nitrate stabilization of said stream vacuum concentration to remove water and nitrates, neutralization to form an acid deficient feed solution for the internal gelation mode of sol-gel technology, green spherule formation, recovery and treatment for loading into a fuel element by vibra packed or pellet formation technologies.

TRANSITION DISK CHEMISTRY AND FUTURE PROSPECTS WITH ALMA

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

Cleeves, L. Ilsedore; Bergin, Edwin A.; Bethell, Thomas J.

2011-12-10

We explore the chemical structure of a disk that contains a large central gap of R {approx} 45 AU, as is commonly seen in transitional disk systems. In our chemical model of a disk with a cleared inner void, the midplane becomes revealed to the central star so that it is directly irradiated. The midplane material at the truncation radius is permissive to reprocessed optical heating radiation, but opaque to the photodissociating ultraviolet, creating an environment abundant in gas-phase molecules. Thus the disk midplane, which would otherwise for a full disk be dominated by near complete heavy element freeze-out, shouldmore » become observable in molecular emission. If this prediction is correct this has exciting prospects for observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array, as the inner transition region should thus be readily detected and resolved, especially using high-J rotational transitions excited in the high density midplane gas. Therefore, such observations will potentially provide us with a direct probe of the physics and chemistry at this actively evolving interface.« less

Practice comparisons between accelerated resolution therapy, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing and cognitive processing therapy with case examples.

PubMed

Hernandez, Diego F; Waits, Wendi; Calvio, Lisseth; Byrne, Mary

2016-12-01

Recent outcomes for Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy indicate that as many as 60-72% of patients retain their PTSD diagnosis after treatment with CPT or PE. One emerging therapy with the potential to augment existing trauma focused therapies is Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). ART is currently being used along with evidence based approaches at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital and by report has been both positive for clients as well as less taxing on professionals trained in ART. The following is an in-practice theoretical comparison of CPT, EMDR and ART with case examples from Fort Belvoir Community Hospital. While all three approaches share common elements and interventions, ART distinguishes itself through emphasis on the rescripting of traumatic events and the brevity of the intervention. While these case reports are not part of a formal study, they suggest that ART has the potential to augment and enhance the current delivery methods of mental health care in military environments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Defining the Costs of Reusable Flexible Ureteroscope Reprocessing Using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing.

PubMed

Isaacson, Dylan; Ahmad, Tessnim; Metzler, Ian; Tzou, David T; Taguchi, Kazumi; Usawachintachit, Manint; Zetumer, Samuel; Sherer, Benjamin; Stoller, Marshall; Chi, Thomas

2017-10-01

Careful decontamination and sterilization of reusable flexible ureteroscopes used in ureterorenoscopy cases prevent the spread of infectious pathogens to patients and technicians. However, inefficient reprocessing and unavailability of ureteroscopes sent out for repair can contribute to expensive operating room (OR) delays. Time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) was applied to describe the time and costs involved in reprocessing. Direct observation and timing were performed for all steps in reprocessing of reusable flexible ureteroscopes following operative procedures. Estimated times needed for each step by which damaged ureteroscopes identified during reprocessing are sent for repair were characterized through interviews with purchasing analyst staff. Process maps were created for reprocessing and repair detailing individual step times and their variances. Cost data for labor and disposables used were applied to calculate per minute and average step costs. Ten ureteroscopes were followed through reprocessing. Process mapping for ureteroscope reprocessing averaged 229.0 ± 74.4 minutes, whereas sending a ureteroscope for repair required an estimated 143 minutes per repair. Most steps demonstrated low variance between timed observations. Ureteroscope drying was the longest and highest variance step at 126.5 ± 55.7 minutes and was highly dependent on manual air flushing through the ureteroscope working channel and ureteroscope positioning in the drying cabinet. Total costs for reprocessing totaled $96.13 per episode, including the cost of labor and disposable items. Utilizing TDABC delineates the full spectrum of costs associated with ureteroscope reprocessing and identifies areas for process improvement to drive value-based care. At our institution, ureteroscope drying was one clearly identified target area. Implementing training in ureteroscope drying technique could save up to 2 hours per reprocessing event, potentially preventing expensive OR delays.

Radioactivity near the sunken submarine "Kursk" in the Southern Barents Sea.

PubMed

Matishov, Genady G; Matishov, Dimitry G; Namiatov, Alexey E; Smith, John Norton; Carroll, Jolynn; Dahle, Salve

2002-05-01

Radioactivity measurements were conducted on seawater, sediment, and biota samples collected in the vicinity of the Russian submarine "Kursk" in September, 2000, within 1 month of the vessel's sinking in the Barents Sea to determine whether leakage of radioactivity from the vessel's two nuclear reactors had occurred and to assess the impact on one of the most productive fishing areas in the world. Levels of radioactivity in surface sediments and biota are within the range of values previously measured in the Barents Sea and can be ascribed to inputs from global fallout, European nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities, and the Chernobyl accident. However, levels of 1291 in seawater in the Southern Barents Sea increased by 500% between 1992 and 2000, and the 129I/137Cs ratio increased by more than an order of magnitude during this time, owing to long-range transport of releases from reprocessing facilities at Sellafield (U.K.) and La Hague (France). Although these results indicate that, at the time of sampling, leakage from the Kursk had a negligible impact on the environment, they also show that regional background levels of artificial radioactivity are varying rapidly on annual timescales and that Europe's nuclear reprocessing facilities are the leading contributor of anthropogenic radioactivity to the region.

Characteristics and environmental aspects of slag: a review

USGS Publications Warehouse

Piatak, Nadine M.; Parsons, Michael B.; Seal, Robert R.

2015-01-01

The composition of ferrous slag is dominated by Ca and Si. Steel slag may contain significant Fe, whereas Mg and Al may be significant in Fe slag. Calcium-rich olivine-group silicates, melilite-group silicates that contain Al or Mg, Ca-rich glass, and oxides are the most commonly reported major phases in ferrous slag. Calcite and trace amounts of a variety of sulfides, intermetallic compounds, and pure metals are typically also present. The composition of non-ferrous slag, most commonly from base-metal production, is dominated by Fe and Si with significant but lesser amounts of Al and Ca. Silicates in the olivine, pyroxene, and melilite groups, as well as glass, spinels, and SiO2 (i.e., quartz and other polymorphs) are commonly found in non-ferrous slag. Sulfides and intermetallic compounds are less abundant than the silicates and oxides. The concentrations of some elements exceed generic USEPA soil screening levels for human contact based on multiple exposure pathways; these elements include Al, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn based on bulk chemical composition. Each slag type usually contains a specific suite of elements that may be of environmental concern. In general, non-ferrous slag may have a higher potential to negatively impact the environment compared to ferrous slag, and is thus a less attractive material for reuse, based on trace element chemistry, principally for base metals. However, the amount of elements released into the environment is not always consistent with bulk chemical composition. Many types of leaching tests have been used to help predict slag’s long-term environmental behavior. Overall, ferrous slags produce an alkaline leachate due to the dissolution of Ca oxides and silicates derived from compounds originally added as fluxing agents, such as lime. Ferrous slag leachate is commonly less metal-rich than leachate from non-ferrous slag generated during base metal extraction; the latter leachate may even be acidic due to the oxidation of sulfides. Because of its characteristics, ferrous slag is commonly used for construction and environmental applications, whereas both non-ferrous and ferrous slag may be reprocessed for secondary metal recovery. Both types of slag have been a source of some environmental contamination. Research into the environmental aspects of slag will continue to be an important topic whether the goal is its reuse, recycling, or remediation.

Computational Challenges in Processing the Q1-Q16 Kepler Data Set

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klaus, Todd C.; Henze, C.; Twicken, J. D.; Hall, J.; McCauliff, S. D.; Girouard, F.; Cote, M.; Morris, R. L.; Clarke, B.; Jenkins, J. M.; Caldwell, D.; Kepler Science Operations Center

2013-10-01

Since launch on March 6th, 2009, NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has collected 48 months of data on over 195,000 targets. The raw data are rife with instrumental and astrophysical noise that must be removed in order to detect and model the transit-like signals present in the data. Calibrating the raw pixels, generating and correcting the flux light curves, and detecting and characterizing the signals require significant computational power. In addition, the algorithms that make up the Kepler Science Pipeline and their parameters are still undergoing changes (most of which increase the computational cost), creating the need to reprocess the entire data set on a regular basis. We discuss how we have ported all of the core elements of the pipeline to the Pleiades cluster at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) Division, the needs driving the port, and the technical challenges we faced. In 2011 we ported the Transiting Planet Search (TPS) and Data Validation (DV) modules to Pleiades. These pipeline modules operate on the full data set and the computational complexity increases roughly by the square of the number of data points. At the time of the port it had become infeasible to run these modules on our local hardware, necessitating the move to Pleiades. In 2012 and 2013 we turned our attention to the front end of the pipeline; Pixel-level Calibration (CAL), Photometric Analysis (PA), and Pre-Search Data Conditioning (PDC). Porting these modules to Pleiades will allow us to reprocess the complete data set on a more frequent basis. The last time we reprocessed all data for the front end we only had 24 months of data. We estimate that the full 48-month data set would take over 200 days to complete on local hardware. When the port is complete we expect to reprocess this data set on Pleiades in about a month. The NASA Science Mission Directorate provided funding for the Kepler Mission.

Sources of the transuranic elements plutonium and neptunium in arctic marine sediments.

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

Cooper, L. W.; Kelley, J. M.; Bond, L. A.

2000-01-01

We report here thermal ionization mass spectrometry measurements of {sup 239}Pu, {sup 240}Pu, {sup 241}Pu, {sup 242}Pu, and {sup 237}Np isolated from oceanic, estuarine, and riverine sediments from the Arctic Ocean Basin. {sup 238}Pu/{sup 239+240}Pu activity ratios are also reported for alpha spectrometric analyses undertaken on a subset of these samples. Our results indicate that the Pu in sediments on the Alaskan shelf and slope, as well as that in the deep basins (Amerasian and Eurasian) of the Arctic Ocean, has its origin in stratospheric and tropospheric fallout. Sediments from the Ob and Yenisei Rivers show isotopic Pu signatures thatmore » are distinctly different from those of northern-hemisphere stratospheric fallout and indicate the presence of weapons-grade Pu originating from nuclear fuel reprocessing wastes generated at Russian facilities within these river catchments. Consequently, sediments of the Eurasian Arctic Ocean, particularly those in the Barents and Kara Seas, probably contain a mixture of Pu from stratospheric fallout, tropospheric fallout, and fuel-reprocessing wastes of riverine origin. In particular, the {sup 241}Pu/{sup 239}Pu ratios observed in these sediments are inconsistent with significant contributions of Pu to the arctic sediments studied from western European reprocessing facilities, principally Sellafield in the UK. Several other potential sources of Pu to arctic sediments can also be excluded as significant based upon the transuranic isotope ratios presented.« less

Transuranic inventory reduction in repository by partitioning and transmutation

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

Kang, C.H.; Kazimi, M.S.

1992-01-01

The promise of a new reprocessing technology and the issuance of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations concerning a geologic repository rekindle the interest in partitioning and transmutation of transuranic (TRU) elements from discharged reactor fuel as a high level waste management option. This paper investigates the TRU repository inventory reduction capability of the proposed advanced liquid metal reactors (ALMRs) and integral fast reactors (IFRs) as well as the plutonium recycled light water reactors (LWRs).

Surface evaluation of cardiac angiographic catheters after simulated use and reprocessing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucas, Thabata Coaglio; Oréfice, Rodrigo Lambert; Pinotti, Marcos; Huebner, Rudolf

2009-12-01

Reprocessing of single-use intravascular catheters is a common practice in public health services and hospitals. The determination of safe number of reprocessing cycles before the catheter integrity becomes compromised has been a priority issue. The present paper addresses the evaluating molecular and micro-structural integrity of reprocessed cardiac angiographic catheters. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy were carried out to elucidate morphological changes. The tensile test was performed on catheters to examine changes in bulk characteristics. In this work, samples of catheters were reprocessed until nine times and sterilized by hydrogen peroxide plasma. It was observed that the number of hydrogen-bonded carbonyls groups increased in 0.05 u.a. ( p < 0.001) after each reprocessing cycle. The spectra indicated degradation products included acids, esters, alcohols, and small amounts of other products containing a carbonyl functional group. The micrographs revealed that only after the fourth reprocessing cycle the effect increased in the surface roughness was more pronounced. On the other hand, after each reprocessing cycle and as consequence of extensive aging of polyamide/polyurethane blends of the catheters surface, it was observed that the micro-fissures, micro-scratches and micro-pores increased in quantity and length. The mechanical test proved that the Young modulus increased in average 3.26 MPa ( p = 0.0003) at increasing number of reprocessing cycles, also suggestive of crosslinking in this material.

Flory-Stockmayer analysis on reprocessable polymer networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Lingqiao; Chen, Xi; Jin, Kailong; Torkelson, John

Reprocessable polymer networks can undergo structure rearrangement through dynamic chemistries under proper conditions, making them a promising candidate for recyclable crosslinked materials, e.g. tires. This research field has been focusing on various chemistries. However, there has been lacking of an essential physical theory explaining the relationship between abundancy of dynamic linkages and reprocessability. Based on the classical Flory-Stockmayer analysis on network gelation, we developed a similar analysis on reprocessable polymer networks to quantitatively predict the critical condition for reprocessability. Our theory indicates that it is unnecessary for all bonds to be dynamic to make the resulting network reprocessable. As long as there is no percolated permanent network in the system, the material can fully rearrange. To experimentally validate our theory, we used a thiol-epoxy network model system with various dynamic linkage compositions. The stress relaxation behavior of resulting materials supports our theoretical prediction: only 50 % of linkages between crosslinks need to be dynamic for a tri-arm network to be reprocessable. Therefore, this analysis provides the first fundamental theoretical platform for designing and evaluating reprocessable polymer networks. We thank McCormick Research Catalyst Award Fund and ISEN cluster fellowship (L. L.) for funding support.

Characteristics of potential repository wastes. Volume 2

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

Not Available

1992-07-01

The LWR spent fuels discussed in Volume 1 of this report comprise about 99% of all domestic non-reprocessed spent fuel. In this report we discuss other types of spent fuels which, although small in relative quantity, consist of a number of diverse types, sizes, and compositions. Many of these fuels are candidates for repository disposal. Some non-LWR spent fuels are currently reprocessed or are scheduled for reprocessing in DOE facilities at the Savannah River Site, Hanford Site, and the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. It appears likely that the reprocessing of fuels that have been reprocessed in the past will continuemore » and that the resulting high-level wastes will become part of defense HLW. However, it is not entirely clear in some cases whether a given fuel will be reprocessed, especially in cases where pretreatment may be needed before reprocessing, or where the enrichment is not high enough to make reprocessing attractive. Some fuels may be canistered, while others may require special means of disposal. The major categories covered in this chapter include HTGR spent fuel from the Fort St. Vrain and Peach Bottom-1 reactors, research and test reactor fuels, and miscellaneous fuels, and wastes generated from the decommissioning of facilities.« less

Endoscope reprocessing methods: a prospective study on the impact of human factors and automation.

PubMed

Ofstead, Cori L; Wetzler, Harry P; Snyder, Alycea K; Horton, Rebecca A

2010-01-01

The main cause of endoscopy-associated infections is failure to adhere to reprocessing guidelines. More information about factors impacting compliance is needed to support the development of effective interventions. The purpose of this multisite, observational study was to evaluate reprocessing practices, employee perceptions, and occupational health issues. Data were collected utilizing interviews, surveys, and direct observation. Written reprocessing policies and procedures were in place at all five sites, and employees affirmed the importance of most recommended steps. Nevertheless, observers documented guideline adherence, with only 1.4% of endoscopes reprocessed using manual cleaning methods with automated high-level disinfection versus 75.4% of those reprocessed using an automated endoscope cleaner and reprocessor. The majority reported health problems (i.e., pain, decreased flexibility, numbness, or tingling). Physical discomfort was associated with time spent reprocessing (p = .041). Discomfort diminished after installation of automated endoscope cleaners and reprocessors (p = .001). Enhanced training and accountability, combined with increased automation, may ensure guideline adherence and patient safety while improving employee satisfaction and health.

Reprocessing anesthesia instruments and devices.

PubMed

Ball, K

2000-02-01

Reprocessing anesthesia instruments and devices can often present a challenge for anesthesia providers because anesthesia devices have become more complex, cross-contamination with disease-forming pathogens can occur, and the importance of appropriate reprocessing may not be fully understood. Based on accepted practice recommendations, regulations, and research, reprocessing must be performed by skilled individuals who understand asepsis, cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization principles. This article describes the art of reprocessing and includes highlighted information on recommended practices, Spaulding's classifications, personal protective attire, precleaning, leak testing of flexible endoscopes, device disassembly, cleaning supplies and solutions, cleaning methods, rinsing, reassembly of the device, inspection, disinfection, and sterilization.

Commercial Nuclear Reprocessing in the United States

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

Sherrill, Charles Leland; Balatsky, Galya Ivanovna

2015-09-09

The short presentation outline: Reprocessing Overview; Events leading up to Carter’s Policy; Results of the decision; Policy since Nuclear Nonproliferation Act. Conclusions reached: Reprocessing ban has become an easy and visible fix to the public concern about proliferation, but has not completely stopped proliferation; and, Reprocessing needs to become detached from political considerations, so technical research can continue, regardless of the policy decisions we decide to take.

The InSAR Scientific Computing Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosen, Paul A.; Gurrola, Eric; Sacco, Gian Franco; Zebker, Howard

2012-01-01

We have developed a flexible and extensible Interferometric SAR (InSAR) Scientific Computing Environment (ISCE) for geodetic image processing. ISCE was designed from the ground up as a geophysics community tool for generating stacks of interferograms that lend themselves to various forms of time-series analysis, with attention paid to accuracy, extensibility, and modularity. The framework is python-based, with code elements rigorously componentized by separating input/output operations from the processing engines. This allows greater flexibility and extensibility in the data models, and creates algorithmic code that is less susceptible to unnecessary modification when new data types and sensors are available. In addition, the components support provenance and checkpointing to facilitate reprocessing and algorithm exploration. The algorithms, based on legacy processing codes, have been adapted to assume a common reference track approach for all images acquired from nearby orbits, simplifying and systematizing the geometry for time-series analysis. The framework is designed to easily allow user contributions, and is distributed for free use by researchers. ISCE can process data from the ALOS, ERS, EnviSAT, Cosmo-SkyMed, RadarSAT-1, RadarSAT-2, and TerraSAR-X platforms, starting from Level-0 or Level 1 as provided from the data source, and going as far as Level 3 geocoded deformation products. With its flexible design, it can be extended with raw/meta data parsers to enable it to work with radar data from other platforms

Effectiveness of reprocessing for flexible bronchoscopes and endobronchial ultrasound bronchoscopes.

PubMed

Ofstead, Cori L; Quick, Mariah R; Wetzler, Harry P; Eiland, John E; Heymann, Otis L; Sonetti, David A; Ferguson, J Scott

2018-05-30

Infections have been linked to inadequately-reprocessed flexible bronchoscopes, and recent investigations determined that pathogen transmission occurred even when bronchoscope cleaning and disinfection practices aligned with current guidelines. This multisite, prospective study evaluated the effectiveness of real-world bronchoscope reprocessing methods using a systematic approach. This study involved direct observation of reprocessing methods for flexible bronchoscopes, multifaceted evaluations performed after manual cleaning and after high-level disinfection, and assessments of storage conditions. Visual inspections of ports and channels were performed using lighted magnification and borescopes. Contamination was detected using microbial cultures and tests for protein, hemoglobin, and adenosine triphosphate. Researchers assessed reprocessing practices, and storage cabinet cleanliness was evaluated by visual inspection and adenosine triphosphate tests. Researchers examined 24 clinically used bronchoscopes. After manual cleaning, 100% of bronchoscopes had residual contamination. Microbial growth was found in 14 (58%) fully-reprocessed bronchoscopes, including mold, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Escherichia coli/Shigella spp. Visible irregularities were observed in 100% of bronchoscopes, including retained fluid; brown, red, or oily residue; scratches; damaged insertion tubes and distal ends; and filamentous debris in channels. Reprocessing practices were substandard at two of three sites. Damaged and contaminated bronchoscopes were in use at all sites. Inadequate reprocessing practices may have contributed to bioburden found on bronchoscopes. However, even when guidelines were followed, high-level disinfection was not effective. A shift toward the use of sterilized bronchoscopes is recommended. In the meantime, quality management programs and updated reprocessing guidelines are needed. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Trace elements retained in washed nuclear fuel reprocessing solvents

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

Gray, L.W.; MacMurdo, K.W.

1979-09-01

Analysis of purified TBP extractant from solvent extraction processes at Savannah River Plant showed several stable elements and several long-lived radioisotopes. Stable elements Al, Na, Br, Ce, Hg, and Sm are found in trace quantities in the solvent. The only stable metallic element consistently found in the solvent was Al, with a concentration which varies from about 30 ppM to about 10 ppM. The halogens Br and Cl appear to be found in the solvent systems as organo halides. Radionuclides found were principally /sup 106/Ru, /sup 129/I, /sup 3/H, /sup 235/U, and /sup 239/Pu. The /sup 129/I concentration was aboutmore » 1 ppM in the first solvent extraction cycle of each facility. In the other cycles, /sup 129/I concentration varied from about 0.1 to 0.5 ppM. Both /sup 129/I and /sup 3/H appear to be in the organic solvent as a result of exchange with hydrogen.« less

Gloves Reprocessing: Does It Really Save Money?

PubMed

Arora, Pankaj; Kumari, Santosh; Sodhi, Jitender; Talati, Shweta; Gupta, Anil Kumar

2015-12-01

Gloves are reprocessed and reused in health-care facilities in resource-limited settings to reduce the cost of availability of gloves. The study was done with the aim to compute the cost of reprocessing of gloves so that an economically rationale decision can be taken. A retrospective record-based cross-sectional study was undertaken in a central sterile supply department where different steps during reprocessing of gloves were identified and the cost involved in reprocessing per pair of gloves was calculated. The cost of material and manpower was calculated to arrive at the cost of reprocessing per pair of gloves. The cost of a reprocessed pair of surgical gloves was calculated to be Indian Rupee (INR) 14.33 which was greater than the cost of a new pair of disposable surgical gloves (INR 9.90) as the cost of sterilization of one pair of gloves itself came out to  be INR 10.97. The current study showed that the purchase of sterile disposable single-use gloves is cheaper than the process of recycling. Reprocessing of gloves is not economical on tangible terms even in resource-limited settings, and from the perspective of better infection control as well as health-care worker safety, it further justifies the use of disposable gloves.

Yttrium and rare earth stabilized fast reactor metal fuel

DOEpatents

Guon, Jerold; Grantham, LeRoy F.; Specht, Eugene R.

1992-01-01

To increase the operating temperature of a reactor, the melting point and mechanical properties of the fuel must be increased. For an actinide-rich fuel, yttrium, lanthanum and/or rare earth elements can be added, as stabilizers, to uranium and plutonium and/or a mixture of other actinides to raise the melting point of the fuel and improve its mechanical properties. Since only about 1% of the actinide fuel may be yttrium, lanthanum, or a rare earth element, the neutron penalty is low, the reactor core size can be reduced, the fuel can be burned efficiently, reprocessing requirements are reduced, and the nuclear waste disposal volumes reduced. A further advantage occurs when yttrium, lanthanum, and/or other rare earth elements are exposed to radiation in a reactor, they produce only short half life radioisotopes, which reduce nuclear waste disposal problems through much shorter assured-isolation requirements.

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

Bonamici, Chloë E.; Kinman, William S.; Fournelle, John H.

Reprocessed earth material is a glassy nuclear fallout debris from near-surface nuclear tests. A geochemical approach to analysis of glassy fallout is uniquely suited to determine the means of reprocessing and shed light on the mechanisms of fallout formation. An improved understanding of fallout formation is of interest both for its potential to guide post-detonation nuclear forensic investigations and in the context of possible affinities between glassy debris and other glasses generated by high-energy natural events, such as meteorite impacts and lightning strikes. Our study presents a large major-element compositional dataset for glasses within aerodynamic fallout from the Trinity nuclearmore » test (“trinitite”) and a geochemically based analysis of the glass compositional trends. Silica-rich and alkali-rich trinitite glasses show compositions and textures consistent with formation through melting of individual mineral grains—quartz and alkali feldspar, respectively—from the test-site sediment. Furthermore, the volumetrically dominant glass phase—called the CaMgFe glass—shows extreme major-element compositional variability. Compositional trends in the CaMgFe glass are most consistent with formation through volatility-controlled condensation from compositionally heterogeneous plasma. Radioactivity occurs only in CaMgFe glass, indicating that co-condensation of evaporated bulk ground material and trace device material was the main mechanism of radioisotope incorporation into trinitite. CaMgFe trinitite glasses overlap compositionally with basalts, rhyolites, fulgurites, tektites, and microtektites but display greater compositional diversity than all of these naturally formed glasses. Indeed, the most refractory CaMgFe glasses compositionally resemble early solar system condensates—specifically, CAIs.« less

Supply of enriched uranium for research reactors

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

Mueller, H.

1997-08-01

Since the RERTR-meeting In Newport/USA in 1990 the author delivered a series of papers in connection with the fuel cycle for research reactors dealing with its front-end. In these papers the author underlined the need for unified specifications for enriched uranium metal suitable for the production of fuel elements and made proposals with regard to the re-use of in Europe reprocessed highly enriched uranium. With regard to the fuel cycle of research reactors the research reactor community was since 1989 more concentrating on the problems of its back-end since the USA stopped the acceptance of spent research reactor fuel onmore » December 31, 1988. Now, since it is apparent that these back-end problem have been solved by AEA`s ability to reprocess and the preparedness of the USA to again accept physically spent research reactor fuel the author is focusing with this paper again on the front-end of the fuel cycle on the question whether there is at all a safe supply of low and high enriched uranium for research reactors in the future.« less

Weak soft X-ray excesses need not result from the high-frequency tail of the optical/ultraviolet bump in active galactic nuclei

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Czerny, Bozena; Zycki, Piotr T.

1994-01-01

The broad-band ROSAT/EXOSAT X-ray spectra of six Seyfert 1 galaxies are fitted by a model consisting of a direct power law and a component due to reflection/reprocessing from a partially ionized, optically thick medium. The reflected spectrum contains emission features from various elements in the soft X-ray range. In all objects but one (Mrk 335), the fit is satisfactory, and no additional soft X-ray excess is required by the data. This means that in most sources there is no need for the thermal 'big blue bumps' to extend into soft X-rays, and the soft X-ray excesses reported previously can be explained by reflection/reprocessing. Satisfactory fits are obtained for a medium ionized by a source radiating at less than or approximately 15% of the Eddington rate. The fits require that the reflection is enhanced relative to an isotropically emitting source above a flat disk. The necessary high effectiveness of reflection in the soft X-ray band requires strong soft thermal flux dominating over hard X-rays.

Studies in support of an SNM cutoff agreement: The PUREX exercise

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

Stanbro, W.D.; Libby, R.; Segal, J.

1995-07-01

On September 23, 1993, President Clinton, in a speech before the United Nations General Assembly, called for an international agreement banning the production of plutonium and highly enriched uranium for nuclear explosive purposes. A major element of any verification regime for such an agreement would probably involve inspections of reprocessing plants in Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty weapons states. Many of these are large facilities built in the 1950s with no thought that they would be subject to international inspection. To learn about some of the problems that might be involved in the inspection of such large, old facilities, the Department ofmore » Energy, Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation, sponsored a mock inspection exercise at the PUREX plant on the Hanford Site. This exercise examined a series of alternatives for inspections of the PUREX as a model for this type of facility at other locations. A series of conclusions were developed that can be used to guide the development of verification regimes for a cutoff agreement at reprocessing facilities.« less

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

Bruffey, Stephanie H.; Jubin, Robert Thomas; Jordan, J. A.

U.S. regulations will require the removal of 129I from the off-gas streams of any used nuclear fuel (UNF) reprocessing plant prior to discharge of the off-gas to the environment. Multiple off-gas streams within a UNF reprocessing plant combine prior to release, and each of these streams contains some amount of iodine. For an aqueous UNF reprocessing plant, these streams include the dissolver off-gas, the cell off-gas, the vessel off-gas (VOG), the waste off-gas and the shear off-gas. To achieve regulatory compliance, treatment of multiple off-gas streams within the plant must be performed. Preliminary studies have been completed on the adsorptionmore » of I 2 onto silver mordenite (AgZ) from prototypical VOG streams. The study reported that AgZ did adsorb I 2 from a prototypical VOG stream, but process upsets resulted in an uneven feed stream concentration. The experiments described in this document both improve the characterization of I 2 adsorption by AgZ from dilute gas streams and further extend it to include characterization of the adsorption of organic iodides (in the form of CH 3I) onto AgZ under prototypical VOG conditions. The design of this extended duration testing was such that information about the rate of adsorption, the penetration of the iodine species, and the effect of sorbent aging on iodine removal in VOG conditions could be inferred.« less

Development of a methodology to accelerate a spontaneous grass colonization in a tailings storage facility under semiarid mediterranean climate type

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ginocchio, Rosanna; Arellano, Eduardo; Morales-Ladron de Guevara, Arturo

2016-04-01

Phytostabilization of massive mine tailings (>400 he) under semiarid environments is challenging, particularly when no organic amendments are locally available and no irrigation is possible. Increasing tendency for reprocessing old tailings to recover valued metals further pioneer the need for simple but effective plant covers. The choice of plant species and form of management are thus very important. CODELCO-Chile chose the Cauquenes post-operational tailings storage facility (TFS; 700 ha), that will be reprocessed for copper and other elements in the near future, to evaluate efficacy of the phytostabilization technology under semiarid conditions in central Chile. Surface application of a polymer (Soiltac TM) has been used for wind control of tailings but phytostabilization is considered as a best cost-effective alternative. A field study was performed to define a management program to improve the establishment and cover of an annual native grass (Vulpia myuros var. megalura), a spontaneous colonizer of the TSF. Considered management factors were control of macro herbivores (with and without fence), macronutrient improvement (with and without application of N-rich foliar fertilizer), and improvement of seed retention in the substrate (with and without small-scale rugosity; with and without lived wind-breakers; with and without mechanical wind-breakers). Each treatment was replicated three times and established in 2 m x 2 m quadrats. Plant response variables were monitored after 1 and 2 grass growing seasons. Application of N-rich foliar fertilizer and any wind control mechanism for seed retention in the substrate were effective for significantly improving both grass cover and biomass production in time, irrespective of macro-herbivore control. Seed production was significantly improved when macro herbivores were excluded and was positively and significantly correlated to vegetative biomass production. When applying this management program for tailings phytostabilization at large-scaale, surface ploughing of tailings would be a cheaper alternative for seed retention in the substrate than lived or mechanical wind-breakers. Study funded by CODELCO El Teniente

Radioactivity levels in major French rivers: summary of monitoring chronicles acquired over the past thirty years and current status.

PubMed

Eyrolle, Frédérique; Claval, David; Gontier, Gilles; Antonelli, Christelle

2008-07-01

Since the beginning of the 1990 s, liquid releases of gamma-emitting radionuclides from French nuclear facilities have generally fallen by almost 85%. Almost 65% of gamma-emitting liquid effluents released into freshwater rivers concerned the River Rhône (Southeast France), with around 85% of this originating from the Marcoule spent fuel reprocessing plant. Upstream of French nuclear plants, artificial radionuclides still detected by gamma spectrometry in 2006, include (137)Cs, (131)I as well as (60)Co, (58)Co and (54)Mn in the case of the Rhine (Switzerland nuclear industries). In the wake of the fallout from the Chernobyl accident, (103)Ru, (106)Rh-Ru, (110 m)Ag, (141)Ce and (129)Te were detected in rivers in the east of France. Some of these radionuclides were found in aquatic plants until 1989. In eastern France, (137)Cs activity in river sediments and mosses is still today two to three times greater than that observed in similar environments in western France. No (134)Cs has been detected upstream of nuclear plants in French rivers since 2001. Downstream of nuclear plants, the gamma emitters still detected regularly in rivers in 2006 are (137)Cs, (134)Cs, (60)Co, (58)Co, (110 m)Ag, (54)Mn, (131)I, together with (241)Am downstream of the Marcoule spent fuel reprocessing plant. Alpha and beta emitters such as plutonium isotopes and (90)Sr first entered freshwaters at the early 1950s due to the leaching of soils contaminated by atmospheric fallout from nuclear testing. These elements were also introduced, in the case of the Rhône River, via effluent from the Marcoule reprocessing plant. Until the mid 1990 s, plutonium isotope levels observed in the lower reaches of the Rhône were 10 to 1000 times higher than those observed in other French freshwaters. Data gathered over a period of almost thirty years of radioecological studies reveal that the only radionuclides detected in fish muscles are (137)Cs, (90)Sr, plutonium isotopes and (241)Am. At the scale of the French territory, there is no significant difference since the mid 1990 s between (137)Cs activity observed downstream of nuclear facilities and that observed upstream, whether in sediments, mosses and fish. Finally, this study highlights that the natural radioactivity of surface freshwaters are around 25 times greater than artificial radioactivity from gamma emitters. However, non gamma emitters released by nuclear industries, such as (3)H, may lead to artificial activity levels 2 to 20 times higher than natural levels.

Using eye movement desensitization and reprocessing to enhance treatment of couples.

PubMed

Protinsky, H; Sparks, J; Flemke, K

2001-04-01

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) as a clinical technique may enhance treatment effectiveness when applied within a couple therapy approach that is emotionally and experientially oriented. Clinical experience indicates that EMDR-based interventions are useful for accessing, activating, tolerating, and reprocessing the intense emotions that often fuel dysfunctional couple interactions. Using EMDR within conjoint sessions to reprocess negative emotions can amplify intimacy, increase connection, and subsequently lead to a change in problematic relationship patterns.

Case outsourcing medical device reprocessing.

PubMed

Haley, Deborah

2004-04-01

IN THE INTEREST OF SAVING MONEY, many hospitals are considering extending the life of some single-use medical devices by using medical device reprocessing programs. FACILITIES OFTEN LACK the resources required to meet the US Food and Drug Administration's tough quality assurance standards. BY OUTSOURCING, hospitals can reap the benefits of medical device reprocessing without assuming additional staffing and compliance burdens. OUTSOURCING enables hospitals to implement a medical device reprocessing program quickly, with no capital investment and minimal effort.

Investigating the effect of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) on postoperative pain intensity in adolescents undergoing surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Maroufi, Mohsen; Zamani, Shahla; Izadikhah, Zahra; Marofi, Maryam; O'Connor, Peter

2016-09-01

To investigate the efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing for postoperative pain management in adolescents. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is an inexpensive, non-pharmacological intervention that has successfully been used to treat chronic pain. It holds promise in the treatment of acute, postsurgical pain based on its purported effects on the brain and nervous system. A randomized controlled trial was used. Fifty-six adolescent surgical patients aged between 12-18 years were allocated to gender-balanced Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (treatment) or non-Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (control) groups. Pain was measured using the Wong-Baker FACES(®) Pain Rating Scale (WBFS) before and after the intervention (or non-intervention for the control group). A Wilcoxon signed-rank test demonstrated that the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing group experienced a significant reduction in pain intensity after treatment intervention, whereas the control group did not. Additionally, a Mann-Whitney U-test showed that, while there was no significant difference between the two groups at time 1, there was a significant difference in pain intensity between the two groups at time 2, with the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing group experiencing lower levels of pain. These results suggest that Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing may be an effective treatment modality for postoperative pain. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Plutonium: Advancing our Understanding to Support Sustainable Nuclear Fuel Cycles

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

Lines, Amanda M.; Adami, Susan R.; Casella, Amanda

With Global energy needs increasing, real energy solutions to meet demands now, are needed. Fossil fuels are not an ideal candidate to meet these needs because of their negative impact on the environment. Renewables such as wind and solar have huge potential, but still need major technological advancements (particularly in the area of battery storage) before they can effectively meet growing world needs. The best option for meeting large energy needs without a large carbon footprint is nuclear energy. Of course, nuclear energy can face a fair amount of opposition and concern. However, through modern engineering and science many ofmore » these concerns can now be addressed. Many safety concerns can be met by engineering advancements, but perhaps the biggest area of concern is what to do with the used nuclear fuel after it is removed from the reactor. Currently the United States (and several other countries) utilize an open fuel cycle, meaning fuel is only used once and then discarded. It should be noted that fuel coming out of a reactor has utilized approximately 1% of the total energy that could be produced by the uranium in the fuel rod. The answer here is to close the fuel cycle and recycle the nuclear materials. By reprocessing used nuclear fuel, all the U can be repurposed without requiring disposal. The various fission products can be removed and either discarded (hugely reduced waste volume) or more reasonably, utilized in specialty reactors to make more energy or needed research/medical isotopes. While reprocessing technology is currently advanced enough to meet energy needs, completing research to improve and better understand these techniques is still needed. Better understanding behavior of fission products is one area of important research. Despite it being discovered over 75 years ago, plutonium is still an exciting element to study because of the complex solution chemistry it exhibits. In aqueous solutions Pu can exist simultaneously in multiple oxidation states, including 3+, 4+, and 6+. It also readily forms a variety of metal-ligand complexes depending on solution pH and available ligands. Understanding of the behavior of Pu in solution remains an important area of research today, with relevance to developing sustainable nuclear fuel cycles, minimizing its impact on the environment, and detecting and preventing the spread of nuclear weapons technology.« less

Effects of heat/citric acid reprocessing on high-flux polysulfone dialyzers.

PubMed

Cornelius, Rena M; McClung, W Glenn; Richardson, Robert M A; Estridge, Charles; Plaskos, Nicholas; Yip, Christopher M; Brash, John L

2002-01-01

The surface features, morphology, and tensile properties of fibers obtained from pristine, reprocessed, and reused Fresenius Polysulfone High-Flux (Hemoflow F80A) hemodialyzers have been studied. Scanning electron microscopy of the dialyzer fibers revealed a dense skin layer on the inner surface of the membrane and a relatively thick porous layer on the outer surface. Transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy showed an alteration in membrane morphology due to reprocessing and reuse, or to a deposition of blood-borne material on the membrane that is not removed with reprocessing. Fluorescent microscopy images also showed that a fluorescent material not removed by heat/citric acid reprocessing builds up with continued use of the dialyzers. The tensile properties of the dialyzer fibers were not affected by the heat/citric acid reprocessing procedure. The protein layers formed on pristine and reused hemodialyzer membranes during clinical use were also studied using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting. A considerable amount of protein was found on the blood side of single and multiple use dialyzers. Proteins adsorbed on the dialysate side of the membrane were predominantly in the molecular weight region below 30 kDa. Little protein was detected on the membranes of reprocessed hemodialyzers.

76 FR 45268 - Reprocessing of Reusable Medical Devices

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-28

... personal information provided. For additional information on submitting comments, see the ``Comments... problems in all steps of medical device reprocessing,\\1\\ including cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilizing... following issues: 1. What are the nature, scope, and impact of reusable medical device reprocessing problems...

Effect of reprocessing cycles on the degradation of polypropylene copolymer filled with talc or montmorillonite during injection molding process

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

Demori, R.; Mauler, R. S., E-mail: raquel.mauler@ufrgs.br; Ashton, E.

Mechanical recycling of polymeric materials is a favorable technique resulting in economic and environmental benefits, especially in the case of polymers with a high production volume as the polypropylene copolymer (PP). However, recycling by reprocessing techniques can lead to thermal, mechanical or thermo-oxidative degradation that can affect the structure of the polymer and subsequently the material properties. PP filled with montmorillonite (MMT) or talc are widely produced and studied, however, its degradation reactions by reprocessing cycles are poorly studied so far. In this study, the effects of reprocessing cycles in the structure and in the properties of the PP/MMT andmore » PP/Talc were evaluated. The samples were mixed with 5% talc or MMT Cloisite C15A in a twin-screw extrusion. After extrusion, this filled material was submitted to five reprocessing cycles through an injection molding process. In order to evaluate the changes induced by reprocessing techniques, the samples were characterized by DSC, FT-IR, Izod impact and tensile strength tests. The study showed that Young modulus, elongation at brake and Izod impact were not affected by reprocessing cycles, except when using talc. In this case, the elongation at brake reduced until the fourth cycle, showing rigidity increase. The DSC results showed that melting and crystallization temperature were not affected. A comparison of FT-IR spectra of the reprocessed indicated that in both samples, between the first and the fifth cycle, no noticeable change has occurred. Thus, there is no evidence of thermo oxidative degradation. In general, these results suggest that PP reprocessing cycles using MMT or talc does not change the material properties until the fifth cycle.« less

Reprocessing and reuse of urological armamentarium: How correct are we!

PubMed Central

Raval, Krutik Vipulbhai; Chaudhari, Rajeev; Khant, Shahil Rameshbhai; Joglekar, Omkar; Patel, Dipen

2017-01-01

Healthcare is expensive for a large proportion of the population in spite of high per capita income and good health insurance penetration. In an effort to reduce cost of the procedure, reprocessing of devices was started in the late 1970s. Reprocessing practice includes various measures such as proper cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization procedures. As reprocessing is aimed at reducing cost, there is a potential risk of compromising patient safety due to cross contamination after inadequate sterilization. There is also risk of performance alteration of urological reprocessed devices during sterilization/disinfection processing. Therefore, there is a need for formulating proper guidelines to decide methods of reprocessing for various urological equipment. There is also need to discuss the problematic areas that urologists face and to find their solutions. A PubMed search was made in September 2016, using key words “reprocessing of medical devices,” “Single Use Devices,” “methods of reprocessing of devices in clinical practice,” “use of formalin chamber,” “urological disposable sterilization,” etc., After excluding duplicates, all English articles were reviewed by title and abstract. Full texts of selected articles were obtained, and these articles were cross-referenced to find any other related articles. All the articles were reviewed. A product can be reused if it can be economically reprocessed with validated protocols with preservation of its function. There is no reason to discard it after one use. This practice is useful for controlling economics of a urological case and to reduce the financial burden. Current Food and Drug Administration guidelines are stringent. The contamination described to test the sterilization process in the suggested guidelines actually does never exist in clinical practice. Therefore, new guidelines considering the clinical practice scenario are desirable. PMID:28479760

On the influence of the americium isotopic vector on the cooling time of minor actinides bearing blankets in fast reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kooyman, Timothée; Buiron, Laurent; Rimpault, Gerald

2018-05-01

In the heterogeneous minor actinides transmutation approach, the nuclei to be transmuted are loaded in dedicated targets often located at the core periphery, so that long-lived heavy nuclides are turned into shorter-lived fission products by fission. To compensate for low flux level at the core periphery, the minor actinides content in the targets is set relatively high (around 20 at.%), which has a negative impact on the reprocessing of the targets due to their important decay heat level. After a complete analysis of the main contributors to the heat load of the irradiated targets, it is shown here that the choice of the reprocessing order of the various feeds of americium from the fuel cycle depends on the actual limit for fuel reprocessing. If reprocessing of hot targets is possible, it is more interesting to reprocess first the americium feed with a high 243Am content in order to limit the total cooling time of the targets, while if reprocessing of targets is limited by their decay heat, it is more interesting to wait for an increase in the 241Am content before loading the americium in the core. An optimization of the reprocessing order appears to lead to a decrease of the total cooling time by 15 years compared to a situation where all the americium feeds are mixed together when two feeds from SFR are considered with a high reprocessing limit.

Iodine Adsorption in Metal Organic Frameworks in the Presence of Humidity

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

Banerjee, Debasis; Chen, Xianyin; Lobanov, Sergey S.

Used nuclear fuel (UNF) reprocessing represents a unique challenge when dealing with radionuclides such as isotopes of 85Kr and 129I 2, due to their volatility and long half-life. However, efficient capture of 129I 2 (t 1/2 = 15.7 x 10 6 years) from the nuclear waste stream can help to reduce the risk of releasing I 2 radionuclide into the environment and mitigate concerns about human health problems. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have been reported to be potential I 2 adsorbents: but the effect of water vapor, generally present in the reprocessing off-gas stream is rarely taken into account. Moisturemore » stable porous MOFs, which can selectively adsorb I 2 in presence of water vapor is thus of great interest. Herein, the I 2 adsorption performance of two microporous MOFs is reported in presence of different humidity. I…π phenyl ring interactions are mainly responsible for the adsorption as revealed by single crystal XRD« less

Breakthrough in Xenon Capture and Purification Using Adsorbent-Supported Silver Nanoparticles.

PubMed

Deliere, Ludovic; Coasne, Benoit; Topin, Sylvain; Gréau, Claire; Moulin, Christophe; Farrusseng, David

2016-07-04

Rare gas capture and purification is a major challenge for energy, environment, and health applications. Of utmost importance for the nuclear industry, novel separation processes for Xe are urgently needed for spent nuclear fuel reprocessing and nuclear activity monitoring. The recovered, non-radioactive Xe is also of high economic value for lighting, surgical anesthetic, etc. Here, using adsorption and breakthrough experiments and statistical mechanics molecular simulation, we show the outstanding performance of zeolite-supported silver nanoparticles to capture/separate Xe at low concentrations (0.087-100 ppm). We also establish the efficiency of temperature swing adsorption based on such adsorbents for Xe separation from Kr/Xe mixtures and air streams corresponding to off-gases generated by nuclear reprocessing. This study paves the way for the development of novel, cost-efficient technologies relying on the large selectivity/capacity of adsorbent-supported silver nanoparticles which surpass all materials ever tested. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Vertical distributions of (99)Tc and the (99)Tc/(137)Cs activity ratio in the coastal water off Aomori, Japan.

PubMed

Nakanishi, Takahiro; Zheng, Jian; Aono, Tatsuo; Yamada, Masatoshi; Kusakabe, Masashi

2011-08-01

Using a sector-field ICP-MS the vertical distributions of the (99)Tc concentration and (99)Tc/(137)Cs activity ratio were measured in the coastal waters off Aomori Prefecture, Japan, where a spent-nuclear-fuel reprocessing plant has begun test operation. The (99)Tc concentrations in surface water ranged from 1.8 to 2.4 mBq/m(3), no greater than the estimated background level. Relatively high (99)Tc/(137)Cs activity ratios (10-12 × 10(-4)) would be caused by the inflow of the high-(99)Tc/(137)Cs water mass from the Japan Sea. There is no observable contamination from the reprocessing plant in the investigated area. The (99)Tc concentration and the (99)Tc/(137)Cs activity ratio in water column showed gradual decreases with depth. Our results implied that (99)Tc behaves in a more conservative manner than (137)Cs in marine environments. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

76 FR 24494 - Draft Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff: Processing/Reprocessing Medical Devices in Health Care...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-02

...] Draft Guidance for Industry and FDA Staff: Processing/ Reprocessing Medical Devices in Health Care... Devices in Health Care Settings: Validation Methods and Labeling.'' The recommendations in this guidance... Staff: Processing/Reprocessing Medical Devices in Health Care Settings: Validation Methods and Labeling...

Using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing To Enhance Treatment of Couples.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Protinsky, Howard; Sparks, Jennifer; Flemke, Kimberly

2001-01-01

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) as a clinical technique may enhance treatment effectiveness when applied in couple therapy that is emotionally and experientially oriented. Clinical experience indicates EMDR-based interventions are useful for accessing and reprocessing intense emotions in couple interactions. EMDR can amplify…

Reprocessing system with nuclide separation based on chromatography in hydrochloric acid solution

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

Suzuki, Tatsuya; Tachibana, Yu; Koyama, Shi-ichi

2013-07-01

We have proposed the reprocessing system with nuclide separation processes based on the chromatographic technique in the hydrochloric acid solution system. Our proposed system consists of the dissolution process, the reprocessing process, the minor actinide separation process, and nuclide separation processes. In the reprocessing and separation processes, the pyridine resin is used as a main separation media. It was confirmed that the dissolution in the hydrochloric acid solution is easily achieved by the plasma voloxidation and by the addition of oxygen peroxide into the hydrochloric acid solution.

Consolidated fuel reprocessing program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1985-02-01

Improved processes and components for the Breeder Reprocessing Engineering Test (BRET) were identified and developed as well as the design, procurement and development of prototypic equipment. The integrated testing of process equipment and flowsheets prototypical of a pilot scale full reprocessing plant, and also for testing prototypical remote features of specific complex components in the system are provided. Information to guide the long range activities of the Consolidated Fuel Reprocessing Program (CERP), a focal point for foreign exchange activities, and support in specialized technical areas are described. Research and development activities in HTGR fuel treatment technology are being conducted. Head-end process and laboratory scale development efforts, as well as studies specific to HTGR fuel, are reported. The development of off-gas treatment processes has generic application to fuel reprocessing, progress in this work is also reported.

Evaluation and quantification of reprocessing modification in single-use devices in interventional cardiology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tessarolo, Francesco; Ferrari, Paolo; Silvia, Bortoluzzi; Motta, Antonella; Migliaresi, Claudio; Zennaro, Lucio; Rigo, Adelio; Guarrera, Giovanni Maria; Nollo, Giandomenico

2004-11-01

The increasing demand in interventional cardiology urges for reprocessing of single-use-labelled medical devices. To fulfil this aim, accurate and validated regeneration protocols are mandatory to guarantee sterility, functionality and safeness. The reprocessing protocol was realized by decontamination with chloro-donors, cleaning with enzymatic solutions and hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilization. Reprocessing effects on ablation and electrophysiology catheters were evaluated by assessing physical-chemical changes on surfaces and bulks, as a function of the reprocessing cycles number. Conventional optical microscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) underlined the presence of micro-scratches on the polyurethane shaft surface. A clear correlation was found between surface damages and number of reprocessing cycles. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) confirmed the occurrence of physical-chemical etching of the polyurethane shaft caused by the hydrogen peroxide plasma sterilization, with increasing of nano-roughness at increasing number of the reprocessing cycles. UV-Vis spectra performed on the incubation solution of polymeric shaft sample, showed an absorbance increase at about 208 nm. This fact could be attributed to the water elution from the polymer of low molecular weight oligomers. The presence of hydrolysis products of the polymeric shaft after incubation demands both the characterization of the products released in the solution and the chemical characterization of the water exposed surface.

The CMEMS L3 scatterometer wind product

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Kloe, Jos; Stoffelen, Ad; Verhoef, Anton

2017-04-01

Within the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service KNMI produces several ocean surface Level 3 wind products. These are daily updated global maps on a regular grid of the available scatterometer wind observations and derived properties, and produced from our EUMETSAT Ocean and Sea Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI SAF) operational near-real time (NRT) Level 2 swath-based wind products by linear interpolation. Currently available products are the ASCAT on Metop A/B stress equivalent wind vectors, accompanied by ECMWF NWP reference stress equivalent winds from the operational ECMWF NWP model. For each ASCAT scatterometer we provide products on 2 different resolutions, 0.25 and 0.125 degrees. In addition we provide wind stress vectors, and derivative fields (curl and divergence) for stress equivalent wind and wind stress, both for the observations and for the NWP reference winds. New NRT scatterometer products will be made available when additional scatterometer instruments become available, and NRT access to the data can be arranged. We hope OSCAT on the Indian ScatSat-1 satellite will be the the next NRT product to be added. In addition multi-year reprocessing datasets have been made available for ASCAT on Metop-A (1-Jan-2007 up to 31-Mar-2014) and Seawinds on QuikScat (19-Jul-1999 up to 21-Nov-2009). For ASCAT 0.25 and 0.125 degree resolution products are provided, and for QuikScat 0.50 and 0.25 degree resolution products are provided, These products are based on reprocessing the L2 scatterometer products with the latest processing software version, and include reference winds from the ECMWF ERA-Interim model. Additional reprocessing datasets will be added when reprocessed L2 datasets become available. This will hopefully include the ERS-1 and ERS-2 scatterometer datasets (1992-2001), which will extend the available date range back to 1992. These products are available for download through the CMEMS portal website: http://marine.copernicus.eu/

A geochemical approach to constraining the formation of glassy fallout debris from nuclear tests

DOE PAGES

Bonamici, Chloë E.; Kinman, William S.; Fournelle, John H.; ...

2016-12-15

Reprocessed earth material is a glassy nuclear fallout debris from near-surface nuclear tests. A geochemical approach to analysis of glassy fallout is uniquely suited to determine the means of reprocessing and shed light on the mechanisms of fallout formation. An improved understanding of fallout formation is of interest both for its potential to guide post-detonation nuclear forensic investigations and in the context of possible affinities between glassy debris and other glasses generated by high-energy natural events, such as meteorite impacts and lightning strikes. Our study presents a large major-element compositional dataset for glasses within aerodynamic fallout from the Trinity nuclearmore » test (“trinitite”) and a geochemically based analysis of the glass compositional trends. Silica-rich and alkali-rich trinitite glasses show compositions and textures consistent with formation through melting of individual mineral grains—quartz and alkali feldspar, respectively—from the test-site sediment. Furthermore, the volumetrically dominant glass phase—called the CaMgFe glass—shows extreme major-element compositional variability. Compositional trends in the CaMgFe glass are most consistent with formation through volatility-controlled condensation from compositionally heterogeneous plasma. Radioactivity occurs only in CaMgFe glass, indicating that co-condensation of evaporated bulk ground material and trace device material was the main mechanism of radioisotope incorporation into trinitite. CaMgFe trinitite glasses overlap compositionally with basalts, rhyolites, fulgurites, tektites, and microtektites but display greater compositional diversity than all of these naturally formed glasses. Indeed, the most refractory CaMgFe glasses compositionally resemble early solar system condensates—specifically, CAIs.« less

A geochemical approach to constraining the formation of glassy fallout debris from nuclear tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonamici, Chloë E.; Kinman, William S.; Fournelle, John H.; Zimmer, Mindy M.; Pollington, Anthony D.; Rector, Kirk D.

2017-01-01

Glassy nuclear fallout debris from near-surface nuclear tests is fundamentally reprocessed earth material. A geochemical approach to analysis of glassy fallout is uniquely suited to determine the means of reprocessing and shed light on the mechanisms of fallout formation. An improved understanding of fallout formation is of interest both for its potential to guide post-detonation nuclear forensic investigations and in the context of possible affinities between glassy debris and other glasses generated by high-energy natural events, such as meteorite impacts and lightning strikes. This study presents a large major-element compositional dataset for glasses within aerodynamic fallout from the Trinity nuclear test ("trinitite") and a geochemically based analysis of the glass compositional trends. Silica-rich and alkali-rich trinitite glasses show compositions and textures consistent with formation through melting of individual mineral grains—quartz and alkali feldspar, respectively—from the test-site sediment. The volumetrically dominant glass phase—called the CaMgFe glass—shows extreme major-element compositional variability. Compositional trends in the CaMgFe glass are most consistent with formation through volatility-controlled condensation from compositionally heterogeneous plasma. Radioactivity occurs only in CaMgFe glass, indicating that co-condensation of evaporated bulk ground material and trace device material was the main mechanism of radioisotope incorporation into trinitite. CaMgFe trinitite glasses overlap compositionally with basalts, rhyolites, fulgurites, tektites, and microtektites but display greater compositional diversity than all of these naturally formed glasses. Indeed, the most refractory CaMgFe glasses compositionally resemble early solar system condensates—specifically, CAIs.

Demand driven salt clean-up in a molten salt fast reactor - Defining a priority list.

PubMed

Merk, B; Litskevich, D; Gregg, R; Mount, A R

2018-01-01

The PUREX technology based on aqueous processes is currently the leading reprocessing technology in nuclear energy systems. It seems to be the most developed and established process for light water reactor fuel and the use of solid fuel. However, demand driven development of the nuclear system opens the way to liquid fuelled reactors, and disruptive technology development through the application of an integrated fuel cycle with a direct link to reactor operation. The possibilities of this new concept for innovative reprocessing technology development are analysed, the boundary conditions are discussed, and the economic as well as the neutron physical optimization parameters of the process are elucidated. Reactor physical knowledge of the influence of different elements on the neutron economy of the reactor is required. Using an innovative study approach, an element priority list for the salt clean-up is developed, which indicates that separation of Neodymium and Caesium is desirable, as they contribute almost 50% to the loss of criticality. Separating Zirconium and Samarium in addition from the fuel salt would remove nearly 80% of the loss of criticality due to fission products. The theoretical study is followed by a qualitative discussion of the different, demand driven optimization strategies which could satisfy the conflicting interests of sustainable reactor operation, efficient chemical processing for the salt clean-up, and the related economic as well as chemical engineering consequences. A new, innovative approach of balancing the throughput through salt processing based on a low number of separation process steps is developed. Next steps for the development of an economically viable salt clean-up process are identified.

77 FR 38789 - Notice of Availability of Draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing Evaluation for the Concentrator...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-29

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Notice of Availability of Draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing Evaluation...: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of a draft... Center in West Valley, New York, are waste incidental to reprocessing and thus are not high-level...

Sterilization and reprocessing of materials and medical devices--reusability.

PubMed

Jayabalan, M

1995-07-01

Problems associated with reprocessing of disposable medical devices such as hemodialysers with resterilization for reuse and changes in material properties with resterilization of polymeric (PVC, polypropylene, polyester, polycarbonate) materials intended for development of disposable devices are reviewed. Reprocessing of hospital supplies, polystyrene microtiter plate and angiographic catheter for reuse is also discussed.

[Destruction of microsurgical devices by sterilisation].

PubMed

Berto, Raphaela; Strutz, Jürgen

2017-11-01

Hospital facilities issue numerous risk announcements on corrosion, deformation or premature wearout of medical devices every year. As there is yet little data on the impact of reprocessing on the quality and durability of microsurgical instruments, this paper aims at evaluating the effects of the reprocessing on microsurgical instruments. Material and Methods 22 brand new microsurgical instruments for stapes surgery were being reprocessed 30 times without being used for surgery or other purposes in the interim time. After each reprocessing the instruments were examined macroscopicly and microscopicly. The results were portrayed in a photo documentation and analysed on that basis. Results Almost all devices showed mechanical damage caused by the reprocessing procedure. The increasing deterioration was often associated with missing protective caps. Furthermore contaminations and stains were apparent in several cases. Conclusions The findings illustrate that careful handling of delicate surgical devices during reprocessing is vital. They also highlight problems of protective caps. As an alternative going forward it should be considered to store microsurgical instruments statically in special racks. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

WEO position statement on hygiene in digestive endoscopy: Focus on endoscopy units in Asia and the Middle East.

PubMed

Murdani, Abdullah; Kumar, Ajay; Chiu, Han-Mo; Goh, Khean-Lee; Jang, Byung Ik; Khor, Christopher J L; Lau, James; Mostafa, Ibrahim; Ramchandani, Mohan; Ratanalert, Siriporn; Tajiri, Hisao; Yuen, Minghwa; Zhang, Shu Tian; Duforest-Rey, Dianelle; Rey, Jean-Francois

2017-01-01

The aim of this position statement is to reinforce the key points of hygiene in digestive endoscopy. The present article details the minimum hygiene requirements for reprocessing of endoscopes and endoscopic devices, regardless of the reprocessing method (automated washer-disinfector or manual cleaning) and the endoscopy setting (endoscopy suite, operating room, elective or emergency procedures). These minimum requirements are mandatory for patient safety. Both advanced diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopies should be carried out in an environment that is safe for patients and staff. Particular attention is given to contaminants. Procedural errors in decontamination, defective equipment, and failure to follow disinfection guidelines are major factors contributing to transmission of infection during endoscopy. Other important risk factors include inadequate cleaning, use of older endoscopes with surface and working channel irregularities, and contamination of water bottles or irrigating solutions. Infections by multidrug-resistant organisms have become an increasing problem in health-care systems worldwide. Since 2010, outbreaks of multidrug-resistant bacteria associated with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography have been reported from the USA, France, Germany, and The Netherlands. In many endoscopy units in Asia and the Middle East, reprocessing procedures have lagged behind those of Western countries for cultural reasons or lack of financial resources. This inconsistency in standards is now being addressed, and the World Endoscopy Organization has prepared this position statement to highlight key points for quality assurance in any endoscopy unit in any country. © 2016 Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society.

TIGA Tide Gauge Data Reprocessing at GFZ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Zhiguo; Schöne, Tilo; Gendt, Gerd

2014-05-01

To analyse the tide gauge measurements for the purpose of global long-term sea level change research a well-defined absolute reference frame is required by oceanographic community. To create such frame the data from a global GNSS network located at or near tide gauges are processed. For analyzing the GNSS data on a preferably continuous basis the International GNSS Service (IGS) Tide Gauge Benchmark Monitoring Working Group (TIGA-WG) is responsible. As one of the TIGA Analysis Centers the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) is contributing to the IGS TIGA Reprocessing Campaign. The solutions of the TIGA Reprocessing Campaign will also contribute to 2nd IGS Data Reprocessing Campaign with GFZ IGS reprocessing solution. After the first IGS reprocessing finished in 2010 some improvements were implemented into the latest GFZ software version EPOS.P8: reference frame IGb08 based on ITRF2008, antenna calibration igs08.atx, geopotential model (EGM2008), higher-order ionospheric effects, new a priori meteorological model (GPT2), VMF mapping function, and other minor improvements. GPS data of the globally distributed tracking network of 794 stations for the time span from 1994 until end of 2012 are used for the TIGA reprocessing. To handle such large network a new processing strategy is developed and described in detail. In the TIGA reprocessing the GPS@TIGA data are processed in precise point positioning (PPP) mode to clean data using the IGS reprocessing orbit and clock products. To validate the quality of the PPP coordinate results the rates of 80 GPS@TIGA station vertical movement are estimated from the PPP results using Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method. The rates are compared with the solution of University of LaRochelle Consortium (ULR) (named ULR5). 56 of the 80 stations have a difference of the vertical velocities below 1 mm/yr. The error bars of PPP rates are significant larger than those of ULR5, which indicates large time correlated noise in the PPP solutions.

Evaluation of Reprocessed Suomi NPP VIIRS Sensor Data Records based on Sensitivity of Environmental Data Records Trending to Changes in Sensor Data Records

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, J.; Weng, F.; Sun, N.

2017-12-01

As the inputs to satellite Environmental Data Records (EDR) that provide continuous monitoring of Earth System changes from space, Sensor Data Records (SDR) need to meet very high standards of accuracy. SDR reprocessing, aiming for accurately accounting sensor degradation and calibration issues, is therefore very important in satellite remote sensing. Previous studies on heritage Terra MODIS in NASA Earth Observation System (EOS) indicated that SDR degradation over time, if not correctly calibrated and reprocessed, can result in false trending in several key satellite EDR observations, such as aerosol optical depth (AOD) and vegetation index (VI). Yet the sensitivity of these EDRs to the changes in the reprocessed SDRs is still not comprehensively understood or quantified. As part of the Suomi NPP SDR long term monitoring efforts, the current ongoing SDR reprocessing at NOAA NESDIS STAR provides a unique test bed for quantifying the changes of EDRs to the reprocessed SDRs, and thus improves our understanding of the potential impacts of the SDR reprocessing on our capability of critical Earth observations. For the sensitivity investigation, we selected the VIIRS aerosol algorithm, which EDR algorithm uses most of the visible to near infrared (VIS-NIR) SDR bands. Several aerosol hotspot regions over the globe are selected for conducting AOD trending analysis under several prescribed SDR reprocessing scenarios, and the changes in the spatial and temporal characterizations of AOD are linked to the changes in SDR for exploration of any potential systematic relations. Preliminary results indicated that although changes varies by regions and seasons, some EDRs can be sensitive to even slight SDR changes in certain VIS-NIR bands. The study sheds important lights on how we can use the SDR-EDR relation as an additional approach to facilitate the SDR reprocessing evaluation. Details of the finding will be reported at the presentation.

The Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation Safeguards and Separations Reprocessing Plant Toolkit

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

McCaskey, Alex; Billings, Jay Jay; de Almeida, Valmor F

2011-08-01

This report details the progress made in the development of the Reprocessing Plant Toolkit (RPTk) for the DOE Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program. RPTk is an ongoing development effort intended to provide users with an extensible, integrated, and scalable software framework for the modeling and simulation of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plants by enabling the insertion and coupling of user-developed physicochemical modules of variable fidelity. The NEAMS Safeguards and Separations IPSC (SafeSeps) and the Enabling Computational Technologies (ECT) supporting program element have partnered to release an initial version of the RPTk with a focus on software usabilitymore » and utility. RPTk implements a data flow architecture that is the source of the system's extensibility and scalability. Data flows through physicochemical modules sequentially, with each module importing data, evolving it, and exporting the updated data to the next downstream module. This is accomplished through various architectural abstractions designed to give RPTk true plug-and-play capabilities. A simple application of this architecture, as well as RPTk data flow and evolution, is demonstrated in Section 6 with an application consisting of two coupled physicochemical modules. The remaining sections describe this ongoing work in full, from system vision and design inception to full implementation. Section 3 describes the relevant software development processes used by the RPTk development team. These processes allow the team to manage system complexity and ensure stakeholder satisfaction. This section also details the work done on the RPTk ``black box'' and ``white box'' models, with a special focus on the separation of concerns between the RPTk user interface and application runtime. Section 4 and 5 discuss that application runtime component in more detail, and describe the dependencies, behavior, and rigorous testing of its constituent components.« less

Comment on "radioactive fallout in the United States due to the Fukushima nuclear plant accident" by P. Thakur, S. Ballard and R. Nelson, J. Environ. Monit., 2012, 14, 1317-1324.

PubMed

Rose, Paula S

2014-07-01

The May 2012 paper "Radioactive fallout in the United States due to the Fukushima nuclear plant accident" (P. Thakur, S. Ballard and R. Nelson, J. Environ. Monit., 2012, 14, 1317-1324), does not address medical patient excreta as a source of (131)I (t1/2 = 8.04 d) to the environment. While (131)I is generated during fission reactions and may be released to the environment from nuclear power plants, nuclear weapons tests, nuclear fuel reprocessing and weapons production facilities, it is also produced for medical use. Iodine-131 administered to patients, excreted and discharged to sewer systems is readily measureable in sewage and the environment; the patient-to-sewage pathway is the only source of (131)I in many locations.

TRMM Data Improvement as Part of the GPM Data Processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stocker, Erich F.; Ji, Y.; Kwiatkowski, J.; Kelley, O.; Stout, J.; Woltz, L.

2016-01-01

NASA has a long standing commitment to the improvement of its mission datasets. Indeed, data reprocessing is always built into the plans, schedule and budget for the mission data processing system. However, in addition to these ongoing mission reprocessing, NASA also supports a final reprocessing of all the data for a mission upon its completion (known as Phase F). TRMM Phase F started with the end of the TRMM mission in June of 2015. This last reprocessing has two overall goals: improvement of the TRMM mission data products; incorporation of the 17+ years of TRMM data into the ongoing NASA/JAXA GPM data processing. The first goal guarantees that the latest algorithms used for precipitation retrievals will also be used in reprocessing the TRMM data. The second goal ensures that as GPM algorithms are improved, the entire TRMM data will always be reprocessed with each GPM reprocessing. In essence TRMM becomes another of the GPM constellation satellites. This paper will concentrate on presenting the improvements to TMI level 1 data including calibration, geolocation, and emissive antenna corrections. It will describe the format changes that will occur how the TMI level 1C product will be intercalibrated using GMI as the reference calibration. It will also provide an overview of changes in the precipitation radar products as well as the combined TMIPR product.

ORNL experience and perspectives related to processing of thorium and 233U for nuclear fuel

DOE PAGES

Croff, Allen G.; Collins, Emory D.; Del Cul, G. D.; ...

2016-05-01

Thorium-based nuclear fuel cycles have received renewed attention in both research and public circles since about the year 2000. Much of the attention has been focused on nuclear fission energy production that utilizes thorium as a fertile element for producing fissionable 233U for recycle in thermal reactors, fast reactors, or externally driven systems. Here, lesser attention has been paid to other fuel cycle operations that are necessary for implementation of a sustainable thorium-based fuel cycle such as reprocessing and fabrication of recycle fuels containing 233U.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Orbits based on speckle interferometry at SOAR (Tokovinin, 2016)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tokovinin, A.

2017-03-01

This paper presents new or updated orbits for 55 binary systems or subsystems. It is based on speckle interferometric measurements made at the 4.1m Southern Astrophyisical Research (SOAR) telescope combined with archival data collected in the Washington Double Star Catalog (WDS; Mason et al. 2001-2014, Cat. B/wds). Table1 lists the orbital elements and their errors in common notation. Individual observations and residuals are listed in Table2. It contains still unpublished measures made at SOAR in 2016, while some published SOAR measures were reprocessed. Table3 provides additional information. (4 data files).

Research principles and the construction of mnemonic diagrams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Venda, V. F.; Mitkin, A. A.

1973-01-01

Mnemonic diagrams are defined as a variety of information display devices, the essential element of which is conventional graphical presentation of technological or functional-operational links in a controlled system or object. Graphically displaying the operational structure of an object, the interd dependence between different parameters, and the interdependence between indicators and control organs, the mneomonic diagram reduces the load on the operator's memory and facilitates perception and reprocessing of information and decision making, while at the same time playing the role of visual support to the information activity of the operator. The types of mnemonic diagrams are listed.

Between-cycle laser system for depressurization and resealing of modified design nuclear fuel assemblies

DOEpatents

Bradley, John G.

1982-01-01

A laser beam is used to puncture fuel cladding for release of contained pressurized fission gas from plenum sections or irradiated fuel pins. Exhausted fission gases are collected and trapped for safe disposal. The laser beam, adjusted to welding mode, is subsequently used to reseal the puncture holes. The fuel assembly is returned to additional irradiation or, if at end of reactivity lifetime, is routed to reprocess. The fuel assembly design provides graded cladding lengths, by rows or arrays, such that the cladding of each component fuel element of the assembly is accessible to laser beam reception.

Superbugs on Duodenoscopes: the Challenge of Cleaning and Disinfection of Reusable Devices

PubMed Central

McDonnell, Gerald

2015-01-01

Inadequate flexible endoscope reprocessing has been associated with infection outbreaks, most recently caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Lapses in essential device reprocessing steps such as cleaning, disinfection/sterilization, and storage have been reported, but some outbreaks have occurred despite claimed adherence to established guidelines. Recommended changes in these guidelines include the use of sterilization instead of high-level disinfection or the use of routine microbial culturing to monitor efficacy of reprocessing. This review describes the current standards for endoscope reprocessing, associated outbreaks, and the complexities associated with both microbiological culture and sterilization approaches to mitigating the risk of infection associated with endoscopy. PMID:26202125

Framework conditions and requirements to ensure the technical functional safety of reprocessed medical devices.

PubMed

Kraft, Marc

2008-09-03

Testing and restoring technical-functional safety is an essential part of medical device reprocessing. Technical functional tests have to be carried out on the medical device in the course of the validation of reprocessing procedures. These ensure (in addition to the hygiene tests) that the reprocessing procedure is suitable for the medical device. Functional tests are, however, also a part of reprocessing procedures. As a stage in the reprocessing, they ensure for the individual medical device that no damage or other changes limit the performance. When determining which technical-functional tests are to be carried out, the current technological standard has to be taken into account in the form of product-specific and process-oriented norms. Product-specific norms primarily define safety-relevant requirements. The risk management method described in DIN EN ISO 14971 is the basis for recognising hazards; the likelihood of such hazards arising can be minimised through additional technical-functional tests, which may not yet have been standardised. Risk management is part of a quality management system, which must be bindingly certified for manufacturers and processors of critical medical devices with particularly high processing demands by a body accredited by the competent authority.

Framework conditions and requirements to ensure the technical functional safety of reprocessed medical devices

PubMed Central

Kraft, Marc

2008-01-01

Testing and restoring technical-functional safety is an essential part of medical device reprocessing. Technical functional tests have to be carried out on the medical device in the course of the validation of reprocessing procedures. These ensure (in addition to the hygiene tests) that the reprocessing procedure is suitable for the medical device. Functional tests are, however, also a part of reprocessing procedures. As a stage in the reprocessing, they ensure for the individual medical device that no damage or other changes limit the performance. When determining which technical-functional tests are to be carried out, the current technological standard has to be taken into account in the form of product-specific and process-oriented norms. Product-specific norms primarily define safety-relevant requirements. The risk management method described in DIN EN ISO 14971 is the basis for recognising hazards; the likelihood of such hazards arising can be minimised through additional technical-functional tests, which may not yet have been standardised. Risk management is part of a quality management system, which must be bindingly certified for manufacturers and processors of critical medical devices with particularly high processing demands by a body accredited by the competent authority. PMID:20204095

Combined orbits and clocks from IGS second reprocessing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griffiths, Jake

2018-05-01

The Analysis Centers (ACs) of the International GNSS Service (IGS) have reprocessed a large global network of GPS tracking data from 1994.0 until 2014.0 or later. Each AC product time series was extended uniformly till early 2015 using their weekly operational IGS contributions so that the complete combined product set covers GPS weeks 730 through 1831. Three ACs also included GLONASS data from as early as 2002 but that was insufficient to permit combined GLONASS products. The reprocessed terrestrial frame combination procedures and results have been reported already, and those were incorporated into the ITRF2014 multi-technique global frame released in 2016. This paper describes the orbit and clock submissions and their multi-AC combinations and assessments. These were released to users in early 2017 in time for the adoption of IGS14 for generating the operational IGS products. While the reprocessing goal was to enable homogeneous modeling, consistent with the current operational procedures, to be applied retrospectively to the full history of observation data in order to achieve a more suitable reference for geophysical studies, that objective has only been partially achieved. Ongoing AC analysis changes and a lack of full participation limit the consistency and precision of the finished IG2 products. Quantitative internal measures indicate that the reprocessed orbits are somewhat less precise than current operational orbits or even the later orbits from the first IGS reprocessing campaign. That is even more apparent for the clocks where a lack of robust AC participation means that it was only possible to form combined 5-min clocks but not the 30-s satellite clocks published operationally. Therefore, retrospective precise point positioning solutions by users are not recommended using the orbits and clocks. Nevertheless, the orbits do support long-term stable user solutions when used with network processing with either double differencing or explicit clock estimation. Among the main benefits of the reprocessing effort is a more consistent long product set to analyze for sources of systematic error and accuracy. Work to do that is underway but the reprocessing experience already points to a number of ways future IGS performance and reprocessing campaigns can be improved.

Spent nuclear fuel assembly inspection using neutron computed tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pope, Chad Lee

The research presented here focuses on spent nuclear fuel assembly inspection using neutron computed tomography. Experimental measurements involving neutron beam transmission through a spent nuclear fuel assembly serve as benchmark measurements for an MCNP simulation model. Comparison of measured results to simulation results shows good agreement. Generation of tomography images from MCNP tally results was accomplished using adapted versions of built in MATLAB algorithms. Multiple fuel assembly models were examined to provide a broad set of conclusions. Tomography images revealing assembly geometric information including the fuel element lattice structure and missing elements can be obtained using high energy neutrons. A projection difference technique was developed which reveals the substitution of unirradiated fuel elements for irradiated fuel elements, using high energy neutrons. More subtle material differences such as altering the burnup of individual elements can be identified with lower energy neutrons provided the scattered neutron contribution to the image is limited. The research results show that neutron computed tomography can be used to inspect spent nuclear fuel assemblies for the purpose of identifying anomalies such as missing elements or substituted elements. The ability to identify anomalies in spent fuel assemblies can be used to deter diversion of material by increasing the risk of early detection as well as improve reprocessing facility operations by confirming the spent fuel configuration is as expected or allowing segregation if anomalies are detected.

Superbugs on Duodenoscopes: the Challenge of Cleaning and Disinfection of Reusable Devices.

PubMed

Humphries, Romney M; McDonnell, Gerald

2015-10-01

Inadequate flexible endoscope reprocessing has been associated with infection outbreaks, most recently caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Lapses in essential device reprocessing steps such as cleaning, disinfection/sterilization, and storage have been reported, but some outbreaks have occurred despite claimed adherence to established guidelines. Recommended changes in these guidelines include the use of sterilization instead of high-level disinfection or the use of routine microbial culturing to monitor efficacy of reprocessing. This review describes the current standards for endoscope reprocessing, associated outbreaks, and the complexities associated with both microbiological culture and sterilization approaches to mitigating the risk of infection associated with endoscopy. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Demand driven salt clean-up in a molten salt fast reactor – Defining a priority list

PubMed Central

Litskevich, D.; Gregg, R.; Mount, A. R.

2018-01-01

The PUREX technology based on aqueous processes is currently the leading reprocessing technology in nuclear energy systems. It seems to be the most developed and established process for light water reactor fuel and the use of solid fuel. However, demand driven development of the nuclear system opens the way to liquid fuelled reactors, and disruptive technology development through the application of an integrated fuel cycle with a direct link to reactor operation. The possibilities of this new concept for innovative reprocessing technology development are analysed, the boundary conditions are discussed, and the economic as well as the neutron physical optimization parameters of the process are elucidated. Reactor physical knowledge of the influence of different elements on the neutron economy of the reactor is required. Using an innovative study approach, an element priority list for the salt clean-up is developed, which indicates that separation of Neodymium and Caesium is desirable, as they contribute almost 50% to the loss of criticality. Separating Zirconium and Samarium in addition from the fuel salt would remove nearly 80% of the loss of criticality due to fission products. The theoretical study is followed by a qualitative discussion of the different, demand driven optimization strategies which could satisfy the conflicting interests of sustainable reactor operation, efficient chemical processing for the salt clean-up, and the related economic as well as chemical engineering consequences. A new, innovative approach of balancing the throughput through salt processing based on a low number of separation process steps is developed. Next steps for the development of an economically viable salt clean-up process are identified. PMID:29494604

MAPGEN CARTOGRAPHIC SYSTEM.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Evenden, Gerald I.; ,

1986-01-01

MAPGEN is a software system that facilitates production of cartographic displays in the research and production environment. The system generates a set of metagraphic overlays of application-defined geographical information that can be aggregated in any combination for display without reprocessing the original data. An overview of the control files, available cartographic projections, graphic attributes, overlay generator and ancillary support programs, and the device-independent graphic subsystem are presented, along with examples of usage. System transportability and associated host hardware and operating system requirements are also addressed.

Automatic flexible endoscope reprocessors.

PubMed

Muscarella, L F

2000-04-01

Reprocessing medical instruments is a complex and controversial discipline. If all instruments were constructed of materials not damaged by heat, pressure, and moisture, instrument reprocessing would be greatly simplified. As the number of novel and complex instruments entering the market continues to increase, periodic review of the health care facility's instrument reprocessing protocols to ensure their safety and effectiveness is important. This article reviews the advantages and the limitations of automatic flexible endoscope reprocessors.

AirMSPI Level 1B2 V003 New and Reprocessed Data

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2013-12-10

AirMSPI Level 1B2 V003 New and Reprocessed Data PODEX Thursday, December 12, ... The V001 & V002 data were reprocessed as V003, as well as new Pacific targets acquired on February 1, 2013. This release also includes both a terrain and an ellipsoid kml file per date/time/target. More details about the PODEX campaign and AirMSPI participation can be ...

RXTE and BeppoSAX Observations of MCG-5-23-16: Reflection From Distant Cold Material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mattson, B. J.; Weaver, K. A.

2003-01-01

We examine the spectral variability of the Seyfert 1.9 galaxy MCG-5-23-16 using RXTE and BeppoSAX observations spanning 2 years from April 1996 to April 1998. During the first year the X-ray source brightens by a factor of approximately 25% on timescales of days to months. During this time, the reprocessed continuum emission seen with RXTE does not respond measurably to the continuum increase. However, by the end of the second year during the BeppoSAX epoch the X-ray source has faded again. This time, the reprocessed emission has also faded, indicating that the reprocessed flux has responded to the continuum. If these effects are caused by time delays due to the distance between the X-ray source and the reprocessing region, we derive a light crossing time of between approximately 1 light day and approximately 1.5 light years. This corresponds to a distance of 0.001 pc to 0.55 pc, which implies that the reprocessed emission originates between 3 x 10(exp 15) cm and 1.6 x 10(exp l8) cm from the X-ray source. In other words, the reprocessing in MCG-5-23-16 is not dominated by the inner regions of a standard accretion disk.

Simethicone residue remains inside gastrointestinal endoscopes despite reprocessing.

PubMed

Ofstead, Cori L; Wetzler, Harry P; Johnson, Ellen A; Heymann, Otis L; Maust, Thomas J; Shaw, Michael J

2016-11-01

During a study designed to assess endoscope reprocessing effectiveness, a borescope was used to examine lumens and ports. Cloudy, white, viscous fluid was observed inside fully reprocessed gastroscopes and colonoscopes. This fluid resembled simethicone, which is commonly administered to reduce foam and bubbles that impede visualization during gastrointestinal endoscopy. This article describes methods used to determine whether the observed fluid contained simethicone. Photographs of residual fluid were taken using a borescope. Sterile cotton-tipped swabs were used to collect samples of fluid observed in 3 endoscope ports. Samples were evaluated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)-attenuated total reflection analysis. Residual fluid was observed inside 19 of 20 endoscopes. Fluid photographed in 8 endoscopes resembled simethicone solutions. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of simethicone in 2 endoscopes. Fluid containing simethicone remained inside endoscopes despite reprocessing. Simethicone is an inert, hydrophobic substance that may reduce reprocessing effectiveness. Simethicone solutions commonly contain sugars and thickeners, which may contribute to microbial growth and biofilm development. Studies are needed to assess the prevalence of residual moisture and simethicone in endoscopes and determine the impact on reprocessing effectiveness. We recommend minimizing the use of simethicone pending further research into its safety. Copyright © 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Modeling the economics of landfilling organic processing waste streams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosentrater, Kurt A.

2005-11-01

As manufacturing industries become more cognizant of the ecological effects that their firms have on the surrounding environment, their waste streams are increasingly becoming viewed not only as materials in need of disposal, but also as resources that can be reused, recycled, or reprocessed into valuable products. Within the food processing sector are many examples of various liquid, sludge, and solid biological and organic waste streams that require remediation. Alternative disposal methods for food and other bio-organic manufacturing waste streams are increasingly being investigated. Direct shipping, blending, extrusion, pelleting, and drying are commonly used to produce finished human food, animal feed, industrial products, and components ready for further manufacture. Landfilling, the traditional approach to waste remediation, however, should not be dismissed entirely. It does provide a baseline to which all other recycling and reprocessing options should be compared. This paper discusses the implementation of a computer model designed to examine the economics of landfilling bio-organic processing waste streams. Not only are these results applicable to food processing operations, but any industrial or manufacturing firm would benefit from examining the trends discussed here.

Monitoring of endoscope reprocessing with an adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence method.

PubMed

Parohl, Nina; Stiefenhöfer, Doris; Heiligtag, Sabine; Reuter, Henning; Dopadlik, Dana; Mosel, Frank; Gerken, Guido; Dechêne, Alexander; Heintschel von Heinegg, Evelyn; Jochum, Christoph; Buer, Jan; Popp, Walter

2017-01-01

Background: The arising challenges over endoscope reprocessing quality proposes to look for possibilities to measure and control the process of endoscope reprocessing. Aim: The goal of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of monitoring endoscope reprocessing with an adenosine triphosphate (ATP) based bioluminescence system. Methods: 60 samples of eight gastroscopes have been assessed from routine clinical use in a major university hospital in Germany. Endoscopes have been assessed with an ATP system and microbial cultures at different timepoints during the reprocessing. Findings: After the bedside flush the mean ATP level in relative light units (RLU) was 19,437 RLU, after the manual cleaning 667 RLU and after the automated endoscope reprocessor (AER) 227 RLU. After the manual cleaning the mean total viable count (TVC) per endoscope was 15.3 CFU/10 ml, and after the AER 5.7 CFU/10 ml. Our results show that there are reprocessing cycles which are not able to clean a patient used endoscope. Conclusion: Our data suggest that monitoring of flexible endoscope with ATP can identify a number of different influence factors, like the endoscope condition and the endoscopic procedure, or especially the quality of the bedside flush and manual cleaning before the AER. More process control is one option to identify and improve influence factors to finally increase the overall reprocessing quality, best of all by different methods. ATP measurement seems to be a valid technique that allows an immediate repeat of the manual cleaning if the ATP results after manual cleaning exceed the established cutoff of 200 RLU.

Challenges associated with the behaviour of radioactive particles in the environment.

PubMed

Salbu, Brit; Kashparov, Valery; Lind, Ole Christian; Garcia-Tenorio, Rafael; Johansen, Mathew P; Child, David P; Roos, Per; Sancho, Carlos

2018-06-01

A series of different nuclear sources associated with the nuclear weapon and fuel cycles have contributed to the release of radioactive particles to the environment. Following nuclear weapon tests, safety tests, conventional destruction of weapons, reactor explosions and fires, a major fraction of released refractory radionuclides such as uranium (U) and plutonium (Pu) were present as entities ranging from sub microns to fragments. Furthermore, radioactive particles and colloids have been released from reprocessing facilities and civil reactors, from radioactive waste dumped at sea, and from NORM sites. Thus, whenever refractory radionuclides are released to the environment following nuclear events, radioactive particles should be expected. Results from many years of research have shown that particle characteristics such as elemental composition depend on the source, while characteristics such as particle size distribution, structure, and oxidation state influencing ecosystem transfer depend also on the release scenarios. When radioactive particles are deposited in the environment, weathering processes occur and associated radionuclides are subsequently mobilized, changing the apparent K d . Thus, particles retained in soils or sediments are unevenly distributed, and dissolution of radionuclides from particles may be partial. For areas affected by particle contamination, the inventories can therefore be underestimated, and impact and risk assessments may suffer from unacceptable large uncertainties if radioactive particles are ignored. To integrate radioactive particles into environmental impact assessments, key challenges include the linking of particle characteristics to specific sources, to ecosystem transfer, and to uptake and retention in biological systems. To elucidate these issues, the EC-funded COMET and RATE projects and the IAEA Coordinated Research Program on particles have revisited selected contaminated sites and archive samples. This COMET position paper summarizes new knowledge on key sources that have contributed to particle releases, including particle characteristics based on advanced techniques, with emphasis on particle weathering processes as well as on heterogeneities in biological samples to evaluate potential uptake and retention of radioactive particles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sodium aluminum-iron phosphate glass-ceramics for immobilization of lanthanide oxide wastes from pyrochemical reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stefanovsky, S. V.; Stefanovsky, O. I.; Kadyko, M. I.; Nikonov, B. S.

2018-03-01

Sodium aluminum (iron) phosphate glass ceramics containing of up to 20 wt.% rare earth (RE) oxides simulating pyroprocessing waste were produced by melting at 1250 °C followed by either quenching or slow cooling to room temperature. The iron-free glass-ceramics were composed of major glass and minor phosphotridymite and monazite. The iron-bearing glass-ceramics were composed of major glass and minor monazite and Na-Al-Fe orthophosphate at low waste loadings (5-10 wt.%) and major orthophosphate and minor monazite as well as interstitial glass at high waste loadings (15-20 wt.%). Slowly cooled samples contained higher amount of crystalline phases than quenched ones. Monazite is major phase for REs. Leach rates from the materials of major elements (Na, Al, Fe, P) are 10-5-10-7 g cm-2 d-1, RE elements - lower than 10-5 g cm-2 d-1.

The VATO project: An original methodology to study the transfer of tritium as HT and HTO in grassland ecosystem.

PubMed

Maro, D; Vermorel, F; Rozet, M; Aulagnier, C; Hébert, D; Le Dizès, S; Voiseux, C; Solier, L; Cossonnet, C; Godinot, C; Fiévet, B; Laguionie, P; Connan, O; Cazimajou, O; Morillon, M; Lamotte, M

2017-02-01

Tritium ( 3 H) is mainly released into the environment by nuclear power plants, military nuclear facilities and nuclear reprocessing plants. The construction of new nuclear facilities in the world as well as the evolution of nuclear fuel management might lead to an increase of 3 H discharges from the nuclear industry. The VATO project was set up by IRSN (Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire) and EDF (Electricité de France) to reduce the uncertainties in the knowledge about transfers of 3 H from an atmospheric source (currently releasing HT and HTO) to a grassland ecosystem. A fully instrumented technical platform with specifically designed materials was set up downwind of the AREVA NC La Hague reprocessing plant (Northwest of the France). This study, started in 2013, was conducted in four main steps to provide an hourly data set of 3 H concentrations in the environment, adequate to develop and/or validate transfer models. It consisted first in characterizing the physico-chemical forms of 3 H present in the air around the plant. Then, 3 H transfer kinetics to grass were quantified regarding contributions from various compartments of the environment. For this purpose, an original experimental procedure was provided to take account for biases due to rehydration of freeze-dried samples for the determination of OBT activity concentrations in biological samples. In a third step, the 3 H concentrations measured in the air and in rainwater were reconstructed at hourly intervals. Finally, a data processing technique was used to determine the biological half-lives of OBT in grass. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The status of the AMS system at MALT in its 20th year

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsuzaki, Hiroyuki; Nakano, Chuichiro; Tsuchiya, Yoko S.; Ito, Seiji; Morita, Akira; Kusuno, Haruka; Miyake, Yasuto; Honda, Maki; Bautista VII, Angel T.; Kawamoto, Marina; Tokuyama, Hironori

2015-10-01

MALT (Micro Analysis Laboratory, Tandem accelerator, The University of Tokyo) was designed for a 'highly sensitive and precise elemental and isotopic microanalysis system' using an ion-beam generated by a Pelletron™ 5UD tandem accelerator. Currently, a multi-nuclide AMS (10Be, 14C, 26Al, 36Cl, 129I) system is available and shows good performance in both precision and sensitivity, and the accelerator serves for PIXE, NRA, ERDA/RBS measurements as well. The total operation time of the accelerator has been over 95,000 hours since the start of MALT, 20 years ago. After the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, many projects related to 129I have been conducted. The retrospective reconstruction of the 131I distribution at the accident from 129I is one of the most important missions for dose evaluation of the residents. The accident-derived 129I is also quite useful as a tracer for the general iodine dynamics in the environment. As a new tool for environmental assessment related to nuclear activity, including the global fallout from past atmospheric nuclear bomb testing, effects from the spent fuel reprocessing plant, and nuclear accidents such as Chernobyl and FDNPP, a 236U-AMS system is now under development.

Near-conservative behavior of 129Iodine in the Orange County Aquifer System, California

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

Schwer, K A; Santschi, P H; Moran, J E

Iodine is a biophilic element, with one stable isotope, {sup 127}I, and one long-lived radioisotope, {sup 129}I, which originates in the surface environment almost entirely from anthropogenic activities such as nuclear fuel reprocessing. Very few studies have evaluated the geochemical behavior of iodine isotopes in the subsurface. The concentrations of {sup 129}I and {sup 127}I were measured in wells fed by a series of artificial recharge ponds in the Forebay Area of the Orange County groundwater basin (California, USA) to evaluate their potential use as hydrological tracers. To substantiate interpretation of {sup 129}I and {sup 127}I concentration data, the aquifermore » system was evaluated using literature values of aquifer water mass age based on {sup 3}H/{sup 3}He, Xenon and {delta}{sup 18}O tracer data, as well as time-series data of Santa Ana River flow rates over the past decade. The aquifer data demonstrate the nearly conservative behavior of {sup 129}I, with {sup 129}I/{sup 127}I ratios likely reflecting variations in source functions as well as climatic conditions, and with inferred particle-water partition coefficients (K{sub d}) of 0.1 cm{sup 3} g{sup -1} or less.« less

Influence of uncertainties of isotopic composition of the reprocessed uranium on effectiveness of its enrichment in gas centrifuge cascades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smirnov, A. Yu; Mustafin, A. R.; Nevinitsa, V. A.; Sulaberidze, G. A.; Dudnikov, A. A.; Gusev, V. E.

2017-01-01

The effect of the uncertainties of the isotopic composition of the reprocessed uranium on its enrichment process in gas centrifuge cascades while diluting it by adding low-enriched uranium (LEU) and waste uranium. It is shown that changing the content of 232U and 236U isotopes in the initial reprocessed uranium within 15% (rel.) can significantly change natural uranium consumption and separative work (up to 2-3%). However, even in case of increase of these parameters is possible to find the ratio of diluents, where the cascade with three feed flows (depleted uranium, LEU and reprocessed uranium) will be more effective than ordinary separation cascade with one feed point for producing LEU from natural uranium.

Reconfigurable and Reprocessable Thermoset Shape Memory Polymer with Synergetic Triple Dynamic Covalent Bonds.

PubMed

Wang, Yongwei; Pan, Yi; Zheng, Zhaohui; Ding, Xiaobin

2018-04-20

Degradable shape memory polymers (SMPs), especially for polyurethane-based SMPs, have shown great potential for biomedical applications. How to reasonably fabricate SMPs with the ideal combination of degradability, shape reconfigurability, and reprocessability is a critical issue and remains a challenge for medical disposable materials. Herein, a shape memory poly(urethane-urea) with synergetic triple dynamic covalent bonds is reported via embedding polycaprolactone unit into poly(urethane-urea) with the hindered urea dynamic bond. The single polymer network is biodegradable, thermadapt, and reprocessable, without sacrificing the outstanding shape memory performance. Such a shape memory network with plasticity and reprocessability is expected to have significant and positive impact on the medical device industry. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

EOS Data Products Latency and Reprocessing Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramapriyan, H. K.; Wanchoo, L.

2012-12-01

NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) Data and Information System (EOSDIS) program has been processing, archiving, and distributing EOS data since the launch of Terra platform in 1999. The EOSDIS Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) and Science-Investigator-led Processing Systems (SIPSs) are generating over 5000 unique products with a daily average volume of 1.7 Petabytes. Initially EOSDIS had requirements to make process data products within 24 hours of receiving all inputs needed for generating them. Thus, generally, the latency would be slightly over 24 and 48 hours after satellite data acquisition, respectively, for Level 1 and Level 2 products. Due to budgetary constraints these requirements were relaxed, with the requirement being to avoid a growing backlog of unprocessed data. However, the data providers have been generating these products in as timely a manner as possible. The reduction in costs of computing hardware has helped considerably. It is of interest to analyze the actual latencies achieved over the past several years in processing and inserting the data products into the EOSDIS archives for the users to support various scientific studies such as land processes, oceanography, hydrology, atmospheric science, cryospheric science, etc. The instrument science teams have continuously evaluated the data products since the launches of EOS satellites and improved the science algorithms to provide high quality products. Data providers have periodically reprocessed the previously acquired data with these improved algorithms. The reprocessing campaigns run for an extended time period in parallel with forward processing, since all data starting from the beginning of the mission need to be reprocessed. Each reprocessing activity involves more data than the previous reprocessing. The historical record of the reprocessing times would be of interest to future missions, especially those involving large volumes of data and/or computational loads due to complexity of algorithms. Evaluation of latency and reprocessing times requires some of the product metadata information, such as the beginning and ending time of data acquisition, processing date, and version number. This information for each product is made available by data providers to the ESDIS Metrics System (EMS). The EMS replaced the earlier ESDIS Data Gathering and Reporting System (EDGRS) in FY2005. Since then it has collected information about data products' ingest, archive, and distribution. The analysis of latencies and reprocessing times will provide an insight to the data provider process and identify potential areas of weakness in providing timely data to the user community. Delays may be caused by events such as system unavailability, disk failures, delay in level 0 data delivery, availability of input data, network problems, and power failures. Analysis of metrics will highlight areas for focused examination of root causes for delays. The purposes of this study are to: 1) perform a detailed analysis of latency of selected instrument products for last 6 years; 2) analyze the reprocessed data from various data providers to determine the times taken for reprocessing campaigns; 3) identify potential reasons for any anomalies in these metrics.

Comparative cost-efficiency of the EVOTECH endoscope cleaner and reprocessor versus manual cleaning plus automated endoscope reprocessing in a real-world Canadian hospital endoscopy setting

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Reprocessing of endoscopes generally requires labour-intensive manual cleaning followed by high-level disinfection in an automated endoscope reprocessor (AER). EVOTECH Endoscope Cleaner and Reprocessor (ECR) is approved for fully automated cleaning and disinfection whereas AERs require manual cleaning prior to the high-level disinfection procedure. The purpose of this economic evaluation was to determine the cost-efficiency of the ECR versus AER methods of endoscopy reprocessing in an actual practice setting. Methods A time and motion study was conducted at a Canadian hospital to collect data on the personnel resources and consumable supplies costs associated with the use of EVOTECH ECR versus manual cleaning followed by AER with Medivators DSD-201. Reprocessing of all endoscopes was observed and timed for both reprocessor types over three days. Laboratory staff members were interviewed regarding the consumption and cost of all disposable supplies and equipment. Exact Wilcoxon rank sum test was used for assessing differences in total cycle reprocessing time. Results Endoscope reprocessing was significantly shorter with the ECR than with manual cleaning followed by AER. The differences in median time were 12.46 minutes per colonoscope (p < 0.0001), 6.31 minutes per gastroscope (p < 0.0001), and 5.66 minutes per bronchoscope (p = 0.0040). Almost 2 hours of direct labour time was saved daily with the ECR. The total per cycle cost of consumables and labour for maintenance was slightly higher for EVOTECH ECR versus manual cleaning followed by AER ($8.91 versus $8.31, respectively). Including the cost of direct labour time consumed in reprocessing scopes, the per cycle and annual costs of using the EVOTECH ECR was less than the cost of manual cleaning followed by AER disinfection ($11.50 versus $11.88). Conclusions The EVOTECH ECR was more efficient and less costly to use for the reprocessing of endoscopes than manual cleaning followed by AER disinfection. Although the cost of consumable supplies required to reprocess endoscopes with EVOTECH ECR was slightly higher, the value of the labour time saved with EVOTECH ECR more than offset the additional consumables cost. The increased efficiency with EVOTECH ECR could lead to even further cost-savings by shifting endoscopy laboratory personnel responsibilities but further study is required. PMID:21967345

Comparative cost-efficiency of the EVOTECH endoscope cleaner and reprocessor versus manual cleaning plus automated endoscope reprocessing in a real-world Canadian hospital endoscopy setting.

PubMed

Forte, Lindy; Shum, Cynthia

2011-10-03

Reprocessing of endoscopes generally requires labour-intensive manual cleaning followed by high-level disinfection in an automated endoscope reprocessor (AER). EVOTECH Endoscope Cleaner and Reprocessor (ECR) is approved for fully automated cleaning and disinfection whereas AERs require manual cleaning prior to the high-level disinfection procedure. The purpose of this economic evaluation was to determine the cost-efficiency of the ECR versus AER methods of endoscopy reprocessing in an actual practice setting. A time and motion study was conducted at a Canadian hospital to collect data on the personnel resources and consumable supplies costs associated with the use of EVOTECH ECR versus manual cleaning followed by AER with Medivators DSD-201. Reprocessing of all endoscopes was observed and timed for both reprocessor types over three days. Laboratory staff members were interviewed regarding the consumption and cost of all disposable supplies and equipment. Exact Wilcoxon rank sum test was used for assessing differences in total cycle reprocessing time. Endoscope reprocessing was significantly shorter with the ECR than with manual cleaning followed by AER. The differences in median time were 12.46 minutes per colonoscope (p < 0.0001), 6.31 minutes per gastroscope (p < 0.0001), and 5.66 minutes per bronchoscope (p = 0.0040). Almost 2 hours of direct labour time was saved daily with the ECR. The total per cycle cost of consumables and labour for maintenance was slightly higher for EVOTECH ECR versus manual cleaning followed by AER ($8.91 versus $8.31, respectively). Including the cost of direct labour time consumed in reprocessing scopes, the per cycle and annual costs of using the EVOTECH ECR was less than the cost of manual cleaning followed by AER disinfection ($11.50 versus $11.88). The EVOTECH ECR was more efficient and less costly to use for the reprocessing of endoscopes than manual cleaning followed by AER disinfection. Although the cost of consumable supplies required to reprocess endoscopes with EVOTECH ECR was slightly higher, the value of the labour time saved with EVOTECH ECR more than offset the additional consumables cost. The increased efficiency with EVOTECH ECR could lead to even further cost-savings by shifting endoscopy laboratory personnel responsibilities but further study is required.

Verification measurements of the IRMM-1027 and the IAEA large-sized dried (LSD) spikes.

PubMed

Jakopič, R; Aregbe, Y; Richter, S; Zuleger, E; Mialle, S; Balsley, S D; Repinc, U; Hiess, J

2017-01-01

In the frame of the accountancy measurements of the fissile materials, reliable determinations of the plutonium and uranium content in spent nuclear fuel are required to comply with international safeguards agreements. Large-sized dried (LSD) spikes of enriched 235 U and 239 Pu for isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) analysis are routinely applied in reprocessing plants for this purpose. A correct characterisation of these elements is a pre-requirement for achieving high accuracy in IDMS analyses. This paper will present the results of external verification measurements of such LSD spikes performed by the European Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Gaseous fuel reactors for power systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kendall, J. S.; Rodgers, R. J.

1977-01-01

Gaseous-fuel nuclear reactors have significant advantages as energy sources for closed-cycle power systems. The advantages arise from the removal of temperature limits associated with conventional reactor fuel elements, the wide variety of methods of extracting energy from fissioning gases, and inherent low fissile and fission product in-core inventory due to continuous fuel reprocessing. Example power cycles and their general performance characteristics are discussed. Efficiencies of gaseous fuel reactor systems are shown to be high with resulting minimal environmental effects. A technical overview of the NASA-funded research program in gaseous fuel reactors is described and results of recent tests of uranium hexafluoride (UF6)-fueled critical assemblies are presented.

Back-end of the fuel cycle - Indian scenario

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

Wattal, P.K.

Nuclear power has a key role in meeting the energy demands of India. This can be sustained by ensuring robust technology for the back end of the fuel cycle. Considering the modest indigenous resources of U and a huge Th reserve, India has adopted a three stage Nuclear Power Programme (NPP) based on 'closed fuel cycle' approach. This option on 'Recovery and Recycle' serves twin objectives of ensuring adequate supply of nuclear fuel and also reducing the long term radio-toxicity of the wastes. Reprocessing of the spent fuel by Purex process is currently employed. High Level Liquid Waste (HLW) generatedmore » during reprocessing is vitrified and undergoes interim storage. Back-end technologies are constantly modified to address waste volume minimization and radio-toxicity reduction. Long-term management of HLW in Indian context would involve partitioning of long lived minor actinides and recovery of valuable fission products specifically cesium. Recovery of minor actinides from HLW and its recycle is highly desirable for the sustained growth of India's NPPs. In this context, programme for developing and deploying partitioning technologies on industrial scale is pursued. The partitioned elements could be either transmuted in Fast Reactors (FRs)/Accelerated Driven Systems (ADS) as an integral part of sustainable Indian NPP. (authors)« less

Evaluation of Methods for Decladding LWR Fuel for a Pyroprocessing-Based Reprocessing Plant

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-10-01

oAD-A275 326 ORN.rFM-1121o04 OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY Evaluation of Methods for Decladding _LWR Fuel for a Pyroprocessing -Based Reprocessing...Dist. Category UC-526 EVALUATION OF METHODS FOR DECLADDING LWR FUEL FOR A PYROPROCESSING -BASED REPROCESSING PLANT W. D. Bond J. C. Mailen G. E...decladding technologies has been performed to identify candidate decladding processes suitable for LWR fuel and compatible with downstream pyroprocesses

The Swarm Archiving Payload Data Facility, an Instance Configuration of the ESA Multi-Mission Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pruin, B.; Martini, A.; Shanmugam, P.; Lopes, C.

2015-04-01

The Swarm mission consists of 3 satellites, each carrying an identical set of instruments. The scientific algorithms for processing are organized in 11 separate processing steps including automated product quality control. In total, the mission data consists of data products of several hundred distinct types from raw to level 2 product types and auxiliary data. The systematic production for Swarm within the ESA Archiving and Payload Data Facility (APDF) is performed up to level 2. The production up to L2 (CAT2-mature algorithm) is performed completely within the APDF. A separate systematic production chain from L1B to L2 (CAT1-evolving algorithm) is performed by an external facility (L2PS) with output files archived within the APDF as well. The APDF also performs re-processing exercises. Re-processing may start directly from the acquired data or from any other intermediate level resulting in the need for a refined product version and baseline management. Storage, dissemination and circulation functionality is configurable in the ESA generic multi-mission elements and does not require any software coding. The control of the production is more involved. While the interface towards the algorithmic entities is standardized due to the introduction of a generic IPF interface by ESA, the orchestration of the individual IPFs into the overall workflows is distinctly mission-specific and not as amenable to standardization. The ESA MMFI production management system provides extension points to integrate additional logical elements for the build-up of complex orchestrated workflows. These extension points have been used to inject the Swarm-specific production logic into the system. A noteworthy fact about the APDF is that the dissemination elements are hosted in a high bandwidth infrastructure procured as a managed service, thus affording users a considerable access bandwidth. This paper gives an overview of the Swarm APDF data flows. It describes the elements of the solution with particular focus on how the available generic multi-mission functionality of the ESA MMFI was utilized and where there was a need to implement missionspecific extensions and plug-ins. The paper concludes with some statistics on the system output during commissioning and early operational phases as well as some general considerations on the utilization of a framework like the ESA MMFI, discussing benefits and pitfalls of the approach.

Dissolver vessel bottom assembly

DOEpatents

Kilian, Douglas C.

1976-01-01

An improved bottom assembly is provided for a nuclear reactor fuel reprocessing dissolver vessel wherein fuel elements are dissolved as the initial step in recovering fissile material from spent fuel rods. A shock-absorbing crash plate with a convex upper surface is disposed at the bottom of the dissolver vessel so as to provide an annular space between the crash plate and the dissolver vessel wall. A sparging ring is disposed within the annular space to enable a fluid discharged from the sparging ring to agitate the solids which deposit on the bottom of the dissolver vessel and accumulate in the annular space. An inlet tangential to the annular space permits a fluid pumped into the annular space through the inlet to flush these solids from the dissolver vessel through tangential outlets oppositely facing the inlet. The sparging ring is protected against damage from the impact of fuel elements being charged to the dissolver vessel by making the crash plate of such a diameter that the width of the annular space between the crash plate and the vessel wall is less than the diameter of the fuel elements.

Availability analysis of an HTGR fuel recycle facility. Summary report

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

Sharmahd, J.N.

1979-11-01

An availability analysis of reprocessing systems in a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel recycle facility was completed. This report summarizes work done to date to define and determine reprocessing system availability for a previously planned HTGR recycle reference facility (HRRF). Schedules and procedures for further work during reprocessing development and for HRRF design and construction are proposed in this report. Probable failure rates, transfer times, and repair times are estimated for major system components. Unscheduled down times are summarized.

Laser-enhanced chemical reactions and the liquid state. II. Possible applications to nuclear fuel reprocessing

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

DePoorter, G.L.; Rofer-DePoorter, C.K.

1976-01-01

Laser photochemistry is surveyed as a possible improvement upon the Purex process for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. Most of the components of spent nuclear fuel are photochemically active, and lasers can be used to selectively excite individual chemical species. The great variety of chemical species present and the degree of separation that must be achieved present difficulties in reprocessing. Lasers may be able to improve the necessary separations by photochemical reaction or effects on rates and equilibria of reactions. (auth)

Effect of Extrusion on the Mechanical and Rheological Properties of a Reinforced Poly(Lactic Acid): Reprocessing and Recycling of Biobased Materials.

PubMed

Peinado, Víctor; Castell, Pere; García, Lidia; Fernández, Ángel

2015-10-19

The aim of this research paper is to study the behaviour of a common used biopolymer (Poly(Lactic Acid) (PLA)) after several reprocesses and how two different types of additives (a melt strength enhancer and a nanoadditive) affect its mechanical and rheological properties. Systematic extraction of extrudate samples from a twin-screw compounder was done in order to study the effect in the properties of the reprocessed material. Detailed rheological tests on a capillary rheometer as well as mechanical studies on a universal tensile machine after preparation of injected specimens were carried out. Results evidenced that PLA and reinforced PLA materials can be reprocessed and recycled without a remarkable loss in their mechanical properties. Several processing restrictions and specific phenomena were identified and are explained in the present manuscript.

Results from the JPL IGS Analysis Center IGS14 Reprocessing Campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ries, P. A.; Amiri, N.; Heflin, M. B.; Sakumura, C.; Sibois, A. E.; Sibthorpe, A.; David, M. W.

2017-12-01

The JPL IGS analysis center has begun a campaign to reprocess GPS orbits and clocks in the IGS14 reference frame. Though the new frame is only a few millimeters offset from the previous IGb08 frame, a reprocessing is required for consistent use of the new frame due to a change in the satellite phase center offsets between the frames. We will present results on the reprocessing campaign from 2002 to present in order to evaluate any effects caused by the new frame. We also create long-term time-series and periodograms of translation, rotation, and scale parameters to see if there is any divergence between the frames. We will also process long-term PPP time series and derived velocities for a well-distributed set of stations in each frame to compare with the published frame offsets.

OSI SAF Sea Surface Temperature reprocessing of MSG/SEVIRI archive.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saux Picart, Stéphane; Legendre, Gerard; Marsouin, Anne; Péré, Sonia; Roquet, Hervé

2017-04-01

The Ocean and Sea-Ice Satellite Application Facility (OSI-SAF) of the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) is planning to deliver a reprocessing of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) from Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager/Meteosat Second Generation (SEVIRI/MSG) archive (2004-2012) by the end of 2016. This reprocessing is drawing from experiences of the OSI SAF team in near real time processing of MSG/SEVIRI data. The retrieval method consist in a non-linear split-window algorithm including the algorithm correction scheme developed by Le Borgne et al. (2011). The bias correction relies on simulations of infrared brightness temperatures performed using Numerical Weather Prediction model atmospheric profiles of water vapour and temperature, and RTTOV radiative transfer model. The cloud mask used is the Climate SAF reprocessing of the MSG/SEVIRI archive. It is consistent over the period in consideration. Atmospheric Saharan dusts have a strong impact on the retrieved SST, they are taken into consideration through the computation of the Saharan Dust Index (Merchant et al., 2006) which is then used to determine an empirical correction applied to SST. The MSG/SEVIRI SST reprocessing dataset consist in hourly level 3 composite of sub-skin temperature projected onto a regular 0.05° grid over the region delimited by 60N,60S and 60W,60E. This presentation gives an overview of the data and methods used for the reprocessing, the products and validation results against drifting buoys measurements extracted from the ERA Clim dataset.

Reprocessing VIIRS sensor data records from the early SNPP mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blonski, Slawomir; Cao, Changyong

2016-10-01

The Visible-Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite began acquiring Earth observations in November 2011. VIIRS data from all spectral bands became available three months after launch when all infrared-band detectors were cooled down to operational temperature. Before that, VIIRS sensor data record (SDR) products were successfully generated for the visible and near infrared (VNIR) bands. Although VIIRS calibration has been significantly improved through the four years of the SNPP mission, SDR reprocessing for this early mission phase has yet to be performed. Despite a rapid decrease in the telescope throughput that occurred during the first few months on orbit, calibration coefficients for the VNIR bands were recently successfully generated using an automated procedure that is currently deployed in the operational SDR production system. The reanalyzed coefficients were derived from measurements collected during solar calibration events that occur on every SNPP orbit since the beginning of the mission. The new coefficients can be further used to reprocess the VIIRS SDR products. In this study, they are applied to reprocess VIIRS data acquired over pseudo-invariant calibration sites Libya 4 and Sudan 1 in Sahara between November 2011 and February 2012. Comparison of the reprocessed SDR products with the original ones demonstrates improvements in the VIIRS calibration provided by the reprocessing. Since SNPP is the first satellite in a series that will form the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), calibration methods developed for the SNPP VIIRS will also apply to the future JPSS measurements.

Method for the recovery of silver from silver zeolite

DOEpatents

Reimann, G.A.

1985-03-05

High purity silver is recovered from silver exchanged zeolite used to capture radioactive iodine from nuclear reactor and nuclear fuel reprocessing environments. The silver exchanged zeolite is heated with slag formers to melt and fluidize the zeolite and release the silver, the radioactivity removing with the slag. The silver containing metallic impurities is remelted and treated with oxygen and a flux to remove the metal impurities. About 98% of the silver in the silver exchanged zeolite having a purity of 99% or better is recoverable by the method.

Method for the recovery of silver from silver zeolite

DOEpatents

Reimann, George A.

1986-01-01

High purity silver is recovered from silver exchanged zeolite used to capture radioactive iodine from nuclear reactor and nuclear fuel reprocessing environments. The silver exchanged zeolite is heated with slag formers to melt and fluidize the zeolite and release the silver, the radioactivity removing with the slag. The silver containing metallic impurities is remelted and treated with oxygen and a flux to remove the metal impurities. About 98% of the silver in the silver exchanged zeolite having a purity of 99% or better is recoverable by the method.

Offline memory reprocessing: involvement of the brain's default network in spontaneous thought processes.

PubMed

Wang, Kun; Yu, Chunshui; Xu, Lijuan; Qin, Wen; Li, Kuncheng; Xu, Lin; Jiang, Tianzi

2009-01-01

Spontaneous thought processes (STPs), also called daydreaming or mind-wandering, occur ubiquitously in daily life. However, the functional significance of STPs remains largely unknown. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we first identified an STPs-network whose activity was positively correlated with the subjects' tendency of having STPs during a task-free state. The STPs-network was then found to be strongly associated with the default network, which has previously been established as being active during the task-free state. Interestingly, we found that offline reprocessing of previously memorized information further increased the activity of the STPs-network regions, although during a state with less STPs. In addition, we found that the STPs-network kept a dynamic balance between functional integration and functional separation among its component regions to execute offline memory reprocessing in STPs. These findings strengthen a view that offline memory reprocessing and STPs share the brain's default network, and thus implicate that offline memory reprocessing may be a predetermined function of STPs. This supports the perspective that memory can be consolidated and modified during STPs, and thus gives rise to a dynamic behavior dependent on both previous external and internal experiences.

Comparison of the efficacy of disinfectants in automated endoscope reprocessors for colonoscopes: tertiary amine compound (Sencron2®) versus ortho-phthalaldehyde (Cidex®OPA)

PubMed Central

Seo, Hyun Il; Lee, Dae Sung; Yoon, Eun Mi; Kwon, Min-Jung; Park, Hyosoon; Jung, Yoon Suk; Park, Jung Ho; Sohn, Chong Il

2016-01-01

Background/Aims To prevent the transmission of pathogens by endoscopes, following established reprocessing guidelines is critical. An ideal reprocessing step is simple, fast, and inexpensive. Here, we evaluated and compared the efficacy and safety of two disinfectants, a tertiary amine compound (TAC) and ortho-phthalaldehyde (OPA). Methods A total of 100 colonoscopes were randomly reprocessed using two same automated endoscope reprocessors, according to disinfectant. The exposure time was 10 minutes for 0.55% OPA (Cidex® OPA, Johnson & Johnson) and 5 minutes for 4% TAC (Sencron2®, Bab Gencel Pharma & Chemical Ind. Co.). Three culture samples were obtained from each colonoscope after reprocessing. Results A total of nine samples were positive among the 300 culture samples. The positive culture rate was not statistically different between the two groups (4% for OPA and 2% for TAC, P=0.501). There were no incidents related to safety during the study period. Conclusions TAC was non-inferior in terms of reprocessing efficacy to OPA and was safe to use. Therefore, TAC seems to be a good alternative disinfectant with a relatively short exposure time and is also less expensive than OPA. PMID:27175119

Modeling to Evaluate Coordination and Flexibility in Aluminum Recycling Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brommer, Tracey; Olivetti, Elsa; Fjeldbo, Snorre; Kirchain, Randolph

Reprocessing of aluminum production byproducts or dross for use in secondary production presents a particular challenge to the aluminum industry. While use of these non-traditional secondary materials is of interest due to their reduced energy and economic burden over virgin counterparts, these materials necessitate the use of particular furnaces, specialized handling and processing conditions. Therefore, to make use of them firms may pursue use of an intermediate recycling facility that can reprocess the secondary materials into a liquid product. After reprocessing downstream aluminum remelters could incorporate the liquid products into their aluminum alloy production schedules. Energy and environmental benefits result from delivering the products as liquid but coordination challenges result because of the energy cost to maintain the liquid. Further coordination challenges result from the need to establish long term recycling production plans in the presence of long term downstream aluminum remelter production uncertainty and inherent variation in the daily order schedule of the downstream aluminum remelters. In this context a fundamental question arises, considering the metallurgical complexities of dross reprocessing, what is the value of operating a coordinated set of by-product reprocessing plants and remelting cast houses?

Mechanical, Thermomechanical and Reprocessing Behavior of Green Composites from Biodegradable Polymer and Wood Flour

PubMed Central

Morreale, Marco; Liga, Antonio; Mistretta, Maria Chiara; Ascione, Laura; La Mantia, Francesco Paolo

2015-01-01

The rising concerns in terms of environmental protection and the search for more versatile polymer-based materials have led to an increasing interest in the use of polymer composites filled with natural organic fillers (biodegradable and/or coming from renewable resources) as a replacement for traditional mineral inorganic fillers. At the same time, the recycling of polymers is still of fundamental importance in order to optimize the utilization of available resources, reducing the environmental impact related to the life cycle of polymer-based items. Green composites from biopolymer matrix and wood flour were prepared and the investigation focused on several issues, such as the effect of reprocessing on the matrix properties, wood flour loading effects on virgin and reprocessed biopolymer, and wood flour effects on material reprocessability. Tensile, Dynamic-mechanical thermal (DMTA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and creep tests were performed, pointing out that wood flour leads to an improvement of rigidity and creep resistance in comparison to the pristine polymer, without compromising other properties such as the tensile strength. The biopolymer also showed a good resistance to multiple reprocessing; the latter even allowed for improving some properties of the obtained green composites. PMID:28793656

The Steris Reliance EPS endoscope processing system: a new automated endoscope reprocessing technology.

PubMed

2007-01-01

In this Evaluation, we examine whether the Steris Reliance EPS--a flexible endoscope reprocessing system that was recently introduced to the U.S. market--offers meaningful advantages over "traditional" automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs). Most AERs on the market function similarly to one another. The Reliance EPS, however, includes some unique features that distinguish it from other AERs. For example, it incorporates a "boot" technology for loading the endoscopes into the unit without requiring a lot of endoscope-specific connectors, and it dispenses the germicide used to disinfect the endoscopes from a single-use container. This Evaluation looks at whether the unique features of this model make it a better choice than traditional AERs for reprocessing flexible endoscopes. Our study focuses on whether the Reliance EPS is any more likely to be used correctly-thereby reducing the likelihood that an endoscope will be reprocessed inadequately-and whether the unit possesses any design flaws that could lead to reprocessing failures. We detail the unit's advantages and disadvantages compared with other AERs, and we describe what current users have to say. Our conclusions will help facilities determine whether to select the Reliance EPS.

Consolidated fuel reprocessing program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1985-04-01

A survey of electrochemical methods applications in fuel reprocessing was completed. A dummy fuel assembly shroud was cut using the remotely operated laser disassembly equipment. Operations and engineering efforts have continued to correct equipment operating, software, and procedural problems experienced during the previous uranium compaigns. Fuel cycle options were examined for the liquid metal reactor fuel cycle. In high temperature gas cooled reactor spent fuel studies, preconceptual designs were completed for the concrete storage cask and open field drywell storage concept. These and other tasks operating under the consolidated fuel reprocessing program are examined.

Science Enabling Applications of Gridded Radiances and Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldberg, M.; Wolf, W.; Zhou, L.

2005-12-01

New generations of hyperspectral sounders and imagers are not only providing vastly improved information to monitor, assess and predict the Earth's environment, they also provide tremendous volumes of data to manage. Key management challenges must include data processing, distribution, archive and utilization. At the NOAA/NESDIS Office of Research and Applications, we have started to address the challenge of utilizing high volume satellite by thinning observations and developing gridded datasets from the observations made from the NASA AIRS, AMSU and MODIS instrument. We have developed techniques for intelligent thinning of AIRS data for numerical weather prediction, by selecting the clearest AIRS 14 km field of view within a 3 x 3 array. The selection uses high spatial resolution 1 km MODIS data which are spatially convolved to the AIRS field of view. The MODIS cloud masks and AIRS cloud tests are used to select the clearest. During the real-time processing the data are thinned and gridded to support monitoring, validation and scientific studies. Products from AIRS, which includes profiles of temperature, water vapor and ozone and cloud-corrected infrared radiances for more than 2000 channels, are derived from a single AIRS/AMSU field of regard, which is a 3 x 3 array of AIRS footprints (each with a 14 km spatial resolution) collocated with a single AMSU footprint (42 km). One of our key gridded dataset is a daily 3 x 3 latitude/longitude projection which contains the nearest AIRS/AMSU field of regard with respect to the center of the 3 x 3 lat/lon grid. This particular gridded dataset is 1/40 the size of the full resolution data. This gridded dataset is the type of product request that can be used to support algorithm validation and improvements. It also provides for a very economical approach for reprocessing, testing and improving algorithms for climate studies without having to reprocess the full resolution data stored at the DAAC. For example, on a single CPU workstation, all the AIRS derived products can be derived from a single year of gridded data in 5 days. This relatively short turnaround time, which can be reduced considerably to 3 hours by using a cluster of 40 pc G5processors, allows for repeated reprocessing at the PIs home institution before substantial investments are made to reprocess the full resolution data sets archived at the DAAC. In other words, do not reprocess the full resolution data until the science community have tested and selected the optimal algorithm on the gridded data. Development and applications of gridded radiances and products will be discussed. The applications can be provided as part of a web-based service.

Corrosion study of a highly durable electrolyzer based on cold crucible technique for pyrochemical reprocessing of spent nuclear oxide fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeuchi, M.; Arai, Y.; Kase, T.; Nakajima, Y.

2013-01-01

The application of the cold crucible technique to a pyrochemical electrolyzer used in the oxide-electrowinning method, which is a method for the pyrochemical reprocessing of spent nuclear oxide fuel, is proposed as a means for improving corrosion resistance. The electrolyzer suffers from a severe corrosion environment consisting of molten salt and corrosive gas. In this study, corrosion tests for several metals in molten 2CsCl-NaCl at 923 K with purging chlorine gas were conducted under controlled material temperature conditions. The results revealed that the corrosion rates of several materials were significantly decreased by the material cooling effect. In particular, Hastelloy C-22 showed excellent corrosion resistance with a corrosion rate of just under 0.01 mm/y in both molten salt and vapor phases by controlling the material surface at 473 K. Finally, an engineering-scale crucible composed of Hastelloy C-22 was manufactured to demonstrate the basic function of the cold crucible. The cold crucible induction melting system with the new concept Hastelloy crucible showed good compatibility with respect to its heating and cooling performances.

Leveraging human oversight and intervention in large-scale parallel processing of open-source data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casini, Enrico; Suri, Niranjan; Bradshaw, Jeffrey M.

2015-05-01

The popularity of cloud computing along with the increased availability of cheap storage have led to the necessity of elaboration and transformation of large volumes of open-source data, all in parallel. One way to handle such extensive volumes of information properly is to take advantage of distributed computing frameworks like Map-Reduce. Unfortunately, an entirely automated approach that excludes human intervention is often unpredictable and error prone. Highly accurate data processing and decision-making can be achieved by supporting an automatic process through human collaboration, in a variety of environments such as warfare, cyber security and threat monitoring. Although this mutual participation seems easily exploitable, human-machine collaboration in the field of data analysis presents several challenges. First, due to the asynchronous nature of human intervention, it is necessary to verify that once a correction is made, all the necessary reprocessing is done in chain. Second, it is often needed to minimize the amount of reprocessing in order to optimize the usage of resources due to limited availability. In order to improve on these strict requirements, this paper introduces improvements to an innovative approach for human-machine collaboration in the processing of large amounts of open-source data in parallel.

Effect of Extrusion on the Mechanical and Rheological Properties of a Reinforced Poly(Lactic Acid): Reprocessing and Recycling of Biobased Materials

PubMed Central

Peinado, Víctor; Castell, Pere; García, Lidia; Fernández, Ángel

2015-01-01

The aim of this research paper is to study the behaviour of a common used biopolymer (Poly(Lactic Acid) (PLA)) after several reprocesses and how two different types of additives (a melt strength enhancer and a nanoadditive) affect its mechanical and rheological properties. Systematic extraction of extrudate samples from a twin-screw compounder was done in order to study the effect in the properties of the reprocessed material. Detailed rheological tests on a capillary rheometer as well as mechanical studies on a universal tensile machine after preparation of injected specimens were carried out. Results evidenced that PLA and reinforced PLA materials can be reprocessed and recycled without a remarkable loss in their mechanical properties. Several processing restrictions and specific phenomena were identified and are explained in the present manuscript. PMID:28793622

77 FR 33243 - Public Comment and Public Meeting on Draft Revisions to the Federal Environment Element of the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-05

... Federal Environment Element of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital: Federal Elements AGENCY... Environment Element of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital: Federal Elements. The Comprehensive... required by law. The Federal Environment Element articulates policies that guide federal actions on...

Duodenoscope reprocessing surveillance with adenosine triphosphate testing and terminal cultures: a clinical pilot study.

PubMed

Visrodia, Kavel; Hanada, Yuri; Pennington, Kelly M; Tosh, Pritish K; Topazian, Mark D; Petersen, Bret T

2017-07-01

Recent reports of infectious outbreaks linked to duodenoscopes have led to proposals for duodenoscope surveillance culturing, which has inherent limitations. We aimed to assess the feasibility of real-time adenosine triphosphate (ATP) testing after manual cleaning and its ability to predict reprocessing adequacy, as determined by terminal duodenoscope cultures. Clinically used duodenoscopes underwent reprocessing per current guidelines. After manual cleaning, ATP samples were obtained from the elevator, within the proximal biopsy port, and by flushing of the biopsy channel. After high-level disinfection (HLD), aerobic cultures of the elevator and biopsy channel were obtained using sterile technique. Duodenoscopes with any ATP sample ≥200 relative light units underwent repeated cycles of cleaning, ATP testing, HLD, and terminal culturing. Twenty clinically used duodenoscopes were included; 18 underwent a second reprocessing cycle, and 6 underwent a third reprocessing cycle because of detection of high ATP. After the initial reprocessing cycle, 12 of 20 (60%) duodenoscopes had positive culture results, most commonly yielding gram-negative bacilli (GNB, n = 11 from 9 duodenoscopes), and catalase-positive gram-positive cocci (CP-GPC, n = 7 from 7 duodenoscopes), suggesting staphylococcal organisms. Ambient environmental controls also showed GNB and CP-GPC growth. The overall sensitivity and specificity of ATP testing compared with terminal cultures were 30% and 53%, respectively. ATP sampling appears to correlate poorly with terminal culture results and cannot be recommended as a surrogate for terminal cultures. The performance and interpretation of cultures remains complicated by the potential recovery of environmental contaminants. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Processing single-use medical devices for use in surgery - importance, status quo and potential.

PubMed

Krüger, Colin M

2008-09-03

In summary, it is possible with the technology and scientific knowledge currently available to allow products intended for single use to be reprocessed using validated and certified processing procedures, while maintaining the full function and without any loss in quality. How many times a product can be re-processed must be determined separately for each individual medical technology device; it is not possible to make any kind of blanket statement as to the permissible number of cycles. This is due to the differing construction, the various combinations of materials and the diverse demands made of each device during clinical use. The exigency of the reprocessing issue is evident both to the user and the primary manufacturer. For the user, where there is a correspondingly high-quality primary product with suitably costed, technically-sound and certified reprocessing procedures, repeat usage can mean real savings while maintaining full functionality in each use. For the primary manufacturers of highly specialised instruments, only part of which can be represented by the medical facility in terms of a corresponding DRG (Diagnosis-Related Group), it is reprocessing that opens the door to widespread routine clinical use. The patient, in turn, benefits greatly from this, since his demand for medical treatment using the most up-to-date technology is taken into account. If processing complies in full with medical technology and hygiene directives, from the medical point of view (without being able to definitively evaluate each individual case using this criterion) the specific advantages of the reprocessing procedure are obvious. In order to establish broad acceptance for the purposes of good marketing, corresponding controlling and quality instruments have to be developed to allow the decision-making process regarding the permissibility of the reprocessing of a certain device and the number of times it can be reprocessed using this procedure to be made transparent.Taking this a step further, possibilities arise for the establishment of corresponding quality-assurance instruments on the part of the clinical establishments involved, within which reprocessed products, in the interest of quality assurance, can be referred back to the processor in the event of defective function and can also be removed from clinical use prior to completing the intended number of processing cycles. Furthermore, it can be assumed that the widespread use of reprocessing procedures in today's high-cost single-use medical device sector will have a long-term cost/price-regulating effect for the primary products, to the benefit of the users. Thus, the heated debate regarding the safety of processing procedures that have already been certified and validated in accordance with current industry standards should be evaluated in particular from the point of view of the justified fears of the leading manufacturers with regard to their currently established market share. From a purely surgical point of view, the reprocessing of disposable products should be welcomed as a revolution. The main criteria for surgeons and medics should always be the benefit for the patient. If the quality is ensured through corresponding processing and validation procedures based on recognised certificates, then economic arguments take precedence. Cases in which a DRG (and thus a payment calculation) does not fully cover the use of medical devices are conceivable. Withholding medically necessary services on grounds of the costs, or making these services available to a limited extent only, is not acceptable from the medical point of view and furthermore goes beyond what is ethically acceptable. Each procedure, even the systematic use of reprocessing of suitable medical technology disposable items, should, where the quality is guaranteed, be supported unequivocally. Taken a step further, this branch of the economy will have a long-lasting price-regulating effect on the primary producers market.

Active and legacy mining in an arid urban environment: challenges and perspectives for Copiapó, Northern Chile.

PubMed

Carkovic, Athena B; Calcagni, Magdalena S; Vega, Alejandra S; Coquery, Marina; Moya, Pablo M; Bonilla, Carlos A; Pastén, Pablo A

2016-08-01

Urban expansion in areas of active and legacy mining imposes a sustainability challenge, especially in arid environments where cities compete for resources with agriculture and industry. The city of Copiapó, with 150,000 inhabitants in the Atacama Desert, reflects this challenge. More than 30 abandoned tailings from legacy mining are scattered throughout its urban and peri-urban area, which include an active copper smelter. Despite the public concern generated by the mining-related pollution, no geochemical information is currently available for Copiapó, particularly for metal concentration in environmental solid phases. A geochemical screening of soils (n = 42), street dusts (n = 71) and tailings (n = 68) was conducted in November 2014 and April 2015. Organic matter, pH and elemental composition measurements were taken. Notably, copper in soils (60-2120 mg/kg) and street dusts (110-10,200 mg/kg) consistently exceeded international guidelines for residential and industrial use, while a lower proportion of samples exceeded international guidelines for arsenic, zinc and lead. Metal enrichment occurred in residential, industrial and agricultural areas near tailings and the copper smelter. This first screening of metal contamination sets the basis for future risk assessments toward defining knowledge-based policies and urban planning. Challenges include developing: (1) adequate intervention guideline values; (2) appropriate geochemical background levels for key metals; (3) urban planning that considers contaminated areas; (4) cost-effective control strategies for abandoned tailings in water-scarce areas; and (5) scenarios and technologies for tailings reprocessing. Assessing urban geochemical risks is a critical endeavor for areas where extreme events triggered by climate change are likely, as the mud flooding that impacted Copiapó in late March 2015.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2011-07-01

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

Francine Shapiro.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schofield, Thomas

1998-01-01

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) provides an eight-phase emotionally corrective experience described as a "learning catalyst" for reprocessing traumatic events. The originator of EMDR discusses the experiences that influenced her innovative approach. EMDR is discussed as a learning catalyst, and many misconceptions about the…

Rare Earth Electrochemical Property Measurements and Phase Diagram Development in a Complex Molten Salt Mixture for Molten Salt Recycle

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

Zhang, Jinsuo; Guo, Shaoqiang

Pyroprocessing is a promising alternative for the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel (UNF) that uses electrochemical methods. Compared to the hydrometallurgical reprocessing method, pyroprocessing has many advantages such as reduced volume of radioactive waste, simple waste processing, ability to treat refractory material, and compatibility with fast reactor fuel recycle. The key steps of the process are the electro-refining of the spent metallic fuel in the LiCl-KCl eutectic salt, which can be integrated with an electrolytic reduction step for the reprocessing of spent oxide fuels.

Complementary Reliability-Based Decodings of Binary Linear Block Codes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fossorier, Marc P. C.; Lin, Shu

1997-01-01

This correspondence presents a hybrid reliability-based decoding algorithm which combines the reprocessing method based on the most reliable basis and a generalized Chase-type algebraic decoder based on the least reliable positions. It is shown that reprocessing with a simple additional algebraic decoding effort achieves significant coding gain. For long codes, the order of reprocessing required to achieve asymptotic optimum error performance is reduced by approximately 1/3. This significantly reduces the computational complexity, especially for long codes. Also, a more efficient criterion for stopping the decoding process is derived based on the knowledge of the algebraic decoding solution.

Reuse of disposable laparoscopic instruments: cost analysis*

PubMed Central

DesCôteaux, Jean-Gaston; Tye, Lucille; Poulin, Eric C.

1996-01-01

Objective To evaluate the cost benefits of reusing disposable laparoscopic instruments. Design A cost-analysis study based on a review of laparoscopic and thoracoscopic procedures performed between August 1990 and January 1994, including analysis of disposable instrument use, purchase records, and reprocessing costs for each instrument. Setting The general surgery department of a 461-bed teaching hospital where disposable laparoscopic instruments are routinely reused according to internally validated reprocessing protocols. Methods Laparoscopic and thoracoscopic interventions performed between August 1990 and January 1994 for which the number and types of disposable laparoscopic instruments were standardized. Main Outcome Measures Reprocessing cost per instrument, the savings realized by reusing disposable laparoscopic instruments and the cost-efficient number of reuses per instrument. Results The cost of reprocessing instruments varied from $2.64 (Can) to $4.66 for each disposable laparoscopic instrument. Purchases of 10 commonly reused disposable laparoscopic instruments totalled $183 279, and the total reprocessing cost was estimated at $35 665 for the study period. Not reusing disposable instruments would have cost $527 575 in instrument purchases for the same period. Disposable laparoscopic instruments were reused 1.7 to 68 times each. Conclusions Under carefully monitored conditions and strict guidelines, reuse of disposable laparoscopic and thoracoscopic instruments can be cost-effective. PMID:8769924

The origins of repetitive thought in rumination: separating cognitive style from deficits in inhibitory control over memory.

PubMed

Fawcett, Jonathan M; Benoit, Roland G; Gagnepain, Pierre; Salman, Amna; Bartholdy, Savani; Bradley, Caroline; Chan, Daniel K Y; Roche, Ayesha; Brewin, Chris R; Anderson, Michael C

2015-06-01

Rumination is a major contributor to the maintenance of affective disorders and has been linked to memory control deficits. However, ruminators often report intentionally engaging in repetitive thought due to its perceived benefits. Deliberate re-processing may lead to the appearance of a memory control deficit that is better explained as a difference in cognitive style. Ninety-six undergraduate students volunteered to take part in a direct-suppression variant of the Think/No-Think paradigm after which they completed self-report measures of rumination and the degree to which they deliberately re-processed the to-be-suppressed items. We demonstrate a relation between rumination and impaired suppression-induced forgetting. This relation is robust even when controlling for deliberate re-processing of the to-be-suppressed items, a behavior itself related to both rumination and suppression. Therefore, whereas conscious fixation on to-be-suppressed items reduced memory suppression, it did not fully account for the relation between rumination and memory suppression. The current experiment employed a retrospective measure of deliberate re-processing in the context of an unscreened university sample; future research might therefore generalize our findings using an online measure of deliberate re-processing or within a clinical population. We provide evidence that deliberate re-processing accounts for some--but not all--of the relation between rumination and suppression-induced forgetting. The present findings, observed in a paradigm known to engage top-down inhibitory modulation of mnemonic processing, provide the most theoretically focused evidence to date for the existence of a memory control deficit in rumination. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Direct measurement of 235U in spent fuel rods with Gamma-ray mirrors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruz, J.; Brejnholt, N. F.; Alameda, J. B.; Decker, T. A.; Descalle, M. A.; Fernandez-Perea, M.; Hill, R. M.; Kisner, R. A.; Melin, A. M.; Patton, B. W.; Soufli, R.; Ziock, K.; Pivovaroff, M. J.

2015-03-01

Direct measurement of plutonium and uranium X-rays and gamma-rays is a highly desirable non-destructive analysis method for the use in reprocessing fuel environments. The high background and intense radiation from spent fuel make direct measurements difficult to implement since the relatively low activity of uranium and plutonium is masked by the high activity from fission products. To overcome this problem, we make use of a grazing incidence optic to selectively reflect Kα and Kβ fluorescence of Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) into a high-purity position-sensitive germanium detector and obtain their relative ratios.

Methylobacterium and Its Role in Health Care-Associated Infection

PubMed Central

Degener, John E.; van der Mei, Henny C.

2014-01-01

Methylobacterium species are a cause of health care-associated infection, including infections in immunocompromised hosts. The ability of Methylobacterium species to form biofilms and to develop resistance to high temperatures, drying, and disinfecting agents may explain the colonization of Methylobacterium in the hospital environment in, e.g., endoscopes. Due to its slow growth, it can be easily missed during microbiological surveillance of endoscope reprocessing. The purpose of this minireview is to present an overview of documented infections and cross-contaminations with Methylobacterium related to endoscopic procedures and to illustrate the health care-associated relevance of this slow-growing bacterium. PMID:24430456

21 CFR 211.115 - Reprocessing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Reprocessing. 211.115 Section 211.115 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR FINISHED PHARMACEUTICALS Production and Process Controls § 211.115...

21 CFR 211.115 - Reprocessing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Reprocessing. 211.115 Section 211.115 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR FINISHED PHARMACEUTICALS Production and Process Controls § 211.115...

21 CFR 211.115 - Reprocessing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Reprocessing. 211.115 Section 211.115 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR FINISHED PHARMACEUTICALS Production and Process Controls § 211.115...

21 CFR 211.115 - Reprocessing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Reprocessing. 211.115 Section 211.115 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR FINISHED PHARMACEUTICALS Production and Process Controls § 211.115...

21 CFR 211.115 - Reprocessing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 4 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Reprocessing. 211.115 Section 211.115 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) DRUGS: GENERAL CURRENT GOOD MANUFACTURING PRACTICE FOR FINISHED PHARMACEUTICALS Production and Process Controls § 211.115...

Current issues in endoscope reprocessing and infection control during gastrointestinal endoscopy

PubMed Central

Nelson, Douglas B; Muscarella, Lawrence F

2006-01-01

The purpose of this article is to review the evidence regarding transmission of infection during gastrointestinal endoscopy, factors important in endoscope reprocessing and infection control, areas to focus on to improve compliance, and recent developments and advances in the field. PMID:16810740

Impact of recycling on the mechanical and thermo-mechanical properties of wood flour/high density polyethylene and wood flour/poly lactic acid composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharjee, Sujal

This research concentrates on the recyclability of two wood plastic composites (WPCs)--wood flour/HDPE and wood flour/PLA composites. Two different filler loadings (30 and 50 wt%) were considered for each polymer composite. Each composite formulation contained 3 wt% of a coupling agent, and was individually recycled up to six times by extrusion process. Samples for mechanical and thermo-mechanical tests were prepared by injection molding. All test results were statistically analyzed with a confidence level of 95%. Additional tests such as fiber length measurement, GPC, DSC, TGA, FTIR, and SEM were also performed at specific reprocessing cycles. After reprocessing six times, all formulations showed lower relative decrease in most stiffness properties but higher relative increase in most strain properties. In strength properties, both HDPE composites showed lower relative decrease after reprocessed six times; however, higher and lower filler PLA composites showed sharp decrease reprocessed at second and six times respectively.

129I in the oceans: origins and applications.

PubMed

Raisbeck, G M; Yiou, F

1999-09-30

The quantity of the long lived (half-life 15.7 million years) radioactive isotope 129I in the pre-nuclear age ocean was approximately 100 kg. Various nuclear related activities, including weapons testing, nuclear fuel reprocessing, Chernobyl and other authorized or non-authorized dumping of radioactive waste have increased the ocean inventory of 129I by more than one order of magnitude. The most important of these sources are the direct marine discharges from the commercial reprocessing facilities at La Hague (France) and Sellafield (UK) which have discharged approximately 1640 kg in the English Channel, and approximately 720 kg in the Irish Sea, respectively. We discuss how this 129I can be used as both a 'pathway' and 'transit time' tracer in the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, as well as a parameter for distinguishing between reprocessed and non-reprocessed nuclear waste in the ocean, and as a proxy for the transport and dilution of other soluble pollutants input to the North Sea.

Iodine Pathways and Off-Gas Stream Characteristics for Aqueous Reprocessing Plants – A Literature Survey and Assessment

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

R. T. Jubin; D. M. Strachan; N. R. Soelberg

2013-09-01

Used nuclear fuel is currently being reprocessed in only a few countries, notably France, England, Japan, and Russia. The need to control emissions of the gaseous radionuclides to the air during nuclear fuel reprocessing has already been reported for the entire plant. But since the gaseous radionuclides can partition to various different reprocessing off-gas streams, for example, from the head end, dissolver, vessel, cell, and melter, an understanding of each of these streams is critical. These off-gas streams have different flow rates and compositions and could have different gaseous radionuclide control requirements, depending on how the gaseous radionuclides partition. Thismore » report reviews the available literature to summarize specific engineering data on the flow rates, forms of the volatile radionuclides in off-gas streams, distributions of these radionuclides in these streams, and temperatures of these streams. This document contains an extensive bibliography of the information contained in the open literature.« less

Discrete harmony search algorithm for scheduling and rescheduling the reprocessing problems in remanufacturing: a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Kaizhou; Wang, Ling; Luo, Jianping; Jiang, Hua; Sadollah, Ali; Pan, Quanke

2018-06-01

In this article, scheduling and rescheduling problems with increasing processing time and new job insertion are studied for reprocessing problems in the remanufacturing process. To handle the unpredictability of reprocessing time, an experience-based strategy is used. Rescheduling strategies are applied for considering the effect of increasing reprocessing time and the new subassembly insertion. To optimize the scheduling and rescheduling objective, a discrete harmony search (DHS) algorithm is proposed. To speed up the convergence rate, a local search method is designed. The DHS is applied to two real-life cases for minimizing the maximum completion time and the mean of earliness and tardiness (E/T). These two objectives are also considered together as a bi-objective problem. Computational optimization results and comparisons show that the proposed DHS is able to solve the scheduling and rescheduling problems effectively and productively. Using the proposed approach, satisfactory optimization results can be achieved for scheduling and rescheduling on a real-life shop floor.

[Hygiene in otorhinolaryngology: Requirements and reality].

PubMed

Jager, E; Heudorf, U

2015-12-01

Considering the physiological contamination of skin and mucous membranes in the ear, nose, and throat region by facultative pathogen microorganisms, as well as the increase in multidrug resistant organisms (MDRO), it is mandatory that hygienic procedures be observed in ENT institutions, in order to prevent transmission of bacteria and infections in patients. General guidelines for hygiene in otorhinolaryngology are presented based on the recommendations published by the German Commission on Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention (KRINKO). These encompass hand hygiene, surface disinfection, and reprocessing of medical devices. The correct reprocessing of the various components of ENT treatment units (including endoscopes, water bearing systems) is reported. Although law requires and KRINKO recommends that manufacturers of medical devices publish instructions for reprocessing their products, these reprocessing recommendations are often insufficient. Manufacturers should thus be called upon to improve their recommendations. In this paper, the requirements for handling of ENT treatment units are compared with the observations made by the Public Health Department in 7 ENT clinics and 32 ENT practices in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, in 2014.

Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing

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

Harold F. McFarlane; Terry Todd

2013-11-01

Reprocessing is essential to closing nuclear fuel cycle. Natural uranium contains only 0.7 percent 235U, the fissile (see glossary for technical terms) isotope that produces most of the fission energy in a nuclear power plant. Prior to being used in commercial nuclear fuel, uranium is typically enriched to 3–5% in 235U. If the enrichment process discards depleted uranium at 0.2 percent 235U, it takes more than seven tonnes of uranium feed to produce one tonne of 4%-enriched uranium. Nuclear fuel discharged at the end of its economic lifetime contains less one percent 235U, but still more than the natural ore.more » Less than one percent of the uranium that enters the fuel cycle is actually used in a single pass through the reactor. The other naturally occurring isotope, 238U, directly contributes in a minor way to power generation. However, its main role is to transmute into plutoniumby neutron capture and subsequent radioactive decay of unstable uraniumand neptuniumisotopes. 239Pu and 241Pu are fissile isotopes that produce more than 40% of the fission energy in commercially deployed reactors. It is recovery of the plutonium (and to a lesser extent the uranium) for use in recycled nuclear fuel that has been the primary focus of commercial reprocessing. Uraniumtargets irradiated in special purpose reactors are also reprocessed to obtain the fission product 99Mo, the parent isotope of technetium, which is widely used inmedical procedures. Among the fission products, recovery of such expensive metals as platinum and rhodium is technically achievable, but not economically viable in current market and regulatory conditions. During the past 60 years, many different techniques for reprocessing used nuclear fuel have been proposed and tested in the laboratory. However, commercial reprocessing has been implemented along a single line of aqueous solvent extraction technology called plutonium uranium reduction extraction process (PUREX). Similarly, hundreds of types of reactor fuels have been irradiated for different purposes, but the vast majority of commercial fuel is uranium oxide clad in zirconium alloy tubing. As a result, commercial reprocessing plants have relatively narrow technical requirements for used nuclear that is accepted for processing.« less

External comparisons of reprocessed SBUV/TOMS ozone data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wellemeyer, C. G.; Taylor, S. L.; Singh, R. R.; Mcpeters, R. D.

1994-01-01

Ozone Retrievals from the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SBUV) Instrument on-board the Nimbus-7 Satellite have been reprocessed using an improved internal calibration. The resulting data set covering November, 1978 through January, 1987 has been archived at the National Space Science Data Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The reprocessed SBUV total ozone data as well as recalibrated Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) data are compared with total ozone measurements from a network of ground based Dobson spectrophotometers. The SBUV also measures the vertical distribution of ozone, and these measurements are compared with external measurements made by SAGE II, Umkehr, and Ozonesondes. Special attention is paid to long-term changes in ozone bias.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: A Critical Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erwin, Terry McVannel

Since Shapiro's introduction of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 1989, it has been a highly controversial therapeutic technique. Critical reviews of Shapiro's initial study have highlighted many methodological shortcomings in her work. And early empirical research that followed Shapiro's original study has been criticized…

High-level endoscope disinfection processes in emerging economies: financial impact of manual process versus automated endoscope reprocessing.

PubMed

Funk, S E; Reaven, N L

2014-04-01

The use of flexible endoscopes is growing rapidly around the world. Dominant approaches to high-level disinfection among resource-constrained countries include fully manual cleaning and disinfection and the use of automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs). Suboptimal reprocessing at any step can potentially lead to contamination, with consequences to patients and healthcare systems. To compare the potential results of guideline-recommended AERs to manual disinfection along three dimensions - productivity, need for endoscope repair, and infection transmission risk in India, China, and Russia. Financial modelling using data from peer-reviewed published literature and country-specific market research. In countries where revenue can be gained through productivity improvements, conversion to automated reprocessing has a positive direct impact on financial performance, paying back the capital investment within 14 months in China and seven months in Russia. In India, AER-generated savings and revenue offset nearly all of the additional operating costs needed to support automated reprocessing. Among endoscopy facilities in India and China, current survey-reported practices in endoscope reprocessing using manual soaking may place patients at risk of exposure to pathogens leading to infections. Conversion from manual soak to use of AERs, as recommended by the World Gastroenterology Organization, may generate cost and revenue offsets that could produce direct financial gains for some endoscopy units in Russia and China. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy in subsyndromal bipolar patients with a history of traumatic events: a randomized, controlled pilot-study.

PubMed

Novo, Patricia; Landin-Romero, Ramon; Radua, Joaquim; Vicens, Victor; Fernandez, Isabel; Garcia, Francisca; Pomarol-Clotet, Edith; McKenna, Peter J; Shapiro, Francine; Amann, Benedikt L

2014-09-30

Traumatic events are frequent in bipolar patients and can worsen the course of the disease. Psychotherapeutic interventions for these events have not been studied so far. Twenty DSM-IV bipolar I and II patients with subsyndromal mood symptoms and a history of traumatic events were randomly assigned to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (n=10) or treatment as usual (n=10). The treatment group received between 14 and 18 Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing sessions during 12 weeks. Evaluations of affective symptoms, symptoms of trauma and trauma impact were carried out by a blind rater at baseline, 2 weeks, 5 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks and at 24 weeks follow-up. Patients in the treatment group showed a statistically significant improvement in depressive and hypomanic symptoms, symptoms of trauma and trauma impact compared to the treatment as usual group after intervention. This effect was only partly maintained in trauma impact at the 24 weeks follow-up visit. One patient dropped from Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing group whereas four from the treatment as usual group. This pilot study suggests that Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy may be an effective and safe intervention to treat subsyndromal mood and trauma symptoms in traumatized bipolar patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

An assessment of the attractiveness of material associated with thorium/uranium and uranium closed fuel cycles from a safeguards perspective

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

Bathke, Charles Gary; Wallace, Richard K; Hase, Kevin R

2010-01-01

This paper reports the continued evaluation of the attractiveness of materials mixtures containing special nuclear materials (SNM) associated with various proposed nuclear fuel cycles. Specifically, this paper examines two closed fuel cycles. The first fuel cycle examined is a thorium fuel cycle in which a pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) is fueled with mixtures of plutonium/thorium and {sup 233}U/thorium. The used fuel is then reprocessed using the THOREX process and the actinides are recycled. The second fuel cycle examined consists of conventional light water reactors (LWR) whose fuel is reprocessed for actinides that are then fed to and recycled untilmore » consumed in fast-spectrum reactors: fast reactors and accelerator driven systems (ADS). As reprocessing of LWR fuel has already been examined, this paper will focus on the reprocessing of the scheme's fast-spectrum reactors' fuel. This study will indicate what is required to render these materials as having low utility for use in nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, the results of this paper suggest that all reprocessing products evaluated so far need to be rigorously safeguarded and provided high levels of physical protection. These studies were performed at the request of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The methodology and key findings will be presented.« less

76 FR 13605 - Notice of Availability of Draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing Evaluation for the Vitrification...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-14

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Notice of Availability of Draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing Evaluation...: Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of availability. SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of a draft evaluation which shows that the...

75 FR 45167 - Notice of Public Workshop on a Potential Rulemaking for Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Facilities

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-02

... more sophisticated reprocessing technology. During the Bush Administration, the Global Nuclear Energy... Associated with the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership,'' dated June 27, 2007 (ADAMS ML071800084), directed... on some Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) initiatives had waned and it appeared appropriate to...

9 CFR 114.18 - Reprocessing of biological products.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... for all tests conducted shall be submitted to Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The licensee... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Reprocessing of biological products. 114.18 Section 114.18 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE...

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Treatment for Psychologically Traumatized Individuals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Sandra A.; And Others

1995-01-01

Studies the effects of 3 90-minute Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) treatment sessions on traumatic memories of 80 participants. Participants receiving EMDR showed decreases in complaints and anxiety, and increases in positive cognition. Participants in the delayed-treatment condition showed no improvement in any measures in…

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

Casella, Amanda J.; Hylden, Laura R.; Campbell, Emily L.

Knowledge of real-time solution properties and composition is a necessity for any spent nuclear fuel reprocessing method. Metal-ligand speciation in aqueous solutions derived from the dissolved commercial spent fuel is highly dependent upon the acid concentration/pH, which influences extraction efficiency and the resulting speciation in the organic phase. Spectroscopic process monitoring capabilities, incorporated in a counter current centrifugal contactor bank, provide a pathway for on-line real-time measurement of solution pH. The spectroscopic techniques are process-friendly and can be easily configured for on-line applications, while classic potentiometric pH measurements require frequent calibration/maintenance and have poor long-term stability in aggressive chemical andmore » radiation environments. Our research is focused on developing a general method for on-line determination of pH of aqueous solutions through chemometric analysis of Raman spectra. Interpretive quantitative models have been developed and validated under the range of chemical composition and pH using a lactic acid/lactate buffer system. The developed model was applied to spectra obtained on-line during solvent extractions performed in a centrifugal contactor bank. The model predicted the pH within 11% for pH > 2, thus demonstrating that this technique could provide the capability of monitoring pH on-line in applications such as nuclear fuel reprocessing.« less

Argon Shrouded Plasma Spraying of Tantalum over Titanium for Corrosion Protection in Fluorinated Nitric Acid Media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vetrivendan, E.; Jayaraj, J.; Ningshen, S.; Mallika, C.; Kamachi Mudali, U.

2018-02-01

Argon shrouded plasma spraying (ASPS) was used to deposit a Ta coating on commercially pure Ti (CP-Ti) under inert argon, for dissolver vessel application in the aqueous spent fuels reprocessing plant with high plutonium content. Oxidation during plasma spraying was minimized by shrouding argon system. Porosity and oxide content were controlled by optimizing the spraying parameters, to obtain a uniform and dense Ta coating. The Ta particle temperature and velocity were optimized by judiciously controlling the spray parameters, using a spray diagnostic charge-coupled device camera. The corrosion resistance of the Ta coatings developed by ASPS was investigated by electrochemical studies in 11.5 M HNO3 and 11.5 M HNO3 + 0.05 M NaF. Similarly, the durability of the ASPS Ta coating/substrate was evaluated as per ASTM A262 Practice-C test in boiling nitric acid and fluorinated nitric acid for 240 h. The ASPS Ta coating exhibited higher corrosion resistance than the CP-Ti substrate, as evident from electrochemical studies, and low corrosion rate with excellent coating stability in boiling nitric, and fluorinated nitric acid. The results of the present study revealed that tantalum coating by ASPS is a promising strategy for improving the corrosion resistance in the highly corrosive reprocessing environment.

OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE ULTRALUMINOUS X-RAY SOURCE HOLMBERG IX X-1 AND ITS STELLAR ENVIRONMENT

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

Grise, F.; Kaaret, P.; Pakull, M. W.

2011-06-10

Holmberg IX X-1 is an archetypal ultraluminous X-ray source (ULX). Here we study the properties of the optical counterpart and of its stellar environment using optical data from SUBARU/Faint Object Camera and Spectrograph, GEMINI/GMOS-N and Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Advanced Camera for Surveys, as well as simultaneous Chandra X-ray data. The V {approx} 22.6 spectroscopically identified optical counterpart is part of a loose cluster with an age {approx}< 20 Myr. Consequently, the mass upper limit on individual stars in the association is about 20 M{sub sun}. The counterpart is more luminous than the other stars of the association, suggesting a non-negligiblemore » optical contribution from the accretion disk. An observed UV excess also points to non-stellar light similar to X-ray active low-mass X-ray binaries. A broad He II {lambda}4686 emission line identified in the optical spectrum of the ULX further suggests optical light from X-ray reprocessing in the accretion disk. Using stellar evolutionary tracks, we have constrained the mass of the counterpart to be {approx}> 10 M{sub sun}, even if the accretion disk contributes significantly to the optical luminosity. Comparison of the photometric properties of the counterpart with binary models show that the donor may be more massive, {approx}> 25 M{sub sun}, with the ULX system likely undergoing case AB mass transfer. Finally, the counterpart exhibits photometric variability of 0.14 mag between two HST observations separated by 50 days which could be due to ellipsoidal variations and/or disk reprocessing of variable X-ray emission.« less

Radiation-hardened microwave communications system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, S. F.; Bible, D. W.; Crutcher, R. I.; Hannah, J. H.; Moore, J. A.; Nowlin, C. H.; Vandermolen, R. I.; Chagnot, D.; Leroy, A.

1993-03-01

To develop a wireless communication system to meet the stringent requirements for a nuclear hot cell and similar environments, including control of advanced servomanipulators, a microwave signal transmission system development program was established to produce a demonstration prototype for the Consolidated Fuel Reprocessing Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Proof-of-principle tests in a partially metal lined enclosure at ORNL successfully demonstrated the feasibility of directed microwave signal transmission techniques for remote systems applications. The potential for much more severe radio-frequency (RF) multipath propagation conditions in fully metal lined cells led to a programmatic decision to conduct additional testing in more typical hot-cell environments at other sites. Again, the test results were excellent. Based on the designs of the earlier systems, an advanced microwave signal transmission system configuration was subsequently developed that, in highly reflective environments, will support both high-performance video channels and high baud-rate digital data links at total gamma dose tolerance levels exceeding 10(exp 7) rads and at elevated ambient temperatures.

Accumulation of COGEMA-La Hague-derived reprocessing wastes in French salt marsh sediments.

PubMed

Cundy, Andrew B; Croudace, Ian W; Warwick, Phillip E; Oh, Jung-Suk; Haslett, Simon K

2002-12-01

Over the past five decades, authorized low-level discharges from coastal nuclear facilities have released significant quantities of artificial radionuclides into the marine environment. In northwest Europe, the majority of the total discharge has derived from nuclear reprocessing activities at Sellafield in the United Kingdom and COGEMA-La Hague in France. At the Sellafield site, a significant amount of the discharges has been trapped in offshore fine sediment deposits, and notably in local coastal and estuarine sediments, and much research has been focused on understanding the distribution, accumulation, and reworking of long-lived radionuclides in these deposits. In contrast, there are few high-resolution published data on the vertical distribution of radionuclides in fine-grained estuarine sediments near, and downstream of, COGEMA-La Hague. This paper therefore examines the vertical distribution of a range of anthropogenic radionuclides in dated salt marsh cores from two estuaries, one adjacent to, and the other downstream of, the COGEMA-La Hague discharge point (the Havre de Carteret at Barneville-Carteret and the Baie de Somme, respectively). The radionuclides examined show a vertical distribution which predominantly reflects variations in input from COGEMA-La Hague (albeit much more clearly at Barneville-Carteret than at the Baie de Somme site), and Pu isotopic ratios are consistent with a La Hague, rather than weapons' fallout, source. Because of sediment mixing, the marshes apparently retain an integrated record of the La Hague discharges, rather than an exact reproduction of the discharge history. Sorption of radionuclides increases in the order 90Sr < 137Cs < 60Co < 239,240Pu, which is consistent with Kd values reported in the literature. In general, the radionuclide activities observed at the sites studied are low (particularly in comparison with salt marsh sediments near the Sellafield facility), but are similar to those found in areas of fine sedimentation in the central Channel. These marshes are not major sinks for discharged reprocessing wastes.

Development of Online Spectroscopic pH Monitoring for Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Plants: Weak Acid Schemes.

PubMed

Casella, Amanda J; Ahlers, Laura R H; Campbell, Emily L; Levitskaia, Tatiana G; Peterson, James M; Smith, Frances N; Bryan, Samuel A

2015-05-19

In nuclear fuel reprocessing, separating trivalent minor actinides and lanthanide fission products is extremely challenging and often necessitates tight pH control in TALSPEAK (Trivalent Actinide-Lanthanide Separation by Phosphorus reagent Extraction from Aqueous Komplexes) separations. In TALSPEAK and similar advanced processes, aqueous pH is one of the most important factors governing the partitioning of lanthanides and actinides between an aqueous phase containing a polyaminopolycarboxylate complexing agent and a weak carboxylic acid buffer and an organic phase containing an acidic organophosphorus extractant. Real-time pH monitoring would significantly increase confidence in the separation performance. Our research is focused on developing a general method for online determination of the pH of aqueous solutions through chemometric analysis of Raman spectra. Spectroscopic process-monitoring capabilities, incorporated in a counter-current centrifugal contactor bank, provide a pathway for online, real-time measurement of solution pH. The spectroscopic techniques are process-friendly and can be easily configured for online applications, whereas classic potentiometric pH measurements require frequent calibration/maintenance and have poor long-term stability in aggressive chemical and radiation environments. Raman spectroscopy discriminates between the protonated and deprotonated forms of the carboxylic acid buffer, and the chemometric processing of the Raman spectral data with PLS (partial least-squares) regression provides a means to quantify their respective abundances and therefore determine the solution pH. Interpretive quantitative models have been developed and validated under a range of chemical composition and pH conditions using a lactic acid/lactate buffer system. The developed model was applied to new spectra obtained from online spectral measurements during a solvent extraction experiment using a counter-current centrifugal contactor bank. The model predicted the pH of this validation data set within 11% for pH > 2, thus demonstrating that this technique could provide the capability of monitoring pH online in applications such as nuclear fuel reprocessing.

GOME/ERS-2: New Homogeneous Level 1B Data from an Old Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slijkhuis, S.; Aberle, B.; Coldewey-Egbers, M.; Loyola, D.; Dehn, A.; Fehr, T.

2015-11-01

In the framework of ESA's "GOME Evolution Project", a reprocessing will be made of the entire 16 year GOME Level 1 dataset. The GOME Evolution Project further includes the generation of a new GOME water vapour product, and a public outreach programme.In this paper we will describe the reprocessing of the Level 1 data, carried out with the latest version of the GOME Data Processor at DLR. The change most visible to the user will be the new product format in NetCDF, plus supporting documentation (ATBD and PUM). Full-mission reprocessed L1b data are expected to be released in the 4th quarter of 2015.

21 CFR 111.525 - What requirements apply to a returned dietary supplement that quality control personnel approve...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... FOR DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS Returned Dietary Supplements § 111.525 What requirements apply to a returned dietary supplement that quality control personnel approve for reprocessing? (a) You must ensure that any returned dietary supplements that are reprocessed meet all product specifications established in accordance...

21 CFR 111.525 - What requirements apply to a returned dietary supplement that quality control personnel approve...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... FOR DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS Returned Dietary Supplements § 111.525 What requirements apply to a returned dietary supplement that quality control personnel approve for reprocessing? (a) You must ensure that any returned dietary supplements that are reprocessed meet all product specifications established in accordance...

21 CFR 111.525 - What requirements apply to a returned dietary supplement that quality control personnel approve...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... FOR DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS Returned Dietary Supplements § 111.525 What requirements apply to a returned dietary supplement that quality control personnel approve for reprocessing? (a) You must ensure that any returned dietary supplements that are reprocessed meet all product specifications established in accordance...

21 CFR 111.525 - What requirements apply to a returned dietary supplement that quality control personnel approve...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... FOR DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS Returned Dietary Supplements § 111.525 What requirements apply to a returned dietary supplement that quality control personnel approve for reprocessing? (a) You must ensure that any returned dietary supplements that are reprocessed meet all product specifications established in accordance...

21 CFR 111.525 - What requirements apply to a returned dietary supplement that quality control personnel approve...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... FOR DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS Returned Dietary Supplements § 111.525 What requirements apply to a returned dietary supplement that quality control personnel approve for reprocessing? (a) You must ensure that any returned dietary supplements that are reprocessed meet all product specifications established in accordance...

76 FR 34007 - Draft Regulatory Basis for a Potential Rulemaking on Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Facilities

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-10

... processes are more akin to fuel cycle processes. This framework was established in the 1970's to license the... nuclear power globally and close the nuclear fuel cycle through reprocessing spent fuel and deploying fast... Accounting;'' and a Nuclear Energy Institute white [[Page 34009

On the UV/Optical Variation in NGC 5548: New Evidence Against the Reprocessing Diagram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Fei-Fan; Wang, Jun-Xian; Cai, Zhen-Yi; Sun, Yu-Han; Sun, Mou-Yuan; Zhang, Ji-Xian

2018-06-01

The reprocessing scenario is widely adopted in literature to explain the observed tight inter-band correlation and short lags in the UV/optical variations of active galactic nuclei (AGNs). In this work we look into the color variability of the famous Seyfert galaxy NGC 5548 with high-quality Swift multi-band UV/optical light curves. We find the color variation of NGC 5548 is clearly timescale-dependent, in a way that it is more prominent on shorter timescales. This is similar to that previously detected in quasar samples, but for the first time in an individual AGN. We show that while a reprocessing model with strict assumptions on the driving source and the disk size can apparently match the observed light curves and inter-band lags, it fails to reproduce the observed timescale dependency in the color variation. Such discrepancy raises a severe challenge to, and can hardly be reconciled under the widely accepted reprocessing diagram. It also demonstrates that the timescale dependency of the color variation is uniquely powerful in probing the physics behind AGN UV/optical variations.

The Interaction of Genotype and Environment Determines Variation in the Maize Kernel Ionome

PubMed Central

Asaro, Alexandra; Ziegler, Gregory; Ziyomo, Cathrine; Hoekenga, Owen A.; Dilkes, Brian P.; Baxter, Ivan

2016-01-01

Plants obtain soil-resident elements that support growth and metabolism from the water-flow facilitated by transpiration and active transport processes. The availability of elements in the environment interacts with the genetic capacity of organisms to modulate element uptake through plastic adaptive responses, such as homeostasis. These interactions should cause the elemental contents of plants to vary such that the effects of genetic polymorphisms will be dramatically dependent on the environment in which the plant is grown. To investigate genotype by environment interactions underlying elemental accumulation, we analyzed levels of elements in maize kernels of the Intermated B73 × Mo17 (IBM) recombinant inbred population grown in 10 different environments, spanning a total of six locations and five different years. In analyses conducted separately for each environment, we identified a total of 79 quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling seed elemental accumulation. While a set of these QTL was found in multiple environments, the majority were specific to a single environment, suggesting the presence of genetic by environment interactions. To specifically identify and quantify QTL by environment interactions (QEIs), we implemented two methods: linear modeling with environmental covariates, and QTL analysis on trait differences between growouts. With these approaches, we found several instances of QEI, indicating that elemental profiles are highly heritable, interrelated, and responsive to the environment. PMID:27770027

The Interaction of Genotype and Environment Determines Variation in the Maize Kernel Ionome.

PubMed

Asaro, Alexandra; Ziegler, Gregory; Ziyomo, Cathrine; Hoekenga, Owen A; Dilkes, Brian P; Baxter, Ivan

2016-12-07

Plants obtain soil-resident elements that support growth and metabolism from the water-flow facilitated by transpiration and active transport processes. The availability of elements in the environment interacts with the genetic capacity of organisms to modulate element uptake through plastic adaptive responses, such as homeostasis. These interactions should cause the elemental contents of plants to vary such that the effects of genetic polymorphisms will be dramatically dependent on the environment in which the plant is grown. To investigate genotype by environment interactions underlying elemental accumulation, we analyzed levels of elements in maize kernels of the Intermated B73 × Mo17 (IBM) recombinant inbred population grown in 10 different environments, spanning a total of six locations and five different years. In analyses conducted separately for each environment, we identified a total of 79 quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling seed elemental accumulation. While a set of these QTL was found in multiple environments, the majority were specific to a single environment, suggesting the presence of genetic by environment interactions. To specifically identify and quantify QTL by environment interactions (QEIs), we implemented two methods: linear modeling with environmental covariates, and QTL analysis on trait differences between growouts. With these approaches, we found several instances of QEI, indicating that elemental profiles are highly heritable, interrelated, and responsive to the environment. Copyright © 2016 Asaro et al.

Assessment of SNPP VIIRS VIS NIR Radiometric Calibration Stability Using Aqua MODIS and Invariant Surface Targets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, Aisheng; Xiong, Xiaoxiong; Cao, Changyong; Chiang, Kwo-Fu

2016-01-01

The first Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) satellite. As a primary sensor, it collects imagery and radiometric measurements of the land, atmosphere, cryosphere, and oceans in the spectral regions from visible (VIS) to long-wave infrared. NASA's National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) VIIRS Characterization Support Team has been actively involved in the VIIRS radiometric and geometric calibration to support its Science Team Principal Investigators for their independent quality assessment of VIIRS Environmental Data Records. This paper presents the performance assessment of the radiometric calibration stability of the VIIRS VIS and NIR spectral bands using measurements from SNPP VIIRS and Aqua MODIS simultaneous nadir overpasses and over the invariant surface targets at the Libya-4 desert and Antarctic Dome Concordia snow sites. The VIIRS sensor data records (SDRs) used in this paper are reprocessed by the NASA SNPP Land Product Evaluation and Analysis Tool Element. This paper shows that the reprocessed VIIRS SDRs have been consistently calibrated from the beginning of the mission, and the calibration stability is similar to or better than MODIS. Results from different approaches indicate that the calibrations of the VIIRS VIS and NIR spectral bands are maintained to be stable to within 1% over the first three-year mission. The absolute calibration differences between VIIRS and MODIS are within 2%, with an exception for the 0.865-m band, after correction of their spectral response differences.

Plasma-activated water: a new and effective alternative for duodenoscope reprocessing.

PubMed

Bălan, Gheorghe G; Roşca, Irina; Ursu, Elena-Laura; Doroftei, Florica; Bostănaru, Andra-Cristina; Hnatiuc, Eugen; Năstasă, Valentin; Şandru, Vasile; Ştefănescu, Gabriela; Trifan, Anca; Mareş, Mihai

2018-01-01

Duodenoscopes have been widely used for both diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography procedures. Numerous outbreaks of duodenoscope-associated infections involving multidrug-resistant bacteria have recently been reported. Plasma activated water (PAW) has been widely considered an effective agent for surface decontamination and is increasingly used for disinfection of medical equipment. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the duodenoscopes currently on market are suited for the repeated use of PAW and to test the efficacy of PAW for their disinfection. In order to evaluate the disinfection efficacy and the required time of contact, the duodenoscope samples were contaminated by immersing them in fasted-state simulated intestinal fluid containing Escherichia coli , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Acinetobacter baumannii , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa , prior to PAW exposure. In order to test the duodenoscope polymer compatibility with PAW, a challenge test was conducted by immersing the samples in PAW for 30 minutes daily for 45 consecutive days. Significant reductions in bacterial populations were achieved after 30 minutes of PAW treatment, indicating a high-level disinfection. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to demonstrate that repeated PAW treatment of duodenoscope coating polymer samples did not result in significant differences in morphological surface between the treated and untreated samples. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis also showed no significant differences between the elemental composition of the duodenoscope coating polymer samples before and after repeated PAW treatment. Considering these preliminary results, PAW could be considered as a new alternative for duodenoscope reprocessing.

Uranium extraction from TRISO-coated fuel particles using supercritical CO2 containing tri-n-butyl phosphate.

PubMed

Zhu, Liyang; Duan, Wuhua; Xu, Jingming; Zhu, Yongjun

2012-11-30

High-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) are advanced nuclear systems that will receive heavy use in the future. It is important to develop spent nuclear fuel reprocessing technologies for HTGR. A new method for recovering uranium from tristructural-isotropic (TRISO-) coated fuel particles with supercritical CO(2) containing tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) as a complexing agent was investigated. TRISO-coated fuel particles from HTGR fuel elements were first crushed to expose UO(2) pellet fuel kernels. The crushed TRISO-coated fuel particles were then treated under O(2) stream at 750°C, resulting in a mixture of U(3)O(8) powder and SiC shells. The conversion of U(3)O(8) into solid uranyl nitrate by its reaction with liquid N(2)O(4) in the presence of a small amount of water was carried out. Complete conversion was achieved after 60 min of reaction at 80°C, whereas the SiC shells were not converted by N(2)O(4). Uranyl nitrate in the converted mixture was extracted with supercritical CO(2) containing TBP. The cumulative extraction efficiency was above 98% after 20 min of online extraction at 50°C and 25 MPa, whereas the SiC shells were not extracted by TBP. The results suggest an attractive strategy for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel from HTGR to minimize the generation of secondary radioactive waste. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Brief overview of the long-lived radionuclide separation processes developed in france in connection with the spin program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madic, Charles; Bourges, Jacques; Dozol, Jean-François

1995-09-01

To reduce the long-term potential hazards associated with the management of nuclear wastes generated by nuclear fuel reprocessing, one alternative is the transmutation of long-lived radionuclides into short-lived radionuclides by nuclear means (P & T strategy). In this context, according to the law passed by the French Parliament on 30 December 1991, the CEA launched the SPIN program for the design of long-lived radionuclide separation and nuclear incineration processes. The research in progress to define separation processes focused mainly on the minor actinides (neptunium, americium and curium) and some fission products, like cesium and technetium. To separate these long-lived radionuclides, two strategies were developed. The first involves research on new operating conditions for improving the PUREX fuel reprocessing technology. This approach concerns the elements neptunium and technetium (iodine and zirconium can also be considered). The second strategy involves the design of new processes; DIAMEX for the co-extraction of minor actinides from the high-level liquid waste leaving the PUREX process, An(III)/Ln(III) separation using tripyridyltriazine derivatives or picolinamide extracting agents; SESAME for the selective separation of americium after its oxidation to Am(IV) or Am(VI) in the presence of a heteropolytungstate ligand, and Cs extraction using a new class of extracting agents, calixarenes, which exhibit exceptional Cs separation properties, especially in the presence of sodium ion. This lecture focuses on the latest achievements in these research areas.

A study of visual and blood contamination on reprocessed endodontic files from general dental practice.

PubMed

Letters, S; Smith, A J; McHugh, S; Bagg, J

2005-10-22

This study examined methods used for reprocessing endodontic instruments in general dental practice and determined the degree of residual visual contamination and blood contamination on 250 reprocessed files collected from 25 general dental practices. A questionnaire was administered to 25 general dental practitioners to obtain information on the re-processing of used endodontic files. Ten files which had been used and reprocessed were also collected from each practice. These were examined visually under a dissecting light microscope for residual contamination and then tested for blood deposits using the Kastle-Meyer test. Nineteen of the 25 practices used stainless steel hand files. No practitioners used endodontic files as single use devices. Ninety-two per cent of the practitioners discarded and replaced files when they were bent or damaged. Several decontamination methods were reported. The two combinations employed most frequently were manual cleaning and autoclaving or manual cleaning, followed by ultrasonic cleaning and autoclaving. Of the 250 files, 75% showed some degree of visual contamination and seven percent tested positive for residual blood. Blood contaminated files were significantly more heavily contaminated when examined visually. Large variations were found in residual contamination of files collected from practices using the same methods of decontamination. While all practitioners re-used endodontic files, the variations in decontamination methods reported indicate a lack of clarity on best practice. This study demonstrates that endodontic files are not reliably decontaminated by methods currently employed in dental practice.

Effects of reuse and bleach/formaldehyde reprocessing on polysulfone and polyamide hemodialyzers.

PubMed

Cornelius, Rena M; McClung, W Glenn; Barre, Paul; Esguerra, Fe; Brash, John L

2002-01-01

The surface features, morphology, and blood interactions of fibers from pristine, bleach/formaldehyde reprocessed, and reused Fresenius Polysulfone High Flux (Hemoflow F80B) hemodialyzers and Gambro Polyflux 21S Polyamide hemodialyzers have been studied. SEM images of fibers from both hemodialyzer types revealed a dense skin layer on the inner surface and a relatively thick porous layer on the outer surface. The 21S polyamide support layer consisted of interconnected highly porous structures. Environmental scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy images of both membrane types showed alterations in morphology due to reprocessing and reuse; however the changes were more marked for the 21S polyamide dialyzers. Fluorescence microscopy images showed only minimal fluorescence associated with the fibers after patient use and reprocessing, suggesting that blood derived deposits were removed by processing. The protein layers formed on pristine and reused hemodialyzer membranes during clinical use were studied using SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting. Before bleach/formaldehyde treatment, protein layers of considerable amount and complexity were found on the blood side of singly and multiply used dialyzers. Proteins adsorbed on the dialysate side were predominantly in the molecular mass region below 30 kDa. However, some higher molecular mass proteins were detected on the dialysate side of the 21 S polyamide dialyzers. Very little protein was detected on dialyzers that were treated with bleach/formaldehyde after dialysis, regardless of whether they had been used/reprocessed once or 12 times.

The patient observer: eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing for the treatment of posttraumatic stress following childbirth.

PubMed

Stramrood, Claire A I; van der Velde, Janneke; Doornbos, Bennard; Marieke Paarlberg, K; Weijmar Schultz, Willibrord C M; van Pampus, Maria G

2012-03-01

No standard intervention with proved effectiveness is available for women with posttraumatic stress following childbirth because of insufficient research. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the possibility of using eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing treatment for women with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder following childbirth. The treatment is internationally recognized as one of the interventions of choice for the condition, but little is known about its effects in women who experienced the delivery as traumatic. Three women suffering from posttraumatic stress symptoms following the birth of their first child were treated with eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing during their next pregnancy. Patient A developed posttraumatic stress symptoms following the lengthy labor of her first child that ended in an emergency cesarean section after unsuccessful vacuum extraction. Patient B suffered a second degree vaginal rupture, resulting in pain and inability to engage in sexual intercourse for years. Patient C developed severe preeclampsia postpartum requiring intravenous treatment. Patients received eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing treatment during their second pregnancy, using the standard protocol. The treatment resulted in fewer posttraumatic stress symptoms and more confidence about their pregnancy and upcoming delivery compared with before the treatment. Despite delivery complications in Patient A (secondary cesarean section due to insufficient engaging of the fetal head); Patient B (second degree vaginal rupture, this time without subsequent dyspareunia); and Patient C (postpartum hemorrhage, postpartum hypertension requiring intravenous treatment), all three women looked back positively at the second delivery experience. Treatment with eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing reduced posttraumatic stress symptoms in these three women. They were all sufficiently confident to attempt vaginal birth rather than demanding an elective cesarean section. We advocate a large-scale, randomized controlled trial involving women with postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder to evaluate the effect of eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing in this patient group. © 2011, Copyright the Authors. Journal compilation © 2011, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Algorithm Updates for the Fourth SeaWiFS Data Reprocessing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hooker, Stanford, B. (Editor); Firestone, Elaine R. (Editor); Patt, Frederick S.; Barnes, Robert A.; Eplee, Robert E., Jr.; Franz, Bryan A.; Robinson, Wayne D.; Feldman, Gene Carl; Bailey, Sean W.

2003-01-01

The efforts to improve the data quality for the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) data products have continued, following the third reprocessing of the global data set in May 2000. Analyses have been ongoing to address all aspects of the processing algorithms, particularly the calibration methodologies, atmospheric correction, and data flagging and masking. All proposed changes were subjected to rigorous testing, evaluation and validation. The results of these activities culminated in the fourth reprocessing, which was completed in July 2002. The algorithm changes, which were implemented for this reprocessing, are described in the chapters of this volume. Chapter 1 presents an overview of the activities leading up to the fourth reprocessing, and summarizes the effects of the changes. Chapter 2 describes the modifications to the on-orbit calibration, specifically the focal plane temperature correction and the temporal dependence. Chapter 3 describes the changes to the vicarious calibration, including the stray light correction to the Marine Optical Buoy (MOBY) data and improved data screening procedures. Chapter 4 describes improvements to the near-infrared (NIR) band correction algorithm. Chapter 5 describes changes to the atmospheric correction and the oceanic property retrieval algorithms, including out-of-band corrections, NIR noise reduction, and handling of unusual conditions. Chapter 6 describes various changes to the flags and masks, to increase the number of valid retrievals, improve the detection of the flag conditions, and add new flags. Chapter 7 describes modifications to the level-la and level-3 algorithms, to improve the navigation accuracy, correct certain types of spacecraft time anomalies, and correct a binning logic error. Chapter 8 describes the algorithm used to generate the SeaWiFS photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) product. Chapter 9 describes a coupled ocean-atmosphere model, which is used in one of the changes described in Chapter 4. Finally, Chapter 10 describes a comparison of results from the third and fourth reprocessings along the US. Northeast coast.

Combined orbits and clocks from the IGS 2nd reprocessing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griffiths, J.; Ray, J.

2016-12-01

In early 2015, the Analysis Centers (ACs) of the International GNSS Service (IGS) completed their second reanalysis of the full history of globally distributed GPS and GLONASS data collected since 1994. The suite of reprocessed AC solutions includes daily product files containing station positions, Earth rotation parameters, satellite orbits and clocks. This second reprocessing—or repro2—provided the IGS contribution to ITRF2014; it follows the successful first reprocessing, which provided the IGS input for ITRF2008. For this poster, we will discuss the newly combined repro2 GPS orbits and clocks. We also revisit our previous analysis of orbit day-boundary discontinuities with several significant changes and improvements: 1) Orbit discontinuities for the contributing ACs were studied in addition to those for the IGS repro2 combined orbits. (2) Apart from homogeneous reprocessing with updated analysis models, the main difference compared to the IGS Final operational products is that NOAA/NGS inputs were not submitted for the IGS reprocessing, yet they contribute heavily in the operational orbits in recent years. (3) Also, during spring 2016, the ESA modified their orbit model so that it is no longer consistent with the one used for reprocessing. A much longer span of orbits was available now, up to 11.2 years for some individual satellites, which allows a far better resolution of spectral features. 4) The procedure to compute orbit discontinuities has been further refined to account for extrapolation edge effects, improved geopotential fields, and to allow for spectral analysis of a longer time series of jumps. The satellite position time series used are complete enough that linear interpolation is necessary for only sparse gaps. So the key results are based on standard FFT power spectra (stacked over the available constellation and lightly smoothed). However, we have also computed Lomb-Scargle periodgrams to provide higher frequency resolution of some spectral peaks and to permit tests of the effect of excluding eclipse periods.

10 CFR Appendix F to Part 50 - Policy Relating to the Siting of Fuel Reprocessing Plants and Related Waste Management Facilities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... and Related Waste Management Facilities F Appendix F to Part 50 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION... Relating to the Siting of Fuel Reprocessing Plants and Related Waste Management Facilities 1. Public health... facilities for the temporary storage of highlevel radioactive wastes, may be located on privately owned...

10 CFR Appendix F to Part 50 - Policy Relating to the Siting of Fuel Reprocessing Plants and Related Waste Management Facilities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... and Related Waste Management Facilities F Appendix F to Part 50 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION... Relating to the Siting of Fuel Reprocessing Plants and Related Waste Management Facilities 1. Public health... facilities for the temporary storage of highlevel radioactive wastes, may be located on privately owned...

10 CFR Appendix F to Part 50 - Policy Relating to the Siting of Fuel Reprocessing Plants and Related Waste Management Facilities

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... and Related Waste Management Facilities F Appendix F to Part 50 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION... Relating to the Siting of Fuel Reprocessing Plants and Related Waste Management Facilities 1. Public health... facilities for the temporary storage of highlevel radioactive wastes, may be located on privately owned...

Critical review of analytical techniques for safeguarding the thorium-uranium fuel cycle

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

Hakkila, E.A.

1978-10-01

Conventional analytical methods applicable to the determination of thorium, uranium, and plutonium in feed, product, and waste streams from reprocessing thorium-based nuclear reactor fuels are reviewed. Separations methods of interest for these analyses are discussed. Recommendations concerning the applicability of various techniques to reprocessing samples are included. 15 tables, 218 references.

A Review of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Research Findings and Implications for Counsellors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacCluskie, Kathryn C.

1998-01-01

States that within the last six years a new therapeutic technique for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), has emerged. Examines the strengths and weaknesses of published studies concerning EMDR, describes the nature of the debate about the efficacy of EMDR, and reviews implications…

Randomized, Controlled Trial of CBT Training for PTSD Providers

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-01

and Therapy, 47, 902-909. Shapiro, F. (2001). Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing ( EMDR ): Basic principles...Hopper, E. K., Korn, D. L., & Simpson, W. B. (2007). A randomized clinical trial of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing ( EMDR ), fluoxetine...Josef Ruzek, Ph.D. CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION: Palo Alto Institute for Research and Education Palo Alto, CA 94304 REPORT

Quality management for the processing of medical devices

PubMed Central

Klosz, Kerstin

2008-01-01

Rules on the reprocessing of medical devices were put into place in Germany in 2001. The present article explains the background situation and the provisions that are currently in force. The implementation of these statutory requirements is described using the example of the quality management system of Germany’s market leader, Vanguard AG. This quality management system was successfully certified pursuant to DIN EN ISO 13485:2003 for the scope "reprocessing of medical devices", including class “critical C”, in accordance with the recommendation of the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and the Prevention of Infection at the Robert-Koch-Institute (RKI) and the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) on the “Hygiene requirements for reprocessing of medical devices”. PMID:20204094

Status of CSR RL06 GRACE reprocessing and preliminary results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Save, H.

2017-12-01

The GRACE project plans to re-processes the GRACE mission data in order to be consistent with the first gravity products released by the GRACE-FO project. The RL06 reprocessing will harmonize the GRACE time-series with the first release of GRACE-FO. This paper catalogues the changes in the upcoming RL06 release and discusses the quality improvements as compared to the current RL05 release. The processing and parameterization changes as compared to the current release are also discussed. This paper discusses the evolution of the quality of the GRACE solutions and characterize the errors over the past few years. The possible challenges associated with connecting the GRACE time series with that from GRACE-FO are also discussed.

Development of an integrated transuranic waste management system for a large research facility: NUCEF

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

Mineo, Hideaki; Matsumura, Tatsuro; Takeshita, Isao

1997-03-01

The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Safety Engineering Research Facility (NUCEF) is a large complex of research facilities where transuranic (TRU) elements are used. Liquid and solid waste containing TRU elements is generated mainly in the treatment of fuel for critical experiments and in the research of reprocessing and TRU waste management in hot cells and glove boxes. The rational management of TRU wastes is a very important issue not only for NUCEF but also for Japan. An integrated TRU waste management system is being developed with NUCEF as the test bed. The basic policy for establishing the system is to classifymore » wastes by TRU concentration, to reduce waste volume, and to maximize reuse of TRU elements. The principal approach of the development program is to apply the outcomes of the research carried out in NUCEF. Key technologies are TRU measurement for classification of solid wastes and TRU separation and volume reduction for organic and aqueous wastes. Some technologies required for treating the wastes specific to the research activities in NUCEF need further development. Specifically, the separation and stabilization technologies for americium recovery from concentrated aqueous waste, which is generated in dissolution of mixed oxide when preparing fuel for critical experiments, needs further research.« less

A census of the asteroid belt

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tedesco, E. F.; Veeder, G. J.

1991-01-01

Observations obtained by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) during its ten month mission in 1983 were originally processed by the Asteroid Data Analysis System (ADAS) to search for 3453 asteroids with known orbital elements as of September 1985. A total of 1811 had one or more observations of sufficient reliability to be accepted. These results were released in October 1986. Recently IRAS data were reprocessed to increase both the number of recognized asteroid observations and their reliability. As input 7311 asteroids were used with known orbital elements as of December 1990. This processor is referred to as the IRAS Minor Planet Survey (IMPS). As of April 1991 approximately 3000 asteroids had been identified with one or more acceptable observations. These results were used to derive the total number of asteroids with diameters greater than 1 km. In addition to being an interesting piece of information in itself these size-frequency distributions produce bias-correction factors which, for example, will be used in investigations of the physical properties of asteroid dynamical families and to estimate the distribution of the taxonomic classes as a function of heliocentric distance.

Production of Lithium, Beryllium, and Boron from Baryon inhomogeneous primordial nucleosynthesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, David; Schramm, David N.; Olive, Keith A.; Mathews, Grant J.; Meyer, Bradley S.; Fields, Brian D.

1994-01-01

We investigate the possibility that inhomogeneous nucleosynthesis may eventually be used to explain the abundances of Li-6, Be-9, and B in Population II stars. The present work differs from previous studies in that we have used a more extensive reaction network. It is demonstrated that in the simplest scenario the abundances of the light elements with A less than or = 7 constrain the separation of inhomogeneities to sufficently small scales that the model is indistinguishable from homogeneous nucleosynthesis and that the abundnace of Li-6, Be-9, and B are then below observations by several orders of magnitude. This conclusion does not depend on the Li-7 constraint. We also examine alternative scenarios which involve a post-nucleosynthesis reprocessing of the light elements to reproduce the observed abundances of Li and B, while allowing for a somewhat higher baryon density (still well below the cosmological critical density). Future B/H measurements may be able to exclude even this exotic scenario and further restrict primirdial nucleosynthesis to approach the homogeneous model conclusions.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography-associated AmpC Escherichia coli outbreak.

PubMed

Wendorf, Kristen A; Kay, Meagan; Baliga, Christopher; Weissman, Scott J; Gluck, Michael; Verma, Punam; D'Angeli, Marisa; Swoveland, Jennifer; Kang, Mi-Gyeong; Eckmann, Kaye; Ross, Andrew S; Duchin, Jeffrey

2015-06-01

We identified an outbreak of AmpC-producing Escherichia coli infections resistant to third-generation cephalosporins and carbapenems (CR) among 7 patients who had undergone endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography at hospital A during November 2012-August 2013. Gene sequencing revealed a shared novel mutation in a bla CMY gene and a distinctive fumC/ fimH typing profile. To determine the extent and epidemiologic characteristics of the outbreak, identify potential sources of transmission, design and implement infection control measures, and determine the association between the CR E. coli and AmpC E. coli circulating at hospital A. We reviewed laboratory, medical, and endoscopy reports, and endoscope reprocessing procedures. We obtained cultures from endoscopes after reprocessing as well as environmental samples and conducted pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and gene sequencing on phenotypic AmpC isolates from patients and endoscopes. Cases were those infected with phenotypic AmpC isolates (both carbapenem-susceptible and CR) and identical bla CMY-2, fumC, and fimH alleles or related pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns. Thirty-five of 49 AmpC E. coli tested met the case definition, including all CR isolates. All cases had complicated biliary disease and had undergone at least 1 endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography at hospital A. Mortality at 30 days was 16% for all patients and 56% for CR patients. Two of 8 reprocessed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography scopes harbored AmpC that matched case isolates by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Environmental cultures were negative. No breaches in infection control were identified. Endoscopic reprocessing exceeded manufacturer's recommended cleaning guidelines. Recommended reprocessing guidelines are not sufficient.

On the Reprocessing and Reanalysis of Observations for Climate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosilovich, Michael G.; Kennedy, John; Dee, Dick; Allan, R.; O'Neill, Alan

2013-01-01

The long observational record is critical to our understanding of the Earths climate, but most observing systems were not developed with a climate objective in mind. As a result, tremendous efforts have gone into assessing and reprocessing the data records to improve their usefulness in climate studies. The purpose of this paper is to both review recent progress in reprocessing and reanalyzing observations, and to summarize the challenges that must be overcome in order to improve our understanding of climate and variability. Reprocessing improves data quality through more scrutiny and improved retrieval techniques for individual observing systems, while reanalysis merges many disparate observations with models through data assimilation, yet both aim to provide an climatology of Earth processes. Many challenges remain, such as tracking the improvement of processing algorithms and limited spatial coverage. Reanalyses have fostered significant research, yet reliable global trends in many physical fields are not yet attainable, despite significant advances in data assimilation and numerical modeling. Oceanic reanalyses have made significant advances in recent years, but will only be discussed here in terms of progress toward integrated Earth system analyses. Climate data sets are generally adequate for process studies and large-scale climate variability. Communication of the strengths, limitations and uncertainties of reprocessed observations and reanalysis data, not only among the community of developers, but also with the extended research community, including the new generations of researchers and the decision makers is crucial for further advancement of the observational data records. It must be emphasized that careful investigation of the data and processing methods are required to use the observations appropriately.

U.S.-South Korea Relations

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-26

reprocessed to make new fuel using a type of reprocessing called pyroprocessing .66 The United States and South Korea are jointly researching pyroprocessing ...solutions to spent fuel disposal. Spent fuel disposal is a key policy issue for South Korean officials, and some see pyroprocessing as a potential solution...proponents of pyroprocessing see it as a way to advance energy independence for South Korea. 66

Enhancing Assessments of Mental Health Programs and Program Planning

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing ( EMDR ) 3. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) 4...Department of Defense Instruction EMDR Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing FEA Front End Assessment FM Field Manual FOB Forward Operating Base...1.26 N = 47 EMDR 1.04 N = 10 Group .46 N = 6 Other -.53-.78 N = 4 (some ns) Source: Roberts and Schnurr 2012. Slide 64. Large Number of Studies

The Efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy Technique in the Treatment of Test Anxiety of College Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Enright, Matthew; Baldo, Tracy D.; Wykes, Scott D.

2000-01-01

Explores the efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) in the treatment of test anxiety. Thirty-five college students with test anxiety were assigned to either a treatment or delayed treatment control group. EMDR was shown to be effective in reducing overall test anxiety as well as "emotionality" and…

Treatment of a Patient with Borderline Personality Disorder Based on Phase-Oriented Model of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): A Case Report.

PubMed

Momeni Safarabad, Nahid; Asgharnejad Farid, Ali-Asghar; Gharraee, Banafsheh; Habibi, Mojtaba

2018-01-01

Objective: This study aimed at reporting the effect of the 3-phase model of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing in the treatment of a patient with borderline personality disorder. Method : A 33-year-old female, who met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for borderline personality disorder, received a 20-session therapy based on the 3-phase model of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Borderline Personality Disorder Checklist (BPD-Checklist), Dissociative Experience Scale (DES-II), Beck Depression Inventory-II-second edition (BDI-II), and Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were filled out by the patient at all treatment phases and at the 3- month follow- up. Results: According to the obtained results, the patient's pretest scores in all research tools were 161, 44, 37, and 38 for BPD-Checklist, DES-II, BDI-II, and BAI, respectively. After treatment, these scores decreased significantly (69, 14, 6 and 10 respectively). So, the patient exhibited improvement in borderline personality disorder, dissociative, depression and anxiety symptoms, which were maintained after the 3-month follow-up. Conclusion: The results supported the positive effect of phasic model of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing on borderline personality disorder.

Swab culture monitoring of automated endoscope reprocessors after high-level disinfection

PubMed Central

Lu, Lung-Sheng; Wu, Keng-Liang; Chiu, Yi-Chun; Lin, Ming-Tzung; Hu, Tsung-Hui; Chiu, King-Wah

2012-01-01

AIM: To conduct a bacterial culture study for monitoring decontamination of automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs) after high-level disinfection (HLD). METHODS: From February 2006 to January 2011, authors conducted randomized consecutive sampling each month for 7 AERs. Authors collected a total of 420 swab cultures, including 300 cultures from 5 gastroscope AERs, and 120 cultures from 2 colonoscope AERs. Swab cultures were obtained from the residual water from the AERs after a full reprocessing cycle. Samples were cultured to test for aerobic bacteria, anaerobic bacteria, and mycobacterium tuberculosis. RESULTS: The positive culture rate of the AERs was 2.0% (6/300) for gastroscope AERs and 0.8% (1/120) for colonoscope AERs. All the positive cultures, including 6 from gastroscope and 1 from colonoscope AERs, showed monofloral colonization. Of the gastroscope AER samples, 50% (3/6) were colonized by aerobic bacterial and 50% (3/6) by fungal contaminations. CONCLUSION: A full reprocessing cycle of an AER with HLD is adequate for disinfection of the machine. Swab culture is a useful method for monitoring AER decontamination after each reprocessing cycle. Fungal contamination of AERs after reprocessing should also be kept in mind. PMID:22529696

Dismantling of Highly Contaminated Process Installations of the German Reprocessing Facility (WAK) - Status of New Remote Handling Technology - 13287

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

Dux, Joachim; Friedrich, Daniel; Lutz, Werner

2013-07-01

Decommissioning and dismantling of the former German Pilot Reprocessing Plant Karlsruhe (WAK) including the Vitrification Facility (VEK) is being executed in different Project steps related to the reprocessing, HLLW storage and vitrification complexes /1/. While inside the reprocessing building the total inventory of process equipment has already been dismantled and disposed of, the HLLW storage and vitrification complex has been placed out of operation since vitrification and tank rinsing procedures where finalized in year 2010. This paper describes the progress made in dismantling of the shielded boxes of the highly contaminated laboratory as a precondition to get access to themore » hot cells of the HLLW storage. The major challenges of the dismantling of this laboratory were the high dose rates up to 700 mSv/h and the locking technology for the removal of the hot cell installations. In parallel extensive prototype testing of different carrier systems and power manipulators to be applied to dismantle the HLLW-tanks and other hot cell equipment is ongoing. First experiences with the new manipulator carrier system and a new master slave manipulator with force reflection will be reported. (authors)« less

Treatment of a Patient with Borderline Personality Disorder Based on Phase-Oriented Model of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): A Case Report

PubMed Central

Momeni Safarabad, Nahid; Asgharnejad Farid, Ali-Asghar; Gharraee, Banafsheh; Habibi, Mojtaba

2018-01-01

Objective: This study aimed at reporting the effect of the 3-phase model of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing in the treatment of a patient with borderline personality disorder. Method : A 33-year-old female, who met the DSM-IV-TR criteria for borderline personality disorder, received a 20-session therapy based on the 3-phase model of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. Borderline Personality Disorder Checklist (BPD-Checklist), Dissociative Experience Scale (DES-II), Beck Depression Inventory-II-second edition (BDI-II), and Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were filled out by the patient at all treatment phases and at the 3- month follow- up. Results: According to the obtained results, the patient’s pretest scores in all research tools were 161, 44, 37, and 38 for BPD-Checklist, DES-II, BDI-II, and BAI, respectively. After treatment, these scores decreased significantly (69, 14, 6 and 10 respectively). So, the patient exhibited improvement in borderline personality disorder, dissociative, depression and anxiety symptoms, which were maintained after the 3-month follow-up. Conclusion: The results supported the positive effect of phasic model of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing on borderline personality disorder. PMID:29892320

65 Years of Reprocessed GLDAS Version 2.0 Data and Their Exploration Using the NASA GES DISC Giovanni

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rui, Hualan; Vollmer, B.; Teng, W.; Beaudoing, H.; Rodell, M.; Silberstein, D.

2015-01-01

GLDAS-2.0 data have been reprocessed with updated Princeton meteorological forcing data within the Land Information System (LIS) Version 7, and temporal coverage have been extended to 1948-2012.Global Land Data Assimilation System Version 2 (GLDAS-2) has two components: GLDAS-2.0: entirely forced with the Princeton meteorological forcing data GLDAS-2.1: forced with atmospheric analysis and observation-based data after 2001In order to create more climatologically consistent data sets, NASA GSFC's Hydrological Sciences Laboratory (HSL) has recently reprocessed the GLDAS-2.0, by using updated Princeton meteorological forcing data within the LIS Version 7.GLDAS-2.0 data and data services are provided at NASA GES DISC Hydrology Data and Information Services Center (HDISC), in collaboration with HSL.

Effect of Reprocessing and Accelerated Weathering on Impact-Modified Recycled Blend

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramesh, V.; Mohanty, Smita; Biswal, Manoranjan; Nayak, Sanjay K.

2015-12-01

Recovery of recycled polycarbonate, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, high-impact polystyrene, and its blends from waste electrical and electronic equipment plastics products properties were enhanced by the addition of virgin polycarbonate and impact modifier. The optimized blend formulation was processed through five cycles, at processing temperature, 220-240 °C and accelerated weathering up to 700 h. Moreover, the effect of reprocessing and accelerated weathering in the physical properties of the modified blends was investigated by mechanical, thermal, rheological, and morphological studies. The results show that in each reprocessing cycle, the tensile strength and impact strength decreased significantly and the similar behavior has been observed from accelerated weathering. Subsequently, the viscosity decreases and this decrease becomes the effect of thermal and photo-oxidative degradation. This can be correlated with FTIR analysis.

Monitoring Iodine-129 in Air and Milk Samples Collected Near the Hanford Site: An Investigation of Historical Iodine Monitoring Data

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

Fritz, Brad G.; Patton, Gregory W.

2006-01-01

While other research has reported on the concentrations of 129I in the environment surrounding active nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities, there is a shortage of information regarding how the concentrations change once facilities close. At the Hanford Site, the Plutonium-Uranium Extraction (PUREX) chemical separation plant was operational between 1983 and 1990, during which time 129I concentrations in air and milk were measured. After the cessation of operations in 1990, plant emissions decreased 2.5 orders of magnitude over an 8 year period, and monitoring of environmental levels continued. An evaluation of air and milk 129I concentration data spanning the PUREX operation andmore » post closure period was conducted to compare the changes in environmental levels of 129I measured. Measured concentrations over the monitoring period were below levels that could result in a potential human dose greater than 10 uSv. There was a significant and measurable difference in the measured air concentrations of 129I at different distances from the source, indicating a distinct Hanford fingerprint. Correlations between stack emissions of 129I and concentrations in air and milk indicate that atmospheric emissions were responsible for the 129I concentrations measured in environmental samples. The measured concentrations during PUREX operation were similar to observations made around a fuel reprocessing plant in Germany.« less

Corrosion-Resistant Ti- xNb- xZr Alloys for Nitric Acid Applications in Spent Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manivasagam, Geetha; Anbarasan, V.; Kamachi Mudali, U.; Raj, Baldev

2011-09-01

This article reports the development, microstructure, and corrosion behavior of two new alloys such as Ti-4Nb-4Zr and Ti-2Nb-2Zr in boiling nitric acid environment. The corrosion test was carried out in the liquid, vapor, and condensate phases of 11.5 M nitric acid, and the potentiodynamic anodic polarization studies were performed at room temperature for both alloys. The samples subjected to three-phase corrosion testing were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDAX). As Ti-2Nb-2Zr alloy exhibited inferior corrosion behavior in comparison to Ti-4Nb-4Zr in all three phases, weldability and heat treatment studies were carried out only on Ti-4Nb-4Zr alloy. The weldability of the new alloy was evaluated using tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding processes, and the welded specimen was thereafter tested for its corrosion behavior in all three phases. The results of the present investigation revealed that the newly developed near alpha Ti-4Nb-4Zr alloy possessed superior corrosion resistance in all three phases and excellent weldability compared to conventional alloys used for nitric acid application in spent nuclear reprocessing plants. Further, the corrosion resistance of the beta heat-treated Ti-4Nb-4Zr alloy was superior when compared to the sample heat treated in the alpha + beta phase.

Concentration of iodine-129 in surface seawater at subarctic and subtropical circulations in the Japan Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, Takashi; Otosaka, Shigeyoshi; Togawa, Orihiko

2013-01-01

To investigate the migration of anthropogenic 129I in the environment, we measured 129I concentrations at both subarctic (above 40oN) and subtropical (below 40oN) circulations in the surface seawater of the Japan Sea. The averaged concentrations of stations 193, 194, 201, 206 and 210 above 200 m were (2.1 ± 0.3) × 1010 atoms/m3, (2.0 ± 0.2) × 1010 atoms/m3, (1.6 ± 0.3) × 1010 atoms/m3, (1.4 ± 0.3) × 1010 atoms/m3 and (1.7 ± 0.3) × 1010 atoms/m3, respectively. The averaged concentration at the subarctic circulation in the Japan Sea above 200 m (1.9 × 1010 atoms/m3) was higher than that in the subtropical circulation (1.5 × 1010 atoms/m3). This latitudinal distribution pattern of 129I is not consistent with those of bomb-derived radionuclides such as 14C, 90Sr and 137Cs. Taking into account latitudinal location and the total amount of releases from reprocessing plants, this discriminating latitudinal distribution of 129I in the Japan Sea would indicate that a significant amount of 129I originating from active reprocessing plants in Europe is supplied to the surface of the Japan Sea.

What psychological testing and neuroimaging tell us about the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder by Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.

PubMed

Levin, P; Lazrove, S; van der Kolk, B

1999-01-01

To better understand the pathophysiology and treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), standard psychological testing, Rorschach Ink Blot testing, and neuroimaging using Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) were administered to subjects with PTSD prior to and following three sessions of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Using this within-subject design, data from one of six subjects in our series is presented as a case report. Following EMDR, the subject experienced improvement in his level of distress, which correlated with decrements in PTSD and depressive symptomatology on psychological testing. Analysis of the Rorschach data corroborated these changes. Among other findings, the Hypervigilance Index went from positive to negative, indicating that the subject was spending less time scanning the environment for threats, and available ego resources also increased, as measured by the Experience Actual variable. Upon recall of the traumatic memory during SPECT scanning, two areas of the brain were hyperactive post-EMDR treatment relative to pretreatment: the anterior cingulate gyrus and the left frontal lobe. These changes were consistent with summed data from four out of six subjects in the ongoing study. An important implication of these findings is that successful treatment of PTSD does not reduce arousal at the limbic level, but instead, enhances the ability to differentiate real from imagined threat. The psychology and neurophysiology of PTSD are discussed in greater detail.

Determination of (236)U and transuranium elements in depleted uranium ammunition by alpha-spectrometry and ICP-MS.

PubMed

Desideri, D; Meli, M A; Roselli, C; Testa, C; Boulyga, S F; Becker, J S

2002-11-01

It is well known that ammunition containing depleted uranium (DU) was used by NATO during the Balkan conflict. To evaluate the origin of DU (the enrichment of natural uranium or the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel) it is necessary to directly detect the presence of activation products ((236)U, (239)Pu, (240)Pu, (241)Am, and (237)Np) in the ammunition. In this work the analysis of actinides by alpha-spectrometry was compared with that by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after selective separation of ultratraces of transuranium elements from the uranium matrix. (242)Pu and (243)Am were added to calculate the chemical yield. Plutonium was separated from uranium by extraction chromatography, using tri- n-octylamine (TNOA), with a decontamination factor higher than 10(6); after elution plutonium was determined by ICP-MS ((239)Pu and (240)Pu) and alpha-spectrometry ((239+240)Pu) after electroplating. The concentration of Pu in two DU penetrator samples was 7 x 10(-12) g g(-1) and 2 x 10(-11) g g(-1). The (240)Pu/(239)Pu isotope ratio in one penetrator sample (0.12+/-0.04) was significantly lower than the (240)Pu/(239)Pu ratios found in two soil samples from Kosovo (0.35+/-0.10 and 0.27+/-0.07). (241)Am was separated by extraction chromatography, using di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (HDEHP), with a decontamination factor as high as 10(7). The concentration of (241)Am in the penetrator samples was 2.7 x 10(-14) g g(-1) and <9.4 x 10(-15) g g(-1). In addition (237)Np was detected at ultratrace levels. In general, ICP-MS and alpha-spectrometry results were in good agreement. The presence of anthropogenic radionuclides ((236)U, (239)Pu,(240)Pu, (241)Am, and (237)Np) in the penetrators indicates that at least part of the uranium originated from the reprocessing of nuclear fuel. Because the concentrations of radionuclides are very low, their radiotoxicological effect is negligible.

U.S. Nuclear Cooperation with India: Issues for Congress

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-10-17

safeguards-irrelevant.” The following facilities and activities were not on the separation list: ! 8 indigenous Indian power reactors ! Fast Breeder ...test Reactor (FTBR) and Prototype Fast Breeder Reactors (PFBR) under construction ! Enrichment facilities ! Spent fuel reprocessing facilities (except...potential use in a bomb. In addition, safeguards on enrichment, reprocessing plants, and breeder reactors would support the 2002 U.S. National Strategy to

Gas-Cooled Reactor Programs annual progress report for period ending December 31, 1973. [HTGR fuel reprocessing, fuel fabrication, fuel irradiation, core materials, and fission product distribution; GCFR fuel irradiation and steam generator modeling

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

Kasten, P.R.; Coobs, J.H.; Lotts, A.L.

1976-04-01

Progress is summarized in studies relating to HTGR fuel reprocessing, refabrication, and recycle; HTGR fuel materials development and performance testing; HTGR PCRV development; HTGR materials investigations; HTGR fuel chemistry; HTGR safety studies; and GCFR irradiation experiments and steam generator modeling.

Contributions to a shallow aquifer study by reprocessed seismic sections from petroleum exploration surveys, eastern Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

USGS Publications Warehouse

Woodward, D.

1994-01-01

The US Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Drilling Company of Abu Dhabi, is conducting a 4-year study of the fresh and slightly saline groundwater resources of the eastern Abu Dhabi Emirate. Most of this water occurs in a shallow aquifer, generally less than 150 m deep, in the Al Ain area. A critical part of the Al Ain area coincides with a former petroleum concession area where about 2780 km of vibroseis data were collected along 94 seismic lines during 1981-1983. Field methods, acquistion parameters, and section processing were originally designed to enhance reflections expected at depths ranging from 5000 to 6000 m, and subsurface features directly associated with the shallow aquifer system were deleted from the original seismic sections. The original field tapes from the vibroseis survey were reprocessed in an attempt to extract shallow subsurface information (depths less than 550 m) for investigating the shallow aquifer. A unique sequence of reproccessing parameters was established after reviewing the results from many experimental tests. Many enhancements to the resolution of shallow seismic reflections resulted from: (1) application of a 20-Hz, low-cut filter; (2) recomputation of static corrections to a datum nearer the land surface; (3) intensive velocity analyses; and (4) near-trace muting analyses. The number, resolution, and lateral continuity of shallow reflections were greatly enhanced on the reprocessed sections, as was the delineation of shallow, major faults. Reflections on a synthetic seismogram, created from a borehole drilled to a depth of 786 m on seismic line IQS-11, matcheddprecisely with shallow reflections on the reprocessed section. The 33 reprocessed sections were instrumental in preparing a map showing the major structural features that affect the shallow aquifer system. Analysis of the map provides a better understanding of the effect of these shallow features on the regional occurrence, movement, and quality of groundwater in the concession area. Results from this study demonstrate that original seismic field tapes collected for deep petroleum exploration can be reprocessed to explore for groundwater. ?? 1994.

Comparison of GPS tropospheric delays derived from two consecutive EPN reprocessing campaigns from the point of view of climate monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldysz, Zofia; Nykiel, Grzegorz; Araszkiewicz, Andrzej; Figurski, Mariusz; Szafranek, Karolina

2016-09-01

The main purpose of this research was to acquire information about consistency of ZTD (zenith total delay) linear trends and seasonal components between two consecutive GPS reprocessing campaigns. The analysis concerned two sets of the ZTD time series which were estimated during EUREF (Reference Frame Sub-Commission for Europe) EPN (Permanent Network) reprocessing campaigns according to 2008 and 2015 MUT AC (Military University of Technology Analysis Centre) scenarios. Firstly, Lomb-Scargle periodograms were generated for 57 EPN stations to obtain a characterisation of oscillations occurring in the ZTD time series. Then, the values of seasonal components and linear trends were estimated using the LSE (least squares estimation) approach. The Mann-Kendall trend test was also carried out to verify the presence of linear long-term ZTD changes. Finally, differences in seasonal signals and linear trends between these two data sets were investigated. All these analyses were conducted for the ZTD time series of two lengths: a shortened 16-year series and a full 18-year one. In the case of spectral analysis, amplitudes of the annual and semi-annual periods were almost exactly the same for both reprocessing campaigns. Exceptions were found for only a few stations and they did not exceed 1 mm. The estimated trends were also similar. However, for the reprocessing performed in 2008, the trends values were usually higher. In general, shortening of the analysed time period by 2 years resulted in a decrease of the linear trends values of about 0.07 mm yr-1. This was confirmed by analyses based on two data sets.

Evidence for hot clumpy accretion flow in the transitional millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahbaz, T.; Dallilar, Y.; Garner, A.; Eikenberry, S.; Veledina, A.; Gandhi, P.

2018-06-01

We present simultaneous optical and near-infrared (IR) photometry of the millisecond pulsar PSR J1023+0038 during its low-mass X-ray binary phase. The r΄- and Ks-band light curves show rectangular, flat-bottomed dips, similar to the X-ray mode-switching (active-passive state transitions) behaviour observed previously. The cross-correlation function (CCF) of the optical and near-IR data reveals a strong, broad negative anticorrelation at negative lags, a broad positive correlation at positive lags, with a strong, positive narrow correlation superimposed. The shape of the CCF resembles the CCF of black hole X-ray binaries but the time-scales are different. The features can be explained by reprocessing and a hot accretion flow close to the neutron star's magnetospheric radius. The optical emission is dominated by the reprocessed component, whereas the near-IR emission contains the emission from plasmoids in the hot accretion flow and a reprocessed component. The rapid active-passive state transition occurs when the hot accretion flow material is channelled on to the neutron star and is expelled from its magnetosphere. During the transition the optical reprocessing component decreases resulting in the removal of a blue spectral component. The accretion of clumpy material through the magnetic barrier of the neutron star produces the observed near-IR/optical CCF and variability. The dip at negative lags corresponds to the suppression of the near-IR synchrotron component in the hot flow, whereas the broad positive correlation at positive lags is driven by the increased synchrotron emission of the outflowing plasmoids. The narrow peak in the CCF is due to the delayed reprocessed component, enhanced by the increased X-ray emission.

Single-use device reuse risks.

PubMed

Lee, Robert C; Berzins, Sandy; Alfieri, Nancy

2007-01-01

Efforts to reduce both costs and medical waste have led many health systems to start reusing single-use medical devices (SUDs) after cleaning and sterilizing (i.e. reprocessing). There is a currently a wide range of SUD types being reused in many health systems. The objective of this paper is to provide a brief summary of risk issues associated with critical SUDs, based on a rapid review of the available literature. The specific focus is on risk issues, but includes discussion of economic and legal/ethical issues as well. The evidence in the literature regarding the safety of reuse of SUDs indicates that for certain devices (e.g. heart catheters) reuse can be safe (in terms of patient infection) and cost-effective as long as stringent reprocessing protocols are followed. However, potential risks associated with reusing SUDs are not just limited to infection of patients. There are staff and environmental risks, plus important legal, ethical, and financial issues to consider in a reuse policy. There are currently no Canadian guidelines on reuse or reprocessing SUDs, although a national Scientific Advisory Panel on Reprocessing of Medical Devices has made recommendations. Additionally, reuse of SUDs is interwoven with the issue of infection control and reprocessing procedures in general and as applied to multiple-use devices. With limited healthcare resources, there will always be a trade-off between the human resources and costs required to clean and sterilize reused devices with costs associated with purchasing and disposing of non-reused SUDs. Evaluation of complete operational pathways, especially for more expensive and commonly used SUDs, will be useful to properly determine the balance of benefits, risks, and costs under a reuse policy.

Reprocessing of LiH in Molten Chlorides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masset, Patrick J.; Gabriel, Armand; Poignet, Jean-Claude

2008-06-01

LiH was used as inactive material to stimulate the reprocessing of lithium tritiate in molten chlorides. The electrochemical properties (diffusion coefficients, apparent standard potentials) were measured by means of transient electrochemical techniques (cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry). At 425 ºC the diffusion coefficient and the apparent standard potential were 2.5 · 10-5 cm2 s-1 and -1.8 V vs. Ag/AgCl, respectively. For the process design the LiH solubility was measured by means of DTA to optimize the LiH concentration in the molten phase. In addition electrolysis tests were carried out at 460 ºC with current densities up to 1 A cm-2 over 24 h. These results show that LiH may be reprocessed in molten chlorides consisting in the production of hydrogen gas at the anode and molten metallic lithium at the cathode.

Reprocessing 30 years of ISCCP: Addressing satellite intercalibration for deriving a long-term cloud climatology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, A. H.; Knapp, K. R.; Inamdar, A.; Hankins, W. B.; Rossow, W. B.

2017-12-01

The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) has made significant changes in preparation for a reprocessing at NOAA's NCEI. This presentation will highlight these changes and the resulting new cloud products along with the challenges faced to address satellite intercalibration issues. The intercalibration challenges are largely due to the product's reliance on satellite observations from both polar orbiting (LEO) and geostationary (GEO) satellites. The presentation will also focus on the new products (ISCCP-H) which are reprocessed at a higher spatial resolution than previous versions (ISCCP-D) due to the use of higher resolution input data (e.g., 10 km geostationary and 4 km AVHRR data). Improvements, caveats, and a comparison against the predecessor D-Series product will also be presented. ISCCP-H data is now available at: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/isccp

Prototype Demonstration of Gamma- Blind Tensioned Metastable Fluid Neutron/Multiplicity/Alpha Detector – Real Time Methods for Advanced Fuel Cycle Applications

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

McDeavitt, Sean M.

The content of this report summarizes a multi-year effort to develop prototype detection equipment using the Tensioned Metastable Fluid Detector (TMFD) technology developed by Taleyarkhan [1]. The context of this development effort was to create new methods for evaluating and developing advanced methods for safeguarding nuclear materials along with instrumentation in various stages of the fuel cycle, especially in material balance areas (MBAs) and during reprocessing of used nuclear fuel. One of the challenges related to the implementation of any type of MBA and/or reprocessing technology (e.g., PUREX or UREX) is the real-time quantification and control of the transuranic (TRU)more » isotopes as they move through the process. Monitoring of higher actinides from their neutron emission (including multiplicity) and alpha signatures during transit in MBAs and in aqueous separations is a critical research area. By providing on-line real-time materials accountability, diversion of the materials becomes much more difficult. The Tensioned Metastable Fluid Detector (TMFD) is a transformational technology that is uniquely capable of both alpha and neutron spectroscopy while being “blind” to the intense gamma field that typically accompanies used fuel – simultaneously with the ability to provide multiplicity information as well [1-3]. The TMFD technology was proven (lab-scale) as part of a 2008 NERI-C program [1-7]. The bulk of this report describes the advancements and demonstrations made in TMFD technology. One final point to present before turning to the TMFD demonstrations is the context for discussing real-time monitoring of SNM. It is useful to review the spectrum of isotopes generated within nuclear fuel during reactor operations. Used nuclear fuel (UNF) from a light water reactor (LWR) contains fission products as well as TRU elements formed through neutron absorption/decay chains. The majority of the fission products are gamma and beta emitters and they represent the more significant hazards from a radiation protection standpoint. However, alpha and neutron emitting uranium and TRU elements represent the more significant safeguards and security concerns. Table 1.1 presents a representative PWR inventory of the uranium and actinide isotopes present in a used fuel assembly. The uranium and actinide isotopes (chiefly the Pu, Am and Cm elements) are all emitters of alpha particles and some of them release significant quantities of neutrons through spontaneous fissions« less

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in a Child and an Adolescent with Mild to Borderline Intellectual Disability: A Multiple Baseline across Subjects Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mevissen, Liesbeth; Didden, Robert; Korzilius, Hubert; de Jongh, Ad

2017-01-01

Background: This study explored the effectiveness of eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in persons with mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID) using a multiple baseline across subjects design. Methods: One child and one adolescent with MBID, who met diagnostic criteria…

Assessing the effectiveness of safeguards at a medium-sized spent-fuel reprocessing facility

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

Higinbotham, W.; Fishbone, L.G.; Suda, S.

1983-01-01

In order to evaluate carefully and systematically the effectiveness of safeguards at nuclear-fuel-cycle facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency has adopted a safeguards effectiveness assessment methodology. The methodology has been applied to a well-characterized, medium-sized, spent-fuel reprocessing plant to understand how explicit safeguards inspection procedures would serve to expose conceivable nuclear materials diversion schemes, should such diversion occur.

Dissemination Of Evidence-Based CBT Intervention Components: Online Self-Administered Training For Providers Treating Military Deployment-Related PTSD

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-08-01

eye movement desensitization and reprocessing ( EMDR ), fluoxetine, and pill placebo in the treatment of posttraumatic...stress disorder: treatment effects and long-term maintenance. J Clin Psychiatry;68(1):37-46. 2007. 5. Shapiro F. Eye movement desensitization and ... reprocessing : Basic principles, protocols, and procedures (2nd edition). New York: Guilford Press. 2001. 6. Monson CM, Schnurr PP, Resick

The Multi-Isotope Process (MIP) Monitor Project: FY13 Final Report

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

Meier, David E.; Coble, Jamie B.; Jordan, David V.

The Multi-Isotope Process (MIP) Monitor provides an efficient approach to monitoring the process conditions in reprocessing facilities in support of the goal of “… (minimization of) the risks of nuclear proliferation and terrorism.” The MIP Monitor measures the distribution of the radioactive isotopes in product and waste streams of a nuclear reprocessing facility. These isotopes are monitored online by gamma spectrometry and compared, in near-real-time, to spectral patterns representing “normal” process conditions using multivariate analysis and pattern recognition algorithms. The combination of multivariate analysis and gamma spectroscopy allows us to detect small changes in the gamma spectrum, which may indicatemore » changes in process conditions. By targeting multiple gamma-emitting indicator isotopes, the MIP Monitor approach is compatible with the use of small, portable, relatively high-resolution gamma detectors that may be easily deployed throughout an existing facility. The automated multivariate analysis can provide a level of data obscurity, giving a built-in information barrier to protect sensitive or proprietary operational data. Proof-of-concept simulations and experiments have been performed in previous years to demonstrate the validity of this tool in a laboratory setting for systems representing aqueous reprocessing facilities. However, pyroprocessing is emerging as an alternative to aqueous reprocessing techniques.« less

Aspects of remote maintenance in an FRG reprocessing plant from the manufacturer's viewpoint

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

Zeitzchel, G.; Tennie, M.; Saal, G.

In April 1986 a consortium led by Kraftwerk Union AG was commissioned by the German society for nuclear fuel reprocessing (DWK) to build the first West German commercial reprocessing plant for spent fuel assemblies. The main result of the planning efforts regarding remote maintenance operations inside the main process building was the introduction of FEMO technology (FEMO is an acronym based on German for remote handling modular technique). According to this technology the two cells in which the actual reprocessing (which is based on the PUREX technique) takes place are provided with frames to accommodate the process components (tanks, pumps,more » agitators, etc.), each frame together with the components which it supports forming one module. The two cells are inaccessible and windowless. For handling operations each cell is equipped with an overhead crane and a crane-like manipulator carrier system (MTS) with power manipulator. Viewing of the operations from outside the cells is made possible by television (TV) cameras installed at the crane, the MTS, and the manipulator. This paper addresses some examples of problems that still need to be solved in connection with FEMO handling. In particular, the need for close cooperation between the equipment operator, the component designer, the process engineer, the planning engineer, and the licensing authorities will be demonstrated.« less

IMPACT OF FISSION PRODUCTS IMPURITY ON THE PLUTONIUM CONTENT IN PWR MOX FUELS

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

Gilles Youinou; Andrea Alfonsi

2012-03-01

This report presents the results of a neutronics analysis done in response to the charter IFCA-SAT-2 entitled 'Fuel impurity physics calculations'. This charter specifies that the separation of the fission products (FP) during the reprocessing of UOX spent nuclear fuel assemblies (UOX SNF) is not perfect and that, consequently, a certain amount of FP goes into the Pu stream used to fabricate PWR MOX fuel assemblies. Only non-gaseous FP have been considered (see the list of 176 isotopes considered in the calculations in Appendix 1). This mixture of Pu and FP is called PuFP. Note that, in this preliminary analysis,more » the FP losses are considered element-independent, i.e., for example, 1% of FP losses mean that 1% of all non-gaseous FP leak into the Pu stream.« less

Closed Fuel Cycle Waste Treatment Strategy

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

Vienna, J. D.; Collins, E. D.; Crum, J. V.

This study is aimed at evaluating the existing waste management approaches for nuclear fuel cycle facilities in comparison to the objectives of implementing an advanced fuel cycle in the U.S. under current legal, regulatory, and logistical constructs. The study begins with the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) Integrated Waste Management Strategy (IWMS) (Gombert et al. 2008) as a general strategy and associated Waste Treatment Baseline Study (WTBS) (Gombert et al. 2007). The tenets of the IWMS are equally valid to the current waste management study. However, the flowsheet details have changed significantly from those considered under GNEP. In addition, significantmore » additional waste management technology development has occurred since the GNEP waste management studies were performed. This study updates the information found in the WTBS, summarizes the results of more recent technology development efforts, and describes waste management approaches as they apply to a representative full recycle reprocessing flowsheet. Many of the waste management technologies discussed also apply to other potential flowsheets that involve reprocessing. These applications are occasionally discussed where the data are more readily available. The report summarizes the waste arising from aqueous reprocessing of a typical light-water reactor (LWR) fuel to separate actinides for use in fabricating metal sodium fast reactor (SFR) fuel and from electrochemical reprocessing of the metal SFR fuel to separate actinides for recycle back into the SFR in the form of metal fuel. The primary streams considered and the recommended waste forms include; Tritium in low-water cement in high integrity containers (HICs); Iodine-129: As a reference case, a glass composite material (GCM) formed by the encapsulation of the silver Mordenite (AgZ) getter material in a low-temperature glass is assumed. A number of alternatives with distinct advantages are also considered including a fused silica waste form with encapsulated nano-sized AgI crystals; Carbon-14 immobilized as a CaCO3 in a cement waste form; Krypton-85 stored as a compressed gas; An aqueous reprocessing high-level waste (HLW) raffinate waste immobilized by the vitrification process; An undissolved solids (UDS) fraction from aqueous reprocessing of LWR fuel either included in the borosilicate HLW glass or immobilized in the form of a metal alloy or titanate ceramics; Zirconium-based LWR fuel cladding hulls and stainless steel (SS) fuel assembly hardware super-compacted for disposal or purified for reuse (or disposal as low-level waste, LLW) of Zr by reactive gas separations; Electrochemical process salt HLW incorporated into a glass bonded Sodalite waste form; and Electrochemical process UDS and SS cladding hulls melted into an iron based alloy waste form. Mass and volume estimates for each of the recommended waste forms based on the source terms from a representative flowsheet are reported. In addition to the above listed primary waste streams, a range of secondary process wastes are generated by aqueous reprocessing of LWR fuel, metal SFR fuel fabrication, and electrochemical reprocessing of SFR fuel. These secondary wastes have been summarized and volumes estimated by type and classification. The important waste management data gaps and research needs have been summarized for each primary waste stream and selected waste process.« less

Marine light attack helicopter close air support trainer for situation awareness

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

environmental elements outside the aircraft. The initial environment elements included in the trainer are those relating directly to the CAS execution...ambient environmental elements. These elements were limited the few items required to create a virtual environment . The terrain is simulated to...words) In today’s dynamic combat environment , the importance of Close Air Support (CAS) has increased significantly due to a greater need to avoid

Potential of metal-organic frameworks for separation of xenon and krypton.

PubMed

Banerjee, Debasis; Cairns, Amy J; Liu, Jian; Motkuri, Radha K; Nune, Satish K; Fernandez, Carlos A; Krishna, Rajamani; Strachan, Denis M; Thallapally, Praveen K

2015-02-17

CONSPECTUS: The total world energy demand is predicted to rise significantly over the next few decades, primarily driven by the continuous growth of the developing world. With rapid depletion of nonrenewable traditional fossil fuels, which currently account for almost 86% of the worldwide energy output, the search for viable alternative energy resources is becoming more important from a national security and economic development standpoint. Nuclear energy, an emission-free, high-energy-density source produced by means of controlled nuclear fission, is often considered as a clean, affordable alternative to fossil fuel. However, the successful installation of an efficient and economically viable industrial-scale process to properly sequester and mitigate the nuclear-fission-related, highly radioactive waste (e.g., used nuclear fuel (UNF)) is a prerequisite for any further development of nuclear energy in the near future. Reprocessing of UNF is often considered to be a logical way to minimize the volume of high-level radioactive waste, though the generation of volatile radionuclides during reprocessing raises a significant engineering challenge for its successful implementation. The volatile radionuclides include but are not limited to noble gases (predominately isotopes of Xe and Kr) and must be captured during the process to avoid being released into the environment. Currently, energy-intensive cryogenic distillation is the primary means to capture and separate radioactive noble gas isotopes during UNF reprocessing. A similar cryogenic process is implemented during commercial production of noble gases though removal from air. In light of their high commercial values, particularly in lighting and medical industries, and associated high production costs, alternate approaches for Xe/Kr capture and storage are of contemporary research interest. The proposed pathways for Xe/Kr removal and capture can essentially be divided in two categories: selective absorption by dissolution in solvents and physisorption on porous materials. Physisorption-based separation and adsorption on highly functional porous materials are promising alternatives to the energy-intensive cryogenic distillation process, where the adsorbents are characterized by high surface areas and thus high removal capacities and often can be chemically fine-tuned to enhance the adsorbate-adsorbent interactions for optimum selectivity. Several traditional porous adsorbents such as zeolites and activated carbon have been tested for noble gas capture but have shown low capacity, selectivity, and lack of modularity. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) or porous coordination polymers (PCPs) are an emerging class of solid-state adsorbents that can be tailor-made for applications ranging from gas adsorption and separation to catalysis and sensing. Herein we give a concise summary of the background and development of Xe/Kr separation technologies with a focus on UNF reprocessing and the prospects of MOF-based adsorbents for that particular application.

A Comprehensive Plan for the Long-Term Calibration and Validation of Oceanic Biogeochemical Satellite Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hooker, Stanford B.; McClain, Charles R.; Mannino, Antonio

2007-01-01

The primary objective of this planning document is to establish a long-term capability and validating oceanic biogeochemical satellite data. It is a pragmatic solution to a practical problem based primarily o the lessons learned from prior satellite missions. All of the plan's elements are seen to be interdependent, so a horizontal organizational scheme is anticipated wherein the overall leadership comes from the NASA Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry (OBB) Program Manager and the entire enterprise is split into two components of equal sature: calibration and validation plus satellite data processing. The detailed elements of the activity are based on the basic tasks of the two main components plus the current objectives of the Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems Roadmap. The former is distinguished by an internal core set of responsibilities and the latter is facilitated through an external connecting-core ring of competed or contracted activities. The core elements for the calibration and validation component include a) publish protocols and performance metrics; b) verify uncertainty budgets; c) manage the development and evaluation of instrumentation; and d) coordinate international partnerships. The core elements for the satellite data processing component are e) process and reprocess multisensor data; f) acquire, distribute, and archive data products; and g) implement new data products. Both components have shared responsibilities for initializing and temporally monitoring satellite calibration. Connecting-core elements include (but are not restricted to) atmospheric correction and characterization, standards and traceability, instrument and analysis round robins, field campaigns and vicarious calibration sites, in situ database, bio-optical algorithm (and product) validation, satellite characterization and vicarious calibration, and image processing software. The plan also includes an accountability process, creating a Calibration and Validation Team (to help manage the activity), and a discussion of issues associated with the plan's scientific focus.

MODIS Cloud Microphysics Product (MOD_PR06OD) Data Collection 6 Updates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wind, Gala; Platnick, Steven; King, Michael D.

2014-01-01

The MODIS Cloud Optical and Microphysical Product (MOD_PR060D) for Data Collection 6 has entered full scale production. Aqua reprocessing is almost completed and Terra reprocessing will begin shortly. Unlike previous collections, the CHIMAERA code base allows for simultaneous processing for multiple sensors and the operational CHIMAERA 6.0.76 stream is also available for VIIRS and SEVIRI sensors and for our E-MAS airborne platform.

Japan’s Nuclear Future: Policy Debate, Prospects, and U.S. Interests

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-09

raised in particular over the construction of an industrial- scale reprocessing facility in Japan,. Additionally, fast breeder reactors also produce more...Nuclear Fuel Cycle Engineering Laboratories. 10 A fast breeder reactor is a fast neutron reactor that produces more plutonium than it consumes, which can...Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL) has built and is currently running active testing on a large - scale commercial reprocessing plant at Rokkasho-mura

Method for recovering palladium and technetium values from nuclear fuel reprocessing waste solutions

DOEpatents

Horwitz, E. Philip; Delphin, Walter H.

1979-07-24

A method for recovering palladium and technetium values from nuclear fuel reprocessing waste solutions containing these and other values by contacting the waste solution with an extractant of tricaprylmethylammonium nitrate in an inert hydrocarbon diluent which extracts the palladium and technetium values from the waste solution. The palladium and technetium values are recovered from the extractant and from any other coextracted values with a strong nitric acid strip solution.

Next-generation purex flowsheets with acetohydroxamic acid as complexant for FBR and thermal-fuel reprocessing

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

Kumar, Shekhar; Koganti, S.B.

2008-07-01

Acetohydroxamic acid (AHA) is a novel complexant for recycle of nuclear-fuel materials. It can be used in ordinary centrifugal extractors, eliminating the need for electro-redox equipment or complex maintenance requirements in a remotely maintained hot cell. In this work, the effect of AHA on Pu(IV) distribution ratios in 30% TBP system was quantified, modeled, and integrated in SIMPSEX code. Two sets of batch experiments involving macro Pu concentrations (conducted at IGCAR) and one high-Pu flowsheet (literature) were simulated for AHA based U-Pu separation. Based on the simulation and validation results, AHA based next-generation reprocessing flowsheets are proposed for co-processing basedmore » FBR and thermal-fuel reprocessing as well as evaporator-less macro-level Pu concentration process required for MOX fuel fabrication. Utilization of AHA results in significant simplification in plant design and simpler technology implementations with significant cost savings. (authors)« less

Reprocessable thermosets for sustainable three-dimensional printing.

PubMed

Zhang, Biao; Kowsari, Kavin; Serjouei, Ahmad; Dunn, Martin L; Ge, Qi

2018-05-08

Among all three-dimensional (3D) printing materials, thermosetting photopolymers claim almost half of the market, and have been widely used in various fields owing to their superior mechanical stability at high temperatures, excellent chemical resistance as well as good compatibility with high-resolution 3D printing technologies. However, once these thermosetting photopolymers form 3D parts through photopolymerization, the covalent networks are permanent and cannot be reprocessed, i.e., reshaped, repaired, or recycled. Here, we report a two-step polymerization strategy to develop 3D printing reprocessable thermosets (3DPRTs) that allow users to reform a printed 3D structure into a new arbitrary shape, repair a broken part by simply 3D printing new material on the damaged site, and recycle unwanted printed parts so the material can be reused for other applications. These 3DPRTs provide a practical solution to address environmental challenges associated with the rapid increase in consumption of 3D printing materials.

Transmission of Infection by Flexible Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and Bronchoscopy

PubMed Central

Peters, Frans T. M.; van der Mei, Henny C.; Degener, John E.

2013-01-01

SUMMARY Flexible endoscopy is a widely used diagnostic and therapeutic procedure. Contaminated endoscopes are the medical devices frequently associated with outbreaks of health care-associated infections. Accurate reprocessing of flexible endoscopes involves cleaning and high-level disinfection followed by rinsing and drying before storage. Most contemporary flexible endoscopes cannot be heat sterilized and are designed with multiple channels, which are difficult to clean and disinfect. The ability of bacteria to form biofilms on the inner channel surfaces can contribute to failure of the decontamination process. Implementation of microbiological surveillance of endoscope reprocessing is appropriate to detect early colonization and biofilm formation in the endoscope and to prevent contamination and infection in patients after endoscopic procedures. This review presents an overview of the infections and cross-contaminations related to flexible gastrointestinal endoscopy and bronchoscopy and illustrates the impact of biofilm on endoscope reprocessing and postendoscopic infection. PMID:23554415

On the Reprocessing and Reanalysis of Observations for Climate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bosilovich, Michael G.; Kennedy, John; Dee, Dick; ONeill, Alan

2012-01-01

The long observational record is critical to our understanding of the Earth s climate, but most observing systems were not developed with a climate objective in mind. As a result, tremendous efforts have gone into assessing and reprocessing the data records to improve their usefulness in climate studies. Many challenges remain, such as tracking the improvement of processing algorithms and limited spatial coverage. Reanalyses have fostered significant research, yet reliable global trends in many physical fields are not yet attainable, despite significant advances in data assimilation and numerical modeling. Communication of the strengths, limitations and uncertainties of reprocessed observations and reanalysis data, not only among the community of developers, but also with the extended research community, including the new generations of researchers and the decision makers is crucial for further advancement of the observational data records. WCRP provides the means to bridge the different motivating objectives on which national efforts focus.

Evaluation and development plan of NRTA measurement methods for the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant

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

Li, T.K.; Hakkila, E.A.; Flosterbuer, S.F.

Near-real-time accounting (NRTA) has been proposed as a safeguards method at the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant (RRP), a large-scale commercial boiling water and pressurized water reactors spent-fuel reprocessing facility. NRTA for RRP requires material balance closures every month. To develop a more effective and practical NRTA system for RRP, we have evaluated NRTA measurement techniques and systems that might be implemented in both the main process and the co-denitration process areas at RRP to analyze the concentrations of plutonium in solutions and mixed oxide powder. Based on the comparative evaluation, including performance, reliability, design criteria, operation methods, maintenance requirements, and estimatedmore » costs for each possible measurement method, recommendations for development were formulated. This paper discusses the evaluations and reports on the recommendation of the NRTA development plan for potential implementation at RRP.« less

Reversible TAD Chemistry as a Convenient Tool for the Design of (Re)processable PCL-Based Shape-Memory Materials.

PubMed

Defize, Thomas; Riva, Raphaël; Thomassin, Jean-Michel; Alexandre, Michaël; Herck, Niels Van; Prez, Filip Du; Jérôme, Christine

2017-01-01

A chemically cross-linked but remarkably (re)processable shape-memory polymer (SMP) is designed by cross-linking poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) stars via the efficient triazolinedione click chemistry, based on the very fast and reversible Alder-ene reaction of 1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (TAD) with indole compounds. Typically, a six-arm star-shaped PCL functionalized by indole moieties at the chain ends is melt-blended with a bisfunctional TAD, directly resulting in a cross-linked PCL-based SMP without the need of post-curing treatment. As demonstrated by the stress relaxation measurement, the labile character of the TAD-indole adducts under stress allows for the solid-state plasticity reprocessing of the permanent shape at will by compression molding of the raw cross-linked material, while keeping excellent shape-memory properties. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Accelerator mass spectrometry of iodine-129 and its applications in natural water systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buraglio, Nadia

During recent decades, huge amount of radioactive waste has been dumped into the earth's surface environments. 129I (T1/2 = 15.6 My) is one of the radioactive products that has been produced through a variety of processes, including atomic weapon testing, reprocessing of nuclear fact and nuclear accidents. This thesis describes development of the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) ultra-sensitive atom counting technique at Uppsala Tandem Laboratory to measure 129I and discusses investigations of its distribution in the hydrosphere (marine and fresh water) and precipitation. The AMS technique provides a method for measuring long-lived radioactive isotopes in small samples, relative to other conventional techniques, and thus opens a now line of research. The optimization of the AMS system at Uppsala included testing a time of flight detector, evaluation of the most appropriate charge-state, reduction of molecular interference and improvement of the detection limit. Furthermore, development of a chemical procedure for separation of iodine from natural water samples has been accomplished. The second part of the thesis reports investigations of 129I in natural waters and indicates that high concentrations of 129I (3-4 orders of magnitude higher than in the prenuclear era) are found in most of the considered natural waters. Inventory calculations and results of measurements suggest that the major sources of radioactive iodine are the two main European nuclear reprocessing facilities at Sellafield (U.K.) and La Hague (France). This information provides estimates of the transit time and vertical mixing of water masses in the central Arctic Ocean. Results from precipitation, lakes and runoff are used to elucidate mechanisms of transport of 129I from the point sources and its pathways in the hydrological environment. This study also shows the need for continuous monitoring of the 129I level in the hydrosphere and of its future variability.

Experiences with new neutralization technologies for remediation after ISL mining of uranium in Straz Pod Ralskem

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

Sedlakova, Veronika; Kaspar, Ludvik; Tykal, Tomas

2013-07-01

A big affection of the rock environment and groundwaters occurred during the chemical mining of uranium in the years 1966 to 1996 in the neighbourhood of the town Straz pod Ralskem in the Czech Republic. It is necessary to clean the residual technological solutions (RTS) from the underground. The pH of the solutions in some places is still less than 2 and the concentration of sulphates reaches up to 65 g/l. The remedial activities consist of pumping of the RTS from the ground and reprocessing of the RTS in the surface technologies. The implementation of the new neutralization technologies NDSmore » ML and NDS 10 help us with increasing of the efficiency of the remedial process. The NDS ML technology ('Mother liquor reprocessing station') started its operation in 2009 and it processes the concentrated technological solution from the evaporation station after the alum crystallization (mother liquor) with the concentration of total dissolved solids up to 250 g/l. The principle is the neutralization of the acid solutions with the aid of the lime milk. The suspension is then filtrated in the filter press, the filter cake is deposited in the tailings pond and the filtrate is injected back into the underground rock environment. The NDS 10 technology ('Neutralization and Decontamination Station NDS 10') started its operation in 2012 and it works on the same technological principle as the NDS ML station. The difference is that the NDS 10 station can process higher volume (4.4 m{sup 3}/min) of the RTS with lower concentration of total dissolved solids 20 - 25 g/l. This poster describes the experiences of the state enterprise DIAMO with putting of these two neutralization technologies into operation and with using of the lime milk neutralization in such a large scale. (authors)« less

Divergence of Gene Body DNA Methylation and Evolution of Plant Duplicate Genes

PubMed Central

Wang, Jun; Marowsky, Nicholas C.; Fan, Chuanzhu

2014-01-01

It has been shown that gene body DNA methylation is associated with gene expression. However, whether and how deviation of gene body DNA methylation between duplicate genes can influence their divergence remains largely unexplored. Here, we aim to elucidate the potential role of gene body DNA methylation in the fate of duplicate genes. We identified paralogous gene pairs from Arabidopsis and rice (Oryza sativa ssp. japonica) genomes and reprocessed their single-base resolution methylome data. We show that methylation in paralogous genes nonlinearly correlates with several gene properties including exon number/gene length, expression level and mutation rate. Further, we demonstrated that divergence of methylation level and pattern in paralogs indeed positively correlate with their sequence and expression divergences. This result held even after controlling for other confounding factors known to influence the divergence of paralogs. We observed that methylation level divergence might be more relevant to the expression divergence of paralogs than methylation pattern divergence. Finally, we explored the mechanisms that might give rise to the divergence of gene body methylation in paralogs. We found that exonic methylation divergence more closely correlates with expression divergence than intronic methylation divergence. We show that genomic environments (e.g., flanked by transposable elements and repetitive sequences) of paralogs generated by various duplication mechanisms are associated with the methylation divergence of paralogs. Overall, our results suggest that the changes in gene body DNA methylation could provide another avenue for duplicate genes to develop differential expression patterns and undergo different evolutionary fates in plant genomes. PMID:25310342

Prevention of multidrug-resistant infections from contaminated duodenoscopes: Position Statement of the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) and European Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates (ESGENA).

PubMed

Beilenhoff, Ulrike; Biering, Holger; Blum, Reinhard; Brljak, Jadranka; Cimbro, Monica; Dumonceau, Jean-Marc; Hassan, Cesare; Jung, Michael; Neumann, Christiane; Pietsch, Michael; Pineau, Lionel; Ponchon, Thierry; Rejchrt, Stanislav; Rey, Jean-François; Schmidt, Verona; Tillett, Jayne; van Hooft, Jeanin

2017-11-01

Patients should be informed about the benefits and risks of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)Only specially trained and competent personnel should carry out endoscope reprocessing.Manufacturers of duodenoscopes should provide detailed instructions on how to use and reprocess their equipment.In the case of modifications to their equipment, manufacturers should provide updated instructions for use.Detailed reprocessing protocols based on the manufacturer's instructions for use should clearly lay out the different reprocessing steps necessary for each endoscope model.Appropriate cleaning equipment should be used for duodenoscopes in compliance with the manufacturer's instructions for use. Only purpose-designed, endoscope type-specific, single-use cleaning brushes should be used, to ensure optimal cleaning. As soon as the endoscope is withdrawn from the patient, bedside cleaning should be performed, followed by leak testing, thorough manual cleaning steps, and automated reprocessing, in order to: · Remove debris from external and internal surfaces;. · Prevent any drying of body fluids, blood, or debris;. · Prevent any formation of biofilms.. In addition to the leak test, visual inspection of the distal end as well as regular maintenance of duodenoscopes should be performed according to the manufacturer's instructions for use, in order to detect any damage at an early stage.The entire reprocessing procedure in endoscope washer-disinfectors (EWDs) should be validated according to the European and International Standard, EN ISO 15883. Routine technical tests of EWDs should be performed according to the validation reports.Microbiological surveillance of a proportion of the department's endoscopes should be performed every 3 months, with the requirement that all endoscopes used in the unit are tested at least once a year.In the case of suspected endoscopy-related infection, the relevant device (e. g., endoscope, EWD) should be taken out of service until adequate corrective actions have been taken. Outbreaks should be managed by a multidisciplinary team, including endoscopy, hygiene, and microbiology experts, manufacturers, and regulatory bodies, according to national standards and/or laws. In the case of suspected multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) outbreaks, close cooperation between the endoscopy unit and the clinical health provider is essential (including infection control departments and hospital hygienists). © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

A deceleration search for magnetar pulsations in the X-ray plateaus of short GRBs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rowlinson, A.; Patruno, A.; O'Brien, P. T.

2017-11-01

A newly formed magnetar has been proposed as the central engine of short GRBs to explain ongoing energy injection giving observed plateau phases in the X-ray light curves. These rapidly spinning magnetars may be capable of emitting pulsed emission comparable to known pulsars and magnetars. In this paper we show that, if present, a periodic signal would be detectable during the plateau phases observed using the Swift/X-Ray Telescope recording data in Window Timing mode. We conduct a targeted deceleration search for a periodic signal from a newly formed magnetar in 2 Swift short GRBs and rule out any periodic signals in the frequency band 10-285 Hz to ≈15-30 per cent rms. These results demonstrate that we would be able to detect pulsations from the magnetar central engine of short GRBs if they contribute to 15-30 per cent of the total emission. We consider these constraints in the context of the potential emission mechanisms. The non-detection is consistent with the emission being reprocessed in the surrounding environment or with the rotation axis being highly aligned with the observing angle. As the emission may be reprocessed, the expected periodic emission may only constitute a few per cent of the total emission and be undetectable in our observations. Applying this strategy to future observations of the plateau phases with more sensitive X-ray telescopes may lead to the detection of the periodic signal.

Spent Fuel Working Group Report. Volume 1

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

O`Toole, T.

1993-11-01

The Department of Energy is storing large amounts of spent nuclear fuel and other reactor irradiated nuclear materials (herein referred to as RINM). In the past, the Department reprocessed RINM to recover plutonium, tritium, and other isotopes. However, the Department has ceased or is phasing out reprocessing operations. As a consequence, Department facilities designed, constructed, and operated to store RINM for relatively short periods of time now store RINM, pending decisions on the disposition of these materials. The extended use of the facilities, combined with their known degradation and that of their stored materials, has led to uncertainties about safety.more » To ensure that extended storage is safe (i.e., that protection exists for workers, the public, and the environment), the conditions of these storage facilities had to be assessed. The compelling need for such an assessment led to the Secretary`s initiative on spent fuel, which is the subject of this report. This report comprises three volumes: Volume I; Summary Results of the Spent Fuel Working Group Evaluation; Volume II, Working Group Assessment Team Reports and Protocol; Volume III; Operating Contractor Site Team Reports. This volume presents the overall results of the Working Group`s Evaluation. The group assessed 66 facilities spread across 11 sites. It identified: (1) facilities that should be considered for priority attention. (2) programmatic issues to be considered in decision making about interim storage plans and (3) specific vulnerabilities for some of these facilities.« less

Monitoring iodine-129 in air and milk samples collected near the Hanford Site: an investigation of historical iodine monitoring data.

PubMed

Fritz, Brad G; Patton, Gregory W

2006-01-01

While other research has reported on the concentrations of (129)I in the environment surrounding active nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities, there is a shortage of information regarding how the concentrations change once facilities close. At the Hanford Site, the Plutonium-Uranium Extraction (PUREX) chemical separation plant was operating between 1983 and 1990, during which time (129)I concentrations in air and milk were measured. After the cessation of chemical processing, plant emissions decreased 2.5 orders of magnitude over an 8-year period. An evaluation of (129)I and (127)I concentration data in air and milk spanning the PUREX operation and post-closure period was conducted to compare the changes in environmental levels. Measured concentrations over the monitoring period were below the levels that could result in a potential annual human dose greater than 1 mSv. There was a measurable difference in the measured air concentrations of (129)I at different distances from the source, indicating a distinct Hanford fingerprint. Correlations between stack emissions of (129)I and concentrations in air and milk indicate that atmospheric emissions were the major source of (129)I measured in environmental samples. The measured concentrations during PUREX operations were similar to observations made around a fuel reprocessing plant in Germany. After the PUREX Plant stopped operating, (129)I concentration measurements made upwind of Hanford were similar to the results from Seville, Spain.

Hospital disinfection: efficacy and safety issues.

PubMed

Dettenkofer, Markus; Block, Colin

2005-08-01

To review recent publications relevant to hospital disinfection (and cleaning) including the reprocessing of medical instruments. The key question as to whether the use of disinfectants on environmental surfaces rather than cleaning with detergents only reduces nosocomial infection rates still awaits conclusive studies. New disinfectants, mainly peroxygen compounds, show good sporicidal properties and will probably replace more problematical substances such as chlorine-releasing agents. The safe reprocessing of medical devices requires a well-coordinated approach, starting with proper cleaning. New methods and substances show promising activity for preventing the transmission of prions. Different aspects of virus inactivation have been studied, and the transmissibility, e.g. of norovirus, shows the need for sound data on how different disinfectant classes perform. Biofilms or other forms of surface-adherent organisms pose an extraordinary challenge to decontamination. Although resistance to biocides is generally not judged to be as critical as antibiotic resistance, scientific data support the need for proper use, i.e. the avoidance of widespread application, especially in low concentrations and in consumer products. Chemical disinfection of heat-sensitive instruments and targeted disinfection of environmental surfaces are established components of hospital infection control. To avoid danger to staff, patients and the environment, prudent use as well as established safety precautions are required. New technologies and products should be evaluated with sound methods. As emerging resistant pathogens will challenge healthcare facilities in the future even more than at present, there is a need for well-designed studies addressing the role of disinfection in hospital infection control.

Detection and Monitoring of Airborne Nuclear Waste Materials. Annual Report to Department of Energy.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-12-04

an active core , its detection by counting techniques is often slow and impractical. For these reasons NRL under contract with DoE undertook develop ...Protection and Measurements, Tritium Measurement Techniques NCRP Report No. 47 (1976). 2. " Development of a Continuous Tritium Monitor for Fuel Reprocessing...Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc. 21, 91 (1975). 146. "Process Behavior of and Environmental Assessments of C Releases from an HTGR Fuel Reprocessing Facility" J. W

Swift Monitoring of NGC 4151: Evidence for a Second X-Ray/UV Reprocessing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edelson, R.; Gelbord, J.; Cackett, E.; Connolly, S.; Done, C.; Fausnaugh, M.; Gardner, E.; Gehrels, N.; Goad, M.; Horne, K.; McHardy, I.; Peterson, B. M.; Vaughan, S.; Vestergaard, M.; Breeveld, A.; Barth, A. J.; Bentz, M.; Bottorff, M.; Brandt, W. N.; Crawford, S. M.; Dalla Bontà, E.; Emmanoulopoulos, D.; Evans, P.; Figuera Jaimes, R.; Filippenko, A. V.; Ferland, G.; Grupe, D.; Joner, M.; Kennea, J.; Korista, K. T.; Krimm, H. A.; Kriss, G.; Leonard, D. C.; Mathur, S.; Netzer, H.; Nousek, J.; Page, K.; Romero-Colmenero, E.; Siegel, M.; Starkey, D. A.; Treu, T.; Vogler, H. A.; Winkler, H.; Zheng, W.

2017-05-01

Swift monitoring of NGC 4151 with an ˜6 hr sampling over a total of 69 days in early 2016 is used to construct light curves covering five bands in the X-rays (0.3-50 keV) and six in the ultraviolet (UV)/optical (1900-5500 Å). The three hardest X-ray bands (>2.5 keV) are all strongly correlated with no measurable interband lag, while the two softer bands show lower variability and weaker correlations. The UV/optical bands are significantly correlated with the X-rays, lagging ˜3-4 days behind the hard X-rays. The variability within the UV/optical bands is also strongly correlated, with the UV appearing to lead the optical by ˜0.5-1 days. This combination of ≳3 day lags between the X-rays and UV and ≲1 day lags within the UV/optical appears to rule out the “lamp-post” reprocessing model in which a hot, X-ray emitting corona directly illuminates the accretion disk, which then reprocesses the energy in the UV/optical. Instead, these results appear consistent with the Gardner & Done picture in which two separate reprocessings occur: first, emission from the corona illuminates an extreme-UV-emitting toroidal component that shields the disk from the corona; this then heats the extreme-UV component, which illuminates the disk and drives its variability.

Beta 2-microglobulin kinetics in maintenance hemodialysis: a comparison of conventional and high-flux dialyzers and the effects of dialyzer reuse.

PubMed

DiRaimondo, C R; Pollak, V E

1989-05-01

beta 2-Microglobulin (beta 2M) forms synovial and bony amyloid deposits in long-term hemodialysis patients. To define the kinetics of beta 2M during hemodialysis and the effects of dialyzer reprocessing, we measured serum beta 2M, plasma C3a, and neutrophil counts immediately predialysis; 15, 90, and 180 minutes after beginning dialysis; and 15 minutes postdialysis in ten chronic hemodialysis patients. The studies were performed during first and third uses of cuprammonium rayon and polysulfone dialyzers processed by rinsing with water, then bleach, in an automated system (Seratronics DRS 4) and then packed in 1.5% formaldehyde. Mean serum beta 2M (corrected for ultrafiltration) decreased by 16.6% +/- 18.1% with new cuprammonium dialyzers and 57.1% +/- 12.8% with new polysulfone dialyzers. Dialyzer reprocessing had no significant effect on this decline. Predialysis serum beta 2M decreased by 30.4% +/- 15.5% 1 month after switching from cuprammonium to polysulfone dialyzers; these levels remained stable after 3 months of dialysis with polysulfone. Complement activation and neutropenia during dialysis were significantly more marked with cuprammonium, but were not affected by reprocessing of either dialyzer. In vitro adsorption of 124I-beta 2M to polysulfone fibers was greater than to cuprammonium; adsorption was not influenced by dialyzer reprocessing.

Investigation of infection control practices and knowledge of hepatitis C among body-piercing practitioners.

PubMed

Hellard, Margaret; Aitken, Campbell; Mackintosh, Andrew; Ridge, Allison; Bowden, Scott

2003-06-01

Body piercing has become increasingly popular, leading to concerns about the associated risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission during piercing. Many body-piercing practitioners (BPPs) have recently entered the industry but little is known about their training and understanding of HCV transmission. This study measured BPP knowledge about HCV and infection control procedures. It also tested for HCV contamination within body-piercing establishments. BPPs completed a questionnaire about the number and type of piercings performed, their methods for disposing of and reprocessing piercing equipment, and their training and knowledge of HCV. Environmental swabs were collected and tested for HCV RNA. BPPs at 35 establishments were recruited. A total of 31 BPPs had training as a BPP, ranging from 1 hour to 6 years (median: 15 days). Reprocessing of equipment was variable; 8 establishments inadequately reprocessed piercing guns and 4 inadequately reprocessed forceps or guiding equipment. All BPPs were aware of HCV but many did not know how the virus was transmitted. A total of 19 BPPs performed extra cleaning after piercing a customer known to be HCV positive. No environmental swabs tested were positive for HCV RNA. This study showed that many BPPs had inadequate training, and lacked knowledge and understanding of HCV transmission, infection control, and universal precautions. To reduce the risk of HCV transmission, BPPs should be required to undergo formal training in infection control before being registered as BPPs.

Impact of Reprocessed Uranium Management on the Homogeneous Recycling of Transuranics in PWRs

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

Youinou, Gilles J.

This article presents the results of a neutronics analysis related to the homogeneous recycling of transuranics (TRU) in PWRs with a MOX fuel using enriched uranium instead of depleted uranium. It also addresses an often, if not always, overlooked aspect related to the recycling of TRU in PWRs, namely the use of reprocessed uranium. From a neutronics point of view, it is possible to multi-recycle the entirety of the plutonium with or without neptunium and americium in a PWR fleet using MOX-EU fuel in between one third and two thirds of the fleet. Recycling neptunium and americium with plutonium significantlymore » decreases the decay heat of the waste stream between 100 to 1,000 years compared to those of an open fuel cycle or when only plutonium is recycled. The uranium present in MOX-EU used fuel still contains a significant amount of 235uranium and recycling it makes a major difference on the natural uranium needs. For example, a PWR fleet recycling its plutonium, neptunium and americium in MOXEU needs 28 percent more natural uranium than a reference UO 2 open cycle fleet generating the same energy if the reprocessed uranium is not recycled and 19 percent less if the reprocessed uranium is recycled back in the reactors, i.e. a 47 percent difference.« less

Impact of Reprocessed Uranium Management on the Homogeneous Recycling of Transuranics in PWRs

DOE PAGES

Youinou, Gilles J.

2017-05-04

This article presents the results of a neutronics analysis related to the homogeneous recycling of transuranics (TRU) in PWRs with a MOX fuel using enriched uranium instead of depleted uranium. It also addresses an often, if not always, overlooked aspect related to the recycling of TRU in PWRs, namely the use of reprocessed uranium. From a neutronics point of view, it is possible to multi-recycle the entirety of the plutonium with or without neptunium and americium in a PWR fleet using MOX-EU fuel in between one third and two thirds of the fleet. Recycling neptunium and americium with plutonium significantlymore » decreases the decay heat of the waste stream between 100 to 1,000 years compared to those of an open fuel cycle or when only plutonium is recycled. The uranium present in MOX-EU used fuel still contains a significant amount of 235uranium and recycling it makes a major difference on the natural uranium needs. For example, a PWR fleet recycling its plutonium, neptunium and americium in MOXEU needs 28 percent more natural uranium than a reference UO 2 open cycle fleet generating the same energy if the reprocessed uranium is not recycled and 19 percent less if the reprocessed uranium is recycled back in the reactors, i.e. a 47 percent difference.« less

Therapeutic Assessment of Complex Trauma: A Single-Case Time-Series Study.

PubMed

Tarocchi, Anna; Aschieri, Filippo; Fantini, Francesca; Smith, Justin D

2013-06-01

The cumulative effect of repeated traumatic experiences in early childhood incrementally increases the risk of adjustment problems later in life. Surviving traumatic environments can lead to the development of an interrelated constellation of emotional and interpersonal symptoms termed complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). Effective treatment of trauma begins with a multimethod psychological assessment and requires the use of several evidence-based therapeutic processes, including establishing a safe therapeutic environment, reprocessing the trauma, constructing a new narrative, and managing emotional dysregulation. Therapeutic Assessment (TA) is a semistructured, brief intervention that uses psychological testing to promote positive change. The case study of Kelly, a middle-aged woman with a history of repeated interpersonal trauma, illustrates delivery of the TA model for CPTSD. Results of this single-case time-series experiment indicate statistically significant symptom improvement as a result of participating in TA. We discuss the implications of these findings for assessing and treating trauma-related concerns, such as CPTSD.

Semantics-based distributed I/O with the ParaMEDIC framework.

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

Balaji, P.; Feng, W.; Lin, H.

2008-01-01

Many large-scale applications simultaneously rely on multiple resources for efficient execution. For example, such applications may require both large compute and storage resources; however, very few supercomputing centers can provide large quantities of both. Thus, data generated at the compute site oftentimes has to be moved to a remote storage site for either storage or visualization and analysis. Clearly, this is not an efficient model, especially when the two sites are distributed over a wide-area network. Thus, we present a framework called 'ParaMEDIC: Parallel Metadata Environment for Distributed I/O and Computing' which uses application-specific semantic information to convert the generatedmore » data to orders-of-magnitude smaller metadata at the compute site, transfer the metadata to the storage site, and re-process the metadata at the storage site to regenerate the output. Specifically, ParaMEDIC trades a small amount of additional computation (in the form of data post-processing) for a potentially significant reduction in data that needs to be transferred in distributed environments.« less

Corundum-Hibonite Inclusions and the Environments of High Temperature Processing in the Early Solar System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Needham, A. W.; Messenger, S.

2013-01-01

Calcium, Aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) are composed of the suite of minerals predicted to be the first to condense from a cooling gas of solar composition [1]. Yet, the first phase to condense, corundum, is rare in CAIs, having mostly reacted to form hibonite followed by other phases at lower temperatures. Many CAIs show evidence of complex post-formational histories, including condensation, evaporation, and melting [e.g. 2, 3]. However, the nature of these thermal events and the nebular environments in which they took place are poorly constrained. Some corundum and corundum-hibonite grains appear to have survived or avoided these complex CAI reprocessing events. Such ultra-refractory CAIs may provide a clearer record of the O isotopic composition of the Sun and the evolution of the O isotopic composition of the planet-forming region [4-6]. Here we present in situ O and Mg isotopic analyses of two corundum/hibonite inclusions that record differing formation histories.

Therapeutic Assessment of Complex Trauma: A Single-Case Time-Series Study

PubMed Central

Tarocchi, Anna; Aschieri, Filippo; Fantini, Francesca; Smith, Justin D.

2013-01-01

The cumulative effect of repeated traumatic experiences in early childhood incrementally increases the risk of adjustment problems later in life. Surviving traumatic environments can lead to the development of an interrelated constellation of emotional and interpersonal symptoms termed complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). Effective treatment of trauma begins with a multimethod psychological assessment and requires the use of several evidence-based therapeutic processes, including establishing a safe therapeutic environment, reprocessing the trauma, constructing a new narrative, and managing emotional dysregulation. Therapeutic Assessment (TA) is a semistructured, brief intervention that uses psychological testing to promote positive change. The case study of Kelly, a middle-aged woman with a history of repeated interpersonal trauma, illustrates delivery of the TA model for CPTSD. Results of this single-case time-series experiment indicate statistically significant symptom improvement as a result of participating in TA. We discuss the implications of these findings for assessing and treating trauma-related concerns, such as CPTSD. PMID:24159267

Erroneous cardiac ECG-gated PET list-mode trigger events can be retrospectively identified and replaced by an offline reprocessing approach: first results in rodents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Böning, Guido; Todica, Andrei; Vai, Alessandro; Lehner, Sebastian; Xiong, Guoming; Mille, Erik; Ilhan, Harun; la Fougère, Christian; Bartenstein, Peter; Hacker, Marcus

2013-11-01

The assessment of left ventricular function, wall motion and myocardial viability using electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated [18F]-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) is widely accepted in human and in preclinical small animal studies. The nonterminal and noninvasive approach permits repeated in vivo evaluations of the same animal, facilitating the assessment of temporal changes in disease or therapy response. Although well established, gated small animal PET studies can contain erroneous gating information, which may yield to blurred images and false estimation of functional parameters. In this work, we present quantitative and visual quality control (QC) methods to evaluate the accuracy of trigger events in PET list-mode and physiological data. Left ventricular functional analysis is performed to quantify the effect of gating errors on the end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes, and on the ejection fraction (EF). We aim to recover the cardiac functional parameters by the application of the commonly established heart rate filter approach using fixed ranges based on a standardized population. In addition, we propose a fully reprocessing approach which retrospectively replaces the gating information of the PET list-mode file with appropriate list-mode decoding and encoding software. The signal of a simultaneously acquired ECG is processed using standard MATLAB vector functions, which can be individually adapted to reliably detect the R-peaks. Finally, the new trigger events are inserted into the PET list-mode file. A population of 30 mice with various health statuses was analyzed and standard cardiac parameters such as mean heart rate (119 ms ± 11.8 ms) and mean heart rate variability (1.7 ms ± 3.4 ms) derived. These standard parameter ranges were taken into account in the QC methods to select a group of nine optimal gated and a group of eight sub-optimal gated [18F]-FDG PET scans of mice from our archive. From the list-mode files of the optimal gated group, we randomly deleted various fractions (5% to 60%) of contained trigger events to generate a corrupted group. The filter approach was capable to correct the corrupted group and yield functional parameters with no significant difference to the optimal gated group. We successfully demonstrated the potential of the fully reprocessing approach by applying it to the sub-optimal group, where the functional parameters were significantly improved after reprocessing (mean EF from 41% ± 16% to 60% ± 13%). When applied to the optimal gated group the fully reprocessing approach did not alter the functional parameters significantly (mean EF from 64% ± 8% to 64 ± 7%). This work presents methods to determine and quantify erroneous gating in small animal gated [18F]-FDG PET scans. We demonstrate the importance of a quality check for cardiac triggering contained in PET list-mode data and the benefit of optionally reprocessing the fully recorded physiological information to retrospectively modify or fully replace the cardiac triggering in PET list-mode data. We aim to provide a preliminary guideline of how to proceed in the presence of errors and demonstrate that offline reprocessing by filtering erroneous trigger events and retrospective gating by ECG processing is feasible. Future work will focus on the extension by additional QC methods, which may exploit the amplitude of trigger events and ECG signal by means of pattern recognition. Furthermore, we aim to transfer the proposed QC methods and the fully reprocessing approach to human myocardial PET/CT.

Selections from the Peiping TA KUNG PAO - Communist China.

DTIC Science & Technology

1961-01-17

tobacco a’.id tea,, At present, the general situation on th-1 commercial purc"....jing front is very good. The whole Party and all of the people ...victorious fulfillment of the task in purchasing cotton, flax, tabacco and tea, they must follow the guidance of the Party Committee and widely promote and...cotton, flax and tabacco , some of them must be re-processed and trasported after they are pur- chased, ■ while others are re-processed before they

XMM-Newton On-demand Reprocessing Using SaaS Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibarra, A.; Fajersztejn, N.; Loiseau, N.; Gabriel, C.

2014-05-01

We present here the architectural design of the new on-the-fly reprocessing capabilities that will be soon developed and implemented in the new XMM-Newton Science Operation Centre. The inclusion of processing capabilities into the archive, as we plan, will be possible thanks to the recent refurbishment of the XMM-Newton science archive, its alignment with the latest web technologies and the XMM-Newton Remote Interface for Science Analysis (RISA), a revolutionary idea of providing processing capabilities through internet services.

Apparatus and method for reprocessing and separating spent nuclear fuels. [Patent application

DOEpatents

Krikorian, O.H.; Grens, J.Z.; Parrish, W.H. Sr.

1982-01-19

Spent nuclear fuels, including actinide fuels, volatile and non-volatile fission products, are reprocessed and separated in a molten metal solvent housed in the reaction region of a separation vessel which includes a reflux region positioned above the molten tin solvent. The reflux region minimizes loss of evaporated solvent during the separation of the actinide fuels from the volatile fission products. Additionally, inclusion of the reflux region permits the separation of the more volatile fission products (noncondensable) from the less volatile ones (condensable).

Status of Line identifications in the ChandraLETG Spectrum of Procyon

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

Desai, P; Beiersdorfer, P; Brickhouse, N S

We report on our ongoing efforts to produce a relatively complete set of X-ray emission lines present in the Low Energy Transmission Grating (LETG) spectra of Procyon. In addition to using recently reprocessed HRC-S/LETG spectra of Procyon, we use LETG spectra of Capella, along with recent Electron Bean Ion Trap (EBIT) laboratory data and new Flexible Atomic Code (FAC) calculations to identify the wealth of weaker lines present in the spectrum. Experimental measurements at the EBIT-I and EBIT-II facilities at Livermore of astrophysically abundant elements (Fe VII-Fe X, Lepson et al. 2002, Ar IX-Ar XVI, Lepson et al 2003, Smore » VII, S XIV, Lepson et al 2004) and new FAC calculations of Mg and Ne (Gu, 2008 in press) provide an opportunity to identify many of the previously unassigned lines in Procyon (Raassen et al, 2002).« less

Rare earth element geochemistry of shallow carbonate outcropping strata in Saudi Arabia: Application for depositional environments prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eltom, Hassan A.; Abdullatif, Osman M.; Makkawi, Mohammed H.; Eltoum, Isam-Eldin A.

2017-03-01

The interpretation of depositional environments provides important information to understand facies distribution and geometry. The classical approach to interpret depositional environments principally relies on the analysis of lithofacies, biofacies and stratigraphic data, among others. An alternative method, based on geochemical data (chemical element data), is advantageous because it can simply, reproducibly and efficiently interpret and refine the interpretation of the depositional environment of carbonate strata. Here we geochemically analyze and statistically model carbonate samples (n = 156) from seven sections of the Arab-D reservoir outcrop analog of central Saudi Arabia, to determine whether the elemental signatures (major, trace and rare earth elements [REEs]) can be effectively used to predict depositional environments. We find that lithofacies associations of the studied outcrop (peritidal to open marine depositional environments) possess altered REE signatures, and that this trend increases stratigraphically from bottom-to-top, which corresponds to an upward shallowing of depositional environments. The relationship between REEs and major, minor and trace elements indicates that contamination by detrital materials is the principal source of REEs, whereas redox condition, marine and diagenetic processes have minimal impact on the relative distribution of REEs in the lithofacies. In a statistical model (factor analysis and logistic regression), REEs, major and trace elements cluster together and serve as markers to differentiate between peritidal and open marine facies and to differentiate between intertidal and subtidal lithofacies within the peritidal facies. The results indicate that statistical modelling of the elemental composition of carbonate strata can be used as a quantitative method to predict depositional environments and regional paleogeography. The significance of this study lies in offering new assessments of the relationships between lithofacies and geochemical elements by using advanced statistical analysis, a method that could be used elsewhere to interpret depositional environment and refine facies models.

Report of reprocessing of reflection seismic profile X-5 Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site, Eddy County, New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Miller, John J.

1983-01-01

Seismic reflection profile X-5 exhibits a 7,700 ft long anomalous zone of poor quality to nonexistent reflections between shotpoints 100 and 170, compared to the high-quality, flat-lying, coherent reflections on either side. Results from drill holes in the area suggest 'layer cake' geology with no detectable abnormalities such as faults present. In an attempt to determine whether the anomalous zone of the seismic profile is an artifact or actually indicates a geologic condition, the data were extensively reprocessed using state-of-the-art processing techniques and the following conclusions were made: 1. The field-recorded data in the anomalous zone are of poor quality due to surface conditions and recording parameters used. 2. Reprocessing shows reflectors throughout the anomalous zone at all levels. However, it cannot prove that the reflectors are continuous throughout the anomalous zone. 3. Significant improvement in data quality may be achieved if the line is reshot using carefully determined recording parameters.

Dome Degradation Characterization of Wide-Field-of-View Nonscanner Aboard ERBE and Its Reprocessing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shrestha, Alok K.; Kato, Seiji; Wong, Takmeng; Su, Wenying; Stackhouse, Paul W., Jr.; Rose, Fred; Miller, Walter F.; Bush, Kathryn; Rutan, David A.; Minnis, Patrick;

GPS-Only Terrestrial Reference Frame Based on a Global Reprocessing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dietrich, R.; Rothacher, M.; Ruelke, A.; Fritsche, M.; Steigenberger, P.

2007-12-01

The realization of the International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS) with highest accuracy and stability is fundamental and crucial for applications in geodesy, geodynamics, geophysics and global change. In a joint effort TU Dresden and TU Munich/GFZ Potsdam reprocessed a global GPS network of more than 200 stations. As a contribution to an ITRS realization daily normal equations from 1994 to 2005 were rigorously combined in order to determine a global GPS-only reference frame (PDR05/Potsdam-Dresden-Reprocessing Reference Frame). We present a realization of the global terrestrial reference system which follows the center of mass approach in consideration of the load-induced deformation of the Earth's crust due to the redistribution of surface masses. The stability of our reference frame will be evaluated based on the obtained long-term trends of station coordinates, the load-induced deformation estimates and the homogeneous time series of station positions. We will compare our solution with other recent terrestrial reference system realizations and give some conclusions for future realizations of the ITRS.

FANTOM5 CAGE profiles of human and mouse reprocessed for GRCh38 and GRCm38 genome assemblies.

PubMed

Abugessaisa, Imad; Noguchi, Shuhei; Hasegawa, Akira; Harshbarger, Jayson; Kondo, Atsushi; Lizio, Marina; Severin, Jessica; Carninci, Piero; Kawaji, Hideya; Kasukawa, Takeya

2017-08-29

The FANTOM5 consortium described the promoter-level expression atlas of human and mouse by using CAGE (Cap Analysis of Gene Expression) with single molecule sequencing. In the original publications, GRCh37/hg19 and NCBI37/mm9 assemblies were used as the reference genomes of human and mouse respectively; later, the Genome Reference Consortium released newer genome assemblies GRCh38/hg38 and GRCm38/mm10. To increase the utility of the atlas in forthcoming researches, we reprocessed the data to make them available on the recent genome assemblies. The data include observed frequencies of transcription starting sites (TSSs) based on the realignment of CAGE reads, and TSS peaks that are converted from those based on the previous reference. Annotations of the peak names were also updated based on the latest public databases. The reprocessed results enable us to examine frequencies of transcription initiations on the recent genome assemblies and to refer promoters with updated information across the genome assemblies consistently.

Desensitization of triggers and urge reprocessing for pathological gambling: a case series.

PubMed

Bae, Hwallip; Han, Changwoo; Kim, Daeho

2015-03-01

This case series introduces the desensitization of triggers and urge reprocessing (DeTUR), as a promising adjunctive therapy in addition to comprehensive treatment package for pathological gambling. This addiction protocol of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing was delivered to four male inpatients admitted to a 10-week inpatient program for pathological gambling. The therapist gave three 60-min weekly sessions of the DeTUR using bilateral stimulation (horizontal eye movements or alternative tactile stimuli) focusing on the hierarchy of triggering situations and the urge to initiate gambling behaviors. After treatment, self-reported gambling symptoms, depression, anxiety, and impulsiveness were all improved, and all the participants reported satisfaction with the therapy. They were followed up for 6 months and all maintained their abstinence from gambling and their symptomatic improvements. Given the efficiency (i.e., brevity and efficacy) of the treatment, a controlled study to confirm the effects of the DeTUR on pathological gambling would be justified.

BE Ursae Majoris: A detached binary with a unique reprocessing spectrum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steiner, Joao E.; Ferguson, Donald H.; Liebert, James; Tokarz, Susan; Cutri, Roc; Green, Richard F.; Willner, S. P.

1987-01-01

New infrared photometry, optical and UV spectrophotometry, and a photographic ephemeris are presented for the detached binary BE UMa. Results show the primary to be a DO white dwarf with an effective temperature of 80,000 + or - 15,000 K and a mass of 0.6 + or - 0.1 solar masses. No evidence is found for variability of the primary. The main sequence secondary star is shown to be of early M spectral type, with a formal range of M1 to M5 being possible. A reflection effect in reprocessed line and continuum radiation is produced by EUV radiation from the primary incident on the secondary atmosphere. It is suggested that the temperature of the reprocessed component of the secondary's atmosphere is in the 5000 to 8500 K range, and that emission lines of decreasing ionization form deeper in the irradiated envelope. Relatively narrow He II and high excitation metal lines are formed from recombination and continuum fluorescence processes.

On-the-fly Data Reprocessing and Analysis Capabilities from the XMM-Newton Archive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibarra, A.; Sarmiento, M.; Colomo, E.; Loiseau, N.; Salgado, J.; Gabriel, C.

2017-10-01

The XMM-Newton Science Archive (XSA) includes since last release the possibility to perform on-the-fly data processing with SAS through the Remote Interface for Science Analysis (RISA) server. It enables scientists to analyse data without any download and installation of data and software. The analysis options presently available include extraction of spectra and light curves of user-defined EPIC source regions and full reprocessing of data for which currently archived pipeline products were processed with older SAS versions or calibration files. The current pipeline is fully aligned with the most recent SAS and calibration, while the last full reprocessing of the archive was performed in 2013. The on-the-fly data processing functionality in this release is an experimental version and we invite the community to test and let us know their results. Known issues and workarounds are described in the 'Watchouts' section of the XSA web page. Feedback on how this functionality should evolve will be highly appreciated.

Swift Monitoring of NGC 4151: Evidence for a Second X-Ray/UV Reprocessing

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

Edelson, R.; Gelbord, J.; Cackett, E.

Swift monitoring of NGC 4151 with an ∼6 hr sampling over a total of 69 days in early 2016 is used to construct light curves covering five bands in the X-rays (0.3–50 keV) and six in the ultraviolet (UV)/optical (1900–5500 Å). The three hardest X-ray bands (>2.5 keV) are all strongly correlated with no measurable interband lag, while the two softer bands show lower variability and weaker correlations. The UV/optical bands are significantly correlated with the X-rays, lagging ∼3–4 days behind the hard X-rays. The variability within the UV/optical bands is also strongly correlated, with the UV appearing to leadmore » the optical by ∼0.5–1 days. This combination of ≳3 day lags between the X-rays and UV and ≲1 day lags within the UV/optical appears to rule out the “lamp-post” reprocessing model in which a hot, X-ray emitting corona directly illuminates the accretion disk, which then reprocesses the energy in the UV/optical. Instead, these results appear consistent with the Gardner and Done picture in which two separate reprocessings occur: first, emission from the corona illuminates an extreme-UV-emitting toroidal component that shields the disk from the corona; this then heats the extreme-UV component, which illuminates the disk and drives its variability.« less

Immobilization of Fast Reactor First Cycle Raffinate

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

Langley, K. F.; Partridge, B. A.; Wise, M.

This paper describes the results of work to bring forward the timing for the immobilization of first cycle raffinate from reprocessing fuel from the Dounreay Prototype Fast Reactor (PFR). First cycle raffinate is the liquor which contains > 99% of the fission products separated from spent fuel during reprocessing. Approximately 203 m3 of raffinate from the reprocessing of PFR fuel is held in four tanks at the UKAEA's site at Dounreay, Scotland. Two methods of immobilization of this high level waste (HLW) have been considered: vitrification and cementation. Vitrification is the standard industry practice for the immobilization of first cyclemore » raffinate, and many papers have been presented on this technique elsewhere. However, cementation is potentially feasible for immobilizing first cycle raffinate because the heat output is an order of magnitude lower than typical HLW from commercial reprocessing operations such as that at the Sellafield site in Cumbria, England. In fact, it falls within the upper end of the UK definition of intermediate level waste (ILW). Although the decision on which immobilization technique will be employed has yet to be made, initial development work has been undertaken to identify a suitable cementation formulation using inactive simulant of the raffinate. An approach has been made to the waste disposal company Nirex to consider the disposability of the cemented product material. The paper concentrates on the process development work that is being undertaken on cementation to inform the decision making process for selection of the immobilization method.« less

Test Report for Permanganate and Cold Strontium Strike for Tank 241-AN-102

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

Duncan, James B.; Huber, Heinz J.; Smalley, Colleen S.

Tanks 241-AN-102 and 241-AN-107 supernatants contain soluble Sr-90 and transuranic elements that require removal prior to vitrification to comply with the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant immobilized low-activity waste specification (WTP Contract, DE-AC27-01RV 14136, Specification 2.2.2.8, "Radionuclide Concentration Limitations") and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission provisional agreement on waste incidental to reprocessing (letter, Paperiello, C. J., "Classification of Hanford Low-Activity Tank Waste Fraction"). These two tanks have high concentrations of organics and organic complexants and are referred to as complexant concentrate tanks. A precipitation process using sodium permanganate (NaMnO{sub 4}) and strontium nitrate (Sr(NO{sub 3}){sub 2}) was developed and testedmore » with tank waste samples to precipitate Sr-90 and transuranic elements from the supernate (PNWD-3141, Optimization of Sr/TRU Removal Conditions with Samples of AN-102 Tank Waste). Testing documented in this report was conducted to further evaluate the use of the strontium nitrate/sodium permanganate process in tank farms with a retention time of up to 12 months. Previous testing was focused on developing a process for deployment in the ultrafiltration vessels in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. This environment is different from tank farms in two important ways: the waste is diluted in the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant to ~5.5 M sodium, whereas the supernate in the tank farms is ~9 M Na. Secondly, while the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant allows for a maximum treatment time of hours to days, the in-tank farms treatment of tanks 241-AN102 and 241-AN-107 will result in a retention time of months (perhaps up to12 months) before processing. A comparative compilation of separation processes for Sr/transuranics has been published as RPP-RPT-48340, Evaluation of Alternative Strontium and Transuranic Separation Processes. This report also listed the testing needs for the permanganate precipitation process to be field-deployable. A more comprehensive listing of future testing needs to allow the process to be field deployable are contained in RPP-PLAN-51288, Development Test Plan for Sr/TRU Precipitation Process.« less

Improved rolling element bearings provide low torque and small temperature rise in ultrahigh vacuum environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Glenn, D. C.

1966-01-01

Rolling element bearing with stainless steel races and rolling elements and a porous bronze cage successfully operates in ultrahigh vacuum environments at a low torque and with small temperature rise. All components are burnished in molybdenum disulfide.

40 CFR 123.21 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 123.21 Section 123.21 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS STATE PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS State Program Submissions § 123.21 Elements of a program submission. (a...

40 CFR 145.22 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 145.22 Section 145.22 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) STATE UIC PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS State Program Submissions § 145.22 Elements of a...

40 CFR 123.21 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 123.21 Section 123.21 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS STATE PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS State Program Submissions § 123.21 Elements of a program submission. (a...

40 CFR 145.22 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 145.22 Section 145.22 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) STATE UIC PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS State Program Submissions § 145.22 Elements of a...

40 CFR 123.21 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 123.21 Section 123.21 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS STATE PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS State Program Submissions § 123.21 Elements of a program submission. (a...

40 CFR 145.22 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 145.22 Section 145.22 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) STATE UIC PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS State Program Submissions § 145.22 Elements of a...

40 CFR 123.21 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Elements of a program submission. 123.21 Section 123.21 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS STATE PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS State Program Submissions § 123.21 Elements of a program submission. (a...

40 CFR 123.21 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 123.21 Section 123.21 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS STATE PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS State Program Submissions § 123.21 Elements of a program submission. (a...

40 CFR 145.22 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 145.22 Section 145.22 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) STATE UIC PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS State Program Submissions § 145.22 Elements of a...

40 CFR 145.22 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 145.22 Section 145.22 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) STATE UIC PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS State Program Submissions § 145.22 Elements of a...

Glass ceramic obtained by tailings and tin mine waste reprocessing from Llallagua, Bolivia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arancibia, Jony Roger Hans; Villarino, Cecilia; Alfonso, Pura; Garcia-Valles, Maite; Martinez, Salvador; Parcerisa, David

2014-05-01

In Bolivia Sn mining activity produces large tailings of SiO2-rich residues. These tailings contain potentially toxic elements that can be removed into the surface water and produce a high environmental pollution. This study determines the thermal behaviour and the viability of the manufacture of glass-ceramics from glass. The glass has been obtained from raw materials representative of the Sn mining activities from Llallagua (Bolivia). Temperatures of maximum nucleation rate (Tn) and crystallization (Tcr) were calculated from the differential thermal analyses. The final mineral phases were determined by X-ray diffraction and textures were observed by scanning electron microscopy. Crystalline phases are nefeline occurring with wollastonite or plagioclase. Tn for nepheline is between 680 ºC and 700 ºC, for wollastonite, 730 ºC and for plagioclase, 740 ºC. Tcr for nefeline is between 837 and 965 ºC; for wollastonite, 807 ºC and for plagioclase, 977 ºC. In order to establish the mechanical characteristics and efficiency of the vitrification process in the fixation of potentially toxic elements the resistance to leaching and micro-hardness were determined. The obtained contents of the elements leached from the glass ceramic are well below the limits established by the European legislation. So, these analyses confirm that potentially toxic elements remain fixed in the structure of mineral phases formed in the glass-ceramic process. Regarding the values of micro-hardness results show that they are above those of a commercial glass. The manufacture of glass-ceramics from mining waste reduces the volume of tailings produced for the mining industry and, in turn enhances the waste, transforming it into a product with industrial application. Acknowledgements: This work was partly financed by the project AECID: A3/042750/11, and the SGR 2009SGR-00444.

Diethylene-triamine-penta-acetate administration protocol for radiological emergency medicine in nuclear fuel reprocessing plants.

PubMed

Jin, Yutaka

2008-01-01

Inhalation therapy of diethylene-triamine-penta-acetate (DTPA) should be initiated immediately to workers who have significant incorporation of plutonium, americium or curium in the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. A newly designed electric mesh nebulizer is a small battery-operated passive vibrating mesh device, in which vibrations in an ultrasonic horn are used to force drug solution through a mesh of micron-sized holes. This nebulizer enables DTPA administration at an early stage in the event of a radiation emergency from contamination from the above radioactive metals.

Survey of simulation methods for modeling pulsed sieve-plate extraction columns

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

Burkhart, L.

1979-03-01

The report first considers briefly the use of liquid-liquid extraction in nuclear fuel reprocessing and then describes the operation of the pulse column. Currently available simulation models of the column are reviewed, and followed by an analysis of the information presently available from which the necessary parameters can be obtained for use in a model of the column. Finally, overall conclusions are given regarding the information needed to develop an accurate model of the column for materials accountability in fuel reprocessing plants. 156 references.

Fallon, Nevada FORGE Seismic Reflection Profiles

DOE Data Explorer

Blankenship, Doug; Faulds, James; Queen, John; Fortuna, Mark

2018-02-01

Newly reprocessed Naval Air Station Fallon (1994) seismic lines: pre-stack depth migrations, with interpretations to support the Fallon FORGE (Phase 2B) 3D Geologic model. Data along seven profiles (>100 km of total profile length) through and adjacent to the Fallon site were re-processed. The most up-to-date, industry-tested seismic processing techniques were utilized to improve the signal strength and coherency in the sedimentary, volcanic, and Mesozoic crystalline basement sections, in conjunction with fault diffractions in order to improve the identification and definition of faults within the study area.

Reprocessing of multi-channel seismic-reflection data collected in the Chukchi Sea

USGS Publications Warehouse

Agena, W.F.; Lee, M.W.; Hart, P.E.

2001-01-01

Contained on this set of two CD-ROMs are stacked and migrated multi-channel seismic-reflection data for 44 lines recorded in the Chukchi Sea, northern Alaska, by the United States Geological Survey in 1977, 1978, and 1980. All data were reprocessed by the USGS in 2000 using updated methods. The resulting final data have both increased temporal and spatial resolution thus providing improved interpretability. An added benefit of these CD-ROMs is that they are a more stable, long-term archival medium for the data.

Parameter Trending, Geolocation Quality Control and the Procedures to Support Preparation of Next Versions of the TRMM Reprocessing Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stocker, Erich Franz

2004-01-01

TRMM has been an imminently successful mission from an engineering standpoint but even more from a science standpoint. An important part of this science success has been the careful quality control of the TRMM standard products. This paper will present the quality monitoring efforts that the TRMM Science Data and Information System (TSDIS) conducts on a routine basis. The paper will detail parameter trending, geolocation quality control and the procedures to support the preparation of next versions of the algorithm used for reprocessing.

The Development and Evaluation of a Computer-Simulated Science Inquiry Environment Using Gamified Elements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsai, Fu-Hsing

2018-01-01

This study developed a computer-simulated science inquiry environment, called the Science Detective Squad, to engage students in investigating an electricity problem that may happen in daily life. The environment combined the simulation of scientific instruments and a virtual environment, including gamified elements, such as points and a story for…

Seabed gamma-ray spectrometry: applications at IAEA-MEL.

PubMed

Osvath, I; Povinec, P P

2001-01-01

The technique of underwater gamma-ray spectrometry has been developed to complement or replace the traditional sampling-sample analysis approach for applications with space-time constraints, e.g. large areas of investigation, emergency response or long-term monitoring. IAEA-MEL has used both high-efficiency NaI(Tl) and high-resolution HPGe spectrometry to investigate contamination with anthropogenic radionuclides in a variety of marine environments. Surveys at the South Pacific nuclear test sites of Mururoa and Fangataufa have been used to guide sampling in areas of high contamination around ground zero points. In the Irish Sea offshore from the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant, a gamma-ray survey of seabed sediment was carried out to obtain estimates of the distribution and subsequently, for the inventory of 137Cs in the investigated area.

Starting a health care system green team.

PubMed

Mejia, Elisa A; Sattler, Barbara

2009-07-01

The health care industry is often overlooked as a major source of industrial pollution, but as this becomes more recognized, many health care facilities are beginning to pursue green efforts. The OR is a prime example of an area of health care that is working to lessen its environmental impact. Nurses can play key roles in identifying areas of waste and presenting ideas about recovering secondary materials. For instance, although infection prevention measures encourage one-time use of some products, nurses can investigate how to reprocess these items so they can be reused. This article examines how the efforts of a Green Team can affect a hospital's waste stream. A health care Green Team can facilitate a medical facility's quest for knowledge and awareness of its effect on the waste stream and environment.

The interaction of genotype and environment determines variation in the maize kernal ionome

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Plants obtain soil-resident elements that support growth and metabolism via water-mediated flow due to transpiration and active transport processes. The availability of elements in the environment can interact with the genetic capacity of the organism to modulate element uptake through plastic adapt...

40 CFR 271.5 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 28 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 271.5 Section 271.5 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES... Authorization § 271.5 Elements of a program submission. (a) Any State that seeks to administer a program under...

40 CFR 501.11 - Elements of a sludge management program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Elements of a sludge management program submission. 501.11 Section 501.11 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... Programs § 501.11 Elements of a sludge management program submission. (a) Any State that seeks to...

40 CFR 501.11 - Elements of a sludge management program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Elements of a sludge management program submission. 501.11 Section 501.11 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... Programs § 501.11 Elements of a sludge management program submission. (a) Any State that seeks to...

40 CFR 233.10 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 233.10 Section 233.10 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) OCEAN DUMPING 404 STATE PROGRAM REGULATIONS Program Approval § 233.10 Elements of a program submission. Any State...

40 CFR 233.10 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 233.10 Section 233.10 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) OCEAN DUMPING 404 STATE PROGRAM REGULATIONS Program Approval § 233.10 Elements of a program submission. Any State...

40 CFR 233.10 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Elements of a program submission. 233.10 Section 233.10 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) OCEAN DUMPING 404 STATE PROGRAM REGULATIONS Program Approval § 233.10 Elements of a program submission. Any State...

40 CFR 233.10 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 233.10 Section 233.10 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) OCEAN DUMPING 404 STATE PROGRAM REGULATIONS Program Approval § 233.10 Elements of a program submission. Any State...

40 CFR 271.5 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 27 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 271.5 Section 271.5 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES... Authorization § 271.5 Elements of a program submission. (a) Any State that seeks to administer a program under...

40 CFR 271.5 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 28 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 271.5 Section 271.5 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES... Authorization § 271.5 Elements of a program submission. (a) Any State that seeks to administer a program under...

40 CFR 271.5 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 271.5 Section 271.5 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES... Authorization § 271.5 Elements of a program submission. (a) Any State that seeks to administer a program under...

40 CFR 233.10 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 233.10 Section 233.10 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) OCEAN DUMPING 404 STATE PROGRAM REGULATIONS Program Approval § 233.10 Elements of a program submission. Any State...

40 CFR 271.5 - Elements of a program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 27 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Elements of a program submission. 271.5 Section 271.5 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES... Authorization § 271.5 Elements of a program submission. (a) Any State that seeks to administer a program under...

40 CFR 501.11 - Elements of a sludge management program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Elements of a sludge management program submission. 501.11 Section 501.11 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... Programs § 501.11 Elements of a sludge management program submission. (a) Any State that seeks to...

40 CFR 501.11 - Elements of a sludge management program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Elements of a sludge management program submission. 501.11 Section 501.11 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... Programs § 501.11 Elements of a sludge management program submission. (a) Any State that seeks to...

Advanced technologies for scalable ATLAS conditions database access on the grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basset, R.; Canali, L.; Dimitrov, G.; Girone, M.; Hawkings, R.; Nevski, P.; Valassi, A.; Vaniachine, A.; Viegas, F.; Walker, R.; Wong, A.

2010-04-01

During massive data reprocessing operations an ATLAS Conditions Database application must support concurrent access from numerous ATLAS data processing jobs running on the Grid. By simulating realistic work-flow, ATLAS database scalability tests provided feedback for Conditions Db software optimization and allowed precise determination of required distributed database resources. In distributed data processing one must take into account the chaotic nature of Grid computing characterized by peak loads, which can be much higher than average access rates. To validate database performance at peak loads, we tested database scalability at very high concurrent jobs rates. This has been achieved through coordinated database stress tests performed in series of ATLAS reprocessing exercises at the Tier-1 sites. The goal of database stress tests is to detect scalability limits of the hardware deployed at the Tier-1 sites, so that the server overload conditions can be safely avoided in a production environment. Our analysis of server performance under stress tests indicates that Conditions Db data access is limited by the disk I/O throughput. An unacceptable side-effect of the disk I/O saturation is a degradation of the WLCG 3D Services that update Conditions Db data at all ten ATLAS Tier-1 sites using the technology of Oracle Streams. To avoid such bottlenecks we prototyped and tested a novel approach for database peak load avoidance in Grid computing. Our approach is based upon the proven idea of pilot job submission on the Grid: instead of the actual query, an ATLAS utility library sends to the database server a pilot query first.

The X-ray variability history of Markarian 3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guainazzi, M.; La Parola, V.; Miniutti, G.; Segreto, A.; Longinotti, A. L.

2012-11-01

Context. The unified scenario for active galactic nuclei (AGN) postulates that our orientation with respect to a parsec-scale azimuthally-symmetric gas and dust system causes the difference in their phenomenology in the optical/UV and X-ray bands. Only recently have high-resolution radio (VLBI) and IR interferometric observations provided direct constraints on the size and structure of this obscuring system (known historically as the "torus"). On the other hand, variability in optically-thick X-ray absorption and reprocessing in heavily obscured AGN often probe smaller scales, down to the broad line region and beyond. Aims: We aim at constraining the geometry of the reprocessing matter in the nearby prototypical Seyfert 2 Galaxy Markarian 3 by studying the time evolution of the spectral components associated to the primary AGN emission and to its Compton-scattering. Methods: We analyzed archival spectroscopic observations of Markarian 3 taken over the last ≃ 12 years with the XMM-Newton, Suzaku and Swift observatories, as well as data taken during a monitoring campaign activated by us in 2012. Results: The timescale of the Compton-reflection component variability (originally discovered by ASCA in the mid-'90s) is ≲ 64 days. This upper limit improves by more than a factor of 15 on previous estimates of the Compton-reflection variability timescale for this source. When the light curve of the Compton-reflection continuum in the 4-5 keV band is correlated with the 15-150 keV Swift/BAT curve, a delay ≳1200 days is found. The cross-correlation results depend on the model used to fit the spectra, although the detection of the Compton-reflection component variability is independent of the range of models employed to fit the data. Reanalysis of an archival Chandra image of Markarian 3 indicates that the Compton-reflection and the Fe Kα emitting regions are extended to the north up to ≃300 pc. The combination of these findings suggests that the optically-thick reprocessor in Markarian 3 is clumpy. Conclusions: There is mounting experimental evidence that the structure of the optically-thick gas and dust in the nuclear environment of nearby heavily obscured AGN is extended and complex. We discuss possible modifications to the standard unification scenarios encompassing this complexity. Markarian 3, which exhibits X-ray absorption and reprocessing on widely different spatial scales, is an ideal laboratory to test these models.

HLW Return from France to Germany - 15 Years of Experience in Public Acceptance and Technical Aspects - 12149

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

Graf, Wilhelm

Since in 1984 the national reprocessing concept was abandoned the reprocessing abroad was the only existing disposal route until 1994. With the amendment of the Atomic Energy Act in 2001 spent fuel management changed completely since from 1 June 2005 any delivery of spent fuel to reprocessing plants was prohibited and the direct disposal of spent fuel became mandatory. Until 2005 the total amount of spent fuel to be reprocessed abroad added up to 6080 t HM, 5309 t HM thereof in France. The waste generated from reprocessing - alternatively an equivalent amount of radioactive material - has to bemore » returned to the country of origin according to the commercial contracts signed between the German utilities and COGEMA, now AREVA NC, in France and BNFL, now INS in UK. In addition the German and the French government exchanged notes with the obligation of both sides to enable and support the return of reprocessing residues or equivalents to Germany. The return of high active vitrified waste from La Hague to the interim storage facility at Gorleben was demanding from the technical view i. e. the cask design and the transport. Unfortunately the Gorleben area served as a target for nuclear opponents from the first transport in 1996 to the latest one in 2011. The protection against sabotage of the railway lines and mass protests needed highly improved security measures. In France and Germany special working forces and projects have been set up to cope with this extraordinary situation. A complex transport organization was established to involve all parties in line with the German and French requirements during transport. The last transport of vitrified residues from France has been completed successfully so far thus confirming the efficiency of the applied measures. Over 15 years there was and still is worldwide no comparable situation it is still unique. Summing up, the exceptional project handling challenge that resulted from the continuous anti-nuclear civil disobedience in Germany over the whole 15-year long project running time could be faced efficiently. It has to be concluded that despite of all problems the anti-nuclear activities have caused so far, all transports of vitrified HLW have always been completed successfully by adapting the commonly established safety, security and public acceptance measures to the special conditions and needs in Germany and coordinating the activities of all parties involved but at the expense of high costs for industry and government and a challenging operational complexity. Apart from an anticipatory project planning a good communication between all involved industrial parties and the French and the German government was the key to the effective management of such shipments and to minimize the radiological, economic, environmental, public and political impact. The future will show how efficiently the gained experience can be used for further return projects which are to be realized since no reprocessed waste has yet been returned from UK and neither the medium-level nor the low-level radioactive waste has been transferred from France to Germany. (author)« less

Extending Spent Fuel Storage until Transport for Reprocessing or Disposal

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

Carlsen, Brett; Chiguer, Mustapha; Grahn, Per

Spent fuel (SF) must be stored until an end point such as reprocessing or geologic disposal is imple-mented. Selection and implementation of an end point for SF depends upon future funding, legisla-tion, licensing and other factors that cannot be predicted with certainty. Past presumptions related to the availability of an end point have often been wrong and resulted in missed opportunities for properly informing spent fuel management policies and strategies. For example, dry cask storage systems were originally conceived to free up needed space in reactor spent fuel pools and also to provide SFS of up to 20 years untilmore » reprocessing and/or deep geological disposal became available. Hundreds of dry cask storage systems are now employed throughout the world and will be relied upon well beyond the originally envisioned design life. Given present and projected rates for the use of nuclear power coupled with projections for SF repro-cessing and disposal capacities, one concludes that SF storage will be prolonged, potentially for several decades. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has recently considered 300 years of storage to be appropriate for the characterization and prediction of ageing effects and ageing management issues associated with extending SF storage and subsequent transport. This paper encourages addressing the uncertainty associated with the duration of SF storage by de-sign – rather than by default. It suggests ways that this uncertainty may be considered in design, li-censing, policy, and strategy decisions and proposes a framework for safely extending spent fuel storage until SF can be transported for reprocessing or disposal – regardless of how long that may be. The paper however is not intended to either encourage or facilitate needlessly extending spent fuel storage durations. Its intent is to ensure a design and safety basis with sufficient margin to accommodate the full range of potential future scenarios. Although the focus is primarily on storage of SF from commercial operation, the principles described are equally applicable to SF from research and production reactors as well as high-level radioactive waste.« less

A Refreshable, On-line Cache for HST Data Retrieval

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fraquelli, Dorothy A.; Ellis, Tracy A.; Ridgaway, Michael; DPAS Team

2016-01-01

We discuss upgrades to the HST Data Processing System, with an emphasis on the changes Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Archive users will experience. In particular, data are now held on-line (in a cache) removing the need to reprocess the data every time they are requested from the Archive. OTFR (on the fly reprocessing) has been replaced by a reprocessing system, which runs in the background. Data in the cache are automatically placed in the reprocessing queue when updated calibration reference files are received or when an improved calibration algorithm is installed. Data in the on-line cache are expected to be the most up to date version. These changes were phased in throughout 2015 for all active instruments.The on-line cache was populated instrument by instrument over the course of 2015. As data were placed in the cache, the flag that triggers OTFR was reset so that OTFR no longer runs on these data. "Hybrid" requests to the Archive are handled transparently, with data not yet in the cache provided via OTFR and the remaining data provided from the cache. Users do not need to make separate requests.Users of the MAST Portal will be able to download data from the cache immediately. For data not in the cache, the Portal will send the user to the standard "Retrieval Options Page," allowing the user to direct the Archive to process and deliver the data.The classic MAST Search and Retrieval interface has the same look and feel as previously. Minor changes, unrelated to the cache, have been made to the format of the Retrieval Options Page.

Infectivity of prion protein bound to stainless steel wires: a model for testing decontamination procedures for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

PubMed

Yan, Zheng-Xin; Stitz, Lothar; Heeg, Peter; Pfaff, Eberhard; Roth, Klaus

2004-04-01

To establish an animal model to study transmissible spongiform encephalopathy using hamsters and steel wires contaminated with infectious brain materials as transfer vehicles, and, based on this model, to test decontamination procedures against the infectious prion proteins on the steel wires as a near real situation bioassay. Infectious brain materials were given to healthy hamsters intracerebrally either as a suspension or as dried materials on the surface of steel wires. The animals were observed for 18 months. During this period, animals showing definitive clinical signs were euthanized. Decontamination studies were performed by reprocessing contaminated steel wires with different disinfection agents and procedures before implantation. Pathological prion proteins were able to bind to the steel wires and caused disease after the contaminated wires were implanted in the brains of hamsters. When the contaminated wires were treated with different reprocessing procedures before implantation, infectivity was reduced, which was manifested directly by prolonged survival time of the test animals. These results show that this model can be used as a bioassay to validate reprocessing procedures for surgical instruments. At the time of submission of this article, only the group of hamsters incubated with wires reprocessed with an alkaline detergent, followed by sterilization with a modified cycle in a hydrogen peroxide gas plasma sterilizer (4 injections), showed no clinical signs of disease and remained alive. Two animals from the group receiving sodium hydroxide followed by autoclaving (at 134 degrees C for 18 minutes) died. Furthermore, the tested enzymatic cleaning agent seemed to have no positive effect.

A Falling Corona Model for the Anomalous Behavior of the Broad Emission Lines in NGC 5548

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Mouyuan; Xue, Yongquan; Cai, Zhenyi; Guo, Hengxiao

2018-04-01

NGC 5548 has been intensively monitored by the AGN Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping collaboration. Approximately after half of the light curves, the correlation between the broad emission lines and the lag-corrected ultraviolet (UV) continua becomes weak. This anomalous behavior is accompanied by an increase of soft X-ray emission. We propose a simple model to understand this anomalous behavior, i.e., the corona might fall down, thereby increasing the covering fraction of the inner disk. Therefore, X-ray and extreme-UV emission suffer from spectral variations. The UV continua variations are driven by both X-ray and extreme-UV variations. Consequently, the spectral variability induced by the falling corona would dilute the correlation between the broad emission lines and the UV continua. Our model can explain many additional observational facts, including the dependence of the anomalous behavior on velocity and ionization energy. We also show that the time lag and correlation between the X-ray and the UV variations change as NGC 5548 displays the anomalous behavior. The time lag is dramatically longer than the expectation from disk reprocessing if the anomalous behavior is properly excluded. During the anomalous state, the time lag approaches the light-travel timescale of disk reprocessing albeit with a much weaker correlation. We speculate that the time lag in the normal state is caused by reprocessing of the broad line region gas. As NGC 5548 enters the abnormal state, the contribution of the broad line region gas is smaller; the time lag reflects disk reprocessing. We also discuss alternative scenarios.

High-level disinfection of gastrointestinal endoscope reprocessing

PubMed Central

Chiu, King-Wah; Lu, Lung-Sheng; Chiou, Shue-Shian

2015-01-01

High level disinfection (HLD) of the gastrointestinal (GI) endoscope is not simply a slogan, but rather is a form of experimental monitoring-based medicine. By definition, GI endoscopy is a semicritical medical device. Hence, such medical devices require major quality assurance for disinfection. And because many of these items are temperature sensitive, low-temperature chemical methods, such as liquid chemical germicide, must be used rather than steam sterilization. In summarizing guidelines for infection prevention and control for GI endoscopy, there are three important steps that must be highlighted: manual washing, HLD with automated endoscope reprocessor, and drying. Strict adherence to current guidelines is required because compared to any other medical device, the GI endoscope is associated with more outbreaks linked to inadequate cleaning or disinfecting during HLD. Both experimental evaluation on the surveillance bacterial cultures and in-use clinical results have shown that, the monitoring of the stringent processes to prevent and control infection is an essential component of the broader strategy to ensure the delivery of safe endoscopy services, because endoscope reprocessing is a multistep procedure involving numerous factors that can interfere with its efficacy. Based on our years of experience in the surveillance of culture monitoring of endoscopic reprocessing, we aim in this study to carefully describe what details require attention in the GI endoscopy disinfection and to share our experience so that patients can be provided with high quality and safe medical practices. Quality management encompasses all aspects of pre- and post-procedural care including the efficiency of the endoscopy unit and reprocessing area, as well as the endoscopic procedure itself. PMID:25699232

Use of adenosine triphosphate to audit reprocessing of flexible endoscopes with an elevator mechanism.

PubMed

Quan, Erik; Mahmood, Rizwan; Naik, Amar; Sargon, Peter; Shastri, Nikhil; Venu, Mukund; Parada, Jorge P; Gupta, Neil

2018-05-21

There have been reported outbreaks of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infections linked to endoscopes with elevator mechanisms. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) testing has been used as a marker for bioburden and monitoring manual cleaning for flexible endoscopes with and without an elevator mechanism. The objective of this study was to determine whether routine ATP testing could identify areas of improvement in cleaning of endoscopes with an elevator mechanism. ATP testing after manual cleaning of TJF-Q180V duodenoscopes and GF-UCT180 linear echoendoscopes (Olympus America Inc, Center Valley, PA) was implemented. Samples were tested from the distal end, the elevator mechanism, and water flushed through the lumen of the biopsy channel. Data were recorded and compared by time point, test point, and reprocessing technician. Overall failure rate was 6.99% (295 out of 4,219). The highest percentage of failed ATP tests (17.05%) was reported in the first quarter of routine testing, with an overall decrease in rates over time. The elevator mechanism and working channel lumen had higher failure rates than the distal end. Quality of manual cleaning between reprocessing technicians showed variation. ATP testing is effective in identifying residual organic material and improving quality of manual cleaning of endoscopes with an elevator mechanism. Cleaning efficacy is influenced by reprocessing technicians and location tested on the endoscope. Close attention to the working channel and elevator mechanism during manual cleaning is warranted. Copyright © 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Magnetic photon splitting and gamma ray burst spectra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baring, Matthew G.

1992-01-01

The splitting of photons into two photons becomes both possible and significant in magnetic fields in excess of 10(exp 12) Gauss. Below the threshold energy, 2m sub e c(exp 2) for single photon pair production, splitting can be an astronomically observable phenomenon evident in gamma ray burst spectra. In such circumstances, it was found that magnetic photon splitting reprocesses the gamma ray burst continuum by degrading the photon energy, with a net effect that is quite similar to pair cascade reprocessing of the spectrum. Results are presented for the spectral modifications due to splitting, taking into account the different probabilities for splitting for different polarization modes. Unpolarized and polarized pair cascade photon spectra form the input spectra for the model, which calculates the resulting splitting reprocessed spectra numerically by solving the photon kinetic equations for each polarization mode. This inclusion of photon polarizations is found to not alter previous predictions that splitting produce a significant flattening of the hard X ray continuum and a bump at MeV energies below a pair production turnover. The spectrum near the bump is always strongly polarized.

Non-linear motions in reprocessed GPS station position time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudenko, Sergei; Gendt, Gerd

2010-05-01

Global Positioning System (GPS) data of about 400 globally distributed stations obtained at time span from 1998 till 2007 were reprocessed using GFZ Potsdam EPOS (Earth Parameter and Orbit System) software within International GNSS Service (IGS) Tide Gauge Benchmark Monitoring (TIGA) Pilot Project and IGS Data Reprocessing Campaign with the purpose to determine weekly precise coordinates of GPS stations located at or near tide gauges. Vertical motions of these stations are used to correct the vertical motions of tide gauges for local motions and to tie tide gauge measurements to the geocentric reference frame. Other estimated parameters include daily values of the Earth rotation parameters and their rates, as well as satellite antenna offsets. The solution GT1 derived is based on using absolute phase center variation model, ITRF2005 as a priori reference frame, and other new models. The solution contributed also to ITRF2008. The time series of station positions are analyzed to identify non-linear motions caused by different effects. The paper presents the time series of GPS station coordinates and investigates apparent non-linear motions and their influence on GPS station height rates.

Novel Sorbent Development and Evaluation for the Capture of Krypton and Xenon from Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Off-Gas Streams

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

Troy G. Garn; Mitchell R. Greenhalgh; Jack D. Law

2013-10-01

The release of volatile radionuclides generated during Used Nuclear Fuel reprocessing in the US will most certainly need to be controlled to meet US regulatory emission limits. A US DOE sponsored Off-Gas Sigma Team has been tasked with a multi-lab collaborative research and development effort to investigate and evaluate emissions and immobilization control technologies for the volatile radioactive species generated from commercial Used Nuclear Fuel (UNF) Reprocessing. Physical Adsorption technology is a simpler and potential economical alternative to cryogenic distillation processes that can be used for the capture of krypton and xenon and has resulted in a novel composite sorbentmore » development procedure using synthesized mordenite as the active material. Utilizing the sorbent development procedure, INL sigma team members have developed two composite sorbents that have been evaluated for krypton and xenon capacities at ambient and 191 K temperature using numerous test gas compositions. Adsorption isotherms have been generated to predict equilibration and maximum capacities enabling modeling to support process equipment scale-up.« less

Novel Sorbent Development and Evaluation for the Capture of Krypton and Xenon from Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Off-Gas Streams

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

Troy G. Garn; Mitchell R. Greenhalgh; Jack D. Law

2013-09-01

The release of volatile radionuclides generated during Used Nuclear Fuel reprocessing in the US will most certainly need to be controlled to meet US regulatory emission limits. A US DOE sponsored Off-Gas Sigma Team has been tasked with a multi-lab collaborative research and development effort to investigate and evaluate emissions and immobilization control technologies for the volatile radioactive species generated from commercial Used Nuclear Fuel (UNF) Reprocessing. Physical Adsorption technology is a simpler and potential economical alternative to cryogenic distillation processes that can be used for the capture of krypton and xenon and has resulted in a novel composite sorbentmore » development procedure using synthesized mordenite as the active material. Utilizing the sorbent development procedure, INL sigma team members have developed two composite sorbents that have been evaluated for krypton and xenon capacities at ambient and 191 K temperature using numerous test gas compositions. Adsorption isotherms have been generated to predict equilibration and maximum capacities enabling modeling to support process equipment scale-up.« less

Accretion Disks in Supersoft X-ray Sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Popham, Robert; DiStefano, Rosanne

1996-01-01

We examine the role of the accretion disk in the steady-burning white dwarf model for supersoft sources. The accretion luminosity of the disk is quite small compared to the nuclear burning luminosity of the central source. Thus, in contrast to standard accretion disks, the main role of the disk is to reprocess the radiation from the white dwarf. We calculate models of accretion disks around luminous white dwarfs and compare the resulting disk fluxes to optical and UV observations of the LMC supersoft sources CAL 83, CAL 87, and RX J0513.9-6951. We find that if the white dwarf luminosity is near the upper end of the steady-burning region, and the flaring of the disk is included, then reprocessing by the disk can account for the UV fluxes and a substantial fraction of the optical fluxes of these systems. Reprocessing by the companion star can provide additional optical flux, and here too the disk plays an important role: since the disk is fairly thick, it shadows a significant fraction of the companion's surface.

NUCLEAR MATERIAL ATTRACTIVENESS: AN ASSESSMENT OF MATERIAL FROM PHWR'S IN A CLOSED THORIUM FUEL CYCLE

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

Sleaford, B W; Collins, B A; Ebbinghaus, B B

2010-04-26

This paper examines the attractiveness of material mixtures containing special nuclear materials (SNM) associated with reprocessing and the thorium-based LWR fuel cycle. This paper expands upon the results from earlier studies that examined the attractiveness of SNM associated with the reprocessing of spent light water reactor (LWR) fuel by various reprocessing schemes and the recycle of plutonium as a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel in LWR. This study shows that {sup 233}U that is produced in thorium-based fuel cycles is very attractive for weapons use. Consistent with other studies, these results also show that all fuel cycles examined to date needmore » to be rigorously safeguarded and provided moderate to high levels of physical protection. These studies were performed at the request of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), and are based on the calculation of 'attractiveness levels' that has been couched in terms chosen for consistency with those normally used for nuclear materials in DOE nuclear facilities. The methodology and key findings will be presented.« less

Nuclear Material Attractiveness: An Assessment of Material from PHWR's in a Closed Thorium Fuel Cycle

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

Sleaford, Brad W.; Ebbinghaus, B. B.; Bradley, Keith S.

2010-06-11

This paper examines the attractiveness of material mixtures containing special nuclear materials (SNM) associated with reprocessing and the thorium-based LWR fuel cycle. This paper expands upon the results from earlier studies [ , ] that examined the attractiveness of SNM associated with the reprocessing of spent light water reactor (LWR) fuel by various reprocessing schemes and the recycle of plutonium as a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel in LWR. This study shows that 233U that is produced in thorium-based fuel cycles is very attractive for weapons use. Consistent with other studies, these results also show that all fuel cycles examined tomore » date need to be rigorously safeguarded and provided moderate to high levels of physical protection. These studies were performed at the request of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), and are based on the calculation of "attractiveness levels" that has been couched in terms chosen for consistency with those normally used for nuclear materials in DOE nuclear facilities [ ]. The methodology and key findings will be presented.« less

A proliferation of nuclear waste for the Southeast.

PubMed

Alvarez, Robert; Smith, Stephen

2007-12-01

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) is being promoted as a program to bring about the expansion of worldwide nuclear energy. Here in the U.S. much of this proposed nuclear power expansion is slated to happen in the Southeast, including here in South Carolina. Under the GNEP plan, the United States and its nuclear partners would sell nuclear power plants to developing nations that agree not to pursue technologies that would aid nuclear weapons production, notably reprocessing and uranium enrichment. As part of the deal, the United States would take highly radioactive spent ("used") fuel rods to a reprocessing center in this country. Upon analysis of the proposal, it is clear that DOE lacks a credible plan for the safe management and disposal of radioactive wastes stemming from the GNEP program and that the high costs and possible public health and environmental impacts from the program pose significant risks, especially to this region. Given past failures to address waste problems before they were created, DOE's rush to invest major public funds for deployment of reprocessing should be suspended.

Approaches to Deal with Irradiated Graphite in Russia - Proposal for New IAEA CRP on Graphite Waste Management - 12364

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

Kascheev, Vladimir; Poluektov, Pavel; Ustinov, Oleg

The problems of spent reactor graphite are being shown, the options of its disposal is considered. Burning method is selected as the most efficient and waste-free. It is made a comparison of amounts of {sup 14}C that entering the environment in a natural way during the operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) and as a result of the proposed burning of spent reactor graphite. It is shown the possibility of burning graphite with the arrival of {sup 14}C into the atmosphere within the maximum allowable emissions. This paper analyzes the different ways of spent reactor graphite treatment. It is shownmore » the possibility of its reprocessing by burning method in the air flow. It is estimated the effect of this technology to the overall radiation environment and compared its contribution to the general background radiation due to cosmic radiation and NPPs emission. It is estimated the maximum permissible speeds of burning reactor graphite (for example, RBMK graphite) for areas with different conditions of agricultural activities. (authors)« less

Powerful Radio Galaxies with Simbol-X: the Nuclear Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Torresi, E.; Grandi, P.; Malaguti, G.; Palumbo, G. G. C.; Bianchin, V.

2009-05-01

Fanaroff & Riley type II radio galaxies (FRII) are complex objects. In particular FRII Narrow Line Radio Galaxies (NLRG), optically classified as High Excitation Galaxies (HEG) show X-ray spectra very similar to their radio-quiet counterparts, the Seyfert 2 galaxies. They show 2-10 keV continua heavily obscured (NH~1023-24 cm-2) and intense FeKα lines, typical cold matter reprocessing features. Moreover recent Chandra and XMM-Newton observations suggest that the soft X-ray emission of HEG and Seyfert 2 have a common origin from photoionized gas, reinforcing the idea that not only their nuclear engine but also the circumnuclear gas (at least the warm phase) are similar. On the contrary, our knowledge of NLRG HEG above 10 keV is very poor when compared to brighter Seyfert 2. As a consequence, the physical properties of the cold phase of the circumnuclear gas (possibly linked to a dusty torus) are largely unknown. Thanks to its high sensitivity up to 80 keV, Simbol-X will provide very accurate spectra and will allow a direct comparison between the NLRG and Seyfert 2 cold environments.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Metallicity of MPA-JHU SDSS-DR7 dwarf galaxies (Douglass+, 2017)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Douglass, K. A.; Vogeley, M. S.

2017-07-01

We study how the cosmic environment affects galaxy evolution in the universe by comparing the metallicities of dwarf galaxies in voids with dwarf galaxies in more dense regions. Ratios of the fluxes of emission lines, particularly those of the forbidden [OIII] and [SII] transitions, provide estimates of a region's electron temperature and number density. From these two quantities and the emission line fluxes [OII]λ3727, [OIII]λ4363, and [OIII]λλ4959,5007, we estimate the abundance of oxygen with the direct Te method. We estimate the metallicity of 42 blue, star-forming void dwarf galaxies and 89 blue, star-forming dwarf galaxies in more dense regions using spectroscopic observations from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7, as reprocessed in the MPA-JHU value-added catalog. We find very little difference between the two sets of galaxies, indicating little influence from the large-scale environment on their chemical evolution. Of particular interest are a number of extremely metal-poor dwarf galaxies that are less prevalent in voids than in the denser regions. (1 data file).

Thinking About the Aesthetics of Children's Environments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenman, Jim

1987-01-01

Emphasizes the importance of aesthetic elements such as color, light, texture, plants, art, and music in children's centers and schools. Describes how aesthetic elements may be added to the environment. (NH)

Aging of Iodine-Loaded Silver Mordenite in NO2

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

Bruffey, Stephanie H.; Jubin, Robert Thomas; Patton, Kaara K.

2014-04-01

Used nuclear fuel facilities need to control and minimize radioactive emissions. Off-gas systems are designed to remove radioactive contaminants, such as 85Kr, 14C, 3H, and 129I. In an off-gas system, any capture material will be exposed to a gas stream for months at a time. This gas stream may be at elevated temperature and could contain water, NOx gas, or a variety of other constituents comprising the dissolver off-gas stream in a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. For this reason, it is important to evaluate the effects of long-term exposure, or aging, on proposed capture materials. One material under consideration ismore » reduced silver mordenite (Ag0Z), which is recognized for its efficient iodine capture properties. Iodine is immobilized on Ag0Z as AgI, a solid with low volatility (m.p. ≥ 500°C). The aim of this study was to determine whether extended aging at elevated temperature in a nominally 2% NO2 environment would result in a loss of immobilized iodine from this material due to either physical or chemical changes that might occur during aging. Charges of iodine-loaded reduced silver mordenite (I2-Ag0Z) were exposed to a 2% NO2 environment for 1, 2, 3, and 4 months at 150°C, then analyzed for iodine losses The aging study was completed successfully. The material did not visibly change color or form. The results demonstrate that no significant iodine loss was observed over the course of 4 months of 2% NO2 aging of I2-Ag0Z at elevated temperature within the margin of error and the variability (~10%) in the loading along the beds. This provides assurance that iodine will remain immobilized on Ag0Z during extended online use in an off-gas capture treatment system. Future tests should expose I2-Ag0Z to progressively more complex feed gases in an effort to accurately replicate the conditions expected in a reprocessing facility.« less

Sustainability of rare earth elements chain: from production to food - a review.

PubMed

Turra, Christian

2018-02-01

Rare earth elements (REE) are a group of chemical elements that include lanthanoids (lanthanum to lutetium), scandium and yttrium. In the last decades, the REE demand in the industry and other areas has increased significantly. In general, REE have shown low concentrations in soils, plants, water and atmosphere, but they may accumulate in such environments due to anthropogenic inputs. In areas where there is REE contamination, the slow accumulation of these elements in the environment could become problematic. Many studies have shown environmental areas contaminated with REE and their toxic effects. Thus, it is important to review, in order to improve the current understanding of these elements in the environment, showing the effects of REE exposure in mining, soil, water, plants and food. Besides, there are few suppliers and a limited quantity of these elements in the world. This paper suggests options to improve the sustainability management of REE chain.

Ten Thousand Years of Environment Assessment Using Synchrotron Radiation Micro Beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shirasawa, K.; Ide-Ektessabi, A.; Koizumi, A.; Azechi, M.

2003-08-01

The environment surrounding human has changed through civilization and industrialization, and through these developments, problems including the pollution from heavy metals such as lead and mercury have arisen. In this study, we analyzed major and trace elements in modern and prehistoric teeth by x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis using synchrotron radiation micro beam, in order to assess the changes of the environment through the civilization and the industrialization and their affects to the human. It is suggested that teeth accumulate elements in the mineral phase, hydroxiapatite, during their formation, and because there are no significant turnovers, teeth are concerned to be indicators of the environment of the donor. We first analyzed the elements on the surface of tooth from modern individual and tooth from human remains of Jomon period to assess the heavy metal concentration and effect of the diagenesis. The adhering ground elements on the prehistoric teeth showed high amount of Ti, Fe, Mn and other metallic elements.

Process for recovery of palladium from nuclear fuel reprocessing wastes

DOEpatents

Campbell, D.O.; Buxton, S.R.

1980-06-16

Palladium is selectively removed from spent nuclear fuel reprocessing waste by adding sugar to a strong nitric acid solution of the waste to partially denitrate the solution and cause formation of an insoluble palladium compound. The process includes the steps of: (a) adjusting the nitric acid content of the starting solution to about 10 M; (b) adding 50% sucrose solution in an amount sufficient to effect the precipitation of the palladium compound; (c) heating the solution at reflux temperature until precipitation is complete; and (d) centrifuging the solution to separate the precipitated palladium compound from the supernatant liquid.

Sexual Violence: Psychiatric Healing With Eye Movement Reprocessing and Desensitization

PubMed Central

POSMONTIER, BOBBIE; DOVYDAITIS, TIFFANY; LIPMAN, KENNETH

2011-01-01

Sexual violence, which affects one in three women worldwide, can result in significant psychiatric morbidity and suicide. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) offers health care providers the option of a brief psychiatric intervention that can result in psychiatric healing in as few as four sessions. Because health care providers often hear stories of sexual violence from their patients, they are in an ideal position to make recommendations for treatment. The purpose of this article is to introduce health care providers to the technique of EMDR, review safety and appropriateness, and discuss clinical and research implications. PMID:20623397

Process for recovery of palladium from nuclear fuel reprocessing wastes

DOEpatents

Campbell, David O.; Buxton, Samuel R.

1981-01-01

Palladium is selectively removed from spent nuclear fuel reprocessing waste by adding sugar to a strong nitric acid solution of the waste to partially denitrate the solution and cause formation of an insoluble palladium compound. The process includes the steps of: (a) adjusting the nitric acid content of the starting solution to about 10 M, (b) adding 50% sucrose solution in an amount sufficient to effect the precipitation of the palladium compound, (c) heating the solution at reflux temperature until precipitation is complete, and (d) centrifuging the solution to separate the precipitated palladium compound from the supernatant liquid.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing. A brief and effective treatment for stress.

PubMed

Lee, Gale K; Beaton, Randal D; Ensign, Josephine

2003-06-01

1. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is an integrative therapy that "unlocks" disturbing memories or beliefs and reprocessess them, in some way, so they are no longer as disabling. 2. EMDR can be used for any experientially based psychological problems and has proven especially effective for traumatic imagery associated with posttraumatic stress disorder. 3. A primary benefit of EMDR is its time efficiency, requiring as few as 3 to 5 hours of treatment. 4. Many potential mechanisms (i.e., cognitive, hypnotic, self-disclosure, biological) may account for the effectiveness of EMDR.

Multiple recycle of REMIX fuel based on reprocessed uranium and plutonium mixture in thermal reactors

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

Fedorov, Y.S.; Bibichev, B.A.; Zilberman, B.Y.

2013-07-01

REMIX fuel consumption in WWER-1000 is considered. REMIX fuel is fabricated from non-separated mixture of uranium and plutonium obtained during NPP spent fuel reprocessing with further makeup by enriched natural uranium. It makes possible to recycle several times the total amount of uranium and plutonium obtained from spent fuel with 100% loading of the WWER-1000 core. The stored SNF could be also involved in REMIX fuel cycle by enrichment of regenerated uranium. The same approach could be applied to closing the fuel cycle of CANDU reactors. (authors)

Environmental sampling of lead near a battery reprocessing factory

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

Leung, H.W.

1988-09-01

Exposed workers in lead smelting plants and lead storage battery factories have reported illnesses related to inhalation of lead oxide fumes. The residential community of La Gloria, a town of about 15,000 people located approximately 13 km southwest of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico was an area where residents were concerned about possible health effects and environmental contamination from lead due to the proximity of battery factory that used lead oxide in the battery grid separation procedure. This study was undertaken to investigate the lead levels in the soil, plant and water collected in various areas around this battery reprocessing plant.

Beyond Metal Detectors: Creating Safe School Environments. The Editor Reflects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erb, Tom

2000-01-01

Discusses a model for the interactions between the elements of a safe school environment. Elements are curriculum, climate, and instruction leading to a safe setting, resulting in positive student outcomes. (JPB)

Potential metal recovery from waste streams

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Kathleen S.; Hageman, Philip L.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Budahn, James R.; Bleiwas, Donald I.

2015-01-01

‘Waste stream’ is a general term that describes the total flow of waste from homes, businesses, industrial facilities, and institutions that are recycled, burned or isolated from the environment in landfills or other types of storage, or dissipated into the environment. The recovery and reuse of chemical elements from waste streams have the potential to decrease U.S. reliance on primary resources and imports, and to lessen unwanted dispersion of some potentially harmful elements into the environment. Additional benefits might include reducing disposal or treatment costs and decreasing the risk of future environmental liabilities for waste generators. Elemental chemistry and mineralogical residences of the elements are poorly documented for many types of waste streams.

[Treatment manual for psychotherapy of acute and posttraumatic stress disorders after multiple ICD shocks].

PubMed

Jordan, J; Titscher, G; Kirsch, H

2011-09-01

In view of the inceasing number of implanted defibrillators in all industrial nations, the number of people who have suffered so-called multiple shocks (electrical storm, ES) also increases. Common complaints are severe and continuously recurrent massive anxiety, panic attacks, fear of death, helplessness and hopelessness, depression, nervosity and irritability as well as reclusive and uncontrollable avoidance behaviour, intrusions, nightmares, flashbacks, sleeplessness and the inability to show feelings and limitation of future perspectives. Because people with an ICD are often physically (very) ill and after multiple ICD shocks are additionally very insecure, it would seem logical if the inpatient treatment would be carried out in an institution which has close connections and is also spatially close to a cardiology department. The basis of the diagnostics is the clinical anamnesis and a systematic exploration of the trauma situation and the resulting complaints. As an additional diagnostic element psychological test procedures should be implemented to determine the core symptomatic (anxiety, depression, trauma symptoms). Psychological test procedures should be included in the diagnostics so that at the end of treatment it is obvious even to the patient which alterations have occurred. The core element of inpatient treatment is daily intensive psychotherapy and includes deep psychologically well-founded psychotherapy and behavioral therapeutic-oriented anxiety therapy as well as cognitive restructuring and elements of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). A follow-up examination within 4 months of the multiple shocks episode is recommended because symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder often occur after a long latent time period.

Distribution and size fractionation of elemental sulfur in aqueous environments: The Chesapeake Bay and Mid-Atlantic Ridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Findlay, Alyssa J.; Gartman, Amy; MacDonald, Daniel J.; Hanson, Thomas E.; Shaw, Timothy J.; Luther, George W.

2014-10-01

Elemental sulfur is an important intermediate of sulfide oxidation and may be produced via abiotic and biotic pathways. In this study the concentration and size fractionation of elemental sulfur were measured in two different sulfidic marine environments: the Chesapeake Bay and buoyant hydrothermal vent plumes along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Nanoparticulate sulfur (<0.2 μm) was found to comprise up to 90% of the total elemental sulfur in anoxic deep waters of the Chesapeake Bay. These data were compared with previous studies of elemental sulfur, and represent one of the few reports of nanoparticulate elemental sulfur in the environment. Additionally, a strain of phototrophic sulfide oxidizing bacteria isolated from the Chesapeake Bay was shown to produce elemental sulfur as a product of sulfide oxidation. Elemental sulfur concentrations are also presented from buoyant hydrothermal vent plumes located along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the Mid-Atlantic Ridge plume, S0 concentrations up to 33 μM were measured in the first meter of rising plumes at three different vent sites, and nanoparticulate S0 was up to 44% of total elemental sulfur present.

[Use of Reusable Textile Undergloves for Medical Procedures: A Feasibility Study].

PubMed

Hübner, N-O; Rubbert, K; Pohrt, U; Heidecke, C-D; Partecke, L I; Kramer, A

2016-02-01

Undergloves are a way to reduce moisture-related skin damage. The aim of this feasibility study was to gain experience with logistics, applicability, acceptability and cost of the routine use of reusable textile undergloves in a hospital setting. Undergloves were tested with 18 health-care workers on an intensive care unit over three months. Data on usage as well as logistics were recorded. At baseline, personal data and knowledge and use of cotton undergloves, existing skin problems and the nursing behaviour of the hands by the subjects were determined by means of an input questionnaire. After each wearing, data on usage were collected by a questionnaire. Participants were interviewed by means of a questionnaire with respect to their experience with the use of the undergloves. Acceptance and compliance with the use of undergloves was remarkably good. This was partly due to the properties of the gloves, and partly to the reduction of sweating and very positive effect on the skin of the hands. In the study period 2165 underglove uses were documented, resulting in an average daily consumption of four pairs per person per day. The average wearing time was 28.6 min. The undergloves were suitable for application as well as reprocessing. Reprocessment-related fatigue was relatively low and did not lead to the loss of the properties, only few gloves had to be sorted out. Even if one assumes a complete write-off of the gloves with end of the study, costs for reprocessing were about 0.46 € or 64 % less than the single use. The routine use of textile, reprocessable undergloves is feasible. Major challenges for broad usage are within logistics and acceptance by the user. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Surface-water hydrology of the Western New York Nuclear Service Center Cattaraugus County, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kappel, W.M.; Harding, W.E.

1987-01-01

Precipitation data were collected from October 1980 through September 1983 from three recording gages at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center, and surface water data were collected at three continuous-record gaging stations and one partial-record gage on streams that drain a 0.7 sq km part of the site. Seepage from springs was measured periodically during the study. The data were used to identify runoff characteristics at the waste burial ground and the reprocessing plant area, 400 meters to the north. Preliminary water budgets for April 1982 through March 1983 were calculated to aid in the development of groundwater flow models to the two areas. Nearly 80% of the measured runoff from the burial ground area was storm runoff; the remaining 20% was base flow. In contrast, only 30% of the runoff leaving the reprocessing plant area was storm runoff, and 70% was base flow. This difference is attributed to soil composition. The burial ground soil consists of clayey silty till that limits infiltration and causes most precipitation to flow to local channels as direct runoff. In contrast, the reprocessing plant area is overlain by alluvial sand and gravel that allows rapid infiltration of precipitation and subsequent steady discharge from the water table to nearby stream channels and seepage faces. Measured total annual runoff and estimated evapotranspiration from the reprocessing plant area exceeded the precipitation by 35%, which suggests that the groundwater basin is larger than the surface water basin. The additional outflow probably includes underflow from bedrock upgradient from the plant, water leakage from plant facilities, and groundwater flow from adjacent basins. (Author 's abstract)

Outbreak of toxic anterior segment syndrome following cataract surgery associated with impurities in autoclave steam moisture.

PubMed

Hellinger, Walter C; Hasan, Saiyid A; Bacalis, Laura P; Thornblom, Deborah M; Beckmann, Susan C; Blackmore, Carina; Forster, Terri S; Tirey, Jason F; Ross, Mary J; Nilson, Christian D; Mamalis, Nick; Crook, Julia E; Bendel, Rick E; Shetty, Rajesh; Stewart, Michael W; Bolling, James P; Edelhauser, Henry F

2006-03-01

Toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS), a complication of cataract surgery, is a sterile inflammation of the anterior chamber of the eye. An outbreak of TASS was recognized at an outpatient surgical center and its affiliated hospital in December 2002. Medical records of patients who underwent cataract surgery during the outbreak were reviewed, and surgical team members who participated in the operations were interviewed. Potential causes of TASS were identified and eliminated. Feedwater from autoclave steam generators and steam condensates were analyzed by use of spectroscopy and ion chromatography. During the outbreak, 8 (38%) of 21 cataract operations were complicated by TASS, compared with 2 (0.07%) of 2,713 operations performed from January 1996 through November 2002. Results of an initial investigation suggested that cataract surgical equipment may have been contaminated by suboptimal equipment reprocessing or as a result of personnel changes. The frequency of TASS decreased (1 of 44 cataract operations) after reassignment of personnel and revision of equipment reprocessing procedures. Further investigation identified the presence of impurities (eg, sulfates, copper, zinc, nickel, and silica) in autoclave steam moisture, which was attributed to improper maintenance of the autoclave steam generator in the outpatient surgical center. When impurities in autoclave steam moisture were eliminated, no cases of TASS were observed after more than 1,000 cataract operations. Suboptimal reprocessing of cataract surgical equipment may evolve over time in busy, multidisciplinary surgical centers. Clinically significant contamination of surgical equipment may result from inappropriate maintenance of steam sterilization systems. Standardization of protocols for reprocessing of cataract surgical equipment may prevent outbreaks of TASS and may be of assistance during outbreak investigations.

SeaWiFS Postlaunch Calibration and Validation Analyses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hooker, Stanford B. (Editor); Firestone, Elaine (Editor); McClain, Charles R.; Barnes, Robert A.; Eplee, Robert E., Jr.; Franz, Bryan A.; Hsu, N. Christina; Patt, Frederick S.; Pietras, Christophe M.; Robinson, Wayne D.

2000-01-01

The effort to resolve data quality issues and improve on the initial data evaluation methodologies of the SeaWiFS Project was an extensive one. These evaluations have resulted, to date, in three major reprocessings of the entire data set where each reprocessing addressed the data quality issues that could be identified up to the time of the reprocessing. Three volumes of the SeaWiFS Postlaunch Technical Report Series (Volumes 9, 10, and 11) are needed to document the improvements implemented since launch. Volume 10 continues the sequential presentation of postlaunch data analysis and algorithm descriptions begun in Volume 9. Chapter 1 of Volume 10 describes an absorbing aerosol index, similar to that produced by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) Project, which is used to flag pixels contaminated by absorbing aerosols, such as, dust and smoke. Chapter 2 discusses the algorithm being used to remove SeaWiFS out-of-band radiance from the water-leaving radiances. Chapter 3 provides an itemization of all significant changes in the processing algorithms for each of the first three reprocessings. Chapter 4 shows the time series of global clear water and deep-water (depths greater than 1,000m) bio-optical and atmospheric properties (normalized water-leaving radiances, chlorophyll, atmospheric optical depth, etc.) based on the eight-day composites as a check on the sensor calibration stability. Chapter 5 examines the variation in the derived products with scan angle using high resolution data around Hawaii to test for residual scan modulation effects and atmospheric correction biases. Chapter 6 provides a methodology for evaluating the atmospheric correction algorithm and atmospheric derived products using ground-based observations. Similarly, Chapter 7 presents match-up comparisons of coincident satellite and in situ data to determine the accuracy of the water-leaving radiances, chlorophyll a, and K(490) products.

Potential testing of reprocessing procedures by real-time polymerase chain reaction: A multicenter study of colonoscopy devices.

PubMed

Valeriani, Federica; Agodi, Antonella; Casini, Beatrice; Cristina, Maria Luisa; D'Errico, Marcello Mario; Gianfranceschi, Gianluca; Liguori, Giorgio; Liguori, Renato; Mucci, Nicolina; Mura, Ida; Pasquarella, Cesira; Piana, Andrea; Sotgiu, Giovanni; Privitera, Gaetano; Protano, Carmela; Quattrocchi, Annalisa; Ripabelli, Giancarlo; Rossini, Angelo; Spagnolo, Anna Maria; Tamburro, Manuela; Tardivo, Stefano; Veronesi, Licia; Vitali, Matteo; Romano Spica, Vincenzo

2018-02-01

Reprocessing of endoscopes is key to preventing cross-infection after colonoscopy. Culture-based methods are recommended for monitoring, but alternative and rapid approaches are needed to improve surveillance and reduce turnover times. A molecular strategy based on detection of residual traces from gut microbiota was developed and tested using a multicenter survey. A simplified sampling and DNA extraction protocol using nylon-tipped flocked swabs was optimized. A multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test was developed that targeted 6 bacteria genes that were amplified in 3 mixes. The method was validated by interlaboratory tests involving 5 reference laboratories. Colonoscopy devices (n = 111) were sampled in 10 Italian hospitals. Culture-based microbiology and metagenomic tests were performed to verify PCR data. The sampling method was easily applied in all 10 endoscopy units and the optimized DNA extraction and amplification protocol was successfully performed by all of the involved laboratories. This PCR-based method allowed identification of both contaminated (n = 59) and fully reprocessed endoscopes (n = 52) with high sensibility (98%) and specificity (98%), within 3-4 hours, in contrast to the 24-72 hours needed for a classic microbiology test. Results were confirmed by next-generation sequencing and classic microbiology. A novel approach for monitoring reprocessing of colonoscopy devices was developed and successfully applied in a multicenter survey. The general principle of tracing biological fluids through microflora DNA amplification was successfully applied and may represent a promising approach for hospital hygiene. Copyright © 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Engineering assessment of inactive uranium mill tailings: Maybell Site, Maybell, Colorado

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

None

1981-09-01

Ford, Bacon and Davis Utah Inc. has reevaluated the Maybell site in order to revise the October 1977 engineering assessment of the problems resulting from the existence of radioactive uranium mill tailings at Maybell, Colorado. This engineering assessment has included the preparation of topographic maps, the performance of core drillings and radiometric measurements sufficient to determine areas and volumes of tailings and radiation exposures of individuals and nearby populations, the investigations of site hydrology and meteorology, and the evaluation and costing of alternative corrective actions. Radon gas released from the 2.6 million dry tons of tailings at the Maybell sitemore » constitutes the most significant environmental impact, although windblown tailings and external gamma radiation also are factors. The two alternative actions presented in this engineering assessment range from millsite decontamination with the addition of 3 m of stabilization cover material (Option I), to disposal of the tailings in a nearby open pit mine and decontamination of the tailings site (Option II). Cost estimates for the two options are about $11,700,000 for stabilization in-place and about $22,700,000 for disposal within a distance of 2 mi. Three principal alternatives for the reprocessing of the Maybell tailings were examined: (a) heap leaching; (b) treatment at an existing mill; and (c) reprocessing at a new conventional mill constructed for tailings reprocessing. The cost of the uranium recovered would be about $125 and $165/lb of U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ by heap leach and conventional plant processes, respectively. The spot market price for uranium was $25/lb early in 1981. Therefore, reprocessing the tailings for uranium recovery is not economically attractive at present.« less

Engineering assessment of inactive uranium mill tailings: Maybell Site, Maybell, Colorado. Summary

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

None

1981-09-01

Ford, Bacon and Davis Utah Inc. has reevaluated the Maybell site in order to revise the October 1977 engineering assessment of the problems resulting from the existence of radioactive uranium mill tailings at Maybell, Colorado. This engineering assessment has included the preparation of topographic maps, the performance of core drillings and radiometric measurements sufficient to determine areas and volumes of tailings and radiation exposures of individuals and nearby populations, the investigations of site hydrology and meteorology, and the evaluation and costing of alternative corrective actions. Radon gas released from the 2.6 million dry tons of tailings at the Maybell sitemore » constitutes the most significant environmental impact, although windblown tailings and external gamma radiation also are factors. The two alternative actions presented in this engineering assessment range from millsite decontamination with the addition of 3 m of stabilization cover material (Option I), to disposal of the tailings in a nearby open pit mine and decontamination of the tailings site (Option II). Cost estimates for the two options are about $11,700,000 for stabilization in-place and about $22,700,000 for disposal within a distance of 2 mi. Three principal alternatives for the reprocessing of the Maybell tailings were examined: (a) heap leaching; (b) treatment at an existing mill; and (c) reprocessing at a new conventional mill constructed for tailings reprocessing. The cost of the uranium recovered would be about $125 and $165/lb of U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ by heap leach and conventional plant processes, respectively. The spot market price for uranium was $25/lb early in 1981. Therefore, reprocessing the tailings for uranium recovery is not economically attractive at present.« less

Application of a high-level peracetic acid disinfection protocol to re-process antibiotic disinfected skin allografts.

PubMed

Lomas, R J; Huang, Q; Pegg, D E; Kearney, J N

2004-01-01

Skin allografts, derived from cadaveric donors, are widely used for the treatment of burns and ulcers. Prior to use in clinical situations, these allografts are disinfected using a cocktail of antibiotics and then cryopreserved. Unfortunately, this antibiotic disinfection procedure fails to decontaminate a significant proportion and these contaminated grafts can not be used clinically. We have investigated whether it is possible to apply a second, more potent disinfection procedure to these contaminated grafts and effectively to re-process them for clinical use. Cadaveric skin grafts, treated with antibiotics and cryopreserved, were thawed and a peracetic acid (PAA) disinfection protocol applied. The grafts were then preserved in a high concentration of glycerol or propylene glycol, and properties thought to be essential for successful clinical performance assessed. The cytotoxicity of the grafts was assessed using both extract and contact assays; damage to the skin collagen was assessed using a collagenase susceptibility assay and the capacity of the grafts to elicit an inflammatory response in vitro was assessed by quantifying the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha by human peripheral blood mononuclear phagocytes. PAA disinfection, in conjunction with either glycerol or propylene glycol preservation, did not render the grafts cytotoxic, pro-inflammatory, or increase their susceptibility to collagenase digestion. The rates of penetration of glycerol and propylene glycol into the re-processed skin were comparable to those of fresh skin. This study has demonstrated that PAA disinfection combined with immersion in high concentrations of either glycerol or propylene glycol was an effective method for re-processing contaminated skin allografts, and may justify their clinical use.

Diversity of effective treatments of panic attacks: what do they have in common?

PubMed

Roth, Walton T

2010-01-01

By comparing efficacious psychological therapies of different kinds, inferences about common effective treatment mechanisms can be made. We selected six therapies for review on the basis of the diversity of their theoretical rationales and evidence for superior efficacy: psychoanalytic psychotherapy, hypercapnic breathing training, hypocapnic breathing training, reprocessing with and without eye-movement desensitization, muscle relaxation, and cognitive behavior therapy. The likely common element of all these therapies is that they reduce the immediate expectancy of a panic attack, disrupting the vicious circle of fearing fear. Modifying expectation is usually regarded as a placebo mechanism in psychotherapy, but may be a specific treatment mechanism for panic. The fact that this is seldom the rationale communicated to the patient creates a moral dilemma: Is it ethical for therapists to mislead patients to help them? Pragmatic justification of a successful practice is a way out of this dilemma. Therapies should be evaluated that deal with expectations directly by promoting positive thinking or by fostering non-expectancy.

Quantity and management of spent fuel from prototype and research reactors in Germany

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

Dorr, Sabine; Bollingerfehr, Wilhelm; Filbert, Wolfgang

Within the scope of an R and D project (project identification number FKZ 02 S 8679) sponsored by BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research), the current state of storage and management of fuel elements from prototype and research reactors was established, and an approach for their future storage/management was developed. The spent fuels from prototype and research reactors in Germany that require disposal were specified and were described in regard to their repository-relevant characteristics. As there are currently no casks licensed for disposal in Germany, descriptions of casks that were considered to be suitable were provided. Based on themore » information provided on the spent fuel from prototype and research reactors and the potential casks, a technical disposal concept was developed. In this context, concepts to integrate the spent fuel from prototype and research reactors into existing disposal concepts for spent fuel from German nuclear power plants and for waste from reprocessing were developed for salt and clay formations. (authors)« less

The synthesis, characterization and in vivo study of mineral substituted hydroxyapatite for prospective bone tissue rejuvenation applications.

PubMed

Govindaraj, Dharman; Rajan, Mariappan; Munusamy, Murugan A; Alarfaj, Abdullah A; Sadasivuni, Kishor Kumar; Kumar, S Suresh

2017-11-01

Minerals substituted apatite (M-HA) nanoparticles were prepared by the precipitation of minerals and phosphate reactants in choline chloride-Thiourea (ChCl-TU) deep eutectic solvent (DESs) as a facile and green way approach. After preparation of nanoparticles (F-M-HA (F=Fresh solvent)), the DESs was recovered productively and reprocess for the preparation of R-M-HA nanoparticles (R=Recycle solvent).The functional groups, phase, surface texture and the elemental composition of the M-HA nanoparticles were evaluated by advance characterization methods. The physicochemical results of the current work authoritative the successful uses of the novel (ChCl-TU) DESs as eco-friendly recuperate and give the medium for the preparation of M-HA nanoparticles. Moreover, the as-synthesized both M-HA nanoparticles exhibit excellent biocompatibility, consisting of cell co-cultivation and cell adhesion, in vivo according to surgical implantation of Wistar rats. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopic Study on Eu 2+ and Sr 2+ Using Liquid Metal Cathodes in Molten Chlorides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumiya, Masahiko; Takagi, Ryuzo

2000-08-01

For the pyrochemical reprocessing of spent metallic nuclear fuels in molten salt baths it is important to investigate the behavior of the electrochemically negative elements Eu and Sr, which are significant fission products. Voltammetric and chronopotentiometric studies have shown that the reduction of Eu 2+ and Sr 2+ on liquid Pb cathodes in molten chloride baths at 1073 K follows the alloy formation reaction: Eu 2+ + 2e- + 3Pb → EuPb 3 and Sr 2+ + 2e- + 3Pb → SrPb 3 . In the present work these alloy formation reactions were studiedby electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Analysis of the spectra showed that the electronic exchange of Eu 2+ /Eu and Sr 2+ /Sr is quasi-re-versible. Moreover, the experimental results allowed the determination of the kinetic parameters of EU 2+ /EU and Sr 2+ /Sr, the diffusion coefficients of these species in molten chloride baths, and also the diffusion layer thickness.

Production of Bulk and Fiber Glass in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tucker, Dennis S.; Whitaker, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The production of bulk glass and fiber glass in space and on the moon and Mars should lead to superior products. Specifically glass plates for windows and optical elements could be produced with theoretical strengths by production in vacuum. Water vapor is known to decrease glass strength by up to two orders of magnitude from theoretical. A low gravity glass plate apparatus prototype has been designed and built which uses centrifugal force to shape the glass and solar energy to melt the glass. Glass fiber could be produced on the moon or Mars from in-situ materials using standard technologies. This material could then be used as reinforcement in composite materials in construction of bases. Also, it has been shown that processing in reduced gravity suppresses crystallization in certain heavy metal fluoride glasses. It is proposed to reprocess optical fiber preforms on the space station and then pull these into optical fiber. It is estimated that the attenuation coefficient should be reduced by two orders of magnitude.

Compact acoustic refrigerator

DOEpatents

Bennett, G.A.

1992-11-24

A compact acoustic refrigeration system actively cools components, e.g., electrical circuits, in a borehole environment. An acoustic engine includes first thermodynamic elements for generating a standing acoustic wave in a selected medium. An acoustic refrigerator includes second thermodynamic elements located in the standing wave for generating a relatively cold temperature at a first end of the second thermodynamic elements and a relatively hot temperature at a second end of the second thermodynamic elements. A resonator volume cooperates with the first and second thermodynamic elements to support the standing wave. To accommodate the high heat fluxes required for heat transfer to/from the first and second thermodynamic elements, first heat pipes transfer heat from the heat load to the second thermodynamic elements and second heat pipes transfer heat from first and second thermodynamic elements to the borehole environment. 18 figs.

Structure and Thermochemistry of Perrhenate Sodalite and Mixed Guest Perrhenate/Pertechnetate Sodalite

DOE PAGES

Pierce, Eric M.; Lilova, Kristina; Missimer, David M.; ...

2016-12-05

Here we report that treatment and immobilization of technetium-99 ( 99Tc) contained in reprocessed nuclear waste and present in contaminated subsurface systems represents a major environmental challenge. One potential approach to managing this highly mobile and long-lived radionuclide is immobilization into micro- and meso-porous crystalline solids, specifically sodalite. We synthesized and characterized the structure of perrhenate sodalite, Na 8[AlSiO 4]6(ReO 4) 2, and the structure of a mixed guest perrhenate/pertechnetate sodalite, Na 8[AlSiO 4] 6(ReO 4) 2-x(TcO 4) x. Perrhenate was used as a chemical analogue for pertechnetate. Bulk analyses of each solid confirm a cubic sodalite-type structure (Pmore » $$\\overline{43}$$n, No. 218 space group) with rhenium and technetium in the 7+ oxidation state. High-resolution nanometer scale characterization measurements provide first-of-a-kind evidence that the ReO 4 – anions are distributed in a periodic array in the sample, nanoscale clustering is not observed, and the ReO 4 – anion occupies the center of the sodalite β-cage in Na8[AlSiO4]6(ReO4)2. We also demonstrate, for the first time, that the TcO4– anion can be incorporated into the sodalite structure. Lastly, thermochemistry measurements for the perrhenate sodalite were used to estimate the thermochemistry of pertechnetate sodalite based on a relationship between ionic potential and the enthalpy and Gibbs free energy of formation for previously measured oxyanion-bearing feldspathoid phases. The results collected in this study suggest that micro- and mesoporous crystalline solids maybe viable candidates for the treatment and immobilization of 99Tc present in reprocessed nuclear waste streams and contaminated subsurface environments.« less

Preparation of NO 2-Aged Silver-Functionalized Silica-Aerogel and Silver Mordenite Samples

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

Jordan, Jacob A.; Bruffey, Stephanie H.

2016-10-01

Reprocessing used nuclear fuel can result in the volatilization of radioactive gaseous species, including 129I, into the various process off-gas streams. In order to comply with US regulatory requirements, plant off-gas streams must be treated to remove the iodine prior to discharging the off-gas into the environment. The performance of available gas removal methods depends not only on the concentration of the volatile radioisotope of interest, but also on other constituents that could be present in the reprocessing off-gas streams. Some of the constituents, such as NOx produced during fuel dissolution, are known to have deleterious effects on the capturemore » performance of silver-based sorbents used for iodine removal. Commercially available reduced silver mordenite (AgZ) has an iodine saturation concentration of 7.0-9.0 wt%, and its iodine sorption capacity is reduced by 20-50% as a result of NO2 aging. Silverfunctionalized silica aerogel (AgAerogel), an alternative for iodine capture, has an initial iodine saturation of 29.0 wt% and its iodine capacity is only reduced by 15% from NO2 aging. Understanding the differences in aging behavior between AgZ and AgAerogel is critical to determining the behavior of these sorbents under realistic off-gas conditions. To assist in future technical studies on this topic, samples of both AgZ and AgAerogel were aged with NO2. In the experiment, 10.2190 g of AgZ and 10.1771 g of AgAerogel were exposed to a static 0.75% NO 2/dry air blend for a period of 28 days. The samples were then removed and stored under argon until needed for future experiments.=« less

Heading Toward Launch with the Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huffman, George J.; Bolvin, David T.; Nelkin, Eric J.; Adler, Robert F.

2012-01-01

The Day-l algorithm for computing combined precipitation estimates in GPM is the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG). We plan for the period of record to encompass both the TRMM and GPM eras, and the coverage to extend to fully global as experience is gained in the difficult high-latitude environment. IMERG is being developed as a unified U.S. algorithm that takes advantage of strengths in the three groups that are contributing expertise: 1) the TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), which addresses inter-satellite calibration of precipitation estimates and monthly scale combination of satellite and gauge analyses; 2) the CPC Morphing algorithm with Kalman Filtering (KF-CMORPH), which provides quality-weighted time interpolation of precipitation patterns following cloud motion; and 3) the Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks using a Cloud Classification System (PERSIANN-CCS), which provides a neural-network-based scheme for generating microwave-calibrated precipitation estimates from geosynchronous infrared brightness temperatures. In this talk we summarize the major building blocks and important design issues driven by user needs and practical data issues. One concept being pioneered by the IMERG team is that the code system should produce estimates for the same time period but at different latencies to support the requirements of different groups of users. Another user requirement is that all these runs must be reprocessed as new IMERG versions are introduced. IMERG's status at meeting time will be summarized, and the processing scenario in the transition from TRMM to GPM will be laid out. Initially, IMERG will be run with TRMM-based calibration, and then a conversion to a GPM-based calibration will be employed after the GPM sensor products are validated. A complete reprocessing will be computed, which will complete the transition from TMPA.

Enhanced electroanalysis in lithium potassium eutectic (LKE) using microfabricated square microelectrodes.

PubMed

Corrigan, Damion K; Blair, Ewen O; Terry, Jonathan G; Walton, Anthony J; Mount, Andrew R

2014-11-18

Molten salts (MSs) are an attractive medium for chemical and electrochemical processing and as a result there is demand for MS-compatible analysis technologies. However, MSs containing redox species present a challenging environment in which to perform analytical measurements because of their corrosive nature, significant thermal convection and the high temperatures involved. This paper outlines the fabrication and characterization of microfabricated square microelectrodes (MSMs) designed for electrochemical analysis in MS systems. Their design enables precise control over electrode dimension, the minimization of stress because of differential thermal expansion through design for high temperature operation, and the minimization of corrosive attack through effective insulation. The exemplar MS system used for characterization was lithium chloride/potassium chloride eutectic (LKE), which has potential applications in pyrochemical nuclear fuel reprocessing, metal refining, molten salt batteries and electric power cells. The observed responses for a range of redox ions between 400 and 500 °C (673 and 773 K) were quantitative and typical of microelectrodes. MSMs also showed the reduced iR drop, steady-state diffusion-limited response, and reduced sensitivity to convection seen for microelectrodes under ambient conditions and expected for these electrodes in comparison to macroelectrodes. Diffusion coefficients were obtained in close agreement with literature values, more readily and at greater precision and accuracy than both macroelectrode and previous microelectrode measurements. The feasibility of extracting individual physical parameters from mixtures of redox species (as required in reprocessing) and of the prolonged measurement required for online monitoring was also demonstrated. Together, this demonstrates that MSMs provide enhanced electrode devices widely applicable to the characterization of redox species in a range of MS systems.

X-Ray Reprocessing in Active Galactic Nuclei

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Begelman, Mitchell C.

2004-01-01

This is the final report for research entitled "X-ray reprocessing in active galactic nuclei," into X-ray absorption and emission in various classes of active galaxy via X-ray spectral signatures. The fundamental goal of the research was to use these signatures as probes of the central engine structure and circumnuclear environment of active galactic nuclei. The most important accomplishment supported by this grant involved the detailed analysis and interpretation of the XMM data for the bright Seyfert 1 galaxy MCG-6-30-15. This work was performed by Drs. Christopher Reynolds and Mitchell Begelman in collaboration with Dr. Jorn Wilms (University of Tubingen, Germany; PI of the XMM observation) and other European scientists. With XMM we obtained medium resolution X-ray spectra of unprecedented quality for this Seyfert galaxy. Modeling the X-ray spectrum within the framework of accretion disk reflection models produced the first evidence for energy extraction from the spin of a black hole. Specifically, we found that the extreme gravitational redshifts required to explain the X-ray spectrum suggests that the bulk of the energy dissipation is concentrated very close to the black hole, in contrast with the expectations of any pure accretion disk model. In a second paper we addressed the low- energy spectral complexity and used RXTE specta to pin down the high-energy spectral index, thus firming up our initial interpretation. Additionally, we carried out detailed spectral and variability analyses of a number of Seyfert and radio galaxies (e.g., NGC 5548 and 3C 111) and developed general techniques that will be useful in performing X-ray reverberation mapping of accretion disks in AGN, once adequate data becomes available. A list of papers supported by this research is included.

Spectral energy distributions of T Tauri stars - Disk flaring and limits on accretion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kenyon, S. J.; Hartmann, L.

1987-01-01

The Adams et al. (1987) conclusion that much of the IR excess emission in the spectral energy distribution of T Tauri stars arises from reprocessing of stellar radiation by a dusty circumstellar disk is presently supported by analyses conducted in light of various models of these stars' spectra. A low mass reprocessing disk can, however, produce these spectra as well as a massive accretion disk. The detection of possible boundary layer radiation in the optical and near-UV regions poses the strongest limits on accretion rates. Disk accretion in the T Tauri phase does not significantly modify stellar evolution.

Method for reprocessing and separating spent nuclear fuels. [Patent application

DOEpatents

Krikorian, O.H.; Grens, J.Z.; Parrish, W.H. Sr.

1982-01-19

Spent nuclear fuels, including actinide fuels, volatile and nonvolatile fission products, are reprocessed and separated in a molten metal solvent housed in a separation vessel made of a carbon-containing material. A first catalyst, which promotes the solubility and permeability of carbon in the metal solvent, is included. By increasing the solubility and permeability of the carbon in the solvent, the rate at which actinide oxides are reduced (carbothermic reduction) is greatly increased. A second catalyst, included to increase the affinity for nitrogen in the metal solvent, is added to increase the rate at which actinide nitrides form after carbothermic reduction is complete.

The Development of a Quality Management Framework for Evaluating Medical Device Reprocessing Practice in Healthcare Facilities.

PubMed

Lorv, Bailey; Horodyski, Robin; Welton, Cynthia; Vail, John; Simonetto, Luca; Jokanovic, Danilo; Sharma, Richa; Mahoney, Angela Rea; Savoy-Bird, Shay; Bains, Shalu

2017-01-01

There is increasing awareness of the importance of medical device reprocessing (MDR) for the provision of safe patient care. Although industry service standards are available to guide MDR practices, there remains a lack of published key performance indicators (KPIs) and targets that are necessary to evaluate MDR quality for feedback and improvement. This article outlines the development of an initial framework that builds on established guidelines and includes service standards, KPIs and targets for evaluating MDR operations. This framework can support healthcare facilities in strengthening existing practices and enables a platform for collaboration towards better MDR performance management.

Container for reprocessing and permanent storage of spent nuclear fuel assemblies

DOEpatents

Forsberg, Charles W.

1992-01-01

A single canister process container for reprocessing and permanent storage of spent nuclear fuel assemblies comprising zirconium-based cladding and fuel, which process container comprises a collapsible container, having side walls that are made of a high temperature alloy and an array of collapsible support means wherein the container is capable of withstanding temperature necessary to oxidize the zirconium-based cladding and having sufficient ductility to maintain integrity when collapsed under pressure. The support means is also capable of maintaining their integrity at temperature necessary to oxide the zirconium-based cladding. The process container also has means to introduce and remove fluids to and from the container.

Treatment fidelity and research on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

PubMed

Rosen, G M

1999-01-01

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing was introduced by Frances Shapiro (1989) as a treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. When controlled studies failed to support the extraordinarily positive findings and claims made by Shapiro, proponents of EMDR raised the issue of treatment fidelity and criticized researchers for being inadequately trained. This paper considers the issues raised by EMDR proponents. It is concluded that treatment fidelity has been used as a specious, distracting issue that permits the continued promotion of EMDR in the face of negative empirical findings. Clinical psychologists are urged to remember the basic tenets of science when evaluating extraordinary claims made for novel techniques.

Implementing the SOHN-endorsed AORN guidelines for reprocessing reusable upper airway endoscopes.

PubMed

Rudy, Susan F; Adams, Jan; Waddington, Carolyn

2012-01-01

This is a companion paper to two previous publications on recommended practices for cleaning and reprocessing flexible endoscopes used in Otolaryngology (Burlingame, Arcilla, & McDermott, 2008; Adams & Baker, 2010). In this paper we capture and expand upon the audience question and answer session in which the Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head-Neck Nurse (SOHN)--endorsed the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) recommended practices were presented to the SOHN membership (Adams & Waddington, September, 2010). We include additional background information to assist readers in understanding some of the science behind the recommendations and share successful implementation strategies from Otorhinolaryngology (ORL) outpatient nurses and published references.

Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy integrated with systematic desensitization, cognitive behavioral therapy combined with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy combined with virtual reality exposure therapy methods in the treatment of flight anxiety: a randomized trial.

PubMed

Triscari, Maria Teresa; Faraci, Palmira; Catalisano, Dario; D'Angelo, Valerio; Urso, Viviana

2015-01-01

The purpose of the research was to compare the effectiveness of the following treatment methods for fear of flying: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) integrated with systematic desensitization, CBT combined with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, and CBT combined with virtual reality exposure therapy. Overall, our findings have proven the efficacy of all interventions in reducing fear of flying in a pre- to post-treatment comparison. All groups showed a decrease in flight anxiety, suggesting the efficiency of all three treatments in reducing self-report measures of fear of flying. In particular, our results indicated significant improvements for the treated patients using all the treatment programs, as shown not only by test scores but also by participation in the post-treatment flight. Nevertheless, outcome measures maintained a significant effect at a 1-year follow-up. In conclusion, combining CBT with both the application of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing treatment and the virtual stimuli used to expose patients with aerophobia seemed as efficient as traditional cognitive behavioral treatments integrated with systematic desensitization.

Flowsheet Analysis of U-Pu Co-Crystallization Process as a New Reprocessing System

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

Shunji Homma; Jun-ichi Ishii; Jiro Koga

2006-07-01

A new fuel reprocessing system by U-Pu co-crystallization process is proposed and examined by flowsheet analysis. This reprocessing system is based on the fact that hexavalent plutonium in nitric acid solution is co-crystallized with uranyl nitrate, whereas it is not crystallized when uranyl nitrate does not exist in the solution. The system consists of five steps: dissolution of spent fuel, plutonium oxidation, U-Pu co-crystallization as a co-decontamination, re-dissolution of the crystals, and U re-crystallization as a U-Pu separation. The system requires a recycling of the mother liquor from the U-Pu co-crystallization step and the appropriate recycle ratio is determined bymore » flowsheet analysis such that the satisfactory decontamination is achieved. Further flowsheet study using four different compositions of LWR spent fuels demonstrates that the constant ratio of plutonium to uranium in mother liquor from the re-crystallization step is achieved for every composition by controlling the temperature. It is also demonstrated by comparing to the Purex process that the size of the plant based on the proposed system is significantly reduced. (authors)« less

Records of wells, test borings, and some measured geologic sections near the Western New York Nuclear Service Center, Cattaraugus County, New York

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bergeron, M.P.

1985-01-01

The Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC) is a 3 ,336-acre tract of land in northern Cattaraugus County, NY, about 30 mi south of Buffalo. In 1963, 247 acres within the WNYNSC was developed for a nuclear-fuel reprocessing plant and ancillary facilities, including (1) a receiving and storage facility to store fuel prior to reprocessing, (2) underground storage tanks for liquid high-level radioactive wastes from fuel reprocessing, (3) a low-level wastewater treatment plant, and (4) two burial grounds for shallow burial of solid radioactive waste. A series of geologic and hydrologic investigations was done as part of the initial development and construction of the facilities by numerous agencies during 1960-62; these produced a large quantity of well data, some of which are difficult to locate or obtain. This report is a compilation of well and boring data collected during this period. The data include records of 236 wells, geologic logs of 145 wells and 167 test borings, and descriptions of 20 measured geologic sections. Two oversized maps show locations of the reported data. (USGS)

25 years of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): The EMDR therapy protocol, hypotheses of its mechanism of action and a systematic review of its efficacy in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

PubMed

Novo Navarro, Patricia; Landin-Romero, Ramón; Guardiola-Wanden-Berghe, Rocio; Moreno-Alcázar, Ana; Valiente-Gómez, Alicia; Lupo, Walter; García, Francisca; Fernández, Isabel; Pérez, Víctor; Amann, Benedikt L

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a relatively new psychotherapy that has gradually gained popularity for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. In the present work, the standardised EMDR protocol is introduced, along with current hypotheses of its mechanism of action, as well as a critical review of the available literature on its clinical effectiveness in adult post-traumatic stress disorder. A systematic review of the published literature was performed using PubMed and PsycINFO databases with the keywords «eye movement desensitization and reprocessing» and «post-traumatic stress disorder» and its abbreviations «EMDR» and «PTSD». Fifteen randomised controlled trials of good methodological quality were selected. These studies compared EMDR with unspecific interventions, waiting lists, or specific therapies. Overall, the results of these studies suggest that EMDR is a useful, evidence-based tool for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, in line with recent recommendations from different international health organisations. Copyright © 2016 SEP y SEPB. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Reprocessing and Recycling of Highly Cross-Linked Ion-Conducting Networks through Transalkylation Exchanges of C-N Bonds.

PubMed

Obadia, Mona M; Mudraboyina, Bhanu P; Serghei, Anatoli; Montarnal, Damien; Drockenmuller, Eric

2015-05-13

Exploiting exchangeable covalent bonds as dynamic cross-links recently afforded a new class of polymer materials coined as vitrimers. These permanent networks are insoluble and infusible, but the network topology can be reshuffled at high temperatures, thus enabling glasslike plastic deformation and reprocessing without depolymerization. We disclose herein the development of functional and high-value ion-conducting vitrimers that take inspiration from poly(ionic liquid)s. Tunable networks with high ionic content are obtained by the solvent- and catalyst-free polyaddition of an α-azide-ω-alkyne monomer and simultaneous alkylation of the resulting poly(1,2,3-triazole)s with a series of difunctional cross-linking agents. Temperature-induced transalkylation exchanges of C-N bonds between 1,2,3-triazolium cross-links and halide-functionalized dangling chains enable recycling and reprocessing of these highly cross-linked permanent networks. They can also be recycled by depolymerization with specific solvents able to displace the transalkylation equilibrium, and they display a great potential for applications that require solid electrolytes with excellent mechanical performances and facile processing such as supercapacitors, batteries, fuel cells, and separation membranes.

Role of Clinical Endoscopy in Emphasizing Endoscope Disinfection

PubMed Central

Ryu, Ji Kon; Kim, Eun Young; Kwon, Kwang An; Choi, Il Ju

2015-01-01

Based on the unexpected Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in Korea, it was established that the virus can spread easily, MERS exposure in hospitals carries an extreme risk for infection as well as mortality, and the sharing of information was essential for infection control. Although the incidence of exogenous infections related to contaminated endoscopes is very low, the majority of published outbreaks have been caused by various shortcomings in reprocessing procedures, including insufficient training or awareness. Ever since the inauguration of "Clinical Endoscopy" as an English-language journal of the Korean Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in 2011, it has published several articles on disinfection of the endoscope and its accessories. Many Science Citation Index journals have also emphasized high-level disinfection of the gastrointestinal endoscope. Many papers have been produced specifically, since the outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in 2013. The recent review papers concluded that quality control is the most important issue among all the aspects of procedural care, including the efficiency of the gastrointestinal endoscopy unit and reprocessing room. Thorough reprocessing of endoscopes using high-level disinfection and sterilization methods may be essential for reducing the risk of infection. PMID:26473114

Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy integrated with systematic desensitization, cognitive behavioral therapy combined with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy combined with virtual reality exposure therapy methods in the treatment of flight anxiety: a randomized trial

PubMed Central

Triscari, Maria Teresa; Faraci, Palmira; Catalisano, Dario; D’Angelo, Valerio; Urso, Viviana

2015-01-01

The purpose of the research was to compare the effectiveness of the following treatment methods for fear of flying: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) integrated with systematic desensitization, CBT combined with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, and CBT combined with virtual reality exposure therapy. Overall, our findings have proven the efficacy of all interventions in reducing fear of flying in a pre- to post-treatment comparison. All groups showed a decrease in flight anxiety, suggesting the efficiency of all three treatments in reducing self-report measures of fear of flying. In particular, our results indicated significant improvements for the treated patients using all the treatment programs, as shown not only by test scores but also by participation in the post-treatment flight. Nevertheless, outcome measures maintained a significant effect at a 1-year follow-up. In conclusion, combining CBT with both the application of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing treatment and the virtual stimuli used to expose patients with aerophobia seemed as efficient as traditional cognitive behavioral treatments integrated with systematic desensitization. PMID:26504391

Conceptual designs of NDA instruments for the NRTA system at the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant

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

Li, T.K.; Klosterbuer, S.F.; Menlove, H.O.

The authors are studying conceptual designs of selected nondestructive assay (NDA) instruments for the near-real-time accounting system at the rokkasho Reprocessing Plant (RRP) of Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL). The JNFL RRP is a large-scale commercial reprocessing facility for spent fuel from boiling-water and pressurized-water reactors. The facility comprises two major components: the main process area to separate and produce purified plutonium nitrate and uranyl nitrate from irradiated reactor spent fuels, and the co-denitration process area to combine and convert the plutonium nitrate and uranyl nitrate into mixed oxide (MOX). The selected NDA instruments for conceptual design studies are themore » MOX-product canister counter, holdup measurement systems for calcination and reduction furnaces and for blenders in the co-denitration process, the isotope dilution gamma-ray spectrometer for the spent fuel dissolver solution, and unattended verification systems. For more effective and practical safeguards and material control and accounting at RRP, the authors are also studying the conceptual design for the UO{sub 3} large-barrel counter. This paper discusses the state-of-the-art NDA conceptual design and research and development activities for the above instruments.« less

Integrated Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for Post-traumatic Stress and Psychotic Symptoms: A Case-Series Study Using Imaginal Reprocessing Strategies

PubMed Central

Keen, Nadine; Hunter, Elaine C. M.; Peters, Emmanuelle

2017-01-01

Despite high rates of trauma in individuals with psychotic symptoms, post-traumatic stress symptoms are frequently overlooked in clinical practice. There is also reluctance to treat post-traumatic symptoms in case the therapeutic procedure of reprocessing the trauma exacerbates psychotic symptoms. Recent evidence demonstrates that it is safe to use reprocessing strategies in this population. However, most published studies have been based on treating post-traumatic symptoms in isolation from psychotic symptoms. The aims of the current case series were to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary effectiveness of integrating cognitive-behavioural approaches for post-traumatic stress and psychotic symptoms into a single protocol. Nine participants reporting distressing psychotic and post-traumatic symptoms were recruited from a specialist psychological therapies service for psychosis. Clients were assessed at five time points (baseline, pre, mid, end of therapy, and at 6+ months of follow-up) by an independent assessor on measures of current symptoms of psychosis, post-traumatic stress, emotional problems, and well-being. Therapy was formulation based and individualised, depending on presenting symptoms and trauma type. It consisted of five broad, flexible phases, and included imaginal reprocessing strategies (reliving and/or rescripting). The intervention was well received, with positive post-therapy feedback and satisfaction ratings. Unusually for this population, no-one dropped out of therapy. Post therapy, all but one (88% of participants) achieved a reliable improvement compared to pre-therapy on at least one outcome measure: post-traumatic symptoms (63%), voices (25%), delusions (50%), depression (50%), anxiety (36%), and well-being (40%). Follow-up assessments were completed by 78% (n = 7) of whom 86% (n = 6) maintained at least one reliable improvement. Rates of improvements following therapy (average of 44% across measures post therapy; 32% at follow-up) were over twice those found during the waiting list period (19%). No participant indicated a reliable worsening of any symptoms during or after therapy. The study shows that an integrative therapy incorporating reprocessing strategies was an acceptable and feasible intervention for this small sample, with promising effectiveness. A randomised controlled trial is warranted to test the efficacy of the intervention for this population. PMID:28620323

Liquid disinfecting and sterilization reprocessors used for flexible endoscopes.

PubMed

1994-06-01

In this issue, we evaluate three liquid disinfecting flexible endoscope reprocessors that can be used with a user-supplied liquid chemical germicide (LCG), primarily for high-level disinfection (HLD). Applying most of the same criteria and test methods, we also evaluated a fourth unit, presented separately, that is marketed as a liquid sterilizing reprocessor and must be used with manufacturer-supplied, single-use containers of LCG. Although the sterilizing unit can be used for rigid endoscopes, surgical instruments, and endoscopic accessories, we evaluated its application to the reprocessing of only flexible endoscopes. Our ratings are based on the following: (1) basic performance, such as compatibility with several different types of endoscopes and LCGs, inclusion of all essential reprocessing phases, and exposure of all endoscope surfaces to the LCG and rinse water; (2) safety, such as ensuring that essential reprocessing phases cannot be skipped or omitted, that personnel exposure to LCG vapors is minimized, and that the reprocessor is unlikely to contaminate the endoscope during reprocessing; and (3) human factors design, such as ease of use and installation. We did not perform microbiological testing to confirm HLD or sterilization by any of the evaluated reprocessors because, with a suitably clean endoscope that is in good condition, no evidence indicates that the LCGs used would not be effective on the surfaces that they contact; also, the results would be unique to the two flexible endoscopes that we used for our testing. We rated all four reprocessors Conditionally Acceptable. The units are Acceptable on the condition that users understand that they cannot be used to process the elevator cable channel of side-viewing duodenoscopes; additional conditions apply only to the liquid disinfecting units. However, if the conditions are met, all four units reduce the likelihood of using a contaminated endoscope on a patient and reduce personnel exposure to the LCG. Selection of a unit will be based on the needs and preferences of the individual healthcare facility. Our ratings also assume that these units will be used according to the manufacturers' instructions and the endoscope's operator's manual. Note that, although the evaluated liquid disinfecting units provide detergent-flushing, post-detergent water-rinse, and post-detergent water-rinse-removal phases, manual cleaning of endoscopes before automatic reprocessing is essential, regardless of which reprocessor is used.

Compliance control with embedded neural elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Venkataraman, S. T.; Gulati, S.

1992-01-01

The authors discuss a control approach that embeds the neural elements within a model-based compliant control architecture for robotic tasks that involve contact with unstructured environments. Compliance control experiments have been performed on actual robotics hardware to demonstrate the performance of contact control schemes with neural elements. System parameters were identified under the assumption that environment dynamics have a fixed nonlinear structure. A robotics research arm, placed in contact with a single degree-of-freedom electromechanical environment dynamics emulator, was commanded to move through a desired trajectory. The command was implemented by using a compliant control strategy.

CM and DM in an ISO R and D Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crowley, Sandra L.

2000-01-01

ISO 9000 - a common buzz word in industry is making inroads to government agencies. The National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) achieved ISO 9001 certification at each of its nine (9) Centers and Headquarters in 1998-1999. NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) was recommended for certification in September 1999. Since then, each of the Centers has been going through the semi-annual surveillance audits. Growing out of the manufacturing industry, successful application of the international quality standard to a research and development (R&D) environment has had its challenges. This paper will address how GRC applied Configuration Management (CM) and Data (or Document) Management (DM) to meet challenges to achieve ISO certification. One of the first challenges was to fit the ISO 9001-1994 elements to the GRC environment. Some of the elements fit well-Management Responsibility (4.1), Internal Audits (4.17), Document and Data Control (4.5). Other elements were not suited or applied easily to the R&D environment-Servicing (4.19), Statistical Techniques (4.20). Since GRC "builds" only one or two items at a time, these elements were considered not applicable to the environment.

Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (NCPS) Fuel Element Testing in the Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Emrich, William J., Jr.

2017-01-01

To support the on-going nuclear thermal propulsion effort, a state-of-the-art non nuclear experimental test setup has been constructed to evaluate the performance characteristics of candidate fuel element materials and geometries in representative environments. The facility to perform this testing is referred to as the Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environment Simulator (NTREES). Last year NTREES was successfully used to satisfy a testing milestone for the Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (NCPS) project and met or exceeded all required objectives.

Accumulation of rare earth elements by siderophore-forming Arthrobacter luteolus isolated from rare earth environment of Chavara, India.

PubMed

Emmanuel, E S Challaraj; Ananthi, T; Anandkumar, B; Maruthamuthu, S

2012-03-01

In this study, Arthrobacter luteolus, isolated from rare earth environment of Chavara (Quilon district, Kerala, India), were found to produce catechol-type siderophores. The bacterial strain accumulated rare earth elements such as samarium and scandium. The siderophores may play a role in the accumulation of rare earth elements. Catecholate siderophore and low-molecular-weight organic acids were found to be present in experiments with Arthrobacter luteolus. The influence of siderophore on the accumulation of rare earth elements by bacteria has been extensively discussed.

The geochemical characteristics and sedimentary environment of abyss and hadal sediments of Yap-trench

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Y.; Wang, M.; Sun, C.; Yang, G.; Ding, H.

2017-12-01

Based on ICP-ES analysis, concentrations of 6 constant elements and 9 trace elements in five sediment columnar samples collected from Yap-trench by the Jiaolong Submersiblein June, 2016, were determined. According to the distribution of elements, the sources of sediment and the implications on sedimentary environment were investigated through the correlation of elements and the ratios between special elements. The results showed that the carbonate compensation depthwas between 4500m and 5000m, and the depth of 5000m should be an ideal condition for the formation of iron and manganese nodules. Based on the ratios of Fe/Al and Ti/Al, and the correlation of elements, we inferred that Yap-trench sediments were mainly derived from biogenic, terrestrial, volcanic and autogenic source. The values of Ni/Co and V/Cr indicated that the depositional environment belongs to the oxidative environment and might have inflow of the Antarctic bottom oxygen-rich water. The high content of Ca in the 371-Yap-S02 station below 4cm indicated that this area should be no large-scale volcanic eruption, and volcanic material in the sediment may come from the Mariana volcanic arc. The Caroline ridge located in the east of Yap-trench keep sinking due to plate subduction.

Development of a conditioning system for the dual-purpose transport and storage cask for spent nuclear fuel from decommissioned Russian submarines

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

Dyer, R.S.; Barnes, E.; Snipes, R.L.

2007-07-01

Russia, stores large quantities of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from submarine and ice-breaker nuclear powered naval vessels. This high-level radioactive material presents a significant threat to the Arctic and marine environments. Much of the SNF from decommissioned Russian nuclear submarines is stored either onboard the submarines or in floating storage vessels in Northwest and Far East Russia. Some of the SNF is damaged, stored in an unstable condition, or of a type that cannot currently be reprocessed. In many cases, the existing Russian transport infrastructure and reprocessing facilities cannot meet the requirements for moving and reprocessing all of this fuelmore » from remote locations. Additional transport and storage options are required. Some of the existing storage facilities being used in Russia do not meet health and safety and physical security requirements. The U.S. has assisted Russia in the development of a new dual-purpose metal-concrete transport and storage cask (TUK-108/1) for their military SNF and assisted them in building several new facilities for off-loading submarine SNF and storing these TUK-108/1 casks. These efforts have reduced the technical, ecological, and security challenges for removal, handling, interim storage, and shipment of this submarine fuel. Currently, Russian licensing limits the storage period of the TUK-108/1 casks to no more than two years before the fuel must be shipped for reprocessing. In order to extend this licensed storage period, a system is required to condition the casks by removing residual water and creating an inert storage environment by backfilling the internal canisters with a noble gas such as argon. The U.S. has assisted Russia in the development of a mobile cask conditioning system for the TUK-108/1 cask. This new conditioning system allows the TUK 108/1 casks to be stored for up to five years after which the license may be considered for renewal for an additional five years or the fuel will be shipped to 'Mayak' for reprocessing. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in cooperation with the U.S. DOD Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR), and the DOE's ORNL, along with the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment, worked closely with the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation (RF) to develop an improved integrated management system for interim storage of military SNF in Russia. The initial Project activities included: (1) development of a prototype dual-purpose, metal-concrete 40-ton cask for both the transport and interim storage of RF SNF, and (2) development of the first transshipment/interim storage facility for these casks in Murmansk. The U.S. has continued support to the project by assisting the RF with the development of the first mobile system that provides internal conditioning for the TUK-108/1 casks to allow them to be stored for longer than the current licensing period of two years. Development of the prototype TUK-108/1 cask was completed in December 2000 under the Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEC) Program. This was the first metal-concrete cask developed, licensed, and produced in the RF for both the transportation and storage of SNF from decommissioned submarines. These casks are currently being serially produced in NW Russia and 108 casks have been produced to date. Russia is using these casks for the transport and interim storage of military SNF from decommissioned nuclear submarines at naval installations in the Arctic and Far East in conformance with the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II). The design, construction, and commissioning of the first transshipment/interim storage facility in the RF was completed and ready for full operation in September 2003. Because of the RF government reorganization and changing regulations for spent fuel storage facilities, the storage facility at Murmansk was not fully licensed for operation until December 2005. The RF has reported that the facility is now fully operational. The TUK-108/1 SNF transport and storage casks were designed to have a 50-year storage life. Current RF practice is not to condition the submarine SNF or cask during the cask loading. Current RF regulations allow up to 4 mm of residual water (up to 3.2 liters) to remain in the casks. It has been determined that allowing this amount of residual water to remain untreated for a period longer than two years can produce hydrogen gas through hydrolysis which will increase the risk of explosion and could cause some corrosion of internal components. A solution to this problem was to develop and utilize a cask conditioning system to remove the residual water and create an inert storage environment in the cask by back-filling the internal cask cavity with an inert gas, such as helium or argon. This system is compatible with the existing TUK-108/1 design and is mobile for use at multiple submarine dismantlement sites. The RF has required that this cask conditioning system be tested and commissioned at the 'Zvezda' Shipyard in the Far East near Vladivostok, one of the major RF submarine fuel off loading and storage facilities. Currently, the fuel cannot be transferred to 'Mayak' for reprocessing until the completion of the 20 km railroad connector between 'Zvezda' and the main rail line to 'Mayak'. The cask conditioning system will allow extension of the currently-stored casks for an additional three years, at which time the rail connector line should be completed. The current license to store these casks at 'Zvezda' was scheduled to expire on 31 Dec 2006. Without the cask-conditioning system, the license could not be extended, no more fuel could be off-loaded from the decommissioned submarines, and the START objectives could not be met at 'Zvezda'. Completion of this cask conditioning system has removed a significant bottleneck for the completion of the Russian submarine decommissioning program under the START II Agreement. (authors)« less

Do the physical and environment PETTLEP elements predict sport imagery ability?

PubMed

Anuar, Nurwina; Williams, Sarah E; Cumming, Jennifer

2017-11-01

The present study aimed to examine whether physical and environment elements of PETTLEP imagery relate to the ability to image five types of sport imagery (i.e. skill, strategy, goal, affect and mastery). Two hundred and ninety participants (152 males, 148 females; M age  = 20.24 years, SD = 4.36) from various sports completed the Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire (SIAQ), and a set of items designed specifically for the study to assess how frequently participants incorporate physical (e.g. 'I make small movements or gestures during the imagery') and environment (e.g. 'I image in the real training/competition environment') elements of PETTLEP imagery. Structural equation modelling tested a hypothesised model in which imagery priming (i.e. the best fitting physical and environment elements) significantly and positively predicted imagery ability of the different imagery types (skill, β = 0.38; strategy, β = 0.23; goal, β = 0.21; affect, β = 0.25; mastery, β = 0.22). The model was a good fit to the data: χ 2 (174) = 263.87, p < .001, CFI = .96, TLI = .95, SRMR = .09, RMSEA = 0.05 (90% CI = 0.03-0.05). Findings displayed that priming imagery with physical and environment elements is associated with better skill, strategy, goal, affect and mastery imagery ability. The findings extend models of imagery use by indicating that how athletes images may influence their imagery ability.

Integration of Experiments across Diverse Environments Identifies the Genetic Determinants of Variation in Sorghum bicolor Seed Element Composition.

PubMed

Shakoor, Nadia; Ziegler, Greg; Dilkes, Brian P; Brenton, Zachary; Boyles, Richard; Connolly, Erin L; Kresovich, Stephen; Baxter, Ivan

2016-04-01

Seedling establishment and seed nutritional quality require the sequestration of sufficient element nutrients. The identification of genes and alleles that modify element content in the grains of cereals, including sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), is fundamental to developing breeding and selection methods aimed at increasing bioavailable element content and improving crop growth. We have developed a high-throughput work flow for the simultaneous measurement of multiple elements in sorghum seeds. We measured seed element levels in the genotyped Sorghum Association Panel, representing all major cultivated sorghum races from diverse geographic and climatic regions, and mapped alleles contributing to seed element variation across three environments by genome-wide association. We observed significant phenotypic and genetic correlation between several elements across multiple years and diverse environments. The power of combining high-precision measurements with genome-wide association was demonstrated by implementing rank transformation and a multilocus mixed model to map alleles controlling 20 element traits, identifying 255 loci affecting the sorghum seed ionome. Sequence similarity to genes characterized in previous studies identified likely causative genes for the accumulation of zinc, manganese, nickel, calcium, and cadmium in sorghum seeds. In addition to strong candidates for these five elements, we provide a list of candidate loci for several other elements. Our approach enabled the identification of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in strong linkage disequilibrium with causative polymorphisms that can be evaluated in targeted selection strategies for plant breeding and improvement. © 2016 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

Techniques for Unifying Disparate Elements in an EOS Instrument's Product Generation System Development Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murray, Alex; Eng, Bjorn; Leff, Craig; Schwarz, Arnold

1997-01-01

In the development environment for ASTER level II product generation system, techniques have been incorporated to allow automated information sharing among all system elements, and to enable the use of sound software engineering techniques in the scripting languages.

Method and program product for determining a radiance field in an optical environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinersman, Phillip N. (Inventor); Carder, Kendall L. (Inventor)

2007-01-01

A hybrid method is presented by which Monte Carlo techniques are combined with iterative relaxation techniques to solve the Radiative Transfer Equation in arbitrary one-, two- or three-dimensional optical environments. The optical environments are first divided into contiguous regions, or elements, with Monte Carlo techniques then being employed to determine the optical response function of each type of element. The elements are combined, and the iterative relaxation techniques are used to determine simultaneously the radiance field on the boundary and throughout the interior of the modeled environment. This hybrid model is capable of providing estimates of the under-water light field needed to expedite inspection of ship hulls and port facilities. It is also capable of providing estimates of the subaerial light field for structured, absorbing or non-absorbing environments such as shadows of mountain ranges within and without absorption spectral bands such as water vapor or CO.sub.2 bands.

Compact acoustic refrigerator

DOEpatents

Bennett, Gloria A.

1992-01-01

A compact acoustic refrigeration system actively cools components, e.g., electrical circuits (22), in a borehole environment. An acoustic engine (12, 14) includes first thermodynamic elements (12) for generating a standing acoustic wave in a selected medium. An acoustic refrigerator (16, 26, 28) includes second thermodynamic elements (16) located in the standing wave for generating a relatively cold temperature at a first end of the second thermodynamic elements (16) and a relatively hot temperature at a second end of the second thermodynamic elements (16). A resonator volume (18) cooperates with the first and second thermodynamic elements (12, 16) to support the standing wave. To accommodate the high heat fluxes required for heat transfer to/from the first and second thermodynamic elements (12, 16), first heat pipes (24, 26) transfer heat from the heat load (22) to the second thermodynamic elements (16) and second heat pipes (28, 32) transfer heat from first and second thermodynamic elements (12, 16) to the borehole environment.

Associations between home environment and after-school physical activity and sedentary time among 6th grade children

PubMed Central

Lau, Erica Y; Barr-Anderson, Daheia J; Dowda, Marsha; Forthofer, Melinda; Saunders, Ruth P; Pate, Russell R

2015-01-01

This study examined associations of various elements of the home environment with after-school physical activity and sedentary time in 671 sixth-grade children (Mage = 11.49 ± 0.5 years). Children’s after-school total physical activity (TPA), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time were measured by accelerometry. Parents completed surveys assessing elements of the home social and physical environment. Mixed-model regression analyses were used to examine the associations between each element of the home environment and children’s after-school physical activity and sedentary time. Availability of home physical activity resources was associated positively with after-school TPA and negatively with after-school sedentary time in boys. Parental support was associated positively with after-school TPA and MVPA and negatively with after-school sedentary time in girls. The home physical environment was associated with boys’ after-school physical activity and sedentary time, whereas the home social environment was associated with girls’ after-school physical activity and sedentary time. PMID:25386734

Environmental Psychology Effects on Mental Health Job Satisfaction and Personal Well Being of Nurses.

PubMed

Tavakkoli, Sodeh; Asaadi, Mohammad Mahdy; Pakpour, Amir H; Hajiaghababaei, Marzieh

2015-06-01

Environmental psychology as a science could be useful in understanding the dissociation between the man and the environment. The aim of this study was to compare mental health, job satisfaction and well-being of nurses who work in hospital environments with different designs. This was a quasi-experimental study, in which 250 nurses filled out the mental health, well-being and job satisfaction questionnaires. They were categorized into 3 groups randomly. Group1 included 63 nurses who worked in an environment without any natural elements; group 2 included 100 nurses who worked in an environment with natural elements and group 3 included 87 nurses who worked in an environment without any psychological and ergonomic design. The last group was only stimulated by demonstrating visual stimulus. Data were analyzed using the ANOVA and Tukey's pursuit statistical method. The nurses who were working in an environment without any natural elements reported significantly lower scores on mental health, well-being and job satisfaction compared to those who were working in other groups, with the exception of social functioning. Moreover, depression and anxiety were more common in nurses who were working in environments without any natural elements compared to those in the other groups (p<0.05). We can increase job satisfaction, and mental health and well-being of the nurses through the use of natural design and environmental psychology indexes in hospital buildings.

Comparative genome analysis of 52 fish species suggests differential associations of repetitive elements with their living aquatic environments.

PubMed

Yuan, Zihao; Liu, Shikai; Zhou, Tao; Tian, Changxu; Bao, Lisui; Dunham, Rex; Liu, Zhanjiang

2018-02-13

Repetitive elements make up significant proportions of genomes. However, their roles in evolution remain largely unknown. To provide insights into the roles of repetitive elements in fish genomes, we conducted a comparative analysis of repetitive elements of 52 fish species in 22 orders in relation to their living aquatic environments. The proportions of repetitive elements in various genomes were found to be positively correlated with genome sizes, with a few exceptions. More importantly, there appeared to be specific enrichment between some repetitive element categories with species habitat. Specifically, class II transposons appear to be more abundant in freshwater bony fish than in marine bony fish when phylogenetic relationship is not considered. In contrast, marine bony fish harbor more tandem repeats than freshwater species. In addition, class I transposons appear to be more abundant in primitive species such as cartilaginous fish and lamprey than in bony fish. The enriched association of specific categories of repetitive elements with fish habitats suggests the importance of repetitive elements in genome evolution and their potential roles in fish adaptation to their living environments. However, due to the restriction of the limited sequenced species, further analysis needs to be done to alleviate the phylogenetic biases.

High-Performance, Radiation-Hardened Electronics for Space and Lunar Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Keys, Andrew S.; Adams, James H.; Cressler, John D.; Darty, Ronald C.; Johnson, Michael A.; Patrick, Marshall C.

2008-01-01

The Radiation Hardened Electronics for Space Environments (RHESE) project develops advanced technologies needed for high performance electronic devices that will be capable of operating within the demanding radiation and thermal extremes of the space, lunar, and Martian environment. The technologies developed under this project enhance and enable avionics within multiple mission elements of NASA's Vision for Space Exploration. including the Constellation program's Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. the Lunar Lander project, Lunar Outpost elements, and Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) elements. This paper provides an overview of the RHESE project and its multiple task tasks, their technical approaches, and their targeted benefits as applied to NASA missions.

Summary of the Forty-Fifth NCRP annual meeting on "the future of nuclear power worldwide: safety, health and the environment".

PubMed

Corradini, Michael

2011-01-01

The role of nuclear power as a major resource in meeting the projected growth of electric power requirements in the United States and worldwide during the 21st century is a subject of great contemporary interest. The goal of the 2009 NCRP Annual Meeting was to provide a forum for an in-depth discussion of issues related to the safety, health and environmental protection aspects of new nuclear power reactor systems and related fuel-cycle facilities such as fuel production and reprocessing strategies. The meeting was an international conference with participation of almost 400 representatives from many nations, scientific organizations, nuclear industries, and governmental agencies engaged in the development and regulatory control of advanced nuclear reactor systems and fuel-cycle operations. Highlights of the meeting are summarized in this report. Copyright © 2010 Health Physics Society

Dangers associated with civil nuclear power programmes: weaponization and nuclear waste.

PubMed

Boulton, Frank

2015-07-24

The number of nuclear power plants in the world rose exponentially to 420 by 1990 and peaked at 438 in 2002; but by 2014, as closed plants were not replaced, there were just 388. In spite of using more renewable energy, the world still relies on fossil fuels, but some countries plan to develop new nuclear programmes. Spent nuclear fuel, one of the most dangerous and toxic materials known, can be reprocessed into fresh fuel or into weapons-grade materials, and generates large amounts of highly active waste. This article reviews available literature on government and industry websites and from independent analysts on world energy production, the aspirations of the 'new nuclear build' programmes in China and the UK, and the difficulties in keeping the environment safe over an immense timescale while minimizing adverse health impacts and production of greenhouse gases, and preventing weaponization by non-nuclear-weapons states acquiring civil nuclear technology.

Resolving the dusty circumstellar environment of the A[e] supergiant HD 62623 with the VLTI/MIDI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meilland, Antony; Kanaan, Sameer; Fernandes, Marcelo Borges; Chesneau, Olivier; Millour, Florentin; Stee, Philippe; Lopez, Bruno

2011-07-01

HD 62623 is one of the very few A-type supergiants showing the B[e] phenomenon. We studied the geometry of its circumstellar envelope in the mid-infrared using the VLTI/MIDI instrument. Using the radiative transfer code MC3D, we managed to model it as a dusty disk with an inner radius of 3.85 AU, an inclination angle of 60°, and a mass of 2 × 10-7Msolar. It is the first time that the dusty disk inner rim of a supergiant star exhibiting the B[e] phenomenon is significantly constrained. The inner gaseous envelope likely contributes up to 20% to the total N band flux and acts like a reprocessing disk. Finally, the hypothesis of a stellar wind deceleration by the companion gravitational effect remains the most probable case since the bi-stability mechanism is not efficient for this star.

Thermally and chemically responsive nanoporous materials for efficient capture of fission product gases.

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

Stroeve, Pieter; Faller, Roland

The objective of this project was to develop robust, high-efficiency materials for capture of fission product gases such as He, Xe and Kr in scenarios relevant for both reactor fuels and reprocessing operations. The relevant environments are extremely harsh, encompassing temperatures up to 1500 °C, high levels of radiation, as well as potential exposures to highly-reactive chemicals such as nitric acid and organic solvents such as kerosene. The requirement for nanostructured capture materials is driven in part by the very short (few micron) diffusion distances for product gases in nuclear fuel. We achieved synthesis, characterization and detailed modeling of themore » materials. Although not all materials reviewed in this report will be feasible for the ultimate goal of integration in nuclear fuel, nevertheless each material studied has particular properties which will enable an optimized material to be efficiently developed and characterized.« less

Design documentation: Krypton encapsulation preconceptual design

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

Knecht, D.A.

1994-10-01

US EPA regulations limit the release of Krypton-85 to the environment from commercial facilities after January 1, 1983. In order to comply with these regulations, Krypton-85, which would be released during reprocessing of commercial nuclear fuel, must be collected and stored. Technology currently exists for separation of krypton from other inert gases, and for its storage as a compressed gas in steel cylinders. The requirements, which would be imposed for 100-year storage of Krypton-85, have led to development of processes for encapsulation of krypton within a stable solid matrix. The objective of this effort was to provide preconceptual engineering designs,more » technical evaluations, and life cycle costing data for comparison of two alternate candidate processes for encapsulation of Krypton-85. This report has been prepared by The Ralph M. Parsons Company for the US Department of Energy.« less

Container for reprocessing and permanent storage of spent nuclear fuel assemblies

DOEpatents

Forsberg, C.W.

1992-03-24

A single canister process container is described for reprocessing and permanent storage of spent nuclear fuel assemblies comprising zirconium-based cladding and fuel, which process container comprises a collapsible container, having side walls that are made of a high temperature alloy and an array of collapsible support means wherein the container is capable of withstanding temperature necessary to oxidize the zirconium-based cladding and having sufficient ductility to maintain integrity when collapsed under pressure. The support means is also capable of maintaining its integrity at a temperature necessary to oxidize the zirconium-based cladding. The process container also has means to introduce and remove fluids to and from the container. 10 figs.

40 CFR 501.11 - Elements of a sludge management program submission.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 29 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Elements of a sludge management program submission. 501.11 Section 501.11 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SEWAGE SLUDGE STATE SLUDGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM REGULATIONS Development and Submission of State...

DETERMINING THE LARGE-SCALE ENVIRONMENTAL DEPENDENCE OF GAS-PHASE METALLICITY IN DWARF GALAXIES

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

Douglass, Kelly A.; Vogeley, Michael S., E-mail: kelly.a.douglass@drexel.edu

2017-01-10

We study how the cosmic environment affects galaxy evolution in the universe by comparing the metallicities of dwarf galaxies in voids with dwarf galaxies in more dense regions. Ratios of the fluxes of emission lines, particularly those of the forbidden [O iii] and [S ii] transitions, provide estimates of a region’s electron temperature and number density. From these two quantities and the emission line fluxes [O ii] λ 3727, [O iii] λ 4363, and [O iii] λλ 4959, 5007, we estimate the abundance of oxygen with the direct T{sub e}  method. We estimate the metallicity of 42 blue, star-forming voidmore » dwarf galaxies and 89 blue, star-forming dwarf galaxies in more dense regions using spectroscopic observations from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7, as reprocessed in the MPA-JHU value-added catalog. We find very little difference between the two sets of galaxies, indicating little influence from the large-scale environment on their chemical evolution. Of particular interest are a number of extremely metal-poor dwarf galaxies that are less prevalent in voids than in the denser regions.« less

Water Chemistry Control System for Recovery of Damaged and Degraded Spent Fuel

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

Sindelar, R.; Fisher, D.; Thomas, J.

2011-02-18

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the government of Serbia have led the project cosponsored by the U.S, Russia, European Commission, and others to repackage and repatriate approximately 8000 spent fuel elements from the RA reactor fuel storage basins at the VIN?A Institute of Nuclear Sciences to Russia for reprocessing. The repackaging and transportation activities were implemented by a Russian consortium which includes the Sosny Company, Tekhsnabeksport (TENEX) and Mayak Production Association. High activity of the water of the fuel storage basin posed serious risk and challenges to the fuel removal from storage containers and repackaging for transportation. Themore » risk centered on personnel exposure, even above the basin water, due to the high water activity levels caused by Cs-137 leached from fuel elements with failed cladding. A team of engineers from the U.S. DOE-NNSA's Global Threat Reduction Initiative, the Vinca Institute, and the IAEA performed the design, development, and deployment of a compact underwater water chemistry control system (WCCS) to remove the Cs-137 from the basin water and enable personnel safety above the basin water for repackaging operations. Key elements of the WCCS system included filters, multiple columns containing an inorganic sorbent, submersible pumps and flow meters. All system components were designed to be remotely serviceable and replaceable. The system was assembled and successfully deployed at the Vinca basin to support the fuel removal and repackaging activities. Following the successful operations, the Cs-137 is now safely contained and consolidated on the zeolite sorbent used in the columns of the WCCS, and the fuel has been removed from the basins. This paper reviews the functional requirements, design, and deployment of the WCCS.« less

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

Bruffey, Stephanie H.; Jubin, Robert Thomas

U.S. regulations will require the removal of 129I from the off-gas streams of any used nuclear fuel (UNF) reprocessing plant prior to discharge of the off-gas to the environment. The required plant decontamination factor for iodine will vary based on fuel burnup, cooling time, and other factors but is very likely to be >1000 and could be as high as 8000. Multiple off-gas streams within a UNF reprocessing plant combine prior to environmental release, and each of these streams contains some amount of iodine. To achieve the decontamination factors (DFs) that are likely to be required by regulations, iodine removalmore » from the vessel off-gas will be necessary. The vessel off-gas contains iodine at very dilute concentrations (ppb levels), and will also contain water vapor. Iodine species present are likely to include both elemental and organic iodides. There will also be solvent vapors and volatile radiolysis products. The United States has considered the use of silver-based sorbents for removal of iodine from UNF off-gas streams, but little is known about the behavior of those sorbents at very dilute iodine concentrations. The purpose of this study was to expose silver-functionalized silica aerogel (AgAerogel) to a prototypical vessel off-gas stream containing 40 ppb methyl iodide to obtain information about organic iodine capture by silver-sorbents at very low iodine concentrations. The design of this extended duration testing was such that information about the rate of adsorption, the penetration of the iodine species, and the overall system DF could be obtained. Results show that CH 3I penetrates into a AgAerogel sorbent bed to a depth of 3.9 cm under prototypical vessel off-gas conditions. An iodine loading of 22 mg I/g AgAerogel was observed in the first 0.3 cm of the bed. Of the iodine delivered to the system, 48% could not be accounted for, and future efforts will investigate this concern. Direct calculation of the decontamination factor is not possible, as no iodine was observed to break through the sorbent beds. Continued studies on the adsorption of iodine from prototypical vessel off-gas streams by silver-based sorbents will attempt to resolve some of the questions raised here, both regarding mass balance and the effect of aging on iodine adsorption by AgAerogel from a dilute gas stream. Additionally, the adsorption of different iodine species, such as I 2 and C 12H 25I will be studied. Other variables that merit examination are the gas velocity of the test and the dependence of the observed results on the inlet iodine concentration. Finally, longer duration testing should be considered in an effort to determine the mass transfer zone associated with iodine adsorption by AgAerogel under prototypical vessel off-gas conditions. The estimation of mass transfer zone is required for any future industrial implementation.« less

Intertwined Cultural and Relational Environments of Organizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Granados, Francisco J.

2005-01-01

I examine fundamental elements of the cultural and relational environments of the organizations that produce electoral forecasts in the Spanish parliamentary elections. The analysis reveals how these elements shape the interests and decisions in a collectivity of organizations that share a common technology. I investigate the reasons for the…

Measuring perception of elements in outdoor environments

Treesearch

George H. Moeller; Robert MacLachlan; Douglas A. Morrison

1974-01-01

The meanings of 10 concepts that describe elements of natural outdoor environments were measured with the semantic differential technique. Each concept was evaluated on three factors of meaning - evaluation, potency, and activity. Sixty recreationists were surveyed from each of three user groups - campers, picnickers, and wilderness hikers. Similarities and differences...

Evaluating the Existing School Plant. Educational Facilities Digest 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piele, Philip; Wright, Darrell

In general, the guides for evaluating existing school buildings list the various elements of the building and its properties. The elements commonly listed include site, which embraces the adequacy of size, location, and natural environment; internal environment, which is commonly divided into space, visual qualities, thermal qualities, and sonic…

CESAR: A Code for Nuclear Fuel and Waste Characterisation

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

Vidal, J.M.; Grouiller, J.P.; Launay, A.

2006-07-01

CESAR (Simplified Evolution Code Applied to Reprocessing) is a depletion code developed through a joint program between CEA and COGEMA. In the late 1980's, the first use of this code dealt with nuclear measurement at the Laboratories of the La Hague reprocessing plant. The use of CESAR was then extended to characterizations of all entrance materials and for characterisation, via tracer, of all produced waste. The code can distinguish more than 100 heavy nuclides, 200 fission products and 100 activation products, and it can characterise both the fuel and the structural material of the fuel. CESAR can also make depletionmore » calculations from 3 months to 1 million years of cooling time. Between 2003-2005, the 5. version of the code was developed. The modifications were related to the harmonisation of the code's nuclear data with the JEF2.2 nuclear data file. This paper describes the code and explains the extensive use of this code at the La Hague reprocessing plant and also for prospective studies. The second part focuses on the modifications of the latest version, and describes the application field and the qualification of the code. Many companies and the IAEA use CESAR today. CESAR offers a Graphical User Interface, which is very user-friendly. (authors)« less

Effects of Thermonuclear X-Ray Bursts on Non-burst Emissions in the Soft State of 4U 1728–34

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharyya, Sudip; Yadav, J. S.; Sridhar, Navin; Verdhan Chauhan, Jai; Agrawal, P. C.; Antia, H. M.; Pahari, Mayukh; Misra, Ranjeev; Katoch, Tilak; Manchanda, R. K.; Paul, Biswajit

2018-06-01

It has recently been shown that the persistent emission of a neutron star low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) evolves during a thermonuclear (type-I) X-ray burst. The reason of this evolution, however, is not fully known. This uncertainty can introduce significant systematics in the neutron star radius measurement using burst spectra, particularly if an unknown but significant fraction of the burst emission, which is reprocessed, contributes to the changes in the persistent emission during the burst. Here, by analyzing individual burst data of AstroSat/LAXPC from the neutron star LMXB 4U 1728–34 in the soft state, we show that the burst emission is not significantly reprocessed by a corona covering the neutron star. Rather, our analysis suggests that the burst emission enhances the accretion disk emission, possibly by increasing the accretion rate via disk. This enhanced disk emission, which is Comptonized by a corona covering the disk, can explain an increased persistent emission observed during the burst. This finding provides an understanding of persistent emission components and their interaction with the thermonuclear burst emission. Furthermore, as burst photons are not significantly reprocessed, non-burst and burst emissions can be reliably separated, which is required to reduce systematic uncertainties in the stellar radius measurement.

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

Coble, Jamie; Orton, Christopher; Schwantes, Jon

Abstract—The Multi-Isotope Process (MIP) Monitor provides an efficient approach to monitoring the process conditions in used nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities to support process verification and validation. The MIP Monitor applies multivariate analysis to gamma spectroscopy of reprocessing streams in order to detect small changes in the gamma spectrum, which may indicate changes in process conditions. This research extends the MIP Monitor by characterizing a used fuel sample after initial dissolution according to the type of reactor of origin (pressurized or boiling water reactor), initial enrichment, burn up, and cooling time. Simulated gamma spectra were used to develop and test threemore » fuel characterization algorithms. The classification and estimation models employed are based on the partial least squares regression (PLS) algorithm. A PLS discriminate analysis model was developed which perfectly classified reactor type. Locally weighted PLS models were fitted on-the-fly to estimate continuous fuel characteristics. Burn up was predicted within 0.1% root mean squared percent error (RMSPE) and both cooling time and initial enrichment within approximately 2% RMSPE. This automated fuel characterization can be used to independently verify operator declarations of used fuel characteristics and inform the MIP Monitor anomaly detection routines at later stages of the fuel reprocessing stream to improve sensitivity to changes in operational parameters and material diversions.« less

Metal–organic framework with optimally selective xenon adsorption and separation

DOE PAGES

Banerjee, Debasis; Simon, Cory M.; Plonka, Anna M.; ...

2016-06-13

Nuclear energy is considered among the most viable alternatives to our current fossil fuel based energy economy.1 The mass-deployment of nuclear energy as an emissions-free source requires the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel to mitigate the waste.2 One of the major concerns with reprocessing used nuclear fuel is the release of volatile radionuclides such as Xe and Kr. The most mature process for removing these radionuclides is energy- and capital-intensive cryogenic distillation. Alternatively, porous materials such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have demonstrated the ability to selectively adsorb Xe and Kr at ambient conditions.3-8 High-throughput computational screening of large databases ofmore » porous materials has identified a calcium-based nanoporous MOF, SBMOF-1, as the most selective for Xe over Kr.9,10 Here, we affirm this prediction and report that SBMOF-1 exhibits by far the highest Xe adsorption capacity and a remarkable Xe/Kr selectivity under relevant nuclear reprocessing conditions. The exceptional selectivity of SBMOF-1 is attributed to its pore size tailored to Xe and its dense wall of atoms that constructs a binding site with a high affinity for Xe, as evident by single crystal X-ray diffraction and molecular simulation.« less

Synthesis and properties of reprocessable sulfonated polyimides cross-linked via acid stimulation for use as proton exchange membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Boping; Ni, Jiangpeng; Xiang, Xiongzhi; Wang, Lei; Chen, Yongming

2017-01-01

Cross-linked sulfonated polyimides are one of the most promising materials for proton exchange membrane (PEM) applications. However, these cross-linked membranes are difficult to reprocess because they are insoluble. In this study, a series of cross-linkable sulfonated polyimides with flexible pendant alkyl side chains containing trimethoxysilyl groups is successfully synthesized. The cross-linkable polymers are highly soluble in common solvents and can be used to prepare tough and smooth films. Before the cross-linking reaction is complete, the membranes can be reprocessed, and the recovery rate of the prepared films falls within an acceptable range. The cross-linked membranes are obtained rapidly when the cross-linkable membranes are immersed in an acid solution, yielding a cross-linking density of the gel fraction of greater than 90%. The cross-linked membranes exhibit high proton conductivities and tensile strengths under hydrous conditions. Compared with those of pristine membranes, the oxidative and hydrolytic stabilities of the cross-linked membranes are significantly higher. The CSPI-70 membrane shows considerable power density in a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) test. All of these results suggest that the prepared cross-linked membranes have great potential for applications in proton exchange membrane fuel cells.

A New SBUV Ozone Profile Time Series

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McPeters, Richard

2011-01-01

Under NASA's MEaSUREs program for creating long term multi-instrument data sets, our group at Goddard has re-processed ozone profile data from a series of SBUV instruments. We have processed data from the Nimbus 7 SBUV instrument (1979-1990) and data from SBUV/2 instruments on NOAA-9 (1985-1998), NOAA-11 (1989-1995), NOAA-16 (2001-2010), NOAA-17 (2002-2010), and NOAA-18 (2005-2010). This reprocessing uses the version 8 ozone profile algorithm but now uses the Brion, Daumont, and Malicet (BMD) ozone cross sections instead of the Bass and Paur cross sections. The new cross sections have much better resolution, and extended wavelength range, and a more consistent temperature dependence. The re-processing also uses an improved cloud height climatology based on the Raman cloud retrievals of OMI. Finally, the instrument-to-instrument calibration is set using matched scenes so that ozone diurnal variation in the upper stratosphere does not alias into the ozone trands. Where there is no instrument overlap, SAGE and MLS are used to estimate calibration offsets. Preliminary analysis shows a more coherent time series as a function of altitude. The net effect on profile total column ozone is on average an absolute reduction of about one percent. Comparisons with ground-based systems are significantly better at high latitudes.

SSS variability inferred from recent SMOS reprocessing at CATDS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boutin, Jacqueline; Vergely, Jean-Luc; Marchand, Stéphane; Tarot, Stéphane; Hasson, Audrey; Reverdin, Gilles

2017-04-01

The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite mission has monitored sea surface salinity (SSS) over the global ocean for over 7 years. In this poster, we present results obtained at the LOCEAN/ACRI-st expertise center using recent CATDS (Centre Aval de Traitement des Données) SMOS RE05 reprocessing., We find that correction for systematic errors and removal of data contaminated by ice and radio frequency interferences in fresh regions (river mouths, high latitudes) has been improved with respect to SMOS CATDS RE04 reprocessing. We analyze SSS variability as observed by SMOS on a wide range of spatial and temporal scales using various statistical indicators such as mean, median, standard deviation, minimum, maximum values and spectral analysis. We compare them with ARGO interpolated fields (In Situ Analysis System fields) at global scale and with ship SSS transects from the GOSUD and ORE SSS data base. This allows us 1) to demonstrate and quantify the improvement of SMOS SSS fields with respect to earlier versions and 2) to study SSS variability, especially at spatial scales between 50km and 600km not well covered globally by in situ network. The complementarity of this information with respect to SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) SSS fields will be discussed.

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

Green, D.W.; Heinrich, R.R.; Graczyk, D.G.

The ACL activities covered IFR fuel reprocessing, corium-concrete interactions, environmental samples, wastes, WIPP support, Advanced Photon Source, H-Tc superconductors, EBWR vessel, soils, illegal drug detection, quality control, etc.

Surveillance cultures of samples obtained from biopsy channels and automated endoscope reprocessors after high-level disinfection of gastrointestinal endoscopes

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The instrument channels of gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopes may be heavily contaminated with bacteria even after high-level disinfection (HLD). The British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines emphasize the benefits of manually brushing endoscope channels and using automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs) for disinfecting endoscopes. In this study, we aimed to assess the effectiveness of decontamination using reprocessors after HLD by comparing the cultured samples obtained from biopsy channels (BCs) of GI endoscopes and the internal surfaces of AERs. Methods We conducted a 5-year prospective study. Every month random consecutive sampling was carried out after a complete reprocessing cycle; 420 rinse and swabs samples were collected from BCs and internal surface of AERs, respectively. Of the 420 rinse samples collected from the BC of the GI endoscopes, 300 were obtained from the BCs of gastroscopes and 120 from BCs of colonoscopes. Samples were collected by flushing the BCs with sterile distilled water, and swabbing the residual water from the AERs after reprocessing. These samples were cultured to detect the presence of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and mycobacteria. Results The number of culture-positive samples obtained from BCs (13.6%, 57/420) was significantly higher than that obtained from AERs (1.7%, 7/420). In addition, the number of culture-positive samples obtained from the BCs of gastroscopes (10.7%, 32/300) and colonoscopes (20.8%, 25/120) were significantly higher than that obtained from AER reprocess to gastroscopes (2.0%, 6/300) and AER reprocess to colonoscopes (0.8%, 1/120). Conclusions Culturing rinse samples obtained from BCs provides a better indication of the effectiveness of the decontamination of GI endoscopes after HLD than culturing the swab samples obtained from the inner surfaces of AERs as the swab samples only indicate whether the AERs are free from microbial contamination or not. PMID:22943739

[Hygiene in endoscopy in clinic and practice 2013 in comparison with 2003--structure and process quality].

PubMed

Jager, E; Hausemann, A; Hofmann, H; Otto, U; Heudorf, U

2014-12-01

Endoscopy is an important part of modern medical diagnostics and therapy. The invasive procedures are however associated with a risk to transmit infections. Against this background the KRINKO has published the "Hygienic requirements for the reprocessing of flexible endoscopes and endoscopic accessories" in 2002 and has updated these recommendations in 2012. In 2003 and 2013 all gastroenterological facilities in Frankfurt am Main using flexible endoscopes were monitored for compliance with the recommendations. The inspections were performed after prior notice by a staff member of the health authority using a checklist which had been developed on the basis of the current KRINKO recommendations. In both years all institutions performing endoscopic procedures were visited: 2003 15 hospitals and 23 practices; 2013 14 clinics and 10 practices. In 2013 (data for 2003 in brackets) 100 % (93 %) of the hospitals and 60 % (22 %) of practices reprocessed their endoscopes by automated methods. The appropriate reprocessing and filling of water bottles for rinsing the scope channels with sterile water and the sterilisation of accessories were satisfactorily performed in 2003 and 2013 by all hospitals. However in 2013 only 90 % (2003: 74 %) of the practices correctly reprocessed water bottles and 80 % (52 %) used sterile water for filling the bottle. In 2013 100 % (2003: 57 %) of the practices correctly sterilised accessory instruments, while 2 practices used disposable, i. e., single-use materials. In 2013 all institutions performed microbiological tests according to KRINKO recommendations, while in 2003 all hospitals but only 43 % of the practices could present such tests. While the gastroenterological departments of Frankfurt hospitals already complied with the KRINKO recommendations in 2003, the inspection of several practices in 2003 had revealed considerable shortcomings in the implementation of these recommendations. Subsequently the practices have improved their hygiene management. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

[Hygiene in endoscopy in the clinic and practice, 2003: Results of infection hygiene survey on endoscopy services in Frankfurt am Main by the public health service].

PubMed

Heudorf, U; Hofmann, H; Kutzke, G; Otto, U; Exner, M

2004-08-01

Guidelines for reprocessing flexible endoscopes have been published in many countries. Compliance to the German guidelines, published in 2002 by the Commission on Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention on the Robert Koch Institute is mandatory in all endoscopic units, in hospitals as well as in private practices. Here, a survey of current reprocessing practices in an urban region in Germany is published, covering all hospitals and private practices in this region. In summer 2003, all endoscopic units in Frankfurt/Main, Germany--15 hospitals and 23 private practices -- were visited by members of the public health service, using a checklist based on the recommendations of the German guideline. In these institutions, more than 70 000 endoscopic examinations per year are performed. 87 % (13 /15) of the hospitals and 43 % (10/23) of the practices, reported to conduct more than 1000 procedures per year. Great differences were found in hygienic quality comparing endoscopic units in hospitals and in private practices. In hospitals compliance with the guidelines was satisfactory. Main problems in the practices were: missing facilities for ultrasonic cleaning (74%) and sterilizing (43%), faults in reprocessing the bottle and tube for air/water-channel flushing (26%) which was filled in with water not sterilised (48%), storage of the endoscope with risk of recontamination (48%), missing routine-tests of the endoscopes after reprocessing (44%). Generally, hygienic conditions and procedures were worse in smaller units than in bigger ones. The data from Frankfurt hospitals are satisfactory. In private practices, however, especially in smaller ones, improvements are mandatory. Improvements should cover the quality of structure and process, i.e. specific education of the nurses, availability of ultrasonic cleaners and sterilizators and -- preferably -- automatic dishwashers, as well as implementation of a written protocol for hygiene in endoscopy, based on the German Guidelines.

Surveillance cultures of samples obtained from biopsy channels and automated endoscope reprocessors after high-level disinfection of gastrointestinal endoscopes.

PubMed

Chiu, King-Wah; Tsai, Ming-Chao; Wu, Keng-Liang; Chiu, Yi-Chun; Lin, Ming-Tzung; Hu, Tsung-Hui

2012-09-03

The instrument channels of gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopes may be heavily contaminated with bacteria even after high-level disinfection (HLD). The British Society of Gastroenterology guidelines emphasize the benefits of manually brushing endoscope channels and using automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs) for disinfecting endoscopes. In this study, we aimed to assess the effectiveness of decontamination using reprocessors after HLD by comparing the cultured samples obtained from biopsy channels (BCs) of GI endoscopes and the internal surfaces of AERs. We conducted a 5-year prospective study. Every month random consecutive sampling was carried out after a complete reprocessing cycle; 420 rinse and swabs samples were collected from BCs and internal surface of AERs, respectively. Of the 420 rinse samples collected from the BC of the GI endoscopes, 300 were obtained from the BCs of gastroscopes and 120 from BCs of colonoscopes. Samples were collected by flushing the BCs with sterile distilled water, and swabbing the residual water from the AERs after reprocessing. These samples were cultured to detect the presence of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and mycobacteria. The number of culture-positive samples obtained from BCs (13.6%, 57/420) was significantly higher than that obtained from AERs (1.7%, 7/420). In addition, the number of culture-positive samples obtained from the BCs of gastroscopes (10.7%, 32/300) and colonoscopes (20.8%, 25/120) were significantly higher than that obtained from AER reprocess to gastroscopes (2.0%, 6/300) and AER reprocess to colonoscopes (0.8%, 1/120). Culturing rinse samples obtained from BCs provides a better indication of the effectiveness of the decontamination of GI endoscopes after HLD than culturing the swab samples obtained from the inner surfaces of AERs as the swab samples only indicate whether the AERs are free from microbial contamination or not.

Physical structure and dust reprocessing in a sample of HH jets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Podio, L.; Medves, S.; Bacciotti, F.; Eislöffel, J.; Ray, T.

2009-11-01

Context: Stellar jets are an essential ingredient of the star formation process and a wealth of information can be derived from their characteristic emission-line spectra. Aims: We investigate the physical structure and dust reprocessing in the shocks along the beam of a number of classical Herbig-Haro (HH) jets in the Orion and Lupus molecular clouds (HH 111, HH 1/2, HH 83, HH 24 M/A/E/C, and Sz68). Parameters describing plasma conditions, as well as dust content, are derived as a function of distance from the source and, for HH 111, of gas velocity. Methods: Spectral diagnostic techniques are applied to obtain the jet physical conditions (the electron and total density, ne and n_H, the ionisation fraction, x_e, and the temperature, T_e) from the ratios of selected forbidden lines. The presence of dust grains is investigated by estimating the gas-phase abundance of calcium with respect to its solar value. Results: We find the electron density varies between 0.05-4×103 cm-3, the ionisation fraction xe from 0.01-0.7, the temperature ranges between 0.6-3×104 K, and the hydrogen density between 0.01-6×104 cm-3. Interestingly, in the HH 111 jet, n_e, x_e, and Te peak in the high velocity interval (HVI) of the strongest working surfaces, confirming a prediction from shocks models. Calcium turns out to be depleted with respect to its solar value, but its gas-phase abundance is higher than estimates for the interstellar medium in Orion. The depletion is high (up to 80%) along the low-excited jets, while low or no depletion is measured in those jets which show higher excitation conditions. Moreover, for HH 111 the depletion is lower in the HVI of the fastest shock. Conclusions: Our results confirm the shock structure predicted by models and indicate that shocks occurring along jets, and presumably those present in the launch zone, only partially destroy dust grains and that the efficiency of dust reprocessing strongly depends on shock velocity. However, the high Ca gas-phase abundance estimated in some of the knots, is not well understood in terms of existing models of dust reprocessing in shocks, and indicates that the dust must have been partially reprocessed in the region where the flow originates. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile (ESO programmes 60.C-0398(A). Appendix A is only available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Sources and transport of anthropogenic radionuclides in the Ob River system, Siberia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cochran, J. Kirk; Moran, S. Bradley; Fisher, Nicholas S.; Beasley, Thomas M.; Kelley, James M.

2000-06-01

The potential sources of anthropogenic radionuclides to the Ob River system of western Siberia include global stratospheric fallout, tropospheric fallout from atomic weapons tests and releases from production and reprocessing facilities. Samples of water, suspended and bottom sediments collected in 1994 and 1995 have been used to characterize the sources and transport of 137Cs, Pu isotopes, 237Np and 129I through the system. For the radionuclides that associate with particles, isotope ratios provide clues to their sources, providing any geochemical fractionation can be taken into account. Activity ratios of 239,240Pu/ 137Cs in suspended sediments are lower than the global fallout ratio in the Irtysh River before its confluence with the Ob, comparable to fallout in the central reach of the Ob, and greater than the fallout values in the lower Ob and in the Taz River. This pattern mirrors the downriver decrease in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. Laboratory adsorption experiments with Ob River sediment and water show that Kd values for Am (and presumably other actinides) are depressed by two orders of magnitude in the presence of Ob DOC concentrations, relative to values measured in DOC-free Ob water. Iodine and cesium Kd values show little or no (less than a factor of 2) dependence on DOC. Mixing plots using plutonium isotope ratios (atom ratios) show that Pu in suspended sediments of the Ob is a mixture of stratospheric global fallout at northern latitudes, tropospheric fallout from the former Soviet Union test site at Semipalatinsk and reprocessing of spent fuel at Tomsk-7. Plutonium from Semipalatinsk is evident in the Irtysh River above its confluence with the Tobal. Suspended sediment samples taken in the Ob above its confluence with the Irtysh indicate the presence of Pu derived from the Tomsk-7 reprocessing facilities. A mixing plot constructed using 237Np/ 239Pu vs. 240Pu/ 239Pu shows similar mixtures of stratospheric and tropospheric fallout, with the likely addition of inputs from reprocessing facilities and reactor operations. As with Pu/Cs ratios, Np/Pu ratios could be modified by differential geochemical behaviors of Np and Pu. Dissolved 129I only weakly interacts with particles in the Ob; size-fractionated sampling shows that the colloidal 129I fraction (defined as 1 kDa-0.2 μm) contains generally <5% relative to that passing a 0.2 μm filter. Iodine-129 concentrations decrease from 8.3×10 9 to 0.65×10 9 atoms l -1 through the Ob system toward the Kara Sea, with highest values in the Tobal River and lowest in the Taz River. The likely source of the elevated 129I in the Tobal is release from the production-reprocessing facilities at Mayak, and decreases downriver are predominantly due to dilution as the various tributaries with low 129I join the system. Fluxes of 129I to the lower Ob at Salekhard are <1% of the releases of this radionuclide from the nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities at Sellafield, UK and La Hague, France.

A mid-IR study of the circumstellar environment of Herbig Be stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verhoeff, A. P.; Waters, L. B. F. M.; van den Ancker, M. E.; Min, M.; Stap, F. A.; Pantin, E.; van Boekel, R.; Acke, B.; Tielens, A. G. G. M.; de Koter, A.

2012-02-01

Context. The study of the formation of massive stars is complicated because of the short times scales, large distances, and obscuring natal clouds. There are observational and theoretical indications that the circumstellar environment of Herbig Be (HBe) stars is substantially different from that of their lower mass counterparts, the T Tauri and Herbig Ae stars. Aims: We map the spatial distribution and mineralogy of the warm circumstellar dust of a sample of HBe stars. We compare our results to a sample of less massive Herbig Ae stars. Methods: We used literature photometry to obtain optical extinctions and stellar parameters of the targets. We obtained N-band imaging and long-slit spectroscopic data with the VISIR instrument at the VLT and we analyzed these data. We performed photometry of the images and extracted spatial information. We corrected the spectra for extinction and performed mineralogical fits. We fitted Gaussian profiles to characterize the spatial extent of the spectra along the VISIR slit. Results: We find that the mid-infrared (IR) emission of the HBe stars is typically characterized by a circumstellar disk that efficiently reprocesses a substantial portion of the stellar flux. The mid-IR flux levels, the spatial compactness, and the dust composition are quite similar to those of the Herbig Ae stars. We find upper limits to the full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) size of the mid-IR emission of ~500 AU. The main differences with the lower mass stars are the lower overall IR excess with a greater variety in shapes, the weaker PAH reprocessing power, and the lack of a silica-forsterite relation. The discrepancies between VISIR and IRAS photometry, the far-IR contributions and the large PAH sizes of HBe stars are attributed to natal clouds. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the Herbig Be disks are flatter than those around lower mass stars and they are likely truncated from the outside by photoevaporation. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile. Under program IDs: 078.C-0750B, 078.C-0750C, 079.C-0207A, 079.C-0207B and 080.C-0410A.Tables 4 and 5 are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

Insertion sequences enrichment in extreme Red sea brine pool vent.

PubMed

Elbehery, Ali H A; Aziz, Ramy K; Siam, Rania

2017-03-01

Mobile genetic elements are major agents of genome diversification and evolution. Limited studies addressed their characteristics, including abundance, and role in extreme habitats. One of the rare natural habitats exposed to multiple-extreme conditions, including high temperature, salinity and concentration of heavy metals, are the Red Sea brine pools. We assessed the abundance and distribution of different mobile genetic elements in four Red Sea brine pools including the world's largest known multiple-extreme deep-sea environment, the Red Sea Atlantis II Deep. We report a gradient in the abundance of mobile genetic elements, dramatically increasing in the harshest environment of the pool. Additionally, we identified a strong association between the abundance of insertion sequences and extreme conditions, being highest in the harshest and deepest layer of the Red Sea Atlantis II Deep. Our comparative analyses of mobile genetic elements in secluded, extreme and relatively non-extreme environments, suggest that insertion sequences predominantly contribute to polyextremophiles genome plasticity.

The Importance of Establishing Relevance in Motivating Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kember, David; Ho, Amber; Hong, Celina

2008-01-01

This article reports findings from a study which interviewed 36 undergraduate students about aspects of the teaching and learning environment which motivated or demotivated their study. It was found that students were motivated by a teaching environment characterized by eight main elements. This article reports in detail on the element of…

Problem-Based Educational Game Becomes Student-Centered Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodkroh, Pornpimon; Suwannatthachote, Praweenya; Kaemkate, Wannee

2013-01-01

Problem-based educational games are able to provide a fun and motivating environment for teaching and learning of certain subjects. However, most educational game models do not address the learning elements of problem-based educational games. This study aims to synthesize and to propose the important elements to facilitate the learning process and…

Geochemistry of environmentally sensitive trace elements in Permian coals from the Huainan coalfield, Anhui, China

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chen, J.; Liu, Gaisheng; Jiang, M.; Chou, C.-L.; Li, H.; Wu, B.; Zheng, Lingyun; Jiang, D.

2011-01-01

To study the geochemical characteristics of 11 environmentally sensitive trace elements in the coals of the Permian Period from the Huainan coalfield, Anhui province, China, borehole samples of 336 coals, two partings, and four roof and floor mudstones were collected from mineable coal seams. Major elements and selected trace elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HAAS). The depositional environment, abundances, distribution, and modes of occurrence of trace elements were investigated. Results show that clay and carbonate minerals are the principal inorganic constituents in the coals. A lower deltaic plain, where fluvial channel systems developed successively, was the likely depositional environment of the Permian coals in the Huainan coalfield. All major elements have wider variation ranges than those of Chinese coals except for Mg and Fe. The contents of Cr, Co, Ni, and Se are higher than their averages for Chinese coals and world coals. Vertical variations of trace elements in different formations are not significant except for B and Ba. Certain roof and partings are distinctly higher in trace elements than underlying coal bench samples. The modes of occurrence of trace elements vary in different coal seams as a result of different coal-forming environments. Vanadium, Cr, and Th are associated with aluminosilicate minerals, Ba with carbonate minerals, and Cu, Zn, As, Se, and Pb mainly with sulfide minerals. ?? 2011 Elsevier B.V.

Triton Mosaic

NASA Image and Video Library

1999-08-25

Mosaic of Triton constructed from 16 individual images. After globally minimizing the camera pointing errors, the frames we reprocessed by map projections, photometric function removal and placement in the mosaic.

SeaWiFS Postlaunch Technical Report Series. Volume 11; SeaWIFS Postlaunch Calibration and Validation Analyses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hooker, Stanford B. (Editor); Firestone, Elaine R. (Editor); OReilly, John E.; Maritorena, Stephane; OBrien, Margaret C.; Siegel, David A.; Toole, Dierdre; Mueller, James L.; Mitchell, B. Greg; Kahru, Mati;

[Risk and features of occupational diseases in nonferrous metallurgy workers of Kolsky Transpolar area].

PubMed

Siurin, S A; Chashchin, V P; Frolova, N M

2015-01-01

The study covered data on 977 cases of occupational diseases in 615 workers of nonferrous metallurgy in Kolsky Transpolar area. Findings are high risk of occupational diseases in workers engaged into electrolysis production of aluminium, all nickel reprocessing and pyrometallic copper reprocessing (GR 7.02-10.0). Electrolysis operators and anode operators of aluminium production are more prone to occupational diseases, with bone and muscular disorders (46.8%) prevalent in the morbidity structure. Respiratory diseases are more prevalent (68.2-100%) in the occupational morbidity structure of copper-nickelindustry workers. Conclusion is made on mandatory improvement of the work conditions and more effective individual protective means against occupational hazards in workers of nonferrous metallurgy in Kolsky Transpolar area.

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy for personality disorders in older adults?

PubMed

Gielkens, E M J; Sobczak, S; Van Alphen, S P J

2016-10-01

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a kind of psychotherapy, which is growing in popularity, particularly for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). When Shapiro first introduced EMDR in 1989, it was approached as a controversial treatment because of lack of evidence. However, nowadays there is growing evidence for EMDR efficacy in PTSD (Mc Guire et al., 2014) and EMDR is recommended by international and national treatment guidelines for PTSD. Moreover, EMDR is also used for the treatment of other anxiety disorders, such as panic disorders (De Jongh et al., 2002). Furthermore, research continues on effects of EMDR in addiction, somatoform disorders and psychosis. So far, there is no empirical research on the efficacy of EMDR treatment in older adults.

Evaluation of nuclear fuel reprocessing strategies. 2. LWR fuel storage, recycle economics and plutonium logistics

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

Prince, B.E.; Hadley, S.W.

1983-10-27

This is the second of a two-part report intended as a critical review of certain issues involved with closing the Light Water Reactor (LWR) fuel cycle and establishing the basis for future transition to commercial breeder applications. The report is divided into four main sections consisting of (1) a review of the status of the LWR spent fuel management and storage problem; (2) an analysis of the economic incentives for instituting reprocessing and recycle in LWRs; (3) an analysis of the time-dependent aspects of plutonium economic value particularly as related to the LWR-breeder transition; and (4) an analysis of themore » time-dependent aspects of plutonium requirements and supply relative to this transition.« less

Industrial research for transmutation scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Camarcat, Noel; Garzenne, Claude; Le Mer, Joël; Leroyer, Hadrien; Desroches, Estelle; Delbecq, Jean-Michel

2011-04-01

This article presents the results of research scenarios for americium transmutation in a 22nd century French nuclear fleet, using sodium fast breeder reactors. We benchmark the americium transmutation benefits and drawbacks with a reference case consisting of a hypothetical 60 GWe fleet of pure plutonium breeders. The fluxes in the various parts of the cycle (reactors, fabrication plants, reprocessing plants and underground disposals) are calculated using EDF's suite of codes, comparable in capabilities to those of other research facilities. We study underground thermal heat load reduction due to americium partitioning and repository area minimization. We endeavor to estimate the increased technical complexity of surface facilities to handle the americium fluxes in special fuel fabrication plants, americium fast burners, special reprocessing shops, handling equipments and transport casks between those facilities.

Kepler Data Release 25 Notes (Q0-Q17)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mullally, Susan E.; Caldwell, Douglas A.; Barclay, Thomas Stewart; Barentsen, Geert; Clarke, Bruce Donald; Bryson, Stephen T.; Burke, Christopher James; Campbell, Jennifer Roseanna; Catanzarite, Joseph H.; Christiansen, Jessie;

Ostracod Geochemistry as a Proxy for Paleoenvironmental Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrier, A.; Herrmann, A. D.

2016-02-01

Recent studies in the field of paleoceanography suggest that the geochemistry of ostracods, through their uptake of elements from their environment, has the potential to act as proxies for paleoenvironmental change. For example, pH-sensitive elements such as Boron and Uranium potentially record changes in the environment's pH, while temperature sensitive elements Magnesium and Strontium record temperature changes. If this is the case, a random sample of ostracods taken from the same environment should have very little variation in their elemental concentration. This hypothesis was tested using a group of ostracods of the genus Cyprideis taken from a horizon in a hypersaline lake in the southwest of Big Darby Island, Bahamas. Laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS) was used in order to measure the elemental concentrations from each ostracod carapace. Despite differences in size and species, the ostracods showed very little variations in Boron and Uranium concentrations. However, Magnesium and Strontium showed more elemental variation in each ostracod. This data suggests that ostracod carapaces do have the potential to act as proxies for environmental pH change; however, their potential to record temperature changes is inconclusive based on these results.

[The elemental composition of teeth hard tissues depending on the state of the environment].

PubMed

Suladze, N; Shishniashvili, T; Margvelashvili, V; Kobakhidze, K

2014-01-01

At present, great attention is paid to the origin of man-made micro elemental anomalies. To monitor the state of the environment and its effects on the human body, of great importance is the determination of the amount and distribution of various chemical elements in the dentin and enamel of the teeth. To determine the essential (Ca, Zn, Mn, Ni), conditionally essential (Rb, Ni, Sr) and toxic (Pb, Hg) trace elements in the mineralized tissues of the teeth and to identify the relationship between the elemental composition of the tooth structure and the state of the general and dental health depending on the state of the environment, we have examined 29 children aged 3-4 years who have carried out analysis of hard tissue of teeth (teeth used for remote medical reasons) for the maintenance of nine chemical elements. Children living in a relatively environmentally favorable conditions essential value and conditionally essential elements in the mineralized tissues of the teeth were within normal limits, and toxic elements slightly increased limits that differ from those of children living in environmentally disadvantaged areas. In particular, these essential elements were significantly reduced (except for zinc), as indicators of toxic elements - mercury and lead, increased by 12.5% and 44.5%, respectively, which is clearly reflected on the state of dental health because noted decompensated form of tooth decay. Thus, deviations in a state of general and dental health of children associated with an imbalance of macro-and microelements in the mineralized tissues of the teeth.

Analysis of the effects of simulated synergistic LEO environment on solar panels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allegri, G.; Corradi, S.; Marchetti, M.; Scaglione, S.

2007-02-01

The effects due to the LEO environment exposure of a solar array primary structure are here presented and discussed in detail. The synergistic damaging components featuring LEO environment are high vacuum, thermal cycling, neutral gas, ultraviolet (UV) radiation and cold plasma. The synergistic effects due to these environmental elements are simulated by "on ground" tests, performed in the Space Environment Simulator (SAS) at the University of Rome "La Sapienza"; numerical simulations are performed by the Space Environment Information System (SPENVIS), developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). A "safe life" design for a solar array primary structure is developed, taking into consideration the combined damaging action of the LEO environment components; therefore results from both numerical and experimental simulations are coupled within the framework of a standard finite element method (FEM) based design. The expected durability of the solar array primary structure, made of laminated sandwich composite, is evaluated assuming that the loads exerted on the structure itself are essentially dependent on thermo-elastic stresses. The optical degradation of surface materials and the stiffness and strength degradation of structural elements are taken into account to assess the global structural durability of the solar array under characteristic operative conditions in LEO environment.

Reconstituted asbestos matrix for fuel cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcbryar, H.

1975-01-01

Method is described for reprocessing commercially available asbestos matrix stock to yield greater porosity and bubble pressure (due to increased surface tension), improved homogeneity, and greater uniformity.

10 CFR 110.40 - Commission review.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Canada. (5) An export involving assistance to end uses related to isotope separation, chemical reprocessing, heavy water production, advanced reactors, or the fabrication of nuclear fuel containing...

Adaptive Process Control with Fuzzy Logic and Genetic Algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karr, C. L.

1993-01-01

Researchers at the U.S. Bureau of Mines have developed adaptive process control systems in which genetic algorithms (GA's) are used to augment fuzzy logic controllers (FLC's). GA's are search algorithms that rapidly locate near-optimum solutions to a wide spectrum of problems by modeling the search procedures of natural genetics. FLC's are rule based systems that efficiently manipulate a problem environment by modeling the 'rule-of-thumb' strategy used in human decision-making. Together, GA's and FLC's possess the capabilities necessary to produce powerful, efficient, and robust adaptive control systems. To perform efficiently, such control systems require a control element to manipulate the problem environment, an analysis element to recognize changes in the problem environment, and a learning element to adjust to the changes in the problem environment. Details of an overall adaptive control system are discussed. A specific laboratory acid-base pH system is used to demonstrate the ideas presented.

Genetic algorithms in adaptive fuzzy control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karr, C. Lucas; Harper, Tony R.

1992-01-01

Researchers at the U.S. Bureau of Mines have developed adaptive process control systems in which genetic algorithms (GA's) are used to augment fuzzy logic controllers (FLC's). GA's are search algorithms that rapidly locate near-optimum solutions to a wide spectrum of problems by modeling the search procedures of natural genetics. FLC's are rule based systems that efficiently manipulate a problem environment by modeling the 'rule-of-thumb' strategy used in human decision making. Together, GA's and FLC's possess the capabilities necessary to produce powerful, efficient, and robust adaptive control systems. To perform efficiently, such control systems require a control element to manipulate the problem environment, an analysis element to recognize changes in the problem environment, and a learning element to adjust fuzzy membership functions in response to the changes in the problem environment. Details of an overall adaptive control system are discussed. A specific computer-simulated chemical system is used to demonstrate the ideas presented.

Assessment of plutonium in the Savannah River Site environment. Revision 1

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

Carlton, W.H.; Evans, A.G.; Geary, L.A.

1992-12-31

Plutonium in the Savannah River Site Environment is published as a part of the Radiological Assessment Program (RAP). It is the fifth in a series of eight documents on individual radioisotopes released to the environment as a result of Savannah River Site (SRS) operations. These are living documents, each to be revised and updated on a two-year schedule. This document describes the sources of plutonium in the environment, its release from SRS, environmental transport and ecological concentration of plutonium, and the radiological impact of SRS releases to the environment. Plutonium exists in the environment as a result of above-ground nuclearmore » weapons tests, the Chernobyl accident, the destruction of satellite SNAP 9-A, plane crashes involving nuclear weapons, and small releases from reactors and reprocessing plants. Plutonium has been produced at SRS during the operation of five production reactors and released in small quantities during the processing of fuel and targets in chemical separations facilities. Approximately 0.6 Ci of plutonium was released into streams and about 12 Ci was released to seepage basins, where it was tightly bound by clay in the soil. A smaller quantity, about 3.8 Ci, was released to the atmosphere. Virtually all releases have occurred in F- and H-Area separation facilities. Plutonium concentration and transport mechanisms for the atmosphere, surface water, and ground water releases have been extensively studied by Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) and ecological mechanisms have been studied by Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL). The overall radiological impact of SRS releases to the offsite maximum individual can be characterized by a total dose of 15 mrem (atmospheric) and 0.18 mrem (liquid), compared with the dose of 12,960 mrem from non-SRS sources during the same period of time (1954--1989). Plutonium releases from SRS facilities have resulted in a negligible impact to the environment and the population it supports.« less

The fundamental nature of life as a chemical system: the part played by inorganic elements.

PubMed

Williams, Robert J P

2002-02-01

In this article we show why inorganic metal elements from the environment were an essential part of the origin of living aqueous systems of chemicals in flow. Unavoidably such systems have many closely fixed parameters, related to thermodynamic binding constants, for the interaction of the essential exchangeable inorganic metal elements with both inorganic and organic non-metal materials. The binding constants give rise to fixed free metal ion concentration profiles for different metal ions and ligands in the cytoplasm of all cells closely related to the Irving-Williams series. The amounts of bound elements depend on the organic molecules present as well as these free ion concentrations. This system must have predated coding which is probably only essential for reproductive life. Later evolution in changing chemical environments became based on the development of extra cytoplasmic compartments containing quite different energised free (and bound) element contents but in feed-back communication with the central primitive cytoplasm which changed little. Hence species multiplied late in evolution in large part due to the coupling with the altered inorganic environment.

Extracting More Information from Passive Optical Tracking Observations for Reliable Orbit Element Generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, J.; Gehly, S.

2016-09-01

This paper presents results from a preliminary method for extracting more orbital information from low rate passive optical tracking data. An improvement in the accuracy of the observation data yields more accurate and reliable orbital elements. A comparison between the orbit propagations from the orbital element generated using the new data processing method is compared with the one generated from the raw observation data for several objects. Optical tracking data collected by EOS Space Systems, located on Mount Stromlo, Australia, is fitted to provide a new orbital element. The element accuracy is determined from a comparison between the predicted orbit and subsequent tracking data or reference orbit if available. The new method is shown to result in a better orbit prediction which has important implications in conjunction assessments and the Space Environment Research Centre space object catalogue. The focus is on obtaining reliable orbital solutions from sparse data. This work forms part of the collaborative effort of the Space Environment Management Cooperative Research Centre which is developing new technologies and strategies to preserve the space environment (www.serc.org.au).

Technical Application of Nuclear Fission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denschlag, J. O.

The chapter is devoted to the practical application of the fission process, mainly in nuclear reactors. After a historical discussion covering the natural reactors at Oklo and the first attempts to build artificial reactors, the fundamental principles of chain reactions are discussed. In this context chain reactions with fast and thermal neutrons are covered as well as the process of neutron moderation. Criticality concepts (fission factor η, criticality factor k) are discussed as well as reactor kinetics and the role of delayed neutrons. Examples of specific nuclear reactor types are presented briefly: research reactors (TRIGA and ILL High Flux Reactor), and some reactor types used to drive nuclear power stations (pressurized water reactor [PWR], boiling water reactor [BWR], Reaktor Bolshoi Moshchnosti Kanalny [RBMK], fast breeder reactor [FBR]). The new concept of the accelerator-driven systems (ADS) is presented. The principle of fission weapons is outlined. Finally, the nuclear fuel cycle is briefly covered from mining, chemical isolation of the fuel and preparation of the fuel elements to reprocessing the spent fuel and conditioning for deposit in a final repository.

Interim waste storage for the Integral Fast Reactor

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

Benedict, R.W.; Phipps, R.D.; Condiff, D.W.

1991-01-01

The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR), which Argonne National Laboratory is developing, is an innovative liquid metal breeder reactor that uses metallic fuel and has a close coupled fuel recovery process. A pyrochemical process is used to separate the fission products from the actinide elements. These actinides are used to make new fuel for the reactor. As part of the overall IFR development program, Argonne has refurbished an existing Fuel Cycle Facility at ANL-West and is installing new equipment to demonstrate the remote reprocessing and fabrication of fuel for the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II). During this demonstration the wastes thatmore » are produced will be treated and packaged to produce waste forms that would be typical of future commercial operations. These future waste forms would, assuming Argonne development goals are fulfilled, be essentially free of long half-life transuranic isotopes. Promising early results indicate that actinide extraction processes can be developed to strip these isotopes from waste stream and return them to the IFR type reactors for fissioning. 1 fig.« less

Intercomparison of magnetic field measurements near MV/LV transformer substations: methodological planning and results.

PubMed

Violanti, S; Fraschetta, M; Adda, S; Caputo, E

2009-12-01

Within the framework of Environmental Agencies system's activities, coordinated by ISPRA (superior institute for environmental protection and research), a comparison among measurements was designed and accomplished, in order to go into depth on the matter of measurement problems and to evaluate magnetic field at power frequencies. These measurements have been taken near medium voltage /low voltage transformer substation. This project was developed with the contribution of several experts who belong to different Regional Agencies. In three of these regions, substations having specific international standard characteristics were chosen; then a measurement and data analysis protocol was arranged. Data analysis showed a good level of coherence among results obtained by different laboratories. However, a range of problems emerged, either during the protocol predisposition and definition of the data analysis procedure or during the execution of measures and data reprocessing, because of the spatial and temporal variability of magnetic field. These problems represent elements of particular interest in determining a correct measurement methodology, whose purpose is the comparison with limits of exposure, attention values and quality targets.

[Integral quantitative evaluation of working conditions in the construction industry].

PubMed

Guseĭnov, A A

1993-01-01

Present method evaluating the quality of environment (using MAC and MAL) does not enable to assess completely and objectively the work conditions of building industry due to multiple confounding elements. A solution to this complicated problem including the analysis of various correlating elements of the system "human--work conditions--environment" may be encouraged by social norm of morbidity, which is independent on industrial and natural environment. The complete integral assessment enables to see the whole situation and reveal the points at risk.

Man in the Living Environment. A Report on Global Ecological Problems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inger, Robert F.; And Others

The findings of four groups of ecologists are synthesized in chapter I of this report on global ecological problems prepared as a data base for the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. The other chapters contain the reports of each group. In "Cycles of Elements" the biologically important elements, phosphorus, sulfur, and nitrogen,…

Mineral cycling in southeastern ecosystems. Proceedings of a symposium held at Augusta, Georgia May 1--3, 1974

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

Howell, F.G.; Gentry, J.B.; Smith, M.H.

1975-01-01

Sixty-six papers were presented on cycling of natural and man-made elements, including terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments, as well as current ideas on modeling. Principles governing elemental flow included radiocesium in natural environments, especially in the southeastern United States. Individual entries were made for 47 items.

Development, characterization and dissolution behavior of calcium-aluminoborate glass wasteforms to immobilize rare-earth oxides.

PubMed

Kim, Miae; Corkhill, Claire L; Hyatt, Neil C; Heo, Jong

2018-03-28

Calcium-aluminoborate (CAB) glasses were developed to sequester new waste compositions made of several rare-earth oxides generated from the pyrochemical reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. Several important wasteform properties such as waste loading, processability and chemical durability were evaluated. The maximum waste loading of the CAB compositions was determined to be ~56.8 wt%. Viscosity and the electrical conductivity of the CAB melt at 1300 °C were 7.817 Pa·s and 0.4603 S/cm, respectively, which satisfies the conditions for commercial cold-crucible induction melting (CCIM) process. Addition of rare-earth oxides to CAB glasses resulted in dramatic decreases in the elemental releases of B and Ca in aqueous dissolution experiments. Normalized elemental releases from product consistency standard chemical durability test were <3.62·10 -5  g·m -2 for Nd, 0.009 g·m -2 for Al, 0.067 g·m -2 for B and 0.073 g·m -2 for Ca (at 90, after 7 days, for SA/V = 2000m -1 ); all meet European and US regulation limits. After 20 d of dissolution, a hydrated alteration layer of ~ 200-nm-thick, Ca-depleted and Nd-rich, was formed at the surface of CAB glasses with 20 mol% Nd 2 O 3 whereas boehmite [AlO(OH)] secondary crystalline phases were formed in pure CAB glass that contained no Nd 2 O 3 .

40 CFR 721.10068 - Elemental mercury.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Elemental mercury. 721.10068 Section... Substances § 721.10068 Elemental mercury. (a) Definitions. The definitions in § 721.3 apply to this section... elemental mercury (CAS. No. 7439-97-6) is subject to reporting under this section for the significant new...

40 CFR 721.10068 - Elemental mercury.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Elemental mercury. 721.10068 Section... Substances § 721.10068 Elemental mercury. (a) Barometer means an instrument used in various applications to... uses subject to reporting. (1) The chemical substance elemental mercury (CAS. No. 7439-97-6) is subject...

40 CFR 721.10068 - Elemental mercury.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Elemental mercury. 721.10068 Section... Substances § 721.10068 Elemental mercury. (a) Barometer means an instrument used in various applications to... uses subject to reporting. (1) The chemical substance elemental mercury (CAS. No. 7439-97-6) is subject...

40 CFR 721.10068 - Elemental mercury.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Elemental mercury. 721.10068 Section... Substances § 721.10068 Elemental mercury. (a) Barometer means an instrument used in various applications to... uses subject to reporting. (1) The chemical substance elemental mercury (CAS. No. 7439-97-6) is subject...

40 CFR 721.10068 - Elemental mercury.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Elemental mercury. 721.10068 Section... Substances § 721.10068 Elemental mercury. (a) Definitions. The definitions in § 721.3 apply to this section... elemental mercury (CAS. No. 7439-97-6) is subject to reporting under this section for the significant new...

40 CFR 25.11 - Work elements in financial assistance agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Work elements in financial assistance... CLEAN WATER ACT § 25.11 Work elements in financial assistance agreements. (a) This section is applicable... work element which reflects how public participation will be provided for, encouraged, and assisted in...

40 CFR 25.11 - Work elements in financial assistance agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Work elements in financial assistance... CLEAN WATER ACT § 25.11 Work elements in financial assistance agreements. (a) This section is applicable... work element which reflects how public participation will be provided for, encouraged, and assisted in...

40 CFR 25.11 - Work elements in financial assistance agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Work elements in financial assistance... CLEAN WATER ACT § 25.11 Work elements in financial assistance agreements. (a) This section is applicable... work element which reflects how public participation will be provided for, encouraged, and assisted in...

40 CFR 25.11 - Work elements in financial assistance agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Work elements in financial assistance... CLEAN WATER ACT § 25.11 Work elements in financial assistance agreements. (a) This section is applicable... work element which reflects how public participation will be provided for, encouraged, and assisted in...

40 CFR 25.11 - Work elements in financial assistance agreements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Work elements in financial assistance... CLEAN WATER ACT § 25.11 Work elements in financial assistance agreements. (a) This section is applicable... work element which reflects how public participation will be provided for, encouraged, and assisted in...

A Dielectric-Filled Waveguide Antenna Element for 3D Imaging Radar in High Temperature and Excessive Dust Conditions.

PubMed

Xu, Ding; Li, Zhiping; Chen, Xianzhong; Wang, Zhengpeng; Wu, Jianhua

2016-08-22

Three-dimensional information of the burden surface in high temperature and excessive dust industrial conditions has been previously hard to obtain. This paper presents a novel microstrip-fed dielectric-filled waveguide antenna element which is resistant to dust and high temperatures. A novel microstrip-to-dielectric-loaded waveguide transition was developed. A cylinder and cuboid composite structure was employed at the terminal of the antenna element, which improved the return loss performance and reduced the size. The proposed antenna element was easily integrated into a T-shape multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) imaging radar system and tested in both the laboratory environment and real blast furnace environment. The measurement results show that the proposed antenna element works very well in industrial 3D imaging radar.