MACK-IV, a new version of MACK: a program to calculate nuclear response functions from data in ENDF/B format

MACK-IV calculates nuclear response functions important to the neutronics analysis of nuclear and fusion systems. A central part of the code deals with the calculation of the nuclear response function for nuclear heating more commonly known as the kerma factor. Pointwise and multigroup neutron kerma factors, individual reactions, helium, hydrogen, and tritium production response functions are calculated from any basic nuclear data library in ENDF/B format. The program processes all reactions in the energy range of 0 to 20 MeV for fissionable and nonfissionable materials. The program also calculates the gamma production cross sections and the gamma production energy matrix. A built-in computational capability permits the code to calculate the cross sections in the resolved and unresolved resonance regions from resonance parameters in ENDF/B with an option for Doppler broadening. All energy pointwise and multigroup data calculated by the code can be punched, printed and/or written on tape files. Multigroup response functions (e.g., kerma factors, reaction cross sections, gas production, atomic displacements, etc.) can be outputted in the format of MACK-ACTIVITY-Table suitable for direct use with current neutron (and photon) transport codes

Significance of the Genomic Landscape of a De Novo Endocrine-Resistant Metastatic Hormone Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer

Endocrine therapy with or without CDK4/6 inhibitors is the most commonly used frontline treatment option for metastatic hormone receptor–positive breast cancer. Approximately, 25% to 30% of women may have resistance to endocrine therapy, especially in the setting of certain genomic mutations in the tumor. This prompts the need to identify those patients who may benefit from frontline chemotherapy over endocrine therapy. Here, we present a case of a patient who presented with a de novo metastatic hormone receptor–positive breast cancer with visceral involvement (including bone marrow) as well as multiple somatic genomic alterations. The patient was treated with upfront chemotherapy, resulting in clinical and radiographic response, but rapidly progressed when she was transitioned to hormonal therapy. This report focuses on the role of upfront chemotherapy in the setting of visceral crisis including bone marrow involvement, the role of genomic alterations in contributing to endocrine resistance, and the need for biomarker-driven treatment options for hormone receptor–positive breast cancer

Performance of three morphotypes of garlic using quantative traits based on bulb characters in Niger Republic

Garlic ( Allium sativum L.) is a bulbous plant from the Alliaceae family, mainly produced in the dry seasons under irrigation in Niger. The objective of this study was to assess garlic morphotypes for their agronomic performance traits. The experiment was conducted at the Universit\ue9 de Zinder in Niger Republic, in a randomised complete block design during the dry seaSOn of 2019-2020. Data were collected on bulb diameter, bulb length, bulb weight, number of cloves per bulb, clove diameter, clove length, clove weight, number of outer clove lets per clove, outer clove lets diameter, outer clove lets length, and outer clove lets weight. There were significant differences for all characters, except bulb weight, clove diameter and number of outer clove lets per clove. The morphotypes Pink and Dark purple revealed good performances and could be useful for a breeding programme.L\u2019ail (Allium sativum L.) est principalement produit en saiSOn s\ue8che SOus irrigation au Niger. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait d\u2019\ue9valuer les morphotypes d\u2019ail pour leurs caract\ue8res de performance agronomique. L\u2019exp\ue9rience a \ue9t\ue9 men\ue9e dans un bloc complet randomis\ue9 avec trois r\ue9p\ue9titions pendant la saiSOn s\ue8che 2019-2020. Les caract\ue8res suivants ont \ue9t\ue9 \ue9valu\ue9s : diam\ue8tre du bulbe, longueur du bulbe, poids du bulbe, nombre gousses par bulbe, diam\ue8tre des gousses, longueur des gousses, poids des gousses, nombre des ca\uefeux par gousse, diam\ue8tre des ca\uefeux, longueur des ca\uefeux, poids des ca\uefeux. Des diff\ue9rences significatives ont \ue9t\ue9 observ\ue9es pour tous les caract\ue8res, \ue0 l\u2019exception du poids des bulbes, du diam\ue8tre des gousses et du nombre ca\uefeux par gousse. Les morphotypes Rose et Violet fonc\ue9 ont montr\ue9 de bonnes performances et pourraient \ueatre utiles pour un programme de s\ue9lection

Morphological assessment of Niger Kuri cattle using multivariate methods

A total of 406 adult cows and 34 bulls belonging to the Niger Kuri cattle population were assessed for 16 body measurements and 11 qualitative traits to contribute to the characterization of this unique cattle breed. Body measurements included facial, horn, ear and rump lengths; facial, cranial, shoulder, pelvic and ischium widths; height at withers and at hips; muzzle circumference; heart girth; body and tail lengths; and thorax depth. Qualitative traits included cephalic profile, ear shape, muzzle pigmentation, eyelid pigmentation, hoof pigmentation, horn colour, dewlap size, backline profile, horn shape, spotting pattern, and coat colour pattern. Data were analysed jointly with 377 individuals from four other West African taurine cattle breeds (N’Dama, Lagunaire, Lobi and Somba) using multivariate statistical methods, including canonical and correspondence analyses. Among the breeds analysed, Kuri cattle had the highest mean values for all body measurements: height at withers and body length had mean values of 124.0 ± 0.4 and 146.8 ± 1.0 cm in Kuri cows, respectively, and 126.0 ± 2.2 and 155.7 ± 3.6 cm, respectively, in Kuri bulls. Canonical analysis allowed the construction of contour plots to illustrate the high differentiation between Kuri cattle and the other breeds, regardless of the sex of the individuals. Further, the Mahalanobis distance matrices showed that pairs involving Kuri cattle had the higher differentiation of these populations. Correspondence analysis carried out on these 11 qualitative traits allowed the researchers to ascertain a clear differentiation between the Kuri and the other taurine cattle breeds. The N’Dama, Lagunaire, Lobi, and Somba breeds did not show clear differentiation at qualitative-type trait level with 75% confidence regions computed for these four breeds being highly intermingled. In the current data, Kuri cattle had the highest frequency in qualitative features, such as concave cephalic profile, dropped ears, non-pigmented muzzle and grey-coloured horns, which are absent in West African taurine and zebu cattle breeds, according to the literature. The current evidence would suggest that unique Kuri cattle type features may result from breeding decisions rather than from zebu admixture. This work confirms that at type trait level Kuri cattle is a unique population within the West African taurine cattle group. The implementation of genetic analyses aiming at ascertaining the degree of uniqueness of the breed is advised.Keywords: Body measurements, Bos taurus, multivariate analyses, qualitative traits, West African cattl

Exogenously applied proline enhances Morph-Physiological responses and yield of Drought-Stressed maize plants grown under different irrigation systems

The exogenous application of osmoprotectants [e.g., proline (Pro)] is an important approach for alleviating the adverse effects of abiotic stresses on plants. Field trials were conducted during the summers of 2017 and 2018 to determine the effects of deficit irrigation and exogenous application of Pro on the productivity, morph-physiological responses, and yield of maize grown under two irrigation systems [surface irrigation (SI) and drip irrigation (DI)]. Three deficit irrigation levels (I100, I85, and I70, representing 100, 85, and 70% of crop evapotranspiration, respectively) and two concentrations of Pro (Pro1 = 2 mM and Pro2 = 4 mM) were used in this study. The plants exposed to drought stress showed a significant reduction in plant height, dry matter, leaf area, chlorophyll content [soil plant analysis development (SPAD)], quantum efficiency of photosystem II [Fv/Fm, Fv/F0, and performance index (PI)], water status [membrane stability index (MSI) and relative water content (RWC)], and grain yield. The DI system increased crop growth and yield and reduced the irrigation water input by 30% compared with the SI system. The growth, water status, and yield of plants significantly decreased with an increase in the water stress levels under the SI system. Under the irrigation systems tested in this study, Pro1 and Pro2 increased plant height by 16 and 18%, RWC by 7 and 10%, MSI by 6 and 12%, PI by 6 and 19%, chlorophyll fluorescence by 7 and 11%, relative chlorophyll content by 9 and 14%, and grain yield by 10 and 14%, respectively, compared with Pro0 control treatment (no Pro). The interaction of Pro2 at I100 irrigation level in DI resulted in the highest grain yield (8.42 t ha–1). However, under the DI or SI system, exogenously applied Pro2 at I85 irrigation level may be effective in achieving higher water productivity and yield without exerting any harmful effects on the growth or yield of maize under limited water conditions. Our results demonstrated the importance of the application of Pro as a tolerance inducer of drought stress in maize

Advancements in tetronic acid chemistry. Part 1: Synthesis and reactions

AbstractThe preparation and the properties of the elusive tetronic acid are reviewed, including its synthesis, chemical reactivity and reactions

CAD-centric Computation Management System for a Virtual TBM

HyPerComp Inc. in research collaboration with TEXCEL has set out to build a Virtual Test Blanket Module (VTBM) computational system to address the need in contemporary fusion research for simulating the integrated behavior of the blanket, divertor and plasma facing components in a fusion environment. Physical phenomena to be considered in a VTBM will include fluid flow, heat transfer, mass transfer, neutronics, structural mechanics and electromagnetics. We seek to integrate well established (third-party) simulation software in various disciplines mentioned above. The integrated modeling process will enable user groups to interoperate using a common modeling platform at various stages of the analysis. Since CAD is at the core of the simulation (as opposed to computational meshes which are different for each problem,) VTBM will have a well developed CAD interface, governing CAD model editing, cleanup, parameter extraction, model deformation (based on simulation,) CAD-based data interpolation. In Phase-I, we built the CAD-hub of the proposed VTBM and demonstrated its use in modeling a liquid breeder blanket module with coupled MHD and structural mechanics using HIMAG and ANSYS. A complete graphical user interface of the VTBM was created, which will form the foundation of any future development. Conservative data interpolation via CAD (as opposed to mesh-based transfer), the regeneration of CAD models based upon computed deflections, are among the other highlights of phase-I activity

Screening of BRCA1 (c.5177_5180delGAAA rs80357867 and c.4986+6T>C rs80358086) and the BRCA2 (c.6445_6446delAT rs80359592) genes for breast cancer prevention in Burkina Faso

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to search for mutations in the BRCA1 (c.5177_5180delGAAA and c.4986+6T>C) and BRCA2 genes (c.6445_6446delAT) in a population of women diagnosed with breast cancer.METHODS: This is a case-control study that involved 140 participants, including 70 patients with histologically diagnosed breast cancer and 70 healthy women without breast cancer. Mutations in the BRCA1 (rs80357867, rs80358086) and BRCA2 (rs80359592) genes were tested by real-time PCR. The 95% confidence interval Odds Ratio (OR) was used to estimate the associations between specific genotypes and breast cancer.RESULTS: The study revealed that no mutations were detected for rs80359592. Similarly, no reference allele (TTTC/TTTC) of rs80357867 was found in this study. However, the homozygous double mutant (-/) genotype of this rs80357867 was observed in 11.43% and 1.43% of patients and controls respectively, while 88.57% of patients and 98.57% of controls had a heterozygous deletion (TTTC/-). Concerning rs80358086, 8.57% of the patients had a heterozygous mutation (A/G) with no significantly risk association with occurrence of breast cancer (OR = 6.46; 95% CI: 0.75-55.21; p = 0.11). In addition, this heterozygous mutation was significantly associated with a family history of breast cancer (OR=128; 95% CI: 9.46-1730.93) and breast cancer risk in nonmultiparous women (OR=6; 95% CI: 1-35.90; p= 0.05) but no association with overweight/obesity (OR=1.66; 95% CI: 0.18-15.35; p=1).CONCLUSION: This study shows high frequencies of heterozygous mutation of rs80357867 and rs80358086 from patients. In Burkina Faso, these results could help with early diagnosis of breast cancer in patients

The proton radius puzzle

High-precision measurements of the proton radius from laser spectroscopy of muonic hydrogen demonstrated up to six standard deviations smaller values than obtained from electron-proton scattering and hydrogen spectroscopy. The status of this discrepancy, which is known as the proton radius puzzle will be discussed in this paper, complemented with the new insights obtained from spectroscopy of muonic deuterium.Comment: Moriond 2017 conference, 8 pages, 4 figure

Instabilities in extreme magnetoconvection

Thermal convection in an electrically conducting fluid (for example, a liquid metal) in the presence of a static magnetic field is considered in this chapter. The focus is on the extreme states of the flow, in which both buoyancy and Lorentz forces are very strong. It is argued that the instabilities occurring in such flows are often of unique and counter-intuitive nature due to the action of the magnetic field, which suppresses conventional turbulence and gives preference to two-dimensional instability modes not appearing in more conventional convection systems. Tools of numerical analysis suitable for such flows are discussed