Macroencapsulation of mixed waste debris at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation -- Final project report by AST Environmental Services, LLC

This report summarizes the results of a full-scale demonstration of a high density polyethylene (HDPE) package, manufactured by Arrow Construction, Inc. of Montgomery, Alabama. The HDPE package, called ARROW-PAK, was designed and patented by Arrow as both a method to macroencapsulation of radioactively contaminated lead and as an improved form of waste package for treatment and interim and final storage and/or disposal of drums of mixed waste. Mixed waste is waste that is radioactive, and meets the criteria established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) for a hazardous material. Results from previous testing conducted for the Department of Energy (DOE) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory in 1994 found that the ARROW-PAK fabrication process produces an HDPE package that passes all helium leak tests and drop tests, and is fabricated with materials impervious to the types of environmental factors encountered during the lifetime of the ARROW-PAK, estimated to be from 100 to 300 years. Arrow Construction, Inc. has successfully completed full-scale demonstration of its ARROW-PAK mixed waste macroencapsulation treatment unit at the DOE Hanford Site. This testing was conducted in accordance with Radiological Work Permit No. T-860, applicable project plans and procedures, and in close consultation with Waste Management Federal Services of Hanford, Inc.`s project management, health and safety, and quality assurance representatives. The ARROW-PAK field demonstration successfully treated 880 drums of mixed waste debris feedstock which were compacted and placed in 149 70-gallon overpack drums prior to macroencapsulation in accordance with the US EPA Alternate Debris Treatment Standards, 40 CFR 268.45. Based on all of the results, the ARROW-PAK process provides an effective treatment, storage and/or disposal option that compares favorably with current mixed waste management practices

Football in the community schemes: Exploring the effectiveness of an intervention in promoting healthful behaviour change

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of a Premier League football club’s Football in the Community (FitC) schemes intervention in promoting positive healthful behaviour change in children. Specifically, exploring the effectiveness of this intervention from the perspectives of the participants involved (i.e. the researcher, teachers, children and coaches). A range of data collection techniques were utilized including the principles of ethnography (i.e. immersion, engagement and observations), alongside conducting focus groups with the children. The results allude to the intervention merely ‘keeping active children active’ via (mostly) fun, football sessions. Results highlight the important contribution the ‘coach’ plays in the effectiveness of the intervention. Results relating to working practice (i.e. coaching practice and coach recruitment) are discussed and highlighted as areas to be addressed. FitC schemes appear to require a process of positive organizational change to increase their effectiveness in strategically attending to the health agenda

Classical and Quantum Nambu Mechanics

The classical and quantum features of Nambu mechanics are analyzed and fundamental issues are resolved. The classical theory is reviewed and developed utilizing varied examples. The quantum theory is discussed in a parallel presentation, and illustrated with detailed specific cases. Quantization is carried out with standard Hilbert space methods. With the proper physical interpretation, obtained by allowing for different time scales on different invariant sectors of a theory, the resulting non-Abelian approach to quantum Nambu mechanics is shown to be fully consistent.Comment: 44 pages, 1 figure, 1 table Minor changes to conform to journal versio

Discount venture brands:Self-congruity and perceived value-for-money?

Grocery retailers have begun to target price conscious consumers with a new type of budget brand, called discount venture brands. These brands are exclusive to the retailer but, unlike traditional private-label brands, do not display retailer branding at all. Sharing the same price point as economy private-label brands, the aim of discount venture brands is to attract customers with an overall look-and-feel that is not explicitly premium, yet is more attractive than that of conventional budget brands. Drawing on the self-congruity literature, the authors explore two questions: (1) whether customers perceive discount venture brands to offer greater value-for-money than conventional budget brands; and (2) whether such perceptions translate to customer impressions about the retailer brand? Results from a scenario-based experiment involving 505 participants suggest that, in comparison with conventional budget brands, discount venture brands may be less conducive to engendering favorable value-for-money perceptions; in short, discount venture brands may be less effective than conventional budget brands. This finding can be explained with a concept called self-congruity. Overall, we show that self-congruity acts as an indirect-only mediator of the path between the type of a brand and value-for-money perceptions of the brand. Particular findings are that self-congruity has a positive effect on value-for-money perceptions associated with conventional budget brands, discount venture brands, and the retailers selling those brands. However, for consumers with a preference for brands with a budget price point, self-congruity appears to be higher for conventional budget brands than discount venture brands; and this difference in self-congruity is more pronounced when shopping for others than when shopping for oneself

'Education, education, education' : legal, moral and clinical

This article brings together Professor Donald Nicolson's intellectual interest in professional legal ethics and his long-standing involvement with law clinics both as an advisor at the University of Cape Town and Director of the University of Bristol Law Clinic and the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic. In this article he looks at how legal education may help start this process of character development, arguing that the best means is through student involvement in voluntary law clinics. And here he builds upon his recent article which argues for voluntary, community service oriented law clinics over those which emphasise the education of students

Tomato: a crop species amenable to improvement by cellular and molecular methods

Tomato is a crop plant with a relatively small DNA content per haploid genome and a well developed genetics. Plant regeneration from explants and protoplasts is feasable which led to the development of efficient transformation procedures. In view of the current data, the isolation of useful mutants at the cellular level probably will be of limited value in the genetic improvement of tomato. Protoplast fusion may lead to novel combinations of organelle and nuclear DNA (cybrids), whereas this technique also provides a means of introducing genetic information from alien species into tomato. Important developments have come from molecular approaches. Following the construction of an RFLP map, these RFLP markers can be used in tomato to tag quantitative traits bred in from related species. Both RFLP's and transposons are in the process of being used to clone desired genes for which no gene products are known. Cloned genes can be introduced and potentially improve specific properties of tomato especially those controlled by single genes. Recent results suggest that, in principle, phenotypic mutants can be created for cloned and characterized genes and will prove their value in further improving the cultivated tomato.

Molecular and Historical Aspects of Corn Belt Dent Diversity

Tens-of-thousands of open-pollinated cultivars of corn (Zea mays L.) are being maintained in germplasm banks. Knowledge of the amount and distribution of genetic variation within and among accessions can aid end users in choosing among them. We estimated molecular genetic variation and looked for influences of pedigree, adaptation, and migration in the genetic makeup of conserved Corn-Belt Dent-related germplasm. Plants sampled from 57 accessions representing Corn-Belt Dents, Northern Flints, Southern Dents, plus 12 public inbreds, were genotyped at 20 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci. For 47 of the accessions, between 5 and 23 plants per accession were genotyped (mean = 9.3). Mean number of alleles per locus was 6.5 overall, 3.17 within accessions, and 3.20 within pooled inbreds. Mean gene diversity was 0.53 within accessions and 0.61 within pooled inbreds. Open-pollinated accessions showed a tendency toward inbreeding (FIS = 0.09), and 85% of genetic variation was shared among them. A Fitch-Margoliash tree strongly supported the distinctiveness of flint from dent germplasm but did not otherwise reveal evidence of genetic structure. Mantel tests revealed significant correlations between genetic distance and geographical (r = 0.54, P= 0.04) or maturity zone (r = 0.33, P = 0.03) distance only if flint germplasm was included in the analyses. A significant correlation (r = 0.76, P \u3c 0.01) was found between days to pollen shed and maturity zone of accession origin. Pedigree, rather than migration or selection, has most influenced the genetic structure of the extant representatives of the open-pollinated cultivars at these SSR loci

Phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotides induce the formation of nuclear bodies

Antisense oligonucleotides are powerful tools for the in vivo regulation of gene expression. We have characterized the intracellular distribution of fluorescently tagged phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides (PS-ONs) at high resolution under conditions in which PS-ONs have the potential to display antisense activity. Under these conditions PS-ONs predominantly localized to the cell nucleus where they accumulated in 20-30 bright spherical foci designated phosphorothioate bodies (PS bodies), which were set against a diffuse nucleoplasmic population excluding nucleoli. PS bodies are nuclear structures that formed in cells after PS-ON delivery by transfection agents or microinjection but were observed irrespectively of antisense activity or sequence. Ultrastructurally, PS bodies corresponded to electron-dense structures of 150-300 nm diameter and resembled nuclear bodies that were found with lower frequency in cells lacking PS-ONs. The environment of a living cell was required for the de novo formation of PS bodies, which occurred within minutes after the introduction of PS-ONs. PS bodies were stable entities that underwent noticeable reorganization only during mitosis. Upon exit from mitosis, PS bodies were assembled de novo from diffuse PS-ON pools in the daughter nuclei. In situ fractionation demonstrated an association of PS-ONs with the nuclear matrix. Taken together, our data provide evidence for the formation of a nuclear body in cells after introduction of phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides