Ba(OH)(2) - blast furnace slag composite binders for encapsulation of sulphate bearing nuclear waste

The present study investigated the feasibility of the immobilisation of sulphate bearing radioactive wastes in blast furnace slag (BFS) based binders. BaSO4–BFS composites were produced via two methods using Na2SO4 as a waste simulant, along with Ba(OH)2 to promote precipitation of BaSO4 in an insoluble sulphate form and the consequent activation of the BFS. BaSO4 was effectively formed by both methods, and solid wasteforms were successfully produced. Although both methods produced BaSO4 embedded in the cement-like composites, different reaction products including ettringite and witherite were produced, depending on the order Ba(OH)2 was mixed with the system. These results show that the immobilisation of soluble sulphate-bearing aqueous wastes is achievable in Na2SO4–Ba(OH)2–BFS composites

Exploratory research in alternative raw material sources and reformulation for industrial soda-lime-silica glass batch

For energy saving and CO2 emissions reduction, in addition to extending the range of suitable raw material sources for glass manufacture, compositional reformulation, and alternative raw materials have been studied in the context of industrial container and float‐type soda‐lime‐silica (SLS) glasses. Lithium, potassium, and boron were applied to modify benchmark glass compositions. Reformulation impacts on key glass properties including the viscosity‐temperature relationship, thermal expansion, liquidus temperature, forming behavior and color. Compared to the benchmark glass, representative of commercial SLS glasses, melting temperatures (taken as temperatures corresponding to log (viscosity/dPa·s) = 2) of reformulated glasses are reduced by 11°C‐55°C. Investigation of four industrial by‐products (seashell waste, eggshell waste, biomass ash, and rice husk ash), and their potential suitability as alternative glass batch raw materials, was also conducted. Seashell waste and biomass ash were successfully introduced into representative green glass formulations

Transfer of learning between unimanual and bimanual rhythmic movement coordination: transfer is a function of the task dynamic.

Under certain conditions, learning can transfer from a trained task to an untrained version of that same task. However, it is as yet unclear what those certain conditions are or why learning transfers when it does. Coordinated rhythmic movement is a valuable model system for investigating transfer because we have a model of the underlying task dynamic that includes perceptual coupling between the limbs being coordinated. The model predicts that (1) coordinated rhythmic movements, both bimanual and unimanual, are organised with respect to relative motion information for relative phase in the coupling function, (2) unimanual is less stable than bimanual coordination because the coupling is unidirectional rather than bidirectional, and (3) learning a new coordination is primarily about learning to perceive and use the relevant information which, with equal perceptual improvement due to training, yields equal transfer of learning from bimanual to unimanual coordination and vice versa [but, given prediction (2), the resulting performance is also conditioned by the intrinsic stability of each task]. In the present study, two groups were trained to produce 90° either unimanually or bimanually, respectively, and tested in respect to learning (namely improved performance in the trained 90° coordination task and improved visual discrimination of 90°) and transfer of learning (to the other, untrained 90° coordination task). Both groups improved in the task condition in which they were trained and in their ability to visually discriminate 90°, and this learning transferred to the untrained condition. When scaled by the relative intrinsic stability of each task, transfer levels were found to be equal. The results are discussed in the context of the perception–action approach to learning and performance

The feasibility of canine rabies elimination in Africa: dispelling doubts with data

<p><b>Background:</b> Canine rabies causes many thousands of human deaths every year in Africa, and continues to increase throughout much of the continent.</p> <p><b>Methodology/Principal Findings:</b> This paper identifies four common reasons given for the lack of effective canine rabies control in Africa: (a) a low priority given for disease control as a result of lack of awareness of the rabies burden; (b) epidemiological constraints such as uncertainties about the required levels of vaccination coverage and the possibility of sustained cycles of infection in wildlife; (c) operational constraints including accessibility of dogs for vaccination and insufficient knowledge of dog population sizes for planning of vaccination campaigns; and (d) limited resources for implementation of rabies surveillance and control. We address each of these issues in turn, presenting data from field studies and modelling approaches used in Tanzania, including burden of disease evaluations, detailed epidemiological studies, operational data from vaccination campaigns in different demographic and ecological settings, and economic analyses of the cost-effectiveness of dog vaccination for human rabies prevention.</p> <p><b>Conclusions/Significance:</b> We conclude that there are no insurmountable problems to canine rabies control in most of Africa; that elimination of canine rabies is epidemiologically and practically feasible through mass vaccination of domestic dogs; and that domestic dog vaccination provides a cost-effective approach to the prevention and elimination of human rabies deaths.</p&gt

Atomic structure of sodium iron phosphate glasses

The atomic structure of a series of sodium iron phosphate glasses is studied using different experimental techniques: X-ray and neutron diffraction (ND), infrared spectroscopy, extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES). Detailed information about the atomic pair correlations is obtained. The high resolution of ND in real space resolves two P–O distances at 1.48 Ǻ and 1.59 Ǻ as expected. All the glasses are found to consist of a phosphate tetrahedral network with metaphosphate chains and pyrophosphate units, and every phosphate unit is found to have two or three nonbridging oxygen (NBO) links available to coordinate with Na and Fe cations. The Fe–O coordination number in these glasses is found to decrease from 5.7 to 4.8 with increasing the Fe content, whereas the Na coordination number of approximately 5 is detected for all the samples

Effects of composition and phase relations on mechanical properties and crystallisation of silicate glasses

Crystallization, mechanical properties and workability are all important for commercialization and optimization of silicate glass compositions. However, the inter-relations of these properties as a function of glass composition have received little investigation. Soda-lime-silica glasses with Na2O-MgO-CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 compositions relevant to commercial glass manufacture were experimentally studied and multiple liquidus temperature and viscosity models were used to complement the experimental results. Liquidus temperatures of the fabricated glasses were measured by the temperature gradient technique, and Rietveld refinements were applied to X-Ray powder diffraction (XRD) data for devitrified glasses, enabling quantitative determination of the crystalline and amorphous fractions and the nature of the crystals. Structural properties were investigated by Raman spectroscopy. Acoustic echography, micro-Vicker’s indentation and single-edge notched bend testing methods were used to measure Young’s moduli, hardness and fracture toughness, respectively. It is shown that it is possible to design lower-melting soda-lime-silica glass compositions without compromising their mechanical and crystallization properties. Unlike Young’s modulus, brittleness is highly responsive to the composition in soda-lime-silica glasses, and notably low brittleness values can be obtained in glasses with compositions in the wollastonite primary phase field: an effect that is more pronounced in the silica primary phase field. The measured bulk crystal fractions of the glasses subjected to devitrification at the lowest possible industrial conditioning temperatures, indicate that soda-lime-silica glass melts can be conditioned close to their liquidus temperatures within the compositional ranges of the primary phase fields of cristobalite, wollastonite or their combinations

Quantum Stochastic Processes and the Modelling of Quantum Noise

This brief article gives an overview of quantum mechanics as a {\em quantum probability theory}. It begins with a review of the basic operator-algebraic elements that connect probability theory with quantum probability theory. Then quantum stochastic processes is formulated as a generalization of stochastic processes within the framework of quantum probability theory. Quantum Markov models from quantum optics are used to explicitly illustrate the underlying abstract concepts and their connections to the quantum regression theorem from quantum optics.Comment: 14 pages, invited article for the second edition of Springer's Encyclopedia of Systems and Control (to appear). Comments welcom

Meat consumption and K-ras mutations in sporadic colon and rectal cancer in The Netherlands Cohort Study

Case–cohort analyses were performed on meat and fish consumption in relation to K-ras mutations in 448 colon and 160 rectal cancers that occurred during 7.3 years of follow-up, excluding the first 2.3 years, and 2948 subcohort members of The Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer. Adjusted incidence rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals were computed for colon and rectal cancer and for K-ras mutation status subgroups. Total fresh meat, most types of fresh meat and fish were not associated with colon or rectal cancer, neither overall nor with K-ras mutation status. However, several weak associations were observed for tumours with a wild-type K-ras, including beef and colon tumours, and an inverse association for pork with colon and rectal tumours; for meat products, an increased association was observed with wild-type K-ras tumours in the colon and possibly with G>A transitions in rectal tumours

A recurrent p.Arg92Trp variant in steroidogenic factor-1 (NR5A1) can act as a molecular switch in human sex development

Cell lineages of the early human gonad commit to one of the two mutually antagonistic organogenetic fates, the testis or the ovary. Some individuals with a 46,XX karyotype develop testes or ovotestes (testicular or ovotesticular disorder of sex development; TDSD/OTDSD), due to the presence of the testis-determining gene, SRY Other rare complex syndromic forms of TDSD/OTDSD are associated with mutations in pro-ovarian genes that repress testis development (e.g. WNT4); however, the genetic cause of the more common non-syndromic forms is unknown. Steroidogenic factor-1 (known as NR5A1) is a key regulator of reproductive development and function. Loss-of-function changes in NR5A1 in 46,XY individuals are associated with a spectrum of phenotypes in humans ranging from a lack of testis formation to male infertility. Mutations in NR5A1 in 46,XX women are associated with primary ovarian insufficiency, which includes a lack of ovary formation, primary and secondary amenorrhoea as well as early menopause. Here, we show that a specific recurrent heterozygous missense mutation (p.Arg92Trp) in the accessory DNA-binding region of NR5A1 is associated with variable degree of testis development in 46,XX children and adults from four unrelated families. Remarkably, in one family a sibling raised as a girl and carrying this NR5A1 mutation was found to have a 46,XY karyotype with partial testicular dysgenesis. These unique findings highlight how a specific variant in a developmental transcription factor can switch organ fate from the ovary to testis in mammals and represents the first missense mutation causing isolated, non-syndromic 46,XX testicular/ovotesticular DSD in humans

2019 international consensus on cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care science with treatment recommendations : summary from the basic life support; advanced life support; pediatric life support; neonatal life support; education, implementation, and teams; and first aid task forces

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation has initiated a continuous review of new, peer-reviewed, published cardiopulmonary resuscitation science. This is the third annual summary of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations. It addresses the most recent published resuscitation evidence reviewed by International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation Task Force science experts. This summary addresses the role of cardiac arrest centers and dispatcher-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the role of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation in adults and children, vasopressors in adults, advanced airway interventions in adults and children, targeted temperature management in children after cardiac arrest, initial oxygen concentration during resuscitation of newborns, and interventions for presyncope by first aid providers. Members from 6 International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation task forces have assessed, discussed, and debated the certainty of the evidence on the basis of the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation criteria, and their statements include consensus treatment recommendations. Insights into the deliberations of the task forces are provided in the Justification and Evidence to Decision Framework Highlights sections. The task forces also listed priority knowledge gaps for further research