Annealing tests of in-pile irradiated oxide coated U–Mo/Al–Si dispersed nuclear fuel

Authors do acknowledge the MERARG team for their experimental work (CEA) and F. Charollais, J. Noirot and finally B. Kapusta for their advices and comments. This study was supported by a combined Grant (FRM0911) of the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) and the Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst (StMWFK).U–Mo/Al based nuclear fuels have been worldwide considered as a promising high density fuel for the conversion of high flux research reactors from highly enriched uranium to lower enrichment. In this paper, we present the annealing test up to 1800°C of in-pile irradiated U–Mo/Al–Si fuel plate samples. More than 70% of the fission gases (FGs) are released during two major FG release peaks around 500°C and 670°C. Additional characterisations of the samples by XRD, EPMA and SEM suggest that up to 500°C FGs are released from IDL/matrix interfaces. The second peak at 670°C representing the main release of FGs originates from the interaction between U–Mo and matrix in the vicinity of the cladding

Performance-based grouping of adapted and exotic drought-tolerant maize (Zea mays L) inbred lines under stressed and non-stressed conditions

Knowledge of the heterotic responses of elite adapted and exotic maize inbred lines can facilitate their utilization for population improvement and hybrid development. In the present study, a line x tester mating design was used to determine the combining ability of 20 elite drought-tolerant maize inbred lines developed at CIMMYT and IITA and to classify them into heterotic groups under diverse growing conditions. The 20 lines were crossed each with two inbred line testers representing the tropical and temperate heterotic pattern established in West and Cental Africa (WCA), to generate 40 testcrosses. A trial comprising the 40 testcrosses along with the cross between the two testers and three hybrid checks were evaluated at two environments in the dry season and at six environments in the rainy season. GCA effects were more important than SCA effects in controlling grain yield in both seasons. Two exotic lines in the dry season and four exotic lines in the rainy season had significantly positive GCA effects. Only EXL22 was identified as a superior line in the two seasons. Only two adapted lines had significantly positive GCA effects in either or both seasons while three adapted lines consistently had significantly negative GCA effects in both seasons. Hybrid between EXL22 and tester 9071 showed broad adaptation to all test environments. The two testers separated some of the lines into two main heterotic groups. the lines in each heterotic group and the good combiners will be utilized for developing populations for extracting new improved inbred lines

Lymphoma and Myeloma Cell Resistance to Cytotoxic Agents and Ionizing Radiations Is Not Affected by Exposure to Anti–IL-6 Antibody

Background: Production of high levels of IL-6 is often correlated with resistance to cytotoxics or ionizing radiations, in cancer cell lines as in various cancer patients. We investigated whether monoclonal antibodies directed against IL-6 may enable to reverse resistance of cancer cell lines. Methodology/Principal Findings: We exposed ten haematological cancer cells from lymphoma, myeloma, or leukemia origins to cytotoxics or ionizing radiations and assessed the effects of anti–IL-6 antibody addition on cell proliferation, apoptosis, or IL-6 signaling. A strong correlation between IL-6 secretion, measured by ELISA, and resistance to doxorubicin as ionizing radiations was observed in the multiple myeloma U266 and the Burkitt’s lymphoma Daudi and Namalwa cells. Although an anti–IL-6 antibody combined to both treatments efficiently blocked IL-6 signaling in U266 cells, expressing the IL-6 receptor gp80, it did not increase treatment-induced anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on these cells, as well as on Daudi and Namalwa cells. This lack of effect could be related to diverse factors: 1) a higher release of the soluble form of IL-6 receptor gp80 in response to doxorubicin and irradiation from all cell lines, 2) an impaired level of the IL-6 pathway inhibitor SOCS3 in Daudi cells, and 3) an increased release of IL-10 and TNFa, two cytokines involved in cell radio- and chemoresistance. Conclusions/Significance: These data support the fact that IL-6 is not the preponderant actor of cell resistance to cytotoxic

Application of Max-min Ant System in Modelling the Inspectional Tour of Main Sales Points of Ghacem In Ghana.

Ant colony optimization (ACO) has widely been applied to solve combinatorial optimization problems in recent years. There are few studies, however, on its convergence time, which re?ects how many iteration times ACO algorithms spend in converging to the optimal solution. This study aims at using a Max-Min Ant System (MMAS), which belongs to Ants Algorithm to obtain optimal tour of the Travelling Salesman Problem of Ghacem. The study considered a twelve city node graph (major sales point of Ghacem) with the nodes representing the twelve cities, and the edges representing the major roads linking the cities. Secondary data of the inter-city driving distances was obtained from the Ghana Highway Authority. The results showed that the objective of finding the minimum tour from the Symmetric Travelling Salesman Problem (STSP) model by using Max-Min Ants System (MMAS) Algorithm was successfully achieved. The optimal route of total cost distance was found to be 1873Km. Therefore, Ghacem could minimize the cost of transportation  as the  Directors of Ghacem Ghana go on a tour to check on the sales performance  of the twelve key Distributors in the  major sales points in Ghana, starting from Tema where the company’s Head office is sited. It is very prudent for the company to rely on MMAS model to reduce fuel cost in order to maximize profit. In doing so it go along way to increase the tax revenue of the state. Keywords: Max-Min Ants System (MMAS), Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), Algorithm, Travelling Salesman (TSP), Ghace