Deployment evaluation methodology for the electrometallurgical treatment of DOE-EM spent nuclear fuel

Part of the Department of Energy (DOE) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) inventory may require some type of treatment to meet acceptance criteria at various disposition sites. The current focus for much of this spent nuclear fuel is the electrometallurgical treatment process under development at Argonne National Laboratory. Potential flowsheets for this treatment process are presented. Deployment of the process for the treatment of the spent nuclear fuel requires evaluation to determine the spent nuclear fuel program need for treatment and compatibility of the spent nuclear fuel with the process. The evaluation of need includes considerations of cost, technical feasibility, process material disposition, and schedule to treat a proposed fuel. A siting evaluation methodology has been developed to account for these variables. A work breakdown structure is proposed to gather life-cycle cost information to allow evaluation of alternative siting strategies on a similar basis. The evaluation methodology, while created specifically for the electrometallurgical evaluation, has been written such that it could be applied to any potential treatment process that is a disposition option for spent nuclear fuel. Future work to complete the evaluation of the process for electrometallurgical treatment is discussed

Deployment Evaluation Methodology for the Electrometallurgical Treatment of DOE-EM Spent Nuclear Fuel

The Department of Energy - Environmental Management (DOE-EM) National Spent Nuclear Fuel Program (NSNFP) is charged with the disposition of legacy spent nuclear fuel (SNF). While direct repository disposal of the SNF is the preferred disposition option, some DOE SNF may need treatment to meet acceptance criteria at various disposition sites. The treatments may range from electrometallurgical treatment (EMT) and chemical dissolution to engineering controls. As a planning basis, a need is assumed for a treatment process, either as a primary or backup technology, that is compatible with, and cost-effective for, this portion of the DOE-EM inventory. The current planning option for treating this SNF, pending completion of development work and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis, is the EMT process under development by Argonne National Laboratory - West (ANL-W). A decision on the deployment of the EMT is pending completion of an engineering scale demonstration currently in progress at ANL-W. For this study, a set of questions was developed for the EMT process for fuels at several locations. The set of questions addresses all issues associated with design, construction, and operation of a production facility. A matrix table was developed to determine questions applicable to various fuel treatment options. A work breakdown structure (WBS) was developed to identify a treatment process and costs from initial design to shipment of treatment products to final disposition. Costs were applied to determine the life-cycle cost of each option. This technique can also be applied to other treatment techniques for treating SNF

Testing one-body density functionals on a solvable model

There are several physically motivated density matrix functionals in the literature, built from the knowledge of the natural orbitals and the occupation numbers of the one-body reduced density matrix. With the help of the equivalent phase-space formalism, we thoroughly test some of the most popular of those functionals on a completely solvable model.Comment: Latex, 16 pages, 4 figure

Photo- and Electron-Production of Mesons on Nucleons and Nuclei

In these lectures I will show some results obtained with the chiral unitary approach applied to the photo and electroproduction of mesons. The results for photoproduction of $\eta \pi^0 p$ and $K^0 \pi^0 \Sigma^+$, together with related reactions will be shown, having with common denominator the excitation of the $\Delta(1700)$ resonance which is one of those dynamically generated in the chiral unitary approach. Then I will show results obtained for the $e^+ e^- \to \phi f_0(980)$ reaction which reproduce the bulk of the data except for a pronounced peak, giving support to a new mesonic resonance, X(2175). Results will also be shown for the electromagnetic form factors of the $N^*(1535)$ resonance, also dynamically generated in this approach. Finally, I will show some results on the photoproduction of the $\omega$ in nuclei, showing that present experimental results claiming a shift of the $\omega$ mass in the medium are tied to a particular choice of background and are not conclusive. One the other hand, the same experimental results show unambiguously a huge increase of the $\omega$ width in the nuclear medium.Comment: Lecture at the "International School of Nuclear Physics", 29th Course Quarks in Hadrons and Nuclei, Erice, Italy, September 2007. Note added in Proofs concerning the mixed events technique and other comments on omega productio

PRIMA1 mutation: A new cause of nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy

Objective Nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE) can be sporadic or autosomal dominant; some families have nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit mutations. We report a novel autosomal recessive phenotype in a single family and identify the causative gene. Methods Whole exome sequencing data was used to map the family, thereby narrowing exome search space, and then to identify the mutation. Results Linkage analysis using exome sequence data from two affected and two unaffected subjects showed homozygous linkage peaks on chromosomes 7, 8, 13, and 14 with maximum LOD scores between 1.5 and 1.93. Exome variant filtering under these peaks revealed that the affected siblings were homozygous for a novel splice site mutation (c.93+2T>C) in the PRIMA1 gene on chromosome 14. No additional PRIMA1 mutations were found in 300 other NFLE cases. The c.93+2T>C mutation was shown to lead to skipping of the first coding exon of the PRIMA1 mRNA using a minigene system. Interpretation PRIMA1 is a transmembrane protein that anchors acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme hydrolyzing acetycholine, to membrane rafts of neurons. PRiMA knockout mice have reduction of AChE and accumulation of acetylcholine at the synapse; our minigene analysis suggests that the c.93+2T>C mutation leads to knockout of PRIMA1. Mutations with gain of function effects in acetylcholine receptor subunits cause autosomal dominant NFLE. Thus, enhanced cholinergic responses are the likely cause of the severe NFLE and intellectual disability segregating in this family, representing the first recessive case to be reported and the first PRIMA1 mutation implicated in disease

De Novo Sequence and Copy Number Variants Are Strongly Associated with Tourette Disorder and Implicate Cell Polarity in Pathogenesis.

We previously established the contribution of de novo damaging sequence variants to Tourette disorder (TD) through whole-exome sequencing of 511 trios. Here, we sequence an additional 291 TD trios and analyze the combined set of 802 trios. We observe an overrepresentation of de novo damaging variants in simplex, but not multiplex, families; we identify a high-confidence TD risk gene, CELSR3 (cadherin EGF LAG seven-pass G-type receptor 3); we find that the genes mutated in TD patients are enriched for those related to cell polarity, suggesting a common pathway underlying pathobiology; and we confirm a statistically significant excess of de novo copy number variants in TD. Finally, we identify significant overlap of de novo sequence variants between TD and obsessive-compulsive disorder and de novo copy number variants between TD and autism spectrum disorder, consistent with shared genetic risk

Spatial and temporal variation of fish assemblage associated with aquatic macrophyte patches in the littoral zone of the Ayapel Swamp Complex, Colombia

ABSTRACT: Aim: The purpose of the present study was to examine spatial and temporal variation in fish assemblage structure associated with aquatic macrophytes in the littoral zone of the ASC. Methods: Specimens were caught between January 2008 and February 2009, over four limnimetric moments, using both cast net and seine net. Data on the temperature, electrical conductivity, pH and dissolved oxygen was recorded for the characterization of the water mass in the sites. Results: A total of 34,151 specimens from 44 species were collected. The most abundant species were Eigenmannia virescens, Astyanax caucanus, Astyanax fasciatus, Roeboides dayi and Cyphocharax magdalenae, which together accounted for more than 75% of the sample. Temporal and spatial comparisons showed variation in the environmental conditions and highlighted the existence of heterogeneous abiotic conditions (p0.05) regarding the fish assemblage structure. The multivariate analysis showed no significant relationship between existing environmental conditions and the fish assemblage (p=0.04). The analysis also showed the absence of a relationship between the fish assemblage and environmental variables with respect to the flood pulse and sampling sites (p>0.05). Conclusion: The uniformity of the fish communities that inhabit aquatic macrophyte patches in the littoral region of the ASC may be related to the availability of suitable habitat in structural terms, that probably supports a more abundant and varied wildlife

ARIA 2016: Care pathways implementing emerging technologies for predictive medicine in rhinitis and asthma across the life cycle

The Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) initiative commenced during a World Health Organization workshop in 1999. The initial goals were (1) to propose a new allergic rhinitis classification, (2) to promote the concept of multi-morbidity in asthma a

Projected WIMP sensitivity of the LUX-ZEPLIN dark matter experiment

LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) is a next-generation dark matter direct detection experiment that will operate 4850 feet underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota, USA. Using a two-phase xenon detector with an active mass of 7 tonnes, LZ will search primarily for low-energy interactions with weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), which are hypothesized to make up the dark matter in our galactic halo. In this paper, the projected WIMP sensitivity of LZ is presented based on the latest background estimates and simulations of the detector. For a 1000 live day run using a 5.6-tonne fiducial mass, LZ is projected to exclude at 90% confidence level spin-independent WIMP-nucleon cross sections above 1.4 × 10-48cm2 for a 40 GeV/c2 mass WIMP. Additionally, a 5σ discovery potential is projected, reaching cross sections below the exclusion limits of recent experiments. For spin-dependent WIMP-neutron(-proton) scattering, a sensitivity of 2.3 × 10−43 cm2 (7.1 × 10−42 cm2) for a 40 GeV/c2 mass WIMP is expected. With underground installation well underway, LZ is on track for commissioning at SURF in 2020