Report on existing vocational European Fission Training Schemes and their accreditation

This report was produced as a deliverable in the frame of the ENEN Plus project. It provides an overview of all twenty-five projects carried out under the Euratom Fission Training Schemes (EFTS) and their main achievements. Almost all projects are completed to date except for three. The EFTS's ultimate goal is to develop a European passport for Continuous Professional Development, which relies on the principles of modularity of courses and common qualification criteria, a common mutual recognition system, and the facilitation of teacher, student and worker mobility across the EU. The conclusions of this review will be published in a separate report.JRC.G.10-Knowledge for Nuclear Security and Safet

The young generation in radiation protection (IRPA YGN) in social media and online learning: "Brave New World" or "Online Nightmare"?

[EN] While online working seems to have become more common since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, social media has the potential to offer greater interactivity and networking capacities. Thus it seems relevant for the IRPA Young Generation Network to investigate the use of social media by members of the young generation in radiation protection (RP) through an online survey. It was also the opportunity to collect early feedback about on-line learning. The survey received 89 answers from 15 countries. The most commonly used social media platforms were first Facebook, then LinkedIn and Twitter, but other social media were reported. The respondents have a multi-objectives approach while on social media, using it for different purposes (chiefly for sharing news and RP related information/educational material) and different audiences (e.g. public, professional). Yet, they are making a very moderate use based on the frequencies of publication and consultation and the challenges they see in social media. The survey also collected the view of the young generation about their practical experience in learning in a virtual setting and its advantages and disadvantages vs. in-person learning. Most participants expressed mixed-feelings about on-line learning. The results show that the young generation can play a role in supporting the extra- and intra-communication activities of the RP community.Andresz, S.; Papp, C.; Clarijs, T.; Sakoda, A.; Sáez-Muñoz, M.; Qiu, R. (2022). The young generation in radiation protection (IRPA YGN) in social media and online learning: "Brave New World" or "Online Nightmare"?. Journal of Radiological Protection. 42(3):1-10. https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6498/ac8a5411042

Predicting plasticity-controlled failure of glassy polymers:influence of stress-accelerated progressive physical aging

\u3cp\u3eThis study focuses on the prediction of long-term failure of glassy polymers under static or cyclic loading conditions, including the role of stress-accelerated progressive aging. Progressive physical aging plays a dominant role in a polymer's performance under prolonged loading conditions, and to obtain accurate predictions of failure, its effect has to be considered. First, the aging kinetics, as influenced by temperature and stress history, are studied extensively. Similar to an elevated temperature, the application of a stress (below the yield stress) activates the aging process, and as a result, the yield stress will evolve faster in time. The activation by stress appears to be limited; at some stress level, the activation stagnates and is followed by rejuvenation. This evolution is captured in a model by introducing a state parameter, which describes the thermodynamic state of the material and is directly linked to the yield stress. With the aging kinetics included in the model, an accurate prediction of the failure time for cyclic loading conditions is obtained. For static loading conditions, however, the effect of physical aging is overestimated because of the stagnation of the activation by stress. It appears that there are marked differences in the stress level where stagnation and subsequent rejuvenation occur for a cyclic or static load.\u3c/p\u3

Predicting plasticity-controlled failure of glassy polymers: influence of stress-accelerated progressive physical aging

This study focuses on the prediction of long-term failure of glassy polymers under static or cyclic loading conditions, including the role of stress-accelerated progressive aging. Progressive physical aging plays a dominant role in a polymer's performance under prolonged loading conditions, and to obtain accurate predictions of failure, its effect has to be considered. First, the aging kinetics, as influenced by temperature and stress history, are studied extensively. Similar to an elevated temperature, the application of a stress (below the yield stress) activates the aging process, and as a result, the yield stress will evolve faster in time. The activation by stress appears to be limited; at some stress level, the activation stagnates and is followed by rejuvenation. This evolution is captured in a model by introducing a state parameter, which describes the thermodynamic state of the material and is directly linked to the yield stress. With the aging kinetics included in the model, an accurate prediction of the failure time for cyclic loading conditions is obtained. For static loading conditions, however, the effect of physical aging is overestimated because of the stagnation of the activation by stress. It appears that there are marked differences in the stress level where stagnation and subsequent rejuvenation occur for a cyclic or static load

Predicting plasticity‐controlled failure of glassy polymers: Influence of stress‐accelerated progressive physical aging

This study focuses on the prediction of long-term failure of glassy polymers under static or cyclic loading conditions, including the role of stress-accelerated progressive aging. Progressive physical aging plays a dominant role in a polymer's performance under prolonged loading conditions, and to obtain accurate predictions of failure, its effect has to be considered. First, the aging kinetics, as influenced by temperature and stress history, are studied extensively. Similar to an elevated temperature, the application of a stress (below the yield stress) activates the aging process, and as a result, the yield stress will evolve faster in time. The activation by stress appears to be limited; at some stress level, the activation stagnates and is followed by rejuvenation. This evolution is captured in a model by introducing a state parameter, which describes the thermodynamic state of the material and is directly linked to the yield stress. With the aging kinetics included in the model, an accurate prediction of the failure time for cyclic loading conditions is obtained. For static loading conditions, however, the effect of physical aging is overestimated because of the stagnation of the activation by stress. It appears that there are marked differences in the stress level where stagnation and subsequent rejuvenation occur for a cyclic or static load

EGFRvIII expression triggers a metabolic dependency and therapeutic vulnerability sensitive to autophagy inhibition

<p>Expression of EGFRvIII is frequently observed in glioblastoma and is associated with increased cellular proliferation, enhanced tolerance to metabolic stresses, accelerated tumor growth, therapy resistance and poor prognosis. We observed that expression of EGFRvIII elevates the activation of macroautophagy/autophagy during starvation and hypoxia and explored the underlying mechanism and consequence. Autophagy was inhibited (genetically or pharmacologically) and its consequence for tolerance to metabolic stress and its therapeutic potential in (EGFRvIII⁺) glioblastoma was assessed in cellular systems, (patient derived) tumor xenopgrafts and glioblastoma patients. Autophagy inhibition abrogated the enhanced proliferation and survival advantage of EGFRvIII⁺ cells during stress conditions, decreased tumor hypoxia and delayed tumor growth in EGFRvIII⁺ tumors. These effects can be attributed to the supporting role of autophagy in meeting the high metabolic demand of EGFRvIII⁺ cells. As hypoxic tumor cells greatly contribute to therapy resistance, autophagy inhibition revokes the radioresistant phenotype of EGFRvIII⁺ tumors in (patient derived) xenograft tumors. In line with these findings, retrospective analysis of glioblastoma patients indicated that chloroquine treatment improves survival of all glioblastoma patients, but patients with EGFRvIII⁺ glioblastoma benefited most. Our findings disclose the unique autophagy dependency of EGFRvIII⁺ glioblastoma as a therapeutic opportunity. Chloroquine treatment may therefore be considered as an additional treatment strategy for glioblastoma patients and can reverse the worse prognosis of patients with EGFRvIII⁺ glioblastoma.</p