Characterization of Bacteria in Ballast Water Using MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

To evaluate a rapid and cost-effective method for monitoring bacteria in ballast water, several marine bacterial isolates were characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Since International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations are concerned with the unintended transportation of pathogenic bacteria through ballast water, emphasis was placed on detecting species of Vibrio, enterococci and coliforms. Seawater samples collected from the North Sea were incubated in steel ballast tanks and the presence of potentially harmful species of Pseudomonas was also investigated. At the genus-level, the identification of thirty six isolates using MALDI-TOF MS produced similar results to those obtained by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. No pathogenic species were detected either by 16S rRNA gene analysis or by MALDI-TOF MS except for the opportunistically pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, in house software that calculated the correlation coefficient values (CCV) of the mass spectral raw data and their variation was developed and used to allow the rapid and efficient identification of marine bacteria in ballast water for the first time

Simulator platform for fast reactor operation and safety technology demonstration

A simulator platform for visualization and demonstration of innovative concepts in fast reactor technology is described. The objective is to make more accessible the workings of fast reactor technology innovations and to do so in a human factors environment that uses state-of-the art visualization technologies. In this work the computer codes in use at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for the design of fast reactor systems are being integrated to run on this platform. This includes linking reactor systems codes with mechanical structures codes and using advanced graphics to depict the thermo-hydraulic-structure interactions that give rise to an inherently safe response to upsets. It also includes visualization of mechanical systems operation including advanced concepts that make use of robotics for operations, in-service inspection, and maintenance

Simulator platform for fast reactor operation and safety technology demonstration

A simulator platform for visualization and demonstration of innovative concepts in fast reactor technology is described. The objective is to make more accessible the workings of fast reactor technology innovations and to do so in a human factors environment that uses state-of-the art visualization technologies. In this work the computer codes in use at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) for the design of fast reactor systems are being integrated to run on this platform. This includes linking reactor systems codes with mechanical structures codes and using advanced graphics to depict the thermo-hydraulic-structure interactions that give rise to an inherently safe response to upsets. It also includes visualization of mechanical systems operation including advanced concepts that make use of robotics for operations, in-service inspection, and maintenance

ChimeraTK: A Toolkit for Modular Control Applications

The DESY ChimeraTK (formerly called MTCA4U) is a collection of C++ libraries which facilitate the development of control applications. Special importance has been placed on abstraction from communication layers to simplify writing applications in heterogenous environments or reusing applications in a different facility. Access to hardware is realised with the deviceaccess library through an extensible register-based interface. Starting from PCI Express (e.g. used inside MicroTCA.4 crates) a growing number of backends allow to communicate also through network protocols and even access other control applications. Features like register name mapping and automatic type conversion make the software robust against firmware and hardware changes. The control system adapter allows to write applications which can be used in different SCADA systems such as DOOCS, EPICS or OPC-UA with little to no changes in the source code. We give an update on status of the toolkit and present new features which have recently been implemented or are currently being developed

Abstracted Hardware and Middleware Access in Control Applications

Hardware access often brings implementation details into a control application, which are subsequently published to the control system. Experience at DESY has shown that it is beneficial for the software quality to use a high level of abstraction from the beginning of a project. Some hardware registers for instance can immediately be treated as process variables if an appropriate library is taking care of most of the error handling. Other parts of the hardware need an additional layer to match the abstraction level of the application. Like this development cycles can be shortened and the code is easier to read and maintain because the logic focuses on what is done, not how it is done. We present the abstraction concept we are using, which is not only unifying the access to hardware but also how process variables are published via the control system middleware