Fatal Dengue in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease or Sickle Cell Anemia in Curaçao: Two Case Reports

<p>Fatal Dengue in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease or Sickle Cell Anemia in Curaçao: Two Case Reports</p

Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a UK university identifies dynamics of transmission

AbstractUnderstanding SARS-CoV-2 transmission in higher education settings is important to limit spread between students, and into at-risk populations. In this study, we sequenced 482 SARS-CoV-2 isolates from the University of Cambridge from 5 October to 6 December 2020. We perform a detailed phylogenetic comparison with 972 isolates from the surrounding community, complemented with epidemiological and contact tracing data, to determine transmission dynamics. We observe limited viral introductions into the university; the majority of student cases were linked to a single genetic cluster, likely following social gatherings at a venue outside the university. We identify considerable onward transmission associated with student accommodation and courses; this was effectively contained using local infection control measures and following a national lockdown. Transmission clusters were largely segregated within the university or the community. Our study highlights key determinants of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and effective interventions in a higher education setting that will inform public health policy during pandemics.</jats:p

How Many Did You Say? Historical and Projected Spent Nuclear Fuel Shipments in the United States, 1964 - 2048

No comprehensive, up-to-date, official database exists for spent nuclear fuel shipments in the United States. The authors review the available data sources, and conclude that the absence of such a database can only be rectified by a major research effort, similar to that carried out by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the early 1990s. Based on a variety of published references, and unpublished data from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the authors estimate cumulative U.S. shipments of commercial spent fuel for the period 1964-2001. The cumulative estimates include quantity shipped, number of cask-shipments, and shipment-miles, by truck and by rail. The authors review previous estimates of future spent fuel shipments, including contractor reports prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), NRC, and the State of Nevada. The DOE Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for Yucca Mountain includes projections of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive was te shipments for two inventory disposal scenarios (24 years and 38 years) and two national transportation modal scenarios (''mostly legal-weight truck'' and ''mostly rail''). Commercial spent fuel would compromise about 90 percent of the wastes shipped to the repository. The authors estimate potential shipments to Yucca Mountain over 38 years (2010-2048) for the DOE ''mostly legal-weight truck'' and ''mostly rail'' scenarios, and for an alternative modal mix scenario based on current shipping capabilities of the 72 commercial reactor sites. The cumulative estimates of future spent fuel shipments include quantity shipped, number of cask-shipments, and shipment-miles, by legal-weight truck, heavy-haul truck, rail and barge

Implications of the Baltimore Rail Tunnel Fire For Full-scale Testing of Shipping Casks

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) does not currently require full-scale physical testing of shipping casks as part of its certification process. Stakeholders have long urged NRC to require full-scale testing as part of certification. NRC is currently preparing a full-scale casktesting proposal as part of the Package Performance Study (PPS) that grew out of the NRC reexamination of the Modal Study. The State of Nevada and Clark County remain committed to the position that demonstration testing would not be an acceptable substitute for a combination of full-scale testing, scale-model tests, and computer simulation of each new cask design prior to certification. Based on previous analyses of cask testing issues, and on preliminary findings regarding the July 2001Baltimore rail tunnel fire, the authors recommend that NRC prioritize extra-regulatory thermal testing of a large rail cask and the GA-4 truck cask under the PPS. The specific fire conditions and other aspects of the full-scale extra-regulatory tests recommended for the PPS are yet to be determined. NRC, in consultation with stakeholders, must consider past real-world accidents and computer simulations to establish temperature failure thresholds for cask containment and fuel cladding. The cost of extra-regulatory thermal testing is yet to be determined. The minimum cost for regulatory thermal testing of a legal-weight truck cask would likely be $3.3-3.8 million