Challenges and Progress in improving Safety and Managing Radioactive Wastes at Chornobyl NPP and in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone

The commissioning of the New Safe Confinement at the Chornobyl Nuclear Plant Unit 4 site will mark the achievement of one important milestone within the process “conversion of the Chornobyl Unit 4 into safe ecologic conditions”. New radioactive waste management facilities have been developed at Chornobyl Nuclear Plant and at Vektor Complex to ensure the safe management of radioactive wastes in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. The continued investigations and safety assessments of different legacy waste sites which were created as part of the accident response measures confirm the efficiency of the measures of the past are and consolidate the basis for the strategy for the safe management of legacy wastes. All these together demonstrates that the national and international efforts vested to manage the consequences of the Chornobyl accident have achieved substantial and visible progress in safety and long term safety will be achieved by their consistent continuation.Уведення в експлуатацію нового безпечного конфайнмента на майданчику № 4 ЧАЕС ознаменує досягнення однієї важливої віхи у процесі перетворення чорнобильського енергоблока № 4 на екологічну безпечну систему. Нові об'єкти з поводження з радіоактивними відходами були розроблені на ЧАЕС і в комплексі "Вектор" для забезпечення безпечного поводження з радіоактивними відходами в чорнобильській зоні відчуження. Тривалі дослідження та оцінки безпеки різних майданчиків відходів, що були створені в рамках робіт із мінімізації наслідків катастрофи, підтверджують ефективність заходів, проведених у минулому та формують основу стратегії безпечного поводження з відходами, що залишились у спадщину. Усе це разом показує, що національні та міжнародні зусилля, спрямовані на контроль впливу наслідків Чорнобильської аварії, досягли суттєвого й помітного прогресу в галузі безпеки, і довгострокова безпека буде досягнута завдяки їхньому послідовному продовженню.Введение в эксплуатацию нового безопасного конфайнмента на площадке № 4 ЧАЭС ознаменует достижение важной вехи в процессе преобразования чернобыльского энергоблока № 4 в экологически безопасную систему. Новые объекты по обращению с радиоактивными отходами были построены на ЧАЭС и в комплексе "Вектор" для обеспечения безопасного обращения с радиоактивными отходами в чернобыльской зоне отчуждения. Длительные исследования и оценки безопасности различных наследственных площадок отходов, которые были созданы в рамках мероприятий по реагированию на катастрофу, подтверждают эффективность мер прошлого и закрепляют основу стратегии безопасного обращения с наследственными отходами. Все это вместе показывает, что национальные и международные усилия, направленные на контроль над воздействиями последствий Чернобыльской аварии, достигли существенного и заметного прогресса в области безопасности, и долгосрочная безопасность будет достигнута благодаря их последовательному продлению

An outbreak of coxsackievirus A6 hand, foot, and mouth disease associated with onychomadesis in Taiwan, 2010

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In 2010, an outbreak of coxsackievirus A6 (CA6) hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) occurred in Taiwan and some patients presented with onychomadesis and desquamation following HFMD. Therefore, we performed an epidemiological and molecular investigation to elucidate the characteristics of this outbreak.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients who had HFMD with positive enterovirus isolation results were enrolled. We performed a telephone interview with enrolled patients or their caregivers to collect information concerning symptoms, treatments, the presence of desquamation, and the presence of nail abnormalities. The serotypes of the enterovirus isolates were determined using indirect immunofluorescence assays. The VP1 gene was sequenced and the phylogenetic tree for the current CA6 strains in 2010, 52 previous CA6 strains isolated in Taiwan from 1998 through 2009, along with 8 reference sequences from other countries was constructed using the neighbor-joining command in MEGA software.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 130 patients with laboratory-confirmed CA6 infection, some patients with CA6 infection also had eruptions around the perioral area (28, 22%), the trunk and/or the neck (39, 30%) and generalized skin eruptions (6, 5%) in addition to the typical presentation of skin eruptions on the hands, feet, and mouths. Sixty-six (51%) CA6 patients experienced desquamation of palms and soles after the infection episode and 48 (37%) CA6 patients developed onychomadesis, which only occurred in 7 (5%) of 145 cases with non-CA6 enterovirus infection (<it>p </it>< 0.001). The sequences of viral protein 1 of CA6 in 2010 differ from those found in Taiwan before 2010, but are similar to those found in patients in Finland in 2008.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>HFMD patients with CA6 infection experienced symptoms targeting a broader spectrum of skin sites and more profound tissue destruction, i.e., desquamation and nail abnormalities.</p

DLA Class II Alleles Are Associated with Risk for Canine Symmetrical Lupoid Onychodystropy (SLO)

Symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy (SLO) is an immune-mediated disease in dogs affecting the claws with a suggested autoimmune aethiology. Sequence-based genotyping of the polymorphic exon 2 from DLA-DRB1, -DQA1, and -DQB1 class II loci were performed in a total of 98 SLO Gordon setter cases and 98 healthy controls. A risk haplotype (DRB1*01801/DQA1*00101/DQB1*00802) was present in 53% of cases and 34% of controls and conferred an elevated risk of developing SLO with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.1. When dogs homozygous for the risk haplotype were compared to all dogs not carrying the haplotype the OR was 5.4. However, a stronger protective haplotype (DRB1*02001/DQA1*00401/DQB1*01303, OR = 0.03, 1/OR = 33) was present in 16.8% of controls, but only in a single case (0.5%). The effect of the protective haplotype was clearly stronger than the risk haplotype, since 11.2% of the controls were heterozygous for the risk and protective haplotypes, whereas this combination was absent from cases. When the dogs with the protective haplotype were excluded, an OR of 2.5 was obtained when dogs homozygous for the risk haplotype were compared to those heterozygous for the risk haplotype, suggesting a co-dominant effect of the risk haplotype. In smaller sample sizes of the bearded collie and giant schnauzer breeds we found the same or similar haplotypes, sharing the same DQA1 allele, over-represented among the cases suggesting that the risk is associated primarily with DLA-DQ. We obtained conclusive results that DLA class II is significantly associated with risk of developing SLO in Gordon setters, thus supporting that SLO is an immune-mediated disease. Further studies of SLO in dogs may provide important insight into immune privilege of the nail apparatus and also knowledge about a number of inflammatory disorders of the nail apparatus like lichen planus, psoriasis, alopecia areata and onycholysis

Nail lacquer films’ surface energies and in vitro water-resistance and adhesion do not predict their in vivo residence

The in vivo residence of nail lacquers (which are ideal topical drug carriers for the treatment of nail diseases) determines their frequency of application, and is thereby expected to influence patient adherence and success of treatment. Thus in vitro measurements to indicate lacquers’ in vivo residence are routinely conducted during formulation development. However the literature on in vitro-in vivo correlations is severely limited. Thus, the aim of the work discussed in this paper was to investigate correlations between in vivo residence and in vitro film resistance to water, in vitro film adhesion and surface energy of lacquer films. In vivo measurements were conducted on fingernails in six volunteers. Seven commercially available nail lacquers were tested in commonly-used measurements. Correlations between in vivo residence and in vitro water resistance and adhesion were found to be extremely poor. The surface energies of the lacquer films (which were between 33 and 39 mJ/m2) were also not predictive of in vivo residence. High density polyethylene (HDPE) sheet – whose surface energy was determined to be similar to that of the human nailplate – was found to be a suitable model for the nailplate (when investigating surface energy) and was used in a number of experiments

A genomic biomarker signature can predict skin sensitizers using a cell-based in vitro alternative to animal tests

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Allergic contact dermatitis is an inflammatory skin disease that affects a significant proportion of the population. This disease is caused by an adverse immune response towards chemical haptens, and leads to a substantial economic burden for society. Current test of sensitizing chemicals rely on animal experimentation. New legislations on the registration and use of chemicals within pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries have stimulated significant research efforts to develop alternative, human cell-based assays for the prediction of sensitization. The aim is to replace animal experiments with in vitro tests displaying a higher predictive power.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have developed a novel cell-based assay for the prediction of sensitizing chemicals. By analyzing the transcriptome of the human cell line MUTZ-3 after 24 h stimulation, using 20 different sensitizing chemicals, 20 non-sensitizing chemicals and vehicle controls, we have identified a biomarker signature of 200 genes with potent discriminatory ability. Using a Support Vector Machine for supervised classification, the prediction performance of the assay revealed an area under the ROC curve of 0.98. In addition, categorizing the chemicals according to the LLNA assay, this gene signature could also predict sensitizing potency. The identified markers are involved in biological pathways with immunological relevant functions, which can shed light on the process of human sensitization.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A gene signature predicting sensitization, using a human cell line in vitro, has been identified. This simple and robust cell-based assay has the potential to completely replace or drastically reduce the utilization of test systems based on experimental animals. Being based on human biology, the assay is proposed to be more accurate for predicting sensitization in humans, than the traditional animal-based tests.</p

A systematic review of the safety of topical therapies for atopic dermatitis

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75613/1/j.1365-2133.2006.07538.x.pd