MODELING OF ULTRASONIC INSPECTION METHODS FOR GENERATION IV REACTORS

The Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR), a prominent category of Generation IV advanced reactors, involves design challenges for reactor plant in-service inspection (ISI) due to high operating temperatures, coolant opacities that prevent visual inspection, and the tendency for coolant corrosive attack. These challenges limit the feasibility and effectiveness of conventional ISI technologies. To overcome these challenges, acoustic methods that can operate under high temperature conditions are being actively considered in the U.S. as well as internationally. This research investigates the application of ultrasonic transducers, either piezoelectric or electro-magnetic, for LFR inspections. COMSOL Multiphysics software is used to model the effectiveness of thickness measurements, defect detections, and acoustic reflectance, for the reactor vessel and components within or in contact with the coolant. Acoustic absorption due to wave propagation through molten lead is also investigated. The models were designed in conjunction with future experimental work to provide comparison data between theory and experiment.Department of Energy, Livermore, CA 94950Outstanding ThesisLieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Impact of dams and climate change on suspended sediment flux to the Mekong delta

The livelihoods of millions of people living in the world's deltas are deeply interconnected with the sediment dynamics of these deltas. In particular a sustainable supply of fluvial sediments from upstream is critical for ensuring the fertility of delta soils and for promoting sediment deposition that can offset rising sea levels. Yet, in many large river catchments this supply of sediment is being threatened by the planned construction of large dams. In this study, we apply the INCA hydrological and sediment model to the Mekong River catchment in South East Asia. The aim is to assess the impact of several large dams (both existing and planned) on the suspended sediment fluxes of the river. We force the INCA model with a climate model to assess the interplay of changing climate and sediment trapping caused by dam construction. The results show that historical sediment flux declines are mostly caused by dams built in PR China and that sediment trapping will increase in the future due to the construction of new dams in PDR Lao and Cambodia. If all dams that are currently planned for the next two decades are built, they will induce a decline of suspended sediment flux of 50% (47–53% 90% confidence interval (90%CI)) compared to current levels (99 Mt/year at the delta apex), with potentially damaging consequences for local livelihoods and ecosystems

Pulmonary 18F-FDG uptake helps refine current risk stratification in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

PURPOSE: There is a lack of prognostic biomarkers in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients. The objective of this study is to investigate the potential of 18F-FDG-PET/ CT to predict mortality in IPF. METHODS: A total of 113 IPF patients (93 males, 20 females, mean age ± SD: 70 ± 9 years) were prospectively recruited for 18F-FDG-PET/CT. The overall maximum pulmonary uptake of 18F-FDG (SUVmax), the minimum pulmonary uptake or background lung activity (SUVmin), and target-to-background (SUVmax/ SUVmin) ratio (TBR) were quantified using routine region-of-interest analysis. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to identify associations of PET measurements with mortality. We also compared PET associations with IPF mortality with the established GAP (gender age and physiology) scoring system. Cox analysis assessed the independence of the significant PET measurement(s) from GAP score. We investigated synergisms between pulmonary 18F-FDG-PET measurements and GAP score for risk stratification in IPF patients. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 29 months, there were 54 deaths. The mean TBR ± SD was 5.6 ± 2.7. Mortality was associated with high pulmonary TBR (p = 0.009), low forced vital capacity (FVC; p = 0.001), low transfer factor (TLCO; p  4.9 was 24 months. Combining PET data with GAP data ("PET modified GAP score") refined the ability to predict mortality. CONCLUSIONS: A high pulmonary TBR is independently associated with increased risk of mortality in IPF patients

In the dedicated pursuit of dedicated capital: restoring an indigenous investment ethic to British capitalism

Tony Blair’s landslide electoral victory on May 1 (New Labour Day?) presents the party in power with a rare, perhaps even unprecedented, opportunity to revitalise and modernise Britain’s ailing and antiquated manufacturing economy.* If it is to do so, it must remain true to its long-standing (indeed, historic) commitment to restore an indigenous investment ethic to British capitalism. In this paper we argue that this in turn requires that the party reject the very neo-liberal orthodoxies which it offered to the electorate as evidence of its competence, moderation and ‘modernisation’, which is has internalised, and which it apparently now views as circumscribing the parameters of the politically and economically possible

Using comparative genomics to reorder the human genome sequence into a virtual sheep genome

Using BAC-end sequences, a sparse marker map and the sequences of the human, dog and cow genomes, an accurate and detailed sub-gene level map of the sheep genome has been constructed

Areas of normal pulmonary parenchyma on HRCT exhibit increased FDG PET signal in IPF patients

Purpose: Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) show increased PET signal at sites of morphological abnormality on high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). The purpose of this investigation was to investigate the PET signal at sites of normal-appearing lung on HRCT in IPF. Methods: Consecutive IPF patients (22 men, 3 women) were prospectively recruited. The patients underwent 18F-FDG PET/HRCT. The pulmonary imaging findings in the IPF patients were compared to the findings in a control population. Pulmonary uptake of 18F-FDG (mean SUV) was quantified at sites of morphologically normal parenchyma on HRCT. SUVs were also corrected for tissue fraction (TF). The mean SUV in IPF patients was compared with that in 25 controls (patients with lymphoma in remission or suspected paraneoplastic syndrome with normal PET/CT appearances). Results: The pulmonary SUV (mean ± SD) uncorrected for TF in the controls was 0.48 ± 0.14 and 0.78 ± 0.24 taken from normal lung regions in IPF patients (p < 0.001). The TF-corrected mean SUV in the controls was 2.24 ± 0.29 and 3.24 ± 0.84 in IPF patients (p < 0.001). Conclusion: IPF patients have increased pulmonary uptake of 18F-FDG on PET in areas of lung with a normal morphological appearance on HRCT. This may have implications for determining disease mechanisms and treatment monitoring. © 2013 The Author(s)

Novel Genetic Tools for Diaminopimelic Acid Selection in Virulence Studies of Yersinia pestis

Molecular studies of bacterial virulence are enhanced by expression of recombinant DNA during infection to allow complementation of mutants and expression of reporter proteins in vivo. For highly pathogenic bacteria, such as Yersinia pestis, these studies are currently limited because deliberate introduction of antibiotic resistance is restricted to those few which are not human treatment options. In this work, we report the development of alternatives to antibiotics as tools for host-pathogen research during Yersinia pestis infections focusing on the diaminopimelic acid (DAP) pathway, a requirement for cell wall synthesis in eubacteria. We generated a mutation in the dapA-nlpB(dapX) operon of Yersinia pestis KIM D27 and CO92 which eliminated the expression of both genes. The resulting strains were auxotrophic for diaminopimelic acid and this phenotype was complemented in trans by expressing dapA in single and multi-copy. In vivo, we found that plasmids derived from the p15a replicon were cured without selection, while selection for DAP enhanced stability without detectable loss of any of the three resident virulence plasmids. The dapAX mutation rendered Y. pestis avirulent in mouse models of bubonic and septicemic plague which could be complemented when dapAX was inserted in single or multi-copy, restoring development of disease that was indistinguishable from the wild type parent strain. We further identified a high level, constitutive promoter in Y. pestis that could be used to drive expression of fluorescent reporters in dapAX strains that had minimal impact to virulence in mouse models while enabling sensitive detection of bacteria during infection. Thus, diaminopimelic acid selection for single or multi-copy genetic systems in Yersinia pestis offers an improved alternative to antibiotics for in vivo studies that causes minimal disruption to virulence

Judicial Review, Irrationality, and the Limits of Intervention by the Courts

When exercising judicial review, the courts, on occasions, have intervened in circumstances where administrative decisions were not irrational. However, these low standards of judicial intervention are arguably constitutional, especially since the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA). To this end, this article seeks to establish a zone of executive decision-making, for reasons of democracy, where the courts are clearly excluded. But it is unable to do so. Does this mean, therefore, that judicial intervention on the grounds of irrationality exists without limit? Assuming this to be the case, it is suggested that the courts should show greater respect to the administrative branch of the state where it has genuinely sought to engage with the legal process in arriving at its decisions

Selection Signatures in Worldwide Sheep Populations

The diversity of populations in domestic species offers great opportunities to study genome response to selection. The recently published Sheep HapMap dataset is a great example of characterization of the world wide genetic diversity in sheep. In this study, we re-analyzed the Sheep HapMap dataset to identify selection signatures in worldwide sheep populations. Compared to previous analyses, we made use of statistical methods that (i) take account of the hierarchical structure of sheep populations, (ii) make use of linkage disequilibrium information and (iii) focus specifically on either recent or older selection signatures. We show that this allows pinpointing several new selection signatures in the sheep genome and distinguishing those related to modern breeding objectives and to earlier post-domestication constraints. The newly identified regions, together with the ones previously identified, reveal the extensive genome response to selection on morphology, color and adaptation to new environments

Gray Matter Changes in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Disease and Relation to Cognition

Purpose of Review We summarize structural (s)MRI findings of gray matter (GM) atrophy related to cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) in light of new analytical approaches and recent longitudinal studies results. Recent Findings The hippocampus-to-cortex ratio seems to be the best sMRI biomarker to discriminate between various AD subtypes, following the spatial distribution of tau pathology, and predict rate of cognitive decline. PD is clinically far more variable than AD, with heterogeneous underlying brain pathology. Novel multivariate approaches have been used to describe patterns of early subcortical and cortical changes that relate to more malignant courses of PD. New emerging analytical approaches that combine structural MRI data with clinical and other biomarker outcomes hold promise for detecting specific GM changes in the early stages of PD and preclinical AD that may predict mild cognitive impairment and dementia conversion