Reducing the radioactive doses of liquid samples taken from reprocessing plant vessels by volume reduction

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The real time mass evaluation system as a tool for detection of undeclared cascade operation at GCEPs

Given the flexibility of current cascade designs a real time mass monitoring system is preferred for safeguarding Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plants. However, if such a system is to be installed in a GCEP it must not impinge on plant operation or be intrusive. Since load cells are already part of the operational process and located outside the cascade hall their exploitation for safeguards purposes is an obvious development. The paper describes, through dynamic simulations, how transients would be observed in real-time mass balances when undeclared cascade operation takes place in a declared facility

An epidemiological perspective on the future of direct-to-consumer personal genome testing

Personal genome testing is offered via the internet directly to consumers. Most tests that are currently offered use data from genome-wide scans to predict risks for multiple common diseases and traits. The utility of these tests is limited, predominantly because they lack predictive ability and clear benefits for disease prevention that are specific for genetic risk groups. In the near future, personal genome tests will likely be based on whole genome sequencing, but will these technological advances increase the utility of personal genome testing? Whole genome sequencing theoretically provides information about the risks of both monogenic and complex diseases, but the practical utility remains to be demonstrated. The utility of testing depends on the predictive ability of the test, the likelihood of actionable test results, and the options available for the reduction of risks. For monogenic diseases, the likelihood of known mutations will be extremely low in the general population and it will be a challenge to recognize new causal variants among all rare variants that are found using sequencing. For complex diseases, the predictive ability of genetic tests will be mainly restricted by the heritability of the disease, but also by the genetic complexity of the disease etiology, which determines the extent to which the heritability can be understood. Given that numerous genetic and non-genetic risk factors interact in the causation of complex diseases, the predictive ability of genetic models will likely remain modest. Personal genome testing will have minimal benefits for individual consumers unless major breakthroughs are made in the near future

Sleep disordered breathing in the elderly

Sleep disordered breathing (SDB), i.e., obstructive, central or mixed sleep apneas, has been recognized as a common occurrence in the elderly. Aging is per se associated with a decrease in the quality of sleep; SDB may further disrupt the sleep architecture in older subjects. The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) increases with aging; available studies report prevalence rates of 11-62%. Furthermore, OSA has been associated with increased mortality in older adults. Central apneas and periodic breathing occur with increased frequency either in subjects with neurological disorders such as infarction, tumor, sequelae of infection, diffuse encephalopathies, or in chronic heart failure. Patients with cerebrovascular disease (stroke, or transient ischemic attacks) have a markedly high prevalence of SDB, mainly OSA. In these patients, SDB is associated with a poorer functional prognosis at 3 and 12 months after the acute event, and a higher mortality. The clinical impact of SDB on cognitive function appears to be modest in patients without dementia, although there is a moderate increase in daytime sleepiness. In Alzheimer's disease (AD) however, SDB occurs more frequently than in non-demented older subjects, and its severity is correlated with the degree of cognitive impairment. The hypothesis of a causal relationship between AD and SDB remains a subject of controversy. The possibility of SDB should be considered in the elderly in the differential diagnosis of "reversible dementias”, increased daytime sleepiness, or unexplained right-sided heart failur

Comorbidities in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease from Assessment to Treatment.

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