Ion diffusion from Sellafield OPC paste formulations

The disposal of nuclear waste is highly regulated and the disposal option will be dependent on the radionuclide content of the waste. The encapsulation of nuclear waste to prevent migration of radionuclides into the environment and as a safe means of long term storage and disposal can be achieved using ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and various additives such as blast furnace slag (BFS) or pulverised fly ash (PFA). Treated radioactive wastes in this manner are characterised by good thermal, chemical, physical stability and compressive strength. In addition the alkaline chemistry of concrete renders most radionuclides highly insoluble. The ultimate destination of some of these encapsulated wastes is in a Deep Geological Facility (GDF), where for many years the wastes will remain inert to their environment. In the longer-term the environmental conditions will change and the inertness of these waste forms could be affected from the seepage of water into the facility along with microbial activity. The diffusivity or leaching behaviour of cement encapsulated radioactive waste is crucial to ensure the overall safety of a storage/disposal system. The research presented in this thesis evaluates the diffusivity of strontium, caesium and cobalt when added as inactive forms to BFS:OPC and PFA:OPC formulation as their chlorides and for strontium when added as chloride and carbonate. The cylindrical cement paste samples (CPS) having diameter of 3.2 cm and height 5.3 cm were immersed in re-circulating test solutions consisting of de-ionised water, concentrated Sellafield pore water (CSPW), diluted Sellafield pore water (DSPW) and bacterial inoculated water, John Innes Soil Solution (JISS). Strontium carbonate was selected to determine the influence of a water insoluble compound on diffusivity of the cation. Freshly cured and aged BFS:OPC samples were also studied to evaluate the impact of carbonation on cation diffusivity. Chloride salts were used, as these would be benign to microorganisms, i.e. would not stimulate or support growth unlike nitrate or sulphate anions. The outcome of this study indicate that the make-up water composition affected the segregation of inherent and added cations in the cement paste samples and also both the bleed water volume and physical characteristics of the cement paste samples. Strontium when added as a soluble salt to the make-up water influenced the rate of diffusivity. Depending on the type of formulation (BFS:OPC, PFA:OPC), a direct correlation was observed between diffusivity of Sr2+ and total amount of Ca2+ present in the CPS. The rate of diffusivity and the depth of cation diffusion was significantly higher in 3% SrCl2 PFA:OPC having lower concentration of Ca2+ compared to its BFS counterpart. The concentration of the added salt to the make-up water also affected the diffusivity. The difference in the diffusivity was observed between closed and open diffusivity system. The solubility limits were not a factor in open circuit which was comparable with the pH values; contrary to the closed circuits. The concentration of cations and anions in the test solution influenced strontium and caesium diffusivity. The diffusivity of sulphate was influenced by the nature of the cation added to the make-up water. Strontium had the greatest effect on lowering the diffusion primarily due to the formation of sparingly soluble strontium sulphate. The pH values of the circulating JISS test solutions from all the contaminated cement samples were lower in comparison with control, which was comparable with viable population in the circulating system. There was no significant viable population measured in the JISS from control CPS. The JISS test solution composition retard strontium diffusivity but accelerated caesium diffusion in comparison with distilled water values, this retardation could be due to the inherent sulphate content (≈8600 ppb) of the JISS test solution. This work provides fundamental understanding of the physic-chemical factors influencing the diffusivity of cations from BFS:OPC and PFA:OPC formulations. The scheme i.e. closed circuit recirculation adopted in this research would be more fitting of the real situation i.e. stagnation followed by percolation and therefore diffusivity of ions will be greatly influenced by the test solution chemistry and composition

Enhancing Auction Systems with Blockchain Technology

This research paper examines the use of blockchain technology in auction systems. Traditional auction systems face issues related to trust, transparency, and security. Blockchain offers a decentralized and immutable solution that can enhance the efficiency, security, and transparency of auctions. The paper provides an overview of blockchain technology and identifies the challenges in traditional auctions that blockchain can address. It explores existing blockchain-based auction systems and evaluates their effectiveness in mitigating issues such as bid manipulation and fraud. The impact of blockchain on auction participants is also discussed, including benefits like increased trust and reduced transaction costs, as well as challenges related to adoption and scalability. The paper considers both theoretical and practical aspects, analyzing case studies and implementation challenges. It concludes by summarizing the key findings and suggesting future research directions to advance the application of blockchain in auction systems. The auction contract allows users to place bids and determine the highest bidder within a specified time period. The contract also provides functionality for canceling the auction and finalizing it by transferring the funds to the appropriate recipients

Multi-class Brain Tumor Detection using Convolutional Neural Network

Brain tumour detection is one of the most critical and arduous function in the domain of healthcare. Brain tumour, if not detected at an early stage, can be fatal. At the present time, detection and classification of brain tumour is done by the method of Biopsy which is very time-consuming and complex. . By looking at the brain MRI or CT scan, it is possible for the experts to identify whether tumour is present or not and the region of the tumour, but it is difficult to identify the small dissimilarities in the structure of tumour and classify it into types. Hence this manual process gets stuck here for verification of type of tumour. For the sole purpose overcoming the above-mentioned gigantic hurdles we have pursued this research of multi-class brain tumour detection using deep learning. Our project will help doctors in quick decision-making regarding detection of the tumour and its type as well, and due to the early detection of the disease the treatment can be initiated at the right time, resulting in speedy recovery of the patient. We propose a deep learning model employing Convolutional Neural Network architecture which we have implemented using Keras and Tensorflow because it yields to a better performance than the traditional ones. In our research work, CNN gained an accuracy of 94.95%. Further, we have integrated our model with a web-app which we have built using Streamlit. Hence, users can provide their MRI scans via our web-app and get their medical results in a quick and efficient manner

A comparative study of efficacy of ropivacaine (0.75%) with adjuvants – dexmedetomidine and fentanyl in supraclavicular brachial plexus block

Background: Brachial plexus block is preferred to general anesthesia (GA) as it reduces many complications of GA, provides good intra and postoperative analgesia, adequate muscle relaxation. Addition of adjuvants along with LA is used to prolong block with improved quality of anesthesia and decrease dose of LA. This study was done to see the efficacy of Ropivacaine with dexmedetomidine and fentanyl in terms of duration of action and pain relief. Aims and Objectives: Dexmedetomidine and Fentanyl along with Ropivacaine in patients undergoing upper limb surgeries, the onset and duration of sensory and motor blockade as well as post op analgesia is compared. Materials and Methods: Prospective Randomized Comparative study with three groups randomly divided received total volume of 30 mL of drug in peripheral nerve stimulator guided supraclavicular blocks in patients undergoing upper limb surgeries. Group Dexmedetomidine received 28 cc of 0.75% Ropivacaine and Dexmedetomidine (1 mcg/kg), Group Fentanyl patients received 28 cc of 0.75% Ropivacaine and fentanyl (1 mcg/kg), whereas, group plain Ropivacaine patients received 28 cc of 0.75% Ropivacaine and 2 mL of normal saline. Haemodynamics, sensory and motor block (MB) were evaluated by VAS and modified Bromage scale. Results: The onset of sensory block and MB in the dexmedetomidine group, fentanyl group, and ropivacaine groups was 3.57±0.50 min and 4.47±0.51 min, 5.50±0.51 min and 7.53±0.51 min, and 8.07±0.79 min and 10.07±0.79 min respectively which were statistically significant. The duration of MB in the dexmedetomidine group, fentanyl group, and ropivacaine group were 6.57±0.50 h, 4.47±0.51 h, and 2.50±0.51 h respectively which was statistically significant (P=0.0000). The duration at which first postoperative analgesia was required in the dexmedetomidine group, fentanyl group, and ropivacaine group were 8.57±0.50 h, 6.57±0.50 h, and 5.30±0.47 h respectively. Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine is better as an adjuvant to Ropivacaine for brachial plexus block in terms of onset and duration

Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of the Brassinazole-resistant (BZR) Gene Family and Its Expression in the Various Developmental Stage and Stress Conditions in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Brassinosteroids (BRs) play crucial roles in various biological processes, including plant developmental processes and response to diverse biotic and abiotic stresses. However, no information is currently available about this gene family in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In the present investigation, we identified the BZR gene family in wheat to understand the evolution and their role in diverse developmental processes and under different stress conditions. In this study, we performed the genome-wide analysis of the BZR gene family in the bread wheat and identified 20 TaBZR genes through a homology search and further characterized them to understand their structure, function, and distribution across various tissues. Phylogenetic analyses lead to the classification of TaBZR genes into five different groups or subfamilies, providing evidence of evolutionary relationship with Arabidopsis thaliana, Zea mays, Glycine max, and Oryza sativa. A gene exon/intron structure analysis showed a distinct evolutionary path and predicted the possible gene duplication events. Further, the physical and biochemical properties, conserved motifs, chromosomal, subcellular localization, and cis-acting regulatory elements were also examined using various computational approaches. In addition, an analysis of public RNA-seq data also shows that TaBZR genes may be involved in diverse developmental processes and stress tolerance mechanisms. Moreover, qRT-PCR results also showed similar expression with slight variation. Collectively, these results suggest that TaBZR genes might play an important role in plant developmental processes and various stress conditions. Therefore, this work provides valuable information for further elucidate the precise role of BZR family members in wheat

The COVID-19 Data Portal: accelerating SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 research through rapid open access data sharing.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic will be remembered as one of the defining events of the 21st century. The rapid global outbreak has had significant impacts on human society and is already responsible for millions of deaths. Understanding and tackling the impact of the virus has required a worldwide mobilisation and coordination of scientific research. The COVID-19 Data Portal (https://www.covid19dataportal.org/) was first released as part of the European COVID-19 Data Platform, on April 20th 2020 to facilitate rapid and open data sharing and analysis, to accelerate global SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 research. The COVID-19 Data Portal has fortnightly feature releases to continue to add new data types, search options, visualisations and improvements based on user feedback and research. The open datasets and intuitive suite of search, identification and download services, represent a truly FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) resource that enables researchers to easily identify and quickly obtain the key datasets needed for their COVID-19 research

Nuclear theory and nuclear experiment e-print archives : Science Citation Index - based analysis

The paper is based upon a study on the citations in the Science Citation Index (1992-2002) to the e-print archives of Los Alamos National Laboratory on the subject categories 'nucl-th' (nuclear theory) and 'nucl-ex' (nuclear experiment). The trend of growth of e-print archives and citing pattern of e-print archives are studied. The paper has also identified the highly cited e-print archives and the highly citing journals. The study shows the growing use of e-print archives as the knowledge-generating system for fast communication of results and ideas, and their quick use

Dry sliding wear behavior of Cryogenic treated 20MnCr5 alloy steel

This research is limited to study the wear resistance of cryogenically treated 20MnCr5 (SAE 5120) alloy steel, which has wide application in industries like gears, shafts, bearings, pins etc. Cryogenics is used as a supplement treatment that is performed after carburizing. The abrasive wear study is performed on pin-on-disc tribotester. The counterface disc was kept same for both the heat treatments (carburizing and cryogenics).Sliding velocity of 0.8 m/s, 1.6 m/s, 2.4 m/s, Sliding Distance of 1200 m, 1400 m, 1600 m and Load of 3 kg, 4 kg and 5 kg were used to evaluate the wear resistance

Retinopathy of prematurity: Maharashtra state model.

This report describes the goal, activities, and outcomes of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust funded retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) program in the state of Maharashtra in collaboration with the Public Health Foundation of India, Hyderabad. The project was initiated in July 2016 with the goal of establishing a sustainable ROP program in the special newborn care units (SNCUs) in public health facilities of five districts. Between 2016 and 2018, ophthalmology and neonatology teams from five district hospitals (DHs) were trained by nongovernment partner hospitals in the state. Infrastructure was developed by procuring equipment for ROP screening/treatment, and awareness generation activities were conducted with a range of stakeholders. Eight ophthalmologists were trained to perform ROP screening (from five DHs and one medical college), and five neonatology teams (pediatricians and nurses) from the project hospitals were trained in best neonatal practices to prevent ROP. The Pune district's hospital was developed as an ROP treatment center. Toward the end of the project period, six new facilities had an established ROP program. The state health department is in the process of scaling up the ROP program to a larger geographic region to ensure universal ROP screening coverage in the state of Maharashtra