Safeguards-by-Design for Advanced Nuclear Systems

The emergence of an advanced nuclear industry has renewed the pursuit of small modular and advanced reactor technologies to supply low carbon energy. By the same token, these developments potentially expose gaps in current safeguards practices, particularly for reactor designs utilizing novel coolants and fuel forms–underscoring calls for the early application of Safeguards-by-Design to effectively and efficiently detect diversion and misuse. Other innovations may necessitate additional measures to credibly assure the absence of undeclared activities. This paper discusses three types of advanced nuclear and nuclear-related technologies as illustrations of these challenges: 1) micronuclear reactors, 2) molten salt reactors, and on the balance-of-plant side, 3) thermal energy storage and dry cooling. It then identifies high-level safeguards development needs associated with these on-the-horizon technologies so as to elevate safeguards considerations in the minds of reactor developers and investors.John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundatio

The Rocks of Bulson Creek: Eocene-Oligocene Sedimentation and Tectonics in the Lake McMurray Area, Washington

Upper Eocene to lower Oligocene sedimentary rocks in the Lake McMurray area of Skagit County, Washington, consist of approximately 1500 m of conglomerate, sandstone, shale, and siltstone which were deposited in fluvial and marine environments along the continental margin. These rocks are known as the rocks of Bulson Creek. Two main lithofacies can be recognized within the sequence: the lowest is nonmarine and consists of poorly sorted, thick, and structureless conglomerate with interbedded sandstone, siltstone, shale, and minor coal lenses; the upper lithofacies grades from a transitional nonmarine facies to a shallow water marine facies that consists of well sorted, fossiliferous pebbly sandstone, sandstone, and siltstone. The lower lithofacies rocks lie unconformably on paleosols developed on pre-Tertiary rocks. The upper lithofacies rocks lie unconformably over the lower lithofacies rocks. At least three periods of tectonism and two periods of deposition are recognized. The Devils Mountain fault is a major east-west trending structural feature along which there has been a long and complex history of motion. The deformation of the rocks in the Lake McMurray area can be attributed to movement along this fault, which forms the northern border along which the Bulson Creek rocks crop out. Deposition of the lower lithofacies rocks followed compressional folding associated with normal faulting. These rocks were folded prior to the deposition of the upper lithofacies, as is evident by the angular unconformity between the two units. Normal faulting along the Devils Mountain fault tilted these units to the south

Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from pulmonary artery a late presentation—Case report and review of literature

AbstractAn otherwise healthy 26-year-old female presented with sudden cardiac arrest. She was resuscitated with unsynchronized cardioversion for ventricular fibrillation. A left heart cardiac catheterization showed anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA). Cardiac computed tomographic angiography confirmed this abnormality. She underwent direct translocation of the left main coronary artery to the aorta, and after a stormy postoperative course was discharged home.ALCAPA is a rare congenital abnormality of the coronary system that is associated with early infant mortality and adult sudden death. The use of advanced cardiac imaging has resulted in an increase in the number of diagnosed ALCAPA cases, especially in the adult population, sometimes even in the asymptomatic. The extent of collateral circulation that develops between the right coronary artery and the left coronary artery determines the outcome; the more collateral circulation there is, the less the hypoxic damage to the ventricle. This not only informs us that people survive ALCAPA into adulthood but also highlights the importance for adult cardiologists to be aware of this interesting disease. Corrective surgery remains the treatment of choice. We present a rare case of ALCAPA, with first presentation in adulthood in the form of a malignant ventricular arrhythmia.<Learning objective: Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is a rare congenital abnormality of the coronary system that is associated with early infant mortality and adult sudden death. Hence we feel it is most important to be aware of this entity, especially as the incidence of diagnosed ALCAPA is on the rise in adulthood. Also the images provided and the discussion have high educational value for generalists and cardiologists alike.

The potential of open source information in supporting Acquisition Pathway Analysis to design IAEA State Level Approaches

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards designed to deter nuclear proliferation are constantly evolving to respond to new challenges. Within its State Level Concept, the IAEA envisions an objective-based and information-driven approach for designing and implementing State Level Approaches (SLAs), using all available measures to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of safeguards. The main Objectives of a SLA are a) to detect undeclared nuclear material or activities in the State, b) to detect undeclared production or processing of nuclear materials in declared facilities or locations outside facilities (LOFs), c) to detect diversion of declared nuclear material in declared facilities or LOFs. Under the SLA, States will be differentiated based upon objective State-Specific Factors that influence the design, planning, conduct and evaluation of safeguards activities. Proposed categories of factors include both technical and legal aspects, spanning from the deployed fuel cycle and the related state's technical capability to the type of safeguards agreements in force and the IAEA experience in implementing safeguards in that state. To design a SLA, the IAEA foresees the use of Acquisition Path Analysis (APA) to identify the plausible routes for acquiring weapons-usable material and to assess their safeguards significance. In order to achieve this goal, APA will have to identify possible acquisition paths, characterize them and eventually prioritise them. This paper will provide an overview of how the use of open source information (here loosely defined as any type of non-classified or proprietary information and including, but not limited to, media sources, government and non-governmental reports and analyses, commercial data, satellite imagery, scientific/technical literature, trade data) can support this activity in the various aspects of a typical APA approach.JRC.E.8-Nuclear securit

Unlocking the secrets of Miri country music festival in Malaysia: a moderated-mediation model examining the power of FOMO, flow and festival satisfaction in driving revisiting intentions

This study explores how the fear of missing out (FOMO) affects the flow experience, festival satisfaction, and revisitation intention of attendees at a country music festival. Based on the cognitive appraisal theory, the study surveyed 317 participants and found that several factors contribute to the flow experience, which in turn impacts festival satisfaction and revisitation intention. The results reveal that participants with higher FOMO levels have a higher intention to revisit, with festival satisfaction mediating the relationship. This research repositions FOMO as the fear of missing out on the same event that individuals are attending. By highlighting this alternative understanding, the study suggests that FOMO can be leveraged as a resource for event organizers, potentially providing opportunities for engagement and enhancing attendee experiences. The proposed conceptual model and the insights gained from this research offer valuable contributions to the field and provide a foundation for further investigation and theoretical development

17β-Estradiol dysregulates innate immune responses to Pseudomonas aeruginosa respiratory infection and is modulated by estrogen receptor antagonism

ABSTRACT Females have a more severe clinical course than males in terms of several inflammatory lung conditions. Notably, females with cystic fibrosis (CF) suffer worse outcomes, particularly in the setting of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Sex hormones have been implicated in experimental and clinical studies; however, immune mechanisms responsible for this sex-based disparity are unknown and the specific sex hormone target for therapeutic manipulation has not been identified. The objective of this study was to assess mechanisms behind the impact of female sex hormones on host immune responses to P. aeruginosa . We used wild-type and CF mice, which we hormone manipulated, inoculated with P. aeruginosa , and then examined for outcomes and inflammatory responses. Neutrophils isolated from mice and human subjects were tested for responses to P. aeruginosa . We found that female mice inoculated with P. aeruginosa died earlier and showed slower bacterial clearance than males ( P &lt; 0.0001). Ovariectomized females supplemented with 17β-estradiol succumbed to P. aeruginosa challenge earlier than progesterone- or vehicle-supplemented mice ( P = 0.0003). 17β-Estradiol-treated ovariectomized female mice demonstrated increased lung levels of inflammatory cytokines, and when rendered neutropenic the mortality difference was abrogated. Neutrophils treated with 17β-estradiol demonstrated an enhanced oxidative burst but decreased P. aeruginosa killing and earlier cell necrosis. The estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist ICI 182,780 improved survival in female mice infected with P. aeruginosa and restored neutrophil function. We concluded that ER antagonism rescues estrogen-mediated neutrophil dysfunction and improves survival in response to P. aeruginosa . ER-mediated processes may explain the sex-based mortality gap in CF and other inflammatory lung illnesses, and the ER blockade represents a rational therapeutic strategy. </jats:p

Multiparty quantum secret sharing of secure direct communication

Based on the two-step protocol [Phys. Rev. A68(03)042317], we propose a $(n,n)$-threshold multiparty quantum secret sharing protocol of secure direct communication. In our protocol only all the sharers collaborate can the sender's secure direct communication message be extracted. We show a variant version of this protocol based on the variant two-step protocol. This variant version can considerably reduce the realization difficulty in experiment. In contrast to the use of multi-particle GHZ states in the case that the sharer number is larger than 3, the use and identification of Bell states are enough in our two protocols disregarding completely the sharer number, hence, our protocols are more feasible in technique

Generalized Quantum Telecloning

We present a generalized telecloning (GTC) protocol where the quantum channel is non-optimally entangled and we study how the fidelity of the telecloned states depends on the entanglement of the channel. We show that one can increase the fidelity of the telecloned states, achieving the optimal value in some situations, by properly choosing the measurement basis at Alice's, albeit turning the protocol to a probabilistic one. We also show how one can convert the GTC protocol to the teleportation protocol via proper unitary operations.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, RevTex4; v2: published version, 8 pages, 4 figures, RevTex4, to appear at Eur. Phys. J.

Genome-Wide Association Analyses of Biological Responses to Heat Stress in Pigs

With genetic selection for rapid, lean tissue accretion, pigs are becoming increasingly sensitive to heat stress (HS) due to their physiological limitations such as the lack of functional sweat glands to effectively dissipate heat. Increased respiration rate and reduced feed intake are immediate and conserved biological responses to HS in pigs and other livestock species. Genetic differences in how animals respond to high ambient temperatures have been previously reported, but genetic factors contributing to the response variability remain ill-defined. In this study, porcine high density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) beadchips were used to genotype 236 female pigs who had been exposed to HS conditions, and analyzed to detect chromosomal regions associated with biological responses measured before and after HS, including rectal temperature, respiration rate, feed intake, and body weight loss. We identified significant gene region associations for rectal temperature on SSC12, respiration rate on SSC14 and SSC16, as well as feed efficiency and weight loss on SSC13. Further analyses of these detected regions will likely reveal potential candidate genes and suggest molecular mechanisms contributing to the variability in the biological response of pigs to environmentally-induced hyperthermia