Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Safeguards and Security quarterly progress report ending March 31, 1996

LLNL carries out safeguards and security activities for DOE Office of Safeguards and Security (OSS) and other organizations within and outside DOE. LLNL is supporting OSS in 6 areas: safeguards technology, safeguards and materials accountability, computer security--distributed systems, complex-wide access control, standardization of security systems, and information technology and security center. This report describes the activities in each of these areas

Analisis Rantai Nilai Usaha Kakao sebagai Produk Unggulan Kabupaten Ende-NTT

Pertanyaan yang dijawab melalui penelitian ini adalah: 1) Bagaimana gambaran umum usaha kakao di Kabupaten Ende? 2) Bagaimana permasalahan setiap rantai nilai usaha kakao di Kabupaten Ende? 3) Bagaimana rencana tindak lanjut pengembangan kakao di Kab. Ende? Tujuan penelitian ini adalah sebagai berikut: 1) Menjelaskan gambaran umum usaha kakao di Kabupaten Ende. 2) Menganalisis permasalahan yang terjadi pada setiap rantai nilai kakao di Kabupaten Ende. 3) Merumuskan rencana tindak lanjut atau intervensi untuk setiap permasalahan di tiap mata rantai nilai dan pengembangan iklim usaha kakao di Kabupaten Ende. Hasil penelitian ini diharapkan dapat: 1) Menyediakan informasi mengenai permasalahan dan analisis stakeholder di setiap rantai nilai kakao sebagai produk unggulan di Kabupaten Ende. 2) Menjadi masukan kebijakan yang memadai untuk meningkatkan iklim usaha dan mengembangkan kakao sebagai produk unggulan di Kab. Ende. 3) Membantu mengidentifi kasi titik-titik penting bagi penguatan kapasitas Pemda dalam kerangka pengembangan iklim usaha khususnya peningkatan agribisnis produk unggulan

Diagnóstico do meio físico das bacias hidrográficas do entorno da Mata do Carvão (BHMC), Noroeste do Estado do Rio de Janeiro.

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Diagnóstico do meio físico da bacia hidrográfica do Rio do Imbé - RJ: aplicação de metodologia integrada como subsídio ao manejo de microbacias.

O Diagnóstico do Meio Físico da Bacia do Rio do Imbé (BHRI) integra os estudos que subsidiam o projeto Manejo Sustentável de Recursos Naturais em Microbacias do Norte-Noroeste Fluminense - SMH-SEAAPI/GEF (Global Enviroment Facility), cujo principal objetivo é apoiar produtores rurais de base familiar na autogestão dos recursos naturais, visando o desenvolvimento rural baseado em um modelo de agricultura socioambientalmente sustentável. A metodologia adotada partiu da integração da base cartográfica e dos dados digitais de mapeamentos temáticos do meio físico (clima, recursos hídricos, geologia, geomorfologia, solos e uso e ocupação das terras). Adotou-se no presente estudo a escala 1:250.000, compatível com a maioria dos dados secundários, que foram transformados para uma mesma projeção cartográfica e inseridos em uma base de dados digital. Inicialmente, foi realizada a síntese dos dados de solos e geomorfologia para a identificação e delimitação de unidades morfopedológicas. Em seguida, essas unidades foram agrupadas em seis zonas agroecológicas, considerando as potencialidades e fragilidades dos recursos naturais, os padrões de uso e o estado de degradação das terras. As zonas foram descritas e caracterizadas com base no conjunto de dados temáticos disponível e complementados com as informações levantadas em campo. O trabalho de campo foi orientado para verificação da diversidade dos aspectos físicos, das atividades antrópicas e dos problemas de degradação e conflitos relacionados ao uso dos recursos naturais. Foram considerados ainda o histórico socioeconômico e ambiental da região e a percepção dos atores locais com relação aos aspectos mencionados. Os resultados evidenciaram que a BHRI, face à singular interação dos aspectos fisiográficos e antrópicos, possui uma diversidade ambiental contrastante, apresentando diferentes potencialidades de uso e níveis de fragilidade. Contudo, o diagnóstico do meio físico, obtido segundo a metodologia apresentada, poderá constituir-se em um instrumento importante para subsidiar a tomada de decisões no que se refere às estratégias de planejamento, manejo adequado, monitoramento e avaliação dos recursos naturais, a serem adotados pelo projeto

Recurrent adult-onset hypophyseal Langerhans cell histiocytosis after radiotherapy: A case report

INTRODUCTION: Langerhans cell histiocytosis is a rare disease within the adult population, with very few cases reported as solitary hypophyseal lesions in adults. Of the reported cases, most have been treated successfully with surgery, radiotherapy, and/or chemotherapy. Radiotherapy has been thought to be curative at the relatively low dose of 20Gy. Here we report a case of recurrent hypophyseal Langerhans cell histiocytosis 9 months after radiotherapy with an interval period of symptomatic and radiographic response to therapy. CASE PRESENTATION: A 50-year-old Caucasian woman who had headaches, memory difficulties, and diabetes insipidus was found to have a 2.5cm suprasellar mass. Langerhans cell histiocytosis was diagnosed following stereotactic brain biopsy. Further workup revealed no other lesions. Initial radiation treatment succeeded in shrinking the tumor and relieving clinical symptoms temporarily; however, growth and recurrence of clinical symptoms was noted at 9 months. Re-irradiation was well tolerated and the patient had no acute side effects. CONCLUSION: Isolated hypophyseal involvement by Langerhans cell histiocytosis in adults is a unique presentation of a rare disease. Although radiotherapy doses as low as 20Gy have been reported to offer control, this case demonstrates that higher doses may be warranted to ensure tumor control. With modern imaging and radiotherapy techniques higher doses should offer little increased more durable risk to surrounding critical structures

Diagnóstico do meio físico da bacia hidrográfica do Rio Muriaé.

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Survival following gamma knife radiosurgery for brain metastasis from breast cancer

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the second most common cause of brain metastases in the United States. Although breast cancer induced brain metastases represent an incurable condition, some patients experience prolonged survival. In this retrospective study, we examine a cohort of patients with brain metastases from breast cancer treated with Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery to identify factors that predict better outcomes. METHODS: A retrospective database of 100 patients treated for brain metastases due to breast cancer via Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKS) from July 1998 through March 2009 was reviewed. Patients who received radiosurgery as sole treatment, as a planned boost after whole brain radiotherapy or surgical resection, or as salvage after prior whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) or surgical resection were included. Prognostic factors identified to be significant for survival in previous brain metastasis studies were analyzed for significance by univariate and multivariate Cox analysis. RESULTS: Overall, the median brain progression-free survival time was 7.1 months and the median survival time was 12.3 months. No prognostic variables were significant for brain progression-free survival. For patients treated with a planned GKS after WBRT, GKS as sole treatment, GKS salvage after WBRT, GKS boost after surgery, or GKS for surgical salvage the median survival times (MSTs) were as follows: 12.2 months, 12.4 months, 9.5 months, 27.6 months and 33.4 months respectively. Differences between the groups were not significant (p = 0.06); however, GKS boost after surgery and GKS for salvage after surgery did have a trend toward better overall survival. The MST for patients of age <65 years was 14.5 months, compared to age ≥65 which was 7.7 months (p = 0.06) and remained a significant prognostic factor for overall survival on multivariate analysis. The MST for patients with a single lesion was 16.9 months, not significantly different than the MST of 14.5 months for patients with 2–3 lesions. However patients with >3 lesions had a MST of 5.9 months, which was significantly worse. Breast cancer subtype as approximated by biomarkers and KPS were not significant predictors of overall survival and stage at initial diagnosis was inversely associated with survival. CONCLUSION: Stereotactic radiosurgery offers good local control and prolonged survival in selected patients. Age and number of lesions are strong predictors of overall survival

Identification and quantification of microplastics in wastewater using focal plane array-based reflectance micro-FT-IR imaging

Microplastics (<5 mm) have been documented in environmental samples on a global scale. While these pollutants may enter aquatic environments via wastewater treatment facilities, the abundance of microplastics in these matrices has not been investigated. Although efficient methods for the analysis of microplastics in sediment samples and marine organisms have been published, no methods have been developed for detecting these pollutants within organic-rich wastewater samples. In addition, there is no standardized method for analyzing microplastics isolated from environmental samples. In many cases, part of the identification protocol relies on visual selection before analysis, which is open to bias. In order to address this, a new method for the analysis of microplastics in wastewater was developed. A pretreatment step using 30% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was employed to remove biogenic material, and focal plane array (FPA)-based reflectance micro-Fourier-transform (FT-IR) imaging was shown to successfully image and identify different microplastic types (polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon-6, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene). Microplastic-spiked wastewater samples were used to validate the methodology, resulting in a robust protocol which was nonselective and reproducible (the overall success identification rate was 98.33%). The use of FPA-based micro-FT-IR spectroscopy also provides a considerable reduction in analysis time compared with previous methods, since samples that could take several days to be mapped using a single-element detector can now be imaged in less than 9 h (circular filter with a diameter of 47 mm). This method for identifying and quantifying microplastics in wastewater is likely to provide an essential tool for further research into the pathways by which microplastics enter the environment.This work is funded by a NERC (Natural Environment Research Council) CASE studentship (NE/K007521/1) with contribution from industrial partner Fera Science Ltd., United Kingdom. The authors would like to thank Peter Vale, from Severn Trent Water Ltd, for providing access to and additionally Ashley Howkins (Brunel University London) for providing travel and assistance with the sampling of the Severn Trent wastewater treatment plant in Derbyshire, UK. We are grateful to Emma Bradley and Chris Sinclair for providing helpful suggestions for our research