Study of uranium oxide milling in order to obtain nanostructured UCx target

International audienceA R&D program is developed at the ALTO facility to provide new beams of exotic neutron-rich nuclei, as intense as possible. In the framework of European projects, it has been shown that the use of refractory targets with nanometric structure allows us to obtain beams of nuclei unreachable until now. The first parameter to be controlled in the processing to obtain targets with a homogeneous nanostructure is the grinding of uranium dioxide, down to 100 nm grain size. In this study, dry and wet grinding routes are studied and the powders are analyzed in terms of phase stabilization, specific surface area and grain morphology. It appears that the grinding, as well dry as wet, leads to the decrease of the particle size. The oxidation of UO2 is observed whatever the grinding. However, the dry grinding is the most efficient and leads to the oxidation of UO2 into U4O9 and U3O7 whose quantities increase with the grinding time while crystallite sizes decrease

The ALTO facility at IPN Orsay and study of neutron rich nuclei in the vincinity of 78^{78}Ni

International audienceThe ALTO facility at IPN Orsay is based on a linear electron accelerator (50 MeV, 10μA) dedicated to the production of neutron rich radiactive beams by photofission of a thick uranium carbide target paced on an ISOL line. The construction of the facility has ended in december 2005 and the first on-line tests have been carried out in mid-2006. The production of fission fragments after separation have been measured and are similar to the calculated predictions. Previously, using the same ISOL line, neutron rich nuclei in the vincinity of 78Ni have been produced and studied using the deuteron beam available at the Tandem accelerator in Orsay. First results on excited states in $^{83}_{32}Ge_{51}$ and $^{81}_{31}Ge_{50}$ have been obtained and discussed in the frame of the shell model

Structure of the neutron rich Ga and Ge isotopes observed at Alto

International audienceDuring test runs dedicated to the commissioning of ALTO (Accélérateur Linéaire et Tandem à Orsay), β and β-n decay of the very neutron rich could be observed at the tape station installed on-line with the PARRNe mass-separator. γ-lines observed in the resulting spectra and a careful analysis of the balance of their relative intensities point toward the existence of two β-decaying states in 84Ga. The decay of these long-lived states appear to feed the and excited states of and the state in allowing a significant improvement of the knowledge on nuclear structure in the immediate vicinity of 78Ni

Weaning from mechanical ventilation in intensive care units across 50 countries (WEAN SAFE): a multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study

International audienceBackground: Current management practices and outcomes in weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation are poorly understood. We aimed to describe the epidemiology, management, timings, risk for failure, and outcomes of weaning in patients requiring at least 2 days of invasive mechanical ventilation. Methods: WEAN SAFE was an international, multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study done in 481 intensive care units in 50 countries. Eligible participants were older than 16 years, admitted to a participating intensive care unit, and receiving mechanical ventilation for 2 calendar days or longer. We defined weaning initiation as the first attempt to separate a patient from the ventilator, successful weaning as no reintubation or death within 7 days of extubation, and weaning eligibility criteria based on positive end-expiratory pressure, fractional concentration of oxygen in inspired air, and vasopressors. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients successfully weaned at 90 days. Key secondary outcomes included weaning duration, timing of weaning events, factors associated with weaning delay and weaning failure, and hospital outcomes. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03255109. Findings: Between Oct 4, 2017, and June 25, 2018, 10 232 patients were screened for eligibility, of whom 5869 were enrolled. 4523 (77·1%) patients underwent at least one separation attempt and 3817 (65·0%) patients were successfully weaned from ventilation at day 90. 237 (4·0%) patients were transferred before any separation attempt, 153 (2·6%) were transferred after at least one separation attempt and not successfully weaned, and 1662 (28·3%) died while invasively ventilated. The median time from fulfilling weaning eligibility criteria to first separation attempt was 1 day (IQR 0–4), and 1013 (22·4%) patients had a delay in initiating first separation of 5 or more days. Of the 4523 (77·1%) patients with separation attempts, 2927 (64·7%) had a short wean (≤1 day), 457 (10·1%) had intermediate weaning (2–6 days), 433 (9·6%) required prolonged weaning (≥7 days), and 706 (15·6%) had weaning failure. Higher sedation scores were independently associated with delayed initiation of weaning. Delayed initiation of weaning and higher sedation scores were independently associated with weaning failure. 1742 (31·8%) of 5479 patients died in the intensive care unit and 2095 (38·3%) of 5465 patients died in hospital. Interpretation: In critically ill patients receiving at least 2 days of invasive mechanical ventilation, only 65% were weaned at 90 days. A better understanding of factors that delay the weaning process, such as delays in weaning initiation or excessive sedation levels, might improve weaning success rates. Funding: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, European Respiratory Society