Online and Face-to-Face Performance on Two Cognitive Tasks in Children With Williams Syndrome

There has been an increase in cognitive assessment via the Internet, especially since the coronavirus disease 2019 surged the need for remote psychological assessment. This is the first study to investigate the appropriability of conducting cognitive assessments online with children with a neurodevelopmental condition and intellectual disability, namely, Williams syndrome. This study compared Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM) and British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS) scores from two different groups of children with WS age 10–11 years who were assessed online (n = 14) or face-to-face (RCPM n = 12; BPVS n = 24). Bayesian t-tests showed that children’s RCPM scores were similar across testing conditions, but suggested BPVS scores were higher for participants assessed online. The differences between task protocols are discussed in line with these findings, as well as the implications for neurodevelopmental research

Getters for improved technetium containment in cementitious waste forms.

A cementitious waste form, Cast Stone, is a possible candidate technology for the immobilization of low activity nuclear waste (LAW) at the Hanford site. This work focuses on the addition of getter materials to Cast Stone that can sequester Tc from the LAW, and in turn, lower Tc release from the Cast Stone. Two getters which produce different products upon sequestering Tc from LAW were tested: Sn(II) apatite (Sn-A) that removes Tc as a Tc(IV)-oxide and potassium metal sulfide (KMS-2) that removes Tc as a Tc(IV)-sulfide species, allowing for a comparison of stability of the form of Tc upon entering the waste form. The Cast Stone with KMS-2 getter had the best performance with addition equivalent to ∼0.08wt% of the total waste form mass. The observed diffusion (Dobs) of Tc decreased from 4.6±0.2×10-12cm2/s for Cast Stone that did not contain a getter to 5.4±0.4×10-13cm2/s for KMS-2 containing Cast Stone. It was found that Tc-sulfide species are more stable against re-oxidation within getter containing Cast Stone compared with Tc-oxide and is the origin of the decrease in Tc Dobs when using the KMS-2

Quantitative Analysis of Situation Awareness (QASA): modelling and measuring situation awareness using signal detection theory

This paper presents a model of situation awareness (SA) that emphasises that SA is necessarily built using a subset of available information. A technique (Quantitative Analysis of Situation Awareness – QASA), based around signal detection theory, has been developed from this model that provides separate measures of actual SA (ASA) and perceived SA (PSA), together with a feature unique to QASA, a measure of bias (information acceptance). These measures allow the exploration of the relationship between actual SA, perceived SA and information acceptance. QASA can also be used for the measurement of dynamic ASA, PSA and bias. Example studies are presented and full details of the implementation of the QASA technique are provided

Remediation of Uranium in the Hanford Vadose Zone Using Ammonia Gas: FY 2010 Laboratory-Scale Experiments

This investigation is focused on refining an in situ technology for vadose zone remediation of uranium by the addition of ammonia (NH3) gas. Objectives are to: a) refine the technique of ammonia gas treatment of low water content sediments to minimize uranium mobility by changing uranium surface phases (or coat surface phases), b) identify the geochemical changes in uranium surface phases during ammonia gas treatment, c) identify broader geochemical changes that occur in sediment during ammonia gas treatment, and d) predict and test injection of ammonia gas for intermediate-scale systems to identify process interactions that occur at a larger scale and could impact field scale implementation.Overall, NH3 gas treatment of low-water content sediments appears quite effective at decreasing aqueous, adsorbed uranium concentrations. The NH3 gas treatment is also fairly effective for decreasing the mobility of U-carbonate coprecipitates, but shows mixed success for U present in Na-boltwoodite. There are some changes in U-carbonate surface phases that were identified by surface phase analysis, but no changes observed for Na-boltwoodite. It is likely that dissolution of sediment minerals (predominantly montmorillonite, muscovite, kaolinite) under the alkaline conditions created and subsequent precipitation as the pH returns to natural conditions coat some of the uranium surface phases, although a greater understanding of these processes is needed to predict the long term impact on uranium mobility. Injection of NH3 gas into sediments at low water content (1% to 16% water content) can effectively treat a large area without water addition, so there is little uranium mobilization (i.e., transport over cm or larger scale) during the injection phase

Immobilization and Limited Reoxidation of Technetium-99 by Fe(II)-Goethite

This report summarizes the methodology used to test the sequestration of technetium-99 present in both deionized water and simulated Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant waste solutions

Rational SOFC material design: new advances and tools

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) offer great prospects for the most efficient and cost-effective utilization of a wide variety of fuels. However, their commercialization hinges on the rational design of low cost materials with exceptional functionalities. This article highlights some recent progress in probing and mapping surface species and incipient phases relevant to electrode reactions using in situ Raman spectroscopy, synchrotron based x-ray analysis, and multi-scale modeling of charge and mass transport. The combination of in situ characterization and multi-scale modeling is imperative to unraveling the mechanisms of chemical and energy transformation: a vital step for the rational design of next generation SOFC materials.open443

Advances in reforming and partial oxidation of hydrocarbons for hydrogen production and fuel cell applications

One of the most attractive routes for the production of hydrogen or syngas for use in fuel cell applications is the reforming and partial oxidation of hydrocarbons. The use of hydrocarbons in high temperature fuel cells is achieved through either external or internal reforming. Reforming and partial oxidation catalysis to convert hydrocarbons to hydrogen rich syngas plays an important role in fuel processing technology. The current research in the area of reforming and partial oxidation of methane, methanol and ethanol includes catalysts for reforming and oxidation, methods of catalyst synthesis, and the effective utilization of fuel for both external and internal reforming processes. In this paper the recent progress in these areas of research is reviewed along with the reforming of liquid hydrocarbons, from this an overview of the current best performing catalysts for the reforming and partial oxidizing of hydrocarbons for hydrogen production is summarized