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A Program for Risk Assessment Associated with IGSCC of BWR Vessel Internals
A program is being carried out for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), to conduct an independent risk assessment of the consequences of failures initiated by intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) of the reactor vessel internals of boiling water reactor (BWR) plants. The overall project objective is to assess the potential consequences and risks associated with the failure of IGSCC-susceptible BWR vessel internals, both singly and in combination with the failures of others, with specific consideration given to potential cascading and common mode effects on system performance. This paper presents a description of the overall program that is underway to modify an existing probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) of the BWR/4 plant to include IGSCC-initiated failures, subsequently to complete a quantitative PRA
Fermions scattering in a three dimensional extreme black hole background
The absorption cross section for scattering of fermions off an extreme BTZ
black hole is calculated. It is shown that, as in the case of scalar particles,
an extreme BTZ black hole exhibits a vanishing absorption cross section, which
is consistent with the vanishing entropy of such object. Additionally, we give
a general argument to prove that the particle flux near the horizon is zero.
Finally we show that the {\it reciprocal space} introduced previously in
\cite{gm} gives rise to the same result and, therefore, it could be considered
as the space where the scattering process takes place in an AdS spacetime.Comment: 15 pages, RevTex4. Revised version. To be published in Class.
Quantum. Gra
Mechanical design and development of TES bolometer detector arrays for the Advanced ACTPol experiment
The next generation Advanced ACTPol (AdvACT) experiment is currently underway
and will consist of four Transition Edge Sensor (TES) bolometer arrays, with
three operating together, totaling ~5800 detectors on the sky. Building on
experience gained with the ACTPol detector arrays, AdvACT will utilize various
new technologies, including 150mm detector wafers equipped with multichroic
pixels, allowing for a more densely packed focal plane. Each set of detectors
includes a feedhorn array of stacked silicon wafers which form a spline profile
leading to each pixel. This is then followed by a waveguide interface plate,
detector wafer, back short cavity plate, and backshort cap. Each array is
housed in a custom designed structure manufactured from high purity copper and
then gold plated. In addition to the detector array assembly, the array package
also encloses cryogenic readout electronics. We present the full mechanical
design of the AdvACT high frequency (HF) detector array package along with a
detailed look at the detector array stack assemblies. This experiment will also
make use of extensive hardware and software previously developed for ACT, which
will be modified to incorporate the new AdvACT instruments. Therefore, we
discuss the integration of all AdvACT arrays with pre-existing ACTPol
infrastructure.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, SPIE Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation
conference proceeding
Gene expression differences in relation to age and social environment in queen and worker bumble bees
Eusocial insects provide special insights into the genetic pathways influencing aging because of their long-lived queens and flexible aging schedules. Using qRT-PCR in the primitively eusocial bumble bee Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus), we investigated expression levels of four candidate genes associated with taxonomically widespread age-related pathways (coenzyme Q biosynthesis protein 7, COQ7; DNA methyltransferase 3, Dnmt3; foraging, for; and vitellogenin, vg). In Experiment 1, we tested how expression changes with queen relative age and productivity. We found a significant age-related increase in COQ7 expression in queen ovary. In brain, all four genes showed higher expression with increasing female (queen plus worker) production, with this relationship strengthening as queen age increased, suggesting a link with the positive association of fecundity and longevity found in eusocial insect queens. In Experiment 2, we tested effects of relative age and social environment (worker removal) in foundress queens and effects of age and reproductive status in workers. In this experiment, workerless queens showed significantly higher for expression in brain, as predicted if downregulation of for is associated with the cessation of foraging by foundress queens following worker emergence. Workers showed a significant age-related increase in Dnmt3 expression in fat body, suggesting a novel association between aging and methylation in B. terrestris. Ovary activation was associated with significantly higher vg expression in fat body and, in younger workers, in brain, consistent with vitellogenin's ancestral role in regulating egg production. Overall, our findings reveal a mixture of novel and conserved features in age-related genetic pathways under primitive eusociality
Non-Gaussian Fluctuations and Primordial Black Holes from Inflation
We explore the role of non-Gaussian fluctuations in primordial black hole
(PBH) formation and show that the standard Gaussian assumption, used in all PBH
formation papers to date, is not justified. Since large spikes in power are
usually associated with flat regions of the inflaton potential, quantum
fluctuations become more important in the field dynamics, leading to mode-mode
coupling and non-Gaussian statistics. Moreover, PBH production requires several
sigma (rare) fluctuations in order to prevent premature matter dominance of the
universe, so we are necessarily concerned with distribution tails, where any
intrinsic skewness will be especially important. We quantify this argument by
using the stochastic slow-roll equation and a relatively simple analytic method
to obtain the final distribution of fluctuations. We work out several examples
with toy models that produce PBH's, and show that the naive Gaussian assumption
can result in errors of many orders of magnitude. For models with spikes in
power, our calculations give sharp cut-offs in the probability of large
positive fluctuations, meaning that Gaussian distributions would vastly
over-produce PBH's. The standard results that link inflation-produced power
spectra and PBH number densities must then be reconsidered, since they rely
quite heavily on the Gaussian assumption. We point out that since the
probability distributions depend on the nature of the potential, it is
impossible to obtain results for general models. However, calculating the
distribution of fluctuations for any specific model seems to be relatively
straightforward, at least in the single inflaton case.Comment: 21 pages, RevTex. 12 figure
Harpgophytum procumbens for osteoarthritis and low back pain: A systematic review
BACKGROUND: The objective of this review is to determine the effectiveness of Harpagophytum procumbens preparations in the treatment of various forms of musculoskeletal pain. METHODS: Several databases and other sources were searched to identify randomized controlled trials, quasi-randomized controlled trials, and controlled clinical trials testing Harpagophytum preparations in adults suffering from pain due to osteoarthritis or low back pain. RESULTS: Given the clinical heterogeneity and insufficient data for statistical pooling, trials were described in a narrative way, taking into consideration methodological quality scores. Twelve trials were included with six investigating osteoarthritis (two were identical trials), four low back pain, and three mixed-pain conditions. CONCLUSIONS: There is limited evidence for an ethanolic Harpagophytum extract containing less than <30 mg harpagoside per day in the treatment of knee and hip osteoarthritis. There is moderate evidence of effectiveness for (1) the use of a Harpagophytum powder at 60 mg harpagoside in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the spine, hip and knee; (2) the use of an aqueous Harpagophytum extract at a daily dose of 100 mg harpagoside in the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic non-specific low back pain; and (3) the use of an aqueous extract of Harpagophytum procumbens at 60 mg harpagoside being non-inferior to 12.5 mg rofecoxib per day for chronic non-specific low-back pain (NSLBP) in the short term. Strong evidence exists for the use of an aqueous Harpagophytum extract at a daily dose equivalent of 50 mg harpagoside in the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic NSLBP
In situ Performance of the Low Frequency Arrayfor Advanced ACTPol
The Advanced Atacama Cosmology Telescope Polarimeter (AdvACT) \cite{thornton}
is an upgrade for the Atacama Cosmology Telescope using Transition Edge Sensor
(TES) detector arrays to measure cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature
and polarization anisotropies in multiple frequencies. The low frequency (LF)
array was deployed early 2020. It consists of 292 TES bolometers observing in
two bands centered at 27 GHz and 39 GHz. At these frequencies, it is sensitive
to synchrotron radiation from our galaxy as well as to the CMB, and complements
the AdvACT arrays operating at 90, 150 and 230 GHz. We present the initial LF
array on-site characterization, including the time constant, optical efficiency
and array sensitivity
The Inhibition of Polo Kinase by Matrimony Maintains G2 Arrest in the Meiotic Cell Cycle
Many meiotic systems in female animals include a lengthy arrest in G2 that separates the end of pachytene from nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB). However, the mechanisms by which a meiotic cell can arrest for long periods of time (decades in human females) have remained a mystery. The Drosophila Matrimony (Mtrm) protein is expressed from the end of pachytene until the completion of meiosis I. Loss-of-function mtrm mutants result in precocious NEB. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments reveal that Mtrm physically interacts with Polo kinase (Polo) in vivo, and multidimensional protein identification technology mass spectrometry analysis reveals that Mtrm binds to Polo with an approximate stoichiometry of 1:1. Mutation of a Polo-Box Domain (PBD) binding site in Mtrm ablates the function of Mtrm and the physical interaction of Mtrm with Polo. The meiotic defects observed in mtrm/+ heterozygotes are fully suppressed by reducing the dose of polo+, demonstrating that Mtrm acts as an inhibitor of Polo. Mtrm acts as a negative regulator of Polo during the later stages of G2 arrest. Indeed, both the repression of Polo expression until stage 11 and the inactivation of newly synthesized Polo by Mtrm until stage 13 play critical roles in maintaining and properly terminating G2 arrest. Our data suggest a model in which the eventual activation of Cdc25 by an excess of Polo at stage 13 triggers NEB and entry into prometaphase
The compound machinery of government: The case of seconded officials in the European commission
This article explores the compound machinery of government. Attention is directed toward decision making within the core executive of the European Union - the European Commission. The article studies seconded national civil servants (SNEs) hired on short-term contracts. The analysis benefits from an original and rich body of surveys and interview data derived from current and former SNEs. The decision-making dynamics of SNEs are shown to contain a compound mix of departmental, epistemic, and supranational dynamics. This study clearly demonstrates that the socializing power of the Commission is conditional and only partly sustained when SNEs exit the Commission. Any long-lasting effect of socialization within European Union's executive machinery of government is largely absent. The compound decision-making dynamics of SNEs are explained by (1) the organizational affiliations of SNEs, (2) the formal organization of the Commission apparatus, and (3) only partly by processes of resocialization of SNEs within the Commission
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