Geology Data Package for the Single-Shell Tank Waste Management Areas at the Hanford Site

This data package discusses the geology of the single-shell tank (SST) farms and the geologic history of the area. The focus of this report is to provide the most recent geologic information available for the SST farms. This report builds upon previous reports on the tank farm geology and Integrated Disposal Facility geology with information available after those reports were published

First quarter Hanford seismic report for fiscal year 2000

Hanford Seismic Monitoring provides an uninterrupted collection of high-quality raw and processed seismic data from the Hanford Seismic Network (HSN) for the US Department of Energy and its contractors. Hanford Seismic Monitoring also locates and identifies sources of seismic activity and monitors changes in the historical pattern of seismic activity at the Hanford Site. The data are compiled, archived, and published for use by the Hanford Site for waste management, Natural Phenomena Hazards assessments, and engineering design and construction. In addition, the seismic monitoring organization works with the Hanford Site Emergency Services Organization to provide assistance in the event of a significant earthquake on the Hanford Site. The HSN and the Eastern Washington Regional Network (EWRN) consist of 42 individual sensor sites and 15 radio relay sites maintained by the Hanford Seismic Monitoring staff. The HSN uses 21 sites and the EW uses 36 sites; both networks share 16 sites. The networks have 46 combined data channels because Gable Butte and Frenchman Hills East are three-component sites. The reconfiguration of the telemetry and recording systems was completed during the first quarter. All leased telephone lines have been eliminated and radio telemetry is now used exclusively. For the HSN, there were 311 triggers on two parallel detection and recording systems during the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2000. Twelve seismic events were located by the Hanford Seismic Network within the reporting region of 46--47{degree}N latitude and 119--120{degree}W longitude; 2 were earthquakes in the Columbia River Basalt Group, 3 were earthquakes in the pre-basalt sediments, 9 were earthquakes in the crystalline basement, and 1 was a quarry blast. Two earthquakes appear to be related to a major geologic structure, no earthquakes occurred in known swarm areas, and 9 earthquakes were random occurrences. No earthquakes triggered the Hanford Strong Motion Accelerometers during the first quarter of FY 2000

SPLUNC1 degradation by the cystic fibrosis mucosal environment drives airway surface liquid dehydration

The multi-organ disease cystic fibrosis (CF) is caused by mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator gene (CFTR) that lead to diminished transepithelial anion transport. CF lungs are characterised by airway surface liquid (ASL) dehydration, chronic infection/inflammation and neutrophilia. Dysfunctional CFTR may upregulate the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC), further exacerbating dehydration. We previously demonstrated that short palate lung and nasal epithelial clone 1 (SPLUNC1) negatively regulates ENaC in normal airway epithelia. Here, we used pulmonary tissue samples, sputum and human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) to determine whether SPLUNC1 could regulate ENaC in a CF-like environment. We found reduced endogenous SPLUNC1 in CF secretions, and rapid degradation of recombinant SPLUNC1 (rSPLUNC1) by CF secretions. Normal sputum, containing SPLUNC1 and SPLUNC1-derived peptides, inhibited ENaC in both normal and CF HBECs. Conversely, CF sputum activated ENaC, and rSPLUNC1 could not reverse this phenomenon. Additionally, we observed upregulation of ENaC protein levels in human CF bronchi. Unlike SPLUNC1, the novel SPLUNC1-derived peptide SPX-101 resisted protease degradation, bound apically to HBECs, inhibited ENaC and prevented ASL dehydration following extended pre-incubation with CF sputum. Our data indicate that CF mucosal secretions drive ASL hyperabsorption and that protease-resistant peptides, e.g. SPX-101, can reverse this effect to rehydrate CF ASL

Bilateral cystoid macular edema following docetaxel chemotherapy in a patient with retinitis pigmentosa: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Docetaxel is a chemotherapeutic agent of the taxane class of drugs for the treatment of breast cancer. We present a female patient who noted decreased vision after docetaxel treatment. CASE PRESENTATION: A 45-year-old female patient received docetaxel treatment after resection of a breast carcinoma. Funduscopy and optical coherence tomography (OCT) showed cystoid macular edema on both eyes. Dilated funduscopy also showed bone spicule-like pigmented deposits, typical for retinitis pigmentosa. Besides the fundus appearance restricted peripheral vision and scotopic electroretinogram confirmed the diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa. Chemotherapy was discontinued following a consulation with the oncologist of the patient. After five weeks, visual acuity improved significantly along with decrease of retinal thickness measured by OCT. CONCLUSION: Docetaxel may cause ocular adverse effects such as cystoid macular edema. Ophthalmological examination is warranted for patients with visual complaints during docetaxel chemotherapy

A multicenter, prospective, randomized comparison of a novel signal transmission capsule endoscope to an existing capsule endoscope.

BACKGROUND: MiroCam, a capsule endoscope, uses a novel transmission technology, electric-field propagation, which uses the human body as a conduction medium for data transmission. OBJECTIVE: To compare the ability of the MiroCam (MC) and PillCam (PC) to identify sources of obscure GI bleeding (OGIB). DESIGN: Prospective, multicenter, comparative study. SETTING: Six academic hospitals. PATIENTS: A total of 105 patients with OGIB. INTERVENTION: Patients ingested both the MC and PC capsules sequentially in a randomized fashion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Concordance of rates in identifying a source of OGIB, operational times, and rates of complete small-bowel examination. RESULTS: Data analysis resulted in 43 (48%) abnormal cases identifying a source of OGIB by either capsule. Twenty-four cases (55.8%) were positive by both capsules. There was negative agreement in 46 of 58 cases (79.3%). The κ index was 0.547 (χ(2) = 1.32; P = .36). In 12 cases, MC positively identified a source that was not seen on PC, whereas in 7 cases, PC positively identified a source that was not seen on MC. MC had a 5.6% higher rate of detecting small-bowel lesions (P = .54). MC captured images at 3 frames per second for 11.1 hours, and PC captured images at 2 frames per second for 7.8 hours (P \u3c .0001). Complete small-bowel examination was achieved in 93.3% for MC and 84.3% for PC (P = .10). LIMITATIONS: Readers were not blinded to the particular capsule they were reading. CONCLUSION: A positive diagnostic finding for OGIB was identified by either capsule in 48% of cases. The concordance rate between the 2 capsules was comparable to that of prior studies in identifying sources of small-bowel bleeding. The longer operational time of the MC may result in higher rates of complete small-bowel examination, which may, in turn, translate into a higher rate of detecting small-bowel lesions. (Clinical trial registration number: NCT00878982.)

Postsurgical pain outcome of vertical and transverse abdominal incision: Design of a randomized controlled equivalence trial [ISRCTN60734227]

BACKGROUND: There are two ways to open the abdominal cavity in elective general surgery: vertically or transversely. Various clinical studies and a meta-analysis have postulated that the transverse approach is superior to other approaches as regards complications. However, in a recent survey it was shown that 90 % of all abdominal incisions in visceral surgery are still vertical incisions. This discrepancy between existing recommendations of clinical trials and clinical practice could be explained by the lack of acceptance of these results due to a number of deficits in the study design and analysis, subsequent low internal validity, and therefore limited external generalisability. The objective of this study is to address the issue from the patient's perspective. METHODS: This is an intraoperatively randomized controlled observer and patient-blinded two-group parallel equivalence trial. The study setting is the Department of General-, Visceral-, Trauma Surgery and Outpatient Clinic of the University of Heidelberg, Medical School. A total of 172 patients of both genders, aged over 18 years who are scheduled for an elective abdominal operation and are eligible for either a transverse or vertical incision. To show equivalence of the two approaches or the superiority of one of them from the perspective of the patient, a primary endpoint is defined: the pain experienced by the patient (VAS 0–100) on day two after surgery and the amount of analgesic required (piritramide [mg/h]). A confidence interval approach will be used for analysis. A global α-Level of 0.05 and a power of 0.8 is guaranteed, resulting in a size of 86 patients for each group. Secondary endpoints are: time interval to open and close the abdomen, early-onset complications (frequency of burst abdomen, postoperative pulmonary complications, and wound infection) and late complications (frequency of incisional hernias). Different outcome variables will be ranked by patients and surgeons to assess the relevance of possible endpoints from the patients' and surgeons' perspective. CONCLUSION: This is a randomized controlled observer and patient-blinded two-group parallel trial to answer the question if the transverse abdominal incision is equivalent to the vertical one due to the described endpoints

Precision of the PET activity range during irradiation with ¹⁰C, ¹¹C, and ¹²C beams

Objective. Beams of stable ions have been a well-established tool for radiotherapy for many decades. In the case of ion beam therapy with stable 12C ions, the positron emitters 10,11C are produced via projectile and target fragmentation, and their decays enable visualization of the beam via positron emission tomography (PET). However, the PET activity peak matches the Bragg peak only roughly and PET counting statistics is low. These issues can be mitigated by using a short-lived positron emitter as a therapeutic beam. Approach. An experiment studying the precision of the measurement of ranges of positron-emitting carbon isotopes by means of PET has been performed at the FRS fragment-separator facility of GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, Germany. The PET scanner used in the experiment is a dual-panel version of a Siemens Biograph mCT PET scanner. Main results. High-quality in-beam PET images and activity distributions have been measured from the in-flight produced positron emitting isotopes 11C and 10C implanted into homogeneous PMMA phantoms. Taking advantage of the high statistics obtained in this experiment, we investigated the time evolution of the uncertainty of the range determined by means of PET during the course of irradiation, and show that the uncertainty improves with the inverse square root of the number of PET counts. The uncertainty is thus fully determined by the PET counting statistics. During the delivery of 1.6 × 107 ions in 4 spills for a total duration of 19.2 s, the PET activity range uncertainty for 10C, 11C and 12C is 0.04 mm, 0.7 mm and 1.3 mm, respectively. The gain in precision related to the PET counting statistics is thus much larger when going from 11C to 10C than when going from 12C to 11C. The much better precision for 10C is due to its much shorter half-life, which, contrary to the case of 11C, also enables to include the in-spill data in the image formation. Significance. Our results can be used to estimate the contribution from PET counting statistics to the precision of range determination in a particular carbon therapy situation, taking into account the irradiation scenario, the required dose and the PET scanner characteristics.</p

Draft low level waste technical summary

The purpose of this document is to present an outline of the Hanford Site Low-Level Waste (LLW) disposal program, what it has accomplished, what is being done, and where the program is headed. This document may be used to provide background information to personnel new to the LLW management/disposal field and to those individuals needing more information or background on an area in LLW for which they are not familiar. This document should be appropriate for outside groups that may want to learn about the program without immediately becoming immersed in the details. This document is not a program or systems engineering baseline report, and personnel should refer to more current baseline documentation for critical information

On Distant Speech Recognition for Home Automation

The official version of this draft is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16226-3_7International audienceIn the framework of Ambient Assisted Living, home automation may be a solution for helping elderly people living alone at home. This study is part of the Sweet-Home project which aims at developing a new home automation system based on voice command to improve support and well-being of people in loss of autonomy. The goal of the study is vocal order recognition with a focus on two aspects: distance speech recognition and sentence spotting. Several ASR techniques were evaluated on a realistic corpus acquired in a 4-room flat equipped with microphones set in the ceiling. This distant speech French corpus was recorded with 21 speakers who acted scenarios of activities of daily living. Techniques acting at the decoding stage, such as our novel approach called Driven Decoding Algorithm (DDA), gave better speech recognition results than the baseline and other approaches. This solution which uses the two best SNR channels and a priori knowledge (voice commands and distress sentences) has demonstrated an increase in recognition rate without introducing false alarms