Barometric pumping with a twist: VOC containment and remediation without boreholes

Objectives of Phase I (completed Nov. 1995) was to evaluate the feasibility of applying surface sealing and venting features to contain and remediate volatile organic compound (VOC) contaminated soils in the vadose zone. In Phase II, the remediation system will be installed at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex of INEL. It will cover an area of the landfill known to be contaminated with chlorinated hydrocarbons, deposited in shallow trenches. Operation will be monitored for 12 to 18 months to evaluate the impact on soil gas displacement. The 4 key components are the surface seal, plenum, vent assembly, and soil vapor monitoring points

YMP Engineered Barrier Systems Scaled Ventilation Testing

Yucca Mountain, approximately 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been selected as the site for the nation's first geologic repository for high level nuclear waste. The Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) is currently developing the design for the underground facilities. Ventilation is a key component of the design as a way to maintain the desired thermal conditions in the emplacement drifts prior to closure. As a means of determining the effects of continuous ventilation on heat removal from the emplacement drifts two series of scaled ventilation tests have been performed. Both test series were performed in the DOE/North Las Vegas Atlas facility. The tests provided scaled (nominally 25% of the full scale emplacement drift design) thermal and flow process data that will be used to validate YMP heat and mass transport codes. The Phase I Ventilation Test series evaluated the ability of ambient ventilation air to remove energy under varying flow and input power conditions. The Phase II Ventilation Test series evaluated the ability of pre-conditioned ventilation air to remove energy under varying flow, input temperature and moisture content, and simulated waste package input power conditions. Twenty-two distinct ventilation tests were run

Accelerating Bianchi Type-V Cosmology with Perfect Fluid and Heat Flow in Saez-Ballester Theory

In this paper we discuss the law of variation of scale factor $a = (t^{k}e^{t})^{\frac{1}{n}}$ which yields a time-dependent deceleration parameter (DP) representing a new class of models that generate a transition of universe from the early decelerated phase to the recent accelerating phase. Exact solutions of Einstein's modified field equations with perfect fluid and heat conduction are obtained within the framework of Saez-Ballester scalar-tensor theory of gravitation and the model is found to be in good agreement with recent observations. We find, for n = 3, k = 1, the present value of DP in derived model as q_0 = -0.67 which is very near to the observed value of DP at present epoch. We find that the time-dependent DP is sensible for the present day Universe and give an earmark description of evolution of universe. Some physical and geometric properties of the models are also discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Identification of common genetic risk variants for autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heritable and heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental phenotypes diagnosed in more than 1% of children. Common genetic variants contribute substantially to ASD susceptibility, but to date no individual variants have been robustly associated with ASD. With a marked sample-size increase from a unique Danish population resource, we report a genome-wide association meta-analysis of 18,381 individuals with ASD and 27,969 controls that identified five genome-wide-significant loci. Leveraging GWAS results from three phenotypes with significantly overlapping genetic architectures (schizophrenia, major depression, and educational attainment), we identified seven additional loci shared with other traits at equally strict significance levels. Dissecting the polygenic architecture, we found both quantitative and qualitative polygenic heterogeneity across ASD subtypes. These results highlight biological insights, particularly relating to neuronal function and corticogenesis, and establish that GWAS performed at scale will be much more productive in the near term in ASD.Peer reviewe

Search for gravitational waves from Scorpius X-1 in the second Advanced LIGO observing run with an improved hidden Markov model

We present results from a semicoherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the low-mass x-ray binary Scorpius X-1, using a hidden Markov model (HMM) to track spin wandering. This search improves on previous HMM-based searches of LIGO data by using an improved frequency domain matched filter, the J-statistic, and by analyzing data from Advanced LIGO's second observing run. In the frequency range searched, from 60 to 650 Hz, we find no evidence of gravitational radiation. At 194.6 Hz, the most sensitive search frequency, we report an upper limit on gravitational wave strain (at 95% confidence) of h095%=3.47×10-25 when marginalizing over source inclination angle. This is the most sensitive search for Scorpius X-1, to date, that is specifically designed to be robust in the presence of spin wandering. © 2019 American Physical Society

Genome-wide by Environment Interaction Studies of Depressive Symptoms and Psychosocial Stress in UK Biobank and Generation Scotland

Stress is associated with poorer physical and mental health. To improve our understanding of this link, we performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of depressive symptoms and genome-wide by environment interaction studies (GWEIS) of depressive symptoms and stressful life events (SLE) in two UK population-based cohorts (Generation Scotland and UK Biobank). No SNP was individually significant in either GWAS, but gene-based tests identified six genes associated with depressive symptoms in UK Biobank (DCC, ACSS3, DRD2, STAG1, FOXP2 and KYNU; p < 2.77 x 10(-6)). Two SNPs with genome-wide significant GxE effects were identified by GWEIS in Generation Scotland: rs12789145 (53-kb downstream PIWIL4; p = 4.95 x 10(-9); total SLE) and rs17070072 (intronic to ZCCHC2; p = 1.46 x 10(-8); dependent SLE). A third locus upstream CYLC2 (rs12000047 and rs12005200, p < 2.00 x 10(-8); dependent SLE) when the joint effect of the SNP main and GxE effects was considered. GWEIS gene-based tests identified: MTNR1B with GxE effect with dependent SLE in Generation Scotland; and PHF2 with the joint effect in UK Biobank (p < 2.77 x 10(-6)). Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) analyses incorporating GxE effects improved the prediction of depressive symptom scores, when using weights derived from either the UK Biobank GWAS of depressive symptoms (p = 0.01) or the PGC GWAS of major depressive disorder (p = 5.91 x 10(-3)). Using an independent sample, PRS derived using GWEIS GxE effects provided evidence of shared aetiologies between depressive symptoms and schizotypal personality, heart disease and COPD. Further such studies are required and may result in improved treatments for depression and other stress-related conditions

Integrated analysis of environmental and genetic influences on cord blood DNA methylation in new-borns

Epigenetic processes, including DNA methylation (DNAm), are among the mechanisms allowing integration of genetic and environmental factors to shape cellular function. While many studies have investigated either environmental or genetic contributions to DNAm, few have assessed their integrated effects. Here we examine the relative contributions of prenatal environmental factors and genotype on DNA methylation in neonatal blood at variably methylated regions (VMRs) in 4 independent cohorts (overall n = 2365). We use Akaike’s information criterion to test which factors best explain variability of methylation in the cohort-specific VMRs: several prenatal environmental factors (E), genotypes in cis (G), or their additive (G + E) or interaction (GxE) effects. Genetic and environmental factors in combination best explain DNAm at the majority of VMRs. The CpGs best explained by either G, G + E or GxE are functionally distinct. The enrichment of genetic variants from GxE models in GWAS for complex disorders supports their importance for disease risk