KINETIC STUDIES OF HETEROGENEOUS WATER REACTORS. Quarterly Progress Report for Period Ending September 30, 1963

Additional measurements were made of steam-void fraction, temperatures, and pressures in the KEWB capsule experiment. Analysis of data indicated that friction in the volume transducer piston was large during most of the transients. The dynamic piston friction was reduced to negligible magnitudes. A method for calculating the transient heat flux from the fuel disc was formulated. Boiling stability experiments were begun with a 2-ft-long rod bundle, consisting of a square array of 18 stainless-steel rods 0.25-in. dia, spaced on 0.312-in. centers. The rods are electrically heated in a natural-circulation loop, at one atmosphere pressure. A survey was began on theories and data on hydrodynamic instabilities in natural-circulation boiling systems. Preparation of apparatus for measurement of flow-void transfer functions in a SPERT IA channel was essentially completed. (M.C.G.

Some hydrogen-control considerations for ice-condenser nuclear plants. [PWR]

The proposal of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for coping with the problem of accident generated hydrogen gas in its Sequoyah ice-condenser plant was to put in place glow-plug igniters so that any hydrogen that is evolved during an accident could be burnt before accumulating into a dangerously large mass. Since it was desired to install these igniters in the Sequoyah and other plants as quickly as possible, the NRC asked the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to carry out some experiments on these igniters to delineate the region of their applicability

KINETIC STUDIES OF HETEROGENEOUS WATER REACTORS. Quarterly Progress Report for Period Ending September 30, 1962. Report No. 21

Two experiments were designed and built, in preparation for the measurement of transient steam void formation and extreme pressure pulses during severe power excursions under reactor-like conditions. The preparations for an inpile capsule experiment to be carried out using the KEWB reactor as a source of pulsed neutrons are described. The water-filled capsule, exposed to neutron flux, will contain a uranium-bearing plate. Transient heating of the plate will produce a surface temperature transient which is characteristic of a severe power excursion in a heterogeneous water reactor. Measurements of steam formation rates will be applicable to the destructive transients presently underway in the SPERT-I reactor. The second experiment is an out-of-pile apparatus in which an attempt will be made to create severe pressure transients by causing the temperature of a surface to rise rapidly through the thermodynamic critical point of water. Studies related to boiling-water reactor stability were continued. Transfer function and steam void fraction distribution measurements were made. An analysis indicated that a multi-channel natural circulation boiling system may have two modes of hydrodynamic instability. (M.C.G.

Reference design of 100 MW-h lithium/iron sulfide battery system for utility load leveling

The first year in a two-year cooperative effort between Argonne National Laboratory and Rockwell International to develop a conceptual design of a lithium alloy/iron sulfide battery for utility load leveling is presented. A conceptual design was developed for a 100 MW-h battery system based upon a parallel-series arrangement of 2.5 kW-h capacity cells. The sales price of such a battery system was estimated to be very high, $80.25/kW-h, exclusive of the cost of the individual cells, the dc-to-ac converters, site preparation, or land acquisition costs. Consequently, the second year's efforts were directed towards developing modified designs with significantly lower potential costs

Activity of Platinum-Based Chemotherapy in Patients With Advanced Prostate Cancer With and Without DNA Repair Gene Aberrations

IMPORTANCE: DNA repair gene aberrations occur in 20% to 30% of patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), and some of these aberrations have been associated with sensitivity to poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibition platinum-based treatments. However, previous trials assessing platinum-based treatments in patients with CRPC have mostly included a biomarker-unselected population; therefore, efficacy in these patients is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the antitumor activity of platinum-based therapies in men with CRPC with or without DNA repair gene alterations. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this case series, data from 508 patients with CRPC treated with platinum-based therapy were collected from 25 academic centers from 12 countries worldwide. Patients were grouped by status of DNA repair gene aberrations (ie, cohort 1, present; cohort 2, not detected; and cohort 3, not tested). Data were collected from January 1986 to December 2018. Data analysis was performed in 2019, with data closure in April 2019. EXPOSURE: Treatment with platinum-based compounds either as monotherapy or combination therapy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary end points were as follows: (1) antitumor activity of platinum-based therapy, defined as a decrease in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of at least 50% and/or radiological soft tissue response in patients with measurable disease and (2) the association of response with the presence or absence of DNA repair gene aberrations. RESULTS: A total of 508 men with a median (range) age of 61 (27-88) years were included in this analysis. DNA repair gene aberrations were present in 80 patients (14.7%; cohort 1), absent in 98 (19.3%; cohort 2), and not tested in 330 (65.0%; cohort 3). Of 408 patients who received platinum-based combination therapy, 338 patients (82.8%) received docetaxel, paclitaxel, or etoposide, and 70 (17.2%) received platinum-based combination treatment with another partner. A PSA level decrease of at least 50% was seen in 33 patients (47.1%) in cohort 1 and 26 (36.1%) in cohort 2 (P = .20). In evaluable patients, soft tissue responses were documented in 28 of 58 patients (48.3%) in cohort 1 and 21 of 67 (31.3%) in cohort 2 (P = .07). In the subgroup of 44 patients with BRCA2 gene alterations, PSA level decreases of at least 50% were documented in 23 patients (63.9%) and soft tissue responses in 17 of 34 patients (50.0%) with evaluable disease. In cohort 3, PSA level decreases of at least 50% and soft tissue responses were documented in 81 of 284 patients (28.5%) and 38 of 185 patients (20.5%) with evaluable disease, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this study, platinum-based treatment was associated with relevant antitumor activity in a biomarker-positive population of patients with advanced prostate cancer with DNA repair gene aberrations. The findings of this study suggest that platinum-based treatment may be considered an option for these patients