Optimising the diagnosis and the treatment of iron overload diseases

International audienceA number of human disorders are related to chronic iron overload, either of genetic or acquired origin. The multi-organ damage produced by iron excess leads, in adults and in children, to severe clinical consequences, affecting both quality of life and life expectancy. The diagnosis is increasingly based on a non-invasive strategy, resorting to clinical, biological and imaging data. The treatment rests on either venesection or chelation therapy, depending on the etiology. Major advances in the fields of molecular biology, pharmacology, and biotechnology pave the road for key improvements in the diagnostic and therapeutic management of the patients

Physics and engineering of nuclear reactors at the "Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Physique de Grenoble" of the "Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble"

International audienceIf the use of fossil fuels is to be limited to curtail greenhouse gas emissions, fission nuclear energy is, along with new renewable energies, one of the primary energy sources able to respond significantly to the increasing worldwide demand. In this context, it is necessary to design and evaluate new generations of nuclear reactors as defined by the Gen IV International Forum. The Energy and Nuclear Engineering (GEN) curriculum of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Physique de Grenoble (ENSPG), one of the nine engineering schools of the Grenoble Institute of Technology (INPG), includes a balanced blend of basic courses in energy, nuclear and thermal hydraulic engineering, together with the corresponding engineering sciences to cover the technological aspects. The objective is to train engineers who shall master not only nuclear engineering for the production of electricity but, more broadly, energy and nuclear technologies and their various application fields

Calibration and monitoring of the GENEPI neutron source for the MUSE IV experiment

Rapport intern

The Thorium Molten Salt Reactor : Moving on from the MSBR

A re-evaluation of the Molten Salt Breeder Reactor concept has revealed problems related to its safety and to the complexity of the reprocessing considered. A reflection is carried out anew in view of finding innovative solutions leading to the Thorium Molten Salt Reactor concept. Several main constraints are established and serve as guides to parametric evaluations. These then give an understanding of the influence of important core parameters on the reactor's operation. The aim of this paper is to discuss this vast research domain and to single out the Molten Salt Reactor configurations that deserve further evaluation.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, 6 table

Acupuncture facing up Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) in Digestive Diseases

Introduction : Le but de ce travail est de faire la revue des indications de l’acupuncture, qui sont actuellement validées par l’EBM, dans les pathologies digestives. Matériel et méthode : Les bases de données Medline et Acudoc2 ont été interrogées, à partir de 1970, sur les études randomisées contrôlées (ECRs) et méta analyses, à l’aide du thésaurus MESH. Une interrogation complémentaire sur les mécanismes d’action de l’acupuncture a été faite en recherche fondamentale. Résultats : Ces publications dans le domaine des maladies digestives représentent 13 % de tous les ECRs, toutes pathologies confondues, et concernent 7 pathologies dont 6 en gastroentérologie et une en hépatologie. Il s’agit principalement de pathologies coliques et gastriques, à dominante fonctionnelle. Les études à partir de modèles animaux vont dans le sens de ces indications cliniques et montrent un effet favorable de l’acupuncture dans des atteintes hépatiques. Conclusion : L’EBM, dans un modèle adapté à l’acupuncture, pourrait être développée en pathologie digestive.Introduction: The aim of this work is to review the indications of acupuncture, which are now validated by EBM, in digestive diseases, Materials and methods: The Medline and Acudoc 2 databases were surveyed from 1970 about randomized controlled studies (RCTs) and meta-analysis, using the MESH thesaurus. A complementary question about the mechanisms of action of acupuncture was made in fundamental research. Results: These publications in the digestive diseases field account for 13% of all RCTs, all pathologies combined, and concern 7 diseases, including 6 in gastroenterology and one in hepatology. These are mainly colic and gastric diseases, predominantly functional. Studies from animal models go in the direction of these clinical indications and show a favorable effect of acupuncture in liver damage. Conclusion: The EBM, in a model adapted to acupuncture, could develop in digestive disorders

Analytical investigation and experimental application of the source modulation technique to measure ρ/βeff\rho/\beta_{eff}

In recent years great interest has been displayed, worldwide, for Accelerator Driven Sub critical reactors (ADS) to incinerate the minor actinides generated by the existing energy producing reactors. In sub critical systems, the effective neutron multiplication factor is lower than 1.0 and the neutrons otherwise required to maintain the chain reaction, can be put to other uses, in particular, the destruction of nuclear wastes such as minor actinides (MA). One of the major advantages of such ADS systems is that it can be operated with very high M.A content without jeopardizing the overall safety due to a small effective delayed neutron fraction, a small Doppler temperature coefficient and possibly also a large void coefficient depending on the chosen coolant. This enhanced safety however prerequisites at all time a sufficient subcriticality margin. Reliable reactivity monitoring techniques are hence required to achieve this goal. The MUSE-4 program is a series of low power experiments carried out at the CEA-Cadarache MASURCA facility to investigate the various methods leading to the measurement of the reactivity level and associated kinetic parameters such as the effective delayed neutron fraction. The aim of this paper is to present the results obtained with a method which directly gives the ratio, for a sub critical assembly, between the reactivity ρ and the effective delayed neutron fraction βeff. By combining these results to those obtained with the kp-method for the prompt neutron multiplication coefficient, we have access to the parameters which govern the prompt and the slow kinetics of a sub critical assembly. These parameters can be obtained without reference to any calibration measurement in critical configuration. It opens the way to the control of larger sub critical demonstrators which are operating with fuels which cannot be used in critical reactor, and, thanks to sub criticality, which are characterized by a deterministic safety

Fast Thorium Molten Salt Reactors started with Plutonium

One of the pending questions concerning Molten Salt Reactors based on the 232Th/233U fuel cycle is the supply of the fissile matter, and as a consequence the deployment possibilities of a fleet of Molten Salt Reactors, since 233U does not exist on earth and is not yet produced in the current operating reactors. A solution may consist in producing 233U in special devices containing Thorium, in Pressurized Water or Fast Neutrons Reactors. Two alternatives to produce 233U are examined here: directly in standard Molten Salt Reactors started with Plutonium as fissile matter and then operated in the Th/233U cycle; or in dedicated Molten Salt Reactors started and fed with Plutonium as fissile matter and Thorium as fertile matter. The idea is to design a critical reactor able to burn the Plutonium and the minor actinides presently produced in PWRs, and consequently to convert this Plutonium into 233U. A particular reactor configuration is used, called unique channel configuration in which there is no moderator in the core, leading to a quasi fast neutron spectrum, allowing Plutonium to be used as fissile matter. The conversion capacities of such Molten Salt Reactors are excellent. For Molten Salt Reactors only started with Plutonium, the assets of the Thorium fuel cycle turn out to be quickly recovered and the reactors characteristics turn out to be equivalent to Molten Salt Reactors operated with 233U only. Using a combination of Molten Salt Reactors started or operated with Plutonium and of Molten Salt Reactors started with 233U, the deployment capabilities of these reactors fully satisfy the condition of sustainability