Final Report - Assessment of Testing Options for the NTR at the INL

One of the main technologies that can be developed to dramatically enhance the human exploration of space is the nuclear thermal rocket (NTR). Several studies over the past thirty years have shown that the NTR can reduce the cost of a lunar outpost, reduce the risk of a human mission to Mars, enable fast transits for most missions throughout the solar system, and reduce the cost and time for robotic probes to deep space. Three separate committees of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences have recommended that NASA develop the NTR. One of the primary issues in development of the NTR is the ability to verify a flight ready unit. Three main methods can be used to validate safe operation of a NTR: 1) Full power, full duration test in an above ground facility that scrubs the rocket exhaust clean of any fission products; 2) Full power , full duration test using the Subsurface Active Filtering of Exhaust (SAFE) technique to capture the exhaust in subsurface strata; 3) Test of the reactor fuel at temperature and power density in a driver reactor with subsequent first test of the fully integrated NTR in space. The first method, the above ground facility, has been studied in the past. The second method, SAFE, has been examined for application at the Nevada Test Site. The third method relies on the fact that the Nuclear Furnace series of tests in 1971 showed that the radioactive exhaust coming from graphite based fuel for the NTR could be completely scrubbed of fission products and the clean hydrogen flared into the atmosphere. Under funding from the MSFC, the Center for Space Nuclear Research (CSNR) at the Idaho National laboratory (INL) has completed a reexamination of Methods 2 and 3 for implementation at the INL site. In short, the effort performed the following: 1) Assess the geology of the INL site and determine a location suitable SAFE testing; 2) Perform calculations of gas transport throughout the geology; 3) Produce a cost estimate of a non-nuclear , sub-scale test using gas injection to validate the computational models; 4) Produce a preliminary cost estimate to build a nuclear furnace equivalent facility to test NTR fuel on a green field location on the INL site. The results show that the INL geology is substantially better suited to the SAFE testing method than the NTS site. The existence of impermeable interbeds just above the sub-surface aquifer ensure that no material from the test, radioactive or not, can enter the water table. Similar beds located just below the surface will prevent any gaseous products from reaching the surface for dispersion. The extremely high permeability of the strata between the interbeds allows rapid dispersion of the rocket exhaust. In addition, the high permeability suggests that a lower back-pressure may develop in the hole against the rocket thrust, which increases safety of operations. Finally, the cost of performing a sub-scale, non-nuclear verification experiment was determined to be $3M. The third method was assessed through discussions with INL staff resident at the site. In essence, any new Category I facility on any DOE site will cost in excess of$250M. Based on the results of this study, a cost estimate for testing a nuclear rocket at the INL site appears to be warranted. Given the fact that a new nuclear fuel may be possible that does not release any fission products, the SAFE testing option appears to be the most affordable

South Dakota State and County Demographic Profiles

Several of South Dakota’s demographic trends are particularly important for planning. This introduction highlights significant trends that are occurring in South Dakota’s counties

Collaborative Musical Expression and Creativity Among Academics: When Intellectualism Meets Twelve Bar Blues

The Professors are a blues, rock, and sometime heavy metal band made up of communication professors from a number of New Jersey schools. Formed in 1995, the band has played in clubs in New York City as well as a number of academic venues, including the annual conference of the International Communication Association in Chicago in 1996 and the annual conference of the National Communication Association in New York City in 1998. The Professors have been featured in both local and national press, including the Chronicle of Higher Education. When we learned of the call for papers for this special issue of the American Communication Journal addressing the creative endeavors of Communication scholars beyond their regular research agendas, we were delighted to have the opportunity to reflect upon the place of musical creativity within our lives as working academics. What follows in this paper are the thoughts of a number of band members, past and present, who trace the relationship of the musical, the creative, and the intellectual in terms of their own personal histories and academic interests

Bacteremia in Lung Transplant Recipients in the Current Era

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71409/1/j.1600-6143.2006.01565.x.pd

Stable isotopes infer the diet and habitat of the enigmatic pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata) off southern Australia

In the Southern Hemisphere, baleen whales generally undertake migrations between productive feeding grounds at high latitudes and breeding grounds at lower latitudes. Pygmy right whales (Caperea marginata) (PRW) are the smallest and most enigmatic baleen whale, that likely forgo long-distance migrations, and instead inhabit temperate and subantarctic waters year-round. Previous research has relied on limited data from sighting and stranding records to infer the habitat use and diet of PRWs, however the absence of long-term and consistent data has left uncertainty surrounding these parameters. We utilized bulk stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) in baleen from Australian PRWs (n = 14) to infer their diet and habitat use. Stable isotope values from 1980–2019 were then matched to remote sensed data from known upwelling regions (where they likely feed) to examine if their dietary patterns are related to changes in food web dynamics. We found that PRWs remained in mid-latitude waters year-round and showed no evidence of feeding in Antarctic waters. Rather, their isotopic record suggests they remain between coastal waters off southern Australia and the Subtropical Convergence, feeding on krill and copepods. Additionally, there was a weak positive relationship between PRW nitrogen stable isotope values and sea surface temperature (SST) from the eastern Great Australian Bight (GAB) and Bonney Upwelling. This suggests seasonal changes in their diet is possibly correlated to oceanographic changes which drive food-web dynamics in these regions. Unlike larger species of baleen whales that migrate further to highly productive waters in the Southern Ocean to meet their energetic demands, the small PRW, who only reach 6.5m, may sustain both feeding and breeding requirements at mid-latitudes. This is the first study to analyze long-term dietary and movement patterns of the PRW, providing an important contribution to our understanding of the species

Evaluation of the effects of an integral fin spacer design on predicted fuel pin and subassembly duct performance

The effect of an integrally finned fuel pin cladding design on LMFBR subassembly performance has been evaluated. Effects on thermal/hydraulics, fuel pin lifetime and duct lifetime are considered. Results are presented for 19, 61 and 217 pin subassemblies

Kontrol Diri Dan Kecemasan Komunikasi Interpersonal Pada Pramuwisata

This study aim to analysis relationship of self-control and anxiety of interpersonal communicationin a tourist guide. Product moment corelation analysis (rxy) yields for 0905, to provethe relationship between self-control and interpersonal communication anxiety in a tourist guide.These results indicate a negative relationship between the variables X (Self Control) and variableY (Interpersonal Communication Anxiety in the guides). Social Learning Theory became atheories used in this study, where most of the individual behavior acquired partly the result oflearning through observation of behavior displayed other individuals whose became the model.Elaboration Likelihood Theory which states that each individual will interpret the message orinformation they receive, in accordance with the information they have and their beliefs aboutsomething related to the message. Self-control on the tour guides in Yogyakarta based on thefive major aspects of self-control, that has a very high level of measurement. Includes the abilityto anticipate events, the ability to interpret events and the ability to take decisions. Meanwhile,two other aspects of self control shows the results of measurements at very low category, whichconsists of aspects of behavior and stimulus control. While anxiety based on the three aspects ofinterpersonal communication, which consists of inhibition of the ability to express themselves,lack of interest in communicating and social interaction is interrupted, it indicates the levelmeasurement at very low category. Thus, interpersonal communication anxiety on tour guidesin Yogyakarta can be said to be very low

A survey of attitudes toward clinical research among physicians at Kyoto University Hospital

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Japan, only clinical research related to investigational new drug trials must be notified to regulatory bodies, and this lack of a uniform standard for clinical research has caused a number of difficulties. The objective of this study was to assess the willingness of physicians to participate in clinical research and to identify effective methods to promote and enhance clinical research.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a cross-sectional survey by administrating questionnaires to physicians in 31 departments in Kyoto University Hospital from October through November 2007.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 51.5% (310 of 602) of physicians completed the questionnaire. More than two-thirds of them reported currently participating in clinical research, and nearly all believed that clinical research is necessary for physicians. Less than 20% of respondents had specific training regarding clinical research, and most reported a need to acquire concepts and skills regarding clinical research, especially those related to statistics. "Paperwork was complicated and onerous" was the most frequently cited obstacle in conducting clinical research, followed by "few eligible patients" and "lack of time". Previous participation in and prospective participation in clinical research, previous writing a research protocol were positively associated with current participation in clinical research.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Physicians in university hospitals need more training regarding clinical research, particularly in biostatistics. They also require administrative assistance. Our findings indicate that the quality of clinical research could be improved if training in clinical research methodology and biostatistics were provided, and if greater assistance in the preparation of study documents requested by the institutional Independent Ethics Committee were available.</p

Net neutrality discourses: comparing advocacy and regulatory arguments in the United States and the United Kingdom

Telecommunications policy issues rarely make news, much less mobilize thousands of people. Yet this has been occurring in the United States around efforts to introduce "Net neutrality" regulation. A similar grassroots mobilization has not developed in the United Kingdom or elsewhere in Europe. We develop a comparative analysis of U.S. and UK Net neutrality debates with an eye toward identifying the arguments for and against regulation, how those arguments differ between the countries, and what the implications of those differences are for the Internet. Drawing on mass media, advocacy, and regulatory discourses, we find that local regulatory precedents as well as cultural factors contribute to both agenda setting and framing of Net neutrality. The differences between national discourses provide a way to understand both the structural differences between regulatory cultures and the substantive differences between policy interpretations, both of which must be reconciled for the Internet to continue to thrive as a global medium

Impact of Home Visit Capacity on Genetic Association Studies of Late-Onset Alzheimer\u27s Disease

INTRODUCTION—Findings for genetic correlates of late-onset Alzheimer\u27s disease (LOAD) in studies that rely solely on clinic visits may differ from those with capacity to follow participants unable to attend clinic visits. METHODS—We evaluated previously identified LOAD-risk single nucleotide variants in the prospective Adult Changes in Thought study, comparing hazard ratios (HRs) estimated using the full data set of both in-home and clinic visits (n = 1697) to HRs estimated using only data that were obtained from clinic visits (n = 1308). Models were adjusted for age, sex, principal components to account for ancestry, and additional health indicators. RESULTS—LOAD associations nominally differed for 4 of 21 variants; CR1 and APOE variants were significant after Bonferroni correction. DISCUSSION—Estimates of genetic associations may differ for studies limited to clinic-only designs. Home visit capacity should be explored as a possible source of heterogeneity and potential bias in genetic studies