Verification of the code DYN3D for calculations of neutron flux fluctuations

Insufficiently explained magnitudes and patterns of flux fluctuation observed mainly in KWU PWRs are recently investigated by various European institutions. Among the numerical tools used to investigate the\ua0neutron flux\ua0fluctuations is the time-domain reactor dynamics code\ua0DYN3D. As\ua0DYN3D\ua0and comparable codes have not been developed with the primary intention to simulate low-amplitude neutron flux fluctuations, their applicability in this field has to be verified.In order to contribute to the verification of\ua0DYN3D\ua0for the simulation of neutron flux fluctuations, two special cases of perturbations of the neutron flux (a localized absorber of variable/oscillatory strength and a travelling oscillatory perturbation) are considered with\ua0DYN3D\ua0on the one hand and with the frequency-domain neutron noise tool\ua0CORE SIM\ua0as well as analytical frequency-domain approaches, respectively, on the other hand. The obtained results are compared with respect to the distributions of the amplitude and the phase of the induced neutron flux fluctuations. The comparisons are repeated with varied amplitudes and frequencies of the perturbation.The results agree well both qualitatively and quantitatively for each of the conducted calculations. The remaining deviations between the\ua0DYN3D\ua0results and the reference results exhibit a dependence on the perturbation magnitude, which is attributed to the neglect of higher-order terms (linear theory) of the perturbed quantities in the calculation of the reference solutions

Combined Characterisation of GOME and TOMS Total Ozone Using Ground-Based Observations from the NDSC

Several years of total ozone measured from space by the ERS-2 GOME, the Earth Probe Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), and the ADEOS TOMS, are compared with high-quality ground-based observations associated with the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC), over an extended latitude range and a variety of geophysical conditions. The comparisons with each spaceborne sensor are combined altogether for investigating their respective solar zenith angle (SZA) dependence, dispersion, and difference of sensitivity. The space- and ground-based data are found to agree within a few percent on average. However, the analysis highlights for both Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) and TOMS several sources of discrepancies, including a dependence on the SZA at high latitudes and internal inconsistencies

Treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus: a systematic review

The aim of this study was to summarize all eligible studies to compare the effectiveness of treatment strategies for osteochondral defects (OCD) of the talus. Electronic databases from January 1966 to December 2006 were systematically screened. The proportion of the patient population treated successfully was noted, and percentages were calculated. For each treatment strategy, study size weighted success rates were calculated. Fifty-two studies described the results of 65 treatment groups of treatment strategies for OCD of the talus. One randomized clinical trial was identified. Seven studies described the results of non-operative treatment, 4 of excision, 13 of excision and curettage, 18 of excision, curettage and bone marrow stimulation (BMS), 4 of an autogenous bone graft, 2 of transmalleolar drilling (TMD), 9 of osteochondral transplantation (OATS), 4 of autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI), 3 of retrograde drilling and 1 of fixation. OATS, BMS and ACI scored success rates of 87, 85 and 76%, respectively. Retrograde drilling and fixation scored 88 and 89%, respectively. Together with the newer techniques OATS and ACI, BMS was identified as an effective treatment strategy for OCD of the talus. Because of the relatively high cost of ACI and the knee morbidity seen in OATS, we conclude that BMS is the treatment of choice for primary osteochondral talar lesions. However, due to great diversity in the articles and variability in treatment results, no definitive conclusions can be drawn. Further sufficiently powered, randomized clinical trials with uniform methodology and validated outcome measures should be initiated to compare the outcome of surgical strategies for OCD of the talus