Composite Materials under Extreme Radiation and Temperature Environments of the Next Generation Nuclear Reactors

In the nuclear energy renaissance, driven by fission reactor concepts utilizing very high temperatures and fast neutron spectra, materials with enhanced performance that exceeds are expected to play a central role. With the operating temperatures of the Generation III reactors bringing the classical reactor materials close to their performance limits there is an urgent need to develop and qualify new alloys and composites. Efforts have been focused on the intricate relations and the high demands placed on materials at the anticipated extreme states within the next generation fusion and fission reactors which combine high radiation fluxes, elevated temperatures and aggressive environments. While nuclear reactors have been in operation for several decades, the structural materials associated with the next generation options need to endure much higher temperatures (1200 C), higher neutron doses (tens of displacements per atom, dpa), and extremely corrosive environments, which are beyond the experience on materials accumulated to-date. The most important consideration is the performance and reliability of structural materials for both in-core and out-of-core functions. While there exists a great body of nuclear materials research and operating experience/performance from fission reactors where epithermal and thermal neutrons interact with materials and alter their physio-mechanical properties, a process that is well understood by now, there are no operating or even experimental facilities that will facilitate the extreme conditions of flux and temperature anticipated and thus provide insights into the behaviour of these well understood materials. Materials, however, still need to be developed and their interaction and damage potential or lifetime to be quantified for the next generation nuclear energy. Based on material development advances, composites, and in particular ceramic composites, seem to inherently possess properties suitable for key functions within the operating envelope of both fission and fusion reactors. In advanced fission reactors composite materials are being designed in an effort to extend the life and improve the reliability of fuel rod cladding as well as structural materials. Composites are being considered for use as core internals in the next generation of gas-cooled reactors. Further, next-generation plasma-fusion reactors, such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) will rely on the capabilities of advanced composites to safely withstand extremely high neutron fluxes while providing superior thermal shock resistance

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

Hypersensitivity to Proton Pump Inhibitors: Lansoprazole-Induced Kounis Syndrome

Proton pump inhibitors are commonly used in clinical practice for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease and gastro-esophageal reflux and are well tolerated by patients. Their use is rarely associated with hypersensitivity and anaphylactic reactions. According to the reports in the Uppsala Monitoring Center database the frequency of hypersensitivity reactions among all reported adverse reactions for proton pump inhibitors and H2-histamine receptor antagonists were between 0.2% and 0.7%.  A few cases of hypersensitivity to lansoprazole have been reported. Herein, we report a patient who developed Kounis syndrome after taking 40 mg of lansoprazole. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Kounis syndrome associated with lansoprazole administration in the world literature

Hypersensitivity to Proton Pump Inhibitors: Lansoprasol-induced Kounis Syndrome

Proton pump inhibitors are commonly used in clinical practice for the treatment of peptic ulcer disease and gastro-esophageal reflux and are well tolerated by the patients. Their use is rarely associated with hypersensitivity and anaphylactic reactions.According to the reports in the Uppsala Monitoring Center database the frequency of hypersensitivity reactions out of all reported adverse reactions for proton pump inhibitors and H2-histamine receptor antagonists were between 0.2% and 0.7%. A few cases of hypersensitivity to lansoprazole have been reported. Herein, we report a patient who developed Kounis syndrome after taking 40 mg of lansoprazole. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Kounis syndrome associated with lansoprazole administration in the world literature

Safety-Security Co-Engineering Framework

Executive Summary:The advantages of a model-based approach for safety have been clear for many years now. However, security analysis is typically less formal and more ad-hoc; it may involve systematic processes but these are not generally tied into a formal model-based development and analysis process in the same way that safety can be.Task 4.3 of the SESAME project, Safety/Security Co-Engineering, sets out to remedy this by investigating a holistic co-engineering approach that integrates both of these different concerns.In this report we therefore present a combined safety/security co-engineering framework based on the ODE, the metamodel that serves as a basis for the EDDI dependability management concept. The ODE acts as a common ontology for both safety and security, establishing equivalencies between key concepts and allowing joint analyses to take place in which failures can be incorporated into security analysis and attacks into safety analysis. The combined results indicate the causes and consequences of hazardous events regardless of whether they originate from safety or security issues, and the same risk estimation applies to them all. While developed for design-time usage, this framework paves the way for the generation of combined safety/security artefacts at runtime as well. The common approach means that specification of requirements, event monitors, diagnostic engines, and responses/actions can take advantage of both safety and security information stored in the design-time models.To demonstrate the approach, we apply it to a drone-based case study derived from two of the SESAME use cases

Feasibility of mapping and ablating ectopy-triggering ganglionated plexus reproducibly in persistent atrial fibrillation

Background Ablation of autonomic ectopy-triggering ganglionated plexuses (ET-GP) has been used to treat paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). It is not known if ET-GP localisation is reproducible between different stimulators or whether ET-GP can be mapped and ablated in persistent AF. We tested the reproducibility of the left atrial ET-GP location using different high-frequency high-output stimulators in AF. In addition, we tested the feasibility of identifying ET-GP locations in persistent atrial fibrillation. Methods Nine patients undergoing clinically-indicated paroxysmal AF ablation received pacing-synchronised high-frequency stimulation (HFS), delivered in SR during the left atrial refractory period, to compare ET-GP localisation between a custom-built current-controlled stimulator (Tau20) and a voltage-controlled stimulator (Grass S88, SIU5). Two patients with persistent AF underwent cardioversion, left atrial ET-GP mapping with the Tau20 and ablation (Precision™, Tacticath™ [n = 1] or Carto™, SmartTouch™ [n = 1]). Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) was not performed. Efficacy of ablation at ET-GP sites alone without PVI was assessed at 1 year. Results The mean output to identify ET-GP was 34 mA (n = 5). Reproducibility of response to synchronised HFS was 100% (Tau20 vs Grass S88; [n = 16] [kappa = 1, SE = 0.00, 95% CI 1 to 1)][Tau20 v Tau20; [n = 13] [kappa = 1, SE = 0, 95% CI 1 to 1]). Two patients with persistent AF had 10 and 7 ET-GP sites identified requiring 6 and 3 min of radiofrequency ablation respectively to abolish ET-GP response. Both patients were free from AF for > 365 days without anti-arrhythmics. Conclusions ET-GP sites are identified at the same location by different stimulators. ET-GP ablation alone was able to prevent AF recurrence in persistent AF, and further studies would be warranted

Collimation for the LHC high intensity beams

The unprecedented design intensities of the LHC require several important advances in beam collimation. With its more than 100 collimators, acting on various planes and beams, the LHC collimation system is the biggest and most performing such system ever designed and constructed. The solution for LHC collimation is explained, the technical components are introduced and the initial performance is presented. Residual beam leakage from the system is analysed. Measurements and simulations are presented which show that collimation efficiencies of better than 99.97 % have been measured with the 3.5 TeV proton beams of the LHC, in excellent agreement with expectations.peer-reviewe

Semantic Data Augmentation for Deep Learning Testing Using Generative AI

International audienc