The real time mass evaluation system as a tool for detection of undeclared cascade operation at GCEPs

Given the flexibility of current cascade designs a real time mass monitoring system is preferred for safeguarding Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plants. However, if such a system is to be installed in a GCEP it must not impinge on plant operation or be intrusive. Since load cells are already part of the operational process and located outside the cascade hall their exploitation for safeguards purposes is an obvious development. The paper describes, through dynamic simulations, how transients would be observed in real-time mass balances when undeclared cascade operation takes place in a declared facility

Exploring the Mechanobiology of Pancreatic Cancer using Tumour Microenvironment Models.

PhD Thesis.The dismal prognosis and treatment options for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) have seen little advances over the past decades, making PDAC one of the most lethal malignancies to date. Hydrogel-based in vitro modelling of this cancer and its tumour microenvironment (TME) is a promising avenue to bridge the gap between laboratory and clinical data. Current collagen gel-based approaches are limited by varying batch composition, little tuneability and limited mechanical properties, which preclude the accurate recapitulation of key PDAC features, such as matrix stiffness, desmoplasia and drug resistance. In this study, gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA)-based hydrogels were used for the three-dimensional (3D) multicellular culture of PDAC and stromal cells (myeloid cells and patient-derived fibroblasts). The hydrogel’s mechanical properties, architecture and matrix protein expression of embedded cells were characterised and benchmarked against collagen gels and native human tissues. Mechanical testing of fresh human tissues was performed to inform the physical properties of the model. PDAC tissues were significantly stiffer (7.4 ± 0.6 kPa, p<0.0001) than normal adjacent tissues (2.2 ± 0.2 kPa), prompting the modelling of these observed biomechanics with the use of GelMA-based hydrogels. Immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, metabolic activity and DNA quantification analyses confirmed the suitability of GelMA hydrogels for 3D PDAC research by showing high viability of embedded cells, spheroid formation ability, expression of cancer-associated markers and proliferation. The simultaneous 3D co-culture of PDAC and stromal cells led to matrix stiffening, increased cell proliferation and increased in vivo tumorigenicity via a stiffness-dependant upregulation of IL-6, IL-8, STAT3 and downregulation of ERK. Transcriptomic analyses revealed that 3D GelMA cultures had signatures that correlated with those of cells grown in collagen gels, as well as primary tumour organoids cultured in Matrigel, while showing an upregulation in mechano-transduction pathways. Treatment with the mechano-modulating inhibitor fasudil led to increased chemotherapy efficiency via relaxation of matrix stiffness, downregulation of pro-survival and matrix gene signatures, and reduced IL-6 and IL-8 secretion. These findings demonstrated that GelMA-based hydrogels are a modular and informative 3D cell culture platform for the investigation of functional, transcriptional and mechanical aspects of the pancreatic TME. The tuneable physical properties of GelMA allowed me to uncover the increased biomechanical functions and to assess treatment responses of PDAC and stromal cells in matrices of physiologically relevant stiffness, which could not be assessed, to this extent, in commonly-used collagen matrices

Use of a CAEN digitiser for nuclear safeguards and security applications with a scintillator detector

The performance of a CAEN DT5751 digitiser for nuclear safeguards and security applications is discussed. The pulse shape processing firmware embedded in the digitiser was tested with a EJ-309 liquid scintillator, exposed to gamma and neutron radiation from radioactive sources and from a Van de Graaff and cyclotron-based accelerator. Software modules were developed for data acquisition and online analysis, and for more advanced off-line processing of data acquired in list mode. The potential use of a scintillator coupled to the digitiser for the detection of both gamma-rays and neutrons has been demonstrated.JRC.D.4-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard

A KD-trees based method for fast radiation source representation for virtual reality dosimetry applications in nuclear safeguards and security

[EN] With the aim of demonstrating the concrete advantages that novel technologies such as Virtual (VR) can provide to the nuclear industry, the authors of this paper have been working on the development of a VR based simulator of a gamma dose rate detector for training purposes, to be applied in the field of nuclear security and safety. Historically in nuclear science, simulating gamma dose rate transport has had a series of requirements, most importantly the accuracy of the computation. When embedding this dose rate computation in the environment of a VR based application, a second and opposing key requirement appears: real time performance. Meeting this requirement is only possible if a fast method to compute gamma radiation is used. In order to achieve this target the authors have been working in ways of improving the efficiency of the Point-Kernel method by reducing its computational effort. This paper presents the latest step in this pursuit of efficiency; a novel method based on a non-regular kernel approach, combined with a KD-tree based volume division method. Devised to reduce as much as possible the number of points that represent the volume of the source while aiming at retaining sufficient dose computation accuracy. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This project is fully funded by the Institute of Transuranium Elements of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, Ispra site, Italy.Moltó-Caracena, T.; Vendrell Vidal, E.; Goncalves, JG.; Peerani, P. (2017). A KD-trees based method for fast radiation source representation for virtual reality dosimetry applications in nuclear safeguards and security. Progress in Nuclear Energy. 95:78-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2016.12.001S78839

A variable point kernel dosimetry method for virtual reality simulation applications in nuclear safeguards and security

© 2013 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.This paper presents an algorithm to calculate gamma dose rates intended for virtual reality (VR) applications. It dynamically adapts the method to cope with both accuracy and time requirements. Given the real-time constraints imposed by VR applications, more accurate, but computationally intensive stochastic algorithms (e.g., Monte Carlo) are not suited to this task. On the opposite end, a Point Kernel (PK) method can be effective in some cases with as little as one point (mono PK) to define a source, in contrast with the millions of points that Monte Carlo computes. Simple mono PK codes may lack the desired accuracy in some circumstances, requiring a more detailed source representation. In this work, a novel method is presented which automatically estimates the appropriate level of detail for a source's volumetric representation, then generates a non-regular mesh model and subsequently computes the dose rate via a PK method, performing this three-step process in real time.This work was supported by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre Ph.D. grant program.Moltó Caracena, T.; Gonçalves, JGM.; Peerani, P.; Vendrell Vidal, E. (2013). A variable point kernel dosimetry method for virtual reality simulation applications in nuclear safeguards and security. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science. 60(5):3862-3871. doi:10.1109/TNS.2013.2279411S3862387160

Development of IAEA High Level Guidelines for Designers and Operators - Safeguards-By-Design

At the end of 2008, the IAEA launched a new task on ¿Guidance for Designers and Operators and Measures to facilitate the implementation of Safeguards at Future Nuclear Cycle Facilities¿, contributed by EURATOM and other MS Support Programmes, whose goal is to formulate ¿safeguards by design¿, or SBD, Guidelines to designers and operators. SBD is a process that facilitates the implementation of international safeguards by taking into account requirements and guidelines very early in the design phase. To this scope, the legal framework and the interaction among the stake-holders need to be improved. The overall process can thus be made more effective and efficient without costly back-fitting and iterations. In this context, at the end of 2008, the IAEA launched a new task on ¿Guidance for Designers and Operators and Measures to facilitate the implementation of Safeguards at Future Nuclear Cycle Facilities¿, with contributions by EURATOM and other Member State Support Programmes (MSSP). A first set of high level guidelines of the IAEA Safeguards by Design series was drafted by EURATOM experts, and will be the basis for further improvements. This paper will develop on the contents of the document, as well as on methodological developments. Facility specific guidelines will have to be prepared to serve as reference for the design of new evolutionary and innovative facilities. All this will be achieved within useful deadlines with the contributions of other support programmes.JRC.DG.E.9-Nuclear security (Ispra

Illicit Trafficking Radiation Assessment Program (ITRAP+10) Test campaign summary report

The Illicit Trafficking Radiation Assessment Program (ITRAP+10) is a program initiated by the European Union and the United States to evaluate the performance of available commercial radiation detection equipment against consensus standards. Through ITRAP+10, the international partners worked to ensure that testing standards are clearly defined, comprehensive and realistic in order to provide decision makers and private sector stakeholders with reliable detection system performance information as well as possible methods to enhance equipment performance. To ensure the review of commercial equipment would be relevant to the global commons, the European Commission Directorate General for Home Affairs (EC-HOME), the Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (US-DHS DNDO), the U.S. Department of Energy (US-DOE), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreed to collaborate on the conduct of the ITRAP+10 test campaign and share in the design of the tests, their execution, and the analysis of the data. This summary report aims at making the results of the ITRAP+10 test campaign available to the international community. It includes an overview of the ITRAP+10 test program, a summary of test results across the nine classes of instruments (tested by US-DHS DNDO and by EC-JRC) with scientific and technical data, and information about the manufacturers of the instruments tested. Moreover, it also takes into account the discussion of the standards used for testing and the feedback provided to the standards community to help with the standards' revisions.JRC.A.7-Euratom Coordinatio

Special nuclear material detection studies with the SMANDRA mobile system

The detection of special nuclear material has been studied with the SMANDRA mobile inspection system used both as a high sensitivity passive neutron/gamma spectroscopic tool and as an active inspection device using tagged neutrons. The detection of plutonium samples is possible with passive interrogation, the passive detection of uranium being much more difficult because of the low neutron yield and of the easiness of shielding the gamma rays. However, we show that active interrogation with tagged neutrons is able to provide signatures for the discrimination of uranium against other materials