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: ObjectivesThe goal of this study was to determine the impact of race on identification of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).: BackgroundSudden death in young competitive athletes is due to a variety of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and, most commonly, HCM. These catastrophes have become an important issue for African Americans, although HCM has been previously regarded as rare in this segment of the U.S. population.: MethodsWe studied the relationship of race to the prevalence of CVDs causing sudden death in our national athlete registry, and compared these findings with a representative multicenter hospital-based cohort of patients with HCM.: ResultsOf 584 athlete deaths, 286 were documented to be due to CVD at ages 17 ± 3 years; 156 (55%) were white, and 120 (42%) were African American. Most were male (90%), and 67% participated in basketball and football. Among the 286 cardiovascular deaths, most were due to HCM (n = 102; 36%) or anomalous coronary artery of wrong sinus origin (n = 37; 13%). Of the athletes who died of HCM, 42 (41%) were white, but 56 (55%) were African American. In contrast, of 1,986 clinically identified HCM patients, only 158 (8%) were African American (p < 0.001).: ConclusionsIn this autopsy series, HCM represented a common cause of sudden death in young and previously undiagnosed African American male athletes, in sharp contrast with the infrequent clinical identification of HCM in a hospital-based population (i.e., by seven-fold). This discrepancy suggests that many HCM cases go unrecognized in the African American community, underscoring the need for enhanced clinical recognition of HCM to create the opportunity for preventive measures to be employed in high-risk patients with this complex disease. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights from the article: Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) caused by HLA donor-specific antibodies (DSA) is an important cause of graft failure after lung transplantation. To test whether high level DSAs could be treated with more aggressive protocol, three patients with strong DSA who needed AMR treatment underwent 4 double TPE sessions with bortezomib and IVIG as previously described by Patel et al. for pre-transplant desensitization.

Objective Donor blood transfusion has been identified as a potential risk factor for primary graft dysfunction and by extension early mortality. We sought to define the contributing risk of donor transfusion on early mortality for lung transplant. Methods Donor and recipient data were abstracted from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network database updated through June 30, 2014, which included 86,398 potential donors and 16,255 transplants. Using the United Network for Organ Sharing 4-level designation of transfusion (no blood, 1-5 units, 6-10 units, and >10 units, massive), we analyzed all-cause mortality at 30-days with the use of logistic regression adjusted for confounders (ischemic time, donor age, recipient diagnosis, lung allocation score and recipient age, and recipient body mass index). Secondary analyses assessed 90-day and 1-year mortality and hospital length of stay. Results Of the 16,255 recipients transplanted, 8835 (54.35%) donors received at least one transfusion. Among those transfused, 1016 (6.25%) received a massive transfusion, defined as >10 units. Those donors with massive transfusion were most commonly young trauma patients. After adjustment for confounding variables, donor massive transfusion was associated significantly with an increased risk in 30-day ( P = .03) and 90-day recipient mortality ( P = .01) but not 1-year mortality ( P = .09). There was no significant difference in recipient length of stay or hospital-free days with respect to donor transfusion. Conclusions Massive donor blood transfusion (>10 units) was associated with early recipient mortality after lung transplantation. Conversely, submassive donor transfusion was not associated with increased recipient mortality. The mechanism of increased early mortality in recipients of lungs from massively transfused donors is unclear and needs further study but is consistent with excess mortality seen with primary graft dysfunction in the first 90 days posttransplant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A method for establishing input accountancy for a used oxide fuel is proposed. • The method is based on obtaining a representative sample. • A sufficient sample quantity for satisfying a sampling error requirement is derived. The method of input accountancy for a used oxide fuel reprocessing plant has been based on the sampling of a homogenized liquid stream of dissolved used oxide fuel. This article presents an alternative sampling strategy where samples are taken directly from solid oxides. The strategy is to obtain a representative sample while not requiring the homogenization of the input materials. A theoretical derivation is given to determine the sample quantity for satisfying the sampling error requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract When post-irradiation materials from the nuclear fuel cycle are released to the environment, certain isotopes of actinides and fission products carry signatures of irradiation history that can potentially aid a nuclear forensic investigation into the material's provenance. In this study, combinations of Pu, Cs, and Ba isotope ratios that produce position (in the reactor core) independent monitors of irradiation history in spent light water reactor fuel are identified and explored. These position independent monitors (PIMs) are modeled for various irradiation scenarios using automated depletion codes as well as ordinary differential equation solutions to approximate nuclear physics models. Experimental validation was performed using irradiated low enriched uranium oxide fuel from a light water reactor, which was sampled at 8 axial positions from a single rod. Plutonium, barium and cesium were chemically separated and isotope ratio measurements of the separated solutions were made by quadrupole and multi-collector inductively coupled mass spectrometry (Cs and Pu, respectively) and thermal ionization mass spectrometry (Ba). The effect of axial variations in neutron fluence and energy spectrum are evident in the measured isotope ratios. Two versions of a combined Pu and Cs based PIM are developed. A linear PIM model, which can be used to solve for irradiation time is found to work well for natural U fuel with <10% 240Pu and known or short cooling times. A non-linear PIM model, which cannot be solved explicitly for irradiation time without additional information, can nonetheless still group samples by irradiation history, including high burnup LEU fuel with unknown cooling time. 137Ba/138Ba is also observed to act as a position independent monitor; it is nearly single valued across the sampled fuel rod, indicating that samples sharing an irradiation history (same irradiation time and cooling time) in a reactor despite experiencing different neutron fluxes will have a common 137Ba/138Ba ratio. Modeling of this Ba PIM shows it increases monotonically with irradiation and cooling time, and a confirmatory first order analytical solution is also presented. Highlights • Plutonium, cesium in spent fuel are combined as a monitor of irradiation history. • Fissiogenic stable barium isotopes are a monitor of irradiation and cooling time. • Computer modeling and experimental measurements support physics calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper reports on a functional packaged single-mode and stable semiconductor laser operating at 689 nm for spectroscopic applications. • The key point is that the laser system and coupling optics are all packaged in a form factor compatible with regular 14-pin butterfly packages. • The enabling technology is the development of an optical isolator that is small enough to fit inside a small package for the wavelength of 689 nm, we go into detail as to how this was achieved. • To verify the claims we present results on the stability of the laser system for: long term power fluctuations, relative intensity noise and frequency noise. We report on the development of a compact packaged semiconductor laser capable of spectroscopy applications at 689 nm. The key component is an optical isolator that is small enough to fit inside a package that is compatible with standard 14-pin butterfly packages. We present a threshold current of 33 mA, a forward voltage of 2.5 V at 50 mA, long term reliability study for over 12,500 h, a relative intensity noise below −145 dBc/Hz, and a linewidth of 1.4 MHz. The relative intensity noise and the frequency noise spectra verify continuous-wave lasing and frequency stability of the packaged laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The quality and pulse compression of the 60GHz millimeter wave signals generated by 750μm long InAlGaAs Multi Quantum Well (MQW) passively mode locked laser under free running and optical self-injection locked conditions are experimentally characterized in terms of longitudinal modes under certain bias currents that range from 24mA to 90mA. Initially, the MQW laser is characterized in free running condition with no external injection. The measurements reflect that the free spectral range of laser under test is around 61GHz and exhibit more than 22 lasing modes. The laser is then integrated into low phase noise self-injection locking oscillator by feeding a part of output RF signal back into the laser cavity to enhance passive mode locking. By doing so the microwave line width of our laser is reduced from 900kHz to 24kHz with significant increase in output of resultant beat tones which exhibits strong passive mode locking. This is the first time that the free running microwave line width of MQW laser is reduced up to this level. It is evident from our experimental investigation that as we increase the power and phase correlation between different longitudinal modes inside laser cavity through optical self-injection, the strength of the passively mode locked mechanism is significantly increased and the phase noise of radio frequency signal is drastically reduced. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The quality and pulse compression of the 60GHz millimeter wave signals generated by 750μm long InAlGaAs Multi Quantum Well (MQW) passively mode locked laser under free running and optical self injection locked conditions are experimentally characterized in terms of longitudinal modes under certain bias currents that range from 24mA to 90mA. Initially, the MQW laser is characterized in free running condition with no external injection. The measurements reflect that the free spectral range of laser under test is around 61GHz and exhibit more than 22 lasing modes. The laser is then integrated into low phase noise self injection locking oscillator by feeding a part of output RF signal back into the laser cavity to enhance passive mode locking. By doing so the microwave line width of our laser is reduced from 900kHz to 24kHz with significant increase in output of resultant beat tones which exhibits strong passive mode locking. This is the first time that the free running microwave line width of MQW laser is reduced up to this level. It is evident from our experimental investigation that as we increase the power and phase correlation between different longitudinal modes inside laser cavity through optical self injection, the strength of the passively mode locked mechanism is significantly increased and the phase noise of radio frequency signal is drastically reduced. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Scandium-47 (47Sc) is of high value for targeted radiotherapy and theranostics; we report a novel, cost-effective approach to produce high-purity 47Sc via photonuclear reactions with natural vanadium. Irradiation at 20 MeV photon end-point energy produces >99.998% pure 47Sc, while irradiation at 38 MeV produces 98.8 ± 1.6% pure 47Sc. Experimental data suggest producing greater than 100 mCi (3700 MBq) of 47Sc using this approach may be feasible. Future research into refinement and scale-up to support pre-clinical research is recommended. • Photon irradiation of natural vanadium is a novel and inexpensive approach. • > 99.998% pure 47Sc is produced at photon energies below 20 MeV. • Production of >100 mCi (3700 MBq) of 98.8–99.998% 47Sc feasible via this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]