Search

Templates of uncertainties expected in specific measurement types were recently developed. One aim of these templates is to help evaluators in identifying (1) missing or suspiciously low uncertainties and (2) missing correlations between uncertainties of the same and different experiments, when estimating covariances for experimental data employed in their evaluations. These templates also provide realistic estimates of standard deviations and correlations for a particular uncertainty source and measurement type that can be used by evaluators in situations where they are not supplied by the experimenters. This information allows for a more comprehensive uncertainty analysis across all measurements considered in an evaluation and, thus, more realistic evaluated covariances. Here, we extend a template that is applicable to uncertainties expected in neutron-induced fission, (n,f), cross-section measurements. It is applied to improving covariances of 239Pu(n,f) cross-section measurements in the database underlying the Neutron Data Standards evaluations. This particular example was chosen since this evaluation is primarily based on experimental information. Also, some uncertainties of individual 239Pu(n,f) cross-section experiments in this database were suspected to be underestimated. The evaluated uncertainties obtained after updating the covariances in the database by means of the template indeed do increase compared to their original values. Even more importantly, the evaluated mean values change noticeably. These modified cross sections impact application calculations significantly, as is demonstrated by employing them in simulations of the effective neutron multiplication factor for a few selected critical assemblies. However, this updated evaluated 239Pu(n,f) cross section should not be interpreted as the final one that should replace values of the current Neutron Data Standards project. Evaluations for the Neutron Data Standards of the 239Pu(n,f) cross section must be linked to many other observables included in the associated database, most notably to cross sections for 235U(n,f), but also to those for 10B(n,α), 6Li(n,t), 238U(n,f), and 238U(n,γ), because of included measurements of the 239Pu(n,f) cross section that appear as ratios to these reactions. Some of these other reactions are correlated to further observables in the database. Hence, updating uncertainties of data sets of any of these observables can potentially impact the 239Pu(n,f) cross section. Uncertainties for all measurements of these linked physical observables have to be updated before a comprehensive evaluation of the 239Pu(n,f) cross section and its corresponding uncertainties can be provided.

A corrected description of the interpolation scheme for the neutron data standards is given. It is emphasized that the energies (nodes) listed are where the evaluated cross sections are shown. A numerical example that shows how the high-resolution 235U(n,f) data should be averaged to be compared with lower resolution cross sections is given.

Oil-extracted microalgae are a coproduct of biofuel production and have potential to be used as an animal feed ingredient. Three studies were conducted to determine the performance of grower-finisher pigs fed corn–soybean meal based diets supplemented with microalgae. In study 1, 26 (8-wk-old) Duroc × Yorkshire-Landrace pigs were fed diets containing 0, 1, 2, or 4% microalgae for a 14-d grow-out period. Average daily gain, ADFI, and G:F were similar among all treatments (P > 0.05). Additionally, pellet durability indices were numerically improved for diets containing 4% microalgae compared with the control diet. Based on study 1 results, diets containing either 0 or 4% microalgae were selected to be replicated in study 2 and 3. In both studies, pigs fed diets with 4% microalgae had similar ADG, ADFI, and G:F compared with pigs fed the control (0% microalgae) diet (P > 0.10). Feeding diets containing the oil-extracted microalgae used in the current study had no detriment on palatability or performance of growing pigs up to 4%.

Background The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 comparative risk assessment (CRA) is a comprehensive approach to risk factor quantification that offers a useful tool for synthesising evidence on risks and risk–outcome associations. With each annual GBD study, we update the GBD CRA to incorporate improved methods, new risks and risk–outcome pairs, and new data on risk exposure levels and risk–outcome associations. Methods We used the CRA framework developed for previous iterations of GBD to estimate levels and trends in exposure, attributable deaths, and attributable disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), by age group, sex, year, and location for 84 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or groups of risks from 1990 to 2017. This study included 476 risk–outcome pairs that met the GBD study criteria for convincing or probable evidence of causation. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from 46 749 randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL), we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We explored the relationship between development and risk exposure by modelling the relationship between the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) and risk-weighted exposure prevalence and estimated expected levels of exposure and risk-attributable burden by SDI. Finally, we explored temporal changes in risk-attributable DALYs by decomposing those changes into six main component drivers of change as follows: (1) population growth; (2) changes in population age structures; (3) changes in exposure to environmental and occupational risks; (4) changes in exposure to behavioural risks; (5) changes in exposure to metabolic risks; and (6) changes due to all other factors, approximated as the risk-deleted death and DALY rates, where the risk-deleted rate is the rate that would be observed had we reduced the exposure levels to the TMREL for all risk factors included in GBD 2017. Findings In 2017, 34·1 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 33·3–35·0) deaths and 1·21 billion (1·14–1·28) DALYs were attributable to GBD risk factors. Globally, 61·0% (59·6–62·4) of deaths and 48·3% (46·3–50·2) of DALYs were attributed to the GBD 2017 risk factors. When ranked by risk-attributable DALYs, high systolic blood pressure (SBP) was the leading risk factor, accounting for 10·4 million (9·39–11·5) deaths and 218 million (198–237) DALYs, followed by smoking (7·10 million [6·83–7·37] deaths and 182 million [173–193] DALYs), high fasting plasma glucose (6·53 million [5·23–8·23] deaths and 171 million [144–201] DALYs), high body-mass index (BMI; 4·72 million [2·99–6·70] deaths and 148 million [98·6–202] DALYs), and short gestation for birthweight (1·43 million [1·36–1·51] deaths and 139 million [131–147] DALYs). In total, risk-attributable DALYs declined by 4·9% (3·3–6·5) between 2007 and 2017. In the absence of demographic changes (ie, population growth and ageing), changes in risk exposure and risk-deleted DALYs would have led to a 23·5% decline in DALYs during that period. Conversely, in the absence of changes in risk exposure and risk-deleted DALYs, demographic changes would have led to an 18·6% increase in DALYs during that period. The ratios of observed risk exposure levels to exposure levels expected based on SDI (O/E ratios) increased globally for unsafe drinking water and household air pollution between 1990 and 2017. This result suggests that development is occurring more rapidly than are changes in the underlying risk structure in a population. Conversely, nearly universal declines in O/E ratios for smoking and alcohol use indicate that, for a given SDI, exposure to these risks is declining. In 2017, the leading Level 4 risk factor for age-standardised DALY rates was high SBP in four super-regions: central Europe, eastern Europe, and central Asia; north Africa and Middle East; south Asia; and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania. The leading risk factor in the high-income super-region was smoking, in Latin America and Caribbean was high BMI, and in sub-Saharan Africa was unsafe sex. O/E ratios for unsafe sex in sub-Saharan Africa were notably high, and those for alcohol use in north Africa and the Middle East were notably low. Interpretation By quantifying levels and trends in exposures to risk factors and the resulting disease burden, this assessment offers insight into where past policy and programme efforts might have been successful and highlights current priorities for public health action. Decreases in behavioural, environmental, and occupational risks have largely offset the effects of population growth and ageing, in relation to trends in absolute burden. Conversely, the combination of increasing metabolic risks and population ageing will probably continue to drive the increasing trends in non-communicable diseases at the global level, which presents both a public health challenge and opportunity. We see considerable spatiotemporal heterogeneity in levels of risk exposure and risk-attributable burden. Although levels of development underlie some of this heterogeneity, O/E ratios show risks for which countries are overperforming or underperforming relative to their level of development. As such, these ratios provide a benchmarking tool to help to focus local decision making. Our findings reinforce the importance of both risk exposure monitoring and epidemiological research to assess causal connections between risks and health outcomes, and they highlight the usefulness of the GBD study in synthesising data to draw comprehensive and robust conclusions that help to inform good policy and strategic health planning. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.

The energy spectrum of prompt neutrons emitted in fission (PFNS) plays a very important role in nuclear science and technology. A Coordinated Research Project (CRP) “Evaluation of Prompt Fission Neutron Spectra of Actinides”was established by the IAEA Nuclear Data Section in 2009, with the major goal to produce new PFNS evaluations with uncertainties for actinide nuclei. The following technical areas were addressed: (i) experiments and uncertainty quantification (UQ): New data for neutron-induced fission of 233U, 235U, 238U, and 239Pu have been measured, and older data have been compiled and reassessed. There is evidence from the experimental work of this CRP that a very small percentage of neutrons emitted in fission are actually scission neutrons; (ii) modeling: The Los Alamos model (LAM) continues to be the workhorse for PFNS evaluations. Monte Carlo models have been developed that describe the fission phenomena microscopically, but further development is needed to produce PFNS evaluations meeting the uncertainty targets; (iii) evaluation methodologies: PFNS evaluations rely on the use of the least-squares techniques for merging experimental and model data. Considerable insight was achieved on how to deal with the problem of too small uncertainties in PFNS evaluations. The importance of considering that all experimental PFNS datamore » are “shape” data was stressed; (iv) PFNS evaluations: New evaluations, including covariance data, were generated for major actinides including 1) non-model GMA evaluations of the 235U(nth,f), 239Pu(nth,f), and 233U(nth,f) PFNS based exclusively on experimental data (0.02 ≤ E ≤ 10 MeV), which resulted in PFNS average energies E of 2.00±0.01, 2.073±0.010, and 2.030±0.013 MeV, respectively; 2) LAM evaluations of neutron-induced fission spectra on uranium and plutonium targets with improved UQ for incident energies from thermal up to 30 MeV; and 3) Point-by-Point calculations for 232Th, 234U and 237Np targets; and (v) data testing: Spectrum averaged cross sections (SACS) calculated for the evaluated 235U(nth,f) PFN field agree within uncertainties with evaluated SACS experimental data. Despite the observed reduction of the PFNS E by about 30 keV for neutron-induced fission of 233U, 235U, and 239Pu, the criticality benchmark outcomes suggested that new evaluations can achieve the same (or better) integral performance with respect to existing evaluations, but the strong compensating effects observed need to be addressed. Summarizing, this project has significantly improved PFNS evaluations and evaluation methodology, provided new PFNS data for applications, and also highlighted the areas for future research« less

With the need for improving existing nuclear data evaluations, (e.g., ENDF/B-VIII.0 and JEFF-3.3 releases) the first step was to evaluate the standards for use in such a library. This new standards evaluation made use of improved experimental data and some developments in the methodology of analysis and evaluation. In addition to the work on the traditional standards, this work produced the extension of some energy ranges and includes new reactions that are called reference cross sections. Since the effort extends beyond the traditional standards, it is called the neutron data standards evaluation. This international effort has produced new evaluations of the following cross section standards: the H(n,n), Li-6(n,t), B-10(n, alpha), B-10(n,alpha(1)gamma), C-nat(n,n), Au(n,gamma), U-235(n,f) and U-238(n,f). Also in the evaluation process the U-238(n,gamma) and Pu-239(n,f) cross sections that are not standards were evaluated. Evaluations were also obtained for data that are not traditional standards: the Maxwellian spectrum averaged cross section for the Au(n,gamma) cross section at 30 keV; reference cross sections for prompt gamma-ray production in fast neutron-induced reactions; reference cross sections for very high energy fission cross sections; the Cf-252 spontaneous fission neutron spectrum and the U-235 prompt fission neutron spectrum induced by thermal incident neutrons; and the thermal neutron constants. The data and covariance matrices of the uncertainties were obtained directly from the evaluation procedure. Correction in: Nuclear Data Sheets, Volume 163, January 2020, Pages 280-281, DOI:10.1016/j.nds.2019.12.008

We describe the new ENDF/B-VIII.0 evaluated nuclear reaction data library. ENDF/B-VIII.0 fully incorporates the new IAEA standards, includes improved thermal neutron scattering data and uses new evaluated data from the CIELO project for neutron reactions on 1H, 16O, 56Fe, 235U, 238U and 239Pu described in companion papers in the present issue of Nuclear Data Sheets. The evaluations benefit from recent experimental data obtained in the U.S. and Europe, and improvements in theory and simulation. Notable advances include updated evaluated data for light nuclei, structural materials, actinides, fission energy release, prompt fission neutron and γ-ray spectra, thermal neutron scattering data, and charged-particle reactions. Integral validation testing is shown for a wide range of criticality, reaction rate, and neutron transmission benchmarks. In general, integral validation performance of the library is improved relative to the previous ENDF/B-VII.1 library. Fil: Brown, D.A.. Brookhaven National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Chadwick, M.B.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Capote, R.. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna; Austria Fil: Kahler, A.C.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Trkov, A.. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna; Austria Fil: Herman, M.W.. Brookhaven National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Sonzogni, A.A.. Brookhaven National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Danon, Y.. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Estados Unidos Fil: Carlson, A.D.. National Institute of Standards and Technology; Estados Unidos Fil: Dunn, M.. Spectra Tech; Estados Unidos Fil: Smith, D.L.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Hale, G.M.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Arbanas, G.. Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Arcilla, R.. Brookhaven National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Bates, C.R.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Beck, B.. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Fil: Becker, B.. Gesellschaft für Anlagen und Reaktorsicherheit; Alemania Fil: Brown, F.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Casperson, R.J.. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Conlin, J.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Cullen, D.E.. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Descalle, M.A.. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Firestone, R.. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Gaines, T.. AWE plc; Reino Unido Fil: Guber, K.H.. Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Hawari, A.I.. University of North Carolina; Estados Unidos Fil: Holmes, J.. Naval Nuclear Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Johnson, T.D.. Brookhaven National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Kawano, T.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Kiedrowski, B.C.. University of Michigan; Estados Unidos Fil: Koning, A.J.. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna; Austria Fil: Kopecky, S.. EC-JRC; Bélgica Fil: Leal, L.. Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire; Francia Fil: Lestone, J.P.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Lubitz, C.. Naval Nuclear Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Marquez Damian, Jose Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Mattoon, C.M.. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: McCutchan, E.A.. Brookhaven National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Mughabghab, S.. Brookhaven National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Navratil, P.. TRIUMF; Canadá Fil: Neudecker, D.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Nobre, G.P.A.. Brookhaven National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Noguere, G.. Commissariat A Energie Atomique; Francia Fil: Paris, M.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Pigni, M.T.. Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Plompen, A.J.. EC-JRC; Bélgica Fil: Pritychenko, B.. Brookhaven National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Pronyaev, V.G.. PI Atomstandart at SC Rosatom; Rusia Fil: Roubtsov, D.. Laboratoires Nucleaires Canadiens; Canadá Fil: Rochman, D.. Paul Scherrer Institut; Suiza Fil: Romano, P.. Argonne National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Schillebeeckx, P.. EC-JRC; Bélgica Fil: Simakov, S.. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology; Alemania Fil: Sin, M.. University of Bucharest; Rumania Fil: Sirakov, I.. Institute For Nuclear Research And Nuclear Energy Bulgarian Academy Of Sciences; Bulgaria Fil: Sleaford, B.. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Sobes, V.. Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Soukhovitskii, E.S.. Joint Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research; Bielorrusia Fil: Stetcu, I.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Talou, P.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos. Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Thompson, I.. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: van der Marck, S.. NRG; Países Bajos Fil: Welser-Sherrill, L.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Wiarda, D.. Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: White, M.. Los Alamos National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Wormald, J.L.. University of North Carolina; Estados Unidos Fil: Wright, R.Q.. Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Zerkle, M.. Naval Nuclear Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Zerovnik, G.. EC-JRC; Bélgica Fil: Zhu, Yan. University of North Carolina; Estados Unidos

Background: How long one lives, how many years of life are spent in good and poor health, and how the population's state of health and leading causes of disability change over time all have implications for policy, planning, and provision of services. We comparatively assessed the patterns and trends of healthy life expectancy (HALE), which quantifies the number of years of life expected to be lived in good health, and the complementary measure of disability-adjusted lifeyears (DALYs), a composite measure of disease burden capturing both premature mortality and prevalence and severityof ill health, for 359 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories over the past 28 years. Methods We used data for age-speci?c mortality rates, years of life lost (YLLs) due to premature mortality, and years lived with disability (YLDs) from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017 to calculate HALE and DALYs from 1990 to 2017. We calculated HALE using age-specific mortality rates and YLDs per capita for each location, age, sex, and year. We calculated DALYs for 359 causes as the sum of YLLs and YLDs. We assessed how observed HALE and DALYs differed by country and sex from expected trends based on Sociodemographic Index (SDI). We also analysed HALE by decomposing years of life gained into years spent in good health and in poor health, between 1990 and 2017, and extra years lived by females compared with males. Findings Globally, from 1990 to 2017, life expectancy at birth increased by 7·4 years (95% uncertainty interval 7·1-7·8), from 65·6 years (65·3-65·8) in 1990 to 73·0 years (72·7-73·3) in 2017. The increase in years of life varied from 5·1 years (5·0-5·3) in high SDI countries to 12·0 years (11·3-12·8) in low SDI countries. Of the additional years of life expected at birth, 26·3% (20·1-33·1) were expected to be spent in poor health in high SDI countries compared with 11·7% (8·8-15·1) in low-middle SDI countries. HALE at birth increased by 6·3 years (5·9-6·7), from 57·0 years (54·6-59·1) in 1990 to 63·3 years (60·5-65·7) in 2017. The increase varied from 3·8 years (3·4-4·1) in high SDI countries to 10·5 years (9·8-11·2) in low SDI countries. Even larger variations in HALE than these were observed between countries, ranging from 1·0 year (0·4-1·7) in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (62·4 years [59·9-64·7] in 1990 to 63·5 years [60·9-65·8] in 2017) to 23·7 years (21·9-25·6) in Eritrea (30·7 years [28·9-32·2] in 1990 to 54·4 years [51·5-57·1] in 2017). In most countries, the increase in HALE was smaller than the increase in overall life expectancy, indicating more years lived in poor health. In 180 of 195 countries and territories, females were expected to live longer than males in 2017, with extra years lived varying from 1·4 years (0·6-2·3) in Algeria to 11·9 years (10·9-12·9) in Ukraine. Of the extra years gained, the proportion spent in poor health varied largely across countries, with less than 20% of additional years spent in poor health in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, and Slovakia, whereas in Bahrain all the extra years were spent in poor health. In 2017, the highest estimate of HALE at birth was in Singapore for both females (75·8 years [72·4-78·7]) and males (72·6 years [69·8-75·0]) and the lowest estimates were in Central African Republic (47·0 years [43·7-50·2] for females and 42·8 years [40·1-45·6] for males). Globally, in 2017, the ?ve leading causes of DALYs were neonatal disorders, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infections, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Between 1990 and 2017, age-standardised DALY rates decreased by 41·3% (38·8-43·5) for communicable diseases and by 49·8% (47·9-51·6) for neonatal disorders. For non-communicable diseases, global DALYs increased by 40·1% (36·8-43·0), although age-standardised DALY rates decreased by 18·1% (16·0-20·2). Interpretation With increasing life expectancy in most countries, the question of whether the additional years of life gained are spent in good health or poor health has been increasingly relevant because of the potential policy implications, such as health-care provisions and extending retirement ages. In some locations, a large proportion of those additional years are spent in poor health. Large inequalities in HALE and disease burden exist across countries in different SDI quintiles and between sexes. The burden of disabling conditions has serious implications for health system planning and health-related expenditures. Despite the progress made in reducing the burden of communicable diseases and neonatal disorders in low SDI countries, the speed of this progress could be increased by scaling up proven interventions. The global trends among non-communicable diseases indicate that more effort is needed to maximise HALE, such as risk prevention and attention to upstream determinants of health. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.

Background: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017 (GBD 2017) includes a comprehensive assessment of incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability (YLDs) for 354 causes in 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017. Previous GBD studies have shown how the decline of mortality rates from 1990 to 2016 has led to an increase in life expectancy, an ageing global population, and an expansion of the non-fatal burden of disease and injury. These studies have also shown how a substantial portion of the world's population experiences non-fatal health loss with considerable heterogeneity among different causes, locations, ages, and sexes. Ongoing objectives of the GBD study include increasing the level of estimation detail, improving analytical strategies, and increasing the amount of high-quality data. Methods: We estimated incidence and prevalence for 354 diseases and injuries and 3484 sequelae. We used an updated and extensive body of literature studies, survey data, surveillance data, inpatient admission records, outpatient visit records, and health insurance claims, and additionally used results from cause of death models to inform estimates using a total of 68 781 data sources. Newly available clinical data from India, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Nepal, China, Brazil, Norway, and Italy were incorporated, as well as updated claims data from the USA and new claims data from Taiwan (province of China) and Singapore. We used DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression tool, as the main method of estimation, ensuring consistency between rates of incidence, prevalence, remission, and cause of death for each condition. YLDs were estimated as the product of a prevalence estimate and a disability weight for health states of each mutually exclusive sequela, adjusted for comorbidity. We updated the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary development indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and total fertility rate. Additionally, we calculated differences between male and female YLDs to identify divergent trends across sexes. GBD 2017 complies with the Guidelines for Accurate and Transparent Health Estimates Reporting. Findings: Globally, for females, the causes with the greatest age-standardised prevalence were oral disorders, headache disorders, and haemoglobinopathies and haemolytic anaemias in both 1990 and 2017. For males, the causes with the greatest age-standardised prevalence were oral disorders, headache disorders, and tuberculosis including latent tuberculosis infection in both 1990 and 2017. In terms of YLDs, low back pain, headache disorders, and dietary iron deficiency were the leading Level 3 causes of YLD counts in 1990, whereas low back pain, headache disorders, and depressive disorders were the leading causes in 2017 for both sexes combined. All-cause age-standardised YLD rates decreased by 3·9% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 3·1-4·6) from 1990 to 2017; however, the all-age YLD rate increased by 7·2% (6·0-8·4) while the total sum of global YLDs increased from 562 million (421-723) to 853 million (642-1100). The increases for males and females were similar, with increases in all-age YLD rates of 7·9% (6·6-9·2) for males and 6·5% (5·4-7·7) for females. We found significant differences between males and females in terms of age-standardised prevalence estimates for multiple causes. The causes with the greatest relative differences between sexes in 2017 included substance use disorders (3018 cases [95% UI 2782-3252] per 100 000 in males vs 1400 [1279-1524] per 100 000 in females), transport injuries (3322 [3082-3583] vs 2336 [2154-2535]), and self-harm and interpersonal violence (3265 [2943-3630] vs 5643 [5057-6302]). Interpretation: Global all-cause age-standardised YLD rates have improved only slightly over a period spanning nearly three decades. However, the magnitude of the non-fatal disease burden has expanded globally, with increasing numbers of people who have a wide spectrum of conditions. A subset of conditions has remained globally pervasive since 1990, whereas other conditions have displayed more dynamic trends, with different ages, sexes, and geographies across the globe experiencing varying burdens and trends of health loss. This study emphasises how global improvements in premature mortality for select conditions have led to older populations with complex and potentially expensive diseases, yet also highlights global achievements in certain domains of disease and injury. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.

We present evaluations of the prompt fission neutron spectrum (PFNS) of 239 Pu induced by 500 keV neutrons, and associated covariances. In a previous evaluation by Talou et al. (2010), surprisingly low evaluated uncertainties were obtained, partly due to simplifying assumptions in the quantification of uncertainties from experiment and model. Therefore, special emphasis is placed here on a thorough uncertainty quantification of experimental data and of the Los Alamos model predicted values entering the evaluation. In addition, the Los Alamos model was extended and an evaluation technique was employed that takes into account the qualitative differences between normalized model predicted values and experimental shape data. These improvements lead to changes in the evaluated PFNS and overall larger evaluated uncertainties than in the previous work. However, these evaluated uncertainties are still smaller than those obtained in a statistical analysis using experimental information only, due to strong model correlations. Hence, suggestions to estimate model defect uncertainties are presented, which lead to more reasonable evaluated uncertainties. The calculated k eff of selected criticality benchmarks obtained with these new evaluations agree with each other within their uncertainties despite the different approaches to estimate model defect uncertainties. The k eff one standard deviations overlap with some of those obtained using ENDF/B-VII.1, albeit their mean values are further away from unity. Spectral indexes for the Jezebel critical assembly calculated with the newly evaluated PFNS agree with the experimental data for selected (n, γ ) and (n,f) reactions, and show improvements for high-energy threshold (n,2n) reactions compared to ENDF/B-VII.1.

Algae, a human supplement and alternative fuel source, has potential as a feed ingredient for poultry. Three studies were conducted with the following objectives: determine digestible nutrient values for a commercially availableSpirulina algae (Study 1), formulate and pellet a practical broiler starter diet using these data (Study 2), and assess feeding diet formulations with varying levels of algae on Hubbard X Cobb 500 broiler performance and apparent ileal amino acid digestibility (AIAAD; Study 3).Spirulina algae TMEn (2,839 kcal/kg) and true amino acid digestibility (TAAD) values (2.10, 1.07, 0.42, and 1.97% lysine, methionine, cysteine, and threonine, respectively) from Study 1 were used to formulate a practical broiler starter diet containing 21% algae. A diet containing 0% algae was also formulated. Both diets were pelleted, ground, and mixed at different ratios to create diets containing 6, 11, and 16% algae. The 21% algae diet resulted in a nominally lower production rate and an increase in hot pellet temperature and pellet durability compared to the 0% algae diet. Diets containing up to 16% algae resulted in statistically similar ending parameter compared birds fed the 0% algae diet: ending bird weight (EBW), live weight gain, and feed intake (P > 0.05). The 16% algae diet resulted in the highest level of digestible cysteine and lysine (P

Low evaluated uncertainties compared to experimental information and a strong model impact were observed in some prompt fission neutron spectrum (PFNS) evaluations that include mean values and cova...

Low evaluated uncertainties were obtained in a previous evaluation of the 239 Pu prompt fission neutron spectrum and associated covariances for incident neutrons of 0.5 MeV, which were enlarged a-posteriori before being incorporated into ENDF/B-VII.1. These low evaluated uncertainties triggered an in-depth study and improved estimate of experimental as well as model uncertainties. Here, we will summarize these efforts and show that the improved estimate of experimental and model uncertainties leads to corresponding evaluated uncertainties in good agreement with uncertainties obtained in a statistical analysis based primarily on experimental information.

Two methods for random sampling according to a multivariate lognormal distribution – the correlated sampling method and the method of transformation of correlation coefficients – are briefly presented. The methods are mathematically exact and enable consistent sampling of correlated inherently positive parameters with given information on the first two distribution moments. Furthermore, a weighted sampling method to accelerate the convergence of parameters with extremely large relative uncertainties is described. However, the method is efficient only for a limited number of correlated parameters.

Evaluations are being done for the H(n,n), 6Li(n,t), 10B(n,αγ), 10B(n,α), C(n,n), Au(n,γ), 235U(n,f) and 238U(n,f) standard cross sections. Evaluations are also being done for data that are not traditional standards including: the Au(n,γ) cross section at energies below where it is considered a standard; reference cross sections for prompt gamma-ray production in fast neutron-induced reactions; reference cross sections for very high energy fission cross sections; the 235U thermal neutron fission spectrum and the 252Cf spontaneous fission neutron spectrum and the thermal constants.

Documentation of uncertainties and covariances in experimental nuclear reaction cross sections has been assessed. Following consideration of the importance of covariances for nuclear data in various nuclear applications, and presentation of a simple numerical example to demonstrate this point, the minimum basic concepts (mean, covariance, standard derivation, partial uncertainties, micro- and macro-correlation coefficients) are introduced. A deterministic approach to propagating the covariances in primary measured parameters (e.g., counts) to the derived cross sections is discussed, using a neutron-induced activation cross section measurement as an example. Finally, various approaches to documentation (publication, compilation) of experimental cross sections to facilitate their use in future evaluations are mentioned.

Mechanistic investigations were initiated to further our understanding of the reaction pathways for hydrolysis and condensation of organofunctional alkoxysilanes in organic media. Previous work has shown that addition of mercaptans to solutions that contain dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTDL), which functions as a catalyst, and 3-acryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane can greatly reduce the rate of silane hydrolysis and condensation. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) hydrolysis studies were carried out to understand how mercaptan structure and concentration affected the relative hydrolysis rate of the acrylate silane in solution. Detailed nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (ESI-FTICR) mass spectrometry (MS) were carried out on simple mixtures of DBTDL and select mercaptans, and with varying mercaptan concentrations, to elucidate which significant tin complexes can form. These studies showed that mercaptans readily undergo ligand exchange reactions with the labile carboxylate groups of DBTDL and that an excess of mercaptans reduced the amount of proposed active catalyst species. It was found that an excess of mercaptan functional group was necessary to prevent significant and rapid hydrolysis of the organofunctional silane in organic media. A minimum of 1:4 DBTDL carboxylate group:mercaptan functional group was required for most mercaptans examined. A tetramercaptan, pentaerythritol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate), was shown to be effective in deactivating the DBTDL catalyst, even at relatively low concentrations of tetramercaptan. The findings in this work provide further support for the proposed mechanism for catalyzed hydrolysis and condensation. The tin metal was determined to be predominately 4-fold coordinated in the various tin mercaptide compounds studied. Evidence for transient tin hydroxide reactive intermediates was detected using mass spectrometry, as upon the addition of water, oligomeric condensation products were observed. However, the lifetime of these reactive intermediates precluded their direct observation by either mass spectrometry or NMR. Oligomeric and cyclic tin mercaptide species were shown to form when multifunctional mercaptans were combined with DBTDL in solution.

This paper has been written to provide experimental nuclear data researchers and data compilers with practical guidance on dealing with experimental nuclear reaction data uncertainties. It outlines some of the properties of random variables as well as principles of data uncertainty estimation, and illustrates them by means of simple examples which are relevant to the field of nuclear data. Emphasis is placed on the importance of generating mathematical models (or algorithms) that can adequately represent individual experiments for the purpose of estimating uncertainties in their results. Several types of uncertainties typically encountered in nuclear data experiments are discussed. The requirements and procedures for reporting information on measurement uncertainties for neutron reaction data, so that they will be useful in practical applications, are addressed. Consideration is given to the challenges and opportunities offered by reports, conference proceedings, journal articles, and computer libraries as vehicles for reporting and documenting numerical experimental data. Finally, contemporary formats used to compile reported experimental covariance data in the widely used library EXFOR are discussed, and several samples of EXFOR files are presented to demonstrate their use.

Cleaning is a critical step in the management of food safety. Consequently, the correct selection, use, and maintenance of cleaning equipment and systems by the food industry is essential to minimize the risk of microbial, allergen, and foreign body cross-contamination, and thus aid compliance to relevant regulatory and legal requirements, HACCP prerequisite programs, and audit standards. This chapter provides useful information and advice on the selection, use, and maintenance of manual cleaning equipment and chemical cleaning systems for use in food processing and service industries, in order to help hygiene staff optimize their cleaning efficacy and equipment control.

Nitrogen comprises 78% of the earth’s atmosphere, and is vital to life as a component of the amino acids that make up proteins. The nitrogen cycle – or nitrogen web – describes the movement of nitrogen from the atmosphere, to plants and other living organisms, and back to the atmosphere. The industrial fixation of atmospheric nitrogen to make nitrogenous fertilizers to support high-productivity plant agriculture is essential to support the large and growing world population. Such industrial fixation uses the Haber-Bosch process, with catalysis, high temperature, and high pressure, and is therefore very demanding in terms of energy inputs. Rhizobial nitrogen fixation allows roots of leguminous plants to fix their own nitrogen. Nitrogen, as protein, most accessible for human food, is deposited in storage reserves in the grain.

This study investigated the ability of 10 different microfibre cloths to remove microbial contamination from three surfaces commonly found in hospital settings (stainless steel, furniture laminate and ceramic tile), under controlled laboratory conditions. Tests were conducted using organisms known to cause healthcare-associated infections, i.e. meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile (in spore form) and Escherichia coli. For all the cloths tested, there was significant statistical evidence to suggest a difference in cleaning performance between them on first and single use (P

This paper compares the numerical results obtained from various nuclear codes and nuclear data libraries with the YALINA Booster subcritical assembly (Minsk, Belarus) experimental results. This subcritical assembly was constructed to study the physics and the operation of accelerator-driven subcritical systems (ADS) for transmuting the light water reactors (LWR) spent nuclear fuel. The YALINA Booster facility has been accurately modeled, with no material homogenization, by the Monte Carlo codes MCNPX (MCNP/MCB) and MONK. The MONK geometrical model matches that of MCNPX. The assembly has also been analyzed by the deterministic code ERANOS. In addition, the differences between the effective neutron multiplication factor and the source multiplication factors have been examined by alternative calculational methodologies. The analyses include the delayed neutron fraction, prompt neutron lifetime, generation time, neutron flux profiles, and spectra in various experimental channels. The accuracy of the numerical models has been enhanced by accounting for all material impurities and the actual density of the polyethylene material used in the assembly (the latter value was obtained by dividing the total weight of the polyethylene by its volume in the numerical model). There is good agreement between the results from MONK, MCNPX, and ERANOS. The ERANOS results show small differences relative to the other results because of material homogenization and the energy and angle discretizations.The MCNPX results match the experimental measurements of the 3 He(n,p) reaction rates obtained with the californium neutron source.

One of the most reliable experimental methods for measuring the subcriticality level of a nuclear fuel assembly is the Sjostrand method applied to the reaction rate generated from a pulsed neutron source. This study developed a new analytical methodology simulating the Sjostrand method, which allows comparing the experimental and analytical reaction rates and the obtained subcriticality levels. In this methodology, the reaction rate is calculated due to a single neutron pulse using MCNP/MCNPX computer code or any other neutron transport code that explicitly simulates the delayed fission neutrons. The calculation simulates a single neutron pulse over a long time period until the delayed neutron contribution to the reaction rate is vanished. The obtained reaction rate is then superimposed to itself, with respect to the time, to simulate the repeated pulse operation until the asymptotic level of the reaction rate, set by the delayed neutrons, is achieved. The superimposition of the pulse to itself was calculated by a simple C computer program. A parallel version of the C program is used due to the large amount of data being processed, e.g. by the Message Passing Interface (MPI). The analytical results of this new calculation methodology have shown an excellent agreement with the experimental data available from the YALINA-Booster facility of Belarus. This methodology can be used to calculate Bell and Glasstone spatial correction factor.

For the onset of symbiosis process between soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) and Bradyrhizobium japonicum, signals should be exchanged. Salinity has inhibitory effects on the symbiosis between the two partners. Hence, a greenhouse experiment was planned to: (1) determine the stressful effects of salinity on soybean and B. japonicum symbiosis, hypothesizing that they can inhibit the signal exchange process between the two partners, and (2) determine if the addition of genistein (a nod gene inducer) to B. japonicum (strain 532C) inocula could overcome the stressful effects of salinity on the Bradyrhizobium – soybean symbiosis. Three levels of salinity (control, 36 and 61 mmolar or 3.6 and 6.1 mmhos/cm) and three levels of genistein (0, 5 and 20 μM) were combined in a factorial fashion in four replicates. Soybean plants were harvested at three different times including 20, 40 and 60 days after inoculation (DAI). Genistein enhanced soybean nodulation and growth, and such effects became greater with time under high salinity levels. For example, at 60 DAI the enhancing effects of genistein on the symbiosis process in soybean was more pronounced at the highest level of salinity. The significant interaction effect between genistein 5 μM and salinity 61 mmolar may reveal the direct role of genistein 5 μM in overcoming the stressful effects of salinity on the symbiosis between B. japonicum and soybean, and hence, plant growth. This novel finding may be very useful to increase soybean yields in salty croplands.

New measurements and an improved evaluation process were used to obtain a new evaluation of the neutron cross section standards. Efforts were made to include as much information as possible on the components of the data uncertainties that were then used to obtain the covariance matrices for the experimental data. Evaluations were produced from this process for the 6Li(n,t), 10B(n,α), 10B(n, α 1 γ ), 197Au(n,γ), 235U(n,f), and 238U(n,f) standard cross sections as well as the non-standard 6Li(n,n), 10B(n,n), 238U(n,γ) and 239Pu(n,f) cross sections. There is a general increase in the cross sections for most of the new evaluations, by as much as about 5%, compared with the ENDF/B-VI results. Covariance data were obtained for the 6Li(n,t), 6Li(n,n), 10B(n,α), 10B(n, α 1 γ ), 10B(n,n), 197Au(n,γ), 235U(n,f), 238U(n,f), 238U(n,γ) and 239Pu(n,f) reactions. Also an independent R-Matrix evaluation was produced for the H(n,n) standard cross-section, however, covariance data are not available for this reaction. The evaluations were used in the new ENDF/B-VII library.

Jasmonates (jasmonic add and methyl jasmonate) are naturally occurring plant hormones biosynthesized in response to wounding and biotic and abiotic stresses. Besides their role in plants, they can act as signaling molecules in soybean (Glycine max)-Bradyrhizobium symbioses by inducing the transcription of nodulation genes. Previous studies have shown that inoculation of soybean with Bradyrhizobium japonicum preinduced with genistein (Ge) or methyl jasmonate (MeJA) promoted soybean nodulation and N fixation under controlled environment conditions. We conducted two separate field experiments in the year 2002 to study the effect of preinducing B. japonicum strains with methyl jasmonate (MeJA), alone or in combination with Ge, on nodulation and N fixation under field conditions. Two B. japonicum strains (532C and USDA3) and four inducer treatments (control, MeJA, Ge, and MeJA plus Ge) were formulated. Genistein and MeJA increased nodule number, nodule dry weight per plant, and seasonal N fixation, as compared with the control treatment, inoculated with uninduced B. japonicum. These results demonstrate that methyl jasmonate alone or in combination with Ge can be used to promote soybean nodulation and N fixation under short-season field conditions.

Induced molting increases egg quality and egg production and extends the productive life of hens. Molting is accomplished by feed withdrawal, which has received criticism, and alternatives described thus far result in poor postmolt performance. Melengestrol acetate at a dosage of 4 or 8 mg/d, in a balanced diet, leads to reversible regression of the reproductive tract. However, this alternative must also increase egg quality after rest to be considered an adequate method by the industry. Hy-Line W-36 (n = 497) laying hens were assigned randomly to a diet containing 0 mg of melengestrol acetate (MGA; control) throughout the experiment or 4 or 8 mg of MGA/d for 2, 4, or 6 wk. Upon reaching 50 and 70% lay, after MGA removal, eggs were collected for measurements of egg quality, including Haugh units (i.e., internal egg quality), shell thickness, and breaking strength (i.e., external egg quality). Haugh units were greater (P < 0.05) for eggs laid by hens molted with a diet containing 8 mg of MGA for all durations compared with controls. Shell thickness was greater (P < 0.05) when hens were treated with 4 mg of MGA for 6 wk and 8 mg of MGA for 4 and 6 wk compared with control. Egg breaking strength was greater (P < 0.05) than controls for all hens fed MGA, regardless of dosage or duration of feeding. A subset of hens was fed 8 mg of MGA per hen/d for 2 wk, and eggs were collected for 3 wk. Seven days after MGA was removed from the diet, the amount of MGA in the yolk was below the level of detection of the assay, and the concentration found in the eggs at all time points was 3 orders of magnitude below the Food and Drug Administration's tolerance for MGA in edible tissue. When used as an alterative method to induce a rest, MGA leads to an increase in the internal and external egg quality of hens compared with nonmolted hens.

Microstructural examinations have been performed on irradiation-creep and thermal-creep pressurized tube specimens of V–3Fe–4Ti–0.1Si in order to understand failure and creep mechanisms. There are no typical microstructural differences between unstressed and pressurized creep tube specimens irradiated in ATR-A1 in the irradiation temperature regime from 212 to 300 °C. Failed thermal creep specimens show dislocation structures dependent on the tube specimen geometry. This can be interpreted in terms of a large number of slip dislocations oriented for optimum slip.

Results of new cross section measurements are presented for the following neutron-induced reactions: 58Ni(n, p) 58 m + g Co , 58Ni(n, p)58mCo, 58Ni(n, x)57Co, 58Ni(n, 2n)57Ni, 60Ni(n, p) 60 m + g Co , 60Ni(n, p)60mCo, 61Ni(n, p)61Co, 61Ni(n, x)60mCo, 62Ni(n, x)61Co, and 59Co(n, 2n) 58 m + g Co with emphasis on incident energies between 14 and 20 MeV. In addition, new results have been obtained for the isomer ratios of the 58Ni(n, p) 58 m + g Co , the 60Ni(n, p) 60 m + g Co and 59Co(n, 2n) 58 m + g Co reactions. Detailed model calculations were undertaken to study the systematics of (n,xp) reactions on Ni isotopes and the use of the measured isomer ratios for the determination of the effective moment of inertia in the level density expression. Good overall agreement was obtained and, in particular, the case of the 58Ni target isotope now shows a complete physically consistent database that is ideal to test model calculations. The difference in spin between isomer and ground state of ΔJ=3 for the 58Co and 60Co residual nuclei results in a sensitivity to the spin dependence of the level density in these nuclei. However, at present, measurement uncertainties and uncertainties associated with the decay schemes preclude a definitive conclusion about the appropriate value of the effective moment of inertia. A comparison was made between a locally optimized parameter set based on all available data and a global approach. This approach allowed to identify where problems with the global approach can be expected. The locally optimized parameter set includes for the first time gamma-ray strength-functions based on an improved systematics of the gamma-ray widths.

In the few-MeV energy range below the (p,n) threshold, gamma rays are produced from proton bombardment of aluminum via the 27 Al(p,p′γ) 27 Al, 27 Al(p,α,γ) 24 Mg, and 27 Al(p,γ) 28 Si reactions. Thick-target γ-ray yield data are important for various applications, including radiation shielding near accelerators and γ-ray background interference in experiments that focus on other materials. We measured p+Al γ-ray spectra over the photon energy range 0.5–15 MeV and at 0° and 90° laboratory angle relative to the incident proton beam. In the experiment, mono-energetic proton beams of 1.75, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, and 4 MeV irradiated thick stopping targets of pure aluminum. The resulting gamma rays were detected by 7.62×7.62 cm 2 NaI scintillation detectors. The spectra were unfolded using detector response functions calculated with the Monte Carlo code MCNP-4C. We report γ-ray spectra and tabulated γ-ray yields that can be used in applications that involve protons incident on thick aluminum targets at energies ⩽4 MeV.

The potential diversion of nuclear materials is a major international concern. Fissile (e.g., U, Pu) and other nuclear materials (e.g., D, Be) can be detected using 6–7 MeV gamma-rays produced in the 19F(p,αγ) 16O reaction. These gamma-rays can induce neutron emission via photoneutron and photofission processes in nuclear materials. However, they are not energetic enough to generate significant numbers of neutrons from common benign materials. Neutrons are counted using an array of BF3 tubes in a polyethylene moderator. A strong increase in neutron count rates is seen when irradiating depleted uranium, Be, D2O, and 6Li, with little or no increase for other materials (e.g., H2O, SS, Cu, Al, C, 7Li). Experiments using both photon and neutron shielding show that the technique is resistant to countermeasures. We have reduced the neutron background from proton beam reactions (thus increasing the system's sensitivity) and have tested a high-current gas cell which should be capable of operating at proton beam currents of up to 100 μA.

We measured the photon yields for proton energies between 1.5 and 4.25 MeV using both CaF 2 and MgF 2 solid targets and SF 6 gas targets. Photon yields were measured using a 7.62 cm×7.62 cm NaI scintillator detector. Detector response functions for these three individual γ-rays were calculated using the Monte Carlo code MCNP-4C. The relative intensities of the three γ-rays were determined by a least-squares fit of these response functions to the data in a selected region of the pulse-height spectrum. A maximum photon yield of 6.0×10 7 γ/μC/sr (at 0°) was determined for the sum of these three γ-rays at an effective proton energy of 4.0 MeV. The contribution of the individual lines to the total photon yield depends strongly on the incident proton energy.

Forty beef cow-calf pairs (rotational grazing system) were used in each of 2 yr to evaluate postweaning stress, behavior, and growth of calves that varied in weaning age and in immediate postweaning proximity to their dams. The cow-calf pairs were blocked by cow and calf BW, age, breed, and calf sex, and allotted to one of four treatments (n = 10): early weaned (X¯ = 4 mo) with dams removed from (EWR) or stayed on (EWS) the same farm and conventionally weaned (X¯ = 7 mo) with dams removed from (CWR) or stayed on (CWS) the farm. An additional group of calves (n = 20) were weaned (X¯ = 7 mo) and immediately relocated to a feedlot. Behavioral observations (feeding/grazing, movement, resting, socializing, vocalizing, agnonistic activities) were made beginning at 1500 h on the weaning day and continued for 6 d. Individual and group observations were recorded at sunrise and sunset (for 1-h intervals) by two observers; group observations were recorded at 1200 h by one observer. The early weaned (EW) calves had greater frequency of stress vocalization (P

Coatings have been proposed as the solution to critical materials constraints for most of the blanket concepts under development for fusion power applications. However, the international programs on coating development are focused primarily on electrically insulating coatings to mitigate the magneto-hydrodynamic pressure drop in self-cooled lithium/vanadium blanket concepts, and on tritium permeation barriers to reduce tritium permeation from Pb–Li into the water coolant in water-cooled Pb–Li concepts. Emphasis of the insulator coating development is on CaO and AlN coatings formed on vanadium alloys either in situ in lithium or by vapor deposition processes. The tritium barrier coating development is focused on Al2O3 formed on aluminized martensitic steels by several processes. This paper presents an overview of the fundamental materials issues associated with the various coatings and the status of coating development for the various applications.

This paper reviews recent progress in research on vanadium alloys with emphasis on V–4Cr–4Ti as a reference composition. New high purity V–4Cr–4Ti ingots and products (NIFS-HEATs) were made. The improved purity of the alloys made a practical demonstration of enhanced feasibility of recycling as a method of handling after use in fusion reactors. Significant progress has been made in the understanding of physical metallurgy of V–4Cr–4Ti and effects of O, N and C on the alloy properties such as low and high temperature mechanical properties, welding properties and low temperature irradiation effects, by means of including the comparison of various large heats and model alloys with different impurity levels. The effects of other trace impurities on some of the properties are also discussed. Other current efforts to characterize V–4Cr–4Ti, to improve its properties and to explore advanced vanadium alloys are reviewed. Issues remaining for the future investigations are discussed.

A key issue for the self-cooled lithium blanket concept with a vanadium alloy structure is the development of an electrically insulating coating on the coolant channel walls to mitigate the magneto-hydrodynamic pressure drop in a high magnetic field. A systematic investigation of the thermodynamics and kinetics of oxygen and calcium interactions in the vanadium alloy/lithium system is being conducted to define the system parameters required for in situ formation of a CaO coating on vanadium alloys. This paper presents results of theory and modeling as well as experimental results on the formation of CaO coatings on vanadium alloys after exposure at temperatures of 600–700 °C to lithium with a small fraction of Ca added. Coatings of 10–30 μm with high electrical resistivity (>108 Ω cm) have been formed on V-alloys.

We have developed CaO coatings that are applied by a thermal and chemical vapor deposition process. Several experiments were conducted to study how the deposition of Ca on a V-4Cr-4Ti substrate alloy is affected by variations in process temperature and time, specimen location, and surface preparation and pretreatment. Results showed that thick adherent coatings can be fabricated by thermal/chemical vapor deposition, especially if a double Ca treatment is applied. Extensive microstructural analysis of the coatings showed almost 100% CaO over a coating thickness of 20-30 {micro}m; electrical resistance (measured by the two-probe method) of the coatings was at least two orders of magnitude higher than the minimum required for blanket application. The results obtained in this study indicate that CaO is a viable coating for V-Li advanced blankets, but that significant additional effort is needed, especially from the standpoint of structure/composition relationship to its electrical resistance and the coating stability in a flowing Li environment. Furthermore, resistance must be measured in situ in Li to simultaneously evaluate coating integrity, resistance, and Li compatibility.

A systematic investigation was conducted to provide an accurate determination of the hydrogen solubility in the V–4Cr–4Ti alloy at temperatures in the range 400–600 °C, which is of primary interest for fusion applications. Results have been obtained by the method of hydrogen absorption and desorption into flowing helium with controlled concentrations of hydrogen to provide accurate measurements of the Sieverts constants for the alloy. Results obtained in this investigation indicate that the temperature dependent Sieverts constant for the V–4Cr–4Ti alloy is very similar to that for unalloyed vanadium. The increase in hydrogen solubility produced by the titanium is essentially balanced by the decrease in hydrogen solubility produced by the chromium.

Ultra-near fields scattered from penetrable bodies of translation (BOTs) are examined in the frequency wave vector (ωκ) domain. The classes of penetrable BOTs considered here include those with discrete homogeneous or inhomogeneous regions. For the latter case the region can be partially penetrable containing perfectly electrically conducting (p.e.c.) inclusions. The permittivity and permeability of each subregion can be complex. The electromagnetic scattering formulation is given in terms of a coupled system of integral equations. These are solved for the external electric and magnetic currents via the method of moments (MM). Next the ω-κ representations for the ultra-near electric and magnetic fields in the proximity of the body are obtained by a Fourier transformation of the integral operators over the spatial domain. The resulting ω-κ representations delineate the propagating and evanescent components of the fields. The analysis is extendable to finite layered media.

Bradyrhizobium japonicum 532C nodulates soybean effectively under cool Canadian spring conditions and is used in Canadian commercial inoculants. The major lipo-chitooligosaccharide (LCO), bacteria-to-plant signal was characterized by HPLC, FAB-mass spectroscopy MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy and revealed to be LCO Nod Bj-V (C18:1, MeFuc). This LCO is produced by type I strains of B. japonicum and is therefore unlikely to account for this strains superior ability to nodulate soybean under Canadian conditions. We also found that use of yeast extract mannitol medium gave similar results to that of Bergerson minimal medium.

Ultra-near fields scattered from bodies of translation (BOTs) with surface and gap discontinuities are analyzed using frequency wave vector (w-k) representations. The scattering surfaces are assumed to be perfectly electrically conducting (p.e.c.) and can be electrically large. The theoretical formulation is based on first principles. The electric field integral equation (EFIE) for the BOT scatterer is solved by the method of moments (MM). Next the scattered fields in the operator form of the EFIE are Fourier transformed over the spatial domain. The resulting ω-κ representation delineates the propagated and evanescent waves near the scattering surface. The analytical results are compared with experimental data.

Except for 3 H and 14 C. no radioactive nuclide is produced by neutron-induced reactions with lithium in lithium-containing materials such as Li 2 O and Li 2 CO 3 . However, when the lithium-containing materials are irradiated by 14 MeV neutrons, radioactive 7 Be is produced by sequential charged particle reactions (SCPR). In this study, we measured effective Be production cross-sections in several lithium-containing samples at 14 MeV: the cross-sections are in the order of μb. Estimation of the effective cross-sections is attempted, and the estimated values agreed well with the experimental data. It was shown that the 7 Be activity in a unit volume of lithium-containing materials in D-T fusion reactors can exceed total activity of the same unit volume of the SiC structural material in a certain cooling time. Consequently, a careful consideration of the 7 Be production by SCPR is required to assess radioactive inventories in lithium-containing D-T fusion blanket materials.