Search results for: nuclear resistance movements

Authors: Abid Hossain Khan, Syam Hasan, M. A. R. Sarkar

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Fukushima disaster is one of the most publicly exposed accidents in a nuclear facility which has changed the outlook of people towards nuclear power. Some have used it as an example to establish nuclear energy as an unsafe source, while others have tried to find the real reasons behind this accident. Many papers have tried to shed light on the possible causes, some of which are purely based on assumptions while others rely on rigorous data analysis. To our best knowledge, none of the works can say with absolute certainty that there is a single prominent reason that has paved the way to this unexpected incident. This paper attempts to compile all the apparent reasons behind Fukushima disaster and tries to analyze and identify the most likely one.

Keywords: fuel meltdown, Fukushima disaster, Manmade calamity, nuclear facility, tsunami

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Authors: Roisul H. Galib, Prabhakar R. Bandaru

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In 2D material based device, an interface between 2D materials and substrates often limits the heat flow through the device. In this paper, we quantify the total thermal resistance of a graphene-based device by series resistance model and show that the thermal resistance at the interface of graphene and substrate contributes to more than 50% of the total resistance. Weak Van der Waals interactions at the interface and dissimilar phonon vibrational modes create this thermal resistance, allowing less heat to flow across the interface. We compare our results with commonly used materials and interfaces, demonstrating the role of the interface as a potential application for heat guide or block in a 2D material-based device.

Keywords: 2D material, graphene, thermal conductivity, thermal conductance, thermal resistance

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Authors: Debalina Ghoshal

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Nuclear security is the ‘prevention and detection of, and response to unauthorised removal, sabotage, unauthorised access, illegal transfer or other malicious acts involving nuclear or radiological material or their associated facilities.’ Ever since the end of Cold War, nuclear materials security has remained a concern for global security. However, with the increase in terrorist attacks not just in India especially, security of nuclear materials remains a priority. Therefore, India has made continued efforts to tighten its security on nuclear materials to prevent nuclear theft and radiological terrorism. Nuclear security is different from nuclear safety. Physical security is also a serious concern and India had been careful of the physical security of its nuclear materials. This is more so important since India is expanding its nuclear power capability to generate electricity for economic development. As India targets 60,000 MW of electricity production by 2030, it has a range of reactors to help it achieve its goal. These include indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors, now standardized at 700 MW per reactor Light Water Reactors, and the indigenous Fast Breeder Reactors that can generate more fuel for the future and enable the country to utilise its abundant thorium resource. Nuclear materials security can be enhanced through two important ways. One is through proliferation resistant technologies and diplomatic efforts to take non proliferation initiatives. The other is by developing technical means to prevent any leakage in nuclear materials in the hands of asymmetric organisations. New Delhi has already implemented IAEA Safeguards on their civilian nuclear installations. Moreover, the IAEA Additional Protocol has also been ratified by India in order to enhance its transparency of nuclear material and strengthen nuclear security. India is a party to the IAEA Conventions on Nuclear Safety and Security, and in particular the 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its amendment in 2005, Code of Conduct in Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources, 2006 which enables the country to provide for the highest international standards on nuclear and radiological safety and security. India's nuclear security approach is driven by five key components: Governance, Nuclear Security Practice and Culture, Institutions, Technology and International Cooperation. However, there is still scope for further improvements to strengthen nuclear materials and nuclear security. The NTI Report, ‘India’s improvement reflects its first contribution to the IAEA Nuclear Security Fund etc. in the future, India’s nuclear materials security conditions could be further improved by strengthening its laws and regulations for security and control of materials, particularly for control and accounting of materials, mitigating the insider threat, and for the physical security of materials during transport. India’s nuclear materials security conditions also remain adversely affected due to its continued increase in its quantities of nuclear material, and high levels of corruption among public officials.’ This paper would study briefly the progress made by India in nuclear and nuclear material security and the step ahead for India to further strengthen this.

Keywords: India, nuclear security, nuclear materials, non proliferation

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Authors: Prathibha Ganesan

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This paper discusses discontents of inhabitants in the landfills and its culmination into resistance against centralised waste disposal during the last three decades in Kerala. The study is based on a sample survey of 175 households located in the landfill sites and city limits of two Municipal Corporations viz. Thrissur and Cochin. The study found that waste is dumped in the periphery of the urban area where economically and socially vulnerable people are densely populated. Moreover, landfill sites are unscientifically managed to cause severe socio-economic and health issues to the local people, finally leading to their mobilisation and persistent struggle. The struggles often culminate in the closure of landfills or forced relocation or abandonment of the region by the community. The study concluded that persistent people’s struggles compel the local state to either find alternatives to centralised solid waste management system or use political power to subsume the local resistance. The persistence of the struggles determined the type waste governance adopted by the local governments.

Keywords: solid waste management, municipal corporation, resistance movements, urban, Kerala

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Authors: Heather Wyman-Pain, Yuankai Bian, Furong Li

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The decreasing use of fossil fuel power stations has a negative effect on the stability of the electricity systems in many countries. Nuclear power stations have traditionally provided minimal ancillary services to support the system but this must change in the future as they replace fossil fuel generators. This paper explains the development of the four most popular reactor types still in regular operation across the world which have formed the basis for most reactor development since their commercialisation in the 1950s. The use of nuclear power in four countries with varying levels of capacity provided by nuclear generators is investigated, using the primary frequency response provided by generators as a measure for the electricity networks stability, to assess the need for nuclear generators to provide additional support as their share of the generation capacity increases.

Keywords: frequency control, nuclear power generation, power system stability, system inertia

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Authors: Imane Khalil, Quinn Pratt

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In a nuclear reactor, an array of fuel rods containing stacked uranium dioxide pellets clad with zircalloy is the heat source for a thermodynamic cycle of energy conversion from heat to electricity. After fuel is used in a nuclear reactor, the assemblies are stored underwater in a spent nuclear fuel pool at the nuclear power plant while heat generation and radioactive decay rates decrease before it is placed in packages for dry storage or transportation. A computational model of a Boiling Water Reactor spent fuel assembly is modeled using FLUENT, the computational fluid dynamics package. Heat transfer simulations were performed on the two-dimensional 9x9 spent fuel assembly to predict the maximum cladding temperature for different input to the FLUENT model. Uncertainty quantification is used to predict the heat transfer and the maximum temperature profile inside the assembly.

Keywords: spent nuclear fuel, conduction, heat transfer, uncertainty quantification

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Authors: Driss Bouyahya

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During the late 1960s, Islam-oriented social movements have encroached to reach the Moroccan public spheres and mobilize huge waves of people from different walks of life under the banners of a rhetoric that resonates with the Muslim way of life away from Modernity and globalization tenets. In this respect, the present study investigates and explores some of the ways utilized by the Movement for Unity and Reform in Morocco as an Islam-oriented movement to recruit students massively at universities. The significance of this study lies in demystifying the recruitment strategies and mechanisms, considered essential for the Islam-oriented social movements to mobilize. This research paper uses a quantitative method to collect and analyze data through two different structured questionnaires. One of the major findings is that this Islam-oriented movement uses different techniques to recruit students, namely social networks, its websites and You-tube as three main modern and sophisticated means of communication. In a nutshell, this paper´s findings fill some of the gaps in the literature in regard to Islam-oriented movements ‘mobilization strategies.

Keywords: changing, ideology, Islam, party

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Authors: S. Abou El-Azm, U. Kruchonak, M. Gostkin, A. Guskov, A. Zhemchugov

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Semiconductor detectors are widely used in nuclear physics and high-energy physics experiments. The application of semiconductor detectors could be limited by their ultimate radiation resistance. The increase of radiation defects concentration leads to significant degradation of the working parameters of semiconductor detectors. The investigation of radiation defects properties in order to enhance the radiation hardness of semiconductor detectors is an important task for the successful implementation of a number of nuclear physics experiments; we presented some information about radiation hardness materials like diamond, sapphire and CdTe. Also, the results of measurements I-V characteristics, charge collection efficiency and its dependence on the bias voltage for different doses of high resistivity (GaAs: Cr) and Si at LINAC-200 accelerator and reactor IBR-2 are presented.

Keywords: semiconductor detectors, radiation hardness, GaAs, Si, CCE, I-V, C-V

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Authors: Tracey Jean Boisseau

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In the United States and around the world, we see liberal democracies attacked, from within and without, on a number of grounds. One of the primary assaults on the liberal ideology of feminism has been to ban or severely curtail the teaching of and scholarship on gender as constructed rather than as a biological and binarist component of human identity. On every continent, women’s and gender studies at the university level have become targets of rightwing movements aligning with authoritarian regimes to suppress queer and trans people as well as feminist scholars and academics who define gender as fluid, contingent on culture, and as reflective of a political commitment rather than timeless, sacred, natural, biological, or god-given. Rightwing movements calling for an end to gender studies have put already-marginalized academic and scholarly projects under new scrutiny, in some cases resulting in the dismantlement of long-standing women’s and gender studies programs. This paper evaluates the cross-cultural effects such movements have had on our discipline worldwide and documents the strategic responses engaged in by gender studies scholars and leaders to resist the erasure of our field. Evidence is drawn from surveys of thousands of programs and dozens of interviews conducted in the past year with gender studies scholars, administrators, and practitioners. This paper’s main objective is to highlight the international linkages between movements aiming to suppress or erase gender studies as a field of research and teaching and to identify collaborative responses and promising solutions that can protect our discipline from these assaults.

Keywords: anti-feminist, anti-LGBTQ, authoritarianism, movements, gender studies, globalization

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Authors: Aiswarya C. L, Swatantra Pratap Singh

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In recent years, most desalination plants have been powered by fossil fuels, and to a lesser extent, by green energy. Greenhouse gases emitted by fossil-fuelled plants significantly impact the global climate. So scientists are forced to develop a powerful energy source to protect the environment with greater sustainability due to climate change issues. Nuclear energy can supply much more fresh water than what is currently available. Furthermore, it is more affordable and does not emit any greenhouse gases. This review compares conventional desalination plants with nuclear-powered desalination plants in terms of cost, energy consumption, water recovery, and environmental issues. On the basis of the review conducted, nuclear desalination has been demonstrated to be technically feasible and economically competitive with a variety of fossil fuels, renewable energy sources, and waste heat sources. Nuclear sources have been criticized due to their lack of safety. But studies show, if we were able to handle the issue with care, the problems could be eliminated. Here we're looking at the Seawater Reverse Osmosis Plant (SWROP) at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, India and review the further possibility of implementing nuclear desalination technology in other states of India.

Keywords: energy consumption, environmental impacts, nuclear desalination, water recovery

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Authors: Du Kim, Nelson Baro

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According to a report of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there are approximately 437 nuclear power stations are in operation in the present around the world in order to meet increasing energy demands. Indeed, nearly, a third of the world’s energy demands are met through nuclear power because it is one of the most efficient and long-lasting sources of energy. However, there are also consequences when a major event takes place at a nuclear power station. Over the past years, a few major nuclear accidents have occurred around the world. According to a report of International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES), there are six nuclear accidents that are considered to be high level (risk) of the events: Fukushima Dai-chi (Level 7), Chernobyl (Level 7), Three Mile Island (Level 5), Windscale (Level 5), Kyshtym (Level 6) and Chalk River (Level 5). Today, many people still have doubt about using nuclear power. There is growing number of people who are against nuclear power after the serious accident occurred at the Fukushima Dai-chi nuclear power plant in Japan. In other words, there are public concerns about radiation impacts which emphasize Linear-No-Threshold (LNT) Issues, Radiation Health Effects, Radiation Protection and Social Impacts. This paper will address those keywords by looking back at the history of these major nuclear accidents worldwide, based on INES. This paper concludes that all major mistake from nuclear accidents are preventable due to the fact that most of them are caused by human error. In other words, the human factor has played a huge role in the malfunction and occurrence of most of those events. The correct handle of a crisis is determined, by having a good radiation protection program in place, it’s what has a big impact on society and determines how acceptable people are of nuclear.

Keywords: linear-no-threshold (LNT) issues, radiation health effects, radiation protection, social impacts

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Authors: Chong Hu, Tiantian Wang, Zhe Li, Ourui Huang, Yichen Pan

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When the train is running in a high geothermal tunnel, changes in the temperature field will cause disturbances in the propagation and superposition of pressure waves in the tunnel, which in turn have an effect on the aerodynamic resistance of the train. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of the changes in the lengths of the high-temperature zone of the tunnel on the aerodynamic resistance of the train, clarifying the evolution mechanism of aerodynamic resistance of trains in tunnels with high ground temperatures. Firstly, moving model tests of trains passing through wall-heated tunnels were conducted to verify the reliability of the numerical method in this paper. Subsequently, based on the three-dimensional unsteady compressible RANS method and the standard k-ε two-equation turbulence model, the change laws of the average aerodynamic resistance under different high-temperature zone lengths were analyzed, and the influence of frictional resistance and pressure difference resistance on total resistance at different times was discussed. The results show that as the length of the high-temperature zone LH increases, the average aerodynamic resistance of a train running in a tunnel gradually decreases; when LH = 330 m, the aerodynamic resistance can be reduced by 5.7%. At the moment of maximum resistance, the total resistance, differential pressure resistance, and friction resistance all decrease gradually with the increase of LH and then remain basically unchanged. At the moment of the minimum value of resistance, with the increase of LH, the total resistance first increases and then slowly decreases; the differential pressure resistance first increases and then remains unchanged, while the friction resistance first remains unchanged and then gradually decreases, and the ratio of the differential pressure resistance to the total resistance gradually increases with the increase of LH. The results of this paper can provide guidance for scholars who need to investigate the mechanism of aerodynamic resistance change of trains in high geothermal environments, as well as provide a new way of thinking for resistance reduction in non-high geothermal tunnels.

Keywords: high-speed trains, aerodynamic resistance, high-ground temperature, tunnel

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Authors: Muneeb Banday, Anukriti Dixit

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Change in organizations is viewed as a conversion process of the organizational functioning. One of the crucial elements of this conversion process is the employee resistance to organizational change. The existing literature on change resistance has generally treated resistance as a barrier or an opportunity for successful implementation of change. However, there is little empirical research exploring how resistance to change is managed. This may be partially due to difficulty in getting information on resistance to change. The top management does not divulge such information to avoid negative evaluation whereas employees face huge risk in sharing information related to resistance. The focus of the study is to understand how the organization under study dealt with the employee resistance to change. The conversion process is a story of how the organization went from one stage to another. We used narrative approach to change. Data was collected data through company visits and interviews. The interviews were transcribed, coded, and themes were identified. We focused on the strands that left huge scope for alternative interpretations than the dominant narrative of change prevalent in the organization. The study reveals that the top management strategically uses the legitimacy of leadership, roles of key employees, and rationality of change to manage resistance.

Keywords: employee resistance, legitimacy of leadership, narrative analysis, organisational change

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Authors: Hyun June Kim, Tailong Shi, Seden Akdagli, Sam Most, Yuling Yan

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Quantitative analysis of mouse whisker movement can be used to study functional recovery and regeneration of facial nerve after an injury. However, it is challenging to accurately track mouse whisker movements, and most whisker tracking methods require manual intervention, e.g. fixing the head of the mouse during a study. Here we describe a semi-automated image processing method that is applied to high-speed video recordings of free-moving mice to track whisker movements. We first track the head movement of a mouse by delineating the lower head contour frame-by-frame to locate and determine the orientation of its head. Then, a region of interest is identified for each frame, with subsequent application of the Hough transform to track individual whisker movements on each side of the head. Our approach is used to examine the functional recovery of damaged facial nerves in mice over a course of 21 days.

Keywords: mystacial macrovibrissae, whisker tracking, head tracking, facial nerve recovery

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Authors: Hanna Corsini

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This article provides an analysis of counter-hegemonic movements and their consequences for the neoliberal world order at the international level. Even if calls for change are becoming louder, current research on populist forces at the domestic level in comparative politics is lacking an investigation of the international dimensions of the rise of such movements. At the same time, in the International Relations field, the focus still remains on the surge of challengers at the global level, while the national one stays neglected. This paper argues that to fill this gap as identified in the academic literature, the concept of hegemony, and more precisely, as deployed by Antonio Gramsci, can bear some interesting insights. An adaptation to the 21st century of Gramsci’s concept is proposed, highlighting the explanatory power that key concepts of his theoretical framework have. Transposing it to contemporary politics provides precious elements for an in-depth understanding of counter-hegemonic movements and the consequences of their rise for the neoliberal world order. In an era of disruption and turmoil in national politics, International Relations theory cannot avoid to engage with this dimension. However, populism as a theoretical concept lacks the capacity to go beyond the domestic border. It is therefore essential to create a dialogue between these two fields. Ultimately, the paper claims that (counter-)hegemony is crucial to build a bridge between the international and the domestic level.

Keywords: counter-hegemonic movements, Gramsci, hegemony, international relations

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Authors: Taehyun Kim, Hyunjoo Park, Taehyun Kim

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Public deliberation committee on Shin-Gori Nuclear Reactors No. 5 & 6 in South Korea recently suggested policy recommendation in July 2017 including complementary measures for resumption of construction: 1) nuclear power generation reduction, 2) expansion of investment to increase proportion of renewable energy, 3) repositories of spent nuclear fuel. Even when constructing eco-friendly renewable energy facilities such as solar and wind power plants, local residents are opposed to construction of these facilities due to environmental pollution and health impacts. In order to transform eco-friendly energy, it is necessary to convert nuclear energy into renewable energy and to take measures to increase the acceptance of residents through the participation of citizens. Therefore, this study aims to compare the factors of local acceptance of renewable energy facilities and spent nuclear fuel repositories through literature review and in-depth interview. The results show that environmental and economic concerns, risk perceptions, sociality, demographic characteristics and subjective recognition types affect the local acceptance for spent nuclear fuel repository. The factors of local acceptance for renewable energy facilities are partially coincide with those for spent nuclear fuel repository. The results of this study will contribute to improving residents' acceptance and reducing conflicts when determining the location of facilities in the future.

Keywords: local acceptance, renewable energy facility, spent nuclear fuel repository, interview

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Authors: S. A. H. Feghhi, Z. Gholamzadeh, Z. Alipoor, C. Tenreiro

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Currently, thorium fuel has been especially noticed because of its proliferation resistance than long half-life alpha emitter minor actinides, breeding capability in fast and thermal neutron flux and mono-isotopic naturally abundant. In recent years, efficiency of minor actinide burning up in PWRs has been investigated. Hence, a minor actinide-contained thorium based fuel matrix can confront both proliferation resistance and nuclear waste depletion aims. In the present work, minor actinide depletion rate in a CANDU-type nuclear core modeled using MCNP code has been investigated. The obtained effects of minor actinide load as mixture of thorium fuel matrix on the core neutronics has been studiedwith comparingpresence and non-presence of minor actinide component in the fuel matrix.Depletion rate of minor actinides in the MA-contained fuel has been calculated using different power loads.According to the obtained computational data, minor actinide loading in the modeled core results in more negative reactivity coefficients. The MA-contained fuel achieves less radial peaking factor in the modeled core. The obtained computational results showed 140 kg of 464 kg initial load of minor actinide has been depleted in during a 6-year burn up in 10 MW power.

Keywords: minor actinide burning, CANDU-type reactor, MCNPX code, neutronic parameters

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Authors: Kihyon Kwon, Hyun T. Park, Gil Y. Chung, Sang-Hoon Lee

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This paper focuses on assessing sloshing-induced overflow of the seismically-isolated nuclear tanks based on Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) analysis. Typically, fluid motion in the seismically-isolated nuclear tank systems may be rather amplified and even overflowed under earthquake. Sloshing-induced overflow in those structures has to be reliably assessed and predicted since it can often cause critical damages to humans and environments. FSI analysis is herein performed to compute the total cumulative overflowed water volume more accurately, by coupling ANSYS with CFX for structural and fluid analyses, respectively. The approach is illustrated on a nuclear liquid storage tank, Spent Fuel Pool (SFP), forgiven conditions under consideration: different liquid levels, Peak Ground Accelerations (PGAs), and post earthquakes.

Keywords: FSI analysis, seismically-isolated nuclear tank system, sloshing-induced overflow

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Authors: Nopadol Burananuth

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This research was aimed to investigate (1) the relationship among local social movements, non-governmental Organization activities and state measures deployment; and (2) the effects of local social movements, non-governmental Organization activities, and state measures deployment on conflict of local people towards the Thai-Malaysian gas pipeline project. These people included 1,000 residents of the four districts in Songkhla province. The methods of data analysis consist of multiple regression analysis. The results of the analysis showed that: (1) local social movements depended on information, and mass communication; deployment of state measures depended on compromise, coordination, and mass communication; and (2) the conflict of local people depended on mobilization, negotiation, and campaigning for participation of people in the project. Thus, it is recommended that to successfully implement any government policy, consideration must be paid to the conflict of local people, mobilization, negotiation, and campaigning for people’s participation in the project.

Keywords: conflict, NGO activities, social movements, state measures

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Authors: E. Vlachopapadopoulou, E. Dikaiakou, E. Anagnostou, I. Panagiotopoulos, E. Kaloumenou, M. Kafetzi, A. Fotinou, S. Michalacos

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Aim: To investigate the relation and impact of Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist Circumference (WC) and Body Fat Weight (BFW) on insulin resistance (MATSUDA INDEX < 2.5) in children and adolescents. Methods: Data from 95 overweight and obese children (47 boys and 48 girls) with mean age 10.7 ± 2.2 years were analyzed. ROC analysis was used to investigate the predictive ability of BMI, WC and BFW for insulin resistance and find the optimal cut-offs. The overall performance of the ROC analysis was quantified by computing area under the curve (AUC). Results: ROC curve analysis indicated that the optimal-cut off of WC for the prediction of insulin resistance was 97 cm with sensitivity equal to 75% and specificity equal to 73.1%. AUC was 0.78 (95% CI: 0.63-0.92, p=0.001). The sensitivity and specificity of obesity for the discrimination of participants with insulin resistance from those without insulin resistance were equal to 58.3% and 75%, respectively (AUC=0.67). BFW had a borderline predictive ability for insulin resistance (AUC=0.58, 95% CI: 0.43-0.74, p=0.101). The predictive ability of WC was equivalent with the correspondence predictive ability of BMI (p=0.891). Obese subjects had 4.2 times greater odds for having insulin resistance (95% CI: 1.71-10.30, p < 0.001), while subjects with WC more than 97 had 8.1 times greater odds for having insulin resistance (95% CI: 2.14-30.86, p=0.002). Conclusion: BMI and WC are important clinical factors that have significant clinical relation with insulin resistance in children and adolescents. The cut off of 97 cm for WC can identify children with greater likelihood for insulin resistance.

Keywords: body fat weight, body mass index, insulin resistance, obese children, waist circumference

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Authors: F. Nameni, H. Poursadra

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The present study investigated resistance and progressive training alters the expression of chaperone proteins. These proteins function to maintain homeostasis, facilitate repair from injury, and provide protection. Nineteen training female in 2 groups taking part in the intervention volunteered to give blood samples. Levels of chaperone proteins were measured in response to resistance and progressive training. Hsp 70 levels were increased immediately after 2 h progressive training but decreased after resistance training. The data showed that human skeletal muscle responds to the stress of a single period of progressive training by up-regulating and resistance training by down-regulating expression of HSP70. Physical exercise can elevate core temperature and muscle temperatures and the expression pattern of HSP70 due to training status may be attributed to adaptive mechanisms.

Keywords: resistance training, heat shock proteins, leukocytes, Hsp 70

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Authors: Mohammed W. Abdulrahman

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The thermochemical copper-chlorine (Cu-Cl) cycle is considered as a sustainable and efficient technology for a hydrogen production, when linked with clean-energy systems such as nuclear reactors or solar thermal plants. In the Cu-Cl cycle, water is decomposed thermally into hydrogen and oxygen through a series of intermediate reactions. This paper investigates the thermal scale up analysis of the three phase oxygen production reactor in the Cu-Cl cycle, where the reaction is endothermic and the temperature is about 530 ^oC. The paper focuses on examining the size and number of oxygen reactors required to provide enough heat input for different rates of hydrogen production. The type of the multiphase reactor used in this paper is the continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) that is heated by a half pipe jacket. The thermal resistance of each section in the jacketed reactor system is studied to examine its effect on the heat balance of the reactor. It is found that the dominant contribution to the system thermal resistance is from the reactor wall. In the analysis, the Cu-Cl cycle is assumed to be driven by a nuclear reactor where two types of nuclear reactors are examined as the heat source to the oxygen reactor. These types are the CANDU Super Critical Water Reactor (CANDU-SCWR) and High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR). It is concluded that a better heat transfer rate has to be provided for CANDU-SCWR by 3-4 times than HTGR. The effect of the reactor aspect ratio is also examined in this paper and is found that increasing the aspect ratio decreases the number of reactors and the rate of decrease in the number of reactors decreases by increasing the aspect ratio. Finally, a comparison between the results of heat balance and existing results of mass balance is performed and is found that the size of the oxygen reactor is dominated by the heat balance rather than the material balance.

Keywords: sustainable energy, clean energy, Cu-Cl cycle, heat transfer, hydrogen, oxygen

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Authors: Iddrisu Ibrahim, Joseph Atia Ayariga, Junhuan Xu, Daniel A. Abugri, Robertson K. Boakai, Olufemi S. Ajayi

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The recalcitrance of pathogenic bacteria indicates that millions of people who are at risk of infection arising from chronic diseases, surgery, organ transplant, diabetes, and several other debilitating diseases present an aura of potentially untreatable illness due to resistance development. Antimicrobial resistance has successfully become a global health menace, and resistances are often acquired by bacteria through health-care-related incidence (HRI) orchestrated by multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extended drug-resistant pathogens (EDRP). To understand the mechanisms S. Typhimurium uses to resist CDB, we study the abundance of LPS modification, Ergosterols, Mysristic palmitic resistance, Oleic acid resistance of susceptible and resistant S. Typhimurium. Using qPCR, we also analyzed the expression of selected genes known for enabling resistance in S. Typhimurium. We found high abundance of LPS, Ergosterols, Mysristic palmitic resistance, Oleic acid resistance of and high expression of resistant genes in S. Typhimurium compared to the susceptible strain. LPS modification, Ergosterols, Mysristic palmitic resistance, Oleic acid and genes such as Fims, integrons, blaTEM are important indicators of resistance development of S. typhimurium.

Keywords: antimicrobials, resistance, Cannabidiol, Salmonella, blaTEM, fimA, Lipopolysaccharide, Ergosterols

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Authors: Kais Manai

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The main part of this work focuses on the study of pion/muon separation at low energy using a nuclear Emulsion Cloud Chamber (ECC) made of lead and nuclear emulsion films. The work consists of two parts: particle reconstruction algorithm and a Neural Network that assigns to each reconstructed particle the probability to be a muon or a pion. The pion/muon separation algorithm has been optimized by using a detailed Monte Carlo simulation of the ECC and tested on real data. The algorithm allows to achieve a 60% muon identification efficiency with a pion misidentification smaller than 3%.

Keywords: nuclear emulsion, particle identification, tracking, neural network

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Authors: Matt Vellkorn, Mara Sarinski

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The field of advanced diagnostics is a very rapidly changing one. A new technology that has not been fully used yet are resistotrons. A resistotron is a physical device thatis used to detect the presence of low energy alpha particles. It has been used for many years in nuclear physics as an alpha particle detector. Since they are used in nuclear physics, they have to be accurate. They have to be able to differentiate between alpha particles and other types of radiation. The resistotrons are primarily used for safety. They are used in areas where people or animals can get exposed to radiation. A typical example is in the treatment of nuclear waste. As it is with any nuclear physics instrument, a resistotron has to be very accurate and reliable. In the past, the instrument was very expensive because they were made out of copper. Today, they are made out of brass. The main difference is that brass is much less expensive than copper.

Keywords: biosensors, resistotrons, biophysics, diagnostics

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Authors: Elysa V. Largo, Lormaine Anne A. Branzuela, Julie Marisol D. Pagalilauan, Neil C. Concibido, Monet Concepcion M. Detras

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The energy demand in the country is increasing; thus, nuclear energy is recently mandated to add to the energy mix. The Philippines has the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), which can be a source of nuclear energy; however, it has not been operated since the completion of its construction. Thus, evaluating the safety of BNPP is vital. This study explored the possible deviations that may occur in the operation of a nuclear power plant with a pressurized water reactor, which is similar to BNPP, through a virtual process hazard analysis (PHA) using the hazard and operability (HAZOP) technique. Temperature, pressure, and flow were used as parameters. A total of 86 causes of various deviations were identified, wherein the primary system and line from reactor coolant pump to reactor vessel are the most critical system and node, respectively. A total of 348 scenarios were determined. The critical events are radioactive leaks due to nuclear meltdown and sump overflow that could lead to multiple worker fatalities, one or more public fatalities, and environmental remediation. There were existing safeguards identified; however, further recommendations were provided to have additional and supplemental barriers to reduce the risk.

Keywords: PSM, PHA, HAZOP, nuclear power plant

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Authors: A. Orlov, V. Rachkov

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The future of Nuclear Energetics is seen in fast reactors with inherent safety working in the closed nuclear fuel cycle. The concept of inherent safety, which lies in deterministic elimination of the most severe accidents due to inherent properties of the reactor rather than through building up engineered barriers, is a cornerstone of success in ensuring safety and economic efficiency of future Nuclear Energetics. The focus of this paper is one of the key elements of inherent safety - the lead coolant of a nuclear reactor. Advantages of lead coolant for reactor application, influence on safety are reviewed. BREST-OD-300 fast reactor, currently being developed in Russia withing the “Proryv” Project utilizes lead coolant and a special set of measures and devices, called technology of lead coolant that ensures safe operation in a wide range of temperatures. Here these technological elements are reviewed, and current progress in their development is discussed.

Keywords: BREST-OD-300. , fast reactor, inherent safety, lead coolant

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Authors: Janpen Srijan, Nahathai Tanmang, Thanit Purathanang, Anun Dowchern, Saksit Summart, Seangduan Kampimpa

Abstract:

This paper presents the resistance reader program based on image processing by using MATLAB. The proposed program is divided into six parts; the first part is the web camera; the second part is a watt selection before shooting the resistor; the third part is a part of finding the position of the color on the mid-point of resistor; the fourth part is a part of identifying color code of the resistor; the fifth part is a part of taking the number of values for each color for resistance calculation and the last part is a part of displaying result of resistance value. The experimental result of the resistance reader program based on image processing was able to display the resistance value of resistor. The accuracy of proposed program is 85 percent for 1 watt resistor. It has 15 percent of reading error because a problem with the color code of some resistor was too bright.

Keywords: resistance reader program, image processing, resistor, MATLAB

Procedia PDF Downloads 347

Authors: Nur Azha Putra Abdul Azim, Denise Cheong, S. Nivedita

Abstract:

Currently, there are no nuclear power reactors among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states (AMS) but there are seven operational nuclear research reactors, and Indonesia is about to construct the region’s first experimental power reactor by the end of the decade. If successful, the experimental power reactor will lay the foundation for the country’s and region’s first nuclear power plant. Despite projecting confidence during the period of nuclear power renaissance in the region in the last decade, none of the AMS has committed to a political decision on the use of nuclear energy and this is largely due to the Fukushima nuclear power accident in 2011. Of the ten AMS, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia have demonstrated the most progress in developing nuclear energy based on the nuclear power infrastructure development assessments made by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Of these three states, Vietnam came closest to building its first nuclear power plant but decided to delay construction further due to safety and security concerns. Meanwhile, Vietnam along with Indonesia and Malaysia continue with their nuclear power infrastructure development and the remaining SEA states, with the exception of Brunei and Singapore, continue to build their expertise and capacity for nuclear power energy. At the current rate of progress, Indonesia is expected to make a national decision on the use of nuclear power by 2023 while Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand have included the use of nuclear power in their mid to long-term power development plans. Vietnam remains open to nuclear power but has not placed a timeline. The medium to short-term power development projection in the region suggests that the use of nuclear energy in the region is a matter of 'when' rather than 'if'. In lieu of the prospects for nuclear energy in Southeast Asia (SEA), this presentation will review the literature on ASEAN radiological emergency and preparedness response (EPR) plans and examine ASEAN’s disaster management and emergency framework. Through a combination of institutional mapping and stakeholder analysis methods, which we examine in the context of the international EPR, and nuclear safety and security regimes, we will identify the issues and challenges in developing a regional radiological EPR framework in the SEA. We will conclude with the observation that ASEAN faces serious structural, institutional and governance challenges due to the AMS inherent political structures and history of interstate conflicts, and propose that ASEAN should either enlarge the existing scope of its disaster management and response framework or that its radiological EPR framework should exist as a separate entity.

Keywords: nuclear power, nuclear accident, ASEAN, Southeast Asia

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Umulisa Linda, Andy Cons Matata

Abstract:

The origin of legal feminism can be attributed to an attempt to provide a safe space for women such as voting, parental, and inheritance rights, among others. It was also a rebellion against male supremacy. However, with the development of technology and especially in the era of the internet, it appears that both legal feminism and the modernism are losing their luster. While these movements had their origin either in the United States of America or western Europe, their impacts have been felt as far as Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In Africa, different countries have different levels of penetration of these movements. This study, therefore, had its focus on how legal feminism and modernism have influenced legal developments in Kenya and Rwanda. The study adopted a qualitative approach with the respondents being asked about their feelings and perceptions on how the two movements had affected legal developments in their countries. In order to gauge the opinion of different categories of people such as the youth, middle-aged and the elderly people as well as being gender-sensitive, the study adopted a purpose method of sampling. The questionnaires and the focus group discussions were employed as the main tools for data gathering. From the questionnaires, the focus group discussions, and the data analysis that followed, the study concluded that both legal feminism and modernity had penetrated the legal systems of both Kenya and Rwanda so deeply. The study further found that the proponents of the two movements were mostly urban based and educated women. The men were generally opposed to the movements.

Keywords: legal development, legal feminsim, modernism, voting, parental and inheritance rights

Procedia PDF Downloads 112