Pre-series and testing route for the serial fabrication of W7-X target elements

The fabrication of the actively cooled high-heat flux divertor of the WENDELSTEIN 7-X stellarator (W7-X) requires the delivery of 890 target elements, which are designed to withstand a stationary heat flux of 10 MW/m². The organization of the manufacturing and testing route for the serial fabrication is the result of the pre-series activities. Flat CFC Sepcarb^® NB31 tiles are bonded to CuCrZr copper alloy cooling structure in consecutive steps. A copper layer is active metal cast to CFC tiles, and then an OF-copper layer is added by hot isostatic pressing to produce bi-layer tiles. These tiles are bonded by electron beam welding onto the cooling structure, which was manufactured independently. The introduction of the bi-layer technology proved to be a significant improvement of the bond reliability under thermal cycling loading. This result is also the consequence of the improved bond inspections throughout the manufacturing route performed in the ARGUS pulsed thermography facility of PLANSEE. The repairing process by electron beam welding of the bonding was also qualified. The extended pre-series activities related to the qualification of fabrication processes with the relevant non-destructive examinations aim to minimize the risks for the serial manufacturing and to guarantee the steady-state operation of the W7-X divertor.     

Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer: Molecular Genetics,Biological Mechanisms and Current Therapeutic Approaches

Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer is an autosomal dominant syndrome characterized by a high prevalence of diffuse gastric cancer and lobular breast cancer. It is caused by inactivating mutations in the tumor suppressor gene CDH1. Genetic testing technologies have become more efficient over the years, also enabling the discovery of other susceptibility genes for gastric cancer, such as CTNNA1 among the most important genes. The diagnosis of pathogenic variant carriers with an increased risk of developing gastric cancer is a selection process involving a multidisciplinary team. To achieve optimal long-term results, it requires shared decision-making in risk management. In this review, we present a synopsis of the molecular changes and current therapeutic approaches in HDGC based on the current literature.     

Structural Characterization of Daunomycin-Peptide Conjugates by Various Tandem Mass Spectrometric Techniques

The use of peptide-drug conjugates has generated wide interest as targeted antitumor therapeutics. The anthracycline antibiotic, daunomycin, is a widely used anticancer agent and it is often conjugated to different tumor homing peptides. However, comprehensive analytical characterization of these conjugates via tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is challenging due to the lability of the O-glycosidic bond and the appearance of MS/MS fragment ions with little structural information. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the optimal fragmentation conditions that suppress the prevalent dissociation of the anthracycline drug and provide good sequence coverage. In this study, we comprehensively compared the performance of common fragmentation techniques, such as higher energy collisional dissociation (HCD), electron transfer dissociation (ETD), electron-transfer higher energy collisional dissociation (EThcD) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–tandem time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) activation methods for the structural identification of synthetic daunomycin-peptide conjugates by high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Our results showed that peptide backbone fragmentation was inhibited by applying electron-based dissociation methods to conjugates, most possibly due to the “electron predator” effect of the daunomycin. We found that efficient HCD fragmentation was largely influenced by several factors, such as amino acid sequences, charge states and HCD energy. High energy HCD and MALDI-TOF/TOF combined with collision induced dissociation (CID) mode are the methods of choice to unambiguously assign the sequence, localize different conjugation sites and differentiate conjugate isomers.     

Atmospheric 85Kr and 133Xe activity concentrations at locations across Japan following the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident

Atmospheric ⁸⁵Kr and ¹³³Xe activity concentrations were determined from weekly air samples collected at Sapporo, Akita and Chiba, Japan, throughout 2011. The results demonstrated that the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in early March 2011 resulted in high ¹³³Xe activity concentrations as well as elevated levels of ⁸⁵Kr activity; there was a striking increase in the concentrations of both isotopes over the week running from 14 to 22 March as the radioactive plume released from the plant was captured. At Chiba, following the accident, the ⁸⁵Kr activity concentration increased from 1.38 to 17.7 Bq/m³, while the ¹³³Xe levels increased from below the minimum detectable concentration (MDC ≤ 1.9 × 10^?3 Bq/m³) to 1.3 × 10³ Bq/m³. Conversely, at Sapporo and Akita, high ⁸⁵Kr activity concentrations were not observed, due to differences in air transportation mechanisms based on wind directions. Duplicate samples were collected at Chiba to allow the simultaneous analyses of ⁸⁵Kr and ¹³³Xe at the Japan Chemical Analysis Center and the Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz in Germany and the results were in good agreement. The external effective radiation doses resulting from ⁸⁵Kr and ¹³³Xe releases following the accident were estimated to be approximately 7.0 × 10^?3 and 1.3 μSv, respectively, based on the activity concentrations of these nuclides from March to June in 2011 at Chiba.     

Passive Mode-Locking of a Ti : Sapphire Laser by InGaP Quantum-Dot Saturable Absorber

We demonstrate the use of a novel InGaP quantum-dot (QD) saturable absorber (SA) to induce passively mode-locked (ML) operation of a Ti : sapphire laser. Pulses as short as 518 fs are obtained at 752 nm with an average output power of up to 190 mW for 2.3 W of absorbed pump power at 532 nm. The absorption recovery of the SA is characterized by two decay coefficients: a fast and a slow component having time constants of 0.4 and 300 ps, respectively. The saturation fluence of the InGaP QDs was measured to be 28 $muhbox{J/cm}^{2}$, the initial low-signal absorption was 1.5%, where 1.15% was nonsaturable loss.      

Hybrid heating system for increased energy efficiency and flexible control of low temperature heat

This study presents the evaluation of functionality and potential of a hybrid heating system (H²S) prototype. This technology is designed for retrofitting thermal treatment plants to use hot water (HW) and steam in controlled ratios. In the food industry, steam with a temperature above 140 °C usually indirectly supplies the thermal production processes, but most of them only require temperatures below 100 °C. Total site heat integration is applied on a cheese and whey powder plant to show the potential for low-temperature heat (below 100 °C) that could be supplied more appropriately by hot water cogeneration, heat recovery and heat pumps. These low-temperature heat sources can only be combined with the rigid steam system if the demand structure is changed to a hybrid use of HW and steam. The H²S increases the energy efficiency and flexibility by integrating low-temperature heat and responding to sudden changes in the demand and supply structure, like demand response strategies on intermittent renewable energies and the changing availability of HW and steam. The technical implementation is realised by a hydraulic interconnection of heat exchangers and valves. A smart control algorithm acutely determines the share of HW and steam. Prerequisite for functional verification on a laboratory scale is a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testbed, in which load profiles and relevant process parameters are passed in real time between hardware components and simulation. The results show that the H²S is a feasible solution for maintaining product quality and safety while also increasing energy efficiency and energy flexibility.     

Estimating the annual fraction of eggs contaminated with Salmonella enteritidis in the United States

Using available data on the occurrence of Salmonella enteritidis (SE) in US layer flocks and eggs, and a probabilistic scenario tree method, an estimate of the fraction of SE-contaminated eggs produced annually is derived with attendant uncertainty. In lieu of a definitive prevalence survey, the approach presented here provides insight to the relative contribution of various pathways leading to contaminated eggs. A Monte Carlo model with four branches is developed. The first branch predicts the proportion of all US flocks that are SE-affected. The second branch apportions SE-affected flocks into three categories (high, moderate, and low level affected flocks) based on population-adjusted epidemiologic data. The third branch predicts the proportion of affected flocks that are molted and producing eggs during a high risk period subsequent to molt. The fourth branch predicts the fraction of contaminated eggs produced by flocks of the type described by the pathway (e.g. high level affected flocks that are not molted) based on egg sampling evidence from naturally infected flocks. The model is simulated to account for uncertainty in the data used to estimate the branch probabilities. Correlation analysis is used to estimate the sensitivity of model output to various model inputs. The output of this model is an uncertainty distribution for the fraction of all eggs that are SE-contaminated during 1 year of production in the US. The expected value of this distribution is approximately one SE-affected egg in every 20,000 eggs annually produced, and the 90% certainty interval is between one SE-contaminated egg in 30,000 eggs, and one SE-contaminated egg in 12,000 eggs. The model estimates that an average of 14% of all eggs (i.e. contaminated and not contaminated) from affected flocks are produced by high level, non-molted affected flocks, but these flocks are estimated to account for more than two-thirds of the total fraction of contaminated eggs produced annually. Sensitivity analysis also suggests that the proportion of affected flocks that are high level flocks - and the egg contamination frequency for these types of flocks - are the most sensitive model inputs. The model's pathways provide a framework for evaluating interventions to reduce the number of contaminated eggs produced in the US. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis of the model identifies those inputs whose uncertainty is most influential on the model's output. Future farm-level research priorities can be established on the basis of this analysis, but public policy decisions require a fuller exposure assessment and dose-response analysis to account for microbial growth dynamics, meal preparation, and consumption demographics among US egg consumers.     

Millau viaduct geotechnical studies and foundations

The Millau viaduct over the Tarn River is an exceptional bridge considering the height under the deck and the 2.5 km total length. Each of the seven high piers is founded on a thick raft setting on four large piles of 5 m in diameter and 10–15 m deep. The ground schematically consists of limestone in the north and of marls in the south. As the bridge is very sensitive to foundation settlements, the concessionary company decided to use the observational method for controlling the displacements and if necessary stabilize the foundations. The measurements show that the movements have remained small and admissible, particularly in terms of the rotations. The settlements have not occurred continuously under the load, but by steps.