Modification of the bree diagram in presence of primary transient loads

The design of Class 1 LMFBR components operating at elevated temperature is accomplished in accordance with ASME III and Code Case N-47-28.

The main problem encountered in the design of components at elevated temperature is the satisfaction of strain limits according to the requirements of Test No. B-1, in the presence of significant seismic loads with very short duration (<40 s).

These transient primary loads in Test No. B-1 are treated like steady primary loads, and very often Test No. B-1 is not passed, causing more complex analyses to be performed for component strain limits satisfaction.

New formulae for calculating the residual stress distribution in the elastic core (core stress) and the effective creep stress parameter Z have been proposed to take into account the transient nature of seismic loads.

A comparison between results obtained in calculating Z according to Test No. B-1 or using the new formulae is presented in this paper; the new method for Z calculation appears to be more accurate and to give less conservative results than previous approaches.     

One or infinite optimal city sizes? In search of an equilibrium size for cities

In this paper, the stylized assumption that one single “optimal” city size exists for all cities—achieved when marginal location costs equal marginal location benefits—is abandoned, as well as the opposite view that each city operates on its own cost and production curves, defining a specific optimal size. Instead, this work maintains the comparability among cities and demonstrates that urban specificities in functions performed, quality of life, industrial diversity and social conflicts shift up and down the benefits and costs linked to pure physical size, leading to different “equilibrium” sizes for cities. In order to achieve this result, a model of equilibrium urban size is set up, based on urban costs and urban benefits, merging elements suggested both by the traditional urban economics literature as well as by updated approaches considering also environmental quality, urban form and inter-urban cooperation networks. The model is then estimated on a sample of 59 European cities with data at FUA level. Empirical results allow the identification of city-specific “equilibrium” sizes. The error term, that is, the difference between actual urban population and the “equilibrium” one predicted by the model can be explained, beyond a measure of our ignorance, by good or bad governance, thereby suggesting future strategies for more efficient urban planning.     

Fixation of acetabular cups without cement in total hip arthroplasty. A comparison of three different implant surfaces at a minimum duration of follow-up of five years

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the roles of brain angiotensin II and C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) in the hypertensive mechanism of deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertension. METHODS: We injected 50 microg/kg CV-11 974, an angiotensin II type-1 receptors antagonist, 30 nmol/kg CNP-22, or the vehicle (artificial cerebrospinal fluid) into the cerebral ventricle or intravenously 5 min before the intracerebroventricular infusion of 1.5 mol/I NaCl solution for 30 min into either male normotensive Wistar rats or DOCA-salt hypertensive rats anesthetized with urethane, and their arterial pressures and heart rates were continuously recorded. Blood (2 ml) was collected at the end of the infusion for the measurement of plasma concentration of arginine vasopressin. We infused 10 or 50 microg/kg per day CV-11 974, 10 or 50 nmol/kg per day CNP-22, or the vehicle (1 microl/h) into the cerebral ventricles of DOCA-salt hypertensive rats for 7 days by using osmotic minipumps, and measured their systolic arterial pressures, pulse rates, and urinary excretions of vasopressin. RESULTS: Intracerebroventricular pre-administrations of CV-11 974 and of CNP-22 inhibited increases in mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and plasma vasopressin concentration induced by intracerebroventricular infusion of 1.5 mol/l NaCl into normotensive rats; increases in hemodynamics and plasma level of vasopressin induced by intracerebroventricular infusion of 1.5 mol/l NaCl were suppressed by intracerebroventricular pre-injections of CV-11 974, but not of CNP-22, into DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. Continuous intracerebroventricular infusions of 50 microg/kg per day CV-11 974 attenuated hypertension in DOCA-salt treated rats, accompanied by a reduction in urinary excretion of vasopressin. Continuous intracerebroventricular infusions of 50 nmol/kg per day CNP-22, however, affected neither hypertension nor urinary excretion of vasopressin in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. CONCLUSION: Brain angiotensin II could play a role in the pressor mechanism of DOCA-salt hypertension by increasing release of vasopressin via type 1 receptors. That brain CNP has an inhibitory effect on release of vasopressin in acute experiments indicates that the impairment of this inhibitory effect of brain CNP on secretion of vasopressin could be involved in the pathogenesis of DOCA-salt hypertension in rats.     

Genetic characterization of HHV-8/KSHV-positive primary effusion lymphoma reveals frequent mutations of BCL6: implications for disease pathogenesis and histogenesis

A new type of antimicrobial peptide, snakin-1 (SN1), has been isolated from potato tubers and found to be active, at concentrations < 10 microM, against bacterial and fungal pathogens from potato and other plant species. The action of SN1 and potato defensin PTH1 was synergistic against the bacterium Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus and additive against the fungus Botrytis cinerea. Snakin-1 causes aggregation of both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The peptide has 63 amino acid residues (M(r) 6,922), 12 of which are cysteines, and is unrelated to any previously isolated protein, although it is homologous to amino acid sequences deduced from cloned cDNAs that encode gibberellin-inducible mRNAs and has some sequence motifs in common with kistrin and other hemotoxic snake venoms. A degenerate oligonucleotide probe based on the internal sequence CCEECKC has been used to clone an SN1 cDNA. With the cDNA used as probe, one copy of the StSN1 gene per haploid genome has been estimated and expression of the gene has been detected in tubers, stems, axillary buds, and young floral buds. Expression levels in petals and carpels from fully developed flowers were much higher than in sepals and stamens. The expression pattern of gene StSN1 suggests that protein SN1 may be a component of constitutive defense barriers, especially those of storage and reproductive plant organs.     

WINSTODEC: a stochastic deconvolution interactive program for physiological and pharmacokinetic systems.

Deconvolution allows the reconstruction of non-accessible inputs (e.g. hormone secretion rate) from their causally-related measurable effects (e.g. hormone plasma concentration). Deconvolution is challenging under several aspects both general (e.g. determination of a suitable trade-off between data fit and solution smoothness in order to contrast ill-conditioning, assessment of the confidence intervals) as well as specific of physiological systems (e.g. non-uniform and infrequent data sampling). Recently, a stochastic regularization approach has been proposed and validated to handle these difficulties (De Nicolao et al., Automatica 33 (1997) 851-870). In this paper, an interactive program, WINSTODEC, is presented to allow the clinical investigator to easily obtain the solution of a deconvolution problem by this approach.     

TOWARDS NEW INDUSTRIAL AND SPATIAL SYSTEMS: THE ROLE OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the idea that new telecommunication technologies are "enabling technologies" for processes of industrial and spatial restructuring. How-ever, they remain only a necessary and not a sufficient condition to generate processes of decentralization of industrial activities and local development. A vast literature on the effects of now information technologies ou industrial restructuring and regional development has been reviewed, with the aim of focusing on the linkages between new telecommunication technologies and the economic characteristics of new industrial and spatial systems. The paper is divided into two parts. The first part analyzes in depth the nature of the new technologies in order to understand their real capacity and potential to reshape industrial and spatial systems. An interpretation on the technological, organizational and economic features of adoption processes is crucial Id understand the real capabilities of these technologies. The second part is focused on an empirical investigation of the effects of these new technologies on the location of industrial activities, and, conse quently, on local development, for a sample of firms located in Italy.     

Relation between Pro-inflammatory Cytokines and Acetylcholine Levels in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory, demyelinating and neurodegenerative disorder. Since acetylcholine (ACh) is known to participate in the inflammatory response, we investigated the possible relationship between pro-inflammatory cytokines and acetylcholine levels in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS) patients. Levels of ACh and pro-inflammatory cytokines IL1-β and IL-17 were measured both in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and sera of 22 RR-MS patients in the relapsing phase and in 17 control subjects affected by other non-neurological diseases (OND). We observed higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β and IL-17 in both CSF and serum of RR-MS patients compared to control subjects. Moreover, ACh levels were lower in CSF and serum of RR-MS patients compared to levels of control subjects. Although the relationship between high inflammatory cytokine levels and low ACh levels need to be further investigated in the future, our data suggest that IL-1β, and cytokines induced by it, such as IL-17 and ACh, may be involved in the pathogenesis of MS.     

Design and testing of a new stand for the BOMAB family of phantoms

A new stand has been designed to support the Bottle Manikin Absorber Phantoms when the phantoms are counted in the vertical position in a whole-body counter. The stand previously used by the Human Monitoring Laboratory was constructed from metal and was heavy to transport and making height adjustments to accommodate different phantom sizes was very time consuming. The new stand is constructed from lightweight plastic materials and allows easy height adjustments to accommodate different phantom sizes while supporting the weight of the phantoms. The stand was evaluated inside a whole-body counter at a nuclear-generating station and met all operational requirements for accessibility and ease of use.     

EURADOS intercomparison on measurements and Monte Carlo modelling for the assessment of americium in a USTUR leg phantom

A collaboration of the EURADOS working group on 'Internal Dosimetry' and the United States Transuranium and Uranium Registries (USTUR) has taken place to carry out an intercomparison on measurements and Monte Carlo modelling determining americium deposited in the bone of a USTUR leg phantom. Preliminary results and conclusions of this intercomparison exercise are presented here.