bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Influence of sildenafil on esophageal motor function in humans: Studies using high‐resolution manometry
Authors: Wong Ming‐Wun , Hung Jui‐Sheng , Lei Wei‐Yi , Yi Chih‐Hsun , Liu Tso‐Tsai , Chen Chien‐Lin 
Published: April 2020

AbstractBackground/aimSildenafil induces smooth muscle relaxation of the esophagus by blocking type 5 phosphodiesterase that degrades cyclic guanine monophosphate. We aimed to characterize the effects of sildenafil on esophageal peristalsis and contraction reserve using high‐resolution manometry (HRM).MethodsFifteen healthy adults (12 men, age 21‐39, mean 27 years) participated in this study using HRM following either sildenafil 50 mg or placebo. HRM with ten wet swallows and five multiple rapid swallows was performed in all participants. HRM metrics included esophagogastric junction contractile integral (EGJ‐CI), basal lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressure, 4‐second integrated relaxation pressure (IRP‐4s), distal contractile integral (DCI), distal latency, resting upper esophageal sphincter pressure (UESP), and the response to MRS.ResultsSildenafil significantly lowered EGJ‐CI (P < .001), LES pressure (P = .04), IRP‐4s (P = .02), and DCI (P < .001). There was no difference in UESP (P = .87) between sildenafil and placebo. Sildenafil significantly decreased peristaltic vigor, inducing absent peristalsis in 12 subjects and ineffective esophageal motility in 3 subjects. Peristaltic response and augmentation following MRS were significantly inhibited following sildenafil (7% vs 100%, P < .001, and none vs 73%, P < .001).ConclusionsSildenafil attenuates EGJ barrier function, resting LES pressure, and LES relaxation. Both esophageal body contractility and contraction reserve are inhibited by sildenafil in healthy adults.
Cutaneous lewisite exposure causes acute lung injury
Authors: Manzoor Shajer , Mariappan Nithya , Zafar Iram , Wei Chih‐Chang , Ahmad Aamir , Surolia Ranu , Foote Jeremy B. , Agarwal Anupam , Ahmad Shama , Athar Mohammad , Antony Veena B. , Ahmad Aftab 
Published: April 2020

AbstractLewisite is a strong vesicating and chemical warfare agent. Because of the rapid transdermal absorption, cutaneous exposure to lewisite can also elicit severe systemic injury. Lewisite (2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 mg/kg) was applied to the skin ofPtch1+/−/SKH‐1 mice and acute lung injury (ALI) was assessed after 24 hours. Arterial blood gas measurements showed hypercapnia and hypoxemia in the lewisite‐exposed group. Histological evaluation of lung tissue revealed increased levels of proinflammatory neutrophils and a dose‐dependent increase in structural changes indicative of injury. Increased inflammation was also confirmed by altered expression of cytokines, including increased IL‐33, and a dose‐dependent elevation of CXCL1, CXCL5, and GCSF was observed in the lung tissue. In the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of lewisite‐exposed animals, there was a significant increase in HMGB1, a damage‐associated molecular pattern molecule, as well as elevated CXCL1 and CXCL5, which coincided with an influx of neutrophils to the lungs. Complete blood cell analysis revealed eosinophilia and altered neutrophil–lymphocyte ratios as a consequence of lewisite exposure. Mean platelet volume and RBC distribution width, which are predictors of lung injury, were also increased in the lewisite group. These data demonstrate that cutaneous lewisite exposure causes ALI and may contribute to mortality in exposed populations.
Jumps in energy and non‐energy commodities
Authors: Bouri Elie , Gupta Rangan 
Published: April 2020

AbstractJumps in the price process of assets represent a sort of tail risk and are found to affect many aspects of asset pricing, volatility modelling and asset allocation. In this paper, we detect price jumps in the realised volatility series of a wide set of commodity futures and find evidence of jumpy behaviour, especially in energy and agricultural commodities. We examine whether the realised volatilities of commodity futures jump together and find evidence that cojumping is significant and generally clustered within the commodity groups, suggesting some sort of segmentation regarding the tail risk behaviour across energy, agricultural and metals commodities. Additional analysis shows that price jumps and macroeconomic news surprises tend to occur together in specific commodities such as crude oil, which confirms earlier findings about the sensitivity of crude oil to news about the economy.
Value of provocative electrophysiology testing in the management of pediatric patients after congenital heart surgery
Authors: Dionne Audrey , Kheir John N. , Gauvreau Kimberlee , Triedman John K. , Abrams Dominic J. , Alexander Mark E. , DeWitt Elizabeth S. , Mah Douglas Y. , Walsh Edward P. , Bezzerides Vassilios J. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractObjectiveTo determine the impact of provocative electrophysiology testing in postoperative congenital heart disease (CHD) patients on the management of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) and clinical outcomes.MethodsThis is a retrospective study including patients <18 years of age with surgery for CHD who had postoperative SVT between 2006 and 2017. Postoperative outcomes were compared between patients with and without postoperative electrophysiology testing using the Wilcoxon rank sum test, Fisher's exact test, Kaplan‐Meier method with the log‐rank test, and Cox proportional hazard model.ResultsFrom 341 patients who had SVT after surgery for CHD, 65 (19%) had postoperative electrophysiology testing. There was no significant difference in baseline patient characteristics or surgical complexity between patients with and without electrophysiology testing. Patients with inducible SVT on electrophysiology testing were more likely to have recurrence of SVT prior to hospital discharge with an odds ratio 4.0 (95% confidence interval 1.3, 12.0). Patients who underwent postoperative electrophysiology testing had shorter intensive care unit (12 [6, 20] vs 16 [9, 32] days, HR 2.1 [95% CI 1.6, 2.8], P < .001) and hospital (25 [13, 38] vs 31 [18, 54] days, HR 1.8 [95% CI 1.4, 2.4], P < .001) length of stay.ConclusionPostoperative electrophysiology testing was associated with improved postoperative outcomes, likely related to the ability to predict recurrence of arrhythmia and tailored antiarrhythmic management.
Estimating organic surface horizon depth for peat and peaty soils across a Scottish upland catchment using linear mixed models with topographic and geological covariates
Authors: Finlayson Andrew , Marchant Ben P. , Whitbread Katie , Hughes Leanne , Barron Hugh F. 
Published: April 2020

AbstractIn order to evaluate and protect ecosystem services provided by peat and peaty soils, accurate estimations for the depth of the surface organic horizon are required. This study uses linear mixed models (LMMs) to test how topographic (elevation, slope, aspect) and superficial geology parameters can contribute to improved depth estimates across a Scottish upland catchment. Mean (n = 5) depth data from 283 sites (representing full covariate ranges) were used to calibrate LMMs, which were tested against a validation dataset. Models were estimated using maximum likelihood, and the Akaike Information Criterion was used to test whether the iterative addition of covariates to a model with constant fixed effects was beneficial. Elevation, slope and certain geology classes were all identified as useful covariates. Upon addition of the random effects (i.e. spatial modelling of residuals), the RMSE for the model with constant‐only fixed effects reduced by 24%. Addition of random effects to a model with topographic covariates (fixed effects = constant, slope, elevation) reduced the RMSE by 13%, whereas the addition of random effects to a model with topographic and geological covariates (fixed effects = constant, slope, elevation, certain geology classes) reduced the RMSE by only 3%. Therefore, much of the spatial pattern in depth was explained by the fixed effects in the latter model. The study contributes to a growing research base demonstrating that widely available topographic (and also here geological) datasets, which have national coverage, can be included in spatial models to improve organic horizon depth estimations.
The ARPANET Into the Internet: A Tale of Two Networks
Authors: Packard Noel 
Published: April 2020

The Internet is a split civilian and military entity in physical and social construction. Investigating this split entity in all its manifestations is an important venture, but this study explores the split social construction of the ARPANET’s reported history. ARPANET/Internet literature shows a division between literature that does and does not include the history of the intelligence communities (IC) working relationship with the pre-privatized ARPANET. Two different genres of literature are discussed, charted in a Table and compared to aspects of the ARPANET’s known and reported developmental and privatization history. Different origin stories are discussed in a general way; then a pattern in the literature is explored, namely, how illegally and libelous spy data gathered in 1960s intelligence community (IC) operations and processed through the pre-privatized ARPANET, is acknowledged in indirect or secondhand ways, when ARPA demonstrated feasibility of the ARPANET ; while after pyritization the literature acknowledges IC spying through the commercialized Internet in firsthand and direct ways. The study examines how earlier and contemporary literature continues contesting the role that 1960s IC spy data played in demonstrating the feasibility of the ARPANET; a prerequisite test for the privatization of the ARPANET. Findings indicate ARPANET histories have excluded direct reporting about how ARPA and the IC demonstrated ARPANET’s feasibility prior to privatization. The conclusion is that understanding history about how ARPA and the IC demonstrated ARPANET’s feasibility, makes it easier to comprehend reports about how the Internet serves counterinsurgency purposes. The study confirms ongoing debates about the social construction of Internet history.
Going Underground at the Selected Site for Site Confirmation
Authors: Äikäs Timo 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
The long-term programme aimed at selection of a site for a deep repository was initiated in Finland in 1983. This programme has come to end and a new phase aimed at implementation of the geological disposal of spent fuel has been started. In this new phase the first milestone is the application for a construction license for the disposal facility around 2010 and thereafter, as a second step, the operation license in 2020. To fulfil the needs for detailed design of the disposal system, an underground rock characterisation facility, “ONKALO”, will be constructed at the representative depth at Olkiluoto. The excavation of this facility will start the work for underground characterisation, testing and demonstration which is planned to be a continuous activity throughout the whole life cycle of the deep repository.
Externalities and Internalisation of Radioactive Waste Producing Activities: The Analogy With Environmental Practices
Authors: Kunsch Pierre L. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
All human activities generate negative externalities, in particular the use of radioactive material for electricity production and radioisotope applications. Both activities produce radioactive waste, which can, therefore, be considered as being specific externalities. The purpose of the paper is to investigate these externalities and to identify appropriate internalisation instruments. Analogue cases in environmental management are discussed. In general the nuclear externalities are not internalised in the management costs charged by Radioactive Waste agencies (RAWA). The paper explores the possibility of having an internalisation of all costs as requested by the strict application of the Polluter Pays Principle.
In the case of electricity production a comparison is made between the externalities attributed to nuclear waste and those in relation with CO2-emissions from the combustion of fossil fuel. A brief overview is given on the evaluation approach in ExternE (“Externalities of Energy”). The evaluations are the basis for the design of a carbon tax applicable to fossil fuels for reducing CO2-emissions. A similar tax could be charged on radioactive waste management. Beyond the internalisation objective, the tax proceeds could finance the technological R&D for improving the conditions of storage and disposal, and provide compensations to local residents in the vicinity of nuclear waste management facilities.
The management of spent radioisotope equipment in medicine, research, or industry is shown to have similar features to the management of packages, spent electrical appliances, and the disposal of batteries. In general the price of management of the spent material is not included in the purchase price. In case of spent radioisotope equipment, the externality mainly represents the risk of this material becoming a hazard for the public health. It is recommended to internalise the full costs of management to eliminate this risk. Moreover spent material should be registered and RAWA should maintain detailed inventories on their national territories. In order to induce the free return of spent material to the RAWA, deposit refund systems could be set in place as in the package or battery market. A surcharge is paid by purchase, which is refunded to the buyers when they return the product for recycling or proper disposal.
The paper concludes by describing lessons and possible implications of the previously discussed environmental tax or surcharge systems on the way the Polluter-Pays Principle is applied in radioactive waste management.
Dismantling of a Nuclear Fuel Fabric - Release of Building Rubble and Site: An Overview
Authors: Aberl Elisabeth T. , Lehmann Karl-Heinz 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Uranium fuel rods were produced in the nuclear fuel site. The buildings should be dismantled after decontamination and the site should be released for industrial use. The individual dose to the critical group is limited to an annual value of about 10 μSv. The determined specific activity for remediation of the site was a mean value of 60 mBq/g total activity. For the building rubble and soil primarily two pathways, disposal at a landfill and refill of a disused salt mine, were considered. As a result of the investigations the total activity for the disposal at a landfill had to be limited to about 6,6 GBq. For the refill of the salt mine the estimated individual dose fell below the dose limit in the range of 10 μSv/y.
Long Lived Radiation Sources and Waste in Near Surface Repository: Legacy of the Past, Challenge of Today
Authors: Ormai Péter , Bérci Károly , Takáts Ferenc , Juhász László 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
In the near surface repository highly active sources and spent sealed radiation sources (SSRS) consisting of long half-life and alpha-emitting materials have been disposed of. Based on the results of a safety assessment it is clear that the SSRS could result in high doses to individuals who intrude into the facility and high doses following any future disruption of the facility by natural processes. Intervention alternatives that are being considered cover the whole range of options from extension of the facility to terminate operation. The possible future scenarios to improve the overall safety of the site and to extend the existing disposal capacity are discussed.
The Potential Application of Soil Washing to the Treatment of Radioactively Contaminated Soils, Rubble and Rocks From UKAEA’s Sites
Authors: Pearl Mike 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Laboratory and pilot scale tests have been carried out to assess the potential application of soil washing to the treatment of radioactively contaminated soil, rubble and rocks from its sites.
With radioactively contaminated soils it was difficult to clean to a free release level (&lt;0.4 Bq/g), although it was possible to clean to a risk based target, or to a waste categorised as Very Low Radioactive Material.
With radioactively contaminated rubble and rocks, wet scrubbing in a tumbling mill was very effective at removing surface contamination so that the products could be disposed as free release material or Very Low Radioactive Material.
Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Integrity During Long-Term Dry Storage
Authors: Stewart Leroy , McKinnon Mikal A. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management conducted spent nuclear fuel integrity and cask performance tests from 1984–1996 at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). Between 1994 and 1998, DOE also initiated a Spent Fuel Behavior Project that involved enhanced surveillance, monitoring, and gas-sampling activities for intact fuel in a GNS CASTOR V/21 cask and for consolidated fuel in a Sierra Nuclear VSC-17 cask. The results of these series of tests are reported in this paper. Presently, DOE is involved in a cooperative project to perform destructive evaluations of fuel rods that have been stored in the CASTOR V/21 cask. The results of those evaluations are presented elsewhere in these proceedings in a paper entitled “Examination of Spent PWR Fuel Rods after 15 years in Dry Storage”.
Disposal of Non-Standard Radioactive Waste in the Mochovce L/ILW Repository
Authors: Salzer Peter , Hanušík Václav , Krištofová Kristína 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Packages of the non-standard radioactive waste have been, in present conditions of the Slovak Republic, defined as packages intended to be dispose by the producer and originally not covered by “the limits and conditions” of the Mochovce near surface repository, particularly waste acceptance criteria concerning the form of waste. Wastes cemented directly (homogeneous) to standard concrete containers reinforced by metal fibres (FRCs) or conditioned into 2001 drums before (heterogeneous: drums are inserted into FRCs and the FRCs void spaces are filled by cement mortar) were originally the only acceptable radioactive waste form in Mochovce repository. However, there has been an intention to dispose another, so-called “non-standard” types of waste: large metal pieces of waste transported and placed directly into repository vaults (i.e. cut into dimensions of individual vault). Second types of non-standard waste have been: dewatered spent ion exchange resins and storage tanks bottom sludge in drums, inserted into FRC with subsequent backfilling by cement mortar. Third group of these is represented by incinerator ashes in drums inserted to FRC directly or after compaction, again with subsequent backfilling of FRCs void spaces.
As an answer for this challenge, the ALARA approach has been applied for pre-disposal management optimization of large metal pieces of waste. Four examples of waste arising from the Slovak decommissioned plant A-1 have been evaluated for various options of its management. This step is predominant to achieve a decision concerning disposal of the latter kind of waste. Regarding the disposal of mentioned dewatered waste and incinerator ashes in FRC, a new model has been applied to the assessment of long-term behavior of source term in the repository safety analyses. The new approach is sensitive to the form of waste package on the contrary to the source term model applied heretofore.
Last Developments About Spent Fuel Management in Belgium
Authors: Wittebolle V. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
In Belgium 57% of the electricity is presently generated by 7 nuclear units of the PWR type located in Doel and Tihange. Their total output amounts to 5632 MWe. Part of the spent fuel unloaded from the first three units has been sent till 2000 for reprocessing in the Cogema facility at La Hague. As the reprocessing of the spent fuel produced by the last four units is not covered by the contracts concluded with Cogema, Synatom, the Belgian utilities’ subsidiary in charge of the front- and back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle for all PWR reactors in Belgium, decided to study the possible solutions for a temporary storage of this spent fuel.
End of 1993, the Belgian government decided that reprocessing (closed cycle) and direct disposal (open cycle) of spent fuel had to be considered as equal options in the back-end policy for nuclear fuel in Belgium. The resolution further allowed continued execution of a running reprocessing contract (from 1978) and use of the corresponding Pu for MOX in Belgian NPP’s, but requested a reprocessing contract concluded in 1990 (for reprocessing services after 2000) not to be executed during a five-year period. During this period priority was to be given to studies on the once-through cycle as an option for spent fuel management. Figure 1 is a chart showing the two alternatives for the spent fuel cycle in Belgium.
In this context, Synatom entrusted Belgatom1 to develop a dedicated flask (called “bottle”) for direct disposal of spent fuel, to perform a design study of an appropriate encapsulation process and to prepare a preliminary feasibility study of a complete spent fuel conditioning plant. Meanwhile preparation works were made for the construction of an interim storage facility on both NPP sites of Doel and Tihange in order to meet increasing storage capacity needs.
For selecting the type of interim storage facility, Belgatom performed a technical-economical analysis. Considerations of design and safety criteria as well as flexibility, reversibility, technical constraints, global economical aspects and construction time led to adopt dry storage with dual purpose casks (in operation since end 1995) for the Doel site and wet storage in a modular pool for the Tihange site (in operation since 1997).
In parallel, ONRAF/NIRAS, the Belgian Agency for the management of radioactive waste and enriched fissile materials and the Belgian nuclear research centre, SCK•CEN, conduct underground investigations in view of geological disposal.
The paper describes the methodology that Belgatom has developed to provide the utilities with appropriate solutions (reracking, dry storage in casks, wet storage in ponds, etc.) and how Belgatom demonstrated also the feasibility of spent fuel conditioning with a view to direct disposal in clay layers.
The spent fuel storage facilities in operation in Belgium and designed and built by Belgatom are then briefly presented.
Drying of Spent Nuclear Fuels and Fuel Debris Dried in a Vacuum Furnace
Authors: Christensen Allan B. , Wendt Kraig M. 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
Spent nuclear fuels and fuel debris stored underwater must eventually be prepared for dry storage (e.g., repository disposition). This preparation involves some degree of fuel drying. Primary considerations for a fuel drying process are the containment configuration of the spent fuel material and the type of fuel material (e.g., oxide, metal, hydride, alloy, carbide, epoxied, debris). The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory has built and operated three heated vacuum drying systems and placed into interim dry storage all of these fuel types. The drying systems and process have been tested and modeled so that the extent of dryness can be predicted and used to plan and perform drying operations. This paper presents this drying method.
Model of a Dry Storage Facility for a Medium Nuclear Power Plant
Authors: Bace Mile , Trontl Kresimir , Pevec Dubravko 
Published: April 2020

Abstract
The intention was to model a dry storage facility that could satisfy the needs of a medium nuclear power plant similar to the NPP Krsko. The attention has been focused on radiation dose rate analyses and criticality calculations. Using the SCALE 4.4 code package and modified QAD-CGGP code, we modeled a facility that satisfies the basic criteria for public radiation protection. The capacity of the storage is 1,400 spent fuel assemblies which is adequate for a forty years medium NPP lifetime.