New self-ordering porous alumina films were fabricated in organic acid electrolytes. Highly ordered cell arrangements of porous alumina films were realized in malonic acid at 120
V and tartaric acid ...at 195
V having 300
nm and 500
nm pore intervals, respectively. Self-organization was achieved at the maximum voltage required to induce high-current-density anodization while preventing burning, i.e., an extremely high-current flow concentrated at local points. The cells of the film grown at a high field must be pressed against each other, so that the self-ordering proceeds with the porous layer growth. When the self-ordering of cell arrangement proceeds, the cells became smaller. To improve the regularity of the cell configuration, a low electrolyte temperature and a relatively high electrolyte concentration were effective for maintaining a high-current-density to prevent burning. Surface flatness was an essential factor for self-ordering, however, the surface oxide film produced by electropolishing an aluminum substrate prevented quick pore growth in the organic acids having a low dissociation constant. It is confirmed that electropolishing followed by alkaline treatment was most appropriate as the pre-treatment in preparing flat surfaces.
The ITER blanket remote handling system (BRHS) must operate with high precision within the confines of the ITER vacuum vessel, which will become a gamma-ray environment filled with radioactive dust. ...The main structural component of the BRHS, a telescopic arm, will be covered with a sleeve that must prevent not only the radioactive dust from infiltrating into the system but also lubricant from leaking out into the vacuum vessel. Verifying the radiation resistance of this sleeve is crucial and will ultimately affect the operation scenarios and timing of preventive maintenance for the BRHS. Thermoplastic polyurethane was selected as a candidate material for the sleeve. This paper presents the results of gamma-ray irradiation tests up to either 1 MGy or 2 MGy for polyurethane sheets and the results of subsequent bending, tensile, and hardness tests. Based on the results of these tests, mock-ups of the sleeve were manufactured and were also irradiated up to either 1 MGy or 2 MGy, after which the mock-ups underwent expansion and contraction tests to simulate actual operations in ITER. We have concluded from conservative estimates that, although these polyurethane sleeve mock-ups have over 1 MGy of radiation resistance, the sleeves of the BRHS should be replaced at 1 MGy.
•Decontamination test by using nylon and SUS304 brushes was performed.•The qualitative properties of the brushes were clarified.•Dose rate analysis was performed to estimate exposure to workers.•The ...calculated dose rate was used to estimate the annual work hours.
Radioactive dust will accumulate in the vacuum vessel (VV) of ITER after plasma operations. Consequently, the ITER Blanket Remote Handling System (BRHS) will be deployed into the VV to stably handle the blanket modules 1.5 m long, weighing up to 4.5 ton with high positioning accuracy. The BRHS itself must also undergo regular hands-on decontamination and maintenance in the Hot Cell Facility (HCF). However, the workers will be exposed to any activated dust that remains on BRHS component surfaces after remote decontamination. Past studies estimated the contaminated surface area of the BRHS, however, in this study, decontamination tests were performed and the dose rate to maintenance workers was calculated using the Monte Carlo N–Particle Transport Code (MCNP5). Decontamination tests were performed by using multiple test pieces of varying surface roughness made from SUS329J4L and two different types of brushes (nylon and SUS304) to simulate decontamination of the BRHS surface. Tungsten dust was pressed on the test pieces to simulate the loading by the rollers. After the test pieces were brushed the surface of each test piece was observed by using both optical and scanning electron microscopes. Dust was reduced by approximately 99% in all cases where the SUS304 brush was used regardless of surface roughness. The decontamination rate was used to estimate how much dust will be able to be cleaned from the BRHS surface. This paper describes the optimal decontamination tools with respect to the BRHS surface conditions to calculate and hopefully reduce the dose rate to maintenance workers so as to optimize the BRHS maintenance plan in the HCF.
An 85-year-old woman was transferred to our emergency room due to disturbance of consciousness. When her relatives found her at home, she was lying stark-naked. On arrival at our hospital, the ...patient's level of consciousness was GCS 10, and her deep body temperature (BT) was 28.0 ℃. She was also markedly dehydrated state. She was immediately rewarmed and resuscitated with fluid. Even after she recovered from hypothermia and dehydration, she was still in the drowsy state. Laboratory findings on the admission showed hypothyroidism with high TSH and low fT3 and fT4 blood levels. She met the diagnostic criteria for myxedema coma, and then levothyroxine sodium, a thyroid hormone, was started. It improved her consciousness to clear. Although myxedema coma is an uncommon disease, its early identification and intervention are required for better prognosis.
•Clarify the components that will degrade by gamma ray irradiation.•Perform the irradiation tests to BRHS components.•Optimize the materials to increase the radiation hardness.
The ITER blanket ...remote handling system (BRHS) will be operated in a high radiation environment (250Gy/h max.) and must stably handle the blanket modules, which weigh 4.5t and are more than 1.5m in length, with a high degree of position and posture accuracy. The reliability of the system can be improved by reviewing the failure events of the system caused by high radiation. A failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) identified failure modes and determined that lubricants, O-rings, and electric insulation cables were the dominant components affecting radiation hardness. Accordingly, we tried to optimize the lubricants and cables of the AC servo motors by using polyphenyl ether (PPE)-based grease and polyether ether ketone (PEEK), respectively. Materials containing radiation protective agents were also selected for the cable sheaths and O-rings to improve radiation hardness. Gamma ray irradiation tests were performed on these components and as a result, a radiation hardness of 8MGy was achieved for the AC servo motors. On the other hand, to develop the radiation hardness and BRHS compatibility furthermore, the improvement of materials of cable and O ring were performed.
Aim
As an emergency measure during the coronavirus disease pandemic, the monitoring interval for clozapine use was temporarily extended beyond the regulatory requirement in Japan, which is the safest ...monitoring interval worldwide. In this study, we aimed to explore the effect of this measure on patients undergoing clozapine treatment.
Methods
This retrospective chart review study included patients with treatment‐resistant schizophrenia (TRS) who were undergoing clozapine treatment at four psychiatric institutions in Japan. Demographic characteristics and clinical information of these patients were collected on April 27, 2020, when Japanese psychiatrists were virtually allowed to prescribe clozapine beyond the regulatory requirement. Furthermore, information of adverse events related to the emergency measure was collected and analyzed.
Results
Of the 41 patients with TRS included in this study, 19 patients underwent extended hematological monitoring during clozapine treatment. No psychiatric or hematological adverse events were observed in the patients during the extended monitoring interval.
Conclusion
This study suggested that there were few adverse events of clozapine‐treated patients related to emergency measures in Japan. However, hematological monitoring intervals during clozapine treatment have been emergently extended worldwide; hence, it is necessary to verify the results of these measures.
This retrospective chart review study explored patients with treatment‐resistant schizophrenia who were undergoing clozapine treatment on the expanded hematological monitoring during the coronavirus disease pandemic in April 2020 at four psychiatric institutions in Japan. This study suggested that there were few adverse events of clozapine‐treated patients related to emergency measures in Japan.
•Perform gamma ray irradiation tests on the BRHS materials.•Optimize the materials to increase the radiation hardness.•Clarify the effects of irradiation on the materials used in the BRHS components.
...The ITER Blanket Remote Handling System (BRHS) will handle the blanket first walls (FWs) and shield blocks (SBs), which can weigh up to 4.5ton and be larger than 1.5m, stably and with a high degree of positioning accuracy. When the ITER has stopped plasma operations for maintenance, the BRHS will be installed in the vacuum vessel, whose components are radioactive, to remove and install the FWs and SBs. Therefore, the BRHS will be operated in a high radiation environment (up to 250Gy/h) having an estimated total dose of 5MGy during maintenance (maximum of two years). The radiation hardness requirement for ITER BRHS components is 1MGy total dose. As components may degrade by gamma irradiation, some equipment is expected to malfunction which causes delays in the in-vessel maintenance schedule. Therefore, failure mode and effects analyses (FMEA) were performed on the BRHS components and FMEA results suggest trouble with the power supply and signals due to degradation of the insulation of electrical components, and malfunctioning motors due to degradation of the lubricants of mechanical components. In this study, material property tests for O-rings and coating materials were performed to verify radiation hardness after the irradiation with gamma rays up to 5MGy.
•Clarify the maintenance conditions in the hot cell facility based on the past irradiation test and decontamination test.•Dose rate analysis was performed to estimate exposure to workers.•Further ...reduction of exposure to workers was considered.
The ITER blanket remote handling system (BRHS) will be operated in the ITER vacuum vessel (VV) after plasma operation to exchange the blanket first walls (FWs) and shield blocks (SBs), which can weigh up to 4.5 t and be larger than 1.5 m. The most important operation for the BRHS is the two-year maintenance campaign in which all 440 FWs must be replaced. The in-vessel components will have been activated by neutrons produced by the D-T reaction, with the total dose estimated to be 5 MGy. Moreover, activated dust will have accumulated in the VV and will contaminate the BRHS. The BRHS must first be transported to the red zone of the hot cell facility where it will be decontaminated remotely. The BRHS will then be transported to the hands-on area to be decontaminated manually and undergo maintenance. The ITER Organization has defined the dose rate criteria in the hands-on area as 100 μSv/h, thus, decontamination and maintenance activities must be performed in compliance with these criteria. In this paper, the parts that will require replacement in the two-year maintenance campaign are estimated based on the results of past irradiation experiments studies; areas of the BRHS that could not be decontaminated remotely are specified; and the dose rate to workers standing near the BRHS are calculated by using Monte Carlo N–Particle Transport Code analysis to establish the BRHS maintenance plan.
Abstract We describe an 8-year-old girl with the mildest form of acute necrotizing encephalopathy, associated with pandemic influenza A. She manifested a convulsion engendering deterioration of ...consciousness, although cranial computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging within 4 hours after the convulsion revealed no abnormalities. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging 20 hours after the convulsion revealed lesions of the thalamus bilaterally, brainstem tegmentum, internal capsule, and white matter. She was diagnosed with acute necrotizing encephalopathy. Typically, the prognosis of acute necrotizing encephalopathy with a brainstem lesion is poor. Nevertheless, she recovered almost completely, after early intervention with pulsed methylprednisolone and high-dose γ-globulin therapy. She manifested a thermolabile phenotype of carnitine palmitoyltransferase II variants such as cystine-isoleucine-methionine phenotype type 9 (FVM-CIM; Phe352Cys-Val388Ile-Met647Met alleles), resulting in a predisposition to encephalopathy during influenza infection. This case is the first, to the best of our knowledge, of pandemic influenza A-associated acute necrotizing encephalopathy with a good outcome despite severe magnetic resonance imaging findings.
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