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Flow accelerated corrosion in nuclear power plants: a detailed review on mechanisms, mitigation, and management
Get PDFFlow-Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) is one of the most critical degradation mechanisms in nuclear power plants (NPPs), particularly affecting carbon steel components exposed to high-temperature water and steam flows. This review provides a comprehensive overview of FAC mechanisms, highlighting the electrochemical and mass transfer processes responsible for oxide film dissolution and metal loss. Predictive modeling approaches, ranging from semi-empirical models to modern computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and machine learning (ML) techniques, are discussed in terms of their capability to forecast FAC progression under varied operational scenarios. Factors influencing the FAC rate of metals, including the environmental parameters and material composition, are discussed in detail. A detailed overview of experimental testing methods—including stirred autoclaves, jet impingement setups, and rotating cage systems—is provided, along with their limitations in replicating real-world reactor conditions. The paper also outlines the current mitigation strategies, including metal formulation, chemical inhibitors, and maintenance strategies for suitable operation in NPP. Recent advances highlight the role of alloying elements such as chromium (Cr) and molybdenum (Mo) in stabilizing protective oxide layers, while also revealing important limitations of CFD models (e.g., challenges in validation and surface kinetics integration) and ML methods (e.g., lack of interpretability and regulatory readiness). Future research directions emphasize the need for integrated, multi-physics models, real-time monitoring systems, and the development of advanced materials to ensure long-term structural integrity and safety in next-generation nuclear reactors
Improving collaborative engagement in health state valuation: a scoping review of current practices and emerging recommendations
Get PDFBackground and Objective
Collaborative engagement with individuals invested in or affected by health research, beyond researchers themselves, is advantageous and encouraged by major funding bodies. However, the degree of collaborative engagement in health state valuation is unclear. A scoping review was conducted to (i) identify recommendations on best practice in collaborative engagement in health economics and related literature; (ii) identify examples of collaborative engagement in valuation studies; and (iii) map (ii) onto (i) to identify current practice and future recommendations.
Methods
Eight databases were searched in March-May 2024, with grey literature searches in August-September 2024. For objective (i), reports or manuscripts in health economics or patient-reported outcome measure development/evaluation of any date providing recommendations for collaborative engagement were included. For objective (ii), articles published since 2019 featuring health state valuation and collaborative engagement were included. Best practice recommendations were extracted and thematically synthesised. Examples of collaborative engagement were extracted and mapped against recommendations.
Results
Twenty-two records featuring recommendations and 15 valuation studies were included. A 15-item framework of emerging best practice recommendations for collaborative engagement was synthesised. Most examples of collaborative engagement involved patients and/or experts helping inform health states for valuation. There was no evidence for 9 out of 15 synthesised recommendations having been applied in any of the valuation studies and only minimal evidence was extracted for the remaining six.
Conclusions
Collaborative engagement in health state valuation is underdeveloped and unaligned with literature recommendations. A 15-point framework has been developed as a strategic starting point for developing guidance to improve practice in the field
‘Never check in anything you could not bear to lose’:An autoethnographic study of baggage loss
No full textAirline baggage loss affects many travellers every year and its implications for travellers are rarely studied, despite the potential for such loss to damage travel experiences. The paper examines the effects of baggage loss on airline travellers, exploring this using liminality theory and loss frameworks and suggests practical implications of how to tackle and support this by airlines. Using a retrospective collaborative autoethnographic approach (RCA) we redress this gap in travel and tourism knowledge. Our first contribution is to uncover the impacts (behavioural/psychological) of baggage loss using liminality theory and Delorme’s (2004) and Berry’s (2014) ‘loss’ frameworks. Secondly, the findings reveal a multifaceted process of response to loss, and how this affects future travel and trust. We suggest how companies should respond, through human interaction and systems to support travellers through the period of loss. Baggage loss, though a significant problem is under researched, and we seek to fill this gap and encourage research in this area
General Surgery 4.0 – A Systematic Review of Extended Reality Interventions in General Surgery
Get PDFBackground
Surgery is a central component of healthcare but involves significant risks, with complications occurring in 16.4% patients, accounting for 7.7% of worldwide fatalities. “Surgery 4.0” or digitisation of surgery, has introduced extended reality (XR) technology, offering opportunities to enhance peri-operative care. This study explored the current uses of XR to improve outcomes for general surgery patients.
Method
A systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases was performed in August 2024 to include studies using XR for pre-operative planning, navigation or patient experience for adult patients undergoing general surgery. Data on pre-operative planning, post-operative complications, patient experience, image segmentation and study reporting were presented using a narrative approach.
Results
The search returned 966 articles. 26 studies were included featuring 1142 patients. The most investigated procedure was liver resection (n = 11, 42%), with XR interventions showing significant reductions in length of stay, blood loss, operative time and complication rates. Improved outcomes were only seen for patients undergoing liver resection. For patient experience (n = 5, 19%), XR systems were shown to significantly improve anxiety, pain and mood scores. Most studies (n = 11, 73%%) utilised manual methods for image segmentation, costing up to €650 and taking 3-6 hours per model. Reporting of the XR technology, assessment and future development was variable.
Conclusion
The benefits of XR technology to improve patient outcomes in liver surgery are emerging but are yet to materialise in other general surgical procedures. Future research should focus on automatic image segmentation to improve workflow efficiency and innovation frameworks to generate robust evidence
Atmospheric Deposition of Local Mineral Dust Delivers Phosphorus to the Greenland Ice Sheet
Get PDFAerosol composition, size, and deposition rate determine the impact these particles have on cryosphere environments. Mineralogical, biological, and geochemical characteristics of aerosols collected over two years from the southwest Greenland Ice Sheet indicate that aerosols delivered via dry deposition and in snow primarily consisted of silicate minerals, with mean particle diameters of 1.01 ± 1.58 μm (2016) and 0.76 ± 0.87 μm (2017) for dry deposition and 2.4 ± 3.2 μm for dust delivered in snow (2017). The rare earth element signature of the delivered dust was typical of nearby Greenlandic lithologies, and combining this with other geochemical results and airmass history modeling indicated that the airborne mineral dust collected on-ice was likely from local emission sources, namely nearby proglacial plains. Dust and snow deposition rates were used to estimate phosphorus delivery to the ice surface at a rate of 1.2 mg·m–2·year–1, which could fuel estimated pigmented glacier ice algal cell abundances of 8.6 × 103 cells·mL–1, a value consistent with glacier ice algal bloom cell densities documented in the region. The eukaryotic communities in air and snow samples were dominated by algae and fungi, respectively, with both sample types also hosting various bacteria. These results suggest that the airborne transfer of glacier ice and snow algae may be a method by which fresh cryosphere surfaces become inoculated with these pigmented organisms. Collectively, these findings highlight the biogeochemical links between aerosols and the ice sheet surface, which have impacts on glacier ice algal growth and the corresponding surface ice albedo and melting
Fibre-optic exploration of the cryosphere
Get PDFThe icy parts of the Earth, known as the cryosphere, are an integral part of the climate system. Comprehensively understanding the cryosphere requires dense observations, not only of its surface, but also of its internal structure and dynamics. Seismic methods play a central role in this endeavour. Fibre-optic sensing is emerging as a valuable complement and alternative to well-established inertial seismometers. Offering metre-scale channel spacing, interrogation distances of up to ~ 100 km and a bandwidth from mHz to kHz, it has enabled new seismological applications, for instance, under water, in cities and on volcanoes. Cryosphere research particularly benefits from fibre-optic sensing because long cables can be deployed with relative ease in icy environments where dense arrays of seismometers are difficult to install, including glaciers, ice sheets and deep boreholes. Intended to facilitate future fibre-optic seismology research in the cryosphere, this Expository Review combines a classical publication review with theoretical background, a practical field guide, a cryospheric signal gallery and open-access data examples for hands-on training. Following a summary of recent findings about firn and ice structure, glacial seismicity, hydrology and avalanche dynamics, we derive the ideal instrument response of a distributed fibre-optic deformation sensor. To approach this ideal in field experiments, we propose numerous practical dos and don’ts concerning the choice and handling of fibre-optic cables, required equipment, splicing in the field at low temperatures, cable layout and trenching, and the deployment and coupling of cables in boreholes. A cryospheric signal gallery provides examples of data from a wide range of sources, such as explosions, land and air traffic, electricity generators, basal stick-slip icequakes, surface crevassing, englacial icequake cascades, floating ice shelf resonance, surface water flow and snow avalanches. Many of these data are enclosed as an open-access training resource, together with code for reading, visualization and simple analyses. This review concludes with a discussion of grand open challenges in our understanding of cryosphere structure and dynamics, and how further advances in fibre-optic sensing may help to overcome them
Meshless methods for the detection of an obstacle submerged in a two–dimensional Stokes flow
Get PDFWe consider a geometric inverse problem which requires detecting an unknown obstacle, e.g. a submarine or an aquatic mine, submerged in a Stokes slow viscous stationary flow of an incompressible fluid. In two-dimensions, the problem is formulated in terms of the biharmonic streamfunction in an unbounded domain which is approximated using the Trefftz method and the method of fundamental solutions (MFS). This is, apparently, the first time the Trefftz method and the MFS are applied for the solution of the biharmonic equation in an unbounded domain. We first examine direct problems and then consider inverse problems. The unknown obstacle is determined by employing a nonlinear Tikhonov regularization procedure. Numerical results are presented and discussed
It is time to recognise shared decision-making as a complex intervention
No full textObjective
Shared decision-making (SDM) is a core component of personalised health care. Populations continue to diversify in their health and social care needs. We argue that established SDM models (focusing on the interaction between patient and practitioner) do not reflect the complexity of patient presentations nor the wider influences on patients’ health and health care encounters. The route from SDM to positive health and health service outcomes are currently obscured. For SDM to be utilised without limit, and for SDM to impact health care policy, it is best understood as a complex intervention.
Discussion
SDM as a complex intervention is characterised by multiple interacting components, influenced by agents acting at several levels of a socioecological model (personal-, interpersonal-, organisational-, societal-, policy- level). The components have non-linear pathways (from cause to effect) existing within and interacting with the context in which SDM is implemented. SDM components are tailorable: Tailoring can enable personalised care for individuals and effect changes in desired outcomes for specific populations and settings. The development of programme theory, for example utilising logic modelling, will be essential for articulating and planning the evaluation of these complex pathways. A standardised framework of SDM outcomes, spanning the socioecological model, would guide the assessment of SDM process and effect. Programme theory, logic modelling, and consistent assessment will together reveal the route to positive outcomes for patients, carers, practitioners and health services and, in turn, will impact policy.
Conclusion
It is time to recognise SDM as a complex intervention. Simplistic definitions should no longer be attempted. SDM should be conceptualised as being wider than the consultation itself with components that are defined by and tailored to the context of its adoption, implementation and sustainability, considering influences that span the socioecological model of the health care system
Evaluation of heat extraction using compact shallow ground heat panels with the interaction of stormwater- a residential case study
Get PDFA bespoke parallel shallow horizontal Ground Source Heat Pump system (GSHP) with a small footprint (50 m2) was installed to provide space heating and domestic hot water for a residential house in the North of England. The shallow GSHP was combined with a storm water infiltration trench and both were installed with an adjacent control house which was fitted with a standard gas boiler for space heating and hot water. Up to 350 metres of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe with an external diameter of 40 mm connected in 2 parallel compact panels was used at the front and back of the house with the GSHP. The paper aims to (i) present data for the response of the ground to heat extraction using shallow ground heat panels and (ii) analytically model the heat gain in the ground heat exchanger panel, accounting for the thermal resistivity between the heat exchanger pipes and the surrounding soil, as well as the varriations in ground temperature and thermal conductivity. Internal and external ambient air temperatures, rainfall, coolant flow rate, coolant temperature, ground temperature and ground water level were monitored for a full year. The comprehensive field data were analysed to demonstrate the ground response and evaluate the performance of the shallow parallel ground heat extraction panels. Field data indicated that rainwater enhanced heat extraction and caused temporary increase in the ground temperature. Results from the analytical model are compared with measured temperature at five points on the ground heat extraction panel. The model showed good levels of predictive performance of the coolant temperature along the ground panel. However, it was noted that the model overestimates the coolant temperature at the centre point of the ground panel
Polystyrene microplastics exposure aggravates clear cell renal cell carcinoma progression via the NF‐κB and TGF‐β signaling pathways
Get PDFPolystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) are increasingly associated with carcinogenesis. However, their specific role in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remains unclear. In this study, the microplastics in ccRCC tissues and normal adjacent tissues (NAT) are detected utilizing Py-GC/MS, LDIR, and SEM. Tumor functional assays are conducted to assess the effects of PS-MPs on ccRCC cellular behaviors. Transcriptomic alterations induced by PS-MPs are characterized via RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis. Key signaling pathways are investigated through immunoblotting, immunocytochemistry, and ELISA. PDO and CDX models are employed to evaluate the effects of PS-MPs on ccRCC progression and intervention strategies. The results demonstrate that PS-MPs are markedly abundant in ccRCC tissues compared to NAT. Cytoplasmic accumulation of PS-MPs promotes malignant phenotypes in ccRCC cells. RNA-seq analysis demonstrates significant enrichment of oncogenic pathways following PS-MPs exposure. Mechanistic validation confirms PS-MPs exposure activates the NF-κB and TGF-β pathways in ccRCC. In preclinical models, PS-MPs accelerate ccRCC growth, which is attenuated by treatment with the pathway inhibitors. In conclusion, this study provides the first comprehensive evidence that PS-MPs exacerbate ccRCC progression through activating the NF-κB and TGF-β pathways. These findings establish PS-MPs as an environmental risk factor for ccRCC and identify potential therapeutic targets to counteract PS-MPs-mediated oncogenic effects
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