Solidification-induced nonuniformity in U-Zr-RE metallic nuclear fuel rods.

Metallic fuel is being developed for the next generation of sodium-cooled fast reactors due to its safety and fuel cycle economics through spent fuel reprocessing technology. After spent fuel reprocessing, rare earth elements that are immiscible with Uranium and Zirconium are included in the raw material for metallic fuel. Achieving a uniform composition and microstructure of RE inclusions is challenging because phase separation and temperature inhomogeneities during solidification lead to non-uniform composition and microstructure.

Controlling the Phase Transformation of Alumina for Enhanced Stability and Catalytic Properties.

Current transition alumina catalysts require the presence of significant amounts of toxic, environmentally deleterious dopants for their stabilization. Herein, we report a simple and novel strategy to engineer transition aluminas to withstand aging temperatures up to 1200 °C without inducing the transformation to low-surface-area α-AlO and without requiring dopants. By judiciously optimizing the abundance of dominant facets and the interparticle distance, we can control the temperature of the phase transformation from θ-AlO to α-AlO and the specific surface sites on the latter.

Key Role of a-Top CO on Terrace Sites of Metallic Pd Clusters for CO Oxidation.

Pd-based catalysts are the most widely used for CO oxidation because of their outstanding catalytic activity and thermal stability. However, fundamental understanding of the detailed catalytic processes occurring on Pd-based catalysts under realistic conditions is still lacking. In this study, we investigated CO oxidation on metallic Pd clusters supported on Al O and SiO .

Two-year direct medical costs of stroke in Korea: a multi-centre incidence-based study from hospital perspectives.

Background: Despite increasing socio-economic burden of stroke, few studies have investigated the costs associated with the stroke care in Korea. We estimated the two-year direct medical costs associated with stroke.

Methods: This was a multi-centre, incidence-based, retrospective observational study.

Comparison of the results of balloon kyphoplasty performed at different times after injury.

Objective: Balloon kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that is mainly performed for refractory pain due to osteoporotic compression fractures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of balloon kyphoplasty performed at different times after an injury.

Methods: In this retrospective study, the records of 99 patients who underwent one level of balloon kyphoplasty between January 2005 and December 2007 were reviewed.

Pneumocephalus in patients with orthostatic headache.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak or shunt overdrainage is a well-known cause of orthostatic headaches and low CSF pressures. We report two cases of orthostatic headache with pneumocephalus on brain imaging. The orthostatic headache developed after drainage of spinal operation site and epidural block.

Complete Cord Injury after Minimal Trauma in a Patient with Forestier's Disease Accompanying Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament.

Forestier's disease is a systemic rheumatological abnormality in which exuberant ossification occurs along ligaments throughout the body, but most notably the anterior longitudinal ligament of the spine. This disease is usually asymptomatic; however dysphagia, dyspnea, and peripheral nerve entrapment have all been documented in association with the disorder. We report a rare case of catastrophic neurologic damage caused by Forestier's disease accompanying ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Diffusion-Weighted MRI in Recurrent Wernicke's Encephalopathy: a Remarkable Cerebellar Lesion.

We report unusual MRI findings (including those from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)) in a patient with recurrent Wernicke's encephalopathy with a remarkable cerebellar lesion. DWI showed high signal intensities in the superior portion of the cerebellar hemisphere and vermis area. After thiamine administration, clinical symptoms improved and the lesions with high signal intensities disappeared on follow-up DWI.