• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.7
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• pp.2516-2533
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• 2023

Several practical methods for accelerating the depletion calculation in a GPU-based Monte Carlo (MC) code PRAGMA are presented including the multilevel spectral collapse method and the vectorized Chebyshev rational approximation method (CRAM). Since the generation of microscopic reaction rates for each nuclide needed for the construction of the depletion matrix of the Bateman equation requires either enormous memory access or tremendous physical memory, both of which are quite burdensome on GPUs, a new method called multilevel spectral collapse is proposed which combines two types of spectra to generate microscopic reaction rates: an ultrafine spectrum for an entire fuel pin and coarser spectra for each depletion region. Errors in reaction rates introduced by this method are mitigated by a hybrid usage of direct online reaction rate tallies for several important fissile nuclides. The linear system to appear in the solution process adopting the CRAM is solved by the Gauss-Seidel method which can be easily vectorized on GPUs. With the accelerated depletion methods, only about 10% of MC calculation time is consumed for depletion, so an accurate full core cycle depletion calculation for a commercial power reactor (BEAVRS) can be done in 16 h with 24 consumer-grade GPUs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.11
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• pp.2431-2441
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• 2020

Currently, the pin-by-pin homogenized solvers are a very active research field as they can, unlike the nodal codes, directly predict the local power, while requiring significantly less computational resources than the heterogeneous transport codes. This paper presents a recently developed pin-by-pin diffusion/SP3 solver Tortin, its spatial discretization method and the reflector treatment. Regarding the spatial discretization, it was observed that the finite difference method applied on pin-cell size mesh does not properly capture the big flux change between MOX and uranium fuel, while the nodal expansion method is more accurate but too slow. If the finite difference method is used with a finer mesh in the outer two pin rows of the fuel assembly, it increases the required computation time by only 50%, but decreases the pin power errors below 1% with respect to lattice code reference solutions. The paper further describes the coupling of Tortin with a microscopic depletion solver. Several verification tests show that the SP3 pin-by-pin solver can reproduce the heterogeneous transport solvers results with very good accuracy, even for fuel cycle depletion of very heterogeneous core employing MOX fuel or inserted control rods, while being two orders of magnitude faster.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.1195-1208
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• 2019

This paper introduces a new two-step procedure for PWR depletion analyses. This procedure adopts the albedo-corrected parameterized equivalence constants (APEC) method to correct the lattice-based raw cross sections (XSs) and discontinuity factors (DFs) by accounting for neutron leakage. The intrinsic limitations of the conventional two-step methods are discussed by analyzing a 2-dimensional SMR with the commercial DeCART2D/MASTER code system. For a full-scope development of the APEC correction, the MASTER nodal code was modified so that the group constants can be corrected in the middle of a microscopic core depletion. The basic APEC methodology is described and color-set problems are defined to determine the APEC functions for burnup-dependent XS and DF corrections. Then the new two-step method was applied to depletion analyses of the SMR without thermal feedback, and its validity was evaluated in terms of being able to predict accurately the reactor eigenvalue and nodal power profile. In addition, four variants of the original SMR core were also analyzed for a further evaluation of the APEC-assisted depletion. In this work, several combinations of the burnup-dependent and -independent XS and DF corrections were also considered. The results show that the APEC method could enhance the nodal equivalence significantly with inexpensive additional costs.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.11
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• pp.4272-4279
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• 2022

In this study, a cross section stochastic sampling (S.S.) capability is implemented into both the McCARD continuous energy Monte Carlo code and MIG multiple-correlated data sampling code. The ENDF/B-VII.1 covariance data based 30 group cross section sets and the SCALE6 covariance data based 44 group cross section sets are sampled by the MIG code. Through various uncertainty quantification (UQ) benchmark calculations, the McCARD/MIG results are verified to be consistent with the McCARD stand-alone sensitivity/uncertainty (S/U) results and the XSUSA S.S. results. UQ analyses for Three Mile Island Unit 1, Peach Bottom Unit 2, and Kozloduy-6 fuel pin problems are conducted to provide the uncertainties of k_eff and microscopic and macroscopic cross sections by the McCARD/MIG code system. Moreover, the SNU S/U formulations for uncertainty propagation in a MC depletion analysis are validated through a comparison with the McCARD/MIG S.S. results for the UAM Exercise I-1b burnup benchmark. It is therefore concluded that the SNU formulation based on the S/U method has the capability to accurately estimate the uncertainty propagation in a MC depletion analysis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.226-235
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• 1993

DA-125, a new anthracycline antitumor antibiotic, was administered to Sprague-Dawley rats intravenously for 4 weeks to investigate the repeated dose toxicity Focal alopecia was noted in three female rats receiving 1.0mg/kg/day. In rats receiving 1.0 mg/kg/day, weight gain decreased in both sexes after first or second week. Hematological examination revealed lower counts of total leukocyte and increased numbers of platelet after second week. At terminal necropsy, atrophy of thymus and spleen was observed. Lymphocytic depletion of thymus and atrophy of white pulp in spleen were observed microscopically. A decrease in the number of hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow and degeneration of germinal epithelia in testes were also observed. These treatment-related effects were mainly confined to rats receiving 1.0 mg/kg/day. And toxic effects with microscopic changes were not observed in rats receiving 0.2 mg/kg/day or 0.04 mg/kg/day.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1998.05b
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• pp.66-71
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• 1998

A study of treatment effects on laser surface melted Ni-base alloy 600, especially on precipitation behavior ad chemical composition changes on the grain boundary were conducted with microscopic equipments. Long-term aging treatment at 40$0^{\circ}C$ caused no considerable effects on the grain boundary properties. Cr-rich M$_2$$_3$C$_{6}$ and Cr$_{7}$C$_3$ carbides were precipitated and the resultant Cr depletion below 12 wt pct on some high angle grain boundaries was occurred by heat treatment at $600^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours. These results can imply that the resistance of intergranular stress corrosion cracking of heat treated alloy 600 might not be changed considerably in comparion with the as-LSM one.e.e.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1996.05a
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• pp.21-27
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• 1996

KAERI has recently developed the nuclear design code MASTER for the application to reactor physics analyses for pressurized water reactors. Its neutronics model solves the space-time dependent neutron diffusion equations with the advanced nodal methods. The major calculation categories of MASTER consist of microscopic depletion, steady-state and transient solution, xenon dynamics, adjoint solution and pin power and burnup reconstruction. The MASTER validation analyses, which are in progress aiming to submit the Uncertainty Topical Report to KINS in the first half of 1996, include global reactivity calculations and detailed pin-by-pin power distributions as well as in-core detector reaction rate calculations. The objective of this paper is to give an overall description of the CASMO/MASTER code system whose verification results are in details presented in the separate papers.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2001.10a
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• pp.644-647
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• 2001

The investigations were discussed on the radiation effects of the electrical properties to the p-type MOS capacitors, which were irradiated by cobalt-60 gamma ray sources. The characteristics of capacitance-bias voltage(C-V) and of dielectric dissipation tarter-bias voltage(D-V) on the capacitors were measured at 1 [MHz] frequency. The microscopic behaviors of spate charges in oxide and silicon-silicon dioxide(Si- $SiO_2$) interface were investigated from the experimental data. The C-V characteristics are statical and convenient for the evaluation of the steady state behavior of carriers and interface states characteristics. While, the distribution and magnitude of space charges in oxide can be found out accurately on the $V_{dp}$ in D-V curves. The density of interface states can be deduced with ease from the magnitude of D-peak at depletion state. Thus, it is also concluded that the D-V curves are more useful and easier than conventional C-V curves for analysis of the microscopic and dynamic behavior of carriers in oxide and Si- $SiO_2$interface.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 2017

Background: Telbivudine is a nucleoside analogue used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, but it often develops mitochondrial toxicity leading to symptomatic myopathy. In this study, three patients with telbivudine induced myopathy were enrolled in order to investigate the nature and pathogenesis of mitochondrial toxicity caused by long-term use of telbivudine. Methods: Clinical features, laboratory findings, muscle pathology, and quantitation of mitochondrial DNA were studied in three patients. Results: Patients presented with progressive muscle weakness with high serum creatine kinase levels. Light microscopic findings of muscle pathology showed ragged red fibers that reacted strongly with succinate dehydrogenase stain, but negative for cytochrome c oxidase activities. Electron microscopy revealed abnormal mitochondrial accumulation with rod shaped inclusions. The quantitative peroxidase chain reaction showed a depletion of mitochondrial DNA in skeletal muscle of the patients. Conclusions: Nucleoside analogues including telbivudine are potent inhibitors of viral DNA polymerases. However, they are not specific for viral DNA and can disturb mitochondrial replication at the same time. All nucleotide analogues should be used with close clinical observation in order to avoid development of mitochondrial myopathy.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.519-524
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• 2014

We have previously shown that 2,4,3',5'-tetramethoxystilbene (TMS), a trans-stilbene analogue, induces apoptosis in human cancer cells. However, the detailed mechanisms of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis induced by TMS are not fully understood. In the present study, the possible roles of annexin A5 in TMS-mediated apoptosis were investigated in MCF7 human breast cancer cells. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis and Western blot analysis showed that the expression of annexin A5 was strongly increased in TMS-treated cells. TMS caused a strong translocation of annexin A5 from cytosol into mitochondria. Confocal laser scanning microscopic analysis clearly showed that TMS induced translocation of annexin A5 into mitochondria. TMS increased the expression and oligomerization of voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) 1, which may promote mitochondria-dependent apoptosis through disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential. When cells were treated with TMS, the levels of Bax, and Bak as well as annexin A5 were strongly enhanced. Moreover, we found that the cytosolic release of apoptogenic factors such as cytochrome c, or apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) in mitochondria was markedly increased. Annexin A5 depletion by siRNA led to decreased proapoptotic factors such as Bax, Bak, and annexin A5. Taken together, our results indicate that annexin A5 may play an important role in TMS-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis through the regulation of proapoptotic proteins and VDAC1 expression.