[en] The processing of operating experience at nuclear power plants is critically important to safe and reliable operations because it represents the process by which important external information is incorporated into the organization. Nuclear power plants typically receive between 800 and 1000 pieces of operating experience every year, of which 70-80 meet the criteria for a more extensive review. This paper deals with the prioritization of these items. Specifically, a prioritization methodology utilizing multiattribute utility theory has been developed. What sets this methodology apart from other techniques employing multiattribute methods is its emphasis on deliberations to achieve consensus among objectives and preferences among those objectives. Along with an explanation of this methodology, the results of its application to the prioritization of operating experience at a nuclear power plant are presented. Lastly, the results of a workshop that was held at MIT are presented. The workshop demonstrated the feasibility of the prioritization methodology and the validity of the case study results

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[en] New approaches for experimental immunosuppression have been reviewed. These include the following: (1) cyclosporin A, a metabolite from fungus that suppresses multiplying but not resting T and B lymphocytes and can be used in pulsed manner with interspersed drug-free periods; (2) total lymphoid irradiation (transplantation tolerance in rats has been achieved by pretransplant radiation); (3) thoracic duct drainage, which is being revived following its demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of some autoimmune diseases; (4) hyperbaric oxygen (HBOX). We have found that HBOX 2 1/2 ATA for five hours daily depresses cell-mediated immunity in mice and that this can be reversed by intravenous administration of autologous macrophages

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[en] All /sup 99m/Tc-DTPA studies of renal transplant patients whose grafts infarcted during a three-and-one-half-year period were reviewed. Four patients demonstrated absent renal perfusion and clearance and absent bladder activity. Three of these exhibited increased perinephric /sup 99m/Tc-DTPA activity and never regained renal function. The fourth patient did not demonstrate increased perinephric activity, and some return of graft function appeared in a subsequent /sup 99m/Tc-DTPA study. The pathogenesis of increased perinephric activity is unknown, but may signify renal infarction, and its absence may indicate potential renal viability

[en] In order to evaluate the usefulness of radionuclide renal studies in differentiating acute tubular necrosis from causes of decreased renal clearance (e.g., rejection) in renal transplant patients, we assumed that acute tubular necrosis would be common during the first 4 days after cadaveric transplantation (group 1) and uncommon 3 weeks or longer after transplantation (group 2). There were 38 renal studies in 34 patients in group 1 and 62 studies in 27 patients in group 2. Each renal study consisted of both a technetium-99m-DTPA and an iodine-131 hippuran study. Perfusion, clearance, and transit time in the /sup 99m/Tc-DTPA study, and clearance and transit time in the ¹³¹I-hippuran study were visually graded on a 5 point scale without knowledge of the time of study of clinical diagnosis. There were 19 studies in group 1 and 25 studies in group 2 with clearance decreased two or more gradations. Eleven /sup 99m/Tc-DTPA studies had perfusion 2 or more gradations better than clearance; all 11 were in group 1 (p < 0.01). Other dissociations within the /sup 99m/TcDTPA and ¹³¹I-hippuran studies, or between them, did not distinguish the two groups. Data support the hypothesis that decreased clearance with relatively well preserved perfusion in /sup 99m/Tc-DTPA studies is common in acute tubular necrosis and uncommon in other causes of decreased renal clearance

[en] The effect of pulsing the current on the composition, the internal stress, and mechanical properties of Ni-Mo electrodeposits was investigated. The molybdenum, content increased with increasing peak current density and to a lesser degree with decreasing duty cycle. A reduction in the internal stresses was explained in terms of the relaxation of those due to crystallite or fine grain coalescence during the off-time and an expansion of the surface layer when hydrogen diffused into it at the start of each on-time. The mechanical properties were improved by high frequency pulse plating. Deposits consisting of alternate layers of different composition annealed at 300⁰C exhibited further improvement of their mechanical properties

[en] Certain ^99mTc-labeled derivatives of ethylene diamine substituted in NN', when labeled with ^99mTc, have been proposed for studying renal excretion, and others for brain imaging. Ethambutol, a well known antituberculosis drug, possesses a structure very similar to these derivatives. We prepared a complex of [^99mTc]ethambutol using hypophosphorus acid as the reducing agent. The complex was then analyzed by paper and cellulose F chromatography and by FAB mass spectrometry. A pharmacokinetic study in the mouse and rat indicated that the complex is eliminated by the kidney faster than DTPA, slower than [¹³¹I]hippuran and without significant renal retention. The [^99mTc]ethambutol complex is easy to prepare and shows good stability in water at physiological pH, making it potentially useful in renal excretion studies. (author)

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