No abstract available

[en] A review of the profitability margins of oil refining in the Atlantic Basin was presented. Petroleum refiners face the continuous challenge of balancing supply with demand. It would appear that the profitability margins in the Atlantic Basin will increase significantly in the near future because of shrinking supply surpluses. Refinery capacity utilization has reached higher levels than ever before. The American Petroleum Institute reported that in August 1997, U.S. refineries used 99 per cent of their capacity for several weeks in a row. U.S. gasoline inventories have also declined as the industry has focused on reducing capital costs. This is further evidence that supply and demand are tightly balanced. Some of the reasons for tightening supplies were reviewed. It was predicted that U.S. gasoline demand will continue to grow in the near future. Gasoline demand has not declined as expected because new vehicles are not any more fuel efficient today than they were a decade ago. Although federally-mandated fuel efficiency standards were designed to lower gasoline consumption, they may actually have prevented consumption from falling. Atlantic margins were predicted to continue moving up because of the supply and demand evidence: high capacity utilization rates, low operating inventories, limited capacity addition resulting from lower capital spending, continued U.S. gasoline demand growth, and steady total oil demand growth. 11 figs

[en] A facility level State System of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Materials (SSAC) for a model country and the principles of materials balance accounting relating to that country are described. The seven principal elements of a SSAC are examined and a facility level system based on them discussed. The seven elements are organization and management; nuclear material measurements; measurement quality; records and reports; physical inventory taking; material balance closing; containment and surveillance. 11 refs., 19 figs., 5 tabs

[en] The purpose of the workshop is to assist the participants in a better understanding of State Systems of Accounting for and Control of Nuclear Materials (SSACs) and their functions by providing an opportunity for the participants to develop the principal elements of an SSAC for a research reactor and laboratories and by having them participate in a records and reports exercise for these facilities. The participants will be assigned the task of developing a description of the principal elements that they recommend for an SSAC for a research reactor facility and a research laboratory facility. The topics to be addressed by the groups are the seven principal elements of a facility level SSAC that have been identified and discussed in the lectures in this course. The purpose of the records and reports exercise is to show the facilities records are used to provide the inventories and inventory changes for a facility and how these records are used to prepare reports to the IAEA. Even though it is a State that reports to the IAEA it is the facility data which are used in preparing such reports. In this exercise the facility records showing the transactions for one material balance period and three IAEA reports, an Inventory Change Report, a Material Balance Report and a Physical Inventory Listing for each of two Material Balance Areas, are prepared. 18 figs., 6 tabs., worksheets

[en] This study was designed to compare the uptake and distribution of ¹⁴C among fructose, glucose, sucrose, and starch in the cob, pedicel, and endosperm tissues of maize (Zea mays L.) kernels induced to abort by high temperature with those that develop normally. Kernels cultured in vitro at 309 and 35⁰C were transferred to [¹⁴C]sucrose media 10 days after pollination. Kernels cultured at 35⁰C aborted prior to the onset of linear dry matter accumulation. Significant uptake into the cob, pedicel, and endosperm of radioactivity associated with the soluble and starch fractions of the tissues was detected after 24 hours in culture on atlageled media. After 8 days in culture on [¹⁴C]sucrose media, 48 and 40% of the radioactivity associated with the cob carbohydrates was found in the reducing sugars at 30 and 35⁰C, respectively. Of the total carbohydrates, a higher percentage of label was associated with sucrose and lower percentage with fructose and glucose in pedicel tissue of kernels cultured at 35⁰C compared to kernels cultured at 30⁰C. These results indicate that sucrose was not cleaved to fructose and glucose as rapidly during the unloading process in the pedicel of kernels induced to abort by high temperature. Kernels cultured at 35⁰C had a much lower proportion of label associated with endosperm starch (29%) than did kernels cultured at 30⁰C (89%). Kernels cultured at 35⁰C had a correspondingly higher proportion of ¹⁴C in endosperm fructose, glucose, and sucrose

[en] Characteristics of sugar uptake by immature maize embryos were determined in vitro utilizing a ¹⁴C-sugar solution incubation method. Hexose uptake rates were greater than those for sucrose, however, all showed biphasic kinetics. Glucose and fructose saturable components were evidence at <50 mM and sucrose at <5 mM. Chemical inhibitors (CCCP, DNP, NaCN, and PCMBS) and low temperature reduced sugar uptake. Sucrose influx was pH dependent while glucose was not. Embryos maintained a high sucrose to hexose ratio throughout development. At 25 days after pollination sucrose levels exceeded 200 mM while hexose levels remained below 5 mM. Glucose was rapidly converted to sucrose upon transport into the embryo. These circumstantial data indicate that sugar uptake by immature maize embryos is metabolically dependent and carrier mediated. Furthermore, sucrose transport appears to occur against its concentration gradient involving a H+/sucrose cotransport mechanism, while glucose influx is driven by its concentration gradient and subsequent metabolism

[en] The purpose of this document is to provide a detailed description of the technical elements of a system for the accounting for and control of nuclear material at the State Authority level which can be used by a state in the establishment of a national system for nuclear material accounting and control. It is expected that a state system designed along the lines described also will assist the IAEA in carrying out its safeguards responsibilities. The scope of this document is limited to descriptions of the technical elements of a state level system concerned with Laws and Regulations, the Information System, and the Establishment of Requirements for Nuclear Material Accounting and Control. The discussion shows the relationship of these technical elements at the state level to the principal elements of an SSAC at the facility levels

[en] The purpose of this document is to provide a detailed description of a system for the accounting for and control of nuclear material in an on-load refueled power reactor facility which can be used by a facility operator to establish his own system to comply with a national system for nuclear material accounting and control and to facilitate application of IAEA safeguards. The scope of this document is limited to descriptions of the following SSAC elements: (1) Nuclear Material Measurements; (2) Measurement Quality; (3) Records and Reports; (4) Physical Inventory Taking; (5) Material Balance Closing

[en] The purpose of this document is to provide a detailed description of a system for the accounting for and control of nuclear material in a mixed oxide fuel fabrication facility which can be used by a facility operator to establish his own system to comply with a national system for nuclear material accounting and control and to facilitate application of IAEA safeguards. The scope of this document is limited to descriptions of the following SSAC elements: (1) Nuclear Material Measurements; (2) Measurement Quality; (3) Records and Reports; (4) Physical Inventory Taking; (5) Material Balance Closing

[en] The purpose of this document is to provide a detailed description of a system for the accounting for and control of nuclear material in a research laboratory facility which can be used by a facility operator to establish his own system to comply with a national system for nuclear material accounting and control and to facilitate application of IAEA safeguards. The scope of this document is limited to descriptions of the following SSAC elements: (1) Nuclear Material Measurements; (2) Measurement Quality; (3) Records and Reports; (4) Physical Inventory Taking; (5) Material Balance Closing