French policy for managing the post-accident phase of a nuclear accident.

In 2005, at the request of the French Government, the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) established a Steering Committee for the Management of the Post-Accident Phase of a Nuclear Accident or a Radiological Emergency, with the objective of establishing a policy framework. Under the supervision of ASN, this Committee, involving several tens of experts from different backgrounds (e.g. relevant ministerial offices, expert agencies, local information commissions around nuclear installations, non-governmental organisations, elected officials, licensees, and international experts), developed a number of recommendations over a 7-year period. First published in November 2012, these recommendations cover the immediate post-emergency situation, and the transition and longer-term periods of the post-accident phase in the case of medium-scale nuclear accidents causing short-term radioactive release (less than 24 h) that might occur at French nuclear facilities. They also apply to actions to be undertaken in the event of accidents during the transportation of radioactive materials. These recommendations are an important first step in preparation for the management of a post-accident situation in France in the case of a nuclear accident.

Binary rototranslational hyper-Rayleigh spectra of H(2)-He gas mixture.

The collision-induced rototranslational hyper-Rayleigh spectra of gaseous H(2)-He mixture are computed and discussed in the binary regime. As the input data we use our ab initio computed H(2)-He collision-induced first dipole hyperpolarizability tensor Deltabeta(R). Both the vector and the septor part of the H(2)-He hyper-Rayleigh spectra are evaluated at room temperature (T=295 K). The spectra are calculated assuming the full quantum computations based on the Schrödinger equation of the relative translational motion in the isotropic H(2)-He potential as well as using semiclassical methods.

[The control of radiation protection in the field of radiotherapy by the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN)]. / Les actions de contrôle de l'Autorité de sûreté nucléaire (ASN) dans le domaine de la radiothérapie.

During the last months, several incidents at radiotherapy services occurred in France; one of these accidents led to the death of several patients or required further heavy surgical acts. In this context, ASN (Autorité de sûreté nucléaire) issued an experimental guide for the notification of radiation protection events and achieved, in dialogue with professional organisations, a new scale intended to facilitate public information on radiotherapy incidents. ASN is also fully involved in the preparation of the action plan managed by the Health ministry in order to improve the safety of treatment in radiotherapy.

Hyper-Rayleigh spectral intensities of gaseous Kr-Xe mixture.

Binary collision-induced hyper-Rayleigh (CIHR) spectra of Kr-Xe gaseous system are computed quantum mechanically and classically within the frequency range up to 380 cm(-1). The intensities are expressed in absolute units. The details of the theory developed for the CIHR spectra are given and the properties of the profiles as well as the depolarization ratio frequency dependence are discussed. The contributions to the spectra related to the vector b10(r) and the septor b30(r) components of the hyperpolarizability tensor are evaluated.

Bilateral brain dysfunction during motor activation in type II schizophrenia measured by EEG mapping.

In this final electroencephalographic (EEG) mapping study of our series on motor dysfunction in neuroleptic-treated schizophrenic patients, we studied 10 right-handed patients with marked negative symptomatology [type II; raw score on the SANS (Munich version) 31.4 +/- 5.1]. Simple and multisensorimotor tasks involving both the dominant and nondominant hand were used for cortical activation. All tasks were referred to resting states obtained after specially designed relaxation procedures. In contrast to predominantly type I patients (SANS-MV score 12.3 +/- 4.9) of our previous EEG mapping studies, we found for resting states minor evidence (only) of increased power values in the frequency bands delta and theta. Furthermore, in contrast to signs of "left hemisphere dysfunction" and possible "compensatory right hemisphere overactivation" during motor tasks, which we discussed previously for our type I patients, we found for the type II schizophrenics a bilateral brain dysfunction. This consisted of "nonreactivity" in all frequency bands except alpha, in which, on the contrary, a "hyperreactivity" seemed to be present. In combination with evidence of bilateral hemispheric dysfunction in type II patients reported by other authors using EEG, evoked potentials, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods, this suggests that marked bilateral brain dysfunction may be correlated in schizophrenia with a clinical syndrome corresponding rather to the "negative pole" of the positive-negative dimension. In contrast, "left hemisphere dysfunction" and "signs of compensatory overactivation" seem to be linked more to a "positive" symptomatology. Finally, discrepancies of our EEG mapping and rCBF findings during motor activity suggest, speculatively, "uncoupling" between electrical and circulatory parameters in schizophrenia involving both hemispheres in type II, and predominantly the left hemisphere in type I, patients.