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. We have investigated whether simulated nuclear fuel (SIMFUEL) can be used as a reference material for the quantification of fission products in irradiated nuclear fuels measured by SIMS. Two samples simulating burn-ups of 3 and 8 at% were analysed in order to calculate relative sensitivity factors (RSFs) for neodymium in UO 2 . Comparison of these RSFs clearly showed that the composition of the two materials tested had a major effect on the sputtering and ionization yields of the studied species and hence on the RSF values. The results did not allow the quantification of one sample using the other as reference. It is concluded that quantification of the local concentration of Nd in irradiated fuel will require a standard simulating a burn-up close to the local one in the sample.

This volume of IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering contains papers from the 12th Workshop of the European Microbeam Analysis Society (EMAS) on Modern Developments and Applications in Microbeam Analysis, which took place from the 15–19 May 2011 in the Angers Congress Centre, Angers, France. The primary aim of this series of workshops is to assess the state-of-the-art and reliability of microbeam analysis techniques. The workshops also provide a forum where students and young scientists starting out on a career in microbeam analysis can meet and discuss with the established experts. The workshops have a very specific format comprising invited plenary lectures by internationally recognized experts, poster presentations by the participants and round table discussions on the key topics led by specialists in the field. This workshop was organized in collaboration with GN-MEBA – Groupement National de Microscopie Electronique à Balayage et de microAnalysis, France. The technical programme included the following topics: the limits of EPMA, new techniques, developments and concepts in microanalysis, microanalysis in the SEM, and new and less common applications of micro- and nanoanalysis. As at previous workshops there was also a special oral session for young scientists. The best presentation by a young scientist was awarded with an invitation to attend the 2012 Microscopy and Microanalysis meeting at Phoenix, Arizona. The prize went to Pierre Burdet, of the Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne (EPFL), for his talk entitled 3D EDS microanalysis by FIB-SEM: enhancement of elemental quantification . The continuing relevance of the EMAS workshops and the high regard in which they are held internationally can be seen from the fact that 74 posters from 18 countries were on display at the meeting, and that the participants came from as far away as Japan, Canada and the USA. A selection of participants with posters were invited to give a short oral presentation of their work in three dedicated sessions. The prize for the best poster was an invitation to participate in the 22nd Australian Conference on Microscopy and Microanalysis (ACMM 22) at Perth, Western Australia. The prize was awarded to G Samardzija of the Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, for the poster entitled: EPMA-WDS quantitative compositional analysis of barium titanate ceramics doped with cerium . This proceedings volume contains the full texts of 5 of the invited plenary lectures and of 23 papers on related topics originating from the posters presented at the workshop. All the papers have been subjected to peer review by a least two referees. January 2012 Acknowledgements On behalf of the European Microbeam Analysis Society I would like to thank all the invited speakers, session chairs and members of the discussion panels for making the meeting such a great success. Special thanks go to François Brisset and Luc Van't dack who directed the organisation of the workshop giving freely of their time and talents. As was the case for previous workshops, the EMAS board in corpore was responsible for the scientific programme. The technical exhibition, which occupied 130 sq.m of floor space, was outstanding. It was very encouraging to see new instruments on display, including a FEG electron microprobe as a first worldwide presentation. Moreover, almost all the companies that exhibited provided financial support, either by sponsoring an event or by advertising. Below, in alphabetical order, is a list of exhibiting companies and sponsors of the workshop: Ametek GmbH, Edax Business UnitGN-MEBA Bruker Nano GmbHJeol (Europe) SAS CamecaL'Oréal, Direction Générale Recherche et Innovation Carl Zeiss NTSNanoMEGAS sprl Commissariat à l'Energie AtomiqueOxford Instruments SAS European Institute for Transuranium Elements (Germany)Probe Software, Inc. ElexienceSAMx FEI CompanyTarget-Messtechnik Fondis Electronic SAThermo Fisher Scientific Gatan (France) Clive T. Walker EMAS President

A CAMECA IMS 6F secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS) for the analysis of irradiated nuclear fuel has been installed in the Microbeam Analysis Laboratory of the Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU). This device is specially equipped with heavy metal shielding to enable the safe examination of irradiated nuclear fuel samples with activities up to 75 GBq. At ITU the shielded SIMS will be used in conjunction with EPMA taking advantage of the complementary nature of the two techniques and will make important contributions to ongoing research programmes such as the safety of nuclear fuels, the partitioning and transmutation programme and the characterisation of spent fuels. The paper describes the shielded SIMS installation and presents a selection of results from the commissioning tests.

The paper reports electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA) and optical microscopy results obtained on discs from the melted fuel bundle of the second Phebus test (FPT1). In this test 18 irradiated UO2 fuel rods along with two non-irradiated instrumented rods were heated by fission power to an estimated 2500 °C. After X-ray tomography at IPSN, Cadarache, the melted fuel bundle was sent to the Institute for Transuranium Elements where it was sectioned and selected zones examined by optical microscopy and EPMA. At mid-height the fuel bundle had collapsed leaving a void. Below the void, a molten pool of corium had formed. The matrix of the corium pool was a solid solution of composition (U0.52Zr0.44Fe0.03Cr0.01)O2+x resulting from the fusion of the UO2 fuel and the Zircaloy cladding. In the corium pool, oxide inclusions rich in Fe and Cr, and metallic inclusions rich in Ni and containing small amounts of the fission products Mo, Tc, Ru and Pd were observed. In the middle and upper sections of the bundle, extensive oxidation and interaction had caused severe deformation of both the fuel and cladding.

Cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is caused by disturbances in neuronal circuits of the brain underpinned by synapse loss, neuronal dysfunction and neuronal death. Amyloid beta and tau protein cause these pathological changes and enhance neuroinflammation, which in turn modifies disease progression and severity. Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS), via activation of the locus coeruleus (LC), results in the release of catecholamines in the hippocampus and neocortex, which can enhance synaptic plasticity and reduce inflammatory signalling. VNS has shown promise to enhance cognitive ability in animal models. Research in rodents has shown that VNS can have positive effects on basal synaptic plasticity and synaptic function, tune inflammatory signalling, and limit the accumulation of amyloid plaques. Research in humans with invasive and non invasive VNS devices has shown promise for the modulation of cognition. However, the direct stimulation of the vagus nerve afforded with the invasive procedure carries surgical risks. In contrast, non-invasive VNS has the potential to be a broadly available therapy to manage cognitive symptoms in early AD, however the magnitude and specificity of its effects remains to be elucidated. Ongoing clinical trials with healthy individuals and patients with early AD will provide valuable information to clarify the potential benefits of non-invasive VNS in cognition and AD. Whether invasive or non invasive VNS can produce a significant improvement on memory function and whether its effects can modify the progression of AD will require further investigation.