International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Yukiya Amano highlighted a major report on the Fukushima nuclear accident and agreements paving the way for a low-enriched uranium (LEU) 'fuel bank' in his introductory statement to the IAEA's Board of Governors yesterday The IAEA's 35-strong board generally meets five times per year to examine and make recommendations to the agency's General Conference It also considers applications for membership Amano described the Fukushima report as "an authoritative factual and balanced assessment of what happened at Fukushima Daiichi" The result of an extensive international effort involving some 180 experts from 42 IAEA member states and other organizations over two years it draws on five detailed technical volumes which will be issued before the General Conference It also aims to be accessible for a non-technical audience "There can be no grounds for complacency about nuclear safety in any country Some of the factors that contributed to the Fukushima Daiichi accident were not unique to Japan," Amano noted adding that continuous questioning and openness to learning from experience are key to safety culture and are essential for everyone involved in nuclear power The report was delivered to the IAEA's member states in May but must be considered by the Board of Governors prior to its public release which is scheduled to take place during the IAEA General Conference in September Board approval is also being sought for two key agreements underpinning the establishment of the IAEA LEU 'fuel bank' in Kazakhstan: a host state agreement between the IAEA and Kazakhstan on the establishment of the reserve in that country; and a draft transit agreement between the IAEA and Russia to permit the IAEA to transport LEU through Russia to and from the 'bank' The facility would provide a reserve of fuel to be made available to IAEA member states as a last resort should they find themselves unable to obtain LEU for power generation on the global commercial market The IAEA has been working since 2010 to establish the reserve which aims to hold enough LEU to meet the fuel fabrication needs for two to three reloads of fuel for a 1000 MWe light water reactor Kazakhstan volunteered to host the repository in 2010 and the country's energy minister signed the draft agreement with the IAEA on 27 April The facility looks likely to be sited at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant at Ust-Kamenogorsk in eastern Kazakhstan Amano described the conclusion of the two agreements as a "significant milestone" for the project enabling the IAEA to proceed to full-scale implementation Two related technical agreements are also near to finalization and are expected to be signed at the same time as the host state agreement Researched and writtenby World Nuclear News LEU Enrichment Award Marks Third Selection for Centrus under DOE's Nuclear Fuel Supply Program 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Centrus Energy (NYSE American: LEU) announced today that its subsidiary Department of Energy aimed at expanding domestic commercial production of Low-Enriched Uranium ("LEU") to meet the needs of existing and future nuclear reactors This is the third selection for Centrus under a series of three solicitations from the Department as part of a program to restore America's domestic nuclear fuel supply for LEU and High-Assay "Centrus is proud to be leading the effort to restore America's ability to enrich uranium – with American technology built by American workers," said Centrus President and CEO Amir Vexler is the next step towards creating a public-private partnership to expand our enrichment capacity in Ohio to meet the full range of America's commercial and national security requirements for enriched uranium." ACO is one of six awardees being announced today for LEU production with a minimum contract value of $2 million and a maximum value for all awardees of $3.4 billion over a ten-year period The ultimate dollar amount associated with this award – and the potential scale of the expansion supported — will depend upon task orders subsequently issued by the U.S that it is resuming centrifuge manufacturing expanding the capacity of its Tennessee centrifuge manufacturing facility and preparing its Ohio operating facility to accept Centrus expects to invest $60 million in this effort over an 18-month period so that it can scale up to meet the needs of commercial and government customers as quickly as possible.  ACO will manufacture the centrifuges and supporting equipment exclusively in the United States relying upon domestic engineering and a domestic supply chain that currently spans 14 major American-owned suppliers in 13 states and is expected to grow The only other Western centrifuge technology in commercial operation today is the European centrifuge design which is exclusively manufactured in the Netherlands.  a key step in the nuclear fuel production process which is separate from production of HALEU via uranium enrichment.  Centrus Energy is a trusted American supplier of nuclear fuel and services for the nuclear power industry the Company has provided its utility customers with more than 1,850 reactor years of fuel which is equivalent to more than 7 billion tons of coal.  This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 forward-looking statements mean statements related to future events which may impact our expected future business and financial performance "would" or "may" and other words of similar meaning These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this news release and represent management's current views and assumptions with respect to future events and operational Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance events or results and involve known and unknown risks particular risks and uncertainties (hereinafter "risks") that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements and which are exacerbated by any worsening of the global business and economic environment include but are not limited to the following: risks related to the U.S Department of Energy ("DOE") not awarding any contracts to the Company in response to any of the Company's proposals; risks related to DOE not issuing any task orders to any awardee under any of the LEU including but not limited to the "Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act" ("Import Ban Act") or Russian Federation Decree No 1544 or (ii) transactions with the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation ("Rosatom") or its subsidiaries which includes TENEX; risks related to our potential inability to secure additional waivers or other exceptions from the Import Ban Act or other sanctions in a timely manner or at all in order to allow us to continue importing Russian LEU under the TENEX Supply Contract or otherwise doing business with TENEX or implementing the TENEX Supply Contract; risks related to TENEX's refusal or inability to deliver LEU to us for any reason including because (i) U.S or foreign government sanctions or bans are imposed on LEU from Russia or on TENEX unable or unwilling to deliver or export LEU receive the return of natural uranium hexafluoride or conduct other activities related to the TENEX Supply Contract or is directed (including by its owner or the Russian government ) to limit or stop transactions with us or with the United States or other countries; risks related to the increasing quantities of LEU being imported into the U.S Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which apply only as of the date of this news release These factors may not constitute all factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in any forward-looking statement forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures made in this news release and in our filings with the SEC including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31 Item 1A – "Risk Factors" in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30 and in our filings with the SEC that attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may affect our business We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this news release Investors: Neal Nagarajan at [email protected] Media: Lindsey Geisler at [email protected] (NYSE American: LEU) will broadcast its quarterly conference call with shareholders and the financial community over the.. (NYSE America: LEU) today announced that management will participate in the following upcoming conferences: On Monday Utilities Oil & Energy Awards Contracts Do not sell or share my personal information: Anderson Stevenson Wilke & Retz Funeral Home Assisting the Montana communities of Helena Ruth was pre-deceased by her parents Ned and Bernice Debree and sister Joyce Leander Survivors of Ruth include her sisters Joann Leu and Carol Ellison There will be a memorial gathering to celebrate Ruth’s life later this year View map Please visit the floral shop page for assistance in choosing a local florist No photos have been submitted yet. Click here to share yours. Read the thoughts and memories, then feel free to add your own. I met Ruth when I move to Son Heaven she would watch staff making meals fur us she would wheres my I would tell her by putting my hands together saying patients so she would wait sometimes looking at me and smiling and say patients she would come down for breakfast we all ways wave to each other her favorite saying after dinner do I get a treat you fly high it was a pleasure to have known you RIP While losing a family matriarch is always difficult there are so many beautiful memories of her intertwined within the Clancy community ‘Sorry to know of Ruth’s passing I’ll always remember her as the most polite and kind person ever She enjoyed coming to church and Bible study We loved to hear her sing and praise the Lord We will miss her and are praying for you her family We are so sorry for the loss of your sweet mother Ruth and Ed were valued friends to my parents and to Gaylene and me We feel so fortunate to have had her as part of our life We will miss you Ruth – Rest in Peace Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" © 2025 · Anderson Stevenson Wilke & Retz Funeral Home · Website by Luci's Office An official website of the United States government Department of Energy (DOE) is working to expand domestic commercial low enriched uranium (LEU) enrichment capabilities to support the fuel supply for our nation’s fleet of nuclear reactors This expansion will promote diversity in the LEU market and provide a reliable supply of commercial nuclear fuel critical to U.S clean energy and energy security goals.  DOE selected six companies that will compete for future work to supply LEU fostering strong commercial sector investment Developing domestic capacity for LEU ensures an adequate fuel supply is available from trusted sources to maintain the current fleet of U.S reactors and builds a strong base to supply future deployments of advanced nuclear reactors both at home and abroad.  DOE will acquire LEU generated by new domestic sources—either at entirely new enrichment facilities or from projects that expand their existing capacity All contracts will last for up to 10 years and each awardee receives a minimum contract of $2 million.  Nuclear energy is poised to play a critical role in the nation’s transition to clean energy It provides economic opportunity and good-paying American jobs in communities across the country and is readily available to improve the reliability and resilience of our power system Nuclear energy provides almost 20% of our nation’s electricity and is the single largest source of clean energy that can meet fast-growing electricity demand and decarbonize hard-to-abate industrial processes and the transportation sector At COP 28, the United States co-led a pledge alongside 25 countries to triple globally installed nuclear energy capacity by 2050 the United States would need to deploy additional nuclear energy capacity We will also need to keep our existing nuclear reactors online This expansion will require a stable source of uranium to fuel the reactors Russia currently has about 44% of the world’s uranium enrichment capacity and supplies approximately 35% of U.S President Biden signed into law a ban on Russian LEU imports that goes into effect on August 11 To ensure U.S. nuclear power plants do not experience disruptions, DOE released a process that allows the Secretary of Energy in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce to grant a waiver to an importer for specified quantities of Russian LEU under certain circumstances Any waiver under this provision will terminate not later than January 1 This RFP is intended to spur additional domestic LEU enrichment capacity consistent with these requirements to reduce use of Russian nuclear fuel and ensure LEU demand is met through trusted sources Choose the health content that’s right for you promising a spectacular celebration bigger and brighter than ever Leu Gardens will transform into a 50-acre winter wonderland featuring a dazzling display of over one million lights Presented by AdventHealth and brought to life by Creative City Project and Memoir Agency Dazzling Nights invites guests of all ages to embark on a three-quarter-mile immersive journey visitors can expect the longest and most illuminated path yet “It’s amazing to think that Dazzling Nights has been a holiday celebration for our community for five years!” said Cole NeSmith artistic director and founder of Creative City Project “Our goal has always been to create experiences that bring people together and I’m so grateful that this event has become an annual tradition for so many We’re thrilled to celebrate year five with the largest Dazzling Nights to date.” AdventHealth continues to support the annual tradition as part of its commitment to fostering community connection and well-being AdventHealth has proudly supported Dazzling Nights inspired by our commitment to the power of arts and entertainment to nurture healing and wellness,” says Sharon Line Clary senior vice president of community impact and partnership engagement at AdventHealth “We love the opportunity to bring our community together in ways that enrich mental creative ways to support our community’s journey to wholeness.” AdventHealth is expanding its nursing workforce enhancing hands-on training programs and reinforcing its commitment to exceptional patient care our organization embarked on multiple global mission projects that made a significant impact on the lives of two families in need AdventHealth Carrollwood has been awarded an “A” Hospital Safety Grade by The Leapfrog Group a national nonprofit upholding the standard of excellence in patient safety in hospitals and ambulatory.. Dozens of community members and several organizations came together to help support the AdventHealth Lake Placid and Wauchula Foundations during the 11th annual Clays and Camo fundraiser we honor the extraordinary acts of kindness and compassion demonstrated by our nurses across the region Three remarkable nurses from AdventHealth Avista's surgery center have embarked on.. AdventHealth is proud to join Nemours Children’s Health System as the official medical services provider for the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona A local nurse and a CEO were recognized by the Central Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce AdventHealth North Pinellas achieves elite national status as a straight- ‘A’ for patient safety  All AdventHealth hospitals in Pasco County continue to earn straight ‘A’ hospital safety grades from The Leapfrog Group AdventHealth Hendersonville has once again earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group an independent national nonprofit watchdog dedicated to patient safety Fish Memorial and New Smyrna Beach earn top marks from national watchdog Less than a year after breaking ground in Pasco County the new AdventHealth Meadow Pointe ER officially opened its doors to patients on Tuesday Our website uses cookies. Please review our privacy policy to find out more about the cookies we use Browsing our website means you accept these terms Through this request for proposals DOE will acquire low-enriched uranium (LEU) generated by new sources of domestic uranium enrichment capacity These can include new enrichment facilities or projects that expand the capacity of existing enrichment facilities DOE intends to sell the LEU to utilities operating US reactors to support clean energy generation and sever reliance on Russian imports "DOE is helping jumpstart uranium enrichment capacity here in the United States which is critical to strengthening our national security and growing our domestic nuclear industry," said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm "Today's announcement underscores America's commitment to remaining the global leader in nuclear energy for generations to come."  "Strengthening our domestic nuclear fuel supply chain will be critical as we continue to move from an energy system reliant on foreign suppliers and fossil fuels to one that embraces cleaner sources of power and domestic manufacturing," said Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi "Under President Biden's leadership we have spurred an unprecedented expansion in clean energy production which is creating good-paying union jobs and putting us on a path to greater energy security Today's announcement is exactly the kind of investment we need to further build and protect our nuclear energy supply and deliver the clean reliable energy that our communities and industries are demanding." Developing domestic capacity for LEU ensures an adequate fuel supply is available from trusted sources to maintain the current fleet of US reactors and build a strong base to supply future deployments of cutting-edge nuclear technologies both at home and abroad DOE issued details of the process for obtaining waivers to allow the import of limited quantities of Russian-origin LEU to ensure US nuclear plants do not experience supply disruptions when the recently signed prohibition law comes into force The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act was signed into law by President Biden in mid-May and will go into effect on 11 August to allow the import of limited amounts of material up until 1 January 2028 Claudette Zepeda weathered the TV cage match of Top Chef. She’s been a star on Netflix’s Iron Chef Mexico. The Imperial Beach born-and-raised brainiac has judged Food Network cooking competition enterprises had her green hair and bookish-punk face turned into massive banners for glitzy festivals that smell like truffles and occasionally decamps to find herself in some sort of ancient sweat ceremony And now she’s gonna hunker down in a tiny kitchen in Leucadia to cook a nightly dinner party at a new lounge called Leu Leu. It’s a 1930s bungalow next to Pannikin on Highway 101 “You know me, it came to me in my witchy ways,” she says. “I get an instagram DM from the person who sat behind me at the Padres game ‘I have this project I want you to check out.’ I met with him about it and a month later I’m signing a contract.” Tiny place where a cook can cook and a high-wattage personality can radiate What she liked about her partners on Leu Leu—Jason Janecek, who co-owns Corner Pizza, and Brittany Corrales, a born-and-raised Leucadian by way of Sonora, Mexico who apostles about growing your own food and throws parties around it with her Mariposa Events Co—is that they’re just as ambitiously hippy as her “But when Jason and Brittany presented it to me they talked about restaurants being about mystery and secrecy just a room of creators organically drawing people to them They talked about Leu Leu as a ‘she.’ This kind of character—I picture a Holly Golightly coming home with her heels in her hand The Leu Leu food will be anchored in her Mexican-American roots, but also Mediterranean (her mentor is James Beard award-winning chef Gavin Kaysen) because that’s how chefs cook for their friends “Unpretentiously munchy,” she says. “In Spanish we call it munchoso, the food you want to eat with your friends. Mom’s-house rules. It’s just me riffing, cooking for people who like food. Mexican, African, Chinese—immigrant food, my love letter to San Diego We’re not going to be ‘turning tables.’ You’re going to vibe to the music You’re going to have a seat in our home until you’re done.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chef Claudette Zepeda (@claudetteazepeda) The vibe will be vibey. Interior will be created by the sister duo behind Design 4 Corners, who’ve handled other local projects like Kaito Sushi and Van de Vort at One Paseo. Janecek is a landscape architect, so the outside patio will have gorgeous trellised arches with vines growing Corrales’ family is one of Leucadia’s heritage flower growers Zepeda’s bringing out her vintage Tupperware collection for the Moroccan tabletops There’ll be beer and funky wines with stories behind them “It’s not a restaurant or like any project I’ve ever done,” she says. “It’s a lounge, the most indie project I’ve ever been a part of. We’re not trying to pull the stars down from the sky—we’re just punk kids doing something fun. And I love Leucadia because it reminds me of Imperial Beach where I grew up. It’s such a feral community, they embrace my weird.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chef Claudette Zepeda (@claudetteazepeda) As for the timing, Zepeda was ready for this intimate, personal thing. She’s been through it. The highs, lows, bright lights, high-profile gigs leading straight into paying-bills terrors, motherhood, acclaim and hater bile. She’s finishing her book right now with editor and respected food writer Francis Lam “I went to Santiago and walked 160 miles to un-fu** myself came back cracked open and ready to receive,” she says I just let go and noticed the magic around me and the ****ing Tetris really started Tetrising And then I get a random DM at a Padres game.”  Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected] Troy Johnson is the magazine’s award-winning food writer and humorist and a long-standing expert on Food Network a textbook of the best American food writing By clicking subscribe you're confirming that you agree with our Terms and Conditions Email: [email protected] By clicking Subscribe you’re confirming that you agree with our Terms and Conditions Email: [email protected] © Copyright 2023 San Diego Magazine 1230 Columbia Street (NYSE American: LEU) has announced its upcoming quarterly conference call The company will first release its fourth quarter and full year 2025 earnings report after market close on Thursday The conference call will be accessible to listeners through a webcast on the company's website with the link available in the Investor Relations section Interested parties can access the webcast replay through February 19 (NYSE American: LEU) ha annunciato la sua prossima conferenza telefonica trimestrale La società rilascerà prima il suo rapporto sugli utili del quarto trimestre e dell'intero anno 2025 dopo la chiusura del mercato giovedì 6 febbraio 2025 La conferenza telefonica sarà accessibile agli ascoltatori tramite un webcast sul sito web dell'azienda con il link disponibile nella sezione Relazioni con gli Investitori Le parti interessate possono accedere alla registrazione del webcast fino al 19 febbraio 2025 (NYSE American: LEU) ha anunciado su próxima conferencia telefónica trimestral programada para viernes 7 de febrero de 2025 La compañía publicará primero su informe de ganancias del cuarto trimestre y del año completo 2025 después del cierre del mercado el jueves 6 de febrero de 2025 La conferencia telefónica estará accesible para los oyentes a través de un webcast en el sitio web de la compañía con el enlace disponible en la sección de Relaciones con Inversores Las partes interesadas pueden acceder a la repetición del webcast hasta el 19 de febrero de 2025 (NYSE American: LEU)는 2025년 2월 7일 금요일 오전 8시 30분 ET에 예정된 분기 전화 회의를 발표했습니다 회사는 2025년 4분기 및 연간 실적 보고서를 2025년 2월 6일 목요일 시장 종료 후에 먼저 발표할 것입니다 전화 회의는 회사 웹사이트 CentrusEnergy.com에서 웹캐스트를 통해 청취자들이 접근할 수 있으며 관심 있는 분들은 2025년 2월 19일까지 웹캐스트 재생을 이용할 수 있습니다 (NYSE American: LEU) a annoncé sa prochaine conférence téléphonique trimestrielle La société publiera d'abord son rapport de bénéfices pour le quatrième trimestre et l'année complète 2025 après la clôture du marché le jeudi 6 février 2025 La conférence téléphonique sera accessible aux auditeurs via un webinaire sur le site Web de l'entreprise avec un lien disponible dans la section Relations avec les investisseurs Les parties intéressées peuvent accéder à la rediffusion du webinaire jusqu'au 19 février 2025 (NYSE American: LEU) hat seine bevorstehende vierteljährliche Telefonkonferenz bekannt gegeben Das Unternehmen wird zuerst seinen Gewinnbericht für das vierte Quartal und das gesamte Jahr 2025 nach Marktschluss am Donnerstag Die Telefonkonferenz wird für Zuhörer über ein Webcast auf der Unternehmenswebsite CentrusEnergy.com zugänglich sein wobei der Link im Bereich Investor Relations verfügbar ist Interessierte Parteien können die Webcast-Wiederholung bis zum 19 (NYSE American: LEU) will broadcast its quarterly conference call with shareholders and the financial community over the Internet on Friday The Company will release its fourth quarter and full year earnings report for 2025 The conference call will be open to listeners who log in through the Company's website, CentrusEnergy.com A link to the call will be located in the Investor Relations section of the website and a webcast replay will be available through February 19 which is equivalent to more than 7 billion tons of coal Press: Lindsey Geisler (301) 564-3392 or GeislerLR@centrusenergy.comInvestors: Neal Nagarajan (301) 919-3890 or NagarajanNK@centrusenergy.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/centrus-to-webcast-conference-call-on-february-7-at-830-am-et-302359606.html Already have an account? Login Tanner MacArthur is a painter and mixed-media artist exploring connections between urban disorder He is a 3rd-year MFA candidate at UW-Milwaukee and has exhibited at key midwestern galleries and museums such as the Trout Museum of Art His current work explores his recollection of growing up as a child of Taiwanese immigrants in the United States His research examines how photography encapsulates memory and personal narratives within images Leu is an MFA candidate at UWM and expects to graduate in the spring of 2025 Throughout the fall and spring semesters, the Artists Now! Guest Lecture Series welcomes a diverse group of nationally and internationally recognized artists working across traditional Join us to explore and expand boundaries of creative visual practices alongside others with an interest in contemporary visual art Visit Howard Leu’s website Sign up to receive emails by choosing which artistic fields resonate best with you We’ll only send you information you’re interested in – and don’t worry Copyright © University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act was signed into law by President Joe Biden earlier this month and will go into effect on 11 August The process released by the DOE allows the Secretary of Energy to grant a waiver to an importer for specified quantities of Russian LEU if it is determined that no alternative viable source of LEU is available to sustain the continued operation of a nuclear reactor or a US nuclear energy company; or the importation of Russian LEU is in the national interest an import could be in the national interest if it meets one of the following criteria:   Waivers will only be granted for a limited amount of material: 476,536 kg in calendar year 2024; falling to 470,376 kg in 2025; 464,183 kg in 2026 and 459,083 in 2027 Bloomberg reported earlier this week that Russian state-owned uranium supplier Tenex had sent a notice of force majeure to its US customers giving them 60 days to obtain a waiver Tenex - part of Rosatom - has said it intends to honour its contractual commitments although delivery schedules could need to be renegotiated for utilities that do not have waivers in place within 60 days The full waiver procedure and requirements are available on the DOE website Get our Weekly Top Picks of Things to Do Around the Orlando Area The holiday season in Orlando is brighter than ever with the return of Dazzling Nights at Leu Gardens! Running on select nights from November 29, 2024 – January 5, 2025, this immersive event features breathtaking light displays including a shimmering 30’ tall golden tree After experiencing this incredible event myself I’ve put together some helpful tips to make your visit smooth and memorable Want more festive date ideas? Check out 25 Christmas Events in Orlando Book tickets early—this event is popular Tickets start at $22 for adults on weekdays and $28 on weekends plan ahead to secure your preferred date and time Arrive early. Leu Gardens provides ample parking Arriving 30-45 minutes early not only ensures you’ll find a good parking spot but also gives you time to check in Florida’s winter evenings can be unpredictable—think light layers as the 3/4-mile path can be uneven in spots Multiple places along the trail are dimly lit so if anyone has trouble with dark places or uneven ground consider bringing a flashlight or use the light on your phone There are multiple benches throughout the gardens so take your time and sit for a bit to enjoy the festive atmosphere There are restrooms in the gardens as well but the Welcome Center where you first arrive has the largest restrooms and there is a water bottle refill station there I suggest making use of the Welcome Center before embarking on the Dazzling Nights trail There are fifteen “activations” or sections of Dazzling Nights that you'll make your way to as you follow the one-way path Without a doubt, Dazzling Nights is one of the best places to see Christmas lights in Orlando While there are food and drink booths at multiple spots throughout the trail offerings are limited to snacks and drinks – nothing that makes for a hearty meal The holiday-themed treats and hot cocoa—are perfect for adding to the festive spirit Budget about $10 per beverage and $7-$10 per snack Dazzling Nights is filled with Instagram-worthy spots from the glowing beacons to the massive golden tree which get crowded as people stop for photos Rather than waiting at the start of the archway or tunnel then turn around and snap your photo without the line The event is most crowded on weekends and closer to Christmas opt for a weekday visit early in the season The path is stroller- and wheelchair-friendly but some areas may be darker or slightly uneven Bring a flashlight or use your phone’s light for extra visibility Extend the fun by turning your evening into a full holiday outing. Explore other holiday activities in Orlando, or now that you've worked up a bit of a thirst, head to one of the many Christmas Pop-Up Bars in town or complimentary off-site parking with shuttle service On-site parking passes are available for $15 The off-site parking is located at AdventHealth Imaging Center Innovation Tower Parking Garage with complimentary ADA-compliant shuttles transporting guests to Leu Gardens It's recommended to arrive 30 minutes before your ticket entry time for on-site parking and 45 minutes early if using the off-site option to ensure timely arrival AdventHealth Imaging Center Innovation Tower Parking Garage266 E Rollins St Orlando FL 32804Floors 4-8 with a convenient elevator to the ground and Shuttle Leu Gardens1920 North Forest AvenueOrlando P.S. – Enjoy the music of the evening at dazzlingorlando.com/music – the “Melodies of Love” playlist is especially romantic (813) 949-4400info@datenightguide.com320 W Metrics details The Ser/Leu-swapped genetic code can act as a genetic firewall mitigating biohazard risks arising from horizontal gene transfer in genetically modified organisms Our prior work demonstrated the orthogonality of this swapped code to the standard genetic code using a cell-free translation system comprised of 21 in vitro transcribed tRNAs to advance this system for protein engineering we introduce a natural/in vitro transcribed-hybrid tRNA set This set combines natural tRNAs from Escherichia coli (excluding Ser encompassing anticodon-swapped tRNASerGAG and tRNALeuGGA This approach reduces the number of in vitro transcribed tRNAs required from 21 to only 4 the Ser/Leu-swapped cell-free translation system will stand as a potent tool for protein production with reduced biohazard concerns in future biological endeavors Such inadvertent gene transfers have the potential to cause significant harm to human and animal health Cell-free translation systems may provide a safer alternative for protein synthesis as they do not involve GMOs there remains a risk of gene leakage during the template DNA preparation process which usually includes cloning genes from chemically synthesized DNA fragments or natural sources such as cDNA or genomic DNA into plasmids within a GMO This genetic code allows for the synthesis of a protein without requiring the preparation of a hazardous gene Ser is assigned to Leu codons and vice versa by utilizing chimeric tRNASerGAG and tRNALeuGGA Genes encoded by the Ser/Leu-swapped genetic code are not hazardous to natural organisms as they only produce Ser/Leu-swapped inactive proteins in nature The production of proteins dropped to 20% when replacing the natural tRNA extract with the IVT tRNA set and tRNATyr synthesized by in vitro transcription are added to the tRNASer and tRNATyr-excluded extract to prepare a hybrid-SL tRNA set a cell-free translation system with the Ser/Leu-swapped genetic code is constructed where Ser is assigned to Leu codons and Leu is assigned to Ser codons A functional protein is synthesized from a Ser/Leu-swapped gene of interest E. coli has 37 tRNAs that decode 61 codons into 20 proteinogenic amino acids. Among these, tRNASer, tRNALeu, and tRNATyr are longer (85–93 bases) than the other tRNAs (74–77 bases) (Fig. 2a). This characteristic allows us to prepare a tRNASer and tRNALeu-deficient natural tRNA set without having to isolate each individual tRNA. a Exclusion of tRNASer and tRNALeu from the E coli natural tRNAs is shown in the graph on the left White bars represent tRNAs with 85 or more nucleotides gray bars represent other tRNAs with 77 or less nucleotides these two tRNA groups can be distinguished into two separate bands: band I and band II tRNAs found in band II were subsequently extracted from the gel and are referred to as the ΔSLY natural tRNA set The right panel shows the denaturing PAGE analysis of the natural tRNA extract Lanes 1 and 2 represent the tRNA extract before and after gel purification labeled as intact and ΔSLY natural tRNA set The gel image was cropped only for this figure and tRNATyr were combined to prepare the hybrid-SL tRNA set Source data are provided as a Source Data file and this tRNA mixture was defined as the ∆SLY natural tRNA set c Tricine SDS-PAGE analysis of the model peptides The peptides were analyzed using tricine SDS-PAGE and detected by autoradiography (n = 1) and the image was cropped only for the purpose of this figure confirming the importance of excluding the natural tRNASer and tRNALeu for the accurate Ser/Leu-swapping in the cell-free translation system indicating partial loss of tRNAPhe during the PAGE purification we included IVT tRNAPhe in the hybrid tRNA sets for subsequent experiments a Comparison of three tRNA sets (natural tRNA extract and IVT21-SL tRNA set) for the translation of the sfGFP Cell-free translation systems were constructed using one of the tRNA sets and one of the sfGFP genes coded with the standard genetic code (gfp-Std-22C gene) or the Ser/Leu-swapped genetic code (gfp-SL-22C gene) were translated b Comparison of the hybrid-SL tRNA set and the IVT21-SL tRNA set in translating a Ser/Leu-swapped sfGFP genes containing 22 (gfp-SL-22C genes) or 47 sense codons (gfp-SL-47C genes) The upper panel shows the result of native PAGE followed by fluorescence imaging of sfGFP Gel images were cropped only for this figure Gel images are representative of n  =  3 biologically independent experiments and open circles represent individual data points for n  =  3 biologically independent experiments The relative band intensities were normalized against the intensity of the band observed in the combination of the natural tRNA extract and gfp-Std-22C gene (Fig For quantitative comparisons between samples on different gels the same standard sample was applied to both gels The bottom panel displays the autoradiography result of the same gel sfGFP superfolder green fluorescent protein lanes 3 and 7) in the cell-free translation system using the IVT21-SL tRNA set This is attributed to the IVT21-SL tRNA set’s lack of tRNAs to decode 14 codons the cell-free translation system with the hybrid-SL tRNA set is potentially invaluable for gene design though the protein production levels were too low for SDS-PAGE detection These experiments conclusively demonstrated the orthogonality of the Ser/Leu-swapped genetic code in the synthesis of other proteins Observed peptides produced by frameshifts in the M2 and M3 mRNAs are displayed. The possible mechanisms of frameshifts are presented in Supplementary Fig. 31 we identified three peptides with Leu or Ser substitution whose relative abundance against the original peptides increased upon the addition of the chimeric tRNAs The relative abundance of the P2-4 peptide with Phe to Ser substitution which could result from the misreading of the UUC near-cognate codon by the chimeric tRNASerGAG through a U/G mismatch at the first base the relative abundance of the P2-1 peptide with a Pro-to-Ser substitution increased from 0.012 to 0.037 and a Pro-to-Leu substitution increased from 0.001 to 0.011 These peptides could be produced by the misreading of the CCC near-cognate codon by the chimeric tRNASerGAG through a C/A mismatch at the second base or by the chimeric tRNALeuGGA through a C/A mismatch at the first base The main product in the translation mixture with the hybrid-SL tRNA set contained Leu at the UCU codons (GFP_135 and 424) and Ser at the CUU codon (GFP_102) Leu incorporation at the GFP_102 CUU codon was also observed likely due to residual tRNALeu in the ∆SLY natural tRNA set we successfully developed a cell-free translation system with the Ser/Leu-swapped genetic code This hybrid tRNA set enhanced sfGFP production achieving a 3.5-fold increase compared to the previously reported IVT21-SL tRNA set This not only improves translation efficiency but also reduces the associated effort needed to prepare the tRNA set for constructing the Ser/Leu-swapped genetic code the majority of the natural tRNAs are retained in the hybrid-SL tRNA set making 53 out of 61 sense codons available for designing Ser/Leu-swapped genes this error could be mitigated by finely tuning the concentration of each aminoacyl-tRNA within the system Exploring the overall translation fidelity and the balance of aminoacyl-tRNA concentrations would provide valuable insights into how cells uphold their translational machinery Our findings also indicate that the production of peptides with frameshifts and those containing incorrect amino acids at the UCU/C and CUU/C positions is influenced by the surrounding mRNA sequences This highlights the importance of careful gene design to avoid translation errors Future research should explore how the context of mRNA sequences affects frameshifts and the incorporation of incorrect amino acids our translation system exhibited a relatively high incidence of peptides or proteins with misincorporated amino acids it may be missing key components that promote accurate translation Identifying these missing elements could significantly improve the utility of the in vitro translation system facilitating more effective protein production This protocol involves rejecting the synthesis of any gene identified as hazardous through sequence screening within a database of pathogenic genomes genes designed with a codon-swapped genetic code could potentially evade such screenings the adaptation of sequence screening techniques to identify codon-swapped patterns of hazardous genes will become increasingly crucial for cyber-biosecurity In addition to in vivo approaches from other groups our cell-free method offers promising avenues to mitigate future biohazard risks The compositions of the IVT tRNA mix are listed in Supplementary Table 6 The tRNA stock solutions including the ΔSLY natural tRNA set and the natural tRNA extract were heated at 95 °C for 5 min and then cooled to 25 °C to refold tRNAs before the translation reaction the hybrid tRNA translation mixture (5 µL) containing the 0.6 mg/mL ΔSLY natural tRNA set and 10 µM of each IVT tRNA was prepared by adding 0.75 µL of the 4 mg/mL ΔSLY natural tRNA set stock solution and 0.5 µL of the IVT tRNA mix (100 µM each) The translation mixture also contained 0.5 mM of each of the 19 amino acids (except Asp) and 2 µM of mRNA The translation reaction was performed at 37 °C for 3 hours 50 µM non-radioactive Asp for MALDI-TOF MS or 500 µM non-radioactive Asp for LC-MS was used a mixture of 50 µM [14C]-Asp and 150 µM non-radioactive Asp for autoradiography 500 µM non-radioactive Asp for other experiments was used The synthesized model peptides labeled with [14C]-Asp in the translation mixture were analyzed using 15% polyacrylamide tricine SDS-PAGE followed by autoradiography (Pharos Fx imager reactions with Asp instead of [14C]-Asp were performed Reaction mixtures (2 µL) were applied to SPE C-TIP KT200 columns (Nikkyo Technos) which had been equivalated by 15 µL of elution solution (80% acetonitrile The columns were washed with 15 µL of wash solution (4% acetonitrile Peptides were eluted by 2 µL of matrix solution (saturated α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid 0.5% acetic acid) and applied onto the MALDI sample plate the samples were analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS (autoflex maX The synthesized model proteins labeled with [14C]-Asp in the translation mixture were analyzed by 15% polyacrylamide native PAGE and SDS-PAGE followed by autoradiography (Pharos Fx imager the gel was also analyzed by fluorescence detection (λex = 473 nm 2.5 µL of 2 µM Atto 488-biotin (Sigma-Aldrich 30574) was added to 2.5 µL of the reaction mixture to label active streptavidin with fluorophore The excess Atto 488-biotin was removed using streptavidin M280 magnetic beads (Thermo Fisher Scientific 60210) before subjecting the samples to native PAGE The gel after native PAGE was analyzed by fluorescence detection (ChemiDoc MP 2.5 µL of 100 µM Fluorescein di-β-D-galactopyranoside (Abcam ab273643) was added to 2.5 µL of the translation mixture the solution was diluted 40 times with 25 mM Hepes-K pH7.5 and 150 mM NaCl and analyzed using fluorescence spectrometry (FP-8500 For optimization of the hybrid Std-tRNA set the translation mixture (5 µL) containing synthesized sfGFP was diluted five times with 50 mM Tris-HCl pH8.0 and analyzed using fluorescence spectrometry (FP-8500 LC-MS/MS analysis of the translated products is described in the Supplementary Method 4 (see Supplementary Data 6 for the list of the FASTA and data files) Further information on research design is available in the Nature Portfolio Reporting Summary linked to this article LC-MS data generated in this study have been deposited to ProteomeXchange with the identifier PXD050604. Source data are provided with this paper Horizontal gene transfer as a biosafety issue: a natural phenomenon of public concern Genomic recoding broadly obstructs the propagation of horizontally transferred genetic elements MODOMICS: a database of RNA modification pathways A novel lysine-substituted nucleoside in the first position of the anticodon of minor isoleucine tRNA from Escherichia coli An RNA-modifying enzyme that governs both the codon and amino acid specificities of isoleucine tRNA A single uridine modification at the wobble position of an artificial tRNA enhances wobbling in an Escherichia coli cell-free translation system Modified uridines with C5-methylene substituents at the first position of the tRNA anticodon stabilize U.G wobble pairing during decoding The effect of queuosine on tRNA structure and function Metal ion stabilization of the U-turn of the A37 N6-dimethylallyl-modified anticodon stem-loop of Escherichia coli tRNAPhe Ribosome binding of DNA analogs of tRNA requires base modifications and supports the “extended anticodon” Purine bases at position 37 of tRNA stabilize codon-anticodon interaction in the ribosomal A site by stacking and Mg2+-dependent interactions Nucleoside modifications stabilize Mg2+ binding in Escherichia coli tRNA(Val): an imino proton NMR investigation Mg2+ binding and structural stability of mature and in vitro synthesized unmodified Escherichia coli tRNAPhe Crystal structure of unmodified tRNA(Gln) complexed with glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase and ATP suggests a possible role for pseudo-uridines in stabilization of RNA structure A base pair at the bottom of the anticodon stem is reciprocally preferred for discrimination of cognate tRNAs by Escherichia coli lysyl- and glutaminyl-tRNA synthetases Major identity determinants in the “augmented D helix” of tRNA(Glu) from Escherichia coli Molecular recognition of the identity-determinant set of isoleucine transfer RNA from Escherichia coli Ribosome excursions during mRNA translocation mediate broad branching of frameshift pathways A gripping tale of ribosomal frameshifting: extragenic suppressors of frameshift mutations spotlight P-site realignment Conditional switch between frameshifting regimes upon translation of dnaX mRNA Preferred synonymous codons are translated more accurately: proteomic evidence Synonymous codons direct cotranslational folding toward different protein conformations Expanding Anfinsen’s principle: contributions of synonymous codon selection to rational protein design Transfer RNA synthesis-coupled translation and DNA replication in a reconstituted transcription/translation system A comprehensive analysis of translational misdecoding pattern and its implication on genetic code evolution Large-scale analysis of mRNA sequences localized near the start and amber codons and their impact on the diversity of mRNA display libraries A swapped genetic code prevents viral infections and gene transfer Refactored genetic codes enable bidirectional genetic isolation Bases in the anticodon loop of tRNA(Ala)(GGC) prevent misreading Harmonized screening protocol, I.G.S. v2.0. https://genesynthesisconsortium.org/wp-content/uploads/IGSCHarmonizedProtocol11-21-17.pdf (2017) and containment: preparing synthetic biology for real-world deployment Safety by design: biosafety and biosecurity in the age of synthetic genomics Sense codon reassignment enables viral resistance and encoded polymer synthesis Isolation of sRNA from intact Escherichia coli cells Antibody-like proteins that capture and neutralize SARS-CoV-2 Download references This study was financially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research(S) (grant number 23H05456 to H.M.) and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research(C) (grant number 21K05270 to T.F.) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and a donation from H Taito Higashinagata & Hiroshi Murakami Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM) Institutes of Innovation for Future Society Data except LC-MS analysis were acquired by T.F Figure design and manuscript writing were performed by T.F The authors declare no competing interests Nature Communications thanks Norikazu Ichihash reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48056-z Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Translational Research newsletter — top stories in biotechnology If you would like to learn more about the IAEA’s work sign up for our weekly updates containing our most important news The IAEA Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank is an assurance of supply mechanism of last resort and a physical reserve of LEU available for eligible IAEA Member States The IAEA LEU Bank is a reserve of low enriched uranium hexafluoride owned and controlled by the IAEA and a mechanism of last resort for Member States in case the supply of LEU to a nuclear power plant is disrupted due to exceptional circumstances that disable securing the fuel from the commercial market or any other supply arrangement The IAEA LEU Bank is located at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in Oskemen Kazakhstan and is under the responsibility of the appropriate local authorities for safety The IAEA LEU Bank is a physical stock of 90 metric tons of low enriched uranium hexafluoride suitable to make fuel for a typical light water reactor the most widely used type of nuclear power reactor worldwide The LEU contained within the Bank can be used to produce enough nuclear fuel to power a large city for three years The Bank provides Member States with additional confidence in their ability to obtain nuclear fuel in an assured and predictable manner in the event there is disruption in existing fuel supply arrangements due to exceptional circumstances and when LEU can be obtained by no other means IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano and President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in August 2017 inaugurated the IAEA LEU Bank Storage Facility the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed contracts to purchase low enriched uranium (LEU) paving the way towards the establishment of the IAEA LEU Bank in 2019 The IAEA LEU Bank was established and became operational on 17 October 2019 with the receipt of 32 full 30B cylinders of LEU The physical stock of LEU in the IAEA LEU Bank was completed with the receipt of an additional 28 full 30B cylinders of LEU on 10 December 2019 The Bank is part of global efforts to create an assured supply of nuclear fuel to countries in the event of disruption of the open market or of other existing supply arrangements for LEU. Other assurance of supply mechanisms established with IAEA approval include a guaranteed physical reserve of LEU maintained by the Russian Federation at the International Uranium Enrichment Centre in Angarsk, Russia and the UK-led proposal for a Nuclear Fuel Assurance (NFA) based on non-interruption of commercial contracts for enrichment services The United States also operates its own LEU reserve as an assurance of supply mechanism of last resort is that it must not distort the commercial market The availability and operation of the IAEA LEU Bank is consistent with the rights of IAEA Member States to develop research production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes A Member State which needs to purchase LEU from the IAEA LEU Bank must have a comprehensive safeguards agreement with the IAEA in force and no issues relating to safeguards implementation in that Member State under consideration by the IAEA Board of Governors 67th IAEA General Conference: Day 1 Highlights U.S. nuclear energy stocks experienced significant gains, with Centrus Energy (LEU, Financial) leading the surge Oklo Inc (OKLO) also saw a substantial increase This upward trend was mirrored by NuScale Power (SMR) NANO Nuclear Energy (NNE) joined the rally The robust performance of these companies highlights growing investor interest in the nuclear energy sector President Biden has signed into law an act intended to reduce U.S reliance on Russian uranium imports and develop the domestic market to support the growing U.S The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act enacts the following: Congress conditioned the $2.72 billion as part of the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act which authorized releasing the money upon a U.S Passed with bipartisan support in Congress, the stated purpose of the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act is to reduce U.S. reliance on Russian uranium imports which account for about 12% of uranium purchased in the United States The act allows for waivers under a process the Department of Energy reportedly plans to formalize in the next 30 days The act addresses concerns of LEU consumers and suppliers regarding the quick severance of an important source of LEU and the time needed to fully develop the domestic market The Secretary of Energy, with the Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce, may issue waivers to allow companies to import specified quantities of LEU if: In response to questions from industry participants regarding the waiver process, DOE officials have indicated they are prepared to adjudicate waiver claims reasonably The act authorizes allocation of the previously apportioned $2.72 billion to support the U.S. LEU market, including $700 million Congress included in the Inflation Reduction Act to research The $700 million includes: $100 million to research develop and demonstrate the commercial use of HALEU; $500 million to produce HALEU; and $100 million for financial assistance to design and license transportation packages for HALEU Section 201 of the Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriation Act provides for $2.72 billion to implement the Nuclear Fuel Security Act of 2023 Related -- Nuclear Funding Basics: Getting to Critical Mass With Venture Capital If you have questions about these developments, please feel free to contact the authors, Jonathan Ayre, Harry Clark, Josh Pollick, Montana Ware and Tyler Bridgeman Jonathan represents companies driving the energy transition including representing project developers in connection with engineering He co-leads Orrick's nuclear power practice and has represented the purchaser in the first high-assay low-enriched uranium purchase agreement and commercial agreements in the nuclear power industry. Chambers Global has reported "He knows the industry very well and takes a commercial approach to help resolve differences with the counterparty He has a good bedside manner and cooperates well with others,” and ”he's very resourceful and he approaches the energy and corporate sector with a true business sense." Jonathan was recognized in 2020 by Law 360 as an Energy Rising Star Jonathan is a recognized leader in cutting-edge transactions in oil and gas securitizations representing the investors in the first oil and gas securitization in the first operated property transaction in the first transaction involving properties owned by the Bureau of Land Management and in the first transaction using a master trust structure He has worked on over $20 billion of oil and gas securitizations Jonathan is an active supporter of the Houston Symphony serving as Chairman of the Houston Symphony's Finance Committee as a Governing Director on the Houston Symphony Society's Board of Trustees and as chair of the 2021 Houston Symphony's Wine Dinner and Collector's Auction He serves as a member of the Steering Committee of the Houston Men of Distinction Annual Awards Luncheon an organization that recognizes Houston men who have distinguished themselves through excellence in community achievement thereby providing support in superior biomedical research and patient care in the Texas Medical Center Harry is experienced in areas such as CFIUS/Exon-Florio examinations of foreign investment military and “dual use” export control regulations (ITAR/EAR) economic sanctions administered by the U.S anti-boycott requirements and defense industrial security requirements He executes internal corporate investigations regarding trade and investment rules and advises on such rules in the context of corporate transactions Harry has extensive experience with government contracting matters His government contracting work has included Defense Department renewable energy projects He also represents broad industry coalitions on major trade litigations and international negotiations His experience in these areas includes a leading role in what is often considered the largest-ever international trade dispute: the controversy regarding unfair softwood lumber imports from Canada It has involved myriad administrative proceedings before federal agencies judicial proceedings and international settlement agreements Harry has represented a coalition of major U.S oil companies in antidumping and countervailing duty litigation he pursues policy issues with congressional and executive branch officials and advises on international trade rules (e.g. Chambers 2022 recognizes Harry as a leader in the field of export controls and economic sanctions (Chambers Global and Chambers USA) Previous editions have also recognized Harry’s achievements regarding his work related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Clients note that Harry provides “accurate straightforward guidance incredibly efficiently” and “he has an ability to translate complex legal requirements and rules into business-friendly jargon.” Josh represents high-growth technology companies and venture capital firms in many areas Josh has been recognized by Chambers and Partners USA and Super Lawyers for his work representing startups and venture capital funds Josh’s company-side representations include Crexi In addition to his company-side representations Josh has represented leading venture capital firms and other strategic investors Josh has significant buy-side and sell-side M&A experience including representing Deel in its acquisitions of CapBase Montana primarily represents emerging growth companies venture capital funds and other strategic investors in a wide array of corporate matters including early and late-stage venture funding rounds securities issuances and mergers and acquisitions Select engagements Montana has advised on include: *Please note: Montana’s experience includes that prior to joining Orrick secret or otherwise sensitive information concerning any potential or actual legal matter in this e-mail message Unsolicited e-mails do not create an attorney-client relationship and confidential or secret information included in such e-mails cannot be protected from disclosure Orrick does not have a duty or a legal obligation to keep confidential any information that you provide to us please note that our attorneys do not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so you understand and agree that Orrick will have no duty to keep confidential any information you provide Explore an amazing 50-acre botanical oasis minutes from Downtown Orlando Each garden is designed specifically to further our mission: inspire visitors to appreciate and understand plants Plan Your Visit City Directory Subscribe to City News Downtownorlando.com Information Locator  News and Information – UC San Diego Athletics is sharing the perspectives of alumni scholar-athletes whose work in healthcare has been impacted by COVID-19 Today’s featured alumna is Triton Team Physician Amy Leu who played for the women’s basketball team and graduated from UC San Diego in 2000 Q: What is your job and where are you currently working? Leu: I am a Sports Medicine and Family Medicine Physician and I work at UC San Diego in several outpatient clinics including student health. Q: How is COVID-19 impacting the work that you do and your life outside of work?Leu: COVID-19 has forced the medical system to make rapid changes to accommodate the need for continued healthcare while limiting "Face-to-face" visits UC San Diego was able to create and implement a virtual visit platform in a matter of weeks and currently we are operating about 80% with virtual visits (video-based) and 20% face-to-face appointments It has been amazing to continue to provide quality health care in a time of a rapidly changing platform.  For life outside of work we've all learned to become our own "micro-systems.” Each household has learned to adapt and stay at home for the most part My kids have not seen the inside of a store for weeks! They've also had to learn to fill their time without sports something they have loved to do for years.  Q: What did you learn from being a scholar-athlete that you've been able to apply to your profession?Leu: Time management and prioritization have been some of the most important tools that I've carried with me throughout my career learning the give and take of teamwork and working for the greater good of the team has been equally important.  Q: What suggestions or words of encouragement do you have for our current-scholar athletes during these trying times? Leu: As much struggle there is now with on-line learning all these challenges help build a strong foundation for you to lean on in future times of adversity Despite the hardships that many are facing we are all in this unique position to be able to experience and learn from this pandemic; it is something that many lifetimes have never seen.  "Alumni in Action" is an on-going series highlighting UC San Diego alumni in healthcare during COVID-19 Below are previous "Alumni in Action" conversations:  After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program begins a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I.  The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide more than 1,300 scholar-athletes to All-America honors.  A total of 82 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships.  UC San Diego student-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions graduating at an average rate of 91 percent one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today received the second and final shipment of low-enriched uranium (LEU) at a purpose-built facility in Kazakhstan housing the IAEA LEU Bank which was established to provide assurance to countries about the supply of nuclear fuel The delivery completes the planned stock of the material that the IAEA LEU Bank will hold Kazakhstan’s JSC National Atomic Company Kazatomprom – the world’s largest producer of natural uranium – delivered 28 cylinders of LEU to the facility at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP) in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk The uranium originated from Kazakhstan and was enriched at a facility in neighbouring Russia before the LEU was transported by train to the site in eastern Kazakhstan where it was checked and officially accepted by IAEA experts Owned by the IAEA and hosted by Kazakhstan the IAEA LEU Bank is one of the Agency’s most ambitious undertakings since it was founded in 1957 the IAEA LEU Bank stock is now complete,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said “I remember when the project was discussed and agreed in the IAEA Board of Governors in 2010 and I am very pleased that the Agency met the challenge and delivered on what the international community requested.” the IAEA’s Acting Project Executive for the IAEA LEU Bank was at the site to inspect the consignment and sign the delivery documents “With the arrival of the second shipment of LEU from Kazatomprom the IAEA LEU Bank now has a sufficient amount of material for approximately one complete core for a 1000 MW(e) pressurized water reactor.” The establishment and operation of the IAEA LEU Bank are fully funded by voluntary contributions from IAEA Member States and other donors totalling US $150 million covering estimated costs for at least 20 years of operation Donors include the Nuclear Threat Initiative Kazakhstan contributed also in kind by hosting the IAEA LEU Bank “We would like to thank the donors for their generous contributions and the very helpful cooperation offered by Kazakhstan China and the Russian Federation,” Director General Grossi added the IAEA Board of Governors authorized the Director General to establish the IAEA LEU Bank to serve as an assurance of supply mechanism of last resort for Member States that experience a supply disruption due to exceptional circumstances and are unable to secure nuclear power fuel from the commercial market State-to-State arrangements or by any other means It is a physical reserve of 90 tonnes of LEU the basic ingredient to fabricate fuel for nuclear power plants More information on the IAEA LEU Bank Project history and the first shipment of 32 cylinders of LEU from France’s Orano Cycle is available here has the prime responsibility for safety and security of the IAEA LEU Bank and shall apply IAEA safety standards and nuclear security guidance documents The IAEA will perform review missions periodically to ensure that UMP continues to operate the facility in accordance with them Other assurance of supply mechanisms established with IAEA approval include a guaranteed physical reserve of LEU maintained by the Russian Federation at the International Uranium Enrichment Centre in Angarsk and an assurance of supply guaranty by the United Kingdom for supplies of LEU enrichment services there are around 450 nuclear power reactors in operation today supplying about 10 percent of the world’s electricity and one-third of all low-carbon electricity Fifty-two additional nuclear power reactors are currently under construction Nigeria's Miniature Neutron Source Reactor is the last operational research reactor in Africa to make the conversion from high enriched uranium (HEU) to low enriched uranium (LEU) With the removal of highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel from Nigeria’s research reactor earlier this month all 11 operational research reactors in Africa are now running on low enriched uranium (LEU) The conversion of reactor fuels around the world from HEU to LEU is part of international efforts to minimize civilian use of HEU and reduce associated security and proliferation risks is a Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) designed and supplied by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and used for scientific research The project to convert the reactor from HEU to LEU was initiated by the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission in 2016 and was supported by China LEU fuel for NIRR-1 was manufactured and tested in China and delivered to Nigeria at the end of October 2018 the reactor was commissioned and reached full power operation with the LEU core and will continue to support education and research in the country The HEU fuel was returned to China in early December “The IAEA has supported the design of LEU cores the conversion of research reactors from HEU to LEU and international HEU repatriation efforts for over 20 years,” said Christophe Xerri Director of the IAEA’s Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology “The IAEA stands ready to assist other Member States with future MNSR conversion and HEU removal efforts.” Deputy Director General of the Department of Business Development and International Cooperation at CNNC said: “This project manifests the determination and joint effort of several governments and organizations in preventing nuclear proliferation This is also a demonstration of CNNC’s meeting its social responsibilities and the commitment to peaceful uses of nuclear energy CNNC is more than willing to work together and cooperate whole heartedly with relevant parties to facilitate other MNSR conversion projects.” Nigeria’s NIRR-1 is the second MNSR outside China converted to LEU after a similar reactor in Ghana was converted in 2017 Nigeria last week also hosted the 9th IAEA annual technical meeting to share lessons learned and discuss technical challenges related to MNSR conversion and HEU repatriation projects the meeting was attended by 21 participants from six countries MNSR type research reactors were designed and manufactured by the China Institute of Atomic Energy and the original design had a compact core with 30 kW thermal power Supporting Nuclear Non-Proliferation: Ghana Converts Research Reactor from HEU to LEU Fuel No Small Fry: Decommissioning Research Reactors IAEA to Assist Conversion of Jamaican Research Reactor to LEU Fuel Oct 4, 2018 | Alumni, Applied and Natural Sciences, Giving, Tech Family and her early years were spent in Mooringsport and Plain Dealing She graduated from high school in Coushatta in 1953 and she was a Louisiana Tech cheerleader for four years She served as a member of the Homecoming Court she received the Best Pledge award and later became President She received the Helen Graham Home Economics Award and was chosen as an Honor Freshman and a member of the Phi Kappa Phi honorary scholastic fraternity she was chosen the first Miss Louisiana Tech They lived in New Orleans where she taught Home Economics at Warren Easton High School while her husband completed medical school at Tulane University Wilder then served with the United States Air Force Medical Center Wilder became a member of the Shreveport Medical Society Auxiliary serving as president for one term She is an active member of the Broadmoor United Methodist Church and has been the pianist for her Sunday-school class for 50 years She  wrote a cookbook of old favorite recipes which was so popular it lead to her being invited to appear on national television in Nashville and Los Angeles Wilder has served Tech as a member of the University’s Foundation Board and she and her husband created the Wilder Golf Scholarship for team members chosen by the athletic department Two of her three children and one granddaughter are Tech graduates and her extended family includes many Tech graduates Wilder continues to have a strong relationship with Louisiana Tech She has been named the College of Applied and Natural Sciences Distinguished Alumna for 2018-19 and the School of Human Ecology’s Distinguished Alumna for 2018-19 Copyright © 2025 · Louisiana Tech University · 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Contact web@latech.edu Member of the University of Louisiana System IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano (right) and  Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov (left) following the signing of an agreement to set up the IAEA Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank in Oskemen The IAEA and Kazakhstan today signed an agreement to set up the IAEA Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) Bank in Oskemen will be a physical reserve of LEU available for eligible IAEA Member States and act as a supplier of last resort for Member States in case they cannot obtain LEU on the global commercial market or otherwise “I am confident that the IAEA LEU Bank will operate safely and securely, in line with the applicable IAEA nuclear safety standards and nuclear security guidance,” said IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano following the signature of a Host State Agreement with Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov in Astana with expertise in peaceful nuclear technology Kazakhstan is well suited to hosting the IAEA LEU Bank.”   a related technical agreement signed by Mr Amano and Energy Minister Vladimir Shkolnik and a contract between the IAEA and Kazakhstan’s Ulba Metallurgical Plant comprise the legal framework for the IAEA LEU Bank but after the signing of the relevant documents today the legal framework is fully in place and we can move ahead with full-scale implementation,” Mr Amano said The IAEA LEU Bank will be a physical reserve of up to 90 metric tons of LEU sufficient to run a 1,000 MWe light-water reactor Such a reactor can power a large city for three years The IAEA LEU Bank will be located at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant in Oskemen in north-eastern Kazakhstan The plant has been handling and storing nuclear material safely and securely for more than 60 years Safety and security of the IAEA LEU Bank will be governed by Kazakhstan’s legal and regulatory requirements, and will meet the applicable provisions of the IAEA’s safety standards and security guidance documents. The LEU will also be subject to IAEA safeguards The establishment and operation of the IAEA LEU Bank is fully funded through US $150 million of voluntary contributions from the Nuclear Threat Initiative including the Government of Kazakhstan,” Mr Amano said “Their contributions will make it possible to establish the IAEA LEU Bank and will cover its costs for the first ten years of operation.” The IAEA LEU Bank is part of global efforts to create an assured supply of nuclear fuel to countries in case of disruptions to the open market or other existing supply arrangements for LEU and a UK assurance of supply guarantee for supplies of LEU enrichment services The IAEA Board of Governors authorized the establishment and operation of the IAEA LEU Bank on 3 December 2010 Kazakhstan offered to host the IAEA LEU Bank in response to the Agency’s request for Expressions of Interest Kazakhstan and the IAEA have been working on the technical details for the establishment of the IAEA LEU Bank and have negotiated the Host State Agreement governing the establishment and hosting of the Bank In June 2015, the IAEA and the Russian Federation signed an agreement allowing transit of LEU and equipment through Russian territory to and from the IAEA LEU Bank IAEA Moves Ahead on Establishing Low Enriched Uranium Bank in Kazakhstan Experts placing the used HEU core of Ghana’s Miniature Neutron Source Reactor into an interim transfer cask Ghana has successfully completed the conversion of its only research reactor from the use of high enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel in an international project supported by the IAEA to help decrease the proliferation risks associated with HEU fuel HEU is an ingredient that can be used to create a nuclear device intended for malicious use and since 1978 various national and international activities have been underway to convert research and test reactors from the use of HEU to LEU fuel with the aim of minimizing and eventually eliminating the civilian use of HEU which was a joint undertaking of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) and the IAEA Ghana has become the first of the five countries operating a Chinese-supplied Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) to successfully convert and repatriate its irradiated HEU core to China “With this pioneer engagement Ghana demonstrated the feasibility of the MNSR conversion outside China,” said Kwame I “We hope our model of conversion and repatriation can be applied in similar operations in other countries operating such facilities.” The conversion from HEU to LEU reduces the enrichment level from over 90% uranium to below 20% without affecting the reactor’s research capabilities GAEC is still able to maintain its scientific research training and industrial applications based on nuclear facilities following the conversion “Ensuring the sustainability of MNSR operation with a LEU core was a key success factor of this project,” said Christophe Xerri Director of the IAEA Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology “This experience offers a good example of international cooperation to foster nuclear science and practical training while addressing non-proliferation concerns and delivering capacity building.” To ensure successful knowledge transfer for future conversion projects a mock-up MNSR vessel was built for operator training at the GHARR-1 facility This has since been further developed into a full-scale MNSR Core Removal Training Centre (CRTC) available for training operators from other MNSR countries “The National Nuclear Security Administration is a strong supporter of the CRTC concept,” said Dave Huizenga Acting Deputy Administrator of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at NNSA “This helps harness experience gained from the pilot project in Ghana and offers full-scale training possibilities for the MNSR operators facing similar challenges in the future.” Two meetings were held in the summer of 2017 to capture lessons learned from the implementation of the project – which could benefit other reactors looking to convert to LEU fuel “Outcomes of these meetings will build up the Ghana model and support similar operations in the future,” said Lixin Shen Deputy Director General of China Atomic Energy Authority and the original design had a compact core with 30 kW thermal powers Nine Chinese-designed MNSR facilities exist: four in China – one of which has been converted to LEU fuel – and one each in Ghana They are used primarily for education and training purposes Upon the commitment of the Chinese Government the China Atomic Energy Authority undertook the responsibility of MNSR conversion first for the prototype MNSR in China and then worked with GAEC to complete the conversion of GHARR-1 and take back the HEU The IAEA’s cooperation with the MNSR community began in 2006 with a coordinated research project to determine the technical feasibility of converting them to LEU fuel Upon request from Ghana in 2014 for assistance in securing a LEU core for the country’s GHARR-1 facility the IAEA’s Research Reactor Section provided support for the conversion and removal carried out review missions at the GHARR-1 research reactor focusing on safety offered regulator training on cask licencing and held workshops on transport security Nigeria and Syria have also requested IAEA assistance for conversion and HEU core removal The Nigerian project is scheduled to be accomplished in 2018 represented the Agency at HEU return event that the Chinese authorities organised today She stated that “The IAEA was pleased to support our Member States with the conversion of Ghana’s MNSR and the return of its HEU fuel to China This project represents a significant milestone in the broader endeavour to minimize the use of HEU in civilian facilities while ensuring continued access to nuclear research and training capabilities.” Metrics details The genetic code used in nuclear genes is almost universal but here we report that it changed three times in parallel during the evolution of budding yeasts All three changes were reassignments of the codon CUG which is translated as serine (in 2 yeast clades) The newly discovered Ser2 clade is in the final stages of a genetic code transition Most species in this clade have genes for both a novel tRNASer(CAG) and an ancestral tRNALeu(CAG) to read CUG but only tRNASer(CAG) is used in standard growth conditions The coexistence of these alloacceptor tRNA genes indicates that the genetic code transition occurred via an ambiguous translation phase We propose that the three parallel reassignments of CUG were not driven by natural selection in favor of their effects on the proteome but by selection to eliminate the ancestral tRNALeu(CAG) CUG is translated as Leu in the standard code The anticodon set of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is shown in lowercase The codon can later be captured by another amino acid if a tRNA for that amino acid mutates so that it can read the unassigned codon Many tRNAs are encoded by multigene families so a mutation in the anticodon of one tRNA gene in a family will often not abolish the organism’s ability to translate the original codon Using whole-genome data to establish phylogeny and mass spectrometry to determine genetic codes we show that the CUG codon was reassigned on three separate occasions during the evolution of budding yeasts that transitioned from CUG-Leu to CUG-Ser translation independently of the similar transition that occurred in the Candida clade We discuss the mechanism of genetic code change and the cause of the evolutionary instability of CUG-Leu translation in budding yeasts Phylogenomic tree and CUG decoding in 52 yeast species pink and yellow indicate CUG translation as Leu Point X indicates the last common ancestor of the clades with altered genetic codes Circles indicate the presence of tRNA genes with the indicated anticodons The VLE content column shows species where a characterized Virus-Like Element with killer activity is present (Killer) a VLE-like plasmid is present but killer activity has not been demonstrated (Plasmid) or VLE-like pseudogenes are present in the nuclear genome (ψ) Asterisks beside species names indicate genomes sequenced in this study The tree was constructed from 1237 proteins by maximum likelihood Cloverleaf structures of representative CUG-decoding tRNAs from the Ala except in the three yeast clades where CUG became reassigned The observations that three reassignments occurred independently in three closely related eukaryotic lineages strongly suggest that the reassignments shared a common evolutionary cause we hypothesize that the shared cause was natural selection acting against the ancestral tRNALeu(CAG) and that the selective pressure was caused by a killer toxin that attacked this specific tRNA molecule (see Discussion) Plus and minus symbols indicate inferred gains and losses of tRNA types only some representative genera or species are named Asterisks indicate taxa with large introns in tLCAG-Z Species with no tRNACAG gene (thin lines) translate CUG as Leu by wobble using tRNALeu(UAG) the genomic data indicate that the Ser2 clade underwent a transition from CUG-Leu to CUG-Ser translation via an intermediate phase in which both types of tRNA gene were present and functional in the same species It is evident that tLCAG was not lost before tSCAG was gained The Ser2 clade species appear to be in the final stages of the evolutionary transition between genetic codes Only Ascoidea rubescens has completed the transition and lost the tLCAG gene the novel tRNASer(CAG) is now the major tRNA species decoding CUG but the gene for tRNALeu(CAG) has been conserved even though it was not transcribed or used for translation in our experiments The evolutionary conservation of tLCAG in four Ser2 clade species is puzzling but a possible explanation is that tRNALeu(CAG) may be required for translation of some genes specifically expressed in conditions that we did not examine It suggests that some CUG sites in these four species still code for essential leucine residues This pattern would not be expected if the genetic code changes were favored because of their effect on protein sequences which indicates that these species have been infected by VLEs in the past VLE-like sequences are absent from the genomes of the Leu0 species an outcome whose probability is 0.01 under the assumption of uniform distribution of the 18 found VLE-like sequences across the 54 analyzed species selecting the assembly with the highest N50: the Leu2 clade species Saturnispora dispora (strain NRRL Y-1447 MASURCA); the Ala clade species Nakazawaea wickerhamii (NRRL Y-2563 DISCOVAR) and Peterozyma xylosa (NRRL Y-12939 DISCOVAR); and the Ser2 clade species Saccharomycopsis capsularis (NRRL Y-17639 To calculate the probability of all VLEs appearing outside the Leu0 clade under the hypothesis that they are uniformly distributed across the tree we calculated the number (44 choose 18)/(54 choose 18) which is approximately equal to 1.01% tRNA genes were predicted using tRNAscan-SE41 with introns removed by our own Python code the tLCAG gene was not predicted by tRNAscan-SE due to its unusually long intron but was found by BLASTN tRNAs are identified with names such as S_CAG1_Ser1_Babino_r2_i_25 The fields (separated by underscores) in these names are: inferred amino acid; anticodon; clade; 3-letter genus and species abbreviations; “r” indicates the repeat count of genes coding for identical tRNAs (ignoring introns) in this species; “i” or “n” indicates presence or absence of an intron in the gene; intron length Proteins encoded by these elements were used as queries in TBLASTN searches against a database of all 54 fungal genomes and potential pseudogenes were then tested for reciprocal BLASTX hits to VLE proteins and showed that no species had reassigned any codon other than CUG RT-PCR amplification was performed using GoTaq (Promega) polymerase or Q5 high fidelity polymerase (NEB) for 30 cycles with an annealing temperature of 55 °C Origin and evolution of the universal genetic code Pathways of genetic code evolution in ancient and modern organisms Genetic code flexibility in microorganisms: novel mechanisms and impact on physiology Nuclear codon reassignments in the genomics era and mechanisms behind their evolution The codon CUG is read as serine in an asporogenic yeast Candida cylindracea Non-universal decoding of the leucine codon CUG in several Candida species Evolution of pathogenicity and sexual reproduction in eight Candida genomes Development of the genetic code: insights from a fungal codon reassignment A novel nuclear genetic code alteration in yeasts and the evolution of codon reassignment in eukaryotes Comparative genomics of biotechnologically important yeasts The ‘polysemous’ codon—a codon with multiple amino acid assignment caused by dual specificity of tRNA identity A genetic code alteration generates a proteome of high diversity in the human pathogen Candida albicans How tRNAs dictate nuclear codon reassignments: only a few can capture non-cognate codons tRNA genes rapidly change in evolution to meet novel translational demands tRNA anticodon shifts in eukaryotic genomes Non-universal usage of the leucine CUG codon and the molecular phylogeny of the genus Candida Reconstructing the backbone of the Saccharomycotina yeast phylogeny using genome-scale data Serine tRNA complementary to the nonuniversal serine codon CUG in Candida cylindracea: evolutionary implications Reversion of a fungal genetic code alteration links proteome instability with genomic and phenotypic diversification Adaptive mistranslation accelerates the evolution of fluconazole resistance and induces major genomic and gene expression alterations in Candida albicans Universal rules and idiosyncratic features in tRNA identity Anticodon nuclease encoding virus-like elements in yeast Yeast killer elements hold their hosts hostage Refined Pichia pastoris reference genome sequence Cryptic DNA plasmids of the heterothallic yeast Saccharomycopsis crataegensis Evolutionary capture of viral and plasmid DNA by yeast nuclear chromosomes Repeated capture of a cytoplasmic linear plasmid by the host nucleus in Debaryomyces hansenii The role of alternative genetic codes in viral evolution and emergence Virus-host co-evolution under a modified nuclear genetic code In silico whole genome sequencer & analyzer (iWGS): a computational pipeline to guide the design and analysis of de novo genome sequencing studies BUSCO: assessing genome assembly and annotation completeness with single-copy orthologs RAxML version 8: a tool for phylogenetic analysis and post-analysis of large phylogenies IQ-TREE: a fast and effective stochastic algorithm for estimating maximum-likelihood phylogenies A rapid bootstrap algorithm for the RAxML Web servers SeaView version 4: a multiplatform graphical user interface for sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree building The yeast gene order browser: combining curated homology and syntenic context reveals gene fate in polyploid species tRNAscan-SE: a program for improved detection of transfer RNA genes in genomic sequence PEAKS DB: de novo sequencing assisted database search for sensitive and accurate peptide identification MaxQuant enables high peptide identification rates individualized p.p.b.-range mass accuracies and proteome-wide protein quantification Visualization of LC–MS/MS proteomics data in MaxQuant 2016 update of the PRIDE database and its related tools Download references Takashima for permission to use JCM strains data We thank the UW Biotechnology Center DNA Sequencing Facility Vanderbilt Advanced Computing Center for Research and Education and Lucigen Corporation for access to infrastructure This study was supported by Science Foundation Ireland (13/IA/1910 to K.H.W.) the National Science Foundation (DEB-1442148 to C.T.H the National Institutes of Health NIAID (AI105619 to A.R.) the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (Hatch Project 1003258 to C.T.H.) and in part by the DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (DOE Office of Science BER DE-FC02-07ER64494 to T.J Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute is supported by the DOE Office of Science under Contract No is a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences Mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer These authors contributed equally: Tadeusz Krassowski Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control United States Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research Unit National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research conducted LC–MS/MS experiments and RT-PCR; T.K conducted most bioinformatics analyses; A.Y.C. generated and performed preliminary analyses of new genome sequences; X.-X.S. Publisher's note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04374-7 Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors Dignitaries attending the inauguration ceremony of the LEU Reserve at the International Uranium Enrichment Center gather for the group photograph: (from left to right) Alexander Belousov Angarsk Electrolytic Chemical Combine; Alexey Lebedev International Uranium Enrichment Center; Marina Belyaeva The world's first low enriched uranium (LEU) Reserve located at the International Uranium Enrichment Centre in Angarsk currently valued at more than US$300 million helps ensure an uninterrupted supply of LEU for nuclear power generation The Russian Federation funded the 120-tonne reserve's establishment The LEU Reserve serves as a last-instance supplier to IAEA Member States at market prices; proceeds from the LEU sales will be used to replenish the LEU stocks IAEA inspectors completed their first inspection of the LEU Reserve which constitutes now a part of the existing mechanisms of assurances of supply of LEU for nuclear power generation," IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in a statement delivered on his behalf at the LEU Reserve's inauguration ceremony at Angarsk "The LEU Reserve would be made available for back-up supply to any eligible IAEA Member State that might face a non-commercial disruption of supply of LEU to be used in nuclear fuel for power reactors thereby facilitating the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes," he said the IAEA Board of Governors authorized the IAEA Director General to sign and implement an agreement with the Russian Federation to establish the LEU Reserve By assuring supply for peaceful uses of nuclear power the LEU Reserve in Angarsk fulfils a key element of the IAEA's Statute the IAEA Board of Governors further authorized the IAEA Director General to establish an IAEA LEU bank that will be owned and managed by the IAEA supporting the multilateral effort to assure a supply of LEU for power generation Donors to the IAEA LEU bank have pledged about US$125 million and €25 million to cover the establishment and initial operational expenses of the IAEA LEU bank A location for the IAEA LEU bank has not yet been identified "I want to tell you that your fact sheet on the [Missile Technology Control Regime] is very well done and useful for me when I have to speak on MTCR issues." July/August 2018By Kingston Reif Navy and Energy Department jointly determined that the United States should not pursue research and development of an advanced naval nuclear fuel system using low-enriched uranium (LEU) instead of highly enriched uranium (HEU) according to a March 25 letter to Congress obtained by Arms Control Today But lawmakers appear determined to continue exploring the feasibility of shifting to LEU and have proposed doubling funding for the effort in fiscal year 2019 In their joint letter to the leadership of the House Armed Services Committee Navy Secretary Richard Spencer and Energy Secretary Rick Perry stated that the replacement of HEU with LEU “would result in a reactor design that is inherently less capable and unlikely to support current life-of-ship submarine reactors.” “A program to pursue R&D of an LEU advanced fuel system would compete for necessary resources against all other NNSA [National Nuclear Security Administration] and Department of Defense priorities as part of a future budget request,” the letter added The fiscal year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act and the energy and water appropriation bill required the Energy Department’s semiautonomous NNSA to submit a conceptual plan for an R&D program on an LEU-based naval fuel system and provided $5 million for this work The authorization bill also required the energy and naval secretaries to determine whether the United States should continue to pursue R&D on an LEU system The report added that a successful development effort “might enable” an aircraft carrier reactor fueled with LEU in the 2040s The conversion of current submarine reactors to run on LEU would be “a larger challenge,” according to the report which was produced by the Office of Naval Reactors the NNSA division tasked with overseeing U.S Lawmakers earmarked an additional $5 million annually in fiscal years 2017 and 2018 that could be transferred from the NNSA nonproliferation account to the naval reactors office to research the LEU system Roughly 290 metric tons of weapons-grade HEU enough for more than 11,000 nuclear weapons are in global naval inventories to power submarines according to a March 2016 report published by the Nuclear Threat Initiative and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies Weapons-grade HEU is enriched to 90 percent uranium-235 France uses and China is believed to use LEU to power their naval reactors LEU is enriched to less than 20 percent U-235 and cannot be used in nuclear weapons Critics argue that relying on HEU undermines U.S nonproliferation objectives and could make it easier for other countries to justify the production of the sensitive material Indeed, Iran announced in December 2016 that it would begin researching and developing nuclear propulsion for marine vessels. (See ACT, January/February 2017.) The 2016 NNSA report said pursuing naval fuel that uses LEU would “demonstrate United States leadership toward reducing HEU and achieving nuclear non-proliferation goals” and sustain the nation’s reactor fuel technical expertise Despite the Trump administration’s rejection of shifting to LEU Congress has taken initial steps to continue funding the effort for fiscal year 2019 The Senate and House versions of the energy and water appropriations bill would provide up to $10 million to evaluate the LEU alternative The funding would support R&D at the national laboratories rather than transferring the funds to the NNSA naval reactors office an associate professor and founding coordinator of the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Project at the University of Texas at Austin The naval reactors office has been reluctant to spend the money authorized and appropriated by Congress Kuperman said in a June 15 email to Arms Control Today The Arms Control Association depends on the generous contributions of individuals who share our goal of promoting public understanding of and support for effective arms control policies and your financial support makes a difference Your membership comes with a 12-month subscription to Arms Control Today DC 20005            Tel: (202) 463-8270 | Fax: (202) 463-8273 IAEA LEU Storage Facility (Photo:Ulba Metallurgical Plant/Kazakhstan) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has signed contracts to purchase low enriched uranium (LEU) In the IAEA’s largest procurement since it was founded in 1957 acquisition contracts were signed with two suppliers – JSC National Atomic Company “Kazatomprom” and Orano Cycle the basic ingredient to fabricate nuclear power fuel for transport to a facility in eastern Kazakhstan where the material will be stored In line with the IAEA’s standard procedures for open tender, the names of the successful bidders have been published in the United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM) web site.  The IAEA Board of Governors decided in December 2010 to establish the IAEA LEU Bank as an assurance of supply mechanism of last resort for Member States which experience a supply disruption due to exceptional circumstances, and which are unable to secure nuclear power fuel from the commercial market, State-to-State arrangements or by any other means. Owned by the IAEA and operated by Kazakhstan, it will be a physical reserve of up to 90 metric tons of LEU suitable to make fuel for a typical light water reactor, available for eligible countries. In an earlier project milestone, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano and President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in August 2017 inaugurated the IAEA LEU Bank Storage Facility at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP) in the eastern city of Ust-Kamenogorsk. The IAEA LEU Bank will be established once the LEU has been delivered to the Storage Facility. In accordance with IAEA procurement governance, the LEU acquisition process was carried out in strict adherence to the principles of transparency, fairness, competition and best value, as well as public procurement best practices. The establishment and operation of the IAEA LEU Bank are fully funded by voluntary contributions from IAEA Member States and other donors totalling US $150 million – sufficient to cover estimated costs for 20 years of operation – and has no impact on the Agency’s budget or other activities. The Agency does not publish contract prices. The IAEA has taken additional measures to protect any information on the price of the IAEA LEU in order to avoid disrupting the price of uranium on the international market, in line with the 2010 Board of Governors’ mandate. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Bavarian state government honors Leu Energie and BTD The two companies in Hof have voluntarily taken part in the environmental and climate pact. In the picture (from left): Mayor Eva Döhla Managing Director of Leu Energie GmbH & Co Head of BTD GmbHAs part of the Bavarian Environmental Pact the two Hof-based companies Leu Energie GmbH & Co KG and BTD GmbH have signed the voluntary commitment for "sustainable growth with environmental and climate protection" avoiding waste and waste water and by saving CO2 and implementing offsetting measures they have once again earned the Bavarian State Government's award Mayor Eva Döhla: "Thanks to these qualified and voluntary environmental achievements Julian Bunzmann from Leu Energie GmbH & Co KG and Mr Ulrich Meisel from BTD GmbH with a certificate of participation in the Environmental and Climate Pact on behalf of the Bavarian Minister of the Environment Thorsten Glauber This award is a strong sign that sustainable management and economic success can go hand in hand" Leu Energie GmbH & Co KG has declared sustainability to be a binding component of its corporate philosophy Certified in accordance with DIN ISO 14001 the managing directors have been committed to the Bavarian Environmental and Climate Pact for 20 years the lighting at the filling stations and the company premises in Hof has been converted to LED The modern vehicle fleet fills up with the environmentally friendly fuel HVO 100 the company also installed its own PV system which enables Leu Energie to become increasingly self-sufficient in electricity at its Hof site Leu Energie supplies climate-friendly natural gas throughout Germany and offsets the CO2 released during combustion through certified climate protection projects All of Leu's electricity products are also generated exclusively from 100% hydropower the company wants to continue to meet the demands of the present without endangering future generations Leu Energie has been helping to keep things moving and reliably supplying private commercial and industrial customers in north-eastern Upper Franconia and neighboring Thuringia and Saxony with heating oil we are supporting the development of 'green fuels' in the spirit of technological openness and are participating in the construction of a plant for the production of so-called e-fuels which will go into operation at the end of this year," explains Julian Bunzmann Managing Director of Leu Energie GmbH & Co KG BTD GmbH specializes in the safety and reliability of tanks and takes care of all matters relating to tank systems Whether cleaning or refurbishing heating oil or pellet tanks testing and maintaining oil separators or building complete special systems - BTD is a leader in this field As a specialist company in accordance with the Water Resources Act BTD also provides outstanding environmental services: Recirculation of tank cleaning residues and professional disposal to conserve resources in an intact circular economy we are actively contributing to environmental protection The environmentally friendly recycling of tank cleaning residues the promotion of water protection and our continuous measures to save energy with our own Peetz Elektrotechnik division demonstrate our commitment to a sustainable future," says Ulrich Meisel Metrics details Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that causes febrile illness The recent spread of ZIKV from Asia to the Americas via the Pacific region has revealed unprecedented features of ZIKV including transplacental congenital infection causing microcephaly Amino acid changes have been hypothesized to underlie the spread and novel features of American ZIKV strains; however the relationship between genetic changes and the epidemic remains controversial A comparison of the characteristics of a Southeast Asian strain (NIID123) and an American strain (PRVABC59) revealed that the latter had a higher replication ability in cultured cells and higher virulence in mice we aimed to identify the genetic region of ZIKV responsible for these different characteristics using reverse genetics A chimeric NIID123 strain in which the E protein was replaced with that of PRVABC59 showed a lower growth ability than the recombinant wild-type strain Adaptation of the chimeric NIID123 to Vero cells induced a Phe-to-Leu amino acid substitution at position 146 of the prM protein; PRVABC59 also has Leu at this position Leu at this position was found to be responsible for the viral replication ability and partially the relationship between genetic variation in ZIKV and its replication capacity and pathogenicity remains controversial These findings indicated that genetic differences between PRVABC59 and NIID123 are involved in the replication ability and pathogenicity of the viruses the level of testis damage in ZIKV-infected mice was used as an index for assessing ZIKV pathogenicity in this study Fragments A1 and A2 were cloned into pMW119-CMVP and pMW119 and E were concatenated by joint PCR and then cloned into pMW119-CMVP the fragments in the clones were PCR-amplified and concatenated as full-length viral cDNA by joint PCR The full-length viral cDNA with the CMV promoter sequence in the 5′-terminus and the HDV ribozyme sequence in the 3′-terminus was transfected into Vero cells to produce infectious viruses Characterization of recombinant ZIKV rPRVABC59 and rNIID123 in vitro and in vivo (a) Plaque morphology of the parental virus PRVABC59 (paPRVABC59) and rPRVABC59 (left) and the parental virus NIID123 (paNIID123) and rNIID123 (right) in Vero cells at 5 days post infection (b) Growth curves of parental and recombinant PRVABC59 (left) and parental and recombinant NIID123 (right) in Vero cells Cells were inoculated with the viruses at an MOI of 0.01 pfu/cell Means ± standard deviations of three independent experiments are shown (c) Viremia levels in mice inoculated with parental and recombinant PRVABC59 IFNAR1-KO mice (4 or 5 mice/virus group) inoculated with parental or recombinant virus via the footpad were divided into two subgroups (2 or 3 mice/subgroup; 1- and 8-day post-infection group) and blood was collected at the indicated time points (d) Testis weights at 6 weeks post infection (e) Ratios of atrophied to total testes in mice infected with the indicated viruses (f,g) Viral RNA copy numbers in testes (f) and serum (g) at 6 weeks post infection These data indicated that the recombinant viruses largely maintain the growth properties of the parental viruses both in vitro and in vivo Generation and characterization of chimera ZIKV rNIID123 EPRV in vitro (a) Schematic representation of the genome structure of rNIID123 EPRV (b) Plaques (upper panels) and focus phenotypes (lower panels) of rNIID123 (c) Growth curves for the parental virus paPRVABC59 Cells were inoculated with the viruses at an MOI of 0.01 ffu/cell Recovery of Vero cell-adapted rNIID123 EPRV and in vitro growth of the point mutant rNIID123 prMF146L (a) Focus phenotypes of rNIID123 EPRV #1 after one (P1) to four (P4) passages in Vero cells (b) Partial amino acid sequences of the prM region in rNIID123 EPRV #1 P1 Numbers indicate positions in the ZIKV prM protein (c) Schematic representation of the point mutant rNIID123 prMF146L (d) Focus phenotypes of rNIID123 and rNIID123 prMF146L in Vero cells (e) Growth curves of rNIID123 EPRV P4 and rNIID123 prMF146L in Vero cells In vitro growth of the point mutant rPRVABC59 prML146F (a) Schematic representation of the mutant rPRVABC59 prML146F (b) Focus phenotypes of rPRVABC59 and rPRVABC59 prML146F in Vero cells (c) Growth curves of the point mutants rPRVABC59 prML146F and rNIID123 prMF146L in Vero cells Characterization of the point mutants rPRVABC59 prML146F and rNIID123 prMF146L in mice (a,b) IFNAR1-KO mice (6 mice/virus group) inoculated with rPRVABC59,rPRVABC59 prML146F rNIID123 and rNIID123 prMF146L via the footpad were divided into two subgroups (3 mice/subgroup; 1- and 8-days post-infection group) and blood was collected at the indicated time points (c) Testis weight at 6 weeks post infection (d) Ratios of atrophied to total testes in mice infected with the indicated viruses (e,f) Viral RNA copy numbers in testes (e) and serum (f) at 6 weeks post infection we developed a reverse genetics system for the PRVABC59 and NIID123 strains We aimed to determine the genetic regions involved in the in vitro and in vivo phenotypic differences between the strains Our findings indicated that the amino acid at position 146 of the prM protein is responsible for the different properties in vitro and partially for those in mice These results suggest that the growth ability of ZIKV in vitro and in vivo does not necessarily reflect the virulence of the virus in mice the residue at this position may be associated with virion assembly Alignment of partial amino acid sequences of the prM protein of ZIKV strains Twenty-eight strains representing the African lineage and the Southeast Asian and American subtypes of the Asian/American lineage of ZIKV were used The amino acid residue at position 146 of the prM protein in the NIID123 strain is indicated by a red rectangle All animal experiments in this study were conducted with approval (Nos 120011 and 120,113) from the Animal Care and Use Committee of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) and in compliance with the animal husbandry and welfare regulations of Japan and the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) guidelines Mouse experiments were performed in biosafety level 2 animal facilities at the NIID All efforts were made to minimize any potential pain and distress Vero9013 cells were cultured in Eagle’s minimal essential medium (MEM MO) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS and 100 µg/mL of streptomycin (Nacalai Tesque Japan) in an atmosphere of 5% CO2 at 37 °C ZIKV strain PRVABC59 (GenBank accession No.: KU501215) was propagated in Vero cells for five passages and ZIKV strain ZIKV/Hu/NIID123/2016 (NIID123) was propagated once in mosquito C6/36 cells and then eight times in Vero cells and culture supernatants were used as original virus solutions To determine the genome sequences of parental viruses viral RNA was extracted from the original virus solutions using High Pure Viral RNA kit (Roche Diagnostics Viral cDNA was synthesized with SuperScript IV reverse transcriptase (Thermo Fisher Scientific MA) and amplified by PCR using Q5 hot start PCR master mix (New England Biolabs MA) and appropriate primers The 5′ terminal regions of the strains were amplified using the 5′ RACE System for Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends (Thermo Fisher Scientific) The nucleotide sequences of the PCR products were determined by Sanger sequencing using the BigDye Terminator system (Thermo Fisher Scientific) Vero cells were transfected with the full-length amplicon using X-tremeGENE HP DNA Transfection Reagent (Roche Diagnostics) culture supernatant was inoculated onto Vero cells and the cells were incubated at 37 °C for 4–7 days The culture broth was used as the recombinant virus solution The whole nucleotide sequences of the recovered recombinant viruses were determined as described above the E regions of the PRVABC59 genome (nucleotide positions 978–1624 and 1483–2489) were amplified by RT-PCR as described above for the generation of the E protein chimera virus The PRVABC59 E region cDNAs were ligated to PCR-amplified linearized pZV-NIID123 A1 and A2 of which the NIID123 E region was deleted The resulting clones pZV-NIID123-A1-EPRV and -A2-EPRV were used to produce chimera virus rNIID123 EPRV as described above For the generation of point mutant viruses, pZV-PRVABC59-A1 and pZV-NIID123-A1 were amplified by inverse PCR using primers with a nucleotide substitution at position 911 (positions 146 and 268 on prM and the polyprotein of ZIKV, respectively) (Supplementary Table S2) and the amplicons were circularized using the In-Fusion HD cloning kit The resulting clones pZV-PRVABC59-A1-prML146F and pZV-NIID123-A1-prMF146L were used to produce point mutant viruses rPRVABC59 prML146F and rNIID123 prMF146L heat-inactivated anti-ZIKV (PRVABC59) serum from ZIKV-infected mice (described below) and horseradish peroxidase-conjugated anti-mouse IgG goat antibody (Thermo Fisher Scientific) were used as the first and second antibody The focus was stained using a Peroxidase Stain DAB kit (Nacalai Tesque) Virus titers were compared using repeated-measures analysis of variance Viral RNA copy numbers were compared using the Kruskal–Wallis test followed by the Mann–Whitney test in which the p-value was adjusted by the Bonferroni method The testes of ZIKV- or mock-inoculated mice were weighed and the mean and standard deviation (SD) of the testis weight in the mock-inoculated group were calculated A weight below the mean minus 3SDs of testis weight of mock group was defined as atrophy The ratios of atrophied to total testes in the groups were compared using Fisher’s exact test Vero cells in a 25-cm2 flask were inoculated with rNIID123 EPRV at an MOI of 0.001 ffu/cell and were incubated at 37 °C for 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