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The goal of this project is to develop forensic genotyping assays for select agent viruses, addressing a significant capability gap for the viral bioforensics and law enforcement community. We used a multipronged approach combining bioinformatics analysis, PCR-enriched samples, microarrays and TaqMan assays to develop high resolution and cost effective genotyping methods for strain level forensic discrimination of viruses. We have leveraged substantial experience and efficiency gained through year 1 on software development, SNP discovery, TaqMan signature design and phylogenetic signature mapping to scale up the development of forensics signatures in year 2. In this report, we have summarized the Taqman signature development for South American hemorrhagic fever viruses, tick-borne encephalitis viruses and henipaviruses, Old World Arenaviruses, filoviruses, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, Rift Valley fever virus and Japanese encephalitis virus.

The overall goal of this project is to forensically characterize 100 unknown Burkholderia isolates in the US-Australia collaboration. We will identify genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from B. pseudomallei and near neighbor species including B. mallei, B. thailandensis and B. oklahomensis. We will design microarray probes to detect these SNP markers and analyze 100 Burkholderia genomic DNAs extracted from environmental, clinical and near neighbor isolates from Australian collaborators on the Burkholderia SNP microarray. We will analyze the microarray genotyping results to characterize the genetic diversity of these new isolates and triage the samples for whole genome sequencing. In this interim report, we described the SNP analysis and the microarray probe design for the Burkholderia SNP microarray.

Technical support is important for all U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facilities facing difficult technical issues, aggressive remediation schedules, and tight budgets. It is especially vital for closure sites, which typically are smaller and have fewer resources available to apply to remediation activities. In many cases, closure sites and other small sites no longer have staff with the expertise required to overcome technical barriers on their own. As closure deadlines approach, special technical expertise is needed to identify, evaluate, and implement new and innovative approaches that will result in significant cost and schedule improvement for the waste disposition pathway. Site ''problem holders'' must have access to world-class scientific and engineering expertise from DOE national laboratories and research facilities, private industry, and universities to address immediate critical problems. In order to have confidence in the feasibility and results of innovative approaches, site contractors need to have the benefit of the valuable experiences of technicians who have faced similar problems and found solutions. The DOE Environmental Management (EM) Science and Technology (S&T) program recognizes the need of the closure sites to solve problems aggressively and is highly responsive to this need. Technical support from the S&T program can take many forms, such …

Preliminary geologic map of the Verdure 4 SW quadrangle, San Juan County, Utah

The differential cross sections for elastic scattering of 14-Mev neutrons from nitrogen and oxygen were measured in the angular range from 17 to 140 deg , using liquid targets and annular ring geometry. Inelastic scattering to the 2.31 and 3.95-Mev levels in N/sup 14/ and to the levels near 6 and 7 Mev in O/sup 16/ was investigated over a more restricted angular range. The 2.31-Mev level in N/sup 14/ was not excited appreciably, in disagreement with previously reported results. For both elements, the elastic scattering cross sections (determined to an accuracy of 10%) were found to be appreciably higher than the optical model predictions by Rjorklund and Fernbach for scatterirg angles larger than 70 deg . The inelastic cross sections measured are, within experimental accuracy, the same as the corresponding (p,p') cross sections. (auth)

We have studied the spin relaxation in diluted spin ice Ho{sub 2-x} Y{sub x} Ti{sub 2}O{sub 7} by means of neutron spin echo spectroscopy. Remarkably, the geometrical frustration is not relieved by doping with non-magnetic Y, and the dynamics of the freezing is unaltered in the spin echo time window up to x {approx_equal} 1.6. At higher doping with non-magnetic Y (x {ge} 1.6) a new relaxation process at relatively high temperature (up to at least T {approx_equal} 55 K) appears which is more than 10 times faster than the thermally activated main relaxation process. We find evidence that over the whole range of composition all Ho spins participate in the dynamics. These results are compared to a.c. susceptibility measurements of the diluted Ho and Dy spin ice systems. X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra and x-ray diffraction show that the samples are structurally well ordered.

During the last few decades interest in negative-hydrogen ion sources has been directed mainly toward synchrotron and other particle accelerator applications, with emphasis on high current densities delivered for short pulses. But within the last several years there has been an awareness in the magnetic fusion program of the future need for negative ions as a means for generating high energy neutral beams, beams with energies above a few hundred keV. Negative ions seem to be the only effective intermediary for efficiently producing such beams. Although methods for generating negative ion beams have relied upon synchrotron concepts, the requirements for fusion are very different: here one is interested in more moderate current densities, up to 100 m A cm/sup -2/, but with continuous operation. Proposed source modules would accelerate of the order of 10 A of beam current and deliver several megawatts of beam power. Both H/sup -/ and D/sup -/ beams are being considered for application in different reactor systems. The conceptualization of negative ion sources is now in a very volatile stage. But of the great variety of proposals that have been offered to date, three general areas appear ready for development. These are: first, the double charge …

Nuclear fission can meet humanity's disparate requirements for carbon-free energy throughout this century and for millennia to come - not only for electricity but also as a source of hydrogen for transportation fuels and a heat source for desalination. However, most countries are not pursuing fission as an option for future energy and global climate needs. One paramount reason is diminished public acceptance over concerns of waste disposal. We would also add 'fuel resources' as a major future concern, because fission is not sustainable in the long term with the present 'once-through' fuel that utilizes less than 1% of the mined uranium and consigns its fertile potential to a permanent waste repository. Accordingly, global scale fission will become attainable (i.e., doable) if and when an integrated solution to this overall 'fuel-cycle' problem is realized. It is the back-end of the fuel cycle - i.e., the need for permanent storage of spent fuel and high-level waste - that has become the focus of much of the criticism. In particular, the construction and implementation of permanent waste repositories such as Yucca Mountain is becoming increasingly problematic from a financial and political perspective. The major shortcoming of these conventional repositories is that they …

In information theory, a signature is characterized by the information content as well as noise statistics of the communication channel. Biosignatures have analogous properties. A biosignature can be associated with a particular attribute of a pathogen or a host. However, the signature may be lost in backgrounds of similar or even identical signals from other sources. In this paper, we highlight statistical and signal processing challenges associated with identifying good biosignatures for pathogens in host and other environments. In some cases it may be possible to identify useful signatures of pathogens through indirect but amplified signals from the host. Discovery of these signatures requires new approaches to modeling and data interpretation. For environmental biosignal collections, it is possible to use signal processing techniques from other applications (e.g., synthetic aperture radar) to track the natural progression of microbes over large areas. We also present a computer-assisted approach to identify unique nucleic-acid based microbial signatures. Finally, an understanding of host-pathogen interactions will result in better detectors as well as opportunities in vaccines and therapeutics.

Initial results from a study of EUV emissions from the 2XIIB experiment are reported. Time-dependent brightness measurements of deuterium, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and titanium emissions from the central 2XIIB plasma have been made. The deuterium Lyman alpha brightness is 1.5 x 10/sup 17/ photons sec/sup -1/cm/sup -2/sr/sup -1/. The Lyman alpha time development and broad spectral profile are consistent with other knowledge of the 2XIIB plasma. Oxygen is the dominant impurity in 2XIIB. The 0 VI 1032 A brightness is 1.65 x 10/sup 18/ photons sec/sup -1/cm/sup -2/sr/sup -1/. The oxygen concentration is 2% and its estimated confinement lifetime is 300 ..mu..s; this may imply mirror confinement of the oxygen ions. Nitrogen and carbon concentrations are 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively. It is not certain whether these impurities are mirror confined. The titanium concentration is believed to be low compared to that of oxygen. The power loss from the central plasma due to radiation by and ionization of light impurities is approximately 60 kW, which is 4% of the power deposited by the neutral beams. Further studies of impurity sources and penetration are now being performed.

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This is Revision 1 to the M{ampersand}O Contractor Plan for Transition to the Project Hanford Management Contractor.

Oxygen self-diffusion in PuO/sub 1.995/ was calculated from rate constants obtained for the parabolic oxidation of the Pu-1 wt % Ga alloy in 500-torr dry air between 250 and 480/degree/C. The activation energy for oxygen vacancy diffusion in the n-type PuO/sub 2-x/ is 22.6 kcal/mole. Results from this investigation are compared with other reported results, and possible explanation for the difference in results is discussed. 21 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

This report discusses issues regarding the Presidential Nomination Process including information about the 2008 election, calendar changes from 1988 to 2008, changes to national party rules for 2012, an evaluation of the primary system, reform proposals, and legislative considerations.

The proposed weld modifications for LOFT DTT's planned for future use in nuclear blowdown experiments are described. The attached calculations provide the basis for the statements concerning weld modifications.

This report discusses the process for appointing Supreme Court Justices. Each appointment to the nine-member Court is of consequence because of the enormous judicial power that the Court exercises, separate from, and independent of, the executive and legislative branches.

The results are presented of stress analysis and evaluation of the drag-disc turbine transducer (DTT) shroud and cover welds used in the Loss-of-Fluid Test (LOFT) facility. The analysis concerns LOFT DTTs currently installed and/or planned for use in future experiments by LOFT Experimental Measurements Branch personnel. Thermal/hydraulic conditions for Experiments L1-5 and L2-4 (for all nuclear tests) were used to predict the loads experienced by the various shroud and cover welds. The results of this analysis include minimum fatigue life for all subject welds, and Applied Mechanics Branch recommendations for improving the structural integrity of critically stressed welds.

The numerical methods used in the full particle-orbit following SPIRAL code are described and a number of physics studies performed with the code are presented to illustrate its capabilities. The SPIRAL code is a test-particle code and is a powerful numerical tool to interpret and plan fast-ion experiments in Tokamaks. Gyro-orbit effects are important for fast ions in low-field machines such as NSTX and to a lesser extent in DIII-D. A number of physics studies are interlaced between the description of the code to illustrate its capabilities. Results on heat loads generated by a localized error-field on the DIII-D wall are compared to measurements. The enhanced Triton losses caused by the same localized error-field are calculated and compared to measured neutron signals. MHD activity such as tearing modes and Toroidicity-induced Alfven Eigenmodes (TAEs) have a profound effect on the fast-ion content of Tokamak plasmas and SPIRAL can calculate the effects of MHD activity on the confined and lost fast-ion population as illustrated for a burst of TAE activity in NSTX. The interaction between Ion Cyclotron Range of Frequency (ICRF) heating and fast ions depends solely on the gyro-motion of the fast ions and is captured exactly in the SPIRAL code. …

This paper investigates ballasting and remineralization controls of carbon sedimentation in the twilight zone (100-1000 m) of the Southern Ocean. Size-fractionated (<1 {micro}m, 1-51 {micro}m, >51 {micro}m) suspended particulate matter was collected by large volume in-situ filtration from the upper 1000 m in the Subantarctic (55 S, 172 W) and Antarctic (66 S, 172 W) zones of the Southern Ocean during the Southern Ocean Iron Experiment (SOFeX) in January-February 2002. Particles were analyzed for major chemical constituents (POC, P, biogenic Si, CaCO3), and digital and SEM image analyses of particles were used to aid in the interpretation of the chemical profiles. Twilight zone waters at 66 S in the Antarctic had a steeper decrease in POC with depth than at 55 S in the Subantarctic, with lower POC concentrations in all size fractions at 66 S than at 55 S, despite up to an order of magnitude higher POC in surface waters at 66 S. The decay length scale of >51 {micro}m POC was significantly shorter in the upper twilight zone at 66 S ({delta}{sub e}=26 m) compared to 55 S ({delta}{sub e}=81 m). Particles in the carbonate-producing 55 S did not have higher excess densities than particles from the …

Report describes the structural and stratigraphic framework, depositional environment, and petrology and petrography of the various Pennsylvanian-Permian time and rock units present in Oklahoma. This report identifies five geologic settings favorable for the localization of uranium, such as alluvial fan deposits, oil-productive structures where Permian sandstones are altered, tidal-flat sandstone-silstones, channel sandstones on gentle structural features, and oil-productive Cherokee sandstones.

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