The parameterization of the magnitude and the energy dependence of the E1 gamma-ray strength function for the calculation of neutron- and proton-induced capture cross sections and capture gamma-ray spectra is investigated. The energy-dependent Breit-Wigner (EDBW) is reparameterized incorporating a more general expression for the Breit-Wigner line shape. Evaluation of the reparameterized E1 gamma-ray strength function is discussed. (WHK)

It has often been reported that, in mass regions corresponding to peaks in the neutron strength function, nonstatistical mechanisms contribute a significant or even major portion of the average radiation width in the beginning of the resonance region. This could severely limit the possibility of calculating caputure cross sections for targets where experimental data are lacking, because such direct effects are sensitive to the detailed nuclear level structure in the daughter nucleus. The reaction /sup 98/Mo+n was examined for neutrons in the 1 keV to 3 MeV energy range, because this case is often cited as one of the clearest examples of valence neutron capture effects. Preliminary calculations are presented which suggest that these nonstatistical effects rapidly disappear when measurements from even a small number of resonances are averaged.

The control system for the Nova laser must operate reliably in a harsh pulse power environment and satisfy requirements of technical functionality, flexibility, maintainability and operability. It is composed of four fundamental subsystems: Power Conditioning, Alignment, Laser Diagnostics, and Target Diagnostics, together with a fifth, unifying subsystem called Central Controls. The system architecture utilizes a collection of distributed microcomputers, minicomputers, and components interconnected through high speed fiber optic communications systems. The design objectives, development strategy and architecture of the overall control system and each of its four fundamental subsystems are discussed. Specific hardware and software developments in several areas are also covered.

Nearly half of the US utility-owned steam electric generating capacity is cooled by once-through cooling systems. These plants withdraw cooling water primarily from surface water bodies. Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act requires that the location, design, construction, and capacity of cooling water intake structures reflect the best technology available (BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental impacts. At present, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not yet promulgated applicable implementing regulations governing intake structures; however, the Agency is required by a Consent Decree to develop such regulations. EPA has presented a draft tiered regulatory framework approach that, depending on site-specific factors, may impose various regulatory burdens on affected utilities. Potential new requirements could range from compiling and submitting existing data to demonstrate that existing conditions at each unit represent BTA to retrofitting plants with closed-cycle cooling systems (primarily cooling towers). If the final regulations require installation of cooling towers or implementation of other costly plant modifications, utilities may elect to close some generating units rather than invest the finds necessary to upgrade them to meet the Section 316(b) requirements. Potentially, some regions of the country may then have a higher proportion of closed units than others, leading to a …

The Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) is a joint Department of Energy/Industry sponsored engineering-scale facility for testing advanced coal-based power generation technologies. High temperature, high pressure gas cleaning is critical to many of these advanced technologies. Barrier filter elements that can operate continuously for nearly 9000 hours are required for a successful gas cleaning system for use in commercial power generation. Since late 1999, the Kellogg Brown & Root Transport reactor at the PSDF has been operated in gasification mode. This paper describes the test results for filter elements operating in the Siemens-Westinghouse particle collection device (PCD) with the Transport reactor in gasification mode. Operating conditions in the PCD have varied during gasification operation as described elsewhere in these proceedings (Martin et al, 2002).

Computational chemists are using Common Component Architecture (CCA) technology to increase the parallel scalability of their application ten-fold. Combustion researchers are publishing science faster because the CCA manages software complexity for them. Both the solver and meshing communities in SciDAC are converging on community interface standards as a direct response to the novel level of interoperability that CCA presents. Yet, there is much more to do before component technology becomes mainstream computational science. This paper highlights the impact that the CCA has made on scientific applications, conveys some lessons learned from five years of the SciDAC program, and previews where applications could go with the additional capabilities that the CCA has planned for SciDAC 2.

We have begun building the ''Mercury'' laser system as the first in a series of new generation diode-pumped solid-state lasers for inertial fusion research. Mercury will integrate three key technologies: diodes, crystals, and gas cooling, within a unique laser architecture that is scalable to kilojoule energy levels for fusion energy applications. The primary performance goals include 10% electrical efficiencies at 10 Hz and 100 J with a 2-10 ns pulse length at 1.047 pm wavelength. When completed, Mercury will allow rep-rated target experiments with multiple target chambers for high energy density physics research.

We report results from the first experiments to explore the evolution of the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability from intentionally three-dimensional (3D) initial conditions at an embedded, decelerating interface in a high-Reynolds-number flow. The experiments used {approx}5 kJ of laser energy to produce a blast wave in polyimide and/or brominated plastic having an initial pressure of {approx}50 Mbars. This blast wave shocked and then decelerated the perturbed interface between first material and a lower-density, C foam. This caused the formation of a decelerating interface with an Atwood number {approx}2/3, producing a long-term positive growth rate for the RT instability. The initial perturbations were a 3D perturbation in an ''egg-crate'' pattern with feature spacings of 71 {micro}m in two orthogonal directions and peak-to-valley amplitudes of 5 {micro}m. The resulting RT spikes were observed to overtake the shock waves at the undisturbed, ''free-fall'' rate, and to subsequently deliver material from behind the interface to the forward shock. This result is unanticipated by prior simulations and models.

A key problem in making precise perturbative QCD predictions is the uncertainty in determining the renormalization scale {mu} of the running coupling {alpha}{sub s}({mu}{sup 2}): The purpose of the running coupling in any gauge theory is to sum all terms involving the {beta} function; in fact, when the renormalization scale is set properly, all non-conformal {beta} {ne} 0 terms in a perturbative expansion arising from renormalization are summed into the running coupling. The remaining terms in the perturbative series are then identical to that of a conformal theory; i.e., the corresponding theory with {beta} = 0. The resulting scale-fixed predictions using the 'principle of maximum conformality' (PMC) are independent of the choice of renormalization scheme - a key requirement of renormalization group invariance. The results avoid renormalon resummation and agree with QED scale-setting in the Abelian limit. The PMC is also the theoretical principle underlying the BLM procedure, commensurate scale relations between observables, and the scale-setting method used in lattice gauge theory. The number of active flavors nf in the QCD {beta} function is also correctly determined. We discuss several methods for determining the PMC/BLM scale for QCD processes. We show that a single global PMC scale, valid at leading …

Shewanella spp. are a group of facultative anaerobic bacteria widely distributed in marine and fresh-water environments. In this study, we profiled the central metabolic fluxes of eight recently sequenced Shewanella species grown under the same condition in minimal med-ium with [3-13C] lactate. Although the tested Shewanella species had slightly different growth rates (0.23-0.29 h31) and produced different amounts of acetate and pyruvate during early exponential growth (pseudo-steady state), the relative intracellular metabolic flux distributions were remarkably similar. This result indicates that Shewanella species share similar regulation in regard to central carbon metabolic fluxes under steady growth conditions: the maintenance of metabolic robustness is not only evident in a single species under genetic perturbations (Fischer and Sauer, 2005; Nat Genet 37(6):636-640), but also observed through evolutionary related microbial species. This remarkable conservation of relative flux profiles through phylogenetic differences prompts us to introduce the concept of metabotype as an alternative scheme to classify microbial fluxomics. On the other hand, Shewanella spp. display flexibility in the relative flux profiles when switching their metabolism from consuming lactate to consuming pyruvate and acetate.

MannDB was created to meet a need for rapid, comprehensive automated protein sequence analyses to support selection of proteins suitable as targets for driving the development of reagents for pathogen or protein toxin detection. Because a large number of open-source tools were needed, it was necessary to produce a software system to scale the computations for whole-proteome analysis. Thus, we built a fully automated system for executing software tools and for storage, integration, and display of automated protein sequence analysis and annotation data. MannDB is a relational database that organizes data resulting from fully automated, high-throughput protein-sequence analyses using open-source tools. Types of analyses provided include predictions of cleavage, chemical properties, classification, features, functional assignment, post-translational modifications, motifs, antigenicity, and secondary structure. Proteomes (lists of hypothetical and known proteins) are downloaded and parsed from Genbank and then inserted into MannDB, and annotations from SwissProt are downloaded when identifiers are found in the Genbank entry or when identical sequences are identified. Currently 36 open-source tools are run against MannDB protein sequences either on local systems or by means of batch submission to external servers. In addition, BLAST against protein entries in MvirDB, our database of microbial virulence factors, is performed. A …

Plasmodium falciparum is unable to synthesize purine bases and relies upon purine salvage and purine recycling to meet its purine needs. We report that purines formed as products of the polyamine pathway are recycled in a novel pathway in which 5'-methylthioinosine is generated by adenosine deaminase. The action of P. falciparum purine nucleoside phosphorylase is a convergent step of purine salvage, converting both 5'-methylthioinosine and inosine to hypoxanthine. We used accelerator mass spectrometry to verify that 5'-methylthioinosine is an active nucleic acid precursor in P. falciparum. Prior studies have shown that inhibitors of purine salvage enzymes kill malaria, but potent malaria-specific inhibitors of these enzymes have not previously been described. 5'-methylthio-Immucillin-H, a transition state analogue inhibitor that is selective for malarial over human purine nucleoside phosphorylase, kills P. falciparum in culture. Immucillins are currently in clinical trials for other indications and may have application as antimalarials.

A semi-analytical solution is developed for one-dimensional steady infiltration in unsaturated fractured rock. The differential form of the mass conservation equation is integrated to yield an analytical expression relating elevation to a function of capillary pressure and relative permeability of the fracture and rock matrix. Constitutive relationships for unsaturated flow in this analysis are taken from van Genuchten [1980] and Mualem [1976], but alternative relations can also be implemented in the integral solution. Expressions are presented for the liquid saturations and pore velocities in the fracture, matrix, and effective continuum materials as a function of capillary pressure and elevation. Results of the analytical solution are applied to examples of infiltration in fractured rock consisting of both homogeneous and composite (layered) domains. The analytical results are also compared to numerical simulations to demonstrate the use of the analytical solution as a benchmarking tool to address computational issues such as grid refinement.

We report a novel sol-gel dip-coating process to form dual-layer microporous silica membranes with improved membrane performance and reproducibility. First, we deposit a surfactant-templated silica (STS) intermediate layer on top of a commercial {gamma}-alumina support both to improve its ''surface finish'' and to prevent a subsequently deposited microporous overlayer from penetrating into the support. Second, membranes are processed under clean room conditions to avoid dust contamination and, third, membranes are vacuum-calcined to promote further pore shrinkage and impart surface hydrophobicity. The resulting asymmetric membrane exhibits a gradual change in pore diameter from 50{angstrom} ({gamma}-alumina support layer) to 10-12{angstrom} (STS intermediate layer), and then to 3-4{angstrom} (30nm thick, ultramicroporous silica top-layer). Compared to a single-layer process using only the microporous overlayer, the dual-layer process improves both flux and selectivity. For the industrially important problem of natural gas purification, the combined CO{sub 2} flux [(3{approx} 0.5) x 10{sup {minus}4} cm{sup 3}(STP)/(s{center_dot}cm{sup 2}{center_dot}cm-Hg)] and CO{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} separation factors [200{approx}600] are superior to all previously reported values for separation of a 50/50 (v/v) CO{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} gas mixture. In addition, the membrane selectively separated hydrogen from a simulated reformate from partial oxidation of methanol as evidenced by a high concentration of hydrogen recovery.

The IR spectra and normal-mode analysis of the adamantane-like compound [Mn4O6(bpea)4]n+ in two oxidation states, MnIV4 and MnIIIMnIV3, that are relevant to the oxygen-evolving complex of photosystem II are presented. Mn-O vibrational modes are identified with isotopic exchange, 16O->18O, of the mono-(mu)-oxo bridging atoms in the complex. IR spectra of the MnIIIMnIV3 species are obtained by electrochemical reduction of the MnIV4 species using a spectroelectrochemical cell, based on attenuated total reflection [Visser et al. Anal Chem 2001, 73, 4374-4378]. A novel method of subtraction is used to reduce background contributions from solvent and ligand modes, and the difference and double-difference spectra are used in identifying Mn-O bridging modes that are sensitive to oxidation state change. Two strong IR bands are observed for the MnIV4 species at 745 and 707 cm-1 and a weaker band at 510 cm-1. Upon reduction, the MnIIIMnIV3 species exhibits two strong IR bands at 745 and 680 cm-1, and several weaker bands are observed in the 510 - 425 cm-1 range. A normal mode analysis is performed to assign all the relevant bridging modes in the oxidized MnIV4 and reduced MnIIIMnIV3 species. The calculated force constants for the MnIV4 species are = 3.15 mdynAngstrom, = 0.55 …

Control Banding (CB) strategies offer simplified solutions for controlling worker exposures to constituents often encountered in the workplace. The original CB model was developed within the pharmaceutical industry; however, the modern movement involves models developed for non-experts to input hazard and exposure potential information for bulk chemical processes, receiving control advice as a result. The CB approach utilizes these models for the dissemination of qualitative and semi-quantitative risk assessment tools being developed to complement the traditional industrial hygiene model of air sampling and analysis. It is being applied and tested in small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) within developed countries and industrially developing countries; however, large enterprises (LEs) have also incorporated these strategies within chemical safety programs. Existing research of the components of the most available CB model, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Essentials, has shown that exposure bands do not always provide adequate margins of safety, that there is a high rate of under-control errors, that it works better with dusts than with vapors, that there is an inherent inaccuracy in estimating variability, and that when taken together the outcomes of this model may lead to potentially inappropriate workplace confidence in chemical exposure reduction in some …

These proceedings contain papers prepared for the 28th Seismic Research Review: Ground-Based Nuclear Explosion Monitoring Technologies, held 19-21 September, 2006 in Orlando, Florida. These papers represent the combined research related to ground-based nuclear explosion monitoring funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC), Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), US Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), and other invited sponsors. The scientific objectives of the research are to improve the United States capability to detect, locate, and identify nuclear explosions. The purpose of the meeting is to provide the sponsoring agencies, as well as potential users, an opportunity to review research accomplished during the preceding year and to discuss areas of investigation for the coming year. For the researchers, it provides a forum for the exchange of scientific information toward achieving program goals, and an opportunity to discuss results and future plans. Paper topics include: seismic regionalization and calibration; detection and location of sources; wave propagation from source to receiver; the nature of seismic sources, including mining practices; hydroacoustic, infrasound, and radionuclide methods; on-site inspection; and data processing.

This article examines the relationships of the perceived motivational climate created by coaches (task-involving vs. ego-involving), athletes’ mindset (growth vs. fixed) and goal orientation (task vs. ego), to their grit. within the framework of achievement motivation theory.

The initial objective of this study was to better understand the reasons for the substantial increase in filter DP that was observed after the gasifier recycle loop modifications. Beyond this specific objective, a secondary goal was to develop a meaningful method of evaluating the effect of particle size and other particle properties on dustcake drag and filter DP. As mentioned earlier, the effect of particle size on dustcake drag and filter DP can be a very important consideration in the selection and specification of a precleaner cyclone for use upstream of the hot-gas filter. Installing a cyclone ahead of a hot-gas filter will reduce the transient areal loading of dust to the filter, but the beneficial effect of the reduced areal loading may be offset by an increase in drag associated with a finer particle-size distribution. The overall goal of this study was to better understand these tradeoffs and to ultimately develop a procedure that would be useful in analyzing the performance of hot-gas filters and in sizing new hot-gas filters. In addition to the obvious effects of a cyclone on dust loading and particle size, other indirect effects on particulate properties and flow resistance may occur when the cyclone …

A prompt gamma-ray neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) system was evaluated for the quantification of chlorinated compounds in soil. The system evaluation was divided into two phases. In phase one, the response of an n-type HPGe detector (20 percent relative efficiency) to point sources of 60Co and 152Eu was determined experimentally and used to calibrate an MCNP4a model of the detector. The refined MCNP4a detector model can predict the absolute peak detection efficiency within 7 percent in the energy range of 120 - 1400 keV. In phase two, a PGNAA system consisting of a light-water moderated 252Cf (1.06 mg) neutron source, and the shielded and collimated HPGe detector was used to collect prompt gamma-ray spectra from Savannah River Site (SRS) soil spiked with chlorine. The experimental system response was used to calculate the minimum detectable concentration of chlorine in the SRS soil for a 1800 sec. irradiation as 2200 mg/g based on the analysis of the 788 keV gamma-ray. MCNP4a was used to predict the PGNAA system response, which was accomplished by analyzing the neutron and gamma ray transport components separately. In the energy range of 788 to 6110 keV, the MCNP4a predictions were generally within 60 percent of the calculated …

This article studies special infinite iterated function systems derived from complex continued fraction expansions with restricted entries.

Coal gasification produces residual particles of coal char, coal ash, and sorbent that are suspended in the fuel gas stream exiting the gasifier. In most cases, these particles (referred to, hereafter, simply as char) must be removed from the stream prior to sending the gas to a turbine, fuel cell, or other downstream device. Currently, the most common approach to cleaning the gas stream at high temperature and pressure is by filtering the particulate with a porous ceramic or metal filter. However, because these dusts frequently have small size distributions, irregular morphology, and high specific surface areas, they can have very high gas flow resistance resulting in hot-gas filter system operating problems. Typical of gasification chars, the hot-gas filter dustcakes produced at the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) during recent coal gasification tests have had very high flow resistance (Martin et al, 2002). The filter system has been able to successfully operate, but pressure drops have been high and filter cleaning must occur very frequently. In anticipation of this problem, a study was conducted to investigate ways of reducing dustcake pressure drop. This paper will discuss the efficacy of adding low-flow-resistance particulate matter to the high-flow-resistance char dustcake to reduce …

This paper presents a survey of the present theoretical understanding based on advanced analytical and numerical studies of collective processes and beam-plasma interactions in intense heavy ion beams for applications to ion-beam-driven high energy density physics and heavy ion fusion. The topics include: discussion of the conditions for quiescent beam propagation over long distances; and the electrostatic Harris instability and the transverse electromagnetic Weibel instability in highly anisotropic, intense one-component ion beams. In the longitudinal drift compression and transverse compression regions, collective processes associated with the interaction of the intense ion beam with a charge-neutralizing background plasma are described, including the electrostatic electron-ion two-stream instability, the multispecies electromagnetic Weibel instability, and collective excitations in the presence of a solenoidal magnetic field. The effects of a velocity tilt on reducing two-stream instability growth rates are also discussed. Operating regimes are identified where the possible deleterious effects of collective processes on beam quality are minimized.

The Interfacing Microbiology and Biotechnology Conference was attended by over 100 faculty, post-docs, students, and research scientists from the US, Europe, and Latin America. The conference successfully stimulated communication and the dissemination of knowledge among scientists involved in basic and applied research. The focus of the conference was on microbial physiology and genetics and included sessions on C1 metabolism, archaeal metabolism, proteases and chaperones, gene arrays, and metabolic engineering. The meeting provided the setting for in-depth discussions between scientists who are internationally recognized for their research in these fields. The following objectives were met: (1) The promotion of interaction and future collaborative projects among scientists involved in basic and applied research which incorporates microbial physiology, genetics, and biochemistry; (2) the facilitation of communication of new research findings through seminars, posters, and abstracts; (3 ) the stimulation of enthusiasm and education among participants including graduate and undergraduate students.