Network Communication as a Service-Oriented Capability (open access)

Network Communication as a Service-Oriented Capability

In widely distributed systems generally, and in science-oriented Grids in particular, software, CPU time, storage, etc., are treated as"services" -- they can be allocated and used with service guarantees that allows them to be integrated into systems that perform complex tasks. Network communication is currently not a service -- it is provided, in general, as a"best effort" capability with no guarantees and only statistical predictability. In order for Grids (and most types of systems with widely distributed components) to be successful in performing the sustained, complex tasks of large-scale science -- e.g., the multi-disciplinary simulation of next generation climate modeling and management and analysis of the petabytes of data that will come from the next generation of scientific instrument (which is very soon for the LHC at CERN) -- networks must provide communication capability that is service-oriented: That is it must be configurable, schedulable, predictable, and reliable. In order to accomplish this, the research and education network community is undertaking a strategy that involves changes in network architecture to support multiple classes of service; development and deployment of service-oriented communication services, and; monitoring and reporting in a form that is directly useful to the application-oriented system so that it may …
Date: January 8, 2008
Creator: Johnston, William; Johnston, William; Metzger, Joe; Collins, Michael; Burrescia, Joseph; Dart, Eli et al.
System: The UNT Digital Library
PET IMAGING STUDIES IN DRUG ABUSE RESEARCH. (open access)

PET IMAGING STUDIES IN DRUG ABUSE RESEARCH.

There is overwhelming evidence that addiction is a disease of the brain (Leshner, 1997). Yet public perception that addiction is a reflection of moral weakness or a lack of willpower persists. The insidious consequence of this perception is that we lose sight of the fact that there are enormous medical consequences of addiction including the fact that a large fraction of the total deaths from cancer and heart disease are caused by smoking addiction. Ironically the medical school that educates physicians in addiction medicine and the cancer hospital that has a smoking cessation clinic are vanishingly rare and efforts at harm reduction are frequently met with a public indignation. Meanwhile the number of people addicted to substances is enormous and increasing particularly the addictions to cigarettes and alcohol. It is particularly tragic that addiction usually begins in adolescence and becomes a chronic relapsing problem and there are basically no completely effective treatments. Clearly we need to understand how drugs of abuse affect the brain and we need to be creative in using this information to develop effective treatments. Imaging technologies have played a major role in the conceptualization of addiction as a disease of the brain (Fowler et al., 1998a; …
Date: January 29, 2001
Creator: Fowler, J. S.; Volkow, N. D.; Ding, Y. S.; Logan, J. & Wang, G. J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cometabolic bioremediation (open access)

Cometabolic bioremediation

Cometabolic bioremediation is probably the most under appreciated bioremediation strategy currently available. Cometabolism strategies stimulate only indigenous microbes with the ability to degrade the contaminant and cosubstrate e.g. methane, propane, toluene and others. This highly targeted stimulation insures that only those microbes that can degrade the contaminant are targeted, thus reducing amendment costs, well and formation plugging, etc. Cometabolic bioremediation has been used on some of the most recalcitrant contaminants, e.g. PCE, TCE, MTBE, TNT, dioxane, atrazine, etc. Methanotrophs have been demonstrated to produce methane monooxygense, an oxidase that can degrade over 300 compounds. Cometabolic bioremediation also has the advantage of being able to degrade contaminants to trace concentrations, since the biodegrader is not dependent on the contaminant for carbon or energy. Increasingly we are finding that in order to protect human health and the environment that we must remediate to lower and lower concentrations, especially for compounds like endocrine disrupters, thus cometabolism may be the best and maybe the only possibility that we have to bioremediate some contaminants.
Date: February 15, 2009
Creator: Hazen, Terry C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Cometabolic bioremediation (open access)

Cometabolic bioremediation

This is a report on the comebiotic bioremediation which is the most under-appreciated strategy currently available.
Date: February 15, 2009
Creator: Hazen, Terry C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Optics and multilayer coatings for EUVL systems (open access)

Optics and multilayer coatings for EUVL systems

EUV lithography (EUVL) employs illumination wavelengths around 13.5 nm, and in many aspects it is considered an extension of optical lithography, which is used for the high-volume manufacturing (HVM) of today's microprocessors. The EUV wavelength of illumination dictates the use of reflective optical elements (mirrors) as opposed to the refractive lenses used in conventional lithographic systems. Thus, EUVL tools are based on all-reflective concepts: they use multilayer (ML) coated optics for their illumination and projection systems, and they have a ML-coated reflective mask.
Date: March 21, 2008
Creator: Soufli, R.; Bajt, S.; Hudyma, R. M. & Taylor, J. S.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Genome Sequence Databases (Overview): Sequencing and Assembly (open access)

Genome Sequence Databases (Overview): Sequencing and Assembly

From the date its role in heredity was discovered, DNA has been generating interest among scientists from different fields of knowledge: physicists have studied the three dimensional structure of the DNA molecule, biologists tried to decode the secrets of life hidden within these long molecules, and technologists invent and improve methods of DNA analysis. The analysis of the nucleotide sequence of DNA occupies a special place among the methods developed. Thanks to the variety of sequencing technologies available, the process of decoding the sequence of genomic DNA (or whole genome sequencing) has become robust and inexpensive. Meanwhile the assembly of whole genome sequences remains a challenging task. In addition to the need to assemble millions of DNA fragments of different length (from 35 bp (Solexa) to 800 bp (Sanger)), great interest in analysis of microbial communities (metagenomes) of different complexities raises new problems and pushes some new requirements for sequence assembly tools to the forefront. The genome assembly process can be divided into two steps: draft assembly and assembly improvement (finishing). Despite the fact that automatically performed assembly (or draft assembly) is capable of covering up to 98% of the genome, in most cases, it still contains incorrectly assembled reads. …
Date: January 1, 2009
Creator: Lapidus, Alla L.
System: The UNT Digital Library
STRATEGIES FOR QUANTIFYING PET IMAGING DATA FROM TRACER STUDIES OF BRAIN RECEPTORS AND ENZYMES. (open access)

STRATEGIES FOR QUANTIFYING PET IMAGING DATA FROM TRACER STUDIES OF BRAIN RECEPTORS AND ENZYMES.

A description of some of the methods used in neuroreceptor imaging to distinguish changes in receptor availability has been presented in this chapter. It is necessary to look beyond regional uptake of the tracer since uptake generally is affected by factors other than the number of receptors for which the tracer has affinity. An exception is the infusion method producing an equilibrium state. The techniques vary in complexity some requiring arterial blood measurements of unmetabolized tracer and multiple time uptake data. Others require only a few plasma and uptake measurements and those based on a reference region require no plasma measurements. We have outlined some of the limitations of the different methods. Laruelle (1999) has pointed out that test/retest studies to which various methods can be applied are crucial in determining the optimal method for a particular study. The choice of method will also depend upon the application. In a clinical setting, methods not involving arterial blood sampling are generally preferred. In the future techniques for externally measuring arterial plasma radioactivity with only a few blood samples for metabolite correction will extend the modeling options of clinical PET. Also since parametric images can provide information beyond that of ROI analysis, …
Date: April 2, 2001
Creator: Logan, J.
System: The UNT Digital Library
EVAPORITE MICROBIAL FILMS, MATS, MICROBIALITES AND STROMATOLITES (open access)

EVAPORITE MICROBIAL FILMS, MATS, MICROBIALITES AND STROMATOLITES

Evaporitic environments are found in a variety of depositional environments as early as the Archean. The depositional settings, microbial community and mineralogical composition vary significantly as no two settings are identical. The common thread linking all of the settings is that evaporation exceeds precipitation resulting in elevated concentrations of cations and anions that are higher than in oceanic systems. The Dead Sea and Storrs Lake are examples of two diverse modern evaporitic settings as the former is below sea level and the latter is a coastal lake on an island in the Caribbean. Each system varies in water chemistry as the Dead Sea dissolved ions originate from surface weathered materials, springs, and aquifers while Storrs Lake dissolved ion concentration is primarily derived from sea water. Consequently some of the ions, i.e., Sr, Ba are found at significantly lower concentrations in Storrs Lake than in the Dead Sea. The origin of the dissolved ions are ultimately responsible for the pH of each system, alkaline versus mildly acidic. Each system exhibits unique biogeochemical properties as the extreme environments select certain microorganisms. Storrs Lake possesses significant biofilms and stromatolitic deposits and the alkalinity varies depending on rainfall and storm activity. The microbial community …
Date: January 28, 2008
Creator: Brigmon, R; Penny Morris, P & Garriet Smith, G
System: The UNT Digital Library
Storage and turnover of organic matter in soil (open access)

Storage and turnover of organic matter in soil

Historically, attention on soil organic matter (SOM) has focused on the central role that it plays in ecosystem fertility and soil properties, but in the past two decades the role of soil organic carbon in moderating atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentrations has emerged as a critical research area. This chapter will focus on the storage and turnover of natural organic matter in soil (SOM), in the context of the global carbon cycle. Organic matter in soils is the largest carbon reservoir in rapid exchange with atmospheric CO{sub 2}, and is thus important as a potential source and sink of greenhouse gases over time scales of human concern (Fischlin and Gyalistras 1997). SOM is also an important human resource under active management in agricultural and range lands worldwide. Questions driving present research on the soil C cycle include: Are soils now acting as a net source or sink of carbon to the atmosphere? What role will soils play as a natural modulator or amplifier of climatic warming? How is C stabilized and sequestered, and what are effective management techniques to foster these processes? Answering these questions will require a mechanistic understanding of how and where C is stored in soils. The quantity …
Date: July 15, 2008
Creator: Torn, M.S.; Swanston, C.W.; Castanha, C. & Trumbore, S.E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
State Energy Program Operations Manual (Revised) (open access)

State Energy Program Operations Manual (Revised)

This manual outlines and explains in detail, the procedures state energy offices need to follow to receive grants from the U.S. Department of Energy under its State Energy Program (SEP).
Date: January 1, 2003
Creator: unknown
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Department of Energy Photovoltaic Energy Program Contract Summary: Fiscal Year 2000 (open access)

U.S. Department of Energy Photovoltaic Energy Program Contract Summary: Fiscal Year 2000

This report summarizes the in-house and subcontracted research and development (R and D) activities under the National Center for Photovoltaics (NCPV) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Photovoltaics Program from October 1, 1999, through September 30, 2000 (FY 2000). The mission of the DOE National Photovoltaics Program is to make PV a significant part of the domestic economy-as an industry and an energy resource. The two primary goals of the national program are to (1) maintain the U.S. industry's world leadership in research and technology development and (2) help the U.S. industry remain a major, profitable force in the world market. The NCPV is part of the National PV Program and provides leadership and support to the national program toward achieving its mission and goals. This Contract Summary for fiscal year (FY) 2000 documents some 179 research projects supported by the PV Program, performed by 107 organizations in 32 states, including 69 projects performed by universities and 60 projects performed by our industry partners. Of the total FY 2000 PV Program budget of $65.9 million, the industry and university research efforts received $36.9 million, or nearly 56%. And, of this amount, more than 93% was for contractors selected on …
Date: February 21, 2001
Creator: Surek, T.
System: The UNT Digital Library
U.S. Department of Energy photovoltaic energy program contract summary, fiscal year 1999 (open access)

U.S. Department of Energy photovoltaic energy program contract summary, fiscal year 1999

This report summarizes the in-house and subcontracted research and development (R and D) activities under the National Center for Photovoltaics (NCPV) and US Department of Energy (DOE) National Photovoltaics Program from October 1, 1998, through September 30, 1999 (FY 1999). The mission of the DOE National Photovoltaics Program is to make PV a significant part of the domestic economy as an industry and an energy resource. The two primary goals of the national program are to (1) maintain the US industry's world leadership in research and technology development and (2) help the US industry remain a major, profitable force in the world market. The NCPV is part of the National PV Program and provides leadership and support to the national program toward achieving its mission and goals.
Date: February 17, 2000
Creator: Surek, T. & Hansen, A.
System: The UNT Digital Library