Newsletter published by the Texas Department of Transportation for TxDOT employees including information about the organization, projects throughout the state, and other topics related to transportation in Texas.

This report presents a review and evaluation of software and codes that have been used to support Sandia National Laboratories concentrating solar power (CSP) program. Additional software packages developed by other institutions and companies that can potentially improve Sandia's analysis capabilities in the CSP program are also evaluated. The software and codes are grouped according to specific CSP technologies: power tower systems, linear concentrator systems, and dish/engine systems. A description of each code is presented with regard to each specific CSP technology, along with details regarding availability, maintenance, and references. A summary of all the codes is then presented with recommendations regarding the use and retention of the codes. A description of probabilistic methods for uncertainty and sensitivity analyses of concentrating solar power technologies is also provided.

Based on a widely cited September, 1999 report by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, nearly 11 million tons of asphalt roofing shingle wastes are produced in the United States each year. Recent data suggests that the total is made up of about 9.4 million tons from roofing tear-offs and about 1.6 million tons from manufacturing scrap. Developing beneficial uses for these materials would conserve natural resources, promote protection of the environment and strengthen the economy. This project explored the feasibility of using chipped asphalt shingle materials in cement manufacturing kilns and circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers. A method of enhancing the value of chipped shingle materials for use as fuel by removing certain fractions for use as substitute raw materials for the manufacture of new shingles was also explored. Procedures were developed to prevent asbestos containing materials from being processed at the chipping facilities, and the frequency of the occurrence of asbestos in residential roofing tear-off materials was evaluated. The economic feasibility of each potential use was evaluated based on experience gained during the project and on a review of the well established use of shingle materials in hot mix asphalt. This project demonstrated that chipped asphalt shingle materials …

The EMSL Quarterly Highlights Report covers the science, staff and user recognition, and publication activities that occurred during the 1st quarter (October 2007 - December 2007) of Fiscal Year 2008.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management conducted annual sampling at the Rulison, Colorado site, for the Long-Term Hydrologic Monitoring Program (LTHMP) on May 12, and 13, 2008. Samples were analyzed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Radiation&Indoor Environments National Laboratory in Las Vegas, Nevada. Samples were analyzed for gamma-emitting radionuclides by high-resolution gamma spectroscopy and tritium using the conventional and enriched methods

Document discussing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, outlining its organizational structure, and the responsibilities of various departments.

This report provides an overview of the process for filling positions to which the President makes appointments with the advice and consent of the Senate (PAS positions). It also identifies, for the 109th Congress, all nominations to executive level full-time positions in the 15 departments. Profiles of the departments provide basic information regarding their full-time PAS positions and related appointment activity during the 109th Congress.

This is the first annual report of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Neutron Sciences Directorate for calendar year 2007. It describes the neutron science facilities, current developments, and future plans; highlights of the year's activities and scientific research; and information on the user program. It also contains information about education and outreach activities and about the organization and staff. The Neutron Sciences Directorate is responsible for operation of the High Flux Isotope Reactor and the Spallation Neutron Source. The main highlights of 2007 were highly successful operation and instrument commissioning at both facilities. At HFIR, the year began with the reactor in shutdown mode and work on the new cold source progressing as planned. The restart on May 16, with the cold source operating, was a significant achievement. Furthermore, measurements of the cold source showed that the performance exceeded expectations, making it one of the world's most brilliant sources of cold neutrons. HFIR finished the year having completed five run cycles and 5,880 MWd of operation. At SNS, the year began with 20 kW of beam power on target; and thanks to a highly motivated staff, we reached a record-breaking power level of 183 kW by the end of the …

We formulate the single transverse spin asymmetry in heavyquarkoniumproduction in lepton-nucleon and nucleon-nucleon collisionsinthe non-relativistic limit. We findthat the asymmetry is very sensitiveto the production mechanism. The finalstate interactions with the heavyquark and antiquark cancel out among themselves whenthe pair are producedin a color-single configuration, or cancel out with the initialstateinteraction in pp scattering when they are in color-octet. As aconsequence, the asymmetry is nonzero in ep collisions only in thecolor-octet model, whereas in pp collisions only in the color-singletmodel.

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The goal of this research was to examine foundational methods, both computational and theoretical, that can improve the veracity of entity-based complex system models and increase confidence in their predictions for emergent behavior. The strategy was to seek insight and guidance from simplified yet realistic models, such as cellular automata and Boolean networks, whose properties can be generalized to production entity-based simulations. We have explored the usefulness of renormalization-group methods for finding reduced models of such idealized complex systems. We have prototyped representative models that are both tractable and relevant to Sandia mission applications, and quantified the effect of computational renormalization on the predictive accuracy of these models, finding good predictivity from renormalized versions of cellular automata and Boolean networks. Furthermore, we have theoretically analyzed the robustness properties of certain Boolean networks, relevant for characterizing organic behavior, and obtained precise mathematical constraints on systems that are robust to failures. In combination, our results provide important guidance for more rigorous construction of entity-based models, which currently are often devised in an ad-hoc manner. Our results can also help in designing complex systems with the goal of predictable behavior, e.g., for cybersecurity.

The Supreme Court has expressed an interest "that Congress be able to legislate against a background of clear interpretive rules, so that it may know the effect of the language it adopts." This report identifies and describes some of the more important rules and conventions of interpretation that the Court applies. Although this report focuses primarily on the Court's methodology in construing statutory text, the Court's approach to reliance on legislative history are also briefly described.

Where Martian rocks have been exposed to liquid water, chemistry versus depth profiles could elucidate both Martian climate history and potential for life. The persistence of primary minerals in weathered profiles constrains the exposure time to liquid water: on Earth, mineral persistence times range from {approx}10 ka (olivine) to {approx}250 ka (glass) to {approx}1Ma (pyroxene) to {approx}5Ma (plagioclase). Such persistence times suggest mineral persistence minima on Mars. However, Martian solutions may have been more acidic than on Earth. Relative mineral weathering rates observed for basalt in Svalbard (Norway) and Costa Rica demonstrate that laboratory pH trends can be used to estimate exposure to liquid water both qualitatively (mineral absence or presence) and quantitatively (using reactive transport models). Qualitatively, if the Martian solution pH > {approx}2, glass should persist longer than olivine; therefore, persistence of glass may be a pH-indicator. With evidence for the pH of weathering, the reactive transport code CrunchFlow can quantitatively calculate the minimum duration of exposure to liquid water consistent with a chemical profile. For the profile measured on the surface of Humphrey in Gusev Crater, the minimum exposure time is 22 ka. If correct, this estimate is consistent with short-term, episodic alteration accompanied by ongoing surface …

This program is concerned with developing and verifying the validityof observational methods for constraining the properties of dark matter and dark energy in the universe. Excellent progress has been made in comparing observational projects involving weak gravitational lensing using both ground and space-based instruments, in further constraining the nature of dark matter via precise measures of its distribution in clusters of galaxies using strong gravitational lensing, in demonstrating the possible limitations of using distant supernovae in future dark energy missions, and in investigating the requirement for ground-based surveys of baryonic acoustic oscillations.

There exists significant prior work using tracers or pre-placed hardened markers within friction stir welding (FSWing) to experimentally explore material flow within the FSW process. Our experiments replaced markers with a thin sheet of copper foil placed between the 6061 aluminum lap and butt joints that were then welded. The absorption characteristics of x-rays for copper and aluminum are significantly different allowing for non-destructive evaluation (NDE) methods such as x-ray computed tomography (CT) to be used to demonstrate the material movement within the weldment on a much larger scale than previously shown. 3D CT reconstruction of the copper components of the weldment allows for a unique view into the final turbulent state of the welding process as process parameters are varied. The x-ray CT data of a section of the weld region was collected using a cone-beam x-ray imaging system developed at the INL. Six-hundred projections were collected over 360-degrees using a 160-kVp Bremsstrahlung x-ray generator (25-micrometer focal spot) and amorphoussilicon x-ray detector. The region of the object that was imaged was about 3cm tall and 1.5cm x 1cm in cross section, and was imaged at a magnification of about 3.6x. The data were reconstructed on a 0.5x0.5x0.5 mm3 voxel …

As the first hadron accelerator and collider consisting of two independent superconducting rings RHIC has operated with a wide range of beam energies and particle species. After a brief review of the achieved performance the presentation will give an overview of the plans, challenges and status of machine upgrades, that range from a new heavy ion pre-injector and beam cooling at 100 GeV to a high luminosity electron-ion collider.

The authors designed, implemented and tested cryogenic RF filters with zero DC resistance, based on wires with a superconducting core inside a resistive sheath. The superconducting core allows low frequency currents to pass with negligible dissipation. Signals above the cutoff frequency are dissipated in the resistive part due to their small skin depth. The filters consist of twisted wire pairs shielded with copper tape. Above approximately 1 GHz, the attenuation is exponential in {radical}{omega}, as typical for skin depth based RF filters. By using additional capacitors of 10 nF per line, an attenuation of at least 45 dB above 10 MHz can be obtained. Thus, one single filter stage kept at mixing chamber temperature in a dilution refrigerator is sufficient to attenuate room temperature black body radiation to levels corresponding to 10 mK above about 10 MHz.

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Presented in this report are radionuclide concentrations required as part of the program of qualifying Sludge Batch Five (SB5) for processing in the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). Part of this SB5 material is currently in Tank 51 being washed and prepared for transfer to Tank 40. The acceptance evaluation needs to be completed prior to the transfer of the material in Tank 51 to Tank 40 to complete the formation of SB5. The sludge slurry in Tank 40 has already been qualified for DWPF and is currently being processed as SB4. The radionuclide concentrations were measured or estimated in the Tank 51 SB5 Qualification Sample prepared at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL). This sample was prepared from the three liter sample of Tank 51 sludge slurry taken on March 21, 2008. The sample was delivered to SRNL where it was initially characterized in the Shielded Cells. Under direction of the Liquid Waste Organization it was then modified by five washes, six decants, an addition of Pu/Be from Canyon Tank 16.4, and an addition of NaNO2. This final slurry now has a composition expected to be similar to that of the slurry in Tank 51 after final preparations have been …

A tape casting procedure for fabricating ceramic magnesium oxide tapes has been developed as a method to produce flat sheets of sintered MgO that are thin and porous. Thickness of single layer tapes is in the range of 200-400 {micro}m with corresponding surface roughness values in the range of 10-20 {micro}m as measured by laser profilometry. Development of the tape casting technique required optimization of pretreatment for the starting magnesium oxide (MgO) powder as well as a detailed study of the casting slurry preparation and subsequent heat treatments for sintering and final tape flattening. Milling time of the ceramic powder, plasticizer, and binder mixture was identified as a primary factor affecting surface morphology of the tapes. In general, longer milling times resulted in green tapes with a noticeably smoother surface. This work demonstrates that meticulous control of the entire tape casting operation is necessary to obtain high-quality MgO tapes.

The authors introduce a quantitative measure of the capacity of a small biological network to evolve. The measure is applied to a stochastic description of the experimental setup of Guet et al. (Science 2002, 296, pp. 1466), treating chemical inducers as functional inputs to biochemical networks and the expression of a reporter gene as the functional output. The authors take an information-theoretic approach, allowing the system to set parameters that optimise signal processing ability, thus enumerating each network's highest-fidelity functions. All networks studied are highly evolvable by the measure, meaning that change in function has little dependence on change in parameters. Moreover, each network's functions are connected by paths in the parameter space along which information is not significantly lowered, meaning a network may continuously change its functionality without completely losing it along the way. This property further underscores the evolvability of the networks.

A report detailing the history of the offshore petroleum industry in Southern Louisiana, including accounts from people who were present.

Scientific computations and collaborations increasingly rely on the network to provide high-speed data transfer, dissemination of results, access to instruments, support for computational steering, etc. The Energy Sciences Network is establishing a science data network to provide user driven bandwidth allocation. In a shared network environment, some reservations may not be granted due to the lack of available bandwidth on any single path. In many cases, the available bandwidth across multiple paths would be sufficient to grant the reservation. In this paper we investigate how to utilize the available bandwidth across multiple paths in the case of bulk data transfer.

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