Recent work on closed string tachyon condensation suggests the existence of a 'nothing state' where closed strings and space itself vanish. We consider the evolution of D-branes in such condensation processes, focusing on what happens in the condensate itself. We find evidence that the branes exist in the region; although, generically their apparent mass grows exponentially with time. However, there exist specific branes whose boundary state is unaltered by the tachyon.

This article is a brief introduction to temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), an analytical technique devised to analyze, in this case, materials for their potential as hydrogen storage materials. The principles and requirements of TPD are explained and the different components of a generic TPD apparatus are described. The construction of a modified TPD instrument from commercially available components is reported together with the control and acquisition technique used to create a TPD spectrum. The chemical and instrumental parameters to be considered in a typical TPD experiment and the analytical utility of the technique are demonstrated by the dehydrogenation of titanium-doped NaAlH{sub 4} by means of thermally programmed desorption.

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Recently it has been suggested that global warming and a decrease in mean wind speeds over most land masses are related. Decreases in near surface wind speeds have been reported by previous investigators looking at records with time spans of 15 to 30 years. This study focuses on United States (US) surface stations that have little or no location change since the late 1940s or the 1950s--a time range of up to 58 years. Data were selected from 62 stations (24 of which had not changed location) and separated into ten groups for analysis. The group's annual averages of temperature, wind speed, and percentage of Pasquill-Gifford (PG) stability categories were fitted with linear least squares regression lines. The results showed that the temperatures have increased for eight of the ten groups as expected. Wind speeds have decreased for nine of the ten groups. The mean slope of the wind speed trend lines for stations within the coterminous US was -0.77 m s{sup -1} per century. The percentage frequency of occurrence for the neutral (D) PG stability category decreased, while that for the unstable (B) and the stable (F) categories increased in almost all cases except for the group of stations …

Amorphous and partially crystalline WO3 thin films wereprepared by reactive dual magnetron sputtering and successively implantedby erbium ions with a fluence in the range from 7.7 x 1014 to 5 x 1015ions/cm2. The electrical and optical properties were studied as afunction of the film deposition parameters and the ion fluence. Ionimplantation caused a strong decrease of the resistivity, a moderatedecrease of the index of refraction and a moderate increase of theextinction coefficient in the visible and near infrared, while theoptical band gap remained almost unchanged. These effects could belargely ascribed to ion-induced oxygen deficiency. When annealed in air,the already low resistivities of the implanted samples decreased furtherup to 70oC, whereas oxidation, and hence a strong increase of theresistivity, was observed at higher annealing temperatures.

This paper describes how a model-based systems engineering software, CORE, is helping the U. S. Department of Energy's Office of Biomass Program assist with bringing biomass-derived biofuels to the market. This software tool provides information to guide informed decision-making as biomass-to-biofuels systems are advanced from concept to commercial adoption. It facilitates management and communication of program status by automatically generating custom reports, Gantt charts, and tables using the widely available programs of Microsoft Word, Project and Excel.

We use an infrared thermal imaging system in combination with a fluorescence microscope to map the dynamics of the local surface temperature and fluorescence intensity under cw, UV excitation of laser-modified fused silica within a damage site. Based on a thermal diffusion model, we estimate the energy deposited via linear absorption mechanisms and derive the linear absorption coefficient of the modified material. The results indicate that the damage growth mechanism is not entirely based on linear absorption. Specifically, the absorption cross-section derived above would prove insufficient to cause a significant increase in the temperature of the modified material under nanosecond, pulsed excitation (via linear absorption at ICF laser fluences). In addition, irreversible changes in the absorption cross-section following extended cw, UV laser exposure were observed.

Processes of fluid flow and chemical transport through thevadose zone can be characterized through the isotopic systematics ofnatural soils, minerals, pore fluids and groundwater. In thiscontribution, we first review our research using measured isotopicvariations, due both to natural and site related processes, of theelements H, O, N, Sr and U, to study the interconnection between vadosezone and groundwater contamination at the Hanford Site in south-centralWashington. We follow this brief review with a presentation of new datapertaining to vadose zone and groundwater contamination in the WMAT-TX-TY vicinity. Uranium (U) isotopic data for the C3832 core (WMA TX)indicates the involvement of processed natural U fuel, and links theobserved U contamination to the nearby single shelled tank TX-104. Thedata also precludes contamination from an early 1970 s TX-107 leak. Inthe case of the C4104 core (WMA T), the U isotopic data indicates amixture of processed natural and enriched U fuels consistent with themajor leak from T-106 in 1973. Uranium and Strontium isotopic data forthe cores also provides direct evidence for chemical interaction betweenhigh-pH waste fluid and sediment. Isotopic data for groundwater nitratecontamination in the vicinity of WMA-T strongly suggests high-level tankwaste (most likely from T-106) as the source of very high 99Tcconcentrations recently …

Article about the Help Clifford Help Kids gala and concert held at Austin Music Hall on November 2, 2006.

Article about a party and book signing celebrating the book "Party Confidential" by Lara Shriftman and Elizabeth Harrison held on November 18, 2006.

Article about Jean Scheidnes' experience walking the runway for Stephen Moser's clothing line, Made in Heaven.

Article about Lara Shriftman and Elizabeth Harrison, co-owners of marketing, public relations, and planning firm Harrison & Shriftman and co-authors of the book "Party Confidential."

Previous algorithms for view-dependent level of detail provide local mesh refinements either at the finest granularity or at a fixed, coarse granularity. The former provides triangle-level adaptation, often at the expense of heavy CPU usage and low triangle rendering throughput; the latter improves CPU usage and rendering throughput by operating on groups of triangles. We present a new multiresolution hierarchy and associated algorithms that provide adaptive granularity. This multi-grained hierarchy allows independent control of the number of hierarchy nodes processed on the CPU and the number of triangles to be rendered on the GPU. We employ a seamless texture atlas style of geometry image as a GPU-friendly data organization, enabling efficient rendering and GPU-based stitching of patch borders. We demonstrate our approach on both large triangle meshes and terrains with up to billions of vertices.

We propose a collective Thomson scattering experiment at the VUV free electron laser facility at DESY (FLASH) which aims to diagnose warm dense matter at near-solid density. The plasma region of interest marks the transition from an ideal plasma to a correlated and degenerate many-particle system and is of current interest, e.g. in ICF experiments or laboratory astrophysics. Plasma diagnostic of such plasmas is a longstanding issue. The collective electron plasma mode (plasmon) is revealed in a pump-probe scattering experiment using the high-brilliant radiation to probe the plasma. The distinctive scattering features allow to infer basic plasma properties. For plasmas in thermal equilibrium the electron density and temperature is determined from scattering off the plasmon mode.

Ytterbium doped strontium fluoroapatite Yb{sup 3+}:Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F (Yb: S-FAP) crystals have been used in High Average Power Laser systems as gain medium. Growth induced defects associated with the crystal often affect their performance. In order to improve the crystal quality and its optical applications, it is imperative to understand the nature of these defects. In this study, we utilize Micro-Raman spectroscopy to characterize two common growth-induced defects: bubble core and cloudiness. We find the bubble core consist of voids and microcrystals of Yb: S-FAP. These microcrystals have very different orientation from that of the pure crystal outside the bubble core. In contrast to a previous report, neither Sr{sub 3}(PO{sub 4}){sub 2} nor Yb{sub 2}O{sub 3} are observed in the bubble core regions. On the other hand, the cloudy regions are made up of the host materials blended with a structural deformation along with impurities which include CaCO{sub 3}, YbPO{sub 4}, SrHPO{sub 4} and Sr{sub 2}P{sub 2}O{sub 7}. The impurities are randomly distributed in the cloudy regions. This analysis is necessary for understanding and eliminating these growth defects in Yb:S-FAP crystals.

This report talks about Application of a Swelling/Shrinkage Model for Analysis of Reservoir Performance at a Field Site

Photo-oxidation of Ge nanocrystals illuminated with visible laser light under ambient conditions was investigated. The photo-oxidation kinetics were monitored by in situ measurement of the crystalline Ge volume fraction by Raman spectroscopy. The effects of laser power and energy on the extent of oxidation were measured using both in situ and ex situ Raman scattering techniques. A mechanistic model in which the tunneling of photo-excited carriers to the oxide surface for electron activated molecular oxygen dissociation is proposed. This quantitative model successfully describes all experimental photo-oxidation observations using physical parameters.

Ge nanocrystals are formed in silica by ion beam synthesis and are subsequently exposed by selective HF etching of the silica. Under ambient conditions, the exposed nanocrystals are stable after formation of a protective native oxide shell of no more than a few monolayers. However, under visible laser illumination at room temperature and in the presence of O{sub 2}, the nanocrystals rapidly oxidize. The oxidation rate was monitored by measuring the Raman spectra of the Ge nanocrystals in-situ. The intensity ratio of the anti-Stokes to the Stokes line indicated that no significant laser-induced heating of illuminated nanocrystals occurs. Therefore, the oxidation reaction rate enhancement is due to a photo-chemical process. The oxidation rate varies nearly linearly with the logarithm of the laser intensity, and at constant laser intensity the rate increases with increasing photon energy. These kinetic measurements, along with the power dependencies, are described quantitatively by an electron active oxidation mechanism involving tunneling of optically excited electrons through the forming oxide skin and subsequent transport of oxygen ions to the Ge nanocrystal surface.

Melanin production by S. algae BrY occurred during late/post-exponential growth in lactate-basal-salts liquid medium supplemented with tyrosine or phenylalanine. The antioxidant ascorbate inhibited melanin production, but not production of the melanin precursor, homogentisic acid. In the absence of ascorbate, melanin production was inhibited by the 4-hydroxyplenylpyruvate dioxygenase inhibitor, sulcotrione and Fe(II) (>0.2mM). These data support the hypothesis that pigment production by S. algae BrY was a result the conversion of tyrosine or phenylalanine to homogentisic acid which was excreted, auto-oxidized and self-polymerized to form pyomelanin. The inverse relationship between Fe(II) concentration and pyomelanin production has implications that pyomelanin may play a role in iron assimilation under Fe(II) limiting conditions.