Neutron-induced reaction cross sections are sometimes difficult to measure due to target or beam limitations. For two-step reactions proceeding through an equilibrated intermediate state, an alternate ''surrogate reaction'' technique can be applicable, and is currently undergoing investigation at LLNL. Measured decay probabilities for the intermediate nucleus formed in a light-ion reaction can be combined with optical-model calculations for the formation of the same intermediate nucleus via the neutron-induced reaction. The result is an estimation for overall (n,{gamma}/n/2n) cross sections. As a benchmark, the reaction {sup 92}Zr({alpha},{alpha}'), surrogate, for n+{sup 91}Zr, was studied at the A.W. Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory at Yale. Particles were detected in the silicon telescope STARS (Silicon Telescope Array for Reaction Studies) and {gamma}-ray energies measured with germanium clover detectors from the YRAST (Yale Rochester Array for SpecTroscopy) ball. The experiment and preliminary observations will be discussed.

This report provides a history of the creation and evolution of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Also known as the House Ethics Committee and the Committee on Standards, it was first established as a select committee in 1966. It became a standing committee in 1967. Since that time, it has undergone two major reorganizations, first in 1989, and again in 1997.

Multiple sequence alignment analysis is a powerful approach for understanding phylogenetic relationships, annotating genes and detecting functional regulatory elements. With a growing number of partly or fully sequenced vertebrate genomes, effective tools for performing multiple comparisons are required to accurately and efficiently assist biological discoveries. Here we introduce Mulan (http://mulan.dcode.org/), a novel method and a network server for comparing multiple draft and finished-quality sequences to identify functional elements conserved over evolutionary time. Mulan brings together several novel algorithms: the tba multi-aligner program for rapid identification of local sequence conservation and the multiTF program for detecting evolutionarily conserved transcription factor binding sites in multiple alignments. In addition, Mulan supports two-way communication with the GALA database; alignments of multiple species dynamically generated in GALA can be viewed in Mulan, and conserved transcription factor binding sites identified with Mulan/multiTF can be integrated and overlaid with extensive genome annotation data using GALA. Local multiple alignments computed by Mulan ensure reliable representation of short-and large-scale genomic rearrangements in distant organisms. Mulan allows for interactive modification of critical conservation parameters to differentially predict conserved regions in comparisons of both closely and distantly related species. We illustrate the uses and applications of the Mulan tool through multi-species …

Gene deserts, long stretches of DNA sequence devoid of protein coding genes, span approximately one quarter of the human genome. Through human-chicken genome comparisons we were able to characterized one third of human gene deserts as evolutionarily stable - they are highly conserved in vertebrates, resist chromosomal rearrangements, and contain multiple conserved non-coding elements physically linked to their neighboring genes. A linear relationship was observed between human and chicken orthologous stable gene deserts, where the human deserts appear to have expanded homogeneously by a uniform accumulation of repetitive elements. Stable gene deserts are associated with key vertebrate genes that construct the framework of vertebrate development; many of which encode transcription factors. We show that the regulatory machinery governing genes associated with stable gene deserts operates differently from other regions in the human genome and relies heavily on distant regulatory elements. The regulation guided by these elements is independent of the distance between the gene and its distant regulatory element, or the distance between two distant regulatory cassettes. The location of gene deserts and their associated genes in the genome is independent of chromosomal length or content presenting these regions as well-bounded regions evolving separately from the rest of the genome.

We discuss recent results from global electroweak fits and from the Tevatron and review the motivation for physics at the TeV energy scale.

We demonstrate single-shot x-ray laser induced time-of-flight photoelectron spectroscopy on metal and semiconductor surfaces with picosecond time resolution. The LLNL COMET compact tabletop x-ray laser source provides the necessary high photon flux (>10{sup 12}/pulse), monochromaticity, picosecond pulse duration, and coherence for probing ultrafast changes in the chemical and electronic structure of these materials. Static valence band and shallow core-level photoemission spectra are presented for ambient temperature polycrystalline Cu foils and Ge(100). Surface contamination was removed by UV ozone cleaning prior to analysis. The ultrafast nature of this technique lends itself to true single-state measurements of shocked and heated materials.

P.L. 104-193 (the 1996 welfare reform law) made major changes to the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program. Some of the changes include requiring states to increase the percentage of fathers identified, establishing an integrated, automated network linking all states to information about the location and assets of parents, and requiring states to implement more enforcement techniques to obtain collections from debtor parents. Additional legislative changes were made in 1997, 1998, and 1999, but not in 2000, 2001, 2002, or 2003. This report describes several aspects of the revised CSE program and discusses three issues of concern to the 108th Congress — CSE financing, parental access by noncustodial parents, and distribution of child support payments.

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Three nested molybdenum wire arrays with initial outer diameters of 45, 50, and 55 mm were imploded by the {approx} 20 MA, 90 ns rise-time current pulse of Sandia's Z accelerator. The implosions generated Mo plasmas with approximately 10% of the array's initial mass reaching Ne-like and nearby ionization stages. These ions emitted 2 - 4 keV L-shell x-rays with radiative powers approaching 10 TW. Mo L-shell spectra with axial and temporal resolution were captured and have been analyzed using a non-LTE collisional-radiative model. We find significant axial variation in the plasma conditions, with electron densities increasing from the cathode ({approx} 3 x 10{sup 20}cm{sup -3}) to near the anode end of the plasma ({approx} 3 x 10{sup 21}cm{sup -3}) and electron temperatures decreasing slightly from the cathode ({approx} 1.7 keV) to the anode end ({approx} 1.5 keV). Time-resolved spectra indicate that the peak electron density is reached before the peak of the L-shell emission and decreases with time, while the electron temperature remains within 10% of 1.7 keV over the 20 - 30 ns L-shell radiation pulse. Finally, while the total yield, peak total power, and peak L-shell power all tended to decrease with increasing initial wire array diameters, …

Weekly newspaper from The Colony, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Alvin, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Video footage from the NBC 5 television station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story. This story aired at 10 P.M.

Video footage from the NBC 5 television station in Fort Worth, Texas, to accompany a news story.

Daily newspaper from Altus, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

A film-handling machine (robot) has been built which can, in conjunction with a commercially available film densitometer, exchange and digitize over 300 electron micrographs per day. Implementation of robotic film handling effectively eliminates the delay and tedium associated with digitizing images when data are initially recorded on photographic film. The modulation transfer function (MTF) of the commercially available densitometer is significantly worse than that of a high-end, scientific microdensitometer. Nevertheless, its signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) is quite excellent, allowing substantial restoration of the output to ''near-to-perfect'' performance. Due to the large area of the standard electron microscope film that can be digitized by the commercial densitometer (up to 10,000 x 13,680 pixels with an appropriately coded holder), automated film digitization offers a fast and inexpensive alternative to high-end CCD cameras as a means of acquiring large amounts of image data in electron microscopy.

Parameters required for the pepperpot scraper are described, and its data processing is proposed.

A regenerating biochemical mixture and organic surfactant has been applied to wells in the East Texas Field with the goal of restoring permeability, reversing formation damage, mobilizing hydrocarbons, and ultimately increasing production. Initial work in task 1 was designed to open the perforations and remove blockages of scale, asphaltene, and other corrosion debris. This was accomplished on three wells that produce from the Woodbine, and was necessary to prepare the wells for more substantial future treatments. Secondly, in task 2, two wells were treated with much larger quantities of the biochemical mixture, e.g. 25 gallons, followed by approximately 140 barrels of a 2% KCl solution that carried the active biochemical solution into the near wellbore area and into the producing reservoir. After a 7 to 10 day acclamation and reaction period, the wells were put back into production. The biochemical solution successfully broke down the scale, paraffin and other binders blocking permeability and released significant debris which was immediately produced into the flowlines and separators. Oil production was clearly improved and the removed debris was a maintenance issue until the surface equipment could be modified. Next steps include larger treatments and tracer tests to better understand the fluid flow dynamics.

Spin-orbit interaction in the 5f states is believed to strongly influence exotic behaviors observed in actinides metals and compounds. Understanding these interactions and how they relate to the actinide series is of considerable importance. To address this issue, the branching ratio of the white-line peaks of the N4,5 edges for the light actinide metals, {alpha}-Th, {alpha}-U, and {alpha}-Pu were recorded using electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and synchrotron-radiation-based x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Using the spin-orbit sum rule and the branching ratios from both experimental spectra and many-electron atomic spectral calculations, accurate values of the spin-orbit interaction, and thus the relative occupation of the j = 5/2 and 7/2 levels, are determined for the actinide 5f states. Results show that the spin-orbit sum rule works very well with both EELS and XAS spectra, needing little or no correction. This is important, since the high spatial resolution of a TEM can be used to overcome the problems of single crystal growth often encountered with actinide metals, allowing acquisition of EELS spectra, and subsequent spin-orbit analysis, from nm-sized regions. The relative occupation numbers obtained by our method have been compared with recent theoretical results and show a good …

Daily newspaper from Sapulpa, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly Czech and English language newspaper from Temple, Texas published as the official organ of the Slavonic Benevolent Order of the State of Texas that includes news of interest to members along with advertising.

Semiweekly newspaper from Carthage, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Student newspaper of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma that includes national, local, and campus news along with advertising.