Article published in the Wall Street Journal about the growth of high-end retail in Austin, Texas.

Article published in the Style section of Austin360 Blogs containing celebrity news for the Austin, Texas area.

Article about the Ballet Austin Fete Gothic event, the One Country Concert, and La Cage: Vegas in Austin.

Article showing that overexpression of MsProDH in tobacco and Arabidopsis or impairment of P5C oxidation in the Arabidopsis p5cdh mutant did not change the cellular Pro to P5C ratio under ambient and osmotic stress conditions, indicating that P5C excess was reduced to Pro in a mitochondrial-cytosolic cycle. Results show that normal oxidation of P5C to Glu by P5CDH is key to prevent P5C-Pro intensive cycling and avoid ROS production from electron run-off.

An online article that is an overview of the instructional unit guidelines for the National Arts Education Consortium.

An online article about guidelines for arts-centered instructional units.

Article on the characterization of noise in a flux qubit using macroscopic resonant tunneling between the two lowest lying states of a bistable rf SQUID. Analysis of these results indicates that the dominant source of low energy flux noise in this device is a quantum mechanical environment in thermal equilibrium.

A simple device integrating a thin film support and a standard microcentrifuge tube can be used for making solutions of accurately known concentration of any organic compound in a single step, avoiding serial dilution and the use of microgram balances. Nanogram to microgram quantities of organic material deposited on the thin film are quantified by ion energy loss and transferred to the microcentrifuge tube with high recovery.

In most cases, nonlinearities from magnets must be properly included in tracking and analysis to properly compute quantities of interest, in particular chromatic properties and dynamic aperture. One source of nonlinearities in magnets that is often important and cannot be avoided is the nonlinearity arising at the end of a magnet due to the longitudinal variation of the field at the end of the magnet. Part of this effect is independent of the longitudinal of the end. It is lowest order in the body field of the magnet, and is the result of taking a limit as the length over which the field at the end varies approaches zero. This is referred to as a ''hard edge'' end field. This effect has been computed previously to lowest order in the transverse variables. This paper describes a method to compute this effect to arbitrary order in the transverse variables, under certain constraints.

A technique for creating a burst of 100 ns notches (beam extinctions) in an H{sup -} beam at 454 kHz has been developed at {le} 20 keV utilizing a Magnetron ion source with a slit extraction system and a split extractor. Each half of the extractor is treated as part of a 50 ohm transmission line which can be pulsed at {+-} 700 volts creating a 1400 volt gradient across the extractor. A beam current reduction of better than 95% has been observed at the end of the Fermilab 400 MeV Linac. Notched multi-turn charge-exchange injection into the Booster, a 400 MeV to 8 GeV synchrotron, has been demonstrated with a charge reduction in the resulting beam gap of 83%. Presently, the trailing edge of the notch may be adversely affected by space charge resulting in a beam recovery with two different time constants. Efforts to minimize this effect are discussed.

Nanometer sized diamond has been found in meteorites, proto-planetary nebulae and interstellar dusts, as well as in residues of detonation and in diamond films. Remarkably, the size distribution of diamond nanoparticles appears to be peaked around 2-5 nm, and to be largely independent of preparation conditions. Using ab-initio calculations, we have shown that in this size range nanodiamond has a fullerene-like surface and, unlike silicon and germanium, exhibit very weak quantum confinement effects. We called these carbon nanoparticles bucky-diamonds: their atomic structure, predicted by simulations, is consistent with many experimental findings. In addition, we carried out calculations of the stability of nanodiamond which provided a unifying explanation of its size distribution in extra-terrestrial samples, and in ultra-crystalline diamond films. Here we present a summary of our theoretical results and we briefly outline work in progress on doping of nanodiamond with nitrogen.

Using data from the FOCUS (E831) experiment at Fermilab, we present a new measurement of the weak decay-asymmetry parameter a{sub {Lambda}{sub c}} in {Lambda}{sub c}{sup +} {yields} {Lambda}{pi}{sup +} decay. Comparing particle with antiparticle decays, we obtain the first measurement of the CP violation parameter {Alpha} {triple_bond} a{sub {Lambda}{sub c}} + a{sub {ovr {Lambda}{sub c}}}/a{sub {Lambda}{sub c}} - a{sub {ovr {Lambda}{sub c}}}. We obtain a{sub {Lambda}{sub c}} = -0.78 {+-} 0.16 {+-} 0.13 and {Alpha} = -0.07 {+-} 0.19 {+-} 0.12 where errors are statistical and systematic.

We discuss the design and implementation of a low-cost, high-resolution adaptive optics test-bed for vision research. It is well known that high-order aberrations in the human eye reduce optical resolution and limit visual acuity. However, the effects of aberration-free eyesight on vision are only now beginning to be studied using adaptive optics to sense and correct the aberrations in the eye. We are developing a high-resolution adaptive optics system for this purpose using a Hamamatsu Parallel Aligned Nematic Liquid Crystal Spatial Light Modulator. Phase-wrapping is used to extend the effective stroke of the device, and the wavefront sensing and wavefront correction are done at different wavelengths. Issues associated with these techniques will be discussed.

The current waste package design for the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain Nevada, USA, employs gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) in fabricating the waste packages. While GTAW is widely used in industry for many applications, it requires multiple weld passes. By comparison, single-pass welding methods inherently use lower heat input than multi-pass welding methods which results in lower levels of weld distortion and also narrower regions of residual stresses at the weld TWI Ltd. has developed a Reduced Pressure Electron Beam (RPEB) welding process which allows EB welding in a reduced pressure environment ({le} 1 mbar). As it is a single-pass welding technique, use of RPEB welding could (1) achieve a comparable or better materials performance and (2) lead to potential cost savings in the waste package manufacturing as compared to GTAW. Results will be presented on the initial evaluation of the RPEB welding on a Ni-Cr-Mo alloy (a candidate alloy for the Yucca Mountain waste packages) in the areas of (a) design and manufacturing simplifications, (b) material performance and (c) weld reliability.

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Space debris constitutes a significant hazard to low earth orbit satellites and particularly to manned spacecraft. A quite small velocity decrease from vaporization impulses is enough to lower the perigee of the debris sufficiently for atmospheric drag to de-orbit the debris. A short pulse (picosecond) laser version of the Orion concept can accomplish this task in several years of operation. The ''Mercury'' short pulse Yb:S-FAP laser being developed at LLNL for laser fusion is appropriate for this task.

Presently the Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Laboratory is researching ion sources and injector concepts to understand how to optimize beam brightness over a range of currents (50-2000 mA argon equivalent). One concept initially accelerates millimeter size, milliamp beamlets to 1 MeV before merging them into centimeter size, ampere beams. Computer simulations have shown the final brightness of the merged beams is dominated by the emittance growth of the merging process, as long as the beamlets ion temperature is below a few eV. Thus, a RF multicusp source capable of high current density can produce beams with better brightness compared to ones extracted from a colder source with a large aperture and lower current density. As such, experiments have begun to develop a RF multicusp source capable of delivering one amp of extracted beam current. It is expected that it will require 10 kW of 13 MHz RF power delivered via a quartz shielded, one and half turn, four inch diameter antenna. Important considerations in the development of the source include the dependence of current density and beam ion temperature on consumed RF power and gas pressure. A fast rise time ({approx} 100 ns) for the extracted beam pulse must …

The Inner and Outer modules of the Central Solenoid Model Coil (CSMC) were built by US and Japanese home teams in collaboration with European and Russian teams to demonstrate the feasibility of a superconducting Central Solenoid for ITER and other large tokamak reactors. The CSMC mass is about 120 t, OD is about 3.6 m and the stored energy is 640 MJ at 46 kA and peak field of 13 T. Testing of the CSMC and the CS Insert took place at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) from mid March until mid August 2000. This paper presents the main results of the tests performed.

We present results from the Sustained Spheromak Physics Experiment (SSPX) at LLNL, which has been built to study energy confinement in spheromak plasmas sustained for up to 2 ms by coaxial DC helicity injection. Peak toroidal currents as high as 600kA have been obtained in the 1m dia. (0.23m minor radius) device using injection currents between 200-400kA; these currents generate edge poloidal fields in the range of 0.2-0.4T. The internal field and current profiles are inferred from edge field measurements using the CORSICA code. Density and impurity control is obtained using baking, glow discharge cleansing, and titanium gettering, after which long plasma decay times ({tau} {ge} 1.5ms) are observed and impurity radiation losses are reduced from {approx}50% to <20% of the input energy. Thomson scattering measurements show peaked electron temperature and pressure profiles with T{sub e} (0){approx}120eV and {beta}{sub e}{approx}7%. Edge field measurements show the presence of n=1 modes during the formation phase, as has been observed in other spheromaks. This mode dies away during sustainment and decay so that edge fluctuation levels as low as 1% have been measured. These results are compared with numerical simulations using the NIMROD code.

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Nuclear materials were first used to end the World War II. They were produced and maintained during the cold war for global security reasons. In the succeeding 50 years since the Atoms for Peace Initiative, nuclear materials were produced and used in global civilian reactors and fuel cycles intended for peaceful purposes. The Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1970 established a framework for appropriate applications of both defense and civilian nuclear activities by nuclear weapons states and non-nuclear weapons states. As global inventories of nuclear materials continue to grow, in a diverse and dynamically changing manner, it is time to evaluate current and future trends and needed actions: what are the current circumstances, what has been done to date, what has worked and what hasn't? The aim is to identify mutually reinforcing programmatic directions, leading to global partnerships that measurably enhance international security. Essential elements are material protection, control and accountability (MPC&A) of separated nuclear materials, interim storage, and geologic repositories for all nuclear materials destined for final disposal. Cooperation among key partners, such as the MPC&A program between the U.S. and Russia for nuclear materials from dismantled weapons, is necessary for interim storage and final disposal of nuclear materials. Such …

Initial measurements are reported for the Mercury laser system, a scalable driver for rep-rated high energy density physics research. The performance goals include 10% electrical efficiency at 10 Hz and 100 J with a 2-10 ns pulse length.

Radiative corrections to E1 matrix elements for ns-np transitions in the alkali metal atoms lithium through francium are evaluated. They are found to be small for the lighter alkalis but significantly larger for the heavier alkalis, and in the case of cesium much larger than the experimental accuracy. The relation of the matrix element calculation to a recent decay rate calculation for hydrogenic ions is discussed, and application of the method to parity nonconservation in cesium is described.

We have searched for neutrons from the 3-body photon-induced reaction {sup 9}Be + {gamma} {yields} {alpha} + {alpha} + n using bremsstrahlung produced by electrons from a 2-MV Van de Graaff. The target was located within a block of beryllium surrounded by an array of {sup 3}He proportional counters embedded in paraffin. Based on energy and intensity calibrations of the accelerator and detector using the {sup 9}Be + {gamma} {yields} {sup 8}Be + n reaction, an upper limit of 93 nb (4{sigma}) was placed on the cross section for neutron production between the 3-body and 2-body thresholds. This value is substantially below a previously experimental result using photoexcitation by a {sup 142}Pr gamma source and also below an earlier theoretical estimate. We suggest that bremsstrahlung due to beta rays between 1665 keV and the 2160-keV end-point of the {sup 142}Pr beta-ray spectrum could account for the photoneutron yield in the 3-body region that had previously been attributed to {sup 142}Pr gamma rays.