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

The purposes of our research were: (1) To develop an economical, easy to use, automated, high throughput system for large scale protein crystallization screening. (2) To develop a new protein crystallization method with high screening efficiency, low protein consumption and complete compatibility with high throughput screening system. (3) To determine the structure of lactate dehydrogenase complexed with NADH by x-ray protein crystallography to study its inherent structural properties. Firstly, we demonstrated large scale protein crystallization screening can be performed in a high throughput manner with low cost, easy operation. The overall system integrates liquid dispensing, crystallization and detection and serves as a whole solution to protein crystallization screening. The system can dispense protein and multiple different precipitants in nanoliter scale and in parallel. A new detection scheme, native fluorescence, has been developed in this system to form a two-detector system with a visible light detector for detecting protein crystallization screening results. This detection scheme has capability of eliminating common false positives by distinguishing protein crystals from inorganic crystals in a high throughput and non-destructive manner. The entire system from liquid dispensing, crystallization to crystal detection is essentially parallel, high throughput and compatible with automation. The system was successfully demonstrated by …

This report contains a summary of 401(k) plans, including the different plan types, enrollment practices, IRS rulings, and policy issues.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

In an effort to mimic the growth of natural bone, self-assembling, micelle and gel-forming copolymers were used as a template for calcium phosphate precipitation. Because of the cationic characteristics imparted by PDEAEM end group additions to commercially available Pluronic{reg_sign} Fl27, a direct ionic attraction mechanism was utilized and a polymer-brushite nanocomposite spheres were produced. Brushite coated spherical micelles with diameters of {approx}40 nm, and agglomerates of these particles (on the order of 0.5 {mu}m) were obtained. Thickness and durability of the calcium phosphate coating, and the extent of agglomeration were studied. The coating has been shown to be robust enough to retain its integrity even below polymer critical micelle concentration and/or temperature. Calcium phosphate-polymer gel nanocomposites were also prepared. Gel samples appeared as a single phase network of agglomerated spherical micelles, and had a final calcium phosphate concentration of up to 15 wt%. Analysis with x-ray diffraction and NMR indicated a disordered brushite phase with the phosphate groups linking inorganic phase to the polymer.

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

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

Fluidized beds (FB) reactors are widely used in the polymerization industry due to their superior heat- and mass-transfer characteristics. Nevertheless, problems associated with local overheating of polymer particles and excessive agglomeration leading to FB reactors defluidization still persist and limit the range of operating temperatures that can be safely achieved in plant-scale reactors. Many people have been worked on the modeling of FB polymerization reactors, and quite a few models are available in the open literature, such as the well-mixed model developed by McAuley, Talbot, and Harris (1994), the constant bubble size model (Choi and Ray, 1985) and the heterogeneous three phase model (Fernandes and Lona, 2002). Most these research works focus on the kinetic aspects, but from industrial viewpoint, the behavior of FB reactors should be modeled by considering the particle and fluid dynamics in the reactor. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a powerful tool for understanding the effect of fluid dynamics on chemical reactor performance. For single-phase flows, CFD models for turbulent reacting flows are now well understood and routinely applied to investigate complex flows with detailed chemistry. For multiphase flows, the state-of-the-art in CFD models is changing rapidly and it is now possible to predict reasonably well …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Health savings accounts (HSA) and the high-deductible health insurance plans that are eligible to be coupled with them are a new type of consumer-directed health plan attracting interest among employers and consumers. Employers and plan enrollees may contribute to tax-advantaged HSAs, and enrollees can use the accounts to pay for health care expenses. Because HSAs and HSA-eligible plans are new, there is interest in the experiences of plan enrollees, as well as in comparing the plan features and enrollee characteristics with those of traditional plans, such as preferred provider organization (PPO) plans. GAO reviewed (1) the financial features of HSA-eligible plans in comparison with those of traditional plans, (2) the characteristics of HSA-eligible plan enrollees in comparison with those of traditional plan enrollees, (3) HSA funding and use, and (4) enrollees' experiences with HSA-eligible plans. GAO analyzed data regarding HSA-eligible and traditional plans and enrollees from national employer health benefits surveys, three selected employers, and a national broker of health insurance. GAO compared Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data for tax filers reporting HSA contributions with corresponding data for all tax filers under 65 years old. GAO …

Magnetic materials exhibiting magnetic phase transitions simultaneously with structural rearrangements of their crystal lattices hold a promise for numerous applications including magnetic refrigeration, magnetomechanical devices and sensors. We undertook a detailed study of a single crystal of dysprosium metal, which is a classical example of a system where magnetic and crystallographic sublattices can be either coupled or decoupled from one another. Magnetocaloric effect, magnetization, ac magnetic susceptibility, and heat capacity of high purity single crystals of dysprosium have been investigated over broad temperature and magnetic field intervals with the magnetic field vector parallel to either the a- or c-axes of the crystal. Notable differences in the behavior of the physical properties when compared to Dy samples studied in the past have been observed between 110 K and 125 K, and between 178 K and {approx}210 K. A plausible mechanism based on the formation of antiferromagnetic clusters in the impure Dy has been suggested in order to explain the reduction of the magnetocaloric effect in the vicinity of the Neel point. Experimental and theoretical investigations of the influence of commensurability effects on the magnetic phase diagram and the value of the magnetocaloric effect have been conducted. The presence of newly found …

In this thesis our main interest has been to investigate metallic photonic crystal and its applications. We explained how to solve a periodic photonic structure with transfer matrix method and when and how to use modal expansion method. Two different coating methods were introduced, modifying a photonic structure's intrinsic optical properties and rigorous calculation results are presented. Two applications of metallic photonic structures are introduced. For thermal emitter, we showed how to design and find optimal structure. For conversion efficiency increasing filter, we calculated its efficiency and the way to design it. We presented the relation between emitting light spectrum and absorption and showed the material and structural dependency of the absorption spectrum. By choosing a proper base material and structural parameters, we can design a selective emitter at a certain region we are interested in. We have developed a theoretical model to analyze a blackbody filament enclosed by a metallic mesh which can increase the efficiency of converting a blackbody radiation to visible light. With this model we found that a square lattice metallic mesh enclosing a filament might increase the efficiency of incandescent lighting sources. Filling fraction and thickness dependency were examined and presented. Combining these two parameters …

This report provides information about the Recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and Related Issues for Detection of Explosives on Airline Passengers. The key issue for congress is balancing various costs of mandating passenger explosives trace detection.

The paper describes a novel application of an electron beam ion trap as a plasma target facility for intense laser-plasma interaction studies. The low density plasma target ({approx}10{sup 13}/cm{sup 3}) is confined in a mobile cryogenic electromagnetic charged particle trap, with the magnetic confinement field of 1-3T maintained by a superconducting magnet. Ion plasmas for a large variety of ion species and charge states are produced and maintained within the magnetic field and the space charge of an energetic electron beam in the ''Electron Beam Ion Trap'' (EBIT) geometry. Intense laser beams (optical lasers, x-ray lasers and upcoming ''X-Ray Free Electron Lasers'' (XFEL)) provide strong time varying electromagnetic fields (>10{sup 12} V/cm in femto- to nano-sec pulses) for interactions with electromagnetically confined neutral/non-neutral plasmas. The experiments are aimed to gain understanding of the effects of intense photon fields on ionization/excitation processes, the ionization balance, as well as photon polarization effects. First experimental scenarios and tests with an intense laser that utilize the ion plasma target are outlined.

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

Present the results of an extensive computational investigation of flow through structured fibrous media.

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

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

The inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is an atmospheric pressure ionization source. Traditionally, the plasma is sampled via a sampler cone. A supersonic jet develops behind the sampler, and this region is pumped down to a pressure of approximately one Torr. A skimmer cone is located inside this zone of silence to transmit ions into the mass spectrometer. The position of the sampler and skimmer cones relative to the initial radiation and normal analytical zones of the plasma is key to optimizing the useful analytical signal [1]. The ICP both atomizes and ionizes the sample. Polyatomic ions form through ion-molecule interactions either in the ICP or during ion extraction [l]. Common polyatomic ions that inhibit analysis include metal oxides (MO{sup +}), adducts with argon, the gas most commonly used to make up the plasma, and hydride species. While high resolution devices can separate many analytes from common interferences, this is done at great cost in ion transmission efficiency--a loss of 99% when using high versus low resolution on the same instrument [2]. Simple quadrupole devices, which make up the bulk of ICP-MS instruments in existence, do not present this option. Therefore, if the source of polyatomic interferences can be determined and …

Since the ITRP recommendation in August 2004 to use superconducting rf technology for a next generation linear collider, the former NLC Group at SLAC has been actively pursuing a broad range of R&D for this collider (the ILC). In this paper, the programs concerning linac technology are reviewed. Current activities include the development of a Marx-style modulator and a 10 MW sheet-beam klystron, operation of an L-band (1.3 GHz) rf source using an SNS HVCM modulator and commercial klystrons, design of a more efficient and less costly rf distribution system, construction of a coupler component test stand, fabrication of a prototype positron capture cavity, beam tests of prototype S-band linac beam position monitors and preparations for magnetic center stability measurements of a prototype SC linac quad.

This report describes results of the research project on "Improving Demographic Components of Integrated Assessment Models: The Effect of Changes in Population Composition by Household Characteristics". The overall objective of this project was to improve projections of energy demand and associated greenhouse gas emissions by taking into account demographic factors currently not incorporated in Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) of global climate change. We proposed to examine the potential magnitude of effects on energy demand of changes in the composition of populations by household characteristics for three countries: the U.S., China, and Indonesia. For each country, we planned to analyze household energy use survey data to estimate relationships between household characteristics and energy use; develop a new set of detailed household projections for each country; and combine these analyses to produce new projections of energy demand illustrating the potential importance of consideration of households.