This project focuses on the use of the Prompt Gamma-ray Activation Analysis (PGAA) technique available at the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory of the University of Texas at Austin to precisely determine the hydrogen (proton) contents in layered oxide cathode samples obtained by chemical lithium extraction in order to obtain a better understanding of the factors limiting the practical capacities and overall performance of lithium ion battery cathodes. The project takes careful precautionary experimental measures to avoid proton contamination both from solvents used in chemical delithiation and from ambient moisture. The results obtained from PGAA are complemented by the data obtained from other techniques such as thermogravimetric analysis, redox titration, atomic absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and mass spectroscopic analysis of the evolved gas on heating. The research results broaden our understanding of the structure-property-performance relationships of lithium ion battery cathodes and could aid the design and development of new better performing lithium ion batteries for consumer (portable and electric vehicles), military, and space applications.

The Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, in collaboration with Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), developed a series of seminars, ''The New Biology: Challenges and Opportunities'', to stimulate dialogue between leaders in science, medicine, law, biotechnology and senior government policymakers on matters that will shape much of the genomic revolution's impact on individuals and institutions in this country.

One of the greatest societal challenges over the next decade is the production of cheap, renewable energy for the 10 billion people that inhabit the earth. This will require the development of various energy sources which will likely include fuels derived from methane, coal, and biomass and alternatives sources such as solar, wind and nuclear energy. One approach will be to synthesize gasoline and other fuels from simpler hydrocarbons such as CO derived from methane or other U.S. based sources such as coal. Syngas (CO and H{sub 2}) can be readily converted into higher molecular weight hydrocarbons through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis involves the adsorption and the activation of CO and H{sub 2}, the subsequent propagation steps including hydrogenation and carbon-carbon coupling, followed by chain termination reactions. The current commercial catalysts are supported Co and Co-alloys particles. This project set out with the following objectives in mind: (1) understand the reaction mechanisms that control FT kinetics, (2) predict how the intrinsic metal-adsorbate bond affects the sequence of elementary steps in FT, (3) establish the effects of the reaction environment on catalytic activity and selectivity, (4) construct a first-principles based algorithm that can incorporate the detailed atomic surface structure and …

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The United States and its allies are helping Afghanistan emerging from more than 22 years of warfare, although substantial risk to Afghan stability remains. Before the U.S. military campaign against the orthodox Islamist Taliban movement began on October 7, 2001, Afghanistan had been mired in conflict since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The defeat of the Taliban has enabled the United States and its coalition partners to send forces throughout Afghanistan to search for Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters and leaders that remain at large, including Osama bin Laden. As the war against remaining Al Qaeda and Taliban elements winds down, the United States is shifting its military focus toward stabilizing the interim government, including training a new Afghan national army, and supporting the international security force (ISAF) that is helping the new government provide security.

This report considers the issues the 110th Congress was confronted with in relation to agriculture and the issues inherited from the 109th Congress. The report also includes details about the upcoming farm bill and the usual problems that are examined with the creation of a new farm bill.

This report discusses a plan announced by EPA in January 2005, called the Air Compliance Agreement, that would produce air quality monitoring data on animal agriculture emissions from a small number of farms, while at the same time protecting all participants (including farms where no monitoring takes place) through a “safe harbor” from liability under certain provisions of federal environmental laws.

Recently, X-ray astronomy has been used to investigate objects such as galaxies, clusters of galaxies, Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), quasars, starburst superbubbles of hot gas, X-ray binary systems, stars, supernova remnants, and interstellar and intergalactic material. By studying the x-ray emission patterns of these objects, we can gain a greater understanding of their structure and evolution. We analyze X-ray emission from the galaxy NGC 4945 using data taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The Chandra Interactive Analysis of Observations (CIAO) software package was used to extract and fit energy spectra and to extract light curves for the brightest off-nuclear sources in two different observations of NGC 4945 (January, 2000 and May, 2004). A majority of sources were closely fit by both absorbed power law and absorbed bremsstrahlung models, with a significantly poorer {chi}{sup 2}/dof for the absorbed blackbody model, and most sources had little variability. This indicates that the sources are accreting binary systems with either a neutron star or black hole as the compact object. The calculated luminosities were about 10{sup 38} erg/s, which implies that the mass of the accreting object is close to 10 solar masses and must be a black hole.

Corrosion resistant materials under atmospheric conditions can suffer from localized corrosion (e.g., pitting, crevice, stress-corrosion cracking). The stability of such a localized corrosion site requires that the site (anode) must dissolve at a sufficiently high rate to maintain the critical chemistry and that it be coupled to a wetted surrounding area (cathode) that can provide a matching cathodic current. The objectives of this study were to computationally characterize the stability of such a local corrosion system and to explore the effects of physiochemical and electrochemical parameters. The overall goal of the work is to contribute to the establishment of a scientific basis for the prediction of the stabilization of localized attack. An analytical method is presented for evaluating the stability of localized corrosion of corrosion-resistant alloys under thin-layer (or atmospheric) conditions. The method requires input data that are either thermodynamic in nature or easily obtained experimentally. The maximum cathode current available depends on the cathode geometry, temperature, relative humidity, deposition density of salt (i.e., mass of salt per unit area of cathode), and interfacial electrochemical kinetics. The anode demand depends on the crevice geometry, the position of attack within the crevice, and the localized corrosion stability product. The localized corrosion …

As an energy carrier, electricity has no rival with regard to its environmental cleanliness, flexibility in interfacing with multiple production sources and end uses, and efficiency of delivery. In fact, the electric power grid was named ?the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century? by the National Academy of Engineering. This grid, a technological marvel ingeniously knitted together from local networks growing out from cities and rural centers, may be the biggest and most complex artificial system ever built. However, the growing demand for electricity will soon challenge the grid beyond its capability, compromising its reliability through voltage fluctuations that crash digital electronics, brownouts that disable industrial processes and harm electrical equipment, and power failures like the North American blackout in 2003 and subsequent blackouts in London, Scandinavia, and Italy in the same year. The North American blackout affected 50 million people and caused approximately $6 billion in economic damage over the four days of its duration. Superconductivity offers powerful new opportunities for restoring the reliability of the power grid and increasing its capacity and efficiency. Superconductors are capable of carrying current without loss, making the parts of the grid they replace dramatically more efficient. Superconducting wires carry up to …

This report outlines the issues involved with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) completion of the San Diego border fence and highlights some of the major legislative and administrative developments regarding the construction of new border fences.

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Measurement of xenon fission product isotopes is a key element in the global network being established to monitor the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The automated Radio-xenon Analyzer/Sampler (ARSA), built by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, can detect 131mXe, 133mXe, 133Xe, and 135Xe via a beta-gamma counting system. Due to the variable background and sources of these four radio-xenon isotopes, it is important to have as sensitive a detection system as possible and to quantify the Minimum-Detectable-Concentrations (MDC) that such a system will be able to detect to preclude false negative and false positive results. From data obtained from IAR in Germany MDC values for 133Xe were well below the 1 mBq/SCMA as required by the PTS for the Comprehensive Test BAn Treaty [WGB TL-11,1999].

The principal goal of this project was to assess the molecular nature and stability of radionuclide immobilization during weathering reactions in bulk Hanford sediments and their high surface area clay mineral constitutents.

The International Linear Collider (ILC) is part of a new generation of accelerators enabling physicists to gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental components of the universe. The proposed ILC will accelerate positrons and electrons towards each other with two facing linear colliders, each twenty kilometers long. Designing and planning for the future accelerator has been undertaken as a global collaboration, with groups working on several possible detectors to be used at the ILC. The following research at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) pertained to the design of an electromagnetic calorimeter. The energy and spatial resolution of the calorimeter was tested by using computer simulations for proposed detectors. In order to optimize this accuracy, different designs of the electromagnetic calorimeter were investigated along with various methods to analyze the data from the simulated detector. A low-cost calorimeter design was found to provide energy resolution comparable to more expensive designs, and new clustering algorithms offered better spatial resolution. Energy distribution and shape characteristics of electromagnetic showers were also identified to differentiate various showers in the calorimeter. With further research, a well-designed detector will enable the ILC to observe new realms of physics.

Facilities handling large amounts of potentially hazardous chemical (i.e., chemical facilities) might be of interest to terrorists, either as targets for direct attacks meant to release chemicals into the community or as a source of chemicals for use elsewhere. For any individual facility, the risk is very small, but the risks may be increasing -- with potentially severe consequences for human health and the environment. Congress might choose to rely on existing efforts in the public and private sectors to improve chemical site security over time. Alternatively, Congress could expand existing environmental planning requirements for chemical facilities to require consideration of terrorism. Congress might also enact legislation to reduce risks, either by "hardening" defenses against terrorists or by requiring industries to consider use of safer chemicals, procedures, or processes.

Facilities handling large amounts of potentially hazardous chemical (i.e., chemical facilities) might be of interest to terrorists, either as targets for direct attacks meant to release chemicals into the community or as a source of chemicals for use elsewhere. For any individual facility, the risk is very small, but the risks may be increasing -- with potentially severe consequences for human health and the environment. Congress might choose to rely on existing efforts in the public and private sectors to improve chemical site security over time. Alternatively, Congress could expand existing environmental planning requirements for chemical facilities to require consideration of terrorism. Congress might also enact legislation to reduce risks, either by "hardening" defenses against terrorists or by requiring industries to consider use of safer chemicals, procedures, or processes.

This report provides information about "Falun Gong" also known as " Falun Dafa" that combines an exercise regimen with meditation and moral guidelines.

This report discusses the national security problem of China's role in weapons proliferation and issues related to the U.S. policy response, including legislation, since the mid-1990's.

Concern has grown in Congress and elsewhere about China's military modernization. The topic is an increasing factor in discussions over future required U.S. Navy capabilities. The issue for Congress addressed in this report is: How should China's military modernization be factored into decisions about U.S. Navy programs?

The roles of ionizing radiation (IR)-inducible genes/proteins are now being elucidated and the research team will focus on the functions of the clusterin (CLU) proteins after low dose IR exposures. With funding from the DOE, we discovered that x-ray-inducible transcript/protein #8 (xip8) bound to the Ku70 DNA double strand break repair protein using various molecular biology techniques. We showed that translation of the CLU/xip8 transcript was complicated, leading to two classes of proteins separated by their intracellular processing. One set of CLU proteins (a secreted and precursor protein, sCLU and psCLU, respectively) were induced by very low doses of IR (>2.0 cGy) and subsequently secreted from the cell. The functions of sCLU, particularly in bystander effects, are not known; sCLU does not bind Ku70, but can interact with the TGF-ß II receptor. Another intracellular class of CLU proteins was targeted to the cytoplasm and existed in a dormant precursor nuclear form (pnCLU). After higher IR doses (>1.0 Gy), pnCLU was activated via post-translational modification, and translocated to the nucleus, where nuclear CLU (nCLU) interacted with Ku70/Ku80, and signaled cell death. The mechanism(s) of how cells die following nCLU accumulation are unknown. Recent data from our lab indicate that CLU gene …

This final project report presents the activities and accomplishments of the ''Coal Combustion Products Extension Program'' conducted at The Ohio State University from August 1, 2000 to June 30, 2005 to advance the beneficial uses of coal combustion products (CCPs) in highway and construction, mine reclamation, agricultural, and manufacturing sectors. The objective of this technology transfer/research program at The Ohio State University was to promote the increased use of Ohio CCPs (fly ash, FGD material, bottom ash, and boiler slag) in applications that are technically sound, environmentally benign, and commercially competitive. The project objective was accomplished by housing the CCP Extension Program within The Ohio State University College of Engineering with support from the university Extension Service and The Ohio State University Research Foundation. Dr. Tarunjit S. Butalia, an internationally reputed CCP expert and registered professional engineer, was the program coordinator. The program coordinator acted as liaison among CCP stakeholders in the state, produced information sheets, provided expertise in the field to those who desired it, sponsored and co-sponsored seminars, meetings, and speaking at these events, and generally worked to promote knowledge about the productive and proper application of CCPs as useful raw materials. The major accomplishments of the program …

The principal goal of this project was to assess the molecular nature and stability of radionuclide immoblization during weathering reactions in bulk Hanford sediments and their high surface area clay mineral constituents. We focused on the unique aqueous geochemical conditions that are representative of waste-impacted locations in the Hanford site vadose zone; high ionic strength, high pH and high Al concentrations. The specific objectives of the work were to measure the coupling of clay mineral weathering and contaminant uptake kinetics of Cs, Sr and I; determine the molecular structure of contaminant binding sites and their change with weathering time during and after exposure to synthetic tank waste leachate; establish the stability of neoformed weathering products and their sequestered contaminbants upon exposure of the solids to more natural soil solutaions afer remofal of the caustic waste source; and integrate macroscopic, microscopic and spectroscopic data to distinguish labile from non-labile contaminant binding environments, including their dependence on system composition and weathering time.

Experiments on the future Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) and other Free Electron Lasers will need to be performed on a single-shot basis. The double pinhole method of measuring spatial coherence requires a separate measurement, with a different pinhole separation distance, for each length scale sampled. This limits its utility for LCLS. A potential alternative uses a Non-Redundant Array (NRA) of apertures designed to probe the coherence over the range of length scales defined by their physical extent, in a single measurement. This approach was tested by comparing diffraction patterns from soft x-rays incident on double pinhole and NRA absorption mask structures. The double pinhole fringe visibility data serve as discrete reference points that verify the continuous spectrum of the NRA coherence data. The results present a quantitative analysis of the double pinhole coherence measurements and a qualitative comparison to the NRA images.