A plasma mirror based on a laminar water film with low flow speed 0.5-2 cm/s has been developed and characterized, for use as an ultrahigh intensity optical reflector. The use of flowing water as atarget surface automatically results in each laser pulse seeing a new interaction surface and avoids the need for mechanical scanning of the target surface. In addition, the breakdown of water does notproduce contaminating debris that can be deleterious to vacuum chamber conditions and optics, such as is the case when using conventional solid targets. The mirror exhibits 70percent reflectivity, whilemaintaining high-quality of the reflected spot.

Previous researchers have developed correlations between oxide electronegativity and oxide basicity. The present paper revises those correlations using a newer method of calculating electronegativity of the oxygen anion. Basicity is expressed using the Smith {alpha} parameter scale. A linear relation was found between the oxide electronegativity and the Smith {alpha} parameter, with an R{sup 2} of 0.92. An example application of this new correlation to the durability of high-level nuclear waste glass is demonstrated. The durability of waste glass was found to be directly proportional to the quantity and basicity of the oxides of tetrahedrally coordinated network forming ions.

MapReduce is increasingly becoming a popular framework, and a potent programming model. The most popular open source implementation of MapReduce, Hadoop, is based on the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS). However, as HDFS is not POSIX compliant, it cannot be fully leveraged by applications running on a majority of existing HPC environments such as Teragrid and NERSC. These HPC environments typicallysupport globally shared file systems such as NFS and GPFS. On such resourceful HPC infrastructures, the use of Hadoop not only creates compatibility issues, but also affects overall performance due to the added overhead of the HDFS. This paper not only presents a MapReduce implementation directly suitable for HPC environments, but also exposes the design choices for better performance gains in those settings. By leveraging inherent distributed file systems' functions, and abstracting them away from its MapReduce framework, MARIANE (MApReduce Implementation Adapted for HPC Environments) not only allows for the use of the model in an expanding number of HPCenvironments, but also allows for better performance in such settings. This paper shows the applicability and high performance of the MapReduce paradigm through MARIANE, an implementation designed for clustered and shared-disk file systems and as such not dedicated to a specific …

Ureolytically-driven calcium carbonate precipitation is the basis for a promising in-situ remediation method for sequestration of divalent radionuclide and trace metal ions. It has also been proposed for use in geotechnical engineering for soil strengthening applications. Monitoring the occurrence, spatial distribution, and temporal evolution of calcium carbonate precipitation in the subsurface is critical for evaluating the performance of this technology and for developing the predictive models needed for engineering application. In this study, we conducted laboratory column experiments using natural sediment and groundwater to evaluate the utility of geophysical (complex resistivity and seismic) sensing methods, dynamic synchrotron x-ray computed tomography (micro-CT), and reactive transport modeling for tracking ureolytically-driven calcium carbonate precipitation processes under site relevant conditions. Reactive transport modeling with TOUGHREACT successfully simulated the changes of the major chemical components during urea hydrolysis. Even at the relatively low level of urea hydrolysis observed in the experiments, the simulations predicted an enhanced calcium carbonate precipitation rate that was 3-4 times greater than the baseline level. Reactive transport modeling results, geophysical monitoring data and micro-CT imaging correlated well with reaction processes validated by geochemical data. In particular, increases in ionic strength of the pore fluid during urea hydrolysis predicted by geochemical modeling …

We have fabricated two single cell 650 MHz {beta}=0.61 cavities of a JLab design, which possibly can be used for the proposed Project X proton linac application. Both cavities were manufactured at JLab from RRR>250 niobium sheet of 4 mm thickness using standard techniques such as deep drawing, electron beam welding, buffered chemical polishing, hydrogen degassing heat treatment, high pressure ultrapure water rinsing and clean room assembly. Initially cavity no. 1 was -- after final surface treatment by buffered chemical polishing (BCP) -- measured without any provisions for stiffening. As expected, the pressure sensitivity and the Lorentz Force detuning coefficients were relatively high; however, the RF performance was very encouraging: the cavity exhibited a Q-value > 10{sup 11} at 1.6K, corresponding to a residual resistance of < 1.5 n{Omega} The initial gradient was limited to E{sub acc} ~ 18 MV/m, limited by field emission. In a subsequent test, the cavity was re-rinsed and stiffened up, resulting in a somewhat improved mechanical behavior, but no improvement in rf performance. The second cavity was also tested twice, before and after low temperature baking. The results from all tests are reported in this contribution.

Starting in the late 1960s, neutrino detectors began to see signs that neutrinos, now known to come in the flavors electron ({nu}{sub e}), muon ({nu}{sub {mu}}), and tau ({nu}{sub {tau}}), could transform from one flavor to another. The findings implied that neutrinos must have mass, since massless particles travel at the speed of light and their clocks, so to speak, don't tick, thus they cannot change. What has since been discovered is that neutrinos oscillate at two distinct scales, 500 km/GeV and 15,000 km/GeV, which are defined by the baseline (L) of the experiment (the distance the neutrino travels) divided by the neutrino energy (E). Neutrinos of one flavor can oscillate into neutrinos of another flavor at both L/E scales, but the amplitude of these oscillations is different for the two scales and depends on the initial and final flavor of the neutrinos. The neutrino states that propogate unchanged in time, the mass eigenstates {nu}1, {nu}2, {nu}3, are quantum mechanical mixtures of the electron, muon, and tau neutrino flavors, and the fraction of each flavor in a given mass eigenstate is controlled by three mixing angles and a complex phase. Two of these mixing angles are known with reasonable precision. …

A 112 MHz superconducting quarter-wave resonator electron gun will be used as the injector of the Coherent Electron Cooling (CEC) proof-of-principle experiment at BNL. Furthermore, this electron gun can be the testing cavity for various photocathodes. In this paper, we present the design of the cathode stalks and a Fundamental Power Coupler (FPC) designated to the future experiments. Two types of cathode stalks are discussed. Special shape of the stalk is applied in order to minimize the RF power loss. The location of cathode plane is also optimized to enable the extraction of low emittance beam. The coaxial waveguide structure FPC has the properties of tunable coupling factor and small interference to the electron beam output. The optimization of the coupling factor and the location of the FPC are discussed in detail. Based on the transmission line theory, we designed a half wavelength cathode stalk which significantly brings down the voltage drop between the cavity and the stalk from more than 5.6 kV to 0.1 kV. The transverse field distribution on cathode has been optimized by carefully choosing the position of cathode stalk inside the cavity. Moreover, in order to decrease the RF power loss, a variable diameter design of …

Lignin is often the most difficult portion of plant biomass to degrade, with fungi generally thought to dominate during late stage decomposition. Lignin in feedstock plant material represents a barrier to more efficient plant biomass conversion and can also hinder enzymatic access to cellulose, which is critical for biofuels production. Tropical rain forest soils in Puerto Rico are characterized by frequent anoxic conditions and fluctuating redox, suggesting the presence of lignin-degrading organisms and mechanisms that are different from known fungal decomposers and oxygen-dependent enzyme activities. We explored microbial lignin-degraders by burying bio-traps containing lignin-amended and unamended biosep beads in the soil for 1, 4, 13 and 30 weeks. At each time point, phenol oxidase and peroxidase enzyme activity was found to be elevated in the lignin-amended versus the unamended beads, while cellulolytic enzyme activities were significantly depressed in lignin-amended beads. Quantitative PCR of bacterial communities showed more bacterial colonization in the lignin-amended compared to the unamended beads after one and four weeks, suggesting that the lignin supported increased bacterial abundance. The microbial community was analyzed by small subunit 16S ribosomal RNA genes using microarray (PhyloChip) and by high-throughput amplicon pyrosequencing based on universal primers targeting bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic communities. …

Determination of the phase diagrams for the nanocrystalline forms of materials is crucial for our understanding of nanostructures and the design of functional materials using nanoscale building blocks. The ability to study such transformations in nanomaterials with controlled shape offers further insight into transition mechanisms and the influence of particular facets. Here we present an investigation of the size-dependent, temperature-induced solid-solid phase transition in copper sulfide nanorods from low- to high-chalcocite. We find the transition temperature to be substantially reduced, with the high chalcocite phase appearing in the smallest nanocrystals at temperatures so low that they are typical of photovoltaic operation. Size dependence in phase trans- formations suggests the possibility of accessing morphologies that are not found in bulk solids at ambient conditions. These other- wise-inaccessible crystal phases could enable higher-performing materials in a range of applications, including sensing, switching, lighting, and photovoltaics.

An RF system of 500W - 10.75 to 12.75 GHz was designed and integrated into the Advanced Electron Cyclotron Resonance - Upgrade (AECR-U) ion source of the 88-Inch Cyclotron at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The AECR-U produces ion beams for the Cyclotron giving large flexibility of ion species and charge states. The broadband frequency of a Traveling Wave Tube (TWT) allows modifying the volume that couples and heats the plasma. The TWT system design and integration with the AECR-U ion source and results from commissioning are presented.

The behaviour of interstitial impurities(C,O,N,H) on the Nb surface with respect to grain boundaries may affect cavity performance. Large grain Nb makes possible the selection of bicrystal samples with a well defined grain boundary. In this work, Dynamic SIMS was used to analyze two Nb bicrystal samples, one of them heat treated and the other non heat treated (control). H levels were found to be higher for the non heat treated sample and a difference in the H intensity and sputtering rate was also observed across the grain boundary for both the samples. TEM results showed that the bicrystal interface showed no discontinuity and the oxide layer was uniform across the grain boundary for both the samples. TOF-SIMS imaging was also performed to analyze the distribution of the impurities across the grain boundary in both the samples. C was observed to be segregated along the grain boundary for the control sample, while H and O showed a difference in signal intensity across the grain boundary. Crystal orientation appears to have an important role in the observed sputtering rate and impurity ion signal differences both across the grain boundary and between samples

In this short report, I will provide an early warning about potential changes to the standard atomic weight values for the twenty mononuclidic and the so-called pseudo-mononuclidic ({sup 232}Th and {sup 231}Pa) chemical elements due to the estimated changes in the mass values to be published in the next Atomic Mass Tables within the next two years. There have been many new measurements of atomic masses, since the last published Atomic Mass Table. The Atomic Mass Data Center has released an unpublished version of the present status of the atomic mass values as a private communication. We can not update the Standard Atomic Weight Table at this time based on these unpublished values but we can anticipate how many changes are probably going to be expected in the next few years on the basis of the forthcoming publication of the Atomic Mass Table. I will briefly discuss the procedures that the Atomic Weights Commission used in deriving the recommended Standard Atomic Weight values and their uncertainties from the atomic mass values. I will also discuss some concern raised about a proposed change in the definition of the mole. The definition of the mole is now connected directly to the mass …

Amorphous InZnO's (a-IZO) basic PV applicability has now been demonstrated in prototype CIGS, Si Heterojunction (SiHJ) and organic photovoltaics (OPV). However, to move beyond initial demonstration devices, improved TCO properties and processibility of the a-IZO films are needed. Here, RF-superimposed DC sputtering was used to improve the reliable deposition of a-IZO with conductivity > 3000 S/cm.

Progresses towards the calculation and the understanding of NLO/NLL contributions to Deep Inelastic Scattering at low x with gluon saturation are being reviewed.

Photochemistry has wide implications on fundamental science with technological applications that range from synthetic and mechanistic organic and inorganic chemistry to sensing/manipulation in the biological sciences to viable solar energy conversion assemblies. The 2011 Gordon Research Conference on Photochemistry will highlight recent advances on photochemical reactions, their mechanisms, spectroscopic techniques and applications to materials, organic synthesis, and biology. The conference will continue its long tradition on dynamic discussions on recent advances and unsolved scientific problems. The format of lectures, poster presentations and informal discussions provides an ideal venue for students and post-doctoral fellows to interact with the leaders in the field. These junior scientists will have an opportunity to participate in the Gordon Research Seminar on Photochemistry to be held prior to the GRC. The GRS will focus on photochemical aspects of solar energy conversion. Four abstracts for posters at the GRC and presentations at the GRS will be selected as short talks at the GRC.

B-modes in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization is a smoking gun signature of the inflationary universe. To achieve better sensitivity to this faint signal, CMB polarization experiments aim to maximize the number of detector elements, resulting in a large focal plane receiver. Detector calibration of the polarization response becomes essential. It is extremely useful to be able to calibrate 'simultaneously' all detectors on the large focal plane. We developed a novel calibration system that rotates a large 'sparse' grid of metal wires, in front of and fully covering the field of view of the focal plane receiver. Polarized radiation is created via the reflection of ambient temperature from the wire surface. Since the detector has a finite beam size, the observed signal is smeared according to the beam property. The resulting smeared polarized radiation has a reasonable intensity (a few Kelvin or less) compared to the sky temperature ({approx}10 K observing condition). The system played a successful role for receiver calibration of QUIET, a CMB polarization experiment located in the Atacama desert in Chile. The successful performance revealed that this system is applicable to other experiments based on different technologies, e.g. TES bolometers.

The design of a variable-temperature probe used to perform strain sensitivity measurements on LTS wires and HTS wires and tapes is described. The measurements are intended to be performed at liquid helium temperatures (4.2 K). The wire or tape to be measured is wound and soldered on to a helical spring device, which is fixed at one end and subjected to a torque at the free end. The design goal is to be able to achieve {+-} 0.8 % strain in the wire and tape. The probe is designed to carry a current of 2000A.

Developing Superconducting RF (SRF) electron guns is an active field with several laboratories working on different gun designs. While the first guns were based on elliptic cavity geometries, Quarter Wave Resonator (QWR) option is gaining popularity. QWRs are especially well suited for producing beams with high charge per bunch. In this talk we will describe recent progress in developing both types of SRF guns. SRF guns made excellent progress in the last two years. Several guns generated beams and one, at HZDR, injected beam into an accelerator. By accomplishing this, HZDR/ELBE gun demonstrated feasibility of the SRF gun concept with a normal-conducting Cs{sub 2}Te cathode. The cathode demonstrated very good performance with the lifetime of {approx}1 year. However, for high average current/high bunch charge operation CsK{sub 2}Sb is preferred as it needs green lasers, unlike UV laser for the Cs{sub 2}Te, which makes it easier to build laser/optics systems. Other high QE photocathodes are being developed for SRF guns, most notably diamond-amplified photocathode. Several QWR guns are under development with one producing beam already. They are very promising for high bunch charge operation. The field is very active and we should expect more good results soon.

The 2010 Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Stress Responses provides an open and exciting forum for the exchange of scientific discoveries on the remarkable mechanisms used by microbes to survive in nearly every niche on the planet. Understanding these stress responses is critical for our ability to control microbial survival, whether in the context of biotechnology, ecology, or pathogenesis. From its inception in 1994, this conference has traditionally employed a very broad definition of stress in microbial systems. Sessions will cover the major steps of stress responses from signal sensing to transcriptional regulation to the effectors that mediate responses. A wide range of stresses will be represented. Some examples include (but are not limited to) oxidative stress, protein quality control, antibiotic-induced stress and survival, envelope stress, DNA damage, and nutritional stress. The 2010 meeting will also focus on the role of stress responses in microbial communities, applied and environmental microbiology, and microbial development. This conference brings together researchers from both the biological and physical sciences investigating stress responses in medically- and environmentally relevant microbes, as well as model organisms, using cutting-edge techniques. Computational, systems-level, and biophysical approaches to exploring stress responsive circuits will be integrated throughout the sessions alongside the …

It is often necessary to protect sensitive electrical equipment from pulsed electric and magnetic fields. To accomplish this electromagnetic shielding structures similar to Faraday Cages are often implemented. If the equipment is inside a facility that has been reinforced with rebar, the rebar can be used as part of a lighting protection system. Unfortunately, such shields are not perfect and allow electromagnetic fields to be created inside due to discontinuities in the structure, penetrations, and finite conductivity of the shield. In order to perform an analysis of such a structure it is important to first determine the effect of the finite impedance of the conductors used in the shield. In this paper we will discuss the impedances of different cylindrical conductors in the time domain. For a time varying pulse the currents created in the conductor will have different spectral components, which will affect the current density due to skin effects. Many construction materials use iron and different types of steels that have a nonlinear permeability. The nonlinear material can have an effect on the impedance of the conductor depending on the B-H curve. Although closed form solutions exist for the impedances of cylindrical conductors made of linear materials, computational …

This paper provides quantitative estimates of benefits and costs of providing different amounts of outdoor air ventilation in U.S. offices. For four scenarios that modify ventilation rates, we estimated changes in sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms, work performance, short-term absence, and building energy consumption. The estimated annual economic benefits were $13 billion from increasing minimum ventilation rates (VRs) from 8 to 10 L/s per person, $38 billion from increasing minimum VRs from 8 to 15 L/s per person, and $33 billion from increasing VRs by adding outdoor air economizers for the 50% of the office floor area that currently lacks economizers. The estimated $0.04 billion in annual energy-related benefits of decreasing minimum VRs from 8 to 6.5 L/s per person are very small compared to the projected annual costs of $12 billion. Benefits of increasing minimum VRs far exceeded energy costs while adding economizers yielded health, performance, and absence benefits with energy savings.

A Microgrid is recognized as an innovative technology to help integrate renewables into distribution systems and to provide additional benefits to a variety of stakeholders, such as offsetting infrastructure investments and improving the reliability of the local system. However, these systems require additional investments for control infrastructure, and as such, additional costs and the anticipated benefits need to be quantified in order to determine whether the investment is economically feasible. This paper proposes a methodology for systematizing and representing benefits and their interrelationships based on the UML Use Case paradigm, which allows complex systems to be represented in a concise, elegant format. This methodology is demonstrated by determining the economic feasibility of a Microgrid and Distributed Generation installed on a typical Canadian rural distribution system model as a case study. The study attempts to minimize the cost of energy served to the community, considering the fixed costs associated with Microgrids and Distributed Generation, and suggests benefits to a variety of stakeholders.

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a stadium-sized facility that contains a 192-beam, 1.8-Megajoule, 500-Terawatt, ultraviolet laser system coupled with a 10-meter diameter target chamber. There are over 6,200 Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) comprised of more than 104,000 serialized parts that make up the NIF. Each LRU is a modular unit typically composed of a mechanical housing, laser optics (glass, lenses, or mirrors), and utilities. To date, there are more than 120,000 data sets created to characterize the attributes of these parts. Greater than 51,000 Work Permits have been issued to install, maintain, and troubleshoot the components. One integrated system is used to manage these data, and more. The Location Component and State (LoCoS) system is a web application built using Java Enterprise Edition technologies and is accessed by over 1,200 users. It is either directly or indirectly involved with each aspect of NIF work activity, and interfaces with ten external systems including the Integrated Computer Control System (ICCS) and the Laser Performance Operations Model (LPOM). Besides providing business functionality, LoCoS also acts as the NIF enterprise service bus. In this role, numerous integration approaches had to be adopted including: file exchange, database sharing, …

Developing automated methods for data collection and analysis that can facilitate nuclear nonproliferation assessment is an important research area with significant consequences for the effective global deployment of nuclear energy. Facility modeling that can integrate and interpret observations collected from monitored facilities in order to ascertain their functional details will be a critical element of these methods. Although improvements are continually sought, existing facility modeling tools can characterize all aspects of reactor operations and the majority of nuclear fuel cycle processing steps, and include algorithms for data processing and interpretation. Assessing nonproliferation status is challenging because observations can come from many sources, including local and remote sensors that monitor facility operations, as well as open sources that provide specific business information about the monitored facilities, and can be of many different types. Although many current facility models are capable of analyzing large amounts of information, they have not been integrated in an analyst-friendly manner. This paper addresses some of these facility modeling capabilities and illustrates how they could be integrated and utilized for nonproliferation analysis. The inverse problem of inferring facility conditions based on collected observations is described, along with a proposed architecture and computer framework for utilizing facility modeling …