The Access Grid is a group-to-group collaborative system developed at Argonne National Laboratory. The system is designed to support high-fidelity, high-bandwidth interactions. This document specifies the minimum requirements that need to be fulfilled for a space to be considered an Access Grid Node.

McDermott Technology, Inc. (MTI) is attempting to develop high-performance, cost-competitive solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power systems. Recognizing the challenges and limitations facing the development of SOFC stacks comprised of electrode-supported cells and metallic interconnects, McDermott Technology, Inc. (MTI) has chosen to pursue an alternate path to commercialization. MTI is developing a multi-layer, co-fired, planar SOFC stack that will provide superior performance and reliability at reduced costs relative to competing designs. The MTI approach combines state-of-the-art SOFC materials with the manufacturing technology and infrastructure established for multi-layer ceramic (MLC) packages for the microelectronics industry. The rationale for using MLC packaging technology is that high quality, low-cost manufacturing has been demonstrated at high volumes. With the proper selection of SOFC materials, implementation of MLC fabrication methods offers unique designs for stacks (cells and interconnects) that are not possible through traditional fabrication methods. The MTI approach eliminates use of metal interconnects and ceramic-metal seals, which are primary sources of stack performance degradation. Co-fired cells are less susceptible to thermal cycling stresses by using material compositions that have closely matched coefficients of thermal expansion between the cell and the interconnect. The development of this SOFC stack technology was initiated in October 1999 under …

With the recent discovery of the giant magnetocaloric effect and the beginning of extensive research on the properties of Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4}, a necessity has developed for a better understanding of the microstructure and crystal structure of this family of rare earth compounds with startling phenomenological properties. The aim of this research is to characterize the microstructure of the Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4}, with X {approx_equal} 2 and its phase change by using both transmission and electron microscopes. A brief history of past work on Gd{sub 5}(Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x}){sub 4} is necessary to understand this research in its proper context.

This paper presents the results of the application of CFD to ventilation calculations at Yucca Mountain using MULTIFLUX. Seven cases were selected to study the effect of the heat transport coefficient on the drift wall temperature distribution. It was concluded that variable heat transport coefficients such as those given by the differential-parameter CFD used in MULTIFLUX are considered the most appropriate approach of all cases presented. This CFD model agrees well with FLUENT results and produces the lowest temperature results, which is favorable to ventilation performance.

Tumor cells can evade chemotherapy by acquiring resistanceto apoptosis. We investigated the molecular mechanism whereby malignantand nonmalignant mammary epithelial cells become insensitive toapoptosis. We show that regardless of growth status formation ofpolarized, three-dimensional structures driven by basement membraneconfers protection to apoptosis in both nonmalignant and malignantmammary epithelial cells. By contrast, irrespective of their malignantstatus, nonpolarized structures are sensitive to induction of apoptosis.Resistance to apoptosis requires ligation of beta4 integrins, whichregulates tissue polarity, hemidesmosome formation and NFkB activation.Expression of beta4 integrin that lacks the hemidesmosome targetingdomain interferes with tissue polarity and NFkB activation and permitsapoptosis. These results indicate that integrin-induced polarity maydrive tumor cell resistance to apoptosis-inducing agents via effects onNFkB.

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) are widely used analytical separation techniques with many applications in chemical, biochemical, and biomedical sciences. Conventional analyte identification in these techniques is based on retention/migration times of standards; requiring a high degree of reproducibility, availability of reliable standards, and absence of coelution. From this, several new information-rich detection methods (also known as hyphenated techniques) are being explored that would be capable of providing unambiguous on-line identification of separating analytes in CE and HPLC. As further discussed, a number of such on-line detection methods have shown considerable success, including Raman, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS), and fluorescence line-narrowing spectroscopy (FLNS). In this thesis, the feasibility and potential of combining the highly sensitive and selective laser-based detection method of FLNS with analytical separation techniques are discussed and presented. A summary of previously demonstrated FLNS detection interfaced with chromatography and electrophoresis is given, and recent results from on-line FLNS detection in CE (CE-FLNS), and the new combination of HPLC-FLNS, are shown.

In information theory, a signature is characterized by the information content as well as noise statistics of the communication channel. Biosignatures have analogous properties. A biosignature can be associated with a particular attribute of a pathogen or a host. However, the signature may be lost in backgrounds of similar or even identical signals from other sources. In this paper, we highlight statistical and signal processing challenges associated with identifying good biosignatures for pathogens in host and other environments. In some cases it may be possible to identify useful signatures of pathogens through indirect but amplified signals from the host. Discovery of these signatures requires new approaches to modeling and data interpretation. For environmental biosignal collections, it is possible to use signal processing techniques from other applications (e.g., synthetic aperture radar) to track the natural progression of microbes over large areas. We also present a computer-assisted approach to identify unique nucleic-acid based microbial signatures. Finally, an understanding of host-pathogen interactions will result in better detectors as well as opportunities in vaccines and therapeutics.

Achieving public acceptance has become a central issue in discussions regarding the future of nuclear power and associated nuclear activities. Effective public communication and public participation are often put forward as the key building blocks in garnering public acceptance. A recent international workshop in Finland provided insights into other features that might also be important to building and sustaining public confidence in nuclear activities. The workshop was held in Finland in close cooperation with Finnish stakeholders. This was most appropriate because of the recent successes in achieving positive decisions at the municipal, governmental, and Parliamentary levels, allowing the Finnish high-level radioactive waste repository program to proceed, including the identification and approval of a proposed candidate repository site. Much of the workshop discussion appropriately focused on the roles of public participation and public communications in building public confidence. It was clear that well constructed and implemented programs of public involvement and communication and a sense of fairness were essential in building the extent of public confidence needed to allow the repository program in Finland to proceed. It was also clear that there were a number of other elements beyond public involvement that contributed substantially to the success in Finland to date. …

The spherical torus (ST) concept underlies several contemporary plasma physics experiments, in which relatively low magnetic fields, high plasma edge q, and low aspect ratio combine for potentially compact, high beta and high performance fusion reactors. An important issue for the ST is the calculation of energetic ion confinement, as large Larmor radius makes conventional guiding center codes of limited usefulness and efficient plasma heating by RF and neutral beam ion technology requires minimal fast ion losses. The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is a medium-sized, low aspect ratio ST, with R=0.85 m, a=0.67 m, R/a=1.26, Ip*1.4 MA, Bt*0.6 T, 5 MW of neutral beam heating and 6 MW of RF heating. 80 keV neutral beam ions at tangency radii of 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 m are routinely used to achieve plasma betas above 30%. Transport analyses for experiments on NSTX often exhibit a puzzling ion power balance. It will be necessary to have reliable beam ion calculations to distinguish among the source and loss channels, and to explore the possibilities for new physics phenomena, such as the recently proposed compressional Alfven eigenmode ion heating.

A variation on the ''Office of Real Soon Now'' has been designed and deployed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The ASCI VIEWS (VIEWS) program [1], the element of the program developing tools for data management and visualization, is investigating a variety of display technologies, motivated in part by the large size, high resolution, and complexity of data sets that ASCI users frequently explore and analyze. While large, tiled displays have been well received at LLNL, availability and ease-of-use problems have motivated exploration of alternatives [2]. The ''Office of Real Soon Now'' Project [3, 4, 5] at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) has built ''low fidelity'' versions of the ''Office of the Future'' [6, 7] that can be installed in users' offices now. At UNC, the Office of Real Soon Now installations use only a small number of relatively inexpensive projectors,generally two or three, that limit resolution and features. These projectors are connected to Microsoft Windows PCs or Apple computers that are used for daily activities, such as reading email, writing papers, and debugging programs. Even though the UNC faculty involved are predominantly computer graphics researchers, these display systems are used mainly for text-oriented applications [5]. …

In this work, we determined how a decanter for the aqueous effluents would work for solvent extraction operations using a centrifugal contactor. Solvent entrainment was measured in the raffinate and strip aqueous effluents in the caustic-side solvent extraction (CSSX) process. Values were obtained for both the solvent concentration and its droplet size distribution. The mixing intensity of the two phases in the mixing zone of the contactor was used to simulate the performance of lab-scale, pilot-plant, and plant-scale contactors. The droplet size distributions were used to estimate the amount of solvent that would be recovered using a decanter tank. It was concluded that the performance of decanter tanks will not be as effective in solvent recovery in the CSSX plan as that of other equipment, such as centrifuges and coalescers. Future testing is recommended to verify the performance of this alternative equipment.

The Department of the Army is authorized to build and operate nuclear reactors for defense purposes under Paragraph 91b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (1). As part of the Army Reactor Program, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is responsible for nuclear reactor engineering and design, reactor construction, and decommissioning design and implementation (2). The Corps is currently focused on ensuring the safety and security of the Army's three deactivated power reactors and planning for their final decommissioning. To support decommissioning cost projections, the Corps is gathering information on the residual radiological and chemical hazards associated with each reactor, starting with the MH-1A reactor on the Sturgis Barge (3). Because the Sturgis Barge is moored in the James River Reserve Fleet, there were unique challenges that had to be overcome during the characterization survey and others that will become a concern when final decommissioning is to be per formed.

A weakly-deformed band J{sup {pi}} (E{sub x} keV) 0+ (1182), 2+ (1418), 4+ (1701) is identified in the strongly-deformed nucleus, {sup 154}Gd. Detailed {gamma}-ray spectroscopy following the beta decays of {sup 154}Eu (J = 3), {sup 154g,m1,m2}Tb (J = 0, 3, 7) are used to establish this structure. The structure is explained in terms of a pairing isomer which results from the {nu}[505] {up_arrow} Nilsson intruder orbital.

One type of HLW associated with the procedures of spent fuel reprocessing or conditioning as would be required in order to implement accelerator driven transmutation of waste, is the insoluble residue, which remains after the majority of the fuel, is dissolved. This material is separated as part of the head-end processing and must be suitably encapsulated within a waste-form to permit its disposal. In spite of the fact that the specific contribution of insoluble deposits, arising from SNF dissolution does not exceed 0,5-1 % of the general volume of wastes, the radionuclides, contained in them introduce a rather significant hazard and demand the most careful treatment of the material during its treatment and subsequent disposal. The main contributors to the insoluble residues are the slowly dissolving metallic fission product inclusions found in spent fuel and the certain fission products which although initially soluble precipitate during the dissolution process. The most significant elements, in mass terms are the platinum group metals (PGM) and, also molybdenum and zirconium. In turn, the formed deposits are capable of adsorbing fission products and actinides, for example, antimony, uranium and plutonium. This group of elements presents two issues one relating to the activity and heat of …

Geological, geophysical, and engineering-geological research conducted at the 'Yeniseisky' site obtained data on climatic, geomorphologic, geological conditions, structure and properties of composing rock, and conditions of underground water recharge and discharge. These results provide sufficient information to make an estimate of the suitability of locating a radioactive waste (R W) underground isolation facility at the Nizhnekansky granitoid massif

The Compact Sodium-cooled Nuclear Reactor Facility (KNK) was an experimental nuclear power plant of 20 MW electric power erected on the premises of the Karlsruhe Research Center. The plant was initially run as KNK I with a thermal core between 1971 and 1974 and then, between 1977 and 1991, with a fast core as the KNK II fast breeder plant. Under the decommissioning concept, the plant is to be decommissioned completely to green field conditions at the end of 2005 in ten steps, i.e. under the corresponding ten decommissioning permits. To this day, nine decommissioning permits have been issued, the first one in 1993 and the most recent one, number nine, in 2001. The decommissioning and demolition activities covered by decommissioning permits 1 to 7 have been completed. Under the 8th Decommissioning Permit, the components of the primary system and the rotating reactor top shield are to be removed by late 2001. Under the 9th Decommissioning Permit, the reactor vessel with its internals, the primary shield, and the biological shield are to be dismantled. The residual sodium volume in the reactor vessel was estimated to amount to approx. 30 l. The maximum Co-60 activation is on the order of 107-108 …

During the operation of Boiling Water Reactors, Control - Elements are used to control the neutron flux inside the reactor vessel. After the end of the lifetime, the Control - Elements are usually stored in the fuel - elements - pool of the reactor. Up to now, in Germany no conditioning of Control - Elements has been done in a BWR under operation.

With more and more people working at home and connecting to company networks via the Internet, the risk to company networks to intrusion and theft of sensitive information is growing. Working from home has many positive advantages for both the home worker and the company they work for. However, as companies encourage people to work from home, they need to start considering the interaction of the employee's home network and the company network he connects to. This paper discusses problems and solutions related to protection of home computers from attacks on those computers via the network connection. It does not consider protection of those systems from people who have physical access to the computers nor does it consider company laptops taken on-the-road. Home networks are often targeted by intruders because they are plentiful and they are usually not well secured. While companies have departments of professionals to maintain and secure their networks, home networks are maintained by the employee who may be less knowledgeable about network security matters. The biggest problems with home networks are that: Home networks are not designed to be secure and may use technologies (wireless) that are not secure; The operating systems are not secured when …

This Corrective Action Investigation Plan (CAIP) contains the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Operations Offices's approach to collect the data necessary to evaluate corrective action alternatives appropriate for the closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 127 under the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. Corrective Action Unit 127 is located on the Nevada Test Site approximately 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. This CAU is comprised of 12 Corrective Action Sites (CASs) located at Test Cell C; the Engine Maintenance, Assembly, and Disassembly (E-MAD) Facility; the X-Tunnel in Area 25; the Pluto Disassembly Facility; the Pluto Check Station; and the Port Gaston Training Facility in Area 26. These CASs include: CAS 25-01-05, Aboveground Storage Tank (AST); CAS 25-02-02, Underground Storage Tank (UST); CAS 25-23-11, Contaminated Materials; CAS 25-12-01, Boiler; CAS 25-01-06, AST; CAS 25-01-07, AST; CAS 25-02-13, UST; CAS 26- 01-01, Filter Tank (Rad) and Piping; CAS 26-01-02, Filter Tank (Rad); CAS 26-99-01, Radioactively Contaminated Filters; CAS 26-02-01, UST; CAS 26-23-01, Contaminated Liquids Spreader. Based on site history, process knowledge, and previous field efforts, contaminants of potential concern for CAU 127 include radionuclides, metals, total petroleum hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, asbestos, and polychlorinated biphenyls. Additionally, …

In 1997, the UK programme for the deep disposal of radioactive waste was ''stopped dead in its tracks'' with the refusal by the Secretary of State for the Environment to allow Nirex to go ahead with its plans for an underground Rock Characterisation Facility at Sellafield in north-west England. Since that time a House of Lords' Select Committee has held an inquiry into what went wrong and what the way ahead should be. In addition, Nirex and the nuclear industry players have also been analyzing the past with a view to learning from the experience in taking things forward. In Nirex's view this is essentially an ethical issue; the waste exists and we should deal with it in this generation. Three areas need to be better addressed if a successful program of management of the nation's radioactive waste is to be achieved: the process of how policy development and implementation can be achieved; the structure of the nuclear industry and its relationship to the waste management organization; and the behavior of the players in their interaction with stakeholders. All three are underpinned by the need for transparency. In recognition that developing a policy for managing radioactive waste has to be …

This report discusses a methodology for increasing the efficiency and decreasing the cost of vitrifying nuclear waste by optimizing waste-glass formulation. This methodology involves collecting and generating a property-composition database (for glass properties that determine waste-glass processability and acceptability) and relating these properties to glass composition via property-composition models. The report explains how the property-composition models are developed, fitted to data and evaluated, validated using additional data, used for glass-formulation optimization, and continuously updated in response to changes in waste-composition estimates and processing technologies. Further, the report describes a waste-glass property-composition database compiled from literature sources and presents the results from a critical evaluation and screening of the data for applicability to Hanford waste glasses. Finally, the report provides interim property-composition models for melt viscosity, liquidus temperature (with spinel and zircon primary crystalline phases), and Product Consistency Test normalized releases of B, Na, and Li. Models were fitted to a subset of the database deemed most relevant for the anticipated Hanford waste-glass composition region.

Following a referendum in Italy in 1987, the four Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) owned and operated by the state utility ENEL were closed. After closing the NPPs, ENEL selected a ''safestore'' decommissioning strategy; anticipating a safestore period of some 40-50 years. This approach was consistent with the funds collected during plant operation, and was reinforced by the lack of both a waste repository and a set of national free release limits for contaminated materials in Italy. During 1999, twin decisions were made to privatize ENEL and to transform the nuclear division into a separate subsidiary of the ENEL group. This group was renamed Sogin and during the following year, ownership of the company was transferred to the Italian Treasury. On formation, Sogin was asked by the Italian government to review the national decommissioning strategy. The objective of the review was to move from a safestore strategy to a prompt decommissioning strategy, with the target of releasing all of the nuclear sites by 2020. It was recognized that this target was conditional upon the availability of a national LLW repository together with interim stores for both spent fuel and HLW by 2009. The government also agreed that additional costs caused by …

The Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Environmental Management (EM) continues to pursue cost-effective, environmental cleanup of the weapons complex sites with a concomitant emphasis on deployment of innovative technologies as a means to this end. The EM Office of Science and Technology (OST) pursues a strategy that entails identification of technologies that have potential applications throughout the DOE complex: at multiple DOE sites and at multiple facilities on those sites. It further encourages a competitive procurement process for the various applications entailed in the remediation of a given facility. These strategies require a competitive private-sector supplier base to help meet EM needs. OST supports technology development and deployment through investments in partnerships with private industry to enhance the acceptance of their technology products within the DOE market. Since 1992, OST and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) have supported the re search and development of technology products and services offered by the private sector. During this time, NETL has managed over 140 research and development projects involving industrial and university partners. These projects involve research in a broad range of EM related topics, including deactivation and decommissioning, characterization, monitoring, sensors, waste separation, groundwater remediation, robotics, and mixed waste treatment. …

A study was performed to develop a strategy for the removal of fuel-containing material (FCM) from the Chernobyl Unit 4 Shelter and for the related waste management. This study was performed during Phase 1 of the Shelter Implementation Plan (SIP) and was funded by the Chernobyl Shelter Fund. The main objective for Phase 2 of the SIP is to stabilize the Shelter and to construct a New Confinement (NC) by the year 2007. In addition, the SIP includes studies on the strategy and on the conceptual design implications of the removal of FCM from the Shelter. This is considered essential for the ultimate goal, the transformation of the Shelter into an environmentally safe system.