Initial Tandem Mirror Hybrid Study predicts the ability to produce large amounts of fissile fuel (2 to 7 tonnes per year U233 from a 4000 MW plant) at a cost that adds less than 25% to the cost of power from an LWR.

Article on the mechanism of strain release in carbon nanotubes.

Four feasibility studies have been developed by the INEL on thermal enhanced oil recovery (TEOR) Use of Supercritical Fluid processes for Detoxification of Pollutants, and Hydraulic Conversion to Electricity, and Direct Use. The studies provide information bases for potential industrial partners in the resource utilization. A joint proposal from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and INEL on supercritical fluid processes in going forward. Western Resources Technology has begun development of a dozen geopressured well projects. An hydraulic turbine test will be conducted at Pleasant Bayou in Summer of 1991. Dr. Wayne Steele of Anglewood, TX, a retired medical doctor, is proposing to raise fresh water Australian lobsters in the Pleasant Bayou Well fire water pond. Additional projects such as catfish farming, crayfish, desalintion plant and agricultural greenhouse use of the resource heat are waiting in the wings'' for the DOE wells to become available for pilot use projects. 2 figs.

Experimental results are reported from two measurementtechniques (semiconductor switching and electro-optic sampling) thatallow temporal characterization of electron bunches produced by alaser-driven plasma-based accelerator. As femtosecond electron bunchesexit the plasma-vacuum interface, coherent transition radiation (at THzfrequencies) is emitted. Measuring the properties of this radiationallows characterization of the electron bunches. Theoretical work on theemission mechanism is represented, including a model that calculates theTHz waveform from a given bunch profile. It is found that the spectrum ofthe THz pulse is coherent up to the 200 mu m thick crystal (ZnTe)detection limit of 4 THz, which corresponds to the production of sub-50fs (root-mean-square) electron bunch structure. The measurementsdemonstrate both the shot-to-shot stability of bunch parameters that arecritical to THz emission (such as total charge and bunch length), as wellas femtosecond synchrotron between bunch, THz pulse, and laserbeam.

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Although electrokinetic effects are not new, only recently have they been investigated for possible use in energy conversion devices. We have recently reported the electrokinetic generation of molecular hydrogen from rapidly flowing liquid water microjets [Duffin et al. JPCC 2007, 111, 12031]. Here, we describe the use of liquid water microjets for direct conversion of electrokinetic energy to electrical power. Previous studies of electrokinetic power production have reported low efficiencies ({approx}3%), limited by back conduction of ions at the surface and in the bulk liquid. Liquid microjets eliminate energy dissipation due to back conduction and, measuring only at the jet target, yield conversion efficiencies exceeding 10%.

An over-dense microwave driven ion source capable ofproducing deuterium (or hydrogen) beams at 100-200 mA/cm2 and with atomicfraction>90 percent was designed and tested with an electrostaticlow energy beam transport section (LEBT). This ion source wasincorporatedinto the design of an Accelerator Driven Neutron Source(ADNS). The other key components in the ADNS include a 6 MeV RFQaccelerator, a beam bending and scanning system, and a deuterium gastarget. In this design a 40 mA D+ beam is produced from a 6 mm diameteraperture using a 60 kV extraction voltage. The LEBT section consists of 5electrodes arranged to form 2 Einzel lenses that focus the beam into theRFQ entrance. To create the ECR condition, 2 induction coils are used tocreate ~; 875 Gauss on axis inside the source chamber. To prevent HVbreakdown in the LEBT a magnetic field clamp is necessary to minimize thefield in this region. Matching of the microwave power from the waveguideto the plasma is done by an autotuner. We observed significantimprovement of the beam quality after installing a boron nitride linerinside the ion source. The measured emittance data are compared withPBGUNS simulations.

Stimulated sulfate-reduction is a bioremediation technique utilized for the sequestration of heavy metals in the subsurface.We performed laboratory column experiments to investigate the geoelectrical response of iron sulfide transformations by Desulfo vibriovulgaris. Two geoelectrical methods, (1) spectral induced polarization (SIP), and (2) electrodic potential measurements, were investigated. Aqueous geochemistry (sulfate, lactate, sulfide, and acetate), observations of precipitates (identified from electron microscopy as iron sulfide), and electrodic potentials on bisulfide ion (HS) sensitive silver-silver chloride (Ag-AgCl) electrodes (630 mV) were diagnostic of induced transitions between an aerobic iron sulfide forming conditions and aerobic conditions promoting iron sulfide dissolution. The SIP data showed 10m rad anomalies during iron sulfide mineralization accompanying microbial activity under an anaerobic transition. These anomalies disappeared during iron sulfide dissolution under the subsequent aerobic transition. SIP model parameters based on a Cole-Cole relaxation model of the polarization at the mineral-fluid interface were converted to (1) estimated biomineral surface area to pore volume (Sp), and (2) an equivalent polarizable sphere diameter (d) controlling the relaxation time. The temporal variation in these model parameters is consistent with filling and emptying of pores by iron sulfide biofilms, as the system transitions between anaerobic (pore filling) and aerobic (pore emptying) conditions. The …

WRN is unique among the five human RecQ DNA helicases by having a functional exonuclease domain (WRN-exo) and being defective in the premature aging and cancer-related disorder Werner syndrome. Here, we characterize WRN-exo crystal structures, biochemical activity and participation in DNA end-joining. Metal ion complex structures, active site mutations and activity assays reveal a two-metal-ion mediated nuclease mechanism. The DNA end-binding Ku70/80 complex specifically stimulates WRN-exo activity, and structure-based mutational inactivation of WRN-exo alters DNA end-joining in human cells. We furthermore establish structural and biochemical similarities of WRN-exo to DnaQ family replicative proofreading exonucleases, with WRN-specific adaptations consistent with dsDNA specificity and functionally important conformational changes. These results indicate WRN-exo is a human DnaQ family member and support analogous proof-reading activities that are stimulated by Ku70/80 with implications for WRN functions in age related pathologies and maintenance of genomic integrity.

Very large multidimensional arrays are commonly used in data intensive scientific computations as well as on-line analytical processingapplications referred to as MOLAP. The storage organization of such arrays on disks is done by partitioning the large global array into fixed size sub-arrays called chunks or tiles that form the units of data transfer between disk and memory. Typical queries involve the retrieval of sub-arrays in a manner that access all chunks that overlap the query results. An important metric of the storage efficiency is the expected number of chunks retrieved over all such queries. The question that immediately arises is"what shapes of array chunks give the minimum expected number of chunks over a query workload?" The problem of optimal chunking was first introduced by Sarawagi and Stonebraker who gave an approximate solution. In this paper we develop exact mathematical models of the problem and provide exact solutions using steepest descent and geometric programming methods. Experimental results, using synthetic and real life workloads, show that our solutions are consistently within than 2.0percent of the true number of chunks retrieved for any number of dimensions. In contrast, the approximate solution of Sarawagi and Stonebraker can deviate considerably from the true result with …

In case of porous fluid-saturated medium the Biot's poroelasticity theory predicts a movement of the pore fluid relative to the skeleton on seismic wave propagation through the medium. This phenomenon opens an opportunity for investigation of the flow properties of the hydrocarbon-saturated reservoirs. It is well known that relative fluid movement becomes negligible at seismic frequencies if porous material is homogeneous and well cemented. In this case the theory predicts an underestimated seismic wave velocity dispersion and attenuation. Based on Biot's theory, Helle et al. (2003) have numerically demonstrated the substantial effects on both velocity and attenuation by heterogeneous permeability and saturation in the rocks. Besides fluid flow effect, the effects of scattering (Gurevich, et al., 1997) play very important role in case of finely layered porous rocks and heterogeneous fluid saturation. We have used both fluid flow and scattering effects to derive a frequency-dependent seismic attribute which is proportional to fluid mobility and applied it for analysis of reservoir permeability.

The hydride anion H- would not be bound in the absence ofelectron correlation. Electron correlation drives the doublephotoionization process and, thus should impact double photoionizationresults most strongly for H-. We present fully differential crosssections for the three-body breakup of H- by single photon absorption.The absolute triple-differential and single-differential cross sectionswere yielded by ab initio calculations making use of exterior complexscaling within a discrete variable representation partialwave basis.Results calculated at photon energies of 18eV and 30eV are compared withreported cross sections for helium calculated at 20eV above the doubleionization threshold. These comparisons show a clear signature of initialstate correlation that differentiate the He and H- cases.

Small animal SPECT imaging systems have multiple potential applications in biomedical research. Whereas SPECT data are commonly interpreted qualitatively in a clinical setting, the ability to accurately quantify measurements will increase the utility of the SPECT data for laboratory measurements involving small animals. In this work, we assess the effect of photon attenuation, scatter and partial volume errors on the quantitative accuracy of small animal SPECT measurements, first with Monte Carlo simulation and then confirmed with experimental measurements. The simulations modeled the imaging geometry of a commercially available small animal SPECT system. We simulated the imaging of a radioactive source within a cylinder of water, and reconstructed the projection data using iterative reconstruction algorithms. The size of the source and the size of the surrounding cylinder were varied to evaluate the effects of photon attenuation and scatter on quantitative accuracy. We found that photon attenuation can reduce the measured concentration of radioactivity in a volume of interest in the center of a rat-sized cylinder of water by up to 50percent when imaging with iodine-125, and up to 25percent when imaging with technetium-99m. When imaging with iodine-125, the scatter-to-primary ratio can reach up to approximately 30percent, and can cause overestimation of …

The Focusing DIRC is considered for the Barrel PID at a possible Super-B factory. To reduce sensitivity to background, it would be desirable to reduce a size of the present BaBar photon detector. One way to do it is to replace it with a focusing optics and use smaller photon detector pixels. We have simulated the focusing optics with simulation software based on a 3D calculation performed with the Mathematica program. The software does not use Optica package, instead, it uses its own 3D algorithm. The advantage of the presented method is that it is transparent, fast and that it uses a full backing of the Mathematica graphics, and it does not require expertise to run Geat4 MC software.

This paper provides a comparative discussion of coupledhydromechanical processes in three different geological formations:crystalline rock, plastic clay, and indurated clay. First, the importantprocesses and associated property characteristics in the three rock typesare discussed. Then, one particular hydromechanical coupling is broughtup for detailed consideration, that of pore pressure changes in nearbyrock during tunnel excavation. Three field experiments in the three rocktypes are presented and their results are discussed. It is shown that themain physical processes are common to all three rock types, but with verydifferent time constants. The different issues raised by these cases arepointed out, and the transferable lessons learned are identified. Suchcross fertilization and simultaneous understanding of coupled processesin three very different rock types help to greatly enhance confidence inthe state of science in this field.

Many tools that target parallel and distributed environments must co-locate a set of daemons with the distributed processes of the target application. However, efficient and portable deployment of these daemons on large scale systems is an unsolved problem. We overcome this gap with LaunchMON, a scalable, robust, portable, secure, and general purpose infrastructure for launching tool daemons. Its API allows tool builders to identify all processes of a target job, launch daemons on the relevant nodes and control daemon interaction. Our results show that Launch-MON scales to very large daemon counts and substantially enhances performance over existing ad hoc mechanisms.

Rotorua, New Zealand, lies inside a volcanic caldera. Natural steam is extensively used for space and water heating, and electric power generation. This report presents results of a preliminary reconnaissance survey of atmospheric H/sub 2/S levels in the area and attempts to relate these levels to health statistics in the region. 5 refs., 8 tabs. (ACR)

Quality assurance programs cannot be transferred from one organization to another without attention to existing cultures and traditions. Introduction of quality assurance programs constitutes a significant change and represents a significant impact on the organizational structure and operational mode. Quality assurance professionals are change agents, but do not know how to be effective ones. Quality assurance as a body of knowledge and experience can only become accepted when its practitioners become familiar with their role as change agents. 8 references.

In certain high-current applications the resistance of the aluminum conductors is an important design parameter. Such a case is the aluminum exploding-bridge used in some nuclear detonators. The resistance of the network must be accurately known so that the individual bridge will receive the proper firing current. Vapor-deposited, thick aluminum films (0.011 mm) are often used to produce the necessary circuitry. These films are suitably masked and etched to make the conductors. Conventional etching methods for aluminum or aluminum-0.1 wt percent copper do not yield conductors with a well-defined, reproducible cross section. This results in unacceptable variations in electrical resistance. For this application, we have developed a new etching solution that contains 25 to 50 vol percent polyphosphoric acid, 75 to 50 vol percent orthophosphoric acid, and 10 to 30 g/l ferric chloride. Etching may be done at 55 to 65/sup 0/C, but for precision etching the temperature should be controlled to +-1/sup 0/C. The solution is useful for dip etching of aluminum circuits. The paper describes some limited production experience with this etch.

My remarks are concerned with employing the Compact Torus magnetic field configuration to produce fusion energy. In particular, I would like to consider high energy density regimes where the pressures generated extend well beyond the strength of materials. Under such conditions, where nearby walls are vaporized and pushed aside each shot, the technological constraints are very different from usual magnetic fusion and may admit opportunities for an improved fusion reactor design. 5 refs., 3 figs.

As part of a long range plan to develop a comprehensive climate systems modeling capability, the authors have taken the Atmospheric General Circulation Model originally developed by Arakawa and collaborators at UCLA and have recast it in a portable, parallel form. The code uses an explicit time-advance procedure on a staggered three-dimensional Eulerian mesh. The authors have implemented a two-dimensional latitude/longitude domain decomposition message passing strategy. Both dynamic memory management and interprocessor communication are handled with macro constructs that are preprocessed prior to compilation. The code can be moved about a variety of platforms, including massively parallel processors, workstation clusters, and vector processors, with a mere change of three parameters. Performance on the various platforms as well as issues associated with coupling different models for major components of the climate system are discussed.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has more than 2.5 million tons of radioactive scrap metal (RSM) that is either in inventory or expected to be generated over the next 25 years as major facilities within the weapons complex are decommissioned. Much of this material cannot be surface decontaminated. In an attempt to conserve natural resources and to avoid burial of this material at DOE disposal sites, options are now being explored to {open_quotes}beneficially reuse{close_quotes} this material in applications where small amounts of radioactivity are not a detriment. One example is where RSM is currently being beneficially used to fabricate shield blocks for use in DOE medium energy physics programs. This paper describes other initiatives now underway within DOE to utilize RSM to fabricate other products, such as radioactive waste shipping, storage and disposal containers.

The anthrax letters event of 2001 has raised our awareness of the potential importance of non-biological measurements on samples of biological agents used in a terrorism incident. Such measurements include a variety of mass spectral, spectroscopic, and other instrumental techniques that are part of the current armamentarium of the modern materials analysis or analytical chemistry laboratory. They can provide morphological, trace element, isotopic, and other molecular ''fingerprints'' of the agent that may be key pieces of evidence, supplementing that obtained from genetic analysis or other biological properties. The generation and interpretation of such data represents a new domain of forensic science, closely aligned with other areas of ''microbial forensics''. This paper describes some major elements of the R&D agenda that will define this sub-field in the immediate future and provide the foundations for a coherent national capability. Data from chemical and physical analysis of BW materials can be useful to an investigation of a bio-terror event in two ways. First, it can be used to compare evidence samples collected at different locations where such incidents have occurred (e.g. between the powders in the New York and Washington letters in the Amerithrax investigation) or between the attack samples and those seized …

Nuclei are prototypes of many-body open quantum systems. Complex aggregates of protons and neutrons that interact through forces arising from quantum chromo-dynamics, nuclei exhibit both bound and unbound states, which can be strongly coupled. In this respect, one of the major challenges for computational nuclear physics, is to provide a unified description of structural and reaction properties of nuclei that is based on the fundamental underlying physics: the constituent nucleons and the realistic interactions among them. This requires a combination of innovative theoretical approaches and high-performance computing. In this contribution, we present one of such promising techniques, the ab initio no-core shell model/resonating-group method, and discuss applications to light nuclei scattering and fusion reactions that power stars and Earth-base fusion facilities.