Uranium-233 (t{sub 1/2} {approx} 1.59E5 years) is an artificial, fissile isotope of uranium that has significant importance in nuclear forensics. The isotope provides a unique signature in determining the origin and provenance of uranium-bearing materials and is valuable as a mass spectrometric tracer. Alpha spectrometry was employed in the critical evaluation of a {sup 233}U standard reference material (SRM-995) as a dual tracer system based on the in-growth of {sup 229}Th (t{sub 1/2} {approx} 7.34E3 years) for {approx}35 years following radiochemical purification. Preliminary investigations focused on the isotopic analysis of standards and unmodified fractions of SRM-995; all samples were separated and purified using a multi-column anion-exchange scheme. The {sup 229}Th/{sup 233}U atom ratio for SRM-995 was found to be 1.598E-4 ({+-} 4.50%) using recovery-corrected radiochemical methods. Using the Bateman equations and relevant half-lives, this ratio reflects a material that was purified {approx} 36.8 years prior to this analysis. The calculated age is discussed in contrast with both the date of certification and the recorded date of last purification.

With the start of a research and development effort directed towards the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC), it is essential that US industry become involved as soon as possible. For that reason, I describe what a conventional accelerator complex is like and therefore what the first stages of the SSC would entail.

We have investigated the synthesis and properties of deposited oxides on Si and Ge for use as alternative gate dielectrics in MOSFET applications. The capacitance and leakage current behavior of polycrystalline Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} films synthesized by pulsed-laser deposition is reported. In addition, we also discuss the growth of epitaxial oxide structures. In particular, we have investigated the use of silicide termination for oxide growth on (001) Si using laser-molecular beam epitaxy. In addition, we discuss a novel approach involving the use of hydrogen to eliminate native oxide during initial dielectric oxide nucleation on (001) Ge.

We argue that extended technicolor augmented with topcolor requires that all mixing between the third and the first two quark generations resides in the mixing matrix of left-handed down quarks. Then, the anti-B_d--B_d mixing that occurs in topcolor models constrains the coloron and Z' boson masses to be greater than about 5 TeV. This implies fine tuning of the topcolor couplings to better than 1percent.

The first application of an exterior complex scaling method to an atomic scattering problem with distinct rearrangement channels is reported. Calculations are performed for positron-hydrogen collisions in an s-wave model employing an electron-positron potential of V{sub 12} = -(8+(r{sub 1}-r{sub 2}){sup 2}){sup 1/2}, using the time-independent propagating exterior complex scaling (PECS) method. This potential has the correct long-range Coulomb tail of the full problem and the results demonstrate that ECS-based methods can accurately calculate scattering, ionization and positronium formation cross sections in this three-body rearrangement collision.

Natural radionuclides have been proposed for use in assessing the transport of ozone and aerosols in the troposphere. For example, {sup 7}Be is known to be produced in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere by interactions with cosmogenic particles. Beryllium-7 has a 53.28-day half-life and is a gamma emitter that attaches itself to fine particles in the atmosphere once it is formed. Indeed, in tropospheric aerosol samples TBe is typically found in association with aerosol particles that are 0.3 {micro}m in diameter. Some investigators have asserted that ozone from aloft can be transported into rural and urban regions during stratospheric/tropospheric folding events, leading to increased background levels of ozone. During the Texas 2000 Air Quality study, aerosol samples with a 2.5-{micro}m cutoff were collected during 12-hour cycles (day/night) for a 30-day period at the Deer Park, Texas, field site in August-September 2000. To monitor {sup 7}Be levels, high-volume samples were collected on glass fiber filters on Julian dates 225-259. Sample collection was at a field site near a city park, away from any nearby traffic. This site is under routine operation by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. Instruments operated at this same site during the study period included an …

Accidents in complex systems send us signals. They may be harbingers of a catastrophe. Some even argue that a ''normal'' consequence of operations in a complex organization may not only be the goods it produces, but also accidents and--inevitably--catastrophes. We would like to tell you the story of a large, complex organization, whose history questions the argument ''that accidents just happen.'' Starting from a less than enviable safety record, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) has accumulated over 2.5 million safe hours. The story of NIF is still unfolding. The facility is still being constructed and commissioned. But the steps NIF has taken in achieving its safety record provide a principled blueprint that may be of value to others. Describing that principled blueprint is the purpose of this paper. The first part of this paper is a case study of NIF and its effort to achieve a world-class safety record. This case study will include a description of (1) NIF's complex systems, (2) NIF's early safety history, (3) factors that may have initiated its safety culture change, and (4) the evolution of its safety blueprint. In the last part of the paper, we will compare NIF's safety culture to what safety …

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The effects of electrolyte composition and oxide film age on the crevice corrosion properties of alloys 625 and 22 were studied at temperatures ranging from 60 to 95 C in concentrated chloride electrolytes. Critical potentials were determined using conventional current density thresholds and comparisons were made between 625 and 22 on the basis of these critical potentials. Air aged 22 specimens exhibited the highest resistance to crevice corrosion at 95 C in terms of critical crevice potentials, while freshly polished 22 exhibited the lowest resistance. Studies over the entire, temperature range showed that air aged 22 is more resistant to crevice corrosion than air aged 625 as evidenced by higher critical crevice potentials. As the temperature was lowered from 95 to 8O C, critical crevice potentials for 22 either approached or exceeded experimentally determined Cr (Mo, Ni) transpassive potentials.

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This task involves the recovery of the liquid (supernatant or supernate) portions of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Melton Valley Storage Tank waste in a hot cell and treatment of the supernate to separate and remove the radionuclides. The supernate is utilized in testing various sorbent materials for removing cesium, strontium, and technetium from the highly alkaline, saline solutions. Batch tests are used to evaluate and select the most promising materials for supernate treatment to reduce the amount of waste for final disposal. Once the sorbents have been selected based on the results from the batch tests, small column tests are made to verify the batch data. Additional data from these tests can be used for process design. The sorption tests emphasize evaluation of newly developed sorbents and engineered forms of sorbents. Methods are also evaluated for recovering the radionuclides from the sorbents, including evaluating conditions for eluting ion exchange resins. A final report will summarize the results and compare the results with those of other investigators, along with recommendations for separating and concentrating radionuclides from DOE storage tank supernates at Oak Ridge and other sites. Documentation of the data and the significance of the findings will be compared, and …

Argus is a twin beam, 20 cm output aperture, Nd:glass laser system that has delivered 4TW to a laser fusion target. This performance is based on the concepts that multiple spatial filtering can prevent beam fill factors. Damage to optics due to self focusing and filamentation does not occur on Argus. The only form of damage is induced by broadband radiation from xenon flashlamps interacting with contaminants on or in the Nd:glass. The severity of damage is measured by the fraction of the beam obscured by the damage sites. This averages 0.1% per surface or 0.75% per arm. The amount of damage does not appear to be strongly related to the number of amplifier firings and generally occurs during the first few firings.

The Facilities Disposition Division (FDD) at the Savannah River Site is engaged in planning the deactivation/closure of three of the site's five reactor disassembly basins. Activities are currently underway at 105-R Disassembly Basin and will continue with the 105-P and 105-C disassembly basins. The basins still contain the cooling and shielding water that was present when operations ceased. Low concentrations of radionuclides are present, with tritium, Cs-137, and Sr-90 being the major contributors. Although there is no evidence that any of the basins have leaked, the 50-year-old facilities will eventually contaminate the surrounding groundwaters. The FDD is pursuing a pro-active solution to close the basins in-place and prevent a release to the groundwater. In-situ ion-exchange is currently underway at the R-Reactor Disassembly Basin to reduce the Cs and Sr concentrations to levels that would allow release of the treated water to previously used on-site cooling ponds. A NEPA Environmental Assessment (EA) is being prepared to propose the preferred closure alternative for each of the three basins. The EA will be the primary mechanism to inform the public and gain stakeholder and regulatory approval.

A gap-filled, quality assessed eddy covariance dataset has recently become available for the AmeriFluxnetwork. This dataset uses standard processing and produces commonly used science variables. This shared dataset enables robust comparisons across different analyses. Of course, there are many remaining questions. One of those is how to define 'during the day' which is an important concept for many analyses. Some studies have used local time ?for example 9am to 5pm; others have used thresholds on photosynthetic active radiation (PAR). A related question is how to derive quantities such as the Bowen ratio. Most studies compute the ratio of the averages of the latent heat (LE) and sensible heat (H). In this study, we use different methods of defining 'during the day' for GPP, LE, and H. We evaluate the differences between methods in two ways. First, we look at a number of statistics of GPP. Second, we look at differences in the derived Bowen ratio. Our goal is not science per se, but rather informatics in support of the science.

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The escape rates and evolution of a distribution of particles are considered for a 2-D model of transverse motion of particles in hadronic storage rings, when nonlinear resonances and external diffusion are present. Dynamic enhancement of diffusion inside separatrices can develop under a certain geometry of resonance oscillations and relatively wide resonances, leading to the fast growth of distribution tails and escape rates. The phenomenon is absent in 1-D. 10 refs., 4 figs.

We have used Coherent Bragg Rod Analysis (COBRA) to investigate the atomic structure of a 5.6 nm thick Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} film epitaxially grown on a (100) GaAs substrate. COBRA is a method to directly obtain the structure of systems periodic in two-dimensions by determining the complex scattering factors along the substrate Bragg rods. The system electron density and atomic structure are obtained by Fourier transforming the complex scattering factors into real space. The results show that the stacking order of the first seven Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} film layers resembles the stacking order of Ga and As layers in GaAs then changes to the stacking order of cubic bulk Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3}. This behavior is distinctly different from the measured stacking order in a 2.7 nm thick Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} in which the GaAs stacking order persists throughout the entire film.

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This article discusses the fabrication of superhydrophobic bamboo timber by magnetron sputtering and nanoimprint stamps. It was expected that this work could promote the applications of superhydrophobic and conductive bamboo products.

Article discusses how Lipid bilayers represent the interface between cells (or organelles) and their environment. Authors claim that this special topic brings together new reports on several of these lipid classes to shed light on the impacts of plant lipid metabolism and membrane organization on plant immunity.

Increased use of higher-efficiency compression ignition direct injection (CIDI) diesel engines instead of today's gasoline engines will result in reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gases emissions. However, NO{sub x} and particulate exhaust emissions from diesel engines must be significantly reduced due to their possible adverse health effects. Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is an effective way to reduce NO{sub x} emissions from diesel engines, but the particulates and acidic exhaust products in the recirculated gas will contaminate engine lubricant oil by increasing the soot content and total acid number (TAN). These factors will increase the wear rate in many critical engine components and seriously compromise engine durability. We have investigated the use of commercially available thin and hard coatings (TiN, TiCN, TiAlN, and CrN) to mitigate the negative effects of EGR on wear. In tests with the four-ball machine according to ASTM D4172, we found that all the four coatings deposited on M-50 steel significantly reduced wear in EGR-contaminated oils when compared with uncoated M50 steel balls.

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We present a microscopic theory of the excitonic Stokes and anti-Stokes energy transfer mechanisms between two widely separated unequal quantum wells with a large energy mismatch ({Delta}) at low temperatures (T). Exciton transfer through dipolar coupling, photon-exchange coupling and over-barrier ionization of the excitons through exciton-exciton Auger processes are examined. The energy transfer rate is calculated as a function of T and the center-to-center distance d between the two wells. The rates depend sensitively on T for plane-wave excitons. For located excitons, the rates depend on T only through the T-dependence of the localization radius.