One-dimensional inorganic materials such as carbon nanotubes1 and semiconductor nanowires have been central to important advances in materials science in the last decade. Unique mechanical and electronic properties of these molecular-scale wires enabled a variety of applications ranging from novel composite materials, to electronic circuits, to new sensors. Often, these applications require non-covalent modification of carbon nanotubes with organic compounds, DNA and biomolecules, and polymers to change nanotube properties or to add new functionality. We recently demonstrated a versatile and flexible strategy for non-covalent modification of carbon nanotubes using layer-by-layer self-assembly of polyelectrolytes. Researchers used this technique extensively for modification of flat surfaces, micro-, and nano-particles; however, little is known about the mechanism and the factors influencing layer-by-layer self-assembly in one-dimensional nanostructures. The exact conformation of polyelectrolyte chains deposited on single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) is still unknown. There are two possible configurations: flexible polymers wrapping around the nanotube and stretched, rigid chains stacked parallel to the nanotube axis. Several factors, such as polymer rigidity, surface curvature, and strength of polymer-surface interactions, can determine the nature of assembly. Persistence length of the polymer chain should be one of the critical parameters, since it determines the chain's ability to wrap around the …

Measurements of radially resolved L-shell Mo spectra from wire array pinches on Sandia's Z generator are presented and analyzed using a collisional-radiative model. The spectra indicate large radial gradients in density over the {approx}8-mm-diameter plasma column, but only the emission from the {approx}2 mm central region of the pinch appears to be influenced by opacity. Population inversions and significant gain factors for 100-200 {angstrom} transitions in Ne-like Mo are predicted to exist at the diagnosed plasma conditions.

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Possible deterioration of anode sense wires used in a hydrogen-filled neutron detector is investigated. Wires were loaded with free weights and put into a wire detector environment. Stainless Steel, Tungsten, and Platinum wires did not break after exposure to charge equivalent to many wire lifetimes. Furthermore, exposure to hydrogen gas caused no noticeable surface degradation or change in wire yield strength.

Maintaining a multi-model database over a generation or more of model development provides an important framework for assessing model improvement. Using control integrations, we compare the simulation of the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and its extratropical impact, in models developed for the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report with models developed in the late 1990's (the so-called Coupled Model Intercomparison Project-2 [CMIP2] models). The IPCC models tend to be more realistic in representing the frequency with which ENSO occurs, and they are better at locating enhanced temperature variability over the eastern Pacific Ocean. When compared with reanalyses, the IPCC models have larger pattern correlations of tropical surface air temperature than do the CMIP2 models during the boreal winter peak phase of El Nino. However, for sea-level pressure and precipitation rate anomalies, a clear separation in performance between the two vintages of models is not as apparent. The strongest improvement occurs for the modeling groups whose CMIP2 model tended to have the lowest pattern correlations with observations. This has been checked by subsampling the multi-century IPCC simulations in a manner to be consistent with the single 80-year time segment available from CMIP2. Our results suggest that multi-century …

Current, mid-term and long range technologies for detection of pathogens and toxins are briefly described in the context of performance metrics and operational scenarios. Predictive (evolutionary) and speculative (revolutionary) assessments are given with trade-offs identified, where possible, among competing performance goals.

We present results for two-particle transverse momentum correlations, ({Delta}p{sub t,i}{Delta}p{sub t,j}), as a function of event centrality for Au+Au collisions at {radical}s{sub NN} = 20, 62, 130, and 200 GeV at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. We observe correlations decreasing with centrality that are similar at all four incident energies. The correlations multiplied by the multiplicity density increase with incident energy and the centrality dependence may show evidence of processes such as thermalization, jet production, or the saturation of transverse flow. The square root of the correlations divided by the event-wise average transverse momentum per event shows little or no beam energy dependence and generally agrees with previous measurements at the Super Proton Synchrotron.

The Bio-Encyclopedia at the Biodefense Knowledge Center (BKC) is being constructed to allow an early detection of emerging biological threats to homeland security. It requires highly structured information extracted from variety of data sources. However, the quantity of new and vital information available from every day sources cannot be assimilated by hand, and therefore reliable high-throughput information extraction techniques are much anticipated. In support of the BKC, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, together with the University of Utah, are developing an information extraction system built around the bioterrorism domain. This paper reports two important pieces of our effort integrated in the system: key phrase extraction and semantic tagging. Whereas two key phrase extraction technologies developed during the course of project help identify relevant texts, our state-of-the-art semantic tagging system can pinpoint phrases related to emerging biological threats. Also we are enhancing and tailoring the Bio-Encyclopedia by augmenting semantic dictionaries and extracting details of important events, such as suspected disease outbreaks. Some of these technologies have already been applied to large corpora of free text sources vital to the BKC mission, including ProMED-mail, PubMed abstracts, and the DHS's Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection (IAIP) news clippings. In …

Using a method originally proposed for describing a continuum-space polymer fluid, a new expression for the Helmholtz energy of mixing is proposed for a binary lattice mixture. Molecular size asymmetry and nonrandomness due to segment-segment interactions are taken into account. An expression proposed by Yan, Liu and Hu for a binary lattice mixture of monomers, based on the Ising model, is used as a reference system. Calculated critical constants and liquid-liquid coexistence curves are in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulations for lattice mixtures with modest size asymmetry. Because lattice spacing rises with increasing temperature, comparison of calculated binary liquid-liquid equilibria with experiment requires that calculations take into account that the interchange energy falls as temperature rises. While the new expression for the Helmholtz energy of mixing provides much improvement over the Flory-Huggins equation, calculated liquid-liquid equilibria for three binary systems are similar to those from Guggenheim's quasi-chemical theory.

There has been a significant progress in ab initio approaches to the structure of light nuclei. Starting from realistic two- and three-nucleon interactions the ab initio no-core shell model (NCSM) can predict low-lying levels in p-shell nuclei. It is a challenging task to extend ab initio methods to describe nuclear reactions. In this contribution, we present a brief overview of the NCSM with examples of recent applications as well as the first steps taken toward nuclear reaction applications. In particular, we discuss cross section calculations of p+{sup 6}Li and {sup 6}He+p scattering as well as a calculation of the astrophysically important {sup 7}Be(p, {gamma}){sup 8}B S-factor.

We report on applications of the ab initio, no-core shell model with the primary goal of achieving an accurate description of nuclear structure and reactions from the fundamental inter-nucleon interactions. We show that realistic two-nucleon interactions are inadequate to describe the low-lying structure of {sup 10}B, and that realistic three-nucleon interactions are essential. We report preliminary attempts to compute astrophysical S-factors

As part of an ongoing project to generate a mitochondrial database for terrestrial tortoises based on museum specimens, the complete mitochondrial genome sequences of 10 species and a {approx}14 kb sequence from an eleventh species are reported. The sampling of the present study emphasizes Mediterranean tortoises (genus Testudo and their close relatives). Our new sequences are aligned, along with those of two testudinoid turtles from GenBank, Chrysemys picta and Mauremys reevesii, yielding an alignment of 14,858 positions, of which 3,238 are parsimony informative. We develop a phylogenetic taxonomy for Testudo and related species based on well-supported, diagnosable clades. Several well-supported nodes are recovered, including the monophyly of a restricted Testudo, T. kleinmanni + T. marginata (the Chersus clade), and the placement of the enigmatic African pancake tortoise (Malacochersustornieri) within the predominantly Palearctic greater Testudo group (Testudona tax. nov.). Despite the large amount of sequence reported, there is low statistical support for some nodes within Testudona and Sowe do not propose names for those groups. A preliminary and conservative estimation of divergence times implies a late Miocene diversification for the testudonan clade (6-12 million years ago), matching their first appearance in the fossil record. The multi-continental distribution of testudonan turtles can …

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The lateral organization and interactions of lipid and protein components within biological membranes are essential for their functions. Investigations of the lateral organization within membranes hinge upon the ability to differentiate one component of interest from another. Typically, fluorophores are conjugated to specific components, and the organization is probed with fluorescence microscopy. However, bulky fluorophores may change the physical properties of the components they label, only the labeled components can be visualized, and the diffraction limit of light restricts the lateral resolution. Here we present a method to image microdomains within supported lipid membranes using isotopic labels and high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) performed with the NanoSIMS 50 (Cameca). Lateral resolution of 100 nm is achieved with high sensitivity. Quantitative information on the lipid composition within each domain was determined using calibration curves constructed from homogeneous lipid bilayer samples that systematically varied in the isotopically labeled lipid content.

Mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequences are used extensively to reconstruct evolutionary relationships among recently diverged animals,and have constituted the most widely used markers for species- and generic-level relationships for the last decade or more. However, most studies to date have employed relatively small portions of the mt-genome. In contrast, complete mt-genomes primarily have been used to investigate deep divergences, including several studies of the amount of mt sequence necessary to recover ancient relationships. We sequenced and analyzed 24 complete mt-genomes from a group of salamander species exhibiting divergences typical of those in many species-level studies. We present the first comprehensive investigation of the amount of mt sequence data necessary to consistently recover the mt-genome tree at this level, using parsimony and Bayesian methods. Both methods of phylogenetic analysis revealed extremely similar results. A surprising number of well supported, yet conflicting, relationships were found in trees based on fragments less than {approx}2000 nucleotides (nt), typical of the vast majority of the thousands of mt-based studies published to date. Large amounts of data (11,500+ nt) were necessary to consistently recover the whole mt-genome tree. Some relationships consistently were recovered with fragments of all sizes, but many nodes required the majority of the mt-genome …

In this paper, we will examine how Russia's military and security forces might react to the detonation of a 10-kiloton nuclear weapon placed next to the walls surrounding the Kremlin. At the time of this 'big bang,' Putin is situated outside Moscow and survives the explosion. No one claims responsibility for the detonation. No other information is known. Numerous variables will determine how events ultimately unfold and how the military and security forces will respond. Prior to examining these variables in greater detail, it is imperative to elucidate first what we mean by Russia's military and security forces.

Data-centric workflow middleware systems are workflow systems that treat data as first class objects alongside programs. These systems improve the usability, responsiveness and efficiency of workflow execution over cluster (and grid) computers. In this work, we explore the scalability of one such system, GridDB, on cluster computers. We measure the performance and scalability of GridDB in executing data-intensive image processing workflows from the SuperMACHO astrophysics survey on a large cluster computer. Our first experimental study concerns the scale-up of GridDB. We make a rather surprising finding, that while the middleware system issues many queries and transactions to a DBMS, file system operations present the first-tier bottleneck. We circumvent this bottleneck and increase the scalability of GridDB by more than 2-fold on our image processing application (up to 128 nodes). In a second study, we demonstrate the sensitivity of GridDB performance (and therefore application performance) to characteristics of the workflows being executed. To manage these sensitivities, we provide guidelines for trading off the costs and benefits of GridDB at a fine-grain.

The development of new high-explosive (HE) formulations involves characterizing their safety and performance. Small-scale experiments requiring only a small amount of explosives are of interest because they can facilitate development while minimizing hazards and reducing cost. A detonation-spreading, dent test, called the Floret test, was designed to obtain performance data for new explosives. It utilizes the detonation of about a 1.0 g sample of HE, initiated by an accelerated aluminum flyer. Upon impact, the HE sample detonates and a copper witness plate absorbs the ensuing shock wave. The dent of the plate is then measured and correlated to the energetic output of the HE. Additionally, the dent measurement can be used to compare the performance of different explosives. The Floret test is beneficial because it quickly returns important performance information, while requiring only a small explosive sample. This work will explain the Floret test and discuss some exemplary results.

Article discussing the stability studies of transition-metal linkage isomers using quantum mechanical methods and groups 11 and 12 transition metals.

The charge state distributions of Fe, Na and F are determined in a photoionized laboratory plasma using high resolution x-ray spectroscopy. Independent measurements of the density and radiation flux indicate the ionization parameter {zeta} in the plasma reaches values {zeta} = 20-25 erg cm s{sup -1} under near steady-state conditions. A curve-of-growth analysis, which includes the effects of velocity gradients in a one-dimensional expanding plasma, fits the observed line opacities. Absorption lines are tabulated in the wavelength region 8-17 {angstrom}. Initial comparisons with a number of astrophysical x-ray photoionization models show reasonable agreement.

We study Z2 orbifolds of M-theory in terms of E10. We find a simple relation between the Z2 action on E10 and the imaginary root that corresponds [hep-th/0401053]to the"twisted sector" branes. We discuss the connection between the Kac-Moody algebra DE10 and the"untwisted" sector, and we demonstrate how DE18 can describe both the untwisted and twisted sectors simultaneously.

A data acquisition technique and relevant program for suppression of one of the systematic effects, namely the ''ghost'' effect, of a second generation long trace profiler (LTP) is described. The ''ghost'' effect arises when there is an unavoidable cross-contamination of the LTP sample and reference signals into one another, leading to a systematic perturbation in the recorded interference patterns and, therefore, a systematic variation of the measured slope trace. Perturbations of about 1-2 {micro}rad have been observed with a cylindrically shaped X-ray mirror. Even stronger ''ghost'' effects show up in an LTP measurement with a mirror having a toroidal surface figure. The developed technique employs separate measurement of the ''ghost''-effect-related interference patterns in the sample and the reference arms and then subtraction of the ''ghost'' patterns from the sample and the reference interference patterns. The procedure preserves the advantage of simultaneously measuring the sample and reference signals. The effectiveness of the technique is illustrated with LTP metrology of a variety of X-ray mirrors.

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A database storage, search and retrieval method of constitutive model responses for use in plasticity simulations is developed to increase the computational efficiency of finite element simulations employing complex non-linear material models. The method is based in the in situ adaptive tabulation method that has been successfully applied in the field of combustion chemistry, but is significantly modified to better handle the system of equations in plasticity. When using the database, the material response is estimated by a linear extrapolation from an appropriate database entry. This is shown to provide a response with an acceptable error tolerance. Two different example problems are chosen to demonstrate the behavior of the constitutive model estimation technique: a dynamic shock simulation, and a quasi-static inhomogeneous deformation simulation. This generalized in situ adaptive tabulation method shows promise for enabling simulations with complex multi-physics and multi-length scale constitutive descriptions.