The objectives of the program during the past year was to complete Technical Objectives 2 and 3 and initiate Technical Objective 4 are described. To assist the Department of Energy in the development of a low cost, reliable and high performance air compressor/expander. Technical Objective 1: Perform a turbocompressor systems PEM fuel cell trade study to determine the enhanced turbocompressor approach. Technical Objective 2: Using the results from technical objective 1, an enhanced turbocompressor will be fabricated. The design may be modified to match the flow requirements of a selected fuel cell system developer. Technical Objective 3: Design a cost and performance enhanced compact motor and motor controller. Technical Objective 4: Turbocompressor/motor controller development.

While the purpose of geologic storage in deep salineformations is to trap greenhouse gases underground, the potential existsfor CO2 to escape from the target reservoir, migrate upward alongpermeable pathways, and discharge at the land surface. In this paper, weevaluate the potential for such CO2 discharges based on the analysis ofnatural analogs, where large releases of gas have been observed. We areparticularly interested in circumstances that could generate sudden,possibly self-enhancing release events. The probability for such eventsmay be low, but the circumstances under which they occur and thepotential consequences need to be evaluated in order to designappropriate site-selection and risk-management strategies. Numericalmodeling of hypothetical test cases is suggested to determine criticalconditions for large CO2 releases, to evaluate whether such conditionsmaybe possible at designated storage sites, and, if applicable, toevaluate the potential impacts of such events as well as designappropriate mitigation strategies.

The last decade has witnessed a rapid proliferation of superscalar cache-based microprocessors to build high-end capability and capacity computers primarily because of their generality, scalability, and cost effectiveness. However, the constant degradation of superscalar sustained performance, has become a well-known problem in the scientific computing community. This trend has been widely attributed to the use of superscalar-based commodity components who's architectural designs offer a balance between memory performance, network capability, and execution rate that is poorly matched to the requirements of large-scale numerical computations. The recent development of massively parallel vector systems offers the potential to increase the performance gap for many important classes of algorithms. In this study we examine four diverse scientific applications with the potential to run at ultrascale, from the areas of plasma physics, material science, astrophysics, and magnetic fusion. We compare performance between the vector-based Earth Simulator (ES) and Cray X1, with leading superscalar-based platforms: the IBM Power3/4 and the SGI Altix. Results demonstrate that the ES vector systems achieve excellent performance on our application suite - the highest of any architecture tested to date.

Our previous atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies successfully visualized native Bacillus atrophaeus spore coat ultrastructure and surface morphology. We have shown that the outer spore coat surface is formed by a crystalline array of {approx}11 nm thick rodlets, having a periodicity of {approx}8 nm. We present here further AFM ultrastructural investigations of air-dried and fully hydrated spore surface architecture. In the rodlet layer, planar and point defects, as well as domain boundaries, similar to those described for inorganic and macromolecular crystals, were identified. For several Bacillus species, rodlet structure assembly and architectural variation appear to be a consequence of species-specific nucleation and crystallization mechanisms that regulate the formation of the outer spore coat. We propose a unifying mechanism for nucleation and self-assembly of this crystalline layer on the outer spore coat surface.

The relationship between pullback velocity and impact velocity is studied for different microstructures in Cu. A size distribution of potential nucleation sites is derived under the conditions of an applied stochastic stress field. The size distribution depends on flow stress leading to a connection between the plastic flow appropriate to a given microstructure and nucleation rate. The pullback velocity in turn depends on the nucleation rate resulting in a prediction for the relationship between pullback velocity and flow stress. The theory is compared to observations of Cu on Cu gas-gun experiments (10-50 GPa) for a diverse set of microstructures. The scaling law is incorporated into a 1D finite difference code and is shown to reproduce the experimental data with one adjustable parameter that depends only on a nucleation exponent, {Lambda}.

Metallic orthopaedic implants have been successfully used for decades but they have serious shortcomings related to their osseointegration and the fact that their mechanical properties do not match those of bone. This paper reviews recent advances in the fabrication of novel coatings to improve implant osseointegration and in the development of a new generation of hybrid organic-inorganic implant materials specifically designed for orthopaedic applications.

This research investigates a method of choosing economicallyoptimal DER, expanding on prior studies at the Berkeley Lab using the DERdesign optimization program, the Distributed Energy Resources CustomerAdoption Model (DER-CAM). DER-CAM finds the optimal combination ofinstalled equipment from available DER technologies, given prevailingutility tariffs, site electrical and thermal loads, and a menu ofavailable equipment. It provides a global optimization, albeit idealized,that shows how the site energy load scan be served at minimum cost byselection and operation of on-site generation, heat recovery, andcooling. Five prototype Japanese commercial buildings are examined andDER-CAM applied to select thee conomically optimal DER system for each.The five building types are office, hospital, hotel, retail, and sportsfacility. Based on the optimization results, energy and emissionreductions are evaluated. Furthermore, a Japan-U.S. comparison study ofpolicy, technology, and utility tariffs relevant to DER installation ispresented. Significant decreases in fuel consumption, carbon emissions,and energy costs were seen in the DER-CAM results. Savings were mostnoticeable in the sports facility, followed by the hospital, hotel, andoffice building.

The motivation for Calabi-Yau-like compactifications of the weakly coupled E{sub 8} {circle_times} E{sub 8} heterotic string theory, its particle spectrum and the issue of dilaton stabilization are briefly reviewed. Modular invariant models for hidden sector condensation and supersymmetry breaking are described at the quantum level of the effective field theory. Their phenomenological and cosmological implications, including a possible origin for R-parity, are discussed.

The activity concentration of Cesium-137 ({sup 137}Cs) and naturally-occurring Polonium-210 ({sup 210}Po) were measured in the muscle tissue, kidney and liver of Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) and bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) collected by native hunters from the Bering Sea. The mean {sup 137}Cs concentrations in muscle, liver and kidney of Pacific walrus were 0.07, 0.09 and 0.07 Bq kg{sup -1} (N= 5, wet weight), respectively, and 0.17, 0.10, and 0.17 Bq kg{sup -1} (N=2, wet weight), respectively, in bearded seal. In general, {sup 137}Cs tissue concentrations are significantly lower than those previously reported for mammals from other regions. By comparison, {sup 210}Po activity concentrations appear to be higher than those reported elsewhere but a larger variation. The mean {sup 210}Po concentration in the muscle tissue, liver and kidney of Pacific walrus (N=5, wet weight) were 28.7, 189, and 174 Bq kg{sup -1}, respectively. This compares with {sup 210}Po concentration values (N=2, wet weight) of 27, 207, and 68 Bq kg{sup -1} measured in the muscle tissue, liver and kidney, of bearded seal, respectively. Estimated bioaccumulation factors--as defined by the radionuclide concentration ratio between the target tissue to that in sea water--were two to three orders of magnitude higher for …

A comparison of bat activity levels in the Coastal Plain of South Carolina among 5 habitat types: forested riparian areas, clearcuts, young pine plantations, mature pine plantations and pine savannas, using time expansion radio-microphones and integrated detectors to simultaneously monitor bat activity at three heights in each habitat type.

There is a general paucity of measured equipment load datafor laboratories and other complex buildings and designers often useestimates based on nameplate rated data or design assumptions from priorprojects. Consequently, peak equipment loads are frequentlyoverestimated, and load variation across laboratory spaces within abuilding is typically underestimated. This results in two design flaws.Firstly, the overestimation of peak equipment loads results in over-sizedHVAC systems, increasing initial construction costs as well as energy usedue to inefficiencies at low part-load operation. Secondly, HVAC systemsthat are designed without accurately accounting for equipment loadvariation across zones can significantly increase simultaneous heatingand cooling, particularly for systems that use zone reheat fortemperature control. Thus, when designing a laboratory HVAC system, theuse of measured equipment load data from a comparable laboratory willsupport right-sizing HVAC systems and optimizing their configuration tominimize simultaneous heating and cooling, saving initial constructioncosts as well as life-cycle energy costs.In this paper, we present datafrom recent studies to support the above thesis. We first presentmeasured equipment load data from two sources: time-series measurementsin several laboratory modules in a university research laboratorybuilding; and peak load data for several facilities recorded in anational energy benchmarking database. We then contrast this measureddata with estimated values that are typically used …

Protein immobilization on surfaces is of great importance in numerous applications in biology and biophysics. The key for the success of all these applications relies on the immobilization technique employed to attach the protein to the corresponding surface. Protein immobilization can be based on covalent or noncovalent interaction of the molecule with the surface. Noncovalent interactions include hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, electrostatic forces, or physical adsorption. However, since these interactions are weak, the molecules can get denatured or dislodged, thus causing loss of signal. They also result in random attachment of the protein to the surface. Site-specific covalent attachment of proteins onto surfaces, on the other hand, leads to molecules being arranged in a definite, orderly fashion and uses spacers and linkers to help minimize steric hindrances between the protein surface. This work reviews in detail some of the methods most commonly used as well as the latest developments for the site-specific covalent attachment of protein to solid surfaces.

This paper examines several multi-model combination techniques: the Simple Multi-model Average (SMA), the Multi-Model Super Ensemble (MMSE), Modified Multi-Model Super Ensemble (M3SE) and the Weighted Average Method (WAM). These model combination techniques were evaluated using the results from the Distributed Model Intercomparison Project (DMIP), an international project sponsored by the National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Hydrologic Development (OHD). All of the multi-model combination results were obtained using uncalibrated DMIP model outputs and were compared against the best uncalibrated as well as the best calibrated individual model results. The purpose of this study is to understand how different combination techniques affect the skill levels of the multi-model predictions. This study revealed that the multi-model predictions obtained from uncalibrated single model predictions are generally better than any single member model predictions, even the best calibrated single model predictions. Furthermore, more sophisticated multi-model combination techniques that incorporated bias correction steps work better than simple multi-model average predictions or multi-model predictions without bias correction.

None

High and volatile natural gas prices have increasingly led to calls for investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. One line of argument is that deployment of these resources may lead to reductions in the demand for and price of natural gas. Many recent U.S.-based modeling studies have demonstrated that this effect could provide significant consumer savings. In this article we evaluate these studies, and benchmark their findings against economic theory, other modeling results, and a limited empirical literature. We find that many uncertainties remain regarding the absolute magnitude of this effect, and that the reduction in natural gas prices may not represent an increase in aggregate economic wealth. Nonetheless, we conclude that many of the studies of the impact of renewable energy and energy efficiency on natural gas prices appear to have represented this effect within reason, given current knowledge. These studies specifically suggest that a 1% reduction in U.S. natural gas demand could lead to long-term average wellhead price reductions of 0.8% to 2%, and that each megawatt-hour of renewable energy and energy efficiency may benefit natural gas consumers to the tune of at least $7.5 to $20.

Both chemical weathering rates and fluid flow are difficultto measure in natural systems. However, these parameters are critical forunderstanding the hydrochemical evolution of aquifers, predicting thefate and transport of contaminants, and for water resources/water qualityconsiderations. 87Sr/86Sr and (234U/238U) activity ratios are sensitiveindicators of water-rock interaction, and thus provide a means ofquantifying both flow and reactivity. The 87Sr/86Sr values in groundwaters are controlled by the ratio of the dissolution rate to the flowrate. Similarly, the (234U/238U) ratio of natural ground waters is abalance between the flow rate and the dissolution of solids, andalpha-recoil loss of 234U from the solids. By coupling these two isotopesystems it is possible to constrain both the long-term (ca. 100's to1000's of years) flow rate and bulk dissolution rate along the flow path.Previous estimates of the ratio of the dissolution rate to theinfiltration flux from Sr isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) are combined with a modelfor (234U/238U) to constrain the infiltration flux and dissolution ratefor a 70-m deep vadose zone core from Hanford, Washington. The coupledmodel for both (234U/238U) ratios and the 87Sr/86Sr data suggests aninfiltration flux of 5+-2 mm/yr, and bulk silicate dissolution ratesbetween 10-15.7 and 10-16.5 mol/m2/s. The process of alpha-recoilenrichment, while primarily responsible for the observed variation …

Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough belongs to a class ofsulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and is found ubiquitously in nature.Given the importance of SRB-mediated reduction for bioremediation ofmetal ion contaminants, ongoing research on D. vulgaris has been in thedirection of elucidating regulatory mechanisms for this organism under avariety of stress conditions. This work presents a global view of thisorganism's response to elevated growth temperature using whole-celltranscriptomics and proteomics tools. Transcriptional response (1.7-foldchange or greater; Z>1.5) ranged from 1,135 genes at 15 min to 1,463genes at 120 min for a temperature up-shift of 13oC from a growthtemperature of 37oC for this organism and suggested both direct andindirect modes of heat sensing. Clusters of orthologous group categoriesthat were significantly affected included posttranslationalmodifications; protein turnover and chaperones (up-regulated); energyproduction and conversion (down-regulated), nucleotide transport,metabolism (down-regulated), and translation; ribosomal structure; andbiogenesis (down-regulated). Analysis of the genome sequence revealed thepresence of features of both negative and positive regulation whichincluded the CIRCE element and promoter sequences corresponding to thealternate sigma factors ?32 and ?54. While mechanisms of heat shockcontrol for some genes appeared to coincide with those established forEscherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, the presence of unique controlschemes for several other genes was also evident. Analysis of proteinexpression levels using …

Ion implantation into silica followed by thermal annealingis an established growth method for Si and Ge nanocrystals. Wedemonstrate that growth of Group IV semiconductor nanocrystals can besuppressed by co-implantation of oxygen prior to annealing. For Sinanocrystals, at low Si/O dose ratios, oxygen co-implantation leads to areduction of the average nanocrystal size and a blue-shift of thephotoluminescence emission energy. For both Si and Ge nanocrystals, atlarger Si/O or Ge/O dose ratios, the implanted specie is oxidized andnanocrystals do not form. This chemical deactivation was utilized toachieve patterned growth of Si and Ge nanocrystals. Si was implanted intoa thin SiO2 film on a Si substrate followed by oxygen implantationthrough an electron beam lithographically defined stencil mask. Thermalannealing of the co-implanted structure yields two-dimensionallypatterned growth of Si nanocrystals under the masked regions. We applieda previously developed process to obtain exposed nanocrystals byselective HF etching of the silica matrix to these patterned structures.Atomic force microscopy (AFM) of etched structures revealed that exposednanocrystals are not laterally displaced from their original positionsduring the etching process. Therefore, this process provides a means ofachieving patterned structures of exposed nanocrystals. The possibilitiesfor scaling this chemical-based lithography process to smaller featuresand for extending it to 3-D patterning is discussed.

Troubleshooting Grid workflows is difficult. A typicalworkflow involves a large number of components networks, middleware,hosts, etc. that can fail. Even when monitoring data from all thesecomponents is accessible, it is hard to tell whether failures andanomalies in these components are related toa given workflow. For theGrid to be truly usable, much of this uncertainty must be elim- inated.We propose two new Grid monitoring elements, Grid workflow identifiersand consistent component lifecycle events, that will make Gridtroubleshooting easier, and thus make Grids more usable, by simplifyingthe correlation of Grid monitoring data with a particular Gridworkflow.

Lipid microdomains within supported lipid bilayers composed of binary phosphocholine mixtures were chemically imaged by high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry performed with the NanoSIMS 50 (Cameca Instruments). This instrument images the sample components based on the elemental or isotopic composition of their atomic and small molecular secondary ions. Up to five different secondary ions can be simultaneously detected, and a lateral resolution of 50 nm can be achieved with high sensitivity at high mass resolution. In our experiments, the NanoSIMS 50 extensively fragmented the supported membrane, therefore an isotopic labeling strategy was used to encode the identities of the lipid components. Supported lipid membranes that contained distinct lipid microdomains were freeze-dried to preserve their lateral organization and analyzed with the NanoSIMS 50. Lipid microdomains as small as 100 nm in diameter were successfully imaged, and this was validated by comparison to AFM images taken at the same region prior to chemical imaging. Quantitative information on the lipid distribution within the domain was also determined by calibrating against supported membranes of known composition. We believe this will be a valuable approach for analyzing the composition of complex membrane domains with high spatial resolution.

The operating experience and plant benefit analysis of a membrane-based continuous non-condensable gas (NCG) removal system is discussed. Results from testing at the Mammoth Pacific (Ormat) geothermal plant provide the basis for the benefit analysis.

The Superconducting Magnet Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has recently fabricated and tested HD1, a Nb3Sn dipole magnet. The magnet reached a 16 T field, and exhibited training quenches in the end regions and in the straight section. After the test, HD1 was disassembled and inspected, and a detailed 3D finite element mechanical analysis was done to investigate for possible quench triggers. The study led to minor modifications to mechanical structure and assembly procedure, which were verified in a second test (HD1b). This paper presents the results of the mechanical analysis, including strain gauge measurements and coil visual inspection. The adjustments implemented in the magnet structure are reported and their effect on magnet training discussed.

This paper adopts optimal model which used GAMS to developmethods and tools for conducting an integrated assessment of DER system.Three cases were studied. Energy-saving, environmental and economicefficiency were evaluated. The results of the simulation can besummarized as follows: 1) For the current system, optimal operating timeis about 4,132 hours per year, and from 8 am to 22 pm everyday. 2) It iseconomical when electricity price increases or gas price decreases. 3)According to the load function of system, energy-saving, environmentaland economic efficiency will have amaximum value at optimal operatingtime. 4) Compared with exhaust heat efficiency, power generationefficiency has more influence to the economic efficiency and CO2reduction when the total efficiency is fixed.

None