The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) commitment to assuring the health and safety of its workers includes the conduct of epidemiologic surveillance activities that provide an early warning system for health problems among workers. The Illness and Injury Surveillance Program monitors illnesses and health conditions that result in an absence of workdays, occupational injuries and illnesses, and disabilities and deaths among current workers.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) commitment to assuring the health and safety of its workers includes the conduct of epidemiologic surveillance activities that provide an early warning system for health problems among workers. The Illness and Injury Surveillance Program monitors illnesses and health conditions that result in an absence of workdays, occupational injuries and illnesses, and disabilities and deaths among current workers.

The first stars, forming at redshifts z > 15 in minihalos with M {approx} 10{sup 5-6} M{sub {circle_dot}} may leave behind remnant black holes, which could conceivably have been the 'seeds' for the supermassive black holes observed at z {approx}< 7. We study remnant black hole growth through accretion, including for the first time the radiation emitted due to accretion, with adaptive mesh refinement cosmological radiation-hydrodynamical simulations. The effects of photo-ionization and heating dramatically affect the large-scale inflow, resulting in negligible mass growth. We compare cases with accretion luminosity included and neglected to show that accretion radiation drastically changes the environment within 100 pc of the black hole, increasing gas temperatures by an order of magnitude. Gas densities are reduced and further star formation in the same minihalo is prevented for the two hundred million years we followed. Without radiative feedback included most seed black holes do not gain mass as efficiently as has been hoped for in previous theories, implying that black hole remnants of Pop III stars in minihalos are not likely to be miniquasars. Most importantly, however, our calculations demonstrate that if these black holes are indeed accreting close to the Bondi-Hoyle rate with ten percent radiative …

We review recent progress in the following areas of the impedance theory: calculation of impedance of tapers and small angle collimators; optical approximation and parabolic equation for the high-frequency impedance; impedance due to resistive inserts in a perfectly conducting pipe.

The Albeni Falls Interagency Work Group (AFIWG) was actively involved in implementing wildlife mitigation activities in late 2007, but due to internal conflicts, the AFIWG members has fractionated into a smaller group. Implementation of the monitoring and evaluation program continued across protected lands. As of 2008, The Albeni Falls Interagency Work Group (Work Group) is a coalition comprised of wildlife managers from three tribal entities (Kalispel Tribe, Kootenai Tribe, Coeur d Alene Tribe) and the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Work Group directs where wildlife mitigation implementation occurs in the Kootenai, Pend Oreille and Coeur d Alene subbasins. The Work Group is unique in the Columbia Basin. The Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority (CBFWA) wildlife managers in 1995, approved what was one of the first two project proposals to implement mitigation on a programmatic basis. The maintenance of this kind of approach through time has allowed the Work Group to implement an effective and responsive habitat protection program by reducing administrative costs associated with site-specific project proposals. The core mitigation entities maintain approximately 9,335 acres of wetland/riparian habitats in 2008.

We demonstrate an exchange bias in (Ga,Mn)As induced by antiferromagnetic coupling to a thin overlayer of Fe. Bias fields of up to 240 Oe are observed. Using element-specific x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements, we distinguish an interface layer that is strongly pinned antiferromagnetically to the Fe. The interface layer remains polarized at room temperature.

Stir bar sorptive extraction was applied to aqueous and solid samples for the extraction and analysis of organic compounds from the Hanford chemicals of potential concern list, as identified in the vapor data quality objectives. The 222-S Laboratory analyzed these compounds from vapor samples on thermal desorption tubes as part of the Hanford Site industrial hygiene vapor sampling effort.

In a previous paper, Morel and Montry used a Galerkin-based diffusion analysis to define a particular weighted diamond angular discretization for S{sub n}n calculations in curvilinear geometries. The weighting factors were chosen to ensure that the Galerkin diffusion approximation was preserved, which eliminated the discrete-ordinates flux dip. It was also shown that the step and diamond angular differencing schemes, which both suffer from the flux dip, do not preserve the diffusion approximation in the Galerkin sense. In this paper we re-derive the Morel and Montry weighted diamond scheme using a formal asymptotic diffusion-limit analysis. The asymptotic analysis yields more information than the Galerkin analysis and demonstrates that the step and diamond schemes do in fact formally preserve the diffusion limit to leading order, while the Morel and Montry weighted diamond scheme preserves it to first order, which is required for full consistency in this limit. Nonetheless, the fact that the step and diamond differencing schemes preserve the diffusion limit to leading order suggests that the flux dip should disappear as the diffusion limit is approached for these schemes. Computational results are presented that confirm this conjecture. We further conjecture that preserving the Galerkin diffusion approximation is equivalent to preserving the …

Nanostructured materials may play a significant role in controlled release of pharmacologic agents for treatment of cancer. Many nanoporous polymer materials are inadequate for use in drug delivery. Nanoporous alumina provides several advantages over other materials for use in controlled drug delivery and other medical applications. Atomic layer deposition was used to coat all the surfaces of the nanoporous alumina membrane in order to reduce the pore size in a controlled manner. Both the 20 nm and 100 nm titanium oxide-coated nanoporous alumina membranes did not exhibit statistically lower viability compared to the uncoated nanoporous alumina membrane control materials. In addition, 20 nm pore size titanium oxide-coated nanoporous alumina membranes exposed to ultraviolet light demonstrated activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Nanostructured materials prepared using atomic layer deposition may be useful for delivering a pharmacologic agent at a precise rate to a specific location in the body. These materials may serve as the basis for 'smart' drug delivery devices, orthopedic implants, or self-sterilizing medical devices.

Economizer use in data centers is an energy efficiency strategy that could significantly limit electricity demand in this rapidly growing economic sector. Widespread economizer implementation, however, has been hindered by potential equipment reliability concerns associated with exposing information technology equipment to particulate matter of outdoor origin. This study explores the feasibility of using economizers in data centers to save energy while controlling particle concentrations with high-quality air filtration. Physical and chemical properties of indoor and outdoor particles were analyzed at an operating northern California data center equipped with an economizer under varying levels of air filtration efficiency. Results show that when improved filtration is used in combination with an economizer, the indoor/outdoor concentration ratios for most measured particle types were similar to levels when using conventional filtration without economizers. An energy analysis of the data center reveals that, even during the summer months, chiller savings from economizer use greatly outweigh any increase in fan power associated with improved filtration. These findings indicate that economizer use combined with improved filtration could reduce data center energy demand while providing a level of protection from particles of outdoor origin similar to that observed with conventional design.

This project focused on: 1) evaluating the performance of the DOE ARM SGP Raman lidar system in measuring profiles of water vapor and aerosols, and 2) the use of the Raman lidar measurements of aerosol and water vapor profiles for assessing the vertical distribution of aerosols and water vapor simulated by global transport models and examining diurnal variability of aerosols and water vapor. The highest aerosol extinction was generally observed close to the surface during the nighttime just prior to sunrise. The high values of aerosol extinction are most likely associated with increased scattering by hygroscopic aerosols, since the corresponding average relative humidity values were above 70%. After sunrise, relative humidity and aerosol extinction below 500 m decreased with the growth in the daytime convective boundary layer. The largest aerosol extinction for altitudes above 1 km occurred during the early afternoon most likely as a result of the increase in relative humidity. The water vapor mixing ratio profiles generally showed smaller variations with altitude between day and night. We also compared simultaneous measurements of relative humidity, aerosol extinction, and aerosol optical thickness derived from the ARM SGP Raman lidar and in situ instruments on board a small aircraft flown routinely …

A presentation at the 22nd Industry Growth Forum by Marty Murphy about making connections and business opportunities in the cleantech industry.

The optical properties of aerosol particles are the controlling factors in determining direct aerosol radiative forcing. These optical properties depend on the chemical composition and size distribution of the aerosol particles, which can change due to various processes during the particles’ lifetime in the atmosphere. Over the course of this project we have studied how cloud processing of atmospheric aerosol changes the aerosol optical properties. A counterflow virtual impactor was used to separate cloud drops from interstitial aerosol and parallel aerosol systems were used to measure the optical properties of the interstitial and cloud-scavenged aerosol. Specifically, aerosol light scattering, back-scattering and absorption were measured and used to derive radiatively significant parameters such as aerosol single scattering albedo and backscatter fraction for cloud-scavenged and interstitial aerosol. This data allows us to demonstrate that the radiative properties of cloud-processed aerosol can be quite different than pre-cloud aerosol. These differences can be used to improve the parameterization of aerosol forcing in climate models.

We report transient hole-burning and saturation recovery measurements in the CN radical with MHz frequency resolution and 20 ns time resolution. Narrow velocity groups of individual hyperfine levels of selected rotational states in CN (X{sup 2} {Sigma}{sup +}) are depleted and excited (A{sup 2}{pi}{sub i}) with a saturation laser and probed by a counterpropagating, frequency modulated probe beam. Recent work in our lab has used this method to measure and characterize the hyperfine splittings for a set of rotational, fine structure, and parity components of CN (A{sup 2}{pi}{sub i}, v=1). Extending this work, we report time and frequency dependence of the saturation signals following abrupt switching of the CW saturation beam on and off with an electro-optic amplitude modulator. Recovery of the unsaturated absorption following the turnoff of the saturation beam follows pressure-dependent kinetics, driven by collisions with the undissociated NCCN precursor with a rate coefficient of 2 x 10{sup -9} cm{sup 3} s{sup -1} molec{sup -1}. Similar recovery kinetics are observed for two-level saturation resonances, where the signal observed is a combination of X- and A-state kinetics, as well as for three-level crossover resonances, which can be chosen to probe selectively the holefilling in the X state or the …

Within the pC{sub H} range of 2.5 to 4.2, gluconate forms three uranyl complexes UO{sub 2}(GH{sub 4}){sup +}, UO{sub 2}(GH{sub 3})(aq), and UO{sub 2}(GH{sub 3})(GH{sub 4}){sup -}, through the following reactions: (1) UO{sub 2}{sup 2+} + GH{sub 4}{sup -} = UO{sub 2}(GH{sub 4}){sup +}, (2) UO{sub 2}{sup 2+} + GH{sub 4}{sup -} = UO{sub 2}(GH{sub 3})(aq) + H{sup +}, and (3) UO{sub 2}{sup 2+} + 2GH{sub 4}{sup -} = UO{sub 2}(GH{sub 3})(GH{sub 4}){sup -} + H{sup +}. Complexes were inferred from potentiometric, calorimetric, NMR, and EXAFS studies. Correspondingly, the stability constants and enthalpies were determined to be log {Beta}{sub 1} = 2.2 {+-} 0.3 and {Delta}H{sub 1} = 7.5 {+-} 1.3 kJ mol{sup -1} for reaction (1), log {Beta}{sub 2} = -(0.38 {+-} 0.05) and {Delta}H{sub 2} = 15.4 {+-} 0.3 kJ mol{sup -1} for reaction (2), and log {Beta}{sub 3} = 1.3 {+-} 0.2 and {Delta}H{sub 3} = 14.6 {+-} 0.3 kJ mol{sup -1} for reaction (3), at I = 1.0 M NaClO{sub 4} and t = 25 C. The UO{sub 2}(GH{sub 4}){sup +} complex forms through the bidentate carboxylate binding to U(VI). In the UO{sub 2}(GH{sub 3})(aq) complex, hydroxyl-deprotonated gluconate (GH{sub 3}{sup 2-}) coordinates to U(VI) through the …

The effect of pressure on the crystal structure of white phosphorus has been studied up to 22.4 GPa. The {alpha} phase was found to transform into the {alpha}' phase at 0.87 {+-} 0.04 GPa with a volume change of 0.1 {+-} 0.3 cc/mol. A fit of a second order Birch-Murghanan equation to the data gave Vo = 16.94 {+-} 0.08 cc/mol and K{sub o} = 6.7 {+-} 0.5 GPa for the {alpha} phase and Vo = 16.4 {+-} 0.1 cc/mol and K{sub o} = 9.1 {+-} 0.3 GPa for the {alpha}' phase. The {alpha}' phase was found to transform to the A17 phase of black phosphorus at 2.68 {+-} 0.34 GPa and then with increasing pressure to the A7 and then simple cubic phase of black phosphorus. A fit of a second order Birch-Murnaghan equation to our orthorhombic and rhombohedral black phosphorus data gave Vo = 11.43 {+-} 0.02 cc/mol and K{sub o} = 34.7 {+-} 0.5 GPa for the A17 phase and Vo = 9.62 {+-} 0.01 cc/mol and K{sub o} = 65.0 {+-} 0.6 GPa for the A7 phase.

Summary of the specific research and project accomplishments: Through this collaboration, LBNL and FPSI determined the specific energy manipulations that apply to the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment (NDCX) ion beam and developed the preliminary design of a Fast Induction Energy Corrector (FIEC). This effort was successfully completed, firmly establishing the technical feasibility of the proposed approach for regulating the longitudinal energy distribution of the NDCX ion beam. This is a critical step in achieving the NDCX goal of axial compression of the beam by a factor of 100 during neutralized drift.

We study the impedance due to coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) generated by a short bunch of charged particles passing through a dipole magnet of finite length in a vacuum chamber of a given cross section. Our method represents a further development of the previous studies: we decompose the electromagnetic field of the beam over the eigenmodes of the toroidal chamber and derive a system of equations for the expansion coefficients in the series. We illustrate our general method by calculating the CSR impedance of a beam moving in a toroidal vacuum chamber of rectangular cross section.

The DAiSES project [Te04] was focused on enabling conventional operating systems, in particular, those running on extreme scale systems, to dynamically customize system resource management in order to offer applications the best possible environment in which to execute. Such dynamic adaptation allows operating systems to modify the execution environment in response to changes in workload behavior and system state. The main challenges of this project included determination of what operating system (OS) algorithms, policies, and parameters should be adapted, when to adapt them, and how to adapt them. We addressed these challenges by using a combination of static analysis and runtime monitoring and adaptation to identify a priori profitable targets of adaptation and effective heuristics that can be used to dynamically trigger adaptation. Dynamic monitoring and adaptation of the OS was provided by either kernel modifications or the use of KernInst and Kperfmon [Wm04]. Since Linux, an open source OS, was our target OS, patches submitted by kernel developers and researchers often facilitated kernel modifications. KernInst operates on unmodified commodity operating systems, i.e., Solaris and Linux; it is fine-grained, thus, there were few constraints on how the underlying OS can be modified. Dynamically adaptive functionality of operating systems, both in …

To extend soft x-ray microscopy to a resolution of order 10 nm or better, we developed a new nanofabrication process for Fresnel zone plate lenses. The new process, based on the double patterning technique, has enabled us to fabricate high quality gold zone plates with 12 nm outer zones. Testing of the zone plate with the full-field transmission x-ray microscope, XM-1, in Berkeley, showed that the lens clearly resolved 12 nm lines and spaces. This result represents a significant step towards 10 nm resolution and beyond.

This presentation, Deployment Partnerships, was given by Mike Pacheco at the Industry Growth Forum in Golden, Colorado, November 5, 2009.

Gas Cherenkov detectors have been used to convert fusion gammas into photons to achieve gamma reaction history (GRH) measurements. These gas detectors include a converter, pressurized gas volume, relay optics, and a photon detector. A novel design for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) using 90º Off-Axis Parabolic mirrors efficiently collects signal from fusion gammas with 8-ps time dispersion.1 Fusion gammas are converted to Compton electrons, which generate broadband Cherenkov light (our response is from 250 to 700 nm) in a pressurized gas cell. This light is relayed into a high-speed detector using three parabolic mirrors. The detector optics collect light from a 125-mm-diameter by 600-mm-long interchangeable gas (CO2 or SF6) volume. Because light is collected from source locations throughout the gas volume, the detector is positioned at the stop position rather than at an image position. The stop diameter and its position are independent of the light-generation locations along the gas cell. This design incorporates a fixed time delay that allows the detector to recover from prompt radiation. Optical ray tracings demonstrate how light can be collected from different angled trajectories of the Compton electrons as they traverse the gas volume. A Monte Carlo model of the conversion process from …

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) requested the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to develop tooling and equipment to remotely replace gaskets in mechanical Hanford connectors to reduce personnel radiation exposure as compared to the current hands-on method. It is also expected that radiation levels will continually increase with future waste streams. The equipment is operated in the Remote Equipment Decontamination Cell (REDC), which is equipped with compressed air, two master-slave manipulators (MSM's) and an electro-mechanical manipulator (EMM) arm for operation of the remote tools. The REDC does not provide access to electrical power, so the equipment must be manually or pneumatically operated. The MSM's have a load limit at full extension of ten pounds, which limited the weight of the installation tool. In order to remotely replace Hanford connector gaskets several operations must be performed remotely, these include: removal of the spent gasket and retaining ring (retaining ring is also called snap ring), loading the new snap ring and gasket into the installation tool and installation of the new gasket into the Hanford connector. SRNL developed and tested tools that successfully perform all of the necessary tasks. Removal of snap rings from horizontal and vertical connectors is performed by …

During its fifteen years of life, this CRADA has evolved in both scope and purpose. Early efforts to develop high performance bismuth-based powder-in-tube first generation high temperature superconductors (HTS) have shifted toward efforts to understand and develop technologies required to fabricate second generation HTS coated conductors. Since the two original longstanding principal investigators from UT-Battelle and Oxford Superconducting Technology (OST) are not presently employed by their respective organizations, this final report shall focus primarily on results of the more recent past involving research and development of the deformation and annealing processes required to fabricate metallic substrates for RABiTS-based second generation coated conductors. The specific objectives of this recent work involve the development of OST Ni/3%W tape for HTS coated conductors and include: (a) to improve uniformity of cube texture through control of deformation and annealing parameters, (b) to minimize delamination and other buffer deposition problems through understanding and control of key parameters related to the metal substrate, (c) to ensure that the textured metal substrate allows well textured buffers with no delamination, and (d) to prepared a final report.