We will provide a review of some of the physics which can be addressed by studying fluctuations and correlations in heavy ion collisions. We will discuss Lattice QCD results on fluctuations and correlations and will put them into context with observables which have been measured in heavy-ion collisions. Special attention will be given to the QCD critical point and the first order co-existence region, and we will discuss how the measurement of fluctuations and correlations can help in an experimental search for non-trivial structures in the QCD phase diagram.

Significant time and effort are often required to solve and complete a macromolecular crystal structure. The development of automated computational methods for the analysis, solution and completion of crystallographic structures has the potential to produce minimally biased models in a short time without the need for manual intervention. The PHENIX software suite is a highly automated system for macromolecular structure determination that can rapidly arrive at an initial partial model of a structure without significant human intervention, given moderate resolution and good quality data. This achievement has been made possible by the development of new algorithms for structure determination, maximum-likelihood molecular replacement (PHASER), heavy-atom search (HySS), template and pattern-based automated model-building (RESOLVE, TEXTAL), automated macromolecular refinement (phenix.refine), and iterative model-building, density modification and refinement that can operate at moderate resolution (RESOLVE, AutoBuild). These algorithms are based on a highly integrated and comprehensive set of crystallographic libraries that have been built and made available to the community. The algorithms are tightly linked and made easily accessible to users through the PHENIX Wizards and the PHENIX GUI.

This chapter will address some of the many issues associated with the identification of signatures based on genomic DNA/RNA, which can be used to identify and characterize pathogens for biodefense and microbial forensic goals. For the purposes of this chapter, we define a signature as one or more strings of contiguous genomic DNA or RNA bases that are sufficient to identify a pathogenic target of interest at the desired resolution and which could be instantiated with particular detection chemistry on a particular platform. The target may be a whole organism, an individual functional mechanism (e.g., a toxin gene), or simply a nucleic acid indicative of the organism. The desired resolution will vary with each program's goals but could easily range from family to genus to species to strain to isolate. The resolution may not be taxonomically based but rather pan-mechanistic in nature: detecting virulence or antibiotic-resistance genes shared by multiple microbes. Entire industries exist around different detection chemistries and instrument platforms for identification of pathogens, and we will only briefly mention a few of the techniques that we have used at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to support our biosecurity-related work since 2000. Most nucleic acid based detection chemistries involve …

Radiological sampling and analyses are performed to collect data for a variety of specific reasons covering a wide range of projects. These activities include: Effluent monitoring; Environmental surveillance; Emergency response; Routine ambient monitoring; Background assessments; Nuclear license termination; Remediation; Deactivation and decommissioning (D&D); and Waste management. In this chapter, effluent monitoring and environmental surveillance programs at nuclear operating facilities and radiological sampling and analysis plans for remediation and D&D activities will be discussed.

Advances in tissue engineering have been accomplished for years by employing biomimetic strategies to provide cells with aspects of their original microenvironment necessary to reconstitute a unit of both form and function for a given tissue.We believe that the most critical hallmark of cancer is loss of integration of architecture and function; thus, it stands to reason that similar strategies could be employed to understand tumor biology. In this commentary, we discuss work contributed by Fischbach-Teschl and colleagues to this special issue of Tissue Engineering in the context of 'tumor engineering', that is, the construction of complex cell culture models that recapitulate aspects of the in vivo tumor microenvironment to study the dynamics of tumor development, progression, and therapy on multiple scales. We provide examples of fundamental questions that could be answered by developing such models, and encourage the continued collaboration between physical scientists and life scientists not only for regenerative purposes, but also to unravel the complexity that is the tumor microenvironment. In 1993, Vacanti and Langer cast a spotlight on the growing gap between patients in need of organ transplants and the amount of available donor organs; they reaffirmed that tissue engineering could eventually address this problem by …

Nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, and renewable energy (including biofuels) are the only energy sources capable of satisfying the Earth's need for power for the next century and beyond without the negative environmental impacts of fossil fuels. Substantially increasing the use of nuclear fission and renewable energy now could help reduce dependency on fossil fuels, but nuclear fusion has the potential of becoming the ultimate base-load energy source. Fusion is an attractive fuel source because it is virtually inexhaustible, widely available, and lacks proliferation concerns. It also has a greatly reduced waste impact, and no danger of runaway reactions or meltdowns. The substantial environmental, commercial, and security benefits of fusion continue to motivate the research needed to make fusion power a reality. Replicating the fusion reactions that power the sun and stars to meet Earth's energy needs has been a long-sought scientific and engineering challenge. In fact, this technological challenge is arguably the most difficult ever undertaken. Even after roughly 60 years of worldwide research, much more remains to be learned. the magnitude of the task has caused some to declare that fusion is 20 years away, and always will be. This glib criticism ignores the enormous progress that has occurred …

Supplemental environmental projects, or SEPs, are environmentally beneficial projects that offer pollution prevention, energy efficiency, green energy, and community-based programs that may include investment in cost-effective alternative energy technologies, such as wind energy. This fact sheet explains how SEPs can help companies mitigate all or part of penalties imposed as a result of air pollution violations.

The Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) is helping industry identify and pursue technology needs through public-private sector partnerships. Through its Industries of the Future strategy, OIT encourages energy-intensive industries to work together to create broad, industry-wide goals for the future, identify specific needs and priorities through industry-led roadmaps and form cooperative alliances to help attain those goals through technology partnerships. This brochure and six inserts serve as an introduction to potential partners as well as an update on the program opportunities for current partners.

In a typical Florida house, air-conditioning accounts for about 35% of all the electricity the home uses. As the largest single source of energy consumption in Florida, a home's air-conditioning load represents the biggest energy challenge facing Florida residents. The Florida Solar Energy Center designed a project to meet this challenge. Two homes were built with the same floor plan on near-by lots. The difference was that one (the control home) conformed to local residential building practices, and the other (the Zero Energy home) was designed with energy efficiency in mind and a solar technology system on the roof. The homes were then monitored carefully for energy use. The projects designers were looked to answer two questions: (1) could a home in a climate such as central Florida be engineered and built so efficiently that a relatively small PV system would serve the majority of its cooling needs--and even some of its daytime electrical needs; and (2) would that home be as comfortable and appealing as the conventional model built alongside it? The answer was yes, even though it was conducted in the summer of 1998--one of the hottest summers on record in Florida.

This issue of Energy Matters focuses on selling an energy-efficient project to management. There are also articles on combined heat and power systems, inspecting steam traps for efficient system, root cause failure analysis on AC induction motors, and performance optimization tips.

This tri-fold brochure describe the partnering activities of the Office of Industrial Technologies' (OIT) Industries of the Future (IOF) for Chemicals. Information on what works for the Chemicals industry, examples of successful partnerships, and benefits of partnering with OIT are included.

This tri-fold brochure describe the partnering activities of the Office of Industrial Technologies' (OIT) Industries of the Future (IOF) for Forest Products. Information on what works for the Forest Products industry, examples of successful partnerships, and benefits of partnering with OIT are included.