Most energy benchmarking tools provide static feedback on how one building compares to a larger set of loosely similar buildings, without providing information at the end-use level or on what can be done to reduce consumption, cost, or emissions. In this article--Part 1 of a two-part series--we describe an 'action-oriented benchmarking' approach, which extends whole-building energy benchmarking to include analysis of system and component energy use metrics and features. Action-oriented benchmarking thereby allows users to generate more meaningful metrics and to identify, screen and prioritize potential efficiency improvements. This opportunity assessment process can then be used to inform and optimize a full-scale audit or commissioning process. We introduce a new web-based action-oriented benchmarking system and associated software tool-EnergyIQ. The benchmarking methods, visualizations, and user interface design are informed by an end-user needs assessment survey and best-practice guidelines from ASHRAE.

The International Linear Collider (ILC) is a proposal for 500 GeV center-of-mass electron-positron collider, with a possible upgrade to {approx}1 TeV center-of-mass. At the heart of the ILC are the two {approx}12 km 1.3 GHz superconducting RF (SCRF) linacs which will accelerate the electron and positron beams to an initial maximum energy of 250 GeV each. The Global Design Effort (GDE)--responsible for the world-wide coordination of this uniquely international project--published the ILC Reference Design Report in August of 2007 [1]. The ILC outlined in the RDR design stands on a legacy of over fifteen-years of R&D. The GDE is currently beginning the next step in this ambitious project, namely an Engineering Design phase, which will culminate with the publication of an Engineering Design Report (EDR) in mid-2010. Throughout the history of linear collider development, beam dynamics has played an essential role. In particular, the need for complex computer simulations to predict the performance of the machine has always been crucial, not least because the parameters of the ILC represent in general a large extrapolation from where current machines operate today; many of the critical beam-dynamics features planned for the ILC can ultimately only be truly tested once the ILC has …

Recent breakthroughs in synthesis in nanosciences have achieved control of size and shapes of nanoparticles that are relevant for catalyst design. In this article, we review the advance of synthesis of nanoparticles, fabrication of two and three dimensional model catalyst system, characterization, and studies of activity and selectivity. The ability to synthesize monodispersed platinum and rhodium nanoparticles in the 1-10 nm range permitted us to study the influence of composition, structure, and dynamic properties of monodispersed metal nanoparticle on chemical reactivity and selectivity. We review the importance of size and shape of nanoparticles to determine the reaction selectivity in multi-path reactions. The influence of metal-support interaction has been studied by probing the hot electron flows through the metal-oxide interface in catalytic nanodiodes. Novel designs of nanoparticle catalytic systems are discussed.

We present the first large-scale effort of creating composite spectra of high-redshift type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) and comparing them to low-redshift counterparts. Through the ESSENCE project, we have obtained 107 spectra of 88 high-redshift SNe Ia with excellent light-curve information. In addition, we have obtained 397 spectra of low-redshift SNe through a multiple-decade effort at Lick and Keck Observatories, and we have used 45 ultraviolet spectra obtained by HST/IUE. The low-redshift spectra act as a control sample when comparing to the ESSENCE spectra. In all instances, the ESSENCE and Lick composite spectra appear very similar. The addition of galaxy light to the Lick composite spectra allows a nearly perfect match of the overall spectral-energy distribution with the ESSENCE composite spectra, indicating that the high-redshift SNe are more contaminated with host-galaxy light than their low-redshift counterparts. This is caused by observing objects at all redshifts with similar slit widths, which corresponds to different projected distances. After correcting for the galaxy-light contamination, subtle differences in the spectra remain. We have estimated the systematic errors when using current spectral templates for K-corrections to be {approx}0.02 mag. The variance in the composite spectra give an estimate of the intrinsic variance in low-redshift maximum-light …

NIR light scattering from ex vivo porcine cardiac tissue was investigated to understand how imaging or point measurement approaches may assist development of methods for tissue depth assessment. Our results indicate an increase of average image intensity as thickness increases up to approximately 2 mm. In a dual fiber spectroscopy configuration, sensitivity up to approximately 3 mm with an increase to 6 mm when spectral ratio between selected wavelengths was obtained. Preliminary Monte Carlo results provided reasonable fit to the experimental data.

The electron hosing instability in the blow-out regime of plasma-wakefield acceleration is investigated using a linear perturbation theory about the electron blow-out trajectory in Lu et al. [in Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 165002 (2006)]. The growth of the instability is found to be affected by the beam parameters unlike in the standard theory Whittum et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 991 (1991)] which is strictly valid for preformed channels. Particle-in-cell simulations agree with this new theory, which predicts less hosing growth than found by the hosing theory of Whittum et al.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a conversion that facilitates organ morphogenesis and tissue remodeling in physiological processes such as embryonic development and wound healing. A similar phenotypic conversion is also detected in fibrotic diseases and neoplasia, which is associated with disease progression. EMT in cancer epithelial cells often seems to be an incomplete and bi-directional process. In this Review, we discuss the phenomenon of EMT as it pertains to tumor development, focusing on exceptions to the commonly held rule that EMT promotes invasion and metastasis. We also highlight the role of the RAS-controlled signaling mediators, ERK1, ERK2 and PI3-kinase, as microenvironmental responsive regulators of EMT.

High-pressure freezing is the preferred method to prepare thick biological specimens for ultrastructural studies. However, the advantages obtained by this method often prove unattainable for samples that are difficult to handle during the freezing and substitution protocols. Delicate and sparse samples are difficult to manipulate and maintain intact throughout the sequence of freezing, infiltration, embedding, and final orientation for sectioning and subsequent TEM imaging. An established approach to surmount these difficulties is the use of cellulose microdialysis tubing to transport the sample. With an inner diameter of 200 micrometers, the tubing protects small and fragile samples within the thickness constraints of high-pressure freezing, and the tube ends can be sealed to avoid loss of sample. Importantly, the transparency of the tubing allows optical study of the specimen at different steps in the process. Here, we describe the use of a micromanipulator and microinjection apparatus to handle and position delicate specimens within the tubing. We report two biologically significant examples that benefit from this approach, 3D cultures of mammary epithelial cells and cochlear outer hair cells. We illustrate the potential for correlative light and electron microscopy as well as electron tomography.

Without quality historical records that provide the composition of legacy materials, the elemental and/or chemical characterization of such materials requires a manual analytical strategy that may expose the analyst to unknown toxicological hazards. In addition, much of the existing legacy inventory also incorporates radioactivity, and, although radiological composition may be determined by various nuclear-analytical methods, most importantly, gamma-spectroscopy, current methods of chemical characterization still require direct sample manipulation, thereby presenting special problems with broad implications for both the analyst and the environment. Alternately, prompt gamma activation analysis (PGAA) provides a'single-shot' in-situ, non-destructive method that provides a complete assay of all major entrained elemental constituents.1-3. Additionally, neutron activation analysis (NAA) using short-lived activation products complements PGAA and is especially useful when NAA activation surpasses the PGAA in elemental sensitivity.

The BaBar experiment at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center has been using two polycrystalline chemical vapor deposition (pCVD) diamonds and 12 silicon PIN diodes for radiation monitoring and protection of the Silicon Vertex Tracker (SVT). We have used the pCVD diamonds for more than 3 years, and the PIN diodes for 7 years. We will describe the SVT and SVT radiation monitoring system as well as the operational difficulties and radiation damage effects on the PIN diodes and pCVD diamonds in a high-energy physics environment.

This paper discusses two recently added capabilities of the IMPACT suite that are relevant to modeling electron linacs, namely the new 1D coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) modeling capability and the integrated Green's function (IFG) algorithm for modeling high aspect ratio beams. In addition, we present initial results of application of the enhanced version of IMPACT-Z to high-fidelity modeling of the microbunching instability in a realistic light source lattice.

As critical dimensions shrink, line edge and width roughness (LER and LWR) become of increasing concern. Traditionally LER is viewed as a resist-limited effect; however, as critical dimensions shrink and LER requirements become proportionally more stringent, system-level effects begin to play an important role. Recent advanced EUV resist testing results have demonstrated lower bounds on achievable LER at the level of approximately 2 to 3 nm. Here we use modeling to demonstrate that a significant portion of this low bound may in fact be do to system-level effects and in particular the mask. Of concern are both LER on the mask as well as roughness of the multilayer reflector. Modeling also shows roughness (flare) in the projection optics not to be of concern.

Here we describe a simple micromolding method to construct three-dimensional arrays of organotypic epithelial tissue structures that approximate in vivo histology. An elastomeric stamp containing an array of posts of defined geometry and spacing is used to mold microscale cavities into the surface of type I collagen gels. Epithelial cells are seeded into the cavities and covered with a second layer of collagen. The cells reorganize into hollow tissues corresponding to the geometry of the cavities. Patterned tissue arrays can be produced in 3-4 h and will undergo morphogenesis over the following one to three days. The protocol can easily be adapted to study a variety of tissues and aspects of normal and neoplastic development.

The purpose of the Workshop 'Excellence Empowered by a Diverse Academic Workforce: Achieving Racial & Ethnic Equity in Chemistry' was to promote the development of a cadre of academic leaders who create, implement and promote programs and strategies for increasing the number of racial and ethnic minorities to equitable proportions on the faculties of departments throughout the academic chemistry community. An important objective of the workshop was to assist in creating an informed and committed community of chemistry leaders who will create, implement and promote programs and strategies to advance racial and ethnic equity in both the faculty and the student body with the goal of increasing the number of U.S. citizen underrepresented minorities (URM) participating in academic chemistry at all levels, with particular focus on the pipeline to chemistry faculty. This objective was met by (1) presentations of detailed data describing current levels of racial and ethnic minorities on the faculties of chemistry departments; (2) frank discussion of the obstacles to and benefits of racial/ethnic diversity in the chemistry professoriate; (3) summary of possible effective interventions and actions; and (4) promotion of the dissemination and adoption of initiatives designed to achieve racial/ethnic equity. Federal programs over the past thirty …

High fidelity measurements of time-dependent strain in the plastic-bonded explosives LX-17-1 and PBX 9502 have been performed under constant, uni-axial, compressive load using a custom designed apparatus. The apparatus uses a combination of extensometers and linear variable differential transformers coupled with a data acquisition system, thermal controls, and gravitational loading. The materials being tested consist of a crystalline explosive material mixed with a polymeric binder. The behavior of each material is related to the type of explosive and to the percentage and type of binder. For any given plastic-bonded explosive, the creep behavior is also dependent on the stress level and test temperature. Experiments were conducted using a 3 x 3 stress-temperature matrix with a temperature range of 24 C to 70 C and with stresses ranging from 250-psi to 780-psi. Analysis of the data has shown that logarithmic curve fits provide an accurate means of quantification and facilitate a long-term predictive capability. This paper will discuss the design of the apparatus, experimental results, and analyses.

Many chemists have been fascinated with the development of discrete supramolecular structures that encapsulate guest molecules. These structures can be assembled through covalent or hydrogen bonds, electrostatic or metal-ligand interactions. These host structures have provided valuable insight into the forces involved in small molecule recognition. Our work has focused on the design and study of metal-ligand clusters of varying sizes. The naphthalene [M{sub 4}L{sub 6}]{sup 12-} cluster 1, shown in Figure 1, has demonstrated diastereoselective guest binding and chiral induction properties as well as the ability to catalyze reactions carried out inside the cavity in an enzyme-like manner. However, the size of the cavity (ca. 300-500 {angstrom}{sup 3}) has often limited the scope of substrates for these transformations.

None

Lithium borohydride, magnesium hydride and the 2:1 'destabilized' ball milled mixtures (2LiBH{sub 4}:MgH{sub 2}) underwent liquid phase hydrolysis, gas phase hydrolysis and air oxidation reactions monitored by isothermal calorimetry. The experimentally determined heats of reaction and resulting products were compared with those theoretically predicted using thermodynamic databases. Results showed a discrepancy between the predicted and observed hydrolysis and oxidation products due to both kinetic limitations and to the significant amorphous character of observed reaction products. Gas phase and liquid phase hydrolysis were the dominant reactions in 2LiBH{sub 4}:MgH{sub 2} with approximately the same total energy release and reaction products; liquid phase hydrolysis displayed the maximum heat flow for likely environmental exposure with a peak energy release of 6 (mW/mg).

The hyperfine-induced 2s2p {sup 3}P{sub 0}-2s{sup 2} {sup 1}S{sub 0} transition rate for Be-like {sup 47}Ti{sup 18+} was recently measured in a storage-ring experiment by Schippers et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 033001 (2007)]. The measured value of 0.56(3) s{sup -1} is almost 60% larger than the theoretical value of 0.356 s{sup -1} from a multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock calculation by Marques et al. [Phys. Rev. A 47, 929 (1993)]. In this work, we use a large-scale relativistic configuration-interaction method to calculate these hyperfine-induced rates for ions with Z = 6-92. Coherent hyperfine-quenching effects between the 2s2p {sup 1,3}P{sub 1} states are included in a perturbative as well as a radiation damping approach. Contrary to the claims of Marques et al., contributions from the {sup 1}P{sub 1} state are substantial and lead to a hyperfine-induced rate of 0.67 s{sup -1}, in better agreement with, though larger than, the measured value.

We examine the response of Arctic gas and aerosol concentrations to perturbations in pollutant emissions from Europe, East and South Asia, and North America using results from a coordinated model intercomparison. These sensitivities to regional emissions (mixing ratio change per unit emission) vary widely across models and species. Intermodel differences are systematic, however, so that the relative importance of different regions is robust. North America contributes the most to Arctic ozone pollution. For aerosols and CO, European emissions dominate at the Arctic surface but East Asian emissions become progressively more important with altitude, and are dominant in the upper troposphere. Sensitivities show strong seasonality: surface sensitivities typically maximize during boreal winter for European and during spring for East Asian and North American emissions. Mid-tropospheric sensitivities, however, nearly always maximize during spring or summer for all regions. Deposition of black carbon (BC) onto Greenland is most sensitive to North American emissions. North America and Europe each contribute {approx}40% of total BC deposition to Greenland, with {approx}20% from East Asia. Elsewhere in the Arctic, both sensitivity and total BC deposition are dominated by European emissions. Model diversity for aerosols is especially large, resulting primarily from differences in aerosol physical and chemical processing …

Both MD simulations and experimental studies have shown that liquid and gas flow through carbon nanotubes with nanometer size diameter is exceptionally fast. For applications in separation technology, selectivity is required together with fast flow. In this work, we use pressure-driven filtration experiments to study ion exclusion in silicon nitride/sub-2-nm CNT composite membranes as a function of solution ionic strength, pH, and ion valence. We show that carbon nanotube membranes exhibit significant ion exclusion at low salt concentration. Our results support a rejection mechanism dominated by electrostatic interactions between fixed membrane charges and mobile ions, while steric and hydrodynamic effects appear to be less important. Comparison with commercial nanofiltration membranes for water softening reveals that our carbon nanotube membranes provides far superior water fluxes for similar ion rejection capabilities.

A search for TeV-PeV muon neutrinos from unresolved sources was performed on AMANDA-II data collected between 2000 and 2003 with an equivalent livetime of 807 days. This diffuse analysis sought to find an extraterrestrial neutrino flux from sources with non-thermal components. The signal is expected to have a harder spectrum than the atmospheric muon and neutrino backgrounds. Since no excess of events was seen in the data over the expected background, an upper limit of E{sup 2}{Phi}{sub 90%C.L.} < 7.4 x 10{sup -8} GeV cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} sr{sup -1} is placed on the diffuse flux of muon neutrinos with a {Phi} {proportional_to} E{sup -2} spectrum in the energy range 16 TeV to 2.5 PeV. This is currently the most sensitive {Phi} {proportional_to} E{sup -2} diffuse astrophysical neutrino limit. We also set upper limits for astrophysical and prompt neutrino models, all of which have spectra different than {Phi} {proportional_to} E{sup -2}.

Brookhaven National Laboratory is in the process of designing a new Electron Synchrotron for scientific research using synchrotron radiation. This facility, called the 'National Synchrotron Light Source II' (NSLS-II), will provide x-ray radiation of ultra-high brightness and exceptional spatial and energy resolution. It will also provide advanced insertion devices, optics, detectors, and robotics, and a suite of scientific instruments designed to maximize the scientific output of the facility. The project scope includes the design, construction, installation, and commissioning of the following accelerators: a 200 MeV linac, a booster accelerator operating from 200 MeV to 3.0 GeV, the storage ring which stores 500 mA current of electrons at an energy of 3.0 GeV and 56 beamlines for experiments. It is planned to operate the facility primarily in a top-off mode, thereby maintaining the maximum variation in stored beam current to < 1%. Because of the very demanding requirements for beam emittance and synchrotron radiation brilliance, the beam life-time is expected to be quite low, on the order of 2 hours. Each of the 56 beamlines will be unique in terms of the source properties and configuration. The shielding designs for five representative beamlines are discussed in this paper.

The density distribution of two legacy types of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) particles were compared with TATB synthesized by new routes and recrystallized in several different solvents using a density gradient technique. Legacy wet (WA) and dry aminated (DA) TATB crystalline aggregates gave average densities of 1.9157 and 1.9163 g/cc, respectively. Since the theoretical maximum density (TMD) for a perfect crystal is 1.937 g/cc, legacy TATB crystals averaged 99% of TMD or about 1% voids. TATB synthesized from phloroglucinol (P) had comparable particle size to legacy TATBs, but significantly lower density, 1.8340 g/cc. TATB synthesized from 3,5 dibromoanisole (BA) was very difficult to measure because it contained extremely fine particles, but had an average density of 1.8043 g/cc over a very broad range. Density distributions of TATB recrystallized from dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), sulfolane, and an 80/20 mixture of DMSO with the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methyl- imidazolium acetate (EMImOAc), with some exceptions, gave average densities comparable or better than the legacy TATBs.