A primary focus of the Mackenzie laboratory is the elucidation of processes and machinery for mitochondrial genome maintenance and transmission in higher plants. We have found that numerous organellar DNA maintenance components in plants appear to be dual targeted to mitochondria and plastids. Of particular interest was the observation that some twin (tandemly arrayed) dual targeting presequences appeared to utilize non-AUG alternative translation initiation, allowing for multiple translation starts at a single gene. Two aspects of this phenomenon were of particular interest: (1) Alternative translation initiation might provide a mechanism to regulate protein targeting temporally and spatially, a possibility that had not been demonstrated previously, and (2) alternative translation initiation might occur in genes involved in nuclear-controlled mitochondrial genome recombination, thought to be exclusively mitochondrial in their function. During the course of this research, we pursued three aims, with an emphasis on two specific genes of interest: POLgamma2, an organellar DNA polymerase, and MSH1, a MutS homolog thought to participate in mitochondrial, but not plastid, genome recombination surveillance. Our aims were to (1) Identify additional genes within Arabidopsis and other genomes that employ non-AUG alternative translation initiation, (2) Locate sequences upstream to the annotated AUG that confer alternative non-AUG translation …

This 'What/If' Hazards Analysis addresses hazards affecting the Sludge Treatment Project Engineered Container Retrieval and Transfer System (ECRTS) NPH and external events at the preliminary design stage. In addition, the hazards of the operation sequence steps for the mechanical handling operations in preparation of Sludge Transport and Storage Container (STSC), disconnect STSC and prepare STSC and Sludge Transport System (STS) for shipping are addressed.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory [LLNL] was tasked to compare the impact response of NFL helmet pad systems and U.S. Army pad systems compatible with an Advanced Combat Helmet [ACH] at impact velocities up to 20 ft/s. This was a one-year study funded by the U.S. Army and JIEDDO. The Army/JIEDDO point of contact is COL R. Todd Dombroski, DO, JIEDDO Surgeon. LLNL was chosen by committee to perform the research based on prior published computational studies of the mechanical response of helmets and skulls to blast. Our collaborators include the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory [USAARL] (a DoD laboratory responsible for impact testing helmets), Team Wendy and Oregon Aero (current and former ACH pad manufacturers), Riddell and Xenith (NFL pad manufacturers), and d3o (general purpose sports pad manufacturer). The manufacturer-supplied pad systems that were studied are shown in the figure below. The first two are the Army systems, which are bilayer foam pads with both hard and soft foam and a water-resistant airtight wrapper (Team Wendy) or a water-resistant airtight coating (Oregon Aero). The next two are NFL pad systems. The Xenith system consists of a thin foam pad and a hollow air-filled cylinder that elastically buckles under load. The …

The Solar 2 Green Energy, Arts and Education Center is an 8,000 sq.ft. demonstration project that will be constructed to Platinum LEED certification and will be the first carbon-neutral, net-zero energy use public building in New York City, giving it local and national appeal. Employing “green” building features and holistic engineering practices throughout its international award-winning design, Solar 2 will be powered by a 90kW photovoltaic (PV) array in conjunction with a geothermal heating and cooling system and a high efficient design that seeks to reduce the overall energy load of the building. Solar 2 will replace our current 500 sq.ft. prototype facility - known as Solar 1 - as the educational and cultural centerpiece of a five-block public greenway on the East River in Stuyvesant Cove Park, located along two acres of public riverfront on a newly reclaimed, former brownfield in lower Manhattan. Designed as a public-use complex for year-round environmental education exhibits and onsite activities for all ages and backgrounds, Solar 2 will demonstrate energy-efficiency technologies and sustainable environmental practices available now to all urban residents, eco-tourists, teachers, and students alike. Showcasing one of Solar 2’s most striking design elements is the PV roof array with a café …

SSRL, a division of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a national user facility which provides synchrotron radiation, a name given to x-rays or light produced by electrons circulating in a storage ring at nearly the speed of light. The synchrotron radiation is produced by the 3.3 GeV storage ring, SPEAR. SPEAR is a fully dedicated synchrotron radiation facility which has been operating for user experiments 6 to 7 months per year. 1994, the third year of operation of SSRL as a fully dedicated, low-emittance, independent user facility was superb. The facility ran extremely well, delivering 89% of the scheduled user beam to 25 experimental stations during 6.5 months of user running. Over 600 users came from 167 institutions to participate in 343 experiments. Users from private industry were involved in 31% of these experiments. The SPEAR accelerator ran very well with no major component failures and an unscheduled down time of only 2.9%. In addition to this increased reliability, there was a significant improvement in the stability of the beam. The enhancements to the SPEAR orbit as part of a concerted three-year program were particularly noticeable to users. the standard deviation of beam movement (both planes) in the last …

Technical nuclear forensics (TNF) refers to the collection, analysis and evaluation of pre- and post-detonation radiological or nuclear materials, devices, and/or debris. TNF is an integral component, complementing traditional forensics and investigative work, to help enable the attribution of discovered radiological or nuclear material. Research is needed to improve the capabilities of TNF. One research area of interest is determining the isotopic signatures of research reactors. Research reactors are a potential source of both radiological and nuclear material. Research reactors are often the least safeguarded type of reactor; they vary greatly in size, fuel type, enrichment, power, and burn-up. Many research reactors are fueled with highly-enriched uranium (HEU), up to {approx}93% {sup 235}U, which could potentially be used as weapons material. All of them have significant amounts of radiological material with which a radioactive dispersal device (RDD) could be built. Therefore, the ability to attribute if material originated from or was produced in a specific research reactor is an important tool in providing for the security of the United States. Currently there are approximately 237 operating research reactors worldwide, another 12 are in temporary shutdown and 224 research reactors are reported as shut down. Little is currently known about the …

We present the results of a search for extraterrestrial electron antineutrinos ({bar {nu}}{sub e}'s) in the energy range 8.3 MeV < E{sub {bar {nu}}}{sub e} < 30.8 MeV using the KamLAND detector. In an exposure of 4.53 kton-year, we identify 25 candidate events. All of the candidate events can be attributed to background, most importantly neutral current atmospheric neutrino interactions, setting an upper limit on the probability of {sup 8}B solar {nu}{sub e}'s converting into {bar {nu}}{sub e}'s at 5.3 x 10{sup -5} (90% C.L.). The present data also allows us to set more stringent limits on the diffuse supernova neutrino flux and on the annihilation rates for light dark matter particles.

The LOCO algorithm has been used by many accelerators around the world. Although the uses for LOCO vary, the most common use has been to find calibration errors and correct the optics functions. The light source community in particular has made extensive use of the LOCO algorithms to tightly control the beta function and coupling. Maintaining high quality beam parameters requires constant attention so a relatively large effort was put into software development for the LOCO application. The LOCO code was originally written in FORTRAN. This code worked fine but it was somewhat awkward to use. For instance, the FORTRAN code itself did not calculate the model response matrix. It required a separate modeling code such as MAD to calculate the model matrix then one manually loads the data into the LOCO code. As the number of people interested in LOCO grew, it required making it easier to use. The decision to port LOCO to Matlab was relatively easy. It's best to use a matrix programming language with good graphics capability; Matlab was also being used for high level machine control; and the accelerator modeling code AT, [5], was already developed for Matlab. Since LOCO requires collecting and processing a …

The detonation of a 10 Kiloton Improvised Nuclear Device (IND) is a serious scenario that the United States must be prepared to address. The likelihood of a single nuclear bomb exploding in a single city is greater today than at the height of the Cold War. Layered defenses against domestic nuclear terrorism indicate that our government continues to view the threat as credible. The risk of such an event is further evidenced by terrorists desire to acquire nuclear weapons. The act of nuclear terrorism, particularly an act directed against a large population center in the United States, will overwhelm the capabilities of many local and state governments to respond, and will seriously challenge existing federal response capabilities. A 10 Kiloton IND detonation would cause total infrastructure damage in a 3-mile radius and levels of radiation spanning out 3,000 square miles. In a densely populated urban area, the anticipated casualties would be in excess of several hundred thousand. Although there would be enormous loss of life, housing and infrastructure, an IND detonation is a recoverable event. We can reduce the risk of these high-consequence, nontraditional threats by enhancing our nuclear detection architecture and establishing well planned and rehearsed plans for coordinated …

This study seeks to provide policymakers and other stakeholders with actionable information towards a road map for reducing energy consumption cost-effectively. We focus on individual end use equipment types (hereafter referred to as appliance groups) that might be the subject of policies - such as labels, energy performance standards, and incentives - to affect market transformation in the short term, and on high-efficiency technology options that are available today. As the study title suggests, the high efficiency or Business Case scenario is constructed around a model of cost-effective efficiency improvement. Our analysis demonstrates that a significant reduction in energy consumption and emissions is achievable at net negative cost, that is, as a profitable investment for consumers. Net savings are calculated assuming no additional costs to energy consumption such as carbon taxes. Savings relative to the base case as calculated in this way is often referred to as 'economic savings potential'. Chinese energy demand has grown dramatically over the last few decades. While heavy industry still plays a dominant role in greenhouse gas emissions, demand from residential and commercial buildings has also seen rapid growth in percentage terms. In the residential sector this growth is driven by internal migration from the …

The design of solid metal catalysts using theoretical methods has been a long-standing goal in heterogeneous catalysis. Recent developments in methodology and computer technology as well as the establishment of a descriptor-based approach for the analysis of reaction mechanisms and trends across the periodic table allow for the fast screening for new catalytic materials and have lead to first examples of computational discoveries of new materials. The underlying principles of the descriptor-based approach are the existence of relations between the surface electronic structure, adsorption energies and activation barriers that result in volcano-shaped activity plots as function of simple descriptors, such as atomic binding energies or the d-band center. Linear scaling relations have been established between the adsorption energies of hydrogen-containing molecules such as CH{sub x}, NH{sub x}, OH{sub x} and SH{sub x} and the C, N O and S adsorption energies on transition-metal surfaces. Transition-state energies have also been shown to scale linearly with adsorption energies in a similar fashion. Recently, a single transition state scaling relation has been identified for a large number of C-C, C-O, C-N, N-O, N-N, and O-O coupling reactions. The scaling relations provide a powerful tool for the investigation of reaction mechanisms and the prediction …

The purpose of this report is to provide a concise status update for value-added products (VAP) implemented by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility. The report is divided into the following sections: (1) new VAPs for which development has begun, (2) progress on existing VAPs, (3) future VAPs that have been recently approved, (4) other work that leads to a VAP, and (5) top requested VAPs from the archive

The design and evaluation of media based hydrogen storage systems requires the use of detailed numerical models and experimental studies, with significant amount of time and monetary investment. Thus a scoping tool, referred to as the Acceptability Envelope, was developed to screen preliminary candidate media and storage vessel designs, identifying the range of chemical, physical and geometrical parameters for the coupled media and storage vessel system that allow it to meet performance targets. The model which underpins the analysis allows simplifying the storage system, thus resulting in one input-one output scheme, by grouping of selected quantities. Two cases have been analyzed and results are presented here. In the first application the DOE technical targets (Year 2010, Year 2015 and Ultimate) are used to determine the range of parameters required for the metal hydride media and storage vessel. In the second case the most promising metal hydrides available are compared, highlighting the potential of storage systems, utilizing them, to achieve 40% of the 2010 DOE technical target. Results show that systems based on Li-Mg media have the best potential to attain these performance targets.

The SELEX Collaboration has reported a very large isospin splitting of doubly charmed baryons. We show that this effect would imply that the doubly charmed baryons are very compact. One intriguing possibility is that such baryons have a linear geometry Q-q-Q where the light quark q oscillates between the two heavy quarks Q, analogous to a linear molecule such as carbon dioxide. However, using conventional arguments, the size of a heavy-light hadron is expected to be around 0.5 fm, much larger than the size needed to explain the observed large isospin splitting. Assuming the distance between two heavy quarks is much smaller than that between the light quark and a heavy one, the doubly heavy baryons are related to the heavy mesons via heavy quark-diquark symmetry. Based on this symmetry, we predict the isospin splittings for doubly heavy baryons including {Xi}{sub cc}, {Xi}{sub bb} and {Xi}{sub bc}. The prediction for the {Xi}{sub cc} is much smaller than the SELEX value. On the other hand, the {Xi}{sub bb} baryons are predicted to have an isospin splitting as large as (6.3 {+-} 1.7) MeV. An experimental study of doubly bottomed baryons is therefore very important to better understand the structure of baryons …

Nuclear reaction data play an important role in nuclear reactor, medical, and fundamental science and national security applications. The wealth of information is stored in internally adopted ENDF-6 and EXFOR formats. We present a complete calculation of resonance integrals, Westcott factors, thermal and Maxwellian-averaged cross sections for Z = 1-100 using evaluated nuclear reaction data. The addition of newly-evaluated neutron reaction libraries, and improvements in data processing techniques allows us to calculate nuclear industry and astrophysics parameters, and provide additional insights on all currently available neutron-induced reaction data. Nuclear reaction calculations will be discussed and an overview of the latest reaction data developments will be given.

The theory of rigid body kinematics is used to derive equations that govern the control and measurement of the position and orientation of undulator girders. The equations form the basis of the girder matlab software on the LCLS control system. The equations are linear for small motion and easily inverted as desired. For reference, some relevant girder geometrical data is also given. Equations 6-8 relate the linear potentiometer readings to the motion of the girder. Equations 9-11 relate the cam shaft angles to the motion of the girder. Both sets are easily inverted to either obtain the girder motion from the angles or readings, or, to find the angles and readings that would give a desired motion. The motion of any point on the girder can be calculated by applying either sets of equations to the two cam-planes and extrapolating in the z coordinate using equation 19. The formulation of the equations is quite general and easily coded via matrix and vector methods. They form the basis of the girder matlab software on the LCLS control system.

Proceedings of the Symposium that celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the US/Japan Collaboration in High Energy Physics

The Courant-Snyder (CS) theory and the Kapchinskij-Vladimirskij (KV) distribution for high-intensity beams in a uncoupled focusing lattice are generalized to the case of coupled transverse dynamics. The envelope function is generalized to an envelope matrix, and the envelope equation becomes a matrix envelope equation with matrix operations that are non-commutative. In an uncoupled lattice, the KV distribution function, first analyzed in 1959, is the only known exact solution of the nonlinear Vlasov-Maxwell equations for high-intensity beams including self-fields in a self-consistent manner. The KV solution is generalized to high-intensity beams in a coupled transverse lattice using the generalized CS invariant. This solution projects to a rotating, pulsating elliptical beam in transverse configuration space. The fully self-consistent solution reduces the nonlinear Vlasov-Maxwell equations to a nonlinear matrix ordinary differential equation for the envelope matrix, which determines the geometry of the pulsating and rotating beam ellipse. These results provide us with a new theoretical tool to investigate the dynamics of high-intensity beams in a coupled transverse lattice. A strongly coupled lattice, a so-called N-rolling lattice, is studied as an example. It is found that strong coupling does not deteriorate the beam quality. Instead, the coupling induces beam rotation, and reduces beam pulsation.

The following work has been performed by PI Hans De Sterck and graduate student Manda Winlaw for the required tasks 1-5 (as listed in the Statement of Work). Graduate student Manda Winlaw has visited LLNL January 31-March 11, 2011 and May 23-August 19, 2010, working with Van Henson and Mike O'Hara on non-negative matrix factorizations (NMF). She has investigated the dense subgraph clustering algorithm from 'Finding Dense Subgraphs for Sparse Undirected, Directed, and Bipartite Graphs' by Chen and Saad, testing this method on several term-document matrices and adapting it to cluster based on the rank of the subgraphs instead of the density. Manda Winlaw was awarded a first prize in the annual LLNL summer student poster competition for a poster on her NMF research. PI Hans De Sterck has developed a new adaptive algebraic multigrid algorithm for computing a few dominant or minimal singular triplets of sparse rectangular matrices. This work builds on adaptive algebraic multigrid methods that were further developed by the PI and collaborators (including Sanders and Henson) for Markov chains. The method also combines and extends existing multigrid algorithms for the symmetric eigenproblem. The PI has visited LLNL February 22-25, 2011, and has given a CASC seminar …

A detailed experimental study of a vertical gas jet impinging a fluidized bed of particles has been conducted with the help of Laser Doppler Velocimetry measurements. Mean and fluctuating velocity profiles of the two phases have been presented and analyzed for different fluidization states of the emulsion. The results of this work would be greatly helpful in understanding the complex two-phase mixing phenomenon that occurs in bubbling beds, such as in coal and biomass gasification, and also in building more fundamental gas-solid Eulerian/Lagrangian models which can be incorporated into existing CFD codes. Relevant simulations to supplement the experimental findings have also been conducted using the Department of Energy’s open source code MFIX. The goal of these simulations was two-fold. One was to check the two-dimensional nature of the experimental results. The other was an attempt to improve the existing dense phase Eulerian framework through validation with the experimental results. In particular the sensitivity of existing frictional models in predicting the flow was investigated. The simulation results provide insight on wall-bounded turbulent jets and the effect frictional models have on gas-solid bubbling flows. Additionally, some empirical minimum fluidization correlations were validated for non-spherical particles with the idea of extending the present …

Using Synchrotron-Radiation-based Photoelectron Spectroscopy and X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, the theoretical results within recent progress reports supplied under Contract B590089 have been evaluated. Three appendices are included: A is from Progress Report I; B is from Progress Report II; and C is from an earlier calculation by M. Ryzhkov. The comparisons between the LLNL experimental data and the Russian calculations are quite favorable. The Cluster calculations may represent a new and useful avenue to address unresolved questions within the field of actinide electron structure, particularly that of Pu.

The MINERvA experiment is a dedicated cross-section experiment whose aim is to measure neutrino cross sections for inclusive and exclusive final states on several nuclei. The detector is fully commissioned and began running in March 2010. As a dedicated cross-section experiment, MINERvA has a particular need to know the incident neutrino flux: both the absolute level and the energy dependence. In these proceedings we describe the MINERvA detector, give an update on the experimental status, and discuss the means to determine the neutrino flux. The MINERvA experiment is now running and has completed 25% of its full Low Energy run. There are various techniques planned for understanding the flux, including taking neutrino data at several different beam configurations. The experiment has gotten a first glimpse of two of the six configurations, and completed four horn current scans. Because of its exclusive final state reconstruction capabilities MINERvA can provide the much needed input for current and future oscillation experiments. The inclusive final state measurements and comparisons of nuclear effects across as many states as possible will provide new insights into neutrino-nucleus scattering.

This project covers the following research: (a) Investigations into the structure of the proton and neutron. This is done by investigating the different resonance states of nucleons with beams of tagged, polarized photons, linearly as well as circularly, incident on polarized hydrogen/deuterium targets and measuring the production of {pi}{sup #25;0}, 2{pi}{sup #25;}0, 3{pi}{sup #25;0}, {eta}#17;, {eta}', {omega}, etc. The principal detector is the Crystal Ball multiphoton spectrometer which has an acceptance of nearly 4#25;. It has been moved to the MAMI accelerator facility of the University of Mainz, Germany. We investigate the conversion of electromagnetic energy into mesonic matter and conversely. (b) We investigate the consequences of applying the "standard" symmetries of isospin, G–parity, charge conjugation, C, P, T, and chirality using rare and forbidden decays of light mesons such as the {eta}#17;,{eta}' and {omega}. We also investigate the consequences of these symmetries being slightly broken symmetries. We do this by studying selected meson decays using the Crystal Ball detector. (c) We determine the mass, or more precisely the mass difference of the three light quarks (which are inputs to Quantum Chromodynamics) by measuring the decay rate of specially selected {eta}#17; and {eta}' decay modes, again we use the Crystal …

Soils are immensely diverse microbial habitats with thousands of co-existing bacterial, archaeal, and fungal species. Across broad spatial scales, factors such as pH and soil moisture appear to determine the diversity and structure of soil bacterial communities. Within any one site however, bacterial taxon diversity is high and factors maintaining this diversity are poorly resolved. Candidate factors include organic substrate availability and chemical recalcitrance, and given that they appear to structure bacterial communities at the phylum level, we examine whether these factors might structure bacterial communities at finer levels of taxonomic resolution. Analyzing 16S rRNA gene composition of nucleotide analog-labeled DNA by PhyloChip microarrays, we compare relative growth rates on organic substrates of increasing chemical recalcitrance of >2,200 bacterial taxa across 43 divisions/phyla. Taxa that increase in relative abundance with labile organic substrates (i.e., glycine, sucrose) are numerous (>500), phylogenetically clustered, and occur predominantly in two phyla (Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria) including orders Actinomycetales, Enterobacteriales, Burkholderiales, Rhodocyclales, Alteromonadales, and Pseudomonadales. Taxa increasing in relative abundance with more chemically recalcitrant substrates (i.e., cellulose, lignin, or tannin-protein) are fewer (168) but more phylogenetically dispersed, occurring across eight phyla and including Clostridiales, Sphingomonadalaes, Desulfovibrionales. Just over 6% of detected taxa, including many Burkholderiales increase …