One dimensional simulations of various initial average density aluminum foams (modeled as slabs of solid metal separated by low density regions) heated by volumetric energy deposition are conducted with a Lagrangian hydrodynamics code using a van der Waals equation of tate (EOS). The resulting behavior is studied to facilitate the design of future warm dense matter (WDM) experiments at LBNL. In the simulations the energy deposition ranges from 10 to 30 kJ/g and from 0.075 to 4.0 ns total pulse length, resulting in temperatures from approximately 1 o 4 eV. We study peak pressures and temperatures in the foams, expansion velocity, and the phase evolution. Five relevant time scales in the problem are identified. Additionally, we present a method for characterizing the level of inhomogeneity in a foam target as it is heated and the time it takes for a foam to homogenize.

Recent developments in the theory of strong interactions are discussed in the framework of the AdS/CFT duality between string theories of gravity in a higher dimension Anti-de Sitter space and conformal quantum field theories in physical space-time. This novel theoretical approach, combined with 'light-front holography', leads to new insights into the quark and gluon structure of hadrons and a viable first approximation to quantum chromodynamics, the fundamental theory of the strong and nuclear interactions.

The challenge of chemistry in the 21st century is to achieve 100% selectivity of the desired product molecule in multipath reactions ('green chemistry') and develop renewable energy based processes. Surface chemistry and catalysis play key roles in this enterprise. Development of in situ surface techniques such as high-pressure scanning tunneling microscopy, sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy, time-resolved Fourier transform infrared methods, and ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy enabled the rapid advancement of three fields: nanocatalysts, biointerfaces, and renewable energy conversion chemistry. In materials nanoscience, synthetic methods have been developed to produce monodisperse metal and oxide nanoparticles (NPs) in the 0.8-10 nm range with controlled shape, oxidation states, and composition; these NPs can be used as selective catalysts since chemical selectivity appears to be dependent on all of these experimental parameters. New spectroscopic and microscopic techniques have been developed that operate under reaction conditions and reveal the dynamic change of molecular structure of catalysts and adsorbed molecules as the reactions proceed with changes in reaction intermediates, catalyst composition, and oxidation states. SFG vibrational spectroscopy detects amino acids, peptides, and proteins adsorbed at hydrophobic and hydrophilic interfaces and monitors the change of surface structure and interactions with coadsorbed water. Exothermic reactions …

The database of Alignable Tight Genomic Clusters (ATGCs) consists of closely related genomes of archaea and bacteria, and is a resource for research into prokaryotic microevolution. Construction of a data set with appropriate characteristics is a major hurdle for this type of studies. With the current rate of genome sequencing, it is difficult to follow the progress of the field and to determine which of the available genome sets meet the requirements of a given research project, in particular, with respect to the minimum and maximum levels of similarity between the included genomes. Additionally, extraction of specific content, such as genomic alignments or families of orthologs, from a selected set of genomes is a complicated and time-consuming process. The database addresses these problems by providing an intuitive and efficient web interface to browse precomputed ATGCs, select appropriate ones and access ATGC-derived data such as multiple alignments of orthologous proteins, matrices of pairwise intergenomic distances based on genome-wide analysis of synonymous and nonsynonymous substitution rates and others. The ATGC database will be regularly updated following new releases of the NCBI RefSeq. The database is hosted by the Genomics Division at Lawrence Berkeley National laboratory and is publicly available at http://atgc.lbl.gov.

Specific inhibitors of MEK have been developed that efficiently inhibit the oncogenic RAF-MEK-ERK pathway. We employed a systems-based approach to identify breast cancer subtypes particularly susceptible to MEK inhibitors and to understand molecular mechanisms conferring resistance to such compounds. Basal-type breast cancer cells were found to be particularly susceptible to growth-inhibition by small-molecule MEK inhibitors. Activation of the PI3 kinase pathway in response to MEK inhibition through a negative MEK-EGFR-PI3 kinase feedback loop was found to limit efficacy. Interruption of this feedback mechanism by targeting MEK and PI3 kinase produced synergistic effects, including induction of apoptosis and, in some cell lines, cell cycle arrest and protection from apoptosis induced by proapoptotic agents. These findings enhance our understanding of the interconnectivity of oncogenic signal transduction circuits and have implications for the design of future clinical trials of MEK inhibitors in breast cancer by guiding patient selection and suggesting rational combination therapies.

The charmonium yields are expected to be considerably suppressed if a deconfined medium is formed in high-energy heavy-ion collisions. In addition, the bottomonium states, with the possible exception of the {Upsilon}(1S) state, are also expected to be suppressed in heavy-ion collisions. However, in proton-nucleus collisions the quarkonium production cross sections, even those of the {Upsilon}(1S), scale less than linearly with the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions. These 'cold nuclear matter' effects need to be accounted for before signals of the high density QCD medium can be identified in the measurements made in nucleus-nucleus collisions. We identify two cold nuclear matter effects important for midrapidity quarkonium production: 'nuclear absorption', typically characterized as a final-state effect on the produced quarkonium state and shadowing, the modification of the parton densities in nuclei relative to the nucleon, an initial-state effect. We characterize these effects and study their energy and rapidity dependence.

Using an extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) microscope to produce high-quality images of EUV reticles, we have developed a new wavelength tuning method to acquire through-focus data series with a higher level of stability and repeatability than was previously possible. We utilize the chromatic focal-length dependence of a diffractive Fresnel zoneplate objective lens, and while holding the mask sample mechanically still, we tune the wavelength through a narrow range, in small steps. In this paper, we demonstrate the method and discuss the relative advantages that this data collection technique affords.

Aerial images for isolated defects and the interactions of defects with features are compared between the Actinic Inspection Tool (AIT) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the fast EUV simulation program RADICAL. Comparisons between AIT images from August 2007 and RADICAL simulations are used to extract aberrations. At this time astigmatism was the dominant aberration with a value of 0.55 waves RMS. Significant improvements in the imaging performance of the AIT were made between August 2007 and December 2008. A good match will be shown between the most recent AIT images and RADICAL simulations without aberrations. These comparisons will demonstrate that a large defect, in this case 7nm tall on the surface, is still printable even if it is centered under the absorber line. These comparisons also suggest that the minimum defect size is between 1.5nm and 0.8nm surface height because a 1.5nm defect was printable but a 0.8nm was not. Finally, the image of a buried defect near an absorber line through focus will demonstrate an inversion in the effect of the defect from a protrusion of the dark line into the space to a protrusion of the space into the line.

Geologic carbon sequestration is the injection of anthropogenic CO{sub 2} into deep geologic formations where the CO{sub 2} is intended to remain indefinitely. If successfully implemented, geologic carbon sequestration will have little or no impact on terrestrial ecosystems aside from the mitigation of climate change. However, failure of a geologic carbon sequestration site, such as large-scale leakage of CO{sub 2} into a potable groundwater aquifer, could cause impacts that would require costly remediation measures. Governments are attempting to develop regulations for permitting geologic carbon sequestration sites to ensure their safety and effectiveness. At present, these regulations focus largely on decreasing the probability of failure. In this paper we propose that regulations for the siting of early geologic carbon sequestration projects should emphasize limiting the consequences of failure because consequences are easier to quantify than failure probability.

It has been suggested that dark matter particles which scatter inelastically from detector target nuclei could explain the apparent incompatibility of the DAMA modulation signal (interpreted as evidence for particle dark matter) with the null results from CDMS-II and XENON10. Among the predictions of inelastically interacting dark matter are a suppression of low-energy events, and a population of nuclear recoil events at higher nuclear recoil equivalent energies. This is in stark contrast to the well-known expectation of a falling exponential spectrum for the case of elastic interactions. We present a new analysis of XENON10 dark matter search data extending to E{sub nr} = 75 keV nuclear recoil equivalent energy. Our results exclude a significant region of previously allowed parameter space in the model of inelastically interacting dark matter. In particular, it is found that dark matter particle masses m{sub x} {approx}> 150 GeV are disfavored.

It is shown that the rate performance of a lithium battery composite electrode may be compromised by poor internal connectivity due to defects and inhomogeneities introduced during electrode fabrication or subsequent handling. Application of a thin conductive coating to the top surface of the electrode or to the separator surface in contact with the electrode improves the performance by providing alternative current paths to partially isolated particles of electroactive material. Mechanistic implications are discussed and strategies for improvement in electrode design and fabrication are presented.

The UK National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) has developed a remote, non-electrical, radiation-mapping device known as RadBall (patent pending), which offers a means to locate and quantify radiation hazards and sources within contaminated areas of the nuclear industry. To date, the RadBall has been deployed in a number of technology trials in nuclear waste reprocessing plants at Sellafield in the UK. The trials have demonstrated the successful ability of the RadBall technology to be deployed and retrieved from active areas. The positive results from these initial deployment trials and the anticipated future potential of RadBall have led to the NNL partnering with the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to further underpin and strengthen the technical performance of the technology. RadBall consists of a colander-like outer shell that houses a radiation-sensitive polymer sphere. It has no power requirements and can be positioned in tight or hard-to reach places. The outer shell works to collimate radiation sources and those areas of the polymer sphere that are exposed react, becoming increasingly less transparent, in proportion to the absorbed dose. The polymer sphere is imaged in an optical-CT scanner which produces a high resolution 3D map of optical attenuation coefficients. Subsequent analysis of the optical …

The authors present a Dalitz-plot analysis of charmless B{sup {+-}} decays to the final state {pi}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup {-+}} using a sample of (465 {+-} 5) x 10{sup 6} B{bar B} pairs collected by the BABAR experiment at {radical}s = 10.58 GeV. They measure the branching fractions {Beta}(B{sup {+-}} {yields} {pi}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup {-+}}) = (15.2 {+-} 0.6 {+-} 1.2 {+-} 0.4) x 10{sup -6}, {Beta}(B{sup {+-}} {yields} {rho}{sup 0}(770){pi}{sup {+-}}) = (8.1 {+-} 0.7 {+-} 1.2{sub -1.1}{sup +0.4}) x 10{sup -6}, {Beta}(B{sup {+-}} {yields} f{sub 2}(1270){pi}{sup {+-}}) = (1.57 {+-} 0.42 {+-} 0.16{sub -0.19}{sup +0.53}) x 10{sup -6}, and {Beta}(B{sup {+-}} {yields} {pi}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup {+-}}{pi}{sup {-+}} nonresonant) = (5.3 {+-} 0.7 {+-} 0.6{sub -0.5}{sup +1.1}) x 10{sup -6}, where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic, and model-dependent, respectively. Measurements of branching fractions for the modes B{sup {+-}} {yields} {rho}{sup 0}(1450){pi}{sup {+-}} and B{sup {+-}} {yields} f{sub 0}(1370){pi}{sup {+-}} are also presented. They observe no significant direct CP asymmetries for the above modes, and there is no evidence for the decays B{sup {+-}} {yields} f{sub 0}(980){pi}{sup {+-}}, B{sup {+-}} {yields} {chi}{sub c0}{pi}{sup {+-}}, or B{sup {+-}} {yields} {chi}{sub c2}{pi}{sup {+-}}.

We examine size dependent deliquescence/efflorescence phase transformation for particles down to several nanometers in size. A thin layer criterion (TLC) is introduced to define a deliquescence relative humidity (DRH) for small particles. The usual bulk deliquescence conditions are recovered in the limit of large dry particle size. Nano-size particles are shown to deliquesce to metastable states via a nucleation process at relative humidity just below the DRH. The nucleation barrier is located at a critical solution layer thickness and vanishes at the DRH defined by the TLC. Methods from nucleation theory form the basis for the analysis and yield new insights into the theory, facilitate the interpretation of measurements, and point to unification of deliquescence and efflorescence processes for particles in the nano regime. Methods include thermodynamic area constructions, Legendre transforms relating the binary free-energy surfaces for deliquescence and efflorescence processes, and application of nucleation theorems.

We consider the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy-area formula in four dimensional extended ungauged supergravity and its electric-magnetic duality property. Symmetries of both"large" and"small" extremal black holes are considered, as well as the ADM mass formula for N=4 and N=8 supergravity, preserving different fraction of supersymmetry. The interplay between BPS conditions and duality properties is an important aspect of this investigation.

Solid-state electrochemical sensors using two different sensing electrode compositions, gold and strontium-doped lanthanum manganite (LSM), were evaluated for gas phase sensing of NO{sub x} (NO and NO{sub 2}) using an impedance-metric technique. An asymmetric cell design utilizing porous YSZ electrolyte exposed both electrodes to the test gas (i.e., no reference gas). Sensitivity to less than 5 ppm NO and response/recovery times (10-90%) less than 10 s were demonstrated. Using an LSM sensing electrode, virtual identical sensitivity towards NO and NO{sub 2} was obtained, indicating that the equilibrium gas concentration was measured by the sensing electrode. In contrast, for cells employing a gold sensing electrode the NO{sub x} sensitivity varied depending on the cell design: increasing the amount of porous YSZ electrolyte on the sensor surface produced higher NO{sub 2} sensitivity compared to NO. In order to achieve comparable sensitivity for both NO and NO{sub 2}, the cell with the LSM sensing electrode required operation at a lower temperature (575 C) than the cell with the gold sensing electrode (650 C). The role of surface reactions are proposed to explain the differences in NO and NO{sub 2} selectivity using the two different electrode materials.

In searching for high gravimetric and volumetric density hydrogen storage systems, it is inevitable that higher energy density materials will be used. In order to make safe and commercially acceptable condensed phase hydrogen storage systems, it is important to understand quantitatively the risks involved in using and handling these materials and to develop appropriate mitigation strategies to handle potential material exposure events. A crucial aspect of the development of risk identification and mitigation strategies is the development of rigorous environmental reactivity testing standards and procedures. This will allow for the identification of potential risks and implementation of risk mitigation strategies. Modified testing procedures for shipping air and/or water sensitive materials, as codified by the United Nations, have been used to evaluate two potential hydrogen storage materials, 2LiBH{sub 4} {center_dot} MgH{sub 2} and NH{sub 3}BH{sub 3}. The modified U.N. procedures include identification of self-reactive substances, pyrophoric substances, and gas-emitting substances with water contact. The results of these tests for air and water contact sensitivity will be compared to the pure material components where appropriate (e.g. LiBH{sub 4} and MgH{sub 2}). The water contact tests are divided into two scenarios dependent on the hydride to water mole ratio and heat transport characteristics. …

FEL-based coherent electron cooling (CEC) offers a new avenue to achieve high luminosities in high energy colliders such as RHIC, LHC, and eRHIC. Traditional treatments consider the FEL as an amplifier of optical waves with specific initial conditions, focusing on the resulting field. CEC requires knowledge of the phase space distribution of the electron beam in the FEL. We present 1D analytical results for the phase space distribution of an electron beam with an arbitrary initial current profile, and discuss approaches of expanding to 3D results.

Article on the evolution of primary hemostasis in early vertebrates.

We propose undertaking a demonstration experiment on suppressing spontaneous undulator radiation from an electron beam at BNL's Accelerator Test Facility (ATF). We describe the method, the proposed layout, and a possible schedule. There are several advantages in strongly suppressing shot noise in the electron beam, and the corresponding spontaneous radiation. The self-amplified spontaneous (SASE) emission originating from shot noise in the electron beam is the main source of noise in high-gain FEL amplifiers. It may negatively affect several HG FEL applications ranging from single- to multi-stage HGHG FELs. SASE saturation also imposes a fundamental hard limit on the gain of an FEL amplifier in a coherent electron-cooling scheme. A novel active method for suppressing shot noise in relativistic electron beams by many orders-of-magnitude was recently proposed. While theoretically such strong suppression appears feasible, the performance and applicability of this novel method must be evaluated experimentally. Several practical questions about the proposed noise suppressor, such as 3D effects and/or sensitivity to the e-beam parameters also require experimental clarification. To do this, we propose here a proof-of-principle experiment using elements of the VISA FEL at BNL's Accelerator Test Facility.

As scientific instruments and computer simulations produce more and more data, the task of locating the essential information to gain insight becomes increasingly difficult. FastBit is an efficient software tool to address this challenge. In this article, we present a summary of the key underlying technologies, namely bitmap compression, encoding, and binning. Together these techniques enable FastBit to answer structured (SQL) queries orders of magnitude faster than popular database systems. To illustrate how FastBit is used in applications, we present three examples involving a high-energy physics experiment, a combustion simulation, and an accelerator simulation. In each case, FastBit significantly reduces the response time and enables interactive exploration on terabytes of data.

Radioactive wastes are confined in 49 underground storage tanks at the Savannah River Site. The tanks are examined by ultrasonic (UT) methods for thinning, pitting, and stress corrosion cracking in order to assess fitness-for-service. During an inspection in 2002, ten cracks were identified on one of the tanks. Given the location of the cracks (i.e., adjacent to welds, weld attachments, and weld repairs), fabrication details (e.g., this tank was not stress-relieved), and the service history the degradation mechanism was stress corrosion cracking. Crack instability calculations utilizing API-579 guidance were performed to show that the combination of expected future service condition hydrostatic and weld residual stresses do not drive any of the identified cracks to instability. The cracks were re-inspected in 2007 to determine if crack growth had occurred. During this re-examination, one indication that was initially reported as a 'possible perpendicular crack <25% through wall' in 2002, was clearly shown not to be a crack. Additionally, examination of a new area immediately adjacent to other cracks along a vertical weld revealed three new cracks. It is not known when these new cracks formed as they could very well have been present in 2002 as well. Therefore, a total of twelve …

The Savannah River Site (SRS) Burial Ground had a container labeled as Box 33 for which they had no reliable solid waste stream designation. The container consisted of an outer box of dimensions 48-inch x 46-inch x 66-inch and an inner box that contained high density and high radiation dose material. From the outer box Radiation Control measured an extremity dose rate of 22 mrem/h. With the lid removed from the outer box, the maximum dose rate measured from the inner box was 100 mrem/h extremity and 80 mrem/h whole body. From the outer box the material was sufficiently high in density that the Solid Waste Management operators were unable to obtain a Co-60 radiograph of the contents. Solid Waste Management requested that the Analytical Development Section of Savannah River National Laboratory perform a {gamma}-ray assay of the item to evaluate the radioactive content and possibly to designate a solid waste stream. This paper contains the results of three models used to analyze the measured {gamma}-ray data acquired in an unusual configuration.

Gravitational instability of the distribution of stars in a galaxy is a well-known phenomenon in astrophysics. This report is an attempt to analyze this phenomenon by applying standard tools developed in accelerator physics. It is found that a nonrotating galaxy would become unstable if its size exceeds a certain limit that depends on its mass density and its velocity spread.