The 2004 Gordon Research Conference on Atomic and Molecular Interactions was held July 11-16 at Colby-Sawyer College, New London, New Hampshire. This latest edition in a long-standing conference series featured invited talks and contributed poster papers on dynamics and intermolecular interactions in a variety of environments, ranging from the gas phase through surfaces and condensed media. A total of 90 conferees participated in the conference.

Under anaerobic conditions and at circumneutral pH, cells of the widely-distributed, obligate chemolithoautotrophic bacterium Thiobacillus denitrificans oxidatively dissolved synthetic and biogenic U(IV) oxides (uraninite) in nitrate-dependent fashion: U(IV) oxidation required the presence of nitrate and was strongly correlated to nitrate consumption. This is the first report of anaerobic U(IV) oxidation by an autotrophic bacterium.

Solutions to the radiation diffusion equation predict the absorbed energy (''wall loss'') within an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) hohlraum. Comparing supersonic vs. subsonic solutions suggests that a high Z metallic foam as hohlraum wall material will reduce hydrodynamic losses, and hence, net absorbed energy by {approx}20%. We derive an analytic expression for the optimal density (for any given drive temperature and pulse-length) that will achieve this reduction factor and which agrees well with numerical simulations. This approach can reduce the cost of a reactor driver. Radiation heat waves, or Marshak waves, play an important role in energy transport and in the energy balance of laser, z-pinch and heavy ion beam hohlraums for ICF and high energy density physics experiments. In these experiments, a power source, e.g. a laser, delivers energy to the interior of a high Z cavity that is converted to x-rays. Typically, most of the energy is absorbed in a thin, diffusively heated layer on the hohlraum interior surface, and re-emission from the heated layer sets the radiation temperature T achieved in the hohlraum. In our recent paper, (henceforward referred to as HR) we developed an analytic theory of Marshak waves via a perturbation theory using a small …

Student attendance in American public schools is a critical factor in securing limited operational funding. Student and teacher attendance influence academic performance. Limited data exist on indoor air and environmental quality (IEQ) in schools, and how IEQ affects attendance, health, or performance. This study explored the association of student absence with measures of indoor minus outdoor carbon dioxide concentration (dCO{sub 2}). Absence and dCO{sub 2} data were collected from 409 traditional and 25 portable classrooms from 14 schools located in six school districts in the states of Washington and Idaho. Study classrooms had individual heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, except two classrooms without mechanical ventilation. Classroom attributes, student attendance and school-level ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status (SES) were included in multivariate modeling. Forty-five percent of classrooms studied had short-term indoor CO{sub 2} concentrations above 1000 parts-per-million (ppm). A 1000 ppm increase in dCO{sub 2} was associated (p < 0.05) with a 0.5% to 0.9% decrease in annual average daily attendance (ADA), corresponding to a relative 10% to 20% increase in student absence. Outside air (ventilation) rates estimated from dCO{sub 2} and other collected data were not associated with absence. Annual ADA was 2% higher (p < 0.0001) in …

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In order to obtain formulas providing estimates for elastic constants of random polycrystals of laminates, some known rigorous bounds of Peselnick, Meister, and Watt are first simplified. Then, some new self-consistent estimates are formulated based on the resulting analytical structure of these bounds. A numerical study is made, assuming first that the internal structure (i.e., the laminated grain structure) is not known, and then that it is known. The purpose of this aspect of the study is to attempt to quantify the differences in the predictions of properties of the same system being modeled when such internal structure of the composite medium and spatial correlation information is and is not available.

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A membrane of multiwalled carbon nanotubes embedded in a silicon nitride matrix was fabricated for use in studying fluid mechanics on the nanometer scale. Characterization by fluorescent tracer diffusion and scanning electron microscopy suggests that the membrane is void-free near the silicon substrate on which it rests, implying that the hollow core of the nanotube is the only conduction path for molecular transport. Nitrogen flow measurements of a nanoporous silicon nitride membrane, fabricated by sacrificial removal of carbon, give a flow rate of 0.086 cc/sec. Calculations of water flow across a nanotube membrane give a rate of 2.1x10{sup -6} cc/sec (0.12 {micro}L/min).

Fermilab plans to deliver 5-15 fb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity to the CDF and D0 experiments. The current inner silicon detectors at CDF (SVXIIa and L00) will not tolerate the radiation dose associated with high luminosity running and will need to be replaced. A new readout chip (SVX4) has been designed in radiation-hard 0.25 {micro}m CMOS technology. Single sided sensors are arranged in a compact structure, called a stave, with integrated readout and cooling systems. This paper describes the general design of the Run IIb system, testing results of prototype electrical components (staves), and prototype silicon sensor performance before and after irradiation.

The vapor deposition methods of planar magnetron sputtering and electron-beam evaporation are used to synthesize materials with nano structured morphological features that have ultra-high surface areas with continuous open porosity at the nano scale. These nano structured membranes are used in a variety of fuel cells to provide electrode and catalytic functions. Specifically, stand alone and composite nickel electrodes for use in thin film solid-oxide, and molten carbonate fuel cells are formed by sputter deposition and electron bean evaporation, respectively. Also, a potentially high-performance catalyst material for the direct reformation of hydrocarbon fuels at low temperatures is deposited as a nano structure by the reactive sputtering of a copper-zinc alloy using a partial pressure of oxygen at an elevated substrate temperature.

We consider the collinear limit of QCD amplitudes at one-loop order, and their factorization properties directly in color space. These results apply to the multiple collinear limit of an arbitrary number of QCD partons, and are a basic ingredient in many higher-order computations. In particular, we discuss the triple collinear limit and its relation to flavor asymmetries in the QCD evolution of parton densities at three loops. As a phenomenological consequence of this new effect, and of the fact that the nucleon has non-vanishing quark valence densities, we study the perturbative generation of a strange-antistrange asymmetry s(x)-{bar s}(x) in the nucleon's sea.

Soils and sediments contaminated with toxic organic and inorganic compounds harmful to the environment and to human health are common in the urban environment. We report here on aspects of a program being carried out in the New York/New Jersey Port region to develop methods for processing dredged material from the Port to make products that are safe for introduction to commercial markets. We discuss some of the results of the program in Computational Environmental Science, Laboratory Environmental Science, and Applied Environmental Science and indicate some possible directions for future work. Overall, the program elements integrate the scientific and engineering aspects with regulatory, commercial, urban planning, local governments, and community group interests. Well-developed connections between these components are critical to the ultimate success of efforts to cope with the problems caused by contaminated urban soils and sediments.

The effects of fluoride on the corrosion behavior of Titanium Grade 7 (0.12-0.25% Pd) have been investigated. Up to 0.1 mol/L fluoride was added to the NaCl brines at 95 C, and three pH values of 4, 8, and 11 were selected for studying pH dependence of fluoride effects. It was observed that fluoride significantly altered the anodic polarization behavior, at all three pH values of 4, 8, and 11. Under acidic condition fluoride caused active corrosion. The corrosion of Titanium grade 7 was increased by three orders of magnitude when a 0.1 mol/L fluoride was added to the NaCl brines at pH 4, and the Pd ennoblement effect was not observed in acidic fluoride-containing environments. The effects of fluoride were reduced significantly when pH was increased to 8 and above.

We propose a significant enhancement of the electron peak current entering a SASE undulator by inducing an energy modulation in an upstream wiggler magnet via resonant interaction with an optical laser, followed by microbunching of the energy-modulated electrons at the accelerator exit. This current enhancement allows a reduction of the FEL gain length. The x-ray output consists of a series of uniformly spaced spikes, each spike being temporally coherent. The duration of this series is controlled by the laser pulse and in principle can be narrowed down to just a single, 200-attosecond spike. Given potentially absolute temporal synchronization of the x-ray spikes to the energy-modulating laser pulse, this scheme naturally makes pump-probe experiments available to SASE FEL's. We also study various detrimental effects related to the high electron peak current.

NMR-based biosensors that utilize laser-polarized xenon offer potential advantages beyond current sensing technologies. These advantages include the capacity to simultaneously detect multiple analytes, the applicability to in vivo spectroscopy and imaging, and the possibility of remote amplified detection. Here we present a detailed NMR characterization of the binding of a biotin-derivatized caged-xenon sensor to avidin. Binding of functionalized xenon to avidin leads to a change in the chemical shift of the encapsulated xenon in addition to a broadening of the resonance, both of which serve as NMR markers of ligand-target interaction. A control experiment in which the biotin-binding site of avidin was blocked with native biotin showed no such spectral changes, confirming that only specific binding, rather than nonspecific contact, between avidin and functionalized xenon leads to the effects on the xenon NMR spectrum. The exchange rate of xenon (between solution and cage) and the xenon spin-lattice relaxation rate were not changed significantly upon binding. We describe two methods for enhancing the signal from functionalized xenon by exploiting the laser-polarized xenon magnetization reservoir. We also show that the xenon chemical shifts are distinct for xenon encapsulated in different diastereomeric cage molecules. This demonstrates the potential for tuning the encapsulated xenon …

We report the first measurement of the saturation of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) by an ion-trapping induced frequency shift, which was achieved by directly measuring the amplitude and absolute frequency of SBS-driven ion-acoustic waves (IAW). A frequency shift of up to 30% and a simultaneous saturation of driven IAW and SBS reflectivity was observed. The scaling of the frequency shift with the IAW amplitude compares well with theoretical calculations. We have further measured fast 30 ps oscillations of the SBS-driven IAW amplitude induced by the frequency shift.

Longitudinal compression of a tailored-velocity, intense neutralized ion beam has been demonstrated. The compression takes place in a 1-2 m drift section filled with plasma to provide space-charge neutralization. An induction cell produces a head-to-tail velocity ramp that longitudinally compresses the neutralized beam, enhancing the beam peak current by a factor of 50 and producing a pulse duration of about 3 ns. this measurement has been confirmed independently with two different diagnostic systems.

A non-perturbing electron beam diagnostic system for measuring the charge distribution of an ion beam is developed for Heavy Ion Fusion (HIF) beam physics studies. Conventional diagnostics require temporary insertion of sensors into the beam, but such diagnostics stop the beam, or significantly alter its properties. In this diagnostic a low energy, low current electron beam is swept transversely across the ion beam; the measured electron beam deflection is used to infer the charge density profile of the ion beam. The initial application of this diagnostic is to the Neutralized Transport Experiment (NTX), which is exploring the physics of space-charge-dominated beam focusing onto a small spot using a neutralizing plasma. Design and development of this diagnostic and performance with the NTX ion beamline is presented.

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory is working to improve energy efficiency in high-tech facilities, i.e., laboratories, data centers, and clean rooms. With their high ventilation requirements and correspondingly high process loads, 7x24 operation, and importance to the overall economy, these types of facilities offer important (and often under-exploited) potential for energy savings. In California alone, two large electric power plants could be avoided with the widespread adoption of measures to improve energy efficiency in this arena, saving half a billion dollars per year for facility owners. To help identify specific promising opportunities, the California Energy Commission sponsored the development of technology research ''Roadmaps'' for clean rooms and laboratories (in 2002) and data centers (in 2003). These were developed with industry participation and provided dozens of specific recommendations. The balance of this article focuses on the case of clean rooms.

Electron impact excitation cross sections have been measured for iron L-shell 3 {yields} 2 lines of FeXXI to FeXXIV at the EBIT-II electron beam ion trap using a crystal spectrometer and a 6 x 6-element array microcalorimeter. The cross sections were determined by direct normalization to the well established cross section of radiative electron capture and a summary of calculated energy dependent radiative recombination cross sections for electron capture into the ground state fine structure levels of Fe{sup 16+} to Fe{sup 23+} ions is given. The measurement results for 17 lines and their comparison with model calculations are presented. While agreement of the model calculations with experiment is good for most measured lines, significant discrepancies were found for a few lines, including the strongest line in Fe XXI.

Understanding and predicting the behavior of high-Z non-LTE plasmas is important for developing indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion. Extending earlier work from the Nova laser, we present results from experiments using the Omega laser to study the ionization balance of gold as a function of electron and radiation temperature. In these experiments, gold samples embedded in Be disks expand under direct laser heating to n{sub e} {approx} 10{sup 21} cm{sup -3}, with T{sub e} varying from 0.8 to 2.5 keV. An additional finite radiation field with effective temperature T{sub r} up to 150 eV is provided by placing the gold-Be disks inside truncated 1.2 mm diameter tungsten-coated cylindrical hohlraums with full laser entrance holes. Densities are measured by imaging of plasma expansion. Electron temperatures are diagnosed with either 2 {omega} or 4 {omega} Thomson scattering, and also K-shell spectroscopy of KCl tracers co-mixed with the gold. Hohlraum flux and effective radiation temperature are measured using an absolutely-calibrated multichannel filtered diode array. Spectroscopic measurements of the M-shell gold emission in the 2.9-4 keV spectral range provide ionization balance and charge state distribution information. The spectra show strong variation with T{sub e}, strong variation with the applied T{sub r} at T{sub e} below …

Article on an extracellular aspartic protease functions in Arabidopsis disease resistance signaling.

A membrane consisting of multiwall carbon nanotubes embedded in a silicon nitride matrix was fabricated for fluid mechanics studies on the nanometer scale. Characterization by tracer diffusion and scanning electron microscopy suggests that the membrane is free of large voids. An upper limit to the diffusive flux of D{sub 2}O of 2.4x10-{sup 8} mole/m{sup 2}-s was determined, indicating extremely slow transport. By contrast, hydrodynamic calculations of water flow across a nanotube membrane of similar specifications predict a much higher molar flux of 1.91 mole/m{sup 2}-s, suggesting that the nanotubes produced possess a 'bamboo' morphology. The carbon nanotube membranes were used to make nanoporous silicon nitride membranes, fabricated by sacrificial removal of the carbon. Nitrogen flow measurements on these structures give a membrane permeance of 4.7x10{sup -4} mole/m{sup 2}-s-Pa at a pore density of 4x10{sup 10} cm{sup -2}. Using a Knudsen diffusion model, the average pore size of this membrane is estimated to be 66 nm, which agrees well with TEM observations of the multiwall carbon nanotube outer diameter. These membranes are a robust platform for the study of confined molecular transport, with applications inseparations and chemical sensing.

We present results of gas phase cluster and liquid water simulations from the recently determined VRT(ASP-W)III water dimer potential energy surface. VRT(ASP-W)III is shown to not only be a model of high ''spectroscopic'' accuracy for the water dimer, but also makes accurate predictions of vibrational ground-state properties for clusters up through the hexamer. Results of ambient liquid water simulations from VRT(ASP-W)III are compared to those from ab initio Molecular Dynamics, other potentials of ''spectroscopic'' accuracy, and to experiment. The results herein represent the first time that a ''spectroscopic'' potential surface is able to correctly model condensed phase properties of water.