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Here we study the plausibility of a phase oscillators dynamical model for TDMA in wireless communication networks. We show that emerging patterns of phase locking states between oscillators can eventually oscillate in a round-robin schedule, in a similar way to models of pulse coupled oscillators designed to this end. The results open the door for new communication protocols in a continuous interacting networks of wireless communication devices.

Interactions between chemical functionalities define outcomes of the vast majority of important events in chemistry, biology and materials science. Chemical Force Microscopy (CFM)--a technique that uses direct chemical functionalization of AFM probes with specific functionalities--allows researchers to investigate these important interactions directly. We review the basic principles of CFM, some examples of its application, and theoretical models that provide the basis for understanding the experimental results. We also emphasize application of modern kinetic theory of non-covalent interactions strength to the analysis of CFM data.

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We demonstrate a theoretical description of vibrational sum frequency generation (SFG) at the boundary of aqueous electrolyte solutions. This approach identifies and exploits a simple relationship between SFG lineshapes and the statistics of molecular orientation and electric field. Our computer simulations indicate that orientational averages governing SFG susceptibility do not manifest ion-specific shifts in local electric field, but instead, ion-induced polarization of subsurface layers. Counterbalancing effects are obtained for monovalent anions and cations at the same depth. Ions held at different depths induce an imbalanced polarization, suggesting that ion-specific effects can arise from weak, long ranged influence on solvent organization.

Corrosion of steel canisters, stored in a repository forspent fuel and high-level waste, leads to hydrogen gas generation in thebackfilled emplacement tunnels, which may significantly affect long-termrepository safety. Previous modeling studies used a constant H2generation rate. However, iron corrosion and H2 generation rates varywith time, depending on factors such as water chemistry, wateravailability, and water contact area. To account for these factors andfeedback mechanisms, we developed a chemistry model related to ironcorrosion, coupled with two-phase (liquid and gas) flow phenomena thatare driven by gas pressure buildup and water consumption. Resultsindicate that if H2 generation rates are dynamically calculated based ona chemistry model, the degree and extent of gas pressure buildup are muchsmaller compared to a simulation in which the coupling between flow andreactive transport mechansism is neglected.

A key issue in heavy-ion beam inertial confinement fusion is target interaction, especially implosion symmetry. In this paper the 2D beam irradiation nonuniformity on the surface of a spherical target is studied. This is a first step to studies of 3D dynamical effects on target implosion. So far non-rotated beams have been studied. Because normal incidence may increase Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, it has been suggested to rotate beams (to increase average uniformity) and hit the target tangentially. The level of beam irradiation uniformity, beam spill and normal incidence is calculated in this paper. In Mathematica the rotated beams are modeled as an annular integrated Gaussian beam. To simplify the chamber geometry, the illumination scheme is not a 4{pi} system, but the beams are arranged on few polar rings around the target. The position of the beam spot rings is efficiently optimized using the analytical model. The number of rings and beams, rotation radii and widths are studied to optimize uniformity and spilled intensity. The results demonstrate that for a 60-beam system on four rings Peak-To-Valley nonuniformities of under 0.5% are possible.

The local environments around Ti, Cr, and several light rare-earth elements (La, Ce, and Nd) were investigated by in-situ XANES spectroscopy in a number of complex borosilicate glasses and melts (to 1120 C) that are used for nuclear waste storage. Examination of the high-resolution XANES spectra at the Ti K-edge shows that the average coordination of Ti changes from {approx}5 to {approx}4.5. Cr is dominantly trivalent in the melts studied. However, its average coordination is probably lower in the melt (tetrahedral ?) as revealed by the more intense Cr-K pre-edge feature. Ce also changes its average valence from dominantly +4 to +3.5 upon glass melting. These changes are reversible at T{sub g}, the glass transition temperature ({approx}500-550 C for these glasses). In contrast, the local environments of Nd, Pr, and La are unaffected by melting. Therefore, structural reorganization of these borosilicate glass/melts above T{sub g} is variable, not only in terms of valence (as for Ce) but also speciation (Ti and Cr). Both the ability of B to adopt various coordination geometries (triangular and tetrahedral) and the chemical complexity of the glass/melts explain these changes.

Total mercury levels were measured in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), ''sunfishes'' (Lepomis spp)., and ''catfish'' (primarily Ameiurus spp.) from 1971 to 2004 in the middle reaches of the Savannah River, which drains the coastal plain of the southeastern U.S. Mercury levels were highest in 1971 but declined over the next ten years due to the mitigation of point sources of industrial pollution. Mercury levels began to increase in the 1980s as a possible consequence of mercury inputs from tributaries and associated wetlands where mercury concentrations were significantly elevated in water and fish. Mercury levels in Savannah River fish decreased sharply in 2001-2003 coincident with a severe drought in the Savannah River basin, but returned to previous levels in 2004 with the resumption of normal precipitation. Regression models showed that mercury levels in Savannah River fish changed significantly over time and were affected by river discharge. Despite temporal changes, there was little overall difference in Savannah River fish tissue mercury levels between 1971 and 2004.

Plasma production via field ionization occurs when an incoming particle beam is sufficiently dense that the electric field associated with the beam ionizes a neutral vapor or gas. Experiments conducted at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center explore the threshold conditions necessary to induce field ionization by an electron beam in a neutral lithium vapor. By independently varying the transverse beam size, number of electrons per bunch or bunch length, the radial component of the electric field is controlled to be above or below the threshold for field ionization. Additional experiments ionized neutral xenon and neutral nitric oxide by varying the incoming beam's bunch length. A self-ionized plasma is an essential step for the viability of plasma-based accelerators for future high-energy experiments.

We present a short review of current theories of glass weathering, including glass dissolution, and hydrolysis of nuclear waste glasses, and leaching of historical glasses from an XAFS perspective. The results of various laboratory leaching experiments at different timescales (30 days to 12 years) are compared with results for historical glasses that were weathered by atmospheric gases and soil waters over 500 to 3000 years. Good agreement is found between laboratory experiments and slowly leached historical glasses, with a strong enrichment of metals at the water/gel interface. Depending on the nature of the transition elements originally dissolved in the melt, increasing elemental distributions are expected to increase with time for a given glass durability context.

Two facilities for storing spent nuclear fuel underwater at the Hanford site in southeastern Washington State are being removed from service, decommissioned, and prepared for eventual demolition. The fuel-storage facilities consist of two separate basins called K East (KE) and K West (KW) that are large subsurface concrete pools filled with water, with a containment structure over each. The basins presently contain sludge, debris, and equipment that have accumulated over the years. The spent fuel has been removed from the basins. The process for removing the remaining sludge, equipment, and structure has been initiated for the basins. Ongoing removal operations generate solid waste that is being treated as required, and then disposed. The waste, equipment and building structures must be characterized to properly manage, ship, treat (if necessary), and dispose as radioactive waste. As the work progresses, it is expected that radiological conditions in each basin may change as radioactive materials are being moved within and between the basins. It is imperative that these changing conditions be monitored so that radioactive characterization of waste is adjusted as necessary.

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In this paper, we consider an approach for estimating the effective hydraulic conductivity of a 3D medium with a binary distribution of local hydraulic conductivities. The medium heterogeneity is represented by a combination of matrix medium conductivity with spatially distributed sets of inclusions. Estimation of effective conductivity is based on a self-consistent approach introduced by Shvidler (1985). The tensor of effective hydraulic conductivity is calculated numerically by using a simple system of equations for the main diagonal elements. Verification of the method is done by comparison with theoretical results for special cases and numerical results of Desbarats (1987) and our own numerical modeling. The method was applied to estimating the effective hydraulic conductivity of a 2D and 3D fractured porous medium. The medium heterogeneity is represented by a combination of matrix conductivity and a spatially distributed set of highly conductive fractures. The tensor of effective hydraulic conductivity is calculated for parallel- and random-oriented sets of fractures. The obtained effective conductivity values coincide with Romm's (1966) and Snow's (1969) theories for infinite fracture length. These values are also physically acceptable for the sparsely-fractured-medium case with low fracture spatial density and finite fracture length. Verification of the effective hydraulic conductivity obtained for …

The {eta}{sub b} (1S) is the J{sup PC} = 0{sup {-+}} b{bar b} ground state, and has not yet been experimentally observed. Theorists have recently suggested that it could be observed at the Fermilab Tevatron through its decay to J/{psi}J/{psi}, if not in the 1992-96 (''Run 1'') dataset, then in Run 2. This article describes a search for this particle at CDF in Run 1 using this decay channel. A small cluster is seen, with 7 events where 1.8 events are expected from background. The statistical significance is estimated to be 2.2{sigma}, and an upper limit is set on the product of cross section and branching fractions.

It is reported that lattice imaging with a 300 kV field emission microscope in combination with numerical reconstruction procedures can be used to reach an interpretable resolution of about 80 pm for the first time. A retrieval of the electron exit wave from focal series allows for the resolution of single atomic columns of the light elements carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen at a projected nearest neighbor spacing down to 85 pm. Lens aberrations are corrected on-line during the experiment and by hardware such that resulting image distortions are below 80 pm. Consequently, the imaging can be aberration-free to this extent. The resolution enhancement results from increased electrical and mechanical stability's of the instrument coupled with a low spherical aberration coefficient of 0.595 + 0.005 mm.

As part of a project to compile a comprehensive catalog of astrophysically relevant emission lines, we used the low-energy capability of the Lawrence Livermore electron beam ion traps to extend the spectroscopy of neon-like ions and the neighboring charge states to silicon, sulfur, and argon. They present wavelength data of Si V and demonstrate the effect of collisional deexcitation of electric dipole forbidden lines on the 2-3 L-shell spectra of Si V, S VII, and Ar IX.

Brittle deformation in granite can generate a fracture system with different patterns. Detailed fracture analyses at both macroscopic and microscopic scales, together with physical property data from a drill-core, are used to classify the effects of reverse fault deformation in four domains: (1) undeformed granite, (2) fractured granite with cataclastic seams, (3) fractured granite from the damage zone, and (4) foliated cataclasite from the core of the fault. Intact samples from two orthogonal directions, horizontal (H) and vertical (V), from the four domains indicate a developing fracture anisotropy toward the fault, which is highly developed in the damage zone. As a specific illustration of this phenomenon, resin impregnation, using a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) technique is applied to visualize the fracture anisotropy developed in the Toki Granite, Japan. As a result, microcrack networks have been observed to develop in H sections and elongate open cracks in V sections, suggesting that flow pathways can be determined by deformation.

The transforming growth factor-betas (TGF{beta}s) are members of a large superfamily of pleiotropic cytokines that also includes the activins and the bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). Members of the TGF{beta} family regulate complex physiological processes such cell proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, motility, and cell death, among others (Massague, 1998). Dysregulation of TGF{beta} signaling contributes to several pathological processes including cancer, fibrosis, and auto-immune disorders (Massague et al., 2000). The TGF{beta}s elicit their biological effects by binding to type II and type I transmembrane receptor serine-threonine kinases (T{beta}RII and T{beta}RI) which, in turn, phosphorylated Smad 2 and Smad 3. Phosphorylated Smad 2/3 associate with Smad 4 and, as a heteromeric complex, translocate to the nucleus where they regulate gene transcription. The inhibitory Smad7 down regulates TGF{beta} signaling by binding to activated T{beta}RI and interfering with its ability to phosphorylate Smad 2/3 (Derynck and Zhang, 2003; Shi and Massague, 2003). Signaling is also regulated by Smad proteolysis. TGF{beta} receptor-mediated activation results in multi-ubiquitination of Smad 2 in the nucleus and subsequent degradation of Smad 2 by the proteasome (Lo and Massague, 1999). Activation of TGF{beta} receptors also induces mobilization of a Smad 7-Smurf complex from the nucleus to the cytoplasm; …

A complex pattern of coupling between fluid flow and mass transport develops when heterogeneous reactions occur. For instance, dissolution and precipitation reactions can change a porous medium's physical properties, such as pore geometry and thus permeability. These changes influence fluid flow, which in turn impacts the composition of dissolved constituents and the solid phases, and the rate and direction of advective transport. Two-dimensional modeling studies using TOUGHREACT were conducted to investigate the coupling between flow and transport developed as a consequence of differences in density, dissolution precipitation, and medium heterogeneity. The model includes equilibrium reactions for aqueous species, kinetic reactions between the solid phases and aqueous constituents, and full coupling of porosity and permeability changes resulting from precipitation and dissolution reactions in porous media. In addition, a new permeability relationship is implemented in TOUGHREACT to examine the effects of geochemical reactions and density difference on plume migration in porous media. Generally, the evolutions in the concentrations of the aqueous phase are intimately related to the reaction-front dynamics. Plugging of the medium contributed to significant transients in patterns of flow and mass transport.

The top quark, discovered in 1994 at the Tevatron, has proven a very interesting particle. Its characteristics allow both to perform stringent tests of electroweak theory, and to search for new physics through a deviation from standard model predictions for several of its peculiar properties. I will review the status of top physics and briefly describe the potential of experiments of the near future.

Alloy 22 (UNS N06022) is a candidate material for the external wall of the high level nuclear waste containers for the potential repository site at Yucca Mountain. In the mill-annealed (MA) condition, Alloy 22 is a single face centered cubic phase. When exposed to temperatures on the order of 600 C and above for times higher than 1 h, this alloy may develop secondary phases that are brittle and offer a lower corrosion resistance than the MA condition. The objective of this work was to age Alloy 22 at temperatures between 482 C and 800 C for times between 0.25 h and 3,000 h and to study the corrosion performance of the resulting material. Aging was carried out using wrought specimens as well as gas tungsten arc welded (GTAW) specimens. The corrosion performance was characterized using standard immersion tests in aggressive acidic solutions and electrochemical tests in multi-component solutions. Results show that, in general, in aggressive acidic solutions the corrosion rate increased as the aging temperature and aging time increased. However, in multi ionic environments that could be relevant to the potential Yucca Mountain site, the corrosion rate of aged material was the same as the corrosion rate of the …

The author reports on the status of the Axion Dark-Matter Experiment (ADMX), the microwave-cavity-based axion search underway at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The ADMX collaboration includes LLNL, the University of Florida, and M.I.T., and has been in operation since February, 1996.

The dominant landscape process on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska is the formation and drainage of thaw lakes. Lakes and drained thaw lake basins account for approximately 75% of the modern surface expression of the Barrow Peninsula. The thaw lake cycle usually obliterates lacustrine or peat sediments from previous cycles which could otherwise be used for paleoecological reconstruction of long-term landscape and vegetation changes. Several possible erosional remnants of a former topographic surface that predates the formation of the thaw lakes have been tentatively identified. These remnants are characterized by a higher elevation, a thick organic layer with very high ground ice content in the upper permafrost, and a plant community somewhat atypical of the region. Ten soil cores were collected from one site, and one core was intensively sampled for soil organic carbon content, pollen analysis, and {sup 14}C dating. The lowest level of the organic sediments represents the earliest phase of plant growth and dates to ca. 9000 cal BP. Palynological evidence indicates the presence of mesic shrub tundra (including sedge, birch, willow, and heath vegetation); and microfossil indicators point to wetter eutrophic conditions during this period. Carbon accumulation was rapid due to high net primary …