We report a measurement of the production cross section for b hadrons in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV. Using a data sample derived from an integrated luminosity 83 pb{sup -1} collected with the upgraded Collider Detector (CDF II) at the Fermilab Tevatron, we analyze b hadrons, H{sub b}, partially reconstructed in the semileptonic decay mode H{sub b} {yields} {mu}{sup -} D{sup 0} X. Our measurement of the inclusive production cross section for b hadrons with transverse momentum p{sub T} > 9 GeV/c and rapidity |y| < 0.6 is {sigma} = 1.30 {micro}b {+-} 0.05 {micro}b(stat) {+-} 0.14 {micro}b(syst) {+-} 0.07 {micro}b({Beta}), where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic, and from branching fractions respectively. The differential cross sections d{sigma}/d{sub T}T are found to be in good agreement with recent measurements of the H{sub b} cross section and well described by fixed-order next-to-leading logarithm predictions.

The U.S. Department of Energy?s Wind Powering America Program is committed to educating state-level policymakers and other stakeholders about the economic, CO2 emissions, and water conservation impacts of wind power. This analysis highlights the expected impacts of 1000 MW of wind power in Tennessee. Although construction and operation of 1000 MW of wind power is a significant effort, seven states have already reached the 1000-MW mark. We forecast the cumulative economic benefits from 1000 MW of development in Tennessee to be $1.2 billion, annual CO2 reductions are estimated at 2.4 million tons, and annual water savings are 1,321 million gallons.

In this work, we establish an on-line optimization framework to exploit detailed weather forecast information in the operation of integrated energy systems, such as buildings and photovoltaic/wind hybrid systems. We first discuss how the use of traditional reactive operation strategies that neglect the future evolution of the ambient conditions can translate in high operating costs. To overcome this problem, we propose the use of a supervisory dynamic optimization strategy that can lead to more proactive and cost-effective operations. The strategy is based on the solution of a receding-horizon stochastic dynamic optimization problem. This permits the direct incorporation of economic objectives, statistical forecast information, and operational constraints. To obtain the weather forecast information, we employ a state-of-the-art forecasting model initialized with real meteorological data. The statistical ambient information is obtained from a set of realizations generated by the weather model executed in an operational setting. We present proof-of-concept simulation studies to demonstrate that the proposed framework can lead to significant savings (more than 18% reduction) in operating costs.

Recently, interest in long-term underground corrosion has greatly increased because of the ongoing need to dispose of nuclear waste. Additionally, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 requires disposal of high-level nuclear waste in an underground repository. Current contaminant release and transport models use limited available short-term underground corrosion rates when considering container and waste form degradation. Consequently, the resulting models oversimplify the complex mechanisms of underground metal corrosion. The complexity of stainless steel corrosion mechanisms and the processes by which corrosion products migrate from their source are not well depicted by a corrosion rate based on general attack. The research presented here is the analysis of austenitic stainless steels after 33½ years of burial. In this research, the corrosion specimens were analyzed using applicable ASTM standards as well as microscopic and X-ray examination to determine the mechanisms of underground stainless steel corrosion. As presented, the differences in the corrosion mechanisms vary with the type of stainless steel and the treatment of the samples. The uniqueness of the long sampling time allows for further understanding of the actual stainless steel corrosion mechanisms, and when applied back into predictive models, will assist in reduction of the uncertainty in parameters for predicting …

General definitions of horizontal and vertical amplitudes for linear coupled motion are developed from the normal form of the one-turn matrix. This leads to the identification of conditions on the matrix that give rise to the linear coupling sum and difference resonances. The correspondence with the standard hamiltonian treatment of the resonances is discussed.

Interactions between plants and microbes are an integral part of our terrestrial ecosystem. Microbe-plant interactions are being applied in many areas. In this review, we present recent reports of applications in the areas of plant-growth promotion, biocontrol, bioactive compound and biomaterial production, remediation and carbon sequestration. Challenges, limitations and future outlook for each field are discussed.

The U.S. Department of Energy?s Wind Powering America Program is committed to educating state-level policymakers and other stakeholders about the economic, CO2 emissions, and water conservation impacts of wind power. This analysis highlights the expected impacts of 1000 MW of wind power in Massachusetts. Although construction and operation of 1000 MW of wind power is a significant effort, seven states have already reached the 1000-MW mark. We forecast the cumulative economic benefits from 1000 MW of development in Massachusetts to be $1.4 billion, annual CO2 reductions are estimated at 2.6 million tons, and annual water savings are 1,293 million gallons.

Global Solar's CIGS manufacturing cost has decreased by increased automation, higher materials utilization, and greater capacity with higher rates in all tools.

The lifetime of the B{sup {+-}} meson is measured using the decay channel B{sup +} {yields} {bar D}{sup 0}{pi}{sup +}. The measurement is made using approximately 1.0 fb{sup -1} of Tevatron proton-anti-proton collision data at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV collected by the CDF detector. The data were collected using impact parameter based triggers that were designed to select events with a secondary vertex. The trigger selection criteria result in data rich in a variety of B hadron decays, but intrinsically bias the lifetime distribution of the collected signal events. The traditional way to compensate for the bias is to use information from simulation. Presented here is a new method for correction of the lifetime bias using an analytical technique that uses information from the data only. This eliminates measurement uncertainty due to data and simulation agreement, ultimately resulting in a smaller systematic measurement uncertainty. The B{sup {+-}} lifetime measurement is the first measurement using this new technique and demonstrates its potential for use in future measurements. The B{sup {+-}} lifetime is measured to be {tau}(B{sup {+-}}) = 1.662 {+-} 0.023(stat) {+-} 0.015(syst)ps.

In the present study we develop and test a uniform model intended for single compartment analysis in the context of human and environmental risk assessment of airborne contaminants. The new aspects of the model are the integration of biological allometry with fugacity-based mass-balance theory to describe exchange of contaminants with air. The developed model is applicable to various mammalian species and a range of chemicals, while requiring few and typically well-known input parameters, such as the adult mass and composition of the species, and the octanol-water and air-water partition coefficient of the chemical. Accumulation of organic chemicals is typically considered to be a function of the chemical affinity forlipid components in tissues. Here, we use a generic description of chemical affinity for neutral and polar lipids and proteins to estimate blood-air partition coefficients (Kba) and tissue-air partition coefficients (Kta) for various mammals. This provides a more accurate prediction of blood-air partition coefficients, as proteins make up a large fraction of total blood components. The results show that 75percent of the modeled inhalation and exhalation rate constants are within a factor of 2 from independent empirical values for humans, rats and mice, and 87percent of the predicted blood-air partition coefficients are …

Many existing proposals either lack sufficient concreteness to make carbon capture and geological sequestration (CCGS) operational or fail to focus on a comprehensive, long term framework for its regulation, thus failing to account adequately for the urgency of the issue, the need to develop immediate experience with large scale demonstration projects, or the financial and other incentives required to launch early demonstration projects. We aim to help fill this void by proposing a roadmap to commercial deployment of CCGS in the United States.This roadmap focuses on the legal and financial incentives necessary for rapid demonstration of geological sequestration in the absence of national restrictions on CO2 emissions. It weaves together existing federal programs and financing opportunities into a set of recommendations for achieving commercial viability of geological sequestration.

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The need to provide more accurate property information on U-Mo fuel alloys to operators, modellers, researchers, fabricators, and government increases as success of the GTRI Reactor Convert program continues. This presentation provides an update on fresh fuel characterization activities that have occurred at the INL since the RERTR 2008 conference in Washington, D.C. The update is particularly focused on properties recently obtained and on the development progress of new measurement techniques. Furthermore, areas where useful and necessary information is still lacking is discussed. The update deals with mechanical, physical, and microstructural properties for both integrated and separate effects. Appropriate discussion of fabrication characteristics, impurities, thermodynamic response, and effects on the topic areas are provided, along with a background on the characterization techniques used and developed to obtain the information. Efforts to measure similar characteristics on irradiated fuel plates are discussed.

Decomposition rates of loblolly pine coarse woody debris (CWD) were determined by mass loss and wood density changes for trees that differed in source of mortality (natural, girdle-poison, and felling). Specifically, three treatments were examined: (1) control (CON): natural mortality; (2) CD: 5-fold increase in CWD compared with the CON; and (3) CS: 12-fold increase in snags compared with the CON. The additional CWD in the CD treatment plots and the additional snags in the CS plots were achieved by felling (for the CD plots) or girdling followed by herbicide injection (for the CS plots) select trees in these plots. Consequently,mortality on the CD plots is due to natural causes and felling. Likewise, mortality on the CS plots is due to natural causes and girdle-poison. In each treatment plot, mortality due to natural causes was inventoried since 1997, whereas mortality due to girdle-poison and felling were inventoried since 2001. No significant difference was detected between the rates of decomposition for the CWD on these treatment plots, indicating that source of the tree mortality did not influence rates of decomposition once the tree fell. These experimental measures of decomposition were compared with two decay classification systems (three- and five-unit classifications) to …

Dozens of groups have submitted energy, environmental, and economic recovery plans for consideration by the Obama administration and the 111th Congress. This report provides a comparative analysis of 12 national proposals, focusing especially on energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) market and policy issues.

We report a search for narrow resonances, produced in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV, that decay into muon pairs with invariant mass between 6.3 and 9.0 GeV/c{sup 2}. The data, collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider, correspond to an integrated luminosity of 630 pb{sup -1}. We use the dimuon invariant mass distribution to set 90% upper credible limits of about 1% to the ratio of the production cross section times muonic branching fraction of possible narrow resonances to that of the {Upsilon}(1S) meson.

How can an electron be both a wave and a particle? At the same time? Because it is a quantum field. That key insight seems to be underappreciated, given the awe and mysticism that permeate most nontechnical discussions of modern physics. Perhaps the root of the problem is that most popularizations of quantum mechanics and of particle physics shy away from quantized fields, the natural language for microscopic phenomena. In 'The Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces', Frank Wilczek confronts quantum field theory head on, demystifying not only wave-particle duality but also the origin of mass for hadrons (that is, everyday matter). Wilczek is the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at MIT and a co-recipient of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics. His research has spanned almost all aspects of theoretical particle physics, with significant forays into condensed-matter physics and dense nuclear matter (condensed quark matter, one might say). Recurring themes are the richness of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and the alluring ideas of unification. His breadth and depth make him a sought after speaker for colloquia and public lectures. Wilczek also contributes an occasional Reference Frame column to 'Physics Today'. The material in 'The Lightness of …

Experiments are needed to locate phase boundaries and to provide both Hugoniot data and off-Hugoniot data (such as principle isentrope, refreezing, dynamic strength, etc.) achieved through complex loading paths. The objective of the current work was to de- velop a large bore (3.5 inch or greater) powder gun capable of accelerating projectiles to moderately high velocities exceeding 2 km/s for impact experiments. A total of 24 ex- periments were performed to measure the projectile velocity, breech strain, and projectile tilt to demonstrate the performance of the gun up to the maximum breech capacity of 16 pounds of propellant. Physics experiments using a multislug method were performed to obtain sound speed and Hugoniot for shocked cerium metal and to demonstrate the ability of the large bore gun to conduct well-defined, plate-impact experiments. In addition, six experiments were performed on the prototype containment system to examine the ability of the launcher and containment system to withstand the impact event and contain the propellant gases and impact debris postshot. The data presented here were essential for qualification of the launcher for experiments to be conducted at the U1a complex of the Nevada Test Site.

The objective of this study is to increase the understanding and transparency of chemical biotransfer modeling into meat and milk and explicitly confront the uncertainties in exposure assessments of chemicals that require such estimates. In cumulative exposure assessments that include food pathways, much of the overall uncertainty is attributable to the estimation of transfer into biota and through food webs. Currently, the most commonly used meat and milk-biotransfer models date back two decades and, in spite of their widespread use in multimedia exposure models few attempts have been made to advance or improve the outdated and highly uncertain Kow regressions used in these models. Furthermore, in the range of Kow where meat and milk become the dominant human exposure pathways, these models often provide unrealistic rates and do not reflect properly the transfer dynamics. To address these issues, we developed a dynamic three-compartment cow model (called CKow), distinguishing lactating and non-lactating cows. For chemicals without available overall removal rates in the cow, a correlation is derived from measured values reported in the literature to predict this parameter from Kow. Results on carry over rates (COR) and biotransfer factors (BTF) demonstrate that a steady-state ratio between animal intake and meat concentrations …

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) was signed into law on February 17, 2009, as a way to jumpstart the U.S. economy, create or save millions of jobs, spur technological advances in science and health, and invest in the Nation's energy future. This national effort will require an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability to ensure that U.S. citizens know where their tax dollars are going and how they are being spent. As part of the Recovery Act, the Department of Energy will receive more than $38 billion to support a number of science, energy, and environmental initiatives. Additionally, the Department's authority to make or guarantee energy-related loans has increased to about $127 billion. The Department plans to disburse the vast majority of the funds it receives through grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and other financial instruments. The supplemental funding provided to the Department of Energy under the Recovery Act dwarfs the Department's annual budget of about $27 billion. The infusion of these funds and the corresponding increase in effort required to ensure that they are properly controlled and disbursed in a timely manner will, without doubt, strain existing resources. It will also have an equally challenging …

The U.S. Department of Energy?s Wind Powering America Program is committed to educating state-level policymakers and other stakeholders about the economic, CO2 emissions, and water conservation impacts of wind power. This analysis highlights the expected impacts of 1000 MW of wind power in North Carolina. Although construction and operation of 1000 MW of wind power is a significant effort, seven states have already reached the 1000-MW mark. We forecast the cumulative economic benefits from 1000 MW of development in North Carolina to be $1.1 billion, annual CO2 reductions are estimated at 2.9 million tons, and annual water savings are 1,558 million gallons.

This report functions as a primer for renewable energy rebate programs. It highlights the impacts of specific renewable energy rebate programs on renewable energy markets around the country, as well as rebate program impacts on overarching energy policy drivers. It also discusses lessons learned, challenges, ideal applications, keys to success, and complementary and alternative policies. Results indicate that rebate programs can have a strong deployment impact on emerging renewable energy markets. This report focuses on renewable energy rebate programs, which are being analyzed as part of the State Clean Energy Policies Analysis (SCEPA) project. SCEPA is being used to quantify the impacts of existing state policies, and to identify crucial policy attributes and their potential applicability to other states.

Hatchery supplementation of kokanee Oncorhynchus nerka and rainbow trout O. mykiss has been the primary mitigation provided by Bonneville Power Administration for loss of anadromous fish to the waters above Grand Coulee Dam (GCD). The hatchery program for rainbow trout has consistently met management goals and provided a substantial contribution to the fishery; however, spawner returns and creel survey results for kokanee have been below management goals. Our objective was to identify factors that limit limnetic fish production in Lake Roosevelt by evaluating abiotic conditions, food limitations, piscivory, and entrainment. Dissolved oxygen concentration was adequate throughout most of the year; however, levels dropped to near 6 mg/L in late July. For kokanee, warm water temperatures during mid-late summer limited their nocturnal distribution to 80-100 m in the lower section of the reservoir. Kokanee spawner length was consistently several centimeters longer than in other Pacific Northwest systems, and the relative weights of rainbow trout and large kokanee were comparable to national averages. Large bodied daphnia (> 1.7 mm) were present in the zooplankton community during all seasons indicating that top down effects were not limiting secondary productivity. Walleye Stizostedion vitreum were the primary piscivore of salmonids in 1998 and 1999. Burbot …

NREL's study shows that hybrid electric vehicles can significantly reduce oil imports for use in light-duty vehicles, particularly if drivers switch to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles overall.