Samarium-neodymium isotopic analyses of unleached and acid-leached mineral fractions from the recently identified olivine-bearing shergottite Northwest Africa 1195 yield a crystallization age of 348 {+-} 19 Ma and an {var_epsilon}{sub Nd}{sup 143} value of +40.1 {+-} 1.3. Maskelynite fractions do not lie on the Sm-Nd isochron and appear to contain a martian surface component with low {sup 147}Sm/{sup 144}Nd and {sup 143}Nd/{sup 144}Nd ratios that was added during shock. The Rb-Sr system is disturbed and does not yield an isochron. Terrestrial Sr appears to have affected all of the mineral fractions, although a maximum initial {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr ratio of 0.701614 {+-} 16 is estimated by passing a 348 Ma reference isochron through the maskelynite fraction that is least affected by contamination. The high initial {var_epsilon}{sub Nd}{sup 143} value and the low initial {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr ratio, combined with the geologically young crystallization age, indicate that Northwest Africa 1195 is derived from a source region characterized by a long-term incompatible element depletion. The age and initial Sr and Nd isotopic compositions of Northwest Africa 1195 are very similar to those of Queen Alexandra Range 94201, indicating these samples were derived from source regions with nearly identical Sr-Nd isotopic systematics. These …

We consider the possibility that supernovae which form hyper-accreting black holes might be responsible for synthesis of r-process elements with mass A {approx}< 130. Calculations are presented which show that these elements are naturally synthesized in neutron-rich magnetically-dominated bubbles born in the inner regions of a black hole accretion disk. Simple considerations suggest that the total mass ejected in the form of these bubbles is about that needed to account for the entire galactic inventory of the 2nd-peak r-process elements. We also argue that if collapsars are responsible for, e.g., Ag synthesis, then Ag abundances should be correlated with Sc and/or Zn abundances in metal-poor stars.

We summarize four of our group's high-risk/high-payoff research projects funded by the Intelligence Technology Innovation Center (ITIC) in conjunction with our DHS-funded pathogen informatics activities. These are (1) quantitative assessment of genomic sequencing needs to predict high quality DNA and protein signatures for detection, and comparison of draft versus finished sequences for diagnostic signature prediction; (2) development of forensic software to identify SNP and PCR-RFLP variations from a large number of viral pathogen sequences and optimization of the selection of markers for maximum discrimination of those sequences; (3) prediction of signatures for the detection of virulence, antibiotic resistance, and toxin genes and genetic engineering markers in bacteria; (4) bioinformatic characterization of virulence factors to rapidly screen genomic data for potential genes with similar functions and to elucidate potential health threats in novel organisms. The results of (1) are being used by policy makers to set national sequencing priorities. Analyses from (2) are being used in collaborations with the CDC to genotype and characterize many variola strains, and reports from these collaborations have been made to the President. We also determined SNPs for serotype and strain discrimination of 126 foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) genomes. For (3), currently >1000 probes …

The cyclotide MCoTI-II is a powerful trypsin inhibitor recently isolated from the seeds of Momordica cochinchinensis, a plant member of cucurbitaceae family. We report for the first time the in vivo biosynthesis of natively-folded MCoTI-II inside live E. coli cells. Our biomimetic approach involves the intracellular backbone cyclization of a linear cyclotide-intein fusion precursor mediated by a modified protein splicing domain. The cyclized peptide then spontaneously folds into its native conformation. The use of genetically engineered E. coli cells containing mutations in the glutathione and thioredoxin reductase genes considerably improves the production of folded MCoTI-II in vivo. Biochemical and structural characterization of the recombinant MCoTI-II confirmed its identity. Biosynthetic access to correctly-folded cyclotides allows the possibility of generating cell-based combinatorial libraries that can be screened inside living cells for their ability to modulate or inhibit cellular processes.

Fully-stabilized nanometric zirconia samples with varying degrees of porosity and grain sizes were analyzed using the coincidence Doppler broadening mode of the positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS). A decrease in the low momentum fraction was observed and coincided with a decrease in porosity. In addition to pores, it is proposed that defects in the negatively charges grain boundary space region act as positron trapping centers; their effectiveness decreases with an increase in grain size. It is shown that PAS is sensitive to small grain size differences within the nanometric regime in these oxide materials.

Fracture mechanics methodologies for flaw stability analysis of a storage tank were compared in terms of the maximum stable through-wall flaw sizes or ''instability lengths.'' The comparison was made at a full range of stress loading at a specific set of mechanical properties of A285 carbon steel and with the actual tank configuration. The two general methodologies, the J-integral-tearing modulus (J-T) and the failure assessment diagram (FAD), and their specific estimation schemes were evaluated. A finite element analysis of a flawed tank was also performed for validating the J estimation scheme with curvature correction and for constructing the finite element-based FAD. The calculated instability crack lengths show that the J-T methodology that uses an estimated scheme, and the material-specific FAD, most closely approximate the result calculated with finite element analysis for the stress range that bounds those expected at the highest fill levels in the storage tanks. The results from the other FAD methods show instability lengths less than the J-T results over this range.

Typically, large scientific datasets (order of terabytes) are generated at large computational centers, and stored on mass storage systems. However, large subsets of the data need to be moved to facilities available to application scientists for analysis. File replication of thousands of files is a tedious, error prone, but extremely important task in scientific applications. The automation of the file replication task requires automatic space acquisition and reuse, and monitoring the progress of staging thousands of files from the source mass storage system, transferring them over the network, archiving them at the target mass storage system or disk systems, and recovering from transient system failures. We have developed a robust replication system, called DataMover, which is now in regular use in High-Energy-Physics and Climate modeling experiments. Only a single command is necessary to request multi-file replication or the replication of an entire directory. A web-based tool was developed to dynamically monitor the progress of the multi-file replication process.

The phase diagrams of Ce, Th, and Pu metals have been studied by means of density-functional theory (DFT). In addition to these metals, the phase stability of Ce-Th and Pu-Am alloys has been also investigated from first-principles calculations. Equation-of-state (EOS) for Ce, Th, and the Ce-Th alloys has been calculated up to 1 Mbar pressure in good comparison to experimental data. Present calculations shows that the Ce-Th alloys adopt a body-centeredtetragonal (bct) structure upon hydrostatic compression that is in excellent agreement with measurements. The ambient pressure phase diagram of Pu is shown to be very poorly described by traditional DFT but rather well modeled when including magnetic interactions. In particular, the anomalous {var_sigma} phase of Pu is shown to be stabilized by magnetic disorder at elevated temperatures. The Pu-Am system has also been studied in a similar fashion and it is shown that this system, for about 25% Am content, becomes antiferromagnetic below about 400 K that corroborate the recent discovery of a Curie-Weiss behavior in this system.

Aperiodic multilayers have been designed for various applications, using numeric algorithms and analytical solutions, for many years with varying levels of success. This work developed a more realistic model for simulating aperiodic Mo/Si multilayers to be used in these algorithms by including the formation of MoSi{sub 2}. Using a genetic computer code we were able to optimize a 45{sup o} multilayer for a large bandpass reflection multilayer that gave good agreement with the model.

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A proof-of-principle electron electric dipole moment (e-EDM)experiment using slow cesium atoms, nulled magnetic fields, and electricfield quantization has been performed. With the ambient magnetic fieldsseen by the atoms reduced to less than 200 pT, an electric field of 6MV/m lifts the degeneracy between states of unequal lbar mF rbar and,along with the low (approximately 3 m/s) velocity, suppresses thesystematic effect from the motional magnetic field. The low velocity andsmall residual magnetic field have made it possible to induce transitionsbetween states and to perform state preparation, analysis, and detectionin regions free of applied static magnetic and electric fields. Thisexperiment demonstrates techniques that may be used to improve the e-EDMlimit by two orders of magnitude, but it is not in itself a sensitivee-EDM search, mostly due to limitations of the laser system.

The effect of Cl on the activity of Pt/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalysts for methane oxidation has been studied by H{sub 2} and CO chemisorption, O{sub 2} isotopic exchange, kinetic studies and EXAFS spectroscopy. Catalysts containing 1.5% pt/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} were prepared by incipient wetness from H{sub 2}PtCl{sub 6} and Pt(NH{sub 3}){sub 4}(NO{sub 3}){sub 2} precursors. Both reduced catalysts have similar dispersion (0.8) as determined by H{sub 2} chemisorption. At low methane concentration (0.3 vol.% CH{sub 4}, 16 vol.% O{sub 2}) the Cl-free catalyst was about 20 times more active during complete methane oxidation than the Cl-containing catalyst. Both CO chemisorption and oxygen exchange were observed on the Cl-free catalyst, whereas they were not detected on the Cl-containing catalyst. On the Cl-free catalyst, only Pt-Pt and Pt-O bonds were detected from the EXAFS results, while on the Cl-containing catalyst additional Pt-Cl bonds were present. The effect of chlorine on activity strongly depended on the reactant concentration. Exposure of the Cl-free catalyst to higher concentrations of methane (3 vol.% CH{sub 4}) reduced the activity to a level similar to that of the Cl-containing catalyst. Addition of HCl to the Cl-free catalyst rendered the activity identical to the catalyst prepared from Cl-containing precursors. …

Non-conservation of CP symmetry can manifest itself in non-lepton ichyperon decays as a difference in the decay parameter between the strange-baryon decay and its charge conjugate. By comparing the decay distribution in the {Lambda} helicity frame for the decay sequence {Xi}{sup -} {yields} {Lambda}{pi}{sup -}, {Lambda} {yields} p{pi}{sup -} with that of {bar {Xi}}{sup +} decay, E756 at Fermilab did not observe any CP-odd effect at the 10{sup -2} level. The status of a follow-up experiment, HyperCP (FNAL E871), to search for CP violation in charged {Xi}-{Lambda} decay with a sensitivity of 10{sup -4} is also presented.

Biodetection instrumentation that is capable of functioning effectively outside the controlled laboratory environment is critical for the detection of health threats, and is a crucial technology for Health Security. Experience in bringing technologies from the basic research laboratory to integrated fieldable instruments suggests lessons for the engineering of these systems. This overview will cover several classes of such devices, with examples from systems developed for homeland security missions by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Recent trends suggest that front-end sample processing is becoming a critical performance-determining factor for many classes of fieldable biodetection devices. This paper introduces some results of a recent study that was undertaken to assess the requirements and potential technologies for next-generation integrated sample processing.

The GLAST Large Area Telescope (LAT) is the next generation satellite experiment for high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. It is a pair conversion telescope built with a plastic anticoincidence shield, a segmented CsI electromagnetic calorimeter, and the largest silicon strip tracker ever built. It will cover the energy range from 30 MeV to 300 GeV, shedding light on many issues left open by its predecessor EGRET. One of the most exciting science topics is the detection and observation of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). In this paper we present the work done so far by the GRB LAT science group in studying the performance of the LAT detector to observe GRBs.We report on the simulation framework developed by the group as well as on the science tools dedicated to GRBs data analysis. We present the LAT sensitivity to GRBs obtained with such simulations, and, finally, the general scheme of GRBs detection that will be adopted on orbit.

Recent 2{omega} laser propagation and stimulated Raman backscatter (SRS) experiments performed on the Helen laser have been analyzed using the radiation-hydrodynamics code hydra. These experiments utilized two diagnostics sensitive to the hydrodynamics of gasbag targets: a fast x-ray framing camera (FXI) and an SRS streak spectrometer. With a newly implemented nonlocal thermal transport model, hydra is able to reproduce many features seen in the FXI images and the SRS streak spectra. Experimental and simulated side-on FXI images suggest that propagation can be explained by classical laser absorption and the resulting hydrodynamics. Synthetic SRS spectra generated from the hydra results reproduce the details of the experimental SRS streak spectra. Most features in the synthetic spectra can be explained solely by axial density and temperature gradients. The total SRS backscatter increases with initial gasbag fill density up to {approx} 0.08 times the critical density, then decreases. Images from a near-backscatter camera (NBI) show that severe beam spray is not responsible for the trend in total backscatter. Filamentation does not appear to be a significant factor in gasbag hydrodynamics. The simulation and analysis techniques established here can be used in upcoming experimental campaigns on the Omega laser facility and the National Ignition Facility.

Soft x-ray microscopy has now achieved 15 nm spatial resolution with new zone plates and bending magnet radiation. Combined with elemental sensitivity and flexible sample environment (applied magnetic or electric fields, wet samples, windows, overcoatings) this emerges as a valuable tool for nanoscience and nanotechnology, complimenting common electron and scanning tip microscopies. In this presentation we describe recent advances in spatial resolution, expectations for the near future, and applications to magnetic materials, bio-tomography, etc.

Rust on a sword, tarnish on the silverware, and a loss in reflectivity for soft x-ray mirrors are all caused by oxidation that changes the desired characteristics of a material. Methods to prevent the oxidation have varied over the centuries with the default method of a protective coating being the most common. The protective coating for x-ray mirrors is usually a self-limiting oxidized layer on the surface of the material that stops further oxidation of the material by limiting the diffusion of oxygen to the material underneath.

Paternally transmitted chromosomal damage has been associated with pregnancy loss, developmental and morphological defects, infant mortality, infertility, and genetic diseases in the offspring including cancer. There is epidemiological evidence linking paternal exposure to occupational or environmental agents with an increased risk of abnormal reproductive outcomes. There is also a large body of literature on germ cell mutagenesis in rodents showing that treatment of male germ cells with mutagens has dramatic consequences on reproduction producing effects such as those observed in human epidemiological studies. However, we know very little about the etiology, transmission and early embryonic consequences of paternally-derived chromosomal abnormalities. The available evidence suggests that: (1) there are distinct patterns of germ cell-stage differences in the sensitivity of induction of transmissible genetic damage with male postmeiotic cells being the most sensitive; (2) cytogenetic abnormalities at first metaphase after fertilization are critical intermediates between paternal exposure and abnormal reproductive outcomes; and, (3) there are maternally susceptibility factors that may have profound effects on the amount of sperm DNA damage that is converted into chromosomal aberrations in the zygote and directly affect the risk for abnormal reproductive outcomes.

In this talk I discuss what we can learn about quarkonium dissociation from lattice-potential based models, and summarize the current understanding of lattice data on quarkonium.

Model systems for studying molecular surface chemistry have evolved from single crystal surfaces at low pressure to colloidal nanoparticles at high pressure. Low pressure surface structure studies of platinum single crystals using molecular beam surface scattering and low energy electron diffraction techniques probe the unique activity of defects, steps and kinks at the surface for dissociation reactions (H-H, C-H, C-C, O{double_bond}O bonds). High-pressure investigations of platinum single crystals using sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy have revealed the presence and the nature of reaction intermediates. High pressure scanning tunneling microscopy of platinum single crystal surfaces showed adsorbate mobility during a catalytic reaction. Nanoparticle systems are used to determine the role of metal-oxide interfaces, site blocking and the role of surface structures in reactive surface chemistry. The size, shape and composition of nanoparticles play important roles in determining reaction activity and selectivity.

A simple method to estimate the atomic degree Hessian matrixof a nanosystem is presented. The estimated Hessian matrix, based on themotif decomposition of the nanosystem, can be used to accelerate abinitio atomic relaxations with speedups of 2 to 4 depending on the sizeof the system. In addition, the programing implementation for using thismethod in a standard ab initio package is trivial.

The objective of the analysis was to determine the failure of the Vent and Purge (V&P) Machine due to potential explosion in the Transuranic (TRU) drum during its venting and/or subsequent explosion in the V&P machine from the flammable gases (e.g., hydrogen and Volatile Organic Compounds [VOCs]) vented into the V&P machine from the TRU drum. The analysis considers: (a) increase in the pressure in the V&P cabinet from the original deflagration in the TRU drum including lid ejection, (b) pressure wave impact from TRU drum failure, and (c) secondary burns or deflagrations resulting from excess, unburned gases in the cabinet area. A variety of cases were considered that maximized the pressure produced in the V&P cabinet. Also, cases were analyzed that maximized the shock wave pressure in the cabinet from TRU drum failure. The calculations were performed for various initial drum pressures (e.g., 1.5 and 6 psig) for 55 gallon TRU drum. The calculated peak cabinet pressures ranged from 16 psig to 50 psig for various flammable gas compositions. The blast on top of cabinet and in outlet duct ranged from 50 psig to 63 psig and 12 psig to 16 psig, respectively, for various flammable gas compositions. The …

Many experimental approaches in biology and biophysics, as well as applications in diagnosis and drug discovery, require proteins to be immobilized on solid supports. Protein microarrays, for example, provide a high-throughput format to study biomolecular interactions. The technique employed for protein immobilization is a key to the success of these applications. Recent biochemical developments are allowing, for the first time, the selective and traceless immobilization of proteins generated by cell-free systems without the need for purification and/or reconcentration prior to the immobilization step.