In this short article the accurate labeling of the O4,5 edges of the light actinides is addressed. The O4 and O5 edges are both contained in what is termed the ''giant resonance'' and the smaller ''pre-peak'' that is observed is a consequence of first-order perturbation by the 5d spin-orbit interaction. Thus, the small prepeak in the actinide 5d {yields} 5f transition should not be labeled the O5 peak, but rather the {Delta}S=1 peak.

The cereus group represents sporulating soil bacteriacontaining pathogenic strains which may cause diarrheic or emetic foodpoisoning outbreaks. Multiple locus sequence typing revealed a presencein natural samples of these bacteria of about thirty clonal complexes.Application of genomic methods to this group was however biased due tothe major interest for representatives closely related to B. anthracis.Albeit the most important food-borne pathogens were not yet defined,existing dataindicate that they are scattered all over the phylogenetictree. The preliminary analysis of the sequences of three genomesdiscussed in this paper narrows down the gaps in our knowledge of thecereus group. The strain NVH391-98 is a rare but particularly severefood-borne pathogen. Sequencing revealed that the strain must be arepresentative of a novel bacterial species, for which the name Bacilluscytotoxis is proposed. This strain has a reduced genome size compared toother cereus group strains. Genome analysis revealed absence of sigma Bfactor and the presence of genes encoding diarrheic Nhe toxin, notdetected earlier. The strain B. cereus F837/76 represents a clonalcomplex close to that of B. anthracis. Including F837/76, three such B.cereus strains had been sequenced. Alignment of genomes suggests that B.anthracis is their common ancestor. Since such strains often emerge fromclinical cases, they merit a special attention. The …

High-pressure x-ray diffraction of (Mg{sub 0.8}Fe{sub 0.2})O at room temperature reveals a discontinuity in the bulk modulus at 40 ({+-}5) GPa, similar pressure at which an electronic spin-pairing transition of Fe{sup 2+} is also observed. In the x-ray diffraction experiments the transition is completed only at 80 GPa, possibly reflecting lack of equilibration. Combining recent measurements, we document anomalies in the compression curve of Mg-rich magnesiowuestites that are manifestations of the spin transition. The best fit to a third order Birch-Murnaghan equation for the low-spin phase of magnesiowuestite with 17-20 mol% FeO yields bulk modulus K{sub T0} = 190 ({+-}150) GPa, pressure derivative ({partial_derivative}K{sub T}/{partial_derivative}){sub T0} = 4.6 ({+-}2.7) and unit-cell volume V{sub 0} = 71 ({+-}5) {angstrom}{sup 3}, consistent with past estimates of the ionic radius of octahedrally-coordinated low-spin Fe{sup 2+} in oxides. A sharp spin transition at lower-mantle depths between 1100 and 1900 km (40-80 GPa) would cause a unit-cell volume decrease ({Delta}{nu}{sub {phi}}) of 3.7 ({+-}0.8) to 2.0 ({+-}0.2) percent and bulk sound velocity increase ({Delta}{nu}{sub {phi}}) of 8.1 ({+-}6-1.7) percent ({nu}{sub {phi}} = {radical}K{sub s}/{rho}). Even in the absence of a visible seismic discontinuity, we expect the Fe-spin transition to imply a correction to current compositional …

We photo-exited a charge-ordered organic salt (EDO-TTF)2PF6 with sub-10-fs optical pulses. The photo-induced metallic phase appeared within 80-fs after pumping, characterized by large changes in reflectivity (DELTA R/R~0.8) followed by strong coherent phonon modulation

Selective vibrational excitation of insulating Pr0.7Ca0.3MnO3 at 17 ?m triggers a transition to a metallic state. A four order of magnitude drop of the sample resistivity and ultrafast, nanosecond-lived reflectivity changes are observed

A core-particle model is derived to analyze transverse orbits of test particles evolving in the presence of a core ion beam described by the KV distribution. The core beam has uniform density within an elliptical cross-section and can be applied to model both quadrupole and solenoidal focused beams in periodic or aperiodic lattices. Efficient analytical descriptions of electrostatic space-charge fields external to the beam core are derived to simplify model equations. Image charge effects are analyzed for an elliptical beam centered in a round, conducting pipe to estimate model corrections resulting from image charge nonlinearities. Transformations are employed to remove coherent utter motion associated with oscillations of the ion beam core due to rapidly varying, linear applied focusing forces. Diagnostics for particle trajectories, Poincare phase-space projections, and single-particle emittances based on these transformations better illustrate the effects of nonlinear forces acting on particles evolving outside the core. A numerical code has been written based on this model. Example applications illustrate model characteristics. The core-particle model described has recently been applied to identify physical processes leading to space-charge transport limits for an rms matched beam in a periodic quadrupole focusing channel [Lund and Chawla, Nuc. Instr. and Meth. A 561, 203 …

Lithium coatings on the graphite plasma facing components (PFCs) in NSTX are being investigated as a tool for density profile control and reducing the recycling of hydrogen isotopes. Repeated lithium pellet injection into Center Stack Limited and Lower Single Null Ohmic Helium Discharges were used to coat graphite surfaces that had been pre-conditioned with Ohmic Helium Discharges of the same shape to reduce their contribution to hydrogen isotope recycling. The following deuterium NBI reference discharges exhibited a reduction in density by a factor of about 3 for limited and 2 for diverted plasmas respectively, and peaked density profiles. Recently, a lithium evaporator has been used to apply thin coatings on conditioned and unconditioned PFCs. Effects on the plasma density and the impurities were obtained by pre-conditioning the PFCs with ohmic helium discharges, and performing the first deuterium NBI discharge as soon as possible after applying the lithium coating.

Experiments at the LOASIS laboratory of LBNL recentlydemonstrated production of 100 MeV electron beams with low energy spreadand low divergence from laser wakefield acceleration. The radiationpressure of a 10 TW laser pulse guided over 10 diffraction ranges by aplasma density channel was used to drive an intense plasma wave(wakefield), producing acceleration gradients on the order of 100 GV/m ina mm-scale channel. Beam energy has now been increased from 100 to 1000MeV by using a cm-scale guiding channel at lower density, driven by a 40TW laser, demonstrating the anticipated scaling to higher beam energies.Particle simulations indicate that the low energy spread beams wereproduced from self trapped electrons through the interplay of trapping,loading, and dephasing. Other experiments and simulations are alsounderway to control injection of particles into the wake, and henceimprove beam quality and stability further.

We present the first statistically meaningful results fromtwo-K0s interferometry in heavy-ion collisions. A model that takes theeffect of the strong interaction into account has been used to fit themeasured correlation function. The effects of single and coupled channelwere explored. At the mean transverse mass m_T = 1.07 GeV, we obtain thevalues R = 4.09 +- 0.46 (stat.) +- 0.31 (sys) fm and lambda = 0.92 +-0.23 (stat) +- 0.13 (sys), where R and lambda are the invariant radiusand chaoticity parameters respectively. The results are qualitativelyconsistent with m_T systematics established with pions in a scenariocharacterized by a strong collective flow.

Metallic interconnects in solid oxide fuel cells are exposed to a dual environment: fuel on one side (i.e., H2 gas) and oxidizer on the other side (i.e., air). It has been observed that the oxidation behavior of thin stainless steel sheet in air is changed by the presence of H2 on the other side of the sheet. The resulting dual-environment scales are flaky and more friable than the single-environment scales. The H2 disrupts the scale on the air side. A model to explain some of the effects of a dual environment is presented where hydrogen diffusing through the stainless steel sheet reacts with oxygen diffusing through the scale to form water vapor, which has sufficient vapor pressure to mechanically disrupt the scale. Experiments on preoxidized 316L stainless steel tubing exposed to air-air, H2-air, and H2-Ar environments are reported in support of the model.

Clean Slate Sites II and III are scheduled for environmental remediation (ER) to remove elevated levels of radionuclides in soil. These sites are contaminated with legacy remains of non-nuclear yield nuclear weapons experiments at the Nevada Test Site, that involved high explosive, fissile, and related materials. The sites may also hold unexploded ordnance (UXO) from military training activities in the area over the intervening years. Regulation 10 CFR 830 (Ref. 1) identifies DOE-STD-1120-98 (Ref. 2) and 29 CFR 1910.120 (Ref. 3) as the safe harbor methodologies for performing these remediation operations. Of these methodologies, DOE-STD-1120-98 has been superseded by DOE-STD-1120-2005 (Ref. 4). The project adopted DOE-STD-1120-2005, which includes an approach for ER projects, in combination with 29 CFR 1910.120, as the basis documents for preparing the documented safety analysis (DSA). To securely implement the safe harbor methodologies, we applied DOE-STD-1027-92 (Ref. 5) and DOE-STD-3009-94 (Ref. 6), as needed, to develop a robust hazard classification and hazards analysis that addresses non-standard hazards such as radionuclides and UXO. The hazard analyses provided the basis for identifying Technical Safety Requirements (TSR) level controls. The DOE-STD-1186-2004 (Ref. 7) methodology showed that some controls warranted elevation to Specific Administrative Control (SAC) status. In addition to …

The authors have measured the relaxation time of hot electrons in short pulse laser-solid interactions using a picosecond time-resolved x-ray spectrometer and a time-integrated electron spectrometer. Employing laser intensities of 10{sup 17}, 10{sup 18}, and 10{sup 19} W/cm{sup 2}, they find increased laser coupling to hot electrons as the laser intensity becomes relativistic and thermalization of hot electrons at timescales on the order of 10 ps at all laser intensities. They propose a simple model based on collisional coupling and plasma expansion to describe the rapid relaxation of hot electrons. The agreement between the resulting K{sub {alpha}} time-history from this model with the experiments is best at highest laser intensity and less satisfactory at the two lower laser intensities.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has developed into a powerful clinical tool for imaging the human body (1). This technique is based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of protons (2, 3) in a static magnetic field B{sub 0}. An applied radiofrequency pulse causes the protons to precess about B{sub 0} at their Larmor frequency {nu}{sub 0} = ({gamma}/2{pi})B{sub 0}, where {gamma} is the gyromagnetic ratio; {gamma}/2{pi} = 42.58 MHz/tesla. The precessing protons generate an oscillating magnetic field and hence a voltage in a nearby coil that is amplified and recorded. The application of three-dimensional magnetic field gradients specifies a unique magnetic field and thus an NMR frequency in each voxel of the subject, so that with appropriate encoding of the signals one can acquire a complete image (4). Most clinical MRI systems involve magnetic fields generated by superconducting magnets, and the current trend is to higher magnetic fields than the widely used 1.5-T systems (5). Nonetheless, there is ongoing interest in the development of less expensive imagers operating at lower fields. Commercially available 0.2-T systems based on permanent magnets offer both lower cost and a more open access than their higher-field counterparts, at the expense of signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) and spatial resolution. …

The threats of bio-terrorism and newly emerging infectious diseases pose serious challenges to the national security infrastructure. Rapid detection and diagnosis of infectious disease in human populations, as well as characterizing pathogen biology, are critical for reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with such threats. One of the key challenges in managing an infectious disease outbreak, whether through natural causes or acts of overt terrorism, is detection early enough to initiate effective countermeasures. Much recent attention has been directed towards the utility of biomarkers or molecular signatures that result from the interaction of the pathogen with the host for improving our ability to diagnose and mitigate the impact of a developing infection during the time window when effective countermeasures can be instituted. Host responses may provide early signals in blood even from localized infections. Multiple innate and adaptive immune molecules, in combination with other biochemical markers, may provide disease-specific information and new targets for countermeasures. The presence of pathogen specific markers and an understanding of the molecular capabilities and adaptations of the pathogen when it interacts with its host may likewise assist in early detection and provide opportunities for targeting countermeasures. An important question that needs to be addressed is …

A cyclic, bidentate hydroxamic acid binding unit based on an isoquinoline scaffold has been utilized for the synthesis of a hexadentate tripodal ligand based on the TREN backbone. This prototype for a new class of multidentate chelators forms mononuclear iron(III) complexes and one-dimensional coordination polymers with lanthanide(III) cations. The latter has been determined by single crystal X-ray analysis of the cerium species. The solid state structure in the monoclinic space group P2{sub 1}/c (C{sub 36}H{sub 34}CeN{sub 7}O{sub 11}, a = 12.341(2){angstrom}, b = 26.649(4){angstrom}, c = 10.621(2){angstrom}, {alpha} = {gamma} = 90{sup o}, {beta} = 96.753(3){sup o}, V = 3468.6(9) {angstrom}{sup 3}, Z = 4) exhibits a trigonal-dodecahedral environment around the cerium cation. The proof of concept for the versatility of the new scaffold has been shown by the modification of the crucial precursor 3-carboxyiso-coumarin through electrophilic aromatic substitutions to yield the corresponding chlorosulfonated and nitrated analogs.

As the development of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography progresses, interest grows in the extension of traditional optical components to the EUV regime. The strong absorption of EUV by most materials and its extremely short wavelength, however, makes it very difficult to implement many components that are commonplace in the longer wavelength regimes. One such component is the diffractive optical element used, for example, in illumination systems to efficiently generate modified pupil fills. Here we demonstrate the fabrication and characterization of EUV binary phase-only computer-generated holograms allowing arbitrary far-field diffraction patterns to be generated.

Beam-induced specimen movement may be the major factor that limits the quality of high-resolution images of organic specimens. One of the possible measures to improve the situation that was proposed by Henderson and Glaeser (Henderson and Glaeser, 1985), which we refer to here as 'stroboscopic image capture', is to divide the normal exposure into many successive frames, thus reducing the amount of electron exposure--and possibly the amount of beam-induced movement--per frame. The frames would then be aligned and summed. We have performed preliminary experiments on stroboscopic imaging using a 200-kV electron microscope that was equipped with a high dynamic range CCD camera for image recording and a liquid N{sub 2}-cooled cryoholder. Single-layer paraffin crystals on carbon film were used as a test specimen. The ratio F(g)/F(0) of paraffin reflections, calculated from the images, serves as our criterion for the image quality. In the series that were evaluated, no significant improvement of the F{sub image}(g)/F{sub image}(0) ratio was found, even though the electron exposure per frame was reduced by a factor of 30. A frame-to-frame analysis of image distortions showed that considerable beam-induced movement had still occurred during each frame. In addition, the paraffin crystal lattice was observed to move relative …

The Vulcan laser facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory was used to study the interaction of a 75 J 10 ps, high intensity laser beam with low-mass solid, Cu targets. Two instruments were fielded as diagnostics of the Cu K-shell emission from the targets: A single photon counting CCD spectrometer provided the absolute K{sub {alpha}} yield and a spherically bent Bragg crystal recorded 2D monochromatic images with a spatial resolution of 10 {micro}m. Due to the shifting and broadening of the K{sub {alpha}} spectral lines with increasing temperature, there is a temperature dependence of the crystal collection efficiency. This provides a temperature diagnostic when cross calibrated against a single hit CCD spectrometer, and it affects measurements of the spatial pattern of electron transport. The experimental data showing changing collection efficiency are presented. The results are discussed in light of modeling of the temperature-dependent spectrum of Cu K-shell emission.

This paper analyzes a two-level preconditioning scheme for H(curl) bilinear forms. The scheme utilizes an auxiliary problem on a related mesh that is more amenable for constructing optimal order multigrid methods. More specifically, we analyze the case when the auxiliary mesh only approximately covers the original domain. The latter assumption is important since it allows for easy construction of nested multilevel spaces on regular auxiliary meshes. Numerical experiments in both two and three space dimensions illustrate the optimal performance of the method.

Mechanically hard ha-C and soft sa-C amorphous carbon films of 2.9 and 2.2 g cm-3 approximate densities were prepared by filtered cathodic arc deposition and analyzed by near-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy NEXAFS and extended x-ray absorption spectroscopy EXAFS to determine their structure. The analysis observed an insignificant level of pi bond conjugation in both kind of films. EXAFS distinguished two types of atomic environments in them: one semiordered with well defined bond lengths, and the other with so strong bond disorder that its contribution to EXAFS was undetectable. The proportion of atoms in the semiordered atomic environments was of less than 40percent in both films. Their bond lengths were similar to those of diamond in the ha-C films and to graphite in the sa-C. NEXAFS spectra analysis was based on the linear relation between sigma* energy and bond length. It served to quantify the proportion of sp3 bonded atoms in a-C, to deduce the average bond length of the atoms undetected by EXAFS, and to determine the level of bond conjugation in the films. The sp3 concentration estimated with the proposed method was of 44percent in the ha-C films and 10percent in the sa-C films. These values were consistent with …

In this report I summarize some of the main results obtained during the present grant period. They are: (1) Orientation selection in dendritic evolution; (2) Globubar-dendritic transition; and (3) Physics and prediction of grain boundary mobility.

In support of the development of a large-aperture Nb{sub 3}Sn superconducting quadrupole for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) luminosity upgrade, two-layer quadrupole models (TQC and TQS) with 90-mm aperture are being constructed at Fermilab and LBNL within the framework of the US LHC Accelerator Research Program (LARP). This paper describes the construction and test of model TQC01. ANSYS calculations of the structure are compared with measurements during construction. Fabrication experience is described and in-process measurements are reported. Test results at 4.5K are presented, including magnet training, current ramp rate studies and magnet quench current . Results of magnetic measurements at helium temperature are also presented.

We present the first comprehensive investigation on water-soluble nanoparticles embedded into a paramagnetic shell and their properties as an MRI contrast agent. The nanoprobes are constructed with an inorganic core embedded into an ultra-thin silica shell covalently linked to chelated Gd{sup 3+} paramagnetic ions that act as an MRI contrast agent. The chelator contains the molecule DOTA and the inorganic core contains a fluorescent CdSe/ZnS qdots in Au nanoparticles. Optical properties of the cores (fluorescence emission or plasmon position) are not affected by the neither the silica shell nor the presence of the chelated paramagnetic ions. The resulting complex is a MRI/fluorescence probe with a diameter of 8 to 15 nm. This probe is highly soluble in high ionic strength buffers at pH ranging from {approx}4 to 11. In MRI experiments at clinical field strengths of 60 MHz, the QDs probes posses spin-lattice (T{sub 1}) and a spin-spin (T{sub 2}) relaxivities of 1018.6 +/- 19.4 mM{sup -1} s{sup -1} and 2438.1 +/- 46.3 mM{sup -1} s{sup -1} respectively for probes having {approx}8 nm. This increase in relaxivity has been correlated to the number of paramagnetic ions covalently linked to the silica shell, ranging from approximately 45 to over 320. We …

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