Several proteins involved in the response to DNA doublestrand breaks (DSB) f orm microscopically visible nuclear domains, orfoci, after exposure to ionizing radiation. Radiation-induced foci (RIF)are believed to be located where DNA damage occurs. To test thisassumption, we analyzed the spatial distribution of 53BP1, phosphorylatedATM, and gammaH2AX RIF in cells irradiated with high linear energytransfer (LET) radiation and low LET. Since energy is randomly depositedalong high-LET particle paths, RIF along these paths should also berandomly distributed. The probability to induce DSB can be derived fromDNA fragment data measured experimentally by pulsed-field gelelectrophoresis. We used this probability in Monte Carlo simulations topredict DSB locations in synthetic nuclei geometrically described by acomplete set of human chromosomes, taking into account microscope opticsfrom real experiments. As expected, simulations produced DNA-weightedrandom (Poisson) distributions. In contrast, the distributions of RIFobtained as early as 5 min after exposure to high LET (1 GeV/amu Fe) werenon-random. This deviation from the expected DNA-weighted random patterncan be further characterized by "relative DNA image measurements." Thisnovel imaging approach shows that RIF were located preferentially at theinterface between high and low DNA density regions, and were morefrequent than predicted in regions with lower DNA density. The samepreferential nuclear location was also measured …

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Two Si-based spintronic materials, a Mn-Si digital ferromagnetic heterostructure ({delta}-layer of Mn doped in Si) with defects and dilutely doped Mn{sub x}Si{sub 1-x} alloy are investigated using a density-functional based approach. We model the heterostructure and alloy with a supercell of 64 atoms and examine several configurations of the Mn atoms. We find that 25% substitutional defects without vacancies in the {delta} layer diminishes half metallicity of the DFH substantially. For the alloy, the magnetic moment M ranges from 1.0-9.0 {mu}{sub B}/unit-cell depending on impurity configuration and concentration. Mn impurities introduce a narrow band of localized states near E{sub F}. These alloys are not half metals though their moments are integer. We explain the substantially different magnetic moments.

The commonly used current-voltage characteristics are foundinadequate for describing the pulsed nature of the high power impulsemagnetron sputtering (HIPIMS) discharge, rather, the description needs tobe expanded to current-voltage-time characteristics for each initial gaspressure. Using different target materials (Cu, Ti, Nb, C, W, Al, Cr) anda pulsed constant-voltage supply it is shown that the HIPIMS dischargestypically exhibit an initial pressure dependent current peak followed bya second phase that is power and material dependent. This suggests thatthe initial phase of a HIPIMS discharge pulse is dominated by gas ionswhereas the later phase has a strong contribution from self-sputtering.For some materials the discharge switches into a mode of sustainedself-sputtering. The very large differences between materials cannot beascribed to the different sputter yields but they indicate thatgeneration and trapping ofsecondary electrons plays a major role forcurrent-voltage-time characteristics. In particular, it is argued thatthe sustained self-sputtering phase is associated with thegeneration ofmultiply charged ions because only they can cause potential emission ofsecondary electrons whereas the yield caused by singly charged metal ionsis negligibly small.

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For heavy ion inertial fusion application, a combination of a laser ion source and direct plasma injection scheme into an RFQ is proposed. The combination might provide more than 100 mA of singly charged heavy ion beam from a single laser shot. A planned feasibility test with moderate current is also discussed.

Nuclear stopping and energy deposition into the central rapidity region of ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions are studied through the application of a model incorporating hydrodynamic baryon flow coupled to a self-consistent field calculated in the flux tube model. Ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions are modeled in which the nuclei have passed through each other and as a result are charged and heated.

A yin-yang pair of liquid-helium (LHe) cooled, superconducting magnets were tested last year at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as part of a series of tests with the Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF). These tests were performed to determine the success of engineering design used in major systems of the MFTF and to provide a technical base for rescoping from a single-mirror facility to the large tandem-mirror configuration (MFTF-B) now under construction. The magnets were cooled, operated at their design current and magnetic field, and warmed to atmospheric temperature. In this report, we describe their thermal behavior during these tests.

If you assume as input axioms: (1) QCD is correct; and (2) the OZI rule is universal for weakly coupled glue in disconnected Zweig diagrams where the disconnection is due to the creation or annihilation of new flavor(s) of quark(s), then the BNL/CCNY g/sub T/(2010), g/sub T/'(2220) and g/sub T/(2360) observed in ..pi../sup -/p ..-->.. phi phi n are produced by 1-3 primary glueballs. One or two broad primary glueballs could in principle break down the OZI suppression and mix with one or two quark states which accidentally have the same quantum numbers and nearly the same mass. However the simplest explanation of the rather unusual characteristics of our data is that we have found a triplet of J/sup PC/ = 2/sup + +/ glueball states. Since our input axioms are in good agreement with experiments and merely represent modern QCD practice, we have very probably discovered 1-3 J/sup PC/ = 2/sup + +/ glueballs. The iota(1440) and the theta(1700) observed in J/psi radiative decay are glueball candidates. The pros and cons of which are discussed briefly here. 41 references.

Understanding magnetic structures and properties of patterned and ordinary magnetic films at nanometer length-scale is the area of immense technological and fundamental scientific importance. The key feature to such success is the ability to achieve visual quantitative information on domain configurations with a maximum ''magnetic'' resolution. Several methods have been developed to meet these demands (Kerr and Faraday effects, differential phase contrast microscopy, magnetic force microscopy, SEMPA etc.). In particular, the modern off-axis electron holography allows retrieval of the electron-wave phase shifts down to 2{pi}/N (with typical N = 10-20, approaching in the limit N {approx} 100) in TEM equipped with field emission gun, which is already successfully employed for studies of magnetic materials at nanometer scale. However, it remains technically demanding, sensitive to noise and needs highly coherent electron sources. As possible alternative we developed a new method of Lorentz phase microscopy [1,2] based on the Fourier solution [3] of magnetic transport-of-intensity (MTIE) equation. This approach has certain advantages, since it is less sensitive to noise and does not need high coherence of the source required by the holography. In addition, it can be realized in any TEM without basic hardware changes. Our approach considers the electron-wave refraction in …

A new thermal neutron imaging system has been constructed, based on a 20-cm x 17-cm He-3 position-sensitive detector with spatial resolution better than 1 mm. New compact custom-designed position-decoding electronics are employed, as well as high-precision cadmium masks with Modified Uniformly Redundant Array patterns. Fast Fourier Transform algorithms are incorporated into the deconvolution software to provide rapid conversion of shadowgrams into real images. The system demonstrates the principles for locating sources of thermal neutrons by a stand-off technique, as well as visualizing the shapes of nearby sources. The data acquisition time could potentially be reduced two orders of magnitude by building larger detectors.

A beam splitter to create two separated parallel beams is a critical unit of a pencil beam interferometer, for example the long trace profiler (LTP). The operating principle of the beam splitter can be based upon either amplitude-splitting (AS) or wavefront-splitting (WS). For precision measurements with the LTP, an equal optical path system with two parallel beams is desired. Frequency drift of the light source in a non-equal optical path system will cause the interference fringes to drift. An equal optical path prism beam splitter with an amplitude-splitting (AS-EBS) beam splitter and a phase shift beam splitter with a wavefront-splitting (WS-PSBS) are introduced. These beam splitters are well suited to the stability requirement for a pencil beam interferometer due to the characteristics of monolithic structure and equal optical path. Several techniques to produce WS-PSBS by hand are presented. In addition, the WS-PSBS using double thin plates, made from microscope cover plates, has great advantages of economy, convenience, availability and ease of adjustment over other beam splitting methods. Comparison of stability measurements made with the AS-EBS, WS-PSBS, and other beam splitters is presented.

The temporal dependence of the 14.7 nm Ni-like Pd ion x-ray laser is measured as a function of the laser drive conditions with a fast sub-picosecond x-ray streak camera. The chirped pulse amplification laser beam that pumps the inversion process is varied from 0.5 - 27 ps (FWHM) to determine the effect on the x-ray laser pulse duration. The average x-ray laser pulse duration varies by a relatively small factor of 2.5 times from 3.6 ps to 8.1 ps with traveling wave (TW) irradiation conditions. Slightly shorter pulse durations approaching 2 ps are observed with the x-ray laser operating below saturation. The x-ray laser is found to be 4 - 5 times transform-limited for 6 - 13 ps laser pumping conditions.

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We demonstrate the stabilization of a magnetic ground state in epitaxial NiMn2O4 (NMO) thin films not observed in their bulk counterpart. Bulk NMO exhibits a magnetic transition from a paramagnetic phase to a collinear ferrimagnetic moment configuration below 110 K and to a canted moment configuration below 70 K. By contrast, as-grown NMO films exhibit a single magnetic transition at 60 K and annealed films exhibit the magnetic behavior found in bulk. Cation inversion and epitaxial strain are ruled out as possible causes for the new magnetic ground state in the as-grown films. However, a decrease in the octahedral Mn{sup 4+}:Mn{sup 3+} concentration is observed and likely disrupts the double exchange that produces the magnetic state at intermediate temperatures. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism and bulk magnetometry indicate a canted ferrimagnetic state in all samples at low temperature. Together these results suggest that the collinear ferrimagnetic state observed in bulk NMO at intermediate temperatures is suppressed in the as grown NMO thin films due to a decrease in octahedral Mn{sup 4+} while the canted moment ferrimagnetic ordering is preserved below 60 K.

We present searches for the rare decay modes D{sup 0} {yields} e{sup +}e{sup -}, D{sup 0} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -}, and D{sup 0} {yields} e{sup {+-}}{mu}{sup {-+}} in continuum e{sup +}e{sup -} {yields} c{bar c} events recorded by the BABAR detector in a data sample that corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 468 fb{sup -1}. These decays are highly GIM suppressed but may be enhanced in several extensions of the Standard Model. Our observed event yields are consistent with the expected backgrounds. An excess is seen in the D{sup 0} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -} channel, although the observed yield is consistent with an upward background fluctuation at the 5% level. Using the Feldman-Cousins method, we set the following 90% confidence level intervals on the branching fractions: {Beta}(D{sup 0} {yields} e{sup +}e{sup -}) < 1.7 x 10{sup -7}, {Beta}(D{sup 0} {yields} {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -}) within [0.6, 8.1] x 10{sup -7}, and {Beta}(D{sup 0} {yields} e{sup {+-}}{mu}{sup {-+}}) < 3.3 x 10{sup -7}.

We present a progress status of a new concept of PID detector called FDIRC, intended to be used at the SuperB experiment, which requires {pi}/K separation up to a few GeV/c. The new photon camera is made of the solid fused-silica optics with a volume 25x smaller and speed increased by a factor of ten compared to the BaBar DIRC, and therefore will be much less sensitive to electromagnetic and neutron background

One of the unsolved mysteries of gamma-ray astronomy concerns the nature of the unidentified gamma-ray sources. Recently, using the Second Fermi LAT source catalog (2FGL) and the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) archive, we discovered that the WISE counterparts of gamma-ray blazars, a class of active galactic nuclei, delineate a region (the WISE Gamma-ray Strip) in the 3-dimensional infrared color space well separated from the locus of the other astronomical objects. Based on this result, we built an association procedure to recognize if there areWISE blazar candidates within the positional uncertainty region of the unidentified gamma-ray sources. Here we report on our analysis of 2FGL J1823.8+4312, a gamma-ray active galactic nucleus of uncertain type associated with the X-ray source 1RXS J182418.7+430954 according to the 2FGL, to verify whether it is a blazar. Applying our association method we found two sources with IR colors typical of gamma-ray blazars, located within the 99.9% confidence region of 2FGL J1823.8+4312: WISE J182352.33+431452.5 and WISE J182409.25+431404.7. Then we searched in the Chandra, NVSS and SDSS archival observations for their counterparts. We discovered that WISE J182352.33+431452.5, our preferred gamma-ray blazar candidate according to our WISE association procedure, is detected in the optical and in the X-rays …

The 2012 Gordon Research Conference on Mitochondria and Chloroplasts will assemble an international group of scientists investigating fundamental properties of these organelles, and their integration into broader physiological processes. The conference will emphasize the many commonalities between mitochondria and chloroplasts: their evolution from bacterial endosymbionts, their genomes and gene expression systems, their energy transducing membranes whose proteins derive from both nuclear and organellar genes, the challenge of maintaining organelle integrity in the presence of the reactive oxygen species that are generated during energy transduction, their incorporation into organismal signaling pathways, and more. The conference will bring together investigators working in animal, plant, fungal and protozoan systems who specialize in cell biology, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, proteomics, genomics, and structural biology. As such, this conference will provide a unique forum that engenders cross-disciplinary discussions concerning the biogenesis, dynamics, and regulation of these key cellular structures. By fostering interactions among mammalian, fungal and plant organellar biologists, this conference also provides a conduit for the transmission of mechanistic insights obtained in model organisms to applications in medicine and agriculture. The 2012 conference will highlight areas that are moving rapidly and emerging themes. These include new insights into the ultrastructure and organization of the energy …

Some energetic materials may explode at fairly low temperatures and the violence from thermal explosion may cause a significant damage. Thus it is important to understand the response of energetic materials to thermal insults for safe handling and storage of energetic materials. The One Dimensional Time to Explosion (ODTX) system at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory can measure times to explosion, lowest explosion temperatures, and determine kinetic parameters of energetic materials. Samples of different configurations can be tested in the system. The ODTX testing can also generate useful data for determining thermal explosion violence of energetic materials. We also performed detonation experiments of LX-10 in aluminum anvils to determine the detonation violence and validated the Zerilli Armstrong aluminum model. Results of the detonation experiments agreed well with the model prediction.

The High Voltage Converter Modulators (HVCMs) at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) have operated in excess of a combined 250,000 hours. Performance and reliability improvements to the HVCM are ongoing to increase modulator availability as accelerator system demands increase. There is a relatively large amount of energy storage in the HVCMs, {approx}180 kJ. This energy has the potential to dump into unsuppressed faults, cause damage, and increase the time to repair. The 'fusing switch' concept involves isolation of this stored energy from the location of the most common faults. This paper introduces this concept and its application to the HVCMs.

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We argue that the fermion masses and mixings are organized in a specific pattern. The approximately equal hierarchies between successive generations, the sizes of the mixing angles, the heaviness of just the top quark, and the approximate down-lepton equality can all be accommodated by many flavor models but can appear ad hoc. We present a simple, predictive mechanism to explain these patterns. All generations are treated democratically and the flavor symmetries are broken collectively by only two allowed couplings in flavor-space, a vector and matrix, with arbitrary {Omicron}(1) entries. Repeated use of these flavor symmetry breaking spurions radiatively generates the Yukawa couplings with a natural hierarchy. We demonstrate this idea with two models in a split supersymmetric grand unified framework, with minimal additional particle content at the unification scale. Although flavor is generated at the GUT scale, there are several potentially testable predictions. In our minimal model the usual prediction of exact b-{tau} unification is replaced by the SU(5) breaking relation m{sub {tau}}/m{sub b} = 3/2, in better agreement with observations. Other SU(5) breaking effects in the fermion masses can easily arise directly from the flavor model itself. The symmetry breaking that triggers the generation of flavor necessarily gives rise …

Plasma Wake-Field Acceleration (PWFA) has demonstrated acceleration gradients above 50 GeV/m. Simulations have shown drive/witness bunch configurations that yield small energy spreads in the accelerated witness bunch and high energy transfer efficiency from the drive bunch to the witness bunch, ranging from 30% for a Gaussian drive bunch to 95% for bunch with triangular shaped longitudinal profile. These results open the opportunity for a linear collider that could be compact, efficient and more cost effective than the present microwave technologies. A concept of a PWFA-based Linear Collider (PWFA-LC) has been developed by the PWFA collaboration. Here we will describe the conceptual design and optimization of the drive beam, which includes the drive beam linac and distribution system. We apply experience of the CLIC drive beam design and demonstration in the CLIC Test Facility (CTF3) to this study. We discuss parameter optimization of the drive beam linac structure and evaluate the drive linac efficiency in terms of the drive beam distribution scheme and the klystron/modulator requirements.