The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program has matured into one of the key programs in the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. The ARM Program has achieved considerable scientific success in a broad range of activities, including site and instrument development, atmospheric radiative transfer, aerosol science, determination of cloud properties, cloud modeling, and cloud parameterization testing and development. The focus of ARM science has naturally shifted during the last few years to an increasing emphasis on modeling and parameterization studies to take advantage of the long time series of data now available. During the next 5 years, the principal focus of the ARM science program will be to: • Maintain the data record at the fixed ARM sites for at least the next five years. • Improve significantly our understanding of and ability to parameterize the 3-D cloud-radiation problem at scales from the local atmospheric column to the global climate model (GCM) grid square. • Continue developing techniques to retrieve the properties of all clouds, with a special focus on ice clouds and mixed-phase clouds. • Develop a focused research effort on the indirect aerosol problem that spans observations, physical models, and climate model parameterizations. • Implement and evaluate an operational …

Photograph of four individuals at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos parade. Two individuals, one of whom is a child, wear skull masks. The remaining patrons are adult males. A parade procession can be seen in the background. The photograph was taken at dusk in downtown Austin, Texas.

Photograph of an altar at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos parade. The altar has multiple tiers covered in lace and white satin. Angel embellishments are attached to the fabric. Photographs and candles are arranged on the tiers.

Photograph of an altar to Alfredo Zalee at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos parade. The altar is covered in blue cloth. A lighter blue headstone is situated on top of the altar. Flowers and ribbons are arranged in front of the headstone. A card reads: "Alfredo Zalce Artist Muralist Mexico 2003."

Photograph of a banner at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos parade. The banner reads "2004. Día de los Muertos. Mexic-ArteMuseum.org" and is decorated with yellow and green streamers.

Photograph of Senator Gonzalo Barrientos at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos parade. Barrientos, right, stands near a collection of community altars. Two young children and a teenager stand near him.

Photograph of a young girl making a mask at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos celebration. The girl uses a stamp to decorate the mask. Patrons stand in the background. The photograph was taken in downtown Austin, Texas.

Photograph of a young boy wearing a mask at the Mexic-Arte Museum's annual Día de los Muertos celebration. The mask is hand decorated. The boy wears a red and green tie dye shirt.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Ohio Coal Development Office (OCDO) have recently initiated a project aimed at identifying, evaluating, and qualifying the materials needed for the construction of the critical components of coal-fired boilers capable of operating at much higher efficiencies than current generation of supercritical plants. This increased efficiency is expected to be achieved principally through the use of ultrasupercritical steam conditions (USC). The project goal initially was to assess/develop materials technology that will enable achieving turbine throttle steam conditions of 760 C (1400 F)/35 MPa (5000 psi), although this goal for the main steam temperature had to be revised down to 732 C (1350 F), based on a preliminary assessment of material capabilities. The project is intended to build further upon the alloy development and evaluation programs that have been carried out in Europe and Japan. Those programs have identified ferritic steels capable of meeting the strength requirements of USC plants up to approximately 620 C (1150 F) and nickel-based alloys suitable up to 700 C (1300 F). In this project, the maximum temperature capabilities of these and other available high-temperature alloys are being assessed to provide a basis for materials selection and application under …

This report examines a method to monitor and trend the transmission grid in the local vicinity of a nuclear o other generating station. The method addresses the potential for a loss of off-site power following a plant trip or a loss-of-coolant accident.

The Hyperbaric Advanced Hot Section Materials & Coating Test Rig program provides design and implementation of a laboratory rig capable of simulating the hot gas path conditions of coal-gas fired industrial gas turbine engines. The principal activities during this reporting period were the continuation of test section detail design and developing specifications for auxiliary systems and facilities.

Model verification and validation (V&V) is an enabling methodology for the development of computational models that can be used to make engineering predictions with quantified confidence. Model V&V procedures are needed by government and industry to reduce the time, cost, and risk associated with full-scale testing of products, materials, and weapon systems. Quantifying the confidence and predictive accuracy of model calculations provides the decision-maker with the information necessary for making high-consequence decisions. The development of guidelines and procedures for conducting a model V&V program are currently being defined by a broad spectrum of researchers. This report reviews the concepts involved in such a program. Model V&V is a current topic of great interest to both government and industry. In response to a ban on the production of new strategic weapons and nuclear testing, the Department of Energy (DOE) initiated the Science-Based Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP). An objective of the SSP is to maintain a high level of confidence in the safety, reliability, and performance of the existing nuclear weapons stockpile in the absence of nuclear testing. This objective has challenged the national laboratories to develop high-confidence tools and methods that can be used to provide credible models needed for stockpile …

The Defense Waste Processing Facilities (DWPF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) is used to process high-level radioactive waste from the Tank Farm into borosilicate glass to reduce the mobility of the radionuclides and has processed and vitrified nuclear wastes into canisters for long-term disposal since FY96. All wastes vitrified to date in DWPF are ''sludge only'' wastes. The old salt waste processing technology, ITP, was suspended in FY98 due to benzene build-up inside the tank. The new selected technologies for treating the salt waste are Actinide Removal Process (ARP) and Caustic Side Solvent Extraction process (CSSX). The Modular CSSX Unit (MCU) is a cesium removal process that will be operated downstream of the ARP. The MCU is a short-term method for cesium removal, which uses the same technology as the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF). Once the SWPF becomes operational, the MCU will be shut down. The modeling request is from the MCU project to verify the validity of its Concept Design Package. The modeling task is not typical because there are five different facilities/projects/processes involved, i.e., Tank Farm, ARP, MCU, Saltstone, and DWPF. Each facility, project, and process has their own management team and organization, with its own …

Based on quantum mechanical data obtained for the Y-doped BaZrO{sub 3} electrolyte and Ni-anode Reactive Force Field parameters have been developed for further molecular dynamics simulations of the proton diffusion and electrode/electrolyte interfaces. Electronic and atomic structures of different terminations of the (001) BaZrO{sub 3} surface have been studied using first-principles calculations. Several potential cathode materials for the Y-doped BaZrO{sub 3} system were synthesized via glycine nitrate combustion method. Of the five potential cathode materials examined BaZr{sub 0.40}Pr{sub 0.40}Gd{sub 0.20}O{sub 3} and BaZr{sub 0.60}Y{sub 0.20}Co{sub 0.20}O{sub 3} appear to be the most promising for further applications in proton ceramic fuel cells. Fuel cell test of a Y-doped BaZrO{sub 3} thin film using platinum ink for both electrodes have been performed. The obtained results shows that a robust method for fabricating crack-free thin membranes, as well as methods for sealing anode and cathode chambers, have successfully been developed.

Significant surfactant loss by adsorption or precipitation on reservoir minerals can cause chemical flooding processes to be less than satisfactory for enhanced oil recovery. This project is aimed towards an understanding of the role of reservoir minerals and their dissolved species in chemical loss by precipitation or adsorption of surfactants/polymers in enhanced oil recovery. Emphasis will be on the type and nature of different minerals in the oil reservoirs. Macroscopic adsorption, precipitation, wettability and nanoscopic orientation/conformation studies for aggregates of various surfactant/polymer mixtures on reservoir rocks systems is planned for exploring the cause of chemical loss by means of precipitation or adsorption, and the effect of rock mineralogy on the chemical loss. During this reporting period, the minerals proposed in this study: sandstone, limestone, gypsum, kaolinite and pyrite, have been characterized to obtain their particle size distribution and surface area, which will be used in the analysis of adsorption and wettability data. The effect of surfactant mixing ratio on the adsorption of mixture of C{sub 12}-C{sub 4}-C{sub 12} Gemini surfactant (synthesized during last period) and sugar-based nonionic surfactant n-dodecyl-{beta}-D-maltoside (DM) has been studied. It was discovered that even trace amounts of Gemini in the mixture is sufficient to force significant …

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Certificate declaring Rosa Charlyne Creger an honorary member of Region 9 of the National Silver Wings for her service in WWII and the Korean War.

Funeral program for Mrs. Dorothy Daniels Taylor. The funeral was held October 30, 2004 at St. Paul United Methodist Church, officiated by Rev. Terrence K. Hayes. Funeral arrangements were made through Sutton-Sutton Mortuary, Inc.

The international conference provided a unique opportunity for theoreticians and experimenters to exchange ideas, strategies, problems, challenges, language and opportunities in both formal and informal settings. This dialog is an important step towards developing a deep and effective integration of theory and experiments in studies of systems biology in humans and model organisms.

Predictions of increasing levels of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) and the specter of global warming have intensified research efforts to identify ways to sequester carbon. A number of novel avenues of research are being considered, including bioprocessing methods to promote and accelerate biosequestration of CO{sub 2} from the environment through the growth of organisms such as coccolithophorids, which are capable of sequestering CO{sub 2} relatively permanently. Calcium and magnesium carbonates are currently the only proven, long-term storage reservoirs for carbon. Whereas organic carbon is readily oxidized and releases CO{sub 2} through microbial decomposition on land and in the sea, carbonates can sequester carbon over geologic time scales. This proposal investigates the use of coccolithophorids--single-celled, marine algae that are the major global producers of calcium carbonate--to sequester CO{sub 2} emissions from power plants. Cultivation of coccolithophorids for calcium carbonate (CaCO{sub 3}) precipitation is environmentally benign and results in a stable product with potential commercial value. Because this method of carbon sequestration does not impact natural ecosystem dynamics, it avoids controversial issues of public acceptability and legality associated with other options such as direct injection of CO{sub 2} into the sea and ocean fertilization. Consequently, cultivation of coccolithophorids could be carried …

Agenda for a health awareness workshop at Langston University.

This report is to present the progress made on the project ''Establishment of an Environmental Control Technology Laboratory (ECTL) with a Circulating Fluidized-Bed Combustion (CFBC) System'' during the period July 1, 2004 through September 30, 2004. The following tasks have been completed. First, renovation of the new Combustion Laboratory and the construction of the Circulating Fluidized-Bed (CFB) Combustor Building have started. Second, the design if the component parts of the CFBC system have been reviewed and finalized so that the drawings may be released to the manufacturers during the next quarter. Third, the experiments for solid waste (chicken litter) incineration have been conducted using a Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA). This is in preparation for testing in the simulated fluidized-bed combustor. The experimental results from this study are presented in this report. Finally, the proposed work for the next quarter has been outlined in this report.

Video recording from The Black Academy of Arts and Letters recorded during their New Los Angeles: Three Baritones event in 2004. This video features a musical performance of three singers, called New Los Angeles 3 Baritones, live on the Naomi Bruton Main Stage.

Video recording from The Black Academy of Arts and Letters recorded during their New Los Angeles: Three Baritones event in 2004. This video features a musical performance of three singers, called New Los Angeles 3 Baritones, live on the Naomi Bruton Main Stage. This is Part 1 of 2 of the event.