The Falling Droplet device was used to measure the extensional viscosity of a variety of aqueous polymer solutions. These solutions were atomized with the miniature ''inverse'' twin-fluid atomizer. Droplet size measurements were made with a Malvern laser diffraction particle sizing device. Droplet sizes measured did not rank strictly according to either low-shear rate shear viscosity or extensional viscosity.

This project is currently evaluating non-thermal plasma (NTP) technologies for treating jet-engine exhaust arising from DoD test facilities. In the past, some economic analyses for NTP de-NO{sub x} have shown that it is not economical, compared to other techniques. The main reasons for this conclusion was that the previous analyses examined stand-alone, or less mature electrical-discharge reactors, or electron-beam based systems that incorporated both chemical additives and quite expensive electron accelerators. Also, in contrast to more recent developments, both the discharge and electron-beam techniques of the past did not extensively incorporate methods to increase the yields of active NO{sub x}-decomposing species. In an earlier White paper and a Project Report, the authors have analyzed the costs of more mature NTP systems incorporating chemical additives and new-concept NTP technologies for jet-engine emissions control and have shown lower exhaust-gas treatment costs for NTP systems compared to baseline standard de-NO{sub x} technologies like Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) combined with a wet scrubber or SCR combined with an electrostatic precipitator (ESP). In this paper, the authors will examine their most-promising candidate NTP reactor systems for a field-pilot demonstration on jet-engine exhaust and discuss the economic analyses for these hybrid units, which show that the …

The research of the EBIT (Electron Beam Ion Trap) program in N Division of the Physics and Space Technology Directorate at LLNL continues to contribute significantly to the understanding of physical processes with low energy highly charged ions in atomic physics, plasma physics, and material science. Low-energy highly charged ions (up to U⁹²⁺), provided by the EBIT facilities, provide a unique laboratory opportunity to study high field effects in atomic structures and dynamic interaction processes. The formation, existence, and structure of highly charged ions in astrophysical environments and laboratory plasmas make highly charged ions desirable for diagnosing various plasma conditions. The strong interaction of highly charged ions with matter and the response of solid surfaces make them a sensitive analysis tool and possibly a future capability for materials modifications at the atomic scale (nano technology). These physical applications require a good understanding and careful study of the dynamics of the interactions of the ions with complex systems. The EBIT group hosted an international conference and a workshop on trapped charged particles. The various talks and discussions showed that physics research with trapped charged particles is a very active and attractive area of innovative research, and provides a basis for research …

The objectives of the pilot study were to investigate the limitations of the technique for imaging the presence, extent, and boundaries of the low-resistance intervals and associated carbonate sediments.

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Two recent court decisions have called into question the viability of environmental citizen suits. In Steel Co., the Supreme Court denied plaintiff standing in a citizen suit where the defendant came into compliance after plaintiff sent its notice of intent to sue, but before it filed the complaint. Subsequently, the Fourth Circuit in Laidlaw invoked mootness doctrine to extend Steel Co.

Recent advances in DNA sequencing and genome mapping technologies are making it possible, for the first time in history, to find genes in plants and animals and to elucidate their function. This means that diagnostics and therapeutics can be developed for human diseases such as cancer, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular problems. Crop and animal strains can be developed that are hardier, resistant to diseases, and produce higher yields. The challenge is to develop tools that will find the nucleotides in the DNA of a living organism that comprise a particular gene. In the human genome alone it is estimated that only about 51% of the approximately 3 billion pairs of nucleotides code for some 100,000 human genes. In this search for nucleotides within a genome which are active in the actual coding of proteins, efficient tools to locate and identify their function can be of significant value to mankind. Software tools such as ApoCom GRAIL{trademark} have assisted in this search. It can be used to analyze genome information, to identify exons (coding regions) and to construct gene models. Using a neural network approach, this software can ''learn'' sequence patterns and refine its ability to recognize a pattern as it is …

The mission of this project was to use inverse micelle solutions to synthesize nanometer sized metal particles and test the particles as catalysts in the liquefaction of coal and other related reactions. The initial focus of the project was the synthesis of iron based materials in pseudo-homogeneous form. The frost three chapters discuss the synthesis, characterization, and catalyst testing in coal liquefaction and model coal liquefaction reactions of iron based pseudo-homogeneous materials. Later, we became interested in highly dispersed catalysts for coprocessing of coal and plastic waste. Bifunctional catalysts . to hydrogenate the coal and depolymerize the plastic waste are ideal. We began studying, based on our previously devised synthesis strategies, the synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts with a bifunctional nature. In chapter 4, we discuss the fundamental principles in heterogeneous catalysis synthesis with inverse micelle solutions. In chapter 5, we extend the synthesis of chapter 4 to practical systems and use the materials in catalyst testing. Finally in chapter 6, we return to iron and coal liquefaction now studied with the heterogeneous catalysts.

This report describes the results of the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) program to address bubble gas release potential as requested by Concentration, Storage and Transfer Engineering. Researchers from the Waste Processing Technology Section (WPTS) and Immobilization Technology Section (ITS) contributed to the results presented.

This report details testing performed to determine the radiation stability of the calixarene and Cs-3 modifier solvent system.

A new regional-scale map of the water table configuration beneath the Savannah River Site and its surrounding area has been developed. This map is regarded as a more accurate representation of this surface than all previous maps.

This report summarizes the major women's health provisions of selected legislation enacted from 1983 through 1998 that relate to women's health.

From August 12--27, 1998 X-ray K-edge measurements were made on drain lines in seven rooms in Wilhelm Hall, Ames Laboratory. The purpose of these measurements was to determine the extent of thorium (and other heavy metal) contamination inside these pipes. The K-edge method is a noninvasive inspection technique that can provide accurate quantification of heavy metal contamination interior to an object. Of the seven drain lines inspected, one was found to have no significant contamination, three showed significant thorium deposits, two showed mercury contamination, and one line was found to contain mercury, thorium and uranium. The K-edge measurements were found to be consistent with readings from hand-held survey meters, and provided much greater detail on the location and amount of heavy metal contamination.

We derive a compact expression for the Borel sum of a QCD amplitude in terms of the inverse Mellin transform of the corresponding Borel function. The result allows us to investigate the momentum-plane analyticity properties of the Borel-summed Green functions in perturbative QCD. An interesting connection between the asymptotic behavior of the Borel transform and the Landau singularities in the momentum plane is established. We consider for illustration the polarization function of massless quarks and the resummation of one-loop renormalon chains in the large-{beta}{sub 0} limit, but our conclusions have a more general validity.

Enhancer of gene silencing 1 (egs1) is an Arabidopsis mutant that enhances post-transcriptional gene silencing of the rolB gene introduced by genetic engineering (transgene). The goal of our proposal was cloning EGS1 based on its map position. Although we screened more than 2000 chromosomes for recombination, we were unable to get closer than 2 cM to the gene. We experienced an unexpected tendency of the post-transcriptionally silenced transgene to switch to a more stable silenced state. This made it impossible to select egs1 homozygotes for map based cloning. This forced us to reconsider our cloning strategy. One possibility would have been to use a different transgene as the target of gene silencing. We tested two other transgenes. Both encoded proteins unrelated to the first but they were all expressed from the same type of promoter and they all had a similar tendency to become post-transcriptionally silenced. After screening over 80 F2 segregants from each cross between our egs1 mutant and Arabidopsis of the same ecotype homozygous for the new transgene, we were disappointed to find that the egs1 mutation did not enhance post-transcription silencing of the two new genes. In 80 plants we expected to have between 4 and 6 …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the nation's infectious diseases surveillance network, focusing on the: (1) extent to which states conduct public health surveillance and laboratory testing of selected emerging infectious diseases; (2) problems state public health officials face in gathering and using laboratory-related data in the surveillance of emerging infectious diseases; and (3) assistance that the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides to states for laboratory-related surveillance and the value of this assistance to state officials."

This is appendix G of the report ''In Situ Void Fraction and Gas Volume in Hanford Tank 241-SY-101 as Measured with the Void Fraction Instrument''.

The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL or Berkeley Lab) Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program FY 1998 report is compiled from annual reports submitted by principal investigators following the close of the fiscal year. This report describes the supported projects and summarizes their accomplishments. It constitutes a part of the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program planning and documentation process that includes an annual planning cycle, projection selection, implementation, and review. The LBNL LDRD program is a critical tool for directing the Laboratory's forefront scientific research capabilities toward vital, excellent, and emerging scientific challenges. The program provides the resources for LBNL scientists to make rapid and significant contributions to critical national science and technology problems. The LDRD program also advances LBNL's core competencies, foundations, and scientific capability, and permits exploration of exciting new opportunities. All projects are work in forefront areas of science and technology. Areas eligible for support include the following: Advanced study of hypotheses, concepts, or innovative approaches to scientific or technical problems; Experiments and analyses directed toward ''proof of principle'' or early determination of the utility of new scientific ideas, technical concepts, or devices; and Conception and preliminary technical analyses of experimental facilities or …

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Hydrogen levels in many transuranic (TRU) waste drums are above the compliance threshold, therefore deeming the drums non-shippable to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Hydrogen getters (alkynes and dialkynes) are known to react irreversibly with hydrogen in the presence of certain catalysts. The primary purpose of this investigation is to ascertain the effectiveness of a hydrogen getter in an environment that contains gaseous compounds commonly found in the headspace of drums containing TRU waste. It is not known whether the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) commonly found in the headspace of TRU waste drums will inhibit (''poison'') the effectiveness of the hydrogen getter. The result of this study will be used to assess the feasibility of a hydrogen-getter system, which is capable of removing hydrogen from the payload containers or the Transuranic Package Transporter-II (TRUPACT-II) inner containment vessel to increase the quantity of TRU waste that can be shipped to the WIPP. Phase II for the Hydrogen Getters Project will focus on four primary objectives: Conduct measurements of the relative permeability of hydrogen and chlorinated VOCs through Tedlar (and possibly other candidate packaging materials) Test alternative getter systems as alternatives to semi-permeable packaging materials. Candidates include DEB/Pd/Al2O3 and DEB/Cu-Pd/C. Develop, …

The continuity equation for electromagnetic (EM) energy flow is used to describe radiation flow in the transport regime. The scheme of a discrete representation of H_z and a stochastic representation of H_x, H_y gives an effectively continuous representation of directed energy in the x-y plane, such that the ray effect of transport theory is absent. Since the in-plane amplitudes are generated at each time step, it is necessary to store only the perpendicular amplitudes and the results appear to be robust with respect to the coarse of this discretization.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information about: (1) welfare-to-work formula and competitive grants awarded to, or declined by, states for fiscal year (FY) 1998; (2) how selected grantees are planning to use these funds; and (3) how selected grantees plan to meet welfare-to-work requirements to better integrate the states' workforce development services with other human services for welfare recipients."

Federal Emergency Management Information System (FEMIS) Bill of Materials (BOM) for FEMIS Version 1.4.6

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