The development of hydropower systems within the Columbia and Snake River basins has affected a tremendous amount of fish and wildlife species. The dams have played a major role in the rapid extinction of anadromous runs of salmon and steelhead as well as other native salmonids. Inundation of these dams and the construction of reservoirs for irrigation have also severely impacted wildlife species. In some cases, fluctuating water levels caused by dam and reservoir operations have created barren vegetation zones that expose wildlife to predation and a reduction in recruitment. In association with hydropower activities, secondary impacts have also challenged and highly impacted a majority of wildlife species. The construction of roads, facilities, urban development, channelization, and diversions of streams and rivers often have negative long-term effects on fish, wildlife, and vegetation. In response to these concerns, the United States Congress passed the Pacific Electric Power Planning Conservation Act (Act) in 1980. The Act authorized four states (Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington) and 13 Indian Tribes (including the Burns Paiute Tribe) to create the Northwest Power Planning Council (Council). The role of the Council is to prepare a program in conjunction with several participants that protects, mitigates and enhances affected …

Semiweekly newspaper from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas that includes local, national, and campus news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Rusk, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with extensive advertising.

Weekly student newspaper from the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas that includes campus news and commentaries along with advertising.

Semi-weekly newspaper from Seminole, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.

Semi-weekly newspaper from Clifton, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Design studios and building science courses have been conducted independent of each other, mainly due to a lack of tools that allow quick and easy consideration of building science criteria, such as comfort and energy requirements, during the design process. Existing tools are not user-friendly and their use requires significant effort in gaining familiarity with the input requirements, understanding the modeling assumptions and interpreting the output. This paper is about the Building Design Advisor (BDA), an evolving computer-based tool intended to bridge the gap between design studios and building science considerations by addressing the above-mentioned limitations of existing tools. BDA allows automatic preparation of input files to multiple simulation tools while the user is working in a CAD environment. BDA automatically activates the relevant simulation tools when the user selects performance parameters to be computed and provides the results in a graphical form, allowing comparison of multiple design options with respect to multiple performance criteria. The paper includes considerations for the use of the BDA in the design studio and ends with a description of the current development efforts and future plans.

Extended long wavelength response to {approx}200 {micro}m (50 cm{sup -1}) has been observed in Ge:Sb Blocked Impurity Band (BIB) detectors with N{sub D} {approx} 1 x 10{sup 16} cm{sup -3}. The cut-off wavelength increases from 150 {micro}m (65 cm{sup -1}) to 200 {micro}m (50 cm{sup -1}) with increasing bias. The responsivity at long wavelengths was lower than expected. This can be explained by considering the observed Sb diffusion profile in a transition region between the blocking layer and active layer. BIB modeling is presented which indicates that this Sb concentration profile increases the electric field in the transition region and reduces the field in the blocking layer. The depletion region consists partially of the transition region between the active and blocking layer, which could contribute to the reduced long wavelength response. The field spike at the interface is the likely cause of breakdown at a lower bias than expected.

The authors make predictions for the kaon interferometry measurements in Au + Au collisions at the relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). A first order phase transition from a thermalized Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) to a gas of hadrons is assumed for the transport calculations. The fraction of kaons that are directly emitted from the phase boundary is considerably enhanced at large transverse momenta K{sub T} {approx} 1 GeV/c. In this kinematic region, the sensitivity of the R{sub out}/R{sub side} ratio to the QGP-properties is enlarged. The results of the 1-dimensional correlation analysis are presented. The extracted interferometry radii, depending on K{sub T}, are not unusually large and are strongly affected by finite momentum resolution effects.

Approximately 1000 published estimates of leaf area index (LAI) from nearly 400 unique field sites, covering the period 1932-2000, have been compiled into a single data set. LA1 is a key parameter for global and regional models of biosphere/atmosphere exchange of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other materials. It also plays an integral role in determining the energy balance of the land surface. This data set provides a benchmark of typical values and ranges of LA1 for a variety of biomes and land cover types, in support of model development and validation of satellite-derived remote sensing estimates of LA1 and other vegetation parameters. The LA1 data are linked to a bibliography of over 300 original source references. These historic LA1 data are mostly from natural and seminatural (managed) ecosystems, although some agricultural estimates are also included. Although methodologies for determining LA1 have changed over the decades, it is useful to represent the inconsistencies (e.g., in maximum value reported for a particular biome) that are actually found in the scientific literature. Needleleaf (coniferous) forests are by far the most commonly measured biome/land cover types in this compilation, with 22% of the measurements from temperate evergreen needleleaf forests, and boreal evergreen needleleaf …

This report documents assessments that address waste issues and life cycle impacts associated with the vehicle materials and vehicle technologies being developed under the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) program. We refer to these vehicles as 3XVs, referring to the PNGV goal that their fuel mileage be three times better than the baseline vehicle. To meet the program's fuel consumption goals, these vehicles substitute lightweight materials for heavier materials such as steel and iron that currently dominate the composition of vehicles, and use engineering and power system changes. Alternative power systems being developed through the PNGV program include batteries for hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cells. With respect to all these developments, it is imperative to learn what effects they will have on the environment before adopting these designs and technologies on a large-scale basis.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) defines several categories of mercury wastes, each of which has a defined technology or concentration-based treatment standard, or universal treatment standard (UTS). RCRA defines mercury hazardous wastes as any waste that has a TCLP value for mercury of 0.2 mg/L or greater. Three of these categories, all nonwastewaters, fall within the scope of this report on new technologies to treat mercury-contaminated wastes: wastes as elemental mercury; hazardous wastes with less than 260 mg/kg [parts per million (ppm)] mercury; and hazardous wastes with 260 ppm or more of mercury. While this report deals specifically with the last category--hazardous wastes with 260 ppm or more of mercury--the other two categories will be discussed briefly so that the full range of mercury treatment challenges can be understood. The treatment methods for these three categories are as follows: Waste as elemental mercury--RCRA identifies amalgamation (AMLGM) as the treatment standard for radioactive elemental mercury. However, radioactive mercury condensates from retorting (RMERC) processes also require amalgamation. In addition, incineration (IMERC) and RMERC processes that produce residues with >260 ppm of radioactive mercury contamination and that fail the RCRA toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) limit for mercury (0.20 mg/L) require …

X-ray nanotomography has developed into a powerful new tool for three-dimensional structural analysis. The scanning approach offers capabilities that are competitive with full-field imaging. Current and ultimate limitations of nanotomography are examined in light of recent work.

This project involved the purchase of two Compressed Natural Gas School Buses and two electric Ford Rangers to demonstrate their viability in a municipal setting. Operational and maintenance data were collected for analysis. In addition, an educational component was undertaken with middle school children. The children observed and calculated how electric vehicles could minimize pollutants through comparison to conventionally powered vehicles.

The flavor-dependent valence, sea quark and antiquark spin distributions can be determined separately from theoretical assumptions and experimental data. The authors have determined the valence distributions using the Bjorken sum rule and have extracted polarized sea distributions, assuming that the quarks and anti-quarks for each flavor are symmetric. Other experiments have been proposed which will allow them to completely break the SU(3) symmetry of the sea flavors. To create a physical model for the polarized gluons, they investigate the gluon spin asymmetry in a proton, A{sub G}(x,Q{sup 2}) = {Delta}G(x,Q{sup 2})/G(x,Q{sup 2}). By assuming that this is approximately Q{sup 2} invariant, they can completely determine the x-dependence of this asymmetry, which satisfies constituent counting rules and reproduces the basic results of the Bremsstrahlung model originated by Close and Sivers. This asymmetry can be combined with the measured unpolarized gluon density, G(x,Q{sup 2}) to provide a prediction for {Delta}G(x,Q{sup 2}). Existing and proposed experiments can test both the prediction of scale-invariance for A{sub G}(x,Q{sup 2}) and the nature of {Delta}G itself. These models can be discussed along with suggestions for specific experiments which can be performed at energies typical of HERA, RHIC and LHC to determine these polarized distributions.

Initial results obtained with the Neutral Particle Analyzer (NPA) diagnostic on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) are presented. Magnetohydrodynamic activity and reconnection events cause depletion of the deuterium energetic ion distribution created by neutral-beam injection. Adding High Harmonic Fast Wave Heating to neutral-beam-heated discharges results in the generation of an energetic ion tail above the beam injection energy. NPA measurements of the residual hydrogen ion temperature are in good agreement with those from recombination spectroscopy.

Fusion power plants could be part of a future portfolio of non-carbon dioxide producing energy supplies such as wind, solar, biomass, advanced fission power, and fossil energy with carbon dioxide sequestration. In this paper, we discuss key issues that could impact fusion energy deployment during the last half of this century. These include geographic issues such as resource availability, scale issues, energy storage requirements, and waste issues. The resource needs and waste production associated with fusion deployment in the U.S. should not pose serious problems. One important feature of fusion power is the fact that a fusion power plant should be locatable within most local or regional electrical distribution systems. For this reason, fusion power plants should not increase the burden of long distance power transmission to our distribution system. In contrast to fusion power, regional factors could play an important role in the deployment of renewable resources such as wind, solar and biomass or fossil energy with CO2 sequestration. We examine the role of these regional factors and their implications for fusion power deployment.

We have measured prompt {gamma} rays after thermal and resonant neutron capture in {sup 171}Yb. The {gamma} rays were measured with three high resolution ({approx}3 keV) and high efficiency (two {approx}80% Ge(HP) and one {approx}200% segmented Clover) detectors. We have obtained singles and two-fold coincidence spectra as function of neutron energy using the time-of-flight technique. Two-fold coincidences where the summed energy adds up to the neutron binding energy B{sub n} or to B{sub n} minus the energy of the first excited stated ({approx}79 keV) will be used to determine the multipolarity of the pygmy resonance in {sup 172}Yb. This pygmy resonance is a resonant structure in the radiative strength function around {approx}3 MeV in deformed rare earth nuclei [1]. The following goals were met: (1) We have shown the feasibility of prompt, high-resolution {gamma} spectroscopy at FP14 after thermal as well as resonant neutron capture. (2) Online analysis shows that sufficient statistics ({approx}7000 counts) are expected in each of the two relevant peaks in the summed-energy spectrum. Analysis of the experiment is in progress. It still remains to show that the multipolarity of the pygmy resonance can be determined experimentally from two-step cascade intensities.

Semiweekly newspaper from Levelland, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

The fundamentals of welding-induced phase transformations in metals and alloys are being investigated using a combination of advanced synchrotron based experimental methods and modem computational science tools. In-situ experimental methods have been developed using a spatially resolved x-ray probe to enable direct observations of phase transformations under the real non- isothermal conditions experienced during welding. These experimental techniques represent a major step forward in the understanding of phase transformations that occur during welding, and are now being used to aid in the development of models to predict microstructural evolution under the severe temperature gradients, high peak temperatures and rapid thermal fluctuations characteristic of welds. Titanium alloys, stainless steels and plain carbon steels are currently under investigation, and the phase transformation data being obtained here cannot be predicted or measured using conventional metallurgical approaches. Two principal synchrotron-based techniques have been developed and refined for in-situ investigations of phase transformation dynamics in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) and fusion zone (FZ) of welds: Spatially Resolved X-Ray Diffraction (SRXRD) and Time Resolved X-Ray Diffraction (TRXRD). Both techniques provide real-time observations of phases that exist during welding, and both have been developed at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL) using a high flux wiggler beam …

This is the final report on LDRD SI-funded research to determine the Effect of Magnetic Field Configurations on Spheromak Performance for the years FY2000-FY2001, during which a new set of bias magnetic field coils was used to change the vacuum magnetic field configuration of the SSPX spheromak at LLNL. The USDOE Office of Fusion Energy Science funded the routine operation of the SSPX facility during FY00 and FY01. A photo of the SSPX facility as it appeared in mid-FY01, appears in this report. The main distinctive feature of the spheromak is that currents in the plasma itself produce the confining toroidal magnetic field, rather than a complex set of external coils. The Sustained Spheromak Physics Experiment (SSPX) device was designed and built study how well the spheromak can contain plasma energy while dynamo processes in the plasma maintain the confining magnetic fields. The spheromak potentially offers advantages over other fusion reactor concepts because it is compact, has no field coils linking the vacuum vessel, and can be operated in a steady state with voltage applied to external electrodes. It is predicted that the ability of the SSPX to contain the plasma thermal energy will increase with increasing plasma electron temperature; …

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In the past three years, we have carried out a number of studies on the deformation and superplasticity of fine-structured materials. The goal was to develop an understanding on the deformation microstructure relationship in these advanced materials and to improve further their properties through microstructural control. In this report, we describe only some of the key results and observations from these studies.

P.L. 104-193 (the 1996 welfare reform legislation) made major changes to the Child Support Enforcement (CSE) program. Some of the changes include requiring states to increase the percentage of fathers identified, establishing an integrated, automated network linking all states to information about the location and assets of parents, and requiring states to implement more enforcement techniques to obtain collections from debtor parents. Additional legislative changes were made in 1997, 1998, and 1999, but not in 2000. This report describes several aspects of the revised CSE program and discusses three issues that probably will be reexamined by the 107th Congress — CSE financing, parental access by noncustodial parents, and distribution of support payments.