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It is well-known that for high dimensional data clustering, standard algorithms such as EM and the K-means are often trapped in local minimum. many initialization methods were proposed to tackle this problem, but with only limited success. In this paper they propose a new approach to resolve this problem by repeated dimension reductions such that K-means or EM are performed only in very low dimensions. Cluster membership is utilized as a bridge between the reduced dimensional sub-space and the original space, providing flexibility and ease of implementation. Clustering analysis performed on highly overlapped Gaussians, DNA gene expression profiles and internet newsgroups demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Boise Paper Solutions and the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) are cooperating to develop, demonstrate and place in continuous operation an advanced biomass gasification-based power generation system suitable for near-term commercial deployment in the Forest Products Industry. The system will be used in conjunction with, rather than in place of, existing wood waste fired boilers and flue gas cleanup systems. The novel system will include three advanced technological components based on GTI's RENUGAS{reg_sign} and three-stage stoker combustion technologies, and a gas turbine-based power generation concept developed in DOE's High Performance Power System (HIPPS) program. The system has, as its objective, to avoid the major hurdles of high-pressure gasification, i.e., high-pressure fuel feeding and ash removal, and hot gas cleaning that are typical for conventional IGCC power generation. It aims to also minimize capital intensity and technology risks. The system is intended to meet the immediate needs of the forest products industry for highly efficient and environmentally friendly electricity and steam generation systems utilizing existing wood waste as fuel resources. The overall objective of this project is to demonstrate the commercial applicability of an advanced biomass gasification-based power generation system at Boise Paper Solutions' pulp and paper mill located at DeRidder, Louisiana.

Natural gas and oil production from stripper wells also produces water contaminated with hydrocarbons, and in most locations, salts and trace elements. The hydrocarbons are not generally present in concentrations that allow the operator to economically recover these liquids. Produced liquids, (Stripper Gas Water) which are predominantly water, present the operator with two options; purify the water to acceptable levels of contaminates, or pay for the disposal of the water. The project scope involves testing SynCoal as a sorbent to reduce the levels of contamination in stripper gas well produced water to a level that the water can be put to a productive use. Produced water is to be filtered with SynCoal, a processed sub-bituminous coal. It is expected that the surface area of and in the SynCoal would sorb the hydrocarbons and other contaminates and the effluent would be usable for agricultural purposes. Test plan anticipates using two well locations described as being disparate in the level and type of contaminates present. The loading capacity and the rate of loading for the sorbent should be quantified in field testing situations which include unregulated and widely varying liquid flow rates. This will require significant flexibility in the initial stages of …

A271 ADVANCED TOKAMAK OPERATION USING THE DIII-D PLASMA CONTROL SYSTEM. The principal focus of experimental operations in the DIII-D tokamak is the advanced tokamak (AT) regime to achieve, which requires highly integrated and flexible plasma control. In a high performance advanced tokamak, accurate regulation of the plasma boundary, internal profiles, pumping, fueling, and heating must be well coordinated with MHD control action to stabilize such instabilities as tearing modes and resistive wall modes. Sophisticated monitors of the operational regime must provide detection of off-normal conditions and trigger appropriate safety responses with acceptable levels of reliability. Many of these capabilities are presently implemented in the DIII-D plasma control system (PCS), and are now in frequent or routine operational use. The present work describes recent development, implementation, and operational experience with AT regime control elements for equilibrium control, MHD suppression, and off-normal event detection and response.

Quarterly update providing information on environmental regulations for small businesses and local governments in Texas.

This is the Spanish version of a tri-fold brochure that provides summertime energy- and money-saving tips for homeowners.

This is the Spanish version of a tri-fold brochure that provides wintertime energy- and money-saving tips for homeowners.

ALEGRA is an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian finite element code that emphasizes large distortion and shock propagation. This document describes the user input language for the code.

Official publication of the Clean Cities Network and the Alternative Fuels Data Center featuring LPG Around the World, AFVs in National Parks, and Federal and State news.

This report is a descriptive journey of the AmeriFlux Measurement Network: Science Team Coordination

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This report summarizes the work in 2001 by the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), under contract to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This work focused on identifying and removing the regulatory and institutional barriers that keep the full economic value of distributed resources from being realized. The following five reports present the work details: (1) Accommodating Distributed Resources in Wholesale Markets, NREL/SR-560-32497; (2) Distributed Resource Distribution Credit Pilot Programs - Revealing the Value to Consumers and Vendors, NREL/SR-560-32499; (3) Distributed Resources and Electric System Reliability, NREL/SR-560-32498; (4) Distribution System Cost Methodologies for Distributed Generation, NREL/SR-560-32500; (5) Distribution System Cost Methodologies for Distributed Generation Appendices, NREL/SR. Visit www.eren.doe.gov/distributedpower for more information about RAP contract activity to establish environmental output air emissions standards for small-scale electricity generation (to be published as a future NREL subcontract report).

BP Solar first started investigative work on CdTe photovoltaics in 1986. The module product name chosen for the CdTe devices is Apollo. The deposition method chosen was electrochemical deposition due to its simplicity and good control of stoichiometric composition. The window layer used is CdS, produced from a chemical-bath deposition. Initial work focused on increasing photovoltaic cell size from a few mm2 to 900 cm2. At BP Solar's Fairfield plant, work is focused on increasing semiconductor deposition to 1 m2. The primary objective of this subcontract is to establish the conditions required for the efficient plating of CdS/CdTe on large-area, transparent conducting tin-oxide-coated glass superstrate. The initial phase concentrates on superstrate sizes up to 0.55 m2. Later phases will include work on 0.94 m2 superstrates. The tasks in this subcontract have been split into four main categories: (1) CdS and CdTe film studies; (2) Enhanced laser processing; (3) Outdoor testing program for the Apollo module; and (4) Production waste abatement and closed loop study.

Wireless communication plays an increasing role in military, industrial, public safety, and academic computer networks. Although in general, radio transmitters are not currently permitted in secured areas at Sandia, wireless communications would open new opportunities, allowing mobile and pervasive user access. Without wireless communications, we must live in a ''non-mainstream'' world of fixed, wired networks, where it becomes ever more difficult to attract and retain the best professionals. This report provides a review of the current state of wireless communications, which direction wireless technology is heading, and where wireless technology could be employed at Sandia. A list of recommendations on harnessing the power of wireless communications is provided to aid in building a state-of-the-art communication environment for the 21st century at Sandia.

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and budget reconciliation bills. This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement information provided by the House and Senate Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Subcommittees.

Guidance issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This publication has been superseded by GAO-09-680G, Assessing the Reliability of Computer-Processed Data, July 2009. GAO published a guide to assist its auditing staff in ensuring the reliability of computer-based data. The guidance provides a flexible, risk-based framework for data reliability assessments that can be geared to the specific circumstances of each engagement. The framework is built on (1) making use of all existing information about the data; (2) performing at least a minimal level of data testing; (3) doing only the amount of work necessary to determine whether the data are reliable enough for GAO's purposes; (4) maximizing professional judgment; and (5) bringing the appropriate people, including management, to the table at key decision points."

Using the 100 office-building Building Assessment Survey and Evaluation (BASE) Study dataset, we performed multivariate logistic regression analyses to quantify the associations between indoor minus outdoor CO{sub 2} (dCO{sub 2}) concentrations and mucous membrane (MM) and lower respiratory system (Lresp) Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) symptoms, adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, presence of carpet in workspace, thermal exposure, relative humidity, and a marker for entrained automobile exhaust. Using principal components analysis we identified a number of possible sources of 73 measured volatile organic compounds in the office buildings, and assessed the impact of these VOCs on the probability of presenting the SBS symptoms. Additionally we included analysis adjusting for the risks for predisposition of having SBS symptoms associated with the allergic, asthmatic, and environmentally sensitive subpopulations within the office buildings. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for statistically significant, dose-dependant associations (p<0.05) for dry eyes, sore throat, nose/sinus congestion, and wheeze symptoms with 100-ppm increases in dCO{sub 2} ranged from 1.1 to 1.2. These results suggest that increases in the ventilation rates per person among typical office buildings will, on average significantly reduce the prevalence of several SBS symptoms, up to 80%, even when these buildings meet the existing ASHRAE ventilation standards …

This paper presents a new method for calculating the burnup of nuclear reactor fuel, the MCWO-MS method, and describes its application to an experiment currently in progress to assess the suitability for use in light-water reactors of Mixed-OXide (MOX) fuel that contains plutonium derived from excess nuclear weapons material. To demonstrate that the available experience base with Reactor-Grade Mixed uranium-plutonium OXide (RGMOX) can be applied to Weapons-Grade (WG)-MOX in light water reactors, and to support potential licensing of MOX fuel made from weapons-grade plutonium and depleted uranium for use in United States reactors, an experiment containing WG-MOX fuel is being irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Fuel burnup is an important parameter needed for fuel performance evaluation. For the irradiated MOX fuel’s Post-Irradiation Examination, the 148Nd method is used to measure the burnup. The fission product 148Nd is an ideal burnup indicator, when appropriate correction factors are applied. In the ATR test environment, the spectrum-dependent and burnup-dependent correction factors (see Section 5 for detailed discussion) can be substantial in high fuel burnup. The validated Monte Carlo depletion tool (MCWO) used in this study can provide a burnup-dependent correction factor for the …

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining whether the Telecommunication Infrastructure Fund Board (Agency) is ensuring that state telecommunications grant funds are being spent in an effective and efficient manner.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to the higher education authorities established by the Town of Westlake (Westlake) and the City of Cameron (Cameron), operating within the provisions of Chapter 53 of the Texas Education Code and of the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act, and issuing tax-exempt revenue bonds to be used for educational or student housing facilities.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining whether the procedures used to award and monitor contracts for the Child Care Program ensure that contractors provide agreed-upon services at reasonable prices, and that funds are spent in accordance with state and federal requirements.

This consumer fact sheet provides an overview of battery power for residential solar electric systems, including sizing, estimating costs, purchasing, and performing maintenance.

This document describes some specifics of the algorithm for best estimate evaluation of radiation fluxes at Southern Great Plains (SGP) Central Facility (CF). It uses the data available from the three co-located surface radiometer platforms at the SGP CF to automatically determine the best estimate of the irradiance measurements available. The Best Estimate Flux (BEFlux) value-added procedure (VAP) was previously named Best Estimate ShortWave (BESW) VAP, which included all of the broadband and spectral shortwave (SW) measurements for the SGP CF. In BESW, multiple measurements of the same quantities were handled simply by designating one as the primary measurement and using all others to merely fill in any gaps. Thus, this “BESW” is better termed “most continuous,” since no additional quality assessment was applied. We modified the algorithm in BESW to use the average of the closest two measurements as the best estimate when possible, if these measurements pass all quality assessment criteria. Furthermore, we included longwave (LW) fields in the best estimate evaluation to include all major components of the surface radiative energy budget, and renamed the VAP to Best Estimate Flux (BEFLUX1LONG).