The Minimum Degree algorithm, one of the classical algorithms of sparse matrix computations, is widely used to order graphs to reduce the work and storage needed to solve sparse systems of linear equations. There has been extensive research involving practical implementations of this algorithm over the past two decades. However, little has been done to establish theoretical bounds on the computational complexity of these implementations. We study the Minimum Degree algorithm, and prove time complexity bounds for its widely used variants.

We demonstrate the application code ''rap'' which is part of the ''Overture'' library. A CAD geometry imported from an IGES file is first cleaned up and simplified to suit the needs of mesh generation. Thereafter, the topology of the model is computed and a water-tight surface triangulation is created on the CAD surface. This triangulation is used to speed up the projection of points onto the CAD surface during the generation of overlapping surface grids. From each surface grid, volume grids are grown into the domain using a hyperbolic marching procedure. The final step is to fill any remaining parts of the interior with background meshes.

We consider beams which are described by a 4D transverse distribution f(x, y, x', y'), where x' {triple_bond} p{sub x}/p{sub z} and z is the axial coordinate. A two-slit scanner is commonly employed to measure, over a sequence of shots, a 2D projection of such a beam's phase space, e.g., f(x, x'). Another scanner might yield f(y, y') or, using crossed slits, f(x, y). A small set of such 2D scans does not uniquely specify f(x, y, x', y'). We have developed ''tomographic'' techniques to synthesize a ''reasonable'' set of particles in a 4D phase space having 2D densities consistent with the experimental data. These techniques are described in a separate document [A. Friedman, et. al., submitted to Phys. Rev. ST-AB, 2002]. Here we briefly summarize one method and describe progress in validating it, using simulations of the High Current Experiment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

The preparation and characterization of energetic composite materials containing nanometer-sized constituents is currently a very active and exciting area of research at laboratories around the world. Some of these efforts have produced materials that have shown very unique and important properties relative to traditional energetic materials. We have previously reported on the use of sol-gel chemical methods to prepare energetic nanocomposites. Primarily we reported on the sol-gel method to synthesize nanometer-sized ferric oxide that was combined with aluminum fuel to make pyrotechnic nanocomposites. Since then we have developed a synthetic approach that allows for the preparation of hybrid inorganic/organic energetic nanocomposites. This material has been characterized by thermal methods, energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM), N, adsorption/desorption methods, and Fourier-Transform (FT-IR) spectroscopy, results of which will be discussed. According to these characterization methods the organic polymer phase fills the nanopores of the composite material, providing superb mixing of the component phases in the energetic nanocomposite. The EFTEM results provide a convenient and effective way to evaluate the intimacy of mixing between these component phases. The safe handling and preparation of energetic nanocomposites is of paramount importance to this research and we will report on studies performed to ensure such.

We have evaluated a collimator-less gamma-ray imaging system, which is based on thin layers of double-sided strip HPGe detectors. The position of individual gamma-ray interactions will be deduced by the strip addresses and the Ge layers which fired. Therefore, high bandwidth pulse processing is not required as in thick Ge detectors. While the drawback of such a device is the increased number of electronics channels to be read out and processed, there are several advantages, which are particularly important for remote applications: the operational voltage can be greatly reduced to fully deplete the detector and no high bandwidth signal processing electronics is required to determine positions. Only a charge sensitive preamplifier, a slow pulse shaping amplifier, and a fast discriminator are required on a per channel basis in order to determine photon energy and interaction position in three dimensions. Therefore, the power consumption and circuit board real estate can be minimized. More importantly, since the high bandwidth signal shapes are not used to determine the depth position, lower energy signals can be processed. The processing of these lower energy signals increases the efficiency for the recovery of small angle scattering. Currently, we are studying systems consisting of up to ten …

In radiation shielding applications we need photon and electron data, as well as computer codes that utilize these data, in order to predict results inexpensively and safely. In this paper we will first cover the current status of available photon and electron data that have only recently been adopted for inclusion in ENDF/B-VI, with emphasis on the improved detail that is included in these data bases. Next we will cover the availability of these data bases and computer codes that use them.

This paper presents the physics design of the DARHT-II downstream system, which consists of a diagnostic beam stop, a fast, high-precision kicker system and the x-ray converter target assembly. The beamline configuration, the transverse resistive wall instability and the ion hose instability modeling are presented. They also discuss elimination of spot size dilution during kicker switching and implementation of the foil-barrier scheme to minimize the backstreaming ion focusing effects. Finally, they present the target converter's configuration, and the simulated DARHT-II x-ray spot sizes and doses. Some experimental results, which support the physics design, are also presented.

Alloy 22 (UNS N06022) was selected to fabricate the corrosion resistant outer barrier of a two-layer waste package container for nuclear waste at the designated repository site in Yucca Mountain in Nevada (USA). A testing program is underway to characterize and quantify three main modes of corrosion that may occur at the site. Current results show that the containers would perform well under general corrosion, localized corrosion and environmentally assisted cracking (EAC). For example, the general corrosion rate is expected to be below 100 nm/year and the container is predicted to be outside the range of potential for localized corrosion and environmentally assisted cracking.

Low-defect multilayer coatings are required to fabricate mask blanks for Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUVL). The mask blanks consist of high reflectance E W multilayers on low thermal expansion substrates. A defect density of 0.0025 printable defects/cm{sup 2} for both the mask substrate and the multilayer is required to provide a mask blank yield of 60%. Current low defect multilayer coating technology allows repeated coating-added defect levels of 0.05/cm{sup 2} for defects greater than 90 nm polystyrene latex sphere (PSL) equivalent size for lots of 20 substrates. Extended clean operation of the coating system at levels below 0.08/cm{sup 2} for 3 months of operation has also been achieved. Two substrates with zero added defects in the quality area have been fabricated, providing an existence proof that ultra low defect coatings are possible. Increasing the ion source-to-target distance from 410 to 560 mm to reduce undesired coating of the ion source caused the defect density to increase to 0.2/cm{sup 2}. Deposition and etching diagnostic witness substrates and deposition pinhole cameras showed a much higher level of ion beam spillover (ions missing the sputter target) than expected. Future work will quantify beam spillover, and test designs to reduce spillover, if it is confirmed …

Tumor marker concentrations in serum provide useful information regarding clinical stage and prognosis of cancer and can thus be used for presymptomatic diagnostic purposes. Currently, detection and identification of soluble analytes in biological fluids is conducted by methods including bioassays, ELISA, PCR, DNA chip or strip tests. While these technologies are generally sensitive and specific, they are time consuming, labor intensive and cannot be multiplexed. Our goal is to develop a simple, point-of-care, portable, liquid array-based immunoassay device capable of simultaneous detection of a variety of cancer markers. Here we describe the development of assays for the detection of Serum Prostate Specific Antigen, and Ovalbumin from a single sample. The multiplexed immunoassays utilize polystyrene microbeads. The beads are imbedded with precise ratios of red and orange fluorescent dyes yielding an array of 100 beads, each with a unique spectral address (Figure 1). Each bead can be coated with capture antibodies specific for a given antigen. After antigen capture, secondary antibodies sandwich the bound antigen and are indirectly labeled by the fluorescent reporter phycoerythrin (PE). Each optically encoded and fluorescently-labeled microbead is then individually interrogated. A red laser excites the dye molecules imbedded inside the bead and classifies the bead to …

The concept of using Fresnel optics as part of power beaming, astronomy or sail systems has been suggested by several authors. The primary issues for large Fresnel optics are the difficulties in fabricating these structures and deploying them in space and for astronomy missions the extremely narrow frequency range of these optics. In proposals where the telescope is used to transmit narrow frequency laser power, the narrow bandwidth has not been an issue. In applications where the optic is to be used as part of a telescope, only around 10{sup -5} to limited frequency response of a Fresnel optic is addressed by the use of a corrective optic that will broaden the frequency response of the telescope by three or four orders of magnitude. This broadening will dramatically increase the optical power capabilities of the system and will allow some spectroscopy studies over a limited range. Both the fabrication of Fresnel optics as large as five meters and the use of corrector optics for telescopes have been demonstrated at LLNL. For solar and laser sail missions the use of Fresnel amplitude zone plates made of very thin sail material is also discussed.

A solid-state modulator with very fast rise and fall times, pulse width agility, and multi-pulse burst and intra-pulse amplitude adjustment capability for use with high speed electron beam kickers has been designed and tested at LLNL. The modulator uses multiple solid-state modules stacked in an inductive-adder configuration. Amplitude adjustment is provided by controlling individual modules in the adder, and is used to compensate for transverse e-beam motion as well as the dynamic response and beam-induced steering effects associated with the kicker structure. A control algorithm calculates a voltage based on measured e-beam displacement and adjusts the modulator to regulate beam centroid position. This paper presents design details of amplitude control along with measured performance data from kicker operation on the ETA-II accelerator at LLNL.

Significant progress has been made on addressing critical issues for inertial fusion energy (IFE) chambers for heavy-ion, laser and Z-pinch drivers. A variety of chamber concepts are being investigated including dry-wall (currently favored for laser IFE), wetted-wall (applicable to both laser and ion drivers), and thick-liquid-wall favored by heavy ion and z-pinch drivers. Recent progress and remaining challenges in developing IFE chambers are reviewed.

We are working on developing an Integrated Systems Analysis Environment (ISAE) for application to analysis and optimization of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). ISAE is based on the concept of Co-simulation, which allows the modeling of complex systems with extreme flexibility. Co-simulation allows the development of virtual ITS systems that can be analyzed and optimized as an overall integrated system. The virtual ITS system is defined by selecting different components from a component library. System component models can be written in multiple programming languages running on different computer platforms. At the same time, ISAE provides full protection for proprietary models. Co-simulation is a cost-effective alternative to competing methodologies, such as developing a translator or selecting a single programming language for all system components. Co-simulation has been recently demonstrated using an example of an automotive system. The demonstration was successfully performed. The paper describes plans on how to implement ISAE and Co-simulation to ITS, and the great advantages that this implementation would represent.

Finite element modeling has been applied to study deformation of living cells in Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and particularly Recognition Force Microscopy (RFM). The abstract mechanical problem of interest is the response to RFM point loads of an incompressible medium enclosed in a fluid membrane. Cells are soft systems, susceptible to large deformations in the course of an RFM measurement. Often the local properties such as receptor anchoring forces, the reason for the measurement, are obscured by the response of the cell as a whole. Modeling can deconvolute these effects. This facilitates experimental efforts to have reproducible measurements of mechanical and chemical properties at specific kinds of receptor sites on the membrane of a living cell. In this article we briefly review the RFM technique for cells and the problems it poses, and then report on recent progress in modeling the deformation of cells by a point load.

Fluorescing surface defects that led to damage upon 351-nm laser exposure below 7 J/cm{sup 2} (3-11s) in DKDP optics were reported in these proceedings by this group a year ago. Subsequent laser damage experiments have correlated the density of these damage precursors to single-point diamond finishing conditions. Every diamond-finishing schedule contains brittle-mode cutting and ductile-mode cutting in a taper-down sequence. Finishing experiments have traced the occurrence of these defects to insufficient ductile-mode removal of subsurface damage incurred during prior brittle-mode cutting. Additionally, a correlation between defect fluorescence, laser-induced damage, and defect morphology has been established. Laser-induced damage tests also suggest a correlation between growth method and damage probability. Current experiments indicate that damage-prone defects can be minimized with the proper choice of diamond finishing conditions.

We explore several supersymmetric alternatives to explain predictions for the cosmic ray positron excess. Light sneutrino or neutralino LSP's, and a fine-tuned model designed to provide a delta-function input, can give adequate statistical descriptions of the reported HEAT data if non-thermal production of the relic cold dark matter density dominates and/or if"boost factors" (that could originate in uncertainties from propagation or local density fluctuations) to increase the size of the signal are included. All the descriptions can be tested at the Tevatron or LHC, and some in other WIMP detecting experiments.

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Combined hyperlipidemia (CHL) is a common disorder of lipidmetabolism that leads to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Thelipid profile of CHL is characterised by high levels of atherogeniclipoproteins and low levels of high-density-lipoprotein-cholesterol.Apolipoprotein (APO) A5 is a newly discovered gene involved in lipidmetabolism located within 30kbp of the APOA1/C3/A4 gene cluster. Previousstudies have indicated that sequence variants in this cluster areassociated with increased plasma lipid levels. To establish whethervariation at the APOA5 gene contributes to the transmission of CHL, weperformed linkage and linkage disequilibrium (LD) tests on a large cohortof families (n=128) with familial CHL (FCHL). The linkage data producedevidence for linkage of the APOA1/C3/A4/A5 genomic interval to FCHL (NPL= 1.7, P = 0.042). The LD studies substantiated these data. Twoindependent rare alleles, APOA5c.56G and APOC3c.386G of this gene clusterwere over-transmitted in FCHL (P = 0.004 and 0.007, respectively), andthis was associated with a reduced transmission of the most commonAPOA1/C3/A4/A5 haplotype (frequency 0.4425) to affected subjects (P =0.013). The APOA5c.56G allele was associated with increased plasmatriglyceride levels in FCHL probands, whereas the second, andindependent, APOC3c.386G allele was associated with increased plasmatriglyceride levels in FCHL pedigree founders. Thus, this allele (or anallele in LD) may mark a quantitative trait associated …

Several DOE sites have been contaminated by transuranicradionuclide (TRU) discharges including neptunium and plutonium. Theirinteraction with the surrounding geological media can affect thetransport and remediation of these radionuclides in the environment.Manganese based minerals, present as minor phases in the vadose zone, canpreferentially sequester TRU over other minerals present in largerquantities. The objective of this project is to understand theinteractions between plutonium and neptunium and manganese oxyhydroxideminerals to predict potential hazards they represent to the environment,as well as to provide important scientific information for the design ofeffective remediation strategies for contaminated DOE sites.

Apolipoprotein A5 (APOA5) is a newly described member of theapolipoprotein gene family whose initial discovery arose from comparativesequence analysis of the mammalian APOA1/C3/A4 gene cluster. Functionalstudies in mice indicated that alteration in the level of APOA5significantly impacted plasma triglyceride concentrations. Miceover-expressing human APOA5 displayed significantly reducedtriglycerides, while mice lacking apoA5 had a large increase in thislipid parameter. Studies in humans have also suggested an important rolefor APOA5 in determining plasma triglyceride concentrations. In theseexperiments, polymorphisms in the human gene were found to define severalcommon haplotypes that were associated with significant changes intriglyceride concentrations in multiple populations. Several separateclinical studies have provided consistent and strong support for theeffect with 24 percent of Caucasians, 35 percent of African-Americans and53 percent of Hispanics carrying APOA5 haplotypes associated withincreased plasma triglyceride levels. In summary, APOA5 represents anewly discovered gene involved in triglyceride metabolism in both humansand mice whose mechanism of action remains to be deciphered.

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Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N layers grown under N-rich and Ga-rich conditions were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL). Despite a high density of threading dislocations ({approx}10{sup 10} cm{sup -2}) these layers had high PL quantum efficiencies. Both, TEM and PL studies showed significant differences between layers grown under N- and Ga-rich conditions. The results indicate that edge dislocations do contribute to nonradiative recombination in Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}N layers.

This paper discusses the creep behavior of example Sn-rich solders that have become candidates for use in Pb-free solder joints. The specific solders discussed are Sn-3.5Ag, Sn-3Ag-0.5Cu, Sn-0.7Cu and Sn-10In-3.1Ag, used in thin joints between Cu and Ni-Au metallized pads.