This report summarizes the work done during the third quarter of the project. Effort was directed in two areas: (1) Further development of the model on the role of connectivity on ionic conductivity of porous bodies, including the role of grain boundaries, and its relationship to cathode polarization. Included indirectly through the grain boundary effect is the effect of space charge. (2) Synthesis of LSC + SDC composite cathode powders by combustion synthesis. (3) Fabrication and testing of anode-supported single cells made using synthesized LSC + ScDC composite cathodes.

Daily newspaper from Altus, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

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

This paper presents a series of modeling investigations to characterize percolation patterns in the unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, a proposed underground repository site for storing high-level radioactive waste. The investigations are conducted using a modeling approach that integrates a wide variety of moisture, pneumatic, thermal, and isotopic geochemical field data into a comprehensive three-dimensional numerical model through model calibration. This integrated modeling approach, based on a dual-continuum formulation, takes into account the coupled processes of fluid and heat flow and chemical isotopic transport in Yucca Mountain's highly heterogeneous, unsaturated fractured tuffs. In particular, the model results are examined against different types of field-measured data and used to evaluate different hydrogeological conceptual models and their effects on flow patterns in the unsaturated zone. The objective of this work to provide understanding of percolation patterns and flow behavior through the unsaturated zone, which is a crucial issue in assessing repository performance.

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

The effects of potential microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) on candidate packaging materials for nuclear waste containment are being assessed. Coupons of Alloy 22, the outer barrier candidate for waste packaging, were exposed to a simulated, saturated repository environment (or microcosm) consisting of crushed rock (tuff) from the Yucca Mountain repository site and a continual flow of simulated groundwater for periods up to five years at room temperature and 30 C. Coupons were incubated with YM tuff under both sterile and non-sterile conditions. Surfacial analysis by scanning electron microscopy of the biotically-incubated coupons show development of both submicron-sized pinholes and pores; these features were not present on either sterile or untreated control coupons. Room temperature, biotically-incubated coupons show a wide distribution of pores covering the coupon surface, while coupons incubated at 30 C show the pores restricted to polishing ridges.

The study of processes containing {tau} leptons in the final state will play an important role at Tevatron Run II. Such final states will be relevant both for electroweak studies and measurements as well as in searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. The present paper discusses the physics opportunities and challenges related to the implementation of new set of triggers able to select events containing tau candidates in the final state. They illustrate, in particular, the physics capabilities for a variety of new physics scenarios such as supersymmetry (SUSY), SUSY with Rp-parity violation, with Bilinear parity violation or models with the violation of lepton flavor. Finally, they present the first Run II results obtained using some of the described tau triggers.

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Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "We are reporting to Congress on whether Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) data can help transportation stakeholders understand how states' costs to build, reconstruct, and maintain federally financed highways, roads, and bridges (termed "constructing highways" for this report) compare. Durig our review, we became aware of significant issues regarding the quality of the data that FHWA collects and reports, a topic also discussed in this report."

The results of a detailed analysis performed on the data obtained in the {sup 248}Cm({sup 48}Ca,4n){sup 292}116 reaction is presented. This analysis is independent of the original data analysis performed in Dubna in which three separate decay chains were found. Each decay chain began with an evaporation residue followed by three {alpha} decays and ended in a spontaneous fission event, all correlated in time and position. The analysis presented confirms that the three events are present in the data. A summary of the three events will be given as well as a description of the analysis performed.

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree.

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The CDF experiment at the Tevatron has used p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV to perform electroweak physics measurements. A program of precision electroweak tests of SM started measuring W and Z bosons cross section using different leptonic final states, evaluating dielectron Forward-Backward Asymmetry A{sub FB} and di-boson cross section production.

Daily newspaper from Chickasha, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Concert presented at the UNT College of Music Winspear Performance Hall.

This study proposes to deliver fundamental experimental data on the melt and phase diagrams of methane in an extended region of high pressures and temperatures. This study targets three major scientific areas: the constraint of planetary models for the outer-giant planets, discovery of exotic phases and insights for many-body intermolecular interactions of non-hard sphere and non-spherical molecules for which no reliable theory exists for these models as yet. In this study, we will adopt in situ at high pressures and temperatures by using both conventional and coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy applied to laser- or ohmic heated diamond-anvil cells. Structures of methane will be characterized by using intense, third-generation synchrotron x-ray diffraction.

This report discusses about the Homeland Security on Protecting Airliners from Terrorist Missiles where Recent events have focused attention on the threat that terrorists with shoulder fired surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) pose to commercial airliners. Most believe that no single solution exists to effectively mitigate this threat.

Numerical simulations represent a unique predictive tool for developing a detailed understanding of three-dimensional flow fields and associated concentration distributions from releases in complex urban settings (Britter and Hanna 2003). The accurate and timely prediction of the atmospheric dispersion of hazardous materials in densely populated urban areas is a critical homeland and national security need for emergency preparedness, risk assessment, and vulnerability studies. The main challenges in high-fidelity numerical modeling of urban dispersion are the accurate prediction of peak concentrations, spatial extent and temporal evolution of harmful levels of hazardous materials, and the incorporation of detailed structural geometries. Current computational tools do not include all the necessary elements to accurately represent hazardous release events in complex urban settings embedded in high-resolution terrain. Nor do they possess the computational efficiency required for many emergency response and event reconstruction applications. We are developing a new integrated urban dispersion modeling capability, able to efficiently predict dispersion in diverse urban environments for a wide range of atmospheric conditions, temporal and spatial scales, and release event scenarios. This new computational fluid dynamics capability includes adaptive mesh refinement and it can simultaneously resolve individual buildings and high-resolution terrain (including important vegetative and land-use features), treat complex …

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Solid-Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) stacks respond quickly to changes in load and exhibit high part- and full-load efficiencies due to its rapid electrochemistry. However, this is not true for the thermal, mechanical, and chemical balance-of-plant subsystem (BOPS), where load-following time constants are, typically, several orders of magnitude higher. This dichotomy diminishes the reliability and performance of the electrode with increasing demand of load. Because these unwanted phenomena are not well understood, the manufacturers of SOFC use conservative schemes (such as, delayed load-following to compensate for slow BOPS response or expensive inductor filtering) to control stack responses to load variations. This limits the applicability of SOFC systems for load-varying stationary and transportation applications from a cost standpoint. Thus, a need exists for the synthesis of component- and system-level models of SOFC power-conditioning systems and the development of methodologies for investigating the system-interaction issues (which reduce the lifetime and efficiency of a SOFC) and optimizing the responses of each subsystem, leading to optimal designs of power-conditioning electronics and optimal control strategies, which mitigate the electrical-feedback effects. Equally important are ''multiresolution'' finite-element modeling and simulation studies, which can predict the impact of changes in system-level variables (e.g., current ripple and load-transients) on the …

OAK-B135 This NERI project, originally started as the Secure Transportable Autonomous Light Water Reactor (STAR-LW) and currently known as the International Reactor Innovative and Secure (IRIS) project, had the objective of investigating a novel type of water-cooled reactor to satisfy the Generation IV goals: fuel cycle sustainability, enhanced reliability and safety, and improved economics. The research objectives over the three-year (1999-2002) program were as follows: First year: Assess various design alternatives and establish main characteristics of a point design; Second year: Perform feasibility and engineering assessment of the selected design solutions; Third year: Complete reactor design and performance evaluation, including cost assessment These objectives were fully attained and actually they served to launch IRIS as a full fledged project for eventual commercial deployment. The program did not terminate in 2002 at the end of the NERI program, and has just entered in its fifth year. This has been made possible by the IRIS project participants which have grown from the original four member, two-countries team to the current twenty members, nine countries consortium. All the consortium members work under their own funding and it is estimated that the value of their in-kind contributions over the life of the project has …

Over 520 different amino acid substitution variants have been previously identified in the systematic screening of 91 human DNA repair genes for sequence variation. Two algorithms were employed to predict the impact of these amino acid substitutions on protein activity. Sorting Intolerant From Tolerant (SIFT) classified 226 of 508 variants (44%) as ''Intolerant''. Polymorphism Phenotyping (PolyPhen) classed 165 of 489 amino acid substitutions (34%) as ''Probably or Possibly Damaging''. Another 9-15% of the variants were classed as ''Potentially Intolerant or Damaging''. The results from the two algorithms are highly associated, with concordance in predicted impact observed for {approx}62% of the variants. Twenty one to thirty one percent of the variant proteins are predicted to exhibit reduced activity by both algorithms. These variants occur at slightly lower individual allele frequency than do the variants classified as ''Tolerant'' or ''Benign''. Both algorithms correctly predicted the impact of 26 functionally characterized amino acid substitutions in the APE1 protein on biochemical activity, with one exception. It is concluded that a substantial fraction of the missense variants observed in the general human population are functionally relevant. These variants are expected to be the molecular genetic and biochemical basis for the associations of reduced DNA repair …

During the course of a ventilation survey, both airflow quantity and frictional pressure losses are measured and quantified. The measurement of airflow has been extensively studied as the vast majority of ventilation standards/regulations are tied to airflow quantity or velocity. However, during the conduct of a ventilation survey, measurement of airflow only represents half of the necessary parameters required to directly calculate the airway resistance. The measurement of frictional pressure loss is an often misunderstood and misapplied part of the ventilation survey. This paper compares the two basic methods of frictional pressure drop measurements; the barometer and the gauge and tube. Personal experiences with each method will be detailed along with the authors' opinions regarding the applicability and conditions favoring each method.

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