The self-assembly of tetradecylamine (C14) and of mixtures of tetradecyl and octadecylamine (C18) molecules from chloroform solutions on mica has been studied using atomic force microscopy(AFM). For pure components self-assembly proceeds more slowly for C14 than for C18. In both cases after equilibrium is reached islands of tilted molecules cover a similar fraction of the surface. Images of films formed by mixtures of molecules acquired before equilibrium is reached (short ripening time at room temperature) show only islands with the height corresponding to C18 with many pores. After a long ripening time, when equilibrium is reached, islands of segregated pure components are formed.

We show that the solid lower bound of about 10{sup -44} cm{sup 2} is obtained for the cross section between the supersymmetric dark matter and nucleon in a theory in which the supersymmetric fine-tuning problem is solved without extending the Higgs sector at the weak scale. This bound arises because of relatively small superparticle masses and a fortunate correlation that the two dominant diagrams for the dark matter detection always interfere constructively if the constraint from the b {yields} s{gamma} measurements is obeyed. It is, therefore, quite promising in the present scenario that the supersymmetric dark matter is discovered before the LHC, assuming that the dark matter is the lightest supersymmetric particle.

A shot automation framework has been developed and deployed during the past year to automate shots performed on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) using the Integrated Computer Control System This framework automates a 4-8 hour shot sequence, that includes inputting shot goals from a physics model, set up of the laser and diagnostics, automatic alignment of laser beams and verification of status. This sequence consists of set of preparatory verification shots, leading to amplified system shots using a 4-minute countdown, triggering during the last 2 seconds using a high-precision timing system, followed by post-shot analysis and archiving. The framework provides for a flexible, model-based execution driven of scriptable automation called macro steps. The framework is driven by high-level shot director software that provides a restricted set of shot life cycle state transitions to 25 collaboration supervisors that automate 8-laser beams (bundles) and a common set of shared resources. Each collaboration supervisor commands approximately 10 subsystem shot supervisors that perform automated control and status verification. Collaboration supervisors translate shot life cycle state commands from the shot director into sequences of ''macro steps'' to be distributed to each of its shot supervisors. Each Shot supervisor maintains order of macro steps for each …

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a stadium-sized facility under construction that will contain a 192-beam, 1.8-Megajoule, 500-Terawatt, ultraviolet laser system together with a 10-meter diameter target chamber with room for multiple experimental diagnostics. NIF will be the world's largest and most energetic laser experimental system, providing a scientific center to study inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and matter at extreme energy densities and pressures. NIF's laser beams are designed to compress fusion targets to conditions required for thermonuclear burn, liberating more energy than required to initiate the fusion reactions. NIF is comprised of 24 independent bundles of 8 beams each using laser hardware that is modularized into line replaceable units such as optical assemblies, amplifiers, and multi-function sensor packages containing thousands of adjusting motors and diagnostic points. NIF is operated by the Integrated Computer Control System (ICCS) in an architecture partitioned by bundle and distributed among over 750 front-end processors and supervisory servers. Bundle control system partitions are replicated and commissioned by configuring the control database for each new bundle. NIF's automated control subsystems are built from a common object-oriented software framework based on CORBA distribution that deploys the software across the computer network …

The bacterium Caulobacter crescentus and related stalkbacterial species are known for their distinctive ability to live in lownutrient environments, a characteristic of most heavy metal contaminatedsites. Caulobacter crescentus is a model organism for studying cell cycleregulation with well developed genetics. We have identified the pathwaysresponding to heavy metal toxicity in C. crescentus to provide insightsfor possible application of Caulobacter to environmental restoration. Weexposed C. crescentus cells to four heavy metals (chromium, cadmium,selenium and uranium) and analyzed genome wide transcriptional activitiespost exposure using a Affymetrix GeneChip microarray. C. crescentusshowed surprisingly high tolerance to uranium, a possible mechanism forwhich may be formation of extracellular calcium-uranium-phosphateprecipitates. The principal response to these metals was protectionagainst oxidative stress (up-regulation of manganese-dependent superoxidedismutase, sodA). Glutathione S-transferase, thioredoxin, glutaredoxinsand DNA repair enzymes responded most strongly to cadmium and chromate.The cadmium and chromium stress response also focused on reducing theintracellular metal concentration, with multiple efflux pumps employed toremove cadmium while a sulfate transporter was down-regulated to reducenon-specific uptake of chromium. Membrane proteins were also up-regulatedin response to most of the metals tested. A two-component signaltransduction system involved in the uranium response was identified.Several differentially regulated transcripts from regions previously notknown to encode proteins were identified, demonstrating the advantage …

Article discussing parallel texts and natural language processing.

Environmental mercury continues to be of concern to public health advocates, both in the U.S. and abroad, and new research continues to be published. A recent analysis of potential health benefits of reduced mercury emissions has opened a new area of public health concern: adverse effects on the cardiovascular system, which could account for the bulk of the potential economic benefits. The authors were careful to include caveats about the uncertainties of such impacts, but they cited only a fraction of the applicable health effects literature. That literature includes studies of the potentially harmful ingredient (methylmercury, MeHg) in fish, as well as of a beneficial ingredient, omega-3 fatty acids or ''fish oils''. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently certified that some of these fat compounds that are primarily found in fish ''may be beneficial in reducing coronary heart disease''. This paper briefly summarizes and categorizes the extensive literature on both adverse and beneficial links between fish consumption and cardiovascular health, which are typically based on studies of selected groups of individuals (cohorts). Such studies tend to comprise the ''gold standard'' of epidemiology, but cohorts tend to exhibit a great deal of variability, in part because of the limited …

Electrochemical and mechanical experiments were conducted to analyze the environmentally-influenced cracking behavior of a bulk amorphous metal, Zr41.2Ti13.8Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5. This study was motivated by a scientific interest in mechanisms of fatigue-crack propagation in an amorphous metal, and by a practical interest in the use of this amorphous metal in applications that take advantage of its unique properties, including high specific strength, large elastic strains and low damping. The objective of the work was to determine the rate and mechanisms of subcritical crack growth in this metallic glass in an aggressive environment. Specifically, fatigue-crack propagation behavior was investigated at a range of stress intensities in air and aqueous salt solutions by examining the effects of loading cycle, stress-intensity range, solution concentration, anion identity, solution de-aeration, and bulk electrochemical potential. Results indicate that crack growth in aqueous solution in this alloy is driven by a stress-assisted anodic reaction at the crack tip. Rate-determining steps for such behavior are reasoned to be electrochemical, stress-dependent reaction at near-threshold levels, and mass transport at higher (steady-state) growth rates.

Mercury is a neurotoxin that accumulates in the food chain and is therefore a health concern. The primary human exposure pathway is through fish consumption. Coal-fired power plants emit mercury and there is uncertainty over whether this creates localized hot spots of mercury leading to substantially higher levels of mercury in water bodies and therefore higher exposure. To obtain direct evidence of local deposition patterns, soil and vegetations samples from around three U.S. coal-fired power plants were collected and analyzed for evidence of hot spots and for correlation with model predictions of deposition. At all three sites, there was no correlation between modeled mercury deposition and either soil concentrations or vegetation concentrations. It was estimated that less than 2% of the total mercury emissions from these plants deposited within 15 km of these plants. These small percentages of deposition are consistent with the literature review findings of only minor perturbations in environmental levels, as opposed to hot spots, near the plants. The major objective of the sampling studies was to determine if there was evidence for hot spots of mercury deposition around coal-fired power plants. From a public health perspective, such a hot spot must be large enough to insure …

Dr. E. Storms has published a Letter [1] in which he argues that in a sequence of recent papers [2-5], the apparent excess heat signal claimed by Dr. Shanahan to arise from a calibration constant shift is actually true excess heat. In particular he proposes that the mechanisms proposed that foster the proposed calibration constant shifts [3,5] cannot occur as postulated for several reasons. As well, he proposes Shanahan has ignored the extant data proving this. Because this Letter may lend unwarranted support to acceptance of cold fusion claims, these erroneous arguments used by Storms need to be answered.