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Article describing optical absorbers based on vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), synthesized using electric-field assisted growth that show an ultra-low reflectance, 100X lower compared to the benchmark, a diffuse metal black - Au-black - from wavelength λ ~ 350 nm – 2500 nm.

The particle beam self-modulation instability in tapered and inhomogeneous plasmas is analyzed via an evolution equation for the beam radius. For a sufficiently fast taper the instability is suppressed, and the condition for growth suppression is derived. The form of the taper to phase lock a trailing witness bunch in the plasma wave driven by a self-modulated beam is determined, which can increase the energy gain by several orders of magnitude. Growth of the instability places stringent constraints on the initial background plasma density fluctuations.

In 2011, significant progress was made in developing and deploying technologies to remove, transport, and interim store remote-handled sludge from the 105-K West Fuel Storage Basin on the Hanford Site in south-central Washington State. The sludge in the 105-K West Basin is an accumulation of degraded spent nuclear fuel and other debris that collected during long-term underwater storage of the spent fuel. In 2010, an innovative, remotely operated retrieval system was used to successfully retrieve over 99.7% of the radioactive sludge from 10 submerged temporary storage containers in the K West Basin. In 2011, a full-scale prototype facility was completed for use in technology development, design qualification testing, and operator training on systems used to retrieve, transport, and store highly radioactive K Basin sludge. In this facility, three separate systems for characterizing, retrieving, pretreating, and processing remote-handled sludge were developed. Two of these systems were successfully deployed in 2011. One of these systems was used to pretreat knockout pot sludge as part of the 105-K West Basin cleanup. Knockout pot sludge contains pieces of degraded uranium fuel ranging in size from 600 {mu}m to 6350 {mu}m mixed with pieces of inert material, such as aluminum wire and graphite, in the …

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Thick-shell CdSe/nCdS (n {ge} 10) nanocrystals were recently reported that show remarkably suppressed fluorescence intermittency or 'blinking' at the single-particle level as well as slow rates of Auger decay. Unfortunately, whereas CdSe/nCdS nanocrystal synthesis is well-developed up to n {le} 6 CdS monolayers (MLs), reproducible syntheses for n {ge} 10 MLs are less understood. Known procedures sometimes result in homogeneous CdS nucleation instead of heterogeneous, epitaxial CdS nucleation on CdSe, leading to broad and multimodal particle size distributions. Critically, obtained core/shell sizes are often below those desired. This article describes synthetic conditions specific to thick-shell growth (n {ge} 10 and n {ge} 20 MLs) on both small (sub2 nm) and large (>4.5 nm) CdSe cores. We find added secondary amine and low concentration of CdSe cores and molecular precursors give desired core/shell sizes. Amine-induced, partial etching of CdSe cores results in apparent shell-thicknesses slightly beyond those desired, especially for very-thick shells (n {ge} 20 MLs). Thermal ripening and fast precursor injection lead to undesired homogeneous CdS nucleation and incomplete shell growth. Core/shells derived from small CdSe (1.9 nm) have longer PL lifetimes and more pronounced blinking at single-particle level compared with those derived from large CdSe (4.7 nm). We expect …

We describe the design and optimization of low-noise, single-stage output amplifiers for p-channel charge-coupled devices (CCDs) used for scientific applications in astronomy and other fields. The CCDs are fabricated on high-resistivity, 4000–5000 -cm, n-type silicon substrates. Single-stage amplifiers with different output structure designs and technologies have been characterized. The standard output amplifier is designed with an n{sup +} polysilicon gate that has a metal connection to the sense node. In an effort to lower the output amplifier readout noise by minimizing the capacitance seen at the sense node, buried-contact technology has been investigated. In this case, the output transistor has a p{sup +} polysilicon gate that connects directly to the p{sup +} sense node. Output structures with buried-contact areas as small as 2 μm × 2 μm are characterized. In addition, the geometry of the source-follower transistor was varied, and we report test results on the conversion gain and noise of the various amplifier structures. By use of buried-contact technology, better amplifier geometry, optimization of the amplifier biases and improvements in the test electronics design, we obtain a 45% reduction in noise, corresponding to 1.7 e{sup −} rms at 70 kpixels/sec.

Article describes the process undertaken to bring the Travertine Nature Center to Platt National Park during the 1960s.

Lattice-Boltzmann methods are versatile numerical modeling techniques capable of reproducing a wide variety of fluid-mechanical behavior. These methods are well suited to parallel implementation, particularly on the single-instruction multiple data (SIMD) parallel processing environments found in computer graphics processing units (GPUs). Although more recent programming tools dramatically improve the ease with which GPU programs can be written, the programming environment still lacks the flexibility available to more traditional CPU programs. In particular, it may be difficult to develop modular and extensible programs that require variable on-device functionality with current GPU architectures. This paper describes a process of automatic code generation that overcomes these difficulties for lattice-Boltzmann simulations. It details the development of GPU-based modules for an extensible lattice-Boltzmann simulation package - LBHydra. The performance of the automatically generated code is compared to equivalent purpose written codes for both single-phase, multiple-phase, and multiple-component flows. The flexibility of the new method is demonstrated by simulating a rising, dissolving droplet in a porous medium with user generated lattice-Boltzmann models and subroutines.

Article illuminates the early history of cinema in Oklahoma. Oklahoma's most sustained period of high-profile filmmaking occurred during the early cinema period, those years before 1915, and had an emphasis on authenticity which meant shooting on location in the Sooner State, often with legendary outlaws recreating their old crimes.

The second part of a two-part article, this article continues the examination of the effect that economic distress and political policies had on Oklahoma's farmers and ranchers in the 1970s and 1980s.

For the Record section including the minutes from the quarterly board meeting of the Oklahoma Historical Society that was held on July 27, 2011.

Article explores the relationship between ethnicity and political power through the person of Frank Vlasak, a Bohemian-born farmer and businessman in early Prague, Oklahoma.

Abstract: In two recent publications, one by Dean Mobbs and Caroline Watt and the other by Kevin Nelson, I was surprised to find my and my colleagues' 2001 article in the Lancet misrepresented. In this Editorial, I attempt to correct those misrepresentations and to discuss them with regard to responsible scholarship in the ongoing debate in the professional literature about the relationship of mind and brain.

Article exploring elevated HIV levels in Malawi's Southern Region and the relationship between HIV levels, male circumcision, and marital histories.

This article uses data from the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer to perform a statistical study on the mid-infrared properties of a large number of BL Lac objects.

Notes and Documents column including "An Analysis of the Variants of the Okmulgee Constitution," a short article detailing the creation of the Okmulgee Constitution.

Abstract: Between 1889 and 1903, several authors published papers in the French journal "Revue Philosophique de la France et de l'Etranger" and in a few other publications in which they discussed panoramic memory, changes of affect, and a sense of detachment from the body in dying persons. With a few exceptions these publications have been ignored in modern discussion of the phenomena of the dying. Whereas philosopher Victor Egger postulated the psychological explanation that panoramic memory results from the dying person's thoughts of imminent death, physicians Paul Sollier and Charles Féré and psychologist Henri Piéron proposed that it, as well as changes in affect, result from physiological changes in the body sensibility and in the brain. Like many authors today who speculate about near-death experiences, the authors in question did not have much evidence for their explanations. These ideas, and their physiological aspects, were part of a general interest in unusual phenomena and states of consciousness during the 19th century.

Article which satirically claims that several elements on the periodic table were faked.

Article describing the nearly simultaneous discovery of thallium by William Crookes and Claude-August Lamy. Tourist information is included for areas in London, England, and Lille, France, that are significant to the lives of these two men.

Abstract: A common theme noted among near-death experiencers (NDErs) is the affirmation of increased spirituality after their near-death experiences (NDEs). This study focused on the question of whether the Human Spirituality Scale (HSS), a commonly used spirituality measure, would exhibit a ceiling effect among NDErs. Thirty-seven participants from eight countries participated in the online study. HSS scores were compared with NDE Scale (Greyson, 1990) scores and demographic information. Results revealed no ceiling effect but revealed a positive correlation between the HSS and the NDE Scale. Additionally, exploratory post-hoc analysis was conducted on participant subgroups, comparing males and females and participants from India and the United States. Finally, preliminary findings regarding four NDErs self-identified as atheist/agnostic are described.

Article discussing a computational study on the impact of metal identity and carbon-oxygen bond formation via organometallic Baeyer-Villiger transformations.

This Letter to the Editor discusses an observational proof of quasar feedback quenching the star formation at high redshift.

Pulsed emissive probe techniques have been used to determine the plasma potential distribution of high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) discharges. An unbalanced magnetron with a niobium target in argon was investigated for pulse length of 100 μs at a pulse repetition rate of 100 Hz, giving a peak current of 170 A. The probe data were taken with a time resolution of 20 ns and a spatial resolution of 1 mm. It is shown that the local plasma potential varies greatly in space and time. The lowest potential was found over the target’s racetrack, gradually reaching anode potential (ground) several centimeters away from the target. The magnetic pre-sheath exhibits a funnel-shaped plasma potential resulting in an electric field which accelerates ions toward the racetrack. In certain regions and times, the potential exhibits weak local maxima which allow for ion acceleration to the substrate. Knowledge of the local E and static B fields lets us derive the electrons’ E×B drift velocity, which is about 105 m/s and shows structures in space and time.