There are a large number of purification and processing operations involving actinide species that rely on high-temperature molten salts as the solvent medium. One such application is the electrorefining of impure actinide metals to provide high purity material for subsequent applications. There are some drawbacks to the electrodeposition of actinides in molten salts including relatively low yields, lack of accurate potential control, maintaining efficiency in a highly corrosive environment, and failed runs. With these issues in mind we have been investigating the electrodeposition of actinide metals, mainly uranium, from room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) and relatively high-boiling organic solvents. The RTILs we have focused on are comprised of 1,3-dialkylimidazolium or quaternary ammonium cations and mainly the {sup -}N(SO{sub 2}CF{sub 3}){sub 2} anion [bis(trif1uoromethylsulfonyl)imide {equivalent_to} {sup -}NTf{sub 2}]. These materials represent a class of solvents that possess great potential for use in applications employing electrochemical procedures. In order to ascertain the feasibility of using RTILs for bulk electrodeposition of actinide metals our research team has been exploring the electron transfer behavior of simple coordination complexes of uranium dissolved in the RTIL solutions. More recently we have begun some fundamental electrochemical studies on the behavior of uranium and plutonium complexes in the …

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Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have taken the unprecedented step of creating a collaborative, multi-disciplinary graduate education program and associated research agenda called the Engineering Institute. The mission of the Engineering Institute is to develop a comprehensive approach for conducting LANL mission-driven, multidisciplinary engineering research and to improve recruiting, revitalization, and retention of the current and future staff necessary to support the LANL' s national security responsibilities. The components of the Engineering Institute are (1) a joint LANL/UCSD degree program, (2) joint LANL/UCSD research projects, (3) the Los Alamos Dynamic Summer School, (4) an annual workshop, and (5) industry short courses. This program is a possible model for future industry/government interactions with university partners.

A bundle-of-tubes construct is used as a model system to study ensemble averaged equations for multiphase flow in a porous material. Momentum equations for the fluid phases obtained from the method are similar to Darcy's law, but with additional terms. We study properties of the additional terms, and the conditions under which the averaged equations can be approximated by the diffusion model or the extended Darcy's law as often used in models for multiphase flows in porous media. Although the bundle-of-tubes model is perhaps the simplest model for a porous material, the ensemble averaged equation technique developed in this paper assumes the very same form in more general treatments described in Part 2 of the present work (Zhang 2009). Any model equation system intended for the more general cases must be understood and tested first using simple models. The concept of ensemble phase averaging is dissected here in physical terms, without involved mathematics through its application to the idealized bundle-of-tubes model for multiphase flow in porous media.

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Using temperature and number-density measurements of the energetic-electron population from multiple spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit, the specific entropy S = T/n{sup 2/3} of the outer electron radiation belt is calculated. Then 955,527 half-hour-long data intervals are statistically analyzed. Local-time and solar-cycle variations in S are examined. The median value of the specific entropy (2.8 x 10{sup 7} eVcm{sup 2}) is much larger than the specific entropy of other particle populations in and around the magnetosphere. The evolution of the specific entropy through high-speed-stream-driven geomagnetic storms and through magnetic-cloud-driven geomagnetic storms is studied using superposed-epoch analysis. For high-speed-stream-driven storms, systematic variations in the entropy associated with electron loss and gain and with radiation-belt heating are observed in the various storm phases. For magnetic-cloud-driven storms, multiple trigger choices for the data superpositions reveal the effects of interplanetary shock arrival, sheath driving, cloud driving, and recovery phase. The specific entropy S = T/n{sup 2/3} is algebraically expressed in terms of the first and second adiabatic invariants of the electrons: this allows a relativistic expression for S in terms of T and n to be derived. For the outer electron radiation belt at geosynchronous orbit, the relativistic corrections to the specific entropy expression are …

Estimation of division and death rates of lymphocytes in different conditions is vital for quantitative understanding of the immune system. Deuterium, in the form of deuterated glucose or heavy water, can be used to measure rates of proliferation and death of lymphocytes in vivo. Inferring these rates from labeling and delabeling curves has been subject to considerable debate with different groups suggesting different mathematical models for that purpose. We show that the three models that are most commonly used are in fact mathematically identical and differ only in their interpretation of the estimated parameters. By extending these previous models, we here propose a more mechanistic approach for the analysis of data from deuterium labeling experiments. We construct a model of 'kinetic heterogeneity' in which the total cell population consists of many sub-populations with different rates of cell turnover. In this model, for a given distribution of the rates of turnover, the predicted fraction of labeled DNA accumulated and lost can be calculated. Our model reproduces several previously made experimental observations, such as a negative correlation between the length of the labeling period and the rate at which labeled DNA is lost after label cessation. We demonstrate the reliability of the …

Vital molecular processes such as DNA replication, transcription, translation, and maintenance occur through transient protein interactions. Elucidating the mechanisms by which these protein complexes and interactions function could lead to treatments for diseases related to DNA damage and cell division control. In the recent decades since its introduction as a third domain, Archaea have shown to be simpler models for complicated eukaryotic processes such as DNA replication, repair, transcription, and translation. Sulfolobus solfataricus is one such model organism. A hyperthermophile with an optimal growth temperature of 80°C, Sulfolobus protein-protein complexes and transient protein interactions should be more stable at moderate temperatures, providing a means to isolate and study their structure and function. Here we provide the initial steps towards characterizing three DNA-related Sulfolobus proteins with small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS): Sso0257, a cell division control and origin recognition complex homolog, Sso0768, the small subunit of the replication factor C, and Sso3167, a Mut-T like protein. SAXS analysis was performed at multiple concentrations for both short and long exposure times. The Sso0257 sample was determined to be either a mixture of monomeric and dimeric states or a population of dynamic monomers in various conformational states in solution, consistent with a fl …

Light interaction with biological tissue can be described using three parameters: the scattering and absorption coeffi cients (μs and μa), as well as the anisotropy (g) which describes the directional dependence of the scattered photons. Accurately determining these optical properties for different tissue types at specifi c wavelengths simultaneously would be benefi cial for a variety of different biomedical applications. The goal of this project was to take a user defi ned g-value and determine the remaining two parameters for a specifi ed wavelength range. A fully automated computer program and process was developed to collect data for all wavelengths in a timely and accurate manner. LabVIEW® was used to write programs to automate raw intensity data collection from a spectrometer equipped integrating sphere, conversion of the data into a format for analysis via Scott Prahl’s Inverse Adding-Doubling (IAD) C code execution, and fi nally computation of the optical properties based on the output from the IAD code. To allow data to be passed effi ciently between LabVIEW® and C code program modules, the two were combined into a single program (OPT 3.1). OPT 3.1 was tested using tissue mimicking phantoms. Determination of the absorption and scattering coeffi cients showed …

Excited states were studied and absolute partial {gamma}-ray cross sections were measured using the ({eta}, {eta}'{gamma}) reaction in {sup 191}Ir, {sup 193}Ir and {sup 197}Au. A Compton-suppressed germanium-detector array (GEANIE) for {gamma}-ray spectroscopy and the broad-spectrum pulsed neutron source of the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center's WNR facility were used for the measurement. The energy of the incident neutrons was determined using the time-of-flight technique. Absolute partial {gamma}-ray cross sections were measured up to incident neutron energy of 20 MeV for several transitions feeding directly the 1 1/2- isomers and ground states in {sup 191}Ir, {sup 193}Ir and {sup 197}Au. The feeding of the 1 1/2- isomers, which originate from the odd proton occupying the h{sub 1 1/2} orbital, was found for the three targets to be very similar and increasing relative to the feeding of the corresponding ground state with increasing neutron energy up to E{sub n} {approx} 10 MeV. Above this neutron energy the opening of the (n, 2{sub n}) reaction channel strongly affects the population of the isomers and leads to a decrease of their relative population compared to the population of the ground states. The experimental results are compared with theoretical predictions from the GNASH reaction …

Muon Colliders offer a possible long term path to lepton-lepton collisions at center-of-mass energies {radical}s {ge} 1 TeV. In October 2006 the Muon Collider Task Force (MCTF) proposed [1] a program of advanced accelerator R&D aimed at developing the Muon Collider concept. The proposed R&D program was motivated by progress on Muon Collider design in general, and in particular, by new ideas that have emerged on muon cooling channel design. The scope of the proposed MCTF R&D program includes muon collider design studies, helical cooling channel design and simulation, high temperature superconducting solenoid studies, an experimental program using beams to test cooling channel rf cavities and a 6D cooling demonstration channel. A summary is given of results from the first year of Muon Collider Task Force activities.

We report the first measurement of the cross section for Z boson pair production at a hadron collider. This result is based on a data sample corresponding to 1.9 fb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity from p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. In the {ell}{ell}{ell}{prime}{ell}{prime} channel, we observe three ZZ candidates with an expected background of 0.096{sub -0.063}{sup +0.092} events. In the {ell}{ell}{nu}{nu} channel, we use a leading-order calculation of the relative ZZ and WW event probabilities to discriminate between signal and background. In the combination of {ell}{ell}{ell}{prime}{ell}{prime} and {ell}{ell}{nu}{nu} channels, we observe an excess of events with a probability of 5.1 x 10{sup -6} to be due to the expected background. This corresponds to a significance of 4.4 standard deviations. The measured cross section is {sigma}(p{bar p} {yields}ZZ) = 1.4{sub -0.6}{sup +0.7} (stat.+syst.) pb, consistent with the standard model expectation.

Exposure of Pd-based hydrogen purification membranes to H,S. a common contaminant in coal gasification streams, can cause membrane performance to deteriorate, either by deactivating surface sites required for dissociative H, adsorption or by forming a low-permeability sulfide scale. In this work. the composition, structure, and catalytic activity of Pd4S, a surface scale commonly observed in Pd-membrane separation of hydrogen from sulfur-containing gas streams, were examined using a combination of experimental characterization and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. A Pd,S sample was prepared by exposing a 100 f1m Pd foil to H2S at 908 K. Both X-ray photoemission depth profiling and low energy ion scattering spectroscopic (LEISS) analysis reveal slight sulfur-enrichment of the top surface of the sample. This view is consistent with the predictions of DFT atomistic thermodynamic calculations. which identified S-terminated Pd,S surfaces as energetically favored over corresponding Pd-terminated surfaces. Activation barriers for H2 dissociation on the Pd,S surfaces were calculated. Although barriers are higher than on Pd(lll). transition state theory analysis identified reaction pathways on the S-terminated surfaces for which hydrogen dissociation rates are high enough to sustain the separation process at conditions relevant to gasification applications

Analyzing and grouping documents by content is a complex problem. One explored method of solving this problem borrows from nature, imitating the fl ocking behavior of birds. Each bird represents a single document and fl ies toward other documents that are similar to it. One limitation of this method of document clustering is its complexity O(n2). As the number of documents grows, it becomes increasingly diffi cult to receive results in a reasonable amount of time. However, fl ocking behavior, along with most naturally inspired algorithms such as ant colony optimization and particle swarm optimization, are highly parallel and have experienced improved performance on expensive cluster computers. In the last few years, the graphics processing unit (GPU) has received attention for its ability to solve highly-parallel and semi-parallel problems much faster than the traditional sequential processor. Some applications see a huge increase in performance on this new platform. The cost of these high-performance devices is also marginal when compared with the price of cluster machines. In this paper, we have conducted research to exploit this architecture and apply its strengths to the document flocking problem. Our results highlight the potential benefi t the GPU brings to all naturally inspired algorithms. …

About 3 billion years ago Nature invented a catalyst that splits water with highefficiency into molecular oxygen and hydrogen equivalents (protons and electrons). This reaction is energetically driven by sun light and the active centre contains relatively cheap and abundant metals: manganese and calcium. This biological system therefore forms the paradigm for all man made attempts for direct solar fuel production and several studies are underway to determine the electronic and geometric structures of this catalyst. In this report we briefly summarize the problems and the current status of these efforts, and propose a DFT-based strategy for obtaining a reliable high resolution structure of this unique catalyst that includes both the inorganic core and the first ligand sphere.

We establish an efficient polynomial-complexity algorithm for one-loop calculations, based on generalized D-dimensional unitarity. It allows automated computations of both cut-constructible and rational parts of one-loop scattering amplitudes from on-shell tree amplitudes. We illustrate the method by (re)-computing all four-, five- and six-gluon scattering amplitudes in QCD at one-loop.

We will start with a brief overview of neutrino oscillation physics with emphasis on the remaining unanswered questions. Next, after mentioning near future reactor and accelerator experiments searching for a non zero {theta}{sub 13}, we will introduce the plans for the next generation of long-baseline accelerator neutrino oscillation experiments. We will focus on experiments utilizing powerful (0.7-2.1 MW) Fermilab neutrino beams, either existing or in the design phase.

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We report the complete genome of Thermofilum pendens, a deep-branching, hyperthermophilic member of the order Thermoproteales within the archaeal kingdom Crenarchaeota. T. pendens is a sulfur-dependent, anaerobic heterotroph isolated from a solfatara in Iceland. It is an extracellular commensal, requiring an extract of Thermoproteus tenax for growth, and the genome sequence reveals that biosynthetic pathways for purines, most amino acids, and most cofactors are absent. In fact T. pendens has fewer biosynthetic enzymes than obligate intracellular parasites, although it does not display other features common among obligate parasites and thus does not appear to be in the process of becoming a parasite. It appears that T. pendens has adapted to life in an environment rich in nutrients. T. pendens was known to utilize peptides as an energy source, but the genome reveals substantial ability to grow on carbohydrates. T. pendens is the first crenarchaeote and only the second archaeon found to have a transporter of the phosphotransferase system. In addition to fermentation, T. pendens may gain energy from sulfur reduction with hydrogen and formate as electron donors. It may also be capable of sulfur-independent growth on formate with formate hydrogenlyase. Additional novel features are the presence of a monomethylamine:corrinoid methyltransferase, …

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a spreadsheet model to provide insight as to how its research activities can impact of cost of producing power from geothermal energy. This model is referred to as GETEM, which stands for “Geothermal Electricity Technologies Evaluation Model”. Based on user input, the model develops estimates of costs associated with exploration, well field development, and power plant construction that are used along with estimated operating costs to provide a predicted power generation cost. The model allows the user to evaluate how reductions in cost, or increases in performance or productivity will impact the predicted power generation cost. This feature provides a means of determining how specific technology improvements can impact generation costs, and as such assists DOE in both prioritizing research areas and identifying where research is needed.

We study constraint satisfaction problems on the so-called planted random ensemble. We show that for a certain class of problems, e.g., graph coloring, many of the properties of the usual random ensemble are quantitatively identical in the planted random ensemble. We study the structural phase transitions and the easy-hard-easy pattern in the average computational complexity. We also discuss the finite temperature phase diagram, finding a close connection with the liquid-glass-solid phenomenology.

We present an algorithmic framework for hierarchical image segmentation and feature extraction. We build a successive fine-to-coarse hierarchy of irregular polygonal partitions of the original image. This multiscale hierarchy forms the basis for object-oriented image analysis. The framework incorporates the Gestalt principles of visual perception, such as proximity and closure, and exploits spectral and textural similarities of polygonal partitions, while iteratively grouping them until dissimilarity criteria are exceeded. Seed polygons are built upon a triangular mesh composed of irregular sized triangles, whose spatial arrangement is adapted to the image content. This is achieved by building the triangular mesh on the top of detected spectral discontinuities (such as edges), which form a network of constraints for the Delaunay triangulation. The image is then represented as a spatial network in the form of a graph with vertices corresponding to the polygonal partitions and edges reflecting their relations. The iterative agglomeration of partitions into object-oriented segments is formulated as Minimum Spanning Tree (MST) construction. An important characteristic of the approach is that the agglomeration of polygonal partitions is constrained by the detected edges; thus the shapes of agglomerated partitions are more likely to correspond to the outlines of real-world objects. The constructed partitions …

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