We report the discovery that impacts in the Stardust cometary collector are not distributed randomly in the collecting media, but appear to be clustered on scales smaller than {approx} 10 cm. We also report the discovery of at least two populations of oblique tracks. We evaluated several hypotheses that could explain the observations. No hypothesis was consistent with all the observations, but the preponderance of evidence points toward at least one impact on the central Whipple shield of the spacecraft as the origin of both clustering and low-angle oblique tracks. High-angle oblique tracks unambiguously originate from a non-cometary impact on the spacecraft bus just forward of the collector.

The onset of trapping of electrons born inside a highly relativistic, 3D beam-driven plasma wake is investigated. Trapping occurs in the transition regions of a Li plasma confined by He gas. Li plasma electrons support the wake, and higher ionization potential He atoms are ionized as the beam is focused by Li ions and can be trapped. As the wake amplitude is increased, the onset of trapping is observed. Some electrons gain up to 7.6 GeV in a 30.5 cm plasma. The experimentally inferred trapping threshold is at a wake amplitude of 36 GV/m, in good agreement with an analytical model and PIC simulations.

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Applications that query data streams in order to identifytrends, patterns, or anomalies can often benefit from comparing the livestream data with archived historical stream data. However, searching thishistorical data in real time has been considered so far to beprohibitively expensive. One of the main bottlenecks is the update costsof the indices over the archived data. In this paper, we address thisproblem by using our highly-efficient bitmap indexing technology (calledFastBit) and demonstrate that the index update operations aresufficiently efficient for this bottleneck to be removed. We describe ourprototype system based on the TelegraphCQ streaming query processor andthe FastBit bitmap index. We present a detailed performance evaluation ofour system using a complex query workload for analyzing real networktraffic data. The combined system uses TelegraphCQ to analyze streams oftraffic information and FastBit to correlate current behaviors withhistorical trends. We demonstrate that our system can simultaneouslyanalyze (1) live streams with high data rates and (2) a large repositoryof historical stream data.

Transforming growth factor {beta}1 (TGF{beta}) is a tumor suppressor during the initial stage of tumorigenesis, but it can switch to a tumor promoter during neoplastic progression. Ionizing radiation (IR), both a carcinogen and a therapeutic agent, induces TGF{beta}, activation in vivo. We now show that IR sensitizes human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC) to undergo TGF{beta}-mediated epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). Non-malignant HMEC (MCF10A, HMT3522 S1 and 184v) were irradiated with 2 Gy shortly after attachment in monolayer culture, or treated with a low concentration of TGF{beta} (0.4 ng/ml), or double-treated. All double-treated (IR+TGF{beta}) HMEC underwent a morphological shift from cuboidal to spindle-shaped. This phenotype was accompanied by decreased expression of epithelial markers E-cadherin, {beta}-catenin and ZO-1, remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton, and increased expression of mesenchymal markers N-cadherin, fibronectin and vimentin. Furthermore, double-treatment increased cell motility, promoted invasion and disrupted acinar morphogenesis of cells subsequently plated in Matrigel{trademark}. Neither radiation nor TGF{beta} alone elicited EMT, even though IR increased chronic TGF{beta} signaling and activity. Gene expression profiling revealed that double treated cells exhibit a specific 10-gene signature associated with Erk/MAPK signaling. We hypothesized that IR-induced MAPK activation primes non-malignant HMEC to undergo TGF{beta}-mediated EMT. Consistent with this, Erk phosphorylation were …

We have measured the polarization of the heliumlike sulfur resonance line 1s2p {sup 1}P{sub 1} {yields} 1s{sup 2} {sup 1}S{sub 0}, and of the blend of the lithiumlike sulfur resonance lines 1s2s2p {sup 2}P{sub 3/2} {yields} 1s{sup 2}2s {sup 2}S{sub 1/2} and 1s2s2p {sup 2}P{sub 1/2} {yields} 1s{sup 2}2s {sup 2}S{sub 1/2} as a function of electron beam energy from near threshold to 144 keV. These lines were excited with the LLNL high-energy electron beam ion trap and measured using a newly modified two-crystal technique. Our results test polarization predictions in an energy regime where few empirical results have been reported. We also present calculations of the polarization using two different methods, and good agreement is obtained.

Surfaces of steel structures that enclose high-fluence, large-beam lasers have conventional and unconventional requirements. Aside from rust prevention, the surfaces must resist laser-induced degradation and the contamination of the optical components. The latter requires a surface that can be precision cleaned to low levels of particulate and organic residue. In addition, the surface treatment for the walls should be economical to apply because of the large surface areas involved, and accommodating with intricate joint geometries. Thermal sprayed coatings of aluminum (Al) and stainless steel are candidate surface materials. Coatings are produced and characterized for porosity, smoothness, and hardness. These properties have a bearing on the cleanliness of the coating. The laser resistance of Al and 3 16L coatings are given. The paper summarizes the characterization of twin-wire-arc deposited Al, high-velocity-oxygen-fueled (HVOF) deposited Al, flame-sprayed 316L, and HVOF deposited316L. The most promising candidate coating is that of HVOF Al. This Al coating has the lowest porosity (8%) compared the other three coatings and relatively low hardness (100 VHN). The as-deposited roughness (Ra) is 433 pinches, but after a quick sanding by hand, the roughness decreased to 166 pinches. Other post-coat treatments are discussed. HVOF aluminum coatings are demonstrated. Al coatings are …

Chromosome 19 has the highest gene density of all human chromosomes, more than double the genome-wide average. The large clustered gene families, corresponding high GC content, CpG islands and density of repetitive DNA indicate a chromosome rich in biological and evolutionary significance. Here we describe 55.8 million base pairs of highly accurate finished sequence representing 99.9% of the euchromatin portion of the chromosome. Manual curation of gene loci reveals 1,461 protein-coding genes and 321 pseudogenes. Among these are genes directly implicated in Mendelian disorders, including familial hypercholesterolemia and insulin-resistant diabetes. Nearly one quarter of these genes belong to tandemly arranged families, encompassing more than 25% of the chromosome. Comparative analyses show a fascinating picture of conservation and divergence, revealing large blocks of gene orthology with rodents, scattered regions with more recent gene family expansions and deletions, and segments of coding and non-coding conservation with the distant fish species Takifugu.

A membrane of multiwalled carbon nanotubes embedded in a silicon nitride matrix was fabricated for use in studying fluid mechanics on the nanometer scale. Characterization by fluorescent tracer diffusion and scanning electron microscopy suggests that the membrane is void-free near the silicon substrate on which it rests, implying that the hollow core of the nanotube is the only conduction path for molecular transport. Assuming Knudsen diffusion through this nanotube membrane, a maximum helium transport rate (for a pressure drop of 1 atm) of 0.25 cc/sec is predicted. Helium flow measurements of a nanoporous silicon nitride membrane, fabricated by sacrificial removal of carbon, give a flow rate greater than 1x10{sup -6} cc/sec. For viscous, laminar flow conditions, water is estimated to flow across the nanotube membrane (under a 1 atm pressure drop) at up to 2.8x10{sup -5} cc/sec (1.7 {micro}L/min).

In this paper, accurate tree stand height retrieval is demonstrated using C-band Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) height and ancillary data. The tree height retrieval algorithm is based on modeling uniform tree stands with a single layer of randomly oriented vegetation particles. For such scattering media, the scattering phase center height, as measured by SRTM, is a function of tree height, incidence angle, and the extinction coefficient of the medium. The extinction coefficient for uniform tree stands is calculated as a function of tree height and density using allometric equations and a fractal tree model. The accuracy of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated using SRTM and TOPSAR data for 15 red pine and Austrian pine stands (TOPSAR is an airborne interferometric synthetic aperture radar). The algorithm yields root-mean-square (rms) errors of 2.5-3.6 m, which is a substantial improvement over the 6.8-8.3-m rms errors from the raw SRTM minus National Elevation Dataset Heights.

The environmentally benign, non-toxic, non-flammable fluids water and carbon dioxide (CO2) are the two most abundant and inexpensive solvents on earth. Emulsions of these fluids are of interest in many industrial processes, as well as CO2 sequestration and enhanced oil recovery. Until recently, formation of these emulsions required stabilization with fluorinated surfactants, which are expensive and often not environmentally friendly. In this work we overcame this severe limitation by developing a fundamental understanding of the properties of surfactants the CO2-water interface and using this knowledge to design and characterize emulsions stabilized with either hydrocarbon-based surfactants or nanoparticle stabilizers. We also discovered a new concept of electrostatic stabilization for CO2-based emulsions and colloids. Finally, we were able to translate our earlier work on the synthesis of silicon and germanium nanocrystals and nanowires from high temperatures and pressures to lower temperatures and ambient pressure to make the chemistry much more accessible.

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NCSA’s role in the SCIDAC Scalable Systems Software (SSS) project was to develop interfaces and communication mechanisms for systems monitoring, and to implement a prototype demonstrating those standards. The Scalable Systems Monitoring component of the SSS suite was designed to provide a large volume of both static and dynamic systems data to the components within the SSS infrastructure as well as external data consumers.

California utilities have been exploring the use of critical peak prices (CPP) to help reduce needle peaks in customer end-use loads. CPP is a form of price-responsive demand response (DR). Recent experience has shown that customers have limited knowledge of how to operate their facilities in order to reduce their electricity costs under CPP (Quantum 2004). While the lack of knowledge about how to develop and implement DR control strategies is a barrier to participation in DR programs like CPP, another barrier is the lack of automation of DR systems. During 2003 and 2004, the PIER Demand Response Research Center (DRRC) conducted a series of tests of fully automated electric demand response (Auto-DR) at 18 facilities. Overall, the average of the site-specific average coincident demand reductions was 8% from a variety of building types and facilities. Many electricity customers have suggested that automation will help them institutionalize their electric demand savings and improve their overall response and DR repeatability. This report focuses on and discusses the specific results of the Automated Critical Peak Pricing (Auto-CPP, a specific type of Auto-DR) tests that took place during 2005, which build on the automated demand response (Auto-DR) research conducted through PIER and the …

The BaBar electromagnetic calorimeter energy calibration method was compared with the local and global peak iteration procedures, of Crystal Barrel and CLEO-II. An investigation was made of the possibility of {Upsilon}(4S) background reduction which could lead to increased statistics over a shorter time interval, for efficient calibration runs. The BaBar software package was used with unreconstructed data to study the energy response of the calorimeter, by utilizing the {pi}{sup 0} mass constraint on pairs of photon clusters.

Regenerated high energy emissions from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are studied in detail. If the primary emission spectrum extends to TeV range, these very high energy photons will be absorbed by the cosmic infrared background (CIB). The created high energy electron-positron pairs up-scatter not only cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons but also CIB photons, and secondary photons are generated in the GeV-TeV range. These secondary delayed photons may be observed in the near future, and useful for a consistency check for the primary spectra and GRB physical parameters. The up-scattered CIB photons cannot be neglected for low redshift bursts and/or GRBs with a relatively low maximum photon energy. The secondary gamma-rays also give us additional information on the CIB, which is uncertain in observations so far.

The traditional static view of the adult mammalian brain has been challenged by the realization of continuous generation of neurons from stem cells. Based mainly on studies in experimental animals, adult neurogenesis may contribute to recovery after brain insults and decreased neurogenesis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of neurological and psychiatric diseases in man. The extent of neurogenesis in the adult human brain has, however, been difficult to establish. We have taken advantage of the integration of {sup 14}C, generated by nuclear bomb tests during the Cold War, in DNA to establish the age of neurons in the major areas of the human cerebral cortex. Together with the analysis of the cortex from patients who received BrdU, which integrates in the DNA of dividing cells, our results demonstrate that whereas non-neuronal cells turn over, neurons in the human cerebral cortex are not generated postnatally at detectable levels, but are as old as the individual.

Radioactive wastes are confined in 49 underground storage tanks at the Savannah River Site. The waste is transported between tanks primarily via an underground transfer piping system. Due to the hazardous nature of the waste, the inner core stainless steel pipe is typically surrounded by a carbon steel pipe jacket, which provides secondary containment. Recently several through-wall penetrations were discovered on a segment of one of the jackets. An evaluation was performed to verify the failure mechanism and to estimate the degree of damage that occurred to the pipe segment. Failure analysis of a section of the jacket confirmed that pitting corrosion on the exterior of the pipe led to the through-wall penetration. Ultrasonic measurements on sections of the pipe were utilized to determine the remaining wall thickness in adjacent areas of the pipe. Based on these measurements, the degree of pitting and general corrosion was determined. Pit growth rate models were then developed to estimate the life expectancy of sections of the pipe that had not been excavated. The calculations estimated that the occurrence of through-wall failures in this jacket will begin to increase substantially in 12 years. Given that this pipe segment will be utilized beyond this time, …

Realistic nucleon-nucleon (NN) interactions, derived within the framework of meson theory or more recently in terms of chiral effective field theory, yield new possibilities for achieving a unified microscopic description of atomic nuclei. Based on spectral distribution methods, a comparison of these interactions to a most general Sp(4) dynamically symmetric interaction, which previously we found to reproduce well that part of the interaction that is responsible for shaping pairing-governed isobaric analog 0{sup +} states, can determine the extent to which this significantly simpler model Hamiltonian can be used to obtain an approximate, yet very good description of low-lying nuclear structure. And furthermore, one can apply this model in situations that would otherwise be prohibitive because of the size of the model space. In addition, we introduce a Sp(4) symmetry breaking term by including the quadrupole-quadrupole interaction in the analysis and examining the capacity of this extended model interaction to imitate realistic interactions. This provides a further step towards gaining a better understanding of the underlying foundation of realistic interactions and their ability to reproduce striking features of nuclei such as strong pairing correlations or collective rotational motion.

Economic operation of the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory depends on controlling growth of laser damage in the large, high cost optics exposed to UV light at 351 nm. Mitigation of the growth of damage sites on fused silica surfaces greater than several hundred microns in diameter has been previously reported by us using galvanometer scanning of a tightly focused 10.6 {micro}m CO{sub 2} laser spot over an area encompassing the laser damage. Further investigation revealed that fused silica vapor re-deposited on the surface as ''debris'' led to laser damage at unexpectedly low fluences when exposed to multiple laser shots at 351 nm. Additionally, laser power and spatial mode fluctuations in the mitigation laser led to poor repeatability of the process. We also found that the shape of the mitigation pit could produce downstream intensification that could damage other NIF optics. Modifications were made to both the laser system and the mitigation process in order to address these issues. Debris was completely eliminated by these changes, but repeatability and downstream intensification issues still persist.

The elucidation of microbial surface architecture is critical to determining mechanisms of pathogenesis, immune response, physicochemical properties and environmental resistance. We have utilized in vitro AFM for studies of structure, assembly, function and environmental dynamics of several microbial systems including bacteria and bacterial spores. We have demonstrated, using various species of bacterial spores strikingly different species-dependent crystalline structures of the spore coat appear to be a consequence of crystallization mechanisms that regulate the assembly of the spore coat. Furthermore, we revealed molecular-scale transformations of the spore coat and cell outgrowth during the germination process. We will present data on the direct visualization of stress-induced environmental response of metal-resistant Arthrobacter oxydans bacteria to Cr (VI) exposure. These studies demonstrate that in vitro AFM can probe microbial surface architecture, environmental dynamics and the life cycle of pathogens at near-molecular resolution under physiological conditions.

The precise determination of the CKM matrix element |V{sub ub}| is crucial in testing the Standard Model mechanism for CP violation. From a sample of 88 million B{bar B} pairs collected with the BABAR detector, charmless semileptonic B decays are selected using simultaneous requirements on the electron energy, E{sub e}, and the invariant mass squared of the electron-neutrino pair, q{sup 2}. The partial branching fraction, unfolded for detector effects, is determined in a region of the q{sup 2}-E{sub e} plane where the dominating semileptonic decays to charm mesons are highly suppressed. Theoretical calculations based on the Heavy Quark Expanion allows for a determination of |V{sub ub}| = (3.95 {+-} 0.27{sub -0.42}{sup +0.58} {+-} 0.25) x 10{sup -3}, where the errors represent experimental, heavy quark parameters and theoretical uncertainties, respectively.

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