The authors calculate properties of A = 6 system using the accurate charge-dependent nucleon-nucleon (NN) potential at fourth order of chiral perturbation theory. By application of the ab initio no-core shell model (NCSM) and a variational calculation in the harmonic oscillator basis with basis size up to 16 {h_bar}{Omega} they obtain the {sup 6}Li binding energy of 28.5(5) MeV and a converged excitation spectrum. Also, they calculate properties of {sup 10}B using the same NN potential in a basis space of up to 8 {h_bar}{Omega}. The results are consistent with results obtained by standard accurate NN potentials and demonstrate a deficiency of Hamiltonians consisting of only two-body terms. At this order of chiral perturbation theory three-body terms appear. It is expected that inclusion of such terms in the Hamiltonian will improve agreement with experiment.

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), in coordination with the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and NOAA Fisheries, originated this project (BPA Project No. 2002-076; Contract No. DE-AC06-76RL01830, Release No. 652-24). Their intent was to develop a useful habitat restoration plan for the lower Columbia River and estuary to help guide restoration efforts and fulfill Reasonable and Prudent Alternative Action 159 of the 2000 National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinion on operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System. This document focuses on salmon habitat, although its ecosystem-based approach necessarily affects other species as well. Salmon habitat restoration is best undertaken within the context of other biota and physical processes using an ecosystem perspective. The anticipated audience for the plan includes entities responsible for, interested in, or affected by habitat restoration in the lower Columbia River and estuary. Timeframes to apply this plan extend from the immediate (2003-2004) to the near-term (2005-2006) to the long-term (2007 and beyond). We anticipate and encourage that the plan be revised as new knowledge and experience are attained. A team comprised of the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST), the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership (Estuary Partnership), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) …

The ab initio no-core shell model (NCSM) is extended to include a realistic three-body interaction in calculations for p-shell nuclei. They present results of first applications using the Argonne V8' nucleon-nucleon (NN) potential and the Tucson-Melbourne TM'(99) three-nucleon interaction (TNI). In addition to increase of binding energy, they observe a trend toward level-ordering and level-spacing improvement in comparison to experiment. With the TNI they obtain a correct ground-state spin for {sup 10}B contrary to calculations with NN potentials only. They also investigate neutrino-{sup 12}C exclusive cross sections and muon capture on {sup 12}C. They show that realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions underpredict the experimental cross sections by a factor of two or more. By including the TNI a much better agreement with experiment is achieved along with an encouraging trend.

There is considerable debate in the Earth sciences over the composition, thermal history, and dynamics of Earth's inner core. The details of structural models are based on precious few seismological observations of PKP travel times, due to the uneven distribution of large earthquakes and recording stations around the globe. Using state-of-the-art signal-processing techniques to measure and compile a unique set of global travel time data of surface-reflected seismic waves that propagate through the center of Earth (PKPPKP waves), we propose to investigate the existence of the innermost inner core. We will carry out a systematic investigation to determine the configuration of inner core anisotropy, which is currently biased by a limited spatial sampling of the inner core by PKP waves. We expect to collect data set of waveforms and identify PKPPKP energy arrivals on existing seismological records in a systematic form. We expect to demonstrate whether or not the existence of the innermost inner core can be supported by seismological data and to provide major constraints on the amount of inner core anisotropy. This is a topic of very high interest in the earth science community and the results would be of great importance not only to seismologists but to …

This report documents the results of a project undertaken to develop an ultra-high-accuracy measurement capability, which is necessary to address a rising trend toward miniaturized mechanical products exhibiting dramatically reduced product tolerances. A significant improvement in measurement capability is therefore required to insure that a 4:1 ratio can be maintained between product tolerances and measurement uncertainty.

This report is the final update on ARM research conducted at DRI through May of 2006. A relatively minor amount of work was done after May, and last month (November), two journal papers partially funded by this project were published. The other investigator on this project, Dr. Bob d'Entremont, will be submitting his report in February 2007 when his no-cost extension expires. The main developments for this period, which concludes most of the DRI research on this project, are as follows: (1) Further development of a retrieval method for cirrus cloud ice particle effective diameter (De) and ice water path (IWP) using terrestrial radiances measured from satellites; (2) Revision and publication of the journal article 'Testing and Comparing the Modified Anomalous Diffraction Approximation'; and (3) Revision and publication of our radar retrieval method for IWC and snowfall rate.

In this project we developed further a twin approach to the study of regional-scale climate variability and change. The two approaches involved probabilistic network (PN) models (sometimes called dynamic Bayesian networks) and intermediate-complexity coupled ocean-atmosphere models (ICMs). We thus made progress in identifying the predictable modes of climate variability and investigating their impacts on the regional scale. In previous work sponsored by DOE’s Climate Change Prediction Program (CCPP), we had developed a family of PNs (similar to Hidden Markov Models) to simulate historical records of daily rainfall, and used them to downscale seasonal predictions of general circulation models (GCMs). Using an idealized atmospheric model, we had established a novel mechanism through which ocean-induced sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies might influence large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns on interannual and longer time scales; similar patterns were found in a hybrid coupled ocean–atmosphere–sea-ice model. In this continuation project, we built on these ICM results and PN model development to address prediction of rainfall and temperature statistics at the local scale, associated with global climate variability and change, and to investigate the impact of the latter on coupled ocean–atmosphere modes. Our main project results consist of extensive further development of the hidden Markov models for rainfall …

A. ABSTRACT The importance of lateral gene transfer (LGT) in the evolution of microbial species has become increasingly evident with each completed microbial genome sequence. Most significantly, the genome of Thermotoga maritima MSB8, a hyperthermophilic bacterium isolated by Karl Stetter and workers from Vulcano Italy in 1986, and sequenced at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) in Rockville Maryland in 1999, revealed extensive LGT between % . this bacterium and members of the archaeal domain (in particular Archaeoglobus fulgidus, and Pyracoccus frcriosus species). Based on whole genome comparisons, it was estimated that 24% of the genetic information in this organism was acquired by genetic exchange with archaeal species, Independent analyses including periodicity analysis of the T. maritimu genomic DNA sequence, phylogenetic reconstruction based on genes that appear archaeal-like, and codon and amino acid usage, have provided additional evidence for LGT between T. maritima and the archaea. More recently, DiRuggiero and workers have identified a very recent LGT event between two genera of hyperthermophilic archaea, where a nearly identical DNA fragment of 16 kb in length flanked by insertion sequence (IS) elements, exists. Undoubtedly, additional examples of LGT will be identified as more microbial genomes are completed. For the present moment …

The BC Cribs and Trenches, part of the 200 TW 1 OU waste sites, received about 30 Mgal of scavenged tank waste, with possibly the largest inventory of 99Tc ever disposed to the soil at Hanford and site remediation is being accelerated. The purpose of this work was to develop a conceptual model for contaminant fate and transport at the 216-B-26 Trench site to support identification and development and evaluation of remediation alternatives. Large concentrations of 99Tc high above the water table implicated stratigraphy in the control of the downward migration. The current conceptual model accounts for small-scale stratigraphy; site-specific changes soil properties; tilted layers; and lateral spreading. It assumes the layers are spatially continuous causing water and solutes to move laterally across the boundary if conditions permit. Water influx at the surface is assumed to be steady. Model parameters were generated with pedotransfer functions; these were coupled high resolution neutron moisture logs that provided information on the underlying heterogeneity on a scale of 3 inches. Two approaches were used to evaluate the impact of remedial options on transport. In the first, a 1-D convolution solution to the convective-dispersive equation was used, assuming steady flow. This model was used to …

Conventional annular Hall thrusters become inefficient when scaled to low power. Cylindrical Hall thrusters, which have lower surface-to-volume ratio, are more promising for scaling down. They presently exhibit performance comparable with conventional annular Hall thrusters. The present paper gives a review of the experimental and numerical investigations of electron crossfield transport in the 2.6 cm miniaturized cylindrical Hall thruster (100 W power level). We show that, in order to explain the discharge current observed for the typical operating conditions, the electron anomalous collision frequency {nu}{sub b} has to be on the order of the Bohm value, {nu}{sub B} {approx} {omega}{sub c}/16. The contribution of electron-wall collisions to cross-field transport is found to be insignificant. The optimal regimes of thruster operation at low background pressure (below 10{sup -5} Torr) in the vacuum tank appear to be different from those at higher pressure ({approx} 10{sup -4} Torr).

Uranium dioxide (UO2) is the most common fuel material in commercial nuclear power reactors. UO2 has the advantages of a high melting point, good high-temperature stability, good chemical compatibility with cladding and coolant, and resistance to radiation. The main disadvantage of UO2 is its low thermal conductivity. During a reactor’s operation, because the thermal conductivity of UO2 is very low, for example, about 2.8 W/m-K at 1000 oC [1], there is a large temperature gradient in the UO2 fuel pellet, causing a very high centerline temperature, and introducing thermal stresses, which lead to extensive fuel pellet cracking. These cracks will add to the release of fission product gases after high burnup. The high fuel operating temperature also increases the rate of fission gas release and the fuel pellet swelling caused by fission gases bubbles. The amount of fission gas release and fuel swelling limits the life time of UO2 fuel in reactor. In addition, the high centerline temperature and large temperature gradient in the fuel pellet, leading to a large amount of stored heat, increase the Zircaloy cladding temperature in a lost of coolant accident (LOCA). The rate of Zircaloy-water reaction becomes significant at the temperature above 1200 oC [2]. …

Information or data fusion of data from different sources are ubiquitous in many applications, from epidemiology, medical, biological, political, and intelligence to military applications. Data fusion involves integration of spectral, imaging, text, and many other sensor data. For example, in epidemiology, information is often obtained based on many studies conducted by different researchers at different regions with different protocols. In the medical field, the diagnosis of a disease is often based on imaging (MRI, X-Ray, CT), clinical examination, and lab results. In the biological field, information is obtained based on studies conducted on many different species. In military field, information is obtained based on data from radar sensors, text messages, chemical biological sensor, acoustic sensor, optical warning and many other sources. Many methodologies are used in the data integration process, from classical, Bayesian, to evidence based expert systems. The implementation of the data integration ranges from pure software design to a mixture of software and hardware. In this review we summarize the methodologies and implementations of data fusion process, and illustrate in more detail the methodologies involved in three examples. We propose a unified multi-stage and multi-path mapping approach to the data fusion process, and point out future prospects and …

Final Report for grant DE-FG02-06ER54888, "Simulation of Beam-Electron Cloud Interactions in Circular Accelerators Using Plasma Models" Viktor K. Decyk, University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547 The primary goal of this collaborative proposal was to modify the code QuickPIC and apply it to study the long-time stability of beam propagation in low density electron clouds present in circular accelerators. The UCLA contribution to this collaborative proposal was in supporting the development of the pipelining scheme for the QuickPIC code, which extended the parallel scaling of this code by two orders of magnitude. The USC work was as described here the PhD research for Ms. Bing Feng, lead author in reference 2 below, who performed the research at USC under the guidance of the PI Tom Katsouleas and the collaboration of Dr. Decyk The QuickPIC code [1] is a multi-scale Particle-in-Cell (PIC) code. The outer 3D code contains a beam which propagates through a long region of plasma and evolves slowly. The plasma response to this beam is modeled by slices of a 2D plasma code. This plasma response then is fed back to the beam code, and the process repeats. The pipelining is based on the observation that …

The overall objective of this collaborative project is to integrate an existing general equilibrium energy-economic growth model with a biogeochemical cycles and biophysical models in order to more fully explore the potential contribution of land use-related activities to future emissions scenarios. Land cover and land use change activities, including deforestation, afforestation, and agriculture management, are important source of not only CO2, but also non-CO2 GHGs. Therefore, contribution of land-use emissions to total emissions of GHGs is important, and consequently their future trends are relevant to the estimation of climate change and its mitigation. This final report covers the full project period of the award, beginning May 2006, which includes a sub-contract to Brown University later transferred to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) when Co-PI Brian O'Neill changed institutional affiliations.

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This report discusses enrollment practices for 401k retirement plans. Historically, most employers that have sponsored retirement savings plans under §401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) have required employees to decide whether to enroll in the plan. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued rulings to inform employers that current law allows them to enroll employees automatically, provided that the employee is notified in advance and is permitted to leave the plan.

This report does not constitute a blueprint for every office involved in grants and projects activity, nor does it present in-depth information about all aspects of staff activity in this area.

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This report discusses the Obama's administration that proposed creating a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) to focus exclusively on consumer protection. The agency would focus primarily on banking services; institutions and firms regulated by the SEC and CFTC.

This is a report on Automatic Enrollment in section 401(k) plans.

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This report addresses issues related to the impact on the Intelligence Committee if term limits are abolished and other assignment questions addressed in S. Res. 445.

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