A linear CKM relation, {bar {eta}} = tan {Phi}{sub 3/2}({bar p} - 0.24 {+-} 0.03), involving a 1{sigma} range for {Phi}{sub 3/2}, 20{sup o} < {Phi}{sub 3/2} < 115{sup o}, is obtained from B{sup 0} {yields} K*{pi} amplitudes measured recently in Dalitz plot analyses of B{sup 0} {yields} K{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0} and B{sup 0}(t) {yields} K{sub S}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}. This relation is consistent within the large error on {Phi}{sub 3/2} with other CKM constraints which are unaffected by new b {yields} s{bar q}q operators. Sensitivity of the method to a new physics contribution in the {Delta}S = {Delta}I = 1 amplitude is discussed.

Presentation on the results from the DOE fuel cell bus evaluation given at the Transportation Research Board's 87th annual meeting, January 14, 2008.

The purpose of this Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) was to explore and develop advanced manufacturing techniques to fabricate sintered iron-aluminide intermetallic porous bodies used for gas filtration so as to reduce production costs while maintaining or improving performance in advanced coal gasification and combustion systems. The use of a power turbine fired with coal-derived synthesis gas requires some form of gas cleaning in order to protect turbine and downstream components from degradation by erosion, corrosion, and/or deposition. Hot-gas filtration is one form of cleaning that offers the ability to remove particles from the gases produced by gasification processes without having to substantially cool and, possibly, reheat them before their introduction into the turbine. This technology depends critically on materials durability and reliability, which have been the subject of study for a number of years.

The SRS sludge that was to become a major fraction of Sludge Batch 5 (SB5) for the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) contained a large fraction of H-Modified PUREX (HM) sludge, containing a large fraction of aluminum compounds that could adversely impact the processing and increase the vitrified waste volume. It is beneficial to reduce the non-radioactive fraction of the sludge to minimize the number of glass waste canisters that must be sent to a Federal Repository. Removal of aluminum compounds, such as boehmite and gibbsite, from sludge can be performed with the addition of NaOH solution and heating the sludge for several days. Preparation of SB5 involved adding sodium hydroxide directly to the waste tank and heating the contents to a moderate temperature through slurry pump operation to remove a fraction of this aluminum. The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) was tasked with demonstrating this process on actual tank waste sludge in our Shielded Cells Facility. This paper evaluates some of the impacts of aluminum dissolution on sludge washing and DWPF processing by comparing sludge processing with and without aluminum dissolution. It was necessary to demonstrate these steps to ensure that the aluminum removal process would not adversely impact …

NanoDynamics Inc. has undertaken a study to develop and demonstrate an anode-supported solid oxide fuel cell capable of generating a minimum of 20 W per cell on hydrogen. The cell technology will also be assed for operation on renewable hydrocarbon-based fuels such as biomass gas, as well its applicability for larger-scale power production. The project was divided into five sub-tasks, the first of which was the development and refinement of the cell manufacturing processes of gel-casting and paste extrusion for the fabrication of planar and tubular anode supports. These methods exhibited high production yields with excellent reproducibility. Using a conventional YSZ-based cell as a performance benchmark, new materials-sets and cell configurations were developed. Three prototype configurations were implemented, the best generating an average of 10 W per cell, and exhibiting excellent potential for further development and scale-up. Using a variety of techniques such as modifying the materials-set, microstructure, and cell configuration, cells with an average power output of 22.7 W were demonstrated, 13.5% in excess of the 20 W project goal. Thermal cycling was performed on such cells, and it was found that over a regime of 150 cycles (approximately 300 h), the cell power increased by 1.8%. So-called “short-stacks” …

Transverse-spin physics has been very active and rapidly developing in the last few years. In this talk, I will briefly summarize recent theoretical developments, focusing on the associated QCD dynamics in transverse spin physics.

Forecasts of available wind energy resources at high spatial resolution enable users to site wind turbines in optimal locations, to forecast available resources for integration into power grids, to schedule maintenance on wind energy facilities, and to define design criteria for next-generation turbines. This array of research needs implies that an appropriate forecasting tool must be able to account for mesoscale processes like frontal passages, surface-atmosphere interactions inducing local-scale circulations, and the microscale effects of atmospheric stability such as breaking Kelvin-Helmholtz billows. This range of scales and processes demands a mesoscale model with large-eddy simulation (LES) capabilities which can also account for varying atmospheric stability. Numerical weather prediction models, such as the Weather and Research Forecasting model (WRF), excel at predicting synoptic and mesoscale phenomena. With grid spacings of less than 1 km (as is often required for wind energy applications), however, the limits of WRF's subfilter scale (SFS) turbulence parameterizations are exposed, and fundamental problems arise, associated with modeling the scales of motion between those which LES can represent and those for which large-scale PBL parameterizations apply. To address these issues, we have implemented significant modifications to the ARW core of the Weather Research and Forecasting model, including the …

The long-term goal of DOE’s Commercial Buildings Integration subprogram is to develop cost-effective technologies and building practices that will enable the design and construction of net Zero Energy Buildings — commercial buildings that produce as much energy as they use on an annual basis — by 2025. To support this long-term goal, DOE further called for — as part of its FY07 Statement of Needs — the development by 2010 of “five cost-effective design technology option sets using highly efficient component technologies, integrated controls, improved construction practices, streamlined commissioning, maintenance and operating procedures that will make new and existing commercial buildings durable, healthy and safe for occupants.” In response, PNNL proposed and DOE funded a scoping study investigation of one such technology option set, low-lift cooling, that offers potentially exemplary HVAC energy performance relative to ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004. The primary purpose of the scoping study was to estimate the national technical energy savings potential of this TOS.

This report documents a detailed buckling evaluation of the primary tanks in the Hanford double-shell waste tanks (DSTs), which is part of a comprehensive structural review for the Double-Shell Tank Integrity Project. This work also provides information on tank integrity that specifically responds to concerns raised by the Office of Environment, Safety, and Health (ES&H) Oversight (EH-22) during a review of work performed on the double-shell tank farms and the operation of the aging waste facility (AWF) primary tank ventilation system. The current buckling review focuses on the following tasks: (1) Evaluate the potential for progressive anchor bolt failure and the appropriateness of the safety factors that were used for evaluating local and global buckling. The analysis will specifically answer the following questions: (a) Can the EH-22 scenario develop if the vacuum is limited to -6.6-inch water gage (w.g.) by a relief valve? (b) What is the appropriate factor of safety required to protect against buckling if the EH-22 scenario can develop? (c) What is the appropriate factor of safety required to protect against buckling if the EH-22 scenario cannot develop? (2) Develop influence functions to estimate the axial stresses in the primary tanks for all reasonable combinations of tank …

Beryllium has been used widely in specific areas of nuclear technology. Frequent monitoring of air and possible contaminated surfaces in U.S Department of Energy (DOE) facilities is required to identify potential health risks and to protect DOE workers from beryllium-contaminated dust. A new method has been developed to rapidly remove spectral interferences prior to beryllium (Be) measurement by inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The ion exchange separation removes uranium (U), thorium (Th), niobium (Nb), vanadium (V), molybdenum (Mo), zirconium (Zr), tungsten (W), iron (Fe), chromium (Cr), cerium (Ce), erbium (Er) and titanium (Ti). A stacked column consisting of Diphonix Resin{reg_sign} and TEVA Resin{reg_sign} reduces the levels of the spectral interferences so that low level Be measurements can be performed accurately. If necessary, an additional anion exchange separation can be used for further removal of interferences, particularly chromium. The method has been tested using spiked filters, spiked wipe samples and certified reference material standards with high levels of interferences added. The method provides very efficient removal of spectral interferences with very good accuracy and precision for beryllium on filters or wipes. A vacuum box system is employed to reduce analytical time and reduce labor costs.

The design, construction, and performance of a linear radio-frequency ion trap (RFQ) intended for use in the Enriched Xenon Observatory (EXO) are described. EXO aims to detect the neutrinoless double-beta decay of {sup 136}Xe to {sup 136}Ba. To suppress possible backgrounds EXO will complement the measurement of decay energy and, to some extent, topology of candidate events in a Xe filled detector with the identification of the daughter nucleus ({sup 136}Ba). The ion trap described here is capable of accepting, cooling, and confining individual Ba ions extracted from the site of the candidate double-beta decay event. A single trapped ion can then be identified, with a large signal-to-noise ratio, via laser spectroscopy.

Harris, Song and Kiang [1] (HSK) describe their results on reconstructing the free energy profiles for both the stretch of the titin polymer, and the unfolding of an individual I27 domain. The new finding reported in [1] is the measurement of the free energy barrier (or activation energy) to unfolding the I27 domain. Due to a misinterpretation of the mechanics involved, the free energy surface (and thus the energy barrier) to unfolding the I27 domain was not measured.

The STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is designing a new vertex detector. The purpose of this upgrade detector is to provide high resolution pointing to allow for the direct topological reconstruction of heavy flavor decays such as the D{sup 0} by finding vertices displaced from the collision vertex by greater than 60 microns. We are using Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor (MAPS) as the sensor technology and have a coupled sensor development and readout system plan that leads to a final detector with a <200 {micro}s integration time, 400 M pixels and a coverage of -1 < {eta} < 1. We present our coupled sensor and readout development plan and the status of the prototyping work that has been accomplished.

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The charmonium-like states, Y(4260), Y(4350), produced via initial state radiation, as well as the X(3872), and Y(3940), produced in B meson decays from the BABAR B-factory are reviewed. These mesons do not seem consistent with conventional charmonium models, and several alternate hypotheses have been proposed to explain these new discoveries.

In this paper large scale full-wave simulations are performed to investigate radar wave propagation inside buildings. In principle, a radar system combined with sophisticated numerical methods for inverse problems can be used to determine the internal structure of a building. The composition of the walls (cinder block, re-bar) may effect the propagation of the radar waves in a complicated manner. In order to provide a benchmark solution of radar propagation in buildings, including the effects of typical cinder block and re-bar, we performed large scale full wave simulations using a Finite Element Time Domain (FETD) method. This particular FETD implementation is tuned for the special case of an orthogonal Cartesian mesh and hence resembles FDTD in accuracy and efficiency. The method was implemented on a general-purpose massively parallel computer. In this paper we briefly describe the radar propagation problem, the FETD implementation, and we present results of simulations that used over 10 billion elements.

High precision measurements of the {sup 239}Pu(n,f) cross section have been identified as important for the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) and other programs. Currently the uncertainty on this cross section is of the order 2-3% for neutron energies below 14 MeV and the goal is to reduce this to less than 1%. The Time Projection Chamber (TPC) has been identified as a possible tool to make this high precision measurement.

The Berkeley UXO Discriminator (BUD) is an optimally designed active electromagnetic system that not only detects but also characterizes UXO. The performance of the system is governed by a target size-depth curve. BUD was designed to detect UXO in the 20 mm to 155 mm size range for depths between 0 and 1.5 m, and to characterize them in a depth range from 0 to 1.1 m. The system incorporates three orthogonal transmitters and eight pairs of differenced receivers. Eight receiver coils are placed horizontally along the two diagonals of the upper and lower planes of the two horizontal transmitter loops. These receiver coil pairs are located on symmetry lines through the center of the system and each pair sees identical fields during the on-time of the pulse in all of the transmitter coils. They are wired in opposition to produce zero output during the on-time of the pulses in three orthogonal transmitters. Moreover, this configuration dramatically reduces noise in the measurements by canceling the background electromagnetic fields (these fields are uniform over the scale of the receiver array and are consequently nulled by the differencing operation), and by canceling the noise contributed by the tilt motion of the receivers …

Carbon dioxide injection into deep sea sediments below 2700 m water depth and a few hundred meters to fifteen hundred meters deep in the sediment column may provide permanent geologic storage by gravitational trapping. At high pressures and low temperatures common in deep sea sediments a few hundred meters below sea floor, CO{sub 2} will be in its liquid phase and will be denser than the overlying pore fluid. The lower density of the pore fluid provides a cap to the denser CO{sub 2} and ensures gravitational trapping in the short term. The overall storage capacity for CO{sub 2} in such deep sea formations below the ocean floor is primarily determined by the permeability, and will vary with seafloor depth, geothermal gradient, porosity, and pore water salinity. Furthermore, the dissemination of the injected CO{sub 2} in the sediments and potential chemical reactions between CO{sub 2}, pore fluid and sediments will define its fate in the storage reservoir. The main objectives of our research was to evaluate the potential for sub-seabed CO{sub 2} storage in deep sea sediments using a range of approaches including experiments, permeability analysis, and modeling. Over the course of the three-year award, our results support an important …

United States high-level nuclear waste from nuclear weapons production, naval propulsion programs, and the processing of commercial spent nuclear fuels is scheduled for immobilization in glass waste forms prior to permanent disposal in a mined geologic repository. Considerable attention has been directed to assessments of the subsequent long-term release of radionuclides from a repository under saturated and partially saturated conditions. Credible predictions of dose from a repository rely on insights to radionuclide sequestration in the glass, mechanisms of glass degradation, and radionuclide solubility and transport in the near-field. Underground nuclear test sites offer an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate processes relevant to repository performance in the absence of engineered barriers. Radionuclide migration programs at the Nevada Test Site represent a twenty-five year investment in the systematic investigation of the diverse radiologic source term from weapons testing and the evolution of the hydrologic source term which includes radionuclides dissolved in or otherwise available for transport by groundwater. The geology, hydrology, and geochemistry of the Nevada Test Site which includes the proposed Yucca Mountain repository provides an ideal natural laboratory to assess long-term radionuclide transport in the near and far-field. The Yucca Mountain repository shares with adjacent testing areas the following features: correlative …

At low energies certain one dimensional Mott insulators can be described in terms of an exactly solvable quantum field theory, the U(1) Thirring model. Using exact results derived from integrability we determine dynamical properties like the frequency dependent optical conductivity and the single-particle Green's function. We discuss the effects of a small temperature and the effects on interchain tunneling in a model of infinitely many weakly coupled chains.

These steps were taken to maintain weekly archives: (1) Friday morning you stop the archiver and wait for it to finish writing data (the lock file will be removed from the directory); (2) move the current archive information to a PC via FTP; (3) remove all previous archive information in the previous directory; (4) move the current archive into the previous directory; (5) start a new archive; (6) burn a CDROM of the archive; and (7) copy the current archive to a specific directory. There are 2 ways to check if the Calorimeter Archiver is running, either through the WEB based front end or directly from a command line. Once the archiver is running it can be monitored from a WEB page. This only works with a browser launched from the online machine running the archiver. Each time the browser is reloaded there should be an update reported in the last write check field. You might have to wait a few minutes to see the update. Calorimetry currently takes readings every (300 sec.) 5 minutes. The second method to verify the archiver is running is to issue a command from a Linux cluster machine.

The metal-rich carbonaceous chondrites (CB and CH) have the highest whole-rock {sup 15}N enrichment ({delta}{sup 15}N up to +1500{per_thousand}), similar to {delta}{sup 15}N values reported in micron-sized regions (hotspots) of Interplanetary Dust Particles (IDPs) of possibly cometary origin and fine-grained matrices of unmetamorphosed chondrites. These {sup 15}N-rich hotspots are commonly attributed to low-temperature ion-molecule reactions in the protosolar molecular cloud or in the outer part of the protoplanetary disk. The nature of the whole-rock {sup 15}N enrichment of the metal-rich chondrites is not understood. We report a discovery of a unique type of primitive chondritic clasts in the CH/CB-like meteorite Isheyevo, which provides important constraints on the origin of {sup 15}N anomaly in metal-rich chondrites and nitrogen-isotope fractionation in the Solar System. These clasts contain tiny chondrules and refractory inclusions (5-15 {micro}m in size), and abundant ferromagnesian chondrule fragments (1-50 {micro}m in size) embedded in the partly hydrated, fine-grained matrix material composed of olivines, pyroxenes, poorly-organized aromatic organics, phyllosilicates and other hydrous phases. The mineralogy and oxygen isotope compositions of chondrules and refractory inclusions in the clasts are similar to those in the Isheyevo host, suggesting formation at similar heliocentric distances. In contrast to the previously known extraterrestrial samples, the …

The Northeast Regional Cancer Institute conducted cancer surveillance in Northeast Pennsylvania using data from the institute’s population-based regional cancer registry and the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry. The results of this surveillance have been used to set priorities for research and outreach activities at the Cancer Institute and selected results have been reported to medical professionals at member hospitals and in the community. One consistent observation of this surveillance was that colorectal cancer was unusually common in Northeast Pennsylvania; incidence was approximately 25% higher than the rate published for NCI’s Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program. In addition, death rates form colorectal cancer in several counties in this region were above the 90Th percentile for colorectal cancer mortality in the United States. As a result of these observations, several activities have been developed to increase awareness of colorectal cancer and the value of screening for this cancer in both the lay and medical communities. Funding from this grant also provided support for a population-based study of cancer risk factors, screening practices, and related behaviors. This project continues beyond the termination of the present grant with funding from other sources. This project gathers data from a representative sample of adults residing in …