This paper presents the results of a broad investigation into the effects of the electron energy distribution function on the predictions of non-LTE collisional-radiative atomic kinetics models. The effects of non-Maxwellian and suprathermal (''hot'') electron distributions on collisional rates (including three-body recombination) are studied. It is shown that most collisional rates are fairly insensitive to the functional form and characteristic energy of the electron distribution function as long as the characteristic energy is larger than the threshold energy for the collisional process. Collisional excitation and ionization rates, however, are highly sensitive to the fraction of hot electrons. This permits the development of robust spectroscopic diagnostics that can be used to characterize the electron density, bulk electron temperature, and hot electron fraction of plasmas with non-equilibrium electron distribution functions (EDFs). Hot electrons are shown to increase and spread out plasma charge state distributions, amplify the intensities of emission lines fed by direct collisional excitation and radiative cascades, and alter the structure of satellite features in both K- and L-shell spectra. The characteristic energy, functional form, and spatial properties of hot electron distributions in plasmas are open to characterization through their effects on high-energy continuum and line emission and on the polarization …

Targeted radionuclide therapy promises to expand the role of radiation beyond the treatment of localized tumors. This novel form of therapy targets metastatic cancers by combining radioactive isotopes with tumor-seeking molecules such as monoclonal antibodies and custom-designed synthetic agents. Ultimately, like conventional radiotherapy, the effectiveness of targeted radionuclide therapy is limited by the maximum dose that can be given to a critical, normal tissue, such as bone marrow, kidneys, and lungs. Because radionuclide therapy relies on biological delivery of radiation, its optimization and characterization are necessarily different than for conventional radiation therapy. We have initiated the development of a new, Monte Carlo transport-based treatment planning system for molecular targeted radiation therapy as part of the MINERVA treatment planning system. This system calculates patient-specific radiation dose estimates using a set of computed tomography scans to describe the 3D patient anatomy, combined with 2D (planar image) and 3D (SPECT, or single photon emission computed tomography) to describe the time-dependent radiation source. The accuracy of such a dose calculation is limited primarily by the accuracy of the initial radiation source distribution, overlaid on the patient's anatomy. This presentation provides an overview of MINERVA functionality for molecular targeted radiation therapy, and describes early validation …

The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) has long been active in development of advanced Monte-Carlo based computational dosimetry and treatment planning methods and software for advanced radiotherapy, with a particular focus on Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT) and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Fast-Neutron Therapy. The most recent INEEL software product system of this type is known as SERA, Simulation Environment for Radiotherapy Applications. SERA is at a mature level in its life cycle, it has been licensed for research use worldwide, and it has become well established as a computational tool for research. However, along with its strengths, SERA also has some limitations in its structure and computational methodologies. More specifically, it is optimized only for neutron-based applications. Although photon transport can be computed with SERA, the simplified model that is used is designed primarily for photons produced in the neutron transport process. Thus SERA is not appropriate for applications to, for example, standard external-beam photon radiotherapy, which is by far more commonly used in the clinic than neutron based therapy.

We have observed spectra from highly charged zinc ions in a variety of laser-produced plasmas. Spectral features that are Na- and Mg-like satellites to high-n Rydberg transitions in the Ne-like ZnXXI spectrum are analyzed and modeled. Identifications and analysis are made by comparison with highly accurate atomic structure calculations and steady state collisional-radiative models. Each observed ZnXX and ZnXIX feature comprises up to {approx} 2 dozen individual transitions, these transitions are excited principally by dielectronic recombination through autoionizing levels in Na- and Mg-like Zn{sup 19+} Zn{sup 18+}. We find these satellites to be ubiquitous in laser-produced plasmas formed by lasers with pulse lengths that span four orders of magnitude, from 1 ps to {approx} 10 ns. The diagnostic potential of these Rydberg satellite lines is demonstrated.

Large aperture diffractive optics are needed in high power laser applications to protect against laser damage during operation and in space applications to increase the light gathering power and consequently the signal to noise. We describe the facilities we have built for fabricating meter scale diffractive optics and discuss several examples of these.

The direct deposition of coatings with variable cross-section profiles presents a challenge for the use of physical vapor deposition technology. Coatings with constant and variable cross-section profiles are of interest for advancing the evaluation of material behavior under extreme loading conditions, as for example under high strain rate. The synthesis of a variable cross-section profile by design in the as-deposited condition requires process innovation. It is demonstrated that a thickness gradient in cross-section can be produced when the substrate is exposed to a highly collimated evaporation source. The exposure is governed using a variable position shutter as driven by a computer-controlled stepper motor. An example is shown for aluminum deposition in which the coating thickness varies linearly from one plateau to another forming a wedge shape. To deposit a controlled grain size in coatings as these wedge shapes, first requires an understanding of the affect of time at temperature. An examination of aluminum coatings with constant cross-section reveals that ideal-grain growth behavior is observed from the micron-to-millimeter scale for depositions at temperatures in excess of half the melt point.

Corrosion of tubing used in black-liquor recovery boilers is a major concern in all pulp and paper mills. Extensive corrosion in recovery boiler tubes can result in a significant safety and environmental hazard. Considerable plant resources are expended to inspect recovery boiler tubing. Currently, visual and ultrasonic inspections are primarily used during the annual maintenance shutdown to monitor corrosion rates and cracking of tubing. This Department of Energy, Office of Industrial Technologies project is developing guided acoustic waves for use on recovery boiler tubing. The feature of this acoustic technique is its cost-effectiveness in inspecting long lengths of tubes from a single inspection point. A piezoelectric or electromagnetic transducer induces guided waves into the tubes. The transducer detects fireside defects from the coldside or fireside of the tube. Cracking and thinning on recovery boiler tubes have been detected with this technique in both laboratory and field applications. This technique appears very promising for recovery boiler tube application, potentially expediting annual inspection of tube integrity.

The mechanical response of a UHCS-1.3C material deformed at approximately 3000 s{sup -1} to large strains (60%) has been studied. The influence of three different heat treatments, which resulted in pearlitic, martensitic and tempered martensitic microstructures, on the stress-strain response has also been examined. Failure, at both the macroscopic and the microscopic levels, and the ability of the material to absorb energy in compression have been evaluated. Failure for all heat treatments occurred due to shear localization. However, in the pearlitic condition, extensive buckling of the carbide plates was observed and the UHCS-1.3C material exhibited significant potential for compressive ductility (>60%) and energy absorption due to the distributed buckling of these plates. In the pearlitic condition, localization occurred due to adiabatic shear bands, in which austenite formed. Subsequent cooling produced a divorced-eutectoid transformation with associated deformation, which resulted in a microstructure consisting of 50 to 100 nm sized grains. The results show the large potential for use of UHCS in applications involving dynamic loading.

Natural inorganic colloids (< 1 micron particles) found in groundwater can sorb low-solubility actinides and may provide a pathway for transport in the subsurface. For example, Kerting et al found that Pu, associated with colloids fraction of the groundwater, was detected over 1 km away from the underground nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) where it was originally deposited 28 years earlier. However, laboratory experiments have not identified the mechanisms by which Pu may sorb to colloids or exist as its own colloid and travel relatively unimpeded in the subsurface. Some data suggest that Pu sorption to colloids is a very fast process while desorption is very slow or simply does not occur. Slow desorption of Pu from colloids could allow Pu sorbed to a colloid to travel much farther than if sorption were an equilibrium process. However, PU sorption (and particularly desorption) data in the literature are scant and sometimes contradictory. In some cases, Pu desorption is rather fast, with rates dependent on colloid mineralogy. Moreover, the effect of sorption and desorption kinetics (as well as other mechanisms) on colloid-facilitated transport at the field scale has not been thoroughly evaluated. This is, in part, due to limitations …

This study implements a revised convective triggering condition in the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Atmosphere Model (CAM2) model to reduce its excessive warm season daytime precipitation over land. The new triggering mechanism introduces a simple dynamic constraint on the initiation of convection that emulates the collective effects of lower level moistening and upward motion of the large-scale circulation. It requires a positive contribution from the large-scale advection of temperature and moisture to the existing positive Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) for model convection to start. In contrast, the original convection triggering function in CAM2 assumes that convection is triggered whenever there is positive CAPE, which results in too frequent warm season convection over land arising from strong diurnal variation of solar radiation. We examine the impact of the new trigger on CAM2 simulations by running the climate model in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) mode so that more available observations and high-frequency NWP analysis data can be used to evaluate model performance. We show that the modified triggering mechanism has led to considerable improvements in the simulation of precipitation, temperature, moisture, clouds, radiations, surface temperature, and surface sensible and latent heat fluxes when compared to the data collected …

Soil and ground water remediation projects require collection and interpretation of large amounts of spatial data. Two-dimensional (2D) mapping techniques are often inadequate for characterizing complex subsurface conditions at contaminated sites. To interpret data from these sites, we developed a methodology that allows integration of multiple, three-dimensional (3D) data sets for spatial analysis. This methodology was applied to the Department of Energy (DOE) Building 834 Operable Unit at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Site 300, in central California. This site is contaminated with a non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) mixture consisting of trichloroethene (TCE) and tetrakis (2-ethylbutoxy) silane (TKEBS). In the 1960s and 1970s, releases of this heat-exchange fluid to the environment resulted in TCE concentrations up to 970 mg/kg in soil and dissolved-phase concentrations approaching the solubility limit in a shallow, perched water-bearing zone. A geospatial model was developed using site hydrogeological data, and monitoring data for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and biogeochemical parameters. The model was used to characterize the distribution of contamination in different geologic media, and to track changes in subsurface contaminant mass related to treatment facility operation and natural attenuation processes. Natural attenuation occurs mainly as microbial reductive dechlorination of TCE which is dependent on the presence …

We show direct evidence, obtained by positron annihilation spectroscopy, for the complexing of fluorine with vacancies in silicon. Both float zone and Czochralski silicon wafers were implanted with 30 keV fluorine ions to a fluence of 2x10{sup 14} ions/cm{sup 2}, and studied in the as-implanted condition, and after annealing to 650o C for 10 and for 30 minutes. The ''2-detector'' background reduction technique for positron annihilation was applied. The spectra reveal a significant concentration of fluorine-vacancy complexes after annealing, for both Czochralski and float zone material, supporting the results of computer simulations of the implantation and annealing process.

Tracing vitamin kinetics at physiologic concentrations has been hampered by a lack of quantitative sensitivity for chemically equivalent tracers that could be used safely in healthy people. Instead, elderly or ill volunteers were sought for studies involving pharmacologic doses with radioisotopic labels. These studies fail to be relevant in two ways: vitamins are inherently micronutrients, whose biochemical paths are saturated and distorted by pharmacological doses; and while vitamins remain important for health in the elderly or ill, their greatest effects may be in preventing slow and cumulative diseases by proper consumption throughout youth and adulthood. Neither the target dose nor the target population are available for nutrient metabolic studies through decay counting of radioisotopes at high levels. Stable isotopic labels are quantified by isotope ratio mass spectrometry at levels that trace physiologic vitamin doses, but the natural background of stable isotopes severely limits the time span over which the tracer is distinguishable. Indeed, study periods seldom ranged over a single biological mean life of the labeled nutrients, failing to provide data on the important final elimination phase of the compound. Kinetic data for the absorption phase is similarly rare in micronutrient research because the phase is rapid, requiring many consecutive …

We describe research indicating that a diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) can serve as a viable driver for an inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plant. The ongoing construction of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) sets the stage for a new era to start in the next decade for target research aimed at achieving the high gains necessary for both defense and energy applications. In addition, advances in DPSSL research show that this type of laser can have adequate efficiency and reliability, and can achieve the effective beam smoothness required for direct-drive IFE.

Many human genes are associated with dispersed arrays of transcriptional enhancers that regulate their expression in time and space. Studies in invertebrate model systems have suggested that these elements function as discrete and independent regulatory units, but the in vivo combinatorial properties of vertebrate enhancers remain poorly understood. To explore the modularity and regulatory autonomy of human developmental enhancers, we experimentally concatenated up to four enhancers from different genes and used a transgenic mouse assay to compare the in vivo activity of these compound elements with that of the single modules. In all of the six different combinations of elements tested, the reporter gene activity patterns were additive without signs of interference between the individual modules, indicating that regulatory specificity was maintained despite the presence of closely-positioned heterologous enhancers. Even in cases where two elements drove expression in close anatomical proximity, such as within neighboring subregions of the developing limb bud, the compound patterns did not show signs of cross-inhibition between individual elements or novel expression sites. These data indicate that human developmental enhancers are highly modular and functionally autonomous and suggest that genomic enhancer shuffling may have contributed to the evolution of complex gene expression patterns in vertebrates

The Liquid Lithium Divertor (LLD) on NSTX will be the first test of a fully-toroidal liquid lithium divertor in a high-power magnetic confinement device. It will replace part of the lower outboard divertor between a specified inside and outside radius, and ultimately provide a lithium surface exposed to the plasma with enough depth to absorb a significant particle flux. There are numerous technical challenges involved in the design. The lithium layer must be as thin as possible, and maintained at a temperature between 200 and 400 degrees Celsius to minimize lithium evaporation. This requirement leads to the use of a thick copper substrate, with a thin stainless steel layer bonded to the plasma-facing surface. A porous molybdenum layer is then plasma-sprayed onto the stainless steel, to provide a coating that facilitates full wetting of the surface by the liquid lithium. Other challenges include the design of a robust, vacuumcompatible heating and cooling system for the LLD. Replacement graphite tiles that provided the proper interface between the existing outer divertor and the LLD also had to be designed, as well as accommodation for special LLD diagnostics. This paper describes the mechanical design of the LLD, and presents analyses showing the performance …

Anomaly mediation solves the supersymmetric flavor and CP problems. This is because the superconformal anomaly dictates that supersymmetry breaking is transmitted through nearly flavor-blind infrared physics that is highly predictive and UV insensitive. Slepton mass squareds, however, are predicted to be negative. This can be solved by adding D-terms for U(1)_Y and U(1)_{B-L} while retaining the UV insensitivity. In this paper we consider electroweak symmetry breaking via UV insensitive anomaly mediation in several models. For the MSSM we find a stable vacuum when tanbeta< 1, but in this region the top Yukawa coupling blows up only slightly above the supersymmetry breaking scale. For the NMSSM, we find a stable electroweak breaking vacuum but with a chargino that is too light. Replacing the cubic singlet term in the NMSSM superpotential with a term linear in the singlet wefind a stable vacuum and viable spectrum. Most of the parameter region with correct vacua requires a large superpotential coupling, precisely what is expected in the"Fat Higgs'" model in which the superpotential is generated dynamically. We have therefore found the first viable UV complete, UV insensitive supersymmetry breaking model that solves the flavor and CP problems automatically: the Fat Higgs model with UV insensitive …

The National Compact Stellarator Experiment (NCSX) required precise positioning of the field coils in order to generate suitable magnetic fields. A set of three modular field coils were assembled to form the Half Field-Period Assemblies (HPA). Final assembly of the HPA required a welded shear plate to join individual coils in the nose region due to the geometric limitations and the strength constraints. Each of the modular coil windings was wound on a stainless steel alloy (Stellalloy) casting. The alloy is similar to austenitic 316 stainless steel. During the initial welding trials, severe distortion, of approximately 1/16", was observed in the joint caused by weld shrinkage. The distortion was well outside the requirements of the design. Solutions were attempted through several simultaneous routes. The joint design was modified, welding processes were changed, and specialized heat reduction techniques were utilized. A final joint design was selected to reduce the amount of weld material needed to be deposited, while maintaining adequate penetration and strength. Several welding processes and techniques using Miller Axcess equipment were utilized that significantly reduced heat input. The final assembly of the HPA was successful. Distortion was controlled to 0.012", well within the acceptable design tolerance range of 0.020" …

We present measurements of elliptic flow and event-by-event fluctuations established by the PHOBOS experiment. Elliptic flow scaled by participant eccentricity is found to be similar for both systems when collisions with the same number of participants or the same particle area density are compared. The agreement of elliptic flow between Au+Au and Cu+Cu collisions provides evidence that the matter is created in the initial stage of relativistic heavy ion collisions with transverse granularity similar to that of the participant nucleons. The event-by-event fluctuation results reveal that the initial collision geometry is translated into the final state azimuthal particle distribution, leading to an event-by-event proportionality between the observed elliptic flow and initial eccentricity.

The amplitude dependent mechanical loss due to bosing of an idealized Frank-Read Source is studied using both simulation and analytical techniques. Dislocations are modeled within isotropic elasticity theory, and are assumed to be in the over-damped limit.

None

OAK-B135 Metalloenzymes seem to ''come of age'' when their structures are known at atomic resolution, spectroscopic and catalytic properties are basically understood, and genetic expression systems are available. Such foundations allow detailed mechanistic and spectroscopic properties to be probed and correlated to structure. The objective of this article is to summarize what is known about the title group of enzymes, and show that, to a large degree, they have come of age.

Calculations of absolute triple differential and single differential cross sections for helium double photoionization are performed using an implementation of exterior complex scaling in B-splines. Results for cross sections, well-converged in partial waves, are presented and compared with both experiment and earlier theoretical calculations. These calculations establish the practicality and effectiveness of the complex B-spline approach to calculations of double ionization of atomic and molecular systems.

As the development of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography progresses, interest grows in the extension of traditional optical components to the EUV regime. The strong absorption of EUV by most materials and its extremely short wavelength, however, makes it very difficult to implement many components that are commonplace in the longer wavelength regimes. One such example is the diffuser often implemented with ordinary ground glass in the visible light regime. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of reflective EUV diffusers with high efficiency within a controllable bandwidth. Using these techniques we have fabricated diffusers with efficiencies exceeding 10% within a moderate angular single-sided bandwidth of approximately 0.06 radians.