In June 2004, the Demonstration Bulk Vitrification System (DBVS) was initiated with the intent to design, construct, and operate a full-scale bulk vitrification pilot-plant to treat low-activity tank waste from Hanford Tank 241-S-109. The DBVS facility uses In-Container Vitrification{trademark} (ICV{trademark}) at the core of the treatment process. The basic process steps combine liquid low-activity waste (LAW) and glassformers; dry the mixture; and then vitrify the mixture in a batch feed-while-melt process in a refractory lined steel container. Off-gases are processed through a state-of-the-art air pollution control system including sintered-metal filtration, thermal oxidation, acid gas scrubbing, and high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) and high-efficiency gas adsorber (HEGA) filtration. Testing has focused on development and validation of the waste dryer, ICV, and sintered-metal filters (SMFs) equipment, operations enhancements, and glass formulation. With a parallel testing and design process, testing has allowed improvements to the DBVS equipment configuration and operating methodology, since its original inception. Design improvements include optimization of refractory panels in the ICV, simplifying glassformer addition equipment, increasing the number of waste feed chutes to the ICV, and adding capability for remote clean-out of piping, In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has provided an independent review of the entire DBVS …

We present fabrication and characterization of a membrane based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and parylene. Carbon nanotubes have shown orders of magnitude enhancement in gas and water permeability compared to estimates generated by conventional theories [1, 2]. Large area membranes that exhibit flux enhancement characteristics of carbon nanotubes may provide an economical solution to a variety of technologies including water desalination [3] and gas sequestration [4]. We report a novel method of making carbon nanotube-based, robust membranes with large areas. A vertically aligned dense carbon nanotube array is infiltrated with parylene. Parylene polymer creates a pinhole free transparent film by exhibiting high surface conformity and excellent crevice penetration. Using this moisture-, chemical- and solvent-resistant polymer creates carbon nanotube membranes that promise to exhibit high stability and biocompatibility. CNT membranes are formed by releasing a free-standing film that consists of parylene-infiltrated CNTs, followed by CNT uncapping on both sides of the composite material. Thus fabricated membranes show flexibility and ductility due to the parylene matrix material, as well as high permeability attributed to embedded carbon nanotubes. These membranes have a potential for applications that may require high flux, flexibility and durability.

The authors present measurements of the CP-violation parameters S and C for the radiative decay B{sup 0} {yields} {eta}K{sub S}{sup 0}{gamma}; for B {yields} {eta}K{gamma} they also measure the branching fractions and for B{sup +} {yields} {eta}K{sup +}{gamma} the time-integrated charge asymmetry {Alpha}{sub ch}. The data, collected with the BABAR detector at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, represent 465 x 10{sup 6} B{bar B} pairs produced in e{sup +}e{sup -} annihilation. The results are S = -0.18{sub -0.46}{sup +0.49} {+-} 0.12, C = -0.32{sub -0.39}{sup +0.40} {+-} 0.07, {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} {eta}K{sup 0}{gamma}) = (7.1{sub -2.0}{sup +2.1} {+-} 0.4) x 10{sup -6}, {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {eta}K{sup +}{gamma}) = (7.7 {+-} 1.0 {+-} 0.4) x 10{sup -6}, and {Alpha}{sub ch} = (-9.0{sub -9.8}{sup +10.4} {+-} 1.4) x 10{sup -2}. The first error quoted is statistical and the second systematic.

Increasing evidence suggests that a combination of host genetics and the composition of the gut microbiota are important for development of Crohn's disease (CD). Our aim was to study identical twins with CD to determine microbial factors independently of host genetics. Fecal samples were studied from 10 monozygotic twin pairs with CD (discordant n=6, concordant n=4) and 8 healthy twin pairs. DNA was extracted, 16S rRNA genes were PCR amplified and T-RFLP fingerprints generated using general bacterial and Bacteroides group specific primers. The microbial communities were also profiled based on their % G+C contents. Bacteroides 16S rRNA genes were cloned and sequenced from a subset of the samples. The bacterial diversity in each sample and similarity indices between samples were estimated based on the T-RFLP data using a combination of statistical approaches. Healthy individuals had a significantly higher bacterial diversity compared to individuals with CD. The fecal microbial communities were more similar between healthy twins than between twins with CD, especially when these were discordant for the disease. The microbial community profiles of individuals with ileal CD were significantly different from healthy individuals and those with colonic CD. Also, CD individuals had a lower relative abundance of B. uniformis and …

Countercurrent two-phase flow and “flooding” phenomena in light water reactor systems are being investigated experimentally and analytically to improve reactor safety of current and future reactors. The aspects that will be better clarified are the effects of condensation and tube inclination on flooding in large diameter tubes. The current project aims to improve the level of understanding of flooding mechanisms and to develop an analysis model for more accurate evaluations of flooding in the pressurizer surge line of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). Interest in flooding has recently increased because Countercurrent Flow Limitation (CCFL) in the AP600 pressurizer surge line can affect the vessel refill rate following a small break LOCA and because analysis of hypothetical severe accidents with the current flooding models in reactor safety codes shows that these models represent the largest uncertainty in analysis of steam generator tube creep rupture. During a hypothetical station blackout without auxiliary feedwater recovery, should the hot leg become voided, the pressurizer liquid will drain to the hot leg and flooding may occur in the surge line. The flooding model heavily influences the pressurizer emptying rate and the potential for surge line structural failure due to overheating and creep rupture. The air-water …

We have started upgrading the control room programs for the injector at the Advanced Light Source (ALS). We chose to program in C* exclusively on the .NET Framework to create EPICS client programs on Windows Vista PCs. This paper reports the status of this upgrade project.

One of the emerging computational approaches in nuclear physics is the full configuration interaction (FCI) method for solving the many-body nuclear Hamiltonian in a sufficiently large single-particle basis space to obtain exact answers - either directly or by extrapolation. The lowest eigenvalues and correspondingeigenvectors for very large, sparse and unstructured nuclear Hamiltonian matrices are obtained and used to evaluate additional experimental quantities. These matrices pose a significant challenge to the design and implementation of efficient and scalable algorithms for obtaining solutions on massively parallel computer systems. In this paper, we describe the computational strategies employed in a state-of-the-art FCI code MFDn (Many Fermion Dynamics - nuclear) as well as techniques we recently developed to enhance the computational efficiency of MFDn. We will demonstrate the current capability of MFDn and report the latest performance improvement we have achieved. We will also outline our future research directions.

We study the photo-induced insulator-metal transition in VO2, correlating threshold and dynamic evolution with excitation wavelength. In high-quality single crystal samples, we find that switching can only be induced with photon energies above the 670-meV gap. This contrasts with the case of polycrystalline films, where formation of the metallic state can also be triggered with photon energies as low as 180 meV, well below the bandgap. Perfection of this process may be conducive to novel schemes for optical switches, limiters and detectors, operating at room temperature in the mid-IR.

Decomposition of the time-reversal operator for an array, or equivalently the singular value decomposition of the multistatic response matrix, has been used to improve imaging and localization of targets in complicated media. Typically, each singular value is associated with one scatterer even though it has been shown in several cases that a single scatterer can generate several singular values. In this paper we review the analysis of the time-reversal operator (TRO), or equivalently the multistatic response matrix (MRM), of an array system and a small target. We begin with two-dimensional scattering from a small cylinder then show the results for a small non-spherical target in three dimensions. We show that the number and magnitudes of the singular values contain information about target composition, shape, and orientation.

We present the results of searches for decays of B mesons to final states with a b{sub 1} meson and a neutral pion or kaon. The data, collected with the BABAR detector at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, represent 465 million B{bar B} pairs produced in e{sup +}e{sup -} annihilation. The results for the branching fractions are, in units of 10{sup -6}, {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} b{sub 1}{sup +}K{sup 0}) = 9.6 {+-} 1.7 {+-} 0.9, {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} b{sub 1}{sup 0}K{sup 0}) = 5.1 {+-} 1.8 {+-} 0.5 (< 7.8), {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} b{sub 1}{sup +} {pi}{sup 0}) = 1.8 {+-} 0.9 {+-} 0.2 (<3.3), and {Beta}(B{sup 0} {yields} b{sub 1}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}) = 0.4 {+-} 0.8 {+-} 0.2 (<1.9), with the assumption that {Beta}(b{sub 1} {yields} {omega}{pi}) = 1. They also measure the charge asymmetry {Alpha}{sub ch} (B{sup +} {yields} b{sub 1}{sup +}K{sup 0}) = -0.03 {+-} 0.15 {+-} 0.02. The first error quoted is statistical, the second systematic, and the upper limits in parentheses indicate the 90% confidence level.

Diffuse {gamma}-ray emission produced by the interaction of cosmic-ray particles with matter and radiation in the Galaxy can be used to probe the distribution of cosmic rays and their sources in different regions of the Galaxy. With its large field of view and long observation time, the Milagro Gamma Ray Observatory is an ideal instrument for surveying large regions of the Northern Hemisphere sky and for detecting diffuse {gamma}-ray emission at very high energies. Here, the spatial distribution and the flux of the diffuse {gamma}-ray emission in the TeV energy range with a median energy of 15 TeV for Galactic longitudes between 30{sup o} and 110{sup o} and between 136{sup o} and 216{sup o} and for Galactic latitudes between -10{sup o} and 10{sup o} are determined. The measured fluxes are consistent with predictions of the GALPROP model everywhere except for the Cygnus region (l {element_of} [65{sup o}, 85{sup o}]). For the Cygnus region, the flux is twice the predicted value. This excess can be explained by the presence of active cosmic ray sources accelerating hadrons which interact with the local dense interstellar medium and produce gamma rays through pion decay.

We report here an in-depth synchrotron radiation based white beam X-ray microdiffraction study of plasticity in individual grains of an Al (Cu) interconnect during the early stage of electromigration. The study shows a rearrangement of the geometrically necessary dislocations (GND) in bamboo typed grains during that stage. We find that about 90percent of the GNDs are oriented so that their line direction is the closest to the current flow direction. In non-bamboo typed grains, the Laue peak positions shift, indicating that the grains rotate. An analysis in terms of force directions has been carried out and is consistent with observed electromigration induced grain rotation and bending.

This letter describes how to perform model-independent searches for new pair-produced color octet particles that each subsequently decay into two jets plus missing energy at the Tevatron. Current searches are not sensitive to all regions of parameter space because they employ CMSSM-motivated cuts. Optimizing the H{sub T} and E{sub T} cuts expands the sensitivity of searches for all kinematically allowed decays.

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 …

In contrast to previous analyses, we demonstrate a Bayesian approach to the estimation of the CKM phase {alpha} that is invariant to parameterization. We also show that in addition to computing the marginal posterior in a Bayesian manner, the distribution must also be interpreted from a subjective Bayesian viewpoint. Doing so gives a very natural interpretation to the distribution. We also comment on the effect of removing information about {beta}{sup 00}.

We report the demonstration of a reflection microscope that operates at 13.2-nm wavelength with a spatial resolution of 55 {+-} 3 nm. The microscope uses illumination from a table-top EUV laser to acquire aerial images of photolithography masks with a 20 second exposure time. The modulation transfer function of the optical system was characterized.

Surface display is a powerful technique that utilizes natural microbial functional components to express proteins or peptides on the cell exterior. Since the reporting of the first surface-display system in the mid-1980s, a variety of new systems have been reported for yeast, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Non-conventional display methods are emerging, eliminating the generation of genetically modified microorganisms. Cells with surface display are used as biocatalysts, biosorbents and biostimulants. Microbial cell-surface display has proven to be extremely important for numerous applications ranging from combinatorial library screening and protein engineering to bioremediation and biofuels production.

We study the Collins mechanism contribution to the single transverse spin asymmetry in inclusive hadron production in pp scattering p{up_arrow}p {yields} {pi}X from the leading jet fragmentation. The azimuthal asymmetric distribution of hadron in the jet leads to a single spin asymmetry for the produced hadron in the Lab frame. The effect is evaluated in a transverse momentum dependent model that takes into account the transverse momentum dependence in the fragmentation process. We find the asymmetry is comparable in size to the experimental observation at RHIC at {radical}s = 200GeV.

Data collected by the Pierre Auger Observatory provide evidence for anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays (CRs) with energies >57 EeV that suggests a correlation with the positions of active galactic nuclei (AGN) located within {approx}75 Mpc. However, this analysis does not take into account AGN morphology. A detailed study of the sample of AGN whose positions correlate with the CR events shows that most of them are classified as Seyfert 2 and low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) galaxies which do not differ from other local AGN of the same types. Therefore, the claimed correlation between the CR events observed by the Pierre Auger Observatory and local active galaxies should be considered as resulting from a chance coincidence, if the production of the highest energy CRs is not episodic in nature, but operates in a single object on long ({ge} Myr) timescales. Additionally, most of the selected sources do not show significant jet activity, and hence--in the framework of the jet paradigm--there are no reasons for expecting them to accelerate CRs up to the highest energies, {approx}10{sup 20} eV, at all. If the extragalactic magnetic fields and the sources of these CRs are coupled with matter, it is …

The reaction of ozone with the (100) plane of solid potassium iodide (KI) was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The reaction forming potassium iodate (KIO{sub 3}) initiates at step edges prior to reacting on the flat terraces. Small domains of KIO{sub 3}, initially 3.8 {angstrom} in height are formed on the top of step edges. Following reaction at the step edge, domains of KIO{sub 3} are formed across the terraces. With prolonged exposure to ozone, KIO{sub 3} domains nucleate further growth until the surface is evenly covered with KIO{sub 3} particles that are 4-6 nm in height, at which point the surface is passivated and the reaction terminates.

We review recent results for the chiral behavior of meson masses and decay constants and the determination of the light quark masses by the RBC and UKQCD collaborations. We find that one-loop SU(2) chiral perturbation theory represents the behavior of our lattice data better than one-loop SU(3) chiral perturbation theory in both the pion and kaon sectors. The simulations have been performed using the Iwasaki gauge action at two different lattice spacings with the physical spatial volume held approximately fixed at (2.7fm){sup 3}. The Domain Wall fermion formulation was used for the 2+1 dynamical quark flavors: two (mass degenerate) light flavors with masses as light as roughly 1/5 the mass of the physical strange quark mass and one heavier quark flavor at approximately the value of the physical strange quark mass, On the ensembles generated with the coarser lattice spacing, we obtain for the physical average up- and down-quark and strange quark masses m{sub ud}{sup {ovr MS}} (2 GeV) = 3.72(0.16){sub stat}(0.33){sub ren}(0.18){sub syst}MeV and m{sub s}{sup {ovr MS}} (2 GeV) = 107.3(4.4){sub stat}(9.7){sub ren}(4.9){sub syst} MeV, respectively, while they find for the pion and kaon decay constants f{sub {pi}} = 124.1(3.6){sub stat}(6.9){sub syst}MeV, f{sub K} = 149.6(3.6){sub stat}(6.3){sub syst} …

The temperature equilibration rate in dense hydrogen (for both T{sub i} > T{sub e} and T{sub i} < T{sub e}) has been calculated with large-scale molecular dynamics simulations for temperatures between 10 and 300 eV and densities between 10{sup 20}/cc to 10{sup 24}/cc. Careful attention has been devoted to convergence of the simulations, including the role of semiclassical potentials. We find that for Coulomb logarithms L {approx}> 1, Brown-Preston-Singleton [Brown et al., Phys. Rep. 410, 237 (2005)] with the sub-leading corrections and the fit of Gericke-Murillo-Schlanges [Gericke et al., PRE 65, 036418 (2003)] to the T-matrix evaluation of the collision operator, agrees with the MD data to within the error bars of the simulation. For more strongly-coupled plasmas where L {approx}< 1, our numerical results are consistent with the fit of Gericke-Murillo-Schlanges.

Chromosomal mosaicism in human preimplantation embryos is a common cause ofspontaneous abortions, however, our knowledge of its etiology is limited. We used multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) painting to investigate whether paternally-transmitted chromosomal aberrations result in mosaicism in mouse 2-cell embryos. Paternal exposure to acrylamide, an important industrial chemical also found in tobacco smoke and generated during the cooking process of starchy foods, produced significant increases in chromosomally defective 2-cell embryos, however, the effects were transient primarily affecting the postmeiotic stages of spermatogenesis. Comparisons with our previous study of zygotes demonstrated similar frequencies of chromosomally abnormal zygotes and 2-cell embryos suggesting that there was no apparent selection against numerical or structural chromosomal aberrations. However, the majority of affected 2-cell embryos were mosaics showing different chromosomal abnormalities in the two blastomeric metaphases. Analyses of chromosomal aberrations in zygotes and 2-cell embryos showed a tendency for loss of acentric fragments during the first mitotic division ofembryogenesis, while both dicentrics and translocations apparently underwent propersegregation. These results suggest that embryonic development can proceed up to the end of the second cell cycle of development in the presence of abnormal paternal chromosomes and that even dicentrics can persist through cell division. The high …

We report the scaling behavior of Barkhausen avalanches for every small field step along the hysteresis loop in CoCrPt alloy film having perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Individual Barkhausen avalanche is directly observed utilizing a high-resolution soft X-ray microscopy that provides real space images with a spatial resolution of 15 nm. Barkhausen avalanches are found to exhibit power-law scaling behavior at all field steps along the hysteresis loop, despite their different patterns for each field step. Surprisingly, the scaling exponent of the power-law distribution of Barkhausen avalanches is abruptly altered from 1 {+-} 0.04 to 1.47 {+-} 0.03 as the field step is close to the coercive field. The contribution of coupling among adjacent domains to Barkhausen avalanche process affects the sudden change of the scaling behavior observed at the coercivity-field region on the hysteresis loop of CoCrPt alloy film.