Environmental health focus with training conducted as part of the United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corporation/National Library of Medicine HBCU ACCESS Project at Winston-Salem State University, NC on November 10, 2010.

Prokaryotic life on earth is manifested by its diversity and omnipresence. These microbes serve as natural sources of a large variety of compounds with the potential to serve the ever growing, medicinal, chemical and transportation needs of the human population. However, commercially viable production of these compounds can be realized only through significant improvement of the native production capacity of natural isolates. The most favorable way to achieve this goal is through the genetic manipulation of metabolic pathways that direct the production of these molecules. While random mutagenesis and screening have dominated the industrial production of such compounds in the past our increased understanding of microbial physiology over the last five decades has shifted this trend towards rational approaches for metabolic design. Major drivers of this trend include recombinant DNA technology, high throughput characterization of macromolecular cellular components, quantitative modeling for metabolic engine ring, targeted combinatorial engineering and synthetic biology. In this chapter we track the evolution of microbial engineering technologies from the black box era of random mutagenesis to the science and engineering-driven era of metabolic design.

High Energy Physics data processing and analysis applications typically deal with the problem of accessing and processing data at high speed. Recent studies, development and test work have shown that the latencies due to data access can often be hidden by parallelizing them with the data processing, thus giving the ability to have applications which process remote data with a high level of efficiency. Techniques and algorithms able to reach this result have been implemented in the client side of the Scalla/xrootd system, and in this contribution we describe the results of some tests done in order to compare their performance and characteristics. These techniques, if used together with multiple streams data access, can also be effective in allowing to efficiently and transparently deal with data repositories accessible via a Wide Area Network.

High energy physics is replete with multi-dimensional information which is often poorly represented by the two dimensions of presentation slides and print media. Past efforts to disseminate such information to a wider audience have failed for a number of reasons, including a lack of standards which are easy to implement and have broad support. Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) has in recent years become the de facto standard for secure, dependable electronic information exchange. It has done so by creating an open format, providing support for multiple platforms and being reliable and extensible. By providing support for the ECMA standard Universal 3D (U3D) file format in its free Adobe Reader software, Adobe has made it easy to distribute and interact with 3D content. By providing support for scripting and animation, temporal data can also be easily distributed to a wide audience. In this talk, we present examples of HEP applications which take advantage of this functionality. We demonstrate how 3D detector elements can be documented, using either CAD drawings or other sources such as GEANT visualizations as input. Using this technique, higher dimensional data, such as LEGO plots or time-dependent information can be included in PDF files. In principle, a …

Several hundred million {tau} decays have been studied with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II e{sup +}e{sup -} collider at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Recent results on Charged Current Lepton Universality and two independent measurements of |V{sub us}| using {tau}{sup -} {yields} e{sup -}{bar {nu}}{sub e}{nu}{sub {tau}}, {mu}{sup -}{bar {nu}}{sub {mu}}{nu}{sub {tau}}, {pi}{sup -}{nu}{sub {tau}}, K{sup -} {nu}{sub {tau}} and K{sub S}{sup 0}{pi}{sup -} {nu}{sub {tau}} decays, and a search for Second Class Current in {tau}{sup -} {yields} {pi}{sup -} {omega}{nu}{sub {tau}} decays are presented, where the charge conjugate decay modes are also implied.

This Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) is written for the radiological environmental air surveillance program for the DOE-SC PNNL Site, Richland Washington. It provides the requirements for planning sampling events, and the requirements imposed on the analytical laboratory analyzing the air samples. The actual air sampling process is in procedure EPRP-AIR-029. The rationale for analyte selection, media, and sampling site location has been vetted through the data quality objectives (DQO) process (Barnett et al. 2010). The results from the DQO process have been reviewed and approved by the Washington State Department of Health. The DQO process (Barnett et al. 2010) identified seven specific radionuclides for analysis along with the need for gross alpha and gross beta radiological analyses. The analytes are {sup 241}Am, {sup 243}Am, {sup 244}Cm, {sup 60}Co, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 239}Pu, and {sup 233}U. The report also determined that air samples for particulates are the only sample matrix required for the monitoring program. These samples are collected on 47-mm glass-fiber filters.

Anticipated transients without scram (ATWS) in aboiling water reactor (BWR) were simulated in order to understand reactor response and determine the effectiveness of automatic and operator actions to mitigate this beyond-design-basis accident. The events of interest herein are initiated by a turbine trip when the reactor is operating in the expanded operating domainMELLLA+ [maximum extended load line limit plus]. In these events the reactor may initially be at up to 120% of the original licensed thermal power (OLTP) and at flow rates as low as 80% of rated.For these (and similar) ATWS events the concern isthat when the reactor power decreases in response to a dual recirculation pump trip, the core will become unstable and large amplitude oscillations will begin. The occurrence of these power oscillations, if left unmitigated, may result in fuel damage, and the amplitude of the poweroscillations may hamper the effectiveness of the injection of dissolved neutron absorber through the standby liquid control system (SLCS).

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The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will be a large, wide-field ground-based system designed to obtain, starting in 2015, multiple images of the sky that is visible from Cerro Pachon in Northern Chile. About 90% of the observing time will be devoted to a deep-wide-fast survey mode which will observe a 20,000 deg{sup 2} region about 1000 times during the anticipated 10 years of operations (distributed over six bands, ugrizy). Each 30-second long visit will deliver 5{sigma} depth for point sources of r {approx} 24.5 on average. The co-added map will be about 3 magnitudes deeper, and will include 10 billion galaxies and a similar number of stars. We discuss various measurements that will be automatically performed for these 20 billion sources, and how they can be used for classification and determination of source physical and other properties. We provide a few classification examples based on SDSS data, such as color classification of stars, color-spatial proximity search for wide-angle binary stars, orbital-color classification of asteroid families, and the recognition of main Galaxy components based on the distribution of stars in the position-metallicity-kinematics space. Guided by these examples, we anticipate that two grand classification challenges for LSST will be (1) rapid …

We have studied charged nuclear fragments produced by 200 - 400 MeV/nucleon carbon ions, interacting with water and polycarbonate, using a newly developed emulsion detector. Total and partial charge-changing cross sections for the production of B, Be, and Li fragments were measured and compared with both previously published measurements, and model predictions. This study is of importance for validating and improving carbon ion therapy treatment planning systems, and for estimating the radiological risks for personnel on space missions, since carbon is a significant component of the Galactic Cosmic Rays.

Facing the reality of storage economics, NP experiments such as RHIC/STAR have been engaged in a shift of the analysis model, and now heavily rely on using cheap disks attached to processing nodes, as such a model is extremely beneficial over expensive centralized storage. Additionally, exploiting storage aggregates with enhanced distributed computing capabilities such as dynamic space allocation (lifetime of spaces), file management on shared storages (lifetime of files, pinning file), storage policies or a uniform access to heterogeneous storage solutions is not an easy task. The Xrootd/Scalla system allows for storage aggregation. We will present an overview of the largest deployment of Scalla (Structured Cluster Architecture for Low Latency Access) in the world spanning over 1000 CPUs co-sharing the 350 TB Storage Elements and the experience on how to make such a model work in the RHIC/STAR standard analysis framework. We will explain the key features and approach on how to make access to mass storage (HPSS) possible in such a large deployment context. Furthermore, we will give an overview of a fully 'gridified' solution using the plug-and-play features of Scalla architecture, replacing standard storage access with grid middleware SRM (Storage Resource Manager) components designed for space management and …

Customized spatial light modulators have been designed and fabricated for use as precision beam shaping devices in fusion class laser systems. By inserting this device in a low-fluence relay plane upstream of the amplifier chain, 'blocker' obscurations can be programmed into the beam profile to shadow small isolated flaws on downstream optical components that might otherwise limit the system operating energy. In this two stage system, 1920 x 1080 bitmap images are first imprinted on incoherent, 470 nm address beams via pixilated liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) modulators. To realize defined masking functions with smooth apodized shapes and no pixelization artifacts, address beam images are projected onto custom fabricated optically-addressable light valves. Each valve consists of a large, single pixel liquid cell in series with a photoconductive Bismuth silicon Oxide (BSO) crystal. The BSO crystal enables bright and dark regions of the address image to locally control the voltage supplied to the liquid crystal layer which in turn modulates the amplitude of the coherent beams at 1053 nm. Valves as large as 24 mm x 36 mm have been fabricated with low wavefront distortion (<0.5 waves) and antireflection coatings for high transmission (>90%) and etalon suppression to avoid spectral and …

Unlike the ferropnictide superconductors, which crystallize in a tetragonal crystal structure, binary FeAs forms in an orthorhombic crystal structure, where the local atomic environment resembles a highly distorted variant of the FeAs{sub 4} tetrahedral building block of the ferropnictide superconductors. However, like the parent compounds of the ferropnictide superconductors, FeAs undergoes magnetic ordering at low temperatures, with no evidence favoring a superconducting ground state at ambient pressure. We employ pressure-dependent electrical transport and x-ray diffraction measurements using diamond anvil cells to characterize the magnetic state and the structure as a function of pressure. While the structure persists up to 25 GPa, compressing continuously with pressure, magnetotransport measurements suggests that the magnetic state is destroyed near 11 GPa. The magnetic transition temperature is found to be remarkably robust under pressure, and transport measurements suggest that a dynamical structural instability coupled to the Fermi surface via a strong electron-phonon interaction may play an important role in enabling magnetism in FeAs.

Scene reconstruction from video sequences has become a prominent computer vision research area in recent years, due to its large number of applications in fields such as security, robotics and virtual reality. Despite recent progress in this field, there are still a number of issues that manifest as incomplete, incorrect or computationally-expensive reconstructions. The engine behind achieving reconstruction is the matching of features between images, where common conditions such as occlusions, lighting changes and texture-less regions can all affect matching accuracy. Subsequent processes that rely on matching accuracy, such as camera parameter estimation, structure computation and non-linear parameter optimization, are also vulnerable to additional sources of error, such as degeneracies and mathematical instability. Detection and correction of errors, along with robustness in parameter solvers, are a must in order to achieve a very accurate final scene reconstruction. However, error detection is in general difficult due to the lack of ground-truth information about the given scene, such as the absolute position of scene points or GPS/IMU coordinates for the camera(s) viewing the scene. In this dissertation, methods are presented for the detection, factorization and correction of error sources present in all stages of a scene reconstruction pipeline from video, in the …

We report the discovery and orbital determination of 14 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) from the ESSENCE Supernova Survey difference imaging data set. Two additional objects discovered in a similar search of the SDSS-II Supernova Survey database were recovered in this effort. ESSENCE repeatedly observed fields far from the solar system ecliptic (-21{sup o} < {beta} < -5{sup o}), reaching limiting magnitudes per observation of I {approx} 23.1 and R {approx} 23.7. We examine several of the newly detected objects in detail, including 2003 UC{sub 414}, which orbits entirely between Uranus and Neptune and lies very close to a dynamical region that would make it stable for the lifetime of the solar system. 2003 SS{sub 422} and 2007 TA{sub 418} have high eccentricities and large perihelia, making them candidate members of an outer class of TNOs. We also report a new member of the 'extended' or 'detached' scattered disk, 2004 VN{sub 112}, and verify the stability of its orbit using numerical simulations. This object would have been visible to ESSENCE for only {approx}2% of its orbit, suggesting a vast number of similar objects across the sky. We emphasize that off-ecliptic surveys are optimal for uncovering the diversity of such objects, which in …

We will present the most recent results on leptonic B decays B{sup {+-}(0)} {yields} K*{sup {+-}(0)}{nu}{bar {nu}} and B{sup {+-}} {yields} {mu}{sup {+-}}{nu}, based on the data collected by the BaBar detector at PEP-II, an asymmetric e{sup +}e{sup -} collider at the center of mass energy of the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance. Rare B decays have always been a standard probe for New Physics (NP) searches. The very low Standard Model (SM) rate of these decays often make them unaccessible with the present experimental datasets, unless NP effects enhance the rate up to the current experimental sensitivity. Moreover, as NP effects can modify the decay kinematic, particular attention must be paid in order to perform a model independent analysis. A B-Factory provides an unique environment to investigate these processes. The high number of B{bar B} pairs produced by a B-Factory often allows to approach the needed experimental sensitivity. Moreover, the clean environment and the closed kinematic of the initial state enable to obtaining a very pure sample where to look for these decays.

The R- and P-reactor vessels at the Savannah River Site (SRS) are being prepared for deactivation and decommissioning (D&D). D&D activities will consist primarily of physically isolating and stabilizing the reactor vessel by filling it with a grout material. The reactor vessels contain aluminum alloy materials, which pose a concern in that aluminum corrodes rapidly when it comes in contact with the alkaline grout. A product of the corrosion reaction is hydrogen gas and therefore potential flammability issues were assessed. A model was developed to calculate the hydrogen generation rate as the reactor is being filled with the grout material. Three options existed for the type of grout material for D&D of the reactor vessels. The grout formulation options included ceramicrete (pH 6-8), a calcium aluminate sulfate (CAS) based cement (pH 10), or Portland cement grout (pH 12.4). Corrosion data for aluminum in concrete were utilized as input for the model. The calculations considered such factors as the surface area of the aluminum components, the open cross-sectional area of the reactor vessel, the rate at which the grout is added to the reactor vessel, and temperature. Given the hydrogen generation rate, the hydrogen concentration in the vapor space of the …

Robert Griffiths has recently addressed, within the framework of a ‘consistent quantum theory’ (CQT) that he has developed, the issue of whether, as is often claimed, quantum mechanics entails a need for faster-than-light transfers of information over long distances. He argues, on the basis of his examination of certain arguments that claim to demonstrate the existence of such nonlocal influences, that such influences do not exist. However, his examination was restricted mainly to hidden-variable-based arguments that include in their premises some essentially classical-physics-type assumptions that are fundamentally incompatible with the precepts of quantum physics. One cannot logically prove properties of a system by attributing to the system properties alien to that system. Hence Griffiths’ rejection of hidden-variable-based proofs is logically warranted. Griffiths mentions the existence of a certain alternative proof that does not involve hidden variables, and that uses only macroscopically described observable properties. He notes that he had examined in his book proofs of this general kind, and concluded that they provide no evidence for nonlocal influences. But he did not examine the particular proof that he cites. An examination of that particular proof by the method specified by his ‘consistent quantum theory’ shows that the cited proof is …

Platinum and platinum/nickel alloy electrocatalysts supported on graphitized (gCNT) or nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes (nCNT) are prepared and characterized. Pt deposition onto carbon nanotubes results in Pt 'needle' formations that are 3.5 nm in diameter and {approx}100 nm in length. Subsequent Ni deposition and heat treatment results in PtNi 'needles' with an increased diameter. All Pt and Pt/Ni materials were tested as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The Pt and Pt/Ni catalysts showed excellent performance for the ORR, with the heat treated PtNi/gCNT (1.06 mA/cm{sup 2}) and PtNi/nCNT (0.664 mA/cm{sup 2}) showing the highest activity.

We summarize recent R&D progress for a silicon-tungsten electromagnetic calorimeter (ECal) with integrated electronics, designed to meet the ILC physics requirements. A basic physics requirement for ILC detectors is that they provide excellent reconstruction of hadronic final states. This allows access to new physics which is complementary to the LHC. One statement for a requirement on jet reconstruction is that intermediate particles which decay into jets, such as W, Z, or top, can be identified and isolated. This places unprecedented requirements on 2-jet or 3-jet mass resolution, typically at the level of 3-5% using the PFA technique, which makes challenging demands on the calorimeters. The electromagnetic energy resolution is not expected to limit jet resolution using a PFA. However, particle separation - photon-photon and charged hadron-photon - is crucial. In addition, if one provides this kind of imaging calorimeter to meet the PFA needs, these same features will also be put to good use for reconstruction of specific tau decay modes (to enable final-state polarization measurement), to 'track' photons (even if originating from a vertex displaced from the interaction point), to track MIPS, and so forth. Figure 1 and Table 1 provide some context for our ECal design within the …

This report summarizes field sampling activities conducted in support of WCH’s Remedial Investigation of Hanford Site Releases to the Columbia River. This work was conducted form 2008 through 2010. The work included preliminary mapping and measurement of Hanford Site contaminants in sediment, pore water, and surface water located in areas where groundwater upwelling were found.

Experimental results for the selective removal of strontium and cesium from simulated waste solutions with monosodium titanate (MST) and crystalline silicotitanate (CST) laden filter cartridges are presented. In these proof-of-principle tests, effective uptake of both Sr-85 and Cs-137 were observed using ion-exchangers in this filter cartridge configuration. At low salt simulant conditions, the instantaneous decontamination factor (D{sub F}) for Sr-85 with MST impregnated filter membrane cartridges measured 26, representing 96% Sr-85 removal efficiency. On the other hand, the Sr-85 instantaneous D{sub F} with co-sintered active MST cartridges measured 40 or 98% Sr-85 removal efficiency. Strontium-85 removal with the MST impregnated membrane cartridges and CST impregnated membrane cartridges, placed in series arrangement, produced an instantaneous decontamination factor of 41 compared to an instantaneous decontamination factor of 368 for strontium-85 with co-sintered active MST cartridges and co-sintered active CST cartridges placed in series. Overall, polyethylene co-sintered active titanates cartridges performed as well as titanate impregnated filter membrane cartridges in the uptake of strontium. At low ionic strength conditions, there was a significant uptake of Cs-137 with co-sintered CST cartridges. Tests results with CST impregnated membrane cartridges for Cs-137 decontamination are currently being re-evaluated. Based on these preliminary findings we conclude that incorporating …

In modeling magnetic confinement, astrophysics, and plasma propulsion, representing the entire physical domain is often difficult or impossible, and artificial, or 'open' boundaries are appropriate. A novel open boundary condition (BC) for dissipative MHD, called Lacuna-based open BC (LOBC), is presented. LOBC, based on the idea of lacuna-based truncation originally presented by V.S. Ryaben'kii and S.V. Tsynkov, provide truncation with low numerical noise and minimal reflections. For hyperbolic systems, characteristic-based BC (CBC) exist for separating the solution into outgoing and incoming parts. In the hyperbolic-parabolic dissipative MHD system, such separation is not possible, and CBC are numerically unstable. LOBC are applied in dissipative MHD test problems including a translating FRC, and coaxial-electrode plasma acceleration. Solution quality is compared to solutions using CBC and zero-normal derivative BC. LOBC are a promising new open BC option for dissipative MHD.

The BABAR Collaboration, based at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), Stanford, US, has been performing physics reconstruction, simulation studies and data analysis for 8 years using a number of compute farms around the world. Recent developments in Grid technologies could provide a way to manage the distributed resources in a single coherent structure. We describe enhancements to the BABAR experiment's distributed skimmed dataset production system to make use of European Grid resources and present the results with regard to BABAR's latest cycle of skimmed dataset production. We compare the benefits of a local and Grid-based systems, the ease with which the system is managed and the challenges of integrating the Grid with legacy software. We compare job success rates and manageability issues between Grid and non-Grid production.