B. cereus, is a member of a genus of aerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming rod-like bacilli, which includes the deadly, B. anthracis. Preliminary experiments have shown that gC1qR binds to B.cereus spores that have been attached to microtiter plates. The present studies were therefore undertaken, to examine if cell surface gC1qR plays a role in B.cereus spore attachment and/or entry. Monolayers of human colon carcinoma (Caco-2) and lung cells were grown to confluency on 6 mm coverslips in shell vials with gentle swirling in a shaker incubator. Then, 2 {micro}l of a suspension of strain SB460 B.cereus spores (3x10{sup 8}/ml, in sterile water), were added and incubated (1-4 h; 36{sup 0} C) in the presence or absence of anti-gC1qR mAb-carbon nanoloops. Examination of these cells by EM revealed that: (1) When B. cereus endospores contacted the apical Caco-2 cell surface, or lung cells, gClqR was simultaneously detectable, indicating upregulation of the molecule. (2) In areas showing spore contact with the cell surface, gClqR expression was often adjacent to the spores in association with microvilli (Caco-2 cells) or cytoskeletal projections (lung cells). (3) Furthermore, the exosporia of the activated and germinating spores were often decorated with mAb-nanoloops. These observations were further corroborated by …

The Materials Science and Technology Division (MSTD) supports the central scientific and technological missions of the Laboratory, and at the same time, executes world-class, fundamental research and novel technological development over a wide range of disciplines. Our organization is driven by the institutional needs in nuclear weapons stockpile science, high-energy-density science, nuclear reactor science, and energy and environment science and technology. We maintain expertise and capabilities in many diverse areas, including actinide science, electron microscopy, laser-materials interactions, materials theory, simulation and modeling, materials synthesis and processing, materials science under extreme conditions, ultrafast materials science, metallurgy, nanoscience and technology, nuclear fuels and energy security, optical materials science, and surface science. MSTD scientists play leadership roles in the scientific community in these key and emerging areas.

Traditionally, knowledge in heterogeneous catalysis has come through empirical research. Nowadays, there is a clear interest to change this since millions of dollars in products are generated every year in the chemical and petrochemical industries through catalytic processes. To obtain a fundamental knowledge of the factors that determine the activity of heterogeneous catalysts is a challenge for modern science since many of these systems are very complex in nature. In principle, when a molecule adsorbs on the surface of a heterogeneous catalyst, it can interact with a large number of bonding sites. It is known that the chemical properties of these bonding sites depend strongly on the chemical environment around them. Thus, there can be big variations in chemical reactivity when going from one region to another in the surface of a heterogeneous catalyst. A main objective is to understand how the structural and electronic properties of a surface affect the energetics for adsorption processes and the paths for dissociation and chemical reactions. In recent years, advances in instrumentation and experimental procedures have allowed a large series of detailed works on the surface chemistry of heterogeneous catalysts. In many cases, these experimental studies have shown interesting and unique phenomena. Theory …

Sulfate, one of the inorganic constituents that could be present in the nuclear waste repository, forms complexes with U(VI) and affects its migration in the environment. Results show that the complexation of U(VI) with sulfate is enhanced by the increase in temperature. The effect of temperature on the complexation and speciation of U(VI) in sulfate solutions is discussed.

The last decade witnessed the rapid development and implementation of aberration correction in electron optics, realizing a more-than-70-year-old dream of aberration-free electron microscopy with a spatial resolution below one angstrom [1-9]. With sophisticated aberration correctors, modern electron microscopes now can reveal local structural information unavailable with neutrons and x-rays, such as the local arrangement of atoms, order/disorder, electronic inhomogeneity, bonding states, spin configuration, quantum confinement, and symmetry breaking [10-17]. Aberration correction through multipole-based correctors, as well as the associated improved stability in accelerating voltage, lens supplies, and goniometers in electron microscopes now enables medium-voltage (200-300kV) microscopes to achieve image resolution at or below 0.1nm. Aberration correction not only improves the instrument's spatial resolution but, equally importantly, allows larger objective lens pole-piece gaps to be employed thus realizing the potential of the instrument as a nanoscale property-measurement tool. That is, while retaining high spatial resolution, we can use various sample stages to observe the materials response under various temperature, electric- and magnetic- fields, and atmospheric environments. Such capabilities afford tremendous opportunities to tackle challenging science and technology issues in physics, chemistry, materials science, and biology. The research goal of the electron microscopy group at the Dept. of Condensed Matter Physics and …

Biodiesel is defined as fatty acid mono-alkylesters and is produced from triacylglycerols. In the current article we provide an overview of the structure, diversity and regulation of the metabolic pathways leading to intracellular fatty acid and triacylglycerol accumulation in three types of organisms (bacteria, algae and fungi) of potential biotechnological interest and discuss possible intervention points to increase the cellular lipid content. The key steps that regulate carbon allocation and distribution in lipids include the formation of malonyl-CoA, the synthesis of fatty acids and their attachment onto the glycerol backbone, and the formation of triacylglycerols. The lipid biosynthetic genes and pathways are largely known for select model organisms. Comparative genomics allows the examination of these pathways in organisms of biotechnological interest and reveals the evolution of divergent and yet uncharacterized regulatory mechanisms. Utilization of microbial systems for triacylglycerol and fatty acid production is in its infancy; however, genomic information and technologies combined with synthetic biology concepts provide the opportunity to further exploit microbes for the competitive production of biodiesel.

Recent developments in the field of anisotropic flow in nuclear collision are reviewed. The results from the top AGS energy to the top RHIC energy are discussed with emphasis on techniques, interpretation, and uncertainties in the measurements.

Boron nitride (BN) is a synthetic binary compound located between III and V group elements in the Periodic Table. However, its properties, in terms of polymorphism and mechanical characteristics, are rather close to those of carbon compared with other III-V compounds, such as gallium nitride. BN crystallizes into a layered or a tetrahedrally linked structure, like those of graphite and diamond, respectively, depending on the conditions of its preparation, especially the pressure applied. Such correspondence between BN and carbon readily can be understood from their isoelectronic structures [1, 2]. On the other hand, in contrast to graphite, layered BN is transparent and is an insulator. This material has attracted great interest because, similar to carbon, it exists in various polymorphic forms exhibiting very different properties; however, these forms do not correspond strictly to those of carbon. Crystallographically, BN is classified into four polymorphic forms: Hexagonal BN (h-BN) (Figure 1(b)); rhombohedral BN (r-BN); cubic BN (c-BN); and wurtzite BN (w-BN). BN does not occur in nature. In 1842, Balmain [3] obtained BN as a reaction product between molten boric oxide and potassium cyanide under atmospheric pressure. Thereafter, many methods for its synthesis were reported. h-BN and r-BN are formed under ambient …

Several hybridization-based methods used to delineate single copy or repeated DNA sequences in larger genomic intervals take advantage of the increased resolution and sensitivity of free chromatin, i.e., chromatin released from interphase cell nuclei. Quantitative DNA fiber mapping (QDFM) differs from the majority of these methods in that it applies FISH to purified, clonal DNA molecules which have been bound with at least one end to a solid substrate. The DNA molecules are then stretched by the action of a receding meniscus at the water-air interface resulting in DNA molecules stretched homogeneously to about 2.3 kb/{micro}m. When non-isotopically, multicolor-labeled probes are hybridized to these stretched DNA fibers, their respective binding sites are visualized in the fluorescence microscope, their relative distance can be measured and converted into kilobase pairs (kb). The QDFM technique has found useful applications ranging from the detection and delineation of deletions or overlap between linked clones to the construction of high-resolution physical maps to studies of stalled DNA replication and transcription.

We will provide a review of some of the physics which can be addressed by studying fluctuations and correlations in heavy ion collisions. We will discuss Lattice QCD results on fluctuations and correlations and will put them into context with observables which have been measured in heavy-ion collisions. Special attention will be given to the QCD critical point and the first order co-existence region, and we will discuss how the measurement of fluctuations and correlations can help in an experimental search for non-trivial structures in the QCD phase diagram.

Evaporitic environments are found in a variety of depositional environments as early as the Archean. The depositional settings, microbial community and mineralogical composition vary significantly as no two settings are identical. The common thread linking all of the settings is that evaporation exceeds precipitation resulting in elevated concentrations of cations and anions that are higher than in oceanic systems. The Dead Sea and Storrs Lake are examples of two diverse modern evaporitic settings as the former is below sea level and the latter is a coastal lake on an island in the Caribbean. Each system varies in water chemistry as the Dead Sea dissolved ions originate from surface weathered materials, springs, and aquifers while Storrs Lake dissolved ion concentration is primarily derived from sea water. Consequently some of the ions, i.e., Sr, Ba are found at significantly lower concentrations in Storrs Lake than in the Dead Sea. The origin of the dissolved ions are ultimately responsible for the pH of each system, alkaline versus mildly acidic. Each system exhibits unique biogeochemical properties as the extreme environments select certain microorganisms. Storrs Lake possesses significant biofilms and stromatolitic deposits and the alkalinity varies depending on rainfall and storm activity. The microbial community …

Arguments pertaining to the mind-brain connection and to the physical effectiveness of our conscious choices have been presented in two recent books, one by John Searle, the other by Jaegwon Kim. These arguments are examined, and it is argued that the difficulties encountered arise from a defective understanding and application of a pertinent part of contemporary science, namely quantum mechanics.

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) initiated processing of Sludge Batch 4 (SB4) in May 2007. SB4 was the first DWPF sludge batch to contain significant quantities of HM or high Al sludge. Initial testing with SB4 simulants showed potential negative impacts to DWPF processing; therefore, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) performed extensive testing in an attempt to optimize processing. SRNL's testing has resulted in the highest DWPF production rates since start-up. During SB4 processing, DWPF also began incorporating waste streams from the interim salt processing facilities to initiate coupled operations. While DWPF has been processing SB4, the Liquid Waste Organization (LWO) and the SRNL have been preparing Sludge Batch 5 (SB5). SB5 has undergone low-temperature aluminum dissolution to reduce the mass of sludge for vitrification and will contain a small fraction of Purex sludge. A high-level review of SB4 processing and the SB5 preparation studies will be provided.

In widely distributed systems generally, and in science-oriented Grids in particular, software, CPU time, storage, etc., are treated as"services" -- they can be allocated and used with service guarantees that allows them to be integrated into systems that perform complex tasks. Network communication is currently not a service -- it is provided, in general, as a"best effort" capability with no guarantees and only statistical predictability. In order for Grids (and most types of systems with widely distributed components) to be successful in performing the sustained, complex tasks of large-scale science -- e.g., the multi-disciplinary simulation of next generation climate modeling and management and analysis of the petabytes of data that will come from the next generation of scientific instrument (which is very soon for the LHC at CERN) -- networks must provide communication capability that is service-oriented: That is it must be configurable, schedulable, predictable, and reliable. In order to accomplish this, the research and education network community is undertaking a strategy that involves changes in network architecture to support multiple classes of service; development and deployment of service-oriented communication services, and; monitoring and reporting in a form that is directly useful to the application-oriented system so that it may …

Releases of acutely toxic airborne contaminants in or near a building can lead to significant human exposures unless prompt response measures are identified and implemented. Commonly, possible responses include conflicting strategies, such as shutting the ventilation system off versus running it in a purge (100percent outside air) mode, or having occupants evacuate versus sheltering in place. The right choice depends in part on quickly identifying the source locations, the amounts released, and the likely future dispersion routes of the pollutants. This paper summarizes recent developments to provide such estimates in real time using an approach called Bayesian Monte Carlo updating. This approach rapidly interprets measurements of airborne pollutant concentrations from multiple sensors placed in the building and computes best estimates and uncertainties of the release conditions. The algorithm is fast, capable of continuously updating the estimates as measurements stream in from sensors. The approach is employed, as illustration, to conduct two specific investigations under different situations.

Population distribution during the day can be defined as distribution of population in an area during the daytime hours. However, a precise definition of daytime hours is challenging given the geographic variability in the length of a day or daylight hours. The US Census Bureau used "normal business hours" as the span of time to describe daytime population. Given that Censuses typically estimates residential population, it represents a nighttime population distribution. In that respect, daytime population in an area may be broadly defined as distribution of population at times other than when they are expected to be at their residences at night which extends the duration from business hours to include the evening hours as well.

Significant time and effort are often required to solve and complete a macromolecular crystal structure. The development of automated computational methods for the analysis, solution and completion of crystallographic structures has the potential to produce minimally biased models in a short time without the need for manual intervention. The PHENIX software suite is a highly automated system for macromolecular structure determination that can rapidly arrive at an initial partial model of a structure without significant human intervention, given moderate resolution and good quality data. This achievement has been made possible by the development of new algorithms for structure determination, maximum-likelihood molecular replacement (PHASER), heavy-atom search (HySS), template and pattern-based automated model-building (RESOLVE, TEXTAL), automated macromolecular refinement (phenix.refine), and iterative model-building, density modification and refinement that can operate at moderate resolution (RESOLVE, AutoBuild). These algorithms are based on a highly integrated and comprehensive set of crystallographic libraries that have been built and made available to the community. The algorithms are tightly linked and made easily accessible to users through the PHENIX Wizards and the PHENIX GUI.

EUV lithography (EUVL) employs illumination wavelengths around 13.5 nm, and in many aspects it is considered an extension of optical lithography, which is used for the high-volume manufacturing (HVM) of today's microprocessors. The EUV wavelength of illumination dictates the use of reflective optical elements (mirrors) as opposed to the refractive lenses used in conventional lithographic systems. Thus, EUVL tools are based on all-reflective concepts: they use multilayer (ML) coated optics for their illumination and projection systems, and they have a ML-coated reflective mask.

Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the United States developed a wealthy society on the basis of cheap and abundant fossil fuel energy. As fossil fuels have become ecologically and economically expensive in the twenty-first century, America has shown mixed progress in transitioning to a more sustainable energy system. From 2000 to 2006, energy and carbon intensity of GDP continued favorable long-term trends of decline. Energy end-use efficiency also continued to improve; for example, per-capita electricity use was 12.76 MWh per person per year in 2000 and again in 2006, despite 16 percent GDP growth over that period. Environmental costs of U.S. energy production and consumption have also been reduced, as illustrated in air quality improvements. However, increased fossil fuel consumption, stagnant efficiency standards, and expanding corn-based ethanol production have moved the energy system in the opposite direction, toward a less sustainable energy system. This chapter reviews energy system developments between 2000 and 2006 and presents policy recommendations to move the United States toward a more sustainable energy system.

This document provides the proper use of sulfonamides for market show animals.

"This brochure has been prepared by the staff of the Texas State Securities Board (the "Agency") to provide a brief introduction to the Agency and how it functions, and to give practical suggestions to investors about how to protect themselves from fraud" (Mission of Texas State Securities Board page).

Text describes the area, climate, agricultural history and statistics, soil-survey methods and definitions, soils and crops, land uses and agricultural methods, irrigation, and morphology and genesis of soils of Lynn County, Texas.

Text describes the area, climate, agricultural history and statistics, soil-survey methods and definitions, soils and crops, land uses and agricultural methods, irrigation, and morphology and genesis of soils of Tyler County, Texas.

Emergency evacuation is one of the most important protective action alternatives when facing a natural or a man-made disaster. The planning and implementation of a large-scale emergency evacuation is a difficult and complex problem that requires the interactions of many agencies and involves a large amount of information. This article focuses on the latter and discusses the models that are normally used in the planning phase to evaluate this type of protective action alternatives and the information requirements for their implementation. Although many advances have been achieved in this area, especially during the last few years, a considerable amount of work still remains incomplete. Some of the important areas that need attention, such as improvements in the demographic models, integration of traffic simulation and threat evolution models, and real-time information for the deployment phase, are also discussed in this paper.