This guide provides the basic concepts to aid in an alternative fuel vehicle market development program developing an application for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program funding. The US Department of Energy`s Clean Cities Program is an aggressive, forward-thinking alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) market development program. The stakeholders in any Clean Cities Program subscribe to the common philosophy that, through participation in a team-oriented coalition, steady progress can be made toward achieving the critical mass necessary to propel the AFV market into the next century. An important component in the successful implementation of Clean Cities Program objectives is obtaining and directing funding to the capital-intensive AFV market development outside of the resources currently offered by the Department of Energy. Several state and local funding sources have been used over the past decade, including Petroleum Violation Escrow funds, vehicle registration fees, and state bond programs. However, federal funding is available and can be tapped to implement AFV market development programs across the nation. Historically, opportunities to use federal funding for AFV projects have been limited; however, the one remaining federal program that must be tapped into by Clean Cities Programs is the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program. …

Breiman has defined {open_quotes}hinge functions{close_quotes} for use as basis functions in least squares approximations to data. A hinge function is the max (or min) function of two linear functions. In this paper, the author assumes the existence of smooth function f(x) and a set of samples of the form (x, f(x)) drawn from a probability distribution {rho}(x). The author hopes to find the best fitting hinge function h(x) in the least squares sense. There are two problems with this plan. First, Breiman has suggested an algorithm to perform this fit. The author shows that this algorithm is not robust and also shows how to create examples on which the algorithm diverges. Second, if the author tries to use the data to minimize the fit in the usual discrete least squares sense, the functional that must be minimized is continuous in the variables, but has a derivative which jumps at the data. This paper takes a different approach. This approach is an example of a method that the author has developed called {open_quotes}Monte Carlo Regression{close_quotes}. (A paper on the general theory is in preparation.) The author shall show that since the function f is continuous, the analytic form of the least …

The Northwest region of the United States contains extensive canal systems that transport water for hydropower generation. Nuisance plants, including algae, that grow in these systems reduce their hydraulic capacity through water displacement and increased surface friction. Most control methods are applied in an ad hoc fashion. The goal of this work is to develop cost-effective, environmentally sound, long-term management strategies to prevent and control nuisance algal growth. This paper reports on a multi-year study, performed in collaboration with the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, to investigate algal growth in their canal systems, and to evaluate various control methodologies. Three types of controls, including mechanical, biological and chemical treatment, were selected for testing and evaluation. As part of this study, water quality data were collected and algal communities were sampled from numerous stations throughout the distribution system at regular intervals. This study resulted in a more comprehensive understanding of conditions leading to the development of nuisance algal growth, a better informed selection of treatment plans, and improved evaluation of the effectiveness for the control strategies selected for testing.

Progress is reported on DNA dequencing by arrayed capillary electrophoresis. A number of instruments for separation and detection of DNA fragments was developed.

Newsletter of the Texas Department of Health Asbestos Programs Branch discussing news and updates of the agency; changes to laws, regulations, and other policies related to asbestos usage and removal; and other asbestos-related information.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to human resource management controls in Texas State government. This report analyzes the current status of human resources at a statewide level, determines whether human resource control systems at four state agencies and universities provide reasonable assurance that human resources are effectively contributing to the achievement of the organization's goals, and collects baseline measurements for human resources benchmarking.

The paragraphs for general licenses for fissile material and exemptions (often termed exceptions in the international community) for fissile material have long been a part of the US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 10 CFR Part 71, Packaging and Transportation of Radioactive Material. More recently, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a final rule on Part 71 via emergency rule-making procedures in order to address an identified deficiency related to one of the fissile exemptions. To address the specified deficiency in a general fashion, the emergency rule adopted the approach of the 1996 Edition of the IAEA: Regulations for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material (IAEA 1996), which places restrictions on certain moderating materials and limits the quantity of fissile material in a consignment. The public comments received by the NRC indicated general agreement with the need for restrictions on certain moderators (beryllium, deuterium, and graphite). The comments indicated concern relative to both the degree of restriction imposed (not more than 0.1% of fissile material mass) and the need to limit the fissile material mass of the consignment, particularly in light of the subsequent NRC staff position that the true intent was to provide control for limiting the fissile mass …

In this paper the authors present the result of a direct QCD sum rule calculation of the transition form factor {gamma}{gamma}{sup *} {r_arrow} {pi}{sup 0} in the region of moderately large invariant momentum Q{sup 2} > 1GeV{sup 2} of the virtual photon. In contrast to pQCD, they make no assumptions about the shape of the pion distribution amplitude {var_phi}{sub {pi}}(x). Their results agree with the Brodsky-Lepage proposal that the Q{sup 2}-dependence of this form factor is given by an interpolation between its Q{sup 2}=0 value fixed by the axial anomaly and 1/Q{sup 2} pQCD behavior for large Q{sup 2}, with normalization corresponding to the asymptotic form {var_phi}{sub pi}{sup as}(x)=6 f{sub {pi}}x(1{minus}x) of the pion distribution amplitude. Their prediction for the from factor F{sub {gamma}}{sup *}{gamma}{sup *}{pi}{sup 0}(q{sub 1}{sup 2} = 0,q{sub 2}{sup 2} = {minus}Q{sup 2}) is in good agreement with new CLEO data.

The author has measured the flavor ratio of ratios (R) in atmospheric neutrino interactions using a 1.52 kton-year exposure of Soudan 2. He finds R = 0.67 {+-} 0.15{sub {minus}0.06}{sup +0.04}. This value is about 2{sigma} from the expected value of 1.0 and is consistent with the anomalous ratios measured by the Kamiokande and IMB experiments. He notes that since the acceptance matrix is different from those of the water Cherenkov experiments he would not expect to measure the same value of R, unless R = 1.

This report documents the ARCON96 computer code developed for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation for potential use in control room habitability assessments. It includes a user`s guide to the code, a description of the technical basis for the code, and a programmer`s guide to the code. The ARCON96 code uses hourly meteorological data and recently developed methods for estimating dispersion in the vicinity of buildings to calculate relative concentrations at control room air intakes that would be exceeded no more than five percent of the time. The concentrations are calculated for averaging periods ranging from one hour to 30 days in duration. ARCON96 is a revised version of ARCON95, which was developed for the NRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research. Changes in the code permit users to simulate releases from area sources as well as point sources. The method of averaging concentrations for periods longer than 2 hours has also been changed. The change in averaging procedures increases relative concentrations for these averaging periods. In general, the increase in concentrations is less than a factor of two. The increase is greatest for relatively short averaging periods, for example 0 to 8 hours and diminishes as …

Recently, the scanning transmission electron microscope has become capable of forming electron probes of atomic dimensions. Through the technique of Z-contrast imaging, it is now possible to form atomic resolution images with high compositional sensitivity from which atomic column positions can be directly determined. An incoherent image of this nature also allows atomic resolution chemical analysis to be performed, by locating the probe over particular columns or planes seen in the image while electron energy loss spectra are collected. These powerful techniques, combined with atomic-scale calculations, constitute a powerful probe of the structural, kinetic and thermodynamic properties of complex materials. The authors show the direct observation of As segregated to specific sites in a Si grain boundary, and present a candidate model for the structure of the Si/SiO{sub 2} interface.

This Acceptance Test Plan is for a 500 CFM Portable Exhauster POR-004 to be used for saltwell pumping. The Portable Exhauster System will be utilized to eliminate potential flammable gases that may exist within the dome space of the tank. This Acceptance Plan will test and verify that the exhauster meets the specified design criteria, safety requirements, operations requirements, and will provide a record of the functional test results.

The Automated Information Alarm System is a joint effort between Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratory to demonstrate and implement, on a small-to-medium sized local area network, an automated system that detects and automatically responds to attacks that use readily available tools and methodologies. The Alarm System will sense or detect, assess, and respond to suspicious activities that may be detrimental to information on the network or to continued operation of the network. The responses will allow stopping, isolating, or ejecting the suspicious activities. The number of sensors, the sensitivity of the sensors, the assessment criteria, and the desired responses may be set by the using organization to meet their local security policies.

It is the nature of complex systems, composed of many interacting elements, that unanticipated phenomena develop. Computer simulation, in which the elements of a complex system are implemented as interacting software objects (actors), is an effective tool to study collective and emergent phenomena in complex systems. A new cognitive architecture is described for constructing simulation actors that can, like the intelligent elements they represent adapt to unanticipated conditions. This cognitive architecture generates trial behaviors, estimates their fitness using an internal representation of the system, and has an internal apparatus for evolving a population of trial behaviors to changing environmental conditions. A specific simulation actor is developed to evaluate surveillance radar images of moving vehicles on battlefields. The vehicle cluster location, characterization and discrimination processes currently performed by intelligent human operators were implemented into a parameterized formation recognition process by using a newly developed family of 2D cluster filters. The mechanics of these cluster filters are described. Preliminary results are presented in which this GSM actor demonstrates the ability not only to recognize military formations under prescribed conditions, but to adapt its behavior to unanticipated conditions that develop in the complex simulated battlefield system.

The Savannah River Site (SRS) is currently developing a new facility, the Actinide Packaging and Storage Facility (APSF), to process and store legacy materials from the United States nuclear stockpile. A variety of materials, with a variety of properties, packaging and handling/storage requirements, will be processed and stored at the facility. Since these materials are hazardous and radioactive, automation will be used to minimize worker exposure. Other benefits derived from automation of the facility include increased throughput capacity and enhanced security. The diversity of materials and packaging geometries to be handled poses challenges to the automation of facility processes. In addition, the nature of the materials to be processed underscores the need for safety, reliability and serviceability. The application of automation in this facility must, therefore, be accomplished in a rational and disciplined manner to satisfy the strict operational requirements of the facility. Among the functions to be automated are the transport of containers between process and storage areas via an Automatic Guided Vehicle (AGV), and various processes in the Shipping Package Unpackaging (SPU) area, the Accountability Measurements (AM) area, the Special Isotope Storage (SIS) vault and the Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) vault. Other areas of the facility are also …

AVATAR{trademark} (Automatic Variance And Time of Analysis Reduction), accessed through the graphical user interface application, Justine{trademark}, is a superset of MCNP{trademark} that automatically invokes THREEDANT{trademark} for a three-dimensional deterministic adjoint calculation on a mesh independent of the Monte Carlo geometry, calculates weight windows, and runs MCNP. Computational efficiency increases by a factor of 2 to 5 for a three-detector oil well logging tool model. Human efficiency increases dramatically, since AVATAR eliminates the need for deep intuition and hours of tedious handwork.

Precision B-physics results from the CDF and DO Collaborations based on data collected during the Tevatron 1992-96 run are presented. In particular we discuss the measurement of B hadron lifetimes, and B{sup 0} - {anti B}{sup 0} mixing results obtained using time- evolution analyses. Perspectives for the next Tevatron run, starting in 1999, are also reported.

We begin to analyze and contrast the predictions for the decay b {r_arrow} sl{sup +}l{sup {minus}} in the Left-Right Symmetric Model (LMR) with those of the Standard Model (SM). In particular, we show that the forward-backward asymmetry of the lepton spectrum can be used to distinguish the SM from the simplest manifestation of the LRM.

Newsletter of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service discussing topics related to economic aspects of raising dairy cows, dairy production, and managing dairy operations.

The purpose of the CLVS research project is to develop a prototype fiber-optic based Coherent Laser Vision System suitable for DOE`s EM Robotics program. The system provides three-dimensional (3D) vision for monitoring situations in which it is necessary to update geometrics on the order of once per second. The CLVS project plan required implementation in two phases of the contract, a Base Contract and a continuance option. This is the Test Procedure and test/demonstration results presenting a proof-of-concept for a system providing three-dimensional (3D) vision with the performance capability required to update geometrics on the order of once per second.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are environmental pollutants that are present in air, food, and water. While PAH compounds are chemically inert and are sparingly soluble in aqueous solutions, in living cells they are metabolized to a variety of oxygenated derivatives, including the high mutagenic and tumorigenic diol epoxide derivatives. The diol epoxides of the sterically hindered fjord region compound benzo[c]phenanthrene (B[c]PhDE) are among the most powerful tumorigenic compounds in animal model test systems. In this project, site-specifically modified oligonucleotides containing single B[c]PhDE-N{sup 6}-dA lesions derived from the reactions of the 1S,2R,3R,4S and 1R,2S,3S,4R diol epoxides of B[c]PhDE with dA residues were synthesized. The replication of DNA catalyzed by a prokaryotic DNA polymerase (the exonuclease-free Klenow fragment E. Coli Po1 I) in the vicinity of the lesion at base-specific sites on B[c]PhDE-modified template strands was investigated in detail. The Michaelis-Menten parameters for the insertion of single deoxynucleotide triphosphates into growing DNA (primer) strands using the modified dA* and the bases just before and after the dA* residue as templates, depend markedly on the stereochemistry of the B[c]PhDE-modified dA residues. These observations provide novel insights into the mechanisms by which bulky PAH-DNA adducts affect normal DNA replication.

This document provides an overview of the basic planning and work of the Department of Energy Richland Operations Office (DOE-RL). It defines key terms, concepts, and processes used in Hanford`s Environmental Management (EM) activities. It is not intended to provide complete details on the topics discussed. It does, however, provide a roadmap of the overall process so that opportunities for tribal, regulator, and public involvement can be clearly identified. Many documents are referenced in this plan. Each is described in some detail in Section 5, and cross-references to that section are provided throughout the discussion in Sections 1 through 4.

There is an ongoing effort to develop accelerating modules for high-current electron accelerators for advanced radiography application. Accelerating modules with low beam-cavity coupling impedances along with gap designs with acceptable field stresses comprise a set of fundamental design criteria. We examine improved cell designs which have been developed for accelerator application in several radiographic operating regimes. We evaluate interaction impedances, analyze the effects of beam structure coupling on beam dynamics (beam break-up instability and corkscrew motion). We also provide estimates of coupling through interesting new high-gradient insulators and evaluate their potential future application in induction cells.

In this report is considered effects of finite crossing angle at collision point on beam dynamics in the Tevatron collider upgrade (TEV33). Impact of the beam-beam interaction on beam sizes, particles diffusion and luminosity is studied with use of computer simulations. Parameter space forr better collider performance is proposed.