The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has been developing sensors for the pulp and paper industry that uses a magnetic field. The applications for magnetic sensors that have studied include (1) sensors for the measurement of the water and ice content of wood chips entering the pulping mill, (2) sensors for measuring the water content and other constituents of the black liquor leaving the paper digester, and (3) sensors for measuring paper thickness and water content as the paper is being processed. These tasks can be done using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The magnetic field used for doing the NMR can come from either permanent magnets or superconducting magnets. The choice of the magnet is dependent on a number of factors, which include the size of the sample and field strength needed to do the sensing task at hand. This paper describes some superconducting magnet options that can be used in the pulp and paper industry.

The main goal of this project was to determine if a tool could be built to test Qt. In determining the feasibility of building a tool the following requirements needed to be researched: (1) Determine if the underlying Qt signal/slot architecture could be leveraged. (2) Research how much impact implementing such a tool would have on existing code, i.e. how much extra code would need to be inserted to use the tool. (3) Determine with the above information if a tool could be built. With the above steps completed, the information needed to make a decision on building a tool could be made. Armed with this information I felt I could make a more educated decision on the possibility of building a tool. This project was divided into two main steps. The first step was to understand the underlying Qt source code much better. The second step was to build a small prototype that I could use to test ideas. The first step was actually much shorter than I had originally anticipated. Understanding the underlying architecture of Qt only took about two weeks. After studying the architecture of qt and working with the support people at Trolltech, the company that …

Exocyclic ethano DNA adducts are saturated etheno ring derivatives formed mainly by therapeutic chloroethylnitrosoureas (CNUs), which are also mutagenic and carcinogenic. In this work, we report that two of the ethano adducts, 3,N{sup 4}-ethanocytosine (EC) and 1,N{sup 6}-ethanoadenine (EA), are novel substrates for the Escherichia coli mismatch-specific uracil-DNA glycosylase (Mug) and 3-methyladenine DNA glycosylase II (AlkA), respectively. It has been shown previously that Mug excises 3,N{sup 4}-ethenocytosine ({var_epsilon}C) and AlkA releases 1,N{sup 6}-ethenoadenine ({var_epsilon}A). Using synthetic oligonucleotides containing a single ethano or etheno adduct, we found that both glycosylases had a {approx}20-fold lower excision activity toward EC or EA than that toward their structurally analogous {var_epsilon}C or {var_epsilon}A adduct. Both enzymes were capable of excising the ethano base paired with any of the four natural bases, but with varying efficiencies. The Mug activity toward EC could be stimulated by E. coli endonuclease IV and, more efficiently, by exonuclease III. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations showed similar structural features of the etheno and ethano derivatives when present in DNA duplexes. However, also as shown by MD, the stacking interaction between the EC base and Phe 30 in the Mug active site is reduced as compared to the {var_epsilon}C base, which could account …

The CTFM Subproject of the SNF Project has prepared an ABU checklist per SNF Administrative Procedure (AP) CS-6-019. This checklist identifies the essential documentation needed to operate and maintain the 105 KW CTFM/CLS Structures, Systems, and Components (SSCs) when ownership is transferred from the CTFM Subproject to K Basins Operations. Approval of this supporting document demonstrates an agreement by the approvers as to the documentation required at turnover.

The objective of this work is to determine the range of conditions where the tank steel is susceptible to localized corrosion and SCC in simulants for waste in tanks AY-102 and AP-101.

With the exception of control of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) ventilation fans, and their shutdown in the case of smoke in the ducts, all implementations of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) in Dzero have been made within the fundamental premise that no uncertified PLC apparatus shall be entrusted with the safety of equipment or personnel. Thus although PLCs are used to control and monitor all manner of intricate equipment, simple hardware interlocks and relief devices provide basic protection against component failure, control failure, or inappropriate control operation. Nevertheless, this report includes two observations as follows: (1) It may be prudent to reconfigure the link between the Pyrotronics system and the HVAC system such that the Pyrotronics system provides interlocks to the ventilation fans instead of control inputs to the uncertified HVAC PLCs. Although the Pyrotronics system is certified and maintained to life safety standards, the HVAC system is not. A hardware or software failure of the HVAC system probably should not be allowed to result in the situation where the ventilation fans in a smoke filled duct continue to operate. Dan Markley is investigating this matter. (2) It may also be prudent to examine the network security of those …

This report addresses the impact of (1) the time and temperature curing conditions (profile) and (2) the impact of higher aluminate concentrations in the decontaminated salt solution on Saltstone processing and performance properties. The results demonstrate that performance properties as well as some of the processing properties of Saltstone are highly sensitive to the conditions of time and temperature under which curing occurs. This sensitivity is in turn dependent on the concentration of aluminate in the salt feed solution. In general, the performance properties and indicators (Young's modulus, compressive strength and total porosity) are reduced when curing is initially carried out under high temperature. However, this reduction in performance properties is dependent on the sequence of temperatures (the time/temperature profile) experienced during the curing process. That is, samples that are subjected to a 1, 2, 3 or 4 day curing time at 60 C followed by final curing at 22 C lead to performance properties that are significantly different than the properties of grouts allowed to cure for 1, 2, 3 or 4 days at 22 C followed by a treatment at 60 C. The performance properties of Saltstone cured in the sequence of higher temperature first are generally less …

New test requirements were developed by Sandia National Laboratory to simulate a regime of shock testing not previously performed at the Kansas City Plant operated by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies. These environments were unique in that they involved amplitude of shock >1000g with relatively long pulse durations (greater 5 ms but less than 10 ms) and involved velocity changes up to 235 ft/sec. Ten months were available to develop, design, manufacture and prove-in this new capability. We designed a new shock sled to deliver this new family of shock environments in a laboratory test. The performance range of the new sled includes five specific shocks (1000 g – 8 ms, 1300 - 6 ms, 1500 g – 5.4 ms, 1950 g – 6 ms, 2250 g – 5.4 ms; all haversine shaped), and it also incorporates adjustability to accommodate new shocks within this range. These shock environments result in velocity changes ranging from 160 fps to 250 fps. The test sled accommodates test articles weighing up to 20 lbs and measuring up to 10” along any axis.

Consideration of a concurrent budget resolution is governed by special procedures in the House and Senate. Although the procedures of each chamber differ, they serve generally to expedite consideration of the budget resolution.

This report discusses how successive U.S. governments have urged the creation of an anti-missile system to protect against long-range ballistic missile threats from adversary states. The proposed U.S. system has encountered resistance in some European countries and beyond.

The Russian Federation Ministry for Atomic Energy (MINATOM) and the US Department of Energy (USDOE) have formed International Nuclear Safety Centers to collaborate on nuclear safety research. USDOE established the US Center (ISINSC) at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in October 1995. MINATOM established the Russian Center (RINSC) at the Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering (RDIPE) in Moscow in July 1996. In April 1998 the Russian center became a semi-independent, autonomous organization under MINATOM. The goals of the center are to: Cooperate in the development of technologies associated with nuclear safety in nuclear power engineering; Be international centers for the collection of information important for safety and technical improvements in nuclear power engineering; and Maintain a base for fundamental knowledge needed to design nuclear reactors. The strategic approach is being used to accomplish these goals is for the two centers to work together to use the resources and the talents of the scientists associated with the US Center and the Russian Center to do collaborative research to improve the safety of Russian-designed nuclear reactors. The two centers started conducting joint research and development projects in January 1997. Since that time the following ten joint projects have been initiated: INSC …

High-precision analyses of supersymmetry parameters aim atreconstructing the fundamental supersymmetric theory and its breakingmechanism. A well defined theoretical framework is needed whenhigher-order corrections are included. We propose such a scheme,Supersymmetry Parameter Analysis SPA, based on a consistent set ofconventions and input parameters. A repository for computer programs isprovided which connect parameters in different schemes and relate theLagrangian parameters to physical observables at LHC and high energy e+e-linear collider experiments, i.e., masses, mixings, decay widths andproduction cross sections for supersymmetric particles. In addition,programs for calculating high-precision low energy observables, thedensity of cold dark matter (CDM) in the universe as well as the crosssections for CDM search experiments are included. The SPA scheme stillrequires extended efforts on both the theoretical and experimental sidebefore data can be evaluated in the future at the level of the desiredprecision. We take here an initial step of testing the SPA scheme byapplying the techniques involved to a specific supersymmetry referencepoint.

The results of a review and evaluation of neutron and non-neutron nuclear data published in the scientific literature are presented. The status of new chemical elements is examined. Data on revised values for the isotopic composition of the elements are reviewed and recommended values are presented. Half-lives of very long-lived nuclides are presented, including double beta decay, double electron capture, long-lived alpha decay and long-lived beta decay. Data from new measurements on the very heavy elements (trans-meitnerium elements) are discussed and tabulated. The first observation of the radioactive decay mode of the free neutron is discussed. New measurements that have expanded the neutron drip line for magnesium and aluminum are discussed. Data on recent neutron cross-section and resonance integral measurements are also discussed.

This report contains a summary of Argentina's sovereign debt and the resolving of its sovereign defaults.

The Brookhaven Medical Research Reactor was a 5 mega-watt, light-water cooled and heavy-graphite moderated research facility. It has two shutter-equipped treatment rooms, three horizontally extended thimble tubes, and an ex-core broad beam facility. The three experimental thimbles, or activation ports, external to the reactor tank were designed for several uses, including the investigations on diagnostic and therapeutic methods using radioactive isotopes of very short half-life, the analysis of radiation exposure on tissue-equivalent materials using a collimated neutron beam, and the evaluation of dose effects on biological cells to improve medical treatment. At the broad beam facility where the distribution of thermal neutrons was essential uniform, a wide variety of mammalian whole-body exposures were studied using animals such as burros or mice. Also studied at the broad beam were whole-body phantom experiments, involving the use of a neutron or photon beam streaming through a screen to obtain the flux spectrum suitable for dose analysis on the sugar-urea-water mixture, a tissue-equivalent material. Calculations of the flux and the dose at beam ports based on Monte Carlo particle-transport code were performed, and measurements conducted at the same tally locations were made using bare or cadmium-covered gold foils. Analytical results, which show good agreement …

In this reporting period, we continued full disc prototype manufacturing. The vacuum offgas system no longer leaks and was modified to include a vapor condenser and a by-pass for argon purge. Two sand molds were made with an oxidation prevention agent and steel mandrels inserted in the center holes to reduce shrinkage restriction. A copper coating was applied between H13 and WC inserts. The two sand molds are ready to be HIPped and examined next quarter.

Summary of Recent Field Testing: Extensive in situ (in ground) field testing using the push-pull method has demonstrated that indigenous microorganisms in the shallow (< 8 m) aquifer in FRC Areas 1 and 2 are capable of coupling the oxidation/fermentation of injected ethanol, glucose, or acetate to the reduction of U(VI) and Tc(VII). Despite highly variable initial (prior to testing) contaminant concentrations (pH: 3.3-7.2; Nitrate: 0.1-140 mM; U(VI): 1-12 uM; Tc(VII): 200-15000 pM), sequential donor additions resulted in increased rates of microbial activity (Denitrification: 01.-4.0 mM/hr; sulfate reduction: 0- 0.03 mM/hr; U(VI) reduction: 10-4 to 10-3 uM/hr; Tc(VII) reduction: 4-150 pM/hr) in all wells tested. Tc(VII) reduction and denitrification proceeded concomitantly in all tests. U(VI) reduction was concomitant with Fe(II) production in Area 1 but little Fe(II) was detected under sulfate reducing conditions in Area 2. Reoxidation of U(IV) (precipitated in the vicinity of the wells during previous tests) but not Tc(IV) was observed when injected test solutions contained initial nitrate concentrations > {approx} 20 mM. Field data and laboratory studies suggest that U(IV) is likely oxidized by Fe(III) minerals produced by enzymatic Fe(II) oxidation or by Fe(II) oxidation by nitrite. U(IV) reoxidation rates (10-3 to 10-2 uM/hr) were somewhat …

A radioactive high level waste glass was made in 1980 with Savannah River Site (SRS) Tank 15 waste. This glass was buried in the SRS burial ground for 24 years but lysimeter data was only available for the first 8 years. The glass was exhumed and analyzed in 2004. The glass was predicted to be very durable and laboratory tests confirmed the durability response. The laboratory results indicated that the glass was very durable as did analysis of the lysimeter data. Scanning electron microscopy of the glass burial surface showed no significant glass alteration consistent with the results of the laboratory and field tests. No detectable Pu, Am, Cm, Np, or Ru leached from the glass into the surrounding sediment. Leaching of {beta}/{delta} from {sup 90}Sr and {sup 137}Cs in the glass was diffusion controlled. Less than 0.5% of the Cs and Sr in the glass leached into the surrounding sediment, with >99% of the leached radionuclides remaining within 8 centimeters of the glass pellet.

This report is organized in three parts. First, it discusses the extent of GHG emissions associated with the U.S. agriculture sector, and cites current and potential estimates for U.S. agricultural soils to sequester carbon and partly offset national GHG emissions. Second, the report describes the types of land management and farm conservation practices that can reduce GHG emissions and/or sequester carbon in agricultural soils, highlighting those practices that are currently promoted under existing voluntary federal agricultural programs. The Appendix provides a summary primer of the key background information presented in these first two sections. Finally, the report describes ongoing legislative action within both the climate change and farm bill debates, and discusses the types of questions that may be raised regarding the role of the U.S. agriculture sector in the broader climate change debate.

A farmbill is a collection of new laws and amendmentsto longstanding lawsthat sets the overall direction of federal food and farm policy for a specified number of years. Farm bills typically contain not only commodity price and income support provisions, but also provisions on agricultural trade, rural development, domestic food assistance, foreign food aid, conservation, crop insurance, farm credit, forestry, and agricultural research. The many issues covered by farm bills make it possible to form a broad coalition ofsupport among common, and sometimes conflicting interestsfor policies and programs that individually might not be enacted.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the main federal program concerning the education of children with disabilities. It authorizes state and local aid for special education and related services for children with disabilities and contains detailed due process protections for children with disabilities and their parents. On December 3, 2004, President Bush signed “the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Improvement Act” (P.L. 108-446), a major reauthorization and revision of IDEA. The new law preserves the basic structure and civil rights guarantees of IDEA but also makes significant changes in the law. Most provisions of P.L. 108-446 go into effect on July 1, 2005. This report will briefly discuss several of the major changes made by the reauthorization.

This document provides a documented basis for the required design pressure rating and pump pressure capacity of the Hanford Site waste-transfer system in support of the waste feed delivery to the privatization contractor for vitrification. The scope of the analysis includes the 200 East Area double-shell tank waste transfer pipeline system and the associated transfer system pumps for a11 Phase 1B and Phase 2 waste transfers from AN, AP, AW, AY, and A2 Tank Farms.

This report includes information regarding ocean commissions. Ocean policy review, further outlook, and legislation are among topics discussed in this report.

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