The spermine-based hydroxypyridonate octadentate chelator 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO) was investigated for its ability to act as an antennae that sensitizes the emission of Sm{sup III}, Eu{sup III}, and Tb{sup III} in the Visible range (Φ{sub tot} = 0.2 - 7%) and the emission of Pr{sup III}, Nd{sup III}, Sm{sup III}, and Yb{sup III} in the Near Infra-Red range, with decay times varying from 1.78 μs to 805 μs at room temperature. The particular luminescence spectroscopic properties of these lanthanide complexes formed with 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO) were used to characterize their respective solution thermodynamic stabilities as well as those of the corresponding La{sup III}, Gd{sup III}, Dy{sup III}, Ho{sup III}, Er{sup III}, Tm{sup III}, and Lu{sup III} complexes. The remarkably high affinity of 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO) for lanthanide metal ions and the resulting high complex stabilities (pM values ranging from 17.2 for La{sup III} to 23.1 for Yb{sup III}) constitute a necessary but not sufficient criteria to consider this octadentate ligand an optimal candidate for in vivo metal decorporation. The in vivo lanthanide complex stability and decorporation capacity of the ligand were assessed, using the radioactive isotope {sup 152}Eu as a tracer in a rodent model, which provided a direct comparison with the in vitro thermodynamic results …

The 2010 Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Stress Responses provides an open and exciting forum for the exchange of scientific discoveries on the remarkable mechanisms used by microbes to survive in nearly every niche on the planet. Understanding these stress responses is critical for our ability to control microbial survival, whether in the context of biotechnology, ecology, or pathogenesis. From its inception in 1994, this conference has traditionally employed a very broad definition of stress in microbial systems. Sessions will cover the major steps of stress responses from signal sensing to transcriptional regulation to the effectors that mediate responses. A wide range of stresses will be represented. Some examples include (but are not limited to) oxidative stress, protein quality control, antibiotic-induced stress and survival, envelope stress, DNA damage, and nutritional stress. The 2010 meeting will also focus on the role of stress responses in microbial communities, applied and environmental microbiology, and microbial development. This conference brings together researchers from both the biological and physical sciences investigating stress responses in medically- and environmentally relevant microbes, as well as model organisms, using cutting-edge techniques. Computational, systems-level, and biophysical approaches to exploring stress responsive circuits will be integrated throughout the sessions alongside the …

Small particles have been at the heart of nanoscience since the birth of the field and now stand ready to make significant contributions to the big challenges of energy, health and sustainability. Atomic clusters show exquisite size-dependent electronic and magnetic properties and offer a new level of control in catalyses, sensors and biochips; functionalised nanocrystals offer remarkable optical properties and diverse applications in electronic devices, solar energy, and therapy. Both areas are complemented by a raft of recent advances in fabrication, characterization, and performance of a diversity of nanomaterials from the single atom level to nanowires, nanodevices, and biologically-inspired nanosystems. The goal of the 2011 Gordon Conference is thus to continue and enhance the interdisciplinary tradition of this series and discuss the most recent advances, fundamental scientific questions, and emerging applications of clusters, nanocrystals, and nanostructures. A single conference covering all aspects of nanoscience from fundamental issues to applications has the potential to create new ideas and stimulate cross fertilization. The meeting will therefore provide a balance among the three sub-components of the conference, true to its title, with a selection of new topics added to reflect rapid advances in the field. The open atmosphere of a Gordon conference, emphasizing …

Organometallic chemistry has played and will continue to play a significant role in helping us understand the way bonds are made or broken in the presence of a transition metal complex. Current challenges range from the efficient exploitation of energy resources to the creative use of natural and artificial enzymes. Most of the new advances in the area are due to our extended understanding of processes at a molecular level due to new mechanistic studies, techniques to detect reaction intermediates and theory. The conference will bring the most recent advances in the field including nanocatalysis, surface organometallic chemistry, characterization techniques, new chemical reactivity and theoretical approaches along with applications to organic synthesis and the discovery of new materials. The Conference will bring together a collection of investigators who are at the forefront of their field, and will provide opportunities for junior scientists and graduate students to present their work in poster format and exchange ideas with leaders in the field. Six outstanding posters will be selected for short talks. The collegial atmosphere of this Conference, with programmed discussion sessions as well as opportunities for informal gatherings in the afternoons and evenings, provides an avenue for scientists from different disciplines to …

Photochemistry has wide implications on fundamental science with technological applications that range from synthetic and mechanistic organic and inorganic chemistry to sensing/manipulation in the biological sciences to viable solar energy conversion assemblies. The 2011 Gordon Research Conference on Photochemistry will highlight recent advances on photochemical reactions, their mechanisms, spectroscopic techniques and applications to materials, organic synthesis, and biology. The conference will continue its long tradition on dynamic discussions on recent advances and unsolved scientific problems. The format of lectures, poster presentations and informal discussions provides an ideal venue for students and post-doctoral fellows to interact with the leaders in the field. These junior scientists will have an opportunity to participate in the Gordon Research Seminar on Photochemistry to be held prior to the GRC. The GRS will focus on photochemical aspects of solar energy conversion. Four abstracts for posters at the GRC and presentations at the GRS will be selected as short talks at the GRC.

Automated alignment for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is accomplished using a large-scale parallel control system that directs 192 laser beams along the 300-m optical path. The beams are then focused down to a 50-micron spot in the middle of the target chamber. The entire process is completed in less than 50 minutes. The alignment system commands 9,000 stepping motors for highly accurate adjustment of mirrors and other optics. 41 control loops per beamline perform parallel processing services running on a LINUX cluster to analyze high-resolution images of the beams and their references. This paper describes the status the NIF automatic alignment system and the challenges encountered as NIF development has transitioned from building the laser, to becoming a research project supporting a 24 hour, 7 day laser facility. NIF is now a continuously operated system where performance monitoring is increasingly more critical for operation, maintenance, and commissioning tasks. Equipment wear and the effects of high energy neutrons from fusion experiments are issues which alter alignment efficiency and accuracy. New sensors needing automatic alignment assistance are common. System modifications to improve efficiency and accuracy are prevalent. Handling these evolving alignment and maintenance needs while minimizing the impact on NIF experiment …

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The General Mining Act of 1872 helped foster the development of the West by giving individuals exclusive rights to mine gold, silver, copper, and other hardrock minerals on federal land. However, miners often abandoned mines, leaving behind structures, safety hazards, and contaminated land and water. Four federal agencies--the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM), the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)--fund the cleanup of some of these hardrock mine sites. From 2005 through 2009, GAO issued a number of reports and testimonies on various issues related to abandoned and current hardrock mining operations. This testimony summarizes some of the key findings of these reports and testimonies focusing on the (1) number of abandoned hardrock mines, (2) availability of information collected by federal agencies on general mining activities, (3) amount of funding spent by federal agencies on cleanup of abandoned mines, and (4) value of financial assurances for mining operations on federal land managed by BLM. In 2005, GAO recommended that BLM strengthen the management of its financial assurances, which BLM generally …

The DOE Fuel Cell technical team recommended ASTs were performed on 2 different MEAs (designated P5 and HD6) from Ballard Power Systems. These MEAs were also incorporated into stacks and operated in fuel cell bus modules that were either operated in the field (three P5 buses) in Hamburg, or on an Orange county transit authority drive cycle in the laboratory (HD6 bus module). Qualitative agreement was found in the degradation mechanisms and rates observed in the AST and in the field. The HD6 based MEAs exhibited lower voltage degradation rates (due to catalyst corrosion) and slower membrane degradation rates in the field as reflected by their superior performance in the high potential hold and open-circuit potential AST tests. The quantitative correlation of the degradation rates will have to take into account the various stressors in the field including temperature, relative humidity, start/stops and voltage cycles.

The design and evaluation of media based hydrogen storage systems requires the use of detailed numerical models and experimental studies, with significant amount of time and monetary investment. Thus a scoping tool, referred to as the Acceptability Envelope, was developed to screen preliminary candidate media and storage vessel designs, identifying the range of chemical, physical and geometrical parameters for the coupled media and storage vessel system that allow it to meet performance targets. The model which underpins the analysis allows simplifying the storage system, thus resulting in one input-one output scheme, by grouping of selected quantities. Two cases have been analyzed and results are presented here. In the first application the DOE technical targets (Year 2010, Year 2015 and Ultimate) are used to determine the range of parameters required for the metal hydride media and storage vessel. In the second case the most promising metal hydrides available are compared, highlighting the potential of storage systems, utilizing them, to achieve 40% of the 2010 DOE technical target. Results show that systems based on Li-Mg media have the best potential to attain these performance targets.

None

The frequency domain finite element method using H(curl)-conforming finite elements is a robust technique for full-wave analysis of antennas. As computers become more powerful, it is becoming feasible to not only predict antenna performance, but also to compute sensitivity of antenna performance with respect to multiple parameters. This sensitivity information can then be used for optimization of the design or specification of manufacturing tolerances. In this paper we review the Adjoint Method for sensitivity calculation, and apply it to the problem of optimizing a Ultrawideband antenna.

The injection of cold fluids into engineered geothermal system (EGS) and conventional geothermal reservoirs may be done to help extract heat from the subsurface or to maintain pressures within the reservoir (e.g., Rose et al., 2001). As these injected fluids move along fractures, they acquire heat from the rock matrix and remove it from the reservoir as they are extracted to the surface. A consequence of such injection is the migration of a cold-fluid front through the reservoir (Figure 1) that could eventually reach the production well and result in the lowering of the temperature of the produced fluids (thermal breakthrough). Efficient operation of an EGS as well as conventional geothermal systems involving cold-fluid injection requires accurate and timely information about thermal depletion of the reservoir in response to operation. In particular, accurate predictions of the time to thermal breakthrough and subsequent rate of thermal drawdown are necessary for reservoir management, design of fracture stimulation and well drilling programs, and forecasting of economic return. A potential method for estimating migration of a cold front between an injection well and a production well is through application of reactive tracer tests, using chemical whose rate of degradation is dependent on the reservoir …

Quarterly update providing information on environmental regulations for small businesses and local governments in Texas.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Defense (DOD) award direct assistance to Afghanistan, using bilateral agreements and multilateral trust funds that provide funds through the Afghan national budget. GAO assessed (1) the extent to which the United States, through USAID and DOD, has increased direct assistance, (2) USAID and DOD steps to ensure accountability for bilateral direct assistance, and (3) USAID and DOD steps to ensure accountability for direct assistance via multilateral trust funds for Afghanistan. GAO reviewed USAID, DOD, and multilateral documents and met with U.S. officials and staffs of multilateral trust funds in Washington, D.C., and Afghanistan."

This report presents statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001, and is ongoing. OEF actions take place primarily in Afghanistan; however, OEF casualties also includes American casualties in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen.

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai, to address corruption within the Afghan government. The report also includes discussion of election fraud and corruption in Afghanistan.

This report discusses the current political state of Afghanistan, as well as the Afghan government. This report also discusses Afghanistan's relationship with the United States, particularly U.S. efforts to urge President Hamid Karzai, to address corruption within the Afghan government. The report also includes discussion of election fraud and corruption in Afghanistan.

This report discusses the current political state of Iran, focusing particularly on the influence of the Taliban and other militant groups and on the leadership of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. This report also discusses the U.S.-Iran relationship and U.S. efforts under the Obama Administration to provide military, reconstructive, and stabilization aid.

This report provides information on U.S. Africa Command or (AFRICOM), including AFRICOM's mission, structure, interagency coordination, and its basing and manpower requirements. The report also gives a broad overview of U.S. strategic interests in Africa and the role of U.S. military efforts on the continent as they pertain to the creation of Africa Command.

None

There is a concern that environmental-contamination caused corrosion may negatively affect Information Technology (IT) equipment reliability. Nineteen data centers in the United States and two in India were evaluated using Corrosion Classification Coupons (CCC) to assess environmental air quality as it may relate IT equipment reliability. The data centers were of two basic types: closed and outside-air cooled. A closed data center provides cool air to the IT equipment using air conditioning in which only a small percent age of the recirculation air is make-up air continuously supplied from outside to meet human health requirements. An outside-air cooled data center uses outside air directly as the primary source for IT equipment cooling. Corrosion measuring coupons containing copper and silver metal strips were placed in both closed and outside-air cooled data centers. The coupons were placed at each data center (closed and outside-air cooled types) with the location categorized into three groups: (1) Outside - coupons sheltered, located near or at the supply air inlet, but located before any filtering, (2) Supply - starting just after initial air filtering continuing inside the plenums and ducts feeding the data center rooms, and (3) Inside located inside the data center rooms near the …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Three Air Force depots support combat readiness by providing repair services to keep Air Force units operating worldwide. To the extent that the depots do not complete work at year end, the work and related funding will be carried into the next fiscal year. Carryover is the reported dollar value of work that has been ordered and funded by customers but not completed at the end of the fiscal year. GAO was asked to determine the extent to which: (1) budget information on depot maintenance carryover approximated actual results from fiscal years 2006 through 2010 and, if not, any needed actions to improve budgeting for carryover; (2) depot maintenance carryover exceeded the allowable amount and any adjustments were made to the allowable amount; and (3) there was growth in carryover at the depots and the reasons for the growth. To address these objectives, GAO (1) reviewed relevant carryover guidance, (2) obtained and analyzed reported carryover and related data at the Air Logistics Centers (ALC), and (3) interviewed DOD and Air Force officials."

The effects of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on pollutant emission inventories and air quality in the South Coast Air Basin of California were evaluated using recent LNG emission measurements by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), and with a state-of-the-art air quality model. Pollutant emissions can be affected by LNG owing to differences in composition and physical properties, including the Wobbe index, a measure of energy delivery rate. This analysis uses LNG distribution scenarios developed by modeling Southern California gas flows, including supplies from the LNG receiving terminal in Baja California, Mexico. Based on these scenarios, the projected penetratino of LNG in the South Coast Air Basin is expected to be limited. In addition, the increased Wobbe index of delivered gas (resulting from mixtures of LNG and conventional gas supplies) is expected to cause increases smaller than 0.05 percent in overall (area-wide) emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). BAsed on the photochemical state of the South Coast Air Basin, any increase in NOx is expected to cause an increase in the highest local ozone concentrations, and this is reflected in model results. However, the magnitude of the increase is well below the generally accepted accuracy of …

This presentation provides an overview of present and possible future ways to allocate and assign benefits for reserve requirements.