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This report addresses the coupling and alignment of the PHENIX experiment solenoid in RHIC.

The purpose of this memo is to highlight an alternative to the approach for cw laser paint removal. The point to be made is that a direct diode design is feasible and can be far more competitive than a solid-state laser based system. Through by-passing the use of a solid-state laser media, we immediately gain a factor of about five in system efficiency based on measured optical-to-optical efficiencies of our average power diode pumped lasers. This permits a massive reduction in system cooling requirements. It should be noted that cooling system size was the greatest concern voiced by Gordon McFadden at Hobart Lasers with regards to his Nd:YAG laser systems operated in field applications. Furthermore, with direct diode use far fewer diode packages will be needed to deliver a given amount of wattage on the target. This will largely eliminate the intimidating sticker shock and shorten (proportionally by the diode count) the required run-to-fail times demanded of the system.

It has recently been brought to our attention that the LiYf{sub 4} (YLF) laser rods utilized in the alignment lasers of Nova tend to thin after several years of being exposed to the cooling water solution. As a consequence of this situation the YLF laser rods must occasionally be replaced. Since they found that they were able to minimize the dissolution rate for another fluoride crystal, Cr:LiSrAlF{sub 6} or Cr:LiSAF, by controlling the pH of the solution, they sought to determine if a similar fix could be applied to YLF laser crystals as well. For the case of Cr:LiSAF, the dissolution rate was observed to vary over 3 orders of magnitude depending on the pH, and a pH = 7 solution was determined to be optimal for improving the durability.

The overall objective of the Project is the expedited commercialization of advanced coal-fired low-emission boiler systems. The specified primary objectives are: NOx emissions not greater than one-third NSPS; SOx emissions not greater than one-third NSPS; and particulate emissions not greater than one-half NSPS. The specific secondary objectives are: improved ash disposability and reduced waste generation; reduced air toxics emissions; and increased generating efficiency. The final deliverables are a design data base that will allow future coal-fired power plants to meet the stated objectives and a preliminary design of a commercial generation unit.

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We calculate nuclear pairing gaps for ground-state configurations for 8979 nuclei from {sup 16}O to A = 339 in the Lipkin-Nogami pairing model. The energy levels required for the calculation are obtained from the folded-Yukawa single-particular model for ground-state shapes obtained in the macroscopic-microscopic approach by minimizing the total potential energy with respect to {epsilon}{sub 2},{epsilon}{sub 4}, {epsilon}{sub 3} and {epsilon}{sub 6} shape degrees of freedom. We study the behavior of the calculated pairing gap {Delta} and the number-fluctuation constant {lambda}2 on neutron number N and proton number Z. We discuss alternative methods for comparing calculated pairing gaps to odd-even experimental mass differences and study the trends of the deviations between calculated and measured quantities versus N and Z. In particular we discuss the many non-smooth contributions to the so-called experimental pairing gap that is extracted from odd-even measured mass differences and the resulting difficulties that are present when these axe compared to calculated results. In recent years several studies have investigated whether nuclear pairing depends on neutron excess. Furthermore, any dependence on neutron excess is small compared to both the random and the correlated errors in the pairing gaps that are extracted from experimental odd-even mass differences. Therefore appropriate …

Letter opinion issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether the nepotism statutes require the termination of a deputy sheriff who has been employed by the elected sheriff for at least five years prior to the sheriff's marriage to the deputy's sister (ID#21704)

Letter opinion issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Dan Morales, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether it is a violation of the Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act for a reserve peace officer to perform traffic control flagperson duties on a construction site without being licensed by the Texas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies (RQ-607)

Limited possibilities exist for new hydrocarbon exploration regimes in the Pacific Northwest. Extensive geophysical studies have been used to outline a proposed sedimentary basin hidden beneath volcanic rocks of the Cascades region of southwestern Washington (Stanley et. al, 1992, AAPG Bull. 76, 1569-1585). Electrical geophysical imaging using the magnetotelluric (MT) method first detected thick, electrically conductive sequences believed to represent late Cretaceous to Oligocene marine sedimentary rocks. The conductive section occurs at depths from about 1 km to 10 km in the area west of a line between Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams, extending westward to a line between Mt. St. Helens and just west of Morton, WA. The conductive rocks reaches thicknesses as great as 10 km. The anomalous rocks appear to be very near the surface in the axis of anticlines that bring Eocene marine shales to shallow depths. Careful consideration of physical properties and the correspondence of the morphology of the units to known fold sets suggests that the high conductivities are related to lithologic/stratigraphic units rather than to variations in physical properties. Our preference for the lithology of the anomalous section, based upon a study of regional geology and structure, is one dominated by marine shales …

Goal is to develop a catalyst and process for converting of syngas to isobutanol and to evaluate the commercial potential of the new process. This report covers preliminary testing of methanol synthesis catalysts alone and in combination with basic metal oxides. Materials tested included Cu/Zn/Al, Zn/Cr oxides, and K/Zr/Zn/Mn oxides.

We summarize the role of spin observables in testing the foundations of exclusive QCD at large t. Polarized elastic scattering experiments can shed light on fundamental properties of protons, such as helicity conservation, normalization of the wave function and structure. Specific QCD motivated predictions for the spin observables are presented, which can be tested at polarized proton beam facilities. In this paper, two kinematic regions are considered: 90{degrees} c.m. at large {vert_bar} t {vert_bar} and the intermediate hard scattering regime: m{sub p}{sup 2} {much_lt}{vert_bar} t {vert_bar}{much_lt} s. Theoretical models, which predict the spin observables in these regions, are reviewed. These are compared with present elastic pp data and a program is suggested for future elastic polarized pp scattering experiments, which can be used to further our knowledge of proton structure.

Changes in lighting conditions strongly effect the performance and reliability of computer vision systems. We report face recognition results under drastically changing lighting conditions for a computer vision system which concurrently uses a contrast sensitive silicon retina and a conventional, gain controlled CCD camera. For both input devices the face recognition system employs an elastic matching algorithm with wavelet based features to classify unknown faces. To assess the effect of analog on-chip preprocessing by the silicon retina the CCD images have been digitally preprocessed with a bandpass filter to adjust the power spectrum. The silicon retina with its ability to adjust sensitivity increases the recognition rate up to 50 percent. These comparative experiments demonstrate that preprocessing with an analog VLSI silicon retina generates image data enriched with object-constant features.

Inspection of high-value structures, like bridges and buildings, using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is an application of a technology that is growing in importance. In a typical inspection application, inspectors use GPR to locate structural components, like embedded reinforcing bars, to avoid weakening the structure while collecting core samples for detailed inspection. Advanced GPR, integrated with imaging technologies for use as an NDE tool, can provide the capability to quickly locate and characterize construction flaws and wear- or age-induced damage in these structures without resorting to destructive methods. In this paper, we discuss an important inspection application, namely, concrete bridge deck inspection. We describe an advanced bridge deck inspection system concept (Ground Penetrating Imaging Radar, GPIR) and present results from experiments designed to simulate the concept.

The Natural Gas Monthly (NGM) highlights activities, events, and analyses of interest to public and private sector organizations associated with the natural gas industry. Volume and price data are presented each month for natural gas production, distribution, consumption, and interstate pipeline activities. Producer-related activities and underground state data are also reported. From time to time, the NGM features articles designed to assist readers in using and interpreting natural gas information.

A separation device employing a gas separation filter and swirler vanes for separating gas from a gas-liquid mixture is provided. The cylindrical filter uses the principle that surface tension in the filter pores prevents gas bubbles from passing through; the gas collects in the interior of the filter to form larger bubbles in the center of the device. The device is suited for microgravity since the swirlers induce a centrifugal force which forces liquid from the inner region through the pores and the device outlet while the entrained gas is trapped by the filter. The device includes a cylindrical gas storage screen enclosed by the filter. The screen has pores larger than those of the filters. The screen prevents larger bubbles that have been formed from reaching and interfering with the pores of the filter. The device is initially filled with a gas other than that which is to be separated; this results in separation of the gas even before gas bubbles are present in the mixture. Initially filling the device with the dissimilar gas and preventing the gas from escaping before operation can be accomplished by sealing the dissimilar gas in the inner region with a ruptured disc which …

Many industrial locations, including the US Department of Energy`s, have identified needs for treatment of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) wastes and remediation of PCB-contaminated sites. Biodegradation of PCBs is a potentially effective technology for the treatment of PCB-contaminated soils and sludges, including mixed wastes; however, a practical remediation technology has not yet been demonstrated. In laboratory experiments, soil slurry bioreactors inoculated with microorganisms extracted from PCB-contaminated sediments from the Hudson River have been used to obtain anaerobic dechlorination of PCBS. The onset of dechlorination activity can be accelerated by addition of nutritional amendments and inducers. After 15 weeks of incubation with PCB-contaminated soil and nutrient solution, dechlorination has been observed under several working conditions. The best results show that the average chlorine content steadily dropped from 4.3 to 3.5 chlorines per biphenyl over a 15-week period.

Newsletter of the Texas Department of Health discussing the news, activities, and events of the organization and other information related to health in Texas.

This project is aimed at development of a process that, by using ultra fine magnetite suspension, would expand the application of heavy media separation technology to processing fine, {minus}28 mesh coals. These coal fines, produced during coal mining and crushing, are separated in the conventional coal preparation plant and generally impounded in a tailings pond. Development of an economic process for processing these fines into marketable product will expand the utilization of coal for power production in an environmentally acceptable and economically viable way. This process has been successfully researched at PETC but has not been studied on a continuous bench-scale unit, which is a necessary step towards commercial development of this promising technology. The goal of the program is to investigate the technology in a continuous circuit at a reasonable scale to provide a design basis for larger plants and a commercial feasibility data.

Coal Production 1992 provides comprehensive information about US coal production, the number of mines, prices, productivity, employment, productive capacity, and recoverable reserves to a wide audience including Congress, Federal and State agencies, the coal industry, and the general public. In 1992, there were 3,439 active coal mining operations made up of all mines, preparation plants, and refuse operations. The data in Table 1 cover the 2,746 mines that produced coal, regardless of the amount of production, except for bituminous refuse mines. Tables 2 through 33 include data from the 2,852 mining operations that produced, processed, or prepared 10 thousand or more short tons of coal during the period, except for bituminous refuse, and includes preparation plants with 5 thousand or more employee hours. These mining operations accounted for over 99 percent of total US coal production and represented 83 percent of all US coal mining operations in 1992.

Energy Facts, organized by energy source, is a compilation of energy data providing a reference to a broad range of domestic and international energy data, for the general public as well as the technical community. This report is designed especially for the business person, government worker, or student who needs a quick reference to major facts about energy. Each table of statistics appears on the opposite page from a corresponding graphic. The graphic has a point of interest rather than a title across the top.

A treatability study to support the development of a remediation system which would reduce the contaminant levels in groundwater removed from the aquifers in the vicinity of the F/H seepage basins and southwest of the Mixed Waste Management Facility (MWMF) at the Savannah River facility was conducted. Proposed changes in the remediation system require an additional study to determine whether precipitated sludge generated from the proposed remediation system will be hazardous as defined by RCRA. Several contaminants, such as lead and mercury, are above the groundwater protection standards. The presence of radionuclides and other contaminants in the sludge does not present a problem provided that the sludge can pass the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) test. The study has been developed in such a manner as to cover the possible range of treatment options that may be used.

This publication contains the 1992 survey results of the ``Annual Fuel Oil and Kerosene Sales Report`` (Form EIA-821). This is the fourth year that the survey data have appeared in a separate publication. Prior to the 1989 report, the statistics appeared in the Petroleum Marketing Annual (PMA) for reference year 1988 and the Petroleum Marketing Monthly (PMM for reference years 1984 through 1987. The 1992 edition marks the ninth annual presentation of the results of the ongoing ``Annual Fuel Oil and Kerosene Sales Report`` survey. Except for the kerosene and on-highway diesel information, data presented in Tables 1 through 12 (Sales of Fuel Oil and Kerosene) present results of the EIA-821 survey. Tables 13 through 24 (Adjusted Sales of Fuel Oil and Kerosene) include volumes that are based on the EIA-821 survey but have been adjusted to equal the products supplied volumes published in the Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA).

Japan's global current account surplus is expected to reach $150 billion in 1993, up substantially from a modest $36 billion in 1990. The movement of Japan's current account surplus in this period is, perhaps, more dramatic as a share of GDP, going from a substantial 3.6 percent in 1987, down to a modest 1.2 percent in 1990, and up again to about 3.1 percent in 1992. Japan's growing surplus is criticized as a consequence of that country's barriers to trade, and as a drag on the economic recovery of the world economy.