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The overall objective of our DOE-Ocean Margins Programs grant is to develop a pCO[sub 2] sensor for long-term monitoring of pCO[sub 2] in the ocean margins and to establish a proving ground for the development of other chemical sensors for characterizing the carbon cycle in these regions. We have succeeded in keeping with the approximate timeline outlined in the original proposal, which, for year 1 included the following objectives: Continue sensor optimization, test response characteristics (reagent and sample flow rates, temperature), introduce position sensitive photodiode and photodiode array spectrophotometers and evaluate, develop reliable and reproducible fabrication techniques, develop sensor based on preliminary studies optimized for field measurements (minimize size and power requirements), test long-term stability of the sensor in the laboratory, determine susceptibility to fouling and corrosion. This work is summarized below along with a brief review of the sensor's operating principle.

The overall objective of our DOE-Ocean Margins Programs grant is to develop a pCO{sub 2} sensor for long-term monitoring of pCO{sub 2} in the ocean margins and to establish a proving ground for the development of other chemical sensors for characterizing the carbon cycle in these regions. We have succeeded in keeping with the approximate timeline outlined in the original proposal, which, for year 1 included the following objectives: Continue sensor optimization, test response characteristics (reagent and sample flow rates, temperature), introduce position sensitive photodiode and photodiode array spectrophotometers and evaluate, develop reliable and reproducible fabrication techniques, develop sensor based on preliminary studies optimized for field measurements (minimize size and power requirements), test long-term stability of the sensor in the laboratory, determine susceptibility to fouling and corrosion. This work is summarized below along with a brief review of the sensor`s operating principle.

This paper describes a genetic algorithm application to the DNA fragment assembly problems. The genetic algorithm uses a random key representation for representing the orderings of fragments. Two different fitness functions, both based on pairwise overlap strengths between fragments, were tested. The paper concludes that the genetic algorithm is a promising method for fragment assembly problems, achieving usable solutions quickly, but that the current fitness functions are flawed and that other representations might be more appropriate.

This paper describes a genetic algorithm application to the DNA fragment assembly problems. The genetic algorithm uses a random key representation for representing the orderings of fragments. Two different fitness functions, both based on pairwise overlap strengths between fragments, were tested. The paper concludes that the genetic algorithm is a promising method for fragment assembly problems, achieving usable solutions quickly, but that the current fitness functions are flawed and that other representations might be more appropriate.

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The report is divided into the following sections: completion of previous studies on solvation dynamics, dipole lattice studies, inertial components of solvation response, simple models of solvation dynamics, rotational dynamics and dielectric friction, intramolecular electron transfer reactions, and intermolecular donor-acceptor complexes.

The report is divided into the following sections: completion of previous studies on solvation dynamics, dipole lattice studies, inertial components of solvation response, simple models of solvation dynamics, rotational dynamics and dielectric friction, intramolecular electron transfer reactions, and intermolecular donor-acceptor complexes.

Document 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: Interpretation of article 21.24-1, section 4(c) of the Insurance Code relating to assignment of health insurance benefits and waiver of deductibles or copayments (RQ-353)

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: Authority to pronounce death and the requisites of a death certificate (ID# 17647)

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 an individual who was unassociated with a racetrack license at the time the racetrack licensee at the time the racetrack was licensed or was operating may request reinstatement of the racetrack license under section 6.19 of the Texas Racing Act, V.T.C.S. article 179e (ID# 18204)

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 a home-rule city may adopt a nepotism rule that is more restrictive than state law (RQ-359)

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

Pulses of 140 GHz microwaves have been produced at a 2 kHz rate using the ETA-III induction linac and IMP wiggler. The accelerator was run in bursts of up to 50 pulses at 6 MeV and greater than 2 kA peak current. A feedback timing control system was used to synchronize acceleration voltage pulses with the electron beam, resulting in sufficient reduction of the corkscrew and energy sweep for efficient FEL operation. Peak microwave power for short bursts was in the range 0.5--1.1 GW, which is comparable to the single-pulse peak power of 0.75--2 GW. FEL bursts of more than 25 pulses were obtained.

The US Department of Defense (DOD), through an Interagency Agreement with the US Department of Energy (DOE), has initiated a three-phase program with the Consortium for Coal-Water Slurry Fuel Technology, with the aim of decreasing DOD`s reliance on imported oil by increasing its use of coal. The program is being conducted as a cooperative agreement between the Consortium and DOE and the first phase of the program is underway. Phase I activities are focused on developing clean, coal-based combustion technologies for the utilization of both micronized coal-water mixtures (MCWMs) and dry, micronized coal (MC) in fuel oil-designed industrial boilers. Phase II research and development activities will continue to focus on industrial boiler retrofit technologies by addressing emissions control and pre-combustion (i.e., slagging combustion and/or gasification) strategies for the utilization of high ash and high sulfur coals. Phase III activities will examine coal-based fuel combustion systems that cofire wastes. Each phase includes an engineering cost analysis and technology assessment. The activities and status of Phase I are described below. The objective in Phase I is to deliver fully engineered retrofit options for a fuel oil- designed watertube boiler located on a DOD installation to fire either MCWM or MC. This will …

The elevation of the surficial sediment/basalt contact at the Subsurface Disposal Area (SDA), within the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) is presented to provide a data base for future remedial actions at this site. About 1,300 elevation data from published and unpublished reports, maps, and surveyors notes were compiled to generate maps and cross-sections of the surficial sediment/basalt contact. In general, an east to west trending depression exists in the south central portion of the SDA with basalt closer to land surface on the northern and southern boundaries of the SDA. The lowest elevation of the surficial sediment/basalt contact is 4,979 ft and the greatest is land surface at 5,012 ft. The median elevation of the sediment/basalt interface is 4,994 ft. The median depth to basalt in the SDA is 16 ft if land surface elevation is assumed to be 5,010 ft. The depth from land surface to the sediment/basalt interface ranges from 24 ft in the southeast corner of the SDA to less than 3 ft at the north-central boundary of the SDA.

Heat loading analysis of the Solid Waste Disposal Facility (SWDF) waste storage configurations show the containers may exceed 90{degrees}C without any radioactive decay heat contribution. Contamination containment is primarily controlled in TRU waste packaging by using multiple bag layers of polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene. Since literature values indicate that these thermoplastic materials can begin mechanical degradation at 66{degrees}C, there was concern that the containment layers could be breached by heating. To better define the mechanical degradation temperature limits for the materials, a series of heating tests were conducted over a fifteen and thirty minute time interval. Samples of a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) bag, a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) high efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA) container, PVC bag and sealing tape were heated in a convection oven to temperatures ranging from 90 to 185{degrees}C. The following temperature limits are recommended for each of the tested materials: (1) low-density polyethylene -- 110{degrees}C; (2) polyvinyl chloride -- 130{degrees}C; (3) high-density polyethylene -- 140{degrees}C; (4) sealing tape -- 140{degrees}C. Testing with LDPE and PVC at temperatures ranging from 110 to 130{degrees}C for 60 and 120 minutes also showed no observable differences between the samples exposed at 15 and 30 minute intervals. Although these observed temperature …

Poroelasticity is the theoretical framework used to describe the coupled processes which occur when a fluid bearing porous material is deformed by a stress field. The theoretical basis for the treatment of problems in poroelasticity has been derived in an extensive body of work over the last fifty years, most notably by Biot. Many of Biot`s successors have attempted to find relationships between the physical properties of the material to be analyzed and the Biot coefficients. Our approach to this problem has both theoretical and experimental components. The general theoretical objective is to produce estimates of the Biot coefficients which are more realistic e.g.. are not limited by assumptions which preclude their use for real earth materials. Experiments are designed to measure the coefficients (or parameters which are directly related to them) which have not been measured as yet to provide new insight for improving the theory of poroelasticity. The experimental program is designed to determine the mechanical and transport properties of a well characterized set of synthetic and natural sandstones from static to ultrasonic frequencies.

Triangulations without large angles have a number of applications in numerical analysis and computer graphics. In particular, the convergence of a finite element calculation depends on the largest angle of the triangulation. Also, the running time of a finite element calculation is dependent on the triangulation size, so having a triangulation with few Steiner points is also important. Bern, Dobkin and Eppstein pose as an open problem the existence of an algorithm to triangulate a planar straight-line graph (PSLG) without large angles using a polynomial number of Steiner points. We solve this problem by showing that any PSLG with {upsilon} vertices can be triangulated with no angle larger than 7{pi}/8 by adding O({upsilon}{sup 2}log {upsilon}) Steiner points in O({upsilon}{sup 2} log{sup 2} {upsilon}) time. We first triangulate the PSLG with an arbitrary constrained triangulation and then refine that triangulation by adding additional vertices and edges. Some PSLGs require {Omega}({upsilon}{sup 2}) Steiner points in any triangulation achieving any largest angle bound less than {pi}. Hence the number of Steiner points added by our algorithm is within a log {upsilon} factor of worst case optimal. We note that our refinement algorithm works on arbitrary triangulations: Given any triangulation, we show how to …

Timely disposal of the weapons plutonium is of paramount importance to permanently safeguarding this material. GE`s 1300 MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) has been designed to utilize fill] core loading of mixed uranium-plutonium oxide fuel. Because of its large core size, a single ABWR reactor is capable of disposing 100 metric tons of plutonium within 15 years of project inception in the spiking mode. The same amount of material could be disposed of in 25 years after the start of the project as spent fuel, again using a single reactor, while operating at 75 percent capacity factor. In either case, the design permits reuse of the stored spent fuel assemblies for electrical energy generation for the remaining life of the plant for another 40 years. Up to 40 percent of the initial plutonium can also be completely destroyed using ABWRS, without reprocessing, either by utilizing six ABWRs over 25 years or by expanding the disposition time to 60 years, the design life of the plants and using two ABWRS. More complete destruction would require the development and testing of a plutonium-base fuel with a non-fertile matrix for an ABWR or use of an Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor (ALMR). The …

Document 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 a child support oobligee may modify a child support order by filing with a disctrict clerk a limited power of attorney authorizing a corporation to recieve child support payments paid through the district clerk's office along with a request that the clerk send the child support payments to the coorporation (RQ-478)

This report contains the following discussions: Introduction: Use of filters and windows in the front end designs; An interactive code for 3D graphic viewing of absorbed power in filters/windows and a new heat load generation algorithm for the finite element analysis; Failure criteria and analysis methods for the filter and window assembly; Comparison with test data and existing devices in HASYLAB; Cooling the filter: Radiation cooling or conduction cooling?; Consideration of window and filter thickness: Thicker or thinner?; Material selection criteria for filters/windows; Photon transmission through filters/windows; Window and filter design for APS undulators; Window and filter design for APS wigglers; and Window design for APS bending magnet front ends.

On June 4, 1991, the United States and Japan agreed to a five-year arrangement to open Japan,s market to U.S.-origin semiconductor devices, replacing a 1986 agreement that was due to expire. Unlike other U.S.-Japanese trade agreement, the U.S.-Japanese Semiconductor Arrangement stipulates a quantifiable objective (20 percent of the Japanese market for foreign-produced semiconductors). It is often identified by those who want the United States to undertake a "results-oriented" trade policy toward Japan as a model for future US.-Japanese trade agreements. The semiconductor arrangement raises several questions for U.S.- Japanese trade and U.S. trade policy: Has its achieved its objectives? Should the agreement be used as a model for resolving other U.S.- Japanese market access disputes?