The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), in partnership with Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) and with funding from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), conducting tests to prove that a high level of mercury control (>90%) can be achieved at a power plant burning a high-sulfur eastern bituminous coal. With funding from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), DOE, and Center for Air Toxic Metals{reg_sign} (CATM{reg_sign}) Affiliates Program, the EERC completed an additional sampling project to provide data as to the behavior of a number of trace elements across the various pollution control devices, with a special emphasis on the wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system. Results showed that the concentrations of almost all the elements of interest leaving the stack were very low, and a high percentage of the trace elements were captured in the electrostatic precipitator (ESP) (for most, >80%). Although, with a few exceptions, the overall mass balances were generally quite good, the mass balances across the wet FGD were more variable. This is most likely a result of some of the concentrations being very low and also the uncertainties in determining flows within a wet FGD.

Large Type-I edge localized modes (ELMs) were suppressed by n = 3 resonant magnetic perturbations (RMPs) from a set of internal coils (I-coil) in plasmas with an ITER similar shape at the ITER pedestal collisionality, {nu}*{sub e} {approx} 0.1 and low edge safety factor (q{sub 95} {approx} 3.6), with either a single toroidal row of the internal RMP coils or two poloidally separated rows of coils. ELM suppression with a single row of internal coils was achieved at approximately the same q{sub 95} surface-averaged perturbation field as with two rows of coils, but required higher current per coil. Maintaining complete suppression of ELMs using n = 3 RMPs from a single toroidal row of internal coils was less robust to variations in input neutral beam injection torque than previous ELM suppression cases using both rows of internal coils. With either configuration of RMP coils, maximum ELM size is correlated with the width of the edge region having good overlap of the magnetic islands from vacuum field calculations.

This environmental baseline survey (EBS) report documents the baseline environmental conditions of a land parcel referred to as 'ED-4' (ED-4) at the U. S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP). DOE is proposing to transfer the title of this land to the Heritage Center, LLC. Parcel ED-4 is a land parcel that consists of two noncontiguous areas comprising a total of approximately 18 acres located east of the ETTP. The western tract of ED-4 encompasses approximately 8.5 acres in the northeastern quadrant of the intersection of Boulevard Road and Highway 58. The eastern tract encompasses an area of approximately 9.5 acres in the northwestern quadrant of the intersection of Blair Road and Highway 58 (the Oak Ridge Turnpike). Aerial photographs and site maps from throughout the history of the ETTP, going back to its initial development in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP), indicate that this area has been undeveloped woodland with the exception of three support facilities for workers constructing the ORGDP since federal acquisition in 1943. These three support facilities, which were located in the western tract of ED-4, included a recreation hall, the Town Hall Camp Operations Building, and the …

In 2004, at the request of the Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) prepared a report, ''Guidance on the Risk and Safety Analysis of Large Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Spills Over Water''. That report provided framework for assessing hazards and identifying approaches to minimize the consequences to people and property from an LNG spill over water. The report also presented the general scale of possible hazards from a spill from 125,000 m3 o 150,000 m3 class LNG carriers, at the time the most common LNG carrier capacity.

The Superconducting Magnet Program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has developed the 1 m long Nb{sub 3}Sn dipole magnet HD2. With tilted (flared) ends to avoid obstructing a 36 mm clear bore, HD2 represents a step towards the use of block-type coils in high-field accelerator magnets. The coil design has been optimized to minimize geometric harmonics and reduce the conductor peak field in the end region, resulting in an expected short sample dipole field of 15 T. The support structure is composed by an external aluminum shell pre-tensioned with pressurized bladders and interference keys, and by two stainless steel end plates compressing the coil ends through four aluminum axial rods. We report on magnet design, assembly, and test results, including training performance, quench locations, and strain gauge measurements.

Neutron and gamma-ray flux spectra are calculated using the MCNP5 computer code and a one-sixth core model of a prismatic Very High Temperature Reactor based on the General Atomics Gas Turbine-Modular Helium Reactor. Spectra are calculated in the five inner reflector graphite block rings, three annular active core fuel rings, three outer graphite reflector block rings, and the core barrel. The neutron spectra are block and fuel pin averages and are calculated as a function of temperature and burnup. Also provided are the total, fast, and thermal radial profile fluxes and core barrel dpa rates.

Misuse of declared nuclear facilities is one of the important proliferation threats. The robustness of a facility against these threats is characterized by a number of proliferation resistance (PR) measures. This paper evaluates and compares PR measures for several misuse scenarios using a Markov model approach to implement the pathway analysis methodology being developed by the PR&PP (Proliferation Resistance and Physical Protection) Expert Group. Different misue strategies can be adopted by a proliferator and each strategy is expected to have different impacts on the proliferator's success. Selected as the probabilistic measure to represent proliferation resistance, the probabilities of the proliferator's success of misusing a hypothetical ESFR (Example Sodium Fast Reactor) facility system are calculated using the Markov model based on the pathways constructed for individual misuse scenarios. Insights from a comparison of strategies that are likely to be adopted by the proliferator are discussed in this paper.

Deletion of 11q23-q24 is frequent in a diverse variety of malignancies, including breast and colorectal carcinoma, implicating the presence of a tumor suppressor gene at that chromosomal region. We show here that LARG, from 11q23, has functional characteristics of a tumor suppressor. We examined a 6-Mb region on 11q23 by high-resolution deletion mapping, utilizing both loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analysis and microarray comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). LARG (also called ARHGEF12), identified from the analyzed region, was underexpressed in 34% of primary breast carcinomas and 80% of breast cancer cell lines including the MCF-7 line. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification on 30 primary breast cancers and six breast cancer cell lines showed that LARG had the highest frequency of deletion compared to the BCSC-1 and TSLC1 genes, two known candidate tumor suppressor genes from 11q. In vitro analysis of breast cancer cell lines that underexpress LARG showed that LARG could be reactivated by trichostatin A, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, but not by 5-Aza-2{prime}-deoxycytidine, a demethylating agent. Bisulfite sequencing and quantitative high-throughput analysis of DNA methylation confirmed the lack of CpG island methylation in LARG in breast cancer. Restoration of LARG expression in MCF-7 cells by stable transfection resulted in reduced proliferation and …

The Gulf of Mexico Hydrates Research Consortium (GOM-HRC) was established in 1999 to assemble leaders in gas hydrates research that shared the need for a way to conduct investigations of gas hydrates and their stability zone in the Gulf of Mexico in situ on a more-or-less continuous basis. The primary objective of the group is to design and emplace a remote monitoring station or sea floor observatory (SFO) on the sea floor in the northern Gulf of Mexico, in an area where gas hydrates are known to be present at, or just below, the sea floor and to discover the configuration and composition of the subsurface pathways or 'plumbing' through which fluids migrate into and out of the hydrate stability zone (HSZ) to the sediment-water interface. Monitoring changes in this zone and linking them to coincident and perhaps consequent events at the seafloor and within the water column is the eventual goal of the Consortium. This mission includes investigations of the physical, chemical and biological components of the gas hydrate stability zone - the sea-floor/sediment-water interface, the near-sea-floor water column, and the shallow subsurface sediments. The eventual goal is to monitor changes in the hydrate stability zone over time. Establishment …

None

Here we examine Fe speciation within Fe-encrusted biofilms formed during 2-month seafloor incubations of sulfide mineral assemblages at the Main Endeavor Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The biofilms were distributed heterogeneously across the surface of the incubated sulfide and composed primarily of particles with a twisted stalk morphology resembling those produced by some aerobic Fe-oxidizing microorganisms. Our objectives were to determine the form of biofilm-associated Fe, and identify the sulfide minerals associated with microbial growth. We used micro-focused synchrotron-radiation X-ray fluorescence mapping (mu XRF), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (mu EXAFS), and X-ray diffraction (mu XRD) in conjunction with focused ion beam (FIB) sectioning, and highresolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The chemical and mineralogical composition of an Fe-encrusted biofilm was queried at different spatial scales, and the spatial relationship between primary sulfide and secondary oxyhydroxide minerals was resolved. The Fe-encrusted biofilms formed preferentially at pyrrhotite-rich (Fe1-xS, 0<_ x<_ 0.2) regions of the incubated chimney sulfide. At the nanometer spatial scale, particles within the biofilm exhibiting lattice fringing and diffraction patterns consistent with 2-line ferrihydrite were identified infrequently. At the micron spatial scale, Fe mu EXAFS spectroscopy and mu XRD measurements indicate that the dominant form of biofilm Fe is a …

Monodisperse rhodium (Rh) and platinum (Pt) nanoparticles as small as {approx}1 nm were synthesized within a fourth generation polyaminoamide (PAMAM) dendrimer, a hyperbranched polymer, in aqueous solution and immobilized by depositing onto a high-surface-area SBA-15 mesoporous support. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that the as-synthesized Rh and Pt nanoparticles were mostly oxidized. Catalytic activity of the SBA-15 supported Rh and Pt nanoparticles was studied with ethylene hydrogenation at 273 and 293 K in 10 torr of ethylene and 100 torr of H{sub 2} after reduction (76 torr of H{sub 2} mixed with 690 torr of He) at different temperatures. Catalysts were active without removing the dendrimer capping but reached their highest activity after hydrogen reduction at a moderate temperature (423 K). When treated at a higher temperature (473, 573, and 673 K) in hydrogen, catalytic activity decreased. By using the same treatment that led to maximum ethylene hydrogenation activity, catalytic activity was also evaluated for pyrrole hydrogenation.

Plastic behavior has previously been observed in metallic interconnects undergoing high current density electromigration (EM) loading. In this study of Cu interconnects, using the synchrotron technique of white beam X-ray microdiffraction, we have further found preliminary evidence of a texture correlation. In lines with strong (111) textures, the extent of plastic deformation is found to be relatively large compared to that of weaker textures. We suggest that this strong (111) texture may lead to an extra path of mass transport in addition to the dominant interface diffusion in Cu EM. When this extra mass transport begins to affect the overall transport process, then the effective diffusivity, D{sub eff}, of the EM process is expected to deviate from that of interface diffusion only. This would have fundamental implications. We have some preliminary observations that this might be the case, and we report its implications for EM lifetime assessment in this manuscript.

We present the design and performance of a home-built high-pressure and high-temperature reactor equipped with a high-resolution scanning tunneling microscope (STM) for catalytic studies. In this design, the STM body, sample, and tip are placed in a small high pressure reactor ({approx}19 cm{sup 3}) located within an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) chamber. A sealable port on the wall of the reactor separates the high pressure environment in the reactor from the vacuum environment of the STM chamber and permits sample transfer and tip change in UHV. A combination of a sample transfer arm, wobble stick, and sample load-lock system allows fast transfer of samples and tips between the preparation chamber, high pressure reactor, and ambient environment. This STM reactor can work as a batch or flowing reactor at a pressure range of 10{sup -13} to several bars and a temperature range of 300-700 K. Experiments performed on two samples both in vacuum and in high pressure conditions demonstrate the capability of in situ investigations of heterogeneous catalysis and surface chemistry at atomic resolution at a wide pressure range from UHV to a pressure higher than 1 atm.

The aim of this work was to study radiation-induced bystander effects for early cytogenetic end points in various cell lines using the medium transfer technique after exposure to high- and low-LET radiation. Cells were exposed to 20 MeV/ nucleon nitrogen ions, 968 MeV/nucleon iron ions, or 575 MeV/nucleon iron ions followed by transfer of the conditioned medium from the irradiated cells to unirradiated test cells. The effects studied included DNA double-strand break induction, {gamma}-H2AX focus formation, induction of chromatid breaks in prematurely condensed chromosomes, and micronucleus formation using DNA repair-proficient and -deficient hamster and human cell lines (xrs6, V79, SW48, MO59K and MO59J). Cell survival was also measured in SW48 bystander cells using X rays. Although it was occasionally possible to detect an increase in chromatid break levels using nitrogen ions and to see a higher number of {gamma}-H2AX foci using nitrogen and iron ions in xrs6 bystander cells in single experiments, the results were not reproducible. After we pooled all the data, we could not verify a significant bystander effect for any of these end points. Also, we did not detect a significant bystander effect for DSB induction or micronucleus formation in these cell lines or for clonogenic survival …

Quantitative characterizataion of images of naocrystals and nanostructures is a challenging but important task. The development and optimization of methods for the construction of complex nanostructures rely on imaging techniques. Computer programs were developed to quantify TEM images of nanocrystal/DNA nanostructures, and results are presented for heterodimers annd trimers of gold nanocrystals. The programs presented here have also been used to analyze more complex trimers and tetramers linked by branched DNA, as well as for structures made from attaching gold nanocrystals to CdSe/ZnS core-shell quantum dots. This work has the additional goal of enabling others to quickly and easily adapt the methods for their own use.

Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway aberrations are common in cancer. By applying mass spectroscopy-based sequencing and reverse phase protein arrays to 547 human breast cancers and 41 cell lines, we determined the subtype specificity and signaling effects of PIK3CA, AKT and PTEN mutations, and the effects of PIK3CA mutations on responsiveness to PI3K inhibition in-vitro and on outcome after adjuvant tamoxifen. PIK3CA mutations were more common in hormone receptor positive (33.8%) and HER2-positive (24.6%) than in basal-like tumors (8.3%). AKT1 (1.4%) and PTEN (2.3%) mutations were restricted to hormone receptor-positive cancers with PTEN protein levels also being significantly lower in hormone receptor-positive cancers. Unlike AKT1 mutations, PIK3CA (39%) and PTEN (20%) mutations were more common in cell lines than tumors, suggesting a selection for these but not AKT1 mutations during adaptation to culture. PIK3CA mutations did not have a significant impact on outcome in 166 hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients after adjuvant tamoxifen. PIK3CA mutations, in comparison with PTEN loss and AKT1 mutations, were associated with significantly less and indeed inconsistent activation of AKT and of downstream PI3K/AKT signaling in tumors and cell lines, and PTEN loss and PIK3CA mutation were frequently concordant, suggesting different contributions to pathophysiology. PTEN loss but not …

Sandia National Laboratories has cradle to grave responsibility for all neutron generators in the US nuclear weapons stockpile. As such, much research effort is exerted to develop a comprehensive understanding of all the major components of a neutron generator. One of the key components is the tritium containing target. The target is a thin metal tritide film. Sandia's research into metal tritides began in the early 1960's with a collaboration with the Denver Research Institute (DRI) and continues to this day with a major in house research effort. This document is an attempt to briefly summarize what is known about the aging of erbium tritide and to review the major publications conducted at Sandia in FY 07. First, a review of our knowledge of helium in erbium tritide will be presented. Second, executive summaries of the six major SAND reports regarding neutron tube targets published in FY07 by Department 2735, the Applied Science and Technology Maturation Department, and research partners are presented.

The newest workhorse of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center is a Cray XT4 with 9,736 dual core nodes. This paper summarizes Franklin user experiences from friendly early user period to production period. Selected successful user stories along with top issues affecting user experiences are presented.

We describe a new optical parametric amplifier (OPA) that employs lithium thioindate, LiInS{sub 2} (LIS), to create tunable infrared light between 1500 cm{sup -1} and 2000 cm{sup -1}. The OPA based on LIS described within provides intense infrared light with a good beam profile relative to similar OPAs built on silver gallium sulfide, AgGaS{sub 2} (AGS), or silver gallium selenide, AgGaSe{sub 2} (AGSe). We have used the new LIS OPA to perform surface-specific sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy of the amide I vibrational mode of a model peptide at the hydrophobic deuterated polystyrene (d{sub 8}-PS)-phosphate buffered saline interface. This model polypeptide (which is known to be an ?-helix in the bulk solution under the high ionic strength conditions employed here) contains hydrophobic leucyl (L) residues and hydrophilic lysyl (K) residues, with sequence Ac-LKKLLKLLKKLLKL-NH{sub 2}. The amide I mode at the d{sub 8}-PS-buffer interface was found to be centered around 1655 cm{sup -1}. This can be interpreted as the peptide having maintained its {alpha}-helical structure when adsorbed on the hydrophobic surface, although other interpretations are discussed.

This project has resulted in the increase in our understanding of how proteins interact with and influence the properties of bound cofactors. This information is important for several reasons, including providing essential information for the re-engineering of biological molecules, such as proteins, for either improved function or entirely new ones. In particular, we have found that a molecule, such as the phylloquinone used in Photosystem I (PS1), can be made a stronger electron donor by placing it in a hydrophobic (greasy) environment surrounded by negative charges. In addition, the protein is constrained in its interactions with the phylloqinone, in that it must bind the cofactor tightly, but not in such a way that would stabilize the reduced (natively-charged) version of the molecule. We have used a combination of molecular genetics, in order to make specific mutations in the region of the phylloquinone, and an advanced form of spectroscopy capable of monitoring the transfer of electrons within PS1 using living cells as the material. This approach turned out to produce a significant savings in time and supplies, as it allowed us to focus quickly on the mutants that produced interesting effects, without having to go through laborious purification of the affected …

A new method for correcting magnetic field errors in the ITER tokamak is developed using the Ideal Perturbed Equilibrium Code (IPEC). The dominant external magnetic field for driving islands is shown to be localized to the outboard midplane for three ITER equilibria that represent the projected range of operational scenarios. The coupling matrices between the poloidal harmonics of the external magnetic perturbations and the resonant fields on the rational surfaces that drive islands are combined for different equilibria and used to determine an ordered list of the dominant errors in the external magnetic field. It is found that efficient and robust error field correction is possible with a fixed setting of the correction currents relative to the currents in the main coils across the range of ITER operating scenarios that was considered.

In preparation for the LHC luminosity upgrades, high field and large aperture Nb{sub 3}Sn quadrupoles are being studied. This development has to incorporate all the relevant features for an accelerator magnet like alignment and cooling channels. The LARP HQ model is a high field and large bore quadrupole that will meet these requirements. The 2-layer coils are surrounded by a structure based on key and bladder technology with supporting iron yoke and aluminum shell. This structure is aimed at pre-stress control, alignment and field quality. We present here the magnetic and mechanical design of HQ, along with recent progress on the development of the first 1-meter model.

The objective of the project was to develop a novel complementary membrane reactor process that can consolidate two or more downstream unit operations of a coal gasification system into a single module for production of a pure stream of hydrogen and a pure stream of carbon dioxide. The overall goals were to achieve higher hydrogen production efficiencies, lower capital costs and a smaller overall footprint than what could be achieved by utilizing separate components for each required unit process/operation in conventional coal-to-hydrogen systems. Specifically, this project was to develop a novel membrane reactor process that combines hydrogen sulfide removal, hydrogen separation, carbon dioxide separation and water-gas shift reaction into a single membrane configuration. The carbon monoxide conversion of the water-gas-shift reaction from the coal-derived syngas stream is enhanced by the complementary use of two membranes within a single reactor to separate hydrogen and carbon dioxide. Consequently, hydrogen production efficiency is increased. The single membrane reactor configuration produces a pure H{sub 2} product and a pure CO{sub 2} permeate stream that is ready for sequestration. This project focused on developing a new class of CO{sub 2}-selective membranes for this new process concept. Several approaches to make CO{sub 2}-selective membranes for high-temperature …