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We have developed a method to suppress the PCR amplification of repetitive sequences in whole chromosome painting probes by adding Cot-1 DNA to the amplification mixture. The repetitive sequences in the Cot-1 DNA bind to their homologous sequences in the probe library, prevent the binding of primers, and interfere with extension of the probe sequences, greatly decreasing PCR efficiency selectively across these blocked regions. A second labeling reaction is then done and this product is resuspended in FISH hybridization mixture without further addition of blocking DNA. The hybridization produces little if any non-specific binding on any other chromosomes. We have been able to successfully use this procedure with both human and rat chromosome probes. This technique should be applicable in producing probes for CGH, M-FISH and SKY, as well as reducing the presence of repetitive DNA in genomic libraries.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's mission is as clear today as it was in 1952 when the Laboratory was founded--to ensure our country's national security and the safety and reliability of its nuclear deterrent. As a laboratory pursuing applied science in the national interest, we strive to accomplish our mission through excellence in science and technology. We do this while developing and implementing sound and robust business practices in an environment that emphasizes security and ensures our safety and the safety of the community around us. Our mission as a directorate derives directly from the Laboratory's charter. When I accepted the assignment of Associate Director for Chemistry and Materials Science (CMS), I talked to you about the need for strategic balance and excellence in all our endeavors. We also discussed how to take the directorate to the next level. The long-range CMS strategic plan presented here was developed with this purpose in mind. It also aligns with the Lab's institutional long-range science and technology plan and its 10-year facilities and infrastructure site plan. The plan is aimed at ensuring that we fulfill our directorate's two governing principles: (1) delivering on our commitments to Laboratory programs and sponsors, and (2) anticipating change …

Iodine is a biophilic element, with one stable isotope, {sup 127}I, and one long-lived radioisotope, {sup 129}I, which originates in the surface environment almost entirely from anthropogenic activities such as nuclear fuel reprocessing. Very few studies have evaluated the geochemical behavior of iodine isotopes in the subsurface. The concentrations of {sup 129}I and {sup 127}I were measured in wells fed by a series of artificial recharge ponds in the Forebay Area of the Orange County groundwater basin (California, USA) to evaluate their potential use as hydrological tracers. To substantiate interpretation of {sup 129}I and {sup 127}I concentration data, the aquifer system was evaluated using literature values of aquifer water mass age based on {sup 3}H/{sup 3}He, Xenon and {delta}{sup 18}O tracer data, as well as time-series data of Santa Ana River flow rates over the past decade. The aquifer data demonstrate the nearly conservative behavior of {sup 129}I, with {sup 129}I/{sup 127}I ratios likely reflecting variations in source functions as well as climatic conditions, and with inferred particle-water partition coefficients (K{sub d}) of 0.1 cm{sup 3} g{sup -1} or less.

This memo provides documentation for the method of recrystallization of pyromeletic dianhydride (PMDA), the dianhydride used in the vapor deposition of Kapton-like polyimide for ICF shell ablators and for the synthesis of bis(3-aminophenyl) acetylene, a unique acetylenic diamine developed for vapor deposition testing.

Dynamic Web data sources--sometimes known collectively as the Deep Web--increase the utility of the Web by providing intuitive access to data repositories anywhere that Web access is available. Deep Web services provide access to real-time information, like entertainment event listings, or present a Web interface to large databases or other data repositories. Recent studies suggest that the size and growth rate of the dynamic Web greatly exceed that of the static Web, yet dynamic content is often ignored by existing search engine indexers owing to the technical challenges that arise when attempting to search the Deep Web. To address these challenges, we present DynaBot, a service-centric crawler for discovering and clustering Deep Web sources offering dynamic content. DynaBot has three unique characteristics. First, DynaBot utilizes a service class model of the Web implemented through the construction of service class descriptions (SCDs). Second, DynaBot employs a modular, self-tuning system architecture for focused crawling of the DeepWeb using service class descriptions. Third, DynaBot incorporates methods and algorithms for efficient probing of the Deep Web and for discovering and clustering Deep Web sources and services through SCD-based service matching analysis. Our experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the service class discovery, probing, and …

We describe finite element modeling of the deformation of living cells by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Cells are soft systems, susceptible to large deformations in the course of an AFM measurement. Often the local properties, the subject of the measurement, are obscured by the response of the cell as a whole. The Lagrangian finite deformation model we have developed and implemented in finite elements analysis offers a solution to this problem. The effect of the gross deformation of the cell can be subtracted from the experimentally measured data in order to give a reproducible value for local properties. This facilitates concurrent experimental efforts to measure the mechanical properties at specific receptor sites on the membrane of a living cell.

We investigate how well a coupled biosphere-atmosphere model, CCM3-IBIS, can simulate the functioning of the terrestrial biosphere and the carbon cycling through it. The simulated climate is compared to observations, while the vegetation cover and the carbon cycle are compared to an offline version of the biosphere model IBIS forced with observed climatic variables. The simulated climate presents some local biases that strongly affect the vegetation (e.g., a misrepresentation of the African monsoon). Compared to the offline model, the coupled model simulates well the globally averaged carbon fluxes and vegetation pools. The zonal mean carbon fluxes and the zonal mean seasonal cycle are also well represented except between 0{sup o} and 20{sup o}N due to the misrepresentation of the African monsoon. These results suggest that, despite regional biases in climate and ecosystem simulations, this coupled atmosphere-biosphere model can be used to explore geographic and temporal variations in the global carbon cycle.

In order to view exo-solar planets and to improve our knowledge of the early universe, it is important to field very large, 100-meter-class, space telescopes. To be able to practically and affordably field such instruments, it is essential to develop membrane optics that are both lighter and more compactly packagable than present space optics. The authors demonstrate a significant breakthrough in membrane optics utilizing thin diffractive lenses instead of reflective films. The uniqueness of this approach is that diffractive lenses utilize globally-flat, easily supported, membranes, and are many orders-of-magnitude less sensitive to out-of-plane surface errors than are reflective optics. Their flight-validation experiment will launch, deploy, and optically test a lightweight diffractive lens. This lens will be built from multiple thin glass sheets, each optically patterned as a diffractive lens panel and then joined together to form a multi-segment foldable lens. the folded-up lens is tightly packaged to survive launch loads and supported after deployment by an outer rim. Its optical PSF performance is then measured by using a three-component system consisting of the diffractive lens, linked by tethers to an optical-beacon on one side, and a sensor-pod on the other.

In a wide variety of applications, a significant fraction of the momentum and energy present in a physical problem is carried by the transport of particles. Depending on the circumstances, the types of particles might involve some or all of photons, neutrinos, charged particles, or neutrons. In application areas that use transport, the computational time is usually dominated by the transport calculation. Therefore, there is a potential for great synergy; progress in transport algorithms could help quicken the time to solution for many applications. The complexity, and hence expense, involved in solving the transport problem can be understood by realizing that the general solution to the Boltzmann transport equation is seven dimensional: 3 spatial coordinates, 2 angles, 1 time, and 1 for speed or energy. Low-order approximations to the transport equation are frequently used due in part to physical justification but many times simply because a solution to the full transport problem is too computationally expensive. An example is the diffusion equation, which effectively drops the two angles in phase space by assuming that a linear representation in angle is adequate. Another approximation is the grey approximation, which drops the energy variable by averaging over it. If the grey approximation …

July report of the U.S. Congressional Oversight Panel describing their activities and findings regarding farm loan restructuring, including sections on agriculture markets, and farm credit markets.

Summary report profiling the credit rating for the Brasoz River Authority finances and investments, providing rationale, outlook, and related research for the new credit rating.

Newsletter of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service discussing topics related to economic aspects of raising dairy cows, dairy production, and managing dairy operations.