This report addresses the advanced direct liquefaction concepts program.

Overall, we identified a number of new proteins that participate in nonhomologous end-joining and also in telomere addition to the ends of broken chromosomes. We showed that NHEJ is severely reduced in cells expressing both yeast mating-type genes and then went on to identify the NEJ1 gene that was under this control. We showed the epistasis relations among a set of mutations that impair telomere addition and we showed that there are in fact two pathways to repair broken chromosomes in the absence of telomerase. We characterized the DNA damage checkpoint pathway in response to a single broken chromosome and characterized especially the adaptation of cells arrested by an unrepaired DSB. We demonstrated that the DNA damage response is nuclear-limited. We showed adaptation defects for Tid1and Srs2 proteins and showed that Srs2 was also recovery-defective, even when DNA was repaired.

Ultraviolet; UV; UVC; UVGI; HVAC; ductwork; mold; fungus; effectiveness; microbial; dose; irradiance; reflectance; bacillis; aspergillis

Germicidal ultraviolet (UVGI) lamps have a long history of use for inactivating microbial aerosols. Most reports have focused on the control of infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis (TB), in the occupied spaces of medical facilities. Ventilation duct use of UVGI has been increasing. In-duct applications are generally more concerned with controlling environmental organisms than with controlling infections agents. This document reports the results of a project to investigate the ability of UVGI lamps to inactivate representative environmental microbial aerosols in ventilation ducts. During this research, UVGI lamps were experimentally demonstrated to inactivate bioaerosols composed of vegetative bacteria, bacteria spores, or fungal spores to a reproducible degree under conditions of fixed dose. Vegetative bacteria were most susceptible to UVGI, with bacteria and fungal spores being substantially more resistant. The performance equation commonly cited in the literature for UVGI inactivation was found to generally apply, provided its parameters were known. Revision of final report DOE/OR22674/610-40030-01. Revised table 5 on page 33.

OAK-B135 This report presents a summation of the third and final year of a three-year investigation into methods and technologies for substantially reducing the capital costs and total schedule for future nuclear plants. In addition, this is the final technical report for the three-year period of studies.

In order to improve the hot corrosion resistance of conventional YSZ TBC system, the Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} overlay coating has been successfully produced on the surface of YSZ by the Sol-gel route. The YSZ substrates were coated with boehmite sol by dip coating process, dried to form a gel film and calcined at 1200 C to form {alpha}-Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} overlay. The microstructures of TBC and Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} overlay were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that micro-pores ranged from 3 {micro}m to 20 {micro}m and micro-cracks could be clearly seen on the surface of APS YSZ coating. The thickness of alumina overlay increased with increasing the number of dip coating circles. The small microcracks (0.5-1.0 {micro}m width) on the YSZ surface could be filled and blocked by calcined alumina particles, whereas large pores remained empty and the alumina overlay was un-continuous after one time dip coating circle. Alumina overlay thicker than 5 m m obtained by five times dip coating circles largely cracked after calcinations. As a result, multiple dip coatings up to three times were ideal for getting high quality, crack- free and continuous overlay. The optimal thickness of alumina overlay was in the …

Die materials for aluminum die-casting need to be resistant to heat checking, and have good resistance to washout and to soldering in a fast flow of molten aluminum. To resist heat checking, die materials should have a low coefficient of thermal expansion, high thermal conductivity, high hot yield strength, good temper softening resistance, high creep strength, and adequate ductility. To resist the washout and soldering, die materials should have high hot hardness, good temper resistance, low solubility in molten aluminum and good oxidation resistance. It is difficult for one material to satisfy with all above requirements. In practice, H13 steel is the most popular material for aluminum die casting dies. While it is not an ideal choice, it is substantially less expensive to use than alternative materials. However, in very demanding applications, it is sometimes necessary to use alternative materials to ensure a reasonable die life. Copper-base, nickel-base alloys and superalloys, titanium-,molybdenum-, tungsten-base alloys, and to some extent yttrium and niobium alloys, have all been considered as potential materials for demanding die casting applications. Most of these alloys exhibit superior thermal fatigue resistance, but suffer from other shortcomings.

The goal of the retinal prosthesis project is the development of an implantable microelectrode array that can be used to supply visually-driven electrical input to cells in the retina, bypassing nonfunctional rod and cone cells, thereby restoring vision to blind individuals. This goal will be achieved through the study of the fundamentals of electrical engineering, vision research, and biomedical engineering with the aim of acquiring the knowledge needed to engineer a high-density microelectrode-tissue hybrid sensor that will restore vision to millions of blind persons. The modeling and simulation task within this project is intended to address the question how best to stimulate, and communicate with, cells in the retina using implanted microelectrodes.

The authors have used the power of massively parallel computers to perform first principles spin dynamics (SD) simulations of the magnetic structure of Iron-Manganese/Cobalt (FeMn/Co) interfaces. These large scale quantum mechanical simulations, involving 2016-atom super-cell models, reveal details of the orientational configuration of the magnetic moments at the interface that are unobtainable by any other means. Exchange bias, which involves the use of an antiferromagnetic (AFM) layer such as FeMn to pin the orientation of the magnetic moment of a proximate ferromagnetic (FM) layer such as Co, is of fundamental importance in magnetic multilayer storage and read head devices. Here the equation of motion of first principles SD is used to perform relaxations of model magnetic structures to the true ground (equilibrium) state. Our code is intrinsically parallel and has achieved a maximum execution rate of 2.46 Teraflops on the IBM SP at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC).

Coalbed methane resources throughout the entire Powder River Basin were reviewed in this analysis. The study was conducted at the township level, and as with all assessments conducted at such a broad level, readers must recognize and understand the limitations and appropriate use of the results. Raw and derived data provided in this report will not generally apply to any specific location. The coal geology in the basin is complex, which makes correlation with individual seams difficult at times. Although more than 12,000 wells have been drilled to date, large areas of the Powder River Basin remain relatively undeveloped. The lack of data obviously introduces uncertainty and increases variability. Proxies and analogs were used in the analysis out of necessity, though these were always based on sound reasoning. Future development in the basin will make new data and interpretations available, which will lead to a more complete description of the coals and their fluid flow properties, and refined estimates of natural gas and water production rates and cumulative recoveries. Throughout the course of the study, critical data assumptions and relationships regarding gas content, methane adsorption isotherms, and reservoir pressure were the topics of much discussion with reviewers. A summary of …

The waste in Hanford tanks generates a mixture of flammable gases and releases it into the tank headspace. The potential hazard resulting from flammable gas generation requires that controls be established to prevent ignition and halt operations if gas concentrations reach levels of concern. In cases where only hydrogen is monitored, a control limit of 6,250 ppm hydrogen has been in use at Hanford for several years. The hydrogen-based control limit is intended to conservatively represent 25% of the lower flammability limit of a gas mixture, accounting for the presence of flammable gases other than hydrogen, with ammonia being the primary concern. This report reviews the technical basis of the current control limit based on observed and projected concentrations of hydrogen and ammonia representing a range of gas release scenarios. The conclusion supports the continued use of the current 6,250 ppm hydrogen control limit

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Re-evaluation of Open Records Decision No. 574 (1990) regarding the scope of the attorney-client privilege under section 552.107(1) of the Government Code; whether section 552,001 of the Government Code also encompasses the attorney-client privilege; whether the attorney-client privilege is mandatory and compelling for the purposes of the Public Information Act; and related questions.

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, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Re-evaluation of Open Records Decision No. 647 (1996) regarding the scope of the attorney work product privilege under sections 552,103 and 552.111 of the Government Code in light of the repeal of Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 166(b) and the adoption of Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 192.5.

This issue brief discusses the Airport Improvement Program and its complement, the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC). After a brief history of federal support for airport construction and improvement, the report describes AIP funding, its source of revenues, funding distribution, the types of projects the program funds, AIP and PFC policy issues, and the allowable use of AIP funds for airport security purposes.

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The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1982 (which applied to FY1983 budget issues) suspended previously existing permanent law pertaining to cost-of-living adjustments(COLAs) for federal civilian and military retirees, and changed the COLA calculation formulas to postpone and/or reduce future COLAs for military retirees during 1983-1985 (FY1984-FY1986).This report examines executive and congressional COLA-related initiatives associated with each of the fiscal year budgeting processes from calendar year 1982 (FY1983) through calendar year 2000 (FY2001).

This report examines the economic and political situation in Cuba, including the human rights situation, and U.S. policy toward Cuba. The report also analyzes a number of issues facing Congress in U.S. policy toward Cuba, including: the overall direction of U.S. policy; challenges to U.S. policy in the World Trade Organization; restrictions on commercial food and medical exports; restrictions on travel; bilateral drug trafficking cooperation; Cuba and terrorism; funding for U.S.-government sponsored radio and television broadcasting to Cuba; the Russian signals intelligence facility in Cuba; migration issues; and compensation to the families of those Americans killed in 1996 when Cuba shot down two U.S. civilian planes. The report cites legislation that was passed in the 106th Congress, and also tracks legislative action on these various issues in U.S. policy toward Cuba in the 107th Congress.

Foam is solid-like under low stress and liquid-like under high stress. It can sustain a small load elastically but a large one causes it to flow indefinitely. When shear stress is present, a pair of adjacent bubbles can be squeezed apart by another pair, leading to a T1 switching event. This local but abrupt topological change results in bubble-complexes rearranging from one metastable configuration to another. The resulting macroscopic dynamics is highly nonlinear and complex, involving large local motion that depends on correlations between nearby bubbles. The main goal of this study was to find the connection between the behavior of individual membranes and the whole network and to relate local rearrangements to global rheological properties of flowing foams.

During waste retrieval, chemical reactions, waste property changes, and waste movements/mixing interact. Thus,to be accurate, a waste process assessment methodology must account for these physical and chemical waste characteristics and mechanisms. This study provides suggestions for column tests and simulation modeling efforts to investigate saltwell pumping of Hanford Tank S-112. In addition, GMIN chemical modeling was initiated for S-112 saltcake dilution with 50% and 100% water as the first step of evaluating the feasibility of the reactive transport code ARIEL as a waste retrieval assessment methodology. The chemical modeling predicted the S-112 saltcake chemistry reasonably well. Although it is too early to conclude the usefulness of this reactive transport modeling approach, it is worth further evaluating its applicability to the waste retrieval process.

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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.

This ICN updates the plan to document improved understanding of the local flow direction, redefine upgradient versus downgradient monitoring well, update sampling and analysis schedule, and to update critical mean parameters.

This ICN documents an improved understanding of local groundwater flow, defines upgradient versus downgradient monitoring wells, provides updated critical means for indicator parameters, and updates the sampling and analysis schedule.