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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Sources of Propane Consumed in California

Project Scope: The objective of this study is to specify the sources of propane consumed in California. It answers the questions, where does the propane used in California come from and how was it produced? The results of this study provide comprehensive, transparent, and verifiable estimates, based on the 2018 market. The information provided in this report is suitable for use to assess the life cycle carbon intensity of propane used as a transportation fuel in California. As the 2009 Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) aims to reduce California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other smog-forming and toxic air pollutants, the appropriate designation of carbon intensity for propane as a transportation fuel is important for evaluating propane’s potential to contribute to GHG goals and understandings in the context of various actions. This study focuses on estimating the shares of total propane consumed in the state of California produced from petroleum refineries, natural gas plants, and bituminous sands sources inside California and elsewhere. Results: An estimated 590 million gallons of propane were consumed in California in 2018, of which, 59.5% originated from refinery production and 40.5% originated from natural gas plants. The majority of this was sourced from refinery production in California, 334 million gallons. Most of the propane imported to California for consumption was sourced from natural gas plants, 113 million gallons, with over half of the imported volume sourced from Canada. The volume sourced from bituminous sand upgrader and fractionator operations was negligible. Details from this analysis are presented in the table below which provides an overview of the propane flows estimated in this study by region and production method. The shares and volumes presented here represent a snapshot for 2018. A significant increase in propane demand, such as could be caused by increased use of propane as a transportation fuel in the state, would affect California’s propane production, imports, and exports. The method and data sources used for the estimates provided in this report also provide the framework which could be used for future updates. Key Method Considerations: The values presented here are based on a two-step approach where the first step was to determine the flows of propane into and out of California from different regions and the second step was to estimate the propane production methods in each region. A volume balance approach is used as the primary method for tracking the volume of propane in and out of California as propane production and import volumes are available by Petroleum Administration of Defense District (PADD) from EIA and neither inter-PADD propane transfers nor state-specific non-prime supplier consumption are available from a public data source. The volume balance performed for this study covered PADD 5 (the West Coast), which includes Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The volume balance used all available public datasets to determine propane production, imports, exports, and consumption. Volumes unaccounted for by these datasets were estimated using the resulting volume balance by assuming market equilibrium. Consumption within each state in PADD 5 was estimated based on known import, export, and production volumes and this amount was used to develop the volume balance. EIA only tracks consumption at the state level by prime supplier sales. The volume balance approach provides the basis to correct for additional propane consumed in-states where propane is transferred to California. To determine the California propane sources and trade in 2018. volume of propane consumed in California, the volume balance approach is again used where it was estimated all imported volumes not specifically flagged for re-export were consumed, and the remaining consumption was produced in-state. The California Energy Commission (CEC) provided the total volume of propane imported and exported from California in 2018; this volume data set along with commodity tracking from the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) and the International Trade Commission (ITC) which tracks port of entry and final destination was used to determine where propane originated from and where it was ultimately consumed. For example, the CER tracks propane leaving Canada and entering each state within the U.S. Imported propane from Canada to California – marked for California – is assumed to be consumed in California. When no further data were available, import volumes were assumed to be consumed in California without pass-through (i.e., no propane imported to California was directly sold and exported). In most cases, the production method for each propane source region was applied to the volume of propane transferred to California. In other words, the shares of propane sourced from natural gas and refineries for each production region was assigned to California imports based on their contribution to the total volume flows into California to determine the production method for propane consumed in-state. For volumes imported into California from PADD 4, Washington State, Canada, and the rest of the world (Argentina, Chile, Norway, Peru, South Korea, and Trinidad and Tobago), the volumes sourced from petroleum refineries and natural gas plants reflect the either production ratio for the region or, in cases where the sources specific to the amounts exported to California could be determined, the sources specific to the volumes transferred to California.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2024

The Role of Spin–Orbit Coupling in the Linear Absorption Spectrum and Intersystem Crossing Rate Coefficients of Ruthenium Polypyridyl Dyes

The successful use of molecular dyes for solar energy conversion requires efficient charge injection, which in turn requires the formation of states with sufficiently long lifetimes (e.g., triplets). The molecular structure elements that confer this property can be found empirically, however computational predictions using ab initio electronic structure methods are invaluable to identify structure-property relations for dye sensitizers. The primary challenge for simulations to elucidate the electronic and nuclear origins of these properties is a spin-orbit interaction which drives transitions between electronic states. Here, in this work, we present a computational analysis of the spin-orbit corrected linear absorption cross sections and intersystem crossing rate coefficients for a derivative set of phosphonated tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(2+) dye molecules. After sampling the ground state vibrational distributions, the predicted linear absorption cross sections indicate that the mixture between singlet and triplet states plays a crucial role in defining the line shape of the metal-to-ligand charge transfer bands in these derivatives. Additionally, an analysis of the intersystem crossing rate coefficients suggests that transitions from the singlet into the triplet manifolds are ultrafast with rate coefficients on the order of 10 13 s -1 for each dye molecule.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hybrid data-driven and model-informed online tool wear detection in milling machines

Precision machining tool wear is responsible for low product throughput and quality. Monitoring the tool wear online is vital to prevent degradation in machining quality. However, direct real-time tool wear measurement is not practical. This paper presents residual-based anomaly detection models, combining a hybrid model comprised of a physics-based model and a data-driven model (a decision tree or a neural network) to predict signals of interest (e.g., power or forces) under nominal conditions, followed by Page’s cumulative sum test for detecting tool wear on-line using the computer numerical control machine measurements. The most informative features are ranked using dynamic programming and its approximation variants from real-time measurements and machine settings, such as the width of cut, depth of cut, feed rate and spindle speed, that serve as inputs to the predictive models. The baseline nominal model is incrementally updated with experimental data via a gradient boosted adaptation model to generate the residuals that account for discrepancies between the actual machine data under normal conditions and the baseline nominal model predictions. The hybrid model is validated against 20 Mazak milling machine experimental tests and one Haas run-to-failure experiment. The proposed anomaly detector is applied to synthetic data from simulations of the physics-based model at different operating conditions, measurement noise levels, and tool wear levels, and the methods were able to achieve an overall 92% accuracy in data with 1% noise. The anomaly detection methods based on hybrid model reduced the false alarms of either the data-driven or physical-based models alone, and are found to be capable of good online detection of tool wear.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Tracer-field cross-correlations with k -nearest neighbour distributions

ABSTRACT In astronomy and cosmology significant effort is devoted to characterizing and understanding spatial cross-correlations between points – e.g galaxy positions, high energy neutrino arrival directions, X-ray and AGN sources, and continuous fields – e.g. weak lensing meiand Cosmic Microwave Background maps. Recently, we introduced the k-nearest neighbour (kNN) formalism to better characterize the clustering of discrete (point) data sets. Here, we extend it to the point – field cross-correlations analysis. It combines kNN measurements of the point data set with measurements of the field smoothed at many scales. The resulting statistics are sensitive to all orders in the joint clustering of the points and the field. We demonstrate that this approach, unlike the 2-pt cross-correlation, can measure the statistical dependence of two data sets even when there are no linear (Gaussian) correlations between them. We further demonstrate that this framework is far more effective than the two point function in detecting cross-correlations when the continuous field is contaminated by high levels of noise. For a particularly high level of noise, the cross-correlation between haloes and the underlying matter field in a cosmological simulation, between 10 h−1 Mpc and 30 h−1 Mpc, is detected at >5σ significance using the technique presented here, when the two-point cross-correlation significance is ∼1σ. Finally, we show that kNN cross-correlations of haloes and the matter field can be well modelled on quasi-linear scales using the Hybrid Effective Field Theory (HEFT) framework, with the same set of bias parameters as are used for 2-pt cross-correlations. The substantial improvement in the statistical power of detecting cross-correlations using this method makes it a promising tool for various cosmological applications.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Insights from the APOKASC determination of the evolutionary state of red-giant stars by consolidation of different methods

ABSTRACT The internal working of low-mass stars is of great significance to both the study of stellar structure and the history of the Milky Way. Asteroseismology has the power to directly sense the internal structure of stars and allows for the determination of the evolutionary state – i.e. has helium burning commenced or is the energy generated only by the fusion in the hydrogen-burning shell? We use observational data from red-giant stars in a combination (known as APOKASC) of asteroseismology (from the Kepler mission) and spectroscopy (from SDSS/APOGEE). The new feature of the analysis is that the APOKASC evolutionary state determination is based on the comparison of diverse approaches to the investigation of the frequency-power spectrum. The high level of agreement between the methods is a strong validation of the approaches. Stars for which there is not a consensus view are readily identified. The comparison also facilitates the identification of unusual stars including those that show evidence for very strong coupling between p and g cavities. The comparison between the classification based on the spectroscopic data and asteroseismic data have led to a new value for the statistical uncertainty in APOGEE temperatures. These consensus evolutionary states will be used as an input for methods that derive masses and ages for these stars based on comparison of observables with stellar evolutionary models (‘grid-based modelling’) and as a training set for machine-learning and other data-driven methods of evolutionary state determination.

Elsworth, Yvonne↗
DOE OSTI2021

Efficient Contingency Analysis in Power Systems via Network Trigger Nodes

Modeling failure dynamics within a power system is a complex and challenging process due to multiple inter-dependencies and convoluted inter-domain relationships. Subject matter experts (SMEs) are interested in understanding these failure dynamics for reducing the impact from future disasters (i.e., losses or failures of power system components, such as transmission lines). Contingency analysis (CA) tools enable such ’what-if’ scenario analyses to evaluate the impacts on the power system. Analyzing all possible contingencies among N system components can be computationally expensive. An important step for performing CA is identifying a set of k ‘trigger’ components, which when failed initially can significantly impact the overall system by causing multiple failures. Currently SMEs focus on identifying these trigger components by running expensive simulations on all possible subsets, which quickly becomes infeasible. Hence finding a relevant set of trigger components (contingencies) rapidly to enable efficient and useful CA is crucial.In a collaboration between computer scientists and power system experts, we propose an efficient method for performing CA by exploiting network inter-dependencies in power system components. First, we construct a network with multiple electric grid infrastructure components and dependencies as connections among them. We reformulate the problem of finding a set of trigger components as a problem of identifying critical nodes in the network, which can cascade power failures through connected nodes and cause significant damage to the network. To guide the practical CA tools, we develop a network-based model with a probabilistic edge-weights setup using intricate domain rules. Then we conduct an empirical study on real power system data in the US for both regional and national levels. Firstly, we use power system datasets for the US to create a national-scale domain-driven model. Secondly, we demonstrate that network-based model outperforms the outputs from a real CA tool and show on average 25 × improved selection of contingencies, thereby showcasing practical benefits to the power experts.

Tabassum, Anika↗
DOE OSTI2015

Irreversible Wash Aid Additive for Cesium Mitigation. Small-Scale Demonstration and Lessons Learned

The Irreversible Wash Aid Additive process has been under development by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne). This process for radioactive cesium mitigation consists of a solution to wash down contaminated structures, roadways, and vehicles and a sequestering agent to bind the radionuclides from the wash water and render them environmentally immobile. The purpose of this process is to restore functionality to basic services and immediately reduce the consequences of a radiologically-contaminated urban environment. Research and development have resulted in a down-selection of technologies for integration and demonstration at the pilot-scale level as part of the Wide Area Recovery and Resiliency Program (WARRP) under the Department of Homeland Security and the Denver Urban Area Security Initiative. As part of developing the methods for performing a pilot-scale demonstration at the WARRP conference in Denver in 2012, Argonne conducted small-scale field experiments at Separmatic Systems. The main purpose of these experiments was to refine the wash water collection and separations systems and demonstrate key unit operations to help in planning for the large scale demonstration in Denver. Since the purpose of these tests was to demonstrate the operations of the system, we used no radioactive materials. After a brief set of experiments with the LAKOS unit to familiarize ourselves with its operation, two experiments were completed on two separate dates with the Separmatic systems.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2023

An Overview of the Risk Assessment Information System

This technical memorandum (TM) presents an overview of the Risk Assessment Information System (RAIS), a collection of web-based tools designed to assist with the environmental risk assessment process. The objective of the RAIS is to be a single resource for the risk assessment process, providing guidance when planning and performing the steps: data assessment, exposure assessment, toxicity assessment, and risk characterization. The RAIS evolved as a result of the initial remediation efforts at various United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) facilities. The goal was to increase the efficiency and transparency of the human health and ecological assessments being performed by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, Oak Ridge Operations (ORO) office by providing a repository for toxicity information, physicochemical data, risk assessment procedures, standardized risk calculation methods, and web-based tools. Since the initial launch in 1996, the RAIS has expanded its user base outside of the federal government and now has users from over 100 countries, universities, states, and local governments. What sets the RAIS apart from other risk assessment sites are the publicly available, searchable toxicity and physicochemical databases and the wide range of chemical and radionuclide risk calculation tools. The purpose of this TM is to present the RAIS tools in order of the website menus and explain how they fit in the risk assessment process. In addition, this TM describes differences between the chemical and radionuclide tools of the RAIS. Screening level equations, chronic daily intake equations, and default exposure factors used in the chemical and radionuclide calculators are included in the appendices of this TM. This TM is not intended to be a detailed guide to risk assessment or the RAIS tools. The tools on the RAIS can be used to comply with procedures from multiple agencies, including but not limited to DOE, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and many state governments. Further information on the RAIS tools can be found in the user guides and tutorials available on the webpage.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2014

Comparison and Consensus Guidelines for Delineation of Clinical Target Volume for CT- and MR-Based Brachytherapy in Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer

Objective: To create and compare consensus clinical target volume (CTV) contours for computed tomography (CT) and 3-Tesla (3-T) magnetic resonance (MR) image-based cervical-cancer brachytherapy. Methods and Materials: Twenty-three experts in gynecologic radiation oncology contoured the same 3 cervical cancer brachytherapy cases: 1 stage IIB near-complete response (CR) case with a tandem and ovoid, 1 stage IIB partial response (PR) case with tandem and ovoid with needles, and 1 stage IB2 CR case with a tandem and ring applicator. The CT contours were completed before the MRI contours. These were analyzed for consistency and clarity of target delineation using an expectation maximization algorithm for simultaneous truth and performance level estimation (STAPLE), with κ statistics as a measure of agreement between participants. The conformity index was calculated for each of the 6 data sets. Dice coefficients were generated to compare the CT and MR contours of the same case. Results: For all 3 cases, the mean tumor volume was smaller on MR than on CT (P<.001). The κ and conformity index estimates were slightly higher for CT, indicating a higher level of agreement on CT. The Dice coefficients were 89% for the stage IB2 case with a CR, 74% for the stage IIB case with a PR, and 57% for the stage IIB case with a CR. Conclusion: In a comparison of MR-contoured with CT-contoured CTV volumes, the higher level of agreement on CT may be due to the more distinct contrast medium visible on the images at the time of brachytherapy. MR at the time of brachytherapy may be of greatest benefit in patients with large tumors with parametrial extension that have a partial or complete response to external beam. On the basis of these results, a 95% consensus volume was generated for CT and for MR. Online contouring atlases are available for instruction at (http://www.nrgoncology.org/Resources/ContouringAtlases/GYNCervicalBrachytherapy.aspx)

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Longitudinal analysis of risk factors for dementia based on Mild Cognitive Impairment Screen results and questionnaire responses from healthy Japanese individuals registered in an online database

Abstract Introduction Despite an urgent need for developing remedial measures against dementia, no disease‐modifying drugs have been developed. Efficient protocols for participant recruitment need to be established for conducting clinical trials. To meet this need, a large‐scale online registry system, the Integrated Registry of Orange Plan (IROOP ® ), was created for healthy individuals. Although the risk factors for dementia have been discussed in our previous studies for a short interval of 6 months, some factors remain controversial. The present study aimed to explore factors affecting longitudinal changes in cognitive function for a longer interval of 18 months using the IROOP ® data. Methods This study assessed the longitudinal changes in the collated data for predicting the risk of dementia and included 473 individuals (175 men and 298 women; mean age 59.6 ± 10.1 years) registered in the IROOP ® between July 5, 2016 and January 15, 2018 who completed the initial questionnaire and brief assessment of cognitive function (Mild Cognitive Impairment Screen) at baseline and the regular questionnaire and the Mild Cognitive Impairment Screen at least once after baseline. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS, version 23.0, for Windows for demographic data and the MIXED procedure in SAS, version 9.4, for the linear mixed‐effect model. In each analysis, the statistical significance level was set at P < .05. Results Mood, sleep, quality of life, and medical histories including cognition were found to influence longitudinal changes in cognitive function. Discussion Given the multifactorial etiology of dementia, preventive measures targeting multiple domains are required for maintaining cognitive function, instead of focusing on one lifestyle factor.

Ogawa, Masayo↗
DOE OSTI2016

A study of the degree of fluorination in regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene)

Here, we systematically varied the degree of fluorination along the backbone of a series of highly regioregular 3-hexylthiophene-based polymers, P3HT-50F, P3HT-33F and P3HT-25F, in which 50%, 33% and 25% of the thiophene units within the polymer chain contain fluorine atoms in the available 4-position. These materials were homopolymerized using the Kumada catalyst transfer polycondensation method from a set of mono-fluorinated bi-, ter- and quarterthiophenes, to ensure high polymer regioregularity and evenly-spaced fluorine atoms along the conjugated thiophene backbone. The monomers were obtained from a synthetic route consisting of iterative Migita-Stille couplings of fluorinated and non-fluorinated 3- hexylthiophenes. The effect of the fluorine atoms on both polymer structure and properties is presented, with supporting quantum mechanical calculations that rationalize the intrinsic conformation preferences of the three P3HT derivatives. P3HT-50F (M¯ n = 34 kg/mol, 98.5% rr), P3HT-33F (M¯ n = 46 kg/mol, 98% rr) and P3HT-25F (M¯ n = 53 kg/mol, 95% rr) displayed HOMO levels of -5.34, -5.26 and -5.24 eV, bandgaps of 1.98, 1.98 and 1.97 eV, and average field-effect transistor hole mobilities of 4.5 × 10 -3 , 2.7 × 10 -2 , and 1.2 × 10 -2 cm 2 V -1 s -1 , respectively.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Electronic Structure Theory Calculations Using Modern Architectures: KNL vs Haswell

The time to solution and parallel efficiency of several commonly used electronic structure methods (Hartree–Fock, density functional theory, second order perturbation theory, resolution of the identity second order perturbation theory, coupled cluster) are evaluated on both the Intel Xeon Haswell and the Intel Xeon Phi Knights Landing (KNL) architectures. The Haswell completes the benchmark calculations with a faster time to solution than the KNL for all molecules and methods tested. While the Haswell exhibits an average speedup of at least 3.5 relative to the KNL for all nonthreaded computations, the KNL has a better parallel efficiency than the Haswell with increasing core counts. The architectures are further tested using a more computationally costly coupled cluster method on a transition state reaction. The Haswell appears to be the best choice to minimize the time to solution, though for very large systems and high levels of theory that require memory intensive processes the superior memory hierarchy and larger on node memory of the KNL can make it a better choice. These results are used to showcase aspects of novel architectures that will increase efficiency for quantum chemistry applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2014

RADIATIVE LIFETIMES OF V I AND V II

New radiative lifetimes are reported for 168 levels of V I ranging in energy from 18086 cm{sup –1} to 47702 cm{sup –1}, and for 31 levels of V II ranging in energy from 34593 cm{sup –1} to 47420 cm{sup –1}. These lifetimes are measured using time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence on a slow atomic/ionic beam as part of an ongoing study of the radiative properties of the iron group elements. All but two of the V II lifetimes have been measured before using modern laser-based methods, but a large fraction of the V I lifetimes are reported here for the first time. Comparison to earlier measurements is discussed. These new lifetimes are, for the most part, accurate to ±5%. They will be combined with branching fraction measurements to produce a large set of transition probabilities for V I and V II which are needed by the astrophysics community for stellar abundance determinations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Use of a GPS-Derived Troposphere Model to Improve InSAR Deformation Estimates in the San Gabriel Valley, California

We evaluate the potential of troposphere models derived from ground meteorological data (pressure, temperature, and relative humidity) and Global Positioning System (GPS) data to improve InSAR measurements and models derived from them. We test this approach on an ERS-2/Envisat data set collected during a transient surface deformation episode that occurred from January to July 2005 in the San Gabriel Valley, southern California, USA. We find that the interferometric phase change observed over the corresponding period cannot be solely attributed to hydrological uplift associated with rising groundwater levels but also includes a significant contribution from differential tropospheric delay due to differing quantities of water vapor in the troposphere on the two SAR observation dates. We show that, if the tropospheric phase contribution is mistakenly interpreted as the range change associated with changes in groundwater storage, both the surface displacement and the groundwater storage coefficient may be overestimated by up to 30%. Finally, this method could be applied in real time where meteorological measurements are available near one or more GPS permanent site(s).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

WE-G-BRE-07: Proton Therapy Enhanced by Tumor-Targeting Gold Nanoparticles: A Pilot in Vivo Experiment at The Proton Therapy Center at MD Anderson Cancer Center

Purpose: Assess tumor-growth delay and survival in a mouse model of prostate cancer treated with tumor-targeting gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and proton therapy. Methods: We first examined the accumulation of targeting nanoparticles within prostate tumors by imaging AuNPs with ultrasound-guided photoacoustics at 24h after the intravenous administration of goserelin-conjugated AuNPs (gAuNP) in three mice. Nanoparticles were also imaged at the cellular level with TEM in PC3 cells incubated with gAuNP for 24h. Pegylated AuNPs (pAuNP) were also imaged in vivo and in vitro for comparison. PC3 cells were then implanted subcutaneously in nude mice; 51mice with 8–10mm tumors were included. AuNPs were injected intravenously at 0.2%w/w final gold concentration 24h before irradiation. A special jig was designed to facilitate tumor irradiation perpendicular to the proton beam. Proton energy was set to 180MeV, the radiation field was 18×18cm{sup 2}, and 9cm or 13.5cm thick solid-water compensators were used to position the tumors at either the beam entrance (BE) or the SOBP. Physical doses of 5Gy were delivered to all tumors on a patient beam line at MD Anderson's Proton Therapy Center. Results: The photoacoustic experiment reveled that our nanoparticles leak from the tumor-feeding vasculature and accumulate within the tumor volume over time. Additionally, TEM images showed gAuNP are internalized in cancer cells, accumulating within the cytoplasm, whereas pAuNP are not. Tumor-growth was delayed by 11 or 32days in mice receiving gAuNP irradiated at the BE or the SOBP, relative to proton radiation alone. Survival curves (ongoing experiment) reveal that gAuNPs improved survival by 36% or 74% for tumors irradiated at the BE or SOBP. Conclusion: These important, albeit preliminary, in vivo findings reveal nanoparticles to be potent sensitizers to proton therapy. Further, conjugation of AuNPs to tumor-specific antigens that promote enhanced cellular internalization improved both tumor-growth delay and survival of mice after proton therapy.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

SU-F-T-685: Evaluation of Tumor Hypoxic Fraction Using Serial Volumetric Imaging During Radiation Therapy

Purpose: To develop a tumor response model which could be uses to compute tumor hypoxic fraction using serial volumetric tumor imaging. This algorithm may be used for treatment response assessment and also for guidance of more expensive PET imaging of hypoxia. Methods: Previously developed two-level cell population tumor response model was modified to include a third cell level describing hypoxic and necrotic cells. This third level was considered constant value during radiotherapy treatment; therefore, inclusion additional parameter did not compromise stability of model fitting to imaging data. Fitting the model to serial volumetric imaging data was performed using a least squares objective function and simulated annealing algorithm. The problem of reconstruction of radiobiological parameters from serial imaging data was considered as inverse ill-posed problem described by the Fredholm integral equation of the first kind. Variational regularization was used to stabilize solutions. Results: To evaluate performance of the algorithm, we used a set of serial CT imaging data on tumor-volume for 14 head and neck cancer patients. The hypoxic fractions were reconstructed for each patient and the distribution of hypoxic fractions was compared to the distribution of initial hypoxic fractions previously measured using histograph. The measured and reconstructed from imaging data distributions of hypoxic fractions are in good agreement. The reconstructed distribution of cell surviving fraction was also in better agreement with in vitro data than previously obtained using the two-level cell population model. Conclusion: Our results indicate that it is possible to evaluate the initial hypoxic tumor fraction using serial volumetric imaging and a tumor response model. This algorithm can be used for treatment response assessment and guidance of more expensive PET imaging.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

A demonstration of a whole core neutron transport method in a gas cooled reactor

This paper illustrates a capability of the whole core transport method COMET. Building on previous works which demonstrated the accuracy of the method, this work serves to emphasize the robust capability of the method while also accentuating its efficiency. A set of core configurations is presented based on an operating gas-cooled thermal reactor, Japan's HTTR, and COMET determines the eigenvalue and fission density profile throughout each core configuration. Results for core multiplication factors are compared to MCNP for accuracy and also to compare runtimes. In all cases, the values given by COMET differ by those given by MCNP by less than the uncertainty inherent in the stochastic solution procedure, however, COMET requires runtimes shorter on the order of a few hundred. Figures are provided illustrating the whole core fission density profile, with segments of pins explicitly modeled individually, so that pin-level neutron flux behavior can be seen without any approximation due to simplification strategies such as homogenization. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Multilevel graph embedding

The goal of the present paper is the design of embeddings of a general sparse graph into a set of points in $\mathbb{R}^d$ for appropriate d ≥ 2. The embeddings that we are looking at here aim to keep vertices that are grouped in communities together and keep the rest apart. To achieve this property, we utilize coarsening that respects possible community structures of the given graph. We employ a hierarchical multilevel coarsening approach that identifies communities (strongly connected groups of vertices) at every level. The multilevel strategy allows any given (presumably expensive) graph embedding algorithm to be made into a more scalable (and faster) algorithm. We demonstrate the presented approach on a number of given embedding algorithms and large-scale graphs and achieve speed-up over the methods in a recent paper.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗