The GNEMRE Dendro Tool provides a previously unrealized analysis capability in the field of nuclear explosion monitoring. Dendro Tool allows analysts to quickly and easily determine the similarity between seismic events using the waveform time-series for each of the events to compute cross-correlation values. Events can then be categorized into clusters of similar events. This analysis technique can be used to characterize historical archives of seismic events in order to determine many of the unique sources that are present. In addition, the source of any new events can be quickly identified simply by comparing the new event to the historical set.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The abuse of anabolic steroids by teenagers--that is, their use without a prescription--is a health concern. Anabolic steroids are synthetic forms of the hormone testosterone that can be taken orally, injected, or rubbed on the skin. Although a 2006 survey funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found that less than 3 percent of 12th graders had abused anabolic steroids, it also found that about 40 percent of 12th graders described anabolic steroids as "fairly easy" or "very easy" to get. The abuse of anabolic steroids can cause serious health effects and behavioral changes in teenagers. GAO was asked to examine federally funded efforts to address the abuse of anabolic steroids among teenagers and to review available research on this issue. This report describes (1) federally funded efforts that address teenage abuse of anabolic steroids, (2) available research on teenage abuse of anabolic steroids, and (3) gaps or areas in need of improvement that federal officials and other experts identify in research that addresses teenage anabolic steroid abuse. To do this work, GAO reviewed federal agency materials and published studies identified through a literature …

Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 224 is located in Areas 02, 03, 05, 06, 11, and 23 of the Nevada Test Site, which is situated approximately 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. CAU 224 is listed in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) of 1996 as Decon Pad and Septic Systems and is comprised of the following nine Corrective Action Sites (CASs): CAS 02-04-01, Septic Tank (Buried); CAS 03-05-01, Leachfield; CAS 05-04-01, Septic Tanks (4)/Discharge Area; CAS 06-03-01, Sewage Lagoons (3); CAS 06-05-01, Leachfield; CAS 06-17-04, Decon Pad and Wastewater Catch; CAS 06-23-01, Decon Pad Discharge Piping; CAS 11-04-01, Sewage Lagoon; and CAS 23-05-02, Leachfield. The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP)-approved corrective action alternative for CASs 02-04-01, 03-05-01, 06-03-01, 11-04-01, and 23-05-02 is no further action. As a best management practice, the septic tanks and distribution box were removed from CASs 02-04-01 and 11-04-01 and disposed of as hydrocarbon waste. The NDEP-approved correction action alternative for CASs 05-04-01, 06-05-01, 06-17-04, and 06-23-01 is clean closure. Closure activities for these CASs included removing and disposing of radiologically and pesticide-impacted soil and debris. CAU 224 was closed in accordance with the NDEP-approved CAU 224 Corrective Action Plan (CAP). The …

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This report provides a brief history of federal Indian education programs, a discussion of data on students served by these programs, an overview of the programs and their funding, a discussion of the application to BIE schools of key provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, and brief discussions of selected issues in Indian education.

Project Title: Comparison of Characterization Methods for Anisotropy and Microstructure of TRISO Particle Layers This INERI was created to support a comparative study between the newly developed two modulator generalized ellipsometry microscope (2-MGEM) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the more traditional optical polarimeter (RAPAX) at the Commissariat l' nergie Atomique (CEA). These two systems are used to measure the anisotropy of the pyrocarbon layers in tri-isotropic (TRISO) coated particle fuel, which is an important parameter related to fuel performance. Although this project was only just started in June 2007, good progress has already been made. A kickoff meeting was held at ORNL on July 30-31, 2007 to present early progress and discuss details of the proposed work plan. This meeting was of great benefit to the participants, offering an opportunity to overcome the language barrier and more thoroughly communicate project relevant information. Each technical lead gave a presentation explaining the analysis techniques used in his task and presented data on early measurements of the German reference fuels. Plans were finalized regarding what work needed to be done and how to proceed with the comparative study. Possibilities for the inclusion of other coated particle samples, in addition to …

This report describes the cultural resource monitoring activities of the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Cultural Resource Management (CRM) Office during fiscal year 2007 (FY 2007). In FY 2007, 40 localities were revisited: two locations of heightened Shoshone-Bannock tribal sensitivity, four caves, three butte/craters, twelve prehistoric archaeological sites, two historic stage stations, nine historic homesteads, a portion of Goodale’s Cutoff of the Oregon Trail, a portion of historic trail T-16, one World War II dump, four buildings from the World War II period, and Experimental Breeder Reactor –I, a modern scientific facility and National Historic Landmark. Several INL project areas were also monitored in FY 2007. This included direct observation of ground disturbing activities within the Power Burst Facility (PBF, now designated as the Critical Infrastructure Test Range Complex – CITRC), backfilling operations associated with backhoe trenches along the Big Lost River, and geophysical surveys designed to pinpoint subsurface unexploded ordnance in the vicinity of the Naval Ordnance Disposal Area. Surprise checks were also made to three ongoing INL projects to ensure compliance with INL CRM Office recommendations to avoid impacts to cultural resources. Although some impacts were documented, no significant adverse effects that would threaten the National Register eligibility of …

The focus of this article is on how one group of researchersthe DOE SciDAC Visualization and Analytics Center for EnablingTechnologies (VACET) is tackling the daunting task of enabling knowledgediscovery through visualization and analytics on some of the world slargest and most complex datasets and on some of the world's largestcomputational platforms. As a Center for Enabling Technology, VACET smission is the creation of usable, production-quality visualization andknowledge discovery software infrastructure that runs on large, parallelcomputer systems at DOE's Open Computing facilities and that providessolutions to challenging visual data exploration and knowledge discoveryneeds of modern science, particularly the DOE sciencecommunity.

This report explains the electronic rulemaking in the federal government.

Freshwater demands are steadily increasing throughout the United States. As its population increases, more water is needed for domestic use (drinking, cooking, cleaning, etc.) and to supply power and food. In arid parts of the country, existing freshwater supplies are not able to meet the increasing demands for water. New water users are often forced to look to alternative sources of water to meet their needs. Over the past few years, utilities in many locations, including parts of the country not traditionally water-poor (e.g., Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina) have needed to reevaluate the availability of water to meet their cooling needs. This trend will only become more extreme with time. Other trends are likely to increase pressure on freshwater supplies, too. For example, as populations increase, they will require more food. This in turn will likely increase demands for water by the agricultural sector. Another example is the recent increased interest in producing biofuels. Additional water will be required to grow more crops to serve as the raw materials for biofuels and to process the raw materials into biofuels. This report provides information about an opportunity to reuse an abundant water source -- treated municipal wastewater, …

Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 166, Storage Yards and Contaminated Materials, is listed in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) of 1996 (FFACO, 1996). CAU 166 consists of seven Corrective Action Sites (CASs) located in Areas 2, 3, 5, and 18 of the Nevada Test Site (NTS), which is located approximately 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada (Figure 1). CAU 166 consists of the following CASs: (1) CAS 02-42-01, Cond. Release Storage Yd - North; (2) CAS 02-42-02, Cond. Release Storage Yd - South; (3) CAS 02-99-10, D-38 Storage Area; (4) CAS 03-42-01, Conditional Release Storage Yard; (5) CAS 05-19-02, Contaminated Soil and Drum; (6) CAS 18-01-01, Aboveground Storage Tank; and (7) CAS 18-99-03, Wax Piles/Oil Stain. Details of the site history and site characterization results for CAU 166 are provided in the approved Corrective Action Investigation Plan (CAIP) (U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office [NNSA/NSO], 2006) and in the approved Corrective Action Decision Document (CADD) (NNSA/NSO, 2007).

This report describes the Regulatory and Policy Issues of Broadband over Powerlines.

This report describes the seismicity and earthquake monitoring activities within the Yucca Mountain region during fiscal year 2004 (FY2004 - October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004) based on operation of the Southern Great Basin Digital Seismic Network (SGBDSN). Network practices and earthquake monitoring conducted at the Nevada Seismological Laboratory (NSL) under DOE directives for prior fiscal years are covered in similar yearly reports (see references). Real-time systems, including regional data telemetry and data management at NSL, provide for the automatic determination of earthquake locations and magnitudes and notification of important earthquakes in the region to UNR staff and DOE management. All waveform and meta-data, including automatic locations, phase arrival information, and analyst reviewed information, are managed through a relational database system allowing quick and reliable evaluation and analysis of ongoing earthquake activity near Yucca Mountain. This network, which contains weak-motion and strong-motion instrumentation, addresses the seismic hazard of the Yucca Mountain area by providing accurate earthquake magnitudes for earthquake recurrence estimates, spatial hypocentral control to very low magnitudes for identifying and assessing active faults and verifying tectonic models, true ground motions over the complete range of expected earthquake amplitudes for developing predictive models, and earthquake source information for characterizing …

The 110th Congress is likely to oversee implementation and funding of the Endangered Species Act (ESA; P.L. 93-205, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1543) and to consider proposals to amend the act. This report will identify and discuss oversight issues and legislation introduced in the 110th Congress to address specific concerns related to how ESA is implemented and how endangered species are managed.

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Biological tissues are uniquely structured materials with technologically appealing properties. Soft tissues such as skin, are constructed from a composite of strong fibrils and fluid-like matrix components. This was the first coordinated experimental/modeling project at Sandia or in the open literature to consider the mechanics of micromechanically-based anisotropy and viscoelasticity of soft biological tissues. We have exploited and applied Sandia's expertise in experimentation and mechanics modeling to better elucidate the behavior of collagen fibril-reinforced soft tissues. The purpose of this project was to provide a detailed understanding of the deformation of ocular tissues, specifically the highly structured skin-like tissue in the cornea. This discovery improved our knowledge of soft/complex materials testing and modeling. It also provided insight into the way that cornea tissue is bio-engineered such that under physiologically-relevant conditions it has a unique set of properties which enhance functionality. These results also provide insight into how non-physiologic loading conditions, such as corrective surgeries, may push the cornea outside of its natural design window, resulting in unexpected non-linear responses. Furthermore, this project created a clearer understanding of the mechanics of soft tissues that could lead to bio-inspired materials, such as highly supple and impact resistant body armor, and improve our …

The purpose of this report is to provide a concise but comprehensive overview of Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) instrumentation status. The report is divided into the following four sections: (1) new instrumentation in the process of being acquired and deployed, (2) existing instrumentation and progress on improvements or upgrades, (3) proposed future instrumentation, and (4) SBIR instrument development.

This month's issue has the following articles: (1) Simulating the Electromagnetic World--Commentary by Steven R. Patterson; (2) A Code to Model Electromagnetic Phenomena--EMSolve, a Livermore supercomputer code that simulates electromagnetic fields, is helping advance a wide range of research efforts; (3) Characterizing Virulent Pathogens--Livermore researchers are developing multiplexed assays for rapid detection of pathogens; (4) Imaging at the Atomic Level--A powerful new electron microscope at the Laboratory is resolving materials at the atomic level for the first time; (5) Scientists without Borders--Livermore scientists lend their expertise on peaceful nuclear applications to their counterparts in other countries; and (6) Probing Deep into the Nucleus--Edward Teller's contributions to the fast-growing fields of nuclear and particle physics were part of a physics golden age.

This report provides an overview of Lebanese politics, recent events in Lebanon, and current issues in U.S.-Lebanon relations and will be updated to reflect major developments.

This report summarizes research efforts that have been funded and conducted showing the comparative clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.

Hydraulic conductivity with depth has been calculated for Underground Test Area (UGTA) wells in volcanic tuff and carbonate rock. The following wells in volcanic tuff are evaluated: ER-EC-1, ER-EC-2a, ER-EC-4, ER-EC-5, ER-5-4#2, ER-EC-6, ER-EC-7, and ER-EC-8. The following wells in carbonate rock are evaluated: ER-7-1, ER-6-1, ER-6-1#2, and ER-12-3. There are a sufficient number of wells in volcanic tuff and carbonate rock to associate the conductivity values with the specific hydrogeologic characteristics such as the stratigraphic unit, hydrostratigraphic unit, hydrogeologic unit, lithologic modifier, and alteration modifier used to describe the hydrogeologic setting. Associating hydraulic conductivity with hydrogeologic characteristics allows an evaluation of the data range and the statistical distribution of values. These results are relevant to how these units are considered in conceptual models and represented in groundwater models. The wells in volcanic tuff illustrate a wide range of data values and data distributions when associated with specific hydrogeologic characteristics. Hydraulic conductivity data within a hydrogeologic characteristic can display normal distributions, lognormal distributions, semi-uniform distribution, or no identifiable distribution. There can be multiple types of distributions within a hydrogeologic characteristic such as a single stratigraphic unit. This finding has implications for assigning summary hydrogeologic characteristics to hydrostratigraphic and hydrogeologic units. …

The Nevada Test Site Environmental Report 2006 (NTSER) was prepared to meet the information needs of the public and the requirements and guidelines of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for annual site environmental reports. It was prepared by National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec). This Executive Summary presents the purpose of the document, the major programs conducted at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), NTS key environmental initiatives, radiological releases and potential doses to the public resulting from site operations, a summary of nonradiological releases, implementation status of the NTS Environmental Management System, a summary of compliance with environmental regulations, pollution prevention and waste minimization accomplishments, and significant environmental accomplishments. Much of the content of this Executive Summary is also presented in a separate stand-alone pamphlet titled Nevada Test Site Environmental Report Summary 2006 produced to be a more cost-effective means of distributing information contained in the NTSER to interested DOE stakeholders.

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This report focuses on relations between the United States and India, a relationship deepened in the Clinton and G. W. Bush Administrations. The Obama Administrations seeks to continue developing this relationship. Continuing U.S. interest in South Asia focuses on ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, human rights issues, caste-based discrimination, and India's economic expansion.