As energy efficiency in buildings continues to move from discreet technology development to an integrated systems approach, the need to understand and integrate complementary goals and targets becomes more pronounced. Whether within Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies Program (BTP), across the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), or throughout DOE and the Federal government, mutual gains and collaboration synergies exist that are not easily achieved because of organizational and time constraints. There also cases where federal agencies may be addressing similar issues, but with different (and sometimes conflicting) outcomes in mind. This report conducts a comprehensive inventory across all EERE and other relevant Federal agencies of potential activities with synergistic benefits. A taxonomy of activities with potential interdependencies is presented. The report identifies a number of federal program objectives, products, and plans related to building energy efficiency and characterizes the current structure and interactions related to these plans and programs. Areas where overlap occurs are identified as are the challenges of addressing issues related to overlapping goals and programs. Based on the input gathered from various sources, including 20 separate interviews with federal agency staff and contractor staff supporting buildings programs, this study identifies a number of …

As the treatment and management of HIV/AIDS continues to evolve with new scientific breakthroughs, treatment discoveries, and management challenges, it is difficult for people living with HIV/AIDS and those who care for them to keep up with the latest information on HIV/AIDS screening and testing, prevention, treatment, and research. The National Library of Medicine (NLM), of the National Institutes of Health, has a wealth of health information resources freely available on the Internet to address these needs.

Sixteen previously occupied temporary housing units (THUs) were studied to assess emissions of volatile organic compounds. The whole trailer emission factors wereevaluated for 36 VOCs including formaldehyde. Indoor sampling was carried out in the THUs located in Purvis staging yard in Mississippi, USA. Indoor temperature andrelative humidity (RH) were also measured in all the trailers during sampling. Indoor temperatures were varied (increased or decreased) in a selection of THUs using theheating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Indoor temperatures during sampling ranged from 14o C to 33o C, and relative humidity (RH) varied between 35percentand 74percent. Ventilation rates were increased in some trailers using bathroom fans and vents during some of the sampling events. Ventilation rates measured during some aselection of sampling events varied from 0.14 to 4.3 h-1. Steady state indoor formaldehyde concentrations ranged from 10 mu g-m-3 to 1000 mu g-m-3. The formaldehyde concentrations in the trailers were of toxicological significance. The effects of temperature, humidity and ventilation rates were also studied. A linearregression model was built using log of percentage relative humidity, inverse of temperature (in K-1), and inverse log ACH as continuous independent variables, trailermanufacturer as a categorical independent variable, and log of the chemical emission …

We present the Genomic Standards Consortium's (GSC) 'Minimum Information about an ENvironmental Sequence' (MIENS) standard for describing marker genes. Adoption of MIENS will enhance our ability to analyze natural genetic diversity across the Tree of Life as it is currently being documented by massive DNA sequencing efforts from myriad ecosystems in our ever-changing biosphere.

We implemented a scalable parallel quasi-Monte Carlo numerical high-dimensional integration for tera-scale data points. The implemented algorithm uses the Sobol s quasi-sequences to generate random samples. Sobol s sequence was used to avoid clustering effects in the generated random samples and to produce low-discrepancy random samples which cover the entire integration domain. The performance of the algorithm was tested. Obtained results prove the scalability and accuracy of the implemented algorithms. The implemented algorithm could be used in different applications where a huge data volume is generated and numerical integration is required. We suggest using the hyprid MPI and OpenMP programming model to improve the performance of the algorithms. If the mixed model is used, attention should be paid to the scalability and accuracy.

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) began processing Sludge Batch 4 (SB4), Macrobatch 5 (MB5) on May 29, 2007. Sludge Batch 4 was a blend of the heel of Tank 40 from Sludge Batch 3 (SB3) and SB4 material qualified in Tank 51. On November 28, 2008, DWPF began processing Sludge Batch 5 (SB5) from Tank 40 which is a blend of the heel of Tank 40 from SB4, SB5 material qualified in Tank 51 and H-Canyon Pu and Np transfers. SB4 was processed using Frit 510 and SB5 used Frit 418. During processing of each sludge batch, the DWPF is required to take at least one glass sample to meet the objectives of the Glass Product Control Program and to complete the necessary Production Records so that the final glass product may be disposed of at a Federal Repository. During the processing of SB4 and SB5, glass samples were obtained during the pouring of canisters S02902 and S03317, respectively. The samples were transferred to the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) where they were analyzed (durability, chemical and radionuclide composition). The following observations and conclusions are drawn from the analytical results provided in this report: (1) The sum of the …

This report describes the cultural resource monitoring activities of the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) Cultural Resource Management (CRM) Office during fiscal year 2010 (FY 2010). Throughout the year, thirty-three cultural resource localities were revisited, including somethat were visited more than once, including: two locations with Native American human remains, one of which is a cave, two additional caves, twenty-six prehistoric archaeological sites, two historic stage stations, and Experimental Breeder Reactor-I, which is a designated National Historic Landmark. The resources that were monitored included seventeen that are routinely visited and sixteen that are located in INL project areas. Although impacts were documented at a few locations and one trespassing incident (albeit sans formal charges) was discovered, no significant adverse effects that would threaten the National Register eligibility of any resources were observed. Monitoring also demonstrated that several INL projects generally remain in compliance with recommendations to protect cultural resources.

India has great potential to accelerate use of endowed renewable resources in powering its growing economy with a secure and affordable energy supply. The Government of India recognizes that development of local, renewable resources will be critical to ensure that India is able to meet both economic and environmental objectives and has supported the development of renewable energy through several policy actions. This paper describes the status of renewable energy in India as of DIREC 2010. It begins by describing the institutional framework guiding energy development in India, the main policy drivers impacting energy, and the major policy actions India has taken that impact renewable energy deployment. The paper presents estimates of potential for wind, solar, small hydro, and bioenergy and the deployment of each of these technologies to date in India. The potential for India to meet both large-scale generation needs and provide access to remote, unelectrified populations are covered. Finally, the enabling environment required to facilitate rapid scale of renewables is discussed, including issues of technology transfer and the status of financing in India.

The impacts of climate change are already affecting human and environmental systems worldwide, yet many uncertainties persist in the prediction of future climate changes and impacts due to limitations in scientific understanding of relevant causal factors. In particular, there is mounting urgency to efforts to improve models of human and environmental systems at the regional scale, and to integrate climate, ecosystem and energy-economic models to support policy, investment, and risk management decisions related to climate change mitigation (i.e., reducing greenhouse gas emissions) and adaptation (i.e., responding to climate change impacts). The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is developing a modeling framework, the integrated Regional Earth System Model (iRESM), to address regional human-environmental system interactions in response to climate change and the uncertainties therein. The framework will consist of a suite of integrated models representing regional climate change, regional climate policy, and the regional economy, with a focus on simulating the mitigation and adaptation decisions made over time in the energy, transportation, agriculture, and natural resource management sectors.

The Carbon Issues Task Force has the responsibility to evaluate emissions reduction and carbon offset credit options, geologic carbon sequestration and carbon capture, terrestrial carbon sequestration on forest lands, and terrestrial carbon sequestration on agricultural lands. They have worked diligently to identify ways in which Idaho can position itself to benefit from potential carbon-related federal legislation, including identifying opportunities for Idaho to engage in carbon sequestration efforts, barriers to development of these options, and ways in which these barriers can be overcome. These are the experts to which we will turn when faced with federal greenhouse gas-related legislation and how we should best react to protect and provide for Idaho’s interests. Note that the conclusions and recommended options in this report are not intended to be exhaustive, but rather form a starting point for an informed dialogue regarding the way-forward in developing Idaho energy resources.