Presentation for the 2003 GODART Preconference at the American Library Association Annual Conference. This presentation outlines the "From Republic to State: Debates and Documents Relating to the Annexation of Texas, 1836-1856" project. This grant funded project involved digitizing 6000 objects.

An immediate EM science need is a reliable kinetic model that predicts long-term waste glass performance. A framework for which the kinetics of mineral-solution reactions can be used to interpret complex silicate glass properties is required to accurately describe the current and future behavior of glasses as synthetic monoliths or natural analogs. Reaction rates and mechanisms are essential elements in deciphering mineral/material reactivity trends within a compositional series or across a matrix of complex solution compositions. An essential place to start, and the goal of this research, is to quantify the reactivity of crystalline and amorphous SiO2 phases in the complex fluids of natural systems.

This report describes the technical progress on a project to design and construct a multichannel geophone array that improves tomographic imaging capabilities in both surface and underground mines. Especially important in the design of the array is sensor placement. One issue related to sensor placement is addressed in this report: the method for clamping the sensor once it is emplaced in the borehole. If the sensors (geophones) are not adequately coupled to the surrounding rock mass, the resulting data will be of very poor quality. Improved imaging capabilities will produce energy, environmental, and economic benefits by increasing exploration accuracy and reducing operating costs.

Efficient recovery of petroleum reserves from existing oil wells has been proven to be difficult due to the lack of robust instrumentation that can accurately and reliably monitor processes in the downhole environment. Commercially available sensors for measurement of pressure, temperature, and fluid flow exhibit shortened lifetimes in the harsh downhole conditions, which are characterized by high pressures (up to 20 kpsi), temperatures up to 250 C, and exposure to chemically reactive fluids. Development of robust sensors that deliver continuous, real-time data on reservoir performance and petroleum flow pathways will facilitate application of advanced recovery technologies, including horizontal and multilateral wells. This is the final report for the four-year program ''Optical Fiber Sensor Technologies for Efficient and Economical Oil Recovery'', funded by the National Petroleum Technology Office of the U.S. Department of Energy, and performed by the Center for Photonics Technology of the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech from October 1, 1999 to March 31, 2003. The main objective of this research program was to develop cost-effective, reliable optical fiber sensor instrumentation for real-time monitoring of various key parameters crucial to efficient and economical oil production. During the program, optical fiber sensors were demonstrated for …

Report containing aerial photography of portions of Parker and Palo Pinto Counties, Texas, for the purpose of mapping historical locations of Camp Wolters onto the modern landscape.

Annual publication containing genealogical information about families in Dallas, Texas and the surrounding area, including family histories, lists of records (births, deaths, registration, etc.), correspondence, and other documentation. Name index begins on page 129.

Newsletter of the Texas Chapter of the American Fisheries Society containing information about the organization, membership, and field of aquaculture and ecosystem management.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to access to birth records under the public information law.

Weekly Czech and English language newspaper from Temple, Texas published as the official organ of the Slavonic Benevolent Order of the State of Texas that includes news of interest to members along with advertising.

Civil War Heavy Explosive Ordnance is the definitive reference book on Union and Confederate large caliber artillery projectiles, torpedoes, and mines. Some of these projectiles are from the most famous battles of the Civil War, such as those at Fort Sumter, Charleston, Vicksburg, and Richmond. Others were fired from famous cannon, such as the “Swamp Angel” of Charleston and “Whistling Dick” of Vicksburg. And some were involved in torpedo attacks against major warships. Jack Bell covers more than 360 projectiles from public and private collections in smoothbore calibers of 32-pounder and up, rifled projectiles of 4-inch caliber and larger, and twenty-one Union and Confederate torpedoes and mines. Each data sheet shows multiple views of the projectile or torpedo (using more than 1,000 photos) with data including diameter, weight, gun used to fire it, rarity index, and provenance. This comprehensive volume will be of great interest to Civil War historians, museum curators, field archaeologists, private collectors, dealers, and consultants on unexploded ordnance. “This will become a required reference guide at every Civil War site and related museum.”--Wayne E. Stark, Civil War artillery historian

Weekly Czech and English language newspaper from Temple, Texas published as the official organ of the Slavonic Benevolent Order of the State of Texas that includes news of interest to members along with advertising.

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The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Edward Duran. Duran joined the Navy in 1927. After achieving warrant officer, Duran was assigned to the USS West Virginia (BB-48) when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He was at the motor launch awaiting transport back to his ship when the Japanese attacked. When the dust cleared, Duran found himself in charge of the Japanese midget submarine Ha-19. Duran shares several anecdotes about his service during the war in the Pacific, including outfitting the USS Trout (SS-202) for a trip to Corregidor; ditching a PBY in the ocean; and being aboard the USS Marvin H. McIntyre at Okinawa. Duran retired from the Navy in 1957.

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Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to changing the composition of certain governing bodies with an even number of members to comply with the changes made to Section 30a, Article XVI, Texas Constitution.

Previous work showed the correlation between bacterial biomass, population structure and the amount of lead, chromium and aromatic compounds present along a 21.6 m transect in which the concentrations of both heavy metals (Pb and Cr) and aromatic compounds varied 2-3 orders of magnitude. This work suggested that (a) biomass level was better correlated to the level of biodegradable organic C than the level of heavy metals, (b) microbial community composition differed between highly contaminated soils and uncontaminated ones, and (c) substantial microbial activity was found even in the highly contaminated soils. One confounding factor in these analyses was that the contaminated soils contained Pb, Cr, and aromatic hydrocarbons. Therefore, it was difficult to determine which factors were most important in the shifts of microbial community composition. Therefore, experiments were conducted in microcosms in which individual factors could be systematically varied. In this case, soils were used from the Seymour, IN site which had low levels of contamination, and the microbial community had little chance to adapt to heavy metals or aromatic compounds.

Weekly Czech and English language newspaper from Temple, Texas published as the official organ of the Slavonic Benevolent Order of the State of Texas that includes news of interest to members along with advertising.

Semiweekly newspaper from Sealy, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

A protein local substructure (descriptor) is a set of several short non-overlapping fragments of the polypeptide chain. Each descriptor describes local environment of a particular residue and includes only those segments that are located in the proximity of this residue. Similar descriptors from the representative set of proteins were analyzed to reveal links between the substructures and sequences of their segments. Using detected sequence-based fingerprints specific geometrical conformations are assigned to new sequences. The ability of the approach to recognize correct SCOP folds was tested on 273 sequences from the 49 most popular folds. Good predictions were obtained in 85% of cases. No performance drop was observed with decreasing sequence similarity between target sequences and sequences from the training set of proteins.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an interview with Jesse Scott. He joined the Marine Corps and served as a crew chief with Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 235 (VMSB-235). When he reached Ewa on Oahu, he was working on C-47 planes giving them their 1,000 hour overhauls with Marine Air GRoup 15 (MAG-15). He shares several anecdotes about test flying aircraft all over the Pacific.

Bill introduced by the Texas Senate relating to the regulation of certain activities associated with providing private security.

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Millions of people suffering from diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration are legally blind due to the loss of photoreceptor function. Fortunately a large percentage of the neural cells connected to the photoreceptors remain viable, and electrical stimulation of these cells has been shown to result in visual perception. These findings have generated worldwide efforts to develop a retinal prosthesis device, with the hope of restoring vision. Advances in microfabrication, integrated circuits, and wireless technologies provide the means to reach this challenging goal. This dissertation describes the development of innovative silicone-based microfabrication techniques for producing an implantable microelectrode array. The microelectrode array is a component of an epiretinal prosthesis being developed by a multi-laboratory consortium. This array will serve as the interface between an electronic imaging system and the human eye, directly stimulating retinal neurons via thin film conducting traces. Because the array is intended as a long-term implant, vital biological and physical design requirements must be met. A retinal implant poses difficult engineering challenges due to the size of the intraocular cavity and the delicate retina. Not only does it have to be biocompatible in terms of cytotoxicity and degradation, but it also has to be structurally …

Newsletter dedicated to traveling in Texas, including information about news, locations, and events of interest to visitors as well as statistics and summaries of travel in the state.