Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) added a prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program, which became effective January 1, 2006. To assist Medicare beneficiaries with their prescription drug costs until the new benefit became available, the MMA also required the establishment of a temporary program, the Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Card and Transitional Assistance Program, which began in June 2004. The drug card program offers Medicare beneficiaries access to discounts off the retail price of prescription drugs at the point of sale. All Medicare beneficiaries, except those receiving Medicaid drug coverage, were eligible to enroll in the drug card program. Certain low-income beneficiaries without other drug coverage qualified for an additional benefit, a transitional assistance (TA) subsidy that can be applied toward the cost of drugs covered under the drug card program. Drug cards were offered and are managed by private organizations, known as drug card sponsors. General drug cards were available to all eligible beneficiaries living in a card's service area; there are both national and regional general cards. Exclusive and special endorsement drug cards were available to specific beneficiary groups. …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Government-sponsored public service announcement (PSA) campaigns are prepackaged messages generally placed for free through various media to promote designated government activities, programs, or services. Although PSAs may be placed for free, PSA campaigns may still incur financial obligations for production. GAO was mandated to provide information about federal PSA campaign activities by a House Appropriations Committee report (House Report No.108-671). GAO received detailed information on PSA campaigns for the seven federal departments with the highest obligations for public relations and advertising in fiscal year 2003--Commerce, Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs--as reported in a governmentwide federal procurement data system. GAO submitted questionnaires to these seven departments to obtain information for fiscal year 2003 through the second quarter of fiscal year 2005 on (1) obligations incurred for PSA campaigns, including whether obligations were incurred externally, such as through a contract, or internally; (2) the purpose, audience, and type of media employed; and (3) whether campaigns were evaluated for success and their results published in performance reports, including Government Performance Results Act (GPRA) reports."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The federal government contracts with public relations firms, advertising agencies, media organizations, and individual members of the media to provide, among other things, messages about its programs and services. As we have reported, there is a lack of accurate governmentwide information on these contracts. Seven federal departments account for nearly all the obligated federal dollars for public relations and advertising activities in fiscal year 2003--Commerce, Defense, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs. GAO submitted a questionnaire to each of these seven departments to obtain information for fiscal year 2003 through the second quarter of fiscal year 2005 on (1) the number of contracts with public relations firms, advertising agencies, media organizations, and individual members of the media for which obligations have been incurred; (2) the total amount of contract obligations incurred on each contract by fiscal year; (3) the method by which the contract was awarded--competed, noncompeted, follow-on to competed action, or not available for competition; and (4) summaries of the purpose and scope of work to be performed under each contract."

Executive Correspondence – letter to Commissioner Newton from Lt. General Eugene Tattini, USAF Retired concerning DCN 1848 submitted to the BRAC Commission.

Executive Correspondence – letter to Chairman Principi from Under Secretary of Defense Michael Wynne offering his staff to assist in reviewing the BRAC Commission’s recommendations.

Executive Correspondence – letter to Chairman Principi from Anne Rathmell Davis responding to a question by the BRAC Commission.

Executive Correspondence – letter to Chairman Principi from Robert Fossum, PhD enclosing a letter sent to the Secretary of the Navy regarding Naval Post Graduate School.

Executive Correspondence – letter to Chairman Principi from Rob Reynolds concerning DFAS

Executive Correspondence – Resolutions in support of Niagara Falls Air Base.

Executive Correspondence – letter to Chairman Principi from Anne Rathmell Davis concerning an inquiry from BRAC staff concerning NAS Atlanta.

In the UK the study of laser produced plasmas and their applications began in the universities and evolved to a current system where the research is mainly carried out at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Central Laser Facility ( CLF) which is provided to support the universities. My own research work has been closely tied to this evolution and in this review I describe the history with particular reference to my participation in it.

According to the results from a Livermore computer model, some of the small change jingling in your pocket contains zinc and copper created in massive gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) that rank as the most impressive light shows in the universe. Livermore astrophysicist Jason Pruet and his colleagues Rebecca Surman and Gail McLaughlin from North Carolina State University (NCSU) reported on their calculations in the February 20, 2004, issue of ''Astrophysical Journal Letters''. They found that GRBs from black holes surrounded by a disk of dense, hot plasma may have contributed heavily to the galactic inventory of elements such as calcium, scandium, titanium, zinc, and copper. ''A typical GRB of this kind briefly outshines all the stars in millions of galaxies combined'', says Pruet. ''Plus it makes about 100 times as much of some common elements as an ordinary supernova''.

The radial growth rates and ages of three different groups of Hawaiian deep-sea 'corals' were determined using radiocarbon measurements. Specimens of Corallium secundum, Gerardia sp., and Leiopathes glaberrima, were collected from 450 {+-} 40 m at the Makapuu deep-sea coral bed using a submersible (PISCES V). Specimens of Antipathes dichotoma were collected at 50 m off Lahaina, Maui. The primary source of carbon to the calcitic C. secundum skeleton is in situ dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). Using bomb {sup 14}C time markers we calculate radial growth rates of {approx} 170 {micro}m y{sup -1} and ages of 68-75 years on specimens as tall as 28 cm of C. secundum. Gerardia sp., A. dichotoma, and L. glaberrima have proteinaceous skeletons and labile particulate organic carbon (POC) is their primary source of architectural carbon. Using {sup 14}C we calculate a radial growth rate of 15 {micro}m y{sup -1} and an age of 807 {+-} 30 years for a live collected Gerardia sp., showing that these organisms are extremely long lived. Inner and outer {sup 14}C measurements on four sub-fossil Gerardia spp. samples produce similar growth rate estimates (range 14-45 {micro}m y{sup -1}) and ages (range 450-2742 years) as observed for the live collected …

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Dallas, Texas that includes local, state, and national news and advertising of interest to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.

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Free weekly newspaper that includes business and classified advertising.

With the goal of understanding how to mitigate the safety hazard of splash and spray around heavy vehicles, a computational study of the aerodynamics and spray dispersion about a simplified trailer wheel assembly has been completed. A tandem dual slick (TDS) wheel model that neglects complex geometric features such as brakes, wheel bolts and wheel cutouts but with the same dimensions as an actual trailer wheel assembly was used . A detailed simulation of the wheels alone demonstrated that the flow field is both unsteady and complex, containing a number of vortical structures that interact strongly with spray. Preliminary simulations with fenders and fairings demonstrated that these devices prevent the ballistic transport of drops larger than approximately 0.1 mm, but the fine mist speculated to be responsible for visibility reduction is unaffected. This work suggests that to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to design and evaluate spray mitigation strategies the jet or sheet breakup processes can be modeled using an array of injectors of small (< 0.01 mm) water droplets; however the choice of size distribution, injection locations, directions and velocities is largely unknown and requires further study. Possible containment strategies would include using flow structures to 'focus' particles into …

The present paper reviews the recent development of new chemical and biological technologies for the site-specific immobilization of proteins onto inorganic materials and their potential applications to the fields of micro and nanotechnology.

Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) is a ubiquitous cytokine that plays a critical role in numerous pathways regulating cellular and tissue homeostasis. TGF-beta is regulated by hormones and is a primary mediator of hormone response in uterus, prostate and mammary gland. This review will address the role of TGF-beta in regulating hormone dependent proliferation and morphogenesis. The subversion of TGF-beta regulation during the processes of carcinogenesis, with particular emphasis on its effects on genetic stability and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), will also be examined. An understanding of the multiple and complex mechanisms of TGF-beta regulation of epithelial function, and the ultimate loss of TGF-beta function during carcinogenesis, will be critical in the design of novel therapeutic interventions for endocrine-related cancers.

Simulations of spray dispersion in a simplified tractor-trailer wake have been completed with the goal of obtaining a better understanding of how to mitigate this safety hazard. The Generic Conventional Model (GCM) for the tractor-trailer was used. The impact of aerodynamic drag reduction devices, specifically trailer-mounted base flaps, on the transport of spray in the vehicle wake was considered using the GCM. This analysis demonstrated that base flaps including a bottom plate may actually worsen motorist visibility because of the interaction of fine spray with large vortex flows in the wake. This work suggests that to use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to design and evaluate spray mitigation strategies the jet or sheet breakup processes can be modeled using an array of injectors of small (< 0.1 mm) water droplets; however the choice of size distribution, injection locations, directions and velocities is largely unknown and requires further study. Possible containment strategies would include using flow structures to 'focus' particles into regions away from passing cars or surface treatments to capture small drops.