A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic was the first human pandemic in over four decades, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that there were as many as 89 million U.S. cases. Over $6 billion was available for the response, led by the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Homeland Security (DHS), with coordination provided by the Homeland Security Council (HSC) through its National Security Staff (NSS). In particular, HHS's CDC worked with states and localities to communicate with the public and to distribute H1N1 vaccine and supplies. GAO was asked (1) how HHS used the funding, (2) the key issues raised by the federal response, and (3) the actions taken to identify and incorporate lessons learned. GAO reviewed documents and interviewed officials from five states about their interaction with the federal government. GAO also reviewed documents and interviewed officials from HHS, DHS, the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), NSS, and others, such as associations."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Production delays for the 2009 H1N1 pandemic vaccine using the current egg-based production technology heightened interest in alternative technologies that could expand the supply or accelerate the availability of influenza vaccine. Within the federal government, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) support the development of technologies that can be used in producing influenza vaccines. HHS's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews licensing applications for new vaccine, and the Department of State is the U.S. diplomatic liaison to the international entity that declares worldwide pandemics. GAO was asked to review federal activities for the development of alternative technologies used in producing influenza vaccine. This report examines (1) federal funding from fiscal year 2005 through March 2011 for alternative technologies and the status of manufacturers' efforts, (2) challenges to development and licensure identified by stakeholders, and (3) how HHS is addressing those challenges. GAO reviewed HHS and DOD documents and funding data. GAO also interviewed stakeholders, including manufacturer representatives, industry associations, and other experts on challenges to development and licensure. GAO interviewed HHS officials on how they are addressing those …

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 2004, the bilateral U.S. and Japanese Security Consultative Committee began a series of sustained security consultations to strengthen the U.S.-Japan security alliance by establishing a framework for the future of the U.S. force structure in Japan. The United States and Japan agreed to reduce the U.S. force structure in Japan while maintaining the U.S. force presence in the Pacific theater by relocating units to other areas, including Guam. As part of this effort, called the Defense Policy Review Initiative, about 8,600 Marines and 9,000 dependents were to move from Okinawa, Japan, to Guam by a projected date of 2014, as described in the bilateral agreement. On June 21, 2011, however, United States and Government of Japan officials noted that completion of the Marine relocation will not meet the previously targeted date of 2014, but confirmed their commitment to complete the relocation at the earliest possible date after 2014. 2 The Department of Defense (DOD) also plans to move other military forces and equipment to Guam on different schedules in implementing a new strategic approach in the Pacific as part of its worldwide Integrated Global Presence and Basing …

This report provides an overview and the issues on the Help America Vote Act and elections reform.

Building K-33 was constructed in 1954 as the final section of the five-stage uranium enrichment cascade at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (ORGDP). The two original building (K-25 and K-27) were used to produce weapons grade highly enriched uranium (HEU). Building K-29, K-31, and K-33 were added to produce low enriched uranium (LEU) for nuclear power plant fuel. During ORGDP operations K-33 produced a peak enrichment of 2.5%. Thousands of tons of reactor tails fed into gaseous diffusion plants in the 1950s and early 1960s introducing some fission products and transuranics. Building K-33 was a two-story, 25-meters (82-feet) tall structure with approximately 30 hectare (64 acres) of floor space. The Operations (first) Floor contained offices, change houses, feed vaporization rooms, and auxiliary equipment to support enrichment operations. The Cell (second) Floor contained the enrichment process equipment and was divided into eight process units (designated K-902-1 through K-902-8). Each unit contained ten cells, and each cell contained eight process stages (diffusers) for a total of 640 enrichment stages. 1985: LEU buildings were taken off-line after the anticipated demand for uranium enrichment failed to materialize. 1987: LEU buildings were placed in permanent shutdown. Process equipment were maintained in a shutdown state. …

A comprehensive study of charge diagnostics is conducted to verify their validity for measuring electron beams produced by laser plasma accelerators (LPAs). First, a scintillating screen (Lanex) was extensively studied using subnanosecond electron beams from the Advanced Light Source booster synchrotron, at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The Lanex was cross calibrated with an integrating current transformer (ICT) for up to the electron energy of 1.5 GeV, and the linear response of the screen was confirmed for charge density and intensity up to 160 pC/mm{sup 2} and 0.4 pC/(ps mm{sup 2}), respectively. After the radio-frequency accelerator based cross calibration, a series of measurements was conducted using electron beams from an LPA. Cross calibrations were carried out using an activation-based measurement that is immune to electromagnetic pulse noise, ICT, and Lanex. The diagnostics agreed within {+-}8%, showing that they all can provide accurate charge measurements for LPAs.

This project was designed to advance the art of process intensification leading to a new generation of multifunctional chemical reactors utilizing pulse flow. Experimental testing was performed in order to fully characterize the hydrodynamic operating regimes associated with pulse flow for implementation in commercial applications. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) operated a pilot-scale multifunctional reactor experiment for operation with and investigation of pulse flow operation. Validation-quality data sets of the fluid dynamics, heat and mass transfer, and chemical kinetics were acquired and shared with Chemical Research and Licensing (CR&L). Experiments in a two-phase air-water system examined the effects of bead diameter in the packing, and viscosity. Pressure signals were used to detect pulsing. Three-phase experiments used immiscible organic and aqueous liquids, and air or nitrogen as the gas phase. Hydrodynamic studies of flow regimes and holdup were performed for different types of packing, and mass transfer measurements were performed for a woven packing. These studies substantiated the improvements in mass transfer anticipated for pulse flow in multifunctional reactors for the acid-catalyzed C4 paraffin/olefin alkylation process. CR&L developed packings for this alkylation process, utilizing their alkylation process pilot facilities in Pasadena, TX. These packings were evaluated in the pilot-scale multifunctional reactor experiments …

Integral curves, such as streamlines, streaklines, pathlines, and timelines, are an essential tool in the analysis of vector field structures, offering straightforward and intuitive interpretation of visualization results. While such curves have a long-standing tradition in vector field visualization, their application to Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) simulation results poses unique problems. AMR is a highly effective discretization method for a variety of physical simulation problems and has recently been applied to the study of vector fields in flow and magnetohydrodynamic applications. The cell-centered nature of AMR data and discontinuities in the vector field representation arising from AMR level boundaries complicate the application of numerical integration methods to compute integral curves. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to alleviate these problems and show its application to streamline visualization in an AMR model of the magnetic field of the solar system as well as to a simulation of two incompressible viscous vortex rings merging.

This report evaluates the conceptual plans for a cryostat cooling design for the MAJORANA DEMONSTRATOR (MJD) one-tonne (S4) experiment. This document is based upon previous design work and experimental results used to evaluate the current MJD thermal design. A feasibility study of a cooling system for S4 based on the MJD thermosiphon experiment is presented. The one-tonne experiment will be a scaled up version of the MJD. There will be many cryostats in the S4 experiment. In this document a cryostat with up to 19 strings of germanium crystals is analyzed. Aside from an extra outer ring of crystals, the geometry of the cryostat for S4 is very similar to that for the MJD thermosiphon experiment. The materials used in the fabrication of both of these ultra-low background experiments will be underground-electroformed copper. The current MJD uses a two-phase liquid-gas cooling system to provide constant operating temperature. This document presents a theoretical investigation of a cooling system for the S4 experiment and evaluates the heat transfer performance requirements for such a system.

Daily newspaper from Sweetwater, Texas that includes local, state, and national national news along with advertising.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is currently evaluating the water management procedures at the Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU). The facility has three issues related to water management that require technical assistance: (1) due to a excessive rainfall event in October, 2010, contaminated water collected in basements of G2 and H2 buildings. As a result of this event, the contractor has had to collect and dispose of water offsite; (2) The failure of a sump pump at a KAPL outfall resulted in a Notice of Violation issued by the New York State Department of Environment and Conservation (NYSDEC) and subsequent Consent Order. On-site water now requires treatment and off-site disposition; and (3) stormwater infiltration has resulted in Strontium-90 levels discharged to the storm drains that exceed NR standards. The contractor has indicated that water management at SPRU requires major staff resources (at least 50 persons). The purpose of this review is to determine if the contractor's technical approach warrants the large number of staff resources and to ensure that the technical approach is compliant and in accordance with federal, state and NR requirements.

Carbon tetrachloride contamination in groundwater at Morrill, Kansas, was initially identified in 1985 during statewide testing of public water supply wells for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). High levels of nitrate were also present in the wells. The city of Morrill is located in Brown County in the northeastern corner of the state, about 7 mi east of Sabetha. The population of Morrill as of the 2000 census was approximately 277. All residents of Morrill now obtain their drinking water from the Sabetha municipal water system via a pipeline constructed in 1991. Starting in 1922, eight different public wells formerly served the Morrill municipal system at some time. Because of poor water quality, including high nitrate levels attributed to numerous animal feeding operations in the vicinity and application of fertilizer on agricultural lands, use of the local groundwater from any public well for municipal supply purposes was terminated in 1991 in favor of obtaining water from the Sabetha municipal water system. Investigations of the carbon tetrachloride and nitrate contamination by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) in 1989, 1994, and 1996 (KDHE 1989; GeoCore 1994a-e, 1996) identified a localized plume of carbon tetrachloride in groundwater extending downgradient from a …

Summary of recent ORAU decommissioning activities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP). Project objective was to generate approved Waste Lot Profiles for legacy facilities scheduled for demolition and shipment to the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility (EMWMF) or appropriate alternate facility. The form and content of process knowledge (PK) reports were developed with input from the EMWMF Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) Attainment Team and regulators. PK may be defined as the knowledge of the design and the history of operations that occurs during the life cycle of a facility (paraphrased from SRNL guidance) - similar to the MARSSIM historical site assessment. Some types of PK data used to decommission ORNL and ETTP facilities include: (1) Design drawings; (2) Historical documents [e.g., History of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory by Thomas (1963) and A Brief History of the Chemical Technical Division (ORNL/M-2733)]; (3) Historical photographs; (4) Radiological survey reports; (5) Facility-specific databases - (a) Spill history, (b) Waste Information Tracking System (WITS), and (c) Hazardous Materials Management Information System (HMMIS); (6) Facility walkdown summary reports; and (7) Living memory data. Facility walkdowns are critical for worker safety planning and to assure on-the-ground-conditions match …

The U.S. wind power industry experienced a trying year in 2010, with a significant reduction in new builds compared to both 2008 and 2009. The delayed impact of the global financial crisis, relatively low natural gas and wholesale electricity prices, and slumping overall demand for energy countered the ongoing availability of existing federal and state incentives for wind energy deployment. The fact that these same drivers did not impact capacity additions in 2009 can be explained, in part, by the 'inertia' in capital-intensive infrastructure investments: 2009 capacity additions were largely determined by decisions made prior to the economy-wide financial crisis that was at its peak in late 2008 and early 2009, whereas decisions on 2010 capacity additions were often made at the height of the financial crisis. Cumulative wind power capacity still grew by a healthy 15% in 2010, however, and most expectations are for moderately higher wind power capacity additions in 2011 than witnessed in 2010, though those additions are also expected to remain below the 2009 high.

As Congress decides whether to revisit law surrounding political campaigns, it may be appropriate to take stock of the current landscape and to examine what has changed, what has not, and what policy options might be relevant. This report provides a starting point for doing so. It also provides comments on how those events might affect future policy considerations.

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This report discusses a growing consensus that U.S. global health assistance needs to become more efficient and effective. It also points out the CDC Global Health Spending: FY2001-FY2012.

This article discusses the use of DNA typing, likelihood ratios, and prior odds for missing persons identifications.

The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dale Nelsen. Nelsen joined the Navy in 1940. He was trained as a corpsman and was assigned to LST-347. He took part in the invasion of Sicily and was awarded the Bronze Star for treating wounded soldiers. He was transferred to USS LST-72 and participated in landings at Italy and discusses transporting 90 wounded soldiers to Bizerte. He was part of a landing by British troops behind enemy lines in Burma. Nelsen was also a part of the landings at Normandy and describes some of his experiences. He describes an incident where he witnessed a V-1 bomb land in London and helped treat the wounded. Nelsen remained in the reserves after the war and organized many reunions for his shipmates. He also describes visiting the WWII Memorial.

Presentation for the 2011 American Library Association Annual Conference discussing assessments of library support for distance learning at the University of North Texas (UNT). The methods used include LibQUAL+ surveys, focus groups, and ethnographic studies.

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The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Dale Nelsen. Nelsen joined the Navy in 1940. He was trained as a corpsman and was assigned to LST-347. He took part in the invasion of Sicily and was awarded the Bronze Star for treating wounded soldiers. He was transferred to USS LST-72 and participated in landings at Italy and discusses transporting 90 wounded soldiers to Bizerte. He was part of a landing by British troops behind enemy lines in Burma. Nelsen was also a part of the landings at Normandy and describes some of his experiences. He describes an incident where he witnessed a V-1 bomb land in London and helped treat the wounded. Nelsen remained in the reserves after the war and organized many reunions for his shipmates. He also describes visiting the WWII Memorial.

The United States traditionally has had close relations with Venezuela, a major supplier of foreign oil, but there has been friction in relations under the government of populist President Hugo Chávez. U.S. officials have expressed concerns about human rights, Venezuela's military arms purchases, its relations with Cuba and Iran, and its efforts to export its brand of populism to other Latin American countries. Declining cooperation on anti-drug and anti-terrorism efforts has also been a concern.

Proceedings of the House of Representatives of Texas for the 15th day of the regular session of the 82nd Legislature documenting legislation, reports, discussions, votes, and points-of-order.