It is proposed to build a Wolter X-ray Microscope Computed Tomography System in order to characterize objects to sub-micrometer resolution. Wolter Optics Systems use hyperbolic, elliptical, and/or parabolic mirrors to reflect x-rays in order to focus or magnify an image. Wolter Optics have been used as telescopes and as microscopes. As microscopes they have been used for a number of purposes such as measuring emission x-rays and x-ray fluoresce of thin biological samples. Standard Computed Tomography (CT) Systems use 2D radiographic images, from a series of rotational angles, acquired by passing x-rays through an object to reconstruct a 3D image of the object. The x-ray paths in a Wolter X-ray Microscope will be considerably different than those of a standard CT system. There is little information about the 2D radiographic images that can be expected from such a system. There are questions about the quality, resolution and focusing range of an image created with such a system. It is not known whether characterization information can be obtained from these images and whether these 2D images can be reconstructed to 3D images of the object. A code has been developed to model the 2D radiographic image created by an object in …

In the framework of the theory of spectral distributions we perform an overall comparison of three modern realistic interactions, CD-Bonn, CD-Bonn+3terms, and GXPF1 in a broad range of nuclei in the upper fp shell and study their ability to account for the development of isovector pairing correlations and collective rotational motion in many-particle nuclear systems. Our findings reveal a close similarity between CD-Bonn and CD-Bonn+3terms, while both interactions possess features different from the ones of GXPF1. The GXPF1 interaction is used to determine the strength parameter of a quadrupole term that augments an isovector-pairing model interaction with Sp(4) dynamical symmetry, which in turn is shown to yield a reasonable agreement with the experimental low-lying energy spectra of {sup 58}Ni and {sup 58}Cu.

The 100-B-20 waste site, located in the 100-BC-1 Operable Unit of the Hanford Site, consisted of an underground oil tank that once serviced the 1716-B Maintenance Garage. The selected action for the 100-B-20 waste site involved removal of the oil tanks and their contents and demonstrating through confirmatory sampling that all cleanup goals have been met. In accordance with this evaluation, a reclassification status of interim closed out has been determined. The results demonstrate that the site will support future unrestricted land uses that can be represented by a rural-residential scenario. These results also show that residual concentrations support unrestricted future use of shallow zone soil and that contaminant levels remaining in the soil are protective of groundwater and the Columbia River.

The reprocessing of commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) generates a Zircaloy cladding hull waste which requires disposal as a high level waste in the geologic repository. The hulls are primarily contaminated with fission products and actinides from the fuel. During fuel irradiation, these contaminants are deposited in a thin layer of zirconium oxide (ZrO{sub 2}) which forms on the cladding surface at the elevated temperatures present in a nuclear reactor. Therefore, if the hulls are treated to remove the ZrO{sub 2} layer, a majority of the contamination will be removed and the hulls could potentially meet acceptance criteria for disposal as a low level waste (LLW). Discard of the hulls as a LLW would result in significant savings due to the high costs associated with geologic disposal. To assess the feasibility of decontaminating spent fuel cladding hulls, two treatment processes developed for dissolving fuels containing zirconium (Zr) metal or alloys were evaluated. Small-scale dissolution experiments were performed using the ZIRFLEX process which employs a boiling ammonium fluoride (NH{sub 4}F)/ammonium nitrate (NH{sub 4}NO{sub 3}) solution to dissolve Zr or Zircaloy cladding and a hydrofluoric acid (HF) process developed for complete dissolution of Zr-containing fuels. The feasibility experiments were performed using Zircaloy-4 …

Suppose that we are given two probability densities p{sub 0}(E{prime}) and p{sub 1}(E{prime}) for the energy E{prime} of an outgoing particle, p{sub 0}(E{prime}) corresponding to energy E{sub 0} of the incident particle and p{sub 1}(E{prime}) corresponding to incident energy E{sub 1}. If E{sub 0} < E{sub 1}, the problem is how to define p{sub {alpha}}(E{prime}) for intermediate incident energies E{sub {alpha}} = (1 - {alpha})E{sub 0} + {alpha}E{sub 1} with 0 < {alpha} < 1. In this note the author considers three ways to do it. They begin with unit-base interpolation, which is standard in ENDL and is sometimes used in ENDF. They then describe the equiprobable bins used by some Monte Carlo codes. They then close with a discussion of interpolation by corresponding-points, which is commonly used in ENDF.

This report shows the state allocations fo DHS and HHS homeland security assistance programs, as reported by their department documents or press releases. It also shows per capita amounts for each program, as calculated by CRS, using 2002 census estimates.

This report provides information about The Role of State and Local Law Enforcement on Enforcing Immigration Law.

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This report focuses on proposals offered to amend the federal income tax code to subsidize the expenses of families with children enrolled in the K-12 school of their choice. It begins with a discussion of K-12 education reform efforts to provide a context for the proposed tax subsidies. Next, it reviews existing federal tax provisions that could help families pay for the cost of their children’s K-12schooling. The report then analyzes the kind of proposals that have been introduced to expand existing federal tax benefits or to authorize new ones for families incurring K-12 education expenses.

This report identifies additional bills that have been introduced in the 109th Congress to address specific concerns related to how the Endangered Species Act (ESA is implemented and how endangered species are managed, and will be updated periodically to reflect legislative action.

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The impact on children of domestic violence was an issue of interest in the 109th Congress. The first session of the 109th Congress ended with the passage of the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-162), which contained new initiatives to address concerns about children and youth exposed to and victimized by domestic violence. This report discusses existing federal programs and initiatives that have been established to assist such children and youth, and new provisions enacted in P.L. 109-162.

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As highlighted by the Social Security Administration (SSA), the aging of the (United States) population, hastened by the impending retirement of the huge baby-boom generation, has caused policy-makers to question whether the U.S. Social Security system can meet the demands for retirement benefits in the future. Because the current system largely pays benefits through taxes paid by current workers, the financial health of the system is sensitive to the ratio of dependents to workers—sometimes called the age dependency ratio or support ratio. Trends and projections of dependency ratios, including the relationship between both older (years 65 and older) and younger (under age 20) dependents to the working-age population in the United States are considered in the first section of this demographic report. Next, the United States is compared to nine other nations, including the seven other members of the G8. In the final section, policy implications of the changing dependent-to-worker ratios are considered in the context of pay-as-you-go (paygo) social security systems.

This report provides background information on the broad authority, to conduct research and demonstration projects under several programs authorized by the Social Security Act.

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This report provides brief descriptions of the budget volumes and related documents, together with internet addresses, Government Printing Office (GPO) stock numbers, and prices to obtain these publications. It also tells how to find locations of government depository libraries, which can provide both printed copies for reference use and internet access to the text.