Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report provides information on a highly publicized insurance investment scam exposed in May 1999. Martin Frankel, with the assistance of others, allegedly obtained secret control of entities in both the insurance and securities industries. Instead of managing the assets of these companies in a prudent manner, he allegedly diverted them to other accounts he controlled and used them to support the ongoing scam and his lifestyle. The scam was finally exposed after insurance regulators in Mississippi placed three of the Frankel-connected insurers under regulatory supervision. Weaknesses in key insurance regulatory oversight activities, extending over several years, delayed detecting the investment scam. GAO found inadequate tools and measures for assessing the appropriateness of insurance company purchasers, analyzing securities investments, evaluating the appropriateness of asset custodians, verifying insurers' assets, and sharing information within and outside of the insurance industry. In addition, GAO found weaknesses in the support services provided by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, a voluntary association of state insurance regulators."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) regulates the farm credit system. Administrative expenses, which accounted for about 97 percent of FCA's total operating expenses of $34.5 million in fiscal year 2000, are funded primarily by assessments on the institutions that make up the system, including the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac). This report (1) analyses trends in administrative expenses for fiscal years 1996 through 2000 and (2) compares ways that FCA and other federal financial regulators calculate the assessments they need to fund their operations. GAO found that although FCA's administrative expenditures varied each year between 1996 and 2000, they remained below 1996 levels and stayed within congressionally imposed annual spending limits for each year during 1997 through 2000. Between 1996 and 2000, the agency experienced a decline in administrative spending of around $2 million, or 5.8 percent. Personnel costs were the largest single expense, consistently accounting for more than 80 percent of administrative spending; thus, a 15 percent staff reduction also provided the greatest overall savings. Unlike many government agencies whose operations are funded by taxpayers' money, the federal financial regulators are self-funded agencies that …

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "To deter illegal entry between the nation's ports of entry, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) developed its Southwest Border Strategy. INS has spent seven years implementing the border strategy, but it may take INS up to a decade longer to fully implement the strategy. This assumes that INS obtains the level of staff, technology, equipment, and fencing it believes it needs to control the Southwest border. Although illegal alien apprehensions have shifted, there is no clear indication that overall illegal entry into the United States along the Southwestern border has declined. INS' current efforts to measure the effectiveness of its border control efforts could be enhanced by analyzing the data in its automated biometric identification system (IDENT). These data offer INS an opportunity to develop additional performance indicators that could be incorporated into its Annual Performance Plan review process and could help INS assess whether its border control efforts are associated with an overall reduction in the flow of illegal aliens across the border. Borderwide analysis of the IDENT data could be used to address several important questions related to illegal entry. The strategy's impact …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Air Force started developing the F-22 aircraft in 1991, and plans to complete development in September 2003. The Air Force plans to procure 333 production aircraft at a cost now capped at $37.6 billion. The law does not specify the total number of aircraft to be procured. This testimony discusses (1) potential cost reduction plans, (2) production cost estimates by the Air Force and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and (3) the Department of Defense's (DOD) efforts to implement GAO's earlier recommendations (see GAO/NSIAD-00-178, August 2000). GAO found that the F-22 contractors' estimated amount of cost reduction plans total about $26.5 billion. Both the Air Force and the Office of the Secretary of Defense cost estimators projected in late 2000 that F-22 production costs would still exceed the $37.6 billion congressional cost limitation if the Air Force were to procure 333 F-22s. DOD plans to reconcile the number of F-22s needed with the amount of the congressional cost limitation on F-22 production as part of the next Quadrennial Defense Review."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The importance of the role of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is illustrated by the situation in California. Wholesale electricity prices in California rose sharply in May 2000 and have remained high. California also saw disruptions in service this winter and spring. GAO reviewed FERC's outage study and two other studies that examined possible exercise of market power in California's electricity industry. GAO found that FERC's study was not thorough enough to support its conclusion that audited generators were not physically withholding electricity to influence prices. FERC's study largely focused on determining whether or not the outages were caused by actual physical problems, such as leaks in cooling tubes that required maintenance or repairs. Two other studies GAO examined found evidence that electricity generators exercised market power to boost electricity prices in California. These studies sought broader evidence of the exercise of market power in the entire market by comparing wholesale electricity prices to the estimated costs of producing electricity. In doing so, they found that prices were higher than would be expected if the generators were acting competitively. None of the studies was thorough enough to …

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether section 26.179 of the Water Code as amended in 1999 is constitutional.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, John Cornyn, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification: Whether the office of consolidated school district trustee is an "office of profit or trust" within the meaning of article XI, section 11 of the Texas Constitution and related question.

Areal density ({rho}R) is a fundamental parameter that characterizes the performance of an ICF implosion. For high areal densities ({rho}R> 0.1 g/cm{sup 2}), which will be realized in implosion experiments at NIF and LMJ, the target areal density exceeds the stopping range of charged particles and measurements with charged particle spectroscopy will be difficult. In this region, an areal density measurement method using down shifted neutron counting is a promising alternative. The probability of neutron scattering in the imploded plasma is proportional to the areal density of the plasma. The spectrum of neutrons scattered by the specific target nucleus has a characteristic low energy cut off. This enables separate, simultaneous measurements of fuel and pusher {rho}Rs. To apply this concept in implosion experiments, the detector should have extremely large dynamic range. Sufficient signal output for low energy neutrons is also required. A lithium-glass scintillation-fiber plate (LG-SCIFI) is a promising candidate for this application. In this paper we propose a novel technique based on downshifted neutron measurements with a lithium-glass scintillation-fiber plate. The details of instrumentation and background estimation with Monte Carlo calculation are reported.

Free electron lasers have the promise of producing extremely high-intensity short pulses of coherent, monochromatic radiation in the 1-10 keV energy range. For example, the Linac Coherent Light Source at Stanford is being designed to produce an output intensity of 2 x 10{sup 14} W/cm{sup 2} in a 230 fs pulse. These sources will open the door to many novel research studies. However, the intense x-ray pulses may damage the optical components necessary for studying and controlling the output. At the full output intensity, the dose to optical components at normal incidence ranges from 1-10 eV/atom for low-Z materials (Z < 14) at photon energies of 1 keV. It is important to have an understanding of the effects of such high doses in order to specify the composition, placement, and orientation of optical components, such as mirrors and monochromators. Doses of 10 eV/atom are certainly unacceptable since they will lead to ablation of the surface of the optical components. However, it is not precisely known what the damage thresholds are for the materials being considered for optical components for x-ray free electron lasers. In this paper, we present analytic estimates and computational simulations of the effects of high-intensity x-ray pulses …

Reported nearly a decade ago, cyclic fatigue failure in silicon thin films has remained a mystery. Silicon does not display the room temperature plasticity or extrinsic toughening mechanisms necessary to cause fatigue in either ductile (e.g., metals) or brittle (e.g., ceramics and ordered mintermetallic) materials.

The authors discuss the current state of development for the key aspects of MPI programming on clusters. These aspects are the evolution of the MPI Standard itself, developments in cluster hardware and system software that directly affect MPI implementations, and supporting software that facilitates the use of MPI on scalable clusters. In each case we give a brief background and summarize the current status.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "With the end of the Cold War, national security strategies changed to meet new global challenges. The Navy developed a new strategic direction in the early 1990s, shifting its primary focus from open ocean "blue water" operations to littoral, or shallow water, operations closer to shore. GAO found that although the Navy has recently placed more emphasis on transformation, it does not have a well-defined and overarching strategy for transformation. It has not clearly identified the scope and direction of its transformation; the overall goals, objectives, and milestones; or the specific strategies and resources to be used in achieving these goals. It also has not clearly identified organizational roles and responsibilities, priorities, resources, or ways to measure progress. Without a well-defined strategic plan to guide the Navy's efforts, senior leaders and Congress will not have the tools they need to ensure that the transformation is successful."

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is an isotope-ratio measurement technique developed in the late 1970s for tracing long-lived radioisotopes (e.g., {sup 14}C half life = 5760 y). The technique counts individual nuclei rather than waiting for their radioactive decay, allowing measurement of more than 100 low-level {sup 14}C samples per day (Vogel et al, 1995). The LLNL AMS system is shown in Fig.1. The contemporary quantity of {sup 14}C in living things ({sup 14}C/C = 1.2 x 10{sup -12} or 110 fmol {sup 14}C/ g C) is highly elevated compared to the quantity of {sup 14}C in petroleum-derived products. This isotopic elevation is sufficient to trace the fate of bio-derived fuel components in the emissions of an engine without the use of radioactive materials. If synthesis of a fuel component from biologically-derived source material is not feasible, another approach is to purchase {sup 14}C-labeled material (e.g., dibutyl maleate (DBM)) and dilute it with petroleum-derived material to yield a contemporary level of {sup 14}C. In each case, the virtual absence of {sup 14}C in petroleum based fuels gives a very low {sup 14}C background that makes this approach to tracing fuel components practical. Regulatory pressure to significantly reduce the particulate emissions from …

The scope of this calculation is to determine ventilation system resistances, pressure drops, airflows, and operating cost estimates for the Site Recommendation (SR) design as detailed in the ''Site Recommendation Subsurface Layout'' (BSC (Bechtel SAIC Company) 2001a). The statutory limit for emplacement of waste in Yucca Mountain is 70,000 metric tons of uranium (MTU) and is considered the base case for this report. The objective is to determine the overall repository system ventilation flow network for the monitoring phase during normal operations and to provide a basis for the system description document design descriptions. Any values derived from this calculation will not be used to support construction, fabrication, or procurement. The work scope is identified in the ''Technical Work Plan for Subsurface Design Section FY01 Work Activities'' (CRWMS M&O 2001, pp. 6 and 13). In accordance with the technical work plan this calculation was prepared in accordance with AP-3.12Q, ''Calculations'' and other procedures invoked by AP-3.12Q. It also incorporates the procedure AP-SI1.Q, ''Software Management''.

This paper summarizes efforts related to developing a technically justifiable approach for addressing the axial burnup distribution in PWR burnup-credit criticality safety analyses. The paper reviews available data on the axial variation in burnup and the effect of axial burnup profiles on reactivity in a SNF cask. A publicly available database of profiles is examined to identify profiles that maximize the neutron multiplication factor, k{sub eff}, assess its adequacy for general PWR burnup credit analyses, and investigate the existence of trends with fuel type and/or reactor operations. For this assessment, a statistical evaluation of the k{sub eff} values associated with the profiles in the axial burnup profile database was performed that identifies the most reactive profiles as statistical outliers that are not representative of typical discharged SNF assemblies. The impact of these bounding profiles on the neutron multiplication factor for a high-density burnup credit cask is quantified. Finally, analyses are presented to quantify the potential reactivity consequence of assemblies with axial profiles that are not bounded by the existing database. The paper concludes with findings for addressing the axial burnup distribution in burnup credit analyses.

The purpose of this document as stated in the ''Technical Work Plan for Subsurface Design Section FY 01 Work Activities'' (CRWMS M&O 2001a, pg. 14) is to review and evaluate the most current concepts for shaft siting and configuration. The locations of the shaft sites will be evaluated in reference to the overall subsurface ventilation layout shown in Figure 1. The scope will include discussions on pad size requirements, shaft construction components such as collars, shaft stations, sumps, ground support and linings, head frames, fan ducting and facility equipping. In addition to these, shaft excavation methodologies and integration with the overall subsurface construction schedule will be described. The Technical Work Plan (TWP), (CRWMS M&O 2001a), for this document has been prepared in accordance with AP-2.21Q, ''Quality Determinations and Planning for Scientific, Engineering and Regulatory Compliance Activities''. This document will be prepared in accordance with AP-3.10Q, ''Analysis and Models''. This document contributes to Site Recommendation (SR). The intended use of this document is to provide an analysis for shaft siting and configuration criteria for subsequent construction. This document identifies preliminary design concepts that should not be used for procurement, fabrication, or construction.

A thermodynamic model based on the code SOLGASMIX is developed to calculate phase equilibrium in evaporators and related tank wastes at the Savannah River Site (SRS). This model uses the Pitzer method to calculate activity coefficients, and many of the required Pitzer parameters have been determined in the course of this work. Principal chemical species in standard SRS simulant solutions are included, and the temperature range for most parameters has been extended above 100 C. The SOLGASMIX model and calculations using the code Geochemists Workbench are compared to actual solubility data including silicate, aluminate, and aluminosilicate solutions. In addition, SOLGASMIX model calculations are also compared to transient solubility data involving SRS simulant solutions. These comparisons indicate that the SOLGASMIX predictions closely match reliable data over the range of temperature and solution composition expected in the SRS evaporator and related tanks. Predictions using the Geochemists Workbench may be unreliable, due primarily to the use of an inaccurate activity coefficient model.

A fact sheet about the technology used for producing transportation fuel from biomass and the Department of Energy's efforts to commercialize that technology.

Recent results are presented for (1) the charge asymmetry in semielectronic kaon decay; (2) the charge radius of the neutral kaon; (3) the decay K{sub L}{sup 0} {r_arrow} {pi}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0}e{sup +}e{sup {minus}}; (4) constraints on {rho}{sub CKM} from kaon decays; (5) lepton flavor violation. A few words about future kaon physics work at Fermilab are included.

A newly designed multi-crystal X-ray spectrometer and its applications in the fields of X-ray fluorescence and X-ray Raman spectroscopy are described. The instrument is based on 8 spherically curved Si crystals, each with a 3.5 inch diameter form bent to a radius of 86 cm. The crystals are individually aligned in the Rowland geometry capturing a total solid angle of 0.07 sr. The array is arranged in a way that energy scans can be performed by moving the whole instrument, rather than scanning each crystal by itself. At angles close to back scattering the energy resolution is between 0.3 and 1 eV depending on the beam dimensions at the sample. The instrument is mainly designed for X-ray absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy of transition metals in dilute systems such as metalloproteins. First results of the Mn K{beta} (3p -> 1s) emission in photosystem II are shown. An independent application of the instrument is the technique of X-ray Raman spectroscopy which can address problems similar to those in traditional soft X-ray absorption spectroscopies, and initial results are presented.

This report summarizes the Groundwater Monitoring Program conducted by SRS during fourth quarter 2000. It includes the analytical data, field data, data review, quality control, and other documentation for this program.

This paper describes the wind-diesel hybrid power project, a technology demonstration project conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Kotzebue Electric Association, the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative and the Alaska Energy Authority in Wales, Alaska. It discusses each of the relevant plant design considerations in detail, in hopes that system integrators and project planners that read the report will realize the importance of giving proper attention to diesel plant preparation (or replacement), and future wind-diesel systems will be installed and commissioned more quickly and cost effectively.

This report proposes and documents a computational benchmark problem for the estimation of the additional reactivity margin available in spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from fission products and minor actinides in a burnup-credit storage/transport environment, relative to SNF compositions containing only the major actinides. The benchmark problem/configuration is a generic burnup credit cask designed to hold 32 pressurized water reactor (PWR) assemblies. The purpose of this computational benchmark is to provide a reference configuration for the estimation of the additional reactivity margin, which is encouraged in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) guidance for partial burnup credit (ISG8), and document reference estimations of the additional reactivity margin as a function of initial enrichment, burnup, and cooling time. Consequently, the geometry and material specifications are provided in sufficient detail to enable independent evaluations. Estimates of additional reactivity margin for this reference configuration may be compared to those of similar burnup-credit casks to provide an indication of the validity of design-specific estimates of fission-product margin. The reference solutions were generated with the SAS2H-depletion and CSAS25-criticality sequences of the SCALE 4.4a package. Although the SAS2H and CSAS25 sequences have been extensively validated elsewhere, the reference solutions are not directly or indirectly based on experimental …

We are creating a new method of combining disparate types of geologic observations and process simulations. Using Bayesian inferencing and an efficient search algorithm, we obtain a consolidated body of knowledge in the form of multiple configurations and parameter values of the system that are consistent with our existing data and process models. In so doing, we effectively estimate the distributions of both individual parameters and system-wide states, and their likelihood of occurrence. This is in contrast with conventional inversion methods, which produce a single deterministic understanding lacking quantitative information about the distribution of uncertainty. We call this combination of probabilistic evaluation and deterministic process simulators the stochastic engine. Our approach allows the investigators to rapidly improve their understanding of system progress, making it particularly valuable for active processes like injection. The Bayesian inferencing is driven by forward process models that predict data values, such as temperature or electrical voltage, for direct comparison to measured field values. We stage the stochastic searches of possible configurations and run the simplest models, such as lithology estimators, at the lower stages. The majority of possible configurations are eliminated from further consideration by the higher stages' more complex models, such as electrical resistance models …