Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report discusses the variation in Medicare home health use across states. Using home health claims for the first 6 months of 2001 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, GAO compiled statistics on home health users, home health visits, home health episodes, and the percentage of home health users with multiple episodes for each state. A home health episode, the basis for Medicare payment under the prospective payment system, is up to a 60-day period of care during which any number of visits may be provided."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "United Nations sanctions were first imposed in August 1990 following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. In 1991, the Security Council established sanctions to stop Iraq from acquiring or developing biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. To achieve this, the Security Council prohibited all nations from buying Iraqi oil or selling the country any commodities except for food and medicine. It further established a weapons inspection regime to ensure that Iraq destroyed its weapons of mass destruction and stopped its weapons programs. Concerned about the humanitarian need of the Iraqi people, in 1995 the Security Council established a controls program for Iraq's oil sales that allows for the purchase of food, medicine, and essential civilian goods (the oil for food program). With international support for the sanctions eroding, in 2001 the Security Council passed a new sanctions resolution to address humanitarian concerns while keeping Iraq from rebuilding its weapons systems. Although the U.N. controlled $51 billion of Iraq's oil revenues from 1997 to 2001, Iraq earned an additional $6.6 billion in illegal revenue from oil smuggling and surcharges during the same time. Further, although the sanctions prohibit Iraq from …

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Energy (DOE) has been investigating Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as a possible repository for highly radioactive nuclear waste. In February, the Secretary of Energy endorsed the Yucca Mountain site, and the President recommended that Congress approve the site. If the site is approved, DOE must apply to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for authorization to build a repository. If the site is not approved for a license application, or if NRC denies a construction license, the administration and Congress will have to consider other options. GAO concludes that DOE is unprepared to submit an acceptable license application to NRC within the statutory deadlines if the site is approved. On the basis of a reassessment done by DOE's managing contractor in September 2001, GAO believes that DOE would not have enough time to obtain a license from NRC and build and open the repository by 2010. DOE lacks a reliable estimate of when, and at what cost, a license application can be submitted or a repository can be opened."

Testimony issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Preventive health care services can extend lives and promote the well being of the nation's seniors. Medicare now covers 10 preventive services--three types of immunizations and seven types of screenings--and legislation has been introduced to cover additional services. However, not all beneficiaries avail themselves of Medicare's preventive services. Some may simply choose not to use them, but others may be unaware that these services are covered by Medicare. Although the use of Medicare preventive service is growing, it varies from service to service and by state, ethnic group, income, and level of education. To ensure that preventive services are delivered to those who need them, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sponsors activities to increase their use. CMS now funds interventions to increase the use of three services--breast cancer screening and immunizations against the flu and pneumonia--in each state. CMS also pays for interventions to increase use of services by minorities and low-income beneficiaries with low usage rates. CMS is evaluating the effectiveness of current efforts and expects to have the evaluation results later in 2002."

Correspondence issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "This report examines whether the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had significant problems with overpayments to its contractors. GAO did not find that NASA had a significant or systemic problem with overpayments or underpayments during fiscal year 2001. The controls that NASA put in place to prevent and detect payment errors appeared to be properly designed."

We compared estimates of population abundance and size structure for Yellowstone cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki bouvieri obtained by electrofishing 77 stream segments across southeastern Idaho in the 1980s and again in 1999-2000 to test whether populations of Yellowstone cutthroat trout had changed. Sites sampled in the 1980s were relocated in 1999-2000 by using maps and photographs or by finding original site-boundary stakes, so that the same reach of stream was sampled during both periods. Abundance of Yellowstone cutthroat trout longer than 10 cm did not change, averaging 41 fish/100 m of stream during both the 1980s and 1999-2000. The proportion of the total catch of trout composed of Yellowstone cutthroat trout also did not change, averaging 82% in the 1980s and 78% in 1999-2000. At the 48 sites where size structure could be estimated for both periods, the proportion of Yellowstone cutthroat trout that were 10-20 cm long declined slightly (74% versus 66%), but the change was due entirely to the shift in size structure at the Teton River sites. The number of sites that contained rainbow trout O. mykiss or cutthroat trout 3 rainbow trout hybrids rose from 23 to 37, but the average proportion of the catch composed …

This report discusses discretionary spending, which is provided in annual appropriations acts, is constrained in part by limits set in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended.

This report considers the constitutionality of federal tort reform legislation, such as the products liability and medical malpractice reform proposals that have been introduced for the last several Congresses.

Weekly newspaper from Comanche, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Timpson, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Semi-weekly newspaper from Livingston, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Hondo, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.

A 3-D surface seismic reflection survey, covering an area of over 3 square miles, was conducted at the Rye Patch geothermal reservoir (Nevada) to explore the structural features that may control geothermal production in the area. In addition to the surface sources and receivers, a high-temperature three-component seismometer was deployed in a borehole at a depth of 3900 ft within the basement below the reservoir, which recorded the waves generated by all surface sources. A total of 1959 first-arrival travel times were determined out of 2134 possible traces. Two-dimensional ray tracing was performed to simulate wave propagation from the surface sources to the receiver at depth. Travel time differences between observed and calculated times were mapped to topographic changes in the elevation of the interface between the carbonate basement and the sedimentary and volcanic unit above. Results indicate the presence of two dominant geologic features. The first confirms the regional trend of the geologic units in the Basin and Range province with a north-south strike and dip to the west, as expected for normal faulting encountered in an extensional regime. The second is a local disturbance of this regional pattern in form of an elevation of the interface between the …

Niton has successfully completed the objectives of the Phase II program to build a hand-held, x-ray fluorescent analyzer optimized for DOE decontamination and decommissioning activities in the field. A two-pound x-ray fluorescence analyzer was developed that contains 3 radioactive sources, emitting 3 widely spaced monochromatic x-rays, to give the lowest detection limits for the full range of toxic elements, from chromium to plutonium. A rapid, fundamental- parameters algorithm was developed that yields quantitative results in less than 1 second. High-resolution silicon drift detectors and silicon PIN diodes give excellent efficiency and speed. These results from Phase II have been introduced into the XL 300, 700 and 800 commercial products series. More than 800 of these instruments, yielding revenues of more than $20 million dollars, have been sold since the first 3-source instrument was introduced in 1998. A direct consequence of the Phase II funding has been the growth of Niton from 20 people to its present size of 60.

The transient heat load on divertor surfaces from Edge-Localized Modes (ELMs) in tokamaks can be very large and thus of concern for a large device such as ITER. Models for kinetic modifications to fluid models are discussed that should allow them to reasonably describe the long mean-free path regime encountered owing to the high electron and ion temperatures in the SOL during large ELMs. A set of two-dimensional (2D) simulations of the dynamic response of the scrape-off layer (SOL) plasma to an ELM is presented. The role of plasma currents and E x B motion is emphasized, which cause large changes in the response compared to models neglecting them.

The Handling and Sorting System for 55-Gallon Drums (HANDSS-55) is a DOE project to develop an automated method for retrieving items that are not acceptable at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) from 55-gallon drums of low-level waste. The HANDSS-55 is a modular system that opens drums, sorts the waste, and then repackages the remaining waste in WIPP compliant barrels. The Sorting Station module relies on a non-contact measurement system to quickly provide a 3D profile of the sorting area. It then analyses the 3D profile and a color image to determine the position and orientation of an operator selected waste item. The item is then removed from the sorting area by a robotic arm. The use of both image and profile information for object determination provides a fast, effective method of finding and retrieving selected objects in the unstructured environment of the sorting module.

The Tucker Wireline unit ran a suite of open hole logs right behind the RMOTC logging contractor for comparison purposes. The tools included Dual Laterolog, Phased Induction, BHC Sonic, and Density-Porosity.

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Genetically modified foods pose the same risks to human health as do other foods. These risks include allergens, toxins, and compounds known as antinutrients which inhibit the absorption of nutrients. Before marketing a genetically modified food, company scientists seek to determine whether these foods pose any heightened risks. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published guidelines in 1992 to ensure that companies worked with the agency to assess the safety of genetically modified foods. GAO found that FDA's evaluation process could be enhanced by randomly verifying the test data provided and by increasing the transparency of the evaluation process, including communicating more clearly the scientific rationale for FDA's final decision on an assessment of genetically modified food. Scientists expect that genetic modifications will increasingly enhance the nutritional value of genetically modified foods. Although current tests have been adequate for evaluating the few genetically modified foods that have, so far, undergone relatively simple compositional changes, new technologies are being developed to evaluate the increasingly complex compositional changes expected. Monitoring the long-term health risks of genetically modified foods is generally neither necessary nor feasible. No scientific evidence exists, …

Weekly newspaper from Archer City, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

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

Weekly newspaper from Bogata, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Stamford, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Funeral program for Bernice Wash, born February 8, 1916 and died May 16, 2002. The funeral was held May 23, 2002 at the Friendship Baptist Church, officiated by Reverend R. L. Archield, Sr. Funeral arrangements were made through the Lewis Funeral Home, and she was buried in the Britton Cemetery in La Vernia, Texas.

Weekly newspaper from Canadian, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with some advertising.