This report contains the summary and legislative history of the Budget Enforcement Act of 1997.

This report consists of a brief introduction to the federal budget process.

None

None

None

None

This report provides information concerning the authority to impose sanctions, lists the 14 areas that have been subject to sanctions since 1990, describes their status as of October 1997, and discusses the role of sanctions and alternatives under the act.

None

This report lists the dates of 1998 primary elections and, where applicable, runoff primary dates for the states and the District of Columbia.

This report is on China’s Economic Development: An Overview.

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is building a number of magnets for the insertion regions of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This paper presents the magnetic design and the expected field quality in 2-in-1 dipole magnets. A unique feature of this cold mass design is the use of an oblate-shaped yoke. This concept permits a variety of BNL-built magnets to have a similar overall design and allows the LHC main dipole cryostat, post, etc., to be used in these magnets. The proposed oblate-shaped yoke also offers a way to reduce the overall cryostat size in future magnets. The dipoles will use the same 80 mm aperture coils as used in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) dipole magnets, but will use stainless steel collars. The design presented here is still evolving and the magnets may be built differently than described here.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and EGF have been reported to promote branching morphogenesis of mammary epithelial cells. We now show that it is epimorphin that is primarily responsible for this phenomenon. In vivo, epimorphin was detected in the stromal compartment but not in lumenal epithelial cells of the mammary gland; in culture, however, a subpopulation of mammary epithelial cells produced significant amounts of epimorphin. When epimorphin-expressing epithelial cell clones were cultured in collagen gels they displayed branching morphogenesis in the presence of HGF, EGF, keratinocyte growth factor, or fibroblast growth factor, a process that was inhibited by anti-epimorphin but not anti-HGF antibodies. The branch length, however, was roughly proportional to the ability of the factors to induce growth. Accordingly, epimorphin-negative epithelial cells simply grew in a cluster in response to the growth factors and failed to branch. When recombinant epimorphin was added to these collagen gels, epimorphin-negative cells underwent branching morphogenesis. The mode of action of epimorphin on morphogenesis of the gland, however, was dependent on how it was presented to the mammary cells. If epimorphin was overexpressed in epimorphin-negative epithelial cells under regulation of an inducible promoter or was allowed to coat the surface of each epithelial cell in …

The Custom J1 Backplane is a full length (21 slot) user specified custom 3U backplane to be used in the J1 position. Slot spacing is identical to that used for VME (0.8-inch), and each backplane shall fit into a standard Eurocard VME style crate. The purpose of the Custom J1 Backplane is to: (1) Provide +5 volt power to slots 1 through 21; (2) Provide -5.2 volt power to slots 1 through 21; (3) Provide five bits of geographic addressing to slots 2 through 21. Slot 2 will have all five bits pulled low; slot 21 will have the value 10100. See Appendix A; (4) Route a differential 1553 signal from a triaxial bulkhead connector to slots 2 through 11. This differential signal is bussed as a daisy chain. A 75 ohm resistor to ground shall be located near the last destination slot for each of these two signals; (5) Route a second differential 1553 signal from a triaxial bulkhead connector to slots 12 through 21. This differential signal is bussed as a daisy chain. A 75 ohm resistor to ground shall be located near the last destination slot for each of these two signals; (6) Route two NRZ signals …

Newsletter for the Sabine River Authority of Texas including updates on experiments and studies, information about events, and other information related to water quality.

Monthly publication documenting statistics related to economic information in the Mexico-Texas border areas including types of border crossings, employment, customs revenues, and other related data.

None

None

None

A novel burner, in which fuel (natural gas) and oxidant (oxygen or air) are separately injected into a furnace, shows promise for achieving very low nitrogen oxide(s) (NOx) emissions for commercial furnace applications. The dilute oxygen combustion (DOC) burner achieves very low NOx through in-furnace dilution of the oxidant stream prior to combustion, resulting in low flame temperatures, thus inhibiting thermal NOx production. The results of a fundamental and applied research effort on the development of the DOC burner are presented. In addition, the results of a market survey detailing the potential commercial impact of the DOC system are disclosed. The fundamental aspects of the burner development project involved examining the flame characteristics of a natural gas turbulent jet in a high-temperature (~1366 K) oxidant (7-27% O2 vol. wet). Specifically, the mass entrainment rate, the flame lift-off height, the velocity field and major species field of the jet were evaluated as a function of surrounding-gas temperature and composition. The measured entrainment rate of the fuel jet decreased with increasing oxygen content in the surrounding high-temperature oxidant, and was well represented by the d+ scaling correlation found in the literature. The measured flame lift-off height decreased with increasing oxygen content and …

The objective and scope of this document are to list and briefly describe the major control and communication equipment necessary for waste package emplacement at the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Primary performance characteristics and some specialized design features of the required equipment are explained and summarized in the individual subsections of this document. This task was evaluated in accordance with QAP-2-0 and found not to be quality affecting. Therefore, this document was prepared in accordance with NAP-MG-012. The following control and communication equipment are addressed in this document: (1) Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC's); (2) Leaky Feeder Radio Frequency Communication Equipment; (3) Slotted Microwave guide Communication Equipment; (4) Vision Systems; (5) Radio Control Equipment; and (6) Enclosure Cooling Systems.

This final report provides technical information on the development of a near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) system for the analysis of alfalfa hay. The purpose of the system is to provide consistent quality for processing alfalfa stems for fuel and alfalfa leaf meal products for livestock feed. Project tasks were to: (1) develop an NIRS driven analytical system for analysis of alfalfa hay and processed alfalfa products; (2) assist in hiring a qualified NIRS technician and recommend changes in testing equipment necessary to provide accurate analysis; (3) calibrate the NIRS instrument for accurate analyses; and (4) develop prototype equipment and sampling procedures as a first step towards development of a totally automated sampling system that would rapidly sample and record incoming feedstock and outbound product. An accurate hay testing program was developed, along with calibration equations for analyzing alfalfa hay and sun-cured alfalfa pellets. A preliminary leaf steam calibration protocol was also developed. 7 refs., 11 figs., 10 tabs.

A series of laboratory tests and two feeding experiments were conducted to determine the quality and evaluate the feeding value of alfalfa leaf meal (ALM) for dairy cows. An experiment was also conducted to enhance the protein value of ALM for ruminants. The fiber content of 6 different samples obtained from the processing plant from November 1996 to August 1997 were variable, ranging from 28.8 to 44.5% of DM for NDF, and from 16.0 to 28.6% of DM for ADF. Ash content ranged from 10.1 to 13.8% of the DM. The protein content of ALM was fairly constant and ranged from 21.8 to 23.6% of DM. Amino acids comprise at least 70% of the total CP in ALM, but essential amino acids comprise only about 35% of the total CP. The amino acid profile of ALM is similar to that of alfalfa hay, but markedly different from that of soybean meal. Overall, ALM produced to date is similar in nutrient content to prime alfalfa hay. In one of the feeding trials, ALM pellets were used to replace part of the hay in diets for early lactation cows. The results indicate that ALM pellets can make up as much as 16% …

Economic analysis is being conducted by the Department of Applied Economics in support of Minnesota Alfalfa Producer`s development of alfalfa as a dedicated biomass feedstock for energy production. University Researchers have assisted in the development and implementation of inventory control systems and procedures. This report lists the tasks for which researchers are currently finalizing economic analysis. The tasks encompass three main areas: (1) optimization of feedstock transportation system, (2) analysis of market potential for new alfalfa products, and (3) total systems analysis.

This progress report provides results of Toxicity Characteristics Leaching Procedures (TCLP) and Synthetic Leachate Test Procedure (SLTP) for the alfalfa stem ash. The TCLP simulates solute leaching in landfill by using acetic acid as a solvent and SLTP simulates potential for leaching from synthetic acid rain. This report also provides information on detailed chemical characterization of organic and inorganic constituents of the ash. The analysis performed includes information on compounds that may represent a potential risk to human or animal health and those constituents that may have beneficial use as soil amendments and conditioners. A sample of the fly (filter) ash from the test burn conducted in Finland was received in May 1997 and used for initial investigation. Three additional fly ash samples and one sample of bottom ash (reactor bed ash) were received in June 1997. The samples were either tested at the University of Minnesota or sent to a reputable laboratory, and various tests were conducted according to the standard methods. The result of the comprehensive tests conducted in May 1997 (report submitted previously) were used as a screening procedure for conducting tests on June 1997 samples. To provide a more comprehensive representation of ash characteristics the results …