Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to obtaining reasonable assurance about whether the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards of the State of Texas (the Schedule) is free of material misstatement by examining evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the Schedule, and assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to providing limited assurance that there are no material modifications that should be made to the Board of Architectural Examiners' (Board) financial statements to conform with generally accepted accounting principles; verifying whether the Board has taken corrective action to adequately address issues regarding the accuracy of its performance measures identified in our prior audit; and verifying the Board's compliance with selected sections of the Self-Directed Semi-Independent Agency Project Act.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining whether the State's basic financial statements accurately reflect the balances and activities for the State of Texas for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2004.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to an opinion on the Permanent School Fund's fiscal year 2004 financial statements, as well as a report on compliance and internal controls over financial reporting.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to an opinion on the Teacher Retirement System's fiscal year 2004 financial statements, as well as a report on internal controls over financial reporting, compliance, and other matters.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to verifying: the accuracy of certain key financial statement balances on the Board of Professional Engineers' (Board) fiscal year 2004 annual financial report and the effectiveness of key financial controls that produce that data; whether the Board has taken corrective action to adequately address the issues regarding the accuracy of its performance measures identified in a prior audit; and the Board's compliance with selected sections of the Self-Directed Semi-Independent Agency Project Act.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to providing limited assurance that there are no material modifications that should be made to the Board of Public Accountancy's (Board) financial statements to conform with generally accepted accounting principles, and verifying the Board's compliance with selected sections of the Self-Directed Semi-Independent Agency Project Act.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to an opinion on the Fire Fighters' Pension Commissioner's basic financial statements for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2004.

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The influence of ionic strength on the electrostatic interaction of viruses with environmentally relevant surfaces was determined for three viruses, MS2, Q{beta} and Norwalk. The environmental surface is modeled as charged Gouy-Chapman plane with and without a finite atomistic region (patch) of opposite charge. The virus is modeled as a particle comprised of ionizable amino acid residues in a shell surrounding a spherical RNA core of negative charge, these charges being compensated for by a Coulomb screening due to intercalated ions. Surface potential calculations for each of the viruses show excellent agreement with electrophoretic mobility and zeta potential measurements as a function of pH. The results indicate that the electrostatic interaction between the virus and the planar surface, mitigated by the ionic strength of the solute, is dependent upon the spatial distribution of the amino acid residues in the different viruses. Specifically, the order of interaction energies with the patch (MS2 greatest at 5 mM; Norwalk greatest at 20 mM) is dependent upon the ionic strength of the fluid as a direct result of the viral coat amino acid distributions. We have developed an atomistic-scale method of calculation of the binding energy of viruses to surfaces including electrostatic, van der …

This report documents the results of the L-Basin Corrosion Surveillance Program for the fiscal year 2004. Test coupons were removed from the basin on February 12, 2004, shipped to Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), and visually examined in a contaminated laboratory hood. Selected coupons were metallurgically characterized to establish the extent of general corrosion and pitting. Pitting was observed on galvanically coupled and on intentionally creviced coupons, thus demonstrating that localized concentration cells were formed during the exposure period. In these cases, the susceptibility to pitting was not attributed to aggressive basin water chemistry but to localized conditions (intentional crevices and galvanic coupling) that allowed the development of oxygen and/or metal ion concentration cells that produced locally aggressive waters. General oxidation was also observed on all of the coupons with localized corrosion observed on some of the coupons. These coupons were not pretreated to produce a protective oxide layer prior to exposure in the basin water. Non-protected coupons are more susceptible to corrosion than fuel cladding which has developed a protective oxide layer from high temperature reactor operations. However, the oxide on spent nuclear fuel (SNF) stored in L-Basin is not necessarily in pristine condition. Some of the oxide may …

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This report covers the work completed during Year One (Year One has a 16 month project period) of a five- year Cooperative Agreement (DE-FC26-03NT41895) between the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) National Hazmat Program (OENHP) and the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). This final technical report is being submitted, as required by the Cooperative Agreement, within 90 (calendar) days after the project period ends (December 31, 2004). The resources allocated to Year One of the Cooperative Agreement were adequate for the completion of the required deliverables. All deliverables have been completed and sent to AAD Document Control as directed in the cooperative agreement. The allocation for Year One required 20-25 trainers to be trained in each of five Train-the-Trainer courses and a total of 6,000 workers trained throughout the country. Through cost savings employed for the scheduling and conduct of Train-the-Trainer, instructor refreshers, and direct training classes, 3171 workers have been trained to date. This total incorporates 159 trainers and members from management, local, county, state and federal organizations identified in the Strategic Plan. The largest percentage of personnel trained is heavy equipment operators, and building engineers, which is the largest targeted population …

This report summarizes the science and technology research and development efforts in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Engineering Directorate for FY2004, and exemplifies Engineering's more than 50-year history of developing the technologies needed to support the Laboratory's missions. Engineering has been a partner in every major program and project at the Laboratory throughout its existence and has prepared for this role with a skilled workforce and the technical resources developed through venues like the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program (LDRD). This accomplishment is well summarized by Engineering's mission: ''Enable program success today and ensure the Laboratory's vitality tomorrow''. Engineering's investment in technologies is carried out through two programs, the ''Tech Base'' program and the LDRD program. LDRD is the vehicle for creating those technologies and competencies that are cutting edge. These require a significant level of research or contain some unknown that needs to be fully understood. Tech Base is used to apply technologies to a Laboratory need. The term commonly used for Tech Base projects is ''reduction to practice''. Therefore, the LDRD report covered here has a strong research emphasis. Areas that are presented all fall into those needed to accomplish our mission. For FY2004, Engineering's LDRD projects were …

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory managed a variety of technical and scientific efforts to support Fluor Hanford's work in cleaning up the Hanford Site. Work done for other Hanford contractors, the Waste Treatment Plant, and directly for the U.S. Department of Energy is summarized in the other booklets in this series.

In 2004, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory provided analyses, reviews, testing, and new tools to assist CH2M HILL Hanford Group, Inc. in accomplishing their River Protection Project objectives. These objectives are safe storage, retrieval, and treatment of radioactive waste from Hanford's tanks, closure of tanks, and disposal of treated wastes.

The DOE Solar Energy Technologies Program FY 2004 Annual Report chronicles the R&D results of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Program for Fiscal Year 2004. In particular, the report describes R&D performed by the Program's national laboratories (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Brookhaven National Laboratory) and university and industry partners.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory supports Bechtel Hanford, Inc., in identifying and applying new technologies to clean up contaminated sites on the land bordering the Columbia River where nine nuclear reactors operated. During fiscal year 2004, PNNL screened more than 100 different technologies for potential application to site clean up.

This booklet is the summary chapter of the large groundwater report printed in booklet form with a CD of the complete report inside the back cover. It contains information on the current status of groundwater beneath the Hanford Site, highlights of FY 2004 monitoring, and emerging issues.

Annual financial report of the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority of Texas documenting income, expenditures, and other relevant financial information for fiscal year ending August 31, 2004.

The Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessors have conducted research and development (R&D) in geothermal energy since 1971. The Geothermal Technologies Program (GTP) works in partnership with industry to establish geothermal energy as an economically competitive contributor to the U.S. energy supply. Geothermal energy production, a $1.5 billion a year industry, generates electricity or provides heat for direct use applications. The technologies developed by the Geothermal Technologies Program will provide the Nation with new sources of electricity that are highly reliable and cost competitive and do not add to America's air pollution or the emission of greenhouse gases. Geothermal electricity generation is not subject to fuel price volatility and supply disruptions from changes in global energy markets. Geothermal energy systems use a domestic and renewable source of energy. The Geothermal Technologies Program develops innovative technologies to find, access, and use the Nation's geothermal resources. These efforts include emphasis on Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) with continued R&D on geophysical and geochemical exploration technologies, improved drilling systems, and more efficient heat exchangers and condensers. The Geothermal Technologies Program is balanced between short-term goals of greater interest to industry, and long-term goals of importance to national energy interests. The program's research and …

The Yucca Mountain site was recommended by the President to be a geological repository for commercial spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The multi-barrier approach was adopted for assessing and predicting system behavior, including both natural barriers and engineered barriers. A major component of the long-term strategy for safe disposal of nuclear waste is first to completely isolate the radionuclides in waste packages for long times and then to greatly retard the egress and transport of radionuclides from penetrated packages. The goal of the Materials Performance Targeted Thrust program is to further enhance the understanding of the role of engineered barriers in waste isolation. In addition, the Thrust will explore technical enhancements and seek to offer improvements in materials costs and reliability.

The 2004 visual inspection of four Uruguay nuclear fuel assemblies stored in L-Basin was completed. This was the third inspection of this wet stored fuel since its arrival in the summer of 1998. Visual inspection photographs of the fuel from the previous and the recent inspections were compared and no evidence of significant corrosion was found on the individual fuel plate photographs. Fuel plates that showed areas of pitting in the cladding during the original receipt inspection were also identified during the 2004 inspection. However, a few pits were found on the non-fuel aluminum clamping plates that were not visible during the original and 2001 inspections.

Stroke is a major cause of mortality and is the primary cause of long-term disability in the United States. A recent study of Stroke incidence, using conservative calculations, suggests that over 700,000 people annually in this country will have a stroke. Of these 700,000, approximately 150,000 will die and 400,000 will be left with a significant deficit; only one quarter will return to an independent--although not necessarily baseline--level of functioning. The costs of caring for victims of stroke in the acute phase, chronic care, and lost productivity amount to 40 billion per year. Of all strokes, approximately 20% are hemorrhagic and 20% are due to small vessel disease. Thus, the number of people with large vessel thromboembolic disease and the target population of this research is greater than 400,000. Currently, the only approved therapy for treatment of acute ischemic stroke is intravenous thrombolytic drugs. While stroke patients who receive these drugs are more likely to have better outcomes than those who do not, their improvement is highly dependent on the initiation of treatment within three hours of the onset of symptoms, with an increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage if the medication is begun outside this time window. With this rigid …