A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides mental health services to veterans with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse disorders. To address gaps in services needed by veterans, VA approved a mental health strategic plan in 2004. VA planned to increase its fiscal year 2005 allocations for plan initiatives by $100 million above fiscal year 2004 levels and its fiscal year 2006 allocations for plan initiatives by $200 million above fiscal year 2004 levels. GAO was asked to provide information on VA's allocation and use of funding for mental health strategic plan initiatives in fiscal years 2005 and 2006, and to examine the adequacy of how VA tracked spending and the extent of spending for plan initiatives. GAO reviewed VA reports and documents on plan initiatives and conducted interviews with VA officials at headquarters, 4 of 21 health care networks, and seven medical centers. VA networks provide oversight of medical center operations and most medical center resources."

The main purpose of this project was to advance the basic scientific understanding of colloid and colloid-facilitated Cs transport of radionuclides in the vadose zone. We focused our research on the hydrological and geochemical conditions beneath the leaking waste tanks at the USDOE Hanford reservation. Specific objectives were (1) to determine the lability and thermodynamic stability of colloidal materials, which form after reacting Hanford sediments with simulated Hanford Tank Waste, (2) to characterize the interactions between colloidal particles and contaminants, i.e., Cs and Eu, (3) to determine the potential of Hanford sediments for \textit{in situ} mobilization of colloids, (4) to evaluate colloid-facilitated radionuclide transport through sediments under unsaturated flow, (5) to implement colloid-facilitated contaminant transport mechanisms into a transport model, and (6) to improve conceptual characterization of colloid-contaminant-soil interactions and colloid-facili\-tated transport for clean-up procedures and long-term risk assessment. We have previously shown that upon contact with simulated waste tank solutions, Hanford sediments change their mineralogical composition. Certain minerals, i.e., quartz, smectite, and kaolinite, are partially dissolved, and new mineral phases, i.e., the feldspathoids cancrinite and sodalite, are formed. We have characterized these mineral transformations and clarified the mineral transformation pathways. The new minerals were mainly in the colloidal size …

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A membership status report for the Texas Daily Newspaper Associations board of directors meeting to be held on November 30, 2006 at the Headliners Club in Austin, Texas. The document reports that TDNA expects to receive $405,405 in member dues for 2006, $389,925 from newspapers and $15,480 from associate members. Details of the dues are included in the document.

A legislative report for the Texas Daily Newspaper Association board of directors meeting to be held on November 30, 2006. The report states that nothing happened to hurt the newspaper industry's position heading into the 80th Legislature in 2007.

An introduction to the 2007 budget draft for the Texas Daily Newspaper Association board of directors meeting to be held on November 30, 2006 at the Headliners Club in Austin, Texas. The report states that TDNA's surplus fund balance will exceed $100,000 and could reach $150,000 by the end of 2007, and the remaining document details the expected income and expenses for the association.

The Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (DOE/EM) plans to conduct the Plutonium Disposition Project at the Savannah River Site (SRS) to disposition excess weapons-usable plutonium. A plutonium glass waste form is the preferred option for immobilization of the plutonium for subsequent disposition in a geologic repository. A reference glass composition (Lanthanide Borosilicate (LaBS) Frit B) was developed during the Plutonium Immobilization Program (PIP) to immobilize plutonium in the late 1990's. A limited amount of performance testing was performed on this baseline composition before efforts to further pursue Pu disposition via a glass waste form ceased. Recent FY05 studies have further investigated the LaBS Frit B formulation as well as development of a newer LaBS formulation denoted as LaBS Frit X. The objectives of this present task were to fabricate plutonium loaded LaBS Frit X glass and perform corrosion testing to provide near-term data that will increase confidence that LaBS glass product is suitable for disposal in the Yucca Mountain Repository. Specifically, testing was conducted in an effort to provide data to Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) personnel for use in performance assessment calculations. Plutonium containing LaBS glass with the Frit X composition with a 9.5 wt% PuO{sub 2} loading …

This report describes the development of a computational systems biology approach to evaluate the hypotheses of molecular and cellular mechanisms of adaptive response to low dose ionizing radiation. Our concept is that computational models of signaling pathways can be developed and linked to biologically based dose response models to evaluate the underlying molecular mechanisms which lead to adaptive response. For development of quantitatively accurate, predictive models, it will be necessary to describe tissues consisting of multiple cell types where the different types each contribute in their own way to the overall function of the tissue. Such a model will probably need to incorporate not only cell type-specific data but also spatial information on the architecture of the tissue and on intercellular signaling. The scope of the current model was more limited. Data obtained in a number of different biological systems were synthesized to describe a chimeric, “average” population cell. Biochemical signaling pathways involved in sensing of DNA damage and in the activation of cell cycle checkpoint controls and the apoptotic path were also included. As with any computational modeling effort, it was necessary to develop these simplified initial descriptions (models) that can be iteratively refined. This preliminary model is a …

This research project employed a combination of laboratory, field and modeling activities to explore the fate of reactive species in the atmosphere. Our work focused particularly on the behavior of hydroperoxides and their precursors, hydroperoxy radicals. Initially, we pursed the study of these species to elucidate the role they play in the formation of photochemical smog. In recent years, we have extended our studies to the role of these oxidants in forming aerosol particles, due the potential of the latter to influence climate by changing the radiative properties of the atmosphere.

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This report discusses history, selection criteria, and revenue potential regarding Commemorative Postage Stamps.

The earned income tax credit, established in the tax code in 1975, provides cash assistance to lower-income working parents and individuals through the tax system. In the tax year 2004, total earned income tax credit was $40.7 billion, with 22.4 million tax returns claiming the earned income tax credits. The report contains information on the earned income tax credit, the percentage of tax returns claiming the tax credit, the average amount of the tax credit, and related information by state.

Sometime in 1987 Billy Hudson, a long-time LLNL Containment Scientist and the Task Leader for Containment Diagnostics, put together a presentation entitled ''Turning Points in Containment''. This presentation identifies challenges, lessons learned, and changes made in containment practice over a 20-year period, from 1967-1987. Besides providing a significant historical summary, the presentation is valuable as we maintain a position of readiness 14 years after the last underground nuclear detonation. It is particularly valuable to personnel who are new to the program and have no first-hand experience in implementing underground nuclear test containment for actual tests. We now view this material as a unique containment summary with timeless importance. We envision this report to be particularly useful to new Containment Program members and anyone interested in the history of underground nuclear test containment practices. We believe that the Barnwell test, detonated in 1989, would have been added to this summary if Billy Hudson had the opportunity to update the presentation. We have chosen to add a few slides to the end of the original presentation to describe the issues and lessons learned from Barnwell.

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