Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Since 1998, the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) E-rate program has committed more than $13 billion to help schools and libraries acquire Internet and telecommunications services. As steward of the program, FCC must ensure that participants use E-rate funds appropriately and that there is managerial and financial accountability surrounding the funds. This testimony is based on GAO's February 2005 report GAO-05-151, which reviewed (1) the effect of the current structure of the E-rate program on FCC's management of the program, including the applicability of the Antideficiency Act, (2) FCC's development and use of E-rate performance goals and measures, and (3) the effectiveness of FCC's program oversight mechanisms."

This paper examines several multi-model combination techniques: the Simple Multi-model Average (SMA), the Multi-Model Super Ensemble (MMSE), Modified Multi-Model Super Ensemble (M3SE) and the Weighted Average Method (WAM). These model combination techniques were evaluated using the results from the Distributed Model Intercomparison Project (DMIP), an international project sponsored by the National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Hydrologic Development (OHD). All of the multi-model combination results were obtained using uncalibrated DMIP model outputs and were compared against the best uncalibrated as well as the best calibrated individual model results. The purpose of this study is to understand how different combination techniques affect the skill levels of the multi-model predictions. This study revealed that the multi-model predictions obtained from uncalibrated single model predictions are generally better than any single member model predictions, even the best calibrated single model predictions. Furthermore, more sophisticated multi-model combination techniques that incorporated bias correction steps work better than simple multi-model average predictions or multi-model predictions without bias correction.

We review the transition melting studies carried out at Mainz, and describe a recently developed model used to explain that the relatively low melting slopes are due to the partially filled d-bands, and the persistence of the pressure induced s-d transition. The basic tenets of the model have now been reconfirmed by new measurements for Cu and Ni. The measurements show that Cu which has a filled 3d-band, has a melt slope that is about 2.5 greater than its neighbor Ni. In the case of Mo, the apparent discrepancy of DAC melting measurements with shock melting can be explained by accounting for the change in melt slope due to the bcc-cp transition observed in the shock studies. The Fe melt curve is revisited. The possible relevance of the Jahn-Teller effect and recently observed transition metal melts with Icosahedral Short-Range Order (ISRO) is discussed.

Melting curves of Cu and Ni were measured to 97 GPa (3800 K) and 60 GPa (2970 K), respectively, in the laser-heated diamond cell. The measured melting temperatures of Cu are in good agreement with recent theoretical calculations. The melting slope (dT/dP) of Cu, which has a filled d-electron band, is about 2.5 times steeper than for Ni, which with one less electron, has a partially unfilled d-electron band. The relatively low melting slope obtained for Ni, measured using identical experimental methods as for Cu, is consistent with our previous measurements for other transition metals with partially filled d-bands, which are in serious disagreement with theoretical estimates. The present results confirm the key role d-shell electrons play in determining the high pressure melting curves.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate commemorating the dedication of the Camp Fannin Association WWII Memorial on the campus of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate honoring all who have served in the U.S. Marine Corps since September 11, 2001, and especially the members of Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 234.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate recognizing March 23, 2005, as Marshall Day at the State Capitol.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate honoring the Ennis High School Lions football team for winning the 2004 Class 4A Division I state championship.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate in memory of Dorothy Turner Scharbauer of Midland.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate in memory of Colleen Tough of The Woodlands.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate in memory of His Holiness Pope John Paul II.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate honoring the medical students, medical schools, residents, and teaching hospitals of Texas for their contributions to the health and well-being of the citizens of Texas and welcoming the medical personnel visiting the State Capitol on April 5, 2005.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate commending Renato Ramirez for his beneficence in behalf of Texas A&M International University.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate in memory of Dr. Carlos Ramon Saca of Edinburg.

Concurrent resolution introduced by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate honoring the 56th Brigade Combat Team of the 36th Infantry Division, Texas National Guard, for its courageous service in Iraq.

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The U.S. Department of Energy's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) construction project was completed at BNL in 1999, with the first data-taking runs in the summer of 2000. Since then the early measurements at RHIC have yielded a wealth of data, from four independent detectors, each with its international collaboration of scientists: BRAHMS, PHENIX, PHOBOS, and STAR [1]. For the first time, collisions of heavy nuclei have been carried out at colliding-beam energies that have previously been accessible only for high-energy physics experiments with collisions of ''elementary'' particles such as protons and electrons. It is at these high energies that the predictions of quantum chromodynamics (QCD), the fundamental theory that describes the role of quarks and gluons in nuclear matter, come into play, and new phenomena are sought that may illuminate our view of the basic structure of matter on the sub-atomic scale, with important implications for the origins of matter on the cosmic scale. The RHIC experiments have recorded data from collisions of gold nuclei at the highest energies ever achieved in man-made particle accelerators. These collisions, of which hundreds of millions have now been examined, result in final states of unprecedented complexity, with thousands of produced particles radiating …

There is potential for earthquakes in the United Arab Emirates and in the Zagros mountains to cause structural damage and pose a threat to safety of people. Damaging effects from earthquakes can be mitigated by knowledge of the location and size of earthquakes, effects on construction, and monitoring these effects over time. Although a general idea of seismicity in the UAE may be determined with data from global seismic networks, these global networks do not have the sensitivity to record smaller seismic events and do not have the necessary accuracy to locate the events. A National Seismic Monitoring Observatory is needed for the UAE that consists of a modern seismic network and a multidisciplinary staff that can analyze and interpret the data from the network. A seismic network is essential to locate earthquakes, determine event magnitudes, identify active faults and measure ground motions from earthquakes. Such a network can provide the data necessary for a reliable seismic hazard assessment in the UAE. The National Seismic Monitoring Observatory would ideally be situated at a university that would provide access to the wide range of disciplines needed in operating the network and providing expertise in analysis and interpretation.

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The last underground nuclear tests were conducted by India and Pakistan in May 1998. Although the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty has not entered force, an International Monitoring System (IMS), established by the treaty is nearing completion. This system includes 170 seismic stations, a number of them originally established by IRIS. The station IRIS station NIL (Nilore, Pakistan) is close to a planned IMS primary station and recorded some very interesting seismograms from the May 18, 1998 Indian test. We carefully calibrated the path to NIL using a prior Mw 4.4 that occurred on April 4, 1995 about 110 km north of the Indian test site. We used joint epicentral location techniques along with teleseismic P waves and regional surface waves to fix the epicenter, depth, mechanism and moment of this event. From these we obtained a velocity model for the path to NIL and created explosion synthetic seismograms to compare with the data. Interestingly the observed Rayleigh waves are reversed, consistent with an implosion rather than an explosion source. The preferred explanation is that the explosion released tectonic stress near the source region, which can be modeled as a thrust earthquake of approximate Mw 4.0 plus a pure explosion. This …

The intent of this chapter is to provide the basics of using x-ray diffraction techniques in order to obtain information on the structure and morphology of the nanosystems, and also to point out some of its strengths and weaknesses when compare to other characterization techniques. X-ray scattering examines over a wide range of density domains from a tenth to a thousandth angstrom. Essentially, this covers a whole range of condensed matter, including the structure and morphology of nanosystems, particularly useful for examining nanostructures in lifescience. This range of domain size requires both the wide-angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) and small-angle (SAXS) x-ray scattering techniques. Roughly WAXS covers from 2 nm down, and SAXS covers from .5 nm to 100 nm and possibly 1,000 nm for a finely tuned instrument. Brief theoretical description of both WAXS and SAXS will be given in this chapter. WAXS, by itself is a powerful technique in providing information on the crystallographic structure or lack of structure, atomic positions and sizes in a unit cell, to some extend, chemical compositions and as well as chemical stoichiometry. Examples of such experiments will also be given. In order to be able to describe the technique of x-ray scattering, some …

Trabecular bone structure and bone density contribute to the strength of bone and are important in the study of osteoporosis. Wavelets are a powerful tool to characterize and quantify texture in an image. In this study the thickness of trabecular bone was analyzed in 8 cylindrical cores of the vertebral spine. Images were obtained from 3 Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and micro-computed tomography ({micro}CT). Results from the wavelet based analysis of trabecular bone were compared with standard two-dimensional structural parameters (analogous to bone histomorphometry) obtained using mean intercept length (MR images) and direct 3D distance transformation methods ({micro}CT images). Additionally, the bone volume fraction was determined from MR images. We conclude that the wavelet based analyses delivers comparable results to the established MR histomorphometric measurements. The average deviation in trabecular thickness was less than one pixel size between the wavelet and the standard approach for both MR and {micro}CT analysis. Since the wavelet based method is less sensitive to image noise, we see an advantage of wavelet analysis of trabecular bone for MR imaging when going to higher resolution.

Our DOE project is one of the efforts comprising the Vertical Transport and Mixing Program of the Environmental Sciences Division of the Office of Biological and Environmental Research in Department of Energy. We used ARPS to simulate flow in the Salt Lake Valley. We simulated the physical processes more accurately so that we can better understand the physics of flow in complex terrain and its effects at larger scales. The simulations provided evidence that atmospheric forcing interacts with the Jordan Narrows, the Traverse Range and other complex mountain terrain at the south end of the Salt Lake Valley to produce lee rotors, hydraulic jumps and other effects. While we have successfully used ARPS to simulate VTMX 2000 flows, we have also used observed data to test the model and identify some of its weaknesses. Those are being addressed in a continuation project supported by DOE.