Impurities in the Tandem Mirror Experiment (TMX) have been studied using extreme ultraviolet spectroscopy. Three time-resolving absolutely-calibrated normal-incidence monochromators, one on each section of TMX, were used to study the impurity emissions in the wavelength range of 300 A to 1600 A. The instruments on the east end cell and central cell were each capable of obtaining spatially-resolved profiles from 22 chords of the plasma simultaneously while the instrument on the west end cell monitored the central chord. The impurities identified in TMX were carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and titanium. Emphasis was placed upon determining the impurity densities and radiated power losses of the central cell; results indicate that the impurity concentrations were low - less than 0.4% for each species - and that less than 10% of the total net trapped neutral beam power was lost to radiation. The use of titanium gettering on the central cell walls was observed to decrease the brightnesses of singly- and doubly-ionized carbon and oxygen in the central cell plasma. In the end cells, oxygen was the main impurity with a concentration of about 1.5% and was injected by the neutral beams; the other impurities had concentrations of about 0.5%. Radiation losses from the …

A numerical model designed for the study of mesoscale weather phenomena is presented. It is a three-dimensional, time-dependent model based upon a mesoscale primitive-equation system, and it includes parameterizations of cloud and precipitation processes, boundary-layer transfers, and ground surface energy and moisture budgets. This model was used to simulate the lake-effect convergence over and in the lee of Lake Michigan in late fall and early winter. The lake-effect convergence is created in advected cold air as it moves first from cold land to the warm constant-temperature lake surface, and then on to cold land. A numerical experiment with a prevailing northwesterly wind is conducted for a period of twelve hours. Two local maxima of the total precipitation are observed along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The results in this hypothetical case correspond quite well to the observed precipitation produced by a real event in which the hypothetical conditions are approximately fulfilled.

This final technical report covers the work performed between September 1, 1980 and November 30, 1981 relating to Chem Systems' Liquid Phase Methanation/Shift Process. A total of 44 runs were completed covering testing of five commercially available catalysts at 900/sup 0/F, 1000 psig and 10,000 h/sup -1/ VHSV. The shifted methanation feed gas consisted of 63% H/sub 2/, 19% CO, 2% CO/sub 2/ and 16% CH/sub 4/. To determine the effects of steam, twenty of the scans had 15% steam injected into the feed gas. Each test ran for 100, 300, 600 or 1200 hours with continuous effluent sampling and temperature profile monitoring. At each of the termination points, a catalyst sample was taken from the hot spot section of the bed for analysis. Carbon was deposited on the catalyst under the methanation conditions studied. The rate of carbon deposition was primarily a function of catalyst properties and not of the thermodynamics of the methanation reaction system. In spite of heavy carbon deposition, the catalytic behavior for these systems generally remains unaffected. Physical plugging of the catalyst bed is the limiting condition of the process and not catalyst deactivation. In this respect, a controlled oxidation of the carbon deposits is …

CALOR89 is a system of coupled Monte Carlo particle transport computer codes which has been successfully employed for the estimation of calorimeter parameters in High Energy Physics. In the past CALOR89 has been running on various IBM machines and on CRAY X-MP at Lawrence Livermore Lab. These machines had non-unix operating systems. In this report we present a UNIX version of CALOR89, which is especially suited for the UNIX work stations. Moreover CALOR89 is also been supplemented with two new program packages which makes it more user friendly. CALPREP is a program for the preparation of the input files for CALOR89 in general geometry and ANALYZ is an analysis package to extract the final results from CALOR89 relevant to calorimeters. This report also provides two script files LCALOR and PCALOR. LCALOR runs CALOR89 sequences of programs and EGS4 for a given configuration sequentially on a single processor and PCALOR concurrently on a multiprocessor unix workstation.

The criteria established to guide the development of the preliminary designs are listed. Three preliminary designs incorporating direct gain and/or sunspace are presented. Costs, drawings, and supporting calculations are included. (MHR)

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Abusive tax avoidance transactions (ATAT) range from frivolous tax schemes to highly technical and abusive tax shelters marketed to taxpayers by promoters selling tax advice. ATATs threaten the U.S. tax system's integrity if honest taxpayers believe that others do not pay their fair share of taxes. GAO was asked to (1) describe what is known about trends in ATAT usage; (2) describe results of IRS's ATAT enforcement efforts; and (3) evaluate IRS's implementation of the ATAT provisions in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. Using criteria from the act, GAO analyzed statistics and other documents on trends and results and interviewed IRS and other tax experts."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "To reduce the number of crashes involving commercial motor carriers, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) within the Department of Transportation orders unsafe carriers out of service. To help keep these carriers off the road, FMCSA's voluntary Performance and Registration Information Systems Management (PRISM) grant program, a small program funded at $5 million per year, helps states establish information systems connections between state vehicle registration and FMCSA's safety databases. These connections provide states with up-to-date information on carriers' safety status when carriers try to register or renew registrations with the state. For states to deny, suspend, or revoke registrations to out-of service carriers, states must pass legislation enabling them to do so. As directed by a congressional committee, GAO examined (1) PRISM's effectiveness and (2) the potential to fully implement the program nationally. GAO reviewed FMCSA data and discussed PRISM with a wide variety of federal, state, industry, and safety stakeholders"

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) the implementation status of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) provisions in the group insurance market; (2) the price of coverage for certain individuals losing group insurance; (3) the extent of consumer understanding of HIPAA as well as federal, state, and private efforts undertaken to educate consumers about the law's protections; and (4) federal efforts undertaken to ensure HIPAA compliance."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Unscheduled ship maintenance, known as voyage repairs, is a high priority for the U.S. Navy. Such repairs are sometimes beyond the capability of the ship's crew to perform; cannot be deferred; and must be made at a remote location. After the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended closing the former Naval Ship Repair Facility, Guam, the Navy leased the property at that facility to the Guam Economic Development and Commerce Authority, which sub-leased the property to a private shipyard. DOD has since begun planning for a military buildup on Guam. In January 2007 the Navy recommended allowing the private shipyard's lease on Navy land to expire in 2012. Consequently, the House Armed Services Committee asked GAO to determine the extent to which the Navy has (1) identified future ship repair requirements at Guam, and (2) identified and assessed options to address those requirements. GAO reviewed documents related to ship maintenance and interviewed officials affiliated with private contractors, the Guam government, the Marine Corps, Military Sealift Command, and the Navy in conducting this review."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has faced challenges for many years in managing its grants, which constitute over one-half of the agency's budget, or about $4 billion annually. EPA awards grants through 93 programs to such recipients as state and local governments, tribes, universities, and nonprofit organizations. In response to concerns about its ability to manage grants effectively, EPA issued its 5-year Grants Management Plan in 2003, with performance measures and targets. GAO was asked to assess EPA's progress in implementing its grant reforms in four key areas: (1) awarding grants, (2) monitoring grantees, (3) obtaining results from grants, and (4) managing grant staff and resources. To conduct this work, GAO, among other things, examined the implementation of the reforms at the regional level for two Clean Water Act programs in 3 of EPA's 10 regional offices."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "For more than 50 years, the United States--which accounts for about half of global food aid supplies--has played an important role in alleviating malnutrition and hunger, especially during emergencies. In fiscal year 2010, the United States spent about $1.5 billion on emergency food aid that reached about 46.5 million beneficiaries. To preserve the nutritional value of food aid, quality controls are in place throughout the supply chain. GAO was asked to assess U.S. efforts to (1) meet the nutritional needs of intended recipients and (2) maintain the quality of commodities throughout the food aid supply chain. GAO analyzed program data, interviewed agency officials and their implementing partners, and conducted fieldwork in the United States and four countries in Africa.."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The United States ranks 15th among the 30 democratic nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on one measure of broadband (i.e., high-speed Internet) subscribership. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has regulatory authority over broadband, and several federal programs fund broadband deployment. This congressionally requested report discusses (1) the federal broadband deployment policy, principal federal programs, and stakeholders' views of those programs; (2) how the policies of OECD nations with higher subscribership rates compare with U.S. policy; and (3) actions the states have taken to encourage broadband deployment. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed the broadband policies of the United States and other OECD nations, reviewed federal program documentation and budgetary information, and interviewed federal and state officials and industry stakeholders."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) was enacted to address concerns about federal statutes and rules that require state, local, and tribal governments or the private sector to expend resources to achieve legislative goals. UMRA generates information about the nature and size of potential federal mandates to assist Congress and agency decision makers in their consideration of proposed legislation and rules. However, concerns about actual or perceived federal mandates continue. To provide information and analysis regarding UMRA's implementation, GAO was asked to (1) describe the applicable procedures, definitions, and exclusions under UMRA for identifying federal mandates in statutes and rules, (2) identify statutes and final rules that contained federal mandates under UMRA, and (3) provide examples of statutes and final rules that were not identified as federal mandates, but that affected parties might perceive as "unfunded mandates," and the reasons these statutes and rules were not federal mandates under UMRA. GAO focused on statutes enacted and final rules issued in 2001 and 2002 to address the second and third objectives."

A briefing report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Senior Executive Service's (SES) retirement trends, focusing on: (1) trends for the SES' workforce governmentwide and for selected agencies and occupational series through fiscal year (FY) 2005 and how they compared with the trends over the 7-year period ending FY 1998; and (2) the implications of SES retirement trends for SES succession planning."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted Regulation SHO to, among other things, curb the potential for manipulative naked short selling in equity securities. Selling a security short without borrowing the securities needed to settle the trade within the standard 3-day period, can result in failures to deliver (FTD), and can be used to manipulate (drive down) the price of a security. To further address this concern, SEC recently issued an order amending Regulation SHO. This report (1) provides an overview of Regulation SHO and related SEC actions, (2) discusses regulators' and market participants' views on the effectiveness of the rule, and (3) analyzes regulators' efforts to enforce the rule. To address these objectives, GAO reviewed SEC rules and draft industry guidance, analyzed FTD data, reviewed SEC and self-regulatory organization (SRO) examinations, and interviewed SEC and SRO officials and market participants."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In 1995, GAO designated Department of Defense (DOD) business systems modernization as a high-risk program, and the program remains on the high-risk list today. A key to successful systems modernization is having and using an enterprise architecture as an authoritative frame of reference, or blueprint, for system investment decisions. To assist DOD in modernizing its business systems, Congress passed legislation consistent with prior GAO recommendations for DOD to develop and implement a business enterprise architecture (BEA). In response, DOD developed a corporate BEA that it intends to federate, or extend, to the military departments and defense agencies. To support GAO's legislative mandate to review DOD's BEA, GAO evaluated the status of the Air Force, Navy, and Army architecture programs. To accomplish this, GAO used its Enterprise Architecture Management Maturity Framework and associated evaluation method."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Department of Defense (DOD) installations have about 2,600 electric, water, wastewater, and natural gas utility systems valued at about $50 billion. In 1997, DOD decided that utility privatization was the preferred method for improving utility systems and services and the Congress approved legislative authority for privatizing utility systems at military installations with Public Law No. 105-85. Because of the costs and long-term implications of DOD's utility privatization program, GAO reviewed the program to determine (1) the program's status, (2) whether the services' estimates of long-term savings from utility privatization projects are reliable, (3) how DOD implements the fair market value requirement for conveyed utility systems, and (4) whether other issues impact the effectiveness of DOD's execution of the program."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Air Force's selection of a source of repair for depot maintenance work at the closing Sacramento Air Logistics Center (ALC), focusing on whether the: (1) Air Force's procedures for conducting the Sacramento competition provided substantially equal opportunity for the public and private offerors to compete for the work without regard to performance location; (2) procedures for conducting the competition were in compliance with 10 U.S.C. 2469a and other applicable laws and regulations; (3) appropriate consideration was given to factors other than cost; and (4) award resulted in the lowest total cost to the Department of Defense (DOD) for performance of the work."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) management and marketing contracts of single-family housing, focusing on HUD's: (1) experience with the contractors who manage and market these properties; and (2) progress in reducing its single-family property inventory."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Customs Service's efforts to curtail the exportation of stolen vehicles from the United States, focusing on: (1) applicable regulations for exporting used, self-propelled vehicles from the United States; (2) Customs policies and procedures for controlling the export of these vehicles; (3) methods used to illegally export these vehicles; and (4) improvements in operations being considered by Customs."

A letter report issued by the General Accounting Office with an abstract that begins "Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund program administrative reforms, focusing on the: (1) reforms' demonstrated results and the performance measures EPA uses to gauge these results; and (2) legislative changes to the program that either EPA or key stakeholders--including, among others, officials representing parties responsible for cleanups, environmental groups, and states--believe are still necessary."

A general study of the application of static VAR compensators (SVC's) to high-voltage transmission systems has been performed. Considerable emphasis has been placed on improvements to synchronous stability, and it is shown that SVC's can provide significant benefits in terms of damping for unstable modes of oscillation and increases in transient stability limits. This report includes descriptions of static VAR compensators, technical and economic comparisons of different compensators, compensator models for system studies, comprehensive study procedures, study results for two small-scale systems, and guidelines for SVC application.

This report provides a summary update of selected issues related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

This report discusses airport privatization, particularly the low participation in the Airport Privatization Pilot Program (APPP) and the policy changes that would be required to encourage more airports to privatize. It provides background on privatization in general, the APPP and reasons why it has not stimulated privatization, privatization in Europe and Canada, and related issues and options.