The Review's executive summary states that "the Review first examines the evidence on the economic impacts of climate change itself, and explores the economics of stabilizing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The second half of the Review considers the complex policy challenges involved in managing the transition to a low-carbon economy and in ensuring that societies can adapt to the consequences of climate change that can no longer be avoided". The report's main conclusion is that the benefits of strong, early action on climate change considerably outweigh the costs.

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Appropriate construction of Local Government Code chapter 373A authorizing a city to establish homestead preservation districts and reinvestment zones (RQ-0471-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Gillespie county attorney's authority to use money in the hot check fund to sponsor a children's book (RQ-0473-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services may contract with a governmental entity to provide substitute care and case management services (RQ-0475-GA)

Document issued by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas in Austin, Texas, providing an interpretation of Texas law. It provides the opinion of the Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, regarding a legal question submitted for clarification; Whether the Open Meetings Act requires specific notice of a non-binding vote on a "personal endorsement" motion (RQ-0477-GA)

Newspaper from Panola College in Carthage, Texas that includes news of interest to the college community along with advertising.

This report records the border security along the barriers of the U.S. International borders.

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This report provides a reverse chronology of recent events involving India and India-U.S. relations.

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This report examines the process and problems associated with demilitarizing significant military equipment in the United States.

n this project, BPI demonstrated a new ethanol fermentation technology, termed the High Speed/ Low Effluent (HS/LE) process on both lab and large pilot scale as it would apply to wet mill and/or dry mill corn ethanol production. The HS/LE process allows very rapid fermentations, with 18 to 22% sugar syrups converted to 9 to 11% ethanol ‘beers’ in 6 to 12 hours using either a ‘consecutive batch’ or ‘continuous cascade’ implementation. This represents a 5 to 8X increase in fermentation speeds over conventional 72 hour batch fermentations which are the norm in the fuel ethanol industry today. The ‘consecutive batch’ technology was demonstrated on a large pilot scale (4,800 L) in a dry mill corn ethanol plant near Cedar Rapids, IA (Xethanol Biofuels). The pilot demonstrated that 12 hour fermentations can be accomplished on an industrial scale in a non-sterile industrial environment. Other objectives met in this project included development of a Low Energy (LE) Distillation process which reduces the energy requirements for distillation from about 14,000 BTU/gal steam ($0.126/gal with natural gas @ $9.00 MCF) to as low as 0.40 KW/gal electrical requirements ($0.022/gal with electricity @ $0.055/KWH). BPI also worked on the development of processes that would …

This project achieved its goal of implementing a nationwide training program to introduce high school biology teachers to the key uses and societal implications of human DNA polymorphisms. The 2.5-day workshop introduced high school biology faculty to a laboratory-based unit on human DNA polymorphisms – which provides a uniquely personal perspective on the science and Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) of the Human Genome Project. As proposed, 12 workshops were conducted at venues across the United States. The workshops were attended by 256 high school faculty, exceeding proposed attendance of 240 by 7%. Each workshop mixed theoretical, laboratory, and computer work with practical and ethical implications. Program participants learned simplified lab techniques for amplifying three types of chromosomal polymorphisms: an Alu insertion (PV92), a VNTR (pMCT118/D1S80), and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the mitochondrial control region. These polymorphisms illustrate the use of DNA variations in disease diagnosis, forensic biology, and identity testing - and provide a starting point for discussing the uses and potential abuses of genetic technology. Participants also learned how to use their Alu and mitochondrial data as an entrée to human population genetics and evolution. Our work to simplify lab techniques for amplifying human DNA polymorphisms …

This month's issue has the following articles: (1) Livermore's Biosecurity Research Directly Benefits Public Health--Commentary by Raymond J. Juzaitis; (2) Diagnosing Flu Fast--Livermore's FluIDx device can diagnose flu and four other respiratory viruses in just two hours; (3) An Action Plan to Reopen a Contaminated Airport--New planning tools and faster sample analysis methods will hasten restoration of a major airport to full use following a bioterrorist attack; (4) Early Detection of Bone Disease--A Livermore technique detects small changes in skeletal calcium balance that may signal bone disease; and (5) Taking a Gander with Gamma Rays--Gamma rays may be the next source for looking deep inside the atom.

The Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability is an important factor in bounding the performance envelope of ignition targets. This paper describes an experiment for ablative RT instability that for the first time achieves growth factors close to those expected to occur in ignition targets at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The large growth allows small seed perturbations to be detected and can be used to place an upper bound on perturbation growth at the ablation front resulting from microstructure in the preferred Be ablator. The experiments were performed on the Omega laser using a halfraum 1.2 mm long by 2 mm diameter with a 75% laser entrance hole. The halfraum was filled with {approx} 1 atm of neopentane to delay gold plasma from closing the diagnostic line of sight down the axis of the halfraum. The ablator was mounted at the base of the halfraum, and was accelerated by a two stepped X-ray pulse consisting of an early time section {approx} 100 eV to emulate the NIF foot followed by an approximately constant {approx} 150 eV drive sustained over an additional 5-7ns. It is this long pulse duration and late time observation that distinguishes the present work from previous experiments, and is …

We study J/{psi} production at RHIC and LHC energies with both initial production and regeneration. We solve the coupled set of transport equation for the J/{psi} distribution in phase space and the hydrodynamic equation for evolution of quark-gluon plasma. At RHIC, continuous regeneration is crucial for the J/{psi} momentum distribution while the elliptic flow is still dominated by initial production. At LHC energy, almost all the initially created J/{psi}s are dissociated in the medium and regeneration dominates the J/{psi} properties.

The overall goal of this project was to develop simple and inexpensive tests to screen for the presence of early stage cancer in the residents of Nevada with a particular emphasis on the membership of the Hotel Employee Restaurant Employee International Union (HEREIU) in Las Vegas. Our specific goals were: 1) to develop a clinical database of individuals with cancer and to create a biological specimen Collection and Storage Systems (the NVCI bio-bank); 2) to initiate screening of individuals for proteomic markers indicating susceptibility to or the presence of specific cancers, e.g. breast, ovarian, prostate and bladder. In addition, we proposed the implementation of novel digital imaging technologies to detect melanoma; 3) to genotype blood samples from individuals who consent to participate in IRB approved research studies using a high throughput single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) method based on optical thin-film biosensor chip technology; and 4) to conduct biostatistical analysis of clinical, demographic, genetic, proteomic and digital imaging data to stratify the population cohort into relative risk groups for cancers that are prevalent in Nevada.

Compact maintenance free mechanical cooling systems are being developed to operate large volume high-resolution gamma-ray detectors for field applications. To accomplish this we are utilizing a newly available generation of Stirling-cycle mechanical coolers to operate the very largest volume germanium detectors with no maintenance. The user will be able to leave these systems unplugged on the shelf until needed. The maintenance-free operating lifetime of these detector systems will exceed 5 years. Three important factors affect the operation of mechanically cooled germanium detectors: temperature, vacuum, and vibration. These factors will be studied in the laboratory at the most fundamental levels to insure a solid understanding of the physical limitations each factor places on a practical mechanically cooled germanium detector system. Using this knowledge, mechanically cooled germanium detector prototype systems will be designed and fabricated.

Although microbial metal reduction has been investigated intensively from physiological and biochemical perspectives, little is known about the genetic basis and regulatory mechanisms underlying the ability of certain bacteria to transform, detoxify, or immobilize a wide array of heavy metals contaminating DOE-relevant environments. The major goal of this work is to elucidate the molecular components comprising the chromium(VI) response pathway, with an emphasis on components involved in Cr(VI) detoxification and the enzyme complex catalyzing the terminal step in Cr(VI) reduction by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. We have identified and characterized (in the case of DNA-binding response regulator [SO2426] and a putative azoreductase [SO3585]) the genes and gene products involved in the molecular response of MR-1 to chromium(VI) stress using whole-genome sequence information for MR-1 and recently developed proteomic technology, in particular liquid chromatographymass spectrometry (LC-MS), in conjunction with conventional protein purification and characterization techniques. The proteome datasets were integrated with information from whole-genome expression arrays for S. oneidensis MR-1 (as illustrated in Figure 1). The genes and their encoded products identified in this study are of value in understanding metal reduction and bacterial resistance to metal toxicity and in developing effective metal immobilization strategies.

The subject of this contract was to investigate the viability of a new process for dewatering paper called displacement pressing. The term “displacement pressing” was coined in the 1980s by researchers to describe a paper dewatering process where air is blown through a sheet of paper while it is being pressed. It was shown at that time that the combination of air and low pressing force could dramatically increase both sheet bulk and sheet solids which in theory would translate into huge savings in energy and fiber consumption. But there was a catch. Although the research results were dramatic, no one could figure out a commercially viable process to carry out displacement pressing. All research work had been done with batch processes, and there was no obvious way to convert these processes into a continuous process. By the end of the early1990’s no one was researching in this area because no continuous process existed. Recently we proposed a new method to carry out displacement pressing. Our process uses special pressing fabrics and a special 4 roll press that we call a “Beck Cluster Press” or BCP. The BCP provides a pressurized atmosphere that acts on a moving web of paper …

In order to utilize hard x-ray free electron lasers (XFEL's) when they are extended to attosecond pulse lengths, it is necessary to choose optical elements with minimal response time. Specular grazing incidence optics made of low-Z materials are popular candidates for reflectors since they are likely to withstand x-ray damage and provide sufficiently large reflectivities. Using linear-optics reflection theory, we calculated the transient reflectivity of a delta-function electric pulse from a homogeneous semi-infinite medium as a function of angle of incidence for s- and p-polarized light. We specifically considered the pulse response of Be, diamond, silicon carbide, and silicon, all of which are of relevance to the XFEL's that are currently being built. We found that the media emit energy in a damped oscillatory way, and that the impulse-response times are shorter than 0.3 fs for normal incidence. For grazing incidence, the impulse-response time is substantially shorter, making grazing-incidence mirrors a good choice for deep-sub-femtosecond reflective optics.

The ultimate goal of this program is to identify the power block cycle conditions and/or configurations which could increase the overall thermal efficiency of the Baseline IGCC by about 8% on a relative basis (i.e., 8% on a heat rate basis). This document presents the cycle conditions and/or the configurations for evaluation in an initial screening analysis. These cycle conditions and/or configurations for investigation in the screening analysis are identified by literature searches and brain storming sessions. The screening analysis in turn narrows down the number of promising cases for detailed analysis.

Minority carrier lifetime was measured by time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) method in sets of p-type and n-type InGaAs double heterostructures (DH) moderately doped with Zn and Te, respectively. Contributions of the radiative and non-radiative recombination terms were separated by fitting experimental data to temperature dependences of the radiative term. The latter was modeled with measured fundamental absorption spectrum and the temperature dependence of the photon recycling effect was taken into account. Different temperature dependences of radiative terms for electron and hole materials were obtained. It was concluded that in 0.6 eV Te-doped InGaAs structures the radiative recombination controls the hole lifetime at liquid nitrogen temperatures, while Auger recombination dominates at room and above room temperatures. In similar 0.6 eV InGaAs with Zn-doped active regions Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination was found dominant in a wide temperature range from liquid nitrogen to above-room temperatures. Rapid decrease of electron lifetime with decrease of excess carrier concentration was observed and attributed to recombination through partially-ionized deep donor centers. The obtained data allows for more adequate modeling of the performance and design optimization of narrow-gap photonic devices based on InGaAs Indium-rich compounds.

The objective of this three-year research program is to study the development of turbulence in Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) and Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) instabilities. Incompressible RT and RM instabilities are studied in an apparatus in which a box containing two unequal density liquids is accelerated on a linear rail system either impulsively (by bouncing it off of a spring) to produce RM instability, or at a constant downward rate (using a weight and pulley system) to produce RT instability. These experiments are distinguished from others in the field in that they are initialized with well defined, measurable initial perturbations and are well visualized utilizing planar laser induced fluorescence imaging. New experiments are proposed aimed at generating fully turbulent RM and RT instabilities and quantifying the turbulent development once fully turbulent flows are achieved. The proposed experiments focus on the development and the subsequent application of techniques to accelerate the production of fully turbulent instabilities and the quantification of the turbulent instabilities once they are achieved. The proposed tasks include: the development of RM and RT experiments utilizing fluid combinations having larger density ratios than those previously used; the development of RM experiments with larger acceleration impulse than that previously used; and the investigation …