A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Federal policies establish the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the focal point for the security of cyberspace. As part of its responsibilities, DHS is required to coordinate cyber attack exercises to strengthen public and private incident response capabilities. One major exercise program, called Cyber Storm, is a large-scale simulation of multiple concurrent cyber attacks involving the federal government, states, foreign governments, and private industry. To date, DHS has conducted Cyber Storm exercises in 2006 and 2008. GAO agreed to (1) identify the lessons that DHS learned from the first Cyber Storm exercise, (2) assess DHS's efforts to address the lessons learned from this exercise, and (3) identify key participants' views of their experiences during the second Cyber Storm exercise. To do so, GAO evaluated documentation of corrective activities and interviewed federal, state, and private sector officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), which is operated by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), has experienced security lapses protecting information on its unclassified computer network. The unclassified network contains sensitive information. GAO (1) assessed the effectiveness of the security controls LANL has in place to protect information transmitted over its unclassified computer network, (2) assessed whether LANL had implemented an information security program for its unclassified network, and (3) examined expenditures to protect LANL's unclassified network from fiscal years 2001 through 2007. To carry out its work, GAO examined security policies and procedures and reviewed the laboratory's access controls for protecting information on the unclassified network."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Two thirds of U.S. adults are overweight, and childhood obesity and diabetes are on the rise. To reverse these health problems, experts are urging Americans to eat healthier. Food labels contain information to help consumers who want to make healthy food choices. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees federal labeling rules for 80 percent of foods. GAO was asked to examine (1) FDA's efforts to ensure that domestic and imported foods comply with labeling rules, (2) the challenges FDA faces in these efforts, and (3) the views of key stakeholders on FDA actions needed to mitigate misleading labeling. GAO analyzed FDA data, reports, and requirements on food labeling oversight and compliance and interviewed agency and key stakeholder group officials."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The increase in leveraged buyouts (LBO) of U.S. companies by private equity funds prior to the slowdown in mid-2007 has raised questions about the potential impact of these deals. Some praise LBOs for creating new governance structures for companies and providing longer term investment opportunities for investors. Others criticize LBOs for causing job losses and burdening companies with too much debt. This report addresses the (1) effect of recent private equity LBOs on acquired companies and employment, (2) impact of LBOs jointly undertaken by two or more private equity funds on competition, (3) Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) oversight of private equity funds and their advisers, and (4) regulatory oversight of commercial and investment banks that have financed recent LBOs. GAO reviewed academic research, analyzed recent LBO data, conducted case studies, reviewed regulators' policy documents and examinations, and interviewed regulatory and industry officials, and academics."

Correspondence issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Congress has taken a number of steps to facilitate the deployment of innovative, new commercial wireless services to consumers, including authorizing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assign licenses through auctions and requiring more spectrum to be transferred from federal government use to commercial use. In addition, in 2004, Congress passed the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act (CSEA), which established a Spectrum Relocation Fund (the Fund) to cover the costs incurred by federal entities within certain spectrum bands as they relocate to new frequency assignments or transition to alternative technologies. The Fund is administered by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in consultation with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce. In September 2006, FCC concluded an auction of licenses for Advanced Wireless Services on radio spectrum in the 1710 megahertz (MHz) to 1755 MHz band that is currently used by federal agencies. The auction raised almost $6.9 billion in net winning bids from the sale of these frequencies, which was deposited into the Fund to be available to the federal entities for their eligible relocation expenses. Any auction proceeds remaining in the …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Air carriers remain a front-line defense against acts of terrorism that target the nation's civil aviation system. A key responsibility of air carriers is to check passengers' names against terrorist watch-list records to identify persons who should be prevented from boarding (the No Fly List) or who should undergo additional security scrutiny (the Selectee List). Eventually, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is to assume this responsibility through its Secure Flight program. However, due to program delays, air carriers retain this role. You asked GAO to review domestic air carriers' watch-list-matching processes. GAO examined (1) the watch-list-matching requirements air carriers must follow that have been established by TSA, and (2) the extent to which TSA has assessed air carriers' compliance with these requirements. GAO reviewed TSA's security directives, internal guidance used by TSA's inspectors to assess air carriers' compliance with requirements, and inspection results, as well as interviewed staff from 14 of 95 domestic air carriers (selected to reflect a range in operational sizes). This report is the public version of a restricted report (GAO-08-453SU) issued in July 2008."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Sovereign wealth funds (SWF) are government-controlled funds that seek to invest in other countries. With new funds being created and many growing rapidly, some see these funds providing valuable capital to world markets, but others are concerned that the funds are not transparent and could be used to further national goals and potentially harm the countries where they invest. GAO plans to issue a series of reports on various aspects of SWFs. This first report analyzed (1) the availability of publicly reported data from SWFs and others on their sizes and holdings internationally, and (2) the availability of publicly reported data from the U.S. government and other sources on SWFs' U.S. investments. GAO reviewed foreign government disclosures, Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and Department of Commerce (Commerce) reporting, and private researcher data to identify SWFs and their activities. GAO also analyzed information from international organizations and securities filings. Treasury and Commerce commented that GAO's report provides timely and useful contributions to the SWF debate; SEC noted that U.S. securities requirements apply to all large investors, including SWFs. Future GAO reports will address laws affecting SWF investments, …

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The 2002 Help America Vote Act (HAVA) created the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and assigned both it and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) responsibilities for accrediting laboratories that test voting systems. NIST assesses a laboratory's technical qualifications and makes recommendations to EAC, which makes a final accreditation decision. In view of the continuing concerns about voting systems and the important roles that NIST and EAC play in accrediting the laboratories that test these systems, GAO was asked to determine whether each organization has defined an effective approach for accrediting laboratories that test voting systems and whether each is following its defined approach. To accomplish this, GAO compared NIST and EAC policies, guidelines, and procedures against applicable legislation and guidance, and reviewed both agencies' efforts to implement them."

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Recent military conflicts have increased interest in federal efforts to support servicemembers preparing to leave military service. Through the Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in collaboration with the Department of Defense (DOD), has made efforts to streamline access to veterans' disability benefits by allowing some servicemembers to file a claim and obtain a single comprehensive exam prior to discharge. This report examines VA's efforts to manage the BDD program and how VA and DOD are addressing challenges servicemembers face in accessing BDD. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed relevant documents and data, interviewed officials, and conducted site visits and interviews at selected military bases."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "Domestic air carriers are responsible for checking passenger names against terrorist watch-list records to identify persons who should be denied boarding (the No Fly List) or who should undergo additional security scrutiny (the Selectee List). The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is to assume this function through its Secure Flight program. However, due to program delays, air carriers retain this role. This testimony discusses (1) TSA's requirements for domestic air carriers to conduct watch-list matching, (2) the extent to which TSA has assessed compliance with watch-list matching requirements, and (3) TSA's progress in developing Secure Flight. This statement is based on GAO's report on air carrier watch-list matching (GAO-08-992) being released today and GAO's previous and ongoing reviews of Secure Flight. In conducting this work, GAO reviewed TSA security directives and TSA inspections guidance and results, and interviewed officials from 14 of 95 domestic air carriers."

The interaction between carbon and hydrogen atoms on a Ru(0001) surface was studied using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), Density Functional Theory (DFT) and STM image calculations. Formation of CH species by reaction between adsorbed H and C was observed to occur readily at 100 K. When the coverage of H increased new complexes of the form CH+nH (n = 1, 2 and 3) were observed. These complexes, never observed before, might be precursors for further hydrogenation reactions. DFT analysis reveals that a considerable energy barrier exists for the CH+H {yields} CH{sub 2} reaction.

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Charm semileptonic decays allow a validation of lattice QCD calculations through the measurement of the hadronic form factors, which characterize the effect of strong interaction in these reactions. The accuracy of such calculations is crucial for the improvement of the test of the standard model in flavor physics. This thesis presents a study of the D{sub s}{sup +} {yields} K{sup +}K{sup -}e{sup +}{nu}{sub e} channel using 214 fb{sup -1} recorded by de BAbar experiment. For events with a K{sup +}K{sup -} mass in the range between 1.01 GeV/c{sup 2} and 1.03 Gev/c{sup 2}, the {phi} {yields} K{sup +}K{sup -} is the dominant component. Using the simple pole model to parameterize the q{sup 2} dependence of the form factors -V(q{sup 2}), A{sub 1}(q{sup 2}) and A{sub 2}(q{sup 2})- the following ratios are measured at q{sup 2} = 0; {tau}{sub V} = V(0)/A{sub 1}(0) = 1.868 {+-} 0.061 {+-} 0.079, r{sub 2} = A{sub 2}(0)/A{sub 1}(0) = 0.763 {+-} 0.072 {+-} 0.062. The mass pole of the axial-vector form factor is also obtained: m{sub A} = (2.30{sub -0.18}{sup +0.42} {+-} 0.21) GeV/c{sup 2}. In the same mass range, the semileptonic branching fraction, relative to the D{sub s}{sup +} {yields} {phi}{pi}{sup +} channel, …

A concerted experimental and computational study of energy transfer in nucleic acid bases and charge transfer in dialkylaminobenzonitriles, and related electron donor-acceptor molecules, indicate that the ultrafast photoprocesses occur through three-state conical interactions involving an intermediate state of biradical character.

In a search for B {yields} c{bar c}{gamma} K decays with the BABAR detector, where c{bar c} includes J/{psi} and {psi}(2S), and K includes K{sup {+-}}, K{sub S}{sup 0} and K*(892), they find evidence for X(3872) {yields} J/{psi}{gamma} and X(3872) {yields} {psi}(2S){gamma} with 3.6{sigma} and 3.5{sigma} significance, respectively. They measure the product of branching fractions {Beta}(B{sup {+-}} {yields} X (3872)K{sup {+-}}) {center_dot} {Beta}(X(3872) {yields} J/{psi}{gamma}) = (2.8 {+-} 0.8(stat.) {+-} 0.2(syst.)) x 10{sup -6} and {Beta}(B{sup {+-}} {yields} X(3872)K{sup {+-}}) {center_dot} {Beta}(X(3872) {yields} {psi}(2S){gamma}) = (9.9 {+-} 2.9(stat.) {+-} 0.6(syst.)) x 10{sup -6}.

The authors present a study of the charmless semileptonic B-meson decays B{sup +} {yields} {omega}{ell}{sup +}{nu} and B{sup +} {yields} {eta}{ell}{sup +}{nu}. The analysis is based on 383 million B{bar B} pairs recorded at the {Upsilon}(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector. The {omega} mesons are reconstructed in the channel {omega} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0} and the {eta} mesons in the channels {eta} {yields} {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup 0} and {eta} {yields} {gamma}{gamma}. They measure the branching fractions {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {omega}{ell}{sup +}{nu}) = (1.14 {+-} 0.16{sub stat} {+-} 0.08{sub syst}) x 10{sup -4} and {Beta}(B{sup +} {yields} {eta}{ell}{sup +}{nu}) = (0.31 {+-} 0.06{sub stat} {+-} 0.08{sub syst}) x 10{sup -4}.

The authors present the first observation of the bottomonium ground state {eta}{sub b}(1S) in the photon energy spectrum using a sample of (109 {+-} 1) million of {Upsilon}(3S) events recorded at the {Upsilon}(3S) energy with the BaBar detector at the PEP-II B factory at SLAC. A peak at E{sub {gamma}} = 921.2{sub -2.8}{sup +2.1}(stat) {+-} 2.4(syst) MeV observed with a significance of 10 standard deviations in the photon energy spectrum is interpreted as being due to the radiative transition {Upsilon}(3S) {yields} {gamma} {eta}{sub b}(1S). This photon energy corresponds to an {eta}{sub b}(1S) mass of 9388.9{sub -2.3}{sup +3.1}(stat) {+-} 2.7(syst) MeV/c{sup 2}. The hyperfine {Upsilon}(1S)-{eta}{sub b}(1S) mass splitting is 71.4{sub -3.1}{sup +2.3}(stat) {+-} 2.7(syst) MeV/c{sup 2}. The branching fraction for this radiative {Upsilon}(3S) decay is obtained as (4.8 {+-} 0.5(stat) {+-} 1.2(syst)) x 10{sup -4}.

This report discusses the status and the accomplishments of the environmental protection program at Argonne National Laboratory for calendar year 2007. The status of Argonne environmental protection activities with respect to compliance with the various laws and regulations is discussed, along with the progress of environmental corrective actions and restoration projects. To evaluate the effects of Argonne operations on the environment, samples of environmental media collected on the site, at the site boundary, and off the Argonne site were analyzed and compared with applicable guidelines and standards. A variety of radionuclides were measured in air, surface water, on-site groundwater, and bottom sediment samples. In addition, chemical constituents in surface water, groundwater, and Argonne effluent water were analyzed. External penetrating radiation doses were measured, and the potential for radiation exposure to off-site population groups was estimated. Results are interpreted in terms of the origin of the radioactive and chemical substances (i.e., natural, fallout, Argonne, and other) and are compared with applicable environmental quality standards. A U.S. Department of Energy dose calculation methodology, based on International Commission on Radiological Protection recommendations and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's CAP-88 Version 3 (Clean Air Act Assessment Package-1988) computer code, was used in preparing this …

We present an extensive experimental characterization of the e{sup {+-}} phase space at the interaction point of the SLAC PEP-II B-Factory, that combines a detailed mapping of luminous-region observables using the BABAR detector, with stored-beam measurements by accelerator techniques.

In this project, General Electric Energy and Environmental Research Corporation (EER) developed a novel mercury (Hg) control technology in which the sorbent for gas-phase Hg removal is produced from coal in a gasification process in-situ at a coal burning plant. The main objective of this project was to obtain technical information necessary for moving the technology from pilot-scale testing to a full-scale demonstration. A pilot-scale gasifier was used to generate sorbents from both bituminous and subbituminous coals. Once the conditions for optimizing sorbent surface area were identified, sorbents with the highest surface area were tested in a pilot-scale combustion tunnel for their effectiveness in removing Hg from coal-based flue gas. It was determined that the highest surface area sorbents generated from the gasifier process ({approx}600 m{sup 2}/g) had about 70%-85% of the reactivity of activated carbon at the same injection rate (lb/ACF), but were effective in removing 70% mercury at injection rates about 50% higher than that of commercially available activated carbon. In addition, mercury removal rates of up to 95% were demonstrated at higher sorbent injection rates. Overall, the results of the pilot-scale tests achieved the program goals, which were to achieve at least 70% Hg removal from baseline …

We present the discovery of a new quadruply lensed quasar. The lens system, SDSS J1330+1810 at z{sub s} = 1.393, was identified as a lens candidate from the spectroscopic sample of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Optical and near-infrared images clearly show four quasar images with a maximum image separation of 1.76 inch, as well as a bright lensing galaxy. We measure a redshift of the lensing galaxy of z{sub 1} = 0.373 from absorption features in the spectrum. We find a foreground group of galaxies at z = 0.31 centred {approx} 120 inch southwest of the lens system. Simple mass models fit the data quite well, including the flux ratios between images, although the lens galaxy appears to be {approx} 1 mag brighter than expected by the Faber-Jackson relation. Our mass modeling suggests that shear from nearby structure is affecting the lens potential.

Vacuum vessels, including evacuated chambers and insulated jacketed dewars, can pose a potential hazard to equipment and personnel from collapse, rupture due to back-fill pressurization, or implosion due to vacuum window failure. It is therefore important to design and operate vacuum systems in accordance with applicable and sound engineering principles. 10 CFR 851 defines requirements for pressure systems that also apply to vacuum vessels subject to back-fill pressurization. Such vacuum vessels are potentially subject to the requirements of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Pressure Vessel Code Section VIII (hereafter referred to as the 'Code'). However, the scope of the Code excludes vessels with internal or external operating pressure that do not exceed 15 pounds per square inch gauge (psig). Therefore, the requirements of the Code do not apply to vacuum systems provided that adequate pressure relief assures that the maximum internal pressure within the vacuum vessel is limited to less than 15 psig from all credible pressure sources, including failure scenarios. Vacuum vessels that cannot be protected from pressurization exceeding 15 psig are subject to the requirements of the Code. 10 CFR 851, Appendix A, Part 4, Pressure Safety, Section C addresses vacuum system requirements for such cases …

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