This document contains updated information about the State of Texas Securities Act for the year 2011.

Agency strategic plan for the Texas Department of Information Resources describing the organization's planned services, activities, and other goals during fiscal years 2013 through 2017.

The physical processes that give rise to changes in the microstructure, and the physical and mechanical properties of materials exposed to energetic particles are initiated by essentially elastic collisions between atoms in what has been called an atomic displacement cascade. The formation and evolution of this primary radiation damage mechanism are described to provide an overview of how stable defects are formed by displacement cascades, as well as the nature and morphology of the defects themselves. The impact of the primary variables cascade energy and irradiation temperature are discussed, along with a range of secondary factors that can influence damage formation.

As the treatment and management of HIV/AIDS continues to evolve with new scientific breakthroughs, treatment discoveries, and management challenges, it is difficult for people living with HIV/AIDS and those who care for them to keep up with the latest information on HIV/AIDS screening and testing, prevention, treatment, and research. The National Library of Medicine (NLM), of the National Institutes of Health, has a wealth of health information resources freely available on the Internet to address these needs.

Developing a predictive understanding of subsurface flow and transport is complicated by the disparity of scales across which controlling hydrological properties and processes span. Conventional techniques for characterizing hydrogeological properties (such as pumping, slug, and flowmeter tests) typically rely on borehole access to the subsurface. Because their spatial extent is commonly limited to the vicinity near the wellbores, these methods often can not provide sufficient information to describe key controls on subsurface flow and transport. The field of hydrogeophysics has evolved in recent years to explore the potential that geophysical methods hold for improving the quantification of subsurface properties and processes relevant for hydrological investigations. This chapter is intended to familiarize hydrogeologists and water resource professionals with the state-of-the-art as well as existing challenges associated with hydrogeophysics. We provide a review of the key components of hydrogeophysical studies, which include: geophysical methods commonly used for shallow subsurface characterization; petrophysical relationships used to link the geophysical properties to hydrological properties and state variables; and estimation or inversion methods used to integrate hydrological and geophysical measurements in a consistent manner. We demonstrate the use of these different geophysical methods, petrophysical relationships, and estimation approaches through several field-scale case studies. Among other applications, …

Laser interactions with materials have unique advantages to explore the rapid synthesis, processing, and in situ characterization of high quality and novel nanoparticles, nanotubes and nanowires. For example, laser vaporization of solids into background gases provides a wide range of processing conditions for the formation of nanomaterials by both catalyst-free and catalyst-assisted growth processes. Laser interactions with the growing nanomaterials provide remote in situ characterization of their size, structure, and composition with unprecedented temporal resolution. In this article, laser interactions involved in the synthesis of primarily carbon nanostructures are reviewed, including the catalyst-free synthesis of single-walled carbon nanohorns and quantum dots, to the catalyst-assisted growth of single and multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

None

Ion exchange phenomena involve the population of readily exchangeable ions, the subset of adsorbed solutes that balance the intrinsic surface charge and can be readily replaced by major background electrolyte ions (Sposito, 2008). These phenomena have occupied a central place in soil chemistry research since Way (1850) first showed that potassium uptake by soils resulted in the release of an equal quantity of moles of charge of calcium and magnesium. Ion exchange phenomena are now routinely modeled in studies of soil formation (White et al., 2005), soil reclamation (Kopittke et al., 2006), soil fertilitization (Agbenin and Yakubu, 2006), colloidal dispersion/flocculation (Charlet and Tournassat, 2005), the mechanics of argillaceous media (Gajo and Loret, 2007), aquitard pore water chemistry (Tournassat et al., 2008), and groundwater (Timms and Hendry, 2007; McNab et al., 2009) and contaminant hydrology (Chatterjee et al., 2008; van Oploo et al., 2008; Serrano et al., 2009).

Fossil fuels are abundant, inexpensive to produce, and are easily converted to usable energy by combustion as demonstrated by mankind's dependence on fossil fuels for over 80% of its primary energy supply (13). This reliance on fossil fuels comes with the cost of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions that exceed the rate at which CO{sub 2} can be absorbed by terrestrial and oceanic systems worldwide resulting in increases in atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentration as recorded by direct measurements over more than five decades (14). Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas linked to global warming and associated climate change, the impacts of which are currently being observed around the world, and projections of which include alarming consequences such as water and food shortages, sea level rise, and social disruptions associated with resource scarcity (15). The current situation of a world that derives the bulk of its energy from fossil fuel in a manner that directly causes climate change equates to an energy-climate crisis. Although governments around the world have only recently begun to consider policies to avoid the direst projections of climate change and its impacts, sustainable approaches to addressing the crisis are available. The common thread of feasible strategies …

Enzymes catalyze biochemical reactions with remarkable specificity and efficiency, usually under physiological conditions. Computer simulation is a powerful tool for understanding enzyme catalytic mechanisms, particularly in cases where standard experimental techniques may be of limited utility. Here, we present an overview of the application of computer simulation techniques to understanding enzyme catalytic mechanisms. Examples using quantum chemical methods, as well as combined quantum mechanical/classical mechanical approaches, are provided.

is a growing demand for adaptation science as a vehicle for delivering critical knowledge to public and private organizations that are attempting to adapt to the changing climate. This expansion of adaptation science is occurring, however, in the absence of a robust understanding of how that science can or should contribute to successful adaptation. For the adaptation science enterprise to be successful, it must provide knowledge that has value to adaptation actors. Accomplishing this objective, however, often requires more than just research, and, in fact, may necessitate new cultural perspectives regarding the role of science in public policy as well as new kinds of researchers and research institutions. These issues are explored through a series of case studies from Australia and the United Kingdom that illustrate the various ways in which adaptation science engages with adaptation processes and the extent to which that science can be judged as successful. The case studies demonstrate that there are multiple pathways by which adaptation science can be successful, depending on the knowledge that is needed by a particular actor at a particular stage in the adaptation process. Nevertheless, there are significant opportunities for the more explicit alignment of the needs of decision-makers and …

None

In this chapter, we review the physiology of switchgrass from seed dormancy till the effects of water and nutrients stress on grown plants. These characteristics are presented and discussed mainly at the canopy and whole-plant level with emphasis on the agro-physiology of the species in view of the possible contribution of crop physiology to agricultural development. Switchgrass is noted for the variable degrees of seed dormancy regulated by endogenous and exogenous factors that determine the successful seedling establishment. Plant growth rates are determined by temperature while the reproductive phase is controlled mainly by photoperiod. There is also evidence that some physiological attributes, such as photosynthesis, transpiration, and water use efficiency differ between tetraploid, hexaploid and octaploid ecotypes. But despite these differences, in general switchgrass combines important attributes of efficient use of nutrients and water with high yields thanks to its ability to acquire resources from extended soil volumes, especially at deep layers. Moreover at canopy level, resources capture and conservation are determined by morpho-physiological characteristics (C{sub 4} photosynthetic pathway, stomatal control of transpiration, high leaf area index, low light extinction coefficient) that enhance radiation use efficiency and reduce carbon losses. However, specific information on switchgrass physiology is still missing, in …

A system for weighing a load is disclosed. The weighing system includes a pad having at least one transducer for weighing a load disposed on the pad. In some embodiments the pad has a plurality of foot members and the weighing system may include a plate that disposed underneath the pad for receiving the plurality of foot members and for aligning the foot members when the weighing system is installed. The weighing system may include a spacer disposed adjacent the pad and in some embodiments, a spacer anchor operatively secures the spacer to a support surface, such as a plate, a railway bed, or a roadway. In some embodiments the spacer anchor operatively secures both the spacer and the pad to a roadway.

None

None

Disturbance can be defined as 'any relatively discrete event in time that disrupts ecosystem, community, or population structure and changes resources, substrate availability, or the physical environment'. This definition requires that the spatial and temporal scales of the system and disturbance be determined. Disturbances are typically characterized by their size, spatial distribution, frequency or return time, predictability, and magnitude (which includes both intensity and severity). These disturbance attributes set the parameters for the suite of species, both plant and animal, that can persist within a given system. As such, an understanding of seasonally dry tropical forests in Asia requires an understanding of disturbance within the region. However, disturbances are relatively poorly understood in dry tropical forests, partly because of the weak seasonality in temperature and high tree species diversity of these forests relative to most forest systems of the world. There are about 1,048,700 km{sup 2} of dry tropical forests worldwide and that only 3% of this land is in conservation status. In other words, 97% of the world's seasonally dry tropical forest is at risk of human disturbance. About half of this forest occurs in South America, where most of the conservation lands are located. Satellite imagery based on …

Abundant and easily refined, petroleum has provided high energy density liquid fuels for a century. However, recent price fluctuations, shortages, and concerns over the long term supply and greenhouse gas emissions have encouraged the development of alternatives to petroleum for liquid transportation fuels (Van Gerpen, Shanks et al. 2004). Plant-based fuels include short chain alcohols, now blended with gasoline, and biodiesels, commonly derived from seed oils. Of plant-derived diesel feedstocks, soybeans yield the most of oil by weight, up to 20% (Mushrush, Willauer et al. 2009), and so have become the primary source of biomass-derived diesel in the United States and Brazil (Lin, Cunshan et al. 2011). Worldwide ester biodiesel production reached over 11,000,000 tons per year in 2008 (Emerging Markets 2008). However, soybean oil cannot be burned directly in modern compression ignition vehicle engines as a direct replacement for diesel fuel because of its physical properties that can lead to clogging of the engine fuel line and problems in the fuel injectors, such as: high viscosity, high flash point, high pour point, high cloud point (where the fuel begins to gel), and high density (Peterson, Cook et al. 2001). Industrial production of biodiesel from oil of low fatty-acid content …

As our dependence on the cyber infrastructure grows more complex and more distributed, the systems that compose it become more prone to failures and exploitation. Intelligence refers to discrete or private information, which possess currency and relevance. The ability to abstract, evaluate, and understand such information underlies its accuracy and true value. The collection, analysis and utilization of information constitutes a business-, sociopolitical-, military-intelligence activity that ultimately poses significant advantages and liabilities to the survivability of "our" society. The aim of this workshop (www.csiir.ornl.gov/csiirw) was to discuss (and publish) novel theoretical and empirical research focused on the many different aspects of cyber security and information intelligence. The scope will vary from methodologies and tools to systems and applications to more precise definition of the various problems and impacts. Topics include: Scalable trustworthy systems Enterprise-level metrics Coping with insider and life-cycle threats Coping with malware and polymorphism Phishing/whaling, spam and cyber crime High assurance system survivability Cyber security for the Smart Grid Digital provenance and data integrity Privacy-aware security and usable security Social networking models for managing trust and security A principle goal of the workshop was to foster discussions and dialog among the 150 registered attendees from North America, Europe, …

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is teeming with an extremely abundant and diverse microbial community. The members of this community have coevolved along with their hosts over millennia. Until recently, the gut ecosystem was viewed as black box with little knowledge of who or what was there or their specific functions. Over the past decade, however, this ecosystem has become one of fastest growing research areas of focus in microbial ecology and human and animal physiology. This increased interest is largely in response to studies tying microbes in the gut to important diseases afflicting modern society, including obesity, allergies, inflammatory bowel diseases, and diabetes. Although the importance of a resident community of microorganisms in health was first hypothesized by Pasteur over a century ago (Sears, 2005), the multiplicity of physiological changes induced by commensal bacteria has only recently been recognized (Hooper et al., 2001). The term 'ecological development' was recently coined to support the idea that development of the GI tract is a product of the genetics of the host and the host's interactions with resident microbes (Hooper, 2004). The search for new therapeutic targets and disease biomarkers has escalated the need to understand the identities and functions of the microorganisms …

The U.S. electric power system comprises multiple distinct interconnections of generators, high voltage transmission systems, and local distribution systems that maintain a continuous balance between generation and load with impressive levels of efficiency and reliability. This critical infrastructure has served the nation remarkably well, but is likely to see more changes over the next decade than it has seen over the past century. In particular, the widespread deployment of renewable generation, smart-grid controls, energy storage, and new conducting materials will require fundamental changes in grid planning and the way we run the power grid. Two challenges in the realization of the smart grid technology are the ability to visualize the deluge of expected data streams for global situational awareness; as well as the ability to detect disruptive and classify such events from spatially-distributed high-speed power system frequency measurements. One element of smart grid technology is the installation of a wide-area frequency measurement system on the electric poles in the streets for conditions monitoring of the distribution lines. This would provide frequency measurements about the status of the electric grid and possible information about impending problems before they start compounding and cascading. The ability to monitor the distribution lines is just …

None

This book is focused on the pretreatment of biomass, a necessary step for efficient conversion of the plant cell wall materials to fuels and other products. Pretreatment is required because it is difficult to access, separate, and release the monomeric sugars comprising the biopolymers within the biomass that can be further upgraded to products through chemical processes such as aqueous phase reforming or biological routes such as fermentation of the sugars to ethanol This resistance to degradation or difficulty to release the monomers (mostly sugars) is commonly referred to as recalcitrance. There are many methods to overcome plant recalcitrance, but the underlying cause of the recalcitrance lies in the complex combination of chemical and structural features of the plant cell walls.

This chapter presents an overview of basic radiation damage theory, including older and more recent models, to provide framework, within which radiation effects, such as void swelling, can be rationalized. A complete review of the literature is not attempted, but sufficient references are given to provide a decent introduction to a quite large number of publications in the field. Many derivations are different from and, in our view, more elegant than in the original publications. The work is directed to both theoreticians and experimentalists, and, especially, to those passionate individuals who are going to take the radiation damage theory (RDT) to the future.